Before the Friendship Games: Twilight Sparkle

After second period, Twilight began to feel that she had wasted enough time. She needed to at least to do some preliminary examinations before tomorrow. She didn't like the thought of skipping a class, but the possibility of a new scientific discovery overrode it! She walked up to her locker and put on her hoodie, then made her way to her personal mini-lab. Once inside, she set her bag down on the floor and unzipped it. Spike hopped out as his tail wagged excitedly. "All right," she said to her dog as she grabbed a purple box-shaped recording device. "Stay here. I'll be back."

Twilight sighed heavily as she returned. She would have gotten more data if she hadn't been seen by that red and gold haired student. It was strange, though. The consistency of that one particular side of the school's statue had been viscous, rather than solid. She'd have to get another look into that tomorrow. At least she took a picture of it so she'd have something to reference. Even the energy she was measuring was unlike any she'd ever seen before! She walked into her private room and was greeted by Spike as she pinned the photo on her cork board.

Twilight then began to dismantle her recording device. Now that she had a little data on the mysterious energy, she could make another device to contain whatever it was so she could study it further. Spike laid down next to her chair as she began her work. Time seemed to fly by until the warning bell for fourth period went off. Fine by her, she had just finished anyway. She walked over to Spike and pet him. "See you later," she said with a smile, then went out the door.

Fourth period was over, and Twilight sighed, feeling loneliness creep up on her. Bumping into several students on the back to her private room, she could practically feel the scorn and contempt from each of her passers-by. She sighed again, then entered her room.

Spike eagerly greeted Twilight as she sat down, then sat on her lap. Twilight smiled warmly, then opened a drawer and took the device she made from earlier out. She gazed at it, wondering about the possibilities. She could quite possibly get into the Everton Independent Study Program, but was that really what she wanted anymore? Now that she had a friend in Lemon, she wasn't as certain. She heard a knock on her door, bringing her out of her thoughts. She quickly hid Spike just in case. "Come in!" The door opened to admit Dean Cadance.

"Hello, Twilight," Cadance said softly. "Principal Cinch would like to see you."

Twilight blanched. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't hesitate to see the Principal, but after everything she learned recently... "S-She does?"

Cadance put a calm and reassuring hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said with a smile, then leaned in and whispered. "If she really knew what was going on, she'd come over herself."

Twilight calmed considerably. "That's a relief."

"By the way, you should probably change your shirt."

Twilight blinked. "Why?"

"Principal Cinch is highly allergic to dogs."

"Ah. I understand."

"Oh, and Twilight?"

"Yes," Twilight asked.

Cadance smiled warmly. "Good luck up there."

Twilight paused momentarily, then nodded with a smile.

Twilight exited Principal Cinch's office in disbelief. How could she abuse her power like that? If she acts like that all the time, it's no wonder why Cadance loathes her so much... aside from what she read in the book. She shuddered again and tried to think of something else as she neared the cafeteria. Once inside, she noticed a very familiar girl with long green hair. "Lemon?" Lemon turned around quickly and almost tackle-hugged Twilight, causing her to yelp.

Lemon blushed and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry... today's been pretty damn uneventful." Twilight blinked. "So...what about you? Find what you were looking for?" Twilight sighed heavily. Lemon gave her friend 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." Twilight said with a mirthless laugh.

"So what's bothering you?" asked Lemon. Twilight remained silent for a moment, then told Lemon what happened between herself and the Principal. Lemon's eyes widened as a horrible thought occurred to her. "Oh my God...I'm no better than Principal Cinch..."

Upon hearing those words, Twilight snapped out of her funk and grabbed Lemon 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.

"Sour..." said Lemon.

"Let me cut you off right now, Lemon. One." She raised her pointer finger. "We'll talk after team introductions. "Two." she said as she raised her middle finger, making a peace sign. "It'll be just you and me. It's always been just between you and me." Lemon nodded in understanding. Sour pointed to Twilight. "I don't want her getting any more involved than she already has." She looked at Twilight. "Understand?"

Twilight blinked, then nodded.

"Good." said Sour. "Now that we've reached an agreement, let's get this over with."

Lemon and Twilight left the room, the latter visibly shaken. Lemon checked her surroundings to see if anyone was within hearing distance. Satisfied, she leaned over to Twilight and whispered into her ear. "Don't worry, Twilight Sparkle. I'll protect you. I promise."

Twilight started to tear up. "Oh god, Lemon Zest... I'm so scared right now..." she said, her volume barely at a whisper. She sniffled. "I don't think I've ever been this frightened in my life!" she buried her head into Lemon's chest and cried.

"It's okay, Twilight. I've got your back." said Lemon, using a soothing tone as she stroked her friend's hair to calm her down. "Why don't you sit next to me on the bus to Canterlot High tomorrow? I'll keep you safe, so you don't have to worry."

"You can't...guarantee that!" Twilight said between sobs. "They're going to find out that I did the digging, then the rest of my time here will be a living hell!"

"Twilight." said Lemon. "All of the right people know what you did. You, me, our parents, Radiant Hope and Dean Cadence."

"But what if Principal Cinch knows?!" said Twilight.

Lemon smiled. "If Principal Cinch knew about all this, she would have used that knowledge as leverage for whatever agenda she has. Besides, Dean Cadence and Hope wouldn't tell her anyway. I get the feeling that while she may be their boss, neither of them trust her."

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye, having finally calmed down. "I suppose you have a point there." she said as she smiled.

"There you go, then." said Lemon.

"I know I said 'get a room' to you two," said Sour, "but I was only kidding. Keep this up, and the school will start to think you two are an item."

"Twilight's a dear friend to me, Sour Sweet." Lemon said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah!" said Twilight, feeling empowered by Lemon's words. "Besides, I'm straight."

Sour rolled her eyes. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. Speaking of dear friends..." she took Lemon by the hand. "You and I still need to have a little chat." Sour said as she walked away with Lemon.

Some time later, Twilight began to get anxious waiting for Sour and Lemon to return from their talk in the hallway. She looked at her phone to check the time. I hope they wrap it up soon, lunch period's almost over! she thought. A barely audible noise brought her back to reality. She looked around to find where the noise came from. She heard it again and followed the direction it came from. As the sound got louder, Twilight recognized it as someone crying. She moved faster towards the source, feeling worried. She ran down the hall and around the corner to find Lemon slouched against a locker, head in her hands.

"Lemon?" asked Twilight. She only had a split-second to react before Lemon threw her arms around Twilight and started sobbing uncontrollably. Twilight was startled at first, then regained her composure quickly. "Hey...it's going to be okay. I'm here for you." she said soothingly as she gently stroked Lemon's hair. "Just let it all out, Lemon. I won't let go until you're finished." Lemon hugged Twilight harder upon hearing those words.

The warning bell for next period went off only seconds after Twilight finished her sentence. She stood in place, patiently waiting for Lemon to calm down. A few minutes passed, then Lemon stopped sobbing and was merely sniffling. She looked at Twilight, her eyes red and puffy from all of the tears she shed. "Feeling better?" said Twilight with a kind smile.

Lemon sighed deeply. "I don't know." she said.

"What happened back there?" asked Twilight.

Lemon took a deep breath and exhaled. "Sour Sweet knows you did the digging."

Twilight's eyes widened. "What?!"

"She overheard you telling me everything, but promised me she wouldn't tell anyone."

"Do you think you can trust her?"

Lemon sighed. "I don't know, but there's not much I can do about that."

Twilight frowned. "That doesn't seem to be anything worth crying over, though."

"I was so shocked that I was rendered speechless, then Sour snapped me out of it by..." Lemon looked away. "By telling me she loved me. Neither of us knew I was going to react the way I did, but here we are."

Twilight made a hissing noise through her teeth. "Wow. That's...I don't even know what to say to all that."

Lemon made a sputtering noise. "I know she didn't mean for it to hurt me like that...I swear, it's like the only way to finally get over her is to develop a crush on someone else..." she sighed. "If only it were that easy. It feels like nobody has anything else to offer here."

Twilight gave Lemon a wistful look. "I know all too well what that feels like."

Lemon blinked in surprise. "You do?"

Twilight nodded. "I feel like I've learned everything I need to know here. When I was sent to Principal Cinch's office yesterday, I kept on asking myself 'what more is out there?' until I reached the top floor."

"Is that why you want to enroll into the Everton Independent Research Program?" asked Lemon.

"Honestly, I'm not so sure anymore." Twilight sighed. "I feel like I should move on to something greater. I just don't know what, though."

"But you're here for another year after this one." said Lemon.

"Ugh. Don't remind me." Twilight paused for a moment. "No offense to you or Crystal Prep."

Lemon snickered. "None taken, even if I'm only speaking for myself."

The bell for the next period rang.

"Oh crap, we're late!" said Lemon, staring to panic.

Twilight put her hand on Lemon's shoulder. "Yes. Yes we are. But you know what?"

Lemon looked at Twilight. "What?"

Twilight smiled. "We have a damn good reason for it." she said as she gave Lemon a big hug.

Lemon returned the hug, then broke it after a couple of seconds.

"Now let's get to class." said Twilight. "I don't want us to be any more late than we already are!"

Later that day, Twilight returned home. "Heya, Twily," Shining Armor said as she walked through the door.

"Hi," Twilight said flatly.

Shining frowned. "Rough day?"

"Something like that," Twilight said with a sigh. "If you don't mind, I'd like everyone to hear about it."

Shining smiled warmly. "Of course."

Once dinner started, everyone sat down at the table. "So," Night Light said. "Shining said you had a rough day?"

Twilight took a deep breath, then exhaled. "That's putting it mildly, Dad..." She proceeded to tell her family everything that happened that day, except for her sneaking off to Canterlot High and the book Dean Cadance showed her.

"Okay," Shining said angrily. "I know I wanted you to participate in the Friendship Games, but not against your will!"

"Is there any way you can get me out of this," Twilight asked her family with a hint of desperation.

"I wish we could, honey, but there's nothing we can do. If we knew this was going to happen, we would have done something sooner," Velvet said.

Twilight sighed heavily. "It's just been one thing after another," she said, her voice dripping with frustration. "And I'm getting sick and fucking tired of it!" She emphasized her curse with a fist to the table. "Something has to change..." she put her head in her hands and sighed again.

"Maybe something will," Shining said as he walked over to Twilight. "This may not be such a bad thing."

Twilight lifted her head up. "How so," she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe being a part of the Games might help you discover just what it is you might be missing in your life. It's something new, something unusual. Who knows what could come from it?"

I was going to go regardless, that statue won't investigate itself! Twilight decided to humor her brother. "Yeah," she said with a genuine smile. I guess you're right."

"That's the spirit," Shining said as he pat Twilight on the back. "Now how about some dinner?"

After dinner, Twilight went upstairs for the night. As she reached the top, she felt her phone buzz. She went into her room, grabbed the "Do Not Disturb" sign and hung it on her doorknob. Closing her door, she checked her texts.

Hey, how's things without the lab? - Lemon Zest

Twilight smiled, then started a text conversation with Lemon.

I'm holding up okay, thanks for asking. - Twilight Sparkle

Yeah, no prob. Are you excited for the Friendship Games? - Lemon Zest

Yes and no. - Twilight Sparkle

Yes and no? - Lemon Zest

Yes, because I want to check out all the strange energy readings. - Twilight Sparkle

No, because I didn't want to participate in the games in first place. Remember?

I forgot. Been pretty hectic lately. - Sent by Lemon Zest

Tell me about it. I just want the Games to done and over with at this point. - Twilight Sparkle

You and me both, Twilight. You and me both. - Lemon Zest

Exhausted from the day's events, Twilight got into her pajamas and fell asleep almost instantly.