History EnsembleDarkhorse / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic

* Bulk Biceps[[note]] Originally referred to by a {{fan nickname}} of Snowflake, others included "Roid Rage", "Horse Power", ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''/''Film/SpaceMutiny'' ShoutOut "Big [=McLargehooves=]", Muscle Pony, and "Dumb-Bell".[[/note]] '''''YEAH!!!''''' is very popular and instantly recognizable due to being one of the most uniquely designed pegasi around. '''''YEAH!!!''''' His every appearance pretty much calls for a '''''YEAH!!!''''' from everyone watching.

* Princess Luna, a ''literal'' [[HurricaneOfPuns Dark Horse who's part of an Ensemble]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO9xBh1y7yM appeared for less than a minute in the second episode, said two lines]], and wasn't even mentioned again until the first episode of season 2. Fans desperately wanted to see her return, disappointed that [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter a character with such potential was barely utilised]], and flooded fan-fiction websites, image boards, and forums with content about her. When she was confirmed to return for season 2, fans were ecstatic.

* [[TheTrickster Discord]] was one of the most popular antagonist, [[{{troll}} loved]] or [[SpotlightStealingSquad loathed]] in equal measure, depending on who you ask. He continually pops up in drawings, stories and speculation even long after being [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away again]], an enormous section of the fanbase wanted him to make a reappearance... which was granted in the Season 3 episode "Keep Calm and Flutter On". Not at all hurt by him being a blatant ([[WordOfGod admitted]]) {{Expy}} of [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Q]], to the point where he's [[ActorAllusion played by]] [[Creator/JohnDeLancie the same person]]. His [[HeelFaceTurn redemption arc]] proved controversial, but his popularity's seemingly solidified after the season 4 finale.

** Octavia gains [[SuddenlyVoiced spoken lines]] in ''Rainbow Rocks'' courtesy of Kazumi Evans, who later reprised the role in the 100th episode. She even sounds British, as in most popular interpretations.

** Octavia became SuddenlyVoiced in ''Rainbow Rocks'' courtesy of Kazumi Evans, who later reprised the role in the 100th episode. She even sounds British, as in most popular interpretations.

* Princess Luna, a ''literal'' [[HurricaneOfPuns Dark Horse who's part of an Ensemble]], appeared for less than a minute in the second episode, said two lines, and wasn't even mentioned again until the first episode of season 2. Fans desperately wanted to see her return, disappointed that [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter a character with such potential was barely utilised]], and flooded fan-fiction websites, image boards, and forums with content about her. When she was confirmed to return for season 2, fans were ecstatic.

* Cheese Sandwich appeared in only three episodes, and is one of the most well known characters. Being voiced by and being based on Music/WeirdAlYankovic certainly explains it, along with his chemistry with Pinkie Pie.

* Princess Ember, introduced in "Gauntlet of Fire" and the first-ever female dragon with a name and a major speaking role seen on the show, had [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2016/04/drawfriend-stuff-dragonlord-ember.html#more a large amount of fan art]] within ''one day'' of her debut. Being a {{Princess}} with a cool design probably helped.

* The Flim Flam Brothers, whose [[AffablyEvil affability]] and extremely catchy VillainSong made them stand out amongst other secondary/minor antagonists. This earned them a few cameos in the comic series, a second appearance in season 4 a third in season 6 and a fourth in season 8

* The Flim Flam Brothers, whose [[AffablyEvil affability]] and extremely catchy VillainSong made them stand out amongst other secondary/minor antagonists. This earned them a few cameos in the comic series, a second appearance in season 4 and a third in season 6.

** Her [[AscendedMeme popularity]] reached it's apex in "The Last Roundup", where the first scene after the credits featured Rainbow Dash actually having a whole slapstick routine with her, where she gets several lines and is explicitly addressed as "Derpy". However, when "The Last Roundup" suddenly disappeared from iTunes, then later restored with Derpy's scene modified with tweaked dialogue (she was no longer referred to by name and had a different voice), the fandom absolutely exploded with panic and anger towards Hasbro, displaying the sheer level of reverence that had been given to the pony. Ultimately the explanation for the change was that there were complaints Derpy was a stereotype of the mentally disabled, and the arguments about this among the fans were often heated and ugly.

** Bon Bon does have one bit of notoriety among the fans: she is easily the most talkative of the background ponies. To date, she has spoken in five separate episodes[[note]]12 ("Call of the Cutie"), 20 ("Green Isn't Your Color"), 29 ("Lesson Zero"), 41 ("Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000"), and 45 ("Putting Your Hoof Down")[[/note]], each time with a totally different voice. This has led to the fanon meme that [[ManOfAThousandVoices she is or aspires to be a voice actor]], which was turned on it's head in episode 100, which revealed her as a secret agent.

* The [[TrrrillingRrrs Grrreat]] and [[MilesGloriosus Powerful]] [[LargeHam Trrrixie]] has a very impressive fanbase for what was at the time, a one-episode character with little significance, and her prominence in fan works almost reached main character levels. Much like some other darkponies listed here she received a few toys based on her, at first calling her Lulamoon, but then changed to "Trixie Lulamoon". The fanbase rejoiced when she returned in Season 3 to have a rematch with Twilight, in the process making the fan theories to the effect of "Trixie is left a humiliated drifter after the Ursa Minor incident and wants revenge" fully canon. Some fans go so far as to want her to become a more recurring character, and fanfiction often pairs her up with Luna, either romantically or as her own apprentice to parallel Twilight and Celestia. Pairing Trixie with Twilight for the same is also very popular, especially once Twilight became a princess herself.

* ''Canterlot Boutique'' had a large ensemble of uniquely-designed darkponies as customers at Canterlot Carousel, but among the most popular were the [[SiblingYinYang Bright and Goth sisters]], especially due to their resemblance to [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans Starfire and Raven]].

Many background characters in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' garnered a lot of praise and attention from the PeripheryDemographic, despite several of them not having any lines and a few more only making a few background appearances. Because of this, for the sake of neat archiving, the Ensemble Darkpony characters can be listed here.

** [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]] is either another element of Luna's popularity or an entirely different Darkpony herself, depending on whether she is considered a separate character or simply [[EnemyWithin an extension of Luna]]. The comics have interpreted her to be separate, but the comics are hit-or-miss, and the show's contradicted them before.

* Cheerilee is a popular target for fanart and fanfiction from her very first appearance, being a teacher a good excuse to include her in any number of scenarios. Her popularity only grew during season 2, which gave her more screen time and even her own episode, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E17HeartsAndHoovesDay "Hearts and Hooves Day"]], in which she featured alongside fellow darkpony Big Macintosh.

* Silverspeed, a silver-maned pegasus with a bow-and-arrow cutie mark, and one of the few background ponies to be named in-show, has only briefly appeared in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E22HurricaneFluttershy two]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E10RainbowFalls episodes]], but is popular enough to have recieved a variety of fan art and an [[http://ask-silverspeed.tumblr.com/ Ask-a-pony Tumblr page]]. Given every darkpony gets one of these however, it's not saying much.

* While "Somepony to Watch over me" is usually perceived as a [[SoOkayItsAverage pretty low-key]] episode, the Chimera that tries to hunt Applebloom in the Flame Geyser Swamp is widely loved by the fandom. Not only is she a famous mythical creature many wanted to see in the show, her striking design makes her among the most [[CreepyAwesome terrifying]] monsters in the show, yet she also shows some genuinely amusing LaughablyEvil qualities thanks to [[MultipleHeadCase her three heads]], all of whom address each other as sisters and accordingly act like bickering siblings. The fact she's [[ShownTheirWork fairly accurate]] to her mythological counterpart in spite of having minor differences is another factor for her popularity.

** WordOfGod is that her human counterpart was going to appear in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'' as a member of the Shadowbolts, but was replaced with Indigo Zap, a PaletteSwap of her. Cue cries of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter since most would have preferred seeing Lightning Dust again.

* Fluttershy's temporary bat form in the episode, "Bats!" quickly spun-off a lot of fan art and Internet memes. Rarity dubbed the creature "Flutterbat", which the fandom latched onto. There was an ''explosion'' of fanworks to say the least. A high-quality, fan-made plushy was sewn within 24 hours. The form appears in the Season 5 Halloween special, and in the IDW comics with bat forms for the rest of the group.

** Her [[AscendedMeme popularity]] reached it's apex in "The Last Roundup", where the first scene after the credits featured Rainbow Dash actually having a whole slapstick routine with her, where she gets several lines and is explicitly addressed as "Derpy". However, when "The Last Roundup" suddenly disappeared from iTunes, then later restored with Derpy's scene modified with tweaked dialogue (she was no longer referred to by name and had a different voice), the fandom [[InternetBackdraft absolutely exploded]] with panic and anger towards Hasbro, displaying the sheer level of reverence that had been given to the pony. Ultimately the explanation for the change was that there were complaints Derpy was a stereotype of the mentally disabled, and the arguments about this among the fans were often heated and ugly.

** Then, he was finally voiced in episode "Slice of Life", when he is given a (British Accented) speaking part, is shown to be a mad scientist who has studied time travel, and has an exceedingly long scarf. Plus, he hangs out with Derpy.

* Autumn Blaze is a character who came out of nowhere. Her hyper, cheery personality made her the most popular character introduced in Season 8.

* Pegasus brothers Thunderlane and the colt Rumble are also popular, perhaps due to being the only known pair of brothers on the show aside from Flim and Flam. These two often are shown interacting together with Cloudchaser and Flitter.

* The Flim Flam Brothers, whose [[AffablyEvil affability]] and extremely catchy VillainSong made them stand out amongst other one-episode antagonists. This earned them a few cameos in the comic series, a second appearance in season 4 and a third in season 6.

* Lightning Dust only appeared in one episode in the third season, but her VillainyFreeVillain status and her very likable personality lends her to DracoInLeatherPants treatment. Further, she makes a perfect ShadowArchetype to Rainbow Dash, being just as skilled as her and having a similar personality, only a little bit more selfish and reckless. While she hasn't appeared in the show since (except as a filly in a flashback), it's common to find her depicted as Rainbow's rival/friend/wingpony.

* Ever since Autumn Blaze exploded on the scene with "Sounds of Silence" she's been a popular target for fan art and animations. The combination of her cute design, fun personality, and memorable song has really endeared her to the fans.

* [[spoiler: Human Twilight]] after her appearance in TheStinger. This was well before her role in Friendship Games sealed her popularity, turning a retread of the first episode of the series into something more and showing a potential path her pony self could've ended up taking.

* While the {{Retcon}} to [[DemonicPossession Nightmare Moon's nature]] has been mixed, her latest incarnation, [[spoiler:Nightmare Rarity]], is easily the most popular thing to come out of the comics, impressive given she only appears halfway through her story and is a [[WalkingSpoiler huge spoiler]]. Helping is that she has a [[EvilIsCool cool]], [[EvilIsSexy attractive]] character design, [[LampshadeHanging is savvy enough to know it]] and [[WeakButSkilled remain a serious threat]] despite lacking her [[PhysicalGod previous incarnations power]], and some of the comics most epic and emotional moments came out of her confrontation.

** Her fellow Washouts Short Fuse and especially Rolling Thunder have also a lot of admirers.

* The Kirin Autumn Blaze from "Sounds of Silence" gained many fans soon. Being very funny and having her own song certainly helped.