Interlude: Training
After meeting with Secretary Sen, and coming to terms with the fact that he not only wanted Gilda and Derpy to train with Mz. Ruby, along with a new kid called Diz, but also wanted to use the Cooper Gang to flush out criminals that were far worse than they could ever be, their daily routines became a little strange. Shortly after they were discharged from the hospital, and before the first day his sisters had to visit Mz. Ruby, Sly spent some of his time coming up with a training programs for both Bentley and Murray. The reason behind there being two different styles was because they both had their own strengths and their own weaknesses, though even as he started creating those programs both Gilda and Derpy assisted him for an hour, pointing out the various courses he could use when he trained their friends to be full fledged members of the Cooper Gang. The sisters were eager to see what they could do when Bentley and Murray started doing jobs with them and Sly, especially the division of the various tasks they had to do, but they would figure that out in time, one Sly was sure that they were ready for a heist.
"So, are the two of you excited for your first lesson with Mz. Ruby?" Sly asked, though he still felt that it was weird that the voodoo priestess had even agreed to do something like this, but he suspected that Secretary Sen must have offered her something she couldn't resist to make this arrangement.
"It's going to be weird seeing her as a teacher and not the enemy," Gilda admitted, as for a while there all three of them had seen her as someone they needed to take out, though now she was locked up and had the opportunity to teach the two of them more about their powers, and how they might control them, "but I think we'll adapt to the change in no time and get over our feelings for the Fiendish Five."
Sly knew that the three of them, along with Bentley and Murray, had a grudge against the Fiendish Five for taking out his father all those years ago, something that he must have imparted on both his sisters and his friends, but he was also sure that they could overcome it in time. He also wasn't kidding when he asked the question about their first lesson, as it was actually scheduled for this afternoon and both Gilda and Derpy were required to show up as civilians, meaning that they were wearing normal clothing instead of their thief attire. They were even leaving their canes in their rooms, to complete the image, but Sly suspected that once they were done with their training, and they didn't need Mz. Ruby's help anymore, they wouldn't need their canes to protect themselves, though they'd likely carry them around anyway, since they had been doing that for the last ten years anyway. Sly felt that it was strange seeing his sisters like this, getting ready to visit a prison, but from what he knew about Secretary Sen he was always true to his word, meaning he wasn't going to trap them inside the same prison they were visiting.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, to which he headed over to it and opened it, where he found Carmelita standing on the other side, and he quickly moved out of the way as she accepted his invitation to enter the part of the warehouse that they were in.
One thing they had done, a few months before they stole the information that Carmelita had on the Fiendish Five, was purchase an old warehouse and modified it so that the majority of it actually served as a training grounds for him and his sisters, and that now included Bentley and Murray. Their residence, on the other hand, was actually inside the warehouse, as Bentley had helped get them everything they needed, privacy and security wise, to avoid them being spotted by the city or the officials, though thanks to their arrangement with Secretary Sen Interpol knew where to find them now. The main reason that Carmelita was the one showing up was because she was the only one that Secretary Sen trusted with the information that Gilda and Derpy had powers, meaning she was also the one that would be taking them to their sessions with Mz. Ruby, which was twice a week, on Monday and Friday, for an hour each day. It was the best he could do without raising suspicion, though right now the sisters were happy with what they were being given, especially since their only other option would have been to learn the techniques from the books that Mz. Ruby had gifted them after her defeat.
Sly was also fine with the arrangement, as that meant that it might give him and Carmelita some time to talk when she brought the sisters home, after their sessions were complete, and he was eager to see if they might actually form some sort of relationship at last.
"Well, I can see that you two are ready to go." Carmelita said, as it was easy to tell that both Gilda and Derpy were ready, though it still felt weird for her to be taking criminals, who were dressed as civilians, to prison so they could learn to control their magic from another inmate, who also had powers of her very own.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Gilda replied, as both she and Derpy were nervous about the fact that Mz. Ruby would be teaching them, mostly because she was so interested in them when they were assaulting her base of operations to claim the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus she had taken.
Carmelita nodded and informed Sly that she would have the sisters back soon enough, to which the three of them headed outside and climbed into her car, where they found Diz sitting in the front next to where Carmelita would be sitting, though that only made the sisters take the back seats before they drove off. Neither Gilda or Derpy were upset that Diz apparently got to ride shotgun, as it appeared that Secretary Sen only trusted Carmelita with making sure the young boy got to the sessions and didn't prank anyone instead of seeing Mz. Ruby. It was a silent trip, mostly because the sisters could tell that this might have been one of the times that Diz was exposed to people for a long period of time, but they said nothing as they drove towards their destination. When they arrived Carmelita parked her car and ushered the three of them into the prison, where she got them through the checkpoints and made sure they were wearing their visitor tags the entire time while they were walking.
Fortunately this wasn't one of the prisons where they had to worry about prisoners trying to make an escape, allowing them to walk by the guards as they entered the courtyard... where they spotted Mz. Ruby, wearing a prison uniform made for her body, meditating near a pond, though as they approached her she seemed to awaken from her trance and turned her gaze towards them with a smile on her face.
"Gilda and Derpy Cooper, it is a pleasure to see you two again," Mz. Ruby said, taking a moment to look over the sisters, as if she was seeing their powers for herself, before she nodded her head and looked over at the other person she would be training, "And you must be Diz. It is good to meet another person that has some inner power like we do. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get your name?"
"It... it was what my mother left on my basket when she dropped me off at the orphanage," Diz replied, though since this was the first time the sisters had heard him talk they were surprised, because he sounded like a teenage boy that was saddened by his own past, "All I know is that neither of my parents cared much to take care of me after I was born, as they abandoned me the first chance they got... and I have no idea who either of them were. The staff at the orphanage were nice to me, though the other kids picked on me because of my wings and said I was a freak, so I played some harmless pranks on them over the years."
"Until you eventually ran away and started living on the streets," Gilda guessed, as that made the most logical sense, because that was sort of what she, Derpy, Sly, Bentley, and Murray did sometime after they first met each other and formed a small group.
"Yeah..." Diz said, though he didn't sound surprised that someone had guessed what he had done, rather he felt happy that someone at least knew what he was talking about, before he rubbed the back of his head, indicating that he didn't want to talk about his past, "Hey, can we not talk about my past? I don't like thinking about it."
"Of course," Mz. Ruby replied, as she should have known that the young boy wouldn't want to talk about his past, as most children that were in his position preferred not to talk about the past, save for Gilda, Derpy, and Sly since their clan's history was important to them, before she addressed the three youngsters, "The first thing I want the three of you to do is take a seat and breathe deeply for a few seconds, as we'll be starting with some simple meditation to help you feel the flow of your own magic. When I feel that all three of you are ready, and not a moment before that, I'll start actually teaching you new ways to manipulate your own individual powers... once I figure out what your powers are."
Gilda and Derpy, not expecting simple meditation for their first lesson, stared at each other for a few seconds before they sat on the ground and listened to Mz. Ruby's instructions, to which Diz followed their movements and sat beside them, though at the same time Carmelita stood nearby and kept track of the time.
As Carmelita watched the four magic users do their meditation, as Mz. Ruby joined them in closing her eyes and offered suggestions to those that needed assistance, without even looking at them, she noticed that the wind seemed to pick up a tiny bit as Gilda meditated. She could have sworn that she heard the sound of some thunder nearby, where she spotted some black clouds off in the distance, and knew that Derpy had to be responsible for what she was seeing, though at the same time she noticed that nothing seemed to happen when Mz. Ruby delved into her meditation. The interesting part was that Diz, of all people, didn't seem to have any sort of effect on the area around them, though Carmelita had to guess that was because he had somehow unlocked his own powers when he was younger and had gotten the control over them that he did. She also remembered that he seemed to have an invisibility spell or trinket, something that would likely allow him to steal from places, but from what she could tell he was a simple prankster and not a thief, making her wonder how he had survived all these years.
From what she could tell the three magical novices were trying their hardest to obtain the level that Mz. Ruby wanted, though the voodoo priestess didn't appear to be in the mood for giving up and she was constantly offering them tips to improve their chances or their bodies so they could master the meditation faster... though soon the hour was up, surprising the three of them in the process, but at the same time Carmelita was sure that they had learned something and would continue to do so as time moved on.
"Derpy, I sensed something odd on your person during my meditation." Mz. Ruby commented, though while she knew that the hour was over she wanted to get this out of the way now, so that way when they came back to her in a few days she could begin the next session immediately, "What is it that you are carrying?"
"Oh, this?" Derpy said, to which she tugged on the necklace that she was wearing and revealed the strange computer chip she had found after they defeated Clockwerk, and had lost her eye in the process, "It's just a strange chip I found at the Krack-Karov Volcano... it seems to radiate some sort of blue glow that fills me with hope."
"Is that so?" Mz. Ruby inquired, to which she stared at the chip in question, though since she now knew where it had come from she was tempted to tell her to destroy it, but then she decided that it wasn't her place to do something like that, not when it filled the young pegasus with hope, "Well then, take good care of it... you might figure out what to do with it at some point in the future."
Carmelita watched as Derpy nodded and then escorted the three novices out of the prison, so she could take them back to the warehouse that was the main base of operations for the Cooper Gang when they were in Paris, though as they headed home the three novices discussed what they had felt, indicating that they were taking up Mz. Ruby's suggestion of sharing notes to improve themselves. She simply let them talk, as she had no idea what they were talking about, while at the same time she noticed that Diz seemed more open with the sisters than he did when he was spending some time with her and the Secretary. She thought back to something Secretary Sen asked her to observe while she was with Diz, as he was curious if the Coopers would actually take in someone that was like Gilda and Derpy, that way they'd know what was going on with him without having an official watch over him all the time... and keeping him with the Coopers would take out two birds with one stone, at least according to the Secretary.
It didn't take them long to reach the warehouse, using the same path she used when she reached it the first time to make sure no one could follow her, though when the four of them entered the building she found Murray running a course that Sly must have created... and that both Sly and Bentley were observing him while manipulating the controls to modify the course as they desired. As they walked into the building the group headed up to where Sly and Bentley were standing, which in turn brought an end to the training session as Murray actually finished his course, though Sly turned towards them and smiled.
"So, how was your training session?" Sly asked, though at the same time he headed over to the refrigerator and pulled out some sodas, to which he tossed one to Gilda and Derpy before handing one to Diz, who actually accepted it and sat beside the sisters as they all opened their drinks.
"Well, we meditated and tried to tap into our powers," Gilda replied, though while she did that she looked down at her hand as she remembered what she had felt earlier, before glancing at Sly and the others, "Mz. Ruby made it sound like it'll take some time before we actually learn any powers and add to our arsenals, so I'd hazard a guess that it will be a few weeks before we get anything."
"I suspected as much," Sly said, as he had been sure that learning this sort of thing was like any other skill, it required time and practice before someone became a master, especially since Mz. Ruby's file had said that she had spent years practicing before becoming the voodoo priestess that she was, "Hey Diz, how does it feel to be with people that are like you for a change?"
"It... it feels good." Diz admitted, though at the same time he took a drink from his soda and smiled at them, indicating that he was happy to be with fellow magic users, before he sighed as he sat back in his seat, "But if I'm being honest, I kind of wish that it was for more than a few hours at most, on the same two days every week... it would be nice to have a place where I belonged."
Carmelita could see the look in Sly's eyes the moment Diz said that, as the young boy had been living on his own for so long and likely had no idea what it was like to have a family, though Sly was likely thinking about seeing what could be done for him and was likely going to ask her about it in the future. She wondered what Sly was going to think when she told him of Secretary Sen's plan to see if he would take Diz into the family at some point, though she knew that only time would tell in this situation.
Sly relaxed as he, Bentley, Murray, and Diz settled into the side of the hot springs that the Cooper Gang had stopped at after their latest heist, though this was the side reserved for males, as Gilda and Derpy were doing the same thing in the other side of the hot springs. It had been some time since his sisters and Diz started training with Mz. Ruby, or more like two months since the first meeting, and they had gotten some skill in calling their powers to the surface, but they needed time before they could fully master their abilities. The reason that Diz was with them was because the Cooper Gang felt a connection to him, since he had been in an orphanage for some time until he ran away, which was their story all over again, and they had accepted him into the gang, like he was one of the family. Diz had been very emotional during that time, as that had been the first time he had anything that resembled a family, and he devoted himself to picking up the techniques that Gilda and Derpy practiced in addition to their magical skills.
This heist wasn't one of the ones that they needed to tell Secretary Sen about, even though Carmelita was likely going to tell him about it, because it had been a test of the skills that Diz had picked up so far, proving that he had the skill to be one of the gang as well. As such Sly had figured that they could take a break, in a place where they would have some privacy for some time, and relax in an area like this before all of them headed back to Paris to continue their various training until it was time to plan their next heist. Diz, who happened to be enjoying himself more than he had been when he was alone, dove under the water for some reason, to which Sly decided to let him have his fun and leaned back against the rock that he was sitting near. A few seconds later Diz surfaced and started to get the water out of his hair, though as Sly focused on him he found that Diz's body had changed rather suddenly, as it was more feminine than it had been a few seconds ago and his hair was much longer... and his, or rather her, chest had enlarged as well, reminding Sly of Carmelita for a few seconds.
"Um, Diz?" Sly commented, causing the newest member of the Cooper Gang to turn towards him, to which he made a quick gesture down towards his own chest, so Diz would get the hint, "You might want to look down for a moment."
"What do you... mean?" Diz asked, where Sly heard that Diz's voice had changed as well, but even as that happened she glanced down and her eyes widened as she sank back into the water, submerging herself so she could hide everything below her neck, "Why in the world am I suddenly a girl? None of this is making any sense."
Sly, after seeing several of Diz's powers and tricks since he first welcomed the hyena into the gang, had come to the conclusion that Diz's powers were chaotic, maybe even random, though this was the first time that he had seen something as drastic as this. He was also sure that Diz wasn't doing this intentionally, as the look on her face told him that she was embarrassed over what had happened, to which he sighed as he picked up a towel and moved over to Diz, where he helped her out of the water and diverted his gaze as she covered herself up. For a few seconds he was grateful that Bentley and Murray were enjoying themselves in a different part of their side of the hot springs, as that meant that he was the only one that will have seen Diz like this and might be able to get her somewhere so they could figure out what happened to her, and if they could reverse it before the others noticed. That proved to be incorrect not a few seconds later, because the sound of Diz's new voice had caused the others to stop what they were doing and investigate, because Sly could see both Murray and Bentley staring at them from the area they had taken earlier.
Suffice to say that both of his friends were shocked by Diz's sudden transformation, exactly like Sly was, and Bentley didn't even try to figure out why this was possible, since he had already given up trying to analyze the chaotic properties of Diz's powers... though when Gilda and Derpy found out about the change, as Diz hadn't changed back by the time they were supposed to regroup a few minutes later, they were both shocked and surprised by the sudden change. Diz was still embarrassed over her change, further making Sly believe that this wasn't intentional, but at the same time the sisters tried their best to help Diz out in adjusting to her new body. A few minutes later the gang headed out of the hot springs, fully dressed in their attire, and they climbed back into the van so they could head back to Paris, to continue their training and preparations for their future heists. Since it was the middle of the week, and the next magic session with Mz. Ruby wasn't for a few more days, that gave Gilda and Derpy some time to practice with Diz, so they could all master their control over their energies and hopefully get their teacher to actually teach them some spells.
Friday morning, before Carmelita was supposed to arrive to take them to the prison that Mz. Ruby held their sessions in, the gang was shocked when Diz woke up and walked out in his normal body, meaning he must have reverted in his sleep, though that only annoyed him... as there were several items he had to take off before Carmelita arrived.
As time went by the gang went on a number of additional heists, the majority of them being minor ones, though one of them involved them trying to steal a painting called the Mona Lizard, though while Sly was doing that he had came across an invitation to a wedding in Monaco. According to the invitation the wedding was between an iguana named Dimitri Lousteau and a pig called Madam D'Oinkeau, who was an art aficionado that happened to possess the Venus de Whalo, a statue that Sly had been after for some time. As such the gang headed to Monaco and set up a few plans on how they could acquire the statue, though as they did so Gilda, doing some air recon of the place without being detected, was able to report that Carmelita had been brought in by Madam D'Oinkeau for additional protection. Of course that presented a challenge for them, one that Sly was eager to get around, and eventually he opted to enter the mansion via a skylight in the roof.
Bentley, Murray, and Diz were supposed to get the getaway vehicle, which they had planned to be the last ferry out of Monaco for that day, and the operation went into effect, though while the three of them prepared themselves Sly and his sisters headed for the roof. What they found was some of Dimitri's goons forging pieces of art in the attic space, though they knocked them out and a new idea came to them, as Gilda and Derpy swiped the clothing from a few of the guards and used the radio to reveal that they 'apprehended' Sly Cooper. That had the desired effect that they wanted, as Carmelita made it possible for the path to the statue to be open as she charged towards the attic, though as she, and Madam D'Oinkeau, discovered that Dimitri was a criminal, Sly and his sisters made their way down to the statue and found Murray waiting outside. Since the escape was ready, and Bentley had sent him to assist in moving the statue, the four of them removed the statue, left the calling card, and hauled the statue into the van, before they headed away from the mansion and headed towards the ferry... though Sly got off at one point so Carmelita could chase him, as he didn't want her to catch the gang with the statue.
When Carmelita caught up with him the two of them had a brief conversation on the bridge that they were standing on, though after he jumped off the bridge a few minutes later, and safely landed on the ferry as it moved under the bridge, Gilda and Derpy could see the look in their brother's eyes and knew that he and Carmelita had kissed again, which was becoming more common these days.
After that heist things seemed to return to some normalcy, or what could be normal now that the gang had someone whose power seemed to be more chaotic than what Gilda and Derpy had, until at least two years had passed since they had defeated Clockwerk. It was then that they discovered that someone had managed to collect the pieces of the ancient owl that hated the Cooper Clan and was storing them inside a museum in Cairo, though it was none other than Carmelita who gave them that information. The reason was that she was being assigned as security for the pieces of Clockwerk, in the off chance that the gang came looking to take them, but even so she planned on making sure they walked out of the museum with the pieces in their possession, as both she and Secretary Sen trusted that the Cooper Gang would know what to do with the Clockwerk parts... to which the gang headed for Cairo, as it was time to make sure the ancient owl stayed dead, just in case his soul still resided inside the metallic body and was waiting to be awoken from his slumber.
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Well, so much for Diz being Discord... maybe an aspect of him, separated and thrown into the world so Discord could keep watch over Gilda and Derpy. An incomplete aspect, with no memory of who he really is, and little to no control over his powers. Perhaps at some point during or after Thieves in Time, his memories of being Discord start coming back, which starts the girls' journey home as the gang works to recover his true past. Except, what then? Does Diz S. Cordious merge with Discord? Does he want to? Would he prefer to remain as his own being? Does he even have a choice in the matter? Will he have become something more than an aspect of Discord by then? What does the gang/family think about it?
well looks like it's finally time for sly two and i hope things go well with the changes. though man secretary sen is going to be enraged at the contessa when that part happens. that spider is really going to be hit by karma.
8952130
Here's another question: What fun is there in making sense? Although the aspect theory has some weight. The current events in story are occurring before Season 1 of MLP after all.
Allow me to elaborate:
Something to keep in mind about these Universe 13 stories is that there are 2 separate groups of displaced individuals: those displaced while the memory-erasing, age-regressing, and time-displacing enchantments were in effect, such as Gilda, Derpy, Rainbow, Applejack etc., and those who were displaced after Discord removed those enchantments, such as Rarity, Chrysalis, Trixie, Lyra etc.
Those in the first category are not starting there adventures during present-time in Equestria, but before present time. Therefore, Diz could very well be an aspect of Discord, one that was separate while his main self was a statue.
8952216
8952223
And you're bringing this up, why? Because it feels like you're trying to rub it in my face.
8952510
Sorry, I wasn't intending to. The first post was my trying to explain why I felt your aspect theory was possible. I don't exactly remember why I made the second. Probably going to delete that one...
8952582
That's fine. Besides, knowing this story is taking place pre-show does open up a few possibilities.
Discord might not have willingly or knowingly gave up the aspect of himself that became Diz, which would explain the lack of memories or control. He's starting from a blank slate. Assuming the (admittedly unlikely) possibility of Discord himself growing up under similar circumstances to what we see with Diz, the character arc goes on to show us what kind of being Discord might have grown to be if he had friends and family during his developmental years.
Alternatively, Discord did cast off the part of himself that would become Diz S. Cordious, probably when he was being imprisoned in stone the first time around. The Elements of Harmony would have known what was going on, and shunted Discord's aspect to a different world in a different time, erasing any memories so he could begin anew. It then becomes an experiment of sorts, to see what Discord could have grown to be under a different set of circumstances.
In either case, compare and contrast to Discord before (and possibly after) his reformation. Diz will likely have an identity crises after learning the truth about himself, but will most likely get over it. As for merging with Discord so they could become whole, that will depend on what Diz comes to value more. If his friends and family matter the most to him, he likely refuses. Gilda and Derpy, probably having come to see him as a little brother at some point (actual ages being irrelevant, since the sisters have much more worldly experience), back up his choice and defend him in case anypony back in Equestria tries to force the matter. If completion and becoming whole matters more, however, then, while the sisters are sad to see him go (since Diz as they know him will most likely die during the merge), they still back up his decision on the matter. Depending on how much of Diz survives the merge, they might come to see Discord as part of the family, replacing Diz.
Of course, that's assuming a merge is even possible by the time we reach that point. Diz could easily become a being in his own right, a entirely separate entity, instead of a cast-off aspect of Discord.
Insert hyena gender ambiguity joke here.
8952130
Personality, I'm leaning toward "failed" aspect that evolved into something new. No memory restoration involved. Mostly so we can eventually get this conversation:
Discord: "I have a son? *beat* I HAVE A SON!"
Diz: "An adult son with abandonment issues."
Discord: "Well this just got awkward..."
Diz: *snaps fingers* "And my gender occasionally flips without me forcing it like this."
Discord: "Less awkward now." *fists in the air* "I have a DAUGHTER!"
Diz: *facepalm*
8952216
I have only read the Pinkie story before this. Is there a preferred reading order I should know about?
8952749
BDR, make it happen!
As for reading order, Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim takes place first, then the other stories occur more or less simultaneously. Personally, I'd go for the completed stories afterwards: Daughters of Destruction, Children of Eco, then Rarity's Trials.
8952749
8952776
Starlight of Solana occurs directly after Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim. The last chapter of Sunset's Adventure literally sets up the opening of SoS. After that I recommend the completed three Midnight Moon mentioned, as the DBZ and Jak & Daxter ones are also occuring for the most part pre-season 1, same as this story. WoW: The Ties that Bind, Dead Space: Deep Space Terror, and InFamous: The Unusual Conduits occur during during the present-era Equestria set up by SoS. The last story before the giant finale story will involve Sombra in the Bleach story.
Here's a fun challenge: All of these stories occur in BDR's Universe 13 series. Considering that each of these stories' events are for the most part self-contained, try and figure out the exact number of EARTHS that exist in Universe 13. Here's a head start: There is a dead Earth mentioned in SoS, and Sly Cooper's world is an anthropomorphic Earth.
8952808
One from Starlight, one from Deep Space Terror, one from Family of Thieves, one from Unusual Conduits... Dark Souls doesn't take place on Earth, WoW is on Azeroth, and Argus, Skyrim is in Nirn, and Jak and Daxter, while it doesn't say what the planet's name is, clearly isn't Earth. Bleach takes place in Japan, so that'll be another Earth, and then there's Canterlot High in Equestria Girls, making six Earths in total by my count.
8952855
At least 5. Not sure if EQG world counts, and I have asked BDR about how many Earths and he didn't count it. Oh, and Dragonball is an anime on the Starlight Earth, going up through at least Battle of Gods, while MLP is a show on the InFamous Earth. Now imagine how similar/different each Earth's history might be to the others.