Yosh E O'Ducky's Potty Training Tales

by Yosh-E-O


Gallus - Big Sister Gabby

Note: Related to "From Diapers to Deliveries" and "What Goes Up Sadly Comes Down".

***

It was a typical day in Griffonstone for young Gallus. No griff was willing to come forward to say they were either his mother or father. So this meant he never had one true home as he was passed around from home to home in which each parental figure cared for his basic needs and nothing more.

The griff who most frequently had Gallus was the newly named Grandpa Gruff. Since his time in caring for Gilda and Gabby, Gruff had been given the title of Papa Gruff as every griff would find a way to toss him a few bits for his ability to get children off and on their own. He resented being forced into being a patron for the citizens of Griffonstone. However the bits did allow him to lead a notably better life than other griffons in the rundown town.

Now that he was beginning to show his age, along with another generation of griffons being hatched since Gilda, the citizens of Griffonstone granted Gruff a new title: This being Grandpa Gruff. He didn’t like this any more than he liked being called Papa Gruff. However the extra bits he received for his public services kept him from being overly apathetic towards his responsibilities.

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

“Go away!” Grandpa Gruff squawked one day. “I already have a youngin’ for the day! I don’t need another!”

“Grandpa Gruff!” A cheerful voice chirped through the door. “It’s me, Gabby! I’ve brought you your mail on this beautiful day here in Griffonstone!”

Gabby Griffon was a pain in the feathers due to her ‘Griffony Sunshine’ approach to being a mail carrier, a spin off from her days as a young hatchling. She took to the job quite quickly and was very good at what she did for a seven year old griffon, something all griffons had started to notice when she kept making “deliveries” to them at Gilda or Gruff’s request. The price for her services though was either putting up with her banter for a bit, giving her another letter to deliver, or quickly taking the mail she was delivering, tossing her a bit and shutting the door before she could start talking.

Grandpa Gruff was about to do the latter of these choices when his gaze came upon young Gallus. “Heh!” He cackled while picking up the young griff under his care. “You’re actually going to be of some use to me, kid.”

Gallus, unlike other chicks, was annoying specifically for how much he was like Gilda and Gabby. Most chicks grew to accept being on their own and doing things on their own.

However Gallus had a most curious mind and would occasionally give Grandpa Gruff merry tweets and a smile for changing and bathing him among other things.

The old, grey griffon did the least possible in each of these efforts. However Gallus still seemed to have some of that pesky ‘Griffony Sunshine’ that made Gabby so annoying. “Alright! Alright!” He called back as he carried Gallus with him to the front door and opened it. “Now where’s my mail?”

Gabby beamed as she held out a piece of parchment for the town patron. “Message from Golly Griffon!” She cheered. “Do you have any mail for me to deliver?”

“Actually,” Grandpa Gruff smiled while placing young Gallus down upon his door step. “I want you to deliver him to someplace out of town for me. His name’s Gallus, the latest hatchling they’ve stuck me with raising.”

Gallus, who was a blue colored griffon, looked anxiously towards Gabby. Something about her made him feel a whole lot better than being around Grandpa Gruff, or any other griff for that matter, even Gilda (who usually just called him a diaper dweeb and insisted he was too young to know what she was doing).

“Are you saying I’m done delivering mail for the day?” Gabby curiously asked. “Someplace out of town is where you built me my own home to roost in.”

Grandpa Gruff smirked. “Precisely, so go on and get out of here with him. Just be careful, he ain’t potty trained yet and he probably ain’t gonna be if he keeps bugging me all the time.” He replied before retreating back into his home, slamming the door, and leaving the fledgling Gallus with Gabby.

“Oh, goody!” Gabby cheered while scooping up little Gallus. “You and I are going to have so much fun, Gallus!”

“Fun?” Gallus wondered, not understanding the concept. “What that?”

Gabby giggled. “What’s fun?” She more stated than asked. “Well, I’ll show you! In fact, I even have a song about it!” Gabby started to work her wings, took to the air, and flew off to her ‘someplace out of town’ with Gallus.


Gabby’s home was surprisingly well kept in comparison to other homes in Griffonstone. Truth be told, it did look quite inhabitable in the beginning. However Gabby was one who liked to bring ‘Griffony Sunshine’ to everyone and everything. So she found some loose lumber, hammer, nails, and other materials to improve upon the original, dreary look. She also benefited from finding a book on ‘Home Building & Repair’ in the town library (or what was left of it anyway).

Gallus’ young eyes were drawn to how ‘cheerful’ this home was. It brought a smile to his young face, it was a lot better than Grandpa Gruff’s cottage.

“Now,” Gabby blushed while picking up Gallus, immediately feeling a familiar damp sensation. “I’m guessing you’ve been in a yucky diaper for some time by now. How’s about we get you all cleaned up and smelling nice? Sure wasn’t right for Grandpa Gruff to let you stay in that thing so long, rashes hurt.”

It was true, the fledgling griffon had been in a wet diaper for long enough to make him feel an incredible sense of discomfort. Though, as Grandpa Gruff would say: “It’s not heavy enough, sonny”. And that meant Gallus would need to wait and use his diaper more before the griffon curmudgeon would take the time to clean him up. By that point his diapers were usually all but ready to fall off or leak (and leak they sometimes did, which Grandpa Gruff was never happy about cleaning up).

Gabby sang a song as she warmed her makeshift bathtub up to bathe Gallus. Gabby liked cleaning and preening herself and guessed this fledgling hadn’t had a good wash in a long time.

Gallus found the bath amazing as Gabby told stories and hummed tunes while gently cleaning off all the built-up gunk that had accumulated from half-hearted bathing by the other griffons. It was so relaxing and relieving to feel genuinely clean that Gallus fell asleep in the tub right then and there.


Gallus awoke sometime later in a very soft place. It took him a moment to remember where he was. Then his nose began to pick up on some tasty smells, and his ‘mother’ was singing a merry tune. “Momma!” He called as he sat himself up, the one thing he’d learned how to do on his own. He was then taken aback by the new diaper and smell of powder it was giving off. “Momma?”

Gabby heard Gallus’ calls and cheerfully made her way to the little bedroom he had been placed into to rest. “Looks like someone is up from their nap,” She beamed. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, Momma!” The blue feathered griffon chirped as he felt an urge to flutter over to Gabby and give her a hug.

“Momma? Gabby blinked and then chuckled. “I’m too young to be your momma.”

Tears started to well in Gallus’ eyes.

“Whoa!” Gabby gasped and young Gallus began to cry. “No griff is my momma.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Gabby sputtered. “You don’t have a momma?”

“No,” Gallus sobbed. “No dada either. I all alone”

The grey feathered mail carrier had heard stories of how some griffons would abandon eggs that they did not want to be responsible for. However she never thought she’d find a chick who had no griff to call mom, or dad for that matter. Whether that abandonment was true for Gallus was unknown, but she didn’t care. “Well,” She commented while embracing Gallus in a hug like he wanted. “I may not be your mom, but I can be your big sister.”

Gallus’ crying slowed. “Sister?” He asked Gabby.

“Yeah,” Gabby beamed as she took pride in turning young Gallus’ frown upside-down. “That makes you my little brother!”

“Little, brother…” The chick considered. “Family?”

“Why not!” Gabby chirped while letting Gallus down. “And you can stay here with your ‘big sister’ whenever I finish my mail delivery job every afternoon. How’s that sound?”

“Stay, here?” Gallus contemplated “No be given to grumpy griffs who all mean and nasty when Gallus goes to their house?”

Gabby smiled while rubbing Gallus’ head. “Why not!” She proclaimed. “I didn’t build that bassinet for no reason. Well, actually, I built it because I wanted to be ready in case a little griff like you ever came along. And of course, I learned to knit so I could make my own clothes, like my hair tie, and…”

Gabby kept on gabbing until she smelled the food she was making on the verge of burning. “Oh, gosh!” She cried. “I forgot about our dinner!” Gabby zipped away before Gallus could say a single word! However, his stomach was starting to growl as he hadn’t eaten in quite awhile, and he was often underfed when someone did give him food.

FWA-BUMP

The fledgling, blue griffon slipped to the stone floor and toddled out to see what his ‘big sister’ was up to.


Young Gallus was impressed at how much effort (and talking) Gabby did in making sure the food turned out okay despite it having been overcooked. She even took time to make some little jokes towards Gallus as she hurriedly put out the fire, collected some bowls, and prepared her ‘table’ for two instead of one.

“I hungry,” Gallus meekly called. “What do I get to eat?”

Gabby chuckled. “You get to eat the same things I do, silly!”

“Not ‘leftovers’?” Gallus asked as he recalled how many of his ‘caretakers’ would give him foods that felt and tasted like rocks.

“Oh, golly, no!” Gabby replied. “We eat good for griffs here, little bro.”

Gallus was astounded at what he was hearing. However an urge he deeply dreaded started to make itself known. An urge that always resulted in an uncomfortable outcome for himself and whoever was in charge of him. But he could never find a way to avoid it.

“Gallus?” The young mail carrier griffon asked as she noticed the fledgling suddenly appear uncomfortable as he squeezed his legs together. “Do you have to go potty?”

“What ‘potty’?” Gallus asked while squirming about, still straining and trying to keep from releasing.

Gabby giggled as she remembered how her potty training went. Papa Gruff and Gilda made getting out of diapers so much fun. They’d play hide-and-seek, chase, and something called handoff until she managed to stay dry for an entire week. They then told her she didn’t need diapers anymore and that they’d be making her a home someplace out of town so she could be less of a bother while serving as the youngest mail carrier in Griffonstone history.

This honor made Gabby very happy as she was really good at finding all the griffs in Griffonstone. Most griffons would pay her bits and tell her to go away. Others would give her a letter to deliver before shutting the door. Most importantly was how she knew where the ‘potty pit’ was while also finding a chamber pot of her own when she didn’t feel like doing a fly-by drop-off at the deep canyon where a lost treasure was said to have been lost (she’d forgotten the name of it).

Gabby’s mental flashback left Gallus more tense as he was very close to making himself uncomfortable. His face was all but turning red. “Sister!” He cried while clenching his gut. “Help! I no want to feel icky until diaper gets heavy and I need change!”

Gabby scooped little Gallus up in her arms. “Right!” She chirped. “To the potty, or I should say chamber pot!”


Gallus looked at the odd looking object in front of him. It was a pot, but not like the ones in Grandpa Gruff’s kitchen. It looked much nicer. He really needed to relieve himself but how was this the place to do it? It didn’t look like that pit he’d heard of.

“Now you take your diaper off. The pot does your diaper’s job for you.” Gabby instructed.

Gallus fumbled at taking off his diaper. This was because he was scolded if he ever just took it off to escape all that was cold, clammy, and wet. “Help?” He whimpered. He really didn’t want to mess up when he was so close, he wanted to do it right.

The caring grey griffon went about removing the diaper before holding Gallus over the opening of the chamber pot. “Guess this is a little big for a little griff?” Gabby considered while retaining a solid hold on the fledgling. “You can go now. I won’t let you fall in,” Then she commented. “Gilda says ponies have a different kind of chamber pot. It’s much bigger, it has a seat, and it’s made of something called porcelain, whatever that is. But no griffon can afford it out here, it’s too expensive.”

Gallus had a very nervous expression on his face as he sat on this pot and listened to Gabby gab on again. Would he end up making her mad if he didn’t do it right? He certainly didn’t want to hear more on how he was a ‘poor excuse for a griffon’ from those who saw him as a chore over a child. Gabby didn’t seem like them, but he was worried that the moment he made one mistake she was going to reveal herself to be just like them.

“Way to go, Gallus!” Gabby suddenly cheered. “You’re a big griffon just like your big sister!”

The blue feathered fledgling didn’t realize nature had taken its course as he was lost in thought over how he wasn’t being scolded for making a mess. “I.... did?” He asked with hope in his eyes.

“Yep!” Gabby chirped as she helped him down. “All that’s left is to use the cleaning cloths to get rid of any yucky stuff that may have gotten stuck to your feathers. Then I’ll empty it out.”

Gallus was so lost in how his ‘big sister’ acted in comparison to Grandpa Gruff and the other griffs who he stayed with on a regular basis. “Big sister… happy?” He nervously asked as he was wiped clean.

Gabby brought Gallus in for a big hug when the wiping job was done. “You bet, little brother!” She assured him while nuzzling him. “You’re a very special griff, and I’m happy to have you as my brother.”

Gallus found tears forming in his eyes. However these were not tears of sadness. They were something different, something wonderful. Something he had never before experienced in his young life. “Love you!” He chirped while burying himself as close as he could into Gabby’s chest.

Gabby was so touched that she, too, felt tears well up in her eyes. Maybe, in some way, looking out for young Gallus would help towards making a far kinder, more friendly Griffonstone? Well, at least she was breaking the cycle.


Over the coming years, Grandpa Gruff had no problem in making Gabby fully responsible for Gallus once her mail shift came to an end. It was a two-for-one as it kept Gabby’s ‘Griffony Sunshine’ to a minimum while only needing to care for Gallus while Gabby was doing her rounds.

Even better was how Gallus wasn’t wetting his diapers anymore. The chick had learned how to use Gabby’s chamber pot, with a special lid to keep him from falling in, while getting his body trained to go potty before heading to Grandpa Gruff’s and holding it in until he returned to the young griffon’s home (the one time he tried to use Grandpa’s Gruff’s pot he’d fallen in and gotten stuck). Even Gilda, who sometimes swung by, started commenting that he was “Not a diaper dweeb anymore” and would somewhat playfully rustle the feathers on his forehead.

Eventually, the time came for Gallus to head out and be his own griff. He found an abandoned home, which Gabby fixed up for him, and began his struggle between giving into everyday griffon cynicism or keeping that ‘Griffony Sunshine’ alive that he had gained from Gabby. But unlike his ‘big sister’ he knew she annoyed the citizens of Griffonstone and her home was outside of town so as to keep her as far away as possible.

Despite Gallus eventually learning that he too should keep his distance from Gabby, the grey mail griffon did manage to sneak some time in with him when no other griffons were looking. It was this time, which became less and less as the years, in which would give Gallus everything he needed to be made into the student representative of Griffonstone at Twilight’s School Of Friendship. All the while he never stopped considering Gabby his big sister, the one griffon who had cared for him and seen him as something other than just a burden to unload onto others.