Good Hello Everypony,
In this post, I’m going to write a brief overview of the history of pony, the ponynet, and the pony fandom.
Pre-pony: Before G4 (Generation 4) of MLP (My Little Pony), there was G1, G2, and G3. G1 was the original pony from decades ago. G2 was the schoolypony. G3 was the girlypony. G4, which appeared in 2011, and which was created by the creative genius, Lauren Faust, was the first and last generation of pony.
About The G’s
Some of G1 was alright. The episode, “Escape from Catrina” was a popular episode among some bronies. G2 focused on mostly generic schoolday stuff. G3 was usually pretty girly and the animation not always that great. Thanks to the creativity of Lauren Faust, G4 struck a good balance between all of the previous generations – at least until until she left Hasbro. Loyal, however, to her personal vision, even after leaving the company she said at a convention she was invited to once that she never watched an episode after she stopped work on pony. This was because MLP:FiM was sacred to her; it was her ponyvision that she was sharing with us. Therefore, we should respect pony and watch episodes that she may have not worked on that we suppose most adhere to the stories she wanted to tell.
In addition to the G’s, there was an official comic series probably worth mentioning. The content, however, generally had darker themes than the show and went into storydetale; it was mostly appreciated only by Pony Moderates and their subtypes.
Types of Ponyfans
There are many different kinds of ponyfans. Some just watch it for the plot. Others watch it for the message. Still others just like looking at cute mares and pony provides a lot of such content.
Classical Ponyfans: Ponyfans who were fans of MLP before G4.
Pony Literalists: Reactionaries who first became recognizable during the Great Wing Controversy (brought on by the absence of Lauren Faust in MLP:FiM production), believe that G1S1 (Generation 1 Season 1) was the first and last season of MLP. (Yet, this neglects the fact that Lauren Faust also worked on some season 2 episodes alongside season 1. Some hold that both Season 1 and Season 2 are canon. To get the truest picture, however, we would need to know exactly what episodes Lauren Faust worked on during her stay with Hasbro and to what extent she was creatively invested in each one.)
Hasbro Bros: Basic individual men and women who just like looking at cute pictures of empathic creatures. These ponies don’t care much about the quality of pony.
Pony Moderates: Ponies who take a moderate view of pony content, liking and disliking episodes based on personal preference.
Pony Mystics: Ponies who view pony from a spiritual, mystical perspective, taking into consideration multiple factors about each episode in order to figure out which ones are pony.
Pony 4channelers: Ponies with ties to the hacker known as 4channels.
Special Subtypes of Pony Moderates:
Pony Moderates > Furryponies: Animals (and/or creatures) who might sometimes wish they were ponyfans, but for one reason or another, feel as though they can’t.
Pony Moderates > Bronies: Extinct. Bronies are a mythical creature who existed between about 2011 and 2015. (Formerly classed in the three categories: Hipsters, Creatives, Moderates, and Pegasisters.) After they graduated college and got jobs, they evolved into MarriedPonies.
MarriedPonies: Former bronies who finished college and got married. They can usually be identified by their submissive behavior towards their wife and society in general. They can be found at a lot of MLP conventions nowadays, except for Mare Fair.
Pony Moderates > GenZponies: Like bronies, except with more Gen Z and more ADHD.
Pony Moderates > Onlineponies: Ponies who spend most of their time online engaged in pony stuff.
Pony Moderates > Autistponies: Ponyfans who have actual autism.
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Levels of Engagement
Different ponies have different levels of engagement in pony, ranging from basic to based. Those who are basic view pony as a casual interest or distraction from their job at corporation x. Those who is based view pony as an extension and part of themself.
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Pony Internet Timeline
2011: 4chan /mlp/ trolled people by posting ponies.
idk 2012: or something: ponychan.net/oat/ appeared.
idk 2012: or something: ponychan.net/oat/ split into ponychan.net/oat/ (pony moderate hangout) and ponyville.us/pony/ (hugbox).
2012-2015: (lots of other minor pony boards going on)
2012-2016: (lots of other pony stuff going on, including on The YouTube, The Twitter, synchtube, and later cytube)
2015: last good year at bronycon
2016: fandom winding down
2017: rip fandom
2023: trotcon dies, ponychan.net closes, Mare Fair helps revitalize fandom
2024: ponychan.co replaces ponychan.net, ponyville.us still around, cytube still around, /mlp/ will probably always be around
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What is Pony?
Pony can mean many ponies to many pony. Regardless, we must remember to honor Lauren Faust, the creative genius behind MLP:FiM, – for without her, there would be no pony to begin.
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Question: Why Doesn’t Anyone Like G5?
After Lauren Faust left the show because of not getting enough creative control over the series, the show had to either inevitably decline or its viewers had to become basic. For those in the fandom who, for whatever reason, never became basic, the decline was confirmed with the passage of time. For those who became basic, nopony knows what happened to them (although rumor has it they all got jobs at Equestria Daily). No one likes G5 because it picks up where G3 left off. G5 is what we would have gotten instead of MLP:FiM if Lauren Faust hadn’t helped.
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Q&A
Question: What is a 4channeler? Is it a channel on The YouTube?
No. A 4channeler is the remote control that changes the pony on the hoof.
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Question: What is a hoof?
hoof.
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Question: So, what’s a “brony?”
It’s pronounced, “Pony,” bro.
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Works Cited
Figure 1: MLP G1. Firefly Swooping Down to Help. https://kittieoflife.com/g1mlp/firefly-2_3.png.
Figure 2: MLP G2. Schoolpony from Intro. Time: 0:04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZGPH1MHOyI&list=PLqcNVz8UuCsJ_-wyeeapwJ0ed8E0y-VGA.
Figure 3: MLP G3. Minty from My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas (2005). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWqFYJnWqaA
Figure 4: ElectroKaplosion. “Cute Mares Around the World.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUwdkZm9q1k.
Figure 5: Lauren Faust(?) “Fausticorn,” Lauren Faust’s OC. Copy Uploaded To: https://aminoapps.com/c/mlpocworld803/page/blog/the-creator-lauren-fausts-oc/Wexo_XwUXu7qV558Xa1q1Mjagqvk0KLP8D.