"Fable" ponies - do we have a definitive list?

[Taffeta]

This is really a question for people in Europe, predominately Scandinavia I imagine.

So I'm wondering about the Fable Ponies - or otherwise known as the set released in Europe with the early unicorn and pegasus ponies in. I'm not certain of who this set comprised in total, and I'd like to get that information right. I believe some have been found on cards that do not depict them.

I believe the following ponies were included in the set:

Yellow Moondancer (was white sold as well?)
Green eyed/glitter symbol Gusty
Powder
Firefly
Surprise (?)

After that I am not quite certain.

Can anyone help??

[pinkkittywinks]

This thread might be helpful, although it is older and a thread you contributed too It is about puffy stickers, but the releases are discussed.

https://mlparena.com/index.php?topic=371938.0

Love pkw xxx

[Taffeta]

Ah! Thank you. I was looking for that thread but I couldn't find it. With the information I have already I have a rough idea, I will go back over the thread and see what else I can discover

[pinkkittywinks]

I am glad I could help, I did wonder if it was that thread you were looking for. There were so other threads on the Fable ponies, but I know that has actual lists in it as well as pictures. I searched "Scandinavia" and checked the MLP Nirvana box I have shortcuts to some threads on my PC as well

I put a little bit of information in the Nirvana Gallery as well under "other releases of interest"

Love pkw xxx

[Taffeta]

I have been plumbing the fable depths and I think I have found all the bits and pieces that I was looking for. There are some great threads on here as well as the one you linked. I did have a look in the gallery too

It's sad we don't have conversations like that here anymore. The Arena is still lovely, but I miss it

Thanks again

[katrine2309]

I know this is an old post, but I have been researching this a lot myself, and especially in Norway. I’ve been tracking childhood collection sales as well as asking fellow Norwegian collectors on childhood ponies. I’ve also kept score on what I’ve found in the wild (and if I’ve only seen it once vs many times).

Not only fable ponies- but most of the early sets. This is what I’ve found so far:

Fable Ponies (1986/1987?) *released in Norway

Powder (paler purple than the US version?): found a childhood Powder at Finn.no and one at a fleamarket
Heartthrob: neighbour had as childhood pony (bought in Norway), also seen in other childhood collections, found at flea market
Surprise: sister had a childhood pony (bought in Norway)
Moondancer (yellow) (found several on Finn.no and in the wild.
Gusty (green eyes, glittery symbol): found several on Finn.no and in the wild
Skyflier- confirmed as a childhood pony!
Firefly (curly)? - unconfirmed in Norway, but confirmed in Sweden. Probably released with this set in Norway too.

Curiosity:
Medley- confirmed in two childhood collections, but short-hair
Firefly- confirmed in two childhood collections, but short-hair

Sparkler- (she is found many times from childhood collections). Which set did she belong to?

These two are a curiosity since there has been a long-standing belief that the first unicorn and Pegasus set was not sold in Norway/Sweden. I have also found one Sunbeam, unconfirmed if bought in Norway or abroad though. I did originally think that the short-haired Firefly and Medley did belong to the Fable set. But they could also be a part of an Uni/Peg release of the first set. I have never seen Glory, but I have seen a white Moondancer. However, they come up so rarely that I’m not really sure if they are just ponies from abroad. Firefly and Medley are the only two I have actual confirmation on being bought in Norway. But they are a little bit of a mystery. I have no confirmation on curly-haired firefly.

It’s been a while since I last checked up on this, but let me know if there is anything specific you are wondering about:)

And I’m only checking for releases in Norway, although Sweden might have had similar releases, especially with this release. But we did have huge differences as well (such as the release of baby ponies). Denmark had even more differences as they are closer to continental Europe.

Edit: Finn.no is a national BST site for all types of goods.

[Taffeta]

Hi Katrine!

Thanks for that, that is helpful Glory and Medley are the biggest question marks for me...and how they might have been sold - if sold in the Fable set/on that card or if sold on another card given I *think* Denmark had different cards for some of the Y3 set...

I know Italian versions of Firefly are sold on that card, I think Leikin said something about Firefly on the card, but I can't remember without double checking.

I'm adding to my revamped site Fables, and some other European releases that the UK didn't have but which were different from the US. So all this is helpful.

And having a Norwegian perspective too because while we talk about Nordic country releases, there clearly are differences as well.

No sign of a white Moondancer in any of this?

[katrine2309]

Hi Katrine!

Thanks for that, that is helpful Glory and Medley are the biggest question marks for me...and how they might have been sold - if sold in the Fable set/on that card or if sold on another card given I *think* Denmark had different cards for some of the Y3 set...

I know Italian versions of Firefly are sold on that card, I think Leikin said something about Firefly on the card, but I can't remember without double checking.

I'm adding to my revamped site Fables, and some other European releases that the UK didn't have but which were different from the US. So all this is helpful.

And having a Norwegian perspective too because while we talk about Nordic country releases, there clearly are differences as well.

No sign of a white Moondancer in any of this?

I did edit my original post a little, as I noticed some issues that I had not updated in my notes. Especially regarding Firefly/Medley. The thing is that I have several confirmed childhood ponies but all of them are short-haired. I’m wondering if the ones I have found is from the first release, although we believed for a long time that the first release of uni/pegs was not released here. Now I’m not so sure…

I’ve never seen Glory. Ever. And I still have no confirmation on anyone having her as a kid. Which I find a little weird if she was released as I would assume she would be a popular choice to buy. More so than Powder, perhaps. But I’ve never seen any trace of her. I have seen white Moondancer in childhood lot sales. But no one could ever really confirm that the pony was bought in Norway. Anyway, if that would be the case I am likely to believe she was sold as a part of the first uni/peg set, and not as a Fable pony. I am convinced that only Yellow Moondancer was sold in that set. And I do see her a lot, actually. Perhaps more so than any other pony from that set.

Medley is also extremely rare. I only seen her twice here, and both times she had short-hair. I remember the discussions on this from back in the day, but even then no one really knew.

On the note of rarity I have never ever seen Skiflier. No rumors about her being released here and I have really searched for her. I see a lot of Sparkler though.

Post Merge: July 03, 2024, 01:58:23 PM

Update!

I just made a post in our local Norwegian group for MLP and got my first confirmation on Skyflier as a childhood pony! I’m thrilled! I’ve been looking for that confirmation for years!

Also, several more confirmations on short-haired Firefly. One more confirmation on short-haired Medley. I can keep you updated if I get any confirmations on Glory or any long, curly-haired Firefly’s or Medley’s. If you want

[Taffeta]

All super-interesting!

I remember seeing a Danish card which was completely different from the Fable card, I have a feeling it was Sparkler on it but maybe I hallucinated. I definitely saw a Seashell as well.

I dug back a little into some of the old discussions and there's definitely confirmation that curly hair Firefly was sold as a Fable in Sweden from a couple of collectors. That of course doesn't mean the same is true in Norway, Hasbro were not even remotely logical with any of this. So I will add a note on my Fable page that straight haired versions of Firefly are more common in Norway, and that Medley is also found there sometimes which may indicate some kind of a release there.

I think Leikin (?) mentioned once that there might have been an import into Sweden with the early rainbow ponies on the US style cards before the actual sets they had there (and you probably had in Norway ?) So I'm wondering whether Norway did similar with the early unicorn/pegasus set. But if you had no Glory, that seems less likely. However the handful of Medleys and white Moondancers means it's not impossible?

Iirc Starflower is particularly difficult to find in Sweden, even though she's on one of the cards. Is that also true in Norway? (I know that's not Fables but in my mind when I'm website editing those two releases go together - the Ponies The UK Never Got sets -.-

[katrine2309]

Straight-haired Firefly is not common to find, but I have 4 confirmations from childhood collections over the years. Three says they bought it in Norway for sure, so I’m fairly sure she was sold here. But I’m more inclined to believe she was a part of an earlier set that had an import release like you say. Maybe some of the first ponies to sell here even, so they might not have been that popular yet( which explains why they pop up so rarely). And I’m thinking it might have been some geographical differences in Norway too. If I do find anything about long/curly Firefly, I’d let you know. I’m thinking if any Firefly’s was released with the Fables it must have been her, also here. I’m fairly certain that the Fable set was the same for Norway and Sweden. The differences are often more on including/excluding whole sets rather than change the set from within. At least when it comes to Norway/Sweden. We had some releases that Sweden didn’t have and vice versa.

The first rainbow set was sold here. I found several, although they are not very common. Except Parasol. She is everywhere for some reason. It might be an import release too, but they are not rare to find. Sometimes they show up as Italians. I’ve also seen Italian Blossoms. That could of course just mean that someone was on vacation in Denmark.

Starflower is a rarity. I’ve seen her once in a childhood lot, but no confirmation on where she was bought.

I would be interested in more info on the Sparklee/Seashell card. I have no set to really put Sparkler in (except Fables). But I have a few confirmations on both Bubbles and Seashell being part of childhood collections. It’s interesting that they might have been sold together.

On a side note, I just got a confirmation on a BBE pony bought in Norway. Baby Shady. I didn’t think we had any BBE, although I have seen the baby that comes with the ballet studio a couple of times. But Baby Shady is a whole other matter. That surprised me a little!

Post Merge: July 04, 2024, 01:39:07 AM

Edit: I have to add, although I’m trying to not rely on my childhood memory as it is not always the best reliable source One of the reasons I’m a little obsessed with the early releases here is that I do remember some of these ponies as a kid. I am certain my neighbors had ponies from these releases. I remember Firefly (short-haired), Moondancer (and I am fairly certain she was white as I am sure I would have noticed if she was yellow. As a kid I noticed things like that.). The thing is, I also remember Glory. But I can’t be 100% sure she was bought in Norway. I don’t remember which neighbor had her. One of them did buy ponies on trips abroad. But I know she was there as I had baby Glory  and I really wanted Glory myself. My poor baby was an orphan, unlucky girl

But I still have no evidence other than my faulty memory, but I thought to include it as it is not entirely true that I have seen no evidence of Glory being here. This is my only evidence though. Not much to go on, really.

[Taffeta]

Childhood memory is better than nothing in some of these cases. For example, I knew for certain I had Braided Beauty in a box, not on a card, because the box was damaged and mum and I disputed whether I should buy it. Mum  also remembers this conversation, although the UK were supposed to have had carded brush & grows. A bit later on, US boxes show up with UK price tags on them.

Sometimes there are things our childhood brains focus on that are actually important and valid information because of some other unrelated event

Hasbro UK thinks MLP began in 1985, although they were selling ponies in the UK from at least 1983. My assumption given how many ff ponies there are here, is that we had the import release. I have literally only ever spoken to one collector who remembers buying Bluebelle this way over here, but we found so many that it must have happened. Argos has the parlour in 1983 right before Christmas. There's a whole TV ad for 1984;s earth pony line. But Hasbro UK's records began in 1985.

It's quite possible that something similar happened across Scandinavia, and that some imports were floated there - maybe end of stock, which definitely happened here a lot through the line - and then proper domestically organised pony releases began around 1985 or 1986. The internet is so used to assuming pony started in x year and that everything mustve been sold from that point, or at the same time in each place, but it's not like that at all and I think there's variations within every country.

I can only reasonably record the broader sweeps for European areas outside the UK based on the help you and other folk from outside have given me. It's taken more than 20 years to really nail down the UK release pattern as much as I have and I still have gaps. So probably we'll never know everything.

I don't own any of the danish carded ponies, but they are pictured on a thread somewhere on this site (maybe one of the previous fable discussions or maybe the one about stickers that Ponyland began some years back). I went through all of those looking for fable information and so I'm sure there was at least one danish carded pony in there somewhere. I am fairly certain about Seashell. I am less sure if I recall correctly over Sparkler.

Denmark did have italian ponies though iirc, so I am not certain if it's an Italian Seashell or not.

The fact Starflower is also a bit obscure for you makes me think the rainbow releases between Norway and Sweden were probably the same.

I am not really sure how we can pin down whether imports happened before that unless someone has US cards with domestic price labels. This problem is also true for FF ponies here. And I still have problems proving how/if CF Minty was sold here :/ If she was, then like with the Medley and such you remember, it was probably a small quantity import because she is very hard to find here compared to all her fellows (all of whom had distinctive UK releases).

[katrine2309]

Yes, I do agree- childhood memories can be useful as a starting point for understanding more And I do remember a lot from those days actually!

I’m more convinced of the import release-theory now than ever, and we might never get the true story. I believe it is likely we had the US set with Cotton candy, Blossom, shy poses AJ and Bowtie, Medley and Firefly straight-haired, Seashell, Bubbles, white MoonD and Glory. Many of the ponies from this set are found in childhood lots although they are not very common. But that could be if they were an import release. We did follow US releases more here than in Sweden. We had for instance the PnC set of baby ponies. Those were some of me and my sisters very first ponies. I remember the box clearly. I had it for a long time until my mother decided to burn it because «I couldn’t collect everything». I cried.

I’ll check out the Danish cards, although I’m not sure if it can explain Sparkler regardless. I don’t think we had any Danish cards sold here. It would seem strange. I do think the Italians here are because of vacation in Denmark. That was very common at the time. I do find Alt. Birthflowers here from time to time too and I think that is for the same reason.

Sparkler is truly a mystery to me, as it is not that uncommon to find her. But if she wasn’t in the Fable release, I don’t know where to put her. So she is the mystery pony that makes me think I don’t have any clue

We do not have Minty here either. I don’t think I’ve seen her at all. I have seen Cotton Candy and Blossom. A Bluebell and Butterscotch. But not often. I’m not convinced that there were any releases of them here at all other than Blossom and CC. If so, we are back at the import releases.

[Taffeta]

Apparently I wasn't hallucinating Sparkler!

The two on Danish cards were Seashell (Italy) and Sparkler (HK). But I forgot there were also white Tootsie and a baby pony. Here is the post from Ponyland...

https://mlparena.com/index.php?topic=371938.msg1451846#msg1451846

Hopefully that works.

[pinkkittywinks]

Now, collector My Little Pony Land on Instagram posted a picture of her Spain marked Lickety Split on a FRENCH card and pale Speedy on a French card. This got me scrolling her profile as the algorithm is not showing me her posts She is based in Sweden and has some of the "Fable" ponies with their cards and MOC (and some have Swedish price tags too)

https://www.instagram.com/my.little.ponyland/

My brain is not braining right now, so I cannot "place" anything, but I wanted to share with you as her profile is well worth a scroll

Love pkw xxx

[katrine2309]

@Taffeta: That is interesting! Thanks for the link! Denmark did it’s own, crazy thing- for sure! I highly doubt these were sold in Norway though. It would seem strange with the Danish cards. We had everything in English back then. Everything.

But I did find something interesting from looking at the Fable backcard. Sparkler IS part of that set. She is one of the characters. So it might seem likely she was sold with that set here as well. Doesn’t it? I know Powder and Yellow Moondancer is seen as an add-on to the set in Sweden, and they were both also sold here in Norway. But I’m thinking it is likely we had Sparkler as well. We did obviously have a kind of «catch-all» mentality up here in the North.

I find it a little funny reading about Scandinavia in terms of Sweden and Denmark, only. There is a few countries missing Ponyland is right, though. What has been called «Scandinavian releases» were mostly based on Sweden. I guess because MLP had a large fandom there. But Scandinavia is more then one (or two!) countries. And we obviously had some different releases. So using the term «Scandinavian» is a little misleading. But I guess habits are hard to break

@pinkkittywinks: Thank you so much for the link! That is just truly amazing, and well worth the scroll. So much ponies! So much merchandise! I have to say; I got a little inspired to look for some ponies and merch, although I have downsized and are not actively collecting anything other than pony history and information It was fin to see all the backcards again. I had forgot about their differences.