If anything could be said to motivate Twilight Sparkle, acquisition of new information would be a foremost contender. A love of learning was a primary tenant of what made her who she was. Yet even with that in mind, Twilight felt the slightest bit of trepidation for her next interview with Ranma.

She had expressly chosen a hopefully safe topic: technology. Yet she was not blind to the possible applications of technology, as demonstrated so helpfully by the humans on the other side of the mirror. Still, Twilight didn’t predict anything that she wasn’t already somewhat prepared for in Ranma’s report.

“I’m here, Twilight,” Ranma announced as she entered the library.

“Punctual as always, Ranma,” Twilight complimented as she glanced at a hanging clock.

“So, which way do you want to tackle this? Should we go from stone age to modern day or the other way around?” Ranma asked.

“From the stone age, I think. As far as we know, your world was devoid of Magic. Even the world on the other side of the mirror has a passive aetheric field. It’ll be easier to dissect the differences between our three worlds if we start at the basics and work our way up,” Twilight opined.

“Alright, I’m ready when you are,” Ranma said as she took a seat.

“Then let’s begin,” With that, Twilight sat across from Ranma and used magic to hit the record button.

“This is Twilight Sparkle, Former student of Princess Celestia and Princess of Friendship. The date is September 21^st 1005 ANM. The time is approximately 10:30AM. This is the second in what will be a series of interviews with our new resident from another dimension, Ranma Saotome. The subject of this interview will be comparing the path of technological development between our two civilizations in an abridged manner. For this interview, we will be starting at the beginning and working our way towards modern day. Ranma, begin when ready,” Twilight requested.

“Alright, so for my world, as far as we know, we had zero access to magic. So for us the earliest tools were just sharpened rocks dating back about 3.3 million years ago,” Ranma began.

“3.3 million?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“The first toolmakers on Earth were a pre-human species. Don’t ask me which one, because I can guarantee I’ll butcher the name and even then scientists weren’t sure which hominin species were the first to use tools,” Ranma explained.

“Ah, I see. Early species of ponies could only barely use magic and further they were an almost exclusively herbivorous species. So instead of sharpened stones for more effective killing, there was a focus on unearthing larger rocks to form walls. Shovels were one of the earliest complex tools of our civilization,” Twilight noted.

“On Earth, spears, knives, and axes were the first to appear. Humans evolved as endurance predators, despite our simian ancestry,” Ranma revealed.

“Ah, this is why humans have so little fur! It allows your sweat to evaporate off your skin more readily!” Twilight deduced.

“That’s what I’ve been given to understand,” Ranma agreed, “Even after tools came into the picture, it wasn’t until about 1.8 million years ago that proto-humans started settling down enough to start building habitation that wasn’t just sleeping in the nearest cave.”

“Really? Pony’s ancestors started making primitive hovels almost immediately after the creation of the ax. Although that’s probably due to them always living on the open plains and having magic to make the manipulation of construction materials so much easier,” Twilight mused.

“Given that, I’d guess caves made those early Ponies claustrophobic?” Ranma asked.

“Yes, early houses had very open roofs. Eventually the convention of making lean-tos instead of roofs caught on and was how Pony houses were predominantly built. It wasn’t until Ponies started interacting with Minotaurs and Beastmen that we adopted a more closed roof approach. Even still large skylights are a staple in Pony architecture,” Twilight lectured.

“Well, for Humans, the first ‘houses’ were believed to be basic wooden frames covered completely in animal skins. It wouldn’t be until 400,000 years ago that Humans started mastering fire,” Ranma continued.

“That recently? Proto-Pony species have been manipulating fire for at least 2.1 million years. Of course, we didn’t start cooking with fire until approximately 500,000 years ago. Before then such a thing would’ve been considered a desecration of something holy. A Unicorn’s ability to command fire was seen as a gift directly from the gods at the time,” Twilight noted.

“Huh, in one system of belief, it was believed a rogue god gifted fire to Humanity because they saw the potential in us. He was punished quite severally for his actions,” Ranma said.

“Funny how even across dimensions some things say somewhat consistent. Anyway, we’re getting off topic. We’ll save Equuis’ religions against Humanity’s religions for another day,” Twilight course corrected.

“Right, well, after fire was mastered, people began cooking. Since cooked food lasts longer, the absolute need to be a hunter/gatherer society was lessened. With a better ability to store food, people could gather in larger numbers and more time could be devoted to pursuits such as building. About 6,000 years ago, the first proper civilizations were founded: China, Sumer, Egypt, and the Indus Valley. That’s when things really started taking off. The first forms of writing were created, architecture became a thing, and explicit social hierarchies were put in place,” Ranma continued.

“That’s somewhat similar to how things transpired around the founding of the first Griffon city-state,” Twilight noted, “Since Ponies at that time were still primarily herbivores, cooking was never an obstacle to keep us from forming population centers.”

“Well with fire under control, people started learning how to melt metals and the so-called Bronze Age began. Once bronze came into the picture, warfare changed forever. Given the alloy was stronger than any naturally found element such as wood, copper, and obsidian, any army equipped with bronze had an almost insurmountable advantage,” Ranma told her.

“For us Ponies, our next age would be the Cold Iron Age. With Ponies having the easiest access to magic, most of the other species of Equuis were looking for a way to conquer that advantage. When it was discovered that iron cooled to 0 degrees Celsius could dampen magic, the race was on to find a way to implement this practically. The Breezies discovered CFCs at about the same time the Centaurs discovered vapor-compression refrigeration. With that the Cold Iron Age began and war ceased to be about which side had more Unicorns,” Twilight revealed.

“Funnily enough, for Humans our next age was the Iron Age which is still ongoing. Although ‘Iron Age’ is something of a misnomer, given that time was more about the creation of steel from iron. Steel went into making the usual things, swords, armor, farming tools, etc. However, the real spotlight should be on the printing press which was created around 1440, which was a little under 600 years ago,” Ranma said.

“That’s actually about when Equuis first saw printing presses. Given how often several of the major powers were at war such intellectual pursuits were unfortunately stalled until then,” Twilight sighed.

“Speaking of war, the most important invention on that front to come out of the time period was the rifle,” Ranma recalled.

“Yes, I’ve seen firearms on the other side of the mirror. On Equuis, long range weaponry has always been arrows, catapults, and magic, especially after the invention of Spell Paper in the early 150s After Nightmare Moon. Spell Paper allowed those magically inclined to infuse a single use spell onto specially treated paper. Of course, Spell Paper wasn’t available in bulk until after our own printing presses were invented,” Twilight recounted.

“The next big player was the compound microscope, invented in the 1620s,” Ranma was moving closer to what was taught regularly in school.

“So Humanity has had microscopes for 400 years? Equuis has only had them for 250 or so,” Twilight seemed embarrassed.

“Well, you had us beat in refrigeration. We didn’t start creating artificial refrigeration until about 250 years ago ourselves,” Ranma retorted.

“Wow, we were able to keep things cool, so amazing,” Twilight said sarcastically.

“Steam Engines were created in the early 1700s and the first steamboat was built in 1783 with the first manned hot air balloon going up that same year,” Ranma told her.

“You’ve only had steam power for 200 years?!” Twilight yelped, “Equuis has had steam power for almost 1500! Air ships have been around for over 900!”

“Earth doesn’t even have air ships like you do. We went for airplanes after a singularly unfortunate incident with a zeppelin, the Hindenburg Disaster in 1937. But we’re jumping ahead a little bit. In 1804 the first steam locomotive was created and in 1807 the first useful combustion engine was invented,” Ranma told her.

“I had wondered why I never saw an airship during my adventures on the other side of the mirror…” Twilight muttered.

“In 1816 Humanity started harnessing electricity with the invention of the electric telegraph,” Ranma relayed.

“I suppose without access to magic to create and manipulate your own electricity, it only makes sense Humans wouldn’t have been able to tame it until recently,” Twilight mused.

“In 1825 the first electromagnets were created, which would in turn lead to the creation of the first electric generator down the line in 1834,” Ranma told her.

“That’s less than a ten year turnaround, not bad,” Twilight commented.

“And the first solar cell was created in 1839, even if the technology wouldn’t be utilized for some time,” Ranma rattled off.

“The Reindeer invented solar panels some 600 years ago to take advantage of their extreme day/night cycles,” Twilight noted.

“The next major invention would be the mass production of paper in 1844, which I’m sure you can appreciate,” Ranma smirked at Twilight.

“Nothing like the smell of freshly printed books,” Twilight agreed with a giggle.

“Let’s see, reinforced concrete for building was somewhere in the 1850s and the lead acid battery was invented just before that decade ended…” Ranma remembered, “The first man-made plastic was 1862 and I’d be ashamed of myself if I forgot Louis Pasture inventing pasteurization and proving the germ theory in the 1860s with his vaccines.”

“Germ theory was actually proven some 400 years ago on Equuis. With magic to detect life signs, we were able to tell something was living inside us when we got sick,” Twilight said.

“The father of modern genetics also published his book in…1865? Unfortunately, that book wasn’t appreciated in his time. What was appreciated and subsequently bemoaned was the invention of dynamite in 1867 by good old Alfred Nobel,” Ranma snickered.

“I feel like there’s a joke there..?” Twilight asked.

“After Nobel died, his will stipulated that every year from then on, five prizes would be awarded to those who help advance humanity in the following five fields: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace,” Ranma explained.

“So there’s an award named after someone who invented a new way to blow stuff up in the fields of peace and medicine?” Twilight tried to fight back giggles.

“Yep,” Ranma grinned, “Let’s see, what’s next? I think the next major thing would be the commercialization of the electric generator in 1873. This development fed into the creation of the telephone in 1876 and the phonograph in ’77. Then Thomas Edison put forward the electric light bulb. Technically there were others before his, but his was the only one that was easily mass-producible and bright enough for common use. Speaking of Edison, he and a man named Nicola Tesla were bitter rivals, Tesla developing alternating-current electricity or AC while Edison pioneered direct current or DC. Tesla would go on to invent the Tesla Coil, which directly led to wireless technology still used to this day.”

“Conflict sure has a way of inspiring creativity,” Twilight snarked.

“Yep, and on the trail of electricity, we have the zinc-carbon battery in 1886, which made portal power sources practical and in that same year gas powered cars were invented. As a writer, it’d be remiss of me not to mention the ballpoint pen being invented two years later, which is the same year radio waves were discovered,” Ranma remarked.

“On Equuis portable power has always been a matter of pulling mana out of the local area and converting it into electricity and we never had gas powered vehicles,” Twilight noted, “But I do appreciate the invention of the ballpoint pen.”

“Let’s see…CFCs were invented in the 1890s and the first proto-type aircraft was developed in 1890 and is claimed to have flown 100 meters, even if we only have confirmation of a flight half that distance,” Ranma continued.

“It’s hard for me to imagine a whole world growing up in which flight isn’t an everyday occurrence for a good fraction of the population,” Twilight mused.

“And later that decade such inventions came to be as the cinematograph, diesel engine, and the first x-ray device. The decade ended with the invention of the most widely used plastic, polyethylene, and the rechargeable batteries of nickel-cadmium, nickel-iron, and silver-cadmium,” Ranma said.

“We discovered polyethylene at approximately the same time, only 100 years ago,” Twilight remarked.

“Now we’re back at the zeppelin, first invented in 1900, which quickly had competition from the Wright Brother’s aircraft, first flown in 1903 and proven to be a practical flying machine in 1905. Then came the first TV broadcast in 1909 to close out the decade,” Ranma recited.

“Sounds like it was an auspicious decade,” Twilight quipped.

“1915 was when tanks first hit the scenes on Earth, followed a year later by the Czochralski process, which allowed us to start making single crystal silicon, amongst other things. So that was a pretty quite decade,” Ranma said, “And the 1920s were looking to be the same until 1927 brought the first quartz clock, but the real boon year of the 1920s was 1928, which had the invention of penicillin, the turbo-jet engine, and the first demonstration of the practical electric television.”

“You’ve only had penicillin for 100 years? That’s fascinating! If you didn’t have penicillin and no healing magic, how did your species survive?” Twilight sounded baffled.

“We evolved without those things, so the lack of them never became an issue. It’s not like we had magic and then lost it,” Ranma shrugged.

“True,” Twilight conceded.

“Well, then in the 1930s, we have the electron microscope, FM radio, and…the discovery of nuclear fission,” Ranma sighed.

“Yes, I’ve learned about nuclear technology on the other side of the mirror. As an energy source, it’s remarkably clean, safe, and efficient. As a tool of war, it’s frightening. But at least it was never used that way,” Twilight shivered.

“Well…” Ranma said awkwardly.

“ATOMIC WEAPONS WERE USED ON YOUR EARTH?!” Twilight yelled in shock.

“August 6^th and 9^th 1945, two bombs dropped, first on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki. It was the definitive end of World War II. Atomic weapons haven’t been used since,” Ranma replied.

“That’s…horrifying,” Twilight murmured.

“Moving past that, in 1947, the first transistor was created, followed by the atomic clock a few months later in 1948. In December of 1951, the first nuclear power plant went online to produce power for residential use. Solar batteries and the collecting of solar energy became practical in 1954. In 1956 the first hard drive was invented and quickly followed by the first personal computer in 1957. 1957 is also when the first artificial satellite went into space, kicking off the Space Race between America and the Soviet Union,”

“Space Race?” Twilight asked curiously.

“It was a matter of pride for both countries to be the first to put a man on the Moon, considering the Soviet Union had been the ones to launch that satellite,” Ranma answered.

“Put a man on the Moon?! Even on the other side of the mirror they’ve only done manned orbital shuttles!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Like you said earlier, conflict breeds creativity. It also creates growth. In the end, America won the Space Race, putting Neil Armstrong on the Moon on July 20^th 1969, alongside his partner Edwin Aldrin,” Ranma told her.

“That’s incredible! I mean, Princess Luna was on the Moon 1000 years ago, but that was done by the Elements and not entirely on purpose,” Twilight said.

“After that, we hit the 1970s and everything starts revolving around information technology. The pocket calculator in 1970, email in ’71, the first microprocessor in ’71, the first video game home console in ’72, the first graphical user interface in ’73, the Internet Protocol Suite in ’74, the Altair 8800 that started the microcomputer revolution in ’75, the Global Positioning System in ’78, and finally the first handheld gaming console with interchangeable cartridges called the Microvision in ’79,” Ranma rattled off.

“That doesn’t sound too different from our own information technology revolution,” Twilight remarked.

“Right, so then in the 1980s, it started with the invention of Flash Memory in 1980, CD-ROMs in ’82 with laptops the same year, the first commercially available cell phone in ’84, and the lithium-ion battery in ’85 to end the decade,” Ranma continued.

“On Equuis, laptops came about 8 years earlier than yours did, maybe because we already had our mana batteries?” Twilight hypothesized.

“Could be,” Ranma shrugged, “Then we move to the 1990s, which had the invention of the World Wide Web in 1990, the first solid-state drive in ’91, the first web browser in ’93, the first smart phone in ’94, the DVD in ’95, and the first portable MP3 player in ’98. After that the 2000s and 2010s were mostly content to improve upon the existing technology, with the two major notes being the creation of the first synthetic organism JCVI-syn3.0 in 2016 and the commercialization of the first quantum computer in 2019.”

“You’ve only created synthetic organisms in the past decade? You’ve had nuclear power for 80 years, but not synthetic life?! Ponies have been creating artificial life for over 1500 years!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Using magic, you mean. Not by deconstructing and reconstructing the very DNA of single celled organisms,” Ranma pouted.

“That’s…accurate,” Twilight admitted, “Anyway, this interview has been enlightening. Your technological history has some parallels to species on Equuis, notably the Griffons and Minotaurs, but there’s certainly enough here that’s uniquely your own, even when compared with the other side of the mirror.”

“I’m glad I could be of help,” Ranma replied.

“And this marks the end of today’s interview,” With those words, Twilight turned off the camera.

Shockingly, I did remember most of this stuff from my history classes. I just needed to double check a few dates and skim for some important inventions I almost forgot about.

On a more personal note, I've been learning how to code in Python. I've actually been somewhat enjoying myself.

I feel like there's something else I wanted to say that I'm forgetting...It's not about Standing United, since I'm still in the middle of working on that...oh, duh, I had my birthday since I last posted to this fic. I'm now an old man of 25.