Note: This story isn't in the same timeframe as the others. This took place when Twilight was a lot younger. The rest of my stories will be a lot closer to canon.
Twilight Sparkle gazed up at the stars, her mentor Princess Celestia by her side. The newly-risen moon shone bright in the dark sky, illuminating the Palace balcony. Visible even in the moonlight, the Princess's dawn-colored mane glowed with an internal brightness as it flowed behind her in an invisible wind.
The young student, transfixed by the night sky, turned to her teacher and asked,
"Princess? How was the world created?"
Celestia smiled, and lowered herself to the floor to be at eye level with her student.
"Well, my dear, that is a long story," she said.
"Could you tell me? Please?" Twilight gave a pleading grin, her large violet eyes hopeful.
"All right then, I'll tell you."
Twilight squealed in delight, then immediately fell quiet with a sheepish smile.
"I'll be quiet!" she promised.
The princess began her tale. "In the beginning, there was only magic."
The Crafter woke alone in a world of blank white. She looked upon this empty world for a time, and was saddened by its barrenness. She began to create a world to fill the empty space. She touched her long spiral horn to the featureless ground, and green grass sprung from its tip. Trees and mountains followed, and soon the blank world was awash in color. Yet the sky was still white. The Crafter spread her white wings and took to the air, leaving a trail of blue behind her. But when she finished, the plain blue sky reminded her too much of the plain white that had come before. She flew back across the sky, taking away patches of blue and revealing the white. These patches of floating white became the clouds. The world was dark and unlit, and so the Crafter formed the Sun to light the day and the Moon to brighten the night.
But the world was still empty of life, and far too large for one being to tend. So the Crafter created ponies in her own form to live in her new world: Earth ponies to care for the land and all growing things, Pegasi to watch over the sky and the clouds, and Unicorns to raise the sun and the moon and to keep in check the primal magic powers that had helped her create their world. To accompany them, she also created fierce dragons and noble griffons, proud buffalo and strong mules, clever donkeys and devious Diamond Dogs, giving these each their own domain so that they would never have to fight. Although only the ponies were made in her own shape, she had love for all living creatures in her world, and expected that each species would be respected by the others.
Her first ponies were happy in their lives, and carried out the roles the Crafter had created them for. Yet soon the Crafter became bored with this simple, repetitive world. Her ponies had nothing special in their lives. The Crafter thought long and hard, and decided to give each of her ponies a special destiny, and a special symbol to go along with it. And so the first Cutie Marks were given to ponies.
Centuries passed, in which her ponies built homes of their own in the fields, mountains, and clouds. Each was allowed to find his or her own special talent, and to follow it once it was recognized and Marked.
Yet these first ponies kept to themselves, which saddened the Crafter, who wished to see them play together. Seeing the selfish clans, she knew that her ponies could not remain divided. From her horn she formed wisps of magic into the icy Windigos, forcing the clans to work together and seek a homeland where they could all live.
"And? What happened next?" Twilight asked once the Princess had finished. Celestia laughed gently.
"My dear, you know what happened next. Haven't you been reading your history books?"
"Oh. Right." Twilight giggled, embarrassed.
"But I know what's happening to you next," the Princess said.
"What's that?" Twilight leapt up excitedly.
"You're going to bed. It's late, and you've got lessons tomorrow." The Princess rose and walked towards the Palace.
"Awww, all right." Twilight skipped behind the Princess as they walked through the grand library and into Twilight's room. The purple unicorn leapt onto her bed and curled up next to her Smartypants doll.
"Goodnight, Princess!" she said, snuggling under the blankets.
"Goodnight, my dear student." Celestia continued down the hall to her own quarters, dimming the lamps behind her.
Oh, my faithful student, if only you knew the rest of the story...
The three races of ponies had come together in peace, but there was still disharmony in the new-found Equestria. Ponies still argued, still tried to say their own race was superior. Soon this chaos grew to a head, and a spirit of disharmony was formed. The chimera wrested control of Equestria from the ponies, and the world was plunged into dark eons of ceaseless chaos. The Crafter fought him, but all her powers could not remove him from her land. So the Crafter gave to the world her two daughters: the goddesses of sun and moon. Each had the aspects of all three types of pony: the horn of a unicorn, the wings of a pegasus, and an Earth pony's connection to the land.
The sisters took over the ruling of the land and the rising of the sun and the moon. And the ponies lived in peace for many more centuries. But soon the younger sister grew jealous...
