Raven Rawne

@UltimateGhost3 Yeah, sure. Are you thinking about a front view, 3/4 or maybe side view? Any particular expression? Also, since a part of his neck will be portrayed, do you want a "Count Dracula" high collar to that cloak, or the usual pulled down hood? aybe a special clasp to keep it wrapped around his neck?

@Nightmare Season The mint mare bobbed her head to the sides, as if weighting some options. "I guess that's one way to get some headstart, but with his resources, there's no way we can stay out of his reach forever. And I'm pretty sure he will learn to tie loose ends soon enough... Aaaand I'm talking to myself." Natural Order sighed and leaned on the crossbow she still held in her forelegs. Peony fell asleep, sitting on the bed. This discussion will here to wait. With some reluctance, the earth pony got up and eased the unicorn into a proper sleeping position, and decided to lay down herself - her aching hooves sure didn't protest to that. All in all, they spent a week end route. Which meant that most of the edible supplies from the wagon had to be taken out and used up before they got spoiled. All that remained was some dried food, a hay based mix she kept as a last resort. At least the long voyage meant she could rest properly. Seeing the unfamiliar, rocky land on the horizon, and that ominous shape of what had to be Griffonstone proper, up on a great rock ledge, made the mint mare anxious. She never really got to know even one griffon, just some passing contacts. And now they were in their territory. Plus, her impeccable navigation skills went to Tartarus since she never even saw the map of this area! Not to mention setting hoof. So it was little surprise that, when the ship moored to a local pier that was clearly meant for small fishing boats, rather than ocean going vessels, and the wagon was eased down onto the creaky wooden deck, Natural was less than thrilled about venturing forth. Especially with the undisclosed matter if a certain red stallion on their tail... if only there was a way to send him back where he came from. Hearing the inquiry, she scratched her neck and slightly tugged forward to check if the harness was sitting well. "I guess? The sooner we find them the better." They took off from the small local port and went into the unknown, rocky land. "Soooo... any idea where to start? We could try and ask for a guide, but I'm not sure if we can trust any. Or where this flower grows. Or... I guess you get what I mean, I've no idea where to start."

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer Natural Order bobbed her head side to side, as if weighting her options. "Weeell the leather was supposed to buy you a discount on those tools..." She glanced at the filly. "Just exactly what parts did you keep then? I'm not very familiar with Canterlot, it's expensive to stay in and I never had good deals there, but I can ask the innkeeper or some other ponies I know if they have an idea who could shell some cash for those things." She saw a few pony figures out in the Orchard further away. A peek onto the Sun confirmed it was... eight AM? Something like that. Still early, but around the time ponies started work. "Seems we'll be one if the first customers today. There's a leatherworking workshop on the outskirts, I bought their leather bags and such a few times. I reckon that'll be our first stop."

As far as I'm concerned, you can repost it anywhere you want. Really, I pretty much expect that everyone who requests me will repost it somewhere. And since I haven't come up with a fancy artistc sig yet, sure, crediting me would be nice too.

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer Natural Order cocked an eyebrow. "Could be so, yes. I planned to visit home in a month or two, in fact. Guess you might have a chance to see for yourself." She fell silent for a moment, appraetnly thinking about something as they finally set hoof on the dirt road they were headed to. Now it was just a matter of minutes before they clear the hills and see Ponyville proper. The mint mare finally spoke up, pouting slightly. "I did some math and, I guess I can afford to stay like, three days in Canterlot before I run too low on bits. We'll have to rent a room or park outside the city walls, you see. So I'd rather take the room in some cheap locale. And since Ponyville isn't exactly far from it, I can't think of anything I could ferry for sale. The herbs I have from the Forest won't amount to much, even if I find an Alchemist od Apothecary that will buy them. Wanted to dry them up and sell back home, you see... Anyideas on how to earn some bits while we try and net you that audiion with the Princess? Cause it might not exactly be an easy feat."

@Photon Jet Uff, after an eternity and a half, I'm finally done with your request! What do you think? I had to simply things a bit since I'm not terribly good with vegetation yet.

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer The mint mare kept a watchful eye on her surroundings as they walked, her head slowly panning to the sides with practiced ease. They might have been clear of the Forest proper, but ponies said things sometimes crept out of it anyway. That, and there was no path to follow, just a grassy patch of unused land. No wonder nopony wanted to farm it. She glanced at the filly and nodded at her inquiry. "I don't mind you asking, no worries." After a slight pause to gather her thoughts, Natural contined. "My parents work in a smeltery in Tall Tale. Mom's an office clerk and dad a forepony. Honest jobs, but I guess I'm not cut for a nine to five arrangement... So I looked for some other kind of job. One that wouldn't tie me down to a desk or make me toil for most of the day, every day. Aaaaand that's how I ended up like this. Doing whatever I want, whenever I want. Gather stuff for sale, do odd jobs, make use of the crossbow every now and then..." She looked up at the sky, and it brightened her expresion somewhat. "Wouldn't want it any other way, but, yeah, sometimes it gets lonely on the trail. And mom frets every time I don't write at least once per month. She gave me the crossbow as a parting gift before I took off for the first time, you see. Ah, there's the road up ahead, Ponyville should be just on the other side of those hills." They contined, undisturbed by nypony else, towards the dirt path leading through the fields that started to pop up just now.

@Dark Horse Crystal Clear sifted through the documents strewn all over the floor. Mostly gibberish to her, so it obviously were the town records of some sort. And if the dates were right, some were decades old! Apparently ponies made a community here for generations, and even made some rudimentary attempts to install a form of local goverment. Heartwarming, to say the least - all around the ultimate measure of power and justice was gun caliber... As Saffron moved closer to the Mayor's remains to examine his peculiar crown, Crystal Clear couldn't help but glance with some uncertainty. Whatever it was, it clearly malfunctioned and Heart knew what it was supposed to do in the first place. "Careful..." - She urged as he took a look at it, but resumed her yet fruitless search on the floor, if only to avoid seeing the deceased stallion. Corpses always did that to her, even back at home... The thought made her sigh deeply, and run a hoof over her pins. Sometimes she wondered why she even kept this getup, useless as it was, and only raised more eyebrows at her. She stirred from her daydream after hearing her comapnion call out to her, and looked up, confused at first. "Whaa? Oh, right. Well they did awful lot of paperwork, and for decades too, so, that's one thing to note. Damn shame the place was wiped out... But on a more tangible note, whoever trashed this office clearly looked for stuff, so while birth certificates and other documents may be interesting to some, I think there's one more place worth checking." - she pointed at the desk, and approached it from the mayor's side. "Help me move the chair away, will ya? Heart, Ill never get used to this..." She winced once came so close to the corpse, and even more so as they moved the chair away from the desk. But, with one problem out of the way, the access to drawers was open, and that's what the mare was after. "Figured they could be left alone based on how he was seated." She opened the first one, but it had mostly some salvaged writing utensils, and clean paper sheets. The second one contained a pipe revolver, but no spare ammo beyond the five rounds in it. "They always keep some surprises in those desks, don't they?" However, before she tossed the small cabinet on the other side of the desk ioen, something caught her eye. "Waaait..." The mare took out the shelf and put it on the desk proper, and took a closer look at it. With a smirk, sheput it upside down, and a wooden thud was heard. Then Crystal raised the upturned drawer into the air, they saw a notebook resting atop a fake drawer bottom. "Clever one. I used to have something simillar, but much more sophisticated. And I didn't hide my secret diary in there..." The small closet turned out to hide a bottle of something that could be alcohol, but there was no label on it. still nthat didn't dissuade the mare from pulling the cork and taking a whiff. "Uhh, strong stuff. Think I found my glorious loot right here.". She rubbed the bottle affectionately, but paused to take care of more pressing matters, and put it on the desk next to the revolver. "Any luck with that notebook, hmm?"

@TimeyMarey007 Sure, I'll give it a try. The city background can be tricky but Manehattan would fill the bill.

@TimeyMarey007 Sure, but can't promise when I'lI complete the work. As you can see I have several on the list, and two are detailed full scenes. But that you already know, so what would you like to get for your friend? Any specific poses or scenes? And ofc toss the reference my way.

Just in case anyone wondered where I went, I'm still alive. Just working on solidifying my style and trying to come up with new and improved techniques, whenever I had some free time that is. I may add color touches with those kid markers I have laying in a drawer, but first I need to check how they fare on the copy paper I draw on. And of course there's the untapped potential of exploring ink wash. But I should get back to posting finished requests soon.

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer The mare thought fir a moment about her reply, then looked at the filly with a reassuring smile. She seemed to be about to pat her head but apparently decided against it. "It can be a bit weird at times, and I guess I should warn you about Pinkie Pie - if she's in town, there no way we'll avoid her greeting you into Ponyville... but no worries, she's just easily excitable, from what I've heard. Other than that, it's just another Equestrian town. A bit on the sidelines of things, no major roads crossing it. I like staying there for a few days when I want to feel some civilisation every now and then." She directed the wagon to avoid bumping into some tangled roots that would be hard to traverse. "And honestly, I don't think they'll react in any special way towards you. With curiosity maybe, not many thestrals leave Hollow Shades, or other enclaves for that matter."

@Mickey Adaptus As the siblings listened, Second Wind helped himself to another cut Ifof pizza, which was met with a sideways glance from his sister. Like she wanted to remind him not to eat it all. He just shrugged, so Gold Rush decided to continue the conversation. "That... doesn't sound too good. You still have like, ten years before reaching adulthood so it's not like you can't change your life for the better. I guess we can act as your... fake family members for a while, but only if you make some effort to get yourself together and start working on becoming a proper citizen of Equestria. I'd hate to know I allowed you to end up in some back alley with a stab wound, but I can't risk our lives either." She took a glance at her brother who, despite being preoccupied with his plate, was in fact paying close attention to her little speech. He nodded slightly, and she continued, leaning towards the colt. "So here are my terms: you can stay with us and we'll provide you with all a house should have. No more nights Celestia knows where, and stealing food. But, I expect you to think about your future, and act on those thoughts. We're no teachers, but we can at least try to help you fill some gaps in your education, and if you want, we can show you the ropes of locksmithing. For legal means, as it will be official, in order to give you trade rights after your course is complete. Or we can help you get into some other legal line of work if you're interested." Now her brother took over, seeing Gold paused to gather her thoughts. "I guess we could lend you the rest of the debt, just to close that case, buuut we're not exactly charity. So I guess you should pay us, but in your own pace and not a single bit over the sum we ponied up." He shrugged. "Guess since there's slim chances you'll get paid for learning honest jobs, we could either wait till you do, or maybe there will be some low risk gigs from the stealing department. But I'll be dammed if I try to make you steal to pay us back. That wouldn't be fair at all." Gold Rush finished mulling over her thoughts. "I know it's a bit much, and very sudden, so I don't expect an answer right away. Sleep on it, we can wait for an answer. Now I guess we should pick up the pace, or this pizza will get cold. Or Second eats it all." The stallion made a face of mock surprise, but said nothing.

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer Natural simply nodded, and went to the back of the wagon to check everything one last time - whether the wondow shutters were closed, and everything was tied down inside. Finally, she closed the doors too and went back to put the harnes on. "Now I'm ready. Just give me a sec to turn around, figures best route will be the way I came in. Sure you don't want to take anything from the place you lived in?" She took a deep breath, and started rocking the wagon back and forth, easing it from the grip of soft soil after being parked for the night. Soon, the petite mare was fine manouvering it to make a 180 degrees tur, even if it took like, twenty back and forths to do so. But it was clear she had ample practice, making the whole thing look like she was moving her tail, not a heavy, two axle wagon. "Feels good to finally leave... I wouldn't even consider walking into the Forest if the bits weren't so good but, whatever. Let's get you to Canterlot, and we'll worry about the harder part of your plan later." She took a step forward and rocked the wagon a few times, then started walking for real, back where she came from, and then to Ponyville.

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer The mint mare took the opportunity to store her gathered firewood, simply by tying it up with one of the short ropes she had and putting it all deep in the wagon. Now they had some less free space in there but, she wasn't concerned. Natural replied to the inquiry. "Once we get clear of three forest proper, we can either go through Ponyville or aim straight for the road to Canterlot. I have enough supplied for this short trip, but if you need anything, Ponyville will have it way cheaper. Like those tools you mentioned, for example." She walked outside and decided to put the bulky crossbow back on it's resting place at the front, but stopped to look at Astral's leather. "Hmm, seems sturdy. Who knew monsters could be a source of quality leather? Maybe they'll buy any scraps you'll end up with in Ponyville too. Or at least take them for a discount to fix your tools... So, I'm ready to go. Wanna get into the wagon and work inside or stash your stuff and walk with me? Oh and I guess we should stop by your place? To grab all that's useful or can be sold?"

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer The mare enjoyed her smoke uninterrupted. it helped her set her mind at ease, consideing where she was. There was also the issue of going to Canterlot, so she had time to set some rudimentary plans, count her expenses, that sort of thing. As the tobacco urned entirely, Natural Order cleaned the pipe and put it back into the hat's fold. Astral haven't woken up yet, so she had to do something to pass the time, and quetly too. After some back and forth, the mint mare decided to gather up some branches tfor thefire this evening - they will be out on the road, with no firewood nearby, and she didn't have much stocked up. Natural carefully picked up her axe and walked around the wagon to pick up whatever she could find. She heard Astral calling out from the wagon some time later. She had a nice stack of more or less prepped branches for the fire, even if most were damp, so it was er cue to get back. "I'm here, just went to gather some firewood for the evening. Slept well?" Natural Order approached from the front of the wagon and set aside her axe and firewood, then looked up into the small patch of clear sky that was fisible in the clearing. "I guess that's as good time to go as any, yeah. Let's pack up and get this show on he road then, yes? I for once wouldn't mind leaving the Everfree, it's never a pleasant trip for me."

@Goddess Sunset Shimmer The mint mare emptied her bowl and looed inside of it to make sure of it. With a slight pout at her unfortunate discovery, she refocused her attention to Astral, and nodded. "Could be done, but we'll have to get a spot in the inn anyway for as long as we stay, so no need to stock up." She then got up and gathered the plates to clean them up with some water before putting them back where they belong. She sometimes glanced at the wotking filly, still finding it hard to believe she can actually do all those things on her own. Natural perked her ears at the inquiry. "Sure thing, you were up all night, makes sense you feel tired. You know where's the pillow, and the other things are in the corner next to the stove. Not the softest bedding but, I grew to like it that way, to be honest." As her companiongot ready for that nap, she tossed another offer, and Natural couldn't hel but raise a curious eyebrow. "The harness is a wee too big for you I'm afraid. Besides, Canterlot isn't that far away, I'll get us there, no worries." She left the batpony to have her rest inside the illusive safety of the wagon. now it was her time to "take watch", and Natural picked a spot by the stairs to sit down. Her crossbow within hoof reach, axe on the other side - she reasoned that the foliage was too thick around the clearing for her to see any danger in time to take the shot. Still somehow she wasn't too concerned with her wherabouts in the moment. Instead, she took off her hat and took out a small pouch of tobacco that was strapped within, and then a pipe that found it's resting place between the hat's folded sides. The mare methodically loaded the pipe and then put the hat back on, with the pouch hidden inside, but didn't have matches on her to light it. With a slight grunt, Natural went back to the wagon, making sure not to wake up Astral. A quick sweep provided her with the necessary firestarter and she sat back in her spot, indulging her vice in slow puffs.

@AJFan89 Just finished the new drawing: Thoughts? Personally I noticed I feel more comfortable with ink. Since I haven't done pencil for a month, it was a nice chance to compare which I like better.

@AJFan89 Hmm, strange. Thankfully I keep the originals in a secret stash. You asked for a mare with a Pikachu Cutie Mark, right? I have it on paper but, as already said in the post you quoted, I think I'll do it again. If you could send me the reference pic again, I'll draw a new one.

@Photon Jet So I just derped a sketch, and then decided to loosely ink it to ask you for your opinion before I start another one. Check the attachment and tell me if this basic setting is okay with you. Back gardens can mean all kinds of things, after all. I'll add more flower pots on the right. Also, does his mane look more like in your avatar or the drawing you linked? Cause it's a bit confusing.