Chapter 9: The Investigation Begins

The following Wednesday: Canterlot Assassin safehouse.

Velvet sat on the couch in the living room. In her hand there was a small recording device. She clicked the device on and set it on the coffee table in front of her.

Velvet looked at the recorder, took a breath and began to speak.

"Mission log zero one. I'm gonna start making these logs whenever I feel like I've made an important discovery or have decided on something, or other things of the like."

Velvet hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Attempts to gain any information regarding the Piece Of Eden or anything of the sort have yielded no results. I've come to realize now that getting information so directly will be impossible. However I think I might have stumbled upon a lead. Upon further analysation of the creatures in the photos, I realized that such an event couldn't have gone unnoticed. No one is that blind. I am certain that Sunset Shimmer is one of the creatures now. There's no doubt about it. How she managed to revert back to her 'normal' self is beyond me. Another thing of note is the necklaces I've seen Sunset Shimmer and her friends wearing. Through conversations with them, during which I had the P.O.E.D secretly running, I have discovered that these necklaces give off a powerful energy signature, identical to the Piece Of Eden energy spikes that had been happening at the school. "

Velvet sat back in the couch before taking a drink of the water she poured up. She put the cup of water down and continued her log.

"This log is getting very long now so I'm gonna skip right to the lead. After discovering what I did regarding the pictures and the creatures I decided to eavesdrop on the principal and vice principal, Celestia and Luna, respectively. What overheard was interesting. They had mentioned two separate events, called the 'Fall Formal' and the 'Friendship Games'. While referring to the event they were frequently mentioning magic. Now this caught my eye, or rather, my ear. For centuries, citizens, people of power and others have mistaken the Pieces Of Eden as magic, so why should the students and teachers of Canterlot high be an exception? I've decided I'm going to find out everything I can about the Fall Formal and the Friendship Games, whether it be through asking questions or eavesdropping. Maybe I might finally be getting somewhere with this mission. End log zero one."

Velvet stopped the recording and sighed as she leaned back on the couch. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it read seven forty-five.

"Better get ready to go. Don't want to be late." Velvet said as she got up. She walked over to the porch that the living room opened up into. She put on her shoes before going into the dining room wear her hidden blade bracers were lying on the table. Velvet slipped them over wrists; making sure that the sleeves of her sweater covered the bracers.

Velvet picked up the P.O.E.D and placed it in her bag, which was also lying on the table. Velvet grabbed her books and placed them into the bag. She put some money in a small pocket in her bag before slinging the bag on her shoulder and walking to the door.

Just before leaving to go to school, Velvet stopped and said to herself, "Maybe now, I'll be able to get some answers."

With that, velvet walked out the door and made her way to school, hopeful, that her mission might truly begin.

Velvet was sitting quietly in her class. She adjusted her seat in order to get more comfortable. 'Don't get too comfortable Velvet.' she thought to herself.

Velvet was hoping to get some investigating done before lunch as it would be harder to eavesdrop on people, if everyone was talking to each other.

Velvet listened to the teacher drone on about math that she already new. She was a bit of a math nut when she was a kid, so she knew a lot about it.

After a few minutes, Velvet raised her hand. The teacher, Mr Bray, stopped his lecture and looked to velvet. "Yes, miss Breeze?" he asked.

"May I use the bathroom and get a drink of water please?" Velvet replied.

"Yes you may." Mr Bray said.

Velvet smiled. "Thank you sir." she said kindly as she got up from her seat and made to leave the classroom.

Before she left, Mr bray called out. "Hurry back, or you'll miss your homework and will have to collect it at the end of class."

"Yes sir." velvet said in acknowledgement. Before leaving the class, she made a note of the time. It was nine o'clock.

Velvet made her way down the hall, passing by another teacher that gave her a curious look as she did. She waved kindly to the teacher and mouthed quietly, "Bathroom break." to the teacher, who nodded in understanding and went back to watching the class they were in.

As soon as she was out of ear-shot of anyone, she set out to find some one who might have information on the Fall Formal and the Friendship Games.

Velvet walked through a few hallways, looking for either a teacher or student, who was talking to themselves or another. She looked to a clock that was on the wall. "Better make this quick. I probably have about ten minutes to get back to class before I look suspicious."

After a full minute of walking with nothing to show for it, Velvet was frustrated. "Dammit, why the hell did I think there would be anyone in the halls? It's the middle of class." she said to herself.

Velvet was about to give up and go back to class before a thought came to her. She had learned from other students' accounts, that sometimes, if their grades are high enough, the principal will allow them some time off a particular class to study for other classes.

"There's bound to be someone talking about things in the library. No one gives up the chance to interact with their friends outside of lunch at least once, no matter how good that students is." velvet said with a smile.

With her enthusiasm renewed velvet quickly made her way to the library.

When she got to the library, it was just as she had hoped. There were a few students littered around with their noses shoved in books and with papers by their side. Bookshelves as high as the ceiling, lined the floors. There was even multiple floors to this library. The long desks and tables the students sat at were clean, with almost no long-term dust.

Velvet looked at the clock by the entrance. "Uh-oh. It's already been three minutes. I'm gonna have to make this really fast if I wanna get back in time." she said with a serious note.

Somewhat hurriedly, velvet looked around for a student talking, but was disappointed at first to see no one talking. She looked around, almost desperately for someone talking, before she spotted two boys behind a book shelf, giggling to themselves in a mischievous fashion. One boy was holding a brown paper bag.

Having moved to the adjacent bookshelf, Velvet observed the boys for a moment. "I wonder if those boys know about the Fall Formal and Friendship Games." Velvet thought to herself.

Velvet moved from her hiding spot and approached the boys. One boy was thin with orange skin and dull green hair. He had on a green sweater with a snail on the front. The other boy was chubby, with green skin, orange hair and buck teeth. He was wearing a black shirt with a pair of scissors on it.

When the boys saw her, they jumped, apparently startled by her. The boy holding the paper bag dropped it behind him as he jumped.

"W-who are you?" the orange skinned boy asked.

Velvet smiled and held out her hand. "Name's velvet breeze. Pleased to meet you."

The chubby boy was the first to greet her. "Snips. And this is my friend, Snails." he said as he shook Velvet's hand, followed by the other boy.

After a moment, Snips placed his hand on his chin. "Hey...you're that Trottingham girl right?"

Velvet smiled and nodded before looking behind them. Snails not-so-subtly moved over a little bit to block the view of the paper bag.

Snips saw Velvet's gaze and immediately became nervous. "W-we were just g-getting some books a-and..."

Velvet's face went from smiling and patient, to serious. "It's obvious that you two are up to mischief with the paper bag." she said, giving the boys a deadpanned look.

Both Snips and Snails visibly tensed after hearing this. "I-i don't know w-what you're t-talking about." Snails tried to say, while trying to cover up the bag more.

Velvet rolled her eyes at the boys' attempts to cover their tracks. She sighed. "Whatever. That's none of my business."

Velvet brushed her hair a little to the side. "Anyway, I have some questions for you."

Snips looked at Snails for a second, then back to Velvet. "Uhh...sure?" he said uncertainly.

"What do you know of the events known as the Fall Formal, and the Friendship Games?" Velvet asked, mentally praying they know something.

"Well, with the Fall Formal you compete with a couple other students in order to win the title of Fall Princess." Snips began to explain.

Velvet nodded. "And how would one compete?"

Snails was the one who answered this time. "By setting up a campaign that runs over certain period of time. Usually a month or two. At the end, if enough people vote for you, then you win the title and you're given a crown."

Velvet nodded again. "Okay, so it's like a prom queen type of thing."

Both boys nodded in confirmation. Velvet looked around for a moment before looking to the boys. "Do either of you know what time it is?" she asked.

Snails pulled up his sleeve to reveal a small wrist watch. "It's seven minutes after nine."

Velvet nodded. "Thank you."

Snips cocked his head to the side. "Why do you want to know?"

Velvet shrugged her shoulders. "Just wondering. Anyway, back to the questions at hand. What do you know of the Friendship Games?"

Snips tapped his double chin for a moment.

'Come on.' Velvet thought to herself. 'I've got to get back.'

After another moment snips answered. "I think it's this competition between schools. We don't know much, because we weren't there, but I know for certain that it happens every four years and it's really intense." he said, emphasizing the word intense; Snails next to him nodding all the while. "Last years Fall Formal got really intense too."

Velvet perked up at this. 'Okay, now we're getting somewhere.' she thought to herself. "What do you mean by 'intense'?" she asked.

Snails answered. "Well Sunset Shimmer destroyed the school and tried to turn the students into her personal army. She used to be our old boss, but she's nice now. Ever since a bunch of the other girls defeated her."

Velvet blinked. "I'm sorry, did you just say personal army?" she asked.

Snips nodded. "Uh uh. She used it to try and take over the world, until she was defeated by the other girls. Now she and them are great friends."

Velvet blinked before coughing. "I thank you for the insight. You're right, it does sound quite intense." she said gratefully.

Snips smiled back and said, "No problem."

'This just a got a lot more interesting.' Velvet thought to herself. As she began to walk away, she heard a voice call out to her. She turned to see Snails holding the paper bag again. Snips looked to her and said, "Can you keep this," he gesture the paper bag. "A secret?"

Velvet shrugged again and continued walking. "Like i said, it's none of my business." she said as she walked.

Snips and Snails looked at each other and relaxed, knowing that their mischief wouldn't be reported.

Velvet laughed softly to herself at the boys' behavior and left the library.

As soon as velvet left the library she began speed walking through the hallways. "Hopefully I won't be too late and can make an explanation when I get back." she said as she walked.

It was nine twelve when velvet arrived at the door to class as she had decided she really did need a drink of water. She walked through the door and was immediately greeted by Mr. Bray. "Hello miss Velvet. I expected you would be back sooner then you came. What took you? He asked.

Velvet smiled and made a quick lie. "Sorry sir. I was distracted by a picture that I found on a wall. It was neat picture."

Mr. Bray smiled and nodded. "Ah. That must be some of the arts students' work. I completely understand. They have done some wonderful art work."

"Yes they have." Velvet agreed.

Mr. Bray nodded again before taking a breath. "Well, miss Breeze, if you would please take your seat, so we can resume the class?" he kindly ordered.

"Yes sir." Velvet quickly said before doing as she was told.

As soon as Velvet sat down in her chair she began to go over what she had heard. 'Those two boys said Sunset Shimmer tried to turn the the school into her own personal army. This just about confirms that there is a Piece Of Eden on this campus.' velvet tapped her chin with her pencil. 'the only Pieces Of Eden that could ever do that were the apple and the staff. The remaining question is, which one is it?'

Velvet looked around the class for a moment, observing Mr. Bray assisting a few students with the worksheet they were given. Velvet looked at the worksheet on her desk. 'I need more information to start really piecing things together. I now know about the fall formal, but I wasn't able to get anything on the Friendship Games.'

Velvet pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes slightly. 'Perhaps I'll ask Sunset Shimmer about the Friendship Games. With the Templars already here, I'll have to be careful though. There's no telling when they could be listening.'

Velvet absentmindedly adjusted her bracer under her sweater sleeves. 'One thing is for certain though; given what those boys have told me about Sunset Shimmer, this is going to be a very awkward conversation."

Velvet stood in the line-up to get her lunch, tray in hand, behind two other students. She was thinking about the conversation she was going to have. She knew about the Fall Formal, and now just needed to learn about the friendship games. Still...there was the matter of what apparently happened at the last Fall Formal. Velvet recalled the photographs. The personal army part could be easily explained with the Apple Of Eden, but never in history had a Piece Of Eden turned its wielder into a creature such as the ones shown.

"I can't ask about the Apple directly." Velvet said quietly to herself as she moved forward in the line. "I also bet I won't be able to ask about the creatures. That would probably scare Sunset off."

The line moved forward again and Velvet found herself in front of a counter with a few different food selections on it. Each one kept warm inside what appeared to be a heating container of some sort, designed so that people could take their share of food without burning themselves, but also to ensure that the food will be kept warm for people to eat. After a second of looking at the selections, Velvet settled for some shepherds pie. She took a slice, placed it on her tray and moved forward, grabbing some orange juice and a mango.

Once she was satisfied with what she had chosen for lunch, velvet continued her train of thought, moving out of the line as she did so. "I will have to learn as much as I can about the Fall Formal and Friendship Games; especially what happened at the last ones. Perhaps Sunset Shimmer or one of her friends will reveal something that might be of interest. Then there's the matter of what those boys had said." Velvet licked her lips slightly. "They were clearly trouble makers, and if what they said about Sunset being their 'old boss' is true, then Sunset might be more interesting then I initially thought."

Velvet turned to try and find Sunset, but was greeted by a pink blob.

"AHH!" Velvet screamed as she jumped back.

"Hello!" the pink blob said, flamboyantly.

Velvet only needed a second to recognize that overly-energetic voice. After a moment of self composure, Velvet looked up. "Hello Pinkie Pie." she said.

Pinkie grinned. "Hello! How are you today?"

Velvet smiled. "I'm doing fine today."

Pinkie jumped in place. "Great! My friends are looking for you! So come on! Let's go!" she said, excitedly.

Velvet nodded. "Ah, yes. I was actually meaning to ask Sunset Shimmer a few questions." she said.

Pinkie grinned wider and jumped up again, higher this time. "Awesome! My friends get to see you, and you get to ask your questions. Yay! Win-win!"

Velvet arched an eyebrow. "Uh...sure." she said slowly.

"Follow me!" Pinkie said before walking into the crowd of students.

"Okay, geez. No need to rush." Velvet said as she rushed to follow, mentally scolding herself for getting startled as easily as she did earlier.

Within thirty seconds Velvet found herself at the table where Sunset and her friends sat at every day. Sunset turned from her lunch and smiled when she saw Velvet come over. "Hey Velvet!" she called. She pointed to the empty seat next to her. "I saved you a seat." she said.

Velvet smiled and sat down in the seat, placing her lunch down as well. She took a piece of her shepherds pie and took a bite.

Sunset looked around and at everybody. "So, how's everybody doing today?" she asked.

"I tried to talk to Jason Wagain today." Rarity answered first.

Sunset cocked her head to the side curiously. "Oh? And how did that go?"

Rarity shrugged. "Same thing as every other day. Just a simple 'hello.' and that's it. From what I gather of his personality, he's very stoic and quiet." Rarity tapped her chin. "Although I have seen him chatting with a few others on occasion. Maybe they're his friends."

Velvet perked up slightly at hearing this. "Excuse me?" she said.

Rarity stopped and looked at Velvet. "Yes darling?"

"You mentioned Jason Wood was talking to others." Velvet said.

Rarity nodded slowly. "Yes...what about them?"

"Do you know their names? Or at least, what they looked like?" velvet asked.

Rarity tapped her chin again. "Well, one was really big and burly. He had grey-ish skin, and was bald. The other one was the complete opposite, figure wise anyway; he was very scrawny, and had glasses. He had dark blue skin and had a kind of magenta hair color, with a brown streak going through the middle."

Velvet nodded. "Thanks. And names?"

Rarity shook her head. "Sorry. I didn't stick around long enough to hear any names."

Velvet shrugged. "It's okay." she said.

"If you don't mind me asking darling, why did you want to know?" rarity asked.

Velvet shrugged again. "Just curious."

Rarity nodded. "Ah. So, how's school been for you so far?"

Velvet smiled. "It's been going well." she answered.

Rarity smiled back. "That's wonderful darling."

"Yes. Although a few interesting things did happen to me over the last few days."

Rarity arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And what would that be?"

"I was walking to class a few days ago when I overheard the principal and vice principal talking about something called the Fall Formal, and the Friendship Games." velvet answered.

Everyone in the group exchanged subtle glances upon hearing the two events mentioned.

"I was curious, so I asked around and eventually came across two boys named Snips and Snails. They told me about the fall formal, but couldn't tell me anything about the Friendship Games as they claimed not to be there. They just said that it gets really intense, and the last one was last year." Velvet looked around at everyone. "I was wondering if any of you guys could tell me more about the Friendship Games?"

Rainbow Dash was the one to answer first. "Well those boys were right about it being intense. The Friendship Games is a competition between two schools, and it happens every four years. Usually the ones competing are us and the students from Crystal Prep Academy."

"If there is anyone more competitive then in the world then Crystal Preppers, then Ah don't care to know about'em." Applejack added.

"All they ever cared about was winning." Twilight said.

"They're a bunch of meanies..." Fluttershy squeaked quietly.

Velvet nodded in agreement. "They certainly sound like it." she said.

"They beat us at everything and always rub our noses in it." Rarity said shaking her head.

"But last year's games was the worst." Sunset said, drawing velvet's attention.

"After year's of losses, we finally had enough practice and conviction that we actually stood a chance of winning...and then, the principal decides to cheat."

Velvet nodded slowly in understanding as Sunset continued.

"She sabatoged some of the events and almost got us hurt." Sunset gestured around to everybody at the table.

"Hmm." Velvet said quietly. "It doesn't surprise me. People will almost anything to win, when they see they have the power to do so." she tapped her chin. "Although, something tells me she didn't want anyone to be hurt."

"I don't mean to sound cynical, but I honestly don't think she cared about our safety more then she cared about her precious 'reputation'. Sunset said with finger quotes.

"You're not being cynical, you're being realistic." Velvet reassured.

Sunset shrugged. "Anyway, back to what I was saying earlier, the principal sabotaged some of the events and almost got us injured. I say almost, because at the final event, the students stopped and tried to help us instead of crossing the finish line."

Velvet nodded. "I see. It's like, cheating to win a competition is one thing, but risking lives to do so is quite another."

Sunset shrugged again. "I guess."

Velvet absentmindedly swirled a piece of shepherds pie in her plate. "It's good to know at least some people care more about life and liberty then power."

Rarity tilted her head to the side curiously at this. "What do you mean darling?"

Velvet looked at her with a serious face and the energy at the table darkened, considerably. "Believe me Rarity, there are far worse people in the world. I have seen people who would destroy cities and ruin lives; who would make you watch, as they destroy, everything you hold dear, if they precieve you as a threat to their goal, never stopping until the entire world is at their fingertips...or they are dead." Velvet said, all the while her eyes trailing to the right to stare blankly into the crowd.

Rarity blinked for a moment. "Jesus. I didn't mean for this to get as dark as it did."

Velvet looked back at Rarity. "Apologies. I just feel really strongly about the subject."

"I would imagine. Given what you've been through." Rarity said, an empathetic tone in her voice.

Velvet nodded back. "Hmm."

"Ummm...to change the subject, do you have the answers you are looking for?" Sunset said to Velvet.

"Not quite." Velvet said.

"Okay…” Sunset replied, not knowing what else Velvet would be looking for. “What else do you need to know?"

Velvet smiled some-what nervously. "You see...when I was talking to those boys, they mentioned some very interesting things about you. They said you were their old boss, and that you tried to take over the world or something. Now, taking what they've said into account, I must ask" velvet narrowed her eyes "...were the school bully?"

The silence that fell on the group what like a shock. Everyone was for a second, just staring at Sunset Shimmer, whose jaw was slightly parted. Her face flushed a deep red. She looked down slightly. "Y-yes." she stammered. She looked up again, eyes wide. “B-but I’ve changed now! I’m in a much place! S-so don’t expect me to like, beat you up or anything like that…um…hehe.” Sunset said, smiling nervously.

Velvet giggled at Sunset’s nervousness. “Well that’s good. I’m glad to hear that you’ve changed.” She scratched at her neck and saw Sunset visibly relax somewhat. “Yeah. Those boys said that all you guys,” Velvet gestured everyone at the table. “Defeated Sunset at the Fall Formal. They made it sound all official-like, like it was this big, planned event that the whole school would see.”

“Well, the whole school was there.” Sunset said. The rest of the Rainbooms gave her a strange look and sunset made a subliminal gesture for everyone to play along. She continued. “The control I had over the school was completely gone from me, so I decided I’d had enough, and challenged Applejack to a fight.”

“I would’ve won that day if Rainbow Dash” Sunset smirked and pointed to Rainbow Dash. “Hadn’t full-body tackled me to the ground out of nowhere.”

Rainbow dash gave a smug smiled and pointed to herself. “I’ve told once, I’ll tell you a hundred times. No beats the Dash or her friends and gets away with it.”

Velvet giggled. “It sounds like it was quite the spectical.”

“It was.” Rarity commented. “That was, until principal Celestia and vice principal Luna showed up. The look on their faces.” Rarity grimaced. “They looked about ready to explode.”

“I would imagine.” Velvet agreed. “I have one question though.” She looked over at Sunset. “How exactly did you achieve your control over the school Sunset?”

Sunset shrugged. “Mostly bullying and blackmail.”

Velvet nodded. “I see. Those two boys also mentioned you tried to turn the student body into your own personal army and you were going to take over the world.”

Sunset’s eyes went wide at this; a gesture that Velvet caught.

“Could you explain that to me?” Velvet finally asked.

“Umm…” Sunset began to say, but before she could finish her sentence, Pinkie Pie shot up to a stand.

“That’s an easy one! With Princess Twilight’s crown~mmmhhh.” before Pinkie could continue to speak, Sunset shot up and clamped her hand over Pinkie’s mouth.

“Sorry about her Velvet.” Sunset said with an apologetic smile. “She tends to ramble.”

When Pinkie stopped trying to talk over Sunset’s hand, Sunset took her hand and away from Pinkie and growled “shut up!” softly, while running her hand across her throat, like the camera man for a news anchor.

Pinkie gulped and nodded. “Sorry.” She said softly.

Sunset sighed. “Thank you.” She turned around and to see Velvet along with everyone else at the table looking at both Sunset and Pinkie with arched eyebrows. Sunset gave an awkward cough and sat down along with Pinkie. “Okay so, what was your question?” she asked Velvet.

“Well…” Velvet started slowly, giving Sunset a skeptical look. “Those boys said you tried to turn the student body into your own personal army. They also said you were going to use that army to take over the world. Could you explain that to me?”

Sunset nodded. “Okay. You see, I used to be extremely arrogant. I thought that I was above everyone else, simply for being, well, me. Because of this, Snips and Snails somehow got the idea that I was some kind of god, and they started the rumor. I wasn’t complaining at the time. It made people more afraid of me. I used that fear to control the students. As for the taking over the world thing, I think that was part of the rumor. I wanted to take over the school and maintain control of the students, not this w-uhh- the world.”

Velvet nodded. “Makes sense. Rare is the man willing to go against the status quo. Fear keeps people in line.”

The bell for lunch to end suddenly rang out and students began to get up from their seat and out their garbage away.

The Rainbooms stood up with their garbage and Velvet ate the last of her shepherds pie before standing up as well. “Thank you for the information.” Velvet said to Sunset. “It was very…” Velvet thought of what word to use. “…enlightening.”

Sunset smiled. “You’re welcome.” She said, walking over to the garbage can and throwing away her waste. “And hey.”

“Hmm?” velvet replied.

"Knowing what kind of person I was isn't gonna change our friendship is it?" sunset asked, a concerned look on her face.

Velvet shook her head and gave a reassuring smile. "Of course not. So long as you don't go back to your old habits that is."

Sunset breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

"You might want to hold off on thanking Him until you've thanked yourself." Velvet said. "You chose to redeem yourself. You chose to guard against your obsessions, and you are reaping the benefits of those choices. I expect..." she looked Sunset directly in the eye. "You will continue to make good choices."

Sunset nodded confidently. "I will." she said.

Velvet smiled and lightly patted Sunset's shoulder. "Good." she said.

Velvet looked around at the other students making their way to there respective classes and sighed. "Well, I'm off. Don't wanna be late."

Sunset nodded. "Alright. Will I see you after school?"

Velvet shrugged. "I doubt it. My mother is very prudent in that she likes to have me come home as soon as I get out of school."

"Aww...oh well. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

Velvet nodded. "See ya."

"Bye."

With that Velvet, Sunset and the rest of the Rainbooms went to their next classes.

After school that day:

Velvet paced angrily back and forth across the coffee table in the living room of the Canterlot safe house. A recorder lay on the table, turned off. "Dammit..." she mumbled. "An entire week of investigation with nothing to show for it."

Velvet stopped pacing in front of the coffee table and eyed it for a moment. Without warning, Velvet slammed her closed right fist down on it with a loud BANG! "FUCK!" Velvet shouted as pain flew up her hand and wrist. She lifted her hand up to her face to examine the damage. Fortunately, the skin on Velvet's hand was only a little red and tender, and no real damage had been done.

Velvet shook her hand around whilst waiting for the throbbing in her hand to go away. When it did, she sighed. "No one ever told me missions would be this hard." she mumbled sadly to herself.

Velvet stared at the coffee table for another moment before taking a deep breath. "Okay velvet, think. Maybe there was something you missed in the last little bit." she said to herself. "Talking to those boys...asking Sunset Shimmer if she used to be the school bully...then I asked how she achieved the amount of control she had over the school...wait." Velvet paused. "That Pinkie girl." a memory flashed in Velvet's mind.

'That's an easy one! With Princess Twilight's crown!' Pinkie shouted before Sunset stood up and clamped her hand over Pinkie's mouth.

"Crown..." Velvet said slowly.

Velvet got up from the couch and went into the computer room, where she immediately started searching through the Assassin database.

"Apple, no...Staff, no...Sword, no..." Velvet murmured to herself, images of different Pieces Of Eden flashing before her eyes. "Come on...crown, crown, anything about a crown..."

After a minute of searching, Velvet gave up. "Nothing!" she said, flinging her hands up and letting them fall in her lap from mild frustration.

She sighed and stood up before going into the kitchen, where she sat down at the table and thought about what her findings - or lack thereof - could mean for the Assassins. Thanks to the animus, the Assassins know that there have been many instances where world leaders in the past have used Pieces Of Eden to gain or maintain power; to bend citizens and even political opponents to their will. There's been the Apple, then there was the Staff. These two are easily the most studied of the Pieces Of Eden, in front of the Crystal Skull and Observatory, and the Sword Of Eden. Despite this knowledge, never in history had there been a crown of Eden. If this really was a new Piece Of Eden, it could prove either really good, or really bad.

Whatever the case, Velvet had a job to do: gather any data regarding the P.O.E energy spikes.

Velvet eyed the recorder on the coffee table in the living room. She got up and went over to the coffee table, then picked up the recorder on it and turned it on.

"Log zero two. I'll get straight to the point. After today's investigation, I believe that we have a brand new Piece Of Eden on our hands. Upon questioning Sunset Shimmer about her past as a school bully, and asking how she achieved such a level of control over the school, Pinkie Pie, another friend, mentioned the use of a crown. Now, the control Sunset Shimmer was said to have achieved was almost a perfect match to a Piece Of Eden. A personally army was the word used. Upon mentioning this Sunset Shimmer rushed to silence miss Pie, indicating the mentioning of said crown is something of a very sensitive topic that Sunset wanted to keep under wraps."

Velvet paused and took a breath. "I have also learned that, as cringe-worthy as this sounds, there was a large battle between Sunset Shimmer and a group of girls who are now friends with Sunset. Said group of girls had apparently 'defeated' Sunset Shimmer at the Fall Formal. This could be an indicator that while the crown can control large groups of people, some are resistant. This could also easily be precursor DNA at work here, but without hard evidence, i.e. DNA samples, it is impossible to prove or disprove anything, so until said evidence presents itself, or becomes necessary to collect for the overall investigation, I will not treat either assumption as fact."

Velvet began to walk around the house, continuing to speak as she did so. "Aside from this new information, the value of which could be immeasurable for the Assassins, I feel I should mention now that the Templars are here, at the school, though I believe they are unaware of my presence. There is at least three confirmed Templars. I was unable to acquire a name for two of them, however I do have a name for one. A boy named Jason Wood, whom I understand to be the illegitimate child of the Templar P.O.E research team leader, Mahogany Wood. This confirms that the Templars are here to research the P.O.E energy spikes as well as us. While the Templars are indeed here in the school, their influence appears to have not affected the school, which is good for now, though not i fear, for much longer. If there is indeed a new, undocumented Piece Of Eden at this school, the Templars will want as much control as possible, to retrieve and study it. If this comes to pass then I may have to suspend my mission to document the Piece Of Eden in favor of killing these monsters." Velvet gritted her teeth and gripped the recorder. "End log zero two."

Velvet switched off the recorder and looked around to find that she had wondered upstairs and into her room. She looked at the desk next to her pillow and saw a red cloth on it. She picked it up and held it to her chest, gripping it tight. "I promise Satin...I won't let those Templar bastards destroy any lives here, like they did yours."

Author's Note

IT HAS ARRIVED AT LAST!!!!!

Hello everypony! Yes, you've just read chapter 9, and yes, you're not blind! Oh...my god, has it been a HELL of a long time. I just wanted to say I'm incredibly sorry for the six month I was having trouble with inspiration and stuff, then I couldn't figure out how I wanted the conversation between Velvet and the Rainbooms to go, then I couldn't figure out how I wanted the chapter to end! But! I finally did it.

As always leave a like if you enjoyed the story and comment should you desire.

Anyway...That's all I have to say for now, so...BYYEEE!!!!!!