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