The Luna Diaries

by The-rogue-shadow

Entry 7

Dear Diary,

Today I went for a walk through Canterlot, in my disguise of course. The level of… apathy I saw was astounding. I noticed many a beggar in the tight alleyways, some of them looking starved or sick. Since it was Swift that was accompanying me in the guise of my older brother, as he was the shortest of my three guards and it made more sense, I asked him how Tia had let this happen. His reply was most disappointing. Apparently, control over the economy had long since left Tia’s control, and was instead in the hooves of banks and businesses. Consequently, some ponies were unable to keep up with the world of money and were forced out of their homes and onto the streets. He went on to say that Celestia was indeed aware of it, but didn’t know how to help them. She couldn’t just give them money like she used to do in the old days, because then everypony would be after her for more money, and the cycle would never stop.

I gave one of them some spare bits that I had and continued to explore the upper parts of the city. The sheer amount of advertising and stores that I would consider to be unnecessary were phenomenal. There was one point where I saw four separate cafés in a row! Stupid! Just have one café and maybe a bookshop or something. I will admit, however, that the city is much more ornate and architecturally grand than I remember. Swift bought me some ice cream and took me to what he called his favourite place in the entire city and I must say; he was right. It was a very small little pathway that led into the wall near the edge of the cliff, but after some climbing (or in my case, flying) we got to the top of the wall. From that spot, I was able to see almost all of Equestria; The Mountains to the North, the seemingly endless Everfree, and of course, the little town of Ponyville.
Since we were alone, I asked Swift why he had hesitated when I asked him to become my personal guard, to which he simply replied; “I knew that it was a full time job, and as you know, I’m very eager to be a father. I was just worried that I might not get the chance otherwise. But then Heartstrings looked at me in that way… I could never say no to her,” The way that he smiled when he talked about her, I could tell just how much he cared for her. It’s always nice to see that love can bloom even in the strangest of situations.

While I do wish that I had somepony that cared for me that way, I also know that it is unlikely to happen, not only because of my position, but because I am… Socially awkward at the present time.