The ponies haven't always been the dominant race on the planet. Nor have the griffons or minotaurs. In an age long past, there was a ruling force that subjugated the world of Hasbria with an iron fist.

The Machines.

The 'lesser' races of the time, of the world known as Machinamentum, grew weary of the Machines' regime, and used the Machines' own ingenuity to overthrow them. They left the Machines to rust under the earth.

Millennia later, the Machines rise again. Something is waking them up, and commanding them to regain their empire. But in their haste, this has given rise to the very thing that felled the mighty Machines so long ago.

The Ironborn.