Twilight groaned as she sat reading the book he gave her as Spike entered the room. "Hey Twilight. Sorry for not being able to help with the prince. Rarity got a last minute order and she needed my help." He stopped and blinked as he saw the dark expression on her face. "That bad?"

"Worst." She sighed, setting the book down and looked at him. "Everything was doing fine… even with my returning emotions and memories."

"So what went wrong?" Spike asked as he sat next to her.

"I KISS HIM!!!!"

As Twilight slammed her face into the table, Spike covered his face to keep from showing his smirk. Once he regained his composure, he put a claw on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight. It's fine. He knows you care about him. And with what you two know about each other. I'm sure it'll mean that you'll be able to help him relax enough to enjoy his time in Ponyville and not stay cooped up." As she groaned he rolled his eyes. "You remember what it was like before we came to Ponyville."

Twilight sat up and smiled softly. "Yeah. And hopefully-" just then a knock came from the door.

"I got it, Twilight." He comforted before heading over to the door. Opening it he smiled at the sight.

The guard handed him a note as Twilight watched in confusion. "Well?" She asked.

"It looks like the prince has ordered… a summons for Scootaloo's parents?!" He replied in shock. "It looks like he took custody of her and is threatening to… take away custody if they don't reply and go to his house."

Twilight sat and blinked in shock and confusion for a moment as she thought about what he told her. "Well… that's…" taking a deep breath she sighed as a memory came to her. Smiling, her heart skipped a beat. "That's understandable. Honestly I'm not really surprised."

"Are you sure he's allowed to do that?" Spike asked.

"Well. He can take custody of Scootaloo for her safety." Twilight replied as she levitated over a book of laws. Opening it she scanned the pages. "And according to this. We can request a stay of adoption to send a final warning to the parents. But we'd need confirmation from Celestia to do that."

"I'll write the letter to Celestia." Spike declared as Twilight started working on the final warning.

"Thank you Spike. And can you ask the guard if they know where her parents are? That way I can send the letter to them." Twilight requested.

A couple moments after Spike sent the letter, he belched out a reply. "That was fast…

"To my dear and faithful student. Thank you for letting me know what is happening. As you remember, my son takes treatment like this very seriously. And I support his decision of actions. However, if you truly believe that you will be able to convince her parents to return home. Then I grant the request. The longest I will permit however is three weeks. Her parents are in the jungle of Zebreca."

Twilight blinked and thought about what the letter said. "That sounds familiar." She hummed as she looked at her letter. "Getting the letter there won't be a problem. But sending it by mail pony will take too long." She sighed. Thinking for a moment she bit her lip. "I'm going to regret this… but I'm going to have to ask a certain pegasus a favor."

Outside resting on a cloud over the park Rainbow Dash sneezed.

Scootaloo looked around in amazement at the room. "Wow… this is all mine?" She asked. Trotting over to the bed she took time to admire the shelves half filled with different books and games, the fully stocked desk, full body mirror, the bean bag chairs, and even a large table that sat in the middle of the room.

The prince smiled at her as he watched her zip around the room. "Yes, Scootaloo. Until either your parents show to correct their actions, or until you are on enough. This is your home." He explained with a soft smile.

"Do I have to call you dad?"

Laughing, he shook his head. "You're old enough to be my little sister. I think you calling me something like dad would be a bit awkward. Don't you think?"

Smiling, Scootaloo hugged his leg. "I guess you're right."

The prince turned as a guard approached. "Sir. Celestia requested you to wait three weeks before performing the transfer of guardianship."

Rolling his eyes, the prince nodded. "Very well. Alert me the moment news arrives."

The guard nodded and left them alone as the prince turned to Scootaloo. "Is there anything you'd like to do that others were unable to before?"

Scootaloo bit her lip and nodded. "Would you… cuddle with me?" She asked nervously.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. It's just… my friends told me how they enjoyed falling asleep in their sisters' hooves… and… I just wanted to know what it's like." Scootaloo explained before turning away.

Taking a deep breath the prince closed his eyes and mentally went over a list of historic figures, before smiling down at Scootaloo. "I would be happy to do that for you."

With a smile, the two got into the bed and with a wave of his hoof, they were tucked into the bed. Smiling, Scootaloo scooted up against him and closed her eyes as he wrapped his hooves around her as she slowly fell asleep. Smiling down at her he couldn't help but to feel for her.

Author's Note

Things can go several directions. But one thing is clear. Scootaloo's parents really screwed up.
Thoughts? And what do you think might happen in the forest?