Lemon Zest quite literally jumped out of bed. "Oh, shit! It's finally time to kick some Canterlot High Wondercolt ass!" she said excitedly. She quickly changed into her uniform and ran downstairs. "Hey, parentals! Sorry I can't chat, I'm too freaking excited about the Friendship Games! I know where lunch is. See you guys later and love you!" she said as she bolted out the door.

Citrus Splash and Florid Abundance gave each other confused looks, then shrugged and went about their day.

Lemon got into the back of the bus and started bouncing up and down out of pure excitement. It was only until Sugarcoat reached the back of the bus that she stopped.

Sugarcoat gave Lemon a disappointed look. "Don't get my hopes up like that, Lemon Zest. I thought there were people fucking back here!"

Lemon froze in place for a few seconds, opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it. After a while, words formed in her head and came out of her mouth. "I...don't know how I feel about that." she said, still processing this new quirk of Sugarcoat's. She remained silent all the way to Crystal Prep.

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Once the bus reached Crystal Prep, all the students got out. "You go on ahead, Sugarcoat. I have...um...business that I need to tend to." said Lemon.

Sugarcoat shrugged. "Suit yourself. Later." she said as she headed for the school entrance.

Lemon ran to the nearest bush and hid inside it.

Are you in position? - Sent by Lemon Zest

Sure am! Are you? - Sent by Indigo Zap

Yep! Is the target in sight? - Sent by Lemon Zest

Not yet, but I'll let you know! - Sent by Indigo Zap

Before Lemon could respond, she felt a hand around her mouth. She tried to scream, but could only let out a muffled yelp. She turned to see Sour Sweet.

"Hey." Sour said. "What are you doing in here?"

"Jesus fucking Christ almighty on a goddamn pogo stick, Sour Sweet! You scared the fuck out of me!" Lemon whispered sharply.

Sour smiled sheepishly. She regained her composure quickly. "I'm sorry." she said.

"It's okay." said Lemon.

"No. It's not." said said Sour.

Lemon blinked, then realized what Sour was really apologizing for. "Look, neither of us knew I'd react like that. It's in the past." she said.

Sour sighed. "I know, but I still can't help but feel guilty. I mean, we were on the verge of rekindling our friendship, and I had to say those stupid, stupid words!" her voice cracked.

Lemon looked at Sour. "Hey now, I know you didn't mean to upset me. It was a total accident. I couldn't help the way I felt...and apparently still feel about you." Lemon said, blushing slightly. "It's like I want to move on, but I can't...like I won't let myself...but I don't want to drive you away." she said, feeling a lump in her throat. "Because I'm scared that if I do drive you away..." she trailed off, sniffling. "You'd feel that you have nothing left to live for." Lemon's breathing hitched.

"Lemon..." Sour said, putting her hand to her mouth.

"Please don't kill yourself, Sour Sweet!" Lemon began sobbing. "I...I don....I don't know what I'd do with myself if you did!" She shot over to Sour and hugged her tightly. "I want to do everything within my power to prevent that from happening!"

Sour smiled, tears of her own flowing. "Lemon...I promise you I won't. I've been having sessions with Radiant Hope ever since the one we had together. That day truly was an eye-opener for me. I never feel like I'm alone as long as I have a guidance counselor like Radiant Hope...or a friend like you." she said as she gently stroked Lemon's hair in an effort to calm her down.

Upon hearing Sour Sweet refer to her as a friend, Lemon Zest lost any sense of rational thought and let out all of her emotions. She focused on all that she had been through, mentally and emotionally, over the past week and let out an ear-piercing howl of anguish that could be heard by all outside. Drained, but still crying, Lemon went limp in Sour Sweet's arms until Radiant Hope found them.

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Once Radiant Hope brought the pair into her office, Sour Sweet explained everything. Lemon was asleep next to her, as her emotional outburst took nearly all of her energy.

Hope gave Sour a meaningful look. "You did the right thing, Sour Sweet."

Sour gave Hope a confused look. "I...I did?"

Hope nodded. "Lemon's release of emotions was strong, to say the least, but it's a sign that while she'll still feel the pain for some time to come, she's beginning to truly heal."

Sour raised an eyebrow at Hope.

Hope smiled. "It means that since she let it all out, she had forced herself to accept that you would simply be friends."

Sour frowned. "You make it sound bad."

"But it's not, Sour." said Hope. "It's all part of the healing process."

Lemon opened her eyes and got up slowly. "What...happened?" her eyes shot wide open as everything came back to her. "Oh, shit! What time is it?! Did I miss the Friendship Games?!"

Sour smiled. "No, you didn't. You've only been out for like an hour. You've still got two hours left."

Lemon took a deep breath and exhaled. "Okay, there's still time then."

"Time for what?" asked Sour.

"I'll explain later. Thanks, Hope!" said Lemon as she took Sour by the hand and left Hope's office. She took out her phone.

Is everything okay? I thought I heard screaming! - Sent by Indigo Zap

I'll explain later, all you need to know is that I'm fine. - Sent by Lemon Zest

If you say so. We still have an opportunity to do this. - Sent by Indigo Zap

Perfect. Just let me know when the target's in position, I'm en route to the original hiding spot. - Sent by Lemon Zest

Will do! - Sent by Indigo Zap

Once they reached the bushes, Lemon and Sour stopped.

"What the hell is going on?!" asked Sour.

Lemon grinned. "I made a wager with Indigo last night." she said.

Sour blinked. "You what?"

"I made a wager with Indigo last night." Lemon repeated.

"Oookay...so what does this have to do with us being in the bushes?" asked Sour.

"I bet Indigo that she couldn't humiliate Sunny Flare in public in an absolutely ridiculous manner." said Lemon, grinning widely.

"Oh, fuck." said Sour, grinning from ear to ear. "This is gonna be good."

"It will be. She said she wouldn't do it for money, just one condition." said Lemon.

"And that's why we're hiding in these bushes?" asked Sour.

"Yep. The condition was that I record it on my phone." said Lemon.

Target's in position! - Sent by Indigo Zap

Recording...NOW! - Sent by Lemon Zest

Out of nowhere, the sound of airhorns came rushing towards Sunny Flare as she jumped from being startled. The source of the noise was coming from a person in a gorilla suit, throwing sardines at its target, landing an occasional bullseye.

Lemon and Sour were howling with laughter as the former managed to record the whole scene despite shaking with mirth.

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The time had finally come. The moment Lemon Zest had been waiting for. Hours and hours of waiting led up to this. Lemon Zest took a deep breath, exhaled...then selected a kickass tune with guitars to pump her up for the Friendship Games. "Time to kick some motherfucking ASS!" she shouted. "Friendship games, here I come!" she said excitedly as she boarded the bus, unaware of how the rest of the day would change her life forever.

Author's Notes:

This was one hell of a ride, and I enjoyed every. Fucking. Minute of it. From the looks of it, so did you guys! Thanks for the support!