My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Characters/Mane Family Members

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Just because the Mane Six are True Companions doesn't mean they don't have family that love them dearly. Quite a few direct family members have appeared in supporting roles or cameos. For Rainbow Dash's parents[1], see the Canon Foreigners page.


Return to the character index here.

The Apple Family

The family which Applejack belongs to: a huge herd that works several apple farms across Equestria.

See The Cutie Mark Crusaders for Apple Bloom, Applejack and Big Macintosh's younger sister.

Tropes that the Apple Family Share

  • American Accents: All of them have a Texan Drawl accent.
  • Badass Family: The main Apples for sure as well as their Appleloosa relatives.
  • The Clan: Applejack's family is HUGE. All of them work in apple farms and they work together to maintain their family business. In special occasions they gather together in one of these farms to assist the local Apple family prepare for a celebration. In the first episode's case: The Summer Sun Celebration.
  • Good Old Ways / Ludd Was Right: They prefer to make cider using simpler machines as opposed to the Flim-Flams' more powerful cider maker.
  • Theme Naming: Almost all of their names are somehow related to apples or foods made from apples.


Big Macintosh

Eeyup.

Debut: "Friendship Is Magic, Part 1" ("Mare in the Moon")

Voiced by Peter New

Big Macintosh is Applejack's older brother, a red earth pony with an orange mane and freckles. While most of the Apple clan live scattered around Equestria, he stays at Sweet Apple Acres with his sisters and Granny Smith.

  • Adorkable: As cavity inducing as it is, love struck Big Macintosh is pretty adorable.
  • Ascended Extra: Season 2 saw a large increase in his screentime to the point where he even got an episode centered around him (and Cheerilee).
  • Audience Surrogate: At the end of Lesson Zero, he gladly ran off with the Smartypants doll despite not being hypnotized. An adult male being happy to own a toy intended for little girls; sound familiar?
  • Badass: See Charles Atlas Superpower below and also this
  • Berserk Button: Never, ever disrespect him or his relatives, even if you're related to him. Apple Bloom and her friends learned this the hard way in "Ponyville Confidential" when Big Macintosh discovers that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are Gabby Gums.
  • The Big Guy: Class 2 type
  • Bruiser with a Soft Center: We see how tenderhearted he is almost as much as we see how strong and tough he is.
  • Brutal Honesty
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Gives a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to the Cutie Mark Crusaders after finding out they were Gabby Gums. Not only does he sound angry for the first time ever, he also orders the CMC to get the hell out of his sight. Pretty harsh.
  • Catch Phrase: "Ee-yup" and "Nope."
  • Characterization Marches On: He didn't become The Quiet One until after "Applebuck Season".
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: All that farm work over the years has made him into one of the strongest characters within the show. While his sister Applejack (also known by her strength) needs to kick a tree with both legs to make it drop it's apples, Big Macintosh only needs to tap it. With one leg.
    • He's also able to shake off a Dogpile of Doom so hard he threw some of the participants over the horizon.
    • He also managed to pull a cart full of anvils and the two oxen towing it while skipping without even noticing. It took being tethered to a full sized, two-story house to make him pause for a second... and then he ripped the house out of it's foundations, dragging it with him as he continued frolicking around, lost on his own thoughts.
  • Common Sense: Has a healthy dose of this or at least enough to tell right off the bat that Applejack's promise of harvesting a whole farm's worth of apples by herself was going to end in tears.
  • The Charmer/Chick Magnet: Unofficially the fans love to paint him like this but the episode "Luna Eclipsed" had a short scene where Big Macintosh was proudly pulling a cart with three young mares on it.
    • Dialogue in "Hearts and Hooves Day" suggests that he's one of the most eligible bachelors in Ponyville, he's just shy.
  • Cool Big Bro: To Applejack and Apple Bloom.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Depending on the Artist: During some scenes in "Friendship is Magic, part 1", "Winter Wrap Up", "Sisterhooves Social" and "MMMystery on the Friendship Express", as well as on WeLoveFine's Big Mac Brony shirt, bag and hoodie, Big Mac Brony Hoodie, [dead link] and Everypony [dead link] art print, his Cutie Mark includes four sparkles (it's normally sparkle-free).
  • Does Not Know His Own Strength: Well, he does as we can see him clearly using just a fraction of his strength to buck apples from a tree, but certain things can make him forget.
  • Expy: A very weird case. First, he's based on the Big Brother ponies in G1 and as his general design, it strongly resembles G3 Applejack, down to his coat color and the huge apple cutie mark, minus the checkered blanket.
  • Fast Tunnelling: While he's corrupted during Discord's reign in "The Return of Harmony Part 2". It's unknown if he's normally capable of it.
  • Flanderization: In "Applebuck Season", his first speaking role, his dialogue was normal. Ever since, nearly every word out of his mouth has been either "Ee-yup" or "Nope," though he does get the occasional short line. In "Hearts and Hooves Day", a love poison causes him to say a fair amount of unbearably sappy dialogue. The same episode also sorta kinda justifies his usual silence by Apple Bloom saying he's shy. He eventually got some more dialogue in "Ponyville Confidential".
  • Genius Bruiser: Applejack even gets frustrated with his "fancy mathematics" and he knows the therapeutic pressure points for Granny Smith's muscle spasms. To top it off, when "discorded", he became incredibly stupid, acting more like a dog than a pony. Notice that for the Mane Six, the same effect reversed their core personality trait, aka their very Element.
  • Gentle Giant: Big Macintosh is not only one of the tallest members of the main cast, he's also noticeably bulkier and way stronger than the other male ponies seen so far. Still, he's very nice, calm and gentle, as his collector card states.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He's noticeably taller than Cherilee when the Cutie Mark Crusaders try to pair them up.
  • Hunk: Appears to be the pony equivalent of one, and it's how he tends to be portrayed in "humanized pony" fanart.
  • Iconic Item: In the show, he is never, ever seen without his horse collar.
  • In-Series Nickname: "Big Mac." Used not at all in Season 1, twice in "The Cutie Pox," and extensively in "Hearts and Hooves Day."
  • Large and In Charge: Implied by Applejack during "Bridle Gossip" when she threatened Apple Bloom with telling Big Macintosh on her after the filly defied Applejack's authority.
  • Manly Tears: When Applejack's farewell letter is read aloud in The Last Roundup.
  • Noodle Incident: It's never explained when or how he was injured in "Applebuck Season". One fan theory postulates that it may have something to do with the conversation heard in the opening to "The Ticket Master". Applejack states she has a bet with Macintosh and if she won, "he's gonna walk down Stirrup Street in one of Granny's girdles." It's also been suggested that he injured himself trying to work the "saggy old plow".
  • OOC Is Serious Business: If he's speaking in complete sentences, things are not well.
  • The One Guy: Was promoted to this slot (which he shares with Spike, the two of them usually trading off) in season 2.
  • Pair the Spares: He gets paired up with Cheerilee in the episode "Hearts and Hooves Day"
    • Ship Tease: After the madness dies down, the last scene of the episode is Cheerilee and Big Macintosh going on a picnic. Whether they're going on an actual date or just teasing the Cutie Mark Crusaders is left open.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: As of the second opening (introduced in "Lesson Zero").
  • The Quiet One: Big Macintosh rarely talks and when he does, he only says the bare minimum. He almost never raises his voice, not even when he's noticeably upset--a rare exception is when he yelled at the Cutie Mark Crusaders when it was discovered that they were the ones publishing embarrassing stories about others in the school newspaper.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: He didn't even need Twilight's "Want It Need It" spell to want her old childhood doll.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Despite his red coat, this is inverted as he's the blue oni to Applejack's red.
  • Rule of Funny: He can drag houses with ease or send dozens of ponies flying over the horizon, but he can barely lift up Applejack's backpack or a cake. Whatever's funnier.
    • Continuity Nod/Fridge Brilliance: As far as Applejack's backpack goes, he was still bandaged and injured from the Noodle Incident referred to in the start of "Applebuck Season", and as for the cake, it wasn't that he couldn't lift it as much as he was afraid of dropping it, which required the other ponies to come and help steady it.
  • She's a Man In Japan: Apparently some of the foreign language translations on his collector card call him female. But seeing as the other stallions' cards apparently do the same thing, it almost certainly wasn't intentional, and most likely isn't indicative of those languages' dubs of the show.
  • Shrinking Violet: Applebloom mentions that he's too shy to ask someone out, which is probably why he spends all his time working on the farm.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: While they have a lot in common, he's noticeably calmer and more patient than his stubborn little sister. It's also hinted that he's smarter.
  • The Silent Bob: Particularly in the second season, where Big Macintosh is usually voiceless except for saying "Eyep" and "Ehnope". His expressions speak volumes, though, and he did explicitly refuse The Flim-Flam Brothers's bad Apple Cider deal.
  • Smarter Than You Look: The Smart Guy of the Apple family as well as The Big Guy. Applejack even gets exasperated with his "fancy mathematics."
  • Spell My Name with an "S": "Big Macintosh" seems to be the official spelling; it's been used in multiple synopses of "Hearts and Hooves Day", by the official My Little Pony Facebook and Twitter pages here and here respectively, by Peter New here, and by WeLoveFine on their website & Tumblr, as well as in all caps in the third wave of the Blind Bags. However, it's occasionally been spelled it differently--"Big McIntosh" has been used once by Hasbro (in the packaging of the Miniature Collection's Apple Family Set), twice by show creator Lauren Faust and once by RED Management, while "Big MacIntosh" has been used twice by storyboard artist Sabrina Alberghetti (who's clarified that she was going by memory). Additionally, the German & Swiss Nickelodeon and German Nick Jr. websites list him as "Mcintosh" while an Italian sticker activity booklet uses "Big McIntosh," both despite the general European and Italian-specific versions of the Blind Bags calling him by his usual name (as seen on his collector card). "Big MacIntosh" has also been used by the French magazine story La récolte d'Applejack (a Novelization of "Applebuck Season").
  • The Stoic
    • Not So Stoic: When he found out that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were actually Gabby Gums and posting fake stories of Applejack and him, he gives them a piece of his mind, and it really isn't pretty.
  • Super Strength: And how!
  • Theme Naming: He is named after a type of apple named "McIntosh Red" with red and green skin, the same colors as Big Macintosh's coat and Cutie Mark.
  • Writing Around Trademarks:
    • Originally he was going to referred to as Big Mac in casual conversation but that would have caused too much trouble with trademarks. In some episodes he is referred to as "Big Mac", most notably, Hearts and Hooves Day, but only after he has already been called "Big Macintosh" in the same scene.
    • He was also going to be called "Big Apple" and he would be the current boss of Sweet Apple Acres which itself would be "Big Apple Orchard." However trademarked or not, it didn't pass the legal department so both were changed to their current names.
  • Working Class People Are Morons: Averted, as the cartoon constantly implies that he's smarter than his sisters. Also according to the original series' bible, Big Macintosh owns and runs Sweet Apple Acres while Applejack manages the day-to-day affairs.


Granny Smith

Debut: "Friendship Is Magic, Part 1" ("Mare in the Moon")

Voiced by Tabitha St. Germain

Applejack's, Apple Bloom's and Big Macintosh's grandmother. Age has done a number on this green Earth Pony and while she's not completely crippled or senile, she's getting there. Despite this, she still manages to continue her role as the matriarch of the Apple family.

Granny Smith: Confangled modern doohickeys.

Granny Smith: Is this thing on? [to Big Macintosh] I don't think this thing is on. [to the megaphone] Hello! What is the...e... (Big Macintosh whispers to her, Granny slaps the megaphone into the correct position). You have to say so. Confangled modern doohickeys.

Granny Smith: I should have been asleep five hours ago!


Braeburn

Debut: "Over a Barrel"

Voiced by Andrew Francis[2]

A cousin of Applejack who lives in the newly-settled Apple-loosa. Is quite proud of the new settlement but is also willing to listen to both sides of the conflict between the Apple-loosians and the resident herd of Buffalo.

  • Catch Phrase: "AAAAAAPPLE-LOOSA!" (whinny)
  • Cowboy
  • Determined Homesteader: Although he's more sensitive to the buffaloes' plight than most of the townsfolk.
  • Furry Reminder: Neighs a lot, especially when mentioning AAAAAAAPPLE-LOOSA!
  • Green Eyes
  • Hair of Gold: A darker gold than Applejack's though - his coat and mane are just color-swaps of AJ's
  • Keet: See below.
  • Motor Mouth: He's extremely eager to show the ponies just how amazing Apple-loosa is.
  • Nice Hat: As is common for a resident of "AAAAAAPPLE-LOOSA!"
  • The Pioneer
  • Pretty Colt: Yes. As much as an animated pony can be anyway.
  • Theme Naming: As with most of the other Apple family members, Braeburn is named after a variety of apple. In fact, it's a hybrid derived from the Granny Smith.


Aunt and Uncle Orange

Debut: "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"

Applejack's aunt and uncle who live in Manehattan. Unlike the rest of the family, the Oranges live a high class lifestyle. Whether they actually do grow oranges or not isn't clear. According to the Blind Bags, Uncle Orange is named Mosely Orange.


The Smith Family

Debut: "Family Appreciation Day"


Other Apples

The Apples of Ponyville have a LOT of relatives, but so far we mostly only know their appearances and/or names. In "Friendship is Magic, part 1", Applejack names off Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple[3], (Uncle) Apple Strudel[4], Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Brioche, and Apple Cinnamon Crisp, in addition to her immediate family. Later, in "The Ticket Master", she mentions "Apple Brown Betty! Uh, the dessert. Not my auntie." According to the Blind Bags, two of them are named Crimson Gala and Peachy Sweet.


Twilight Sparkle's Family

See The Princesses for Princess Cadance, Shining Armor's wife and thus Twilight Sparkle's sister-in-law.

Shining Armor

Twilight's B.B.B.F.F.[5]

Debut: "A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1"

Voiced by Andrew Francis[6]

A white unicorn stallion with a blue mane and a shield cutie mark. He's Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, but more importantly he's Twilight Sparkle's older brother. They were very close when they were younger, but started to grow apart when she moved to Ponyville, thus why we don't see him until the Season 2 finale.

  • Actor Allusion: This isn't the first time Andrew Francis has voiced a captain of the guard, or the first time he's voiced a Mane Six family member (he's also Applejack's cousin Braeburn) for that matter.
  • Ascended Fanboy: He greatly admired the Canterlot Royal Guard in his youth. He eventually became their leader.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: See two tropes below.
  • Awesome McCoolname
  • Badass: He'd need to be to perform his specialty, see immediately below
  • Barrier Warrior: His special spell is a force field (and his Cutie mark is a shield). A Force field that can encase all of Canterlot. His ability with that spell is such that not even Twilight Sparkle could match him.
  • Battle Couple: With Badass Princess Cadence. They use The Power of Love to save Canterlot from Queen Chrysalis and her Changeling army in the first act we actually see them as a couple doing, considering the rest of the time it was with Cadence's impostor.
  • The Captain: He's captain of the Royal Guard.
  • Color-Coded Wizardry: Has the same red-violet magic aura as his mother and little sister.
  • Cool Big Bro: Twilight describes him as her best friend (before she moved to Ponyville).
  • Curtains Match the Window: His eyes match his hair.
  • Custom Uniform: He gets special purple armor that's of a different design than the other guards.
  • Death Glare: Shoots one to Queen Chrysalis before he and Cadence kick her flank.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Alongside Princess Cadence, he casts a spell fueled by The Power of Love to defeat Queen Chrysalis and her army, even after Chrysalis had defeated Celestia.
    • Not to mention the only reason Chrysalis stood a chance against Celestia at all was because the love for Cadence she'd absorbed from Shining Armor was stronger than Celestia's magic...
  • Early-Bird Cameo: He was showcased and promoted as an upcoming toy long before the episode aired, or even the info about him being Twilight's brother.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: Captain of the Royal Guard, and he's most likely named after this trope, and his cutie mark matches it.
  • Leitmotif: Heard at various points in "A Canterlot Wedding". In Part 1 it can be heard when he's first shown in the present day, when Twilight first comes to his house, and when he's explaining things after Twilight bumps into him. In Part 2 it can be heard when he's first shown in the "Previously On..." segment and when Twilight straightens his badge.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Meta-example; he and Cadence were showcased months before their respective relations to Twilight Sparkle and Celestia were revealed.
  • Magic Knight: Seeing as he's Captain of the Royal Guard and a unicorn.
  • Meaningful Name: He's a knight in... yes, but the Shining part makes his name share a light theme with Twilight Sparkle, while Armor refers to both his duty of defending Canterlot and his force field spell.
  • Official Couple: With Cadence, of course.
  • The One Guy: Not in general, but he is the only male pony to be released in the main brushable toy line or the Fashion Style brushable toy line.
  • Pink Girl, Blue Boy: The blue to Cadence's pink.
  • Purple Is Powerful: His Royal Guard armor is purple, not to mention the glow his magic produces - equivalent to Twilight Sparkle's.
  • Remember the New Guy?: He was very, very close to Twilight Sparkle, pretty much her only friend growing up. The first time we hear of him in-series is about 51 episodes in.
  • Shining Goodness: "Shining" is the first part of his name, and he is a loyal guard of Celestia.
  • Skunk Stripe / You Gotta Have a Blue Mane: His mane and tail are striped in three shades of blue.


Twilight Sparkle's Parents

Debut: "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"

A white and blue unicorn couple living in Canterlot and the parents of the show's main character Twilight Sparkle. Not much is known about them other than that they helped their daughter get enrolled into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns after she expressed an interest in magic. They cameo in "A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2", attending their son Shining Armor's wedding. According to the Blind Bags, the mother is named Twilight Velvet.


Pinkie Pie's Family

The Pie Family

Pinkie Pie's parents and sisters after witnessing her first ever party.

Debut: "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"

There was once a family of Earth Ponies who owned a rock farm outside of Ponyville where there was no talking and no smiling. That is until the pinkest of their daughters suddenly threw a party and brought laughter and sunshine into their lives. That is if you believe Pinkie's story in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles". Like Twilight's parents, not much is known outside what was shown in the flashback. Pinkie has also mentioned her grandmother Granny Pie in "Friendship is Magic, part 2".

  • Artistic Age: Pinkie Pie's parents...mostly because of their dull color schemes and strict expressions.
  • Cool Old Mare: Granny Pie, according to Pinkie.
  • Fan Nicknames: The most popular ones are Inkie (gray sister), Blinkie (blueish sister), Clyde (father) and Sue (mother) though there are a lot of others that have been used.
    • Like Isabelle Lilly Pie for "Inkie" and Bellamina Marie Pie for "Blinkie" in respect to Pinkie's Pinkamena Diane Pie.
    • Alternatively several fans see the gray sister as background pony Octavia from "Best Night Ever" due to a similar (but not exact) color scheme and the way she reacts to Pinkie on stage as if she's used to her sort of behavior.
  • Fantasy Counterpart Culture: They appear to be Amish.
  • Nice Hat: Pinkie's father
  • No Names Given: All of them except for Granny Pie but judging by her and Pinkie's names, it's possible that the family name is "Pie" (supported by WeLoveFine's Pie Family Rock Farms shirt & bag).
  • OC Stand-In: Recently fans have depicted Inkie Pie's personality similar to those of Fluttershy's, exaggerating her bangs into full-on Peek-a-Bangs to emphasize her shyness.
  • Peek-a-Bangs: Not a full blown one but Inkie's bangs are long enough to cover 1/4 of her face.
  • The Stoic: The entire family[10] until Pinkie introduces them to their first party. It's unclear whether they've completely moved away from this state of mind or have reverted back ever since.
  • Stoic Spectacles: Pinkie's mom.
  • Tough Love: Pinkie Pie's parents were strict and intent on training their children in the ways of rock farming by giving them hooves-on experience like manually moving an entire field of rocks from one location to another on a regular basis. The way they treated them were no better. As Pinkie puts it: "There was no talking. There was no smiling. There were only rocks."
  • Unnamed Parents: See No Names Given above.
  • Unreliable Narrator: It is as of yet unclear whether they are really real or was just made up by Pinkie Pie seeing how she ended her Origin Story:

Pinkie Pie: And that's how Equestria was made.
Scootaloo: Wha...huh?
Apple Bloom: Look! We're here!
Pinkie Pie: Maybe on the way home I can tell you the story of how I got my cutie mark. It's a gem!


Rarity's Family

See The Cutie Mark Crusaders for Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister.

Rarity's Parents

Debut: "Sisterhooves Social"

Voiced by Tabitha St. Germain (mother) and Peter New (father)[11]

A pink female unicorn and a white male pony[12] couple. Word of God says that Sweetie Belle actually lives with them instead of Rarity; in "Sisterhooves Social" they leave Sweetie in her care before going on vacation, and in the German magazine comic Einfach rufus the building that Sweetie's room is part of is shown to look different than Carousel Boutique.

  • All There in the Manual: Their house hasn't appeared in the show, but it has appeared in the German magazine comic Einfach rufus.
  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: They have no class and love gaudy clothes. And they don't even cringe at all at Sweetie Belle's cooking (on top of that, the mother was the one who gave her the cooking lessons).
  • American Accents: The father has an exaggerated Midwestern accent while his wife seems to be from Joisey.
  • Awesome McCoolname: Rarity's dad's Fan Nicknames, Magnum (meaning great) and Dr. Fantastic (self-explanatory).
  • Badass Mustache: Rarity's dad owns one that makes him look like Tom Selleck.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Rarity's dad.
  • Blue Eyes: They both have these.
  • Fan Nickname: Similarly to how "Steven Magnet" (the river serpent from the second episode) got his name, certain members of the fandom have taken to calling Rarity/Sweetie Belle's father "Dr. Fantastic". Some others are calling him "Magnum" due to his resemblance to Tom Selleck.
  • Iron Stomach: They truly enjoyed Sweetie Belle's horrible food, which included a glass of cinder (burnt juice) and a bowl of bubbling ooze (it was toast).
  • Lethal Chef: Given the mother's comments about teaching Sweetie Belle to cook, either she was being fantastically polite about Sweetie Belle's Epic Fail of a breakfast or is just as bad at it.
  • Lovable Jock: Rarity's jolly father is a tall, bulky and manly stallion with three American footballs as his Cutie Mark. That or he could be a football coach.
    • Either way this trope still applies.
  • Nice Hat: The father.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: Rarity's mother has the same chubby build as Mrs. Cake. Plus she is one of the few ponies to wear pants.
  • Unnamed Parents
  1. ↑ who have only made brief appearances in The Hub's non-canon alternate stories of how Dash got her cutie mark
  2. ↑ according to this tweet and this interview, respectively by and with Andrew Francis
  3. ↑ Not to be confused with the Caramel who keeps losing grass seeds
  4. ↑ who first appears in "Family Appreciation Day"
  5. ↑ That's Big Brother Best Friend Forever
  6. ↑ according to tweets and this interview, respectively by and with Andrew Francis, and this interview with Ashleigh Ball
  7. ↑ Then again these are ponies, so their aging process are probably different from ours.
  8. ↑ all the "sparkly pony" toys and cards have [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/11/blindbags-set-3-namessummariesimages.html solid colors so we won't be able to tell if her mane color matches
  9. ↑ pretty close for the toy line that is since they only use a limited number of pony molds
  10. ↑ whether Granny Pie is the same or not is unclear but Pinkie's song seems to indicate that she's somehow different
  11. ↑ both according to this email from RED Management
  12. ↑ his hat makes it hard to tell if he's a unicorn or earth pony
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