//------------------------------// // Preface // Story: Eternal Night: Myths and Legends About Nightmare Moon from Around the World // by _NAME_ //------------------------------// ETERNAL NIGHT _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ MYTHS AND LEGENDS ABOUT NIGHTMARE MOON FROM AROUND THE WORLD . 1st Edition . By Parchment Papers Royal Canterlot Archives . PREFACE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ . Few events throughout the entirety of recorded history are thought to have had more of an impact on the world at large than the Nightmare Moon Incident. In fact, many historians today believe that it was the single most wide-reaching event besides the Reign of Discord. It is, of course, prudent to mention that, until some twenty years ago, Nightmare Moon’s attempted coup of the Equestrian throne from her sister, Princess Celestia, was thought to be nothing more than a fairytale. We celebrated Nightmare Night, we told tales of the Mare in the Moon, but it never crossed our minds that it was ever real. Princess Celestia certainly never gave any indication otherwise. When Princess Luna returned to Equestria to rule alongside her sister in peace, every account that even remotely mentioned Nightmare Moon or of the Mare in the Moon was called into question. Many academics realized that what was once thought to be a quaint coincidence across various cultures now was a very real event that affected every being in the world. This book strives to catalog the diverse ways that the Time of No Light and Nightmare Moon’s subsequent imprisonment in the moon propagated throughout the world and integrated itself into various cultures. It was over a thousand years, when many civilizations were still in their infancy, that one day, the moon did not lower to make room for the sun. For many, they knew not what it meant, as they had no idea that Equestria even existed, let alone the fact that its two alicorn rulers had to physically raise and lower the sun and moon each day. For a period of about four months, it was eternal night across the entire planet, and chaos reigned, harkening back to the Discordian Era that they were only a few hundred years removed from. During that time, the sun never once appeared in the sky. Crops withered and died. Mass panic and starvation swept through major population centers. Many took it as the end of the world. It was only when Princess Celestia defeated her sister and imprisoned her within the moon that light and peace was restored to the world. At this time in history, many civilizations were entirely separate from one another. The zebras had never heard of the griffons, or the griffons of the dragons. And so, independent of any outside influences, every civilization crafted their own stories and myths about what had happened, concurrent to their own beliefs. This one, singular event embedded itself in the minds and histories of every culture around the world. Every single civilization tells their own tales and accounts of the Time of No Light and of the Mare in the Moon. Over time, as firsthand accounts of the event trickled in from Equestria, the truth of what really had happened and the fiction that had been created were blurred into something wholly unique. Although this is a textbook, it is designed to be of interest and accessible to anybody with a desire to learn about the current understanding of this newly discovered period of history. Although new information is being brought to light every day, this serves as a valuable introduction to the subject. As long as you have a desire and willingness to learn, this book is for you. I wish you well in your efforts. . - Parchment Papers . TABLE OF CONTENTS ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ . 0. Preface 1. Equestria 2. The Griffon Kingdoms 3. Zebrica 4. Saddle Arabia 5. The Dogs of the Crag 6. The Dragonlands 7. The Bison Prairies 8. The Minotaur Isles 9. Yakyakistan 10. Burrico ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~