- Written by Jeremy Whitley, Art by Brenda Hickey, Coloring by Heather Breckel
Sunburst continues his studies, this time prompted by Princess Luna to read to her the story of Rockhoof, a mighty warrior.
Rockhoof had saved his local village from an erupting volcano with nothing but a shovel. Though the leader of the Mighty Guard, Steela Oresdotter, offered Rockhoof a reward, all he wanted was to be a member of the Mighty Helm, which she granted. Due to his past daily routines that kept him in shape and fit, he clearly outmatched the other Mighty Helm members, but even with his skill, the other members offered to celebrate with a feast. Deciding that one day off his routine wouldn't hurt, he spent the night celebrating with his new friends. Unfortunately, this continued for several nights, and soon he became out of shape, even though he still trained better than any other member of the Mighty Helm.
One day, the volcano showed signs of eruption, and Steela sent Rockhoof along with two Helms to investigate. Eventually they struggle to the top and find that a cherufe has taken residence in the volcano, throwing lava rocks around. Because of his lack of fitness, Rockhoof is unable to fight it off and only serves to make it more angry, and the trio retreat back to town. Steela reprimands Rockhoof, and she sets off alone to try to deal with the cherufe, but Rockhoof insists he must do it, but only after he gets back into shape. After several days, Rockhoof has returned to his former glory, and travels to the volcano with Steela. As Steela prepares to attack it, Rockhoof recognizes the cherufe is throwing rocks at a single spot, and he gets the idea to dig out the spot. Under the soft rock they find an infant cherufe, happily reunited with its parent. The pair return to the village to report their success, with Rockhoof recognizing the need for him to balance his routine and the opportunity to be with friends.
As Sunburst finishes the story, Luna realizes she can take the same lessons Rockhoof learned for her own duties.
Tropes:
- Acrofatic: Zig-Zagged. Rockhoof shows off some athletic prowess saving two Helms and running down the mountain, but other than that his weight gain impedes his ability to fight the cherufe on the volcano.
- Attack the Tail: The cherufe throws molten lava at Rockhoof as he retreats, burning his tail.
- Bifauxnen: Captain Steela, to the point where she could even be mistaken for a Big Beautiful Man.
- Big Eater: Rockhoof takes this to comical levels — most of his nights out are spent taking on one eating challenge after another, ranging from scarfing down bowls full of oats and mountains of bread to literally eating his way out of a pit full of corn. Deconstructed when destiny calls and his eating habits have caught up to him.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Rockhoof is almost always posing, yelling his dialogue, eating and drinking to excess, and kicking ass.
- Braids of Barbarism: Everywhere. Rockhoof has a particularly impressive one.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Despite his friends also taking part in the festivities, only Rockhoof pays the price for his actions.
- The Captain: Captain Steela commands the Mighty Helm, and does a pretty good job of it. It’s her admonishment that convinces Rockhoof to get it together, and she easily keeps up with him on the trip up the mountain.
- Cool Helmet: The Mighty Helm's distinctive winged helmets are so cool that they named themselves after them.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: During Rockhoof's first night out, the rest of the ponies chant "Chew! Chew! Chew!" as he downs a large bowl of oats. The next morning, he wakes up weakened from having eaten so much.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The earth ponies among whom Rockhoof lives share more than a few characteristics with ancient Germanic cultures. Their cutie marks are often inspired by Nordic runic designs (Rockhoof's in particular is a Valknut, a knotted design associated with Odin) and their clothing and helmets resemble (popular depictions of) those that Germanic barbarians would have worn. They also seem to use patronymics, best seen with the Helm's captain Steela Oresdotter.
- Fat Comic Relief: What Rockhoof becomes after his partying gets the best of him.
- The Fat Episode: Rockhoof breaks off from his normal routine to take on numerous eating challenges. When the volcano starts showing signs of life again, Rockhoof has fattened up to the point where he has trouble climbing the mountain. When he makes it there, his bulk impedes him from fighting a cherufe which results in a stern talking to from Captain Steela. To prove himself that he's still worthy of being in the Mighty Helm, Rockhoof exercises the weight off much faster than he put it on.
- Gluttony Montage: An entire page has Rockhoof gorging on asparagus dogs, bread, pretzels, bagels and kale. In one panel, he literally eats his way out of a pit of corn.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted, as all the characters wear them whenever they’re in combat. It’s a fair way into the story that Captain Steela is seen without hers.
- Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Captain Steela covers her right eye with her mane. The scar there suggests she may have actually lost it.
- Hot-Blooded: Both Rockhoof’s greatest strength and his Fatal Flaw. His tendency to launch himself into everything he does with all his heart is clearly what made him a hero, but it also leaves him with little sense of proportion.
- The Load: Rockhoof's friends mean well, but they convince him to start his partying lifestyle, continue to enable it long after it starts to affect his health, and spend the entire mission with him worrying and complaining.
- Manly Facial Hair: Rockhoof was one of the mightiest and strongest earth ponies in Equestria's history, having once managed to divert a volcanic eruption using nothing but a shovel. Fittingly, he sports one of the bushiest and fullest beards in the franchise.
- Monster Is a Mommy: The cherufe that has been causing the volcano to grow unstable is in fact a mother, and the earthquakes were caused by her attempts to dig her way to her child, who had remained trapped behind a pile of rocks. The two cherufes leave peacefully once they are reunited.
- Mr. Vice Guy: Rockhoof is a genuinely brave and heroic character, but gluttony and pride nearly prove his undoing.
- No Name Given: Rockhoof's friends are never actually named.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Rockhoof when the cherufe overpowers him the first time.
- Shout-Out: The mailpony is a dead-ringer to the Postman from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
- Squee: Princess Luna’s reaction when Starburst begins reading Starwirl’s account of Rockhoof’s adventures, a sequel to Luna’s favorite myth that she didn’t even know existed.
- Stout Strength:
- Downplayed with most of the Helms who are on the beefy side, including Rockhoof.
- Subverted when Rockhoof crosses the line into outright fat; it seriously impacts his speed and stamina.
- Spoof Aesop: Luna points out that the Aesop appears to be "partying is evil", and that the story then breaks it further by mentioning that Rockhoof promptly became Lonely at the Top. Sunburst then hastily finishes the tale, which goes on to say that Rockhoof eventually learned to practice moderation by taking some time out to enjoy himself with friends, which Luna deems an acceptable moral.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Ponies in Friendship is Magic normally get a Balloon Belly from overeating, but Rockhoof puts on permanent weight which he must lose to get back in shape.
- Twinkle in the Eye: Rockhoof gets one when he hears about an oat bowl challenge that a tavern in town is having.
- A Weighty Aesop: Rockhoof learns to control his gluttony the hard way.
- With Friends Like These...: The other villagers laugh at Rockhoof when his partying takes a toll on him.
