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// CH17: Serenity 
// Story: A Dubious Welcome 
// by Maonyman 
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As Princess Luna stepped out into the hall, a pale grey stallion bowed low before her, his golden helmet gleaming in the window's dawn light.
"Good morning, Princess Luna. I am at your service."
She raised an eyebrow at him, "Come now, Silver Spear, you know there is no need to be so formal with me."
He straightened with a sheepish smile, "Right, sorry... I don't know, it just seemed appropriate this time.
"Perhaps, but surely we two can still be friendly with each other, no? Now then, what is the plan today. I must admit to being ignorant of my sister's daytime routine."
He nodded as they turned and trotted down the hallway, "Your staff anticipated that and have already begun making arrangements to condense and simplify the numerous tasks normally shared by you both. Serenity's expecting you and she can explain better than I."
Luna tried to suppress a nervous flutter in her barrel at the mention of her sister's assistant. She and Serenity hadn't talked much as, despite her soft voice and Celestia's praise for her, she found herself oddly intimidated by the little mare. As Celestia's second in command, she was largely responsible for what tasks were delegated to lesser royalty, and which were deemed worthy of the Princess's limited time. She may very well be the only pony to understand the inner workings of Equestria's palace better than even Celestia herself. Faced now with the prospect of taking command of that administration--even if only temporarily--Luna was beginning to feel more than a little anxious and fervently hoped she would work as well with Serenity as her sister had done.
Silver Spear stopped near a door that was already ajar and gave Luna a quick salute, then he tapped lightly with a hoof and swung the door open without waiting for a response. There was a muffled, "Oh!" and the pale green mare poked her head out from behind a pile of paperwork upon her desk, her glasses slightly askew and her cyan mane tied back in a messy bun held together with two quills. (https://derpibooru.org/images/3176071)
"Morning, Princess! One moment, I was just working on some last minute adjustments to today's schedule."
Her horn glowed turquoise as she shuffled through one pile, quickly selected one parchment, tossed the rest onto a completely different pile, then trotted past Luna and down the hall, evidently expecting her to follow. Luna hadn't expected Serenity to be in such a rush, but perhaps she had spent too long preening and now they were in a hurry.
Indeed, she began speaking without preamble the moment Luna caught up with her, "First you are needed in the grand council for the monthly nobility address, which coincidentally serves as the perfect time to explain your new position to the nobles at large. Even a small shift in power tends to make them antsy, and this definitely is not a small shift, but since everypony knows you already, hopefully it won't be too much trouble."
Luna hadn't even considered that. Of course the aristocrats needed to know they had a new ruler, at least for now.
"Next, we'll meet with the cabinet and delegate what tasks we can onto the lesser royalty. The extra work will annoy them, but they'll live. Blueblood will probably fuss, but just offer him another half a percent or so and that should shut him up."
Her voice was quite gentle, even soothing, but she spoke with the concise precision of a well-rehearsed speech, and Luna, somewhat daunted by the rapid stream of information, already found herself struggling to keep up with the conversation.
"Half a percent?" She asked.
Serenity didn't even hesitate in her response, "Tithes from his region. His lands already tithe more than almost anypony else's but he always wants more. It's the easiest way to shut him up and we don't have time for anything more nuanced. We can deal with his ponies' complaints later. Now after that, the cabinet will vote on a few new policies I've put together which should help streamline both your responsibilities and those of your staff--especially me--but of course you get the final say."
"Er, policies?"
"We'll go over them before the vote, Princess. I have been working with castle staff for several hours already to reschedule and reassign a hoofful of tasks to get you some extra sleep this morning."
Luna was so incredulous she almost stumbled in surprise, "That was extra sleep?"
"Not much, I admit, but morning has never been more than a few minutes late, so there was only so much we could do. Tomorrow you will unfortunately need to be present for the security audit in the courtyard well before dawn, but the day after that you can sleep until sunrise again."
"But what of the dreamrealm?"
"In time we may be able to find somepony to cover that role in your place, but for now, everypony will simply have to handle their own night terrors. There is simply no way for you to both rule the day and guard the night simultaneously."
Stunned by this abrupt loss of her favorite way to relax as well as what was, in her eyes, the best way to gain her subjects' trust and adoration, Princess Luna was at a loss for words.
Serenity, whether oblivious to her shock or simply unconcerned, continued speaking as if nothing had happened, "After the cabinet vote there are a few small meetings with the guild masters, and the first ambassadors should be arriving by mid-afternoon to congratulate you on your further ascension."
Luna's head was beginning to spin and the day had hardly even begun.
"Congratulate!?"
"Mmhmm. I'm sorry but the idea of a 'temporary' ruling is simply too strange. Trying to explain the truth to the general public and the nobles would undoubtedly cause significant confusion and maybe even panic, and to be frank most of the nobles will consider the unfortunate circumstances of your ascension as mostly insignificant compared to the opportunities they will see in you."
"O-Opportunities?" 
Serenity nodded grimly, "Even the smallest shift in power is an opportunity to change things how they want, and again, this is far from a small shift. Most of them will very likely try to take advantage of your inexperience to gain more power, more land, more wealth--hay, even just a bit of honor or your favor is valuable."
Luna abruptly sat down.
The little unicorn took a few more steps before she noticed, "Um, Princess?" she said with a concerned glance over her shoulder, "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes, I... I only need a moment. It is just happening so fast..."
She rubbed her muzzle with a hoof as Serenity turned around and returned to her.
"I am not used to even half as much activity... we have hardly even begun and already my mind is whirling."
The unicorn stepped closer and gently said, "That's why I'm here, Princess Luna. The rest of your staff, too. No one pony could rule all of Equestria alone, not even Celestia after a thousand years of practice."
Luna winced at the omission of her sister's former title as the little mare moved closer still and peered up at her with bright cerulean eyes. "You just focus on the bigger picture and let us worry about the nitty gritty, okay?"
The princess took a deep breath, then shook her head with an exasperated sigh.
"How can I possibly make a decision when I can hardly keep up even with you!?"
Serenity responded with a kindly smile, "Nopony expects you to be perfect on your first day, Princess. The aristocracy may try to take advantage of that, but we staff know their ways and will shield you from most of their manipulations."
Scooting a bit closer, she sat down directly in front of Luna.
"Look, if you're ever unsure what to do next, just smile and nod, okay? We'll smooth over the rest until you get your bearings." 
She stretched upward to nuzzle Luna under her chin.
"Don't worry, Princess, your staff is here to help you.
* * *
That advice turned out to be Princess Luna's saving grace during the tumultuous blur of empty faces and nonsense words that flowed past her throughout the day. Serenity spoke so much through all of it that it seemed to Luna she hardly even had time to breathe. If she was not flooding Luna with more information, she was consulting with other ranking staff as they brought news or giving orders to various underlings. 
Yet even with that ceaseless exchange happening, the little mare guided her from place to place with unerring accuracy, leading her to a cabinet room, a banquet hall, a chamber, courtyard, balcony... some rooms Luna didn't even know were there. At each location nobles smiled or frowned at requests and assignments, council members spoke for or ranted against this or that, votes were cast and policies rejected or approved, all of it seemingly with no apparent input needed from the Princess.
And why would anypony ask for her approval anyway? Every time she had tried to focus on the inexorable tide of speeches, it made even less sense than her previous attempt. She could not even form a coherent sentence about any of the dozens of topics and locations discussed, nevermind an informed opinion. 
She did not know what she did not know and had no way of figuring out how to figure out where to start figuring out all the things she needed to figure out.
The very government that made Equestria work was utterly incomprehensible to her.
So she smiled, and she nodded, and she stamped whatever form Serenity slid in front of her, feeling as if she were a mere leaf in the wind blown about by forces far, far beyond her comprehension.
Then, finally, at the end of yet another session which seemed to Luna completely identical to the previous one, she abruptly found herself standing alone with Serenity in a quiet hall.
"Are... Are we finally done?"
Clearly exhausted, Serenity nodded and said, "For today, Princess, yes."
Luna dropped to her rump with an explosive sigh of relief. Serenity grinned sympathetically, "It's a lot to take in, I know. For what it's worth, I think you handled yourself well today."
Luna nodded graciously at the compliment, but couldn't resist a bitter smile, "I appear to have acquired a great deal of power and yet almost no freedom nor choices within my control."
The unicorn let out an awkward giggle, then furrowed her brows when Luna's expression remained serious.
"...Princess, you made several very important decisions today. You hoofstamped quite a few policy changes which will help smooth over this shift of power, you allowed several major motions to pass without veto, and the Guild of Lilacs is in your debt after you forgave them their little... shall we say, 'miscalculation,' and they are valuable allies to have."
Luna gaped at her supposed efficacy as leader, "B-But I did no such thing! I merely watched while everypony else made those decisions for me!"
The unicorn stared blankly at Luna for a moment, then looked down and calmly shuffled her papers.
"I see."
This deadpan response caught Luna off guard, giving Serenity ample time to put her notes into her saddlebag with deliberate care, then slowly sit down before her.
"Princess, something you must understand is that, on the whole, this government is largely self-sustaining. Were it not for your hoofstamp of approval, this  palace could function with no princess at all for quite some time."
Luna couldn't help but scoff at this confirmation of her suspicions, "Then what, pray tell, is the reason for ferreting me around to smile at empty, greedy faces and stamp parchments all day?"
Serenity flicked an ear in annoyance, but responded calmly, "Because without you, each pony within the council would try to pull Equestria in a different direction, and together we would go nowhere. You are the compass which keeps us focused. It is your vision of Equestria that we aim for, nopony else."
"Yet at no point today did anypony ask me for my opinion on any decision, or even check if I had understood what decision was being made in the first place, not even you!"
The mare let out a short sigh, peering at Luna with something dangerously close to contempt, "Princess, if you wish to have an active influence on the policies, activities, and legal ramifications of your ruling council... well, you will need to be active with your influence."
Luna flushed with indignation, "Was it not you who said my staff would help me while I learn? Did you yourself not say to merely smile and nod if I am lost and that you would handle the rest?"
"Yes, of course, but that was supposed to be a backup, I didn't mean you should only do that! Every time you do so, somepony else has to make the decision for you--and that somepony is usually me."	
She hesitated briefly, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her face, then her features hardened.
"If you choose to spend the entire day smiling and nodding, then you have no right to complain about not making any choices."
"No right!?"
Infuriated by her impetuous tone, the alicorn leapt to her hooves, swelling ominously before the little mare, whose only reaction was to set her jaw and straighten with determined resolve. The princess stood there glaring down at her sister's most trusted advisor sitting obstinately unmoved in the face of what must have been a terrifying sight to behold... and she hesitated. 
Dislike them all she might, she could not deny that Serenity's words rang true. She had not dared to interrupt proceedings to ask what was happening, and she had never revealed to Serenity just how little of her copious explanations were being understood. Whether out of pride or fear she did not know, but she had spent the entire day simply playing along and pretending to understand what was happening.
Luna inhaled sharply, then let out a long sigh, deflating as the righteous anger drained away in an instant, leaving her feeling cold and empty inside. When she finally broke the ensuing silence, her voice was little more than a whisper.
"How, then?"
She looked up to meet the unicorn's gaze again.
"How am I to do anything when I do not understand the first thing about what is happening?"
Serenity's posture had visibly softened and she replied quietly, "That is exactly why I am here, Princess. At any moment, no matter what is happening, simply ask, and I will explain."
"Yet every time I look to you, you are already busy talking with somepony else."
"You take precedence, Princess. You will always be my first priority. All of Equestria can wait if you but need a moment to think." Serenity risked a little smirk, "But you do have to tell me you need that moment in the first place."
Luna quirked her muzzle and said, "But I know so little of the workings of this palace, I know not how to even phrase my question. How can I put everyone and everything on hold simply to ask... I do not even know what?"
"You don't need to worry about phrasing or terminology or any of that. Think of me as your translator--I'll turn whatever you say into something that the rest of the staff can work with. But when you neither ask nor tell me anything, well..." She gave Luna a weary grin, "Didn't you wonder why I am so exhausted? I've been making nearly every decision that normally you would be making. It is necessary until you're used to everything, and I am deeply honored to do it, but it is quite a lot of additional work, research, and stress on top of my already considerable workload."
Luna suppressed her growing feelings of shame and guilt as she realized just how hard Serenity was working on her behalf. Of course, it had been obvious throughout the day that she was doing a great deal of work, but only now could Luna appreciate the full expanse of her efforts.
This one little soft-spoken mare was attempting to run the entire palace--the entire nation--all by herself.
Luna sat awkwardly for a moment, then she huffed a short sigh and straightened, spreading her wings in the tradition of formal address.
"It seems I owe you an apology, Ms. Serenity."
Her eyes widened, "Princess, that's really not--"
"I misjudged you. I underappreciated you. I very nearly fired you, and for no other reason than my injured pride. I did not wish to hear I had made a mistake, and sought to shift my blame unto you. I have wronged you, and I beg your forgiveness."
The little mare seemed too stunned to respond, so the princess relaxed her wings and lowered her head with a warm smile.
"And I also thank you, Serenity, truly. I am deeply grateful for all you do, for I would be well and truly lost without your guidance. I am honored to have such a loyal and hard-working mare by my side."
Serenity flushed and, for the first time that day, her stoicism briefly faltered.
"Princess, p-please... the honor is mine. A-And of course I forgive you. Of course."
Luna reached out with a wingtip and gently brushed the mare's cheek.
"Listen well, Serenity: If there is anything you wish, anything at all I can do to compensate you for this tremendous effort you are putting forth, please tell me. Merely ask and it is yours."
Serenity's muzzle darkened further and her eyes had begun to glisten, but she lifted her chin and struggled to keep her voice steady as she proudly said, "My only wish is to see Equestria prosper under your rule. Will that be all, Princess?"
Luna withdrew her wing and slowly straightened again.
"I suppose if there is truly nothing more you desire... then yes, you are dismissed."
Serenity immediately twirled around and trotted away without another word, but Luna thought she heard a sniffle as she rounded the corner. She let out a long sigh of relief. 
Perhaps the two of them would work well together after all.