Stradiverra Contemplates

Once upon a time, there was a pegasus who was strong, brave, and driven. She welcomed hardship with open wings so that others would remain safe, and rushed head-on into a runaway blizzard just because other ponies needed her to. The harsh winds swatted her into the mountainside, dashing her against the rocks and shattering her wings. Days later, the rest of her team found what remained, stranded, frostbitten, hypothermic, and on death's very doorstep.

The mare who returned from the mountain was timid and hesitant, and only reattained some form of self-reliance again after years of intensive physical therapy. She discovered a talent for stringed instruments, but never flew again...

Sometimes, when it snows, she ventures out into the cold, watching the sky, as if, somehow, the pony she once was might still be out there.

"This is not, nor will it ever be, the story about how you 'saved me'. You're not my hero--I was my hero... lost somewhere, out here, in the snow."

-

This is a pony very dear to me, both as a character and a person with a character. I hope you'll find even half as much satisfaction viewing this portrait as I felt in making it. Some pictures just deserve to be drawn. ^_^

That said, I still feel I could have done better. I feel the composition is a little cramped. There could have been more space in the scene, more detail in the background and foreground objects, more nuance to the lighting and scene ambiance. It was just that, I got to a certain point and realized that the picture was as done as it was going to be. It would have been wrong to try and change it further. Maybe if it were perfect, it would have missed the point, though... so I can't say I'm not satisfied.