FA+
Shop
2695
Views
Views
70
Favorites
Favorites
Category
All / All
Species Horse
Size 1280 x 1094
File Size 194.8 kB
Report this content
More from baroncoon
More from my Equestria dreamscape. While Petina was trying to change the course of fashion history there http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6492221 other darker forces were also in motion to. FYI. This story arc has run its course in my head as of last night, but it will take me awhile to draw it all out and post it. They have been some very intense and vivid dreams.
While it was agreed that myself, Petina, Twilight and Spike would stay in Canterlot to help Celestia with figuring out what to do about the Lord of Shadows http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6397186 Twilight wanted to make a quick trip to Ponyville to retrieve some books and notes she had. Celestia agreed but insisted that we return quickly. With no new wardrobe additions this time please.
So along with Rarity we made it back down to Ponyville. Celestia was generous enough to let us use one of the sky chariots to make the trip shorter. It was early afternoon and we had just landed and we were starting to head into the library when we heard the sound of Applejack screaming Twilight's name as she came galloping up. Much to our surprise she grab Twilight and threw her away from the front door of the library. She was screaming hysterically about staying away from the shadows! "they took Applebloom!
Finally we were able to get her calmed down enough to figure out what had happened. Applejack had been working out in the orchards getting them ready for applebucking season. This involved picking up a lot debris from around trees so would not getting in the way of the buckers, and removing any dead branches from the trees they wouldn't fall on them during harvesting. For this the Apple family usually hires some of the local folk to go in and help clean up the orchards.
Applejack had been down the orchards organizing the hired hands and Applebloom had tagged along since she was on summer vacation still and her chores were done. Applejack had been talking to one of the hired hands when suddenly the ground seemed to open up and this black ooze yanked the poor mare down in an instant. Stunned by this she turned just in time to see Applebloom vanish in a similar fashion! One second she was there, the next she'd vanished into the ground!
The first thing that had flashed through Applejack's mind had been sinkholes, but as she ran over it became clear that it was like the ground had just swallowed Applebloom up. Applejack started to dig desperately to reach her younger sister screaming out her name when a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Jumping back just in time she watched as a long black serpentine tendril came out of the shadows around trees and tried to touch her. Then another from a different tree.
It was at this moment that she realized that from all the trees around her the shadows had turned into these black shadowy tendrils. Also she became aware of the sound of shouting, screaming and confusion from the hired hands in the orchards. Then silence. In an instant Applejack intuitively grasped the situation she was in. If those tendrils touched her shadow they'd pull her down to just like Applebloom. She wanted to save her sister but she powerless against this strange power. The first person she thought of was Twilight, but first she had to escape from the orchards!
Instinctively Applejack knew she wanted to be some place where she could avoiding stepping into any other shadows. We could not get a clear answer out her between her sobbing and crying but some how she was able dodge, jump, dash, and run out of the orchards and into one of the neighboring pastures. From there she galloped to Ponyville taking a much longer route but one that avoided all the trees that lined the road. There were shadows there! This is why she'd pulled Twilight away when she showed up. She didn't want her stepping into the shadow of the tree!
Of course for Twilight, Petina, Spike and I this sounded exactly like what Paynes Gray had described when the Lord of Shadows had taken Paynes wife Sunrise. And Applejack's emotional collapse in front of the library was starting to cause a crowd to form. Which we would have really liked have to avoided, but as her story went on we started to see the look of horror growing on faces in the crowd. Soon people were backing away from each other to keep there shadows form crossing another pony's. It was at that moment that I really began to understand the insidious, sinister, nature of the world Paynes had created in his novel "The Kingdom of Shadows". A world where ponies were afraid of their shadow. When day was over more than 15 ponies were missing from around Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight wanted to return to Canterlot immediately but thought if we were seen suddenly getting back into the sky chariot and leaving that the other ponies would think we were abandoning the town to its fate. With a great deal of effort we got Applejack inside the library. As Petina and I tried to help the poor distraught earth pony Twilight had Spike write two letters. One to Celestia and Luna tell them what just happened, and another that Spike delivered personally to the Mayor asking for an immediate meeting before sundown. The Lord of Shadows was making his move.
While it was agreed that myself, Petina, Twilight and Spike would stay in Canterlot to help Celestia with figuring out what to do about the Lord of Shadows http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6397186 Twilight wanted to make a quick trip to Ponyville to retrieve some books and notes she had. Celestia agreed but insisted that we return quickly. With no new wardrobe additions this time please.
So along with Rarity we made it back down to Ponyville. Celestia was generous enough to let us use one of the sky chariots to make the trip shorter. It was early afternoon and we had just landed and we were starting to head into the library when we heard the sound of Applejack screaming Twilight's name as she came galloping up. Much to our surprise she grab Twilight and threw her away from the front door of the library. She was screaming hysterically about staying away from the shadows! "they took Applebloom!
Finally we were able to get her calmed down enough to figure out what had happened. Applejack had been working out in the orchards getting them ready for applebucking season. This involved picking up a lot debris from around trees so would not getting in the way of the buckers, and removing any dead branches from the trees they wouldn't fall on them during harvesting. For this the Apple family usually hires some of the local folk to go in and help clean up the orchards.
Applejack had been down the orchards organizing the hired hands and Applebloom had tagged along since she was on summer vacation still and her chores were done. Applejack had been talking to one of the hired hands when suddenly the ground seemed to open up and this black ooze yanked the poor mare down in an instant. Stunned by this she turned just in time to see Applebloom vanish in a similar fashion! One second she was there, the next she'd vanished into the ground!
The first thing that had flashed through Applejack's mind had been sinkholes, but as she ran over it became clear that it was like the ground had just swallowed Applebloom up. Applejack started to dig desperately to reach her younger sister screaming out her name when a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Jumping back just in time she watched as a long black serpentine tendril came out of the shadows around trees and tried to touch her. Then another from a different tree.
It was at this moment that she realized that from all the trees around her the shadows had turned into these black shadowy tendrils. Also she became aware of the sound of shouting, screaming and confusion from the hired hands in the orchards. Then silence. In an instant Applejack intuitively grasped the situation she was in. If those tendrils touched her shadow they'd pull her down to just like Applebloom. She wanted to save her sister but she powerless against this strange power. The first person she thought of was Twilight, but first she had to escape from the orchards!
Instinctively Applejack knew she wanted to be some place where she could avoiding stepping into any other shadows. We could not get a clear answer out her between her sobbing and crying but some how she was able dodge, jump, dash, and run out of the orchards and into one of the neighboring pastures. From there she galloped to Ponyville taking a much longer route but one that avoided all the trees that lined the road. There were shadows there! This is why she'd pulled Twilight away when she showed up. She didn't want her stepping into the shadow of the tree!
Of course for Twilight, Petina, Spike and I this sounded exactly like what Paynes Gray had described when the Lord of Shadows had taken Paynes wife Sunrise. And Applejack's emotional collapse in front of the library was starting to cause a crowd to form. Which we would have really liked have to avoided, but as her story went on we started to see the look of horror growing on faces in the crowd. Soon people were backing away from each other to keep there shadows form crossing another pony's. It was at that moment that I really began to understand the insidious, sinister, nature of the world Paynes had created in his novel "The Kingdom of Shadows". A world where ponies were afraid of their shadow. When day was over more than 15 ponies were missing from around Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight wanted to return to Canterlot immediately but thought if we were seen suddenly getting back into the sky chariot and leaving that the other ponies would think we were abandoning the town to its fate. With a great deal of effort we got Applejack inside the library. As Petina and I tried to help the poor distraught earth pony Twilight had Spike write two letters. One to Celestia and Luna tell them what just happened, and another that Spike delivered personally to the Mayor asking for an immediate meeting before sundown. The Lord of Shadows was making his move.
Category All / All
Species Horse
Size 1280 x 1094px
File Size 194.8 kB
That's such an amazing horrified expression and pose. How'd you get so good with ponies?
Well one Lauren Faust and crew did some really nice character and concept design to begin with. For simple designs they allow for wide range of posing and expressions. Two I have watched the show extensively and visit Equestria Daily on an almost daily basis.
But I think the one thing that has really help me with drawing them is the fact the dreams have been very vivid so when I am there it really feels as if I'm talking to a person. Not some fuzzy half memory. That is also why the Andur and the Angel and Knight dreamscapes feel so solid. It is more like me describing what I did last night with folks than me trying to remember a dream.
Well one Lauren Faust and crew did some really nice character and concept design to begin with. For simple designs they allow for wide range of posing and expressions. Two I have watched the show extensively and visit Equestria Daily on an almost daily basis.
But I think the one thing that has really help me with drawing them is the fact the dreams have been very vivid so when I am there it really feels as if I'm talking to a person. Not some fuzzy half memory. That is also why the Andur and the Angel and Knight dreamscapes feel so solid. It is more like me describing what I did last night with folks than me trying to remember a dream.
Nah, that can't be it. You must be using magic or something.
You're absolutely right about the expressiveness of the current ponies. As "cutsie" as their design is, they've been made so much more expresive than many other current cartoons, much less the older versions of themselves. You've obviously had a lot of practice with this as well, so it's like a natural pairing.
Work like yours here is what keeps me inspired (even as I'm a bit intimidated).
You're absolutely right about the expressiveness of the current ponies. As "cutsie" as their design is, they've been made so much more expresive than many other current cartoons, much less the older versions of themselves. You've obviously had a lot of practice with this as well, so it's like a natural pairing.
Work like yours here is what keeps me inspired (even as I'm a bit intimidated).
The plot is nearing to a conclusion, I can somehow feel it. Too many lives have, or could have, been taken already since Sunrise's fate. The Lord of Shadows has to be stopped once and for all.
It's funny -I'm a huge follower of your dreams on Equestria and I've become very throughly involved in its dreamscape, say, mythology -but I haven't watched the show. In fact, what I've learned about the show I've learned from your tales.
It's funny -I'm a huge follower of your dreams on Equestria and I've become very throughly involved in its dreamscape, say, mythology -but I haven't watched the show. In fact, what I've learned about the show I've learned from your tales.
Yeah the effect Applejack's story on the other ponies was rather disturbing to behold. Almost every object casts a shadow even glass in the right conditions. Paynes at one point during his talks with Celestia and Luna in the garden effectively gave a reading from a part of "The Kingdom of Shadows". At least what he could remember. He described a world where the ponies would routinely talk about their shadows as their watchers. One was careful what one said and did because you never knew when one's own shadow was watching and listening. Ponies would pray to their own shadow in the hopes that it would speak well on their behalf so they would not be taken to the Land of Shadows and never seen again.
It was as if every pony had their own personal inquisitor or member of the secret police constantly following them. Listening to them. Watching and judging their every action and word. You had to because you never knew when someone was listening, and the worst part was you were the one who created and gave birth to your own tormentor. You cannot run from your own shadow. And even you thought you were on good terms with your shadow you never knew who was watching or listening from every little crack and dark place in the world.
It was as if every pony had their own personal inquisitor or member of the secret police constantly following them. Listening to them. Watching and judging their every action and word. You had to because you never knew when someone was listening, and the worst part was you were the one who created and gave birth to your own tormentor. You cannot run from your own shadow. And even you thought you were on good terms with your shadow you never knew who was watching or listening from every little crack and dark place in the world.
A lot will depend on exactly how "shadow" is defined.
As an area of strong darkness from a clear source of light, there are ways to fend them off. Probably the most efficient if troublesome are causing the air itself to subtly glow or every surface give off light. If light is on every surface, there are no shadows.
But if it's a metaphor or just being where a light source is blocked, everything is in something's shadow, and night is itself a shadow.
Which leads to the unstated conclusion that there must be a Realm of Light in order to cast the Realm of Shadow, probably using a place like Equestria between them to cast it.
As an area of strong darkness from a clear source of light, there are ways to fend them off. Probably the most efficient if troublesome are causing the air itself to subtly glow or every surface give off light. If light is on every surface, there are no shadows.
But if it's a metaphor or just being where a light source is blocked, everything is in something's shadow, and night is itself a shadow.
Which leads to the unstated conclusion that there must be a Realm of Light in order to cast the Realm of Shadow, probably using a place like Equestria between them to cast it.
Yeah were trying to get specifics out Paynes on that subject. It does seem that the weaker the shadow the less powerful it is. Also there might be a realm of light and the physical world. The Land of Casters, where things cast shadow, and the Kingdom of Shadows.
Twilight with Celestia's help has been able to cast a spell over the main part Ponyville that creates a soft glow on everything and everyone. This greatly diffuses the shadows but it is a very temporary fix and ties up energy and concentrations. But she can not extend it to the outlying areas and if you leave the area the spells effect ends. Beyond that you'll have to wait for the next posting.
Twilight with Celestia's help has been able to cast a spell over the main part Ponyville that creates a soft glow on everything and everyone. This greatly diffuses the shadows but it is a very temporary fix and ties up energy and concentrations. But she can not extend it to the outlying areas and if you leave the area the spells effect ends. Beyond that you'll have to wait for the next posting.
Oh no! Not little Applebloom! Dream-pony Baron had better hope that AJ's little sister can be gotten back safe and sound, or else Applejack is going to put him in a world of hurt when she finds out his part in all of this.
And am I alone in thinking that this is starting to sound like a Lovecraft story?
And am I alone in thinking that this is starting to sound like a Lovecraft story?
"His part"? If Applejack doesn't believe she's a figment of Baron's (or maybe Lauren's) imagination, then Baron is as much a victim as any other pony.
And Baron already described Payne Gray's stories as being an "odd mixture of Poe meets Lovecraft." http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6385105/ (I still want to go back and proofread some of your posts, Baron. Reflex, I guess.)
And Baron already described Payne Gray's stories as being an "odd mixture of Poe meets Lovecraft." http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6385105/ (I still want to go back and proofread some of your posts, Baron. Reflex, I guess.)
Thanks for reminding me about the earlier comment on Payne's Grey stories. And with Applejack -- given how much she loves her family, she might be a bit quick to anger right now. She may not care that Baron is being victimized by Payne's Grey too; after all, this all started when he came to Ponyville.
No! Not Applebloom!
Dang, man, the look on Applejack's face in the fourth and last panels are heartbreaking. First the sudden pain and loss of her younger sister, and then sheer terror of being surrounded by eldritch horrors. It pains me to see the normally courageous and stalwart Applejack broken down like this.
Dang, man, the look on Applejack's face in the fourth and last panels are heartbreaking. First the sudden pain and loss of her younger sister, and then sheer terror of being surrounded by eldritch horrors. It pains me to see the normally courageous and stalwart Applejack broken down like this.
Comments