Hey, all.

I know I've been silent for the past little while, and that's because my muse left me until recently. I'd been staring at my 'Pony Work' folder on my Google Drive or on Tumblr, just itching for some form of inspiration. The latter just happened to spark it.

Now, I'm not sure if any of my followers here are active on Tumblr, but for any of those who hang around Tumblrpon (the pony fandom portion of Tumblr) might be vaguely familiar with Ogatamon, who does some Japanese fandubs for FiM and works with Shining Armor Reports as the voice of Princess Cadence. She recently turned twenty-one, and decided to hold a contest. The aim? Draw or write how she (her or her ponysona) would spend her 21st birthday. The prize? A free commission of an OC, fursona or ponysona, a personal message in a voice she can imitate from FiM, or a reading of a fic (no matter how naughty or grimdark). There were two winners, one for the drawing portion, one for the writing portion. I decided to attempt to write something for the hell of it, knowing that I probably wouldn't win, but at least I managed to write again.

...Never did I think that I would actually win.

Apparently it touched her on a sentimental level. It seemed surprisingly realistic to her as to how she would spend her twenty-first birthday (no crowds, nothing too fancy, just with close friends). Imagine my surprise when she posted the winners, and I happened to be one of the two.

After a couple of days deliberating on my prize (it was tough, let me tell you. Either get a free commission of one of my OCs, or have her read out one of my naughty fanfics? Celestia almighty, I couldn't choose for the life of me), I finally decided on a free commission of one of my OCs. The OC of my choice? Red Zircon.

I should note that I can't draw to save my life, but my wife was insistent quite a while ago that she draw him. Red Zircon drawn in my wife's style is here, while Ogatamon's art of Red is here.

For those following Of Winter and Embers, my wife decided to draw my other OC (and possibly the one pony I have that's closest to a ponysona as I'll manage), Amaretto Quill. I have one other pony OC left that I have but there's no art for it and the fic is still in its planning/initial draft phase. He made a cameo in one of my submissions for Sexty Minute Ponies, but for now, that cameo is all you've got.

My muse is being a tease, so I hope to write when I actually have time and inspiration at the same time.

-- SFC Ponycron