In the first days of attempting to establish the foundation of a new nation's currency, a pair of rookie rulers decided to back Equestria's economy with the greatest offering they could make to the world: the promise of their own labor. And it worked -- but there was a certain problem with the way that promise had been made, and so the original currency was eventually recalled. But the sisters never got all of it. And legally, that promise is still good.
Whether Celestia likes it or not.
(A stand-alone, no prior-reading-necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits are welcome. )
Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.
Chapters (1)
wow, JUST barely got it out in time, nice work dude
It is going to be interesting if/when Igneous decides to try and cash in those coins...
Another interesting story that does double duty for world building. Very well done.
So a ridiculous request due to poorly worded money ended up uncovering a flock of dangerous creatures which were previously thought to be extinct.
Much like the Crystal Geese, something like this would be considered a godsend to any pony zoologist. Until, like the Crystal Geese, they actually got to know them firsthand. Or firstbeak, as it were.
I've been looking forward to this since I read the premise you posted, and I'm pleased to see you did not disappoint, delivering an excellent story as usual.
I maintain that, while you aren't necessarily presenting canon characters, you have given an amazingly... authentic view of what the characters would go through, were Equestria as real as many of wish it was. Much of my head canon comes from your stories, and I always enjoy reading more of them. Keep up the good work.
This is one party Princess Celestia isn't going to be able to get out of.
Damn. This was an interesting premise, and you certainly delivered in content rick with both character and world building, but one thing caught my eye.
This seemingly harmless question from Nightwatch demonstrates what I'm thinking is a significant problem with your verse's Equestria.
Nightwatch, a member of the Royal Guard, is surprised that pony kind had armies in the early unification days (at least I'm assuming it's this time period, a bit post Discord). When I first read it, I immediately compared it to human history-absolutely filled with various armies, conflicting cultures sometimes under the same nation, civil wars, and so on. Knowledge common to anyone in High School, and starts getting known to some minor extent in elementary school. Yet, a military pony in this verse who went through the same public education as most others and is outright surprised that ponies weren't always so unified in harmony and peace-outright hostile to one another at times, in fact and well after the Wendigoes, Further implications from Celestia suggest only dedicated historians would actually know this little fact.
Equestria, in general, likes its whole land of peace and harmony schtick, a land where ponies live in harmony with each other and nature. At least, that's what they tell visitors. But, the fact that Nightwatch honestly surprised by past pony armies implies that someone-(I'm looking at you Celestia) is influencing just a bit how history is remembered, or at least what is generally focused on and what is glossed over.
I just find this...disturbing, and I can't help but wonder if this glossing over has led to the state Equestria is in now, with its outright predatory press and ponies with very poor knowledge of the past and any mistakes once made. Celestia likely has the best of intentions, but I can't help but feel she might be inadvertently stabbing her ponies in the back somewhat.
Or I'm massively overthinking this and jumped on the train to weird thoughts and premises town.
7442267
Or it's partially a little like the teaching of American history, where grade school just gets you "Have you met the most interesting and fundamentally unflawed people in all of humanity?" and then eventually, they might get around to telling you about the near-genocide of the natives part -- by which point, a number of people will just refuse to believe it.
(For the very little it's worth, the local Guards are also a little closer to Secret Service than military, and Nightwatch outright said this isn't her subject.)
"Don't tell me about the Press. I know exactly who reads the papers."
So now I'm imagining Limestone warning Celestia away from Holder's Boulder.
Have I read another version of this story somewhere? Maybe it was in a one-shot collection, but I swear I've read this story before. Except she cleared the pasture without any trouble.
Maybe I just need sleep. Still a nice story!
7442267 The shock there appears to be in the plural. Imagine a young soldier in the US in 3015 who never studied his history enough to have heard about The War Between The States (or as the South prefers to think of it, The War Of Northern Aggression.)
7442294
Celestia: Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers: The Palace Bugle is read by ponies who think they run the country, the Canterlot Tattler is read by ponies who think they ought to run the country, the Times is read by ponies who actually do run the country, the Daily Mail is read by the wives of the ponies who run the country, the Financial Times is read by ponies who own the country, the Morning Dawn is read by ponies who think the country ought to be run by another country and the Daily Heliograph is read by ponies who think it is.
Twilight Sparkle: Princess, what about the ponies who read the Sun?
Princess Luna: Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits.
Dang, that was close.
Anyway, I've been looking forwards to this one. Its always nice to see the Princesses interacting and on a mortal level. And the Green Acres line made my day.
Can you explain to me what happened in the past? I can't piece it together...
So, Celestia and Luna know about the Earth Ponies' earth moving abilities?
...
A shovel to possibly help dig up those sols and lunes, I guess? Or will Igneous find them first?? ... What was the currency material of that country who used shininess as a measure of worth?
...
What's with that stuff about before, with the book and the Chaos Land pasture or whatever? I guess we'll find out in later stories?
7442406
If you narrow that down a little.
7442460
I think he is talking about the near PTSD flashbacks Celestia keeps having to pastures, and the aversion she has against them. I must admit I am curious too.
7442267
I think you're massively overthinking. The 'verse's Equestria has been at relative peace for most of a thousand years.
Consider that in the modern day, the US armed forces are the 2nd largest standing army in the world, and yet make up about a half of 1% of the population (1,429,995 out of 319 million people). China, the largest army in the world, is even lower at .1% (2,333,000 out of 1.357 billion people).
So yes, a country that's long been at peace, has no major military foes, and for whom the Guard are much more police than soldiers, the idea of an actual army could be almost unheard of.
7442460 I'm curious about the flashbacks 7442482 mentions, too.
7442375
You have just won the comments. That is by far the best one I've read. And I love Luna's wonderful description about the Sun readers.
7442460 "Sun" "book" and why she is scared of a field.
I think I missed something about that book, I don't know why it's important and that bugs me.
I'm assuming the pasture problems Celestia has relates to predators, but why do both of the sisters talk about being in the present? It sounds like there's another good story behind that one.
This was great. I love how the sisters' upbringing in the Discordian Era ripples back to them, especially Celestia, when she has to confront something she thought she had long left behind. It was really well-written and didn't come off as hackneyed like it could have, if overplayed or overemphasized.
I enjoy how you're slowly developing side characters in these new stories as well, like Miranda Rights from SLP(AOD) and now Nightwatch.
7442528
7442582
Looks to me like it was an old graveyard and Celestia had to clear the tombstones and maybe she was trying to remember who died for her here.
7442694
You should..... probably finish the story.
7442582
7442586
Reread it, possibly with the implication that 'Him' refers to Discord, and that Luna and Celestia's past includes living through Discord's rule, and trying not to get killed in the process.
Luna's Lottery Lunacy, Princesses Can't Cook, and Trav(ap)est(r)y are good places to go to get a picture of how Estee uses the Princesses' backgrounds.
Interesting, I thought it was going to be some of your usual comic fare but that was a nice twist. I really didn't see it coming and I appreciate that. Still overall a cute story, and I must say that I like your version of Celestia the most out of all others. Not unflawed, just with centuries of experience...
This got a lot darker than I expected. Very good though.
This is a pretty amazing thing.
I mean really, awesome world-building and near-perfect characterization.
Bravely done, this is going to my favorites.
7442586
7442582
Celestia and Luna refer to the sun and moon as Sun and Moon in this series. They continually remind themselves of the current time and place for the same reason they're afraid of open spaces: PTSD. Even in modern combat crossing an open field with no cover or armor support is a nightmare. I would expect that anxiety to be increased exponentially if your best weapons were either of the close contact/melee variety or magic (which apparently demands concentration and clarity to wield effectively) and your potential enemies could literally drop on your position out of the sky with little or no warning. The color of the sky is repeatedly noted because it changes in relation Discord's proximity: blue is good. Not blue is potentially lethal. The book is important because Luna, when younger, would sometimes read instead of keeping overwatch or lookout while her sister, and perhaps others, worked or moved through an open, unprotected area. According to Celestia this almost cost lives more than once.
7442928 Oh god you're right!
7442444
This puzzled me a bit too, for a different reason. This is a commentary on the gold standard (and on fractional-reserve banking), but Equestria also issues gold (and silver) currency. Perhaps Equestria just uses gold as a corrosion-resistant commodity metal rather than as a store of value?
Luna: "I have a simple way to get the remaining Sols and Lunes out of circulation!"
Celestia: "Yes?"
Luna: *Unveils a banner reading 'Royal Escort Agency'*
Celestia: *Facehoof to end all facehoofs*
Luna: "And I've already placed advertisements!"
Celestia: *Headdesk to end all headdesks*
From many, horse? Well, I suppose if it's many coins, it's accurate.
The Marx Brothers exist here. There is hope for this world.
... Ah. Well. This says a lot, both about the sisters and why a fair chunk of Equestria's ecology is pun-based. I definitely wasn't expecting you to take it in this direction, but I'm quite glad that you did.
As for that other cache of sols and lunes... I'm really not sure who'd come out worse in that exchange, but I do know that all parties wouldn't enjoy it.
Thank you for this.
7442582
7442586
What
7443004
said.
(And wow.)
7443085
I've imagined that, given the original need to share food between the Three Tribes, that Equestrian Bits are representative of a certain food item, such as Oats or some similar grain
, that are basic items for all ponies. In a book 
entitled "Enterprise Island" a character known as Old Joe issues pieces of bark 
with a distinctive mark burned on them as a receipt for a bushel of corn, which all the islanders eat.
, but will simply add: what's in your pocket is nothing like either of the above.
I could go on
I see you just cracked one million words: congratulations!
Very nice! And so ideas are seeded...
A bunch of this has just been added to my headcanon about how Equestria works.
Hum. I'm interested. But before I invest the time to read this story, I'd like someone to tell me if this is any variation of the "Celestia screws up, someone else fixes the problem".
Thanks in advance.
Wow.
Hello Estee!
Once again you startle me - in the best way - with the little buried seconds worth of treasures in your stories. The whole journey that Celestia and Luna took was rife with interconnected story components, but the line that really got to me was this:
One by day, one by night. One by night, one by day...
There was so much weight in those few words, and it made so much sense. It was exactly the kind of thing that would get said about the Sisters, in both positive and negative lights depending on circumstances.
I continue to adore your stories, and look forward to more. Thank you for sharing your creations here. Be well and happy, and know always that your work is appreciated
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote
7443584 Long story short, most emphatically not.
Very nice bait and switch. Dunno if I necessarily LIKE the Bait and Switch...but it's very well done.
You are good author. And, your stuff is ALWAYS fun to read. Just reminded me of another friend I've been reading. He's a good author..but some of his stories just...get away from themselves.
I'll have to reread a couple of times to see if I have any 'real' opinons. Maybe I just have a bit of trouble getting over the bait and switch. Bleh. Still found it DARN fun.
I am sad we don't see more of Sour Cream...but this story made me laugh out loud.
Favorited, and Thumbs upped, though. It's a good fic.
7442375 I do love that show. :)
When Celestia said, "It was shiny." I thought she meant gold. But as Equestria uses gold, apparently it was something else.
7443693 If I had to guess, the shiny but useless metal might have been platinum or iridium, which does in fact seem pretty useless. It's heavy, too hard to usefully work, rare as heck, practically unmeltable without 19th-century-level tech or better, and doesn't seem to react with anything. Of course, in some applications these are assets, not liabilities, to say nothing of their uses as catalysts - but one generally needs a better technological base than Equestria has to make use of these things.
(EDIT: Palladium can be worked and isn't much heavier than silver.)
7443803
Just to clear this up for the long-time 'verse readers: it wasn't platinum. Dear sweet Celestia, no one's that stupid -- at least not for long.
(In-'verse, platinum steadily absorbs trace amounts of magic from the environment, making it incredibly useful when pressed between truly expert hooves, and incredibly dangerous for Pretty Much Everypony Else. Having money made out of platinum would be like making change with live grenades.)
7443693 it could be any number of elemental metals. My guess is that it's rhodium specifically because it is said to be shiny and not very abundant. As a member of the platinum group of metals it's only found (IRL of course) in a couple places in the world, namely Russia (where you can find just about any metal if you look hard enough) and Montana in the States.
I would of bet good money that the rocks in the field where actually
cowhorse pies. Based on the fact that there was something wrong with the bathroom and no one else wanted to clean the field. I was going to accuse you of having some very odd MLP fetishism. Probably better for everyone one involved that it was rock birds.7443848 I'm just waiting for somebody to do something stupid with platinum and going from there...probably the memorial crater dedication.
7443862
Given that it was accessible enough to have been mined by a fledgeling post-Discord society, it pretty much has to be gold (or else something with no Earthly analogue). Platinum-group metals are non-reactive, and so stay shiny, but they aren't found as native ores (instead they're trace impurities in things like copper ore). Gold, on the other hand, is found in pure form pretty frequently.
That said, if you want to go the "post-apocalypse" route, it might have been scavenged aluminum.
7443216
Believe me, I understand where currency comes from. What got me was (the appearance of) the princesses bashing precious metals as a backing for a non-fiat currency while (apparently) using precious metals as some form of store of value themselves.
I've already mentioned in the post you replied to that there are alternative interpretations of this scene that aren't contradictory; I'd like to see if Estee chimes in with more details about the setting that clarify this point.