Upon earning his place in the Mighty Helm, Rockhoof joins his fellow warriors in the mead hall and finds his first challenge: determining what is the right thing to do. All the more crucial, when war is imminent between ponies and griffons.
Entry for Writeoff FiM Short Story Round, Event 91. Prompt: All the Time in the World.
I've needed this for a long time.
This is a seriously-awesome story that reminds me of some of the better tales of Classical Greece -- not the myths of their gods and heroes, but the tales that were told of their Classical and Hellenistic philosophers and warrior-philosophers. I love Rockhoof as a character, and it's wonderful to see him handled so well.
So, when did Rockhoof and Gregaria hook up and sire the hippogriff race?
This is a well-written story that deserves more attention. I love Rockhoof and the other Pillars, and the dilemma was thought-provoking. Is it better to show mercy to your defenseless foes, to treat them as you would want to be treated? Or to leave them to die so they won't hurt your comrades later? I also like how the griffons are decent and honorable. Their code of honor is somewhat different than that of the Nhorse ponies, but I can't see how it's any worse.
I do have a couple of . . . not criticisms, per se, but things that I would tweak. First, the story starts off a bit slowly, taking a long time to establish the debate before Rockhoof even finds Gregaria. The story might be streamlined if Rockhoof rescuing Gregaria was the incident that started the debate. Second, why are the clan of earth ponies (by all accounts) struggling to put food on the table? Growing food is the main thing earth ponies are known for, aside from their strength. Heck, even in the original Hearths Warming legend, the earth ponies are the only tribe that didn't starve - they were merely cold. I think this should at least be addressed in the story, maybe with this dialog:
Gregaria: Why is it such a big deal if griffons steal your food? You're earth ponies! Can't you just grow more?
Rockhoof: We could, but all of our strongest ponies are busy defending our home, and those too weak to fight are too weak to grow food quickly.
Something like that would make more sense, IMO.
This was good.
Blue Chameleon comments preserved post-deletion:
9142909
Edit made! Thanks for the advice.
Specifically, I included a few lines hinting that the island's soil was originally "then-stagnant", and as you suggested, enemies made the job tougher. Thought you'd like to know I did incorporate your advice into the story after all! I'm submitting it to Equestria Daily now, to see how it fares.
10952169
Thank you and good luck!