For perhaps the eighth time in her life, Sunset Shimmer was grateful that Rarity was her friend, and was so good at sewing. The ivory-skinned girl was fully on board with the idea of disguises, mostly for the purpose of keeping their identities and family safe from the Storm King. Predictably, she was delighted that it also gave her yet another creative opportunity. Thus, she'd gleefully whipped up a handful of cloth masks for the girls. Unfortunately, they'd been sidetracked for a while, as Sunset had been forced to convince Rarity not to stylize the masks, such as giving Sunset's a flame pattern, covering Rainbow Dash's with lightning bolts, etc. Eventually, Rarity had given in, creating seven ski masks, though they were all different colors.
Sunset, Rainbow, and Rarity walked down to Canterlot's smallest park, wearing their new disguises. The masks wouldn't attract a lot of attention in this part of town, given that it was a more seedy side, but Sunset refused to take chances. If anyone working for the Storm King saw where they were going, it could spell disaster. According to Sunset, this is where her contact, who could hopefully give them tips on dealing with the Storm King, tended to hang out.
"Darling, are you certain we can trust this... acquaintance of yours?" asked Rarity, still sounding unsure.
"Don't worry," Sunset replied. "Even when I was still a tool, I never did anything to her, if that's what you're worried about. And she probably hates the Storm King way more than we do. Even if we don't get anything out of this, she won't go ratting us out."
As the three passed through the trees, several men began to creep into their view, taking notice of them. They all turned their heads, focusing on the girls, their eyes never losing track of their targets as they walked. Two had skin in a brilliant shade of green, with larger, more muscular builds. One was a paler green, and appeared to have some sort of metal cast on his nose, and his tongue hanging out. One was fatter and round, and unlike her comrades, focused more on whatever mush she was eating than the intruders in their territory. All of them, even the man with the cast, had rather pointed noses, almost like beaks. They all wore brown long coats, with a logo of a skull and crossbones on the back, except the skull seemed to be from a bird. Black bandanas covered their hair.
Standing at the edge of the park was a young woman, who Rainbow guessed was probably the leader. She wore a similar long coat, but hers had gold highlights, and she wore a large, black, tricorn hat, with a red feather sticking out. Her skin was whitish grey, almost tan, and from what could be seen under her hat, she had pale green, wispy hair, almost like feathers. She had a hooked nose, like her subordinates, and her raspberry eyes stared down Sunset and the others, assessing them. Rarity shivered under her gaze, knowing this wasn't a woman she wanted to mess with.
The woman checked her watch, and Rarity noticed her nails were unusually long and sharp, but filed to an even state.
"Most people don't approach the Parrot Pirates without some sort of agenda," said the woman, sounding annoyed at the intrusion, as though they'd interrupted her routine. All things considered, they probably had. "We've got lunch in fifteen, so I suggest you state your business before we remove you." One of her minions cracked his knuckles.
Rarity and even Rainbow flinched slightly at her words, but to the surprise of all, Sunset chuckled.
"Still keeping that name, Celaeno?" she asked, pulling up the front of her mask to expose her face. "I gotta be honest, even after all this time, I still think it sounds pretty goofy. Glad to see you're still going, though."
The leader, whose name was apparently Celaeno, raised her eyebrows. "Sunbeam?" she asked. "I thought you'd disappeared from this side of town forever. What're you doing here? What's with the masks? And who're your two backup dancers?"
"Hey!" Rarity protested. "If anything, Sunset is my backup dancer! My dancing can—"
She was cut off, as Rainbow covered her mouth. "Not now, Rar—I mean, buddy."
"They're friends," Sunset replied, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs. "As for the rest, well...we didn't exactly want anyone to know we came to see you. Basically...we're looking to take down the Storm King."
It was as though she'd walked into a museum, grabbed the vase worth over one billion dollars, smashed it on the floor, and then started tap-dancing on the shards. All of Celaeno's friends flipped out, coughing and staring in disbelief. Celaeno herself actually had her feet slip out from under her, and fell on her rear.
"I'm sorry...what?!" she managed to spit out as she got to her feet. "Are you insane?! You want to take on the Storm King?! I mean, I hate the guy, and normally I'd say, 'More power to you,' but are you out of your minds?! We'd never take the guy on, even together, but...I don't...how?!"
"Okay, okay, I know it sounds borderline suicidal," Sunset admitted, attempting to defuse the situation, "but he's affecting kids around our school, and it's just a problem we can't ignore any longer. Plus, we have a couple of advantages."
She made a small gesture to Rainbow and Rarity. Dash smiled in her mask, before taking of at blinding speeds. She managed to lap the entire park several times, faster than anybody's eyes could track, before coming back to a complete stop in her original position. Rarity was equally eager to demonstrate her own powers, creating her signature diamond-shaped barrier in front of her, before moving it in through the air. If Celaeno's jaw was physically capable of hitting the floor, it probably would have.
"Okay, I'm not even going to ask," she finally said.
"Good," Sunset replied, "because it's a long story. Listen, I know you won't spread the word about us being here, and all I'm asking for is advice. How do we take apart the Storm King's empire? How do we get the law to imprison him?"
Celaeno sighed. "Sunset, I just don't know. A couple months ago, I would've been fully onboard with this, but the Storm King's still going strong after all this time. Even with the crazy super powers, I don't know how you could prove his guilt."
"Oh come on! There's gotta be something!" Rainbow protested. "A kid got the Storm King's symbol cut into his skin because he owed the guy a couple of bucks! This can't keep happening, there must be something you can give us!"
Celaeno looked at the teenager for a few minutes, as something that might've been pity slipped into her eyes. Sunset hoped it was actually empathy, considering how much was riding on this one meeting. If Celaeno couldn't or wouldn't help them, she had no idea where to go next.
"You said the kid owed a debt to the Storm King?" Celaeno finally asked. Rainbow nodded, still looking rather frustrated. "Okay, it's unlikely he would've dealt with the King directly, especially if it was his first time. Probably went through one of the guy's money dealers. In your area, he probably went with a guy named Verko. I'm sorry, that's all I can give you."
"One name? Are you kidding me? How are we supposed to—?" Rainbow started to complain, until Rarity cut her off by encasing her in a diamond dome.
"What our friend means is we're very thankful for your assistance," she hurriedly insisted. "We'll be sure to give the Storm King one for you."
Celaeno rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. "I still think you're on a suicide mission, but you do you, Sunspot," she said. "Heck, you might actually make some sort of difference."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Birdface," Sunset answered. With that, the three turned around and left the park, Rainbow grumbling quietly under her breath all the while.
"Well, that was pleasant," Rarity said as a kind of ice breaker.
"I still think it blows that we only got one name," Rainbow protested.
"Yeah, I was hoping for a tiny bit more," Sunset agreed. "It can't be helped, I guess. I hope that Twilight and the others are having better luck..."
"Are you crazy?!"
The entirety of the Canterlot Police Station all turned towards Shining Armor's desk at the man's sudden outburst. The station was a standard setup, with most officers seated at their average-sized desks, complete with whatever trappings the department could afford at the moment. Right now, that included computers that, while not obsolete, weren't exactly the latest generation of hardware, either. Shining Armor's desk was nothing special, with pictures of Twilight, their parents, and Cadence, his fiance. He did his job, like any good cop.
It was extraordinarily rare for Shining to suddenly shout out the way he had. Every person in the room turned to face the pale-skinned man, along with the three girls standing beside his desk. Twilight was easily recognized, as she'd visited her brother often enough. Pinkie, Applejack, and especially Fluttershy all flushed at the sudden onslaught of eyes staring at them.
After a couple of seconds, Shining Armor realized all the attention he'd attracted, and promptly sat back, awkwardly tugging at his collar.
"Uh, nothing to see here, folks. Go about your business," Twilight announced, trying to break the tension.
For the most part, it worked. The majority of people watching stared for a couple more seconds, before deciding it wasn't worth it, and turning their heads back. Some continued to observe, perhaps out of some hope that an interesting sight might emerge out of whatever was going on. With a sigh, Shining Armor got out of his chair, leading the four girls to the one place he knew nobody would disturb them: the old break room.
At some point, the previous break room, which was barely large enough to accommodate the five people, had been abandoned, in favor of another room in which they could actually fit the fridge. The old room had been intended to be converted into something else useful, but that plan had fallen out of the schedule for some reason. It probably had something to do with all the stains in the carpet nobody had bothered to clean up, which were starting to smell. Shining closed the door behind him, quickly claimed the only chair in the room, and faced the four girls.
"Alright, I'll repeat my question: Are you crazy, Twily?" he demanded. "Taking on the Storm King? Are you even thinking?"
"Hey, that's what she said to Sunset!" Pinkie chimed in. Applejack preemptively put a hand over the other girl's mouth, knowing she'd continue until the end of next week before wearing out.
"I don't think we're crazy," Twilight replied, adjusting her glasses (one of her nervous habits). "Shiny, we have to do something. You didn't see what they did to Capper. The things that could infect our school."
Shining Armor sighed, placing the palm of his hand against his eyes. "Look, girls, it's wonderful that you're taking an interest in this sort of thing. But even with the crazy magic powers, this is a gigantic risk. You could get killed, or kidnapped, or other things I don't want to think about. It's just not sensible."
"Believe me, Shiny, I had the exact same reaction when Sunset suggested it," said Twilight, "but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no defense against her primary argument: if we have the power to change something, but we just sit on our rears, we're as responsible as the guilty party for what happens. The whole great power, great responsibility thing won't get out of my head, cliché as it sounds. I can't just watch this happen again."
"Then get Capper to come forward," said Shining Armor. "Tell him we'll protect him. He can testify—"
"I don't know, sugar cube," said Applejack. "Capper was never the bravest sort."
"And we already know he's terrified," said Twilight. "Honestly, it was like he thought us seeing the mark on him was an automatic death sentence. I think the only way he'd ever agree to testify was if the Storm King was imprisoned."
"Yeah! And besides, the Storm King's such a big meanie, he probably has dozens of lawyer guards protecting him!" Pinkie added. "One person testifying isn't going to break through all of that!"
"Can you please tell us about the laws surrounding vigilantism?" asked Fluttershy. "We need to get this done legally if we want to Storm King to got to prison, where he can't hurt anyone."
Shining Armor groaned again. Clearly, he couldn't believe he was actually going through with this. "Look, the laws are pretty much what you'd expect. You can't just bring evidence into the station and boom, we can get him convicted. That raises all sorts of legal problems, with illegal searches and everything, it'd never fly in court. Not to mention how many laws you'd probably get thrown in jail for. Breaking and entering, theft, assault." Suddenly, a thoughtful look crossed his face, if only for a second. He quickly covered it up, but not fast enough.
"But...?" Twilight prompted, a knowing grin on her face.
"Sometimes, I think you know me too well," Shining grumbled. "Theoretically, there are ways we could work around it. I'm already working on the Storm King case. If—and this is a big if—you could come up with a believable story as to how you stumbled onto some piece of evidence, and you called me, it would just be a good samaritan giving a tip to the cops. The rest of it could just be good old fashioned police work." Shining Armor's face returned to its hardened glare. "However—"
"Shining, please," Twilight implored, holding onto her big brother's hands. Twilight wasn't in the habit of using a puppy dog face to get what she wanted out of him, but staring at her now, Shining saw deep into her eyes. Twilight was being driven by sheer compassion, hoping to ensure nobody else suffered the way Capper had. Saying no felt like an impossibility.
"Alright," he finally gave in, "but we need to establish ground rules. One, I'm agreeing to this because we've tried every trick we already knew, and we still haven't gotten the Storm King, so don't expect this to become a regular thing. Two, we keep in constant contact. You don't poke a suspect's back without telling me about it. Three, if I tell you something's too dangerous, you get outta there, no questions."
"Fair enough," replied Applejack.
The group was then interrupted by the ringing of Twilight's phone. The girl whipped out the small device, hitting the answer button upon seeing Sunset Shimmer's name. She held it up to her ear for a second, apparently unable to get a word in as Sunset hurriedly relayed the information she'd uncovered.
"Sunset says they have the name of the dealer Capper most likely borrowed from," she announced. "Verko, something. Didn't get a last name, unfortunately."
Shining Armor thoughtfully scratched his chin. "Verko...that name sounds familiar. Hold on, let me check something."
He rushed out of the break room to his desk, quickly accessing the police database. He returned minutes later, armed with a print out of an old mugshot.
"Verko Ratter. Pretty low time guy, did some time for embezzlement. I wouldn't be surprised if the Storm King recruited him right out of the prison doors. If you can find him, without interrogating him or stealing from him, or anything, maybe you can get a tip on evidence. Maybe eavesdrop on him."
Twilight took the picture. The man certainly lived up to his name. His skin was a pale pink, like a naked mole rat, and the whiskers that he apparently refused to shave didn't help the resemblance. He had a slight overbite, with two incisors sticking out above his lip. His head was completely bald. He was wearing a rather nice suit, but it seemed to add to the creepy factor rather than detract.
"Sunset, we've got a name. And an address!" Twilight announced happily. Then a small frown ended up on her face. "Wait, you're not planning to just read his thoughts, are you?"
"No way," Sunset replied. "I'd definitely get caught. No, I've got a much better idea..."