Teddi (Aka Cuddles in North America)
Teddi was one of the six Magic Message ponies sold in 1988. She
was one of four earth pony characters in this new set, with a
heat sensitive symbol and a stripe of colour in her hair.
Although she was illustrated with straight hair in a lot of
promotional material, the pony was always sold with curls. Her
teddy bear's red belly hid a flower on one side and a heart on
the other.
Teddi's Name
UK card, 1988
Teddi was given her own name in the UK. It was
spelt officially with the i, and not a y, as you can see from
the picture above. This was probably a good thing, as the US
name Cuddles was a repeated name and would go on to be
repeated yet more through the line.
One of the problems we have for this set is that, while
backcards survive, Mint on Card examples of this set from the UK
are not often found. Without pictures of Mint on Card ponies,
it's impossible to know whether the accessories sold with these
ponies was the same in the UK as in the North American release.
I've included the American accessories on the page, but be aware
variation is possible. In the case of Teddi, she was one of the
only (if not the only) adult pony to be sold with a teddybear
brush, usually reserved for the baby ponies.
The Magic Message Ponies were introduced in a booklet given out
free with the My Little Pony comic. This demonstrated that keeping
the 'magic' a secret was a long way from Hasbro's mind. The
booklets - which could be coloured in - featured the ponies, their
names, a short description, and their hidden symbol secrets! These
could be revealed from rubbing the small boxes to each side, but
they were written in anyway, giving the secret away. Oh well.
Never mind.
Teddi's Booklet Intro
My Little Pony Comic, 1988 (UK)
Teddi's character
Teddi was, as her name suggests, the queen of
teddy bears. Her most memorable adventure involved little
coloured bears made of soap, though you could almost guarantee
any story involving teddy bears around this time would involve
her in some way or other. She did have a magical gift
involving teddy bears also - her UK backcard story mentions
her mending a sad little teddy bear and magically making a
button appear to add to his jacket. This skill is also echoed
in her very first comic story, when she meets
Tracks and
helps
Baby
Cuddles by mending her teddy bear.
Teddi and Tracks meet
UK Comic, 1988
