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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prancing-pony_6365.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:That's not even all of the original cast.\
3Nor is it 1/5th of the full cast.\
4[[LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces And yes]], one of them is [[OurDragonsAreDifferent a dragon.]]]]
5
6->''"My Little Pony, My Little Pony, what will today's adventure be?''
7->''My Little Pony, My Little Pony, will there be exciting sights to see?"''
8-->--Theme song for the ads and almost all incarnations.
9
10[[LongRunner Long-Running]] multimedia franchise that started humbly with a large horse doll with a brushable tail and mane made of doll hair.
11
12Originally created by Bonnie Zacherle, ''[[http://mylittlepony.com My Little Pony]]'' officially started out as a toy line published and developed by Creator/{{Hasbro}} in 1982, following their 1981 ''My Pretty Pony'' toys. The legal stuff was finalized in 1983, which is probably why Hasbro counts it as ''MLP'''s birthyear and not 1982. The different incarnations of ''My Little Pony'' are commonly separated into "generations", as classified by collectors, based on the toy line. It is a history of friendships, of cartoons of varying degrees of sweetness, of little girls achieving their dreams and of grown men defying gender roles.
13
14Generation 1 started humbly with the release of six pony toys in 1982. Very soon, the toy line became a hit of absolutely enormous magnitude, and quickly became a highly recognizable part of pop culture. The toyline was eventually followed by [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials two Television specials]], one in 1984 and another in 1985, and a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986 feature-length movie]] in 1986. A TV series, ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'', was released later the same year and ran for [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon two seasons]] before being cancelled in 1987. These cartoons all took place in [[SugarBowl Dream Valley]], part of Ponyland (or Ponyland, part of Dream Valley, or Ponyland, also known as Dream Valley -- no two writers agreed on this point) where the ponies -- with the help of a young girl named Megan – often have to fight off some MonsterOfTheWeek. Contrary to what one might expect from a work of fiction based on the sugary sweet toys (and contrary to the perceived image of the franchise that the public seems to hold), these cartoons were mostly based around the theme of adventure, and featured some surprisingly dark and lethal villains, especially in the earliest episodes. There were also comics released in the UK that used the same characters but had their own canon. The toys themselves often had short stories pertaining to the ponies in the box.
15
16In 1992 Hasbro released ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'', a SliceOfLife series which was set in its own continuity and ran for a single season. Often mistakenly referred to as "G2", it's technically still part of G1, even though it has nothing to do with the various Dream Valley/Ponyland cartoons. The show took place in a universe pretty much identical to our own with the obvious exception that everyone is a multicolored pony, and focused on things normal kids deal with. It notably set the trend of having the main setting be a town called Ponyville.
17
18Generation 2 actually began in 1997 when Hasbro gave the toys a major redesign. The toys were now slightly shorter than the previous generation, slender, and more "horse-like". The new designs were not well met and this version only lasted a year in the US, though it continued in Europe until Generation 3. In addition to being the shortest lived toy line, G2 is notably the only one without an AnimatedAdaptation, though there were comics and a [[VideoGame/MyLittlePonyFriendshipGardens video game]].
19
20Hasbro went back to the stockier builds in 2003, marking the beginning of "[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyG3 Generation 3]]". Instead of a TV series, Hasbro opted to release a series of DirectToDVD movies and shorts. The setting is once again Ponyville, but this time with a slight fantasy element to it. G3 is known for being the [[LighterAndSofter lightest]] and "pinkest" of all the incarnations. No villains, conflicts are rare, and there's, well, lots of pink, but it had a certain charm to it. Regardless of the quality of the animated adaptions though, G3 proved to be a well needed financial success after the poor reception to G2. In 2007, Hasbro made the controversial decision to reduce the number of characters, in a franchise long known for numerous characters, to seven. This led to a soft reboot which retained the original G3 look and was called "Core 7" by fans. Another soft reboot a year or so later, which fans call "G3.5", featured the Core 7 ponies in forms similar to ''Ponyville'' plastic molds. The reboot was not well received, and the cartoons in particular were met with criticism. The era finally came to an end in 2009 after the release of ''Twinkle Wish Adventure'' of G3.5, and ''Once Upon a My Little Pony Time'' which is linked to the Newborn Cuties variant of Core 7.
21
22"Generation 4" started in 2010 with the release of the TV series ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' developed by Creator/LaurenFaust. The ponies were redesigned to sport large eyes, tiny muzzles, [[PuniPlush bodies that are proportionally small for their heads]], and {{Moe}} quirks. At its core, ''Friendship Is Magic'' has the fantasy and adventure elements of G1, the SliceOfLife stories of ''Tales'', much of the cast are re-imagined G3 ponies, and episodes typically feature life lessons about friendship at the end of most episodes. Faust developed a new setting called Equestria, a FantasyKitchenSink with its own mythology and history, with the town of Ponyville being the home of the series' mane six heroines. Stories range from comedic slice of life to family-friendly adventures. In any case, the cartoon became an unexpected hit with a ''colossal'' PeripheryDemographic of teens and adults of all genders. Hasbro capitalized on the success of the show by giving ''Friendship is Magic'' an ExpandedUniverse with assorted comics and books. For greater detail, see the [[Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration4 Generation 4 page]]. The primary show ended in October 2019, but the comic series continued for about two years past that. 2020 also saw the release of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyPonyLife'', sometimes referred to as "Generation 4.5", a ContinuityReboot featuring the same characters but with much more stylized and SuperDeformed designs, more abstract and sometimes cubist-like backgrounds, and a greater focus on absurdist comedy.
23
24"Generation 5" launched in 2021 with a CGI film titled ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyANewGeneration'', and was followed-up by a series of specials and a [=CGI=] animated series throughout 2022 under the "[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyMakeYourMark Make Your Mark]]" banner. The film's co-writer, ''Friendship is Magic'' and ''Equestria Girls'' veteran Gillian M. Berrow, is in charge of developing it. In addition, a series of [=2D=] animated shorts named ''[[WebAnimation/MyLittlePonyTellYourTale Tell Your Tale]]'' were made available for streaming on Youtube. Generation 5 is notable for being the first incarnation of the show to exist in the same continuity as the previous one, although it takes place so far in the future from ''Friendship is Magic'' that it's effectively a SoftReboot.
25
26See also the [[SpinOff Spin-Offs]] ''Toys/FairyTails'' and ''Toys/MyPrettyMermaids'', as well as MyLittlePhony for parodies and pastiches.
27
28One of the first sites to document the toys was [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150810081215/http://www.kimsites.net/dreamvalley/index.html Dream Valley]], launched in 1997 and at the time was the closest thing the brand had to an authoritative collecting guide for the franchise. It uniquely had a way to search for one's pony using descriptions of body, shape, and gimmick features and covered the entire Generation 1 line and some of the G2, G3 and the start of G4. (The site went down in 2016 due to host exhaustion.) [[http://www.mylittlewiki.org My Little Wiki]] is one of the most up to date pony information sites for all generations, as well as [[https://www.strawberryreef.com Strawberry Reef]]. [[http://www.etherella.com/scrapbook/ Etherella's Scrapbook]] has info on G1 UK ponies, along with info on the cartoon and UK comics.
29
30----
31[[foldercontrol]]
32
33!!Adaptations:
34[[folder:Adaptations]]
35[[index]]
36
37!!!'''1st Incarnation (''[='=]n Friends''):'''
38* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials'': These are a pair of half-hour TV {{pilot}}s that started it all. Fair warning, they are both DarkerAndEdgier than one might expect of this subject matter. In one, the ponies face an EvilOverlord who happens to be the trope namer for TheNightThatNeverEnds, and in the other they face a violent, drug-addicted mage. Yes. Really.
39* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986'': After the pilots, we have this. In this movie, a trio of semi-competent witches cover all of Ponyland in the Smooze, a living wave of concrete which blankets the lands. Will the ponies be able to stop it? Oh. There's also a subplot about Baby Lickety-Split and Spike being on the run after they ruin a ballet recital.
40* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'': This is a direct sequel to the movie. This series featured the ponies going up against more villains and other life-threatening situations.
41* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePony'': Two unrelated sets of comics ran throughout G1.
42* A number of books unrelated to the comics or cartoons that were based on the toys.
43* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'': ''My Little Pony'' meets SliceOfLife. Take 1. Different continuity from the previous four.
44
45!!!'''2nd Incarnation:'''
46* ''VideoGame/MyLittlePonyFriendshipGardens'': A RaisingSim in which you get to raise a little pony.
47* A set of comics released only in Europe.
48
49!!!'''3rd Incarnation:'''
50* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyG3'': DirectToDVD movies and shorts. ''My Little Pony'' meets Slice of Life. Take 2. Not very well received in general but it has its fans.
51* ''Once Upon a My Little Pony Time'': The two animated shorts starring the Newborn Cuties (in this case, the babyfied version of Core 7 ponies). Wasn't well received.
52* Numerous books seemingly set in a separate continuity from the cartoon.
53* Several comic books based off the toy canon.
54* A kid's stage show starring people dressed in pony costumes.
55
56!!!'''4th Incarnation (''Friendship is Magic''):'''
57''Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration4'': The page for ''Friendship is Magic'' in general.
58----
59* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': What happens if you inject ''My Little Pony'' with fantasy adventure, the usual SliceOfLife style, and a dash of AnimeTropes. This time, it was well received on levels ''far'' surpassing everyone's wildest imagination.
60* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'': What happens if ''Friendship is Magic'' is shifted to [[HumanityEnsues a high school setting in the human world]]. Originally controversial, but has grown in reception with fans.
61** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'': A movie featuring Twilight Sparkle as she travels to a world where [[HumanityEnsues she is transformed into a human]] and [[HighSchoolAU attends High School]] with [[AlternateSelf her friends re-imagined as humans]]. Also a novelization: ''Through the Mirror''.
62** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'': A sequel to ''Equestria Girls'' where a BattleOfTheBands takes place. The Rock motif is very reminiscent to another of Hasbro's old properties, ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}''.
63** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'': A sequel to Rainbow Rocks where the school faces another in the titular friendship games, which include Archery, Motocross, and Roller Derby.
64** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree'': A sequel to Friendship Games where the class attends Camp Everfree and strange things start happening.
65** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsMagicalMovieNight'': A sequel to Legend of Everfree consisting of three separate stories.
66** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsForgottenFriendship'': A sequel to Magical Movie Night featuring Sunset Shimmer trying to find out [[LaserGuidedAmnesia why no one remembers her as a hero]] and still believes her to be a villain.
67** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRollercoasterOfFriendship'': A sequel to Forgotten Friendship where Rarity gets a job at an amusement park and invites her friends, but then they start disappearing.
68** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSpringBreakdown'': A sequel to Rollercoaster of Friendship where the girls go on a cruise for spring break, but discover magic running amok.
69** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetsBackstagePass'': A sequel to Spring Breakdown where the girls go to a concert, but Sunset Shimmer discovers the day is endlessly repeating itself.
70** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsHolidaysUnwrapped'': A collection of six Christmas themed shorts.
71* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'': A movie based solely on the TV series. While the Equestria Girls Spin-Offs are Direct-to-TV/Direct-to-DVD, this is the series' first actual feature film.
72* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver'': A Christmas themed special based on the TV series.
73* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyRainbowRoadtrip'': A special based on the TV series where the Mane Six investigate when the town hosting the Rainbow Festival becomes drained of color.
74* ''VideoGame/AdventurePonies'': A {{Web Game|s}} based on ''Friendship is Magic''. A PlatformGame done in [[{{Retraux}} 8-bit style]].
75* ''VideoGame/MyLittlePonyGameloft'': An app from Creator/{{Gameloft}} based on ''Friendship is Magic''.
76* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'': A comic series from Creator/IDWPublishing that premiered in November of 2012. It has original stories with the same tone as the show.
77** ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyMicroSeries'': A companion series also from IDW that spotlights different characters from ''Friendship is Magic''. Ran for ten issues from January to December 2013.
78** ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendsForever'': Another companion series from IDW begun in January 2014, focusing on interactions between characters.
79** ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFiendshipIsMagic'': A companion miniseries from IDW released in 2015, focusing on the origins of the villains.
80** ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyLegendsOfMagic'': Another companion series from IDW begun in April 2017, focusing on exploring [[WorldBuilding the setting backstory]].
81* A series of chapter books focusing on each of the main characters. See the G4 franchise page for details.
82* ''Literature/TheJournalOfTheTwoSisters'' : A {{Defictionalization}} of the diary of Princess Celestia and Luna during the start of their reign, along with the diary written by the main characters during season 4.
83* ''TabletopGame/MyLittlePonyCollectibleCardGame'': A TradingCardGame based off ''Friendship is Magic''.
84
85!!!'''4th Incarnation and a Half (''Pony Life''):'''
86* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyPonyLife'': A SpinOff of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' using the same characters in a cutesy, modern art style.
87[[/index]]
88
89!!!'''5th Incarnation:'''
90''Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration5'':
91----
92* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyANewGeneration'': A CGI movie. Set in Equestria's future after it's been torn apart by FantasticRacism, it introduces Sunny Starscout, an optimistic Earth Pony who embarks on an epic adventure with her new friends, including the Unicorn Izzy Moonbow and Hitch Trailblazer. Originally set for a theatrical release, but the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic forced a change of plans. It was released on Creator/{{Netflix}} on September 24, 2021.
93* ''[[WebAnimation/MyLittlePonyTellYourTale Tell Your Tale]]'', a 2D animated series of five-minute shorts for Youtube. Released on April 7th, 2022.
94* ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyMakeYourMark Make Your Mark]]'', a 3D 44-minute special and an animated series for Netflix. The special was released on May 26th, 2022, the series proper releases on September 26th, 2022.
95* ''Winter Wishday'', a holiday special for Netflix. Releases on November 21st, 2022.
96* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePony2022'', a comic series from Creator/IDWPublishing set shortly after the events of ''A New Generation''. The plot involves the theft of one of the unity crystals with the Mane Five being lead to Canterlot. Released on May 25, 2022.
97* ''VideoGame/MyLittlePonyAMaretimeBayAdventure'', a video game developed by Melbot Studios and published by Outright Games, centering around setting up a celebration in Maretime Bay while an unknown figure tries to spoil the proceedings. Released on May 27, 2022, for the Platform/NintendoSwitch, Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/XboxOne, and PC with a release for Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS and Platform/PlayStation5 later in 2022.
98[[/folder]]
99
100!!The ''My Little Pony'' franchise provides examples of:
101
102[[folder:#-E]]
103* AdaptedOut:
104** Over half of ponies probably never appear in comics, books, or cartoons due to the ''huge'' amount of characters. They have to compress them to a core dozen background characters and even fewer major characters. Characters from "oddball" lines such as the Twice as Fancy ponies and Sparkle ponies were almost always excluded from adaptations, possibly due to their unusual looks. This is especially common with ''Friendship Is Magic'', which contains a lot of CanonForeigner cartoon only ponies while toy characters like Firecracker Burst or Cupcake never even appear in the background (though it could be {{justified|trope}} in that it's easier to create a random background character than research toy designs).
105** None of the G1 dragons besides Spike have ever appeared in animated format. They were prominent in the 80s UK comics but not elsewhere. This is due to the way their toys were sold. In the UK, the dragons were sold with the Princess Ponies, but in the US the Princess Ponies' package companions are the bushwoolies. Although the Princess Ponies were shunned from the animation, the bushwoolies were regulars. Spike was part of the show because he was sold as part of the Dream Castle playset, which was depicted as the ponies' home before they moved out to Paradise Estate.
106** Similarly, most non-pony characters such as Kingsley or Creamsicle were never adapted.
107* AdaptationExpansion: The cartoons and comics expanded from the admittedly fairly detailed toy descriptions, more so in the earliest incarnation when more information was supplied by said toys.
108%%* AllGirlsLikePonies:
109* AllThereInTheManual: The G2 ponies' personalities (G2 as opposed to ''Tales,'' which is the second show but still considered part of G1 because it's before the first overhaul of the toyline.) The toy packaging goes farther than any other line to tell what the characters are like because it is not supported by a TV show. Even G1 and its longer packaging stories, between describing some adventure and mentioning ''another'' pony in hopes you'd buy ''her,'' sometimes ended up telling you very little about what the pony in your hands is like. G2 packaging bios may have been shorter, but they were ''all'' about telling you who this pony was as if it were the only chance there'd be to do so; because for the most part it was. Some ponies appear in the "Friendship Gardens" game, and there ''was'' a comic series, in the vein of the G1 comics and just as cracktastic but sadly nowhere near as long-lived.)
110* AlphabeticalThemeNaming: The franchise's three (unrelated) named zebras: Zeb[[note]]from the G1 ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' episode "Bright Lights"[[/note]], Zig Zag[[note]]from the G1 toy line[[/note]], and Zecora[[note]]from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' series and toy line[[/note]].
111* AlternateAnimalAffection: Mainly only used in the G1 movie and series. The ponies would nuzzle and lick each other for comfort, as real horses do, [[ValuesDissonance which can come off nowadays]] as a little LesYay since most media would compare that to romantic kisses.
112* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: Traditionally, the only colors to ''not'' be used for ponies (odd variations aside) are black, brown, and grey. ''Friendship is Magic'' is the first to truly incorporate these colors as well, though somewhat limits it to its male ponies, who aren't nearly as colorful as the females.
113* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: Inverted, when you compare the series to those issued by Takara in Japan in the 80s. The Japanese toys were cuter than the main line and were [[AnthropomorphicShift bipedal]].
114* {{Animesque}}:
115** The G1 tv specials were animated by Japanese studios, giving them an accidentally animesque look.
116** The design of G3 ponies are essentially G1 designs with an animesque coating.
117** G4's cartoon and comics are animesque in style more than character design. They take inspiration from MagicalGirl works.
118* AnthropomorphicShift: The ponies have never gone full FunnyAnimal (though G3 was close to it and the Japanese-only Takara ponies are bipedal) but they have gotten more anthropomorphic with time. Compare early G1 books and the first special with later G1 works: Early on, the ponies lived in barns instead of sleeping in houses, they licked each other for affection, and they were treated more like {{Talking Animal}}s or {{Partially Civilized Animal}}s than they later would. As G1 progressed, the characters became increasingly humanoid in their personalities and preferences. They also began wearing clothing and were into contemporary culture, but still they almost never used their hooves as hands. G2 dialed back on their anthropomorphic traits but G3 brought them back even worse. They acted like {{Civilized Animal}}s and somehow were able to use their hooves as hands. ''Friendship Is Magic'' is in a middle ground similar to late G1 -- they have {{Furry Reminder}}s and rarely move in a humanoid manner (especially in early episodes) but socially behave in an anthropomorphic manner.
119* ArtifactTitle: The title really only makes sense for the toys, given that the ponies in the cartoons are not little, nor do they belong to anyone. There have been some efforts to justify this, however:
120** G1 sometimes has a villain use the phrase mockingly, and in some episodes it was implied that 'Little Pony' was their species name. When compared to horses, the characters are also rather small (being ''ponies'' after all).
121** ''Friendship is Magic'' occasionally has characters use the phrase as a term of affection. [[BigGood Princess Celestia]] does this the most often, and she tends to be [[LargeAndInCharge the largest person in the room]].
122* CarnivoreConfusion: Certain ponies invoke this. Munchy has hot-dogs on her Cutie Mark and can make hot dogs appear. They're magic hot dogs but it's never specified if they are meat related or not. Horses can and do occasionally eat meat though. Averted in G4, where the ponies are all explicitly shown to be vegetarian.
123* ChestInsignia: The franchise's trademark cutie marks are possibly the only example of ''hip'' insignia.
124* CompetitionCouponMadness: Hasbro for several generations of toys put [[http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Points Horseshoe Points]] (called Pony Points during Gen 3) on the packages--small value coupons that could be sent in along with a shipping and handling fee for mail-order exclusive items. This mostly included unique or special toy ponies, but Generation Three Hasbro also released a three-foot-tall stuffed pony of Frilly Frocks for a whopping 250 points--and ''then'' forgot to make the shipping the right cost, so many people were able to order her for the points ''and'' just $2.50 in shipping and handling, same as smaller items. This was later raised to a more logical $25, and Hasbro honored the lower cost for any orders that had been sent in.
125* DeadlyRinger: Grogar is one of the franchise's biggest and most powerful villains and has a bell serving as the source of his power, albeit working differently in both of his appearances.
126** In G1, Grogar's bell is able to generate magic to attack foes with (including being able to trap intruders in cages). Conversely, another bell within Tambelon, when rung, destroys this bell and renders Grogar powerless.
127** In G4, Grogar was banished, and his bell was moved to the peak of a high mountain where no one could get it. A team of villains is sent to retrieve the bell, and it is later used in the finale [[spoiler:but not by Grogar, who turns out to have been a disguise.]]
128* DependingOnTheWriter: The UK comics/cardback stories and American cartoon/cardback stories contrasted each other most of the time, and so most personas were very different across the ocean. A few cases are:
129** Wind Whistler. In the UK comics she's a scatter-brained [[TheDitz ditz]], in the American cartoon she's TheSpock and TheStoic. According to her back card, the comic personality is truer to her original personality.
130** Lickety-Split/Baby Lickety-Split: In the movie she introduces herself as "I'm Lickety-Split, a baby pony" and is called by name with and without the "Baby" prefix. In the show, her Cutie Mark changes between three and six ice cream cones at times -- sometimes from one shot to the next -- but she doesn't act or get treated like a different character. Near the end, she is drawn with an overbite to match the "First Tooth Baby Pony" toy of her out at the time. In the comic, Lickety Split is depicted as Baby Lickety Split's mother as the toyline intended, and First Tooth Baby Lickety Split is her near-identical cousin.
131* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
132** G1 is the only generation to contain humans alongside ponies. The books featured random children, the toys had Megan and her little sister Molly, and the G1 cartoons added CanonForeigner and TheOneGuy Danny (Megan and Molly's brother). Eventually humans were phased out and don't seem to exist in the same universe as the ponies anymore.
133** AnthropomorphicShift has caused this to occur to ponies early into G1. Characters ''never'' lick each other anymore.
134** Year One only contained Earth Ponies. Other races weren't introduced until Year Two.
135** The first foals such as Ember and Lucky didn't follow the "Baby [x]" naming conventions and had no parents. Ember doesn't even have a Cutie Mark.
136** G1 was the only gen to feature elaborate lines throughout most of the years. Future gens didn't have gimicky lines like Twinkle-Eyed ponies or Sparkle ponies.
137** Very early on dragons were treated as servants or even pets. Later on they became treated more on par with ponies and are instead assistants.
138* EverythingsBetterWithRainbows:
139** The Ponies' main weapon is a magical item called the Rainbow of Light. There's also a rainbow connecting Ponyland and Megan's home.
140** G4 has a great visual shout-out to the Rainbow of Light whenever the Elements of Harmony are activated. The ''Equestria Girls'' movies and the Rainbow Power upgrade in the season four finale show that the element-bearers no longer need the actual trinkets to summon it if they're in, well, ''harmony.'' It still has to be earned, though.
141** Also, rainbows are actually manufactured in factories in ''Friendship is Magic'', by the Pegasi that control the weather. In addition, Rainbow Dash's mane is rainbow colored, and leaves behind a streak of rainbow light when she travels from place to place.
142* {{Expy}}: Characters are often brought over from previous versions (sometimes with slightly changed names), colors are reused often (especially in My Little Pony Tales) and name reuse is also very common. However, it isn't quite ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': name reuse is ''quite'' often throwing a name that was still trademarked at a new character. (For example, G3 Rarity is an irresponsible filly and G3 Rainbow Dash is TheFashionista and calls everyone "Darling." FIM Rarity is basically G3 Core 7 Rainbow Dash, while FIM Rainbow Dash is an athlete whose personality is ''nothing'' like her namesake; G1 Firefly and ''Tales'' Patch are seen as her counterparts.) A character is often neither named or colored like her ''true'' counterpart from a past incarnation. However, certain archetypes keep turning up. You'll find your bookworm, your daredevil and prankster, and someone who's so kindhearted that sometimes being ''too'' soft is a ''problem.'' She just won't be under the same name or in the same colors.
143[[/folder]]
144
145[[folder:F-Z]]
146* FlatCharacter: Varying characters to various degrees. The toy line bios don't help, ever since G2 they've been saying less and less about the characters. The ''Friendship is Magic'' cartoon heavily averts this, contributing to its popularity amongst critics. The ''Friendship is Magic'' toyline on the other hand tells you next to nothing about toy-exclusive ponies.
147* FurryReminder: It's likely unintentional however feral horse bands are mostly female with only one or two stallions and likely several colts. This could explain the lack of males. Adaptations portray the stallions as living separate from the females.
148* GenerationXerox: G1 had baby ponies that were {{expies}} of adult ponies with "baby" added to the name. They were nigh identical in both design and personality and had (somewhat simplified) cutie marks. The main difference is that they were just a bit smaller. You'd think they were simply [[SpinoffBabies the same characters but younger]], but they were marketed as the daughters of the adult ponies, with a couple of them shown in this role in the cartoon. A UK comic gives their origin as younger versions of the adult ponies, created from a magic mirror, and shows ''all'' of them with their adult counterparts much more often.
149* GratuitousPrincess:
150** In the eighties, we had the Princess Ponies. There was a grand total of twenty princesses released in the toyline, and that's excluding the queens Majesty and Rosedust. And excluding the many, many, many royal non-pony characters that showed up in the fiction. The early G3 line held off on Princesses for a few years. And then, according to the card backs, it turned out that ''every'' Pony is a Princess. For the curious, this refers a case of LoopholeAbuse in one of the DTV movies -- not wanting to be her friends' ruler just because she found a flower that was the symbol of office, "Princess" Wysteria ended up coronating ''everybody'' so they'd be equals again. And everybody means everybody -- in the ending of ''The Princess Promenade'' it is declared in song "We're glad that everyone's a princess. That's you and you, and yes it's true, that you [pointing at screen] are a princess too!"
151** ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' had [[https://somethingpositive.net/comic/pony-struggles/ an interesting take on it]]...
152** ''Friendship Is Magic'':
153*** Princess Celestia, [[JustTheFirstCitizen whose]] [[PrincessesRule title]] ''seriously'' understates [[GodEmperor her role]]. She was going to be a queen, but Hasbro didn't want that because (according to Lauren Faust) Disney's use of "queen" has [[GoodPrincessEvilQueen made that title sound evil]] (an least before [[Franchise/{{Frozen}} Queen Elsa]] came along, but ''Frozen'' didn't come around until several years after ''Friendship is Magic'' premiered).
154*** The second episode brought us Princess Luna, who shares the same sort of powers and responsibilities as Celestia, and the second season finale gave us Princess Cadance, who... was a bit of a letdown in terms of power in her debut, when compared to the first two. Her role is eventually better defined; as ThePowerOfLove personified, she's basically Pony Cupid and when she combines her magic with that of ''her'' true love, Shining Armor, their power increases exponentially and a major HeartBeatDown is in order. The third season finale gave us a fourth princess, too.
155*** (StrongerWithAge is in effect for the princesses. Their newest addition, although a magical prodigy in her own right, is smaller and weaker than the other three; Cadence was also noticeably smaller in flashbacks from about fifteen years ago. Both of the junior princesses have some growing to do before they can match the power of the millennia-old Royal Sisters...)
156* HeelFaceTurn: The G1 and G4 cartoons both feature a considerable number of villains who give up their wicked ways; typically, G1 villains reform after some personal epiphany while G4 villains are talked into reforming by the heroes.
157* IdenticalTwinIDTag: The first generation had the Newborn Twins line in Year 5, which were sets of baby ponies with a difference to tell the two apart. Sometimes this was easy ([[http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Doodles_and_Noodles Doodles and Noodles]] are two different colors) while others were exceptionally difficult (the only difference between [[http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Milkweed_and_Tumbleweed Milkweed and Tumbleweed]] are their body poses).
158* ImprobablyFemaleCast: As a brand aimed at girls, there aren't all that many guys around. Only five or so exist in G2, and there is [[http://i.imgur.com/afyvU.jpg one male pony]] in all of G3, a background pony from the 3.5 ''Twinkle Wish Adventure''. G1 has about fifty male ponies (which is nothing compared to the number of female ponies) and quite a large number of non-pony male characters, but in actual animated media, we get ''one'' male pony guest star early on and ''one'' episode with the Big Brother Ponies late in the game. ''Friendship is Magic'' has at last a larger male-to-female ratio, but even so they'll be mostly background ponies, with Spike and Big Macintosh the only guys who are seen with regularity -- even if the fandom's love of {{Recurring Extra}}s means that to ''us'' those background guys are more than crowd filler. ''Tales'' averts it entirely, with the main cast female but male classmates and two-parent families as secondary characters.
159* IntimateMarks: The real-life practice of branding horses likely inspired the unique butt-symbols (now called "cutie marks") that each pony has.
160* InvisibleParents: Baby ponies are epidemic but their fathers are almost never mentioned. G3 doesn't even ''have'' males yet baby ponies exist. Some ponies such as Ember and the G3 baby ponies also have no known parents.
161* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Franchise creator Bonnie Zacherle's attempt to pitch the idea was originally met with this response from Hasbro, who felt girls were more into cooking than ponies and had to attempt multiple times before finally making the original figures that started it all.
162* LaterInstallmentWeirdness:
163** Mid-way through, G3 ditched the "baby ponies" naming convention that had existed since G1 near the end. The first few ponies were "Baby [x]" but eventually they scrapped the "baby" part.
164** The Core 7 reboot of G3 started the trend of only a few ponies being the main characters. G4 and G5 followed suit. Although miscellaneous ponies get released, the toyline mainly focuses on smaller core casts. G4 is also the first line where the cartoons are the main canon. Although the writers still [[ExecutiveMeddling get influenced by Hasbro]], the toys are merchandise for the cartoons instead of the other way around.
165* {{Manchild}}: Most of the ponies are adults, but most act barely more mature than the fillies. The maturity levels of the cast go back and forth, as one day it'll be about Rarity traveling to another city herself to further her career as one of Equestria's premier fashion designers, and another will have her and Applejack having a sleepover. Only ''Tales'' nails down how old the characters are and has them act like it.
166* LongPants: A variation since they hardly wear clothes. They do this trope with'' hooves'', with legs being the same color all the way down to the bottom of their feet. Certain male ponies in ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Friendship Is Magic]]'' are exceptions however.
167* MarriedAnimals: A figurine depicts Glory and Moondancer as [[GenderFlip husband]] and wife.
168** The G1 "Loving Family" sets depict a married couple alongside their foal.
169** G4 sits somewhere between CivilizedAnimal and FunnyAnimal. Ponies, and a few other species, have marriage systems in place.
170* MerchandiseDriven: The shows were ideated primarily as a means to advertise the toy lines, although post-G3 iterations tend to base their toylines on the cartoons rather than the other way around.
171* TheNightThatNeverEnds: More than once, a villain has had eternal night as the goal. Tirac from G1's "Escape from Castle Midnight" and Nightmare Moon from the pilot of ''Friendship is Magic'' both seek to plunge the world into eternal darkness.
172* NoHuggingNoKissing: In other series than G3 there's the occasional romance, but other than that and [[spoiler:the occasional post-wedding kiss in G4]] and the Happy Families line in G3 it fits this trope. Romance is especially rare in this franchise due to the ImprobablyFemaleCast. For most of the franchise's existence, same-sex romances wouldn't fly in a kid's show, and even ''Friendship is Magic'', which aired in TheNewTens, has only a few cases in the show's last season (one [[HideYourLesbians implied but not outright said]], one case of AscendedFanon involving two background ponies, and [[spoiler:one [[MaybeEverAfter ambiguous case]] in the show's DistantFinale]]). There's nobody ''to'' pair characters with outside ''Tales'' for the most part; even ''FIM'' tends to keep male characters outside Big Macintosh and Spike (who'd [[PrecociousCrush like to avert this trope with Rarity]], but it's not happening) strictly as crowd filler. It's to the point that when Hasbro wanted to produce wedding toys, they used Glory and Moondancer, and just referred to Glory with [[GenderFlip male pronouns]] on the packaging (she's a girl in all other media and merch.) Cue the jokes about gay marriage having been legal in Equestria since TheEighties. It becomes even more confusing why so many ponies have foals but the fathers are never mentioned. The G1 comics handwaved this by saying they're clones, but it's unknown if that explanation is G1 comic-only or not.
173* NonstandardCharacterDesign:
174** Ember has the honor of being the ''only'' pre-G4 pony without a Cutie Mark. She was the first "baby pony" so she's [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness different]] from future ones (for example, she is not called "Baby Ember" and there is no "adult Ember" to go along with her). It's possible that the idea that ponies aren't born with Cutie Marks in G4 is a MythologyGag to Ember. Versions of Ember with Cutie Marks were released, however they were mail order exclusive and aren't her canon designs.
175** G2 ponies and Dream Beauties are lanky like horses rather than the more stocky, Shetland pony-esque designs the series usually has.
176* OneSteveLimit: Utterly nonexistent. Even within the same generations ponies will share a name or have similar names. There's also baby ponies being named after their mothers.
177* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Broadly speaking, dragons are the second-most featured creatures after the ponies themselves, and have appeared in every generation with an animated version. They can vary considerably in appearance -- their size can range from maybe twice a pony's height to that of a large building, and wings may or may not be present -- but they're always fully reptilian, fire-breathing, and very long-lived; they also tend to be unpleasant sorts. Most shows feature Spike the baby dragon, a sidekick to the main characters; other dragons also feature more sporadically:
178** In ''Rescue at Midnight Castle'', Tirac uses winged dragons known as "Stratadons" as minions, and later transforms ponies into tusked, wingless dragon-like beasts to pull his chariot; at the end, both types are transformed back into harmless animals and ponies, respectively, by the Rainbow of Light. Later, in ''My Little Pony 'n Friends'', Spike seek out more of his kind in "Spike's Search", where he meets a group of large, green, round, wingless and mean adults.
179** In G1 there are other baby dragons besides Spike, but they only appear in the comics. Apparently dragons can also be pets in G1, and as such Spike is pet (or at least servant) to Majesty in most medias other than the cartoons. (However, in the comics he's just as fully sapient, and treated more as a child than a pet. G1 Comic Spike also has other dragon relatives he sometimes visits.)
180** In G3, Spike is over 1000 years old but still looks like a baby. There's also Whimsy Weatherbe, a weather-controlling dragoness who enjoys causing random weather events for fun.
181** In G4, dragons are born wingless and grow wings during puberty, breathe fire, and eat gems. Most dragons who appear on screen are teenagers, who are bipedal and usually twice as tall as ponies or less, and tend to be portrayed as frat boy stereotypes; the house-sized, quadrupedal adults appear more rarely, and are usually aggressive loners.
182* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Aquatic ponies of various sorts are one of the less common pony variants, but they turn up from time to time:
183** G1 has seaponies, with a pony's chest and head and a seahorse's fins and tail.
184** G4 side material includes sea ponies of the same general type as G1 and mermares with mermaid-like fish tails and longer fins.
185** The G4 movie prominently features seaponies redesigned as more traditional hippocamps, with finlike manes, large flukes for tails, winglike fins on their backs, and forelegs tipped with fins. They were originally hippogriffs, but their queen turned them into their current form with the Pearl of Transformation to escape the Storm King's attack of their home. This kind later appears recurrently in the G4 series proper.
186** ''Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks'' has the Sirens as its primary antagonists. While they remain in human shape for most of the movie, their true form is that of large, monstrous hippocamps [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial capable of flying through the air]].
187* PachelbelsCanonProgression: The famous jingle, although, as it's most often played in thirty-second commercials, only the first few notes are heard.
188* {{Pegasus}}: Pegasi are one of the three main pony races.
189* SapientSteed: Occasionally, ponies may carry people around on their backs. In G1, this is mostly done for the human kids by pegasi when they need to get somewhere in a hurry. In G4, Spike the baby dragon's main method of transportation before his wings come in is on Twilight Sparkle's back.
190* ShoutOut: The idea that unicorns can teleport was borrowed from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. In the original cartoon, it was something ''all'' could do (not so the first specials, where it was Twilight's thing only.)
191* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
192** Is it "Katrina" or "Catrina"? Even sources mix them up, though the original name was Catrina, in both the title card of the episode and the original VHS.
193** Is the first special "Firefly's Adventure","Rescue from Midnight Castle", or "Rescue At Midnight Castle"? All are different names under different rereleases of the first special.
194** Many, many ponies have different names in different countries, leading to this too. There's also Arabus or Erebus, and there at ''least'' four different ways to spell Tirac.
195*** Arabus is fanmade as Erebus is the only name that appears in the VHS tapes and Tirac is the one in both the cartoon bible and the original VHS, making it the official spelling for the original character.
196* SuddenNameChange: In G1 the flank marks on characters were called "symbols". In G3 this was changed to "Cutie Marks". It wasn't until G4 that they were given an in-series explanation. In previous generations, ponies just happened to be born with them.
197* SugarBowl: The setting could not be more magical and happy -- normally. And then the BigBad [[MonsterOfTheWeek of the Week]] shows up...
198* TitleThemeTune: The infamous one, which has undergone endless variations to its lyrics over twenty-five years; plus four other theme songs created for the "Friends" part of ''My Little Pony 'n Friends'' (see below).
199* {{Unicorn}}s: They can use magic, but it's not as super-effective as you'd think: most unicorns have one power based on their special talent. In G1, where the SugarBowl is ''always'' under threat of doom, this falls under WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer, with the amazing power to ''make bubbles'' shown to be more useful than you think.
200* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Subverted with surprising frequency; dragons, Grundles, Crab Nasties etc.
201* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The 80s cartoons are typically full of characters that change every episode, leading several major characters to just disappear between installations. It's especially noticeable in the pilot to the whole franchise; the ponies there are never seen again in animation, even the ones that just run around and don't speak. Sometimes a main-character pony will have the baby version of her shown once ever, or a main-character baby pony will have the adult version shown once ever -- if they're really supposed to be mother and daughter, it's clear SocialServicesDoesNotExist in Dream Valley.
202* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: The figures have manes and tails in every color except for the black/dark brown/off-white found in real-world equines. Pink, hot pink, Barbie pink, magenta, fuchsia, lavender, violet, periwinkle ... colors that have never existed in equine manes or tails pervade the MLP franchise.
203[[/folder]]

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