//------------------------------// // 11-15: Helpless // Story: Pound and Pumpkin Tales 2 // by Never2muchpinkie //------------------------------// As the time ran out Nega teleported up to him. Mayhem put his arms up defensively but Nega didn’t strike. Nega had a fierce expression at first, but then it changed to a smirk. He began to laugh again just as he had when he had first appeared. It disrupted Mayhem’s determination. He had prepared for an assault, not this creepy laughter. “Oh, this is fantastic,” Nega said, the pure green of his eyes fading to only his sclera. “I’ve been waiting for this. You have no idea.” “What do you mean?” Mayhem said, keeping his defensive pose. “I tried doing it Twilight’s way, but as expected you were too incompetent to succeed. Now Twilight isn’t here to save you from me. She finally acknowledged this is the way it has to be.” He began to twitch creepily. “I’ve finally got permission to annihilate you.” At that statement Mayhem found his courage again, his eyes narrowing. “And you think I’m just going to stand by and let it happen?” “Of course.” He lifted a claw. “I’m going to make you suffer. I’ll make you beg for death as I finally administer the judgment that was never brought upon you for your crimes.” The edge of his claw lit up, and he flicked it. Mayhem quickly dodged out of the way. “Hmm,” Nega said with mild interest. “I know what you are now,” said Mayhem. “I’m not just a puppet for you to manipulate.” He began to twitch again before laughing hysterically. Peppermint grabbed onto Pumpkin. “Ugh. That thing gives me the creeps.” “I don’t blame you,” Pumpkin replied with a shudder. “I hope Mayhem beats him soon.” “I can’t stand him,” said Pound. “He keeps on trying to hurt one of our friends.” “Good riddance if he goes,” said Flash. “We’ve been patient and given him several chances, but he just keeps on being evil.” Twilight felt a sense of disquiet as she listened to the children talking about Nega. They still didn’t understand. She could still see Nega’s pained expression and hear his troubled words. Now wasn’t the time to get into it. She had to keep her attention on the battle so she could intervene if things got too crazy. “Well,” Nega said, “let’s get to it. Take your best shot.” Mayhem shook his head. “No. I’m not going to fight, but I’ll still defeat you.” Nega shook his head. “So ignorant.” He shrugged. “Well, if you’re not going to make a move then I will.” He pointed downwards, and Mayhem’s heart skipped a beat as Nega’s claw lit up. He moved it in a square, and the air beneath them began to glow. The light descended to the ground, surrounding all the children and Twilight. “This will keep the others safe. You don’t have objections to that, do you?” “Of course not.” Nega smirked at him again. “Or maybe you do. Maybe you’re going to ignore me to destroy the shield and everyone inside.” Mayhem grunted angrily. “Of course I’m not!” “Well… your track record doesn’t exactly inspire me with confidence.” “I lost control once, and that was only because I let my feelings build up too much. I know better now.” “Once is all it takes, though.” He flew forward, swinging a fist. Mayhem caught it. “Well, well. Good work, murderer.” Mayhem went stiff for a moment. “I’m not a murderer! I haven’t killed anyone.” “So what? The intent was there, wasn’t it? You said yourself that you wouldn’t stand for losing to some pathetic ponies who were so inferior to you.” Mayhem got a pained expression on his face. “Oh, the arrogance. Bad enough that you attacked your friends, but you felt you were so much more superior than all of them you couldn’t even fathom the idea of losing.” Nega kneed him in the stomach. “Jerk!” Mayhem winced a bit, rubbing his belly. “I know I was high on myself back then, but I’m not like that anymore.” Nega snorted. “For now. “And even if you never do it again… so what? As I said before, once is enough.” He swung again, hitting Mayhem in the cheek. Mayhem was slow to respond to Nega’s attack, and was knocked backwards a few feet. He was rubbing his face now. “So that’s it, then? You think a person’s whole life should be judged just by one mistake, even if they never do it again?” Nega’s smirk finally turned back into a frown. “Mistake? MISTAKE? THAT’S what you want to call almost MURDERING YOUR FRIENDS? HUH?” Mayhem couldn’t respond. Nega extended a claw and flicked it, shooting out the air current that had incapacitated Mayhem earlier. Mayhem was distracted by his feelings, and once again was slow to respond. He was about to let the attack phase through him just as it struck. He began to wheeze as he fell to his knees in midair. “You disgusting creature!” Nega said darkly. “What right do you have to seek forgiveness? “The only thing that stood between you and six murders is the hearts of your friends. It wasn’t you that stopped yourself from doing the unthinkable. It was them who saved themselves from your murderous intent.” Nega closed the distance and gave Mayhem a hard kick on his other cheek. Plum winced. “Mayhem isn’t doing so good up there.” Pound sighed. “Well, changing yourself is never easy. It took a lot of pain for me to grow up and learn to fly.” Sweet Pea put a hoof around Spring. Her friend was looking quite distressed at Mayhem’s beating. “It’s going to be okay,” she said comfortingly. “If you say so,” Spring said despondently. “We’ve both walked so far, and just when I thought we’d cleared the final hurdle this happens. “If Mayhem can’t win then… then maybe I can’t either. Maybe Sombra can never really be beaten.” Chocolate bit his lip, looking up at Mayhem. ‘Come on, Mayhem!’ he thought urgently. ‘Win this already.’ Flash grabbed Spring around the shoulders. “You can’t give up hope! I mean, think about how hopeless things seemed when Sombra turned the Crystal Empire into its twisted, dark form. Didn’t we still win despite all odds? This is no different. “No matter how hard it gets, there’s always a chance for victory if you just believe.” “That’s right,” said Flurry. “The reason we were able to come this far is because we kept on going despite all the hardships.” Mayhem ignored the pain, standing up. “I’ve been working hard for months to make up for that mista-” He drifted off. “No… you’re right. It wasn’t just a mistake. I knew what I was doing. I did it deliberately.” Nega began to chuckle again. “Oh, but it’s fine, isn’t it?” Nega snapped, and it began to rain popsicle sticks and bits of wood. “I mean, as long as you can make popsicle stick art and birdhouses then attempted murder just pales in comparison, right?” “I… um…” Again Mayhem felt lost for words. A tear came down his cheek. Nega glared at him again. “Face it, Mayhem. What you’ve learned with your little hobbies doesn’t mean squat. All you’ve been doing it putting off the inevitable.” “T-there… there’s always something new to learn,” Mayhem said weakly. “I-I… I only went bad because I let my feelings of boredom build up." “Whoop-de-doo! You think boredom is the only thing that makes you a danger to your friends?” He lifted his claw, summoning water and cracking it like a whip, striking Mayhem's face. “Let’s look at dear old Pound Cake.” Mayhem held his head, gently panting. “W-what about him?” “Pound’s most defining characteristic is his overprotectiveness of Pumpkin. Doesn’t stop him from being the one bullying her from time to time, does it? Doesn’t stop him from giving her a smack every now and then. “And if he can do it then so can you. After all, everyone loses their temper from time to time.” He closed the distance, his sadistic grin back. “I wonder… next time you get upset, what you’ll destroy then. With your abilities a slap from you would probably send someone into the sun. “Sure would love to hear that conversation. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Cake, for killing your kid. But here’s a popsicle stick house. That makes everything better, right?” Mayhem’s breathing went up. He felt a stinging sensation on his face, sending him to his knees as one of his eyes closed. Out of one eye came the purple aura. Nega began chuckling. “You know it, don’t you?” He punched Mayhem in the stomach. “You know what you are!” He struck again in the face. “You’re trash! Utter garbage who betrayed your friends for a good time!” He extended his paw, shooting a boulder out of it. As Mayhem bent over in pain Nega brought both arms up and swung down, knocking Mayhem into the top of the shield. “And on top of it all you completely got away with it just because you felt a little sorry. Disgusting!” Mayhem gently sobbed, all his past feelings coming to the surface as his other eye also got the purple aura coming off his face. Nega landed on top of the shield, picking him up by the neck. “Just surrender,” he said emotionlessly, a cold expression on his face. “N-n-no,” Mayhem coughed out. “Are you going to continue this façade forever?” He punched Mayhem in the stomach again. “You’re unbelievably selfish. After nearly killing your friends once you’re going to cling to them and your life despite the danger of you going rogue again?” Mayhem let out a sob. “It’s… not… selfish. My friends mean everything to me.” That set Nega off, the pure green eyes and the purple aura returning as he put a paw to Mayhem’s chest and blasted him into the air. Spring winced. Mayhem was completely helpless against Nega, his inner Sombra brought out into the open. Even after all the time they spent together growing up he was utterly powerless to fight back. She only felt more and more doubt that she would ever prevail against her own Sombra. “Mayhem’s not going to die, is he?” Plum asked fearfully. “I… don’t think so,” said Masky. “Nega just seems to want to torture him.” Twilight was tapping her hoof on the ground. She didn’t doubt that Mayhem was going to have some difficulties prevailing, but he couldn’t seem to muster any willpower at all. It was very worrisome. If things continued on in this manner she would have to intervene. She was well aware that this would deprive Mayhem of a needed change in his life if he didn’t do it himself, but she couldn’t just watch him be eliminated in front of all his friends. It would devastate them. Mayhem landed hard on the top of the shield, panting. Everything hurt. Nega walked over and pulled Mayhem up to a sitting position. “Well? Are you ready to surrender yet?” “N-n-never,” he said weakly. Nega shook his head, his expression unreadable. “Why not?” “B-because I… I love… my friends.” “You say that, but you don’t really mean it.” “Of course I do.” “It’s that stubbornness of yours that led to you almost killing everyone, you know. The refusal to give up, the inability to accept losing… and you want to claim you changed?” Mayhem pushed him away, and got up on shaky legs. “That’s nothing like what happened in the past. Surrendering to you would mean losing all my friends.” Nega chuckled. “And if you hadn’t been stopped then that’s exactly what would have happened anyway, isn’t it?” Mayhem winced. “T-that’s not what I meant!” “It might not, but it doesn’t change it from being the truth. “The past you is still the same as the present you, putting yourself before others.” “I’m doing this FOR my friends!” “So what? That doesn’t invalidate what I said. You refuse to acknowledge the threat you pose to your friends. No matter what you’re determined to stick around, because you consider yourself too important.” “B-but I don’t.” “You spent months learning about friendship, and no one, not even you, ever thought you’d return to the Mayhem you were when you were first given the ability to act. And yet you did. “Like I said before, boredom isn’t the only thing that can make someone act in nasty ways. You’ve experienced that yourself with Ms. ‘Mix-and-match freak’ Flurry over there, as well as Masky. “Things are good now, and they may be good for years or even decades, but all it takes is one bad day, one little shove that pushes you over the edge, and horrible things can happen.” Nega poked him hard in the chest. “If you really cared about your friends you’d distance yourself from them, rather than sticking around them and constantly being dangerous. But I suppose just hoping nothing ever goes wrong again is just so much more mature than the old Mayhem.” He clapped sarcastically. “You sure showed me.” Mayhem fell to his knees, crying. “M-Mommy said… said… that if I truly cared about my friends then, instead of running away, I’d work hard to make it up to them so it never happened again.” “And what better way is there to keep them safe than by cutting yourself out of their lives, hmm? Stop with the pride and stubbornness. Just give in. It’ll be better for your friends that way. “Ask yourself: what is best for them? What’s the best way to keep them safe from you going bad again? The best sacrifice you can make is by putting the health and welfare of your friends above your own happiness.” “I…I…” The outer part of Mayhem’s eyes slowly turned green. Spring looked at the ground. “I can’t watch anymore!” “Mayhem needs our help,” said Flash. “Right behind you,” said Pound. “No!” Flurry said sternly, her horn lighting up and holding them in place. Chocolate turned on her. “He’s getting creamed out there, and you want us to just keep standing here watching? Some friend you are.” “Don’t you even care what happens to him?” Plum asked angrily, then shuddered as Flurry glared at her. “That’s the second time I’ve been asked that question,” said Flurry. “Which just goes to show that you don’t understand what’s going on.” “I understand enough,” said Flash. “It seems like you’re the one who doesn’t get it.” “This is a personal battle for Mayhem. No matter how much of a disadvantage he seems to be at he needs to find the answer on his own.” “And what if he loses, huh?” said Sweet Pea. “If you’ve been paying attention he’s barely been able to defend himself.” “He’s only going to get one shot at this!” Masky said urgently. “Nega’s made it clear he wants to wipe Mayhem out. If he isn’t able to beat Nega then we’re going to lose our friend forever. Is that what you want?” “Of course not,” said Flurry “Then we need to go help!” said Peppermint. “Mayhem can’t win. Based on what we’ve seen it’s impossible.” “Do you remember how you all felt when Sombra corrupted the Crystal Heart and turned the entire Crystal Empire into a twisted version of itself? Didn’t it feel impossible to win then? But despite the massive difference in power between us we managed to come out on top.” “It’s not the same!” Pound said strongly. “It wasn’t like any of us were fighting alone in that final battle. We had to encourage everyone in the Crystal Empire to prevail.” “The battle against Sombra was something that would affect the entire Crystal Empire,” said Flurry. “You can’t compare that to a personal battle.” Pumpkin sniffed, tears coming down her eyes. “And you think all of us won’t be affected if we lose our friend? This isn’t just about him, Flurry.” Flurry’s horn lit up a little brighter, pulling all the children to her. “We can’t put ourselves in the middle of his battle, but he does need to know he has our support.” Flurry arranged the children a certain way, keeping Mayhem’s old friends next to all his new ones, before putting her hooves out to the ones next to her. “You want to make a friendship circle?” asked Plum. “I mean, it’s not quite a circle.” “Nope,” Flurry replied. “It’s a heart. If he looks down on us from above he’ll know our hearts are with him. Once he remembers that he’ll regain the strength he needs to get rid of Nega for good.” Flash met her hoof. “I’d rather go up there and fight directly, but I suppose this is a good backup.” Everyone else met hooves with each other. After a few moments Pound pulled away from Flash. “What’s up?” he said. “I don’t think Flurry’s plan is good enough.” “So what do you have in mind, Pound?” asked Flurry. “Just mimic what I do,” he said to Flash, backing up a bit and then extending his hoof into the open air. Flash complied, though he was clearly confused. “Okay… so what did that do?” asked Tree Leaf. “Without the bottom being connected now it just looks like a big curvy letter M. How is that supposed to inspire him?” He looked towards his friends. “Do all of you remember when our parents were telling us they didn’t want us to hang around with Mayhem anymore? We said to them that if they took that bond away there would always be a hole in our hearts.” “I remember,” said Peppermint. “Our group has been through so much together. Despite all the pain our bond has remained strong. Strong enough that Flurry remembered him like the rest of us even without her memories. He’s an important part of all our lives, and I know my heart would never be complete without him in it. “It’s fitting to leave a gap at the base, as a representation that we love him from the bottom of our hearts.” That statement was met with nods and affirmations. Even Spring finally got a little smile on her face. “Tree Leaf said that it just looks like we’re in a curvy M shape now, but by keeping your hooves out I think it sends a more powerful message than just being a heart. It says that we’re all waiting for his victory so he can be the one to finish the shape.” Flurry bowed her head, closing her eyes. “Now… we just need to believe. When we put our hearts together there’s nothing we can’t achieve. “We’ll all be with him in spirit. All our hearts will call out to him, and when he answers that call he’ll win.” Twilight looked at the children in their incomplete heart shape, silently praying that they were right. Both sides had a good point. This was a personal battle that they couldn’t fight for him, but it was the strength of their bond that was the only thing that would allow Mayhem to triumph. She thought this was a fine compromise. It was a way to tell Mayhem they believed in him without directly interfering. Up above Mayhem was torn. Seeing his friends again had been his main driving factor in improving. They were a necessary part of his life. Without their light to drive off the darkness he didn’t know if he could maintain his good behavior. As it had before Twilight’s words came back to him, telling him that he could destroy everything, but it would feel empty without someone to share those experiences with. The thought of permanently disconnecting from his friends was unbearable, but the idea that he might hurt them like he did before was even more unbearable still. Maybe he was just being selfish and stubborn by staying by their side. Twilight bit her lip as Mayhem’s colors began to change, starting to match Nega’s. This was something completely different than the Tantabus, and that lack of knowledge scared her. As Luna's feelings grew heavier her Tantabus grew in size and power, and that was it. What, exactly, was going to happen once Mayhem's colors completely changed to match Nega's? It wouldn't be anything good. Would Mayhem be lost forever to his feelings, or was it only going to be a sign that he was completely under Nega's sway? Would they swap places? She had no answers. Just as when she had heard about his origins it was completely beyond her scope of understanding. Was he not a Tantabus, after all, but something complete different? As Mayhem’s emotional state deteriorated those feelings were transferred to Nega, making him wince. “Hurts,” Nega said, an eye closing. “It hurts!” He grabbed Mayhem and began punching him repeatedly. Mayhem didn’t even try to defend himself. “Curse you! Curse you! I hate you so much! Just die already!” Sweet Pea could feel Spring’s hoof shaking. “Don’t focus on him. Focus on your heart. He’ll win. Count on it.” “Definitely,” said Masky. Nega dropped Mayhem, sinking to the ground and panting. “Why? Why won’t it stop? I… I have to do more. More and more until my anger is sated.” Mayhem’s whole body was aching, but he didn’t care. He deserved to suffer for being such a terrible, selfish person. A bead of sweat came down Nega’s face as he started chuckling. “I guess it’s just never going to stop so long as we’re alive. Our very existence is a plague on this world." He lifted a claw, a ball of energy forming in his palm. “But take heart. I’ll take us both out to end the threat.” He glanced down at the children, feeling another sting. “Look, Mayhem. Even your friends have given up on you. None of them can even bear to watch this disgusting spectacle. “Oh, but they’ve arranged themselves into an M shape. I guess they’re your little cheering squad. M for Mayhem.” Mayhem was torn between wanting to look and not wanting to look. He felt so ashamed, and part of him was glad they weren’t looking. He strained himself, flipping over onto his stomach on top of the shield. As Nega said they were in an M shape, but it looked weird. Maybe it was just easier for them to make the shape if they were more spaced out. ‘I’m sorry,’ he thought, tears coming down his eyes. ‘I can’t win. And even if I could… I don’t know that I’d want to. ‘I caused so much suffering. Twice now I’ve come close to ruining the lives of so many others. I nearly wiped out the heroes of Equestria, and then I almost took the lives of the people who mean the most to me in the world. ‘No matter how sorry I am about it… I can’t take it back. I can never undo it. ‘Please… just forget about me.’ “But we don’t WANT to forget about you!” Tree Leaf’s voice echoed in his mind from the last time he said that to his friends. ‘Why not?’ he thought miserably. ‘Why do you want to stay attached to me? After what I did to you… you still want to be friends?’ As he continued staring he finally noticed Pound and Flash with their hooves out. It didn’t make much sense. If they just wanted to make an M then there was no need for the two of them to have their hooves up. It would have been more logical for them to either have their hooves down or to just close the gap. In his mind’s eye he pictured what it would look like if they were closer together, and realized it would become a heart. Was it really an M they were making, or was it meant to be a heart? But if was really meant to be a heart then they should have just moved closer together. With their hooves up and the gap between them it was almost like… A sob escaped him. They were waiting for him. Waiting for him to come down and complete the heart. That’s why Pound and Flash had their hooves up. When he triumphed he would come down and take his spot amongst them. He would complete their heart. As that realization sank in he suddenly felt strength returning to him. He couldn’t lose here. There was still too much he had to do to surrender. His head rose as he heard the sound of magic. He saw a ball of concentrated dark magic directed at him. As Nega went to throw it at him he kicked his arm, sending the ball flying upwards where it exploded harmlessly. “Hmm?” Nega said in confusion. Even as he watched Mayhem’s colors returned to normal and the purple aura faded. “How?” “Enough of this!” Mayhem said strongly. “Enough! I’m through with being your puppet. No matter what it takes I’m going to beat you once and for all. Then I’ll join my friends.” He put a claw to his heart. “I can feel them. I can feel their hearts calling out to me. Even if they’re not right next to me, so long as our hearts are united you’ll never prevail.” Down below all the children smiled, opening their eyes for a few moments to glance at each other and see that they were feeling the same thing. ‘Mayhem has found his second wind,’ thought Twilight. ‘Let’s see where things go from here.’