History Analysis / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic

Whenever an obvious conflict-of-canon occurs, fans (and the show-focused [[TheWikiRule MLP:FIM Wiki]]) usually put show canon above toy canon.

* '''Cockatrices''': Creatures with a chicken's head and legs and a snake's body. Making eye contact will [[TakenForGranite turn you into stone]], but this can be countered if you give them a DeathGlare.

[[FanNickname Ice]], a lesser known background pony that appeared in the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green isn't Your Color]]" as an assistant of Photo Finish's and as a bouncer. Matches eye color, coat color and cutie mark. Others thought it was a pony version of [[Literature/{{Twilight}} another guy that sparkles]], though wave 6 confirmed his in-show identity.

[[/folder]]
[[folder:Non-Canon Alternate Universes]]
There has been an immense amount of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanworks and such made by the PeripheryDemographic (excluding {{Mega Crossover}}s that aren't centered on ''MLP'' or ''MLP'' characters). [[FanWorks/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic A list of them has been created and can be found here.]]
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Character Alignment]]

* ''LawfulGood'' - Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Starswirl the Bearded, Sunburst
* ''NeutralGood'' - Fluttershy, Princess Celestia, Sunset Shimmer (Post HeelFaceTurn), Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Daring Do, Zecora
* ''ChaoticGood'' - Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, Princess Luna, Scootaloo
* ''LawfulNeutral'' - Starlight Glimmer (later becomes LawfulGood), Iron Will, Chancellor Neighsay, Tempest Shadow
* ''TrueNeutral'' - Diamond Tiara, Flurry Heart, Griffons, Dragons
* ''ChaoticNeutral'' - Discord, Trixie, Sludge
* ''LawfulEvil'' - King Sombra
* ''NeutralEvil'' - Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, Lightning Dust, The Dazzlings, Wallflower Blush
* ''ChaoticEvil'' - Nightmare Moon, Cozy Glow

[[/folder]]

Ironically, some have cited an [[CriticalDissonance initial wave of harsh criticism]] of the show's kids-commercialization aspect with [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity sparking interest in the show]], starting with Blog/CartoonBrew's article "The End of the Creator-Driven Era", which caught the attention of /co/[[note]]The thought process went something like, "Amid's really blown a gasket this time, even by his standards. How bad must this show be to cause the entire Cartoon Brew staff to pile on it? Better watch it to understand what ticked them off. Oh wait, no. This show is actually pretty good and Amid is an idiot. I'm going to tell all my friends to watch it."[[/note]]; and later with ''Ms. Magazine'' writing an article titled [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad "My Racist, Homophobic, Smart-Shaming Pony"]], which generated hundreds of responses — including one from the show's creator, Lauren Faust, who has long considered herself a strong feminist.

It has even spawned an unofficial fighting game currently in production: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9qtgIi3Rw#t=1m45s My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic]]'', which is [[http://gamerescape.com/2011/10/03/gamer-escape-exclusive-interview-fighting-is-magic-devteam/ making waves in the industry]]. There was an attempt by fans to make a multiplayer massive online game, "Equestria Online" (but the project shut down after a C&D request from Hasbro), and a spinoff of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, "My Little Investigations". Other game spinoffs produced by the fan community include a [[LightningBruiser Rainbow Dash]]-mod of the Creator/AdultSwim game ''VideoGame/RobotUnicornAttack'' that had hit big with the same crowd several months prior to MLP's premier, helping to establish the [[MemeticMutation inherent manliness of all things]] [[TastesLikeDiabetes rainbows and unicorns]].

* ''LawfulGood'' - Applejack, Rarity, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Starswirl the Bearded, Sunburst
* ''NeutralGood'' - Fluttershy, Spike, Princess Celestia, Sunset Shimmer (Post HeelFaceTurn), Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Daring Do, Zecora

* ''LawfulNeutral'' - Starlight Glimmer (later becomes LawfulGood),Iron Will, Chancellor Neighsay, Tempest Shadow

The rarest and most mysterious of the pony races. The TieInNovel ''Literature/TwilightSparkleAndTheCrystalHeartSpell'' establishes that an Alicorn is "a special breed of pony" "able to harness the magical powers of the Unicorns, the flight abilities of the Pegasi, and the strength of a good, true heart of an Earth Pony." [[TheMerch Trading cards]] previously [[http://theponyartcollection.tumblr.com/post/26391355776 listed]] them as being Pegasi and unicorns but not Earth ponies, and [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#GG1rT68 have]] [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#qACi5v9 since]] [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#qdfTkEw listed]] them as being all three. Only five Alicorns have appeared in the flesh so far in the show[[note]][[{{Blooper}} animation errors aside]][[/note]], Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle]], and [[spoiler:Flurry Heart]]; an unnamed princess appears in a book in "Hearts and Hooves Day". Besides these few canonical Alicorns, several others have appeared outside of the show: Princess Skyla who has been released in the So Soft Newborn toyline, Celestia's four-year-old cousin Léon who appears in an illustrated French magazine story (but not in any North American canon), some characters created using VirtualPaperDoll WebGames, and some characters from TheMerch. Celestia & Luna are extremely powerful, able to raise the sun and moon daily, though it seems that this level of magical power is exclusive to just the two of them. Cadance, as of the end of the second season, has not displayed above average abilities for any of the three standard pony tribes, though her special spell can be extremely useful in the right circumstances. [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle]] becomes one in the Season 3 finale by writing new magic. And in the season 4 finale "Twilight's Kingdom", we receive a new benchmark for alicorn power levels when we see that the combined magic of four alicorns is a dead stalemate for ''the combined magic of every other pony in Equestria '''plus Discord's'''''. (Also that the fight scene between Twilight wielding Celestia's, Luna's, and Cadance's powers in addition to her own vs. the supercharged BigBad was straight out of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', to the point where Twilight literally got punched through a mountain sideways and it didn't even muss up her mane, and the post-fight landscape looked like a nuclear test site.) The short "Ail-icorn" reveals that [[PlotAllergy seasonal allergies]] have adverse effects on Alicorns (besides the usual nose and eye irritation), namely they leave the Alicorn bedridden and [[MalfunctionMalady render their magic unstable]], rather like that of an infant unicorn. Flurry Heart is canonically the first natural-born Alicorn, so it is unknown how Celestia, Luna, and Cadence became Alicorns. Flurry Heart also reveals that, much like infant unicorns, infant Alicorns can't control their magic, although spells exist to counter this, and that unlike Pegasi, Alicorns can fly from birth.

* '''Apple-loosa''': A western-themed town that was founded a year before the Mane Six first visited it. Buffaloes were the native inhabitants of the place before the ponies (almost entirely Earth ponies) built a settlement in their land, which has caused a conflict between the two species. [[spoiler:The conflict ended in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel "Over a Barrel"]] with an agreement that the ponies would allow the buffaloes a path through the apple orchard and give them apple pie when they passed through.]]

So far, no two ponies have the same cutie mark ([[spoiler: the Cutie Mark Crusaders come close, but not quite]]).

* '''Changelings''': Creatures that appear like ponies but with insect-like features and the ability to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting change]] [[{{Shapeshifting}} form]]. They feed off love and hiss when doing so. If a Changeling drains all the love from a pony, it can make the pony very weak and the Changeling very powerful. Some Changelings have unicorn-like horns and/or, manes but that is rare. Changelings hatch out of eggs and call their siblings "brood mates". When first hatched, Changelings appear like larvae, but then they develop bodies that look similar to their adult bodies. A juvenile Changeling is known as a "grub". Their names are generally bug-related (e.g. Thorax, Chrysalis).

So far most of the toy ponies that are seemingly based on minor ponies are exclusive to the Blind Bags. Not many of them appear in other toy lines like the brushable toyline, which is the "main" ''MyLittlePony'' line where some of the characters have different art than they do in the Blind Bags (a small number even have unique art).

''MLP:[=FiM=]'' proved an overnight sensation on the internet, and even before the first season was over, it had spawned {{image macro}}s and countless forum threads full of speculation and discussion; it also led to [[PeripheryDemographic lots of males]] having existential crises about enjoying a "girl's cartoon" so much. It also provides one of the best examples of TroperCriticalMass in action: one season of a show ostensibly for little girls contains hundreds upon hundreds of tropes, a Characters page, [[FanWorks/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic a fan-works index]], and legitimate fanbases for every character under the sun.

The pony civilization's homeland. A ConstructedWorld that is similar to our world in many ways but very different in others, it's divided into many pony-inhabited cities, towns, and villages. Ruled by the two powerful pony princesses Celestia and Luna, it is a magical place where everypony lives in (almost perfect) harmony with nature and the land.

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that Pegasi and Unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. The episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E13HearthsWarmingEve "Hearth's Warming Eve"]] as well as the [[IOSGames iOS app]] ''[[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-little-pony-twilight-sparkle/id465213808?mt=8 Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day]]'' and its ''[[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-little-pony-ruckus-reader/id498464830?mt=8 Ruckus Reader]]'' version ''Twilight Sparkle's Special Lesson'' explain how the three races came together to form the land (the episode tells less of the story but in more detail, while the app tells more of the story but in less detail). The exceptions to this are the rare Alicorns, who possess traits of multiple races (see their entry for details). Genetics do appear to play a role in determining species: in "Baby Cakes", Mr. and Mrs. Cake (Earth ponies) have a set of Pegasus and unicorn twins, which Mr. Cake ascribes to these being from their long-distance relatives.

The most commonly seen type of pony in Equestria. While being the "normals" among the races, lacking the overt magic of unicorns and the flight of pegasi, they nonetheless have their advantages. They tend to have greater endurance than other ponies and have a special connection to the earth, resulting in many of them, such as Applejack, becoming farmers. Also, the majority appear to have a superior sense of balance, poising objects with ease on their heads, backs or even noses. Earth ponies are the founders of the show's main setting, the town of Ponyville. WordOfGod states that earth ponies do have a passive magic that ties them to the earth and to caring for it, as demonstrated during "Fall Weather Friends" where the race held by earth ponies each year is required to transition the trees into the new season. The pageant in "Hearth's Warming Eve" shows that the Earth ponies were originally responsible for growing food for all three races, further proof of their botanical magic.

The race of our main heroine, Twilight Sparkle, and the founders of the capital city of Canterlot. All unicorns have telekinesis, which makes them great multi-taskers and gives them an advantage in handling things that would normally require hands. Most unicorns learn additional magic in association with their special talents. For example, Rarity has a magic spell that helps her locate gems. "Hearth's Warming Eve" suggests that prior to the point where Princesses Celestia and Luna took control of the rising of the sun and moon, this duty fell to the unicorns. This implication is also present in the very first episode, where the introduction states that Princess Celestia specifically uses her ''unicorn'' powers to raise the sun. In their infancy, unicorns sometimes have random bursts of magic and while using magic, the unicorn's horn glows and so does the thing they're manipulating. Each unicorn seems to have their own colour of magic glow.

Most pegasi hail from the majestic city of Cloudsdale, a FloatingContinent made of clouds and rainbows. Pegasi possess passive magic that allows them to walk on clouds and manipulate the weather, which is very important, because [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows ponies are actually responsible for the environment]] in this setting. "Hearth's Warming Eve" shows that they were once a race of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy proud warriors]], and to this day enjoy athletic prowess as shown by the Wonderbolts aerobatics team and Young Flyer's competition.

The rarest and most mysterious of the pony races. The TieInNovel ''Literature/TwilightSparkleAndTheCrystalHeartSpell'' establishes that an Alicorn is "a special breed of pony" "able to harness the magical powers of the Unicorns, the flight abilities of the Pegasi, and the strength of a good, true heart of an Earth Pony." [[TheMerch Trading cards]] previously [[http://theponyartcollection.tumblr.com/post/26391355776 listed]] them as being Pegasi and unicorns but not Earth ponies, and [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#GG1rT68 have]] [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#qACi5v9 since]] [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#qdfTkEw listed]] them as being all three. Only five Alicorns have appeared in the flesh so far in the show[[note]][[{{Blooper}} animation errors aside]][[/note]], Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle]], and [[spoiler:Flurry Heart]]; an unnamed princess appears in a book in "Hearts and Hooves Day". Besides these few canonical Alicorns, several others have appeared outside of the show: Princess Skyla who has been released in the So Soft Newborn toyline, Celestia's four-year-old cousin Léon who appears in an illustrated French magazine story (but not in any North American canon), some characters created using VirtualPaperDoll WebGames, and some characters from TheMerch. Celestia & Luna are extremely powerful, able to raise the sun and moon daily, though it seems that this level of magical power is exclusive to just the two of them. Cadance, as of the end of the second season, has not displayed above average abilities for any of the three standard pony tribes, though her special spell can be extremely useful in the right circumstances. [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle]] becomes one in the Season 3 finale by writing new magic. And in the season 4 finale "Twilight's Kingdom", we receive a new benchmark for alicorn power levels when we see that the combined magic of four alicorns is a dead stalemate for ''the combined magic of every other pony in Equestria '''plus Discord's'''''. (Also that the fight scene between Twilight wielding Celestia's, Luna's, and Cadance's powers in addition to her own vs. the supercharged BigBad was straight out of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', to the point where Twilight literally got punched through a mountain sideways and it didn't even muss up her mane, and the post-fight landscape looked like a nuclear test site.)

** '''Origin''': Before Celestia and Luna ruled the land, earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi hated each other and cared only about the welfare of their own pony subspecies. Earth ponies provided the food, pegasi changed the weather, and unicorns raised the sun and the moon but one day there was a mysterious blizzard. As the blizzard progressed, it hindered the earth ponies' ability to farm and the pegasi and unicorns couldn't get rid of the blizzard, which fueled more conflict between the three tribes. The tribes' leaders (Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie of the earth ponies, Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy of the pegasi, and Princess Platinum and Clover the Clever of the unicorns) set separately out to find new land. When the three pairs coincidentally found the same piece of land and deemed it suitable, they began arguing over who was in charge of the land, which started a new blizzard, which was revealed to be caused by Windigoes, who are winter spirits that feed off of resentment. Using the Fire of Friendship, the ponies managed to become friends and thus defeat the Windigoes, and then they shared the land, naming it Equestria, and the Equestrians have celebrated Hearth's Warming on that date ever since.

* '''Family Traditions''': Several individual families in the show have their own traditions that are not part of mainstream pony society. Applejack and her family (who are often referred to collectively as "The Apple Family" or "The Apples") are generally farmers with a lot of knowledge about apples that they pass onto each other. They have family reunions once every two years and are the ones who call harvesting season "Apple Buck Season". Additionally, members of the Apple family are often quite proud of being a part of their family and will sometimes state that they are to prove their point. They also tend to have names related to apples (Granny Smith, Applejack, Apple Bloom etc). Pinkie Pie's family (who are referred to collectively as "The Pie Family" or "The Pies" seem to tend to [[ExtremeOmnivore eat rocks]] (although it is unclear whether that's just Pinkie and her parents and sisters or if it extends to other relatives of the Pies). Pinkie Pie's parents and sisters seem to have a tradition of [[TheStoic not expressing emotion]], however, Pinkie Pie doesn't follow that tradition and neither does her grandmother (who's said to have a sense of humour in "Giggle at the Ghosties".) The Pies also worship a boulder called "Holder's Boulder" that is said to bring them good luck and was discovered in a dragon's nest by an ancestor of the Pies called Holder Cobblestone (hence the name). A few of the pies have rock-related names (Igneous, Limestone, Holder Cobblestone, Marble, Cloudy Quartz, etc), however, this is sometimes averted (Pinkamena, Maud, Nana Pinkie etc). The Pear family seem to be similar to the Apple family, but their traditions stem around pears, rather than apples.

* Some creatures in Equestria are a lot like animals you'd find on Earth, except able to talk and living a similar lifestyle to the ponies, with the exception of farm animals, who get farmed for wool (in the case of sheep), milk (in the case of cows), and possibly to eat scraps (in the case of pigs). These include '''donkeys''', '''mules''' (the offspring of a pony and a donkey, although they look like donkeys and don't have wings, horns or cutie marks), '''sheep''', '''cows''' and '''pigs'''.
* Some creatures are almost exactly like Earth animals, but [[NearlyNormalAnimal might occasionally do a human-like thing, such as Angel Bunny doing charades]]. These include '''rabbits''', '''bees''', '''fish''', '''mice''', '''ferrets''', '''beavers''', '''cats''', '''tortoises''', '''chickens''', '''hummingbirds''', '''blue jays''', '''ducks''', '''squirrels''', '''owls''', '''worms''', '''fireflies''', '''skunks''', '''bears''', '''frogs''', and '''alligators'''.

** '''Humans''': Humans do not exist in Equestria, however, they do exist in a dimension that can be accessed through the mirror portal and a pony will become a human if they enter this world. Unlike you and I, the humans of this world have technicolor skin and each human seems to be a doppelganger to a pony (or, according to the toys, a zebra) in Equestria. The humans of this world generally do not have wings, horns or magic, though occasionally they will "pony up" and gain tails, magic abilities and possibly wings. They also seem to have a habit of wearing their pony counterpart's cutie mark on their clothes.

* '''Dragons''': Can be almost any colour, and are basically what comes into one's mind when they initially think "dragon" (wings, claws, reptilian, breathes fire, etc). Sometimes, the fire can be green and/or have the ability to teleport things. Dragons can breathe fire voluntarily but often do so involuntarily when they sneeze. They can walk on either four legs or two and can speak. Dragons can occasionally be prone to materialistic {{greed}}. If this gets out-of-hand, they can grow to enormous sizes, [[YouNoTakeCandle speak in primitive grammar]], and [[StickyFingers want to steal everything in sight,]] a condition known as "greed-induced bigness". Dragons are omnivorous, and also eat gems. They need more sleep than ponies (especially young ones) and adult ones sometimes take century-long naps. They also sometimes involuntarily breathe out smoke in their sleep. Dragons hatch from eggs without wings and develop them after a period in their adolescence known as "the molt". The molt starts with itchy, red scales known as "stone-scales" appearing all over the body, then their voice randomly changes in volume, they randomly burp out flames, and they give off a pungent odor that apparently smells like a combination of Brussels sprouts and cotton candy, which is known as the "molt smell", which also attracts predators. After a day or so of these symptoms, they glow red a few times, get encased in stone, and emerge with wings. Molting dragons are generally kicked out of their family units due to something known as the "molt effect", which could be genetic or due to the smell. It is unknown how the molt effect works, but it does not happen to ponies. Dragons also culturally don't use pillows, but it's not instinctive, since Spike likes using pillows.
* '''Cockatrices''': Creatures with a chicken's head and legs and a snake's body. Making eye contact will turn you into stone, but this can be countered if you give them a DeathGlare.

* '''Draconequuses''': Bipedal creatures with long, brown bodies, red, snakelike tails, donkey-like heads, an antler and a horn on top of their head, two wings (one bat-like and one bird-like), yellow eyes, and a bird's claw and lion's paw for hands and a lizard's leg and pony's leg for legs. They are omnivorous and can speak. They also can do extremely powerful magic, usually by snapping the fingers on their claw. They can also live for an incredibly long time and are possibly immortal.

* '''Changelings''': Creatures that appear like ponies but with insect-like features and the ability to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting change]] [[{{Shapeshifting}} form]]. They feed off love and hiss when doing so. If a Changeling drains all the love from a pony, it can make the pony very weak and the Changeling very powerful. Some Changelings have unicorn-like horns and/or, manes but that is rare. Changelings hatch out of eggs and call their siblings "brood mates". When first hatched, Changelings appear like larvae, but then they develop bodies that look similar to their adult bodies. A juvenile Changeling is known as a "grub".

* '''Griffins''': Creatures with a lion's body and an eagle's wings, head and front legs. In Equestria, most come from a place called Griffinstone.

Sometimes, a pony's special talent will be supernatural in nature even if said pony is a Pegasus or an Earth pony (for example, Fluttershy's special talent is [[SpeaksFluentAnimal talking to animals.]]

The race of our main heroine, Twilight Sparkle, and the founders of the capital city of Canterlot. All unicorns have telekinesis, which makes them great multi-taskers and gives them an advantage in handling things that would normally require hands. Most unicorns learn additional magic in association with their special talents. For example, Rarity has a magic spell that helps her locate gems. "Hearth's Warming Eve" suggests that prior to the point where Princesses Celestia and Luna took control of the rising of the sun and moon, this duty fell to the unicorns. This implication is also present in the very first episode, where the introduction states that Princess Celestia specifically uses her ''unicorn'' powers to raise the sun. In their infancy, unicorns sometimes have random bursts of magic.

** '''Origin''': Before Celestia and Luna ruled the land, earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi hated each other and cared only about the welfare of their own pony subspecies. Earth ponies provided the food, pegasi changed the weather, and unicorns raised the sun and the moon but one day there was a mysterious blizzard. As the blizzard progressed, it hindered the earth ponies' ability to farm and the pegasi and unicorns couldn't get rid of the blizzard, which fueled more conflict between the three tribes. The tribes' leaders (Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie of the earth ponies, Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy of the pegasi, and Princess Platinum and Clover the Clever of the unicorns) set separately out to find new land. When the three pairs coincidentally find the same piece of land and deem it suitable, they begin arguing over who is in charge of the land, which starts a new blizzard, which is revealed to be caused by Windigoes, who are winter spirits that feed off of resentment. Using the Fire of Friendship, the ponies managed to become friends and thus defeat the Windigoes, and then they shared the land, naming it Equestria, and the Equestrians have celebrated Hearth's Warming on that date ever since.

* '''Grand Galloping Gala''': A formal party reserved for individuals with tickets provided by Celestia celebrated in the castle. Ponies dress up in fancy clothing and participate in dancing and snacking from a buffet. It has a rather serious vibe to it, and acting goofy is generally frowned upon (as evidenced when Octavia says "This is not that kind of party").

* '''Family Traditions''': Several individual families in the show have their own traditions that are not part of mainstream pony society. Applejack and her family (who are often referred to collectively as "The Apple Family" or "The Apples") are generally farmers with a lot of knowledge about apples that they pass onto each other. They have family reunions once every two years and are the ones who call harvesting season "Apple Buck Season". Additionally, members of the Apple family are often quite proud of being a part of their family and will sometimes state that they are to prove their point. They also tend to have names related to apples (Granny Smith, Applejack, Apple Bloom etc). Pinkie Pie's family (who are referred to collectively as "The Pie Family" or "The Pies" seem to tend to [[ExtremeOmnivore eat rocks]] (although it is unclear whether that's just Pinkie and her parents and sisters or if it extends to other relatives of the Pies). Pinkie Pie's parents and sisters seem to have a tradition of [[TheStoic not expressing emotion]], however, Pinkie Pie doesn't follow that tradition and neither does her grandmother (who's said to have a sense of humour in "Giggle at the Ghosties".) The Pies also worship a boulder called "Holder's Boulder" that is said to bring them good luck and was discovered in a dragon's nest by an ancestor of the Pies called Holder Cobblestone (hence the name). A few of the pies have rock-related names (Igneous, Limestone, Holder Cobblestone, Marble, Cloudy Quartz, etc), however, this is sometimes averted (Pinkamena, Maud, Nana Pinkie etc)
* '''Cider Season''': This would be listed under Family Traditions but is listed seperately since almost all of Ponyville's population is involved. It is when every year, the Apple Family make cider out of their apples and sell it to Ponyville's population for an unknown number of days in a row.

* '''Dragons''': Can be almost any colour, and are basically what comes into one's mind when they initially think "dragon" (wings, claws, reptilian, breathes fire, etc). Sometimes, the fire can be green and/or have the ability to teleport things. Dragons can breathe fire voluntarily but often do so involuntarily when they sneeze. They can walk on either four legs or two and can speak. Dragons can occasionally be prone to materialistic {{greed}}. If this gets out-of-hand, they can grow to enormous sizes, [[YouNoTakeCandle speak in primitive grammar]], and [[StickyFingers want to steal everything in sight,]] a condition known as "greed-induced bigness". Dragons are omnivorous, and also eat gems. They need more sleep than ponies (especially young ones) and adult ones sometimes take century-long naps. They also sometimes involuntarily breathe out smoke in their sleep. Dragons hatch from eggs without wings and develop them after a period in their adolescence known as "the molt". The molt starts with itchy, red scales known as "stone-scales" appearing all over the body, then their voice randomly changes in volume, they randomly burp out flames, and they give off a pungent odor that apparently smells like a combination of Brussels sprouts and cotton candy, which is known as the "molt smell", which also attracts predators. After a day or so of these symptoms, they glow red a few times, get encased in stone, and emerge with wings. Molting dragons are generally kicked out of their family units due to something known as the "molt effect", which could be genetic or due to the smell. It is unknown how the molt effect works, but it does not happen to ponies.

* '''Tatzlwurms''': Huge, serpentine creatures with red frills around their necks and pink heads with large mouths. They apparently eat dragons and are attracted to the smell of molting dragons. They are aggressive and can cause averse symptoms in draconequuses, which include being green all over and lethargic.

* '''Changelings''': Creatures that appear like ponies but with insect-like features and the ability to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting change]] [[{{Shapeshifting}} form]]. They feed off love and hiss when doing so. If a Changeling drains all the love from a pony, it can make the pony very weak and the dragon very powerful. Some Changelings have unicorn-like horns and/or, manes but that is rare. Changelings hatch out of eggs and call their siblings "brood mates". When first hatched, Changelings appear like larvae, but then they develop bodies that look similar to their adult bodies. A juvenile Changeling is known as a "grub".

* '''Phoenixes''': Orange and red birds that occasionally burn up and are reborn. Before burning, the phoenixes cough and lose their feathers. Phoenixes can be kept as pets, although if not bred in captivity, they will prefer to live in the wild. Their feathers can cause hearing loss in some, but not all, ponies.

The race of our main heroine, Twilight Sparkle, and the founders of the capital city of Canterlot. All unicorns have telekinesis, which makes them great multi-taskers and gives them an advantage to handling things that would normally require hands. Most unicorns learn additional magic in association with their special talents. For example, Rarity has a magic spell that helps her locate gems. "Hearth's Warming Eve" suggests that prior to the point where Princesses Celestia and Luna took control of the rising of the sun and moon, this duty fell to the unicorns. This implication is also present in the very first episode, where the introduction states that Princess Celestia specifically uses her ''unicorn'' powers to raise the sun. In their infancy, unicorns sometimes have random bursts of magic.

[[quoteright:297:[[http://www.deviantart.com/art/Map-of-Equestria-323909537 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300_dpi_map_of_equestria__not_mine__by_iceyx-d5atqq7_6263.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:297:An interactive map of Equestria. Click to see the full version.]]

The rarest and most mysterious of the pony races. The TieInNovel ''Literature/TwilightSparkleAndTheCrystalHeartSpell'' establishes that an Alicorn is "a special breed of pony" "able to harness the magical powers of the Unicorns, the flight abilities of the Pegasi, and the strength of a good, true heart of an Earth Pony." [[TheMerch Trading cards]] previously [[http://theponyartcollection.tumblr.com/post/26391355776 listed]] them as being Pegasi and unicorns but not Earth ponies, and [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#GG1rT68 have]] [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#qACi5v9 since]] [[http://imgur.com/a/wANNz#qdfTkEw listed]] them as being all three. Only five Alicorns have appeared in the flesh so far in the show[[note]][[{{Blooper}} animation errors aside]][[/note]], Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle]], and [[spoiler:Flurry Heart]]; an unnamed princess appears in a book in "Hearts and Hooves Day". Besides these few canonical Alicorns, several others have appeared outside of the show: Princess Skyla who has been released in the So Soft Newborn toyline, Celestia's four-year-old cousin Léon who appears in an illustrated French magazine story (but not in any North American canon), some characters created using VirtualPaperDoll WebGames, and some characters from TheMerch. Celestia & Luna are extremely powerful, able to raise the sun and moon daily, though it seems that this level of magical power is exclusive to just the two of them. Cadance, as of the end of the second season, has not displayed above average abilities for any of the three standard pony tribes, though her special spell can be extremely useful in the right circumstances. [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle]] becomes one in the Season 3 finale by writing new magic. And in the season 4 finale "Twilight's Kingdom", we receive a new benchmark for alicorn power levels when we see that the combined magic of four alicorns is a dead stalemate for ''the combined magic of every other pony in Equestria '''plus Discord's'''''. (Also that the fight scene between Twilight wielding Celestia's, Luna's, and Cadance's powers in addition to her own vs. the supercharged BigBad was straight out of ''DragonBall'', to the point where Twilight literally got punched through a mountain sideways and it didn't even muss up her mane, and the post-fight landscape looked like a nuclear test site.)

* '''Cloudsdale''': A large, floating, Greco-Roman-themed city made out of clouds that only Pegasus ponies have access to, since only they can stand on clouds without falling right through them. Other ponies can visit the city either through flying machines (such as hot air balloons) or magic.

It has even spawned an unofficial fighting game currently in production: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9qtgIi3Rw#t=1m45s My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic]]'', which is [[http://gamerescape.com/2011/10/03/gamer-escape-exclusive-interview-fighting-is-magic-devteam/ making waves in the industry]]. There was an attempt by fans to make a multiplayer massive online game, "Equestria Online" (but the project shut down after a C&D request from Hasbro), and a spinoff of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, "My Little Investigations". Other game spinoffs produced by the fan community include a [[LightningBruiser Rainbow Dash]]-mod of the Creator/AdultSwim game ''SugarWiki/RobotUnicornAttack'' that had hit big with the same crowd several months prior to MLP's premier, helping to establish the [[MemeticMutation inherent manliness of all things]] [[TastesLikeDiabetes rainbows and unicorns]].

It has even spawned an unofficial fighting game currently in production: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9qtgIi3Rw#t=1m45s My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic]]'', which is [[http://gamerescape.com/2011/10/03/gamer-escape-exclusive-interview-fighting-is-magic-devteam/ making waves in the industry]]. There was an attempt by fans to make a multiplayer massive online game, "Equestria Online" (but the project shut down after a C&D request from Hasbro), and a spinoff of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, "My Little Investigations". Other game spinoffs produced by the fan community include a [[LightningBruiser Rainbow Dash]]-mod of the Creator/AdultSwim game ''RobotUnicornAttack'' that had hit big with the same crowd several months prior to MLP's premier, helping to establish the [[MemeticMutation inherent manliness of all things]] [[TastesLikeDiabetes rainbows and unicorns]].

* Other regions seen or mentioned in the show and/or out-of-show media[[note]]in [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW the IDW comic]], on TheHub's Website/{{Facebook}} page, in a ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers New York Times]]'' ad, or in TheMerch[[/note]] include Applewood, Badlands, Baltimare, Dodge Junction, Fillydelphia, Foal Mountain, Foaledo, the Frozen North, Galloping Gorge, Hayseed Swamps, Hollow Shades, Hoofington, Horseshoe Bay, Los Pegasus, Macintosh Hills, Manechester, Mustangia, Neighagra Falls, Rambling Rock Ridge, the Ruins, Saddle Arabia, Saddle Lake, San Flanksisco, San Franciscolt, San Palomino Desert, Seaddle, Smokey Mountain, Tall Tale, Trottingham, Unicorn Range, Vanhoover, Whinnyapolis, and the White-Tail Woods.