 The My Little Pony toys have been collected mainly by women who grew up with the toys during the 1980s and 1990s , before Hasbro revived the toy series with its Friendship Is Magic line . Bonnie <unk> , the original creator of the franchise , noted that the toys and show were originally conceived to appeal to preschool children of both genders , and considers it a " good thing " for the adult fandom to have the same appreciation of the show as the collectors . According to Summer Hayes , author of six books about My Little Pony toy collections and organizer of the annual My Little Pony collectors ' fair , some of these collectors appreciated the attention of the brony community . Hayes said that the brony community has participated in the toy fair , and that other collectors resent the sudden popularity of Friendship Is Magic . She said that that these earlier fans and collectors had thought ; " ... what about us ? We 've been here forever , and nobody seemed to care . But now that there are all these guys in their 20s that are crazy about it , it 's suddenly important and it means something . " Hayes also said , " To the bronies , I say , I think My Little Pony is awesome , so more power to you " . 
