The soothing call of thunder in the distance followed him into town, as well as the scent of rain and a gently cooling breeze - sure signs of a job well done.

He stopped for a moment on the edge of the small pony village to look back and admire his handy work. Once it hit, it would be a short-lived, fierce storm, but the time before it arrived and the time after it passed would be simple magic.

As he walked through town, he took note of the shops that were preparing to close up for the day, the ponies that were finishing out their daily routines and getting to their homes before the storm hit, as well as the few who stayed around outside to admire his work.
And who could blame them? The clouds stretching farther across the sky by the minute to take over the blue and douse the land in a much needed rain was a breath-taking sight, and that moment of beauty just as the sun faded, creating the most surreal backdrop of gray over the fading light that stretched across everything below... simply gorgeous.

Leaves brushed past him with the autumn wind as each hoof landed with an audible click on the ground, the smell of wet earth surrounded him, so calming, so soothing. He breathed in heavily, eyes closed for a moment and smiled.

This was a perfect day.

I spent a lot of time on this one, largely because of the scale and detail of the background. I'm incredibly pleased with how it turned out.
I did cheat a bit and use a brush for the leaves but honestly, after more than 4 hours of work, I surely didn't feel up to the task of modeling a bunch of frigging leaves.

I tried to add a bit to the environment and give it depth... In that department, it didn't turn out quite like I'd wanted but hey, win some, lose some.