Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night shall stay the messengers of Griffonstone's postal service from their sacred duty. Not even when it's the worst winter in a lifetime, and when the entirety of Griffonstone's postal service consists of Gabby.
Primordial wrath-eating demons of winter might stay her from her sacred duty. Might.
Cover art from the gallery of pumkinroll. Proofread by themaskedferret. Written for the Winter Prompt Writing Challenge for the Time Action Glory Challenge! group.
Chapters (1)
This was beautiful.
Gabby's slightly naive drive and optimism, Gilda's grumpy heroism that she doesn't like to admit even to herself, the whole palpable chill of the blizzard scenes... and the windigo itself, cold and terrible and pitiful.
It's all good.
Squee...
A very nice story; like a quiet hug on a lonely night.
7988532
Agreed.
I felt sorry for it, towards the end.
I was originally going to add a 'correction' to the story description but decided to read the story first.
So glad I did.
She said the thing!
I too appreciate an explorer who has the guts to dub a peak Mount Certain Horrible Doom.
I'm imagining Gabby working for Moist von Lipwig. Assuming she could survive for more than a day in Ankh-Morpork, it would be very fascinating to watch.
As for the story, a fascinating exploration of one of the ironclad rules of the world: Change or die. Every character made the choice truest to her or itself, for better or for worse. Magnificently done.
A griffon based story form a favourite author? Oh how delightful!
Yeah, this was excellent all around! The atmosphere was well described, and you could certainly feel it on Gabby's part. Might have wanted to show the rocks of the cave trying to leech some of the warmth, too but overall nicely done. The windigo I felt worked best when it was more beastial, like at the beginning, but I see by the resolution why you wrote it the way you did. A very good portrayal of them, certainly.
Anyway, great stuff, like I said. Look forward to what may come next.
This was heartwarming to see Gilda NOT be a complete jack ass and bitch.
Well, that was rather cute. It's nice to see another story with Gabby, considering how little she's been used since her introduction into the show. It makes a decent amount of sense that between her and Gilda, the two would work to bring Griffonstone back up, and the last Windigo wouldn't like that one bit. If it's been around for many years, presumably it's been able to nourish itself off of Griffonstone for several centuries.
The story and description are fairly spot on. There were a few word trip-ups that I saw but not enough to breka me out of the immersion for more than a second. Mount Certain Horrible Doom seems a little on the nose, but considering some of the names in show canon it isn't out of place one bit. It makes good utilisation of Gabby's optimism and career as a post gryphon to drive her stubbornness to go out into the snow, and the bond her and Gilda share as the big shots trying to lift Griffonstone back up into a golden age as the key to saving the day. Who knows, it may have some knock-on effects if the windigo's influence over the years was keeping Griffonstone in a state of perpetual misery as well.
7988532
Glad you liked it! These were all things I was hoping would come across, especially the terribleness and pitifulness of the windigo, and it's good to hear that they did.
7988544
Och, that's an affa nice comparison. Thank you!
And I couldn't not include the Pratchettification of that motto. I just couldn't.
7988914
Literal Minded's legacy isn't hard to keep track of on maps of the world, and many beings who would have otherwise dared venture to dangerous but pretty-sounding places undoubtedly owe their lives to his appraisals of places.
Gabby in Ankh-Morpork under Moist von Lipwig would be a thing of utter loveliness.
7989106
I had to give griffons some dedicated attention some point or another, and I'm glad this gets your approval on that front! I wasn't entirely sure how I handled the windigo's shift from feral viciousness to cold threats, but I'm happy you liked the overall portrayal.
7989166
She's got her rough patches here, but giving her better nature a chance to shine in conjunction with it was good fun. Glad you liked it!
7989352
Gabby needs a lot more love and horsewords dedicated to her, no argument there. Glad you liked the piece, word trip-ups and over-indulgent place names aside, and Gabby and Gilda's friendship should accomplish plenty more yet to restore Griffonstone's fortunes.
Oh Gilda. You beautiful, aggressive toerag. You drunk Glaswegian lunatic in the body of an adorable griffon who cannot swear at any level above PG-rated.
It's rare I read a fanfic and think "this should be an episode" but really. This should be an episode. It would work, it slots beautifully into canon and helps explain why the griffons are such contrary big buggers. Grand stuff!
Also, "glom of nit". It never fails to raise a smile.
7989586
Gilda became much more PG-rated Glaswegian than anticipated in that section when I was writing it, and I have less than no regrets about that.
Glad you liked it!
Wow. Suddenly I think I ship Gabby and Gilda, ha.
7989650
Happy to accidentally incite exciting new OTPs. Galda? Gilby? There's options for that portmanteau.
A story by one of my fave authors starring two of my fave characters. All my yes!
GABBY IS SO ADORABLE
She ranks 2nd on my most-adorable-things-in-MLP list.
7990101 what the hell is #1? is it vapor trail?
please tell me its vapor trail
A little too much cribbing from Pratchett, I think--it might have been better if you had let the references go after the first time instead of beating us over the heads with them. But otherwise a great story.
7990491
Who the hell is vapor trail.Nah, sorry, it Flurry Heart.
Third is the changelings.
(Example 1:https://www.fimfiction.net/story/358524/the-king-of-love-bugs , Example 2: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/335115/things-are-rarely-as-they-seem)
Fourth would have to be Pound/Pumpkin Cake
Five... hadn't really thought of it past four.
Man that was a great story. I can imagine just a hint of how that Windigo felt, as I feel bloated on kindness and good cheer after reading this story. At first I was shocked Gilda managed to damage an incorporeal monster with a spade, but I figured the
lovelike in her heart was what actually did damage.Is it wrong that I assume Grunhilda's beau is a rather dimwitted sociopath based solely on his name?
7989753
Gibby?
7990063
All the yes is a lovely thing to invoke. Thank you!
7990101
She's a gem, there's no denying it.
7990491
Likewise a gem, no denying.
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/9/9e/Vapor_Trail_ID_S6E24.png/revision/latest?cb=20161016220531
7990498
Fair enough. If it helps my case at all, I'd just finished re-reading Going Postal when I started this, and that sort of influence can't be removed with any tool known to man. Maybe one or two of the references could have been safely excised, though.
7990985
And feelings of camaraderie are indeed useful back-ups when bringing a spade to a windigo-fight.
Glad you liked it!
7991117
...Possibly. I think you need the 'l', though, or otherwise readers might think you've just mis-spelt Gabby. And then you've got no option but to either have her romance herself, or go off in search of her EqG counterpart. Not that I'm saying that couldn't work, mind.
I liked it.
Best parts were the interactions between Gilda and Gabby; dedicate a whole fic to that, and you'd have comedy gold (or at least high silver) right there. The depiction of the windigo as sapient, much less as a figure of pity, was a nice touch, though see below. I'm not sure about the concept of its encouraging the griffons to become antagonistic, though mostly because I'd have expected more in-show evidence of the symptomatic blizzards around Griffonstone, but apart from that bit of canon-bending, it's a good concept.
Just as impressive is how much you convey the sheer windy monstrosity of the storm itself; it had such a vivid impact, especially when contrasted with Gabby's preparations for it. The minor bit of worldbuilding around Griffonstone was nice, and the tools and their use in the story seemed delightfully apt (Gabby using the flame to keep the windigo at bay was a tense moment, and Gilda whacking it with her shovel an unexpectedly funny one). Lastly, Mount Certain Horrible Doom was OK until I discovered Literal Minded was the pony who named it. Good gag! I think the Pratchett influence was in the fic's favour.
Sadly, I do have problems with other aspects. The chase in the middle felt a little bland and padded, and I could imagine the fic overall being trimmed down a bit. Some descriptions, especially where the paragraphs bulge out, could do with receiving most of the scissor treatment. Also, as much as I like Gilda's grumpy hero persona and Gabby's nigh-suicidal obession with helping, I feel the drama could have been pushed a bit further if we had established stronger motivation for Gilda's heroic moment.
For instance, she mentions wanting to keep the postal service for the new Griffonstone, which would make a good cover story if she was questioned, but the actual camaraderie that would inspire her to be heroic seemed thin and assumed. Lastly, I did find the windigo's eloquence a little off. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it feels like a bit of a leap from their silent monster portrayals in the show. Perhaps an original monster would have served better, one similar to the windigos?
Overall, good work with a few rough patches.
You get a like and a fave from me.
Obviously Gabby needs a mentor when it comes to delivering mail in heavy storms.
7991465
Thank you very much for it, and I'm glad you were able to enjoy the piece despite the issues you described.
Lengthy well-formulated critiques like this are the best thing.
Re. these issues, I suspect a lot of them were self-inflicted due to ample procrastination before the deadline for the prompt, where I ended up writing silly amounts the day it was due. A bit more reflectiveness and self-editing could have pared down the central chase bits to something much sleeker, and similarly compelled me to add a wee bit more expository friendliness between Gabby and Gilda at the start. Granted, it's entirely likely I'd have been glaikit enough to overlook these anyway. Cheers for pointing them out anyway, and I'll endeavour to avoid similar foibles in future prompts.
As for the windigo, I'll admit as well that I wasn't sure how eloquent I should have made it, while trying to keep a happy balance between its savagery and the exposition it had to blurt out. Maybe an original beastie could have worked wonders there, but I was attracted by the notion of how the windigoes might interact with griffonkind's divisions and presumed new unity.
Those aside, glad the rest was liked and faved, and much obliged for the Follow as well. I'll try to make it not disappoint.
7991863
Get Bulk Biceps on that case. The trick's just to be heavier than the storm itself.
7991939 why is the story pic so cute
7991939 why is the story pic so cute
very nice short story!
Huge fan of Gabby, so the story was already off to a good start.
Who could dislike her can-do (anything) attitude.
I like you characterizing of the windigo.
However, as is usually the problem with "humanizing" the villain, I ended up feeling sorry for it.
Not it's fault that it eats negative emotions and craps cold.
Needing to feed on those emotions likely made it mean.
In any case, fantastic story. :D
7992745
It's lovely, isn't it? pumkinroll's gallery in general is diabetes-inducing.
7992906
Thank you!
7992913
Gabby's attitude is a natural story-generator when you point her at any problem. Glad to evoke some sympathy for the windigo as well - it didn't have much choice in what it could and couldn't eat at the end of the day.
Glad you liked it!
7993574 Welcome... I just realized you wrote Moonlight Palaver. Which was bloody fantastic.
7993606
Och, you're too kind. Glad I've written something else you liked.
That was, indeed, beautiful. Gilda is Best Friendship-Apostle, even if she refuses to admit it, and Gabby is Best Gryphon in general.
7988914
Ankh-Morpork seems to have an odd way of dealing with terminal optimism: If it can't beat them, it assimilates them.
I imagine that somewhere, there'd be a bubble of glee and energy darting through that great city-state, oozing a little trail of joy and chaos as it went.
7994479
And Vetinari would doubtless be content to let her be after she helped him with an especially fiendsh crossword.
7994479
Happy you liked it!
Though I'll add that you're making this Discworld/Gabby crossover sound far, far too tempting.
7994494
"I will not stand for this. It is a menace!" the foremost member of an unruly mob(1) said. "Mark my words, it'll be devouring things!"
"Indeed," Vetinari said. "She might even devour some of Dibbler's pig onastick. That would be truly tragic. Not only would the mail system lose much of its hard-fought efficiency, I'd be out the best crossword help I've had in decades."
The mob collectively shuffled a step back, but it wasn't done yet.
"Think of the children!" somebody shouted.
"Ah yes, the children," Vetinari sighed. "I suppose they do accost her frequently, asking for rides or to play all sorts of inane games. She doesn't seem to mind, though, as long as they don't play too rough, and she still completes her route with alarming speed and accuracy, so I'm not too concerned about it."
"But sir!" the mob's apparent spokesman said, pulling out what he was certain was his trump card, "She's a gryphon!"
"And?" Vetinari replied, eyebrow quirked back up into its accustomed position.
"But... Gryphon?" the ringleader said, as if realizing that the card he'd so cleverly hidden up his sleeve had in fact been replaced with a two of clubs while he'd been looking the other way.
"And we've got a golem doing postal work alongside her, not to mention a troll that's found gainful employment as the bouncer for The Mended Drum, and our streets are thoroughly policed by the Thieves' Guild. We take pride in our ability to make good use of potentially dangerous elements."(2)
"Well, uh... Everything seems to be in order.(3) I suppose we'll be going now."
"See that you do."
(1) Decidedly less threatening than the more ruly sort of mob.
(2) It has been hotly debated whether or not Vetinari makes use of "the royal we". Not least of the reasons for this debate is that Ankh-Morpork's most recent royalty was, in fact, a literal fire-breathing dragon.
(3) In truth, it wasn't much in order at all.(4) Vetinari prefers it this way, as this particular form of chaos is far easier to direct than order ever could have hoped to be.
(4) After all, the forces of chaos are far better organized.
What a wonderful story! Such vivid descriptions too! The only thing that jarred for me was Gilda blowing on her fire. I can't picture that working too well with a beak.
7995006
If push came to shove, a good bit of point-blank shouting into it might do the same trick.
Glad you liked it! I suppose certain physical constraints on Gilda's part would make blowing tricky.
Cute, but a Windigo so starved as to be bothered by a little friendly encouragement and some flares is basically death warmed over. I'm not sure it should have enough in it to even cause some snow. I do have to wonder whether Equestria is warmer in general minus windigoes and whether rendering a species extinct is a good thing...
7994677 I genuinely thought that was a quote from the Discworld books, and was trying to place it right up until the word Gryphon was mentioned. I thought it was about Angua. Very well written.
7995702
Being mistaken for Pratchett is one of the more flattering things that has ever happened to me. Thanks!
Now if only we could successfully tempt Carabas into making that Gabby Discworld crossover...
7995589
Add to the reckoning that that was the windigo after it had sent forth the snowstorm. If it had kept that much of its strength in reserve, who knows? It could have withstood as many as two words of friendly encouragement.
Climate-wise, windigos do tend to make places colder, though this one was so remote from Equestria and so weak that none of their weather systems would so much as register it.
7995702
Agreed. It's not every day I get a lovely slice of plausibly-Discworldy writing in my comments section.
7995886
I'm willing to accept bribery in the form of money, baked goods, and yachts. And they have to be good yachts, mind.
7995908
Can't say I'm much for baked goods, but how do you feel about chilli con carne or yellow curry? I'm pretty good with fried rice, too.
Sadly, none of those items ship terribly well.
7995936
Spoken like someone who's never even read a chilli con carne/fried rice slashfic.
7995978
...
Isn't it great that I could totally see somebody in this fandom writing that into existence, except those are the names of a hippogryph chef and a kirin cook?
Wow, I'm barely a paragraph in and I already like this. This is a very strong start to a story. DON'T DISAPPOINT ME!!!
7996588
I certainly hope it doesn't!
This was a great story!
Though I would LOVE to see a sequel! <3
8000056
Glad you liked it! No plans for a sequel, alas, but maybe an idea'll occur.
8000507 Well, clearly the beast of Ice and Snow is yet another nascent alicorn.
After she fled the frozen north, she wandered lost and alone, when she came upon a different sort of frozen north.
And there, she met a small being with big, soulless eyes and white wings as wide as death, and upon gazing, realized that though she may babble and coo, there was no true intelligence behind those eyes - only a hateful void that had yet to manifest its dread purpose. And yet, she was surrounded by those strange things the bird-morsel had spoken of. Love. Warmth. Light. Distant memories that were supposed to burn, and yet within the heart of the last Windigo, the strangest thing began to blossom.
She could not survive like this, just as the Thing before her would grow into a cosmic horror if allowed to blossom. And...the Windigo found that...there was nothing else left. Why not reach for the light, and warmth? And her frozen essence slipped past the hollow eyes, seeped deep into the being therein, displacing the darkness and foretold Doom which had yet to pass, instead filling her core with neither light nor darkness, but the slight chill of winter, the sort of day accompanied by light wisps of snow that promise to potentially become a peaceful, quiet snowfall to blanket the world in comforting white and bring with it snowmares and snowballs and sled-rides.
But for now, she was no joyful blizzard; for now, there were only...flurries.
8003231
Best origin story ever.
8003426 All I'm saying is, no natural alicorns ever, and then suddenly fwoof? She's clearly an evil scheme by the dread things in the Deeps, and Gabby has just accidentally saved the world.
That was a fun ride.
Good adventure, good world building, and good characterization of two characters.
I especially liked the hint of possible redemption for the wendigo of all things... what a Gabby thing to do!