We ended up putting our noses to the ground and getting to work almost immediately. It was already getting close to the time of lowering the moon and raising the sun, so Luna would have to go to a scheduled "breakfast" time with Celestia. It was really only such for the morning ponies, as myself and Luna will essentially have to be nocturnal in order to get to any of the duties the princess of the night - and now by extension myself - must perform.

And as much as I love breakfast food, it's not nearly so appetizing when you have to eat it for dinner every day. That fact only gets worse when you bring in the fact that this is essentially a medieval age, within an economic recession no less.

I shivered.

"And you've eaten gruel how many times in a row?" I couldn't help but blink a few times at Luna's... less than desirable eating habits. "Do they seriously not offer any other options?"

"There are a litany of other options that we are privy to, but we find them to be... distasteful." The blue mare admits, turning her eyes down with a sigh. "Our sister is often the one who chooses the menu, often choosing ornate pastries and rich confections to start her days. We simply feel wrong to enjoy such a lavish luxury every morning whilst our subjects live off of miniscule portions and struggle to remain fed."

I shook my head.

"Luna, as much as I admire your empathy, there is nothing wrong with enjoying more full meals." I allowed a real smile to cross my face. "If it helps, use that as a motivation to improve Equestria's prosperity. If every pony could not only be able to eat three meals a day, but be able to choose what that meal would be..."

"Perhaps the hath a point." She mutters. "But hath doth considered how it shall look for our image. Our sister is already well loved, and few ponies pay attention to her lavish meals. If we however were to do the same-"

"It could tarnish your already lacking reputation, I think I understand." I huffed. "To think such a disparity between diearchs would become so great. I experienced it myself, yet I still find myself lost as to how it even happened."

"Thine manner of speaking may not have helped." Luna snipped, though there was no heat behind her words. I even noticed a miniature smirk on her muzzle.

"Oh~? Was that perhaps a joke I heard~?" I asked, my smile turning sly. When the princess of the night shook her head, I only felt the need to tease grow stronger. "Oh come on Lulu~. You can tell me if you were making a joke at my expense. I promise I won't get mad."

And I was serious too, the girl seems like she needs some laughter in her life.

"M-Mayhaps we hath made a wee little bit of humor at thine attitude." She admitted with a bit of a blush, seemingly embarrassed at being called out. When I laughed again, she looked further embarrassed. "Twas not that humorous."

"Not every bit of laughter is derived from humor my blue moon other." I said, not delving deeper even as Luna's face practically screamed the word 'explain' at me. Instead, I changed the subject back to the previous train of thoughts. "In all seriousness, you really should just eat for the sake of your health. A princess can't afford to guide a nation without proper rest, socialization, or physical health."

The mare was stunned for a moment by such a serious statement.

"We... We belive that though might be right." My new boss admitted. "Very well, we shalt make a special request of the staff for a simple plate of hay hash. Such a simple dish was my favorite growing up."

"Hay hash?"

"Indeed." Luna nodded with pride, then turning to me with intrigue. "Doth our Regent hath other tastes?"

"I'm more a fan of a spiced rice and veggie dish called Biryani." I stated, eyes closing for a moment as I imagined the dish. It was one of my favorite foods, though it was the only one that lined up with the likely vegetarian lifestyle of these ponies. "It will likely be some time before I can enjoy it again, since the spices used tend to grow in different parts of the world."

"Perhaps international trade shalt allow for such a thing if we work hard enough?" The night based alicorn suggested the idea.

"Someday definitely." I smiled with a confident expression. "For now we should start internally. While we're waiting on the arrival of the food, we should look over the map of the nation again."

"Very well then." Luna allowed the discussion to return to the troubles of the nation. "We shall inquire about acquiring a detailed map post haste. And in the process... shalt we continue to discuss thine duties as out newest member of the Night court?"

"Why dear Lulu- I mean, your Highness~." I responded with an overly dramatic bow. "T'would be of the highest honor that we art to be accepted into thine great court of the night~. With our assistance and experience, may thine moonlight bring about an age of prosperity and triumph to these trouble fraught lands~!"

At this, Luna only rolled her eyes.

"Now the hath made fun of us!" She declared. "Dungeon! Dungeon for the, for one-thousand years!"

I had to bite back a flinch at that, simply due to the reminder of what was - and might still yet be if I'm not careful - this mare's fate. Even though I knew she was joking, the fact that this era was so chock full of thousand-year banishments filled me with a bone deep discomfort.

Regardless, I was determined at this point; committed past the point of no return. I intend to help this girl with the difficulties of her nation, and get her the respect she rightly deserves for it.

"Well the first thing that's immediately obvious to me is the roads, or lack thereof." I explained, gesturing vaguely as Luna and I looked at a map spread out on a table that was way to long for us. Several sets of plates and expensive looking silverware having to be removed by a maid staff that watched me with confused eyes. None of them spoke, but it was clear that they were suspicious of who I was and what my motives were.

Not that I really paid them any attention in return. I was too focused on this mess of internal trade.

"There art many roads, made by the paths of hundreds of our little ponies." The princess of the night explained.

"Yes, but these are dirt paths, with an unofficial label." I specified, tapping on the table. It was then that many members of the staff gasped, seeing and hearing the ornate pieces of black metal that covered my hooves. Though once again, these bits of commentary and hushed whispers were left to the background. "Without an official standard or protocol, ponies are liable to either lose their way and get hurt. Creating an official network of roads, with better paving and signage that can be used for directional input."

Luna put her own hoof to her chin.

"Thine point hath been made yet again. In addition, royally sanctioned paths and roads may well reduce banditry in the open." She blinked realizing something. "And in such cases where official roads have such crime occur, a militia can be quickly deployed due to the curs' reduced areas of options."

"Troop movement in general would be far faster on a paved road than on a simple dirt path." I added. "There's a greater chance that foliage or damage can occur on a dirt road, so even adding a layer of gravel can greatly improve its longevity without direct maintenance."

"But how shalt we acquire the funds and workers for such a massive project?" Luna ended up asking. "Though the royal coffers very well could be used for such a great revitalization of these trade routes, our sister mayeth not approve of thine idea."

"She holds that much sway?"

"Celestia and ourselves ought to both approve something of such a massive scale." The royal explained. "And without an existing example of success, there will be great doubt."

"Then we start smaller, with a single route." I answered, pointing to a point on the map. A small dot surrounded by bigger ones. "This small village right here, right by the sea and with good access to other major areas of the nation. Yet in spite of that, there are almost no trade to this... Manehatten or its ports. Should a road from here to this town right here, Brookwing, and show a viable increase in travel and trade between the two..."

"Then it would show our sister that such a plan can successfully be applied to other areas of Equestria." Luna competed the sentence, using her royal 'we' style of speaking. A part of me wondering if that was simply a part of the times, Luna's own upbringing and lifestyle, or if she only spoke that way when acting in an official way.

I guess it doesn't really matter right now. We need to discuss other parts of this proposal anyways.

"...Sister."

Both Luna and I looked up from our detailed road discussions to see that Celestia had joined the table, at the other end of the oversized piece of wood that had been contorted into a work that defied all sensible measurements. Looking down to the other end where the solar diarch sat, I couldn't help but feel it reached a football field in length.

The sun princess herself was far different from what I expected as well. She looked almost exactly the same, but there was a sense of haughtiness and self-entitlement that existed under a layer of pseudo-smiles that didn't reach her eyes.

Both of us waited for her to say something further.

...Five seconds is long enough, right?

"As I was saying before." I continued, circling my hoof around the two towns that were being proposed for this royally funded project. "Hiring directly from these two towns will increase funds in the area, allowing money to flow in and then be spent on other businesses - essential and luxury. Purchases feed into more purchasing, which ensures that the economy will continue to move."

"Sister, wilst thou explain thyself?" Celestia's voice cut in again. The sudden aggression in her tone actually surprised me. Was this really the same lady that was always spouting about friendship and all of that jazz?

She must have changed after Luna was banished.

The moon butt, to her credit, didn't back down from her sister's harsh mood.

"Sister, lady Argent merely wishes to assist in the recovery of Equestria's economy and prosperity." She said with a kind, yet strong voice of her own. In spite of that, I noticed how some of the staff were starting to give her dirty looks when she began to 'talk back' to the sun god.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust at the blatant favoritism, but did my best to hide my own sneer.

"And pray tell what doth this pegasus haveth to say? We hath not heard of such an individual amongst the nobility."

"The nobility would not have, sister. Lady Argent was chosen from amongst the commoners."

...Why did the maids just gasp? Are you seriously saying that I'm the first "commoner" to hold any sort of political position?

Breaking feudalism for the win, I guess.

"Thou art allowing a commoner to dictate Equestria's future?!" The sun butt shouted the question.

"She doth not be a mere commoner." Luna stated. "Lady Argent possesses a great deal of creativity and understanding in the realms of economics. As such, we hath decided to make her our court Regent and direct advisor."

"Princess Luna, thou can simply not be serious." Once more the mare of the sun protested, though it seemed as though her voice was weaker this time. "Think of how the nobility shalt respond to such a declaration. We shalt be shamed!"

"We, as in only Argent and... I, will be shamed by the rabblerousers." I blinked when the moon girl used that word. I hadn't even known that the word was even an option to be used. "We hath already considered such consequences, and find that her expertise more than makes up for such minor setbacks."

Celestia was further deterred, though seemed to have one more bit of protest in her voice.

"Luna, we believe doth art making a grave error."

"And thou have made such known." At this point Luna was no longer paying attention to Celestia, her eyes back on the map. "Now then, you hath mentioned the concept of - oh what was it called again, snowball economics?"

I blinked, and smiled as I joined her in our plans for an economic revolution.

"Correct, I was about to get into more detail about that." My eyes stared down at Brookwing on the map, keeping a careful memory of the topographical levels that existed between them and Manehatten. "Think of it like a river or ocean current, where the current status is self-perpetuating unless a new factor is introduced. If we create royally paid jobs in the construction of this new road, it will add a new factor that will discourage wealth rationing and increase personal spending."

Luna smiled, continuing the refining of our idea with her own suggestions.

All the while, I could feel the eyes on me from nearly every other occupant in the room, already feeling like I have made more than a few enemies.

Author's Note

Jeez, I think this is the fastest that any of my Fimfiction stories have ever gained tractions. What, 70 likes in just a few hours, and featured on the from page in half that time? Way to make a shmuck feel like a million bucks (of the cash kind...).

Hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter as well. I had talked with a couple of online friends already about how I should go about improving the feudal Equestrian economy, and this was one of my ideas. They all really seemed to enjoy it, with one person having something along the lines of...

"You've taken all of those asoiaf si writers who think canals fix everything and made their idea actually smart."

I don't know how valid that is, and honestly I'm not gonna take it all that seriously.

Have a good one!