Author's Notes:

Four days until the Friendship Games.

Writing this chapter made me wish I had music to listen to on the way to and during school.

Lemon woke up slowly, realizing what day it was. She sighed. Man, screw Mondays. Even if the Friendship Games tryouts are today. Screw. Mondays. She made a sputtering noise and put on her uniform. At least I'll have my headset back. she thought as she went downstairs. "Morning, parentals." she muttered with all the enthusiasm of a bored person forced to attend a mandatory prep rally.

"Ya get hit with the Monday blues?" asked Citrus.

"Yeah...kinda." sighed Lemon.

Florid held out Lemon's headphones.

"At least this kinda makes up for it." she said as she gratefully took the cherished item from her mother. "Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome, honey. Lunch is in the fridge...and try not to get into any trouble with Sour Sweet, okay?" she said with a look of concern.

Lemon rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I made a promise. How often do I break those?"

"I know, I know. We just don't want you to get into any more trouble than you already have." said Florid.

"I know, I know." said Lemon, teasing her mother by impersonating her.

"Well have a good day at Crystal Prep, kiddo!" said Citrus.

"Is it actually possible for all those words to be in the same sentence?" asked Lemon, in mock surprise.

"Just get going, you goofball!" her father said with a grin.

"Love you guys!" said Lemon as she left. "Okay, Monday. Show me what you got!" she said as she made her way to the bus stop. She put on a tune to get her ready for the day.

Lemon nodded her head to the beat, feeling the melody take her over. She heard the bus approach and jumped in.

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Once Lemon arrived at school, she made her way to her locker and found a note on it. She immediately recognized the handwriting.

This. Ends. Today. On a field of my choosing. - Sour

"Great, so I won't even know when I'm going to get ambushed." muttered Lemon as she crumpled up the note and threw it into the nearest garbage can. "At least I'm not the paranoid type." Still, It'd probably be a good idea to watch my back. And before I bump into another person, my front for that matter. Lemon stopped in the middle of the hallway and put the palm of her hand to her forehead. "Dammit, now I am getting paranoid."

"Are you okay, Lemon?" said a voice from behind her.

"Holy shit!" yelped Lemon, caught off-guard. Catching her breath, she turned around to see Twilight looking at her with worry. She calmed down quickly. "Oh, man. I'm sorry if I worried you, Twilight."

"You're sorry? I swear I made you jump three feet!" said Twilight.

They shared a laugh.

"But really, Lemon...what's wrong?" asked Twilight.

Lemon sighed. "Sour Sweet left a note on my locker saying our whole feud or whatever ends today. 'On a field of her choosing'. It's making me watch my back...and my everything else for that matter..."

"I don't know how much of a help I can be, but if there's anything I can do don't hesitate to tell me. Okay?" said Twilight.

"Oh!" Lemon said suddenly, causing Twilight to yelp.

"Gah!"

They both stared at each other for a moment, then laughed.

"Sorry about that." said Lemon, blushing from embarrassment. "I've been meaning to exchange phone numbers with you the last couple of times so we could keep in touch. You know, texting." she smiled.

Twilight smiled back. "Sounds good to me."

They exchanged phone numbers.

"Sweet!" said Lemon. "Now if either of us has a problem, we can have each others back anywhere! Thanks a ton, dude!" she hugged Twilight.

"Dude?" said Twilight, confused.

"I call people dude when I get really excited over something." explained Lemon.

"I...guess that makes sense." said Twilight as she returned the hug.

The school bell rang. "Oh, crap!" said Lemon. "We'd better get going. See you around!" they both broke the hug and ran to their respective classes.

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First period had come and gone, and not a sight of nor sound from Sour Sweet. Just stay cool, Lemon Zest. The last thing you need is to be paranoid. She shook her head. Sour's not the type to play mind games, she's far too direct for that. She's also never made empty threats, so there's that... Lemon immediately snapped herself out of her thoughts on the chance she might bump into someone or something. I'd need that like I'd need a concussion, which might happen if I angle it correctly-what am I saying?! Lemon made a sputtering noise. "Ugh, I can't wait for my session with Radiant Hope...that should ease the tension I'm feeling."

The bell rang, snapping Lemon back to Crystal Prep Academy. She sighed. "Okay, second period. Bring it."

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"Another period come and gone, and still no Sour..." said Lemon as she looked around warily. No. Enough with that thinking. You'll deal with it when the time comes. What matters now is the present, not the future. "Well, it's one more period, then my appointment with Radiant Hope." One of the few things I look forward to around here... She turned on some music to get her through passing period as she made her way to her next class, still keeping an eye out for Sour Sweet. Screw it. I'm keeping my guard up, just in case. she thought as she entered her next class.

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"Oh, thank fuck that class is over. So boring!" She put on another tune to keep herself occupied as she walked over to the counselor's offices. I know I'm getting paranoid, but I'm still worried about Sour on some level. I hope she's okay. She reached the Appointments desk. "Hey, I'm here to see Radiant Hope." she told the man at the desk.

"She's seeing someone right now, please take a seat." said the man behind the desk.

Lemon sat down for what seemed like an eternity.

"Lemon?" said Radiant Hope.

Finally! thought Lemon as she followed the counselor into the office.