Queen Novo

Queen Novo is a female seapony and Hippogriff who appears as a supporting character in My Little Pony The Movie and a minor character in the chapter book Beyond Equestria: Fluttershy Balances the Scales. She is the ruler of the underwater kingdom of Seaquestria and the mother of Princess Skystar.

Development and design
According to the film's art director Rebecca Dart, Queen Novo's early designs were very complex and had to be simplified for animation purposes. Her seapony form took inspiration from weedy seadragons, and her peacock motif was a constant element throughout all of her design iterations.

Queen Novo, as well as Princess Skystar, was designed by Rebecca Dart.

Depiction in the My Little Pony The Movie
Queen Novo appears in My Little Pony The Movie as one of the film's new supporting characters. When the Mane Six first arrive in Seaquestria, Novo's daughter Princess Skystar introduces them to her, and she is shocked and angered to see outsiders in her kingdom. After Skystar vouches for them, she tells them the story of the Hippogriffs, despite Novo's objections.

Novo is revealed to be the Queen of the Hippogriffs that Twilight Sparkle and her friends have been seeking, having fled underwater with her subjects when the Storm King invaded their former home. After Queen Novo uses her Pearl of Transformation to turn the ponies into seaponies, Twilight asks if they can use the pearl to save Equestria from the Storm King, but Novo refuses, wanting to keep the pearl from falling into his clutches.

Novo excuses herself for a seaweed wrap and massage, and she returns during a party being thrown by Pinkie Pie and gets swept up in the merriment. Convinced that the ponies are worth helping, Novo prepares to do something for them. But before she can, Twilight gets caught trying to steal the queen's pearl. Novo, enraged by Twilight's deception, uses the pearl to turn her and her friends back to normal and banish them from Seaquestria.

At the end of the film, after the Storm King is defeated, Queen Novo, in her Hippogriff form, joins the Friendship Festival celebration in Canterlot. Because Princess Skystar had gone behind her back and left home to join in the ponies' cause, Novo grounds her. During the film's closing credits, Queen Novo parties with the ponies and meets Princess Celestia.

Depiction in the series
In School Daze - Part 1 and School Daze - Part 2, set after the events of My Little Pony The Movie, Queen Novo is mentioned, and Silverstream is stated to be her niece.

In Surf and/or Turf, Queen Novo is mentioned again. Terramar states that, after the Storm King's defeat, she split her Pearl of Transformation into hundreds of fragments and distributed them among her subjects so that they could travel back and forth between Mount Aris and Seaquestria.

Chapter books
In The Stormy Road to Canterlot, Queen Novo, never referred to by name, appears as the queen of Hippogriffia, where she welcomes "Cherry Pie" and "Mort" (in reality Tempest Shadow and Grubber) with open hooves, at first unaware of their true intentions. That night, when Tempest attempts to steal their magic pearl, Novo catches them in the act, and a huge fight breaks out between the Hippogriffs and the Storm Creatures. Novo steals back the pearl and causes all of the residents of Hippogriffia to disappear.

In the chapter book Beyond Equestria: Fluttershy Balances the Scales, Novo plays a minor role overseeing the investigation into the Sand Dragons and eventually welcoming the Sand Dragons as allies of Seaquestria.

IDW comics
Queen Novo appears on the Issue #1 convention exclusive cover and the trade paperback cover of the My Little Pony: The Movie Prequel. In, she attends the Convocation of Creatures as representative of the seaponies/Hippogriffs.

Software
Queen Novo's Hippogriff form is a playable character in Gameloft's mobile game. Her in-game description states, "She knows that the hippogriffs have to stay hidden -- so leaving her kingdom is often forbidden."

Hasbro.com description
''Queen Novo is the leader of the Seaponies, who were once Hippogriffs (half horse/half bird). When Storm King invaded their land, they transformed into Seaponies and fled far beneath the ocean. Despite thinking she made the right decision, she secretly yearns for her old life above the waves. She is the mother of the chatty undersea Princess Skystar.''

My Little Pony Friendship Club description
''Once the majestic Queen of the mighty Hippogriff Kingdom (magnificent creatures who are half horse/half bird), Queen Novo and her subjects were forced to flee when the Storm King invaded their land, using Hippogriff magic to transform into Seaponies (half horse/half fish). Now, hiding far beneath the ocean, Queen Novo rules over the beautiful underwater kingdom of Seaquestria and enjoys the finer things in life, like Coconut Martinis and massages from an Octopus named Jamal. But even though Queen Novo claims that she and her subjects made the right decision to flee their beloved home, she secretly yearns for the life she once knew above the waves. She is the mother of the chatty undersea Princess Skystar.''

The Art of My Little Pony The Movie description
''Once the majestic Queen of the mighty Hippogriff Kingdom, QUEEN NOVO and her subjects were forced to flee when the Storm King invaded their land, using Hippogriff magic to transform into Seaponies. Now, hiding far beneath the ocean, Queen Novo rules over the beautiful underwater kingdom of Seaquestria and enjoys the finer things in life, like seaweed wraps and massages from an Octopus named Jamal. Even though Queen Novo claims that she and her subjects made the right decision to flee their beloved home, she secretly yearns for the life she once knew above the waves. She is the mother of the chatty undersea Princess Skystar.''

Merchandise
A toy figure of Queen Novo is included in the Canterlot & Seaquestria Castle Playset with Spike the Pufferfish.

Personality
Queen Novo is portrayed as nonchalant, sarcastic, and somewhat egotistical. Distrustful of outsiders, she is very hostile toward the Mane Six at first and secretive about the history surrounding herself and her subjects. Though she is briefly sympathetic to the plight that Equestria faces, Novo is mainly concerned about the safety of her own kingdom and keeping her magic pearl out of the Storm King's hands. If someone tries to steal the pearl, she becomes furious and vengeful, as shown when she uses the pearl to change the Mane Six back to ponies while they're still underwater, which could have caused them to drown.

She is slightly vain, undergoing beauty treatments on a regular basis.

Quotes
"Princess Skystar, what have you done?! You know surface dwellers are forbidden here!"

- My Little Pony The Movie

"Well, of course I know. I'm the queen. I know everything."

- My Little Pony The Movie

"Well, I guess the pearl is out the oyster now."

- My Little Pony The Movie

"Honey, I'm sorry about your home. I truly am. But my responsibility is to protect my subjects. The pearl is not going anywhere."

- To Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony The Movie

"Ooh! Time for my seaweed wrap. [...] Yes, a massage, too. Mama needs her deep tissue."

- My Little Pony The Movie

"All of this so you could sneak in and take the pearl?! This is why we don't bring strangers into our home! You don't deserve to be one of us."

- My Little Pony The Movie

"You are so grounded!"

- To Princess Skystar, My Little Pony The Movie

"Interrupting my beauty ritual again? Stratus Skyranger, how many times do I have to tell you? A queen has to look her best for her subjects."

- The Stormy Road to Canterlot

"My daughter would love to meet you. She's always telling me we should let other creatures into the city. She loves hearing different stories about what it's like outside the city walls, and if I'm being honest, I think she could use some friends her own age."

- To Tempest Shadow, The Stormy Road to Canterlot

"Do you dare come into my home and try to steal from me? Nocreature wrongs the Hippogriffs. You will pay dearly!"

- To Tempest Shadow, The Stormy Road to Canterlot

"Why, Princess Twilight! How Wonderful to see again!"

- Convocation of the Creatures!