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Illiad Easle

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  1. Illiad Easle

    Troy

    By Illiad Easle,

    Unlike Canterlot, Troy's founding was not surrounded by pomp nor circumstance, but rather dust and tents. A humble beginning to a reserved nation. There is much doubt and debate as to the official date that Troy changed from a Camel owned oasis to an Equestrian territory, and some would argue that it is still, at least in part, a camel owned oasis. Nonetheless, the date of Troys founding was close enough to the date of the revolution that the celebration has since been a combined remembrance of the two events. Those present at the signing of the charter include Trojan horse and Mare Grace, a pair of camel representatives...
    The Trojan Oasis, 99 BNMM
    The oasis stood still under the night sky, the pool reflecting the many stars of the sky. While Trojan had objected, the camels and buffalo had insisted that, for the treaty to have any worth, it be signed under the full moon, one which Princess Luna had so graciously provided this night. Surrounding the oasis were three groupings of tents, those with Trojan were unofficially the Equestrian delegation, across stood those of the camels and the buffalo. Surrounding all was a temporary fence of wooden posts and cloth that served to keep most of the wind and sand out of the oasis and tents. Distant lights showed that a trade caravan was coming from the east, more likely than not from Northport. They, combined with the Equestrian caravan he had brought with him, would be the first of many large scale trades to occur at the oasis under Equestrian rule.
    Mare nuzzled Trojan affectionately as the camels and buffalo emerged from their tents, and began their way across opposing ends of the oasis to where Trojan sat at the negotiating table. Trojan straightened out the garb he had been given as an Equestrian ambassador, and was silently jealous of the far more comfortable garb of the camels.
    Once all were sat at the table, the negotiations would begin, and Troy would be founded.
  2. Illiad Easle

    Democracy

    By Illiad Easle,

    While the concept of public rule existed in many nations before the founding of Troy, democracy as we know it now has its roots in the dealings that took place for the approval of the Trojan province. While Princess Celestia is credited with officially proposing it, recent findings corroborate Trojan tradition that the governmental system was Princess Luna's idea from the beginning. The proposed form of government served as a combination of tribal leadership such as found among Thestrals and the Camels, and the hierarchical leadership of the Griffon Kingdoms and Equestria itself. Then as today the populous rules both directly and indirectly...
    Castle of the Two Sisters, 99 BNMM
    Trojan bowed his head in dismay before the princess, "I... I accept thy wisdom, thy highness." He respectfully gathered his proposal and began the long trek out of the audience chamber.
    "Wait." Princess Celestia held a small roll of parchment in her magic, she had been reading it throughout Trojan's proposal. Trojan stopped immediately, but did not turn as he had not been instructed to. "A new development graces our mind. Perchance thy plan containeth some merit yet. Return."
    Trojan dutifully turned himself back towards the throne, halting to bow a respectable distance away.
    Princess Celestia passed the paper she had been reading to him, he recognized the writing as Princess Luna's. "We will approve thy plan, on the condition that it be organized at set forth here." She allowed him to hold the document.
    Trojan bowed deeper in gratitude. "We are ever in thy debt Princess Celestia. I assure thee, this plan will not disappoint."
    Celestia had an enigmatic smile on her face as she dismissed him with a wave. "We shall see."
  3. Illiad Easle

    Red Red Rose

    By Illiad Easle,

    While the Noble family of Rose did not feature prominently into the history of Troy, their descendants include none other than the Bearer of Vengeance, as such I thought it proper to include their rise to power in this brief story centered on the prominent matriarch of the family. Red Red Rose was born in the city of Everfree, which surrounded the Castle of the Two Sisters until it was overtaken by the forest of the same name. Similar to Trojan Horse records are incomplete for the time period and she did not mention the names of her parents in any of her journals…
    En Route to Canterlot from Everfree, 100 BNMM
    I’m not theirs’, and they aren’t mine. Red Red Rose blew lightly on the page to dry it before closing the journal. Dark splotches of ink stained the cream color of her hooves. It had taken quite the effort considering the bumpy ride of the carriage, but she had blotted out every instance of her parents from the journal.
    She idly rubbed her hooves together in a vain attempt of removing the ink as she stared out the window, it had been quite the trip up the mountain, but already she could see the construction that was being put forth on the new city.
    Ludicrous, truly she’s daft! She remembered her father’s reaction to the news of Princess Celestia’s decision to build a city on the side of a mountain. Although he was certain to never voice his opinion in public, he had never had much faith in their rulers. Rose on the other hoof thought it was a wonderful plan, and made the unfortunate decision to voice said opinion. This among other things her father considered distasteful to their family name resulted in her being sent away. Why don’t you go live there if you love it so much! Because I certainly won’t have you living here to disrespect me!
    It wasn’t all terrible though, she for one thought it a wonderful way to gain the freedom she had so long desired, the freedom especially to be with the one she had so secretly loved for some time now. Thorny Rose was the one pulling the carriage, a secret gift from her mother, with their scant belongings on top. They would build a new family together in this new town as founding members, their fame and fortune would depend on the town’s success.
  4. Illiad Easle

    Canterlot

    By Illiad Easle,

    There are few even among scholars of Trojan history that have come to understand the true depth of the relationship between Canterlot and Troy. Many are simply content to label them as rivals, given their respective nations were such, and thus lose the more basic nature of their relationship. As many forget, Canterlot was not always the capital of Equestria. It only became the capital a few years after Nightmare Moon, when Princess Celestia decided to abandon the old capital in the wake of the then expanding Everfree Forest. Before it was the Capital of Equestria, Canterlot was a mining village, and before that just a mine witch fed a town at the base of the mountain.
    At this point many may wonder what this has to do with the history of Troy, the fact of the matter is that both Canterlot and Troy were surveyed and plotted by Trojan Horse. In that way, they are two sister cities and their subsequent rivalry of a more familial nature...
    Castle of the Two Sisters, 101 BNNM
    Trojan Horse and Mare Grace stood together before the grand doors of the audience chamber, one uncharacteristically anxious, the other as calm as ever. Mare Grace put a comforting hoof on her trembling husband's withers. "Calm my love, you'll do fine." Her words seemed to work as he ceased trembling with a few steadying breaths. "We both went over the proposal countless times, they just have a few questions for you."
    "I wish you could be in there with me... you always know just the words to say."
    She smiled at that, "You know they explicitly asked for you, you'll be famous after this when they discover all that crystal you found in the survey."
    He sighed, "I never wanted to be famous..."
    "You lost that when you married the most sought after mare in Stalliongrad, but you'll need pull with the royalty if we're going to make that dream of yours a reality."
    He nodded, steeling himself up for what was coming.
    It was a few minutes later when the doors parted, and a snobbish stallion stepped out. He had to raise his muzzle nearly to the ceiling in order to look down it at the taller Trojan, and the yet taller Mare. "Ze Princess vil see zhu now."
    Mare grace offered a parting nuzzle, which seemed to give the stallion a boost of confidence as he walked into the audience chamber.
    ...
    Two hours later he emerged, the slight worry on Mare's face vanishing the moment he walked out with a tired, yet positive, though a bit confused, smile on his face. They didn't talk of the even until they had returned to their lodging. "She wants to build a castle there."
    Mare looked surprised, "Up there? There's hardly any room for a town around it."
    He nodded, "Indeed, but she had quite the plan for it once I told her of the crystal deposits she seemed quite adamant that a fortress be built there. The plans she pulled out... I think she was waiting for someone to propose it. It all works, the mine will clear out more of the ledge we had suggested to make more space, but then she intends to build supports out in a platform to further expand the build-able space, in time nearly half the city would sit off the side of the mountain!"
    Mare shook her head with a laugh, "It sounds crazy, but so long as she approved it that's all that matters to our plans. In a few years time we'll be able to move forward."
  5. Illiad Easle

    Mare Grace

    By Illiad Easle,

    Of course, no history of Troy or Trojan Horse would be complete without his counterpart and wife Mare Grace. Despite the norms of the time she rose to be a prominent figure in history, an equal in all respects to Trojan himself. Her past is a bit better known than Trojan's, given her rather prestigious upbringing under the famous Lord Rasputin Stalliongrad, the very same featured in countless works of theater and the subject of speculation by many historians. Through my own research into her family they have confirmed that many of the details found in common history for the two are extreme embellishments on one end and outright fabrications on the other. Nonetheless, Mare Grace and Trojan horse first came together in Stalliongrad...
    Stalliongrad, 104 BNNM
    It had been a full year since she had first noticed that stallion looking at her in the market, she found him interesting. Most of the stallions, and the occasional mare, looked at her with a bit of fear, if not outright terror, while others thought themselves superior to those who had fallen before them at her father's hoof. Most all who had dared approach her had met the same fate, they didn't please her father, much less her mother, and thus were quickly and permanently removed.
    But this stallion, he was different.
    When there eyes had met that day, there was no superiority, but respect, there was no fear, but a sense of duty. She was sure that were her father still in the picture, he would approve. Nonetheless, her father had disappeared suddenly about a month prior to her meeting the stallion in the market, and it had driven her mother mad with grief. Already the empire he had built was starting to crumble in his absence, and Mare Grace knew she needed to get out of the city before it came down on top of her. She also knew, or at least hoped, that this stallion would be the one to carry her away to safety.
    In the months that followed after their initial encounter she had caught the stallion's eye more than once, he was watching her that much was certain, looking to make his move as his affection towards her grew, but he had yet to make a move towards her.
    It was on a somewhat cloudy day that things changed. Mare Grace was in the market, as she usually was in the afternoons, she was coming a bit more often now hoping to catch a glimpse of the stallion again, but this time she was approached by three cloaked figures, two in front and one behind her, slavers if she correctly recognized the bands they wore. One of the ones in front spoke up in a low voice, "Your father's been getting a bit lax with the 'protection' money, a shame."
    The other spoke up, "Not for us though, we've been waiting for this chance. We take you... and we'll have all the money we'll need."
    Mare took a step back, and found that the one behind her had gotten much closer than she had expected, they spoke nearly right into her ear, "Either he'll pay what we ask for you, or somepony else will..."
    Scared, she looked out at the crowd, to find that most of the ponies had taken a few steps back. Clearly her father's power had faded more quickly than she had anticipated. But there, moving towards her through the crowd, was another cloaked pony, the same stallion from before. She hesitated as the slavers continued their approach, her eyes met the stallions, and he nodded to her.
    Mare moved quickly, ducking down to spin on her forehooves to buck the first slaver back, right into the stallion's waiting hooves to knock the slaver to the ground with a heavy blow. The other two bolted, clearly having expected the pampered mare to be an easy mark, while the battered slaver struggled just to get up.
    She approached the stallion who ad come to her aid, "We must thank thee kind sir, we do not know what wouldst have happened to us hadst thou not intervened." The stallion looked nervous, despite the courage he had just demonstrated.
    "Well, umm... I j-just thought that... well, it's not nice to..." He attempted to clear his throat and tried again, for the first time unable to hold her gaze, "I m-mean... slavery is a rotten thing to, um, d-do..." He seemed to realize that he had forgotten to do something, and he suddenly (and quickly) made an effort to bow - and when he did, his flank smacked into one of the nearby potted plants and tipped it over.  Before it hit the ground however, he jumped up and tried to catch it... though his leap for it sent him right into the front of the stand selling the plants, where his head connected with it and made a sound akin to thumping a coconut with a rock.  
    He rebounded, almost as if he were performing some sort of calamitous ballet, and tried to keep his footing... which was where the corner of his cloak caught on one of his flailing hooves, and with a jerk he made a flip where he went head-over-hooves, and with a yelp he landed muzzle-first on the floor, his rear leg striking one of the stand again and causing a single potted plant to fall, the pot breaking on his head leaving a small pile of dirt and a single desert lily like some sort of horn on his head.
    He was clearly embarrassed by the whole endeavor and started to slowly pick himself up when Mare grace's soft laughter reached his ears. She carefully took the flower from his head and placed it in her mane after shaking the dirt from it, then carefully lifted the stallion up. She let him shake the dirt off himself as she payed the mare running the stand for the flower before turning back to her stallion, "Our favorite, how didst thou know sir...?"
    "Horse,"
    She raised an eyebrow in confusion
    He chuckled, "Yeah, it's unfortunate I know, my name is Trojan Horse."
    She smiled in understanding as she moved to stand beside him, gently prodding him to walk with her, "Ah, tell us about thyself, Sir Horse. We feel that we have much to discuss with thee."
  6. Illiad Easle

    Trojan Horse

    By Illiad Easle,

    If one is to understand the circumstances surrounding the founding of Troy, one must first know its founder, Trojan Horse. Records from this period are difficult to come by, but reliable sources indicate that Trojan Horse was born approximately 130 years before the first occurrence of Nightmare Moon...
    Stalliongrad, 105 BNMM
    Trojan Horse stood in front of his unassuming office space on a side street that led to one of the local markets. Despite the rather substantial success he had had in his surveying endeavors, as such was his talent, he elected to keep a low profile so as to not attract the attention of the local gangs and their 'protection' services. He was a somewhat imposing earth pony stallion in his own right, his clear strength a by-product of his time working in the first few mines he surveyed, and his icy blue eyes held a similarly cold gaze at the best of times. He kept his mane and tail short and trimmed, further adding to the almost military visage he had cultivated over the years, he messed with no one, and no one dared mess with him.
    He turned to the market, content that none of the loiterers on the street were planning anything towards his office, and made his way casually down the street. He had thus far in life been satisfied with a simple life, surveying new mines and quarries for local business, and living each day and week the same as the one before. He was happy, or at least he thought so. It was when he entered the market that day that he realized his simple life might actually have been missing something.
    The market was abuzz with activity, but it wasn't the usual noise. Everyone there seemed to either be focused on one pony in particular, or doing their best to be obviously not looking at said pony. Trojan was intrigued at the occurence, and sought out who was causing such a stir, the crowd parted and for a moment their eyes met. Trojan, while a bit of a social recluse, was no stranger to the local politics and thus recognized the pony instantly, Mare Grace, the only daughter of the notorious Lord Stalliongrad himself and by far the most beautiful mare of the city, as well as the most dangerous. Hardly a week went by where the local paper didn't mention that a new potential suitor of the mare had been found dead, each bearing the signature mark of Lord Stalliongrad's gang.
    Despite all that, and thought their eyes met for just a moment, Trojan had decided: That mare will be mine.
  7. Illiad Easle

    A Preface

    By Illiad Easle,

    Hello, and welcome!
    I am Play Write, and I have taken it upon myself to compile a collection of the stories that made up the history of our great nation. Rather than present this history in a plain and uninteresting manner, I have sought out through journals and family accounts the personal stories of those who directly witnessed the events.
    Whether you're new to Troy, simply passing through, or looking to move in, I hope that this book will serve you well.
    I would like to offer a special thanks to Queen Permutation, who's first hoof accounts were instrumental in the initial stages, and to Mrs. Goldenrod, who's rich family history she so kindly shared to make this possible.
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