🕑 Added 2015-01-09 01:38:19 +0000 UTC
Comic Link: http://www.patreon.com/creation?hid=1484794&rf=369938
The story of Gift was to carry forward the spirit of Mother’s day. When the story first came to mind, I was already aware that the story has a potential to be a huge emotional piece. Therefore I also worried that it could end up becoming a superficial tear-jerker which lacks thoughtfulness and meaning. So I knew that I need to carefully manage the plot and avoid being too dramatic.
While intimate actions are tend to bring the emotions of care and affection, excessively using intimate scenes would result in shallowness for the story, making it like some kind of second-rate romantic fiction. Therefore I decided focusing more on the implicit symbols. The magic food “Heart Warmer”, which the animals striving after, means that the very thing the critters are pursuing is the thing that could warm up Fluttershy. However, due to noticing the critters abnormal fatigue, Fluttershy buy a jar as well. In here, this one is full of the mother's love. The unconditional love of mother once again fell upon the animals' hand in the form of food. However, the critters return all these love back to the Pegasus, representing the spirit of Mother's Day. Then comes the most crucial part, with a very tiny bite on the food, the Pegasus receive the appreciation entrusted within it and overflowed by the emotions which well up the tears. In here, I want to express the belief that to touch another soul will still require some form of material based favor. However, the tiny biting represent that if the emotion is enough strong, a small enlightenment would be sufficient. This could be further evidenced as, in the end, all jars are still full.
Overall, I deliberately avoid intimate scenes because I am highly concerned that it would end up weakening the other things I want to present. In fact, I was even trying to think of if there's any way that doesn't require Fluttershy crying. However, later I found that I really need those tears to express the emotion.
Other Fact:
1. In the last critters’ working scene, the ponies who sit in front of the tables are ponylized version of China and Taiwan from Hetalia Axis Power.
2. The modern art that made by CMC are actually the table CMC broke back in S1E17.
