King and Kingpin

by Istaran


Convergeance

We made our way into a warehouse near the docks, one layer back, lest it be visible from the water. It seemed a sensible enough place for nefarious dealings, if horribly cliched. Shady Boughs unlocked the door for us, then lead us along a winding path between the unmarked crates before we entered a freight elevator.

It worried us, but we didn't show it. The metallic cage we were in ate our signal completely, cutting us off from all the others. But with four Itinerants here, and only two others, thoroughly deceived by us, we weren't all that worried for our immediate safety. Cracked Whip smirked at me quietly, enjoying my discomfort. She was about as disloyal to our cause as an Itinerant could be, and I wasn't looking forward to the likely need to start overriding her free will. It was so much better to start with ponies that were genuinely loyal to begin with.

Once we were all within the cage, Shady pressed the space beneath the last floor button, and the elevator car started shakily making its way down below the ground floor. Cute secret entrance. We descended two stories before the doors opened, letting us out into a concrete space. The high ceiling, and the warehouse above, were held up by massive concrete columns, simple but effective. It looked a lot like a parking structure from Earth, but much less well lit. It also spread out remarkably broad, extending under perhaps a dozen warehouses before ending in stone walls interrupted with the occasional tunnel.

Shady brought our attention in a new direction, leading the way toward a dimly lit area. A dais rose up, its contents hidden in darkness thorough enough that even Deus couldn't spot anything within, but could calculate that reflected light should have brought it a few shades lighter. A circular area under the dais was ringed with small orbs of magical light. On the side opposite the dais, a stallion in a fine suit waited smugly, surrounded by a half dozen ponies of various tribes. The earth ponies were massive and muscular, the pegasi lean and agile looking. The unicorns weren't much to look at, but that didn't mean they weren't trouble.

A second group came into the light opposite our approach, five ponies all with black crystal growths on their snouts, some a bit more than others. They all looked serious, like soldiers, or even robots. They stopped a few hooves back from the edge of the ring, except a single unicorn who stepped up just to the edge, and bowed toward the dais briefly. Finally, we approached from the remaining side, the dais to our left. Shady stepped forward to the line, giving a brief bow of his own, before everypony stood, waiting expectantly.

"Greetings," called a voice from the platform. Light began to dimly illuminate it from behind, red light allowing only the silhouette of a pony to come through. Most features were impossible to make out, but the presence of wings was undeniable, and the horn on its face clearly visible as well. Deus had to help me hold back a groan. Much of the platform was still unnaturally shadowed, and I couldn't be sure if there was anything else up there. "As per our pact, I have collected the dues from each of your organizations. And as per our pact, we will now hold our annual tournament."

There was a brief murmuring among the ponies on all sides. It was clear most of the ponies present hadn't been properly informed of what they were coming here for. Nopony seemed all that intimidated though. Shady tried to hide his nervousness, but didn't do well enough to fool me, though.

"For those who have not heard the rules before, this tournament is quite simple. Each organization will put forth champions of each tribe. Those before me are allowed two entrants per round, while the other groups have used their respective arts to improve their champions. Each tribe will fight among its own for the right to join my side, and be at the vanguard of the revolution. When only one side's champion lives, the ring will release them to enjoy my hospitality while the next fight begins. And for the next year, each organization's funding will be based on the number of wins they secured," our shadowy host explained. "Now come forth, earth ponies. Your match is first."

The pony across from us with the least crystals on his snout stepped forward stoically into the ring, expressionlessly awaiting the call to begin the match. Cracked Whip plodded forward, scowling openly at me before refocusing her attention. Two somewhat-familiar looking bruisers passed the suited stallion, looking a little nervous as they entered. It was subtle, but a hint of growth on the other stallion's crystal growth helped confirm their fear was feeding into it.

The moment all four ponies were within the ring of lights, a translucent sphere surrounded them, locking them all within, and preventing any interference. I wasn't sure what it would do to unicorn magic, but we weren't about to start experimenting just then. With a unicorn match expected shortly, we had an obvious guess.

"No then... begin!" the shadowy figure demanded. The crystal crusted pony leaped into action immediately and literally, a forehoof coming down sharply across the snout of one of the bruisers, the one with a mussy mane that looked like it spent too much time under a now-absent hat. The blow drew blood, but the bruiser drew up onto his hind legs, lashing out with hooves of his own. The did him little good, as the vicious stallion beneath him pushed forward through the assault, dug his shoulder into the underbelly, and plowed him back into the sphere.

Fortunately for the thug, the sphere didn't explode, or electrocute him, or any such nonsense. It did, however, hold firm, and that was trouble enough. Pinned in place against it, he was vulnerable to a series of blows from the black crystalled pony, but at least that pony had limited range of motion for those blows while holding him in place.

His partner moved to intervene, planting a double-hooved buck squarely in his opponent's side, knocking him free and letting the trapped pony slink to the ground. But the thug looked pained as his hooves came down, still aching from colliding with something a bit more solid than he had anticipated. He didn't have long to think about it, though, as a spinning hoof strike cracked into his snout.

Cracked Whip finished her spin, landing on her front hooves and turning it into a buck of her own, knocking one thug into the other, and leaving both tangled in a heap. This left her alone to face the crystalled on for the moment, as he came charging toward her. "Come and get it, blighter!" she taunted before suddenly rolling back onto her back. As the stallion's momentum carried him over her, she pulled her hind legs under him and kicked up, launching him up.

The stallion bounced off the top of the sphere before coming back down, adjusting himself midair to come down hoof first on her chest with a sickening crack. The air whooshed out of her and she fell back to the ground, lying still.

"We surrender!" one of the thugs declared, just finishing getting to his hooves, a look of sheer terror in his eyes. His partner nodded in agreement.

"That isn't an option," the pony on the dais said. "And anypony that would surrender doesn't have the spine to be in my revolutionary army."

The crystals on the stallion's snout grew noticeably, as the fearful thugs backed away until their fear slowly shifted character. They froze up, unable to even run away as the stallion approached to finish them off. Seconds later, the translucent shell disappeared, and a set of stairs extended from the dais, inviting him up to a platform below the shadowy host. He calmly trotted up the stairs, settling into place to watch the rest of the proceedings.

"Sir, do you mind if we, umm, reclaim the body? We believe an autopsy will help us continue our scientific research," Bunsen dared to request.

"Sure, take them all if you like," the voice replied.

"That's okay, we've had plenty of ordinary pony corpses," she said with a nervous laugh, as her magic pulled Cracked Whip back over to us. A couple clops from the dais summoned an earth pony with a push broom who quickly swept aside the other results from the previous match.

"Pegasi, it is your turn. Into the ring," the host announced.

I stepped in eagerly, grinning and flexing like an idiot. I could tell it was working, as the two ordinary pegasi stepped in smirking at me, even as they drew knives from someplace. Thinking back, nopony had mentioned a rule against weapons.

The crystal infected pegasus that entered opposite me was just as unarmed as I was, but had a cruel grin to his face that looked downright predatory. As soon as he had entered, the sphere reformed, larger this time. It still passed through the ground at the same circle of lights, but extended wider above, and ultimately was just as wide at the ceiling as the ground. That left a bit more airspace, even out over the other groups, more maneuvering room for the speedy fliers. But on the dais side, the sphere was cut off by a sheer vertical wall of a side, keeping us from getting too close to our benefactor. Too bad, I had hoped for a good look during my flyby.

This time the thugs didn't bother to wait for the word 'begin'. They both had their first volley of knives airborne by the time the word came, and were drawing the next as they flew upward by the time the syllables were uttered. They had clearly picked their first target, unsurprising after last round, and were giving it their all. Their target charged up at them, quickly bleeding from several wounds as he closed, nearly reaching one before they wisely scattered.

He turned, taking a bare moment to decide which he would pursue before my own hind hoof came down on his head in an axe kick, knocking him down several hooves before his wings could catch him. He charged up at me again, and I charged down at him. I lost the game of chicken, veering off to pass in front of him and receiving a few glancing hoof blows for my trouble, while my electromagnetism dug the knives in his back in deeper and raked them down his back, drawing more blood without anypony noticing much.

The match got kind of boring for a bit there. The three of us dodged about, avoiding the crystal crusted pegasus while the thugs tried to pot shot him with more thrown knives, before at last he simply dropped out of the air and stopped moving. Fearlessness only got you so far when you were leaking blood everywhere you flew.

I landed in the middle of the ring and stood up on my hind hooves, a position that was awkward and unnatural for a pony, but just fine for me. I crossed my hooves before me, spread my wings behind me, using a bit of flight magic to stabilize myself and watched one of the circling pegasi gather up some more knives. A mare, I realized idly, while the stallion moved to the opposite side, gathering a few blades himself. It was fun towering over them like this, but didn't do much to impress a flighted race.

I had an odd position here. I needed to beat them both, and to look super-equine in doing so, but keep as many of my tricks a secret as I could. So I waited, letting them make the first move. I didn't have to wait too long before the stallion charged toward me on quiet but not silent wings, while the mare threw a pair of knives at me in a quick volley. Magnetism subtly correcting their course, I caught them in my own hooves before twisting and in the same motion hurling them into her partner. He was close enough to crash into me from sheer momentum, and would have dug his own blades into my sides if I hadn't repelled them. I kicked him off, twisting free just in time to avoid the next volley, almost completely. Fragments of feathers fell free behind me from the close shave.

The stallion was starting to recover as I charged over him, digging one of the blades deeper into him with a hoof before pulling it out. I used it to block one of the blades from the next volley while I caught the other, then charged the mare. She bolted to the side to dodge, but I threw my blades at her with deadly force and accuracy, both passing through her torso entirely before bouncing off the shield and lodging in her neck. The stallion roared out at this, something incoherent that was probably a name, before charging blindly at me.

I held my ground, winging only a hooflength out of the way as he passed, and grabbing him by the neck, I spun to add a little more momentum to his flight, heaving him into the shell. I drew a knife out of my side, where he had just managed to lodge it, and threw it at him before he could recover, blinding him rather permanently on one side.

The noises of pain and shock were horrible, so I quickly did what I could for him, finishing the fight with one final mercy. I was breathing heavily as the shield came down, though physically I wasn't the least exhausted. Slowly I trotted up the stairs to reach the winners' platform, settling next to the earth pony.

Having blood on my own hooves... physically, doing the deed myself. It was something I was unaccustomed to, and hoped never to get over entirely. I considered myself responsible for every life my subjects ended, regardless of reason, but that was intellectual. This was visceral. And as the adrenal fled my veins, I barely kept my lunch from fleeing my gut. But my face didn't show the slightest hint of this weakness, just a cocky grin. Only four others knew what torment I was enduring.

One of them pronk across the circle of lights even before the next match was announced. It was obvious at this point, wasn't it? Bubbling Beaker waved cheerfully at the other unicorns as they waited to enter the ring, letting the janitor finish his morbid duty first.

"I see they put all their eggs in one basket," a cyan-furred mare commented to the lime-green mare beside her. "This one looks like she hasn't even realized this is a fight yet."

The lime one sniggered before pointing at the other contestant, whose arrival triggered the bubble closing to the same size as the earth pony match. "Watch out for that one, though. I can't even tell which one's his horn." The unicorn stallion representing the crystal harvesters had several large black crystals protruding from his snout, three of which exceeded his actual horn in size. At this point, he could probably wield them as a deadly weapon if he tried.

"Begin," the shadowy figure above commanded. Bubbling began pronking in place, her excited motions doing nothing to threaten the other unicorns. The mares surrounded themselves in basic shields immediately, while the crystal-clad stallion ignored them, stalking toward Bubbling as his horn and the crystals began to glow with magic.

Black magic reached into Bubbling Beaker's mind, instilling thoughts of fear and horror into her mind, doing everything possible to strip away her innocence and give food for the crystal.

Bubbling reared up suddenly, a look reminiscent of terror plastered on her face as both forehooves left to her cheeks. Her voice rang out, loudly, unnaturally loudly, but not in a scream of fear. It was the scream of a filly who had just found the cutest dress in the world on clearance, or just been glanced at by the hottest colt in school... terrifyingly pure joy that would make anypony wince, if just from the earsplitting high pitched loudness.

It wasn't just any pitch though. It was the right pitch. And it wasn't just loud. Her horn glowed with power, amplifying the volume. The two unicorn mares collapsed to the ground, holding their ears to try to keep them from going deaf. The shield offered some protection to those of us outside, at least nullifying the magical amplification, but we were all cringing at the least. The stallion, however, collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely from the shards of shattered crystal that had exploded from his snout.

Bubbling had only a moment to look proud and enjoy her triumph before a pair of force blasts bounced her off the wall, leaving her lying still on the ground, one eye staring at the pair in unblinking shock.

When the sphere didn't come down, the two mares looked at each other with confused concern. "Hay now," the cyan one said. "We won didn't we?"

"I won't repeat the terms of victory," the voice from the dais calmly informed.

"What's that supposed to... aaaarrggh!" she said, her question interrupted by a gout of flames. "Emerald, why?!"

"I won't be the one swept onto the ashheap," Emerald pointed out, playing out another spell on her horn and summoning a timberwolf to her side. The creature leaped upon the cyan unicorn, claws and teeth digging into her side even as the wolf caught alight from the smoldering fur.

"Augh, get off of me!" the other mare commended, a pulse of magic knocking the wooden creature off of her and blowing out the flames. What little of it reached Emerald simply forced her to flinch, but it was time enough to summon a spray of sharp shards of ice.

As spells flew back and forth between the mares, they failed to notice their boss trying to get their attention. The sphere did enough to block sound that he couldn't be heard over their threats, recriminations, and spells. Neither mare noticed a slowly rising water level within the sphere, either, until it reached their knees. They paused to look around, suddenly noticing a pair of insulated wires reaching out from the unblinking unicorn, one under each of them. As they began to put two and two together they both started vibrating uncontrollably, nearly chewing off their own tongues in their attempt to say something about it, as bubbles streamed up under each of them.

Bubbling stood once her battery was discharged, wrapping herself in a bubble of force as she smiled at them and began pronking obnoxiously. "Silly wizards. Science always wins!" she taunted.

"Science? You mean dirty tricks! I'll kill you," the cyan mare promised angrily.

"Not if I kill her first!" Emerald pointed out, before a gout of flame began to emerge from her horn.

For a moment the sphere was filled with a blinding bright light. Then the sphere dropped, its trigger met, and a rush of heat and pressure knocked everypony over, singing fur and bruising flesh. A cloud of steam filled the room, slowly dissipating to a mere haze as Bubbling Beaker pronked her way up the stairs to join me.

"Science!" we shouted in unison, sharing a hoof bump when she arrived.

"Vito Calabrese," the shadowy figure above us began. "You have disappointed me with your recruiting this time. You will have to learn to do more with less this next year, and bring me worthy competitors next time. Your share of my support will go to Shady Boughs' think tank this year. Do not disappoint me again."

"You mean my share of my money," the stallion groused, even as he bowed his singed head. Turning, he awkwardly made his exit in his now-ruined suit. Just one more expense to a strained budget. Fortunately it wasn't that strained of a budget. His dues were only half of what his various business ventures generated, so even with none of it returned his group was the richest, at least in terms of bits.

"Now... come, my little ponies. Come and feast with me," the voice above said, as a column of wall arose, cutting us off from the rest of the room. The column within began to lower, descending with both the dais and winners platform, now all hidden in shadow.