An Old Friend
Cosmos wasn't sure why Celestia had called her to Canterlot on such short notice, but she knew it would have to be important enough for her to come alone.
Not that she wasn't missing anything in Ponyville at the moment. Most of her friends were busy at the moment, and her lessons with Twilight were actually moving along better than expected.
But the moment she saw Princess Celestia standing alone with a crystal that showed the worried face of Principle Celestia, she knew something was wrong. "What is it?"
The principal sighed. "We have a bit of a situation here. And I'm hoping you might be able to help in some way."
Cosmos shared a look with her fellow princess. "Okay. But why me? I'm more than happy to help, but you can't always come to Equestria with a problem. Magical or otherwise."
The principal nodded. "I understand. However, this actually concerns you directly." She rubbed her forehead. "Recently we've had a young girl been seen around the statue. Too young to be a student."
Cosmos's brow rose. She was curious, but this didn't make sense to her, "And this concerns me how? I don't know anyone outside the students and staff at the school well enough at the moment."
The principal sighed. "It concerns you because she is also asking for you by name Cosmos." She shook her head. "No. She is asking more than that. She is asking for you as Empress Cosmos."
Cosmos felt her breath hitch. No one who knew her at the moment used that title, least of all on that side of the portal. Unless. "Do you know what she looks like?"
Celestia nodded as she held up a picture. In it was a young red-headed girl, about Crystal or Amber's age. Maybe a little older. "Do you know who she is?"
Cosmos smiled as her eyes closed and the tears began to fall. She knew that aura anywhere. "Yes. I know who she is." Opening her eyes, her gaze softened. "If you happen to see her, tell her I'm on my way."
Principle Celestia didn't look totally convinced, but she nodded before the crystal went blank once more even as Cosmos turned toward the door.
Princess Celestia was still confused. "Who was that? How do you know her?"
Cosmos smiled as she looked at her. "An old friend of mine that I haven't seen in a long time."
Celestia's brow rose. "Is there an Exarch we didn't know about? Is that who she is? I hope not."
Cosmos chuckled. "No, she isn't some long-lost Exarch of mine. She was one of the most loving and compassionate persons I've ever known. Right up there with Fluttershy."
"So why is she in the Human World?" Celestia asked as Cosmos's horn ignited.
"Because that's her home. And I don't mean to change that now." Cosmos said as she vanished in a flash of teleportation. Leaving Princess Celestia with more questions than answers.
She made a note to change that when she got the chance.
"But why now?" Moon Petal asked. "If she is Megan, why only remember now?"
The girls and Twilight stood with Cosmos outside the Golden Oaks Library. She had just finished explaining what little she knew at the moment.
For six of the girls, the idea was exciting. But for the rest, they had no idea what the big deal was. Not that they'd say so.
Cosmos sighed. "I don't know. But it is Megan's reincarnation. My only guess is that all the release of magic recently kick-started this."
Twilight scratched her chin. "I've read of this sort of thing. But I didn't think it was ever real."
Cosmos nodded. "It's not that surprising. Very rarely does this happen at all. And it's even rarer for that being to remember their old life at all."
"So now what?" Ocean Breeze asked. "We can't bring her here. She's way too young for that. Firefly only got away with it because she was a teenager last time."
"And then there's the fact that Equus has changed so much since she was here last," Ivy added. "On top of that, she only knows some of us." She pointed at Cosmos. "And you're not one of them."
Cosmos sighed. "I know. I don't plan on bringing her here. What I want to do is help her stabilize her memories. If she wants to remember them all, then I'll help to do so."
"And if she doesn't?" Water Lilly asked.
"Then I'll repress them for her, and she won't remember anything about her old life or of Equus," Cosmos replied.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Orchid added.
Cosmos shook her head as she took a step back from the group. "No. I can do so in a way that she won't feel a thing. It's the least I can do for her."
Igniting her horn, she gave her Exarchs all a serious look. "Girls. I hate to do this, but I am making this an order. Do not follow me. I don't know how long this will be, but I don't want to overwhelm her."
The girls bowed their heads. Now that it was an order, they didn't have a choice but to obey it. But that didn't mean they had to like it.
Cosmos knew they didn't like the idea. And frankly neither did she. She was never one to make much an order for any Exarch.
There was something more to it when she made it an order for them. While they could get around her just telling them not to do something, if she made it an order, they had no choice but to do it.
But that never made stomped on their free will to not like it. She despised it when others tried to force their own will on others and she avoided it at all costs.
Shaking her head, she smiled as a new portal opened before them. "I'll be back later girls. Don't wait for me." And she was gone.
"Are you sure this is a wise idea? I'm taking a huge risk with my daughter by allowing a stranger to try and help her. What if all of this is nothing but a sham?" Miss. Williams asked, holding back a scowl at Principal Celestia.
For her part, Celestia understood her concern. But this was out of her hands now. "I understand your concern, mam. But Cosmos knows more about this and understands this better than I ever will. If anyone can help your daughter, it is her."
Megan crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm right here, you know? And what can she do? I'm seeing things that shouldn't exist. I haven't believed in stuff like magic and magical talking ponies since I was five."
Celestia giggled. "I understand your worry, Megan. But I have faith in Cosmos."
"Did someone say my name?" Cosmos asked, walking up to the group, apparently out of nowhere. She hid her smile at seeing the young girl before her with her own two eyes. It really was her.
Miss Williams looked her over. She didn't look much older than the other students at Canterlot High. But there was... Something else about her. An aura that she couldn't place her finger on. "Well then. If you are this. Cosmos. Can you help my daughter?"
Cosmos frowned. "That depends." She bent down so she and Megan were eye to eye. "How do you know my name? And why do you call me 'Empress'? We have never met before now."
Megan rolled her eyes. "That's your title, isn't it? Though you don't look like you used to." She paused, before putting a hand to her head. "Why am I saying things like that? I've never seen you before. But why does it feel like we've been friends my whole life? Why does it hurt so much?"
Cosmos' heart dropped, as Megan's mother wrapped an arm around her. She had been afraid of this. Miss Williams seemed to catch on, for she gave her a look. "Do you know what's wrong with my daughter? I can't stand seeing her like this."
Cosmos nodded. "I do." She smiled. "I once had a friend with the same name as you, Megan. You look almost exactly like her in fact. Though you're not as old as she was when we first met." Her smile dropped slightly. "Do you believe in the idea of reincarnation?"
Megan and her mother shared a look. "The idea that someone can be reborn?" Megan asked.
Cosmos nodded. "Indeed. An old soul. Reborn into a new body." She placed a hand on Megan's shoulder. "That is what has happened here to you, Megan. Those ponies you saw? The magic? It is very real. A life you once lived."
Miss. Williams gave her a look. "Then what are you really trying to say?"
Cosmos sighed. "Megan is reliving her old life. Those are memories of her past self. Someone I considered one of my best friends. But there's a problem. Those memories are trying to erase her current self. Replace it with someone and something she isn't."
Miss Williams and Celestia shared a concerned look. Even if she had just met her, the mother trusted Cosmos in this matter. She didn't know why she did. But the feeling would not leave her alone. "Then what can you do to help her?"
Cosmos sighed. "I can give Megan back all of her memories of her past life." She held up a hand as she saw the question on her mother's face. "In a way that would not destroy your daughter. She will still be the baby girl you love. But she would remember all of her old life. Alongside her current life."
Megan looked rather excited at the idea. But she was still worried about one thing. "Does it hurt?"
Cosmos giggled. "It might tickle a little bit. But you won't feel a thing."
Miss Williams's frown had grown though. "If you're going to do anything to my daughter, then do it to me as well. I find all of this hard to believe as it is. Prove it to me, Cosmos. Or so help me. There will be no place that you can hide that I won't find you."
Cosmos nodded, as she held to fingers out to mother and daughter's foreheads. "So be it," she whispered, and then let her magic flow.
All at once, both of their eyes lit up in a white nimbus of power. Cosmos stepped back as it began, allowing things to follow their natural course. Principal Celestia didn't look too convinced, but there was little that she could do now.
For a few moments, mother and daughter were lost in a world of memories. Occasionally, Megan would mouth words to a conversation that only she and one other had. No words came out of her mouth though.
After a time, the light faded from their eyes. Both Celestia and Cosmos could see that everything had changed about the two women. Megan's eyes shown with the same light that Cosmos remembered that night at Midnight Castle. The light that allowed a young woman to stand with and defend a world that wasn't hers. With friends, she still barely knew.
For her mother though, the effect was different. Her whole view of reality had been changed forever. What that meant for the future, no one knew yet. She looked at Cosmos with bleary eyes. "That. All of that. It's real, isn't it? Ponyland. Dream Valley. The ponies. All of them. All of it."
Cosmos nodded. "It's real. A whole new world that only a few know about. And it's for the better that it stays that way, I feel."
Megan crossed her arms and gave her a pointed look. "And why not? Think of how much good magic could do for this world. Think of all the people that it could help. We could solve all kinds of problems."
Cosmos' left eye twitched. They'd had this conversation before. "Then I'll repeat what I said the last time we talked about this, Megan. Magic can do so much good for this world, yes. But it can also do so much harm if it got into the wrong hands. And there is little that can be done from someone misusing it."
Principal Celestia nodded. "I have seen first hand, what magic in the wrong hands can do, and how dangerous it is. My sister and I have kept its existence from even the school board for that very reason."
Miss Williams couldn't fault them for that, though she still had little knowledge of magic even now. "Not all people are like that. As much as mankind had screwed up over the ages. We've still done so much good."
Cosmos nodded. "Indeed. And I do not blame all of mankind for what the bad eggs have done. But it will be a long time, if ever before magic can be safely brought to this world I believe."
Megan pouted, crossing her arms with a huff. "Fine. Be like that." Her eyes lit up though at a thought. "Can I still visit Ponyland though? It's been so long."
Cosmos and Miss Williams giggled. "I have no problems with it. Though it is called Equestria now,"
Megan rolled her eyes. "What kind of dumb name is that?"
Cosmos rolled her eyes. "I don't know. I didn't come up with the name." She looked at Miss Williams. "Do you mind if Megan visits though? There is still too much going on right now for it to be safe. But in time, she is more than welcome."
Miss Williams thought about it for a moment. But the puppy dog eyes she was fetting from her daughter made her answer a foregone conclusion. "If she is with you, Cosmos. Then I would say yes. If it was anyone else, I would say no."
Megan squeed before hugging her mother as tightly as she could. "Yes! Thank you, mommy!"
Her mother just rolled her eyes, as she returned the hug. Cosmos giggled at the sight. "I do hate to run. But I must be getting back. My friends will be worried if I take too long."
Celestia placed a hand on her shoulders. "I do wish you would visit more often, Cosmos. You never stay long enough it seems."
Cosmos sighed, as Megan and her mother returned to their car. "I know. If this was any other universe, I would stay longer. But I still have so much left to do. And I feel Canterlot High is in good hands with you and Luna in charge."
Celestia nodded before her smile dropped. "How are they?"
Cosmos' smile grew. "Doing great. All things considered. They haven't turned Equestria inside out yet. So I consider that a win!"
Celestia chuckled as Cosmos turned away. "Well then. Don't be too much of a stranger. I know one girl that wishes you would visit more often."
Cosmos blushed furiously. "I will. I owe Crystal that much," before no-clipping out of reality and disappearing.
The girls were still where she had last seen them by the time Cosmos returned to Equestria. "What took you so long?" Emerald asked.
"Did it work?" Ocean asked.
Cosmos nodded, grinning. "It worked. Megan is as close to who she was now as she will ever be. I refuse to do anymore to her."
Crystal and Amber shared a smug look. "Good timing too. There's somepony that's been waiting for you," Amber said, barely holding back her giggles.
Cosmos blinked. "And who would that be?"
Before anypony could answer, another voice joined them. "There you are," Twilight Sparkle said marching into the room. Cosmos turned to greet her.
Only to be met by a wall of lavender that all but jumped into her hooves, before pressing her lips against her own. Causing all six of her wings to pop open to their full extent.
Crystal giggled. "That's who."
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Interesting.
10102285
Yes*
Interesting story, but it falls into the trap of slightly altering episodes from the show in the absense of an original plot. I've seen far too many promising concepts end up disappointing because the author chooses to follow canon (and be outspokenly anti-racist for some fucking reason) instead of their own imagination.
10493939
I'd hardly call this anti anything honestly. But yeah, I see what you mean.
10562353
Ok sorry I I thought it was a reference to the line I would be the great curator