Hello, Everyone!

[HoneySong]

 
Greetings! I suppose some introductions are in order. 
My name is Katherine, but everyone (even my parents!) call me by my middle name, Elizabeth! I was born on December 7th, 1994 in North Carolina. I was first introduced to My Little Pony when I was very young by watching a VHS tape of Rescue at Midnight Castle on one of many long car rides. All I remembered of it (prior to re-watching it a few years ago) were about three different scenes. I remembered Scorpan attacking, Firefly meeting Megan, and Megan throwing the seashell into a river to call upon the Seaponies. Years later, I remember having at least four G2 ponies with (from what I remember) removable tails and movable heads (but then again, I could be mistaken, it was quite a few years back). Unfortunately, I "grew out" of ponies, dolls and "girly" things (I was a bit of a tomboy and I LOVED all things Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, etc.) and got rid of them, not knowing that I would soon aspire to be an MLP collector/restorer.

In early 2012, I stumbled upon a video using audio from the newest show of MLP. Curious, I looked through different YouTube videos of this wonderful revival of one of the many parts of my childhood, and became immediately hooked. I remembered, around Christmas time watching "A Very Minty Christmas" and thinking it wasn't really as bad as other G4 fans were making G3 out to be. On Christmas morning, in one of my stockings was one of the series 1 Blind Bags. I opened it, and who else did I get but Minty! (Although, I personally think a Pinkie Pie mold would have looked better for her than an AppleJack mold  ) I soon began collecting almost every bit of G4 merch I could get my hands on.

Years later, I received some devastating news. My Aunt, who was a paraplegic from the waist down ever since she was seventeen and used to absolutely love horseback riding, had died in the hospital from an infection. My mother and I went down to Gainsville, Florida to be with mom's three other sisters and my Aunt Debbie's husband and son. Her husband was going to take most of her things to the salvation army, so we were allowed to look through her things and what "she would want us to have". Sitting in a box at the top of the closet, I saw something green and pink. Taking it out, I discovered it was one of the McDonald's Minty toys with facial markings. She soon became the first G3 toy of my collection.

I now have a few G3s (Starswirl, Island Delight, Summer Shores and Ocean Dreamer, and a MIB Toboggan) and two G1s Glory and Majesty (with faded symbols and yellowed bodies). I am currently in the process of restoring both G1s, and trying to figure out what I should do with two other G3 ponies; a Pearly Pie and an Aloha Pearl.
The previous owners of both of these seemed to have wanted to be hair stylists when they grew up. Aloha's "Super Long Hair" title had been stripped, and Pearly was sporting a strange/very noticable mohawk. Both have parts of their cutie marks and symbols removed, and I'm not confident enough in my painting and/or paint matching skills yet to be able to replicate the old symbols accurately. I have been contemplating whether or not to turn them into customs and make their cutie marks/symbols from scratch.

Anyway, sorry if the intro is a bit long, and thank you for having me! I am looking forward to being a part of this wonderful community!
 

[achab1984]

Welcome to the arena Thank you for sharing with us!

[Spinky69er]

Welcome to the Arena

Escape from midnight castle is a classic!!!

Glad to hear you had/loved G2s as a kid too.

You'll find lots of helpful restoration and cleaning tips on the forum.

Look forward to seeing you around

[Diamond]

Welcome to the Arena.  No worries we love long intros, that way we get to learn more about you.  And a Very Minty Christmas is my favorite.

[Uninu]

Hi HoneySong, welcome to the forums! We indeed love long intros, so don't worry about it! I love the sotry of how you got your G4 Minty I hope you like it here!

[hathorcat]

Welcome to the Arena! What a fantastic introduction - I love getting to know new members. Sounds like you have loved MLP for a long time I hope you have a great time here on the boards. I hope to see you around!

[HoneySong]

Thank you for all the kind words, everyone! 

[Bekuno]

Hello, HoneySong! Welcome to the Arena!

A Very Minty Christmas is a pony classic. I was a tomboy myself at the time and I never wanted anyone to see me renting it to watch during the holidays and discover I still had a bit of 'girliness' left in me  I can see Minty herself holds a lot of meaning for you. Have fun restoring as well as customizing if you choose to do so! Enjoy the forums!

[Sweet_Stuff]

Hi, welcome to the Arena!