Two Years

[Erlenmeyer]

Woah. Its been 2 years since the first episode aired and started this huge thing that we are in now. This fandom. I know that it didn't start right away, but that day is when it all began. The show would trigger one of the greatest fandoms I've ever seen. So lets see how these two years have been. I'm going to recount my own brony story and my thoughts about how the fandom in retrospect and what I think is in store for the future.

I'm not going to do the whole, "Where were you when it first aired," thing, since I don't remember that day at all. It was probably just a normal day with normal things happening. I didn't know who Lauren Faust, Tara Strong, Andrea Libman, or any of the cast was. I hadn't watched anything they had done in months or years. I wasn't aware that My Little Pony was being resurrected. As a matter of fact, I didn't care for MLP at all, like most of us before we became bronies. I thought of them as girlish bad cartoons and weird looking toys that didn't look anything remotely like a horse. Several months later, I saw this video sitting in my subscription box on youtube:

At first I avoided it, thinking Molly was just making a girly episode to cater to Rocketboom's female fanbase. A couple days later, out of pure boredom, I decided to watch it. Of course my first thoughts were, "Adults and teens... watching My Little Pony... and liking it?! What the hell?" I dismissed bronies as people who are just weird or like the show as ironic hipsters. I forgot about it for a couple weeks. Then pony began to slowly seep into every aspect of the Internet. At first I didn't notice it. A couple pony related videos would show up when I searched youtube for something to watch. I ignored it. Then I saw it. A little link up at the top bar of the memebase site labeled, "My Little Brony." I was obviously surprised. I rewatched the Bronies video rocketboom made to jog my memory of what a brony was. Then I thought to myself, "How did they get a page on Memebase!? I thought it was a small, localized group of people on 4chan!" I thought one of the bronies or a prankster from 4chan had hacked memebase and put this atrocity on it. I immediately investigated it. I then went to see if this brony thing was a meme. I went to Know Your Meme and saw right on the home page, My Little Pony: Frienship is Magic. I was thoroughly confused. I clicked the link, thinking that it was probably a meme because it was a parody or some Happy Tree Friends thing. But no, it was legitimately, ultimately, and simply My Little Pony. As I read, I began to have a small understanding about how huge this fandom was. After I read the entire article, I saw the first couple episodes embedded into the page. I was extremely hesitant to watch it, scared of becoming one of those weird dudes who're obsessed with little pony dolls. But I just had to see what all the fuss was about! I looked around to see if no one was there, closed the door to my room, locked it, turned out the lights and I very, very reluctantly clicked the link to the first episode.

The first episode was pretty okay. I don't want to, but let's finish this with the second part, then I can end this... Wow, that was much better than expected. I like the purple one, whats her face... Twilight. Yeah. She's a nerd like me. Well let's see what happens next, then I'll have a gist about what this whole thing was about... I gotta admit, I like that episode. The slapstick was great. Geez. I hope I don't end up huddled in a corner brushing a doll creepily. Well, I guess another episode won't hurt.

I had watched half the season. I went to sleep soon after both amazed at how good the show was and flabbergasted that i was watching a show for little girls. I finished the season a week or two later. When my sisters turn on the TV on saturday mornings to Winx Club and other girly shows, I usually got mad and demanded for a channel change or I went in my room, put my earphones in and surfed the web. I realized I watched 28 episodes of one of those girly shows and loved it. I began to delve into the fandom. I saw the art and listened to the music. I was amazed at the videos uploaded to youtube, especially this guy's:

I didn't get into fan fiction because I thought they were just the fantasies of overly obsessive fanboys and fangirls, ridden with gary/mary stus. Also I had heard of the fic that shall not be named *cough*Cupcakes*cough* and was scared of reading it and others like it (I still haven't to this day). I began to learned that there were many people who were bronies and were normal guys like me. Some of them were even cooler than me. I then realized that I had made the transition. I was a brony. I did the whole phases of becoming a brony from denial to acceptance (with a nervous breakdown in between, but that's another story ). When I finally accepted it, I embraced it.

(Imma rush this last part cus I'm kind of tired and posting this at 3 in the morning. Got class tomorrow )

Personally I didn't think this would last. During the early weeks upon becoming a brony I started to think that maybe the show won't be so popular. I thought I was one of the few bronies ever. I didn't see the extent of this fandom nor how much it would grow in the coming months. I told myself that this was just a weird phase, fad thing that will die off in the next couple weeks. It was probably going to be because people become bored or that the show would be canceled, as many good shows are. The show wasn't cancelled, of course. Even more than that, they noticed us. The huge company behind the show noticed us bronies. I thought it to be very unlikely that it would happen and if it did, they'd pass us off as freaks, the outlier. But they began to embrace us. Derpy would show up in almost every episode as a nod of approval. The references began to be more relatable to us. Yet the show maintained its charm and its target audience as a children's show. I was amazed. The speed and quality content the fandom churned out was unfathomable. Fan art, mere minutes after a new episode airs. New animation and songs in an hour or two. Reviews, discussion, and analysis a day or two after. Its simply awesome. I can't put into words how much I love this show and how much I love this fandom. I haven't been so involved in any hobby in my entire life since reading science stuffs (which I do a ton of).

So what do you think? What's the future of this fandom and the show? How did you come to know MLP and what are your thoughts and perspectives. I expect to see a wall of text for every post!

[abc]

Ok I'm gonna admit I was VERY skeptical about watching the show when i first heard about it. One of my friends on the total miner forums was a brony he said I should watch it I was very skeched out about it but I swallowed my pride, I said yes

I had no idea what I have just done because my change to a brony completely changed my aspect of life and how I look at it.I was kinda depressed at this point of my life, trying to figure my life out I thought all hope was lost, then a sparkling light appeared; my little pony.

I watched the show and loved it, I even forgot I was watching a tv show for little girls at one point, I could not stop watching, every time I turned off netflix all was going through my mind was my little pony, the songs, the characters and all the references, I was hooked.

The show made me think differently I used to be a homophobe but not anymore, I completely took the messege of love and tolerence and put it into every situation I was placed in, my friends were confused, they knew I was acting very different some still don't know that I'm a brony I don't trust my casual school friends with this, they will drop me as a friend.

I never did go through the five stages of brony-ness I went straight to the acceptance stage, I was a brony and I loved it.

Now enough about me, now onto the show, I believe the show will only become better and we will have more hardships in the the future but we will prevail, we are loving we are tolerent, we.are.bronies.

anywho the season 3 premiere is very close and is my #1 priority I am clearing my schedule so I can watch it when it comes out on youtube I'm lucky I just recently became a brony so I dident have to wait as long but its still been a long wait.

I am very thankful to where I am now, if it wasn't for the fandom I prob wouldent be a brony, so I would like to thank EVERYPONY the musicians the artists the writers and just run-of-the-mill ponies like me, you guys are awesome I love all of you like family

/)

An I'm getting my first piece of merch on Friday /)^3^(\

[PIJIN]

I don't think there's any method to becoming a Brony, you either like it, or you hate it. If you hate it you'll soon be converted. Simple process.

My Brony story is very boring...I've always been a brony, even before we were known as such. I love MLP from G1-G3 and now G4. I had just as much of an obsission with it, but I never drew fan art of them because they were always so awkward to draw and rather wonky. xD

I've always followed Lauren Faust's work, Power Puff Girls, Foster's (Fauster's) Home, anything she had a hand in I watched, and as soon as FiM hit the Hub, I was on it as soon as the pilot aired. Fast forward a few years and now I'm here.

just run-of-the-mill ponies like me, you guys are awesome I love all of you like family

/)

No run of the mill, ponies here or anywhere! Where all special in our own way. Talented or not.

Proceed to brohoof: (\