In most fics that I have read, Celestia is viewed as a conservative, due to her being the oldest and want to Equestia as the same while luna is portrayed as a liberal and wants change to the nation.

What your option on this?

I'd say they're both conservative. Neither wants to bring about any change, except for levity of the strict ideas surrounding their image. You know, ponies bowing when they enter the room, being able to visit a town without the population freaking out . . . that kind of stuff.

I consider them something like Libertrian or their own thing where they really just say as long as there is no victim we dont think its criminal. So I would have to say nothing human really comes close. But Im not in on the political scene so I dont do my homework on that stuff.

It's a bit hard to put them into the terms of Western democratic political tradition since the context is so very, very alien. Celestia has been the sole unquestioned monarch of Equestria for a thousand years. By this point she's not even what one would call a "chessmaster", she's essentially just playing some sort of sociopolitical solitaire. Everything just works out the way she likes it thanks to subtle little nudges that she may have made centuries before the intended effect finally plays out. I get the impression that change comes slowly to Equestria, which suggests a conservative bent by Celestia. The mere fact that hereditary nobility is still a big thing also plays into that.

That said, though, clearly Equestria is entering a revolutionary period with dramatic changes on the horizon. Luna's back, Cadence and Twilight have ascended, the Crystal Empire's back, and Discord is even kinda sorta reformed. Celestia clearly had a hoof in all of these events to some degree or another but even for a being like her I suspect there's no way to be completely certain of the full outcome. I'm wondering if she's perhaps getting ready to step down and wants to provide Equestria with a broad palette of good future potentialities to choose from once she's no longer guiding the nation.

I'd say Celestia is a moderate. She's probably wise enough to see the value that certain changes bring, but cautious enough to make sure that things are done right.

I can't, for the life of me, accept Luna as anything but a hardline conservative. Chances are that if everything you've ever known was ripped away you wouldn't jump wholeheartedly in to every new thing you see; you would look for anything familiar and hold on to it for dear life. Luna probably wouldn't agree to try much of anything new unless it's verified as beneficial, in quadruplicate, or comes with Celestia's vote of confidence.

I'm still puzzled by the fandom's common insistence that Luna is liberal and Celestia is conservative.

Ponies seem like a very stagnate race to me so I'd assume their rulers are conservative, and don't care too much for change. But for the sake of my own story I made them both equally liberal, Luna maybe a little more so then Celestia.

920524 Probably due to the whole 'Luna republic vs solar empire' tend.

After playing a chess game that may have been going on for millennia, I imagine that both Celestia and Luna are actually quite disinterested in politics, being much more interested on the bigger picture, thus leaving most of the actual governance to their viziers and regional viceroys.

I'd say Luna is a traditionalist if for no other reason than the simple fact that what is normal for her is antiquated by the standards of the rest of the nation. Even if she was forward-thinking before her banishment, she's still... "old-timey" by comparison to modern Equestria. That said, she seems more prone to rash decisions and on-the-fly thinking than her sister, making her more open to sudden changes though usually only with a bit of accompanying drama to force the issue. She's also been shown to readily follow the lead of others when she feels out of her element.

Celestia strikes me as a sort of cautious progressive, taking advantage of her potentially indefinite lifespan to weigh and introduce changes gradually. Given that relative immortality she can afford to take her time in most cases. Her longview attitude leads her to being somewhat aloof, not particularly bothered by the immediate barring extreme circumstances (like, say, when Discord broke free) but also means she's not quite so "on the ball" when taken by surprise.

Of course it's hard to say at this point how much of these opinions I've formed based on canon and how much has come from the generally accepted fanon, as the border between the two inevitably begins to blur and shift after a while.

So how stagnant do you think the princesses have become?

In my story I plan to have them be very stuck in their ways, making it more difficult for them to respond to the changing times that is has to be.

Both Princesses have conservative and liberal attitudes. Their immortality would surely cause them to desire occassional changes but the millennia of wisdom they've accumulated would also provide a possible philosophy of 'if it's not broken, don't fix it'.

Before the banishment, Luna was always the forward-thinking one, and the impulsive one (although her impulsiveness may have been partially responsible for her banishment). But after she returned after 1,000 years, she's more cautious and more hesitant when it comes to reform, just like Celestia.

Celestia doesn't like change because things are going great without it. (Although it may be because she's afraid of the negative consequences that stem from change.)

So...Luna was liberal before her banishment, but is now conservative.
and Celestia was always conservative.

920460 Due to the more innately peaceful nature of Equestria as opposed to the human race, Political structures and ideologies differ in an apparent lack of danger from the constant threat of war and violence. The closest to human ideology I could see Celestia coming to would be more of a libertarian monarch, which in itself seems a contradiction to our political views, but under Equestrian society would be completely possible, as it seems unlike humans, ponies in a position of power like Celestia don't have the innate desire to 'separate heads and shoulders' like has been so well exemplified in humanities past.

Luna on the other hand, seems more defined by the fandom than by any appearance she has seemed to inherit with screen time. Shes been described as 'the resentful sister with the just cause of freeing the ponies from the evil will of her older sibling.' Now that view just pisses me off. If anything, Luna would be much like her sister, and would not have any desire to steal power from her. An if anything, Luna seems like she would be the more totalitarian of the two, seeing as she has the ability to transverse thoughts and dreams at will.

In essence though, both sisters live for the purpose of benefiting their people, and due to the lack of a human nature, this is possible. but just as well, both seem like they would be highly xenophobic towards any alien race (cough humans cough cough) that would have the ability to change the cultural tides of their civilization.

921306
xenophobic towards any alien race?
That's exactly how I protray them (Celestia, not so much Luna) in my HiE! How did you know?

921324 Because mine revolves around the same concept as well. Humans come to Equestria (advanced humans from something about the 23rd-4th century era), Equestrians are in a certain degree of wonder over their impeccable technology and unusual anatomy. Celestia sees their advanced understanding of space and planetary movement as a threat to the image of her and her sister. Luna sees their dreams, which are full of depravities she could not imagine, despises them intently. Humans inherently start a conflict with another alien civilization that followed them there, and this is used by Celestia and Luna as an excuse to banish the few remaining humans that are left after the war.

Basic synopsis of events without a how or why. It really perplexes me how often we over-analyze the socio-political structure and cultural stimuli of a children's cartoon. XD

921646
Well in mine...the human is from the 19th century and traveles 1.6 million years to the future to Equestria (long story). Celestia always knew about humans and their depravities, so she has always covered up their existance (even killed if neccesary to keep their existance secret). Luna didn't even knew humans existed (because of Celestia's cover-up) until the human showed up. Luna analysed the human's dreams to find that he's not a threat...but Celestia still doesn't trust him.

Luna doesn't mind the human, while Celestia is growing paranoid about him.

920460

I am Luna, and I'm here to ask you a question.
Is a pony not entitled to the sweat of his brow?
"No," says the colts in Phillydelphia. It belongs to the poor.
"No," says the princess in Canterlot. It belongs to God.
"No," say the ponies in Stalliongrad. It belongs to everyone!
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different; I chose the impossible.
I chose...
Rapture!
The city where the artist would not fear the censor; where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality; where the great would not be constrained by the small.
And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.

From the Desk of Former-Princess Luna.

921677 So Celestia doesn't trust humans at all so therefore doesn't trust this one, while Luna trusts this one, therefore she has a slight interest in humans in general? Interesting concept. And with a 'planet of the apes' style history to it.

As for mine, Individual relationships are as well separate from general understandings. Celestia is wary of the human race as a whole, seeing how they could upset her reign, while certain individual humans she finds are to her liking due to their loyalty and willingness to obey orders. (The humans in mine are a culmination of navy and marine groups. Cliche I know, but it forwards the message well.) Luna on the other hand, Despises both individual humans and their species as a whole, for all she sees whenever she looks at one is the very thing she saw in the nightmare she witnessed. (The nightmare is rather unexplained, but implies brutal P.O.W beatings, murder, and sexual perversion.)

It makes humans the anti-heroes. It makes things interesting. At least that's what I hope.

922471
First rule in wrtiting a story...don't worry about cliches, just write your story...

So...Celestia is the main villian of the story, and she despises the human, even more so after she finds out that he started a relationship with Fluttershy and that her favorite student, Twilight, has taken an interest in him.

I still haven't reached that point yet...still a long ways away...but look forward to that.

922541 So a love triangle and dual relationship that threatens to upset the balance of intellectual pursuit, along with a hidden historical secret that could hinge apart the rule of the land. So. Much. Awesome.

But when it comes to cliches, I mean, it seems that that's where I've been hit the most. I'm going to scuttle and rescript mine for a more perfected introduction of the human race, but the basic concept remains the same. I also have a phobia of Cliches, which has been beat into me by multiple literature courses, the instructors of which have all decreed cliche blasphemous.

I try also to make hazy the very concept of whether or not Celestia is a villain or not it my HiE. She wants only the best for her people outwardly, but inside wants to stay in power. She wants to keep the peace in Equestria and stop a war the humans have started, but does it at the cost of attrition towards the stranded humans, who are already falling short of supplies. She is assaulted and almost killed by the actual villain of the story, who is a human cultist, but takes her revenge by ordering all the remaining humans off of the planet, and unbenounced to her, into an alien ambush that slaughters the remaining humans. Ironically, the humans knew that the ambush awaited, but still went anyway, securing the way behind them so that Equestria would be spared.

Dammit, I have really got to stop telling people my whole story.

922623
That's okay...I'm doing too.

(This is fanfiction where talking about here...you should just focus on writing what you want to write and finishing it).

Celestia is a master strategist and incorporates change so seamlessly as to be nearly invisible. Having lived for a thousand years... at least... she would hav found ways of creating a mon(di)archy with allowances for each type of government and acceptance and consideration for a vast wealth of ideologies. That isn't to say she is omniscent. Rather, in looking at the long term so often, it may lead her to be short-sighted about the near future. It may also lead her to misdirect the country in a way a future generation will inevitably hate bitterly. Ye she knows it is for the best of the nation.
Thus, she must be labeled a progressive conservative Socialist.

Luna? I imagine her political lean to be... conservative out of nervousness, yet still willing to progress to an understanding. She Iis as much student to Celestia as Twilight is, but moreso for the modernization of her behaviours than anything else. Conservative. More hardline than Celestia.

922639 I want to, but I mean It uses the old 'portal to Equestria' thing, the only difference being that humans here have a marginal understanding of its workings, and are able to manipulate its usage. Better though, it would seem, to have a ship carrying humans be forced to retreat from battle, and crash land? Considering my interpretation of the human race, it seems the more logical and plot-pertinent choice. At least I think. I don't know, so far it has a rather undesirable upvote/downvote ration.