Dǣl, Sē Fyresta: Sēo Ancuming ― Foresæġdnes

Excerpt from 21 June 1444: The Long Night that Changed the World, by Source Criticism (1521)

...“there hath been a change in the air. Something hath fundamentally broken, and I think not it can be fixed.”

Sentiments like these, found in the 2 July, 1444 entry in the journal of a Mr. Holright of Coltchester, abound in firsthoof accounts of the early aftermath of 21 June, 1444 within the Equestrian Realm.

For the past two centuries, Equestria, which had already been a great power whenever not in civil war beforehoof, had been ascending as the world hegemon. It was a center of scientific and technological innovation, possessed unparalleled military might, and had become the economic powerhouse of the world. Much like the demigod monarch that ruled the realm, this power had been wielded not as a cudgel for Equestrian dominance on a global stage, but as the propagator of “harmony”, which had been, was, and still is a core value of Equestrian society.

Harmony had brought strength from the unity of the Three Tribes almost fifteen hundred years prior, and from the concord of the “Great Consensus” between republicans and monarchists but centuries before. Now, it helped resolve international disputes between bitter rivals, brought aid to lands afflicted by natural disaster, poverty, and war, and acted as a, if not the moral leader for the world. Even the rise of a global arms race in the years prior to 1444 had been unable to halt the ascendance of Equestrian harmony. Though the Earth had looked closer than ever before to a world war, its fair, tempered hoof led calmer heads to prevail.

In the first days after 21 June, 1444, however, an anxiety, familiar to some lands but long fallen out of living memory in Equestria, now trickled past its borders. What had happened, that the Hench in the Moon was now gone, that the sun had not risen for a day, that the Equestrian Royal Guard had implemented martial law under a Royal Decree #52768? Had the legendary Black Knight not been mythical, and returned, Her Radiant Majesty fighting some great battle to defeat it once more? Was this some grand overthrow of the Great Consensus, and a return to the rule by the philosopher queen of old? Did some nation or nations attack the international champion of harmony? Nobody knew. Communications and travel had been restricted, military units of the Royal Guard patrolled the streets in front of an empty Parliament Hall, and Her Radiant Majesty and her Royal Cabinet were silent.

Nobody knew what had happened.

Nobody knew what was happening.

Nobody knew what would happen...

“...þisses swā mæġ...”

Author's Note

In terms of its role in modern international relations, Long Night-verse Equestria has the power of the United States at its peak during the past century, but it is far less militaristic, mostly employing the Equestrian Royal Guard's military capacities in foreign peacekeeping operations. Even with the recent military buildup, the sudden and forceful appearance of the Equestrian military into regular life is as though the entire country has "crossed international borders".

What does “...þisses swā mæġ...” mean?

...

Read on.