History Franchise / MyLittlePony

* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
** Is it "Katrina" or "Catrina"? Even sources mix them up, though the original name was Catrina, in both the title card of the episode and the original VHS.
** Is the first special "Firefly's Adventure","Rescue from Midnight Castle", or "Rescue At Midnight Castle"? All are different names under different rereleases of the first special.
** Many, many ponies have different names in different countries, leading to this too. There's also Arabus or Erebus, and there at ''least'' four different ways to spell Tirac.
*** Arabus is fanmade as Erebus is the only name that appears in the VHS tapes and Tirac is the one in both the cartoon bible and the original VHS, making it the official spelling for the original character.

* CompetitionCouponMadness: Hasbro for several generations of toys put [[http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Points Horseshoe Points]] (called Pony Points during Gen 3) on the packages--small value coupons that could be sent in along with a shipping and handling fee for mail-order exclusive items. This mostly included unique or special toy ponies, but Generation Three Hasbro also released a three-foot-tall stuffed pony of Frilly Frocks for a whopping 250 points--and ''then'' forgot to make the shipping the right cost, so many people were able to order her for the points ''and'' just $2.50 in shipping and handling--same as smaller items. This was later raised to a more logical $25, and Hasbro honored the lower cost for any orders that had been sent in.

* ''VideoGame/MyLittlePonyAMaretimeBayAdventure'', a video game developed by Melbot Studios and published by Outright Games, centering around setting up a celebration in Maretime Bay while an unknown figure tries to spoil the proceedings. Released on May 27, 2022, for the Platform/NintendoSwitch, Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/XboxOne, and PC with a release for Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS and Platform/PlayStation5 coming in late 2022.

* ''VideoGame/MyLittlePonyAMaretimeBayAdventure'', a video game developed by Melbot Studios and published by Outright Games, centering around setting up a celebration in Maretime Bay while an unknown figure tries to spoil the proceedings. Released on May 27, 2022, for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and PC with a release for UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS and UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 coming in late 2022.

** Over half of ponies probably never appear in comics, books, or cartoons due to the ''huge'' amount of characters. They have to compress them to a core dozen background characters and even fewer major characters. Characters from "oddball" lines such as the Twice as Fancy ponies, So Soft ponies, and Sparkle ponies were almost always excluded from adaptations, possibly due to their unusual looks. This is especially common with ''Friendship Is Magic'', which contains a lot of CanonForeigner cartoon only ponies while toy characters like Firecracker Burst or Cupcake never even appear in the background (though it could be {{justified|trope}} in that it's easier to create a random background character than research toy designs).

[[http://www.etherella.com/scrapbook/ Etherella's Scrapbook]] has info on the ponies, along with info on them in the cartoon and comics.

"Generation 4" started in 2010 with the release of the TV series ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' developed by Creator/LaurenFaust. The ponies were redesigned to sport large eyes, tiny muzzles, [[PuniPlush bodies that are proportionally small for their heads]], and {{Moe}} quirks. At its core, ''Friendship Is Magic'' has the fantasy and adventure elements of G1, the SliceOfLife stories of ''Tales'', much of the cast are re-imagined G3 ponies, and episodes typically feature life lessons about friendship at the end of most episodes. Faust developed a new setting called Equestria, a FantasyKitchenSink with its own mythology and history, with the town of Ponyville being the home of the series' [[JustForPun mane]] six heroines. Stories range from comedic slice of life to family-friendly adventures. In any case, the cartoon became an unexpected hit with a ''colossal'' PeripheryDemographic of teens and adults of all genders. Hasbro capitalized on the success of the show by giving ''Friendship is Magic'' an ExpandedUniverse with assorted comics and books. For greater detail, see the [[Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration4 Generation 4 page]]. The primary show ended in October 2019, but the comic series continued for about two years past that. 2020 also saw the release of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyPonyLife'', sometimes referred to as "Generation 4.5", a ContinuityReboot featuring the same characters but with much more stylized and SuperDeformed designs, more abstract and sometimes cubist-like backgrounds, and a greater focus on absurdist comedy.

Generation 1 started humbly with the release of six pony toys in 1982. Very soon, the toy line became a hit of absolutely enormous magnitude, and quickly became a highly recognizable part of pop culture. To this day, even after all the relaunches and re-imaginings of the franchise, the original 1980's toys remain what most people among the general population immediately picture when they hear the phrase "''My Little Pony''". The toyline was eventually followed by [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials two Television specials]], one in 1984 and another in 1985, and a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986 feature-length movie]] in 1986. A TV series, ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'', was released later the same year and ran for [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon two seasons]] before being cancelled in 1987. These cartoons all took place in [[SugarBowl Dream Valley]], part of Ponyland (or Ponyland, part of Dream Valley, or Ponyland, also known as Dream Valley -- no two writers agreed on this point) where the ponies -- with the help of a young girl named Megan – often have to fight off some MonsterOfTheWeek. Contrary to what one might expect from a work of fiction based on the sugary sweet toys (and contrary to the perceived image of the franchise that the public seems to hold), these cartoons were mostly based around the theme of adventure, and featured some surprisingly dark and lethal villains, especially in the earliest episodes. There were also comics released in the UK that used the same characters but had their own canon. The toys themselves often had short stories pertaining to the ponies in the box.