Bronydom

Over the past two weeks, I have discovered the fascinating phenomenon that is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I had seen people on forums have pony avatars before, but I never really knew it was such a large community until I stumbled upon a thread explaining it. My first reaction was utter confusion. How could such an empty, irrelevant franchise like My Little Pony create such a large following of grown males? My skepticism came not solely from the "girly" nature of the subject material, but from the history of MLP. From what I could tell, they were literally pony "Barbies", emphasizing beauty, rainbows, and everything else one might expect from gender-targeted childhood delusion. There was no way anything from that franchise could produce anything that is seriously enjoyable (and not just for the irony).

Seeing how the fans of the show seemed to be quite numerous and vocal about their obsession, I simply had to see what all the commotion was about. So one day, I decided to look up the episodes on Youtube to check it out. My initial reaction was pleasant surprise. After watching four or five episodes, I saw that the show definitely was not bad. It had some witty and zany humor that appealed to me, and all of the ponies presented had strangely human characteristics. Not to mention the flashy, colorful animation, which was quite easy on the eyes. I decided to call it a day after those few episodes, not because I wanted to stop, but because I had to wake up for class the next morning, and it was well past 3 A.M.

The next day I continued where I left off. My positive reaction to the show from the day before began to grow, and I began to think, just why do I enjoy this so much? I've enjoyed cartoons in the past (I'm 20, by the way), but I still didn't understand why this one seemed to stand out. Yet with each passing "letter to Celestia", I noticed my heart grow warmer and warmer. Despite being a kids' show, despite being My Little Pony, this cartoon had managed to work its way into my emotions and touch them in such a significant way.

Now that I was sure that I sincerely liked the show, I decided to check out the rest of the "brony" community, since I had already plowed through every episode. As I experienced each PMV, parody, remix, and comic I could find, the warmth in my heart that the show itself had created began to grow even more. Here on the internet, the enormous cesspool of anonymous heartlessness, was a community of caring, talented, friendly individuals. Furthermore, these devoted fans always made sure that there was plenty of pony-related content to experience, using their talents to create pieces of art, video, and music for their fellow fans to enjoy. These bronies, ranging from teenagers to grown adults, male to female, had created their own culture, and at the crux of it was this: love and tolerance.

In a time of my life where I was beginning to lose hope in myself and humanity in general, this discovery could not have been more perfectly timed. People that I had called close friends seem to be drifting away, all at once. Each betrayal and disappointment made it harder to go on, until I reached a point where I truly felt alone. It seemed like there was no one in the world that could accept me or like me, and solitude appeared to be my only destiny. Then, along the time of my evolution to bronydom, I realized that I have no destiny. Whatever transpires in my future, will be the result of my choices, and through discovering MLP and the brony community, I chose to believe in the possibility of friendship. Here was proof that loving, accepting individuals did exist, even if they didn't seem to be physically around me. I may have disappointing experiences in friendship and relationships, but I will still wait. It may seem far off, and it may take both patience and initiative, but I will find closeness again. So I say this free from exaggeration or melodrama: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has changed my life for the better.