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."

Author's Notes:

Oh Lyra, never stop being you...

What haunted Luna so much she ran off?

Will Blueblood give a hoof or become another obstacle?

How many different ways can Lyra's last statement be taken?!