Year of the horse G1 character discussion thread; Ember

[Firehooves]

Whelp, 2014 is the year of the horse, and so I've decided to try something new; each week, I'll post up a new thread to talk about one of the MLP G1 characters in-depth, and it could be any aspect of the character- toy finds, show appearances, book appearences, childhood memories, etc. And for this week, I thought the Pony I'd choose would be the little filly that was the first baby pony ever seen in the Franchise; Ember.

Originally a mail-away exclusive in 1983-84, Ember's original toy came in pink, lavender, and blue. But most notable about the toy was that not only was she the first baby pony, but also the first 'blank flank' with no symbol, something that would become a large plot element in the fourth generation. A later version of the toy came with the cassette tape story, 'Ember's Dream'.

Story-wise, The character's only animated appearence was 'Rescue at Midnight Castle', where she appeared to be cared for by Twilight, and was kidnapped along with several of the other ponies by Scorpan. Tirac deemed her too small to be used to pull his chariot of midnight, and she was spared the fate of becoming a dragon like her friends did. All were later rescued by Megan and the other ponies.

Perhaps more interesting, was the casette story dedicated to the character, 'Ember's Dream'. Here, the little filly displays clairvoyancy powers when a dream warns her that a Perty Queen Majesty is holding for her friends the rainbow ponies is actually a trap, and she tries to warn the Rainbows not to go. The adults of course do not listen to the baby pony's premonition, and a human man who had come from new york city (how he got to ponyland is never revealed) shaved the poor mare's manes, and left them without the hair that made them colorful and magical. It is only though the magic of the Mysterious Angel Pony, who appears on the night of the magical pink moon, and Ember's deep love for them, that thier rainbow manes are allowed  to grow back. (Personally, I like to think Majesty was tricked along with the rest of them, but that's another story.)

Anyway, for any collector or MLP fan who likes this little pony, share your thoughts, comments, or whatever on her toy or media appearences here. ^^ This is my first attempt at something like this, so I'll post this up, and let's just see how it goes! ^^

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Oh how fun!  I love this idea!

As a child, I wasn't that interested in having baby ponies besides Clipper and Lucky.  Maybe it was because she didn't have a symbol?  Never knew about the cassette tape until I was older.

Currently, I still don't have a ton of interest in her, but I do have a blue one.  I think she's kind of cute in blue and matches Lucky (who I got for my 5th birthday at last) but I'm not HUGELY attached to her... I could sell her or trade her if the opportunity arose...

And don't forget to answer this yourself, Firehooves! 

[spottedslug]

Well, I have a daughter named Ember, so...........

[brighteyes]

This is such a great idea! 

I didn't have Ember growing up, but I had a friend who did.  We pretended that her lack of a symbol was actually an amazing power in that she could have many different talents instead of just one. 

[hathorcat]

I love Ember I have all her toy releases and was very lucky to her her store version MOC thanks to the lovely Ren Ren

[Diamond]

Well, I have a daughter named Ember, so...........

That you do and a lovely young lady she is. 

[Majesty]

I think it would have been great to see Ember in more than Midnight Castle.  Like, maybe she earns a symbol when she's older.  I mean, Twilight said she would be her own special little pony and I think it would have been great to see that more in depth.

[LordBlumiere]

This idea is lovely!
Ember is very special and very cute. I hope to own all four of her someday!

[Firehooves]

Good responses everyone! ^^ And aww, I think it's sweet you named her that, spottedslug!

Well, my first exposure to the character Ember was in the 'midnight castle' special. I think it's rather odd she doesn't have a symbol- and I guess it's fuel for the G4 idea of earning your 'cutie mark', and all that. I was also intrigued by her ability to see the future in her dreams, as I think it gives the character a lot of potential.

[brightberry]

I LOVED her as a child.  I had both the lavender and blue (and still do).  I always took Twilight saying that she would be her own special pony as meaning Ember would eventually get a mark and possibly grow wings or a horn.   She was the first and only baby pony at the time after all.

[Ponyfan]

I think it would have been great to see Ember in more than Midnight Castle.  Like, maybe she earns a symbol when she's older.  I mean, Twilight said she would be her own special little pony and I think it would have been great to see that more in depth.

I agree with Majesty. In fact I brought up the same point about Baby Ember in the Pony Last to post thread.

I really like Baby Ember without the symbol (purple with pink hair.) 

I've only read/heard parts of Ember's Dream but I always thought the man that came for the Rainbow ponies hair forced Majesty in to inviting them to the party.


Ponyfan

[prancingstag]

Ember's original toy came in pink, lavender, and pink.

Hey kids, do you want the pink one, the pink one, or the pink one?

I'm too young to have grown up with G1s but Ember is definitely my favourite baby pony. She's the original and the best IMO. I like the way she comes in different colours, I think it allows for more imaginative play and also leads into the idea of her having infinite potential. I also love the way that the pink version has lavender hair, and the lavender version has pink hair. Ponies with same coloured hair and bodies are kind of boring to look at, the offset shades really look great with her.

The blue version kind of annoys me, I would like to own her but haven't bought one yet because every one I see is a slightly different colour, and I have no idea which shade is original or the most minty. Some bodies even look greenish in photographs! Darn you, fading and discolouring.

I also consider baby Blue Ribbon to be an Ember and companion to Blue, in the same way that Dream is a companion to Lavender.

[Sarah-Bee]

My hubby, Joe, bought me all three MO Embers in one go as a 'just because' present a few years ago

[Einhornbaby]

I never knew about Ember when I was a kid. Well, how should I, she wasnt released in Germany at all. I cant remember seeing the movie as a child either. When I started collecting ponies as an adult it didnt last long until I came across her. I didnt like her much, maybe because of her having no symbol, but when I got the storytape later I fell in love with her <3

[MJNSEIFER]

I think it would have been great to see Ember in more than Midnight Castle.  Like, maybe she earns a symbol when she's older.  I mean, Twilight said she would be her own special little pony and I think it would have been great to see that more in depth.

That's basically what I thought when I rewatched rewatching Midnight Castle.  I didn't realize at the time that most of the early G1 episodes changed the line up of ponies per episode, and was under the impression they were setting up a future episode staring Ember - there was far too much emphasis on Ember questioning her purpose for it to just be dropped.  I was shocked they never followed up on it...