Toys R Us BOGO - Buy 1 Get 1 Free Off All MLP

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

Image Source

Woohoo, BOGO! Buy one, get one free of all My Little Pony products at Toys R Us. This Friday, March 30, 2012 and Saturday, March 31, 2012 only.

Pony Trading Cards by Enterplay

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

"Board Game" by ~WillDrawForFood1

Pony trading cards in the works? Looks like it! Enterplay reports that they will be launching a set of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic-based trading cards this coming June:

March 2012 - My Little Pony Trading Cards are coming soon! Enterplay will be launching an all-new set this June based on the popular TV series Friendship is Magic!™ It is sure to please bronies and fans of all ages!

Wonder if this will be the start of a pony trading card game, or will they simply be collectibles? Guess we will have to wait and see!

Enterplay is also looking for feedback and input on their upcoming line. You can take their survey here.

(via MLP Arena)

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Have you checked out our G4 Checklist? It's every Friendship of Magic pony and merchandise item we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the G4 Checklist (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page.

Merchandise Round-Up

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

In my absence I have missed quite a bit of new merchandise and I apologize for that. As such, much of this news is a bit old, some of it dating back to December, eep!

You can check it all out under the cut.

New Princess Luna Brushable

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

Image Source

New Princess Luna brushable found on Taobao. Her mold is similar to Princess Cadence's.

Via MLP Arena.

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Have you checked out our G4 Checklist? It's every Friendship of Magic pony and merchandise item we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the G4 Checklist (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page.

Friendship is Magic, Royal Wedding Promo

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

The Hub released a promo for their upcoming special, "The Royal Wedding." The episode is set to premier on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 1PM EST / 10AM PST.

Lorax Brony Meetup, Kansas City KS

I wanted to plan a meet up to go see "The Lorax" at legends!
You'll be seeing it in 3D but if that's a problem for any pony let me know and I can change that faster then you can say "Discord is the best pony"

Schedule:
-Show up at Mcdonalds (10555 Parallel Parkway
Kansas City, KS 66111)
-Get ponies and food~
-Go to Legends at around 6:00
-get Tickets and seated
-Movie starts at 6:30! ♥

If we want to continue to hang out, it is a shopping mall so we can hit up Hot topic for ponies and hang about!

Legends address: 1843 Village West Parkway, Suite C127 | Kansas City, KS 66111
Mcdonalds: 10555 Parallel Parkway
Kansas City, KS 66111

Check out the site for more info.

(via equestriadaily.com)

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Have you checked out our Calendar? It's every swap sign-up, contest and event we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the Calendar (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page."

G4 Kids Sunglasses

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

These were found at Walmart for $5.00.

Photos by Varkolak at MLP Arena.

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Have you checked out our G4 Checklist? It's every Friendship of Magic pony and merchandise item we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the G4 Checklist (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page.

New Merchandise @ Hot Topic

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

Friendship is Magic seems to keep growing in popularity. Hot Topic has released a ton of new merch in the past few weeks, including lots of new t-shirts... yes, I know, there hasn't been a Pony Fashion Friday post in a while. Don't worry, I'll get right on that! In the meantime, let's look at what what non-clothing they have put out.

Rainbow Dash 20% Cooler ID Case

Rainbow Dash Seat Belt Buckle Keychain

You can check out the rest of their MLP stock here.

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Have you checked out our G4 Checklist? It's every Friendship of Magic pony and merchandise item we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the G4 Checklist (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page.

Nebraska PonyCon

Attention Bronies and Pegasisters! Nebraska's first My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic convention -PON3 Con 2012: The Running of the Leaves- is on it's way!

When: September 22nd (the first day of Autumn) 10am-Midnight

Where: The HQLLC building 12642 S 9th St. Bellevue, NE

Admission: $5 at the door for an all-day badge (Children 2 and under free*)

Even though this is our inaugural year, we've got a lot of big things planned for Bronies of all ages! Here are just a few things you can expect at this year's con:

-Brony-out with your fellow MLP enthusiasts at our all-ages and 18+ panels. It's programming by Bronies for Bronies!

-Hang-out with and attend panels by our super-special guests of honor: Hot Diggedy Demon and Balddumborat!

-Draw (vector/Photoshop/finger-paint/whatever) your favorite ponies or non-pony things at our art jam featuring comic artist and illustrator Fredd Gorham!

-Pick-up some amazing, one-of-a-kind pony merch and art from our pony art vendors and guest art auction featuring artwork by Hot Diggedy Demon, Balddumborat, Aokineko, Smashinator, and more!

-Party like Pinkie at our rave, featuring guest DJ and Brony: Revolution Boi!

-Display your physical prowess in the Iron Brony competition -a contest of speed, agility, and guts that will put each Brony to the test!

-Don't forget style, that should be considered! Channel your inner Rarity and show-off your style in our pony costume contest and masquerade.

-Race, fight, and frag your friends in our all-day video game room by 70MGame! Feeling old-school? Don't fret, we have a great selection of analog games too -"you stung my bumblebee!"

-Relax and catch a few episodes of everypony's favorite friendship-based show in the all-day MLP: FIM theatre.

For more information on PON3 Con events, guests, and volunteer opportunities check out our website, Facebook page, or shoot us an e-mail!

*Attendees 17 and under require a parent or legal guardian signature to attend. Children 15 and under are required to have a parent/legal guardian present to provide supervision.

(via equestriadaily.com)


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Have you checked out our Calendar? It's every swap sign-up, contest and event we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the Calendar (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page."

Friendship Express Game, Hurricane Fluttershy Teasers

By Kate, Editor in Chief

MyLittlePony.com has a new game: My Little Pony Friendship Express Train Puzzle Adventure. It's a trio of puzzles, and when you complete all three you unlock a preview clip for this weekend's episode,

Hurricane Fluttershy
March 23, 2012

"Fluttershy struggles to overcome her fear of public humiliation so she can help Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi create a tornado powerful enough to lift the water required for rainy season in the cloud-producing city of Cloudsdale.".

There was also a teaser after last week's episode.



If you want to watch the other teaser without playing the puzzles, check it out after the break.

My Little Pony Fan Design Contest 3 @ WeLoveFine!

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

That's right! WeLoveFine is having yet another design contest. The guest judges this time around will be Sethisto of Equestria Daily and Ms. Lauren Faust herself!

From WeLoveFine's website:

ABOUT THE CONTEST 

Okay, bronies and pegasisters... We continue to be overwhelmed by your support of our site as well as your boundless creativity and imagination, so we're gonna do this again! Welcome to our third My Little Pony design contest - here to celebrate all things Equestria, one cupcake at a time! Put your thinking caps on once again and show us your humor and your artistic spirit; we've once again got terrific prizes - including some awarded by some rather amazing judges! - and the chance for your design to become a part of our MLP store! Go for it, and good luck!

You can read more about the contest here. They will be accepting submissions until 11:59 PM (PST) on March 25, 2012, so hurry hurry hurry!!!

Sudbury (Ontario) Bronies

If you are in Sudbury in Northern Ontario and you are a brony, then this is the group for you. If you want to meet new people and have some good ole pony fun, then head on over to the Sudbury Bronies meetup page.

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Have you checked out our Calendar? It's every swap sign-up, contest and event we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the Calendar (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page."

Friendship Brigade

Hello everypony! Are you a gamer who just can't seem to find any pony to play with? Trying to get together with other bronies to play games like Halo Reach, Uncharted, or any other game? Or, are you looking to simply discuss a wide variety of topics with your fellow gaming bronies? Well, look no further! Introducing the new and improved Friendship Brigade! With our new forum site, you can come together and meet other bronies gamers like yourself. We have combined elements from Facebook and Twitter and rolled them all up into a fancy forum site. You can also check out the main site (which can be found by pressing the HOME tab) and find various game dates and other events that the Brigade will be doing. We are also looking for people to host servers for the community as well, if you would like to host a server for us let an admin know on the forums. So come on down and join one of the largest growing brony gaming communities out there. We promise it will be one heck of a ride.
(via equestriadaily.com)

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Have you checked out our Calendar? It's every swap sign-up, contest and event we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the Calendar (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page."

Equestrian Riders Facebook Group Looking for Members

The Facebook group Equestrian Riders is looking for new members. They are a community of dedicated Bronies that love to ride. If you can relate to this, go join them!


Check out the Facebook page

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Have you checked out our Calendar? It's every swap sign-up, contest and event we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the Calendar (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page."

Gala Con Needs Help

Gala Con needs a helping hoof

Folk of Equestria,

because our team works as hard as Applejack to make the Gala Con fun for everypony who will attend, we need your help at one point.

As you can see at our homepage is not as great as the Gala would be, so we are currently searching for a web designer who will be responsible for the complete design of our homepage.

Of course you will work not for nothing. As a part of the team you will get a free entrance, free overnight stay and free food.

If you want to work with us on a great Gala then send us your own design until April 1st to [email protected]

But there are some requirements. The Design must be in form of a HTML website (not only a layout) and should be useable with Joomla 2.5
And it must be all done by your own.

Greets
Saij

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Have you checked out our Calendar? It's every swap sign-up, contest and event we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the Calendar (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page."

Wave 4 Blind Bags - Introducing Princesses!

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

Hey everypony! I'm out of town so merchandise news may be a bit late until the end of the week. Looks like the fourth wave of blind bags are on their way.

Breezie

Island Rainbow

Forsynthia

Rainbow Wishes

Junebug

Princess Luna

Trixie Lulamoon

Lyra Heartstrings

Princess Cadence

Flippity Flop

Flitter Heart

Gardenia Glow

Skywishes

Sapphire Shores

Diamond Rose

Cinnamon Breeze

Ploomette

Golden Delicious

Sunny Rays

Princess Celestia

Ribbon Wishes

Fluttershy (Glow-in-the-Dark)

Interesting to note that there is not a single earth pony in this release.

Thanks to Equestria Daily for the news and images.

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Have you checked out our G4 Checklist? It's every Friendship of Magic pony and merchandise item we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the G4 Checklist (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page.

My Little Pony FiM "It's About Time" (Clip) - The Hub

By Kate, Editor in Chief

The Hub has released a teaser clip for this weekend's episode (March 10, 2012).



Season 2, Episode 20
It's About Time

"When Twilight Sparkle receives a strange and vague warning about impending doom and disaster from her future self, she drives herself nearly mad in an attempt to stall a cataclysmic event, but her uncertainty makes finding answers difficult."

Via EQD & MutatingRaven 

My Little Pony Project 2012

By Kate, Editor in Chief

Image Source

The My Little Pony Project is coming to Los Angeles, May 5 - May 26, 2012.

"Hasbro's MY LITTLE PONY Project returns in 2012 with a year-long global celebration of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, an art exhibition dedicated to My Little Pony's favorite charities around the world. 2012 marks the first world tour of the MY LITTLE PONY Project, engaging talents in Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo, Japan. 

This special exhibition launches in Los Angeles on May 5, 2012 at Toy Art Gallery and will showcase the MY LITTLE PONY Project charity ponies,18" My Little Pony figures designed by international fine artists, and My Little Pony pop-up shop by WeLoveFine. Select shops from Toy Art Gallery to JapanLA, Joyrich, Munky King, and more will host secret pony items, turning Melrose Avenue into "My Little Pony Avenue". Please join us in celebrating the world of My Little Pony. 

Featuring ponies by:
6%DOKIDOKI
64 Colors
Ana Bagayan
Angry Woebots
Blamo (Mikie Graham)
Blythe (Junie Moon)
Chikuwaemil
COPE2
DABS & MYLA
Eimi
HIME+YOU
Indie
Jillian Kate
J*RYU
Julie West
Kano
Kukula
Lisa Alisa
Luke Chueh
Madoka Kinoshita
Martin Hsu
Mark Mothersbaugh
Miso
Miss Kika
Onch Movement
Pee-wee Herman
Perez Hilton
Shojono Tomo
Sket One
Spank!
TOUMA
and more"

The My Little Pony Project originated in 2008, part of the 25th Anniversary Celebration of My Little Pony.

"For 25 years, Hasbro’s beloved MY LITTLE PONY® brand has brought fun, friendship, and joy of play to millions of little girls around the world. In honor of this remarkable milestone, Hasbro is sponsoring the “MY LITTLE PONY PROJECT: 25 Ponies for 25 Years” program. The “MY LITTLE PONY PROJECT: 25 Ponies for 25 Years” program is an international collection of 18” MY LITTLE PONY figures designed by popular culture’s influential people and organizations. The program was created not only to be a celebration of the whimsical nature of the brand, but also as a way to support Give Kids The World Village, a non-profit that strives to provide magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses. We’re inviting a host of international celebrities, fashion designers, and artists to design a one-of-a-kind MY LITTLE PONY figure. The entire “MY LITTLE PONY PROJECT: 25 Ponies for 25 Years” collection will be unveiled at a New York City event in fall of this year. Ponies from the “MY LITTLE PONY Project: 25 Ponies for 25 Years” collection will also be available for auction, with a portion of the proceeds going to Give Kids The World Village. We invite you to learn more about Give Kids The World Village by visiting their web site at www.gktw.org. Whether you played with MY LITTLE PONY yourself or know a special little girl who still does, tap into your magical MY LITTLE PONY memories and keep checking the site for updates about the most whimsical, wonderful event of the year!"

The Junko Mizuno Collector Pony was based on a design for the 2008 My Little Pony Project.

Junko Mizuno Collector Pony

The MLP News Toy Map

By Kate, Editor in Chief

Maps and ponies - screenshot of Season 2, Episode 12 "Family Appreciation Day"

Hi Ponyfans,

Sorry I've been MIA around here for the past month (and really since the beginning of the year, aka when I went back to my day job full time). Being a new parent is a bit of a bumpy ride, and I'm still trying to figure out how to fit this site into my new life. Luckily, Sam has been awesome at keeping this site running - Thank you Sam!

So here I am trying again to get back in the saddle again (pun intended). One thing I know I've been remiss in is addressing the messages from our Submissions Page. One of the most common submissions we receive lately are toy sightings, letting us know when a long anticipated pony toy is finally available in stores. While sometimes we'll do a post about toy releases, it can be a little hard to keep track as things roll out at different times, in different stores, states, and countries. I kept on thinking there had to be a better way.

And so, I'm proud to introduce the MLP News Toy Map! Anyone can add a marker to the map with what ponies are newly available at what local stores (no sign-up required, though entries will require moderator approval before being posted). And as people add information to the map, you'll be able to see what toys and merchandise are available close to you.

Of course, this map will only be as good as you make it, so it's a bit of an experiment. But I think it has a lot of potential to become a great resource for pony toy lovers. I hope you all think so too, and will start adding markers with your toy sightings soon.

Happy pony shopping!

Editor in Chief
My Little Pony News

Fashion Style Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

It was inevitable at this point but nonetheless, here she is! Hasbro is releasing a Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo toy, in Fashion Style size no less. No news on when this will be released. Many speculate that she may be a special edition convention pony, but she may also be sold in stores. Who knows!

Images found on Taobao as usual, via MLP Arena.

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Have you checked out our G4 Checklist? It's every Friendship of Magic pony and merchandise item we've posted about, with links to the original article. You can access the G4 Checklist (and other useful pages) from the black navigation bar at the top of the page.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Season Finale Synopsis

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

The end of season two is fast approaching! Seems like just yesterday that it began.

The season finale is a two-parter, set to air on April 21, 2012. Equestria Daily was sent this synopsis snippet, originally from a physical copy of TV Guide:

In case you can't read it, the text says:

Not everything is rainbows and gumdrops in this two-part special that finds unicorn Twilight Sparkle digging up a wedding shocker as her brother Shining Armor prepares to get hitched. -MWB

That's right! Seems that Shining Armor, the stallion we have been hearing so much about, is Twilight Sparkle's brother! Who saw that coming? This could still be a rumor as evidence of this cannot be found on their website, but it seems real to me. Keep a look out for this little piece in your own copy of TV Guide.

Shining Armor and Princess Cadence 'Save the Date'
My Little Pony Facebook

Amy Keating Responds to the Derpy Controversy

By Sam, New Ponies & Merch Editor

Derpy Vector by *mandydax

As we reported earlier, there was recently some kerfuffle surrounding the background pony Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo. She was given a speaking role in the episode "The Last Roundup" and her portrayal was read as offensive by many. Hasbro and some of the Friendship is Magic staff, including Amy Keating Rogers who wrote "The Last Roundup", received letters and e-mails of complaint about Derpy/Ditzy's portrayal. The episode was removed from iTunes and many fans feared the worst, but it has been put back up for sale and the scene in question was altered. You can see a comparison of the two scenes here.

Amy Keating Rogers has responded to why the scene was changed. You can read her message below:

Whew, this controversy has been overwhelming and exhausting! 


I actually had no idea that fans were really upset about the "Derpy Change" until your email. And I didn't actually know about the change until I got an email last week from a fan telling me about it!


Let me try and put some rumors at rest and calm the fans. And to do that, let's go back to the beginning. 


When I first wrote this episode, the character under such harsh scrutiny was named Ditzy Doo. We had already established in previous episodes that she was clumsy (she is not the pony you want on your moving crew). And we named her Ditzy Doo thinking of her as a being a bit dingy. 


The scene I wrote was originally longer and had a flashback explaining exactly what Ditzy Doo had done to damage Town Hall. She and Rainbow Dash were "Bucking Bolts" out of the clouds during a storm. Ditzy Doo was bucking too close to Ponyville central. Rainbow kept trying to yell over the noisy bucking for Ditzy to move away from town. But Ditzy could not hear her and thought that Rainbow was complimenting her for her great buck bolting. Ditzy then hit Town Hall with a bolt. And, thus, the damage.


For the second draft, I was asked to change Ditzy's name to Derpy as a "tip of the hat" to the fans. So, not knowing that Derpy meant anything beyond klutzy and clumsy, I did as requested And then I was finished with this episode. 


I had nothing to do with the original voice casting. In my mind, she was ditzy, as her original name implied. But that's not anything I was ever involved with MLP. The scene was made shorter because the script was too long and because the story wasn't about Ditzy/Derpy. It was about Applejack. 


When this episode first aired, I did not see it until after I started getting emails either thanking me or berating me for Derpy's portrayal. The angry emails really freaked me out because I knew that I had not written a scene that could possibly be interpreted as being insensitive to people with disabilities. 


So, when I got home, I watched the episode. I saw that the scene was shorter, which did not surprise me. That happens all the time. I listened to her voice and it was deeper than I expected. However, I was not offended by any part of the scene in any way.


But I got about 10 emails saying how offended folks were. People labeled me an "ableist" (a word I'd never heard of) and said that I was being insensitive to the disabled by calling this character "derpy." I then did a search on what derpy meant and the first things that came up were "embarrassing" and "awkward" which is what I thought. But then when I did more in-depth searches, I discovered that one definition is "retarded."


Now, you have to realize that reading that made my heart sink. My son Soren (of Soarin' fame) is severely disabled. We do not use the word "retarded" in our house because it really has become an offensive slur. And while I knew that it was only a minority of people that defined "derpy" this way, it still upset me that I was the writer that put that name out there. It was painfully ironic and goes against the fact that I'm an advocate for the disabled. 


I also want to note here that while I got 10 negative emails, I also got about 200 positive ones! I knew that the majority of fans were not offended. I got emails from fans with siblings with disabilities and parents of kids with disabilities and fans who had disabilities themselves and none of them were offended. At first, I tried to answer all these emails, but then I just became too overwhelmed. Still, I want to thank you all for your support!


But I was not the only one getting contacted regarding Derpy's portrayal. Positive and negative feedback was also being sent to Hasbro and the Hub. Someone at the Hub who knows about my personal connection with disabilities contacted me asking my opinion. We talked about various options of what to do.


1. Do nothing.
2. Cut Rainbow saying "Derpy" but keep Derpy's voice.
3. Cut Rainbow saying "Derpy" and change Derpy's voice.
4. Find a creative way to change Derpy's name in a future episode


And I was honestly torn about which action should be taken. I went back and forth and back again. It was a no win situation. Fans were going to be offended no matter what. And while I was not personally offended by the scene, I tried to put myself in the shoes of someone that was. I know that if I was offended by something that I thought was disparaging against the disabled, I would want my voice heard. But then I also knew that an insensitive portrayal of someone with disabilities was never our intention, so why change it? 
When that call ended, no decision was made. And it was not my decision to make. I am just a freelance writer here, not a network executive. That decision was up to Hasbro and the Hub. I am sure they weighed what was best for the MLP brand, the show, the network, and they may have even weighed in my personal situation. Maybe they wanted to spare me from getting anymore more hate mail and people calling me offensive names. It may have been only 10 emails, but each one made me feel absolutely horrible If the effect on me was part of their motivation for the change, I think that's really amazing, incredibly sensitive, and very commendable. 


In the end, Derpy's voice was re-voiced to be more ditzy. And while, again, I had nothing to do with the casting, this is closer to the voice that was in my head. And as for cutting her name, if it truly can be defined as "retarded," then I am personally glad that name is gone. I wouldn't want my writing to perpetuate children--our target audience--to call other children "derpy" with that meaning behind it.


So, I know the fans are upset. But please don't be upset at Hasbro or the Hub or DHX Media or the "Anti-Derpy" fans or me. Let's remember what the message of MLP:FiM is--tolerance, kindness, understanding, and, most importantly, friendship. 


All my best,


Amy

You can read the full article over at Equestria Daily.