144-510: Equestria ( / ɛ ˈ k w ɛ s t r i ə / ) is the fictional setting of the fourth and fifth generations of the My Little Pony toy line and media franchise , including the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and My Little Pony: Pony Life . Created by Lauren Faust , the setting incorporates many elements of fantasy , including inspirations from European and Greek mythology . Equestria serves as
288-477: A Mid-Atlantic accent and runs a franchise of brand name flagship stores throughout Equestria; she operates out of an haute couture salon in Ponyville called Carousel Boutique. Despite her arrogant and melodramatic tendencies, she has a generous spirit who loves spoiling her friends and strives to create artistic dresses that capture their wearers' inner beauty. She owns a pet Persian cat named Opalescence who
432-618: A caricatured appearance. The cast of six main characters in Friendship Is Magic have reprised their roles in the new series. Hasbro also plans to release additional animated shorts on My Little Pony's official YouTube channel. In conjunction with Ruckus Media, Hasbro released an iOS application Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day in October 2011. It gives children practice in reading, incorporating mini-games. Several eBooks based on Friendship Is Magic , including story versions of
576-497: A comic book series , a Gameloft My Little Pony video game , a children's book series, a theatrical feature film , and My Little Pony: Pony Life , a reboot focusing on more slice-of-life stories. Hasbro initially hired Faust to create a pitch bible for the show, allowing her to get additional help with conceptualization. Faust said she was "extremely skeptical" about taking the job at first because she had always found shows based on girls' toys to be boring and unrelatable. She
720-623: A dedicated episode as a finale of season 3, and IDW's Friendship Is Magic comics reflecting the change since Issue #13 (November 2013). With Hasbro's November 2019 announcement of My Little Pony: Pony Life television series, which features ponies in a revamped, caricatured appearance, relevant toys were released in the same month. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an animated television series produced by DHX Media 's 2D animation studio (formerly known as Studio B Productions ) in Vancouver, Canada, for Hasbro Studios (now Allspark ) in
864-604: A superpower with an advanced economy. Six legendary ponies wielded the Elements of Harmony to defend Equestria from these threats and planted the Tree of Harmony so other generations could do the same. The status quo remained unchanged until the corruption of Princess Luna, who transformed into Nightmare Moon with the intent of plunging Equestria into eternal night. This culminated in the one-thousand-year exile of Nightmare Moon, who later returned as Princess Luna. In Equestria's early history,
1008-525: A Pony Kind of Christmas , was released on iTunes on October 7, 2016. The expanded version includes the songs from the season six episode " A Hearth's Warming Tail " (Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again, Say Goodbye to the Holiday, The Seeds of the Past, Pinkie's Present, and Luna's Future). Enterplay, LLC has been licensed to create trading cards of Friendship Is Magic , with a first set released in early 2012 and
1152-593: A better friend to them. In mythology, Discord or Discordia is a trickster and the Roman goddess of chaos. Faust based Discord's character on Q , an omnipotent trickster played by John de Lancie in Star Trek: The Next Generation . The production team considered casting a soundalike of de Lancie to voice the character but decided to try to get de Lancie himself, who was available. The creative team developed Discord as "the one character who could break all of
1296-476: A crush on Rarity, an insatiable appetite for sparkly gems, and the ability to send letters via his fiery dragon breath. In " Molt Down ", he gains a pair of wings after undergoing a developmental stage for dragons called the "molt". At the end of the show, he becomes Twilight's royal adviser. Spike acts as a foil to Twilight and her friends in terms of personality, size, and shape which "provides plenty of opportunity for exploring this difference in storylines". Spike
1440-460: A filly caused a chain of events that produced the group's cutie marks. She lives with a propeller-fitted pet tortoise named Tank in a floating condominium of clouds called the Cloudominium, which is sparingly seen in the show because she "doesn't sit still for very long", according to the director Jim Miller. Faust struggled to find a suitable aspect for Rainbow Dash's Element of Harmony, seeing
1584-409: A highly successful venture with a larger circulation than most competing titles. The series is written by Katie Cook and illustrated by Andy Price . The first issue, by early October, had already gained over 90,000 pre-orders, making it a better seller than other comics for that month. By early November, the title had exceeded 100,000 pre-orders, and IDW committed to a second run of the issue to meet
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#17328581151611728-530: A horn are "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". Faust states that Celestia "embodies the traits of all three [kinds of ponies]". Princess Celestia is the benevolent ruler of Equestria and Twilight's former mentor. She has ruled Equestria for over a thousand years and uses her magic to raise
1872-456: A horn, Flurry Heart . Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both stated that "the birth of [a winged unicorn] is something Equestria has never seen" and that it was "even beyond their understanding". Cadance does not know who her real parents were, she was found as a foal by two elderly earth ponies and they raised her until Princess Celestia adopted her as her unofficial niece after gaining her cutie mark and ascending into princesshood. Shining
2016-521: A host of eccentric characters, and is the setting for many episodes of the Friendship is Magic series. Twilight Sparkle's first impression of Ponyville upon first arrival was "Everypony in this town is crazy!" The season 4 finale, " Twilight's Kingdom ", introduces the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville as the residence of Twilight Sparkle , her assistant Spike, and her pupil Starlight Glimmer. According to
2160-401: A humor to Rarity that was unexpected and wonderful". Fluttershy is a yellow pegasus with green-blue eyes and a pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark, a trio of butterflies, represents her talent as an animal caretaker and her love for nature . True to her name, she is defined by her "shy sweetness; soft, whispery voice and tender, nurturing nature", as described by author Begin. She possesses
2304-418: A lack of confidence and a fear of being rejected by others. Pinkie is a source of much of the series' humor and several of the show's "wacky gags" are kept exclusive to her ( running gags include breaking the fourth wall and "appearing suddenly in unexpected places ", as well as an ability to predict future events through various body reactions, which she calls the "Pinkie Sense"). While Pinkie appears to be
2448-449: A nation. Her status as a winged unicorn is seen as a symbol of harmony between earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. She guided Twilight since she was a filly, leading to her eventual destiny as a princess of Equestria. Celestia remains a close friend and ally to Twilight after she gained a pair of wings and became a princess. During season nine, Celestia and Luna prepares to retire from ruling Equestria so that Twilight can take their place. At
2592-481: A second set published in 2013. In addition to the base cards, Enterplay has offered limited edition cards at various fan conventions, which have since become of card collector's value. A Friendship Is Magic -themed collectible card game by Enterplay, My Little Pony Collectible Card Game , was released in November 2013. The card game has been considered successful by Enterplay, helping them to boost their sales within
2736-455: A series of clouds and is only accessible by winged creatures and creatures that have had a "cloud-walking spell" cast upon them. It is the largest known Pegasi settlement in the realm. Cloudsdale is said to be the original home and birthplace of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy . Cloudsdale is a pun on Clydesdale , a breed of horse; according to Lauren Faust , the name "Cloudsdale" was originally suggested by her husband Craig McCracken . The city
2880-430: A six-pointed star, represents her talent for magic and her love for books and knowledge and the five smaller stars indicate that her destiny is intertwined with her friends. Twilight is depicted in the first three seasons as a light purple unicorn with purple eyes and a pink and purple streaked indigo-blue mane and tail and as a winged unicorn after " Magical Mystery Cure ". Twilight is the most intellectual member of
3024-400: A son. Granny Smith is Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big McIntosh's paternal grandmother. She is depicted as a "wise matriarch" who has a sharp wit and a "fuzzy" memory and is stated to be one of Ponyville's first settlers. Starlight Glimmer is a unicorn with a strong talent for magic and a former villain. She first appears in season five's two-part premiere, " The Cutie Map ", when she was
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#17328581151613168-539: A surprise to Hasbro and staff members involved with the show. They have appreciated and embraced the fandom, adding nods to the fans within the show and the toys. King Sombra This is a list of characters from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic , an animated television series based on the My Little Pony toyline created by American toy manufacturer and multimedia company Hasbro . The series features characters and settings developed by Lauren Faust , who sought to create more in-depth characters than
3312-515: A threat looming over their hometown of Ponyville. The main cast from Friendship Is Magic reprised their roles alongside original characters voiced by Kristin Chenoweth , Emily Blunt , Michael Peña , Uzo Aduba , Liev Schreiber , Taye Diggs , Sia , and Zoe Saldana . Two television specials were produced during the period. My Little Pony: Best Gift Ever , a holiday season special animated at DHX Media's Vancouver 2D animation studio,
3456-484: A toy set on; an example is the Ponyville schoolhouse. The history of Equestria, as depicted in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic , began at the end of the "Age of Eternal Winter." Before founding Equestria, the three major pony types—Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi—were separate tribes. This period is described as chaotic, when the horse-like windigos brought freezing temperatures and eternal darkness to
3600-433: A unicorn, the wings of a pegasus, and the fortitude of an earth pony—and are rulers of Equestria. The world of Equestria is shown to be inhabited by various magical creatures besides ponies. Faust considered the previous My Little Pony series "more focused on cupcakes and tea parties, and it was getting disconnected from its fantasy roots." As a result of this and the fact that ponies were based on mythology, she based many of
3744-566: A unique affinity for animals that allows her to communicate with them. She lives in a secluded meadow cottage in Ponyville where she cares for forest creatures such as her "conniving and willful" pet rabbit Angel. In many episodes, Fluttershy exhibits a tough personality that emerges whenever a friend or animal is harmed, in contrast to her normally timid and mild-mannered self. Her most prominent ability, "the Stare", causes any creature that meets her gaze to become "powerless and moved to meekness" while it
3888-443: A whim. Discord is the only example of a Draconequus portrayed in the main television series; however, he and others reference Draconequui as a species, implying that there is more than one. The species is a dragon-like chimera made from the body parts of different animals. Equestria is the largest equine nation , stretching across a peninsula - continent that touches the northern arctic and subarctic poles. Equestria reaches from
4032-523: A will of its own. In "What Lies Beneath", the Tree's roots have expanded well outside the Everfree Forest and its abilities have grown to the point of being able to project a physical form of its consciousness. In season seven's two-part finale, "Shadow Play", it is revealed that the Tree of Harmony was grown by the Pillars of Old Equestria to protect Equestria in their absence. In "The Mean 6", Chrysalis and
4176-439: Is Princess Celestia's younger sister who serves as co-ruler of Equestria and uses her magic to raise the moon and safeguards her subjects' dreams during nighttime. A thousand years ago, Luna became bitter about everypony playing during the day while they sleep through the night and ignore her. Luna's bitterness transformed her into Nightmare Moon and she attempted to create eternal night all over Equestria. Celestia reluctantly used
4320-475: Is Twilight's sister-in-law and childhood "foal-sitter" , whom she has close relationships with. They first appear in season two's two-part finale, " A Canterlot Wedding ", when they were getting married. Later in season three, they became the new rulers of the Crystal Empire, with the responsibility to spread hope and love across Equestria. In season six, Cadance gives birth to their baby daughter with wings and
4464-417: Is a party planner at Sugarcube Corner, a bakery and confectionery store that resembles a gingerbread house and owns a toothless pet alligator named Gummy. A comic relief character who was raised on a "dreary rock farm", Pinkie is defined as a "hard worker" motivated in seeing people she loves smiling and relieving them of stress, by randomly throwing parties and acting as outlandish as possible; but has
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4608-412: Is a symbol of the down-home simplicity found in a classic and common fruit". Rainbow Dash is a blue pegasus with pink eyes and a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark, a rainbow-colored lightning bolt with a cloud, represents her talent for speed and her obsession with adventure. Her goal at the beginning of the series is to join her "heroes", the elite Wonderbolts aerobatic team. She later joins
4752-815: Is an orange earth pony with green eyes and a blonde mane and tail. Her cutie mark, a trio of apples, represents her talent for agriculture and her love for her family. She is characterized as a "farm gal" who sports a cowboy hat and lasso and speaks with a Texan Southern accent . She works as an apple farmer at the Sweet Apple Acres orchard in Ponyville, using her strength to "buck" apples out of trees. She lives with: her grandmother Granny Smith, her older brother Big McIntosh, her younger sister Apple Bloom and her pet Border Collie dog Winona. Applejack's parents, Bright Mac and Pear Butter (voiced by Bill Newton and Felicia Day ), first seen in " The Perfect Pear ", are deceased. Applejack is: honest, courageous, forthright and
4896-542: Is classified. Dragons are a species of apex predators generally depicted as nomadic, selfish, and reclusive creatures; their level of greed determines their: physical size, power, lifespan, and territory. Many dragons accumulate wealth through the use of force, threats, or coercion to intimidate or aggressively dominate other "lesser species". Due to their egotistical nature, dragons do not have any formal " borders or government" by traditional definitions, functioning rather like adhocracy . Under dragon laws and customs,
5040-537: Is commonly nicknamed Opal and has a younger sister named Sweetie Belle. Faust's original idea for Rarity's Element of Harmony was "inspiration", but it was changed to "generosity" after the production team deemed the former "too much of a thinker, especially for kids". Faust was pleased with the change, saying it "really helped pull [Rarity] away from the stereotypical, unlikable debutante ". She cites Audrey Hepburn as her biggest influence for Rarity and also says that Tabitha St. Germain's histrionic performance "added
5184-580: Is currently limited to a part of Equus (the Equestrian continent), controlled mostly by the Equestrian nation. The Equestrian-explored portion of the continent is flanked by two vast oceans, bounded to the north by the mountainous Frozen North region and extends across the northern and southern hemispheres, ending with the Bone Dry Desert that borders the Mysterious South region. However, a map included in
5328-504: Is depicted as a floating city of clouds where pegasi produce Equestria's clouds, weather, and rainbows inside a specialized "weather factory". The city's design was influenced by Greek and Roman architecture , which author Begin states "harks back to the original Olympic Games, [...] a fitting reference for Rainbow Dash". Hope Hollow is a town in Equestria located some distance from Ponyville, most noted for an annual celebration known as
5472-411: Is depicted as handsome, courageous, silly, nerdy, and charming; while Cadance is depicted as kind, caring, helpful, romantic and natural as a leader. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are a club that consists of Apple Bloom , Applejack and Big McIntosh's younger sister, Sweetie Belle , Rarity's younger sister, and Scootaloo , a pegasus filly who suffers from an inability to fly and idolizes Rainbow Dash. After
5616-461: Is depicted as similar to the Christmas or Yule celebrations. Equestria initially struggled with ensuring that the sun and moon set at the proper times, which drained the powers of Equestria's most powerful sorcerers. The birth of future princesses Celestia and Luna , alicorn sisters who could raise and lower the celestial bodies at will, ushered in an era of prosperity. The sisters were crowned as
5760-472: Is first depicted in "Sonic Rainboom". The Everfree Forest is a large, enchanted forest grove in the boundaries adjacent to the Ponyville township; it is usually referred to simply as "the Forest". The Everfree Forest is home to Zecora and many wild creatures. As it is intended to be wild and untamed, its color palette is the opposite of Ponyville's and also has messier shapes. In its earlier development sketches,
5904-531: Is in effect. Faust enjoyed writing for Fluttershy the most out of the show's characters due to her "relatable" struggles with fear, which Faust says brings potential "not just for great storytelling but [also for] great filmmaking". The Royal Family are the highest-ranking ponies in the Equestrian nation. The novel Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell establishes that the Princesses with wings and
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6048-424: Is influenced by the fantasy genre. The team borrowed from mythology for most of their pony designs. In addition, Faust envisioned the ponies as realistic horses who ate hay, lived in barns, pulled carts, wore saddles, and used their mouths to pick up things—qualities that were formerly avoided. After an idea from fellow animator Paul Rudish , many ideas of how the ponies' world was special came to Faust; she imagined
6192-419: Is known for its agricultural produce—apples, pears, carrots, etc.—and is home of "Sweet Apple Acres", Equestria's only source of domesticated zap apple jam. Ponyville has a school district, a diplomatic mission, a tourist destination, and a rail center—being the first/last connecting stop between Canterlot and other principalities. Ponyville incorporates minor influences from traditional Americana . The town has
6336-478: Is not explored. As the creator of the show wrote, Lauren Faust explained on various social media pages, that the Everfree Forest is west of Ponyville , Sweet Apple Acres is southwest, and both Fluttershy 's cottage and meadow are located north of the farm. Canterlot is northeast of Ponyville. However, in subsequent interviews, both Faust and Jayson Thiessen mentioned that the geography and continuity of
6480-402: Is reduced to a barren wasteland. These alternate realities are later undone by Twilight Sparkle. Faust imagined the three ponies—unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies—having different cultures and living in various places. She pictured the unicorns in the mountains, pegasi in the clouds, and earth ponies, similar to real horses, on the ground. According to Faust, the entirety of Friendship Is Magic
6624-616: Is releasing a series of comics with manga aesthetics titled My Little Pony: The Manga – A Day in the Life of Equestria (not to be confused with 2013 Japanese comics), with the first book having been released in June 2019. Various "stock comics" also appeared in multiple languages for certain mainstream children's magazines, such as UK-based Redan Publishing's Sparkle World . Hasbro has partnered with Little, Brown and Company to publish several children's books aimed at different reading levels involving
6768-410: Is southwest, Canterlot is northeast, and Fluttershy's cottage and meadow are located north of the farm. However, in subsequent interviews, both Faust and the supervising director and executive producer of the series, Jayson Thiessen , mentioned that the geography and continuity of the show are loosely defined and may change as necessary, and a layout artist for the series stated on December 10, 2011, that
6912-421: Is the mountainside capital of Equestria, named after the castle Camelot of Arthurian legend . The city is home to the country's upper-class elite, including Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who reside in the local castle. Canterlot was designed to give the sense of its residents' royalty and nobility. Cloudsdale is the home and birthplace of several pegasus characters such as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. It
7056-440: Is the only male member of his team. Faust envisioned the character as "the sensitive little boy who has a lot of sisters and just seems to get along better with girls". On Spike's role as a dragon outsider living among ponies, Meghan McCarthy says: "He's trying to figure out who he is. What beyond being Twilight's assistant is his role in this world? I think he reflects how everybody feels at some point in their life". Applejack
7200-448: Is the setting of the royal court of Princess Celestia and Luna and the residence of Twilight Sparkle before Ponyville. Canterlot Castle is often at the center of state occasions and royal hospitality. Faust aimed for a "European feel" with Canterlot. Her photo references to Dunnet were castles and cathedrals. Faust stated she preferred Dunnet's first instinct to his later more "cartoony" drawings of Canterlot; subsequently, he went back to
7344-499: The Friendship Is Magic film indicates vast areas beyond these regions. Like Earth, Equestria's world has one moon and is depicted as part of a solar system. Questions regarding heliocentrism or geocentrism are complicated by the fact that Celestia and Luna can move the Sun and Moon, respectively, at a mere whim. Similar constellations exist; with the caveat that most are also dangerous monsters, such as Canis Major and Ursa Minor . About
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#17328581151617488-477: The Friendship Is Magic franchise, including an official series guidebook, starting in April 2013. As of January 2016 , more than 3 million My Little Pony books published by the company have been sold, and they have extended their Hasbro deal through to 2018, as well as adding other Hasbro properties such as Transformers . A twelve-track soundtrack, Friendship Is Magic: Songs of Friendship and Magic (Music from
7632-517: The naive party animal of the group, she also displays admirable skills in science and engineering. In " Swarm of the Century ", she devised a technical solution to Ponyville's infestation problems in a scenario where magic had failed and built a flying machine to keep up with Rainbow Dash in " Griffon the Brush Off ". In early episodes, Faust worked to depict Pinkie as a "free spirit" to address concerns of
7776-480: The namesake 2010 television series ). It is unofficially referred to as the "Fourth Generation", "Generation Four" or "G4" by collectors. Outside toys, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (an animated television series commissioned by Hasbro Studios ) has served as a flagship media from 2010 until 2019; additionally, one animated feature film ( My Little Pony: The Movie ) and two television specials ( Best Gift Ever and Rainbow Roadtrip ) were produced during
7920-481: The sun , while her younger sister Luna uses her magic to raise the moon to ensure a night and day cycle. She is perhaps the most beloved creature in the world , being a staunch proponent of international peace, kindness, and cooperation. Very little of her past before Celestia's victory over Discord is known, except that she and Luna discovered the Elements of Harmony. With these artifacts and their bearers, Princess Celestia has secured millennia-long, relative peace for
8064-623: The "Human World," it is unclear if Equestria is located in a parallel universe, or somewhere in the same universe as Earth. Notable settlements, territories, dependencies, and major population centers in Equestria are identified throughout the series and used as the setting for one or more episodes. Most minor locations, or vaguely referenced areas outside Equestria, both in the television series and associated media are not specified whether these locations are part of Equestria or not. The films, television series, and other franchise media take place in many locations and their exact affiliation with Equestria
8208-465: The "Mane Six", a group of friends who are brought together by the "Elements of Harmony", a set of six mystical jewels and an "unstoppable force of good" used to defend Equestria against powerful threats. The seventh main character, Spike, acts as a foil to the Mane Six in terms of personality and he is the only male member of the team. The eighth main character, Starlight, who has redeemed herself and became
8352-498: The Bearded, having already mastered various advanced spells before her ascension to princesshood. Often rational and calm, she has perfectionist tendencies with severe paranoia and never accepts failure. She is also prone to suffer from nervous breakdowns (dubbed "Twilighting" and "Twilyanas" by her friends and family) when confronted with difficult problems or things beyond her understanding, though she gradually overcomes this habit in
8496-544: The Council of Friendship to maintain her relationship with her friends over the years. Spike is a purple baby dragon with green spines. He was orphaned as an egg and hatched by Twilight as part of her entrance exam for Celestia's academy. He was also raised among Twilight's family as her adopted younger brother. Spike fulfills the role of Twilight's "number one assistant" to which he is named for his loyalty and skill at helping Twilight solve problems and learn lessons. He also has
8640-537: The Dragon , Princess Celestia , and Princess Luna – who are also the major protagonists in the Friendship Is Magic television series and other related media. Beginning in 2013, the toys of Twilight Sparkle (originally a unicorn) were modified to have a pair of wings as well , a move that sparked criticism. Other official media followed the suit to reflect that, with Friendship Is Magic television series having
8784-598: The Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon and took responsibility for raising both the sun and the moon and maintaining harmony in Equestria. Nightmare Moon first appears in the first season's two-part premiere " Friendship Is Magic " when she escapes from the moon and attempts to carry out her plan. Twilight and her friends use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon and turn her back into Luna, who reconciles with her sister and resumes her royal duties. During season nine, Luna and Celestia prepares to retire from ruling Equestria so that Twilight can take their place. At
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#17328581151618928-425: The Elements of Harmony. She resides with her assistant Spike and pet owl Owlowiscious in Ponyville's Golden Oak Library, where she also serves as town librarian. At the end of season three, her apprenticeship to Princess Celestia ends when she finishes an old spell by creating new magic based on her studies of friendship, transforms into a winged unicorn and becomes a princess. At the end of season four, she becomes
9072-409: The Elements to turn him back into stone. In " Keep Calm and Flutter On ", Discord is released once again from his stone imprisonment by Twilight and her friends under Celestia's orders to reform him, which succeeds after Fluttershy befriends him. Following this, he appears in subsequent episodes as a reluctant ally of Twilight and her friends, occasionally still causing mischief while struggling to become
9216-400: The Everfree Forest who share a connection to the forestry and surrounding wilderness. Dragons inhabit the aptly named Dragonlands. In the My Little Pony series, typical dragons breathe fire, eat gemstones, and are shown to be aggressive. Though the dragons are based upon traditional designs, they have exaggerated noses and large heads with thin necks to invoke humor. The initial dragon design
9360-432: The Forest for various reasons; she built her hut within to more easily harvest ingredients for her potions. My Little Pony (2010 toyline) American toy company Hasbro launched the fourth incarnation of My Little Pony toyline and media franchise in 2010. This generation is not given any name by Hasbro, but some of later releases of toys are labeled with the subtitle "Friendship Is Magic" (originally given to
9504-502: The Internet board 4chan , responding to Amidi's negative essay regarding the show and current trends in animation. As a result of the discussion on 4chan, interest in the show spread throughout other parts of the Internet, creating a large fanbase and a multitude of creative works, fan sites, and conventions. The fanbase has adopted the name "brony" (a portmanteau of "bro" and "pony") to describe themselves. The older fanbase had come as
9648-490: The Original TV Series) , was released on iTunes on December 6, 2013, featuring select songs from the first and second seasons of the show. An eleven-track soundtrack, Friendship Is Magic: Songs of Ponyville (Music from the Original TV Series) , was released on iTunes on April 21, 2014, featuring select songs from the third and fourth seasons of the show. A ten-track soundtrack, Friendship Is Magic: Songs of Harmony ,
9792-519: The Princess of Friendship, with the responsibility to spread friendship and harmony across Equestria with her friends. In season eight, she opens the School of Friendship to teach ponies and creatures from Equestria and beyond about the benefits of friendship with her friends serving as the teachers. In season nine, she prepares to become the new ruler of Equestria, which she succeeds in the end, while establishing
9936-583: The Rainbow Festival. The town and its inhabitants appear in the TV special My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip . Tartarus is a supermax penal colony administered by prison warden Cerberus , a monstrous multi-headed dog. Anyone may enter Tartarus, but no one can leave through its entrance doors: " Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate " are inscribed on them. Tartarus provides housing for extraordinarily dangerous creatures; for these reasons, its exact location
10080-521: The Ruckus applications, have been released for the Barnes & Noble Nook , in partnership with Hasbro. Hasbro has licensed Gameloft to create Friendship Is Magic video games for mobile devices, with the first game, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic , reaching the market on November 8, 2012. The first game is a village-building game, featuring action-based mini-games for iOS and Android devices. Though
10224-468: The Tree of Harmony, they strived to ensure future generations could defend Equestria in its darkest hours. In the seventh season's two-part finale, "Shadow Play", the Pillars are brought into the present era after Twilight and her friends release them from millennial imprisonment in limbo alongside the Pony of Shadows, forming a tense alliance with them to defeat and ultimately rekindle the Pillars' friendship with
10368-479: The United States, it is distributed by Shinobi7. Seven Seas Entertainment released a manga series (titled My Little Pony: The Manga – A Day in the Life of Equestria ) in June 2019 and a papercraft book (titled My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Papercraft – The Mane 6 & Friends ) in October 2020. A video game based on the fifth iteration of the franchise, titled My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure ,
10512-410: The United States. The series premiered on Sunday, October 10, 2010 on The Hub (now Discovery Family ), an American television channel partly owned by Hasbro. Friendship Is Magic was developed by Lauren Faust , who was a fan of the original property in her youth, and invented her own adventure stories for the toys in place of the stereotypical "girly" stories from the 1980s' features. The series became
10656-461: The Wonderbolts as a trainee in " Wonderbolts Academy ". She soon became a reservist in " Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 " and then a full-time member in " Newbie Dash ". She helps other pegasi manage the weather around Ponyville and spends her time practicing flight maneuvers such as the " Sonic Rainboom ", a rainbow-colored sonic boom . In " The Cutie Mark Chronicles ", Rainbow Dash's first Sonic Rainboom as
10800-541: The Zebras and Yaks. The period after the return of Princess Luna through the ascendancy of Twilight Sparkle is the era most detailed by the main comics, television series, and video games. It is, therefore, fully canonical , according to the showwriters. Time magic is featured in the franchise on several occasions. In the series, time magic was discovered and/or invented by Starswirl, which allowed him to manipulate time and remain ageless. Celestia later outlawed time magic due to
10944-634: The additional demand. The first issue features 19 different covers, most exclusive to specific comic book shops and chains and only available in limited numbers. The comic, through its first eight issues, remains IDW's most successful title, and along with The Walking Dead , remain one of the few non- DC , non- Marvel comics to regularly break the top 100 comics sold each month. A series of Japanese comics by Akira Himekawa began appearing in Shogakukan 's Pucchigumi magazine in Japan on August 12, 2013. It
11088-499: The album and in retail June 23, 2015, contains 13 tracks that remix the original show compositions from Ingram with various artists. The album was produced by Justin Lassen who wanted to keep an all-ages enjoyment and avoid excessive repetition of dubstep -based remixes. A Christmas-themed album, titled It's a Pony Kind of Christmas , was released for on-demand streaming and digital release on November 6, 2015. Featuring performances by
11232-411: The backbone of Equestria's economy, operating within most industrial sectors involving natural resources, construction, or extraction. Their natural talents in agriculture , forestry , and mining extend from plants to rock farms . Earth ponies exhibit supernatural strength, endurance, stamina, fortitude, and durability compared to pegasi and unicorns. Pegasi are part of Greek mythology . Pegasi have
11376-632: The backdrop for the adventures of Twilight Sparkle , the main character of Friendship is Magic , and her friends, who are collectively referred to as the Mane Six . Equestria is shown to be located on a terrestrial planet , similar to Earth . Equestria hosts many intelligent and sapient creatures , of which the majority are ponies. Equestria's foundation is described as the result of the cooperation of unicorns , pegasi , and earth ponies . Although shown to be generally peaceful, Equestria engages in wars with various magical and supernatural threats throughout
11520-408: The book Art of Equestria , which describes the creation of Friendship is Magic , the creator of the series, Lauren Faust , originally proposed the name Fillydelphia (a pun on the city of Philadelphia ) instead of Ponyville. The series later added Fillydelphia as a new, separate city. Faust wrote in a comment on her DeviantArt page that the Everfree Forest is west of Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres
11664-506: The cast of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as well as the Phoenix Chamber Choir from Vancouver , the album contains original holiday-themed songs as well as covers of traditional Christmas songs and an extended version of "The Heart Carol" (from the episode " Hearth's Warming Eve "). Within 24 hours after its release, the album peaked at #1 on both iTunes and Amazon . An expanded version, titled Friendship Is Magic – It's
11808-488: The character as "self-absorbed and rather irresponsible". She eventually settled on the Element of Loyalty because it "brought out [Rainbow Dash's] positive traits". Pinkie Pie (full name Pinkamena Diane Pie ) is a light pink earth pony with light blue eyes and a dark pink balloon-like mane and tail. Her cutie mark, a trio of balloons, represents her talent for spreading hope and joy and her desire to entertain her friends. She
11952-489: The character being seen as too "hyper" and "ditzy". As the creative team grew more comfortable with Pinkie's character and humor, she became "really over-the-top strange and bordering on crazy, with a wacky cartoonish magic all her own". Throughout the show, depending on the episode or scene, Pinkie's friends alternate between disliking and enjoying her company, both ignoring her when she tries to speak to them but doing things with her such as pulling pranks or playing buckball. In
12096-487: The character, such as his home dimension called Chaosville, likening them to "dream-inspired Salvador Dalí paintings". Big McIntosh (commonly called Big Mac ) is Applejack and Apple Bloom's older brother. He does not talk very much and often speaks by saying "ee-yup" and "nope". Starting in "Hard to Say Anything", he starts a romantic relationship with Sugar Belle and they soon get married in. In " The Big Mac Question " and "The Last Problem", Big Mac and Sugar Belle have
12240-480: The creative team experimented with different palettes. The forest is considered to be extremely dangerous, and travel through it is prohibited. The forest is considered uninhabitable by all but the native Everfree Deers who inhabit it. It is the location of the Castle of Two Sisters, the Mirror Pool, and other enchanted phenomena. Due to the forest's rich biodiversity of flora and fauna, Zecora frequently travels into
12384-466: The creatures and villains on mythology. These were modified and redesigned to fit Friendship Is Magic 's world and demographic. Zebras, such as Zecora , are distinguishable by their body patterns, thinner legs, and thicker stripes, though they have similar shapes. Since real-life zebras are native to Africa, the tribal culture of the continent serves as an influence on patterns, masks, colours, and homes. Deer are depicted as mysterious residents of
12528-441: The end of Friendship is Magic , the rule of Equestria was passed down to Princess Twilight Sparkle . The reign of Twilight Sparkle brought about increases in peace, prosperity, hope, and love as Princess Twilight continued her scientific research and made her diplomatic mission to spread friendship to every creature in need. Throughout Equestria's history, it has maintained distant but mostly friendly relations with other nations like
12672-417: The end of the show, after Twilight was crowned the new ruler of Equestria, Celestia and Luna retired to Silver Shoals. Faust's original concept for Celestia was a queen rather than a princess, but she was changed into a princess because Hasbro thought that "girls assume that Queens are evil [...] and Princesses are good", and that "the perceived youth of a Princess is preferable to consumers". Princess Luna
12816-515: The end of the show, after Twilight was crowned the new ruler of Equestria, Luna and Celestia retired to Silver Shoals. Several episodes depict Luna's "difficulty living in her older sister's shadow", such as adapting to modern Equestrian customs and repairing her public image. Shining Armor is Twilight's older brother and the former captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard and Princess Cadance (full name Princess Mi Amore Cadenza )
12960-703: The fictional location named Equestria , a society inhabited by three kinds of ponies (earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi) and other species, with winged unicorns – named "alicorns" in later releases despite the word's origin – having royal status. With the success of the Friendship Is Magic television series, it also generated a dedicated fandom . The line grossed over US$ 650 million in retail sales in 2013, and $ 1 billion annually in retail sales in 2014, and 2015. This particular era has an anthropomorphic spin-off, subtitled Equestria Girls . The toyline often features nine characters – Twilight Sparkle , Rainbow Dash , Fluttershy , Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity , Spike
13104-401: The fictional universe of the television show are expanded and more prominent in the comics, presented with complex, multi-issue story arcs. The comics provide stories based on the established fictional universe of the television show; the comic faithfully follows the show canon, but the show does not technically follow the comic canon. Though the comic, like the show, is aimed at young children,
13248-506: The fillies befriended each other and formed the club in "Call of the Cutie", they went on adventures while trying to discover their special talents and earn their cutie marks. Later in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark", they finally earned their cutie marks, with their talents to help ponies discover their own purposes. In "Marks for Effort", they became tutors for the School of Friendship. In addition to
13392-406: The final season. Twilight begins the story as the protégée of Princess Celestia, who tasks her with studying the magical properties of friendship and reporting her findings. Twilight detests her assignment in the two-part series premiere, owing to her reclusiveness to her obsession with books, but comes to form strong friendships with the rest of the group, which she realizes is key to harnessing
13536-621: The founder and leader of a village where she wishes to build a "perfectly equal society" by magically removing other ponies' cutie marks because she believes differences cause disharmony between friends until Twilight and her friends came to her village and exposed her ruse. She returns in the season's two-part finale, " The Cutie Re-Mark ", to get revenge on Twilight by time traveling back to the past and stopping Rainbow Dash from performing her first Sonic Rainboom to prevent Twilight and her friends from coming together. Twilight and Spike follow after her, but they repeatedly fail to stop her from altering
13680-446: The future setting of the last episode " The Last Problem ", Pinkie is shown to be married to Cheese Sandwich with a child named Li'l Cheese. Rarity is a white unicorn with dark blue eyes and a curled indigo-purple mane and tail. Her cutie mark, a trio of diamonds, represents her talent for prospecting gemstones and her love of art and beauty. Rarity is a svelte, sophisticated, ladylike fashionista and businessperson who speaks with
13824-413: The game is aimed at younger players, Gameloft's Barnabé Anglade stated that there are nods to the show's brony fandom, such as the inclusion of fan-favorite characters and popular background ponies. The American My Little Pony comics are published by IDW Publishing under license from Hasbro . The first issue of the flagship title, Friendship Is Magic , was published in November 2012, and has proven
13968-421: The group who leads them during their adventures and helps resolve her friends' differences. Twilight's most defining character trait is her humility. She is a natural-born leader, an intelligent and dutiful scholar, wise beyond her years, with an avid love of learning and scientific discoveries. Her specialty is advanced unicorn-specific magic; her proficiency in magic is stated to have rivaled that of Star Swirl
14112-494: The hobby game sector, and have led to several expansions to the card series. In April 2013, Hasbro and Build-A-Bear Workshop began offering Friendship Is Magic -based plush toys for customization. Sales of My Little Pony toys were three times as large in 2013 than in 2003, and have helped Hasbro to promote other lines of toys aimed at girls. Hasbro stated that merchandising tied to Friendship Is Magic lead to franchise sales over $ 650 million in 2014, and others have considered
14256-459: The inspiration of the pegasus ponies controlling the weather when he was drawing a pegasus pony running across clouds and creating rain. Unicorns are part of European mythology . Unicorns can directly absorb, wield, channel, create, and manipulate magic; this ability is powered by a horn of variable length, texture, and color on their forehead. However, a unicorn's horn can be destroyed, taking away most of its magical capabilities. Unicorns are among
14400-448: The later seasons of Friendship Is Magic , body types have varied, being designed to embody diverse characteristics, including age and personality. Earth ponies possess an underlying connection to the earth, nature, and the environment that encourages the growth of plant life and a connection with wild animals. Earth pony-based technology is purely mechanical and often intended to replicate things they cannot do themselves. Earth ponies form
14544-673: The main trio, others are accepted into the Cutie Mark Crusaders across the series: Discord is a draconequus (a dragon-like creature with body parts from different animals) and the spirit of chaos and disharmony. A thousand years ago, Discord once ruled Equestria in a state of unrest and unhappiness until Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used the Elements of Harmony to turn him into stone. He first appears in season two's two-part premiere, " The Return of Harmony ", when he breaks free of his stone imprisonment and sets out to spread chaos all across Equestria until Twilight and her friends used
14688-478: The most "down-to-earth" of the group, being a trustworthy friend who is optimistic and has good judgment. She is also "too eager to please" and has a stubborn persona, with several episodes focused on her interaction with the Flim-Flam Brothers who exploit her vulnerabilities or focus on her taking up a "herculean task". Author Begin says that her apple-themed cutie mark "not only represents her name but also
14832-492: The most educated and scholarly of Equestria's citizens. While other ponies' innate magical talents are "intuitive or instinctive," unicorns require decades of higher education to master any spell beyond the most fundamental. Many spells and abilities are open to all unicorns, but many unicorns specialize in areas like teleportation, transfiguration, or medicine. Generally, unicorns have a collection of various spells relating to their specialty, with one being vastly more effective than
14976-460: The most successful show on The Hub, popularized the brand, and gained a notable fan following . An animated feature film based on the Friendship Is Magic characters was first announced on October 20, 2014, in an interview with Hasbro Studios CEO Stephen Davis by Variety . Released on October 6, 2017, in the United States, the new My Little Pony: The Movie is Hasbro's first animated feature film from its Allspark Pictures film division. It
15120-463: The northern Crystal Empire was ruled by Princess Amore. Later, the tyrannical King Sombra took over the kingdom and enslaved the Crystal Ponies. After Celestia and Luna defeated Sombra with the magical Crystal Heart, he cursed the Crystal Empire to disappear, which it did for one thousand years. The Crystal Empire later reappeared and was ruled by Princess Cadence and her husband, Shining Armor. By
15264-624: The past, which creates numerous alternate versions of Equestria falling into ruin. When they brought her to a future to show her the consequences of her actions, Starlight refuses to accept the truth and shows them her childhood, revealing that she lost touch with her friend Sunburst after he earned his cutie mark and left to study magic in Canterlot, which lead her to believe that cutie marks ruin friendships. However, Twilight convinces Starlight to change her ways and make new friends and even takes her on as her student. In season six, Starlight starts learning
15408-476: The period. In late 2019, Hasbro have revamped the appearance of pony characters. The new toys with renewed, caricatured appearance were released in November 2019. It was followed by the animated series, My Little Pony: Pony Life , in 2020. Another stop-motion animated webseries, My Little Pony: Stop Motion Shorts , was released in January 2020. The toys and media produced during this incarnation take place in
15552-466: The ponies as the stewards of their world who made their weather happen, flowers grow, and animals thrive. Initially, Faust's designs were similar to the original ponies'. However, they "just didn't feel right" with upturned noses, straight faces, large heads, and small bodies. After drawing a doodle of a random pony, Faust decided to use that design. When creating ponies, the artists needed to be attentive to shape and proportion. Their bodies were similar to
15696-425: The ponies' adventures, in part inspired by the animated shows that her brothers would watch while growing up, such as Transformers and G.I. Joe . Faust still aimed for the characters to be "relatable" characters, using stereotypical "icons of girliness" to broaden the appeal of the characters for the young female audience. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic focuses on six core pony characters, identified as
15840-473: The production team had no official map of Equestria for reference. Upon the release of Art of Equestria , however, an official map was released. It suggests that the Everfree Forest is to the east of Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres to the southeast, and Fluttershy's cottage and meadow are located north of the farm. Canterlot is the capital city of Equestria, built on the side of the Foal Mountains. Canterlot
15984-431: The rest. As Hasbro created a castle that Faust put up on her dresser, she believed unicorns would live in the mountains. Other types of ponies include crystal ponies, who have a connection with crystals; thestral ponies, who have bat-like wings and slit-pupil eyes, as well as the abilities of pegasus ponies, night vision, and echolocation; and alicorns , who have the distinguishing features of other pony races—the horn of
16128-642: The risks of irresponsible time travel, and all knowledge about it was stored within Starswirl, the Bearded Wing of the Canterlot Archives. In " The Cutie Re-Mark ," several alternate versions of Equestria are depicted as a result of Starlight Glimmer changing history. In the first alternate timeline shown, King Sombra expands the Crystal Empire's borders to cover half of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom. In
16272-470: The rulers of Equestria and were trained by the legendary wizard Star Swirl the Bearded to use their powers. Under Princess Celestia and Luna, Equestria could focus greater magic and resources on its development despite the emergence of threats like the evil Lord Tirek , Discord , and wars between ponies and the Changeling Hive . Under the princesses, Equestria was transformed from a feudal kingdom into
16416-427: The rules of the show", by making him put more modernized or contemporary pop culture references than usual in the series' "fantasy storybook" setting. He was not intended to have a recurring role; according to McCarthy, "'reforming' him allows us to tell new stories with his character. He gets to be the not-always-reliable ally instead of the known enemy". Author Begin commented on the "chaotic" settings that accompany
16560-461: The second, Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings have conquered Canterlot, forcing many ponies into hiding. In the third, Nightmare Moon rules Equestria in the eternal night after banishing Celestia to the moon. Further alternate realities include one ruled by Discord, one in which Tirek ravages the land, one in which Flim and Flam bulldoze the Everfree Forest for development, and one in which Equestria
16704-512: The series. The "Bit" is the national currency of Equestria and its territories. Throughout the series, Equestria is ruled by princesses. Two years were spent on creating the foundation of the series. Pennsylvania Dutch design, steampunk fantasy art, European fairy tales , and Bavarian folk art served as influences for the original pony world. In some cases, Hasbro requested that the show include certain settings but allowed Faust and her team to create its visual style which Hasbro would then base
16848-399: The shapes of beans: heads to a ball and legs to curved triangles. Often, the ponies were the height of three heads, divided into three parts: Other prominent body parts include the neck, which is half the head's width, and the eye, a central element to the ponies' design in placement, size, and shape. While many eyes differ in details, the placement and shape are normally unvarying. Throughout
16992-400: The show are fluidly defined and are subject to change as necessary, The Capital Region is Equestria's foundation and "ancestral lands", where the united cooperation between the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies brought an end to Eternal Winter. The Capital Region represents Equestria's original sovereign borders before the dynastic reign of Princess Celestia; all outlying territories represent
17136-423: The show as "traditional" while finding that their "exaggerated noses and large heads resting on exceptionally skinny necks" is evocative of the show's humor. These characters lived centuries in the past at a minimum. They are often mentioned posthumously for historical context to the plot. The Pillars of Old Equestria are six legendary adventurer ponies responsible for creating the Elements of Harmony. With
17280-411: The show that subverted stereotypes of girls, such as diverse personalities, character flaws and personality disorders , the message that friends can be different and can get into arguments but still be friends and the idea that girls should not be limited by what others say they can or cannot do. Elements of the characters' personalities and the show's settings were based on her childhood imagination of
17424-417: The show's brony fanbase , who have assigned names and personalities to them. As a response to fan interest, the series' creative team has given six of the most popular characters expanded roles in later episodes and media, including being featured as the "main characters" in the show's one-hundredth episode "Slice of Life", which presents the characters' daily lives as the episode's central focus. Canterlot
17568-459: The show's popularity to make 2015 the "year of the unicorn" for toy and related manufacturers. On April 16, 2013, World Trade Jewelers signed a deal with Hasbro to make Friendship Is Magic jewelry. The collection was released for consumer release in October 2013. River Horse in the United Kingdom developed and released a series of board games titled My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria . In
17712-413: The special member of the team. Each pony character was designed to represent a different element and positive aspect of friendship: honesty (Applejack), kindness (Fluttershy), laughter (Pinkie Pie), generosity (Rarity), and loyalty (Rainbow Dash), which come together to form the sixth element of "magic" (Twilight Sparkle). Princess Twilight Sparkle is the main protagonist of the show. Her cutie mark,
17856-466: The stereotypical "girly" icons used in previous iterations of the franchise. The series premiered on October 10, 2010, in the United States and concluded on October 12, 2019. The characters have been generally well-received by television critics and parental groups and are cited as one of the reasons the series' older fans, called " bronies ", became attracted to the show. Friendship is Magic characters appear in numerous spin-off franchise media, including
18000-675: The subsequent thousand-year expansion of the nation's imperialist interests. Much of the Capital Regions are " crown lands "; i.e. they are legally considered public land and are apart from the monarch's private estate. Ponyville is the home of the series' main characters— Twilight Sparkle , Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike. Faust aimed for a "fairy-tale kind of feel" with Ponyville. Her photo references to Dave Dunnet were German cottages. His design incorporated elements that were part of real horses such as horseshoe-shaped archways, hay bales, and troughs. Ponyville
18144-482: The term "Dragon Lands" is whenever or wherever a dragon chooses to roost its young or hoard its treasures determines its sovereign territories for centuries. Being kraterocratic however, all dragons acknowledge (and adhere out of fear) to arbitration by the Dragon Lord—the sole monarch of the "Dragon Lands", who is traditionally the oldest, strongest and greediest despot . Begin describes the dragon designs used in
18288-509: The unique ability to fly and magically control the weather. This ability is powered by a pair of feathered wings, which is the distinguishing anatomical feature of pegasi compared to other pony races. Pegasi comprise the majority of ponies responsible for the postal service , patrolling Equestria's airspace, and controlling Equestria's weather. Pegasi are the only pony able to interact with clouds naturally as if they were tangible; this allows them to walk on and move clouds and, by extension, control
18432-586: The villain. As with Twilight and her friends, each Pillar represents one of six traits similar to the Elements of Harmony: strength (Rockhoof), healing (Mage Meadowbrook), hope (Somnambula), beauty (Mistmane), bravery (Flash Magnus), and sorcery (Star Swirl the Bearded). The Tree of Harmony is an entity that protected Equestria for thousands of years and created the Elements of Harmony. It preserves balance and harmony without conscious effort and seldom can be communicated with directly, although it often shows hints of having
18576-557: The way he first drew the location. The stained glass windows reflect an awareness of the world. Its spires and turrets are similar to the Arthurian castles of Camelot , and its color pallette and mountaintop position represent royalty. One of Faust's inspirations for Canterlot, with its castle carved into the side of the mountain, was Minas Tirith from The Lord of the Rings . Ted Anderson and Agnes Garbowska's inspiration for ancient Canterlot
18720-494: The ways of friendship as Twilight's student, until she graduates in season seven, after defeating Queen Chrysalis and bringing harmony to the Changeling Kingdom. In season eight, she becomes the School of Friendship's guidance counselor to help the students with their problems. Later in "A Horse Shoe-In", she becomes the school's new head mare as Twilight was leaving to rule Equestria. According to Miller, Starlight's design
18864-435: The weather (although other pony types can do this through artificial means using magic). In the episode "Hurricane Fluttershy," a coordinated team of one hundred pegasi demonstrates their ability to generate hurricane-force winds to funnel water from a lake. A quality Faust borrowed from her childhood with the pegasi was a cold shower fountain that made her believe the pegasi lived in the clouds. She credited Paul Rudish for
19008-463: The western Luna Ocean to the eastern Celestia Sea, bordering the northern Crystal Empire and the southern Queendom of Changelings. The Equestrian continent's diverse geography ranges, biomes , provinces, and settlements are modeled after or based on North American cities and the Nearctic realm . The full geography of Equestria is currently unexplored and evolving to fit the needs of the show writers. It
19152-462: The world, and other monsters terrorized the populace. The three tribes separately emigrated to the continent of Equus, where they began feuding with each other, which fueled the strength of the windigos. Eventually, the tribes set aside their squabbles to unite as the nation of Equestria and defeat the Windigos. The foundation of Equestria is celebrated during the annual Hearth's Warming Day festival, which
19296-828: The writers and artists have consistently taken creative risks, including expanding Sombra's backstory, introducing Scootaloo's aunts as a married LGBT couple and more. Ponyville is the primary setting of the television series and home of the show's main characters. The town's unique locales were designed to reflect their characters, while the overall style of the town was largely influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch design, steampunk artwork, and European and Bavarian folklore . The town also incorporates pony design elements such as horseshoes, hay bales, and troughs. The show features an extensive cast of over 200 minor characters, also designated as "background ponies", that are used to fill out crowd scenes and serve as visual gags in episodes. Several background ponies have been well received by
19440-575: Was ancient Rome . According to Lauren Faust , Canterlot was originally called " Canterbury ", after the historical English city, and the name "Canterlot" was suggested by her husband Craig McCracken . Cloudsdale is the home of the Pegasi. It is influenced by classical Greece and Rome; it has pillars and columns, which were choices based on the story. The show also references the Ancient Olympic Games , through Cloudsdale's use of tests of speed and agility. Unlike other cities, Cloudsdale floats on
19584-468: Was chosen to parallel her role as a "proto-Twilight character". Her original name during production was "Aurora Glimmer", which was changed due to the Walt Disney Company 's trademark of the name " Aurora ". The "Young Six" are six adolescent creatures who attend as students at the School of Friendship run by Twilight and her friends. They consist of: Most recurring characters established within
19728-500: Was disappointed that what she thought of the toys at the time was nothing like the animated shows, in which the characters, according to her, "had endless tea parties, giggled over nothing and defeated villains by either sharing with them or crying". With the chance to work on My Little Pony , one of her favorite childhood toys, she hoped to prove that "cartoons for girls don't have to be a puddle of smooshy, cutesy-wootsy, goody-two-shoeness". To do this, she incorporated many elements into
19872-419: Was distributed worldwide by Lionsgate , with the exception of China. Thiessen directed the film with McCarthy writing the film and act as the film's co-executive producer alongside Mike Vogel. Originally, Joe Ballarini was the scriptwriter for the film. The film concerns the "Mane Six" ponies – Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity – journeying beyond Equestria to stop
20016-513: Was first broadcast in the United States on October 27, 2018 on Discovery Family. Another special, My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip , was animated at Boulder Media (an Irish studio which Hasbro acquired in 2016) and broadcast on June 29, 2019 on Discovery Family. My Little Pony: Pony Life , another animated television series commissioned by Allspark Animation, premiered in the United States on November 7, 2020 on Discovery Family. The series, which succeeds Friendship Is Magic , features ponies in
20160-543: Was more elegant and had a resemblance to the ponies. Although one notable dragon out of all, Spike , accompanies the Mane Six, doesn't inhabit the Dragonlands, aside from the "Dragon Quest" episode, and is not drawn in a traditional dangerous dragon design. Changelings are insect equine creatures, similar to ponies. They can shapeshift through dark magic. They are shown to feed off of powerful emotions. Draconequus are beings of immense power, powerful enough to alter reality at
20304-510: Was released in May 27, 2022 on the Nintendo Switch . Despite Hasbro's target demographic of young girls and their parents, this incarnation of the franchise has become a cultural and Internet phenomenon with the new fandom generated by Friendship Is Magic television series, having many male fans between 13 and 35. The response from the Internet has been traced to cartoon and animation fans on
20448-635: Was released on iTunes on April 13, 2015, featuring select songs from the show's fourth season, plus the season two song "The Perfect Stallion" (from " Hearts and Hooves Day "), full versions of both "Find the Music in You" (from " Filli Vanilli ") and "Let the Rainbow Remind You" (from " Twilight's Kingdom – Part 2"), as well as a mash-up between " Winter Wrap Up " and " A True, True Friend ". Another ten-track soundtrack, Friendship Is Magic: Pinkie's Party Playlist ,
20592-504: Was released on iTunes on July 7, 2016, featuring select songs from the show's fourth and fifth seasons, as well as a re-recorded version of the "Pony Pokey" song from season one. Based on the popularity of adult My Little Pony fandom 's remixing of songs from the show, Hasbro and Lakeshore Records developed an EDM remix album entitled DJ Pon-3 Presents My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Remixed . Originally set for release in late 2014 but ultimately released digitally on June 2, 2015,
20736-507: Was tied in with the Japanese launch of the 2010 incarnation in early 2013 by the license holders at the time, We've Inc. [ ja ] and Bushiroad (All of relevant regional licenses were later taken over by Sega Toys ). The first Akira Himekawa series completed its run in February 2014. The second, 80-page trade paperback was released on October 16, 2014. Seven Seas Entertainment
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