"Gather round, little nymphs," spoke the tall, beautiful changeling.
The horde of young changelings settled themselves on the spongy material of the castle and gazed wide-eyed at the princess who was speaking, a book held firmly in her magic.
Her name was Chrysalis, and she was next in line to the throne.
She opened the book with her magic and began to read.
"A thousand years ago, this world was a very beautiful place. Colourful ponies roamed across the air and the earth under the watchful gaze of a burning ball of light and hope known as the 'Sun'. Back then, every nocturne was split into two halves, day, and night. The Sun ruled over the day, while the accursed moon ruled over the night.
"The world they lived in was very beautiful, but the ponies who inhabited it, though they were beautiful on the outside, were very flawed. They shunned and disrespected anyone who did not look like them. They went on great hunts to kill griffons for sport, drove away zebras, destroyed traditional buffalo stampeding grounds, and perhaps worst of all, burned and pillaged changeling hives.
"However bad their behaviour towards unfamiliar creatures was, what they did to one another was far worse. Unicorns held themselves above earth ponies, and made slaves out of them. They considered the Pegasi to be brutes, and refused to provide them with magical assistance to create the weather. Pegasi were very proud, and demanded that the other two races pay them a tithe for protection. Often, the Pegasi went back on their word and attacked earth pony villages or unicorn castles.
"Earth ponies were the only ones capable of growing food. The other races often stole their crops, and so earth ponies would sneak up on other ponies and commit terrible atrocities, such as snapping horns and breaking wings, with their formidable strength to prevent it from happening again.
"The other species were no better. Changelings often snuck into griffon territory and drained the wild game the griffons preyed on of their energy. They would then take the corpse and use it for physical food. Griffons hunted changelings and used their chitin plates as armor and weapons. Forging chitin armor is a lost art, though some say that a certain line of unicorns can do it nowadays.
"Zebras were at constant war with the buffalo. Zebras were powerful herbalists and shamans, and enjoyed the act of poisoning buffalo lands so that the plants could not be eaten. Buffalo stampeded through zebra lands, destroying houses, trampling crops and snapping the bones of foals.
"One day, it happened. Ponies committed a terrible, terrible crime against the two alicorns, ponies with wings and horns, who claimed to bring the day and night. The lunar alicorn rose up, for reasons which have long been forgotten. She sought to make the ponies of the land suffer for their crimes, and shrouded the land in a night which has never ended. The solar alicorn disappeared without a trace.
"There was widespread chaos and panic when this occurred. Earth pony crops shrivelled up and died, and so all three of the pony races began to starve, driving them to steal from zebras and buffalo. The nocturnal predators who now roamed freely under the blue-black sky preyed on griffon chicks and changeling nymphs alike, causing their populations to slowly diminish, and leading them to break their truces with the ponies. Griffons invaded Pegasus cloud cities and tried to use them as hatcheries, while changelings swarmed around unicorn castles and converted them into hive centres.
"Zebras lost the art of growing herbs, and had to resort to fungi in order to survive. The ponies and buffalo weren't helping, stealing the limited produce and leaving the zebras to starve. Buffalo now had nothing to eat, as the fungi contained little to no nutrition, and there was not much. In their rage, they stampeded across the lands of the other species and destroyed villages, shattered chitin plates and destroyed griffon eggs.
"The land has since recovered from the event. Through pony and zebra magic, plants were recultivated to thrive on moonlight, and griffons have relearned how to hunt and survive, as have the changelings. Buffalo used stolen saplings to grow their food and now the races live in spiteful indifference to one another.
"The terrible truth of the matter is that nobody learned from their mistakes, and so the night has continued on forever, and probably will continue on forever.
"The shadowed alicorn who destroyed the world took on the name Nightmare Moon, and now she rules the land with an iron hoof. She is cruel, she is tyrannical and she is selfish, but above all, she is sad. Terribly, unbearably sad. And nobody knows why. Many petitioners have requested that she raise the sun, but she refuses, often violently."
Chrysalis closed the book and looked at the assembled nymphs. As painful as it was, she knew the last line of the book off by heart.
"And that, little children, is the story of what's known as the Cataclysm, the end of Diurnal Equestria and the beginning of Nocturnal Equestria," she said with finality.
"Are there any questions?" she asked with a sigh, her eyes losing their sparkle.
One nymph raised his hoof.
"Yes, Wasp?"
"Is there a way that we could see the sun?" asked Wasp.
"I wish, I really do. I don't think there is. But, you've given me an idea. I'm going to assign you all a project," said Chrysalis, addressing the nymphs.
"I'd like you to do some research on the sun, as much information as you can find. I'd then like for you to compile it into a report. Have it ready in a week."
Wasp raised his hoof once more. "What can we use to get the information?"
"You can use the library, the scrying pools if your guardian lets you and the Hivemind," answered the princess.
She asked the Hivemind for the time. "Alright, class dismissed."
The nymphs ran out of the classroom with cries of "See you tomorrow, Princess!".
Chrysalis closed the door and began to tidy up the room and straighten the cushions. She picked up the book and stared at the stylised picture of the moon and the sun.
A single tear rolled off of her face.