Celestia asks Twilight Sparkle to ease Princess Luna back into modern living; can she redeem herself after her first spectacular failure? And where's that missing library book?!
On Hearth’s Warming Eve, Princess Luna asks for special duty volunteers from among the Wonderbolts and Reserves. For the first time, Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger have the opportunity to make a child’s dream come true.
In a nearly empty library, a librarian tears pages out of books and tosses them out an open window. Twilight studies in the same library, alone. They exchange words and a dance.
When you're a princess, you have to worry about political intrigue, affairs of state… and knowing when your friend is pulling your leg. There are no monsters in the basement!
If they succeed in reaching Equus, they save the surviving colonists... But they also bring a ship full of irrefutable proof that griffons are carnivores and ponies are prey.
She has the day shift; he guards the night. One pegasus, one thestral, just trying to make things work. They've known each other since childhood, so meeting the family shouldn't be quite such a big deal. But then the family tree got involved...
After a wonderful morning pranking dragons, an old friend beckons Philomena home once again. Desperate to escape, she finds herself in flying into a warzone. A warzone where a being from myth and legend just took the field…
The griffons demand the return of hunting grounds they owned long ago. But since Princess Luna’s return, Equestria has only grown more formidable. In a small village of the disputed region, Lucky Strike finds herself caught up in a war not her own.
Nurse Redheart questions the importance of her day to day life. Perhaps helping out a distressed colt will show her how meaningful the smallest acts of kindness can be.
Does King Sombra like rock crystal candy? What happens when a lonely lumberjack finds an amnesiac villain on her doorstep during a snowstorm? Will the power of friendship overcome Sombra's desire for revenge?
Partway through her morning practice routine—and routine it is—Octavia seems to have gained an audience. Well, if that mare wants to listen, she'll get a good show.
The Princesses' birthday celebration is here again, and Mayor Mare needs a scapegoat—er, trusted citizen—to handle Ponyville's gift. Deciding what to get for an ancient ruler who's seen everything will be a piece of cake.
Twilight Sparkle definitely learned her lesson from her last time-travel experience. This one's not her fault. Really. Sometimes nature can be... annoying.
Fair or not, most classes have that one perfect student, that one little flower that the teacher can't help but adore. Cheerilee's class is no different.
While on a work trip to help family in Appleloosa, Big Macintosh strikes up some correspondences with friends back home. These are the letters that crossed Twilight Sparkle's desk. Sometimes words don't mean what they say.
An accident leaves Scootaloo fighting for her life. While everypony tries to help, a few in particular discover a few new things about what exactly it means to be a sister.
I wasn't sure what to be expecting with this story. I knew I wasn't expecting much. I was wrong. This was such a sweet and amazing story! I really enjoyed it. Here's a fave for a pony-griffon.
Well done!! This is just a wonderful story. It reminded me a bit of a Zane Gray novel I read years ago. I liked how you wrote these characters and showed how different and yet how similar they were. I also enjoyed the message of being yourself even when you're different. Very nice work!
I wanted to add this as well: I liked the way you wrote Piton's suspicions about Gryfalcon's life and injuries, as well as the discussion with her griffon father about her. It is well for each of us to remember that just because a situation or person seems different or beyond our understanding, that doesn't make them wrong or evil....just different.
And isn't it better that we are all a bit different?
Again, very good story! Hope to see you at BronyCon this year!
just for the record, a cursory google search suggests that the medical advice is: sleep while concussed is quite fine, as long as there's not significant bleeding etc. requiring prompt medical treatment.
I'm surprised Gyrfalcon can eat all that red meat. Also, Piton should really tell someone when he gets back to town. He has no idea if Gareth is telling the truth or not.
8005420 8005071 Well, movie spoilers: Hippogryphs are canon now.
8005420 They'll have to use unholy demon magic. I suspect they'll get thrown back in time and give birth to Discord. And then Discord will go crazy trying to understand his own origins in this Bootstrap Paradox.
8007287 Yeah, but we still don't know if they're hybrids or a completely separate species. The griffons clearly aren't the results of cats doing birds, ya know?
8005884 I don't know what Google thinks, but I've had a bunch of concussions, and the doctors have always told me not to until after I've been checked out, and that I should also have someone check me a couple times during the night. It's not fun having someone wake you up in the wee hours and shine a light in your eyes... 8007287 I'm generally a "horses can't eat meat" person as well, but then someone invariably links me to a video of it happening. So I just left it vague as to how much. That soup may have still been mostly vegetables.
8009057 He's not quite sure it's impossible yet, since he's encountered Gyrfalcon, and she's apparently going to help him, so he's playing it safe to stay awake until she takes him somewhere or brings other help, if he can.
8009279 The cover art is just a gyrfalcon, so people can see what they look like and an example of the coloration mentioned for Gyrfalcon. I didn't notice they'd added a general griffon tag. I shall add it, then!
My notes from round one. Remember, these are just from round one, there are no winners yet!
Dang, this one's really good too. Good storytelling, interesting worldbuilding, talky while remaining powerful. The word limit may have hampered how much of this we could explore, but I found it compelling. -SF
As one of the judges for Scribblefest, I have to say I'm sad this didn't win something. It just got slightly edged out. That said, this is a really good story here. I love that Piton is a bit horrified about what he sees of this griffon world, but still open minded and accepting of it in the end, even if it doesn't really understand it. You've done some lovely worldbuilding too, with Buffalo accents (and their explanations) along with other details really fleshing out this rarely seen part of Equestria, and this isolated clan. Great job!
This story feels like an "all-or-nothing" deal, to stay with the griffons or to abandon them completely for a life as a pony. That's not how life works. It's a good story, but I can't help but imagine Gyrfalcon becoming a representative for her tribe for handling trade with the nearest pony town.
8109914 Well, that's basically what her dad said. He couldn't keep her isolated forever, and now that she knows, she'll probably seek some middle ground. But she's free to explore both worlds however she chooses.
See I'm not the only last minute entry XD
A very sweet story.
Aw! That was really good. Nice work!
She is a griffon...
Well, until she tries to mate. Then biology kicks desire in the face.
Don't argue with science. It'll give you cancer. And laugh.
I wasn't sure what to be expecting with this story. I knew I wasn't expecting much. I was wrong. This was such a sweet and amazing story! I really enjoyed it.
Here's a fave for a pony-griffon. 
Well done!! This is just a wonderful story. It reminded me a bit of a Zane Gray novel I read years ago. I liked how you wrote these characters and showed how different and yet how similar they were. I also enjoyed the message of being yourself even when you're different. Very nice work!
I wanted to add this as well: I liked the way you wrote Piton's suspicions about Gryfalcon's life and injuries, as well as the discussion with her griffon father about her. It is well for each of us to remember that just because a situation or person seems different or beyond our understanding, that doesn't make them wrong or evil....just different.
And isn't it better that we are all a bit different?
Again, very good story! Hope to see you at BronyCon this year!
8005071
But... but how else are we going to get dem cute hippogriffs?
just for the record, a cursory google search suggests that the medical advice is: sleep while concussed is quite fine, as long as there's not significant bleeding etc. requiring prompt medical treatment.
I'm surprised Gyrfalcon can eat all that red meat. Also, Piton should really tell someone when he gets back to town. He has no idea if Gareth is telling the truth or not.
8005420
8005071 Well, movie spoilers: Hippogryphs are canon now.
Very much enjoyed reading this. A strong entry indeed.
8005420 They'll have to use unholy demon magic. I suspect they'll get thrown back in time and give birth to Discord. And then Discord will go crazy trying to understand his own origins in this Bootstrap Paradox.
8007287 Yeah, but we still don't know if they're hybrids or a completely separate species. The griffons clearly aren't the results of cats doing birds, ya know?
8005884 I don't know what Google thinks, but I've had a bunch of concussions, and the doctors have always told me not to until after I've been checked out, and that I should also have someone check me a couple times during the night. It's not fun having someone wake you up in the wee hours and shine a light in your eyes...
8007287 I'm generally a "horses can't eat meat" person as well, but then someone invariably links me to a video of it happening. So I just left it vague as to how much. That soup may have still been mostly vegetables.
8008614 well, yes, that's exactly what I found when I did a google search. It's less clear what one should do if getting checked is impossible.
Interesting story with an interesting idea.
Don't know what to think about the cover-art, thought.
Suggestion:
Add the "griffon"-tag. Makes it easier to find this story.
And why the "other"-tag?
8009057 He's not quite sure it's impossible yet, since he's encountered Gyrfalcon, and she's apparently going to help him, so he's playing it safe to stay awake until she takes him somewhere or brings other help, if he can.
8009279 The cover art is just a gyrfalcon, so people can see what they look like and an example of the coloration mentioned for Gyrfalcon. I didn't notice they'd added a general griffon tag. I shall add it, then!
8009782
I should have suggested you add that tag, in hindsight. Can't believe it slipped my mind. Heh
Solid storytelling, plain and simple. Does what it needed to do in a concise manner.
My notes from round one. Remember, these are just from round one, there are no winners yet!
Well written, and no surprise given the author. There is one line that threw me, however.
I think your pronouns got mixed up in the middle there. Care to fix?
8093178 Ah, good catch.
8093468
A pleasure, and a rare find in one of your stories. I must highlight this day.
As one of the judges for Scribblefest, I have to say I'm sad this didn't win something. It just got slightly edged out. That said, this is a really good story here. I love that Piton is a bit horrified about what he sees of this griffon world, but still open minded and accepting of it in the end, even if it doesn't really understand it. You've done some lovely worldbuilding too, with Buffalo accents (and their explanations) along with other details really fleshing out this rarely seen part of Equestria, and this isolated clan. Great job!
This story feels like an "all-or-nothing" deal, to stay with the griffons or to abandon them completely for a life as a pony. That's not how life works. It's a good story, but I can't help but imagine Gyrfalcon becoming a representative for her tribe for handling trade with the nearest pony town.
8109914 Well, that's basically what her dad said. He couldn't keep her isolated forever, and now that she knows, she'll probably seek some middle ground. But she's free to explore both worlds however she chooses.
You've already seen my fuller thoughts on this, so I'm just back here to finally click the fave button!