Vigilance of the Old Guard

The banner flowed gently along the winds of the summer breeze as he sat there on the hillside. The smell of honey flowers dancing along the air, the sight of an endless expanse of fields, and the song of peace and harmony.  Another wonderful day granted by the princess he had sworn to defend and the kingdom he'd protect.

He closed his eyes - if only for the moment - to listen to the breeze.  The flutter and song of birds among the air, the warm rays of the sun embracing him, and the steady beat of his own heart. If only for this it was all worth it....
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So keeping with my aim of routine I'm finally putting this one up I completed a few weeks back from this posting. I take a lot of inspiration from history, philosophy, and just thinking about what I'd like to try for. Personally I don't like the current rendition of the Royal Guard armor seen in the show. Look is one thing, but just doesn't do it for me and I wanted to do something else instead; in addition I really wanted to draw a pony with a halberd and chain-mail. I mean I really wanted to draw a pony with a halberd and chain-mail....

I decided to try for just that and improve upon my attempts for anything supposed to be living. Spent way to much time researching armoring to get a better perspective upon what I wanted to attempt (anything is better than standard-issue Guard armor though), but I personally like how this came out even if there are still areas that could be improved. First time drawing a banner though. Still need to nail down movement, fabric, and fluidity. Now if only I could figure out how to better draw trees and grass.... I'll continue to attempt this.

Time taken altogether - About 55 hours of drawing
Time taken researching and understanding un-attempted components - At least 10 hours
Time taken to finally post this here - Way too long