A herd of My Little Ponies stampeded into the lives of little girls and boys some 25 years ago — and they have never clip-clopped out.

My Little Ponies, bred by Hasbro in a variety of colors and styles (unicorns, flutter-winged, seahorse-ish or plain), and with a plethora of accoutrements (brushes, stables and rainbows), were the perfect plastic pets.

“Every girl wants a pony,” says MLP customizer Christie Walker. “If you can have a pink rainbow glittery pony, then it’s the best pony ever.”

That sentiment was the driving force behind the upcoming Indy.com/My Little Pony Auction on Feb. 14 at the Indianapolis Art Center. The auction will feature works of art by local artists, regular Janes — and you! That’s right! I want YOU to make a pony and auction it off to benefit the Feral Bureau of Indiana.

Contest entry rules

For My Little Pony Auction artists: You can use a new pony or a vintage pony, but please use a My Little Pony as your base (unless you are casting your own pony in glass or metal). Make a pony that reflects you, your interests or your specialties. Ponies must stand alone, that is, not include scenery or be part of a diorama.

Deadline for entries Jan. 15. To enter your pony in the auction, drop it off or ship it to me, Jenny Elig, at The Indianapolis Star, 307 N. Pennsylvania St., 46204. Mark your delivery “My Little Pony.”

Please write your name, age, address, and phone number or e-mail address on a piece of paper with your entry inside the package. Once donated, your My Little Pony becomes property of Indy.com and will be featured in an online gallery before auctioning. There is no limit on number of entries.

DIY

To help inspire you, Christie Walker picked up pony reconditioning recently to create the My Little Pony/Bratz centaur shown here. Here are her tips for customizing ponies.

1. Use non-acetone fingernail polish remover, Q-tips and elbow grease to clean MLPs.

2. Use RIT dye on stovetop to dye MLPs.

3. Use a small-gauge wire or re-rooting tool to re-root pony hair.

4. Always use acrylic artist-grade paints or pastels to paint on MLPs.

5. Use a low-temperature polymer clay or a no-bake polymer in sculpting (Walker used Sculpey to join the Bratz torso to the MLP body).

6. Wire or aluminum foil can be used as a sculpting base.

7. If a pony has mold, bleach it.

8. Ponies can be baked at low temperatures (200 degrees or less) or boiled for modifying needs.

9. If you wish to perm the pony’s hair simply wrap it around a stick of some sort and boil it for 10 minutes.

10. For all other questions, consult www.mlptp.net.