Lunar Republic or Solar Empire?

[DarligPegasi 315]

Princess Luna FOREVER! I just think she has more depth than Celestia. I mean Celestia's cool and all but Luna has more...I don't know there's just more to her. I mean Celestia's all shiny and bright and ever so good, but Luna was good turned evil and bitter turned good again! That's just more appealing.

[GamerLuna7 207]

LUNAR REPUBLIC! Because she would treat crime and problems more effectivly. Like executing all mistakers. Constant night is awesome and warmth is for the n00bs.

Edited December 21, 2012 by GamerLuna7

[Shanks 10,811]

We must fight to victory or death, for the republic! Star Wars references aside I will take a republic over an empire anytime plus I may like Celestia okay but Luna is tied with Applejack for my favorite pony.

Edited December 21, 2012 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Mister Jack 565]

Heathens!  Do you think Equestria has been prosperous over the last 1000 years because of Luna?  You should all be down on your knees thanking Celestia daily for having the limitless compassion and generosity to concern herself with your pitiful, petty mortal affairs.

[HeavyRain 45]

Quite personally i would choose neither and whould be a Merc selling my services to who would pay me the most bits casue lets face the facts if either Luna or Celestia ruled there would be no change Power corrupts all those who seek it and soon they become a slave to said power and then you all will see tyranny far worse than all the dictators of history combined thank you for youre time.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Both. The Holy Sisters were meant to rule together. This meme represents an unnecessary divide in the hearts of bronies. No Solar Empire, no Lunar Republic, ALL HAIL THE HEAVENLY DIARCHY!!!

[Kanerudo 21]

I vote for "United Equestria" because I don't consider Celestia as a power hungry tyrant nor do I think Luna wants to over-throw her big sister and commit the same mistake she did a 1000 years ago.

[GamerLuna7 207]

I vote for "United Equestria" because I don't consider Celestia as a power hungry tyrant nor do I think Luna wants to over-throw her big sister and commit the same mistake she did a 1000 years ago.

We shall take down Celestia, Imprison her and cast an eternal night in Equestria , The Lunar Republic needs you to join us. For The Lunar Republic

[Concord Discord 35]

I prefer Luna, but Celestia has ruled fine without Luna for 1000 years, and Luna's still coming to terms with the modern world. Plus, I'm English, so I'm really more of an empire person so I'm going to have to go for Solar Empire.

[Prince Midnight 817]

lets see, one one side we have a crazy tyrant in charge of the sun, on the other, a lunar mad mare who wants nothing but eternal night...... im going to go with the changeling hive beacuse i wanna be diffrent.

 

[Belgian&Brony 35]

No one can live without sunshine

But no one can live without the night

I say NO to both

The sisters where ment to rule equestria togheter day and night

Look at the beauty of sunshine and stars

Friendship is what Luna and Celestia told us to do

Not making a war about two Empires !

Equestria United and Free !

[Durandal 623]

As a Pony I wouldn't side with neither, instead I'd start my own pro democracy multi species (Ponies and all sapient minded species) rebel army which will capture dragons using them as beasts of war to try force both Celestia and Luna to join together in peace and give fair rights to all species in this dark parallel universe of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

 

Ah, delicious hypocrisy.

 

As for the Republic vs. the Empire, I consider it impossible. Even if it did happen, I think it would be more beneficial for the two to join together. Ex unitates vires.

 

If I had to choose, however, It'd depend on the circumstances, because that's the only proper choice. Let me explain.

 

There is no reason to challenge Celestia's reign in canon because it's prosperous - this makes any sort of popular uprising impossible. Convincing people to revolt against a prosperous rule is as hard as it is silly. Assuming that Luna has a loyal following in the form of her guard, this makes the Lunar Republic a military coup d'état. If it is, I question whether this Republic would in fact be a façade for a dictatorship. In this instance, I would side with the Empire, as there is no reason to challenge Celestia's rule.

 

However, there is a lot of fanon out there that depicts Celestia's rule as tyrannical. In this instance, a popular revolt is possible. Obviously, the Republic will be promising a more benevolent, prosperous rule to lure in supporters, so they're bound to be the better choice. Unless, of course, you enjoy oppression and totalitarianism.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Durandal

[Scootalove 10,684]

I would have to go with the Solar Empire even though people prefer the Lunar Republic run by Luna, since I would have to avoid oppression and totalitarianism. I'm pretty sure that Luna is a good leader like Celestia.

[Thrashy 2,798]

Old thread is old. But I'll chime in nonetheless.

 

I'd go with the Lunar Republic. Why? Well, reading through the comments of Celestia's followers, it's clear that the only real arguments are "she's more experienced" and "she's done fine so far." I'm honestly a little critical of those arguments, given that:

 

A.) how does one honestly expect Luna to gain leadership experience if she's never put in a position to lead?

 

B.) "She's done fine so far" seems to indicate stagnation and complacency to me, which clearly isn't always the most progressive approach to running a country. Putting Luna in control would most definitely generate non-traditional ideas. Some of them bad, yes, but some would be sure to create change for the better. Celestia is the status quo, and Luna as leader would challenge said status quo...a challenge that many, if not most enlightenment thinkers throughout the ages would support.

 

Also, I'm simply not a fan of imperialism. I know this may sound crazy to some, but a republic - wherein the people are given some room to govern themselves - seems to favor the concept of democracy and personal freedoms much more than an imperial monarchy.

 

...And then there's the more shallow reasons of "night > day" and "Luna is prettier princess". But you can feel free to disregard those reasons if you want.

[Durandal 623]

A) She is a co-ruler as of current. Celestia likely allows her a good share of powers within the government so that she can get acclimatized to Equestria as it is now. They were co-rulers before, Celestia would be hard-pressed to convince her sister to just let her do the work. Not only that, but why would she? Celestia surely gets bored of her duties, I expect she would have wanted Luna to return so that she can get some leisure time.

 

B ) There is absolutely no indication that Equestria is stagnating, in fact from what we see it's prospering. Prosperity is important to a government, any wise leader would do well to understand that. Also, how is Luna in any way non-traditional? She's been stuck on the moon for the past thousand years, if anything her opinions would be far more conservative than her sister's, evidenced by her struggle to drop the 'Royal Canterlot Voice'.

 

Also, Monarchy =/= Empire. Unless Equestria is a colonial power, it isn't imperialist. In addition, we haven't seen much of how their government functions, so for all we know Canterlot might be a constitutional monarchy at this point, with Celestia being a head of state. As well, there has been no indication that personal freedoms have been curbed by Celestia. The government is liberal as it is, to go the extra step of making it a democracy is a gesture at best.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Durandal

[Zygen 6,065]

Ok while I like Luna a bit more charactor wise, I think Celestia's a better Ruler, shes more experienced and level headed then Luna.

 

However, I personally think they are fine being together ruling alongside each other, I think thats even better then Lunar or Solar. 

 

Just me and my neutral behaviors maybe. .

[Moonlight 7,279]

Solar Empire. Celestia is my favorite princess and in all honesty, Luna is my least favorite character on the entire show; I despise her, even. She could never run Equestria, she's not capable. So, I don't understand why you would want to take down Celestia (a strong leader) and replace her with some little sister who turned evil over jealousy instead of talking it over.

[Mzukiller 233]

People still do this? Anyway, I support Celestia for 2 reasons

 

1. Luna, in a jealous fit of rage, tried to kill everyone on Earth.

 

2. Celestia did a pretty good job running Equestria by herself for 1,000 years.

[omnusus 52]

Tough one. I like Luna more, and I like the night more than the day, but if this was a serious decision I would go with Celestia. Wise Monarch With A Millennium Of Experience vs. A Thousand Greedy Politicians With No Experience. Hmm... Now, if the NLR wasn't an actual republic and Luna is the absolute ruler, then by all means, go Luna!

[Thrashy 2,798]

A) She is a co-ruler as of current. Celestia likely allows her a good share of powers within the government so that she can get acclimatized to Equestria as it is now. They were co-rulers before, Celestia would be hard-pressed to convince her sister to just let her do the work. Not only that, but why would she? Celestia surely gets bored of her duties, I expect she would have wanted Luna to return so that she can get some leisure time.

 

One would expect things to go that way, but what you're saying is no less speculative than my own suppositions. Nothing I have seen in-show has really indicated that Luna shares any major leadership responsibilities whatsoever with her elder sister, except perhaps for her resumed duties of moving the moon. But for all intents and purposes, Celestia may as well be just as much the head honcho as she was while Luna was banished.

 

Until the show portrays Luna making some high-profile executive decisions for Equestria - without her sister's counsel - I'll continue to submit that her role as "co-ruler" is wishful thinking at best. I would honestly be in favor of such a joint rule; it makes sense, given that night and day are equally necessary, and thus Luna and Celestia should rule equally. But I just don't yet see any in-show evidence that is indicative of such a system.

 

 

B ) There is absolutely no indication that Equestria is stagnating, in fact from what we see it's prospering.

 

It appears to be prospering, true. And in the truly canonical sense, it most likely is. But speculatively, things are not always as they appear where politics are concerned. For all we know, select groups of ponies could be living under great strain due to some of Celestia's policies, and no one may ever know, whether it be due to the sufferers' fear of speaking up or their complaints simply falling on deaf ears.

 

Also, just because a nation is prosperous doesn't necessarily mean it is progressing as a culture or advancing in technology; the people may be doing well for themselves, but how much has really changed in the millenium that Celestia has ruled Equestria on her own? We don't really know. With a more progressive leader who favored change over tradition, perhaps the Equestrians would've had a grand industrial revolution that would've put them far ahead of where they are now. But again, we don't know. Such is the beauty of speculation.

 

 

Also, Monarchy =/= Empire. Unless Equestria is a colonial power, it isn't imperialist.

 

 

First - Empire: a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy.

 

As the sisters' official titles are as princesses, it would be an empire of a monarchical variety, as opposed to oligarchical.

 

Second, I myself don't really see canon Equestria as an empire as, no, it doesn't appear to have influence over any extraneous colonies (that we know of). But the idea that Equestria does have such influence beyond its borders seems to operate within the context of whatever fanon gave rise to the whole Lunar Republic vs. Solar Empire business in the first place, hence why I'm treating it as though it is an empire.

 

...Admittedly, I don't know the details of this fanon, as I appear to be a year late to this party. Really, I could just be flapping my gums here on something I know nothing about. But again, I'm just going off of what I've been reading in this thread.

[SirTherodar 28]

I think I would support a republic more than an empire, so I support the Lunar Republic as long as there is still day.  Luna's plan to have eternal night was not very well thought out, seeing as the entire land would die from lack of food and decreased production of oxygen.

[Callisto 1,873]

Neither. We need peace in Equestria. As a wise man once said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. We need unity. We need peace.

 

This has been a post brought to you by the Peace and Unity Corps Of Equestria.

Edited June 25, 2013 by Callisto

[Durandal 623]

This has been a post brought to you by the Peace and Unity Corps Of Equestria.

 

You mean the Ministry of Peace Unity?

 

 

One would expect things to go that way, but what you're saying is no less speculative than my own suppositions. Nothing I have seen in-show has really indicated that Luna shares any major leadership responsibilities whatsoever with her elder sister, except perhaps for her resumed duties of moving the moon. But for all intents and purposes, Celestia may as well be just as much the head honcho as she was while Luna was banished.

 

Though I agree there is a lack of evidence, from what we have to go on it's the most logical speculation. Prior to the events of the show, Luna was a co-ruler until she rebelled against it. After being reunited, Celestia showed guilt and sorrow for Luna's situation, and welcomed her with open arms. Though it could be argued that was a front, I consider such deceit uncharacteristic of the normally light-hearted show. Because of this, I consider it more accurate to speculate that Luna is a co-ruler, rather than not.

 

 

It appears to be prospering, true. And in the truly canonical sense, it most likely is. But speculatively, things are not always as they appear where politics are concerned. For all we know, select groups of ponies could be living under great strain due to some of Celestia's policies, and no one may ever know, whether it be due to the sufferers' fear of speaking up or their complaints simply falling on deaf ears.

 

Also, just because a nation is prosperous doesn't necessarily mean it is progressing as a culture or advancing in technology; the people may be doing well for themselves, but how much has really changed in the millenium that Celestia has ruled Equestria on her own? We don't really know. With a more progressive leader who favored change over tradition, perhaps the Equestrians would've had a grand industrial revolution that would've put them far ahead of where they are now. But again, we don't know. Such is the beauty of speculation.

 

There is always a lower-class, all that differs is its size -  Canada, one of the most prosperous nations on Earth, has a lower class of around 16%, only 9% away from the United States' own lower class. As long as the lower class doesn't become too large, (which means you're doing it wrong, or got a shitty hand in the first place) it has no effect on the prosperity of a nation. Also, given how Equestria preaches friendship and other such cuddly concepts, it's likely that it has a welfare program of some sort.

 

Also, in Hearth's Warming Eve it was shown that things like locomotives were not around during their time, along with no doubt other conveniences the ponies have currently. Additionally, it appears that since Celestia's rule it has grown out of its feudal roots into a market economy. Though some would argue this isn't progress, I certainly consider it such. As for cultural progress, racial discrimination between different species seem to have been all but eradicated, so this is certainly noticeable progress. Not only this, but is Celestia really traditional? There's no indication of this, so I question whether she's as traditional as you suggest.

 

Also, what says it's not on its way to an industrial revolution? We're seeing locomotives already, perhaps it's on the cusp of one, we don't know.

 

 

First - Empire: a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy.

 

As the sisters' official titles are as princesses, it would be an empire of a monarchical variety, as opposed to oligarchical.

 

Second, I myself don't really see canon Equestria as an empire as, no, it doesn't appear to have influence over any extraneous colonies (that we know of). But the idea that Equestria does have such influence beyond its borders seems to operate within the context of whatever fanon gave rise to the whole Lunar Republic vs. Solar Empire business in the first place, hence why I'm treating it as though it is an empire.

 

A square is a quadrilateral, but not all quadrilaterals are squares. An Empire may be ruled by a monarch, however that does not make all Monarchies Empires.

 

And you have a point, though given the 'politics' I've seen from the MLP fandom in general I'm inclined to believe that the Solar Empire was named the Empire to paint it as evil rather than to accurately describe it.

Edited June 25, 2013 by Durandal

[Thrashy 2,798]

A square is a quadrilateral, but not all quadrilaterals are squares. An Empire may be ruled by a monarch, however that does not make all Monarchies Empires.

I don't think you see what I'm getting at on that particular point. I'm not saying it is an empire because they are monarchs. The whole empire thing came from whoever came up with the name Solar Empire...again, I don't see canon Equestria as an empire either. What I'm saying is that if it were an empire, as per whatever headcanon this whole thing comes from, it would be of a monarchical type.

Edited June 25, 2013 by Lowline

[Arkane 269]

The Crystal Empire.

Because Crrrrrrrryyyyyyyystaaaaaaaaaaaalllllsssssszzzz.
 

Seriously though. TCE is the only pony faction that really grabbed my interest. I guess its because A) Its Canon and B ) Its history with Sombra.

It just begs for a tolkien level story @_@ (totally not talking about The Crystal Empire Saga)

Edited June 25, 2013 by Arkane