War of the Worlds

Chapter 2 - Ponyville Common Part 1 - The Heat Ray

Next morning a crowd had gathered on the common, hypnotised by the unscrewing of the cylinder. Two feet of shining screw projected when, suddenly, the lid fell off. In the midst of the crowed were Twilight and her friends, spike was stood on her back trying to get a better view.

“What can you see Rainbow?” Applejack called to the cyan Pegasus hovering just above them. The cyan Pegasus landed and said,

“It’s some kind of cylinder, dug really deep into the ground.” Twilight put a hoof to her mouth and thought for a moment; before saying

“It must have fallen last night” and then muses to herself “but where did it come from?” The crowd suddenly takes a collective step backwards and Twilight hears Pinkie Pie scream, she looks towards the cylinder and what she sees fills her with dread.

Two luminous green disc like eyes appear above the rim, then a large rounded bulk larger than a bear rose up slowly; glistening like wet leather. Twilight studied the creature, it was bipedal, and had short, stubby arms and legs; it had a large rounded body that looked like it was made of onyx plates, like the armoured skin of a dragon. It had no neck; just this little head stuck straight onto its body, and small puffs of green steam came from a grate where its mouth should have been, but what hypnotised Twilight the most was those two bright green, lidless eyes.

A few young stallions crept closer to the pit; a tall, thin metal tube rose and then a cyan ray of heat leapt from stallion to stallion and there was a bright glare as each was instantly turned to fire. Every tree and bush became a mass of flames at the touch of this savage heat ray. Pony’s began clawing their way off the common and Twilight ran to, she felt like she was being toyed with, that when she was on the very verge of safety, this mysterious death would leap after her and strike her down.

At last she reached the library; and in the dim coolness of her home she wrote an account for the Princess before sinking into a restless haunted sleep. Her letter read like this:
Dear Princess Celestia,

As promised this is an account of my observations of the object that fell on Ponyville common last night, although I originally thought that it was a meteorite, I found out today that it was anything but. When I arrived at the common a large crowd had already gathered but I got a good look at the crater….and what was in it. It was a sort of cylindrical pod, I could see that the top was moving, like it was unscrewing; and then this ‘lid’ fell off. Nothing happened for a while, but then I saw what was inside the pod, it was as big as a bear, and looked like it was made of a shiny black gem stone, it had short stubby arms and legs and appeared to be bipedal; it had no neck or mouth and these lidless, saucer shaped, bright green eyes. A few stallions from the village tried to get closer to get a better look, then this thin tube rose up next to the creature and pointed at the stallions, then there was cyan beam, a bright flash and the next thing I knew the stallions were nothing more than piles of ash on the ground. Then everypony panicked and ran, but the creature didn’t give chase, it didn’t even move. What’s happening hear Princess? What are these things?

You’re faithful student

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight awoke to alien sounds of hammering from the pit and hurried to sugar cube corner to meet with her friends and discuss the events of the other day. Around her the daily routine of life – working, eating, and sleeping – was continuing serenely, as it had for countless years.

On ponyville common the humans continued hammering and stirring, sleepless, indefatigable, at work upon the machines they were making. Now and again a light, like the beam of a warships searchlight swept the common, and the heat ray was ready to follow.

In the afternoon a company of royal guard came through and set up on the edge of the common to form a cordon. That evening there was a violent crash and Twilight realised with horror that her home was now within range of the Human’s heat ray. At dawn, a falling star with a trail of green mist landed with a flash like summer lightning. This was the second cylinder.