What is the name of the first My Little Pony animated television special?

The first My Little Pony animated television special is Rescue at Midnight Castle.

Released in 1984, Rescue at Midnight Castle was a 22-minute animated special based on Hasbro’s My Little Pony toy line. It follows Firefly and other ponies as they seek help from Megan to rescue their friends from Tirac, a centaur-like villain who uses the Rainbow of Darkness. The special served as a pilot for a proposed television series.

The title can cause confusion because the production was originally released simply as My Little Pony. It was later retitled Rescue at Midnight Castle and also circulated under names including Escape from Midnight Castle and My Little Pony in Dreamland. The stored answer is the best-known modern title for the special.

It predates My Little Pony: The Movie, which was a theatrical feature released in 1986. The special also helped establish ideas and characters that influenced later My Little Pony productions. In Friendship Is Magic, the older villain Tirac was reimagined as Tirek, a major antagonist in the fourth-season finale.