Popular kids series My Little Pony has introduced two new characters who are in a same-sex relationship, a first for the show.
Having already appeared in the book series, lesbian couple Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty made their television debut in an episode called The Last Crusade.
According to , the writers Nicole Dubuc, Josh Haber and Michael Vogel all agreed to write the new characters into the final season of the children's show.
“I think it’s fantastic that we can show that what truly defines a family is love - that, to me, is the core of My Little Pony,” Dubuc said.
“Nicole and I thought this was a great opportunity to organically introduce an LGBTQ couple in the series, and we asked Hasbro and they approved it,” Vogel added.
“With Josh and Nicole running the final season together, it was something we all wanted to do — bring this out couple into the final season and make them ‘officially’ a part of the MLP world.”
Vogel, who is openly gay, continued: “My Little Pony has always been about friendship and accepting people (or ponies) that are different from you. So it just felt like something important to do.”
While members of the LGBTIQ+ community celebrated the move, others were predictably not happy - including self-described 'concerned citizen' Lyle Shelton.
The member of the Australian Christian Lobby, who was active in campaigning against same-sex marriage in Australia, took to social media to complain about the inclusive new characters.
"We said indoctrinating your children & your grandchildren would be a consequence of 'marriage'," he wrote.
"It’s a brave new world folks & we need to push back while we still can. Sitting outside politics is no longer an option for conservatives."
Won't someone please think of the children?!
