Interlude (Luna I)

Canterlot was not what Luna really envisioned when she started her reign with her sister.

Maybe it was because she grew to love the very dual stronghold that was now left to rot in the Everfree Forest, fondly remembering the labor spent building it and making sure it was the best piece of their first year of rule. The only regret she had about it, the one guilt that didn’t just vanish, was that her darker self tarnished such a beautiful place by trying to turn it into her center of power and control.

Eventually she planned to visit it, maybe try to clean it up on her own. With how busy her sister was, Luna knew Celestia couldn’t join her for that. She would have to make use of what time she had on her own to visit there nightly, and recall those times where she had to build it. Piece by piece, calmly and steadily… while also making sure it fitted with the purpose of being a home for them. It was their home and… the Alicorn missed home.

She was older, yes. She was wiser, maybe. But she hadn’t outgrown that subtle call from her previous ‘house’. A house she built, a house she and her sister had created to show modernity in this kingdom back when there was an attempt to revert it all back to the older Unicorn system of administration. Now Canterlot stood for that very reason, except that modernity was well beyond Luna’s own perception of time. A thousand year of nothingness tended to do this, to leave everything ‘still’ before her gaze.

Wandering alone in that quiet and barren wasteland of white that was her domain, and she missed this vibrancy. A sigh, her room was as silent as usual, leaving her alone with her thoughts as she checked back her journal. Luna had two specific diaries, with one of those meant to purposely pour her own frustration somewhere that wasn’t just herself, but also… a journal for plans. Nothing like Nightmare Moon- or anything that would defy her sister’s own interests as an equal diarch… but a circumstance driven by an unplanned investment.

Luna had long grown sure that nopony but a few individuals were keen to make her any request at the late hours she worked the shift while Tia was sleeping, but as she went through the usual line of curious subjects interested in her stars and for advice when it comes to ‘artistic purposes’, an unusual guest caught her attention.

A messenger from… the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth of New Mareland was a colony that came to be roughly five hundred years before her return. It was created from some of the untouched lands by the Griffons that were initially made minor settlements before she was banished and the other strips of territory that were taken when Celestia faced the Kingdom of Griffonia. So, in a rather odd manner, Luna learned that she was also the sovereign of another nation, this one actually ‘lead’ by an elected leader. It baffled her when she finally noticed this through the messenger, but even more when the mare that brought the message had been specifically instructed to be given to her and not her sister.

The content within it fully explained the reason behind this decision, with her eyes suddenly glued at the request. Starfall, one of the cities within the Dominion, had been created in her name by some of the families that remembered a ‘Princess Luna’ after her banishment. It was a surprising discovery, but it painfully reminded the alicorn that she hadn’t been without loyal nobles and adventurers back when she was younger. Surely some of those survived beyond Nightmare Moon and established that settlement. The city administration had laid out plans to expand the local port to expand trading operations between the subject nation and Equus, but requested permission to do so through her own decree.

After a moment spent digesting the pleasant feeling of being addressed as a proper monarch after this long, the princess accepted the necessary expansion as this would definitely improve the local economy, giving permission to the messenger to retrieve the proper amount of money from the treasury and get it sailing straight away… but not before a proper explanation of this country. Books could ‘say’ so much, and she knew there was much more than just history to pay attention to. Pearl Eyes, the young mare that had delivered the letter, was surprisingly happy to offer as much as she could about home. From simple things as cities’ names and cultural groups, to actual politicians and parties.

Economy itself wasn’t Pearl’s strength in her narration, but Luna didn’t mind. Not when she had already started to dabble in some new lines of economic thoughts on her own. She was always the more bookish of the two Royal Sisters, and Economy had been her major element when it came to rule over this vast kingdom. Even now, Celestia would ask for her advice to ‘fix’ some mistakes she made while she wasn’t around. Some of which were plain silly, but a couple of them had Luna outright frown at her older sister. But what really rekindled that interest were the intellectual discussions with her newest friend.

John had a flawed mindset when it came to economic affairs, but not an overly-wrong one. Just too ‘impulsive’ and way too careless at times. Hence why she was more than happy to deliver advice on how to tackle some major concerns which couldn’t be solved with a single broom’s sweep. But where the human found his flaws through her experience, Luna found her own through his creativity and genuinely grand grasp at modern economy. New books were added to old ones, previously-thought correct theories dashed away from thorough studies and analysis. Luna turned her stance on many old positions just through the first session and she learned that the world had changed way more than she could see at first glance.

With Pearl Eyes giving her what she wanted and now leaving to get back home, Luna’s attention aimed at New Mareland didn’t falter. In fact, she found it a reasonable concern to actually be directly involved in its growth. The economic collapse of 979 had weakened the confidence of the locals in Equestria, and the successful revolution of Stalliongrad in 991 set a tremendous precedent that had to be addressed for good. With that in mind, Luna took it upon herself to try and be more active on the affairs tied to New Mareland. The first effort came with an official ‘night visit’, which unfolded as a party hosted by the Governor-General, Jet Set. The loyal Stallion was part of the Canterlot Elite and yet one of the few that stood out due to dedication and preparation to the role. There was no reason to deny the fact he was a fierce believer of Equestrian Democracy, quickly showing his admiration for the Royal Sisters through his cordial manner and submissive approach.

It was all moderate to the role that he was bestowed by Celestia, but it sure gave Luna a sense of power which further fueled her to go through with her plans to fix the situation in the colony. Most of the local elite saw her as a mysterious leader, one that started to take steps back into politics just recently. It was potentially the worst nightmare of any sort of ‘old politicians’: An older politician who was keen to learn and improve from her flawed and outdated perspective.

After just a visit, Luna got a good understanding of the overall situation. While nobles and industrialists danced in the ballroom, Jet Set happily allowed her to check the official data tied to the economic recovery. It was too slow, and it lacked many failsafes to prevent a new collapse the moment the Griffonian society faced another collapse. The first order of the day was to try and shift the focus of the trade back to Equestria. Expansion of the naval routes and the tightening of security around convoys was the first step of many to secure a new dependency back to their overlord and the lowering of the chances tied to a new default. Next was an expansion of New Mareland’s light and heavy industry. More workplaces, greater freedom, lesser chances of Communists to form from the workers.

In a rather odd twist that was benign at best, the very leader of the Communist Party of New Mareland, Lufty Star, praised her ‘communist’ approach. Which… made zero sense considering what Luna did was just advocating the opposite of communism by using the new growth to further grow Equestria in return. The investments weren’t for free and the Alicorn’s estimations assured the return of twice of what was invested back in the treasury. Everything was going as smoothly as she could when somepony actually knocked at her room’s door. Celestia looked more confused than truly angry at this situation, having learned of what her sister was doing through a letter from Jet Set that personally thanked Luna… and not Celestia.

It had been an odd development for sure, but one that Luna couldn’t help but count as a minor victory as her effort had paid off as she wanted. Her hard work gave the rewards she was hoping for. Celestia’s questions were driven out for worries towards her more than anything else.

“I wouldn’t want you to overburden yourself, Lulu. I know for a fact I can hardly go beyond what I’m currently dealing with my appointments,” The older sister admitted, but Luna was confident in her posture and expression despite her words.

...

Well, that was until the older Alicorn’s eyes landed on the ‘emotion journal’ and found out what she had been writing on it. She had been so smugly distracted, that the younger princess’ jaw dropped when her sister made a comment that stumped her.

“Lulu, who is this John?” The taller Alicorn inquired with a small grin, having found blackmail material as Luna cheered this personal victory. “And why are you plotting a marriage with him?”

“N-No one- I mean, nopony of your concern, sister,” The Princess of the Night rebuked, her stuttering proving some early weakness but quickly mustering a strong enough annoyed look to show how unwilling she was to concede anything beyond this comment. Tia allowed this ‘discussion to be postponed’ but promised her sister that ‘she was going to pester her some more on the topic’. An embarrassing development that sure screwed up with her plans to keep her away from him. These two together… it would be akin to have Discord wandering around without any issues, but more wholesome and threatening of her plans in the specific.

Luna could tell only horrible things were going to happen at that occurrence. She had to keep an eye out on her sister’s snooping around while her room was devoid of her presence. Her guards will have to do for the time being and, for now, Luna resumed her nightly affairs before getting back to her royal duties. She had a lot to plot when the human was going to visit Canterlot. Each step had to be prepared, each scene to be tilted in a way to favor her feelings the most.

Yes, she was going to win that challenge too. She had to grasp that lovely victory!

Author's Note

AN

Luna, the administrative genius. ‘Nuff said.

EDIT: Also kind of forgot this part - The reason why it too this much to write these new chapters is mostly tied to the fact I had to handle Commissions, me leaving Uni a few months ago as I got fed up with some odd affairs happening in the administration, and other stuff. I'm currently studying a course to learn Unity 3D and I will probably do more of those courses since I want to broaden my CV some more.