Rockhoof

Rockhoof is a male Earth pony and figure of Equestrian legend first mentioned in season six's The Crystalling - Part 2. He makes his first physical appearance in, and he also appears in the season seven episodes Campfire Tales, Shadow Play - Part 1 and Shadow Play - Part 2.

Design
Rockhoof shares his body design with Trouble Shoes and "Hammerhead McColt".

Depiction in the series
Rockhoof is first mentioned in The Crystalling - Part 2 by Sunburst as the subject of a spell called "Rockhoof's Rapport".

In Campfire Tales, Rockhoof is the subject of a campfire story told by Applejack, and is her and Apple Bloom's favorite legend. In the story, Rockhoof is the son of a farmer who lives in a village at the foot of a great volcano. He dreams of joining an elite group of pony guards called the Mighty Helm. Unfortunately, he is too scrawny to even pull an axe out of a tree stump. The guardsponies ridicule him for his weak stature, giving him a shovel and telling him to stick to farming and digging.

One day, the volcano near the village erupts and threatens to destroy it. When the villagers refuse to abandon their homes, Rockhoof uses his shovel to dig a trench and divert the lava's flow. Through his determination and force of will, Rockhoof miraculously transforms into a larger, more powerful stallion, giving him enough strength to finish digging the trench and save the village from destruction. His achievement earns him the respect of his fellow villagers and acceptance into the Mighty Helm's ranks.

In the season seven finale Shadow Play, Rockhoof is revealed to be one of the six "Pillars of Old Equestria" with Mistmane, Flash Magnus, Somnambula, Mage Meadowbrook, and Star Swirl the Bearded, representing the Element of Strength. Long ago, he and the other Pillars were brought together by the unicorn Stygian to battle a great evil. When Stygian later turned into the Pony of Shadows, Rockhoof and the others sacrificed themselves to imprison him in limbo.

In present day, Applejack retrieves Rockhoof's shovel for a ritual to free the Pillars from limbo. When the Pony of Shadows is freed along with them, Rockhoof and the other Pillars team up with the Mane Six to separate Stygian from the darkness and banish it to limbo once again.

In the season eight episode A Rockhoof and a Hard Place, Rockhoof has "trouble fitting into the modern world".

IDW comics
In the series, Rockhoof appears on cover A of  and as the central character of. In the latter issue, Sunburst reads about Rockhoof's exploits after joining the Mighty Helm, written by Star Swirl the Bearded. While Rockhoof enjoys a period of outperforming the other guards and making close friends, his continuous nights of partying with them cause him to gain a lot of weight and severely slow down in guard training.

When the volcano is in danger of erupting again, Rockhoof discovers the cause to be a Cherufe, a one-eyed lobster-like creature of rock and magma. Due to being out of shape, Rockhoof is quickly defeated by the Cherufe and disgracefully dismissed from the Mighty Helm. To redeem himself, Rockhoof gets back into shape and challenges the Cherufe a second time, eventually reuniting it with its child.

Rockhoof also appears on 's cover B, cover RI, and page 20 and in, in which he joins Stygian on his mission to save his village from the sirens. In, he and Stygian recruit Mage Meadowbrook for their mission; in subsequent issues, they and the other Pillars work together to defeat the sirens and then rescue Princess Celestia and Princess Luna from an alternate universe.

My Little Pony (mobile game)
Rockhoof is a character in Gameloft's mobile game, and plays a role in the 2017 Hearth's Warming Eve storyline. His in-game description states, "The legendary savior of his Earth pony village, Rockhoof's example proves that smarts and hard work can win out over brute strength!"

Quotes
"It seems the dark places Star Swirl indicated on the map have changed."

- Shadow Play - Part 2

"Come. We must prepare for the struggle ahead."

- Shadow Play - Part 2

"Stygian was a pony like the rest of us – though more scholar than hero. He recognized our emerging world would need champions to defend it."

- Shadow Play - Part 2

"Begging your pardon, ma'am. I'd keep me shovel if it's all the same to you."

- To Steela Oresdotter,

"Oh, this? Aye, this is the shovel that saved the town. Of course you can touch it, but be warned, it's still hot."

- My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #2

"Did you say challenge?"

- My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #2

"Being part of the Mighty Helm is all I ever wanted to do. It's time I proved it."

- My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #2


 * " thone as orcneas braes untrumlic! eow onscyte hal hale !"
 * — My Little Pony (mobile game)