1987: Princess Ponies and Attendants
PRINCESS AMETHYST
Lavender unicorn pony with aqua mane and tail (aqua tinsel), jewelled gold flower medallion symbol.
When I was small, I always hated Princess Amethyst. Something of a shame, really, considering that she was the February birthstone - but of the Princesses, she was undoubtedly the most annoying. I suppose she always meant well, but she would help out even when help wasn't needed. Generally, since she was naturally clumsy and had a penchant for bad luck, this meant that things went disasterously wrong. I remember one story where she accidentally transferred some flowers from where they were guarding something important to another point in Ponyland - inciting the wrath of some despicable creature. She basically spent her life putting her hoof in it - big time.
Her dragon attendant, Spiny, was ironically named. He was something a spineLESS creature, clumsy and often dragged into Amethyst's games. But then you had to feel some sympathy for him, based on the fact he was stuck with the world's most crazy mistress.
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 HUGSTER the BUSHWOOLIE (N. American release attendant) |
SPINY the DRAGON In North America, Princess Amethyst was called Princess Sparkle (although in the Quest for the Princess Ponies episode she is referred to as 'Lilac', which may well have been a pre-production name for her. We will probably never know.) She was sold with Hugster, the Aqua bushwoolie. Her other accessories also were different.
PRINCESS AMETHYST'S STICKER
It's worth making a note here that, in Amethyst's case, there is no clear-cut answer as to what her Damsel Hat should be. Mine is pictured with the pink and aqua hat because that is the hat she wears on all of the promotional material, and there is some evidence to suggest she was sold here with this hat. However, there is also overwhelming evidence to indicate that Amethyst was sold extensively in the United Kingdom with the purple and gold hat meant for Princess Sapphire. Why this should be noone but Hasbro production know - maybe they ran out of the pink hat early in production. But, whatever the reason, it is equally correct to display Princess Amethyst with the Sapphire hat as it is the pink one - and this hat is more commonly found on the second hand market.
(My sincere thanks go to Lady Guinevere for her exhaustive research on the subject of Amethyst's hat!)
Princess ponies were also sold in Italy (and other places) with dragon attendants. Italy in 1987 had very distinctively unique packaging for many of the releases, even those made in China or Hong Kong:
Thank you to the collector who donated me this image. I ahve lost your contact information so if this is your pony please let me know so I can credit your accordingly!
