Lemon Zest shuffled aimlessly through the halls of Crystal Prep Academy.
The last class period had ended a few minutes ago. All around her, students were chatting and lugging their bags. Lemon barely noticed them. She was more focused on the little thundercloud over her head.
That, and the voices of her friends echoing through her mind.
"Sorry, Lemon, but if I don't get my lines right by this time next week, my world will literally end! You understand, right?" Sunny Flare had said, before running into the auditorium.
"Sure, Lemon, I totally feel like hanging out today. I mean, who wouldn't after having been completely humiliated?" Sour Sweet had snapped.
"Sorry, Lemon. I gotta get in extra practice! I don't want to think for a second that I'm losing my touch! Not after today!" Indigo Zap had said, then run off while putting on a headband.
"Your headphones are on crooked again," Sugarcoat had pointed out, flatly. "Keep doing that and you'll end up with imbalanced hearing."
Lemon sighed heavily and shook her head to clear her mind. It didn't work. Instead, she arrived at their usual meetup spot and grabbed her things from her locker. Then, she stood to wait.
Hopefully, everyone was feeling better now. After all, she'd only checked in with them, what? A few hours ago, tops? Sure, everyone would be totally fine. They had to be. Because all Lemon wanted was to sit down with her friends at Donut Joe's. And have a milkshake. And a pile of pastries. And talk like normal, and laugh like normal, and...
...and no one was coming. Gritting her teeth, Lemon fired off a mass text. Thunder rumbled above her. She folded her arms and waited some more.
Five minutes later: nothing.
Seven minutes later: her phone dinged! Spam. Aaaaargh.
Ten minutes later, the thundercloud roared and lightning flashed. Lemon flared her nostrils, clenched her phone so tight it creaked and, with a snarl, she sighed and shuffled away from the lockers. The school's back exit wasn't far away.
The halls were empty. Students had either filed off to their homes, or to the library and study halls. Lemon put on her headphones and sifted through her playlists. At the bottom, she found what she needed.
Slow, brooding sax music flooded her ears, and her mind. The cloud cracked another bolt of lightning and unleashed a massive downpour. Lemon sniffled.
She plodded along, her gaze locked firmly on the floor: clean and gleaming even after having been walked on all day. Clean, gleaming, and unchanging, except for the pastel blue pumps oh wow where had those come—
Lemon hit something, hard—and her thundercloud gained some decorative stars.
Lemon rubbed her spinning head, then opened her eyes. "Oh, owwww. Also, sorry," she said.
A white hand reached out to her. "No problem," said a somewhat familiar voice. "This happens to me a lot, actually. Usually my fault."
Lemon took the hand, and rose from the floor. "No, it's always my—" She stopped when she saw just who the hand belonged to.
It couldn't have been.
But… white dress, blue shades, headphones as big as her own... yes.
It was.
For one glorious moment, the thundercloud turned into a bright, shining sun. "Dude?" Lemon said.
"Dude," the girl replied, her grin widening just as much as Lemon's.
"Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!" the two exclaimed in unison. They traded high fives, and fell into a laughing hug.
"Vinyl? What are you doing here?" Lemon squealed. "This isn't your school! At least, I think it isn't..." She gasped and pointed. "Did you transfer here? Ooooooh, if you didn't transfer here, then you're totally asking for trouble! Principal Cinch is still mad at CHS for, like, everything!" Lemon put her hand to her chin. "Honestly, I don't ever think she'll stop being mad. She really has trouble letting things go—"
"No no, it's totally legit!" Vinyl said, waving her hands back and forth. "The other one who runs this place? Your dean, I think? She's started this sorta 'school exchange' thing." She waggled a finger vaguely. "So I was able to come here and see what your classes were like today. Which, of course, meant me just filling time till Music so I could finally see a familiar face."
Vinyl smiled, cocking her head at Lemon. "Course, I was pretty bummed when I couldn't find ya. I was looking around class the whole time, too."
"Oh, sorry, yeah. I have Music in the morning," Lemon said. "What'd ya think, though?"
Vinyl leaned against the lockers. "Uh... yeah. Your teacher's a Harshwhinny-grade hardcase. Heck, I think he might have Harshwhinny beat. I kept thinking about what those two would be like on a date. Took everything I had not to bust out laughing, mid-lecture!"
Lemon rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he gets like that. Did he tell you the story about how he was the son of a faaaamous musician and toured everywhere, yet?"
"Yeah. Twice," Vinyl scoffed.
"Wow." Lemon did a double-take and blinked. "He went easy on you."
Vinyl snorted. "Well, I'll still deal with nutjobs like that all day for the kind of equipment I saw in there." She grinned and bounced. "And that instrument selection! I may have to ask Principal Celestia about upgrading our music room."
Her grin shifted to show teeth. "Enough of that, though. It's time to answer the million dollar question: 'whatcha listenin' to?'" She grabbed Lemon's headphones. Before Lemon could say anything about the somber saxophones, Vinyl was already sampling. Her head bobbed... then slowed... then stopped.
She took the headphones off and dangled them between thumb and middle finger. She looked like she was holding a piece of roadkill.
And, just like that, Lemon's thundercloud was back in force.
"Dude. What... weak," Vinyl said, shaking her head. "Not the song, I mean, it's actually pretty well composed. I just mean, why are you listening to..."
Vinyl then looked at Lemon, who was looking at the floor. "...oh," she said, instantly sobering. She took Lemon's chin, and turned Lemon's face up to meet hers.
"Hey. Talk to me." Vinyl took off her shades, revealing wide, inquisitive magenta eyes. "It's cool. I got forever. But I've never seen you even approaching sad before. Gotta say, not a fan." Vinyl looked up. "The little cloud's cute, though."
"Thanks," Lemon said. "And yeah, it's not fun for me either." She leaned against the lockers, then slid down, hugging her knees. Vinyl sat beside her.
"You ever have one of those days where nothing goes right?" Lemon asked.
"Pretty much every day since Vice Principal Luna found out I exist?" Vinyl chuckled. When Lemon didn't react, Vinyl rested a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah. I get ya."
Lemon exhaled. "Well, that was today for every single one of my friends. Indigo's team practice went terrible, Sunny flubbed a dress rehearsal, they ran out of Sugarcoat's favorite lunch before she could get her serving, and Sour... well, Sour always gets in trouble for saying the wrong thing, but today something slipped out to a teacher and... it wasn't pretty. It went to the top."
Vinyl winced. "Harsh. So what happened to you to complete the sadness set?"
Lemon threw up her hands. "That's just it! Nothing happened to me today! I feel bad because of that! But it's also that I just... I like hanging out with them, and now I can't! They're all grouchy, and they just wanna be left alone!" She sighed heavily. "I know it's not their fault, but it still..." She thumped the back of her head against the locker. "It still really sucks."
Lemon stared at the ceiling for a long time. Vinyl waited, hand still touching her. "You know what hurts the worst, though?" Lemon finally said.
Vinyl squeezed Lemon's shoulder. "What's that?"
Lemon exhaled, letting her legs straighten out. Slumping over, she looked at her hands. "I can't do anything about it. Not by myself. Sugar's the one who's good with words, Sour doesn't care what anyone thinks, Sunny can feel however she wants whenever she wants, and Indigo's not afraid of anything. Me? I'm just... me." She picked at the hem of her skirt and sniffled.
"Lemme guess," Vinyl said. "Just 'that music girl?'"
Lemon rolled her eyes. "Occasionally 'the ditz.' But yeah."
"Eugh. And people ask me why I don't listen to this world." She held up Lemon's headphones. "Course, listening to this stuff doesn't help either. Mood you're in right now? All you're doing is causing a feedback loop. You gotta fight the murk, not drown in it."
Lemon rubbed at her nose. "I tried listening to the happy poppy stuff! Nothing worked!" She clutched her head. "All it did was remind me of what I wish I were doing, but can't!"
Vinyl smiled, shaking her head. "That stuff's the wrong tool for the job too." She stood up, holding her hand out to Lemon. "Come on."
Lemon took Vinyl's hand, and got to her feet. Still holding her hand, she followed Vinyl to Crystal Prep's music room.
Vinyl poked her head inside. "Empty. Awesome."
The two walked in. Vinyl locked the door, then licked her lips as she took in the equipment. "Nuance speakers, nine-point-one, perfectly positioned, all right, you've got my attention..." She then spied a large black box laden with buttons and sliders in the back corner of the room, and ran to it.
"An Avantgarde digital high-res receiver? These just came out!" She rubbed her hands together, cackling gleefully. "I knew my springing for a lossless player would come in handy one day, I just knew—"
"Um... should I be scared?" Lemon giggled as she watched Vinyl embrace the receiver while still cackling.
Vinyl snapped to attention, let go of the receiver, and stood back up. "Uh, ah... heh." She grinned sheepishly, scratching her head. "I won't lie: any other time? Absolutely." She stepped close to Lemon and smiled, giving Lemon's hands a quick squeeze. "But right now? I've got a fellow music mama who needs help. You come first."
Lemon's gaze dropped, and she felt her face warming. She grinned ever so slightly, and Vinyl's cheeks reddened in response.
Letting go and stepping away, Vinyl said, "Ahem. Um, anyway. Go ahead and set up a couple of chairs in front of the window? If there's one thing I learned sitting in classes today, it's that every window in this school has a totally sweet view."
"Heh. Sure." Lemon grabbed two free chairs, and set them in front of one of the larger windows near the back of the room. "All done!" She looked over to see Vinyl near the receiver. "Now what?"
Vinyl fiddled with buttons and turned knobs, then took out her portable music player and a connecting wire. "Go ahead and relax," she said. "Look out the window. Enjoy. I'll join you in just a sec."
Lemon sat down. She was used to staring out the music room window, but usually with her head turned to the side. Mr. Noteworthy's lectures were informative, but… kinda dull. So, of course, it was nice to finally look without the neck strain. Not to mention, it was really nice not having to worry about Mr. Noteworthy being all "Blaagh, pay attention, Miss Zest! Doesn't your generation something something ADD something in my day—"
Lemon shook her head, pushing thoughts of class out of her mind. School was for school. This time was hers.
Staring out the window now, she saw that the campus was as bright and sparkly as ever. Only a few students dotted the sports field and parking lot. The trees around the field swayed in an afternoon breeze. A bird flew lazily by. Thanks to the music room's soundproofing, all she heard was Vinyl fiddling with the electronics. It was so… quiet. In a good way.
Then, the music came, and it was no longer quiet. In the best way.
A heavenly melody trickled into the room, slowly filling it, and Lemon, up. The music started soft, then Vinyl must've worked the volume because it grew and grew, the trickle rising to a flood.
Rolling waves crashed against a beach. Soft, lilting piano notes hit the air. Subdued drums rounded the sound out, lulling against Lemon like a calming heartbeat... and was that birdsong? And wind?
Oh my gosh... Lemon exhaled, tension leaving her.
"Don't be afraid to close your eyes," Vinyl said from behind her, voice soothing. She leaned forward, unlatching the thick, soundproof glass. The flood of music shifted as Vinyl opened the window. It felt like it was flowing around Lemon, just as the outside breeze blew gently against her face.
"This is about losing yourself and being where you want to be," Vinyl continued, in that same low, comforting tone. Lemon felt Vinyl sit down more than she saw it. Her attention was focused elsewhere. On the breeze, on the music, on Vinyl's voice. Lemon only distantly registered it when Vinyl brushed against her shoulder.
"Hmmm. I got an idea," Vinyl said. "Pretend you're in one of those fast cars. Sporty and red. Top down. Endless road. No one else around. Sun in the sky, grass on all sides."
Lemon happily surrendered to the fantasy. She closed her eyes, and the image immediately took over her mind. She smiled. "Who's driving?" she asked.
"Doesn't matter, really," Vinyl said, voice steady, sure, and warm. "Whoever you want."
"Mmm..." Lemon leaned back in her seat. "...can it be you?"
Lemon heard a chuckle... then felt two hands place themselves on her shoulders. They rubbed, they squeezed... they massaged. Surprise washed over Lemon for a single moment... before she decided that she liked what Vinyl was doing just fine.
"Sure, it can be me," Vinyl purred. "I'll give you a smooth ride."
Satisfied, Lemon felt the breeze from outside—or was it from her mind? At this point, she didn't care. She felt the breeze pick up, and she sank further into her seat with a happy sigh. She felt Vinyl play with her hair, and she decided she liked that too.
"Heh," Vinyl said, after a while. Her voice was a little tougher to hear now. "Looks like it's working. Cool."
Lemon opened her eyes just enough to see Vinyl was sitting next to her again with her shades on. She was staring out the window, and off into space.
Then, suddenly, Vinyl turned to Lemon and smiled.
"I used to get really high-strung whenever I played sets," she said, resting her head in one hand. "Way I figured it, if I didn't get everyone jumping, if I didn't get people asking for my info once the party was over? I'd failed, simple as that."
She sat back and gazed outside again. "Being a DJ isn't exactly the easiest gig to break into, or the best way to make boatloads of cash. So, every time I thought I screwed things up, I was extra hard on myself.
"I used to try and drown it out with hard beats. The louder the better. But in the end, it always just gave me a headache. So, I'd turn off the tunes and go cry in a corner." Vinyl sighed. "No one's idea of fun."
"Oh... oh, Vinyl..." Lemon's heart twisted. "Vinyl, I'm so sorry."
Vinyl nodded. "So was I, till one of my classmates showed me a better way. See, she's way into classical, so after a little—ahem—arm-twisting, she turned me on to that."
Lemon's jaw dropped. She pointed at Vinyl. "You? Classical?"
Vinyl chuckled. "I know, right? I mean, sure, I know my roots, but I never thought about looking at stuff like Marezart outside of, like, school. But you know, it really worked. It was music I could lose myself in. It was music I could escape to, and it was music I could use to help feel better. And best part? It was music that helped me find this stuff." She pointed up, as if the relaxing notes could be seen dancing above her and Lemon's heads.
Lemon sat back with another long exhale. "Wow," she said. "This… I don't even have words."
"Well, I've got some," Vinyl said. "Wanna hear 'em?"
Lemon nodded.
Vinyl pushed her shades up, and took Lemon's hands. Lemon looked at where their hands touched, then back at Vinyl. Without the shades blocking it, her eyes were reassuring, serene, and sincere.
"I know you're sad now," Vinyl said, "and that's totally normal. But even while you are, just remember that there'll always be the next day. And that day has so many chances to be so awesome that today might as well never have existed." She squeezed Lemon's hands and grinned knowingly. "Best of all? It's not far off. Maybe twelve hours from now? But while you're waiting, for times like this, it really helps to just... well, zen out."
"Is that what this is called?" Lemon asked.
Vinyl shrugged. "Eh. It's what I call it."
"I like it." She paused, then added, "The name, too."
The two looked out of the window together, then up to the sky. It wasn't long before Lemon completely lost herself in the tranquility, and she closed her eyes, feeling drowsiness overtake her.
Lemon woke feeling a bit sleep-thick, but very refreshed. She also woke with her head on Vinyl's shoulder. She jerked away, blushing. "Oh, oh gosh, Vinyl, I am so, so sorry, I—"
"It's cool," Vinyl said, visibly trying to look nonchalant despite her own crimson-tinted cheeks. She scratched the back of her neck. "Beating yourself up can take a lot out of you. Like I said, I've been there."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lemon put a hand to her forehead. "How long was I out?"
"Twenty minutes? So, like a catnap, I guess," Vinyl said. "Feeling any better?"
Lemon looked up. Her thundercloud was gone. All that remained was a soft, glowing sensation she couldn't describe, but wanted to never end.
"Yeah. I... I really am feeling better," she said. "I mean, I'm still sad for my friends, but I think once we all sleep on things, it'll be okay. We'll just have to make tomorrow extra-cool to make up for today." She gasped, squealed, and sat up straight, balling her hands into fists. "Maybe I can throw some kind of party! We can even have it at my place!"
"Now that's the right thinking," Vinyl commended. "I should hook you up with Pinkie Pie. You two can trade digits, get a cross-planning thing going."
"Sure! Though speaking of..." Lemon took out her phone, tapped away on it, then showed the screen to Vinyl. "I, uh... like talking to you. Wanna make it a thing?"
Vinyl smiled, then took out her phone. After some quick tapping, Lemon's phone dinged and buzzed. Once Lemon returned the favor, Vinyl's phone did the same.
The two smiled at each other, and Vinyl nodded.
"Expect usage," Vinyl said. "'Specially since I dunno when I'll be able to come here again and not have my head bitten off by your teachers." Standing up, she stretched. "But anyway, it's probably time I headed back uptown before it gets dark."
As she slid her phone back in her pocket, she looked out the window. "Hey, isn't that one of your friends, practicing outside?"
Lemon stood up as well, and followed Vinyl's gaze. "Whoa, yeah, it's Indie!" Lemon said. "And she's really going at it hard. Geez, I know she likes to push herself, but sometimes she seriously just forgets—" Lemon perked up. "That's it!"
"Huh? What's—" Vinyl started, but Lemon tackled her in a huge hug.
"Thank you for everything," Lemon said. "Including solving my biggest problem."
"Uh... no worries?" Vinyl tittered, hugging back. "Seriously, though, what's the breakthrough?"
"Call me tonight, and I'll tell you all about it!" Lemon ran to the door, unlocked it, and zipped through. "Right now, I need to catch Indie!"
"Indiiiiieee!" Lemon cried, running full tilt across Crystal Prep's track and soccer field.
A jogging Indigo Zap glanced back, and fired off a quick wave as she went past. "Hey Lemon, sorry can't hang out today, too much to do, hit me up tomorrow—"
"Indie, no!" Lemon shouted. She pushed herself as hard as she could and finally caught up to Indigo. Even once she did, it was nearly impossible to keep pace. Lemon could see several beads of sweat running down her friend's face as she poured on the speed.
"Just... how long... have you been... at this?" Lemon managed, huffing for breath.
"Only an hour so far," Indigo replied, crisply. "Seriously, we'll talk tomorrow. I gotta make sure I don't repeat today!"
Lemon gritted her teeth, growled, and pushed forward. With one last burst of energy, she pulled directly into Indigo's path.
"Darn it!" She planted her feet, spread her arms in both directions, shut her eyes, and shouted to the sky. "Indigo Amelia Zap, you stop right this second!"
Lemon quickly realized how bad an idea this was, and cringed as she waited to get run over. But, wonder of wonders, Indigo jerked to a stop, blinking and gaping.
"Whoa," Indigo said. "You never go full name."
Lemon shook herself off and stood as tall as she could. "What, you think I want to?" she said, full of bluster. She paused, then shook off the bluster. Wrong direction. Instead, she poked Indigo in the chest, putting on an expression of determination.
"I've been watching you mope all day for the most non- of non-reasons! 'Losing your touch?' Seriously?" Lemon waved her hands wildly. "The most annoyingly overachieving girl on half our sports teams is 'losing her touch?' I almost died of laughter back there!"
Indigo stepped forward. "Now hold on, Lemon! I—"
Lemon pushed back. "No! Not this time!" she announced, practically nose to nose with her. "This time, you hold on, and you listen to me, for once!"
Indigo blinked, then... stepped back. "Do I... really not listen to you?" she asked, her voice suddenly soft.
Lemon exhaled. "That's not important right now. This is." Lemon placed her hand to her heart and looked at Indigo. "You have always been one hundred and three percent pure amazing, Indigo. You don't have a touch to lose, because no one here can touch you. I look at you out here every day, and I'm so jealous of what you can do. But, I'm, like, also really proud. 'Cause you're my friend, you know?"
Indigo looked to one side, wringing her hands together. "L-Lemon, I—"
Lemon reached out and aimed Indigo's face back towards her own. "But killing yourself on the track like this isn't going to change the fact that everyone has a bad day once in a while. You can't stop it any more than I, or Sugarcoat, or Sunny, or Sour can. But you can stop beating yourself up about it."
She flung a hand skyward. "So get past it, then take a rest so you can heal. Then, you can come back tomorrow, and get back to kicking butt, and loving it, like you always do. And even better, you can do it without any of this stupid self-pity stuff! Got it?"
Indigo blinked at Lemon, staring at her mutely for a very long time. Lemon's hand drooped and fell back to her side. She hunched inward, smiling awkwardly at Indigo.
"Or, you know," Lemon muttered, "whatever you—"
Indigo's hands shot out, clamping Lemon's shoulders. She pulled Lemon close and squeezed, flashing a toothy grin.
"Wow," she said. "You know what, Zest? You're pretty amazing yourself. That was a pep talk worthy of me!"
"Oh. Really? Good." Lemon's shoulders sagged with relief, as she wobbled into Indigo. "Because that was kind of all I had."
"Whoa, you're not kidding." Indigo held Lemon up for support. "Hey, look. No offense, but you're, uh, not usually this profound. What gives?"
Lemon stared at Indigo for a second, then blushed. Looking away, she said, "I... had someone to help me clear my mind."
Near the edge of the field, a horn honked, accompanied by loud thumping beats and reverb. The two girls turned to see a white car rolling past, and Vinyl was at the wheel.
"Huh," Indigo said, and let Lemon stand on her own. "Isn't that that Canterlot High DJ?"
"Oh," Lemon said, doing her best to hide her blush. "Yep, looks like," she said. "I, uh, wonder what she's doing here?"
Vinyl stopped the car across from the two of them, then blew a kiss in Lemon's direction. Lemon slapped a hand to her cheek and waved enthusiastically.
"Yeah. I wonder," Indigo said, crossing her arms. She raised an eyebrow at Lemon.
Lemon laughed sheepishly, as Vinyl drove away. "Okay, okay, fine. Vinyl... may have come to visit today."
"Glad she did," Indigo said, smirking. "I think she's good for you."
"Yeah," Lemon said, sighing happily and staring into space. "I think so, too."
Indigo waved her hands in front of Lemon's eyes. "Well, speaking of stuff that's good for people, I could use a pal right now," she said. She sniffed, raised an arm, and made a face. "And a shower. Eugh. But after that, how about a shake? My treat?"
Lemon rubbed her hands together. "Hmmm. I do like shakes," she said. "All right, you're on. And Indie?"
"Yeah?" Indigo asked, taking off her headband. She tugged the neckband of her shirt away from her body, flapping it to air herself out.
Lemon looked at Indigo, taking in the relaxation on her features. A breeze rippled across the field, carrying familiar birdsong with it. Filled with newfound excitement, Lemon smiled.
"While we're having our shakes, can I talk to you about the others?" she asked. "I was thinking of throwing a party. Just the five of us, maybe some of our friends..."
"...and you need someone to rally our super-quirky, super-stubborn troops?" Indigo guessed with a grin and crossed arms.
Lemon blushed. "Like I said, chasing you down took everything out of me. I'm not sure I can do it four more times."
Indigo laughed. "I hear that. And heck yeah, a party'll do us good! We've all been major stressed lately." She elbowed Lemon and giggled. "But something tells me your new girlfriend's been rubbing off on you. Enough for you to be able to help us out."
Lemon's face was as hot as a furnace now. "Maybe? At least, I hope so."
"In which case, I can't wait." Indigo stepped back with a firm nod, meeting Lemon's eyes with hers. "We'll talk at Joe's, get some plans going. Maybe we can even invite Vinyl—no party's complete without beats, right?"
"No party in the universe!" Lemon bounced. "So I'll, uh, be right behind you? I left my bag in the music room."
"Sure, go grab it while I shower," Indigo said. "And be quick! I can already taste that chocolate and raspberry!" Indigo peeled her shirt off, stretched in her sports bra, and walked across the field to the locker room.
Lemon went in the opposite direction for the door she came out of earlier. As she approached the school, she took one last look over her head. One white cloud was present, and much smaller than usual.
She put her headphones on and looked at her phone to see a newly-received playlist—one with Vinyl's smiling face next to it. Smiling back, she tapped the screen.
The music started up, and the last bit of cloud whisked away.
With a confident nod, and a bounce in her step, Lemon Zest dance-walked back into the halls of Crystal Prep Academy.
Author's Note
The Shadowbolts Will Return.
