On Writing "The Last Time" · 11:31pm Apr 24th, 2020
So I didn't expect this story to get more attention and positive responses in two days than my first story has done in its lifetime, so thank you once again for exceeding my expectations. I think it warrants a bit of a write up similar to the one I did on my first story.
Fun fact: I was originally writing a different story about a different griffon the week before I posted The Last Time. I spent around four evenings and gotten two-thirds of it done before I got stuck on part of its plot, so I stopped working on it to focus on a games jam happening that weekend. I had taken days off to rest after the jam, and so on the following Monday, I decided to start writing again but on a different story idea.
So where did this one come from?
Well, I think it's an undeniable fact that people really like to write stories about the griffon of the Young Six, especially when you look at how often the Gallus tag gets used and how large his group is. There are obvious reasons, like how he's one of the two boys of the six and the one with snarky quips and a touch of sarcasm that gives him a "cool guy" attitude, as well as being the one with a sad backstory so fans are more eager to go in-depth on the tragic elements. He might not be my favourite of the Young Six (Smolder), but I cannot blame other fans for wanting to flesh him out more than the others.
I also include myself in this, as I mentioned in my earlier blog post that I have a few headcanons floating around to write. One of them was on Gallus training to become a Royal Guard after the final episode revealed him out of the blue. The idea expanded into Gallus' experience at a Royal Guard Academy, where he'd go through making new friends while trying to stay connected to all his other friends who live and work in Ponyville. It's something I'd consider writing, but I want to hold back on so I can get a bit more practice writing shorter stuff and not go way over my head. Some of it is hinted at in The Last Time.
Another element of that was Gallus and his relationship to Grandpa Gruff, the elder griffon who acts as the younger's guardian. In the context of the show, I don't think Grandpa Gruff is a good father figure to Gallus but it's not like he doesn't try. There were moments that clearly shows Gruff is tough on Gallus, almost too tough, but also moments that suggests he cares and wants what's best for the young griffon.
A good example is the episode "A Horse Shoe-in", where Grandpa Gruff complains to Trixie about flying all the way to Ponyville to hear a teacher tell him how Gallus' is getting on. I've seen a number of people online say how Gruff was ultimately bad and seeing how inconsiderate he was being, I'd agree. However, I didn't see one person bring up how in the previous episode, Gabby talks about how Grandpa Gruff frequently asks for updates on Gallus' progress. He might have been a jerk at that meeting, but considering what was said earlier, he did have a point. It's because of moments like that, I decided to write Grandpa Gruff as a griffon who wouldn't back down, even if Gallus went point-for-point on how bad Grandpa Gruff treated him.
As for the ending, I'm honestly relieved it's getting the reactions it's getting. I was really worried either most readers wouldn't realise it, or figured it out way too early. I don't want to spoil it, and I'm thankful for the commenters who haven't, but the ending was why I included the Sad category. Heck, I contemplated including Tragedy, but I think you'd need the tragic event to be the focus of the story when in this case it's how Gallus and Grandpa Gruff feels about each other.
Gallus is my favourite of the six because of the potential depth in his character that can be explored, as you mentioned. The Hearth’s Warming Club changed everything about how I saw Gallus compared to the rest of his friends and Gavin Langelo (his VA) delivered so well.
I’ve usually regarded Gruff to be one of the only things holding Gallus down but you’re delivery changed that for me. I didn’t actually notice those details during The Horse Shoe-in (*cough* Netflix) and I’m glad you mentioned that. I’d love to stick around to see what you make in the future!