Something Rotten

by Boltstrike58

Chapter 7: One Bad Day

Consciousness was an evasive gift to Twilight Sparkle. Given that she was a person who'd never been punched in the face, much less clubbed in the face with a wrench, this was unsurprising. She drifted through a pained sleep, filled with thoughts of frustration over how badly they'd botched this quest, and fear over what was going to happen to them. Shining Armor was going to kill her, if they got out of this alive.

Finally, Twilight managed to claw her way back to an alert state, blinking away the fuzz in her vision. Her head was throbbing in pain, and her glasses were gone, limiting her vision. From what she could see, she was inside some old warehouse, where only a single window sat on the ceiling to provide natural light to the interior. She was sitting in a chair, and when she tried to stand up, she only ended up confirming that her wrists, ankles, and torso were chained to the chair, which was also nailed to the floor. In short, Twilight Sparkle was completely immobile.

"Wakey wakey," came a voice from behind her. Twilight felt two small, sharp points jab into her back, followed by a painful electrical shock to her entire body. She screamed, twitching in whatever small ways she could, the chains seeming to tighten even further from her struggling, even as the pain faded after a second. "Whoops. Didn't realize you were already awake."

Twilight felt a hand grab her by the ponytail, yanking her head backwards, and her glasses were placed onto her face once again. She blinked a few tears out of her eyes, as she was finally able to take in her surroundings. The warehouse was even more dilapidated than she'd initially thought, with holes in the walls and what looked like rat droppings lying around. Beside her were Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy, all still unconscious, with their masks and pendants removed. Twilight gasped quietly as she realized her own were gone as well. The four jewels, along with their masks, were set on a small crate off to the side.

What was more worrying was Tempest Shadow, smirking in front of her. In her hand was a long cattle prod, still sparking from the zap it had inflicted on Twilight moments before. A small handful of Storm Guards stood around, armed with wrenches. A short and fat man sat in the corner, eating a box of donuts. And by the doorway was a familiar, lanky grey man, with a long cane, causing Twilight's heartbeat to skyrocket.

"Geez! I mean, what are you, thirteen?" laughed the Storm King, pointing at the four chained girls. "I mean, seriously, all this trouble, and you're just a bunch of kids?!" He threw back his head and cackled like a maniac. Twilight felt her breath leave her body in pure fear.

"In my opinion, it makes a lot of sense," said Tempest. "Only a bunch of kids would think of something so stupid, let alone try to pull it off."

"What...what is this?!" cried Twilight, trying in vain to get free of her bindings. "What are you gonna do to us?!" As embarrassing as it would be to admit, she was close to tears. This was the absolute worst-case scenario she could think of.

"Patience, kid, it saves your life," said Storm King. He turned to Tempest. "Wake up the rest of 'em."

"Yes, sir."

Tempest proceeded to walk up to each of the girls in turn, ramming her cattle prod into the backs of each of their necks. Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy all screamed in the same agony Twilight had, as the painful shock brought them back to consciousness.

"Lemme outta this!" roared Rainbow, struggling fiercely. "I swear to God, I'll tear you a new one!"

"P-please don't hurt us..." Fluttershy peeped, her entire body shivering with fear. "W-w-we won't tell anybody. W-we can't even prove you did anything, just please don't hurt us..." Twilight felt a stab of pity for her friend.

"Hm. It's no fun when you start crying before we even..." the Storm King began, but stopped abruptly. He looked closer at Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy. "You...you three were outside Verko's apartment. You were spying on me." He held Fluttershy by the chin, as the girl trembled. "Where's your friend? The one that looks like walking cotton candy?"

"Not to mention the diamond girl," chimed in Tempest.

"Take your filthy mitts off her, mister," Applejack growled, her chains rattling. "I can snap these like they're nothing, and then—"

"Don't bother with the bluff," said Tempest, annoyed. "We already figured out your powers are tied to these stupid necklaces. They glowed whenever you used them." She picked up one of them, shaking it in her hand. "They don't work for us, though. Why is that?"

"We aren't telling you a thing!" Rainbow snapped. "And we don't need our powers! We're gonna—"

Tempest cut her off with another swipe of her cattle prod, jabbing it into her stomach. Rainbow screamed in pain, throwing her neck back.

"Stop it! Leave her alone!" screamed Twilight. "She didn't do anything!"

"See, that's a lie," retorted Storm King. "You cost me my protection racket, along with a shitload of money. Not to mention you put Verko and a handful of my guys in the slammer. You wanna know how that makes me feel?" He moved closer to Twilight, standing close to her to the point where their noses were almost touching. Then he backhanded her across the face. "ANGRY! PISSED OFF! IRRITATED!" Twilight grunted as she took the blow, but there seemed to be no real damage.

"What should we do with them, sir?" asked Tempest, as though this were a normal, casual conversation. "They had no ID on 'em, so they've got a least one functioning brain cell between them. Want me to make 'em talk?"

"I say we squeeze 'em until the city pays for us to let 'em go!" chimed in Grubber, his mouth filled with chocolate.

"Shut up, Grubber," said Storm King. He looked over the four girls. "Hm, what to do, what to do...I'll need to think on it. Tempest, stand on guard."

"Yes, sir," said Tempest, sparking her cattle prod, a malicious grin on her face.

"You can't hold us!" Applejack snarled, trying to snap the chains, with no success. "We have friends, and they'll—"

Tempest zapped her with the prod again. "Be quiet. If we're gonna spend time together, I'm not gonna listen to your insipid crap."

Twilight swallowed. She wasn't physically showing it, but she was as terrified as Fluttershy. If there was a good outcome to this situation, she didn't see it.

---

"You idiot!" roared Shining Armor, clutching Sunset by the collar of her jacket, shoving her back into a wall. "This is your fault! Your fault!"

Sunset grunted, her teeth clacking together due to the momentum, biting her tongue so hard it bled.

"No! Stop it!" shouted Pinkie, all bounciness gone from her voice, as she attempted to pry Shining Armor away from Sunset.

The police officer wasn't listening, as he actually reeled back to punch Sunset, only for a diamond barrier to appear between them. It flew into his chest, pushing him back and forcing him to release his grip on Sunset.

"Alright! Okay!" said Rarity, her pendant glowing. "Shining Armor, cease this at once! Yes, Twilight is in trouble, but brutally assaulting Sunset won't make it any better! Now calm down!"

"Calm down?! My sister's been kidnapped by a nut job crime lord, and you tell me to calm down?!" he shouted. He thrust his finger at Sunset. "This is your fault! This whole scheme was your idea!"

"I'm sorry!" Sunset shouted, cutting him off. "I'm sorry we didn't plan more carefully, I'm sorry I wasn't there to try and help her! Now can we start looking for Twilight and the others?!"

She looked back up at Shining Armor, her eyes watering from the pain. Her gamble seemed to be working, reminding him that Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy were also missing. He took a couple of deep breaths, lowering his arm as he did so, visibly relaxing. He remembered his priorities, the largest of which was finding a way to rescue Twilight and the others.

Not that Sunset wasn't experiencing a strong stab of guilt and anxiety to her own heart. True, her powers weren't very useful in a fight, but she still wished she'd been there. Heck, if all seven of them were there, they could've whipped up some kind of magic rainbow laser to stop Tempest, or something. But that was thought for later. Now was a time for action.

"Okay," she breathed, standing up, "is Tempest known to frequent any other locations? Maybe somewhere she meets the Storm King, or something like that? I don't know, any place she might've taken them."

Shining Armor shook his head. "It's not like we track her movements, or anything. She's nowhere near high-profile enough."

"Dammit!" Sunset cursed. "Well what about the Storm King's real name? Anymore known criminal hangouts in this city?! Anything?!"

"I don't know!" shouted Shining Armor. "I don't know anything about her! I don't know who the Storm King is! I don't know—"

"Um, excuse me?" came a quiet voice from the door. Shining, Rarity, Sunset, and Pinkie all turned to the door, finding one of Shining's colleagues, Iron Shield, standing there, looking embarrassed at the situation he'd walked into. He was holding a small stack of papers in one hand.

"Sorry, Iron," said Shining, rubbing his face with one hand. "What is it?"

"So, uh, I was looking at that sketch we got that we think might be the Storm King," said Iron, "and it seemed kinda familiar. So I went back through our records and found this." He produced an image of an old mugshot, depicting a man who was, without a doubt, the man in the sketch. "If this guy is the Storm King, his real name is Dew Drop. He got busted a few years back for a robbery, then he just disappeared once he got out of the joint. People just sort of forgot about him, he was low time."

Shining Armor snatched the papers out of Iron Shield's hands, making him jump with fright. Shining's eyes scanned the wealth of information listed on 'Dew Drop,' going over his records for anything that might give them a lead. The girls peeked over his shoulder.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Sunset, pointing. "It says he was busted at a warehouse of Canterlot bay that's been deserted for decades. He was using it as his hideout. You don't think...maybe he'd go back there?"

"Only one way to find out," said Shining. He grabbed his phone.

---

The past hour had been pure agony. Tempest and the Storm Guards never took their eyes off of Twilight and the others even for one second, giving them no opportunities to even try and escape. Even if Sunset and the others were out there looking for them, the situation felt hopeless.

Even worse was Tempest and her awful cattle prod. Every time one of the girls would talk, Tempest would ram it into some spot on their bodies. Twilight and Fluttershy had only gotten a couple of zaps to the body, but Rainbow and Applejack wouldn't stop mouthing off, and had gotten far worse treatment. They now had matching burn marks on their faces, and Twilight was certain they would be left with scars.

"Keep poking us all day, lady!" Applejack spat, one of her eyes nearly shut from the pain. "Won't do you any good! We can take—"

Tempest cut her off with another sharp jab into her hip, eliciting a scream of agony from the farm girl. "It's funny. Everybody says that, yet they never stop screaming whenever I start," Tempest mused. "It's so pathetic it's almost sad."

"Shut up!" shouted Rainbow. "You won't break us! You won't—" She started to scream as well, as Tempest zapped her thigh.

"That's enough! Stop it! Leave them alone!" screamed Twilight. She immediately regretted it, knowing it would be her turn for a zap next. Then an idea popped into her brain. "Fizzlepop, stop!"

It was like somebody had shot through a glass window. Tempest froze where she stood, almost dropping her cattle prod. Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy looked on in shock, as the one-armed woman sat perfectly still, her eyes staring at Twilight, without truly seeing her.

"What..." Tempest finally said, "...what did you just call me?"

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist," Twilight continued, talking as fast as she could to avoid making Tempest angrier. "That's your real name, right?"

Unfortunately for Twilight, it didn't go exactly according to her plan. Tempest dropped her cattle prod, but her one hand swiftly found its way around the neck of Twilight's shirt, grasping and pulling as hard as she possibly could.

"Where did you hear that name?!" Tempest screamed in her face, drops of saliva flying out of her mouth onto Twilight's face. The violet girl trembled in panic, her voice caught in her throat. It was only after Tempest screamed at her a second time that she found the strength to speak.

"W-w-we were researching you!" Twilight cried, tears of sheer fear dripping down her face. "A-a-and I saw that you graduated from Canterlot High, and I saw your name, and—"

"Shut up!" Tempest screamed, backhanding Twilight across the face. Twilight cried out in pain, but luckily for her, the act seemed to release Tempest's pent up fury. The woman stepped away from her, looking down at the floor. "Nobody's called me that in so long. I thought maybe I'd forgotten it by now. Thanks for the reminder."

Twilight blinked away more tears of pain as she looked at Tempest. For the first time since they'd met, Tempest didn't look like the fearsome criminal that she'd been so far. She looked...sad. She looked lost in thought, focusing on memories long gone, even as she'd rather forget them. Twilight tentatively decided to try reaching her.

"Tempest," she said softly, "why are you doing this? Why throw your life away to work for a monster like the Storm King?"

"You wouldn't understand," Tempest responded. She didn't even turn around.

"Tempest, please," Twilight pleaded, unwilling to give up. "I-I read about you. You actually got a scholarship to Canterlot University after graduating, but then you just dropped out. What happened to you? Why are you doing this?"

Tempest rounded on her, and for a moment, Twilight panicked. But those feelings quickly faded as she saw the look in Tempest's eyes. It wasn't anger, but something more akin to pity.

"You really want to know?" Tempest asked. Twilight nodded.

Tempest picked up her cattle prod, but made no move to turn in on. Instead, she just twirled the device in her remaining hand, as though trying to keep herself occupied for reasons she couldn't comprehend.

"Let me be the one to explain it to you," Tempest finally said. "Let me be the one to tell you the big secret. When you grow up, when you go out into the real world, the one timeless, inescapable fact is...people suck. You know that cliche 'Always expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed?' There's value to that. Inevitably, at some point, the people you've spent your life trusting and loving will let you down. No exceptions.

"Oh, sure, they'll say 'You can always count on me,' and other crap like that. And sometimes, maybe you can. They'll help you when you trip up, when you need a quick buck, things like that. But as soon as it gets difficult for them to help you, as soon as you don't get better immediately, as soon as they actually need to put in effort, what happens? They abandon you. Every time." Tempest pointed to the stump where her other arm should've been. "It happened to me, and once you get out of here, it'll happen to you, kid. Take it from me."

Twilight was shocked. This woman was actually being honest with her. She was admitting her problem. And it broke her heart.

"I don't believe you," Twilight finally replied. "Real friends don't abandon real friends. My friends taught me that. That...that can't be the truth." She looked Tempest in the eye. "If you got in trouble, why didn't you ask for help from other people? Principal Celestia—"

"Pf. Yeah right," Tempest snorted. "You honestly think she'd help some random student who'd graduated and wasn't even really close to her? God you're delusional. I don't envy the cold slap of reality that's coming your way, kid." Tempest shook her head resentfully. "When you get out of this, take a word of advice from me: Don't count on anyone. It only comes back to bite you in the end. Storm King found me when I was at my lowest, gave me food and shelter, and I do stuff for him because I hate being in debt. Simple as that."

"But..." Twilight protested weakly. It felt useless. Tempest refused to be reached, as though she'd been miserable for so long that it had become comfortable, and the idea of opening up, of working to change her life, felt like a pipe dream, and it would only lead to an even worse fate. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to you to give you this much pain. But I was alone before, and my friends saved me. You don't have to be like this."

Tempest didn't answer.

Whatever conversation would've followed is anyone's guess, as the door swung open once more, allowing the Storm King to stroll back in. His cane clicked on the hard floor with every step, and he still looked like he was in a particularly bad mood.

"Well, Tempest," he announced, "looks like we're gonna have to get rid of them."

Tempest froze where she stood again. She nearly dropped her prod. "Um...what, sir?" she asked.

"We're whacking these kids," said the Storm King. "Too much risk of them blabbing to the cops about us, and our faces, and whatnot. Even intimidation doesn't always work. So, just stab 'em, or something, dice 'em up, and toss 'em out at the beach."

Tempest didn't answer. She couldn't.

Comments

[Antiquarian]

GAAAAAAH! CLIFFHANGERS!

[Flufux]

Now this chapter was pretty damn brutal. Looking forward to see how they get out of this mess.

"See, that's a lie," retorted Storm King, "You cost me my protection racket, along with a shitload of money. Not to mention you put Verko, and a handful of my guys in the slammer. You wanna know how that makes me feel?" He moved closer to Twilight, standing close to her to the point where their noses were almost touching. Then he backhanded her across the face. "ANGRY! PISSED OFF! IRRITATED!" Twilight grunted as she took the blow, but there seemed to be no real damage.

So Storm King's channelling Ghirahim now? I mean that was way too similar to his "Do you have any idea how that made me feel inside? FURIOUS! OUTRAGED! SICK WITH ANGER!" line to be a coincidence, right? Or maybe I'm just reading too much into this.

[Boltstrike58]

9292674
Believe it or not, I wasn't actually trying to reference Ghirahim with that. I wasn't even thinking about it.

[Flufux]

9293197
Okay then, but that was where my mind went anyhow.