Happy Birthday!
Now, how close are you to Tokyo? I might do some leg work for you and find a place that sells those books. I'm thinking the Akihabara maybe. Or y'know, Amazon does ship worldwide.
I like "Fall Weather Friends" as an intro. Has some action, tighter focus (you can explain Rainbow Dash and Applejack without having to show the intro episodes first), and it's a solid episode with a good moral. Then show the two-part opener so they get the characters.
Don't you basically run on petty spite?