"In the course of events that dictate history,"
"We, a collection of peoples bound and divided together by conflict,"
"Betrayal, deceit and bloodshed,"
"Do hereby form a New Lunar Republic of The Lunar Domain."
—Preamble to The Lunar Charter
The Lunar Domain, formally known as The New Lunar Republic of The Lunar Domain, is a fictional nation in the online roleplaying game NationStates.
To Make a Long Story Short, The Lunar Domain officially began on April 2, 2602 CE, in the aftermath of the six-year long Anarchy of 2596-2602, a conflict that began with the assassination of Princess Celestia, which tore apart the Principality of Equestria. Since then, the nation has had to survive on its own, and has become what it is today, ironically, through the same things its founding document, The Lunar Charter, strove to end.
Tropes:
- Alternate History / Alternate Universe:
Word of God states that The Lunar Domain is meant to take place in an alternate reality. - Ascended Extra: The Corporate Man. Appearing in a small part of a post, he was an Expy of the G-Man, only to become a bigger villain later on.
- Bittersweet Ending: Happens several times throughout the history of the Domain:
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Changelings finally got the same rights as everyone else in 2834 when The Changeling Territories became the twenty-second state of the Domain. This was after a long three years of protests and riots, and targeted killings of changelings simply because they were changelings.
- Subverted as well. In spite of the acquisition of full rights, there still exists a considerable amount of racism and suspicion towards the species. So much so that military intervention has occurred numerous times in The Changeling Territories in order to establish order.
- Humanoid Abomination: The Corporate Man embodies this trope.
- Justice Will Prevail: Played straight by not only protagonistic characters, but some of the antagonists as well.
- Layered Metropolis: The Municipality of Manehattan, one of the two states that is literally composed of one city, plays this straight. In the 2800s, the population was growing so large that the decision was made to add on a second layer of the city.
- However, socioeconomic distribution is relatively even in terms of layers.
- Martyrdom Culture: The Paladin Party used to be this; sacrificing yourself in the name of the Party's cause (a vanguard communist nation in place of what was once Equestria) was not only expected, but was considered to be one of the best services one could provide.
- Mega City: With a population of 108,269,779 people, the Municipality of Manehattan plays this trope perfectly.
- The Municipality of Ponyville, the other state of the Domain composed purely of one city, plays this straight as well with a population of 76,536,129 people.
- Minovsky Physics: The magic that several species utilize, namely ponies and changelings, is researched in The Lunar Domain through the academic field of Magic Theory. Its scientific name is "Starswirl-Sparkle Biological Manipulative Field."
- Multicultural Alien Nation: While The Lunar Domain is a singular country, some states are so different it might feel as if you are in another nation.
- Orion Council Out of Our Country: One of the earliest goals of the Domain was to kick out the Orion Council from the Midnight Court Federal District, the last remaining facility of the intergovernmental organization in the Equestrian Sub-Space. This was fortunately accomplished peacefully in 2609.
- Pocket Dimension: The Lunar Domain is located in the so-called "Equestrian Sub-Space," a pocket dimension of the larger universe it is located in.
- Point of Divergence: There are two in the universe that The Lunar Domain is located in:
- In terms of the Halo universe, it occurs in the aftermath of the Human-Covenant War, with the different belligerents being a bit more willing to work together.
- In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Universe, this technically occurs a couple of decades before the events of the show. However, Word of God states that the events between the Orion Council and Equestria were meant to have occurred off-screen, and in this sense, the divergence occurs when Tirek is killed.
- Principles Zealot: The Domain tries to strive to maintain the ideals it was founded upon; The Lunar Parliament in fact maintains a Charter Enforcement Committee to try and ensure that laws do follow The Lunar Charter.
- Reality Warper: Several characters play this trope straight:
- The Corporate Man
- Discord / Star-Swirl the Bearded
- Really 700 Years Old: Several recurring characters in the Domain are much older than they appear:
- The Corporate Man: While the form he takes appears to be that of a middle-aged man, it is made clear that he is much older than many realities. Combined.
- James Harrison Lombardi: Initially, James Lombardi averted this trope. However, after he was forced into "employment" through an offer he couldn't refuse, his payment for his services was biological immortality with the appearance of roughly twenty years of age.
- Princess Luna: While her exact age, along with that of her sisters', is left unclear, she has been alive since before 1184 CE.
- Retired Badass: Played with in the case of James Lombardi. A Human-Covenant War veteran, a SPARTAN-IV, and an unwilling interdimensional mercenary, he has wound up in the bureaucratic role of The General of The New Lunar Republic Armed Forces. Yet, he has expanded the role into what he views it was meant to be as: leading major military operations.
- Schizo Tech: In spite of all of the technological advancements that have been made by 3028, it is still relatively common place to see devices such as phones and televisions being used. While it is implied that this is largely due to a sense of nostalgia, or that the designs were viewed as effective enough already, their inner workings are largely different than their Real Life equivalents.
- Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Very much viewed as such in the Domain; so much so that The Lunar Charter outright forbids slavery and involuntary servitude.
- An exception is made within the mandate, however: if one is serving an imprisonment sentence. This is meant, and thankfully has been interpreted as such within the nation, to mean that prisoners do physical labor without pay.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: This trope is very much played straight in the early days of the Domain: the different political factions very much hate each other, but have agreed that enough people have died that they need to work together.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: In the days of the Anarchy, and even the early days of the Domain, several factions believed in this trope. In particular, the Paladin Party, who sincerely believed that all of the atrocities they committed were for the better, a communist utopia, no matter heinous their actions may have been.
- Villainous Legacy: Though Princess Celestia's actions occurred hundreds of years prior to the time we see The Lunar Domain, they still impact and affect events occurring in 3028.
- Cycle of Revenge: Most predominantly, perhaps, is Twilight Sparkle's desire to exact revenge for the murder of Celestia, which she believes Luna to be responsible not in the way that she had any involvement, but rather, it was because of Luna's actions that the circumstances that allowed for Celestia's murder to happen occurred. She does have a point.
- What Is Evil?: Used by sometimes by both the protagonists and antagonists, bringing up the idea that at the end of the day, villains don't necessarily do evil for evil's sake, but instead because they believe they are doing what is right.
