Keen Blade

I like the fact that the trees have pony faces rather than human faces. Little details like that are very satisfying to me.

Well we're clear to 2017, at least, and who knows what lies beyond that. There could be a spin-off, for instance. Besides which, given how successful G4 has been, G5 will more likely than not follow a similar mold, and will attract fans of its own. Between all the various likelihoods, I think we can expect bronies to be around for quite some time to come.

Twilight, definitely. I tend to identify with intellectual characters, and I also relate to the story of gradually discovering the magic of friendship.

I remember meeting a guy in one of my CS classes. It was pretty interesting. I was talking about Cleverbot to some other people and he casually entered the conversation, letting on that he'd, you know, got it playback MLP songs. I laughed, and he named Winter Wrap Up, and I laughed again. It was pretty clear he was testing the water, making sure it was okay to mention his love of the show. All that done, he showed me his Fluttershy perler necklace! There was another guy, never spoke to him much, who always brought a pony folder to one class, would even prop it up so it was really visible. Didn't have it in the next class I was in, though he did still have the Doctor Whooves sticker on his laptop.

A lot of great responses have been made since I posted this topic. Now, I suppose I should make my own. I think I care because I never believed I would ever find a community with such a positive, friendly, welcoming atmosphere. To me, the whole brony thing was counter-cultural, not so much in the "breaking gender norms" way people talk about so much, but in the attitude of sincerity, friendliness, and support people offer. A lot of the world in general is cynical, bitter, angry. The de facto way to talk, to think, to live, is to never feel very strongly, never be open or sincere or enthused, to never let yourself be vulnerable and instead coat yourself in a shell of unattached disregard. Bronies showed me there were a lot of people who wanted much more than that. The show itself is counter-cultural for the same reasons, for depicting a colorful world where many kinds of people are able to get along with one another, support each other, where characters talk openly and plainly about friendship, doing what's right, and about their love for the things that drive them. I think the reason so many people have been drawn to the show is because we want that kind of world in our real lives, a place where we are free to be ourselves and to celebrate others and be celebrated by them for doing so. So I think that's the most important thing to me. Some of us will love ponies forever, some will lose interest, and most will find their interest varies over time, as with most things. I've always known that, and I'm okay with that. Just, whatever happens and wherever everyone goes, I hope that people will hold on to that vision of a better world, to that sense of being free to be yourself, to that sense of community, not because it was something in a show or a fandom, but because it's right in itself; it's the way the real world ought to be.

I put together a little something. It might be a bit unorganized, but... Here is over 2000 pony fan comics I've collected over the years. That's over 2000 files, to be precise. You can find more details in the post I've made over on reddit, but, of course, you want to get straight to the ponies, in which case; http://www.mediafire.com/download/qzvz1scvjlzzzzn/Dang_Big_Pony_Comic_Archive.zip http://www.mediafire.com/download/tukf5bskqxfm2wy/Dang_Big_Pony_Comic_Archive.zip.torrent http://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/28lui3/dang_big_pony_comic_archive_2gb_of_pony_fan/ To be absolutely clear: this is all fan work, no copyrighted material of any kind.

Really? I usually find the EQD comments to be quite positive and friendly. Still haven't visited /mlp/. 4chan scares me...

This thread: "Is it the same anymore?" asks whether the community has changed. And given that I've seen such threads here and there in the fandom, I wanted to ask you: Just what is it you are afraid might change? Why is the idea of it changing a matter of concern to you? What about the fandom makes you care whether it exists or not, whether it is the same as it's been in the past? Why do you feel invested in it?