1985:

So Soft Ponies

So Soft Ponies. Oh boy yes, there were a lot of them in the first set. I kid you not - for a while the pony line went flocking crazy, and thirty So Soft Ponies in all would be released over a short three years of production. The initial set was always the biggest, comprising fifteen ponies. Some were repeat characters from earlier years, some were brand new and some, such as Shady and Magic Star, would see issue without flocking in other countries but not in North America.

So Soft Ponies and their release in the UK is still unclear. It's fairly certain they weren't part of Hasbro's official line, but some areas seem to have had imports of a few of them during the eighties - maybe end of line from the USA. This was also the basic castlist for My Little Pony, the Movie, and therefore ponies such as Wind Whistler, Gusty, Shady and Magic Star were big favourites with small children the world over.

The So Soft Set also introduced a new pose which would be used for only three ponies in the mainstream line. Two of these - Truly and Magic Star - featured in this set. The third, Skippety Doo, was also a So Soft release but from a later set.

Only Paradise, Ribbon and Lofty would not see mainstream release without flocking in some country or other, though Ribbon and Paradise at least exist as Brazilian variations.