//------------------------------//
// Prompt #441: History Lesson 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
//------------------------------//

Towards the end of the Griffon-Equestria War shortly before the Banishment of Nightmare Moon, the Griffons had captured a number of ponies, who were then divided up according to their races. The unicorns were kept under careful watch in a repurposed prison, and fitted with magic nullifiers. The pegasi, being perhaps the biggest threat to the Griffons, were also kept under secure watch and had their wings bound. 

The earth ponies, however, were put to work in the Griffon’s mines, digging out ore to fuel the griffon war machine. Unfortunately, they did not consider the earth ponies’ talent. One sergeant by the name of Rock Fault, who had a talent for mining, carefully directed the earth ponies to mine out a tunnel, leading out of the mine, and carefully disguised behind an underground rock formation. Through this tunnel, they smuggled a single pony out each day, disguising them as deaths in the hope that they could reach Canterlot with the information that the crew had collectively gathered about the city above them, or switching out captured ponies for experienced miners. Not only did Rock Fault’s plan work perfectly, but the tunnel provided the perfect access point for a number of daring raids on the griffon’s captiol, eventually threatening the Griffon emperor.

But the crowning achievement of Rock Fault and his miners lay not in this, but in the tunnel they dug to the prison where their comrades were housed. And just like the ponies before, they were smuggled out of the prison without the guards being aware for months, allowing the majority of the captured force to escape captivity, while Rock Fault willingly remained behind to coordinate the tunnelling efforts, risking daily beatings and death threats from his griffon captors to ensure that other ponies could escape.

And when the final assault came, it was Rock Fault’s tunnel network that played a critical role in Equestria’s victory, allowing earth pony troops to penetrate deep into the city and capture the emperor while the pegasi and unicorn forces distracted the bulk of the Griffon army, ending the war right then and there.

The griffons had underestimated the earth ponies, assuming that simply because they had no wings or horns that they were not a threat. They would not make that mistake again.