Shadows Over CHS

by Seven Fates

Chapter 1

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Sunset Shimmer

With a disinterested frown, Sunset picked at the salad that the elderly woman manning the food counter had given her. For once, there were no apples or bits of bacon to be seen on her plate. Maybe some of her complaints about the lack of vegetarian options had finally made it back to the old Apple and she'd finally seen sense. That small victory should've been worthy of celebration, yet she felt nothing.

Instead, as she sat at her corner table in the Canterlot High lunch room, she merely glanced around. There wasn't too much out of the ordinary for the first day of school. A few new students here or there, seemingly lost for where to go in a school where the lines were very clearly drawn. At least they seemed to be picking up on the cliques well enough. They'd probably join one by the end of the week.

Worth noting, however, was the fact that the football team seemed to be keeping its distance from the rugby team. From the beginning, the two teams weren't particularly close, but it still struck her as odd. Has the sports clique had a schism of some sort? she wondered, noting the dark look Spitfire seemed to be giving Score, Dumb-Bell, and Hoops. I guess I know what else I'll have the boys investigate.

After a few more minutes had passed, Snips and Snails finally sat down across from her. She was nothing if not a patient researcher, so she allowed the pair to dig into their hamburgers before plying them with questions. "So what have you found out so far about that party?" she asked as she pushed aside her salad as the smell of meat killed her appetite. "Anything I should be concerned about?"

Although Snips and Snails had been in her employ—so to speak—since they began in the CHS Middle School program three years ago, they weren't privy to the fact that this was all one big experiment to her. Oh, they knew that it was important to her that the student body remained split into the many factions, but the only thing they knew was that keeping them divided gave her a degree of power over them. It made them all easier to keep tabs on and keep them in line. It also helped that, to a certain extent, the groups were mostly self-policing.

The lankier of the two gave a shrug as he ate, but Snips put his food down long enough to give a waggle of his hand. "From what I've heard, it was mostly just the rugby team," he answered, turning his gaze over to the tables occupied by the two sports teams. "Aside from pissing Spitfire off by trying to invite a bunch of the girls from the football team, there's not a whole bunch of drama there."

That's one question answered, at least.

Finally, Snails nodded and swallowed his mouthful of food. "Well, there's also the five girls they paid to have sex with them all," he added with a dopey grin. "Word going around the school is this one girl did them all free of charge—even refused payment. Bad Luck Charm or something." After a thoughtful pause, he turned to Snips and asked, "Do you think she'd give me a go?"

What they said caught her attention. If it was a sex party, she could understand Spitfire keeping her girls away from it. The last thing the Wondercolts football team would need is a bunch of teen pregnancies sidelining some of their best players when their inherited line-up put them on track for nationals. Especially with Spitfire set to graduate with a full sports scholarship this year.

That said, some of what else they were saying was slightly worrying. Although none of the rugby team was particularly desperate for money, it didn't seem like the sort of thing they'd be able to afford, even as a group. Although prostitution seemed to be legal in this world, there was apparently a lot of scrutiny and licensing involved. No way a bunch of high school students would be able to get away with that—especially if their clientele had such loose lips.

"Hold up," she finally asked as what Snails told her settled in. "Bad Luck Charm? You don't mean Jinx Charm, do you?"

When he nodded and said, "That was it!" a frown creased her face. So the girl she'd encountered outside the office this morning—one who just so happened to be in a state of despair—had been to the rugby team's little get together? Not only that, but a rumour about that same girl was quickly spreading that she'd had sex with the entire team? Hell, she'd nearly run into Sunset in a similar state of panic at the start of the lunch period. Something about all of that didn't sit right with her.

Fishing her little black book out of her jacket pocket, she opened it to the page she'd slipped a cloth bookmark into during her first class. The picture glued in was definitely a few years out of date—possibly even from 2008—because it hardly looked like the same girl. First and foremost, the girl in the picture was flat as a board, had orthodontic headgear, coke-bottle glasses, and an awful case of acne. Her hair was pulled into messy twin-tails, and she looked so happy.

That was in part why she had such a hard time finding Jinx's entry. It was a stark contrast to the girl she'd encountered today. Gone were the headgear and braces, and her glasses were now far more dainty. Her hair was now voluminous, long, and straight, save for braiding going around the back of her head. But for some freckles, her skin was flawless, and it was clear that she'd been a late bloomer who'd been hit hard by puberty. Maybe the starkest difference was the cold, lifeless look in her eyes.

Name: Jinx Charm
Sex: F
Age: ~~15~~ ~~16~~ 19 (I need to do a better job keeping entries up to date)
Year: ~~Freshman~~ Junior
Clique: N/A | Outsider (Goth?)
Hobbies: Occultism, Witchcraft, 'Magic', Fortune Telling, Reading
Academic Potential: High
Blackmail Potential: Low
Threat Rating: Non-existent
Notes:

None of what her notes said painted Ms. Charm as the sort of girl who would apparently have sex with an entire sports team, money or not. Closing the book, she glanced back over to the rugby team's table. How many such parties have gone unnoticed during the experiment? Sunset mused, narrowing her eyes as she took in the carefree expressions on each of their faces. The only suicide I heard about was before I even started, and from what I could dig up that was entirely unrelated to anything that was happening at school. I can't even fathom what had to be going through that girl's mind at the time, and the thought of pushing someone that far makes my stomach turn. There have been a number of unusual transfers between semesters, though. How much of my experiment has been tainted by you boys, I wonder?

Biting her lip, Sunset looked back to her assistants. Although the three of them weren't without dirty hands, she thought she'd done a decent job keeping these children in line. Whenever it seemed like things started going too far from her side of things, she knew to step back. When it came to conflict between the groups or individual socialites, it wasn't too hard to make people back off. A little threat here, a little blackmail there, and people fell in line—even the lesser bullies like Gilda, Lightning Dust, and Diamond Tiara. Violent incidents were at an all time low since she initiated the plan.

After all, the subjects of her experiment were no good to her if their mental health deteriorated to the point where suicide was a possibility. She didn't particularly care for any of them as people—professional distance and all—but she also didn't want them dead. One of the last things she wanted was to lose one of her more promising specimens or contaminate the entire test pool. Not only would it threaten her entire plan, but it could put a lot more scrutiny on Sunset herself.

Her false identity could stand up to cursory scrutiny, but a deep dive would reveal a whole slew of irregularities. The birth certificate would be the first to throw up a red flag. Similarly, the court document she'd given Vice Principal Luna that declared her as an emancipated minor wouldn't match up to anything they might keep in the courthouse's records. Once that bell was rung, she'd either have to disappear or return to Equestria with her tail tucked between her legs.

Not wanting to give her Mom the opportunity to say 'I told you so,' she'd have to get to the bottom of all of this. "Snips, I want you to find out if there have been similar parties in the past," she demanded. "I want as close to exact dates as possible. I don't care if you have to burn some blackmail material to get this information."

It didn't take any prompting for Snails to ask, "What about me, boss?"

She gave him a look. "You said there were five girls. Was this including Jinx, or in addition?" He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. "Either way, I want you to find out who they all were. If Snips finds out about more parties, I want you to find out about those girls too. If you need bribe money, let me know."

Although both of them gave an affirmative nod, neither moved. Instead, they started to finish off their lunches. That lasted all of thirty seconds before they realised that Sunset was staring at them. It didn't need saying; just a single look and it was clear what she wanted. They immediately stuffed the rest of their burgers into their mouths and got up with their trays. In no time, her stooges were out of sight and she was left alone in thought.

I don't want to get involved if I don't have to, she thought, eyeing her discarded salad with disdain. She knew that with her human metabolism, she couldn't just skip a meal, even one as light as the salad. But as a mare, I can't turn a blind eye if those boys did something unconscionable. Grabbing the salad and her fork she dug in. If it requires getting every single one of them arrested to preserve myself, what I've built, and the dignity of the school, so be it.

Jinx Charm

The smell of cigarette smoke filled the inside of the truck. Slumped in the driver's seat with the hood of a hooded cardigan drawn over her eyes, Jinx let death metal riffs of Dethklok deafen her to her own heartbeat. The only thing keeping her remotely calm at the moment was the delectable poison filling her lungs. Even then, she was pretty sure most of her cigarette was going to waste just burning away in between puffs.

"I'm the conjurer of demons, I'm the father of your death," came the gravelly voice through her speakers. "I bring forth the ancient evil, I control his every breath."

A bitter laugh came from the young woman as the ash fell from her cigarette and burned a hole through her leggings. "Dunno whose death I'd rather father," she murmured, thinking back to yesterday morning, when she'd awoken in her bed. She'd been so sore back there when she first woke up that she didn't want to roll off her front, despite the discomfort that compressing her chest created. "Part of me wants to just say fuck it and join my parents... but I'd rather they all burn in hell."

In her free hand, she held up her cheap flip phone and grimaced. Your online friends were always telling you to get a new phone... 'Oh, it's 2013; just get a smart phone already! It's got all sorts of cool features like back-ups and GPS.' Given that whoever had brought her home went and deleted all of her text messages with Hoops, she knew she probably wouldn't get any sort of justice. Wish I'd taken their advice.

Her phone provider hadn't been any more useful. Without a warrant, they refused to help due to some stupid record protection act enacted when she was thirteen. Going to the police without any evidence was off the table because of Score's father... All she could do is go to the hospital after school, let a nurse do their thing, and hope she could get some evidence down the line. If only they didn't beat me to the chase by putting out all sorts of rumours.

With another tearful laugh, she took another drag of her cigarette. As if it wasn't bad enough that she'd been approached by Micro Chips, one of the fucking middle schoolers approached her outside the bathroom asking the same questions... and then there was that snob Rarity. "'Oh darling, you really shouldn't sleep around so much,'" Jinx parroted in a mocking tone as her anger spiked. "'With as little reputation as you have, you can't afford to become the school bicycle. Judgemental bitch!'"

It was no wonder that she skipped the second half of her third period class. It'd gotten too much and she had to have a cigarette... Of course, nothing in walking distance meant that she had to drive somewhere, fighting off intrusive thoughts as she went.

Once her cigarette was nothing but the stub of the filter, she rolled down her window and flicked it into the open-top jeep next to her truck. After all, it'd been the same one she'd seen parked at the cabin on Friday night. Why not be petty if she couldn't give them what they had coming?

She wasn't stupid, of course. Kicking her truck into reverse with a smirk, she backed out of her spot into the empty one directly behind her, one row over. Once her window was rolled up, she killed the engine, grabbed her bag, and got out. Even if she'd missed the first forty-five minutes of English, she should still make a token appearance before gym.

Before heading directly to the class, she stopped by the office for a tardy slip. After all, that teacher would just make her go back and get one anyway, so she may as well save herself a trip. If only Raven didn't give her such a pitying look when Jinx wrote 'Mental health emergency' in the 'reason' field. Once it was signed and marked excused by Raven, she shoved it into her hoodie's pocket and left.

When she reached the classroom's door, she paused. Despite how the year had started for her, she didn't want to just set the tone for the entire school year with the teacher in question by barging in. After all, they were a no nonsense teacher, but ultimately fair as long as you put in the work. Instead, she took the slip in one hand and knocked on the door with the other.

The door opened to reveal a cerise woman wearing green and white. "Sorry I'm late, Ms. Cheerilee," Jinx whispered, presenting the tardy slip. "It won't happen again."

It seemed, at first, like Cheerilee might comment on the fact that Jinx still had a hood down over most of her face. She certainly didn't approve of the smell of cigarette smoke, if the sniff she gave was any indication. As soon as she saw the still-damp tracks on her cheeks, the woman sighed. "Please don't make a habit of it. Stop by my desk on the way out and I'll give you the information packet I gave everyone else." When Jinx went to enter the class, Cheerilee stopped her. "You know we're here if you need help."

Thirty minutes later, Jinx found herself in the girls' locker room, changing into her exercise attire. The entire rest of the previous period, she felt her classmates' eyes on her, and even after getting herself a secluded corner of the locker room to change in, that feeling wouldn't leave her. She knew it was just paranoia, and a bit of her usual social anxiety. When she looked around as she did up the front zipper of her sports bra, she saw nobody looking her way—nobody but Sunset Shimmer.

Mind you, she wasn't sure if the redhead was actually looking at her. If anything, she looked confused—lost in her own thoughts while changing and Jinx just happened to be there. It was odd; she hated being the centre of attention, and if she so happened to feel another's gaze in locker rooms, she only got more and more self-conscious, but Sunset's gaze didn't really trigger that reaction. It kind of reminded her of the detached look of a doctor, or maybe a scientist puzzling something out.

Not long after pulling on her spats, a loose tee, and trainers, as well as cinching her cardigan around her waist, it occurred to her that her peers might have been avoiding looking at her entirely. It didn't really set in while she was putting her stuff in a locker and slapping a lock on it; rather, it wasn't until she started passing her classmates to enter the gymnasium—when she caught a pair of girls who'd been chatting change the direction they were looking as she passed them by.

It felt like what little joy there was left in her world was slowly starting to bleed away. She wasn't a fool... Most of the girls she'd seen in the locker room—Bon-Bon, Roseluck, Flitter, and Fluttershy, chief among them—were on the prudish side of things, and probably didn't approve of her new 'reputation'. Even those like Cloudkicker and Cloud Chaser, who were notorious for promiscuity or general sex positive attitudes, were keeping their distance. In just the span of a few hours, it seemed like she'd gone from a nobody weirdo to a social pariah, and on the first day of school no less.

As she exited into the gymnasium from the locker room, she found a sign instructing her and the rest of the girls to report to the outdoor track field. Even the doors to the far side of the gym were propped open and she could see plenty of other students making their way outside to where Coach Iron Will was waiting. If she'd thought that the way the girls were treating her was bad, however, she quickly found herself wishing the boys would do the same. Instead, most of the guys out there started leering at her with lust in their eyes or just plain snickering—especially Score.

In fact, the only students out there who weren't leering seemed to be from the football team or Sunset Shimmer's ex-boyfriend, Flash—not that it really made her feel any better. Those who weren't glaring at Score's little gathering were looking at her with pitying looks. I'd much rather someone say something, but I know nobody's gonna listen to me now.

Once all of the students were out on the field, Coach Iron Will blew on his whistle to get everyone's attention. "Good afternoon, students!" he bellowed, looking at all of the students with a look of sadistic glee. "I hope you all haven't been idle over the summer, because to start the year, we're doing the twenty metre shuttle run!"

There was an almost unanimous groan from the gathered students, and more than a few comments of disbelief. "You should all know how this works by now, but for those of you who've transferred to CHS this year, I'll explain." He pointed down to a boom box beside him, and then out to a pair of chalk lines drawn down the length of the field, twenty metres apart. "This is going to play a series of beeps with decreasing gaps of time between them in stages. In those gaps, you need to run from one line to the other and back. If you fail to keep up twice in a row, you're out." Turning his gaze across the student body, he frowned. "I expect all of you to reach at least the seventh stage, but to those of you who were on athletics teams last year, I expect you to reach the eleventh stage at a minimum."

To Jinx's satisfaction, many of the guys looked anxious, Score included. "You all have five minutes to pair up with someone else and ensure you're plenty limbered up before we start." He pointed a thumb to one side of the field. "Boys over there, girls over here... Remember, the person you partner up with will not only be your partner today, but for the entire year. Every time we run this over the year, you'll be working together. Build camaraderie or rivalry from it, but use it as a motivator to improve your scores."

When he blew his whistle, all the guys went off to the other side of the field and started breaking off into pairs. Meanwhile all of the girls quickly broke off into their own clusters of pairs. Everyone avoided looking at Jinx, until the only one without a partner was Sunset Shimmer. That was sort of odd; given her position in the school hierarchy, shouldn't she have been swarmed with people wanting to be her partner? Was she really that bad?

Hesitantly, she made her way over. "I'm sorry again about this morning," she quietly said as she approached the girl at the top of the social ladder. "I'll follow your lead, and I won't drag you down. Honest."

Surprisingly, there was no disdain in Sunset's eyes when she finally looked at her. Her mouth drew tight, but ultimately she just shrugged. "Do you know yoga?" When Jinx shook her head, Sunset sighed and led her over to an empty space away from the rest of the girls. "Follow my lead as best you can."

So it was that Sunset ran Jinx through some beginner poses. Although she was firm with the monochrome girl, she wasn't at all as harsh as she expected her to be. Jinx kept expecting Sunset to say something snide or derogatory to her, maybe something about the rumours, but nothing ever came. She didn't even mention the encounter earlier that morning.

In fact, the only thing Sunset did say was in the form of a question while running her through an assisted back bend. "So how exactly did you hide those udders of yours?" she asked as she leaned forward. With their elbows linked, Jinx was bent backwards. "It can't be an easy thing to accomplish."

If not for the genuine curiosity in Sunset's voice, she might have felt insulted about the jab at her chest. Instead, for the first time, she felt some genuine mirth. "You're kidding, right?" Jinx asked, turning her head slightly as she leaned forward and took Sunset's weight across her back. "Gotta have a really good sports bra when they're this big or else running's a pain. Honestly, I'm kinda jealous of you. I miss when my shoulders didn't hurt like they do now."

Before the class could start the actual shuttle run, however, there was a loud three note tone played over the PA. This was followed by the voice of Vice Principal Luna. "Attention all staff. Canterlot High is now in hold-and-secure." As the announcement repeated three times, the students all broke into quiet whispers. Could it be a drill?

It wasn't exactly bedlam, but it took a few moments before the mustachioed gym teacher let out a long shrill whistle. "Alright, alright, you should all know it works by now," he bellowed, picking the boombox up and pointing to the still open doors. "Back inside, all of you."

Unable to help herself, Jinx gave Sunset an uneasy look as the two made their way into the gymnasium. Neither girl was stupid. Hold-and-secure only ever happened if something serious was happening in the area, but wasn't an immediate threat to the school—things like police action, serious accidents, or even active shooters.

A number of students seemed scared, while others seemed convinced it was just a drill. The only thing that seemed universal among the students was that they were grateful they didn't have to start the year out with the shuttle-run. If not for the fact that Coach Iron Will had to be prepared for further instructions, potentially even an evacuation or lock-down, he'd have had them all running laps of the gym.

With that in mind, students were mostly just milling about idly chatting, or kicking around some balls the coach rolled out for them all. Those like Jinx, who didn't actually mind the idea of the shuttle run, slowly began running laps around the outer edge of the gym. All the while, she kept her ear out just in case there were further announcements. To her surprise, her apparent partner was right there alongside her, easily matching her pace.

All of a sudden, one of the girls who never went anywhere without their phones called out, "Holy shit." Before anyone knew what was happening, the girl rushed over to where the coach deposited the boom box. She fiddled with the knobs on it and turned it on before shouting out, "Everyone, stop what you're doing and listen!"

"—getting word of a disturbance at Crystal Preparatory Academy," boomed through the gymnasium. "There have been reports of a wild animal loose in the building, attacking indiscriminately. A video stream from inside the building depicted utter carnage before it was terminated. Calls into the building are going unanswered, and the police have set up a cordon around the school. A SWAT team is preparing to enter the building as we speak. I repeat we—"

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