My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic had a successful nine-season run that ended in October of 2019. During this run, audiences of all ages met different Earth ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, and even Alicorns (ponies who have a unicorn horn and Pegasus wings who are usually royalty). The most prominent of these ponies were the main characters, also known as the Mane 6: Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.
Since the Mane 6 were also the main characters, details of their personal lives and backstories were revealed throughout the show. The show was also good at also developing minor characters, some of whom had their own backstories and personal lives revealed. However, some details about the characters in the show can be easily missed. Here are ten facts you didn’t know about ponies in My Little Pony.
Cheese Sandwich
Cheese Sandwich is a minor character who only formally appeared in two episodes, but was only mentioned or cameoed in four additional episodes. He is also the future spouse of Pinkie Pie. He is voiced by Weird Al Yankovic and, like Yankovic, sings and plays the accordion.
A detail about Cheese Sandwich people may not know, or have forgotten about, is that Cheese was a very shy colt. He was actually inspired to come out of his shell and become a Party Pony when he attended one of the parties Pinky Pie threw as a filly.
Starlight Glimmer
Starlight Glimmer was first introduced as an antagonist in the season five premiere. She ran a village in which every pony gave up their unique cutie mark for a gray equal sign on their flanks. Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Mane 6 were able to stop her. She later reappeared in the season five finale as an antagonist when she tried to go back in time and prevent the Mane 6 from earning their cutie marks. She was ultimately unsuccessful and Twilight was able to show her the error of her ways. From then on, she became a secondary protagonist.
What people may not know about Starlight Glimmer is that she is an incredibly powerful magic-user. She developed the spell that switched the village residents’ cutie marks and was able to successfully use a time travel spell in order to attempt to prevent Rainbow Dash’s sonic rainboom. One of the showrunners of My Little Pony even said she was a proto-Twilight Sparkle, meaning that she was always intended for powerful magic-using.
Twilight Sparkle
Twilight Sparkle can be considered the main protagonist of the series. When looking at the series at a macro level, the show is about Twilight’s training and ascension to the throne as the ruler of all of Equestria. She started out as Princess Celestia’s student, and went on to become an Alicorn and the Princess of Friendship. During this time she and the rest of the Mane 6 solved friendship problems throughout Equestria for ponies and non-ponies alike. She eventually founded the School of Friendship.
A little-known fact about Twilight is that she was personally chosen by Princess Celestia to be her apprentice after she saw Twilight’s potential for powerful magic when Twilight used her magic to hatch Spike’s egg and earn her cutie mark.
Rainbow Dash
Rainbow Dash is a tomboyish Pegasus with an affinity for speed and athleticism. She helps manage the weather around Ponyville and eventually becomes a member of the Wonderbolts, which is a group of pegasi who perform aerial tricks. She earned her cutie mark by performing the first-ever sonic rainboom as a filly.
What people may not realize about Rainbow Dash is that even though she spends much of her time in Ponyville, she does not live in town. She is actually a former resident of Cloudsdale and now lives in a “cloudominium” above Ponyville.
Fluttershy
Fluttershy is another Pegasus pony, but she is more reserved than Rainbow Dash. In spite of being a Pegasus, she does not use her wings a whole lot and prefers spending time on the ground, tending to her animals.
A little-known fact about Fluttershy is that, like Rainbow Dash, she is not technically a resident of Ponyville. She lives outside Ponyville in a cottage on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. Also like Rainbow Dash, she is a former resident of Cloudsdale, a place best suited for Pegasus ponies because only pegasi can walk on clouds without the help of magic.
Mrs. Cake
Mrs. Cup Cake, whose name is usually shortened to Mrs. Cake, is the co-owner of the bakery known as Sugarcube Corner. She and her husband Mr. Carrot Cake, or Mr. Cake, also act as Pinkie Pie’s employers and landlords.
Something audiences may not know about Mrs. Cake is that before she was married to Mr. Cake, her name was Chiffon Swirl, a fact that was revealed in the season seven episode entitled “The Perfect Pear.” Not much is known about the naming conventions of ponies after marriage and Mrs. Cake is the only known case of a notable pony changing her name after getting married.
Scootaloo
Scootaloo is a Pegasus filly who is a founding member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders alongside Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. A minor storyline revolves around the Cutie Mark Crusaders seeking out their purpose, and therefore their cutie marks, which was eventually wrapped up in season five. She is an avid scooter rider and can at times be found riding her scooter while using her wings for a speed boost.
A misconception about Scootaloo is that she is Rainbow Dash’s little sister like Apple Bloom is Applejack’s sister and Sweetie Belle is Rarity’s. She is not, in fact, Dash’s sister. She just greatly admires Dash and shares her affinity for speed and thrill-seeking. In spite of not being related, they do share a sisterly bond.
Rarity
Rarity is a Unicorn pony who runs the Carousel Boutique, which is primarily run in Ponyville but has an additional location in Canterlot called the Canterlot Carousel. Rarity is passionate about fashion and style and as such uses her Unicorn magic in order to sew clothing for her boutiques.
Rarity’s magic is not necessarily depicted as a match to Twilight Sparkle or Starlight Glimmer’s magic, but she is still a powerful and talented magic-user. She earned her cutie mark by accidentally activating her talent for gem-finding magic, which she since developed over time. Twilight even learned gem-finding from Rarity, showing that the skill truly was unique.
Applejack
Applejack is an Earth pony who works on her family’s farm Sweet Apple Acres. She lives with her paternal grandmother Granny Smith, and her siblings Big McIntosh and Apple Bloom. She, like Rainbow Dash, is tomboyish and, unlike Rainbow Dash, her accent and mannerisms resemble those typically associated with the American South, but not in a mocking or exaggerated way.
Applejack is rarely shown not wearing her cowboy hat. What may not be known is the sentimental value, yet unclear history, of her stetson hat. Her hat has three different origin stories: she won it bobbing for apples at the Ponyville Fair, Rarity bought her a new hat after her original became damaged while restoring a park, and Bright Mac, her dad, gave her the hat. It is unclear whether or not one origin is more recognized as canon than the others, but each backstory has a unique sentimentality to it.
Pinkie Pie
Pinkie Pie is another Earth pony who works at Sugarcube Corner alongside Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She is a party pony, meaning she enjoys planning and throwing parties for her friends and acquaintances. A signature of her parties is her confetti cannons. Pinkie Pie is also known for her bubbly personality and generally optimistic and friendly manner.
Pinkie comes from the Pie family, who are the exact opposite of Pinkie. Her parents are Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz who resemble the Quakers. Pinkie’s sisters, Limestone, Maud, and Marble are depicted as either generally monotonous or quiet, making Pinkie the black, or pink, sheep in the family.
Next: My Little Pony: 10 Things You Never Knew About The Series
