What I feel makes ponies so great is the fact that you can put them in virtually any genre. It could be a simple slice of life, a tragic drama, a romantic comedy, a mystery thriller, an action adventure, a story that leans more toward Horror or Sci-fi, or a full blown epic (oh, and clopfics too). You could literally make something out of a novel, movie, or TV show, and it could turn out just as good, if not better. To me, ponies are an alternative equivalent to humans. The big difference is that instead of humans, they're cute, big eyed, colorful talking horses.