1992:

ROMANCE PONIES

The Romance Ponies were one of two full sets of UK/European ponies sold this year. Like the Cookery Ponies, the set comprised of four earth ponies and, also like the Cookery Ponies, there were many errors in preproduction advertising material and influenced the way they were illustrated in the My Little Pony Comic.

ROMANCE PONIES looking very little like their store-sold counterparts
(UK insert, 1992)

The above image is taken from the 1991-2 insert, which is full of interesting prototype images. This set are probably the worst offenders in this regard. Love-in-a-Mist is shown in a totally different pose (which many collectors actually say they would have preferred), and her hair is curly and looks a pinker shade (though that might be the photograph). Love Letter and Love Story have reversed hair colours, and Love Token is the only one who looks pretty much as she was sold in stores (although for a long time there was a rumour that she had pale pink hair! She actually doesn't. My sister had hers from brand new, and the pony always had white hair.)

They were promoted through a competition in the My Little Pony comic, in which Hasbro played again on the emotional blackmail theme by calling them "lonely" Romance Ponies looking for a new home! They also went on sale in 1992, and retailed for about £5.99 each. They were all sold with a long handled comb (by far the best pony comb for hair styling bar none!) and ribbons. All four ponies had the word 'love' somewhere in their name. Pretty unsurprising, really...