AN: This is my own little story about who was the ruler before the princesses and how each different species of pony came into existence. It really isn't meant to be taken as canon at all, it's just my own little fictional history lesson. Reviews and comments are welcomed, criticism as well. If anyone wants more about this, feel free to ask. Thank you.
Before the Crystal Empire, before the Elements of Harmony, before the birth of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, before Equestria was known as Equestria, there was a kingdom. It was called the Golden Kingdom, and at the helm was the city of Archippus. In the time, all ponies were Earth ponies, there was no other species, there was nothing beyond the griffon kingdoms. All was sacred, every act of magic and ever pony's life was a power of divinity. In this time, ponies lives were written down by the ruler of the Golden Kingdom, by the Ruler Infinity Dawn.
Her rule was great, herself benevolent. All of the ponies knew that their destinies were in good hooves, and that the choice their Ruler made was for their best interests. Infinity Dawn would fly over the Kingdom, watching her subjects. She knew all of them by name, she knew their personalities, their likes and dislikes. When she had decided what job would best be suited for her subjects, she would grant them a marking, a cutie mark, so they could live their life and fulfill the destiny she had written for them. All was fine and peaceful, and the ponies were happy with their lives and their written destinies, except for one.
The pony in question name had been lost to history, but we know that his destiny was written to be a rock farmer. Surely this was a mistake, he had decided. He had wanted to be a merchant, but he could not defy his destiny, for the Alicorn Infinity Dawn had decided his fate. He was not happy with his destiny, his anger boiling to rage over time. Days, weeks, months went by, and each day that he toiled in the rock fields, each day he grew to hate his ruler, wishing to control his own destiny. Why was this pony able to control him, to control all of them? She was not the same as they all were, she was different. All of the ponies were supposed to be the same, yet there was this powerful pony deciding how each pony would live their life. His rage soon turned to pure hatred, and one day, he decided to fight back.
` The dragon migration had begun, and they were beginning their flight over Archippus. The stallion had waited for this day to come, and it was finally here. He had devised a device that could fire rocks and boulders into the air and at the dragons, and this was the day he would be able to get his revenge on the Alicorn Infinity Dawn. He had an unlimited supply of rocks available. He prepared the contraption and then he fired it. The first rock hit the head of a bright green dragon, causing it's flight to falter and nearly causing it to crash. The other dragons began to roar and break out of migration, but it they soon fell back into their routine. The stallion loaded the contraption, this time with multiple rocks, and fired it. The rocks pelt a few more dragons this time and then the formation broke completely.
The ponies were screaming and scrambling as the dragons descend, landing on their buildings and beginning to douse the city in fire. The alicorn saw this and was astounded. This was not supposed to happen. She had unlimited knowledge of the future and the past, of how everything was and how it should be, but this was not part of it. She realized that her kingdom, her subjects, were in grave danger. Infinity Dawn would spread her wings and fly out of her palace to try and calm the angered dragons. However, even an alicorn could not defeat a whole fleet of angry dragons.
Her eyes became a bright white and her horn began to glow a vast array of colors as she shot a concentrated beam of magic at a dragon. It hit its mark and the dragon began to revert back to that of a fledgling, then a hatchling, then an egg. It feel from the sky and shattered on the ground. The Alicorn of Destiny had displayed the capacity of her power, but the dragons were not deterred. Infinity Dawn began to grow frantic as her citizens began to be crushed and burned from the attack of the dragons. Her heart began to break as she watched her subject's burn and suffer. She turned to the dragons, her eyes becoming red and her once purple coat turning red. She screamed out, her voice ringing out across the land, causing both ponies and dragons alike to try and cover their ears.
In a fit of rage, she rushed at one of the dragons, her horn becoming buried deep inside of its throat. In one fluid motion she moved her head upwards, cutting the dragon's throat deeply, but not enough to kill. It fell to the ground, crushing a few scrambling ponies. Infinity Dawn saw this and knew that some of her subjects were not fast enough to run away. The dragons were closing in, causing chaos and destruction everywhere. She screamed again and her horn began to glow brighter, her eyes turning from red to a complete black. A force field began to form, keeping the dragons at bay. Her magic was faltering though, and she could not hold back the dragons forever. She flew down and landed amongst the rubble of her once beautiful city. Tears came to her eyes as she saw what had become of the city and her people. The scent of burning death had filled the air and smoke was coiling up into the sky. A single tear escaped from Infinity Dawn's eye as she watched as her subjects suffered, some dying. A few embers fell into her mane and on her coat, burning it, but she did not care. She had to save her subjects.
Her horn began to glow once more and she raised her wings high. A flow of magic and light fled from her horn and it spread out across the city and the land. The magic was strong and powerful, blinding all ponies and the dragons. Her horn began to glow white and then began to burn as hot as the dragon fire around her. Her nose and ears began to bleed as her horn grew hotter and brighter. The ponies that were still trapped in the city watched their ruler and the dragons with frightened eyes. Soon something incredible happened. Some grew wings like their ruler, some had horns growing from their heads. It was a surprise and many were in complete shock at this, unsure of what had happened. The magic became so powerful and affected so many ponies, that Infinity Dawn's horn began to crack and eventually shattered into many pieces. The shards of her horn scattered across the city and some even spreading across the Golden Kingdom and beyond even. Infinity Dawn was brought to her knees, sobbing in pain. The force field began to falter. The ponies rushed to their ruler in panic and with sobs. Infinity Dawn slowly began to stand and her wings unfurled.
"My subjects!" She spoke in the loudest voice she could so the whole city could hear "Flee this place, I have granted you the ability to do so! You must hurry before the force field is destroyed!" She rose into the sky and turned to face the faltering force field. A few wanted to stay and fight alongside their ruler with their new abilities, but they were dragged alone by the frantic and fearful ponies rushing to leave the city. Some flew; others were able to clear the debris with their new magical ability. Soon the city was abandoned, with only the Alicorn and the dragons. When the last of the ponies had left, the force field gave way.
In her heart, the Alicorn of Destiny knew that this was her last fight, but she would fight as hard as she could to ensure her subject's safety. She flew up to greet the dragons, their bellowing fire singeing her coat and mane. She screamed in pain but flew up higher, slamming her hooves into one dragon's head and eyes, and bucking her hind hooves into the stomach of another dragon. They began to cluster around her and try to trap her, but she managed to fight her way through and emerged above them all, her wings raised high in defiance. As she was about to launch another attack, she felt a sharp pain in her left wing. A rock had slammed into it and crushed the bones. She looked to where the rock came from and saw a strange contraption and a blue colored stallion standing by it. Even at this distance she could see the sinister and evil grin on his face. Her body began to go into shock, and she began to fall, her left wing unusable now. She fell through the horde of dragons and slammed to the ground with a sickening smack!
Her vision was blurred and her body broken. All around her, the once beautiful and golden city was collapsing. Each breath was labored and full of pain, and she began to cry. Not from pain, but from relief that she managed to cause a distraction so that her subjects could escape. She moved her head as best she could to look up at the sky. The remains of her shattered horn began to flicker as she saw the dragons begin to descend to her position. She still had magic left for one last spell… She rose her head despite the pain and the remains of her horn and eyes began to glow bright white. The city began to lower and sink into the ground. Hot burning tears began to fall at the same time as the city was swallowed into the ground. The dragons continued to follow her into the now growing pit in the earth. A few fell back and watched as their comrades flew into the pit and was swallowed by darkness.
Infinity Dawn watched as the dragons landed around her, descending on her. Her horn faltered and grew cold, the remaining pieces shattering all over her. She raised her head and laughed in a twisted way as the pit opened more and then suddenly began to close, the last thing seen was two glowing white eyes. A few roars were heard along with sad laughing and sobbing, and then all was peaceful again. The burning city was gone, leaving nothing there but a shallow crater. The ponies of Archippus slowly began to return, looking down at the crater. There way of life was over, their homes gone, two new species being born, and their own destiny in their hooves. They stared down at the crater, soft sobs being heard. They cried for their homes and their lives, and for the life of their ruler, the Alicorn of Destiny. After a while, they began to disperse, the remaining few dragons having left a long while ago. The stallion who had caused the carnage no longer seen, but nopony saw him anyway, nopony knew what he had down. Soon, they all dispersed, the one with wings flying to the north, the ones with the horns going east, and the original ones heading to the south. Soon the only thing there was the crater, and the occasional sob ever few centuries.
Many years began to pass. The crater was filled and soon began to grow into a forest. Cities came and went, wars happened, treaties were signed, the creation of Nightmare Moon and the threat of eternal night come and gone. The crater still remained, yet this time, it was not recognized as a crater, but a full out forest. A forest where strange things always happened and something out of the ordinary was controlling everything or the forest controlled themselves. The sight of the crater in the modern day was now known as the Everfree Forest…