This was my first GIF so apologies if anything ends up wonky or weirdly timed! Just a very basic experiment for now; maybe I might do something more extreme in the future if my computer can handle it!  
Oh boy was this an experiment! Putting this together correctly in photoshop was an experience…
 
So I ended up listening to a song on youtube long enough to encourage myself to try something different! This was originally just going to be 2 possible separate uploads but I decided: You know what? I’m going to make this into some sort of GIF to show the shift from trying to hold back tears to trying to play it off as if everything’s ok!
 
When it comes to my main OC’s childhood, she was basically forcing herself to be perfect for Princess Celestia; this was her pushing her all out limits as a kid to perform forbidden and high level magic even if it could harm her for a short time. She kept going at it no matter how much it hurt just to be the best she can be for Celestia and live up to what her expectations are.
 
The song of inspiration: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTrm_i… (Comments section gives decent context)