#astro the opinicus

[askponyinuyasha]

Astro: Pardon me for prying, but what sort of creatures are you protecting the forest from?

Astro: Or do I have it backwards, and are you protecting the outsiders in the forest from the creatures inside the forest?

Inuyasha: Well, it's both, really. This forest isn't exactly the safest place for just anyone wandering through.

Inuyasha: But there're also ponies who would try to take advantage of this place and only end up tearing it apart.

@ask-wizard-sunburst: What are you protecting the forest from? Do you get many bad ponies or monsters?

Inuyasha: Sure, bandits try to come through here sometimes looking to cause trouble.

Inuyasha: Mostly I end up dealing with-

(Offscreen): HEY!!

~~To be continued...~~

<Next>

(High-res transparent PNGs below the cut)

These guys were super fun to draw and I ended up really proud of the way they both turned out! This is the first time I've ever heard of an opinicus, let alone draw one, so that was fun! And Sunburst is one of my personal fave canon ponies in terms of design and personality.

I could have broken this one down more than I did, instead of making it so much flipping text at once, but... well it flowed nicely in my head... Plus I know where it's going next! And it's going to be a more art intensive micro-arc so it might take me a while to churn out. We'll see!

[ask-gadzooks]

"It might be a self defense mechanism- it's invoking a sense of fear in anyone whom it perceives as a threat, possibly!" Astro suggests.

@sleepymushrxxm! Thanks for the ask! Also @zephyr-the-opinicus! Continuing the story with @nox-lunarwing

[rainbowfeatherreplies]

Zephyr and Astro come bounding over as soon as they get word that Rainbow Feather has met another opinicus variant of herself. "Greetings!" Astro calls, while Zephyr goes with a more conventional opinician greeting. <Mrow!> "A pleasure to meet you! I am Astro, this is Zephyr- we're both friends of Rainbow Feather," he gestures to Medic!Feather with a forepaw.

"Uh, nice," Opinicus Feather greets, "I'm also Rainbow Feather."

It's fairly clear she's less used to formal greetings. If one had to describe her intros, it's almost Gilda-esque.

"Nice to meet some other Opinicus, I guess! You visitors to this world too?"

[askponyinuyasha]

There's talk of giant spiders and other less natural monsters near the old fortress in the center of the wood; Be careful out there.

Zooks: There's talk of giant spiders and other less natural monsters near the old fortress in the center of the wood.

Inuyasha: What?!

Inuyasha: We'll have to finish this later!

Gad: Be careful out there!

Astro & Sunburst: ...

@ask-wizard-sunburst: Did he say 'giant spiders'?

<Previous> ... <Next>

~To be continued...~

(High-res transparent PNGs below the cut, and whoa-nelly there are a lot of them)

Thanks everyone for your patience! This bit took me a really long time because there were so many figures and new poses and effects to draw!

In the intervening time, I did really enjoy seeing everyone's speculations as to who the off-screen character was! Nobody managed to connect the dots that they'd seen this font and text color before!

Anyway I hope to do a couple more entries like this where I can sit back and let the story tell itself. I'll even try drawing some action sequences maybe but hopefully I can avoid drawing too many spiders.

[rainbowfeatherreplies]

"A ninja under the service of Princess Luna. Certainly very interesting to say the least," Astro muses.

"I'll say! I thought ninjas only existed in comic books, it certainly goes to show how skilled they are at concealing their presence!" Zephyr replied.

"What sort of assignments do you end up on, if you can tell us?" Astro asked.

"Princess? That's Queen Luna to you! Queen of Equestria and the Opinicus Protectorates!

And, y'know, keep a subtle eye on potential troublemaking tourists, run errands... in secret. Maaaybe assist in pranks on her sister but you didn't hear that from me...." Opinicus Ninja Feather explains

[rainbowfeatherreplies]

“I am a Queen’s Ninja! I serve Queen Luna and Celestia in defense of Equestria!”

Opinicus Feather reveals her job to @zephyr-the-opinicus and Astro!

Art by Migurinvi 

[rainbowfeatherreplies]

"Well, to put it simply, the princesses -are- in charge," Zephyr replied. "There's four of them; Celestia and Luna, and then Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, and then Princess Twilight, who assists Celestia and Luna."

"Some say that Twilight is going to take over when Celestia and Luna retire," Astro replied. "But I'm not entirely certain of that rumor, myself. And I was going to ask you, as well- do you have an elemental affinity, Opinicus Feather?"

"Oh, so they're princess instead of Queens because there's so many of them, I get it," Opinicus Feather nods, not getting it.

"And of course I do! My powers let me use water to hide myself in the morning mist!"

"Huh, not fire or wind?" griffon Feather wonders, "I'm good with fireworks..."

"I guess we are different after all!" Opinicus comments.

[rainbowfeatherreplies]

Astro the Opinicus nods in approval! "I suppose congratulations are in order! I can see this union being quite a beneficial agreement for both parties... and one that may, perhaps, bring joy to those involved."

"It is certainly a .... beneficial political arrangement," Nightmare is still trying to play things close to her chest relationship wise, "And a good ruler always has joy when their nation prospers...."

Despite her distant words to Astro, her gaze and tone covey softer emotions.

[rainbowfeatherreplies]

"I'm just here because the residual magical energies are just so relaxing and... well, harmonious. Even if there were a position open, though, I wouldn't take it. I've already got... other things." Astro commented. "But if you need assistance, I'd be happy to help if I'm able."

"We appreciate that," Nassa says, getting along with the opinicus. "It takes a degree of compatibility most visitors don't even try for.