And the alicorns, well, that was another matter. Joachim supposed that, by some definitions, they were indeed gods. Certainly not invincible, but everything in this world could be destroyed, so why should gods be any different? He had been in Griffonia when news had broken of the failed changeling invasion and Celestia’s embarrassing defeat in personal combat. The ponies hadn’t seemed to be aware of it much, or if they had been, they hadn’t paid it much mind. Joachim finished off his apple before dumping the core in an open barrel nearby. No, by toughness Joachim didn’t mean their innate abilities. With rare exceptions, ponies were naturally creatures that took to flight well before they took to fight, meaning that outside of the Equestrian heartlands, there was always going to be something he could help somepony out with. Griffons were made of sterner stuff than them. True, he had run into the mine with more bravado than brains, but he certainly didn’t see any ponies run into that cave to see if their fellows were alright. Just him and the human, with second thoughts only to how to approach the problem, not questioning whether they actually were going to approach it.