I've been bronying since 2011 and I do remember the meteoric rise of pony very fondly, but I think the best time to be in this fandom is right now! It's true that the fandom has become less cohesive as it's grown. That was inevitable. In the early days, it felt more like everyone was moving in the same direction. Now there are factions, but there's also something for everyone, which is great! There's still tons of content being produced, the convention scene is stable and worldwide, and probably of the greatest significance is that pony isn't fringe anymore. It's a thing. We did it! We built a fandom! The most important thing we can do now is keep having fun, keep creating, and keep looking forward to what's next