Firefly in North America
Firefly was sold three times in the North American
pony release. She was first issued in 1984, as one of the very
first pegasus ponies, and then rereleased in 1985 with the
updated version of the same set. This time she had curly hair.
The third release came several years later, in
around 1991, with a pink VHS re-release of Rescue at Midnight
Castle (now called Firefly's Adventure). This version was sold
in a different pose, with a matte symbol and darker hair.
Perhaps for this reason, Rescue at Midnight Castle and Firefly
have become synonymous.
This release was also sold in North America. It
may have been available in some other places, but not the UK.
Second Edition Firefly
Firefly as depicted on her Year 3 card
The second version of Firefly came with a yellow moon and
stars comb, ribbon and puffy sticker. She was sold with curly
hair.
Firefly in the United Kingdom
Firefly was not sold in the United Kingdom, although she featured
heavily in early pony comics and merchandise over here. A plush
version of Firefly was made available in the UK, despite the lack
of their plastic equivalents.
Firefly in Other Places
Firefly was available in many different countries, often
manufactured in Italy, Spain, France or other locations. A Hong
Kong version with curly hair was sold in Scandinavia, Finland and
Australia in 1986, as part of the Fable set. It is not entirely confirmed
whether there are major variations between the version sold in the
US and this 'Fable' version - but it is clear that the Fable
version had curly hair, like this version, and appears very
similar. Her accessories in this release were the same as in the
Year 3 North American set.
Italian versions of Firefly were also sold in some European
countries, such as Germany.
Italian Firefly mint on Fabelponys card (German issue)
Image from Shivhae
Firefly's Character
Firefly is best known for her starring role in the Rescue at
Midnight Castle special, where she flies over the rainbow and
brings Megan back to ponyland. She is known for her daredevil
flying, a characteristic which was used as the basis for
Generation 4's Rainbow Dash (although in most all other ways
their personalities are quite distinct).
Firefly suffering the consequences of not listening...
(My Little Pony Comic, UK)
In the comics, Firefly was known for her double and triple
backwards loop flying somersaults, which sometimes saved the
day. She was, however, reckless and often careless in dangerous
situations (as seen in the image below). She often got into
trouble because of this carelessness and needed to be rescued.
