#splungecoyote

[askmidnightspell]

Did you think the mare you bumped into was cute?

#Midnight Spell #Opalescent Daydream #Ask 99 #SplungeCoyote

[idreamofopaline]

Ludustella: Okay, friendship isn't your cup of tea. How about LOVE? Anyone special catch your eye?

....I've only been here for about a week!

#Opalescent Daydream #Ludustella #Ask 17 #AskDaisyDandFriemly #SplungeCoyote

[allyooops]

Day 13 @splungecoyote mod of @askdaisydandfriemly I loooove how many characters you have!! It always overjoys me to see someone making as many ocs as their heart desires, and you actually make stories with them all!! It's very impressive! I hope you have an absolutely fantastic fall!! 🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🎃

Edit: ....why did I label this as 12 too?? XD

#mod doodles #my little pony #mlp ocs #mlp #Splungecoyote #Inktober #Inktober Day 13

[ask-princess-lilly]

Who used to be your best friend?

I'll just say we used to be friends, argued, and now we're not anymore. It's....not something that could be helped, I suppose.

#Princess Lilly Sparkle Rose #ask-princess-lilly #ask-princess-skyla #mlp ask blog #mlp #ask blog #answered ask #asks open #SplungeCoyote

[manechesters-finest]

Lucky Swirl, why did you start fostering kids?

But it was -- and Larva and Twila are two of the best things to ever happen in my life.

((This was originally a LOT sadder, but I decided to change her reasoning from the darker original into something less...upsetting? I guess? So here we go. At least we get another baby Larva. Can never have enough baby Larva.))

#Lucky Swirl #Princess Larva #Ask 53 #Splungecoyote

[ask-crescent]

"!!!"

(Ohhh boy. A second character introduction. It only took THREE WHOLE YEARS.)

#mlp ask blog #pony ask blog #ask blog #mlp oc #mlp #ask-crescent #story #answered #ask-wizard-sunburst #iamyourdoubt #splungecoyote

[ask-shutter-ghost]

Rose Moon: If the parents that raised you are earth ponies, who taught you to use your unicorn magic?

Shutter Ghost: Glad you asked! The ride operator from the haunted house where I got my cutie mark taught me. His name's Tortoise Tin!

-----

I was heavily inspired by @dollbunnie's paper drawings for this piece and couldn't resist trying a similar one! It was a lot of fun playing with the lighting and framing for this :D

#dollbunnie #Shutter Ghost #ask-shutter-ghost #ride operator #Tortoise Tin #Rose Moon #splungecoyote #daisydandfriemly

[askxxviperxx]

How'd you get your cutie mark?

The stallion seems a bit busy at the moment- maybe it’s best not to take his comment too seriously.

#askxxviperxx #mlp ask blog #ask me anything #ask blog #ask #answer #ask viper #Viper #random character #mlp #mlpfim #my little pony friendship is magic #my little pony #pony #mlp oc #horse #viper got into another fight #Tsk tsk #splungecoyote

[ask-narratordoe]

Does Lumerde have any holidays like Nightmare Night?

Novi sent by @splungecoyote and @briarborealisart

In LHK, we have a week-long event called the Spirits Risen Festival. I'll put all of the information about it below the cut, if anyone wants to know all about it! It starts on the 24th of October and ends on the 31st. October 31st is called Spirit's Eve. Of course, at the end will be a TL;DR rundown of events and practices, but I highly recommend reading as much as you can.

🔓 The Spirits Risen Festival will take place from October 24th to October 31st. Any events pertaining to the Spirits Risen Festival, Nightmare Night, or Halloween will be answered during this window. Stay tuned for more event information! -Mod Doe <3

The History

Haustonne

Haustonne was the first created of these traditions. Each year, during the last week of harvest (now established from October 24th to October 31st), ponies would celebrate their bounty through festivals.

The first day is a day of work, where every pony would gather together and assist farmers with collecting their crops. The second day, new crops are planted to hibernate during winter and begin their blossoming through spring. On the third day, the crops would be sold or traded throughout the village (and neighboring villages) and food not being used for the feast would be preserved. The fourth day was a day of rest, where ponies were able to lounge and relax themselves.

The fifth day was spent on more work, preparing food for the upcoming feasts. The sixth day was a small feast, where ponies would eat with and appreciate their families. On the seventh day, ponies would spend partying and feasting together while thanking their respective deities for good weather. This deity depends on each village, of course, with many thanking Hestia, Solaris, and the stars themselves. However, a select few gave their thanks to Astraea, Celeste, other asterin/deities, or no one at all.

On the seventh day, because it was held later in the night with food outside, would attract many critters looking for food to steal for the upcoming winter. Many ponies took to dressing in costumes to the festival so they could scare away the animals and protect their food.

Spirits Risen Day

Spirits Risen Day was a tradition started in the 12th century. During the autumn months, foals were very easily frightened during the night due to the falling leaves and dropping temperatures. To ease their foals, a village previously called Sunrise (now known as Rosewood) took to celebrating death and spirits during the last day of Haustonne. This eased their foals’ fears, and taught them to respect the ponies who passed before them.

Some ponies from a neighboring village, Bellen (modern day Belleside), took a different approach. On the last day of Haustonne, they would dress as animal-like monsters to scare their foals in bed before quickly removing any masks to reveal themselves. This turned the scare into a fun game for some foals, but a worsening effect for others.

These two traditions meshed, with the sixth day of Haustonne becoming Ancestor’s day, and the seventh becoming Spirits Risen Day. As a compromise, rather than scaring the foals in bed, they would take to spooking them during the party itself where energy was already high, while comforting the foals once the party ends. These practices spread throughout the kingdom, and eventually the entire nation.

Modern Day Practices

Spirits Risen Festival

The Spirits Risen Festival is a traditional autumn festival, celebrated throughout the Lunar Heavens Kingdom for generations. Each year, every city and town opens a Spirits Risen market. These markets are open to the public, where anyone can hold a stand. This is a very profitable period for small businesses and farmers, with sales skyrocketing in the market. Many vendors choose to also offer costume material, toys, trinkets, and generally spooky, death-related merchandise.

Larger cities will also open a carnival, with more merchandise, rides, games, and food. The admission prices vary, but the first day is always free admission. Attractions are geared towards the fear factor, and many young foals are turned away from larger, scarier attractions. It’s also common for “scare actors” to wander around after sunset and frighten attendees.

Ancestor's Day and Spirit's Eve

Feasting is still a factor, with Ancestor’s Day landing on October 30th. However, more focus is usually centered around Spirit’s Eve on the 31st, where foals (and sometimes older ponies) are off critter crawling.

The purpose of critter crawling was originally to mimic the animals on the last day of Haustonne. Ponies dress as animals (or any other costume of their choosing) and go door-to-door, visiting anyone with decorated doorways. They knock on the door, and demand the resident’s harvest. The phrase depends on location, but the most popular are, “Critters are here!” and, “Share the feast with hungry beasts!” (shortened to “share the feast”).

Residents have two options: they can either give the crawlers some of their candy, or “scare them away.” Many who participate have taken to preparing a haunted-house experience to scare the crawlers away, and others have widened their array of “harvest” options. Doorway decorations have evolved to be coded for more experienced foals-or foals whose parents tell them. A door with spider webs usually means a scare (if the spider webs have fake spiders and bugs in them, it means intense scare), and a door with pomegranates (a fruit symbolizing death, fertility, and linked to Hestia as her favorite fruit) meant treats. Different fruit colors have more recently been thrown into circulation, with red pomegranates being normal treats and black pomegranates being treats safe for all ponies to eat (or non-food treats).

November 2nd is a national holiday, known as “Spirits Sunset,” for rest after the festivities and cleanup. Festivities tend to bleed over to November 1st, due to the fact that many Spirit's Eve events take place past midnight.

Summary

October 24th-October 31st: Spirits Risen Festival

Small businesses and farmers opens stands at local markets

Various fairs and attraction open for the week, typically with a spooky theme

Sometimes actors dressed as monsters will wander the parks after sunset

October 30th: Ancestor's Day

Ponies feast with their living family members and take time to remember those in their families who have passed on

October 31st: Spirit's Eve

Critter Crawling/Parties after sunset

Critter crawling is usually reserved for younger ponies, but sometimes older ones participate

Ponies go door to door, with "trick-or-treat" phrases varying on location

Many doors are coded in their decorations, with different kinds of decorations noting what any critter crawler should expect

November 2nd: Spirits Sunset

Day of rest after the festivities

Also useful for extra clean up that hadn't been completed the day prior

#spirits risen festival 2022 #doe amberwood #ask narrator doe #story bits #mod speaks #answered #mlp #mlp ask oc #mlp ask blog #asteros au #unicorn #pony ask blog #pony #mlp g4 #ask-narratordoe #splungecoyote #briarborealisart #halloween 2022 #spooky season

[ask-forestville]

Caricature: (to John) Hey mister tall dark and mysterious. I think your dream mare may agree to a couples’ costume for nightmare night if you ask her. :3

Caricature: (to John) Hey mister tall dark and mysterious. I think your dream mare may agree to a couples’ costume for nightmare night if you ask her. :3

John: I was already thinking about that. By the way, have you met my friend Steven?

@splungecoyote and @ask-forestville

#halloween #happy nightmare night #splungecoyote #ask-forestville #Johnathan ebony #caricature

[the-endless-archive]

Seems like somebody is waking up from their nap.

[  Asker ]: @splungecoyote

#MLP #MLP Art #MLP Ask Blog #Lea #Zatrium #The Endless Archive #Update #Story #splungecoyote

[askmidnightspell]

Looks like you can’t avoid the Princess this time. Unless this mare is willing to hear you out… why did you run from Twilight?

#Midnight Spell #Opalescent Daydream #Ask 101 #SplungeCoyote #Ask-GadZooks #FoodieLoveTheAlicorn

[idreamofopaline]

What’s your older sister up to now?

We haven't spoken in a little over three years, now, so I wouldn't know, really.

#Opalescent Dream #Luster Dawn #Princess Twilight Sparkle #Ask 5 #SplungeCoyote

[zenaquaria]

Vamptober 2022: Day 16

Things can get a little hairy and scary when you’re a young vampire unsure where to go, as seems to be the case for @splungecoyote’s gal Rezi here! 

Looks like she might be in a spot somewhere between a rock and a hard place!

Thanks for volunteering!~

Do not repost, edit, alter, trace/copy, use/redistribute my artworks without my permission.

#vamptober 2022 #vamptober #vampires #human #humanoid #others ocs #splungecoyote #art #not pony

[ask-princess-lilly]

Any plans for Hearth’s Warming?

We’re having a special concert in the gardens this year, with a few bands from other places, including Ponyville, coming to play for us as well as local Hearth’s Warming carol singers, and then there’ll be a small after-party for anypony who wishes to stay over -- I’ll be visiting the local orphanage and taking gifts, too, for the foals there...other than that, me and my parents and Grandma will likely be staying in and having a small celebration of our own as we always do!

#Princess Lilly Sparkle Rose #Hearth's Warming #Ask-Princess-Lilly #Ask-Princess-Skyla #splungecoyote #mlp ask blog #ask blog #answered ask

[manechesters-finest]

Topaz, where would you suggest a tourist visit in Manechester?

Oh, Foalford Quays, Hoofton Park and the historic Celestia Baths are also pretty interesting visits!

#Topaz #Daisy Daedal #Ask 54 #SplungeCoyote #You draw my charas in asks a lot so I thought it was about time I did the same XD #I forgot what Topaz's tail design and cutie mark were....if she even had them before....