"And since the rule is that a trade is fair as long as both ponies get what they want, there's never been a disagreement."
I hope you aren't naive enough to believe that to be literally true. Disagreements can never be truly eliminated. And royal duties don't get created on a whim. So do you know the real reason why a princess must always be present at the Rainbow Falls Traders' Exchange to judge whether trades are fair?
Would you like to know?
Written for the EqD WTG #016. Comments are, as always, strongly encouraged.
You know, this is the first story I have written without any canonical characters (well, there is one a bit . . . but only a little). It's such a wonderful opportunity to avoid characterization entirely rather than getting it wrong like usual!
I kid. More or less. I haven't suddenly gained the ability to write well, but I do actually have a good feeling about this one. I guess that means it's only mildly terrible?
I love when writers can use words in unexpected ways.
This should be praised for doing something different. No canon characters, no scary threats to Equestria, no romances ... just a "small" story told well and with a certain prose-y flair that is really quite pleasant to read.
Plus, I always suspected that someone would start a fight over a hayburger one day.
I like how it surprised me. Griffons in these stories are almost always dumber than a bag of hammers to make the Princesses look really smart by comparison, so I was sure this story would do something stupid like have the entire Holy Griffonian empire traded for some meat or something.
It's like a clothes iron with the warning "Do not iron clothes while on body." At some point, someone was stupid enough that the precaution became necessary. And yet, somehow, society has not collapsed.
It's oddly comforting to know that Equestria experiences similar miracles.