Moonstone in the United Kingdom
Moonstone was sold in the United Kingdom from the end of 1984,
although her set was officially part of 1985, and appeared on the
1985 UK insert. The set had been released in North America in
early 1984, and there are no major variations in pony or accessory
between these releases. The card style was distinctive in the UK,
being vertical rather than horizontal.
Moonstone Mint on UK Card
(Thanks to StraightDealsToys for the image)
There can be minor variations in batch with ponies from this set,
including slightly different plastic shades on the body, magenta
shades in the hair, and whether or not the glitter on the symbol
is underwritten with a printed marking (rather than just being
glitter).
Moonstone in Other Places
Moonstone was also part of several European releases, where she
was often found made in Italy or France, sometimes with
alternate colouring or pose. She was also rereleased in the 1985
set in North America, and was available through subsequent
horseshoe point mail in offers up to around 1986.
"Mondschein"
Additional to the above mentioned releases is a version of
Moonstone with painted, rather than glittery symbols. She was
sold in Germany and other German speaking countries in 1987. Her
release name here was Mondschein, which means Moonstone
in German.
The Scandinavian/Australian/South African Rainbow Moonstone
Moonstone appears to have been sold in at least one of the Rainbow Pony
releases in Scandinavia (at least, Sweden and Norway) and
probably also Australia. This release happened around 1986-7. It
is not clear whether this Moonstone had any distinguishing
features to separate her from previous releases, but it is most
likely that she was produced alongside the Mail Order rainbow
re-releases in North America.
Moonstone's Character
When I was a kid, one of my childhood friends had Moonstone.
Because she had red eyes, we invented all kinds of spooky, ghost
related powers for Moonstone that made her a distinctly creepy
figure in our custom pony lore.
The real Moonstone, however, was far less dramatic! Although
she had no backcard story in the UK, her later Fact File entry
talked about her being able to teleport from place to place (a
power shared by Glory)
and described her as being particularly beautiful. She also had
an interest in sparkling stones - although this is a trait more
commonly associated to the later released pony Sparkler.
These characteristics are not included in Moonstone's American
backcard story, which includes her hunting for rainbows and
getting excited at her own reflection in the waterfall pool.
