ON TV
My Little Pony had her own Television show during the 1980s and again in the 1990s. The bulk of the airtime, however, centred around the timeframe 1986-7 and created several characters who would become well-loved favourites for kids everywhere.
The very first Television show was Rescue At Midnight Castle, produced somewhere around 1984. This starred Firefly and introduced the ponies to Megan. It's interesting to note a few things about this episode. Firstly, during the animated sequence at Dream Castle, a white pony with rainbow hair appears. Many have suspected her to be Confetti, and have therefore dated this episode to '85. However upon closer inspection, the pony has a rainbow symbol spreading across her back from hip to hip. No vinyl pony ever matched this description, however there is a possible identity for the mystery girl. Hasbro commissioned ceramic My Little Pony ornaments and during this time a white ceramic pony with rainbow hair and a rainbow symbol was produced. Her name was 'First Born' and even though she did not make plastic production, it seems likely to me that this is the character from the animated sequence. Rescue at Midnight Castle also featured one of the four possible baby Embers (lavender with pink hair) and contained most of the ponies from 'Year Two' of the American line, though not the rainbow ponies. (These were supposed to have their own special, according to trailers on American VHS tapes, but as yet no trace of the 'missing episode' has been located.) Megan and TJ were introduced but Megan did not wear any of her later commercial wear and the animation was of a different style to much of the later animation. In 'Year Nine' of American production, Rescue at Midnight Castle was released on video again as part of a special set including a Movie Issue Firefly pony in a different pose. The episode was named Firefly's Adventure, though the animation had not changed, and is known more commonly by this name these days.
In 1985, a second My Little Pony special was produced, called Escape from Catrina. This is the first episode which commercialises the ponies beyond simply the characters, since at the close of the episode there is a display of pony wear at the pony ball from that year's production line. Megan also wears the dress she is issued with at the close.
This is the only episode to feature ponies such as Powder, Sparkler, Skydancer, Sand Dollar, WhiteCap and others. Some would be recreated under the title So Soft in later production years and would thereby appear in later episodes also, but the characterisation was completely different and often the voice actor was someone else. Escape From Catrina was an episode about a giant cat called Catrina, and introduced the bushwoolies as supporting characters. When the bushwoolies ran away from Catrina's lair in search of freedom, Catrina hatched a plot to snare ponies to be her slaves instead. It's hard not to think of this episode as a subtle anti-drugs programme, since Catrina is dependant on her 'witchweed' potion, and without it is a much nicer kitty.
The next year saw the birth of My Little Pony as a real animated phenomenon. A movie venture coupled with a successful television series that spilled on into 1987 saw My Little Pony with more adventures than ever before, even resulting in a second feature length adventure, 'The End of Flutter Valley'. The characters who featured in these and the television series itself were generally the same band of ponies, comprising of So Soft Ponies (Cherries Jubilee, Gusty, Posey, Paradise, Cupcake, Truly, Heart Throb, Ribbon, Lofty, Surprise, Wind Whistler), Twinkle Eyed Ponies (Fizzy, Galaxy, Masquerade, Sweetie/Stuff, Whizzer, Gingerbread, Locket), Flutter Ponies (Specifically Rosedust, Morning Glory, Peachblossom, but others too), Megan, Molly and their brother Danny, the Beddy Bye Eye baby ponies (Lickety Split, Sleepy Pie, Cuddles, Shady, Gusty, Lofty, Ribbon, Tiddly Winks,Heart Throb, Half Note). Alongside these however were one episode appearances from ponies like the Princess Ponies, Mimic, So Soft Twilight, Twice as Fancy Scoops, and The Big Brother Ponies. Further into 1987 the Beddy Bye Eye Baby characters were replaced by the First Tooth Baby Ponies (in particular Babies Lickety Split, Quackers and North Star) and the Newborn Twins Sniffles and Snookums (Though missing their horns) and Milkweed and Tumbleweed. The episodes from the series included: Sweet Stuff and the Treasure Hunt, Spike's Search, The Glass Princess, the Ghost of Paradise Estate, Crunch the Rock Dog, Somnambula, The Quest of The Princess Ponies, The Magic Coins, The Return of Tambelon, Bright Lights, Ice Cream Wars, The Revolt of Paradise Estate, The Quest For The Golden Horseshoes, Mish Mash Melee and many others. In terms of voice artistry, Gusty was played by the same voice actress as that of Bart Simpson and Lofty was reputedly voiced by Susan Blu, who did many voice characters during the 1980s and 1990s (including Stormer and LinZ Pearce from the Jem series).
My Little Pony had no episodes produced between 1988 and 1991, however in 1992 a new series of episodes was produced centering around the 'Seven Character' Ponies, who were released subsequently in Europe. The seven girl ponies - Starlight, Sweetheart, Melody, Bright Eyes, Patch, Clover and Bon Bon - lived in a much more modern and less magic dominated world than their predecessors, where they attended school, worried about dating and competed with the boys for the best lemonade stand. Though My Little Pony in a completely different style, the My Little Pony Tales series was popular enough to inspire thirty or so episodes of it's own, and was still aired in the United Kingdom in 1994-5, when My Little Pony itself was a dying breed. Supported by three main male figures, Ace, Lancer and Teddy (who were never produced), their teacher Miss Hackney (also never made), and the Family ponies from that year, the Seven Characters took part in rollerskating contests, helped the environment, put on a play, had a sleepover, went on trips and in one episode had a surprise visit from the Glowing Magic Ponies (US: Glow and Show, episode - Up Up and Away) who had long since been retired from shop shelves. Episodes in this series included 'The Play's The Thing, Roll Around The Clock, Gribet, Bon Bon's Diary, The Great Lemonade Stand Wars, An Apple For Starlight, Out Of Luck, Ponies In Paradise, Battle of the Bands and many more.
My Little Pony was aired all around the globe, in many different languages. Across Europe too the songs were dubbed into the native language as well as the scripting, which often matched close to the original. Ponies such as Shady, Gusty and Lickety Split became 'Incognito, Bourasque and Sorbet in French, and the theme too was totally different.