"Get up...Ben...get up."

I felt something poke into my ribs, prompting me to let out a loud groan as I buried my head into whatever pillow I had.

"Fine...I'll find a way."

I let out a long moan as I tried to merge with my bedding. The comfort was fleeting however, soon broken by a sharp pain in the back of my neck. "Ow...owww....owwwww!" the pain left as I flopped onto the floor. "Fuck! I'm up, I'm up!"

I rolled onto my back. A batfoal quickly found it's home on my belly. "I knew that would work." Foxglove walked out of the room. "Bring bitey into the nursery when you're ready to start."

I looked around the room as the foal crawled over my chest, biting my hand as I guarded my throat. "Oh god...I've made a terrible mistake with my entire life." I sat upright, bitey foal still latched on and sucking at my hand. It was definitely the same foal, light gray coat, and a dark green mane. He was cute, aside from the constant nipping and biting.

I stood up, cradling the foal and pulling my hand away. He quickly started crying, forcing me to give up my hand to spare my ears. "Bugger...bugger bugger bugger ass." I continued my mild swearing as I walked through the halls, trying to find the nursery from the faint memories of yesterday.

"Alright bitey...we can do this." I ran my free hand through his mane, making him coo quietly as he eased up on my hand. As I did I caught a glimpse of the small punctures from the previous night. They were nearly healed already, but still rather noticeable.

I wandered around until finding familiar ground, following the vague memories and walking in on a couple, mid sex. "Holy shit- sorry!" I walked back out and slammed the door. "Bitey...you saw nothing." he looked up at me and mad a soft baby noise and bit the meat of my thumb. "Exactly...ow." I shook my head and hurried off. "What the hell am I doing, talking to myself."

I continued wandering around, and after about thirty minutes of having a half awake foal gnaw on my hand, found the nursey. Foxglove turned to me almost immediately. "Dear Luna Ben...you really got lost."

I ignored her and grabbed a bottle, finally finding something new for bitey to chew on. "It's been a journey. So does this foal have a name?"

Foxglove walked over. "That one...foal twenty-six."

I turned to her with a suspicious look. "Are you serious? You just number them?!"

She gave a noncommittal nod, nearly shaking her head. "Sometimes foals without parents just get numbers until I can think of something."

"He doesn't have parents!? So he's an orphan? That sucks...." I rubbed his dark green made with my hand as he ate.

Foxglove looked over the other foals, already fed and put to bed. "He's not an orphan, he's just...how do I explain this." Foxglove found a cushion and sat down. "There aren't a lot of batponies, so Luna made a decree that we...well...to put it crudely, make more. But most couples already have a foal, and the ones that don't are generally trying. Foals like him, are raise by the castle staff or the guard."

I felt my energy drain as I came to terms with his strange position. "So just raised by the castle? How many batponies are there anyways?"

She looked up and to the side. "About...wait including the night guard, about...four hundred."

"That doesn't-"

"There are nearly ten thousand ponies in the Greater Canterlot area."

I let out a soft cough. "So...extreme minority. But I'm-"

"I know what you're gonna say, another human said the same thing before. Sure there are batponies in other towns, but there just aren't."

I slouched down and took a seat on the edge of the table. Bitey quickly sucked down the rest of the bottle. "Sorry...didn't mean to bring it up."

Foxglove let out a soft sigh. "It's not your fault, it's just...sensitive." she walked slowly over and looked at the foal in my arms. "He likes you...."

I looked down at my hand. "I noticed. He has a bit of an odd way of showing it."

Foxglove walked off, batting my ass with her tail. "Name him."

"Huh?" I looked at her with utter confusion. "You serious?"

She turned around and shrugged. "Why not. Just make it something smart."

I let out a rough cough. "So Ben's out of the question?"

Foxglove started bellowing. "Oooh...funny...yeah no."

I gave her a wide smirk, quickly turning to the tiny baby bat in my arms. "Wayne."

Foxglove cocked her head. "Wayne?"

"It's a human thing. And it's a good name, smart sounding, got a good weight to it." I poked the foal's stomach, causing him to squirm a little as I pressed my finger into his soft belly.

"Hmm...well then, you're the daddy."

I froze, accidentally jabbing the foal in the belly and making him cry. "Wait what?!"

Foxglove took the foal from me, quickly setting him in a crib and tucking him away. "I'm joking. Unless you really want to, but he'll be fine either way." she walked over to me and bopped my knee. "Your face right now, it's priceless." she started snickering as she walked away. "Come on, time to take care of the fillies and colts."

I nearly fell as I pushed off the table. "Don't fucking do that! My heart...it hurts...." I felt like someone had just punched me straight in the chest, my heart fluttering as I tried to walk over to her.

Foxglove lead me across the hall and into a large room with a bunch padded furniture. "Heads up!"

"Huh- oof!" I turned, catching a flying filly straight to the gut and crumpling like tinfoil.

I was quickly kicked in the gut as the filly bounced off me. "Jerk!" she flew off after another young pony, leaving me in a groaning mess on the floor.

Foxglove walked over, hear head hanging in my vision. "I told you...hurts doesn't it?"

I grabbed my back and forced myself upright. "Did someone get the number of that bus?" I joked, only confusing Foxglove. "Eh...stupid joke anyways." I leaned against the wall and nursed my bruised stomach. "So what do I do now?"

Foxglove ducked a flying colt. "Survive. Have fun!" she bolted out of the room, leaving me alone in a room of about six grade school foals. I looked around the room, slowly edging my way to the quietest one in the room. A small filly reading a book.

I ducked down behind her and looked at the book she was reading. It was upside down. "Um...you know it's upside down right?"

"Shh...." the filly didn't even turn around to face me, dismissing me and going back to her book. She flicked the page before turning to me. "I know, I can read upside down." she looked me over. "Who the heck are you?"

"Well jeez...apparently I'm no one." she didn't take kindly to my sarcasm, sitting on her haunches and staring at me with a bored expression. "I'm Ben, apparently I'm supposed to help take care of you."

The filly smiled wickedly.  "She left you alone in here didn't she?"

I felt something bound off my back, nearly knocking me forward. "Get the heck back here!" I turned and found the filly that had gutted me was still chasing after a grey maned filly. I stood up, taking a deep breath and getting into position.

"It's not my fault you're-" I grabbed the grey maned filly out of the air, catching her like a football and holding her under my arm. She froze, blinking a few times until realizing what had stopped her. "Whoa...do that again!"

"Adorable...." I grumbled to myself as I plucked the other filly out of the air, her purple striped mane zooming behind her. "But I'm gonna need you two to calm down."

The grey mane started snickering. "You said tutu."

I shifted my grip, picking her up by the belly and bringing her up to my vision. "Yes...yes I did. Now go do something productive." I set her down. She immediately ran off, staring back at me until she ran cheek first into a desk.

She shook her head hard and kept running. "I'm okay!"

I could only watch in awe as she continued to run around the room after bashing her head like that. "Hey...can you let me go?!" the purple striped filly started squirming. I quickly set her down, letting her bolt after the grey mane and immediately start the chase again. I gave up and just sat with the book bound filly.

I grabbed the book, prompting the filly to bite my hand. "Son of a- fuuu- echurgh...." I pulled her off my hand and sat her on my lap. "Why the bites?"

"Don't touch my book next time!" she snarled, pressing her hooves into my stomach and staring up at me. "It's not nice!"

I pushed her down by her muzzle, leaning back into a nearby wall and looking through the book. "What the hell...." I flipped a few pages ahead. "This is Jack London...where did you even get this!?"

The book filly huffed at me, folding her forelegs and leaning into my stomach. "I asked for a book with a dog...."

I let out a rough cough. "Well...this is a book about a dog, but it's a little...adult, for you." I folded the book closed and set the filly down. "Let me see if I can find something more age appropriate." I found a nearby bookshelf, most of the books on the floor. I rummaged through the remains and found a Daring Do novel. "Here." I walked over and handed the filly the book. "Good adventure stories are always fun."

She looked at the book, almost instantly tossing it at my shin. "Read it."

I rubbed my shin and went back to looking. "Alright then...Star Swi-"

"Read it." the filly had walked slowly over and was perched next to me. "I read most of them."

I grabbed the Jack London book and flipped through it. "...How old are you?"

The filly perked up, her silver streaked mane bobbing as she threw it out of her eyes. "Eight!"

I stared at the book in my hands. "...Ehhhhhh...I guess...hmm...eh, it'll be fine." I handed back the original book. The silver headed filly took it in her mouth and hurried off.

Foxglove peeked her head back into the room. "Ben, you're alive! Good, you can help me bring them lunch."

I ducked a flying colt and rolled out of the room. "You bats...ponies...batponies...are strange people."

Foxglove quickly ran over to a waiting cart. "You're just jealous, now push this stupid thing."

I got behind the cart and slowly pushed it down the hall. "So...what they eating?"

Foxglove shook her head lightly from side to side. "Oh you know, carrots, potato, pork, the good stuff."

I let my head fall to the floor as I pushed the cart through the doors. The foals quickly ransacked it and went about their business. "Man...I never got pork for lunch as a kid." I watched the foals eat. "...I'm gonna go grab Wayne and take a nap...."

Foxglove watched me as I left. "Well I thought we could go catch some dri-"

"Too depressed for your romantic interest...If you need me I'll be sulking." I drifted out of the room to the sound of Foxglove's confused sputters. I found Wayne fidgeting in his crib. I pulled him out and laid on the floor. Letting him latch onto the back of my neck as I napped on the soft carpet of the nursery. Wayne let out a soft cooing as he drifted to sleep, still latched onto my neck like some bad habit.

A last thought struck me as I drifted away. I hadn't seen the sun all day. I wonder if that's gonna be a problem.