Later that day, after the princesses left and Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom finally quieted down about what "rape" means, I talked to the doctor to see when I would be able to leave and finish any paperwork for Scoot's adoption. Dr. Heart informed me that because of the various blunt wounds and dark contusions he would need to keep me for the next few days to monitor my body for hidden damage to anything important. I was told no less than three days here. I would also need to be put in a stasis like aura while healing specialists performed a spell to speed up recovery, this would happen once a day for about an hour and I would most likely vomit a little after each time. Defeated at my options I sighed and laid back in my bed.

"Well, can Scootaloo at least stay here so she can feel safe while I'm not home?" I asked.

"Hmm, I don't see why not. This isn't the sick ward so she's not at risk for infectious diseases. I'll have an orderly bring in a foal size bed for her." Dr. Heart said as he turned to leave as the elements, followed by Derpy and a sluggish Scootaloo.

Twilight was the first to break the silence, making Fluttershy squeak and take Scootaloo out of the room.

"So, did Left Lane really say what you said he did, about what he was going to do to Scootaloo?" She asked.

"Yeah, I was walking back and thought I could talk to Left Lane about Scootaloo coming to my party, but as I neared I heard what he was saying. It made me sick, and when he said that, I lost it. I broke in and after a short exchange of words he attacked. Scootaloo was in shock so I hope she didn't comprehend any of it." I explained.

There were murmurs from the girls and Derpy was the first to come in for a reassuring hug.

"You don't need to think or worry about it. He was a sick stallion and you did Equestria a favor. We're here for you if you need to talk." Derpy said as the rest of the girls followed her lead and reassured me.

A while later, the orderly came in with the bed and some complementary supplied for Scootaloo such as shampoo and coat wash and a toothbrush. Fluttershy came back with Scootaloo and I explained to her what was going to happen while we waited for me to heal and and get the adoption processed. Derpy would come by in the mornings and walk her to school. She was alright with it as long as she got to stay with me. I honestly think the shaved a couple years off my life from the feeling it gave me to hear her say that. We talked for a while longer we even managed to have a couple small laughs.

It was approaching mid afternoon and Applejack suggested she go get Granny Smith and Big Mac. I asked her if she wouldn't mind letting Brick know what was going on and why I wouldn't be in for work for the next few days. She left, as did Fluttershy saying she need to feed her critters, and Rainbow, saying she had a small job to do outside of the Whitetail Woods, something about making a rain cloud for a dried part of the forest. Twilight said she needed to study some more and make a report to the princess regarding what was going to happen over the course of the next few days. Rarity needed to get back to her Boutique for and order from Fancy Pants and Pinkie said she had a new party to plan.

Soon it was just myself, Derpy, and Scoots. I wanted some time alone to talk to Derpy about what was going to happen in the near future, which was easy to get because Scoots wanted toknow if she could go to the clubhouse and see Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. I told her to just be back before sundown. She agreed and raced off.

Now, I was alone with Derpy and needed to talk with her about something very important. Only, I didn't know how to word it or have a fist thought as to what I was doing. So we sat there looking at each other for minutes until she broke the silence.

"What do you need to talk about? I could tell you were anxious about something earlier, what is it? You can talk to me. Nopony's here." Derpy said.

"Well, it's the matter of Scootaloo. I said I'd adopt her, but-" I said as she cut me off.

"You're worried I might have a problem with it?" She finished.

"Yeah, not only that, but we only recently started dating and I wasn't sure if you were ready to have a kid in the house with us. Where I'm from you don't really see that." I explained.

"It's okay with me, Michael, you've done so much for that filly already. I can't think of anywhere else where she would feel safer and be happier than near you. So, yeah, why not? I always liked kids. She and those friends of hers are adorable, I wouldn't mind having them around the house." She said with a reassuring smile.

"Phew, glad that's off my chest. I was a little worried there. Now we just have to worry about getting a room set up for Scootaloo. Since I'm here for a few more days would you mind taking Scoots to get some furniture? I should have enough in my account for a bed, some furnishings and then some." I said.

"Okay, I'll take her tomorrow after school. But... What about anything she had at her old house she may want?" Derpy asked.

I could tell my face had contorted a little into anger and malice from the reaction on Derpy's face.

"When I get out, I'll be the one to take her. I don't want her in that place without me next to her. Sorry, for giving you that look, I just couldn't help it." I said, when I realized how I must have looked while speaking in that tone.

"It's okay, now, how about some dinner? I don't know about you, but today took a lot out of me and I'm starving." She said as she rubbed her belly.

Derpy got up to leave, but before doing so, she walked over to me and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you for being safe. You can't imagine how I felt when I I got back to the post office and the guards were waiting there for me. I thought you were dead." She said as a few tears escaped her eyes.

I shushed her and wiped her tears away. I pulled her into a kiss. Not a long one, or passionate one. A kiss to let her know it was okay and that we were going to be okay. She left to go to the cafeteria to get food for three. As I sat there for a few minutes and reflected on what the past couple of day held and what I could have done to prevent doing what I did and solid knock came from my door. I looked at the clock and nocticed I had lost myself for close to 15 minutes. Derpy couldn't be back yet and I don't think Dr. Heart said he'd be back later.

"Uh, come in...?" I said, puzzled by who my guest may be.

The door opened to reveal a large red Clydesdale pony, who I made out to be Big Macintosh. Next to him was Scootaloo and off to the side were Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They came and explored my room while Big Mac stood there, diligent and waiting.

"Thank you, Big Mac, for walking Scootaloo back here for me." I said as I raised my hand to shake Mac's hoof.

"Eeyup." Was his reply, as he raised his hoof to me.

"Um, girls? Can you wait outside while I have a grown up talk with Big Mac?" I asked.

They all nodded in annoyance when I use the term 'grown up' and left the room.

"Hey Mac, how is AJ doing with all of this? I she on edge now with Apple Bloom being at night with what's happened?" I asked.

"Eeyup." Mac replied.

"Has Apple Bloom been asking questions about what happened?" I asked.

"Was at ferst, but Ah tol'er tuh leave it alone n' she has. Fer now at least." Mac answered.

"Well look here. I think that's the first time I've heard more than one sentence from you at a time." I joked.

We shared a laugh and I continued to ask him about the girls and to make sure they keep calm until this blows over. He agreed and we shook once more as he went to leave. He opened the door and a mountain made up of orange, white, and yellow came crashing down. Mac and I shared a look before we shrugged and he gathered Sweetie and Apple Bloom up and said goodbye as he went to escort the girls home.

"Hey, Scootaloo, guess what." I said.

"What? Am I already in trouble?" She asked, a little worried.

"No, you're not in trouble. You get to stay with me until I get out of here." I said as I gestured to the small bed next to mine.

"Really?!? No foolin'?! Awesome! But what about Miss Derpy? Where is she gonna sleep?" Scoot asked.

"Well she's gonna sleep at home, and meet you after school for the next few days and bring you back here. She's also going to take you to get stuff for your new room tomorrow." I said. Just then, the door opened and Derpy came in, balancing three trays on her back.

"Dinner is served everypony." Derpy said and she set the trays down on the small table across the room.

I decided this was a good a time as any to get up and stretch out a bit before being bedridden tomorrow after my first treatment. We talked over our dinner of potatoes, mixed vegetables and veggie patty sandwiches; Which weren't half bad. I explained what was going to happen for the rest of the week. If Derpy got caught up at work and wasn't able to make to the school before it let out, then Scootaloo would either go to Sweetie's or Apple Bloom's and Derpy would meet her later. Scootaloo was satisfied with it and was even more happy at the fact that she got to have the, and I quote, 'toughest, coolest dad in Ponyville.' Now, I'll admit, getting called dad got me right in the feels and from the look Derpy gave me when she noticed my face she could tell how good it made me feel. We cleaned up our trays and threw them out. Derpy gathered a few things and prepared to leave. She and I both hugged and kissed, while Scootaloo made gagging sounds in the background. We all laughed and then hugged once more. Then it was time to get some real rest instead of a forced blackout from shear exhaustion. I had a dreamless sleep that night.

The next morning I awoken by Derpy softly whispering to me and gently shaking my body. I gained my night vision after a few minutes and looked at the clock. It was about a quarter till seven.

"Hey, sorry to wake you, I'm here to take Scootaloo to school and I wanted to ask how you're feeling." Derpy said with an apologetic smile.

"Nnnghh... *yawn* I'm feeling a little stiff still, but I hope these treatments I get can help it a little." I said as I stretched a somewhat and cracked my neck and back before sitting up.

"Well if they work the way they worked on me, you should feel less worn out. The only thing is that you will get sick and probably puke." She explained.

"When did you get this treatment?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Well, it started a few years ago, a while after I moved here. My eyes would sometimes jump and that caused me to lose trajectory and crash sometimes. A couple times I had to be brought here and they used that same treatment on me. I've gotten the hang of when it hits so I can't stop in the air and wait for it to pass." She said.

Just then, Scoot started to stir and finally she woke up. She turned to the both of us with her bedraggled mane and half lidded eyes. No sooner did her face light up and jump on my bed than she could get her first yawn out.

"Mornin' Mike, Miss Derpy!" Scootaloo shouted happily.

Derpy and I shared a silent laugh as we began to get Scootaloo on her way to get ready for school. I got up and put my hospital robe on, which, even though it was fit for a full grown stallion, it fit me pretty well, coming just short of my knees. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face to wash the sleepiness away. Then all three of us made our way down to the cafeteria for some breakfast before Scootaloo had to leave. By now It was about 10 after seven as we sat down. The girls had plates of hash browns, toast, and yogurt, while I had some toast, eggs, and diced potatoes. As we ate, the girls didn't seem bothered that I was eating eggs. I guess they don't recognize them as an animal yet so they weren't bothered by my eating. We finished and I walked them to the door. We hugged and waved goodbye and I went back to my room to wait for my first of at least four treatments for my injuries.

About four hours had past and I was again woken up, this time by Dr. Heart.

"Excuse me, Michael, but the two doctors that perform the procedure are here and ready to begin. Now, if you'll just follow me we can get on with getting you back to 100%." He said as he turned to leave. "Oh, and make sure you have no metal on you, it tends to leave irritating burns."

I got up and followed his down the hall and into the elevator. We went up to the fifth floor and walked to a large white room that overlooked a slightly smaller black one. There were two unicorns dressed in the same garb as Dr. Heart. I assumed them to be the two to work on my injuries. We exchanged pleasantries before they explained what I was to to during the procedure. I was going to have a few wires and nodes on me, as well as a heartbeat monitor. The stasis would numb my body and I would be levitated during the duration. I nodded to them and we made our way through the door into the second room, which was now dimly lit.

I stood in the center while the equipment was strapped on me. The doctors then began charging magic before slowly channeling it in to my body. Almost instantly I went numb in most of my body and felt my feet leave the ground. After a moment of them channeling into me, they released a larger wave, which encased my body in a red and green aura. Through the numbness I could feel vibrations pulsing through me and the broken bones and torn muscles began to feel less painful. That's all I remembered before my vision cut out.

I was brought back with a feeling of being hit by a large wave of water and terrible wrenching in my gut. I was brought back down the ground and released. As I was, a nurse brought a bucket to me. In about three seconds it was obvious why she did. Everything I had eaten since the third grade came back up from the darkest reaches of my stomach. I was escorted, via wheelchair back to my room. I was helped into bed and prepared to take a nap. I glanced up at the clock and saw it was now half past one. I had at least a few hours of sleep before Derpy and Scoot returned from shopping for a bed.

A gentle squeaking and a lean on my bed is what woke me up this time. Although I was now conscious, I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I felt a cold, wet rag run across my forehead and face. This brought me to open my eyes. I saw Derpy sitting next to me, wiping my face and forehead. I had started sweating while sleeping. Derpy told me it was a side effect. I sat up and looked around the room albeit groggily.

"Where's Scootaloo?" I asked as I dried my face and stood up. As i did, I noticed my body felt tons better than yesterday. "Boy, that treatment worked wonders. I think my ribs have been reset and healed mostly. I'm limping a little less too." I added.

"Glad to hear it. Scootaloo is at Sweet Apple Acres. I'm going to get her in a while, but first I want to seriously talk with you. About raising a foal. Especially one like Scootaloo. She's been through a lot at such a young age. We have to be very careful with her and what we do with her. Anything harsh could break her mind and no foal should have to experience that. She needs a childhood, friends and... family." Derpy said with a smile.

"Hmmm. Family... Come to think of it, I haven't thought of my family back where I'm from for a long time. But you're right . We need to do things right if we want her to have a normal happy childhood."

We sat there in silent thought for a while before Derpy crawled up to sit next to me on the bed. She then just leaned up against me and I put my arm around her and held tight. There were going to be tough times ahead with raising a kid. Back on Earth, I barely took proper care of myself so this is going to be a slap in the face. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I just wanted to enjoy my new, hastily thrown together family.

Derpy went and picked up Scootaloo and we ate dinner, this time though, it was takeout. A Fijequus restaurant, which I compared to Japanese based on the dishes we had. We all laughed and had a good time talking about the days events. Afterwards, Derpy said goodbye and went back home and Scootaloo and I prepared for bed.

That night I dreamed. Thanks to the support of a golden eyed, grey coated mare and a, now happy, orange filly.

Author's Note

What? A relatively fast update? Who are you and what have you done with Mike?

It's me don't worry. I just had a sudden urge to write after I watched a video called wake up applejack, but the song rather than the video had more of an effect on me. If you guys decide to listen to it, close your eyes and try to picture what exactly they are saying. It tells a very feel inducing story. So, I put the feels into writing and now we have a new chapter. I'm thinking about doing a short question chapter next so please comment with any question about me or my story and I'll answer as many as possible. Sorry in advance if I don't get everyone.

Check the character list... I had to make room for another important character. The princesses will still appear but will not play as large of a role as they did earlier.