"I don't know about this, Sunset," Fluttershy mumbled as she crouched in the shadow of the building, a small rat standing at her feet. She, Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie were sitting outside of the location they'd identified as Verko's address, with Sunset communicating via phone again. Sunset had relayed her plan to get information from Verko, and Fluttershy was rather apprehensive.
"I understand, Fluttershy," Sunset replied, "but we can't go in there. None of us can turn invisible or intangible. This is safer."
"But what about Mr. Rat?" Fluttershy protested. "What if he eats rat poison, or somebody left a mouse trap in there? Or if they see him?"
"I don't know about that last one," said Twilight. "I mean, look at this place. I wouldn't be surprised if some of his relatives live in there. Though that does increase the chances of the other two."
Fluttershy turned to Mr. Rat, who spoke for a few more seconds. "He says they live under the building, but they don't go where the people are."
"Well, that means he knows the place, at least," said Rainbow, over the phone. "Come on, all he has to do is listen for a few minutes. He won't be in danger."
"Rainbow! Don't be insensitive!" Rarity scolded.
"But I..." Fluttershy protested weakly, but found she couldn't come up with a solid argument. "Okay. But I'm asking him, not telling him. And he's not taking any chances. The second they see him, he's leaving."
"I reckon we can't ask for more than that, Fluttershy," said Applejack.
Fluttershy turned back to Mr. Rat. Her pendant pulsed with yellow light as she spoke. "Alright, all we need you to do is go watch the man in there who looks like a big, hairless rat for a while. Listen to everything he says. Then come back out here and tell us every word he said. But if they see you, get back out. Will you please do that?"
Mr. Rat scratched his whiskers for a couple of seconds, before nodding.
"Great!" said Pinkie happily, as she reached into her hair, pulling out a chunk of cheese. "Here you go little guy!"
"Wait, why do you have that?" asked Applejack, as Mr. Rat messily devoured the cheese.
"I always keep cheese on me!" Pinkie replied, in a matter-of-fact manner. "You know, in case of cheese emergencies!"
All the others just stared at Pinkie, as Mr. Rat made his way inside of the building.
Luckily for the girls, Mr. Rat was rather familiar with the layout of the building. Verko was too cheap to hire an exterminator, so the rats moved freely below, only venturing out when necessary. Fluttershy had been right about the rat poison, but they'd figured out how to avoid that long ago.
Mr. Rat scurried around in the area behind the building's main wall, finally finding the exit into the living room. He slipped under one of the old chairs, poking his head out and seeing the man the girl had asked him to spy on. Additionally, there was another human there as well, a lanky grey one with white hair.
"So, I take it my orders are clear?" said Storm King, tapping his cane on the floor. "You realize how big a responsibility this is, right?"
"Of course, boss!" Verko replied, giving a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just like when I managed to sway that stupid Capper into dealing with us! No need to thank me, by the way. All I gotta do is take Tempest and some of our guys up to that place and—"
Whatever inane blabber Verko would've continued to spout is anyone's guess, but it would forever remain unheard, as Storm King's hand found its way to his face, dealing a painful blow across Verko's jaw. Storm King then seized him by the collar, pulling Verko until the distance between their faces was shorter than one finger.
"Listen, Verko," Storm King snarled, clearly infuriated, "I brought you onboard because you were good at organizing crap. I kept you around because you managed to sway a couple of new customers into our business. But at this point, I've realized that, in certain places, you're either a complete idiot, or have an inflated sense of your own importance. Or both. And you know what? That pisses me off."
He lifted up his cane, bringing the bottom point up to Verko's face, and pressing it into his neck. "Now, I'm going to give you a very simple job to do: act as our face at the Sugar Cube Corner dump. Say and do everything Tempest tells you to, considering her IQ probably doubles yours. We're gonna charge 'em for our protection. Let the guards handle the heavy lifting. Just say what you're supposed to, then sit down and shut up. Got it?"
Verko had been sweating buckets out of pure fear for the entire, one-sided conversation. Staring at the cane as it pushed into his skin, he managed to squeak out. "Yes, sir!"
Storm King pressed harder. "What was that?"
"Yes, Mr. Storm King!" Verko chirped, cursing the fact that he'd forgotten the boss's preferred way to address him. The only one exonerated from this tradition was Tempest.
Storm King released Verko with a grunt of exasperation. "If you screw this up, I'll nail you to the wall, Verko," he grumbled. "Don't think I won't."
With that, he turned on his heel, heading for the door. Mr. Rat, in the level of intelligence he possessed, decided now was a good time to return to the humans. The grey man was scaring him enough already.
Fluttershy breathed a deep sigh of relief as Mr. Rat came back out of the building, completely unharmed. Despite everyone agreeing to her precautions, she still hated the idea of sending an animal into dangerous territory. She understood where Sunset had been coming from when she suggested it, but that didn't mean she was comfortable. She reached down and patted Mr. Rat on the head, thankfully Rarity wasn't there with her pocket hand sanitizer.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" she said. "Please, tell us what you saw in there!"
The rat made a few small chirping noises, as Fluttershy's pendant glowed with yellow light for a couple of seconds. They other girls looked on as she listened intently to the rat, her expression dropping from relief to afraid as she did so. Traces of fear crept up her face as the rat continued.
"Oh my goodness...he says the Storm King himself was in the building!" she squeaked, clearly afraid.
"You mean that guy?" asked Pinkie, pointing.
The other three girls followed Pinkie's gaze, discovering the tall, grey-skinned man exiting the building, his cane tapping on the ground as he walked away. From their position, they got a quick look at his deep blue eyes, and the emotions behind them. There was frustration and greed, but what really scared them was that something wasn't there. There was no mercy or compassion in those eyes, much like there hadn't been in Demon Sunset's. Or Midnight Sparkle's.
The Storm King turned his head to the side, noticing the four girls standing behind the building. Luckily, Mr. Rat was behind Fluttershy, so he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He gave a rather annoyed expression, then continued on his way, as though they didn't exist.
"That's the Storm King?" asked Applejack, perplexed, once he was out of sight. He didn't look the part of a ruthless crime boss. Sure, there were those creepy eyes, but what kind of abilities did he have that enabled him to gain so much power?
"Don't think he's just a pushover," said Twilight. "It's not like appearance is a giveaway to how dangerous he is."
"Oh, but there's more, and it's so terrible!" Fluttershy wailed. "Mr. Rat says they're planning to start a protection racket, and they're going to start extorting Sugar Cube Corner! Tonight!"
"What?!" shouted Pinkie. "That monster's willing to shake up the Cakes just for a little money?!"
Twilight started dialing her phone again.
"Sunset, we've got a problem."
Back at the school, Sunset listened closely to Twilight's recounting of everything they'd just learned, her expression one of determination, trying not to let any fear creep into her face.
"I'll say we have a problem," she answered, putting Twilight on speakerphone. "So, apparently, the Storm King is now getting into protection rackets. What's worse, he's sending Verko and some of his goons down to try and rope Sugar Cube Corner into it."
"WHAT?!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "But there's no way the Cakes can pay safety money! Not if this guy is as bad as you say he is! They just don't make enough!"
"That's what I said!" Pinkie's voice came over the phone. "We gotta stop those guys! We gotta go full super hero on them!"
"Normally, I'd be against the idea," Twilight admitted, "but in this case, we don't have time for much else. I can call Shining Armor, we can say we just heard them talking about it outside the building by accident, but the police won't reach them in time."
"My sentiments exactly, darling," said Rarity. She reached into her bag, handing Rainbow her mask and putting her own on, "Rainbow, you'll need to get us there, and we can stop it before anyone gets hurt."
"Swing by and grab me too, Rainbow," said Applejack. "I ain't letting you two deal with a bunch of crooks by yourselves."
"You sure you three can deal with this?" asked Sunset. "I didn't think we'd actually have to get our hands dirty so early. If you don't feel prepared—"
"We don't have a choice, Sunset," said Rainbow, "It's time to act."
Tempest would be the first to admit how much she hated this particular assignment. Not because she was apprehensive about shaking down some stupid bakery/cafe, but because she had to do it with Verko, even if she was in charge. She was fairly certain there wasn't a single person in their organization who actually liked the idiot. If she had to guess, she'd say he was kept around because he'd be an easy throwaway scapegoat just in case.
Nevertheless, she followed her part perfectly, standing beside the half-dozen Storm Guards as Verko shoved his way into Sugar Cube Corner. At least Verko had enough functioning neurons to regurgitate the pitch they'd agreed upon before going in.
"Here's Verko!" announced the rat man, throwing his arms out to his sides.
Tempest groaned quietly. Of course he was showing off.
Verko marched right up to the counter, where Mr. Cake could only stare in stunned surprise at what had entered his shop. "I've heard you and the missus run this establishment, freckles," he continued, poking Mr. Cake in the chest. "Nice, nice. Now, it's your lucky day, because the Storm King is moving to offer free guards for this entire neighborhood, you included! Only one tiny catch..."
Verko gestured to the Storm Guards, beckoning them to enter, Tempest close behind. Two remained behind to watch the doors. The guards were all extremely imposing, standing as tall and broad as the doorway, wearing coats with white fur lining and black masks, and armed with lead pipes. They said nothing, merely standing in threatening stances, more like animals than people. The few customers still at Sugar Cube Corner visibly flinched, afraid the slightest movement would set the beast men on them.
"We just need a tiny little compensation for our trouble," Verko continued, dragging his uncut fingernail across the cash register. "We got a deal?"
To their credit, Mr. and Mrs. Cake didn't instantly fall to their knees in fear. They looked at each other nervously, before Mr. Cake turned back to Verko.
"What happens if we...decline your offer—" he started, but was quickly interrupted.
That interruption took the form of one of the Storm Guards bringing his pipe down in an overhead swing, smashing open the display case, sending shards of dagger sharp glass into the assembled cookies, cupcakes, and other confectionaries. Another casually flipped over one of the occupied tables, sending milkshake glasses to shatter on the floor, spilling their contents everywhere.
Verko just chuckled to himself. "Let's just say your store won't exactly be making the most profitable list, pal," he replied, the threat not even slightly concealed. "And I wouldn't recommend calling the cops, either. My associates tend to get...nervous when the authorities are involved. And when they're nervous, they break things."
Tempest smiled slightly. At least Verko was doing this part of the job correctly.
Satisfied that Verko wasn't going to lead them all to ruin, Tempest turned her gaze to the street outside, giving the guards stationed at the entrance an extra pair of eyes. As it turned out, she chose the perfect moment to look.
"...that can't be good," she thought to herself.
With Rainbow's super speed, she, Rarity, and Applejack had arrived at the shop with more than enough time, even as Rainbow was forced to slow down to carry the other two alongside her. With their masks on, the three immediately took notice of the guards stationed at the doorway, along with the situation inside, which any idiot would realize was a stickup. At the sight of the Cakes being threatened, any and all doubts they'd had about the situation vanished.
Applejack was the first to make her move, rushing towards the Storm Guards, her arms outstretched. Upon seeing the masked girl with fury in her eyes charging at them, one of the guards immediately raised his pipe for a heavy blow, only to receive a nasty surprise as Applejack caught the metal instrument of pain in one hand. Beneath her shirt, her pendant glowed bright orange as she crushed it like a piece of paper, ripping it out of the guard's hand. As both were stunned at her strength, Applejack took the opportunity to grab them both by the hair and clock their heads together, cartoon style. The Storm Guards were out like a light.
"Don't take them all, Ap—buddy!" Rainbow yelled, catching herself.
She rushed into Sugar Cube Corner, her signature spectrum of colors the only visible sight through her speed. Rainbow zipped between the remaining Storm Guards, yanking the lead pipes out of their hands and tossing them to the other side of the cafe. In less than four seconds, she'd disarmed all four of them.
"Alright, everybody," she announced, standing before Verko and the Storm Guards. "I don't know if you're aware, but this is a No Extortion Zone. So why don't you just lie down until the cops get here, and we can call it a good day?"
"I don't think so, ya freaks," Verko snarled, reaching into his suit and pulling out a handgun. "Now put your hands up or else I'll—"
He didn't get a chance to finish that threat, as Rarity immediately took action. A diamond barrier formed in front of Verko and launched itself at him, knocking him onto his rear. As Verko's gun flew out of his grip, Rarity created a second barrier and caught the weapon, tossing it into same corner as the lead pipes.
"Uncouth ruffian," Rarity scoffed. "Have you no sense of shame?"
Verko apparently did not, as he climbed to his feet, his eyes filled with fury. "A thousand bucks to the guy that snaps their necks!" he spat, saliva flying from his mouth in fury.
As the action was going on, Tempest, having hung near the back, remained unnoticed, as she slowly stepped out of the building. She didn't know who these people were, or where they'd come from, but she wasn't going to stick her neck out for Verko.
The Storm Guards weren't the bravest people, but money tends to be a pretty good motivator. Thus, they charged the three masked girls without hesitation, even without their melee weapons.
Applejack smirked as she ducked under a clumsy roundhouse punch. Careful to pull her own punch, she sprang up in a devastating uppercut, clocking her opponent on the lower jaw. Another slap to the side of his head sent him into the land of unconsciousness.
Rarity wasn't particularly found of fisticuffs, but she'd known it was inevitable from the moment they set out on this adventure. She stepped back to avoid the Storm Guard's first blow, before raising her hand. Another diamond barrier formed in front of her, and the Storm Guard immediately discovered that punching one of them was like punching a brick wall. As he reeled in pain, she sent two more barriers into the sides of his head, knocking him out.
As the two girls relaxed, Rainbow gave a triumphant chuckle as she stood over the unconscious bodies of the two remaining Storm Guards. She'd utilized her speed to grab them by the wrists and force them to punch each other until they'd passed out in the space of a few seconds, beating the times of the others.
"Ha! I took down two, you only got one! I win!" she proclaimed, her fists on her hips.
"Hey, I got those two outside, I still outnumber you!" Applejack retorted.
"Um, girls?" Rarity interrupted. "Perhaps we could save the competitive spirit until later?"
Applejack and Rainbow snapped out of their one-upping each other, finally taking notice of the Cakes and patrons who were currently staring in disbelieving shock at the three super humans, as well as Verko, who was currently lying on his rear. He opened his mouth to say something, possibly another sentence calling them freaks, until Rainbow zipped over and clocked him on the head, knocking him out.
"And that's three! Try and top tha—"
"Girls!" Rarity shouted.
"Oh, alright," Rainbow finally conceded, grabbing the others and racing out of the cafe, leaving a room full of confused individuals.
Several blocks away, Tempest stopped to catch her breath. She didn't have to be back at Sugar Cube Corner to know that Verko and the guards had been caught. There was no way they could stand up to those crazy powers. That was all they needed, super heroes.
Tempest reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. Being the bearer of bad news wasn't exactly rewarded in this line of work, but it would be worse not to tell him. She casually dialed a number, holding it to her ear.
"Boss, it's me. There's been an...interesting development."