The Displaced Tournament: Future's Darkness.

Chapters

Prologue.
Into the Unknown: Mike.
Into the Unknown: Zeko.
Into the Unknown: Jeff.
Into the Unknown: Silphen.
Into the Unknown: Johnny.
Into the Unknown: Phosphophyllite.
Into the Unknown: Angel.
Into the Unknown: W.
Into the Unknown: The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom Part 1.
Into the Unknown: The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom Part 2.
Into the Unknown: The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom Part 3.
Into the Unknown: Boy Talk.
Into the Unknown: Chapter 25.5
Into the Unknown: First Breakfast.
Into the Unknown: A Credible Source of Chaos.
Into the Unknown: Studying & Storytelling.
Into the Unknown: Girl Talk.
Into the Unknown: Rules & Regulations.

Prologue.

Somewhere far, on the farthest side of the galaxy, was a tournament. Not a Displaced Tournament, the place where it was being held wasn’t even on Equestria, it was on a planet sized space station. In a stadium filled to the brim with one-hundred-thousand people of all colors, of all shapes, of all sizes. Some people looked humanoid, some had three legs, some had a thousand eyes, but all were in attendance for the tournament. The arena was much like the Roman Colosseum, but with a large stage at the center, big enough that people could move around a lot as they fought. An announcer stood at the center of that stage, the arena was an open one, so a blimp could be seen from above. The announcer had slick blond hair, sunglasses, and a suit… Along with purple skin.

“Hello and salutations one and all to the FINALE of the Galactic Fighting Tournament!” The announcer exclaims, the crowd screaming in response to his voice, “This has been the BIGGEST and most competitive tournament in a LOOOONNNG time! This is the 86th anniversary of the Galactic Fighting Tournament, and everyone really turned out! The crowd is electric, the fighters are strong, this truly is one of the greatest tournaments to EVER happen!” Once more the crowd roars and the announcer smirks. “Now, enough about me, it’s time to introduce our finalists! Coming out in the blue corner…”

All the lights turned blue and a spotlight shined down on an entry point to the arena. “He’s came back with a vengeance, knocking out each and everyone of the fighters in his way to take back his crown,” the ground started to shake as the fighter made his way to the entry point, a mere few moments away from stepping into the light, “HE IS…!”

Walking out of the corner and exposing himself to the spotlight is a man with blueish-green skin standing at a height of seven-foot-two. He wears a blue vest with orange trim that exposes his belly, looking like a well-rounded individual with some bulk to him, having the build of a strongman with a bit more belly to him. He has jorts and sandals on. On his head was a blue bandana. He has an orange goatee, orange eyebrows, and long curly orange hair that goes past his shoulders. His eyes were green as well. The fighter was grinning ear to ear, exposing a golden tooth, and around his waist was a saber in a scabbard.

“...GALESTORM, CAPTAIN OF THE SCOURGE DEVILS!” The crowd was absolutely screaming, their cries of cheer could be heard all across the artificial planet and almost poured to outer space. Galestorm walked with a confident strut, his grin remaining on his face as he made his way to the stage.

“He was a participant in the 32nd ever Galactic Fighting Tournament, and won over Xohsu of the River People! Now he’s back after a long time away, pillaging and plundering the galaxy as a Space Pirate! But instead of plundering planets, he’s going to plunder the victory from his opponent!” Galestorm stopped when he got to the stage, standing on his platform, “Who we will be introducing NOW!”

“Coming out of the red corner,” The stadium lights turned red and a spotlight shined on the other side of the floor, “He’s a man fighting for more than himself, fighting for his people on Planet Psyos, who are suffering from an unexpected drought due to a solar storm hitting the planet. He’s a man on a mission, a man with a dream, a man with a wish! HE IS…!”

Walking out of the corner and exposing himself into the light is a man in a brown martial arts gi, a black belt around his waist with the symbol of a fist on the back of his gi. He wore no shoes, as feeling the floor beneath him was better than mere shoes. The man had brownish-green skin with black and dark green dots speckled across it, he has no hair, but he does have black eyebrows and brown eyes. He stands and moves at a height of five-foot-eleven, and moves with a clear focus in his eyes.

“...UMOD, THE PSYCHIC MARTIAL ARTIST OF PLANET PSYOS!” The crowd cheers on the Martial Artist as he makes his way to the stage. He wasn’t looking around or anything, his eyes were solely on Galestorm’s. Something that the Space Pirate noticed,

“He has the fate of his planet on the line, everything is on the line for him, and all he has to do is defeat this MOUNTAIN of a man, Captain Galestorm!” Umod walked out onto the stage and stood on his platform with a clear focus.

Galestorm unsheathed his saber, which was half the length of his torso and rested his weapon on his shoulder, “Ah, Umod, be it?” He hums with narrowed eyes, “You’re a psychic martial artist, ‘uh?”

Umod nodded, “I am,”

Galestorm’s grin grew wider. “Then ye can predict yer loss, can’t ye?” The pirate laughed, slapping his belly.

It was Umod’s turn to narrow his eyes. “No, but I can predict yours,” Umod took upon a Kyokushin Karate stance.

Galestorm’s laughter grew louder, “GRAHAHAHA! I be likin' ye, maybe after I beat ye, I’ll let ye join me crew, 'ow does that there sound?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I won’t be taking it.” The Martial Artist shook his head.

“Ah… So be it,” Galestorm’s grin slowly faded and he looked on with some disappointment.

The crowd starts to build up in hype as Umod and Galestorm take their stances getting ready to fight, the announcer was still on stage looking between them. “OUR FIGHTERS ARE READY!” The crowd cheers loudly, a bead of sweat rolling down Umod’s forehead, “THE CROWD IS READY!” the arena started to shake at the volume of the crow, “AND I AM READY! SO LET’S GET THIS PARTY STAAARTEEEEEEDDDD!” He raises a finger to the sky as the crowd peaks in volume. “LET THE FIGHT BEGI–”

Before Galestorm could move, Umod shot forth to the center of the stage where the announcer was. Seeing this, the pirate took his saber off his shoulder and slashed at the air, making an air slash that tore through the ground. Aiming straight at Umod and the announcer. He quickly grabbed the announcer in his telekinetic grasp and pushed him off the stage and out of the way from the attack before also jumping out of the way of the slash. The Martial Artist glared at Galestorm.

“Ah, so ye predicted, nay, foresaw I would try an’ cut ‘em down,” A grin reappears of Galestorm’s face, “What an interestin' ability.”

Umod glare deepened, “You did it to see if my psychic abilities were real.”

The Space Pirate shrugged, “Maybe, maybe not, but whatever, let’s just SCUFFLE!” he shot towards Umod and the Martial Artist kicked off the ground and shot towards Galestorm with his foot extended. Foot met blade, causing a massive shockwave of power to explode between them. But Galestorm was stronger and pushed Umod back, leading him to flip and land on his feet. He shot forth again and went for a feint kick to his head, only to come back around and went for a roundhouse kick to his chest. The pirate blocked the blow with his forearm, the blow pushed him back. Galestorm went to counter attack with his large saber but Umod ducked under it and went in for a punch of his right fist straight into Galestorm’s gut.

The strike made a loud boom and sent Galestorm back a few dozen feet, he growled and planted his feet down before slashing at the air a plethora of times. But this time, the air slashes were infused with energy, turning a light green color. Umod noticed this and dodged the air slashes, ducking, weaving, and flipping over them. When he knew he couldn’t dodge, he reached out a hand and caught an air slash in psychic energy and sent it back at Galestorm. But he smacked it away with the back of his fist and kept shooting out air slashes.

Occasionally, Umod would throw one of the air slashes back, forcing the pirate to dodge. It couldn’t be more infuriating for him, with a snarl, he launched forth as Umod dodged another air slash and raised his blade to bring it down on him. The psychic stepped out of the way as the saber cut into the ground, Galestorm went to backhand Umod with his other hand only for him to dodge and planted a front kick straight to the pirate’s chin. But before he could pull his foot back, Galestorm grabbed Umod by his ankle and spun him around. With a roar, he tossed the psychic and forced him to roll across the ground.

Umod grunted and flipped to his feet just in time to see Galestorm come in with a slash of his saber. He raised his fists and blocked the attack with his forearms, he created a small psychic barrier around his arms to prevent bleeding from the impact of the slash. But the blunt force still carried over and rattled his arm, Galestorm saw that and grinned. He cocked back his left fist and went for a gut punch that Umod couldn’t do anything but take. The martial artist wheezed from the pain, but didn’t allow it to take over him and swiftly unleashed a left punch of his own; a haymaker that landed on Galestorm’s jaw despite the height difference. The pirate saw right before the punch connected – which it in fact didn’t – that Umod had used his psychic energy to conjure a fist to crash onto his jaw.

With Galestorm’s head whipped back, Umod slammed both of his fists into the exposed gut of the pirate and sent him skidding back. The psychic caught his breath briefly before sprinting after Galestorm. The pirate snarled and performed an upwards air slash at close range that shot towards Umod. The Martial Artist’s eyes widened and he leaned out of the way, dodging in the nick of time, but also stopping his advance. Seeing that his opponent was off balance due to the lean, the pirate blasted forward and slashed his saber into the gut of Umod. Like before, he conjured a barrier around his body that protected him from the slashing damage but not from the bludgeoning effects that came after.

Umod was sent back a few feet, but he quickly recovered and performed a backhand spring that got him to his feet. He let out a quick exhale and gathered himself. Psychic energy quickly surrounded him which caused his eyes to shine a bright pink. A pink aura surrounds him and he shoots up into the air, flying like Captain Marvel. He looks down at Galestorm who looks up at him with a grin, with a yell, he fires off a blast of psychic energy that Galestorm splits in two. He continues to fire off blasts of psychic energy while flying around, the pirate dashed around the stage to dodge the blasts of energy. When he could, Galestorm sent an air slash at Umod that he would then dodge too.

The two fighters continued to fire projectiles at each other, air slash met psychic blast, rinse and repeat. But eventually, Galestorm shot up towards Umod with incredible speed and attacked, the strike was something the psychic didn’t foresee. The pirate appeared behind Umod, as a massive slash wound appeared diagonally across the chest of Umod. He gasped and wheezed at the attack, and turned around to face Galestorm just in time to get a foot to the face that sent him crashing to the ground. Umod groaned and closed his eyes, when he opened them again, he saw Galestorm coming down with his saber. With a gasp, he narrowly rolled out of the way to avoid the blade.

The blade met the stage, and it caused the whole stadium to shake briefly. Galestorm was on a knee and huffed before standing up, he turned only to catch a psychic fueled punch to his nose that sent spiraling back. He lost grip of his sword as he was spinning and eventually landed on his stomach. Umod held his chest in pain, seething from the punch. He used his psychic powers to grab hold of Galestorm’s saber and pull it away from him.

Galestorm put his hand on the ground and slowly pushed himself to his feet and held his nose. Umod only saw the back of the pirate but could hear a sickening crunch as he set his nose back into place.

“Alright, then…” He rose to his feet, “So that’s 'ow ye want to play…” He turned around and grinned, “Then let's play!”

The pirate shot off towards the Martial Artist. Using quick thinking as well as foresight, Umod used his psychic hold on the sword to throw it up high in the air to prevent Galestorm from reaching it. He crossed his arms and blocked a mighty punch from Galestorm that pushed him back. The pirate didn’t let up, going for a variety of punches and kicks, but Umod either deflected, blocked, or weaved past them. When he saw an opening, he landed a hook to Galestorm’s rib cage. However, by doing so, Umod took a blow from the pirate. Galestorm seized opportunity and landed a fierce uppercut that knocked Umod off his feet.

Galestorm caught him by the ankle and slammed him to the ground once, then twice, and then several more. Feeling the effects of the slams made the Martial Artist wince, but he eventually landed a psychic punch straight into the chin of Galestorm before unleashing a multitude to the body and head. Galestorm was forced to let go and Umod capitalized with a tornado kick straight to his jaw.

The pirate was sent flying back but he flipped and caught himself, his hands on the floor. He grinned and dug his fingers into the stage before flipping a large portion of it at his opponent. Umod furrowed his brow and flew up, but he couldn’t get away from the falling tiles, so he had no choice but to punch through them as he continued flying upwards.

“Look out below, ye psychic knave!”

Umod’s eyes widened and he looked up to see Galestorm holding his saber. He had retrieved it from the sky while he was distracted, and the blade of the sword was glowing bright green with energy. He didn’t have time to block as Galestorm came down and slashed a vertical line onto his chest. The Martial Artist couldn’t make a psychic barrier around him in time, and the slash went all the way through, causing him to spurt purple blood out of his chest and cry out in pain.

Umod was sent careening to the ground, but Galestorm wasn’t done, he flew down and slammed his foot onto the face of the psychic. Carrying him all the way to the shattered stage, the blow made a loud BOOM and some debris from the stage lift were sent scattering into the sky before falling down like rain. Dust filled the air, blocking everyone’s view of the fight, but what they could hear didn’t sound good. They could hear cries of pain, and yelps and groans.

When suddenly, Umod’s body was thrown out of the dust cloud to tumble across the ground before skidding to a stop on his stomach. He was covered in bruises, with blood spilling out of his chest and nose, as his face was nearly unrecognizable. He slowly slid his hands to both sides of his chest and pressed his palms on the tile of the stage. With a grunt, he started to push himself to his feet, only to get a foot to the left side of his rib cage, causing him to wheeze and get sent flying off the stage and slamming into the stadium walls. The crowd, of course, cheered at the brutality.

Galestorm stood in a puddle of Umod’s blood and looked out to his crumpled body against the arena walls. He watched as Umod slowly sat back up against the wall, holding his bleeding chest with his right hand. A grin spread across Galestorm’s face and he raised his saber high and prepared to unleash an air slash straight at the battered psychic, but before he could, the announcer stepped in his way.

“Woo!” He exclaimed, “That was a close one; you ringed him out, Galestorm! Making you the victor!”

Upon him saying that, everyone started to cheer loudly, their fists in the air. The applause echoed off the walls of the arena, and the Space Pirate raised a brow and put his saber – which was wet with the purple blood of Umod – on his shoulder. He looked at the announcer, then glanced over at his opponent who was being carried out by the paramedics. He could hear the pained voice of Umod.

“Damn it all… I could… I can still fight… Damn it…”

A smirk appeared on Galestorm’s face as his eyes went back down to the announcer who was just above half his size. “So, there lad, what do I win?”

The announcer smirked as well, “You get ten billion credits!” he said with vigor, his finger pointed to the sky, “Be sure to treat it with care, we don’t want the economy crashing like back in the 23rd Galactic Fighting Tournament.”

Galestorm nodded slowly, “Right, an’… That’s all?”

The announcer nodded, “Yup, that’s all!”

…

“That’s all?” He grabbed the announcer by the collar of his shirt and picked him up. The crowd immediately stopped cheering.

The short purple alien raised his hands high, “H–hey! That’s all we can give you. I–I mean, then we would have to give prizes to second and third place!”

Galestorm raised a brow, “Second an' third place get a prize? What do they get? Why should they get any? They be losers!” he scoffed.

“Well, second place gets one-hundred-million credits, third place gets one-million credits, but you have ten whole billion. Isn’t that enough?” A grin appeared on the face of Galestorm.

“Ye be forgettin’ somethin’... I’m a Space Pirate. Ye just let a predator go right into the brassel coop,” Galestorm laughed loudly, “And I say it be about time we pillage and plunder.” He looked up and inhaled, “ME HEARTIES! GET YER LAZY ASSES DOWN HERE!”

Immediately, four figures jumped up from the stands and landed on the stage behind him. However, one of them landed next to him. Standing up just past Galestorm’s shoulder, a man with black hair with a single white stripe running through it. He wore a pair of red rimmed glasses, his eyes shining through with an ever-present gaze that seemed to pierce through the very souls of everyone that even looked at him. This man also wore a white button-up shirt, a black vest, a pair of black suit pants, and well-worn black combat boots. Pushing up his glasses, the man let out a sigh as he slowly slipped on a pair of black gloves.

“I do hope you remember Captain, that our ship can’t really hold that much treasure or valuables.” He hummed, adjusting his black vest and straightening it out. “Our last raid was quite the haul.”

The Captain waved off his First Mate, “I didn't forget, Craig. Which be why I 'ad Z plunder that there storage device a while back. Remember? The one with the, uh... Pocket... Pocket something, I forgot.” He waved a hand at the memory.

“You mean ‘Pocket Dimension’, Captain?” Craig hummed as he gazed at the crowd.

Galestorm snapped his fingers, “That one.”

Standing a bit behind Craig and Galestorm was a young Changeling woman with a lean and agile build. Standing at just below Craig’s height, the woman had long, dark cerulean hair that was tied up into a ponytail flowing down to the middle of her back. With hesitant jade eyes, she looked around, flicking her gaze between Craig, Galestorm, and the crowd. A cutlass was sheathed on her hip, and she had a mismatch of various bits of armor such as an odd cocoon green gauntlet around her left forearm, and a similar pair of green greaves on her legs, covering and protecting her chitin black boots and pants. She was wearing a torn, gray trench coat, with a cracked green breastplate under it, and while it seemed to still be very sturdy and durable, it had definitely seen better days. On her right shoulder was a green pauldron, which also had seen many days of combat as it too was cracked and chipped to Hell, but it was still looking better than the breastplate. On her back was a pair of turquoise, membranous wings, both of which seemed rather… feeble. The right one especially had seen some damage, as a massive tear had cut a chunk out of it. Jutting out of her forehead was a long alicorn-like horn. Although it was… damaged, covered in small, hole-like bits, her horn was cracked slightly, but not completely broken. And apart from the rest of the crew, there was an underlying worry and hesitance within her eyes, but she did very well to hide it from all but the most observant of people.

Right next to her were two figures who couldn’t be more opposite from each other. The first was a large, dark purple, rotund man with small spikes all over his body, spikes on his head, arms, torso, and even his legs. He was shirtless, didn’t have shoes, and wore only pants. He was taller than Galestorm by a foot, had a large body, large arms, and relatively short legs in comparison. He also had beautiful, almost charming, green eyes despite his appearance. Next to him was a dark blue man with height similar to Craig’s, reaching just above the Captain’s shoulders. He was long and lean like a player in the NBA. His legs were longer than his torso. He had no hair just like the purple man’s, and almost looked like a lizard. He wore a black tracksuit with blue trim to it, and had blue shoes with black trim to them.

“Looks like the crew is all here,” Galestorm hummed, glancing back at the three, “Thankfully, none of ye got lost like last time,” he eyed the tall blue one.

“Hey,” He said, his voice raspy, “It’s hard to know where you are with speed like mine!”

“Keep telling yourself that, Z,” The dark purple one said, while Z furrowed his non-existent eyebrows.

Galestorm turned to the dark purple one, “Be nice, Bruce.” The spiky purple bulky guy huffed and crossed his arms, nodding with a grunt. “Now that the all crew be here, why don’t we start the pillagin’ and the plunderin’?”

Z went down into a runner’s stance, Bruce cracked his knuckles with a grin, Craig slowly removed his glasses and placed them in his vest’s front pocket which revealed his serpentine eyes which gleamed with blood red malice. The Changeling took a deep breath in as she slowly unsheathed her shimmering, magic-imbued cutlass, and Galestorm licked the blood off his saber.

“Let the games begin…”

From inside the locker room, a familiar brownish-green man sat down on a bench, a backpack next to him. One of the doctors had him drink a healing serum to close off his wounds and help him recover. While he was nowhere near fully healed as the aches from his fight with Galestorm simmered in his body, it was enough for it to be bearable. His arms resting on his knees, his gaze was downwards towards something he had in his hand; a closed locket.

Umod let out a deep sigh and clicked a button on the top of the locket to open it. Inside was a photo of himself, a female of the same race with blue eyes, lighter green skin and a more slender and sleek build. In the middle of them was a young female grinning ear to ear, taking features from the two next to her. She had her mother’s eyes but took the darker skin that Umod had. There was a note on the other side of the locket.

“Today’s hope brings a brighter future.”

The Psychic Martial Artist closed his eyes and bowed his head lower, “I’m sorry, Nascha, my love. Lory, my heart.” He clenched his free hand strongly, but not strong enough to hurt. “For us to survive, we’ll have to leave the others and move to a new planet.” Umod pursed his lips, as he thought of ways to break the bad news to his wife and daughter. He paused, thinking about tapping into his psychic powers to look into the future to try and gauge their reactions to what he would say. “Hm…” he furrowed his brow and started to focus his energy on the future.

But that focus would be broken when the stadium tremored, as if an explosion had been set off. The locker room ceiling lights went from white to a flashing red. Umod’s eyes snapped opened and he rose to his feet, “What the Hell?!” He looked around, seeing some of the lockers falling over and hitting the floor. His water bottle fell off the bench and spilled all over the floor. He quickly closed his locket and stuffed it back in his ripped and torn gi. He picked up his backpack next to him and slung it over his shoulder. Quickly, he moved towards the door and opened it.

He flinched at the brighter red flashing lights that the halls of the stadium had. There was a crowd of people sprinting, running down the long hallway with fear in their eyes. Umod looked at them as they passed by, confusion and concern clear on his face. He wanted to stop them, stop one and ask what the Hell was going on, but he knew better. And besides, what came over the intercom quickly clarified all confusion.

”ALERT! ALERT! THE STADIUM– No, PLANET SORLEI IS UNDER ATTACK! WE’RE ALL UNDER ATTACK!” The announcer cried out on the intercom.

“What?!” Umod cried out, panic wavering on the edge of his voice.

”You guys need to evacuate, you guys MUST evacuate! We’re being attacked! Attacked by Galestorm, and the Scourge Devils!”

Umod slowed slightly as he looked up at a speaker near the ceiling. Why was he attacking Planet Sorlei?

”Apparently, he–” The announcer screamed out before being ripped away from the microphone.

A familiar voice spoke into the intercom, “Ahoy, fuckfaces and losers, this be yer Captain speaking. To be honest, – which is unknown for a pirate like meself – I’m not ‘appy.” Galestorm said flatly, “I’m not 'appy that there I didn’t get what I deserve. I be a warrior. One o' the best in the fuckin' galaxy, an' I get a measly ten billion credits? I deserve more than that there, an' that’s what I’m goin' to get; more than that.”

Umod clenched his fists and glared up at the speaker. “Those ‘measly’ credits could have saved my people,” he thought to himself.

“So, I recommend ye listen to… Whatever his name’s, dyin’ words,” The sound of the announcer gurgling on his blood could be heard briefly in the background before a SNAP followed after. “...And run while ye still can…”

The speaker stopped, and the halls were now desolate after everyone had left. Umod finally stepped into it, his eyes still on it, glaring with eyes of fury. His fists clenched tighter, “You beat me, robbed my world’s future.” A pink aura surrounded him, his eyes glowed bright pink, “I won’t let you rob my family’s.”

The Martial Artist sprinted down the street. His bare feet touching the charred, artificial soil. Everywhere he could see was on fire, the buildings, the stadium he left. The fire was so spread out, he could see it over the horizon. Yet, instead of running away from the explosions, the fire, the screaming, like many of the people native to this space station, he ran towards it. But the natives weren’t the only ones running, tourists, thieves, rogues, all were leaving; even some of the tournament competitors. All of them, who would have gotten ten thousand credits from competing, wouldn't be getting it, all because of Galestorm.

Umod’s eyebrows furrowed and he started to run faster towards the explosions and brimstone. As he ran, he started to hear footsteps coming from behind him. He quickly turned around and stopped to throw a kick at where he predicted whoever was following him would be, only for his foot to catch air. He saw a blur kick his other leg while his foot was in the air, making him fall to a knee. But he quickly recovered and planted his palms on the ground to spin and try and land a cartwheel kick on the blur, but they blocked it and pushed him back.

“Enough!” They cried out. Umod somersaulted to his feet and upon his eyes laying on the blur, his brows were raised. The blur was a female with baggy white martial arts pants, her shoes were pink running shoes and her shirt was a black tank top. The girl herself had pink skin and magenta hair, her eyes were black and her iris’ were red. She put her hands on her hips, “What the Hell are you doing?”

“What the Hell am I doing?” Umod asked, he almost wanted to ask the question back; ask what she was doing. But a distant explosion told him that wouldn’t be a good idea. He huffed and looked towards where the boom came from, “I’m going to take down Galestorm.”

The girl paused and looked him up and down, “Wait a minute, are you Umod? Didn’t ya lose to him?” The Psychic Monk clenched his fists.

“I know that!” He spat out, fury in his voice, “I know he’s beaten me, I know he won fair and square, but I won’t allow him to cause harm to this planet, to everyone who lives here! Look at them, look at everyone!” Umod pointed to the sky, the girl following his finger to see ships trying to breach the upper atmosphere only to either catch fire or even explode from a stray slash. “They’re leaving their home, a place that gave them memories, joy and sorrow, all because of that piece of trash and his greed. There is nothing in this universe that I hate more than greed, meaning, there is nothing in this universe that I hate more than Galestorm.”

The girl crossed her arms, “Hm… And you really plan on fighting him alone?”

The Martial Artist nodded, “If I must.”

A grin appeared on her face, “Well, ya don’t gotta fight him alone. I was planning on fighting Galestorm too, that bastard is stealing my credits!” Huffed the girl.

Umod turned to her, “Wait, does that mean you’re a fighter?”

“Yeah, the only one who has the balls to step up and fight ‘em! Well…” She paused for a moment and glanced at Umod, “The only other one. I was in third place, and fought with the guy Galestorm beat to get into the finals for the third spot, if ya saw that match.”

Umod’s eyes widened, “Oh yeah, I remember, you’re Pheramene, you defeated your opponent with an axe-kick to the dome.”

Pheramene nodded, “Yup, pushed in their soft spot!” she laughed.

“Good,” A smile formed on Umod’s lips, “With you here, I might have a fighting chance after all.”

“Aw, 'ow touchin’!” Umod and Pheramene turned to the location of the voice and took upon fighting stances. The voice came from on top of a building, fire below it. The fire illuminated Galestorm and his crew behind him, the Space Pirate had his saber resting on his shoulder like usual, “They be goin' to team up together an' defeat the big bad pirate!” he laughed, slapping his belly, but he wasn’t alone in his laughter. Bruce and Z laughed with their Captain.

“Damn straight!” Pheramene said with a fiery grin, slamming her right fist into her empty palm, “We’re gonna send yer ass to Kingdom Come!”

“That’s right,” Umod furrowed his brow, “We won’t allow you to terrorize this world– no, this universe no longer. For as long as this universe has scum like you, the brighter future I fight for grows dimmer each day.”

Sighing as he looked at the fighter girl, Craig shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You two are… indescribably dense and optimistic. It’s honestly a little sad.”

“Yup, super dense and optimistic!” Z cackled out, “But that isn’t that bad of a quality to have, at least they’re positive.”

Bruce nodded in agreement, “At least they're positive,” he repeated.

The Changeling woman was quiet for a moment before she looked at Pheramene and Umod. “You two… You should’ve just ran when you had the chance.” She mumbled softly. “Now you’re going to die.”

Galestorm nodded, “That they will be. Welp!” He turned over to Craig, “The psychic kicked yer ass in the semi-finals, do ye want to run that back?”

Craig hummed as he stepped forwards, removing the glove from his left hand. Galestorm turned around, leaving his mate to it. “Yes, actually. I would like to have a rematch.” Craig’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he flexed his ungloved hand, revealing extremely sharp claws and red scales shimmering from his skin.

Umod raised a fist towards the right hand man, “I defeated you once, I’ll do it again. Spare yourself the embarrassment and leave.”

Before Craig could reply, Pheramene laughed, “Ah, typical, I didn’t expect Captain Galestorm, ‘Strongest in the Galaxy’ to be a wuss!”

Galestorm paused and slowly turned back around, “What did ye say…?” a light green aura surrounded him. The ground beneath them started to quake. He glared down at Pheramene with eyes of pure, unbridled fury.

The Changeling’s eyes widened as she looked at Pheramene. “You… You just fucked up.” She said with an awkward chuckle, fully knowing what her Captain could do.

Pheramene ignored her words, “Sending your goons after us? What a chump! A real man would do their own dirty work, but oh wait,” she brought a hand over to her mouth, almost holding back laughter, “You’re not a real man. You’re a sissy!”

A vein appeared on Galestorm’s forehead, he was shaking, absolutely shaking with rage. “Ye’re gonna regret sayin’ that…”

“Oh reall–”

“DIVINE DEPARTURE!” Galestorm’s saber glowed a bright light green and he slashed the air, unleashing a large air slash that mimicked the saber’s glow. The slash was aimed directly at Pheramene and not at Umod. He didn’t even have to dodge; not that he would have time to. Pheramene saw the attack and crossed her arms to block, she dug in her heels and braced herself to compete against the slash.

But there was no competition.

The slash carried her away towards the sky, she grunted and fought back against the air slash. But to no avail. She growled and fired up a dark pink aura, a boost that could help her push it back. Yet it didn’t even help her push it a millimeter. Her eyes widened with fear and dread, she looked down at Umod who was nothing more than a speck to her at this height. The Psychic Martial Artist looked up at her and reached out a hand to try and reach her with his telekinetic grasp, but it was too late. With a horrified and agony filled scream, the slash atomized her and exploded. Bringing a bright green glow to the blackened sky.

Umod looked at the explosion with horror, his hand reached out. All that remained was dust falling from the sky, he couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even utter a word, a comrade was just killed right in front of his very eyes. And he couldn’t do anything.

Walking ever closer, Craig didn’t even bat an eye at the death of Pheramene. “She honestly brought that upon herself.” He hummed, removing his other hand’s glove and placing them in his vest pocket.

“All she wanted…” Umod muttered under his breath, “...All she wanted…!” he said louder so that the Scourge Devils could hear her. “...Was her credits… Credits that she– that she worked for, FOUGHT FOR!” He snarled and turned back to Galestorm, ignoring Craig in front of him. “And you MERCILESSLY killed her!”

The Space Pirate rolled his eyes, “Craig, what did ye just say?” he asked with an annoyed expression. Looking down at Umod with a look someone would give to a fly.

“That she brought it upon herself.” Craig raised an eyebrow as red scales began to crawl up his neck. “Now, please, pay attention to our fight, Mr. Umod.” He huffed with slight annoyance. “You weren’t this rude when we fought earlier.”

Umod’s fists started to clench tightly, his pink aura came back and surrounded him. “Galestorm… You are scum, you kill, lie, cheat, steal, you’re ungrateful, you walk around with no consideration, no empathy for life! And you killed Pheramene… You’re gonna pay for that…” His pink aura started to spike, "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY THAAATT! GAAAAAAAALLEEEEESSSTTTOOOOOOOOOOORRRRMMMM!!!"

Umod first shot towards Craig with incredible speed, blitzing right past him with his shoulder. The speed and momentum of the shoulder check sent him crashing through the building below where Galestorm and the others were standing. The Psychic flew at Galestorm with his right fist clenched. With a roar, he went to punch Galestorm right in his face, however, the floor in front of the Captain crumbled. A blood red blur shot out from under it and caught his fist with insane strength, making the Martial Artist’s eyes widen.

Hissing with serpentine irritation, red scales covered half of Craig’s face, revealing a hellish demonic snake-like appearance, as veins bulged with barely contained vitriol all across the First Mate’s neck. “As I said, Mr. Umod. Pay attention to OUR FIGHT!” He roared, his hand letting go of Umod’s fist as the sudden, split second force and pressure of Craig’s boot being shoved into the Martial Artist’s sternum sent him hurtling to the ground, creating a crater beneath the psychic as Craig jumped down and landed on the ground in a rather… professional manner.

Umod held his chest with a pained expression, sitting up to look at the man– no, the demon that stood across from him. He furrowed his brow, “Fine then, I’ll deal with you first.” While still on the ground, he raised his left finger and pointed it right. The First Mate turned to his left just in time to catch a psychic construct of Umod driving his left fist straight into his face. The blow proved to have similar effects to his kick on the Psychic, sending him back far. Umod sat up and quickly followed after Craig to unleash a Coral Reef ecosystem worth of variety in the punches and kicks he sent at Craig. The construct quickly dashed in to provide assistance to Umod.

Regaining his composure as he continued sliding backwards due to the sheer velocity he was sent, Craig took a deep breath as the scales on his face quickly receded, and his professional and composed facial expression returned. However, the scales on his clawed hands remained as he began parrying what punches and kicks he could, leaning and weaving, dodging those that he couldn’t and while some did land, Craig twisted his body in ways that looked borderline torturous to any normal person to minimize the impacts of those attacks. This continued for a little bit before Craig’s eyes split, making four slitted irises and pupils as one pair looked at the Psychic Construct of Umod and the other looked at the real thing. And Craig began parrying even more attacks instead of dodging them, before grabbing the wrists of both the construct and Umod, and used them as branches to flip up into the air, before performing a perfect split of his legs to slam his boots into their faces.

Landing on the ground, Craig suddenly put his hand into the air and he paused. Before slowly taking a bow. Tapping into the future briefly, Umod ducked down low and avoided something that would cut a little off the top; literally. A building behind him was severed in twain. With his legs bent, he leaped towards Craig with incredible speed and cocked back a fist, his psychic construct did the same. The First Mate raised his arms to parry and deflect, but just when Umod got in range, a foot made of psychic energy crashed into his jaw. Forcing Craig to feast his eyes on the stars. Umod finally came in and socked Craig in his Adam’s apple, while his psychic construct landed an uppercut on the gut of the First Mate. Knocking the wind out of his sails.

Umod landed two punches, a right hook to his jaw, and a left to his cheek, followed by a spin kick in which he planted his heel right on the temple of Craig. Making him spin off the ground before he landed with enough force that he slid across the ground.

Staying on the ground for a few seconds, the corners of Craig’s mouth twitched upwards for a moment before he regained his passive expression. Blinking twice, he then pushed himself off the ground and brushed the dirt and rocks off his sleeves. With a huff, Craig turned and looked at Umod, glancing down at his glasses and confirming that they were indeed – somehow – untouched during the altercation.

“I must admit, Mr. Umod, it seems I underestimated you, and made the foolish mistake of not going all-out immediately during the tournament proper. And for that, I apologize.” Craig said, folding his body in a proper, non-hostile, apologetic bow, before straightening himself. “However, it is now that I must unfortunately inform you that this is no longer the case. As such, I will no longer be holding back.”

The First Mate then pointed his hand out towards Umod and his construct. And a blizzard of invisible slashes suddenly began to raze everything in its path to rubble as it flew towards the psychic.

Umod took a step forward and immediately was covered in slashes – or so you think. His psychic aura was like a forcefield to him, preventing the cutting aspect, but not the bludgeoning that comes with the psychic shield. The Martial Artist reared back a fist and punched the air in front of him. Instead of a shockwave traveling to Craig’s mid section, a colossal psychic fist slammed into the back of the First Mate and sent him flying towards Umod. He then flipped into a bicycle kick that connected onto his jaw and sent him to the sky where the psychic construct met him to land a sledgehammer onto the midsection of Craig. Causing him to flip a multitude of times on his way down.

From getting knocked to the sky to getting knocked back down to the earth, Umod leaped into the air and met Craig in the middle. He planted a finger right on his solar plexus and instantly closed the distance the finger made with a knuckle that once again knocked the wind out his sails. He spun like a Spinjitzu Master and unleashed a devastating tornado kick to the neck of Craig. Sending the First Mate flying through not one, not two, not three, but five buildings.

Poking the large piece of rubble that was on him, the rock turned into small bits of gravel as Craig filled it with hundreds of precise slashes. Dusting himself off and standing back up, he braced his shoulder and rolled it a few times before popping his neck with an audible crack. Looking in the direction of Umod, Craig leaned forwards before pushing off the ground, lunging forwards with incredible speeds and appearing in front of the Martial Artist in a literal blink of an eye. Grabbing Umod by the face, Craig slammed him into the ground before picking him up and throwing him into a nearby building, with only enough force to crater the wall. Taking hold of the side of his opponent’s head once more, Craig began sprinting through the place, dragging Umod’s face through dozens of buildings before stopping and throwing Umod forwards. Jumping up and showering the Psychic with a second blizzard of invisible slashes, Craig then sent a singular slash upwards, propelling him down and slamming his boots into Umod’s head with a powerful dropkick as he slid off of Umod’s face and further ahead.

Catching Umod by the midsection and pressing his palm to the Martial Artist’s stomach, Craig grabbed the man’s torn gi and with his other hand, swiftly swiped the side of his hand across Umod’s middle, creating one large slash that tore the gi and sent Umod flying back. And Umod continued flying for almost ten straight seconds, crashing through dozens of buildings before he finally landed right back in front of Galestorm and his crew. But Craig wasn’t finished with him as Umod noticed the serpentine First Mate sprinting directly for him and closing the distance, fast.

The Martial Artist watched as he came in, his body tense. That series of attacks did one Hell of a lot of damage to him. His body stung with pain, yet due to his psychic aura, the slash didn’t make him spill blood. Whatever, what mattered was that Craig was coming, and coming fast! Craig’s red aura made him look like a giant serpent, tearing through the rubble, snaking, dashing its way towards Umod. What can he do, what should he do?!

A thought came through his mind and he dropped his stance. He looked at Craig coming in, his fists unclenching. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

The blue lizard man standing with Galestorm laughed, “Ah, he’s already given up! This was nothing, Craig has a LOT in the tank!”

Umod didn’t pay him any mind, and remained in that position.

And when Craig came to seep his fangs into the Martial Artist, he weaved the attack and countered with a right straight. His right knuckle slamming firmly into the nose of Craig, psychic energy poured into the punch. His eyes were still closed, his expression blank, but his fist full of power. The blow was so strong that it blew back the fire within a hundred mile radius and shook the earth. But that was just the first of it. Umod pushed further and from the speed that Craig was moving, his body continued forward and his head followed. He was peeled off the knuckles of the Martial Artist and flipped upside down. The back of his head slammed onto the floor, making a loud CRACK to boom like thunder.

The momentum his body was going continued to be carried and he sailed behind Umod, flying through everything that was behind the Martial Artist. As the crashing grew distant, he sighed and stood back up from his punching form and looked up at Galestorm. His right fist smoking. The Space Pirate’s eyebrows were raised with interest. His eyes were on the smoking fist of Umod before drifting down below him…

…On the ground were the broken glasses of Craig.

“Well shit,” Galestorm said, nodding his head, "Impressive, ye broke his glasses.” Z and Bruce’s eyebrows were raised and looked at the broken glasses in shock.

The Changeling’s eyes drifted down to the broken glasses as well, and she blinked, her own brows raising. “Like Captain said, impressive.” She then shook her head a little as she stared Umod directly into his soul. “But that ain’t good.”

As soon as those words left her mouth the ground began to rattle and shake, the ground becoming unstable as the voice of Craig echoed from the rubble behind Umod. More buildings began to collapse as rage and bloodlust filled the place, as if a dam had just been broken and was now flooding the place with water.

“You broke… my glasses.”

Craig said simply, yet his voice echoed throughout the entire space station. And as Umod turned to look in the direction of where Craig was sent flying, he saw nothing but rocks and pebbles of rubble as two glowing red eyes looked at him from the cloud of dust that they had spawned. Suddenly, Craig was in front of him. He hadn’t blinked, yet Craig was now in front of him, his shadowy face staring mere inches away from his own.

“Bad move. Mr. Umod.” The ever professional First Mate stated the fact.

“Apophis’s Fangs.”

Craig gently placed a hand on Umod’s shoulder before brushing his hand from one side of Umod’s torso to the other, leaving four glowing red lines streaking diagonally across Umod’s body. And almost instantly, blinding pain followed as four large, sudden, invisible, and unstoppable slashes tore into the Martial Artist’s body.

Purple blood spurt from his chest, and he cried out in pain. In response to this, from behind Craig, the psychic construct returned with a vengeance, its hand in a chopping form, but it was about to do anything but chopping. It shot towards the back of Craig, the hand seemingly sharpened as it drew nearer to where his heart should be. However, Craig turned just in time for the hand to pierce his chest and avoid his heart. Instead, it pierced through the gap between the lungs and pushed out on the other side.

Craig and Umod stood across from each other, both heavily wounded. The psychic construct’s arm is deeply embedded through the body of Craig, Umod’s chest bleeding thoroughly. The two fighters look at each other's eyes, both of them taking exhausted breaths. The psychic construct raised its other hand, preparing itself to unleash a finishing strike, however…

…A pair of shoes slam into the head of the Martial Artist, causing the construct’s hand to disintegrate on contact against Craig. Umod was sent skidding across the blackened earth and rolled to a stop on his back. Craig turned to his left and saw the culprit of the attack, Z; who stood up straight, looking down at the wounded Martial Artist, “Tch, that woulda killed you. You should be more careful, Craig.” He scoffed.

Humming as he looked at his chest wound, feeling the inconceivable pain that came from such a wound, but being such a professional badass that he didn’t visibly show it, the First Mate responded. “Yes, you’re correct, Z. Thank you for the assistance. And my apologies Captain, I lost my head for a few seconds. It won’t happen again.”

Galestorm jumped down from the building and landed in front of the duo, “Good, we don’t need another ‘Sawbooyah Incident’, savvy?” The Captain grunted and walked towards Umod. Who gritted his teeth.

“Yeah that wasn’t our best moment.” Craig chuckled dryly.

“We have a best moment?” Z raised a brow as Bruce jumped down to join the party.

“Of course we do; Donut Thursdays.” The big one noted, “And speaking of donuts…” he looked at the hole in Craig’s chest.

Looking at his wound, Craig nodded. “Yes, this is a bit of an issue.” He looked over to the last member of the crew who was walking over. “If you wouldn’t mind “un-donutting” me, Chrysalis. I would greatly appreciate it.”

Rolling her eyes with a small smile, Chrysalis chuckled as she hovered her hands over Craig’s wound, her palms glowing with soft green magical light. “What I’m a little more miffed about is that your glasses are broken. You’re lucky I carry spares, but don’t make it a habit of letting them get broken again.” She chastised the First Mate. “We only have so many.”

“Apologies, Chrys. I’ll make sure it won’t happen again.” Craig nodded as his chest slowly healed, blood congealing over the wound as bone and muscle began to reform, flesh covering scales as it was eventually sealed shut.

The Captain moved slowly, moving towards Umod, who lay on the ground bloodied and beat. As he made his way on over, he stepped on something that made an audible clink. Galestorm paused and looked down with a curious expression, he moved his foot and found that it was a locket he had just stepped on. He reached down and picked it up, he turned it around, analyzing the texture and the design. Surprisingly, it appeared to be unharmed, no dents, scratches or anything. There was a button on top of it, so he clicked it, opening the locket. He saw the photo of Umod’s family and the line that came with it: “Today’s hope brings a brighter future.”

A chuckle escaped his lips and he closed the locket. He grabbed his vest and opened it to put the locket inside a pocket. “Somethin’ to remember ye by,” he gave a nasty grin.

Umod clenched his teeth and slowly sat up, looking at Galestorm and his crew, how they all stood together. They were strong, really strong. Even if he had managed to kill Craig, there would be another person to fight, they would have finished the job. He winced and hissed in pain as he slowly rose to his feet.

“He’s getting up?” Bruce raised a brow, looking at Umod with shock.

Craig looked over and hummed. “It seems so.” He turned and bowed to Umod with professionalism. “Thank you for the fight, Umod. But I believe I’ve won this bout. I’d say ‘Try again some other time,’ but… I fear that will not be possible. So, I will merely leave you with; Goodbye.” Craig stood straight as he turned away, putting on the spare glasses that Chrysalis had given him and slipping on his gloves once more. Thankfully, being turned into a donut didn’t damage his vest.

…

“You’re wrong…” Umod rasped.

Z raised a brow, “The blood loss seems to be getting to him.”

“I’ll say,” Bruce agreed.

Chrysalis looked at Umod with pity. She hated seeing warriors like this die. It reminded her of… less than stellar days, before she met Galestorm and Craig.

The Martial Artist let out a deep sigh, his body shaking, burning him externally and internally. “I won’t die…I won’t allow it…” From his right hand, psychic energy started to gather, forming a small ball. “...This… This fight… Has sealed your fate, Galestorm.” The Space Pirate raised a brow at this, “...You are going to die… Not as one of the strongest warriors in the galaxy… Not even as a Captain, but as a coward…”

The pirate paused and slowly brought his saber off his shoulder, dropping it down to his side where the blade glowed light green.

“...This…” The ball of psychic energy in Umod’s hand glowed bright pink, “...WILL BRIGHTEN THE FUTURE!”

He threw the ball of psychic energy and in turn, Galestorm swiped his saber, unleashing a light green air slash that disintegrated the ball of psychic energy before it. It slammed into the chest of Umod and he cried out in pain. The slash carried him far, crashing through building after building, before eventually, over the horizon…

…The slash exploded.

Galestorm finally put his saber back in its scabbard and turned around, “Alright, that be enough. Z, get the ship,”

Z nodded. “On it, boss!” The blue alien vanished from sight. Galestorm just continued to walk as Bruce looked at where his Captain launched Umod. A large trench was there as proof of the attack, as wide as the length of a bus and as deep as the Marriana. Bruce turned around and followed his Captain.

Not wasting a second, nor a thought to the recently departed, Craig began to closely follow Captain Galestorm, walking right by his side. Face as passive as ever as he looked at the destruction. “Shame he declined your offer, Captain.” He remarked.

“Eh, who be needin’ a psychic anyway? They be shams,” Huffed Galestorm like it was an ordinary Tuesday morning.

Craig tilted his head in agreement. “True. We do have someone better than that.” Craig flashed Galestorm a rare smile, before it faded as he glanced over his shoulder to see the person he was talking about, Chrysalis, staring at the place where Umod had just perished.

Chrysalis was lost in her own thoughts. She’d seen so much death. So much destruction. Over the years she’d thought she’d be able to tune it out and for the most part, she’d been successful. But… there was something about this that just… it made her feel uneasy. Sick, almost. Under her breath she muttered, “I’m so sorry… for everything.” Chrysalis prayed that no one else but the dead could hear her.

Sighing as he looked at Chrysalis, not having heard her words, Craig turned to face forwards and raised his voice. “Chrysalis! Don’t dally behind! We’re leaving!” His voice was enough to snap the Changeling back to reality as she mumbled out an acknowledgement, jogging over to join them.

The space station was crumbling.

Buildings started to collapse in on themselves, the ground as well, everything was in ruins. In a crater, still on the surface of the dying space station, was Umod. A massive slash wound across his chest. He looked up at the blacked and fiery sky with half-lidded eyes. Not having the strength to open them brighter, or even enough strength to close them. And yet, despite him no longer being able to detect Galestorm’s presence on the artificially made planet, or even his crew. He still sat up.

His hands weakly rested in his lap, breathing slowly, his gi was non-existent. He was in nothing but his pants, revealing his bare and wounded chest to the doomed space station. Slowly, he slid his knees under him and sat on them. No matter what, Galestorm had to be stopped, and if he couldn’t stop him…

Umod raised his hands shakily and held them out in front of him. He used all of his last remaining psychic energy into this, creating a mass, an almost misty mass in front of him. Using incredible strength, he closed his eyes and focused his energy into the psychic mist.

“...The Universe… The Gods… Hear me… No…” He coughed as the smoke was finally getting to him, “...Warrior, hear me… You have been chosen out of the trillions, out of every single form of life out in the cosmos… You have been chosen. There is a man, a creature, a monster… He is the scum of the universe. The worst of the worst… He has no mercy, no honor, and no respect for all things living… Right now, he is surfing the cosmos, annihilating, pillaging, plundering, robbing innocents of their lives… Their future…”

He furrowed his brows, “...He will not stop. He will not rest until someone stops him… I tried to stop him… And I threw everything I had at him… You, brave warrior, must do what I could not. Defeat him, bring the one who’s surrounded by darkness back into the light… Save the galaxy… Save the universe… Avenge all those he’s mercilessly killed… And turn this dark present… Into a bright future…”

The mist of psychic energy hummed bright pink before flying off into the sky, shooting like a comet and heading out of the upper atmosphere. Leaving Umod the only one there, he looked up at the mist as it went by. A smile graced his lips.

“I’m sorry, Nascha, Lory… Looks like Dad won’t be bringing any souvenirs when he gets back from the tournament after all…”

And like that, the ground collapsed beneath him, making him sink into the earth below.

The ship of the Scourge Devils was a galleon, and it looked identical to a pirate ship. A forcefield was around it, preventing the vacuum of space from reaching it. The ship was on auto pilot and was sailing away from the space station, Sorlei. Bruce was under the deck, in the kitchen, cooking up a meal for everyone after a successful raid. Galestorm was standing close to the edge where Sorlei could be seen, as was Z. Craig was standing next to Galestorm, looking out over the crumbling space station, whilst Chrysalis had decided to lean over the railing of the ship as she watched the destruction as well.

Miniature explosions littered the station. “Ah, the small little firecrackers before the big firework,” Galestorm hummed to himself, crossing his arms with a grin.

“It would seem so, Captain. But it is natural to have a little bit of progression before the grand finale.” Craig shrugged as he adjusted his glasses.

Eventually, the station started to glow bright, as if it was turning into a star. Galestorm then wore a grin, his teeth on full display as the space station grew brighter and brighter before it exploded into a bright light.

He laughed, “GRAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT BRILLIANT FIREWORKS! DO YE SPY THIS, CRAIG?!” he clapped his hands together.

“Indeed I do, Captain.” Craig confirmed before turning to him. “I think this might be in the top twenty biggest explosions we've seen.”

Z watched the space station explode with a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. He gulped, “Yknow, I will never get used to seeing that…” he muttered.

Galestorm raised a brow and watched as the lights died down, “Eh?” he turned to Z, “Well, get used to it. It’s in the job description,” he turned around to head below deck. Z followed.

“No it was not,” Z shook his head.

“Shaddap!”

As the two headed below the deck, it left only Craig and Chrysalis being the only ones atop.

Standing there in silence, they continued looking out over the dimming remains of the space station’s annihilation. Then the silence was broken after a good minute as Chrysalis let out a shaky breath. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted, her legs feeling like jelly underneath her. Despite anchoring herself on the railing of the ship, she began to collapse to the deck before Craig vanished, appearing right by the Changeling’s side and catching her.

“Chrys, are you alright?” Craig asked, helping lower her to the floor so she could sit.

Nodding, Chrysalis’s breath hitched in her chest as she brought her knees up, hugging them close. “I…” She bit her lip, accidentally biting too hard and causing green blood to seep from the wound. “I don’t know how much more I can keep doing this without a break, Craig.” She sniffled, tears she’d barely contained before now freely spilling down her cheeks. “Fuck, I just want to go home and be done with all of this… this bloodshed.” She buried her face into her knees.

Frowning at this, Craig let out a small huff as he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Chrysalis… You’ve been on this crew since the beginning. You know you can’t just leave.” He reminded her, offering a rare smile that only one other person has seen. “Plus, I don’t think we’d have survived this long without you. Nor would you have without us. We’re a crew, a family.” He leaned in and gave her a small hug, and while it might’ve not done much to reassure the former Queen of the Changelings, she did appreciate it.

“Yeah… a family.” Chrysalis repeated, her heart not really into those words.

Craig who stood back up. “Good. Now,” he offered her a hand. “What say we go down and get something to eat. I believe Bruce is making Quesadillas, your favorite.”

Looking at Craig’s hand for a moment, Chrysalis’s mind flashed with memories of being alone, scared and terrified of the monster that was Ryker. Her torn wing and cracked horn ached with phantom pains of even catching a glimpse of the man. She remembered running, her subjects sacrificing their lives so she could escape, so Chrysalis could run. The former Queen remembered selling parts of her armor, bit by bit, just so she could get off world and as far away from Ryker as possible. And she remembered the feeling of shivering in the bitter cold of that alleyway, hungry and starved, of both food and the love she needed to survive. Out of magic, out of money, and out of options. She thought she would die on that day. But it just so happened that a hand had been outstretched, and she was asked to join a man’s crew, a crew that was only two strong. The Captain, and the First Mate.

Chrysalis was brought back to reality as she looked at Craig’s hand and his soft smile, gently taking his hand, “Y-Yeah.” She mumbled softly, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Craig nodded, his smile slowly disappearing, but the memory of it was still there to comfort her.

Chrysalis remembered the warmth of Craig’s hand the first time she took it, all those years ago. And just like that day, she could feel the freely offered love Craig gave her. The two of them walked down, below deck to partake in the feast and drink that Bruce had prepared for them.

They were a crew.

They were a family.

Craig was her big brother.

Galestorm was her Captain.

…

But she couldn’t shake the constricting, hollow pain in her heart.

Nor did she find out how much longer she could continue like this.

And as the ship sailed off in the distance, a small pink mist passed by like a comet, heading deep into the cosmos.

Into the Unknown: Mike.

The throne room of Canterlot was lively despite having only a dozen people inside it. The King and Queen were on their thrones, looking out with smiles on their faces as the sight. A trident in the hand of the King. There stood eight Eliatropes, all talking with each other. They all had different colors for their outfits each, one orange, one cyan, one yellow, one red, one pink, one black, one purple, and finally, one brown. The Eliatrope in the red outfit had a hand on their hip.

"I bet ten bits that the Displaced I get comes here faster than all of your Displaced!" The red one wagered.

A laugh escaped from the orange one, "Oh really, eh? Well, mayn, my Displaced finna look at me and say 'oh shiyeeet, that's a dope dude' and HOP in the portal faster than ya!"

The black one shook their head; and crossed their arms, "Tsk, tsk, tsk," they clicked their teeth, "Ah, how naive. You guys are... What is it they say? 'Cooked'?"

"The only one cooked here is you," The pink one scoffed, "I got mine faster than any of you guys last time."

The cyan one rolled their eyes, "That's because you only had one person."

"Yeah, that was unfair!" The purple one said, steam going through their nose.

"All is fair in love and war," The brown one pointed out, "And who knows? Maybe one of you will be the lucky ones this time around."

The yellow one shot the brown one a glance, "Where's your competitive spirit? It's a race."

The brown one shrugged, "I prefer to not rush things. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

"I bet that's what you tell all the girls," The one in red laughed, making all the Eliatropes laugh as well. Even the Queen laughed, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Ah, you guys should start off on the count of three," The Queen said, which made a chuckle fall out of the King's mouth.

"My love, you can't possibly be entertaining this," The Queen looked at her King playfully.

"Maybe I am," She cheesed at him and turned back to the Eliatropes, "Alright everyone, on the count of three. Three!" The Eliatropes all created portals, their palms glowing from blue to cyan to green. "Two!" The Eliatropes got into a running stance except the brown one who had their hands behind their head, a relaxed expression on their face. "One!" The red one tensed and narrowed their eyes.

"Go!" The King interrupted, slamming his trident on the ground, it made the Eliatropes jump before they dove into their portals. The King laughed as he watched them scramble. The Queen looked over to him with a pouty expression.

"Darling," She chastised, the King looked at his Queen.

"Whaat?" He let go of his trident briefly – having it lean on the throne – to shrug.

The Queen shook her head, and put a hand on her forehead, "What am I ever going to do with you?"

Mike walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, his twin brother and new brother-in-law walking right behind him.

“Why are we going to the Royal Guard training area again?” Spike said, adjusting the solar guard armor he was wearing.

“A, It’s much bigger than our training room, B, we’re in Canterlot, C, I actually want to talk with Shining about something.” Mike said as they reached the entrance of the Training area.

“Lots of guards around,” Cole said, looking around the yard at the Solar and Lunar Guards doing random training exercises. “I know we’re in the royal guard but it's still weird to be here without somepony guiding us.”

“Perks of the title, Cole,” Mike pointed over at a small building across the yard. “You two go in there and get ready I'll be right back, gonna check the throne room for Shining Armor,” Cole and Spike nod, walking to the building with guards going in and out. Mike walks back into the castle and towards the throne room at a brisk pace. “Alright, hope you’re easy to find, bro, I need a word…” Walking to the side door to the throne room, Mike cracks it open and sticks his head inside.

“I would like to ask the court that since I donated twenty thousand bits to the grant-a-wish foundation, I would like a tax reduction.” A snooty-sounding noble said as Princess Celestia fought the urge to sigh heavily.

“I shall grant your request, Miss Breeze, please…” Mike exited the throne room with a chuckle.

“Man, I don’t envy her job, but Shining wasn’t there…” Mike put a hand to his chin in thought. “He might actually be in the training yard… I should probably get back.” He thought to himself as he turned back toward the training yard. With a small bit of haste Mike speed walked back to the training yard, hopeful his brother-in-law and captain was there. Approaching the door way Mike saw Cole poke his head through and look down the hall at him

“Hey, Captain Shining Armor’s in the lockers talking to Silent Wing.” Cole shouted as Mike got closer.

“The Lunar Guard Captain’s here?” Mike asked, earning a nod from Cole. “Wonder why?” Cole led Mike over to the locker room and could hear the end of a conversation.

“I don’t know, I just feel a strange presence in the Castle…” Silent Wing told her Solar counterpart. “Like there’s an intruder I can’t locate, It’s been bugging me for the last hour.” Shining Armor nodded as Mike and Cole entered the room. Shining noticed the two enter and gave them a wave.

“Hey, You two,” He called over to them. “You got a sec?” Mike and Cole nod and walk up to the Captain. “I don’t know if you heard our conversation but, Silent Wing wants you three to do a perimeter sweep.”

“Wait, why us and not a group of regular guards?” Mike asked, a little confused.

“This threat I sense feels far stronger than anything our normal guards can handle,” Silent Wing stated with a worried look on her face. “I want you three to go since you’re the strongest guards we have, Shining Armor and I have been requested by Princess Celestia to escort Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, she’s arriving by royal carriage in a few minutes.”

“Princess… Mi Amore… You mean Cadence?” Mike asked, making Shining Armor nod.

“Yes, we’re getting married in a few weeks if you haven’t been informed.” Shining said a small blush forming on his cheeks.

“Huh, I wasn’t informed, looks like our family’s getting even larger, bro,” Mike said with a chuckle. “You still mad that I married your sister before you got married?” Mike asked, Shining simply looked away with a frown. “I’ll take that as a yes, alright then, The Guardians of the Elements of Harmony will see to it that this castle is free from strangers… Other than the weirdo nobles attending day court.” Silent Wing nodded.

“Alright then, let’s go, Shining, Your love Cadence will be here soon.” She said pushing Shining out of the room. Mike sighed and chuckled.

“Cole, go grab Spike and meet me by the entrance,” Mike said, prompting Cole to nod and go deeper into the locker room. “Oh, Shining, when will you not be easy to tease…” Mike said quietly with a sly grin. Standing at the entrance of the Training yard Mike stares at his watch waiting for Cole and Spike. “The hell’s takin’ those two so long?”

Bvoom!

A sound alerted the Hylian Royal Guardsman, bringing his attention away from his watch and towards it. Right in front of him was a circular blue portal that hummed quietly, but loud enough for his ears to catch. It continued to hum before suddenly, and without warning, a yellow blur shoots out. Mike barely moved out of the way in time, the yellow blur dug their heels into the ground to halt themselves. Making two trenches within the dirt. Upon stopping, they suddenly flip into the air. Their palms glow a bright blow and a portal appears below them, they fall into it.

Multiple portals appear around Mike and the yellow blur shoots from one to another, and keeps on going through and out of the portals. Making it appear as if the blur was several instead of one. Finally the blur stopped, and flipping in the air one more time, they landed on their feet right in front of Mike. The blur was taking a bow, a hand over their chest. They had a yellow outfit. From a yellow patchy potato sack for a hat as well as a yellow vest and baggy pants. The only thing not yellow were their shoes which were black. The person clad in yellow got up from their bow, revealing brown eyes and their black hair.

“Why hello, Michael; or is it Link?” Their voice brought the Hylian to the conclusion that the person in front of him was female. And quite possibly human, with no fur whatsoever. Instead having light pinkish skin. She was on the shorter side, five-foot-two. She looked up at him with a hum and reached into her pockets to take out a notebook. She flipped the pages, “Ah, Michael. Hero of Equestria, Royal Guardsman, Day Guard to be exact, and…” She squinted her eyes at a particular note. “...Spike’s mentor.” She looked back up at Mike, “How original.” She closed the notebook shut and threw it over her shoulder, only to conjure a portal that the book fell into. She promptly closed the portal and clapped her hands. “The name’s Shaylee, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance.” Mike stared at her for a few moments, his jaw wide open shocked at what he had just witnessed.

“What…” He said then shook himself out of his shock. “Pleasure to… Meet you too…” He said as he held out his hand. “You’re a unique and eccentric human, first one to appear without a token..” He pointed out.

She took Mike’s hand with a swiftness but then tilted her head at: “Human?” Shaylee chuckled and closed her eyes. She let go of the Hylian’s hand, shaking her head before walking around him. “Oh, no, no, no. Poor little Hylian, I am no Human. I am an Eliatrope,” She put a hand over her chest, puffing it out slightly in pride. “And I am a representative of the United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom.”

“Huh?” Mike said, imitating Luigi’s voice without thinking. “What’s an Eliatrope?” He asked super confused. “Wait, not important,” He shook his head. “More importantly, why are you here?” He questioned, his more stern Guardsman tone of voice showing itself.

Shaylee saw this and giggled, clapping her hands together, “Ooh, stern! I like that! I can tell you’re gonna be a force to reckon with in the tournament,” she chirped.

“Tournament?” Mike asked, raising an eyebrow. “What Tournament, Shadow the Hedgehog?” He joked.

“I don’t get it,” The Eliatrope grinned, and put her hands on her hips, “You, my friend, have been recruited by the King. He believes that you would be a worthy adversary to fight other Displaced that are across the Void. You are being recruited to…” She paused dramatically, “...The Displaced Tournament! You have been selected as one of eight that will be competing! Tada!” Shaylee whipped out the jazz hands as confetti appeared out of nowhere.

Mike stared at her for a moment then smiled. “Sounds fun, GwenPool, when’s it happenin’?” He asked, his stern attitude replaced by a more relaxed one.

“I mean,” Shaylee dug into her pockets to pull out a stopwatch, “The actual event starts in a week or so, but you can come to our world to wait until the event actually happens. You can bring how many people you want and your trip will all be covered for by the King and Queen; they are very generous. Especially to people who fight for what’s right, like yourself.” She poked Mike’s chest.

“Important question, will time be frozen or at least slowed down in my world?” Mike asked. “I’m not sure If I can disappear for a week without the King of Evil noticing.” He added, worrying for his world’s balance of power.

Shaylee smiled, “It would be very slowed down. Every hour you’ll be gone would be a minute. Nothing too crazy. At most, you’ll probably be gone for… Say eight hours. But you’ll definitely not be gone for twenty four. Maybe at max ten if you wanna chill for a little while.”

Mike thought about it for a moment before smiling and nodding. “Sounds perfect, though slowing time would make my guest list shrink a bit,” Mike said as he thought about who to bring. “Celesita’s out, day court’s happening…” He thinks aloud.

“By the way, who’s on your guest list?” Shaylee raised a brow, “We can go over to them at any time.” She opened her hand and conjured a portal next to them before closing it.

“I’ll take… My wife Twilight, my brothers Cole and Spike, and… Rainbow I guess,” Mike said, crossing his arms. “She’d want to watch a bunch of fights.”

“And you’re married to Twilight and have Spike as a student. Ah, el clásico!” She snapped her fingers and conjured a portal before turning around. “By the way, your brothers are here,” she points to the entrance to the training field.

Cole and Spike spot Mike and Shaylee and run towards them with weapons drawn. “Mike, is that the intruder?!” Cole shouted, making Mike turn to him and hold out his open palm stopping the two guardians in their tracks.

“Yes and no.” Mike answered.

“Technically, just yes. I intruded, so I’m an intruder. But I’m an intruder with a motive!” The Eliatrope raised a finger and pointed it to the sky, “Now you two, come here. Mike’ll explain it,” She turned on a heel and walked into the portal.

Cole and Spike hesitantly sheath their weaponry and walk up to Mike. “She’s a bit eccentric but she's cool, now come on.” Mike said as he led his brothers into the portal following Shaylee.

Twilight is looking through the Canterlot Library, organizing a few books she stole from Rauru’s collection. “There we go, the Hylian history shelf is complete, I sure hope, Rauru doesn’t mind that I duplicated his books,” She said with a giggle. “Now to go back and get more.” She went to exit the library, several blank books in her magical grasp.

As she went for the door, a portal appeared in front of the door and out poked a humanoid head. “BOO!” Shaylee grinned ear to ear.

Twilight screamed and fell to her flank, the books in her magic fell to the floor. The Eliatrope cackled like a jackal, walking out of the portal with a hand on her forehead. She nearly tripped over the fallen books, but quickly readjusted herself. She leaned on a bookshelf and held her gut, now wheezing.

Twilight growled in frustration as she stood up and dusted herself off. “Who are you and why did you do that?” She questioned with a pout. “This library is a very restricted area.”

The Eliatrope reached into a portal she conjured just as Twilight spoke and pulled a pair of circular glasses out from it. She put the glasses on and pushed them up before saying with a nasal voice: “Thith library ith a very–” she snorted “–resthricted area.” She took her glasses and threw them back into the portal, “That’s how you sound. Anyway,” she opened a portal above Twilight and down came crashing Mike on top of her.

“Ah, what the fu..” He stops himself as he notices Twilight under him. “Oh, hey, Twily.” He said as he got off his wife and helped her to her hooves.

“Mikie? Why are you here?” Twilight looked at the Eliatrope and frowned. “I’m sure you have something to do with that, right?” She questioned, madder than before. Mike gives her a hug and pulls her into a kiss, calming her down.

“She’s a joker, pay her no mind,” Mike said in a hushed voice. “You don’t want to catch the books on fire do you?” He pointed out, making Twilight nod and blush.

“You’re right,” She looks at the Eliatrope and frowns. “Why did you drop my husband on me anyway?” She asked.

“I was hoping he would try and grab onto something – preferably your boobs. It’d have been funny,” Shaylee rested her hands behind her head, sighing in disappointment.

“Yo, that is not something I do just out in the open,” He said, a little steamed. “Sides, I didn’t know you were gonna drop me on top of her, or I might have for fun.” He said quietly, earning a tap on the cheek and a stern look from Twilight.

“Y’should,” Shaylee said cheekily, “Gotta let everyone know who she belongs to~!” She teased, crossing her arms before conjuring a portal that dropped Cole and Spike on the ground. On top of each other.

“Ah, my tail…” Spike said in pain. Cole used his magic to soften the impact and stood up perfectly fine. “Unfair, Cole…” Spike stood up and rubbed his tail making the pain subside. “This dumb armor needs some tail protection.” He added.

“Where are we now?” Cole asked, looking around, not recognizing the room. Mike looked at Shaylee and frowned.

“For the love of the goddesses, do not drop us on top of Rainbow, I have no clue where she is and none of us can walk on clouds.” Mike said with a sigh.

“You know what would be funny?” Shaylee asked sweetly.

“Please no…” Mike said, his ear dropping fearing he wrote his death warrant.

A portal appeared from under all of them, dropping them through. Shaylee laughed like a child before hopping in one.

Rainbow Dash lands in front of Fluttershy’s cottage and knocks on the door. “Hope Fluttershy has some extra lettuce, I can’t believe I'm already out,” She said to herself, while idly twirling her thumbs. A few moments pass without a peep from Fluttershy, making Rainbow twirls her thumbs faster, growing impatient. “Is she not home or something?” Rainbow quickly flies up to her bedroom window and looks inside. Fluttershy isn’t there, quickly flying to the living room window she still doesn’t find Fluttershy. “Dang, she’s not home, gonna have to go to the market and pick up some cheap lettuce till Fluttershy gets back.” She flares her wings and begins to speed toward Ponyville market.

She didn’t go more than five feet before a mass slammed into, dropping her to the ground like a rock on a lake. She turns her head and looks at what had just landed on her and she blushes. Mike is laying on her, stomach to back.

“Why hello, handsome, getting bored of Twilight already?” She asked in a sultry tone. Mike blushed and pushed off of Rainbow.

“Woah sorry, Dash, I’m not fully in control of where I land right now.” Mike said as he quickly stood up and backed away. Rainbow raised an eyebrow confused.

“Huh?” She stood up. “What does that mean?” She asked, her blush completely gone and her tone of voice sounding annoyed. Mike chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, you see, there’s this… Uhh… How do I explain this without saying everything…” He said, trying to cut the story short. “There’s this person… She has portals… She’s a joker…” He explained poorly trying to think it out.

Walking out of a portal in between them, Shaylee rolled her eyes, “I make portals, Mike is going to fight in a super-cool-tournament with other Displaced like him and has a chance of winning a wish from the Dragon Balls.” She paused for a moment and turned to Mike, “Did I forget to say you get a wish from the Dragon Balls?”

“Dragon balls… Like Shenron or Porunga?” Mike asked, as Rainbow snickered.

“Dragon Balls, that sounds stupid.” She said, holding in her laughter.

“They’re not stupid, they’re seven crystal balls made by a powerful Namekian, they summon a dragon that can grant wishes.” Mike explained.

“Our Namekian’s name is Piani,” Shaylee said, “He’s a nice guy. In any case, it’s Shenron, but the wishes are powerful,” she put a hand on her hip.

“Cool, I’ve always wanted to see Shenron with my own eyes, I even tried a fan-made VR dragon ball game back on earth, though my computer couldn’t handle it,” Mike said with a smile, nerding out over just the mention of Shenron. “I wonder what Shenron it is, The green one or that red one in Ultimate Tenkaichi?” He wondered to himself out loud.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Shaylee winked before making a portal behind her, “Alright! This is the por– Oh, wait.” She put another portal above the ground in front of her and dropped Spike and Cole on top of each other.

“Ooof, again!” Spike shouted. Cole stood up holding his back, this time not catching himself with his magic.

“Damn that hurts, you mean little jerk,” Cole said with venom in his words. “Also, Spike that armor is solid as hell, I felt my back pop when I landed.”

“Like I was going to say,” She clapped her hands together, “This portal,” she pointed a thumb behind her, “Is the portal to my Ponyville. Once you enter this portal, you will be–” she paused for a moment and groaned, “Oh wait, fuck, not again.” She opened a portal and dropped Twilight on Mike.

Mike sensing what Shaylee was doing backed up a tad bit and caught Twilight mid-fall, princess style. “Nice try, Shay, I'm one step ahead of ya.” He said with a cocky chuckle.

Shaylee paused and opened a portal next to his face. She contemplated something before she sighed, “Nope, you gotta look – and smell – presentable.” She closed the portal, “Alright. This portal,” she turned and pointed to the portal behind her, “Leads to my home, where I live. It is also where you will be fighting, Michael. Now, are you prepared to walk through this portal, take up arms, and FIGHT for a wish that only one can win?!” She dramatically pointed to Mike.

Still holding his wife, Mike smiled and nodded. “I’m prepared to battle with all my heart,” He said trying to pose confidently but holding Twilight wasn’t helping. “You guys ready to cheer me on?” He asked his companions.

“Beats going to the market and buying lettuce.” Rainbow said with a smile.

“We’re ready to cheer you on, Bro!” Cole said with Spike nodding in agreement.

“As long as you give it your all, I’m ready to cheer you on, Mikie.” Twilight hugged him tightly.

“Alright, after you,” Shaylee stepped out of the way, but before they could make a move. A portal appeared under them.

“God damn it!” Mike shouted as everypony fell into the portal.

Shaylee cackled and jumped in, the portals closing soon after they’re gone.

Author's Note

[Adult story embed hidden]

So excited to participate in a displaced tournament, hope it goes well. -Mike
This takes place in the future… Obviously and does spoil a ton of stuff but the build-up to the tournament in the fic will be worth the wait!

Into the Unknown: Zeko.

A shower always made someone feel like a whole new man, Zeko was slipping on a blue long sleeve shirt and walking down the stairs to his kitchen. He had things to do, food to cook, and his favorite sheep to pamper when she woke up. ‘Scorpion steak and rice, tempura too…’ He didn’t learn how to cook as a kid for nothing, his father taught him well enough to know that a great house husband could make sure his wife was happy. A sweep of his long black hair and he could get to work prepping up his beautiful wife’s breakfast.

Tendrils of sand reached through the kitchen to open every upper cupboard and reveal their stock of ingredients. “Flour, jasmine rice, spices… damn. Might have to go shopping today.” Despite his shorter stature he ever so casually got over tiny inconveniences like reaching cupboards. Zeko opened the fridge door and checked the bottom space to see- “We’ve still got scorpion meat, nice.”

Chopping and slicing meat to prepare for the pan, oil that he placed in while water came to a boil. Zeko was just as comfortable in the kitchen as he was performing his usual work in a lab. He smelled a hint of mint shampoo and immediately knew who was coming into the room. “Koko… you’re cooking already?” His sheep was already in the room and walking up behind him, hugging him from behind and kissing the top of his head affectionately. “Smells tasty.”

“I know it does, Kuku. You’re a really lucky wife, your husband loves getting up and making sure you have a big and filling breakfast.” Among his prideful joking he felt a strange sensation tinge along his back, like something from the past was… going to mildly annoy him. Probably nothing big overall.

“Can you make sure the tempura-”

“Double battered. I know how you love it, hon.” He turned to kiss her on the cheek and let her sit down to rest a bit. Three months of pregnancy was killer on her ankles and he got so upset if she stayed on them too long… even though she was a Jonin ranked shinobi who knew exactly what struggle was. “I love you, Kuebiko.”

“I love you too, Zeko.”

The kitchen went to being filled with the idle noises of Kuebiko messing with her phone and her husband whipping up a filling breakfast for her, his satisfaction at loving his wife would never falter after all. Turning base ingredients into a perfect mix that would leave his wife with a full stomach and properly fed body made him happy beyond belief, and once he finished cooking to set her food for her hungry eyes… he kissed her on the lips.

Kuebiko responded by kissing back with a gentle touch to his face before they separated. “Going somewhere?” She didn’t hesitate to start eating while he threw on his gray overcoat and tied a sash around his waist to make sure his desert attire was finished.

“I’m gonna go shopping, we could use some more things for dinner. I’ll be back soon, Kuku!”

A bright and lovely day where he could walk to the store and grab whatever he needed… after a quick detour to a building in one of the condemned areas. Zeko walked right in the busted door to see the disguised bookshelf he left in front of a wall… Of course it only disguised a stairwell that led to nothing. The real treasure was the moldy rug on the floor that was pulled away and revealed a hatch, which he opened to expose a yelling friend of his.

“MMPHM! MMM! HMMPH!”

A scientist wasn’t much without lab rats, and how kind of the prison of the city nearby to give him their worst of the worst to let him use as test subjects. And it looked like the one he left here from last night was absolutely enjoying how electricity ran through his very bones.

Zeko took notes and made sure to record everything while something buzzed around the restrained prisoner’s face, with a maw of razor sharp teeth that could rip through any flesh in their pathway. “I’m still glad I kept you things. Carnivorous parasprites were an investment.” He scribbled notes while his subject continued struggling and he noticed the smell of… Someone was coming. ‘Guava… Kotetsu.’

Footsteps echoed through the sound of struggling and pained-

“What the fuck are you doing?” His styled hoodie that was slightly too big on him, and the Uchiha fan on the back of it. Kotetsu came down the stairs and saw the- “Motherfucker! Didn’t I tell you to quit cutting shit open in the basement?!”

“I paid for the house. It’s my basement, I can cut open whatever I want.”

“Whose name is on record for the property since you’re not old enough to buy a house here?”

“Who’s dealing with his mom dating a woman?”

Kotetsu’s pulse stopped for a second and he went wide eyed. “Hold up. Wait a minute. What did you say about my mom?” His younger cousin just kept taking notes instead of giving a goddamn answer!

‘The next test will be about the body’s overall performance under extreme shock. I’ll monitor his brain and the sword at my neck.’ He took more of his notes for… “Damn it, Kotetsu…”

Kotetsu had a sword pressed against his cousin’s neck with sharingan blazing in irritation. No issues with holding a sharp blade to a relative’s neck, Kotetsu was happy to get answers like this even on family.

“ZEKO!”

“Yes, I’m Zeko.”

“Who the fuck told you that the old bitch and my hag mom are dating?!”

“HLMM! MMMPHH!”

“Didn’t I say shut the fuck up?!” Kotetsu stomped the bound man right in the family jewels and shut him up… by making him pass out entirely. “Who told you what the hag was up to?!”

“You did.”

The sword slowly came down when the elder cousin came to the realization that he did in fact spill that… “Shit. Whatever, what’s your plan for this nobody when he kicks it? Shion needs food for her kids.”

Zeko shrugged in a gesture that said ‘take him if you want’ and all he did was continue with his notes. “Are we still up to train later? I’ve got plenty of time to spare after I pick up groceries and spend the afternoon with Kuebiko.”

Kotetsu had to remember that his little cousin did get married not long ago. At least it felt like not long ago? A year isn’t that much time. “Yeah. You’re not gonna get fat and lazy again, assclown. This time I’m on you and those stupid fucking eyes. How does it feel having no sharingan?”

“I do have one.”

…

“Yes the fuck you don’t.” Kotetsu racked his brain and never remembered the rabbit having a sharingan, he was unlucky enough to skip the Uchiha blessing entirely and jumped to the rinnegan. But Kotetsu wasn’t stupid. Zeko’s turn and flash of red spoke honestly, but unlike Kotetsu’s eyes with red irises against his black and straight tomoe… Zeko had pitch black irises with red straight tomoe like a seven pointed star. “You son of a bitch… How the fuck don’t I remember that?!”

“Akira wiped your memory. You won’t remember.” He set his clipboard down to pull out his phone and send a cute video of cats to his precious sheep with her curly hair. “But I have them.”

“Damn. Where’s the cables? I’m shocking this fucker.”

As Kotetsu looked around for the cables, a bright blue circular portal appeared on the other side of the room opposite to the cousins. The circular portal glowed brightly and hummed. It almost pulsated with power and from the otherside, they could hear footsteps coming closer to the portal. Tip, tap, tip, tap. Slowly and steadily, as if whoever conjured the portal was in no rush to walk through.

Both the Uchiha focused on the portal and mutually detected no danger… but they’d also been tricked by that before. Kotetsu’s sharingan flashed to life and he very quickly overlapped the entire basement with his own kamui, the personal realm where only he was in real control. “Hey, dandy dick. Hurry out of there and tell us what you want.”

As if obliging by Kotetsu’s wishes, a man stepped out of the portal, their wooden sandals meeting the floor. The portal behind him closed soon after, leaving him with the two cousins in front of him. The stranger stood at a height of five-foot-ten and had brown and white robes with brown trim. He had a brown cowl over his head that had “ears” that mimicked a fox. The man had white skin, black eyebrows, eyes, and hair that wasn’t completely shown due to the cowl that covered the top half of his head. He didn’t appear to be older than nineteen, he waved a hand at them and offered them a calm smile. “Hello, Kusanabe Zeko, Uchiha Kotetsu, it’s a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Xavier.”

“Fuck yourself.” Kotetsu was clear and set on this guy ever so casually walking into their, decoy, house. “It’s customary to ask for permission to come into someone’s place, triple that for me so I can slam a door in your face.”

Zeko sighed before taking a chance to lean on the wall behind him. “Ignore him. It takes a lot of power from his words, but he’s right about this not being a walk in house. And you know our names on top of being a dimension jumper. So, who are you… Xavier?”

Xavier raised a hand, “If I may,” he turned to Kotetsu, “Did you not say: ‘hurry out of there and tell us what you want’?” He gestured to where the portal once was. “Technically, you gave me permission to step out of that portal and enter your home, did you not?”

Kotetsu’s movement was imperceptible. From his cousin to Xavier, he pressed his sword against the man’s neck and looked just as displeased as he would with anything else that stood up to disappoint him. “And yet you haven’t explained shit, I didn’t ask for you to tell your name. What. Do. You want, asshole?”

“As much as I hate being on Kotetsu’s side, he didn’t say tell us your name. If you’re a karma user then say so and we can keep this in here for the fight, if you’re not… We still want to know why you’re here.” Zeko held a hand out as a snake with purple and white scales slithered up his arm and stowed away in his hair, he was obviously more peaceful than his cousin but he was just as ready for things to go south.

The calm smile never faded on the man’s face, not even when a sword was pressed up to his neck. “You are correct; I was just getting to that. I am a representative of a Kingdom far, far, far away. The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom.” He turns over to Zeko, “Does Equestria sound familiar to you, Jinchuriki?”

“Everyone knows I haven’t been Shukaku’s host for years. But Equestria… it’s been more than a year, how are they doing there?”

Kotetsu rolled his eyes and took his sword from Xavier’s throat, only sheathing it since the nobody wasn’t giving him a hostile response… yet. “Gay horse land again? That other me better not be talking about our private shit.”

“I am here but for one reason. To recruit you, Kusanabe Zeko,” Xavier said, his eyes never being off of the ninja. “For a tournament. A Displaced Tournament. There are others like you out there as you know, Zeko. You have fought against one before and their ally, DIO Brando. You are being recruited to fight in an eight-man tournament. Whoever wins gets a wish from the Dragon Balls. It can be any wish as long as it isn’t evil. Immortality, more wishes, to become stronger; things like that are off the table. However, a wish to revive the dead, a wish for an item, a wish even for wealth up to one billion is on the table.” He put his hands behind his back, and took his eyes off of Zeko to glance around the room.

Zeko pondered that idea for a moment and thought about the possibilities. “Wishing for someone to revive, money, a rare item…”

“Those are just examples, mind you, the options are limitless,” Xavier clarified.

“Useless shit.” Kotetsu interjected. “Reviving dumbasses, finding something, and money. Limitless ideas but none of them sound like anything appealing if those are the examples. We’ve pretty much got all the fucking things we need, and the shorty’s happy with his life too.”

Zeko took over again while his cousin… did what he did best. “But, I’m not saying no. If I win, can someone else have my wish? And if I lose… can I stick around to meet other people and learn from them?”

“Of course, our Commanders would love to teach you,” Xavier said, “And I’m sure the other competitors wouldn’t mind teaching you a few things after the tournament is all over.”

“How long is this gonna last?” Zeko stood up straight and crossed his arms, the finer details were important too. “And if it’s more than a day, do I get to come- I’m not even asking, if it’s more than a day I’m not staying away from my wife when she’s still early in pregnancy.”

Kotetsu just had to chime in again with his own crass words, being left out wasn't his thing. “Better question, Xavi the limpdick baby, can I spectate him? A plus one and all that.”

“To answer your questions,” Xavier raised a finger, “One; every hour in our world translates to a minute here. At most, you’ll be gone for ten hours. Twenty-four hours is unheard of unless you want to get extra training in with one of the Commanders.” He raised another finger, “Two; you can bring as many people as you like to come with you, Zeko. And I do mean as many as you like. Everything will be paid for on your trip.”

Zeko waved some of that off with a smirk. “Nah, it’ll just be us. I’m happy to have some fun, there’s been some good and hard fights recently so I’m in good shape. I hope I get to really stretch my legs.”

“Stealing that thing from Sho was a fucking power move, but did you already put it in you?” Kotetsu’s only answer was… a nod. And so he nodded back, Xavier didn't need to know absolutely everything right now. But Kotetsu finally stopped merging his kamui with the normal reality. “Alright, lead the way.”

“Don’t you want to tell your wife you’ll be gone for ten hours, Mr. Kusanabe?” Xavier turned to Zeko.

“You can say Uchiha now, nothing to hide anymore.” He pulled his phone back out to type a fast message. “Going out… someone wants to have a tournament… be back by nighttime… love you Kuku…”

“…Gay.”

Xavier put a hand over his mouth and paused for a moment; absolutely shocked for the first time. “...Mr. Uchiha, you sent your pregnant wife a text that you’ll be gone for ten hours. I may not know women native to this world, but the women in mine would tear you a new one.” Xavier conjured a portal behind him and stepped out of the way so they could enter.

His phone buzzed while his elder cousin lead the way. Zeko smiled serenely at his wife’s semi angry but still loving text. “She said I better bring back some high quality chocolate to apologize, plus I’ll be back by night time anyway. Kotetsu’s the one you should be talking to. Does Shiro even know you’re here?”

The older Uchiha paused right before entering the portal and grinned happily. “Who’s gonna tell her I- NINJA IT WAS A JOKE!” He stopped his cousin from sending another text just barely. “She thinks I’m on a mission, I’ll bring her something back. Damn. Let’s fucking go already.” He turned and tombstone fell through the portal as part of his usual shenanigans.

A laugh escaped Xavier’s lips, “You two are an interesting bunch,” and put his hands back in front of him.

“Yeah. Lead the way, I just want to leave my snake here.” The snake from before popped out of his hair and stared with the largest and cutest eyes it could muster… and it worked perfectly. “Never mind. Raimei’s coming.” He walked through the portal completely unabashed… and in all of that, they mutually forgot about the man coming to, who was still bound and chained to the table… Well he wasn’t invited anyway. “Where is this tournament anyway? And are we gonna meet more species from Equestria?”

Traveling through mysterious dimensional tears wasn’t anything new to either of the Uchiha and Kotetsu showed it best by twirling like a ninja ballerina… which both of them were trained for. “Don’t care myself but what’s the food situation looking like?”

“We have the best chefs in the entire world. And there will be a variety of races, Kirin, Bat Ponies, Crystal Ponies, the occasional Diamond Dog, everyone will be witnessing this tournament. The arena does have an occupation capacity of one-hundred-and-twenty-thousand. Many people will be there.” Xavier smiled with a nod.

“Kirin? Now I’m really interested. Different Universes with so many species.” Zeko’s natural scientist was coming out and Kotetsu felt the need to think more about his attack of the same name. As usual the two of them were on separate pages and yet united by action. “Kotetsu… stop twirling like that.”

“It’s fun.” He continued without a second thought until he could feel that their journey was almost done. “We’re almost there aren’t we?”

Xavier looked on, putting his hands behind his back again. “Almost.”

Author's Note

[Adult story embed hidden]

“Hey there, it’s been a while~”

“Are you for real?”

“I’m for real real.”

Been a while since I’ve been here but there’s nothing like coming back with a bang. Some dysfunctional events and funny times incoming. The Seeker is back and I’m gonna give some shenanigans for a community event, so let’s get her goin.

Into the Unknown: Jeff.

The sound of clangs and clashes can be heard echoing from the Canterlot Training Grounds; two fighters going at each other. The two clash once more; steel sword meeting another glowing in a telekinetic grip. One Hylian and one slightly muscular unicorn were sparring against each other. The Hylian, known as Jeff, was wearing the Golden Gauntlets in order to be able to handle Tempest’s attacks.

“Looks like the new prosthetic horn is working out so far, Tempest.” The Hylian said as he held his sword against Tempest Shadow’s blade. Despite she’s managed to relearn the spell to hold things with her magic, Jeff can tell she was struggling, especially with the force behind it not being very strong in comparison to the likes of some of the Solar guard’s magic, wing, or teeth grip.

“It's thanks to you for paying off the price on Black Iron’s work.” Tempest shadow said with a grin before she suddenly loosened her weapon and used his strength against him; exactly as he taught her. Slipping behind Jeff, she crouched down and swept her legs below, tripping the Hylian over and sending him to the ground easily. With her sword tip pointed at Jeff’s face, it looked as if the Spar had been won, that is until Jeff suddenly rolled around her and slapped the back of her neck with the hilt of his sword. Tempest Shadow hissed in pain as she wasn’t used to Jeff’s more agile tactics.

“And that is a gamematch.” Jeff said as he held out his gauntlet covered hand out toward her. Tempest takes Jeff’s hand with her hoof, pulling herself up.

“You and your height.” Tempest said with a snort of annoyance, causing Jeff to chuckle.

“I mean I had seven years worth of training, fighting giant monsters, and sparring with the Solar guards, so you can’t really blame it on my height, it just means you gotta figure out how to fight with a taller or faster opponent.” Jeff said with a nod as he placed the steel sword onto the weapon rack with Tempest doing the same. “Oh, and of course among other things, but that’s a list I’m not gonna go through.”

“I still haven’t figured out how your pouches hold so much, one moment it's something small and another time you pull out a mother bucking mace and chain.” Tempest said with a shake of her head. “How do you even do it?”

“Ancient Hylian Secret~” Jeff said playfully, earning a hoof punch against his shoulder, causing the Hylian to chuckle again. If his body wasn’t so well toned, that hoof would have hurt like hell.

“Hold up.” Tempest began as she held her hoof over her ear. “...Yea, yea, got it.” she said as she lowered her hoof. “I just got told over the spellspeak they found another outburst. Despite the Stormking being turned to stone, there’s still satyr members running amuck.” Tempest said with a sigh.

“Still more? Just how many did the Stormking recruit?” Jeff said with a shake of his head.

“I’ll see you later, Jeff.” Tempest said, and after a wave of her hoof and a spark to her iron horn, she vanished in a burst of magic.

Jeff turns around as he heads out of the training grounds and into the hallways. “...Been rather peaceful ever since the Storm King’s fall. Come to think of it..” Jeff paused as he placed his arms behind his shoulder. “Celestia hasn’t summoned me to take down any giant monsters lately, it's like they all went into hiding and now just the more common monsters attack around Equus for the sake of survival.” Jeff paused to think a bit. “..Not even anything resembling Ganondof has come out, I’m starting to think maybe he doesn’t even exist on this planet.” the Hylian said as he crossed his arms. “While I can take care of the monsters a little easier than seven years ago, I wish I could find the source of where they all came from.”

With too much on his mind, Jeff decides that now is the time to take a trip to Everfree Forest. The hero heads out toward the Canterlot Gardens with ocarina in hand, and once outside, he moves the mouth piece up to his lips, playing the Song Of Soaring. With the song’s magic activated, Jeff is wrapped around by golden white wings, vanishing in a flurry of feathers.

The Hylian appears at the Owl Statue near the everfree forest before adventuring out into it. Adventuring deep into the forest.

Jeff needed time to relax, and this forest was the only thing that felt closest to his home world where nature was in control and did so naturally.

Taking a seat upon a tree stump, Jeff takes out his ocarina and begins to play a tune as their notes echo through the forest with only the animal kingdom and Everfree the timberwolf being his only audience.

All was right in the world as he played with serenity; his eyes closed as he swayed with his music playing. However, he stops in mid-note as his Hylian ears twitch, hearing something stirring within the air. With a swift and smooth movement, Jeff places his ocarina into his pouch, spinning around as the Hero sheathed out his Master sword and Hylian Shield. With both at the ready, Jeff managed to find what was causing the disturbance in the air.

Turned and faced a blue circular portal that spiraled into existence. It hummed and glowed bright. It hummed more, and more, before it grew louder and a black blur shot out from the portal. The blur flipped in the air and landed right in front of Jeff. Standing up from their crouched position is a girl. Who stands at the height of five-foot-seven-and-a-half, she was wearing all black and looked like a standard goth girl with black lipstick. She was chewing gum in her mouth as well. The girl had a black sleeping hat someone from a cartoon would wear. She wore fishnet leggings, black boots, a punk rock t-shirt and a leather jacket. She had eyeliner, pale skin, the whole thing. Her black hair was long enough that it almost covered her purple eyes.

“Hey…” The girl waved a hand at Jeff, “Are you…” She took out a phone from a pocket from her leather jacket, “...Jack or whatever?”

Jeff stared long and hard in pure confusion as he tilted his head slowly, mouthing off the words ‘What the fuck’ in silence. The Hylian didn’t understand she arrived here so casually. A moment of silence passed before Jeff finally answered to break it. “Close but no, I’m Jeff.. How exactly did you get into my Equus without me using a token?” he asked with distrust in his voice.

“Eliatrope,” She answered casually, “The name’s Kali…” Kali waved a hand, “I am a representative of the United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom. And I am here to recruit you.”

“Recruit me for what though? Also, you didn’t answer my question about how you got here.” Jeff said with a frown.

“...I’m an Eliatrope. Portals are my races’ things. We’re basically, like… Supercharged Eliatropes. Our kind can’t really do what we do, so our King bestows us some Wakfu so we can… Yeah, you get it by now,” Kali scoffed, “I am here to recruit you to…” she held up a finger to silence any questions before they were asked. She chewed on her gum before making a bubble.

She blew into the bubble and made it bigger.

And bigger.

Before the gum popped and exploded onto Jeff, “...The Displaced Tournament...” She said before raising her hands unenthusiastically, “...Hooray.”

“Son of a Dins!” Jeff cussed in the ancient Hylian language as his body was covered in a layer of sticky pink goo.

Kali crossed her arms, “That’s when you say: ‘The Displaced Tournament?’ all shocked and stuff,” she raised a brow.

The Hylian had to spend some time pulling the gum off of him, even more so with some of it sticking to his hair. Jeff’s hand lit up in glow, burning off some of the excess liquid sweet off using the power of Din’s orb. “I probably would have if you didn’t cover me in gum.” he said as he removed the last bit of the wet candy. “Anywho, what is the Displaced Tournament? For some reason the name alone is giving me a weird sense of deja vu, a feeling of helplessness, and for some reason annoyed by the mental image of some purple chinned man..” Jeff said, sounding confused, yet not remembering at all where the memories came from.

Kali let out a humorless and dry laugh, “Ah… He doesn’t know, chat,” she looked down to her phone. She was live streaming this whole encounter, “In any case, the Displaced Tournament is a fighting tournament where eight fighters from different worlds come together and fight. There’s a prize of course, whoever wins gets a wish from the Dragon Balls. You just can’t wish for anything evil.”

“...This sounds like the tournament of power from dragonball super.. Please don’t tell me that losing will mean the end of my Equus.” Jeff said with a disapproving frown.

“...If it was I would have said it,” Kali groaned and pointed the camera at him and pointed a thumb at him in a motion that said: ‘get a load of this guy’. “Yeah, you don’t get erased, you just lose. Also, every hour there is a minute here, so at most you’ll be gone for ten hours. Twenty four hours is unheard of, so… Yeah.”

"Ah, so kind of similar to the flow of time much like the hyperbolic time chamber." Jeff said with a nod. The Hylian sheaths his weapon into the master sword’s scabbard, then slides the Hylian Shield behind his cloak onto a hidden hook. Jeff had gone into a deep silence as he crossed his arms, softly thinking to himself for a moment. “So no evil wishes, are there any other limitations?” Jeff asked with a raised eyebrow.

“...Not reall– Well, no wishing for other people to get their wishes. And… One other thing, I forgot,” Kali shrugged, “It’ll come by sooner or later.”

“Sounds reasonable, wouldn’t be much of a prize if everyone got their wish just from one person winning. Anything else? Or did you also forget?” Jeff asked with some skepticism.

“...Nah,” Kali shook her head, “Wait– No, you can bring guests to come along to watch you in the tournament. All your stuff is paid for, yada, yada, yada.”

“Would pets be acceptable? Even though I'll be there a few hours in comparison to a few minutes, I know how upset Volvagia can be if I'm gone for more than half an hour.” Jeff

“Yeah, sure, go ahead.” Kali muttered, “I don’t really care, the King can suck my dick if it isn’t.”

Jeff had a look on his face at Kali’s words but decided not to question it to avoid an unwanted mental image. “Alright, all I need to do is to get whoever I’ll be taking, then deliver a message to two sisters I’ll be gone…” Jeff pauses to do some math in his head. “Mmm, for one day or few hours.”

“Talk to them now,” A portal is conjured next to Jeff and Kali walks over to the Hylian. She grabbed the tip of Jeff’s ear and dragged him into the portal.

“Hey-hey-hey! Not so hard, those Hylian ears are sensitive-ow!” Jeff said in pain as he is pulledas if Kali was his mother.

When they walked out, they were in the throne room of the sisters and upon arriving, Kali went on her phone. Both of the sister’s heads rose up in confusion of the portal followed by a newcomer pulling on Jeff’s ear.

“Why are you pulling on my champion’s ear like that?” Celestia asked as she looked between Kali and the Hylian.

“Better yet where did you come from? Jeff usually tells us whenever he’s about to summon another Displaced.” Luna said next.

“Not a Displaced,” Kali droned, “I’m an Eliatrope. Native to another world, I can just dimension hop. Also, we came from the Everfree Forest,” she pointed a thumb behind her.

“...The powers just get stranger and stranger.” Celestia thought to herself with a shake of her head.

Jeff reaches up and frees his ear from Kali’s grip. “She meant ‘where’ in the void.” he said as he rubbed along his pointed ear.

“Oh… The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom,” Kali said flatly. “I’m one of the representatives, and your hero will be gone for like, ten hours to fight in a tournament for some wish from the balls of a dragon.”

“Or ten minutes according to what she said about the time difference.” Jeff said as he gestures with his thumb toward her.

“The who and the what now?” Luna asked in confusion as her mind misinterpreted Kali’s words. Celestia proceeds to softly bonk Luna’s head with her rod of seasons.

“Not those kinds of balls, Luna.” Celestia said with a frown as she knew what she was thinking. Luna frowns as well as she rubs her forehead.

“Basically a magic genie, but instead of a genie, it’s a big ass dragon that’s like… Bigger than the palace of Canterlot.” Kali said while typing.

“So yea, I’ll be gone for a bit, or shortly more or less. Hopefully the monsters won’t get hyperactive while I'm over there.” Jeff explained.

Celestia strokes along her chin as the mentions of wishes remind her of the Triforce, which has been gone for years other than what remains in Jeff’s right hand. “Do be sure to bring something back, I’m always curious about the many worlds out there.” Celestia said with a nod of approval.

“And me too, don’t forget about me, Jeff.” Luna said as she waved her hoove at the hero. Jeff softly smiled as he gave her a thumbs up.

“Be sure to tell Mane Six, Celestia.” Jeff said with a nod as he made a mental note to write notes, knowing Twilight that she’ll nerd out about it later on.

“Yeah, and… Is that all you wanted to say, Jack?” Kali turned to him with a raised brow.

“Jeff, not Jack. And yea, that’s all I wanted to say, we just need to head on over to my house which is located to the East side of Canterlot.” Jeff said as he turned to Kali.

A portal is conjured in front of him, and without warning, she reached up and snatched his ear tip again. Kali proceeds to drag him through the portal.

“Again with the ear?!” Jeff exclaimed as he was pulled through.

Once more when they were out, Kali let go of Jeff’s ear and this time started typing on her phone with two hands instead of one.

“Jeff, Jeff, Jeff!” A voice yelled out as a serpent dragoness came barreling into him, knocking him over.

“Hey!” Jeff exclaimed in surprise as Volvagia wrapped her tail around his ankles. “I was only gone for three hours.” he said with a chuckle. Aftera moment, she allowed Jefff to get up as he patted her head. “I’d like for you to come with me. Volvagia, I think this tournament can teach you a few new things.”

“Ooooo, first time I get to go with you outside of Equus!” Volvagia said with an almost draconic chirp.

“Just don’t burn anyone, alright?” Jeff said as he ruffled Volvagia’s almost glowing fiery hair. “Unless I’m under attack that isn’t inside the .. whatever I’ll be fighting.” the Hylian explained, earning him an excited nod by Volvagia. With a jolt of warm air, she floats into the air with no wings. Jeff turns around to face Kali. “The next person I’d like to bring is.. Well, in another realm, but I know how to get to her.” Jeff said as he reached into his pouch to pull out what looked to be a hand mirror, however it looked very fancy with patterns and symbols inches its way into its surface. Holding it up to the air, light pours out from within, shining down on both Jeff, Volvagia and Kali. Using the power of Twilight magic, they both turn into black particles and are pulled into the mirror itself, mirror included.

After the two reform back into reality, Kali would notice they were in the Crystal Empire but it was very different. The whole kingdom was a floating island with the sky being the color of Twilight. The empire also didn’t sparkle much like its original counterpart. Suddenly from out of Jeff’s shadow, an almost familiar figure appeared. It was Princess Cadance, but tall and humanoid with beautiful albino white skin. The princess was also wearing what looked to be a mix between robes and dress, with the dress part being like a skirt covering her lower legs, however parts of her legs were still soon ending as hooves. Her glowing purple eyes with yellow sclera looked over at Kami curiously. Other than her form and colors being different, especially that fancy crown on her head, her hair and wings were the only things to retain the familiarities.

“You’re back soon, Jeff~” Cadence said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Jeff’s neck.

Kali looked between the two and pointed her phone’s camera at them, “Whoa… Look at this chat. Poggers, can I get a poggers in the chat…?” She said with a hint of sarcasm and irony.

Jeff gave Kali a look, especially at the word ‘poggers’ that he hadn’t heard in years.

“Who’s this? And curiously unaffected by Twilight. Usually most turn into a spirit or an animal when they enter here.” Cadance asked with a tilt of her head.

“This is Kali, she’s here to take us to the Displaced tournament.” Jeff explained as Cadance released him from her hug. Jeff then goes to explain everything that Kami said, saving up some time.

“Hmm, this will be a nice vacation then from my royal duties, I need a break after dealing with so much of my Crystal Empire’s mess, so many ponies lost and unsure how to live in their new Twili forms.” Cadence explained. Most of the mentioned ponies still looked like ponies other than their white and black colorations with green tattoos along their body.

“Alright, so… Is everyone ready?” Kali looked around the three.

“Yea, pretty much. I’m sorry this took a while, you sound like you just want to get this over with and head home.” Jeff said as he looked at Kali.

“I do,” She summoned a portal in front of her and like before, snatched the tip of Jeff’s ear. Not even giving him the pleasure of walking through for himself. She dragged him through the portal with her.

“What is with you and pulling ears?! Ow-ow-ow!” Jeff complained in discomfort with Cadence giggling at him. All three go through the portal and off they go to Kali’s native world.

Author's Note

[Adult story embed hidden]

Into the Unknown: Silphen.

Silphen, a Soft Metal Furred Wolf of Silver, and Archmage attendant to Twilight Sparkle, yawned as he stumbled out of bed. He hated mornings, but also understood the “Infernal Day Star” was needed for life to exist… Much to his frustration. He made his way downstairs to the library, checking to see if his charge, a fellow Displaced that shouldn't have been in his world, was still there. And that Twilight Sparkle herself had actually made it up to her own damn bed last night.

After confirming both to be true, he made his way to the kitchens, greeting the draconic assistant and younger brother… Son…? Spike. He greeted Spike with a grunt, grabbing a couple oranges, some fake bacon, and a few slices of bread before heading to a teleportation rune and getting some proper meat from the Old Castle. Celestia tried blasting him, as usual, but the same spell that had protected him and his pony wife that fateful day outside of Ponyville stopped the beam of death once more.

“Morning, Princess. Morning, Lilu. How's the zoglin farm today?” Silphen asked as he rummaged in a chest, deliberately making sure to not gaze into the abyss that was a Minecraft Chest.

“Hmph… Still functional, Dark Mage… Is my husband still at the library?” Celestia asked in return, gently rocking Lilu, her daughter, back to sleep.

Silphen grunted as he nodded once more, pulling out a few steaks and munching on them. “Something like that, yeah. Should be up and running in a bit. Still can't believe he was possessed by a Voidling…”

After eating his breakfast, Silphen floated out of the castle, heading for the heart of the cursed forest once more, still a touch agitated that he had to do this daily, now that his partner was no longer a proper Displaced. If he didn't do this, then the undead hordes would expand out of the forest’s heart into the rest of the world, ending it in the worst possible way Silphen could think of, aside from the world falling into the void itself.

“Fucking hate this job… Burning rotten flesh takes HOURS to fucking get out of my fur…” Silphen grumbled as he splayed his hands and used a classic fire spell… Burning Hands.

After ensuring nothing was left but ash and boiling ichor, Silphen dropped down far enough to gather the resources and plant a few more seeds of Purification Grass. An item Sam made using various pieces of the world's peoples. Feathers and fur clippings from the ponies and griffins, scales from the dragons and hippogriffs, hoof shavings of yaks, and chitin from changelings. How that all made a seed, neither of them knew. But it was helping with the dangerously chaotic energies of the forest, and whatever Dark Magics had been worked upon before Discord’s creation.

As Silphen planted the seeds, his eyes flicked as behind him, he heard something being opened. The Dark Mage sharply turned around and gazed upon a blue circular portal. It hummed with energy. It wasn’t quite magic from what Silphen detected, but it had similar properties. The portal hummed more before a red blur shot out from the portal. Silphen didn’t need to dodge as they dashed right past them. The blur planted their feet down and skidded to a stop, a grin on their face.

“Woo, that’s some speed!” The red blur laughed and turned around to face Silphen. The blur is identified as a boy who’s five-foot-eight. He wore a red patchy potato sack as a hat and had a red vest, followed by baggy shorts that mimic the same color. His shoes, however, were black. The boy had lightly tanned skin and black hair, his eyes were an almost predatory yellow. The boy clad in red took a bow, “Hello, Silphen, Dark Mage of Equestria, and Bane of the Undead. I am Jessie, nice to meet ya!”

Silphen glared briefly, trying to get a better sense of the beings' magic before sighing and giving up. “Look, just because I can use dark magic, does not inherently make me a dark mage… Though Bane of the Undead is a new one. How do you know me, by the way? Haven't been summoned in a good long while.”

“One,” Jessie raised a finger, “If you cook at a restaurant, you are considered a chef. Two,” he raised another finger, “I know a lot about you. I know you have a Steve Displaced friend that’s married to Celestia. But anyway, that doesn’t answer your question; the answer is that my King informed me about you and sent me to recruit you.”

“King? A King? Your magic doesn't feel like one that belongs to this plane, so you traveled the Void to get here. Means you're a Displaced too, yeah?”

Jessie started to laugh, “Haha! Wrong, Silphen, my brother,” he shook his head, “I’m an Eliatrope. Native to my Equestria. I am a representative of the United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom.” He put a hand on his hip and smiled.

“Huh… Odd, but interesting. Alright, I'll bite, recruit me for what, exactly? A war?” Silphen glanced behind Jessie, taking note of the wraith that was angrily swirling around in a pocket of corruption, quickly dispersing it with life magic before launching a Seed to where he spotted the issue.

“Not a war, but an event. A special event where you fight, have fun, and celebrate if you win the whole thing. What I’m talking about is…” Jessie raised a finger high, pausing dramatically before bringing his hand to point at Silphen, “...The Displaced Tournament!”

Silphen blinked in confusion, “Displaced… Tournament…? What are you… I have never heard of such a thing… But, I do have a small issue… I can't leave my world for more than two weeks before–”

“Well, every hour you spend in our world translates to a minute here,” Jessie explained, “So, at the very most you’ll be gone for ten hours. Twenty four hours is unheard of unless you wanna just hang out for a little bit.”

“I’ll correct myself; Two weeks outside. Time pauses here, it seems. Two weeks then I get yanked back. Not pleasant. I am interested though!”

“Well, it should last two weeks,” The Eliatrope put his hands behind the back of his head, “Unless something comes up, it should be close to two weeks but not actually two weeks.” He started to walk around aimlessly, taking a look at the surroundings. “Let me guess, you and Twilight are friends and you consider Spike to be your brother and/or son.” He turned back to Silphen.

“Close, but not quite. Twilight is a friend of mine, but Spike is her… Assistant? Brother? Son? Honestly, not even they know for sure one way or the other,” Silphen replied with a shrug, turning and tossing a few more Seeds out to finish his duties.

“Oh, and do you want anyone to come with? We allow guests, there’s an inn you can all stay at, and everything is paid for.” Jessie said.

Silphen hummed in though briefly, unsure whether to invite Aurana and Jade or not. “Much as I would love to, I’m not sure if I can. Like I said, time pauses when I’m not here.”

Jessie opened his hand, his palm started to glow blue, and he conjured a portal next to him, “I can easily bring you and your friends to my world. You don’t have to use a token or anything to do so.”

Silphen’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the temporal fields to be stabilized so easily. “Huh… In that case, yeah! Lemme go get Aurana and Jade, I’ll be right back here, ok?”

“Actually,” Jessie walked over to Silphen and made another portal in front of him, the other one closing. “I’ll be with you,” without warning, he pushed Silphen through the portal and followed after.

Silphen stumbled briefly, but caught himself, looking up to see Jade, the young half-changeling smiling up at him briefly before leaping up into his arms for a hug. “Daddy~! Sis, look! Daddy’s here!”

Aurana stepped out of the kitchen and smiled at him faintly, her horn glowing as she worked on something in there. “Morning, hun! You’re a bit early though, everything go ok?”

Following out the portal is Jessie popping his neck, he looked at Silphen and put a hand on his hip. Silphen ruffled Jade’s mane a bit before setting her down with a smile of his own, turning to Jessie and starting introductions, “Aurana, Jade, this is Jessie. A representative of another realm. He is here to offer a way for you girls to come and watch me fight in a Tournament with other people like me. Other Displaced.”

“Representative of a Kingdom in another realm, but yes,” The Eliatrope nodded, “I have a way for you guys to come and support your guy.”

Jade’s eyes glimmered in excitement as she turned to Aurana, silently begging to be allowed to go. Aurana, for her part, sighed and put the pancake mix in the fridge, humming softly to herself as she came up to Silphen and motioned for him to lean down, giving him a kiss on the muzzle when he did. “You had better make it worth my while, big wolf.”

Silphen smiled softly and returned the kiss before straightening up and nodding as he said, “I will. And hopefully I’ll learn a few new spells while I’m over there, eh?”

“Now then,” Jessie conjured a portal behind him and stepped out of the way, “After you.”

Silphen smiled and gathered up the two ponies that would be cheering him on, Jade sitting on his head like a hat, and Aurana in his arms almost like a pet as he stepped through the portal with smiles of their own. Jessie followed after and closed the portal with a smile.

Author's Note

[Adult story embed hidden]

Into the Unknown: Johnny.

Things were looking good for Johnny today as he made his way through the market. He was on the hunt for a special treat for his wife and wouldn't return empty handed. Looking from shop to shop he didn't really see much that fit her style and he decided to just order a custom piece from a local jeweler. Paying the kind mare nearly sixty five bits, he was told to come back later to pick up the order. Walking back outside he took a breath.

“Nearly a year now…” He smiled to himself as he looked at the ring on his finger. “Hope she likes it. It'll cost me half a week's wage, but it's worth it.” He chuckled as he began to walk down the street back towards the Base. Dark thoughts had been troubling him for weeks now as his wife was nearly going to give birth to their first child. He was still deep in thought as he walked up to the gate and his troops snapped to attention.

“Sir, welcome back! I pray your jaunt was successful!” One soldier called out as I waived deftly towards him. The trooper looked at his duty partner and raised an eyebrow. “What's with him?” They asked, to which his partner shrugged.

Johnny wandered through the base to his office, closing the door and sitting down behind his desk.

“Man.. this kid's gonna put me in an early grave.” He chuckled as he leaned back and tried to relax. But his relaxation would be interrupted by a blue circular portal swirling into existence, appearing directly in front of him. The circular portal made a humming sound and almost pulsated before a purple blur shot from the portal and landed on the wall behind Johnny. Only to then flip and land with a bow.

The purple blur got up from their bow and revealed themselves to be a five-foot-seven girl with tanned peach colored skin. Their hair is a dark brown, they had hazel eyes, and wore an outfit that’s entirely purple. A patchy potato sack that acted as her hat, a vest, baggy pants, all purple except her shoes which were white. “Hello, Johnny, Hero of Equestria, Husband and soon-to-be-father.” The girl offered a smile, “My name is Diane, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He just blinked for a moment before shaking his head. “Well this is an unexpected entrance… May I ask you what the nature of your visit means?” He asked the newcomer as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Ah, straight into business, are we? Good!” Diane clapped her hands, “That means we can do this quickly. Alright, so, I have been sent here from my King. I am a representative of the United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom. I come from a world across the Void and I am here but for one reason. To recruit you.”

“Recruit me?” He mused as he scratched his chin. “Recruit me for what exactly? I already have a job, and a quest.”

“I am recruiting you for an event of all events. A competition where eight Displaced will be gathered in one arena for the sole purpose of combat,” She held up her right fist and clenched it dramatically, “I'm talking about the Displaced Tournament!” Diane raised a fist to the ceiling, her voice taking a different tone; vigor, it was.

“A tournament eh..?” He smirked and stood up. “Listen… Diane was it? I don't know if I can. Will I be gone for a long time? I know time works differently between worlds, and I don't want to miss my child's birth.” He said with a stern face.

Diane tried to run a hand through her hair but noticed she had her hat on, she pursed her lips at that. “Well, the answer is simple. Every hour in my world is one minute here. So, at most you’ll be gone for ten hours, capiche?”

“Is that all?” He laughed. “The way you made it sound, made it seem like I'd be gone for days!”

“Days in our world, a few hours here. Also, you get a wish from the Dragon Balls if you win the Tournament.” Diane pointed out with a finger raised.

“The Dragon Balls… I'd almost forgotten about that Series…” He sighed before giving her a smirk. “Alright. I accept.”

“Now,” The Eliatrope clapped her hands together, “You can bring up to however many people you want to come. Everything will be covered, your food, where you sleep, everything.”

He nodded, looking out the window as he thought. He couldn't bring his wife, she was in too delicate a condition to travel. Who would he take with him…

“Aha. I know who I'll bring.” He smiled, turning to Diane. “I will bring the Lunar Regent, Luna!”

She paused for a moment, “...Is that all?” Eliatrope raised a brow, “Just her? I just want to confirm.”

“Eheheh… Well, I would take my wife, but she can't really travel right now, and the rest of my friends are either busy with reconstruction or are still… trapped…” He frowned sadly.

“Oh…” Diane paused for a moment, “Welp, let’s get Luna then.” She opened a portal behind Johnny and ran over and jumped over his desk to dropkick him through the portal. Following swiftly behind.

Sitting in her study, going over the day's reports, Luna sighed as she looked over the paper before her. She had been pulling double duty raising both the sun and moon since her sister had been taken away, and it was starting to show just how much it was taxing her magic. She looked almost like she would fall over if she tried to walk, but somehow managed.

“I don't know how you managed to deal with it Tia…” She sighed to herself as she signed the paper, setting it to the side and picking up the next. A portal opened up in front of her and Johnny was launched out of it and landed on his back.

“Ow… why did she have to kick me…” He groaned as he sat up. Looking around he spotted Luna and smiled weakly.

“Well now, this is new. Have you found some new magic?” She asked as she got up and walked over to him. He stood and dusted himself off before shaking his head.

“No, some kid dropkicked me through that portal from my office.” He sighed.

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING KID?!” From the portal, Diane walked out, “I am over a thousand years old. I could speak to your many greats-grandpa!” She put both her hands on her hips.

“But you look like a kid. Sorry, but I call it how I see it.” He chuckled a bit as Luna looked the girl over.

“Very interesting… she is an old being, but still a child to me.” Luna smiled at Diane.

“Ah, screw you Alicorns, we Eliatropes outlive you guys anyways,” The Eliatrope waved her hand.

“Now now, no need to be hostile. I was merely attempting to be humorous.” Luna giggled softly. “It is not every day one meets another near immortal being after all.”

Johnny just sighed, glad they weren't going to fight each other.

“Lulu, we're here because I've been recruited to a Tournament. And I've chosen you as my guest.” He said as he gave Luna a serious look. She looked back and nodded before turning to Diane.

“Very well. If Johnny trusts your intentions, then so do I.” She said with a slight bow.

“Alright, hurry, hurry, hurry! I wanna be first!” Diane conjured a portal behind her and stepped out of the way, “Go, go, go! Hustle up!” She motioned them to the portal.

“Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong!” He chuckled as he took Luna's hand and they walked through the portal together.

Diane watched them leave and looked back at Luna’s study before shrugging, “Fuck it, backflip!” She performed a backflip into the portal, giggling as she did so.

Author's Note

[Adult story embed hidden]

Into the Unknown: Phosphophyllite.

Oh?

An outsider has taken an interest in my subject?

I must say this is quite unexpected, though not entirely unwelcome.

And what a novel idea. A tournament of those placed in a world not their own. It is a shame that the concept seems to include only humanity.

Though I’m sure this outsider realizes the risks of this just as much as I do.

These fighters… they do not stand on equal footing. It will be difficult to achieve victory… but possible.

Verywell, I will give them my blessing.

I pray for you.

♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦ ♥ ♦

The grass was growing, birds were singing, the sun was shining, and snowmelt plagued the dirt roads of the town. Every step was a step in freezing mud, the type that stuck to your feet, numbing them as it was tracked every which way.

As such, not a lot of ponies were out, and nestled in a quaint little inn at the edge of town, was not a pony.

A soft humming came through the door of one of the rooms, a melody that while seemingly random, was pleasant enough to the ear. Drawing closer, there wasn’t just one voice, but two.

It was a duet.

Phos led with a few notes, and Shinsha would return in kind, creating a song of happiness and wonder, perfect for the springtime.

At the same time, a needle and thread dove up and down, slowly binding together two pieces of leather. Phos had it against her knee as she sat on a stool, shifting it forward slightly after every turn. When the seam was completed, she looped the thread in on itself a few times, pulled it taught, then drew her knife and snapped it close to the base.

“Hmm hmmm hmm…” Phos began,

“Hm hmm hmmm…” Shinsha replied,

Bvoom.

A third humming joined them, a blue spark flickering into the air. It grew in size until the sparks shooting out turned into a spiral, which soon twisted back in on itself and closed back to nothingness, only to pop back as a blue circular portal. Swirling back into existence with energy that looked like it had the same properties of magic, and yet, it was slightly different, like a foreign power source. Or perhaps just like how rocks have different minerals, this “magic” was different too, it hummed with power, making a faint, reverberating bvoom sound repeatedly.

Immediately, the knife was turned in its direction, and Phos stood up straight, dropping the unfinished garment to the floor. Shinsha dived into her hood as a poorly carved wooden mask was affixed to her face.

On the other side of the portal, they heard steps, distinctly two instead of four. Whoever – or whatever – conjured this portal was at least bipedal. The steps paused for a moment, it seemed like whatever was on the other side was hesitating to reveal itself.

Click.

…And a funky beat started to play.

A voice followed soon after. Coming from the portal and singing in a weird way.

“Two bar-mares go round the outside

Round the outside, round the outside!”

The funky beat continued to play, as the voice started to make sounds reminiscent of a cluck from a chicken in between the lyrics.

“Uh…” Phos slowly lowered her knife, but kept a steady grip on it.

“Two bar-mares go round the outside

Round the outside, round the outside!”

More clucking sounds came from the portal.

“Woo! (Ooh~!)

Guess who's back?

Back again?

Justy’s back.

Tell a friend.”

Walking out of a portal is a boy at the height of five-foot-eight with pinkish-white skin. Presumably this “Justy” fellow. He had on an orange backwards cap, followed by an orange vest and under it a white t-shirt that read: “Incredible”. He had orange shorts and white air force Jordans. Around his neck was a golden chain, and around his right wrist, a watch. Each of his fingers had a ring on them, and under his orange cap was a bleached blonde buzzcut. In one hand he was carrying a boombox that was connected to the microphone in his other hand, allowing him to play music and rap at the same time.

“Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back?

Nanana, ay, ay! Nanana, ay, ay! Nanana, ay, ay!”

“Justy” dropped the boom box next to him and started to moonwalk around them with the microphone, his left hand going up and down. He bobbed his head to the music before sharply turning to them.

“Ay, Justy's divin’ back in,

Going for a swim,

Towards the inn

You know me, I’m back again!

He's here, not to spread fear

But laughter and cheer

And maybe to sear a seer

For making his dreams disappear!”

He tilted his head left to right and crouched down, making some movements as he continued to rap.

“Um…” Phos tried again, “E-Excuse me.”

“But no fear, the seer's not here

Instead he's appeared near

Not for you, or them!”

“Justy” pointed to her.

“But instead this little gem!”

He gave a wide grin.

“He's seeked out Phosphophyllite

A creature who knows what’s right

Someone who will stand and fight

For the right cause and the right price!

Because they're rolling with mercs

Taking the perks

Taking some percs

And rolling with Rusty, the jerk!”

The boy danced a little with his shoulders and continued to step around them in a circle.

“Rusty, my man on a hunt for some-thing

Should hunt for an attitude ad-justy

Matter of fact, I can’t think of anything else, so I'll just rhyme on a dime, surrounded by leaves and lime, so sublime, feeling divine, all the time, it should be a crime, I can’t even lie!”

He finally stood up straight and looked up to the sky. Then he started to fall over backwards; but before he landed, a blue portal formed behind him and he fell through it, disappearing from sight.

“Wha-”

“Then there's Fletch,”

Their attention was ripped from where he once was and quickly went next to them as “Justy” stepped out of another portal, continuing his rhyme.

“Quite the shot.

You better watch out or you'll get got!

So you better watch!

You better knock!

On wood, like you know you should.

You know how she is, she fights for good–”

The boy turned around as he rapped before spinning back so fast all his loose clothing whipped around.

“–For a price, because mercs ain’t that nice.

Especially Indigo, she’s mean, yo!

But behind that mean, there’s a machine

Who’s eyes see green, green, green!”

“Justy” rubbed his thumb, index, and middle finger together, as if he was shuffling dollar bills in one hand.

As confused as she was, Phos stifled a laugh.

“And then there’s Maul!

…

…”

The boy ceased his rapping for a bit, standing there in silence.

“Uh… What about Maul?” Phos asked

He remained there, as if he was frozen in place, blinking. Then, he raised a finger and cleared his throat.

“Ahem…

And then Dagger, who turns enemies to matter

He gon’ slather, a slaughter, whether if it’s son or daughter

Dog or otter, no ideals, man, if he dyin’,

He ain’t no martyr!

And at the head of the ship

Leading the shit

A captain of a gaggle of goons

Lookin’ for treasure, no dubloons

So, they set out on another quest

Shit, they better find some dough soon!

Woo!”

He jumped into the air and created another portal to fall into. In he went, only to jump out of another one over Phos. When he touched back on the ground, he did a superhero landing before quickly springing to his feet.

“Yuh! Yuh!

Justy’s back!

Back to party, back to revel!

Justy's back!

And he's just in–”

He walked around, waving his left hand up and down as if he were trying to rile up a crowd.

“Just in–”

The boy nodded his head more excitedly.

“Just in–”

He soon arrived back at the spot he was when he first arrived.

“Justin Credible.”

The music stopped and Justin struck a pose. He crossed his arms and leaned to the side with a wide grin. The boombox clicked again, a cassette tape pushing out the front.

…

Slowly, Phos pulled her knife back into her cloak and sheathed it, before giving a few small claps.

“Justin… Credible?” She asked,

“It’s a pun,” Justin explained, “Like: ‘just incredible’. It’s my stage name,” a smirk made its way onto his face as crossed his arms.

“No, I get that…” Phos trailed off, “But it’s just your stage name?”

“Phos!” A voice blurted through the door, “Keep it down! What are you even doing in there?!”

“Uh-” She blinked, glancing from Justin to the door behind him, then back to Justin. “S-Some guy just appeared and started singing.”

“What?!” The handle jiggled and the door was thrust open. Indigo stormed in a moment later, “I can hardly hear myself think! What are you…” She trailed off as soon as she laid eyes on the second humanoid populating the room.

“Hi!” Justin waved a hand, a dumb grin on his face. “The name’s Justin. Justin Credible! Nah, but for real though, the name’s Justin.” He shaked his head and put a hand on his hip.

Indigo’s scowled quickly disappeared, leaving just a small frown as she sighed, “Is this another one of your spirit friends?”

“Uh, no. No!” Phos quickly shook her head, “I just met him. He just appeared from a… portal…”

“Preeaach!” The boy said, a hand next to his mouth as if he was holding a megaphone.

“Alright, fine. Whatever.” Indigo rolled her eyes, “What does it want?”

“I want’cha…” He turned over to Phos, finger gunning at her.

“...Me?”

“…To come with me, for a higher purpose!” He declared, putting his hands on his hips and widening his stance, “To properly introduce myself,” he quickly took a bow, “I am Justin. A representative from a land far, far, far away.”

“From another galaxy?” Indigo guessed,

“No, farther! Another universe,” Justin narrowed his eyes, “I am a representative of the United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom.” He smacked a fist onto his chest and puffed it out.

Indigo frowned, “Equestria isn’t united with any other country.”

Phos stepped beside her, “I think he means another Equestria.”

“Thank you, Puck, I was literally about to say that,” The Eliatrope pointed to the gem, “I’m an Eliatrope. A dragon-dude, pleasure to meet you guys.” He extended a hand.

Phos, who was ready to meet it, took a step back instead, “A d-dragon?”

“I don’t eat gems. Though technically, I’m like…” He paused for a moment, “...A dragon. You see, my race, when we’re born, we come in twins. One is the Eliatrope, one is the dragon and we are twins. Come straight out like that. Twins.”

“So are you the dragon or the Eliatrope?” Indigo demanded,

“...Do I look like my dragon brethren?” He stopped himself and sighed. He took off his cap and revealed two horns on his head that resembled scaly wings. They were glowing blue and hummed with energy. They briefly fluttered, making Justin fly into the air slightly for a few seconds before gently floating down. He put his cap on and flipped it back to where it was before.

“Not one I’ve ever seen…” Indigo muttered, “What about you, Phos?”

“Um…” She kept her arms close to her chest and her shoulders raised, “I-I think I’ve seen dragons with fur… but… never one like that…” She slowly relaxed, “Sorry, like you, Justin.”

“It’s all good my diggity, diggity, dawg,” Justin grinned, “In any case, time to get to the point. Honorable Phosphophyllite the Lustrous,” his grin dropped and he turned to the gem with focus. “You are being invited to fight in a tournament unlike no other. There will be no ponies, no dragons, or even something native to Equestria. They are Displaced. Just. Like. You.” The Eliatrope pointed a finger at Phos, “People from a land afar, ripped from their bodies and placed into Equestria. Alternate worlds that house a myriad of wonders,” from his palms, blue sparks flick into life, making his hands glow blue.

“Is that what you are?” Indigo poked a hoof at Phos’s chest, “Displaced?”

“Is that what I am?” Phos asked, looking towards Justin,

He just nodded, the sparks flying into the air, forming four spheres. Inside the first, a humanoid figure took shape. In the second, ponies. “These people have either died, or their lives were robbed from them by Void Dwellers. Godly beings who see people of the planet Earth as pieces in game; experiments if you will. These people of Earth, who have either cosplayed as a character, got an item of a character, by going to a comic-con, or even picking something up from their doorstep; they were stolen from their lives.” The humanoid figure inside the sphere crossed the space between its sphere and the pony sphere. The figure slipped into it, and shifted, gaining a sword and shield as they stood tall and proud.

“These people have the opportunities to start a new life,” A man with a watch similar to the Ultimatrix appeared, “...Get back what they lost. However, not many people are like these heroes…” The spheres came together and formed a larger one, revealing a man with a high tech suit marching through a burning city, walking over corpses and towards a pony. The man held some sort of energy in his hand, “...Some are Conquerors.”

The man unleashed the energy in the form of a blast that annihilated the pony. The sphere transformed to show that the man was holding the world in his hand, a grin on his face. “Those who think they have a right to rule, to indoctrinate others, force them to submit. Of course, heroes try to stop them.” The sphere changed again to show six ponies charging at the man with his back turned, “...But not all are successful…” The man turned and with a swipe of his hand, the ponies turned to dust.

“...Which is why this new Displaced Tournament was put into place not long after a similar man from our world started it to collect energy for a tragic purpose.” The sphere changed into a man with brown hair and green eyes, sitting on a throne with an evil smirk, holding a sphere of purple energy. The blue sphere that held the story turned purple as well and the man laughed eerily.

“Eghehehehe… EGHYAHAHAHA!”

“...But after he was defeated,” The sphere turned blue again and the man was surrounded by a cage, “The Displaced Tournament started anew. To help those who have the heart that roars louder than a dying star, to help those who have the will!” The sphere changed to several figures, one resembling a tall bald man with a ridged chin, one resembling a shorter fellow with a sword and shield emblazoned with three triangles, one resembling a wolf standing on two legs, “To fight for more than themselves. To fight for more than their home. To fight for what’s right!” The sphere glowed brighter, and Indigo shielded her eyes.

“...To help people like you, Phos…” The brightness calmed down, and the sphere turned into a 3D image of Phos. The image staring directly into the eyes of the gem. “...That’s why our King and Queen invited you.”

“...Help me…?” Phos pointed at herself, “Um… Wow… That sounds… Really exciting! I can’t believe I’ve been invited to a tournament!”

Indigo snorted, “You? A tournament? Hah!” She laughed, “If the likes of you can be invited to a tournament, then I can raise the sun all on my own.”

Justin turned to her, “There’s more than meets the eye in a fighter like Phos. You underestimate someone one time and they’ll take advantage and slit your throat,” he drew a finger across his neck for emphasis.

Indigo looked at him for a bit, before tilting her head back and exhaling through her nostrils, “I guess.” She turned to Phos again, “You and your spirits.”

“Oh FUCK!” Justin yelled out, “I fucking forgot! God damn it, I’m an idiot, I’m trippin like a jit!” he slapped his forehead with a palm,

“Language!” Phos put both hands to the side of her head,

“I forgot to tell you what the prize is for winnin’!” The Eliatrope turned to her, “You get a wish from a magic dragon… That won’t eat you.”

“A dragon with magic?” Indigo put a hoof to her chin, “That sounds like a tough fight.”

“You don’t know the half of it, lady.”

“C-Can you guarantee it won’t eat me?”

“It gets summoned from crystal balls,” Justin put his hands together, “Seven of ‘em. And then it shoots into the sky, and the sky becomes darker than night. And this giant serpent-like dragon appears – his name is Shenron, by the way – and he asks for your wish and he grants it just like that… Did I mention he’s the size of a mountain?”

“Um… Wow, okay.” Phos dropped her shoulders again, “A wish? Any wish?”

“Any wish except evil ones, wishing for more wishes, and immortality. But that won’t be a problem considering, well…” Justin looked her up and down, “...You.”

“Yeah. I couldn’t imagine you making an evil wish.” Indigo remarked,

“What would I wish for…?” Phos trailed off.

“Well, I’d wish for big booty bitches,” The Eliatrope said, his hands on his hips.

Phos reached behind to place a hand on her backside, “I see… Well, I know what I’ll wish for, I guess.”

“Huh… Poggers,” Justin pogged, “Bee-tee-dubs, I’m over a thousand-and-five-hundred years old. Thought I should let y’all know that.”

“Well I’m twenty six, I think…” Phos looked down at her hands,

They both turned to Indigo,

“Never ask a mare her age, dimwit.”

“Damn,” Justin’s shoulders slumped, “Also, wow, you guys are way nicer than my friends. They call me ‘bum’ a lot and that I’m pushing two-thousand despite them being my age.” He pointed a finger at himself. “And they don’t even applaud my rap performances; thank you for that, Phosphophyllite, by the way.”

“You’re welcome, I guess.” Phos nodded slowly, “Uh… Thanks for stopping by?”

Indigo elbowed her in the side, “When’s the tournament?!” She hissed,

“Oh! Right! When… Where even is the tournament?”

Justin inhaled deeply before saying, “The tournament is going to be held at my home world, we will travel by portal. Don’t worry about time because every hour there translates to a minute here. And the tournament won’t be held in a few days, but I’m sure you’d rather be acquainted with my world before diving into the tournament like Leeroy Jenkins. AND! You can bring as many people as you’d like, there is no limit. Everything is paid for, all your food, water, rooms, everything!” He finally exhaled, “Phew… I think that’s all.”

“Hmph!” Indigo rolled her eyes again, “And here I thought we would be spending some time away from this dump.”

Phos tilted her head at her, “But… We are? We’ll be gone for days, I think.”

“Yes.” Indigo nodded, “But it will only be a few minutes here. I don’t want to come back to the same situation we left at.”

“But… What if something happens while we’re gone?” Phos asked.

“I don’t know.” Indigo shrugged, “Your new spirit friend will deal with it.” She pointed to Justin,

“Eliatrope.” He corrected.

“Whatever, if we’re going to some far off land or other Equestria or something. Then we should be able to come back to wherever the rest are, regardless of where they actually are.”

“...What if they need our help?”

“You’re really taking the fun out of this, you know?” Indigo huffed, “But fine, how long will we be gone?”

“Ten hours at most,” the Eliatrope shrugged.

“‘We?’” Phos asked, “You mean you want to come with?”

“Of course I do. I want to see what makes you so qualified to fight in this Misplaced tournament, and if you get your face smashed, then all the better.”

Phos touched a few fingers to her mask, “What makes that better?”

“Like a wise man once said; the best part about falling,” A smirk spread across Justin’s face, “is getting back up.”

“...Hard to get back up if you’re not conscious…” Phos muttered, “But okay… Who else should I bring?”

“Don’t look at me.” Indigo shook her head, “I’m not the one who was invited,”

“What about Rusty?” Phos asked,

“On a job.” Indigo answered,

“Duck?”

“Same job.”

“Mmm… Maul?”

“Same job.” Indigo repeated,

“Th-The captain then?”

“Were you not paying attention when they left this morning?!” Indigo demanded, “Everypony else is out on a job! We’re the only ones here!”

“Oh…” Phos put a hand to her chin for a moment, “Fletch?”

Indigo blinked, “Yeah, okay. Let’s go find her.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“No. What part about ‘let’s go find her.’ don’t you understand?”

“Hold on,” Justin raised a hand and conjured a portal in front of him, “Follow me,” without explaining further he started to walk but then paused. “...Phos, I need you to do something. Every time I say ‘the government’ say thirty on thirty.”

“Uh… okay…?” Phos took a step forward, only for Indigo to snag the back of her cloak,

“Are we just going to leave without leaving a note?”

“Oh, right.” Phos nodded, “Can you write it for me?”

“Pay me.”

“F-” Phos grumbled, “Fine,” She fiddled around in her cloak and pulled out a single bit.

“Thank you very much.” Indigo quickly stashed it in her robes, “I assume that’s going to where Fletch is?”

“Yeah,” Justin reached down for his boombox and opened a portal. With swift hands, he replaced the tape with another and stood to his feet. Taking his mic in hand and the boombox in the other, “We’ll be back, pookiebear,” he said unflinchingly.

“Um…” Phos began, “Might want me to go first unless you want an arrow to the…” She paused, “Face.”

“Nah, nah, nah, it’ll be fine, trust.” Justin gave her a dumb nod.

“Don’t leave me behind.” Indigo lowered her gaze.

Justin paused for a moment as if he was slowly loading in information. He gasped loudly, “OH SHIT! WE GOTTA GO! I’M RACING!” he reached over to grab Phos by the arm and yank her through the portal with him.

“Language!”

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

TLustrous Harmony

One must take care when choosing a god for prayer.

Conglomerate · 86k words · 54 6 · 1.2k views

Word of warning, this takes place in the future! OOoooOOooOOO!

How far into the future? Like a couple of months. It’s springtime for Phos and the mercenaries, which means Phos would’ve had to have gone through the rest of Fall and Winter. For those who know the source material, you know what must’ve happened.

Anyway, this jump in time has granted Phos a few things, namely: Clothes, a proper weapon, and a bit more experience with said weapon. Going forward, there’s a couple of spoilers for Arc 1 (Chapters 1-25), and maybe some spoilers for some coming Arcs, but those aren’t out yet, so are they really spoilers? For those interested, the tournament is taking place mid-Arc 3, so there’s a little ways to go until Phos’s story reaches this point.

I don’t want to take up too much more of your time, or this chapter’s space. So I’ll just say it’s really interesting to switch from first person to third person, and also Displaced Phos has been confirmed to go by female pronouns. - Conglomerate.

Into the Unknown: Angel.

tac tac tac tac tac

“...Angel.”

“One minute.”

tac tac tac tac tac

“...Angel.”

“One minute!”

tac tac tac tac tac

“...Angel.”

“WHAT?!” Angel rounded in her chair, glaring over her shoulder at Spot. The changeling, unimpressed by her glare, pointed to her laptop. “It’s noon. Time for a break.”

Angel blinked. “What? No it isn’t. I’ve only been coding for…” She turned back to look at the time display in the corner of the laptop. “...four hours. Huh.”

“What are you even working on?” Spot hopped into the air and buzzed over to look over her shoulder. “Mindlink?”

Angel nodded. “I figure this will come in handy if you need to talk to me while we’re out and about. You know, telepathy.”

Spot looked from Angel to the laptop and back again. “Angel, I’m a changeling.”

Angel blinked in response. “Yeah?”

“...changelings use hive minds in this Equus.”

“...okay?”

“We’re psionic.”

“Where are you going with-”

“I don’t need a link from your end to speak directly into your head.”

Angel yelped and jumped in her chair, flailing a bit as it toppled backwards and sent her crashing to the floor. She glared up at Spot from her new position on her back. “And you haven’t bothered to use this when we’ve been out in public because…”

Spot smirked. “I was waiting for the moment when your reaction would be funniest.”

“Bite me.”

“Kinky.”

Angel sighed and rolled to her feet, righting her chair and glaring at her laptop. “Well, that’s a morning wasted, then.” She deleted the half-finished program before closing the laptop with a sigh. “So? Eating out, or cooking?”

“Definitely cooking,” Spot answered. “We don’t want to be gone when our guest arrives.”

“Our guest?”

Any further questions were cut off by a knock on the door. Spot trotted over and - much to Angel’s shock - opened the door. “Princess,” he greeted. Angel’s jaw dropped when Luna walked into the room.

“Hello, Spot. Angel. It was good of you to invite me to your…” Luna blinked at Angel’s gobsmacked expression before turning to Spot, raising an amused eyebrow. “You didn’t tell her?”

“I thought I would leave it as a surprise.” Spot trotted up to Luna’s side, eyeing Angel with a serious expression. “Angel? Luna and I are engaged to be married.”

Angel’s brain short-circuited. “...wat.”

Luna’s eyes darted briefly to Spot before she nodded. “It’s true. We met at the Gala and have been meeting clandestinely by night ever since. Your friend is quite the romantic, Angel. And amazing in the sac, too.”

“...wat.”

“Yeah, changelings are talented like that,” Spot bragged. “Good at impregnating, too.” He looked up at Luna. “By the way, we should have the wedding within the month if we want to have it done before you lay the clutch.”

“FUCKING WAT!!!”

Spot and Luna held their serious expressions for another second before giving Angel identical smirks. “Gotch-”

“I’LL SHOW YOU GATCHA!!! HAND SONIC!!!”

Luna laughed merrily as Angel began to chase Spot around the small room. “Forgive us, Angel. Believe me, that was entirely Spot’s design. I merely played along.”

“I KNOW IT WAS SPOT’S IDEA! THAT’S WHY I’M TRYING TO CHOP HIM IN HALF!”

Spot snickered as he effortlessly dodged Angel’s blows. “If this is your best effort at slaying me, then I think we need to step up your training a degree or three.”

“AGH! YOU’RE THE WORST!” Angel finally gave up on catching Spot, dismissing her blade with a grumble as she turned back to Luna. “Seriously though, why are you here? And since when do you and Spot know each other?”

Luna chuckled. “I was not joking about our meeting at the Grand Galloping Gala, nor about our remaining in touch ever since. I have been in his dreams from time to time since then.”

“More often than just from time to time,” Spot said with a wink. Angel rolled her eyes while Luna chuckled.

“Flatterer. In any case, he invited me here today so that we could speak regarding your long-term plans here in Equestria.” She gestured around the small apartment room. “This is hardly an appropriate permanent living environment.”

Angel had to admit that Luna had a point. She sighed before turning towards the kitchenette. “Fine, fine. So what’s the plan, Spot?”

Bvoom!

A blue circular portal swirled into existence right across from where Angel was standing. It glowed bright and hummed with power. The portal almost looked like it was pulsating while it hummed; ‘bvvmmmm…’ is what it hummed.

Immediately, Angel’s Hand Sonic was back, the blade pointed at the portal. Her horn and wings grew a mere half-second later. Luna too had her horn pointed at the portal, and Spot suddenly held a spear of black chitin in his hoof.

The portal swirled a little bit, but then it paused and swirled the other way. It performed this action twice before it stopped. The portal became smooth, like a calm lake; calm waters. But just like all water, it rippled and with a ‘hup’, a figure jumped out of the portal. What stood at five-foot-seven-and-a-quarter was what appeared to be a human boy, having pinkish-white skin and black hair. They had a patchy cyan potato sack for a hat. A zipped up cyan vest, baggy shorts, and orange sneakers as well as an orange backpack. On their face are circular orange glasses with cyan tinted rims.

“Hel–” Before the person could finish, they had taken two steps before they fell flat on their face. Hitting the ground with an audible thud. “Ow!”

Spot was on them in an instant, the tip of his spear pressed against the person’s neck. “Don’t move,” he buzzed threateningly.

Angel blinked. “Um, Spot? Maybe you shouldn’t point your spear at the new displaced?”

“Displaced are summoned,” Spot hissed. “Sora said that they don’t just appear without being called.”

“Even so,” Luna said, lifting her horn somewhat, “let us hear them out before things escalate any further.”

“Yeah, what the sigma?” The person with the glasses said, his voice nasally, “And you’re darn right, I am not a beta Displaced, I am an alpha gamer male!” The person stood up to his feet, even though the spear was at his neck. He dusted himself off and raised a hand to touch his nose – which was red from the fall. “Ugh, yeah, what’s up, gamers? I’m William, an Eliatrope Representative of the United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom.”

Spot continued to glare at William for a moment but reluctantly lowered his spear.

“Um, well, welcome, I guess,” Angel muttered awkwardly, lowering her blade. “I’m Angel. These are Spot and Princess Luna.”

Luna stepped forward, offering her hoof to shake. “A pleasure to meet another being from beyond our world, Sir William. As one of the reigning princesses of Equestria and as a goddess of Equus, I welcome you to our fair nation and our beautiful world.”

William took her hoof and shook it, “Always great to meet a fellow sigma,” he let go and turned around, “And did I hear ‘Sora’? ‘Cause,” he pushed up his glasses and snorted. “I know him. He and I go way back. I actually got him to the event. Me, the skibidi Ohio rizzler.” He put a hand over his chest.

Angel blinked again, relaxing entirely. “Oh! Well, any friend of Sora’s is a friend of-”

Spot’s spear impaled Angel through the eye, skewering her brain and emerging out the back of her head. She was dead before she hit the floor. Spot sighed and shook his head. “Letting her guard down that easily. I swear, the girl has no sense of guile.” He looked up at William. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine soon enough.”

“OH MY GYATT!” Spot’s words did nothing to calm William, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! You are so not skibidi!” He pointed a finger at the Changeling, “You need to be Fanum Taxed!”

Spot filed the slang away for future research and waved him off. “Calm down. I just killed her. Not like I did anything serious.”

“Oh, my god, my King is gonna My on my Little til’ I Pony because of this!” William clutched his head, “And I didn’t even get to the invitation!”

“I can accept or decline any invitations on her behalf,” Spot offered as Luna walked over to Angel and began examining her curiously. She ripped the spear out of her face and started wiping it clean with her magic. “I’ll let her know the details once she’s back up.”

William ran his hand through his hair… Or tried to, his hat got in his way. “Well, she’s being invited to the ultra sigma Displaced Tournament. Where eight sigmas fight to become Baby Gronk. Whoever reigns supreme becomes the Goon Lord and gets to rizz Livy Dunne and get any wish they want. Also, they get a lot of v-bucks… And every hour in Kai Cenat Land is one minute here. So, you’ll prolly be here for ten flicker gooning sessions.”

Spot tilted his head to the side before buzzing over to Angel’s desk and opening her laptop. A few quick searches later, he nodded. “Sounds interesting.” He turned back to William with a smirk. “She’s in.”

“I’m in what now?” Angel asked as she sat up, her face pristine and unmarred by violence.

William’s eyes widened, “GYAAAAAAAAAAAAATT!” His eyes nearly bugged out of his skull and he put his hands on his head. “IShowSpeed is a generational athlete! How are you ressed? Did someone get the reboot card?!”

“Something like that.” Angel joined Luna in looking over Spot’s spear. “I don’t die for long. So what did Spot volunteer me for?”

“How in Equestria did you get your hooves on the Asheic Spear?” Luna muttered distractedly.

William cleared his throat, “The ultra sigma Displaced Tournament! Trust me, there will be no party like a Diddy party there. We’ll have everything you want, from v-bucks, to oiled up naked twerk offs, we even have an all you can goon buffet!”

Spot’s eyes lit up at “oiled up naked twerk offs.” “Oh, please tell me that she’s allowed to bring someone along to watch.”

“Sigmas of a feather goon together!” William confirmed, giving a thumbs up.

“I would not mind accompanying her as well,” Luna said, passing the spear over to Spot with a promise that they would talk later. “It would be fascinating to see other beings from beyond our own world.”

Angel let out a weary sigh. “I guess I’m doing this, then.”

“Oh my gy–” A portal opened up next to him and a hand went out to snatch his glasses off his face, “Erm, what the sigm–” the glasses were promptly thrown back and hit him in the eye. “YEEEOOOOWWCHHH! My eye! I need that to lightskin stare!” He held his eye for a while and groaned, “Ugh… F–Fine, just… Come inside before Big Dick Randy comes and takes your booty.” He closed the portal behind him and opened another portal, his palms glowing blue.

Angel sighed, looking down at Spot. “Last chance. Are we really doing this?”

Spot smirked up at her. “One hundred percent we’re gooning. Now get your gyatt into the battle bus before I blast you with my skibidi beam. Princess Ice Spice and this sigma-Ohio-rizzler-Baby-Gronk enthusiast,” he pointed to himself, “will be covering your gyatt.”

Angel glared at William. “I hope you realize what you’ve just inflicted upon this world.” With that, she stepped into the portal, Spot and a giggling Luna following after.

William looked at the portal and started to hit the griddy, “I’m in the Thick Of It–” he sang before he fell into the portal.

Author's Note

[Adult story embed hidden]

“Spot, I swear, if you start talking like that, I’m going to think about sad kittens in a box in the rain until you throw up.” William is an… interesting fellow. Spot is intrigued. Luna is curious. And Angel is resigned to a whole new world of death. Oh well, at least she’ll get to meet more Displaced.

Into the Unknown: W.

Canterlot was still in a state of constant repairs when the sunlight broke through the stained-glass windows of its renowned castle, which, if you asked certain people, really chose a terrible place to be built along the side of a mountain.

Maids kept up their work, ensuring not a speck of the castle’s halls were left unpolished or dusted, guards stationed and patrolling in neat, orderly rotations that had been mapped within only a day. Everything had a system that was easy to exploit, to plan around accordingly.

“No wonder I broke out so easily, idiots have learned nothing, surprise,” Rolling her eyes, a single creature like none in Equestria roamed those halls, expertly evading everyone, her eyes squinting from how bright some halls had gotten.

The human woman’s silvery hair reflected rays of light away from her demonic, ember-tinged eyes, the crosses for pupils wide with boredom. Curling up, her red-tipped, onyx tail flicked the antenna-like, red strands away from her face, brushing by the similarly shaded horns framing her temples.

Despite her most recent setbacks in saving the ungrateful world, her attire was spick-and-span. A pair of charcoal sneakers with red soles, grey leggings, and her black combat skirt with splashes of red over each side and on the underside. Her favorite black jacket, adorned with two red buckles dangling from each shoulder, a red arrow running down each sleeve to a red cuff.

Lastly, a grey t-shirt and a black scarf tucked around her neck, oh, and her weaponry, can’t be too careful in this day and age.

“W!”

“That’s my name,” She gave a lazy reply, turning slowly on a heel to meet… someone special. Possibly the only other human in this world to boot. “What does Prince Sora of Equestria want with a merc like me, hm?”

His skin was tanned with freckled cheeks, a nice fit to his aqua eyes to contrast her fiery gaze. Warm black hair with a short braid running down the left cheek, fading to an aqua colour. His outfit consisted of an olive coat, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows with shoulder pads, and a dark grey belt.

A collared shirt and light red bandana laid beneath, as well as a pair of black trousers tucked into dark red boots. And poking over each shoulder, a matching pair of silver longswords. Practically the image of an adventurer.

W continued with a flirty expression. “Or did you just want to see me?”

“No- yes, not the point, you should be resting,” He sighed, and watched her slowly turn to continue walking, tail gesturing for him to follow. “Your injuries-”

“Are perfectly healed now, Mom, I just wear them to keep these walking glue factories off my case,” She smirked, patting a flexed arm. “Fit as a fiddle, so you can stop having a mild panic attack when you see me going outside to touch some grass, ‘kay~”

Shaking his head, he tried not to look too stubborn about it. “Just take things slow, for me?”

Her eyes froze up for a moment, a softer smile forming. “Y’know, the pouting only works with Astra,” But she glanced at him, winking. “I’ll take things in stride, Fly-Boy, alright?”

Finally, he smiled again, finding her hand inviting his to hold it. “Thanks.”

Their comfortable silence wouldn’t last forever, taking only another left turn, heading for one of the castle’s gardens when W’s ear twitched, yanking Sora back, whatever question he had fell to silence, seeing the steely expression etched into her face.

In an instant, W drew her grenade launcher in the direction of the presence, directly in front of them. “You got about five seconds before I bring half this corridor down on your head Zer0, come out, now.”

A blue circular portal swirled into existence, humming and pulsating with power. It hummed a little bit more before the portal rippled and out came a humanoid figure. They landed on the floor with a: “Superhero landing,” The figure said, their voice indicating to W and Sora that this humanoid was a girl. The girl stood up to their feet, revealing them to be standing at a height of five-foot-nine. The girl wore a pink patchy potato sack as a hat and around her torso, acting like a shirt, was a closed pink vest. She had baggy shorts that were the same color but her shoes were a nice black. The girl had tan skin, black hair, and shiny cyan eyes. “Hiya!” She waved eagerly, a grin plastered on her face.

“Another one?” Sora murmured under his breath.

“Dunno, don’t care,” She whispered back, keeping her sights trained on the girl. “Smart not hiding like another pain in my ass entity I knew, still, who and what are you?” Not even a week and W was dealing with more cosmic BS, must be her birthday.

The girl continued waving, “Hi, I’m Tina and I,” she took a bow towards the duo, “Am an Eliatrope. It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” she raised her head to look at them, “Mercenary W and Sora.”

Staring at her for several seconds, W lowered her weapon, giving Sora a pat on the shoulder. “Well, bud, this seems like a job for the Prince of Equestria, Imma take up that suggestion and rest.”

“Wha- W, you’re not really gonna leave, are- and she’s already walking away…” He deadpanned as the Sarkaz began to walk.

“Wait, don’t leave!” Tina exclaimed, her hands outstretched, “I’m here because you were invited, W!”

“If that invite ain’t a way back to my realm and far from this nightmare of a realm, not interested, even if you are from a cool French anime.” W waved over a shoulder.

“The reward is a wish!” The Eliatrope yelped, “It can be anything! As long as it’s not evil. Also, you get money, a lotta money!”

Sora slowly pressed his hand to his face. “Oh, you said the ‘M’ word…”

Like gears grinding to a halt, W spun slowly on a heel, brow raised. “Not one but two things you just said that rings well in my ears… alright… Tina, what’s the catch? Always a catch with this stuff.”

Tina waved a hand, “There’s no catch, perse… Ya just kinda…” she put her hands in her pockets and pursed her lips together, “...Well, ya just gotta fight in an eight-man fighting tournament with other people like you; Displaced. Removed from Earth and placed in Equestria as fictional characters.”

Her words slowly digested in W’s half-awake brain, blinking slowly, then she snorted a laugh. “Okay, that’s totally not sketchy and out-of-the-blue…” Rolling her shoulders, she clicked her fingers. “Astra, come out, no threat.”

A charcoal filly poked her head out from hiding behind a curtain, looking at Tina for a moment. “Okay,” She hopped around to stand between the two semi-humans. “She looks like you two…”

“Yeah, lucky us, at least it ain’t another Goddamn equine,” Pinching the bridge of her nose, W sighed. “Alright, you got my attention. So this… competition, I just have to kick the crap out of a handful of guys that got saddled with this-” She gestured to her own, inhuman body. “-and if I win it all, I get whatever I desire. That about sum it up?”

“Yes, you get whatever you desire… From a magical talking dragon that is totally dope and cool,” Tina nodded, “Yes. But, I will get this out of the way before you ask; every hour in my home – where you will be fighting – is one minute here. So, at most, you will be gone for ten hours. You can bring guests too, and everything is paid for when you arrive. You have rooms, you have all these other fancy stuff, food is free, the bar is free–”

As Tina listed everything off, Sora whispered to W who stared blankly at the Eliatrope. “This sounds more like an all-paid-for vacation than a fighting tournament.”

“Yeah, that’s the part that’s sketchy to me, I mean, come on, when has life been anything but a stick up the ass for us?” W murmured back, shaking her head. “I mean, a chance at a ticket home, money to boot? That screams ‘trap’, right?”

“It does sound like fun…” Astra perked up between them, the merc looking down at the filly, her silver eyes staring deep into Tina’s soul. “She’s been honest, her spirit isn’t giving off anything malicious. I think… it could be a good idea.”

W considered this, tuning back into what was being said. “Tina-” She cut her off mid-sentence. “I win this, and ask to go home, no strings attached, right?” But this time, a fire was burning behind W’s eyes, the kind that weren’t meant to be crossed.

Tina’s smile dropped and she nodded, taking in the serious air and absorbing it like a sponge. “No strings attached at all. And if anything endangers you, and especially your friends while you’re staying, our Commanders will rise to the occasion and protect you. By any means necessary.” She put a closed fist over her heart to emphasize.

All three considered this, Sora glancing at the pensive woman beside him, tapping her tensed hand. “Hey, your call,” Offering a soft smile.

Staring between him and the filly hugging her leg, W met with Tina’s eyes again before letting out a deep breath. “What’s a fighting ring to a realm devourer, am I right?” Slowly, a kindling smile tugged at her lips, giving the little visitor a sharp smile. “Alright, hell with it, I’m in.”

Tina clapped her hands together and brought a fist to her side, “Yes!” she cheered to no one but herself. “You’re not gonna regret it, it’ll be fun, the people are nice, and there’s a lot of cool things in my world. Including the internet and music from the human world, so you can jam out to some stuff, anyway, portal!” Her palms glowed bright blue and the portal behind her grew bigger to fit the trio. She stepped aside, giddy, “Ooh, I’m gonna win the race, I just know it.”

“‘Race’? Y’know what, I’ll figure it out,” W replied, turning to look at Astra and Sora. “Have no clue if I can win that golden ticket, but wanna find out? I’ll try not to destroy this world too, Sora.”

“You saying that worries me more,” He grimaced. “But sure, lead away.”

“I’m coming too!” Astra hopped forward. “I don’t remember much of my world, so seeing another is exciting to think about.”

Tina’s grin grew ear to ear, “Ooh, man, this is gonna be fun!” the portal hummed and swirled in different patterns before making a rippling effect. Inviting them in.

W stood at its edge, contemplating her choice. She just got done saving this world, reluctantly, now she’s off to fight in some crossover tournament? Being stuck in this world wasn’t boring, at least. Even if there was something to consider a threat, she’ll just handle it like she’s always done

“Let’s do this…” Cracking her neck, she leapt through first. “Goodbye, Equestria, thank God!” She vanished in a flash of cerulean sparks.

Tina winced and turned back to them, “...I probably should have mentioned the tournament takes place in an arena in Ponyville, shouldn’t I?”

“I… apologize now for anything she does,” Sora bowed his head quickly to her. “But, I guess you might’ve already figured that if you came to invite her personally, I guess?”

“Shit, man, our King invited her because she’s unapologetically her. He expects explosions. I hope she blows up Justin, though,” Tina chuckles, “Can’t wait to wipe that grin off his dumb, stupid, ugly face.”

Not quite the response Sora expected, but it did get a chuckle from him, watching Astra hop through after some hesitance. “That so? I might sound biased, but you'll certainly be in for a show with her around.” If his own experiences have taught him anything. W doesn’t do things halfway.

Tina shrugged, “She might find something in common with some of the participants, or one of the Commanders, I know a few that like bombs. Explosions especially.”

“W’s right… too good to be true,” Sora sighed but resigned himself to this. If W needs it, he’ll be there, same for Astra. “See ya on the other side then.” With a quick jog, he leapt through after the girls, the first time in years leaving Equestria.

Tina smiled, “Ah… She’s gonna love Bullet,” the portal closed and she created another portal under her. Without flinching or screaming, she fell through.

Author's Note

TRenegade

Equestria welcomes a new stranger, though 'welcome' is a strong term. But it's not like they gave them much of a choice. That was fine, neither will she. The Mercenary W will prove them wrong.

Slendy · 136k words · 229 22 · 4.1k views

The Bombing Queen is back for some mayhem! Who would’ve thought after two years I’d be brought back to this fandom for a multi-story tournament? Not me, that’s for sure, but I am more than happy to throw my hat into the ring. To any that have met W, time for some more anarchy, and to those new to the mercenary and her story, I do hope you enjoy! Let the tournament begin! - Slendy.

Into the Unknown: The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom Part 1.

Flick.

A small blue spark fluttered out of nothingness, it floated through the air like a leaf and descended onto the dirt path. It faded soon after, the contact with the earth dissipating it. Another blue spark soon flew out, then another, and another, and ano–

BVOOM!

A blue circular portal appeared at the beginning of the dirt path, humming and pulsating. Spiraling left, then right, then rippling. It took mere moments for the portal to smoothen out; shining and sparkling like a distant star. It was quiet, the portal, all except for the sound coming from within. It almost sounded like footsteps, rhythmically tapping on a hard substance; perhaps marble. Eventually, something – or rather someone emerged from the portal.

When the light from the portal dissipated, W was, in a word, irritated. She expected to land squarely in some other location, a place with a grand stadium or something befitting of this tournament. She even considered ones from media she's seen, but no, no-no-no, when her eyes adjusted and finally took stock of her new location. There wasn't anything new to see... just a bitter memory.

The human woman had chin-length, silvery hair and demonic, ember-tinged eyes, crosses for pupils. Two antenna-like, red strands arched toward her brow with similarly shaded horns framing her temples. She wore a pair of charcoal sneakers with red soles, grey leggings, and her black combat skirt with splashes of red over each side and on the underside. Her favourite black jacket, adorned with two red buckles dangling from each shoulder, a red arrow running down each sleeve to a red cuff.

Lastly, a grey t-shirt and a black scarf tucked around her neck.

In an instant, W reached for her weapon, finger sliding over the trigger as her body went on high alert, gritting her teeth. "Okay, you little runt... real funny bringing me back here..."

"We're... back in Ponyville? No, it's different in some ways..." Beside her, Sora glanced around, already spotting some key differences. Namely, the various races that certainly weren't from the little town he knew.

"They're all so different..." Even Astra was surprised, or until she felt the wave of fear and anger rising in W's soul. "Mama?"

"Astra, stay close..." W wasn't buying this, glaring around for those six little equines in particular, she felt cornered.

Another figure shot from the portal, that being a familiar pink wearing Eliatrope. She skidded to a halt, stumbling forward, and almost fell and kissed the floor. She quickly caught her balance and let out a sigh of relief, “Whoo!” she turned her head left, then right, there were no other Eliatropes around.

The place where she and W’s group were at were at a path that directly headed into Ponyville. There was a massive stone archway in front of them all, massive and grand, demanding attention. There were tapestries on said archway; ones of various Displaced. Some were the fabled Gilgamesh, some others a wolf with a bow and arrow. Various Displaced from every corner of the void were on this archway.

But Tina didn’t acknowledge it. She was too busy celebrating: “HELL YEAH!” She exclaimed, pumping her fist and jumping into the air at the same time. “IN YOUR STUPID UGLY FACE, JESSIE! FUCK YOU, JUSTIN! AND DOUBLE FUCK YOU, WILLIAM! Stupid glasses, stupid face, and STUPID…” she paused. She couldn’t think of anything else, “STUPID EVERYTHING! WHOO!” She grinned wide and turned to W, “Welcome, welcome, to my world!”

“‘Your world’? Yeah, great…” W was anything but impressed, her right brow twitching slightly. “So, this the part where you tell me why I shouldn’t pull the trigger right now.”

“It’s not the same place-” Sora was cut off by her cold stare.

“Doesn’t matter, still the same streets, and I bet that purple Egghead’s floatin’ around somewhere…” W grumbled.

“Ya don’t gotta worry about them,” Tina waved a hand, “Those six – especially the purple one – are off somewhere in Phillydelphia dealing with something. I dunno, I don’t care,” she shrugged.

Gradually, the launcher lowered, the Sarkaz giving a sharp exhale. “Fine, just… really wish I wasn’t back here, but… well, at least the cast is more diverse, I guess.” She rolled her eyes, Sora sighed in relief she wasn’t about to make enemies with two realms. Astra seemed pleased too.

BVOOM!

A second blue portal emerged at the – what you could say – spawning area of the place. The portal hummed and rippled as someone walked out. Someone that wore a red robe with golden nordic runes along the trim. They had silvered fur coating their lupine body, ice blue eyes hidden from the sun by his clawed hands while carrying a pale green unicorn filly with a cutiemark resembling the theater masks of comedy and tragedy. Next to him walked an earth pony mare with ash gray fur, black mane and tail, and money bags with a bandit mask superimposed over them.

The wolf smiled down at the mare before looking around, mentally calling up a few defensive spells in preparation for someone to attack him for being a “werewolf” or diamond dog, turning to the portal in mild hesitation to ask, “Should’ve checked before, but does your world have werewolves or aggressive diamond dogs?”

“Well!” Silphen turned his head to see another Eliatrope wearing pink standing over next to another Displaced, “I can say this for certain, we accept anyone, just look!” Tina pointed to the tapestry on the massive archway, revealing a white wolf with blue strings around her.

Silphen gazed upon the art with interest, humming to himself in thought as he tried to guess what it was about. “Local deity? No, doesn’t look grand enough… Or enchanted… Who is that, and what’s the story behind-”

“She’s a hero!” Tina put her hands on her hips, “She fought alongside some Displaced to defeat Ryker.”

She didn’t elaborate more than that as a blur shot from the portal, almost slamming into Silphen. But they conjured a portal to run through just in time. Another portal appeared parallel to the earth and shooting out from it and somersaulting was none other than Jessie. He landed like a superhero and grinned, “Guess who’s fir–” his words died when he saw Tina who grinned cheekily at him. “MOTHERFUCKER!”

The Eliatrope pointed at him and laughed, slapping her knees. “LOSER!”

BVOOM!

Another portal appeared a few feet above the ground, and instead of walking out, a figure fell onto the ground. Then another figure fell on top, then another, and another before finally an Eliatrope clad in yellow fell and stepped on the pile that formed underneath her. The Eliatrope smiled innocently.

“God damn, Shaylee why…” The bottom figure wheezed, being crushed by the weight of the three on top of them. They each got off of the bottom figure one after another, the first was a version of Rainbow Dash, who instantly got up in the Eliatrope’s face angry that she was dropped on her back. The next one looked much like a tan elf with white hair and red eyes wearing a black tunic, gray linen, and dark grey leather belts, boots, and gauntlets with silver plates attached to them. They used what looked like dark magic to float away a bit, holding their back.

“Damn jokester, I oughtta make you fall out of a portal on your back with a sword strapped to yer back.” They said with a growl of pain. The next figure to stand was a young purple dragon with a green strip running down his chin and green spikes running down his back, wearing white armor with golden trim.

“Oww…” They cried a little as the bottom figure stood up slowly. They were a light-skinned elf with golden blonde hair, ocean-blue eyes, and small blue earrings wearing a light green tunic and long cone cap, white linen, brown leather belts, boots, and gauntlets with golden plates attached to them. They rolled a shoulder and stretched.

“Shouldn’t have expected anything less.” They sighed. The other figure that walked out of the portal next to the Eliatrope was a version of Twilight Sparkle, she walked over to the green elf and wrapped her arm around theirs.

“Are we back in Ponyville, Mikie?” Twilight asked as she looked around.

“Looks like it?” The green elf answered. “Though with what that damned Joker’s done so far we could be anywhere…” Mikie said, narrowing their eyes at the Eliatrope.

“Come on, don’t look at the Slim Shaylee,” Shaylee grinned and pointed thumbs at herself, “You’re in Ponyville; say hi to the girl with the launcher.” She pointed over to W.

“The what?” The gray elf asked confused.

Said ‘girl with a launcher’, was currently looking the other way, trying and failing to contain her fit of laughter, nearly doubling over in a fit.

Shaylee put her hands on her hips, “At least someone appreciates my funny ‘hahas’.”

BVOOM!

Another blue circular portal appeared, walking out the portal were two figures instead of one. The taller of the two was wearing a jacket, a gray hoodie more specifically. Styled with a fan on the back in shades of black and white while the right sleeve had ‘Uchiha’ along the sleeve. Black pants that ended just above calf length sandals, perfectly exposing his toes for aeration. His eyes, short choppy hair, and some would say soul, all dark like coal.

“Holy shit…”

Beside him was the shorter man with equally black hair, eyes, and a shocked disposition. A blue long sleeve with a similar fan design on back, but a set of strange black symbols on the front over his heart. Dark purple pants with small pouches on his left thigh, and above his right calf, with a similar pair of sandals that went to calf length. His hair swept to his upper back, but had a slightly spiky volume, and unlike the yellowish tinted skin of his cousin… he was tanned a caramel brown.

“Ponyville again? I actually wanted the- the forest, Everfree, yeah there. Kotetsu, take a photo for me.”

His cousin whipped a phone out and got a snapshot of the lovely scenery… only to pan over to other people barely five yards away. “Holy shit, it’s a fucking furry!” Kotetsu started recording the tall wolf-man with a grin on his face, uncaring for societal norms.

Silphen sighed, smiling faintly as he shook his head at the comment before replying, “Not exactly a furry, but I was one before all this.”

“Be nice, Kotetsu,” A figure walked out of a portal, a much taller Eliatrope than the others with his hands folded behind his back.

“Xavier!” The three Eliatropes all said at the same time with bright grins.

The Eliatrope offered a small wave, “Yes, yes, it’s me.” He walked over towards Zeko, “So, how is it so far?” he gestured to the large archway with the tapestry of various Displaced.

Everything was… decorated. Cleaner. More ornate. “It’s different, but not in a bad way.” Zeko pulsed his chakra to search for anything familiar, a fast check for anything that he knew. Nothing. He turned towards Xavier with a small smirk. “So this is a Ponyville, but it’s not the one I was in.” He glanced at the assortment of other idiots in his exact same position… except the one recording from afar. “Not the one they were in either I’d imagine.”

Xavier nodded, “You would be correct, Mr. Uchiha,” he turned to look at the other Displaced. “Not at all.”

BVOOM!

Once again, a blue portal appeared out of nowhere. Pulsating instead of rippling. Two figures walk out side by side, a decent looking elf in a dark blue trench coat with white pants, and a dark amazonian Alicorn in a flowing silver dress. Looking around in mild confusion, the elf notices his friend Mike and waves, pointing him out to his companion.

“Seems I have some friends here after all, eh Princess?” Johnny chuckled as he looked up to his Luna.

“Indeed, though I would still express caution. We don't know everyone here.” She replied quietly, looking around at the gathered crowd.

“Eh, ya don’t wanna be too cautious,” An Eliatrope clad in purple walked out of the portal before it closed behind her, “This is all for fun after all.” She chirped. She then looked to all the other Eliatropes, “AW COME ON!”

Tina cackled, “HA! You were talking all that mess, now look where you are! Fourth place, Diane!”

Diane crossed her arms, “Shut up, you numbskull.”

Jessie crossed his arms and looked between them, “Nice insult, Diane. Truly incredible.”

“I’LL KICK YER HEAD IN!”

BVOOM!

A portal appeared, small before it grew large. Walking out was… A Goth Eliatrope, yanking someone out by the ear.

“Enough with the ear pulling, Hylia damnit!” An elf whom was the one being pulled, screamed out, followed behind next by a long serpent dragon with red scales, orange belly, curved horns, glowing green eyes, and a pair of talons. The dragon in questioning didn’t have legs, however it did float through the use of its fiery hair. Another figure came through, holding familiarity to the two Links present, looked alot like Midna, however the similarities ended rather quickly considering her pony-like face.

“...We’re back in Ponyville?” The humanoid alicorn asked, wearing a south asian-like attire composed of black gagra choli with a trailing black veil.

“Not quite, love.” The elf said as he yanked his ear free from the goth Eliatrope. The elf had a green tunic and white tights, long blond hair, blue eyes, facial blonde hair of a goatee and mustache, leather gauntlets, boots, and a flowing red cloak decorated with red feathers. Meanwhile the western dragoness was looking around, eyes full of wonder.

“Oh…” The goth Eliatrope looked out to see the others had already made it, she looked at her phone, “Chat, we’re in like… Fifth or sixth place, is it over for me, chat?” There were a couple responses before she sighed and reached within her pocket to pull out a lollipop. She unwrapped it and put the lolly in her mouth, a small pout on her face.

“At least you made it back safe, Kali. That’s all that matters,” Xavier smiled at his fellow Eliatrope, the goth glanced back.

She looked at him long and hard before looking down at her phone. She took the lolly out of her mouth, “Chat, should I kiss him right now?”

“No.” Xavier answered for the chat.

“Mods, put up a poll.”

“I swear to the Queen…”

BVOOM!

A blue portal appeared not so far away from Jeff and a figure emerged from it. A short girl - a little under 5 feet tall - stepped out of the portal and looked around. She had waist-length silver hair and golden eyes which gleamed with cautious curiosity. She wore a tan blazer over a white shirt and brown skirt. "Well, this is interesting."

"Quite." The girl was followed by a pre-reformation changeling and a navy-blue alicorn. The changeling looked around with more wariness than the girl while the alicorn simply seemed intrigued. "Here's hoping the apparent egalitarianism extends to my kind," the changeling continued."

"Oh, cease thy complaining, friend Spot," the alicorn chided. "Thou wouldst not have been invited alongside us were this place hostile to your kind. We bid thee relax."

The changeling - Spot - rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Luna. So, Angel, any idea where we're supposed to go?"

The girl - Angel - raised an eyebrow. "I was rather hoping that our guide would answer that.

“No racism here, that is not pogchamp!” From the portal, an Eliatrope dressed almost exactly like Steve Erkel but in cyan walked out. The portal closed.

“Oh, hi William!” Shaylee waved at the Eliatrope who turned and waved back.

“Hey, Shay-Cray.”

“It’s Slim Shaylee.”

“...You don’t look slim.”

“EXCUSE M–” Before Shaylee could freak out another portal opened.

BVOOM!

This sound was accompanied by a mellow hum. The portal rippled and shifted left and right before it finally stopped. Walking out the portal, a rather short figure entered the scene. Draped in a patchy cloak, it covered her entire body, stopping just above the shins. A couple of iron-clad boots were all that were visible underneath, though there was a rather obvious imprint of a sword along her side. A mask of tree bark was all that occupied the head, the swirling pattern almost looking unnatural as it seemed to shift. A pair of bright teal eyes laid behind the eyeholes, a slight green glow shining out of them. A bright pink blur fell from the sky and enveloped the figure before it fizzled out to nothing before anyone could notice. It's as if the figure soaked the pink energy in like a sponge.

The figure paused as soon as she noticed the collection of others.

“Uh…” A light voice came out as she turned around, “Where did…?”

“Are we there yet?” Another voice came from the portal, and a deep blue pony pushed out.

Wrapped in deep purple robes, they accented her mane nicely as she tightened the harness around her chest. A couple of vials clinked, and the spellbook tucked further into its case as the pony shielded her eyes from the overhead sun. “Finally, and here I thought being warped would be fast.”

The first figure leaned to look around the pony, “Is he not…?”

Only for another to jump out. This one bright green, her wings fluttered as she spun around, staring at the portal with wide eyes.

“I never want to do that again!”

“Please.” The first pony said, “Like it’s any worse than riding in the cart.”

“...” The second paused, looking around frantically for a few moments before eventually letting out a breath. She then folded her wings, dusted off her vest, righted her bow across her back and checked her quiver, before smoothing down her blonde mane.

“Guys.” The first figure began, “Where’s Just-”

Before she could even finish the word, an orange blur came sliding in on their knees. Holding a boombox in their left hand and a microphone in the other, they screamed into the mic like a rockstar. “YEAAAAAHHH!” The voice sounded male; so it probably was. “HELL YEAH, JUSTIN, BABY!” He turned to the other Eliatropes who had all made it before him. “DAYUM! I ENDED UP DEAD LAST!”

All the Eliatropes started cackling, even Xavier let out a snicker. “Yeah, of course you ended up dead last!” Tina laughed, holding her gut and pointing at him.

“NAH! Nah, nah, nah! Please, tell me, you!” Shaylee pointed at the first figure and walked over to them. “You, you! Tell me, tell me this clearly and honestly. When Justin came out of the portal were you like, and I quote: ‘shiyeet, this a dope dude’ and hopped in the portal with him?!” She pointed over to Justin who started to rise to his feet.

“Uhh…” The figure turned around again, “I mean I didn’t know exactly what he was doing, but it sounded like he put a lot of work into it…”

“Wait, wait, work into it?” Jessie raised a brow, Shaylee’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“PETER!” Justin yelped out, looking at the figure with wide eyes. He scrambled to his feet, “Do NOT tell them SHIT, dawg, do NOT!”

“...Okay, I won’t.” The figure paused for a moment, “If you call me by my name.”

The Eliatrope clad in orange snapped his fingers and pointed at her, “Ya got it, Phil Swift!”

There was an almost imperceptible squint behind the mask, a slight flicker in the green glow.

The figure turned to the rest of the party, “He did a fun-sounding song and dance.”

“HE RAPPED?!” All the Eliatropes (sans Xavier) cried out, Justin tossed up his hands and shook his head.

“This motherfucker REALLY thought he would beat any of us after he rapped?!” Jessie pointed a finger over at the Eliatrope who looked flatly at the figure.

Kali was laughing – almost robotically. “He rapped? God, that must sound like nails on a chalkboard!”

“Not just rap, a ‘dance’,” Shaylee snickered, not even staying in place.

“Oh, God, wrap it up, Justin. You’re not making it out of the hood, you’re pushing ten-thousand.” This made Justin whirl on Tina.

“I don’t wanna hear you talk! You thick-thighed FUCK!” He pointed at the Eliatrope in pink with a glare.

“Language!” The figure clutched the sides of her hood,

“Nah, fuck that! Your thighs are so fucking thick, you look like Squidward after he ate all the Krabby Patties!” Cried out Justin.

Raising her hand, W looked around, using her tail to promptly cover both of Astra’s ears. “So! There a reason for us to still be standing here? Or you want us to regroup in an hour after your personal spat?” She was already beginning to see more cons to this.

Xavier nodded, “Yes, there is a reason why,” he sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, “Justin, Tina, stop bickering.”

“Fuck you!”

“Suck ya muddah!”

Blue tribal symbols appeared on Xavier’s body and an aura flowed around the Eliatrope, making the others stop talking. “Everyone. Please, stop bickering.”

He turned around towards the archway.

“And follow me.”

Author's Note

Welp, it’s me, the big guy. First writing session and it went smooth as The Rock’s bald ass head. I think this will take a lot less longer than last tournament, but it will probably take a while for the Commanders to get introduced, and honestly? I’m happy about that. You guys get to understand these characters and you can even read their story in the meantime. Show these amazing authors and amazing characters some love. Peace! – Uncle Iroh.

Welp, it’s me, the not quite as big guy. I’m Conglomerate, the author of Phos and company, who apparently glows bright pink when nobody's looking. I wonder what that could mean… Anyway, as Iroh already said, this first major session went really well. This is my first collaboration with this many authors! (Don’t tell any of them I said that.) We’ve got a lot of stuff planned, and a lot of stuff not planned as well, so look forward to everything! - Conglomerate

Surprise, to anyone who was willing to look into what I’ve been dragged back to this site for after two years. To anyone who doesn’t know me, I don’t blame you, I’m Slendy, creator of W from Renegade, and here for the sole purpose to use anything but the other characters’ names. There’s the saying of ‘too many cooks’ when it comes to the start of this story, but that’ll definitely smooth itself out as we progress. Hope you enjoy! -Slendy

“...why are there three Links?” Ah, it's good to be back! The last tournament was fun, and Sora's a blast to write, but A Heart Eclipsed has reeeeeeeally stagnated in my mind. The Undying Angel, on the other hand, still lives there rent-free. And unlike with AHE, this tournament will absolutely be cannon to TUA. We've got some nice power-ups, some awesome new friends, and a TON of important character development and interaction for our favorite undead-not-really-it's-complicated Displaced. Hold onto your socks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride! -Show Stopper

Though I am scarce, Silphen does have a reason for not showing up very much. Can't say much about Jade and Aurana though… - Blackdust

Into the Unknown: The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom Part 2.

The group were all walking down the path, making it past the archway. Leading the group was Xavier in the front with two Eliatropes on either side of the group and in the back, was Kali who walked, staring down at her phone. In the middle of all of the eight were the Displaced who were essentially being herded by them.

“Feeling like a bunch of cows, being herded like this…” Johnny grumbled as they all shuffled forward.

"..Quite an interesting collection of people here, especially you two looking a bit like my Jeff." Cadance said as she looked over at Johnny and Mike

“It's her first time coming with me across the void, by the way.” Jeff said to the two Link-a-likes. Meanwhile Volvagia was sitting on the top of his shoulders with her body wrapped around his chest and waist for support.

Meanwhile, W snickered to herself, her finger still against her weapon’s trigger, just in case. “Isn’t this nice, we got enough copy-paste Links to make a chain, a furry, a teenage girl, someone more wrapped up than a mummy. And… eh, Naruto fanboy, I guess.” She shrugged.

“We ain’t exact copies woman,” Mike said a little offended. “I mean I’m the only one still wearing the classic tunic and cap only.”

“And I'm the better looking one at that,” Johnny chuckled as he gave Mike a playful punch while Jeff snorted in amusement at Johnny’s words.

W studied the three Links closely, flicking her tail at each one, starting with Jeff. “Zelda One,” Then to Johnny. “Zelda Two, aaaand…” Then to the last of the trio. “Zelda Three. Done.” She clicked her tongue in pride.

There was a small nod from the cloaked figure behind them, “...That’s right, they’re called Zelda…”

“Please don’t encourage her…” Sora pinched the bridge of his nose. “Only here not even fifteen minutes, and she’s already trying to antagonize people…” He could feel white hairs starting to form.

“...No, no, aaand no.” Jeff said with a frown of disapproval at W’s words. Johnny also frowned at being referred to as ‘Zelda two’, giving W a disapproving look.

“Technically, Zelda a Link to the Past… Zelda three was renamed when it moved to the SNES” Mike said pantomiming adjusting a pair of glasses on his face. Johnny chuckled and sighed.

“Okay nerd.” Johnny smirked before looking at Jeff. “So, who's your date?

“This is Princess Cadance, the current princess of twilight.” Jeff answered Johnny as he intertwined his hand with said mentioned princess.

“Wait you’re Cadance?” Twilight asked as she let go of Mike’s arm and gravitated over to her.

“Well, pleased to meet ya, Princess.” Johnny said with a small bow.

“And yes, I am Cadance.” She said as she looked over at Twilight, feeling a little weird to see another Twilight Sparkle that wasn’t hers. Cadance turns to look at Johnny, smiling as she nods her head to Johnny’s bow greeting.

“You look so… Interesting,” Twilight said with a smile as she looked over Cadance. She pulls Mike over to her with her magic and puts her arm around his again. “Meet my loving husband, Mikie.” Mike blushed and waved at Cadance.

“A pleasure to meet you both,” Cadance pauses to look at Jeff. “I can see what you meant when you explained about the multiverse and how I'd see a lot of both familiar and yet unfamiliar faces..”

“Luckily there isn’t that much of a chance you get Mike and Johnny mixed up with me.” Jeff said with a chuckle. Cadance give Jeff’s a hand a gentle and loving squeeze. If both take a good look, they’d notice that neither of the two have a wedding ring, yet the love is clearly as day.

“The same to you.” Johnny nodded as his Luna did the same.

Zeko scratched his hair at the implications but decided to answer at face value, multiversal shenanigans were really complicated. “I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of the Seventh Hokage, but he had some useful techniques.”

“He had a useful fox… I’ll find the bastard someday and make him my friend.” Kotetsu had simple goals at least.

Angel stayed pretty quiet as she listened to all of the conversations around her. “So?” she muttered to Spot.

Spot hummed to himself, his tongue flicking out occasionally. “It’ll be tough,” he whispered back, just barely loud enough for Angel to hear it. “Some of these guys will go down without too much trouble. Some will give you a challenge. And two of them might be out of your league.” He smirked up at her. “In other words, the perfect trial by fire for you before the invasion.”

Angel sighed. “Joy.”

Angel’s Luna, meanwhile, trotted forward to catch up with Johnny and his Luna. “Greetings, Ourselves from another world. We must admit, while this possibility did occur to Us, it is more strange than We had anticipated.”

Johnny's Luna looked over to see her counterpart and smiled softly.

“Indeed. Yet it is somehow… different than envisioned.” Johnny's Luna giggled softly.

Angel’s Luna nodded and turned to look at Johnny. “And this must be thy universe’s Displaced. He must trust thee greatly to have thee join him.”

“I do. He is.. yet to realize his true potential, but his heart is pure.” Johnny's Luna nodded as she placed a caring hand on Johnny's shoulder. He smiled up at her as he puffed up his chest a bit.

“I do my best Lulu.” Johnny smiled proudly.

“Indeed?” Angel’s Luna eyed the two before smirking. “My my, We never would have guessed. For how long have the two of you been courting?”

“Courting? Oh my, I wouldn't say we're courting per say. At least it hasn't been clear to me…” Johnny's Luna blushed heavily as the Hero beside her found the floor incredibly interesting.

“Ah. Our apologies,” Angel’s Luna said, her tone far more teasing than apologetic. “We simply saw how obviously and tenderly the two of you care for each other and assumed. Our mistake, We suppose.”

“While I do care for the Princess,” Johnny said as he looked up, “I see her as more of a motherly figure. No offense Lulu.”

“None taken.” Johnny's Luna smirked.

It was then that Angel’s Luna noticed she was being watched, or rather, stared at from behind. She half-turned her head to see the green pegasus that came with the cloaked figure.

“Um…” She began, barely above a whisper, “W-What are you?”

Luna smiled kindly at the teen. “We are an alicorn, child. An gestalt being of the three pony tribes. In Our world, We are also the Goddess of Ponies.”

A sigh came from the unicorn to her left, “So there’s royalty, gods, more bipeds, and ponies of more than one tribe.” She muttered, “I don’t know what I expected from ‘another Equestria’ really.”

Luna nodded. “It is a great deal to take in,” she agreed. “But there are more things in Elysium and Equus than are dreamt of in even Our philosophies. To traverse and have dealings with the multiverse requires a tolerance for the unusual and the ability to adapt to the unexpected.”

“Unusual and unexpected, huh?” The blue pony huffed, “You can say that again,” She glanced at the cloaked figure walking beside them, “I’m used to it, but it’s still a lot. There’s a wolf walking on its hind legs, magicks that I can hardly understand, and that…” She pointed at Spot, “Is a changeling.”

“Guilty as charged,” Spot said as he caught up to the group.

The pony blinked, “And it speaks. Of course it does.”

Luna raised an eyebrow at him. “We thought that thou wert speaking with Dame Angel?”

Spot shrugged. “We finished our conversation.” He turned to the blue pony. “And yes, I speak. Is that not common amongst changelings throughout the multiverse?” He didn’t sound offended: merely curious.

“I wouldn’t know.” The blue pony turned her nose up, “I only know of changelings through a textbook. All it said was they could mimic a pony’s voice, not speak freely.”

Spot chuckled and - in a flash of green fire - took on the blue pony’s appearance. “More than just their voice,” he said before offering a hoof to shake. “The name’s Spot. Moon-butt over there is Princess Luna. Nice to meet you.”

The blue pony slowly reached out to meet Spot’s hoof, then squinted at his forehead, before bringing a hoof to her own mane to fix it.

“Indigo, Tyrian Indigo.” Indigo then shoved the pegasus forward slightly, “And this is Flechette.”

“Fletch.” She corrected, giving a slight nod. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Spot replied before shifting back to his natural form.

“Indigo?” Luna eyed Indigo up and down. “...We knew a Tyrian Indigo once, long ago. Thou dost bear an uncanny resemblance, now that We think on it.”

“I have never met you be-” Indigo abruptly stopped, bringing a hoof to her chin, “Right, other Equestrias, other Indigos.” She glanced at the other Luna and frowned, “How alike are we?”

Luna shared a quick glance with Spot before turning back to Indigo. “Nearly identical, now that We think on it.” She hummed contemplatively as she rubbed her chin with a wing. “Hm. Perhaps We should take precautions, just in case.”

“Come now, Luna,” Spot said, waving her off. “I mean, what are the odds that this Indigo is going to do to her world what ours tried to do to our world?”

“‘Tried to’?” Indigo lowered her gaze, “What did I… She try to do?”

“Oh!” Luna started, as if realizing something. “Nothing. Nothing of consequence, We assure thee. After all, Spot is correct. Thou art not likely to…” Her eyes drifted to Fletch. “Er, what is thy relationship with Miss Fletch?”

Indigo’s gaze didn’t shift, “We’re teammates.” She said flatly,

Luna’s eyes went wide while Spot forced himself to pale rapidly. “Ah,” he said, his voice shaky. “‘Partners,’ you say? Right. Good. I see.” He looked up and saluted at nothing in particular. “Well, I suppose this world has had a good run.”

“‘Tis a shame,” Luna agreed mournfully. “It seems such a pleasant world.”

A single eyebrow raise, “What are you on about?”

“Oh, just a minor, er, well…” Spot rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Can you really call the end of the world as we know it ‘minor’ even if most people survive in some form or another?”

Fletch just glanced between Luna and Spot with wide eyes, “...Do we really do something like that?”

Indigo held a hoof in front of her, her scowl deepening, “I suspect they are not being entirely truthful.”

Spot and Luna held their serious expressions for a few seconds before they both broke down giggling.

“Oof, called out,” Spot chuckled, smirking at Indigo before turning to Fletch. “Yeah, your partner’s right. Sorry. Just a bit of pranking.”

“The opportunity was too perfect for Us to pass it up,” Luna agreed before giving Indigo a genuine smile. “Thou hast no need to fear. E’en if thou wert as Our Indigo in every respect, thou wouldst have reason for neither concern nor shame. She was a wonderful pony and a true friend.” She blushed very slightly and looked away with a sheepish grin. “And more besides, at times.”

Indigo just exhaled, “Why am I not surprised that royalty is acting like this? I should’ve expected this.” She turned away, “I have no more questions about myself. Not from you, your majesty.”

Luna placed a hoof on Indigo’s shoulder, an apologetic smile on her face. “We do apologize, Miss Indigo. It was not Our intent to offend. We have so few opportunities to ‘let loose,’ as they say, and saw this tournament as an opportunity to do so. We should have remembered ourselves and realized that - despite the casual nature of this tournament - We still represent Our world and Our nation. If We did carry the jest too far and did give offense, we sincerely apologize.”

There was a moment of silence, before Indigo let out a sigh, “Then did you actually know an Indigo?”

“We did. And she was much like thee. She was…” Luna paused, “Actually, We would rather not say.”

Indigo’s scowl returned, but she stayed silent.

“Why?” Fletch asked instead,

Spot leaned over to whisper into her ear, “Spoilers.”

Luna nodded. “Our Indigo was far from the malevolent force that We did depict in Our jest, but she was nonetheless a significant figure in the history of Our nation. We would not have thee unduly influenced by her legacy, for good or for ill. Thou art thyself.”

“Hmph, well at least that’s something to look forward to.” Indigo pointed at Spot again, “I would say I’d like to study you, but considering,” She gestured all around them, “I don’t believe it would be very relevant. Good day.”

Spot smirked as Indigo and Fletch walked off. “You can study me in depth any time you-” Luna smacked him upside the head, causing Spot to chuckle. “I deserved that.”

Laughing to herself, W had to take some consideration of her newest problem, it had some silver linings as she marveled at the colourful cast surrounding her. “Honestly, Tina sold me a little on this place.”

“How so?” Astra perked up, watching the Sarkaz wipe a tear from her eye.

“I thought I got screwed over being sent to Equestria, kid, turns out, half these guys got it worse, they’re stuck in anthro worlds! Pfft hahahaa, oh, that’s rich…” She might’ve actually gotten lucky.

“Yo, girl with the gun.” The short man caught up to walk slightly beside the mystery woman. His interest fully peaked once he heard about the idea of a world variant. “What’s bad about an ‘anthro’ world… addendum, doesn’t that mean there’s four legged ponies?”

She rolled her head to look toward the Naruto cosplayer, she approved the dark colours, then gave a sharp smile. “First question… well, let’s see, depending on how look at them, they’re borderline furries, and some… well, their designs leave a lot to be desired, ugh. Secondly, yes, quadruped run rampant in my world… variant? But if you ask me, both are equally insufferable.”

“Calling them furries is insulting, they don’t choose to look that way.” He pondered the idea of an anthro version of a pony meeting their- Er, pony self. “But you’re right, these ones are pretty bland. At least fashion was more inspired where I was. I’m Zeko, nice to meet you.”

W scoffed at his mention of them not being able to choose how they appear. “Yeah, well, I didn’t either…” She muttered but put on a smile again, flicking her hand in a curt wave. “W, pleasure. Nervous wreck beside me is Sora-”

“Ouch.” Sora winced lightly.

“And this bundle of cuteness with the badass sword, is Astra.” Her tail gestured to the charcoal filly between her and Sora.

“Hi, Mr. Zeko.” Astra replied.

His eyes widened once he got called that, but he took it in stride. Maybe the girl was just being polite. “Hi. My cousin Kotetsu, the one with yellow skin… Don’t try to get into an argument with him. It’ll get violent. Fast. But I’m a thinker, and I was curious about your…” He gestured to her outfit, weapons, and even acquaintances. “Everything. Are you displaced as someone, or are you just yourself?”

Having been given a once-over, W smirked, posing a little as they walked. “Bold, aren’t we? Jokes aside, W’s who I’ve been displaced as, not by choice, duh, but can’t deny the assets she came with aren’t ever so appealing.”

Sora nodded. “The three of us were all displaced by the same person, only Astra is herself, well, she was turned into a pony upon arrival,” The ravenette smiled friendly. “I got displaced as my Aasimar character from DnD.”

Never did Zeko think he’d see the day where he would be more familiar with a pony than anything else someone said. “DnD… That sounds familiar. And W? I don’t know who that is either. But that’s why I asked.”

“Best game us nerds ever invented; But as for W herself, she’s from a pretty niche game called Arknights, so I doubt anyone here’s heard of such a masterpiece.” She puffed out her chest proudly at that.

“Ohh, you’re one of those types. Alright, it makes a lot more sense.” A snake with purple and white scales slithered from his black hair and stared at W, flicking his tongue in curiosity. “At least you remember who you are, I hear not everyone can have that.”

She blinked, then pointed at Zeko’s hair. “Cosplayer, there’s a snake in your hair, literally. Also, wouldn’t quite say my head’s all together, but hey, I’ll take any luck I can.”

“Cosplayer? I mean I do sometimes but-” He was about to smack his forehead since he stupidly forgot, but his snake was in the way so he settled on rubbing his nose. “Oh no, that’s the thing. I’m one of the displaced who just happened to cross into multiversal territory, I’m me. But… as the idea is, some universes and realities only exist because of the imaginations or beliefs of others. To you I might be from a fictional place, but for me? My life is entirely real. That’s why I said you’re one of those, you were a different person and became someone else.”

The group made their way into Ponyville at long last. This one was exceptionally different from the ones that they’re used to; they saw Storm Guards – Stormians – walking down the street. Some Minotaurs were there as well accompanied by Avians, Abyssinians, other Eliatrops, and some Dragons. But of course, there were ponies as well with them being on all fours. A couple Yaks passed the group carrying some furniture towards a truck with wheels fit for off-road work. Some Griffons soared in the sky, racing with Pegasi and even some Dragons.

“As you can see,” Xavier finally said with a small smile, “We are very diverse.” Some Changelings could be seen at an outside cafe playing cards with some Diamond Dogs. “Some might say we’re the most diverse universe in the Void.” he chuckled and looked back at the Displaced, “And you don’t have to be shy; ask all the questions you want. I will answer them.”

“Alright…” W raised her hand slightly. “What’s this all about? Forgive me if I’m not exactly fully on-board with suddenly being summoned for a big competition with more benefits than negatives.”

“The tournament or…” The Eliatrope clad in brown gestured to everywhere, “everything?”

“The tournament, don’t really care for the locale, that I can comprehend.” W replied, still glancing around like someone was about to pounce.

“Sorry, she’s… not used to so much happening at once,” Sora elected to answer for the silverette who didn’t protest.

“Hm, the tournament. The reason for the tournament, I assume. Well, to explain I’ll start with our old King. A long time ago, we had a very evil King named Ryker O’Brien. He was a human with power incomprehensible and he annihilated billions, if not hundreds of billions, Displaced across the cosmos. He lured them to this very world and he slaughtered them after the tournament, infecting them with Dark Ki and siphoning it from them so he could get his daughter. Occasionally, he would step out of his tournament to slaughter Displaced from other universes so he could gain more energy to get his daughter back from a horrifying dimension.”

“He pillaged this world, plundered and controlled it. Yet despite this, the people loved him, even though he wiped out their royalty, and destroyed their heroes,” Xavier gestured over to a bright light that shines upwards like a pillar. “Over there is a memorial for the Castle of Friendship; Ryker had slaughtered this universe versions of Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining, even the Elements of Harmony. He even drove the Changelings to the brink of extinction just for more energy, more fuel.”

“Eventually, Ryker met his match in the Displaced. He lost against them, he was defeated and was sent to his own little personal Hell where he will never escape. Forever tormented, forever in pain, forever suffering.” Xavier said, folding his hands behind his back. “Our Commanders used to work under him, there are ten Commanders. First being the weakest and Tenth being the strongest. After he was overthrown, the Commanders changed for the better and became different men. Stronger, faster, better, and more morally correct. That’s their tower over there.”

The Eliatrope pointed off into the distance, on the far outskirts of Ponyville where a colossal tower pierced through the clouds. It was nearly the size of the mountain from the height and not even one of the Displaced could see the top.

“They are our heroes, our protectors, our guardians. Think of them as our Avengers,” Xavier chuckled, “We began the tournament again a year and a half ago under a new idea. We made this tournament to train people who’ll fight for what’s right when push comes to shove, people who will sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Also, to give people another chance, another shot at going home. Not a lot of Displaced asked for this life, nor do many like it. So, we give them a shot at home through the tournament. Along the way, we train the Displaced in our ways. Although I will say the Commanders will do most of the training, you won’t learn a lot from us.” Xavier admitted.

“So, there you have it. The reason for this tournament. To train people who have righteous hearts, give people a shot at their old life, prepare people to fight threats like Ryker… And maybe a little fun.” The Eliatrope clad in brown chuckled with a kind smile. Doing a sprinkling gesture with his hand.

“I like fun.” A small voice came from the back.

“...Why does this feel like so much deja vu..” Jeff whispered to himself.

“Because you were here, Jeff,” Xavier said, picking up what he had said. “You took part in defeating Ryker, our evil King. You fought alongside Shiva, Thanos, Eric Von Shadow, and Goku Black.

“And yet despite it sounding familiar, I can’t really recall ever being here before..” Jeff said with a frown.

“Likely the Goddesses of your world – or your Displacers – made you forget. Or reset your timeline,” The Eliatrope shrugged.

“...That’d explain a lot, especially when I heard Thanos’ name the first time, I felt very annoyed for some reason.” Jeff said as he rubbed his forehead.

“He did beat you in the first round and in the first fight,” Shaylee noted.

“Makes sense you'd have been here before Jeff,” Johnny chuckled as he patted his friend’s shoulder, “you're one of the most powerful beings I've met to date.” He grinned.

“Considering the din’s chaos storm I have to deal with in my Equestria? Of course, and ain’t like the next one is ever as easy as the second.” Jeff said as he crossed his arms, then looked over at Shaylee. “I suppose if his Infinity Gauntlet works outside of the universe it was made in. Reality warping and all that jazz.”

“Infinity Gauntlet?” Cadance asked in curiosity.

“It's a long explanation I’ll need to tell you later, love.” Jeff said with a smile to the twilight princess.

“So these tournaments aren’t new, seems just about every reality you can think of comes smashing together here…” Sora scratched his head with a small laugh. “Yep, this is a crossover I wasn’t expecting to wake up for.”

“Ditto,” W whistled.

Xavier nodded, “Speaking of, we even have some Pokemon you can interact with.”

“OOH!” Diane perked up, “You have GOT to hug an Arcanine! They’re so soft and fluffy!”

The group finally arrived at the arena where they’ll be fighting. It was a massive arena reigning over Ponyville right on its outskirts. The arena appeared to be made out of obsidian, steel, and other strong materials. Around the arena were tapestries of a past Jeff clashing the Master Sword with Thanos’ and his Infinity Gauntlet. The main thing different about it from normal was the fact it was on fire. Then several other Displaced fighting each other were all detailed around the arena.

“...For a fight I lost in an alternate timeline, I’m a little flattered I’d get a tapestry of myself..” Jeff said a chuckle. Volvagia is kind of bouncing in mid-flight in excitement. So many new sights, so many new smells. Before anyone knew it, Volvagia went flying around checking things out in excitement; her fiery mane making streaks in her flight.

“This place is fucking huge!” Kotetsu snapped a photo of the colossal arena with a grin on his face, but his disposition changed upon remembering he wasn’t technically a contestant.

“I gotta admit… It is impressive. Not as impressive as a Minecraft obsidian box floating thirty miles in the air in clear defiance of gravity… Or logic… Or magical logic…” Silphen was looking around either way, thoroughly enjoying the view of the colosseum.

“Reminds me of that trip I took to Rome as a kid…” Johnny said with an impressed look on his face. “It's like the Colosseum.”

“Damn, what an impressive build, must have taken years.” Mike said, staring in awe.

“Our First Commander did it in an hour,” Jessie said, puffing his chest out.

“Well, color me impressed. It’s immaculate.” Cole said with a smile.

“This place.. makes me a little intimidated if I'm being honest here…” Johnny chuckled nervously as he looked around. His Luna put a hand on his shoulder to reassure and calm him.

“Ya should be, mayn…” Justin turned to Johnny with a scary look, “RUHIHIHIHI!” He laughed exactly like Scooby Doo.

Staring up at the sheer height of the arena, Astra’s silver eyes shimmered with wonder. “It’s like the Vytal Festival…”

“Only darker colour scheme,” W nodded, eyeing the various tapestries. “Okay, seriously, Zelda One fought Thanos, the hell?”

“..You’re not gonna be dropping that anytime soon, are you?” Jeff asked W with a shake of his head.

“Again, crossover, stuff’s wild,” Sora clicked his tongue.

Luna and Spot eyed the stadium critically while Angel gaped open-mouthed. “This thing is huge,” Angel muttered.

“Phrasing,” Spot said before turning to Luna. “So? Bigger than the Minos Colosseum in its heyday?”

“Only barely,” Luna muttered in distaste.

Zeko marveled at the construction of such a large arena being built in less than a day, but he doubted that it was built without some type of ability based off earth. “So this place is tough enough to take whatever we can collectively do? Except if anyone decides to steal it…” He squinted at his own cousin who didn’t even bother denying it, all he did was laugh.

“I might.”

“My friend,” Jessie walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, “It can survive anything our Ninth Commander can do. Maybe. That’s saying something.” he said with terror in his eyes. Xavier chuckled and shook his head.

“Alright everyone, let’s walk inside.” He waved a hand over and walked inside.

And not long, everyone followed him.

Author's Note

Huge lore drop so you guys don’t need to read the first tournament (please don’t read the first Displaced Tournament). I’m honestly happy with all the interaction going on, the Commanders remain a mystery. The fact that the First Commander built the arena in one hour should probably give these characters the vibe that these guys are the real deal. I’m sure W could probably care less (my glorious Queen), but the others may not. In any case, I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. Remember to share these authors some love. Peace! – Uncle Iroh.

My wonderful Phos only gets two lines in this chapter! But no worries, her guests get plenty more. - Conglomerate

Lots of exposition, likely to be more as we progress but its better than needing to catch up on the last two tourneys, W certainly has thrown herself into the deep end. And worry not, the group and their members will break up into smaller groups as the days go by, trust. - Slendy

“I wonder how many times I'll die before this thing is done?” Yes, Luna is speaking with the Royal We and all the “thee's”, “thy's”, and “thou's” that come with old-timey speak. No, she doesn't normally talk like this. Yes, it is a prank. Yes, I am committed to the bit. -Show Stopper

Into the Unknown: The United Equestrian-Eliatropian Kingdom Part 3.

The group made their way through the halls of the arena. It was a lot less dark than the outside portrayed it to be. The floors were polished wood and the walls stone. The supports on the halls were also wood. Granted, it was dark wooden oak, but it was still brighter than the outside entailed. The walls had some photos of the changes to the arena. In some pictures it appeared a lot like the Roman Colosseum, in others, the arena was floating in the sky a lot like the Vytal Festival arena. But then, in the last picture depicted, there looked to be a spinning top surrounded by pure darkness.

“The past Displaced Tournaments,” Xavier noted with a smile. Even some of the Eliatropes looked in awe at the past arenas.

Silphen looked around in amazement and confusion at the change. “Why are we going to be fighting here? I thought we were going to be in the colosseum?”

“Ya will be, big dawg. This is the colosseum, slash arena, slash stadium, slash–” Before Justin could finish, he was bonked upside the head by Shaylee.

“I think he gets it,” She rolled her eyes.

“Reminds me a lot of the pokemon stage in Smash Brothers..” Jeff whispered to himself as his sharp blue eyes scanned over the colosseum.

“What’s with the darkness with the spinning top?” Cadence asked curiously as she watched the top.

“Pfft.” A scoff from Kotetsu. Someone blind can’t be expected to see the beauty behind some things. “It’s nothing, dumbass… Literally. Looks like an entire world of nothing.”

Cadence frowns in confusion, not really getting the theme of a spinning top of darkness.

Xavier led the group into the main lobby of the arena, which was an open space. There were chairs and tables in certain areas. It almost looked like it could double up as a cafeteria. The Eliatrope clad in brown pointed towards closed blinds over what appeared to be counters. “The main lobby and the cafeteria, really simple.” He then gestured over to a fireplace off to the side with some couches, “And a nice little chill area.”

“Looks like a lovely place to enjoy some tea.” Johnny's Luna smiled to herself as Johnny looked around the room with a slight frown.

“Seems a bit empty to me…” Johnny said as he looked at that fireplace.

“Only as empty as one believes it to be. There’s a few things here that could probably sell for a pretty bit back home,” Aurana said in response, looking around in mild amazement and with a faint gleam in her eye, the values of various objects flicking through her mind as she did.

“Don't even think about it.” Johnny frowned at the stranger as he crossed his arms.

“Now, I will give you an option,” The lead Eliatrope broke away from the group. He walked a few paces and sharply turned around to face the gaggle of goons, “We can take the left route,” he gestured to a hallway on the other side of the main lobby, “or the right route,” he now pointed to the hallway parallel to the left. “You decide on a democratic ele–”

“Man, fuck this!” Justin scoffed and walked towards the left. The other Eliatropes looked at Justin then back at themselves and shrugged before herding the Displaced left as well. Xavier let out a sigh and followed after.

The Eliatrope clad in brown had to speed walk so he could lead again. He gave a brief glance of annoyance to the other Eliatropes before he cleared his throat, “Alright, left it is. Now, this left route leads to the gardens, the hot springs – segregated by sex and also reminiscent of the style in Japan. It also has the library, where you can read our history, other Displaced history, Void history… And basically you can read any book humans, ponies, or anyone has ever made. You can also read manga, pretty fun.” Xavier said and he walked along.

Jeff’s pointed ears perked up at the mention of the history about the void and Displaced. “You mean like how this displaced mess started, what with powerful beings displacing humans into new bodys and worlds?” The Hylian asked curiously, also earning Cadance’s interest.

Xavier nodded, “Indeed.”

“Library?” Twilight asked as Mike was holding her back from barging through the door.

“Woah, girl, slow yer roll, we can come back later,” He said, pulling Twilight back a ways. “Let’s finish the tour first before you pull us away.”

“Fine…” She pouted.

“Same as ever, eh Mike?” Johnny chuckled as he put his hands behind his head. Mike discreetly nodded not wanting to anger his wife.

“Like patience was ever her virtue…” W muttered, eyeing their guide with a quirked brow. “These springs; they modern or traditional?”

“Traditional,” Xavier answered, “It’s the superior version.”

For once, a small smirk formed on her lips. “Adding that to the ‘pros’ list…”

“In our gardens,” If the Displaced looked right, they would see a window showing a beautiful garden with a variety of plants, “we have a variety of flora.”

“I’m gonna tell already that this place will be good for some music playing.” Jeff said with a nod of approval.

The cloaked figure walked up to the window, pressing a hand on the glass as her eyes flashed.

“You want some?” She whispered.

…

“Okay, later.”

She turned away, and what looked like a gust of wind rolled through the flowers.

“Oh!” Xavier snapped his fingers, “Not too far up ahead is a movie theater, full of movies, shows, and documentaries that can be accessed through a screen somewhere in the theater.” He gestured to a passing door.

Jeff made a mental note about visiting the movie theater later.

The group was further herded down the hall and they saw another series of windows that showed an open field. “That is the training field. There’s a lot over there, such as weights, dummies, and etcetera, etcetera.” The guide waved his hand and kept going.

“What about a large area nobody cares for if it gets damaged?” Johnny asked as he eyed the equipment.

“I guarantee, you can’t damage this arena,” Xavier chuckled, “I said this before, but our First Commander made it himself. It’s incredibly durable.” He folded his arms behind his back and kept moving.

“Ah good, I’ll be able to train a little harder, especially with no solar guards yelling at me for breaking their training dummies.” Jeff said with a stroke of his chin.

“Fair enough then.” Johnny nodded as he looked on, deeply impressed.

The Eliatrope let out a sigh, “We essentially have anything and everything you can think of – in a good way. Swimming pools, weight rooms, spas, there’s just… So much to list. It’s hard to describe really,” his shoulders slumped.

Kotetsu’s hand shot up when he heard that. “Do you have big booty bitches?” Not a single muscle on his face twitched… he was deadly serious.

Justin opened his mouth, but Xavier put a hand over it. “Not that… I am aware of. However, we do have a… Place for that on the south side of Ponyville. Visit’s Pinkie–”

“Ain’t no party like a Pinkie Party,” Justin said with a grin.

“SHADDAP!” A portal appeared above his head and Tina’s foot came stomping out onto his dome. Planting the Eliatrope on the ground like a radish.

“Oh boy…” Johnny sighed as the Eliatropes bickered.

“And, your rooms!” Xavier finally said as they made it around the right side of the arena. The emblems of each Displaced as well as their names appeared on the doors of each room. “The actual arena stage is off-limits until the opening ceremony.” The Eliatrope explained as he made it to the end of the hallway which revealed the main lobby again. “Any questions?”

“Does the room come with a complimentary chocolate on the pillow?” Johnny chuckled.

“Yes.”

“Are you able to handle our various dietary needs?” Spot added.

“Yes.”

“Even if they are a more… Omnivorous kind? Or mana infused?” Silphen asked, his and Jade’s stomachs rumbling faintly.

“Yes.”

“Where is the nearest brothel?” Spot added.

“Ugh,” Indigo rolled her eyes.

“What? Sometimes I like some lust-spice on my love.”

“South-side, it’s a place called Pinkie’s.”

“...right. Where is the nearest brothel that doesn’t require interacting with the Pink Menace?”

“...West-side, it’s called ‘Thug Brotha Central’.”

While the questions piled up, W leaned against the nearest wall, studying every detail critically, her face hadn’t changed much since they entered. “Everything in one place, like a massive summer resort made from your wildest dreams.”

Sora glanced at her, concerned. “Still too good to be true?”

She didn’t answer, merely motioning with her hand at the obvious, but she didn’t want to ruin the look of wonder on Astra’s face, practically as enthralled as the other guests

“And a good place to take a break from my Twilight Empire duties.” Cadance said as she clapped her hands happily. .

Johnny looked at his Luna, nodding at her as he walked her to his room.

“Go ahead and rest up. I'm gonna meet my friends and some of these other champions.” He told her as she smiled and entered the room. Turning back to the group, he sighed and walked over to stand by Mike and Jeff.

Kotetsu walked to the door that his cousin must’ve had and went straight through it. “Honey, I’m home. I’ll catch you bitches later, if anyone needs me… you better be on fire.”

Angel massaged the bridge of her nose. “Okay, this is a lot to take in. I need a freaking bath. Spot? Luna?”

Spot nodded while Luna shook her head. “Perhaps later,” the alicorn said. “We would prefer to wander this place for a time.” Angel shrugged in reply before she and Spot walked off.

Silphen quickly made his way to the room with his name on it, Jade and Aurana hot on his heels.

Clapping her hand sharply, W pushed up with a mischievous grin. “Finally, now, seeing as I have nothing better to do, time to see how much of this place grates on me, fun to be back in my old hunting grounds.” She had a few… choice spots to visit. Rather, one place did strike her fancy, using her tail, she tugged at Astra. “C’mon, kid, off to the hot springs! I’d ask if ya wanna join, Fly Boy, but you heard the rules.”

“I-I think I’m fine, thanks,” Sora coughed, shaking his head. “You two have fun.”

“That’s the plan,” She winked and marched back down the hall, Astra trotting along beside her.

“I wonder what made these… people… choose us…” Johnny muttered to himself as he stood there. It had confused him a lot when he first showed up, seeing being clearly more powerful than him. Even Jeff fit this category, and he'd helped train Johnny.

“Hey, gotta start somewhere, and considering there’s alot Displaced, there’s plenty to learn from there.” Jeff pointed out to Johnny.

Indigo glanced up at all the nameplates adorning each room, before sighing and looking back at the cloaked figure. “Which one is ours? I can’t read this language.”

The cloaked figure leaned forward slightly, most likely squinting at the names. “Uh… That one,” She pointed at one of the far rooms.

“Are you sure?”

“Ye… Yes.” She nodded,

“Then let’s go check it out.” Indigo sighed, then looked around for a moment, “Unless you want to do something else.”

The figure quickly did the same, her gaze lingering on the two women heading back down the path, “...Yeah, but… Room first,” She turned around and began walking to the door labelled ‘Phos’.

‘And Company.’

“Of course.” Indigo muttered, following suit.

Zeko decided to roam around for a while. There might’ve been something interesting to him if he looked, the library would be a good start. ‘Maybe they have a few Spiderboy comics.’

“Yo, Johnny, Jeff, Twily’s draggin’ me to the library, you guys can come with if you want.” Mike shouted as Twilight dragged him away leaving Cole, Spike, and Rainbow at their room.

“Better stick with him..” Johnny sighed as he jogged after them.

“I’ve been wanting to know more about the void and the Displaced since the day I heard them about from others.” Jeff said with a nod as he, Cadance , and Volvagia followed behind.

Wisps and tendrils of sand reached high onto the well crafted shelves of the library, the finish of the wood was masterfully done… probably mahogany. Zeko pulled one book down to briefly look through it only to shelf it again. “Not much good here, but if I could just find a Spiderboy comic for Jenki.” Most of the books were related to Eliatrope history… which he could save for another day, right now he was after entertainment.

The doors to the library burst open as Twilight drags Mike inside. “Wow, there’s so many books, what shelf do we start with?” She asked the poor Hylian.

“Good goddesses… she can move…” Johnny wheezed as he managed to catch up.

“How ‘bout you read while I catch up with my bros here, Twily.” Mike hesitantly said, letting go of his wife’s arm.

Cadance meanwhile went on her own little adventure as he floated up to the top shelf; her body being propelled by floating twili particles .

“Yo! This is a library.” His sand was still whipping around to pull and examine books but this was still a quiet place to read in… Until he wanted to pull one of his good old pranks. For later for later.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized. “Keep it quiet, Mikie, get me before you leave.” She said quietly as she walked around and pulled a random book off the shelf.

“She wouldn’t be a Twilight if she didn’t love books.” Jeff whispered jokingly to Mike.

“Yeah… Mine makes her own too, a few just about me.” Mike sighed and grinned.

Volvagia suddenly whipped past the two hylians talking, making her way over to a beanbag chairs to flop her body onto, curling up to get comfortable.

“By the way, I’ve noticed you’ve been looking a little fidgety, sup?” Jeff asked Mike with concern. Mike simply motioned his head over to Volvagia.

‘Hm, she kind of looks like my Twilight. But if she was… I probably would’ve been hit in the chest.’ Part of him wanted to go there to at least apologize and the other part didn’t want to deal with an angry woman- Pony woman… Thing.

Johnny looked up as he caught his breath, seeing someone new in the library. He waved with a small smile and stood up straight.

Zeko nodded and went back to his rapid looking and moving books. Sho’s sediments were quiet despite moving so much and so fast, but he wasn’t going to disrupt anyone else in a library right now.

Johnny sat down in one of the many chairs in the library and sighed, finally able to relax a bit as he watched Mike talk with his Twilight. After Mike breaks away from Twilight he sat next to Johnny and sighed, resting his aching feet.

“So, how’ve you three been?” Mike asked as he pulled an ice chest from his inventory.

“..What about Volvagia?” Jeff asked in confusion as he sat down near the fiery haired dragon, reaching down to pet along her hair, which did not burn him oddly.

“I was gonna ask you the same Mike.” Johnny smiled as he leaned back, oddly pleased to be with both of his brothers.

“Volvagia of my world is the second monster to make me use a fairy, and pretty much everyone with me seen it happen,” Mike answered as he grabbed a chilled ginger ale. “Well, Cole and Rainbow only heard about it but I was descriptive this time, at least I didn’t go into the pain of how she killed me.” He popped the cap and took a drink.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about this one, she’s harmless, that is until you try to hurt me. She’s quite protective of me basically.” Jeff explained as Volvagia let out a draconic yelp.

“At least she's not like the beast I had to face to save my Rainbow Dash. An angry shit named Aeros.” Johnny frowned.

“I’m glad she’s not. I bought her years ago for a reason.” Jeff pauses to lower his voice. “If you’ve seen that old manga back in our world?” Jeff whispered in secret so that Volv didn’t hear him. Johnny nodded sadly, remembering how the story ended for Volvagia.

Books were shelved again. Whipping sands came to a stop while he had a volume of a fan book in his hand, something about the complexity of the universe for the show he liked. ‘Not something I wanted but I’ll take it.’ Zeko decided to laugh at his antics and walk out of the library… he wasn’t only finding something nice to read after all. “Classic. Cookbooks moved.”

Johnny looked over to the other occupant with a slight frown.

“Wonder if we should… say hi or something.” Johnny said nervously as he looked at Mike.
“I'm just a tad… embarrassed… talking to strangers…”

“Yer good, Bro, Social Anxiety is a killer for nerves,” Mike said with a chuckle. “I got that shit too, just agreeing to this tournament was probably… Not a smart idea.”

“Yeah, and with my kid almost here… I feel like a nervous wreck.” Johnny sighed as he held his head in his hands.

Jeff blinked in confusion. “Who and how?”

“Wait, almost? I thought Rainbow was due any day like a month ago?” Mike asked, confused.

“Mike, I just saw you last week. Wait, a month? Fuuuuuck… time dilation is a bitch…” Johnny chuckled as he smiled.

“Hooow’d you get that? I mean species difference.” Jeff asked with a tilt of his head.

“Long story, but in short a curse by Ganondorf. It's … complicated…” Johnny frowned as he tried to think of a better way to explain it.

“...A curse that’d allow cross-breeding??” Jeff asked, not quite understanding Johnny.

“More like a Curse that made Hylians produce cross-species kids…” Johnny sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

“It did something to their biology, making each generation become more animalistic than the last. And now there are only three main species. Ponies, gorons and Griffons. The Rito and Zora still exist… but are a shadow of their former selves. It really messed up everything.” He finished as he balled his fist.

“...That sounds really messed up.” Jeff said with a frown.

“Oh… Right… Timey wimey bullcrap,” Mike sighed. “Well we’re the only peeps in here no one’s gonna enforce the quiet rule so…” Mike stood up. “YO, TWILY!” He shouted over to his wife, who immediately glanced over slightly frightened by the sudden loud noise.

“What?” She asked, prompting Mike to wave her over.

Mike suddenly jumped as a figure materialized in front of him after twilight particles flew down. “SHHHH!” Cadance hushed Mike after appearing; her glowing purple eyes and yellow sclera staring at him.

“Holy!” Mike shouted as he almost dropped his ginger ale. “How the hell did you do that?” Mike asked as Twilight walked over.

“Twili magic. Something I learned after Sombra sent and trapped me in his world for a time.” Cadance exclaimed as she held a stack of books in her arms.

“You were trapped in King Sombra’s world?” Twilight asked. “I thought he was lost with the Crystal Empire…” She said as she walked up next to Cadance with a few books in her magical grasp.

“In my world.” Cadence corrected Twilight.

“Multiverse theory basically, different worlds, different events. “Jeff said with a soft shrug.

“At least he's gone in my world. He was killed by the Hero before me nearly three hundred years ago.” Johnny shrugged as he pulled out a cheese and onion sandwich from his inventory and began to munch.

Volv’s head quickly rose in interest to the sandwich in Johnny’s hands, and before Johnny knew it, she yanked it and flew off.

“Oh you little shit! Gimme that back!” Johnny yelled at the flaming serpent as he jumped up and began chasing them.

Jeff bursted out laughing as he watched Johnny chase Volv around the library. Cadance takes a seat onto the floor, opening up a book on a subject on ward magic.

“I have like five salad sandwiches in my ice chest if you want one, Johnny, let the fire snek have the sandvich.” Mike joked. Johnny gave him a frown as he gave up the chase.

“Dashie made me that. Before she went to stay at her parents at least.” Johnny sighed as he walked back to the table.

In the cafeteria, Silphen and Jade were going through the menus, muttering to one another about what to eat, and whether or not Jade could have sugar or not yet. Being half changeling, she needed food that was, quite literally, infused with love if she wanted to have a normal portion compared to others.

Across from them were two Eliatropes, Jessie and Tina. The former Eliatrope had invited the Silver Wolf and brought him to the tourney. Both sat across from each other drinking some coffee, both having an iced caramel. They mostly drank their coffee in silence and just stared at each other awkwardly. Jessie tilted his head which led Tina to follow it with her own, “What?” Jessie blinked and cocked back his head.

Laughter erupted from the Eliatrope clad in pink, “Haha! Ah, I don’t know why that’s funny, but it was.”

“You have a poor sense of humor,” Jessie shook his head and went back to drinking his coffee.

“Even a poor sense of humor can feed a changeling. At least where we’re from…” Silphen called out, barely registering who it was that was speaking before Jade looked up and smiled, poking him and gesturing at the pair.

“Hm?” Jessie looked over his shoulder to glance back at the Silver Wolf, “Oh, hi Silphen. What’s up?”

“Hm?” Silphen looked first to Jade, then to Jessie with a smile of his own. “Not much. Just looking for some food for me and Jade is all. Ponies tend to frown on eating meat back home too often, and Jade is… Special in her own way when it comes to a diet. Hey, you guys have any recommendations?”

Tina perked up and raised a finger, “Well, we have bacon, fillet mignon, I can’t list everything, but we have a lot of meat. But personally, if I had to recommend something to you, it would be… Beef bourguignon.”

The Eliatrope clad in red chuckled, “Ah, you’re so French.”

“Put a sock in it, Jess!”

“Anything sweet? Or made with Love?” Jade asked next, while Silphen hummed in thought, his eyes scanning the menus anew.

“Oh!”

A portal appeared above the table and down dropped a plate full of Krabby Patties, “Made with love.” Quipped one of the Eliatropes.

Jade and Silphen both stared at the plate before licking their lips and digging in, thoroughly enjoying the tastes and flavors.

Jessie turned back to Tina who nudged him from the otherside of the table. He shot her a raised brow and she gestured back to Silphen. He shrugged and Tina rolled her eyes, “Do you have any questions about anything?”

“Hmm? Mmm!” Silphen quickly swallowed the mouthful of Patty before replying, “Do we know who we’re going to face or will it be announced shortly before the fights to avoid any foul play?”

“The fights will be announced at the opening ceremony. You will get about two days of prep before the first round begins. Understand?” Tina tilted her head with a smirk.

“And there is tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and then the opening ceremony. So, you have about like… This day and four others to make sure you’re ready and about three or two to study your opponent.” Jessie added.

Silphen nodded and leaned back, humming again. “And that’s if I’m in the first fight, right? Means I more than likely have longer than that… Hopefully the portals we used won’t kick me back before the final fight, because the longest I’ve been gone from my world is two weeks. Tried going longer, but something something magic bullshit I got kicked back home.”

“Every fight is in the first round will be on the same day,” Jessie commented, “And judging by the schedule,” he conjured a portal next to him and reached into it before pulling out a piece of paper. “Yeah, you’ll be here for two weeks, but two days before we hit that fourteen day mark is the finals.”

“Got it. But since we didn’t use my magic to get here, I’m just hoping it’s not my magic that’s gonna kick me back. Either way, I’m looking forward to these fights. Win or lose, I’m sure I will walk away from this with new spells or ideas for new spells.” Silphen said with a smile as he looked back to the table… Only to see an empty plate where the Patties used to be.

Another portal appeared and down dropped more patties, “Speaking of, weren’t we supposed to go over the rules?” Tina raised a brow.

“Yeah, we were,” Jessie conjured another portal and reached into it before pulling out a stack of papers. “We should probably hand these out.”

The Eliatrope clad in pink nodded, “Yeah.”

Silphen smiled and began eating again, intent on filling his stomach for the first proper time in a long time, using his magic to grab a paper of the rules and bringing it over to himself. “Noted. I’ll read these back in the room.”

The Eliatropes nodded and went back to drinking their coffee.

One of the papers got slipped off the top of the stack and Zeko gave it a cursory look. The rules? “Makes sense… Uh, pink girl, why is there a rule about robots powered by-”

“COME ON!” Kotetsu was shouting at someone serving his meal. “There’s no fucking way you had that too! Okay… Chocolate covered bacon, seasoned with macadamia nuts and caramel.” Once again he was shocked at the fact that someone managed to produce it for him, this was either Hell or a personal Heaven.

“Huh, I see someone’s enjoying themselves,” Jessie noted with a raised brow.

“You get used to him. But these are the rules?” A quick flick of the sheet and he sat down to ask a few questions. “What the hell happened to instate some of these?”

The Eliatropes looked at each other, “...You don’t wanna know,” they said at the same time, glancing back at Zeko.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to, but if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine.” He crumpled the paper up and opened his book to peruse through it. “So what’s our options for today? What can we eat?”

Inside Phos’s room, there were three beds, but only two went claimed.

“So…” Phos remained standing, “What do you think?”

Indigo looked up from her covers, “Strange to say the least,” She went about unfastening her harness, “I expected there to be a fight by now.”

“I think we’ve got some time before that,” Phos glanced around the room quickly, “Nice place.”

“I honestly thought we would be seeing more ponies if this is Equestria.” Indigo shook her head,

“I saw a few.”

“Did you see that wolf-thing?” Fletch asked, her bow clutched tightly between her forelegs.

“Yes,” Indigo nodded, “And it spoke. If I’m not mistaken,” She turned towards Phos, “That is one of the fighters you will be competing against.”

“Oh yeah…” Phos put a hand to the chin of her mask, “What do you think of them? The other fighters I mean.”

Indigo stared at her for a moment, before flopping back into the bed, “I don’t know, Phos. What do you want me to say? They’re all so different and strange, they’re like you in that regard, but I can’t say the same for anything else. Besides you, the only other bipeds I know of are either birds or minotaurs! And I’ve only met one in passing!”

“Well… Okay… But-”

“Stop.” Indigo sat back up, “What do you think of them?” She demanded,

“Um…” Phos trailed off, “Uh… Well, the wolf-guy had a book.”

“A spellbook,” Indigo clarified,

Phos nodded, “A lot of them had swords,”

“Good, you know what you’re up against then.”

“And that one girl had a gun.”

“What’s a gun?” Fletch asked,

Phos looked over to her, “Um, it’s like a…” She held up her hand and mimed pulling a trigger, “It shoots things.”

Fletch abruptly gasped, “Is it like those blaster things from the Star Wars?!”

Phos blinked, “A little, yeah.”

“Are there more?! Can I get one?! Please?!” Fletch practically leapt off the other bed,

“Uh…” Phos leaned back a bit, “I don’t know, Fletch. Maybe ask around?”

“I will!” She went to step off the bed, only for her quiver to stay in place via a deep blue glow.

“Settle down first.” Indigo ordered, yanking Fletch back to the center of the bed, “I’d rather we come up with a plan than just each go off on our own.”

Fletch fidgeted a little, then just sighed and sat down, though she kept her smile.

“What did you have in mind?” Phos asked,

Indigo squinted, and looked around the room, “It’s a little dark in here, where are the lanterns?”

“Oh!” Phos exclaimed, before turning around, “Here.” She flicked the light switch on the wall, then paused to stare at her hand.

Indigo glanced up at the ceiling, muttering, “Automagic lights, of course.”

“When did that get there?” Phos whispered, holding her palm up and moving something around with her finger,

“What?” Indigo looked over, “What are you messing with?”

“Uh…” Phos turned to face them again, “This,” She held up a small black sphere in her hand,

Actually, it was too oblong to be a sphere, and there was a ridge down the center, separating it into two hemispheres that came together in a little stem at the edge. It looked like a little seed of some sort, though it was rather large to be anything other than one for a tree.

There was also a string tied around it, leading off to a piece of parchment still resting on Phos’s palm.

Indigo just inspected the whole thing, before her gaze landed on the parchment.

“What does it say?”

“‘Plant me.’” Phos answered,

“Where did you get that?” Fletched asked,

“I…” Phos paused for a moment, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t remember picking it up?” Indigo asked incredulously,

“I haven’t picked anything up since before we left.” Phos recounted, “And I didn’t even have my gloves on for that.”

“Should we… Plant it?” Fletch asked,

Phos looked at her, before glancing at the other end of their room, where a glass door led to a little outside area. She took a single step forward, and Indigo’s hoof shot in front of her.

“Maybe hold off on that for now. If you don’t know what that is or why you have it, then it’s probably not the best idea to just do what it says.”

“Hmmm.” Phos hummed, rubbing the seed between her fingers for a bit. “...Okay.” She reached over and set it on a nearby dresser. “So… what’s your plan?”

Indigo nodded, “This is a tournament, right?” She began, “You’re going to be fighting the other contestants, you should do all you can to get information about them.”

“Well yeah,” Phos replied, “I was going to talk to them regardless. I was actually about to go do that right now.”

“Hold it!” Indigo interrupted,

Phos stopped mid stride,

“Don’t give them any information about yourself.”

“Why not?”

“Do you want them to know how to beat you?” Indigo demanded,

“...N-No.” Phos said slowly, “But not telling them anything doesn’t sound very nice…”

“It’s not supposed to be nice!” Indigo argued, “This is a tournament! You’re going to fight them! You’re in it to win!”

“...That doesn’t sound very fun…”

Indigo scowled, “And you would give up a wish for that?”

Phos returned the intense look, “What if my wish was to have fun?”

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Indigo finally huffed, “Fine, your loss. Do what you want. You’re the one fighting. I don’t care anymore.”

“Thank you,” Phos bowed her head, then turned to the door again, “I’m going to head out then, see you guys later.”

Author's Note

I can’t even lie, this one has gone pretty darn smooth if I do say so myself. A few bumps here and there, it’s kind of a mess with everyone writing but things will smoothen out as we get into later chapters and people start to split up. The Commanders remain a mystery, but when they appear, everyone will be in shock and awe. That’s all I had to say. Peace! – Uncle Iroh.

Why does Fletch know about Star Wars? Phos told her. It happens in Arc 2, so if you ever read that, comment when you find it. As for the seed. Who knows what it is, or how it got there, or why Phos was holding it, or why she didn’t even know she was holding it. The real question is: Would you plant a random seed with a ‘Plant me’ tag on it? - Conglomerate

Into the Unknown: Boy Talk.

“This place is fucking sweet.” Kotetsu’s tone sounded mildly impressed with the level of care in the springs, there was even an area to bathe and wash off at first… he did not use it. A dark red towel with a purple ox head was wrapped around his waist, even though there were complementary ones he wanted his own. He settled into the water with his phone, which most people wouldn’t have brought into a place with a large amount of water.

The water was nice and hot with plenty of minerals to soothe an injured, tired, or just fucking sore body. ‘Heh, that guy got hit with a coconut. Fucking idiot.’

"Hm, only an egomaniac here. Disappointing." An androgynous human with a crotch as smooth as a Barbie or Ken doll's slipped into the tub. "Mind if I join you?"

Kotetsu’s face went from jovial over the coming funny prank he had planned… to lacking any and all interest for the newcomer. A background character messing with his time to unwind wasn’t the most welcome thing. “This is the men’s spring, jackass. So unless you’re a femboy, you should get out.”

Spot raised an eyebrow. There was a quick flash of green light beneath the water, which boiled for a second. "Well I am now. Spot, changeling companion to the Undying Angel. Nice to meet you."

“If I drown you is it a hate crime to trans people or genderfluids… either way you’re a guy now so welcome or whatever.” He went back to scrolling through his phone with a small smirk, the funny videos on his feed added into his mirth but somehow he felt like he forgot something… ‘Eh, fuck it I’ll remember later.’ Actually- “Wait. You’re one of the bug bitches? But not feral? How does that work?”

"Different world, different rules. I am given to understand that the precise way that changelings function is one of the most variable things in the Equestrian multiverse." He chuckled. "Fitting, I suppose. Oh, and it would be towards genderfluids. Not that you could manage it, anyway. I just created a literal dick to get you off of my proverbial one; growing gills would hardly even be an inconvenience."

Kotetsu lowered his phone to tilt his head ever so slightly, his wet hair following the motion while he eyed the bug twink up and down… he’d seen better. “Making a fake dick won’t get me on it, I’m married. And gills doesn’t mean you can’t drown, just means I gotta try. I set a fucking ocean on fire before…” He chuckled at the sight of a kid slamming into a wall on account of his bike not being able to stop in time, bad parents made awesome videos.* “They still don’t know how I pulled that off. But whatever helps you sleep, bugstolfo.”

Spot snorted. "Bugstolfo. I'll have to remember that one to torture Angel with." In a flash of green fire, Spot transformed into a perfect replica of Astolfo. He looked himself over a bit, smaller areas of his body flaring with green fire as he made adjustments. Finally satisfied, he returned to his twink form and turned back to Kotetsu. "So, setting an ocean on fire, huh? Impressive. What else can you do?"

If Spot knew what he just did, which wasn’t much all things considered, he might have at least hesitated to ask again. “It’s way easier to say what I can’t do… And I don’t really fucking know what I can’t do. I only win, I’m pretty much God tier if I say so myself, and the only thing that’ll ever kill me…” A cocky raise of his hand complete with a finger twirl to aim at his own pearly smile. “Is me.

Spot licked his lips. "Wow. That's some powerful cockiness you've got there. Makes for a nice palate cleanser after what happened in the girls' baths."

“It’s not cockiness, it’s a fact.” He decided to lift his phone back up to send a fast message to his cousin, not that he needed to but it never hurts to have corroboration. “I’m just that good. Now quit eye fucking and tell me what happened with the other hoes, female or otherwise.”

Spot shrugged. "Eh, nothing much. One of us has some demons the rest of us didn't know about. Things were said. Feelings were hurt. Nothing ill was intended, but the whole pool was left tasting of guilt, sadness, and general bad vibes. Not the most tasty bouquet, though I know some changelings that have acquired a taste for it. So I came over here to see if I could get a better meal. And some eye-candy, of course." He considered for a moment. "Oh. And there was some groping involved."

“Titty touching, nice. Only problem is that you didn’t really pick a time with this place being full, just me. But my dumbass cousin should be popping up like a tiny mole eventually.” He set his phone down to pull a rock from the water, and then squeezed it into his palm like some type of stress ball. “If I recall… you bugs eat emotions, so what did you want from here?” He opened his palm to reveal the dust from the crushed piece of earth, and he blew it into the humid air with a snide look. “Other than meatgazing.”

Spot shrugged again. "Honestly, I'm just getting whatever I can snap up for dessert. Angel keeps me plenty filled with affection." He smirked evilly. "And I'm not sure I'd call it 'titty touching.' I was groping Angel, after all. I've got more curves in this body than she does."

“Small titties count too. All size makes the wood rise, so don’t leave out the little ones.” Kotetsu leaned up with a fully serious smile and eyes that shifted from coal black to piercing crimson with three tomoe in both irises. “Bug. Ass, or tits. What do you like more?”

"Flanks." Spot chuckled. "I'm afraid that while I understand humanoid sexuality, my preferences remain equine."

Kotetsu had to think about that for a moment and then grinned, maybe the bug wasn’t as annoying as he could’ve been. “An ass fan isn’t bad to me, and flank is pretty much ass but for pony people. If you were a bitch and tried to say something about-”

“About how boobs are better… he’d probably ignore you for a while.” Zeko stepped into- He somehow stepped right into the water, unnoticed by anyone until he decided to speak up on his own preferences. “I’m on team big boobs, Kotetsu’s a closet pedophile and says flat chests are okay if ‘the ass fat though’ so-

A splash, more like a small wave, of water cut him off from the bullshit he was spewing. “And the midget with mommy issues tries to tell me something. Bug, you’re not as big a stain as I thought.” Fans of a nice rear end were always valid in Kotetsu’s book, Spot was alright enough for now…

Spot shrugged. "As Angel is so fond of muttering under her breath, Flat is Justice." He smirked at Zeko. "And oppai may be truth, but I'm a changeling and we deal in lies; I cannot support your camp."

“Angel… the guy you came with? So he likes small tits too.” Zeko leaned back against the stones and sank himself ever so slightly lower into the water, enjoying the heat and comfort of the water… it reminded him of the only other time he’d been in one. “I don’t really need either of you to be on my side, Kotetsu’s wife has nice boobs so he just says it to be against me.” His relaxed gaze went to the feminine changeling and assessed for all it was worth. “You’re here to eat emotions aren’t you, is that why you act so eccentric? Get more reactions.”

"Part of it," Spot admitted, deciding not to correct his misunderstanding about Angel. "Mostly it's just that I have very little opportunity to interact with others, what with having to hide what I am and all. So I'm finding myself a touch... unrestrained at the moment." He shrugged. "I'm sure I'll mellow out as the tournament progresses. By the way, who do you favor to win?"

Zeko closed his eyes to think about that, still letting the warmth of the water caress his body. “Hm.”

“I’ll be real.” Kotetsu interjected to pull another rock from the water, but this time he decided to throw it over towards where he believed the women’s bath was. “I bet, and I don’t take losing bets cause that’s dumb as hell. All my money would go on Zeko and I’d pay out, full offense to your flat friend.”

Spot simply smirked in reply. "I think Angel will surprise you. Heck, I fully expect her to surprise me, and I trained her."

“Well I’m not gonna whip out everything that I can do. It wouldn’t be fair, but I think that W could win.” He was more humble over it than his cousin… but he felt like giving his everything in this tournament would defeat the purpose of it being fun. “We aren’t all trying to kill each other, it’s just fun. But what could Angel surprise me with… Something that could turn me to stone?” Now he was thinking of the applications to be found in the flat girl, which he knew was a girl but he decided to cut deep regardless of her not being here to know, and the mystery of what she could have in her arsenal made Zeko think.

Spot laughed off the notion while adding "Petrification Abilities" to his mental list of future programing projects. "Nothing quite like that. But you'll find that my Angel has quite a few tricks hidden up her sleeves. Weapons and abilities you wouldn't expect just from looking at her. But why do you take W for the winner, then? Is she that powerful?"

“W’s pretty impressive to me.” He was just drifting in the water now, only his head and upper chest were above the surface in his supreme relaxation. “Tactical mind mixed with resilient energy and almost suicidal methods… a crazy woman who will blow everything and herself up. If it works it works, and self destructive ability gets you far.”

"Interesting. She seemed more level-headed than that when we were talking, but I guess the heat of battle brings out a different side in some people." He shrugged. "What about the others? The Links, the Furry, the Rock, and the Edgelord? Personally, I don't see most of them as a threat."

Kotetsu pulled something from the water again, except it couldn’t have been a rock… rocks don’t have eight legs and fuzzy bodies the size of a hand. “I dunno, that edgelord might be short but like I said he’s got my fucking money on him.” The spider crawled along his arm before setting onto a cozy spot in his damp hair, somehow not bothered by the heat or the humidity.

Zeko rolled his eyes at his own nickname but didn’t care enough to correct it, even he could admit that sometimes he had the edge of an alt music fan. “I hate to say it but he’s right, the dog might be a problem since he’s got a lot of power but maybe not as much technique. Everyone else, including your flat friend…” Zeko allowed a small chuckle to leave his mouth, bullying the less endowed wouldn’t leave him. “Yeah I’m not seeing them as too big of a problem, but I’ll keep my guard up.”

"More power than technique, you say?" Spot nodded. "I'll bear that in mind."

“You’re the bugstolfo, Spot. Kotetsu said you could be the ‘breedable homeboy’ since you can transform.” He finally lifted his body slightly from the water to acknowledge the changeling. “You and Kotetsu acting like each other might make someone go insane.”

Spot raised an eyebrow. "'Breedable homeboy?' I hope I'm the stud in that equation; I never let myself be fertile when I take female form."

Kotetsu cocked an eyebrow at Spot’s intentional dumbassery, no way in Hell the bug thought he was doing the breeding. “Nah, you’re the one getting it. I know like four people who would make you a housewife, one of them is my wife.”

“Except she makes Kotetsu the housewife, you should see his maid outfit.” Zeko was chuckling at the memory of seeing his elder cousin in his… very provocative maid dress. Mainly since it was a funny moment for the friend group.

“I served and ate in that shit.”

Spot chuckled, a little darkly. "I highly doubt that anyone here has what it takes to break my will like that. I may occasionally play the sub for my partner's enjoyment, but believe me, it is always an act. Never have I met a will that could dominate my own; I highly doubt I ever will."

The cousins looked at Spot, then at each other, then back to Spot just to be sure they heard that correctly. They weren’t doubting it, they weren’t questioning it, and they definitely didn’t want to test it… “You can’t find a dom in gay horse world? Damn that’s crazy.”

“I’d be more concerned if there was one, Equestrians are pretty soft. I got fined for cursing out loud when I was in mine… and that one was probably at the tougher end.”

They by no means doubted, wanted to test, or questioned Spot… but considering the pool of what he could have? “Soft ass bitches are all you fucked, but if that’s what you want go for it bugstolfo.”

Spot snorted. "Bitch, please. You think ponies were the only ones on the menu? I've bedded zebras, gryphons, minotaurs, yaks, and even a couple of younger dragons. Not to mention other changelings with some truly freaky transformations. If there was anyone who could adequately top me, I'd have found them by now. Humans might have an impressive imagination when it comes to porn, but I highly doubt they can pull out anything I haven't seen before."

“You haven’t been with humans who have unlimited stamina.” Zeko decided to rest against the rocks again while his black hair started to shift and move, revealing a snake with purple and white scales. “Liking the heat? You can swim around if you want.” His snake proceeded to quickly leave his hair in slink into the water, having a blast with getting to be totally warm and in high humidity.*

“Doesn’t matter what shit you’ve seen, you just haven’t gotten a human who knows what they’re doing. A basic bitch with a giant strap on isn’t as bad as a dommy mommy with a normal one.” Kotetsu was still messing with his spider, but his logic wasn’t too off base… how did they even get here? What was this conversation? Gold. It was gold.

Spot scoffed. "There's nothing basic about bedding a yak or a minotaur. You want to talk endless stamina? Yaks don't stop because they get tired; they stop because they're satisfied. You want to talk skill? The things that minotaurs can do with their hands... well, I'm sure humans are well aware." He shook his head. "Whatever skills or stamina the beings gathered here possess, I highly doubt any of them could dom me into being their, ah, 'breedable homeboy.'"

Kotetsu cocked a brow while his spider ever so casually climbed down to cover one of his eyes. He couldn’t believe what the bug twink was saying, but ignorance is bliss. “So yaks have three days worth of fucking in them? And flexing hands to a human is like flexing hard work to a bee, shit is redundant.” His spider leapt down to the water with a plop. Curling into a ball and drifting with the warmth. “You little dumbass… Anyway, one of those fruity looking blondes might have what it takes.”

“Those three don’t feel like they’re endless, but maybe they do the hiding thing like me. And Kotetsu… you don’t have infinite stamina. You’re just a freak of nature.”

He lifted his arms to splay himself up proudly, muscles that he worked hard for with a notable scar around his bicep. “Goddamn right.”

Spot eyed his muscles. He then quickly dipped his head beneath the water to eye up everything down there. He surfaced with a smirk. "I've seen bigger. In every respect."

Kotetsu shook his head with a smirk. Spot’s lack of real experience was showing to a man as worldly as him. “Size isn’t bad, but good size and perfect technique beat everything. Plus I’d bet money I can arm wrestle the biggest dickhead you know and win… after snapping his fucking arm in half.” A nod to his shorter cousin. “And he’s the physically stronger of us two.”

Spot simply shook his head at this cocky manchild, recalling that time he met the God of Minotaurs and the one time he saw Yak God from a distance. Not to mention his several meetings with Tiamat all those years ago. "There are more things in Heaven and Equus than are dreamt of in your philosophy. If I were you, I'd be cautious of judging another's experiences from a brief conversation. I have met beings before whom you would be but a mildly annoying wasp. Check yo'self before you wreck yo'self."

And there was the boot… Kotetsu’s eyes flashed crimson and looked into Spot’s, the single moment was all it took for Kotetsu to grin. “Oh you’re a twisted bug. Killing that bitch over and over, hunting and killing to live, you’re getting more impressive bugstolfo. Being scared of gods...” Kotetsu leaned forward again with a calculating look, and yet his eyes still kept the same energy he held near and dear. “If it bleeds, it dies.”

Spot leaned forward as well. "Then I suppose they don't die." He leaned back, relaxing once again into the hot spring. "I don't know how the gods of your world work, but the gods of mine do not ache, bleed, or perish unless their believers reject them. And that has happened maybe three times in recorded history. Apart from that, you could mutilate Moon-butt's avatar until it was a fine red paste and it wouldn't do a thing to the Goddess of Ponies, The Night, Dreams, and Coffee. It would be annoying for her to have to create a new avatar, and you would make an enemy of all of Equestria for slaying one of their Princesses, but you would not be able to touch the divine nature behind the mask that is 'Princess Luna.'"

Kotetsu was going to propose his clear cut idea to that wad of nothing he heard, but his relative beat him to the punch. “So they’re like that dragon, Sahloknir.”

“That big lizard that came with the masked faggot?”

“More than a lizard.” Zeko hummed and went through his memories, recalling relevant details. This talk of divines was getting interesting enough to see where they stood. “Sa-sa made it clear, those dovah are timeless. They always existed, and unless their soul is taken by someone with their blood… they’re unending. Like gods really, massively powerful and intelligent. But their physical bodies can be hurt and killed, their soul just doesn’t go anywhere. Souls are a metaphysical thing that can only be affected by some people, a soul is tied to anything that exists… I messed with Sa-sa a little, maybe if I spent more time at it I could’ve destroyed it.” All that talking made him decide to lay back and float again, working into concepts always felt like a chore. “Blehh… but maybe it works different for you, maybe it doesn’t? Concepts are difficult. Imagination and Yin tie together so the idea that I can hurt a god where you’re from isn’t crazy.”

“Orrrr…” Kotetsu’s interruptions came with Zeko’s eyes trailing to him and his immediate sigh, since he knew very well that he would say- “If I killed all the horse people who believe in them. They’d die.”

“Ughhh… that’s the guaranteed way. Damn it. I hate when you’re right.”

Spot hummed in contemplation. "You'd have to kill a lot more than just the ponies. The Goddess of the Night is recognized by everyone, even if the Goddess of ponies is less well-known. She'd definitely change fundamentally as one of her domains would be gone, but she wouldn't die. You'd have to destroy the night, dreams, and coffee as well, or at least change how everyone sees those things on a fundamental level. And you'd have to do that all at once, too; as everyone started getting less and less scared of the night, Luna's divine aspect gradually became less and less frightening." He snorted. "Well, the gods are terrifying as a rule, but that's a different sort of fear."

“Either kill every fucking thing on your planet, or hypnotize all of them to never see the shit she controls the same again.” Kotetsu exhaled to think about God murder even deeper, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t overcome after all. “I don’t know… what if I killed the pony bitches and declared myself as the new god? I already proved myself there, they’ll follow up or die.”

"Then they will die. Especially amongst ponies, raw might is far from enough to gain their obeisance. They would mourn the loss of Celestia and Luna while still worshiping the Goddess of Protection and the Goddess of Ponies. Eventually, new avatars would be born." He chuckled. "Not because every god must have an avatar, but because those particular goddesses can't seem to leave their little ponies alone. The Gryphon god hasn't had a semi-mortal avatar in centuries. Possibly millenia." He tilted his head curiously. "Why are you so hung up on this, anyway? Why formulate ways to slay our gods? Do you have something against divinity in general?" He smirked. "Or is your ego so fragile that just the concept of something you can't kill is enough to threaten your self-image?"

“Year one psychology is cute bugstolfo, but it’s not the concept that I can’t kill it.” Kotetsu raised a middle finger to the sky with a flex of his muscles, a simple sign and showing of what he was all about. “I am Kotetsu Uchiha. The best of the best. And killing a full fledged god is on my list of shit to do.”

"Ah, that makes sense," Spot said with a nod. "You're a full-fledged narcissist." His tone conveyed no judgement or disapproval, simply observation.

Zeko huffed before calling out, “Spot.” He didn’t raise his body but kept his head slightly up to show his own care. “Kotetsu might sound like a bratty, full of himself, spoiled kid who needs to get humbled… And he is sometimes. But, he’s Him with a capital H. If he and I fought with everything we had, even as I am now, he’d win. Kotetsu’s narcissistic but if it’s backed up by actually being that good, is he really wrong?”

Spot shrugged. "Most people would approve of that as an excuse for cockiness. Narcissism is more difficult to defend. After all, the cocky can still consider how their actions affect others. Narcissists struggle with that. Whatever god you someday slay, you will bring about the suffering of everyone who worships that god. The suffering of thousands, millions, billions is your stated goal, just so that you can prove that you have the might to slay a god. Any moralist or ethicist would say that that makes you wrong." He shrugged again. "Of course, I am neither a moralist nor an ethicist. So long as the god you kill is not one of ours, I will not try to dissuade you. But I will warn you to beware the retribution of those who you bring suffering to. Or of agents of justice who would fight for their sakes."

Kotetsu looked dumbfounded entirely by that winded explanation. Thousands, millions, or even billions suffering? “The fuck would I care about them for? It either exists because I like it, or it shouldn’t exist. And I have fun when I want, maybe I wanna dress in all pink and beat up someone. Or I’ll teleport and give someone the pimp hand.” He grinned with his crimson eyes turning into a distinct pattern, fractured black lines and red irises. “Fembug, think like this. You don’t care about the dust you clean, but the fucking mites are there in it. You wash your- Uh… appendages, but the bacteria need to live. Shit, you could dig a garden but you still ruined a tiny ecosystem. But this ain’t about morals, it’s about being free.” Kotetsu folded his arms while his spider crawled up his back to perch on his shoulder. A tilt of his head and a cocking of his brow predicted his next question. “Do I look like I should care about anything but what I want?”

Spot shrugged. "'Should' isn't really my specialty. Just be prepared to be taken out by someone stronger than you who does care. There's always a bigger fish, and the biggest fish tend to care about mortals, for some reason. Eventually, doing whatever you want will lead to consequences that you don't particularly care for." He shrugged again. "Unless of course you're fine with getting done by someone stronger than you eventually. In which case, go ham."

“If they were stronger than me, then it had to have just been another version of me. Nobody kills me but me.” His eyes went back to their black color and he laid back against the rocks, conversation done on his terms with the finality he spoke with. Some could say his head is up his ass, but it didn’t matter if he was the greatest.

Spot rolled his eyes, but left it at that.

The sound of footsteps can be heard meeting the wet floor. The moment anyone turned to look would see Jeff, one of the three Link Displaced that had arrived (days/etc) ago. He had a fairly toned body that looked to be a balanced mix of speed and strength. The most noticeable and possible eye catching detail about his appearance, would be the wide star shaped scar on his chest. He has not heard anything about the conversation other than the last few words.

Kotetsu’s neck nearly snapped to check out whoever just walked into the springs, and the sight of the blonde clone twink didn’t entertain him. “Another nobody, can't we have some more big booty bitches?”

“You don’t even like other women than your wife.”

Kotetsu shook his head at his younger cousin, not seeing the bigger picture. “It’s not about them being women I can leer at, it’s about the idea of ruining their confidence. Hot bitches that I can call ugly and break the spirits of… that's the best shit.”

“..Well they’ll most likely going to stay if you think they’ll accept you degrading them.” Jeff said with a frown of disapproval.

“And females aren’t as fragile as you think,” added Spot. “They’re more likely to ignore you than have their spirits broken if you straight-up insult them.”

“Pfft- As if I can’t break someone in fifteen seconds. The bitches I avoid don’t compare to my Shiro, she’s the baddest bitch there ever is.” He loved his wife and only loved his daughter as much. He pulled a photo of his wife up so they could all see her beauty… while she had a bloody sword in her hand with a vicious grin on her face. “The best woman.”

As a man who loved his own wife… Zeko fully understood that. Demeaning women who weren’t his perfect and beautiful Kuebiko? Yeah, he understood Kotetsu completely. Oh shit, new guy. “You’re one of the Links right? Jeff?”

“Yea, one of the three.” Jeff said as she sat down into the hotsprings, leaning his back into the rocks.

“What exactly is a ‘Link?’” Spot asked. “I’m an Equus native. Not really familiar with Earth culture.” A bold-faced lie, but these guys didn’t know he had internet access.

Kotetsu squinted at the lying bug but didn’t care enough to call him out on it, the bastard didn’t want to pay him for intel after all. “They’re some kind of elf or some shit.”

“No, Link is who I became physically in body. My race is actually a Hylian.” Jeff explained to clear up the confusion.

Spot rolled his eyes. “Okay, what’s a Hylian, then?”

"Oh boy, it's a long story. It's kind of like an elf but much longer ears, among other things but we’d be here all day if I had to explain in depth, like how we can hear the messages of the goddesses due to our ears, or how our blood is infused with magic.” Jeff said with a shrug.

Spot shrugged, making a mental note to do a deep-delve into Zelda lore. “Fair enough. I guess the next question is, what makes you different from the other Hylians here?”

“Other than appearances, height, age, personality, their outfit? That’s about it. We’re all different incarnated versions of Hylia’s Champion.” Jeff explained as he pushed his long hair back.

“He’s less fruity looking.” Kotetsu gave his own input on that field. Making fun of a twink elf would give him joy.

“Is he?” Spot asked with a smirk. “Hard for me to think of that one Link as ‘fruity’ when he and his Luna are banging.” He turned back to Jeff. “Anything going on between you and either of your guests? I haven’t really had time to suss that out yet.”

“Volvagia is pretty off on her own little adventure exploring the place while Cadance is at the library. This is their first time coming with me to other worlds, so there’s a lot of new things here for them.” Jeff said as he ignored Kotetsu’s comment.

“You’re with a Princess? The moon one right?” Zeko looked somewhat interested again at the idea. He didn't spend time with the rulers much but he remembers Luna a little bit. “How did that happen?”

Spot waved his hand dismissively. “No no, one of the other Links is with his Luna.” He smirked at Jeff. “But from the taste of it, you’ve managed to bag the Food - er - Love Princess. Nice.”

Kotetsu stared at his cousin with a blank expression. “…Damn, is that racist?”

“She’s the Twilight Princess, not love. She’s quite different than the other Cadance’s you’re familiar with.” Jeff pointed out to Spot.

Spot pouted. “Phooey. And here I thought I would have an easy source of food for this tournament. Guess I’ll just have to keep feeding off of Angel.”

“Not unless you stand outside any of the Displaced’s rooms though, but I suggest not doing that…” Jeff said with a raised hand.

Spot smirked. “Why stay that far away when I can be a literal fly on the wall? Or under the bed.”

“Any of the Displaced could sense you or see through your disguise, especially me with my Lens Of Truth.” Jeff said as he gave a warning stare. The hylian did not want anyone spying on him during his alone time with Cadance.

“‘Any of the Displaced,’ huh?” Spot questioned. “I don’t know; changelings are pretty stealthy.”

“Trust me, the Displaced is a whole world to you, and when it comes to them, they can be and use anything they want depending on whatever twisted fate their Displacer decides.” Jeff said with a sharp breath from his nose as he didn’t like what said Displacers were doing.

Zeko looked at Spot for a moment to think about a fresh memory of a fun day… fun after the torture at least. “Spot, can you sense when other changelings die? Or that I killed a nest of them?”

Jeff gave Zeko a long stare, as if trying to figure out if the sand ninja was asking metaphorically or if he was planning to pull a stunt.

Spot shrugged, unconcerned by the revelation. “Not specifically. Changelings are usually very good at not emitting their emotions, but even the best will falter at their time of death. So I get an overwhelming wave of terror that’s suddenly snuffed out if I’m close enough to taste it. But no, nothing really supernatural to tell me.” He hesitated before adding, “unless I’m in the same hivemind as them.”

“Different hive mind… Those jackasses kidnapped me, made me younger, and then I decided to clear the nest.” As casually as mowing the lawn. Zeko explained that he wiped out a high amount of changelings in one go. “But there was one I wanted to save, I just couldn’t. No regrets really, but if I could’ve I would’ve.”

“They made you young, like literally sucked the old age out of you??” Jeff asked Zeko with a tilt of his head.

“Hm… They poisoned me with something and it reverted my body, some of my brain, and maybe even my life energy to when I was twelve. But twelve isn’t young enough for them to have stolen from me.” His eyes went from black to purple with black rings. “They were trying to raise an ancient god and wanted my chakra.” Zeko pouted a bit while sinking into the water. “It’s actually my fault they did it… I was overcharging them every time we fought.”

"By Din's wrath, that sounded rough.. Did they succeed? Did you stop them? What happened afterwards?" Jeff asked with interest in his voice, leaning forward to listen.

A hum of thought came while he sat in the water. “They did succeed. There were five groups. Black Talon, Razor Wing, Gleaming Scales… I don’t even remember the pony one. But it didn’t matter, we stopped them.”

“That fucking god was a bitch to fight.” Kotetsu could remember the strain of it all. Not that it was that hard but the damn thing was practically immortal. “Probably would’ve reshaped the fucking world.”

“But, a forest spirit. Ano, she helped us seal him away and locked him through a door to who knows where.” The only issue was what he was leaving out but they probably didn’t care for those details. Not now at least.

“At least they were taken care of, although temporarily more or less until someone breaks them out, or the seal breaks.” Jeff said as he crossed his arms.

Zeko laughed a little bit at that while his snake coiled back into his hair to rest. “It’s double sealed. Another version of me tried to drain it so I sealed it in… let’s just say I sealed it in the center of a lot of rocks. Ano buried it and made it look like a hill.”

“Nobody’s gonna mess with that shit for a while.” Kotetsu was scrolling again but semi tuned into the conversation, but not enough to give any real insight.

“Sounds like quite the ordeal,” Spot said. “Fighting off five organizations at once? Must have been some battle.”

“A lot of the time they were coming at me alone… okay not alone but, one group at a time.” Zeko raised his torso out of the water again to focus on Spot, respect and all that. “The hardest parts were dealing with the dragon’s aspect. They all had someone tied to that ancient door for the god, the dragon’s didn't like theirs. Torch asked me to kill it and I did.”

Kotetsu snickered at the hilarity of his fight during that climax. “I fought some minotaur jackass who swam in the ground, but he wasn’t shit with exploded lungs.”

“But I had another question, Spot… can you tell how people feel all the time?” Zeko didn't exactly bond with many changelings so getting information would be a nice venture.

Spot snorted and raised an eyebrow. “I’d be a pretty lousy empath and emotivore if I couldn’t. The only beings I can’t get a read on are other changelings who are concealing their emotions or…” He hesitated. “Well, suffice it to say that I can read just about everyone here like an open book. That Phos girl was a little tricky at first, but I’ve got her down, now.”

Kotetsu looked at the twink with a smirk on his face. Setting up his usual shenanigans. “You’re easy to read too, not much protection from high up shit in that empty head, bugstolfo.”

Spot returned the smirk. “The fact that you’re calling my head empty tells me that you aren’t as good at reading me as you think.”

“Oho a challenge? I mean, not fair since I didn't spend years on the run and acting like a pet for love. But I keep saying, I’m good enough to back it up.” He showed a picture of his daughter to Jeff, not fully caring that the man seemed a little tense but a cute kid would make most people happier.

Spot’s eye twitched as he forced Kotetsu out of his head, but he gave no other reaction.

“Life’s greatest treasure.. Speaking of which,” Jeff paused to look up at the ceiling. “I’m still nervous when the time comes of me having a kid of my own, especially since me and Cadance are almost different races, what with her being a Twili alicorn and me being a Hylian.”

Spot waved him off with an encouraging smile. “I’ve found that mixed-species families work out fine as long as both parents are open to each other’s cultures.” He paused. “Or are you thinkin about difficulties conceiving? Because in that case, you could just get a sire for Cadance.”

“Compatibility is what I mean, if her egg can bear my seed and make something without anything going wrong in the next few years of it forming.” Jeff explained, mentally hoping he worded it right without disturbing anyone here.

Zeko shuddered at the way he phrased that but still wanted to help out. “Maybe you should just try building a loving relationship? If kids happen they happen, but if you aren’t compatible you can adopt.” Zeko laid back into the water again and thought of his own oncoming child. “Plenty of ki- foals out there who want a loving family, and you seem like a cool guy. You’d be a good dad I think, even Kotetsu can do it.”

“The fuck are you implying…”

The two of them locked into an intense glare at one another before breaking it. It wasn’t worth fighting over in the springs. Not now and not ever.

Jeff looks between the two as a moment of intense rose, only to fade like a calming ocean. “I mean we’re in now and have been for a year. It took a lot of time for her to heal from the experience of being lost in the Twilight Realm, especially when she had to move in a small body she was cursed to be in by Sombra. As for her having a kid or adopting, I just want to make sure she’s happy, she means alot to me and I'd hate to see her sad.”

Kotetsu heard all of that and could only think of one fitting word. “Gay.” He was immediately met by a splash of water making him drop his phone. “SHIT!” He dove under to hunt for it while his cousin waved it off.

“Don’t mind him, but what you should do is just be clear how much she means to you. If she’s happy then it’s fine, but you can be happy too.” That was the moment his cousin burst from the water with his phone in hand, uncaring about it being dropped since it was waterproof.

“And if it turns out that natural conception is impossible,” Spot added, “but you still want your children to have both of your DNA, I could always transform into you and…” He trailed off, tasting Jeff’s rejection of that idea. “Huh. Guess that sort of thing isn’t normal in your world. Never mind, then.”

“Bugstolfo… shut up.” Not Kotetsu using the nickname, it was Zeko who glared at Spot and called out the dumbassery of that suggestion.

Jeff gave Spot such a heat filled glare. “You’d not only piss off Cadance but me as well, and you would not like me when I’m mad.” he said warningly as fire danced along his fingertips.

Spot held up his hands placatingly. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it. Getting a sire to help in conception is pretty normal on my Equus. But if your world doesn't have that sort of culture, then I’ll drop it.”

“Yeaaa no, not my Equus.” Jeff said with a shake of his head as the flames around his hands died down.

“Crazy way to ask for a surrogate… Sounds like an excuse to get railed.” Kotetsu was just calmly on his phone again and only causing mild agitation.

Spot rolled his eyes. “It’s just sex.” Tasting the reaction to his words, he chuckled. “Oh wow. Is my Equus the exception, or are all of you just prudish?”

Zeko cocked a brow at the idea but shook his head. “The one I got was pretty open. Except for the dicks who would come around during heat season.”

“Sex isn’t something casual in all worlds.. Is this your time void traveling or..?” Jeff pauses to let Spot answer.

“Yup. First extra-dimensional experience.” Spot leaned back, staring up into the sky. “Lots to learn. New customs. New moores. New faux pas’ and ways to put my hoof in my mouth.” His brows furrowed for a moment as he looked back at the others. “Is that a human phrase? Put your… fist in your mouth? Foot?”

“Biting lips is usually what we say. But a lot of places have casual fucking, me and my wife are teen parents.”

“And yes, putting your foot in your mouth is one of the sayings. I mean to be honest Equus’s phrases aren’t so different to humans other than a few changed words.” Jeff said with a nod.

“That’s weird, isn’t it?” Spot said, tilting his head curiously. “I mean, Earth and Equus exist in two completely different areas of the multiverse.”

“That’s the multiverse theory for ya, it’s either almost the same or entirely different world, so best keep an open mind.” Jeff said as he uncrosses his arms and rests them on his lap.

“Sure, but why are ours similar? I mean, it’s not like there’s any sort of connection between Earth and Equus, right?”

“There was that one mirror in my world, but not the same I’m used to. I mean sure, they’re humanoid but they’ve got skin colors matching their Equus counterparts.” Jeff said as a frown slowly formed on his face. “Hylia, how I miss my original Earth.”

Spot stuck out his tongue and scooted back from Jeff. “Blech. There’s a familiar unpleasant flavor. Novel to taste it from someone other than Angel.”

“I forget that not everyone can just… go home. Kotetsu can go anywhere and I can open spaces to where I’ve been.” Zeko didn’t mean to brag about it but he was very grateful over the fact that he learned how to just… jump to places. “I hope you can get back home, Jeff. But maybe your home is where your heart is.”

"By that logic, it's in my Equus. While I do want to go back to my home because of a number of things I can't get in my Equus, I don't know if my earth is still the same, goddesses know how much time may have gone by.” Jeff said before turning to look at Spot. “..Do you constantly taste emotions or do you have any control there?”

“Constant,” Spot said. “Which is fine, most of the time. I’m used to it. But when the negative emotions are powerful and sudden enough…” He shuddered. “Let’s just say that there are certain things that Ange and I don’t talk about unless we’re on opposite sides of the room.”

“So you instigate?” Zeko flopped back into the water and started messing with more sand, swirling it and spinning it in the air above him. “No wonder you and Kotetsu get along.”

Spot shrugged. “That’s part of it. Control other people’s emotions, and I don’t get any surprises on my tongue. But honestly?” He chuckled without humor, a dark look entering his eyes. “It’s just nice to be able to cut loose and be myself in public for fucking once.”

“Be free.” Kotetsu sat up and looked right at the bug. “Do what you want. Be free, I do whatever and nobody can stop me… but, who’s gonna stop me? Be someone they can’t stop and then you have freedom.”

Spot shot him a deadpan glare. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll just do that.” He shook his head and adopted a cocky smirk, all trace of humorlessness gone in an instant. “But enough of dark tidings. Who here brought the hottest companion? Remember, what happens in the baths stays in the baths.”

Kotetsu pointed at Zeko without a second to spare. “I’m the baddest bitch here, so the midget brought me.”

Author's Note

Wow, this Kotetsu guy really seems arrogant. I wonder if he can back it up! Anyway, that’s all I had to yap. Peace! – Uncle Iroh.

Kotetsu’s a little rough around the edges, BUT- Yeah no he’s just rough around the edges, you get used to it. Til next time! - Seeker

“Ugh. Feel like washing my own mouth out with soap after that.” Spot hangs out with the boys, looking for more information. Unfortunately, this will be the start of a rather… rocky relationship between Angel's party and Zeko's. This is probably the chapter I'd most like to rewrite if it were just up to me. Cut out the more vulgar bits of conversation. Ah well, that's what you get when you do a huge colab like this. -Show Stopper

Into the Unknown: Chapter 25.5

The door to her room clicked open, and Phos stepped through, a bit of a slouch to her shoulders. As soon as it closed behind her, a little green sprite squirmed its way out of her hood.

“Phos, Phos!” Shinsha exclaimed,

“Hey Shinsha,” Phos replied, “Thanks for staying in all this time.”

“Hmph!” Shinsha landed on her outstretched hand, “Repay, repay. Flowers, flowers.”

“But you just had some.”

“More, more.”

Phos looked at the little light bouncing on her palm for a moment, before sighing, “Okay, we can get some tomorrow too.”

“So, how’d it go?” A voice asked from further in the room.

Both Indigo and Fletch were sitting on their respective beds, completely undressed and ready for the night.

Phos sighed again, her shoulders drooping a little more. “Could’ve gone better.”

“Did you get any information?”

“Yeah… A little.”

“And did you give any information?” Indigo asked with a raised brow.

“...Yeah… A little…”

She sighed, “What did you find out?”

“Well, there’s a girl named Angel, she has wings. And a girl named W, who makes things explode.”

“Which one had the ‘gun’?” Fletch asked,

Phos blinked, “W, I think.”

“And what did you tell them?” Indigo demanded,

“Just this,” Phos raised her right hand and pulled off the glove.

“Of course you did.” Indigo huffed, “Well whatever, it’s not like you can do much with that anyway.”

Phos clutched her hands closer to her chest, “I can do things with it.”

“In a fight?” Indigo reiterated,

“...I can do some things with it…”

“Sure.” Indigo rolled her eyes, and ended up staring at the ceiling. “Can you turn the lanterns down? I want to go to sleep soon.”

“Yeah,” Fletch added, “How did you do that?”

“You just flip this switch on the wall, here.” Phos moved over to do it.

All the lights shut off, leaving them in complete darkness.

“Not all of them.” Indigo complained,

“The switch controls all of them.” Phos replied,

“You can’t choose which ones to dim?”

Phos flicked the lightswitch on again, then off, then on. “I don’t think so.”

Indigo just sighed, “Then leave them on for now.”

“How did you know it did that?” Fletch asked,

Phos looked over at her, “There were lights like these where I came from. I think they run on electricity.”

“So you know how they work.” Indigo deduced,

“I know they work.” Phos replied, “Not how.”

“Just like all the other nonsense you’ve spouted,” Indigo muttered, “So you understand everything that’s going on right now?”

“Nope.”

“Wonderful.” Indigo grunted, “What do you know then?”

“I know this place has electricity,” Phos pointed up, “And I know where I’m sleeping tonight,” Her hand turned to the floor. Any more than that, we’ll just have to see.”

“Then what about this?” Indigo asked, producing a small object in her hoof. “What is this?”

Phos squinted at it, “It looks like a ball of foil. Where’d you find it?”

“It was on all our beds.” Fletch answered, holding up her own.

“It has a pleasant smell.” Indigo continued, “But the inside feels like wax. Is it a scented candle or something?”

“Give it here.” Phos held out her hand with a sigh.

The little foil wrapped object floated over to her, and she gently took it and unwrapped it, revealing a shiny, dark brown bar.

Phos blinked, “This is chocolate.”

“‘Chocolate?’” Indigo repeated,

“What is chocolate?” Fletch asked,

“It’s…” Phos trailed off, “You eat it, it’s candy.”

As soon as the word ‘candy’ was mentioned, the wrapper was off of Fletch’s chocolate, and it was in her mouth.

“MM!” She practically choked, “It’s sho good!”

Indigo rolled her eyes again, “You’re just going to trust a random sweet you found?”

“It’s not random.” Phos held up a finger, “That’s something they do at hotels. It’s complimentary, to help ease you in.”

“It seems a bit pompous, but fine. Give mine back.” Indigo gestured with her hoof.

Phos held out her hand, and the chocolate was quickly levitated back over to Indigo, who then unwrapped it and placed it in her mouth.

She shuddered, falling back onto her bed and moaning.

“Now this is luxury. I can’t believe this is all expenses paid.”

“I mean chocolate’s not that…” Phos trailed off, realizing Fletch was staring right at her. “Uh… Fletch?”

“Phos…” She said slowly, “You’re not going to eat your piece, aren’t you.”

“Well no, but…”

Fletch was already on the move, leaping from her bed and onto the third, going straight for the chocolate on the pillow.

Only for a knife to embed itself in the headboard.

“Stop.” Phos ordered, “That’s not fair.”

“But you don’t even eat!” Fletch complained,

“That doesn’t mean it’s yours.” Phos continued, stepping around to the other side of the bed. “Here.” She wrenched her knife out and grabbed the chocolate.

Placing it on the nightstand, she quickly cut it in two, giving half to Fletch, and holding the other half out for a little green light to flutter over to.

“There.” Phos lifted her finger, the chocolate gone from her hand.

Fletch’s half was already gone as well, and she just sat on the bed, pouting.

“Relax, Fletch. We can probably get more.”

“Right now?!”

“No.”

“Awww…”

“Just go to sleep.” Indigo sighed. “Phos, the lanterns?”

“Right.” She nodded, walking over to the lightswitch and flipping it.

It didn’t get as dark as it had before, considering a bright green light was zipping around the room, but it was dark enough. Phos watched her two companions getting under their covers before nodding once, and bending over to lay down on the floor, completely ignoring the third bed.

Then she closed her eyes, and waited.

“...Turn this dark future… Into a bright one…”

Phos’s eyes snapped open, and she quickly glanced around the room. Shinsha was still fluttering about, but it looked like her journey was nearing its end. The other two remained silent, one or the other most likely already fast asleep.

That voice… it didn’t sound like any of them either. Where had it come from?

And that was the last thing she thought before going unconscious.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

What just happened? Did Phos hear something? Something unknown, something foreign, something, dare I say, alien? We’ll just have to find out. Or maybe we won't? Maybe it was a one time thing?! Oh God, I’m freaking out, I gotta go! Peace! – Uncle Iroh

Phos has a knack for falling unconscious. Don’t worry, it’s natural… for her. Anyway, the name of this chapter is a little callback to Phos’s own story. As of now, it’s on hiatus, and the latest chapter is Chapter 25. This is essentially Chapter 25.5 of that story (Not really). But in related news, Chapter 26, and all the other chapters with Arc 2 are ready and waiting. So be on the lookout for those in the future! ♦☻♦ - Conglomerate

Into the Unknown: First Breakfast.

"Confound these signs," Indigo muttered, before glancing around, "Well, it looks like we've found the dining area."

Fletch nodded, "I think they called it a 'cafeteria'."

"Yes..." Indigo stared at the collection of tables and chairs, "Now where do we get the food?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Ugh, of all the times not to have a guide."

"Acquire a tray from these," a voice said from behind and above them. A blue hoof pointed over their heads to a stack of trays before moving to a long counter. "Request food yonder." They looked behind them to see Luna - absent her regalia and her mane strangely chaotic - standing behind them.

Indigo blinked, "Yes, your majesty." She said flatly, before doing exactly what was described, grabbing a tray in her magic and floating it over to the counter.

She looked at the seemingly empty area for a moment before sighing.

"Something filling."

Plop

Some paste fell onto her tray, it looked a bit like oatmeal.

"Wonderful." Indigo gave it a sniff, then shrugged, before moving on.

"Um..." Fletch moved up next, staring upwards. "Chocolate?"

Poof

A croissant fell onto her tray, a dark brown filling spilling out of the sides.

Luna followed them, grabbing her own tray. "A fruit salad. Heavy on the pineapple." A large bowl of lightly-glazed fruit appeared on her tray and she smiled down at Fletch and Indigo. "And please, We are no majesty of yours nor one in this place. 'Luna' shall suffice. We could not help but overhear your want for a guide."

Indigo glanced at the others' wildly better meals, before rolling her eyes and sighing, "Yes, Luna." She moved over to a table and picked up a laminated menu, "Can you read this language?"

Luna took the menu and gave it a glance. "Ah yes. Modern Equestrian. Or simply 'Equestrian' here, We suppose. 'Twas irksome to accustom Ourselves to the changes to which Our language has been subject."

"Still a process for you," Angel said, sitting beside Luna with a tray of waffles piled high with enough toppings to transform it from breakfast to dessert. "No-one says ''twas' anymore." She gave a nod to Indigo and Fletch. "Hey there. You guys came here with Phos, right?"

"'Modern'?" Indigo exhaled, shoveling some oatmeal into her mouth, "Of course. Need I ask what year it is where you come from?"

Fletch took a seat nearby, scooting the chair up closer to the table, "I can't read."

"And yes, our charge is Phos. I'm still having a hard time believing she was selected for a tournament."

Jeff and Cadance were next to arrive, the two looking around to see that a few people had already arrived. Both of them with trays in hand, were met with confusion upon seeing there was nothing but an open area, however upon Luna explaining how things work and her request of her order.

"...So many choices.." Jeff mumbled to himself since food magically manifested rather than picking whatever was available. "A glass of milk, french toast with maple syrup, scrambled eggs and some sausages, jimmy deans maybe?" the hylian spoke up, and just like that his food appeared in flash of light. The hero softly clapped his hands happily as it had been too long since he had this specific order unlike the ones the unicorns had at Canterlot.

"Hmmm.. a.. cheese sandwich, an apple, and some orange juice." Cadance said next, also getting her order in a flash of magic. "How convenient~" she said with a soft giggle. With trays of goodies in their hands, they make their way over one of the tables.

Luna stuck out her tongue. "We doubt that that information would be helpful. It is Year 1 of the Harmonic Era. 'Twould be year 1,001 of the Celestial Era, marked by Our banishment to the moon, were Our Equestria still using that calendar. Year 5,687 of the Royal Era, which began with the reign of Us and Our sister."

"Year names are probably going to be inconsistent between worlds," Angel offered. "Probably best to just say what the most recent significant historical event was." She looked up as Jeff and Cadance passed by. "Hey! Plenty of seats over here!"

Upon hearing her shout, both Jeff and Cadance turned around, instead making their way over to sit at the table, soon placing their trays down and taking a seat. Everyone quickly noticed that Jeff wasn't wearing his usual red roc's cloak.

Indigo dropped her hooves on the table, "Thousands of years." She shook her head, "It's not every day you meet an immortal."

Fletch looked over to Angel, "Well, I don't know what makes an event significant, but it was only like fifty years ago that all three pony tribes came together under one flag."

Luna's eyes went wide. "The Unification? Truly?"

Angel let out a low whistle. "Geeze, that was ages ago."

"Unification is an apt name. It very well may be the same thing." Indigo idly twirled a spoon in her oatmeal,

"Did you see it?" Fletch asked,

Indigo gave her a hard stare, "How old do you think I am? No, I didn't see it, though my grandmother spoke of what it was like before often. She never 'trusted the look of those earth-munchers or feather-brains,' but she couldn't deny the effects it had."

"What about y'all?" Angel asked Jeff and Cadance, digging into her dessert breakfast. "Where are y'all at in the timeline?"

"Uh.. let's see," Jeff paused to think a bit. "It's been a months since me and the mane six took down Sombra.." Jeff explained as he took a bite of his sausage.

"Don't remind me.." Cadance said with a roll of her eyes. The memory of her torture still fresh on her mind.

"Season three, then," Angel said. "A little ahead of us."

Luna scowled. "We are very much not looking forward to that event."

"Season three?" Indigo repeated, "You mean the third season? Summer?"

"...I'm sorry? What kind of calendar system are you going for?" Jeff asked in confusion, hinting that the hylian may not have seen the show.

"Oh. Ah, no." Angel rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "How to explain this? Um, on Earth, we have the stories of your world in the form of fiction. The stories are divided into seasons, focused on six ponies and their adventures."

Cadance gave Angel a long blank stare, looking as if in disbelief and discomfort; her eyes darting around in fear of any knowledge she may know.

Luna noted Cadance's discomfort and smiled comfortingly. "Do not fear knowledge of the future, Our niece from another world. Think only of the wisest way in which to use it."

"Yes." Indigo added, "Because I'm both 'a destroyer of worlds', and also 'an important part of Equestrian history'." She motioned with her hooves, "Who are these six ponies anyway?"

"Twilight Sparkle," Angel listed off, "the eventual Princess of Friendship and wielder of the Element of Magic. Applejack, Wielder of the Element of Honesty. Rainbow Dash of Loyalty. Fluttershy of Kindness. Pinkie Pie of Laughter. And Rarity of Generosity. Together they wield the Elements of Harmony against various threats to Equestria."

"...How can you say that casually knowing there are those who know history of your world?" Cadance asked with a frown.

"Love, history may repeat itself but the multiverse changes it, like a web of cracks being formed and split into many different possibilities that are never the same, or it is the same but there's tiny other cracks making them different." Jeff explains, easing Cadance's worries.

Luna nodded. "We have seen much of the stories Friend Angel references. We are certain that many of those events will change or no longer occur by mere dint of her presence. Still, it is good to have prior warning of certain dangers."

"And then you've got worlds totally different, like mine having many things of Z-.. I mean hylian history." Jeff said, catching himself on almost mentioning The Legend of Zelda.

"Don't just assume I know what any of that means." Indigo said with a scowl. "A princess of a concept, and elements of traits. This is starting to sound like a story you would tell a foal, though I'll admit this 'Element of Magic' has my interest."

"I mean the mane six do exist in my world, six ponies who harbor friendship, and a powerful ones at that." Cadance said with a nod. "Although not perfect as there are some evils who can resist their harmonic magic."

"And you don't necessarily need to worry about the Mane Six or the Elements," Angel assured Indigo. "After all, they're from so far ahead of your time. But to sum up so you aren't lost in the conversation, the Elements are powerful magical artifacts that have a 'harmonizing' effect on their target. 'Princess' in this case refers to an alicorn, which always has a domain attached. In some worlds they're goddesses. In others they're just ponies plus plus. Usually powerful, and always significant forces in their worlds."

"That's so very reassuring."

Luna chuckled. "Our sister and Us may be making an appearance in thy world in the near future. Give them a chance; We were much less prone to mischief back in thy day. We like to think that the both of Us were a good influence upon Equestria in those days."

Her eyes then narrowed. "There is one thing We must ask; dost thou know of a being named Discord?"

Indigo matched Luna's look, "I only know the word. Nothing more."

"Yea, and I've got seven of them in my world, Cadance not included." Jeff said as he started shuffling through his pouches.

"Hey! Cadance said with a disapproving frown.

"I-I mean you're a goddess in my eyes, love. Who I meant were the six that created planet Equus." Jeff explained as he took out a red camera. Soon turning it on and showing the group a few pictures.

"You might want to be on the lookout," Angel said as they looked over the pictures. "Discord is a headache and a half. A spirit of Chaos and Disharmony with way more than a penchant for mischief. In most versions of Equestria, he came out of nowhere and took over the world, turning it into an empire of chaos until Celestia and Luna turned him to stone using the Elements of Harmony."

Angel pointed to one of the pictures. "That's Celestia, Luna's sister. These three are new to me, and probably unique to Jeff's Equus. And this one..." She frowned and pointed to the sixth alicorn. "Hold on, isn't that Twilight?"

"I think it is. It's just those pictures are from one of the hallways in the castle of the two sisters when I went there in the past trying to find more on hyrule's history and find more of the fable hero's equipment. The window was like this before I snapped the shot, as if someone smashed it out of anger or hate." Jeff explained to Angel.

Fletch, who had been busy stuffing her face with chocolate croissant to take much part in the conversation, finally swallowed and glanced around at the group. "A spirit? That's a relief, Phos is the one who usually deals with those."

Luna frowned. "'Spirit' may not be the proper term. Discord is more of a..."

"Discord is Discord," a suave, smug voice crowed from above. "Attempting to define me is a fruitless endeavor."

Luna paled and began to rise before Angel placed a placating hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Luna. If he's the local one, he's reformed. And if he's ours, he already knows what's coming." She looked up and raised an eyebrow. "So? Which is it?"

"The latter," the draconequus said with a smirk, floating above all of their heads. "I heard you discussing me and decided to slip out of my little prison to lend a claw." He pulled off one his eagle talon and dropped it on Angel's head before turning to Fletch and Indigo. "Any questions?"

Jeff rapidly blinked at the sudden appearance of the renowned Discord of Chaos popping in like a moth drawn to a lightbulb.

Due to Discord appearing, Cadance to leapt back, arms pulled back as a battle axe appeared in her hands in a flurry of Twili Particles, ready to cut the spirit in half.

"Oh, put that away, heart-butt," Discord said, snapping his fingers. The axe turned to plastic in her hands. "Like our little pseudo-undead here said, I'm on the path to reformation. And I truly have no major mischief in mind while I'm here; the local me wouldn't take kindly to it."

"However," he turned his attention back to Indigo with a grin, "I would love the opportunity to mess with a past version of me. So by all means, ask whatever questions you'd like."

"What the- gah!" Cadance exclaimed as her axe was turned into harmless plastic.

"Cadance doesn't like being surprised.." Jeff said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Discord does not enjoy considering the feelings of others," Luna replied, eyeing the draconequus warily.

Indigo leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table as she propped up her chin with a hoof. "Where's Phos when you need her?" She sighed, before looking up at Discord, "Listen, I just said I don't know who you are. I don't know anything about chaos spirits, I hardly know anything about spirits at all! They don't seem too keen to share that kind of information with the likes of us." She pointed to Fletch and herself, "So why should I care what you like? If you want to bother someone, go bother the spirit enthusiast herself."

Discord shrugged. "If you insist." He grabbed his talon off of Angel's head, stuck his tail into his mouth, and slurped himself up into oblivion. Luna raised an eyebrow at Angel, who whispered "later."

"..For someone called spirit of chaos, he's rather cartoony." Jeff said as an observation.

"My axe is still plastic." Cadance said with a disappointed frown.

"In any case," Luna eventually said, turning back to Indigo, "getting back to Our original offer, if thou wouldst like an aid in adapting to the modern world during thy stay here, We would be happy to volunteer Our services."

"If you are willing..." Indigo leaned forward, "One, I want a better grasp of this written language, I can recognize some characters, but not all of them. Two, I want an in depth explanation of these automagic lanterns littered throughout this place, along with anything else that runs off of... lightning. Three..." Indigo trailed off as she listed, looking back over at the trays and counter, "I want to know of any other commodities that this place offers."

Luna nodded. "'Twould be best to ask those in charge about the commodities, but We can assist thee with the former two. Shall we retire to the library after our meals?"

"I'll come with you," Angel offered. "I can probably give a better explanation of electricity than Luna can." She looked to Jeff and Cadance. "Would you two like to join us? I'm sure you have questions about Discord and other threats your Equus might have to deal with."

"As soon as we finish our meal, I also need to take some of the sausages to Volvagia. She should be returning from her morning routine." Jeff explained as Cadance finished her meal, gentle patting her lips with a napkin.

With one last scoop of oatmeal, Indigo pushed her tray forward and sat up, "Haven't been to a library in a while, you have yourself a deal."

Angel and Luna nodded as they finished their meals as well. "Let's get going, then," Angel said before nodding to Jeff and Cadance. "See y'all around."

They all got up from their seats, quickly dumping the left over trays off to the side and heading out of the cafeteria.

Though... not one of them noticed that Fletch wasn't following, she was too busy staring at someone else in the cafeteria.

Someone with a gun...

Author's Note

Another day, another breakfast! I am actually happy to see things progress, happy to see interactions all around. This actually feels like people eating breakfast in a cafeteria! I have nothing much to say, but I love to see everyone communicate and tell stories of themselves. That’s all, peace! – Uncle Iroh.

I LOVE ~~LEAN~~ LORE!
Every Equestria is different, I love what all the other authors have come up with for the pasts, presents, and quite possibly futures of their worlds. For Phos, her present is the past, really far in the past I might add. How is she going to get to the ‘present’ then? Well… I’m sure she’ll manage. - Conglomerate

Into the Unknown: A Credible Source of Chaos.

In the garden, a massive expanse of flowers extended almost as far as the eye could see. Of course, it wasn’t that massive, but the walls were decorated with all kinds of colorful flora. It was all organized neatly too, whether by color, shape, or size, each flowering plant had a reserved spot in the garden.

It reminded Phos of the sanctuary, though of course, there were no giant trees reaching for the sky, no mismatch of fruits, and no Breezies.

Except for one of course. Shinsha was zipping to and from, all across the garden. Sometimes they would dip down on a flower, then shoot back up and race to the next. There were just so many to see.

“Hm.” Phos gave a small hum, only half-watching Shinsha make their way through the garden. She knelt down along the path, cupping a hand under one of the flowers present. It was a deep red rose; thorny stem, sharp-looking leaves, and bulbous head and all.

“Whoa, that’s a rose!” Justin said dumbly pointing a finger at the plant, “Man, it’s red too. I wonder if all roses are red? Can roses be orange? Orange is my favorite color, if you couldn’t tell.” He turned to Phos, his orange outfit clearly on display.

“You don’t say.” She smiled, “Well, if roses are red, violets are blue. Can I… Are these… Can I pick them?”

“Sure, I’m sure the First Commander wouldn’t mind,” He nodded and then turned away, “I hope,” he thought.

“Well then,” Phos reached down, undaunted by the thorns, and simply picked the rose at the base. She held it up, a faint amount of morning dew shining in the sunlight. “You know… Shinsha doesn’t really like roses.”

They both cast a glance at the green sprite rocketing around the garden,

“Do you guys have daisies?”

Justin pointed towards a corner, where a painting of a yellow circle can be seen. “We have sunflowers and daisies over in that section near the sun painting.”

Phos looked over at the mural, only to frown in confusion. Instead of a somewhat abstract depiction of the sun, the mural was now of a surprisingly detailed baby face in the middle of a more cartoonish sun.

“Looks…” She trailed off, “Huh.”

“Ayo, what the fuck?” Justin put his hands over each other and leaned back.

“Language.”

“My bad, P. Diddy,” He turned to Phos and shook his head, “but that ain’t supposed to be there, you feel me? It’s supposed to be a sun, son. Kna’ mean?”

“I mean it looks like a sun, just with a face.” Phos tilted her head, “Is that carved in the wall? It looks pretty good.”

Justin shrugged, “Shi…” he paused and cleared his throat.

He was rewarded with a sideways glance.

“Man, I’on know, cuh. But that ain’t supposed to be there, big dawg.” Justin turned to face Phos, “Like, I swear, it was a sun a moment ago. Like, on Gawd.”

They looked back at the mural, starting as they saw that it had changed again! This time it was a detailed and gold-plated fresco of a bearded man with a crown of thorns, his head surrounded by a sun-like halo: a perfect Byzantine fresco of Jesus.

“Jesus Christ!” Exclaimed Justin. He clutched his head with his eyes wide.

“Oh! So you got that reference! Thank, well, Him, I suppose. I was beginning to think I was going to have to be more obvious.”

They looked up to see a strange chimeric being floating over their heads, reclining as if on a couch. Discord grinned down at them. “Hello there.”

“Hi.” Phos waved,

“General Kenobi!” The Eliatrope pointed a finger at him.

“Nice to meet you.”

Discord cackled at Justin before slithering through the air down to their level. “Greetings, my eclectic trio of oddballs. Allow me to introduce myself. Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony.” He affected a deep bow. “Your pleasure, I’m sure.”

Justin looked at Discord with a dumb smile as what he said echoed in his mind. “Spirit of Chaos…Spirit of Chaos… Spirit of Chaos… Wait a minute, Spirit of–” Justin’s eyes widened and made a cartoonish glass breaking sound. “I gotta tell the King,” he reached for his pocket and brought out a spoon. He held it up to his ear and walked away, “Hello?”

Phos perked up at the sound, quickly checking her arms before feeling her chest. Nothing was broken, it wasn’t her. Then she looked back up at Discord, “Spirit?” She repeated, before gasping, “W-Wha… Y-You’re giving me your name already?!”

Discord raised an eyebrow curiously. “Well to be honest, most people already know my name when they meet me. I was told to come and bother you by your friend with the historically significant name. What was it again?” He snapped his fingers. “Fuchsia?” Phos suddenly found her clothes turned pink.

“Ooo…” She held out her gloves in front of her, “Pretty…” Then she blinked, “Do you mean Indigo?”

“No no, not that. Was it turquoise?” Another snap of his fingers and Phos’ clothes changed again.

Phos took another moment to inspect the color change, even going as far as to open her cloak to check her shirt and pants. “Well there’s Fletch, but she’s not named after a color.”

“No, that’s wrong too.” Phos finally realized that Discord isn’t really listening to her and was probably messing with her. “Maybe Tumeric?” Snap. “Cyan?” Snap. “Burnt Orange?” Snap.

“Now I look like Justin.” Phos muttered, looking down at herself, “But uh… Mr. Discord?”

“Oh please, my deer.” Another snap and Phos was back to her normal coloration. Unfortunately, she was also now a cervid. “No fussy ‘Mr’ with me. I prefer a humbler title. Simply refer to me as ‘Lord Discord Almighty, King of Chaos, Heir to Anarchy, Bringer of Disharmony, and Rightful Ruler of All Worlds,’ if you please.” He considered something for a moment. “Italics, boldtype, and underline are preferred, but not necessary.”

“Woah…” Phos looked down at her suddenly ill-fitting gloves, and also noticing the fact that she was now on all fours, “Uh, wow… Cool. I wonder what Lycus would…” She shook her head, and her mask promptly fell off.

Two crystalline ears then poked out from underneath her hood, causing it to slip backwards and uncover her head.

Discord examined her for a bit, seeming more curious than surprised. “Well, this is interesting.” He began floating around Phos, examining her from every angle. “Not quite a crystal pony or human or whatever. And not entirely a golem. What exactly are you, little one? And more importantly…” He floated in front of her, looking her in the eye, his face empty of emotion. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

“Well…” Phos glanced from Discord to her legs, then back to Discord as she started to discard her gloves. “Because this is really cool, good even. I kind of liked having hands, but if I was like this back home, I wouldn’t have to worry so much about standing out.” She lifted her right hoof and watched it glint in the light, “Though… having legs this thin is a bit of a worry. So Mr…” She stopped herself, “Sorry, Lord Discord, King of Anarchy… Bringer of Chaos… Um… Rightful Ruler of the World… could you please change me back?”

Discord stared at Phos for a long, long moment. Finally, he lunged forward, grabbing her and cuddling her to his chest. “That’s it,” he declared. “I’m adopting you. You are just too precious and adorable and endlessly patient with chaos and shenaniganery! I don’t even care if I have to actually reform a little!” He held Phos out before him, grinning at her. “Right, forget that stupidly long and hilariously over-the-top title. From now on, I’m ‘Daddy.’” He then went back to cuddling her.

“Well… That’s…” Phos said slowly, “Um… Really tight, could you-”

Crick

“Uh, please let go, I’m going to-”

Crick-ck

One of her arms snapped off at the shoulder,

“D-Discord?!” Phos tried again, struggling in his grip, “You’re holding me too hard! I’m going to brea-”

Crack!

Her body went limp, her head tilting back and falling to the ground with a roll.

Discord stared at his newly beheaded daughter. “Oops.” He let her go, causing her body to fall to the ground and shatter further. “...oops.” He snapped his talon, and Phos was restored fully, back in her original form and with no sign of damage. “Forgive me, my dear. I didn’t realize you were quite that fragile.”

Phos stayed completely still for a moment, before jolting awake, her arms shooting to her shoulders and neck. After a moment to check everything, and another to calm down, she let out a sigh and looked at Discord again, “That’s… useful… The last time my head came off, it took a bit for the others to put it back on…”

She traced her neck again, “Um… Thank you, Lord Discord, King of… Oh wait, sorry. Thank you, Daddy.”

Discord blinked before glaring at the many authors writing the story. “Don’t you dare make this weird.” He then turned back to a somewhat confused Phos with a curious smile. “Are you serious, little one? I tell you that I’m adopting you and you just go along with it?”

Phos shrugged, “I don’t see anything wrong with it, but… I…” She frowned, “I’m not sure I’m the only one you should be asking…”

“Oh?” Discord asked, intrigued. “And who else should I be asking, then? Mr. Balboa? Or perhaps Mrs. Johnson?”

“Um… Angel’s probably a good start.” Phos rubbed her chin, frowning. “But um… Say, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about mysterious, black seeds, would you?”

Discord blinked, holding up a bag of plundervine seeds that he hadn’t previously been holding. He slowly and obviously hid them behind his back. “Noooooooooooo,” he lied lyingly like a liar.

Phos just leaned to the side, trying to look behind him, “Well can I see one really quick?”

Discord snorted with a smirk. “Kid doesn’t even bother calling me out on it. Adorable.” He held out the bag of seeds to her. “Careful. They’re feisty.”

Carefully reaching into the back with her hand, she pulled out a seed, inspecting it between her fingers for a few moments. It looked a bit like a sunflower seed, though a dark, greenish, black. There were some stripes along the sides, but one end was clearly a different color than the other.

“Mm…” Phos squinted at it, before sighing. “It’s not the same, here.” She presented it back to Discord.

Discord popped it into his mouth with a crunch. “Mm. Delicious. So? What’s this about black seeds?”

“Well…” Phos shifted her stance, leaning to the side as she crossed her arms, bringing a hand up to tap her chin lightly. “It’s just that when I got here, I was holding a little black seed with a note attached, the only problem is I don’t remember picking it up, at all, it just appeared in my hand.”

“Hm. Mysterious.” Discord pulled out a sheaf of papers and began flipping through. He scowled when he got to pages that were heavily inked over and redacted. “Oh, poo. Georgie is no fun.” He rolled up the script and swallowed it whole. “Well, sorry to say that all I could dispense is Old Crone style wisdom, and that’s not really my archetype. You’re on your own for that one.”

“Oh.” Phos looked down for a moment, “Well, thank you anyway.” She extended her right hand, which Discord immediately took in his talon.

At the same time, a little green light came flying up to her face.

”Phos, Phos!”

“Oh, hey Shinsha, did you find what you were looking for?” Phos asked, taking her other hand and prodding the Breezie with her finger.

”Yes, yes! Flower, flower. Pollen, pollen. Tasty, tasty!”

Discord chuckled. “Love these little guys. Well, talk to whoever you need to talk to. I’m looking forward to signing those adoption papers!” He let Phos’s hand go.

“It was nice meeting you, Lord Discord.”

Discord raised an eyebrow at her.

“Oh right!” Phos smiled, “Daddy.”

Discord let out a delighted squee that quickly rose in pitch until he shattered, pieces of Discord tinkling to the ground where they soon vanished in puffs of smoke.

A crack of her own found its way across Phos’s face, but she kept her smile.

“What an interesting fellow.” Phos glanced around the garden again. “Now where did Justin wander off to?”

Justin had the spoon up to his ear and paced back and forth.

"Yes, there is a Chaos Spirit."

...

"No, it isn't Luco."

...

"It's Discord, AKA, Lord Discord Almighty, King of Chaos, Heir to Anarchy, Bringer of Disharmony, and Rightful Ruler of All Worlds."

...

"No, Screwball hasn't shown up... I think?" Justin gave a look over at Phos and at where Discord once was, "Yeah, she hasn't shown up yet."

...

"I don't know how he got past the barrier."

...

"You didn't put up a barrier?"

...

"Oh, because it would be inviting to Chaos Spirits?"

...

"That makes sense."

...

"Oh, he's just chilling with Pedophile and I."

...

"Oh, you know, the person you sent me after."

...

"No, she's not a pedophile."

...

"Then why did I say it? I'on know."

...

"Yeah, he's not causing any harm. He's actually kinda chill."

...

"Alright, got it, see ya. Goodbye, I love you!" Justin paused for a moment. "...Say it back."

The spoon snapped in half.

The Eliatrope snorted and crossed his arms, "He didn't say 'I love you' back," he turned over to the others, "Hey, Lord Discord Almighty, King of Chaos, Heir to Anarchy, Bringer of Disharmony, and Rightful Ruler of All Worlds! The King said–” He blinked, realizing that he had been gone. “...Shi–...Shimmer.”

“Shimmer?” Phos asked, bending down to retrieve her gloves and mask. “That’s true, I do do that.”

Justin put a hand over his mouth and looked around, “Where did– Oh sh– Fu– Gah–” He clutched his head, “MOTHERFUCKER! THE KING IS GONNA FUCKING KILL ME!”

“Hey! Language!”

“ANGEL! GREAT NEWS! I’M GOING TO BE A FATHER!”

“DISCORD! THIS IS THE GIRLS’ BATHS! GET OUT!”

“Bold of you to assume he’s male.”

“SHUT UP, SPOT!!!”

Author's Note

This chapter was really funny to write. Show Stopper and Conglomerate are really good authors to write with. But enough of that, onto the chapter. I love how I did a callback to the first Displaced Tournament with Katakuri and Justin on the phone talking about Chaos Spirits and all. Because the Chaos Spirit who came to the first Displaced Tournament, well… Let’s just say it did something to Katakuri he would like to delete from his memory. But in any case, Justin and Phos are a funny duo, but with Discord, things are quite chaotic! I wonder what adventures these three could go into? That’s all for now though. Peace! – Uncle Iroh.

I will not have my subject taken away so easily, Discord.

Is Phos really serious about adoption? Eh, not really. She’s just going along with it because ‘Why not?’ It seems like fun. Anyway, Phos as a Deer is pretty cool, here’s an image I found.

Credit to: 酒咕子_Sakepigeon's illustrations - pixiv Caution: This image comes from a sequence, the rest of which contains spoilers for Land of the Lustrous.
- Conglomerate

“And she’s just so adorable! Any chaos I throw at her, and she just goes along with it!” U-huh. “I turned her into a deer. A DEER! And she didn’t even bat a crystal eyelash! She thought it was neat!” U-huh. “So that’s why I’m leaving your story to be her Papa!” U-hu-wait! You can’t do that! “Of course I can! I’m barely in it thus far, and you have no plans to incorporate me as a major element in the future. So why can’t I spend my time doing something more fun than lazing about in the background of your story? Something like raising an adorable little rock-girl!” Well, for one thing, I’m not that rock-girl’s author. “Hm. I suppose that’s a good point. Well, I’m sure I’ll be able to figure something out. Toodles!” …that sounded ominous. Conglomerate, I apologize in advance for any shenanigans he brings down on your head. - Show Stopper

Into the Unknown: Studying & Storytelling.

Twilight sat down at an empty table carrying several books in her magical grasp with Tael on her shoulder "I hope Mikie, Cole, Spike, and Rainbow don't over do it in their morning training." Tael said as Twilight opened the book for them to read.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Tael, let's read up on this world's history." Twilight said with a smile

"History, huh?" Angel walked into the library, followed by Luna and Indigo. "What a coincidence. We're here to help Indigo here get caught up on the modern day." She smiled at Twilight. "Hey, Twi. Always good to see one of you."

"You keep calling it 'the modern day' as if that has any meaning." Indigo snipped in from behind her, "I'm not 'in the past', it is the present day where I come from, and I'm fairly certain there are some 'other Equestrias' that are older than..." She trailed off upon stepping into the vast library, before sighing, "Okay, this puts the one at the university to shame."

"Hello, would you like to join us? I have most of the early history books here." Twilight used her magic to pull out a few chairs.

"It would be nice to get to know you too," Tael smiled. "My name's Tael, Mikie's Fairy companion."

"And our daughter now, remember, Tael?" Twilight reminded the tiny fairy.

"Oh great, there's another one." Indigo muttered,

"Congratulations," Angel offered while Luna left to search for a few books on electricity and Equish. "It's always a good day when the family expands. So, what do you think of this place so far?"

"Well, personally I find it interesting, this is the second time I've left our Equestria with Mikie and it's marginally better than the first time, no one's died yet," Twilight sighed. "Seeing all these new people and ponies is nice too." She smiled.

"Yeah, It's nice to see Johnny and Jeff again, it's been a while." Tael smiled as she flew onto Twilight's lap to read.

Jeff let out a soft annoyed sigh as he entered the Library with Volvagia's paws on his shoulders and her body firmly wrapped around his neck, chest, and hips. "I swear, Volv, you worry way too much. I mean I was gone for like an hour and I come back seeing you frantically running around in my room?" the hylian asked with a soft huff.

"Volvagia no like Jeff being gone!" Volv said with a growl of annoyance.

"Hi, Jeff!" Tael shouted over to him with a wave.

Jeff softly blinked as Tael spoke out his name. "Uh.. Hi? Did Mike tell you about me?" he asked as he waved back to Tael. The hylian walked over to the group to take a seat.

"Yes, Mikie and Twily told me all about you," Tael smiled. "And Nayru..." She said quietly.

"You're all free to join us to read about this world's history," Twilight smiled. "Or we can converse about our worlds, I'm not against that either." She smiled

"Thaaat might be too much of a can of worms to open up there, or in this case: a book. " Jeff said jokingly to Tael.

"'Tis an most impressive collection," Luna returned with a small stack of books. Most of them she slid over to Angel while she set two before her on the table, gesturing for Indigo to join her. "We have acquired the necessary tomes. One is an guide to reading Ancient Equestrian which should serve a reverse purpose as well. The other is an overview of Equestrian history from Unification to the modern day."

Indigo took a seat, before floating over the guide and cracking it open. "You call this 'Ancient Equestrian'? It looks like a hodge-podge of every tribe's scripture into one!" She blinked, "Wait... that's exactly what it is. So that's what they're working on back at the university. Okay, well..." She muttered as she flipped through the pages a bit, "I can probably figure out what most of this says." She squinted slightly, "Why would they replace that with that? That doesn't make any sense. Really? They went with runes for that character? This cuneiform is all over the place. What were they thinking?"

Luna facehooved. "Bah! Confound Us! We should have obtained a reference to Old Unicornian! One moment." She stood and disappeared back into the shelves.

"Relax, princess, I know every scripture," Indigo turned the book around and tapped the page, "This sentence says: 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.'"

Angel chuckled at Indigo and Luna's interaction as she cracked open a book on electronics, deciding to refamiliarize herself with the topic before she tried teaching about it. "That sentence should actually be all you need," she said. "It contains every letter in Modern Equestrian. Would have been cooler if you'd found the sentence that uses each of them exactly once, though."

She then turned to Twilight with a slight frown. "I'm actually relatively new to my Equus. And what I've learned about the lands beyond my native Equestria - which is a standard model as far as I can tell - is far from cheery."

Indigo turned away with her book, before glancing up at the sparkling pink fairy sitting on Twilight’s lap, "That's not a Breezie, is it."

Angel smirked as Luna returned with a book on Old Unicornian. "Hey! Listen!"

"Breezie? What's that?" Tael asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"No, Tael isn't a Breezie, she's a golem fairy, gifted to Mikie by his original Displaced Master," Twilight explained. "After Mikie and I got married he decided we should adopt her so she wouldn't feel left out of the family," She smiled as she brushed Tael's hair.

"No." Jeff firmly said to Angel with a point of his finger. "Just no... Thank the goddesses I don't have to deal with Navi.." Jeff said with a shake of his head.

"A golem fairy..." Indigo repeated, "How does one even create such a construct?"

"All Mikie said was a howler named Cameron Ruff made her for his displaced master." Twilight sighed as she turned the page of the book she was reading.

If one listened hard, you could hear faint snoring coming from somewhere near the back of the library.

Angel decided to answer Tael's question. "A Breezie is..." She hesitated before reaching under her shirt and pulling out a laptop. She opened it up and entered a few keystrokes before turning it around. "This is a Breezie. Feylike ponies. Mostly helpless. Vital to pollination in most versions of Equestria."

"Oh wow, those look cool," Tael flew off Twilight's lap and over to Angel. "By the way what is this thing? It looks so handy." She inspected the laptop.

"I'd also like to know, I've never seen anything like it before." Twilight pried her eyes off her book and stared at the laptop, soon teleporting a notepad and pen.

Angel glanced at Indigo before looking back with a smile. "It's called a computer. Originally they did just what their names implied, computing automatically using electricity. But eventually they figured out how to share information between them, creating the internet, a massive collection of human knowledge. My computer has a copy of the internet at the time that I was displaced, including information about Equestria."

Twilight vigorously wrote down every word she heard, even drawing a crude image of the laptop. "Fascinating," She smiled. "Mikie never mentioned anything about these before"

Angel chuckled before pulling up some schematics of early computers for her. Then - remembering her own Twilight's first experience with her laptop - used a keystroke to freeze the screen.

Twilight intensely copied everything from the screen onto a blank page. "Wow, thank you for sharing this information with me, Miss umm..." Twilight chuckled as she continued to sketch. "I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

"Angel Johnson," Angel introduced. "And it's my pleasure to share technology."

"...Is it wise to be introducing this kind of stuff though?” Jeff asked in worry of Mike's world taking a small leap in technology.

"There are a lot of steps between this and the internet," Angel assured. "Electronic computers aren't that far off from some of the tech from the show."

"The what?" Twilight asked, a bit confused.

Angel sighed and - once Twilight finished copying down the schematics - unfroze her computer and cued up an early episode of MLP:FiM. "The world of Equestria and the adventures of you and your friends exist in our world as a fictional story."

"It looks like a scrying mirror." Indigo muttered, looking over the device, "And these... studs are what you use to input data so that it may compute?"

"They're called 'keys,' but basically, yes."

"Huh?" Twilight stared at the laptop in utter shock. "Is... Is this how Mikie knew so many things about us and our world?" She leaned back a bit and gained a thousand-yard stare,

She then chuckled at look on Twilight's face. "Yup. Classic Twilight Sparkle overload."

Jeff reaches over to softly poke Twilight. "...I think you broke her."

Indigo glanced up from the laptop, "Twilight... Sparkle?" She asked, "You are Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yes, she is." Tael answered for the mind-broken Twilight. Tael flew back over to Twilight and tried to snap her out of her trance.

"The 'princess of friendship' and wielder of the 'element of magic' Twilight Sparkle?" Indigo demanded, putting her hooves on the table and pushing herself up.

"The very same," Angel answered with a smirk.

Indigo whipped her head towards Angel instead, "I thought you said she was a pony."

"P-princess of... Friendship?" She managed to say.

"Whoa spoilers," Tael managed to cover Twilight's ears.

A loud crash could be heard off in the back, undoubtedly the sound of a collapsing bookshelf

"...oops." Angel swiftly moved on from the "grand destiny" conversation and pulled up the Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism. "So, yeah. This is a thing. Apparently, some versions of Equestria are at different places on this scale than others."

Indigo gave the screen a hard look, before turning it back towards Twilight, "So you're not some sort of hybrid or something?"

"The Ponies of my Equus would be a one, but Cadance would be a four." Jeff pointed out according to the chart.

"So she's a hybrid." Indigo deduced, looking over at Jeff.

Luna saw that no-one was investigating the crash and so got up with a sigh, wandering off to peruse the shelves again.

"Well yes and no. She was originally a pony before she tried to use the crystal heart to cure her curse, but instead of returning to her originally size, she became what you saw before. She's the only anthropomorphic pony of my world." Jeff explained as he rests his arms onto the table.

"She became like that?" Indigo asked, "Bipedal with..." She glanced at all the other humans and human-likes in the room, "fingers?"

"Yes and yes." Jeff said before softly chuckling as he remembers the day when she tried to return to normal.

Angel thought about it for a moment before blushing scarlet. "Oh. Um, yeah. That would be an adjustment."

"Is all well back here?" Luna called out, looking for the collapsed bookshelf.

There was no response, save for the creaking of a collapsed shelf.

Twilight sits up and smiles. "It seems, Mikie and I have some talking to do..." She said as she returned to her book. "I wonder what else he's been keeping from me?" She said quietly with a sigh, a frown flashing on her muzzle for a moment.

"I'm gonna go check on Aunt Lulu... I mean Princess Luna," Tael said then caught herself tapping her head. "I think she went over here." Tael flew away following Luna.

Indigo looked down at her hooves, "Now I'm wondering what I would look like as that, but transmogrification is not an easy spell, nor is it very safe."

"It can be a bit disorienting at first, going from standing on all fours to standing up on two." Jeff said with a nod as he remembers his first time turning into a wolf.

Luna looked around a little more, finally finding the collapsed shelf just as Tael caught up. "Oh my," Luna muttered, lifting the shelf with her magic.

"Uhhhhhhhh....." Johnny grumbled as the weight was finally lifted off of him.

"Art thou well?" Luna asked.

"Uncle Johnny, are you hurt?" Tael asked as she hovered next to his face with a worried expression.

"Lulu?" Johnny asked, thinking that it was his Luna. "Oh Heya Tink.." He smiled dopily as Tael nearly got headbutted.

Luna chuckled. "Not quite."

"Huh? Oh right, you're that one kid’s Luna..." Johnny groaned as he tried to stand, only to slip on a book.

Luna hid a giggle behind her hoof and set Johnny on his feet with her magic. "Indeed. We are the Undying Angel's companion."

Tael sat on Johnny's shoulder and gave him a hug. "It's nice to see you again, also you might want to start picking up this shelf, Uncle Johnny, before Twily realizes you knocked it over." She said with a smile

"I did? I just remember passing out reading..." Johnny frowned as he looked at the mess.

"Yep, I know you did it in your sleep but, Twily is a bit protective of books no matter if they're hers or not." Tael said with a giggle.

"What wast thou reading?" Luna asked as she started levitating up some books to help.

"Oh.. I see..." Johnny frowned as he knelt down and began picking up some books. Turning to Luna he smiled sadly. "Just... a version of one of my favorite stories... Treasure Island."

"Treasure Island?" Luna asked. "Sounds like quite the tale of adventure."

"Yeah, sounds like a Daring Do book, those are always fun to read." Tael smiled.

"It's a story with Pirates, adventure on the high seas, and understanding one's true worth..." Johnny scoffed to himself as he picked up said book. “How ironic…”

Luna raised an eyebrow but continued shelving. "Ironic?"

Tael flew off Johnny's shoulder and helped pick up a book flapping her wings as fast as she could.

"Don't... don't worry about it..." Johnny closed his eyes for a moment before continuing to clean up the mess he made.

"We are afraid that that is quite impossible." Luna gave him a fond smile. "Thou art close with thy Luna; thou knowest that We cannot help but aid those who struggle with inner demons."

"Please don't push it. It's my problem to deal with..." Johnny said quietly as he shot Luna a warning look.

Luna shrugged. "Our problems are never ours alone; always do they weigh upon those who care for us. But very well, We shall not pry."

Tuckered out from only putting two books back on the shelf, Tael lands on Luna's shoulder and takes a break.

Johnny managed to pick up all the books and shattered wood, standing and sighing. “I think I should go…”

"Before you go," Tael quickly flew over to Johnny and hugged him again. "See you later, Uncle Johnny, I love you." She smiled.

Johnny managed a small smile as he gave Tael a pat. "You too Tink."

Tael flew back onto Luna's shoulder and smiled.

Luna frowned as she watched Johnny depart. "We hope that he will be well, and that his Luna may be able to aid him."

As she watched him walk away Tael frowned and hugged Luna.

Luna chuckled and returned the hug with a touch of telekinesis. "Come. Let us return to the others." She turned and walked back to the table in time to hear the end of Angel's rant.

"-no sense of modesty! Not that they prefer immodest styles; they literally have no sense for it! Which is fine for them, since their tails usually cover everything, but it was so embarrassing having to explain all of that to Rarity!" She buried her face in her arms. "I swear, I almost slit my throat right there and then."

"That's a little... overboard don't you think?" Twilight asked a little unnerved.

Luna snickered behind her hoof as Angel stiffened before looking up with a strained smile. "Ha ha, yeah, obviously. It was just a joke." She shook her head and her expression shifted into a much more natural pout. "But seriously, most embarrassing conversation of my life. My only saving grace is that Rarity was super professional the whole time."

"If you want to talk about embarrassing conversations, Mikie and I were caught by Princess Celestia in the middle of..." Twilight blushed a bit. "You know..." She feigned a cough. "And we got a lecture from her about guest etiquette when staying in Canterlot Castle, while we were covered only by our blanket," Twilight admitted. "That was the most embarrassed I've ever been in my entire life."

Angel waved her off. "Sure, but Mom walking in on you and your guy doing the nasty is a pretty universal experience. At least, I assume it is." She glared off to the side. "Guess that's one silver lining to- OW!" She turned to glare at Luna. "What was that for?"

"Friend Spot isn't here to throw a spear at thee," Luna replied, lowering her hoof with a smirk. "Thus the task of forcefully removing thee from thy 'funk' falls to Us."

Tael returns to Twilight's lap, still holding her frown. "I knew I'd find you in here," Cole said as he walked into the library. "Oh, I didn't know there would be others in here too..." Cole stopped for a moment looking at Luna then he looked away with a blush appearing on his face.

"Oh, hello, Cole," Twilight waved as he walked over. "How was morning training?" She asked as Cole walked over, giving Luna a wide berth, and sat down in an empty chair next to Twilight.

"Not happened yet, we just grabbed breakfast." Cole said as he grabbed a graphic novel from the shelf closest to the table.

Luna smirked and raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth.

"Don't." Angel sighed as Luna closed her mouth with a pout. "Honestly, you're as bad as Spot sometimes."

"Mike's still eating, like he hasn't eaten in weeks, I don't know where he puts all that food he devours," Cole chuckled. "Name's Cole by the way, nice to meet you." He smiled and waved at everyone who wasn't Twilight or Tael.

"Angel Johnson," Angel introduced before gesturing around. "Luna. Jeff. Indigo." She blinked as she realized that Indigo was no longer there, and neither was her language book or several of the books on electricity. "Huh. Nevermind Indigo, then. Anyway, we're discussing embarrassing moments."

"Embarrassing moments?" Cole raised an eyebrow then glanced at Twilight's blush. "Heh, I got a good one, it's not mine but it's funny, Mike has this magic mask that turns him into an earth pony when he puts it on," Cole began making Twilight's blush deepen as she looked away from the table. "Twilight wanted to study the transformation and my room in the basement currently has all her study equipment..." He spots Tael in Twilight's lap. "Cover her ears real quick, Twi," Twilight nods and covers Tael's ears, confusing her. "When Mike puts on the mask..." He starts laughing. "His transformation was buck naked!" He nearly falls out of his chair laughing.

At the mention of Mike's mask, Jeff let out a soft groan as he held his head, feeling that odd sense of deja vu, feeling as if he's the one who created the mask. The memories are there and yet... not. The feeling of a history rewrite still around him of the two timelines he experienced and yet did not. The man didn't even hear the pun by Cole.

Angel snorted. "Classic."

Luna tilted her head curiously. "Why would that be an issue?"

"Well let's just say the ponies of our world, Princess, walk upright and their privates aren't covered by magic, they wear clothes like Angel here." Cole said, catching his breath.

Luna blinked again, her expression still neutral. "The minotaurs likewise walk upright, but they have no need of clothing as humans seem to." She frowned in further confusion. "And our secret areas are not covered by magic. Merely by our tails."

"Give it up," Angel muttered. "My ponies have no idea what 'modesty' means vis a vis nudity."

"To be honest.." Jeff began as the time displacement headache faded. "You don't see a pony's parts in most worlds across the void."

Cole shook his head and smiled. "Seems that way, Angel," He opened the graphic novel and began reading.

"Should you have told them about that, Cole?" Twilight asked a little annoyed with him. "It wasn't embarrassing for you, only Mikie and I."

"I was still there..." Cole began before being interrupted.

"Laughing." Twilight said with a stern tone.

Cole rubbed the back of his head. "Right..." He nervously chuckled.

"What about the Pink Menace?" Angel asked.

"Pink... Menace?" Twilight asked, confused.

"Pinkie Pie, known to do the unthinkable, illogical, and the senseless." Jeff explained.

"Oh... What about her?" Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

"The native eldritch," Angel agreed. "Praise her name and sacrifice cupcakes to her mercy."

"Laughing," Angel clarified. "I assumed it had something to do with..."

"Oh I was laughing my ass off when Mike turned into that naked pony form," Cole explained. "That's what she meant when she said laughing, It was hilarious he was all super serious until he and Twi noticed he was naked." He chuckled but stopped when Twilight glared at him.

"Ah. I misunderstood." Angel shrugged. "Still, we're missing a story about you, Cole."

"Oh? Are you?" He looked at his book. "About what?"

“Embarrassing moments.”

"Oh..." Cole tried to hide his face in his book. "One moment... Let me think..." He stalls.

Angel and Luna traded smirks before turning to Twilight, and Tael, expectant grins on their faces.

Cole peeked his eyes above the book looking at everyone nervously. "Since you told an embarrassing story about my dear husband Mikie, I'll tell one about you, brother." Twilight smirked as Cole's eyes widened.

"No please." He whispered.

"Too bad, Cole," Twilight smiled as she stopped covering Tael's ears. "We were out at a Hyrulian ranch on our way back from Dodge Town to help Mikie find the Goron Ruby to get back his prized Master Sword when Cole walked up to a horse to pet it." Cole hid behind his book again and shrunk into his chair.

"Oh, oh, I remember this, when he touched the horse it freaked out and kicked him in the no-nos!" Tael shouted as she remembered.

"That's right, Tael, you remembered," Twilight brushed her hair with a smile. "After recovering from that unexpected attack we looked at the cows and he went to pet them too, only to be head butted in the stomach by the cow he touched."

"It seems animals from Hyrule can detect Dark Magic and they..." Cole groaned. "Don't like it very much."

Angel giggled, but Luna seemed slightly uncomfortable. "We know that things are different in other worlds," she muttered, "but it is still strange to hear horses and cows referred to as mere animals."

"Well, they're not native to our world, they're from another world merged into ours," Twilight explained. "Their cows don't talk and their workhorses are much more simple, less color variation."

"They're also not as smart since there were two or three cows stuck in a food grain silo and wouldn't get out even when Mike and I tried to help them out." Cole added as he flipped the page of his book.

Luna's face tinged green a bit and she cleared her throat. "Well, moving on-"

"What about you, Luna?" Angel asked with a smirk. "Any embarrassing stories from your past?"

Luna shot Angel a deadpan glare. "We once went insane, tried to render the world to eternal night, and killed most of our friends."

Angel waved her off. "Old news. And besides, that's tragic, not personally embarrassing." She grinned around the table. "Come on! I'm sure y'all'd love to hear about some royal shenanigans!"

"Well... We shared some stories, it's only fair, Princess." Twilight said with a smirk.

Luna let out a sigh, but she supposed it had been her who had wanted to change the subject. "Very well." She thought for a minute before nodding. "Many millennia ago, Our sister and Us were first introduced to hot peppers. Our initial experience was painful and delightful in equal parts; the aftermath over Our chamberpots was merely painful. Soon after, Our sister, being young and impulsive, dared Us to attempt using a pepper as a suppository. And, being young and impulsive, We agreed." Luna let that hang in the air for a moment. "'Twas an inconsequential experience... until the pepper burst."

"What's a supposi... " Tael began to ask before Twilight covered her ears and mouth with her arms and hands.

"A little too much information, Princess." Twilight sighed.

Luna tilted her head curiously. "Odd. We were sure that suppositories remained a common medical tool."

"That doesn't mean everyone wants to hear about them, Luna," Angel snickered. "I assume your reaction was-"

"Undignified, to say the least. As there is a child present, We shall not repeat the words which We shrieked at the top of Our lungs whilst We ran about as a gamefowl with its head removed."

"You gotta admit, it is a little funny when you think about it." Cole lightly chuckled.

"I'm gonna go check out the rest of this place, you three have fun." Jeff said and poof, he's gone.

Tael frowned for a moment as Jeff left. "Don't worry, Tael, you'll see him again." Twilight gave Tael a hug.

"I know..." Tael sighed. "So do you wanna talk about anything else, Miss Angel?" Tael asked, half smiling.

Angel shrugged. "I was mostly here to help Indigo, but I guess she got what she needed. Unless you have any more questions about computers or what I know of the potential future."

"I'm good on the future talk..." Twilight declined. "But we can continue talking about the computer you have, I wonder if the top scientists in Canterlot can recreate it?" She wondered as Cole chuckled.

"That sounds like fun but..." He looked at a clock in the room. "Maybe I should go check on, Mike," He stood from his chair. "I wonder if he's still scarfing down whatever he can find?" He left the library still carrying the graphic novel.

"I'm game for learning more about computers." Tael said as she flew over next to Angel.

"We will take Our leave," Luna said, standing. She nodded to everyone before departing.

Angel nodded in return before pulling up more schematics. "Okay. So I'm not an expert by any means, but let's see what we can do."

Author's Note

What’s this about peppers? I was just here for Indigo’s part. I’m not going to go in depth on how Phos’s Equestria’s language works. I’ve explained it more in her actual story. Basically, each tribe has their own writing system, which was then combined into Ancient Equestrian, which then evolved into the writing you see in the show. Is it inconsistent? Yes, very much so, but it’s what I’m working with. Are they speaking English? Maybe, probably, some of these jokes only work in English, but it’s not guaranteed, for all you know they could be speaking in pure horse-tongue, and we’ve just perfectly translated it for your reading pleasure. - Conglomerate

Into the Unknown: Girl Talk.

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Into the Unknown: Rules & Regulations.

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.