"We believe that if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work." - John F Kennedy

"What do you mean by 'the stakes have changed'?" questioned Luna.

"One of the things that did not happen during the progression of human society was the visit of a hyper advanced race. For a long time, we believed we were the only sapient life forms." started X-ray.

"However, ponies now have met a Space Faring race and that will more than likely change your course of social and technological evolution." added Scorch.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "How will it change exactly?"

"Well, now that we've informed you that ponies are evolving like humanity, we've more than likely broken the streak." theorized Scarecrow.

"So we won't be copying humanity any more?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"We would assume so." nodded X-ray. "Like we said, humans never met a space faring race especially during the renaissance so we assume that this will throw ponies off course."

"What do you think will happen to us now that we are aware of this anomaly?" inquired Rarity.

"For starters, I don't think ponies are going to be creating human technology or go through any of the events that equated ours after this time period." pondered Scorch.

"Does this mean that we ponies are going to get some of your awesome technology?" spoke up Rainbow Dash.

"No!" snorted Scorch. "For starters our technology is meant for humans to use since our machines completely assume you have fingers and a primate's body structure."

"But couldn't you humans just help us invent appliances that are meant for hoofed quadrupeds like us?" asked Twilight.

"We can't." shook Scarecrow. "We've never known what it feels like to have hooves, so we can't exactly tell you what invent. Besides, it isn't healthy for one species to rely on the other for support."

"Ah'd be darned if ah started acceptin' gifts without workin' for 'em." puffed Applejack.

"Exactly. We humans had to work for our technology and so should ponies." nodded Overwatch.

"Aren't you forgetting Equestrians lack the means of production to make appliances on par with yours?" reminded Celestia.

"Well go out there and start inventing." smiled X-ray. "It might take you a long time to reach the level as to where we humans are, but you can't just rely on the Federation to give you support while we're too busy trying to push our race forward as well."

"That doesn't sound very generous." shook Rarity.

"Speaking of the Federation." remembered Scarecrow. The ponies observed Shadow's commander stand up from his seat and tap on his wrist computer. The device glowed blue the moment Scarecrow started contacting the politicians on Apex.

"Command, this is Scarecrow. Do you read?"

"Roger that. We read you loud and clear. What is it that you need?" responded the HOD.

"I'm requesting intel regarding the conflicts and attacks having to do with Mega Corp and the PRM."

"Scarecrow, that battle ended two hours after Commander McFarlene contacted you. Ghost and Wraith teams were able to track down and take out the conductors of the attack and instill a ceasefire."

X-ray knitted his eyebrows. "Hold on, if the attack ended a while ago, where the hell is our back up? We can't handle the entire situation by ourselves you know."

"I'm afraid the President and his Staff is having a hard time trying to relay the news to the public. The civilians find the concept of a planet filled with English Speaking animated Unicorns and Dragons to be some sort of massive prank the government is pulling."

"Hey!" whined Pinkie Pie from across the table.

"I understand sir." agreed Scarecrow. "Any other human who came here would have most likely gone insane from all the anomalies on this planet."

"Exactly, and that's why we need you 4 to continue what your doing."

"Sir. I believe we still should have additional back up like Politicians, Soldiers and Scientists here." recommended Scorch.

"They too believe this planet is some sort of massive joke." sighed the HOD. "They're just in denial however. Soon the Terran people will have to accept the facts."

"When can we expect back up?" questioned X-ray.

"Soon. While I doubt the mass people will be able to handle this information, the government should still be able to send back up in a few days."

"Few days?" repeated Overwatch. "Sir, I hope you've noticed that a lot of creatures on this planet are trying to kill us."

"We can't afford to go to an alien planet hastily." snapped the HOD. "This needs planning and we do not wish to put more pressure on the local populace. Besides, the 4 of you have a mystery to solve and you may be the only way the goals of the Federation are realized."

Shadow's commander nodded. "Understood sir. Shadow out."

The Equestrians looked at the humans glumly.

"Why would they think this land is a joke?" questioned Cadance.

"Well, if we had a hard time accepting the similarities on this world, there is no way the other humans could have too." exhaled X-ray.

"What did he mean by goals of the Federation?" asked Twilight.

"You'll see." trivialized Scorch.

Luna changed the subject. "On the other hoof, I do find it impressive that humans can perform communication feats such as what we just observed without magic."

"Humans had no biological advantages on Earth with the notable exception of hands." gloated Scarecrow.

"Hands?" repeated Celestia.

"The reason why primates are the dominant species on Terra is because hands allowed us to utilize tools. When we built tools, we naturally were able to progress faster and exceed the other animals." explained X-ray.

"So if we had hands, we'd be in space by now?" checked Rainbow Dash.

"Not necessarily. Since the Equestrians evidentially started out as sapient or at least sentient beings, they should have been space faring creatures at least 10 thousand years after their formation." theorized Scorch. "However, the Equestrians seem to take a far longer time for any form of social or technological progress to occur."

"Come to think of it, with magic and the ability to control the weather biologically, ponies should have be for more advanced than we are by a LONG SHOT!" yelled Scarecrow.

"So why aren't we a space faring species with lasers, robots and holograms?" shrugged Pinkie Pie.

"We don't know. And since ponies are evolving like humans, you should have been tens of thousands of years from where we are." muttered X-ray.

"You humans sure are an advanced race. What kind of technology do you humans have?" questioned Twilight.

"That's a broad question Twilight." flexed Scarecrow. "You need to be more specific."

"Just how advanced is human technology? What would you say is the most advanced thing you've ever invented?" inquired Celestia.

"Let's just say human technology is so advanced you might as well call it magic." laughed Scorch.

Cadance crossed her fore hooves. "I thought humans didn't believe in magic."

"We don't. But the only thing that separates the abilities of our species is the means." trivialized Scarecrow. "The source for power that drives Equestria forward is natural biological mutations. For humans, it comes in the form of machinery."

"So humans are capable of feats such as telekinesis?" asked Rarity.

"More or less." chuckled X-ray. "Rather than emitting gravitational or magnetic radiation from stored energy within our horns, humans found a substitute with the use of magnetic gloves."

X-ray diverted power to his gloves and increased the strength of the magnetic force. Suddenly, a metal fork levitated off the table. X-ray moved his hand up and down and the fork followed.

"Just like telekinesis." demonstrated Scorch.

"Do humans have ways to reverse age?" asked Celestia.

"Pretty much. Cryo can preserve a person indefinitely and nano machines can stall, accelerate or reverse the aging factor." explained Scarecrow.

"What's cryo and what are nano machines?" asked Fluttershy.

"Cryo is basically the practice of freezing a body with extremely cold substances like liquid hydrogen. Whenever humans are required to perform operations that do not require an entire crew, any unneeded personnel are put into cryo sleep."

"So that way you won't have worry about taking care of them and waste supplies." realized Twilight.

"And Nano machines are basically miniature robots that are instructed to perform tasks at a small scale usually for biological operations like healing cells and restarting organs. To some extent we're augmented with nano machines." explained X-ray.

"Any chance humans have nano thingies that could make me a better flier?" smiled Rainbow Dash.

"Most probably." muttered Overwatch.

"Does this mean that humans have completely mastered the use of robotics outside fiction?" pondered Luna.

"Totally." nodded Scorch. "We have robots, although we prefer to call them androids, that are programmed to perform various tasks. Some simple while other robots tend to be more complex like VIs."

"VI?" repeated Cadance.

"Virtual Intelligence." spelt Scarecrow. "It's basically a robot that does not need a physical form. Humans are capable of operating machines through connecting them in what we call cyber space. A virtual intelligence operates within that sphere where it can perform various tasks that depend based on complexity of the programming."

"So, humans can basically create artificial people?" awed Cadance.

"Not necessarily. A virtual intelligence is programed to do a set of commands and nothing else like analyze soil, identify people, find information book a holiday etc. They can't do anything outside of that." explained X-ray.

"Does this mean robots and VIs can't think or feel?" whispered Pinkie Pie.

"Something capable of learning, thought and performing multiple tasks is what you would call an Artificial Intelligence. Which is like a true virtual living thing." shook Scorch. "Artificial intelligence is pure fiction."

"We ponies can manipulate gravity. Can humans do that too?" asked Twilight.

"Yes. Gravity can be altered through radiation. That's how we stay put on star ships despite space being a vacuum." assured Scorch. "In fact, humans often terraform worlds with gravity modifiers."

"Terraform?" repeated Rarity angrily. Shadow wasn't making anything easier.

"Terraforming is the practice of changing the natural state of a planet to make it habitable. To a human, it would mean making it like Earth." responded Scarecrow.

"Why would humans wanna do that?" frowned Applejack.

"Well not every planet is capable of supporting life." pointed X-ray. "In order for humans to live on the planet, we have to alter its atmosphere, make the weather bearable, and allow vegetation to grow."

"That sounds like how Pegasai control the weather." noted Rainbow Dash.

"Although on a much larger scale. Our weather alteration changes barren planets like Mars and Venus into lush worlds ripe for survival." said Scorch. "Plus we kind of alter planets from orbit."

"How do humans change the faces of planets? That is not something we are capable of doing." admitted Luna.

"We are no experts on terra forming, although I believe that we humans implement nano drones to make the dirt suitable for plant life which in turn uses photosynthesis to create oxygen followed by creation of a suitable atmosphere through alteration of gravity." theorized Scarecrow. "Then there's the whole problem of fighting off diseases."

"How strong is human medicine anyway?" pondered Fluttershy. "Sometimes, I'm called to help in hospitals."

X-ray laughed. "Let's just say humans are immune to pretty much every disease, which also makes biological warfare pointless. The Federation spends so much money on medical research that the moment we find a new disease, it's cured within a day at most."

"And injuries can be healed in moments." added Scorch.

"You've kind of raided the hospital once." muttered Twilight. "Is human medicine different from the ones ponies administer?"

"Our people still receive vaccinations, pills and casts, but we've modified them in such a way that they dwarf the medical capabilities of Equines." explained Scarecrow. "Nano technology and robotic implants have also helped."

"Furthermore, we can even revive those who are dead." recalled Overwatch. "We can reconstruct the body and with the use of implants and nano tech, restore organ functions. The only form of death that truly exists for the mass people is old age when the organs are incapable of using energy."

The ponies gave mummers of awe.

"A lot of ponies still suffer from diseases such as cancer and many other infections." wept Luna. "Could the humans administer their advances to help our race? It would be a great act of kindness."

The Equestrians stared at the humans with pleading eyes.

Scarecrow tensed. "We would. But humans have developed medicine to help humans, not equines. We suffer from different diseases and injuries. We're not too skilled in helping your certain race the same way ponies don't know the first thing about human anatomy. Developing cures for ponies would require a new field of study. Sorry."

Shadow couldn't stand to see the sad faces of the equines. They really thought it would be their moment where disease and death would no longer be such a problem.

"Come on! You ponies have magic for crying out loud?! Shouldn't curing diseases be simple?" insisted Scorch.

"We can't just make spells on the top of our head." reminded Twilight. "We need to use the right techniques to solve the right problems, shouldn't have a mind as yours guessed that?"

Scorch blushed.

"Digressing, how strong is the human population anyway? Is it 117 million? I mean you humans are spread across stars, there has to be a lot of people out there." asked Pinkie Pie.

X-ray smiled. "The human population is nearly 42 billion."

Pinkie Pie took a sip of wine, gurgled it, and spat it and Overwatch's face.

"42 billion!" gasped Rainbow Dash.

"Wow, those are a lotta of names ta remember." muttered Applejack.

"How strong is the Equestrian population?" countered Scarecrow.

"42....million." answered Celestia.

"That's really small." insulted Scorch.

"We're only one country." reminded Rainbow Dash.

The demo man face palmed. He could be an idiot at times.

"Humans didn't start exploring space because we randomly felt like it. We had to because Earth and the environment was getting totally decimated." informed X-ray.

"Oh my." gasped Fluttershy. "How bad was it?"

"Really horrible. By the time a certain war ended, Earth was in complete chaos." remembered Scarecrow. "The population of the planet was 10 billion."

"10 billion people on one world?" blurted Rarity. "How dreadful."

"Exactly. Earth's resources were being drained and a war had scarred it. In order to save ourselves and take the burden off our home world, we turned to others." aded Scorch.

"How bad was it on Earth before you turned to the stars?" asked Cadance.

"Many animals had gone extinct, forests were being destroyed and air pollution was littered across our world." told X-ray. "When a large portion of humans left Earth for the colonies, it was time to heal the wound."

"What could have happened to result in all this?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well, technology." muttered X-ray. "Fossil fuels created through burning substances like coal and oil emitted pollution in the air which not only poisoned the air, but apparently trapped the sun's rays in the atmosphere which raised the temperature to unbearable levels."

"All of human technology relied on that fuel source and since it was so convenient to utilize every day, we were emitting CO2 in the atmosphere all the time." muttered Overwatch.

"Made all the worse by the fact that there were too many humans on Earth." revealed Scorch. "The rapid increase in population demanded more housing so we needed to tear down many areas that contained wild life. Also, people in the early 21st century were retarded as hell and those disgraces to the human name threw trash into places that they shouldn't have thrown it into."

"It was clear Earth was no longer going to contain the human population if continued this route." sighed X-ray.

"But if humans knew technology was causing all of this, why did you continue to invent machines?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Because things change." implied Scarecrow. "Humans have a natural desire to discover concepts and when we do, the old ways become invalid and we switch to newer methods."

"Just because humans can use technology to do something, doesn't mean they should." frowned Twilight.

"I'm afraid that point is invalid." debunked X-ray. "With humans being spread far apart, technology was our only means of communication and connecting the world as one. It was the only way even if it was costing our own planet."

"What did ya do?" asked Applejack. "How'd ya fix it?"

"With technology." smiled Scorch.

"Through biological cloning, we were able to reintroduce many species we wiped out in that....certain war." began Scarecrow. "Some cities were completely abandoned and moved to other planets. In their vacant place, those cities were destroyed and replaced with wild life preserves."

"Sound lovely." complimented Fluttershy.

"Then we humans utilized terra formers to clean Earth's damaged environment. Our planet was saved. At least I think that's how it went, the whole thing was 500 years ago." said Scorch.

"But how does the Federation keep the same thing from happening to the other colonies?" inquired Celestia.

"For starters, the Federation tries to keep the population of each planet relatively low." began X-ray. "Planets usually house 200 to 300 million people."

"That's still a lot." pointed Rainbow Dash.

"For you maybe." defended Scorch. "But some planets we live on are pretty large. Besides, that's a sufficient number to make sure that the burden on each colony isn't too high."

"How does the UTF strike a balance with technology and keeping the ecosystem safe?" asked Twilight.

"There's some authoritarianism involved." blushed Scarecrow. "The UTF imposes pretty strict laws regarding pollution, hunting, recycling and deforestation."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Why use government force? Can' people be nice on their own?"

"Of course we can." snorted X-ray. "But we can be as vulnerable to wrong doing as any other species. That's why we need the Federation to keep people in check."

Pinkie Pie spoke in a less squeaky voice. "Isn't imposing punishments for harming the environment a little excessive?"

"It's nothing serious. But like we said, the most powerful emotion is fear. When people fear punishments that can result from damaging the ecosystem, they won't do it." explained Scorch.

"And has it proved effective?" checked Luna.

"Of course!" laughed Scarecrow. "No human ever dares to throw any waste in inappropriate places. Especially with a gas mask wearing guard around."

"Another thing that helped, was that the production of technology no longer became for profit, bur rather the greater good." added X-ray. "The UTF strictly regulates the types of machines created for civilians to make sure they won't harm us nor a planet in the long run."

"I agree, best to take the negatives into account as minor as they may be." nodded Rarity.

"What about resources? 42 billion is a lot to supply and humans clearly use technology every day." brought up Twilight.

"The Federation mostly calls for the extraction of resources such as titanium and iron from worlds, moons, asteroids that are beyond terraformation for life." answered Scorch.

"That way, you won't need to eat up parts of a planet that house an ecosystem." smiled Fluttershy.

Cadance placed a hoof on her chin. "How do humans even power their technology? Us ponies use the magic stored within unicorn horns."

"Humans have various sources of energy which we extract from the universe around us." informed X-ray. "Fossil fuels were a popular option, but it was a finite resource. Some human cities are powered with geothermal energy which takes heat from the lava to power a generator and other times we use nuclear fusion where we combine atoms and extract the electricity produced form the reaction. However, we humans use, especially on space ships, solar power."

Celestia perked up. "Could you repeat that last part please?"

"We humans convert sunlight to electricity as the main source of power." repeated Scarecrow. "Our wrist computers, which power our suit, are energized through the sun."

"Why use the sun?" said Celestia in a dreamy voice.

"Because it's not like any of the stars we inhabit or doing to go supernova or black dwarf any time soon and it's clean." stated Overwatch. "Besides, when you're in space, you're always facing the sun."

Luna scowled. "What about the night? The sun isn't always facing you."

Scorch rolled his eyes. "Moons aren't luminous objects. Moonlight at night is essentially reflected sun rays, so we're cool with using solar power even at night."

The alicorn of the night calmed down and smiled.

"Although it's not usually as fast." noted X-ray. "So we humans have back up batteries for wireless objects as well nuclear generators for cities."

"How do human settlements even look like? Are they simple like Ponyville? Or flashy like Canterlot?" pondered Rarity.

"Neither." replied Scarecrow. "Humans live primarily in cities with large metallic buildings."

Overwatch lit up a fully colored hologram of his artwork he drew back on Pewter City. "The look like this."

The ponies looked straight up at the hologram which detailed a large city during the night time with massive buildings that exceeded 30 stories, people with gleeful expressions walking on the street, hover cars, large neon signs and gas mask wearing UTF troops guarding the street.

(somebody make an art work of that)

"That doesn't look too inviting." gulped Pinkie Pie. "How am I supposed to keep track of everypony who lives there?"

"Well, we humans have lived on cities like this for hundreds of years and we got off fine." accused X-ray.

"Ah don' lak city life. Way too bright for me." puffed Applejack.

Rainbow Dash folded her hooves. "No way I can practice my flying there."

Scarecrow flexed his blond hair. "To be fair, city life on colonies like Requiem and Bernstein isn't really too loud, tiring, and aren't even polluted. If you don't want stress, don't go to Mojave, New New New York, or Vekta. Some districts tend to use traditional architecture while other colonies like Elysium go for simpler settings however."

"Don't humans still live in suburban areas like Ponyville?" asked Luna.

"No. Suburban areas in most nations were in fact where the Federation chose citizens to migrate to other colonies." denied Scorch.

"Are humans really cool with living in huge metallic cities like this?" questioned Shining Armor.

"Like we said, we've been doing it for 500 years. No one really remembers suburban life." responded the demo man. "Things change and humans adapt. With the of humans being large, the Federation can't afford to have humans spread out in massive suburban areas that take up space. It's easier to have us confined to large cities that don't take too much room and leave room for flora and fauna for the rest of the colony."

"That sounds nice, but I'd still like to live near my cottage with my animals." whimpered Fluttershy.

"And what happens when humans want to get a breath of fresh air and socialize and play?" questioned Twilight.

X-ray looked at Twilight as if she asked him a stupid question. "They just go to the park and have fun."

"By the way, what were those flying things we saw in Overwatch's artwork?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Those were cars." began Scarecrow. "They're vehicles used to transport humans from one place to another."

"Like a carriage?" checked Celestia.

"Kind of, but much more advanced. By the way, why do ponies have carriages?"

"For transportation of course." pointed Twilight.

"You do realize how a carriage works right?" checked Overwatch.

"I'm guessing humans had used them once." muttered Celestia.

"Correct." assured Scorch. "Back when horses were still useful to humans, we used them to pull carriages for us to get us one place to the other. Do ponies do the same thing?"

Luna opened her eyes. "Well yes. Why?"

"Because ponies here are intelligent and using a carriage boils down to asking somepony to carry you from one place to the other." explained X-ray. "That's kind of lazy and being a dick. Even by our standards."

Twilight brushed off the swear from her head. "That would sound cruel, but carriage drivers have no problem doing it."

X-ray admitted defeat. If there was really no harm, then he couldn't debunk the whole system.

"But that still sounds weird." squeaked Pinkie Pie. "I mean, humans don't have a system of transport that involves humans carrying humans right?"

"Right." nodded Scorch. "I guess it's a side effect of ponies evolving like humans."

"Going, back to my question, how do cars work? How do they fly?" questioned Rainbow Dash impatiently.

"Well a car is like a carriage except it's powered by electricity to move rather than having an organic pull you around." replied Scarecrow.

"Most car's used to work with wheels for support but we've totally abandoned them for flight." laughed X-ray. "The modern car uses a magnetic force to propel it off the ground and accelerates and decelerates by altering the force applied. Although it can only travel so far up."

"But if y'all are usin' machines to take ya from one place to another, doesn' dat mean you're bein' lazy by forcin' technology to do the work you can?" questioned Applejack.

"I guess." snickered Scorch. "But things change. Even though humans can still walk from place to place, we have to take cars because we're usually spread so far apart. While the Federation is pretty lax on time restraints, humans don't like being late nor do they want to walk a distance they can drive."

"What about flight? How do you humans soar through the sky?" continued Rainbow Dash.

Scarecrow gave a yawn "As previously mentioned, humans can't fly so we invented substitutes such as the airplane and helicopter which was replaced by the VTOL."

"What are those things?" asked Twilight. "You said the 4 of you arrived on a VTOL."

"A VTOL stands for vertical take off and landing." explained X-ray. "A VTOL is transport device that uses an anti gravity force to propel it off the ground like a car, but is faster can, carry more people and better suited for higher altitudes."

"That kind of makes it like my hot air ballon!" realized Twilight.

"You could say that." shrugged Scarecrow. "Except much more advanced and can go into space."

"But doesn't that mean humans can't fly on their own?" asked Fluttershy.

"Humans have to use transport to fly. We can't fly on or own, so the machines do all the lifting for us." shook Scorch.

"Sounds kind of boring." muttered Rainbow Dash.

"Not really!" snorted Scarecrow. "Interceptors are really quick and provide the same excitement. Flying on VTOLs, especially when they're about to get shot down is exciting. Although it's not that exciting when you nearly die."

Cadance opened her eyes. "I could have sworn that humans advanced as you are would find ways to create artificial wings or some other substitute."

X-ray place a finer on his chin. "Actually, we humans do have ways for individual flight with anti gravity packs."

"Don't you mean jet packs?" smiled Pinkie Pie.

"No. Jet packs are pure fiction. They're too weak, create air pollution and are useless in Zero gravity environments like outer space. Although anti gravity packs are hard to create and are reserved for the Eagle Rangers."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "What about technology required for humans to travel across space?"

"Well, starships are quite a complex subject none of us are really familiar in." muttered Overwatch.

"How do you even get a starship off the ground? They must be heavy!" awed Pinkie Pie.

"We use either magnetics or anti gravity to lift hunk of junk off the planet." began X-ray. "Once, it gets suspended in orbit, it uses its solar power engines to maneuver."

"How fast do your spaceships go? I can travel faster than the sound barrier." gloated Rainbow Dash.

"Star Ships can go faster than the speed of light." smirked Scarecrow.

"They go that fast?" gasped Celestia.

"But that's not how space ships travel from one place to another due to time dilation." corrected Scorch.

"Time....dilation?" muttered Twilight.

"You see, all the stars you see in the universe aren't actually where they currently are. You are actually looking at them they way they were a long time ago."

Luna tried to wrap it in her head. She looked out the stained glass window. "So that star I am seeing, isn't actually where it is right now?"

Shadow looked at the star Luna was eyeing at outside.

"Most likely." answered X-ray. "We see things through light reflecting back at us, but as fast as light is, there is still some delay when it travels across space. If you were to look at Kepler 62, which is 200 light years away, you'd be seeing it the state it was 200 years ago."

"So if humans flew to a star, based purely on sight, what you'd get is different from the visual result?" guessed Twilight.

"Correct."

"If Super Speed doesn't cut it for humans, how do you travel from one star to another?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, humans used to use highly charged particles to teleport from one star to another in a short period of time, but when we branched out to further star systems and interstellar war became a problem, humans needed a better solution. This solution was through space time rips." answered Scorch.

"Space.....time...rips?" muttered Applejack.

"Look, matter is divided into 3 dimensions. There's 1D which is a point, 2D which is what cartoons like you are supposed to be. And there is 3D which includes humans and apparently you." muttered Scarecrow.

"Could you elaborate on that last part?" requested Celestia.

"Normally, animated objects such as yourselves are often presented in two dimensional programs, but you possess, height, length and depth like anything outside this universe." shrugged X-ray. "But going back on the subject, there are two more dimensions we humans take advantage of time and space."

"You see, space time is the fabric in which our universe is made of. Planets and other celestial bodies rest on this plane." instructed Scorch.

"Like a stone resting on fabric?" empathized Rarity.

"Exactly, and when pressure is put on the fabric, space time bends around the object. That is why we have time dilation."

"But what happens when you put too much pressure?" inquired Luna.

"Space is ripped like a cloth." answered Scarecrow. "However, space time is not flat as previously theorized, but rather curved like an orange. You push a pin on one side, and it comes out the other. Inside that rip, the object going through it falls from one end to the other without time being taken into account. That's how humans get from one star to another in an instant."

"What happens to the rip? Does it just stay there?" asked Twilight.

"No they collapse very quickly as if there was no cut made in the first place. The 4 of us don't know why though, you'll have to ask someone adept in general relativity." shrugged Scorch.

"But how do humans know where they will end up in the universe and they've made the right rip?" asked Celestia.

"We don't know everything. This isn't something the 4 of us are adept in, but I heard physicists have found a way to map the universe as well as how much energy is required to get you from one star to the other. We don't make random jumps. That's suicide." said X-ray.

"Wait, if humans can manipulate space, can they manipulate time?" questioned Cadance.

Scarecrow gave it a moments thought. "We can actually, but we've never attempted it. Time travel would work the same way as teleportation, but rather than moving a distance without time being affective, the object would travel through time without space being taken into account. However, it was proven by theoretical physicists that you can only go back in time. Not forward."

"Why don't humans time travel?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Time travel would be fun."

Overwatch looked insulted. "Fun? Do you realize how many consequences would have in the harmony in the universe? And imagine what would happen if time travel devices fell into the wrong hands or hoofs? The universe is a delicate balance and upsetting it would create armageddon."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I time travelled. And it went fine."

Shadow was dumbstruck.

"You can time travel without technological aid?" questioned X-ray. "That is amazing."

Twilight blushed. Since Shadow had fallen asleep the first time she told the story, she proceeded retell how she received a warning from her future self only for the warning to mean not doing anything.

Scarecrow nodded. "If that is the case, then X-ray's views on time travel prove prevalent."

"What do you mean?" asked Luna.

Scorch scratched his cheek. "Me, Scarecrow and X-ray have different views on time travel. X-ray believes time travel is pointless because you would fail to complete what you set out to do since you needed to have a reason to time travel in the first place. Twilight's story proves that. I believe that time travel creates an endless cycle because when you cancel an event from happening, your past self would have no reason to time travel. And because he or she would not time travel, the event would play out and the time traveler would have to do it all over again."

Rainbow Dash's eyes shook. "That's a lot of information to remember."

"Overwatch just doesn't give a shit." pointed Scarecrow. "I believed that when you change an event from happening, it would create an alternate universe, one where the event happened, one where it did not."

"Are there alternate universes?" asked Fluttershy.

"We humans haven't figured that out yet nor do we have any reason to." remarked X-ray. "But if there were any, some alternate universes would be so minor in differences while others go beyond comprehension."

"Oh. Imagine a universe where I was a unicorn!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

"Or a universe where you never met your friends." smirked Scorch. "Although if we could travel between universes, we would have to be able to rip subspace as well."

Scarecrow inspected the expressions of the equines. "You all don't look very cheery."

Applejack. "Well sorry. Technology isn't our species thing."

"Well, it's the opposite for us. Technology and science are the foundations of human technocracy." smiled X-ray.

"How reliant are humans on machines anyway?" asked Rarity.

"Let's just say scientific and technological innovation is just as natural as breathing to us." exclaimed Scarecrow. "Every day, humans ride cars to go from place to place, use VIs to track information, send messages on computers to far away planets. Hell, robots and virtual intelligence do all the jobs we humans once had like factory work and organizing data."

"But that's making you lazy! Humans shouldn't drag machines into their life that excessively." accused Shining Armor.

X-ray frowned. "Well things change. Humans need to adapt to new situations which require machines and innovation. Besides, what do we have to loose?"

"How about your humanity!" brought up Celestia. "If you humans are too attached to technology, surely it takes away time from your world and important matters like friends and family."

"What?" groaned Scorch. "Humans aren't that attached too machinery. In fact, we humans use technology as a means to explore our human ingenuity and connect us to our loved ones."

"Didn' y'all say that you replaced farm folk with robots?" accused Applejack.

"Yeah." confirmed Scarecrow. "People like you are basically extinct. It was more efficient to nationalize all food production and replace so called farm folk with drones and professional botanists."

"Why would y'all do that?" glared the orange mare.

X-ray face palmed. "Because things CHANGE. As the human population grew and the abyss of uneducated farmers and their incompetence failed to produce food for us because they wanted money, the government nationalized their farms, replaced rednecks with educated botanists who knew how to properly handle plants and drones to do the heavy lifting."

"We Equestrians have a believe in ponies doing things, not machines." dramatized Rarity. "I recall this one time where Flim and Flam attempted to run Applejack and her family out of the apple cider business with their machines. However, our hoof made cider proved all the better."

"If we did what humans do with technology, we'd all be run out of business! Machines would just do all the work." shook Pinkie Pie.

Shadow sighed at the same time.

X-ray collected his thoughts. "We're liberal socialists. Do you really think that the Federation is stupid enough to allow machinery to replace the working force? We invent to explore our very capabilities, not earn profit. The reason why technology negatively impacted humans in the past is because we developed devices for all the wrong reasons."

"But isn't using technology to do work how you get workers unemployed? pondered Celestia. "I discourage the use of machines in labour because it will allow business owners to replace their employees and make ponies lazy."

"Don't worry the Federation knows what its doing." defended Scorch. "Truth be told, the only forms of technology that have been replaced workers are undesirable blue collar jobs. Every human in the Federation works some profession according to technological, scientific and intellectual pursuit. Oh yeah, we have a 99.7% employment rate."

Applejack shivered. If ponies joined the Federation, she could kiss good bye to running her own farm.

"Why do humans care so much about scientific advancement anyway?" asked Twilight.

"We just do. After all, what else ware we going to base our species on? Diplomacy and war?" laughed Scarecrow.

"The thing is, technology just sounds so second rate to us. We ponies like focusing on more positive things like friendship, tolerance and making life happy." said Cadance.

"Well, we humans still find happiness and joy. Technology takes nothing away from it and can provide some form of it." debunked Scorch.

"But what about doing things physically? You can't just rely on machines to do everything for you." accused Rainbow Dash.

"We know. Like we said before, the Federation still encourages an hour of physical activity from its citizens and strongly supports taking some time off from the city every now and then." informed X-ray.

"But shouldn't the government know that you can't use technology forever and that it can go south?" asked Pinkie Pie.

Scarecrow sighed. "We humans know that. The lesson had to be learned the hard way."

"What do you mean?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"In 2191, we humans had a cybernetic revolt on the planet Vekta." told X-ray.

"A cybernetic revolt?" repeated Celestia.

"During that time, new technologies were being introduced to the public like wild fire and humans started to grow attached to these machines and allowed it to do work they normally would have. Unfortunately, a hacker was able to infiltrate the cyberspace that controlled Vekta and totally turn the colony to shit."

"What happened?" gasped Twilight.

"Robots went haywire and security drones began attacking indiscriminately. Since the humans on the colony had gotten so used to machines doing all the work, the people were in no condition to solve the problem." continued Scarecrow.

"So how did the Federation solve the issue?" inquired Luna.

"Humans can do what machines can't. Think, feel and not have to run on electricity." trivialized Scorch. "In response to the malfunctioning human technology, the Federation fired tesla canons at the planet which turned off the machines and allowed humans to reboot them without glitches."

"And what did humans learn from that?" questioned Rarity.

"That technology should not become the new humanity. While the Federation is all for technological progress, we humans have no use for machines that negatively effect us in the long run. Technology has to help us in the greater good, not give us a short period of meaningless comfort." said Overwatch.

"But ah don' get it. If humans know that machines can bring so much bad stuff, why keep makin' 'em?" asked Applejack.

"Just because there are some negative aspects about technology, doesn't mean we should stop inventing. It all depends on how humans use it. We choose to use it for creative reasons like in a true technocracy." stated X-ray.

"Besides, if a book is offensive, it doesn't mean we should stop reading." added Scorch.

"You have a point there." admitted Twilight. "But why do humans choose to continuously devote time to technology and science instead of concepts like harmony?"

"Because humans change." repeated Scarecrow. "As society moves forward, we come across new challenges. In order to solve these challenges, humans need to adapt and be as well informed as possible. Thinking otherwise would put you in the bottom of human technocracy which I didn't even think was possible in socialism."

"Well, we ponies don't focus on science and we're all fine!" accused Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, but you've also been sapient for a far longer time than humans and you've lagged in terms of exploration, medicine, transportation and military." shook X-ray.

"You never talked about the human military." noted Shining Armor.

Scorch flexed his hair. "Well if you're curious, you should know that the human military totals to 300 million enlisted personnel."

The ponies were speechless for a few minutes. The Equestrian guard was only a few thousand strong.

"How do humans have such a high number for servicemen?" asked Cadance.

"Well, we have a population of 42 billion, it's all relative." pointed X-ray.

"But even then that's a lot soldiers." gasped Celestia. "Do humans have a draft?"

"Of course not! That's violating people's rights." frowned Scarecrow. "Humans have a policy of 'if our race is getting decimated, people are dying and you're not doing anything about it, you're a dick'."

"The Equestrians divide their army amongst the Lunar, Solar, and Crystal guards, with each responding to their respective alicorn." informed Twilight.

"Humans divide the military in 4 respective branches based on combat designation." informed Scorch. "We have the army, which compromises of foot soldiers and ground units, the navy, which handles space combat, the coast guard which handles the sea and the air force which handles air combat."

Celestia needed to know about the human military. She didn't want any surprises.

"Could you elaborate on technology the military utilizes?"

Scarecrow scratched his hair. "You already know about guns, kinetic barriers, and not to mention grenades. I guess we should explain some of the vehicles we use."

Scarecrow lit up a hologram detailing an AP 70 battle tank.

"What is that monstrosity?" questioned Luna.

"That is a tank." pointed X-ray.

"Hey, like my Turtle!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"A tank is a heavy armored vehicle used for brining down enemy vehicles. They're really hard to destroy even with their kinetic barriers turned off. It has two modes of fire. The first is a railgun turret that launches hyper sonic rounds at immense speeds. It turns enemies into swiss cheese."

"Mmmm. Cheeese." said Pinkie dreamily.

"It's primary mode of fire however is the gigantic coil gun which can accelerate an explosive at such fast speeds that not only rip holes in even the toughest of kinetic barriers, but create massive explosions as well that can vary based on how much the crew charges the coils.

"I do not want to be on the other end of that canon." squeaked Fluttershy.

"Tanks have many variations, but most this is the most common form. Others are altered to be anti air." informed X-ray.

Scorch lit up a hologram of a Light terrain vehicle.

"This is an LTV, it's like a tank, but much weaker and meant for transporting up to 30 troops at once. It's coil gun isn't as strong as a normal tank's but can fire much faster."

"It would look awfully crowded in there." gulped Rarity.

"Relax. The UTF has strict sanitation rules." assured X-ray.

The commando lit up a hologram depicting a LT 30 buggy.

"On a lighter note. As in literally lighter. This is a buggy. It's very vulnerable to enemy fire, but it can travel at extremely fast distances even Rainbow Dash would be jealous of."

The rainbow maned pegasus scowled.

"This is the standard dress uniform of a UTF soldier." demonstrated Scarecrow.

"That armor looks really creepy. Do they have to wear the gas mask?" questioned Cadance.

"It strikes fear in our opponent's hearts the same way our masks do." informed Scorch. "Also, our enemies use chemicals frequently that are dangerous when inhaled."

"Is a plain soldier's armor as strong as yours?" asked Twilight.

"The base armor for a Terran trooper is stronger than the fabric that makes up recon armor. But it is less flexible, can not cloak and can not support a kinetic barrier." explained X-ray.

Shining Armor tensed. "How strong would you say our armor is compared to theirs?"

Scarecrow laughed. "Standard armor will take a gauss round before shattering, pony armor would collapse under a single shot from George Washington's musket."

The Equestrians gave Scarecrow the evil eye.

"Moving on the air, we humans have many types of small scale fighters." began Scorch. "First, here's a picture of a VTOL."

The demo man lit up a hologram of the air ship. The ponies took note of the VTOL's bird like shape.

"We already explained how they fly, but when it comes to combat capabilities; these things are equipped with a rail turret, magnetically accelerated missiles and attack variants have a massive coil gun on them as well. Troop transports lack the latter but can hold up to 20 individuals."

"That thing would make short work of an entire pegasus squad." awed Luna.

X-ray changed the hologram to a thinner and sleeker airship. "Here we have an interceptor. They might hold one person, but they're the fastest ships that we humans have ever invented to soar the air and outer space thanks to their powerful anti gravity generators. Not only do they move quick, but they're equipped with twin rail guns and fast moving gauss missiles. You won't even see them coming before you take them out."

"How fast do they go?" asked Celestia before Rainbow Dash could ask.

"Breaking the sound barrier is average for these things." smirked Scorch.

The demo man changed the hologram to depict an oceanic vessel. Humans did not focus on sea combat, so there was only one variation. "Humans don't really fight on sea anymore, but many alien planets hold the nastiest of aquatic life. Many terrorists are based in sea too."

"That looks like a cruise ship. But scarier." muttered Rarity.

"Yup. These bad boys are equipped with the most up to date magnetic weapons and allow for the quick deployment of interceptors and VTOLS." smiled Scarecrow.

"Now let's move on to the juicy stuff." insisted X-ray. The rifleman lit up a display of a Frigate.

The ponies were mesmerized by the appearance of the space ship.

"Are these how star ships look like?" blurted Twilight.

"Affirmative." ensured Scorch. "This is a frigate to be more precise. They're 3 kilometers long and their main role is in deploying soldiers from orbit and guard the larger capital ships."

"LARGER?" yelled the Equestrians.

"Each starship designation has its own role and and purpose." started Scarecrow. He lit up a display of a destroyer. "This is a destroyer, as its name implies, it's meant to take down enemy star ships."

"And how does a destroyer....destroy exactly?" whimpered Celestia.

X-ray cleared his throat. "Well star ships are usually equipped with kinetic barriers. So during naval engagements, it is important to take out the shield of other ships. This is usually accomplished through the use of a tesla canon which sends a powerful electromagnetic beam that can disable most electrically powered objects. We also use tesla canons from orbit to blackout enemy bases."

"Would a tesla canon disable our magic?" checked Twilight.

"I would assume so, if the shock didn't kill you first." growled Overwatch.

The magic users in the room tensed.

"Also starships use rail turrets as a small scale method of destruction, but are capable of using coil guns for a wider array of destruction." continued Scorch.

"How destructive?" gulped Luna.

"One coil gun missile has a base blast radius that would likely decimate the entire castle if fired from orbit. Newton's 1st law allows the projectile to keep moving unless stopped, so the more distance the projectile gets, the better. And space ships have a lot and I mean a lot of coil gun missiles. This is also helped by the fact we have a lot of star ships." trivialized Scarecrow.

"Good ta know." muttered Applejack.

"But for large scale destruction, we humans have nuclear warheads." noted Scorch. "A nuclear warhead is a basically an explosive that takes advantage of the immense power created by the fusion of helium atoms to make a weapon with a 40 kilometer explosive yield."

"40 kilometers!" screamed Celestia.

"They also leave behind radiation that poisons the area it struck almost indefinitely. Well, we only use them as last resorts, but the effects from orbital bombardment would be devastating." noted X-ray.

"Do you humans have anything more destructive?" asked Pinkie Pie sarcastically.

"Why yes." answered Scarecrow. "Larger space ships like cruisers and carriers have a special weapon we call the ion canon. An ion canon is an energy weapon that fires electrically charged molecules at a certain area. The blast radius caused is around 40 kilometers and unlike nukes, causes no radiation damage."

"Could it get any worse?" sighed Cadance.

"It can." smiled Scorch. "Allow us to point you to humanity's most destructive weapon, the dreadnought."

The hologram changed to depict a massive and sinister looking space ship.

"That looks and sounds like a ship that would come from tartarus." blurted Twilight.

Scarecrow wished someone was playing evil music in the background. "The Dreadnought is humanity's most powerful space ship of all time. They're extremely fast, 25 kilometers long, self sustainable for a life time, nearly impenetrable and are equipped with thousands of rail turrets, a thousand coil gun missile bays, 50 nukes and 4 ion canons. While a star ship is a planet killer, Dreadnoughts are system killers."

"Why did humanity want to invent ships like these?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"We don't know. We weren't alive when they were built." shrugged X-ray. "There are only 6 of them in existence that have lasted since their inception. The Malevolence, Deception, Treason, Wrath, Indulgence, and Warlock."

"And if all 6 are brought together, they are capable of firing specialized ion canons that can magnetically combine to create the most powerful weapon of all time. The planet gun." squealed Scorch.

The Equestrians were at a loss of words for 5 minutes.

"Humans have a planet gun?" finally let out Celestia.

"Don't worry, the UTF keeps a tight control on the dreadnoughts, there's no way it can fall to enemy hands and even a dreadnought will collapse under continuous fire." assured Scarecrow.

"Why would humans invent a planet gun?" inquired Cadance.

"Better safe then sorry. Also for colonial purposes. Many stray planets tend to interfere with the gravity of the colonies so they need to be blown up for the well being of the colonists." explained X-ray.

"Moving on to the mechanical side of things, allow me to show you humanity's line of super soldiers." offered Scorch.

Rainbow Dash was confused. "Aren't you the super soldiers?"

"No. The 23rd might be strong, but there are better fighters." sighed Scarecrow.

Suddenly, a hologram detailing a 7 ft 5 man in black and red power armor appeared before the Equestrians.

"This is an Olympian, which is the best single fighter a human can be. Not only are they augmented biologically to be superior to even us, but are equipped with power armor that enhances their ability ten fold in addition to having stronger barriers, and equipping more advanced VIs." detailed X-ray.

"Are they anything like the 23rd?" checked Rarity.

"Not at all." shook Scarecrow. "Unlike the 23rd, the Olympians are heroic, public and have more moral boundaries than us."

The Equestrians were slightly disturbed that there were more efficient killers than Shadow, but slightly relived that they were much nicer.

"And here we have examples of combat drones." demonstrated Scorch. A hologram was lit depicting a bi-pedal, but in no way humanoid, robot armed with twin wrist mounted rail turrets.

"You have robots meant just for fighting? How cruel." wept Pinkie Pie.

"Oh come on. Robots can't feel or think and when their body is destroyed, the whole program reawakens in another." countered X-ray.

"You said robots could be altered." remembered Twilight. "What happens when a robot is programmed by the enemies to attack its allies?"

Scorch crossed his arms. "Humans are equipped with pulse grenades to disable a drone for just such an occasion."

"And finally we have kill SATs." finalized Scarecrow.

The commander of Shadow lit up a hologram detailing a generic satellite with a ion cannon at its center.

"A kill SAT is basically an unmanned space ship that receives orders from humans remotely. It uses the radiation of a sun to fire a massive solar blast with destructive quantities of a nuclear warhead."

Celestia put her head down. She couldn't believe the sun could be used for such destruction.

The presentation had finished, with the ponies being unable to say anything.

"Wow, you humans sure have a lot of ways to kill people." fake laughed Pinkie Pie.

"But what's it all worth when your enemy can produce the same thing?" trivialized X-ray. "We invented these weapons to end wars instantly and quickly, only for our enemies to produce the same thing. Then we have to make better weapons, only for our enemies to make even superior ones."

"So humans are locked in an endless arms struggle?" frowned Luna.

"More or less." muttered Overwatch.

"Still, war against humans would be suicide." whined Shining Armor. His guard was disciplined and all, but they were clearly no match for a race that could nuke them from orbit.

Scorch laughed. "War? A fight against Equestrians wouldn't be war. It would be pest control!"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the dining room door.