Author's Notes:

I know I skipped detention as a chapter, but I might do one for Twilight in her book.

Lemon and Twilight left detention after a couple of hours. Yikes. Thought Lemon. Twilight had it really rough back there. But now that it's over, she seems to be doing better. "Twilight?" asked Lemon.

Twilight turned to Lemon with a sad look in her eyes. "Yes?" she said faintly.

"Are you...going to be okay now?"

Twilight sighed. "Well, I'm not as guilt-ridden about it as I was initially now that I've served my sentence..."

"Geez, Twilight. It was detention, not prison." said Lemon.

"The whole of today felt like a prison to me. A personal hell." Twilight said flatly. "But at least I have a majority of the guilt out of my system."

"'A majority'?" repeated Lemon.

Twilight nodded slowly. "I pried open numerous floorboards, but I still don't have the heart...if you understand my metaphor."

Lemon smiled sadly. "Yeah...I get it. The guilt's going to stay with you for a while, Twilight. I still feel bad about pummeling Sour Sweet...and I wonder how she's doing right now. I've seen glimpses of her in the hallway, but she still refuses to make contact with me. Not to mention that I think the rest of the Shadowbolts are either pissed at me, afraid of me, or both." She sighed. "We're both going to have to live with this, Twilight. I know it's not easy."

Twilight frowned. "It was driving me absolutely insane, Lemon Zest. I had to tell a figure of authority or I fear I would have gone off the deep end."

"Are you going to tell your parents?" asked Lemon.

"Honestly?" said Twilight. "I don't know. I've always been a good student, and I'm proud of that...please forgive the word...reputation."

Lemon shuddered. "Gah. Thanks to Principal Cinch, I fucking hate that word."

"Sorry." said Twilight.

"No need to apologize." said Lemon.

"Maybe Radiant Hope has already called our parents and told them..." said Twilight, worry slowly showing on her face.

"Tell you what..." said Lemon. "Just act like nothing happened today, but if you can't avoid it, tell the truth."

"I don't know...I don't really like the thought of lying to my parents. I mean, I will admit that I've lied by omission, and one would say that's lying...plain and simple." said Twilight.

Lemon shrugged. "Well I won't pressure you. This whole day has put a lot on your plate,"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Tell me about it." she deadpanned.

Lemon winced. "Sorry. Did I hit a sore spot?"

Twilight smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Lemon.

"Hey." said Twilight. "If I'm struggling, I'll connect with you. That sound good?"

Lemon smiled. "Yes. Yes it does."

"Then I'll see you around." said Twilight.

Lemon waved goodbye to Twilight.

---------------------------------------------

The remainder of the day was uneventful for Lemon, to say the least. It seemed her fellow Shadowbolts were still avoiding her like the plague, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. She sputtered. "Well...off to home base I go." she thought aloud as she walked to where the buses were waiting.

She found a seat and put on a tune to pass the time as the bus moved away from Crystal Prep.

I wonder what this Canterlot High is like? thought Lemon. I've passed it by several times while jogging, but I've never seen it from the inside. She smiled. Nowhere near as good looking as Crystal Prep, but I guess it has a rustic charm all its own. The bus reached her stop, snapping her out of her thoughts. She got off her seat and exited the bus, waving to the driver.

Lemon entered her house and went to the kitchen. "Hey, parentals." she said, surprising herself with her flat tone.

"Hey, kiddo...you all right?" said Citrus.

"I...guess." said Lemon.

"You sure don't sound all right." said Florid.

No... thought Lemon as she felt an all too familiar feeling creep up on her.

"I just had a rough day, that's all." said Lemon, out of force of habit from the last few days at Crystal Prep. SHIT! I had to say that. Fuck me seven ways from Sunday! she thought as she was fully aware of the next sentence either one of her parents would say. She turned her back to her parents, clenching her teeth and hands and closing her eyes tightly, dreading that inevitable question...

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked her father.

Lemon's knees buckled as she felt her emotions stirring. God fucking dammit!

Florid sprinted over to Lemon. "Are you okay?"

Lemon felt tears streaming down her face as her breath began to hitch. No, Lemon. Stay strong. Don't let them break you! she nodded her head.

"Lemon...we're your parents. You can tell us anything. We're here for you. We love you." said Citrus.

Any rational thought Lemon Zest had had completely vanished upon hearing her father's words. "I can't lie to you guys...I love you both so much!" were her last words before she lost control of herself. In no time at all, her parents embraced her as Lemon rode out her emotions for what she hoped would be the last time of the day.

After she calmed down, she took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay...I don't know how else to do this, so I'll give everything to you straight..." She told her parents everything, save for all the secrets Twilight had revealed to her. Lemon would stop from time to time, just to calm down. After she finished, she looked at her parents.

Florid Abundance and Citrus Splash remained silent. Lemon stood still, a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead. The tension in the air was palpable. Lemon tried her hardest not to break the silence, it was becoming unbearable! Her father sighed, startling her.

"Lemon Zest...go to your room." said Citrus, softly. "Your mother and I will discuss your punishment while you wait."

Shit...I've almost never seen him get this angry before... Lemon thought. She nodded, knowing that if she uttered another word, it would set her father off. She walked upstairs slowly, her fate now in the hands of her parents.