Twilight Sparkle Alicorn Controversy — My Little Pony plush toys with red circles showing Twilight Sparkle with wings

Twilight Sparkle Alicorn Controversy

2012fandom controversyclassic

Published October 4, 2026

The Twilight Sparkle Alicorn Controversy was the brony fandom's uproar over leaks that Twilight Sparkle, the lead character in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, would be turned into a winged unicorn, or 'alicorn.' Rumors kicked off with toy and licensing slip-ups in late 2012 and ended with head writer Meghan McCarthy confirming the change in a January 2013 Entertainment Weekly interview, setting off months of polls, Photoshop threads, and 'Twilacorn' discourse across pony fansites.

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Overview

In the show's canon, alicorns are winged unicorns slotted into royal or deity roles with powers above regular ponies, which is why fans read Twilight's possible promotion as a huge character shift rather than a cosmetic tweak5. A big chunk of the fandom argued that giving Twilight Sparkle both wings and a horn would shove her toward Mary Sue territory and undo the student arc that drove the show.

Arguments bounced through Equestria Daily, DeviantArt, Ponychan, the /r/mylittlepony subreddit, and MLP Forums, where a speculation poll pulled majority disapproval6. Writer M.A. Larson, who scripted the transformation episode, turned into the fandom's lightning rod, with 'I Believe In M.A. Larson' avatar badges and 'Thanks, M.A. Larson!' photo edits riffing on the 'Thanks, Obama!' format making the rounds on pony boards5.

Origin & Background

Platform
Facebook / Reddit (viral spread)
Date
2012

On September 30, 2012, plushie maker Funrise put up a Facebook photo of an office setup with several My Little Pony plushies, one of which was a Twilight Sparkle plush wearing wings, the first public hint that Hasbro was prepping the character change5. Three weeks later, on October 17, 2012, the Brand Licensing Europe convention tweeted a poster showing a winged Twilight Sparkle2, which Redditor Lusht crossposted to /r/mylittlepony the same day, pulling more than 490 upvotes and 200 comments over the next three months3.

Hasbro and the show's producers kept quiet until January 29, 2013, when Entertainment Weekly ran an interview with Friendship is Magic head writer Meghan McCarthy that confirmed the alicorn transformation, with McCarthy saying Twilight 'was set up from the very beginning to be on an important journey'1. Equestria Daily reblogged the confirmation the same day4.

How It Spread

Reactions escalated fast after the Brand Licensing Europe leak. On November 1, 2012, MLP Forums started a speculation thread whose poll showed over 43 percent of voters rejected the idea of Twilight Sparkle becoming an alicorn6. Fansite blog posts on Equestria Daily and Derpy Hooves News kept the rumor cycle going through the holidays7.

Once Entertainment Weekly's confirmation hit on January 29, 2013, the Twilight Sparkle Alicorn Controversy spilled out everywhere. 4chan's /mlp/ board swapped its header to 'WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW' with the Metal Gear Solid 4 Love Theme playing underneath, and an Equestria Daily poll run around the same time landed on mostly ambivalent voters5. On January 30, Tumblr user bronychilensis-gwain posted an animated GIF arguing /mlp/ had actually been the calmest board compared to DeviantArt, Equestria Daily, Ponychan, and Reddit, picking up 1,900 notes in five days5.

Writer M.A. Larson sat at the middle of the backlash. On January 27, 2013, DeviantArt user PixelKitties made an 'I Believe In M.A. Larson' badge that fans swapped into their avatars to publicly back the show, which pointed the energy away from pure complaint and toward a running fandom in-joke that outlasted the original rumor cycle5.

Timeline

2012-09-30

Plushie maker Funrise posts a Facebook photo of an office setup that includes a winged Twilight Sparkle plush, the first public leak.

2012-10-17

Brand Licensing Europe tweets a poster featuring winged Twilight Sparkle; Redditor Lusht crossposts it to /r/mylittlepony.

2012-11-01

MLP Forums runs a speculation poll where over 43 percent of voters reject the alicorn idea.

2013-01-27

DeviantArt user PixelKitties releases the 'I Believe In M.A. Larson' avatar badge.

2013-01-29

Entertainment Weekly publishes head writer Meghan McCarthy's interview confirming Twilight's alicorn transformation.

2013-01-30

Tumblr user bronychilensis-gwain posts the comparison GIF about which fan sites melted down hardest.

2013-02-01

The Round Stable forum opens a Photoshop thread riffing 'Thanks, M.A. Larson!' on the 'Thanks, Obama!' format.

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