//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: For The One We Love // by bahatumay //------------------------------// “He's better than I gave him credit for,” Spike grudgingly admitted, reading over the paper. “And by that, I mean he’s terrible.” Twilight's eyes were narrowed angrily as she read over Spike’s shoulder. No matter how much she willed it, though, the words on the page did not change. “I know. I don't even want to tell Fluttershy this,” Twilight murmured. “Tell me what?” Both spun around and saw Fluttershy, standing in the doorway, with Fritter sitting happily on her back. Spike glared at Twilight as he crumpled the paper and hid it behind his back. “You just had to open your mouth,” he hissed. “How was I supposed to know she was coming?” Twilight hissed back. “Bad things always happen when you open your mouth! It’s like a constant thing here!” “Oh, so it’s my fault she just so happened to show up? May I remind you, Mr. Spike, that correlation does not imply causation in this or any other situation, especially this one which could be caused only by sheer, unexplainable coincidence! Do you know how many variables would have to be in play to ensure that this exact sequence of events with this explicit timing-” Fluttershy quietly cleared her throat. “Tell me what?” she asked again. Twilight grimaced. She looked over at Spike, but he held his hands up and took a step back, placing the responsibility firmly on her shoulders. She inhaled, held it, and then exhaled slowly. “Skyblaze… he… he took you to court. Technically.” Fluttershy frowned. “What do you mean, took me to court? I never got a summons…” Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, no; what if I did get one and I just never noticed it? What if the birds took it for their nest?” “It wasn’t you,” Twilight said quickly, “or the birds. He went to court and submitted an affidavit and got a judge to sign an order giving him the rights of a non-custodial parent, on the base of his paternal claims.” Fluttershy squinted… and then her eyes widened. “No…” she breathed. “Which means,” Twilight confirmed grimly, “that he gets visitation rights.” “But we got that restraining order…” “Which the judge threw out because there was no proof of documented physical abuse. Never mind that emotional abuse is considered by many psychologists to be just as harmful if not more so, with an even longer period of recovery and more intense and harmful effects on the victim, requiring substantially more therapy and…” Her voice trailed off as she realized Fluttershy and Spike were staring dumbly at her. “I mean, yeah,” she finished sheepishly. “Can he even do this?” Fluttershy asked, horrified. “He can,” Twilight said grimly. “Thanks to a loophole in Cloudsdale law, he doesn’t even have to prove he's Fritter’s father to get those rights. As long as he claims paternity and says that he was an integral part of the foal’s early life—and the affidavit he filed claims that he was—he can get visitation rights. I don't think he even needed to bribe anypony for this.” “But he wasn't,” Fluttershy protested. “He wasn't there for Fritter at all!” She paused, and then tapped her chin, remembering. “Unless you count the time I saw him when I went back to visit my parents for their anniversary last year.” “What happened then?” Fluttershy bit her lower lip. “He kicked a hailstone at me,” she said. Twilight scowled. “So we hide Fritter,” Spike suggested. “It’s worked before.” Twilight shook her head. “The law also says that a noncustodial parent can’t be denied those rights. If we do that, he can sue for full custody; and he'll probably win.” “So he’s mooching,” Spike deadpanned. “Fluttershy and Mac do all the work and he plays with Fritter two Saturdays a month.” “Pretty much,” Twilight said. “So what can we do?” Twilight exhaled deeply. “Wait for next Saturday,” she said quietly. * * * Next Saturday came. It was a bright and cheery day; quite the opposite of how Fluttershy and Macintosh felt. Fluttershy paced uncontrollably; Macintosh kept grinding a hoof against the ground. Fritter held onto an apple, but he was only gumming it half-heartedly; even he could tell that something was wrong, but he was too young to know what. A flash of blue in the sky drew their attention. Skyblaze looped around in the air, not so subtly showing off his flying prowess before dropping to a gentle landing. He was wearing a foal-carrying saddlebag, emblazoned proudly with his family crest. “Good morning,” he said brightly as he strode forward. “I’ve come for my rightful visit.” Mac ground his teeth together. Skyblaze heard, and a little smirk crossed his face. He knew that Macintosh wanted to buck him halfway to Dodge Junction, but he couldn’t; and Mac knew that he knew. Skyblaze held all the cards this round, and both stallions knew it. Without even looking up to Fluttershy for permission, he reached down and scooped up Fritter. Fritter looked back at him and cocked his head, tiny wings spread for balance. Who was this strange pony? “Hey, little guy,” he said. Fritter frowned. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what; and now somepony new was holding him. Unsure, he looked back and reached for Macintosh. Skyblaze scowled and muttered something darkly under his breath as he pulled away a bit harder than necessary. Fluttershy darted in front of Skyblaze and glared at him, and Macintosh instinctively lifted a hoof to shield himself from the power of her Stare. “If you hurt one hair on his little head…” she threatened. Skyblaze chuckled dryly. “I wouldn’t. I would never hurt a foal, especially not one that might have my lineage. But it’s good to see a little of that old Warbringer fire again,” he said, patting her on the head. Macintosh imagined himself patting Skyblaze gently on the head. With a shovel. And Skyblaze was in a shallow hole somewhere on the edges of their property, not moving. And he wasn’t being gentle at all. He turned and walked away, and then looked back towards Fritter. “Come on, little warrior,” he said. “We’ve got lots of fun things to do!” He spread his wings and flew off, taking Fritter with him. The two parents watched him fly. Fluttershy winced as she heard Fritter begin to fuss. “Ah don’t like it,” Macintosh rumbled. Fluttershy neared and rested her head against his chest, trying to provide comfort that she herself didn’t feel. “Me neither,” she murmured. Then a wry smile crossed her face as she recognized a rainbow contrail, far off in the distance, chasing after the departing pegasus and darting into a cloud. “It’s not just us,” she said, pointing. * * * Fluttershy and Macintosh sat at the table in silence. Out of worry and needing something to do after completing all her daily chores, Fluttershy had made a light supper; but neither of them were particularly hungry. Mac toyed with a fork, and Fluttershy stared inside her cup of water, as if hoping that it could somehow show her their son. Both jumped as the door burst open. Rainbow Dash stomped in, looking quite put out. Fluttershy nearly knocked her chair over as she ran over to Rainbow. “How was it?” she asked. “Sickeningly sweet,” Rainbow spat, briefly casting a longing eye at the sandwiches on the table. “It’s like he was putting on a show. Taking him to see the ducks, taking him to the park, flying with him; it was…” She snorted in disgust. Her eyes flicked back over to the table before she continued. “I can sense a fake a mile away, and it’s all fake. Every last bit of it.” “He didn’t hurt him, though, right?” Fluttershy asked, almost pleadingly. “Nope,” Rainbow said. “I was there the whole time. He was a perfect little angel.” She snorted. “Caught me watching once. Asked if I wanted a picture.” “What did you say to that?” Rainbow Dash glanced back over at the table. “Nothing. I figured Fritter wasn't old enough yet to hear some of the words I wanted to say to him, so I just flew off and didn't say anything.” Mac cracked the barest of smiles. Rainbow smacked her hooves together. “Oh, what I'd give to wipe that smug grin off his face…” She hesitated, then pointed at the table. “Speaking of which, I didn't really get a chance to eat during the whole watching thing; you mind if I…?” Fluttershy waved a hoof in assent, and Rainbow Dash dropped into the nearest chair and grabbed a sandwich half. She shoved the whole thing in her mouth, and crumbs sprayed everywhere as she continued. “But yeah,” she continued, attacking a second half. “Fed and burped him and even bought him a nice little hat and everything.” “So where is he now?” Fluttershy asked. Rainbow wiped her lips with the back of her hoof. “Well, he's a dirtbag; but he's playing by the rules—do you mind?” She gestured towards Mac's cup, and he shook his head and slid it over with a hoof. Rainbow drained it and continued. “Visitation hours end at five, and it's almost five now, so I bet he's-” Sure enough, there came a knock at the door. “-here now,” Rainbow finished, shoving the rest of the sandwich into her mouth. “Fluttershy, these are delicious.” But Fluttershy didn’t hear; she was too busy rushing to the door and nearly tearing it off the hinges in her hurry to open it. Skyblaze stood there, looking calm and relaxed, his signature smile still on his face. Fritter stood on his back, sleepily resting his head on Skyblaze’s mane, wearing a little knit cap. “He's back, safe and sound, just like I promised,” Skyblaze grinned. Fluttershy flew over and, with the utmost tenderness, picked Fritter up and rolled him over, cradling him in her forelegs. Her movements were so gentle that Fritter didn’t even stir; rather, he relaxed even further in his mother’s forelegs. “Thank you,” Fluttershy said, the polite words slipping out. Skyblaze tipped an imaginary hat. “See? I’m not so bad once you get to know me.” Rainbow Dash gagged, loudly and demonstratively. Skyblaze ignored this. “See you next Saturday.” He spread his wings, a subtle gesture of showing off, before taking off with a powerful flap of his wings, now not-so-subtly showing off as he curled around the sky before flying away. Watching through the window, Rainbow snorted and swiped another sandwich. She looked up at Macintosh. “You aren’t cool with any of that, are you?” “Nope,” Macintosh confirmed bitterly. “There is one good thing about all this,” Fluttershy said, firmly determined to find the good in everything. “What?” Rainbow demanded. Fluttershy looked down at Fritter and gently adjusted the cap. “It really is a nice little hat.”