"Forty hours," Sunset commented, recalling the time limit that the Grand Priest had set for the Tournament of Power's stage to be built, which would give some of the universes a hard time to locate the warriors they needed, though at the same time she and the rest of her group walked towards Ponyville, "I knew that it would take some time for the stage to be built, but I honestly wasn't expecting the tournament to be so soon after it had been announced."
Shortly after returning to the potential Sacred World of the Kai, as they had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment and couldn't bother to determine whether the world was worthy of such a name, they had returned to Equus and landed near the Everfree Forest, giving them a few minutes to talk before they got started on building their team. This also allowed them to prevent most of the citizens of Ponyville from finding out about the Tournament of Power and the price they would pay if their warriors lost, which they considered themselves lucky that they had Twilight's castle to use for their meeting, since it would prevent the news from leaking out to the rest of their world.
"The Grand Priest must have been thinking about something like this for a long time, to help relieve Lord Zeno of their boredom and have them focus on whatever they're usually doing," Celestia said, though that was just a guess on her part, as none of them had any idea how long the Grand Priest had been thinking about a potential tournament between the universes, as it seemed strange that he'd have all the rules set up before seeing any of the battles in the Zen Exhibition Match, "Now it seems that we'll have to fight for the safety of our universe, despite the fact that none of us really care about the Super Dragon Balls that are the prize."
"Prize for what?" a voice asked, to which Sunset's group stopped and glanced up at the sky for a second, where they found Rainbow Dash, dressed up in a dark blue top that revealed her stomach area and a pair of dark blue shorts, floating in the air above them, no doubt because she had flown over to where they were standing the moment she felt them return to their home world.
"A tournament," Twilight replied, though at the same time she glanced at the rest of her group, who weren't that surprised to see that Rainbow had found out what they were talking about, before she turned her attention back to her friend, as he knew what they needed to do, "Look, we need to gather the rest of the displaced and tell them about what we discovered during our visit to Lord Zeno's palace... and, once we're done with all that, we'll be putting together a team of warriors that will represent our universe in the Tournament of Power."
"Really?" Rainbow inquired, as she was curious as to what they could have found out while they were visiting Lord Zeno's palace, because it wasn't every day that the gods of a universe were brought to the King of All's residence, before she nodded her head, "Okay, I'll go round up the others and tell them to gather in the castle as soon as possible."
"Good. Then I can focus on convincing Chrysalis and Sombra to join us." Sunset said, though she was happy to see that Rainbow determined that there was something that they hadn't told her, because she glanced at them for a few seconds before heading off into the distance, no doubt heading for Rarity first, "Come on, let's get into the castle before some of the citizens question us as to where we were for the last thirty minutes or so."
Celestia and the others nodded their heads as they followed Sunset over to the castle, where they opened the doors and headed inside, though that was where they went their separate ways, because Sunset headed back to the room that she slept in while the rest of her group headed to the ballroom, where they generally sat down and spoke to the displaced that returned from their adventures. Inside her room Sunset found the large bed that she had been given, the stand where she stored her godly attire when she slept, a number of other bedroom items that came with the room, and a small chest that she kept some of her special items in, like the melee weapon she used during her second adventure, though she wasn't here for that item. What she had come for was a special glass-like item that she wore over her right eye, which was attached to a special holder that rested around her right ear, a device that Rainbow told her reminded her of the scouters that Vegeta and the Saiyans wore a long time ago, though this was used for communication only. It was easy for her to locate the item in question, since there wasn't much in the chest, save for a special enchanted staff from her first adventure that she hadn't gotten rid of, but she pulled the communicator out and attached it to the position that it needed to rest in, before closing the lid of the chest and headed back to the ballroom.
When she arrived at the ballroom she found that the others were definitely preparing for a discussion, based on the tables and the number of food items that Discord was summoning for them, to which she stood off to the side and tapped her communicator, looking at the screen that had appeared as she selected the contact she needed to talk with.
"Ratchet here." a voice said, where a familiar cat-like creature appeared on the other side of the screen, a male one that Sunset recognized, though at the same time the background showed that he was in the bridge of a large ship, a starship that traveled through space, before he realized who he was looking at, "Sunset! I'm happy to see you again. How are things going on Equus?"
"They could be better, considering things." Sunset replied, as she didn't want to worry Ratchet, his family, and his friends about the fate of their universe, though at the same time there was something she needed to do, "Listen, I need you to stop by Equus and drop off Starlight and Chrysalis. We're calling all of the displaced back to Equus for a meeting and this was the only way of making sure they knew that they need to come back home."
"Again?" Ratchet asked, as he remembered what happened six months ago, when Sunset had called Chrysalis back to the planet they trained on, when a displaced finished their adventure, before he nodded his head, because he knew that Starlight and Chrysalis would be back on the starship in no time, "Very well. We'll be arriving near Equus' moon in a few minutes, were you and the others can speak to Starlight and Chrysalis about whatever it is you need to tell them, though hopefully it won't take very long, since Angela is convinced we might have found where the Lombaxes had been sent and she might send us a message any day now to confirm or deny that information."
The Lombaxes, of which both Ratchet and Angela were members of the rare race, were some of the smartest minds in the universe, in terms of technical knowledge, their advanced and powerful weaponry, and their incredible spaceships, though they had disappeared some time ago during a war, but, by using an item called the Dimensionator, Ratchet and the others had discovered that the Lombaxes had simply moved to a new part of the universe, to prevent their enemies from destroying them. Ratchet and Angela, after defeating the foe that sought to end their species, had dedicated a good portion of their time to finding any clues as to the whereabouts of the rest of their race, so the fact that they might have actually found the lost race meant good things for them. She had to imagine that Chrysalis had been helpful in discovering whatever information that Angela had acted on, but at the same time she knew that Ratchet would leave the moment he got the call to aid her, if she had indeed found the rest of her kind, though she was happy to see that her brother was overjoyed by the idea of finding the rest of his kind as well. In fact she had assumed that Ratchet would have kept Chrysalis around for some time, to make sure that everyone was safe and stop any enemies that they encountered, but at the very least she was glad to see that Chrysalis was coming back home for some time, and hopefully the changeling would agree to help them for a few minutes.
Once she came to that conclusion Sunset nodded her head and the connection was terminated, to which she carefully removed the communicator from where it rested and set it on the table that she usually set it on when she was done using it for a moment, before she took a seat and turned her attention to Twilight and Celestia.
"Chrysalis is on her way here, along with Starlight." Sunset said, because they wanted all of the displaced here, to hear the news that they had to tell them, and knew that it was only proper to add Starlight to the list, even if she was one of the more weaker members of the displaced, though her base magical ability was still incredible, "Once they have arrived, and are all settled in, Discord and I will head to Karakura Town and track down Sombra, who should react immediately to the arrival of our energy and come ask us why we came to the world he calls home... and hopefully we can convince him to come back here for a few minutes as well, since we'll need his power in the tournament for sure."
To anyone else it would have felt strange that they might be entrusting the future of their universe to several beings that had tried to conquer Equus in the past, each in their own individual ways, but at the same time those villains had been reformed and now fought as heroes. Sunset, however, had felt the power of the thirteen displaced during their battle six months ago and knew that many of them were strong in their own way, and when they combined their powers they were a force to be reckoned with, especially when they were able to overcome her when she used her Aspect of Destruction, a powerful form that only she was able to use. That had been an interesting fight, one that showed her the might of those that had gone on their own adventures, and now the time had come to put that training to good use, by selecting the ten strongest fighters from the displaced and hoping that their power was enough to overcome whatever warriors the other eight universes sent at them. All they had to do was wait for the displaced to arrive from their various jobs, since all of them had to be working at the moment, save for Rainbow who had likely been training before their arrival, and then they could get started with the meeting that she was calling them for.
Fortunately only a few minutes passed since she called Ratchet, where a magical doorway appeared on one of the walls and two figures stepped through it, just like they did when they came down to Equus, since they didn't want the advanced spaceship they normally rode in to surprise the other ponies and freak them out. The first figure that stepped through the doorway was a tall lady, with a transformed body like every other Equestrians, though her skin was dark gray colored and her long hair had a dark cerulean color, though the misshapen horn she had revealed that she was Chrysalis, former Queen of the Changelings. Normally she wore metallic armor over her body, a specially designed spacesuit that allowed her to survive in space, frozen wastelands, and even areas with extreme heat, though right now she was wearing her own gi, which Rarity had made for her, which was dark green colored and carried none of her usual weapons, though she was formidable without the advanced weapons she was used to using. Standing beside Chrysalis, despite being a tad bit shorter than her, was Starlight Glimmer, who had light grayish heliotrope colored skin, while her hair had moderate and light purple sections to it, with grayish aquamarine highlights, though she seemed happy to be here. Starlight, unlike Chrysalis, was wearing the armor she had constructed with the help of a friend, which had a dark gray, almost black, chest piece, gloves, and boots, while the rest of the body part of the suit had a dull blue color to it, and the chest, gloves, and boots had some glowing purple crystals attached to them.
Starlight, from what Sunset recalled, called this her Nether Armor, and it generally came with a helmet that had the same dark gray color and the glowing purple crystals, but for right now it appeared that she had either left the helmet in Ratchet's ship or had collapsed it into the suit itself, mimicking a feature of the suits that Chrysalis used to wear during her own adventure.
"Starlight, Chrysalis, I'm glad you got here safely." Sunset said, to which she got up for a moment and walked over to where the duo had emerged from, where Starlight shut down the doorway she had opened and two embraced each other for a few seconds, as Sunset's second adventure had been with Starlight, where they grew up with each other as sisters and with Ratchet as their brother, and it was hard to shake off their old habits as they pulled apart.
"It's... good to take a break from being a hero, I'd just prefer it be somewhere else." Chrysalis replied, as she had some pretty bad memories of her past that had surged to the surface during her own adventure, ones that had made staying on Equus, as her permanent home, entirely impossible, but she was able to stay for short periods of time without anything bad happening to her, "I don't know how you two managed to remain sane between being the heroes of three galaxies and having to deal with that idiot Qwark... I swear, every time I meet the man I feel the urge to either throw up or beat him with my fists."
"It takes some time to get used to working with Qwark, especially given our history." Starlight stated, referring to all the times the man had gone after Sunset, either trying to strip her of the power that was hers by birthright or trying to use those very powers to show Nefarious, a former supervillain that had seen the light, the error of his ways, before she turned her attention towards Sunset once more, "So what are we doing here this time? Ratchet said that it had to be urgent based on the tone of your voice."
"I'll tell you guys soon enough, once the rest of the displaced are here." Sunset said, knowing that the others would be arriving soon enough, especially since they all lives in Ponyville, to which she glanced over at where Discord was standing and found that he was opening the way to Karakura Town, where she smiled as the portal he was working on stabilized in front of him, "Looks like Discord's shortcut is ready. We'll be back with Sombra in a few minutes, and then we can tell you and the others what's going on, and, more importantly, why we called all of you together."
Chrysalis and Starlight looked at her for a moment, knowing that the reason for them coming here had to be special if she intended to bring all of them together again, before they nodded their heads in understanding and let both her and Discord step through the shortcut the being had created, allowing them to start the journey to the planet that Sombra had been sent to, where they hoped he was in the mood to receive visitors.
It was another peaceful day in Hueco Mundo, the spiritual world that all Hollows ended up in after their transformation from their previous state as Human souls, though instead of being angry at the Shinigami that lived in another realm, for not saving them before said transformation, they were content to live in peace with their new allies. This was uncommon, as Shinigami and Hollows were usually sworn enemies and hated each other, but that was before the arrival of the most legendary and important figure in Hollow history, a being that they called the Dios Hueco, the Hollow God, a being that was far stronger than any Hollow that currently existed and only one was chosen every one thousand years. Legends stated that the Dios Hueco could enforce his or her will upon Hueco Mundo and all the beings that called the realm home, forcing them to serve whether they wanted to or not, but then the residents had been surprised when the being in question didn't do as his predecessor did, as instead of enslaving them he let them pick a side. Many had sworn fealty towards the new ruler of Hueco Mundo, finding him a benevolent ruler that was kind and just, while at the same time also showing that he could also swiftly punish whoever broke the rules or tried to stand against him, as some the previous ruler's soldiers, those that hadn't sided with the new ruler, had been sent to a realm of pure terror for a certain amount of time to reflect on their actions, and those that survived returned willing to serve him till the end of their days.
The other thing the Dios Hueco had done for them, in addition to making an alliance between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, the realm of the Shinigami, was modify the landscape of Hueco Mundo, taking away the vast desert it had been for the last thousand years and returned it to being the lush paradise that it had once been, restoring the lakes, rivers, forests, mountains, and everything else that had made this place a paradise, and, at the same time, improving the mood of the beings that called the world home.
At the moment the Dios Hueco was standing in the middle of the training area that he had built off to the side of Las Noches, the capital of Hueco Mundo and the location of his crystal palace, where he was able to practice some of his powers without hurting anyone in the process. The being in question was none other than Sombra, the former King of Darkness that had ruled over the Crystal Empire with an iron fist, before his defeat at the hands of the Royal Sisters, but these days he was the King of Hueco Mundo, the one who forged an alliance with Soul Society. His skin was dark gray, with his black hair and tail that matched the rest of the transformed ponies and came complete with his signature curved red horn, though these days he wore a white version of his old Shinigami attire over his body, one that had an open white jacket over it and a pair of sashes that formed an x-shape on his waist. One of the sashes was black colored, where his Arrancar Zanpakuto, Rey de la Oscurdid, rested, while the brilliant blue sash was where his Shinigami Zanpakuto, Shokyo, rested, as they were the keys to his true power, the power of the Dios Hueco, but for right now he didn't need either of them as he waited for what was coming.
Unlike the other displaced, who had been alive before their adventures and returned alive, Sombra had been nothing more than a soul when he was sent flying into the crystal mirror that brought him to Hueco Mundo, and he had become an Arrancar, an evolved Hollow that had removed part of his mask, hence the reason he had a Hollow hole in the location of his heart, while he had a white crown around his forehead, in the shape of his old iron crown, to show his prior Hollow nature, even if he technically skipped that step.
What he was doing at the moment was training, though this time around he wasn't the one that was trying to improve his skills, to which he focused his mind for a moment as he turned his head, where his foe flashed through the air and left a trail of lightning in her wake, even if she wasn't there anymore. When he used all of his power he could follow her easily enough, and even with either of his Zanpakuto released it was more challenging, but not to the point where it was tough for him, which was why he remained in his base form, as this allowed him to keep his sensory abilities in good shape and kept his defenses up. His foe was Yoruichi Shihoin, also called the Flash Goddess, as her speed made her one of the fastest beings in the entirety of the four realms that made up the world he called home, though at the same time his own speed was more than enough to match hers, which was because she had been the one who trained him in the art of Shunpo when he had no memories of who he was. Normally Yoruichi was a well endowed woman with a slender frame, with darker skin than the normal white that most of their friends had, and her attire was built with speed in mind, all without sacrificing it's defensive properties, making her a force to be reckoned with in her own right.
His thoughts were interrupted as his foe rushed at him from where she had hidden herself, where he raised his right hand and caught the attack before it could land where she was trying to hit him, to which lightning crackled around him and broke part of the ground as they came to a stop, allowing him to look at his foe for real once more.
Yoruichi was his opponent, and generally she was the only one he actually fought against in a training sense, but at the same time her form was different than her usual form, as she had taken on a hybrid form between the feline form she used from time to time, as she was the only Shinigami that could turn into a cat at will, her normal form, and the Shunko power that she had taken the time to perfect. In this form Yoruichi was more like a feral cat than a woman, as her feet had become clawed cat paws and the lightning had encased both her arms and her legs, though on her forearms it stopped just passed her elbows and on her legs it stopped at her thighs, but that wasn't all it had changed. Her hair had been changed as well, as the energy she was wielding had turned part of her hair into a pair of cat ears, almost like they were growing out of her head like an actual cat's ears, and she even had a black cat's tail growing out of her spine, making her look like a cross between a cat and a woman, only one that was clad in lightning. Normally she never used this form, as the only one that could force her to do this was Urahara Kisuke, a friend of hers that lived in Karakura Town, but since they had started training with this form she had gained the ability to activate it on her own, instead of relying on someone else to force it upon her, and she had gained a better control over her powers, resulting in the fact that even her hands took on the same shape that her feet did.
This form was called Shunko: Raiju Senkei: Shunryu Kokubyo Senkei, translated as 'Flash War Cry: Thunder Beast Battle Form: Flash God Black Cat Warrior Princess', and it was a terrifying sight for those that weren't used to seeing the might that Yoruichi commanded when she used this form, hence the reason that Sombra was the only one that could handle her in this form, as he would withstand the power of her lightning and force her backwards... though this time around he pulled her close and kissed her for a moment, before they separated once more.
"You're getting better at controlling yourself in this form," Sombra commented, which was a good sign, because while Yoruichi still possessed the mood of a cat while she was in this form, as there were times where she wouldn't do anything but act like a cat and not train at all, this showed that they were making progress in helping her reign in this form.
"And you keep catching me." Yoruichi replied, to which she touched down on the ground once more, with all fours like a cat would, and walked a few steps to get ready for the next attack she had in mind, one of several that could easily change their training session, "Maybe you should use one of your Zanpakuto... make things interesting."
That was the other thing that had changed, as before hand Yoruichi was incapable of speaking while she was in this form, but through their training sessions Sombra had managed to get her to speak, and while she only spoke in small fragments, like she did now, it was better than what they started with. As Sombra opened his mouth to respond, however, he felt the presence of a reiatsu signature coming towards them, one of his followers from the feel of it, to which he sighed and shook his head, noticing the sad look on Yoruichi's face, but they both knew they'd be back at this later. It turned out that the one who was seeking her out was none other than Haineko, one of the tormented Zanpakuto spirits that he had freed during the Zanpakuto rebellion, though it was a fake event meant to sow chaos across Soul Society, and during that time the curvaceous spirit had freed herself from her Shinigami partner. Haineko was a cat girl, as she had cat ears that grew out of her hair and she had a pink cat tail coming out of her spine, though recently she had started to wear the white Arrancar clothing that had been made in the style of her previous attire, as in a no sleeved shirt that revealed her stomach and their version of shorts.
The only reason Haineko would be here, seeking them out, was if something happened in either Soul Society or the World of the Living, where his friends Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryu Ishida, Orihime and Sora Inoue, and Sado Yasutora, or Chad as he preferred to be called, lived.
"Haineko, is something wrong?" Sombra asked, as he could tell, just from looking at the Arrancar, since Haineko had a Hollow hole to represent her true nature, that something must have happened, otherwise she would have left them alone until they were done training.
"You could say that, Lord Sombra." Haineko replied, as there was a reason she had come here and she knew that her Lord may not like it, especially when she considered what happened the last time the being they had discovered had shown himself, "Szayelaporro wanted me to tell you that Discord has been spotted near the temple the gateway to Hueco Mundo was built in... and it seems that he brought along someone whose reiatsu is far stronger than any instruments he has in his lab."
"Discord..." Sombra said, to which he sighed for a moment, as the last time he had seen the Spirit of Disharmony, who had ascended to being the God of Chaos for their universe, it had been so he could meet the other displaced and fight with Celestia and Luna, before engaging in a battle against Sunset Shimmer, "Very well. Tell Zangetsu and the others that I'll go see what he and his friend want. Hopefully they just came by for a chat and will leave once they have said whatever it is that they want to tell me."
"And I'll go with you." Yoruichi stated, where the wind kicked up for a moment as she released her power, reverting back to her base form, that of a woman without the cat paws and the lightning, allowing Sombra to see the black body suit she usually wore all the time, even though she glanced at her head and her back, finding her ears and tail were still there, only for her to sigh, "I was hoping for a clean transformation... I guess I need more practice before that's possible, though I can live with these for a few days."
Sombra knew that transforming herself like that wasn't easy, especially after all the training they had done to get her to the point she was currently at, though the only odd thing about taking on the Shunryu Kokubyo Senkei form was that there would be times where Yoruichi ended up having her cat ears and tail for a few days. As such Yoruichi had made a slight modification to her body suit, that being a hole where her tail would be if it decided to stay, and if the tail was gone than the hole would vanish as well, meaning it all depended on whether or not she had a tail when their training sessions were over. In fact, if she so desired, she could even turn the ears and tail on whenever she wanted, from her base form, but whenever this happened she couldn't will them to disappear, she had to wait for them to do so one their own, which was an annoyance she had grown to live with, especially since Sombra still loved her in whatever form she used. The fact that he was helping her whenever she was in this state, and made sure that she didn't give up on improving her skills, was the reason that Yoruichi was able to come to terms with the power of what she considered her final power, the trump card as it were, and one day she wouldn't have to deal with all of this.
Despite all of that, however, Sombra nodded his head and headed towards the Crystal Palace that rested in the middle of Las Noches, as he had modified the existing palace that the previous ruler of Hueco Mundo had lived in and made it more like what he was used to, and while he moved through the air Yoruichi followed after him. Near his new palace rested a special building that housed the permanent gateway he had made between the World of the Living and his new kingdom, allowing for nearly instant travel between the two realms, and since Discord and his companion were in the World of the Living it was the best place for them to head to. As such they touched down in front of the building not even a minute later, as they were two of the fastest beings in this entire realm, and Sombra nodded to the Arrancar that were guarding the building, to make sure no Humans accidentally stumbled through the gateway, which would be very hard since he built the other side of the passage in an abandoned temple, one that the people of Karakura Town appeared to have forgotten about entirely. The guards nodded back to him and let the two of them through, where they found the crystal gateway that would take them back to the World of the Living, to which they both stepped through it and headed back to the world that Ichigo Kurosaki called home.
The gateway worked as Sombra designed it to, as in they stepped through the other side not even a minute later, to which they walked out of the temple and Yoruichi started to sense the reiatsu signatures in the air as she attempted to locate the ones that belonged to Discord and his companion... before Sombra stopped her and pointed to a clearing that was near the temple, where he spotted the God of Chaos standing near a portal to Equus, and standing next to him was none other than Sunset Shimmer.
"Discord, Sunset, this is quite the surprise." Sombra said, as he had been under the impression that he might not actually see the gods of their universe again, not unless something required the displaced to gather again, which peaked his interests, since he had to assume they were here for him and his power, "What can I do for the both of you?"
"We need you to come back to Equus for a few days," Sunset explained, knowing that the last thing that Sombra wanted was to be on the planet that he called home, merely because he didn't want to get into an argument with one of the crystal ponies that called the Crystal Empire home, "as in you'll be free to stay in Twilight's castle and spend some time in Ponyville. Twilight, Celestia, Discord, Applejack, and I visited the King of All's palace earlier today and we've learned of something that needs to be told to all of the displaced, and you're the only one left that hasn't returned yet, so I asked Discord to open the way here, to the place you called home these days."
Sombra raised his eyebrow for a moment, as while he had no idea who the 'King of All' was, even though he believed that it was a being that was far stronger than Sunset and ruled over all of creation, he could tell that whatever they had been told about must have been serious, based on the tone of her voice and the fact that Discord even went out of his way to nod his head, indicating that she was telling the truth, and even he didn't seem like his usual self. From what he knew about Discord, from the tales that he had read, he knew that the God of Chaos was supposed to be afraid of nothing and actually laughed in the face of danger, but something about whatever they had learned had spooked him, as he was more serious than he had ever seen him or heard in the tales, meaning they were telling the truth. It was all interesting to him, since it seemed that things were still changing on Equus, even after he chose to call this world his home, and now he was curious as to what they might have uncovered, even if it meant gathering with the rest of the displaced for a time, since it would allow him to see what was going on.
"Alright, you've peaked my interest." Sombra said, to which he noticed that Discord looked relieved that they wouldn't have to try talking to him some more, that their facial expressions and what little Sunset had told him had been more than enough to convince him to head back to his home world for some time, "Yoruichi, could you tell Zangetsu and the others that we'll be gone for a few days?"
Yoruichi nodded her head and headed back into the temple, though Sombra had no intention of leaving her behind, as he felt that she deserved to know what was going on, since he had the feeling that it would affect her in some manner, to which he stood by the pair of gods as they waited for her to return from Hueco Mundo. Fortunately it didn't take her long to get back to them, revealing that Zangetsu knew they would be gone for some time and that he would tell both Nel and Harribel the news, so they could keep Las Noches intact while they were gone, though at the same time Sombra did notice that whatever had Discord and Sunset worried prevented them from questioning Yoruichi's ears and tail. Once she was back with the three of them, and Sombra knew that his followers knew that they would be gone for a few days, the two of them followed the pair of gods towards the portal that Discord had opened earlier, for them to get here, to which the four of them stepped into the gateway and headed back to Equus once more.
Sunset was pleased that Sombra had been so willing to come back to Equus with them, as she had been expecting him to question what they were doing and actually take some time talking with them before they were able to convince him to come with them, but this saved time, something that they didn't have a lot of. It didn't take them long to step through the other side of the portal, returning to Twilight's castle since that's where the meeting was taking place, and not a few seconds later Sombra and Yoruichi stepped out as well, following her and Discord, before the spirit closed the way back to Karakura Town, for now anyway. When they stepped out into the ballroom she found that they weren't along, and she didn't mean the fact that Twilight, Celestia, Applejack, Chrysalis, and Starlight were here, as Sunset found a lot of familiar faces sitting at the tables, showing her that Rainbow had done what she had said she would do when they encountered her some time ago. She even noticed that the rest of her group, who knew what was going on, were pleased by how fast the others were able to stop what they were doing and come to this important meeting, meaning that they would be able to get this meeting started in no time.
Sitting near where the portal had been opened was Rarity, who had a light gray coat and both her hair and her tail had a moderate indigo color to them, though after studying all the various clothing styles, from all the worlds that she and her friends had been sent to, she was wearing a light purple skirt with a light blue top, but when she went into battle she wore a dark grey, almost black, colored gi. Next to her was Pinkie Pie, who had a light grayish raspberry coat while her hair and tail had a brilliant raspberry color to them, but unlike most of the displaced she was wearing a suit of armor, where the side of her armor was dark purple colored, the left side was light blue colored, and in the direct center of her chest piece rested a blue crystalline balloon that represented the Element of Harmony she wielded from time to time. Rainbow and Applejack were sitting with them, which made sense considering they were friends with each other, and were four of the six Elements of Harmony that once protected this world from various evils, along with Fluttershy, who wasn't here since she wasn't one of the displaced, and Twilight, though none of them had bothered to see if they could still wield the Elements, but for now they had something else to focus on.
At one of the other tables sat a trio of girls, sisters to be exact, though the first one Sunset focused on was the one that had an arctic bluish white colored coat, while her hair and tail were a light arctic blue with moderate persian blue stripes, but she knew her as Sonata Dusk. Next to her was her sister, Aria Blaze, who had pale light grayish fuchsia colored skin, while her hair and tail had a moderate purple color with light brilliant aquamarine colored streaks, and while Sonata seemed excited about something Aria seemed a little annoyed, but it must have had to do with whatever they had been called from and not the meeting itself. Adagio Dazzle, the remaining sister and leader of their group, had pale apple green colored skin while her hair and tail had a vivid orange color to it, with brilliant yellow streaks, and her attention was on the viewing screen that Celestia was projecting in the area that all the displaced were staring at. All three of them had once been known as the Dazzlings, back when they were trying to take over the school that Sunset was attending, and they had taken on that name again, but this time the trio of Sirens were a force of good, just like Chrysalis and Sombra were. Right now all three of them were wearing dark blue jeans, though at the same time each of them were wearing a different colored shirt, dull green for Aria, maroon for Sonata, and dark purple for Adagio.
Near them rested the only two members of the displaced that had retained their wings, as most of the displaced that had wings before their transformation had lost them when they went to the various planets that housed their adventures and where their new families lived. The first one was Gilda, a griffin that had been Rainbow's friend before her visit to Ponyville a long time ago, and they were now friends once more, though her skin had a moderate gamboge color to it and her hair was white colored with light grayish heliotrope colored tips, but unlike everyone else her tail was a lion's tail and it's color was the same as her skin, and her feathered wings grew out of her back. Across the table from her sat Derpy Hooves, a pegasus that had retained her wings, though her skin was a light sapphire bluish gray color and her hair and her tail was of a light grayish apple green color, but during their adventure on the world they called home she had lost her right eye in an epic battle, one that unlocked both her elemental affinity and Gilda's at the same time. They were both dressed in dark gray colored shorts, blue elbow-sleeved shirts that had yellow collars, blue gloves that also had yellow cuffs, and usually wore blue caps on their heads, but right now those rested on the table, while their individual wooden canes, the weapons they used in the world they were sent to, rested against their chairs.
Gilda and Derpy, known as Gilda and Derpy Cooper these days, had been sent to a world made up of anthro animals, where they became the sisters of Sly Cooper and became famous thieves in their own right, and their magical powers made them a force to be reckoned with, but they didn't use their skills on Equus, rather they returned to being thieves when they visited their brother and his family, learning magic when they were on their home world.
The final two members of the displaced were a bit further down from where Gilda and Derpy were sitting, though the first one Sunset glanced at was Trixie Lulamoon, who had a brilliant azure coat while her hair was a pale cornflower blue color, and she wore a blue robe over her body, but unlike the other displaced she was more changed than they were. The reason behind that was because her tail was no longer the tail that belonged to a pony, rather it had been transformed into a dragon's tail, while at the same time her legs had been transformed into that of a dragon, while possessing three sharp claws, and unlike the other displaced she had ended up with no pony ears, rather she had the ears of an elf. In addition to all of that she had a pair of horns, in addition to her main unicorn horn, though while two of them curled back towards the back of her head the other two curled around like they were heading back to the front of her face, despite the fact they stopped halfway to that area, and her main horn was curved like Sombra's, only it seemed to be made of a crystalline nature now. Across from her sat Lyra Heartstrings, a unicorn that had been transformed into an elf as well, based on her ears, but despite that fact she still had her light aquamarine colored coat while her hair and tail had a light grayish cyan color, but like Trixie she had more than one horn, as she still had her main unicorn horn in the middle of her forehead, while she had two large curved horns that stopped above her head. The interesting thing about her was that she was wearing a robe that revealed her stomach entirety, as in the robe was split between a top piece and the part she wore from the waist down, and that she had some elegant tattoos, where the tattoos on her left side were of a golden yellow and the right side were much darker, like she was sporting a union of two conflicting powers in her body.
These were the displaced, the ponies and other creatures that had been taken from Equus, or the world that Sunset had called home after running away from Celestia all those years ago, and all of them were powerful in their own right, though Sunset pushed that thought aside as Sombra and Yoruichi took the last table that was available, allowing her to approach the area that Celestia was standing in, as it was time for them to reveal what they had been told.
"As all of you have been told, we discovered something shocking when we visited the King of All's palace some time ago, due to the summons we received from the Grand Priest," Sunset stated, though as she said that Celestia waved her hand and the image of the fighting stage appeared, where she noticed that some of the displaced raised their eyebrows in surprise for a moment, which she knew she'd see more of once she told the others about the tournament, "For those that don't know who we're talking about, the Grand Priest is an Angel, like Celestia is, but he's also the father of the twelve Angels that guide the other twelve universes, and his task is assisting Lord Zeno, the King of All, in whatever he needs help with. Yes, allow me to clarify something, we're not the only universe, rather we are Universe 13, a previously unofficial universe that changed when I became the God of Destruction, and we're the only universe that doesn't have a counterpart, like Universe 1 and Universe 12 are a pair. Anyway, the reason we have called all of you here, and taken you all away from what you were doing, is because Universe 13 is one of the nine universes that have been called to participate in the Tournament of Power, and we have to gather ten warriors before the time limit is up."
"So that's why we were brought here." Sombra commented, as he had been thinking about what they had been told so far and knew that there was something that they hadn't been told yet, and he could tell that some of the others were thinking the same thing.
"Indeed. Now, I realize that we have thirteen potential warriors to choose from," Sunset said, because when she removed herself and Starlight from the equation, since gods couldn't participate in the tournament, since it seemed to be focused on mortals and not gods, she knew that there were only thirteen powerful warriors to pick from, "but before we get to picking whose going to represent us in the tournament, and whose going to stay here, there are some rules that you'll need to know before we do anything else. The first is that this isn't a traditional tournament, where it's one warrior against another warrior, rather it the ten warriors from a single universe against the warriors of the other universes, in a battle royal, and the only way to cut down on the number of foes you'll be fighting is by knocking a foe off the fighting stage, eliminating them from the tournament. The Grand Priest has determined that weapons are not allowed, killing your opponents isn't allowed and could likely get us disqualified if it happens, and skills like flight are nullified while your fighting in the tournament, no doubt to prevent warriors from returning to the stage if they were knocked off it."
"Well, that shouldn't be much of a problem for Sombra," Yoruichi said, as she knew the power that her beloved could command in his base form and suspected that he could get away with leaving his weapons with the gods of their universe, just in case he needed them later, or he could release them first and not have to worry about them.
"Fortunately, most of you adapted to hand to hand combat and left weapons behind," Sunset added, as she knew that many of the displaced had started with weapons, be they guns or swords, and had taken the time to learn how to fight with their fists and legs, meaning that she wasn't concerned about any potential weapons they might be bringing with them to the fighting stage, "Sombra, since I'm fairly sure that throwing things down into the fighting stage for our warriors to use might be against the rules, if you decide to fight the other universes' warriors you'll either have to release your blades and then hide your power until you're ready, or just not use them at all and leave them with us."
"You know, something is still bothering me," Rarity said, as she could tell that there was something else they hadn't been told yet, and she knew Twilight enough to know that the look on her face indicated that there was a reason that all of the gods, including Discord, were worried, "What's the prize for winning the tournament? Surely there has to be something that will be awarded to whoever wins the tournament?"
"The Super Dragon Balls." Rainbow replied, showing that she had been paying attention to what Sunset and the others had been talking about when they returned to Equus, though at the same time she and Applejack were the only ones that really knew how they worked, based on the tournament their father had with their uncle, "They're basically seven massive spheres, about the size of a planet, and when they're gathered together someone can make a wish on them, be it immortality, reviving the dead, restoring an entire planet, or whatever you desire most."
"That's correct, but that's for either the last warrior standing or the winning team," Twilight stated, telling her friends and the others what would happen if more than one of them was left standing at the end, provided none of the other universes knocked them out of the running early on, before she sighed and decided to get it over with, "however, there is a punishment for a universe that has all ten of their warriors knocked off the fighting stage... Lord Zeno will personally erase any universe that has their warriors eliminated."
The group went silent for a moment, as while Rainbow and Applejack knew what being erased meant, because they had assisted Goku, Vegeta, and the others in defeating Zamasu, which had brought about the Future Zeno being brought back to this time period by Goku, the others had no idea, to which Sunset called up an image of the sphere that represented their universe and held it out for them to see.
"This is what we're talking about." Sunset said, to which she flexed her energy and the sphere disappeared, not in the method of being destroyed by a God of Destruction, something that a few of the displaced had actually seen during their adventures, which all depended on what was bugging them, before she sighed and lowered her hand, "If all ten of our warriors are knocked out of the Tournament of Power, Lord Zeno will erase all of us, meaning those at the tournament and our entire universe, in an instant, killing everyone we know and love and undoing everything we have done to make this universe a better place for everyone."
Sombra could imagine it in his mind, Hueco Mundo, Soul Society, Hell, and the World of the Living, the four realms that made up the world he called home, disappearing in the blink of an eye, the lives of his friends ending in an instant, and his own life coming to a sudden end. It was terrible to hear that Lord Zeno, the King of All as Sunset and the others called him, was basically cutting the number of universes down from 13 and was dropping to 4, forcing the nine chosen universes to fight among themselves to be a special fifth one that survived his purge, almost like the being that ruled over everything didn't care about them. At the same time he could tell that Yoruichi was horrified of the thought that their world could be gone, after everything they did to make it the way it was, and he couldn't blame her, because if he was a normal being, without the power he possessed, the news would have shattered his world, but now that he knew what the stakes were he understood why all of them had been called back to Equus, as Sunset and the others were gathering the strongest mortal warriors they had for the tournament.
"Well, I guess Gilda and I are out of the running," Derpy stated, causing the group to turn towards her for a moment, as those that knew the old her had been quite shocked by how serious she had become during their stay in Sly's world, even at the cost of losing one of her eyes, "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to fight for the safety of our universe, but the two of us are by far the weakest members of the displaced, as my power doesn't even come close to what Rainbow can use and I know the same applies for my sister and her power. At the very least Rainbow and Applejack should be on the team, since their powers are far stronger than most of us, save for the terrifying power that Sombra commands."
"Now hold on a minute," Rainbow said, surprising the group once more, as it actually sounded like she was annoyed about something, or the entire tournament in general, to which she turned her head towards Sunset, "You said that if a universe loses all of it's warriors, they'll be erased. Which universes are we supposed to be fighting?"
"Universes 1, 12, 5, and 8 are exempt from entering," Celestia spoke up, though at the same time she knew that both Rainbow and Applejack were going to have a hard time coming to terms with what she had to tell them, especially when one took their own adventure into consideration, "That means that our ten warriors will be fighting the warriors from Universes 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11."
"We have to fight... Universe 7?" Rainbow asked, to which Sombra noted that it wasn't in a way that meant she was afraid of them, rather it seemed like she, and extension Applejack since they had been sisters at one point, had some sort of connection to the other universe, to which Sunset nodded her head, "You can't ask Applejack and I to do this! If we win, Universe 7, our friends, and our family will get erased!"
"Can someone explain what she's talking about?" Gilda asked, because despite the time she had spent rebuilding her relationship with Rainbow, back to the friendly level it had been a long time ago, she still had no idea what sort of family her friend had during her adventure, save for Applejack being her sister.
"Rainbow and Applejack were sent to Universe 7 during their adventure," Sunset explained, to which she noticed that some of the displaced were surprised by that turn of events, meaning that Rainbow and Applejack must not have told everyone the news, though she knew that they needed both of their power if they were to survive, "meaning that Son Goku and his friends on their version of Earth are actually their friends as well. To top it off their father is Beerus, the God of Destruction for Universe 7, their mother is Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, they consider both Shin, the Kaioshin for that universe, and Whis, Beerus' Angel, to be family as well, and Champa, Universe 6's God of Destruction, is their uncle."
To Sombra that explained so much, relating to the fact that Rainbow seemed against the idea of competing at all, as she wasn't about to run the risk of erasing Beerus and the rest of her family, but at the same time he knew that they would have need of her power in the tournament. From what it sounded like they were supposed to bring the strongest warriors in their universe, of which Rainbow and Applejack filled the first and second positions, making him wonder if there was a way for them to get around a universe being erased, after losing their warriors anyway. Even as he thought about it he glanced at the image of the Super Dragon Balls, the seven orbs that would grant any wish to the surviving warrior or the team that made it to the end, and an idea formed in his mind as he considered the number of wishes that might be able to be made on the objects. He considered the possibility that there might be more to the Super Dragon Balls that they had been told, or this might be the extent of the knowledge that their gods had for them, but he did wonder if their was the chance they could undo the erasure of the defeated universes.
"What if we set our team wish to being the revival of the erased universes?" Sombra asked, causing the others to stop what they were doing and turn towards him for a moment, as they all seemed surprised by the fact that he would even make such a suggestion, "You said that the Super Dragon Balls can grant any wish that our hearts desire, so what if we all desire the erasure of the defeated universes to be reversed? Even if Universe 7 were erased, and I'm not saying that we'll go out of our way to do that, we could bring them and the other seven universes back, overturn the decision of the King of All and save trillions of lives from being extinguished."
"He raises a good point." Applejack said, as she had been wondering if such a wish was even possible, but to have Sombra, of anyone that could have spoken, agree with her unspoken thoughts was more than she was expecting, though this confirmed that he was one of the smartest beings if he was able to piece that thought together so quickly, before another thought came to mind, "What if we teamed up with Universe 7? Make it so that we're the last two universes standing? I'm fairly sure that Goku and the others have already come up with the same idea, that they could use the Super Dragon Balls to save the erased universes... so why not ensure that our wish is the one that comes out on top?"
"To do that we'll need the ten strongest warriors we have," Sunset replied, though at the same time she was happy to see that she had made the right decision to seek out Sombra, as it appeared that him turning over a new leaf, and turning his powers towards good, was working out in their favor, before she stared at the group, "Now then, who wants to join the team and fight for the safety of not just our universe, but the safety of the other universes as well?"
"If we're teaming up with Universe 7, you can count us in." Rainbow stated, to which Applejack nodded her head in agreement, as she knew that it would be best if they went in together, since they knew everyone that Goku might pick for his team and would be able to pair their two universes up with ease.
"You can count on me as well." Sombra said, because if he was going to go through the effort of determining that it might be possible for them to save the other universes, from the acts of a foolish god in his opinion, than he was going to join the team and make sure they won the Super Dragon Balls.
"The work of a hero, it seems, is never done." Chrysalis stated, as she had been thinking about what Sunset and the others had said the entire time, hence the reason that she had been so quiet, but hearing that everything they had worked towards being undone annoyed her, especially considering her own adventure, "Count me in as well."
"You can count on us as well." Adagio added, where Sonata and Aria nodded their heads as well, showing that they were more than eager to knock the other universes around and make sure they got the spheres that would undo the damage that the King of All would unleash upon a defeated universe.
"I don't like the sound of people losing their lives, but I'll do my best to help out." Rarity said, as she had seen more than enough in her time exploring Drangleic with Edric, the warrior companion that had helped her get through all the trying trials she would have had to face on her own, and she wasn't about to let so many innocent people just lose their lives because some higher being willed it.
"Count me in as well." Pinkie stated, though she smiled and looked happy, like she didn't have a care in the world, but everyone knew that she was serious and was already imagining the looks on her foe's faces when she knocked them off the fighting stage, getting herself ready for what was ahead of them.
"Since Gilda and Derpy are dropping out, it falls between the two of you." Sunset said, to which she and the others turned towards Lyra and Trixie, as they were the only two that had been silent during the entire meeting, though while they had been a team on Azeroth one of them would have to stay here, something that might bother them a little.
Lyra and Trixie glanced at each other for a moment, as while the others knew that they worked well together, since they had been sent to the same world, the truth was that they were also great separate, since they had spent a great deal of time apart from each other, before they turned back towards the group.
"Considering that we're both at the same level of power, and can freak out an ancient Titan with our full power, I think I'll let Trixie help you guys out." Lyra said, though the main reason was because she knew that the combination of her inner darkness and the Light could yield explosive results, ones that might endanger the others when she took the size of the fighting stage into consideration, and she knew that Trixie's skill over the Arcane was much stronger than her control over her powers.
"Which means that I'll have to let my wings out before we get to the fighting stage," Trixie commented, though the others knew what she was talking about, as both she and Lyra had a pair of wings, hers being draconic and Lyra's being demonic, but usually they were bound up in magical tattoos on their backs and could be loosed at a moment's notice, hence the reason she had slots in the back of her robe for her wings while Lyra had nothing covering her back.
"The ten of you will be our warriors in the Tournament of Power," Celestia said, though she was happy to see that it was easy to gather the number necessary, especially since it had almost gone sideways when Rainbow started to refuse because of the fact that she'd have to fight Universe 7, before she looked at her scepter, "We have roughly thirty-eight hours before we need to leave for the World of Void, where the tournament is taking place, so you should all use this time to prepare yourselves accordingly. Once we're close to the time limit we'll all meet back here and then the Grand Priest will summon us to the fighting stage... and then it'll be up to you ten to keep us all safe."
Sunset knew that the warriors that had chosen to step forward would do wonders for them, and at the same time show the other universes that they weren't as weak as some of them believed them to be, but even as she thought about that, and the team started to get up, she knew that she and Celestia needed to talk with Beerus... and hope that the Grand Priest didn't have a problem with what they were planning, otherwise they were in massive trouble.