The lot of the historian is a poor one, for a reason many don't fully grasp: it is surprisingly difficult in the modern age to estimate how long Equestrian civilization has existed. Poor documentation, coupled with the problems of unclear epochs and deep time, have rendered it difficult to tell true records from myth.

In recent times, literalists have begun to claim that all surviving accounts are true records, especially those mentioning magic, alicorns, and "cutie marks" (symbols on the flank which supposedly governed a pony's true destiny). Their churches and communes have taken in many ponies who yearn for magic and fantasy, and have torn apart families and friendships under the guise of achieving some great metaphysical truth.

It is our hope that by making public the original manuscripts on Dawn Treader, something the Order of the Golden Dawn has refused to do and prevented other groups from doing, we will dispel these superstitions and help to sober the ponies of Equestria. As citizens, it is up to each of us to judge the truth of these records, and not to be told their veracity.

-New Manehattan Historical Society, 5092 CE