A criminal element has taken root in Canterlot City. Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and their friends must figure out how to use their powers to stop it, without falling victim themselves.
Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and their friend group are newly equipped with magical super powers, and have certainly proven themselves when it comes to magic threats. But something is rotten in Canterlot City, and criminals have now attracted their attention. Now, the girls must find a way to use their abilities to protect people from a threat far closer to home. Of course, such a task is not without risks...
Most people who knew Capper would peg him as a fairly laid back person. He generally rolled with whatever life threw at him, including the occasional punch intended to shut him up (he never did realize when to be quiet). However, that image clashed with the teenager's current condition, which consisted of him frantically rushing through his apartment, checking under every single piece of furniture.
"Nothing," he grunted, ripping out the recliner cushion, before moving to the couch, systematically yanking the cushions out, sweeping his hand in the exposed area. "Nothing. Nothing. Nothing!" He threw his hands upwards, grabbing his hair and pulling it in frustration. It was enough to make him panic, nervously scratching his arms and chest.
There wasn't a single penny in the place. He'd checked everywhere he could think of, and he didn't have anything saved up. His parents were out of town, and nobody who could help him would answer their phone at this time on a Sunday night. Capper nervously glanced at the clock again, noticing it was already a quarter-past nine.
Capper took a deep breath, settling down into a chair. He had to think clearly, find some other way out of this mess. Maybe he could get out of the house, get away before they got there. Of course, they'd break in, maybe they'd trash the place. So what? It wasn't like he had any valuables lying around. If he did, he'd have taken them down to the pawn shop by now. There was time for him to fix up the house before his parents got back. Nobody would be the wiser.
But then the logical side of his brain kicked in once more. If he ran, they'd just get angrier. They'd never stop looking for him. They'd probably be smart enough to come back to the house, knowing he had nowhere in town to hide. Capper didn't have anybody out of town he could run to, and fleeing Canterlot was probably the only way to ensure they'd never find him. It was a nightmare. Maybe if he tried—
Capper's train of thought was brought to a screeching halt by the doorbell. The teenager froze where he stood, having no doubt in his mind as to exactly who was at the door. He'd thought he'd at least have a few more minutes to come up with some sort of plan, but that had turned out to be another delusion.
Capper weighed his options one more time. Admittedly, there wasn't a lot of variety to them. It was either try to sneak out through the back door or a window, and undoubtedly get caught. These people knew enough about Capper to have some extra guards around the house. It was just common sense at this point. The other choice was to just face the music. Neither was particularly appealing.
Sighing to himself, Capper gave in, getting up and walking to the door. This was his fault, he might as well face the music. Besides, if he didn't run away, maybe they'd cut him a little slack. Like only breaking one of his arms.
Capper smoothed down his tuft of blue hair as he went to answer the door. He also removed his red coat, hanging it up on the wall hook. If he was going to suffer for his mistakes, he'd rather that thing remained intact at minimum. It was the best article of clothing he owned, after all.
Taking one more breath to steel himself, Capper grasped the cool metal of the door handle, and yanked it open.
"Verko, my main man, great to see—" Capper started, but his voice died in his throat.
He'd assumed Verko would come to collect his debt personally, given how much the guy personally hounded him. Instead, he found himself face-to-face with a young woman, who couldn't be older than her early twenties. Her skin was a dark purplish-red, perhaps orchid, and her spiky hair was a rose red. Her intense eyes were a shade of teal, with a prominent scar over her right. She wore a simple black T-shirt, on which a logo of two turquoise horns was inscribed, and blue jeans. Her right sleeve hung limply at her side, with little limb to support it.
"Hello, Capper," she said, disregarding the teenager's shock. "Lovely to see you again."
"T-Tempest?" Capper squeaked, visibly beginning to sweat. "I-I didn't think...Verko—"
Tempest chuckled to herself. "Yes, he was the one you made your deal with," she laughed, as though explaining a simple concept to a particularly slow child. "But ultimately, he works for the king, same as I. His money is the Storm King's money. And given his failure to make any progress with you, the Storm King has seen fit to place me in charge of your case."
Capper swallowed audibly. If intimidation was the goal, the Storm King had certainly secured it. If you weren't afraid of Tempest Shadow, you probably didn't have more than one functioning brain cell.
"Yeah, and besides, your place is right next to the bakery," said a voice next to Tempest, followed by a wet chomping sound. Capper looked down, finding a short and squat man in black clothes, with grey skin and a mohawk of white hair sticking out of his skull. He took another messy bite of his eclair, chewing with his mouth fully open.
Tempest groaned. "Grubber, you're throwing me off," she protested, raising her one fist angrily.
Grubber, ever oblivious, didn't change his expression at all. "Sure, whatever, boss lady. I'll go stand back." He walked off of Capper's porch, chewing away at his confection.
Tempest turned back to Capper. "Now then, to business. Where's the money?"
Capper tensed even further. This was it, the moment of truth. "I...don't have it," he admitted. "I'm getting paid this Saturday, but until then, there's nothing I can do."
He closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable blow that would find its way to his face. When nothing happened, he dared crack a single eye open. Unfortunately, this did nothing to assuage his fears, as Tempest was smiling.
"So, you won't be paying off your debts today," she said, examining the fingernails on her only hand. "What a pity. Still, at least you owned up to it. That doesn't happen very often."
She snapped her fingers. "Grubber, my tool, please." Grubber walked back into view, holding a long, thin object. Tempest picked it up, and Capper felt his stomach drop when he realized it was an electric cattle prod.
"We'll give you till Saturday, but you have to face some consequences." Tempest clicked the activator, producing a few sparks from the two prongs. "Don't worry, this'll only hurt for a minute." She smiled devilishly.
Capper swallowed.
Chapter 1: Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept it...
In Miss Harshwhinny's classroom that morning, the only sound that reverberated around was the sound of scratching pens and pencils. Nobody would dare to try and raise their voice, considering the teacher in question. She'd come down on them like a freight train. At least Harshwhinny wasn't one of those who'd punish the whole class if one person was talking.
Additionally, this designated writing time was much appreciated amongst this class. The essay portion of the upcoming test was easily one of the most feared things in the academic career of these students, so any chance to get feedback on their essays ahead of time was vital. Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle were both breathing calmly as they halted their writing for a couple of seconds, thinking about exactly what they wanted to say. Both girls were adept at this kind of assignment, but that didn't mean they could wing it.
Suddenly, the unthinkable happened, as a noise broke through the thick silence. This sound was the opening of the classroom door, prompting Harshwhinny to turn her attention to it. The entire class instinctively followed, finding the class had been interrupted by the only student who'd been absent, Capper.
Of course, Capper's present condition was something nobody expected. One of his eyes was blackened and swollen almost completely shut, and his body had numerous white bandages covering his skin. One encircled most of his neck, another sat on his left cheek, and several dotted both of his arms. Around the white material, one could see that the skin was reddened. His left arm hung in a sling, though it didn't look like it was broken.
Even the normally stoic Harshwhinny seemed taken aback at the sight of her student, and in an out-of-character-moment, didn't reprimand him for being late.
"Capper?! My goodness, what happened to you?!"
"Fell down some stairs," said the teenager, his voice low and tired. There was none of his usual laid-back attitude in his words, or in his body language, as he walked over to his seat. Looking down at his legs, Twilight noticed that he flinched whenever he extended his right knee, like there were more, unseen injuries, though she couldn't see anything beneath his jeans. Capper slumped into his chair, dropping his backpack onto the ground with a dull thud.
Miss Harshwhinny blinked a couple of times, as though trying to process exactly what was going on before her. Eventually, she shook her head, grabbing another loose piece of paper and bringing it over to Capper's desk.
"Well, since you're here, finally, you might as well work on the essay," she said, simply. Capper shrugged, the universal gesture for 'whatever,' before taking out a pen and beginning to scribble on the page with his (thankfully uninjured) right hand. Miss Harshwhinny returned to her desk, carrying on as though nothing had interrupted.
Of course, something had disrupted the normalcy of the class. Sunset and Twilight, ever accustomed to such things, looked each other in the eyes with as much subtlety as they could, Sunset skeptically raising her eyebrows. Neither girl spoke a single word, but at this point, they could communicate without opening their mouths.
'Fell down some stairs?'
Yeah, right. Not with those bandages.
You think we should ask him?
Definitely.
After class ended, Capper retreated to his locker, having missed his chance to drop off his excess books earlier in the morning. He got the door open easily enough, but getting his backpack off both shoulders and unloading books was a pain with only one arm. His history textbook slipped out of his grasp, dropping it onto his foot with an audible thump. Capper grunted, more from the frustration than the pain.
"Here, let me help you," said a familiar voice.
Capper turned to the side. Sunset Shimmer, the owner of said voice, reached down and picked up Capper's textbook, placing it inside of his locker for him. Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, helped to re-attach the straps of his backpack, settling the lighter load on Capper's shoulders.
"Thanks, girls," Capper mumbled, apparently unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do. It wasn't like he knew either of them before hand.
"Are you okay?" Sunset asked, looking him over once again. "I'm guessing you were late because you were busy seeing a doctor for those injuries. Seriously, what happened?"
"I fell down some stairs. Besides, what do you care?" Capper grumbled.
"It's called compassion, try it sometime," Twilight snarked. "Come on, Capper, we just want to help you."
"Look, all we need to know is what happened to you..." Sunset said. Twilight instinctively turned her eyes to Sunset, seeing that her hand was reaching slowly for Capper's exposed skin. A faint orange glow began to gather around her pendant.
"No!" she protested, grabbing Sunset by the wrist. "We talked about this! No invading people's brains without permission!"
"Hey!" Sunset complained. "I was just gonna look at one memory! You know I can control it now! It's not like I was looking at his most intimate thoughts!"
"That's not the point and you know it!" Twilight snapped back. "You can't just jump inside somebody's head whenever you want! That's an invasion of privacy—"
Sunset cut Twilight off, placing a hand over her mouth. The former Crystal Prep student was about to protest, until she saw Sunset point to a spot on the back of Capper's neck. One of his bandages had partially slipped off, exposing the flesh beneath. A thin and shallow cut, barely starting to scab over, had been exposed, jutting up in a straight line and then veering diagonally right and upward. Sunset reached out and snatched the bandage away, revealing a mirror image of the same wound next to it, the two together resembling a pair of horns.
Twilight didn't recognize the symbol, but Sunset seemed to. Capper rushed to cover up his neck again, but it was too late. Sunset just stared in dull surprise at the teenager, seemingly catatonic with what might've been fear.
"Tell me you didn't," she finally said. "Tell me you didn't make a deal with him..."
"I didn't!" Capper protested, but his conviction was weak, "I just...I only borrowed a little from a guy who works for him—"
"Are you crazy?!" Sunset shouted, grabbing the collar of his jacket. "Do you have any idea what could've happened to you?!" She released Capper and clenched her eyelids shut, placing a palm against her forehead. "This is a nightmare..."
Twilight was at a loss for words. "What are you talking about?" she asked, turning to Capper. "What happened?"
"I can't..." Capper mumbled. "If I say anymore, they'll...You don't know what he'd do to me." He picked up his backpack once again, scurrying off to another class.
Twilight turned back to Sunset, but the former unicorn held up a finger to silence her. "Wait until lunch," she said. "All of the girls need to hear this." With that, she walked away, leaving Twilight to puzzle out exactly what was going on.
Several hours later, Canterlot's most magical seven friends gathered in their usual place in the cafeteria. This was something that happened pretty much every school day. This difference this time, of course, was how tense Sunset Shimmer was, clenching her hands so that the knuckles turned as white as Rarity. She hadn't even taken a bite of her grilled-cheese sandwich yet.
"Golly, sugar cube, what's the matter with you?" asked Applejack. "You look like you can barely breathe!"
"Sorry, sorry," Sunset answered, her voice remaining fairly stable, despite her appearance. "Something just...caught me off guard today. I think you all need to hear about it."
The other six girls leaned in closer. Even Pinkie, sensing the serious nature of the discussion, didn't say a word.
"Okay," Sunset began, "I'm sure you've all noticed Capper today, looking pretty bedraggled. Now, that wouldn't be cause for alarm by itself, but Twilight and I both got suspicious, so we decided to ask exactly what put him in that state. He was pretty evasive, giving us the whole 'I fell down the stairs' crap."
Twilight opened her mouth, no doubt to chime in about Sunset's attempt to read Capper's thoughts, but the other girl put a hand over her mouth.
"Not yet, Twilight. So one of the bandages on Capper's neck slipped off, and we saw that someone used a knife to draw into his skin. The cuts were superficial, but they weren't the big deal. The big deal was that fact that the cuts formed this symbol. Like a low-tech way to brand someone."
Sunset reached into her backpack, pulling out a folded post-it note. Twilight took a look, and sure enough, the note had the same image of the two horns inscribed on it with blue pen.
"Okay..." Rainbow started. "What does that mean, exactly?"
"It means Capper's been dealing with the Storm King," said Sunset, "and he somehow didn't fulfill his end of the bargain."
"The who?" asked Pinkie.
Most of the other girls had the same confused reaction, with the exception of Twilight. She flinched at the name as Sunset spoke, rubbing her upper arms nervously. Sunset's previous reaction was now perfectly clear.
"The Storm King is easily the most powerful crime lord in Canterlot," Sunset replied. "He doesn't have operations all over the world or anything, but most organized crime in this city can, in some way, be traced back to him. Drugs, gambling, loan sharks, organized robbery, you name it, this guy has his fingers in it somehow. Capper owes him cash that he didn't manage to pay back. Generally, the Storm King doesn't respond well to that."
"But wouldn't that show up on the news?" asked Fluttershy. "I've never even heard of the Storm King."
Sunset laughed hollowly. "Yeah. That's because this guy is good. Remember how I used to manipulate this entire school, turning people against each other, crap like that? This guy makes me look like an amateur."
"From what I've heard, he's incredibly skilled at covering his tracks," Twilight spoke up. "Most of the police are certain he's guilty, but they can never fully tie him to any crimes. That's why the media never reports on him."
Sunset looked surprised. "How'd you know?"
"My big brother's a cop. What do you expect?" Twilight answered. Then a thought occurred to her. "Wait, where did you learn about the Storm King, Sunset?"
Sunset shifted awkwardly in her seat. "Well...okay, back to my alpha bitch phase..."
"Darling, please don't tell me..." Rarity began.
"I swear, I never made deals with him, or his associates," Sunset insisted. "Back when I was a jerk, I used to buy cigarettes on the street, and word gets around. I actually had someone who worked for him approach me once, offering me a job, but I declined. After everything I'd learned about the guy, even I wasn't stupid enough to try and get into his business."
"I wouldn't put it past him," Sunset answered. "It's not like people end up chopped into pieces and thrown in the river out here, but the Storm King is ruthless. If he's had people killed, he's covered it up pretty well." She pressed her hand into her brow. "And Capper's little accident is just the latest push towards our school. I heard he lost a lot of cash to local gamblers when he bet on us to win the Friendship Games, and Crystal Prep officially won, because we didn't even care about the trophy anymore."
"Wait, criminals bet on the Friendship Games?" asked Rainbow, skepticism all over her face.
"They'll bet on how fast paint dries!" Sunset snapped. "Look, the point is that the Storm King is expanding his territory further. Up to this point, Canterlot High and Crystal Prep have both remained pretty closed off from his operations, but he's gaining ground. Capper's just gonna be the first. He's gonna start trying to get more and more from the student populace around. I bet you anything he's trying to find someone who will sell his drugs in the halls of Canterlot High. People need this guy gone."
"So what do you want to do?" asked Rarity. "Get Capper to testify to the police?"
"I doubt that'd do any good. You didn't see the way he reacted when Twilight and I confronted him. He's terrified."
Twilight's stomach dropped, seeing exactly where this was going. "No...You're not seriously suggesting—"
"Well, we can't just do nothing!" Sunset protested. "This is crime infesting our community and getting too close to our friends! Besides, we've got magic superpowers! We have to do something!"
Twilight pulled her bangs in frustration. "Okay, first you still try to read people's minds without permission, despite us having a conversation about how it's a breach of privacy, and now you want us to go into vigilantism, risking life and limb?! Are you crazy?!"
"What, you'd rather we just sat back and watched people who don't think far enough ahead and end up like Capper? Or worse?" Sunset retorted. "Look, somebody tell me I'm not the only one thinking along these lines!"
"Yeah!" Rainbow chimed in. "I can run faster than people can blink, Applejack can lift cars, heck, you can levitate things, Twilight! What could they possibly do to hurt us?"
"Oh gee, let's think about that for five seconds, Rainbow," Applejack chimed in. "We just run in, guns blazing, they see our faces, they figure out our names, and the next thing you know, Apple Bloom gets kidnapped and chained up inside some sort of torture chamber!"
"And Sweetie Belle, too!" Rarity added. "Not to mention we'd probably be breaking the law by taking it into our own hands! How do you plan to deal with that?"
Pinkie spoke up. "But Sunset has a point, too. We've fought crazy magic people, but we can't just decide this isn't our problem just because there's no magic. We have a responsibility."
The six who'd spoken were left in tense silence. Everybody had made it abundantly clear where their votes were cast. Rainbow and Pinkie had clearly sided with Sunset, while Rarity and Applejack were firmly alongside Twilight. They'd reached an impasse on exactly how to proceed. However, all flinched back as they realized who would be forced to break the tie.
Fluttershy.
Nobody dared to look at her, not wanting to pressure her into making her decision. Fluttershy, of course, was smart enough to catch on. Most of her friends would've guessed she was afraid too afraid to take such high-priority role in this debate, but Fluttershy managed to surpass their expectations. Taking a breath, Fluttershy spoke to the table as a whole.
"Okay, I think we all have valid arguments. Sunset, Rainbow, and Pinkie are right that we have the power to make a difference, and ignoring the troubles of people surrounding us is inherently wrong. But at the same time, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack make good points. If we just dive into this without thinking, not only could we get hurt even with our powers, we're putting our families at risk. Not to mention, we can't just beat the Storm King up and bring him to the police, that would never get through our legal system. So, if we're going to do this, we need a plan. How can we stop the Storm King without running into those problems?"
Everybody looked down as they processed Fluttershy's analysis. The consensus seemed to be pointing towards actually going up against the Storm King, but there needed to be rules and safeguards in place to execute that plan. Exactly how they would go about that, nobody could say.
Tempest Shadow always stood out in downtown Canterlot. After all, what person with one arm and a scar on her face wouldn't? Despite missing one of her limbs, she carried a presence around her that warned everyone in the immediate vicinity not to get in her way. As a result, she was given a wide berth as she made her way towards the apartments of downtown Canterlot. That was the way she liked it, stomping across the sidewalk, avoiding eye contact with any and all pedestrians. All she wanted was to go to 'work,' without having to send somebody else to the hospital.
Her destination was a rather small apartment building, only three stories tall. The building was a dull shade of red, with no pool or even anything resembling a lawn. It was a place nobody would look twice at, especially when looking for Canterlot's resident crime lord. The Storm King always preferred to remain unseen, at least by the general public. The police were aware of his existence, but there was nothing they could do about it. Even if they'd known who he was and where he lived, there wasn't enough evidence to get a search warrant.
Tempest made her way to the second floor, directly towards the familiar apartment, the unassuming number 216 facing her. Raising her single arm, Tempest rapped on the wood four times with her knuckles.
"Come in," said a deceptively chipper voice.
Well, at least he isn't in a bad mood today, Tempest thought to herself as she pulled open the door. When the Storm King was feeling less than chipper, she somehow always ended up on the receiving end of his rants. Not that he ever hurt her, it was more annoying than anything.
Storm King's setup was fairly simple, at least by the standards of a man who'd wormed his way into the majority of organized crime in Canterlot City. His desk was was broad and dark, the drawers mostly empty (it was policy among employees to shred any physical documents once they'd worn out their use, you never could be too careful). One of the 'Storm Guards' buff men decked out in grey suits with white hair, always watched the world from the window, giving the Storm King time to hide any evidence in case of approaching police. At the single desk chair sat the man himself, with that idiot Grubber standing off to the side. Storm King was busy typing away at his laptop, while Grubber continued to stuff his face with some pastry he'd bought.
The Storm King was actually rather plain in appearance. A tall and lanky man with grey skin, deep blue eyes, and snow-white hair, wearing an expensive black and grey suit. Of course, Storm King wasn't his real name, but he always insisted his employees refer to him as such, for reasons only he could say. Tempest privately thought psychologists would enjoy dissecting whatever issues led to that. Next to his chair, he had his long black cane, tipped with a shiny blue head. He was currently typing away at his computer, no doubt working on his newest scheme.
"Ah, Tempest!" exclaimed her boss, throwing out his arms and acting far more jolly at the sight of his underling than one would expect. "Punctual as ever!"
Tempest just rolled with it. She was used to this guy's antics by this point, anyway. "Capper's been taken care of, sir," she said. "Nothing permanent, but he's learned his lesson. He'll have your money by Saturday."
"Excellent," said the Storm King, clapping his hands together. "Another customer in my book. Now then, onto to the rest of my business."
He made a few keystrokes on his computer, opening up a new file. "Tempest, what's the most important thing money can buy? At least, according to the majority."
Tempest thought for a second. "...Safety?" she finally guessed.
"Precisely," said the King. "Insurance, security, medical assistance, etc. You can't reject a price that ensures a hurricane's not going to knock down your house from day to day. Or one that ensures you'll be able to get back on your feet if that does happen. And given how many...shall we say, less than lawful people in this city still refuse to join our little organization..."
Tempest's eyes widened. "Y-you want to set up protection rackets, sir?" she asked, failing to keep the apprehension out of her voice. She cursed herself internally. Showing weakness in front of the boss was never a good idea.
Storm King made eye contact with his subordinate. "Do I sense hesitation? Reluctance?" he asked, making no effort disguise exactly what he would do if the answer was yes. His hand slowly reached for his cane.
"No! No sir," Tempest insisted, standing up straight, clenching her fist so hard her fingernails dug into her skin, forcing her face to remain neutral. "No problems at all. Just a bit of a surprise. I mean, isn't this kind of risky? We could get exposed."
Storm King chuckled as he tapped his cane against the floor. "Possible, but remember what we're good at: intimidation. You just keep the pressure on them, and everybody will be so scared of us, they won't even think of ratting us out. Especially if we've got you heading that operation. Everybody who knows you in this town is terrified of you. It always works, doesn't it?"
"I can't deny that, sir," Tempest answered.
"Good, that's just what I like to hear," Storm King declared. "Go round up our best people—besides you, obviously—and get them to our bunker in the middle of town. I'll contact you there, and we'll get started."
Tempest nodded, though it was somewhat half-hearted. Storm King was too busy with his computer once again to notice.
"Ooh! Can we shake down that bakery on Elm Street?!" Grubber chimed in, sounding like an excited grade schooler. "Maybe we can get free cake and donuts, or—!"
He didn't get a chance to finish that expression of desire, as Storm King turned his chair around and gave him a well-deserved slap upside the head. Even in her bad mood, Tempest couldn't hold back a small chuckle at that sight. She turned around and began her trek across Canterlot City.
Most of her walk was spent lost in her own head. Despite all the bravado she'd shown, she wasn't crazy about her boss's newest plot. Storm King wasn't an incompetent leader, but he tended to get reckless with repeated successes. And she had personal stakes in his future, as Tempest's job was her life. What would she do if Storm King went under? Should she just get out now? Was there any other—
Tempest brought that train of thought to an abrupt halt as she looked down at the sleeve where her right arm should've stuck out. She'd had multiple chances to receive a prosthetic, but had turned down all of them. Because her stump of an arm was a reminder. A reminder of an accident, and the fallout. A reminder not to go back down that path she'd so stupidly walked before. A reminder to do what she was best at: survive. And Storm King had always made sure she was provided for. She owed him that much, and so much more. She'd never turn her back on him.
Steeling herself, Tempest continued to advance towards Storm King's biggest hideout.
Rainbow Dash's ears focused on the rhythmic thwacking noise as she bounced a fist-sized ball repeatedly against the side of Canterlot High. Off to the side, Sunset and Pinkie sat, their eyes following the ball as it went back and forth, from Rainbow's hand to the wall. Sunset occasionally ran her hands through her long hair, a sign of stress to anybody who knew her well enough. Pinkie just seemed to shut down in moments like this.
At the end of the debate over what to do about the Storm King, Fluttershy had suggested that both sides take the rest of the day to try and think through their respective positions a bit more. Considering how Sunset had brought it on rather suddenly, giving nobody any time to really think over their opinions on the subject, this seemed like a good idea. Thus, Sunset and the two who'd agreed with her suggestion to take on the Storm King were now waiting for the others to get out of their classes, and hopefully they'd come to some sort of consensus.
Sunset was far more nervous than she'd previously been. The time she'd spent in classes, thinking over exactly what taking on the Storm King would entail, had impacted her rather deeply. Sure, she and her group of friends had dealt with some dangerous situations before, but those had been magical in nature, and if she was being honest, rather silly. These were criminals, who'd kill them over something as trivial as money. Even with super powers, it was a dangerous job she wanted to take on. Sunset's position hadn't changed, and she still believed that getting rid of the Storm King was ultimately the right course of action. It was how to go about achieving that goal that was the problem.
At the sound of footsteps, the three girls turned their heads. Coming towards them were Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy. The girls all had expressions that looked like fear on their faces, along with something Sunset couldn't identify. Guilt, perhaps?
"So, we've all had time to think over our problem," said Fluttershy, taking the lead once more. Sunset had to admit, that impressed her. "Now, let's all discuss this in a polite, civilized manner."
"Yeah, cause we were ready to strangle each other earlier," Rainbow sardonically muttered under her breath, but Pinkie shot her a silencing glare.
"Well, I'd like to go first," said Twilight. "Sunset, Rainbow, Pinkie, I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier at the lunch table. I guess I got scared, and I thought you hadn't considered everything that could go wrong in this endeavor, but I shouldn't have done that. It was disrespectful to you, and I'm sorry."
"Maybe I should apologize, too," Rainbow admitted. "Unlike everybody else, I didn't really think through my perspective. I was just like 'Hey, we've got super powers, what could happen?' Plus, I didn't think about your little sisters." She gave an apologetic smile to Applejack and Rarity.
"Nonetheless, darling," Rarity chimed in. "Steps must be taken to protect our families. We must not involve anyone in this affair who doesn't need to be."
"I agree," said Applejack. "So, what can we do? Wear masks, I guess?"
"I guess so," said Sunset, "but something else to consider is how we work around the law. I'm not sure what kind of vigilante laws Canterlot City has, but even if we find the Storm King, we can't just beat him up and drag him to the police station. That would never fly in court." She turned to Twilight. "Can you get Shining Armor onboard with us?"
"He knows about the whole magic thing, but I don't know what he'd think of this," Twilight answered apprehensively. "I mean, we'd be risking our lives. I'll ask him, though. If nothing else, he'll at least tell us how to get Storm King convicted without breaking the law."
"Another thing we need to consider is safety, sugar cube," said Applejack. "We may be super strong, but some of our powers ain't much good in a fight."
"Good point," agreed Rainbow. "How about this: if and when we end up splitting into groups, there's always at least three of us together. And each one of those groups has at least me, Applejack, or Rarity on it. We're the best suited to deal with thugs, or anything like that."
"Hey!" Twilight protested, levitating a small rock as if to prove her point.
"Sorry, Twi, but you're not aggressive enough. Not that that's a bad thing!" Rainbow stammered, trying to cover her tracks. "Rarity at least has no problem encasing people in diamond barriers. I just can't see you mentally throwing bricks at people, unless you were really terrified."
Twilight sighed. "Fair enough," she admitted. Besides, if she were honest, the less she had to use her powers, with or without violent intentions, the better. Midnight Sparkle was a distant memory, but still a traumatizing one.
"But how do we find the big meanie?" asked Pinkie. "You guys said Capper's too scaredy to tell us anything. Who else can we go to?"
"That...might not be a problem," said Sunset. "I know a girl, she used to work in his organization. He hates her for leaving, but her and her small gang are good at defending themselves, so he's never gone after them. Maybe she can at least give us some starting points."
"Are you sure we can trust this person?" asked Twilight, "If the Storm King hears about us ahead of time, it could put us all in jeopardy."
"Don't worry. She hates the Storm King's guts. If anybody's willing to give us the dirt, it'll be her."
"Okay, I'm going with Sunset," said Rainbow, "Who's with us?"
"I'll go, darlings," Rarity answered. "I dislike the idea of getting my hands dirty in this business, but if I must, I'd rather get it done sooner rather than later."
"Which leaves Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack with me," said Twilight. "We'll try to get some ideas from Shining Armor. And hopefully prevent him from going to our parents."
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..."
"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."
"So, let's just lay all the cards on the table," said Shining Armor. "We know you're an associate of the Storm King. Prosecution is willing to cut you a deal for the attempted extortion if you roll over on him. Come on, deals like this don't come along every day."
In the Canterlot Police Station, Shining Armor was currently in the interrogation room with Verko, who looked as though he no longer cared about anything after his defeat at the hands of the Rainbooms. His normally over the top confidence had evaporated, leaving a down and out man who still happened to look like a naked mole rat. He sat quietly in his chair, looking at the floor, not even moving his feet.
Shining Armor groaned. They were getting nowhere.
"Look Verko," he said, frustration clearly seeping into his voice, "why are you protecting your boss? You know there's no way he'd return the favor, right?"
"You don't understand," Verko finally answered.
Shining Armor relaxed, looking at the man in front of him with fresh eyes. Verko was shaking, rubbing his upper arms. It didn't take a psychologist to figure out that Verko was afraid.
"We can protect you—" he began.
"No you can't," Verko cut him off. "He always gets us. I don't know how, but he does. If I even told you where he buys his clothes, or how he takes his coffee...you have no idea what he'd do to me."
Shining Armor tried in vain to persuade Verko to talk, but the man wouldn't even respond with denial anymore. Giving in, he got out of his chair, making his way out of the building. After giving a quick report to his superiors, he went to the alley behind the building, where nobody would overhear him. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Twilight's number.
"Well, we can definitely nail Verko on extortion charges," he said, once his little sister had picked up the phone. "That 'anonymous tip' you gave me isn't a legal problem. The bad news is he's not willing to talk. Neither are any of the foot soldiers. That, or they're too stupid to realize what we're talking about. Whoever this Storm King guy is, he's apparently really good at installing fear in his subordinates."
"Should've known that would happen," said Sunset. "Capper was just as terrified, and he doesn't even work for the guy. Any luck with that physical description of the Storm King we gave you?"
"I gave it to our sketch artists, but we didn't get any hits in our database," said Shining Armor. "Looks like the Storm King doesn't have any prior convictions, or anything. We can put out an alert for his face, but there's no guarantee it'll work. Even then, we can't prove he's the Storm King, we can only say he's wanted for questioning in regards to the Verko incident."
"Dammit!" Rainbow cursed, and was quickly admonished by Rarity. "We stopped him from robbing the Cakes, but we still haven't made any progress. What are we supposed to do now?"
"There has to be something," Twilight protested, "Didn't you three say there was another person there? Someone with purplish-red skin, spiky hair, one arm, scar on her face?"
"Yeah, but she slipped away before we finished taking out the thugs," answered Applejack. "I'm guessing she realized she was no match for us."
Shining Armor thought for a moment. Something in that description stirred a memory in his head, something he hadn't thought about in a while. An idea jumped into his brain.
"I think I may know who you're talking about," he said. "I'm gonna go back and check the records. If I find anything, I'll send it to Twily." With that, he ended the call.
On the other end, Twilight sighed to herself. The seven girls were currently gathered inside the barn at Sweet Apple Acres, discussing how the day of crime-fighting had gone.
"Well, let's look on the bright side of things, everyone," Rarity said, trying to cheer up all the others. "We stopped a terrible extortion scheme, we've put away several dangerous criminals. Even if we haven't beaten the Storm King yet, we at least hampered him."
"Yeah, at least the Cakes are safe," said Pinkie, with slightly less of her usual bounciness in her voice. None of the others blamed her for a bit being shaken by the incident, considering she worked at Sugar Cube Corner, was close friends with the Cakes, and how much time they'd all spent at the place. If it had been forced to go under by the Storm King, it would've deeply affected all of them, but Pinkie most of all.
"I just hope we manage to keep everybody from getting hurt," said Fluttershy, hugging her arms close to her body. "We got lucky this time, because there were so few of them, but what if we have to go up against a whole crowd of those thugs?"
"Then we'll find a way to deal with it," said Rainbow, her voice filled with confidence. "We've got Equestrian magic on our side!" She proudly thumped her fist against her chest.
Sunset grimaced slightly. This was something she'd been afraid of ever since the whole discussion at school. Overconfidence would be more than likely to get them in trouble at best, and while Rainbow was the most prone to it, she wouldn't surprised if Applejack, Rarity, or even herself fell victim. They'd need to be more cautious going forward.
"We should get some sleep, anyway," she spoke up. "We did some good work today, and we'll need to continue the momentum tomorrow...after class."
Everybody groaned. Why couldn't this whole crusade have started in the summer?
Just as the girls began to get up and leave, Twilight's phone beeped. "It's an email from Shining Armor," she said, her fingers tapping away. Her brother had sent her a police file of a previous arrest, along with a mugshot. The picture was of a very familiar young woman, with one arm and a still healing scar over her eye.
"Yep, that's her," said Applejack. "'She had her name legally changed to Tempest Shadow?' Yeah, because that ain't gonna connect you to the guy who has storms as his whole motif."
"She was arrested for shoplifting, but got released, and then she kinda dropped off the radar. Probably because she works for the Storm King," said Twilight, scrolling through the file. "They do have an address, though."
"We should check that out tomorrow," Rainbow chimed in.
Twilight continued to scroll. "Wow! She actually graduated from Canterlot High, but dropped out of university about a year in. Her real name is...huh."
Tempest wished she had her other hand at the moment. With both hands, she could've more easily surfed the internet on her phone or something, giving her something to do while her boss was having his little temper tantrum. Grubber stood quietly in the corner, having interrupted once already Storm King by chewing too loudly.
"Two years, Tempest," Storm King growled, holding up two fingers, as the others dug into his palm. "Two years of work, and absolutely no trouble. Nothing from the cops. Two years I spend establishing my business in this city. Now, I finally get the chance to start building a foothold with the Canterlot High kids, and what happens? Goddamn superheroes!"
He punched his desk so hard the wood cracked. Tempest casually examined her fingernails as he continued to rave. She had nothing to fear, as Storm King was smart enough to realize that she'd made the intelligent call by leaving, instead of trying to fight and getting arrested. It was more tedious to sit through his rant than intimidating.
"What did I do to bring this on?!" Storm King shouted. "All I want is to run my criminal empire without interference! Is that too much to ask?!"
"Well, boss, some people might call that ev—" Grubber started to answer, only for the Storm King to grab his cane and clock the smaller man over the head with it. "OW!"
"Shut up!" ordered his boss, before sitting down in his chair and pressing both palms to his face. "I swear, we need to teach you what a rhetorical question is..."
Fortunately for all those present, that interruption seemed to snap Storm King out of his furious funk, as he stopped punching things. He took a few deep breaths, picked up his cane, and walked over to the window.
"Tempest, full damage report," he ordered.
"Well, we lost Verko, as well as those half-dozen guards he had with him," she replied, methodically. "Trying to start up that protection racket now, anywhere in the city, is a bad idea. The cops will be on their guard now. The good news is, Verko's scared enough of us that he won't dare open his mouth. None of the guards will, either."
"Good," Storm King said, as he visibly relaxed. "At least we've still got our cover. What about these superhero types? Any idea who they are?"
"Not much to go on. Female, probably younger than me. There's at least three of them, but could easily be more."
"Great. Fan-friggin-tastic," Storm King grumbled. "So no leads whatsoever? We don't even know how they knew our plans?"
"No, sir," Tempest answered, apologetically. "Maybe we have a mole, maybe they just spied on us. We can't rule anything out."
That statement seemed to give the Storm King pause. He slowly turned on his heel, staring Tempest directly in the eye.
"A mole?" he asked, his voice tense. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Tempest? You haven't been going behind my back, have you?" He was keeping his voice calm, but there was clear anger beneath his words. Tempest stood her ground, however, not even flinching.
"Don't be ridiculous, sir," she replied. "How stupid would I have to be to set us up, then be the only one who gets away? It would be way too obvious that I was the mole. Besides, the police would've been on to you a long time ago. They still don't know who you are, or they'd have smashed down the door by now."
The Storm King opened his mouth for an angry retort, but froze before any words could come out, as his brain processed exactly what Tempest had said. He sat back down into his chair, his hands resting on the table. His eyes made direct contact with hers, staring deep into her.
"Good point," he finally admitted. "You're not lying, I can tell."
"For the record, I didn't do it either!" Grubber insisted from his place. "I never told the cops anything, or else we'd all be—"
"Shut up!" Storm King snapped, bonking Grubber on the head with his cane again. "We all know you aren't a mole, you're too stupid."
Tempest got to her feet. "Whatever the case, sir," she continued. "The fact remains that these superheroes seem to be gunning for our organization. If they managed to catch wind of our plans once, they could do it again."
"Not to mention they probably saw you at that bakery hell hole," Storm King responded. "If they found out where you lived...and decided to come after you..."
Storm King's speech came to a sudden halt, as an idea sparked into his mind. He turned to Tempest, a smile slowly creeping across his face.
"Um...sir? You okay?" Tempest asked, nervous for the first time.
"Tempest," Storm King began, "I think it's time we started to step up our game. Now, how would you feel about having your own team of guards? With better weapons, this time."
Twilight and Sunset groaned as they dragged themselves out of Canterlot High. The day hadn't been the most intense of their academic careers, but trying to focus on school work while in the middle of a crusade against the top crime lord of Canterlot wasn't easy. Not to mention, they hadn't been able to sleep well the night before, due to being so overly charged with adrenaline. Luckily for them it wasn't anywhere near midterms.
Twilight scribbled down the last of her assignments in her planner, before joining Sunset and the rest of the girls over by the Wondercolt Statue. Looking around, she saw that everyone else seemed to have run into the same problems she and Sunset had. Rainbow in particular was sitting with her back against the statue, her eyes almost completely closed, leaning backwards.
"So," Sunset started, awkwardly, "everybody up for another good day?"
"Totally," Rainbow mumbled, her eyelids dropping to their fully closed position. "We're gonna...kick...butt..."
Before anybody could shake Rainbow, Pinkie reached into her mane, pulled out an air horn, and proceeded to blow it right into Rainbow's ear. Rainbow screamed as her eyes flew open, leaping several feet into the air. Pinkie just smiled pleasantly.
"HA-DA-WHAT THE—PINKIE!" she screamed again, rounding on the party girl."WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"Sorry, Rainbow," Pinkie answered, shrugging, "but we do need to be aware for battling the forces of evil."
Rainbow panted angrily, apparently trying to come up with some sort of enraged response, but failed to do so. Eventually, she just slumped back to her spot besides the statue, looking annoyed.
"Okay," said Sunset, trying to pretend the last few minutes hadn't interrupted her train of thought, "so, Twilight and I have talked it over a bit, and we've agreed that our next move should be to visit this Tempest Shadow's house, and try to find some clues about their next move."
"Since we disrupted their protection racket," Twilight took over, "it's unlikely they'll try to extort Sugar Cube Corner—or any business, really—in the immediate future. At this point, we've thrown their entire operation out of whack, so we need to find out where they'll go from here."
"Fluttershy," said Sunset. "I know you hate the idea, but it worked so well last time. Would you be willing to ask another animal to spy for us?"
Fluttershy sighed sadly. "Alright. Yes, I hate putting animals in these dangerous situations, but if we ask and they agree to it, I guess that's okay."
"Excellent," Sunset replied. "Now, considering this mission might be a bit more risky, I think we should send at least two of our fighters. Some of us should stay behind, so we can tell Shining Armor if something goes wrong."
"Good thinking," Twilight agreed. "Applejack, Rainbow? Would you two go with me and Fluttershy?"
"Definitely," agreed Rainbow. "I wanna give this Tempest person a piece of my mind."
"We're not gonna fight her, Rainbow," Applejack retorted. "At least, not today. But I'm coming."
"Great," said Sunset. "The rest of us will try to dig up some additional information on Tempest, just in case this doesn't pan out. Twilight, you said she went to Canterlot High, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't know if that's going to help us at all," replied Twilight. "I guess you could talk to some of the teachers, maybe Celestia and Luna know something about her, but what could we learn from them?"
"There might be something there we can't risk missing," Sunset answered, matter-of-factly. "Good luck, girls."
Fortunately for the team, Tempest lived in one of the most low-key apartments in all of Canterlot City. The building was only about two stories, standing near the outskirts of town, with few other buildings surrounding it. To its credit, though, it was much less decrepit than Verko's building had been, with intact windows, a more fresh coat of paint, and a distinct lack of rats.
Having done a quick walk through the building, Twilight was able to figure out exactly which room was Tempest's, and pointed to the outside window. It was a first story window, but they couldn't see the inside, on the account of the curtains being shut tight. The group was now huddled behind a small hill overlooking the apartment, masks on just in case.
"So, no rats this time," Rainbow complained through her mask. "How the heck are we supposed to get a set of eyes inside?"
"I could ask one of the bugs," Fluttershy responded, indicating that small colony of ants she had crawling up and down her arm, "but it would take more time, and it would be a lot riskier."
"Not to mention she might not even be there," said Applejack. "We got lucky last time, with Verko and Storm King being right there, but what if this time—"
Twilight, getting an idea, reached out, her pendant glowing purple, as her telekinetic grip pushed open the curtains. From their position, they could see into the one bedroom apartment, along with the bathroom, and Tempest was clearly not there.
"...huh," said Applejack.
"Looks like we'll have to abort, and come back later," said Twilight. "There's no point being here if she's not—"
"Oh, screw that!" Rainbow interrupted. "We can't just do nothing! Twilight, can you telekinetically open the lock or something, right?"
Twilight whirled on her companion. "Rainbow, are you crazy?! What about that whole discussion we had about not breaking the law?! We can't just bust in there and take her stuff!"
"Now, now, Twilight," Applejack chimed in, placing a calming hand on her friend's shoulder. "I don't think Rainbow is suggesting we become thieves. I think maybe we can just sneak in there, and look around fer any clues about the Storm King. We won't take anything, just have a look."
"I don't know," Twilight responded. "It's still unlawful entry. What if she comes back while we're in there? Or worse?"
"One of us can stand guard," insisted Applejack. "Or Fluttershy could ask the ants. Come on, Twi, this is a chance we might not get again. What if we miss an important clue?"
Twilight tried to protest a bit more, but found she couldn't come up with any additional arguments. "Okay, fine," she acquiesced. "But I'll say it again: We're not gonna take anything." She gritted her teeth in frustration. If they blew this whole quest by breaking the law, she wanted no part in it.
"Okay," Fluttershy agreed, holding up her palm, filled with ants, "Hey, little buddies? Could you do us a favor?"
Slipping back inside, making sure they went unseen, the four girls gathered outside Tempest's room. Fluttershy had managed to convince the ants, along with a handful of flies, to watch for any approaching people. With their sentries in place, Twilight mentally reached into the lock, pushing the pins with the force of her mind, until the door opened.
"I want it on record that I'm still against this," Twilight protested, her voice muffled by her mask, as she followed the others into Tempest's apartment.
"We're not on reality TV, Twilight," Rainbow sardonically replied, a huge smirk gracing her face.
"Don't worry, Twi, we won't steal anything," Applejack insisted.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not crazy about this, either," said Fluttershy, putting a hand on Twilight's shoulder. Twilight smiled a bit at the action.
Tempest's apartment was about as remarkable on the inside as the outside. There was a small desk, a bed, a closet, and no much else. Even the bathroom was standard, with only soap and some bathing products. Rarity would've been appalled.
"Ah hate to say it, but this looks like a dead end," Applejack admitted. "There just ain't nothing here."
Rainbow groaned. "Seriously? Are we just gonna be forced to sit around and do nothing for the rest of this whole thing?"
"I wouldn't worry about that, if I were you."
Everyone heard the voice behind them, whirling around just fast enough to see Tempest standing in the doorway, taser in hand. Fluttershy, reacting faster than anybody would've expected, shoved Twilight out of the way, just in time for the electrodes of the taser to find their way into her chest. Fluttershy gasped and sputtered as volts of electricity shocked her body, sending her fading out of consciousness.
"FL—NO!" screamed Applejack, grabbing her fallen friend.
Tempest just laughed to herself. "So, let me guess, you're the Avengers. Or the Super Friends. Or whatever you want to call this stupid crap you've got going on."
"How'd you know we were coming?!" Rainbow demanded, her fists clenched so hard her skin turned white.
"Call it the science of deduction," responded Tempest, dropping her taser and pulling out another. "Now, I suggest you grow a couple of brain cells and give up, because you're outnumbered."
As she spoke, a large number of Storm Guards began to emerge from various hiding places, and come from down the hall. Two popped out of the closet, armed with automatic handguns. One rolled out from under the bed, aiming a shotgun directly at the girls. Several more were armed with melee weapons, ranging from knuckle-mounted stun guns to heavy wrenches. Obviously, they'd pulled out all the stops for this little ambush.
"Y-you wouldn't," Twilight tried to protest, but her voice was weak with fear. "This is a full building, somebody will call the police."
Tempest threw back her head and laughed. "You honestly think we didn't prepare for that?" she asked, "The Storm King owns this building. Everybody's out because they think it's supposed to be fumigated today!"
Rainbow clenched her teeth in fury. "Yeah? Well it doesn't matter how much firepower you've got! You can't beat us!"
Rainbow's pendant began to shine blue as her super speed kicked in. Her instincts wisely informed her to go for the guys with the guns first, and she followed accordingly, grabbing the shotgun first and ripping out of the Storm Guard's hand, tossing it out the window with a crash. The two handguns followed shortly, but unfortunately for Rainbow, Tempest managed to anticipate her movements. The one-armed girl whipped her cattle prod out, whipping around and jamming the tip against Rainbow's neck before she could take off again. Rainbow screamed as the pain cost her control, as she sped into the wall, knocking herself out.
"Oh, this is going fantastic," Twilight grumbled under her breath.
Tempest turned back to the remaining two girls. "So, are we gonna need to take you two idiots out? Or have you actually learned something?" She pressed the button on her cattle prod, sparking the tips. The Storm Guards stomped forwards as well, raising their melee weapons.
Applejack and Twilight stood firm, arms firmly at their sides. Applejack set Fluttershy off to the side, where she wouldn't get hurt.
"We ain't giving up. Not to you," Applejack responded. Twilight gave a nod as well.
Tempest sighed. "Pain in my ass," she grumbled. "Take 'em. Remember, we want them alive."
The Storm Guards charged, surprisingly agile in the limited space. One swung his wrench, aiming directly for Applejack's head, but found the weapon frozen in midair by Twilight's telekinesis, her pendant glowing purple. As he stood blinking in surprise at the sight, Applejack took the opportunity to yank the weapon out of his grip with one hand, and administer a well-deserved slap across his face with the other. An orange pulse emitted from her necklace. As a second Storm Guard tried to sneak up on her, Applejack lashed out with a side kick, hitting him square in the stomach and knocking him onto his rear.
Twilight, despite being not quite as combat ready as the others, nonetheless did well for herself. Tempest pulled out a second taser, firing it at her, but Twilight managed to freeze the electrodes in midair, and followed by ripping them out of the taser itself. She then mentally yanked another wrench out of a Storm Guard's hands and clocked him over the head with it.
"Why you little..." Tempest growled. She shoved one of the Storm Guards to the side, taking his stun gun. She lunged forward, throwing her electrified punch at Applejack.
Fortunately for the farm girl, Tempest had made the mistake of telegraphing her assault. Applejack ducked under the blow, before snapping her back up, slamming Tempest back into one of the Storm Guards. Twilight came in seconds later, telekinetically removing the stun gun from her grip.
As she disarmed another Storm Guard, Twilight noticed she was starting to feel confidant. Good, even. Maybe the two of them were enough to do this. Maybe they could win this fight. Maybe there would be nothing to worry about.
Then one of the Storm Guards chucked his wrench at her head. Twilight mentally caught it in midair, but wasn't prepared for another Storm Guard behind her to throw a punch at her back. The blow didn't hurt too much, but the force pushed Twilight face-first into the wrench floating in midair, her nose smushed between flesh and metal. Twilight actually screamed, before blood began to drip down into her open mouth, the foul, coppery taste filling it. Twilight fell forward onto her knees, barely managing to catch herself with one hand, the other remaining on her nose.
"TWI!" Applejack shouted, her fear making her forget the concealing of their names. She threw one of the Storm Guards into the corner, rushing to her friend's aid, only to receive a painful strike across her neck from Tempest. Applejack whirled on the woman, eyes filled with fury. "You dirty..."
Applejack threw another punch, but Tempest was ready for her this time. She swerved to the side, catching Applejack's wrist with one hand. Before the girl could wrench her arm free, Tempest kicked her in the neck, then swung her foot around, bringing it down hard on Applejack's head. Applejack stumbled, clutching her head in pain, before Tempest delivered a series of quick punches to her forehead, knocking her out.
"No..." Twilight mumbled, still in too much pain to even levitate a brick. Her nose was still dripping, leaving patterns of blood all over her hands. Tempest stood over her, grinning triumphantly.
"Nighty-night," she laughed, before her fist cut off Twilight's vision.
"Looks like Twilight was right," said Sunset, as she poured over Tempest Shadow's student records, generously loaned from Principal Celestia. "There's just nothing in here that could get us closer to Tempest, or the Storm King."
"Sorry to agree with you on this one, darling," Rarity answered, "but you're right. She wasn't a troubled student in high school, so it's unlikely that she was associating with the Storm King by then."
"Too bad! Let's check on Twilight and the others, maybe they've got something interesting!" Pinkie chimed in, pulling out her phone. She dialed a number, holding the receiver up to her ear, only for her face to fall as she listened. "Uh...it's not supposed to go to voicemail, is it?"
"No..." Sunset answered warily. She and Rarity quickly called Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash in succession, but they all received the same response: voicemail. "I don't like this..."
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 move. She didn't speak, and from Twilight's point of view, she didn't even look like she was breathing. It was as though what Storm King had said (which Twilight was desperately trying to keep her mind off of, considering it was their death sentences) had completely shut down Tempest's entire body. Twilight swallowed, unsure of how any outcome of this could be beneficial.
"...what?" Tempest breathed after what felt like an hour. Storm King had stepped away from her, and he returned with a large, sharpened hacksaw.
"Didn't you hear me, Tempest?" asked Storm King. "Kill 'em and dice 'em up. Do your job." He tossed the hacksaw to her feet. Off to her side, Twilight heard Fluttershy squeak with fear.
Tempest actually gasped in shock at the instrument now lying beneath her. She quivered where she stood, her breath accelerating, and she stepped away from the saw. This didn't go unnoticed by the Storm King, who stared at her with a perplexed look. He glared at her, wordlessly demanding an explanation.
"Um, sir..." Tempest began, all of the previous confidence in her voice now gone. "M-maybe we shouldn't kill them. I mean, their bodies will surface eventually, the cops will start asking questions, and they could be traced back to us—"
"Tempest, nobody's even gonna be able to identify them from chunks of flesh. At least, not for a while," Storm King countered, sounding mildly annoyed. "Now shut up and follow my orders."
"B-but it's not necessary!" insisted Tempest, her voice shaking. "L-like they said, they have no proof of who we are or a-anything. I-it'll be our word against theirs—"
She barely managed to finish that sentence, before the Storm King walked up and slapped her across the face, hard. Tempest stumbled backwards, falling to her knees.
"It seems you've forgotten just how things work around her, Tempest," he snarled. "Let me remind you: You don't have opinions that I don't give to you. If this is some sort of morality bullshit, I don't care. Do what I say, now." He forced the hacksaw into her hand.
Twilight and the others had watched this scene with bated breath. Grubber had stopped eating long enough to watch as well, his jaw dropped open in sheer surprise. Tempest got to her feet once more, looking down at the saw gripped in her hand. Storm King stared her down, his piercing blue eyes boring into her. Twilight felt her stomach drop, quietly praying for something she wasn't sure was possible.
"...no," Tempest finally said, looking down at the floor.
Twilight's spirit began to soar. Perhaps hope wasn't lost. A quick glance at the others told her they felt the same. Storm King actually flinched, as though she'd struck him.
"What. Did. You. Just. Say. To. Me?" he demanded, gripping his cane with one hand.
"I said no," Tempest repeated, throwing the hacksaw to the side. "I've done plenty of crap for you, but I won't chop up high schoolers. I'm done."
Storm King stared back at her, his hand actually turning white from how hard he held on to his cane. Tempest met his cold gaze with her own. The Storm Guards all stared in surprise, as did Grubber. Nobody moved for about ten seconds. Then the Storm King threw back his head and laughed. It was a terrible, fear-inducing sound, like the laughter of a maniac.
"Oh, this is just rich!" he cackled, taking his cane with both hands. "Look, boys! Somebody decided to grow a conscience! And what a time to do so!" His back shook as he continued his chortling, interrupted only by a soft clicking sound from his cane, so quiet it was easy to miss about the noise.
Fortunately, Tempest was rather observant, and she noticed the Storm King slip the cover off the bottom of his cane. She dived to the side, just in time to avoid being jabbed by his cane, now revealed as a larger electric cattle prod in disguise. She rolled away from Storm King, grabbing her own cattle prod as she did so.
"I gotta say, Tempest," Storm King said with a smug grin, as he advanced on her. "I didn't think you of all people would be the one to stab me in the back. To be honest, it's pretty disappointing. You were some of the best help I've ever had. Still, I really should thank you for giving me this opportunity to blow off some steam." He turned to the Storm Guards and Grubber. "Stay out of this. I'll deal with her myself."
"Big mistake!" Tempest snarled as she lunged at her former boss, her prod primed for a stab. "I'm gonna give you exactly what you deserve!"
What followed was a truly epic clash, one Twilight wouldn't have been able to truly put into words if she'd tried. Tempest and Storm King swept and stabbed with their respective cattle prods, each aiming for their opponent's exposed flesh.
Tempest thrust towards the Storm King's neck, her prod grazing the side as the King responded with a stab of his own. Tempest swerved to the side, allowing the empty space where her right arm would've been to throw him off as he swiped through it. As her opponent was momentarily confused, Tempest took the opportunity to ram her prod into his thigh. Storm King shrieked with agony from the electricity searing his flesh as he stumbled backwards, dropping his prod. Tempest knocked it into the corner with one kick.
As Tempest primed herself to hit Storm King again with her prod, she was caught off guard as Storm King suddenly charged forward, aiming to hit her with his shoulder. Tempest was forced to raise her only arm to protect herself, but this turned out to be Storm King's goal, as he seized her cattle prod with both hands. Despite her remarkable strength, Tempest's single limb was no match for two, and the prod was ripped out of her hands and tossed aside.
Storm King reached into his coat, grabbing a taser and aiming it directly at Tempest. However, he was forced to take a step back before firing, so as to have a clearer shot. This gave Tempest the half-second she needed to dive forward into a somersault, the electrodes flying harmlessly above her. She rolled over to Storm King, landing cleanly on her feet, and kicked upward with one foot, knocking the taser out of his grip.
"Should've known you'd play dirty," she snarled, clocking Storm King on the jaw with a roundhouse punch. "You always did have to rely on us to do the dirty work!"
Storm King responded with a blow to her stomach. He then raised both arms upwards, planning to hit Tempest with an overhead smash, only for Tempest's arm to rise up and block him.
"You're right," he grunted as the two of them grappled. "I should play more fairly, considering I'm fighting a cripple." A sadistic grin spread across his face as he taunted her.
Unfortunately for Tempest, she allowed that single word to get too far under her skin. She roared with fury, lunging forward with a powerful punch, landing it right on Storm King's nose. He managed to endure the blow, however, and caught Tempest by the wrist. Using her momentum against her, he dragged her downward, slamming her face-first into the floor, keeping his grip on her arm. He placed a foot right between her shoulder blades.
"Don't worry, Tempest," he spat, "this'll only hurt a lot." He began yanking on her arm, while stepping down hard on her back at the same time.
Tempest screamed out from the twofold assault on her body. She hated to admit it, but she wasn't doing so well in this fight. Normally, having only one arm wouldn't have held her back at all, but most opponents would underestimate her for it, and Storm King had seen her fight before. He knew how to exploit her fighting style. There was only one option she could think of right now.
Pulling one leg forward, Tempest kicked back towards the Storm King, aiming for his crotch. She only managed to bump his thigh, but it was enough to make him stumble away, getting him off her back. She wrenched her arm towards the open side of his grip, releasing her wrist, and sprang to her feet. But instead of attacking Storm King again, she raced over to the box, where the girls' pendants still sat. Twilight and the others stared in astonishment, figuring out exactly what she was going for.
Tempest reached for the pendants, swiping her arm across the surface of the crate. She only managed to snag a single one, but that didn't seem to deter her at all. She dived over to the girls, avoiding another punch from the Storm King, and dropped the pendant around Twilight's neck.
"Hurry!" she screamed. "Free yourselves, before—ACK!" Storm King had wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her backwards.
"Don't even think about it, kid," he spat, as he continued to grapple with Tempest. "Or else I'll—"
But he was too late. Twilight's telekinesis had already enveloped the padlocks holding her chains together, twisting the internal mechanisms. With several metallic pops, the locks opened, and Twilight lifted all of the chains off her body, clattering to the floor. Twilight spared a second to be grateful that didn't have to direct her telekinesis with her hands.
"Oh no you don't!" roared Storm King, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a pocket knife. He lunged towards Twilight. "You're not gonna—"
Twilight, in a moment of panic, seized the man in her telekinetic grip, levitating him a few feet off the ground. With a thought, she hurled him across the room, sending him crashing into a handful of Storm Guards. Twilight then turned her attention to the other girls, unlocking their chains as well.
The Storm King climbed angrily out of the pile of his henchmen. "A thousand bucks for every teenybopper corpse you guys bring me!" he spat, fury fully evident in his voice.
The guards, along with Grubber, eagerly marched towards the girls, weapons raised, but by the time they did, Twilight had managed to free the others. Rainbow, using her natural athleticism, leaped over to the crate where the remaining pendants sat. She tossed Applejack and Fluttershy theirs, before quickly donning her own.
"Time to rock!" yelled Applejack, as she charged towards the Storm Guards. One attempted to club her with a crowbar, only to find the farm girl catching and bending the weapon with one hand. She shoved the offending guard backwards, before smacking another away with a powerful backhand.
Grubber, armed with a knife, took the opportunity to approach the defenseless Fluttershy, but a sudden blur (Rainbow) crashed into him, knocking him onto his rear and into unconsciousness. She zipped around the small warehouse, running up to Storm Guards and shoving them into each other, knocking them down like bowling pins. Fluttershy, having no taste for this sort of thing, wisely ran to the corner and hid behind another crate.
With Applejack and Rainbow taking care of the Guards, Twilight turned to the Storm King. Her pendant began to glow, but before she could affect him in any way, a loud voice cried out. "No!"
Tempest rushed out of the side, clocking her former boss on the chin with a heavy punch, knocking the knife out of his hand. "He's mine!" she shouted, following up the punch with another. Her pride was overruling her common sense as she charged at Storm King.
"Tempest, you don't have to do it alone!" yelled Twilight, as the two criminals continued to wrestle.
For all that it was doing, she might as well have shouted at the wall. Tempest and Storm King struck each other again and again, punching, kicking, and clawing with their fingernails as they fought, each acting as if their opponent was the only thing in the entire universe. Tempest was making up for her missing arm with sheer ferocity, targeting Storm King's eyes, neck, crotch, and other vulnerable areas. To his credit, however, the Storm King was resisting her.
Twilight grunted in frustration as she tossed another Storm Guard off to the side. She wasn't sure what to do here. Her brain kept telling her to interfere, but part of her was convinced she owed it to Tempest to let her deal with the Storm King. After all, the one-armed woman had just thrown away her equivalent of a career in order to save her hide, it seemed like the least she could do. Though, that didn't stop her brain from telling her how stupid it was.
Fortunately, she didn't have to stand there for long, as Storm King managed to immobilize Tempest's single arm with both of his own. He wrenched her downward, throwing her off her feet, and began punching her in the back of the head. Twilight wisely decided that this was the time to jump in, telekinetically freezing Storm King where he stood. Tempest wiggled out of his grip, as he struggled to escape the purple light.
"I...won't...let..." he growled, fighting just to open his mouth.
"Put a sock in it!" Tempest spat, as she reeled back and punched him in the face as hard as she possibly could. Storm King slid off his feet, falling backwards and landing on his rear, out cold.
With the battle over, Tempest turned her gaze to Twilight, meeting the purple girl's gaze with her now. As the adrenaline died down, Tempest looked as though she couldn't actually believe what she'd done. Her shoulders dropped, and she looked down at her one remaining hand. Even without Sunset's mind reading powers, Twilight could guess the one question on Tempest's mind.
Why did I do that?
Twilight turned to the other three, Fluttershy having come out of her hiding place. Rainbow and Applejack had handily disposed of the remaining Storm Guards, leaving them unconscious around the warehouse. They joined Twilight, standing with Tempest, unsure of exactly how to proceed. They had a warehouse full of unconscious criminals, and obviously, they needed to get a story straight before calling the cops.
Those hopes were dashed as a sound started to blare outside the building.
"Are those sirens?" asked Twilight, looking up.
"Oh, crap!" shouted Rainbow. Her super speed kicked in, zipping over to the crate that still held their masks, seizing them and stuffing them into her pockets.
"But what do we do about Tempest?!" exclaimed Applejack. "We can't let her—"
"No," Tempest said, with an air of finality that instantly silenced the others. "I know what I have to do. You better get your story straight with the others."
She turned towards the door, where the police had broken down the door, rushing in, fully armed, led by Shining Armor. "Twily!" he shouted, rushing over to his sister and throwing his arms around her.
Twilight, however, had eyes only for Tempest, who was sitting on her knees, her one arm in the air. They approached her slowly, pulling out a long pair of handcuffs, hooking one onto her wrist, and the other end onto her ankle.
Twilight Sparkle flinched as her burns, secured under various bandages, twisted and contorted as she walked down the halls of the Canterlot Jail. After being rescued from the Storm King's warehouse, her and the others had been immediately rushed to the hospital, partially thanks to the insistence of Shining Armor, who'd been terrified for the safety of his little sister. Other than the burns from Tempest's cattle prod, they'd been practically unharmed, though those burns would leave their marks. Rainbow had taken that revelation particularly well, overjoyed at the new battle scars she'd have to display.
Once they'd reunited with Sunset Shimmer's group, Shining Armor had returned, officially to take their statement, but also to slip them the details of Tempest Shadow's confession, in order to get their story straight. According to police records, Storm King had suspected that the girls outside of Verko's apartment might have something to do with the super heroes who'd thwarted his protection racket, so he'd sent Tempest to find them. She'd found Twilight spending time with Applejack, Rainbow, and Fluttershy, and kidnapped the four of them, interrogating them for information they didn't have. Storm King had ordered them killed in frustration, an order Tempest had refused to carry out, leading to her taking out her former boss in a fight, as well as his guards. Shining Armor had coincidentally learned the Storm King's true name at the same time, and the warehouse raid was just in time to see the aftermath of the infighting. Tempest, overcome by remorse, had turned herself in, promising a complete testimony on everything she knew about the Storm King's criminal organization. Basically, the Storm King was finished.
Twilight swallowed nervously as she walked up to the booth, the glass barrier separating her from the familiar young woman, wearing an orange jumpsuit. She took the phone, pressing it to her ear.
"How are you holding up?" she asked, nervous about this conversation.
"Oh, y'know," Tempest shrugged, "rolling over onto my boss. Having the prosecutors look for some kind of loophole in the deal I'm offering them. Could be worse, all things considered."
Twilight sighed sadly. "Please, tell me they're at least giving you some kind of benefit for this."
"Kinda funny, considering I'm responsible for those burns on your skin, huh?" Tempest joked. "They haven't finished adding up my charges yet, but even with my deal, they say I'm looking at around ten years." She gave bittersweet smile. "Now why don't you ask the question you really came here for?"
Twilight took a breath. "Why did you help us? You gave me that whole speech about not trusting anybody, but you refused to kill us. I just don't understand."
Tempest was quiet for a few seconds. "God as my witness, kid, I have no idea. I'd never had to kill before, and I thought about it, and...I just couldn't do it."
Twilight though for a moment. "Maybe you weren't trying to convince me," she finally said. "Maybe you were talking to yourself. Maybe you believed that even you didn't have the capacity to be good like that. But you were wrong."
"Doesn't really matter now, does it?" Tempest answered. "It's over, isn't it? I'm giving up the Storm King, then I'm going to be locked up for a while. All there is to it."
"That's not true," Twilight declared, looking directly into Tempest's teal eyes. She placed her hand up against the glass. "I don't know what happened to you, but you're not the monster you think you are. You risked yourself for us. I promise, I won't abandon you, and when you get out, I'll be waiting to help you get back on your feet. All of my friends will."
"You don't have to do that," said Tempest. "You don't owe me anything, kid. Especially since I tortured you with a cattle prod, and everything."
"Well...okay, that's true," said Twilight. "But just because you've done bad things doesn't make you irredeemable. Believe it or not, I know a thing or two about that." She flinched quietly, memories of Midnight Sparkle surfacing once again.
Tempest gave what was actually a genuine smile. "Well, it'd be nice to have something to look forward to once I get out, I guess," she admitted, "You'll visit me more?"
"Of course," Twilight assured her.
"You know, I never did actually get your name."
"Twilight," said the girl. "Twilight Sparkle."
Sunset Shimmer and the rest of their friend group sat quietly outside of Canterlot High, as Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy all nursed the wounds they'd sustained during their kidnapping. Rainbow and Applejack were in the process of comparing scars, trying to decide who looked more badass with them. Sunset sighed as she remembered the hospital visit immediately following their rescue. Granny Smith and Big Mac had given the farm girl an earful, while Rainbow and Fluttershy's families had been more concerned with fussing over their daughters. Twilight's family just seemed happy to know that she was okay, though Sunset would have to be an idiot to miss the glares Shining Armor sent her way. Not that she needed them, the guilt was already piling up. At least he hadn't pulled her aside and screamed at her.
The clopping of nearby footsteps alerts Sunset to Twilight's approach. She looked up, seeing the girl with a warm smile spread across her face. That let Sunset relax, at least a little.
"How is she?" she asked.
"Tempest is hanging in there," Twilight replied. "She says they'll probably cut her some sort of deal for rolling over onto Storm King. It's not amnesty or anything, but I think it's the best we can hope for."
"Oh thank goodness," said Fluttershy, and Twilight was once again struck by the timid girl's capacity for kindness, considering how Tempest had treated her.
Sunset breathed a content breath. At least this fiasco had a happy ending, even if it hadn't come entirely from their efforts.
"So," she began, awkwardly, "I'm sorry, everybody."
Twilight immediately looked concerned. "Sunset, it wasn't your fault. There's no way you could've predicted they were on to us that quickly."
"Yeah! And now we have these beauties on us!" said Rainbow, thumping her scars proudly. "Look at me, I'm—"
She was silenced by a glare from Applejack.
"Rainbow," said the farmer, "as much as I enjoy competing with you over these here scars, this is serious."
"Don't worry about those, darling," Rarity chimed in. "They look fine. And if you'd like to cover them up, I have so many makeup tips to share!"
"Ew! No!" Rainbow responded.
"My point is," Sunset continued, "I was the one who prompted us to do this. But I wasn't thinking of the consequences, of what could happen to you guys. I should've been more careful, or maybe you wouldn't have been kidnapped." She looked at Twilight with renewed determination in both eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I don't regret us starting this little crusade. We took down the Storm King, after all. But nobody should've gotten hurt like that. I'm sorry."
Twilight cringed as she remembered the electric shock pulsing through her skin. She remembered the sheer terror as she woke up chained in that warehouse, wondering if she was about to die. She gingerly touched the scar that sat on her neck.
"I'm not mad, Sunset," Twilight answered, finally. "If we'd gone with my position from the beginning, we never would've stopped Storm King, and who knows how many people would've gotten hurt. Tempest might've never turned on Storm King. I'm glad we did it." A small smile found its way to her face. "Can we please be a bit more careful next time, though?"
