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