"Novo is all ready for the Grad Galloping Gala! She can't wait to spend the evening with Celestia and meet all sorts of guests.
The inspiration for this was from an image made by InuHoshi-to-DarkPen, who made an image of Celestia and Novo at the gala together. The colors, circles around her dress, and rings on her talons were very much influenced by that piece, but I also wanted to give the dress a focus on her relationship with the ocean, mainly through the shell earrings, the sand dollar buckle around her neck, and the wave pattern on the top of the dress. There was also some inspiration from Celestia's own Gala dress too. I suppose Novo wanted to have a similarly matched outfit like her friend."