Author's Notes:

One Day remains...

(I was writing this chapter on my phone and I accidentally hit the publish button partway through, hence the date.)

Lemon nearly jumped out of bed the moment she woke up. The Friendship Games are tomorrow!! she thought, grinning as widely as possible. She had to suppress a squeal of excitement.

"Parentals!" Lemon said. "Tomorrow is the Friendship Ga-" she froze on the spot, remembering all that had happened yesterday. Well, there goes the hype... she thought, frowning. Might as well face the music...

She walked into the kitchen to see her parents. "Hi." She said, unable to look either of them in the eye.

"Don't let your punishment get in the way of your enthusiasm, Lemon." said her mother.

"Your mom's right, kiddo." said Citrus. "I know neither of us need to say it, but the Friendship Games are a pretty big deal."

"I know." said Lemon. "Everybody won't stop talking about it..."

"Are you starting to feel the pressure?" asked her father.

Lemon shrugged. "All I know is that the persistent feeling in my gut is slowly firing up."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Asked Florid.

Lemon shrugged again. "I'd give you an answer, but I still have no idea what it means."

"Well at least it's not bad. That's what matters." said Florid. "Lunch is in the fridge, see you later!"

"Thanks! Love ya, parentals!" Lemon said as she walked out the door.

"Do you think she suspects anything?" asked Citrus.

"I'm sure she does, she's a smart girl. But I believe she'll dismiss it as overthinking." said Florid.

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Lemon found a seat and started playing music, knowing she should enjoy it before her headphones get confiscated by her mother.

All the students on the bus were talking about the Friendship Games. I don't blame them, thought Lemon. This is the most hyped event of the school year, after all.

The bus stopped in front of Crystal Prep and all the students got off. Lemon looked around for any sign of trouble, and thankfully found none. She breathed a sigh of relief, but kept her guard up all the same.

Sucks that Twilight's not going to be around for part of the day... thought Lemon. I don't even have an appointment with Radiant Hope. Lemon sighed. Maybe Sour Sweet's ready to talk now? "That is, if I can even find her first..." Lemon muttered under her breath.

She walked around the halls of Crystal Prep, keeping an eye out for her teammates. I should probably apologize to them. It's bad enough I fucked things up with Sour, but probably pissing off the rest of the team didn't do me any favors.

"Well, let's just see how today goes, shall we?" she though aloud.

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First period went by quickly, much to Lemon's surprise. Huh. And here I was thinking it would drag on and on. She took another look around. No sign of Twilight or the rest of my teammates. Lemon shrugged and put on some music to pass the time before second period.

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Second period was a bit slower than the first, but Lemon wasn't complaining. This suited her just fine. She just wished she had someone to talk to, she was kind of starting to feel lonely....

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Third period felt like an eternity in hell. When Lemon left the classroom, she took a deep breath and exhaled. I feel like I just served a life sentence... she thought. As she walked the halls, she could still not find hide nor hair of her friend or the Shadowbolts. Man, if it was just me in the halls I'd start to freak out. She shook her head. Seriously, Lemon Zest! Enough with the paranoia! she chided herself. "On to the next class..."

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Fourth period had come and gone, and the hallways we're still lacking Twilight Sparkle and the remaining Shadowbolts. "Okay..." said Lemon. "What gives? Is this some kind of fucked up mind game?" Maybe she should try to have an impromptu session with Radiant Hope later today.

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Lunch period rolled around, and Lemon went to the cafeteria, her shoulders slumped.

"Lemon?" said a voice she'd been dying to hear all day.

Lemon turned around quickly and almost tackle-hugged Twilight.

"Ack!" Yelped Twilight.

Lemon blushed and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry... today's been pretty damn uneventful."

Twilight blinked.

"So...what about you, Twilight? Find what you were looking for?"

Twilight sighed heavily.

Lemon gave Twilight a look of concern. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Twilight sighed again. "You want the short version or the long version?"

Lemon thought for a moment. "...Short version. Judging by the look on your face and the tone of your voice, the long version would probably take the rest of lunch period."

"Well, you wouldn't be too far off." Said Twilight.

"So what's bothering you?" asked Lemon.

"Principal Cinch is basically blackmailing me to get me to compete in the Friendship Games." said Twilight, looking sad.

Lemon's mind started running a mile a minute. Just yesterday she had blackmailed Sunny Flare and the rest of the Shadowbolts, and now this happened. She nearly fell over from shock from Twilight's news, but she could feel her guilt and tears rising at an alarming rate when she uttered the words "Oh my God...I'm no better than Principal Cinch..."

Upon hearing those words, Twilight snapped out of her funk and grabbed her friend by her collar, looking her straight in the eyes. "Now you listen to me, Lemon Zest. You are nothing like Principal Cinch. You and I just had a fall from grace. But you know what? The best part of falling is that you can get back up again..." Twilight began shedding tears. "Because when you do get back up, it's one of the greatest feelings in the world!" Twilight said as her voice quavered.

"I hate to interrupt the moment you two are having, but you guys need to come with me." said a newcomer.

Lemon and Twilight, both still with tears in their eyes, turned to find the source of the voice.

"Principal Cinch wants you two to meet the rest of the team." said Sour Sweet.