Art Contest Entry- Fray Seams

‘Permission to speak bluntly, Princess?’

‘Of course, Fray.’

‘And you won’t take my words or my meaning wrong?’

‘I know your heart, and I’ve always valued your judgment. You can speak freely around me.’

‘Thank you, Princess. You know I love the few friends I have dearly, including- especially- you, but sometimes… sometimes for those who would be our enemies, we need to speak in a language they can understand. Sometimes, I think, friendship doesn’t cut it.

‘No?’

‘I mean, think of how ruthlessly Equestria has needed to deal with foes that have risen against it in the past. Tirek was banished to Tartarus for an eternity; Discord was trapped in stone for centuries; Sombra was blasted to shadow-shards. Now, I’m not suggesting anything that extreme in regards to our current circumstance. But if these upstarts continue to reject your offer of peace, we should camp our troops right on their border, just to show them our strength. Put a little fear in them, to keep things from getting out of hoof; to maybe prevent a war.’

‘I can see the wisdom in that, Fray. Indeed, those were my very thoughts this morning. Friendship is always my first instinct, but when others reject it, and would threaten us, a show of force is absolutely necessary to keep them in check.’

‘I’m glad we see eye-to-eye on this, Princess. But, there’s one more thing…’

‘Yes, Fray?’

‘Checkmate, Princess.’
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This here is my entry in an art contest being hosted by FeelingGenki She asked us to make a design for her NextGen OC, Fray Seams, who I found to be totally bad-ass the more I thought of her. This entry may not be exactly what she was looking for, but I'm proud of it :') 

The composition of this piece came to mind organically, and much more easily than Fray’s appearance.

I wanted a royal setting (I imagine a den in Celestia’s castle), but nothing to detract from the main focus. Hence, a simple but lush purple background (the color of regality), two marble columns, and a banner of the Equestrian flag. I also knew I wanted two ponies seated at the table talking tactics, but I didn’t decide on Celestia until I knew I wanted them to be playing chess. Celestia is seated, deep in thought, but Fray, ever the determined one, is rising out of her seat to more effectively make her point. I also thought that Fray would have placed neatly in a row the chess pieces she’s captured, whereas Celestia just dumps them on the table when she takes one (Celestia’s pieces are pink, of course, to match her mane and tail ). One other fun thing I’ve imagined about Fray that can’t be effectively conveyed here, is that, sometimes, when she talks to her crush, Celestia, she really flicks her tail a bit more than usual out of her nervousness, and I think Celestia probably notices it I also don't know what aggressive nation Fray and the Princess are discussing here; since this is probably taking place at least 18 years after Season 6, it could well be some new threat we haven’t heard of yet.

Almost everything about Fray's appearance is a play on her name. Her coat is a rope colored yellow (frayed knots, etc.). Also, seeing as she's the daughter of Rainbow Dash and Quibble Pants, I decided to make her coat bright like her mothers, but in the same color family as her fathers. Her mane and tail are also rope-colored, but with a streak of red to emphasize her uniqueness, and her familial connection to her rainbow colored mother. Her tail (though obscured by her helmet in the foreground), is short and choppy (Fray), while her mane is braided (Seams). I also chose these styles for her mane and tail so as to keep them practical, seeing as she's military. Her cutie mark (though also mostly obscured by the helmet) is a black chess piece knight. I chose this to emphasize her 'dark horse' status as the first earth pony in the Royal Guard, and of course, because she loves playing chess, and is a master strategist. Her eyes are blue, like her fathers.
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FeelingGenki , in the event that I lose this contest, I have this same piece saved on my computer, except that Fray is just a blank outline, so I can recreate this scene easily for you based on the designs of whoever wins. Also, in the event that I win, I can create a full-body pixel sprite in the same resolution, based on my design here, seeing as her cutie mark and tail aren't even visible :')

Thank you for hosting such a great event. I've never been into Next Gen stuff, and I've never joined a contest on here before, but Fray seemed so well-thought out, I'm glad to say I had the chance to work with her.