Toys

Merchandising is the driving force behind the My Little Pony franchise. The My Little Pony Friendship is Magic retail toys come in several varieties. The brushable, colorful, style-it-yourself hair follow the classic My Little Pony toy lines for which the franchise is known. More faithful to their ponies' appearance on the show is the fully-sculpted plastic hair variety. All of the available toys are covered extensively on the My Little Pony G4 doll index.

The toys often differ significantly from their show counterparts: Princess Celestia's coat is pink in many of the toys, Twilight Sparkle's coat is pink in several toys, Fluttershy's mane and tail are styled differently in her 2011 Surprise Bag toy, Big Macintosh's hooves are red instead of yellow in a 2011 Suprise Bag toy, Cheerilee's cutie mark is different both in her 2011 Playful Ponies toy and her 2011 Happy Meal toy, and sometimes the toys don't accurately match the packaging.

Playful Ponies
This group of ponies is what Hasbro considers its "basic" line for the Friendship is Magic line. Each includes a smaller pony mold with brushable hair, a saddle or wagon, an animal companion, and comb. A complete list of the toys in the Playful Ponies line may be found on its own page.

So Soft Newborns
These are large, plush versions of pony characters designed in a similar fashion as the G3.5 baby ponies were, including pacifier.

Future releases might include:
 * So Soft Newborn Spike the Dragon
 * So Soft Newborn Rainbow Dash

Shine Bright Ponies
Slightly larger ponies than the basic assortment, the Shine Bright Ponies' primary gimmick is a light-up section when their saddle is pressed. Their forelegs are articulated at the shoulders. Apparently these were once commonly available in 2010, but are now Target exclusives. There are two versions of Pinkie Pie with shine bright necklace: the original 2010 issue which has normal hair and a yellow saddle, and the Target Canterlot Exclusive reissue with tinsel in her hair and a purple saddle. Currently released characters include Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash , Pinkie Pie , and an exclusive Princess Luna bundled with the Canterlot Castle Playset.

Fashion Style Ponies
These fashion ponies are larger versions of the pony characters, each sporting a unique dress and accessories. They are similar outfits to those seen in the episode "Suited for Success". Some of them came bundled with a DVD containing the episode The Ticket Master as part of a North American limited time offer. Characters released include seperate releases for the Mane 6, and a Princess Luna and Celestia bundle.

Jumbo Plush
These are large 'squishable' ponies, currently available only as a Toys 'R' Us exclusive.


 * Pinkie Pie
 * Twilight Sparkle

Surprise Bags
In addition to the larger toys, there are 96 smaller "surprise-bag" fully sculpted toys, divided into four waves. They are sold in opaque packaging without noting which toy is in the bag, hence the "surprise". However, the contained Pony can be identified by comparing a barely visible serial number at the back of the blind bag with an identical list of each Blind bag Ponies' serial number. As of May 2011, these bags have only appeared in European markets. However, several of these smaller ponies are available in North America in open blister packs which have been found in sparse numbers at various Big Lots stores. The figures are Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Twilight Sparkle's glitter version has a production variation that resulted in some of the figures appearing pink instead of purple.

Some of these figures are available in alternate packaging in the United States. First is a four-figure set of Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie in a single box at Meijer stores (This is also available in the UK at large Tesco stores). Second is a twelve-figure set of Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Coconut Cream, Beachberry, Peachy Pie, Skywishes, Sweetsong, and Gardenia Glow in a single case/box with collector cards at Toys-R-Us. Another gift set has also been seen, containing Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Princess Celestia, although these are not in the same pose as the other fully sculpted figures. These sculpted ponies are the same size as the brushable ponies, they are larger than the normal blind bag ones.

Playhouse Puzzles
Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle are also available in Playhouse Puzzle sets, which includes a large puzzle of the pony and a surprise bag figure.

McDonald's Happy Meal
In January 2011, McDonald's started carrying special Hasbro's Friendship is Magic dolls as their girl's line Happy Meal toy. The dolls have sculpted manes and brushable tails, as well as overall designs that are very similar to their animated counterparts. Princess Celestia, however, continues to be pink in toy form despite her being white in the animation. Also the cutiemarks of some on the ponies are incorrect and have been edited down i.e. one butterfly on Fluttershy. Outside the US and Canada, McDonalds do not always carry the full line if they hold the promotion. For example, in Malaysia, only Pinkie Pie, Cheerilee, Rainbow Dash and Twillight Sparkle were available.

Latin American Light-up McDonalds Happy Meal
Latin America is stated to receive a set of four Light-Up ponies for their McDonalds Happy Meal promotion .The four ponies are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle.

Bubble toys
Novelty toy manufacturer Imperial Toy has licensed the character Pinkie Pie for a series of bubble-blowing toys. Seven are currently available, two of which have a Pinkie Pie plastic figurine.

Animated Storyteller Interactive Plushes
These plushes are made by toy manufacturer Kid Designs under the license of Hasbro. The gimmick here is that each pony can sing a few songs and tells 4 different stories.

Animated Storyteller Twilight Sparkle
This interactive plushie of Twilight Sparkle is a Target Canterlot Exclusive who sings, talks and tells stories. It sings the FiM theme song, an extension of the theme song, and Winter Wrap Up. It tells the stories, in first person, Welcome to Ponyville (Friendship is Magic, part 1), The Magic of Friendship (Friendship is Magic, part 2), The Ticket Master and Applebuck Season.

Animated Storyteller Pinkie Pie
Not to be mistaken for a G3.5 Animated Storyteller Pinkie Pie (which has a different set of stories and songs), this interactive plush Pinkie Pie comes with small storybook versions, told in first person, of Griffon the Brush Off, Dragonshy, Swarm of the Century and Fall Weather Friends. It sings the FiM theme song, Giggle at The Ghostly, and Cupcakes. Apparently, it is currently only available in limited release in the US, but is widely available in the UK and Australia.

Differences between the G3.5 and G4 designs
The physical design differences make it is very easy to tell apart a G3.5 from a FiM G4 Animated Storyteller Pinkie Pie, even without the books.

Things to look out for:
 * A G3.5 Pinkie Pie is single-color. The mane and tail is of the same color as the body. A G4 Pinkie Pie is two-toned, with a light pink body and darker pink mane and tail.
 * A G4 Pinkie Pie's head is wider than a G3.5 one. Also note the eyes, they are less rounded, larger, and lacks hearts. A G4 Pinkie Pie's ears are also slightly larger.
 * The G4 Pinkie Pie has a smaller Cutie Mark.

Play Tent
The Target Canterlot Exclusive line has a play tent with ponies imprinted on them.

Beach toys

 * Paper and plastic buckets

Future Ponies
The following sets have been discovered on Taobao and is expected to be released in the future:
 * Glimmer Wing Ponies: Basic ponies with large butterfly-like wings attached to them. So far, five models have been discovered
 * Rainbow Dash
 * Rarity
 * Ploomette
 * Fluttershy
 * Daisy Dreams

Gallery

 * Toys gallery