Love and Tolerate. Yes, Even the Haters.

Let's talk about My Little Pony. (Why? Because fuck you, that's why.)
I've recently noticed a surge of interest in Bronies. For those of you (that I guess live under a rock) who aren't aware, Bronies are fans of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The main demographic of fans are, believe it or not, heterosexual males between the ages of 16 and 30. Don't get me wrong, this show WAS intended for small children, primarily little girls, but things don't always go as intended in life, do they? It is because of this unconventional fanbase that news organizations have taken it upon themselves to have a nice, long, judgmental laugh at our expense.

While Bronies themselves have been around for a little while now, it seems as though only recently has the media started to give a shit. Unfortunately, most articles I read that pertain to the subculture are thinly veiled in a context of biases, false assumptions and harsh judgment. I'd like to take a moment here to clear the air.

I myself am a Brony (I don't like the term Pegasister, I prefer more universal and inclusive titles to those that separate by gender). Like most, I was skeptical at first and thought of the whole "movement" as nothing more than just a passing fad. I initially stumbled across this whole... thing... when I was lurking 4chan (I'm very predictable) and I noticed people posting thread after thread filled with nothing but colorful, girly-looking ponies. I thought, "Oh, here's another troll fad. At least this is better than when people just went around posting monorails." However, unlike monorails, these pony threads simply wouldn't. go. away. So I decided to see what all the fuss was about and watch a few episodes.

And a few more.

Ok, and maybe one or two more, but that's IT.

Before I knew it, I'd watched all 26 episodes and sat there thinking to myself, "... So when's the next season start?" Two years later, I now have myself an ever-growing collection of pony figurines and I couldn't give any less of a buck what anyone has to say about it.

Like any Brony will tell you, the show is surprisingly well-written and animated. The colors flow beautifully, the dialogue isn't cheesy and predictable, and the characters are all relatable. There's action (well, as much as you can expect from a kids' show), drama and of course... LESSONS. I mean, what kind of animated show would it be if you didn't learn anything at the end? Hell, even Spongebob can teach you something every now and again.

So what exactly makes this show so unique? Why are grown men and women flocking to this like moths to an adorable flame? I'll tell you why: Because it's good. It really is that simple. There's no mind-control, no deep, dark secret, nothing. My Little Pony just happens to be one of the most entertaining, funny, and engaging shows developed in a long, long time. It's got everything you could ever want in a show and more. Yet instead of actually giving it an honest try, people just laugh at us for watching something that was intended for little girls. Yeah, and?

The best part about being a Brony is not giving a shit about what anyone else thinks about our show. Do you know why? Because the only people who give us crap are the ones who haven't actually given it a chance. I know we can come off as cult-like sometimes with how crazy the fanbase has become (I mean, we have our own convention already) but we won't MAKE you do anything you don't want to. Yes, we'll try to get you to watch an episode or two, but whether or not you will (and if you do, whether or not you LIKE it) is entirely up to you. Out of 6 people I've recommended the show to, 4 became fans. The other 2? Well, you win some, you lose some. If it's not their thing then there's really not much more we can do.

What bothers me is how everyone is so quick to write us off as a bunch of nutters without really taking a moment to see what's actually going on. How many other things exist in this world that can make this many people happy? How many trends, followings or fandoms transcend age, race, gender, religion and sexuality simultaneously? We do what we do because we want to and it makes us happy, regardless of how old we are or what we're sporting between our legs.

Yes, My Little Pony was created with children in mind... but that doesn't mean they're the only ones that can benefit from it. We may be adults, we may think we don't need lessons about life, love and friendship like children do... but we're wrong. My Little Pony reminds us of the important shit we forgot along the way because we were too busy focusing on growing up. Many of us tend to forget the lessons we're taught as children because everyone tells us that we need to concentrate on being responsible, hard-working adults. As important as that may be, we tend to leave other, equally important aspects of life behind... like what it means to be kind to others or to ask for help when we truly need it.

We aren't trying to recruit people for a massive pony army, I promise. Personally, I just want people to enjoy something so great as much as I do. It's made me happy and I'd like my friends to be happy as well. We don't hold any resentment for non-Bronies; after all, our motto is to Love and Tolerate. So while judgmental douchebags like Fox news may take pleasure in taking jabs at us, I'd just like to take a second to remind everyone that Bronies are doing absolutely nothing wrong... and trust me when I say that we're here to stay.