Ten years of pastel ponies. Well, first off I say: Thank you all! I know we don't converse. Fellow lurkers.

On the 5th of November 2012, it all started for me. What a ride. It has had its ups and downs, I won't deny. I also cannot deny that there's been a sense of being part of something. Though it's kinda fading now from its golden years. I have not done much participation personally, reaching out, that sort of thing. I just drew some ponies and enjoyed what others had done. Not forgetting the show itself. Great times on screen and off screen. You naughty, naughty fans. Ah, fun times. It made it all so much better.
I've seen all the episodes at least twice over, no doubt. Some specific ones much more. Like, the one with Daybreaker, Pony of Shadows, and the 3 villains together getting the bell. The first season built a good foundation. So let us not speak of the end.

Usually I'd see my works pop up at other sites which I didn't personally post there. Often on the very same day. I guess others saw them fit for use. I am flattered. Really.
As a question: For all these years, was I just riding on the fandom's wing as an 'artist'? I'd like to think I didn't. But I've betrayed myself to an extent. Everything else I have drawn before all this took a backseat. Yet had I not enjoyed drawing fanart I probably would have stopped it long ago. Doing something only because it's popular or trendy seems and feels so wrong to me. If what one enjoys doing is also something with a great audience, I'm not one to complain about that.

It has always been quite the balancing act. Still is. As I've tried to push out an image a week that has enough visual quality for me to be at least content with. If I count everything, even the simpler pieces, like a sketch or comic panel, I've roughly reached that weekly goal over the years. However I haven't shown all of them of course. I've spared you from so much fun. Hah. So many plots. So many things still in the works, buried in the pile of sketches and written notes. I wonder if I'll ever get the best of them out. Maybe I'll make something special, or dig up some old things and renew them in honor of this decade long ride. If they're viewed I'd prolly keep posting some.

Back when I started keeping myself occupied with drawing fanart, it also helped me stop smoking. I've only puffed a few cigars since, never inhaling. In that sense all this was a healthy thing, too. The bad part is perhaps the sleepless nights. Don't we all know it?
As much as I enjoyed making the ponies it sometimes felt pointless. I have once flipped the desk metaphorically. Only when I was not drawing for couple weeks, or a bit more, I remembered what I was missing. Then I had a whole year (2021-2022) when I barely made any progress for serious improvement. Just recently I've taken steps towards really trying new things. The stuff I've learned recently in roughly 2 months surpasses everything from that one frozen year.

So how to go forward from here then? I guess we'll see. I have poked around more at 'moving pictures' (animation), a little 3D (very little). I can only improve. I just wish it's not too late for me, you know.

I hope you've all had fun times with the cartoon ponies, each in your own way. Regardless of what happens, I wish you the best – may the ride never end.