It took an hour or two for Celestia to navigate her way back to Equus, revealing just how far away Lyra and Trixie had been sent when they were teleported to Azeroth and the Outlands, though that gave them some time to ask some of the questions that had been bugging them. Lyra's immediate concern was how the two of them had been taken from their home planet and dropped off on two separate worlds that were connected by a massive portal, something that Trixie came to agree with once she thought about it. Sunset, Twilight, and Celestia glanced at each other, revealing that they knew the answer to the question, before they turned their attention back to what they were doing, which was Celestia making sure they got back to Equus, Twilight was taking notes of the planets they were passing by, and Sunset was just standing there with her arms crossed behind her back. Out of the three of them both Lyra and Trixie assumed that it had to be Sunset who would give them the information that they were after, as she was the only one that wasn't occupied with anything at the moment, to which they stood still and waited for her to explain the situation.
"I take it that the two of you heard about my coronation and my disappearance?" Sunset asked, surprising the duo for a moment, as that wasn't something they were expecting to hear, but at the same time both Lyra and Trixie nodded their heads for a few seconds, "Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, found out that I was going to become something that was even stronger than a princess and, upon tinkering with a certain magical mirror, he laid a trap that Starlight and I sprung just a few days after my first return to Equus."
"What do you mean by 'first return'?" Trixie inquired, as that term really didn't make any sense to her, not with what they had been told so far, and Lyra seemed to be listening so she could understand what was going on, but she hadn't spoken up either.
"Like you two I found myself in a different world once," Sunset replied, remembering the adventure she had embarked on all those years ago, or rather what felt like years, before she sighed and returned to the conversation, "the world I landed on was called Nirn and I had been called there for a very specific reason... I had to fight and defeat Tirek before he could destroy the world. Trust me, it wasn't an easy feat trying to keep artifacts of power away from him, not when he devised a cleaver plan to find the area I had sealed the artifacts inside and stole the power of the godly beings that they were attached to. He gained the power to not only upset the natural balance of Nirn, but also tried to tear open a portal so he could return to Equus and rule as it's king, before doing whatever foul end game he had planned."
"And then you somehow gained the power to stop him." Lyra stated, as she was seeing where the story was going, but at the same time she wasn't seeing how it connected to their current situation, the one they had asked about and were still trying to figure out.
"Well, not at first." Sunset admitted, as she remembered what had happened when she tried to battle Tirek, who was fueled by the powers of sixteen gods, before her new friends had assisted her and did something amazing, "It was only when one of my new friends, a vampire called Serana, figured out that five of my new friends and I seemed to represent the Elements of Harmony, despite the fact that they didn't exist on Nirn. My friends lent me their power and allowed me to ascend to being an alicorn, giving me more than enough power to not only stand up to Tirek, but also defeat him and restore balance to Nirn, before the Wardens of Tartarus came and imprisoned him once more. After that I returned home, to Equus, and Celestia spread news of my ascension and my coronation that was going to be happening in the near future... only that never happened, because Starlight and I used a portal that teleported us to a new planet, as four year olds without any memories of who we used to be.
That's why I said 'first return' earlier, as I have gone on two adventures to two different worlds... even though my second adventure allowed me to truly ascend to being a God of Destruction, where the power of my ascension would have destroyed Equus if I stayed on our home world."
"So you're saying that Discord, in a way, saved everyone from being killed in an instant?" Trixie inquired, as while she believed what Lyra had told Maiev, about how they should forgive people and put the past behind them, she found it odd that Discord would enforce such a fate upon two ponies.
"And that brings us to the heart of your question." Sunset stated, as she was happy to reach this point, even though both Lyra and Trixie were going to be shocked by the news of what happened before they arrived on Azeroth, "When Discord modified the mirror that served as the portal between worlds, and focused on sending me away to keep Equus safe, he failed to account for the fact that there might be more ponies that might seek to use the portal for their own goals. His actions have caused ponies to be displaced to other worlds, sometimes alone and sometimes with someone else, but for the most part they end up being around four years old without any memories of their old lives, until he decided to modify his existing enchantments. The fact of modifying his own spell caused some backlash that knocked the two of you out of Equus and sent you to the worlds you found yourselves in, though we had no idea where Azeroth was located until he came along and told us that you had been found... and that you didn't want to come home until you stopped Sargeras in his tracks."
"Discord's at fault for us traveling to Azeroth and the Outlands?" Lyra asked, to which she found Sunset nodding her head, though at the same time she remembered what she said to Maiev and sighed, as she knew what to say next, "well, since we both survived and are coming home with more power than we could ever want, I guess we can thank Discord for doing what he did."
"You know, that raises another question," Trixie commented, because if she and Lyra had been displaced by the sheer backlash of the spell, and they were returning with the power they commanded, she had to wonder who else had been displaced and what powers they commanded, "who else headed through the mirror?"
"Well, let me think about that for a second," Sunset said, though the look on her face revealed that she knew who had been displaced and she was just killing time, something that both Lyra and Trixie were grateful for, "Besides Starlight and myself, who were the first ones to be displaced, and the two of you, who were knocked out by backlash, the others that were displaced were Rainbow Dash and Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Chrysalis, Gilda and Derpy Hooves, the Sirens, and Sombra. So far only a few of the others have returned, those being Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity, and Discord is in the process of locating the others and trying to convince them to come home when they're ready... something he learned after being denied by both you two and Chrysalis, as she's apparently not done with her own journey yet."
Lyra and Trixie glanced at each other, as while Sunset said nothing about the power that the displaced ponies possessed they were curious as to what had happened since they had last been home, as for them it had been seven long years and now they were ready to see their loved ones again. Neither of them had any idea that Sunset had been sent on an adventure like they had, much less two of them and had to fight one of the most dangerous creatures in the world, but her power said that she was a force that no one could stop unless she changed her mind on something. Since there wasn't much they could do while they were traveling through space, except stare at the planets around them, they simply remained silent and waited for them to reach their home world.
When Celestia said that they were almost home, indicating that they were almost to Equus, Lyra and Trixie looked at the planets ahead of them and their eyes widened as they gazed upon their home world as they got closer and closer to their destination, while Sunset and Twilight remained silent at the same time. The duo assumed that the reason behind that was because they had made this trip several times since they became gods, so there wasn't anything special about this for them, but they stared down at Equus as they finally reached the atmosphere. A few moments later they started their descent towards the ground below them, allowing Lyra and Trixie to gaze upon the familiar sights that neither of them had seen for seven years, before they spotted Canterlot off in the distance and Ponyville resting near the Everfree Forest. It took them a few minutes to get closer to the ground, though when they did so both Lyra and Trixie were shocked by what they were seeing; the ponies of Ponyville had bodies that were exactly like theirs and they seemed to have adapted to them rather well from what they were seeing.
Something had happened since they had last been here, as ponies didn't naturally go through this transformation without something like the backlash happening to them, but at the same time they remained silent as Celestia landed on the outskirts of Ponyville and dropped the barrier at last.
"Lyra Heartstrings, Trixie Lulamoon, welcome home," Celestia said, though this time around she started walking forward and headed towards Twilight's castle, to which the others followed after her and gave the duo a chance to see the rest of Ponyville again, "Lyra, you'll find that Bon Bon has been worried about you since the day you disappeared and has been trying to find you in her own way, so now she can stop before she hurts herself. Trixie, your wagon has been moved into the area near the castle, so it can be watched over and protected from anyone that would try to steal anything that you had before Discord's spell sent you to Azeroth."
"That's good to hear," Trixie replied, as while she honestly hadn't thought about her wagon that much over the last seven years, as she had been busy dealing with so many things with her new friends, she was still grateful that nothing had happened to it in the time since she was knocked out of Equus.
What was interesting about the journey to the castle was that the ponies that both Lyra and Trixie knew, from before they were sent to a whole new world, were surprised by their return and by the fact that their bodies were so different from what the rest of Ponyville had. Sure, ponies were surprised by Lyra's more demonic looking body, despite the fact that the fel no longer had any claim to her body, but they were more surprised by the fact that Trixie was half dragon and could tell that she was a true mage now. Lyra wasn't sure if that thought was because of the fact that Trixie was still carrying Aluneth, which she personally thought Trixie would do without since she was the Spell-Weaver now, or if they could feel the power that Trixie commanded, which was stronger than what she had before the journey to Azeroth. When they reached the castle, however, the door opened just as they were approaching the door and Spike, Twilight's dragon assistant, was standing in the doorway to welcome them back... and, oddly enough, he seemed to have matured a little since Lyra and Trixie had been gone, if the wings on his back were any indication.
"Welcome back Twilight!" Spike said, greeting the pony he had spent the majority of his life with, which made sense seeing how Twilight had hatched him and was the one that he was almost always near, but before he could welcome any of the others back as well he looked at Trixie and froze, "Trixie? When did you become part dragon?"
"Actually, I'm more than half dragon." Trxie replied, as she and the others knew about her new true form, one that she wouldn't be able to use in the space that was around them at the moment, not unless they went to an open area so she could change forms, "Though the real answer to your question is that I ascended to this state during my adventures on Azeroth, just like Lyra was able to gain new powers in the process as well. Tell you what, we'll tell you about our adventures later on, after we've had a chance to settle down and figure out whats going on."
It was clear that Spike wanted to say something to that, but before he could actually say anything they heard an explosion nearby, though while Lyra and Trixie were surprised by that, since Ponyville was a peaceful place unless something was attacking it, Sunset and the others weren't surprised at all. In fact Sunset and her fellow gods headed out for the area the sound came from, accompanied by Spike after he closed the door, to which Lyra and Trixie followed after them, as they were curious as to why they were so calm over hearing an explosion. A few moments later, however, they approached an area between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, a training area by the looks of it, and found an interesting sight, four small pony girls were flying through the air, fighting each other as they used their fists to hit each other or to parry attacks. What was really interesting was the fact that two of them seemed to be channeling the power of the wind itself, one was channeling the power of fire, and the fourth one had a rocky shield surrounding her, preventing her opponents from hitting her. It took Lyra and Trixie a moment to realize that three of the girls were Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, though while they had no idea who the fourth girl was it immediately became clear that they were all friends and that they were practicing their skills... and that the collision of their powers had blown a hole in the ground, which Apple Bloom seemed to heal a few seconds later.
Standing nearby were three more pony girls, though their hair styles and colors were more than enough for Lyra and Trixie to recognize Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity, even though the three of them happened to be wearing the same type of clothing that had different colors for each of them... though the fighting stopped as they all realized that Sunset, Celestia, and Twilight had entered the area, along with some new arrivals.
"Awesome!" Rainbow said, to which she flew over to where the group was standing and started to study Lyra and Trixie, to which Sunset and the others backed away so the other displaced ponies could have a word with them, "I'm not sure why you two changed so much during your adventure, but I can tell that the two of you are strong... maybe we should spare in the future, to see how strong you really are."
"Calm down Rainbow, they just got back." Applejack stated, as she could see that Lyra and Trixie were exhausted, which was mostly from them fighting a creature that was stronger than anything they had fought before that point, while noticing that Rainbow hadn't seen that yet, "Give them a few days to recover and maybe they'll show their powers to you, unlike when Rarity returned and you challenged her to a battle immediately."
"Hey, that was an awesome fight as well," Rainbow countered, to which she turned towards Applejack for a moment, where both Lyra and Trixie had the feeling that they had been displaced to the same world and had grown up as siblings, or at least something similar to that, "besides, you can't deny that the energy these two are putting out hasn't caught your interest as well. I have no idea what sort of power Lyra's putting out, despite the fact that half of it feels like Rarity's Dark Magic, and Trixie's energy is confusing me to no end... so of course I'd want to challenge them immediately, just so I can see their powers for myself."
"Just because I prefer to welcome our friends back home first, before fighting them, doesn't mean I'm not interested in seeing the powers they acquired," Applejack said, though she sighed as she turned towards the duo, who could tell that this must have happened every time someone returned home, meaning they weren't the only ones that Rainbow had challenged once they got back, "You'll have to ignore Rainbow's request for a battle for a few days, as by the looks of things I'm sure that the two of you could use a break from fighting and actually relax now that you've completed whatever adventure you were on."
"And we must head to my boutique so I can create some new clothing for the two of you," Rarity added, to which the duo stared at the Element of Generosity for a few seconds, as they weren't sure why she insisted on them having a new attire as soon as they got back, especially since neither of their clothing was extremely damaged, "I mean seriously, what are you even wearing Lyra?"
"The outfit of the group I bonded with." Lyra replied, looking down at her attire, as she had switched back to looking like an Illidari before they went to Argus, despite the fact that no one noticed since they were all busy focusing on taking out Sargeras' armies and stopping his plans, "I know it's a little revealing in some places, and I've been embarrassed by that a few times in the past, but..."
"No buts!" Rarity stated, to which her magic quickly wrapped around Lyra and Trixie before she picked them both up, where she started to carry them back to her workplace, leaving the others to stare at them as they headed back into Ponyville once more, "I'm going to measure your new bodies and see if I can't create some new clothing for you to wear... though creating some clothing for a dragon pony hybrid will be an exciting challenge. Trixie, you simply must tell me what happened while I work, because I'm sure that there's an interesting tale in there somewhere."
"Of course." Trixie said, though at the same time she surprised everyone by shattering Rarity's hold over her and Lyra, before she wove the Arcane through the air around her and transformed into her true dragon form, where she found that everyone was staring at her in surprise, save for Sunset and her fellow gods anyway, "I am Trixie Lulamoon, now called the Spell-Weaver by the inhabitants of Azeroth, and I would be honored to tell you part of what happened on our adventure while you outfit Lyra out."
"You're so awesome!" Spike declared, as while he had never seen a dragon the size of Trixie, and the only one that came close was likely Ember's father, he found that she was too cool to simply ignore and had to know more about what had caused her to take on this form.
Trixie chuckled as she reverted back to her hybrid state and started telling Rarity the part of her story that she wanted to hear, while Lyra and Spike followed after them, as one of them was being dragged into having new clothes made for her while the other was interested in Trixie's tale. Lyra had the feeling that it was going to be a long afternoon and that she wasn't going to be able to leave the boutique until either Rarity or Trixie were done talking for the way... to which she simply sighed and walked towards the building in question.
What Lyra seemed to have forgotten was the fact that Rarity was a seamstress and that her passion was for making dresses, clothing, and attire for any season, so when she thought they'd be out of the boutique in no time she was sorely mistaken. In reality it took Rarity a few hours to measure their bodies, write down the various notes since Trixie's body was different than any other pony in Ponyville, which she and Trixie learned had gone through an 'awakening' of some sort and this was the outcome; all ponies had the same type of body now. As it turned out Canterlot and a number of other locations had gone through the process to become part pony and part human, though at the same time it also awakened the hidden powers locked away deep inside them, causing Twilight and some of the others to create a school that taught the newly awoken ponies how to control their powers. That, in itself, wasn't the end of it, as it appeared that the other species of Equus, such as griffins, changelings, and minotaurs, just to name a few of the other species, had taken to going through the process as well and were attending the school as they spoke.
During that time period Trixie also talked about the people she had met while they were adventuring on Azeroth, even though Lyra wasn't present until much later, and also revealed how she became what she was... which had confused both Rarity and Spike for a few moments, but they eventually understood what she was telling them, even if they hadn't even considered something like that in the past.
By the time they were done talking, and Rarity had completed the first few sets of clothing for them to wear, free of charge apparently, it was nighttime and they all decided that it was best if they turned in for the night, though at the same time Lyra and Trixie insisted on heading home. As such Rarity, feeling a tad bit sorry about keeping them longer than she originally intended, escorted them to where Trixie's wagon was located, though when they arrived at it Trixie found that it was the same as it had been when she last saw it. Instead of having the same wagon, a reminder of her old life, Trixie dipped into her true power for a moment and cast a spell that turned the inside of the wagon into a pocket dimension of her own creation, which was separated into three separate zones that could be accessed from an entry area that she would entertain guests in if they decided to come visit her. The zones she created, since Rarity wanted to know about them, were a large cave that she could sleep in if she wanted to sleep in her dragon form, a more normal Equestrian home that was full of her past belongings, and a mage tower that would allow her to practice new spells without harming anything or anyone that was around her wagon... and, as an added bonus, she also created a stand in the mage tower that she set Aluneth on, one that allowed him to manifest an elemental form so he could actually move around without being restricted to the staff.
Lyra had to admit that Trixie was definitely the new Spell-Weaver, as she had created a few new spells since her own ascension, but she left her friend to her work of filling the zones with what she wanted and bid Rarity farewell as she turned back towards the town and walked through it... heading to a familiar house that she remembered from a different life, one where she was a simple pony returning home from a night at a club, to which she sighed and knocked on the door a few times, letting the knock echo.
"Who is it?" a voice asked, one that filled Lyra's heart with joy to hear again, as it was one she never thought she would actually hear again, because she had been so devoted to stopping the Legion she'd thought she would die before having the chance to hear this again.
"Hey Bon Bon, it's me." Lyra replied, though she could hear the person on the other side of the door stiffen for a moment, as if they weren't sure of what they were hearing, before the sound of the lock turning could be heard and the door opened before her eyes.
Sure enough Bon Bon stood before her, with her beige colored skin, her pigment blue hair with a rose pink streak, and her familiar cerulean eyes, though her body was definitely that of an awoken pony, as she looked like all the others Lyra and Trixie had seen since they returned to Ponyville.
"Lyra?!" Bon Bon asked, her voice revealing that she wasn't sure that she could trust what she was seeing, as if she thought that Lyra had gone someplace and was never going to come back, but at the same time Lyra had one thing she could do that would let Bon Bon know it really was her.
"Hey Bon Bon, take a look at this!" Lyra said, to which she held her hands out and did her absolute best to make it seem like she had gotten them recently, instead of finding them attached to her body seven years ago, and that she was still amazed by what she now had, "Hands!"
"Oh Lyra... you silly pony." Bon Bon said, though as tears formed in her eyes she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Lyra, who caught her immediately and embraced her as well, but while she did that she walked into their shared house and closed the door behind them.
It had been ages since she and Bon Bon had been in the same place, thanks to her being displaced and sent all the way to the Outlands, but right now she was going to make sure that Bon Bon knew that she was back and that things were going to return to normal... or as normal as they could be when all of Ponyville was like her now, and she also owed her a story on what happened since she disappeared on that fateful night.