Time
The vast grasslands rolled on into the distant horizon where it fell away to the unknown.
A seed landed from the sky, hitting the dirt with a soft thud heard not heard by a single soul, for there was nothing around to hear it. The sun rose and set as the days passed. The dew on the grass reappeared each sunny morning, vanishing at dusk, in an ongoing cycle. Silence, besides the winds daytime calm breeze and nighttime howls, is the only thing that dominates this world. Without creatures to create sound: sound itself, might just as well not have existed.
The seedling burst forth from the confines of the dirt as a small green sprout with few leaves ascending into the outside world. The wind stopped in its rambles the sun stopped its self-activities, and the grass stood on edge. All stared in wonder at the sapling, as if it would bring change. The seedling happily drank the sunlight, dancing in the soft motions of the wind. As the sun sank away to its royal throne, the moon stepped up with its soft comforting light bathed the land. The soft light drew the sapling awake to bask itself in luna's soft glow.
The moon noticed a sapling leaning side to side: the plant was enjoying the soft light that it gave off. To the moon, it was strange; all the countless nights it had watched this land and never before had such a queer plant been seen that stayed up at such hours.
Time, yet again, flew by, the seedling became a young tree under the sun and moons careful tending, but as it was said before, the tree stood as a sign of change. Strange little creatures called "bugs" started to appear. Bugs filled the void for sound; much to the dislike of the wind. As I said, in the beginning, the wind was the only one who created all of the sound, these bugs, however, filled the spot the wind held so long.
Some bugs chirped, some buzzed, some much to the winds liking stayed silent. All the bugs went to the young tree, who provided them with a place to nest and sleep for a night or two.
The time came when the tree reached full maturity as the seeds hung, waiting to fall or to be taken by the wind. The wind reluctantly blew the seeds away, not too far, but not too close. The tree watched as his kin grew up all around it. Creating the first ever forest, which the sun marveled upon noticing the lush green small forest laden with all manner of trees that you may walk past now.
With the trees came another change, by the name of fruit. Bright red apples from which you could never have imagined grew among other overly large and juicy fruit. With fruit came animals who could eat it- squirrels, birds, small mice among others.
Time passed faster than it had in previous times. The tree stood out even when it stood with its kin, with its large trunk and its growing wisdom, it never seemed to die out as its sons and daughters before it.
The tree lived so long that the younger trees called the elder tree, Aeternus, or eternal in common tongue.
The forest now covered a good amount of the world with all manner of animals, creatures, and bugs wandering around, finding places to live, for such is the way of life.
The tree stood as the center of it all surrounded by his grandsons, grandsons, listening to all manner of things as time crawled by. Wherever Aeternus looked, the forest sang with life: the buzz of a nearby bee, the chirping of the birds, the sounds of a predator stalking its prey. One day, the sun and moon grew quiet; they only traversed across the sky, not saying a word.
The silence was brought on by ponies. And for reasons unknown, the sun and moon remain quiet to this day. This quiet brought sadness to Aterenus, as they were the only ones who talked to him, while the younger trees mingled with themselves. As time passed on, the trees started to move away towards a mountain far off; this mass movement of the trees soon became what is now known as the Everfree.
Aterenus warned the younger trees that if they moved, their intelligence would fail them, and evil things would take place.
The trees paid him no heed, as Aterenus often said such nonsense.
But sadly, evil things did take place, the trees of the Everfree grew cold with no care for living things.
A sickly blue vine that dug deep underground infected the wood. Once it found a home to corrupt, the blue vine created a flower above itself to lure creatures into a trap: that led to death by most accounts. Once, ponies moved to Equestria the blue vine was dubbed 'Poison Joke’ because its nature changed to playing jokes on those who strayed to near.
The creatures of the Everfree used to be the fair creatures of old that were corrupted by the trees everlasting whispers. False promises of strength, unmatched stamina, changing into any object or living creature of your choosing. Many more of these false promises were made, which ultimately lead to most of the creatures we see today.
The now lone elder tree sat there just as it had long ago, on the very same ground from where it grew all those years ago. When the sun and the moon talked with him, when the wind blew freely across the world, the world itself was uncorrupted no evil things lurked, the darkness was something to enjoy not to fear alas that was long ago.
The only pure thing that lasted from the first age was Aterenus who stood through all of it, only to be alone.
It was until the tree felt slight tremors in the earth only created by creatures that roamed. What it assumed to be a family of ponies marched off in the distance near the Everfree. As this group settled down, the tree watched curiously with its keen sight and its connection with the earth as they planted seeds. When the seeds supposedly failed to grow, however, a little green filly with light blond braided pigtails wandered into the Everfree, then emerged later with a bag full of something that tree couldn’t see.
It didn’t take long to find out, for when the seeds were planted the tree saw them as the rainbow-colored apples that very few of his kin bore. After this, things passed even faster with more and more ponies moving in as they built houses at a rapid pace. Soon the ponies found the tree in between two houses. But instead of chopping it down, they hollowed it out; making a humble home that many ponies now know today as ‘The Golden Oaks Library’.