It was another gloriously sunny day in the town of Canterlot, and in the local high school, the day was passing pretty happily for all concerned. The classes were more-or-less finished, the students were all packing up for the day, and everywhere one went there were boys, girls and teachers all getting ready to head on home. Those who stayed all did so because of some extra-curricular activity, like those in the sports teams or other clubs. One such stay-behind student was Pinkie Pie, who, along with her closest friends, had become something of a celebrity around these parts thanks to her efforts in thwarting so many of the magical threats to have emerged over the last few years. However, today, she had far simpler things on her mind, like delivering a box of music sheets to the school's music room, which, as usual, she did with a smile.

In truth, she would always have been happy to go to that room, given that she and her friends often spent time there practising with their various instruments. However, their band, the Rainbooms, hadn't really had much time to do so recently, what with the Friendship Games and all. Still, she did her task in a cheery manner, greeting all of her fellow students as she passed them by. Although, when she actually got to the music room, she was surprised to hear the distinct sound of drumbeats from the other side of the door. Curious, she put the box down and turned the knob of the door, opening it and finding an unexpected visitor on the other side. There, standing behind her drum kit, was none other than Lemon Zest, a girl who had competed along several others as part of the Crystal Prep team recently. Seeing her, Pinkie put on a welcoming face.

"Um, hello?"

Unfortunately, Lemon was in no position to actually hear her, for the girl was currently busy beating a pair of sticks against Pinkie's instrument. And if that wasn't enough, she was, as per usual, wearing a pair of headphones and keeping her eyes shut tight, smiling all the way. She was definitely enthusiastic about the drums, that much was certain, though to Pinkie, the music wasn't really all that great. As Lemon kept on bashing away, having the time of her life, Pinkie brought the box in and set it aside before walking closer to her, speaking up once again.

"Er, excuse me?"

But, once again, Lemon didn't hear her, leading to what was definitely a rare sight around these parts; Pinkie Pie looking annoyed.

"EXCUSE ME!!!"

This time, her words got through, and Lemon immediately snapped her eyes open, catching sight of Pinkie almost instantly. Realising that she was being watched, she stopped her drumming, putting her sticks aside before looking at the pink-haired girl in earnest.

"Oh! Hey there! Didn't expect to see you here."

Pinkie, having recovered from her earlier annoyance with an almost inhuman speed, put on a massive smile before replying to Lemon.

"Nice to see you too! Didn't think I'd see you here either."

Lemon nodded at that before giving the drums a quick pat with her hand.

"Normally, I wouldn't, but I kept on hearing that you guys had some killer bands here, so I thought I'd check it out. I found the music room here, saw these drums and, well...”

But Pinkie raised a hand, stopping her from continuing as she started speaking herself.

"Say no more! I can barely keep from playing those drums myself most of the time. Well...to be honest I can't usually stop myself from doing anything, but still..."

At that, Lemon turned to her with a look of surprise on her face.

"Wait...these are your drums? Oh, man! I'm so sorry!"

But Pinkie just snorted at that.

"There's no need to say sorry, silly! You seemed to really like them, and who am I to come between a girl and what makes her happy?"

Although somewhat taken aback by those words, Lemon soon let out a brief chuckle.

"Man, you are so cool about this kinda stuff!"

Pinkie put her hands on her hips and struck a prideful pose.

"Yeah, I know."

After that, she walked over to the box she'd brought, opening it up and setting aside some of the music sheets she'd been asked to bring.

"So, do you guys do a lot of music over at Crystal Prep? I'm guessing you're pretty good at it, you know, like everything else you do there."

But to that, Lemon simply let out a grunt of annoyance, letting her head rest on the drums before her.

"Yeah, kinda. But Cinch always says we're supposed to stick to "proper" music. Lots of violins and flutes and stuff. Nothing great, like this stuff!"

Pinkie looked to her, at the way she was looking at her drums with such envy, and considered those words.

"You really like this kind of music so much?"

At that, Lemon broke out into an even bigger smile.

"Are you kidding?! I love this kinda stuff! It's just so exciting and awesome and...and...and cool!"

Pinkie smiled at that, gesturing to her ears for a moment.

"I'm guessing that's what you listen to on those nice headphones, right?"

Nodding in agreement, Lemon took the aforementioned headphones off for perhaps the first time since Pinkie had first seen her.

"I sure do! Wanna listen?"

Pinkie's smile widened at that and she nodded enthusiastically, silently agreeing to the offer. Getting up from her task, the pink girl walked over to Lemon, and the latter carefully placed her headphones over her ears, which wasn't easy given all of the puffy hair she had to get past first. Once they were on, Lemon pushed a button on her player, and out came the music. The effect was immediate, as Pinkie suddenly looked as if she was hit by a bolt of electricity, holding onto the headphones with a look on her face that made it clear just how loud those tunes were. As for Lemon, she looked to her and, knowing from experience just how loud the music was, shouted to get Pinkie to hear her.

"IT'S AWESOME, RIGHT?"

Pinkie tried putting on a smile at that, but the music was getting too much for her, and so she yanked the headphones off, letting out a deep sigh shortly after doing so.

"Wow...that was really...um...loud."

Lemon smiled at that, apparently having not noticed the less-than-enthusiastic way Pinkie had said that.

"I know! I love music like this! They're pretty much the only excitement I get when I'm over at CP. I can't even tell you how dull my day would be if I didn't have this little baby with me all the time."

She patted her music device in an affectionate manner, to which Pinkie couldn't help but smile back at.

"It's good you've got something to make you happy at that stuffy old school."

But, her expression soon turned to guilt as she realised what she'd just said.

"Ooh! I'm...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."

But Lemon raised a hand, stopping her.

"Nah, its fine. Even I'd talk about it like that. It may be the best of the best, but it's not where you wanna go for a fun time."

Turning form her, Lemon looked around at the music room, and gestured to it with a single hand.

"Not like this school."

Pinkie considered her for a moment, looking from her to the rest of the room and then back again. For a while, there was silence between the two girls, during which, Pinkie put her finger to her chin, looking as if she was thinking over something important. After a few moments of this, she let out a loud gasp, gaining Lemon's attention again, and before the latter could react, Pinkie grabbed a hold of her, bringing her face close with a massive smile upon it.

"I've got an idea! If you love that kind of music, and Crystal Prep doesn't let you play that kind of music, then why don't you come here for it?!"

At that, Lemon's eyes grew wide.

"R...really?! You'd be okay with me coming here for that?"

Pinkie nodded, slapping a single hand upon Lemon's shoulder.

"Sure I would, silly! I'm not going to deny a fellow drum-lover the chance to hear some beats! In fact, how about I help you practise on them when you come to visit?"

To that, Lemon took on a look that made it clear she was touched. In fact, she actually looked like she was welling up at this point.

"That...that's so..."

But, rather than let out a barrage of tears and emotion, as was usually customary with such a gesture, she merely put on a look similar to what she had when she played the drums earlier, speaking up loudly.

"That sounds awesome, Pinks! You got yourself a deal!"

Nodding to her, Pinkie then finalised the matter with an unexpected leapt forward, grabbing hold of Lemon in a hug. Though the latter was clearly unused to getting this kind of treatment, she soon got used to it, rolling her eyes before smirking a little and patting Pinkie's back as she held her. When Pinkie finally let go, she began to move over to her drums, with Lemon watching her the whole way. Once there, she picked up the drum sticks that Lemon had set to one side, and then twirled them around in her fingers in a display that clearly impressed the Crystal Prep girl. With that done, Pinkie then let out a series of beat on the drum herself, with Lemon watching in amazement. When Pinkie's far more professional-sounding session on the drums was finally done, she looked to Lemon with sheer confidence in her eyes.

"Okey-doki-loki! Lesson one!"