Once the administrative structure had been established, the Empire of Nocturna had been officially created. This is the first time in pony history that a race of ponies formed a separate sovereignty since the time of the three tribes, even if we normal ponies did not know it existed at it’s creation.
Such a momentous occurrence did not escape Nebulus’s mind. She knew that to lead the thestrals in war was a difficult enough task. Ruling over a peaceful empire would prove to be a completely different sort of challenge than she had faced during the Union War.
However, just like her subjects, the transition to this new system of governance was not easy to make. In her first days as princess, she was continually frustrated with her meetings with the General Assembly. During the war, she was the supreme commander, and any debates she did have were always resolved with her final decision. Now though, she could not simply command the members of the assembly to bend to her will. While she still had near total control over the country, the fact that anyone would question her judgment repeatedly was completely foreign to her.
Many of the legislative requests that originated in the assembly were simply intolerable to Nebulus. Several of their number were concerned with the amount of power concentrated in a single pony, and proposed to give greater autonomy to the duchies. They proposed allowing the dukes and duchesses to act as their own executives, while still answering to Nebulus in matters concerning the rest of the empire.
This was a difficult arrangement for Nebulus to accept. She had focused as much power on herself as she had for a reason. She firmly believed that the thestrals needed her in both war and peace. She simply didn’t trust any pony else to tend to the nation she had fought so long to create. From her perspective, there was simply no one else.
While not a selfish motive, it certainly appeared that way to the General Assembly. Even though they had no real power, the Assembly initiated a legislative embargo. After only 6 months, the Assembly sent absolutely no proposals to the princess, and did not even convene in the capital. Several of the members actually went back their homes, many in places remote from the capital.
At first, Nebulus could care less about what amounted to a strike. She had to power to make decrees, and the proposals that were put forward by the Assembly were merely suggestions. Nebulus was legally capable of running the imperial government all on her own. She welcomed the opportunity to run the empire without the constant criticisms from civilians.
Suspended Democracy
Although the general population were enthusiastic that the princess stood steadfast as she always had, Nebulus faced the overwhelming task of running the empire with only the three dukes and duchesses to aid her, along with the Nighthawks. She was confident in her abilities to lead, but the task of regulating and controlling an empire was a greater challenge than she could have foreseen.
During the time of the assembly, the delegates put forth 300 pieces of legislation over the course of 5 years. In that same window, Nebulus had only managed to issue 50 imperial decrees. Nebulus had passed a majority of the Assembly’s proposals, primarily so that she could focus on more important organizational matters. When the assembly disbanded, the entire weight of creating and passing law fell upon her shoulders.
Unfortunately, very few documents about the succeeding events survive today. The few that do paint very different pictures as to how Nebulus handled the situation. On the one hoof, court transcripts paint Nebulus as being very much in control of the government, in spite of the massive responsibilities demanded by an infant empire. Records describe the princess as presenting a calm, though uncharacteristically reserved, image. She issued decrees as she usually did, though naturally with higher frequency than before.
Nebulus’s personal diary however, tells a very different story.
I used to revel in the chaos of battle. I may not have been in control of everything, but neither was any pony else. We were all on an even playing field. I thought I could be the mare of everything, just I was general of all the thestrals. I now know that I may be an alacorn, but I am just a pony. It only makes it worse to know that I brought this burden on myself. I must rest now. I haven’t slept in 5 nights.
This shows Nebulus as broken by the burdens of governing on her own. Whichever version is true, we know for a fact that Nebulus ceded to the Assembly’s demands with one month.
The Assembly was re-established, with the sole power to create legislation, while still requiring the princess to approve. The princess can still request specific laws, but decrees were no long a power she had. The duchies also gained the autonomy that the Assembly requested.
After this restructuring, Nebulus seems to have followed the trend of the empire, and shifted many of her duties to various officials. It’s difficult to glean her state of mind from this information. Her diary entries became much less frequent, and usually were about minor events of her day. It appears as though the crushing blow to Nebulus’s confidence and self image had a profound effect on her ability to govern. The only insight we have is the entries in the diary of the Capital Duchess, New Moon.
Nebulus made another attempt to starve herself recently. She locked herself in her chambers, sobbing and ordering the food to be left by the forrest, in case the southerners returned. I told her it was done, but only so that she would unlock the door. One wonders how long we can keep the citizenry in the dark.