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

• MLP: FiM
• Dark
• Adventure
• Comedy

One must take care when choosing a god for prayer.

• Violence
• Human
• Crossover
• Alt. Universe
• Other

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.