The Battle of Ponyville

Princess Luna was actually enjoying the night with her subjects.  Since she passed out candy to all the children, the ponyfolk have grown fond of her even more.  Afterward, she waste no time in participating in the fun-filled activities of the Nightmare Night festival.   These were one of the few, rare occasions that Luna could finally relax, cut loose, and mingle with the ponyfolk.  Other times, she could never be able to do this sort of thing.

Twilight was watching Luna enjoy herself in the distance.  She was proud that she was able to help a close friend become accepted.  During that night, nopony had noticed that Twilight removed her costume.  Since nopony could not decipher who she was, there was no point in wearing her Starswirl the Bearded costume.  However, Spike still wore his Batmane costume throughout the night.

“Spike, why are you still wearing that silly costume?” Twilight asked.

“Because there’s a costume contest, and I’m entering!” Spike answered proudly.

“Why?”

“Because I heard there was colt here who is dressed as Juggles!”

“Juggles?” Twilight asked confusingly.

“Juggles - Batmane’s archenemy!  He wears scary clown makeup, is a mass murdering anarchist terrorist who laughs at everything, he fights Batmane on the daily basis and there’s a possibility he already knows who Batmane’s secret identity is, but he doesn’t care either way?  That Juggles!”

“Spike, stop reading comic books.”

“Graphic novels, Twilight!  Graphic novels!”

As they were bickering, Twilight sensed that something was coming their way.  The two heard what sounded like terrified voices.  The inconsistent rambling and yelling became louder and louder until the unicorn and the baby dragon could see the running bodies the voices belonged to.

“Is that... Lyra?” Twilight asked confusingly.

“And is she running with... Snips and Snails?” Spike added.

The trio of ponies who were running for their dear lives became increasingly closer.  Twilight tried to stand in front of them to see what the fuss was about, but to no avail.  Lyra, Snips and Snails trampled her without even stopping to see who they trampled.  Spike immediately helped his mentor up to her legs.

“Jeez, what was that all about?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know Spike.  But whatever it is, they’re probably responsible for it.  Come on, let’s go,” Twilight commanded.  She ran toward the direction the unicorns ran, determine to get to the bottom of this.  “Come on Spike, hurry up!”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” grumbled Spike.

“I heard that!”

******************************************************************************

Snips, Snails and Lyra stopped running once they reach the center of the park.  The activities were still going strong and everypony was enjoying each other’s company under the pale moonlight.  That is until the three of them began blabbering nonsense at the top of their lungs.  For a moment, the games stopped and all eyes were on them.  Watching two little colts and a young adult mare acting insane and shouting towards every direction was like watching a train wreck.  You want to look away from the disaster, but it’s just there - out in the open.

“ALIENS ARE HERE!  WE SAW THEM!”

“BIG GOVERNMENT GUYS ARE HIDING THE TRUTH!”

“THEY’RE BRINGING THEIR SPACESHIP GANG STEAL OUR WATER SUPPLY!”

The ponies did not know whether if this was one of their Nightmare Night pranks or did they genuinely believed there is a threat from outer space.  A crowd gathered around the distressed unicorns as they continued spewing more nonsense on confused ears.  Twilight and Spike arrived just in time before the situation became ugly.

“Oh Twilight, thank goodness!  We need your help!” Lyra said while grabbing Twilight’s shoulders firmly.

“Why do you need my help?” Twilight asked uncomfortably.

“Aliens, Twilight!  Aliens are here!  We gotta warn the Princess!” Lyra responded by shaking Twilight back and forth.

“Did somepony call for a princess?”

Princess Luna levitated down to the area where everypony was gathered.  Initially, she was slightly confused as to what was going on.  Snips and Snails, and Lyra all bowed down before her majesty.  Luna was flattered, but quickly motioned for the youngsters to stand on all fours.

“Now tell me, what is going on, and why do you need either myself or my sister?”

“Oh Princess Luna, it’s terrible!  Really, really terrible!” Snips exclaimed.  “Me and Snails were listening to the radio, and the news came on, and it said that something weird was happening on the planet Ares!”

“I was listening to some of it, too!” Lyra said.  “An astronomer said there were some explosions happening!  And the explosions were sending these weird cylinder things straight to earth!”  The ponies all murmured either in disbelief, doubt, or absolute terror.  Luna seem uneasy upon hearing this strange news.

“Tell me more...”

“Okay, so we kept listening to the news, and there was a cylinder that hit Fillydelphia!” What Snails said gained a collective gasp from the audience.

“Okay, wait, hold on... since when did you guys listen to the news?” asked a skeptical Twilight.

“Twilight we’re serious!  Something really bad is happening and we got to do something about it!  We have to stop the aliens!” Lyra tried to reason.

“Lyra, Snips, Snails - tell me.  Is there anymore information about the extraterrestrials?” Luna asked in a serious tone.

“We don’t know.  The last thing we heard was the sound of the news reporter being incinerated by a spaceship!”  That last part Snips said gained a combination of gasps and screams.  Twilight, on the other hoof, was not convinced.

“Alright, be reasonable!  Are you sure it was aliens?  Or just somepony playing a prank on you?”

“Twilight, please listen to me!  I know what I heard!” Lyra stated.  All the townsponies were debating whether the account of the alien attack was true or not.  Applejack and Pinkie Pie arrived at the scene just the debate was getting heated.

“Land sakes!  Twilight, what in the hay is going on here?” Applejack asked.

“I’m not sure.  Apparently, Lyra and the two colts claimed they believe exterrestrial beings are attacking Equestria.”

“Aliens?” Pinkie asked astonishingly.  “Why would aliens want to attack us?”

“I don’t know, but according to Lyra, they want to exterminate ponykind,” Twilight jokingly said.  As more ponies joined the debate, out on the street a group of stallions ran screaming at the top of their lungs and one of them was ordering the group to bear arms.  Twilight stood in front of the terrified stallions and they stopped running.

“What’s wrong?  What are you running from?” she asked them.

“Didn’t you hear?!” one of the stallions asked with a horrified voice.  “Some alien walking machine destroyed Fillydelphia!”  The stallions then talked to her about what they heard about the machine.  They heard accounts that the walking machine had three legs, and a head shaped like a monster with two big, evil eyes.  One of them mentioned that tentacles came out from out of the machine and snatched all the terrified bystanders or ponies trying to run away.  Needless to say, everypony feared for their lives.  All except Twilight.

“Fascinating.  Did any of you actually see all those things happen?” Twilight asked nonchalantly.

“Well, no we haven’t,” one of the older stallions replied while scratching his chin.

“But we heard it on the news!  So it must be true!” yelled out a young stallion.  All the others agreed.  As the townsponies were caught up in the discussion of hostile alien life-forms, Princess Luna was confused and worried at the same.  She thought about cutting the festival short and return back to Canterlot immediately.  Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the other children joined the gathering just as Princess Luna was about to make her announcement.

“Whoa!  What the hay going on you guys?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash!  Aliens have landed in Equestria!  Real-life aliens!” Snails shouted.

“Pfft!  Yeah right, and tomorrow morning Twilight is going to sprout wings and fly away,” Dash laughed.  Everypony in town exploded with laughter at Dash’s joke.  Twilight was not amused.

“You don’t understand,” another member of the frantic stallions interrupted.  “Fillydelphia was already leveled by these alien death machines!  I even heard they’re marching toward Manehattan, Stalliongrad, and soon... Ponyville!”  All the townsponies screamed with absolute terror at the thought of the aliens destroying their peaceful village.  Fluttershy once again coward behind Rainbow, praying that she would just go home.

“Aliens?!” shrieked Sweetie Belle.

“Aliens?  Cool!  Can’t wait to meet them!” Scootaloo remarked excitedly.  Her tiny wings were buzzing with joy.

“Why would you want to meet them?!” Sweetie asked as if Scoots was out of her mind.  “They want to kill us all, remember?!”

“Yeah, I know!  Isn’t it awesome! They’re gonna suck our brains out and everything!” Scootaloo commented with enthusiasm.  Sweetie Belle shrieked and held on to Apple Bloom.

“Apple Bloom, make her stop!” Belle pleaded.  While all this was getting out of hand, one colt - Pipsqueak the Boy Pirate - began to ponder this series of strange events.

“Hmmm... walking machines, planet Ares, cylinders, and a heat-ray?  This sounds oddly familiar,” the pinto colt said to himself.  He was interrupted from his train-of-thought when Princess Luna made her announcement.

“Citizens of Ponyville!  I regret to announce that I must end the Nightmare Night celebration in short notice.  If we are to stop this extraterrestrial menace, then I must return immediately to Canterlot and mobilize the Equestrian Guard.  I ask all of you to return to your homes and stay indoors until further notice.  We will show these demons from beyond the stars that Earth is not an easy planet to conquer!”

Luna’s rousing speech gained cheers and thunderous applause.  The Night Princess then disappeared in a flash of white light.  While they do have hope that the Princesses will contain this situation, there were many unanswered questions.  Twilight and Pipsqueak were the only two ponies that noticed many holes in the story.  As the throng began to disperse, Sparkle analyzed the situation.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Twilight told herself.  “Why would anypony make up a ridiculous story like that?”

“Why are we still talking about it?” Fluttershy ask while in the fetal position.

“Fluttershy, I assure you, there are no aliens in Equestria!” Twilight said sternly.

“What if you’re wrong?  What if the aliens are already here, and they kidnapped you and replace with an evil alien version of you?!” Fluttershy was beginning to hyperventilate.

“That would be awesome!” Scoots commented.

“Aliens or not, if the princess wants us to go home, we should do what she said,” Applejack reasoned.  She did not believe in aliens either, but she didn’t want to risk staying out all night.  There are a few nutcases running around on Nightmare Night.

“We are you all so calm?!” Lyra asked.  “Aliens are about to take over the world!  Don’t you even care at all?!”

“No Lyra, I don’t care.  You want to know why?  Because they’re no.  Such.  Thing.  As.  Aliens!”  Twilight said while bringing her face close to Lyra’s.  The mint unicorn shifted back.  “Now stop with this talk about aliens and get some rest!” she commanded.  Lyra stuck her tongue out behind Twilight’s back in defiance.

“Yeah, I should get going too,” said Pinkie.  The girls gazed at the pink mare as she carried a giant bag of sweets and candy.

“Don’t eat too much candy, Pinkie.  Or else you’ll have to go to the dentist,” Applejack cautioned.

“Don’t worry Jackie, I’ll be fine!  I’ve never got a cavity in my life!” Pinkie reassured the farmpony.

“... I told you not to call me Jackie,” Applejack grumbled under her breath.

“As much I love to talk about aliens, I’m gettin’ tired.  I’m gonna hit the hay.  Fluttershy where are--” Before Rainbow could finish asking her question, she noticed Fluttershy disappeared without a trace.  “Hm, I knew she was a ‘fraidy pony.  Hey Scootaloo, you wanna lift home?” she asked the orange pegasus.

“Yeah, sure,” Scootaloo replied with a smile.  Scoots hopped on Dash’s back and the sky-blue pegasus launched into the air with incredible speed.

“Welp, it’s gettin’ mighty late.  C’mon Apple Bloom, it’s time to go.  Sweetie can stay us until Rarity comes home from her date,” Applejack said.  “And don’t worry there hun - ain’t no aliens are gonna get you,” she joked.  Sweetie gulped at the prospect of being captured by aliens.

“Snips, Snails, are your parents home?” Twilight asked.

“We don’t know,” Snails replied.

“We don’t really see them in the evenings,” Snips added.

“They can stay with me until they come back!” Lyra said.  Twilight looked at her with uncertainty.

“Are you sure?  Would Bon Bon allow it?”

“Of course!  She always enjoys visitors, especially on late nights,” Lyra answered.  Twilight stared at her for a more moments before she and Spike went home.  As the unicorn and the baby dragon took the long road home, they both reflected on tonight’s events.

“That was a weird night wasn’t it?” Spike asked.

“Couldn’t get any more weirder, Spike.  Hopefully by tomorrow morning all this alien nonsense will blow over,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, and you’ll probably get your wings too by then,” joked Spike.  Twilight glared at Spike for referencing Rainbow’s joke.  “I know, I shouldn’t have never said that.”

*****************************************************************************************

(A few hours ago)

On the other side of town, a certain white unicorn mare was enjoying a romantic evening with her special somepony.  The stallion in question was one of her customers.  He was an elegant stallion with a taste for the theatrical and a well-known business associate of a Mr. Filthy Rich.  When he entered her workshop to pick up a dress for his mother, (he loved his mama) he could not for the life of him remove his eyes from the beautiful mare that stood before him.  The two flirted with each other so much, that the mare was distracted from her work that day.

Since the two had busy work schedules, they decided to have their first date on the thirty-first of October.  The reason they chose Nightmare Night was because it was the only day they have off.  The mare and her stallion spent the evening at a fancy restaurant, eating fancy food and drinking fancy drinks from fancy glasses.

“My, what a lovely evening,” Rarity commented.

“Not as lovely as you, my little rose petal,” Casanova said.  Rarity blushed at his compliment.

“It’s just so nice to have a break from work and family.  I mean, I love my little sister and what not, but she can be a tad bit annoying at times,” Rarity said.

“I know what you mean.  My older brother, who lives at home, can drive me nuts while bragging about his non-existent acting career.  I sometimes worry about my older brother, who lives at home,” Casanova lamented.

“Oh goodness, what happened to your brother,” Rarity asked.

“My older brother, who lives at home, went to a fine arts college to study acting.  After a week, he was kicked out because he was not talented enough.  Now he spends the days working as a shoe salespony.”

“That highly unfortunate,” Rarity said.

“There’s no need to worry.  As long as I’m with you, nothing can ruin this perfect evening,” Casanova reassured her.  Casanova blew her a kiss, in which Rarity “caught” with her hoof.  The two laughed, feeling that nothing could possibly ruin this night.

Suddenly, a group a frantic stallions barged into the fancy restaurant.  They were in the front entrance yelling “rabble, rabble, rabble!”  A butler-type unicorn stallion casually walked towards the group of rabbling stallions.

“Excuse me sirs, but how may help you?” the fancy unicorn asked with his snout raised up.

“You can help us by getting everypony out of this restaurant!  There’s news of an alien attack that happened in Fillydelphia, and they’re coming this way!” said one of the stallions.  The frantic ponies continued yelling “rabble, rabble, rabble!”

“Would you like me to read you our dinner specials?  We have tonight the Fancy Potato and Vegetable Soup, the Fancy Bread and Butter with Cheese, the Fancy Strawberry and Cinnamon Strudels...”

“We don’t want to hear about your fancy snacks!  But that strawberry and cinnamon strudels sound delicious.  But you gotta get outta here!  Aliens are coming, and they’re go to annihilate all of ponykind!”

The frantic stallions stormed out of the restaurant and continued yelling “rabble, rabble, rabble!”  They went on to warn others of the extraterrestrial doomsday.  The restaurant patrons looked around the room, bewilderment clouding their judgement.

“My goodness, what was that all about?” Rarity asked in shock.

“I’m not sure.  Apparently, aliens have landed on Earth and have declared war on the equine race,” Casanova answered.

“Aliens?  I must say, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life, other than when Pinkie Pie tells her ‘History of Equestria’ stories,” Rarity said.

“This reminds me of the time when my older brother, who lives at home, once claimed that he was abducted by aliens,” commented Casanova.

**********************************************************************************

(A few months ago)

In front of a mansion, royal guards were arresting a stallion who others claimed was disturbing the peace.  A group of five or so guards tried to force him into a chariot, but he was able to overcome them and kept yelling at his audience.

“We have to stop them!  I was foalnapped by space aliens five years ago, they did all kinds of experiments on me!  They’ve been studying us for years!  Finding out our weaknesses!  We gotta stop them!  They’re gonna kill us all!”

Unfortunately, the royal guards overpowered him.  The locked in the chariot and flew off to Canterlot.

**************************************************************************************

“He was pronounced insane by ten different psychiatrists,” Casanova said as he finished his story.

“Your brother must live a hard life.  I’m so sorry for your situation,” Rarity said with sorrow in her voice.

“Don’t worry.  He gets by from selling shoes,” Casanova said with no hint of concern or sadness.  Rarity did not know if he was joking or if he was hiding his true pain.  However, she smiled and held up her wine glass for a quick toast.  As Casanova said before, there was nothing that could ruin this perfect night.  Or so they thought.

*********************************************************************************

Sweetie Belle was staying with the Apples’ until Rarity came back from her date.  She and Apple Bloom were in her bedroom playing board games and dividing candy.  They also talked about last night’s events.

“You don’t think they’re actually aliens out there do you, Apple Bloom?” Sweetie asked.

“For the last time, there ain’t no such thing as aliens.  Maybe it just somepony pulling a prank on us.  Besides, Princess Luna said she’ll find out what’s goin’ on.”

“But they made it sound so convincing,” Sweetie said.

“Sweetie, remember.  Snips and Snails - and Lyra - ain’t the sharpest nails in the toolbox,” Bloom stated.

“What does that even mean?” asked Sweetie.  Before Bloom could say anything else, their ears perked at the sound of small stones and pebbles hitting the glass window.  Apple Bloom opened the window to who was doing that.  To her surprise, it was Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo?  How’d ya get her so fast?” Bloom asked.

“I used my scooter, duh!  Listen girls, I can’t stop thinking about the aliens.”

“Oh no, here we go again,” Bloom groaned.

“I’m serious!  What if this our chance to get our cutie-marks?!  We could be the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Alien Busters!”

“Scootaloo, go back home.”

“C’mon, girls!  We can totally do this!  Pleeaassee?” Scoots pleaded.  Apple Bloom was inwardly struggling with herself.  She groaned loudly and surrendered to her ambitious friend.

“Alright, I’ll come.  But Applejack ain’t gonna like this.”

“Great!  What about you, Sweetie Belle?”

“Well... I... uh... I... Ugh!  Why do you always drag me into these things?!” Sweetie asked in anguish.  Bloom and Belle climbed down the window and met Scoots on the ground.  Scootaloo held out her hoof to the two.  Bloom and Belle put their hooves on Scootaloo’s.

“Okay girls, on three - one, two, three!  Cutie Mark Crusaders: Alien Busters!” Scootaloo yelled.

“... Cutie Mark Crusaders: Alien Busters,” the other two said weakly in unison.  The three ran off into the night, searching for the supposed alien threat.

***************************************************************************************

In Canterlot, the Equestrian Guard stood the throne room of the Royal Princesses.  Princess Luna gazed upon her perfectly assembled troops.  They eagerly await for her to speak.  After taking a few moments to take in the situation, she took a deep breath and started her speech.

“Equestrian Guard, we face a dire crisis.  An extraterrestrial menace has threatened to declare to war on ponykind.  They’re first target was the city of Fillydelphia.  We shall avenge the lives that have been lost!  We will find them and then crush the otherworldly opposition!”

The Guard cheered and started to scramble.  The Pegasi flew to the air, the earth ponies marched to the streets, and the unicorns guarded the fortress.  Princess Luna was determined to bring down the demons from beyond the stars.

What could possibly go wrong?

********************************************************************************

(Somewhere, in Fillydelphia)

Night.  Empty streets.  Two ponies standing on a street corner.

“Gee, nothing exciting happens around here, doesn’t it?”

“Nope.  Guess not.  Heard the news?  Ponies think we’re dead.”

“How?”

“Aliens.”

“... That’s new.”

“Tell me about.”

“At ponies are starting to notice us.”

“Yep.”

“Should we tell them we’re okay?”

“Nah, l say let them worry about us some more.”

“Okay.  So how about those Fillydelphia Fillies?”