Twilight Sparkle rapped her right forehoof on the door to room eight of the local Potel 6. Yesterday, she'd stumbled across a very interesting book, The Pony Prehistory Problem, which mentioned a second civilization that had in times long past lived alongside ponykind. The ponies and this second civilization worked together in harmony, trading food and technology. Eventually, they'd become so close that they essentially acted as one state on the international stage, working together to form treaties with dragonkind and the other nations of primitive Equestria.
However, as time passed, this second civilization grew more warlike. At first, they pressured the ponies to help them attack the northern Griffon Duchies in a land grab. When the ponies refused, the alliance began to fall apart. Eventually, this second civilization surrounded the Castle of the Pony Sisters with a mighty and technologically advanced army. They demanded that the ponies become their vassal state, churning out weaponry and gold to fuel their conquest of Equestria. The Princess of the ponies at that time, not wi lling to cede control of the ponies to the invaders, instead cast a spell so powerful that it sent every single member of the newly-hostile species far into the cosmos, onto a different world. It is said she was so exhausted, that the sun did not rise for a week afterwards, as if a symbol of the Dark Age the ponies would go through without those who were once their closest allies.
Twilight had stayed up until six o'clock in the morning, reading all she could about the lost culture. Her books were wildly inconsistent - some said the entire last bit with the spell was exaggerated, and the second civilization was obviously a griffon tribe. Others said it was a cooperative band of Diamond Dogs, while the most outlandish claimed a race of sentient simians. Twilight, after realizing the time, set her alarm clock and went it bed. It woke her at three in the afternoon, and she awoke to find that Spike had already prepared her lunch and set the day's mail on the table. Twilight had half a plate of strawberries before levitating the mail over to herself. Bill, she thought to herself, looking at the topmost envelope. Moving it aside telekinetically, she went through the rest. Bill, Pinkie Pie Party Invitation, Bill... what's this?
Twilight Sparkle had received what looked like a letter, addressed in very finely written script from a Professor Pecsus, PhD. Opening the envelope, she read to herself:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Somepony helpfully informed me that you're interested in the lost history of the civilization that thrived alongside the primitive equines. I happen to be an archaeologist and historian who specializes in that field, and am in fact passing through Ponyville on my way to a dig site. If you'd like to hear about them what the books written based on hearsay won't tell you, I'll be in Ponyville until around midday tomorrow. Do feel free to come by whenever, if you'd like to talk. I will be staying in room eight of the inn on Wet Hoof Road.
Sincerely yours,
Professor Pecsus
Eager for knowledge, Twilight Sparkle hadn't even bothered to finish all her strawberries before setting out to meet the professor.
After the few minutes Twilight spent going through all this in her mind, the door to room eight finally opened. Standing before her was an aged Earth Pony, who appeared to be approaching his 30's. While by all accounts he should be slowing down, this pony evidently had no intention of letting his age get the better of him. Wearing a goofy smile on his face and an archaeologist's hat upon his head, the grey pony reached a hoof towards Twilight expectantly. Before she even had a chance to shake his hoof, the pony began to speak, with a mild Scoltish accent.
"Twilight Sparkle! I knew you'd show up! So sorry to keep you waiting, I was taking a bath. Not that I wasn't excited to talk to the smartest pony in Ponyville, of course not, but nothing can tear an old pony from his bath, so I just had to give myself a few minutes more! So nice to meet you!"
Twilight shook the grey pony's hoof. His coat hadn't dulled much despite the wrinkling it had undergone with age. Pecsus' cutie mark, an archaeologist's brush and quill, still looked as bright as it must have on the day that he got it. "Thank you, Professor. I've been looking forward to - "
"Oh, how rude of me!", the Professor exclaimed. "You reminded me, I hadn't even taken the time to introduce myself to you! My name is Pecsus, Elbit Pecsus! I'd give you a book of mine to read, as a gift, but this is my first time in Celestia's realm, you know! They haven't even been translated, so you wouldn't be able to read them - unless you speak my native Gaelick?"
Twilight only had time to nod no before the Professor continued. "Oh, such a pity! It's a beautiful language, you know. Not that Equestrian Standard isn't, of course! It's just beautiful in a different way, you know?"
This time, Twilight had the chance to open her mouth before Pecsus continued speaking. "But enough about me, isn't it? Let's get to history!"
The Professor skipped into his room, his demeanor greatly reminding Twilight of Pinkie Pie. I guess there's more than one pony that crazy, Twilight thought to herself before following after Pecsus.
His excitement dropping to a more reasonable level now, the aged archaeologist asked Twilight how much she already knew. "Not very much", she responded. "I just know there was a second civilization, and the siege against the Castle of the Pony Sisters, and that - supposedly - the Princess sent them all to a different world."
"My, my!", the Professor exclaimed. "That is indeed not very much at all. Do you at least know the sort of being that made up our forerunners' allies?" Twilight shrugged, somewhat embarrassed, and the older pony led her over to a table. Opening a box, he produced a small sculpture - a model of a skeleton. Gingerly holding it in his mouth, he set it onto the table. "This", he said proudly, his voice bubbling again, "is my work, and the work of some of my associates. When the Princess sent the simians - " - a look of shock passed onto his face - "Why, I just ruined the surprise! Well, when the Princess sent the simians away, their things and the dead ones were left behind. It's been over 3000 years since then, and I've been able to reconstruct so much about their lives! And that, what you see before you, is a model of a simian skeleton!"
Using her magic to bring the model up close to her face, Twilight looked over the creature. It was bipedal - obviously, since it was a simian - and had a tiny head compared to its body. It had hands, not hooves, and looked somewhat similar in structure to the gorillas of Zebrabwe.
"This creature", asked the curious unicorn, "is from the hominid family, right?"
Professor Pecsus was practically beaming. "Why, yes!", he said, a huge smile on his face. "Your intelligence definitely hasn't been overstated, Miss Sparkle!"
"How tall were they? I don't really have anything to compare this to, I mean."
"Oh, an excellent question! These hominids were around five feet tall. Oh, and on another note", the Professor said, his voice growing more solemn, "Do you know what it was that caused the hominids' ambition to grow, and made them conquerors?"
Twilight shook her head, and Pecsus reached into a bag and pulled out a terribly old-looking primitive hammer.
"Hammers?", Twilight asked, somewhat confused.
"No, filly", responded Pecsus. "Look at the hammerhead - it's made of iron."
"I see", said Twilight, not completely sure that she understood.
"Iron", lectured the Professor, "changed everything. It was so much stronger than bronze, and it the hominids into the dominant military power in Equestria. Iron was the only thing that could pierce dragonhide. For the first time, dragons could be fought with something other than clubs. The hominids, with their large numbers, could bring down dragons at a range with iron-tipped arrows and javelins. Iron blades and iron armor won out against griffon claws, every time."
"So", said Twilight, finally understanding. "The hominids were the first to smelt iron, and that was what gave them the edge over ponies and all the other creatures. That makes sense then, I suppose."
"Indeed it does", responded Pecsus, sitting down. "You know", he said, "We even think that all of our metallurgical knowledge, and maybe even some of our farming knowledge, stemmed from these hominids. It's interesting, isn't it, how advanced they were for their time."
Twilight didn't say anything, but only thought. How highly advanced would the hominids be now, if they were still in Equestria? Just in time, Pecsus said to her, "It's a fun thought, I think, to wonder how advanced the hominids are now. I mean, ponyfolk only invented mechanized aviation for wingless ponies - balloons and flying machines - a little over a decade ago. The hominids must be doing quite well on their world. Who knows - maybe they could even be visiting us. One pony I work with certainly thinks that. Just a step above worrying about alien invasion, if you ask me."
"Huh", said Twilight, taking a seat. "Do you know anything about hominid culture?"
"Do we know anything about their culture? We certainly do!", now as excited as when Twilight first saw him. "They lived in familial units similar to ponies - two genders, a male and female living together with their offspring. They were tribal, but the tribes were united by a common bloodline, a confederation of sorts. And", he said, a mirthful gleam in his eyes, "do you want to know something really funny?"
"Of course", said Twilight, gleeful that she's found a new scholarly subject to delve into.
"Well", Pecsus said, dropping the volume of his voice, "The hominids were sent to a world populated by other hominids. The multiverse is infinite, after all, so there had to be another world where the same kind of creatures existed. And that's where the Princess sent them."
"Wait", Twilight interrupted. "What did you find that would suggest -"
"Be patient, alright? This is where it gets good."
"Alright", said Twilight, abandoning her question.
"Okay", continued the Professor, "Well, when they arrived, they were the most advanced culture present on their new world, because of their iron-working skill. And, because of their knowledge of the Princess, many cultures on their world ended up worshipping the sun as a deity."
Twilight was confused. Wait, how could he know what happened on their world? Could he be...
Just on cue, a flash of light blinded Twilight. Where Pecsus was sitting, instead stood a hominid. Twilight dropped her jaw in shock. It stood much taller than five feet - closer to six, if not more. It wore some form of skintight white suit covered in electrical wires, and had a look upon its face that (despite the inter-species differences) Twilight understood as being terribly giddy, the same one Pinkie Pie always wore after a successful prank. The hominid reached one hand towards the stunned pony, and pet her on the head. "By the way", it said, "we're called humans. Also, guess what Pecsus' name backwards spells?"
The human's hand lifted off, and the terrified pony slowly began to speak, despite the fact that she'd now also begun to hyperventilate. "P-Pecsus?", she said, the worry she felt showing in her voice. "Elbit Pecsus... b-backwards, that's... susceptible?"
The human laughed heartily. "You got it!", it said gleefully. And then, another flash of light shot from its body. Now, instead of a human, there stood The Great and Powerful Trixie. Trixie's grin was even wider than the human's.
"Ha! Twilight!", was all the blue pony had the chance to say, before she fell on the ground, convulsing in laughter. As she regained her composure, she continued to speak: "You should have seen the look on your face! I planned that for a week, and it turned out even better than I expected!"
"That", Trixie continued, pausing dramatically before breaking out into more laughter, "is what you get for messing with The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Unable to contain her happiness, Trixie broke out into giggles once more before bounding merrily outside.
Twilight finally calmed down. Wow, she thought. I never thought I'd see Trixie do that.
-
On the road to Ponyville, The Great and Powerful Trixie excitedly trotted along, thinking about the prank she was about to play on Twilight Sparkle. She had planned it for a week, and was going over every single detail in her mind. And, although the road was empty just half a minute ago, she could have sworn she saw something in the corner of her eye - and for a split-second, it looked like an exact copy of herself, complete with hat and cape. She glanced over in its direction, but there was nopony there. Huh, she thought. It was probably just my imagination.