Author's Notes:

Five days until the Friendship Games.

Lemon Zest jumped out of bed. "Good news: It's Sunday! Bad news:...it's Sunday." She sighed. "Great. School tomorrow." she said with all the enthusiasm of a piece of wood. She made a sputtering noise. "Well, at least the Friendship Games seem like a good distraction."

Lemon slid down the stairs on the banister. "Hey-o, parentals!" she said as she entered the dining room.

"Mornin', kiddo!" said her father.

"Sleep well?" asked her mother.

"Well, I didn't have a nightmare about blood on my hands, so I guess I did." said Lemon as she smiled.

"That's good." said Florid.

"No plans today?" asked Lemon.

"Nope." her parents said simultaneously.

"Huh." said Lemon. "Normally you guys have something lined up."

"Not this time around." said her dad.

Lemon Zest shrugged and ate breakfast, then went into the living room to watch television. She channel surfed for all of about ten minutes. Finding absolutely nothing good on, Lemon threw her hands up in defeat, went to the kitchen and ate breakfast. Man, I forgot how crappy Sunday morning/afternoon television was...

Suddenly her dad's phone went off, nearly startling her.

"Dad, someone's calling you!" said Lemon.

"I got it, kiddo!" Citrus said as he grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" he said as he left the room.

Love the guitar riff, I'll have to ask him about that ringtone later. thought Lemon with a smile. Okay, so nobody has any plans for today...hopefully today's just going to be smooth sailing. "Might as well go out for a jog since there doesn't seem to be anything for me to do..."

As Lemon headed to the door, she noticed it was raining out. "Ah, crap. I hate getting wet in the rain. Even if I have an umbrella on me!" She sighed. What to do, what to do... "Geez...maybe one of these day I should make my own plans..." she thought out loud as the very real possibility of boredom slowly reared its ugly head. "Boredom makes people do crazy things..." she said, flashing back to that one time she saw someone snap from boredom. Lemon shuddered. I'm never going to look at chickens the same way again... ever .

Forcing the memory to the deepest, darkest recesses of her brain so it could haunt her again in her mid-forties, Lemon Zest moved on with her life. "What to do..." God I wish I had my license. "Screw it." said Lemon. "Hey, parentals? You guys up for a movie or something?"

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After the movie, Lemon smiled. "That movie never gets old, no matter how many times I see it. Glad that killed some time! Now what?" She looked outside. Finally, it stopped raining! "Going out for a jog! I promise I'll hide the body better this time!"

"We're calling the police in advance, kiddo!" said Citrus.

"Good luck catching me!" said Lemon, wearing a wide grin. She walked out the door, then began jogging. I may hate getting rained on, but I love the smell it leaves on the grass... she took a deep whiff of the air around her and exhaled a sigh of contentment. "Aww, yeah. Right up there with freshly cut grass and lemons." she said as she continued on her way.

"Hope I'm not anywhere near Sour's neighborhood. Bad enough I beat the crap out of her yesterday, I imagine if she saw me right now I'd be a dead woman." Just remember your promise, Lemon. Remember your promise. Lemon bumped into someone, shaking her out of her thoughts. Can't I go one freaking day without bumping into "Dean Cadence? Let me guess...this is your neighborhood?"

Cadence smiled and nodded. "You look like you have something on your mind."

Lemon took a deep breath. "Do you have time? It's a pretty long story, and I don't want it affecting my permanent record..."

Cadence raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry." Lemon smiled nervously. "I'm just really nervous about how you'll react."

Dean Cadence smiled warmly. "Now Lemon Zest, you know I don't judge students. It's not my place."

Lemon took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled, feeling slightly reassured. "Okay. Here goes..."

As calmly as she could, Lemon told Cadence every last detail of her meeting with Twilight Sparkle all the way to when her new friend left. If Cadence was shocked, she was good at hiding it.

"I...see..." said Cadence. "It was outside of school grounds, so I'm afraid it's beyond my jurisdiction. "And you haven't seen nor heard from Sour Sweet since?"

Lemon shook her head. "No, I haven't. But I'm legit worried about her. She admitted to being jealous and my mom did say she was crying. As a matter of fact, she was crying during our fight at Crystal Prep. Telling me that I 'knew nothing of pain and heartache'." Lemon sighed. "I'm not sure what to think. I mean, having Twilight as a friend has been a real eye-opener for me, you know?"

Cadence nodded.

With Twilight in her mind, Lemon felt tempted to ask about Shining Armor. Time and a place, Lemon. Time and a place. she thought to herself in order to discourage the topic.

"It just makes me think CPA would be a much better place if we were all friends and not constantly at each other's throats. It makes me wonder what things are like at Canterlot High. Not just the rumors about magic I've heard, but the rumor going around now is how they've all been excelling since their Fall Formal and the musical showcase they had. They all seem...happier there. Now I wouldn't leave Crystal Prep for the world, but would it be so bad if we started...I don't know...caring about each other?"

Cadence put a hand on Lemon's shoulder. "If only there were more students who thought like you." she smiled. "Maybe someday things will improve. You just have to have faith that it will."

Lemon smiled. "Yeah...but faith can only get you so far. Sometimes you need to take action."

Cadence's smile widened. "Well said, Lemon Zest. Well said. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be somewhere. Have a nice rest of your day!" she said as she waved goodbye.

Lemon smiled and waved goodbye.

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Throughout the remainder of the day, Lemon kept replaying the conversation in the back of her mind. 'If only there were more students like me', huh? she said as she put on her pajamas. If only there were more principals like Dean Cadence... she thought as she climbed into bed. "Heh...imagine. Principal Cadence. Oh, if only..." were Lemon's last words before she fell asleep.