Sly, Carmelita, and the rest of the gang stood on the roof of the building that they had been standing on while the entire fight with Neyla took place, and witnessed the closing of the time holes, before each of them made their way to the museum's courtyard. The reason behind that decision was because the robot grabbed the bound Le Paradox and jumped down to where several of the Neyla clones had crashed into the ground, which were starting to fade away now that the anomaly had been corrected, and they were eager to see what he was and if he was an ally. Many of them were cautious, because the robot's appearance suggested that he was evil and had only come to take out the Time Tunnel, along with taking out Le Paradox since it was his fault that the anomaly had been opened in the first place, but the gang remained quiet as they approached their destination. At the same time Clockwerk studied the humanoid creature that was approaching them, finding that he had a number of powerful weapons hidden in parts of his body, meaning that if a fight broke out he'd be quick to pull them out, but for now they were going to remain peaceful and see if the robot did the same. Clockwerk also believed that the robot's systems might be vulnerable to magic, as there was no indication one way or the other, meaning they might have the advantage, but for now they might have the advantage over the robot, and he knew that all of their magic users had to be thinking the same thing.
A few moments later the gang stopped near the entrance of the courtyard and were surprised to find that the robot did the same thing as well, indicating that he might actually be here to talk and not to fight, though that was followed by the robot extending a hand towards them, one that Sly grasp and shook, hoping that this meant that they were going to talk before figuring out what just happened.
"Greetings citizens, I am Dr. Nefarious, personal assistant of Lord Orvus, the God of Time, and part time member of the Heroes Association," the robot declared, surprising the gang once more, as his voice sounded like it had been made to be evil, even though there was a hint of good in his voice, before he stopped shaking Sly's hand and waved his in a manner that dismissed one of the things he had just said, "and please, don't judge me because of my name. Long story short, I used to be one of the greatest supervillains in the universe, but after a few run-ins with Sunset Shimmer, and nearly dying during one of those encounters, I decided to change my life for the better, starting with helping defeat any of the remaining supervillains and dealing with any time anomalies that show up."
"So does that mean you're actually a good guy?" Murray asked, as he wanted to make sure that this guy wasn't lying to them, even though he dealt with the holes that Neyla's clones had been coming through earlier, and if he was trying to fool all of them he'd gladly smash him into scrap.
"That's correct." Nefarious replied, to which he looked over the group that was in front of him and pointed to three individuals, which happened to be Bentley, Penelope, and Clockwerk, who were surprised that he was even interested in the three of them, "Let me guess, the three of you are the smartest individuals in this group?"
"To some degree." Bentley answered, where he beckoned to himself for a moment, before doing the same thing to Penelope and Clockwerk, and then he made sure to wave his hand at the rest of the gang as well, since he felt that he might as well introduce everyone in their gang to the humanoid robot, "My name is Bentley, and this is my girlfriend Penelope and our friend Clockwerk. You've already talked to Murray, or 'The Murray' as he likes to call himself these days, so that just leaves the living members of the Cooper Clan; Sly, Carmelita, Derpy, Gilda, and Diz Cooper. Oh, and this is our latest acquaintance, Merlin."
"Oh, and don't forget Elizabeth and Daniel Cooper, Sly and Carmelita's children." Penelope added, as it was hard for her to forget about them, since part of the reason she had joined Le Paradox was to keep them safe from harm, even though that turned out to be a lie, "They're with Secretary Sen, one of the ruling leaders of Interpol, who should be on their way to arrest Le Paradox now that his schemes are well known to them."
"Good, then we can deposit this villain and be on our way," Nefarious commented, to which he jerked his thumb towards Le Paradox, who was trying in vain to get the rope off of him, before he grew serious and looked at the gang once more, "Trust me on this, messing with time like he was is a big no-no, so he should receive a life sentence behind bars and have all of his belongings confiscated, but that's just my opinion, especially since I don't know the legal system of this planet and I'm not about to spend a few hours learning it. Besides, I'm more interested in the four magic users that are standing behind you, and you said that two of them were called 'Gilda' and 'Derpy', right?"
"Yeah, that's us." Gilda stated, to which she and Derpy stepped forward, because if the robot was going to signal them out like this than she was going to be ready for a fight, though both she and her sister kept their powers hidden, so they would have the element of surprise.
"One of you possesses the power over lightning, while the other has the same control over the wind itself." Nefarious said, noticing that both of the girls seemed surprised by what he had said, to which he jerked his thumb to the area that the Time Tunnel had been sitting in, "Like I said, I work with the God of Time, so I had some time to see just what sort of powers you two, on your own, possess, and that's not counting the chaotic powers that your brother, and sometimes sister, has control over... and Merlin's mastery over many magical elements."
"Wait, so you were watching us the entire time?" Sly asked, because for one thing that sounded like he was invading their privacy, while at the same time he could have easily come and stopped this whole thing from happening, "Why didn't you stop Le Paradox when he first revealed his hand?"
"Look, Orvus has a strict policy about when we're allowed to assist people in a situation like this," Nefarious said, and he understood why the God of Time had these rules to begin with, as he had seen several of the possible endings of the universe that were related to time and he didn't want any of them to happen, "luckily your other robotic friend did something to that Time Tunnel and created all those Time Holes, otherwise you would have been left trying to figure out how to close the original Time Tunnel in the blimp for the next few years. I simply saved you some time and stopped an anomaly from consuming your planet... Sunset would have been angry with me if I let a planet be destroyed in such a manner, especially with three, possibly even four, Equestrians residing on this planet."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Diz asked, because part of that statement sounded like he wasn't included in the count at first and then had been added in moments later, something that would annoy him if that was what Nefarious had been attempting to hide from them, before he thought of something else, "And whose this 'Sunset Shimmer' that you mentioned a few times?"
"Sunset is, well, not someone you want to piss off," Nefarious stated, though the gang could tell that he was having trouble actually telling them anything important, meaning that there had to be a strict rule about telling people who this one person was, "Look, you'll get the whole story later, but first we need to make sure that these two get their memories restored and ensure that the process doesn't mess anything up, because there's a machine that I, along with the other beings that assist Lord Orvus, built to overcome the memory erasure and restore what's missing. There's a seal or something that's been placed on the two of them, keeping those memories hidden and unable to be tapped into, and this machine will help overcome the seal, so soon you'll remember what you were up to before you came to this world."
Gilda and Derpy looked at each other again, as they were confused as to why Nefarious pointed at them when he mentioned memories and a machine, because as far as they knew all of their memories were correct and that this might just be a check-up of sorts, so they decided to wait patiently for Nefarious to reveal what was going on. Not even a few minutes later Secretary Sen and his most trusted officers rode up to the area that they were in and started seizing everything that belonged to Le Paradox, even taking the skunk into custody, while at the same time Secretary Sen asked what was going on at the moment. Nefarious quickly explained that he had come to this planet for a few reasons, the first was to contain and seal the Time Holes that had been forming, the very things that allowed the army of Neyla clones to march on Sly and the others, and the second was to bring both Gilda and Derpy back to their home planet for a few moments, to let them remember who they used to be before they moved on with their lives. He revealed that the process had worked for those that had come before the sisters, as if it meant something to them, and there was also the promise that they could always choose to remain here with their family, instead of moving back to their home world... though at the same time the sisters didn't really know what to believe, since they were used to the idea that they had been born and then abandoned by their parents, just like Diz had been.
Despite that fact, however, Sly and Carmelita were interested in what Nefarious had to say and the magic users, after taking some time to look at each other, eventually decided to agree as well, though since their only mode of transportation was the van Bentley and Penelope unplugged their time machine and stored it away, while at the same time both Elizabeth and Daniel joined their overjoyed parents, before everyone piled into the van as Nefarious stood on top of it.
"You might want to brace yourselves," Nefarious warned them, taking a moment to lean over the edge of the van's top so he could speak face to face with whoever was sitting on the passenger side of the vehicle, though when they nodded he stood back up and raised his hand towards the heavens, "Beam me up, Lawrence!"
Gilda and Derpy watched as a large silver circle appeared around the area that the van was in, causing some of the Interpol officers to back away as they stared at what was happening, and before they even knew what was happening they flashed into a tunnel that looked like the passage they used to travel into the past... and this time both they and the rest of the gang knew that this time they had no idea what was going to happen next, to which they looked forward to what was coming their way as they headed to the unknown.
When the gang was allowed to open their eyes again they were shocked and stunned by what they found, as Nefarious had transported them from the planet they had called home and took them out into a strange station that rested in the middle of space, something that had Bentley and Penelope grinning from ear to ear. Those two were absolutely excited about the idea of learning something new, something that they may or may not be allowed to share with the people of their own planet, and as the gang got out of the van they discovered that the station was far larger than they originally thought it was. It was like they were standing in the insides of a massive timekeeper, like an old fashioned watch or one of the large grandfather clocks that rested in peoples houses, and there was a beam of energy that seemed to pierce the middle of the station, or maybe it was something else and the station had been built around it, as it was hard to tell what was going on without asking questions.
"Really sir? 'Beam me up'?" a new voice asked, to which the gang turned towards their right and found what would be described as a robotic butler, despite looking a little fat in the stomach area, but other than that it appeared that there was more than one humanoid robot that they were going to be meeting.
"What? Don't kids like that phrase?" Nefarious inquired, though at the same time he jumped off the van and touched down near the butler, meaning that he must have made the second robot at some point and that the gang would need their full story before understanding their relationship, "I couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment, so I went with whatever sounded the best at the time, though I'm sure Qwark would have said something stupid and his followers would have eaten it up."
"Quite right sir," the robot, who had to the Lawrence that Nefarious mentoned, replied, before he shifted his gaze towards the gang for a few seconds and studied all of them, but not in a harsh way that would have frightened either Elizabeth or Daniel, though when he was done he beckoned for them to follow, "The memory device has been prepared for two people to use it, so we'll head there and restore any memories that have been lost to time, though what happens after that is up to you. Oh, and I hear Sunset is currently on the planet that she uses to test the powers of those that have gone through their own adventures, though whether she's meditating or blowing something up I have no idea, as she's not really doing much at the moment."
"Best to leave her alone then." Nefarious commented, though as the gang walked behind the robotic pair, since none of them knew the way to the machines and the two robots did, they all noticed that Nefarious still seemed concerned about something, and it had to be connected to this Sunset he kept mentioning, "If it's anything like the last time she was on that planet, when one of the other Equestrians had been taken there, they messed up a good part of the planet in their duel, and I honestly don't want to get caught up in whatever happens next on that planet."
There it is again, the term 'Equestrians'. Clockwerk spoke up, because there was something that they needed to know before they went any further, as all of them had thought that Gilda and Derpy had been born on the planet that they had called home, and Diz as well for that matter, but now it seemed like something different was happening, What exactly do you mean when you say that?
"It refers to ponies who call the planet Equus their home, and the same applies to those that have been charted off into the furthest reaches of the universe." Lawrence answered, though at the same time he stopped beside what seemed to be an elevator of some kind and beckoned for everyone to join him, but once they were on the platform he tapped something and they started moving up through the air, "Ponies are basically one of the dominate races of the planet Equus, and they are broken into three different tribes, those being unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, along with their rulers being alicorns, a being that's the combination of the three tribes. There are also many other races that call that planet home as well, like minotaurs, dragons, zebras, changelings, and even griffins, though it is unusual for someone other than a pony to be taken to an entirely new world, even though you've gained a substantial power boost during your new lives... and that includes the two beings that accompany you, the one with chaos powers and the one that has more magic in him than we originally thought."
"You know, that reminds me," Sly spoke up, as there had been something that he had been thinking about since his Ancestors had come to recover their canes, as Merlin hadn't been among them and made it seem like he had been living for a long time based on the suit that had transformed into a robe, "I thought you died in the era that Galleth was in, since that's what the history books say when they talk about you, at least according to what Bentley tells me anyway."
"Unicorns tend to live much longer than the other two tribes, but generally not by much," Merlin replied, though even as he said that he tapped his staff on the ground and the stone at the top, a brilliant ruby, seemed to shine for a few seconds as he continued walking, "besides, with my experiences and knowledge I was able to find a way to prolong my life for a number of years, a secret that is nothing like the fountain of hatred that Clockwerk once fed on to keep his body functioning over the years. Though now, since it seems that my time on your planet is coming to an end, I guess I might as well come clean and not only reveal the truth about who I am, but also my real name, something that I haven't used much since I came to call your planet home. The reality of the situation is that 'Merlin' is merely a moniker that I started using once I woke up in the forest near Galleth's base of operations, as I was testing a special mirror and accidentally ended up in that area without a way to return home, which eventually gave way to the legends and tales of Merlin... though my real name is Star Swirl the Bearded, and I was a well known conjurer during my time in Equus."
"Starlight and the others are going to throw a fit when they realize who we've found." Nefarious said, as he thought the name that the elderly unicorn gave sounded very familiar, which was before he realized that he was standing in the presence of one of the greatest minds in all of Equus' history, one that had been considered dead for a long time, or merely lost depending on who you spoke to, "You're quite famous in Equus these days, Star Swirl, and I think there are a few ponies that would love to see you again."
Star Swirl nodded his head, indicating that he was eager to see who he was talking about and see the state that his home planet was in, before they arrived at the area that Lawrence had been taking them to, which was an oval shaped building that contained a large chamber inside it. When they stepped inside the chamber the gang found a second, much smaller container, that contained a pair of chairs that seemed to be hooked up to an interesting machine, especially since the machine had two headsets attached to it, and off on their right stood a console that Bentley and Penelope knew connected to the machine the gang happened to be staring at. When they entered the building Lawrence beckoned for most of the gang to head over to the area behind the console, as there happened to be a sitting or resting area, before both Gilda and Derpy walked into the central chamber, where Nefarious assisted them in taking their positions in the two chairs, because despite the fact that they didn't believe that they were from another world they were willing to humor the robots and see what came from this venture.
Once they were in position some cuffs wrapped around their arms and legs, to prevent them from doing anything when their memories returned to them, before Nefarious walked out of the central chamber and stood beside Lawrence, who started tapping several commands on the console. Moments later the two headsets dropped down to where the two sisters were sitting and they both let them come to a rest on their heads, since they were willing to humor them, and not a few moments later they felt the magic in the air, time magic based on what they felt, working on whatever Nefarious and Lawrence happened to be imputing into the console they were standing in front of. For a few moments nothing seemed to happen, just like Gilda and Derpy assumed would happen, but that was before their eyes widened in surprise as a stream of memories moved into their minds, memories that seemed to be focused on them in different forms, living in a world that now seemed familiar to them. Gilda saw herself flying through the air, in a more quadruped form that seemed like a bird of prey mixed with a powerful lion, before a wave of energy knocked her out of the air and caused her to black out, before the next memory showed her outside the orphanage that she and Derpy had been left outside... and Derpy, on the other hand, found herself delivering packages around a town, Ponyville, before the same thing happened to her, as she dropped the package she was holding onto before disappearing from her world and appeared alongside Gilda.
When the deed was done, and the headsets came off, the two of them sat up and found that they were able to wipe the sweat off their faces, finding that they were able to move their arms and legs again, before Gilda and Derpy glanced at each other with a new light in their eyes, as if they understood what had happened.
"No way. I thought he was kidding." Gilda commented, as it was hard to imagine having any memories before her arrival outside that orphanage, with Derpy beside her, but at the same time both of them knew that what they had been shown was the truth, something that neither of them had even considered when they agreed to do this.
"Well, he wasn't." Derpy stated, though what she found to be interesting was that she used to be a mailmare, one that didn't appear to be too good at what she did thanks to having messed up eyes, something that wouldn't matter anymore since one of her eyes was gone, but she personally liked being a thief, instead of what she used to be, "So our memories show that we aren't even sisters, or even related to each other, but personally I prefer having a sisterly bond with you, especially after everything we've been through."
"True. I can agree with that statement." Gilda said, to which the two of them stood up and focused on what they were going to do next, as they had no idea what Nefarious had in mind for them now that their previous memories had been restored to them, and they were sure that they'd figure that out in the near future.
"Are you two okay?" Sly asked, as he was worried about his sisters, despite the assurances that Nefarious gave him and the others, and he approached Gilda and Derpy the moment they stepped out of the chamber that they had been sitting in, where he noticed that they seemed to be happy about something.
"Never better." Derpy replied, though at the same time both she and Gilda stretched their wings for a moment, as they felt a little sore and they were both eager to explore the world that they used to call home, along with flying around and simply exercise for a few minutes, "So, what's next?"
Before anyone could reply they heard the sound of something popping into existence near them, though when they turned towards the sound they found what could only be described as a chimera creature that looked like Diz in his transformed state, only more advanced thanks to his serpent-like body.
"Hey, I felt the arrival of something that I haven't felt in many years!" the creature said, his voice sounding like a more mature version of Diz in some aspect as well, before he turned his head towards the area that the group happened to be standing in, "What did you... do?"
Diz and the creature stared at each other for a moment, like they were truly seeing each other for a moment, and Gilda, Derpy, and the rest of the gang realized that they might be in the presence of the being that was Diz's father, the one that dropped him off at the orphanage that he had been left at, and they knew that what they were going to learn next was going to be very interesting for all of them, especially for Diz.