Faust created deeper characters and adventurous settings, seeking a show resembling how she had played with her toys as a child, and incorporated fantasy elements.

Despite its target demographic of young girls, the series attracted an unexpectedly large following of older viewers, mainly adult men, known as "bronies".

Twilight Sparkle, a studious unicorn (later an alicorn), travels to Ponyville to learn about friendship at the urging of Equestria's ruler (and her mentor) Princess Celestia.

Twilight and Spike, her dragon assistant, become close friends with five other ponies: Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie.

[4] According to Margaret Loesch, CEO of The Hub, revisiting properties which had been successful was an important decision; it was somewhat influenced by the network's programming executives, several of whom were fans of the shows.

[6] Central themes Hasbro sought for the show included friendship and cooperation, determined from market research in how girls played with toys.

[9] Although My Little Pony was one of her favorite childhood toys,[8] Faust was disappointed by the television shows; the characters "just had endless tea parties, giggled over nothing and defeated villains by either sharing with them or crying".

With the chance to work on My Little Pony, she hoped to prove that "cartoons for girls don't have to be a puddle of smooshy, cutesy-wootsy, goody-two-shoeness" like the original series.

[14] She envisioned them as realistic horses who ate hay, lived in barns, pulled carts, wore saddles, and picked up objects with their mouths.

Ponyville was based on German cottages, with a fairy-tale quality and equine elements such as horseshoe-shaped archways, hay bales, and troughs.

[22][23] Canterlot was based on castles and cathedrals, giving it a European feel;[24] its location on a mountain and its purple-and-gold palette conveyed royalty and aspiration.

[28] Composer William Anderson presented a blind audition to Hasbro for Friendship Is Magic; the company admired his incidental music, and selected him.

[35] Each episode generally included a moral or life lesson, chosen to "cross a broad spectrum of personal experiences" and not just aimed at children.

[38] Ingram thought the songs from previous My Little Pony shows were "a little bit dated", and decided to bring more-modern work to the Friendship Is Magic series.

[51] Thiessen credited much of the technical expertise to Wooton, who created Flash programs to optimize the placement and posing of the pony characters and other elements; this simplified the work needed from other animators.

[55] The creative team interpreted each character's personality as mannerisms, facial expressions, props, and home environment;[55] Twilight's purple color signified royalty and mystical awareness, and her hard, angular edges personified her as tidy.

[56] Other examples include Rainbow Dash's rainbow hair, representing her ability to cause a Sonic Rainboom;[57][c] Fluttershy's hair, indicating her bounciness, gentleness, and optimism;[59] Applejack's cutie mark,[d] symbolizing her simplicity;[61] Pinkie Pie's shape (similar to a bubble, balloon, or cloud), reflecting her cheerfulness and buoyancy;[62] and Spike's design, embodying his difference from the ponies.

[21] According to Ethan Lewis of Den of Geek, the show often "takes on very morally complicated situations [...] that don't seem to have easy answers as opposed to very cut and dried children's messages".

[66] Den of Geek writer Alana Joli Abott cited the celebration of differences, faith, and inclusion as prominent themes.

[67] Megan Crouse described the series for Den of Geek as "'serious' fantasy", drawing comparisons to The Lord of the Rings and The Sword in the Stone.

[74] A study by Christian Valiente and Xeno Rasmusson which sampled 13 episodes found that the series has characters in circumstances which dispute gender stereotypes; females often play primary, active roles in positions of authority.

[75] Valiente and Rasmusson said that although some male characters have abilities and authority, the series focuses on females often shown in positions of strength and leadership while maintaining traditional feminine traits.

[105] United Kingdom-based Clear Vision has the publishing rights in Region 2 (which includes most of Western Europe and the Middle East),[106][107] but the company entered administration in December 2013.

According to the website's critical consensus, "Smart and sweet, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic's [sic] proves that children's entertainment can be fun for adults, too.

[112] Den of Geek's Anna Dobbie appreciated the ponies' different personalities (which she believed worked well to achieve stability) and the series' focus on self-discovery and acceptance;[113] According to Screen Rant writer Carly Olsen, the show develops both its major and minor characters well.

[114] Jamie Spain similarly applauded the show's elements of growth, learning, and social skills on BuzzFeed, which she considered uncommon in children's television.

[117] Kathleen Richter of Ms., however, disagreed with the praise; she wrote that Friendship Is Magic promoted sexism, racism, and heteronormativity, saying that Rainbow Dash's character encouraged the stereotype that "all feminists are angry, tomboyish lesbians" and criticizing other aspects.

[131] Despite Hasbro's target demographic of young girls and their parents,[155][156] My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic became a cultural and Internet phenomenon with male fans between the ages of 13 and 35 during the 2010s.

[155] Due in part to older fans, Hasbro saw My Little Pony as a "lifestyle" brand with over 200 licenses in 15 categories of products which included clothing, housewares, and digital media.

[174][175] Hasbro observed from the brony fandom that some fan-produced art was a humanized version of the show's characters, and was inspired to develop the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls spin-off series of movies and shorts which ran with Friendship Is Magic for six years.