The Thurston Herd (The story of a Highschool brony club and meet-up group)

[Selfie Snapshots 253]

I have been on this forum for about a month and I think I should bring into light a story from my past that has a big influence on my life and a whole highschool.

The year was 2013, I was new to the whole brony fandom...lol
I was a total closet brony...with that I barley talked to anybody..I kept to myself and didn't have any thought of how this fandom would forever change my life in this year and the next.

As my Senior year of Highschool started I had just entered my final year of highschool with a broken heart and only like two friends...but I knew this year was going to be diffrent. See at this point in my life the fact I loved ponies was a total secret...I was afraid if anybody found out I would be shunned by everyone...that all changed after I met two guys in my class who noticed I was listening to pony music. They approched me and started talking to me telling me they were bronies as well. Oh Celestia I felt amazing I finally had two new friends that were bronies. Every day we would meet up at lunch and talk about ponies, then I brought up the idea of...hey why don't we go to a con? XD After I made that idea, we spent the whole week on my laptop at school reasearching prices for hotel,travel,and the cons around us. We ended up choosing Everfree Northwest. As we planned we faced a problem tho.....there were only 3 of us...and we were just highschoolers with no jobs..or money...so we almost gave up. Then...an amazing idea popped up in my head, "Lets make a club!" I shouted to my two friends. Then so it was our quest started to find and unite the bronies of our highschool, and also find a teacher who would sponser a club like this.

A month passed, as we rounded up 13 other bronies giving us a total of 16 members to sign to make this club offical, we only needed one more thing the teacher. Thankfully one teacher he was new..became our savior as we asked him to help us make this into a club he automaticly jumped on board :3.

Everything was set in place, the members, the Teacher, and a good meaning so the school board would say yes. That meaning was friendship and how friendships and working together can get stuff done.

Then of January of 2014 came The Thurston Herd was an offical club :3 and I was their founder/president.

This was our logo.

As the first months of our club passed we already started rasing money for our con, doing clean-up jobs or taking in cans and doing can drives. Everything was beautiful.

As my school's Anti-Bullying week started, sadly also the case of Michael Morones had sprung up and was known throughout the community. The School staff had no plans for an Anti-Bullying week so they gave that duty to My club and I. You see in my 4 years of highschool I never had to face being bullied I mean some comments were said to me because I was Asian...but nothing too bad just that I knew Kung-Fu and stuff...anyways so this caused me not to really know what to do.

As I read about the Michael Morones story I soon got the idea of we should put out a good message to stop bullying and also raise money for anti-bullying organizations.

We soon had the ability to post a bunch of posters around my school that went against bullying (and yes they had ponies.

( I should add that My school's mascot actually was...a colt...XD so having ponies around the school was acutaly pretty normal...it was just this time it was My little ponies. XD)



This is one of he posters we put around the school. and how we raised money.

We ended up rasing about $120

On the final day of the Anti-bullying week I had the sole duty as leader to give a speech in front of the whole school...a 30 min speech...on anti-bullying.
(I should add here...that I hated speaking in front of large crowds....and this was a whole highschool staff and all 700 students...)

I went up there bit the bullet and gave an amazing speech about how I was a brony and what a brony was and what our club stood for and went on against bullying.

After I was done..I was expecting to get either boo's or hate for liking ponies...but instead I got cheers from everyone as I ended my speech teaching my whole school how to Bro-hoof XD

After that day I became my school's pony king, and our club was the most popular on campus. XD

But I mean not everyone agreeded with the Herd or how we saw things...and I did get negative comments and hate from some people. I would never argue or yell back I would just smile.

Then I graduated with the title of Princess under my belt...(and yes I am a guy...) XDD

I had left my legacy at that highschool in one year

I mean in one year I became a whole diffrent person. So this is why Ponies have effected my life forever.

As the summer after highschool came, I went up north...to Everfree Northwest 2014 me, my two first brony friends and my Herd as we walked into our first con, I smiled as feeling of acomplishment filled my heart.

The con taught me a lot about being a brony, It also helped me find my special talent in our community, and that is getting selfies. I was given the name Selfie Pony by other bronies as I took 200 selfies at the con x333 <3.

I will remember that con forever.

Epiloge:
Sadly, after I left the Thurston Herd....the president that took my place after I left Ressigned after a month and the new leader kinda..drove my legacy into the ground. Today, The Thurston Herd is sadly dead....but our message will always be a part of that highschool.

And in my old club's ashes we ended up making something new, I am now the President of a new meet-up group named The Iron Herd, and we are the only Meet-up group in my town. We already plan on going to Everfree again, and go on many adventures.

So that is my story, I hope yall enjoyed
I just felt my story should be brought into light.

Also Thank you for reading my long story.

[joecal97 340]

Awesome story, I wish I could do that, but alas, I'm the only one of my kind in my year, and only 1 of about 5 in my whole school, so sadly, no club for us

Keep on ponying!

[Selfie Snapshots 253]

Awesome story, I wish I could do that, but alas, I'm the only one of my kind in my year, and only 1 of about 5 in my whole school, so sadly, no club for us

Keep on ponying!

Aha it matter not what size it is, as long as you befriend these other 4 and all hang out and be friends. Anypony can make their own Herd, it may not be school supported but all you really need is eachother and friendships X333

 

anyways good luck my friend

Friendship is always there.

[joecal97 340]

Aha it matter not what size it is, as long as you befriend these other 4 and all hang out and be friends. Anypony can make their own Herd, it may not be school supported but all you really need is eachother and friendships X333

 

anyways good luck my friend

Friendship is always there.

Oh we hang out and stuff, but we'd never get an official club set up for 5 of 700+ students, but nevermind.

Besides, who needs school backing when we have ponies XD

[Selfie Snapshots 253]

Oh we hang out and stuff, but we'd never get an official club set up for 5 of 700+ students, but nevermind.

Besides, who needs school backing when we have ponies XD

True that my friend :3

I am glad to see many more Herds.

 

You know...I just noticed...I forgot to mention..the Iron Herds main goal.

 

that goal is to make our own con.. XDD

 

where the theme is to bring your Herd

and on your badge you can display your Herd name.

sigh one day <3 lol

[joecal97 340]

True that my friend :3

I am glad to see many more Herds.

 

You know...I just noticed...I forgot to mention..the Iron Herds main goal.

 

that goal is to make our own con.. XDD

 

where the theme is to bring your Herd

and on your badge you can display your Herd name.

sigh one day <3 lol

That's I want to see, a true from the ground up pony con, by a fan, for fans

I wish you all the best with that!

By the way, your avatar is epic XD

[Selfie Snapshots 253]

That's I want to see, a true from the ground up pony con, by a fan, for fans

I wish you all the best with that!

By the way, your avatar is epic XD

Oh thank you x3

This is my OC Selfie Snapshot aka The Selfie Pony

 

She was created by my artist after I told her the story of how I found my special talent XD

at the con

[Confucius 194]

Oh thank you x3

This is my OC Selfie Snapshot aka The Selfie Pony

 

She was created by my artist after I told her the story of how I found my special talent XD

at the con

Hey another Asian brony here! That was so awesome that you had the balls to get up there and speak. If only I could have a club like that but at my school I would get called a fag and beat up. This won't stop me from trying to get Merch or plushes despite my parents hate for the show!

[Selfie Snapshots 253]

Hey another Asian brony here! That was so awesome that you had the balls to get up there and speak. If only I could have a club like that but at my school I would get called a fag and beat up. This won't stop me from trying to get Merch or plushes despite my parents hate for the show!

Woo Ninja's for life man

anyways yeah..I got called those words also lol

but I would smile

and just turn the whole thing on them

And total Brain buck them XD

leaving them speechless

:3

Brain over brawn.

[Judgement 445]

What a wonderful story. I wish that I could start a brony club at my highschool, but I only know a few bronies. It's not that I'm scared of making it a club, heck, my highschool even has a "Gay alliance" club and I'm sure some gay kid was brave enough to suggest that, so I'm sure anything would be acceptable. Making a brony club would be perfect, but I can't really just go around asking if people are bronies. I just have to pick up on the small things to find out someone's a brony, like this one kid I befriended on steam. I knew he was a brony because he befriended a bunch people on steam with pony avatars.

 

Anyway, this story was inspiring. I can't believe that you got up in front of your whole school to give a speech. That's something I could never do.

[Selfie Snapshots 253]

What a wonderful story. I wish that I could start a brony club at my highschool, but I only know a few bronies. It's not that I'm scared of making it a club, heck, my highschool even has a "Gay alliance" club and I'm sure some gay kid was brave enough to suggest that, so I'm sure anything would be acceptable. Making a brony club would be perfect, but I can't really just go around asking if people are bronies. I just have to pick up on the small things to find out someone's a brony, like this one kid I befriended on steam. I knew he was a brony because he befriended a bunch people on steam with pony avatars.

 

Anyway, this story was inspiring. I can't believe that you got up in front of your whole school to give a speech. That's something I could never do.

Thank you sir :3

but like it is possible to do this without going around asking if people are bronies

just try to find them

the more you find

the more will come

start out with a good amount maybe like 12...if possible

then you must unite them

And lead them into the path of friendship

I mean...back before I even made the club...it was just an idea

that started with a few people

then it grew into a fully working club. XD

Also I must suggest find a teacher who...likes ponies

that may be the hardest part.

anyways best of luck to you my fellow colorful equine lover

:3

[Judgement 445]

Also I must suggest find a teacher who...likes ponies

that may be the hardest part.

Looks like I've got that part down. My spanish teacher has I picture of spike on her wall, so I'm pretty sure she watches the show with her son.

Thanks for the advice. Maybe It can happen. I'll have to see.

[Selfie Snapshots 253]

Looks like I've got that part down. My spanish teacher has I picture of spike on her wall, so I'm pretty sure she watches the show with her son.

Thanks for the advice. Maybe It can happen. I'll have to see.

XDDD Spanish

thats cool

for us it was a new Lit Teacher

anyways good luck