Twilight journeys to Deerheim, an icy land ruled by proud reindeer warriors, to persuade them to stop raiding northern Equestria in their longships. On her mission, she forms a very intimate relationship with the reindeer king and queen.
. . . and now back to our regularly scheduled Princess of Friendship.
I wonder when she gets around to telling Furrypants and Storm Crow that if they don't/can't help her, Deerheim will be at war with Equestria! I foresee her spazzing out when she really figures out that they don't have that kind of power.
Thinking about what is coming makes me think of having to do the Thane quests in Skyrim.
6146122 Actually, she might be afraid of mentioning that for more than one reason. One of the less obvious ones I can think of is how the reindeer would react to the news. Considering their culture thus far, they would probably POUNCE on the possibility of full-fledged war. Warrior spirit and whatnot. I mean you heard Furrypants once already, he's fantasized about raiding Canterlot itself and testing his strength against Celestia herself.
Now imagine the entirety of the far less mature populace hearing about that. Yyyeah...
61461226146693 Yes, it is entirely likely that Deerheim will relish war with Equestria. They love fighting, and it would be the chance of a lifetime. If they thought they could win, they'd press their advantage for all it was worth, and if they thought they were going to lose, they'd probably just fight even harder and die gloriously.
And it would be bloody. A fully-fledged invasion is the one thing that would unite the disparate islands and jarls, so Equestria would be facing a unified Deerheim for the first time, not just a bunch of individual raiding parties and islands that pay lip service to the king. Their home ground advantage would be massive, defending their islands against a naval invasion and using the harsh weather to their benefit. And the worst part is, Equestria's goal isn't just to shut down the reindeer military, it's to occupy the entire island chain, indefinitely. The reindeer kill each other and ignore their own rulers all the time - how do you think they would treat a pony governor trying to impose Equestrian rule on them? It would basically be all of the worst parts of invading Russia, Vietnam and Iraq all rolled into one horrific, bloody, never-ending parade of violence.
On top of all of that, ponies just don't want war. They have a pretty good military, but invading other kingdoms isn't a thing they like to do. That's why Celestia has given Twilight a blank cheque to offer the reindeer as many carrots as they want, because the stick is so abhorrent to them that it's an absolute last resort. Twilight hasn't raised the possibility with them because she wants to do her best to come to a peaceful agreement before she starts making threats.
Also, Storm Crow had a vision about Twilight's visit:
Ponies and reindeer clashing together in blood and strife, yielding no glory, only suffering.
She has an inkling that war is looming if they can't come to an accord, and that it won't be glorious, just bloody. Also, Furrypants is no fool. When an ambassador accidentally vanquishes one of your strongest vassals on the way to meeting you, you know there's a steel horseshoe inside the silk sock she shows you.
6147732 Yeah, that's what I figured. It was the first thing I thought when Celestia mentioned preparing for war with the reindeer. Just 'Please, for the love of Celestia, don't EVER mention that to any of them, Twilight. You're a smart mare, so pleeeeease please please please tell me the author won't let you be a complete idiot at any point!'
Personally, I look forward to seeing what happens with Blood Eagle. Sure, his fate could be left as a side-note, but it would be interesting to read about. It's not like the reindeer are outright bad or anything, the raiding and conquering is just a part of their culture. It's a BAD part of their culture, but overall they have very good reasons for what they do. Well, in terms of their society they have good reasons, but they're old reasons and if they don't want to wind up in an inglorious war with a very superior nation, they need to change the way they think.
6149090 Yes, bringing up the threat of invasion would be a very poor diplomatic move at this point.
I certainly have plans for Blood Eagle. He is basically the worst example of reindeer culture, and generally a terrible person (given his propensity for tearing out people's lungs). But in general, yes, the reindeer are stuck with a nasty culture and a lousy homeland, and if they don't change, it will go very badly for them and for everyone. But that doesn't mean they're all inherently bad people.
Twilight Harmony Bringer, Deer Layer.....
Yay for more deerwords
. . . and now back to our regularly scheduled Princess of Friendship.
I wonder when she gets around to telling Furrypants and Storm Crow that if they don't/can't help her, Deerheim will be at war with Equestria! I foresee her spazzing out when she really figures out that they don't have that kind of power.
Thinking about what is coming makes me think of having to do the Thane quests in Skyrim.
6146122
Actually, she might be afraid of mentioning that for more than one reason. One of the less obvious ones I can think of is how the reindeer would react to the news. Considering their culture thus far, they would probably POUNCE on the possibility of full-fledged war. Warrior spirit and whatnot. I mean you heard Furrypants once already, he's fantasized about raiding Canterlot itself and testing his strength against Celestia herself.
Now imagine the entirety of the far less mature populace hearing about that. Yyyeah...
6146693 Burn, baby, burn! Venison is pretty good if cooked properly.
6146122 6146693 Yes, it is entirely likely that Deerheim will relish war with Equestria. They love fighting, and it would be the chance of a lifetime. If they thought they could win, they'd press their advantage for all it was worth, and if they thought they were going to lose, they'd probably just fight even harder and die gloriously.
And it would be bloody. A fully-fledged invasion is the one thing that would unite the disparate islands and jarls, so Equestria would be facing a unified Deerheim for the first time, not just a bunch of individual raiding parties and islands that pay lip service to the king. Their home ground advantage would be massive, defending their islands against a naval invasion and using the harsh weather to their benefit. And the worst part is, Equestria's goal isn't just to shut down the reindeer military, it's to occupy the entire island chain, indefinitely. The reindeer kill each other and ignore their own rulers all the time - how do you think they would treat a pony governor trying to impose Equestrian rule on them? It would basically be all of the worst parts of invading Russia, Vietnam and Iraq all rolled into one horrific, bloody, never-ending parade of violence.
On top of all of that, ponies just don't want war. They have a pretty good military, but invading other kingdoms isn't a thing they like to do. That's why Celestia has given Twilight a blank cheque to offer the reindeer as many carrots as they want, because the stick is so abhorrent to them that it's an absolute last resort. Twilight hasn't raised the possibility with them because she wants to do her best to come to a peaceful agreement before she starts making threats.
Also, Storm Crow had a vision about Twilight's visit:
She has an inkling that war is looming if they can't come to an accord, and that it won't be glorious, just bloody. Also, Furrypants is no fool. When an ambassador accidentally vanquishes one of your strongest vassals on the way to meeting you, you know there's a steel horseshoe inside the silk sock she shows you.
6147732
Yeah, that's what I figured. It was the first thing I thought when Celestia mentioned preparing for war with the reindeer. Just 'Please, for the love of Celestia, don't EVER mention that to any of them, Twilight. You're a smart mare, so pleeeeease please please please tell me the author won't let you be a complete idiot at any point!'
Personally, I look forward to seeing what happens with Blood Eagle. Sure, his fate could be left as a side-note, but it would be interesting to read about. It's not like the reindeer are outright bad or anything, the raiding and conquering is just a part of their culture. It's a BAD part of their culture, but overall they have very good reasons for what they do. Well, in terms of their society they have good reasons, but they're old reasons and if they don't want to wind up in an inglorious war with a very superior nation, they need to change the way they think.
6149090 Yes, bringing up the threat of invasion would be a very poor diplomatic move at this point.
I certainly have plans for Blood Eagle. He is basically the worst example of reindeer culture, and generally a terrible person (given his propensity for tearing out people's lungs). But in general, yes, the reindeer are stuck with a nasty culture and a lousy homeland, and if they don't change, it will go very badly for them and for everyone. But that doesn't mean they're all inherently bad people.
Princess of Friendship...with benefits.
6146122 she already did.
6154994 Hay!... That's a good title.
im sorry but this reeks something fierce of mind magic on twilight (not just this chapter) but the whole thing
Great work on this chapter.
What does sleighdr mean?