G2: The forgotten MLP generation?

Table of contents:
Why did it flop? - Isn't G2 just MLP Tales? - Friendship Gardens
Meet the Mane 5 - Boy ponies - Forgotten by Hasbro?

A strange side-effect of going online at a young age was that nearly everyone was older than me. I spent a lot of time reading pop culture websites run by people who were in their 20s when I was a teenager (I mourn the loss of X-Entertainment daily...), so I ended up having more useless knowledge about 80s pop culture than anything else. My mother was shocked that I knew what The Noid was because he was well before my time. I ended up becoming something like a weeaboo except for the 80s. In fact, I used to wish I was born in the 80s instead...

"How could you say that?! The 80s SUCKED! You only think it's cool because you barely remember the 90s! The video games looked like shit and most of the cartoons were shitty toy commercials! How could ANYONE look fondly upon the decade with Reagan, the AIDS crisis, and Satantic Panic?" Hey smartass, have you considered that I didn't have politics and how life sucks on my mind 24/7? Tsk tsk... You don't see me lecturing people who wish they got to use Myspace in its heyday how awful the Bush and Obama era was. Despite being an 80sboo before streaming and whatnot existed, My Little Pony was off my radar completely. I wanted to like it, but I thought they were ugly! Then Friendship is Magic dropped late-2010 and it completely changed any mixed-negative opinion I had on the franchise. I even grew to like G3 down the line!

However, when thumbing through archived fansites I found out about a generation I've never seen or heard of - This doesn't look anything like the chunky 80s toys found at yard sales or the saccharine and glamorous mid-late 00s ponies I've seen!

Awww, isn't that cute? Welcome to the world of My Little Pony Generation 2! The flop that Hasbro doesn't want you to know about.

Why did it flop?

I honestly don't know why, but it did... G2 only lasted a year in America (1997-1998) before it moved to Europe until 2003. Why G2 lasted longer in Europe is also something I can only speculate on. I notice the last few years of G1 were "experimental" and introduced different kinds of ponies that weren't released after. G2s kind of look like a more realistic version of the Sweetheart Sister ponies. They were introduced pretty late though, so the image of the cute chubby G1s were the face of My Little Pony even after it ended. G2 ponies are notably shorter and thinner than G1s, so I think the drastic redesign is what made it unpopular. You can't just replace them like that! This was before the age of constant nostalgia-grabbing reboots, you know.

(G1 Sparkler, G2 Silver Swirl, and G3 Brights Brightly)

Isn't G2 just MLP Tales?

NO! Tales is G1! I think this misconception is common because Tales aired five years after My Little Pony n' Friends, so it looks like a new generation. However, Tales aired in 1992, which was the last year of G1. The few actual toys of some characters in Tales were exclusive to Britbongs and other parts of Europe. I've seen Tales referred to as G1.5, similar to how those horrifying duckface ponies and Newborn Cuties were released near the end of G3 are considered G3.5, and Pony Life is G4.5. Unlike those ugly toys and stupid cartoon, Tales isn't so bad. You can watch it here, but keep your expectations low.

There is a decent amount of official VHS and DVD merchandise with G2 characters on the cover. However, they're all G1 cartoons. Why is G2 on there? Fuck if I know... The G3 logo is also on the DVD... Um, these were sold in France and Germany if that explains anything (it doesn't). Ironically, there are VHS/DVD releases of Tales with the G2 art style on the cover.

(image source)

G2 is the only generation to not have its own cartoon, which is likely the other contributing factor to flopping before the ponies migrated to Europe.

G2 didn't have a cartoon, but it did have some comics, backcard stories, and a CD-ROM game. I've played Friendship Gardens twice via ISO; The first time was 5 years ago on an old laptop, the second was a few days ago. Ironically the second time it didn't run as well despite being on a new PC... Anyway, I probably would've liked this game more if I was 6 years old. I think the game knows that, because I noticed you can't enter an age in the double digits. How discriminatory...

It's a pet-raising sim where you make your own pony and take care of her, but I found that part of the game the least interesting. Your pony will cross the Rainbow Bridge after some time, so I knew getting attached would be a recipe for disaster... Just like real life. There's still some funny tidbits, like how you can grow pizza and candy in the garden, and playing on your birthday unlocks something special. I'm also a fan of the 2D ponies on the 3D backgrounds.

I was vegan when I played this game, so the concept of homegrown pizza isn't too far off...

It's the thought that counts.

I found the minigames and weird stuff in the ISOs files more interesting than the pet sim elements. The font I'm using for this page was something I found in the game's files! I couldn't figure out how to play this game in a separate window/not fullscreen on my new PC, otherwise I would've compiled the graphics found in the minigames. Fun fact, since I don't have a printer connected to my PC, clicking on the printer in-game led to crashing and losing my data. Lovely...

The minigames also involve the five ponies you see on the title screen. There's a beauty salon, kitchen, puzzles, printable cut-outs (again: don't click this if you don't have a printer), and coloring pages. Hours of fun for a 5-9 year old, but for adults with a destroyed attention span from smartphones, maybe not so much. If you're curious, here is a PDF file of the manual, and here is the font.

Friendship is Magic didn't invent the concept of a "Mane [number]". The original Collector's Pose earth ponies in G1 were a set of 6, and G3.5 had a "Core 7" of characters to transmutate into revolting horse-duck hybrids. I think the closest thing G2 has to that are the original 5 ponies that were released and appeared in Friendship Gardens. That game gave them personalities.

Light Heart is the owner of the games cottage in Ponyland. She's a joker and likes playing pranks. I think she has the best color scheme out of the core G2 ponies.

Sweet Berry appears in the kitchen activity and is described as an all-around sweetheart on the backcard stories. Aww! Ivy appears to be her BFF because they're packaged together in a playset.

Ivy is the glamor girl who loves to talk about fashion and has her own Pretty Parlor in the game. You would think this means that she does your pony's hair, but you do her's instead. Okay then...

Sundance has her own dance studio and is as an explorer. She's named after the G1 pony, but they're not all that similar. Maybe that's why she was renamed to Sunsparkle in later releases.

Morning Glory (not to be confused with the G1 and G3 ponies of the same name) owns the schoolhouse. She's described as the imaginative friend and is married to Clever Clover. Some releases refer to her as Flora.

There's a 6th character that doesn't appear in the CD-ROM game, but I consider her a core pony because her toys released often enough after 1997.

Sky Skimmer is a nature lover. Her color scheme and symbol looks familar, doesn't it? She was also released under the names Butterfly and Magic Butterfly.

Boy ponies

(Image source)

There is something strange going on in the Friendship Gardens. The chemicals in the water that lets you grow pizza and candy from seeds has also destroyed any sexual dimorphism between the ponies. Unlike G1 where the males were hulking clydesdales, the boys in G2 are near-identical to the females. Aren't they cute? Unfortunately for them, they're still vastly outnumbered by the females and aren't too interesting besides being the explanation to where baby ponies come from. Run along now and play football, or whatever silly boys like to do.

Forgotten by Hasbro?

I think we skipped a step... (image source)

That seems to be the case...isn't that sad? I've seen plenty of G1 throwback merchandise (in stores this year, even), but no G2. There's no rerelease of old models or anything like that. Why not? Does Hasbro not want to acknowledge G2 that much? I guess so. Even The Art of Equestria book pictured above actively pretends G2 doesn't exist. I think what went wrong is pretty clear, notably the lack of a cartoon and introducing a drastic style change not too long after G1 ended are the biggest offenders. On a semi-positive note, G2 flopping so hard in the US may have led to G3's success. As of writing this, Generation 5 is at its third year, but I don't like the style or the fact its riding the coat tails of a distant sequel to Friendship is Magic to want to keep an eye on it. The chances of any aspect of G2 being picked up again is slim.

Update: I was wrong about this. Hasbro is celebrating My Little Pony's 40th anniversary, and some official materials do acknowledge G2's existence. I still doubt it's going to get the "retro" treatment G1 has gotten in the form of reproductions or "throwback" merchandise, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

That said, I speculate there are some inspirations taken from G2 ponies in later generations. Light Heart has a resemblance to Sunny Daze in G3, and Ivy is clearly the prototype G3 Rainbow Dash and later Rarity. Fluttershy is based off of Posey and named after G3 Fluttershy, but she resembles Sky Skimmer design and personality-wise too. Major characters like Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and side characters like Fleur De Lis or the Saddle Arabians have a build similar to the G2 ponies. One of the founders of Equestria is named Clover the Clever, another likely reference.

Hasbro may have forgotten about G2, but we haven't. An ISO of Friendship Gardens is easy to find online and many collector's guides have information about G2. Good luck buying one second-hand at a decent price if you live outside Europe, though...