Equestria is a land of peace. It is a land where the two Princesses of sun and moon, regarded as Goddesses, rule benevolently, bringing peace, order, and prosperity to the land. It is a land where the fields produce plentiful harvests, the cities are centers of scholarly learning and cultural trade, and fairness of law.

But whispers spread across the land, whispers among families at evening meal, whispers between the Royal Guard when their commanders' backs are turned. Whispers in taverns, whispers in the streets. For the people say that there is strife between the sisters, and the two are seen together less frequently, and though they smile and are amicable in public, whispers spread of fierce arguments behind closed doors.

Yet they are not the only whispers. Merchants travelling southward bring hushed tales of villages gone silent, of towns being discovered with it's houses burned, their valuables stolen. Of fields of slaughter, and ponies either found dead or gone missing. And all of these tales seem to coincide with the stories of strange seabeasts lurking off of the coasts, though some say they are no seabeasts, for they can be seen creeping silently up rivers. And some, who say they have gotten close enough to see them clearly, whisper not of aquatic monsters... but of beast-prowed ships filled with ponies, ponies with swords and axes and spears.

The golden age of the Princess' rule is slowly choking to death, beset from within and without by forces unknown to the citizens of Equestria. The light is fading, and the darkness is spreading. Thus begins the Dark Age of Canterlot!

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Many thanks to AnonponyDASHIE for creating Xenophilia, a story which, apart from it's outstanding clop material, has inspired several other fanfic writers, such as myself, by giving a set of fantastic lore and customs, for making Equestria a place fleshed out with it's own social quirks and social issues, courtship rituals and even a bit of historical depth, from which we can work from.
Thanks also to Demon Eyes Laharl, author of Gentlemen for Mares, whose work got me into the Xenophilia universe in the first place.

And many, many thanks to KiltedKey, with whom, if I had not taken a leap of faith and decided to try my hand at some RPing with him, I would not be as interested in My Little Pony, let alone as interested in writing this fanfic.

And, of course, thanks also to Mythic Entertainment, the company that created the MMORPG "Dark Age of Camelot" over ten years ago, a game which brought my family closer together, gave me many fun hours of gameplay, and which also gave me the basic idea for this fanfic (and I sort of ripped the name off of).