1990:

TROPICAL PONIES

Tropical Ponies.

As their name suggests, these cute little girls were the brightest of neon colours, featuring tricoloured hair and striking eyeshadow to fit their pseudo-hawaiian theme.

There were only four characters in the set - one unicorn, one pegasus, and two earth ponies. All four were sold worldwide.

BUT, somewhere between the North American release and the one here in the UK, there was a major renaming strategy put into place.

In the United States, the ponies are named as follows:
Yellow earth: Tootie Tails
Orange pegasus: Sea Breeze
Purple unicorn: Hula Hula
Reddish pink earth: Pina Colada.

But in the UK, they were named as follows:
Yellow earth: Summer Heatwave
Orange Pegasus: Surfing Days
Purple unicorn: Sail Away
Reddish pink earth: Hula Hula.

I'm trying to make this as clear as I possibly can (though I realise it is as clear as mud and totally mental), so it's clear that I have the names the right way around on the site. My sister had Hula Hula (the EARTH Pony) new as a child, and she features frequently in the comics under this name.

In my opinion the symbol of the palm trees does better fit the name Hula Hula than it does the unicorn (for whom the sailboat symbol fits Sail Away).

Just in case anyone is still in any doubt...

On this site, the earth pony is Hula Hula. No complaints please!