List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters

A 2011 Comic-Con poster depicting many characters from the first season.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an animated television series based on the My Little Pony toyline created by American toy and game manufacturer Hasbro. It features characters and settings developed by Lauren Faust, who sought to create more in-depth characters than the stereotypical "girly" icons previously used in the franchise. The series began airing on the United States Hub Network cable channel on October 10, 2010.

The show follows a studious pony named Twilight Sparkle as her mentor Princess Celestia guides her to learn about friendship in the town of Ponyville. Twilight becomes close friends with five other ponies: Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Each represents a different facet of friendship, and Twilight discovers herself to be a key part of the magical artifacts, the Elements of Harmony. The six ponies share adventures and help out other residents of Ponyville, while working out the troublesome moments in their own friendships. Several episodes focus on the exploits of a much younger trio of pony characters who call themselves the "Cutie Mark Crusaders" and share their own adventures trying to discover their talents in life and receive their "cutie marks", a central theme of the show.

The characters have been well received by critics, and are cited as one of the reasons the series' older fans, called "bronies", became attracted to the show. Several background characters have been popularized by fans as well, and are further incorporated as in-jokes and references within the show. The series later spawned numerous spin-off media, including a comic book, children's book series expanding some of the characters' roles, and a film series titled My Little Pony: Equestria Girls where several characters are re-envisioned as humans in a high school setting.

Main characters

Twilight Sparkle

Voiced by: Tara Strong

Singing Voice: Rebecca Shoichet

Princess Twilight Sparkle is a lavender alicorn pony (previously a unicorn) who is the main protagonist of the series. She has a cutie mark of a 6-pointed magenta star with a white one behind it and 5 more smaller ones at each end of the magenta star. She is the sister of Shining Armor, and sister-in-law to her former foalsitter, Princess Cadance. She is the protégée of Princess Celestia. Twilight studies extensively and has "unusually powerful" magical powers. She tries her best to impress Celestia but has a tendency to overly analyze and become excessively worried over situations which she assumes will lead her to be seen as having failed. As the "Princess of Friendship", she represents the Element of Magic and her goal is to spread the magic of friendship all over Equestria. Because she considered studying to be more important than friendship, Princess Celestia sends her to the town of Ponyville to learn the importance of friendship accompanied by her assistant, Spike. After staying in Ponyville for a while she decides to stay there and study friendship with her mentor's blessings. She later gains a pet horned owl named Owlowiscious.

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls she transforms into a teenage girl upon entering the human world, though later her element of magic causes her and her counterpart friends to gain some pony-like features. In the sequel Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, Twilight is the lead singer of her rock band, the Sonic Rainbooms.

Applejack

Voiced by: Ashleigh Ball

Applejack is a light orange earth pony (a pony with neither a horn nor wings) with freckles, and often can be seen wearing a brown cowboy hat. She speaks with a Southern American accent. She has a cutie mark of 3 red apples. Applejack is very kind, helpful and reliable, but tends to act stubbornly and lets her pride and her sense of tradition get the better of her. Applejack comes from a large family with apple-related names, spread all over Equestria, who oversee apple orchards and run a group of businesses that sell apples and products made from them. She works in her farm, called Sweet Apple Acres, where she lives with her younger sister Apple Bloom, older brother Big McIntosh and grandmother Granny Smith. Applejack is very hard-working and has demonstrated her strength and dexterity on many occasions, and she is also very skilled with a lasso. She represents the Element of Honesty. She has a pet Border Collie named Winona. When she was younger, she wanted to be more like her Aunt and Uncle, and went to live with them. However she was unable to adapt to their high-society lifestyle. After she realized where she was meant to be she eagerly returned home, earning her cutie mark.

In the spin-off movie, Equestria Girls, Applejack's counterpart is initially in conflict with Rainbow Dash because Rainbow's softball team never appeared at her bake sale as promised. However, the two make amends later. In the sequel Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, Applejack is the bass guitarist of the Sonic Rainbooms.

Rarity

Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain

Singing Voice: Kazumi Evans

Rarity is a silvery-white unicorn pony with a violet mane and tail that are curled at the ends, and a cutie mark made of three cyan diamonds. She speaks with a Mid-Atlantic accent. She is a professional fashion designer and seamstress at her own dressmaking shop, the Carousel Boutique. She is very stylish and beautiful, wears make-up and false eyelashes, takes great interest in fashion and clothing design as an artist and small business owner, and often tries to make herself the center of attention. She considers herself a proper lady, often acting in a sophisticated manner. Rarity is Sweetie Belle's older sister, and often takes care of her when her parents are away. She represents the Element of Generosity and has a Persian cat named Opalescence. Despite her being a talented dressmaker, her special talent is finding gems using her horn, which earns her her cutie mark, as revealed in the episode "The Cutie Mark Chronicles."

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Rarity and Pinkie's counterparts are initially at odds due to volunteer issues with school function decorations, though they eventually make up later. In the sequel Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, Rarity is the keytarist of the Sonic Rainbooms.

Pinkie Pie

Voiced by: Andrea Libman

Singing Voice: Shannon Chan-Kent in most songs, occasionally Andrea Libman

Pinkamena Diane Pie (or Pinkie Pie) is a pink earth pony with a curly mane and tail and a cutie mark of three balloons where 2 are blue with yellow strings and the last one in yellow with a blue string. She is a baker, connoisseur, and confectioner at the Sugarcube Corner, a gourmand of sweets, and a professional party planner. Pinkie represents the Element of Laughter. She is hyperactive, random, a bit sensitive (and occasionally insensitive), and quite silly but is also friendly and very kind. She enjoys singing, is musically talented, and often suddenly breaks into song. She is a prankster, sometimes with Rainbow Dash's help, though she refuses to play any on Fluttershy due to her sensitive nature. She has been known to break the fourth wall and possesses the "Pinkie Sense", an ability to predict events in the immediate future through twitches of various body parts. She also has a eidetic memory. When she becomes depressed, her mane and tail change from curly to straight and her pink coloration loses its brightness. In addition, any breach of a "Pinkie Promise" agreed to by a friend to her will send her into a furious rage. She has a toothless pet baby alligator named Gummy. When Pinkie was young, she was raised on a rock farm and she learned to feel happiness and smile after seeing Rainbow Dash's rainbow and earns her cutie mark.

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Pinkie's counterpart is at odds with Fluttershy for ruining a silent auction. However, their friendship is restored later. In the sequel Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, Pinkie is the drummer of the Sonic Rainbooms.

Rainbow Dash

This section is about Rainbow Dash as depicted in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. For appearances in other My Little Pony media, see List of mainline My Little Pony ponies § Rainbow Dash.

Voiced by: Ashleigh Ball

Rainbow Dash is a sky-blue pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark is a cloud with a primary coloured striped lightning bolt. She represents the Element of Loyalty and is brave, bold and tomboyish, but has several hidden fears. Though she often appears arrogant, she still has a kind heart and is there for her friends when they need her. She originally considered reading to be for 'eggheads' until Twilight Sparkle introduced her to the "Daring Do" novel series. This sparked a keen literary interest including considering writing fan fiction. She works with the other pegasi to move clouds to control the weather. Her lifelong dream is to join the Wonderbolts, Equestria's aerobatic flight team and was accepted into their training academy and selected as cadet team leader, and later a member of the reserves. She also serves as a trainer and player for the Equestria Games shown in "Flight to the Finish" and "Rainbow Falls". Rainbow Dash's signature move is the Sonic Rainboom, in which she flies fast enough to break the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom with a rainbow-hued shock wave. "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" reveals that she earned her cutie mark by successfully performing the sonic rainboom for the first time in a race for Fluttershy's honor. Later in the same episode her sonic rainboom sets in motion a chain of events that allowed the other five main characters to earn their cutie marks as well. She has a pet tortoise named Tank.

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Rainbow's counterpart is the captain of every sports team in Canterlot High. At first, she is in disagreement with Applejack for failing to show up to volunteer at a bake sale, but the conflict is later resolved. In the sequel Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, Rainbow is the lead guitarist of the Sonic Rainbooms.

Fluttershy

Voiced by: Andrea Libman

Poison Joke male voice: Blu Mankuma (Bridle Gossip), Alvin Sanders (speaking, Filli Vanilli), Marcus Mosley (singing, Filli Vanilli)

Fluttershy is a light yellow pegasus pony with a pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark is three pink butterflies. She speaks in a quiet, soft voice. She is sweet, gentle and kind, and is often very shy and timid around others. However, she can become forceful and assertive if her friends are placed in danger. Fluttershy loves and cares for all animals and is willing to help them at any cost, but is very fearful of many things. Although she is a pegasus, she prefers to stay close to the ground, living in a cottage near the Everfree Forest instead of the sky city of Cloudsdale with the other pegasi. She has a pet rabbit named Angel. She possesses a special ability known as "The Stare", which allows her to intimidate the fiercest animals to the point of complete and total obedience. She has used this ability on several occasions against threatening creatures. Sometimes she is shown to have a good knowledge of sewing and fashion and has a beautiful singing voice, but she suffers from stage fright. As a filly she was weak and when she fell from Cloudsdale she was saved by a group of butterflies. She then learned that she could communicate with animals, earning her cutie mark. Fluttershy represents the Element of Kindness.

In the, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls spin-off movie, Fluttershy's counterpart volunteers for the animal shelter, and is shown to be on bad terms with Pinkie Pie due to her ruining a silent auction on the shelter's behalf. But, their friendship is amended later. In the sequel Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, Fluttershy is the tambourine player of the Sonic Rainbooms.

Spike

Voiced by: Cathy Weseluck

Spike is a small purple-and-green baby dragon who is Twilight's assistant and roommate. Spike notes several times that he is highly fond of Twilight Sparkle, whom he has assisted and lived with his whole life. Spike also handles communications between Twilight and Princess Celestia, burning Twilight's written messages with his fiery breath to send them and then belches up the scrolls Celestia sends back. He can always be counted on to help Twilight and her friends when they need him. Spike has a crush on Rarity. Twilight hatched Spike from an egg as part of an admission exam for a school of magic run by Celestia, gaining her cutie mark and a chance to study under Celestia's direct guidance. In "Dragon Quest", after an incident with mature dragons, he adopts a baby phoenix as a pet and names it Peewee whom he eventually returns to its parents. Spike is slightly self-centered, and can become jealous on occasion.

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Spike turns into a dog when he follows Twilight into the human world and assists her. When Pinkie's counterpart guessed that Twilight was a princess from Equestria, he begins to talk, shocking her friends.

Secondary characters

Royal family

Princess Celestia

Voiced by: Nicole Oliver

Princess Celestia is the "Princess of the Day" and the immortal co-ruler of Equestria alongside her younger sister Princess Luna. Princess Celestia is a white "pure-blood" alicorn who controls the rising and setting of the sun. For a millennium, she also controlled the moon while her sister was banished. Princess Celestia is usually very kind, patient, and understanding. She wishes for her subjects to relax and be themselves around her, despite her status. She is also sometimes somewhat mischievous. She has a pet phoenix named Philomena, appearing in "A Bird in the Hoof". Celestia is taller than all other ponies in the show. Celestia often refers to Twilight Sparkle as her "most faithful student".

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, her human counterpart is known as Principal Celestia, and is the head of Canterlot High.

Princess Luna

Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain

Singing Voice: Kazumi Evans

Princess Luna is the "Princess of the Night" and the immortal co-ruler of Equestria alongside her older sister Princess Celestia. Princess Luna is an navy-blue "pure-blood" alicorn with a large cutie mark showing a white moon in a black background, and speaks with a mild English accent. As "Princess of the Night", she possesses the ability to enter ponies' dreams and help them face their fears. She raised and lowered the moon each night, but she became jealous of Celestia because the ponies slept through the night and thus did not appreciate her work. This jealousy eventually transformed Luna into Nightmare Moon. Celestia banished Nightmare Moon to the moon after she tried to bring eternal night to the world. When Nightmare Moon escaped her imprisonment on the moon she returned to Equestria where the six mane characters use the Elements of Harmony to transform her back into Luna whereupon she resumed her place at Celestia's side. In addition, Luna has strove to rebuild her public image and has succeeded in part due to her new role as guardian of her subjects' dreams, allowing her to assist her subjects when they are having nightmares.

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, she is known as Vice-Principal Luna, and helps her sister, Principal Celestia, run Canterlot High.

Princess Cadance

Voiced by: Britt McKillip

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (or Cadance) is the "Princess of Love" and co-ruler of the Crystal Empire. She is a light pink alicorn pony (previously a pegasus) whose the adopted niece of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, wife to Twilight's older brother Prince Shining Armor and Twilight's sister in law. She was Twilight's foal sitter when she was younger and remembers that time fondly. Cadance also has the ability to spread love and reduce anger among ponies through her magic. After helping to save the Crystal Empire, Cadance takes her place as "The Crystal Princess", having attained characteristics of crystal ponies. In the novel Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, her backstory is revealed; she was originally a pegasus orphan who saved an Earth Pony village from a villain wielding a magical necklace. After doing this, she meets Princess Celestia who adopts Cadance as her niece and makes her an alicorn.

Shining Armor

Voiced by: Andrew Francis

Prince Shining Armor, a unicorn pony, is Princess Twilight's older brother. He was the Captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot, and later became Prince of the Crystal Empire and co-ruler alongside his wife Princess Cadance. Shining Armor is shown to be a mild-mannered and affectionate pony who deeply cares for Cadance and has a very close relationship to his younger sister, Twilight, whom he nicknames "Twiley" while Twilight refers to him as her B.B.B.F.F (Big Brother Best Friend Forever). They lost touch with each other when Twilight Sparkle moved to Ponyville. He is sent north to the Crystal Empire when it returns after 1,000 years and assists the Mane Six and Princess Cadance in keeping it safe from its former ruler, King Sombra.

Cutie Mark Crusaders

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are a group of three fillies (Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo) who have yet to earn their cutie marks. Because of the bullying they received for not yet having cutie marks, such as being referred to as "Blank Flanks", they banded together to help each other earn their cutie marks. This usually leads to well-meaning but unsuccessful misadventures. They once manage to convince Apple Bloom's cousin Babs Seed to start up a branch of the club in her hometown of Manehattan. In addition, they have also become protégées of Twilight Sparkle who tutors them weekly on top of their regular schoolwork.

The core members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo - all appear as humans in the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.

Apple Bloom

Voiced by: Michelle Creber

Apple Bloom is Applejack and Big McIntosh's younger sister. She is a light yellow earth pony with a strong Southern American accent like Applejack. Due to her strong personality she is sometimes presented as the leader of the group. In "The Show Stoppers", Apple Bloom appears to be skilled at design and carpentry, as she quickly renovates Applejack's old tree house for the Crusaders' use. She is the most level-headed of the group, making her the voice of reason.

Scootaloo

Voiced by: Madeleine Peters

Scootaloo is a light orange pegasus pony with a magenta mane and tail. Scootaloo is a tomboy and is adventurous, brave, and highly opinionated. She idolizes Rainbow Dash, looks up to her like an older sister and is the president of "The Rainbow Dash Fan Club". Though she can't truly fly, she uses her wings to give her extra propulsion when riding a scooter and to help her perform stunts with considerable speed and skill. She can also hover for short periods. In "The Show Stoppers", she demonstrates a talent for activities that require agility, such as stunt driving, dancing, and choreography, though she is oblivious that this may be her special talent. Despite attempts to appear otherwise, Scootaloo is easily scared by horror stories.

Sweetie Belle

Voiced by: Claire Corlett

Singing Voice: Michelle Creber (seasons 1-3)

Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister, is a silvery-white unicorn pony with a light-pink-and-dusty-lavender mane and tail. Though she wants to be a designer like Rarity, her inexperience and clumsiness prove to be a hindrance when she tries to assist in the shop or design set pieces for a talent show. She has a talent for singing and songwriting but prefers not to sing in public.

Babs Seed

Voiced by: Brynna Drummond

Babs Seed is Apple Bloom's cousin. She is an orange-brown earth pony with a very strong New York accent. First featured in "One Bad Apple" when she comes down to visit from Manehattan, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo invite her to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In fear of getting bullied for not having a cutie mark, she joins the school bullies in trying to make the Crusaders' lives as miserable as possible. However, she eventually comes to realize her error in judgement and works to repair her damaged relationship with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In her second appearance, "Apple Family Reunion", Babs and Apple Bloom refer to each other as "my favorite cousin".

Recurring characters

Main characters' families

Apple family

Big McIntosh

Voiced by: Peter New

Big McIntosh (nicknamed Big Mac) is the older brother of Applejack and Apple Bloom and a member of the Apple Family. He has a light crimson coat with a light orange mane and tail, and is of large stature compared to the other inhabitants of Ponyville. His cutie mark is half of a Granny Smith apple. He always wears a harness and often chews on a stalk of wheat. He lives in Sweet Apple Acres, a farm on the outskirts of Ponyville, with Applejack, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith. He is soft-spoken and has a calm and easy-going demeanor. Apple Bloom says Big McIntosh is shy. His eyes are generally half closed. He usually limits his responses in conversation to "Eeyup" and "Nope", but is more articulate when emotionally excited. He is kind, and gentle so he vary scarcely gets upset. He is extremely strong, and is capable of dragging even a house along behind him.

Granny Smith

Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain

Granny Smith is the oldest member of the Apple family living in Ponyville. She is the grandmother of Applejack, Big McIntosh and Apple Bloom. Due to her age, she seems disoriented and sometimes uses a walking frame. Applejack says she has a bad hip. Like Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh, she also lives in Sweet Apple Acres. As a younger pony, she and her family played a key role in the founding of Ponyville; she discovered and cultivated the unique zap apple which is in high demand when it is in season. The revenue from the zap apple allowed her farm to grow into a small community, then eventually into Ponyville.

Granny Smith appears as the lunch lady of Canterlot High in the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.

Cake family

Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain (Cup Cake, Pound Cake), Brian Drummond (Carrot Cake), Andrea Libman (Pumpkin Cake)

Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake are the owners of Sugarcube Corner, a bakery and candy shop in Ponyville, and employ Pinkie Pie as a live-in assistant. They frequently prepare confectionary for special occasions. The Cakes show patience and understanding for their fun-loving employee, Pinkie Pie, and sometimes allow her to take on difficult tasks such as running Sugarcube Corner when they are away. Mr. and Mrs. Cake are the parents of twins, Pound (a pegasus colt) and Pumpkin (a unicorn filly). Although Carrot and Cup are both earth ponies, Carrot explains that they have unicorn and pegasus relatives in their family trees.

Pie family

"Maud Pie" redirects here. For the episode, see My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (season 4).

Voiced by: Ingrid Nilson (Maud Pie), Terry Klassen (Igneous Rock), Cathy Weseluck (Cloudy Quartz)

Maud Pie is Pinkie Pie's older sister. Her personality is diametrically opposite that of Pinkie Pie's, being extremely boring and uninterested in fun or winning. Her only interest is in rocks with which she is capable of impressive feats of strength. Regardless of this contrast, the sisters are very close and Pinkie's Ponyville friends are eventually able to relate to her sister because of this relationship. She first appeared in the episode of the same name (season 4, episode 18), which first aired on March 15, 2014. In the episode, Maud visits Pinkie Pie in Ponyville, which Pinkie Pie prepares for by making rock candy necklaces for her, as they have done for each other since Pinkie Pie came to Ponyville.

Ponyville characters

Cheerilee

Voiced by: Nicole Oliver

Cheerilee is a kind teacher in the Ponyville Schoolhouse. She seems to take a special interest in the Cutie Mark Crusaders, focusing on helping them discover their true talents. In addition, she serves as advisor to the Foal Free Press, the student-run newspaper. She has a brief romance with Big McIntosh, though this is due to the influence of a love potion the two were tricked into drinking by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Cheerilee appears as one of the teachers of Canterlot High in the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.

Mayor Mare

Voiced by: Cathy Weseluck

Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville, is a tan earth pony. In the show, she is usually addressed as "Mayor" and sometimes as "Miss Mayor" or "Madame Mayor". Mayor Mare's mane is gray, but it is revealed that she only dyes her mane and tail that color; it is originally bright magenta-pink.

Snips and Snails

Voiced by: Lee Tockar (Snips) and Richard Ian Cox (Snails)

Snips and Snails are a pair of young male unicorn ponies who are students at the Ponyville schoolhouse. They are usually seen together. Snips is a short round pony with scissors as a cutie mark who is very excitable and Snails is taller and thinner with a snail as a cutie mark, and is portrayed as slower to react. The pair often find ways to cause trouble and usually wind up assisting the antagonist.

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, they are Sunset Shimmer's helpers.

DJ P0N-3

DJ P0N-3, also known as Vinyl Scratch, is a white-coated, blue-maned unicorn with a musical note as a cutie mark, rarely seen without her sunglasses. She is most often present at Pinkie's parties, running a turntable and DJ stand. Though not named in show, nor given any speaking lines, official merchandise have used the names DJ P0N-3 and Vinyl Scratch, both names created by the show's fan base.

In the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, she makes a few appearances including manning a DJ table at the dance. DJ PON-3 is also seen in five Rainbow Rocks shorts that were released on Hasbro's YouTube channel.

Cloudsdale characters

The Wonderbolts

Voiced by: Kelly Metzger (Spitfire; excluding "Sonic Rainboom"), Nicole Oliver (Spitfire; "Sonic Rainboom" only), Matt Hill (Soarin'), Andrea Libman (Fleetfoot)

The Wonderbolts are the most talented flight group in Equestria. They often perform in great events. They have an academy for Wonderbolts-in-training.

Spitfire is the captain of the Wonderbolts. Her first major appearance is in the episode Sonic Rainboom and has been shown in many other episodes. As the captain of the Wonderbolts she is a strong-willed and extremely capable flier. In her public appearances, Spitfire is shown to be kind and courteous. However, in her professional life she takes on a demeanor similar to that of a drill sergeant, as she is commander of the Wonderbolts academy. Spitfire is also shown to be close to Fleetfoot and is often seen as ignorant. Soarin is a stallion, generally shown to have a more easygoing nature than the others. Fleetfoot is a mare characterized as being ignorant and somewhat cruel. Fleetfoot is not as tall as the others but makes up for this lost size in speed. She often wears sunglasses and speaks with a slight lisp.

Derpy

Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain

Derpy is a light bluish-gray pegasus pony who first appeared as a background character in the pilot episode. She is cross-eyed, a characteristic originally due to an animation error. She received a speaking role in the Season 2 episode "The Last Roundup", where Rainbow Dash refers to her as "Derpy"; the episode was re-released later, with Rainbow Dash's use of the term "Derpy" removed from the episode. Afterwards, she continues to appear as a background character. In her current appearance, Derpy is clumsy, cheerful, and always willing to help, but usually gets in the way. Derpy was named as "Derpy Hooves" by the budding fandom on 4chan after witnessing the animation error, and has since become a kind of mascot for the fandom as a whole.

Derpy makes a cameo appearance as a human at the end of the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.

Canterlot characters

Joe

Voiced by: Vincent Tong

Donut Joe (referred to in "The Best Night Ever" as Pony Joe) is a unicorn pony who owns and bakes for a donut shop located in Canterlot. Both Twilight Sparkle and Spike were regular customers at the shop and his friends back when they lived in Canterlot.

Historical characters

Star Swirl the Bearded

Star Swirl the Bearded is a historical figure of Equestria's past. While the character has not physically appeared in the series, he is described as being a unicorn by Princess Celestia. He sported a long curled beard and a traditional wizard's hat and cloak, as demonstrated by the costume Twilight wore on Nightmare Night. Star Swirl is seen as an important figure in the early years of Equestria, being a mentor of Clover the Clever, one of the nation's co-founders, and invented over two hundred spells; including the amniomorphic spell, a time travel spell, and an unfinished spell which altered the destinies and cutie marks of Twilight's friends before it was completed by the latter, resulting in her creating new magic before becoming an alicorn. There is a wing in the archives of Canterlot Castle named in his honor, which contains a number of these powerful spells kept in scrolls. There is also a traveling exhibition dedicated to him, containing artifacts relating to and used by him.

Founders of Equestria

• Clover the Clever: Star Swirl the Bearded's protegee and assistant to Princess Platinum. Played by Twilight Sparkle in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant.
• Princess Platinum: Daughter of the Unicorn King. Played by Rarity in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant.
• Chancellor Puddinghead: Leader of the Earth ponies. Played by Pinkie Pie in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant.
• Smart Cookie: Secretary to Chancellor Puddinghead. Played by Applejack in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant.
• Commander Hurricane: Leader of the Pegasi. Played by Rainbow Dash in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant.
• Private Pansy: Subordinate of Commander Hurricane. Played by Fluttershy in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant.

Other characters

Zecora

Voiced by: Brenda Crichlow

Zecora is a zebra who lives in a hut in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Zecora speaks with an African accent and always speaks in rhyme. At first, the residents of Ponyville are scared of her unique appearance and believe she is a witch who can inflict curses. However, Twilight and her friends soon learn that Zecora is very friendly and is also a highly skilled herbalist, and persuade the rest of the town to get to know her better. She is a sage, or wise-woman figure, and is considered a welcome presence and also serves as a healer. Although she is not a pony, she still has a gray swirled sun as a cutie mark.

Daring Do

Voiced by: Chiara Zanni

Daring Do is the alias of the treasure-hunting pegasus pony and titular character of the Daring Do serialized novels. In "Daring Don't", it is revealed that Daring Do's reclusive author, A.K. Yearling, is the pseudonym of a real pegasus who writes novels based on her adventures. She is depicted as incredibly fierce, intelligent, cunning, antisocial, and determined explorer, using her wits to solve puzzles, pull off disguises, and escape many of Ahuizotl's death traps. She developed a bond with Rainbow Dash to the point where she writes about her in her latest book. She is similar in both appearance and personality to Rainbow Dash. She evidently hides that she is a pegasus by disguising her appearance with a purple shawl, a gray cloche and heavy red-framed spectacles as the author. Daring Do's name is a play on the phrase derring-do, meaning "brave and adventurous, often reckless actions". 'A.K. Yearling' is a nod to J.K. Rowling.

Antagonists

Recurring antagonists

Nightmare Moon

Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain

Nightmare Moon or the "Mare in the Moon" is the corrupted form of Princess Luna and the main antagonist of the series premiere "Friendship is Magic". She appears as a very dark violet alicorn with a navy blue mane that ripples and moves like smoke, being similar in stature to Celestia, and is dressed in silvery blue armor. As Nightmare Moon her goal was to bring eternal night due to the envy she held over her sister for controlling the day which all the ponies seemed to enjoy more. Upon Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon she was banished to the moon for a thousand years by her sister. The events of the premiere revolve around Twilight Sparkle and her new friends' attempt to defeat Nightmare Moon by finding and using the Elements of Harmony, while Nightmare Moon tries to stop them in various ways. At the end of the premiere, Twilight and her friends confront Nightmare Moon and transform her back into Princess Luna, and she emotionally accepts Princess Celestia's offer to rule by her side again.

Trixie

Voiced by: Kathleen Barr

Trixie is a traveling blue unicorn magician who visits Ponyville in the episodes, "Boast Busters" and "Magic Duel". Billing herself as "The Great and Powerful Trixie", she habitually refers to herself in the third person. She challenges the residents to test their skills against hers, then uses her magic and trickery to embarrass anyone who tries to stand up to her. However, her over-confidence tends to get her into situations that she can't get out of on her own resulting in a need for other ponies to step in and resolve the situation leading to much embarrassment on her part.

Trixie makes some cameo appearances in the spin-off movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. In Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, she will be playing a bigger role as a guitarist of her own rock band, Trixie and the Illusions, competing against other bands, including the Sonic Rainbooms.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon

Voiced by: Chantal Strand (Diamond Tiara) and Shannon Chan-Kent (Silver Spoon)

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are two earth pony fillies who go to the same school as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and are frequently seen together.

Diamond Tiara has a superior manner and thinks she is better than the other ponies, and even insults Granny Smith. Diamond Tiara often torments the Crusaders for their lack of cutie marks. She wears a tiara in her hair that is identical to her cutie mark.

Silver Spoon is Diamond Tiara's friend and shares her snobbish attitude, especially toward the Crusaders. However, she doesn't seem to act as mean as Diamond Tiara in most episodes. Silver Spoon's cutie mark is a silver spoon, and her name makes reference to the English-language expression regarding wealth.

Discord

Voiced by: John de Lancie

Discord is a recurring character first appearing as the main antagonist of the two-part season two premiere "The Return of Harmony". Self-described as spirit of chaos and disharmony, Discord is an ancient draconequus, a serpentine, chimeral creature with "the head of a pony and a body made up of all sorts of things" (a lion's foreleg, an eagle's claw, a dragon's tail, etc.). Prior to his debut, Discord is turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony wielded by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as punishment for tormenting ponies with his reality-bending powers. He makes several appearances afterward as a reluctant ally of the six, occasionally assisting them while still finding ways to cause mischief.

The character's personality is based on Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation, another character played by de Lancie.

The Flim Flam Brothers

Voiced by: Samuel Vincent (Flim) and Scott McNeil (Flam)

The Flim Flam Brothers (separately called Flim and Flam) are a pair of traveling twin unicorn salesponies. They are the antagonists of the episode, "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", where they attempt to ruin the Apple Family's business with their machine that produces apple cider at a faster pace than Apple Family's manually pressed cider made with love, care, patience, quality, and integrity. They have attempted to overrun other towns' apple businesses but are always chased out of town, including Ponyville.

Ahuizotl

Voiced by: Brian Drummond

Ahuizotl is Daring Do's archenemy. He walks on all fours, and appears as a blue dog-monkey hybrid. Ahuizotl has a tuxedo style coat, having dark blue fur over most of his body. He is shown wearing golden jewelry and has several big cats (including a tiger, cheetah, lynx, black panther and a smaller cat) as his henchmen.

Non-recurring antagonists

Queen Chrysalis

Voiced by: Kathleen Barr, Britt McKillip (while disguised as Princess Cadance)

Queen Chrysalis is the main antagonist of "A Canterlot Wedding". She is the malicious, power-hungry Queen of the Changelings, a fairy-race of beings which take on the appearance of a pony, feeding off of and gaining power from the love directed towards them. She resembles an alicorn, has a black carapace body, green-blue mane, sharp fangs, and holes all over her legs and wings. It is demonstrated on several occasions that she and the other Changelings have the power to draw energy from any source of love in the vicinity, not just from other ponies. By impersonating Princess Cadance, she feeds off Shining Armor's love to become even more powerful than Celestia, whom she defeats in battle, but she is defeated and blasted out of Equestria by Shining Armor and the real Cadance with the power of their love.

King Sombra

Voiced by: "Big" Jim Miller

King Sombra is the main antagonist of "The Crystal Empire". He is a unicorn king whose heart is said to be black as night. He took over the Crystal Empire and enslaved the native Crystal Ponies, before being overthrown by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, banishing him to imprisonment in the Arctic North, but not before he placed a curse on the Crystal Empire, causing it to disappear for a thousand years. When the empire finally returned, so did the king. He hid the Empire's Crystal Heart with several obstacles and traps back when he first took over the Empire. But when Twilight Sparkle and Spike retrieved the Heart, and it was activated by the Crystal Ponies, he was defeated and killed by the Crystal Heart, turning to crystal and shattering to pieces. His voice actor, Jim Miller, also served as one of the show's main storyboard artists. King Sombra is said by Lauren Faust that he is mainly based on The Lord of the Rings main antagonist and title character Sauron, since both are dark entities that were once tyrants who craved war and destruction, and both are mainly associated with dark power.

Lord Tirek

Voiced by: Mark Acheson

Lord Tirek is the main antagonist of the fourth season finale "Twilight's Kingdom". He is based on the antagonist of Rescue at Midnight Castle, the premiere episode of My Little Pony. In the series, Tirek is an evil centaurian tyrant formerly imprisoned in Tartarus who steals magic from the ponies of Equestria, growing progressively larger and more powerful with each attack. Princess Celestia tasks Discord with hunting down and defeating Tirek, but Tirek manages to manipulate Discord into helping him steal all the magic from the unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies before betraying him and absorbing his powers. He is later defeated by Twilight and her friends with their new Rainbow Power and imprisoned back in Tartarus.

Spin-off antagonists

Sunset Shimmer

Voiced by: Rebecca Shoichet

Sunset Shimmer is the main antagonist of the spin-off film, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. An exclusive character to the film series, she is a former student of Celestia who went rogue after not getting what she desired as quickly as she wanted, causing her to abandon her studies and go her own path in the human world. She is shown to have a very snobbish attitude to the other students, making them fearful of her and dare not oppose her. In the film, she is responsible for sabotaging the friendships of the main characters prior to Twilight's own entry. She has her two assistants, Snips and Snails do the dirty work should anyone dare to do something to her. Sunset has been confirmed to reappear in the sequel Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, where she is fully reformed and notices something "off" about the new girls, the Dazzlings.

The Dazzlings

Voiced by Kazumi Evans (Adagio Dazzle)

The Dazzlings are the main antagonists of the sequel, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks. They are a vocalist band consisting of three girls: the leader Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. The trio persuade much of the Canterlot High student body into turning an upcoming school concert into a Battle of the Bands as part of a sinister plot that is uncovered by Sunset Shimmer.

References

General

• "My Little Pony". Hasbro. Retrieved August 15, 2011.

Specific

Further reading

• Snider, Brandon T. (2013) My Little Pony: The Elements of Harmony: Friendship is Magic: The Official Guidebook. Little, Brown Books. ISBN 978-0-3162475-4-2