Tag! Don't Be IT!

(https://youtu.be/XKd8jZojD5w?si=-yTh9zLNsOk61Rr5) Late in the Vanhoover night, Nar sneaks out of his house. He navigates the streets of the city until he eventually finds his way to a supposedly 'abandoned' warehouse in the city's old industrial district. When he arrives, he finds there are lights on inside, and some sort of scanner set up in front of the entrance. As he passes through, the scanner flashes a green light. He assumes that means he's allowed in. Inside, the warehouse looks far from abandoned. The many shelves of the warehouse have been set up in concentric square rings with enough space for two people to pass between them side by side. Many of the shelves still have old crates, and boxes sat upon them. In the middle of the shelves, a large area has been cleared, and Nar can see a crowd of other Stormbladers gathered. Looks like they all got the same summons he did. Upon entering the clearing, Nar can hear soft chatter from the others in it. From what he can tell, everyone here is a solo Stormblader, like him. Off in the corner, he can see a fairly large earth pony stallion stood with two women, a unicorn, and a dragon. They lean against his side, with his arms clasping their sides to pull them close. He has a big, shit eating grin on his face, which only seems to get wider with every bit of praise the two women give him. "That's tight!" The earth pony laughs. "Hail to the King!" Nar already hates this guy, and he doesn't even know his name. Nar finds himself a space in the clearing to stand, and watches as other stormbladers slowly trickle into the building over the course of the next ten minutes. At some point, Mr. "The King" in the corner seems to catch sight of Nar. He shouts above the soft chatter of the others, causing everyone to go silent. "Hey! Farm Boy!" Nar doesn't pay him any attention at first. Instead, he takes a cursory glance at the others around him. 'Huh. Wonder who that could be.' 'The King' growls before shouting once more. "Hey! Don't ignore me, newbie!" 'Huh.' Nar turns his attention over towards Mr. 'The King', still not sure who he's trying to get the attention of. When his gaze locks with Nar's he figures it out. "Oh. Sorry." Nar responds with a slight smile, and a raise of a hand. "I wasn't sure who you were talking to." The others in the crowd look at Nar as if he'd just talked back to a legitimate king, and was about to be executed for it. At this 'The King's' face contorts into a wicked smile. "Is this your first cull, newbie?" Nar simply nods, causing 'The King' to laugh in what Nar thinks is supposed to be an evil way. "Then it's also gonna be your last!" He accents the shout with a gesture of sliding his thumb across his throat. Suddenly, the lights dim, and a dual sided screen lowers to hang above the group. Then, a video of simple animated graphics accompanied by a mare's voice begins to play. "Hello stormbladers! Tonight, you all fight for your right to call yourselves Stormbladers! This event is a culling event, and the losers will be permanently unregistered from every Stormblading organization across the country!" The voice pauses to let the information sink in. Nar feels a grin forming on his face. Only his second ever event as a Stormblader after getting back into it, and the stakes are already so high. He was getting excited! "This event is a tag event! There are 20 of you in this warehouse, and when this is over, 5 of you will leave for good! The event is simple! When it begins, 5 of you will be chosen as IT! You will feel your devices vibrate, and a light in your blades will light up, notifying everyone that you're it! If you touch someone else, they will become it! If you are still it when the event ends after 10 minutes, you lose! Anyone who spends more than 5 seconds off the ground at any point will automatically become it!" Most of those gathered stand still, watching the screen. However, some, like Nar, begin to back away from the majority of the group. (https://youtu.be/8VrHKSPfXec?si=thWSNI0-7mAYojgp) A buzzer blares from the screen, and suddenly, a 10 minute timer begins to count down. The lights cut on, then, all breaks into chaos. The sound of whining motors fills the air as everyone begins to move. Nar maneuvers into the second ring of the shelves, and finds a position where he can quickly slip through a gap between two boxes if need be. As much as he wants to get involved in the chase right away, 10 minutes could be a long time if he pushes himself too hard, too quickly. Peering through the shelves, he sees that Mr. 'The King', and his admirers have not moved. Nor does anyone dare to approach them. His head then snaps to his left, just in time to see one of the current 'it's rushing at him. With a quick pivot, he slips between two boxes in the shelf, and emerges into the first ring. Immediately, he has to hop up, and press himself against the shelf to avoid a collision with another skater. The next 9 minutes are a blur to Nar. He simply acts on instinct, allowing his body to act on it's own. It works for the most part, but at around the 6 minute mark, someone manages to tag Nar. He finds he needs to start thinking again. With a small feat of acrobatics, Nar hops up onto the second layer of one of the shelves, then, after 3 seconds, dismounts, and taps the top of a head as someone passes by while they're running from another 'it'. He giggles like mad, enjoying this maybe a little too much. It's not until 20 seconds are left on the clock that Nar finally turns his brain back on again. That fucker hasn't moved the whole event. Nar stares at 'The King', and his admirers as they simply watch the others from their position. As the timer quickly begins to wind down, Nar hatches a plan. A stupid, and dangerous plan, but a plan nonetheless. At the 10 second mark, Nar allows himself to be tagged by an 'it', then maneuvers to the shelves behind 'The King'. Wasting no time, he grabs hold of one of the horizontal bars of the shelf, and vaults through a gap between the top of a low box, and the second layer of the shelf. He narrowly avoids kicking one of the admirers in the back of the head as he shoots past her. At the last moment, his hand reaches out, and practically slaps 'The King' in the back of the head. Thanks to her head being against his chest, Nar manages to avoid touching the admirer. The buzzer sounds, and slowly, everyone comes to a stop. Nar powerslides to a stop a few feet from 'The King' and turns back to give him a shit eating smirk. He waves a hand with a sly "Gotcha." 'The King' looks down at his skates to find they are lit, meaning he is 'it.' The screen begins to play a new video, where it announces the end of the event, and begins to list off the losers. 'The King' is among the 5 losers, while Nar is not. An incensed roar fills the warehouse, and 'The King' shoves his admirers aside as he charges towards Nar. Nar readies himself, and quickly ducks out of the way as 'The King' throws a wide left hook at him. 'The King' tries for another hook with his right arm, but this time, Nar avoids it by hopping backwards. He then steps in, and places a quick, but powerful jab into 'The King's snout. There's an audible 'CRUNCH', and 'The King' yelps in shock, and pain. His hands shoot up to cover his nose as streams of blood begin to pour from it. "Mother fucker"! Tears well in 'The King's eyes as he cries out. "I'll kill you!" Shortly after, two other stormbladers ride up alongside him, grabbing hold of his arms before he can throw another punch. He tries to break free of their grip, but is unable. As he's dragged out of the warehouse, his bleeding nose leaves a small trail of blood on the floor. Then, to add insult to injury, Nar waves again, and states "The King has been dethroned."