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Discussion: Any Pony-Related Regrets?
11 years ago
It was on October 10, 2010 that the first episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic premiered on the HUB Network (may that network rest in peace). We’ve had over four years of pony since then, giving us 4 seasons, 91 episodes, 2 Equestria Girls movies and an upcoming My Little Pony movie in 2017 along with tons of fan content that I doubt any one person could see in their entire lifetime (though many are willing to try).
There are moments, however, where we find ourselves sitting back and regretting things which happened. Maybe something directly related to the show itself. Maybe it has to do with the community. Perhaps a regret focuses on how others treat bronies in relations to the show.
Tonight’s question is simple, though the answers may not be: What is one of your biggest regrets concerning My Little Pony, the fandom, or the response of people outside the fandom? Is it personal and perhaps related to something you did or did not do and you wish it would’ve been otherwise?
My regret is…pretty huge. It’s probably the reason I came up with this idea in the first place.
In March 2011 I discovered My Little Pony. Nearly a month passed as I went online, found EquestriaDaily (which was only 2 months old at that time) and started learning everything I could about the show and the fandom. I thought about ponies every single day that I could. I kept their pictures on my phone. I listened to the fan music. I even entered EquestriaDaily’s April Fool’s writing contest: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/.....sion-post.html (My story was number 43, “The Fortress of Time.” The link doesn’t lead anywhere now…)
Then something happened with one of the community groups I was in at the time. Due to their influence, I was coerced into giving up everything I had involving My Little Pony. They were nightmarishly controlling. They thought “unicorns were evil,” amongst many other things. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? I thought so too, but their terrifying influence made me suffer until I got rid of everything. I deleted pictures, removed my deviantART account, stopped watching anything online and then withdraw my April Fool’s story from EquestriaDaily. I couldn’t even tell Sethisto, the EQD Moderator, the reason why.
It would two months later when I finally met the first-ever in-person brony friends who changed my life. The one brony who was responsible for leading me to my group of friends was Hannah K, voice of Vinyl Scratch from the Vinyl Scratch Tapes: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/.....sion-post.html
The more I think about how I was pushed away from My Little Pony, the more I realize how much I could’ve positively influenced the fandom at that early stage. I fought viciously against the attempts to remove My Little Pony from my life at that time, and I keep thinking if I’d only fought a little harder, I might be on Equestria Daily’s staff right now. Who knows if there were moments when Seth and his friends would get together at a con, completely oblivious to the empty chair that could’ve been filled by me. Who knows how many instances have occurred where early pony conventions and meet-ups needed someone to lead them, and I wasn’t there because I let some hateful coercive group beat me down. In some alternate reality, all of you might be reading this on EquestriaDaily or who knows what other site.
That is my biggest regret, that I couldn’t find a way to keep fighting for something I cared so much about and which would’ve changed the entire fandom if I had. : (
Of course, I fight harder than ever to keep my love of the fandom alive now. And I’ve done so much in the fandom because I had to fight so hard to get it back. Perhaps…Perhaps there is an upside after all…
...
There are moments, however, where we find ourselves sitting back and regretting things which happened. Maybe something directly related to the show itself. Maybe it has to do with the community. Perhaps a regret focuses on how others treat bronies in relations to the show.
Tonight’s question is simple, though the answers may not be: What is one of your biggest regrets concerning My Little Pony, the fandom, or the response of people outside the fandom? Is it personal and perhaps related to something you did or did not do and you wish it would’ve been otherwise?
My regret is…pretty huge. It’s probably the reason I came up with this idea in the first place.
In March 2011 I discovered My Little Pony. Nearly a month passed as I went online, found EquestriaDaily (which was only 2 months old at that time) and started learning everything I could about the show and the fandom. I thought about ponies every single day that I could. I kept their pictures on my phone. I listened to the fan music. I even entered EquestriaDaily’s April Fool’s writing contest: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/.....sion-post.html (My story was number 43, “The Fortress of Time.” The link doesn’t lead anywhere now…)
Then something happened with one of the community groups I was in at the time. Due to their influence, I was coerced into giving up everything I had involving My Little Pony. They were nightmarishly controlling. They thought “unicorns were evil,” amongst many other things. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? I thought so too, but their terrifying influence made me suffer until I got rid of everything. I deleted pictures, removed my deviantART account, stopped watching anything online and then withdraw my April Fool’s story from EquestriaDaily. I couldn’t even tell Sethisto, the EQD Moderator, the reason why.
It would two months later when I finally met the first-ever in-person brony friends who changed my life. The one brony who was responsible for leading me to my group of friends was Hannah K, voice of Vinyl Scratch from the Vinyl Scratch Tapes: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/.....sion-post.html
The more I think about how I was pushed away from My Little Pony, the more I realize how much I could’ve positively influenced the fandom at that early stage. I fought viciously against the attempts to remove My Little Pony from my life at that time, and I keep thinking if I’d only fought a little harder, I might be on Equestria Daily’s staff right now. Who knows if there were moments when Seth and his friends would get together at a con, completely oblivious to the empty chair that could’ve been filled by me. Who knows how many instances have occurred where early pony conventions and meet-ups needed someone to lead them, and I wasn’t there because I let some hateful coercive group beat me down. In some alternate reality, all of you might be reading this on EquestriaDaily or who knows what other site.
That is my biggest regret, that I couldn’t find a way to keep fighting for something I cared so much about and which would’ve changed the entire fandom if I had. : (
Of course, I fight harder than ever to keep my love of the fandom alive now. And I’ve done so much in the fandom because I had to fight so hard to get it back. Perhaps…Perhaps there is an upside after all…
...
