Zaktan's POV
Me and Thok slipped into Canterlot undetected, even with all the magical detectors Celestia had set up. It was a good thing I had actually read up on the subject of magic during my travels to the Crystal Empire. I had decided to bring Thok, since he and I were the sharpest of the group.
“So, Thok, who do you think in Canterlot, Capital City of Equestria, where there are guard patrols every ten minutes, would even dare go against Celestia?” I asked the snow white Piraka. He thought about it for a moment, before grinning.
“Probably one of the stuck up nobles. They always want power, and what better way to have power than to ‘control’ the most dangerous crime organization?” He answered, and I chuckled.
“Let me guess. He or she keeps us under the radar as much as possible, and provide us with at least a mercenary group, and in turn we ruin their competitors business?” I asked, and Thok nodded.
“Yeah, but as for which one to choose…..” Thok pondered, looking at the crowd in front of our hiding spot. Ponies of all colors roamed, wearing fancy clothing. Many held their heads up high, like they were better than everyone else. I chuckled darkly.
“They obviously haven't met a Piraka before.” I thought to myself as a group of guards passed by the alleyway. Eventually my gaze fell upon a grey earth pony with white hair. He wore a business suit, with fancy sunglasses hiding his eyes. I nudged Thok.
“Hey, Thok, what do you think about him?” I pointed, and the Piraka looked at the stallion. After two minutes, his grin grew wider.
“Yeah, that's our guy. Let's follow him.” Thok replied, and we climbed up onto the roof of a building next to us. Leaping from building to building, we tailed the stallion. None of the ponies noticed us, not even the ones with their heads in the clouds. We tailed the stallion through the city, occasionally stopping whenever he stopped to shop, or ducking when a guard group passed by. After a hour of this, he finally entered what appeared to be a studio. We quietly snuck in through a window on the second story.
Inside was stage, with dresses lined up throughout the building. Our stallion friend sat down at a table, picking up a newspaper. As he read, we silently approached him. I tapped his shoulder.
“Look, whoever you are, we are closed. I don't know how you broke in, but I must politely ask you to-” He groaned, looking up from his newspaper, before his eyes bugged out at the sight of us.
“Hello. I'd like to work some...business out with you. We won't harm you unless you give us a reason to. May I sit?” I explained. He nodded, eyes still wide open. I sat down into the chair in front of him. “Now then, mr….?”
“H-Hoity Toity, Piraka.” he finished, physically trying to relax.
“Ah, yes, Mr. Toity. I would like to make you a deal.” I began. “You see, I plan on making a new organization. However, I lack the funds and manpower, or horsepower for you, to do so. That is why I have come here. I take it you want to rise up in the status quo?” He nodded. “Good. In return for funds, my organization will remove any and all businesses standing in your way. How does that sound?”
“What do you mean, remove?” Hoity asked, fear growing on his face again.
I chuckled. “No, nothing like that. We don't kill. What we will do is ruin their business in every way possible. No harm will come to any of them, unless they attack us. Sound good?” I clarified, holding out my hand. He looked at it, before hesitantly reaching his hoof out and shook my hand, sealing the deal.
“Very well, Piraka. As much as I hate working with lowlives, I suppose I could do it this one time. After all, it is very beneficial to me and my business. What is your name?” He stated. I chuckled.
“It's Zaktan. As long as you don't go reporting us to the guards, we will become best friends.” I answered, my grin widening. “Now then, who should we...take care of first?”
Hoity Toity put a hoof to his chin. “Well, in Ponyville, there is this mockery of a clothes designer, a unicorn mare named Rarity. For some reason, that low life scum has been very successful. Probably because she is an Element of Harmony. I watched one of her fashion shows. The dresses were the worst things I've ever seen, and yet still she manages to be successful. I want you to make sure she doesn't try to expand. Do whatever it is you do, just don't kill her.”
I grinned. “Consider her a potential threat no longer.” Me and Thok turned to leave, plans already forming in our minds.
×××××××××××
Three Hours Later….
“I fucking hate rock climbing. Though, I have to say, I'm glad that Reidak isn't here. That's the only bonus, and it just about makes up for everything else.” Thok complained when we reached the bottom.
“Why?” I asked, guessing the answer.
Thok sighed. “Because I'm sure his way to make the climb down faster would involve flying towards the ground at very high speeds.” he stretched his back, the joints popping loudly. “Well, should we get moving?” He asked, turning towards me.
“Yeah. Let's remove this bitch.” I replied, storming towards Ponyville. Thok followed at a brisk pace. When we got close to the town, we pulled back behind a few trees. A group of guards blockaded the town, with ponies being frisked before being allowed to enter. I turned to Thok.
“I can get inside in Protodite form, but they will see the green cloud a mile away. You can't get in as easily as me, so you will be the distraction.” I told him, and before he could reply, I tossed him through the air, and he landed a few feet away from the guard line. They charged him, spears raised at his heart while he got back up. I dispersed my body, floating above the battlefield as Thok fought off the large group of guards. His Ice Blaster fired, releasing a stream of liquid ice that immediately froze on contact with a guard's body, freezing the unlucky guard whole. A couple tripped and fell, likely due to Thok’s Spell Binder Vision. I flew over to the large Boutique near the town hall. I reformed next to it, glancing left to right before peeking into a window.
A white unicorn with a dark purple mane and blue eyes worked on a dress, stitching it together. I grinned. Rarity.
The trouble was, how to get her out? I thought about this for a moment, occasionally seeing ice beams fly through the air, attracting more guards. After a few minutes, I saw a unicorn filly walk into the boutique, and strike up a conversation with Rarity before sighing and leaving. I shrugged. Nah, I'm not that cruel. I then noticed a familiar purple alicorn walk up to the boutique, before entering and chatting with Rarity. After five minutes, they both left, leaving me to ponder my luck. Chuckling, I snuck inside, closing the door behind me. I walked up to the dress Rarity was working on. Quite the masterpiece, even by my standards.
Sighing, I activated my laser vision, and two streaks of red shot out, hitting the wall and blackening it. I continued to pour more power into it, and after a minute, the wall caught aflame, the fire quickly spreading. I grabbed a bag of bits from her room before vaulting out the window and making a run towards where Thok was.
When I arrived, my jaw dropped.
Thok had a frozen forest of guards circling him, with a ice dome currently shielding him from the Pegasi guards. The thing is, the ice dome was sprouting out from his hand, much like how a Toa would activate his elemental power. Looking at my own hand, I decided to test it.
Flashing my hand out and concentrating, I watched as the Pegasi were blown away by a random tornado. Thok glanced my way.
“Thanks for pulling a Vezok, asshole.” He growled, the ice dome retracting into his hand. “So, I guess we have elemental powers now? I thought we needed two of the same type of Skakdi to do that.” He asked, casually freezing the Pegasi that came back.
“Think about it later, we need to go.” I ordered, and we ran into the Everfree.
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
Rarity’s POV
I stared in horror as Carousel Boutique burned to the ground before me. Twilight had brought me to town hall when she saw the ice beams, making sure I was safe. The entirety of Ponyville was also there. When the guards had called the all clear, I had walked back, expecting to return to my boutique. What I found instead was a smoldering ruin in it's place. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I started to cry. Twilight walked up to me, putting a hoof on my back.
“Rarity, everything's going to be okay. I'll make sure of it.” She tried to comfort me, and I snapped up into her face.
“Okay?! My life is ruined! My work is destroyed, my home is gone, everything! It'll take years to get back on my hooves!” I yelled, and she shrank back.
“I'll have Celestia send some bits to bring you back to working condition. You shouldn't give up just like that.” She replied calmly. I sighed.
“Sorry, Twilight. It's just...my life's work… it's all gone now!” I cried, bursting into tears once more. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around me, and I returned the hug, crying into her coat.