PROLOGUE

It all began with love.

After the dawn of time, alicorns and mortal ponies lived separate from one another.  In the old age, the ponies of the earth below us started out as a very segregated race:  greedy, unjust, hateful.  The world as we knew it had turned evil and no longer reflected the land it was created to be.  Sin was rampant everywhere and love was but a memory rarely spoken of.  We alicorns, the immortal and wise race, were disgusted with what the world had become and made our domain in the heavens far above the sky.  Granted, our race was not perfect either, but the land below us was shrouded in darkness and hate and we could not coexist with those beings.

The land grew colder, and snowier.  The winter season one year did not stop.  Spring did not come; instead, it continued to snow and freeze all around the ponies' domain.  It was the windigoes, demon equine spirits that feed off of hatred until they become powerful enough to send a storm that would cover the land in eternal winter.  The three tribes, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, were doomed to die in the cold for their actions.  But all was not lost, for a young unicorn wizard in training, Clover the Clever, had discovered the power that can break the curse the windigoes had put upon the ponies.  Clover knew the importance of harmony and his magic unleashed a spell empowered by love which drove the windigoes away before all ponies were frozen to death.  Once the ice had melted, the ponies had finally realized that all these years were wasted hating one another.  From then on, hatred was no longer a part of the pony way.  Love was restored and the ponies had finally united in harmony.  That is where it all began: with love.

We alicorns looked down on the earth with joy seeing what had happened and saw that it was good.  Eventually, we made our decision to descend to the earth below us and live among the mortal ponies.  Their love had shown us that they had changed, and with them, the land.  We protected the ponies and assisted them with taking care of the land.  The seasons came and the winter seasons were no longer unhappy for the ponies had created the Hearth's Warming holiday to celebrate at that time of the year in honor of the founding of their new country:  Equestria.

The land of Equestria grew to be the most beautiful country in the world and blossomed with fertility and happiness.  In time, a well-organized regime was formed and the ponies decided to elect an alicorn to be their leader due to their wisdom and longevity.  I, Solmidas, was the first of the Alicornian kings to be elected.  Throughout the years, I grew and matured and lead my people into a brighter future.  I was active in the parliament and used my powers to control the sun while the unicorn citizens would use their powers to control the moon and help build a magnificent kingdom.  We formed our first palace on a grand hill with our capital city in front and named it Everfree.  It was not long after I was elected that I met my wife, Chernalia, whom, after marrying, became the queen of Equestria and used her powers to control the moon at night giving the unicorns more freedom to work.

For thousands of years, Chernalia and I maintained Equestria with complete balance and the alicorns of the parliament helped us, namely, my old friend, Accord, who believed strongly in harmony and balance.  While Accord would make addresses to our people for encouragement, we continued to serve our positions as the king and queen.  Accord would have made a fine leader one day, but he insisted that our offspring carry on the burden.

During what most call the Golden Age of Equestria, a time in which the economy was perfectly stable and no battles or wars were present or even foreseen, my wife and I bore our first child: Princess Celestia.  A few years later, Celestia gained a sister: Luna.  Our daughters were dear to us and we taught them much including how to use their powers to raise the sun and moon.  Whenever we were busy with our duties, another teacher would aid them:  Starswirl the Bearded, who was also the master of Clover the Clever and knew the magic of longevity.  In time, Celestia earned her cutie mark after she had discovered her power of raising the sun.  Luna still had yet to earn hers at the time this tale begins.

One day Celestia and Luna would lead this country, for my time and Chernalia's had come to a close.  We have lived to see our country grow as beautiful as we had wished and the time had come to pass the crown on.  Our daughters would then soon see both the blessings and the curses of leading Equestria.  A great test lied before them, something that none could see coming, not even I.  Not only would they lead our country, but they would discover the one true power which would continue to save Equestria from the evil to come.  

Welcome to our world.  Welcome to the age of the alicorns...