Laud had decided that his clothing made for functionality over pomp would be proper. He would introduce himself as a man of action, not a social flower. He considered his sword. Would bringing it sour the atmosphere? The ponies seemed quite insistent on their pacifism, with most of them seeming to prefer being passive and relying entirely on their few warriors to even consider the very notion of actually fighting.
Well, it just wouldn't do to present a false face. He strapped his blade belt on, though he doubted he would be using it that day. "But I am ready to." He nodded at his reflection before moving with purpose. His meeting was coming.
"Hey Laud," spoke Starlight who was descending the stairs as well. "Ready for your chat?"
"I hope it will be more than a casual conversation." He had high hopes that he could start his social climb. "Tell me, do you know how Mayor Mare obtained their position?"
Starlight seemed to consider it a moment. "Mmm, I think I remember someone saying she was elected?"
An elected leader? Well, that could work for a local leader, perhaps... "What if someone very popular, but unfit to rule, were to receive the winning votes?"
Starlight's shoulders lifted in a gesture a normal horse could never replicate. "Then Ponyville gets a bad mayor and people learn their lesson. Why? How do they do it where you come from?"
"One earns leadership in two ways, most of the time." He held up one finger. "One is by birth to another leader. You are instructed in the art from a young age and are ready to assume the mantle when the time comes, ensuring a smooth governance." He raised a second finger. "The other is by virtue of deed. A person can be given leadership for proving the strength of their character, ability to lead, and other positive traits and a greater ruler may make a lesser ruler of them. For instance, if your Princess Celestia selected a specific pony to be mayor of this city, one would think she would select carefully and well."
"I'd hope so," she agreed as they reached the bottom. "Still, I haven't heard anyone complain about Mayor Mare. She's been mayor for a long time. Good luck with your meeting." She reached up to pat Laud on the side before she trotted onwards to her own destination.
Laud proceeded out the door to find a short figure waiting for him, Spike. "Good day, Spike."
"Hey, uh, just thought I'd show the way." He flashed his too-wide-obviously-lying smile.
Laud glanced down into the city, where the town hall projected clearly from the smaller buildings around it. "I don't think my chances of becoming lost are very high. We're meeting to discuss matters of state and governing. Is that something you have interest in?"
"Oh, um... yeah..." he said in an entirely unconvincing way. His posture suddenly straightened. "Look, you're a stallion--" Ponies liked to refer to all males as stallions, despite living in a multi-racial world. Pride? "And you're in charge. I mean, you expect it. I want to see how you work."
Laud could not argue the fact that ponies seemed to err on the side of a matriarchy, in defiance of his own ways, still... "I'm seeking to make a good impression with the mayor."
Spike put up a hand, eyes closing. "And you'll look all the better with the assistant to the local princess at your side. I know Mayor Mare, and she knows me."
Laud gestured towards the large building that was his target. "Very well then, do you know what would be the ideal gift for her to show my eagerness to move together, as rulers, for the betterment of our people?"
Spike's head tilted a bit as an eye cracked open. "Wha? I mean, nobody around here is 'your' people, right?"
"Is that your answer?" He hiked a brow and looked down on Spike. As he had predicted, the small drake quickly changed his approach.
"No no! I mean, uh, lessee, good gift... Not hair dye!"
That caught him by surprise. "Does she have need for it?"
"Oh, well, um, no? She isn't a natural grey though."
A pony dyed their hair. Grey? Laud struggled with the concept. "Alright, no dye. What do you suggest?"
"Honestly... nothing. I think showing up with anything physical will make the wrong impression." He shrugged helplessly as he said it. "But maybe I'm not so good at this."
"Nonsense." He slapped the smaller male on the shoulder. "That's a fine answer, and encouraging as well. Those who come calling to me with gifts too grand set the tone that they want something from me, something I might not want to give. Come on then, we'll greet her with the gift of our company."
Spike let out a little laugh at that, rubbing the lightly-thwacked shoulder. "Now there's a gift..."
"Presence is a gift." There was a pun there. What boggled Laud was that the pun was still there in equine sounds, though his untrained hearing could only barely make it out. "Let's not keep her waiting."
They strode into town. With permission given, much of Spike's tensions faded away and he started ambling along easily. "So, hey... you know how being royalty works, right? Think you could teach a guy?"
"That is a long task you're asking," he warned, looking aside at the young dragon. "And you are not royalty. Still, there are lessons you could learn about comporting yourself around them, but I think you know most of that. I've seen you do it, but you're not consistent. I think that's your weakness, Spike."
Spike put a hand behind his head. "Yeah, y'see, the girls don't... We'll talk about that later." He rolled out the same hand towards the town hall. "Here we are."
Lyra waved from a bench she was seated on in a very humanoid way beside Bon Bon. "Hey! Getting something from town hall?"
Laud dipped his head faintly to the pair. "A social visit, and one I don't wish to be late for. A pleasure seeing you again."
Lyra let him go, even waving him and Spike along. Bon Bon eyed them subtly, but not too subtly for Laud to notice. She was watching them with an intensity that she hid decently.
There was little time to deal with her, however. He ascended the few stairs that led to the main doors of the building. A glance showed Spike was at his side. This door had no knob. It had no bar or anything else. He presumed that meant it was pushed and gave it a nudge. It moved quite easily on well-oiled hinges. Inside was a low din of activity. Ponies were working hard, typing on keyboards that appeared to defy all logic and somehow work with two keys, scribbling notes with quills held in their mouths, and scrambling around putting things in filing cabinets while taking other things free of them.
It was, ultimately, a haven of governing. He had been to such places in the past, and it was comforting in a way to return to one. The back of the door, he noticed, had a handle. The handle was a small curved bit of metal that looked perfectly functional... if one had fingers to wrap around it and give it a pull. He shoved aside the mystery of pony architecture for the time being as he rose to his full height, towering over the ponies. It wasn't fair, he knew.
They were on all fours.
Despite that, he took advantage of his height. He meant to make impressions. Spike dashed forward and waved for him to follow. Laud nudged the door shut behind himself and they wove their way through the activity.
A pony with large glasses looked up at him as he walked by. "Are you here for the mayor?" Her eyes moved past him to find Spike. "He knows where she is. Welcome to Ponyville." Her attention fell right back to her work without a pause.
Laud had to silently commend the administrators on their work ethic. He followed Spike into an adjoining hallway where he scampered to a door and hiked his thumb at it. "This is her office." He started patting himself down, as if his scales could be straightened out and organized with the mild effort.
Fortuantely for Laud, his clothing could be, and he took the time to do just that, fussing over his clothing a moment before he strode up to the door and rapped on it twice with the back of a hand.
"Yes?" came a mature female voice before it opened, revealing a grey-maned mare with blue eyes and a pale amber coat. "Why, hello. A pleasure to meet you... Sir Mountbatten was it?" She stepped to the side to allow them in. "And you've brought Spike. Hello."
"Heya Mayor," Spike greeted with a friendly wave, walking past her.
Laud crossed an arm over his chest and offered a proper bow towards Mayor Mare. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Mare." That sounded so very odd to say to him. "I hear you are an excellent manager of the city, and have come to introduce myself, and perhaps learn more about the governance you oversee."
Mayor Mare's eyes lit up. "Is that a passion of yours?" She trotted away from the door and hopped up into a chair just behind her desk. "It would be a pleasure, but I must point out that I am never entirely off-duty, especially while I'm here at Town Hall. Any moment, a pony could come in with a matter needing my eyes and input, and I do apologize for that, but I take my position very seriously."
Her warning only sounded like a good sign. She took her role seriously. "It's good to know you take your responsibility with the gravity it deserves." He closed the door behind himself and approached her desk. "There is a matter of politics that will soon crash on your shores, and I hope to have your country ready for its happening, so it can proceed with efficiency and minimum disruption."
Mayor Mare's smile eased, a careful frown replacing it. "That sounds very dire, indeed. Can you be more specific?"
Laud waved upwards with one hand. "I came from up there, and I am the representative of but one of many houses that might seek to take control of this land, for its resources. It's a wonderful world, ripe for human habitation, which means it's not a matter of 'if', but 'when'."
Mayor Mare was quiet a moment. She gave a faint nod. "And you are another, who would control the world entire?"
Laud raised his hands. "Not the way you are likely thinking. You, for instance, are a model manager. There would be no reason to get in your way. Ideally, everyone would stay where they are, but there has to be something that speaks for the world as a whole, and will defend it against others that will come and take what they think is undefended. I will be frank, because we are both people of leadership."
Spike's eyes moved to each person as they talked, looking just a little lost.
"I appreciate your forthrightness, but, forgive me. What evidence do you have of your words?" She gave a little smile. "You're hardly the first to come into my office with words of doom and gloom, you see. It's become something of a task of mine to sift through it all and throw most of it aside."
At that, Spike raised a claw. "Well, we do know he's from the sky, past Equestria, somewhere... out there. Twilight has all the parts of the thing he rode on, Maud has the rest."
Laud nodded lightly. "My ship was small, but the ones that follow could be much larger, with enough people to mount a proper offensive. If it came down to a war, which I do not want, it would be long, brutal, and hopeless."
Mayor Mare brought her hooves together without a sound. "You underestimate ponies. Your people would be far from the first to try and take what is ours, and we've fought them all off. We may... seem weak, but our heroes have all our hopes and strengths. They will turn your people back."
"I don't want them to need to be turned back," countered Laud. "You will become part of the larger society. Let's do it elegantly, with battles of commerce and culture, instead of on the field of war."
Curious how he went to Mayor Mare for that, and not Twilight. I mean, she's a princess, even if also one of the heroes. Or ask her who actually rules.
But then again, maybe he wanted to get to the lower management first, for some reason.
Either way, I'm curious about how this will continue
Is... trying to more consistently acting... basically like a really good servan, really a solution to Spike's problems? Or is that just a way to solidify the opinion that Spike really *is* just "the help"?
Of course, given Laud'a upbringing perhaps he at least does believe that, having opinions toward his staff and underlings that may confirm he wishes they would always act proper toward him...
Anyway, the colonisation of Equestria (maybe) plan continues!
Laud really needs to take another week or so on the language thing, cos at the moment he is really sounding like Blueblood, and I hope so he doesnt really mean it.
Otherwise the next crew through that gate will be facing some very unpleasant preemptive action, if the gate is allowed to remain in existance.
And if Discord disposes of the Gate, the best they can hope for is the equivalent of the Apophis hack.
Mayor Mare should be redirecting Laud to the Princesses. She only governs Ponyville and thusly cannot make any decisions in relation to the entirety of the country, let alone the planet.
8325175
I do not think that many mayors of Equestria or Earth would choose to send any given person to the princesses just because they mentioned that something could go wrong.
8325423
It's not a case of "something could go wrong", though. It's a case of "There is a massive threat to not just one village but the entire planet and its not a case of if, but when"
To be fair, Spike actually has been royalty. He abdicated quickly, but he was still Dragonlord for a few minutes. Granted, he never had time to properly alpreciate the responsibilities of rule.
In any case, Laud's starting a bit small in his search for a planetary representative. Still, at least he's looking out for Equestria. When it finds itself on the galactic stage, the ponies will thank him.
assume the mantel - assume the mantle
glanced down in the city - glanced down into the city
A good chapter!
We get to see the slightly less than perfect part of Laud today, possibly not the first instance to date, but the clearest example of his youthful/idealistic status. He knows how he wants things to go but the most direct path isn't always the best place to begin.
Hmmm... very interesting that pony speak has the same homophones... although not entirely surprising. Laud came here through a gate, so it's close to a 100 percent certainty that there has been contact at some point in the distant past. The nature of that ancient encounter and its outcome are the true mystery.
Probably should have led with that.
Oh Spike, if Twilight has all the parts how can Maud have the rest?
8325521
Laud doesn't seem to be expecting Mayor Mare to make world changing decisions. He expects her to buck this up the line until he can speak with someone that does have the authority. He's trying to do it by the numbers, but might be selling it a little too hard too early in order to impress her with the gravity of the situation.
the big question.
will mayor mare head the warning.
8327499
Typos stricken from the record. The Mayor does not like typos on her books.
Can't wait to see if Laud meets Blueblood.
So, basically, Laud is telling the ponies humans are going to rule over them.
8331276
This is without a doubt, in Laud's mind. In his defense, basically every other race humanity has ever met has either become subservient to it or has proven nasty enough to resist that fate. He's trying to make things as smooth and graceful as possible.
How long until the Church undergoes a schism over worshiping Celestia?
8338983
Praise the sun!
8338983
8338999
Maybe just after someone asks the following: "So, i hear you are the Princess of the Sun and seem to have control over the local one. I do not suppose you could like... fix fading ones?" Then again unsure if the suns which are fading really are a problem as lore is a iffy for me.
Silly, ignorant, Mayor. No matter how skillful or powerful Equestria is, your people only have access to the resources of one country. Not even a world: a country. There is literally no way for a pre-space fairing society to win against the resources of a star-fairing race.
Imagine the shock when she is told this!
The external doors open inward? Aaahhh!
I tried to find a gif or video to underscore the verbal awesomeness Mayor Mare just laid out.
But there weren’t any sufficient for the job.
8537379
Why? That's... not uncommon. Well, depends on design and environment, they are more ergonomic, arent getting soaked by elemenrs outside, they more secure because lock throw is defended by rebate and hinges are inside. And you don't smack people with door.
8891001
Ah. We see you've never had to execute a mass exodus of patrons from a room in which the doors opened inward. Trust us, it's not fun...
8891009
And that is the difference. Public places are the things mandated to open outward.
8535144
Well, except for the fact that Celestia can just hurl the sun at an invasion fleet from space.
Ashes to ashes and aliens to space dust.
I'd count this as not just access to a countrie's resources, but direct access to a Celestial body.
Since this is past season 5, they also have reformed Discord, so why not try invasion fleet vs Discord.
I can already picture it:
Spaceships turn into inflatable castles, guns change into water pistols or bananas, bombs into balloons filled with chocolate milk, rockets into flying pickles and swords might turn into cheese baguettes or minty candy canes.
If Mr. Stormtrooper or fleet commander Vader never encountered magic before, I'd say shock, disbelieve and fear would pretty much be in their own corner.
So yeeeaaah... not really sure I'd bet on the space invaders.
If they got nothing to neutralize or suppress their magic, then game over for the alien visitors is a very real possibility.
9161916
Vader has the Force, though, and since Discord is a living being, he is likely dependent on oxygen and an uncrushed trachea - which Vader could remove (if he got his Force 'grip' on him, that is).
Then there's always the kamikaze attack Movie 8 introduced (...why did it take this long for it to be thought up? This could've done some serious damage to either Death Star, instead of relying on specific, hard-to-reach weak points - and surely some Clone Wars strategists would've 'invented' it), where a ship rams into a target while engaging its hyperdrive. Since that's essentially just a handwaved FTL method, Equestria would be blasted with a ginormous amount of pure destruction.
And since we're talking about Star Wars here, not Stargate, let me talk about my current favourite spacey sci-fi: Mass Effect (...Trilogy, that is). If the Reapers deemed Equestria a target (unlikely, because pre-spacefaring, but always possible), Equestria's doomed. Not only are they incredibly powerful (extremely powerful beam attacks from multiple points, and nigh-invulnerable to damage - especially destroyers and Harbinger itself), but they can also indoctrinate nearby beings into doing their will (though they will eventually become brainless slaves) and carry their own ground troops (Husks and its variants). Yeah, Equestria's got no hope of combatting that, especially since they don't even have eezo. And seeing some of their friends and family being converted into Husks...demoralising to say the least.
Outside of Reapers, there's normal dreadnoughts and the like; mass accelerator weapons (weapons that superheat metal fragments then shoot them at a fraction of the speed of light, thanks to eezo) would be particularly devastating for unarmored targets, and would be especially difficult to avoid or stop, thanks to their insane speed and low mass. There's also deliberately destroying a mass relay - which, as Shepard and the batarians find out, wipes out an entire solar system. There's absolutely no defence against this, though it is incredibly difficult to do (requiring a large asteroid or larger be slammed into it) and risky, as well; the detonating party can very likely be caught in the blast.
When there will be an invasion I hope to witness some spanking OP princesses .