Equrrhurr hurrs churrgd.
Equestria has changed.
Er feeer n wawa.
I feel it in the water
Er feeer n urt.
I feel it in the earth.
Er smeerr n urr.
I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is now lost, for none now live who remember it.
It began with the creation of the great helmets. Three were given to the dragons; immortal, wisest, and strongest of all beings. Seven to the underground dwarf ponies, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain and cloud halls. And nine, nine helmets were gifted to the race of the Equestrian ponies, who above all desire power. Within these helmets was bound the strength and will to govern each race.
But they were all of them deceived, for another helmet was made. In the Badlands, in the fires of Mount Smooze, the Dark Lady Nightmare Moon forged in secret a master helmet to control all others. And into this Helmet she poured her cruelty, her malice, and her will to dominate all life.
One Helmet to rule them all.
One by one, the free lands of Equestria fell to the power of the Helmet. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of ponies and dragons marched against the armies of the Badlands, and on the slopes of Mount Smooze they fought for the freedom of Middle Earth.
The ponies and dragons fought valiantly against the myriad manticores, timberwolves, and griffins controlled by Nightmare Moon. Though greatly outnumbered, the allies’ battle prowess proved superior. Victory was near.
But the power of the Helmet could not be undone. Nightmare Moon entered the fray, destroying whole legions of soldiers with a sweep of her horn. Aided by the helmet, it seemed there was nothing that she couldn’t do. Many heroes of the alliance fell before her: Commander Hurricane, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Clover the Clever.
It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Starswirl, daughter of Clover, took up her father's helm. With the broken horn blade, she severed Nightmare Moon’s head from her shoulders, cutting off the power of the Helmet.
Nightmare Moon, enemy of the free ponies of Equestria, was defeated. The Helmet passed to Starswirl, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever. But the hearts of ponies are easily corrupted, and the Helmet of Power has a will of its own. The evil power of Nightmare Moon was bound to the Helmet, and it used its full force to sway Starswirl’s mind. The pony ran from Mount Smooze, determined to preserve the Helmet.
Though Starswirl doted upon the Helmet as it possessed her, the Helmet had plans of its own. It betrayed Starswirl to her death. She was ambushed and killed by straggling griffins, and the Helmet allowed itself to be swept away with a strong river current. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend, legend became myth, and for five hundred years, the Helmet passed out of all knowledge.
Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer. The Helmet came to the pony Trixie, who took it deep into the tunnels of Rambling Rock Ridge. And there, it consumed her. The Helmet gave her unnatural long life. For almost five hundred years it poisoned Trixie’s mind. And in the gloom of Trixie’s cave, it waited.
Darkness crept back into the forest of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the east, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Helmet of Power perceived its time had now come.
It abandoned Trixie. But something happened then the Helmet did not intend: despite the fact that the Rambling Rock Ridge tunnels were crawling with griffins and manticores, the Helmet was picked up by the last thing it imagined: another pony. A unicorn: Velvet Sparkle of Ponyville.
For the time will soon come when Ponyvillagers will shape the fortunes of all.