How and when did you become a brony?

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

I becmae a brony almost 2 years ago when i learned in a birthday test that i will conquer Equestria with Queen Chrysalis. I loved the character, loved her and created a page for her even before i watched all the episodes and thus Queen Chrysalis made me a brony... TADAAAAA!

[Invincible 2,091]

Became a brony last summer. I didn't pay the show a mind, though i was aware of what bronies and FiM are. A friend i met over skype told me a little about it. One day, while we were talking about hobbies, i told him one of my most favorite video game franchises is Fallout. He sent me a link to a pdf version of Fallout: Equestria. I was skeptical at first, but the first few chapters were written really well, so i thought i'd just use it as something to kill time in my boring part-time job.

 

I started watching the show in about chapter 20 or so... i don't remember. It was because whenever i read something that referenced FiM in any way i couldn't understand it, and it ruined the experience for me. So i just started watching the show leisurely, a few episodes each day (it was before season 4, obviously). Well, at first I tried to bargain with myself that i didn't really like the show and that i was watching it to get a better grasp on the setting as i kept reading... pretty silly, huh?

[Nyvarth 14]

First started in 2012 whn i saw a song by a rapper/comedian rucka rucka ali called "brony style" which was a gangnam style parody. That gabe me a negative outlook on mlp but i got curious about why grown men would watch it. I didnt decide to watch it until a few months ago. It made me feel so upbeat!!! I am a generally angry and depressed person but mlp lifted my mood. I watch it now whenever i have time...

[Lowcone494 0]

this was all last year at the start of my freshman year of highschool. Ok, so lets get this done, I first heard of FiM when I was starting my freshman year. My sister had asked me if I knew what a brony was. Quote,"hey steven, do youknow whats up with highschool guys and my little pony?" I told her that it sounded odd. So in the morning before school, we watched the first episode on netflix. I liked it but kept quiet about it. So later that day, i was at my lunch period and was looking for a good manga to read and a sophmore, now a good friend named richard, noticed I was confused and ahead asked why.(i didnt know him then ). But I decided to tell him. "im wondering whats so cool about this 'my little pony friendship is magic' show. My sister said a bunch of guys and men love itand call themselfs bronies..." He looked at me with this odd grin and laughed. I thougt he was saw me as the weirdest guy in the shool. He unzipped his hoodie and he was wearing a trixie wanted shirt. (he was wearing a wonderbolts hoodie). We sat and talked about it but I was still skeptical. Later tht week I was hooked and watched the whole series in 3 days. I am now a proud brony to this day. :)

Edited July 8, 2014 by Lowcone494

[Monochrome Gray 7]

....I became a brony at the end of last year...I didn't quite understand why it became such a big hub bub then...but I do now ya know? I was technically just following my bro's footsteps when he became brony before I watched......"Snowdrop"...weird ya know? I felt for it....(I really did ya know?) and I then became full-fledged brony after shedding a few tears and showing my brother the video ya know? So really its thanks to my bro....

[Redeye 399]

Around March 2013. It happened when I decided to look into the depths of "joshscorcher".

 

I was a Closet Brony until I spilled the beans to my parents the following November before the Season 4 Premiere.

[honk friend 1,978]

Sometime in July or August 2011 I think. I first heard of the show back in February 2011 I think but I never got down to watching it until much later.

[NotUrAvgBrony 3]

I just started watching the show a friend told me to watch the first two episodes and see what happens......6 hours later I'm still watching..

[IceeBrony 251]

How did I become a brony? that's easy, just by watching the show

When? That question is impossible to answer! Time, like pants or death, is an illusion.

 

[Jeric 46,851]

Hey, no option for 2014?

 

Well, I have been putting this off long enough. It looks like everyone under the sun shares their 'Heroes Journey to Equestria' at some point, so I shall too.

 

Before I begin with tales of images, future family members, and manipulative kids I'll give you some background. If it is pop culture nerdy or geeky chances are I like it. Anime, comics, gaming, Disney, sci-fi, you name it. I grew up in the 80's under the banner of Start Wars and Transformers. Even though I became an adult with a wife and family, I never lost my affinity of those nostalgic objects of my memory.

 

Ponies In My Pants!

 

Flash forward to late 2010. I was a member of what is called Nerdfighteria. Basically fans of the vlogbrothers on You Tube. That was one of my earliest memories of the Pony Armageddon. In their YouTube channel comments, and on their message board (which we nicknamed 'my pants') I started seeing images, memes, and avatars of the new show My Little Pony. There was a topic created to discuss the show, and it was here that I got my first crash course in what MLP was and that the fans were called Bronies. My first impressions were basically neutral. I did learn a lot. A few of the regulars there admitted to liking the show. I was curious about Faust's involvement since I put Fosters Home in my top ten list. Still, I didn't make more than a mental note to try the show at some point in the future. I'm not an early adopter to TV shows, due to the 'Jeric Curse' but that is another story. In the intervening months, the Ponies multiplied relentlessly and spread to my Twitter and Facebook. At the time I thought it was an explosion, but in reality it wasn't. The explosion was a few years away.

 

 

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

 

A few months later I got to finally meet my kid sister's boyfriend, Kyle, at a large annoying family gathering called 'Jeric's Birthday'. I was introduced to the guy and we talked about a few small talk things. I noticed he was a retro Gremlins tee and we started discussing nostalgia and pop culture. At some point in the day I was talking to my sister and the topic of Kyle came up. Turns out he was a fan of MLP, collected merch, and I still don't know why, but my sister wanted my take on it. I told her my general thoughts, but didn't go into detail on the show. I don't recall exactly how, but as conversations tend to do in a social environment it grew, became multiple conversations, and I found myself talking to Kyle about My Little Pony. It was a short and somewhat clumsy conversation, but he said it was a show that had to be watched in order to fully understand what the deal was. I said that I'll have to check it out. He was a good guy. I gave him and my sister three months tops though.

 

They were married in 2013. 'Love Is In Bloom' was the song they danced to at their wedding. I'm fucking serious.

 

 

You Always Remember Your First Time ...

 

A few weeks later I finally decided to bite the bullet and I cracked open the laptop and found a few full episodes and started to watch. I guess it's important to mention that I saw this as an exercise in inevitability. I fully expected to be drawn into this show. I figured that in two hours I would be rushing out to the tattoo parlor and getting an ass tat. Well, not really. I did expect to be a Brony before the end of my first viewing. Too many people I respected online liked the show. 

 

I saw the first 'pilot' two parter. I thought, "Ok ... this isn't bad. Cute, good voice acting, I like the flash animation, and I can ignore the logic issues". I started the next episode. It was one about the main characters wanting to tear each other down for tickets to a dance or something. During this episode, my decision to not watch the show with headphones attracted my two daughters. To this day their reaction was the only mildly embarrassing moment I have experienced with MLP. I'll let your imagination fill in the blanks with what they said. Just add giggles and you get the picture. Instead of walking away though, they say down on opposite sides of me and we finished the ticket episde, and watched several more. I remember that there was one with bugs that multiplied out of control, one with a Zebra who was being unfairly judged, and finally one where the blue one got scared of competing ... and I got to see this

 

 

 

That was when I officially lost interest. That moment. This is the origin of my "No Ponies With Lipstick" rants. To be honest this was not a good episode. I still don't like it, except for a few of the moments that have become synonymous with Rainbow Dash. I handed the laptop to the kids to finish the episode.

 

My verdict: 'I don't get it'.

My kid's verdict: '... want ... more ... ponies'

 

 

 

Once You Let Them Into Your Home  ...

 

Yep, the show didn't captivate me, and Rarity actually made me stop watching. I read that last line and I don't know if I was crazy then or if I'm crazy now. Maybe both. Either way, I opened Pandora's box and no manner of effort could close it. In the next few years Ponies would be purchased as toys, DVD's, and stuffed animals. They didn't grow out of it, and my sister danced to a song that had the lyrics about Ponies. My wife and I joked that I'm in Pony Purgatory and that sooner or later it will get me. I doubted it. My kids would watch the show when it was on and as the fandom grew so did they. They grew older and had more freedom online. They cultivated many videos about the show. I would see the occasional article and news report, but didn't pay much attention outside of Facebook comments and what I would glean from Kyle on rare instances we talked about the show. I was not a fan of the show ... but the fans were OK in my book. Then this happened ...

 

 

Still Room For More ... 

 

So, one day earlier this year I was laying like a lazy ass on my couch writing an outline to a possible novel idea I had. It's really early in the morning on Sunday and my kids ask me if they could put on MLP. I said sure. What they put on was Equestria Girls. I don't know why ... but I closed my laptop and started watching. I won't go into what I thought about the show but I will say this: From the moment I saw Twilight with wings I started to become the person I hate watching movies with -- I became 'Mr. Why'. Why does Twilight have wings? Who is that pink Pony next to Celestia? Was that a Transformers sound effect? Why did you just call that guy Brad? Why are you name dropping every friggen character who shows up for five seconds? Why in heaven's left man nipple did Sunset Shimmer not get sent to prison? My kids refused to answer any questions and simply told me I need to give the show a second chance. I told them I gave it a fair shot. They disagreed and then asked if they could pick a few specific episodes for me. I reluctantly agreed. 

 

The episodes included

 

 

Party of One

Winter Wrap-Up

Cutie Mark Chronicles

Suited for Success

Best Night Ever

Return of Harmony 1 & 2

Luna Eclipsed

Sleepless in Ponyville

Canterlot Wedding 1 & 2

 

I watched them ... and in steadily faster succession. I didn't realize it at the time ... but I didn't stand a chance in hell. A week later I'm humming Art of the Dress at work and telling my wife that the kids are grounded (jokingly).

 

Then I did a You Tube search.

 

 

Then I did a Google search for Brony Forums

 

 

And in a few months I'm on vacation freaking spam posting Ponies in a poll thread trying to get one Pony to walk away champion. My Best Pony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE IRONY DOES NOT ESCAPE ME.

[NekoDashie 0]

On Oct. 31. Mainly because of a friend who showed me who Vinyl is, and Discord..Then I saw the episode "The Return of Harmony" and I was so interested on Discord ..Mostly Discord. 

Edited July 19, 2014 by NekoDashie

[Philosopher Pone 108]

I remember I watched MLP first time in March/April 2013. I was wondering, what is about those ponies flooding internet (memes, avatars, YT clips). In the beginning I was sceptical (like most of bronies in the beginning, I think), I thought that MLP fandom is some sort of another stupid internet joke or meme. But finally I decided that I can't judge the show that I've never seen, so I should watch few episode to make my own opinion.  I also wanted to figure out, why so many teenagers and adults like MLP so much (and if this show is really as bad, as haters say). So I watched first few episodes and... I don't know why, but I really enjoyed it. It was a bit strange feeling, that I like watching "show for little girls" but it passed, when about a month later I started visiting MLP sites. That allowed me to discover, how great the fandom and its artworks can be, then I started identifying myself as a brony. At the end of August I registered on MLP forum.

[RavenholmZombie 1,330]

Before becoming a Brony, I had seen some videos and fan made things on YouTube which sparked my interest for the show and community. I had a few Brony friends at the time who really wanted me to watch the show and voice an opinion on it. So, one day, I locked myself in my room (yes, I have a lock on my bedroom door... go figure ) and watched Season 3 and EQG. After the binge, I realized that I was hooked on the show. So on Christmas Day 2013, I told my Brony friends that I was officially a Brony via a Facebook group we were chatting in. They were extremely happy.

Edited July 25, 2014 by SomeMaineBrony

[Due Diligence 26]

A long weekend and nothing to watch on Netflix pretty much did it for me. At first it was a novelty to kill some time, then I realized watching a positive show like this helped me unwind after a long day of getting yelled at by customers. Pretty soon I was making a pony folder on deviantArt and figured I should stop fighting it.

[skbl17 199]

I actually remember the exact date I became part of the herd, even if I didn't know it at that point: Tuesday, August 2, 2011.

 

In the months before that date, I was lost. I loved the internet, but something was happening that I wasn't cool with: ponies. Specifically, tiny multicolored ponies. They were plastered all over the sites I usually frequent, and I wasn't very happy about it. Soon, the media was writing stories about the new craze that was My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, some positive, some negative. It was getting tougher and tougher to surf the internet without having to worry about MLP stuff popping up. Finally, I decided to sit down and watch the first episode to see what all of this ruckus was about.

 

It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon when I pulled up a chair, grabbed my tablet, and proceeded to open the YouTube app to watch "Friendship is Magic: Part 1". The first episode was largely uninteresting, but I did notice the lack of in your face girliness that usually appears in shows like this. Up until the end of episode 1, however, I wasn't convinced that this show had many qualities that could earn my respect and continued viewership. Of course, the first episode was a two-parter, and the appearance of Nightmare Moon at the end of the first part convinced me to, at the very least, see the "Friendship is Magic" two-parter to its conclusion.

 

Part 2 got me interested in the show. At this point, though, I wasn't hooked. It was after about a dozen or so episodes of season one that I grew to love the show. After I finished watching season one (it took three days or so), I discovered some aspects of the greater community: EQD, the various deviantART groups, and FIMFiction. As I waited for season 2 and began reading some good, high-quality fanfics, it struck me: 

 

I was now a brony!

 

Of course, I couldn't tell anyone, so to this day, I don't tell people about my appreciation for the show and the greater community unless they like the show too. Also, I'm not too involved with the MLP community either; sure, I participate on this site, watch the show and the Equestria Girls movies, and make fanart & OC's (of course, they aren't online yet), but that's the extent of my participation in the community.

 

Here's to many more seasons of FiM....and Derpy  ! 

[That Special Brony 24]

27/7/14 lol VERY recently, I am HOOKED

[aurabullet10 5]

I became a brony when a friend of mine, zen, introduced me to the card game. It was around April of 2014 so I'm still a colt when it comes down to it. Looking to make my very own OC soon and my very own cutie mark. I'm excited to diver further into the brony society and make new friends. :3

Edited July 30, 2014 by aurabullet10

[Shafer.Devin 5]

Not sure when I became a Brony 100%, but I know it was around two years ago in the late summer. So probably around August of 2012.

[Slimebro 1]

I'll be honest, I'm a really new brony, just became one this May, but I saw the memes since 2011. Between May 2nd and 6th 2014, I saw enough to make me go "what's with all these pony pictures"? So I looked into it, and saw it was the 4th generation of the my little pony franchise, and also learned about bronies. I was starting to wonder why everyone loved the show, so I went on the hub and decided to watch any episode I could bump into. The only one I got to see was Inspiration Manifestation. I agreed it was better than most things on TV, but still didn't see why it was so praised, so I decided to watch the show in chronological order on the internet. I fell in love . But the thing that really got me to say I was a brony was the fandom. I never seen such a nice (most of the time) and dedicated group of people. The best part; I was right in time to watch the original airing of the season 4 finale .   

Edited July 30, 2014 by Slimebro

[deprime 65]

I became a brony a year after the release, and how i became a brony is a very interesting story...

Me(talking to my brother)- do you got anything to watch on your computer?

 

Brother - yeah *then he started playing mlp season two episode two*

 

Me - I like it.

 

The End

[A Canadian Fritter 187]

I saw the documentary "bronys: the extremely unexpected fans of my little pony" and decided that the dudes on it didn't look as bad as the stereotypes on the Internet. I secretly watched a few episodes on Netflix after everyone was asleep and instantly became a brony

[lordwisconsin 14]

become a brony a week before season 2 

[Live Forever 316]

My first experience was... the Creepypasta Wiki. I was browsing for some cheesy horror fanfics to riff (I used to riff - go figure I'm a cheesy writer myself) and found a story dubbed "Cupcakes." I clicked on it and saw that it was a My Little Pony creepypasta. I groaned like any guy who was forced to watch G3 with his cousin a few years back, but I went on reading because it seemed like perfect riffing material. I finished the riff, had a couple of laughs with my anti-brony friend (before I found out he was an anti-brony), and decided to riff something else. The tab was still open, so I looked at the suggestions. One of them was Sweet Apple Massacre.

 

Thanks to the bronies, I never riffed again.

 

But I couldn't get my mind off of Cupcakes, how it paralleled the atmosphere of what I thought to be My Little Pony. What was wrong with whoever wrote it? What girl would take something as innocent as a little girl's cartoon and turn it into Saw?

It wasn't a girl though. It was a grown man by the name of Sergeant Sprinkles. It was so obvious. Of course a man would make fun of a cartoon. It was normal. But something about that name...

 

I researched more about Cupcakes and the show surrounding it. That was when I discovered the bronies.

And the memories came flooding back.

 

The month before, I was going through a Youtube Poop phase. Some of these YTPs had ponies in them. They had come from the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. This had been my first experience with MLP.

 

----

 

It wasn't but a week later that I came across Themysteriousmrenter. I checked out his videos. He was a brony. This made me angry, but I watched his videos anyway. One of them made fun of A Charming Birthday, one of two G3 specials I was forced to watch with my cousin. He talked about how he was a brony, and that he had set himself up for it. I decided that if I wanted to continue watching, I would need some reference.

And from that moment on, I was never the same again.

[Power_Chord 5]

I had a friend at school who watched the show, and as freshman year progressed, he kept talking to me about the show. After growing more curious about it, I decided to give it a try on the beginning of April 2013. Watched Wonderbolts Academy, then Too Many Pinkie Pies......next thing you know, I ordered my Rainbow Dash keychain and fell in love with the show.

[-:Fluttershy:- 90]

Joined a few months ago. Only recently grown out of the 'target demographic'...

 

I may have already posted here, but oh well.

 

Bin weevils. It's an social game for kids.

Okay, so me and my friend were dorking around - all nostalgic and such, we WERE playing it ironically[!] - when we see RD in an area. We click on her for teh lulz (technical language!) and my friend watches the episode on the page it takes us too; but I turn it down since it's 'girly poop'.

Next day, he comes into school and tells me he liked it. So I try it.

 

Sadly, my friend is no longer a brony... But I'm still standing strong! Half way through season 2 (heh, it rhymes) now!

Hey, no option for 2014?

 

 

I was thinking the same thing, I joined Jan 2014 myself.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Neighsayer