I DO NOT OWN My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic OR ANY RELATED MATERIAL (With exception of Terrus and all other Original Characters). HASBRO, IF YOU'RE READING THIS, HI! OH, AND PLEASE DON'T SUE ME

Centauri-class escape shuttle, orbiting unidentified planet

"They're… gone. Nothing down there but ash and rubble."

"Are you sure?"

"… Yes."

"Well then… We're it. We're all that's left."

"What now?"

"They think they've annihilated an entire species. OUR species. You and I… We're going to get ahead of them, prove them wrong, and make sure they can't do this again."

Location: Equestria

Alicorn stronghold, north of the Canterlot Mountain Range

341 Years before the fall of Discord

Three centuries.

The Unicorns had predicted the yearly return of Horsetail's Comet for three centuries, and they were never wrong. And yet, while preparing for the ceremony (Which was supposed to be next week,) Terrus, the Alicorn Chieftain, glances up at the night sky- and sees Horsetail's comet heading due East, just like always.

The first thing he felt was rage. This was a major event for the entire hemisphere, and the Unicorns bucked it up. Not only would he rip that pompous Unicorn bastard Summerglade to shreds but-

Then he felt something else. A strange mix of confusion and uncertainty. He wasn't supposed to be uncertain of anything. He was the Alicorn Chieftain; ruler of the rulers. He had worked for decades to achieve his status, and 'be confused' was not in his job description. But, something about Horsetail's comet was wrong. Whether it was the fact that Horsetail's comet had a blue trail and not a red one, or maybe that comets usually do not enter the atmosphere, turn, and slow down.

Terrus and the rest of his expeditionary party had traveled into the forest north of the stronghold. About four miles in, they found the clearing where the strange thing touched down. Terrus thought it looked like a rock; so did most of his company. They positioned themselves around what looked like a door. One of his Pegasus underlings remarked about what idiots would put a door on a rock, but he promptly shut up after noticing the strange symbols in red next to what appeared to be a handle. He went to pull it, but badly burned his tongue on aforementioned handle, still hot from reentry. This, combined with the fact that his canteen had recently been emptied of its cool spring water and refilled with urine as a prank by one of his Earth-pony friends, resulted in a very eventful few minutes. If not for the herbal remedy expert tagging along to take advantage of the posse's protection in order to gather ingredients without fear of Manticore attack, he probably would have gotten an infection.

Then, without warning, the door swung open. Two large, slender apes clambered into the light from the small opening. Terrus' company ran for their lives, but he dropped into a fighting stance, levitating his Earth-pony forged warhammer (Who he had affectionately named Sasha) out of its leather saddle-rack.

Terrus was a large stallion. He was, hoof-to-horn, around seven feet tall. The… creatures, for lack of a better term, dwarfed him. They were easily nine feet tall, the one in front was probably closer to ten. Their skin was pure white, and they both had a distinct lack of a face. They reminded him of the apes in the old Unicorn textbooks he read as a colt. Then the tall one did something interesting- it spoke. Well, he assumed it was speaking, but it had no mouth, and it was not speaking any language he had ever heard before. Its voice could be heard, but one could also feel it, a resounding bass line that shook Terrus to his core. The other ape-thing remained silent, as if fearful of interrupting a sacred ceremony.

"Salve", the taller one boomed.

Terrus was confused now. He was pretty sure 'Sohl-weh', or whatever it said, was not a word. He gave the ape a confused look.

"Ola", it growled, seeming almost frustrated.

"What are you? Why are you here?"

A few silent moments later, the beast calmed, as if soothed by the candy-colored equine standing in front of it, even though said equine had wings, a horn, and a FREAKING WARHAMMER.

"Ah… Equestrian. It's been almost a millenia since I've spoken in this tongue. Forgive me if I seem… Taciturn"

"What are you? WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Terrus roared, bringing Sasha to bear. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

The giant biped seemed almost amused at Terrus' futile attempt to intimidate, but then his demeanor changed to that of depression, and determination. "My brother and I are the last of our species. We were destroyed by an army more powerful than a star, a tsunami of violence annihilating every living thing in its path. We are here to make sure it does not continue on its rampage, but cannot do it alone. We require assistance, and this is its next stop. Your species, my brother, and I are all that is keeping that rampant crusade from taking the entire galaxy."

It continued. "The Army of Darkness is greatly weakened, and it will not take much more to destroy it. A planet like this... Is a prime target. Easily plundered, and a place to resupply and rejuvenate troops and morale. They will come here next, but cannot rely on their ships. (This, Terrus decided, was what the Ape called his flying-space-rock) They will lead a ground assault from the poles, and reach the equator in a matter of days. Two weeks, at the most. We are here to prepare you for a fight for your own survival."

It was then that Terrus realized something. This creature had descended from the stars. He was speaking to a God. And it- no, He- was asking for his help.

Author's Note: "Salve" and "Ola" are greetings in two root languages, Latin and Gaelician. Google Translate is my best friend. If you like this, leave a rating, or a comment. I am an absolutely atrocious writer, and comments may just keep me going. To be honest, I came up with this while half-asleep and chatting with my friend. It (If I keep writing) is going to be a four-part series, about Equestria's progression as an empire. It starts here, with Volume 1, set in the ancient times. Volumes 2 and 3 are present-day, and Volume 4 takes place in the distant future.

Before you ask, NO, the 'White Faceless Ape God' is NOT Slenderman, nor is he related to humanity in any way.

Toodles,

Silverwind