A Clean Slate

A couple of weeks had gone by since my welcome party and my time with Derpy. I had convinced Derpy to move out of her current home and into a nice three bedroom rental home with me. It was a nicer, cleaner neighborhood and was much closer to the bazaar and town. We had grown closer and now considered ourselves dating. There were congratulations all around and some japing from some of my male coworkers. Pinkie decided to have a "Yay for Mike and Derpy Dating" party and from what I've learned in my time here is that there is no arguing with Pinkie and her parties. The party was later the next night and there would only be about a dozen or so ponies there. There would be the elements, Vinyl and her roommate Octavia, Dr. Whooves, the rest of the Apple family, the CMC and that's about it.

I woke up a little earlier than usual and decided I would make breakfast for a change. Some boysenberry pancakes and marble rye bread with my own "Nutella" recipe as a spread sounded like the best start for a day like this. I heard the faint clip clopping of hooves and then muffled patting telling me Derpy was up and must've been awoken by the "Gordon Ramsey Award for Best Breakfast" breakfast. I glanced over and saw her unkempt mane and golden eyes half closed.

"...mmm...muffins...? Are they.... hmmm...? *yawn*" Derpy mumbled in her tired, kid-getting-up-for-school voice.

"Nope, not today Derpy. I picked up some fruit yesterday and saw the boysenberries and batter just sitting there and thought what the hay, y'know?" I said.

"Whatever it is just gimme some. I built up an appetite after last nights activities." She replied.

"I told you you could go that hard and that long, but nooooo. Little Miss 'I think I'm better than Mike at Hoof Hoof Revolution because I have four legs' had to try and prove a point." I said with a cocked eyebrow as I sat the food down.

"Yeah, whatever at least I beat you..." Derpy groaned.

"One. Round. And that's because you played dirty by flicking your tail away to distract me." I argued.

"I told you that that was one of the moves that made me do that." She retorted while averting her gaze."

"Whatever, I still beat you more times. Now eat up, we both have to work today." I finished.

We finished eating and then went to get ready, kissed goodbye and went back to the daily grind. I just knew that tonight was going to be great, and what's more is that I don't work tomorrow and that me I can be a whiskey pukin' alchy tonight. The day went on pretty slowly because of my anticipation of the party. There were only four jobs needed doing and they were average so the time consumption factor was something to be desired. We need to replace a couple walls for one, fix a hole in a roof for another, replace a damaged pipe for somepony and replace a couple broken windows at the school. Hey, at least I might get to see the girls at school and talk about what shenanigans they can get themselves into now with their cutie mark quest.

I show up at Brick's and get more congrats and jokes on my new relationship. Brick poked his head out of his office and signals for me to come in. I come in and he closes the door and shuts the blinds.

"Listen, Mike, I'm truly happy for you and Derpy, but I have to be blunt with you. I've know her for a while and a lotta ponies have given her loads of shit for her appearance and clumsiness. The truth is, she couldn't be any more friendly and willing to help in anyway she can, but from the accidents and shunning I can see it in her eyes that she's been gettinn' sadder. Just do me one solid favor and treat that lady right, she deserves it and you look like ya gotta good head on ya, so I hope ya understand." He stated in a huff.

"You have nothing to worry about at all, Brick. She's exactly like you said and worth it to not mess up because of some petty mistake. And thanks for the support. Hey, you coming to my party tonight?" I asked.

"Nope, got a date with the 'Mrs.' tonight." He said with a nudge.

"You call your left hoof the 'Mrs.'?" I joked.

"Hardy fuckin' har, go build something." He said, stoically.

And with that I went up to the work list and decided what to start with. I went with the windows at the school so I could see the CMC and ask Miss Cheerilee about the girls' grades. I loaded up seven window to a cart and left down the winding path to the schoolhouse. I passed Lyra and Bon Bon and decided to invite them to my party tonight. The accepted it and Lyra seemed to beam when I asked. It was kind of weird to be honest, but they're nice and fun to be around so I put it off.

I arrived at the school about 45 minutes later and apparently it was recess, which was good for me because I didn't want to disturb the class. I saw the girls playing with a ball and called out to them. They all came bounding over to me, except for Scootaloo. She was slightly limping and there was some swelling on her left hind leg that I noticed when she got closer. Again, she would make eye contact with me but I could tell she wanted me to be there for her.

"Hey, girls. How has everything been lately?" I asked.

"Well, Ah bucked mah first apple tree yesterday. Got more 'n a dozen outta the tree. Darn thing took me four bucks tah get 'em all down. But I was happy. I can finally help AJ and Mac out in the fields now." Apple Bloom huffed in triumph.

"Well, there's nothing going on with me right now, except it's just so BORING with you gone, Mike. I mean there's nopony to play games with when I'm alone because Rarity is always working and doesn't let me help her." Sweetie Belle said with sorrow.

"Sweetie Belle, you know where I live if you ever want to play games or go on adventures just come find me if I'm not working. And the reason Rarity gets like she does when she works is because she needs to make sure everything comes out right for her orders so she can make bits to keep living in her home with you, she does love you very much and I'm sure that when you get a little older she'll let you help her make some clothes, but right now she needs peace and quiet so she can concentrate when she works." I explained.

"Okay, Mike, I understand and thanks for saying I can come over too." Sweetie said.

"What about you, Scootaloo? Where did that hurt leg come from?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Well, I was trying a new trick on my scooter. Yeah, and I hit a rock when I landed and flipped over and landed on my leg." Scootaloo said with wandering eyes.

I knew it was a lie and that her Uncle had hit again for something she didn't do, but I didn't want to say anything in front of the other girls to embarrass her so I left it for now. I just couldn't wait till I caught him in the act. For now I would just have to keep clenching my fists.

"Alright, girls it was nice catching up, but I have some work to do here. Gotta fix some broken windows. Say? You three wouldn't have anything to do with the broken windows would you?" I joked.

A collective "no" came form them. Their faces looked adorable with their "angry" looks.

I told them goodbye and went on my way to telling Miss Cheerilee I was here. I walked in the class room and greeted Cheerilee as she was finishing some grading.

"Hi Cheerilee, I'm here to fix some windows for you. Also if it wouldn't be any trouble I was hoping you could tell me how the girls are doing in your class." I said.

"Well, hello Mike how have you been so far in our little town here?" She replied.

"It's been great. Everypony is so friendly and welcoming. I was seriously surprised by this because where I come from behavior like this is few and far between. I hope it can stay like this."

"Well as long as you don't do anything terrible like beat a foal or something like that, I think you'll be just fine." She said with a smile. I, however, wasn't smiling.

"Yeah... Speaking of foals, I wanted to ask you about their grades, it that's alright." I said trying to push that last comment out of my head.

"Right, right, right. I almost forgot. Hmmm, ahh, here we go. My grade book. This had everything in since that start of the year. How far back do you want me to go?" She asked.

"Lets look back about a month and a half ago." I said.

"Okay, lets see here. Alright, Apple Bloom was doing very well for the entire time until she got into a little trouble at home and had to do extra chores for a week, but other than that she's great." She said happily.

"That's good. Lets see Sweetie Belle's progress." I said.

"Lets see here. Sweetie Belle's grades have improved quite exponentially over this time period. She also seems more cheerful, I wonder what's gotten into her." She pondered.

"Well, that's great news. What about Scootaloo?" I asked. *Oh boy here we go.* I thought.

"There's some bad news with her. She has been falling behind lately and has been looking more tired and worn out than usual. Must be all that 'crusading' she does, or something." She said with a sigh.

I narrowed my eyes, but didn't show my anger. "Yeah, or something... Well thank you Miss Cheerilee, but I should really get to work. I want to get done before my own party starts. You should come by tonight. It's at Sugarcube Corner." I said as I turned to leave.

"You're welcome, Mike and thank you for the invitation. I hope I can make it." She called out to me as I left the class.

I got to work to try let my mind wander as I put up the windows. Out of all the building jobs I've ever done, putting windows in has to be the most mundane and insufferable job there is. Seriously, have you ever put one in? Shit's boring as fuck. But hey, c'est la vie, right? So I went to work, chipping away old pieces and preparing new mortar and leveling. Finally after it all set in I got to put in the seven windows. 'Boring time consuming job that makes me more money' #1 complete. Now back to the shop to decide my next quest for glory.

I decided on taking out the pipe and wall jobs together. The places were only a couple of streets away from each other, so why not save some time and get on to the party? I loaded the needed size pipe and fittings. I brought extra pieces and more pipe just in case there is more to it than a simple burst water line. I loaded a half dozen purple board drywall in case I need to fix some damage and some regular drywall and patching for the wall job. I set out to High Tide's Pool and Beach Suppy to fix his pipes.

I arrived within 20 minutes, which felt a lot shorter because of the song Overboard by Poets of The Fall being stuck in my head. That's one thing I would have to say I don't like about being here. All of my music is gone so I can't pass the time when things are slow. Maybe Twilight or the princesses know a spell to be able to send me back so I can get my ipod and charger and maybe a few books I like. But that's neither here nor there. Now, I had to concentrate on High Tide's problems. I entered his store and asked an employee to retrieve him so I can tell him what I'm going to do. The employee returned a moment later with what looked like Spicoli turned into a pony.

"Hey, man. You must be that dude who's here to fix that wicked busted pipe. It's a mess back there man. Had to move some merch around so it wouldn't get ruined. I'm High Tide by the way, man." He said as he extended his hoof.

"If there's still enough room for me to maneuver around with the parts then that's fine by me. I'm Mike, by the way." I said.

"Alright, man. Lemme show you where this thing is." He said as he turned and signaled me to follow.

He lead me to a back hallway which I assumed to be used for loading and unloading items for the store. We got to a turn which lead straight to the loading bay. The pipe was a ninety degree double male with a gnarly gash in it. I told him to not load or unload anything through this hall since it was going to be quite crowded back here once I get everything I need. He ok'd me and went back to his shop.

I began assessing the damage to the surrounding structure. The ponies who built this place used cement and mortar, but regular drywall to cover it so there was a large amount of mold growing on it. I went to tell Tide about it and that it would cost a little more for the repair but since purple board isn't too expensive here he didn't have any problems with it. And so the destruction and reconstruction of the wall began. I had that done in near an hour and prepared to get the replacement pipe together. I put in a higher pressure tolerance pipe in for him at no extra charge since I have to charge him for the drywall. This thing held up to 2,500 psi. It was a nice seamless schedule 80 pipe. I got everything done withing four hours. It was getting into the mid afternoon. I guessed it was probably three-ish. I packed up and went back to the shop to get what supplies I needed for the roofing job.

I headed to the address and upon arriving I found it to be Flitter and Cloudchaser's home. Dash and Fluttershy had told me about them from the time they had to move water to Cloudsdale. Apparently they partied a little too hard last week and somepony crashed into the roof and removed quite a few shingles. And so began the monotonous thunks, scratches and pressure release noises that come with putting shingles up. It was only about a three foot by six foot area and the roof under the shingles weren't damaged so after about two hours I finished. It was nearing six by my count and I would have to hurry back and get ready as quick as possible.

On my way back to the shop I decided to stop and let Pinkie know I may be late because the day's work drug on a little longer than initially expected. She was fine with it and told me that that meant she had more time to set up and make sure everything was perfect. She disappeared back inside the shop with a pink blur and puff of smoke and the door slammed and loud smacking and thumping noises could be heard. I decided to go with what Twilight told me and just accept it as 'Pinkie being Pinkie'.

I went on my way just enjoying the cool breeze, but that wouldn't last long. I took a detour so I could stay out a little longer before I wound down at the party. I was walking around some buildings and not really paying attention. I stopped to try and get my bearings and then I realized that I was near a familiar place. Scootaloo's. I began walking up to the door, but then I heard some loud voice coming from the back. I walked around and saw some shadows from a window. I sneaked up and poked my head over the windowsill to see what was happening. And what I saw made my heart jump. Scootaloo was leaned over and looked to be in pain. She had quite a few cuts and bruises on her body as well as a black and swollen eye. The rage that was consuming my brain right now was unfathomable. HE began speaking.

"This is it you little shit!. No more anything for you. No friends, no scooter, no fun! It's all over now. I've been waiting to do this for a long time. Oh yes, the build up to this moment will be worth all the fake smiles I've given, and the bullshit happy conversations I've had with everypony. Especially that freak, Mike you like so much." Left Lane spat.

"Oh yeah? Well, at least Mike treats me nice and makes me feel happy. I wish I could live with him!" Scoot shouted back.

"Oh, is that right? Well after tonight you wont be living with anypony, you ungrateful little whorse. I took you in when your parents were killed in that accident and this is the thanks I get? Oh yes, that brings back memories. Did I ever tell you what really happened that day? No? Well get ready for this. I killed them." Left Lane said with a wicked smile.

"You... killed them? But why would you do that? My daddy was your brother. Why?" Scoot asked.

I was sitting there frozen in shock at what I was hearing, my body refused to move. I didn't want Scoot to hear any of this, but there was nothing I could do.

"Why? Because he was the only one to ever get praised for his work and achievements. Even when we were growing up. I was always in his shadow. So one day I had had enough of it and decided to make me the only one anypony would pay attention to. I had only planned on it being him that day, but when Pipe came in that just made the deal even sweeter. I tricked them into going to a machine that I said was broken so they could fix it while I operated the controls. The got in close enough to the moving parts and then I engaged it. Pipe was caught almost instantly and killed. Hot was calling out to me for help and I rushed down like I was going to help get Pipe out, but just as he turned to begin, I bucked the back of his head so he would hit face first in the gears. Oh man, what a satisfying crunch it was as his head was ripped from his shoulders. I turned the machine off and acted frantic as I called for the medical team to get here as soon as they could. They arrived withing minutes and I began explaining what happened, or at least what looked like what happened. i made my report and didn't have a second thought about it. I went on as if they had never been there. And then you came along and that's when I knew what my next plan was. To wreck you." Left Lane finished.

"What do you mean wreck me?" Scootaloo asked in a blubbering pile of blood and tears.

"Oh, Scootaloo. what I mean is that tonight you will finally be my cock sock, if only for this one night." Left Lane growled as he reared up to come down on Scootaloo.

That was it. Upon hearing that, my body began working on its own. I ran like a mad man to the nearest door and smashed through it. Then I began breaking my way through the house to get to the room they were in. I found it and kicked it in. I got there just in time because Left Lane was nearly on Scootaloo.

"LEFT LANE!!!! Stop this or I will tear your throat out! I heard everything you just said and there is no getting out if this. Look at what you've done to Scootaloo and what you about to do to her. This is it, if you don't stop now and come with me then this will be the last room you breathe in!" I shouted, voice seething with malice for the monster in front of me.

"Try to stop me you fuck!" He shouted, as he dove at me.

I wasn't quick enough to react because of the rage consuming me. He slammed full force into my chest. I felt his skull make contact with my ribs and I knew he had broken a few. I grabbed him by his mane and brought his head up and slammed it back down onto my knee. I loud crack was heard and he jumped back and spat some teeth and blood out. He lunged again albeit a lot slower. I was able to catch him this time and I pushed him down and grabbed a wing and twisted and yanked as hard as I possibly could. He cried out and kicked me away. From the look of his wing he wouldn't be lunging anymore. Now he had to come at me fairly and with my ribs debilitating me as much as the were I'm not so sure it would be fair. Now all he was was just easier to track. We circled each other as we caught our breaths. I wan the one to make the next move. I ran as best I could and dove for his broken wing. I got a hold of it and caused him to fall over. I took this chance to finish his other wing, but this time he couldn't get away as easily. I grabbed with both hands and pulled down and back. I tore the wing from his back and his blood curdling scream could probably be heard by the princesses in Canterlot. He flailed and caught me in the jaw off guard and knocked me off his back. He began his assault again, but now I had a weapon of sorts. With the blood flying everywhere he was blinded momentarily by some hitting his eye. I brought my boot above his head and stomped straight down. I mounted his back again and went to work slamming the jagged bone protruding from his severed wing into whatever I could. I didn't stop until I heard Scootaloo cry out.

"...mike... help..." She said as she lost consciousness.

I got up and picked her up. I took of running to Sugarcube Corner as fast and my broken body could take me. I arrived in about 10 minutes. I entered and an overwhelming 'SURPRISE' could be heard. Which immediately ceased when the saw me and the broken package in my arms. the element reacted instantly. Rainbow Dash and AJ raced out to go get the guards, Pinkie broke the party up and Rarity took off to get Derpy and let her know what happened. Fluttershy and Twilight rushed Scootaloo and myself to the hospital.

They got me through the door and Nurses Redheart and Tenderheart took immediate action. Redheart took Scoot on a gurney through a door while Tenderheart led me through another. That's all I remember before blacking out. So much for partying huh? I just hoped Scoot would be alright.

Woke up and Tenderheart was there keeping checks on me. She noticed and ran out. A moment later she returned with the elements and the CMC, even Scootalo was there. She was bandaged up in a lot of places, but was still standing. She took no time to jump on top of me and the other two followed her lead. The white hot pain was nothing compared to the feeling of knowing Scoot was safe. The nurse got the girls down after a short hug. She lead them outside while the adults talked. She came back in and explained the extent of mine and Scootaloo's injuries. Scoot wasn't as bad, just cuts and bruises, nothing broken. I however had broken three ribs and broke a couple fingers. She then went on to tell me I had been our for nearly a week and that the guards will wan to speak to me after waking up.

The guards were sent for and arrived in just a few minutes. The lead everypony out so it was just myself and three guards in my room. They began questioning me and my reasons for what happened that night. I told them everything. I was only way back to the shop and decided to wander a bit and ended up at Scoot's house. I told them i heard everything Left Lane said and just snapped and took action to stop him. Their faces wouldn't tell me if they believed my story or not. They just whispered to each other, thanked me and went to get Scootaloo's story.

They returned to my room about and hour later and the elements and Scootaloo were in tow. They told me that my story had matched to the letter of Scootaloo's and that it was an open and shut case. They would file it and leave it at that. We got to move on and return to normal life. Just then Derpy burst in and dove at me.

"Oh my gosh! Mike, you're awake! I was so worried that you wouldn't recover after what the others told me. I've been a nervous wreck. I even started delivering mail to the wrong addresses more than I usually do. My boss gave me the next few days off because I told him you woke up. Oh my, I'm so happy I could just-" She said as she planted a kiss on my lips and wrapped her legs around my neck.

A moment later there was a flash of light and a thunder crack. When the dust cleared I had eight spears pointed at me and two very displeased looking princesses staring down at me.

"THERE HAD BETTER BE A DAMN GOOD REASON WHY WE RECEIVED WORD THAT YOU HAVE KILLED ONE OF OUR SUBJECTS, MIKE!!!" Boomed Celestia.

This is a time in your life when you want to word everything perfectly and from the look on their faces this had better be the most immaculately worded explanation in history. The princesses teleported everpony out of the room and sealed the room with a barrier. It was now or never.

A/N: Ho-lee shit! I am so sorry for keeping you guys hanging like this. Between school, work, my aunt dying and now my nephew being diagnosed with melanoma, I haven't had much motivation for writing. I had the plan down for this chapter, but no desired to put them into words. This is the time lapse I was talking about and a major arc in the story. Thank you to those who stayed and waited for this. And as always thanks for the support and favoriting. Hopefully I'll put another chapter out sooner than this one. Now, it's 3 in the morning and I want to sleep, sooooooooo g'night.