"What, you guys didn't know that?" Lemon asked, taking in the surprised looks on everyone but Octavia’s faces. Amon rubbed the bridge of his nose in consternation.

"No, we didn't. You could have mentioned it, since you seem to, though." Octavia smiled awkwardly, brushing at her skirt absently.

"Not one of my proudest moments, I'm sure. I AM surprised that you remember me, though, Lemon." Lemon chuckled, leaning forward with an evil grin on her face.

"What? Come on, you're like an urban legend at Crystal. You put two kids and a teacher in the hospital your first month there, and got expelled. You're bad ass." Octavia let out a hearty laugh. Vinyl was the only one that noticed the hard edge it had and frowned.

"I see my story grows with the telling. I didn't put anyone in the hospital, or get expelled." Flash stared at Octavia along with Vinyl.

"I, for one, think it's story time."

"Tell us your tale of adventure in the Crystal kingdom, Octy." Vinyl said, eyes wide. Octavia gave Vinyl a droll look before clearing her throat.

"Well, where to start? When I was fourteen, my parents moved to the area for work." Octavia grimaced slightly.

"I was not, thrilled, to leave England behind, and this may have predisposed me toward acting out." Vinyl, sensing Octavia's unease, leaned into her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Octavia gave her a thankful smile and slid an arm around Vinyl before continuing.

"I had good grades, was something of a musical prodigy, and my parents had money, so of course I would go to the prestigious Crystal Prep." Lemon snickered at this, squirming around in Amon's lap to get comfortable.

This did not make Amon comfortable.

"The facilities were wonderful, the professors knowledgeable, and my fellow students tolerable... At first." Octavia sighed, recalling painful memories, and earned an extra squeeze from Vinyl.

"I went to a very liberal school back in England, and the sight of two gentleman, or two ladies for that matter, snogging in the hallway wasn't anything unusual. I had no inclination to hide my bisexual leanings, so when a girl caught my fancy that first week, I thought nothing of asking her out." Lemon winced, recalling similar experiences. "Suffice it to say, my offer was rebuffed with prejudice." Flash pondered this for a second.

"So, you got turned down, and that made you leave the school?” Octavia gave him a dull look.

"No, Flash, the dildos in my locker, the "Dyke" and "Cuntlicker" epithets scrawled on my music notes, those things were what eventually forced me to lash out." Octavia let out a tired sigh while Vinyl stared at her, the hurt she saw in her lover’s face reflected in her eyes.

"It's not like that anymore, you know." Lemon interjected. "After you left, Dean Cadance really cracked down on that stuff. A couple kids got expelled before they came to the conclusion that shit wasn't gonna fly."

Octavia sniffed haughtily, but no one was fooled by what it was hiding as they saw her eyes glisten slightly..

"Well, at least some good came from my suffering. A little late for me, though." Vinyl leaned over without a word, pulling Octavia's face toward hers and resting her forehead against the other girls. They hold this position for a few moments, breathing steadily before Octavia opened her eyes and gave Vinyl a peck on the lips.

"Thank you, Vinyl. On with the story, I suppose. This harassment continued until around the fourth week of my enrollment, and I finally reached a breaking point." Octavia smiled at this, a bit viciously to be honest.

"It was in musical theory class. The Professor there was aware of my situation, and sympathetic, but his hands were tied. My detractors were well connected, more than one of them with parents on the school board." Lemon nodded with a roll of her eyes and a grimace.

"Yeah, I know that clique. Real entitled bunch of assclowns." Octavia smirked at her choice of words.

"Indeed. One of these 'assclowns', as you put it, was riling me up. Nothing in particular that I can recall, just the usual vitriol involving keeping my 'drooling snatch' to myself." Octavia frowned, her arm tightening instinctively around Vinyl, who returned the hug with interest. "She then began musing on whether she should round up a few boys and have them teach me what it was 'Like to be a real woman'." Amon's eyes widened at this.

"Are you saying she was thinking about getting you gang-raped?" His nostrils flared slightly as he fought down the urge to punch something, but Lemon’s hands slipped over the fists balled in her lap and stroked them gently. As Octavia continued, Lemon slowly felt the tension bleed out of Amon behind her before she felt lips brush her cheek gently. She smiled in satisfaction and nestled herself more firmly against her lover.

"To put a point on it, yes. I have no doubt she was serious, although I doubt she would have found many takers. The boys at Crystal Prep seemed much more level headed than the girls. Regardless, our Professor chose this moment to speak up, having overheard her comment. He warned her that she should be wary of the consequences of her actions." Octavia smiled, that hint of viciousness returning.

"I decided that I needed to do something to deter her from this course, but was at a loss as to what it could be. Thankfully, she provided an option for me. She turned to our Professor with a sneer, and said 'What's she going to do, throw something at me?'" Lemon recalled Octavia's almost insane strength with a wince, seeing where this was going..

"So I did. Well, not technically AT her, but when I threw my desk through the window she was standing next to, it had the desired effect..." Lemon gaped at Octavia. Those desks were NOT light, and the windows in the music theory room were made of plate glass. "It also helped that I then picked her up by her scrawny neck and told her anyone she sent after me like that was coming back in a body bag."

Octavia sniffed, her eyes avoiding Vinyl's, but sitting across from her Amon could pick out the worry in her eyes. ‘She thinks Vinyl’s going to be scared of her. Come on, Octy, you know her better than that…’

"Quite satisfying, but she ruined a perfectly good pair of my shoes." Amon and Flash shared a confused look while Vinyl and Lemon grinned at each other.

"Badass, she pissed herself?" Vinyl asked, her eyes sparking with admiration. Octavia gave her a surprised look before smiling nervously.

"Quite thoroughly. The Professor separated us, she was sent to the nurse's office and I to the Principals." Octavia’s smile turned to one of fondness as she recalled the events. "Surprisingly, the Professor stepped up and defended me, and I was merely suspended and forced to pay damages. The other girl used her connections and got off lightly as well."

"Hell yeah, Octy. Fuck that little bitch, you should have stomped her out." Vinyl beamed at Octavia, but was met with a regretful expression.

"No, Vinyl. I lost my composure, and I'm well aware that my strength means the consequences for losing control could be dire. As I said before, not my finest moment."

Amon nodded slowly at this.

"I can understand what you're saying, but at the same time, I think you did the right thing." Octavia quirked a smile at Amon’s support, but shook her head.

"No, the right thing was what I did afterward, which was immediately transfer to Ponyville High. I made wonderful friends, and found an irritating but equally wonderful partner." Octavia turned to Vinyl, stroking a hand across her cheek before moving in and kissing her. Lemon giggled, reaching back and stroking Amon's cheek as well as they witnessed the passionate embrace. After a few moments Octavia broke off the kiss, her cheeks red with embarrassment as she realized that everyone was staring at her.

"Ahem, yes. Vinyl. Vinyl, not now. Ooh, damn you Vinyl..." Octavia squirmed as Vinyl licked down her neck before nuzzling in and nipping her lightly.

"It really isn't like that anymore, Octavia. I'm as open about being Bi as anyone, and no one gives me shit. Well, not for that, anyway." Amon watched with a grin as Octavia tried to keep her composure under Vinyl's ministrations. It was losing battle.

"That's wonderful to- Ah, you devil!- hear, Lemon. Mmmm-I was worried you might be a bad influence on our Amon heEAK!" Octavia let out a squeak as Vinyl nibbled on her collarbone. Octavia pushed Vinyl’s head away from her neck, fuming. "Off, you hussy! Time and place, we are having a conversation here!" Vinyl just beamed at her before turning to Amon.

"I'm irritatingly wonderful!" Vinyl said dopily, waggling her eyebrows at Amon as she wriggled in her seat.

"Good for you." Amon shared a commiserating glance with Octavia as she attempted to compose herself, thinking about the similarities between their mates.

"As I was saying, I had my doubts, but that offer you made put most of them to rest." Lemon gave Octavia a confused look.

"You knew it was me?" Octavia nodded ruefully. She gave Amon a shrewd look that somehow told him she could read him like a book before continuing.

"When I saw you tackle Amon yesterday, I thought things might end up here. I've often said, while discussing the pool with others, that the only way someone was going to get Amon to notice them was if they dragged him to the ground and rubbed it in his face." Octavia smiled at Amon's embarrassed expression. Lemon puffed her chest out proudly with a smirk.

"Guess I'm the only one that had the balls to do it." Octavia glanced at Vinyl, a hint of old worry glinting in her eyes..

"Well, maybe not the only one." Amon felt another shard of guilt slither into his gut as he thought about all the trouble this stupid bet had caused. He knew there would be more, and even though it wasn’t exactly his fault he still felt partially responsible.

"Eheh, I might have been considering it before you put your foot down, Octy." Vinyl grinned a little nervously. Octavia looked at her, emotion roiling behind her eyes.

"Why do you think I reacted so strongly? I wouldn't have been so frightened if I didn't think you had a chance, and Amon would have swept you off your feet." She looked down at her lap, wringing her hands. "And then where would I be? Watching two people I love be happy together with bitterness eating my heart..." Amon started slightly at Octavia's admission, but stayed silent. He knew that Octavia loved him as a friend, but that didn’t sound like what she’d meant at all.

"No way, Octy. You know where where my heart is." Vinyl said seriously as she reached into Octavia's lap, stilling her hands. She leaned in close and whispered softly into her ear. "Maybe I was just trying to bring you a present?"

Octavia glanced over at Vinyl's face sharply before flicking a glance at Amon whose expression is unreadable. She caught Lemon's gaze as well, and her expression was clear as day. 'MINE,' Lemon's look broadcast, but after a moment it softened into a tenuous smile. 'But we can probably share.'

"Well, this should be fun to watch..." Flash murmured as he read the room. 'So, Lemon and Amon, Vinyl and Octy. Octy and Amon? Duh. Lemon and Vinyl? They wouldn't say no if they had permission...' He tapped his finger on his chin in thought. "So this big thing you've all been flirting around is a foursome? I say again, Amon, you dog."

"Wow, Flash, way to murder a tender moment." Amon, Vinyl and Lemon glared daggers at Flash while Octavia buried her face in her hands, unable to hide the burst of heat that'd overtaken her face. Flash blanched, realizing he might have just shoved his foot down his mouth to have it come bursting right out of his asshole.

"Ummm..." Flash started to say, but he jerked in surprise as his phone suddenly rang. 'Saved by the fucking bell...' He thought to himself as he cautiously answered it.

"Oh, hi Mr. Amon." Amon tensed, his eyes wide as he realized he had promised he'd stop by his house in the morning. "Yeah, he's here. I'm doing fine, Mr. Amon, I'm kind of used to it at this point. Yeah, well, such is life, right? You want to talk to him? Alright." Flash poked his phone then handed it over to Amon. He took it with a grimace and brought it up to his ear.

"Hi, dad, sorry I forgot to come over, I got hung up here." Amon said, not having to fake the apology heavy in his voice.

"That's fine, son. So, is she a good lay?" Amon's father's voice echoed clearly over the speakerphone. Amon stared at the phone in horror before his eyes slid slowly up to meet Flash's grinning face.

"I know your dad so well." Flash said jauntily as Amon quickly switched the phone off speaker mode. He shot Flash a murderous glance, his eyes wide and flashing.

"I am going to kill you, Flash. I swear to god." Amon covered the phone with his hand as he said this. He contemplated Lemon, who'd gone completely still in his lap. 'One thing at a time...'

"Dad, fuck you. That's not funny, is mom there? She'd better not be. I don't want her driving over here with a baseball bat." He got a few curious looks for that, but he ignored them for now.

"She's at work, son. Don't dodge the question. You finally found a girl you like, and you move like a bullet train. Spill." Amon's eye twitched slightly.

"I met a girl, fine. She's very nice." Amon decided not to dance around the issue. His dad was like a bloodhound when it comes to his relationships.

"Hmm, Hmm, she's right there, isn't she? Okay, if she's good in the sack, just say 'You'd be proud, dad.' That should be vague enough." Amon grit his teeth as everyone watched him. He became slightly worried when their gazes shifted to Lemon, but the back of her head wasn't telling him anything.

"I'm not really comfortable talking about this right now. She's really nice and you'd definitely be proud, dad." Amon said uncomfortably. 'You old lech.'

"That's my boy! We're getting together to talk about this ASAP, and I'm buying you a steak. What's her name? Come on, come on, I'll save the questions about her cup size and all that for later."

"Her name is Lemon Zest, and I hate you." Amon said quietly, his cheeks slowly reddening with either embarrassment or rage. He wasn’t even sure which himself.

"Oh, there you go again. Come on! Let an old man be proud of his boy! Well, I'll try to run interference for you for as long as I can, but you know how your mother is. I hope this Lemon girl is a fast runner."

"Faster than me, dad, although she's a little lacking on stamina." Amon said casually, but his eyes suddenly widened as he realized what he’d just said.

"Well, that's good, but come on. No one can beat you in that department. Wait, was that an innuendo~?"

Amon ended the call.

"And that's my dad. Vicariously living through my sex life since puberty." Amon said far too casually, his hand whitening around Flash’s phone before it’s owner snatched it back fearfully.

"He's a lecherous old bird alright. I can still feel his eyes on me from the time you introduced us." Octavia grimaced slightly while Vinyl cracked a grin.

"Come on, I think he's hilarious!" Amon just shook his head at Vinyl.

"You would." Lemon shifted in Amon's lap.

"So, your dad just assumes any girl you get with is going to sleep with you the same day?" Amon froze. He wasn’t liking the tone in Lemon’s voice at all...'Oh, boy...'

"My dad assumes that any time I'm away from the house for more than two hours that I'm fucking someone. He also assumes that I've slept with Octy, Vinyl, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, basically any girl he's ever met that I hang out with."

"He really thinks you're some kind of super stud. I think the truth would destroy him." Flash mused.

"The truth?" Lemon asked, cocking her head at Flash.

"Well, Amon was a virgin until you came along, right?" Flash looked at her quizzically.

"Um, from the way he went about it, I highly doubt it? I was, though!" Lemon made her last statement with a sprightly attitude.

"I, would not have guessed that..." Flash muttered. Vinyl was still focused on Amon, however.

"So, were you dude? You ever give another girl the old pony ride? Play hide the sausage? Stuff that turkey with your flavor injector? Okay, that last one was terrible." Vinyl admitted, and Octavia whapped her lightly. Amon squirmed under the scrutiny.

"Well, no, I wasn't a virgin." Vinyl clapped her hands excitedly. Amon didn’t think anything that got her this excited could be good.

"Ooh, first time stories! Me first! It was like, my second club hop, and this seriously cool guy and his girlfriend fed me some molly, and we went to the green room..." Amon was right. They were all saved from what would probably be a long and detailed and GRAPHIC story by Octavia, who slipped a hand over her girlfriend’s mouth.

"Enough. We'll be here for hours. Mine was a very nice boy named Thaddeus. We had gone out for most of middle school, and when I found out I was moving, I decided I wanted him to have something to remember me by." Octavia grimaced slightly. "A lapse in judgement, perhaps. He had no idea what he was doing. Terribly unsatisfying." Vinyl slipped free of Octavia’s gag and patted her head solicitously.

"It's okay Octy, I promise I'll keep satisfying you." Octavia flailed her arms, knocking Vinyl's away and fuming. She merely snickered before turning to Flash. "How 'bout you, Flash?"

He looked uncomfortable.

"Oh, you guys wouldn't know her. Her name was, umm, Opal. We met when I was vacationing with my parents in Maine. Summer cottage for a week, very romantic. I was told to give them space. Her parents were renting another cottage at the campground. We met in the arcade, hung out all week, ended up doing it the last night before we left. She was nice, I still skype her every once in awhile." Amon looked at Flash skeptically. That sounded like the plot to some terrible teen romance flick.

Was Flash..?

"My turn! It was him! He did it officers!" Lemon turned around with a grin, poking Amon in the chest repeatedly with both hands. All eyes turned to Amon. He grimaced.

"Honestly, I don't really want to say. I was way too young. It was kinda fucked up." Amon said, extremely uncomfortable with this situation.

"Ooh, kinky." Vinyl muttered, while Octavia shushed her.

"Just spill it, Amon. We all did." Flash said. Amon looked at him skeptically, not really sure if Flash had or not..

"Come on, Amon, I wanna know. Please?" Lemon turned toward him, engaging her puppy dog eyes. Amon internally cursed his inability to resist this girl’s whims and just blurted it out.

"Gah, fine. My nineteen year old babysitter fucked me when I was thirteen. Happy?"

The room plunged into silence.

"Oh, very funny Amon. 'I'm such a stud my babysitter raped me.' Hardy har har." Amon stared at Flash for a second, incredulous.

"What? No, I didn't mean it like that! Whatever, just drop it."

Flash didn't drop it. Octavia and Vinyl were giving Amon strange looks as Flash leaned forward, face hard and serious.

"Cause, that's what you just described, Amon. That's not funny, man. Not at all." Amon was getting a little worried. This wasn’t how this conversation was supposed to go at all.

"Yeah, my bad, joke in poor taste. I get it, sorry. Let's just drop it." Amon pumped a fist against his temple, chuckling nervously.

"Amon, I think not." Octavia was staring at him, and Vinyl kept looking back and forth between them almost frantically.

"Come on, I said I was sorry. What do you want from me?" Octavia continued staring, her expression still unreadable. It wasn’t blank anymore, but rather a wash of conflicted emotions.

"The truth. You never mentioned why you moved here. To anyone, that I know of." Vinyl looked uncomfortable as she put in her two cents.

"Your Dad IS pretty much convinced that your cock hung the moon and your jizz fills the night sky." Flash looked at her askance before turning back to Amon.

"Eww. Moving on, your mom seems awfully ready to kick the shit out of any girls that get too close to you. This, is, royally fucked up." Amon looked on as everyone seemed to be taking turns convincing each other. He felt a tug on his chin, and looked down to see Lemon let go slowly, a worried expression on her face.

"It's okay if it's true, dude. Just, I wanna know, you know?" Amon looked down at Lemon. She was looking up at him, sympathy and concern behind her eyes but a smile on her lips. It was so fake. He knew she was putting up a strong front for him, but it just made him want to curl up and die.

"Fine, I had sex with my babysitter. And she went off to college, and when she came back for summer vacation my parents hired her again. All the way up until last year, when my mom walked in on us." Flash stared at him, incredulous. Amon could tell he wanted to say a lot of things, but eventually the most pressing question seemed to bubble up to the top and spill out of his mouth.

"So, is she like, in jail? Cause that literally is statutory rape, man." Amon shrugged. He struggled to find the cold center that had been desensitized to all this. Eventually he spoke again.

"I was over the age of consent the only time they can prove it happened. It's not a big deal, okay? It's just a thing that happened. Everyone has shitty stuff that happened in their lives." Amon waved the thought off as Lemon turned around in his lap, wrapping her arms around him. She had felt the tension in him, the muscles in his arms and neck rigid, and couldn’t keep herself from holding him any longer.

"It was shitty? You mean you didn't like it?" Lemon asked in a quiet voice. She hated the fact that Amon wasn’t returning her embrace, sitting there like a statue.

"I dunno, I was thirteen. I didn't know what was going on. I got used to it." Flash looked at Amon, his eyes narrowed as he gritted his next words out. Amon was a little taken aback. ‘Flash… Looks really mad. Is this really bothering him that much?’

"You know who else 'get's used to it'? People with Stockholmes syndrome." Amon scowled, the first real expression he’d made since he’d gotten control of himself.

"Fuck you, Flash. I know what she did was wrong, but it's over and done with." Amon wasn’t a child anymore.

"Amon, That's bullshit. This girl took something from you, dude." Vinyl said, her usual exuberance gone.

"Whatever. It's over. I was in court for months, I still have to see a therapist over this shit. I'm done with it." Amon turned from his friends with an angry flick of his hand. He almost crossed his arms over his chest before he remembered that Lemon already occupied that space.

He looked down to see Lemon still looking up at him with concern in her eyes, that smile that he still hated seeming to be on the verge of cracking. As he looked down at her a bead of moisture hit her cheek and she blinked.

Frowning, Amon slowly brought a hand up to his eye, feeling the moisture there and looking at in disbelief when he pulled his hand away. He suddenly sagged against Lemon, finally giving in to her embrace. Lemon bore up the weight as he collapsed against her like nothing so much as a puppet whose strings had been cut. He didn’t sob. He didn’t make any sound at all really as his arms slowly circled around her and clasped her to him weakly. Lemon just did what she could, holding him as she felt the hair he’d pressed his face into dampen.

"So, why did you bring it up? You could have lied, or just refused to tell us." Octavia asked carefully after a few minutes. Amon seemed to have regained his composure, but his voice was muffled. He hadn’t taken his face away from where it was pressed into the side of Lemon’s head.

"I don't know, maybe I just wanted to tell someone, and this was my opportunity. You guys are like my best friends. I thought... Man, I don't know what I thought." Lemon gently pulled Amon’s head away from her, cupping his cheek and stroking it gently as she looked into his red-rimmed eyes.

"You thought we'd understand? And help you? Share the burden or something? Cause, yeah, I can do that, dude." Octavia, Vinyl and Flash all nodded.

"This is a shitty, shitty thing, Amon. It doesn't leave this room if you don't want it to, but you don't need to keep it bottled up and shit." Amon rubbed his face and lemon could see moisture barely held in check.

"Yeah, that sounds good, Flash." He said slowly, still refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

"Why'd you go along with it for so long, dude? You said you knew it was fucked up." Amon sighed, his gaze flicking up to Vinyl before moving away.

"At first, I was scared. I thought everybody would get mad at me. My family, my teachers. But after a while, it just didn't seem like a big deal." Lemon's face screwed up in confusion.

"I don't get it." Amon looked down at her. ‘How do I explain this? I was a kid, I didn’t know anything…’ Amon decided to tell her exactly how he’d felt, and hope it was enough.

"Well, it's always the boys fault. Or so it seemed to me back then. As it went on, all my friends were bragging about how they were going out with girls and doing stuff, and I figured that was just par for the course." Amon grimaced, still disgusted with his naivete to this day. "The age thing didn't occur to me until later, and I was already sixteen. I was going out with girls during the school year, and breaking it off with them at the start of the summer." Octavia and Vinyl exchange guarded looks.

"So by then it was just, something you did, a routine, as it were." Octavia ventured softly, and Amon nodded slowly.

"But, like, your parents didn't notice you broke up with your girlfriends every time your babysitter came back to town?" Vinyl asked, incredulity thick in her voice. Amon flinched slightly. ‘I know they’re my friends, but… They seem to be taking this so personally. I hadn’t even met them yet!’ He hadn’t planned on this, especially not so soon. He struggled to gather himself again, but the weight of their support was almost as heavy on him as the memories he was reliving.

"My dad thought I was 'keeping my options open'. My mom thought I was the reincarnation of my dad come a little early. I really don't think they had any idea, and I'm sure they loved all the nights they could go out." Amon finished with a touch of bitterness.

"But they should have known, and it drives you crazy, right?" Lemon leaned up, rubbing her cheek against Amon's. He was surprised she’d read him so easily. It was so weird, how well she seemed to know him already. He was still amazed that she was supporting him seemingly without hesitation through this little revelation. ‘A lot of girls would have run, screaming…’ Shaking his head a little, he addressed her earlier question.

"Maybe." Amon raised a hand, forestalling any comments. "Don't worry, I know it wasn't anybody's fault but my babysitters. I already had that 'breakthrough' with my therapist."

"It's still good to hear, right? And it really isn't your fault, or your parents'." Flash spoke up. Amon gave him a grateful look, not flinching away from his friends conciliatory expression this time.

"Yeah, I guess it is. And my parents definitely stepped up after they found out. My mom actually broke her leg with a bat." Amon pulled Lemon’s chin back for a moment, looking into her eyes. "Seriously, Lemon, be careful around my mom." Lemon gulped audibly but nodded.

Flash pulled out his iPhone, and Amon regarded him suspiciously.

"Who ya callin', Flash?" He blinked in confusion before holding his hands out.

"Dude, I was just calling Dash to have her tell the coach you aren't coming to practice. I promise, no one is hearing about this from me." Amon thought about this for a few moments.

"Naw, I'll go. We talked, no need to hash out the gory details. If you guys really want to know, I'll tell you some other time. Right now I could use a good run." Lemon nodded, giving Amon a squeeze.

"Sounds like a plan. Running always helps clear my head. Are you sure you don’t need to talk about this more, though?” She watched Amon’s face, glad that he was actually considering it before he shook his head. Giving him a smile, she turned to Vinyl. "Umm, you have a car, right?"

Vinyl cracked a grin.

"I have an AWESOME car." Octavia sighed as Lemon nodded hesitantly.

"Ooookay, then. Can I ask a favor? If I'm gonna be stuck here for a while, I could really use some clothes." Lemon balked as Vinyl’s face broke out in a grin, her somber mood seemingly forgotten. ‘Nothing fazes this girl for long, huh?’ Lemon thought. ‘Good.’

"Oh, dude, you wanna go shopping? Sweet!" Vinyl bounced on the couch in excitement.

"Umm, no, I just wanted to swing by the dorm and grab some of my clothes." Vinyl seemed to deflate slightly.

"Aww, fine. I thought we were gonna get to do one of those cool shopping trips where we try on silly outfits and drive the clerks crazy." Lemon looked at her oddly.

"Umm, no. Very no. Maybe some other time." Octavia sighed in relief as Vinyl pouted.

"Fine, rain check. You all want a ride over to Ponyville, then I can take Lemon uptown?" Flash and Octavia exchanged a look.

"Sure, I should probably get out of the house some time today." Flash gave Amon a steady look. "We can figure some stuff out while Amon has practice." Flash continued as he got up, offering a hand to the still sore Lemon. She popped up out of Amon's lap with Flash’s assistance and he followed her up as well.

"That's not a bad idea, actually. I need to swing by my place and pick some clothes up, too." Amon said. He stopped suddenly, looking down at himself. “And I just now noticed I’m still not wearing a shirt.”

“Damn…” Lemon muttered, having hoped that she could at least get him out the door before he realized.

Amon moved to walk past Flash, but a hand on his chest stopped him. He looked up from it to see his best friend standing awkwardly in front of him. For a few seconds they just stood there like that, but Flash nodded as if coming to some internal decision. He stepped forward and wrapped Amon up in a tight hug.

Amon blinked, slightly surprised. Flash wasn't big on gestures like this. He was even more surprise when he felt Octavia and Vinyl slide in to either side of Flash, pressing into him as well. Amon could feel fresh tears threaten to spill out as he slowly put his arms around them.

"We're here for you, man. Don't hesitate to lean on us if you need to. Or even just want to." Flash said, none of the awkwardness he would have expected from him coloring his voice. Octavia and Vinyl murmured agreement into his shoulders. 'These are my friends...' Amon thought. His arms tightened around them as a bit of the weight seemed to lift off his heart. He found himself thinking that he was really lucky he'd met these three people, and avoided thinking about how he would be right now if he hadn't.

Lemon, for her part, just stood to the side and watched. She'd already given him as much comfort as she could, and as much as she hated to admit it, this was just as important. She hoped she could count herself as one of Amon's anchors soon, but the support she had was different from the three that held him now. Lemon tided herself over with the simple fact the SHE was to one fucking him as the little group hug slowly broke apart. A wry little grin slowly broke over her face at the thought.

"So! Your personal taxi driver shall cart your lazy asses around town." Vinyl said, a slight blush on her cheeks as she turned to give Octavia a kiss on the cheek. She walked toward the door and the rest moved to follow, but Octavia held Lemon back, shooing the rest out of the room as they glanced back at the two. Lemon regarded Octavia curiously as she seemed to hesitate. After a few moments she spoke up.

"I, well, I hope this whole thing isn't going to change how you feel about Amon." Octavia murmured, clearly uncomfortable. Lemon just laughed, but it had a hard edge to it, and the smile she gave Octavia was a bit more intense than it was friendly.

"Not a chance, Octavia. Same goes for you." Lemon walked past her and out the door, leaving her with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Octavia didn’t take long to nod decisively to herself and follow.

Author's Note

So, this part of the story always makes me nervous. It's a lot to take in, and it feels both right and wrong how they move past Amon's admission so quickly. I mean, he asked them to drop it, but I don't know if it feels right for them to press him further or respect his wishes. I think I did it alright, and it's addressed more as the story progresses, but... It still feels off.