10-2: Motherly love
Mayhem and Twilight arrived outside of a relatively modest home. It did have an upper-crust air about it, but nothing too overt.
Twilight knocked on the door.
A short while later a mare opened the door with a downcast expression.
“Hello?” she said, then her expression brightened as she recognized her daughter. “Twilight!” She threw her hooves around her. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Same to you, Mom,” Twilight replied happily. As they broke apart Twilight’s expression grew grim. “What’s got you down?”
“Nothing now. I was just feeling a little empty nested today. You and your brother have both gone out into the world, and your royal duties make it hard for you to find time to visit.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m overjoyed that both my children have become so prominent in the world, but it can be lonely around here some days.”
Twilight let out a heavy breath. “Mom, you should let me know when you’re feeling this way. As long as the world isn’t in danger I can always make time for you.”
Velvet shook her hoof. “No, no, dear. This is a normal part of life. It’s just something that has to be accepted. As long as I get to see you sometimes it’s enough for me.
“So… any particular reason you came to visit today? Or was your princess sense going off?”
Twilight chuckled. “I’m here to relive some nostalgia with someone who is learning about the magic of friendship.”
Her horn lit up, and Mayhem floated off her back between the two of them.
“H-hello,” Mayhem said awkwardly, giving a little wave with his paw. “How are you?” To his surprise she didn’t seem to think twice about how he looked.
“You must be Mayhem,” said the mare. “Twilight’s told me a little about you.” She put out her hoof. “I’m Twilight Velvet. Nice to meet you.”
He eyed her hoof with caution before looking up at her disarming smile. “You… don’t think I’m weird?”
She scooted forward and lifted her other hoof, hugging the little draconequus to her. “Kid, I had a dragon living in my house until Twilight moved to Ponyville, and he was one of the sweetest little things I’ve ever seen.
“I don’t have a problem with weird. I think everyone deserves love, no matter what they look like.”
Mayhem got a little choked up as he returned her hug. It was almost like being hugged by Fluttershy. Mothers really were amazing.
When she set him down she rubbed his head. “Feeling better now?”
He nodded. “Twilight brought me here to do an arts and crafts project, just like she used to do with you.”
Her eyes lit up. “Ooo!”
“I’ve been feeling bored lately, and she told me that it’s because my magic is too powerful. She thinks I’ll have a lot of fun if I try just doing things manually instead of using my power to do everything for me.”
“That sounds lovely.”
He bowed his head politely. “Thank you for doing this with me, Twilight.” His eyebrow went up, and he looked between mother and daughter. “This is going to get confusing fast.
“Um… Mrs. Twilight? Twilight Velvet? What do you prefer?”
She patted his head. “Why don’t you just call me Velvet? Calling me by my full name or by a title all day is going to sound way too formal.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
She smirked. “Or maybe you can call me Twilight, and that one over there can be Twily. Aww!”
Mayhem snickered.
“Ahem!” said Twilight in a pretentious sounding voice. “That nickname is exclusive property of one Shining Armor. I will have to fine anyone else using that name.”
“Ah, well.
“Come on in.”
They followed her to the living room. “So is Dad home?” asked Twilight.
“He went out for a little while. Hopefully he’ll be home before you leave, but that means I have you all to myself for a little bit.”
They sat down. “So when am I getting some grandchildren?” Velvet asked, amusement in her eyes.
That made Mayhem chuckle again.
“Mom!” Twilight called out. “Look, I just don’t have time right now.”
“Your brother made time. Twice! And he’s a prince ruling a much bigger place than Ponyville.”
Twilight sighed good-naturedly. She knew her mother wasn’t going to pressure her into a relationship, since she really did understand her busy schedule, but that didn’t stop her mother from teasing her every time they came in contact.
They went through this routine every time she visited. It was almost a comedy act at this point. At least her mother treated it as such.
“Oh, this poor old maid," said Velvet melodramatically. "Your brother has only had girls. Someone has to have a male and continue the family line."
She hugged Mayhem. “I guess you’ll have to be my grandchild, Mayhem, since it seems like this is going to be the only time Twilight is going to visit with a child.”
“O-Okay, Grandma,” Mayhem said, barely stifling his laughter. He liked her. She was funny and nice.
“Oh, boy,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “Do you think we can get to what we actually came here to do?”
Velvet sighed, setting Mayhem down. “I suppose so.”
She went over to a bookshelf, scanning the titles. “It’s been quite a while since you asked to make a craft project together. I’m glad I kept most of your old books so I could have something fun to do with my grandchildren. Flurry has quite a lot of fun with them when she visits. I'm sure Skyla will too, but she's still a little too young.”
She pulled out a book. “Well, how about popsicle stick creations?”
“Sure,” said Mayhem. “It doesn’t really matter what it is. I just need to learn some new skills.”
She set the book down, and went over to a closet, taking out a big bag of popsicle sticks and putting them on a table too. She grabbed a few more odds and ends, as well as glue, and sat down next to Mayhem.
“Well, I figure we’ll start out doing everything by the book, since that one over there will get cranky if she can’t make a list of things to check off.”
She summoned a notebook, as well as a quill and ink, gently tapping them against Twilight repeatedly. "Here, widdle Twiwight."
Twilight ignored her.
Mayhem buried his face in his paw as he snorted. He was having a blast already, and they hadn’t even started yet.
Twilight was usually always so composed and in control. He liked seeing this different side of her. She just seemed out of her element with her mother. It was clear who was in control here.
Eventually Twilight used her own magic to put the objects on the table. “I don’t need to make a list.”
“Uh-oh,” said Velvet. She looked at Mayhem. “Is she sick? Did you bring a Changeling to my home?”
Mayhem found he was laughing a lot today. That already made today worth it. If he was laughing it meant he wasn’t bored.
“Come on, Mom,” said Twilight with a touch of exasperation. “This is important for him.”
Velvet rubbed her head. “As you wish, your majesty.”
“Awww,” said Mayhem, “but I was having fun with that.”
“Well, we can’t stay here forever,” said Twilight. “I told you I was only helping you today to start you off, so if you want to spend the whole day joking around then you’re going to be on your own tomorrow.”
That made Mayhem get a little more serious. “Okay, Twilight. Let’s get to work.”
“That’s better.”
Velvet rubbed his head. “I don’t want to cause trouble for you, little guy, so I’ll behave too.”
Mayhem smiled up at her. “You remind me of Mommy. I like it.”
“Is that right?” She hugged him. “Well, a mother always has love to give.”
When she let him go he walked over to Twilight and hugged her. “I really like your mother, Twilight. She’s awesome.”
Twilight felt her impatience fading as she saw the warm smile on his face. The two seemed to have developed a good rapport already, and if things worked out then maybe she could arrange some more time together for the two of them to do more projects together.
Mayhem was a developing child who had fallen in love with love, and her mother had talked about feeling a little lonely without her children around. Maybe they would make a good pair.
However, that was a thought for later. They started out well, but maybe they weren’t going to remain a good fit.
“I think she’s great too.” She rubbed Mayhem’s head. “Let’s get to work, okay?”
He nodded. “Okay, Twilight.”
She opened the book to something that looked simple enough for an introductory project. “I figure we’ll do a few creations by the book, and then after that we’ll freestyle a bit and just make whatever comes to mind. How does that sound?”
“Good.”
Things got quieter after that. Her mother stopped teasing her, and Mayhem had a serious look on his face, wanting to make her proud.
They started off with simple flat objects, like a house made out of six sticks, before moving on to slightly more complicated things.
Even though all he had to do was follow simple directions Mayhem felt a little anxiety from the projects despite how easy they were, simply because he wasn’t used to actually thinking about things. His power always gave him exactly what he wanted.
He fussed over whether he was adding too much glue or not enough. He tried to make each stick perfectly centered on top of other sticks.
He nearly burst into tears when the glue he was using didn’t come out at first and so he gave it a hard squeeze, causing glue to come spurting out all over.
“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” he said quickly, tears forming in his eyes.
“It’s okay, Mayhem,” Twilight said calmly.
He put a claw to his face. “We’ve barely started and I’m already screwing things up.”
“Twilight,” said Velvet. “What is rule number one of craft projects?”
Twilight chuckled. “How could I ever forget? ‘If you’re not making a mess then you’re doing something wrong.’ ”
Mayhem put his claw down, a curious look on his face.
“Look, Mayhem, the message there isn’t to intentionally make messes, but that messes are inevitable with these kinds of things. That’s why my mom put down construction paper on the table before we started. Just put that piece off to the side and use it as a dipping pad until it dries.”
“A dipping pad?”
She nodded, levitating a stick and scooping some off before putting it in place. “This is some of the things I was talking about. Take advantage of your mistakes and use them to your benefit, and stop expecting perfection.”
“Sorry, Twilight. I just… I want everything to go right today. I don’t want your mom to stop liking me because I made a mess of her home.”
Twilight had a grim look. He was still getting stuck on the thought that he couldn’t be liked without his powers unless he was perfect.
Velvet chuckled. “Oh, please. I don’t think anything you do will ever beat what Twilight and Spike did, and I still like them just fine.”
“What happened?” he asked.
She shook her head with an amused expression, then put her hoof to her mouth as she began laughing.
Now he was really curious. “What? What?”
“One day we ran out of red glitter in the middle of a project. The little perfectionist over there refused to use any other glitter to finish her arts and crafts project, and she refused to leave it unfinished.”
Twilight grimaced, putting her hoof to her face. “Oh, no! I know where this is going now.”
Mayhem’s eyes were twinkling now. “Come on! Come on! What happened next?”
Velvet chuckled again. “Well, I tried to convince her to use a different, similar color glitter, but she absolutely refused. Eventually I gave in. We went all the way to the store to buy some more glitter, then came all the way home.
“Twilight got overexcited at the thought of finishing her project, and went running levitating the container. She went and tripped, the bottle going flying and smashing against the hard floor, spraying glitter everywhere.”
Mayhem started laughing, but Velvet put up a hoof.
“Hold on! Don’t laugh yet.
“The glitter got all over Spike as well, some of it going up his nose and sending him into a sneezing fit as he ran around trying to get it off, with the end result that he sent half our kitchen and living room furniture to Princess Celestia.”
Mayhem’s mouth hung open for a few moments, then he fell on his back holding his stomach and kicking his legs as he laughed uproariously. Now that was some exquisite chaos.
When he finally got himself under control he wiped tears from his eyes. “Oh, boy. That was a great story!”
Velvet got up and headed for another room. “I’ll be right back.”
She returned a minute later with a frame, setting it down in front of him.
He saw a picture of a rainbow torn in half and taped back together. The majority of it was all the same colors for each portion of the rainbow, but he noticed part of the red portion was a slightly different shade.
She put a hoof around him. “This is the drawing Twilight was making so long ago. She was in tears for like an hour afterward. She tore the paper in half out of shame for not just listening to me and all the trouble she indirectly caused.
“In the end, we got the furniture back when we explained what had happened. We spent time cleaning up the glitter. Finally, I taped the drawing back together and we finished it by going with my suggestion to just use a similar shade."
She gave him a little time to look then asked, “Do you get the meaning of that story?”
He looked up at her.
“Mistakes happen, but you can just clean them up afterwards. Don’t get so fussy over the little details that you stop having fun just because they’re not perfect.
“Yeah, at the time it happened I was pretty furious, but now I can look back on that moment and laugh about it.”
She pulled him close, hugging him tightly. “The same goes for you. So you spilled a little glue. It didn’t go anywhere but on the paper that was specifically there to stop us from making a mess of the table. It’s nothing to cry over.
“When you make a mess, say sorry, clean it up, and then move on. Give yourself permission to make some errors as you learn. After all, if you hadn’t spilled it then you might not have heard the story you found so funny. You see how mistakes can sometimes lead to good things?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Mayhem replied contentedly. There was no doubt about it. Velvet was a mom. He could almost imagine it was Fluttershy holding him and talking to him.
A minute passed by, and Velvet said, “Just tell me when you want me to let go.”
“I’d kinda like to say never, but there’s still stuff we have to do.” After a few seconds he said, “Just one more minute.”
She nuzzled his face. “As you wish.”
Velvet noticed the way Twilight was looking at her. She whispered to Mayhem, “Do you think we can include Twilight in this hug? I think she’s feeling a little left out.”
“Hmm?” He glanced at Twilight, and he thought he could see a touch of jealousy or possessiveness there. He nodded. “Mmm-hmm.”
They both gestured for her to come over, and after a few moments of hesitation she complied.
Velvet kissed Twilight’s forehead as she put a hoof around her. “There’s no need to be jealous, dear.”
“Yeah, you don’t have to be jealous, Twilight,” said Mayhem. “I’ll share your mom with you.”
“I’m not-” Twilight started, then paused. She nuzzled her mom and said, “Okay… fine. I was feeling just a tiny bit jealous seeing my mom being so affectionate with you.”
“There’s always room for one more in these hooves,” Velvet said lovingly. “After all, you’re never too old for a mommy hug.”
Twilight enjoyed the hug for a bit until she felt better.
When they all split apart Velvet was beaming. “Ah, this old gal’s still got it. Look how calm you both look now.”
“You’re not old, Velvet,” said Mayhem. “You’re beautiful, just like Twilight.”
That made both mares blush.
Velvet couldn’t help it. She scooped him up again. “Aww, thank you. You’re such a little flatterer. You make me feel young again.”
Twilight rubbed his head. “No kidding.”
“You’re welcome,” said Mayhem as she set him down.
Twilight said, “I want to clear something up, Mayhem. I don’t have any issues in you being friendly with my mom. I like that the two of you have become fast friends. However, that memory is one of my most embarrassing, and I felt I needed some comforting more than you.”
Her eyes faded out. “I felt like I just went back in time, to when I was awkwardly standing in front of my mother after Spike calmed down, feeling like she was going to tell me she hated me. That’s why I ripped it in half. I felt like I had ruined everything.”
That surprised him. “So you have some things you’re still holding onto too?”
She looked over at the rainbow portrait. “I didn’t think I was. I just remember that I felt so bad that day. Spike went nuts trying to get the glitter off. Most of the kitchen furniture was gone. The glitter was everywhere.” She sighed. “And all because I just had to have everything perfect.”
She levitated it over, a wistful look on her face. “I wish I could say that I learned my lesson the first time, but I’ve never quite gotten over my perfectionist side. Having Princess Celestia as a mentor didn’t help me in that regard.
“I was given a chance many could only dream of, and I constantly feared disappointing her well into adulthood when I went to Ponyville. That was what led to me accidentally hypnotizing almost everyone in town to fight over my doll just so I would have a report to send to her about friendship.”
She shook her head, setting the portrait down. “I like to think I’ve loosened up a bit since then. Now that I’m a princess myself I’ve become the one who teaches rather than the one who is taught, and I do my best to be friendly so that others can feel safe coming to me, but there’s usually this gap between us.
“Having experienced it for myself I understand how Celestia probably felt all this time. She probably sought a relationship like the one we have, or the one I have with the twins, and I was the one who fell short because I had trouble seeing past her title to the friendly, benevolent person she always was.”
She sighed. “Well, that’s neither here nor there right now. All in all, I’m not really bothered my mom told you that story. It’s a perfect example of what I’ve been trying to emphasize to you. Striving too hard for perfect led me to make a big mess.”
She put a hoof to the different red patch. “It’s those imperfections that can make you stand out and draw others to you. After all, when you’re perfect then what do you need others for? It can sometimes lead to being teased or bullied, but when we show humility and admit our shortcomings it will usually inspire others to try and fill in that gap.”
“Kinda like the bridges we build, right?” said Mayhem.
She nodded. “Something like that.”
He put his claw on top of her hoof. “I know I’m not perfect. That’s why I entrusted my heart to my friends if I ever went down the wrong path. And it’s why I rely on you to help teach me the things I need to know to become a better Mayhem.
“It’s just… well, it’s like you said. I’m used to my magic doing everything exactly right. It’s just… hard getting used to not having that. It is only my first day, after all.
“But… y’know, after listening to that story I don’t think I could possibly mess this up as badly as you did, so I think I’ll be okay now.”
Twilight snorted. “Oh, thanks.”
Mayhem giggled in return.
They got back to work, Mayhem not feeling nearly so focused on doing things exactly right. With Twilight’s story he felt like he understood what Fluttershy had been saying earlier about moderation. He wasn’t going to intentionally make things mediocre just because he didn’t need to be perfect, but if he made little mistakes along the way then that was okay.
He started to really get into it, finding it amazing how just simply putting together some popsicle sticks could make such interesting things.
Things got awkward again when they stopped using the book and he was expected to just make something on his own. Without any instructions or guides he wasn’t sure what to make.
The two mares already seemed to have something in mind, and it only made him feel more awkward that he was just sitting there doing nothing.
Velvet noticed after a minute. She patted his head. “Don’t think so hard about it, Mayhem. Just start putting some things together and see if inspiration hits.”
He looked up at Velvet, unsure. As he continued looking he suddenly got an idea, and a big smile came to his face. “I got it! I know what I want to make.”
“There you go.”
He hummed to himself as he began putting sticks down. He made a square. Under the bottom he put four sticks, making two upside-down V shapes. To the right he put five more in a fan shape. Taking two more he put them at a diagonal going up and to the left in the middle of the left and top of the square, then put a few more sticks down that he cut in half to make them smaller.
After that he put down more sticks to fill the empty spots
When that was done he grabbed two googly eyes and put them on.
He stared at it as it dried, pleased with his work. It wasn’t perfect, but it was his own creation.
After a minute he tested it, picking it up to an upright position. It stayed together.
“Done!” said Mayhem joyfully.
Twilight and Velvet both looked at him curiously to see what he had made.
“This is for you, Velvet.”
Velvet took it. It looked animal shaped, but she wasn’t sure exactly what animal.
“Why me specifically?” she asked.
“Well,” Mayhem said with a smirk, “it doesn’t look like Twilight is going to give you a grandchild any time soon, so I thought I’d make you one in her place.”
Velvet nearly crushed the popsicle pony she started laughing so hard.
Twilight let out a sigh, but she started laughing along too.
When Velvet got herself under control she wiped tears from her eyes. “That was great. Haven’t had a laugh that good in a while.”
She hugged Mayhem. “Oh, thank you for this gift. I’ll treasure it always. Or at least until Twilight finally stops being too busy to ‘get busy.’ "
“MOM!” Twilight said sharply, her face beet red. “Don’t say things like that in front of Mayhem.”
“Why not?” Mayhem asked. “She just wants you to put in the effort to get a coltfriend.”
Twilight sighed, glad the innuendo went over Mayhem’s head.
Velvet had a devilish grin on her face as she looked over Mayhem’s shoulder at her daughter. “Oh, yes. That’s definitely what I meant.”
Twilight gave her mother a dirty look.
When she let him go she reined in her amusement and said seriously, “Is it really okay if I take this? After all, it’s the first creation you made all on your own.”
Mayhem nodded. “Yeah. I want you to keep it, because you’re super cool. I think I’d put you at number three of coolest adults, right beneath Mommy and Twilight.”
“Well, thank you, Mayhem. I’d be glad to take it.
“Hold on a minute.”
She left the room, coming back with a similar frame as the one that held Twilight’s portrait. Taking off the back she lifted the stick pony and put it inside before closing it back up again.
“I know the value some creations can have personally to others, so if you’re trusting me with this then I want to keep your gift safe in here.”
She kissed his forehead. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome!” Mayhem replied, beaming.
Twilight felt her irritation fading. They really did seem to have a good chemistry with one another. Her mother was naturally loving to children, as she’d seen several times with Flurry Heart, and Mayhem just soaked it up.
Now that she thought about it, her mother had said at the start that she had been having an empty nest feeling, so maybe that was why she was being so affectionate to Mayhem. Even if it wasn’t her own grandchild, she still had an urge to nurture.
Being that play and love were the only things keeping Mayhem from reverting to his old self, it was a great combination.
When they were wrapping up Mayhem said, “Can I ask you for a favor, Velvet?”
“What?” replied Velvet.
“Can I borrow that book? I want to practice at home and show you how I’ve improved.”
“That sounds fine.”
“Can we do this again soon?”
She nodded. “Sure. How about in three days?”
He nodded. “Okay. I won’t let you down.” He picked up the book and held it to him. “I’ll protect your book like you’re protecting my popsicle pony.”
“Fluttershy does seem lucky. You’re such a little sweetheart.”
He set the book down and gave her a hug. “Thanks for helping me today.”
“You’re welcome,” she said as she returned it.
Mayhem closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation. “There’s nothing quite like a mommy hug.”
“I’d agree with that,” said Twilight warmly.
When she let him go he waved. "Bye, bye, Velvet. See you in a couple days."
"Goodbye, Mayhem," she replied, waving back.
Mayhem jumped up onto Twilight's back, and with her own goodbye they teleported out.
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I always like it when Twilight Sparkle’s mother lightly teases her about finding a significant other.
I wish cartoons these days had these kind of lessons. This is true learning.
Her lies King Cocoon, who had died tragically from a severe case of adorabetes.
If she could, Velvet would definitely pull up the clip of Twilight going “I’m bored.”
“What about then, huh? Seems like you had plenty of time then.”
“I am not having this conversation again, Mom!”
Hey, It’s Velvet! My favorite of the mlp moms...for reasons probably not appropriate to share in this story’s comment section.
I liked how she was portrayed here. She’s a good mom.
The twilight and spike childhood story was funny and adorable. You should do more of them, maybe as their own stories. Maybe a mane 6 childhood anthology. Just an idea.
I feel like if Mayhem were an adult, he would treat arts and crafts like Ron with gingerbread houses in parks and rec.
“I can create self contained realities with snap of my fingers, but I can’t glue two damn popsicle sticks together!”
Or maybe that would be Discord.
Wait, Mayhem has Discord’s memories, right? I would think that includes knowledge, wouldn’t it? So couldn’t he possibly actually know what “getting busy” means? Or does Discord need someone to have the talk with him?
10063842
Something, something about milk but the last letter is an f.
There was a comic series I read called "Without magic." The premise is that Celestia thinks Twilight is too reliant on her horn so she somehow turned Twilight into an earth pony to force her to learn to adapt. Kinda a similar concept here. I like that quote because that's basically the premise of what's going on with Mayhem.
It's an interesting question. Being that the draconequus is a one of a kind species outside of fanworks, would he have any reason to know about sex? His "job" was just causing chaos. If he doesn't reproduce, then would he even have the equipment for it?
As for Mayhem, he lives with Fluttershy, who has a ton of feral animals. If he wasn't aware of the birds and the bees before he'd definitely become acquainted with it over the months he's lived with her. I like to think that as Mayhem spends more time apart creating his own memories Discord's memories are having less prevalence. He stated that he couldn't see Twilight's memories while out on his own and the same is true for Discord.
At the very least, even if he's well versed in reproduction, he just might not understand the innuendo.