//------------------------------//
// Interlude: Homecoming 
// Story: Sly Cooper: Family of Thieves 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Murray carefully moved the van through the hole in reality that Discord had opened for them, because while it seemed to be a straight path that they had to follow his experience in dealing with anything related to chaotic powers, since Diz was the only one the gang had known that had access to that power, he knew that deviating from the path in front of them would be the wrong move. It wasn't that hard to follow the path, as Discord was flying above their van, or floating since they weren't entirely sure what he was doing, and he was using his powers to manipulate the path into a straight line for them to follow, all while making sure they didn't accidentally head into one of the many other openings that existed around them. From the looks of it each opening went to a different world, meaning that the God of Chaos could travel to another world whenever he desired, as there were openings to a world that seemed to be at war, a ruined kingdom, and a number of other worlds that were different from the ones before them. Bentley and Penelope made notes on some of the worlds that they drove by, as they were interested in what they were seeing and were making notes on anything that they might attempt to build in the future, as long as they were sure that it didn't do something to ruin the world like their Time Viewer, and the accidental Time Machine, almost did.

It wasn't long before the slightly larger opening came upon them, to which Discord flew through the opening in reality and the van followed after him, to which Gilda, Derpy, and everyone else's eyes widened as they came out of the 'shortcut', only to come to a stop outside a large village or town, before Murray turned off the engine.

"No way." Carmelita said, as while she was expecting a town full of ponies, because that was what she and the others had gotten from how Star Swirl talked about the planet he came from, but while the town in front of them looked almost like a medieval village mixed with some modern bits of civilization, and that didn't prepare them for what else they found when they looked out of the van.

What they discovered was that the population of the town, Ponyville based on the sign that was nearby, had all gone through whatever process had allowed Gilda, Derpy, and Star Swirl to take on their humanoid forms, but even as they all noticed that Discord opened the door and ushered them outside. Discord explained that the Awakening Process, as that was what they called the event that caused a pony to take on their new form, gave the ponies an 'anthro' like form, which happened to be the same type of shape that Sly, Carmelita, and the rest of the inhabitants from their world had. The only major difference between Gilda and Derpy, who had gone to Sly's world, and a pony that remained on this world was that both pegasi and alicorns lost their wings, while Gilda and Derpy were the only ones that had retained their wings, though it wasn't all that important since pegasi tended to develop powers relating to the weather anyway.

"Wait, so every pony that went through that process has some sort of magical power?" Bentley asked, because if that was true than this world was full of beings that were at least as powerful as Gilda and Derpy were, and that wasn't taking into consideration the power that a unicorn or an alicorn could obtain.

"Each of them unlock their own elemental affinity, be it wind, water, fire, earth, and even sound," Discord replied, as he was pleased to see that they were keeping track of what he was saying, but once they were all out of the van, and the doors were locked, he had them follow him, "Many ponies have the same affinity, though while two ponies might have the power over fire they're also on completely different levels, meaning that some might be as strong as Gilda and Derpy, most will be weaker than them, and a select few will be even stronger than they are. Derpy, your affinity is lightning, as you have already determined from your adventures, and Gilda's is for the wind around us, but listen to me when I tell you that there is another pony in this town with that affinity, and her power over lightning has put her on a level that is far beyond what most of the ascended ponies are at."

"Stronger... that Derpy?" Carmelita inquired, though even as she and the others followed Discord into the town, and were amazed by the sights, they were still surprised by the fact that there was someone out there with the same power as Derpy, and they were shocked to hear that the other pony's power outclassed everyone that could command lightning, especially after everything that they had seen Gilda and Derpy do over the years.

"Frighteningly so." Discord admitted, as he had seen the sheer power that the pony in question wielded when she was angry, and the destruction that she caused whenever she battled someone, and he knew that it was best if they didn't bother her at the moment, even if her power paled before the might of a true god.

"Discord! Your back!" a voice called out, to which Gilda and Derpy turned, as they both recognized the voice, their heads and watched as a familiar pink furred ascended pony, wearing some interesting armor that showed off her midriff and happened to be wearing an open cloak on top of that as well, rushed over to where they were standing, before she came to a stop and stared at the group behind Discord, "And you brought back Gilda, Derpy, and their family!"

"Indeed I did, Pinkie, though I did so with some help from Nefarious and Lawrence," Discord said, as he knew that it was only a matter of time until Pinkie found them out and came to where they were standing, though at the same time this was better than running into Rainbow or Sunset.

"That means that I can throw them a party at some point in the near future." Pinkie stated, because despite her own adventure, something that she only told others about when they wanted to know what she had been through, she was still good at throwing parties and making people happy, especially those that had been displaced to other worlds and came back with their families, before she noticed two additional members of the group, "I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting either of you before today."

"I am Diz S. Cooper, and I'm the son/daughter of Discord... depending on which gender I'm at any given moment," Diz replied, though during their journey through the shortcut his magic had snapped him back to his male form, to which he tapped his cane on the ground for a moment, "My family, the one from the world Derpy, Gilda, Star Swirl, and I were sent to, specializes in stealing back items and people that were taken from their rightful owners."

"That's interesting, since Pinkie's the sister of a Prince and is one of the Precursors' greatest warriors." a voice said, to which the group looked around the area that they were in and tried to locate the speaker, though that was before a small purple furred creature, which appeared to be a mix of a otter and a weasel, climbed up Pinkie's back and stopped when he was standing on her right shoulder, "Sup? My name's Raven, and I'm one of Pinkie's friends. So, care to introduce the rest of your family before we move forward?"

"Well, this is our brother Sly, along with his wife Carmelita and their kids Elizabeth and Daniel." Gilda replied, though it seemed that they might be getting off topic at the moment, but she figured that they could afford to tell Pinkie and Raven who they were, even if they had to do that many more times after this moment, "And these are our friends Bentley, Murray, Penelope, and Clockwerk."

"Clockwerk... like an android or something?" Pinkie asked, because thanks to listening to the adventures her friends had told her about, as most of her friends had been displaced as well, she knew more about certain things than she originally did, especially since one of her former friends, on the planet she had been sent to, had turned himself into a cyborg and needed to be put down.

"Yes. I am an ancient owl that used magic, alchemy, technology, and the help of a god to forge a metallic body that could only be wounded by powerful electric blasts, which I've overcome, and magic itself." Clockwerk replied, though even as he said that he knew that if he tried anything, such as attack Pinkie or any of the other residents of the town, he'd be destroyed before he could do anything, which was why he was glad that he wasn't evil anymore, "My body has three forms I can choose from, to use whenever I desire, and those are the one you're seeing right now, an ordinary owl that's made from metal, and my true form."

"Is that so?" Raven inquired, to which he and Pinkie glanced at each other for a moment, as they were thinking the same thing, before he turned back towards the group that was in front of them, just as Pinkie turned to head to another part of the town, "There's an area that some ponies use to train their new powers in, the minor stuff since Sunset has told everyone not to use their major powers on this planet, and since it's nearby I thought that we could see what you really look like... and maybe show you something as well."

The gang looked at each other as they followed Pinkie towards the area that Raven was talking about, though at the same time Gilda and Derpy found that some of Ponyville's residents were smiling and waving at them, happy to see that they had returned at last, showing that many knew about the ones that had been displaced and that they were used to the missing returning with new faces. Along the way Pinkie told the group that Raven was a creature called an ottsel, which just so happened to be an intelligent species on the planet she went to and they had become friends in no time, though they could tell that she didn't want them thinking that Raven was a pet or anything. She further explained that the armor she was wearing, which had a balloon shaped sapphire in the middle of the chest plate, was created by the Precursors, ancient and powerful beings of the part of the universe they ruled over, and that she had unlocked some decent powers of her own while she was helping her brother Jak and her friend Daxter on their adventures. From what little she said both Gilda and Derpy knew that her already incredible reality breaking powers, since she had some untapped potential last they checked, must have become even stronger since they last saw her, meaning that she might be able to take both them and Diz in a fight if she really wanted to.

It wasn't long before they reached the 'training' area that Pinkie told them about, which was just a patch of land between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, something that Gilda and Derpy named as soon as they saw it, but from the looks of things it appeared that someone had been practicing recently and left without cleaning up, as there were a few smoking craters left behind.

"Applejack's not going to be happy when she comes back and sees this." Raven commented, causing the group to wonder what sort of power the newest named member of this world had to offer, before he turned towards them and jumped onto the ground, "Okay then, let's see what you've got."

Clockwerk stepped forward and made sure to separate himself from the group, though once he was clear the color drained from his body as his form shifted, leaving behind the humanoid appearance that he had been wearing and took on his true menacing form, though not even a few moments later his talons touched the ground below him and he stood at his full height once more.

This is 'what I've got', little one. Clockwerk stated, his robotic voice coming back entirely now that he had changed shapes, though at the same time both Raven and Pinkie seemed impressed by what they were seeing, This body is feared by the many enemies of the Cooper Clan, as they know that to challenge them is to not only challenge their legacy, but also the one that I helped maintain.

"So your a predatory owl, in metal form." Raven said, to which he put some distance between him and the rest of the group, showing that he might actually have something that he wanted to show off as well, before he came to a stop and looked back at Clockwerk, "That's cool and all, but what till you see what I've got hidden up my sleeve."

Before anyone could stop him, not that most of them would have stopped him since they were all interested in what he had to show them, a dark purple mist seeped out of his body for a moment and shrouded his form, though that was followed by the sound of cracking bones and some moans as Raven did whatever he was doing. Everyone watched in shock as the little ottsel's form grew larger and larger with each passing second, so much so that whatever Raven was becoming stood at least as tall as Clockwerk was in his terrifying form, but when the mist cleared they discovered something that truly shocked them. Raven's transformed state was bulkier than the little form he had been using the entire time, his hands and feet had shifted into deadly looking claws and talons that looked like they might slice through metal, large wings that could lift his body into the air if he so desired and would allow him to move as he wished, a tail that resembled a dragon's tail, and a large dragon head to complete what he was going for, complete with a dark blue gemstone in the middle of his forehead.

As the gang and Clockwerk stared at this, as they weren't expecting Raven to have the ability to transform into such a powerful and terrifying looking creature, Raven chuckled for a moment, a sound they never thought they'd hear a dragon make, before he looked at all of them.

"Trust me, an ottsel transforming into a dragon is the least of your worries," Raven said, though while his voice had changed to match his new form, just like Clockwerk had done with his voice, they could tell that he was used to this and that Pinkie must have used it to her advantage in the world she had been sent to.

"I do hope the two of you weren't thinking of fighting out here." a voice said, to which another ascended pony teleported into the area near them, though what caught Sly and his family by surprise was the fact that this one looked like she was half human, as Pinkie had called her brother, and half dragon, though her scales were light blue and she had three horns, two coming from the area just above her head and coiled backwards while the third was a blue curved crystalline horn in the middle of her forehead, before both Clockwerk and Raven shook their heads, "Good. I don't want Sunset to come back from Azeroth and find that two of the friends that some of the displaced ponies brought back wrecked a good portion of the area near Ponyville, as that is just asking for a bad time."

"Don't worry Trixie, they were just showing each other their true forms." Pinkie said, though even as she said that Raven got the message and reverted back to his ottsel form, causing Clockwerk to return to his humanoid form, before they walked back to their respective groups.

"Right." Trixie replied, though at the same time she shifted her stance and her mage robes, which she seemed to be wearing in the place of normal clothing like Star Swirl was, moved a bit, before she smiled at the gang, "Like Pinkie said, my name is Trixie, though my last name is Lulamoon, and I am known as both an Archmage and the Spell-Weaver on the planet that I was sent to... and before you ask, technically I'm no longer a pony, since I merged with the soul fragment of the last Spell-Weaver and became a Blue Dragon in the process. And no, I'm not going to transform into my other form just because Raven and your pal did."

"Fair enough." Sly said, as he wasn't expecting every ascended pony they came across to just show them the power than they had unlocked during their own adventure, though once he said that he took a moment and introduced his family and their newest friend to Trixie.

"Star Swirl... as in Star Swirl the Bearded?" Trixie asked, though once she heard the name her eyes lit up, showing that ponies still knew the name and that Nefarious hadn't been wrong, there would be ponies that would be excited to learn that he was still alive and that he had come home.

"That's right." Star Swirl replied, to which he tapped his staff on the ground and felt better knowing that ponies of this day and age still knew about him, even though he'd have to find Celestia and Luna to figure out what he could do to assist them, like he did in the old days.

"You guys found an ancient and powerful conjurer, one that we thought had been dead for the last thousand or so years... Twilight's going to flip when she hears about this." Trixie commented, though the smile on her face indicated that she was also pleased to see that they had found Star Swirl, before she seemed to think of something else, "Oh, since you're back, I think it would be best if I warned you abut the fact that the Dazzlings have returned to Equus, so you aren't caught off guard when you meet them, but trust me, they're no longer the evil Sirens that you banished long ago."

"I see... that means I must consider what to do when I meet them again." Star Swirl said, showing that he was a little surprised to hear that the three Sirens he had banished had found their way home, and that they were no longer evil, before determining that it would be best to meet them at some point and form his own opinions then.

"Pinkie, I know you'll be throwing a party for them soon, to celebrate their return, but don't expect Sunset, Twilight, Celestia, or Applejack to be there." Trixie said, turning towards who the gang assumed was a party planner or something of that degree, though her words indicated that this happened all the time, and Pinkie didn't seem upset at all, "My friends on Azeroth finally found the last two Old Gods that we've been trying to find for ages and wanted Sunset to deal with them before they managed to break their seals... and apparently there might be a third one trapped inside a dagger, so she'll be taking care of that as well, though they won't be back till tomorrow at the earliest. I, on the other hand, have to return to the Dragon Lands for some time, to convince Ember to stop sending messengers to me, as I am simply the link between her and Princess Luna, and I don't have the desire to rule an entire kingdom or become the Dragon Lord."

Pinkie nodded and lead the way back into Ponyville, claiming that they were heading to Sugercube Corner, though as the gang followed them Trixie nodded her head and disappeared as quickly as she had arrived, showing that her mastery over teleportation magic was to be admired, at least by Star Swirl anyway. The building in question was where Pinkie worked, but at the same time it held an area for parties that she liked to throw, so much so that her boss had added an area specifically for it and generally liked having new customers, even if they were from another world. What they discovered was that she had already prepared for their arrival, feeling them moments before their arrival, and Discord simply told them that they would never be able to figure out Pinkie Pie, as Twilight had tried and failed to do that, before the gang simply shrugged and followed them into the room that was being used as their party. Not only were there food and drinks provided, from both the store Pinkie worked in and several around the area, the gang also found that there were a number of the locals already attending it, and when they walked in the party really got started, leaving no time for any of them to get settled down as they were swept along by the current.

While they were partying, however, Sly and Carmelita noticed a few things, like the arrival of someone called Rainbow Dash, who apparently had known Gilda and Derpy before they were sent to their world and embraced them with open arms once she came inside the building, and the fact that she was dressed in some martial arts style clothing. There was some talk about a 'Dinky Doo' who was with their parents, as it appeared that Derpy had been planning on looking after a friend's kid when she disappeared and the family in question didn't blame her for suddenly vanishing, since strange things happened in Ponyville, and it seemed like Gilda was thinking about visiting her actual homeland once she and Derpy got settled into living in this place. Another thing they noticed was three girls, sisters they guessed since they came in at the same time and had identical pendants around their necks, who immediately noticed Star Swirl and walked up to him, but as it turned out they weren't going to fight him and ruin the party, rather they actually thanked him for banishing them in the first place, as it eventually allowed them to open their eyes and become heroes. Star Swirl was a little shocked by the news, but at the same time he seemed pleased to hear that they were doing so well, and before long they were chatting about the adventure the sisters had been on and were enjoying the party, forgetting about their ancient past and enjoying what was happening around them at that very moment.

Sly and Carmelita smiled as they, along with both their gang and their family, enjoyed the party that Pinkie was throwing for them, as it would allow them to relax and finally take their minds off of what they had been though, and they were pleased to see that Gilda, Derpy, and even Diz were enjoying themselves at long last.