Artist’s Description

Here is a little something I wanted to make to commemorate the loss of my friend, Mossy-Hooves. He passed away a year ago on April 29th, so the anniversary is coming up quick. I remember texting him that day, and never getting back a reply. It wasn’t until the next day that a mutual friend of ours informed me of what happened. I couldn’t believe it at first, but reality quickly set in. He was one of my closest friends, and it was sad to lose him. I still expect him to text me sometimes, since we used to text so frequently.

I knew him as Ben. But in pony circles he went by Mossy Hooves. We met online many years ago and right away recognized each other as kindred spirits. We both worked in the animal field (he at a zoo, and me at an exotic animal clinic) and we were able to bond over the heartwarming, hilarious, and sometimes tragic stories of the crazy creatures we had grown to know, love, and sometimes lose. It was obvious to anyone who knew Ben that he had a soft spot for all creatures great and small. He was good at what he did, and animals were hands down the main passion in his life. At the zoo he worked at, he was especially fond of the wolves, tigers, and prairie dogs (which he affectionately termed “P-digletts”, a title I now use too). He was so heartbroken anytime any of the animals had to be put down. It really tore him up inside. He wanted to keep animals safe and happy all the time. He also had an exceptional sense of humor, and I found myself laughing at the ridiculous things he would say all the time. Silly yet sarcastic, the perfect blend! We would entertain ourselves for hours making up ghetto names for the Mane Six, or imagining what sort of voices our animals would have if they could talk.

We met once at Rainfurrest 2013. Someone thought I was a Nazi Princess (seriously, wth?) and wouldn’t let us in to their Elite Room Party at first, but Ben and I just laauuughed and laughed. We commissioned this silly thing together: I say! And we also watched this dumb “documentary” on Animal Planet or something about mermaids?? Erm???

I really do miss him. He is the only friend I’ve ever had that I’ve lost, and he was a really good friend. So this is his OC (Mossy Hooves) cuddled up to Princess Luna, who was his favorite pony. I placed them in the Canterlot Gardens surrounded by a bunch of critters. I hope that wherever he is, it looks very similar to this :) If any of you want to pay tribute to him, Ben was also a very talented writer and has a few MLP fan fics here on Deviantart. He was pretty modest about his work, but I thought it was fantastic.