Welcome fellow MLP Forum members. Today I informed my friends on deviantART that I am a Brony and I wanted to give them a nice example of what makes MLP:FiM so fascinating. What follows is my entire DA journal entry including a foreword which challenges some of the misconceived notions still surrounding our favorite cartoon. Enjoy!

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FOREWORD: The rumors are true. Switchpoint is a Brony. But that comes as no surprise to anybody who has been paying attention to my recent favorites. Now some of you may wonder what the attraction is, thinking My Little Pony is just a shallow, insipid cartoon for little girls. If you haven't heard, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a drastic departure from anything that has come before it. The depth of the characters is enormous and some of them deal with dark and heartbreaking issues. Due to the TV Y rating, some of these themes aren't obvious and it requires older viewers to pay close attention. But they are definitely there.

Do you think I'm bluffing? Do you think I'm reading too much into a cartoon that is aimed at thumb sucking toddlers? Then I dare you to read on. You may just think twice. This is an article I wrote for an MLP Forum thread entitled "5 things you love about your favorite pony."

"All right. Since you really wanna know..." here are five things I love about Fluttershy!

1. Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness. This is obvious, but we have to start here. Although she's painfully shy, her demeanor is very endearing to those who take the time to know her. Patience often goes hand in hand with kindness, and Fluttershy is also one of the most patient ponies you'll ever meet. Some of Fluttershy's detractors may complain that she is too placating, a person who acts super nice and polite because they are afraid of criticism, ridicule, and rejection from others. And, to be sure, Fluttershy does fear all those things. They are why she went inside a protective shell in the first place. But if I carefully weigh Fluttershy's words and deeds throughout the series, I see that it's a kind heart beating inside her chest, not a cowardly one.

2. Fluttershy has a great love of and devotion to animals. Her kindness and patience carry her a long way here, enabling her to manage many types of creatures, each with unique needs. Unlike ponies or other sapient beings, animals don't judge, laugh at, or insult anybody. That's why Fluttershy is truly happy, outgoing, and free when she is with them.

3. When the rubber meets the road, Fluttershy is as brave as anypony else. This is the first of her two great ironies. I believe she has a brave soul, but a neurotic complex prevents it from shining through. Due to her anxieties and phobias, she can be impeded and, on occasion, paralyzed by fear of looming threats. But sometimes it falls on Fluttershy to act because her friends cannot. In that case, she acts bravely and decisively. The most striking example of this is seen in Dragonshy. And when Rainbow Dash needed her help in Hurricane Fluttershy, she courageously refused to submit to her inner demons. Without this intestinal fortitude, she couldn't be one of the Elements of Harmony in the first place.

4. Fluttershy is beautiful and adorably cute. Do I really have to explain this one? I can mention her successful run as a model, her squees, and her interactions with critters. It shouldn't be legal for a mare to be so lovable! If she can't make you go “d'awwww”, you have ice water in your veins.

5. Kindness is Fluttershy's wonderful long-term response to the cruelty she endured as a child. This is her other great irony and it's also the most heartwarming part of her tale. This is a classic "from out of tragedy comes triumph" story. As far as we know, Fluttershy didn't suffer from material poverty or severe physical assaults. But the bully inflicted psychological trauma was as real as multiple kicks to the gut. You might feel I'm speculating too much to assume this was the cause of Fluttershy's problems. But I think Hurricane Fluttershy strongly implies this to be the case. We hear so much about the kids who grow up in hardship, misery, and fear. Many bullied children fall between the cracks and become troubled themselves. What we don't hear about as often and take for granted are the hard knock kids who surmount those obstacles. Despite long odds, these unsung heroes go on to achieve in school and in life. They refuse to let bad things dictate a life of crime or unhappiness. The inner strength required to do this is substantial and it's another positive trait Fluttershy has. It also needs to be said that the support of her one true friend, Rainbow Dash, was instrumental in helping her pull through.

With her history of being mistreated by her peers, it would've been very easy for Fluttershy to embrace resentment and hatred. Nonetheless, she had a choice. She chose a different path and the doorway to that path was opened the day she fell out of the sky. The cartoon's unique perspective of her fall down from Cloudsdale can even be said to symbolize Fluttershy leaving the torment of the past behind and never looking back. A new life on the ground was a fresh start for her. She knew what it's like to be teased and hurt and so she practices the Golden Rule in her dealings with others. We don't know exactly what happened between The Cutie Mark Chronicles and the now except that Fluttershy grew up and became a professional animal caretaker. But all signs point to life being markedly better for her since leaving Cloudsdale.

Although the original wounds have healed, the scars remain. Sometimes present day events can rip them open again. In extreme cases, this old pain may manifest itself as hysterical crying, white-hot rage, or toxic meanness. Also, Fluttershy's shyness is so deeply rooted that, despite temporarily beating it a few times, she'll probably have to struggle with it for the rest of her life. But I'm glad she no longer has to go it alone because she now has five great friends she can lean on as she continues her journey.

Link to my DA homepage is here: http://switchpoint.deviantart.com/