The alicorns were meant to guide the races of that world so that they could be uplifted.

However, they decided they liked ruling over the ponies instead and abandoned their mission.

When the humans return and find that the alicorns failed in their mission, the humans decide to exterminate the rogue alicorns and try again.

However Twilight manages to convince them to spare the princesses on one condition.

They must uplift at least one race to the level of the humans within just a few years.

If that fails, the humans will instigate an, "Aggressive uplift."

5024069

The alicorns were meant to guide the races of that world so that they could be uplifted.
However, they decided they liked ruling over the ponies instead and abandoned their mission.

So like James Cameron's Avaturd, except it didn't end in an unnecessary war with many dead on both sides just because Celestia and Luna wanted to get laid?

5024083
Yes to the second part.

There as no uplift in Avatar, the na'vi were just in the way.

5024086

There as no uplift in Avatar, the na'vi were just in the way.

I know, but I was referring to the 'abandon the mission' part.

5024088
Yeah, pretty much.

They decided that it would be more fun to rule the ponies. Can't do that if they uplift the ponies too far.

Are we talking like, "Prepare them for integration into the greater galactic community" Uplift, or something more esoteric in nature?

5024069
This is an awesome story idea. Are you going to write it?

This idea has great potential, though many things will be decided by the execution of it.
Will the humans be benelovent? Are the ponies just one of the many races uplifted by this intergalactic human civilization? What is the tech level of the humans?

I imagine that 'magic' must be not more than some sort of super advanced tech, perhaps the same as in Mass Effect?

If this idea could be turned into a collaboration, I think I could help, I am interested in this topic, greatly.

5024069
This reminds me a lot of "Diaries of a Madman" since that's what happened when humanity died and they created the new races to live on in their stead to defy Discord and whatnot.

5024069

They must uplift at least one race to the level of the humans within just a few years.

How long of a timeframe are we talking, because this sounds like: "Fine, we won't kill you now. We'll give you an impossible task and then kill you later."

Second, how are you going to reconcile the events of the show with the new petty and self-serving princesses? Or are you just not?

Third, I think it would be interesting if the humans came back, asked the princesses why things didn't get done, and the princesses went: "Hey, idiots, massive cultural and technological shifts aren't that easy. And you left it to rot. We're doing the best we can, but if you want it done now, then you need to help us."

5024069
Damn, I would read this, but then I saw your name and I was like "Oh another brilliant idea from this fine gentleman, oh well. I guess this is going to be just another "discuss thread" and not an actual story..."

5024069
This story have some few plotholes like how
5024279 said. But it can be a good story if executed well.

First, instead of uplifting the race to same levels of human, how about uplifting to somewhere between modern and space age. Equestria current tech from the show seem to be quite mixed but alot of it are modern era tech. (I think...)

Second, the alicorns the human sent aren't Celestia and Luna. Some stuff happens causing the original alicorns died but leaving some methods to ascend or stuff. Celestia and Luna didn't know the original alicorn's objective.

5024711

Actually, on the drive to work, I was thinking about this and decided that reconciling the story idea with the events of the show is likely paramount. How does Discord, Nightmare Moon, Sombra, etc. play into this idea?

I think it would be funny to see humans try the initial idea (uplift them now, or else) only to have Luna blurt out:

"Are you [Censored] kidding us? Do you know how much Discord set us back because you weren't there to help?! We only had to rebuild the entire world's infrastructure from scratch!"

please define uplift

5025967
up·lift
verb
ˌəpˈlift/
1.
lift (something) up; raise.
"her uplifted face"
synonyms: boost, raise, buoy up, lift, cheer up, perk up, enliven, brighten up, lighten, stimulate, inspire, revive, restore; More
2.
elevate or stimulate (someone) morally or spiritually.
"people leave my shows feeling uplifted"
synonyms: inspiring, stirring, inspirational, rousing, moving, touching, affecting, cheering, heartening, heartwarming, encouraging; formalnuminous
"an uplifting story about surviving cancer"
noun
ˈəpˌlift/
1.
an act of raising something.
2.
a morally or spiritually elevating influence.
"their love will prove an enormous uplift"

5105046
In the context of science fiction, it specifically refers to the act of technologically, culturally and (if necessary) biologically advancing a possibly pre-sentient species to spacefaring levels by a pre-existing outside civilization or group of civilizations that makes contact with them. There is a rather well-known and decently written series of books by David Brin just called "Uplift" that centers around these ideas and on humanity's role in the process, both in being contacted and in having uplifted a number of species on their own terms.

5105457 I do beleive Scarheart was deliberately trolling, but...

5106096
I realize. That was more for the benefit of anyone else who may have been reading this and wondering the same thing. It's not a concept everyone may be familiar with.

5024069

When the humans return and find that the alicorns failed in their mission, the humans decide to exterminate the rogue alicorns and try again.

This is the hang-up part. Some serious things must be going on if humans are interstellar, want to uplift, decide not to uplift by themselves, give the creations that can uplift free will, and are benevolent(?) enough to uplift but sinister enough to murder someone for not doing the job they're forced to do.

Other than that sounds interesting.

5106259
Depending on how you see that, this is at the very least dereliction of duty and possibly even high treason. Execution is not an unrealistic punishment for that nor one without precedent. As written, in that scenario they are basically ambassadors who decided to install themselves as local tinpot dictators instead. That's a fairly harsh crime no matter how you see it.

5106259
Well, the way I' thinking of it, the humans saw a great deal of potential in the natives of the planet, and wanted them to join them in a better life in space.

They come back a thousand years later and those they left in charge have completely failed to reach even a fraction of what they thought that planet was capable of, instead choosing to rule over just one of the many races they were supposed to enlighten.

Imagine if you sent relief workers to a starving village with enough supplies and educational material to fix all of their problems, only to came back and not only were the relief workers only doing the bare minimum of their duties, but had also convinced all of the locals to treat them as royalty.

The humans are pissed, not because they think that Celestia and Luna failed, but because they think that they are taking advantage of undeveloped races and hindering their growth.

Whether or not they are just taking advantage or were just unable to meet the humans' goal I'll leave to you to decide.

5106323
5106316 Maybe I'm misreading it. From the way it was worded it sounds sort of like 'We made you for this job and this job only. You don't have a say in it. Go do it.' Written differently it would make more sense.

5106362
Yeah, I misworded it. I should have been more clear.

there is a story about this now. Ultimatum

5106810
Yep! Though I didn't interpret things identically to the idea in this thread, this is exactly what inspired me.

Namely, of course,t he last sentences. That kinda frames it as a story just starting, a story about the uplifting process itself, rather than the diplomacy. That was too long-term for my liking, so Ultimatum doesn't go into detail about what happens when that initial meeting is over. It's left to your imagination.

5024069 I've had this idea for a while now. My idea was that a technologically advanced intergalactic human society had as a thing where they would basically uplift other species, seeing this as the duty of any life advanced enough to do so. I imagined that they lost contact with the Equestrian world and abandoned it thousands of years ago due to some imminent threat, leaving Celestia and Luna behind to keep it until they could return... Instead, they never called back, and simply continued to rule the world on their own, having the humans believe the entire world was dead or something.

I imagine it being about Twilight or another finding "The Book of the Ancients", which would show out to be more a data disk, which combined with the Elements of Harmony (which would be energy crystals or something else sci-fi) could activate a relay to inform them of the status of the world and all that.

Basically very similar to this concept indeed. And yes, "Ultimatum" is a thing now indeed. I will read this (as it is not too long), and then see if there is a reason to still write my own.

5109757
Cool.

Personally, I'd have the Elements and the Tree of Harmony be a magitek defense system that the humans left to help the princesses deal with any serious threats.

5111303
It would make a lot of sense for the Elements proper to be a misused power system in a scenario like that. It would explain both why they are so powerful and why the tree has been weakening without them: using them is basically throwing the raw output of a power reactor at something to fry it, like an arc flash (don't look those up unless you want to see people get roasted by something that's basically four times as hot as the surface of the sun) would, while the tree has been running on battery power ever since they were removed. It naturally kills anything dead, but it's not really what they were ever meant for.

5111332
Makes sense, but why do they alter themselves to accommodate the wearer. (Imitating their cutie mark, forming easy to carry jewelry.)

Perhaps a middle ground.

The elements are a power source designed to also function as an emergency weapon to defend the tree.

If things get out of hand just pull them out of the tree and point them at the threat. Once the threat is gone, put them back.

5111346

Makes sense, but why do they alter themselves to accommodate the wearer. (Imitating their cutie mark, forming easy to carry jewelry.)

Weird-ass harmony magic interacting weirdly with pony powers. That's the kind of thing I think could just be handwaved in some way, but your explanation for it also works. Personally, I like the idea that everyone has basically been using them all wrong and never noticed it, though. I stumbled over a story called Harmony Theory recently that uses it a lot like that. It's amazingly written.

5111350

That's the kind of thing I think could just be handwaved in some way,

But when I do that people just bitch at me.

Personally, I like the idea that everyone has basically been using them all wrong and never noticed it, though.

That might actually be canon.

Remember the first EQG movie? Sunset told Twilight she didn't really understand how her Element worked and then proceeded to use it to turn into a dark magic based flying demon. It's possible that the Elements are much more complex than most ponies believe.

I saw a similar idea brought up in TCB: The Other Side of the Spectrum. The Elements have individual abilities that nopony ever discovered because all they ever used them for was the insta-win blast.

5111359

I saw a similar idea brought up in TCB: The Other Side of the Spectrum. The Elements have individual abilities that nopony ever discovered because all they ever used them for was the insta-win blast.

I might have to look at that, then. Harmony Theory does that too and being a darkfic, the ways they're applied are pretty horrifying.

5111363
Oh, if you like horrifying, the Spectrumverse is for you.

It's very long and has plenty of side stories, but they are all well made.

5111369
It's more horrifying by implication than graphically. Making a character so loyal to her dead master, she can't bear to leave his slowly rotting corpse behind. That kind of thing. It does have some pretty neat scenes that Clive Barker would be proud of, though.

“I know,” the Professor said, smiling as her body bulged and her skin began to split. “I raised you to be strong.” There was a sickening rip and a pair of ashen wings flared out from her back. “And you have grown up so–” her words cut off as her head exploded, bits of skull and bloody flesh igniting with black Ashfire as the face of the Nightmare emerged.

5111388

Spectrum is horrifying both in detail and implication.

For example, something is fundamentally wrong with the newfoals, like more so than in most fics. They don't get cutie marks for some reason.

That's not the scary part though. Whatever it is, it's spreading to the normal ponies. Children living in Equestria don't get cutie marks anymore either.

5111401
It definitely sounds like something that I'll be marking down, although I'm usually really not fond of either the regular kind nor the ACB type of story.

5111412
This is an interesting mix.

There are both good ponies and bad, as well as good and villainous humans.

There are even two separate Equestrias involved, one invading and one helping the humans. And even in the invading Equestria there are ponies working to undermine the invasion.

5111412
Funny idea I had.

The humans want the princesses to uplift one race to the space age in a year instead.

Twilight: "Okay, the first manned flight into space is GO!"

Ship explodes instantly.

Luna: "We probably should have told you, but even with our help, that's going to happen a lot."

5111577
Well, it certainly happened a lot when we did it - and we had substantially more than a year for it.

5111587
I actually deleted a part of that where AJ runs towards the wreckage screaming for Big Mac.

Thought it might be in bad taste.

Still, I like this joke.

I also think it would be funny if the alicorns have kind of forgotten most of what they knew because they wasted so much time, so they make pretty much every mistake.

Twilight: "Okay, it took a lot of money and way too many dead ponies, but we got them to the moon. Now it's time for the first steps onto non-earth soil!"

A brief scream is heard, followed by utter silence.

Celestia: "Twilight did you remember to brief them on sealing the space-suits?"

Twilight: ".......Space what?"

Celestia slams her head onto the desk: "Oh nothing, just something else we forgot to invent."

5111590
I don't think anyone could be that stupid, considering all the stuff you need to take into account to even have a spaceworthy vessel at all, but otherwise, the idea of the alicorns fumbling about because they can barely even remember how their job is supposed to work is pretty funny.

5111595
Twilight: "Wow princess, I can't believe you recreated that entire fuel recipe from memory."

Explosion

Rainbow Dash: "I guess the ship couldn't either."

5111606
Yeah, that's a good one. Comical, but not so much of a stretch that it becomes absurdist.

5111608

Celestia: "Alright, this is an electromagnetic gyroscope. When we turn it on like so,"

Flips switch.

Celestia: "it will emit a magnetic field that stabilizes the...."

Clang.

They look over and see several foals with braces pinned to the device.

5111617
Horseshoes, dude. Make that "the entire lab staff."

5111622
Bwahaha!

The princesses lie down on the ground in exasperation.

Celestia: "Twilight, do you think we're doing a bad job at this? Your smart enough to meet this challenge! We've guided you all properly, haven't we?"

Twilight: "As sure as the sun orbits the Earth! .......Why are you crying?"

5111626
I don't even know how they could possibly justify that particular abomination to their bosses. Neglectfulness is one thing, but convincing a bunch of primitives to all but worship you as a sun god? That's "cartoonishly villainous" grade.

5111630
Human: "You realize your getting decompressed for this."

Celestia and Luna: "Yes sir...."

Worse comes to worse they can just go through the EQG portal and look up everything they need to know online.

5111636
If that place even has the same laws of physics, anyway. It is kinda a bizarro-world of quasi-human stick figure bobbleheads. Sucks to be them if it doesn't.