//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Friendship Games 
// Story: The Secret Affair of Sunset Shimmer 
// by lambentLogic 
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Well into the school year, all the social events and practices and preparations, and finally the competitions proper were set to start.

A bubbling, buzzing anticipation flowed through the student body of Canterlot High, participants and supporters invigorated and energized as they stepped up their preparation for the Games. Sunset envied the easy camaraderie she saw within the teams as she began to more closely observe them, carefully watching from the sidelines.

She didn’t have as much chance to watch the preparations of Crystal Prep, but Chrysalis kept her informed. Getting some insight into Chrysalis’s fey magic was a side benefit as she regaled Sunset with relished updates of the progress of her plots.

“Shining Armor was quite deeply impressed with the training session I planned for them,” Chrysalis bragged, her wings flaring with a whistling of pride. “Of course he was. I looked into the minds of each of them to find exactly where each was struggling and tailored it perfectly. He has such confidence in me now he’d jump off a cliff if I asked him to.”

“You’d make a good teacher,” Sunset commented, inwardly noting that Chrysalis likely knew more about her than she’d realized. She doubted the fey had her mindreading active constantly, though, or she’d have some comment on the trains of thought that immediately crashed and set on fire in Sunset’s mind at the idea of it.

Ah well. What was, was - so she didn’t have as many secrets up her sleeve as she thought. Chrysalis hadn’t shunned her for it yet, and Sunset’s traitorous emotions poured a flood of relieved gratitude into her veins for that, given the potential awkwardness of some of her inner musings. “Tailored lessons are about a hundred times better than this highschool drek.” Could Celestia read minds? That thought brought only a flare of anger. Sunset tried to set it aside, it wasn’t Chrysalis she was mad at.

“Of course I would,” Chrysalis agreed dismissively with the obvious nature of Sunset’s insight. “Done well with you, haven’t I? With far more useful skills in this world as well. Getting to be little miss popular at that place, aren’t you?” She flashed a fanged smile; Sunset grinned bashfully in return.

“Got them eating out of my hand,” Sunset agreed, trying out the unfamiliar idiom. She snickered at the mental image, and soon the two inhuman girls were giggling together.





“So much easier to schedule once you nudge them into actually prioritizing the team,” Chrysalis mused. Sunset wasn’t sure at first if that one was magic or just manipulation. “Magic,” Chrysalis helpfully supplied.

Well, that answered that.





Given the role Chrysalis expected her to play in the events, Sunset had a close look at Crystal Prep Academy’s strategies for them. Very useful intelligence if she decided to snitch to her own school, which she would when it helped Chrysalis and not a moment sooner.

They were solid, effective strategies, often rather clever, and making good use of each individual’s strengths. She could see why Chrysalis’s team was impressed, Shining Armor of course included. The pair were perceived as something of a power couple at this point to Sunset’s understanding.

Anyone with Chrysalis would be.





“Fundraising is just the simplest thing once you get any alumnus with an ounce of school spirit actually in the room with you,” Chrysalis tells Sunset one evening. “Barely needs a nudge. Just open up the faucet a bit on their love and pride for their school, and the rest takes care of itself. Can see Principal Cinch’s eyes light up from the numbers I’m bringing them.” She adjusts herself to a more comfortable position, lounging against the makeshift furniture they’d assembled in the abandoned stairwell. “Snack’s a bonus.”

“Snack?” Sunset asked, thrown off by the apparent non-sequitor.

“Oh, yes. Love is delicious.”

Chrysalis looked at her, licked her lips, and Sunset gulped.





From what Chrysalis confided, Crystal Prep’s principal was quite on board with every bit of information on the competition that Chrysalis could whisper in her ear, and asked few questions about the source of it beyond probing how she might get more. The Cadenza alias was quite the favored student as a consequence, able to delicately ask for anything reasonable and a bit more. A success of networking all around.

Sunset’s role, aside from providing some of the aforementioned information, was a bit more disruptive. First, she turned her charm on the judges to lower their suspicion.

“I really appreciate what you’re doing today,” Sunset told the woman she’d brought storebought vegan gluten-free cookies to. (Thank … 

… she didn’t want to swear by Celestia.

Principal Celestia had a sister here. Luna didn’t exist in Equestria.

Or did she … ?)

Sunset shook her head to clear the errant train of thought’s swerve. It had been supposed to get back on track somewhere where she’d figured out the lady’s dietary needs; bringing her cookies would have been a bit awkward otherwise, especially of the always-hazardous ‘home baked’ variety.

(Did Chrysalis have a home here?)

(She wasn’t sure.)

“I’ve made some great friends at Crystal Prep even without being part of the games. I’m glad you’re making sure everyone’s having a good time,” Sunset told her cheerfully, with a warm smile.

Not a lie, for some definitions of ‘friends’ that were generous on the counting.

And ‘glad’.

And ‘good’.

Ah well. The food made a good distraction, and herself an unlikely suspect for the sabotage.





Carefully timed ‘adjustments’ to the calibration of the archery bows was the safest intervention. They simply would not work as practiced for the Wondercolts; precious time wasted fuming and fixing their state.

The roller skates, she tightened the axle nuts to slow her school team’s roll by a noticeable amount.

She hesitated on the motorcycles. This … could go poorly. She wanted something that would interfere with their performance, but a catastrophic failure could injure someone … and the bike.

… well, people probably would be injured, bikes or not. Chrysalis would be able to save them before it killed them at least. Sunset made a silent promise to the bikes to fix the issue immediately after the race, and worked on tossing enough dust through to clog their filters.





Canterlot High noticed the sabotage.

Sunset made sure the Shadowcolts were blamed.

Perceived as gloating over their victories.

None of her own classmates much knew Shining Armor. It was not so difficult, once Chrysalis taught her how, to adjust this world’s ‘photographs’ to make the valorous look villainous.