Fluttershy stepped carefully into the pet supply store, needing to restock on a few things. She enjoyed coming here, as the proprietor was always so nice to her, always giving her good deals, helping her keep her budget reasonable. With an extra mouth to feed, that was especially helpful. She smiled as she saw him approaching. "Hello, Feather," she said happily.
Feather Duster smiled as he approached, his eyes going a little glassy. "Why, hello Fluttershy," the blue earth pony replied, his head bobbing up and down. "What a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting to see you here today!"
Fluttershy smiled. Feather Duster was a bit strange, but she felt he was a good stallion at heart. "But Feather Duster, today's Market Day. I'm always here today."
"Oh, what a coincidence, so am I!" Feather Duster replied, bouncing happily.
Fluttershy giggled. "Well, anyway, I need to restock on a few things. Some animal food, some shampoos..."
"Why, I do believe I sell those!" Feather Duster said happily. "Let's see what we can do, shall we?" He then proceeded to bounce - very Pinkie-like - around the store, guiding Fluttershy to the various things on her list. As she filled shopping bags with things, she couldn't help but giggle at Feather Duster's antics.
Coming up to the counter, Fluttershy pulled out her money pouch. "So, how much do I owe you today?" she asked.
Feather Duster, still looking a bit glassy eyed, punched buttons seemingly at random on the cash register until a total came up. "37942...wait, that can't be right." Spinning around on his chair, he gave the register a whack. "37 bits total," he said, smiling as he leaned one arm on the counter, resting his head on his hoof.
Fluttershy smiled. "Okay." Pulling out the bits, she placed them on the counter. "Thank you very much," she said, taking the bag into her mouth.
As she turned to leave the store, Feather Duster suddenly spoke up. "Say, Fluttershy..."
She turned back, seeing his eyes no longer glazed and a serious expression on his face. "Yes?"
"Do you think, maybe, we could go out for drinks later or something?" he asked, looking wistful.
Fluttershy blanched. She hadn't expected this sort of request. "I-I'm sorry," she replied, trying to sidestep the question, "but I need to get home and take care of my animals, and Yaazi, and-"
"Alright," Feather Duster replied. "How about tomorrow?"
"Umm...tomorrow Twow and I are going out for lunch," Fluttershy replied, now wanting to escape the situation.
"Oh...right." Feather Duster turned away, staring out the window.
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said quietly, turning to race out.
As she left, Feather Duster turned to glower at a nearby wall before slamming his hoof against it in impotent anger.
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A few hours later, Twow and Yaazi entered the pet supply store. "I can't believe Mom forgot to buy tortoise soap," she said in disbelief. "She's always careful about getting everything for the animals."
"She seemed a little scatterbrained today," Twow admitted in concern. "Something's probably bothering her."
"And what do you two want?" Feather Duster said from behind the counter, glowering at Twow.
Yaazi saw that Feather Duster's eyes kept flicking up to the feather behind her father's ear. She realized this was one of the ponies that hated him for being with her mother. She could taste his hate and envy, and it wasn't pleasant. She wished she had enough control of her magic and Changeling abilities to block off her emotion sense, but she wasn't advanced enough in those skills yet. She stepped a little behind her father, privately glad that she was in her unicorn form right now. One last thing for this angry pony to focus on.
Twow was taken aback by the stallion's hostility. Fluttershy had always described him as being nice. "Yes, Fluttershy forgot to buy tortoise soap, so she asked us to pick it up for her-"
"Right," Feather Duster replied curtly, heading to the shelves.
Twow blinked, looking to the list. "She said to get-"
"I know what brands she buys!" Feather Duster snapped, slamming the bottle down on the counter. "That'll be 40 bits," he said curtly.
Twow blinked. "That's rather expensive-"
"Take it or leave it!"
Fishing out the bits, Twow slammed them down on the counter. "Fine!" he snapped, grabbing the bottle.
"Now get out of my store!" Feather Duster snapped angrily.
Twow had had enough. "Just what is your problem?"
"My problem?" Feather Duster snapped. "My problem is you, freak!"
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Twow demanded, despite his rage managing to keep himself from cursing in front of Yaazi.
Yaazi herself was staring back and forth in confusion. She didn't like the hostility and rage. It was beginning to make her physically nauseous. She wished it would stop.
"I'll tell you what I mean!" Feather Duster roared. "I mean that Fluttershy could easily do better than some extra-dimensional freak and a bug-eyed shape changing monster!"
Yaazi let out a chocked sob, tears falling from her eyes.
Without warning, Twow's hand lashed forward. A metal brace around his wrist expanded into a metal gauntlet covering his entire arm, a metal plate over his knuckles taking the shape of a hoof. The blow impacted hard against Feather Duster's jaw, sending him flying back against the wall. Before Feather Duster could recover, Twow had leapt over the counter and had hold of him by the throat.
"Now you listen to me," Twow snarled quietly, the look in his eyes fierce enough to make Discord piss himself. "If you ever talk to my daughter like that again, it will be the last thing you ever say." After glaring for a bit longer, he turned and hopped back over the counter, grabbing the soap as he leapt and the gauntlet withdrew back into the wrist brace. He scooped Yaazi up into his arms. "Come on, Yaazi, let's go home," he whispered comfortingly. He then began to sing Yaazi's favorite lullaby, trying to comfort her. "♫My beautiful Yaazi..."
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Feather Duster slowly pushed himself off the floor, snarling as he spat out a tooth. He wasn't going to let this stand. That...that human had assaulted him. He was going to go to the police and-
"Ah wouldn't do that if'n Ah was you," a voice interrupted him.
Turning, he saw Big Macintosh standing there with a deep frown on his face. "What business is it of yours?" he demanded.
"When Ah see somepony insulting mah family, Ah make it mah business."
Feather Duster blinked. "What are you talking about?"
Big Mac glared at him. "Ah'm talkin' about them two honorary Apples you just chased out."
"What?" Feather Duster demanded. "When did they become honorary Apples?"
Big Mac smirked. "When mah sis AJ made her friends honorary Apples, that extended to their families."
"But why would that-"
"And in Fluttershy's case, her daughter and lifemate."
"Lifemate?" Feather Duster demanded. "How can he be her lifemate? That takes the commitment to each other-"
"He's got her feather," Big Mac replied. "He knows what it means. He made the same commitment to her when he accepted the feather from her. That qualifies. Ain't no more sacred a commitment to a Pegasus than the feather."
Feather Duster nodded. He knew that, that's what made him so mad. "But that commitment has to be recognized by the Herd Master-"
"Ya mean like when Celestia officially approved them adopting Yaazi together?" Big Mac asked innocently, his grin as wicked as his face could make it.
Feather Duster blinked for a bit as he thought about this, then shivered as a chill sank into his gut. That was right, she had, hadn't she? And a skilled enough lawyer could argue that qualified as recognition of their bond, the only thing that might nullify it there was if either Twow or Fluttershy said they weren't lifemates, and neither would deny their commitment to each other, even if they weren't entirely comfortable with the term yet. And those old laws that governed matters regarding lifemates predated Equestria, predated the unification of the pony races. And the old laws could be brutal.
It was obvious to anyone that Twow wouldn't hesitate to kill to protect Fluttershy and Yaazi. What Feather Duster had just realized - for which he was supremely glad Twow was unaware of - was that those same old laws gave him the right to do just that when it came to protecting his lifemate or children, especially from rival stallions like Feather Duster.
Big Mac smirked at Feather Duster's panicked expression. "Eeyup," he said calmly. "That's right. Now, Ah think you'd better go spread that bit to any other members o' the T.S.F.S. who might still be thinkin' o' tryin' to get between 'em. Ya know, before he hears about that from someone with a law degree." Big Mac shook his head. "Ah'll be taking mah business elsewhere in the future, though. Ah don't deal with nopony who badmouths the Apples." Turning, he left the store.
As he walked along the path back to the farm, he paused as he felt something nearby. "Is that what you were expecting when you nudged me that way?" he asked the air around him.
A voice replied from the nearby shadows, "Not entirely. I asked you to be there because I was certain you were the only one who would be strong enough to hold Twow back from killing that fool."
"So ya didn't want him getting killed?" Big Mac asked, a frown in his voice.
"Hardly. I couldn't care one way or another about that fool. I didn't want Yaazi to watch her Father commit murder. His self control was greater than I anticipated."
Big Mac nodded, smiling. "Twow's a good pony."
"Umm...he's a human."
"That don't make him any less of a good pony."
The voice was silent for a time. "That is either incredibly simple minded, or the deepest philosophical point I've ever heard."
Big Mac chuckled. "My three majors gotta be good for somethin." He waved into the shadows as he walked along. "G'bye, ghost mama," he called.
A shade in the rough shape of a Changeling Queen floated backwards into the trees. "Note to self," she muttered, "don't try to puppet anypony smarter than me...and don't judge by appearances." The shade floated off into the forest, glad it's mission continued to work.