<P> The show follows a studious unicorn 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 of the ponies represent a different facet of friendship, and Twilight discovers herself to be a key part of the magical artifacts known as the "Elements of Harmony". The ponies travel on adventures and help others around Equestria while working out problems that arise in their own friendships . </P> <P> The series has become a major commercial success, becoming the most highly rated original production in the Hub Network's broadcast history and leading to new merchandising opportunities for Hasbro, including books, clothing, collectible trading cards, and comics . Despite the target demographic of young girls, Friendship Is Magic has also gained a large following of older viewers, mainly young and middle - aged men, who call themselves "bronies". Portions of the show have become part of the remix culture, and have formed the basis for a variety of internet memes . </P> <P> The show has ran for 169 episodes through seven seasons with an eighth scheduled for 2018. . A spin - off feature film series, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, started in 2013 and has been shown in limited theatrical screenings prior to television broadcast and home media release . A feature - length film adaptation directly based on the TV series, titled My Little Pony: The Movie, was theatrically released on October 6, 2017 in the United States . </P> <P> Hasbro, Inc. has produced several incarnations and lines of toys and entertainment related to the My Little Pony franchise, often labeled by collectors as "generations". The animated series My Little Pony Tales which premiered in 1992 was the toy line's most recent television series before Friendship Is Magic, featuring the pony designs of the first toy line . It was followed by various direct - to - video releases, which featured later designs up to the third incarnation of the franchise . Just as Michael Bay's film had helped to boost the new Transformers toy line, Hasbro wanted to retool the My Little Pony franchise and update it to better suit the current demographic and taste of young girls . According to Margaret Loesch, CEO of Hub Network, revisiting properties that had worked in the past was an important programming decision, influenced to an extent by the opinions of the network's programming executives, a number of whom were once fans of such shows . Senior Vice President Linda Steiner also stated that they "intended to have the show appeal to a larger demographic", with the concept of "co-viewing" of parents with their children being a central theme of the Hub Network's programming . Central themes that Hasbro sought for the show included friendships and working together, factors they determined from market research in how girls played with their toys . </P>

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