Oh god, I love this. Love. I'm not really sure where to start, there are so many things I want to say about this picture. Better brace for wall of text!The main motif is very touching, and she's obviously the first thing that catches your eye. I like that you've kept it vague enough that we have to fill in some blanks ourselves, and make up our own stories. That way of guiding the viewer through the storytelling without spelling everything out in capitals always makes it so much more powerful. And I absolutely love how all the parts of the picture work together to tell the story. They're not just there to fill out the canvas, they're all integral. And then how it makes the picture open up. Trixie -> Wagon -> BACKGROUND O_OBecause despite how well the picture tells its story, for me the background is really the main event. It is one of those rare pieces that sucks you in and takes you *there*. I've been going on adventures wandering around the landscape with my eyeballs for I don't know how long now, and I keep getting lost in there between writing each sentence. Something about the lighting and how perfectly you "sell" the sense of scale and distance plays tricks on my brain and I get those wonderful split-second glimpses of Actually. Being. There.The execution is pretty much flawless as far as I am concerned. As said, you get the sense of distance across so well. How the colors shift and how smoothly and consistent you decrease and simplify the level of detail, while still keeping enough there to give us something to grab on to. I'm also very fond of just the brush strokes. They feel so sure and unforced. Heh, I just keep spotting new things I want to point out. Like how the light shining through the clouds onto Ponyville helps to lead you into the picture. And how the perspective seems to rise towards us ever so slightly in the distance ( though I'm not sure if it's because the land rises towards the mountains or whether I'm just imagining it all together) futher enhancing the feel of looking out over a landscape. And how the low clouds give a sence of space and distance in the air too and not just along the ground. To give some criticism as well ('cause that's what caring artists do to each other, or something), I think that you could be more bold with the foreground. While it really does not detract at all, it feels a bit shy hiding in the corners.This really is one of my favourite pieces of pony art ever, probably the favourite-est. It just has some kind of magic that makes it so much more than the sum of its parts. I'm so humbled that you mention me as an inspiration, that is honestly the kindest compliment you could have given. On a funny side note, I've actually been working on a eerily similar piece. It also has Trixie in the foreground and a serpentine path through a vast landscape. It's pretty different in mood though, and it wont hold a candle to this one.Lastly I'd just like to point out that if all this droning art babble makes me seem like a pretentious arsehole, it's your picture that made me do it so it's actually your fault.Now I shall go visit that little village half-way up the mountainside along the road to Canterlot, and then maybe explore the plains beyond the forest behind that little lake...