Chapter 3, Part 5

Evening, January 5, 1946

“My fellow citizens. Yesterday, my government obtained confirmation that rumors of a discovery of a new 8th continent in the mid-Atlantic are indeed correct.

“Initially I, myself, refused to accept the validity of these rumors. However members of the United States navy have conducted a series of surveys over the past couple of days, confirming that the rumors are in fact correct. Additionally, members of the crew aboard the USS Alabama have made contact with the native life forms, who appear to be sentient and English speaking ponies. It also appears that these ponies have achieved some degree of technological development, including industrialization.”

“My government will publish evidence corroborating my statement tomorrow in the papers. Until then, rest assured that my Administration is taking the necessary measures to ensure that peaceful and productive relations are established between our human civilization and the equestrian civilization.”

“We are committed to discovering how this 8th continent managed to appear suddenly on our planet and what we can do to welcome this new civilization. Let us pray to the Creator above for success in this endeavor so that peace and good-will can exist between humanity and ponykind.”

-Excerpt from President Truman’s Address to the American People on the Discovery of Equestria

______

The reaction to President Truman’s speech was harsh to say the least. Several senior ranking Congressmen labelled him as “insane” and called for his removal from office. The New York Times headline read: “Truman, Hoaxer or Madman.” Despite the publishing of photographic evidence showing the new continent in question, along with cities with ponies in them, the majority of the American public viewed them as hoaxes.

It wasn’t till the next day, when the British Prime Minister confirmed that the American President wasn’t mad but was telling the truth, that people began to take the reports of a new island inhabited by ponies seriously. Additionally, several other countries, such as Canada and Portugal, confirmed that they too had received reports from their seamen about the existence of a new continent. Only then did the discussion shift from the credibility of the reports to what was to be done with the existence of the new continent.

The majority of the general public around the world reacted in awe at the concept of their being intelligent non-human life. Some panicked, claiming that they were either “Ponies from Mars” or “demonspawn bringing about the end times” or both. One hot-headed congressmen said that the United States should “preemptively obliterate the Pony nation via the usage of nuclear warheads, lest the Orwellian prophecy of Animal Farm come to pass.”

Despite all of the hysteria and demagoguery by a vocal minority of the human population, the vast majority of humanity urged a diplomatic and peaceful approach to the “pony problem.” Not since 1492, when the New World was discovered by Columbus, had the world witnessed so monumental a moment as the discovery of the Pony continent.

Meanwhile in Equestria, a train carrying the Fred Kirtland, the captain of the USS Alabama, and a select group of the senior officers from said vessel was pulling into Canterlot station. As they stepped off the train, they were greeted by a purple alicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle. The audience that Celestia had asked for was finally near at hand.

[​IMG]
^
Behind the scenes look at the "Address on the Discovery of Sentient Equine Lifeforms" (1946).