Lauren Faust was a huge fan of My Little Pony during her childhood, creating her own adventures with the pony toys. When she set out to design the My Little Pony lineup for the “G4” generation, she initially sought to redesign six specific ponies she had loved as a child; however, because the rights to those specific names had lapsed, she could not use them. Instead, she altered their names and colors, creating the six ponies that serve as the basis for the current cast.
Please let me know if I am mistaken, and I will make corrections.
Please forgive the length of this text.