Things had started off fine at first, uncomfortable small talk between herself and the principal of CHS as was to be expected while they headed towards the main entrance where the Friendship Games would officially kick off. Yet just as Twilight Sparkle was starting to feel relaxed, the woman caught her off guard.
"So tell me, do you often leave my students unconscious on the floor after you caused such a state in them?"
"W-What?!"
"It was an interesting scene I must say. It probably would have caught more attention if that twit on stage hadn't been so distracting. To some it might have looked as if you were actively trying to sabotage my students so that Crystal Prep would be assured victory."
"P-Principal Chyrsalis! That's simply not the case!"
"Oh? And just what were you up to then?"
Twilight's mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure of what to say. What, that she was collecting strange, magical energy? That she had been secretly observing this school for a long time? None sounded good and Twilight did not feel it was a good idea to give this woman more ammo. Even if it was very hard as she squirmed under that harsh gaze.
"... you seem like a girl that can appreciate the concept of hard work, Twilight Sparkle. For three months I've worked hard whipping this school into shape. There are parents who felt Celestia was a bit too soft and have been singing my praises, others who feel I am too firm have yet to find a way to properly argue with my results. I've done everything I can to prepare my students to finally win at this years Friendship Games, something that was never accomplished under Celestia's leadership."
Stopping just before they were within earshot of others, Chrysalis turned to face Twilight, staring down her nose at the girl with a look that made Twilight shake a bit.
"As such, to ensure that things proceed fairly, I will be keeping an eye on everyone to ensure nothing strange happens. And woe be to those that are plotting or have a secret agenda, because they will find that the repercussions will extend far beyond being disqualified from the Friendship Games."
With a small gulp, Twilight nodded her head to show that she understood before they continued walking the rest of the way towards the main entrance. Twilight still wanted to trace the strange magical readings around here but... there was a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. While Principal Cinch was intense and obsessive about Crystal Prep's repuation, Chrysalis just seemed on a whole different level. It gave Twilight the impression that this woman was by no means exaggerating with her warning.
'Ugh, I'm bored... what are you up to, Sunshine?'
Sitting in a secluded corner of the school's library, a place she had found during her days as an outcast both after the Fall Formal and during the Anon-A-Miss incident, Sunset read the text message on her phone. With a small roll of her eyes and a small smile, she texted Jackie back.
'I'm in the library, I've already been seen by enough people so I'm lying low for awhile.'
'You're not going to keep an eye on the games?'
'Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash can fill me in. Not to mention Discord is keeping his eyes peeled and the rest of the guys got into the school as well. Where are you by the way?'
'I'm hiding out by this race track. I think it's for the games. If I'm right, that's nuts! How the hell does your school have enough money to put up a dirt track for just a bunch of games between two schools? I mean, they have to have sponsors or something...'
Shaking her head at the guitarist's words, Sunset's smile slipped into a small frown as she thought back to her conversation with Rainbow Dash. Then she sent a long text giving a summation of said conversation and telling Jackie about Pinkamina.
'It's so crazy. This Chrysalis is blackmailing two of my ex-friends. I don't even know how she found out about Pinkie's secret.'
'Are you kidding? That's what she does. If she wants to get dirt she'll quietly go digging. I mean, I used to be a pain in her ass until she talked to my parents. Of course since my step-dad hated me and she put on that front of being such a concerned and caring principal, the asshole had no problem putting me on blast to her. I mean, with that Anon-A-Miss incident your ex-friends sisters screwed them over. If what Pinkie did was bad enough, whose to say her family didn't sell her out?'
As appalling at the thought was, Sunset could not completely dismiss the possibility. It was becoming clear that Chrysalis was very two-faced and she had probably cultivated a pleasant mask to put on for parents and others outside of the school. Had Pinkie's parents let something slip when Chrysalis contacted them? The principal faking concern and perhaps insinuating that Pinkie's attitude was taking a worrying turn? Had Limestone, still angry and effected by what she had seen, possibly overheard something and reached out to Chrysalis? After the Anon-A-Miss incident, who could really be trusted? Still, the red head pushed the thoughts aside for now.
'I don't know. All I know is that how she works is astounding. Either her strictness keeps the students in line and for the few who aren't doing as she says, she finds a way to keep them under her thumb without exposing herself.'
'I know. Trust me, I know.'
'How did you make it through high school with her as principal?'
'Well until she spoke with my parents and found out about my dubious activities, I pushed back against her in every way possible. It was certainly fun, I'm pretty sure I almost made her blow a gasket a couple times. But after that I had to pull back and bite my tongue. I mean, I still toed the line but not enough that she could dole out some serious punishment. Unless she slips up, you just have to keep your head down.'
Great, a situation that seemed highly unlikely to happen. With a frustrated sigh, Sunset Shimmer leaned back in her seat, staring up to the sky through the glass dome of the library until the buzzing of her phone caught her attention once more.
'Not to sound callous, I mean, I really do feel bad for these jerks here at CHS but... why are you so worried about what's happening to this place?'
No answer came immediately to mind, just a jumbled argument that had been going back and forth since last night. She tapped her finger against the table's surface a couple of times as she tried to think of the best answer.
'I don't think I've forgiven them for Anon-A-Miss, at least not yet. But seeing them suffering like this is getting to me, okay? I mean, despite what they did during the Anon-A-Miss incident, they're still... good.'
'I guess... I mean, that Fluttershy girl seems nice enough. But you can't really do anything about this, Sunshine. Celestia resigned and they got stuck with the mother of all evil bitches. It sucks yeah, but that's how things played out.'
'I know... I still can't help but feel worried for them.'
'Yeah but you're a nice person, nice people usually feel bad for others right? But you're gonna have to put a pin in that for later, at least until we find the person messing with all the magic around here.'
'Right. I haven't received any other texts about weird going ons, I think in a bit I'll go outside where you mentioned that race track is.'
'Awesome, because I am REALLY bored out here.'
"Incorrect!"
The final decision on the complex math problem was handed down by Principal Cinch, Flash Sentry's hopeful smile fading into disappointment as Rainbow Dash and the others felt dread rise up inside of them. Twilight Sparkle seemed quite pleased but the mood of her classmates didn't quite match hers as they gave the minimal effort in cheer and praise. It was just another victory for Crysal Prep, another victory to appease Principal Cinch and the sooner they won these games yet again the sooner they could turn their attention to more important things.
Despite the neutral facade, Principal Chrysalis was seething on the inside. It almost made her wish that she had the right stick to properly motivate Flash Sentry, maybe then he wouldn't of been so incompetent! But no, he was too nice, the golden boy of CHS, even if there was some dirt on the boy Chrysalis knew she couldn't touch him. He played by the rules, there had been and was no need to apply pressure. Even if he had lost CHS the first round of the games like the fool he was!
"Aw, Brad looks down."
Hearing this made Bobby, Tino and Poppy look curiously to their friend Sandy, Tino being the one to ask the questioned that was begging to be asked when the actress didn't elaborate.
"Brad? I thought someone said his name was Flash Sentry?"
"Really? I didn't catch that so I just gave him a name. Doesn't he look more like a Brad though?"
The other three turned and squinted at the blue haired musician, the boy being consoled by Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity as the other two girls left the stage.
"Huh... now that you mention it, yeah I can see that."
Bobby nodded in agreement to Tino's words while Poppy simply rolled her eyes. However, during this eye roll she noticed Chrysalis slipping out the same door the blonde girl and the rainbow haired girls had gone through.
"... I'll be right back."
Moving from the back of the room, tattooed woman quietly slipped through the door and down the hallway, managing to pick up the sound of a certain, evilly familiar voice from around a corner.
"I expect that in the next round both of you will make up for the boy's incompetence. CHS will win these games and I don't think I need to tell either of you what will happen if you don't put forth your best to get the win?"
"Yes'm."
"Good. I'll leave both of you to get ready for the next round then."
Before she could even react, Chrysalis had already rounded the corner and spotted her, startled green eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Oh fantastic. Another pest from Los Pegasus."
"Nice to see you're still up to your old ways, you old hag."
"I surely have no idea what you mean, Miss Valve. But tell me, how is that friend of yours doing? You know, the one I used to see pick you up from the school and who looked just a tad too old to be around a fifteen year old?"
A muscle in Poppy's jaw jumped at that, her hands clenching into fists as she hissed her next words through clenched teeth.
"We never did anything you miserable old bitch. You knew that but you still ruined his life!"
"How could I be sure? He looked to be such an unsavory sort, I wanted to ensure the safety and well being of my student. Your mother was certainly grateful to find out some stranger was taking you away to god knows where in his car."
It was such bullshit Poppy didn't even bother to call the other out. She had pushed back against Chrysalis just as Tino and Jackie had, for that she found a way to hurt someone Poppy cared about. Just a mention of that taboo word 'pedophile' and the guy's life had been destroyed. Poppy hadn't seen him since then and had no idea where he had gone.
"I should have taken a chance and put you down you cunt..."
"Oh if high school students had that kind of nerve, don't you think something would of been done then? Or now?"
Chuckling softly, Chrysalis moved past Poppy and headed down the hallway, leaving the woman to choke down all of vile things she wanted to say. She was still there when Rainbow Dash and Applejack slowly appeared around the corner, unsure of what to say at the moment but saved from making the first move when Poppy spoke up.
"It nearly killed me being cowed by her. My mother and father didn't believe me when I told them how horrible she was, not after that wonderful woman tipped them off that a pedophile was targeting me. Like they ever gave a fuck about what I did and who were my friends before..."
Needing to stop for a moment, Poppy took a deep breath to steady herself before looking at the both of them.
"I know it probably doesn't seem like much coming from me. But stop being such pussies! Whatever she has over you, there has to be a way around it, a way to fight back. I'm sure your reasons are good or even acceptable for why you would bow down to her, but when everything is said and done... you're going to hate yourself for it."
Turning, Poppy left and headed down the hallway back to the auditorium to find her friends again.
"Geez, easy enough for her to say now that she's away from Chrysalis."
Still grumbling, Rainbow Dash stuffed her hands in her pockets before heading back to the auditorium as well. Applejack followed after her as well but was very quiet, deep in thought.
"You're kidding?! She killed a baby bunny?!"
After the first round of the Friendship Games, there was a bit of a break before the next round and Twilight had gone outside for a breather. That and to let Spike out, having the small dog around really set her nerves at ease. Apparently this girl, Fluttershy, had been passing by and heard Spike yapping, the girl's sad looking demeanor brightening considerably, especially after Twilight had said she could pet and play with the small dog. They had gotten to talking and eventually the fact that Twilight had sneaked a pet in against the rules lead to Fluttershy spilling on what happened a month ago.
"Y-Yes..."
"But-but why haven't you done anything?! That was just cruel!"
"B-But no one saw her intentionally do it, no one spoke up... and... and I was breaking the rules about bringing pets too. I... didn't know if I had a leg to stand on and I was so upset..."
If it wasn't clear before it was now, this Chrysalis was downright sadistic! And the infuriating part was how she got away with it! Twilight's hands clenched into fists, wishing there was something she could do. Being downtrodden was not fun, it was bad enough being downtrodden and pushed around at Crystal Prep but she could only imagine how much worse it was here with Principal Chrysalis. Reaching out, she placed a hand over Fluttershy's, determination in her eyes.
"You can't give up. She's going to slip up or someone is going to finally take a stand. Then things will get better, I know it!"
These words seemed to comfort Fluttershy, a small smile on the girl's face as she continued to pet Spike.
"Thank you, Twilight."
"Um... for what?"
"For saying that... and for letting me pet Spike. I feel so much better."
Really she did, there was a warm feeling in her chest, a small happiness she hadn't felt for a long time. However as this warmth spread through her body, there came a beeping from Twilight before something slipped out from her shirt. The purple pendant opened up as suddenly that warm feeling was being sucked away, the magical energy being sucked right through Spike as the small dog squirmed and yelped. When it was finally over, Fluttershy looked ready to faint as she stared at Twilight with confusion.
"It... was you?"
Once more panic set in, Twilight stuffing the pendant back into her shirt as she grabbed Spike and put him back into her backpack. As she stood she glanced back to Fluttershy. She couldn't leave her here, could she? But if Chrysalis caught her again...
Biting her lower lip, she stepped out of the bushes and noticed that the local janitor was propping the front door open, presumably so that people wouldn't be locked out and she rushed over to him.
"E-Excuse me! There's a girl with long pink hair in trouble in the bushes over there!"
"Long pink- yellow tones skin? Teal blue eyes?!"
"Um, I think so?"
The strange looking man was off even before she finished her sentence, Twilight slipping into the school and ducking down a hallway before she rested her back against the lockers and gave a long, weary sigh.
"This really isn't my day..."
"Twi... light?"
Pausing, Twilight slowly glanced around for whoever had said her name before looking down to her squirming backpack.
"Twi... light?"
With a shaky hand she unzipped the backpack, watching as her dog poked his head out. He seemed to be struggling with the words to say, unused to having the power of speech and a dog mouth not exactly good for forming human words. But despite it all, she still understood what he was saying.
"Twi... light... okay?"
"..... AHHHHHHHHHHH!"