May
17th
2014
Audience participation requested · 4:57am May 17th, 2014
You are a pony. You want to give a small, reasonably priced gift basket to a spaceship crewed by about 12 or so extraterrestrials (humans). These aliens have had no other contact with Equestrian civilization.
What do you give them?
I'm giving a gift basket with these items:
---A bottle of wine (a small luxury item to drink.)
---A scroll with a short, friendly sentence in clean writing (the humans might copy it and show it to other ponies.)
---A coloring book (which shows images of ponies and activities that they do)
---All on a bed of grass (to cushion the other goods and also to eat)
But screw my idea. What would you give them?
Getting into the mindset of a pony?
I guess I'd give them valuable resources from my local vicinity.
If I were from Cloudsdale, I'd give them pieces of clouds? Perhaps a small flask with rainbow liquid, since it's a prime manufactured good fabricated there. Maybe Wonderbolt figurines.
If I were from Canterlot, gems and precious stones might be the best choice. Perhaps some cheese and wine, and some elegant fabrics. Enchanted items might be a very good option as well. Some books as well.
If I were from Ponyville, then apples and baked goods would be a must. Not really much else this lot could give.
Perhaps a symbol of harmony? Regular gems carved to resemble the Elements of Harmony would be a good idea. Anything pretty, I'd say.
Those're pretty good (especially the wine
). I'm assuming there's a language barrier here, hence the scroll they could copy. All the mutual pantomime that would no doubt go down would be very interesting, especially given the different anatomy and thus different frame of reference for body language...
Some other possibilities:
- An item representing each pony tribe, like a horseshoe for earth ponies, a feather or a condensed piece of cloud or a vial of liquid rainbow for pegasi, and maybe a (horn-sized) ring or a jewel or dust/flakes from horn care or something for unicorns.
- Something representing the princesses.
- Flowers, for both decoration and as snacks.
- Baked goods / local produce (e.g. apples if it's Ponyville).
- Various and sundry crystals. Maybe some are useful magical gizmos, like they work as a projector or a battery or something.
- A weather schedule, either an iconographic one or one with symbols drawn on.
- Picture books; art and/or photo collections.
- A primer showing basic numbers and letters.
- A card or poster or something made by the local school foals as a class activity to welcome the aliens.
- A thoroughly labeled map of the world, or at least of Equestria, so that even if they can't read them, the aliens can see what features the ponies think are worth remarking on.
- Toys or dolls or little statues; something showing the way ponies look to themselves.
- Misc. local cultural artifacts. Like how you might get a matryoshka doll when visiting Russia or a daruma when visiting Japan or a boomerang when visiting Australia or drunk when visiting England.
* Several foal's books with lots of pictures. (Complexity pre-K to second grade or so, enough to read and write simple sentences).
* A selection of fruits and vegetables (that hopefully won't poison them).
* A set of whistles to blow if they need to get attention for whatever reason. (In case they wander off somewhere)
* Several pencils and pads of paper (For communication purposes - pictures and the simple sentences above. Vocal language might be more difficult to grasp.)
* At least one book consisting entirely of pictures of famous works of art (Let's see if these monkeys are developed enough to comprehend and appreciate such things)
* Groucho glasses and deely-boppers. (I would convey that these are an integral part of our culture and that we would be offended if they didn't wear them.)
Huh, I honestly do not know.
2119106 I especially like the idea of giving them clouds and bottled rainbows. It's a good show of our weather manipulation capabilities. And if trade is in our futures, then who knows what these aliens can manufacture with a new raw resource like these two things?
2119111 My absolute favorite from this list is the weather schedule. And I'd perhaps some indication on the schedule of which pegasi are going to be seen pushing around the clouds that week.
But anyway, the schedule is not only a great show of pony capabilities, it indicates just how useful we ponies might be in future endeavors with these aliens should we choose to peruse trade. Perhaps they'd need rain, ionized air, electricity, or wind for something.
2119127
Hmmm.... I might put individual fruits and vegetables in separate glass containers in case it is a bio hazard to them. But what I truly like most about your list is the set of pencils and pads of paper. Paper and writing utensils are an obvious overture to these aliens that you wish to communicate. And that you are willing to communicate in a way that risks a very small amount of biological contamination.