When Queen Novo and King Waverider discovered the magic Pearl, it lead them to the lost city of Seaquestria, the home of the original SeaPonies. Novo and Waverider were in awestruck at discovering such a place, but Novo cautioned about going any further. The scriptures aligning the walls told the story of the SeaPonies, and how the Pearl was their sacred relic and the foundation for their wisdom and culture. One day, the legendary sea serpent Leviathan arrived to take the Pearl for himself, and the SeaPonies refused to give it up. Enraged, the monster went on a rampage, driving the SeaPonies away from their home, and forcing them to hide the Pearl in a secure location, which turned out to be the Forbidden Cave in Mount Aris. Novo worries that, now that they have the Pearl in their possession, Leviathan might return like he did a few years ago and try to menace Mount Aris. Waverider insists that the serpent has long departed from the waters of Mount Aris, but they are in for a surprise.
I wanted to make this one more mysterious and atmospheric, and had fun with the lighting and colors. Sadly I forgot how to do what I did with my first Novo drawing of the year, and that kind of bummed me out since it was a nice start on how to approach lighting. Maybe I'll figure it out soon enough."