Her Eyes Reflect The Stars

by Lynwood

Gustavus' Final Missive

Letter 24: Gustavus' Final Missive

Guinevere,

We never should have come here. I now know what the tribesponies were trying to warn us about, but far too late. We dug too deep, and I ignored too many warning signs. Once I learned of the crystals' power, it was all I could see, but what it has done to my own soldiers— What I have been forced to do is unforgivable.

The ponies near our position. I can hear their forces doing battle with what remains of the encampment. It shall slow them down just enough. They shall find nothing there, we placed the corpses in the tunnels and collapsed the entrance. Hopefully, our barricade is enough to hide the quarry's entrance. I pray what we found never sees the light of day.

Genoa's tom and I will move for the coast with what's left of my force. We have with us samples of the crystal and crates carrying evidence of a disturbing effect that may be our final chance against the ponies. There, the Indomitable is moored and waiting to evacuate us over the sea to safety. I'm sending this letter ahead of us to tell you to prepare high command for my arrival. I wish to speak with them as soon as we land. I will see you soon, my sweet.

Gustavus

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As readers can likely gather, this letter was hastily written in the closing weeks of the war. Unfortunately, it's also the last set of clues that Gustavus gives us concerning his discoveries in the Haysead site. Had he provided a location of the site or perhaps a more thorough description of his claimed pony tribe, perhaps we would know today exactly what he found. Instead, he was driven, assumedly by fear, to destroy the entrance to the underground complex that he described.

Not only that, the Indomitable never arrived in the east. It was lost at sea and presumably sank in that week's massive ocean storm, and though a few expeditions have searched, (mainly for the 'weapon' he claimed could win the war for the Griffons, what was by then essentially impossible) no wreck was ever found. The crystals, the evidence, the son-in-law, and Gustavus himself all sank without a trace.

Several researchers, including this author, have attempted to locate the clan of ponies and the site Gustavus describes. Though there is evidence of ponies living in the Haysead interior at the time, there is no definitive match for the tribe in Gustavus' letters. They left very little evidence when they disappeared, save for a single half-rotted bone club whose origin is heavily disputed. Additionally, Gustavus appears to have done his work well, as the Equestrians that found his encampment deemed it so unremarkable that they didn't bother to record its location, leaving modern researchers thoroughly helpless. All we are left with is Gustavus' letters. Some claim them to be alterations of the originals in the first place.

So what did he find in the cavern? Why was it carved in the first place? What scared Gustavus so? Based on the evidence, this author believes that the Griffons unwittingly discovered an ancient magical artifact that bestowed upon them a curse, and although said curse's effects aren't described, it explains some questions but opens others, most importantly: who created such an artifact, and why was it in an underground structure in the first place?

These questions are, ultimately, beyond the scope of this study, but this author encourages readers to investigate for themselves.

Comments

[FOXTrot2]

I'm better Gustavus was attacked by one of these sea monsters