“No, no, no,” Doug argues with Luna as the two approach the airship. His voice is starting to get a bit hoarse. “You can’t just pick a price for wheat and apples and expect producers to respond exactly like you predict. Either you’ll pick too low a number, and you won’t have enough supply, or too high and nopony will pay the price. And even if you do somehow stumble upon the right number? It’d be a nightmare to revise your numbers every time the market changes.”

“But if the market isn’t responding correctly, what recourse do we have?” Luna’s wings beat against the air, taking out her frustrations with harder flaps than strictly necessary. “Should thousands starve because insufficient grain was planted? Or because they cannot afford the rates unscrupulous ponies will charge during such a shortage?”

Along the bow of the airship rests a multicolored pile of ponies. Fluttershy lightly dozes, head against Celestia’s withers with a white wing draping over her back. Applejack lays on the other side of the snoozing alicorn, hat pulled over her ear while she watches Rarity sketch. They glance up as the two approach; Applejack’s mild frown dissipates, only to reassert itself as she hears them argue.

They land, Luna immediately kneeling in what can only be construed as a ‘get off me before I toss you off’ manner, eyes narrowing and a low growl emitting from her throat. Doug hops off, his wind-swept hair reminiscent of a certain cerulean pegasus in how it juts out at all angles. Neither gives an inch, continuing their antagonistic glares at each other.

“If they can’t afford basic necessities?” Doug grimaces, knowing how unpopular the answer would be. “If you aren’t able to provide for yourself, then you have two options. Option one, obtain more. Either do more work, or convince others to provide for you. Option two, starve. Everypony wants to avoid option two, but it’s a fact of life.”

“Have y’all been arguin’ this whole time?” Applejack asks with a note of incredulity. It’s not that she can’t believe Doug would be debating some point or other - he keeps his ideas and opinions to himself, with exceptions like when he and Big Mac experimented with wheat farming - but more so that he would be arguing with a Princess.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Rainbow Dash answers as she lands next to Applejack, having followed in Luna’s wake the entire time. She taps her hooves against each other nervously as Luna turns to glare at her. “You’d think they would have gotten up to something saucy, and I could have joined in, but they just talked about money!”

“Money?” Applejack’s face scrunches up. “We ain’t short on bits, are we? Ah mean, with the Princesses and all in the herd, Ah wouldn’t expect us to ever need worry ‘bout bits again!”

“No, not their money, bits in general. Prices.” Rainbow Dash sticks her tongue out and gags. “Can you think of anything more eggheaded than what the price of eggs should be?”

“Shoot, Ah do more’n’a bit’a thinkin’ ‘bout the price’a apples,” Applejack says with a solemn nod. “Feels like Ah got books with row after row of nothin’ but apples, apples, apples. More’n more ponies are askin’ ‘bout gettin’ new contracts started, or increasin’ what they already got. An’ that’s just the ones Filthy sends me ‘cause the pay is good or he’s doin’ them a favor; Celestia knows how many he gets and turns down ‘cause he knows we can’t hoof the extra work.”

“Well, that’s the whole point of increasing prices,” Doug comments. Celestia stirs as he sits next to her, Fluttershy waking with a wide yawn that seems to unhinge her jaw. “If you can get more bits for something, you’ll do more of it. Increasing demand leads to increasing prices, which leads to a greater supply and a new equilibrium. It’s a self-correcting phenomenon, prices won’t go up to infinity. Now, granted, this doesn’t work as well when there is some disaster that unexpectedly causes a shortage, in which case you will pay nearly anything to stay alive. But at the same time you want to reward those who are able to see ahead and predict the future in the hopes of encouraging others to do the same and prepare for emergencies.”

“Oh, dear,” Fluttershy chimes in. “But, what if, say, somepony reminds Angel Bunny that the treat that he has been waiting for ever so patiently is missing his favorite cherry, and he ignores their stringent apology explaining that they are all out, and they need to venture into the very busy marketplace to buy a cherry but the cherry vendor charges me ten bits for the very last cherry instead of one bit?”

“Somepony?” Doug’s eye twitches at just who that somepony might be. “Um, buy somewhere else? Or, if there aren’t any more cherries for sale because you specialize too much, buy something else?”

“But Angel Bunny won’t accept anything else!” Fluttershy raises a hoof to her forehead, nearly fainting at the thought. “He might refuse to eat until I get it for him, and I wouldn’t want to be the reason he starves!”

Doug sighs. “First off, you spoil that bunny something rotten. But, hey, he saved your life, I get it. I mean, if it’s the actual last one, you’re running into a scarcity problem. In which case the higher price is justified. I mean, you wouldn’t fault Rarity for charging extra for a rush job using up her limited time, would you?”

“I am happy to receive that particular premium,” Rarity admits. “But only if I don’t have to push back any of my other projects or work an exorbitant amount of time above my normal hours. I might waive the extra charge if that were the case. But if I did have to rearrange my schedule? I would absolutely charge extra or let them know I am doing them a favor.”

Luna scowls. “And what is to prevent the earth ponies collectively deciding to keep raising prices? There must be some mechanism to halt such abuses.”

“Hey, we wouldn’t do that,” Applejack objects. She glances at Rainbow Dash. “Besides, the pegasi would just up the price for bringin’ in rain. Or, worse, they’d make it storm all the time and we wouldn’t get nothin’ done.”

“Exactly,” Doug says, nodding along and rewarding Applejack with a scratch behind her ears, even if he has to shove his way under her hat to do so. “Unfair practices like collusion or exorbitant prices are going to be met with retaliation. Or, internally, someearthpony might defect and sell at a lower price, garnering more business for themselves. And if there is some enforcement mechanism against them, then you’re no longer dealing with a free market.” He takes a deep breath, the hand scratching Applejack slowing. “But maybe the price of apples does need to go up. Or cider, or fritters, whatever products you think ponies would still buy at a higher price.”

An unhappy growl rumbles from Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Ah ain’t sure about that, partner. We’ve been chargin’ the same price for all our goods for, well, at least a dozen years, far as Ah can remember.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash adds, frowning. “If the price of cider was higher? I mean, maybe I’d get more of it, because less ponies would buy it. But that just means less ponies would enjoy it!”

“And if the price needed to be that high?” Luna raises an eyebrow. “If the incoming glut of ponies raises the price of food to astronomical levels, would that not require action?”

Doug shakes his head. “Nothing so drastic as taking command of the economy. If it’s a looming disaster then spreading more information about it and allowing everypony to make the right decision will lead to better outcomes than by trying to figure everything out yourself. Or they’ll innovate, coming up with more efficient or economical ways of doing things.”

“Ah hope you ain’t gonna suggest we start farmin’ wheat instead of apples,” Applejack says with a loud huff. “Just ‘cause it’s more calories per hour worked don’t mean Ah’d want ta do it. And Ah ain’t sure Ah’d enjoy much’a that innovation, either. Ah like things on the farm the way they are, an’ ya can be sure Granny ain’t gonna go for anythin’ either.”

“Sure, and that’s a very relevant consideration.” Doug tugs her close, nestling her head against his chest. “Could you work as many hours farming wheat? Keeping hogs and chickens? You do it now only because the return is very good and you want to be self-sufficient.” He looks pointedly at Luna. “I’d challenge you to figure out how and where one pony would work optimally, much less a whole society.”

“Thou believes that the same pony who would overcharge Fluttershy for a cherry is competent enough to decide the price of that same cherry?” Luna stares back at Doug. “Dost thou wish to reconsider that position?

Doug shakes his head, perhaps with a dash of impertinence. “How do you know that it’s overcharged? Because another pony won’t pay as high a price for it? If a better deal exists elsewhere, well, we don’t have access to all the information in the world, and there is a cost to learning that information, if only an opportunity cost to be doing something else. But more to the point, if Fluttershy is willing to pay, then that’s how much it’s worth, if only to her. If she isn’t willing to pay, then the merchant doesn’t make the sale, and if that happens enough times he goes out of business. Just like it’s on her to tolerate Angel Bunny’s demands, whose reasonableness is decided by whether or not she goes along with them.”

Fluttershy hunkers down, hiding a portion of her face under her mane. “I-I’d probably pay a lot more than ten bits to keep Angel Bunny happy. Just like I’m sure you’d happily do the same for any of us.”

“Of course.” Doug strains to reach over Celestia and runs a soothing hand along Fluttershy’s back. She perks up immediately, flicking her mane away to rub her head against him. “You’re worth far more to me than ten bits. But there has to be some limit, if only the amount of bits I’m able to accumulate in a lifetime.”

“And should somepony charge that many bits for some necessity?” Luna fixes Doug with an inquiring stare. “Thou would go to war to protect our foals from direct assault. Would thou go to war to protect them from an indirect assault, such as on their ability to provide?”

“Well, there have to be some alternatives.” Doug scratches at his chin. “If earth ponies charge too much for food, then plant your own. It might be less efficient hour per hour, which is why specialization and trade make everypony better off, and why tariffs and restricting trade make things worse off.”

A slight grin peeks out from Luna’s stare. “And if thou cannot replace this necessity?”

Doug sighs, glancing over the side of the airship and looking at the barren land below. “I mean, if you can’t replace what it is, like you’re in a desert and somepony owns all the water? And you can’t leave without dying because you don’t have enough water for the journey? I can see revolution being justified if the owner of the water is tyrannizing everypony. But not because she had the foresight to bring enough water for everypony and is merely charging for it.”

“And if the necessity in question is the sun?” Luna glare harshens. “And you believe that she is unfairly using her power and position to benefit herself. What then?”

“Um,” Doug stammers, glancing at Celestia. She doesn’t move. “I, uh…”

Luna’s head tilts to the side. “Thou must believe we were justified in our attempt to overthrow our Sister from her seat at the pinnacle of power. And the other creatures of the Council were justified in their attempted coup as well.”

Doug’s eyes bulge. “Wait, what?”

“Our dear Sister was hoarding the entirety of a precious commodity,” Luna continues, her growing smirk chilling the blood of everypony. “One we found we could not live without. We were denied the attention of those who once adored us. Were we not correct in our actions? The other creatures believed that Celestia would swamp their lands with a deluge of ponies, taking away their autonomy. Were they not correct?”

“Okay,” Doug starts, slowly and with a tone careful to avoid condemnation. “Look, I get it. Jealousy is a powerful emotion. Do you think I like the thought of one of my mares running off with somestallion else? Of course not! Same with Shining Armor and Cadance, or Chrysalis, or you and your Sister. There is some insecurity, some fear of losing that which you hold dear. But sometimes that feeling of insecurity actually does reflect a lack of security. Like the saying ‘it’s not paranoia if someone actually is out to get you’, we don’t have guarantees in life, so we have to do the best we can with what we have.”

His smile at the end fails to lighten Luna’s mood. “Thou art avoiding the question.”

Doug sighs again. “Well, that’s because you’re not going to enjoy the answer. If somepony outcompetes you, then tough luck. Try harder next time, figure out what they are doing better than you, or if you can change and adapt. I don’t think Celestia has abused her awesome power, and I have a hard time faulting somepony for being compensated for their efforts, even if that means they get a share far larger than anypony else. And sometimes the other person really is better, or more suited to the task at hoof, or whatever.” He glances at Applejack. “What happened to the ponies who used to pull trains and got replaced by engines?”

“Um,” Applejack says, the question catching her off guard. “Far as Ah know, they got jobs haulin’ wares to an’ from the trains, then helpin’ load. If it does end up gettin’ real busy at the farm we might need to hire a couple to help out.”

“So we ought to resign ourselves to thy side, having been outcompeted by our Sister at every turn?” Luna sighs, her head dropping as she takes a few humble steps forward. Rather than displace Applejack or Fluttershy she nestles down in front of Celestia, her muzzle next to the white neck with the hopes of slipping under. Her ears flick as Doug’s hand scratches between them. She glances up, his friendly smile getting a hint of hers to return.

“It sounds to me,” Celestia whispers, raising her head enough so Luna can get hers under, “that your opinion of him is rising.”

“Hush,” Luna snaps back, though without vitriol. She smiles as she closes her eyes, her stallion’s soothing motion and the warmth of her Sister’s breath lulling her to a pleasant rest. “We hath been delinquent in our duties for too long this night.”

Next Chapter: Ch. 55 - Cheap Construction, Part One Estimated time remaining: 23 Hours, 5 Minutes