How'd You Become A Brony?

[Big AppleDoom]

March 2011. I was on 4chan /b/. Then - suddenly a thread full of pictures of ponies. I immediately loved the style of the show! I wanted to learn to draw these lovely equine-things!

I made some research and ended up in knowyourmeme.com and its brilliant article. I didn't hesitate to watch the first episode right away!

I was surprized that the thing was part of "My Little Pony"-franchise. At first I thought of revival of an old brand just to make more money without creating something new. However, that new look pleased me so much that I simply couldn't leave it unchecked.

I liked the first episode - the cliffhanger made me watch another one too. I was into ponies now! That time I didn't know much about the fanbase - just liked the looks of the ponies and the show. I wanted to draw fanart before I know there were lots of it. Well, the fanbase wasn't even nearly as big back then as it is now.

In May I discovered the MLP-fanbase of my country via ponikylä.freeforums.org. Then I found /poni/-section in a Finnish image board and at the same time got more into image boarding.

During summer, I watched the show episode by episode. I mostly did that during nights. I also discovered more and more of the fanbase as it grew. I eventually watched "The Best Night Ever" a month after its airing.

The summer was full of ponies! I still can smell it by listening some early brony music (Alex S - What a World, Super Ponybeat...)!

[vladnuke]

Know Your Meme.

I think it's about as simple as that, it was around the time that the main entry was just starting to be one that has an all but permanent spot on the trending bar, and I got curious. So I read the entry, and didn't think much of it, but when I got to the image section (and this was back in the day when it was ALL image macros, virtually zero fanart, just funny shit) I could not stop clicking through. I went through all hundred or so pages of images, and considered myself entertained for the day.

But eventually, I decided to watch it, just to see A, why it was such a big thing on KYM, and B, to understand the image macros. I facepalmed immediately at the start of the first episode, but decided to humor it, and by the time I had reached Applebuck Season, I was hooked.

But what I think really got me into the community was Yaridovich's Synchtube channel. That place had everything, episodes, parodies, YTPs, and sometimes we just went off and watched random funny shit because yes, we did get bored of pony every now and again. But I think it was that channel that really made me a brony.

Dis guy, he made me a brony. One day cruising around on the interbutts I perused the pony thread on 4chan, and didn't think much of it. Then I saw the the thirty other threads labeling it as cancer, so I went and said "well 30>1, so it must be cancer." Then DIS GUY began talking about ponies, and I thought "Well, he's liked weirder stuff before." And then I rummaged through youturds until finding all the pony parody videos, then I thought "Hey, this is that thing he was talking about." so I watched ep1, then all the others, then went back to school and gave DIS GUY a brohoof, and yeah that's about it.

[Gray Ham]

Okay, this is a looooong story.

This starts way back in December 2010, when there wasn't as strong of a brony culture as there is now.
I was watching a known Youtubers recount of 2010 (X/davidr64yt), and I saw a message in the comments section from an account named 'NostalgiaGamerJS', and I know some people around here know of him.
So, I devotedly watched Justin's (as he preferred to be called) gaming videos for the next 8 or so months. Then he announced his 24 hour live stream. I tuned in at around the 6th hour, and I saw that he was watching the entire season 1 down the bottom left corner while playing Deux Ex. Oh how I laughed. At the time, I thought it was a big joke.
However, as the stream went on, it became quite obvious that Justin wasn't streaming it fur teh lulz and in fact, was quit knowledgeable about the show. Once The Best Night Ever finished, the stream felt quite empty for a little bit. "I may as well", I thought. Justin was talking the whole time, so I didn't really hear any of the audio.
I then watched the first 22 episodes, skipping the ones which seemed like they would be awkward. "Meh, I don't think this is for me".
On September 12th, X made another cameo in my story when he liked a video named 'She's A Pony Remix' by an individual named 'WoodenToaster'. "Heh, ponies are kinda cool" *click* *mind=blown*
"Maybe I should watch another episode"
The next episode I hadn't watched yet happened to be the Cutie Mark Chronicles. An episode that's still at number 2 on my list of favourite episodes (just after Family Appreciation Day, which is at #1 purely because of Will Anderson's compositions). I've been a relatively hardcore brony ever since.

[Spark]

I met a guy in school who was obsessed with the show. Months before that, I was reading a webcomic made by Yamino (it's "Sister Claire: Pregnant Nun, Holy Crap!") who was a brony (or pegasister). I got curious and here I am.

[StellaRbRoNyBeaTz]

As sad as it is I do not remember exactly, but I know that somehow somewhere I had heard the word "Brony," I think I had watched a youtube video about it or something. Anyway, I decided to research the word and found that it was what they called males between the ages of 18 and 30 who watched a show called My little pony: friendship is magic (actual definition I found lol). I would say that my first reaction was "Ew gay shit," but in all actuality I'm a pretty open-minded person so I was actually very intrigued by this information, though not enough to actually watch the show quite yet. I ended up searching it on youtube hopeing for some clips or something to give me some idea of what it was all about, and then I stumpled upon Kyrospawn's channel, who, if you don't know, uploads little clips from the show. After watching a few I was intrigued enough to watch the show itself, wasn't till I started discovering some of the incredible remixes out there of songs from the show that I became a hardcore brony though, but now I can't get enough.

[BassRabbit]

I remember actually watching the show the first day it premiered. I've always liked watching "girly" shows as sort of a weird, taboo pleasure. Kind of like, "OMG, I'm a guy, I shouldn't be watching this" (I watched the Powerpuff Girls all the time BTW. XD)

I thought it was alright and pretty much ignored the show until early 2011. I was browsing around on fchan when I saw a pony thread featuring a GIF of Vinyl Scratch's famous four-second scene.

It sort of went like, "...HOUSE DJ ON A KIDS' CARTOON? I AM WATCHING THIS NOW."

And the rest is history. Vinyl Scratch is best pony.

[soup2504]

I've always been neutral toward bronies, never truly sure whether or not I should be "Wtf'ing" at the people that watch it, or just letting them go. The one of my IRL friends put a picture of Applejack on his profile picture, and I was like "Dude, wut?" and he was like "MY LITTLE PONYYYY!!! IZ GUUD SHOW U SHUD WATCH IT!" and I was like "Meh, I dunno if I want to or not."

Then about a month later, I watched the first two episodes. I was disappointed. Generic, cliche, unfunny, dull, uninteresting. The first two episodes tried to be a good introduction to the characters, and while it did characterize them pretty damn well, it seems that was all they focused on, and the rest of the two episodes were just bland and boring. But I kept watching. Not out of curiosity, not out of boredom, but because the characters. The characters were so well characterized that it was really the only reason I kept watching them, and as the episodes went on, I started to enjoy them more and more. Then we get to "Over a barrel". The second Braeburn came on the screen, I was 100% brony. That was the moment I decided "Enough being in between, I'm a fucking brony now."

Buuuuutttt I started to lose interest in the fandom pretty quickly, but I still wanted to be a part of it for some reason, because it was a great fandom (was.... It kinda got invaded with extremists as of late).

Then we get to the music. I always avoided the music, because I thought it would just be music that wouldn't really be my taste(I thought it was going to be all girly n stuff for some reason >_>) but I gave Simgretina's 20% cooler at the gala remix a shot. Hooked. Could not stop listening to the music, and ever since then, been a brony all the way. But I'm still a little disappointed with some of the fandom, like the brony extremists, the ponyfags, cloppers, etc. But as long as they aren't spamming their shit everywhere(although that's all the extremists do... Along with forcing the show down people's throats), I'm fine with them.

[-djmk-]

heard about mlp when it became a thing on 4chan, dismissed it as something silly. later, when one of my irl friends said he was a brony, i decided "hey this actually looks p good" and i looked up the first episode. by the end of the weekend i had finished season 1.

[Gnarrkhaz]

I don't know how i managed it but i didn't even know the series existed until the day i watched the first episode. I was interested in it because in another forum there popped up a MLP thread and some of the guys there liked it (you know who i'm talking about, right soup?). I just had to get to the bottom of it. The first episode was okay but i kept watching anyway because the characters were just so good! And as i said i wanted to know why other people think the series is so great. At first i thought it was kind of stupid because it's not really a comedy and therefore things like cutie marks and Trottingham just seemed silly to me. But then it hit me. Of course it's silly! It's just another kind of comedy, the one that doesn't necessarily make you laugh but instead makes you grin like an idiot from ear to ear. I love it. I still think the series you could use some more male characters though.

The fandom gets on my nerves sometimes but the musical side is what's just brilliant about it. It introduced me to new music genres i thought i would never like (which is probably because pony music in itself is almost a new genre) and it gave me new motivation to practice guitar and write music.

[Gnarrkhaz]

by the end of the weekend i had finished season 1.

Yeah, i used to watch at least six episodes in a row.

[soup2504]

(you know who i'm talking about, right soup?)

Yes, yes I do

The fandom gets on my nerves sometimes

^
I wish it was still the way it was when I first became a brony (Less cloppers, less annoying twats, etc.)

[StellaRbRoNyBeaTz]

I've always been neutral toward bronies, never truly sure whether or not I should be "Wtf'ing" at the people that watch it, or just letting them go. The one of my IRL friends put a picture of Applejack on his profile picture, and I was like "Dude, wut?" and he was like "MY LITTLE PONYYYY!!! IZ GUUD SHOW U SHUD WATCH IT!" and I was like "Meh, I dunno if I want to or not."

Then about a month later, I watched the first two episodes. I was disappointed. Generic, cliche, unfunny, dull, uninteresting. The first two episodes tried to be a good introduction to the characters, and while it did characterize them pretty damn well, it seems that was all they focused on, and the rest of the two episodes were just bland and boring. But I kept watching. Not out of curiosity, not out of boredom, but because the characters. The characters were so well characterized that it was really the only reason I kept watching them, and as the episodes went on, I started to enjoy them more and more. Then we get to "Over a barrel". The second Braeburn came on the screen, I was 100% brony. That was the moment I decided "Enough being in between, I'm a fucking brony now."

Buuuuutttt I started to lose interest in the fandom pretty quickly, but I still wanted to be a part of it for some reason, because it was a great fandom (was.... It kinda got invaded with extremists as of late).

Then we get to the music. I always avoided the music, because I thought it would just be music that wouldn't really be my taste(I thought it was going to be all girly n stuff for some reason >_>) but I gave Simgretina's 20% cooler at the gala remix a shot. Hooked. Could not stop listening to the music, and ever since then, been a brony all the way. But I'm still a little disappointed with some of the fandom, like the brony extremists, the ponyfags, cloppers, etc. But as long as they aren't spamming their shit everywhere(although that's all the extremists do... Along with forcing the show down people's throats), I'm fine with them.

What exactly would you consider to be an "Brony extremist?" Just curious, trying to see if I'd consider myself one, though I definately don't shove the show down peoples throats. It is my favorite show as of right now though.

[soup2504]

What exactly would you consider to be an "Brony extremist?" Just curious, trying to see if I'd consider myself one, though I definately don't shove the show down peoples throats. It is my favorite show as of right now though.

Basically someone who cannot stand the fact that people have opinions that may not be positive towards MLP and literally force people into liking the show, they spam ponies every which way they go, etc.

I could go on and on, but I'll just leave you with this, as it is pretty accurate.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v2z ... i=1&pli=1#

Most of the stuff on the ponyfag side apply to extremists, with the exception of a few (the r34 and stuff there doesn't always apply to extremists)

[StellaRbRoNyBeaTz]

What exactly would you consider to be an "Brony extremist?" Just curious, trying to see if I'd consider myself one, though I definately don't shove the show down peoples throats. It is my favorite show as of right now though.

Basically someone who cannot stand the fact that people have opinions that may not be positive towards MLP and literally force people into liking the show, they spam ponies every which way they go, etc.

I could go on and on, but I'll just leave you with this, as it is pretty accurate.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v2z ... i=1&pli=1#

Most of the stuff on the ponyfag side apply to extremists, with the exception of a few (the r34 and stuff there doesn't always apply to extremists)

I see, well according that list I'am most definately not an Extremist, good to know. Thanks.

[soup2504]

I see, well according that list I'am most definately not an Extremist, good to know. Thanks.

No problem.

[MrSmiles14]

Ill give you one name....HOTDIGGEDYDEMON i laughed at his .mov movies then decided to watch the series and the rest is history.

[Sluttershy]

Well for me it was the same as a lot of the the other awesome bronies on this website.

I was seeing a ton of hilarious images on the /co/ board of 4chan, and at first I thought "Why are these ponies so god damned popular?"

Then I decided to watch an episode after I watched "Ponies: The Anthology"

I fell in love with the show, and know I have seen the all the episodes at least 3 times.

My love of ponies and trolling, also landed me my super awesome fillyfriend.

[Shadow Wing]

Figure it out.

[Lyonize]

I, like many, began noticing tons of pony-related pictures all over the internet. Curiosity got the best of me and I eventually found myself waist deep in youtube videos of Rainbow Dash doing sonic rainbooms to everybody's favorite songs.

The next day, I was snooping around in the games section of a forum I frequent. One of my friends (he happens to be a member of MLR) made a post in a game thread in which he was asked "what item is sitting to your left." His answer was "Rainbow Dash". I then asked a mutual friend of ours if he was a brony.

Next thing I knew, I was chatting with him and up to my shoulders in brony music. And that's how I got introduced to MLR. Suddenly, I had infinite inspiration for writing my music and I can't wait to make more!

[vladnuke]

All fandoms have annoying fuckholes, but people don't seem to get that most of the stupid people were stupid before they became part of the fandom. When you see shit like cloppers and creeps, you have to realize that these people don't understand that they're putting the entire community in the shitter. But we can't be virulent and pissy in responce, because that proves the naysayer's point. So we end up tolerating all the same, because hate only makes stupid shit grow, which in turn breeds hate.

Edit: for the record, though, I blame reddit for all problems on the internet.

[Flinckie]

You'd think that discovering MLP:FiM is a fond memory of mine, but no. Whenever I think about it, I just get sad, damnit. It's not a funny story. It's not a pretty story. It's a story of regret and lost opportunities.

It was back in 14th of December 2011 (I looked through my browser history) that I saw people posting ponies on 4chan. I got curious and looked it up. The sad part of this story is that I had just started regularly browsing /b/ after having gone there on and off for over 2 years. I don't know how I missed all the ponies, but thanks to either bad luck or my own lack of awareness, I became a brony months later than I could have.

I know I should be glad that I found it in the end, but I just feel like I've missed so much.

I'm over-dramatizing this, aren't I?

[AlicornBob]

Well it all started with a video many of you may know well.

"Friendship is Magic Bitch" by Skaijo.

A friend showed me the video and I thought it was extremely funny. Later I looked it up again on my own and saw that it was based on MLP:FiM.

I had no clue what that was, so I googled the term (lol)

Forum upon Forum was talking about this show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
So I watch the first episode, wondering what it had to do with the YouTube video.

I laughed so hard when I got the reference. Right at the beginning of the first episode! So I watched another... and another. It was great. But then...

EQD!!!!!

I had never even thought such a site could exist! EQD absorbed a good portion of my life for at least a month. The only problem I had was the inconsistency of how people posted their fanfic. Eventually I settled on using FIMfanfiction for fanfic most of the time.

As for pony art, the post on EQD were always linked to DeviantArt, and that's how I got started on that site.

And at some point withing the second month, I found a YouTube vid of pony music linked to Soundcloud, which is how I got started there.

And from there I branched continuously.

Basically, pony started my internet life. Before I was one of those "stupid" internet people who didn't know anything other than MyFace and SpaceBook... oh wait. XD

[AlicornBob]

I know I should be glad that I found it in the end, but I just feel like I've missed so much.

I know how you feel. I didn't come across it until WAY after season one finished.

At first I felt like I was up to my neck in pony content and I wanted to see it all.
Then I realized I wasn't up to my head... It went way over my head long before I came.

Instead of drowning I simply had to accept there was too much for me to ever catch up, so I just contented myself to keep up-to-date with the most recent stuff I could.

Every now and then I hunt down older stuff, though. *hehe*

[LFP]

I found it when googling for dota stuff during summer break and was hooked instantly...


I thought the more serious drugs were forbidden...

[MatthewMosierMusic]

Steven Colbert.

Regrettably, he isn't even a brony so saying that makes me feel weird, but still...

Steven Colbert.