Royal Time Capsule Debate By Persona22 (optional canon)
Optional-Canon
The young archaeologist, an Earth Pony stallion, paced back and forth, repeating in his head over and over what he was going to say as he checked and double checked the papers he had prepared to show the Princesses.
He had asked for this audience a few days ago and was given this date and time, just after sunset, since it was one of the two times of day when both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were awake. He wished that he could have spoken to Cadence as well, but that simply wasn’t possible with her schedule. His discovery was important, certainly worthy of their attention, and everything was arranged, but he still felt nervous. The news he had to deliver could make him sound like a madpony if he delivered it poorly, if he screwed this up in some way…
“Mr. Digsite?” asked a Unicorn mare wearing glasses and a red cravat, approaching the stallion.
He was startled but quickly replied. “It’s actually Dr. Digsite. Dr. Ancient Digsite, archaeologist at your service.”
“Both Princesses are ready to see you now,” replied the mare, seemingly used to such introductions. Given the wide variety of ambassadors that graced the castle, it was no surprise. “Follow me please.”
Dr. Digsite followed the mare down the hallway and towards the throne room, where she opened the double doors and stepped inside, bowing. “Your Highnesses, Dr. Digsite is here to see you.”
“Thank you, Raven,” answered the voice of Princess Celestia from inside the throne room. “Tell him to come in.” Dr. Digsite had never met her in person, nor Princess Luna, but of course he’d been to public events and heard them speak.
“They’ll see you now,” said the mare, beckoning.
Dr. Digsite nodded and thanked the mare for her help as he entered the throne room.
He was impressed to say the least. He’d seen pictures of the room in newspapers before, but standing in the real thing was a different experience altogether. He looked at the stained glass windows, representing history recent and past. Seeing them up close was beautiful, the meaning behind them even more so.
“Dr. Ancient Digsite, I presume? To what purpose did you request an audience with my sister and I?” Celestia’s voice reminded him that he wasn’t here to play tourist. Dr. Digsite stopped gawking at the big throne room and focused his attention on the far end of the hall, where both Princess Celestia and Luna were waiting for him, sitting on their respective thrones. Both Princesses towered over him, but they had a certain… larger than life presence to them that made it seem like they towered even higher. Not something they were actively doing, it was just… who they were.
He coughed a little, feeling nervous all over again, and made his way towards the two Princesses. “Yes, thank you very much for receiving me on such short notice. I know you both must be very busy, and I’m very grateful you were able to arrange an audience with me in just a few days.
“Now then… I’m not sure if you are familiar with my work, but I’m an archaeologist. I specialize in the period of the unification of the Three Tribes. Several of my finds have been exhibited in the Manehattan Museum of Equestrian History.”
“We can’t speak for our sister,” said Princess Luna, “but we have indeed seen these relics of which thou speakest. The artifacts thou hast found on Star Swirl the Bearded were most impressive, especially the candlestick that he used to light the way when he explored the caverns of Maretania.”
“Thank you, Princess Luna.” Dr. Digsite was actually impressed by Princess Luna’s response, and a little proud from hearing praise from her. He shook it off as quickly as possible, he was here on very important business, the most important discovery not only of his career, but probably of all time.
“I was conducting a dig in southern Equestria, when I came upon a strange but amazing find,” he explained. “One of our surveying spells detected an enormous metal box buried in the ground, as big as this very throne room. When we excavated the box, it was immediately apparent that its craftsmanship was like nothing we’ve seen before, not bronze or gold or copper or ordinary iron… It almost looked like modern steel, but it had resisted rust impossibly well for something that had been in the ground for a long time. Furthermore, we found a door on one side, with inscriptions in an unknown language imprinted on the metal itself.
“Naturally, my first thought was that the box must be modern, some secret project of the Minotaurs, perhaps. I ordered samples of the surrounding rocks sent to a local Rock Farm while I worked on translating the inscriptions. When the results came back the next day, though, we were shaken right down to our hooves. The rock strata in which the box had been buried was ancient, predating the Three Tribes era by more than one thousand years!”
Both Celestia and Luna were surprised at this. They looked at each other, then back at Dr. Digsite, “Please, do continue,” Princess Celestia encouraged him.
“It seemed a dream come true. Everything we know about the time before the Three Tribes is fogged over by myths and legends. To think that we had stumbled across such a find, one than might be even greater than artifacts and journals unearthed near Ponyville recently... We had to make absolutely certain. I hired a specialist, a Unicorn with a cutie mark for advanced divination, to cast a dating spell on the metal box itself. His results were the same! The box is, without a doubt, older than the Three Tribes era by more than a millennium.”
Princess Celestia edged forward in her seat, looking at him intently. “Were you able to translate the inscription of the door?” She remembered having to save Daring Do from radiation sickness after another find from that period.
“Yes.” replied Dr. Digsite. “Fortunately, ancient languages are my own special talent. I doubt there are many ponies alive today who could have puzzled it out, considering how few samples we had at that point. The language appears to be a precursor to what we call Old Ponish, and the inscription on the door read as follows…‘The ponies of Ponyland leave behind this Time Capsule, sealed in vacuum, so that ponies from the future might find it and learn how their ancestors used to live.’ Then it said ‘Buried in’ followed by a series of numbers, likely a date containing the number of years since the founding of this ‘Ponyland,’ though that’s only my best guess.”
When they heard the name ‘Ponyland,’ both Princesses were in awe, their eyes big as saucers. They quickly shook it off, hiding their surprise as best as they could. “Are… are thou certain about this?” asked Princess Luna, “The inscription said the ponies of Ponyland buried it?”
“Yes, quite positive,” replied Dr. Digsite. “I brought back these pictures of the inscription, along with my translation for you to see.” He offered some of the papers he had brought with him, and Celestia and Luna took them with their magic, studying them closely.
“Thine translation does seem to be correct,” said the Princess of the Night. “This is a most remarkable find.”
Dr. Digsite frowned a bit at that, but decided to humor her. Princess Luna couldn’t actually know that primordial language better than he now knew it, after all. As an archaeologist, he knew better than most ponies than the Princesses were old, but not THAT old. Most likely she was only guessing, based on her familiarity with Old Ponish.
He nodded to Luna, confident in his conclusions, and also completely right and wrong on one key point. While they had been born on Paradise Estate after the end of the Age of Wonders, Celestia Amaterasu Solaris Equestria and Luna Nyx Selena Equestria's greater selves were older than world itself, and there was much about their lives and their true nature that they’d only entrusted to the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, in recent times.
In truth, neither Celestia nor Luna needed to read the translation. They could read it perfectly themselves, and they even knew the calendar system. It was dated just a year prior to the ponies of the second era rediscovering magic, reuniting with the Pegasi, Unicorns, Flutter, and Sea Ponies, and subsequently preparing the Wishing Spell. For the Earth Ponies, it was a time when technology reigned supreme, and magic and the other tribes was but a myth to them.
“Did… did you open the door of this Time Capsule?” asked Princess Celestia.
Dr. Digsite smiled. “Indeed, we did!” Celestia frowned, clearly troubled by this news, but Luna seemed delighted. There was something suspicious about their reactions, but he quickly dismissed them. This was far too important to be bogged down by trivialities!
“When we broke the seal on the door by turning the circular crank handle, we were immediately buffeted by a strong gust of wind flowing into the box. It seems that when the door inscription spoke of the Time Capsule being sealed in vacuum, it meant the entire volume of the box, and what’s more, that vacuum was still intact after all this time!” Dr. Digsite paused for effect. “This in itself was remarkable, but that feat was NOTHING compared to what I found inside. When I saw what lay beyond the door, I knew it was time to contact both your highnesses and experts in every field.” He handed a stack of photographs to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “Just look at these, and you’ll see what I mean.” The two Princesses looked through them, with very different reactions.
“I can scarcely begin to describe it in words,” said Dr. Digsite, gazing off into space as if he was seeing it all again for the first time. “The interior walls of the Time Capsule were covered in images that were neither paintings or drawings. They were photographs, photographs of such size, quality, and detail as to beggar the imagination. There is nothing like that today in all of Equestria or even beyond, that I know of. They showed images of ponies, only Earth Ponies, curiously... never Pegasi or Unicorns, wearing strange clothes and doing all sorts of things from every walk of life. At least, I assume they were Earth Ponies… the photographs showed them walking on two legs more often than four! Which if true confirms the hypothesis that our hip joints being shaped as they are is indeed a relic of an era when we did so!
“What’s more, the Time Capsule was full of strange models and incredible devices, with more photographs depicting them in actual use. Some of them had an obvious purpose, and others I could only guess at. Others were shockingly familiar… we found a typewriter just like that a pony might use in an office today, except that it had their letters on the keys instead of ours!
“One particular machine resembled one of our carriages… but enclosed and made of metal, with the finest glass I’ve ever seen in the windows, and metal wheels protected by a strangely pliant black material. The photographs showed these vehicles traveling about with ponies riding inside, and no one pulling them! A ponyless carriage, one might call it.
“The Time Capsule even contains machines meant to fly through the air, if the photographs are to be believed, and I don’t mean hot air balloons. They look more like giant metal birds, of all things! I was tempted to dismiss them as fantasy, just props for some sort of science fiction play, but a Pegasus in my work crew swore that the machine WOULD fly, if it could only move fast enough, only he couldn’t see how it would. You’ll have to question him yourself, your highnesses. His talk of ‘lift’ and ‘aerodynamics’ was quite beyond me.
"There were mundane items like dolls of ponies, but again, just Earth Ponies, no Pegasi or Unicorns. There were bottles of liquid made with more of that fine glass. We didn't open them yet, but a few passive spells revealed them to be something akin to soda-pop! And ... I am ... reluctant to reveal this, but as an archaeologist it's my responsibility, there were figurines of a group of ponies happily eating meat as their primary diet! And meat of hooved creatures! I cannot say I am not disturbed by this." The good doctor wondered how the princesses could hear that without a single expression of shock or disgust. It must have been too stunning for them!
"There were samples of seeds of species that I'm still waiting to hear back from the botanist to see if any are of unknown or extinct species.
"One of the devices was a crank-turned vinyl record player, with a collection of records! That one really was too much… I began to doubt everything, wondering if the whole time capsule might yet be an elaborate hoax, or even the result of time travel! I had to contact a certain Gifted Unicorn, Miss Minuette of Canterlot, to have her personally confirm there was no chrono-magic involved, and to verify one more time the ancient age of the samples.
"With that established… brace yourselves for a bit of a shock, your highnesses. The ancient mechanism was too deteriorated to work, of course, but our tinker was able to cobble together a substitute, and we played back some of the records! Actual voices, from the depths of history, speaking once again!
"The records included songs from a musician group called the 'Rockin' Beats,' and speeches of various ponies I did not recognize even covered by the fog of myths. Plus a recording that seemed to have been made specifically for the time capsule. That stallion who introduced himself as Dr. Moon Shadow… even now, his words haunt me. He said, and I quote, 'The world is engaged in burying our civilization forever, and here in this crypt we leave it to you.'"
Dr. Digsite took a deep breath. “Lastly, at the very back of the Time Capsule, we found a series of shelves filled with books and documents. Well, not quite literal books or they'd have aged to dust by now, but metal engraved sheets, and near microscopic pieces of photo-film! All printed with technology that wasn't invented for centuries after the founding of Equestria! There was such a wealth of material that I might spend years if I had to translate it all myself, but sampling a few items, I found blueprints and plans for the strange devices, and even instructions for operating them. It struck me then… not in one single document had I seen any reference to magic, only mechanical or electrical power. Not even normal Earth Pony magic that was common knowledge in the days of the Three Tribes!"
He then got a look that reminded Celestia of Twilight. "There were archived periodicals like our daily newspapers, and some of the books actually were works of fiction! What a treasure trove of lost culture! Legends and stories forgotten by time! It could tell us so much about how those ancient ponies lived and how their culture developed! There were even documents of how their government functioned and their laws!
“Interestingly enough, the fiction books support my previous assumption. From skimming the summaries and cover plates, it was clear to me that they considered true magic and flying ponies to be things of myth with no basis in fact. There was an entire shelf devoted to the legend of Megan, depicting her as an almost godlike figure, to the point where I wondered if they were religious texts.”
He then showed pictures of one article in particular. "I’m sure you’ll find this of particular interest. This is a book of pony medicine, with knowledge that our expedition doctor said might be years beyond us! What's more, some of these techniques are attributed to none other than Saint Sweetheart! If this is true, then it's possible she was a member of this lost civilization and preserved some of its knowledge for us! It's almost too impossible to believe, but there it is! If this is true, her legend may be even more wondrous than we ever imagined!"
As he spoke, Dr. Digsite paced back and forth, his enthusiasm getting the better of him, “Just imagine what we can learn from all this. Equestrian technology could advance beyond our wildest dreams. Our scientists and engineers need to know of this. All of Equestria needs to know of this. That is why I came to see you first. This find is too big for me. I need a team of experts, and funds to continue my research, so that we may categorize everything inside that Time Capsule, make copies of every document, translate all of them, have experts of all fields of science and technology analyze everything in there and…”
“No need for further explanation, Dr. Digsite, we completely understand,” replied Celestia, though her smile wasn’t as radiant as usual. “However, for the time being, perhaps it would be best if…”
Princess Luna interrupted Princess Celestia before she could finish. “Pardon us, Dr. Digsite, but my sister and I need to discuss this in private first. It’s a substantial commitment of resources, after all.”
Dr. Digsite was surprised at this, but he nodded reluctantly. “Yes, of course. I understand.”
“Please, come back tomorrow at this same hour,” said Princess Luna, “and we shall have everything ready for you. May we keep the pictures thou brought? We presume thou hast other copies.”
“Yes, of course, Princess Luna.” He bowed. “Thank you again for granting me this audience. By your leave, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” With that, the archaeologist pony turned around and walked out of the throne room.
Luna motioned impatiently, and the two guards on duty saluted, retreating from the audience hall and shutting the ornate doors behind them. Then she gave Celestia a sternly disappointed glare.
“Sister, I just…” started the Sun Princess.
“We need to talk,” said Luna. “NOW.” She collected the pictures in her magic and teleported them, herself, and Celestia to a secret room in the palace. A room known only to them, accessible only by teleport. Here, they kept shrines to ALL of the pony tribes, those known and those once forgotten: Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, Flutter Ponies, and Sea Ponies, with two more recently added for Thestrals and Changelings.
“You were going to refuse his request, weren’t you?” said an exasperated Luna.
Celestia looked away, “Not outright… I was going to recommend caution, that the Time Capsule be kept secret while we determined what knowledge could safely be revealed to the public.”
“Oh, and for how LONG were you going to suggest he conceal and deny the greatest find of his career as an archaeologist?” asked a skeptical Luna.
“A few years, at least… we just need to…”
Luna didn’t let her finish, “Years? YEARS!?”
Celestia sighed, shaking her head. “What are a few years to a civilization? I never thought we’d have to deal with something like this, sister. The magical flux of the Disaster destroyed every piece of advanced technology on the planet, or so we believed. It’s only the most extraordinary chance that the enclosed metal shell and vacuum protected this cache from forces that the scientists of Ponyland couldn’t have imagined.”
Luna stamped her hoof angrily, refusing to be diverted. “Sister, this pony has stumbled upon a discovery of such magnitude that it can only be compared to when Patch found Paradise Estate! This discovery changes everything! The ponies of the past preserved it, and the ponies of today found this on their own! This is THEIR knowledge, we have NO RIGHT to keep it away from them!”
Undaunted, Celestia sorted through the photographs and showed one of them to Luna. “I had no intention of burning it or some nonsense. But tell me, sister, what do you see in this picture?”
The photograph made Luna hesitate, giving her a chill that cooled her anger for the moment. “It is a gun… one of the more modern models of that era.”
“And this one?” Celestia showed her another picture.
“An Armored Pony Carrier,” said Luna. She frowned at the explosive launcher mounted on the back. “For transporting police and soldiers when they suppressed riots or fought criminal gangs.”
Celestia put down the pictures, “Do not forget, sister. No civilization, not the minotaurs or separated Columbia or the centaurs or even Tirek’s dark empire ever reached the technological heights that Ponyland did, or their war-making potential… and Ponyland had no rivals, no need to wage total war against anypony." Thankfully, Megan and her siblings had never felt a need to bring over books related to Earth's more disturbing weapons. With the witches defeated, and no infrastructure to make such things anyway, there had been no need. Though Megan's shotgun she'd brought into the battle with the witches had planted the idea in ponies' heads. "Daring Do and her whole expedition nearly died on one occasion, because they discovered a vault that Ponyland never meant to be unearthed, containing materials that would not have been safe for another ten thousand years if not for me. Some of their inventions were dangerous, and I will not let them anywhere near my ponies.”
“THINE ponies?” retorted Luna. “First of all, they are as much MY ponies as they are thine. They are OUR ponies. And secondly, we DON’T own their past NOR their future. Our duty is to guide them, to help them, not to control them! Not to hold them down, or treat them like foals for their own good, OR to keep them from reaching their absolute full potential."
"Lulu, I swear by Our Parents I have never done anything to silence or discourage any discovery or advancement our ponies have made! You act as though I am asking him to bury it again!"
"We must provide the fundings and experts he requested. It is our duty!”
“Our duty is to keep our subjects safe!” replied Celestia, “It is the nature of knowledge to spread. What if this knowledge falls into the wrong hooves?
“Before Cadance became Queen of the Changelings, they had infiltrated almost every place imaginable. Some of the Changelings had been trained by OUR OWN GUARDS, disguising themselves as ponies. Even our chief of security was an infiltrator. They knew our own tactics and strategies, they knew Canterlot inside and out before they did anything, and everything they learned, they used against us.
“Now imagine if we had unearthed the science of Ponyland BEFORE the Changeling invasion. They could have easily stolen all the technological secrets and made them their own. Can you imagine a being like Kabuto with that knowledge? I shudder to think what he'd have done with such medical books! The Changeling invasion was a horrible ordeal, but imagine what it would have been like if Chrysalis had equipped her Changelings with guns, with grenades, with rocket launchers, with tanks, with bomber airplanes.
“Worse, what if they’d made a weapon of the splitting of the atom instead of power plants, like the humans did on their world? Imagine Canterlot going up in flames under a mushroom cloud! Yes, the scientists of Ponyland never even considered such things, but Chrysalis learned much of what might or could be from Pandora's renegade child, and she had the cunning to figure out how to pull it off…
“And even now, the changeling threat is not wholly ended… Pitcher Plant and her loyalists are still out there. She's not as cunning as her mother, nor as powerful, but she's every bit as bent on our destruction. To say nothing of the equally advanced magic developed by the Pegasi, Unicorns, and Flutter Ponies of the era. If this has been discovered, then the rest can't be far behind.”
“Sister… I understand thy concern,” replied Princess Luna, “but Equestria is now safer than ever before. Pitcher Plant made her bid for revenge, and she was defeated!"
"Defeated, but not reformed..."
Luna sighed. “Enough! Thou art just thinking of the worst possible scenario.”
“I have not even stated the worst that I fear, yet,” said Celestia. “Consider the Wishing Spell. When Patch found Paradise Estate, when magic and technology started to merge, not all problems were solved, some ponies with all their magic and technology were still unhappy and they developed the Wishing Spell that gave birth to the Third Era… and you know EXACTLY as much as I do how that ended for EVERYPONY! What if mortal ponies once again gain such almighty power? Will the counsel of you or I discourage them from tearing the fabric of reality apart all over again?”
Luna stamped her hoof. “That won’t happen, Celestia. If we must truly be so worried about what the ponies of Equestria might do with this new knowledge… then I’m sorry, but that means that thou has FAILED.”
“What?” asked a surprised Celestia.
“Thou spent the last 1000 years guiding these ponies, showing them how to exist in peace and harmony, how to embrace love and friendship above all else,” Luna explained. “If thou think that the first thing ponies will do with new technology is to try and kill themselves… well, either thou failed or thou don’t give ponies the credit they deserve.”
“Luna…”
“Furthermore, I say that it is important that we don’t keep conceal this from other nations. If we keep it secret we are just inviting to distrust and disaster. Tiamat trusts us, and while technology and pony magic mean very little to her, the idea we're betraying the rare trust she's put in us would make her very angry… and we know well how great and terrible her wrath is. We should encourage sharing these discoveries with the Griffons, the Zebras, the Yaks… every nation.
"Lulu... listen carefully, trust has always been our strongest weapon in keeping Equestria free of wars, and keeping other kingdoms from starting wars that would spill over into Equestria, on that point, you are right. Tiamat will likely take her copy of the discoveries and toss them on top of her hoard and not think of them again like that giant war helmet for her middle right head the first Yak King sent her that she never wears, until a Dragon Lord comes along with the drive to improve their people through intellect rather than brute strength.
"But think Luna! All sides having the same toys has never stopped any war in the history of Equus! And how many generals would get drunk off of their new toys, or use them with no idea how to properly operate them, endangering their own side?! Medicine, construction, communication, mechanics, these could be boons to nations like Griffonstone, but if they want to use that knowledge to make fancy new killing tools, they'll have to figure that out on their own! Do not test me on this Luna!"
Celestia held up one more photograph, a picture of the Ponyland National Zoo, featuring feral Griffons in a cage… exotic and dangerous wild beasts from distant alien lands in those times, only discovered that year, before the Disaster had changed them as it had changed so many other creatures. Celestia couldn’t resist one last ironic jab. “Would you like to explain this to the Griffon ambassador, or shall I?”
Luna gritted her teeth. “There will be many, MANY feathers ruffled by the truths in that vault, I am certain, but I personally view the feathers we'd ruffle by not sharing those truths outweighs the ones that sharing them will. And be aware, sister dearest: I will not be deterred! If thou refuse to give Dr. Digsite the funding and experts he requested, then I will fund everything by myself. I will sell my possessions in auction and I will perform charity drives to raise funds. We will NOT lock away knowledge from ponies forever!”
"I NEVER SAID I WAS!" Celestia glared at Luna, and the Princess of the Night glared right back at her, pleading, yet unshakably determined. At last, Celestia sighed. “Sister, I understand. You are right… we will sign off a portion of the royal treasury first thing tomorrow morning and request that the finest universities in Equestria send their best and brightest teachers to be part of Dr. Digsite’s research team.”
Luna smiled, “I’m glad to hear that, sister.”
"But…"
Luna blinked. "Yes?"
"We'll also nudge them in the direction of where the seven castles once stood, so that they will uncover the ruins," Celestia replied. "I do trust them to learn from their mistakes… but I cannot trust them to learn from mistakes they do not know happened. They must learn of those mistakes so they can learn not to make them themselves."
Luna gave it thought. "A point fair and reasonable."
Celestia smiled. "I can be, I hope, even when I’m proven wrong. But might I still counsel caution, my sister, not to overwhelm our ponies with too-rapid changes? Go from hot air balloons and airships to helicopters flying around too quickly, and you'd have Pegasi crashing into them left and right. Have you thought of the resistance from the chariot Pegasi who will see this new technology as a threat? Remember the protests I told you about from angry 'train puller' stallions, organized when a pony all on her own reinvented the steam engine? If we magically reintroduced say, fax machines tomorrow to every pony in Equestria, how many ponies in the best case scenario in the mail system would lose their jobs without being educated for successor occupations? How many would be trained how to operate or repair one without our aid? And what happens in a few decades when Spike forms the idea of teaching his teleportation breath to Dragon Town's residents? We would make our ponies more dependant, not less! Remember what happened to the species on one world that was left an archive of vast knowledge by their predecessors, and instead of using it as the springboard to jump-start their civilization it was intended to be, they came to use it as crutch. To instantly introduce all this lost technology out of the blue fully developed would leave them with no appreciation of it and no understanding of its fundamentals. If this isn't done gradually ponies won't be able to adapt. We do need to think this through."
Luna nodded slowly. "You're right about that… too fast or too slow will be a problem… Let us consider this, together…” She chuckled. “As always, one of us ever notices what the other has overlooked."
"Indeed… I missed you, Lulu. I really do need you."
Luna returned her sister's smile. "And I need thee, Celly. Truly, we were meant to rule together."
+++
160 years later…
The ship was close to landing at its destination. Princess Luna was aboard, but strictly as an observer, if all went well. The other ponies were the real crew of the ship… two scientists, the pilot, the navigator, and an engineer. They’d been training for this mission for months, and years of research were only a few minutes away from coming to fruition.
Now, as the final descent began, Princess Luna took a moment to pause and reflect, remembering the long road that ponies had taken to reach this point.
It had taken years for ponies to translate even the most important-seeming texts. Many times, Luna had been tempted to point out a vital but overlooked book, or just TELL them what the text said instead of waiting for them to translate it, but she held her tongue. Sister Fate was not fond of cosmic knowledge being carelessly hoofed out, spoiling the opportunity for mortals to learn and progress by building step by step upon the choices they had made before. By rediscovering the knowledge themselves, ponies would shape their own destiny.
Finding out that electricity was needed to operate most of the machines took them even longer, though some wise Pegasi realized that lightning was the same thing, and cloud batteries could substitute for chemical ones. And the ponies of the Age of Wonders had been intelligent enough to include a portable generator.
Figuring out that the 'ponyless carriages' required fuel, recreating the method for manufacturing said fuel from oil, and figuring out how to get the oil in the first place was a puzzle that took almost a decade to solve. Then the investors were frustrated again by the air pollution produced by the first working models. Not to mention the risk of enraged dragons, unhappy with their favorite wine being taken for such uses. Newly trained engineers worked hard to find a way to either suppress the toxic emissions or replace the energy source entirely. It took them a while, but the clean automobiles were now an essential form of transportation in Equestria.
Adapting the new engines to 'air-skiff' (as ponies would come to call them) was the next logical step. As it turned out, the Storm King had been experimenting with them (with barest minimum success) for years before his invasion of Equestria (with technological might that stunned half of Equus). There was even a conspiracy theory that the Storm King's spies had stolen blueprints from the time capsule, but all evidence pointed to this being paranoid.
Much to Luna's shock, it turned out that many ponies had been building prototype muscle powered flying machines for years (such as Pinkamina Diane Pie), and Rarity and Applejack had even 'borrowed' one in a cross-country business trip, but ponies before had simply never realized the practical applications.
The first 'modern' Equestrian made one pony 'air-skiff' was publicly displayed by Fizzlepop Berrytwist, using her own magic to power it. Engine powered models for Earth Pony use were soon to follow. But Pegasi still had an important role… no machine could duplicate the magic they used to shape and control the weather… but now others could join them in the sky.
The technology to improve farming was met with distrust by farmers all over Equestria. The Apple family, for example, had protested that using tractors and plows to clear the snow for Winter Wrap Up broke with tradition. They finally relented when they realized how much more each farmpony could do with the help of the new machines, and that a farm which once produced enough crops to feed dozens of ponies now could feed hundreds.
Technology didn’t replace all of the old ways, though. No science of the ancients could even begin to make sense of magical crops like Zap Apples, and Earth Pony magic was still more effective than any fertilizer, so technology and magic working as one was the best option. Applejack had been the first to champion this truth... no surprise, given that she had achieved her goal and become the Princess of Honesty.
The progress of technology of course had its share of controversies. Some advocated that genetic engineering should be used to improve ponies and make them reach their full potential. Others proposed using medical science to resurrect species long extinct. Perhaps they would find the genes of the Keythong tribe, still present in modern Griffons… ah, now that would ruffle Strife's feathers! The discussions were heated, but Twilight Sparkle was able to convince most of the new scientists that the natural development of ponies was fine the way it was, that the natural order which ponies had respected for centuries had value. This did nothing to deter ponies whose loved ones suffered from birth defects.
All of this was before the next bits of their past were unearthed from the ground. The Pegasi, Unicorns, Sea Ponies, and Flutter Ponies had advanced their own magics while the Earth Ponies had been forgetting theirs, and caches of them were found all around the world, once ponies knew where to look. Though these records required far more reconstruction and detective work, as they'd been simply archives for public use rather than designed to survive the end of their civilization. The necessities of Pegasi and Sea Pony life and Unicorn preservation spells were helpful, but could only do so much.
Ironically, though the Apple family had been one of the most outspoken against technology in the beginning, it was Applejack’s own sister Apple Bloom who published breakthrough research and designed the first magical machines, using the best traits of magic and technology together in one device. A Pegasus using magic to power a flying machine could fly higher and faster than either a Pegasus or an air-skiff alone. Of course, Rainbow Dash had to be the first test pilot of the 'magitek' air-skiff, soaring clear to the edge of the atmosphere and unleashing a Rainboom seen around the world.
Inspired, Earth Ponies rushed to combine their own magic with ground and tunneling vehicles, Unicorns invented magical networks and amplifiers, and the Griffons, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, Yaks, Deer, and even Dragons were not far behind with their own discoveries and magitek wonders. The knowledge that the ancients of the other kingdoms had magic of comparable advancement to the technology of the Earth Pony Kingdom spawned a renaissance in Earth Pony magic study, both for use on its own and to see what new wonders it could spawn. Luna was proud of the path that lead to, and she was certain her new sister Applejack was pleased with it. With magic and technology advancing and working as one, the results were ever more amazing and wondrous.
Then the rockets came, and the first satellites were launched into orbit. Ponies all across Equestria watched a pony orbit around the world on their new television sets, and after that...
Luna was nudged out of her remembrance as the ship finally touched down. “We made it!” exclaimed the ship’s pilot. He tapped his radio headset. “Canterlot control, Firefly has landed. Repeat, Firefly has made a successful landing, all crew safe!”
“Indeed,” said Princess Luna proudly. She and the others unfastened their harnesses, and then she opened the ship’s hatch, holding it open for them with her own hooves. “Everypony… honored, brave travelers and explorers… welcome to my realm.”
With that, the first pony stepped out of the ship, and for the first time in millennia, a mortal pony set hoof on the surface of her Moon. Luna smiled, wondering how they'd react when they saw the first flag still waiting for them.
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Simply amazing.
Celestia and Luna's debate reminded me of certain times in comics where people wonder why people like Superman don't share their technology with humanity.
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I think Persona22 would appreciate that! :-)
It depends on how Supes shared it. If he just gave the gadgets wholesale without explaining how they worked, or giving humans the information to work it out for themselves, it would just make humans more dependent on him. Supes doesn't mind being their moral example, but he doesn't want to be known as Santa Claus.
It's actually Dr. Nose. Dr. Onthe Nose.
Now if only you could find the chamberpot he used we'll have collected every random object that old historical figure ever used.
We're only the heads of their government, responsible for their safety, and know how badly things can get out of hand when things go too far too fast. But hey, who are we to keep this stuff away from them just until we're sure they won't start killing themselves?
And you're content to give ponies a loaded gun and let them play catch with it. One extreme doesn't prevent the existence of another extreme.
Whether fate's an inescapable predestined path or what you choose for yourself either way who's she to complain if your fate is to give out that knowledge?
Kaayyyyyyy...stretch the honesty thing any more and she might as well be the Princess of Reality. I mean the most you could say is she didn't lie about the stuff. Big woop.
♫Guess who's back. Back again. Guess who's back. Tell a friend.♫