Moondancer (Classic)

Caden Dickinson
Apr 28
4 min read

Updated: Jul 24

CHARACTER(S): Moondancer

YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1984, 1985 (Hoof says 1983)

(The hoof being marked 1983 implies that the pose she is in was copyrighted before the ponies in the pose were released)

PLACE OF PRODUCTION: Hong Kong

MANUFACTURING COMPANY: Hasbro

TYPICAL PRICE ONLINE: $15 - $25 USD

She is considered common for a G1 pony; Not difficult to find
Finding her with a fully in tact cutie mark can be challenging, though

OTHER COMMENTS/INFO:

Released in early 1984 (Year 2) and early 1985 (Year 3)
- The 1983 release came with a blue brush & blue ribbon; The 1984 release came with a purple comb and blue ribbon
- The box and backcard are the same for both releases
- She also had a stint as a Mail Order Pony, but I'm unsure when this happened
Part of the G1 Unicorn series
- One of the first unicorns released - She, Sunbeam, Glory and Twilight were the first G1 unicorns, released in the original Unicorn set in 1984
- She had a second release, wherein she was re-released alongside the second wave of Unicorns, which consisted of Powder, Skyflier, and Sparkler
- (Glory also got a re-release in Year 3, but Sunbeam and Twilight did not)
Glittery cutie mark
Moondancer appears in the first G1 MLP TV Special, Rescue at Midnight Castle
Very unique shade of red in her hair - it was not re-used for any other ponies, and is a very iconic aspect of her appearance. The closest pony to matching her hair color was the Dutch-exclusive pony Snoepjes
She has a lot of Nirvanas!

Character: Moondancer is depicted in G1 media as adventurous and a bit mischievous. Her unicorn power is creating light with her horn.

In G4 she is an asocial and grumpy academic-type.

Her US back card writes: Moondancer was sleeping peacefully. Awakening with a start, she found Twilight beside her. "Cotton Candy is missing!" said Twilight. "Have you seen her?" "Cotton Candy should go on a diet," yawned Moondancer. "She ate my favorite bluegrass and my prettiest wild flowers. I put her in hibernation until winter!" Twilight was stunned. "Free her from the spell, Moondancer. Her friends are worried!" "Is it winter already?" teased Moondancer. But she freed Cotton Candy from the spell and even called the West Wind to give her a ride home.

USA Release (Standard Release)

Image sources:

My Little Wiki
eBay - Pop Life Toys and Collectables
eBay - chri-624921
eBay - KarenStuff
eBay - jmussel
Worthpoint
Worthpoint
Worthpoint
Worthpoint
Worthpoint

Yellow Moondancer

(Made in Hong Kong; Sold in Northern Europe & South Africa)

Usually, Moondancer has white fur. But an alternate version of her with yellow fur, but still with the standard copyright info, also exists.
- She is referred to by fans as being yellow, but has a very off-white tone to her, rather than a normal yellow...
- This yellow-y fur color was used for the G4 redesign on Moondancer
At first I was under the impression from MLP sites that she was the standard release in Europe - Distributed in the UK and other European countries that did not have their own Nirvana releases
- This doesn't make a ton of sense, since there seems to be an unrealistically low number of yellow Moondancers in proportion to white ones for this claim to make sense - I've also seen her sell for very high prices, which would make sense for a pony far rarer than a UK-based pony variant - For example, Hopscotch may be rarer than a US pony, but she wouldn't typically go for anything above $50, yet I've seen yellow Moondancer sell in the $70 to $100
- After some searching, the My Little Pony Scrapbook, which is actually run from the UK, gives a much more believable story, though!
According to them, she was sold in some parts of Northern Europe (specifically, Scandinavia and Norse countries) and in South Africa...
- She was sold with a backcard stylized like those of ponies sold in the UK, but she was never sold in the UK herself.
- They say that Moondancer was never given any UK release at all. They point out that this is despite her appearing in other merch in the UK and in the UK comics. I have heard similar claims about Sunbeam and Twilight from other sites.
- Vetten's Collection supports the Scandinavia claim as well!
The MLP Scrapbook also notes that yellow Moondancer seems to have paler red in her hair, slightly darker purple, and darker colored eyes
The Italian Moondancer Nirvana is also yellow, but her cutie mark does not have glitter. When I say "yellow Moondancer", I'm not counting her! She's Italian Moondancer!

Image Sources:

Mail Order

Unsure which year she was sold as mail order. It appears all the ponies from the first wave of the Unicorn Series and Pegasus Series were sold as MOP in this period

Image Sources:

eBay - Stenbros-Toys & Collectibles

In My Collection!

I got her off Mercari for $17 ($24 with shipping) in a two-pony lot with Baby Moondancer! I wanted yellow-furred Moondancer, but that seemed impossible, so I gave up on that mission... I still love my Moondancer, of course! :) One thing I had to search for was a Moondancer with a cutie mark in good condition - Most listings she had her cutie mark nearly gone! She arrived at my house and joined my collection February 25th, 2025! I made her a dress out of fabric scraps, inspired by her dress in the Glory & Moondancer porcelain figure!