Faraway Mysteries

... The most bizarre thing that ever happened to me during all my travels was, without a doubt, the encounter in the northern mountains during my fourth expedition away from the lands of Equestria. I was nearing the end of my return journey from the land of the Griffons when a most terrible storm was blown in from the south by sudden winds, and its might cast my balloon far off course and into the deep northern ranges. I did not dare to leave it among such a terrible gale, but I was forced to abandon it once it finally subsided, as the supply of fuel had almost run out. Taking only the bare necessities and my notes, I set out towards southwest, away from the storm and across the mountains, hoping that my wings would be strong enough to help me reach civilization or at least a more hospitable locale, for the region my balloon came down in was composed of nothing but rough rocks and ice. Furthermore, the sun was already setting, and although pegasi are somewhat resistant to cold, I could only survive such beastly conditions by constantly moving.

The wind was favorable and helped me cover a great distance, and about an hour after the moonset I finally chanced upon a deep, cloudy valley with a stream at the bottom and a forest of pine on its slopes. I was about to land and set up camp, but then an odd flickering light in the unusually thick mists at the opposite edge drew my attention; naturally, I had to investigate and see whether it was a threat or perhaps a sign of life. But what I found was something else entirely.

At the forefront of a great stretch of cloud coming down the mountain there was a shape looking exactly like that of a pony, one with both a horn and a pair of wings, as impressive in size as one of their Royal Majesties and composed entirely of an illuminated golden fog or mist that was strewn with glinting sparks of yellowish light that shone like little stars. It was shrouded in a cloak of white that appeared to be composed not of cloth, but rather of cloud, and was billowing and streaming behind it, expanding into the great stretch of mist and clouds I saw, and a pathway of fog formed itself ahead of it so that it trod continuously onward.

I attempted to hail this apparition when I got close enough for a pony to hear, but got no response and decided to come in even closer. It was then when I suddenly felt a bewildering surge of emotions of all kinds came over me, from anger to contenment to sorrow to incredibly strong directionless love, but all of them shifting towards the pleasant, and my mind was filled with a slight din that felt like a distant, haunting song of a grand chorus of voices, alien, but at the same time peaceful and calming. But when I came face to face with the figure and looked into where its face would be, a great, indescribable terror came over me, and the sound in my head became a horrible shrieking wail; I could do nothing but dash away and fly as fast as my wings could carry me.

I flew for what felt like hours, and I confess that I would probably have fallen from exhaustion under normal circumstances. But the terror persisted and drove me on; I believed the ghost was right behind me, ready to claim me should I dare to stop or even turn around to look. At dawn, I reached the farthest point of the northbound railroad Her Majesty Princess Celestia was having constructed at the time, past where I could keep flying no longer. Fortunately, I was promptly recovered by the construction crews, whose members later told me that I looked as if I had escaped from Tartarus.

After a brief recovery at the workers' camp, where I was hospitably granted all I required, I made for Canterlot to immediately consult the Royal Archives, for never before have I seen anything like what I found during my unexpected detour. Regrettably, even the Archives' vast body of documents showed no indication not only of any such encounter or happening, but even of recorded pony exploration, much less settlement, of those forlorn peaks and valleys. Over the following months I toured the archives of all Equestrian towns, big and small, but to very little avail. To this day, many years since that time, the encounter with the thing in the mountains remains a complete mystery, and although I searched for that place several times in my subsequent expeditions, I was never able to find it again.

Now that the railroad to the north is complete and the Crystal Empire has appeared in a most unexpected and marvelous fashion, exploration of those faraway mountains will be easier to undertake, and perhaps the readers of these memoirs will be among those brave ponies who will dare to chart them. If you are of this adventurous spirit, I urge you to take heed and, should you find that eerie valley, be prepared, cautious and courageous where I was not.

—Excerpt from the memoirs of Compass Rose, renowned explorer

It's done. IT'S FINALLY DONE! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I've been working on this picture on and off since August. The actual time I spent working is probably a few hours, but I kept on procrastinating and foolishly putting working on it off more and more, and often only changed a few strokes in a week. I should really just get down and art sometimes, which is exactly how I managed to finally complete this.

This piece's alternative title could very well be "The Triumph of the Blur Tools", because those account for about 70% of what you see above in one way or another. I started out a complete novice in blurring things, but over time I learned to handle those tools, and in the final phases they allowed me to make the picture look more or less the way it was in my mind.

I used a few of the easily found dA-posted tutorials for creating the night sky, and used a detailed photo as a reference.

Not much more to say other than that it isn't necessary to read the wall of text above, as it's a little story of the kind that I love attaching to my (and others') work, but which is not obligatory to understand or enjoy it.

I hope making the next piece, whichever it will be, won't take me nearly as long. Quit procrastinating, me, there's pony to draw!