Cheerilee woke up back in Crystal Wishes’ tent. As her vision focused, she saw Princess Twilight kneeling beside her. A faint trail of smoke connected to the end of her horn.
“Princess?” she mumbled. Her head swam.
Twilight patted Cheerilee’s head and made a shushing sound. “It’s alright…it’s me.”
“What happened?” Cheerilee’s head throbbed like it was a thousand degrees and she saw Crystal next to Scootaloo, which was also lying down in a daze.
“I am not sure…Crystal came to me and told me that there was an emergency over at the tent involving you and Scootaloo. I was told that you were both in trances so I used my magic to undo it,” Twilight explained.
“Is Scootaloo alright?”
Twilight nodded. “I believe so. I might have come just in time.”
Later, the two of them were sitting in the chairs and drinking water. Cheerilee was already feeling better by then. They had told Twilight about the place they had seen and the ponies that they encountered. Crystal figured that they had connected their minds during the fortune telling process by accident. She could only postulate that doing so separated them from Crystal’s magic which was why the two of them turned so unresponsive.
“I’m guessing you two were sent off into the deep past where even I would normally not be able to see,” Crystal ruminated. “It’s strange that it was related to you two but considering my ball, maybe you two were meant to see it?”
Scootaloo looked confused. “But I still want to know what that place was. How can there be other ponies with our names? Was it like another dimension?”
“Do you ponies believe in past lives?” Crystal inquired. Cheerilee and Scootaloo shrugged their shoulders, unsure what to say.
“I know of the idea,” Twilight said.
“I’ve read books on the subject,” Crystal said. She looked at Scootaloo. “According to some fortune tellers, we ponies don’t just live the one life we know. But we get more than one. It may look different on the surface but the essence of ourselves is passed on beyond time and space.”
“So, that Scootaloo was like me? But she didn’t have any wings even,” Scootaloo said, flapping hers as if to make a point.
“The theory is rather sound,” Crystal insisted. “Sure, she had no wings but even from a general description, they sound similar enough to not dismiss outright.”
Scootaloo stared at the ground and sighed. Her heart was a heavy stone. She had never felt so powerless before. It was even worse than when Diamond Tiara teased her. “She had no wings…I…what if that’s supposed to be my destiny then? To never fly?”
“Tough, I guess,” Crystal said uncaringly. Twilight glared at her and she rolled her eyes.
Cheerilee was finally able to go and pat Scootaloo’s mane. “Scootaloo, those ponies were like us but they weren’t us. I think if we live different lives then it just might be another chance for us to make each one even better. You just have to believe.” Scootaloo looked up at her teacher and managed to smile.
“You’re right…I mean maybe I’m like an upgrade or something,” she said. Her whole body was recharged and her wings flapped like never before. “Not to say that you wouldn’t be a good sister but I like you as my teacher, you know?” Her cheeks turned a bit red.
“I understand, Scoots,” Cheerilee replied amusingly.
“I think I like the idea of a past life,” Scootaloo said. “Even if I can’t fly, I’m at least guaranteed some awesome things and some amazing friends.”
“That’s a wonderful way to look at it,” Cheerilee encouraged.
Scootaloo turned to Crystal. “Thanks a lot!” Crystal didn’t reply, being too stunned at the foal’s kind words. After, she said goodbye to her and Twilight and left the tent. She couldn’t wait to tell her friends all about her mental journey. She wondered if the past Scootaloo ever had doubts about her cutie mark too. Then she remembered it was a butterfly and hoped that it wasn’t something passed down with her love of scooters.
“I’ll see you two later!” Cheerilee said. She ran out after Scootaloo to catch up.
“That’s something I’ve never seen in my entire life,” Crystal muttered. She looked ready to draw herself a stiff drink. Despite her strong demeanor, her hooves noticeably shook.
“Neither have I to be honest,” Twilight said in agreement.
“Princess, you know a lot about our world…do you think those two saw anything that actually existed?” Twilight noticed that Crystal was nearly as intrigued about it as she was.
“We’ve discovered a pink stone wall buried in ancient mud. It’s dated from pre-Equestrian times,” Twilight told her. “But we know little to nothing about the ponies that might have lived there. I would have loved to witness that world through Scootaloo’s eyes.”
Crystal smirked thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s possible that our minds hold a hidden truth that’s normally beyond our capacity to see.”
Twilight nodded. “I can accept some ponies not being able to accept such truth. Who would want to know that such a far flung past is connected to them so intimately?”
For once those two ponies seemed to agree on something.