2013 from an old friend. I’ll codename her “Cam”. I haven’t spoken to her in years. She always mentioned MLP on her Facebook. One day we were on the phone and she asked if I was a fan. “But Cam!” I say, “Isin’t MLP for girls?” (In retrospect I truly apologize for saying that, I was younger and more stupid.)
It was then I learned what a brony and pegasister was, that a ton of guys were watching and reading MLP, the fandom, the show, the comics (She loved the comics more than the show).
Curious, I did a Google search. “Huh” I said, “I like the art design a lot”.
Now, my cable plan back then didn’t have The Hub. The first time I watched MLP was a video file download on some site I don’t think even exists anymore. It was all of Season 1 crammed into a single video file possibly ripped with a TV Tuner. I distinctly remember the file having commercials.
I watched all of Season 1 that night and was hooked. Later on I ended up buying the DVD’s on Amazon.
Note: Because it’s been so long some details might be inaccurate.