Artist’s description from DA:

In the midst of the threat of a world war, as well as their own inward unrest, Saddle Arabia and Equestria make it a point to demonstrate their alliance (amongst other things) by arranging a marriage between two of the leaders’ children. With Rarity being the oldest, she is of course chosen by the king, whereas the Emperor of Saddle Arabia instead chooses one of his youngest: Twilight Sparkle. The arrangement is nothing more than a political move for many reasons, but the girls try to make the best of their regardless.

This AU is one of my favs, so here’s a bit about each sketch!

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1-3: These are nothing more than me drawing some babs being cuties! Baby Twi, baby Applejack, and baby Rainbow Dash with a baby Tank. :3

4: Someone asked if Rarity and Twi ever have a child in this AU and this was a what-if design I did for it. I’m still undecided as to whether or not the cub will exist in the AU, but hey! More babu cuteness. :3

5: Teenaged Twilight! She was kinda lanky and awkward in the limbs before she filled out, and her magnificent mane is only starting to form up here. I tried to make it so her stance kinda reflects how she doesn’t quite know what to do with herself, and how out of place/unwanted she felt in her father’s household. Poor baby. :C

6: Bulk Biceps as he appears in this AU. Fluttershy is the ambassador of the Pegafey (otherwise known as Flutterponies) in this AU and she is almost always accompanied by Bulk, her personal bodyguard and good friend. He can be excitable and loud but underneath his beefy exterior lies a father with plenty of wisdom… and dad jokes, to give. He acts as a sort of advice buffer to Fluttershy and the two of them share something of a brother/sister type dynamic.

7: I have since changed Pinkie’s species from reindeer to yak; I thought itd’ be more fitting giving Pinkie’s friendship with them, aaaaand she’d be extra fluffy as a yak so why not? C:

8: An adult Twilight, who’s since filled out more during her stay with Rarity in Equestria. While she wasn’t physically neglected by her father, she was still a bit on the skinny side for a sphinx when she first moved to Equestria. Thanks to being convinced to eat better (maybe she sometimes didn’t eat at all?) and getting more exercise (and of course, becoming closer friends with the rest of the Mane 6), she becomes healthier and happier. This was to depict something Twi rarely was in the palace: relaxed.

9: An older sketch that I’ll probably redo, but it’s just the CMC as they’re seen in the AU! Apple Bloom’s a minotaur just like the rest of her family, Scootaloo’s a griffon, and Sweetie’s of course a pony still but this was to mainly show her off in her regalia.

10: A silly little doodle prompted by the amazing Monochromatic while we were talking about the AU. She mentioned Twilight doing cat things like lying in the sun or other warm places and I couldn’t resist! Twi gets caught purring up a storm and lounging in the sun, and she gets a bit embarrassed for it.

11: Headshots depicting Twilight’s sphinx parents: Aira and Azar. Aira isn’t Twi’s birth mother; Twilight’s canon pony mom Twilight Velvet (highly considering changing her name a bit) is still her birth mother, it’s the father that’s different for this AU: this old bastard right here. Azar essentially forced Velvet away after she gave birth to Twilight and kept her with his family, not out of the goodness of his heart, but because he still saw a potential use out of her when she got older. He’s a decent leader to his people and for it he’s loved, but he’s also a terrible father and emotionally abusive. All of his children feel some type of way toward him, not that he cares, so long as they do as they’re told.

As for Aira, she’s equally an absent mother, but part of that falls to her being depressed. I’m thinking she might suffer from post-natal depression that perhaps developed into full-blown depression? She loves her kids, she does, but…. there’s just no bond there. She doesn’t have the energy to deal with them and so she kinda… well, doesn’t. She mostly leaves them to their own devices and to the servants to tend to, and when she does interact with them it’s often tense, or worse if she’s irate, and heavy with the guilt she feels for her neglect, but she won’t stop herself from doing it. There is no true love between herself and her husband (it’s how Twi was born in the first place; Aira and Azar tried to “spice” their marriage up with the inclusion of a lowly pony maid) but she feels compelled to keep up good appearances, so she refuses to seek out the help she needs and hides her struggles with false smiles, heavy fur powders, busying herself with entertaining guests and paperwork, and alcohol. And so the cycle continues until it finally breaks much later.

12: Just a quick doodle I did for some RariTwi fluff; this would occur later in their relationship where they’ve become far more comfortable with one another. Twi’s feeling very affectionate and cuddles up to Rares all the while purring like the big kitty she is. Rarity’s pleasantly surprised but she sure ain’t complainin’. C:<