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About My Little Pony
My Little Pony (MLP) is a toy line owned by Hasbro. First called My Pretty Pony (in 1981), and then later rebranded (in 1982), the toys were first developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno. My Little Pony is split into several different generations, consisting of toys/merchandise and corresponding animated tie-ins.
GENERATION ONE: (My Little Pony)
Generation One of MLP ran from 1982 to 1992 in the US, and till 1995 in some other countries. My Little Pony’s first venture into the world of TV was with their 1984 TV Special ‘Rescue at Midnight Castle’. It had a later re-release as a direct to VHS home video under the name ‘Firefly’s Adventure: My Little Pony Dreamland’. Rescue at Midnight Castle was released as the pilot to the proposed My Little Pony television series. A second TV Special ‘Escape from Catrina’, was released in 1985.
Image source: Yum Yum
The actual TV Show, just called My Little Pony, aired a year later in 1986. It aired as part of a TV segment called My Little Pony n’ Friends, which included episodes of other, unrelated Hasbro-owned TV Shows based on Hasbro toy properties, such as Potato Head Kids and MoonDreamers. The two previous TV Specials were edited into multi-part episodes of the new TV Show.
There were 2 seasons, consisting of 65 episodes total, and the show was produced in the US. 1986, the same year as the first season, G1 also released their feature-length film, My Little Pony: The Movie (this same name was also used for the Generation 4 feature-length film).
Image source: My Little Wiki
Image source: Pinterest
Image source: Pinterest
Generation one lore:
Generation one, right away, introduced the idea of there being three main ‘races’ of ponies - Unicorns, which have a horn that can be used to harness magic. Each unicorn in G1 can teleport with their horn, and also has an additional magic ability unique to the individual - pegasus ponies (pegasi), who have wings and can fly - and earth ponies, which are like normal horses.
There are also flutter ponies, which are scrawnier, taller ponies that have giant butterfly-like wings and are characterized as being shy but very powerful. They live separately from the other ponies, in an area of Ponyland called Flutter Valley. The sea ponies are seahorse-like creatures with pony-like heads that live underwater. It’s unclear if the flutter ponies and sea ponies actually qualify as ponies… But both got their own toy releases! There are also the twinkle-eyed ponies, which are the same as the other ponies, but have jewels for eyes.
In G1, unlike future generations (except technically G4, but that’s complicated), there are also humans. It is established that humans don’t live in Ponyland - The three human children, Megan, Danny, and Molly, fly across the rainbow into Ponyland to visit the ponies. There does seem to be human-like characters living in Ponyland, though, such as the witches. Other creatures in G1 MLP include the Bushwoolies, Furbobs, Stonebacks, and Grundles. Also the Smooze. As for not MLP-Invented creatures, there are also dragons, gnomes, ghosts, centaurs (sort of?), demons (sort of?), bunnies, birds, monkeys, dogs, and cats.
GENERATION ONE-POINT-FIVE: (My Little Pony Tales)
After the original My Little Pony stopped airing, My Little Pony Tales was released. It aired from August to December of 1992. My Little Pony Tales portrays a much less fantastical, much more anthropomorphized vision of Ponyland - Instead of a medieval-style fantasy, the ponies live a 1990s Slice of Life story - They attend school, go to the local ice cream parlor, have slumber parties, play in Battle of The Bands, enter the lottery, listen to cassette players, enter into the school play, host a lemonade stand, and go to the roller rink.
This series does not feature humans, and has less focus on non-pony creatures in general. It also has a more clear cast of specific main characters, instead of focusing plenty on the entire cast of ponies. The main characters of Pony Tales are Starlight, Sweetheart, Melody (not the same as G1’s Medley), Patch, Bright Eyes, Clover, and Bon Bon. It also heavily features male ponies as the main characters’ love interests, whereas the original series barely even acknowledged the concept that ponies could be men.
G1.5 had very little merchandise - The main characters and some of the side characters were released as toys, made in the previous G1 style. These toys were not actually sold in the US, despite the show being made there, and instead were only released in select European countries.
It’s debatable whether this really counts as a “point-five” iteration, but it is often referred to as one, so I’m including that information.
G1.5 is generally held in much lower regard by fans than the original G1, and often not acknowledged much. It only was around for a year, so wasn’t that impactful in the grand scheme of things. In this site, G1.5 toys will be listed as G1, although the posts themselves will differentiate them.
MLP Tales Main 7 Toys
Image source: MLP Forums
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GENERATION TWO: (My Little Pony: Friendship Garden)
Generation two spanned from 1997 to 1999, and was referred to by Hasbro as “Friendship Garden.” Generation two ponies are tall, slender, with heads that turn and eyes that have jewels in them, similar to the G1 Twinkle-eyed ponies.
Most G2 ponies were earth ponies, though there were a few unicorns. There were no proper pegasi, although some ponies had clip-on wings. Only two baby ponies were made, even though G1 sold many baby ponies.
Generation two is unique in that it did not have a tie-in TV show, unlike all other generations.
Generation two did not go over well; it was much less popular than the original, and even Pony Tales. Hasbro scrapped the idea pretty quickly, and moved on to Generation 3.
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Image source: Derpibooru
GENERATION THREE: (No Iteration Name)
Generation three went from 2003 to 2009, officially - Although G3 and G3.5 ponies were still released as event exclusives well into 2011. It was targeted towards a slightly younger audience than the previous generations, and much more overtly girly. Still, it went over far better than G1.5 and G2, including with adult collectors who liked the original G1 toys. From 2003 to 2005 all the ponies released were earth ponies. Unicorns and pegasi were introduced in 2005 and 2006 [respectively].
The first piece of G3 TV released was ‘A Charming Birthday’, in December of 2003. It was a direct to VHS home video and was packaged alongside some G3 ponies, rather than sold separately. The VHS could also be acquired through the mail order program. G3 never got a proper TV Show, just multiple VHS and DvD short-film tie-ins, in the vein of animated TV Specials. Most of these were about 50 minutes long, with the exception of the 2008 DVD box set, which contained three 15-minute episodes.
In 2008 and 2009, Hasbro made a weird marketing choice - They reduced the ponies in the toy line down to the 'Core Seven’, and only released toys of those seven ponies. These ponies were Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Toola-Roola, Sweetie Belle, Cheerilee, and Starsong (Minty was also given one release during 2008). Subsequently, these ponies all have more toys than the other G3s, and so are easier to find.
Image source: eBay
Image source: Pinterest
Image source: Pinterest
GENERATION THREE-POINT-FIVE: (Newborn Cuties)
G3 had a major rebrand in 2009. The Core Seven idea continued with the toy line, but the style of toys changed to something much more childlike, exaggerated, and cutesy. They are considered G3.5 by collectors because they include the exact same characters, but are given such a drastic style makeover that they might as well be a whole nother generation. G3.5 was phased out in 2010, alongside the release of G4. G3.5 was still sold in some stores in 2011, alongside G4, quote My Little Wiki, ‘pushed to the side by their extremely more popular replacements.’
The first piece of G3.5 TV media was ‘Twinkle Wish Adventure’ an 81 minute straight to DVD movie released in October of 2009. There was an additional movie, a prequel to this one, called ‘Waiting For The Winter Wishes Festival’. After that there were four five-to-ten-minute G3.5 webisodes, and a “Meet The Ponies” DVD that came with some of the toys.
Generation 3.5 is often disliked by fans, especially fans of the original G3. This is in part because of the exaggerated proportions, more ‘childish’ appearance, and marketing surrounding the idea of the ponies all being ‘babies’ and/or ‘little girls’.
Image source: My Little Wiki
Image source: Pinterest
Image source: Reddit
Image source: Pinterest
GENERATION FOUR: (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
Generation four started out with the flash-animated series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP:FiM), developed by Lauren Faust, an artist who worked on series such as the Power Puff Girls and Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends. Lauren Faust played with Generation One ponies growing up, and aimed to create a story that emulated the ways she played with her toys as a kid. She was approached by Hasbro to develop the show, but was reluctant at first - She was worried about making a show of this nature, aimed at little girls to sell toys - Worried it would be derivative and soulless. But as Hasbro kept approving her more unconventional ideas, she became more and more excited. The final pitch bible for the show (originally titled My Little Pony Adventures) was over 40 pages long.
Faust left part way through Season Two due a lack of creative control. Lauren Faust’s distinct, cartoony art style and the fun world, interesting characters, well-made music, and comedy led it to becoming one of the highest rated and most popular shows to ever air on the Hub Network. My Little Pony already had a fanbase, but it’s Friendship is Magic that really skyrocketed it into extreme popularity.
Above: Lauren Faust's early art of Twilight and Sparkler from G1 - Which would later be used as the basis for G4 characters
Generation four lore:
Once again, there are three races of ponies - Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. FiM adds the additional lore that earth ponies are stronger than the other ponies, and more connected to nature. They also introduce alicorns, a mixture of all three types of ponies. All alicorns in FiM are royalty, and are considered Godlike to the other ponies. Princess Celestia is the primary ruler of Equestria (originally meant to be the Queen, but this was dismissed by Hasbro because ‘Queens are seen as evil in little girls’ media’), and uses her magic to raise and lower the sun. Princess Luna, her sister, raises and lowers the moon. Related to this, a big conceit of FiM is that the My Little Ponies control the world they live in - The earth ponies grow the plants, the pegasi control the weather, and the unicorns used to raise the sun and moon - before Celestia and Luna appeared.
In FiM, Ponyland is renamed to Equestria, and established as a country, with neighboring countries around it being ruled by different species. Equestria’s Capital is Canterlot, a mostly unicorn-filled city where Princess Celestia and Luna live. The show is mainly set in Ponyville, a town founded by earth ponies, with a name taken from G3.
The G1 creatures of The Smooze, centaurs (Tirek), and sea ponies are brought back (although the sea ponies look very different). Breezies, from G3, which are somewhat similar to G1’s Flutter Ponies, but much more fairy-like, also return. Dragons, cats, bunnies, and dogs also appear just as they did in Generation One. Additionally, griffins, hippogriffs, sea serpents, manticores, cockatrices, Cerberus, chimeras, and many other fun fantasy creatures are introduced - along with some other new creatures unique to FiM. The show plays into the idea of an adventurous fantasy world that was established in G1, although it often focuses on slice of life stories within said world.
The Mane Six:
Generation Four has a clear set of main characters, nicknamed the ‘Mane 6’ by fans. Lauren Faust originally wanted them all to be revamped Generation One characters, but they ended up taking more from Generation Three than she first intended.
The Mane Six are:
Twilight Sparkle - The primary main character. A combination of G1’s ‘Twilight’ and G3s ‘Twilight Twinkle’, but with a new last name. In the original pitch bible for the series, she is still called Twilight Twinkle. She starts out as a unicorn, but later is granted wings, turning her into an alicorn and making her into a princess. Early drafts of Twilight also draw inspiration from G1's Moondancer.
Applejack - Who also appeared in G1 and G3. Her design in G4 is taken directly from Generation 1 Applejack. Like both other iterations of Applejack, she is an earth pony.
Rainbow Dash - Based on the rambunctious Firefly from Gen 1, with her personality and her lightning-shaped cutie mark, but taking the name and certain design aspects from G3’s Rainbow Dash, who’s personality does not at all resemble G4’s Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash is a pegasus, like Firefly from G1. G3 Rainbow Dash was an earth pony.
Rarity - A combination of Sparkler from G1 and Rarity from G3. Her design also heavily resembles Glory from G1, and at first I thought her being based on Glory was unconfirmed, but recently I did find a tweet by Lauren Faust confirming it - featuring pictures of Faust’s childhood toys! I like to call her Rarity Belle, because she’s sisters with Sweetie Belle, and I like when the ponies have last names. She is a unicorn, as were Sparkler, Glory, and G3 Rarity.
Fluttershy - A combination of Posey from G1 and Fluttershy from G3. She might also be inspired by some of the G1 Flutter Ponies, particularly Rosedust. I like to call her Fluttershy Breeze because her brother’s name is Zephyr Breeze, and I like it when the ponies have last names. She also somewhat resembles Sky Shimmer from G2, though this may not be international. Neither Posey nor G3 Fluttershy have wings, but G4 Fluttershy does. In turn, G4 Fluttershy is depicted as being afraid of heights and as struggling to fly - often in ways that could be seen as a metaphor for disability. She grew up in the pegasus city of Cloudsdale, in the sky, but moved to Ponyville, to live on the ground, when older.
Pinkie Pie - A combination of Surprise from G1 and Pinkie Pie from G3. She is an earth pony, same as G3 Pinkie Pie, although early drafts depicted her as a pegasus, like Surprise. Her color palette is swapped somewhat from G3 Pinkie - Instead of darker pink fur and lighter pink hair, she has lighter pink fur and darker pink hair.
Additionally, Spike the baby dragon from G1 is brought back in G4, and is in many respects a main character, even if not part of the mane 6. His design stays relatively the same, just translated into the new art style - Similar to Applejack.
[Early drafts depict Fluttershy as an earth pony, and Pinkie Pie as a pegasus]
GENERATION FOUR-POINT-FIVE: (My Little Pony: Pony Life)
After the end of Friendship is Magic, in a similar vein to the situation with G3.5, Hasbro briefly put out a spin off series and connected toy line, featuring smaller, more cutesy designs based off the previous series, which seemed to be aimed at a younger audience than the original. People consider pony life to be G4.5. The show, “My Little Pony: Pony Life” aired from November 2020 to May 2021 in the USA. The original actors for the Mane 6 reprised their roles, but characters like Spike and Discord did not get their original actors (in Discord’s case it’s obvious why; John De Lance is not cheap to hire).
G4.5 Only released toys for the two years that Pony Life aired. They released brushables and blind-bag minifigures, and nothing else. These toys are not highly regarded by the fan base, but also not often mentioned. People who don't usually actively engage in the MLP fan base sure did say a lot of mean things about them unprompted when I made a post that included them. They are still on sale new on some sites, such as Amazon, even while G4 Merch is typically not.
Image source: Mercari
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