Another day had passed in the kingdom of Equestria. The night came quick, which nowadays was nothing new to the citizens considering their ruler was the embodiment of night itself. Equestria, or also now known as the Lunar Republic, had seen a lot of change in the last three years. Before, it was Princess Celestia who governed the land of Equestria from the capital city of Canterlot for over a thousand years. But again, much has changed.
It was the day of the Summer Sun Festival that Nightmare Moon, formerly known as Princess Luna, escaped her prison from the moon itself and descended upon Equestria. As for Celestia, she merely vanished and suddenly Equestria was without a ruler, a large role that Nightmare Moon was more than willing to fulfill. It had happened so sudden which left many confused and speechless. But who were they to argue? Nightmare Moon made it clear very early that loyalty was expected and severe consequences would come to those who didn’t get the message.
As such, change came very quickly. The former princess renounced her title, only to take on a larger one: queen of all of Equestria. From this day forth, she declared, the kingdom of Equestria would now be known as the Lunar Republic. Surprisingly, she got much support from the Council in Canterlot as well as some of the aristocrats who didn’t necessarily see eye to eye with Celestia.
Queen Moon wasn’t finished though. She had deep attachment to the old Castle of the Two Sisters and declared that the old fortress would be rebuilt and upon completion would be her place of residence which had two effects: it boosted Ponyville’s economy due to the large migration and need to expand their land, and which turned Canterlot, which now had its own mayor, into a sprawling city that would give competition to cities such as Manehattan.
But it wasn’t all good news. Queen Moon was a fierce and devoted leader, but she demanded loyalty and no one, absolutely no one was even allowed to utter the name “Celestia”. Ponies often wondered what happened to the former princess, if her sister had done the diabolical act of killing her, or if she had been banished to the moon just like her sister before. These conversations were discussed away from watchful eyes.
If Celestia’s rule was considered a Golden Age, then it could be said that Nightmare Moon’s rule was considered a Dark Age. The Lunar Guard (most of the original guard had been stripped of their rank and replaced with thestrals) had been expanded and acted as a police force for the queen herself. But it was the Shadowbolts, formerly the Wonderbolts (the queen had found the Wonderbolt shows to be a waste of money and as such stripped the program and converted them back into a military force), that one had to be mindful of. They were the ones that sniffed out traitors and had full authority from the crown to break into one’s house without a warrant if there was any suspicion of betrayal or traitorous thoughts against the queen.
It was not the ideal life most had in mind but mostly everyone got with the program rather quickly, hiding their frustration and sadness with a smile as they declared their loyalty to their queen.
It had been three years since Nightmare Moon’s coup, and Ponyville had seen much change in those last three years. While the town maintained its rustic look, the area had almost doubled in size and it still kept its reputation as a melting pot between unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi. Unfortunately, the change of Ponyville becoming the unofficial capital (the legislation had already been passed and would go into effect next year) also brought the worst of Canterlot, the kind of unicorns that always believed they were more superior to earth ponies or pegasi. Even more unfortunate was the fact that the toxic atmosphere was starting to spread among others. Needless to say, there was at least one confrontation a day in the town that would bring in most of the guard to quell the fighting and sometimes put out fires usually caused by the unicorn aggressors.
Meanwhile, all was peaceful at the Castle of the Two Sisters, which had been restored to its former beauty. Of course, the castle was practically isolated from the town due to residing in the Everfree Forest but Moon preferred it that way. There was always something mysterious about the forest, she had said once, that it was almost as if the forest had a will of its own.
Aside from the occasional howl of a timberwolf or the hooting of an owl, it was pretty quiet. Inside the castle, Queen Moon’s secretary and aide, Rarity, had just finished her lengthy inspection of the tapestries, curtains, artwork, etc. It was tiring work but everything had to be perfect for Her Majesty and considering she was given a wonderful suite in the castle in return, she couldn’t really complain.
Rarity was in her suite, where she got into a comfortable robe and undid the bun in her mane, letting it flow down across her shoulders. She had pulled out a bottle of spiced rum and was pouring a glass when a knock at her door came. Looking disgruntled, Rarity put down the bottle and went over to the door.
When she opened it, her frown suddenly switched to surprise. “Oh Captain, what a surprise!” The pony standing in front of here was a cyan pegasus with a stub of prism-colored mane on top of her head. She was wearing the standard armor of the Lunar Guard and was holding her helmet under her wing.
The pegasus chuckled. “Come on Rarity, you don’t need to be so formal when it’s just us two.” She then glanced at her robe. “…Is now a bad time?”
“Oh of course not Cap-ahem, I mean Rainbow, please come in,” Rarity said, opening the door for her.
Captain Rainbow Dash, leader of the Guard, came inside and instantly plopped onto one of the small sofas. “I wish our barracks were this comfortable,” she commented.
“Well, considering you are the Captain of the Guard, perhaps you could ask Her Majesty for a small upgrade,” Rarity said as she finished pouring her drink. “Care for a nightcap?”
Dash thought for a moment. “Aw what the hell, I’m off duty anyway.” Rarity poured another glass and using her magic put the glass over to the table next to the captain. “So, what did the queen have you do today? More inspecting to make sure none of the tapestries have a spot of dust on them?”
Rarity snorted slightly. “I can’t help it if I need to make sure the castle is in pristine condition. I’ve already had to chew out two maids who somehow forgot to dust some of the mantelpieces. Honestly, is good quality hard to come by these days? But I digress…the queen’s meetings are almost constant and I’m not sure how she keeps her energy up.”
“I dunno, maybe she just functions better here,” Dash said with a shrug. “Honestly, I’m just glad its quiet here most of the time. Not so much the case in Ponyville.”
Rarity groaned. “Oh yes, that. It’s disgusting really, just because I have magic doesn’t mean I think you’re some inferior being. You can fly for Faust’s sake! I wish I had that ability sometimes…”
“To clean those chandeliers, right?” Dash joked as she took a sip of her drink.
Rarity smiled. “Very funny. Oh that reminds me…well, I’m not supposed to really mention this but…Queen Moon wanted to speak with you about something tomorrow.”
“…Okay now I’m curious…”
“Sorry, I can’t say anymore,” Rarity said. She then looked out her window towards the forest. “A lot has happened these past couple of years hasn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Dash then finished her drink in one gulp. “Ugh, this stuff isn’t bad but I personally prefer cider.”
“Would that happen to be Sweet Apple Acres cider?” Rarity asked.
“…You got some?”
“No, sorry,” Rarity sighed. “Nowadays that stuff is hard to come by. It’s been awhile since I visited Ponyville but I suppose eventually a visit is in order.”
“I remember when it used to be quiet,” Dash said as she stared out the window.
“That it was…and things used to be a lot less complicated,” Rarity sighed as she swished her drink around.
“You and Sweetie okay?”
“We’re…okay I guess,” Rarity said. “She’s not very happy about being in the castle, especially since we’re in the Everfree Forest. She misses her friends.”
“Yeah…I know the feeling,” Dash said, sighing as she got up. “Well, I think I’m going to call it a night. Hopefully I won’t hear any screams from the Doctor’s on my way back.”
Rarity shivered slightly. “You can hear them regardless of where you are. Honestly, that mare terrifies me.”
“She didn’t always used to be like that…” Dash shook her head. “Anyway, nice to see you again Rarity. Maybe whenever the next time I’m on leave and you’re not busy we can go do something together.”
“I’d like that very much,” Rarity said. She then raised her glass. “To the Republic…”
Dash nodded. “To her Majesty…”