If you asked him, Neon would probably tell you he was in a good relationship position. It certainly wasn't perfect, he was going to become a father in his mid-20's, and he was going to have to deal with the pains of pregnancy alongside Vinyl. He was also going to reach the point where most sexual activity was going to have to stop, unless they got back to doing hornjobs. Their experimentation with it before ended in tragedy and a horrible mess. Neon could at least take comfort knowing Vinyl would be worse off in forced chastity.

"Hm? Something on your mind?" Vinyl was lying on the couch, her head resting on Neon's lap, who was sitting up on the end.

"Well, I've realized that I'm going to have to tell my parents about this. I'm not entirely sure how they're going to react to me knocking up a girl I wasn't even in a dedicated relationship with, much less married to."

"My parents have known for a long time the way I conduct myself, so it really shouldn't surprise them. Still, I can't wait to see their faces when I tell them I not only know who the father is, but I'm willing to settle down with him. That look of everything they knew crashing down around them. I'll take a picture for you."

"That reminds me, how much should I be scared of your parents? Will I need to watch out for your dad before he buries me for 'deflowering his little girl'?"

Vinyl turned to look at Neon, before realizing he was serious. She started laughing, to a bemused boyfriend. She paused to wipe tears out of her eyes. "I think my parents gave up on getting angry at me after 3 colts, they realized it was a hopeless cause. The fact that I'm in a dedicated relationship is going to make them happy. I can already tell you, my mom's going to be excited about a wedding."

Neon nervously cringed at the thought. "We...we're not getting married, right? I-I mean, it's too early to make that sort of decision. Not to mention, it'd be pretty expensive, and we'd already be tight on bits with a foal coming."

"No, no, I'm not big on the idea of marriage. I don't need some kind of ceremony where we dress up and say mushy crap about our eternal bonds to believe I love somepony. But it's good to know where you stand on the issue."

Neon felt like he had stepped on a sinkhole. "N-no, I didn't mean that I wouldn't want to marry you, I was just saying that it's not a good idea at the moment!"

Vinyl put her hoof over his mouth. "Shh. No talking. Just enjoy the moment." They relaxed and began to see the sublime nature of their close embrace...for a few seconds, when there was a knock on the door. Vinyl looked up. "I SAID ENJOY THE MOMENT!"

Neon sighed. "I'll get it." He started to stand up, before he realized he did have a mare in his lap. He worked to find a way to slide out carefully, before giving up and just lifting Vinyl's head up with his magic, dropping it back down ungracefully once he was out. He trotted to the door and opened it, not expecting anypony in particular. But he sure as fuck wasn't prepared for the sophisticated gray mare he had agreed to never see again. First thing she did was slap him.

"Okay, I'll admit I deserved that, but what are you doing here? A mare as important as yourself must have better things to do than come to my house just to slap me for being a pervert."

"Why didn't you tell me who you were? Maybe if I had known that little fact, I could have asked for some kind of explanation for your behavior!"

"We were in a few classes together in elementary school, we barely talked to each other, what reason would I have to assume you would remember me? What made you assume I had remembered you? Though considering you connected the dots in the limited interaction, I'm guessing you know. So to answer your question, that's why I hid my identity. Because the only reason I remember you is embarrassing to both of us."

"But the information was important! That 'moment' is clear in my memories, as I'm sure is the case with you. If I had known the connection, I would have been able to deduce where your 'interests' lie, and would have no reason to be upset with you. It would be an endearing trait."

Neon lightly scoffed. "I doubt 'endearing' is the proper word. The only reason Vinyl accepts it is because she's a complete sex maniac." He turned his head to face inside. "Isn't that right, honey?" Once Vinyl put up her hoof in a victory pose, he looked back at Octavia. "Look, I'm happy that you came by to make sure there was no bad blood between us, that you accept me, but this doesn't change the status of our relationship. I'm back with Vinyl, and it's committed this time. It really would be better if we just pretended our date didn't happen."

Octavia peered past Neon to look inside, specifically at Vinyl, still laying on the couch. "It's only been a day. You pick me up an hour after she dumps you, and then you're back together a day after our first date? What happens in your life in these short time frames?"

"Well, as soon as I came home yesterday, she's already here to share the news that she's pregnant. She wants to stay with the father, so we're a couple again. That's the whole story. My life has taken a strange turn recently."

Octavia was certainly not expecting an answer like that. "W-well, all right then. Congratulations. J-just wanted you to know that I've got no hard feelings for your actions, and I was hoping we could get back together with that in mind. But it doesn't look like that's happening. Nice to see you again, Neon." She pulled the door shut.

Neon thought he detected sadness in how she ended the conversation, but he shrugged it off. I was never good at reading emotions. He sat back down, and Vinyl lifted herself up to lay back down on him. "I didn't hear the entire conversation, what did she come over for, especially after the 'let's never see each other again' thing that happened? Ooh, your lap is comfortable."

"She just wanted to let me know she had figured out who I was, why I had stared, and hoped we could try again. Now she's fine with just letting me know she doesn't hate me for what I did."

"Do you think she'd be the kind to share a stallion?"

"She's probably a little too proper to be into threesomes. Especially when you don't do it either."

"No no, you're mistaken. I don't like threesomes where I'm the only mare. I don't like having to focus on sucking when I'm in my own ecstasy, and you know I don't want stallions in my butt."

Neon rolled his eyes. "I'm fairly certain that's the only limit you have. And it's something as mundane as anal sex. But back to the original topic, you'd be fine with Octavia joining in on the fun?"

"It'd be a learning experience, that's for sure. If you're still on speaking terms, you should totally ask her."

"That's going to go well. 'Hey, I know I had to turn you down, but is the possibility of a threesome still on the board?' Yeah, I wouldn't sound like a pervert doing that."

"All I know is, last time I told you to talk to her against your better judgment, you got a nice date out of it, and a view to satisfy your fetish for months. What's the worst that could happen this time?"

Neon stared at Vinyl in disbelief, as if she could actually be missing something so obvious. "You might have missed the part where I said she still likes me. Asking for a threesome when we met each other again for the first time since elementary school, two days later, might be a little soon."

"You kidding? It's simple logic, really. I wouldn't want a threesome if I was asked, but you've said Octavia is nothing like me. Therefore, she would be all over it, right? Take that!"

Neon moved his head back in reaction to Vinyl's sudden shout. "Do you know what the word 'logic' means? It implies that what you're saying makes sense. You lack that part."

"I'm just trying to get your hopes up. You don't appreciate my help enough."

"I'd appreciate it more if it was helpful. Getting my hopes up in a situation as unlikely as this is just setting me up to be disappointed by failure. You know how it is, 'don't count your chickens before they egg'."

Now it was Vinyl's turn to look at her significant other like he was the crazy one. "I don't think anyone has ever said that. If all your advice comes like that, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. But please, tell me more."

"Well, there's 'you gotta turn on the grill to make pancakes', and 'genius in ignorance, could technically be called out-gnorance'. Is really good."

Vinyl closed her eyes and sighed. "Celestia damnit, Neon."

"So, wait, let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly. You still want him, even after you both ended it on the best terms possible?"

Octavia was sitting with the other members of her ensemble, hoping for some kind of counseling or advice. The one who questioned her current desire was their sousaphone player, Beauty Brass. She had been around the bend on the dating scene before, and could tell Octavia was heading for a crash. Agreeing with Beauty was Frederick Horseshoepin, the stallion who could play piano like a pro, something noticeably difficult without magic.

Octavia sheepishly sank into her chair. "I don't know what's coming over me. I understand it's wrong for me to keep trying to go after the stallion who's clearly already got a mare, but I can't stop thinking about him. Even if he's got his faults, he's still an amazing guy."

Beauty nodded. "Okay, so I'll assume your opinion on his isn't biased in any way. It's a little hard to tell when you refuse to tell us the details of your date. Anyway, he is an amazing stallion. That would be why he's taken. Better luck next time, move on."

"I already told you, the details of our date are being left confidential, for his sake. And I also told you, I've had a crush on Neon since grade school, I'm not giving up this easily. I don't need to steal him forever, I just need him to see how much I care!"

Beauty nodded. "Mhm. Mhm. I think I see your problem here. You just haven't gotten laid in a while, and that need is making you completely crazy. Frederick, you want to help your friend out?"

Frederick held out a hoof and stepped back. "Woah now, leave me out of this! If Octavia's got a problem, she can deal with it on her own. I think she's old enough to handle herself."

Octavia threw her hooves in the air. "Thank you, Frederick! I can handle my own needs and desires. You don't have to act like my parents."

Beauty grumbled. "Well, we're going to have to if you keep acting like a filly. But whatever, we'll let you loose this one time. I hope in time you realize what an idiot you've been."

Octavia stood up and smugly replied, "I wouldn't count on it." She then walked out to work on her plan.

Once she was gone, Frederick turned to Beauty. "We...we're not going to turn into her parents, are we?"

"I really hope not. I'm only two years older than her."

Author's Note

No, I'm not taking the story off of official hiatus yet. I just wrote this because I needed a break from Discord's Guide to Clopfics. You probably won't see another chapter of this until that story is done. I also need more time to figure out where the hell this story is going, because I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.

I'm also changing the chapter naming method. Before, I was kind of making conversation with the titles. Now, every chapter is going to be named after something Ross has said.