The Battle of Ponyville

Nightmare Night had begun once again in Ponyville.  The cool air of the night gave an eerie sensation of mild suspense.  Houses were dressed in horror-themed decoration while the children disguised themselves in costumes.  The public library had sales of classic horror novels the weeks prior to the night.  Candy shops and bakeries created sugary sweets for the little ones.  Even the adults could not resist the lure of their yearning for youth.

Most of the town would gather in the park for the annual Nightmare Night festival, co-hosted by Mayor Mare and Princess Luna.   Ever since her return from banishment, her subjects had no reason to fear her, thanks to the efforts of Twilight Sparkle.  Zecora will also be present to add extra flavor to the fun-filled terror.  Twilight also helped Ponyville realize that Zecora was not an evil enchantress, but an ordinary zebra who knew a great deal of magic as she does.

It was hours before the festival officially began at the park.  The sun was still shining so it would not be as scary until later.  Twilight was in her room putting on her Starswirl the Bearded costume she had the year before.  As futile as it was, she refused to stop wearing it.  Other ponies would mistake her for some ridiculous costume idea, but that did not stop her.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable from the silence, she turned on the radio.  The radio was a recent invention, but quickly gain tremendous acclaim.  Anypony could listen to their favorite music station, talk shows, or listen their favorite sports team.  Twilight prefers to listen to classical music whenever she working or reading.  A moment later, she completed her costume with the final piece - her hat.  While she admired herself on the mirror, the announcer on the radio began to speak.

“You were just listening to Melodic Maestro’s Harmony Symphony No. 4.  At seven-thirty we will have a special presentation from Orson Hooves at the Canterlot Mystery Theatre.  The presentation will be--”

“Maybe later,” Twilight said.  Before the announcer could finish his sentence, Twilight cut him short by turning off the radio.  Twilight darken her room and exited.  “Spike, are you almost ready?” she called out to her assistant.

“I’m just about ready Twilight,” Spike called from across the room.  “I’m just putting the finishing touches on my costume.”

Twilight levitated a nearby bowl of candy close to her, in case children - or Pinkie Pie - will come at their front door.  She looked at the clock on the wall - five o’clock.  Almost time for the annual begging of the sweets.  While she placed the bowl on a stool near the front door, she heard little claws coming up to her.

“Are you finished with your costume Spi--”

Twilight paused mid-sentence when she locked eyes unto Spike.  His costume was incredibly outlandish; his attire consist of a small grey body suit, while also wearing black briefs.  He had black gloves and boots on his hands and feet.  His face was covered in a weird black mask with pointy ears and he had a cape on his back.  The last thing she noticed was the bat symbol on his chest.  Confusion loomed over Twilight.

“Umm Spike... what are you supposed to be?”

“I am vengeance.  I am the night.  I.  Am.  Batmane!”  Spike proclaimed with authority.

“...Who?”

Spike slumped at Twilight’s question.  “You know, Batmane.  His parents were killed when was little?  He fights crime in Trotham City.  His archenemy is a psychotic pony in clown makeup?  That Batmane?”

“...I never heard of him,” she said while not trying to be blunt.

“Really Twilight?  You don’t know who Batmane is?”

“I’m sorry Spike.  I don’t read a lot of comic books as you do.”

“Hey!  They’re not comic books.  They’re graphic novels,” Spike said sternly.

The two of them heard knocks on the door, followed by giggling of children.  Spike grabbed a bowl of chocolate bars and did his best superhero action pose.  He opened the door and saw three little fillies’ bright smiles and colorful costumes.

“Nightmare Night,

What a fright,

Give us something sweet to bite!”

“Wow!  Cool costume!” one of them exclaimed.

“Thanks!” Spike said happily.

“Are you supposed to be a vampire?”

“What?  A vampire?  I’m Batmane!”  Spike again performed his best action pose to impress the little fillies.  All the baby dragon gained in return were furrowed brows.  Frustrated, he put chocolate bars in their baskets while grumbling to himself.

“And here’s some from me,” Twilight said while pouring her contents into their baskets.  The fillies giggled at her costume.

“I like your costume, too!” another one said.

“Awww, thank you.  You know who I’m supposed to be?”

“Oh, I know!” called out a little colt from behind.  “You’re that old wizard from Harry Trotter!”

  The other children laughed at his answered.  Twilight, however, was had same reaction as Spike.  She pour the remaining candy treats into their baskets while grumbling to herself.  She closed the door behind her and levitated the basket into the stool.  Spike was in front of her, leaning on a wall and giving her a smirk.

“Don’t Spike.  Just.  Don’t.”

The production crew of the Canterlot Mystery Theatre was preparing for their Nightmare Night special.  Two unicorns were that were responsible for the sound effects made sure the machines were on the right tone.  A mare prepared the sound booth for the actors, while three other ponies were looking over the scripts.  While everypony in the studio got ready for the performance, a nervous unicorn mare was talking to a producer.

“Are you sure ponies will tune in to this?  Everypony knows Nightmare Night is one of the nights ponies don’t listen to the radio.  Why did he chose this day?” she asked desperately.

“Don’t worry Miss Studio Executive,” Talent Scout reaffirmed.  “Mr. Hooves knows how to gather an audience for his shows.  And adults don’t go door to door asking for candy; so we will have a sizeable audience with them,” he said with no hint of worry.

“I hope so!  It’s bad enough the studio hired an unknown while overlooking professional directors,” Miss Executive coldly said.

“I will assure you that Orson Hooves is not an unknown.  He is an accomplished playwright, actor and director in the theatre scene.  Two of his plays won the Equestria Stage Actors Guild award.  I’m sure he will bring to the table the greatest radio performance the world has ever heard.”

Miss Executive was still skeptical about Orson Hooves.  Sure he had a successful career in theatre, but radio was an entirely new medium, something she thought he was inexperienced in.  Before she could speak her mind, she was interrupted by the sound of a stallion reciting his lines.

“Excuse me sir, but could you please do that somewhere else?” she asked the actor in annoyance.

“Sorry, ma’am.  I was just practicing my lines,” the actor apologized.

“Well, go practice them in another location!  Like say... over there!” Miss Executive was not really pointing in any particular direction, she just wanted the actor out of her sight.  The actor follow suit and slowly walked away.  “I need a drink.  I’ll be right back.”

Somewhere in the studio, a stallion was in his dressing room practicing his lines for the coming show.  Months of preparation, rehearsals, and studio funding was not enough to shake off the nervousness he had in him.  Despite the feelings of uneasiness, he made a straight face and brushed all the thoughts out of his head.

“Orson Hooves, tonight’s the big night,” he said to his reflection on the mirror.  “If this goes as planned, you can do your next big project.”  He opened his drawer and pulled out a script he was writing for four years prior to the Nightmare Night special.  The script he held in his very hooves was the very thing that will put him on the map in the entertainment industry.  A tragedy about the rise and fall of powerful publishing tycoon.  He could not think of a title for it, but whatever it will be called, it was going to be his masterpiece.

While Orson was imagining the possibilities for his script, his ears perked at the sound of knocks on his door.  He called for the pony to come inside.  A grey unicorn with a dark brown mane entered his dressing room holding the script to tonight’s performance.

“Script Doctor, how’s things?” Orson asked.

“Well, we made the changes as you said.  We also removed the part with the lightning strikes entirely.  And we also change the machines from walking tripods to flying saucers.”

“Excellent,” Orson said.  After taking a moment to think, he turned to Script Doctor.  “On second thought, change them back to walking tripods.  Flying saucers are just... unrealistic.”

“Uh... alright.”  Script Doctor used his magic to switch the selected words from saucers to tripods.  Suddenly, another stallion entered the room.  This time, a yellow earth pony stallion with orange hair a clipboard walked up to Orson.

“Are you sure about this?  You think ponies won’t believe it’s real?” Harley asked cautiously.

“Of course not!  Aliens landing on earth and exterminating all of ponykind?  Even if extraterrestrial life indeed exist, it’s highly improbable.  Nopony in their right mind will think it’s really happening,” Orson said with no concern in his voice.  “That’s why it’s called science fiction.”  He took a quick glance at his watch and smiled.

“Six o’clock.  In another hour, we will put on the most terrifying show in Equestria!”  Orson trotted out of his dressing room, laughing with himself.  Script Doctor and Harley stood there, bewildered at the young stallion.

“Script Doctor, you work with him a lot.  Are you sure he knows what he’s doing?” Harley asked.

“I’m not entirely sure.  He’s a brilliant stallion, but he is... well, let’s just say he is allergic to failure.”

“... What does that mean?”

“It means he’s allergic to failure.”

It was nearly evening when Twilight and Spike made it to the park.  They came just in time for the Nightmare Night festivities.  Little fillies and colts gathered around for a game of bobbing for apples.  The children and adults were entering other games and contests just to win more candy.  Another section had the adults in a square dance session.  And Big Macintosh was driving a cart full of ponies for the hayride.  Twilight instantly spotted Applejack among the crowd - she was supervising a horseshoe pitching game.

“Howdy, Twilight!  I see yer still donning that folk singer costume,” Applejack jokingly said to the unicorn.  Twilight let out a low annoyed groan while Spike was laughing under his breath.  “And who are you supposed to be, Spike?”

“I’m Batmane,” Spike said trying to imitate the low gruff voice of his hero.

“... Huh.  Never heard of him.”

To say Spike was irritated would be an understatement.

“Thanks, but it’s Starswirl the Bearded.  I will not rest until everypony knows who I am,” she said proudly.  “So where are the others?”

“Pinkie is off with some of the youngsters somewhere, and Rainbow Dash is tryin’ to get Fluttershy to come out of her house.  Not an easy task if you ask me,” she said.

“And Rarity?”

“Welp, as you may know, she on a date with her special somepony,” she commented as she wink at them.  When Spike heard those words, his heart was filled with fiery rage for the stallion that stole his beloved away from him.  He clenched his claws and grind his teeth and his eyes had become engulfed in flames.  Applejack gave a questioning look at Twilight.

“Don’t worry about Spike.  He’ll probably forget all about it by tomorrow... I hope.”

Just then, a group of children came running and laughing into the park.  They carried baskets filled with candy and were eager to get more.  Behind them was a pink pony wearing a giant banana costume.  Twilight facehoofed, know this mare all too well.

“Hey guys!  Isn’t this great?  This is much better than last year!  Check out all the candy I got!”

Pinkie showed Twilight, Applejack, and Spike her huge collection of candy - it was nearly the size of a mountain.  The three of them wondered how she would avoid a visit to the dentist the next day.

“I love Nightmare Night!  Everypony’s in costume and you get candy for it!  Oh I wish I can do this everyday!”

“Uh Pinkie, don’t ya think yer a little old to be dressing up and asking for candy and such?” Applejack asked.

“Oh Applejack, there’s never an age limit for FUN!” Pinkie exclaimed.  She stopped for a moment and noticed Twilight had the same costume as last year.  “Twilight, why are you dressed as my Uncle Loki?”

“Your uncle? Pinkie, I’m Starswirl the Bearded! The Greatest Unicorn who ever lived!”

“Hmmm. I still say you look like my uncle,” Pinkie said amusingly.  “Wow Spike, that’s one cool costume!” she said in amazement.

“Thanks Pinkie, I worked really hard on it,” Spike said proudly.

“I’ll say! Not a lot of ponies can pull-off a Changeling like you can,” she added.

Spike took a deep breath and swallowed his bitterness.

“Hey, where’s Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?” asked Pinkie.  “They’re going to miss all the fun, fun, fun!”

“Dontcha worry there, Pink.  They should be here any minute now,” replied Applejack.

As if on cue, the three mares and baby dragon saw Rainbow Dash shoving a spazzing Fluttershy into the park.  Rainbow Dash had an entirely new costume this year.  Instead of her Thunderbolt costume, she was dressed as her favorite adventurer, Daring Do.  She wore a green jacket and had a white hat on her head.

“Hey guys, wazzup?  Sorry we’re late.  It took me forever to get Fluttershy out of her room,” replied Dash.  The group looked at the quivering Fluttershy locked in the fetal position.  Spike tried to get close to her in a friendly manner.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Nothing will--”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Fluttershy shrieked.  She quickly hid behind Rainbow’s back.

“Yeah, it’s been like that all day.  You won’t believe how many locks she has on her front door.”

“Well Rainbow Dash, I told you before - I don’t think it was good idea to bring her out this night,” Applejack said.

“Come on, Applejack.  Everypony loves to get scared once in awhile,” Dash reasoned.

“Not this pony,” Fluttershy said from behind Rainbow’s back.

“Just wait until Princess Luna comes!  It’s gonna be so great!  And really scary!” Pinkie excitedly commented.  “And mean really really scary.  She gonna come on a dark, scary chariot and bats fly out her cape, and - oh, oh, she has glowing eyes and screams everywhere and--”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Fluttershy shrieked.  She jumped from behind Dash’s back and ran away at another location.  She managed to push some bystanders onto the ground.  The cyan pegasus groaned and flew after her - only to come back to comment on Spike and Twilight’s costumes.

“Wow, Twilight.  I didn’t know you were a fan of the Solar Battles comics!”

“Solar Battles?  Rainbow, I’m Starswirl the Bearded!” Twilight said bitterly.

“Really?  I could have sworn you were dressed as Poni-Wan Kenobi,” Rainbow commented.  “And who are you, Spike?  Darth Neighder?” she asked.

“...Yes.  I’m Darth Neighder from Solar Battles,” Spike said with no emotion.

“That’s cool!  Now if you excuse me, I have to find Fluttershy!”

Rainbow Dash flew away faster than the speed of sound to search for her timid friend.  Twilight and Spike both stared coldly into space.

“Don’t just stand there, you two!  We got lot’s of games, contests and such!  Go have some fun!” Applejack happily suggested.  Pinkie hopped along the way while chanting “Fun! Fun! Fun!”  Just then, a stallion whose entire body was wrapped in strips of white sheets went up to Twilight.  He sported a leather jacket and wore sunglasses.  He looked up and down her costume before commenting.

“Hush...”

And he walked away.

“...”

“What the heck?”

The Nightmare Night festival continued throughout the night.  Mayor Mare would later give signal to prepare for Princess Luna’s arrival.  The ponies spent their time either gathering candy or socializing.  A section of the festival was hosting a dance marathon, with a nearby radio playing music.

Three children wandered around the park, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Pipsqueak.  Pipsqueak wore his pirate costume again this year, while Apple Bloom was dressed as Discord and Scootaloo was in a Wonderbolt uniform.  They all carried bags full of candy and were searching for one more member of their group.

“Where did Sweetie Belle ran off to?” Scootaloo asked.

“She couldn't have gone that far,” Apple Bloom commented.  “We just got here.”

“You don’t think she’s afraid to see Princess Luna, do you?” Scootaloo asked.  “I know I would be.”

“Don’t worry!  Princess Luna is the nicest pony in whole world,” Pipsqueak proclaim.  “She wouldn't scare little fillies on purpose.”

“I know, it’s just that... well, she used to be Nightmare Moon,” Scootaloo said nervously.

“She’s not like that anymore.  She only turns into Nightmare Moon for fun now,” Pipsqueak corrected her.

“Ah hope so.  I’m sure if Sweetie Belle saw her again, she’d wet herself,” Apple Bloom joked.  In reality, she would probably do the same thing as well.

The children were finally in the center of the park, where the festival games and activities took place.  The trio searched high and low for Sweetie Belle.  They spent several long minutes searching for the little unicorn until they encountered Applejack, Apple Bloom’s elder sister.

“Apple Bloom.  You and yer friends enjoying the night?” she asked her little sister.

“Yeah, we are.  We’re just having trouble finding Sweetie Belle.  Have you seen her?”

“The last time I saw her, she was dancing her flank off in the dance competition,” Applejack said laughing.  “I’ll tell ya, she dances better than Twilight,” she added with good humor.  The three little ponies ran to the dancing competition just in time to see that Sweetie Belle had already formed an audience.  The crowd cheered on the blissfully ecstatic unicorn.  Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Pipsqueak stood in disbelief at the sight of their friend’s awkward dancing.  It was not until afterward that Sweetie realized her friends were there.

“Hi girls!  Hi Pipsqueak!  I’m just shaking my groove thang!”

“Yeah... we can see that,” Scootaloo said awkwardly.  “Come on Sweetie Belle, Zecora will be here any minute to take the other kids to Nightmare Moon’s statue.”

Sweetie Belle hid under her princess costume when she heard those words.  Memories of the first night she saw Nightmare Moon flooded her mind.  Sweetie recalled how terrified she was when she thought Princess Celestia was kidnapped.  She also remembered how Nightmare Moon threatened to bring eternal darkness to Equestria.  That was one of the reasons why she was not out on Nightmare Night the year before.  Pipsqueak wrapped a forearm around Sweetie Belle

“Don’t worry there, Belle.  Nothing bad is gonna happen.  Princess Luna is actually a nice pony once you get to know her,” the pinto colt warmly said.

“Really?” Sweetie softly asked.  Pipsqueak nodded and gave her an assuring smile.  It was almost time for the children to hear Zecora’s scary story for the night.  Apple Bloom motioned for everyone to follow her to the center of the park.

It was not long until everypony at the festival gathered around Mayor Mare.  This time, the mayor wore a tall, red and white striped hat and a fur black and white suit with a tail to give her the appearance of a cat.

“Good evening, Mares and Gentlecolts!” she called out.  “I like to welcome you all to our annual Nightmare Night Festival!  Now, all the little ponies and, ahem, Pinkie Pie, who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of... Nightmare Moon!”  She said in her best spooky voice followed by a sinister laugh.  An explosion of green mist later, Zecora appeared.  Her hair was long and was decorated with plastic spiders.  She also wore a long, black dress to make her look like a witch.

“Follow me

and very soon,

you will hear the tale of Nightmare Moon.”

Zecora led the group to a statue of Nightmare Moon.  Twilight was also part of the group, just to make sure Princess Luna does not scare the little ones too much.  Somehow, every year the statue only gets scarier and scarier to look at.  Zecora stopped in front and continued her tale of the Princess of the Night.

“Listen close my little dears,

and I’ll tell you where you got your fears

of Nightmare Night

so dark and scary.

Of Nightmare Moon,

who makes you wary.”

The children listened with wide, innocent eyes and shivering bodies.  Even Twilight had to admit she was creeped a little.

“Every year we put on a disguise,

to save ourselves from her searching eyes.

But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing,

to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!”

Most of the kids yelped and shrieked.  Few of them gave nervous chuckles.  Even though Pipsqueak had been through this before, he could not help but feel as though this is the first time seeing her up close.  Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were scared out of their costumes, but they both tried to put on straight, tough faces.  However, Sweetie Belle wished she was somewhere else.  She stood petrified at the thought of a pony wanting to eat little fillies.  And Pinkie Pie was just as frantic as ever.

“Hungrily, she soars the sky.

If she sees nopony, she passes by.

So if she comes and all is clear,

Equestria is safe for another year!”

“Um, M-Miss Z-Zecora, um, if we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon so she won’t gobble us up, then h-how come we still have to give our c-candy?” asked a stuttering Sweetie Belle.

“A perfect question,

my little friend.

For Nightm--”

“You have to give her your candy so she won’t eat you!” a terrified Pinkie screamed.  She dumped all her hard earned candy into the ground and ran away screaming.  Suddenly, the loud, rumbling noise of thunder followed by flashes of lightning terrified the youngsters, and Twilight to an extent.  They all followed suit and dumped their contents on Nightmare Moon’s statue, hoping to please the moon goddess.

Sweetie Belle hesitated before giving in to her fears.  Apple Bloom pour half of her share on the ground, while saving some for herself.  Pipsqueak also did the same.

“Scootaloo, what are you waiting for?  Give her some of your candy!” Bloom commanded with fear in her voice.

“No way!  You know how hard I worked for this?  No way she’s getting any of my candy!” Scoots said.  As if Nightmare Moon heard her from above, the thunder released a monstrous roar and lightning stroke the very ground she was standing on.

“Just do it, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle desperately pleaded.  “Do you wanna get eaten?”

“But--”

A lightning storm was in full motion, and sounds of sinister laughter could be heard.  Scootaloo poured as much candy on the ground as she could.  As the lightning grow fierce and the laughter drew closer, the three fillies ran away screaming.  The only ones left were Twilight, Spike, Pipsqueak, and Zecora.

A swirl of black magic formed and morphed into an equine-like figure.  The figure then sprout wings and a horn grew from its forehead.  The black magical swirl completed the transformation and the Princess of the Night came into being.

  “...”

“... Princess Luna!  You’re back!”

Pipsqueak ran to Luna and gave her a loving hug.

“Um... thanks.  It’s great to be back,” she said softly.  She looked around and spotted the huge pile of candy next to the statue of her evil personality.  Her small smile turned into a frown.

“I’m not surprised to see my subjects are still afraid of me,” she said melancholy.

“Not all of them,” Twilight assured her.  She gestured toward the little colt whom was still hugging her foreleg.  Her smile grew back and Pipsqueak let go of her leg.  She looked the area the festival was held; she could hear the dance pop music in the background.

“Do not feel bad,

my dear princess.

Your subjects will still love you,

No more, no less.”

“She’s right, Princess,” Spike added.  “Ever since you came back, ponies learned they don’t have to fear you.  Nightmare Night is just about having fun.  We usually do the whole Nightmare Moon thing because, you know, we just like being scared.”

“In all my years, I can never fully understand how ponies could find pleasure in being frightened,” Luna commented confusingly.

“I know the feeling princess.  I could never understand it either,” Twilight responded.  “However, I’ve been thinking about it this way - Have you ever been on a roller coaster before?” she asked the princess.

“I have not,” Luna responded.

“You see, ponies love to ride roller coasters because they crave the experience of danger.  Riding a roller coaster creates a simulation of danger, providing the illusion of mastering peril.  Also, it’s been proven that riding roller coasters can help overcome fears.”

“Hmm.  I shall greatly consider riding these... roller coasters,” Luna said.

“You should!  They’re really fun!” Pipsqueak squealed.  “I know - maybe you can come back next summer and we can ride one together!”

“We shall see, young Pipsqueak,” Luna told the pinto colt.  “Well, there’s no time to waste.  Time to give the ponies what they came for.”

Princess Luna teleported herself to the festival.  Only to teleport back to the spot.

“Oh Twilight, I see you are still wearing your Starswirl the Bearded costume.”

“Yeah... I don’t know why,” Twilight responded.

“And Spike... you remind me of an old, enchanter I used to know.  I believe his name was... Tim.”

Luna teleported herself back to the festival.  Spike stood there, his face growing red with rage.

Pipsqueak and Zecora were giggling quietly behind his back.

It was almost time for the broadcast of H. G. Weanling’s The War of the Worlds.  Orson made sure that everything and everypony were in their right place for the big performance.  The sound effects unicorns stood by their machines, waiting for their cue.  Orson and Harley once again took the time to memorize their lines while Script Doctor looked over any changes on the script.  Studio interns prepared the voice recording booth where the two of them will be in.

“Fifteen minutes left, Miss Executive,” Talent Scout told her excitedly.  “We should up and ready when Mr. Hooves and Harley finish their last-minute rehearsal.”

“Right.  Scout, this show we’re doing... I haven’t asked anypony, but... what is it about?” Executive asked.

“Hmm.  I’m not sure.  Orson said it’s based on a book of some kind.  Something about aliens invading earth.  I don’t know, I've never talked to him about it.”

Orson and Harley appeared in front of them, much to Executive’s surprised.  Orson had a look of determination and self-confidence on his face.

“Mr. Hooves, there you are!  We’ve been waiting for you all day!” Miss Executive told him.

“I’m sorry.  We had to be sure all the changes in the script were permanent.”

“Not to mention the fact that we still don’t know our way around this place,” Harley added.  “I think I passed the main storage room twice.”

“It doesn’t matter now!  You guys are here, and we have a show to run!” Miss Executive exclaimed.  Orson looked at his watch again.  Ten minutes left - might as well start it now, he thought to himself.

The technicians were in their respective positions as Orson and Harley entered the booths.  They both approached their separate microphones and put headphones over their ears.  Once everything was clear, a pony technicians pressed the “ON AIR” button and the fanfare played for one minute before Harley introduced show.

“Hello and Welcome to the Canterlot Mystery Theatre Audio Show.  Tonight we bring you our Nightmare Night special presentation of H. G. Weanling’s The War of the Worlds - as presented by none other than theatrical extraordinaire, Orson Hooves.”

A few moments passed after Harley made the annoucement.  Then, with a deep, but masterful voice, Orson spoke.

“Nopony would have believed in the early years of the Age of Harmony, that our world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than our own.  As equines busied themselves about their various concerns, they observed and studied.  The way a pony with a microscope might scrutinize the creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.  With infinite complacency, the pony went to and fro about the globe - confident our empire over this world.  Yet... across the gulf of space, intellects vast, and cruel, and unsympathetic... regarded our planet with envious eyes.  And slowly... and surely... drew their plans against us...”

END OF PART I