My Little Pony 40th Anniversary is a special one-shot written and drawn by various authors and artists. The comic was made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the My Little Pony franchise. It was released on July 12, 2023.
The comic is over a hundred pages long and features three stories:
- "Friendship is Forever": (Written by Sam Maggs, Art by Keisha Okafor) Set in the year 1984, Julie and her friends Melanie, Kelly, and Tiffany are big fans of the My Little Pony toys. One day they hear that their favorite barn where they love to hang out at is about to be destroyed by a greedy land developer who wishes to buy the farm and build a shopping mall on top of it. The four friends must work together to stop this from happening.
- "Tales of Dream Valley": (Written by Jeremy Whitley, Art by Amy Mebberson) Taking place during Generation 5 Equestria, Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, and Izzy Moonbow are cleaning the Crystal Brighthouse when they find a book by Argyle Starshine called "My Little Pony: Tales of Dream Valley". As the trio read the book they become fascinated at learning the history of their predecessors.
- "Bonnie": (Written by Tony Fleecs, Art by Brianna Garcia) Set in the early 2020s, A young girl named Bonnie is watching My Little Pony: Make Your Mark on TV at her aunt Vicky's house. A thunderstorm causes the power to go out leaving Bonnie depressed. Aunt Vicky helps cheer her granddaughter up by showing her own collection of My Little Pony dolls.
This comic contains examples of:
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Friendship is Forever
- All Just a Dream: The entire sequence involves the ponies being real and fighting Hugh turn out to be a dream.
- Big Bad: Hugh Mann is the land developer who wants to build a shopping mall over the farm Melanie and her friends hang out at and later kidnaps Melanie to hold her hostage.
- Continuity Snarl: Despite taking place in the year 1984, the ponies mention they and Hugh came from Equestria rather than Ponyland.
- Punny Name: Hugh Mann.
- Mythology Gag: Hugh mentions he works at Grogar Developments.
Tales of Dream Valley
- Ambiguous Situation: If the G1 story was real history or in-universe fiction is unclear even to the G5 cast, who resolve to further investigate.
- Art Shift: The artwork for the G1 ponies is drawn like an old storybook.
- The Cameo: G1 Spike is seen at the end.
- Sequel Hook: Wanting to learn more about Dream Valley, Sunny and her friends head to Zephyr Heights to begin research in the castle's library.
Bonnie
- The Cameo: Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy are seen on a TV screen. Twilight Sparkle appears on a tablet monitor.
