Pleather-bound Heart

Enigma stared at his phone, watching the number closely. Calling the support line was a big step, one he didn't think he could undo. But he was scared. He needed help. He'd considered calling Silverchain and Jadewing, but he'd already turned them aside so many times he couldn't bring himself to drag them into this. It wasn't fair. But he couldn't help feeling guilty.

He'd left her. He was the one causing problems. She'd even dressed in something he liked and tried to make his fantasy. How was he repaying her? By sitting in the bathroom and pretending to be doing his mane while deciding to call an abuse hotline. What kind of horrible--

“ENIGMA!” Tap's voice echoed through the house, making him drop his phone. He barely caught it before it hit the ground. “GET YOUR FLANK OUT HERE!”

He whimpered and pulled open the door, galloping out. She was in the kitchen, holding something in her magic.

His heart nearly stopped when he saw what it was. A small piece of glass. “What is this?” she asked, staring at him.

“G-glass?” he said softly, his entire body shaking.

“Why is there a shard of glass on the floor? I could have sliced open my hoof!”

“I-I thought I got them all, I-I thought--”

“You THOUGHT? How did this end up on the ground? What did you do?”

He took a step back. “I-I'm sorry, I-I broke a g-glass and... and I was afraid you'd get mad so I tried to pick it up and--”

“You broke a glass and you didn't tell me? I could have been hurt! What's wrong with you? Why do you do such stupid things?”

He took a step back, trembling. “I-I thought I... I thought I got them all, I-I--”

“Well, obviously you didn't! Why do you do things like this? Are you stupid? Oh, what, now you're going to start crying? Enigma, is this how it's going to be?” She threw the shard of glass in the trash. “Fine! I'm sorry, okay? Is that what you want? You did something stupid and dangerous, but I'm sorry I dared to react and get mad about it. Enigma. Enigma, stop crying. Enigma!”

He nodded, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes and backing away. “I-I'm sorry, I-I made a mistake. I thought I... I thought I'd gotten them all. I'm so, so sorry.”

Tap shook her head. “Fine. I'm going to go out and get some things for dinner. If you break anything, tell me. I don't want any more mistakes. Okay?”

He nodded and watched her go. Once the door closed he moved onto the couch and laid down, staring at the roof. He was stupid and scared. He hadn't meant to do that, he'd just had an accident. Why was she always so mad?

He picked up the phone and looked at the number once more. After a few seconds he pushed the call number. He curled up so he faced the back rest, holding the phone to his ear.

It took a few seconds before a machine picked up and then a few minutes until he was put through to an operator. “Hello, this is Aquamarine of the Equestrian Domestic Abuse hotline. May I take your name?”

“Enigma,” he mumbled softly. “I... I'd rather not give my last name.”

“I see, I see. Miss, how can I help you?”

“I... I just need somepony to talk to.”

“That's understandable. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?”

“Err, yeah. I ummm... I'm a stallion, unicorn. My... talent is designing. I uhhh... what kinds of things did you need?”

There was a long pause from the other side of the line. Finally, the mare cleared her throat. “Did you say stallion?”

“Y-yes?”

“Are you calling about a friend? We have a number of tips to help a friend escape a domestic abuse situation.”

“Err, no. I'm calling about... me.”

There was another long pause before the mare spoke up. “Ohhh, I see! Well, sir, I'm afraid you called the wrong number. This is to help those undergoing abuse. However, we do have a help line for those who are afraid they are abusing their partners. It is very good that you called, however. I will transfer you in one moment.”

“W-what, no! Wait! I... I think I'm being abused by her.”

The longest pause yet. “I'm sorry, what?”

“My marefriend. I... I think I'm in an abusive relationship with... her.”

There was an exasperated sigh from the other end. “Sir, I'm sorry but you're probably mistaken. What exactly happened?”

“She... yelled at me and... called me... stupid and...” He gulped, the words feeling dumber as they came out of his mouth. “She... hit me with a riding crop last night and--”

There was another exasperated sigh from the pone. “This is a real help line to help ponies in real trouble. Not for you to complain that your marefriend got too kinky.”

“B-but she... she slapped me before.”

“Really?” she asked dismissively. “What did you do?”

“We... had a fight and... she slapped me.”

“That's all? Is she a weight lifter? Body builder? Did she hit you with anything then?”

“N-no. She's... ummm... about my size. It... was just the once. She said she wouldn't do it again.”

"Sir, it sounds like you need to let it go then." There was a third sigh. "As it is, holding on to such small things is manipulative at best." A pause. "Are you sure you don't need me to transfer you to the other line?" She asked, her voice abruptly turning a shade malicious.

He froze. “W-what? No... I just...”

“Then please don't call here again. This is for ponies with real problems.” There was a click and the line went dead.

Enigma stared at it, his mouth agape. He flipped off the phone and buried his head in the corner, letting out a soft, pathetic sob as tears streamed down his face.

Enigma stared at himself in the mirror before taking a slow, gentle breath. Was it true? Was he being manipulative? Was he just playing with Love Tap's emotions to get what he wanted? He had broken the glass, he had ran off, he had made so many messes that she took care of. Even now she was making them dinner and what was he doing? Hiding in the bathroom and trying to hide the effects of his crying so she wouldn't know.

She took care of him, tended to him, and he treated her like dirt. She deserved better. He would do better. He--

“E-enigma!” her voice came from down the hall, making him freeze. She didn't sound mad, though. She sounded on the verge of tears. He slowly pulled open the door and trotted down the hall to her.

“W-what's wrong?” She stood there, holding his phone up. His eyes widened. “Y-you went through my phone?”

“I-I saw it on the counter and... y-you called an abuse shelter?”

He backed up and flattened his ears on his head and shook his head. “N-no, I didn't, I just... I...” He stared at her and lowered himself to the ground. She was crying, full crying, the tears flowing down her face. What kind of monster was he? “I... was told to call it and...”

“T-told? Told by who?” She stepped forward and wrapped her hooves around him, resting her head on his shoulder. “W-why? What did I do? W-why are you doing this t-to me?”

“I-I was... I just... A-after the... y-you got so mad about t-the glass I... I panicked and...”

“Y-you're going to l-leave me j-just because I got mad that you broke a glass? I-is this how it's going to be from now on? E-every time I get annoyed when you do something stupid, you're going to punish me? You're going to just abandon me or m-make me out to be some kind of m-monster? What did you tell them?”

He lowered his eyes. “N-nothing. T-they said... they said I was wrong. I-I'm sorry, I just...” He tried to pull away, but she refused to let him. Her tears cut him down to the core and it was all he could do to stop from breaking down as well. “I-I'm so sorry. I-I never meant for... for you to find out. I-I wasn't going to leave. I just felt... I felt I needed to talk to someone. To ask for help. I wasn't... please... s-stop crying.”

“E-enigma, w-why do you do this to me? I'm doing everything I can for you. Everything. Y-yet you always slap me in the face whenever you get a chance. What do you want me to do? What?”

He shook his head. “N-nothing. You're fine. Please...”

“I'm obviously not fine! You're calling abuse help lines and running away from me, abandoning me over and over. What do you want? Just tell me!”

“I-I don't know!” he said, looking her in the eyes. He wanted her to stop yelling at him, to stop calling him bad things, to stop screaming. But he couldn't bring himself to say it, not when she was so hurt and upset. She didn't deserve any of that. “I-I'm sorry. I was wrong. So wrong. P-please, forgive me?”

The mare stared for a few moments before nodding. “F-fine. But... p-please, stop hiding things from me. I... I don't want you to leave me. To abandon me again. Please. Oh please, Enigma.”

He nodded. “I-I won't. I won't abandon you, I promise. I swear.” He gave her a nervous smile and watched her walk off. He then let out a sigh as he tried to avoid drowning in guilt. He slowly picked up his phone and stared at it. She didn't have any right to go through it, it wasn't her phone. How often did she do it? Did she look at all his numbers? His texts? All the non-marked numbers he called, did she call them to find out what they were? How long had she been doing it? He wanted to confront her, but he knew she'd either get mad or cry again. He couldn't bear it. It was easier just to let it slide. Besides, he should have password protected his phone if he was going to be leaving it around their home. Or kept it with him at all times.

“Dinner is almost done, darling!”

Enigma nodded, slowly trotting into the kitchen before sitting at the table. She was all smiles and happy now as she served the meal. He managed to fake his own smiles as well. All he could think about was how he wished somepony, anypony would help him out of this.