//------------------------------// // Chapter 5. History // Story: Daring Do and the Gryphon's Quest // by De Writer //------------------------------// Chapter 5. History The three, Daring Do, Grata, and Rahak poured over the physical, battlefield, and weather maps of the final engagement of the Second Nightmare War. Consulting some of the texts along with the maps they were reaching some conclusions that they wished that they could find a way to avoid. Shaking his head, crest laying low in sorrow and horror, Rahak pointed to the final battlefield and wind patterns. “Over one and a half million unicorns died in just those two blasts. Why did Luna wait so long to use those weapons? If she had used them earlier, the war would have been over sooner with far fewer deaths caused. “Our kind were hatched in the aftermath of horror.” Daring Do nodded, maintaining a more professional attitude, “I know, Rahak. I have asked her about that very question. Others have too. “To this day, Luna herself is horrified at what happened that day. She won the war in only two strokes. As the True Embodiment of All Nightmare, she felt what every one of those unicorns who were not killed instantly felt. “It took the terrible provocation of finding her best friend and peace envoy to Celestia sent back by the unicorns with his head ripped from his body to so enraged her that she personally entered the battle. Opening the box and finding Grumpeter Goat so brutally murdered for trying to end the war peacefully finally triggered her to destroy the unicorns attacking the Fortress of Nightmare. “In the form of the True Embodiment of All Nightmare, she caused EVERY unicorn on the front battlelines to commit suicide by nightmares that she sent their waking selves. She destroyed both the Forward Troop Staging Camp on the Plain of Days and the rear Supply and Training Camp at the foot of Mount Everstone with Rune driven Non Equine Magic that made enormous explosions. “Her whole attack only took about a half of an hour. The Mage Weapon detonations and aftermath of fire and spell storm took almost three days to die down. “When the Second Nightmare War started, there were over five million Unicorns at arms against her Fortress of Nightmare. By the end, just before the murder of Grumpeter, there were only three million Unicorns in all of Equestria. More than half of all Equestrian Unicorns were destroyed in that single half hour.” Grata listened in beak dropped horror. “This is not what we were taught about the end of the Nightmare Wars. I see from these many documents that what you have just said is true. “If Princess Luna WON the War, what of the Exile to the Moon?” Daring Do replied, grim of face, “Treachery. As a generous victor, she and Celestia were going to create an Amnesty for all who were involved in starting or sustaining the War. “It was to be enforced by the use of a Scroll of Creation Magic. She and Celestia prepared it with great care because what is done by that magic cannot be undone, set aside or set against some other Creation Magic. Because of the nature of that magic, a Scroll, once begun, cannot be stopped. “Unknown to the Sisters, a cabal of Unicorns altered the Scroll. When they started the altered Scroll of Amnesty, they could not stop it. Luna was Exiled to the Moon for a thousand years. “Celestia was enraged at the “Victory” that the Unicorns were celebrating. She rooted out the entire cabal by the most brutal means. She personally threw every unicorn involved from the Traitor’s Drop.” Rahak surveyed the maps and books on the table before asking, “Why is it still thought that the Unicorns won and that Luna was Exiled for her “Crimes?” Daring Do, still grim but smiling some, replied, “Realpolitic. It takes all three kinds for pony society to function smoothly. Celestia had no trust among the Earth ponies or Pegassi. The Unicorns were afraid of her and mentally shattered by the events of the War’s end. “It took about a hundred years to pull things together and get society to functioning again. She was forced to be a tyrant for most of that time. “To get the surviving Unicorns to recover and do their part, the myth was allowed. She even had Luna’s help in establishing a mythology around the Nightmare Wars that would allow the society to be rebuilt. The reestablishment of social order is marked by the modern year zero. It is set at 250 Post Nightmare Wars.” Now really quite interested, Grata inquired, “How could Luna communicate with Celestia from the moon?” Daring Do pointed out, “Remember the Exile of De Writer, their foster father of about a thousand years? There was one loophole in the Creation Magic barring him from Canterlot. To this day, nopony has ever seen him do it, but he continually updates the Chronicle. “When Luna was exiled to the moon, a strange thing happened. The unseen De Writer began delivering her copies of the new pages of the Chronicle. She could leave him or Celestia notes or even letters in the Chronicle. Celestia could do the same. That is how they worked together for the whole thousand years of her Exile.” Rahak returned to studying the tactical and strategic weather maps. He muttered, “I wish that these were all the same scale.” Daring Do smiled and asked, “Which one should be the master?” Rahak pointed to one that reached all the way from Canterlot to the Sunset mountains. “If we could have them all at this scale, it would be easier to interpret them.” Daring Do drew a small rune on each of the maps. Whispering something under her breath, she stretched one, pushed another in on itself and even pulled a bit of diagonal set to another as she stretched it. “There, Rahak. They are all matched by the present distance from Crescent Lake to Circle Lake. Does that help?” Grata nodded absently. She was tracing ancient wind and cloud patterns shown on the maps with a careful claw. She and Rahak both looked up. “Doctor Do, will you verify this for us? This map predates the Nightmare Wars. It shows the Plain of Days and Mount Everstone. “We think that one of these three large valleys may be the nest of our race. Very likely this one here. It is called Eagle’s Vale on this map.” Daring Do went over their work carefully. She took out a modern map and checked contours, nodding agreement. “The Eagle’s Vale is still the name. Look at how the land slopes down into Equestria like a funnel to concentrate the dangerous fallout of random magic. Besides, your legends speak of the Twin Fires of Creation east of the Eagles. “You are right. This would be the best place to begin our search. I think that you have found the nest of your kind.”