Imagine a cold and boring time in February. Last lectures, learning for exams… you stumble over a few pictures on the internet. Pictures of something, or should I say someone, you‘ve seen before. A pink cartoon pony. And then you think to yourself „Hey, I‘ve read it‘s good, so… why don‘t give it a shot?“ It‘s a Thursday. And three days later, you‘ve watched all sixty four episodes that have been released until that day.

February 10th 2013. The day I became a brony.

…

Gosh! What an odd introduction…

But you all remember that time, don‘t you? The time you watched one, or a couple of episodes and you just thought to yourself - you felt - that you like it. When something so cheerful begins to brighten up your day a bit more. I won‘t say that it‘s still all the same. Things changed. The magic of the first encounter, the magic of the new, is gone and I mostly prefer to blame the writers for things I don‘t like instead of trying to give in-universe explanations. But it‘s still something that makes me spend a lot of my free time on it. Episodes, fan fiction, fan art… and of course, the forums.

Everything that happened… At first I didn’t have a favorite character. Then I started to read fan fiction… At first I fell for AJ. Strong, down to earth… Now you know what kind of women I like. But then I came across another thing: Shipping. And there it was: My OTP, the OTP; but that’s what everyone says about their OTP, right? Sparity. And then I understood. It wasn’t just the dynamic between these two, no, it was especially Spike who I liked. The relatable, the sarcastic, yet caring voice of reason and mature child at heart, no matter what his actual age is. Yes, there he was, another character to be added to the list of my favorite characters of all time. Placed right between Patrick Jane, Harry Callahan and Kaworu Nagisa.

And the things that were added; Equestria Girls and additional fan service like the comics. The long wait for season four and all the speculations during the summer. And me joining the forums. The people I met here then. Some left, others are mostly online when I’m not, but most of you are still here. And even though I admit that I have severe problems when it comes to social interaction - and my psychological and sociological knowledge is making it even more difficult - I have to say: Thank you.

Thank you all for being there. Because without you I’d have no one who talks about the ponies except for myself.