"Come to where the magic is, where the rainbow ends,
Follow, follow My Little Pony, My Little Pony 'n Friends…"

There are millions of little girls out there, and darn it, each one of them deserves a pony. Okay, maybe there isn’t room for the real deal, but in the 80s, Hasbro Toys offered the next best thing – a wonderful collection of pastel-colored plastic ponies. And if only every little girl could watch them playfully frolic around the majestic countryside of Dream Valley with their adorable long-maned friends, then certainly they would want one for their very own. Thus, little girls everywhere were enticed with the animated series, My Little Pony n' Friends.

To be clear, this animated series, which debuted in 1986 wasn’t the first venture into this magical pony-filled land. A pair of television specials were created in 1984 and 1985, and the following year, the pony pals made their big screen debut in My Little Pony: The Movie, boasting an impressive cast of voices from the likes of Tony Randall, Cloris Leachman, Rhea Perlman, Madeline Khan and Danny DeVito. But for the little girl that demanded further pony tales, My Little Pony n' Friends was just what the doctor (or perhaps veterinarian) ordered, with each show featuring a My Little Pony segment, as well as one of three other recurring segments, each closely related to a specific toy line.

In My Little Pony, all the pony pals were present, including the athletic Gusty, shy Shady, wise Wind Whistler, scatterbrained Fizzy and short-fused Lickety Split. Alone with human friends Megan, Molly and Danny, diminutive friends the Bushwoolies, the ever-wise Moochick, and a sassy little pink dragon named Spike, the ponies patrolled the countryside, making sure that the various witches and trolls didn’t get the upperhand in Ponyland.

The Potato Head Kids were an offshoot of the popular Mr. Potatohead line of toys, with a star-spudded lineup of characters including Spike, Smarty, Big Chip, Spud and Pumpling. Each had a tendency to get in some tuber-related trouble but, luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Potato head kept their eyes peeled on the youngsters.

Moondreamers were little glowing pixies who used their Dream Machine to control the nocturnal adventures of children. The machine was fueled by magical crystals, harvested and delivered from a comet by their friend, Bucky Buckaroo. The only hitch was that the sinister Scowlene and her sleep creeps would occasionally escape through on of the manhole covers in their magical city, these little fiends could use their power to transform children’s dreams into nightmares.

Also possessing a fondness for glowing, were a group of insects called The Glo Friends, consisting of Glo-Spider, Glo-Worm, and Lovebug. To power their glowing abilities, the bugs relied on a steady supply of Moondrops, which were only available in the nearby forest. Also living in the woods, however, was the Evil Rook and his molligan henchmen, who sought to enslave the illumious little innocent bugs, so they could be put to work in their underground mines.

Thanks in part to this lovable collection of cartoons, Hasbro’s My Little Pony line actually managed to compete with the sales numbers of Barbie, at least for a short time. And as a result, many a little girl slept peacefully, with a lovable pastel pony watching over them each night.

"My Little Pony...My Little Pony,
I'll be there right by your side,
I'll be there right by your side"