Laud walked briskly towards the castle. It wasn't hard to find, being one of the larger structures in the city and placed such that it caught the eye to any within it. It wanted to be seen. Laud quietly commended its construction. It appeared well-built and of sturdy construction even from a distance, with more than enough ornamentation to gloat of a highly-successful nation. The splashes of stained glass windows drew his eyes along with the touches of gold trim that ran along many of its edges. It was a palace, not a defensive castle. It was made to scream to the world that Equestria was a prosperous place, and this was the seat of its power.
He could only hope to one day have a palace as opulent as a mark of an equally successful demesne.
"You look impressed." Lyra was matching his pace, though her eyes were on him more than the palace they approached. "It's quite a sight, huh? I used to live around here, before I moved out to Ponyville. I wonder if any of the guards I knew will be at the front door."
Laud allowed his gaze to roam around the city in a quick sweep. Much of it followed the aesthetic style set by the palace. Was that enforced, or did the ponies do that on their own, wanting to match the opulence and style of their rulers? Either was a compliment to the people in a different way. "Is there a specific entrance we should use?"
"The front gate?" Lyra trotted ahead towards the wide stairs that dominated the front of the castle. "I mean, unless you're here for a gala or you work here, this is where most people come and go."
The look of it confirmed it for Laud. The palace was built to impress, not defend. Having the majority of the traffic, flowing through a criminally under-protected front door did not speak for security being of a very high priority. That sent its own messages, some of them positive. They did not fear. They strode up those stairs, approaching a couple of golden-armored guards. They appeared to be unicorns.
They lowered their spears in unison, held in their arcane grips. "Halt." Their eyes were set on Laud. "Who, and what, are you?"
Lyra frowned at them. "Celestia would tan both of your hides if she saw you treating a royal guest that way."
"Noble," Laud corrected. "I am no king or emperor. I have come at invitation." He produced the invitation smoothly from a pocket. "I'm here to see Princess Luna."
One of the two stepped forward to get a better look at the invitation. "Looks right, follow me." He nodded to the other, who raised his spear back into idle position. "This way."
Laud got a chance to see the stained glass windows from much closer. They depicted scenes of presumed importance. Images of important ponies doing important things, though he had no context for them, at least until he spotted one of Twilight being coronated. That was hard to not recognize. Laud filed it away. It meant the prosperity of the kingdom was ongoing if they could afford to continue having new windows made, and selected to do so to celebrate a new member of royalty. Many kingdoms he knew would not go to the expense.
They were led into a dining room of sorts. The guard gestured with a hoof at the long table. "Princess Luna will be with you shortly. Help yourself." He dipped his head, then trotted away, leaving them alone.
Lyra hopped right up onto one of the wide-bottomed chairs and, with a glow of her horn, snagged a cupcake from off the table and took a big bite out of it. "Glad to see some things haven't changed." She took another eager bite. "Mmm, tastes just as good as I remember it. Celestia loves her pastries."
Laud opted against partaking. Instead he sank into a chair, or tried. He could not sit in it as a chair, but the solution came quickly. He pulled up his legs and sat in the chair as if it were one big cushion. It was made for a larger horse, and it worked better when he abandoned the idea of a human chair. He set the flowers he had brought with him down on the table. "Now, we wait. The amount of time has meaning."
Lyra perked an ear at him. "It tells you how busy she is?"
"In part." Laud brought his hands together, fingers weaving through one another. "She knew we were coming. Our shopping delay means, if she cared to, she had plenty of warning that we had arrived in her city. Most delay at this point would be a power display on her part, showing that she will not be cowed or impressed by what I have given her, so far. It would not be unreasonable."
"Or she's tired."
Laud was about to ask what Lyra meant by that when the door opened.
Luna stepped in, yawning in a tremendous display. "Hello and well met. I apologize, but you've come during my sleeping hours. Such is the way of things. I am the princess of the night, after all."
He tensed from top to bottom. He had erred on the very first step, and it was an easily avoidable misstep at that. "My apologies, princess. If you would prefer we return come the evening, I will not further inconvenience you."
Luna sank into a seat directly opposed to Laud. "I will not require that. You. Your name is Laud Mountbatten if I am told correctly?"
Lyra thrust a hoof up. "I'm Lyra Heartstrings!"
Luna and Laud ignored her outburst in silent agreement. He dipped his head towards her. "A pleasure to meet you, Princess Luna. A gift; consider it a token of what I hope will be a positive relationship." He offered the bundle of violets towards her.
Luna's great horn glowed dimly as she took the offered flowers and made them float across the table towards herself. "I accept your token. Now, let us get to the heart of the--" She paused to yawn. "--matter. Princess Sparkle has been most... verbose in her reports. She seems to think you represent a much larger culture?"
"I am a member of House Hawkwood. We are one of several competing houses, to speak nothing of other interests in the greater universe. We span--" He made grand gestures as he spoke, trying to impress on the sleepy princess the magnitude of his words "--multiple planets across dozens of stars. Most of us are as you see me, human." That last word was in English. There was no equine word for it. "But we are far from alone. Other races have been found." He considered mentioning the Shantor, the equines, but that was a sad tale that would bring no benefit.
"Grand stories." She leaned forward, her eyes falling on Laud, then specifically his chest. "Mmm?" Her horn glowed as she seized Laud's necklace a moment before releasing it. Had it warded her attempt? Laud could not be certain. "I would ask for proof, but we have some of that in the form of your strange carriage. By what means did you travel here? Did you simply sail between the stars blindly, hoping to find us?"
"That would take... an unreasonable amount of time." Laud cringed internally at the thought of sailing for countless years between star systems. "We make use of jumpgates between systems. Used properly, the transit is basically instant, provided there is a gate both ends.
Luna sat up suddenly, looking much more awake. "Then there is a jumping gate present? Where?"
Lyra pointed up. "Somewhere that way?"
She was guessing, but she wasn't wrong. Laud nodded in agreement. "It is in a stable orbit around this world. That is an odd p--"
"Show me." Luna stood up, her wings spreading. "Do you know precisely where it is?"
"I am afraid I do not." Laud steepled his fingers. "I was forced into a landing soon after arriving. As I was--"
"--No." Luna folded her wings back. "No, no no no!" She stormed off with a great frown, repeating her mantra as she fled, abandoning the meeting entirely.
Lyra tilted her head left and right. "It could have gone worse."
Laud set his palms flat on the table and lifted himself to his feet. "I fear asking, but in what manner are you imagining?"
Lyra lifted her shoulders in a powerful shrug. "Well, we're not arrested, or banished, or executed, or... Really any of that, see, could be worse." She hopped off of her seat. "What are we doing now?"
Laud mulled over his options. They were in the royal palace. He could attempt to speak to Princess Celestia, the acknowledged true ruler of the kingdom. Would attempting to do so be seen as rashly bold? Better bold than meek. "Which way to the courtroom? Do you know?"
"Oh yeah, this way." Lyra trotted ahead of him, guiding the way with a swaying tail. "You want to see ponies arguing about stuff? I guess you're a politician too, come to think. No offense or anything. I bet your arguments would be exciting and about important stuff."
The guards they passed seem to pay them little mind. As watchful as the ones at the front had been, those within the palace seemed happy to assume the average visitor had already been vetted.
"Miss Heartstrings?" asked a male voice as a well-dressed pony approached. "And... I'm afraid I don't know your name... miss?"
A pony just tried to guess his gender, and failed. He felt some annoyance, but also some amusement. They could be just as strange to him. "Sir Laud Mountbatten, of House Hawkwood," he offered in introduction. "And you are?"
Lyra hopped up onto two legs and waved at the point. "This is Prince Blueblood. Bluey, this is Laud, as he just finished saying." She fell back to all fours. "Ole Bluey and I were friends, back in the day."
That captured Laud's interest. "Prince? Of the same peerage as Princess Celestia and Luna?"
He smiled, more of a beaming really. "Oh, yes. I am auntie's nephew. A pleasure to meet you. What title do you hold?"
"I am a baron by right of birth." Laud crossed a hand over his chest. "Of course, my kingdom is not your own."
Lyra shook her head. "Be honest, Bluey."
"Whatever do you mean?" The white unicorn's eyes darted about. "I have been nothing but forthright."
Lyra reared up and leaned against Blueblood. "Prince is a nickname, not his official title."
Blueblood shoved her free. "Miss Heartstrings! Well, yes..." He glanced away and back. "I am a Duke, if it must be known, but Princess Celestia is my aunt."
"Like a gazillion times removed," sang Lyra. "Don't get me wrong, Bluey here is a good pony."
Laud nodded to the aristocratic equine. "A pleasure to meet you. It is my wish to serve your people."
Blueblood's ears went up. "Is it now? Don't your own people have need of you?"
"In serving Equestria, I will be serving my own people." It wasn't a lie. The trade and prestige in taking the world would be an immense boon. To do it without a single death would make him a legend. "We were hoping to speak to your aunt, Princess Celestia. I don't suppose you could arrange that?"
Lyra nudged up against his side. "Yeah, give us a hoof. We'd really appreciate it."
Some ponies read as plainly as books. Laud could see that Blueblood was reacting to Lyra's playful advances. "Look, Miss Heartstrings, I am aware you were, once, a royal student, but no more." He turned to face her directly. "You abandoned that. You are nothing but... a commoner now."
Lyra thrust a hoof over at Laud. "That's not true. I'm escorting a baron around, so I'm back on the noble foodchain."
I wonder how the jumpgate would hold up to a moon smashing it, or even someone's ship coming through to find said moon ten feet from the horizon, a la Stargate. Though he is apparently a decent person, I wonder how much he would have to revise his opinion of Equestrian status in the hierarchy. The diarchs will probably not bend the knee... ? º\/º
Oh the plot thickens. So Luna knows if the gate, or at the very least that there was a gate up there in the past and that it's Bad News. Let's see how this will affect Lauds commendable efforts, shall we?
8404901
There's a face I feel like I have not seen in awhile. Hello there!
Oh? So Luna knows about the gate? Maybe from her time of imprisonment on the moon? Now that I didn't expect.
Laud... is an idiot. He's noted all these things that freak him out, yet thinks that the moment he describes the politics of his nation, the natives will be so grateful that they will become subservient to him.
I kinda hope that the ponies invade ALL THE NATIONS AND BECOME A GLORIOUS SPACE PONY NATION.
8405079
Oh sure, they'll just activate their elite military.
...
Once they get one.
Looks like the gates auto repair managed to put enough of itself together after Luna trashed it, to at least act as a targeting beacon and emergant interface lock. At least until the first ship came through it?
Would be nice to get a Tree Sap field around the gate, or just reloccate it into Discords pocket dimention, but that would lead to possibly unpleasant guests that would need to be bothered with dealing with?
Makes you wonder what sort of Precursors came through the last time.
This Bluebloods got a whole new character rolled up? This is going to be intresting, getting his stats relative to average.
Ok, it seems like the Princesses have had dealings with the gates before, or with whatever were using them at the time, perhaps they were the ones that damaged it?
As far as I know jumgates created by Annunaki. Advanced race that at some point play with evolution of many 'lesser' species like humans and others and used them in some devastating war... Maybe Annunaki use ponies as slave-soldiers till Princesses or their parents/grandparents/etc critically damage jumgates?
Oh, god, they're inbreeding!
8405878
Laud must be hearing things off. Damn equine language.
Lyra will always be good for a laugh don't ever change Lyra.
I do like how Luna and Laud silently agreed to ignore the peasant. There was noble business to discuss, after all.
Also, seems like Luna's had dealings with jumpgates and those who ise them before. Possibly even the ones who built the devices, though even she may not be that old. It will be very interesting to see what actions she takes from here.
And Laud found a new friend. Blueblood's clearly much nicer when approached appropriately and by a fellow noble. I get the feeling these two will get along famously. Or possibly infamously. It remains to be seen, especially with whatever Lyra has planned, for a given definition of the term.
I definitely want to see Laud and Bluey bro out.
8409338
In "Friends Forever" he depicted as a fairly nice fellow. Still arrogant and rather annoying but more like a "jerk with a heart of gold" (not exactly that but close) rather that usual toxic versions that fanfiction writers insisted on use. He also a accomplished diplomat.
...and "Deviations" pretty much shit on this characterisation...
8411053
I have stories where Blueblood is a very decent fellow, and others where he is the most heinous of villians. It all depends on his family and upbringing in each 'reality'. In the more decent ones 'Prince' is his first name, his title either Count or Duke, depending on if his father is alive or not (Headcanon speaking). It all depends...
8420208
In the decent ones I've seen his actions at the Gala were usually explained as that he thought that Rarity was just another Noble looking to use him to climb the social ladder.
Luna needs to destroy the jumpgate. Stat. That's the only possible way for them to keep their independence and be safe from the galaxy at large.
8405079
Pfft. This is hilarious! Do you even realize the resources an interstellar empire has? A single planet's worth of forces would be a small fraction of their total power, let alone a single country. Even if Equestria built their forces up; even if they were their equal or superior in tech; they could NEVER compete with something that large.
stars
8563750
Stairs are hard to navigate, okay!?
8535235
Park their local stargate exit inside their sun. Alien menace: solved.
There are 2 spaces between 'along' and 'with'
The comma is placed oddly
I believe a semicolon is better than a comma here
I have read stories where Bleublood's name actually is Prince. For pony names it's not exactly weird.
8689414
I second that. Army size doesn't matter if the gate is gone bye bye.
I Luna afraid of something Laud doesn't know or is she assumptious of something she doesn't understand. Also, a good Blueblood? Wonder how this compares to other good Bluebloods I know of
I really like your interpretation of Blueblood not being a complete douche. Too many people view his actions at the Gala (trying to tell some random pony that he isn't interested to buzz off) as him. I'd probably get mad if they didn't take the hint, too.
9624880
I agree, from his perspective Rarity would have seemed to be just another social climbing gold digger
"I came through a jump gate."
"What, where is it?"
"In orbit around this pla-"
*zzip*
...3
...2
...1
*pizz*
"Phew that was close."
"What did you do, Luna?"
"Destroyed it. Oh and Thanks for your assistance in protecting Equestria, Laud. I thought I got all of them a thousand years ago. Sneaky little bugger."
*shooting stars in the backgroud*
F I N
9635566
The only thing that puts me off about all that is he should have known about the elements of harmony and their bearers but to be fair Rarity never introduced herself so there's that too