COMMON MLP-RELATED TERMS
CANCER -- “Pony Cancer” is what collectors call any kind of mold that grows on ponies. There are several types of Pony Cancer, such as Pindot Mold, Circle-Dot mold, Black Mold, etc.
CONDITION -- Ponies for sale are usually described as being in one of the following conditions: Mint, Near Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Play-Condition, Poor, Custom-Bait. Some of these terms are interchangeable; “Excellent” and “Near Mint” are often, though not always, considered equivalent, as are “Fair” and “Play-Condition.”
DREAM VALLEY -- “Dream Valley” is the area where the My Little Ponies live during the G1 movies and the first TV series. “Dream Valley” is also the name of one of the oldest, largest, and most popular My Little Pony websites, which collectors reference frequently.
FLOCKED -- “Flocked” (or “So Soft”) ponies are covered in a light, velvety fuzz, called “flocking.” You’ve probably seen flocking used on things like toy Easter rabbits and miniature teddy bears to make them seem soft, even though they’re plastic.
GENERATION -- A “generation” refers to one of the four different lines of My Little Ponies that have been produced by Hasbro. The first generation consists of ponies printed from 1982 until 1992 in the US, and until 1995 in some other countries; there is a limited number of poses in which these ponies occur, which help define them. The second generation consists of ponies printed between 1997 and 1999. The third generation consists of ponies printed between 2003 and 2010. The much smaller fourth generation ponies are currently available in stores.
HAIR PLUG -- A pony’s mane consists of many small bundles of hair, each of which is strung through one of the many small holes in the pony’s head and held in place with glue. Each of these bundles is referred to as a “hair plug” by restorers and customizers.
PINDOT MOLD -- “Pindot Mold” is a type of Pony Cancer which appears as tiny pin-sized dots on the surface of an affected pony. Pindot Mold can easily spread from one pony to another, so ponies with this kind of mold should be bleached as soon as possible.
REGRIND -- “Regrind,” often mistaken for a type of Pony Cancer, is actually a factory flaw. Sometimes the factories producing My Little Ponies would try to save money by mixing old plastic with new plastic, with the result that, over time, pale or dark marks appear on the ponies. There is, unfortunately, no treatment for this.
REPINKED -- A “repinked” pony is a pony whose hair, originally light pink, faded to white over time, but has now been dyed light pink again. To “repink” a pony is to re-dye her hair light pink after it has faded.
SYMBOL -- A “symbol” is the picture or design that appears on a pony. Almost all G1 My Little Ponies have symbols on both flanks, and some have symbols all over their bodies.
WINGER -- “Winger” is a word collectors often use to refer to the Summer Wing and Windy Wing ponies indiscriminately or collectively. Since Summer Wings and Windy Wings are essentially two different sets of the same kind of pony, it’s useful to have a word that describes both.
WINK -- A term used in the early My Little Pony movies and the "My Little Pony and Friends" TV show to describe a special power of unicorn ponies. To “wink” is to magically disappear from one place and reappear someplace else. In the earliest pony movies (Firefly’s Adventure and Escape from Catrina), it was not called “winking,” but “wishing.”
YEAR -- A “Year” describes one of the ten consecutive periods during which ponies were produced in the US, beginning about halfway through 1982 and ending about halfway through 1992. The production dates of international and special-offer ponies are usually referred to in actual years (such as “1986”) while the production dates of US ponies are referred to in “Years” (such as “Year 4”).
ACRONYMS
B&G -- Brush n’ Grow. Refers to ponies from the Brush n’ Grow set printed in Year 6, or, sometimes, to the Brush n’ Grow Princess Ponies set printed in Year 7. Very loosely, it may also refer to the Trim n’ Grow Beauties, a set of Dream Beauties similar to Brush n’ Grow ponies.
BB -- Big Brother. Refers specifically to the two sets of “Big Brother Ponies,” who have shaggy, clydesdale-type hooves and came with hats and bandanas. More broadly, the term “Big Brother” is often applied to any pony printed in one of the three Big Brother Pony poses, including the Loving Family daddy ponies, Tux n’ Tails, and the Mountain Boy ponies printed in the UK.
BBE -- Beddy-Bye-Eye. Refers to any of the baby ponies printed in Year 4; they have baby-doll eyes which will open if the pony is set upright, and close if the pony is turned on her side or back.
BBSD -- Baby Bonnet School of Dance. Refers to a playset originally printed in Year 4 and available through mail-order offers for several years afterward; it came with the baby pony Half-Note.
CB -- Custom Bait. Refers to ponies who are so badly flawed that they are beyond restoring, and are only good for customizing. These especially include ponies with severe marks, symbols completely removed, no hair, etc., but can also include extremely common ponies with less severe damage. Very rare ponies are almost never considered custom bait, regardless of their condition.
CC -- Candy Cane. Refers to ponies from the Candy Cane set, printed in Year 8. These ponies have striped hair in ringlets which resemble candy canes.
CF -- Concave-Footed. Refers to the concave-footed (“Collector Pose”) versions of the six original My Little Ponies, who were first sold with flat hooves, and later re-released with concave hooves.
DB -- Dream Beauty. Refers to ponies from any of the six sets of "Dream Beauties": large, slender, hard plastic ponies were printed in Year 8.
D&W -- Drink & Wet. Refers to a set of six baby ponies printed in Year 8, who are designed to “drink” water from a bottle and wet their color-changing diapers.
DC -- Dream Castle. Dream Castle is a pony playset that came with Majesty. It was where the ponies lived in the earliest of the pony movies, Firefly’s Adventure and Escape from Catrina. In My Little Pony: The Movie, the ponies got a new home, Paradise Estate.
EXC -- Excellent Condition. Refers to ponies who are very close to mint condition. “Excellent” is often synonymous with “Near Mint,” but may sometimes indicate a pony who is slightly less perfect than a “Near Mint” pony.
F -- Fair Condition. Refers to ponies who are not quite in "Good Condition," but are in better shape than "Play Condition." These ponies often have ingrained dirt, symbol or eye rubs, small or light marks, small or light mold spots, minor hair trims, etc.
FF -- Flat-Footed. Refers to the first six ponies ever printed; unlike any later ponies, their hooves were flat on the bottom, and not concave.
FP -- Flutter Ponies. Refers to ponies from either of the two "Flutter Pony" sets printed in Years 4 and 5. These are small, slender ponies with transparent, removable insect-like wings. Three additional Flutter Ponies were available in gift packs or special offers: Pink Dreams, Yum Yum, and mail-order pony Hollywood.
FT -- First-Tooth. Refers specifically to baby ponies from the “First-Tooth Baby Ponies” set, printed in Year 5; each of these babies has a single tooth. More broadly, the term “First-Tooth” may be applied to any baby pony with a single tooth. The First-Tooth poses were used for many later baby ponies in the US and elsewhere.
G -- Good Condition. See “GC.”
G1 -- Generation 1. Refers to My Little Ponies and products made between 1982 and 1992 in the US, and up until 1995 or so in some other countries. Generally, any pony printed in a pose that was made before 1992 is considered a G1 pony.
G2 -- Generation 2. Refers to My Little Ponies and products made between 1997 and 1999. These ponies are smaller and slimmer than G1 or G3 ponies, but larger than G4 ponies.
G3 -- Generation 3. Refers to My Little Ponies and products made between 2003 and 2010. These ponies are about the same size as G1 ponies, but have smaller bodies and larger eyes, and have symbols only on one side of their bodies.
G4 -- Generation 4. Refers to the current line of My Little Ponies and products. These ponies are much smaller than G1 ponies, with slender bodies, large heads, tiny noses, and very large eyes. Their legs have a bellbottom shape.
GC -- Good Condition. Refers to ponies who fall between “Fair” and “Very Good” condition; GC ponies usually have some imperfections, but no major flaws. Sometimes abbreviated simply as “G.”
HTF -- Hard to Find. Refers to foreign, special-offer, and a few US ponies who are rare and, generally, fairly expensive.
MB -- Mountain Boy. Refers to a set of UK exclusive ponies similar to the Big Brother Ponies, with shaggy, clydesdale-type hooves.
MC -- Mint Condition. Refers to ponies who have been carefully stored or displayed ever since they were removed from their packages, and show no signs of wear at all.
MGR -- Merry-Go-Round. Refers to a set of six ponies, released in Year 7, who are made like carousel (or “merry-go-round”) horses. They have patterned blankets printed on their backs instead of symbols.
MIP (MIB) -- Mint in Package/Box. Refers to mint ponies still in their original packaging. Depending on context, this may or may not mean that the packaging has never been opened. Some ponies, such as Flutter Ponies, may removed from their boxes for display while remaining affixed to their cardboard stands; these are sometimes boxed up again and sold as MIP/MIB, although technically it is more correct to refer to them as "mint with box."
MLP -- My Little Pony. May refer to any or all of the four generations of My Little Ponies (See G1, G2, G3, and G4).
MLPTP -- My Little Pony Trading Post. The MLPTP was one of the very first places online to buy, sell, and trade ponies, and it’s still among the most popular places to post for-sale ponies, want lists, questions, etc.
MM -- Magic Message. Refers to ponies from the Magic Message set, printed in Year 6.
MO -- Mail-Order. Refers to ponies who were only available through mail-in offers. Most of these ponies are rare and, depending on desirability and condition, can sell for between $10 and $80, or even more.
MOC -- Mint on Card. Refers to mint ponies still on their original cards and still sealed in their plastic bubbles.
NBBE -- Non-Beddy-Bye-Eye. Refers to certain baby ponies with regular eyes, as distinguished from versions of the same baby ponies printed with baby-doll eyes (Beddy-Bye-Eyes). There are eight NBBE ponies, some printed in more than one NBBE version: Tiddley-Winks, Cuddles, Lickety-Split, Half-Note, Gusty, Ribbon, Lofty, and Heartthrob.
NIP (NIB) -- New in Package/Box. Same as MIP.
NM -- Near Mint. Refers to ponies who are in such good condition that they appear almost as if they were fresh out of their boxes.
NRFC -- Never Removed From Card. Like MOC, this refers to mint ponies still on their original cards and still sealed in their plastic bubbles.
NRFP (NRFB) -- Never Removed from Package/Box. Refers to mint ponies still in their original boxes, and implies that the pony has physically never been taken out of her original box (although occasionally you may see on eBay a photograph of a “NRFB” pony who is, inexplicably, not in her box at all).
NSS -- Non-So-Soft. Refers to the unflocked versions of ponies who were sold both flocked (“So Soft”) and unflocked. Most NSS ponies are European exclusives, but a few, such as the Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus ponies of Year 3, were sold as NSS ponies in the US before the SS versions were made.
NT -- Newborn Twin. Refers to baby ponies from either of the two Newborn Twins sets, printed in Years 5 and 6. May also refer to the twin newborns Sleep Tight and Sleepy Head from the Slumber Party Gift Pack of Year 5.
OOAK -- One of a Kind. Usually refers to custom-made ponies, but may occasionally refer to pony prototypes or Hasbro-made ponies with unique factory flaws.
OOP -- Out of Print. Generally, this phrase is used to refer to videos and other media that are no longer in print.
PE -- Paradise Estate. Paradise Estate is a playset modeled after the large house where all of the ponies lived in the “My Little Pony & Friends” television series. It replaced their original home, Dream Castle, during My Little Pony: The Movie.
PP -- Perfume Palace or Perfume Puff. The Perfume Palace is a pony playset shaped like a large bottle of perfume. The Perfume Puff Ponies are a set of six ponies who are strongly scented like perfume, and who have very puffy, cottony hair.
SHS -- Sweetheart Sister. Refers to the “Sweetheart Sister Ponies” printed in Year 7, or any of the “Sweetheart Sister” sets of Year 8. They are slimmer and, presumably, younger than any other adult ponies. More broadly, SHS may refer to any of the later ponies printed in Sweetheart Sister poses, such as the Pretty Ponies and the Sundazzle Ponies.
SO -- Special Offer. Refers to ponies who were not sold in stores but were available only through mail-order or other special offers. Some special offer ponies are very rare and expensive, while others, such as the Chuck E. Cheese Baby Pony, are fairly common.
SS -- So Soft. Refers to ponies with flocked (“So Soft”) bodies, printed in Years 4 and 5.
SSSS -- Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe. The Sweet Shoppe is an ice-cream shop playset which was sold with the pony Scoops in Year 5.
SW -- Summer Wing. Summer Wing Ponies, similar to Flutter Ponies, are small and slim, and have butterfly wings. They are almost identical to Windy Wing Ponies.
TAF -- Twice As Fancy. Refers to ponies from either of the two “Twice As Fancy” sets of Years 5 and 6. These ponies have symbols printed not only on their hips, but all over their sides, and also on their cheeks or noses. More broadly, the term “Twice As Fancy” is often applied to any pony whose symbol is printed all over her sides or body, including the Loving Family ponies, the Sunshine Ponies, the Rockin’ Beat ponies, etc.
TE -- Twinkle-Eyed. Refers to ponies from either of the two “Twinkle-Eyed Ponies” sets of Years 4 and 5, and to the playset pony Party Time.
VG/VGC -- Very Good Condition. Refers to ponies who are not quite Near-Mint, but who are in better than Good Condition. These ponies may have some small imperfections, such as slight forelock trims or light symbol rubs, but will still look very nice on display.
WTB -- Wanted to Buy. Used as a header or subject line in message board posts, etc., listing a pony or ponies the poster is looking to buy.
WTS -- Wanted to Sell. Used as a header or subject line in message board posts, etc., listing a pony or ponies the poster is looking to sell.
WTT -- Wanted to Trade. Used as a header or subject line in message board posts, etc., listing a pony or ponies the poster is looking to trade for other ponies, merchandise, art, etc.
WW -- Windy Wing. Windy Wing Ponies, similar to Flutter Ponies, are small and slim, and have butterfly wings. They are almost identical to Summer Wing Ponies.
