The Disney Chronicles III: Fantasia

The Rite of Spring: Genesis

Equestria
Canterlot Theater
Many Hours Later

The audience applauds the last number, even the most sophisticated ponies clapped. After they stopped, Twilight prepared to announce the next number.

"When Igor Stravinsky wrote his ballet, The Rite of Spring..."

Before Twilight could continue, a loud chime drew everypony's attention. Pinkie, who played most of the percussion instruments, accidentally bumped against the tubular bells or chimes and knocked them over. Two musicians helped her put the tubes on the right places of the instruments. The audience and the other musicians couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't mind us, folks!" Pinkie said. "Please continue, Twilight!"

Twilight nods and continues, clearing her throat.

"I repeat, when Igor Stravinsky wrote his ballet, The Rite of Spring, his purpose was, in his own words, to 'express primitive life.' And so Walt Disney and his fellow artists have taken him at his word. Instead of presenting the ballet in its original form, as a simple series of tribal dances, they have visualized it as a pageant, as the story of the growth of life on planet Earth."

The audience began to silently talk among one another as Twilight continues.

"And that story, as you're going to see it, isn't the product of anypony's imagination. It's a coldly accurate reproduction of what science thinks went on during the first few billion years of that planet's existence. Science, not art, wrote the scenario of this picture. I've done a little research myself and apparently, the growth of life on the planet is similar to ours a few billion years ago before Equestria was founded. According to science, the first living things were single-celled organisms, tiny little white or green blobs of nothing in particular that lived under the water. And then, as the ages passed, the oceans began to swarm with all kinds of marine creatures. Finally, after about a billion years, certain fish, more ambitious than the rest, crawled up on land and became the first amphibians. And then, several hundred million years ago, nature went off on another tack and produced the dinosaurs. Now, the name 'dinosaur' comes from two Greek words meaning 'terrible lizard.' And they certainly were all of that. They came in all shapes and sizes, from little, crawling horrors about the size of a chicken to hundred-ton nightmares. They were not very bright. Even the biggest of them had only the brain of a pigeon. They lived in the air and water as well as on land. As a rule, they were vegetarians like us, rather amiable and easy to get along with. However, there were bullies and gangsters among them. The worst of the lot, a brute named Tyrannosaurus Rex, was probably the meanest killer that ever roamed the Earth. The dinosaurs were lords of creation for about 160 million years. And then... Well, we don't exactly know what happened. Some scientists think that great droughts and earthquakes turned the whole world into a giant dustbowl. But later research proved that a giant meteor slammed into the Earth and sadly killed 65% of life. In any case, the dinosaurs were wiped out. That is where our story ends. Where it begins is at a time infinitely far back, when there was no life at all on Earth. Nothing but clouds of steam, boiling seas and exploding volcanoes. So now, imagine yourselves out in space billions and billions of years ago, looking down on that lonely, tormented little planet, spinning through an empty sea of nothingness."

Symphony of Sorcery
The Orchestra Stand
Present Time

Our heroes took a well-deserved rest after the whole broom experience in Yen Sid's tower. Pinkie took the liberty of baking cupcakes not just for her friends but for Deem, Leopold and the musicians. They absolutely enjoyed it.

"Mmm... These cupcakes are truly delicious," Deems said. "Thank you, Miss Pinkie Pie!"

"Aww, it was nothing," Pinkie smiled. "I love baking goodies for my friends and every pony."