Episode 11: "I Never Ate for My Father"
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In the Treehouse of Friendship, Gallus struggled with the assignment that had been given to him. The assignment was to write a letter, a letter to a father or father figure. The young griffon had every reason to struggle with the assignment and placed his claws on his head, groaning in frustration. "I can't think of anything!" He threw the quill down on the table. "Why do we even have this stupid holiday to begin with?!"
Archie, Gallus' pet cocatrice, chirped in wonder of what Gallus was trying to discuss.
"Father's day, I know, Archie. A day where everycreature and everypony come together to celebrate the fathers in their lives. A letter to my father, a scum who destroyed my life from a young age," Gallus replied. "But I can't share my feelings to the class. What will Professor Celestia think?"
Gallus clearly found himself in a pickle, knowing he needed to complete the assignment, but also reluctant to reach into his past. "All my friends have fathers or father figures except for me," Gallus sighed, looking down at the letter. "Me! I mean, who would want me to view as a son? And don't say my dad or Grandpa Gruff, Archie! Because they are both dead."
Gallus could feel the frustration continuing to build inside of him. He wanted a father figure in his life, but he wasn't sure how to get one.
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Meanwhile, Lord Tirek was forced to think about his most recent actions with his daughter's tormentor, Teddy Buzzcut. His actions had prompted a warning to come from the princesses in regards to the terms of his plea agreement. "Must you do this to me?!" He asked himself while he tended to the small garden he had grown at the halfway house. "Did you send me that pony to torment not just Cozy Glow, but me too? Even though you are dead, father, you still want to make my life difficult. Is that it?"
Gathering the vegetables from his garden, Tirek prepared to head back into the halfway house, only to stop before reaching the door. "If you are trying to make my life difficult," he said, looking up to the clear sky. "Then it isn't working. I think you're just trying to test my patience, is that it? Some father you turned out to be!"
Heading inside, Tirek placed his vegetables on the kitchen counter as Chrysalis came into the kitchen.
"You know that the school of friendship is having an open house tonight?" Chrysalis reminded her lover.
"Of course I do, Chrysalis!" Tirek snapped as he began peeling off an ear of corn. "I'm not a fool."
"I heard about the warning Twilight and her friends gave you." Chrysalis went on to say.
"About me going back to Tartarus if I screw up the agreement again?" Tirek frowned. "Wouldn't you have done the same thing for the sake of our daughter?"
"I most certainly would've had I been in your shoes, Tirek!" Chrysalis nodded in agreement. "Nopony harrasses our child and gets away with it."
"Our Child" were words that Tirek was starting to become accustomed to hearing. Ever since he, Chrysalis and Cozy Glowhad served under Grogar, Tirek began to deeply think that he had a future with the creatures he cared about.
But the memories of his father were still fresh in his mind along with the same holiday that was impacting Gallus. "Chrysalis, do you know what is two days from now?" Tirek asked, stopping to prepare the vegetables. "It's another pony holiday, but it's also for creatures as well."
"Father's day?" Chrysalis scoffed, thinking about her own father. "He would certainly have his way with me if I faced him again. What does it matter to you?"
Tirek returned to preparing the vegetables, thinking deeply about what Chrysalis had just said. To him, it did matter about having a father figure in his life. "Come on, Chrysalis, you know exactly what I am talking about. Something has been missing from my life and I may never get it back. My father never loved me and I never loved him."
Her senses kicking in, Chrysalis approached Tirek and draped a wing over him. The centaur felt the wing on his shoulder.
Tirek blinked in surprise as he asked. "What?"
"I can sense you are sad, Tirek," Chrysalis sympathetically told her lover. "That you want a Father's Day to be proud of. But, aren't you already a father yourself to Cozy Glow? She respects you for who you are, you taught her everything she knew and if it weren't for you, she could be…"
"I am aware of what would happen," Tirek sighed, brushing Chrysalis' wing off of his shoulder. "Grogar would have killed Cozy and those clones of yours would have done equal damage upon her. It's just that…I would like a son to sympathize with me, develop a common ground and understanding. It's not the same having Cozy Glow."
Tirek took a deep breath and stuck the knife he was using in the cutting board.
"Perhaps you will find that son someday," Chrysalis suggested before turning to leave the kitchen. "Now don't take too long. We have to leave for the school in a while."
So Tirek returned to his duties, trying to come to terms of possibly not having a son figure in his life despite having the next best thing.
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Meanwhile, Gallus turned his attention to the one pony he knew could help him with his situation. Approaching the Castle of Friendship, Gallus looked up and called out in a loud voice."Professor! PROFESSOR LU-LU-LUNA! PROFESSOR!"
A few moments later, Luna stepped out of the castle wearing a pink top and gray bottoms, causing Gallus to become confused. "Um, who are you and where is Professor Luna?" He asked, causing Luna to give Gallus a look.
"It is me," Luna corrected. "Headmare Starlight asked us to look 'professional' for tonight's open house. Anyways, this is about the assignment my sister gave you, yes?"
"How did you know that?" Gallus commented in surprise.
"I have my ways," Luna vaguely replied. "I am aware of what my sister assigned to you. I know how sensitive it is for you, especially after you tried to make peace with him."
"Professor Luna," Gallus sighed as Luna helped him into the castle. "It's not just the assignment. If you want me to create a pretend father figure, I can do that. But.."
As Gallus walked into the castle, he looked over to a pair of pictures on the high wall next to the stairs that showed a picture of Twilight dancing with her father, Night Light, at her two coronations.
"It would be nice if I could have a living father figure in my life instead, even just for a little while," The young griffon confessed. "Someone who understands what I'm going through."
Luna sighed in solidarity with her student as Gallus took a deeper look at the two pictures from Twilight's coronations. The more he studied the pictures, the more despondent he became.
"It's going to take time for you to move on without even a surrogate father," Luna reassured the child as she extended a hoof to him. "But never forget that we are all on your side, Gallus."
This made Gallus feel slightly better, but he still felt like a father figure in his life was missing.
"Luna?" A voice called as Celestia came down the stairs wearing a yellow jacket, purple striped undershirt and purple pants, holding a pair of purple dress boots in her aura. "You forgot your boots."
"Thanks, sister." Luna replied, taking the boots from Celestia, who then took notice of Gallus' presence.
"Oh, Gallus? I didn't expect you here," Celestia blinked in surprise and tried to quickly regain her composure. "Silverstream and I were talking about you."
"Silverstream?" Gallus looked up and saw his girlfriend coming down the stairs wearing the same dress she'd worn for Twilight's second coronation. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, just getting ready for tonight's open house," Silverstream sheepishly replied. "I thought about dressing up 'cause it sounded like fun. You don't mind, do you?"
Naturally, Gallus was stammered by his girlfriend's appearance, but he quickly corrected himself. "N..no, I don't mind at all."
Silverstream quickly noticed that Gallus seemed more distracted than usual. "This is about the Father's Day assignment, isn't it?"
"Gallus?" Celestia wondered with a worried look on her face. "What about the assignment? Is there something I should know? Is there something wrong with it?"
"There's nothing wrong about it," Gallus corrected himself while chuckling nervously. "It's just that I was saying to Professor Luna that it would be nice to have my own father figure at some point. A real father, not like my dad or Grandpa Gruff." Thinking that his professor would be upset with him, Gallus stepped back and waited for Celestia's response.
"I know that this is a difficult assignment for you, Gallus, let alone a difficult holiday," Celestia spoke up. "But do you think that maybe you should cut your father some…?"
"-What?! No! NEVER!" Gallus cried while pushing Celestia back with his claws! "Cut him some slack for one day?! That's the last thing I want to have happen! If I write a letter to him, it would be nothing but anger. You know that! How can I ever forgive him for what he did?! He made me what I am!"
Celestia, Luna and Silverstream were all taken aback by Gallus' sudden outburst of anger!
"Gallus, remember what you said that day we all visited your dad's grave?" Silverstream asked, calmly walking over to Gallus. "That you are thankful that thanks to him, you came to me and the others. Remember that?"
This made Gallus calm down slightly, feeling slightly embarrassed by his actions. "Okay, okay, okay, I do remember what we did that day," Gallus corrected. "And I made my peace with my dad on that one issue, but that's it. If he was alive, I would denounce him the same way! And that aside, who would possibly want an orphaned griffon for a son figure?"
Knowing that he needed to clear his mind, Gallus took off out of the castle and left Celestia, Luna and Silverstream in disbelief.
"Gallus, wait!" Silverstream called! But it was too late, Gallus had already raced away back to the Treehouse of Friendship.
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Later that afternoon, Chrysalis and Tirek had left Cozy Glow in the care of Scorpan and were under escort to the School of Friendship.
As they walked through Ponyville, Tirek could see father and son ponies and creatures doing various activities in anticipation of the upcoming day, which made the centaur more than a little sentimental. "Look at them all," Tirek whispered to himself. "Fathers and sons being together. How come I never had that opportunity?"
"You really want a son, don't you?" Chrysalis spoke up. "A son to call your own? A brother for Cozy Glow? It would be strange, our child being a centaur/changeling creature. It's not going to be possible, so put your dreams away for another day."
"No, not like that, Chrysalis!" Tirek corrected himself as he blushed. "I mean…just a young creature who would look up to me and would want to learn from me."
But Chrysalis had different thoughts on Tirek's dreams and desires. "Um, who in Equestria would want to consider you a father to them after all you have done?"
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Suddenly, Tirek happened to spot Gallus flying back in the direction of the School of Friendship. And right away, he began to pick up strange feelings about Gallus, almost an aura-like feeling. "Maybe this creature, this griffon…" He thought to himself.
Sure enough, the two creatures arrived at the School of Friendship as parents and guardians of the students were arriving. Making their way inside, Tirek and Chrysalis joined the crowds gathered in the front lobby, waiting for Starlight Glimmer to welcome them.
But Tirek had other ideas. "Chrysalis, I'll be back." He whispered, much to Chrysalis' shock.
"Where are you going?! To get yourself thrown back into Tartarus?!" Chrysalis nervously asked, fearing another "Teddy" incident.
"No, just cover for me." Tirek pleaded with the love of his life.
Using the ensuing crowd as a cover, Tirek proceeded to follow the source of the disturbance and sure enough, he made his way to the school's dormitory and soon came up to the dorm room where Gallus was hiding.
Taking a deep breath, Tirek knocked on the door.
"Go away, I'm busy!" Gallus cried. But Tirek didn't comply and entered the dorm, seeing Gallus throwing a ball of paper at the ceiling over and over again. "I said…" But upon seeing Tirek, the griffon flinched! "What are you doing here, Tirek?! You aren't here to steal my magic, are you?!"
"No, I don't do that anymore," Tirek replied, shutting the door behind him as he approached Gallus. "I sensed a disturbance coming from in here."
"There's no disturbance here except you!" Gallus shouted, taking the ball of paper and throwing it into the wastebasket!
But Tirek caught the paper and opened it up, seeing that some words in the form of a letter were written on it. Looking deeply at what was written, Tirek began to get a feeling that Gallus was in the same boat as him.
"If you are wondering what's on that paper, it's something that doesn't concern you." Gallus coldly and sharply rapped.
But Tirek saw otherwise. "It actually does," He somberly replied while placing the paper on the desk. "You are troubled, young griffon. You want a father in your life, don't you? An actual father."
"So? Why does it concern you: A centaur who just goes around absorbing magic from creatures and ponies?" Gallus snorted. "What could you possibly understand about my dilemma?"
The negative feeling in Gallus' voice caused Tirek to feel sorry for him. "Perhaps because I feel the same way as you. You were writing something to your father, weren't you?"
Gallus shook his head in denial. "No, not my father. He put me in this situation, and the only good thing he ever did was bring me and my friends closer together. I don't owe him anything!"
Taking a deep sigh, Tirek tried to gain a feeling and understanding for Gallus. "What did he do to you?"
Gallus looked away in disappointment when asked the question. Still, he eventually confessed. "He had a dream to make Griffonstone a place where animosity never even existed. But when faced with the truth, he killed my mother and then himself."
Tirek looked up at the ceiling and contemplated everything that Gallus had said. Like Gallus, he too had a father who had been deluded and uncaring.
"My father was much worse," Tirek sighed. "He beat me and abused me because he needed a punching bag, told me that I would never amount to anything. Why did I turn to a life of crime? Because I always lived in his shadow, and he intended to keep me in his shadow. I wanted nothing more than to prove him wrong."
This made Gallus open his eyes and focus all his attention on Tirek. Immediately, the griffon and the centaur began to connect in more ways than one.
"Most ponies and creatures see me as nothing but a magic absorbing monster…but if anyone knew the whole truth, then perhaps…" Tirek started to trail off.
"Then, why don't you speak about what happened to you, Tirek?" Gallus encouraged the centaur. "I've tried to reveal the truth to other creatures besides my friends, but that's easier said than done."
Immediately, Tirek extended his claw out to Gallus and the two creatures developed a close bond with one another that made it seem like, for a moment, their mutual pain was gone.
A little while later, Tirek returned to the lobby just as the parents and guardians were leaving. Chrysalis arrived and looked furiously at Tirek. "Where were you?!" She flounced and grumbled. "I had to go to all of Cozy's classes by myself!"
"I have something more important to reveal to you," Tirek declared. "I think I may have gained a son."
"In what way?" Chrysalis asked.
Tirek didn't answer, but he felt like a piece of him had been healed thanks to his encounter with Gallus.
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The next morning, Gallus was back at the Treehouse of Friendship, writing his assignment for Father's Day: A letter to his new father figure, Lord Tirek. Signing the letter, Gallus felt the weight of the world lifted off of his shoulders, knowing he now had a creature to sympathize with him in his struggles.
"Gallus?" Silverstream called as she entered the Treehouse of Friendship.
"Hey Silverstream," Gallus acknowledged. "I finally finished my assignment for Professor Celestia's class. Want to listen to it?"
Suspecting nothing, Silverstream nodded. "Sure. I always have time for you, Gallus."
So Gallus read the letter to his girlfriend as she and Gallus' pet cockatrice Archie listened, grateful to know that he had now found a figure who understood him and the struggles he endured.
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A little weird to have a Father's Day episode the week after Father's Day, not that I'm complaining.
i just read the chapter before this and then i read this one they are both good chapters
Wonder how Spike felt about Father's Day due to his situation?
This chapter hit me quite hard due to a similar scenario I went through.
With the grandpa who raised me passing away last year while my actual dad is an asshole who ditched me twice(and a whole lot of problems)
11283695 Sorry to hear that about your father. But I think there's a saying that goes something like: "You can't choose the family you're born into. But you can choose the family you want to be part of."