Is Not What You Expect
Twilight Sparkle, recently-named Princess-in-Waiting of Equestria, trotted in a circle inside the throne room. The trail of flattened carpet under her hooves made evident the nervousness piling up inside her as she waited.
It had been a long time since she had gotten in such a state. With the ruling of Equestria soon to be in her hooves, she had been preparing for the stress and challenge it would bring. But even after a full year of preparations and many more being a fully independent princess, a simple letter from Celestia telling her to meet her at the castle to discuss Twilight’s most recent proposition was enough to send the bookish mare into a 'getting sent back to magic kindergarten' kind of panic.
Luckily for those in the castle staff worried the future ruler would end up spontaneously exploding, when Princess Celestia finally opened the doors to the throne room, Twilight felt a bit of that panic melt away in the presence of her old teacher. A quality the soon-to-retire alicorn was well aware of and used in many difficult conversations.
The fact she had her hair in a bun and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt also helped take some of the seriousness out of the meeting.
"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, moving over to her old mentor and stopping just short of hug-tackling her. "I'm sorry you had to pause your vacation for this."
"Oh, don't worry, Twilight," Celestia offered a foreleg for a hug, which her old student instantly took. "Aiding you in this new stage of your life will always take priority. Especially with such an important matter."
Twilight pulled away a bit. "So… you're against it? Should I cancel it? I can do it right now-"
Again that calming aura took hold of the smaller alicorn so Celestia could talk. "I am not against it, no. But if you truly want to start exchanging magic for technology through the mirror, I wanted to show you some things beforehoof."
"Things? What things?" Twilight asked, fully letting go of the hug.
"It's better I just show you, but for now, why don't you tell me a bit more of your plan? How will you achieve it?" Celestia asked as she used her magic to reach some of the hidden mechanisms behind her throne.
"Well, I've been messaging my counterpart through Sunset a lot. Much easier now that they live together. She's also on board with the idea, and even planned out what types of technology we should introduce first to Equestria."
"Has she said something about Equestria's level of technology compared to theirs?" Celestia pulled on some unseen lever, and a section of the floor let out a loud clunk as it depressed. Then slowly kept moving down. The princess quickly stepped onto it, taking Twilight along with her.
"She said that it didn't make sense. But that's the answer to everything I tell her about Equestria, so I… is this an elevator?" Twilight couldn't help but ask as they continued descending down, leaving the throne room far above them. "Where are we heading?"
"To the Vault of Knowledge," Celestia answered with an all-knowing smile.
"You just made that up now," Twilight deadpanned with a smirk.
Celestia chuckled and shrugged. "I never got around to naming it. It'll be yours soon, so you can call it whatever you like. What's important is what's inside."
The elevator came to a stop with another clank, and the two found themselves in front of a large set of stone doors. Just like the old vault for the elements, it required Celestia's horn to open. Once the heavy rock and dust were moved out of the way, Twilight saw a large, dark chamber.
She looked at her old mentor, and Celestia simply signaled her to look for herself. So, Twilight did, lighting up her horn and taking the first steps inside.
It didn't take long for her to find something. Something that surprised her.
She had seen something like this before, but only in the human world, and a much more modern and efficient version of it. Still, Twilight knew enough to recognize a car when she saw one. It looked more like a prototype, and a quick look inside showed that it was designed with hooves in mind. This showed that it wasn't taken from the human world. It was Equestrian-made.
Confused, Twilight kept moving, and found the next item sitting on a small display case.
She hadn't seen this one in person. Rather, she had seen it on Rainbow’s TV. Her friend had insisted on watching the ‘next best thing after Daring Do’, which apparently was a pirate show starring the human version of Captain Celaeno. And watching said show, Twilight had wondered why all the pirates were carrying metal tubes with a piece of polished wood attached to one end.
It wasn’t till she saw them in action that she realized how terrible they were. And Rainbow owning a modern version of one didn’t help matters much.
She had never seen or heard of one in Equestria, yet here it was. Just like the car, the design was tailored for pony use. Unicorns, specifically, judging by the magical runes etched into the sides, replacing the flint ignition of the human version.
Twilight expanded her light spell and saw many more inventions filling the vault. All gathering dust since who-knows when. All just one or a few steps behind human technology. All with Equestrian design.
She turned to her old mentor, looking confused. “Why is all of this here? And since when?”
Celestia slowly walked over to her while she talked. “Ever since they were presented to me. Or seized by the Guard. As for why… that’s the reason I wanted to show you this place.”
“You… don’t want Equestria to advance technologically?” Twilight asked worriedly. "I talked it over with Sunset and my counterpart, and they said it would definitely helps us improve-"
Celestia lifted a hoof to interrupt her. “I know how it looks, let me clarify.” She gestured to the collection of lost inventions with a wing. “All of these were made by those with ambitions, imagination, creativity, or passion. All thinking they would bring Equestria one step forward towards progress.” She closed her wing. “But sadly, none of them could see what their inventions could cause, intentionally or not. What price Equestria would need to pay to achieve that progress.” Celestia turned to look at Twilight. “Being as old as I am, I have seen firsthoof how a simple change in a stream can end up causing a flood a century later. How an entire ecosystem can be flipped on its head if it’s altered. All things that are never immediate, or even soon, but eventual, and most times, inevitable.”
Twilight looked back at the weapon she saw. “I can imagine it for some, but how could cars or phones cause problems?”
“It takes a lot to manufacture a car. Even more if you want them to be provided to every creature in Equestria incapable of flight. Requires industrial quantities of raw resources, factories to process them into parts, more factories to assemble the car, create the fuel for cars to run, roads, and much more. All of that brings pollution, unsafe work environments, risk of permanently damaging ecosystems, accidents and problems never encountered before.” Celestia let out a soft sigh. “A lot of effort and pain, when a cart pulled by pegasi is much simpler, if ‘archaic’.
“I took those risks when it came to medicine. Allowing the hospitals to become some of the most technologically ‘advanced’ institutions. And, of course, there has been some invention or other slipping under my nose or coming from abroad. Or ponies like Vinyl, Cherry Berry, or Time Turner who have developed things for their own use or research.”
“So… should I stop my project?” Twilight asked, feeling like she had just been brought for an elaborate talk down. “My counterpart said it would be alright. That we could start small and just fill in some gaps before moving to-”
Celestia’s wing lifted her face, showing the comforting smile of her old mentor. “I’m not telling you to stop, Twilight. This room. The stopping of these inventions. These were my choices. I decided that they shouldn’t see the light of day because I didn’t feel like Equestria… or me, were ready for such changes. And I don’t want you to take this as me wanting you to think the same. I am merely showing you my reasons for the past to be this way. It’s in your hooves to determine what the future will be.”
“But… if you couldn’t handle them, with thousands of years of experience, how could I prevent…” Twilight moved her hooves frantically, trying to find the words. “All of that?!”
“Twilight, when we chose you to take our place, it was because Luna and I both knew you would be able to not only handle our responsibilities, but also make better decisions than we ever could.” Celestia’s smile turned sad. “When this vault was made, I had lost Luna. And later I lost Sunset. I kept things in balance for a long time, but it wasn’t until you came around that things became better. For me, and for Equestria.
“I know that you’ll do better than me when handling the same dilemma.”
Twilight tried to look hopeful, but failed. “And what if I choose wrong? What if I fail to see the butterfly effect? I’m just one mare.”
Celestia chuckled. “You’re not, Twilight. You won’t be alone. In this project or in any other. You’ve friends in this world and the one across the mirror. And I trust, more than anything, that both of my students will guide Equestria into a new age.”
Twilight smiled, hopes and dreams filling her eyes once again. “We will. Together. My counterpart and Sunset also believe this will be for the better. And they’re the smartest people I know. They trust me with handling their technology, just like I trust them with the magic of Equestria.”
Celestia hugged her old student, and she responded in kind, holding each other for a few seconds before they made their way to the elevator.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Botched Lobotomy · 4.2k words · 27 0 · 434 views
- daOtterGuy · 10k words · 26 1 · 359 views
- The Sleepless Beholder · 1000 words · 37 7 · 964 views
- ARandomLonelyDude · 1.5k words · 137 views
- 6-D Pegasus · 2.7k words · 51 1 · 853 views
- FanOfMostEverything · 2.8k words · 31 4 · 370 views
- Dashie04 · 1000 words · 37 4 · 519 views
- Axolotl222 · 1.5k words · 33 2 · 681 views
Stats
Page generated in 0.146 seconds
Total duration
896 users online
1,711,854 hits today, 2,139,894 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Very sweet
That was a good read, the story picture reminds me of Gas Gas Gas as well
It's nice and simple.
Okay. I seriously don't see the point of having Sunset and Sci Twi living together. Unless I missed it somewhere you add Sunlight to all of your stories. Great story otherwise.
so celestia caused equestria to stagnate, the arrogance of a immortal to think they know what best, guess that explains why technology advanced so rapidly after alicorns were gone in G5
sad Turing Test beep
But she's totally cool with ponies traveling in trains that run on freaking coal.
At any rate, you'd think Equestrian magic could mitigate most of that (such as by using something like the crystal running Tank's propeller in place of internal combustion). I've been thinking that that's how they've gotten as far as they have without getting pollution all over everything.
Lovely little tale. I don't usually enjoy this take on Celestia, but I do appreciate her stepping back and recognizing the flaws in her position, especially how much it highlights her faith in Twilight (and Sunset!) Thank you for this, and best of luck in the judging.
11546185
I mean, there's a big difference between a singular long-distance rail system vs. an entire automotive industry and accompanying infrastructure. Especially in a world where the pegasi can likely help shift the carbon output of the trains over to carbon sinks like the Everfree Forest.
And crystal technology, iirc, is mostly still rather new in Equestria with the return of the Crystal Empire. And who's to say that wouldn't be an avenue for Twilight and her counterpart to explore in this cultural exchange?
11546352
11546185
Actually, the first cars were electric, and the first commercially available ones (like the model T) were designed to run on biofuels. There was also the woodgas fad of WWII. Also, trains started using the easily available coal with the increase of demand. One thing that might hold back cars from being widespread is that equines are very freaking good at traveling 40-100 miles a day casually.
There could be many reasons why they don't see a need for more and more and more...
That was a good story.
Discord only knows how many dreams she managed to kill.
aww that is exactly the kind of thing Twilight does
i can just imagine the massive headache Sci-Twi would have had trying to understand Equestria’s relationship with technology lol
so true actually, one big thing i love about Equestria is the lack of cars, even though they are clearly technologically advanced enough to invent and bulid them
so very fitting with how i imagine Celestia running things! of course life-saving technologies are different from the ones that would alienate ponies from the environment and each other. and the one-off instances of “more advanced” technology make sense as individual inventions in a world of supernatural magical talents
i absolutely loved this idea! it explains so much about the technology we see in Equestria, and it draws upon one of my favorite themes, which is Celestia purposefully shepherding her civilization through the centuries to get it to the place we see today. and i am guessing that i am pretty rare among people in finding this very philosophy towards technological change one of the most appealing things about Equestria, so i especially love it. thanks for writing!
Now that the contest is over, I can finally respond.
11595634
Thanks for the inspiration to write it! You really got what I was going for. Equestria's rare approach to technology has a lot of mystery to explore.
11556861
I don't really get why you would think that. Celestia would never crush dreams. If you mean the ponies inventing things, Celestia makes sure they're compensated for their work.
11549571
Thank you!
11547794
Yup. There are a lot of human necessities that being a horse or magic can simply replace.
11546352
The pegasi being able to control pollution is something I didn't consider but is a great point! And definitely the first thing Twi would do is ask advice of her scientific counterpart.
11546219
Thank you! And it seems I made Celestia's motives a bit too ambiguous. I'm definitely not going for dumb, but like you said, flawed. Even what many consider to be horse god won't have the answer to everything, specially when the world continuously evolves around her.
11546185
Trains transport more than just ponies. Large amounts of resources travel by train that would be massively more difficult to do by simpler means. Some inventions are too important to ignore, others are considered more harmful or not that important.
11546120
11546098
Maybe but not in this case. Yeah, there's not so many advancements as there could be, but Equestria isn't suffering from some missing tech (in fact most problems come from magic)
11546012
Thank you! I don't think I've heard of Gas Gas Gas
11595634
The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 was built on top of what is basically a primitive automobile, and "One Bad Apple" featured self-propelled parade floats. As Double_Bubble pointed out, it could simply be a lack of demand due to "walking distance" being much farther for ponies than it is for humans.
The problem there is that technological development can't be fine-tuned like a 4X strategy game, at least not without a flat-out authoritarian state. Most of the life-saving technology we take for granted was built off of other technology developed for completely different purposes.
Likewise, once new technology is out in the wild, you really can't stop it from being repurposed for other things.
11595855
The thing there is, many inventors are at least as passionate about seeing others appreciate their creations as they are about making money (especially given what we've seen of Equestrian culture). They're not necessarily going to be okay with seeing their work swept under the rug just because they're getting a steady paycheck. It's one thing if there are major issues with putting a new technology to widespread use that the ponies couldn't just magic away, but the story seemed to imply that Celestia was acting like Applejack in "Somepony to Watch Over Me" - one would expect that would quickly tank her approval rating among the engineering community.
11546185
I imagine her issue with it is the industrial scale, not the fuel used. Like, how many distinct trains and train lines do we see in the series? All of them were single track, too.
11613620
Then you have to take into account of population density. We do have maps of Equestria (admittedly none road atlas worthy) and the wiki does contain a long list of place names. At the high end of the guesses is tens of millions (a tenth of American. Imagine 9 people around you suddenly disappearing; that is how much lower it is) and about 90% would be congregated around the modern cities. (Whether living in or around to support with food and materials)
I cannot think of a single solid square mile in my area that doesn't have a person living on it. In Equestria that would be the norm. Equestria would never need as much infrastructure as we do; the economy of scale is gonna look different.
I could see cars quite readily being handy. They might be called 'campers', 'semi-trucks' or even 'moterized wheelchair'.
I like this version of Celestia here. Still arrogant (and ambiguously written) but I like the wisdom she displays here; which requires reading between the lines. She understands she has lost touch with her subjects (Canterlot and Ponyville are practically dark ages to every other honest city out of Celestia's sight) so she can't rule them for lack of understanding. Luna can't as she is a thousand years behind. Cadence is ruling and entire city state that is a thousand years behind.
She is leaving it to a modern princess... who runs the kingdom into the ground by gen 5...
Might of had a point but we can, at least, blame the new alicorn villain instead of technology.