Their Magical Majesties, The Alicorn Princesses of Equestria

Night Sky · May 19

That my reputation as a staunch Canterlot loyalist might continue to grow, I have taken it upon myself to create a set of "state portraits" as it were, for the Big Four.

Of course, I could not have done this without the amazingly realized, and generously shared assests created by a great many other pony artists, whoever you are and wherever you may be, my thanks.

Royal portraits have always had to walk a line between depicting their subjects favorably, being suitable for public consumption by all members of society, while also making key points with regard to heredity, laws, traditions and creeds.

I have tried to show each princess in a satisfactorily regal manner, while also heavily emphasizing their magical powers and indicating their role as rulers.

In Princess Celestia's case, I aimed way over the top from the get go, she's got royal and she's not ashamed to own it.

Accents of gold and bronze accompany a vision of Princess Celestia's serene command of the sustaining, cleansing and blinding bright rays of the sun.

For Princess Luna I took the opposite approach in almost every regard, while still situating her among nice things.

A more spartan, but also a more mysterious audience chamber glows with the reflected light of the moon, and dim penumbras gently mute a color palate of purples, sea foam, bone and deep blues.

As the Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza would certainly want her husband and daughter to be at her side.

The Crystal Empire is multiverse of dreams and phantasms captured in living, growing latices.

What is the Princess of Friendship without her friends, so there they stand besides Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Some of these friends came easily, some after great persistence and at some cost.

I believe the keyword here is redemption.

And if, here in the human world, we can use the examples set by the Four Alicorn Princesses of Equestria for our betterment, then perhaps even this world can find the redemption it so desperately seeks, and most certainly needs.