The period of time between the return of Princess Luna in 1808 AE and the Catastrophe around 2056 AE is called the Golden Age of Equine Civilization. During this time, great progress was made in technology and the standard of living increased greatly for most sentient creatures on Equus. Wondrous public works were built and, with the conclusion of the Gryphon Wars of the 1820s-1830s, Equus entered nearly a hundred years of substantially uninterrupted peace with respect to international war. Although there were various external threats to pony civilization, they were often met with the use of the Elements of Harmony.
During the Golden Age, and indeed possibly for some time before it, Changelings infiltrated the government of Equestria, the international hegemon of the time - or at least some records claim. Historical opinion varies on the reliability of these records and the merits of supposedly Changeling-influenced policy. When the alleged conspiracy was exposed, considerable unrest resulted, and regardless of whether the changelings had infiltrated the government or not, the belief that they had may have been a contributing factor in the onset of the Dark Age.