This was all amazing, really. I used to have so many ideas how to improve things. Each of them was small, but I never said them, so they didn't count. Around my friends, I could talk for days, but the moment I was at work, I just shut up.

But then came Celestia. She filled in those unsure gaps. Saying my mind came naturally. I could help. I could lead. It… came almost dare I repeat naturally? I loved it! But that wasn't how it started. Let me tell you about that, if you have a moment? Well, I'm starting either way.

My name was, and still is, Lauren. I do respond to Celestia, these days, but back then, just Lauren. I was having fun, as a human. I had visited the casino for the same reason a lot of people did, as an amusement. I had no grand ambitions of becoming super rich. I wasn't running away from life, as some of the others had been. I was, in truth, just a random woman betting on where the wheel would stop spinning.

"All on black." A lady was talking to me, having slid up when I was't paying attention. "All in."

All in? That was not a good way to win! Mathematically, a poor way to spend the day… Still, the excitement tickled. What if I did win? That'd be nice, right? 50% odds! Better than most places you could put on. You wouldn't win much, by design, but… I pushed my chips out. "On black."

Around and around went the wheel, the ball bouncing around with it. It could end up on any of those many numbers, but I had bet on black, it just needed to be black. I leaned forward on the table, so captivated by maybe winning in that moment. I had bet more than I had planned to do at once, and I was invested. "C'mon…" I didn't see that I had a short but growing tail wagging behind me.

As the wheel slowed, my tail only got faster, echoing the excitement in me. Red, black, red red, black… red… black. Oh man, why did it take so long for it to slow down? More likey, I was just that fixed on it, making it feel like it took forever. "Lucky 7," called the operator. 7! 7… I scanned the numbers right quick. 7 was black! Chips were coming to me, mildly increased. "I… I won!" I swept the chips up against myself, laughing a little hysterically. I had won far more than I'd planned on even being possible to win, with a safe bet.

If I walked away right then, it would have been a great day.

But does anyone walk away then? Of course not. I looked to the lady with the good advice. "Thanks! Got any other tips?"

I didn't know Fetlock back then, but she knew me. She knew who she had caught on the end of her hook. "Nice play, well done. Imagine, some people come here every day."

"Every day." I puzzled through that. "The people who work here? Or gazillionaires?"

"Either and both." Fetlock shrugged softly. "But doesn't he look excited?" She inclined her head at the roulette spinner, who was already getting the next spin going. "Master of fate and chance. Star of the world each time they get it going."

My tail was fluffed up and huge, starting to sway in a breeze that wasn't there. "The focus of everypony's attention." My ponyism was entirely unnoticed. "But I'm a little tired of that."

Fetlock blinked softly. "You are?"

"Well, yes." I stroked at my chin even as it began to expand out into a snout. "I'd rather help ponies be stars than be one myself right now."

Fetlock nudged against me. "Well, you could do that. You could be large and in charge. The mother figure."

"Mother figure." That had not been a position I planned for myself. "Sounds… horrifying." My ears sprang out, tall and fuzzy. "It'd be my job to…" To talk to people, to do that thing I was terrible at doing. "You wouldn't want me!"

"You'd be perfect," assured Fetlock, blowing up at an unruly bang that hung before one of her eyes. "Such a calm big pony they could look to."

"Don't be afraid." That wasn't Fetlock, or anything outside of me. It was Celestia, gently rising into my thoughts. "I will protect you." My arms itched as fur spread over them, fingers balling together into hooves. "You're safe here, with me." She seemed so calm, so caring… I would be safe, I felt, with her. She would never let anything hurt me.

Celestia swept over me, not in any suffocating way, but like a warm and welcoming blanket that snugged tightly around me, smelling of familiar people and places. It was like I was returning home, instead of being swept up in an alien horse I was rapidly becoming. My clothes slid off my equine frame just as I began to grow rapidly, becoming larger than Fetlock swiftly. "I will make sure nothing hurts any of my little ponies."

Fetlock inclined her head faintly. "Security?" That hadn't been exactly the plan, but… "Sure. Who'd mess with a place you were watching? Also, if you want, you can play with ponies."

Celestia leaned closer to Fetlock, neck craning downward. "They will have to pay quite a bit, and meet my standards. I have lived long enough to have seen many things." Vanilla was not a flavor Celestia wanted outside of an occasional slice of cake. "But yes, I will keep them safe." The casino around us was changing. We were in a pony one, with ponies.

I was half-asleep, warmly curled up in Celestia. I knew she cared. She cared so much. I could still hear what was going on around us, but I also didn't care all that much, at that time. Celestia was assuming the mantle of head of security, and I was along for the ride. I wasn't asleep though. I could see. I could hear. I was there, just… not doing a lot, relaxing. Recovering?

I'd whisper in Celestia's big furry ears when she went to do things, and she'd listen. She'd always listen. She was literally in charge of everything around her, but she always listened to me, and that was… It was important to me. It felt good. I was the unseen voice, whispering my little ideas where they needed to be heard, and they were heard. She didn't belittle me. She never called me any names. She just listened and responded.

That didn't mean she always took my advice, but she always listened. She'd tell me why she wasn't going to do what I said, when we disagreed, but she also didn't shy away from turning me down, if she decided against it. She was her own pony. A big pony. I could whisper and talk and explain, but she made the decision in the end.

But it was a learning experience. I was… I was expressing my ideas to her, someone vastly larger and more important. Someone that could have shut me down or hurt me without much effort. I was facing my fear.

Oh, uh, this is a Spitfire update, but she insists I was looking good during the process. Becoming Celestia meant I had 'junk in the trunk' and was happy to show it. Ugh, she is the worst sometimes.

When those collars came around, I freaked out a little bit. Celestia, bless her, came to my side pretty fast on that. Neither of us wanted to be collared, besides the fancy jewelry she wears. She picked that one out and not a single pony could make her wear it against her will. Still, the shock of that was a waking point. It was about then that I started paying more attention. I became more of a second person instead of a sleepy voice.

And she listened. She always listened. She gladly asked my opinion on things, and we talked more and more. I hear the others had some kind of struggle, to find themselves, and the other inside them. Celestia sat there with her arms spread, ready to embrace me without hesitation. I got lucky, so very lucky, for her to be my pony.

But then the offer came. Luna asked Celestia if she wanted to be the one in charge. It was the first time, the very first, that I felt Celestia cringe. She was the fearful one. She was withdrawing, almost scrambling away. I was left there, standing in the forefront, and the idea didn't seem very scary to me at all. Not if I had Celestia there at least.

So I did what she did not want to. She had done so much for me, and I felt properly ready. I would become their boss, so she wouldn't have to take that position. She could remain a big protective pony, and a… Well, she's a bit kinky. Did I mention that? She really is. I think it comes from being very old but still wanting intimacy. She's bored of the standard stuff, so she's hot to trot out new tastes with ponies brave enough to try it with her. It's probably for the best that I basically nap through those bits. Not my thing!

But what was once just me, Lauren, has become us, Celestia and I. We are both happy. We are both alive and well. We may speak gentle advice to the other, but we are bright and happy individuals in this wonderful whole. She's the best friend I can't hug, though being her means I can get hugs from others, when I want one. Her sisters are eager to get affection from their big sister, which I now am, but also am not.

I've made it a point to try to be clear when I'm in charge or not. Lying to them about their sister? That just seems like an awful thing to do. Both of them are just precious in different ways. Gamerluna is like a daughter I never had. So bubbly and energetic, I just want to see how she'll grow and love seeing what she's eager to show me, even if I don't understand it every time, like many parents out there, I imagine.

Speaking of daughters, I did ask her about that once… We were a grown woman, mare, person? We were an adult, of sound body and mind. Finding that special plus one and having a child wasn't impossible, right? I asked. I was curious. And she laughed.

It wasn't a mocking laugh, warmth bubbling through me as images, countless images, of the kingdom of Equestria. From its quietest little villages to its loudest cities. They were filled with ponies that still bowed their head towards the rising sun.

She was a mother to more ponies than most would ever dare to dream of.

And that was all fine and well, a mighty accomplishment, worth being proud of! But I knew the angle to attack, a smirk on my face. "If you haven't experienced it at least once, you're denying yourself an experience that every woman I ever spoke to said was life changing."

I could feel her ears prick up, and she was on me, mental eyes sparkling with curiosity. Did I want it? Even in that moment of intense fascination, she paused to ask what I thought of the idea. Did I mention Celestia is basically the best pony ever? "I never felt what it was like to be a mother." I rose and paced gently through our office. "But I wouldn't mind trying… We just have to find someo…pony that'd make a good father."

New images, names, and fragments. Celestia knew quite a few creatures that could potentially qualify, to quicken her and put a child in her, in me… I blushed gently at the heated passion of Celestia's thoughts. "Since you clearly approve, let's consider it further. That's not a today thing."

Author's Note

An epi-prelogue! More may come.

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