Technological Wonders

by currentlemon

Chapter 7

Princess Celestia wasn’t sure what to do with her former student. Though she loved and cared for Twilight deeply, the mare had given her fair share of problems in the past. The “Want it, Need it” shenanigan was a notorious one. However, her latest action may have eclipsed that.

Sitting inside the library of Castle Friendship, the Sun Princess could not help but roll her eyes as Princess Twilight explained her newfound toy. A “computer” she called it. An item brought over from the human world.

Celestia bit her lip as she did her best to hold back a sigh. Although the machine itself was quite fascinating, she knew the potentially dire consequences on bringing the computer here. The human world, which she was familiar with, was more technologically advanced. Not just to Equestria, but their entire world itself. Ponies, as well as the other species outside her nation, were not prepared for something like this.

Then came the issue of national security. Who is to say that somepony, or any creature, can sneak into Castle Friendship and use this machine? Perhaps her worries are nothing but paranoia; but given Equestria’s recent close calls, it wasn’t in the realm of possibility. Especially when Twilight had no guards.

Also, didn’t she mention that her castle was recently broken into by her new student?

“And that concludes a basic introduction on what computers are and what they do,” said Twilight, who immediately gave the Sun Princess a beaming smile. In return, Celestia finally let loose the disgruntled sigh she’s been holding back.

“That’s… great, Twilight. I’m impressed that you and your counterpart had managed to drag this thing through the crystal mirror.”

“I know, right! I mean, sure I had my doubts, but we managed to pull it off in the end! Great minds do think alike after all!”

Celestia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her student’s latest comment. “Yes, I can see why you two get along so well. But Twilight, as wonderous as this machine is, I can’t help but worry that this may potentially hurt Equestria.”

Twilight tilted her head. “What do you mean, Princess?”

“Twilight, may I remind you that we are both equal in royalty. You don’t have to call me Princess anymore. But as I was saying, this technology… it’s out of place. Equestria hasn’t seen anything like this before.”

Celestia would go on to explain her biggest concerns about the computer to her student. How the computer was left unguarded and that their nation, nor their world, wasn’t ready for technology like this. Much to her disappointment, however, Twilight didn’t seem to take her worries seriously.

“Oh, come on, Celestia,” she said with a scoff. “Don’t you think you’re overthinking this? It’s just a harmless experiment.”

“I’m not, Twilight! By bringing this machine to your castle, you are potentially putting our nation at risk!” Celestia argued. “Think about what has happened these past few years. Tirek’s rampage. The Changeling Invasion. Nightmare Moon coming back. I fear that having technology that’s leagues above our own will only bring our nation trouble.”

“What? Celestia, you can’t be serious!”

“I am, Twilight! You need to get rid of this machine now!” shouted Celestia. She immediately regretted her outburst, however, when she spotted her former student flinch and tumble backwards. “Forgive me for shouting, Twilight. That was rude of me and I apologize. But know that I am serious about my concerns. As fascinating as this machine is, it has no place in Equestria. At least not yet.”

“What do you mean, Celestia?” asked Twilight.

“Twilight, what the humans did to create something like this is a wonderful thing. I for one would love to see something like this built in our nation. But that’s the point. This PC is out of place. We as a nation, nor any creature in this world, haven’t made anything like this yet. And I want it to stay like that. Let the citizens of our nation, or any creature in this world, grow and come up with the means to invent this technology on their own.”

“Wait, so you don’t want this computer here because you think it might hamper the growth of ponies?”

Celestia smiled. “Airships and the steam engine weren’t invented in an instant, Twilight. They were built overtime through the ideas and creativity of brilliant ponies. And that growth makes an individual strong. Did you know that the inventor of the common airship was first suggested by an Earth pony?”

“What?” Twilight shouted. “But I thought the inventor of the airship was a Unicorn!”

“No, it wasn’t. The pony who drew the first blueprint of the airship was in fact an Earth pony. He just insisted that scholars keep his little secret. Though if you read through his works carefully, you’ll notice a couple of clues that he left behind that reveal his true identity.”

“Oh my… gosh!” said Twilight. Her smile returning once again as she playfully hopped around the library. “This changes everything! Now I want to reread his work again and find the clues to his true identity! Oh, just thinking about it makes me so excited!”

Celestia couldn’t help but smile as she observed her former student’s excitement get the better of her. She chuckled. Twilight had always acted like this in the past should anything piqued her interest. One would even assume the mare was the Element of Laughter if they ever saw her like this.

“Okay, Twilight, settle down. We still need to discuss what to do with this machine,” Celestia said. Before she could continue speaking however, she was interrupted by a strange ringing sound. “What in the world? Where is that noise coming from?”

“Don’t worry about it, Celestia. It’s just coming from my computer,” answered Twilight. Approaching the machine, the Princess of Friendship stared at the brightly colored window that she described as a ‘monitor’. “Oh. It looks like one of my friends from the human world wants to talk. Says she has some important things she wants to discuss.”

“Twilight, please, we haven’t finished our conversation yet!”

“I’m sorry, but she says that she needs to talk to me now!” Twilight replied as she ignited her horn. Eyes widened, Celestia called out to her former student one last time, hoping she could stop her from doing something reckless. But Twilight was quicker. Using her magic, the mare did something on the device to make the colors on the computer monitor change.

“Twilight, can you hear me? Sorry, Skype is acting a bit weird. I can’t see you at all,” said voice that came from seemingly nowhere. From the Sun Princess’s perspective, it sounded like mare talking. “Hold on. Let me fix this.”

Celestia gasped. She recognized that voice. It had been years since she last heard from her, but she knew who that voice was.

Suddenly, the computer monitor brightened as a human girl appeared on the screen. “Sorry about that, Twilight. The app’s been acting a little weird ever since the last update on the computer. Now, what did you want to talk… about, huh?”

Celestia’s jaw slacked. There was no doubt. Despite not being a pony anymore, the human’s yellow skin and red-orange mane give it away. “Sunset? Sunset Shimmer is that you?”

Unfortunately her question was left unanswered. As soon as she and Sunset laid eyes on each other, the monitor screen went black. “What in the world? Twilight, what happened?”

“She disconnected the call!” Twilight answered. “Hold on, let me try to reconnect with her again!”

As her student scrambled to get Sunset back on the line, Celestia pondered on her two former students. Earlier, it seemed as though Sunset seemed surprised to see her. It was as if the mare wasn’t expecting any company at all. Did Twilight didn’t tell her?

“Alright, she’s coming back!” exclaimed Twilight. “Don’t worry, Celestia, she won’t disconnect again.”

“I’m not so sure, Twilight. From what I saw, it didn’t appear she seemed comfortable seeing me,” said Celestia. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Of course! You know, I’ve been planning for this day ever since I got this computer to my castle, and I am not going to let this moment go to waste!”

“Wait, go to waste? Twilight, was this whole meeting between us just a ploy to get me and Sunset in speaking terms again?”

Unfortunately for Celestia, her question was left unanswered as Sunset Shimmer appeared on the monitor screen again. The Princess stared at her former student, waiting for her to say anything. But Sunset didn’t say a word. She didn’t even look at the screen either.

Celestia herself wasn’t that much better either. It had been years since she last saw Sunset, and now was perfect opportunity to make amends. But instead of reaching out and attempt to start a conversation, she kept quiet and could only mirror her student’s facial expression. “Oh, Sunset.”

“So, Celestia.” The Sun Princess turned to see Twilight looking straight at her with an awkward smile on her face. One that seemed forced rather than genuine. “I’m just gonna leave you two alone here, okay. If you need anything, you’ll know where to find me!”

Celestia opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, Twilight immediately ignited her horn and teleported out of the room. The Sun Princess could only sigh as she finally realized the mare’s true intentions from the start. “I’ll get back at you for this, Twilight,” she muttered quietly before looking straight up at the computer screen. “But right now, somepony else needs me.”

Standing upright, Celestia slowly approached the computer monitor and stared directly at her former pupil. Although Sunset wasn’t willing to talk just yet, the Princess didn’t care. “Sunset Shimmer,” she said in a demanding tone. “It’s time we talk.”

Sunset didn’t respond at first, preferring to instead look away from her monitor screen. Celestia was a patient mare though and wasn’t going to force Sunset to talk. Instead, she’ll just wait her out. If she wasn’t in the mood for talking, or if she tries to pull a stunt like last time, then their talk wasn’t meant to be.

And for a while it seemed like that was the case. Time quickly past, and Sunset still didn’t seem like talking. Seeing this, Celestia merely looked down and shook her head. Perhaps this wasn’t the best time after all.

Turning her head away from the monitor screen, Princess Celestia ignited her horn, mentally preparing herself to teleport out of the room. However, she stopped when she heard a low cry from the monitor screen.

“Wait, don’t go.”

Celestia turned to look at the monitor again and found Sunset Shimmer looking directly at her. Though she was still shy and shaken, the former Unicorn didn’t intend to hide any longer. “Please, don’t go,” the former unicorn said. “I’ll talk… I promise.”

Author's Note:

I'm a week off, but I finally got this chapter written and posted on the site. God, what a load off my shoulder.

Like I said in my blog earlier this week, I'll be putting this story under the rug for now. I need to start planning the final Act of my Jedi Lyra story as well as start planning for my new story. I'm not giving up on this story again, I just need a break from it. When I'm writing a new chapter of this story, I'll post an update on my blog.

Comments

[Greenhorn]

“I’ll get back at you for this, Twilight,”

Never imagine Celestia would be so pitty. Didn't she realize that fixing relationship also a responsibility of a Princess of 'Friendship'?

[keybounce]

We needed Slime Rancher. Let Applejack do some farming, and Fluttershy some cute creaturing.

I'm sad to see this go to idle / abandoned. But if your health is going, then take care of yourself.

And yes, I can fully see Twilight doing something like this, to force some communication where it had been ignored. Around season 5-6, when she's so sure she has all the answers :-).

[currentlemon]

10485775
Story isn’t cancelled. I just need the time to plan for my main story and my new one.

[dvdspires]

So, you're obviously ignoring some of the later specials and switching Sunset's and Celestia's reconciliation through Skype instead of face to face. Interesting change around.

[WyattS]

wheres my burrito sequel
wheres my sequel
I want it and I NEED IT NOW

[hmaf43]

Celestia bit her lip as she did her best to hold back a sigh. Although the machine itself was quite fascinating, she knew the potentially dire consequences on bringing the computer here. The human world, which she was familiar with, was more technologically advanced. Not just to Equestria, but their entire world itself. Ponies, as well as the other species outside her nation, were not prepared for something like this.

knowledge is threats to dictators

Then came the issue of national security. Who is to say that somepony, or any creature, can sneak into Castle Friendship and use this machine? Perhaps her worries are nothing but paranoiay; but given Equestria’s recent close calls, it wasn’t in the realm of possibility. Especially when Twilight had no guards.

human's open internet is national threat... is this north korea?

“I’m not, Twilight! By bringing this machine to your castle, you are potentially putting our nation at risk!” Celestia argued. “Think about what has happened these past few years. Tirek’s rampage. The Changeling Invasion. Nightmare Moon coming back. I fear that having technology that’s leagues above our own will only bring our nation trouble.”

that mindset, is how the great china dynasty lose to young western nations

[schorpioen007]

Is this story alive ?