//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: Somepony To Watch Over Her 
// Story: The Princess is a Filly 
// by Art Inspired 
//------------------------------//

The glass doors leading into Celestia's room opened, and light shined through, eliminating the darkness. As they entered, Luna placed the filly princess down on the floor, and said, "This is where you'll be staying. At least, for the time being that is, until I see about those notes your former self left for me to read."

Celestia had herself a good look around while saying, "Huh, so this is where I lived?"

"As I said on our way here, you once ruled these lands, but your mind and body grew too old. The same thing will eventually happen to myself as well one day, and because we're required in order to lift both the sun and the moon, we unfortunately must be reborn again and again."

Celestia grabbed hold of an already opened box of delicious looking chocolate chip cookies from the nearby dresser. Out of a total of twenty, only one was missing in the very first row, and seeing this, Luna realized that Celestia's former self must've done this intentionally.

Celestia bit down, and munched while mumbling, "Nmh-hmm!" Swallowing, she said, "Right, I got that. It happens every ten thousand years. My question is, how do I fit into-" She was cut off by what she saw upon looking back up at Luna. "A-are you alright?"

Luna merely nodded, holding her muzzle, and fighting back even more emerging tears. "Just when I thought I had gotten my emotions under control... Excuse me, Celestia. I need a moment alone."

Just before headed off for her own quarters, Luna made sure to grab everything that she would need from her sister's. Once all alone, the young Celestia would lay all by herself on top of the bed that she had slept in so many times before. She moved around in it for quite a bit, and wrestled with the sheets for several minutes before stating, "I don't remember... any of this. Like, at all."



Meanwhile, Luna sat comfortably on her bed. Another tissue was tossed to the floor, and she sniffled several times before finally being able to think clearly. The notes that she needed to read were still all rolled up, and sat at the edge a good distance away from her. "She could've..."

She growled, but tried to settle herself down. "She could've at least informed me a few thousand years earlier. Then, maybe I wouldn't have..."

Flashes of Nightmare Moon entered her mind, frightening Luna to her very core.

"Maybe, I wouldn't have..." She exhaled, another set of tears escaping.

She stayed like that for a few more minutes, thinking about recent events. Finally, in time, she'd find the strength to look over those notes. As she did, she'd drop her jaw at how intellectually the future plan was laid out for this new Celestia. "Right," Luna said, however she didn't wear a smile one bit. "Just... how exactly is Twilight going to react to that? If Celestia's to be mentored by the Princess of Friendship on friendship, then Twilight must know of this right away..."

With a heavy heart, Luna faced her fears, and sent word to Twilight immediately letting her know that her presence was needed within the Canterlot palace as soon as possible. At first, Luna considered coming up with a ludicrous lie, but she soon abandoned those notions. Despite how displeasurable it really was, Twilight deserved to know the truth about what had happened to her former mentor.

In a matter of hours, Twilight would arrive after her long flight from Ponyville. Upon entering, she'd look up the stairs where Luna stood, and ask her, "What's going on? You said it involved Celestia!" She came galloping up the steps all too quickly. "I came as fast as I could, but why didn't she message me herself?"

Every question was like a dagger being pressed up against Luna's loudly beating heart. "Twilight, please... You should calm thyself."

"No," Twilight responded, half-way up the stairs now. "I will not! Tell me what's happened to Celestia! Was she kidnapped? Is she alright? Do you know her whereabouts?"

Luna couldn't stop herself after those last set of questions. Again, she was sobbing profoundly. "No, no... Twilight, I... I'm so, so sorry. I don't know why she wanted it to be a secret. I just... I don't know.

Coming up to eye level with the princess, Twilight asked sternly, "What happened, Luna?"

She blinked, and widened her eyes at the words that were about to leave her lips. "She's... just... gone, Twilight." She shivered, and continued, "The Celestia that you and I knew is gone."

Twilight's reaction was a typical one. She backed away a few steps down while saying, "No... Y-you're making that up! I want an explanation, Luna!"

Turning her back towards Twilight, and coming up to the pink, shimmering window behind herself, she said as best she could, "It... h-happens... e-every ten thousand years."

"What happens?!" Twilight was all too anxious by now. She pleaded, "Just tell me!"

Luna summoned yet another tissue for herself, and one for Twilight as well. Then, she inhaled a lot of air before saying anything else. "Look, Twilight... I know you loved Celestia almost as if she were a second mother to you, but... try and understand, we don't have a choice in this matter. When Celestia and I grow old enough, we must be reborn."

"Reborn?" Twilight asked.

Luna corrected, "As fillies, Twilight." After those words, Twilight would start to realize the gravity behind this situation. "Our memories... our experiences... It all goes away when the time comes, and then, we must start all over again." Luna stared deeply into Twilight's confused eyes. "This time, she wanted it to be a secret. She didn't even tell me about it until after the events of Nightmare Moon had passed."

Twilight asked, "How do you know about this?"

Luna revealed forwardly, "There's a historic ledger hidden within Canterlot that details important milestones of our overall lives. Only Celestia and myself are allowed to read it."

Twilight looked away, and asked with pain in her trembling voice, "So, that means..."

Luna nodded, and sighed with bagging eyes, "Yes... I'm afraid that she's now nothing more but a harmless, little filly. At this state, even if she gave it her best effort, I understand that she wouldn't even have the strength to lift her very own sun. I've been training for months now, preparing, so until she's able to do it herself, that responsibility falls to me."

Twilight was now starting to sniffle. She almost wasn't even paying attention anymore. "Why?" she asked. "Why does it have to be this way? Why didn't she tell me about it?! She..." Twilight gasped at a startling realization. "She didn't even say goodbye to me. Did... D-did she say g-goodbye to you?"

Luna solemnly nodded, and answered, "Y-yes, she did... and, I'm sorry that it has to be this way. The reason why has been lost to us for the longest time..." She blinked with worry now visible in her expression. "We're just not willing to take that big of a risk. I mean, would you?"

Twilight found herself shaking her head without hardly thinking about it. "No," she said quietly, almost in a whisper. "No, I wouldn't... I see, then."

She looked down, tears still dripping from her cheeks, and chin. Luna spoke up, "I know you feel that now is definitely the time for mourning, but we have a filly that needs our attention, love and care. Before Celestia went away, she left behind a few instructions. That's why you're here."

Twilight just blinked while looking back up at Luna. "Instructions?"

Luna nodded, and continued, "Celestia would've wanted you to teach her the ways of friendship above all else."

Twilight nodded in acceptance, of course, and said, "Alright... I sort of felt that coming, actually."

Luna smiled at last. "I thought you might... Follow me, Celestia's right this way."

Twilight seemed startled, and asked quite realistically, "Wait, we're doing this now? As in, like... right now?"

All Luna chose to do as a response was begin to walk away, and down the hall. Twilight would naturally follow along. After all, it wasn't as if she had much of a choice. Although she would've rather go back home and cry her eyes out for the remainder of the day, she still persevered. After all, by now she was curious as to what this new Celestia looked like.



The door opened, and Twilight came in feeling light headed, followed by Luna. Everything almost seemed perfectly the same. The windows, the fire place, and even all of Celestia's jewelry hadn't changed. The only difference in the room was who occupied the bed. She sat there with three cookies left in the box, and a coloring pad. Nearly each and every drawing was of the pools that she had left behind earlier that day, and some of them were of Luna.

Twilight just stood there at the entry way, looking at the filly who was now currently busy with observing everything else that was happening just outside the window. She turned to Luna, and asked, "I'm just supposed to... take her under my wing? After what Celestia's done?"

Luna blinked with concern flashing within her eyes. "What?"

"Celestia's just... left us! She left me, and you, and... everypony, and didn't tell anypony?! Nopony? A-a-and in her place, she leaves behind... her?"

Luna looked disheartened by Twilight's reaction, but she still said, "I, uh... lost her, too, you know."

"But, at least you knew it was coming! You had time to prepare emotionally. How can I just... After what she's done? I can't, Luna... I just..."

Twilight seemed ready to up and leave when Luna said, "Think back to the last memory you have of her, then. What was she like?"

Twilight stopped her bantering for just a second, and thought about that. It came loftily floating back to her as if Luna were asking about a dream instead. "She..."

"Yes?"

Twilight bowed her head, hiding her eyes with her mane. "She hugged me before departing from the castle of friendship, for no apparent reason at all. At least, that's what I thought at the time."

She sniffled while looking up, and then back at the filly still sitting serenely on the bed. "Go on," Luna said calmingly.

"And then," Twilight continued while rubbing the water stains from her cheeks. "Celestia frowned at me, and she seemed... so sad all of the sudden. I didn't realize why that was... up until now. She told me that... S-she told me about how special she felt, to have me in her life. She held me tightly, and I think..." Twilight was having a hard time breathing by now, but she kept going. "I think she wanted so badly to cry. She wouldn't, though... No, she couldn't let on what was really going on, could she?"

Luna shook her head, and said, "This is the plan that she has laid out for her future, child self, and you're greatly involved in it. I'm not going to lie. I think it was foolish of my sister to decide to keep it a secret, too, and how everypony has forgotten these instances in history by now are beyond me. Still, what's done is done... For tonight, we'll get some rest. Unfortunately, tomorrow..."

Luna looked away, out at the shimmering city of Canterlot. Twilight, however, took her chance to simply ask, "We're going to have to tell everypony about what's happened to Princess Celestia ourselves, aren't we?"

Luna looked back, and nodded. "I'm certainly not doing it by myself. That's another good reason why you're here." 

Soon, she would finally start to see Twilight's attention being redirected towards her new student. She came up to her, and got her attention with a hoof. "Hmm?" Celestia asked with that new, sweet voice of hers.

"So," Twilight said. "Y-you're... Celestia?"

The filly princess nodded, and smiled back at Twilight welcomingly. "Yep! That's me, but... who are you?"

"Oh... I'm Twilight Sparkle. You..." The smile that had begun to form went away with the following question, "You don't remember me, or anything else, do you?"

Celestia shook her head innocently, and looked back out the window before saying, "Sorry, but everything before getting out of that pool is just one big blur for me."

Twilight choked after hearing that, and she fought back her tears. She merely laid down on the bed next to Celestia, and asked, "Can I... get one of those?"

Celestia nodded, and said, "Yeah, sure. I certainly can't anymore!"

Twilight thanked her, and began eating her cookie. Just as she did, Luna would begin to exit the room, leaving the two alone. "I assume you know where your staying tonight."

Twilight said, "Yeah, sure... Although, I might just end up staying with Celestia for the evening. Is that alright?"

Luna sighed at that, but gave in quickly. "I suppose that's fine." She stayed by the door for a little while longer just to say, "I'll see you two in the morning, then. After we announce to the city what's happened, Twilight? You and Celestia can head on out whenever you feel ready for the voyage."

Twilight had finished her first cookie, and was already onto her second. With sleepy eyes, she groaned, "It'll probably be earlier, if anything. Good night, Princess Luna."

"Good night, Princess Twilight Sparkle," Luna replied right before gently closing the door.

The two of them would stay in the bed together for the rest of the night, and it wasn't until the following morning that Celestia would be the first one to get up. After awakening within Twilight's hooves, and the sunlight shining brightly through the window, she'd stir, and wander towards the balcony glass doors. 

As Twilight also awoke from her own, deep rest, she'd hear Celestia wonder aloud, "Hmm...? How does that big, yellow thing manage to get all the way up there? I want to know more about how that works. I mean, the colors it makes are just so... pretty looking to me."