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Description
So! About a week or so ago I uploaded this sta.sh/05azrwfdf69 set of redesigns of Princess Sterling and Princess Gold Lily to my stash. As said in the description of that piece, it was one of the first things I created on ibis paint x when I downloaded it over the summer, and I mulled over actually submitting it as a deviation or not. I... ultimately decided against it. As you can tell pretty easily, its sloppy, it was done in a weird size that completely butchered the quality, and Sterling looks super super awful especially due to a lack of thought.

Here is Princess Gold Lily - take two! I'll get to Sterling eventually.

Shamelessly ripped from the old description of the would-be deviation:

"Who are Princess Gold Lily and Princess Sterling, some of you are asking? These two ladies were Celestia mold recolors introduced via merchandise in the Rainbow Power wave of toys. -> www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-…
I vividly remember seeing them on shelves at Walmart, but they never interested me when they first came out lol. Of course, now that I'm a little older and unique merch designs interest me, I'll probably never get my hands on them. Though in plastic they were bonafide Tia clones, their box art actually has semi-unique designs for each of them on it!

Using those boxarts, I got the idea to modify these two to be daughters of Shining Armor and Cadence, and potentially write about their adventures as a family with other canon, non-canon, and merch siblings! Hence why you saw Cadence and Shining not too long ago. c: Since Flurry already has the "born-alicorn" dynamic, I thought it would be better to make these two fraternal twin unicorns with contrasting personalities. Gold Lily is the more mischievous, easygoing one, while Sterling is the no-nonsense of the duo, always wearing regalia and makeup and trying her damnedest to lead with pride. I kept Sterling's original cutie mark from the box, but wanted to change Lily's because it made no sense to me."

So yes! This is the new Nextgen-oriented Princess Gold Lily - a unicorn twin with a penchant for mischief and taking it easy. Compared to her sisters (yes there will be more!), Gold Lily takes her role as a daughter of a monarch with as little seriousness as she can afford to - i.e. not worrying about training to become the "perfect mare" and instead using the time to socialize with citizens or tour the gardens of the Empire (which are admittedly not as grandeur as the Canterlot Gardens given the climate... she'll take what she can get). Between her and Sterling, Gold Lily is the twin who doesn't put great effort into maintaining appearances - her mane is wavy and flowing in loose strands, she doesn't adorn herself with heaps of makeup or jewelry or horseshoes, and she isn't vain. Sterling will never admit it, but she's immensely jealous of how her sister manages to look so beautiful without putting in a quarter of the effort she does (read: feels she has to). Lily encourages Sterling to 'loosen up' and drags her grumpy self away from her responsibilities for as long as she can manage, often teasing her about being so serious and encouraging her to enjoy the simple things in life instead of trying so hard to prove herself to the country that already loves them. Sterling scolds that she can't afford to play around all her life, but always ends up having a good time shirking off duties with Lily regardless underneath that royal bravado.

As mentioned above, I changed Lily's cutie mark. I forgot the original idea I had when I first designed it, but conception-wise it's meant to be a crystal flower paired with a couple of leaves. It could also be seen as a snowflake with leaf adornments conveying the same message.

Lily loves plants. The species that do grow naturally in the empire are exotic and exclusive varieties, species often not found anywhere else in Equestria, and she spent her childhood awing at the native flora. Due to her interest, the gardens were expanded by royal decree, with biologists bringing in whatever species could tolerate the more middling to temperate conditions blowing off of the surrounding Frozen Areas. It was then Lily realized just how little these plants have actually been studied by her own population, and set to work documenting, investigating, and cataloging each and every one she could get her hooves on. Turns out, she was the key factor needed to facilitate the growth of all kinds of plants in the Empire, some that either never thrived in the Empire before, or hadn't been seen for generations! These plants range from being purely ornamental, to having medicinal properties, to even having applications in alchemy and magic. Either way, it was a sort of "rebirth" for the nation's biodiversity, one that followed years of scourge by tyranny and snow. Lily thus becomes a symbol for rebirth and hope specifically - moreso far as an adult when she theoretically ascends.

At the age she's depicted as here (young-adult), Lily has just begun taking her research seriously, and is trying to prove its merit. It takes time for her to become the respected symbol of rebirth - she has to start somewhere. Sterling often mocks her about how she should "stop gardening and act her age" on days where Lily drags her out of the castle for some fresh air. It's one of the very few things that puts Lily over the edge with her pompous, stick-in-the-mud, conceited sister, making her cold for sometimes days at a time. Her parents know better; they'd encourage Lily to follow her passions no matter what they were - it's just a bonus that she happens to be interested in something that can benefit academia and society as a whole. For heaven's sake, Shining reads comics and has an art farm, while still being the patriarch head of the kingdom and engaging in tactical affairs; he's not about to stop his daughter from gardening if that's what she wants to do ("appreciate the sentiment, Dad, but its not just 'gardening'...")! Her other siblings have similar attitudes - can it, Sterling, you're outnumbered.

I would also consider the idea that, as a princess, maybe her taking an interest in an academic field is frowned upon - even if she doesn't engage in biology because of the academic side, but of her own passion. Her job is to lead, not write papers, some critical scholars say. Others - typically the younger and more open-minded - who have met her on saunters around the city have no qualms; they like her well enough and see that she is capable of managing her interests and her daily life. While she usually wouldn't care about what strangers think... maybe, just maybe, it nags at her on especially bad days, with Sterling's words ringing in her ears. The bright side is that nights like these encourage her to be more determined than ever.

Let's talk the rest of her design. I didn't tinker too much with the colors, sticking instead to the original palette with a few add ons. Of the two boxarts, I found Lily the more aesthetically pleasing design simply due to her softer colors (though that yellow... ack), and continued with that "soft, but not shy" vibe. Ironically enough, she does look a LOT like Fluttershy, but let me reassure you that isn't her personality-wise. From her father Lily gets traditional unicorn traits - the elegant curving horn, long sweeping tail, and striking cloven hooves. From her mother, light markings around several areas of her body (horn, legs, ears) and four hearts - one on each cheek and one on each of her front legs near her fetlocks. Both contribute to the "princess"-y vibe I was going for. I also gave her some spots under her eyes just for a bit more interest, and to tie in with the spots of the lily tucked behind her ear. One thing I did change was her eyes - or I guess sort of changed, since her box art has her with yellow eyes, but her toy reflects the soft blue I gave her. Her wings (again - theoretical) got an upgrade too, incorporating colors from her body alongside the pink in her mane.

Is she the most original redesign? No, but I like her! I'm excited to have a whole bunch of characters to play around with for scenes and stories. One by one, we're ticking boxes!

Sterling next? Flurry Heart? Others? We'll see. ;3 Stay tuned!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See Princess Cadence here: www.deviantart.com/doodlebugdr…

See Shining Armor here: www.deviantart.com/doodlebugdr…

Commissions and Customs OPEN here~! www.deviantart.com/doodlebugdr…

Description
So! About a week or so ago I uploaded this sta.sh/05azrwfdf69 set of redesigns of Princess Sterling and Princess Gold Lily to my stash. As said in the description of that piece, it was one of the first things I created on ibis paint x when I downloaded it over the summer, and I mulled over actually submitting it as a deviation or not. I... ultimately decided against it. As you can tell pretty easily, its sloppy, it was done in a weird size that completely butchered the quality, and Sterling looks super super awful especially due to a lack of thought.

Here is Princess Gold Lily - take two! I'll get to Sterling eventually.

Shamelessly ripped from the old description of the would-be deviation:

"Who are Princess Gold Lily and Princess Sterling, some of you are asking? These two ladies were Celestia mold recolors introduced via merchandise in the Rainbow Power wave of toys. -> www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-…
I vividly remember seeing them on shelves at Walmart, but they never interested me when they first came out lol. Of course, now that I'm a little older and unique merch designs interest me, I'll probably never get my hands on them. Though in plastic they were bonafide Tia clones, their box art actually has semi-unique designs for each of them on it!

Using those boxarts, I got the idea to modify these two to be daughters of Shining Armor and Cadence, and potentially write about their adventures as a family with other canon, non-canon, and merch siblings! Hence why you saw Cadence and Shining not too long ago. c: Since Flurry already has the "born-alicorn" dynamic, I thought it would be better to make these two fraternal twin unicorns with contrasting personalities. Gold Lily is the more mischievous, easygoing one, while Sterling is the no-nonsense of the duo, always wearing regalia and makeup and trying her damnedest to lead with pride. I kept Sterling's original cutie mark from the box, but wanted to change Lily's because it made no sense to me."

So yes! This is the new Nextgen-oriented Princess Gold Lily - a unicorn twin with a penchant for mischief and taking it easy. Compared to her sisters (yes there will be more!), Gold Lily takes her role as a daughter of a monarch with as little seriousness as she can afford to - i.e. not worrying about training to become the "perfect mare" and instead using the time to socialize with citizens or tour the gardens of the Empire (which are admittedly not as grandeur as the Canterlot Gardens given the climate... she'll take what she can get). Between her and Sterling, Gold Lily is the twin who doesn't put great effort into maintaining appearances - her mane is wavy and flowing in loose strands, she doesn't adorn herself with heaps of makeup or jewelry or horseshoes, and she isn't vain. Sterling will never admit it, but she's immensely jealous of how her sister manages to look so beautiful without putting in a quarter of the effort she does (read: feels she has to). Lily encourages Sterling to 'loosen up' and drags her grumpy self away from her responsibilities for as long as she can manage, often teasing her about being so serious and encouraging her to enjoy the simple things in life instead of trying so hard to prove herself to the country that already loves them. Sterling scolds that she can't afford to play around all her life, but always ends up having a good time shirking off duties with Lily regardless underneath that royal bravado.

As mentioned above, I changed Lily's cutie mark. I forgot the original idea I had when I first designed it, but conception-wise it's meant to be a crystal flower paired with a couple of leaves. It could also be seen as a snowflake with leaf adornments conveying the same message.

Lily loves plants. The species that do grow naturally in the empire are exotic and exclusive varieties, species often not found anywhere else in Equestria, and she spent her childhood awing at the native flora. Due to her interest, the gardens were expanded by royal decree, with biologists bringing in whatever species could tolerate the more middling to temperate conditions blowing off of the surrounding Frozen Areas. It was then Lily realized just how little these plants have actually been studied by her own population, and set to work documenting, investigating, and cataloging each and every one she could get her hooves on. Turns out, she was the key factor needed to facilitate the growth of all kinds of plants in the Empire, some that either never thrived in the Empire before, or hadn't been seen for generations! These plants range from being purely ornamental, to having medicinal properties, to even having applications in alchemy and magic. Either way, it was a sort of "rebirth" for the nation's biodiversity, one that followed years of scourge by tyranny and snow. Lily thus becomes a symbol for rebirth and hope specifically - moreso far as an adult when she theoretically ascends.

At the age she's depicted as here (young-adult), Lily has just begun taking her research seriously, and is trying to prove its merit. It takes time for her to become the respected symbol of rebirth - she has to start somewhere. Sterling often mocks her about how she should "stop gardening and act her age" on days where Lily drags her out of the castle for some fresh air. It's one of the very few things that puts Lily over the edge with her pompous, stick-in-the-mud, conceited sister, making her cold for sometimes days at a time. Her parents know better; they'd encourage Lily to follow her passions no matter what they were - it's just a bonus that she happens to be interested in something that can benefit academia and society as a whole. For heaven's sake, Shining reads comics and has an art farm, while still being the patriarch head of the kingdom and engaging in tactical affairs; he's not about to stop his daughter from gardening if that's what she wants to do ("appreciate the sentiment, Dad, but its not just 'gardening'...")! Her other siblings have similar attitudes - can it, Sterling, you're outnumbered.

I would also consider the idea that, as a princess, maybe her taking an interest in an academic field is frowned upon - even if she doesn't engage in biology because of the academic side, but of her own passion. Her job is to lead, not write papers, some critical scholars say. Others - typically the younger and more open-minded - who have met her on saunters around the city have no qualms; they like her well enough and see that she is capable of managing her interests and her daily life. While she usually wouldn't care about what strangers think... maybe, just maybe, it nags at her on especially bad days, with Sterling's words ringing in her ears. The bright side is that nights like these encourage her to be more determined than ever.

Let's talk the rest of her design. I didn't tinker too much with the colors, sticking instead to the original palette with a few add ons. Of the two boxarts, I found Lily the more aesthetically pleasing design simply due to her softer colors (though that yellow... ack), and continued with that "soft, but not shy" vibe. Ironically enough, she does look a LOT like Fluttershy, but let me reassure you that isn't her personality-wise. From her father Lily gets traditional unicorn traits - the elegant curving horn, long sweeping tail, and striking cloven hooves. From her mother, light markings around several areas of her body (horn, legs, ears) and four hearts - one on each cheek and one on each of her front legs near her fetlocks. Both contribute to the "princess"-y vibe I was going for. I also gave her some spots under her eyes just for a bit more interest, and to tie in with the spots of the lily tucked behind her ear. One thing I did change was her eyes - or I guess sort of changed, since her box art has her with yellow eyes, but her toy reflects the soft blue I gave her. Her wings (again - theoretical) got an upgrade too, incorporating colors from her body alongside the pink in her mane.

Is she the most original redesign? No, but I like her! I'm excited to have a whole bunch of characters to play around with for scenes and stories. One by one, we're ticking boxes!

Sterling next? Flurry Heart? Others? We'll see. ;3 Stay tuned!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See Princess Cadence here: www.deviantart.com/doodlebugdr…

See Shining Armor here: www.deviantart.com/doodlebugdr…

Commissions and Customs OPEN here~! www.deviantart.com/doodlebugdr…