Once upon a time, I was camping with my family and I decided to play in the river. I was eight, and everywhere I went My Little Pony went, so I brought her along. While attempting a river crossing, I slipped on a wet rock, but rather than let My Little Pony fall I held her out of harms way and instead broke the fall with my tooth (sorry mum!). 

nat-is-awesome-with-pony

Twenty five years later, with a permanently chipped tooth, I was thrilled when Hasbro and Shapeways collaborated to open the beloved My Little Pony brand to fans. For the first time ever, a huge brand was enabling artists to play with their intellectual property, and create new fan art. Welcome to the 3D printed herd!

ponyheader

In order to re-connect with my excited inner eight year old, I decided to watch the new TV series to catch up. I lost my whole evening in Equestria. Why? As Lisa Miller wrote in her recent New York Magazine article, friendship is magic. These six little ponies embody all that is wonderful about friendship and remind you that kindness can go a long way. Honestly, who doesn’t need a reminder of the wonder of finding your kindred spirits?

While my pony toy is long gone, I’m thrilled there is an every growing collection of My Little Pony fan art that I can collect to serve as a bright beacon on my desk to be grateful for my friends.

Here are my favorite pony picks:

pinky

My favorite, Pinky Pie (because she’s the closest I can get to the one I used to have!) and she has the best laugh.

muffins

Fan favorite Muffins, once a background character, now gets her own 3D printed spotlight

rainbow

Rainbow dash gets things done in ten seconds flat!

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Last but not least, Discord, the infamous villain, bringing chaos to Equestria.

Although it’s never a bad time for My Little Pony, these are especially fun for the holidays. Whether you have a superfan in your life or you want to introduce these characters to a new generation, these make great gifts! Or, of course, you could just collect them all for yourself. It is the season of giving and getting after all.