//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16.5 
// Story: My Little Pony: Isk is Magic 
// by keyan88 
//------------------------------//

	Professor Hoofton leaned on his windowsill, his scraggly mane blowing in the slight breeze. His elbow was resting on a slab of metal that took the place of his normally marble resting spot. A stray changeling had smashed into his office the other day, taking a fair chunk of the window frame with it. One of the alien’s drones had cleaned up the mess, placing the patch job until the workponies could come in and replace the window in full.

What marvelous creatures those “drones” were. Their name implied a similarity to the changelings, smaller beings connected to a greater hivemind, which obviously was housed in the massive rust-colored starship hovering above Canterlot. They persistently and tirelessly slaved away, day and night in an attempt to repair the city, and most ponied were eternally grateful to them (the fact that most of the collateral damage was caused by the alien was conveniently forgotten).

Maybe the alien was in league with the changelings, sacrificing a thousand or two drones certainly seemed an acceptable loss for gaining control of Equestria, and the whole production was a ruse to gain the ponies trust.

But the rumour amongst the populace was that Twilight Sparkle herself had called the alien down from the heavens for help, meaning that they must have been in contact for at least sometime before this, most likely since the event down the valley in Ponyville. 

The professor sighed and leaned further down into his hoof.

He sincerely hoped that the worst wasn’t true, the princesses themselves had vouched for the alien themselves, and if he managed to fool them than the Pony-race certainly didn’t have a chance. Either way, all they could do was hope and pray that their skies won’t be darkened by their new alien overlords anytime soon.

But what wonders this alien must have seen! 

What secrets hidden between the stars must he know?

Mathematical and scientific theories not even dreamt of by the most genius of ponies would be common knowledge. Technologies straight out of science fiction would be obsolete! Millennia of art and culture just waiting to be experienced!

But what would all this mean for ponies? Would their own culture be swept away? Scientific pursuit turned into begging for the next scrap of hand-me-down technology? The ponies would be turned into the most powerful species on their planet to little more than cheap labor and a source of income. Radical political change could occur, revolution, civil war, coups. Sure the complex mixture between polyarchy and democracy that was unique to Equestria was over a thousand years old, but it was undeniably effective. Even the thousand-plus year old Celestia was remarkably progressive with reforms. The other species of the world would have to be appeased by sharing the information, assimilated into pony-culture, or enslaved in the wake of the new technologies. And when new technologies would have to be researched, ponykind will have forgotten how to do it.

Even now it was oh so tempting to go up to the palace and request an audience with the alien to ask for the secret behind warp travel. The bang the ship made when it appeared was exactly what was predicted when a warp bubble collapsed in an atmosphere. But what would that accomplish? Sure the ponies would have the technology, but they would be little more than foals with a crossbow. They wouldn’t know what to do with it, how to properly take care and manage it, and they would most likely hurt more than help themselves.

No… it would be best if ponies and the other species of Equus forged their own path to the stars. Blindly falling into the grooves of another civilization would prove disastrous in the long run, stagnation and entitlement would run rampant. The aliens, if they so chose, would be better to act as a teacher, making sure the ponies were ready, 

Hoofton sat back and stared at the metal scarring his window. He could not deny how thankful he was for the aliens appearance. Canterlot and its citizens are safe because of him and for now, thats all that was important.

Maybe he should go at meet the alien, at least to say he did. Hoofton smiled as he realized just how jealous his students would be if he did.