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Description
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The day was warm and pleasant in the breathtakingly vibrant Forest of Feelings (with a 70% chance of Luck Dragons). The sun was shining, the birds were singing, Loyal Heart Dog and Brave Heart Lion were engaging in a bit of friendly competition against one another with a howling/roaring contest, Treat Heart Pig and Lotsa Heart Elephant were enjoying an apple lunch which they had all helped Noble Heart collect from some nearby trees earlier, Proud Heart Cat was basking quite contently - and purring softly as she did so - in the relaxing light of the sun, Gentle Heart Lamb was, as always, making friends with a little woodland critter, Swift Heart Rabbit was exuberantly racing this way and that in her usual manner, Playful Heart Monkey was monkeying about in a tree top and making jests as a trio of birds tried their best to give Cozy Heart Penguin a flying lesson, and Noble Heart Horse was curling up with a good book at the trunk of a multi-coloured tree with Bright Heart Raccoon. Caring missions had been few and far between during the past few days, and so Noble Heart had wagered that the day would be an ideal one for an outing with the Care Bear Cousin cubs. "The term 'cubs'" he thought to himself, smiling "now may only be used somewhat loosely. Why, they're sprouting up like weeds before my very eyes!".

Indeed, it seemed like only yesterday when he and his constant companion True Heart had, for the safety of the cubs (and for that matter, the entire world!) had made the decision to split the Family in two in an attempt to hide and protect the defenseless young ones from the malevolent shape shifter, Dark Heart. Single-handedly looking after ten screaming toddlers and six-billion human beings had been anything but simple. Surely, such an amazing feat would've proved impossible, both physically and emotionally, for a human being. But Noble Heart, being one of the two creatures who - in The Great Wishing Star's own words - possessed a level of selfless unconditional love and all-enduring caring which set him apart from the rest of the world, pressed on with a smile and never once ignored either a desperate call for help from Earth or a whining plea for attention from the cubs. Although the work was exhausting, the horse had never felt happier. And besides, the fruits of his labors of love were at last beginning to ripen. The Care Bear Cousins were no longer helpless cooing gurgling babies, they were now children who possessed more than enough competence to retrieve their own snacks from the kitchen, tuck themselves in, operate a toilet, and even use their Cousin Calls (which, as one can imagine, had made their guardian's job immeasurable easier!).

For some time now Noble Heart had been giving them caring lessons aimed to teach them about the planet and the people which they were destined to one day defend, and someday soon it would finally be time for them to put those meaningful lessons into action. Not long from now they would be ready to shed their diapers (which were primarily ceremonial and not largely needed - apart from some infrequent bed wetting among a few of the cubs - at this stage of their lives) and could begin to accompany him down to Earth for short, simple, supervised caring missions. All of the cubs knew of this, and were so terribly excited at the prospect of meeting real human beings that some days, after they had gotten themselves riled up by talking about it, the poor horse was scarcely able to get a moment's peace!

(Artist's Note: this picture took four or five days of nearly-nonstop work and 218 layers to complete. Phrew!)

Description
(Please use the Download Image option to view at full size!)

The day was warm and pleasant in the breathtakingly vibrant Forest of Feelings (with a 70% chance of Luck Dragons). The sun was shining, the birds were singing, Loyal Heart Dog and Brave Heart Lion were engaging in a bit of friendly competition against one another with a howling/roaring contest, Treat Heart Pig and Lotsa Heart Elephant were enjoying an apple lunch which they had all helped Noble Heart collect from some nearby trees earlier, Proud Heart Cat was basking quite contently - and purring softly as she did so - in the relaxing light of the sun, Gentle Heart Lamb was, as always, making friends with a little woodland critter, Swift Heart Rabbit was exuberantly racing this way and that in her usual manner, Playful Heart Monkey was monkeying about in a tree top and making jests as a trio of birds tried their best to give Cozy Heart Penguin a flying lesson, and Noble Heart Horse was curling up with a good book at the trunk of a multi-coloured tree with Bright Heart Raccoon. Caring missions had been few and far between during the past few days, and so Noble Heart had wagered that the day would be an ideal one for an outing with the Care Bear Cousin cubs. "The term 'cubs'" he thought to himself, smiling "now may only be used somewhat loosely. Why, they're sprouting up like weeds before my very eyes!".

Indeed, it seemed like only yesterday when he and his constant companion True Heart had, for the safety of the cubs (and for that matter, the entire world!) had made the decision to split the Family in two in an attempt to hide and protect the defenseless young ones from the malevolent shape shifter, Dark Heart. Single-handedly looking after ten screaming toddlers and six-billion human beings had been anything but simple. Surely, such an amazing feat would've proved impossible, both physically and emotionally, for a human being. But Noble Heart, being one of the two creatures who - in The Great Wishing Star's own words - possessed a level of selfless unconditional love and all-enduring caring which set him apart from the rest of the world, pressed on with a smile and never once ignored either a desperate call for help from Earth or a whining plea for attention from the cubs. Although the work was exhausting, the horse had never felt happier. And besides, the fruits of his labors of love were at last beginning to ripen. The Care Bear Cousins were no longer helpless cooing gurgling babies, they were now children who possessed more than enough competence to retrieve their own snacks from the kitchen, tuck themselves in, operate a toilet, and even use their Cousin Calls (which, as one can imagine, had made their guardian's job immeasurable easier!).

For some time now Noble Heart had been giving them caring lessons aimed to teach them about the planet and the people which they were destined to one day defend, and someday soon it would finally be time for them to put those meaningful lessons into action. Not long from now they would be ready to shed their diapers (which were primarily ceremonial and not largely needed - apart from some infrequent bed wetting among a few of the cubs - at this stage of their lives) and could begin to accompany him down to Earth for short, simple, supervised caring missions. All of the cubs knew of this, and were so terribly excited at the prospect of meeting real human beings that some days, after they had gotten themselves riled up by talking about it, the poor horse was scarcely able to get a moment's peace!

(Artist's Note: this picture took four or five days of nearly-nonstop work and 218 layers to complete. Phrew!)