How and when did you become a brony?

[LyraTheMintPony 51]

I joined the fandom around early September 2011, I came across it while looking up Castlevania related things and found a crossover thing last called Ponyvania: Symphony of Nightmare Moon (I believe it had a different name when I found it), which had audio dialogue from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night mixed with scenes from Season 1 of the show. Unfortunately I went to check for it to link it here but it's no longer available. While watching that video I wasn't sure what show it was using the clips from, looked into it and eventually found out what it was, started watching and got hooked!
 

[Olsen1987 133]

well, it was 2 years and 1 month ago.
a new FB friend (which i first met in SWTOR, the MMO) started introducing me to random fanmande pony videos, like Smile HD, Fluffle Puff and the master of pillows, ponies sliding into boxes, best ofs, Derpy nyan nyan dance.
at first i didn't think much about them, but i tried to be open minded and decided to give them a try.
and...i kinda liked them, so i found some other things on my own, and eventually i decided to give the show itself a go and started watching from the beginning, season 1, episode 1.
one week later i was already caught up in season 4 and started looking for merch.
never got the chance to thank this person, for some reason she just vanished in thin air.
it's as if she was removed from FB, because i couldn't find her on my alternate account either, which none know about.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Olsen1987

[Violet_S 785]

I dont remember exactly what was the reason behind it but we went to buy a gift for my sister back in 2010 and it was when Hasbro started selling the show's merchandise so we got her a pony and not long after that the show started showing on Discovery Kids so I started watching it since then ...I've been hooked ever since ^.^ 

[closetbrony132 1]

I became a brony when i first watched some of piemation's mlp content. So i was watching his content dying from laughter when i was like, i wonder what the show is like. So i went and watched it. I was sucked in imediatly and instantly loved the show.

[Tropico 226]

I LOVE to read all yall stories omgg i have reading material FOR MONTHS   yall so cute and your begginings are so cute too. some stories are sad but im glad MLP helped you to dont get extra-depressed at least while you're watching ponies (it helps me too)

 

 

I love how some people started being a brony just because that "brony hate" that was on there and sparked them the curiousity. I started like that too. (but i never made fun or hated bronies. I just was curious)

 

Here my story, but its just a copy&paste from my welcome post

 

I started weirdly at january 2013, there was a boom of brony hate on tumblr and i was like wtf is this. so i was curious about bronies and i watched the recently new documentary "bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony". and i found those bronies SUPER CUTE cause they were so pure liking some ponies, also friendly in those conventions. and some kinda awkward like me.

 

so then instead of watching MLP Episode 1, i though "ponies is too much so lets watch Equestria Girls 1 intead" (i spoiled myself alicorn twilight lmao) and i liked it. then tried watching the show and i felt in love with the two first episodes (the intro is perfect). then the 3rd episode i was like wtf now's singing and felt like quit. but i kept watching and the more i watched the more i loved it.

 

they were currently airing season 4 and i watched them all before season 4 finished, so quickly i was weekly waiting for new episodes. (also when i like some new hobbie im pretty obsessive haha) 

 

 

I started listening MLP music non-stop, fan-made music (I love WoodenToaster), drawing ponies at a pictonary online game, joining a massive multiplayer pony game beta (Legends Of Equestria, its amazing) even if i played alone 

 

 

Nice to see that the mainstream brony hate has lowered btw, i dont tend to see it as often now.

[Dreamcatcher 31]

I had finished watching Pokemon on Netflix and I wanted to watch mlp so I did and then my love when the hard core

[dreamstream 235]

Just in the last few month of 2016 I became a brony. It started off like this: My siblings have control of the TV and so Nick Jr. is on constantly (my youngest sibling is 6). MLP was on the TV one time as I walked by. I mentioned how stupid MLP was and continued on with my day. This routine went on for about two weeks. My baby sister would tell me about the shows and I became curious. So I told myself I'll watch one episode. The next time MLP played I watched, it was a random episode that made a couple references to a past episode. I was confused so I started digging. Now, here I am. I've watched seasons 1, 2, & 3, am working on my MLP stuffies collection, I just bought season 4 & 5, I just bought all the Equestria Girls, and a phone case. I find myself quoting characters! I make my siblings Pinkie Pie Promise. My 18-year-old sister tries to make fun of me, but I shut her down since she is an American Girl Doll collector. All the while, with my arms full of MLP things I kept saying, "I think it's a good show. I like it, but I wouldn't call myself a fan." Then I looked down at my loot and said, "I may have a problem..." Then, I found MLP Forums and figured out what the term Brony was. I found a group of people who understand my love! I am a Brony.

[Tropico 226]

 

 

I make my siblings Pinkie Pie Promise

 

 

aw thats so cute! ♥

also a cute introduction to the MLP fandom♥

[Messy Mane 9,032]

october to november 2016 

[SweetPurrl 38]

I realized today that I am a brony. >.< I was in denial! I let my 21 year old sister be the freak while I silently caved in. I bought her her first season (3rd) and all the stuffies she has so far! I tried to resist, I really did, but when she showed me that there is actually a CAT in mlp, I knew I was doomed. I found myself doodling ponies and actually created one that I was going to use as me. Turns out, I'm a cat! X)

 

In short: Today i became a brony due to feeding my sister's addiction. XD

[dreamstream 235]

Calamity Purrl. I know your weakness. Of course, you would eventually join. I lead, you follow. (For everypony who doesn't understand...Calamity Purrl's my sis.)

:ninja:

 

I realized today that I am a brony. >.< I was in denial! I let my 21 year old sister be the freak while I silently caved in. I bought her her first season (3rd) and all the stuffies she has so far! I tried to resist, I really did, but when she showed me that there is actually a CAT in mlp, I knew I was doomed. I found myself doodling ponies and actually created one that I was going to use as me. Turns out, I'm a cat! X)

 

In short: Today i became a brony due to feeding my sister's addiction. XD

Edited February 16, 2017 by dreamstream

[Duskey 19]

Im not actually sure, I remember when I was 10 or 11 (about 4-5 years ago) I was looking online and I suddenly ran into a picture of rainbow dash and it kinda happened from there and I was obsessed with rainbow dash but I never actually watched any episodes, then I made myself stop since it was a girls show (or so I thought) but then a few years later, November of 2016 or so I was playing a game and in it was a rainbow dash reference which brought my obsession for her back, then I decided to watch an episode that night and thats officially when I became a brony and ive almost finished all 6 seasons xD (I used to be watching 1 season every week but I got busy for a while) but yeah thats my story

[Hierok 11,831]

Well, on my birthday I think.

[Blood Moon 109]

It's a kind of like story for my joining the herd. But the short of it is, I had no idea G4 was even a thing that existed and I never paid much attention to the previous generations, either, so when I started seeing posts and references to the ponies, I had no idea they were from something new. Eventually I saw them so much that I finally popped and asked my girlfriend "Why is there suddenly all of this pony stuff everywhere?" and she told me that "a new show started, or something like that," but I didn't get too much more out of that since she didn't know anything beyond that.

 

Eventually, I saw one of the forums I frequented at the time had a pony board started. And seeing that finally broke me and I searched for the show, eventually trying it (I actually used a number generator to pick a random episode to start with since I was told the pilots weren't that good and watching them in order doesn't matter, and I just happened to start with Party of One. Boy that was a welcome to the show!) and I ended up loving it, so I binged every episode that was up at the time, all of Season 1 and all of Season 2, besides the Canterlot Wedding episodes, which were the first two episodes I watched on the day they were released.

 

I've been a proud pony ever since and have loved every moment of it!

[Barpy 2,225]

Watched one ep, then another, and another aaaaand here we go

[DJ Wolfe 5,335]

It's not a long story, it's the same as what Burpy posted.

[Kaelocan 218]

I know I became a brony in 2013, I do not know for sure which month though. Although, I think I may have joined a little after season 3 ended because I remember having to wait for a "long" time for season 4 to start.

[Lenny 249]

I became a brony after I watched the first episode on Netflix after a depression I had. It changed me, it saved me from suicide twice.

[LunarShadow 397]

I joined in January of 2013. I got into the show out of simple curiosity. I was home alone one night browsing the Internet bored out of my mind. I had vaguely heard about My Little Pony and its following so i figured i would just load up the first episode of season 1 for shits and giggles. I finished the episode and was left intrigued so i moved onto the next one which then compelled me to watch the following one and so forth. I was plowing through each episode amazed at how much i was liking it. Soon i had finished season one and was in love with the show. After that i watched the rest of the episodes that where out and dived head first into the fandom primarily fimfiction and the rest is history. 

[Prospekt 11,018]

Get ready for story time with Prospie. It'll be long. And I may get emotional too because some of the lead up to becoming a fan was really heavy stuff. I promise I'm not including it to seek attention, only because I feel like it's the best way of describing just how much becoming a brony has helped me.

 

 

I suppose my story began about 6 years ago. I remember seeing bronies on the internet for the first time when I was in 8th grade or so. I didn't really think much of it (I didn't see the connection between the word "brony" and the sudden explosion of pony profile pics) until I ended up getting a friend's phone number and her SMS signature said something like "I love my brony." I asked her what that meant and she explained to me just what a brony was and that her boyfriend at another school was one. The whole thing seemed weird to me so I kinda just stayed away from it. Something about males and adults watching a My Little Pony cartoon didn't seem right. When I did acknowledge it, it was the occasional trolling YouTube comment... yes I was once one of those people and I regret it so much Meanwhile as all this was going on, I was going through a really rough phase. Middle school and the first couple of years of high school were the toughest because my depression and anxiety suddenly manifested themselves and made my emotions a living hell. My best friends all started to change from the good-natured, accepting people they once were and completely dumped me. I made a few friends here and there in high school (like the aforementioned one with the brony boyfriend) but I was such a weird outcast loner who was afraid to get too close to people lest I be harshly judged and rejected. So fast forward to May of 2014. I was doing my usual antisocial escapism online when I came across a Good Mythical Morning video that referenced bronies. So I was like hmm, I really should try watching MLP. Just once. Just to see what in the heck made it explode in the nerdy corners of the internet. I didn't expect to enjoy it at all. Typical pessimistic attitude for me at the time. But alas, one day when I was home alone I took a look on The Hub (it wasn't Discovery Family yet). The usual weekday lineup of MLP was on so I thought "OK, here's my chance." Castle Mane-ia was the episode and... I loved it. One episode turned into two, then five, then I finally went ahead and with the power of YouTube and Dailymotion I watched the whole first season in a couple of weeks. I watched Saberspark's amazing two-part brony documentary on YouTube, started to listen to brony music, and also jumped into reading fanfics with My Little Dashie. Something about the joyful, uplifting vibes of the show (not to mention characters like Twilight and Fluttershy who I found very relatable) just hit me really hard and provided some much needed positivity in my life. I guess discovering the show is something I credit for convincing me to finally do something about my debilitating mental illness and I will NEVER regret it. Things began to get much better. I started making close friends and I was in near constant therapy. Over the first couple of years I didn't really didn't socialize with the rest of the fandom, though, outside of the wonderful world of YouTube comments. After my high school graduation I worked up the courage to join forums like this one (didn't really stay active in any others) and I have never looked back. Even met a couple of brony friends after moving away to college and now I guess I can say I'm truly a brony rather than just someone who watches the show when no one is around. My conversion to bronyism is complete

 

 

So yeah, I can't believe it's been 3 years since my fateful first episode of FiM. Wish I could thank Lauren Faust personally for all this, even though she hasn't been involved with the show for a few years now.

[LunarShadow 397]

Get ready for story time with Prospie. It'll be long. And I may get emotional too because some of the lead up to becoming a fan was really heavy stuff. I promise I'm not including it to seek attention, only because I feel like it's the best way of describing just how much becoming a brony has helped me.

 

 

I suppose my story began about 6 years ago. I remember seeing bronies on the internet for the first time when I was in 8th grade or so. I didn't really think much of it (I didn't see the connection between the word "brony" and the sudden explosion of pony profile pics) until I ended up getting a friend's phone number and her SMS signature said something like "I love my brony." I asked her what that meant and she explained to me just what a brony was and that her boyfriend at another school was one. The whole thing seemed weird to me so I kinda just stayed away from it. Something about males and adults watching a My Little Pony cartoon didn't seem right. When I did acknowledge it, it was the occasional trolling YouTube comment... yes I was once one of those people and I regret it so much Meanwhile as all this was going on, I was going through a really rough phase. Middle school and the first couple of years of high school were the toughest because my depression and anxiety suddenly manifested themselves and made my emotions a living hell. My best friends all started to change from the good-natured, accepting people they once were and completely dumped me. I made a few friends here and there in high school (like the aforementioned one with the brony boyfriend) but I was such a weird outcast loner who was afraid to get too close to people lest I be harshly judged and rejected. So fast forward to May of 2014. I was doing my usual antisocial escapism online when I came across a Good Mythical Morning video that referenced bronies. So I was like hmm, I really should try watching MLP. Just once. Just to see what in the heck made it explode in the nerdy corners of the internet. I didn't expect to enjoy it at all. Typical pessimistic attitude for me at the time. But alas, one day when I was home alone I took a look on The Hub (it wasn't Discovery Family yet). The usual weekday lineup of MLP was on so I thought "OK, here's my chance." Castle Mane-ia was the episode and... I loved it. One episode turned into two, then five, then I finally went ahead and with the power of YouTube and Dailymotion I watched the whole first season in a couple of weeks. I watched Saberspark's amazing two-part brony documentary on YouTube, started to listen to brony music, and also jumped into reading fanfics with My Little Dashie. Something about the joyful, uplifting vibes of the show (not to mention characters like Twilight and Fluttershy who I found very relatable) just hit me really hard and provided some much needed positivity in my life. I guess discovering the show is something I credit for convincing me to finally do something about my debilitating mental illness and I will NEVER regret it. Things began to get much better. I started making close friends and I was in near constant therapy. Over the first couple of years I didn't really didn't socialize with the rest of the fandom, though, outside of the wonderful world of YouTube comments. After my high school graduation I worked up the courage to join forums like this one (didn't really stay active in any others) and I have never looked back. Even met a couple of brony friends after moving away to college and now I guess I can say I'm truly a brony rather than just someone who watches the show when no one is around. My conversion to bronyism is complete

 

 

So yeah, I can't believe it's been 3 years since my fateful first episode of FiM. Wish I could thank Lauren Faust personally for all this, even though she hasn't been involved with the show for a few years now.

Your story is almost exactly like mine with a few important personal details that differentiate it. As a whole its fundamentally the same. I left out a lot of details in my post but your post pretty much follows the gist of how it went for me and how it all started. 

[Neo_Shiron 56]

Back in 2011 (around the 14th of February) I saw that one of my old websites started to post more and more mlp pics. I became curious and found out it had been pics for a new show. For some reasons I can't remember, I gave the show a chance...and now I'm a fan for 6 years^^

[djdashie3 128]

When did I become a brony I don't remember

But I do know how it happened I was joking to my brother that guys watch a little girls show and are fans of it but not me because its a girl's show I said but later I watched it to make fun of it but I than liked it I know I was rude but now I'm a brony and understand it.

[StormBlaze 992]

furry forum posted the first few episodes (Bridle Gossip was the new one when I started watching) and did the whole "before you judge, just give it a watch" posting and I really started to enjoy it. Having despised the older gens though ^^; I think Rainbow Dash's tomboy character got my attention, then Nightmare Moon appeared and I really loved her design. So I stuck watching it, but I didn't really become active in the fandom until 2013/14. 

[Brony-mummy 13]

I'm actually not personally a Brony...shocking?!? But wait!! I'm actually the mother of one. A three year old little man called Ethan. While I like the show, I think it displays brilliant morals, its animated well and can easily hold my interest (unlike some cartoons these days) on the other hand my son is obsessed. He takes his toy pony collection to bed EVERY night, meaning that there is little room left for him to actually sleep. I've seen every episode at least 20 times by now.

 

I'm immensely proud of him for this. I whole heartedly support and encourage it!!!