Donut-Toast

Here's my sona's ref and some art examples!

Pinkie Pie - I felt the element of laughter should be an older woman, both because laughing lines are the definitive proof of a live lived joyously, but also because all the older volunteers I work with are always so cheerful, witty and always try to raise morale at work! I wanted her to have a cotton candy kind of feel with the spots and hair, but it hasn't quite worked out yet how I wanted!

Rainbow Dash - While I understand why people make her more masc and less girly in redesigns, I always thought her having long hair and being comfortable in her femininity was a sort of inspirational strength. So what I did instead was keep her mane kind of the same but give her more of a storm look, just because I think rainbows themselves look the coolest when a storm has just passed by and the sky behind it is deep and dark! I did feel her mane should be a bit messier though!

Apple Jack - If her being a southern pony was boring to some people, then why not just make her a donkey? They're known for their strength and it immediately makes her stand out more amongst the rest. to return the subtle apple theme i gave her apple seed markings and brought back the green and red in her ties and hat. The same thing I said about Rainbow Dash's femininity applies to her too. I get why people draw her more masc, but I always thought her being comfortable in her femininity was pretty powerful.

Twilight Sparkle - The element of magic should look pretty magical, and I feel irl UV light makes everything looks weirdly enchanting. So for that reason I gave her a sort of blacklight type of look! pretty dark but with a few colours popping out rather boldly. I also wanted to make her accessories stand out so I made those yellow to fit the purple (and also thought it'd be cute if spike had a horse saddle seat! her cutiemark also has an extra star for him). the heart on her hoof is a reference to gen 3.

Spike - I mostly just wanted him to look more like a dragon, so I gave him horns and these little wing-like things on his feet so he's still a ground-bound dragon, but more visually a dragon nonetheless. not too happy with it, but we rolling with it!

Rarity - At the thought of having a really beautiful horse character, I couldn't stop thinking about the really round horses from that cave painting... I just couldn't agree on what to colour her or her accessories. I also thought it'd be a positive message to make the element of generosity a fat character, seeing as those are often negatively tied to greed and gluttony.