Long Forgotten Memories

2011/10/05

It is often repeated that “Those forget history are doomed to repeat it” and “History is written by the victors.” Well, perhaps they aren’t anymore. My social life continues to be in a severe state of disuse, save my occasional discussions with Ms. Derpy. It is hard to pull one’s self away from the culmination of your life’s work. I must pull away, however, if I am to complete it successfully.

I have made an acquaintance with a young unicorn, a Ms.Twilight, I believe. She runs a library from her home. She was kind enough to lend me a few books on recent (and not so recent) history. Since my return to Equestria, the world has made it painfully clear that it’s changed since I last took in its breathtaking beauty. Also, she has a new love and I never meant anything to her.

It is with some guilt that I go through her diaries. Diaries written solely by her lovers. Lovers that enjoy putting themselves in the best light possible, while putting down those they just usurped. And I believe I’ve taken that analogy quite far enough.

There are many potential explanations, but my mark on the past does not exist in any of these volumes. It is likely that my escapades were either forgotten or whitewashed. Though the conspiracy theorist in me would like to believe the latter, I believe it is far more likely that the former occurred. So much happens in a pony’s day to day life. Compound that with millions of ponies across Equestria across centuries and it is easy to see why events become lost in the shifting sands of time.

I imagined the plague that ravaged Equestria would prove to be more robust. Yet, in the volumes I borrowed, barely a footnote mentions it. There are other oddities I’ve found as well.

“Diamond Dogs”, as they are called now, are now less than they once were. Less powerful. Less intelligent. Less important. Somewhat greedy. I’m not saying the Diamond Dogs were perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, we traded with them. As partners. Their abilities to sense and move the earth greatly exceeded our own. They were masters at shaping stones. At finding precious seams.

Shortly after Luna’s banishment, however, the historical accounts of Ponies interacting with Diamond Dogs practically vanishes. One century there exists thriving trade between the two groups. In the next century, it is as if the Diamond Dogs ceased to exist. No emissaries to the Palace. No new trade negotiations. Any mentions of projects and deals already in place likewise vanished. Princess Celestia commissioned a new mine to be developed for a particularly rare gem. She places substantial effort in securing the mining contract with the Diamond Dogs. Yet, a chapter or two later, the entire ordeal has faded from the historical consciousness.

The next time Diamond Dogs appear again is centuries later, as a nuisance. A band of thieving, greedy outliers that live underground. A remarkable turn, wouldn’t you agree?

Why?

Perhaps the Diamond Dogs found something in their mines that forever altered them. As fantastic as that sounds, there are a number of instances where things better left forgotten are suddenly, and terrifyingly, brought back into reality. The joys of Discord being the most recent of these.

Perhaps their society collapsed. Famine. Strife. Civil War. Political Coups. Any of those possibilities and more, either by themselves or combined, can scatter even the greatest of civilizations into mere relics of their former glory. While I cannot imagine why ponies would allow such an important ally to fall, sometimes it is inevitable.

There are a myriad of other explanations that could account for the change, but few that explain their complete absence in these written histories.

Perhaps the information is still out there. It might exist in another tome or perhaps even the Diamond Dogs themselves have an idea. Or, sadly, what occurred may never be known.

How sad. So many questions.

So little time.

-W