Newbie Artist Training Grounds XV: Day 1

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Hellooooo everyone! I would like to formally welcome everyone to the 15th Newbie Artist Training Grounds!!! I, King Grimlock, will be your host this year as we all take the journey toward becoming artists together!! I am very excited to be hosting this year, and even more excited to see all the amazing art that you all will be submitting this following month!! Due to this being my first time, this months prompts will be given EVERY OTHER DAY (15 Days of Prompts Total) of the month instead of every day of the month.

Some ground rules that I would like state are as follows. No AI, No clop/NSFW, No Gore. Please be sure to be respectful to all artists who are participating in this event and make sure to build each-other up!

Now, with all that said, for the first prompt of NATG XV: 

 

Draw a pony standing // Draw a pony planting their hooves.

 <<<You can find the compiler you'll be submitting your drawings to here!>>>

 We are also teaming up with Calpain over on Bluesky who will be hosting thirty prompts on their end. The first one of which is: Draw a pony standing / Draw a pony rooted to the spot

 If you need some tips on drawing, check out our Tutorial Codex for hints and tips! Learn how to submit below if you have any questions.

Nightly Discussion #3956

 

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The background six! Some of the best ponies to ever pony pony pony! I love that the fans' adoration of this group caused them to eventually transcend the background. Good evening, folks.

This GIANT Octavia Plushie!

Octavia is a plushie we see pretty often, but not at THIS size! Can you imagine if Hasbro was releasing these? They'd make a killing.

It was made by 50kilosofhope on Twitter! She'sa whopping 1.6m in length.

Get more shots below.

Drawfriend Stuff (Pony Art Gallery) #5127

That's a cute pony right there. I'd let her run my business. 

Go get a bunch of art below! 

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by boggybap

Drawfriend - Equestria Girls / Anthro MLP Art Gallery #621

The princess of cake refuses to share. What will we do about this situation?

Time for anthro and human art! Go find it below.

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Celestia and Luna cake by RacoonKun on Deviantart

Pony Collection Event 2025 - Final Call for Submissions!

Collection - Natureshy

That's a lot of Flutters right there. Can you beat that collection? Cause you have a day to get yours in and show it off!

It's time for the 2025 Pony Collection Event. Submissions close on June 1st at 1:00 PM PST! Go take some pics of your pony things. If you want examples of what others send, check out last year's post.

Now find the rules below. 

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What is the deadline? 

Submissions will close on 1st of June at 1:00 AM PST!

What is required? 

Any kind of camera, and your pony collection!

Where do I submit?

We will be using our submission system.  Simply click the "Pony Collection Event 2025" event and fill in the blanks with your entry.  Each person gets 2 submission this time around. If you need to use multiple images, collage them together. That works really well.

If you would like to film your creation and put it on Youtube,  toss the link in the "Page URL" section.  You will also need a direct image to go along with it though!

A tutorial for grabbing the DIRECT URL of an image can be found below:

No NSFW pony merchandise, this includes clop and gore.

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A tutorial for grabbing the DIRECT URL of an image can be found below:

(Note: Imgur is recommended if you are new to this, but plenty of others allow you to grab direct URL)

In Firefox select "Copy Image Location" after uploading your image then right clicking on it:

In Chrome select "Copy Image Address" after uploading the image then right clicking on it:

This will give you a direct URL. It must end in ".png" or ".jpg".  Example for what it will look like:

https://i.imgur.com/UFb67bU.png

Paste your URL Here:

 

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Morning Discussion #3556

 

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Have these two adorable lovebirds for this mornings header.  They really do make such an endearing couple. Welcome to Saturday!

Nightly Discussion #3955

 

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Have both some moon and some sun tonight! Go chat below!

Open My Little Pony Art Compilation (All Skill Levels Welcome) #134

With the ATG starting soon, I figured I'd get the open art backlog up! Go check out art from a bunch of fun people below!

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[C] A Goofy Couple by riouku on Deviantart

My Little Pony The Movie: Infection Official Trailer

It's more Tamers. Are you prepared for another movie out of him?

Go get the trailer below.

ICEE in Mexico Running Pony and Transformers Promotion

Generation 4 is apparently still marketable over in Mexico! Icee over there has revealed a bunch of collectible cups for both My Little Pony and Transformers. There are six in all as you can see from the image above.

Thanks to Alexis for sending it.

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Drawfriend Stuff (Pony Art Gallery) #5126

The kirin is acting strange today. Maybe we shouldn't anger her...

Time for art! Go get it all below.

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Transformation by rvsd on Deviantart

Featured Music: Vul - Peanut Butter Jar (BGM Remix)

The peanut butter jar will cause WAR. Can Twilight handle it?

Time for a new BGM song. Go get it below.

Animation Shorts: Rebel / Tia, I'm hungwy / 45 Seconds / Rarity goes to Hamburg

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a

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Morning Discussion #3555

 

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Have this real beautiful Izzy pic for this mornings Discussion! Bridlewood looks like such a chill place to be with a great vibe. Morning, folks. Welcome to the end of another work week!

Nightly Discussion #3954

 

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Have these two best royal cuties for tonight.  Sorry for the late ND tonight, guys. I had to get something finished I couldn't put off. To be fair, this is about when the discussion is supposed to go up, haha. For whoever has stuck around this late tonight, go chat below!

Discussion: What Do You Think Hasbro Is Going to do With a "Brand Reinvention" Of My Little Pony?

That news yesterday was interesting! Pony is getting a big rework in 2027. While that means we have even longer before more cartoon equine content returns, at least we have some nugget of information finally.

So, what do you think they meant when they said a brand reinvention? Are we going to see new ponies? Are we leaving Equestria for another world? Will it be ponies at all!?

Drop your ideas below!

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Comics: Princess of Mail / Adorkable - Surprise + Locally Yours / TRS #76

Princess of Mail

Do you ship Blueblood and Derpy? 

Time for comics! Get them above and below. 

Drawfriend Stuff (Pony Art Gallery) #5125

The vinyl scratch will header today. She's not up here much.

Go get art below!

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by _simosha

Community Soapbox: G6 Should Borrow from G4, Ponies and Dragon Magic, Cafeteria Song Vs Battle of the Bands, and More!

Soapbox time, where the fandom expresses its opinions! As always, we are open for submissions on these.  If you'd like to submit your own soapbox, hit up this post for infos.

As always, these are the opinions of fandom members, not us here at EQD.

Have some headlines:

• Hasbro's Complete Rebuild of the Pony Brand Better Borrow More Heavily From G4 than G5 
• Are Ponies harnessing dragon magic?
• Which one has a better message? Cafeteria Song or Battle of the Bands?
• Hasbro's eOne acquisition might be the reason why Season 9, Rainbow Roadtrip and some EG specials weren't released internationally

 And go read them below!  

Chrysalis Day Arrives June 4th!

Chrysalis Day happens on the 4th of June! It's time to celebrate her with changeling based submissions! 

If you would like to submit to Chrysalis Day, send an email to [email protected] with Chrysalis Day as the subject followed by what it is, so you would name the email CHRYSALIS DAY - OPEN ART if you are sending in for open art. Be sure to include a source to your art if you want one listed.

Submissions close at 11:59 PM PST on the night before. Don't disappoint your queen! 

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Morning Discussion #3554

 

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Om nom nom. Poor Sunset. The "bacon mane" meme shall follow her around forever. Actually, it's making me sorta hungry just thinking about it, haha. Morning!

Nightly Discussion #3953

 

Artist: Astralune

Some good ol' Luna! Can't go wrong with Luna for the Nightly Discussion. She's practically the spokesmare. Evening, pones!

New Patch for Legends of Equestria Adds a Train, Loads of Quests, more NPC's, and Pony Accessories

Legends of Equestria is still truckin along all these years later! A new patch added a boatload of new things, including more accessories, a ridable train in Appleoosa, loads of NPCs, and more.

Get the notes below, or download it here.

Pony Plushie Compilation #895

Derpy plushies have always been a tradition in the fandom, and I love when we get super high quality ones like this. 

Time for plushies! Get them below. 

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Derpy half life size by WollyShop on Deviantart

Animation Shorts: Kyra delivers pizza / Trixie Show! / Flightless Bird

Trixie is putting on a show, Scootaloo is trying to fly, and a cute OC tried to deliver pizza. Time for animation! Go get some shorts below.

Drawfriend Stuff (Pony Art Gallery) #5124

Twilight is looking adorable as always! 

Art time. Go get it all below. 

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Twily by Nnaly on Deviantart

Three More Days Until the Artist Training Ground XV! First Prompt The Night of May 31st!

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This is your heads up that the Newbie Artist Training begins in just three days on June 1st! This event lasts all month, so get those pencils sharpened, tablets prepped, or whatever medium you want to use ready.  Learn to draw ponies together!

Tick! Tick! Tick! It is almost time folks for NATG XV!! I hope you all are just as excited as I am for a month of prompts, ponies and fun!

The event begins on the eve of June 1st, with the first prompt arriving the night before on May 31st at 8:00 PM PST. Feel free to join the Discord server #Artist-Training-Ground channel to prepare for it, as that tends to be where most of the action is with other artists.

Year of the Pony in 2026, and FULL My Little Pony Brand Reinvention for 2027

Woah, is that... news? We finally have some information about the future of pony arriving from IMG Licensing. Apparently the entire My Little Pony brand will be getting a massive reboot in 2027, with promised new look, new content, and of course new products.

They are citing 2026 as the Year of the Pony, but don't mention any new content for that period. Image-wise, all we have is the banner on their site for the brand as a whole and some clothing.

This means our hiatus just got a lot longer, but we also have the potential for some fun stuff in 2026. Are you prepared? Will they fail horribly or deliver on something that actually beats G4? The world will find out in a few years apparently!  

 

Get the full quote below.  

Fanfiction (Scouted): The Qualm Before The Storm

[Adventure][Mystery]

Author: FanOfMostEverything

Description: As much as she'd hate the comparison, Tempest Shadow has a lot in common with an Ursa Major: Incredibly powerful, incredibly dangerous, and incredibly easy-going if left to their own devices. After establishing herself in the Crystal Empire as a ranger, she was happy to spend her days on routine patrols and settling minor kerfuffles along the imperial frontier.

Then somepony had to go and poke the bear.

The Qualm Before The Storm

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Morning Discussion #3553

 

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D'awww, Flutters has a tiny palm-sized Discord! Though even at this size, we all know he's certainly more than a handful, haha. Good morning, everyone.

Nightly Discussion #3952

 

Artist: Novich 

And so the day ends on another character appreciation day. How do you enjoy Vinyl and Octavia Day? These two always inspire so much wonderful content. Good evening. 

Vinyl and Octavia Day - Open Art (All Skill Levels Welcome) Compilation

Your open art for Vinyl and Tavi day has arrived! Head on down below for music ponies doing musical things! 

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Drawfriend Stuff - BEST Art of Vinyl and Octavia Part 2 (2025 Edition)

(This post is not spam)

This is the second pile of art starring Vinyl and Octavia, with this one focusing more on Vinyl.

This post only covers new art created in the last year. Go get older art in the previous year Vinyl and Octavia Day 2024 art galleries, Part 1 / Part 2.

Now go get it all below! 

 

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Drawfriend Stuff - BEST Art of Vinyl and Octavia Part 1 (2025 Edition)

Octavia and Vinyl have arrived! We've got the start of the art flood today.

This post only covers new art created in the last year. Go get older art in the previous year Vinyl and Octavia Day 2024 art galleries, Part 1 / Part 2. 

Now go get the music mares below.

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by t72b

Drawfriend Stuff (Pony Art Gallery) #5123

The music ponies will have dedicated art compilations later, but have a regular Drawfriend post to get us started! They can header here too!

Art below.

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by dusthiel

Comics: Moonlit Boat Ride / Adorkable - Locally Yours / Shadows of the Past #102

Moonlit Boat Ride

Void's pony world is kinda terrifying.

Time for comics! Get them above and below.

15 of the Best Fanfics to Read for Vinyl and Octavia Day!

We've got another pile of fanfics dedicated to these two for all of you to read this morning. These are different from last year, so go hit that post up if you want more.

And thanks to Whisper Key for digging them up!

Now go read below!

Vinyl and Octavia Daily Discussion: Fanon, Episode Ideas and More!

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Ironically these two got a lot more action in the Equestria Girls world, but what would you have liked to see if they got an episode or two dedicated to them in the regular Friendship is Magic universe? Were they roomates? Lovers? Sisters? It's a mystery!

Discuss all about them below!

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Morning Discussion #3552

 

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The morning routine of two adorable music horses. Welcome to Vinyl and Octavia Day! Expect all the usual character day posts and discussion. Hope you enjoy!

Music Mares Return - Vinyl Scratch and Octavi Day Begins!

Source - Doublewbrothers

Today we celebrate the best music ponies in the show! Born from the fires of the pony fandom, these two quickly became canon with piles of shoutouts over the years, along with a lot of adoption of our own fanon lore for them. Are you prepared to be flooded with a bunch of stuff involving these two?

Expect things to get started in the morning! for now, go listen to some of that music people make about them on Youtube. There are thousands of songs.

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