A Brony Tale (2014) Movie Script
1
A BRONY TALE
When I walk up,
there's this big, fat,
bald muscular guy.
I walk in, and he goes,
"What do you want?"
I said, "I want to make
an appointment to get a tattoo."
He says, "What do you want
a tattoo of?"
And I said, "This,"
and he goes, "What is that?
A puppy? A kitten?"
And, like, one guy in the back
goes, "It's a pony,"
and I said, "I want that guy
to do my tattoo."
Yee-haw!
All right then, there,
here we go, now.
Yee-haw!
Welcome to Apple Acres.
Come on down
and meet the family!
You got Apple Cobbler,
Apple Bumpkin, Apple Turnover,
Apple Pie, little Jazz,
Cousin Braeburn,
Big Mac, Apple Bloom,
and this here is Granny Smith!
Yee-hoo!
Don't worry, Twilight,
I happen to be
the fastest Pegasus in the sky!
The fastest Pegasus in the sky!
The fastest Pegasus
in the sky!
It's because I'm awesome.
Ba-ha-ha-ha!
I've been doing voice work
For about six years now,
I guess.
I graduated from the Canadian
College of Performing Arts,
and basically got picked up
by an agent
at this showcase that we did,
and told me
that he thought I would be good
at voice-over work,
so I went in
and did a reading with him.
He was confident that my voice
capabilities were there,
So he started just sending me
out to these auditions,
and it was pretty nerve-wracking
at first.
I went into a room
where all these people
knew each other,
And I was this outsider.
I didn't really know
how to, you know,
manoeuvre around the microphone.
I mean,
I'd had singing experience,
So that was good,
but yeah, I just kind of
got thrown into it,
and the first voice-over role
was...
a character
called Slim Pig.
And he's just this paper-thin
pig that would, like,
go around the barn
and get into adventures.
He was, like, a cut-out pig,
but all the other animals
were regular... 3D.
I don't know, it was strange.
I kind of got hired to do
this little boy voice.
So Slim Pig
kind of just sounded like this,
"Hey, Little Chicken,
do you want to go
on an adventure today?"
And he was just, like,
this little dude.
Because I was
a role already on the show,
I got to play Little Chick.
This kind of
sounded like this...
"Adventure! Oh! Adventure!"
I got to play the cow.
She kind of had this,
like, weird voice.
"Oh!"
"Slim Pig!
Puh-please help me!
My head is stuck in a fence!
Please help me moo-ve it!"
Coconut Fred
Fruit Salad Island!
One of my favourite roles,
actually, that I ever got
was this Warner Brothers cartoon
called Coconut Fred's
Fruit Salad Island,
and it was
the sexually confused tomato.
He didn't know if he was
a fruit or a vegetable,
so he was very sensitive,
and he performed poetry a lot.
"What am I?
A fruit or a veggie?
Either one
could give me a wedgie."
I went into the audition
for the new Care Bears series,
and they were looking
for this new Care Bear
Called Oopsy Bear,
who was this little boy.
I guess they got
a bunch of men to read for him,
and that wasn't working out,
so they got me in there,
and I just kind of based him
on Chris Farley,
like, you know, that kind of,
like, clumsy guy he plays
all the time?
He'll, like, fall...
"Aw, I'm re-really sorry.
I didn't mean to mess up
the thunderbolt coaster.
Sorry."
I got to play...
Boris Bootie.
He was on this show
called Ricky Sprocket.
It was about a show biz kid,
and Boris Bootie
was just an ordinary guy
who really liked
breakfast cereal.
And then, so I think
I got kind of pigeonholed
To play little boys all the time
'cause that was, like,
my goto voice,
Was the little boy voice.
So when I went into audition
for My Little Pony,
I thought it was obvious
that I would read for Spike,
the baby dragon.
And I was just like,
"Oh, I'll just go to, you know,
Do my go-to little boy voice."
Twilight!
Y-You know
I love eating diamonds.
You know,
he's just like this little guy.
I didn't...
I didn't end up getting cast
as Spike,
But I got a call-back
for... not Spike,
but for Applejack
and Rainbow Dash.
I just ended up
getting both roles,
which is pretty crazy.
My job is fun.
It's cool.
It's, like, um...
you know,
you just get to hang out
And do voices for a living.
Not too shabby.
Okay, whatever you want.
Hey! What's going on?
I'm Ashleigh.
I am, uh, at the site of a show
we just played with Hey Ocean!
And I just had
my first Brony encounter.
Do you have any voices for us?
Well, uh, well,
I suppose that Applejack's
very happy
that you came out to Hey Ocean!
And Rainbow Dash
Couldn't be more excited!
I need to go watch
Dan Mangan now!
All right.
Peace!
Bye!
Thank you!
See ya guys!
Love you!
A Brony
is a fan of the television show
My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic,
and...
they're usually males
from the age bracket
of 18 to 30, let's say.
The pervert alarm for sure
went off in my head
when I first heard about it.
I want to very specifically
not give a shout out
to my Bronies tonight.
Now a show, you're right in
the middle of the normal scale.
Since the reboot of the classic
'80s cartoon debuted last fall,
it's attracted a massive amount
of male viewers.
Combine the words
"brother" and "pony."
The audience
isn't who you might expect.
Fanboys have taken
to creating pony art,
posting fan videos on YouTube,
and creating
blogs dedicated to the show.
Weird fit demographically,
but they work together.
My point is this!
Bronies have changed
the definition of masculinity.
I think
it's the end of...
Civilization?
What's happened
is that with the spread
of fast access Internet,
almost the entirety of the media
with the fandom
Is entirely online.
It's, in a lot of senses,
a brand new type of fandom.
It's this crazy phenomenon
on the web, in the media...
It's kind of inexplicable,
really.
What happens when a movement
puts a lot of new ideas
into circulation?
It, uh,
doesn't really make sense.
People are inspired
by the environment
That surrounds them.
The Internet
is a complicated idea,
a set of protocols
that has changed everything.
Try to realize
our imaginations and the need
to retreat to a world
of pure fantasy.
We exist in a world
of illusion.
The true nature of reality
beckons
from just beyond the horizon.
I got an invitation
to... BronyCon.
Brony...
B-R-O-NYC-Con, in New York,
which is a convention
for Bronies.
It's pretty crazy.
Apparently there's
a lot of these happening,
although this would be
the first one
That I've been invited to.
"Hello!
My name is Purple Tinker,
and I run BronyCon,
the world's largest dedicated
My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic fan event.
We are currently
in the planning stages
of our next event,
BronyCon, end of January.
It will be held
in New York City,
but something is missing...
Ms. Ashleigh Ball."
That's me!
"Would Ms. Ball do us the honour
of letting us treat her
like the star she is
for one special weekend?"
Wow.
I guess... we'll see.
I'm a trained
Harley Davidson mechanic.
I have built and can build
custom motorcycles
from scratch.
I can weld.
I can run a CMC machine.
I played college football.
Uh, what's the other one?
Bodyguard ranch hand
for a science fiction writer,
I worked as a GM glue guy
a GM dealership.
On top of all that, I watch
a show for little girls.
I'm known as DustyKatt
in the fandom,
and I'm known as
the Manliest Brony in the World.
If this guy can like
a girls' show for what it is,
you can too.
Every character
doesn't have the answers, right?
They have to go find
the answers,
They have to learn
from their mistakes,
and that's what draws me
to My Little Pony,
Because you have
character-driven story
where the characters
learn something and grow.
There's six main characters
in the show.
Twilight Sparkle.
Her characterization
is fairly easy.
Twilight
is the intellectual shut-in.
Now you have Applejack,
who is the hard worker,
that pony you can go to,
but her problem is
she can't let others help her.
Fluttershy,
too shy for her own good.
That's one of her fallacies
that makes her a character.
Rainbow Dash...
my, what an ego!
She'll never get
into the Wonderbolts,
Because the Wonderbolts
are a team situation.
There's no "I" in "team."
Rarity...
Element of generosity...
to a fault.
She has to get over that.
She has to learn from that.
And then we get to Pinkie Pie,
party animal extraordinaire.
Off into left field
all the time,
but still, when somebody
needs to be picked up,
when someone is feeling sad,
she's there every time.
Each individual character
is so well rounded
within an archetype
of personality,
so people can see themselves
as a Rainbow Dash,
a Rarity,
or an Applejack.
That is the basis
of excellent storytelling.
Don't think of it as
six little ponies in Ponyville.
Think of it as six friends
learning from each other.
It just happens to be wrapped up
in a package of pastel ponies
that's animated well.
This is a show for kids,
but it doesn't wallow
in that point.
I'm just a guy who happens
to like a TV show.
I love My Little Pony.
I love what it does,
I love the message it sends,
and I want to be a part of it,
and I want to be able
to play in that universe.
We're suppose to chug beer,
ride motorcycles,
be degrading to women,
and like explosions.
That's what's engrained
in our brains
from the minute you're born
and put into a blue crib.
Well, I like what I like.
I don't need society
to tell me what I like,
and that's all there is to it.
Ei-ei-o, and here it goes!
As Twilight Sparkle
would say,
"We must science this
immediately!"
About a year ago,
the Brony Phenomenon
sort of fell into our laps,
and as soon as I heard about it,
I thought,
"Somebody needs to study this."
"Fandom" is a term that's used
for the community,
and in general,
people usually look at fandoms
with kind of a little bit
of a, like,
"These people
need to get a life."
Well, in fact, actually,
where does the term "fan"
come from?
"Fanatic."
You know it could be,
um, the Carolina Panthers.
It could be, um, Star Trek.
Uh, it could be
My Little Pony...
Oprah.
It could be Oprah.
It could be anything.
Our Bronies
ranged from 14 to 57,
with the average age
was around 21 years of age.
Then there's
the question of gender.
We usually ran around
85% male and 15% female.
Some female Bronies
like to be called Bronies,
some like to be called
Pegasisters.
And we question
if that 15% female,
how much of those are Bronies
because they have
a Brony boyfriend.
Hmm-hmm. Yep.
Bronies score lower
in neuroticism.
Neuroticism is sort of like
a tendency...
and I've sort of wrote
it's a tendency
to experience negative emotions
like anger, anxiety,
to worry, to be stressed,
and the Bronies
have lower scores,
so again, that would tend
to say this is a group...
now, there are going to be
Depressed Bronies,
and there are gonna be
Anxious Bronies,
But that's very positive.
Education level...
What we found was around 35%
of our Bronies
were in high school,
while about 62% were in
or had completed college.
And then one of the biggies,
the sexual orientation question,
which...
many people when they first
hear about the Bronies
will say things like,
"Well, is it a bunch of gays
and that?"
84% of the Bronies will describe
themselves as heterosexuals.
One and a half percent
label themselves as homosexuals,
and about 10% bisexual,
and then around 3-4% asexual.
Asexual is,
based on clinical experience,
some people who just simply
are not interested in sex.
It's still a puzzle,
when I think...
It's still a puzzle.
It's a puzzle to us as well,
but, um, I think that it's...
that the, um,
that society as a whole
is becoming less negative
in their attitudes
toward Bronies.
My name is Mike Bernstein,
and I am the broadcast director
of Everfree Radio.
Everfree Radio
is an online radio station
and network of programs
dedicated and mostly marketed
towards the Brony community.
I ended up watching it
because I thought,
"Okay,
clearly this is a phenomenon.
I have to understand why."
And I watched the first episode,
and the first episode
is a cliffhanger, a two-parter,
so I'm like, "Okay, well,
I gotta watch the second part."
You know, you gotta see how
the beginning story arc ends.
And then, you know,
I got to the end
of the second episode.
I'm like,
"Yeah, that's pretty decent.
It's okay. It's not bad.
You know, I better watch
the third episode
To make sure
that it's, you know,
maintaining
that level of quality,"
And then the fourth
and the fifth,
and by the time
I got to the 17th episode,
I kind of hung my head
in resignation.
It's kinda like, "Damnit."
You know?
"I guess I'm a Brony.
Oh well, better come
to terms with it."
4chan is an image
and message board
where the Brony movement began,
basically, back in...
I think it was October of 2010.
Somebody wrote an article.
They were citing My Little Pony:
Friendship Is Magic
as showing that companies
were micromanaging programs.
Well, new cartoon shows
are all about merchandising,
so somebody on 4chan went
and decided to watch it
and said,
"Hey, it's pretty good,"
And so they made
a post about it.
Other people
started watching it,
and they're like, "Hey, yeah,
it's actually pretty good."
And it became this kind of,
like, weird phenomenon.
They ended up becoming kind of
like their own little clan.
So more people watched the show
to try and figure out,
"Okay, is this just a big joke?"
And then they started posting
images on the boards,
and then the moderators of 4chan
decided,
"No, we don't want all
these pony images everywhere,"
So they shut it down,
so then they start another one.
It became this whole, like,
flurry of online activity.
In a sense, 4chan was the start
of the Brony community.
It's the deep depths
of shameless Internet.
Actually, people like to think,
okay, Bronies,
The name "Bronies" came from
"bros" and "ponies."
That's not where it came from.
It came from the "/b/"
message boards, and "ponies."
So that's how they combined it.
It was 4chan "/b/" and "ponies,"
so Bronies,
but I kind of like
the "bro" one better
because it feels a little more,
you know, "Hey, bro!"
So that's just me.
So yeah,
voice-over work is my job,
and I just, like, love...
love what I do,
love that I get to be a cartoon
for a living,
but my main passion is music.
In Hey Ocean!
There's two other members
besides myself,
Dave Vertesi
and Dave Beckingham.
The three of us have been
doing this music thing
for almost seven years now,
and over the last couple months,
we've been feeling the presence
of the Bronies.
Bronies by the dozens
have been coming to concerts.
I didn't watch
the first episode
and then just suddenly
get drawn in or anything.
I don't wanna be mean,
but, like, I don't care
about My Little Pony.
All we do is mess around
But I know that it's love
we've found
I think it's kind of difficult
for both of them,
because there's this whole
other fanbase that's, like,
kind of latching themselves
onto our music.
Yeah, it's weird,
like, 30-year-old dudes
liking a little kids' show
about female ponies, you know,
that fly or whatever,
but that said,
weird can be really rad
and really good,
and it's important.
I love people who are genuine
and who are, like,
"This is who I am,
and that's what I like."
I like the Bronies for that.
Baby
there's no time to waste
Sing until you have no voice
Ooh hoo whoo ooh
Sing
because you have no choice
Ooh whoo ooh ooh
There's nothing
that can compare
to standing on a stage
and singing with an amazing band
and some of your best friends.
It's what I love
more than anything,
and it's the dream, for sure.
Don't tell me
that we've come this far
To start again
or fall apart
Sing it
when you're lost at sea
Love will bring you
back to me
Sing until you have no voice
Ooh hoo whoo ooh
Sing
because you have no choice
Ooh
Our love
is like a big blue wave
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
I just discovered Hey Ocean!
Through finding out
about Ashleigh
and the other Bronies,
it was like,
"Oh, hey, you know,
she's in a band, you know."
"Wow, really?"
So you check it out, and
then you find out it's awesome.
Mandopony is sort of the persona
that I developed
to release music online
based off of My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic.
The show generates
so much positivity,
it makes so much good happen,
and yet it meets
such disappointing, like, venom
from... so many people
are so venomous towards it,
and so hostile and destructive
towards it.
It just disgusted me
and made me so sad.
That was why I wrote the song.
We're a long way
from Equestria
A long, long way
I think, you know, saying
we're a long way from Equestria
is just a way to surmise
the fact that, yeah,
all things considered,
we're so far from this world.
Like,
the characters in the show,
they learn, they forgive,
they share,
and they celebrate
friendship and kindness
instead of mocking it,
and that
we are so far from that,
but it's getting better.
I think it's getting better.
A long way from Equestria
A long, long way
I'm just kind of trying
to decide right now
to go or not to go.
That is the question.
And it's just kind of
at a crazy time.
Like, I'm really busy
with work right now
and touring with the band.
I don't know
if I have the energy
to go into
one of these conventions.
I've heard crazy things
about conventions.
For someone like me
who's pretty new in the game,
I might not be able
to cope with it.
I don't know.
I didn't really expect
to have fans, per Se,
in the voice work that I do,
and it's pretty crazy that I do.
I'm nervous.
I'm definitely nervous.
I've got, um...
I don't know,
something about it just gives me
kind of an uneasy feeling,
but I'm just going
to go for it.
You gotta do things
that scare you in life,
and I think that
this is going to be
a really, really weird
and wonderful opportunity,
so...
I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna go to BronyCon.
BronyCon
is a convention for Bronies,
fans of My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic,
or any generation
of My Little Pony,
to come together and just share
their interests...
art, music, or just
the best of the show itself.
There are people flying in
from California,
flying in from Europe,
because Ashleigh Ball
will be at BronyCon.
Voice actresses, in a sense,
are the stars of the show,
because they are the voices
of the characters people love.
You know,
to hear some of the Bronies
Talk about Rarity...
oh, they would love
to meet Rarity.
The role in the community
is they are
the biggest celebrities.
They are the biggest draw
to these conventions
because people want to have
that kind of, like, one on one
with the closest thing there is
to the characters.
I think we have near on
a thousand preregistered,
and we have the capability
to let people pay at the door.
We're looking at basically
hitting fire code limits
For the convention.
Military Bronies are
just people who enjoy the show
And are in the military,
and it can be from the extent
of somebody
who watches the show regularly
and maybe has a few pieces
of art,
And other people
who liked the whole thing.
That's a Mark 46 machine gun.
It's a semi auto version,
but shoots 223 ammo.
My friends were making fun of me
For being a Brony for years,
and so I told them
what could be more manly
than going around
with all the friends
with the machine guns
and all the tactical gear
and everything else
Than go out with Brony gear?
The definition of a man
is a human male
with an X and a Y chromosome.
That's it.
It's as simple
as it really gets.
My name is Bryan Mischke.
I'm predominantly an artist
by hobby,
and everything like that
has been
pretty much
my one and only real passion.
I have a long time history,
six years of service
in the National Guard,
the Army National Guard,
so I think that pretty much
is the gist of who I am.
When I was 16,
I was in school still.
I dropped out
at about 16 and a half.
17, on my birthday,
I joined the military.
I swore in that day
my recruiter got me,
and at 18, I was in Iraq.
Best allegory I can
possibly use to describe Iraq,
um, came recently
when I saw the movie Tron,
and it's very interesting,
because basically, when
you go out to the world of Tron,
Everything is really barren,
everything is really organized.
It just kind of... it feels
real, but it's not real,
and devoid of real, like, life.
It's just feels like that.
Everything is devoid of life.
That's the desert.
It was desert for me
when I was down there.
Every tough experience
is only gratifying
after the experience.
I guess I would say
is that the last five months
in Iraq
was probably one of the hardest
experiences I had,
if not the hardest.
Actually, you know,
to be honest,
The hardest
actually came after that.
I went through probably
a really good year and a half
Of a pretty deep depression
after I got back from Iraq.
For some reason, I don't know
why I felt this way,
and I still can't
put a finger on it,
but I felt a tremendous amount
of shame after a while,
just for everything,
even for the military, maybe.
I don't cry, I don't,
and I just remember
this one time,
I just went for a walk,
and so many things are going on,
and I just broke down
and called my mom,
and I cried
for, like, three minutes,
and it's kind of getting me
a little emotional right now,
But, like,
I just let it all out.
I talked about everything
that was affecting me,
And I don't really talk
about those things.
Life was just so much simpler
when you were out in the desert.
Everything was planned out
for you and everything.
Now you're back
in the real world
trying to figure it out.
Art stopped doing for me
what it used to do for me.
I just kind of stopped drawing
altogether.
I didn't really see the point.
It didn't really make me money.
It didn't really
make me feel happy.
I didn't really feel
like I had a purpose anymore
In that area.
And then I discovered ponies.
I discovered a reason
to draw again,
Now here I am,
making art again, so...
don't underestimate
the things that make you happy.
You know, if drawing ponies
makes you happy,
there is no reason to feel bad
about that.
Yeah, I've been drawing this,
or I guess
I say I drew this drawing.
It's a pretty detailed drawing.
This drawing took me
probably about a week.
It's the first drawing
I've drawn
in a very, very long time.
It was kind of the catalyst
to me getting back into artwork
after probably about a year,
year and a half hiatus.
Princess Celestia is amazing.
Princess Celestia
rules over the kingdom,
and she raises the sun,
and she is like
a surrogate mother
to Twilight Sparkle,
which is the main character
of the show.
Of all the characters
on that show,
that's the one
I come to admire most.
She's lived a thousand years,
and it feels like it.
Like, she's just
kind of seen it all,
and really just knows
what to say at the right time.
Any adult who has really
gone through it all
and has been really thoughtful
and really caring
and everything like that
Is going to be
a Princess Celestia.
You know, I mean, your mother
should be a Princess Celestia,
In my opinion.
Nicole Oliver,
which is the voice actress
of Princess Celestia,
is going to be doing a panel
at BronyCon,
and I really want to give
this image to her,
this drawing
that I made of her character.
I think it's really important
that I give it to her,
because I really want her
to know
That she's able
to change lives.
It's really important to me.
I really need her to know that
and just thank her for being
a part of it,
and I hope it
really goes over well.
My name is Phoe.
I'm a blog author,
and I'm an admin
on Equestria Daily,
which is the major pony
news blog and media hub
for the fandom,
for the Brony fandom.
It's basically...
we do what we think people
are interested in seeing.
More or less,
it turns into a fan hub,
because most of what we do
is post things
that other people make
that we think are cool.
We also like to get interviews
with actors and writers
and directors
and stuff like that,
and talk to them
about their experiences.
If anything happens,
like if Hasbro releases
a new toy
Or there's an announcement,
or anything at all like that,
we report on it
as soon as we possibly can.
Any speculations,
any rumours, any, just...
any news at all.
It's like a gossip column
with a newspaper stuck on
with a staple.
Anytime anything comes out
related to the show
that could produce fan work,
within, like, three hours,
you have, like,
professionally made songs.
It's absurd,
it's amazing and wonderful,
and I can't get over it.
When we were first starting,
we made a huge deal
out of getting, like,
a thousand page views,
and then, like, 10,000 was like,
"Oh, my gosh, amazing."
I mean, that took, like,
months to hit.
And then we started climbing up,
getting 100,000, 200,000...
skipped over 300,000,
because it was going too fast.
Got to half a mil.
And it was like, "Oh yeah,
wow, we're really making it."
Then a million happened
in a blink of an eye,
and now we're at close
to 260 something million views,
and we hit a million more
every month...
More than a million...
like, two or three million
a month,
And it's just like,
"Ha, remember when a thousand
was a big deal?"
Like, "Yeah..."
I guess the ideal goal
would just to be, like,
an animation media outlet,
just have it all in one place,
and then sort of be
the CNN of silly cartoons.
I decided that I needed a break.
I needed
to get away from the city,
and one of my best friends
lives on Saltspring,
and she invited me
and a bunch
of my really close friends.
I'm working a lot.
I'm doing a lot of series,
I'm doing a lot of the stuff
with the band,
And it's important, I think,
to get away from it all
for a little while
and just kind of escape.
Apple fritters...
Apple rhubarb pie...
Apple turnover.
I feel like I'm myself right now
in the truest form.
Some people can just, like,
really hone in on that.
They just, like,
know you so well,
they just bring you back
to yourself,
and it's important to have
those people in your life.
My name is Stephen Carver,
but I go by the name
of SaberSpark online.
I have a channel on YouTube
called SaberSpark,
and I do top 10 lists,
I do reviews,
I do shows
where I talk about Bronies
And how they act in the fandom,
and just things like that.
I am somewhat of a sociologist,
and that was something
I studied a lot in college,
and that's where my Brony,
you know,
Interest really piqued.
There's a term we use
in sociology
Called the Pink-Blue syndrome.
When a boy or a girl
is born,
they are automatically given
a little pink cap or a blue cap
to say,
"You're a boy, you're a girl."
Culture is designed around that
where guys play sports,
girls play
with their dollhouses.
Guys are tough, girls cry.
Take, for example,
My Little Ponies.
These toys have been designed
to be sold to little girls.
That's the weird thing about it
is guys love the show,
and they want to actually
buy merchandise.
You have an audience
that is younger girls
who still love the show,
My Little Pony,
And then older guys,
and you have both
of those people
Showing up
in the same aisle
that's designed
for little girls,
so it's kind of the bizarre,
you know, gender roles conflict.
Just me standing in this aisle
to begin with,
There might be a mom
and her daughter walking by
and look down this aisle
and see an older guy
looking through pony toys.
It's programmed in their mind
to jump
to the worst case scenario,
which might be, you know,
"Oh, he's a pedophile,"
or, "He's a big ol' manchild,"
or,
"Something's wrong with him."
The fact that boys are becoming
more brave
and go into the pink aisle
buying pony toys
is a sign that
they're not afraid to say
That, "Hey, I'm a dude,
and I like My Little Pony."
A guy can, you know,
like pink stuff,
and a girl can like blue stuff,
and once we get over
that hurdle,
we can finally start
making some progress,
as in girls can do fireman jobs
and be an astronaut
And be a police officer,
and guys could maybe be
a teacher for elementary kids
or be a nurse.
That's fine.
At first, there's
a bit of a shock factor to it
Because it's My Little Pony.
It's got this huge stigma
being pink and girly,
and just poorly executed
20-minute commercials.
And then it turns out to be
really exceptionally
well crafted.
I think
it's a unique kids show
in that it has
a lot of adult references...
I mean, nods to Star Wars,
nods to the Brady Bunch,
to Benny Hill,
to just all sorts of media
that a seven-year-old girl
would have no idea about.
There are many of them
that are in it
for the guidance function.
Many more are into it
for the social function.
Take a look
at the 20th century.
You're going to see
that after every catastrophic
and chaotic time in history,
you're going to see
something in reaction.
The Roaring '20s were
a reaction to World War I.
The beatniks
and the Bohemian generation
were a reaction
to World War II.
You had the Korean War,
but Vietnam came really quickly,
and what did you have after,
during that,
but the hippie movement?
You know,
don't trust anyone over 30.
Then you get into 9-11,
and I think that 10 years later,
this is what we're seeing.
We're tired
of all the violence,
we're tired of the terrorism,
we're tired
of worrying about this.
Let get to something
that is tolerant, friendly...
we can escape into it.
Close your eyes
and watch My Little Pony.
It's all about
conflict resolution.
It has a positive message,
and not only that,
but it's entertaining.
We are currently
at the Santa Monica Pier, uh,
enjoying a Brony meet-up
for So-Cal Bronies.
Whassup?
The So-Cal Brony meet-ups,
they're just a bunch of people
that get together
that like My Little Pony.
Right now, we're 800 strong.
We put on small events
that'll be spur of the moment.
We'll just be hanging
at people's houses,
Or, you know, they'll be, like,
"Hey, let's go to In-N-Out
at two o'clock in the morning,"
and boom,
eight people will be there
Because they're local,
or we'll plan big, huge events
like our Grand Galloping Gala
last Friday,
which was 250 people,
um, you know...
it's just a bunch of people
that want to hang out
and have fun
and get to know each other,
so...
Yeah, there's a website
that we can go on.
It's called Meetup.com,
and from there,
there are different groups
and stuff that you can go to,
and one of the groups
is So-Cal Bronies.
I literally post it up
on the boards,
and people take interest,
and they want to do it,
and they're excited to hang out
with each other.
So-Cal what?
So-Cal Bronies!
Bronies!
Bronies! Bronies! Bronies!
Bronies! Bronies! Bronies!
Well, I'm Liam James
O'Donnell Linehan III,
if you must know my full name.
I am actually in high school.
I'm one of the youngest people
here, surprisingly.
I'm only 17, but regardless,
these are...
these are my people.
Join in!
Until you all shared
its magic with me
Big adventure
Tons of fun
A beautiful heart
Faithful and strong
Sharing kindness
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it
all complete
Yeah, My Little Pony
Do you know you're all
my very best friends
Woo!
So-Cal! So-Cal! So-Cal!
I have this one friend
who's been my, like, best friend
since second grade.
Since the very minute
I told him I was a Brony,
he's made fun of me non-stop,
like, just never-ending.
And about maybe a month ago,
I forced him to watch
one episode,
and he's just in love with it
instantly.
The grade school I went to
was tiny.
There were 32 kids
in my graduating class,
which made it almost impossible
to fit in
if you weren't the mould
that everyone wanted you
to conform to,
and I wasn't.
Like, last year,
at the end of,
towards the end of the year,
we had really started
getting together
as a group of friends
who are all into the show,
and we decided that we wanted
to start a club.
So we got our friend
who is really good at drawing
vectors on the computer,
like this,
and he designed
this shirt for us.
And so you have this Harmony
spelled out
with elements
of the periodic table,
and it's kind of a pun,
because the strongest force
in the show
is the elements of Harmony,
and so that's kind of a pun,
and then
he drew out the vector,
and we all bought the shirts.
A Brony?
No, I've never heard of one.
If you really like
My Little Pony,
could be something for you
there, I guess.
It's like adult comedy... no?
There's people
into weirder stuff than that.
That's pretty random.
People should be grown up
around now.
That's, that's pretty odd.
Which one of you guys
created that adorable logo
with the Northwestern "N"
and Twilight Sparkle?
Was that you?
I like the idea
that Twilight Sparkle
should be our official mascot,
Because A, she's nerdy,
and Northwestern
is legendarily nerdy,
and B, she's purple,
and Northwestern is purple,
so I think
that we really do have to accept
That Twilight Sparkle
is our mascot.
They have, like, a place where
they put, like, local meet-ups
for different universities
across the world, even,
and I saw one for Northwestern,
and I was, like,
"Wow, there actually...
There are Bronies
at Northwestern.
That's cool.
Let's see what's up there."
And I joined the group.
We usually meet, like,
about every two weeks,
um, catch the new episode,
maybe watch
a few other episodes.
Brings people together,
you know, makes friendships...
appropriately, I suppose,
and I guess it is kind of cool
that a show, you know,
so ostensibly
about friendship
is creating friendships
in the real world.
A big part of any community
isn't just the show,
but reacting to the show
and being able to share
your first reactions
on those episodes
and whatever else
you might find online, and...
but that's just really
the beginning
Of what we've been doing,
and it's like parties and games
and food and fun,
all this stuff.
There seems to be
this undercurrent
to most of the things
that's reported
Or written about us
where two-thirds of the time,
threequarters of the time
Has to be spent
reassuring people
that we're not insane,
and that's somewhat...
well, we may be insane,
but not criminally insane,
I should put it.
Northwestern is a place
where fraternities
are actually really important,
And when I came to Northwestern,
I swore I was never going
to join a fraternity.
The whole fraternity aspect
kind of puts the whole "bro"
in Brony.
I mean,
it's all about the community.
You can share it
with other people,
and that's, you know,
the magic of being a Brony.
There should be like,
a book about packing a suitcase.
Going to BronyCon...
Yeah, it's exciting.
Is it?
What am I doing?
I'm getting my Rainbow Dash
full costume
shipped to me tomorrow,
actually,
so it'll be here
in the morning.
Just kidding.
I'm not gonna do that.
To be honest,
I don't know what the convention
is going to be like.
Um...
I kind of have an idea,
but...
yeah, I'm not totally sure.
Like, these people could be...
they could be really scary.
Maybe I should be packing
bear mace or something.
But...
I did have a stalker
a little while ago.
I believe it was a male.
He called me
with, like, a vocoder thing,
something,
a distortion on his voice,
so it sounded really low
and scary,
kind of like the "Scream" voice,
like... uh...
"Hello, Sidney,
are you alone in the house,"
that kind of thing,
but, like, really low,
and... yeah,
just asked me what I was wearing
and what I was doing that night,
and, yeah,
it was a little bit weird,
just kind of
invading your privacy.
It's a weird feeling,
but nothing came of it.
People were, like,
"You should call the police.
You should do this and that,"
and I just kind of let it go.
Um...
Bronies were not
on the radar at this time.
The Bronies that I've met so far
have been really nice.
They're really enthusiastic
about the show,
and it's definitely going to be
interesting to be in a room
full of just, just Bronies.
Maybe I'll find my soulmate.
Oh, man.
You know, my whole philosophy
in life
Is do what it takes to be happy,
as long as you don't hurt
anybody else, you know.
Some people call me a big kid.
Me and my wife,
we're just big kids,
And we're happy.
You know, I own my own house,
but I love video games.
I have Transformers,
My Little Ponies...
We like to do things
that make us smile, you know.
I'm not really worried
about, you know,
What she'll think of us.
Like, she's being brought up
in all this.
We just want to bring them up
with this happy,
You can like anything.
It doesn't matter
if you're a child, an adult,
A girl, a boy...
if it makes you happy,
there's nothing wrong with that,
you know, you just do it.
And if that makes
people uncomfortable,
that's their issues
that they have to work out,
because if you're walking down
the street smiling,
Ponies on your shirt,
nothing can hurt you.
It has such a positive message,
and it can...
it's great at appealing
to every end of the spectrum,
both kids and adults alike.
There's no bad
this show can bring.
We had a particularly
bad thunderstorm
about a month or so ago,
so the next morning,
she told me,
she said, "Daddy,
there was a big thunderstorm,
and it was really loud,
and I got scared.
I fell off my bed."
And I said, "Arianna,
why didn't you come
and wake us up?"
And then she told me,
I'll never forget, she said,
"Oh, well, Daddy,
Pinkie Pie came out of my TV
and told me to giggle
at the ghosties."
Pinkie Pie taught her
to deal with these fears.
You know, it's not about
loving a little girls' show.
It's about loving
these messages,
and quite frankly,
if all these people
are following this show,
Which has very strong
happiness morals, you know,
be kind to your friends,
always be honest...
Like, this is all good stuff,
and people are following this.
My name is...
my real name is Martin.
The name I that go about
online is Rommel.
I helped co-found a group
by the name of Bronies for Good.
It's a solidarity
support organization,
not a charity organization,
because we haven't filed
a 501(c)(3),
and we don't plan to.
So Bronies for Good
as an organization
within the Brony community
Has raised 80,000 to 85,000
US dollars,
and that has gone
to the Children's Cancer
Association,
And to Your Siblings,
which had
three different projects
That we helped fully fund.
The first one
was a clinic in Uganda,
the second one was a sustainable
village in Burundi,
and the third one
was the expansion
of an orphanage in Uganda.
Bronies for Good
definitely really shows
that, you know, you can take
what this fandom has
and apply it
to a very altruistic purpose.
Bronies for Good really hammers
on the social change,
on the "helping others" part.
It's not just
a good thing for America,
It's a good thing for the world.
The world needs it.
We need to get out
of this sense
that everything
is individually done
and the world is, um...
is not subject to change,
because it is subject to change,
and Bronies
are making that happen.
Uh, it's pretty good,
but can you make it 20% cooler?
It needs to be
about 20% cooler.
20% cooler.
20% cooler.
Needs to be about 20% cooler.
So I guess
in one of the episodes,
Rainbow Dash talks
about something
being 20% cooler.
I'm not even sure
what she was referring to,
But the Bronies found that line,
I guess,
and found it
really entertaining,
or there was something about it
that they latched on to.
I mean,
it's just an awesome phrase.
It's just...
who says "20% cooler"?
How do you make
a percentile out of cooler?
There's, like, shirts I've seen,
With shirts that say,
"make it 20% cooler."
Or, like...
people always write on
our YouTube page for Hey Ocean!
Like, "This band is 20% cooler,"
or whatever, like...
So you know this "20% cooler,"
or, you know, Bro-Hoof,
you know,
those are all signals
that groups, fandoms use
to recognize,
"Ah, we've got another."
Yeah, it just
became this thing.
20%.
Not that much cooler.
Sometimes people are puzzled,
and if people are puzzled,
hey, it's a chance
to spread the word.
It needs to be 20% cooler.
20% cooler.
20% cooler.
Like, 20% cooler, seriously.
20% cooler.
20% cooler!
No, baby,
it needs to be about 20% cooler.
Mmm.
I am a Brony.
I am a Brony.
Like, it's not like
an unsure thing.
It's not like an,
"Eh..."
I watch the show,
I look at the art,
I read some of the fanfics,
but most of all, like,
beyond any of that,
I listen to the music.
I'm Silva Hound.
All I've done
is DJ pony parties.
I make music.
It's Silva Hound.
Silva Hound...
I-I-in the mix!
I used to wonder
what friendship could be
Until you shared all its magic
with me
Big adventure
Tons of fun
A beautiful heart
Faithful and strong
Sharing kindness
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it
All complete
Yeah, my...
I just do it.
It just
Whether that's because
of a result of my creativity
or the show's creativity,
or both
working together as one,
I can't... I don't know.
My Little Pony
My Little Po...
This fandom has some good music,
better than anything
on the radio now.
I find it a great pleasure
to sample a lot of the stuff
from the show.
I just have
a lot of fun with it.
It's pretty rewarding.
As of right now,
I have recently hit
a million views on YouTube.
Um, I have a thousand followers
on twitter.
I'm reaching 2,000
on SoundCloud.
I just said, "You know what,
I'm going to sell this
and see how much money it gets."
And it got a little, it got
a nice little piece of change.
You know, I just needed
some money for college, and...
I'll be taking
calculus next year.
The pony music
really helped me to afford that.
You know,
I grew up in Atlanta...
Atlanta, Georgia,
the dirty dirty.
And, you know, growing up here
wasn't the best of paradises,
but, you know, I survived.
Growing up with that mentality,
I just sort of took that
into my music, you know?
As long as I'm alive,
as long as this laptop is on,
you know, nothing's
gonna stop me, you know?
So I'm gonna put
my hooves up high
Don't worry
about tomorrow
'Cause I'm here tonight
I'll grab the world
Before it passes by
Don't worry about tomorrow
'Cause I'm here tonight
Go! Go! Go! Go!
Go! Go! Go! Go!
This is going to be
an interesting journey,
so here we go.
It's your fear of flying
It's your fear
of flying
What makes America exceptional
are the bonds that hold together
the most diverse nation
on earth...
the belief that our destiny
is shared,
the idea that if you're willing
to work hard,
it doesn't matter who you are,
or where you come from,
or what you look like,
or where you love.
It doesn't matter
whether you're black or white,
Or Hispanic or Asian,
or native American,
or young, or old,
or rich, or poor,
able, disabled,
gay, or straight.
You can make it here in America
if you're willing to try.
You ain't a man
unless you're watching
My Little Pony, son. Okay?
You know what I do,
when I get done the gym?
I go home,
I have my protein shake,
I put on my Comcast DVR,
and I sit down
with a big bowl of cereal
and I watch My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic.
You know why?
Because it fills
my testosterone up
so I can go back
to the gym again
and just start pumpin' it out
and get bigger, and bigger,
and bigger, son.
Yeah, so you gotta get...
I like being strong.
Like, one thing I really like,
is just...
I don't...
when I was a kid being
picked on and bullied,
Like, being, like,
helpless to the fact
that someone
is pushing you around?
I hate that feeling.
So that fact that I'm stronger
and I'm taking classes
to defend myself,
Not only can I defend myself,
but I can defend my friends,
and I can defend my family
if anyone's a jerk,
so that's what I really
got out of it,
Like, each time, I'm stronger
than I was yesterday.
If you know me, I'm a very huge
Dragon Ball Z fan,
and that show just inspired me
so much as a kid.
So... just being like them
is what I idolized,
but I was fat and lazy as a kid.
You know, a bunch of people,
they always see shows,
And then are like,
"Man, that would be so cool
to be like him,"
Go back to eating
their diet soda and cookies
and stuff like that,
and that's how I used to be.
Then I found some friends
in high school
who had a mutual interest
in weight lifting,
and they took me in
and showed me the wraps,
and I was just like,
"Hey, I'm gonna weight lift."
But I'm still
a nerdy person inside.
Bronies aren't, like, the most
physically active people,
as I've seen at BronyCon,
but that's not a bad thing.
If that's their choice,
then okay,
but I just wanna show them,
like,
"Hey, if you guys
wanna feel healthier
and more confident,
then I can help you out
with that,"
So I would just upload
a fitness video
every now and then.
I just want to show you
you can still like the show
and just be in shape,
because I feel like
when you're in shape,
you're just
a lot more confident,
and you feel
better about yourself.
You look better.
Everything just falls
around you, it's...
falls into place.
Everything just...
It's just awesome.
One day, Patrick and I were,
I was getting ready
to leave the office,
and Patrick said,
"By the way, Marsha,
have you ever heard of a Brony?"
And I said, "A what?"
"A Brony."
And he said,
"Will told me that
'I'm a Brony.'"
He said to me,
"Dad, I'm drawing again".
And I went, "All right, Will,
you know, that's great,"
Because he's very artistic.
And I said,
"So, what are you drawing?"
And he got real quiet,
and I said,
"Will, what are you drawing?"
And he says,
"Well, have you heard
of My Little Pony?"
I'm Will.
I'm a senior in high school.
Um...
I guess I'm pretty normal,
I suppose.
Thankfully, knowing my dad,
I was sort of already expecting,
you know,
he wasn't going to, like,
freak out
and kick me out of the house
or anything,
but when I first told him,
he was a little hesitant.
He was like, "What?"
The way I told him
is that I was drawing again.
You know, he got all excited,
and he was like, "Well,
what have you been drawing?"
And I was like, "Well, this
is going to sound really weird,
but I've been drawing,
like, ponies."
And he's like, "You mean,
like horses and stuff?"
And I'm like,
"No, no, no.
Like, the cartoon.
Like, My Little Pony."
You know, my dad knows
only about, like, you know,
the old stuff,
so he kind of was like,
"Whaaaat?"
So I started telling him
about it, you know.
I was like, "Oh, it's
the new show and everything,"
And so my dad was like,
"Oh, that's pretty cool."
And then the thing
that really stood out to him
was when I said, "You know,
there's a lot of people
who watch that."
I saw my dad,
he was like, "Ohh..."
so that was my dad going off
in little psychologist mode,
you know?
So my dad
definitely was okay with it.
So we got picked up
at the airport,
and it really wasn't
what I expected.
There was a line of Bronies
all in matching T-shirts,
and one of them had
a Rainbow Dash sign.
That's how I knew
it was for sure
the Brony Convention people.
They were really,
really enthusiastic
about being Bronies,
and about just the whole
pony fandom situation
in general,
so yeah, it's gonna be...
it's gonna be a trip.
It's gonna be really crazy
tomorrow, I think.
So I set out to try my luck
in the big city, Manehattan,
the most cosmopolitan...
That's here!
We're here right now,
in Manehattan.
Oh, my god, that's probably
why they're doing this here.
So it's the night
before the conference,
the big BronyCon tomorrow.
Just got to the hotel,
scattered things around,
and... ooh!
I'm doing a bit
of Brony research.
There's some things
that I don't know
about the world of Bronies.
I guess I'm just a bit,
I'm maybe a little worried
that they're going to ask me
some, like, crazy questions
about the equestrian world
that the ponies live in
that I'm not going to know
the answers to...
Which I don't really need to,
but I feel like
I really... I should.
I think I'm definitely going
to get asked to do
A lot of pony voices tomorrow.
It needs to be about
20% cooler.
Okay, that'll be my go-to line
for tomorrow.
It needs to be
about 20% cooler.
Bronies, you're gonna have
to work on your cool factor.
"Rainbow Dash, Sparta Mix."
Oh, this is gonna be good.
Let's try this.
Awesomeness!
It's a whole, like,
techno remix
made from that one line
that I say.
Who is behind all of this?
The Bronies, they're behind it.
Ooh...
Who makes these videos?
Oh, man.
Okay, I'm over it.
Let's go get pizza.
Time step,
Times Square.
It's just gonna be crazy!
It's all about friendship.
Life is a culmination
of mistakes
that you've learned from,
and pain is a good teacher.
You can't believe
you're going to fail.
You know, those people who are,
if you ever talk
to those people
who are, like, really rich
and really successful,
failure never even occurs
to them.
It never occurs to them
that they can fail
at what they're doing.
That's almost, like,
a beautiful thing.
That ain't me, though.
Um, to me,
life's the experience.
You try, you try and become
a better version of yourself
Every day.
I'm not saying
you need to change,
you need to become
a different person,
just a better version
of yourself.
I just think that once
you stop working on yourself,
the only way you have to go
is down from there.
They say people fear
what they don't understand.
Maybe I just have
a lot of fears,
and I just need to understand
to feel secure in life.
Like, I know I'm a different
kind of person.
Like...
I've gone through so... life
just... just not fitting in,
not really...
You know,
everything has always kinda been
A one-size-fits-all society,
you know, a formula
that I never...
I was always outside of.
You gotta know what helps you,
and I feel like, you know,
I had a lot of crap in my life,
but I don't feel like
I'm any worse for it at all.
And I love, I mean,
I love my life.
People regret the things
they don't do.
You only regret the things
you don't do,
and I don't have
a lot of regrets,
because I go after...
I'm not a "don't do"
kind of person.
I think...
that's the only way to live,
but maybe most people
aren't like me.
Maybe most people aren't willing
to just...
you know, willing to go
on that everlasting quest.
So we are on our way
to BronyCon.
It is 9:30...
I think it might be
a little after 9:30.
We're a little late.
Um, it's an exciting time.
All right, BronyCon,
here we go.
What's your favourite episode?
The first episode
was pretty phenomenal.
All right, so...
Bryan?
Yeah, just Bryan.
This is Bryan, just Bryan.
How you doing?
I'm really sorry...
you guys are going
to hate me for this,
But I haven't drawn in a year...
Show it to the crowd!
Show it!
Show it to the camera!
There we go.
How does it feel
to be awesome?
Okay. Okay.
F-forget you.
I can eat all these apples.
He goes, "What is that?"
"A puppy? A kitten?"
And, like, one guy in the back
goes, "It's a pony!"
And I said, "I want that guy
to do my tattoo."
Whoo!
Go, ninja, go!
Go, ninja!
I feel like my life
is sort of changing in a way.
Like... not totally,
but just...
there's a lot of people
out there
That really love
these characters,
and, like, I'm by no means,
like,
in charge of what
they say and do on the show,
but I'm kind of giving them...
I'm giving you life.
I'm giving them,
you know, a voice.
Presents!
Yay!
And it's Applejack
and Rainbow Dash
singing together,
and it looks like they're
recording a pony script.
"Dear Ashleigh,
thank you for bringing an edge
To My Little Pony.
You rock!"
A conch shell!
Piggy's got the conch!
And... oh,
with a note inside of it.
"Your new Shell Phone.
I have an incoming call
for a Mrs. Atlantic Ocean.
She wants to say hello.
Will you accept?"
Hello?
Yeah, I guess I feel like
I'm a part of something.
I'm a part of this movement,
like...
I'm not a Brony, but I'm...
I'm, uh...
I'm a part
of these people's lives
because I voice
these characters.
Yeah, before I left
for this convention,
I really wasn't sure
what I was getting myself into.
I was a little nervous.
I wasn't quite sure
what to expect
and who these people were...
like, who are Bronies?
I'd had a couple interactions
in the past,
But not at this capacity at all.
To get this response
from any group of people
is incredible,
and it just happens to be that
this particular group of people
are mostly grown men
who are into this series
about girl ponies...
which is pretty bizarre,
when you think about it,
but at the same time,
they're not doing
anything wrong,
and they found each other,
and I think it's an honour
to be a part of that.
- Yeah,
- it's a beginning of something.
It could fizzle out.
Things like this
have happened before.
There's a big rising tide,
there's a force,
and then it doesn't go anywhere
because nothing
picks up the torch,
and I really hope that something
comes along that will do that,
because
this is not selfsustaining.
It can't carry on forever.
But it has so much potential
to just shape the way
that we think about things,
and make people be like,
"Oh, well, maybe it's just
if something is good,
Then we can like it."
People like to think
it's just a TV show,
It's not that big of a deal,
and at the end of the day,
maybe that's all that it is,
just a small footprint
in history.
But so many people's lives
have been bettered by it.
I think the best part
about being a Brony
is that it just really is,
you know,
like, it's more than a fandom.
It's more than a community.
It really is like a big family.
It's not about My Little Pony,
it's about
"Friendship is magic."
You know what I mean?
And about that sense
of solidarity,
That sense of community,
and all those different things
that really
bring people together
under a really wonderful
umbrella.
It's not cynical, that it's
just this positive oasis
in a sea of sarcasm and cynicism
in modern society.
The characters
are well developed.
They try to accomplish goals.
If they fail,
they learn from their mistakes.
They move on.
It doesn't become this big,
you know, ironic to-do.
Give Bronies
the benefit of the doubt
that they're all good people
that like a kids' show
for what it is.
They aren't weird, deviant,
you know, people.
All they are are people
who like a cartoon show.
That's it.
You've noticed how big
the fan base has gotten so far.
My question is, how much bigger
do you think it's going to get,
and for how long?
As long as My Little Pony
exists,
There will be Bronies.
You remind me of a boy
who once left me destroyed
When he cut me like a saw
with his back and forth
And I remind you of someone
you loved when you were young
She tossed you like a stone
into the ocean
We thought
we'd never dance again
So scared of second chances
But now
there's something happenin'
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna move
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
Like no one ever has
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up, yeah
And you know the moves
'Cause it's our dance
And you know the moves
And you know
the moves
'Cause it's our dance
And you know the moves
Slow
Dance
Square
Dance
High School
Dance
So you think you...
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna move
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
Like no one ever has
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna move
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
Like no one ever has
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
I have the feeling
that I went out last night
I'm sticking in
for the rest of my life
No more temptations
walking in front of my eyes
I'm turning 'round
and living inside
Living inside
Living inside
A BRONY TALE
When I walk up,
there's this big, fat,
bald muscular guy.
I walk in, and he goes,
"What do you want?"
I said, "I want to make
an appointment to get a tattoo."
He says, "What do you want
a tattoo of?"
And I said, "This,"
and he goes, "What is that?
A puppy? A kitten?"
And, like, one guy in the back
goes, "It's a pony,"
and I said, "I want that guy
to do my tattoo."
Yee-haw!
All right then, there,
here we go, now.
Yee-haw!
Welcome to Apple Acres.
Come on down
and meet the family!
You got Apple Cobbler,
Apple Bumpkin, Apple Turnover,
Apple Pie, little Jazz,
Cousin Braeburn,
Big Mac, Apple Bloom,
and this here is Granny Smith!
Yee-hoo!
Don't worry, Twilight,
I happen to be
the fastest Pegasus in the sky!
The fastest Pegasus in the sky!
The fastest Pegasus
in the sky!
It's because I'm awesome.
Ba-ha-ha-ha!
I've been doing voice work
For about six years now,
I guess.
I graduated from the Canadian
College of Performing Arts,
and basically got picked up
by an agent
at this showcase that we did,
and told me
that he thought I would be good
at voice-over work,
so I went in
and did a reading with him.
He was confident that my voice
capabilities were there,
So he started just sending me
out to these auditions,
and it was pretty nerve-wracking
at first.
I went into a room
where all these people
knew each other,
And I was this outsider.
I didn't really know
how to, you know,
manoeuvre around the microphone.
I mean,
I'd had singing experience,
So that was good,
but yeah, I just kind of
got thrown into it,
and the first voice-over role
was...
a character
called Slim Pig.
And he's just this paper-thin
pig that would, like,
go around the barn
and get into adventures.
He was, like, a cut-out pig,
but all the other animals
were regular... 3D.
I don't know, it was strange.
I kind of got hired to do
this little boy voice.
So Slim Pig
kind of just sounded like this,
"Hey, Little Chicken,
do you want to go
on an adventure today?"
And he was just, like,
this little dude.
Because I was
a role already on the show,
I got to play Little Chick.
This kind of
sounded like this...
"Adventure! Oh! Adventure!"
I got to play the cow.
She kind of had this,
like, weird voice.
"Oh!"
"Slim Pig!
Puh-please help me!
My head is stuck in a fence!
Please help me moo-ve it!"
Coconut Fred
Fruit Salad Island!
One of my favourite roles,
actually, that I ever got
was this Warner Brothers cartoon
called Coconut Fred's
Fruit Salad Island,
and it was
the sexually confused tomato.
He didn't know if he was
a fruit or a vegetable,
so he was very sensitive,
and he performed poetry a lot.
"What am I?
A fruit or a veggie?
Either one
could give me a wedgie."
I went into the audition
for the new Care Bears series,
and they were looking
for this new Care Bear
Called Oopsy Bear,
who was this little boy.
I guess they got
a bunch of men to read for him,
and that wasn't working out,
so they got me in there,
and I just kind of based him
on Chris Farley,
like, you know, that kind of,
like, clumsy guy he plays
all the time?
He'll, like, fall...
"Aw, I'm re-really sorry.
I didn't mean to mess up
the thunderbolt coaster.
Sorry."
I got to play...
Boris Bootie.
He was on this show
called Ricky Sprocket.
It was about a show biz kid,
and Boris Bootie
was just an ordinary guy
who really liked
breakfast cereal.
And then, so I think
I got kind of pigeonholed
To play little boys all the time
'cause that was, like,
my goto voice,
Was the little boy voice.
So when I went into audition
for My Little Pony,
I thought it was obvious
that I would read for Spike,
the baby dragon.
And I was just like,
"Oh, I'll just go to, you know,
Do my go-to little boy voice."
Twilight!
Y-You know
I love eating diamonds.
You know,
he's just like this little guy.
I didn't...
I didn't end up getting cast
as Spike,
But I got a call-back
for... not Spike,
but for Applejack
and Rainbow Dash.
I just ended up
getting both roles,
which is pretty crazy.
My job is fun.
It's cool.
It's, like, um...
you know,
you just get to hang out
And do voices for a living.
Not too shabby.
Okay, whatever you want.
Hey! What's going on?
I'm Ashleigh.
I am, uh, at the site of a show
we just played with Hey Ocean!
And I just had
my first Brony encounter.
Do you have any voices for us?
Well, uh, well,
I suppose that Applejack's
very happy
that you came out to Hey Ocean!
And Rainbow Dash
Couldn't be more excited!
I need to go watch
Dan Mangan now!
All right.
Peace!
Bye!
Thank you!
See ya guys!
Love you!
A Brony
is a fan of the television show
My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic,
and...
they're usually males
from the age bracket
of 18 to 30, let's say.
The pervert alarm for sure
went off in my head
when I first heard about it.
I want to very specifically
not give a shout out
to my Bronies tonight.
Now a show, you're right in
the middle of the normal scale.
Since the reboot of the classic
'80s cartoon debuted last fall,
it's attracted a massive amount
of male viewers.
Combine the words
"brother" and "pony."
The audience
isn't who you might expect.
Fanboys have taken
to creating pony art,
posting fan videos on YouTube,
and creating
blogs dedicated to the show.
Weird fit demographically,
but they work together.
My point is this!
Bronies have changed
the definition of masculinity.
I think
it's the end of...
Civilization?
What's happened
is that with the spread
of fast access Internet,
almost the entirety of the media
with the fandom
Is entirely online.
It's, in a lot of senses,
a brand new type of fandom.
It's this crazy phenomenon
on the web, in the media...
It's kind of inexplicable,
really.
What happens when a movement
puts a lot of new ideas
into circulation?
It, uh,
doesn't really make sense.
People are inspired
by the environment
That surrounds them.
The Internet
is a complicated idea,
a set of protocols
that has changed everything.
Try to realize
our imaginations and the need
to retreat to a world
of pure fantasy.
We exist in a world
of illusion.
The true nature of reality
beckons
from just beyond the horizon.
I got an invitation
to... BronyCon.
Brony...
B-R-O-NYC-Con, in New York,
which is a convention
for Bronies.
It's pretty crazy.
Apparently there's
a lot of these happening,
although this would be
the first one
That I've been invited to.
"Hello!
My name is Purple Tinker,
and I run BronyCon,
the world's largest dedicated
My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic fan event.
We are currently
in the planning stages
of our next event,
BronyCon, end of January.
It will be held
in New York City,
but something is missing...
Ms. Ashleigh Ball."
That's me!
"Would Ms. Ball do us the honour
of letting us treat her
like the star she is
for one special weekend?"
Wow.
I guess... we'll see.
I'm a trained
Harley Davidson mechanic.
I have built and can build
custom motorcycles
from scratch.
I can weld.
I can run a CMC machine.
I played college football.
Uh, what's the other one?
Bodyguard ranch hand
for a science fiction writer,
I worked as a GM glue guy
a GM dealership.
On top of all that, I watch
a show for little girls.
I'm known as DustyKatt
in the fandom,
and I'm known as
the Manliest Brony in the World.
If this guy can like
a girls' show for what it is,
you can too.
Every character
doesn't have the answers, right?
They have to go find
the answers,
They have to learn
from their mistakes,
and that's what draws me
to My Little Pony,
Because you have
character-driven story
where the characters
learn something and grow.
There's six main characters
in the show.
Twilight Sparkle.
Her characterization
is fairly easy.
Twilight
is the intellectual shut-in.
Now you have Applejack,
who is the hard worker,
that pony you can go to,
but her problem is
she can't let others help her.
Fluttershy,
too shy for her own good.
That's one of her fallacies
that makes her a character.
Rainbow Dash...
my, what an ego!
She'll never get
into the Wonderbolts,
Because the Wonderbolts
are a team situation.
There's no "I" in "team."
Rarity...
Element of generosity...
to a fault.
She has to get over that.
She has to learn from that.
And then we get to Pinkie Pie,
party animal extraordinaire.
Off into left field
all the time,
but still, when somebody
needs to be picked up,
when someone is feeling sad,
she's there every time.
Each individual character
is so well rounded
within an archetype
of personality,
so people can see themselves
as a Rainbow Dash,
a Rarity,
or an Applejack.
That is the basis
of excellent storytelling.
Don't think of it as
six little ponies in Ponyville.
Think of it as six friends
learning from each other.
It just happens to be wrapped up
in a package of pastel ponies
that's animated well.
This is a show for kids,
but it doesn't wallow
in that point.
I'm just a guy who happens
to like a TV show.
I love My Little Pony.
I love what it does,
I love the message it sends,
and I want to be a part of it,
and I want to be able
to play in that universe.
We're suppose to chug beer,
ride motorcycles,
be degrading to women,
and like explosions.
That's what's engrained
in our brains
from the minute you're born
and put into a blue crib.
Well, I like what I like.
I don't need society
to tell me what I like,
and that's all there is to it.
Ei-ei-o, and here it goes!
As Twilight Sparkle
would say,
"We must science this
immediately!"
About a year ago,
the Brony Phenomenon
sort of fell into our laps,
and as soon as I heard about it,
I thought,
"Somebody needs to study this."
"Fandom" is a term that's used
for the community,
and in general,
people usually look at fandoms
with kind of a little bit
of a, like,
"These people
need to get a life."
Well, in fact, actually,
where does the term "fan"
come from?
"Fanatic."
You know it could be,
um, the Carolina Panthers.
It could be, um, Star Trek.
Uh, it could be
My Little Pony...
Oprah.
It could be Oprah.
It could be anything.
Our Bronies
ranged from 14 to 57,
with the average age
was around 21 years of age.
Then there's
the question of gender.
We usually ran around
85% male and 15% female.
Some female Bronies
like to be called Bronies,
some like to be called
Pegasisters.
And we question
if that 15% female,
how much of those are Bronies
because they have
a Brony boyfriend.
Hmm-hmm. Yep.
Bronies score lower
in neuroticism.
Neuroticism is sort of like
a tendency...
and I've sort of wrote
it's a tendency
to experience negative emotions
like anger, anxiety,
to worry, to be stressed,
and the Bronies
have lower scores,
so again, that would tend
to say this is a group...
now, there are going to be
Depressed Bronies,
and there are gonna be
Anxious Bronies,
But that's very positive.
Education level...
What we found was around 35%
of our Bronies
were in high school,
while about 62% were in
or had completed college.
And then one of the biggies,
the sexual orientation question,
which...
many people when they first
hear about the Bronies
will say things like,
"Well, is it a bunch of gays
and that?"
84% of the Bronies will describe
themselves as heterosexuals.
One and a half percent
label themselves as homosexuals,
and about 10% bisexual,
and then around 3-4% asexual.
Asexual is,
based on clinical experience,
some people who just simply
are not interested in sex.
It's still a puzzle,
when I think...
It's still a puzzle.
It's a puzzle to us as well,
but, um, I think that it's...
that the, um,
that society as a whole
is becoming less negative
in their attitudes
toward Bronies.
My name is Mike Bernstein,
and I am the broadcast director
of Everfree Radio.
Everfree Radio
is an online radio station
and network of programs
dedicated and mostly marketed
towards the Brony community.
I ended up watching it
because I thought,
"Okay,
clearly this is a phenomenon.
I have to understand why."
And I watched the first episode,
and the first episode
is a cliffhanger, a two-parter,
so I'm like, "Okay, well,
I gotta watch the second part."
You know, you gotta see how
the beginning story arc ends.
And then, you know,
I got to the end
of the second episode.
I'm like,
"Yeah, that's pretty decent.
It's okay. It's not bad.
You know, I better watch
the third episode
To make sure
that it's, you know,
maintaining
that level of quality,"
And then the fourth
and the fifth,
and by the time
I got to the 17th episode,
I kind of hung my head
in resignation.
It's kinda like, "Damnit."
You know?
"I guess I'm a Brony.
Oh well, better come
to terms with it."
4chan is an image
and message board
where the Brony movement began,
basically, back in...
I think it was October of 2010.
Somebody wrote an article.
They were citing My Little Pony:
Friendship Is Magic
as showing that companies
were micromanaging programs.
Well, new cartoon shows
are all about merchandising,
so somebody on 4chan went
and decided to watch it
and said,
"Hey, it's pretty good,"
And so they made
a post about it.
Other people
started watching it,
and they're like, "Hey, yeah,
it's actually pretty good."
And it became this kind of,
like, weird phenomenon.
They ended up becoming kind of
like their own little clan.
So more people watched the show
to try and figure out,
"Okay, is this just a big joke?"
And then they started posting
images on the boards,
and then the moderators of 4chan
decided,
"No, we don't want all
these pony images everywhere,"
So they shut it down,
so then they start another one.
It became this whole, like,
flurry of online activity.
In a sense, 4chan was the start
of the Brony community.
It's the deep depths
of shameless Internet.
Actually, people like to think,
okay, Bronies,
The name "Bronies" came from
"bros" and "ponies."
That's not where it came from.
It came from the "/b/"
message boards, and "ponies."
So that's how they combined it.
It was 4chan "/b/" and "ponies,"
so Bronies,
but I kind of like
the "bro" one better
because it feels a little more,
you know, "Hey, bro!"
So that's just me.
So yeah,
voice-over work is my job,
and I just, like, love...
love what I do,
love that I get to be a cartoon
for a living,
but my main passion is music.
In Hey Ocean!
There's two other members
besides myself,
Dave Vertesi
and Dave Beckingham.
The three of us have been
doing this music thing
for almost seven years now,
and over the last couple months,
we've been feeling the presence
of the Bronies.
Bronies by the dozens
have been coming to concerts.
I didn't watch
the first episode
and then just suddenly
get drawn in or anything.
I don't wanna be mean,
but, like, I don't care
about My Little Pony.
All we do is mess around
But I know that it's love
we've found
I think it's kind of difficult
for both of them,
because there's this whole
other fanbase that's, like,
kind of latching themselves
onto our music.
Yeah, it's weird,
like, 30-year-old dudes
liking a little kids' show
about female ponies, you know,
that fly or whatever,
but that said,
weird can be really rad
and really good,
and it's important.
I love people who are genuine
and who are, like,
"This is who I am,
and that's what I like."
I like the Bronies for that.
Baby
there's no time to waste
Sing until you have no voice
Ooh hoo whoo ooh
Sing
because you have no choice
Ooh whoo ooh ooh
There's nothing
that can compare
to standing on a stage
and singing with an amazing band
and some of your best friends.
It's what I love
more than anything,
and it's the dream, for sure.
Don't tell me
that we've come this far
To start again
or fall apart
Sing it
when you're lost at sea
Love will bring you
back to me
Sing until you have no voice
Ooh hoo whoo ooh
Sing
because you have no choice
Ooh
Our love
is like a big blue wave
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
I just discovered Hey Ocean!
Through finding out
about Ashleigh
and the other Bronies,
it was like,
"Oh, hey, you know,
she's in a band, you know."
"Wow, really?"
So you check it out, and
then you find out it's awesome.
Mandopony is sort of the persona
that I developed
to release music online
based off of My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic.
The show generates
so much positivity,
it makes so much good happen,
and yet it meets
such disappointing, like, venom
from... so many people
are so venomous towards it,
and so hostile and destructive
towards it.
It just disgusted me
and made me so sad.
That was why I wrote the song.
We're a long way
from Equestria
A long, long way
I think, you know, saying
we're a long way from Equestria
is just a way to surmise
the fact that, yeah,
all things considered,
we're so far from this world.
Like,
the characters in the show,
they learn, they forgive,
they share,
and they celebrate
friendship and kindness
instead of mocking it,
and that
we are so far from that,
but it's getting better.
I think it's getting better.
A long way from Equestria
A long, long way
I'm just kind of trying
to decide right now
to go or not to go.
That is the question.
And it's just kind of
at a crazy time.
Like, I'm really busy
with work right now
and touring with the band.
I don't know
if I have the energy
to go into
one of these conventions.
I've heard crazy things
about conventions.
For someone like me
who's pretty new in the game,
I might not be able
to cope with it.
I don't know.
I didn't really expect
to have fans, per Se,
in the voice work that I do,
and it's pretty crazy that I do.
I'm nervous.
I'm definitely nervous.
I've got, um...
I don't know,
something about it just gives me
kind of an uneasy feeling,
but I'm just going
to go for it.
You gotta do things
that scare you in life,
and I think that
this is going to be
a really, really weird
and wonderful opportunity,
so...
I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna go to BronyCon.
BronyCon
is a convention for Bronies,
fans of My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic,
or any generation
of My Little Pony,
to come together and just share
their interests...
art, music, or just
the best of the show itself.
There are people flying in
from California,
flying in from Europe,
because Ashleigh Ball
will be at BronyCon.
Voice actresses, in a sense,
are the stars of the show,
because they are the voices
of the characters people love.
You know,
to hear some of the Bronies
Talk about Rarity...
oh, they would love
to meet Rarity.
The role in the community
is they are
the biggest celebrities.
They are the biggest draw
to these conventions
because people want to have
that kind of, like, one on one
with the closest thing there is
to the characters.
I think we have near on
a thousand preregistered,
and we have the capability
to let people pay at the door.
We're looking at basically
hitting fire code limits
For the convention.
Military Bronies are
just people who enjoy the show
And are in the military,
and it can be from the extent
of somebody
who watches the show regularly
and maybe has a few pieces
of art,
And other people
who liked the whole thing.
That's a Mark 46 machine gun.
It's a semi auto version,
but shoots 223 ammo.
My friends were making fun of me
For being a Brony for years,
and so I told them
what could be more manly
than going around
with all the friends
with the machine guns
and all the tactical gear
and everything else
Than go out with Brony gear?
The definition of a man
is a human male
with an X and a Y chromosome.
That's it.
It's as simple
as it really gets.
My name is Bryan Mischke.
I'm predominantly an artist
by hobby,
and everything like that
has been
pretty much
my one and only real passion.
I have a long time history,
six years of service
in the National Guard,
the Army National Guard,
so I think that pretty much
is the gist of who I am.
When I was 16,
I was in school still.
I dropped out
at about 16 and a half.
17, on my birthday,
I joined the military.
I swore in that day
my recruiter got me,
and at 18, I was in Iraq.
Best allegory I can
possibly use to describe Iraq,
um, came recently
when I saw the movie Tron,
and it's very interesting,
because basically, when
you go out to the world of Tron,
Everything is really barren,
everything is really organized.
It just kind of... it feels
real, but it's not real,
and devoid of real, like, life.
It's just feels like that.
Everything is devoid of life.
That's the desert.
It was desert for me
when I was down there.
Every tough experience
is only gratifying
after the experience.
I guess I would say
is that the last five months
in Iraq
was probably one of the hardest
experiences I had,
if not the hardest.
Actually, you know,
to be honest,
The hardest
actually came after that.
I went through probably
a really good year and a half
Of a pretty deep depression
after I got back from Iraq.
For some reason, I don't know
why I felt this way,
and I still can't
put a finger on it,
but I felt a tremendous amount
of shame after a while,
just for everything,
even for the military, maybe.
I don't cry, I don't,
and I just remember
this one time,
I just went for a walk,
and so many things are going on,
and I just broke down
and called my mom,
and I cried
for, like, three minutes,
and it's kind of getting me
a little emotional right now,
But, like,
I just let it all out.
I talked about everything
that was affecting me,
And I don't really talk
about those things.
Life was just so much simpler
when you were out in the desert.
Everything was planned out
for you and everything.
Now you're back
in the real world
trying to figure it out.
Art stopped doing for me
what it used to do for me.
I just kind of stopped drawing
altogether.
I didn't really see the point.
It didn't really make me money.
It didn't really
make me feel happy.
I didn't really feel
like I had a purpose anymore
In that area.
And then I discovered ponies.
I discovered a reason
to draw again,
Now here I am,
making art again, so...
don't underestimate
the things that make you happy.
You know, if drawing ponies
makes you happy,
there is no reason to feel bad
about that.
Yeah, I've been drawing this,
or I guess
I say I drew this drawing.
It's a pretty detailed drawing.
This drawing took me
probably about a week.
It's the first drawing
I've drawn
in a very, very long time.
It was kind of the catalyst
to me getting back into artwork
after probably about a year,
year and a half hiatus.
Princess Celestia is amazing.
Princess Celestia
rules over the kingdom,
and she raises the sun,
and she is like
a surrogate mother
to Twilight Sparkle,
which is the main character
of the show.
Of all the characters
on that show,
that's the one
I come to admire most.
She's lived a thousand years,
and it feels like it.
Like, she's just
kind of seen it all,
and really just knows
what to say at the right time.
Any adult who has really
gone through it all
and has been really thoughtful
and really caring
and everything like that
Is going to be
a Princess Celestia.
You know, I mean, your mother
should be a Princess Celestia,
In my opinion.
Nicole Oliver,
which is the voice actress
of Princess Celestia,
is going to be doing a panel
at BronyCon,
and I really want to give
this image to her,
this drawing
that I made of her character.
I think it's really important
that I give it to her,
because I really want her
to know
That she's able
to change lives.
It's really important to me.
I really need her to know that
and just thank her for being
a part of it,
and I hope it
really goes over well.
My name is Phoe.
I'm a blog author,
and I'm an admin
on Equestria Daily,
which is the major pony
news blog and media hub
for the fandom,
for the Brony fandom.
It's basically...
we do what we think people
are interested in seeing.
More or less,
it turns into a fan hub,
because most of what we do
is post things
that other people make
that we think are cool.
We also like to get interviews
with actors and writers
and directors
and stuff like that,
and talk to them
about their experiences.
If anything happens,
like if Hasbro releases
a new toy
Or there's an announcement,
or anything at all like that,
we report on it
as soon as we possibly can.
Any speculations,
any rumours, any, just...
any news at all.
It's like a gossip column
with a newspaper stuck on
with a staple.
Anytime anything comes out
related to the show
that could produce fan work,
within, like, three hours,
you have, like,
professionally made songs.
It's absurd,
it's amazing and wonderful,
and I can't get over it.
When we were first starting,
we made a huge deal
out of getting, like,
a thousand page views,
and then, like, 10,000 was like,
"Oh, my gosh, amazing."
I mean, that took, like,
months to hit.
And then we started climbing up,
getting 100,000, 200,000...
skipped over 300,000,
because it was going too fast.
Got to half a mil.
And it was like, "Oh yeah,
wow, we're really making it."
Then a million happened
in a blink of an eye,
and now we're at close
to 260 something million views,
and we hit a million more
every month...
More than a million...
like, two or three million
a month,
And it's just like,
"Ha, remember when a thousand
was a big deal?"
Like, "Yeah..."
I guess the ideal goal
would just to be, like,
an animation media outlet,
just have it all in one place,
and then sort of be
the CNN of silly cartoons.
I decided that I needed a break.
I needed
to get away from the city,
and one of my best friends
lives on Saltspring,
and she invited me
and a bunch
of my really close friends.
I'm working a lot.
I'm doing a lot of series,
I'm doing a lot of the stuff
with the band,
And it's important, I think,
to get away from it all
for a little while
and just kind of escape.
Apple fritters...
Apple rhubarb pie...
Apple turnover.
I feel like I'm myself right now
in the truest form.
Some people can just, like,
really hone in on that.
They just, like,
know you so well,
they just bring you back
to yourself,
and it's important to have
those people in your life.
My name is Stephen Carver,
but I go by the name
of SaberSpark online.
I have a channel on YouTube
called SaberSpark,
and I do top 10 lists,
I do reviews,
I do shows
where I talk about Bronies
And how they act in the fandom,
and just things like that.
I am somewhat of a sociologist,
and that was something
I studied a lot in college,
and that's where my Brony,
you know,
Interest really piqued.
There's a term we use
in sociology
Called the Pink-Blue syndrome.
When a boy or a girl
is born,
they are automatically given
a little pink cap or a blue cap
to say,
"You're a boy, you're a girl."
Culture is designed around that
where guys play sports,
girls play
with their dollhouses.
Guys are tough, girls cry.
Take, for example,
My Little Ponies.
These toys have been designed
to be sold to little girls.
That's the weird thing about it
is guys love the show,
and they want to actually
buy merchandise.
You have an audience
that is younger girls
who still love the show,
My Little Pony,
And then older guys,
and you have both
of those people
Showing up
in the same aisle
that's designed
for little girls,
so it's kind of the bizarre,
you know, gender roles conflict.
Just me standing in this aisle
to begin with,
There might be a mom
and her daughter walking by
and look down this aisle
and see an older guy
looking through pony toys.
It's programmed in their mind
to jump
to the worst case scenario,
which might be, you know,
"Oh, he's a pedophile,"
or, "He's a big ol' manchild,"
or,
"Something's wrong with him."
The fact that boys are becoming
more brave
and go into the pink aisle
buying pony toys
is a sign that
they're not afraid to say
That, "Hey, I'm a dude,
and I like My Little Pony."
A guy can, you know,
like pink stuff,
and a girl can like blue stuff,
and once we get over
that hurdle,
we can finally start
making some progress,
as in girls can do fireman jobs
and be an astronaut
And be a police officer,
and guys could maybe be
a teacher for elementary kids
or be a nurse.
That's fine.
At first, there's
a bit of a shock factor to it
Because it's My Little Pony.
It's got this huge stigma
being pink and girly,
and just poorly executed
20-minute commercials.
And then it turns out to be
really exceptionally
well crafted.
I think
it's a unique kids show
in that it has
a lot of adult references...
I mean, nods to Star Wars,
nods to the Brady Bunch,
to Benny Hill,
to just all sorts of media
that a seven-year-old girl
would have no idea about.
There are many of them
that are in it
for the guidance function.
Many more are into it
for the social function.
Take a look
at the 20th century.
You're going to see
that after every catastrophic
and chaotic time in history,
you're going to see
something in reaction.
The Roaring '20s were
a reaction to World War I.
The beatniks
and the Bohemian generation
were a reaction
to World War II.
You had the Korean War,
but Vietnam came really quickly,
and what did you have after,
during that,
but the hippie movement?
You know,
don't trust anyone over 30.
Then you get into 9-11,
and I think that 10 years later,
this is what we're seeing.
We're tired
of all the violence,
we're tired of the terrorism,
we're tired
of worrying about this.
Let get to something
that is tolerant, friendly...
we can escape into it.
Close your eyes
and watch My Little Pony.
It's all about
conflict resolution.
It has a positive message,
and not only that,
but it's entertaining.
We are currently
at the Santa Monica Pier, uh,
enjoying a Brony meet-up
for So-Cal Bronies.
Whassup?
The So-Cal Brony meet-ups,
they're just a bunch of people
that get together
that like My Little Pony.
Right now, we're 800 strong.
We put on small events
that'll be spur of the moment.
We'll just be hanging
at people's houses,
Or, you know, they'll be, like,
"Hey, let's go to In-N-Out
at two o'clock in the morning,"
and boom,
eight people will be there
Because they're local,
or we'll plan big, huge events
like our Grand Galloping Gala
last Friday,
which was 250 people,
um, you know...
it's just a bunch of people
that want to hang out
and have fun
and get to know each other,
so...
Yeah, there's a website
that we can go on.
It's called Meetup.com,
and from there,
there are different groups
and stuff that you can go to,
and one of the groups
is So-Cal Bronies.
I literally post it up
on the boards,
and people take interest,
and they want to do it,
and they're excited to hang out
with each other.
So-Cal what?
So-Cal Bronies!
Bronies!
Bronies! Bronies! Bronies!
Bronies! Bronies! Bronies!
Well, I'm Liam James
O'Donnell Linehan III,
if you must know my full name.
I am actually in high school.
I'm one of the youngest people
here, surprisingly.
I'm only 17, but regardless,
these are...
these are my people.
Join in!
Until you all shared
its magic with me
Big adventure
Tons of fun
A beautiful heart
Faithful and strong
Sharing kindness
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it
all complete
Yeah, My Little Pony
Do you know you're all
my very best friends
Woo!
So-Cal! So-Cal! So-Cal!
I have this one friend
who's been my, like, best friend
since second grade.
Since the very minute
I told him I was a Brony,
he's made fun of me non-stop,
like, just never-ending.
And about maybe a month ago,
I forced him to watch
one episode,
and he's just in love with it
instantly.
The grade school I went to
was tiny.
There were 32 kids
in my graduating class,
which made it almost impossible
to fit in
if you weren't the mould
that everyone wanted you
to conform to,
and I wasn't.
Like, last year,
at the end of,
towards the end of the year,
we had really started
getting together
as a group of friends
who are all into the show,
and we decided that we wanted
to start a club.
So we got our friend
who is really good at drawing
vectors on the computer,
like this,
and he designed
this shirt for us.
And so you have this Harmony
spelled out
with elements
of the periodic table,
and it's kind of a pun,
because the strongest force
in the show
is the elements of Harmony,
and so that's kind of a pun,
and then
he drew out the vector,
and we all bought the shirts.
A Brony?
No, I've never heard of one.
If you really like
My Little Pony,
could be something for you
there, I guess.
It's like adult comedy... no?
There's people
into weirder stuff than that.
That's pretty random.
People should be grown up
around now.
That's, that's pretty odd.
Which one of you guys
created that adorable logo
with the Northwestern "N"
and Twilight Sparkle?
Was that you?
I like the idea
that Twilight Sparkle
should be our official mascot,
Because A, she's nerdy,
and Northwestern
is legendarily nerdy,
and B, she's purple,
and Northwestern is purple,
so I think
that we really do have to accept
That Twilight Sparkle
is our mascot.
They have, like, a place where
they put, like, local meet-ups
for different universities
across the world, even,
and I saw one for Northwestern,
and I was, like,
"Wow, there actually...
There are Bronies
at Northwestern.
That's cool.
Let's see what's up there."
And I joined the group.
We usually meet, like,
about every two weeks,
um, catch the new episode,
maybe watch
a few other episodes.
Brings people together,
you know, makes friendships...
appropriately, I suppose,
and I guess it is kind of cool
that a show, you know,
so ostensibly
about friendship
is creating friendships
in the real world.
A big part of any community
isn't just the show,
but reacting to the show
and being able to share
your first reactions
on those episodes
and whatever else
you might find online, and...
but that's just really
the beginning
Of what we've been doing,
and it's like parties and games
and food and fun,
all this stuff.
There seems to be
this undercurrent
to most of the things
that's reported
Or written about us
where two-thirds of the time,
threequarters of the time
Has to be spent
reassuring people
that we're not insane,
and that's somewhat...
well, we may be insane,
but not criminally insane,
I should put it.
Northwestern is a place
where fraternities
are actually really important,
And when I came to Northwestern,
I swore I was never going
to join a fraternity.
The whole fraternity aspect
kind of puts the whole "bro"
in Brony.
I mean,
it's all about the community.
You can share it
with other people,
and that's, you know,
the magic of being a Brony.
There should be like,
a book about packing a suitcase.
Going to BronyCon...
Yeah, it's exciting.
Is it?
What am I doing?
I'm getting my Rainbow Dash
full costume
shipped to me tomorrow,
actually,
so it'll be here
in the morning.
Just kidding.
I'm not gonna do that.
To be honest,
I don't know what the convention
is going to be like.
Um...
I kind of have an idea,
but...
yeah, I'm not totally sure.
Like, these people could be...
they could be really scary.
Maybe I should be packing
bear mace or something.
But...
I did have a stalker
a little while ago.
I believe it was a male.
He called me
with, like, a vocoder thing,
something,
a distortion on his voice,
so it sounded really low
and scary,
kind of like the "Scream" voice,
like... uh...
"Hello, Sidney,
are you alone in the house,"
that kind of thing,
but, like, really low,
and... yeah,
just asked me what I was wearing
and what I was doing that night,
and, yeah,
it was a little bit weird,
just kind of
invading your privacy.
It's a weird feeling,
but nothing came of it.
People were, like,
"You should call the police.
You should do this and that,"
and I just kind of let it go.
Um...
Bronies were not
on the radar at this time.
The Bronies that I've met so far
have been really nice.
They're really enthusiastic
about the show,
and it's definitely going to be
interesting to be in a room
full of just, just Bronies.
Maybe I'll find my soulmate.
Oh, man.
You know, my whole philosophy
in life
Is do what it takes to be happy,
as long as you don't hurt
anybody else, you know.
Some people call me a big kid.
Me and my wife,
we're just big kids,
And we're happy.
You know, I own my own house,
but I love video games.
I have Transformers,
My Little Ponies...
We like to do things
that make us smile, you know.
I'm not really worried
about, you know,
What she'll think of us.
Like, she's being brought up
in all this.
We just want to bring them up
with this happy,
You can like anything.
It doesn't matter
if you're a child, an adult,
A girl, a boy...
if it makes you happy,
there's nothing wrong with that,
you know, you just do it.
And if that makes
people uncomfortable,
that's their issues
that they have to work out,
because if you're walking down
the street smiling,
Ponies on your shirt,
nothing can hurt you.
It has such a positive message,
and it can...
it's great at appealing
to every end of the spectrum,
both kids and adults alike.
There's no bad
this show can bring.
We had a particularly
bad thunderstorm
about a month or so ago,
so the next morning,
she told me,
she said, "Daddy,
there was a big thunderstorm,
and it was really loud,
and I got scared.
I fell off my bed."
And I said, "Arianna,
why didn't you come
and wake us up?"
And then she told me,
I'll never forget, she said,
"Oh, well, Daddy,
Pinkie Pie came out of my TV
and told me to giggle
at the ghosties."
Pinkie Pie taught her
to deal with these fears.
You know, it's not about
loving a little girls' show.
It's about loving
these messages,
and quite frankly,
if all these people
are following this show,
Which has very strong
happiness morals, you know,
be kind to your friends,
always be honest...
Like, this is all good stuff,
and people are following this.
My name is...
my real name is Martin.
The name I that go about
online is Rommel.
I helped co-found a group
by the name of Bronies for Good.
It's a solidarity
support organization,
not a charity organization,
because we haven't filed
a 501(c)(3),
and we don't plan to.
So Bronies for Good
as an organization
within the Brony community
Has raised 80,000 to 85,000
US dollars,
and that has gone
to the Children's Cancer
Association,
And to Your Siblings,
which had
three different projects
That we helped fully fund.
The first one
was a clinic in Uganda,
the second one was a sustainable
village in Burundi,
and the third one
was the expansion
of an orphanage in Uganda.
Bronies for Good
definitely really shows
that, you know, you can take
what this fandom has
and apply it
to a very altruistic purpose.
Bronies for Good really hammers
on the social change,
on the "helping others" part.
It's not just
a good thing for America,
It's a good thing for the world.
The world needs it.
We need to get out
of this sense
that everything
is individually done
and the world is, um...
is not subject to change,
because it is subject to change,
and Bronies
are making that happen.
Uh, it's pretty good,
but can you make it 20% cooler?
It needs to be
about 20% cooler.
20% cooler.
20% cooler.
Needs to be about 20% cooler.
So I guess
in one of the episodes,
Rainbow Dash talks
about something
being 20% cooler.
I'm not even sure
what she was referring to,
But the Bronies found that line,
I guess,
and found it
really entertaining,
or there was something about it
that they latched on to.
I mean,
it's just an awesome phrase.
It's just...
who says "20% cooler"?
How do you make
a percentile out of cooler?
There's, like, shirts I've seen,
With shirts that say,
"make it 20% cooler."
Or, like...
people always write on
our YouTube page for Hey Ocean!
Like, "This band is 20% cooler,"
or whatever, like...
So you know this "20% cooler,"
or, you know, Bro-Hoof,
you know,
those are all signals
that groups, fandoms use
to recognize,
"Ah, we've got another."
Yeah, it just
became this thing.
20%.
Not that much cooler.
Sometimes people are puzzled,
and if people are puzzled,
hey, it's a chance
to spread the word.
It needs to be 20% cooler.
20% cooler.
20% cooler.
Like, 20% cooler, seriously.
20% cooler.
20% cooler!
No, baby,
it needs to be about 20% cooler.
Mmm.
I am a Brony.
I am a Brony.
Like, it's not like
an unsure thing.
It's not like an,
"Eh..."
I watch the show,
I look at the art,
I read some of the fanfics,
but most of all, like,
beyond any of that,
I listen to the music.
I'm Silva Hound.
All I've done
is DJ pony parties.
I make music.
It's Silva Hound.
Silva Hound...
I-I-in the mix!
I used to wonder
what friendship could be
Until you shared all its magic
with me
Big adventure
Tons of fun
A beautiful heart
Faithful and strong
Sharing kindness
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it
All complete
Yeah, my...
I just do it.
It just
Whether that's because
of a result of my creativity
or the show's creativity,
or both
working together as one,
I can't... I don't know.
My Little Pony
My Little Po...
This fandom has some good music,
better than anything
on the radio now.
I find it a great pleasure
to sample a lot of the stuff
from the show.
I just have
a lot of fun with it.
It's pretty rewarding.
As of right now,
I have recently hit
a million views on YouTube.
Um, I have a thousand followers
on twitter.
I'm reaching 2,000
on SoundCloud.
I just said, "You know what,
I'm going to sell this
and see how much money it gets."
And it got a little, it got
a nice little piece of change.
You know, I just needed
some money for college, and...
I'll be taking
calculus next year.
The pony music
really helped me to afford that.
You know,
I grew up in Atlanta...
Atlanta, Georgia,
the dirty dirty.
And, you know, growing up here
wasn't the best of paradises,
but, you know, I survived.
Growing up with that mentality,
I just sort of took that
into my music, you know?
As long as I'm alive,
as long as this laptop is on,
you know, nothing's
gonna stop me, you know?
So I'm gonna put
my hooves up high
Don't worry
about tomorrow
'Cause I'm here tonight
I'll grab the world
Before it passes by
Don't worry about tomorrow
'Cause I'm here tonight
Go! Go! Go! Go!
Go! Go! Go! Go!
This is going to be
an interesting journey,
so here we go.
It's your fear of flying
It's your fear
of flying
What makes America exceptional
are the bonds that hold together
the most diverse nation
on earth...
the belief that our destiny
is shared,
the idea that if you're willing
to work hard,
it doesn't matter who you are,
or where you come from,
or what you look like,
or where you love.
It doesn't matter
whether you're black or white,
Or Hispanic or Asian,
or native American,
or young, or old,
or rich, or poor,
able, disabled,
gay, or straight.
You can make it here in America
if you're willing to try.
You ain't a man
unless you're watching
My Little Pony, son. Okay?
You know what I do,
when I get done the gym?
I go home,
I have my protein shake,
I put on my Comcast DVR,
and I sit down
with a big bowl of cereal
and I watch My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic.
You know why?
Because it fills
my testosterone up
so I can go back
to the gym again
and just start pumpin' it out
and get bigger, and bigger,
and bigger, son.
Yeah, so you gotta get...
I like being strong.
Like, one thing I really like,
is just...
I don't...
when I was a kid being
picked on and bullied,
Like, being, like,
helpless to the fact
that someone
is pushing you around?
I hate that feeling.
So that fact that I'm stronger
and I'm taking classes
to defend myself,
Not only can I defend myself,
but I can defend my friends,
and I can defend my family
if anyone's a jerk,
so that's what I really
got out of it,
Like, each time, I'm stronger
than I was yesterday.
If you know me, I'm a very huge
Dragon Ball Z fan,
and that show just inspired me
so much as a kid.
So... just being like them
is what I idolized,
but I was fat and lazy as a kid.
You know, a bunch of people,
they always see shows,
And then are like,
"Man, that would be so cool
to be like him,"
Go back to eating
their diet soda and cookies
and stuff like that,
and that's how I used to be.
Then I found some friends
in high school
who had a mutual interest
in weight lifting,
and they took me in
and showed me the wraps,
and I was just like,
"Hey, I'm gonna weight lift."
But I'm still
a nerdy person inside.
Bronies aren't, like, the most
physically active people,
as I've seen at BronyCon,
but that's not a bad thing.
If that's their choice,
then okay,
but I just wanna show them,
like,
"Hey, if you guys
wanna feel healthier
and more confident,
then I can help you out
with that,"
So I would just upload
a fitness video
every now and then.
I just want to show you
you can still like the show
and just be in shape,
because I feel like
when you're in shape,
you're just
a lot more confident,
and you feel
better about yourself.
You look better.
Everything just falls
around you, it's...
falls into place.
Everything just...
It's just awesome.
One day, Patrick and I were,
I was getting ready
to leave the office,
and Patrick said,
"By the way, Marsha,
have you ever heard of a Brony?"
And I said, "A what?"
"A Brony."
And he said,
"Will told me that
'I'm a Brony.'"
He said to me,
"Dad, I'm drawing again".
And I went, "All right, Will,
you know, that's great,"
Because he's very artistic.
And I said,
"So, what are you drawing?"
And he got real quiet,
and I said,
"Will, what are you drawing?"
And he says,
"Well, have you heard
of My Little Pony?"
I'm Will.
I'm a senior in high school.
Um...
I guess I'm pretty normal,
I suppose.
Thankfully, knowing my dad,
I was sort of already expecting,
you know,
he wasn't going to, like,
freak out
and kick me out of the house
or anything,
but when I first told him,
he was a little hesitant.
He was like, "What?"
The way I told him
is that I was drawing again.
You know, he got all excited,
and he was like, "Well,
what have you been drawing?"
And I was like, "Well, this
is going to sound really weird,
but I've been drawing,
like, ponies."
And he's like, "You mean,
like horses and stuff?"
And I'm like,
"No, no, no.
Like, the cartoon.
Like, My Little Pony."
You know, my dad knows
only about, like, you know,
the old stuff,
so he kind of was like,
"Whaaaat?"
So I started telling him
about it, you know.
I was like, "Oh, it's
the new show and everything,"
And so my dad was like,
"Oh, that's pretty cool."
And then the thing
that really stood out to him
was when I said, "You know,
there's a lot of people
who watch that."
I saw my dad,
he was like, "Ohh..."
so that was my dad going off
in little psychologist mode,
you know?
So my dad
definitely was okay with it.
So we got picked up
at the airport,
and it really wasn't
what I expected.
There was a line of Bronies
all in matching T-shirts,
and one of them had
a Rainbow Dash sign.
That's how I knew
it was for sure
the Brony Convention people.
They were really,
really enthusiastic
about being Bronies,
and about just the whole
pony fandom situation
in general,
so yeah, it's gonna be...
it's gonna be a trip.
It's gonna be really crazy
tomorrow, I think.
So I set out to try my luck
in the big city, Manehattan,
the most cosmopolitan...
That's here!
We're here right now,
in Manehattan.
Oh, my god, that's probably
why they're doing this here.
So it's the night
before the conference,
the big BronyCon tomorrow.
Just got to the hotel,
scattered things around,
and... ooh!
I'm doing a bit
of Brony research.
There's some things
that I don't know
about the world of Bronies.
I guess I'm just a bit,
I'm maybe a little worried
that they're going to ask me
some, like, crazy questions
about the equestrian world
that the ponies live in
that I'm not going to know
the answers to...
Which I don't really need to,
but I feel like
I really... I should.
I think I'm definitely going
to get asked to do
A lot of pony voices tomorrow.
It needs to be about
20% cooler.
Okay, that'll be my go-to line
for tomorrow.
It needs to be
about 20% cooler.
Bronies, you're gonna have
to work on your cool factor.
"Rainbow Dash, Sparta Mix."
Oh, this is gonna be good.
Let's try this.
Awesomeness!
It's a whole, like,
techno remix
made from that one line
that I say.
Who is behind all of this?
The Bronies, they're behind it.
Ooh...
Who makes these videos?
Oh, man.
Okay, I'm over it.
Let's go get pizza.
Time step,
Times Square.
It's just gonna be crazy!
It's all about friendship.
Life is a culmination
of mistakes
that you've learned from,
and pain is a good teacher.
You can't believe
you're going to fail.
You know, those people who are,
if you ever talk
to those people
who are, like, really rich
and really successful,
failure never even occurs
to them.
It never occurs to them
that they can fail
at what they're doing.
That's almost, like,
a beautiful thing.
That ain't me, though.
Um, to me,
life's the experience.
You try, you try and become
a better version of yourself
Every day.
I'm not saying
you need to change,
you need to become
a different person,
just a better version
of yourself.
I just think that once
you stop working on yourself,
the only way you have to go
is down from there.
They say people fear
what they don't understand.
Maybe I just have
a lot of fears,
and I just need to understand
to feel secure in life.
Like, I know I'm a different
kind of person.
Like...
I've gone through so... life
just... just not fitting in,
not really...
You know,
everything has always kinda been
A one-size-fits-all society,
you know, a formula
that I never...
I was always outside of.
You gotta know what helps you,
and I feel like, you know,
I had a lot of crap in my life,
but I don't feel like
I'm any worse for it at all.
And I love, I mean,
I love my life.
People regret the things
they don't do.
You only regret the things
you don't do,
and I don't have
a lot of regrets,
because I go after...
I'm not a "don't do"
kind of person.
I think...
that's the only way to live,
but maybe most people
aren't like me.
Maybe most people aren't willing
to just...
you know, willing to go
on that everlasting quest.
So we are on our way
to BronyCon.
It is 9:30...
I think it might be
a little after 9:30.
We're a little late.
Um, it's an exciting time.
All right, BronyCon,
here we go.
What's your favourite episode?
The first episode
was pretty phenomenal.
All right, so...
Bryan?
Yeah, just Bryan.
This is Bryan, just Bryan.
How you doing?
I'm really sorry...
you guys are going
to hate me for this,
But I haven't drawn in a year...
Show it to the crowd!
Show it!
Show it to the camera!
There we go.
How does it feel
to be awesome?
Okay. Okay.
F-forget you.
I can eat all these apples.
He goes, "What is that?"
"A puppy? A kitten?"
And, like, one guy in the back
goes, "It's a pony!"
And I said, "I want that guy
to do my tattoo."
Whoo!
Go, ninja, go!
Go, ninja!
I feel like my life
is sort of changing in a way.
Like... not totally,
but just...
there's a lot of people
out there
That really love
these characters,
and, like, I'm by no means,
like,
in charge of what
they say and do on the show,
but I'm kind of giving them...
I'm giving you life.
I'm giving them,
you know, a voice.
Presents!
Yay!
And it's Applejack
and Rainbow Dash
singing together,
and it looks like they're
recording a pony script.
"Dear Ashleigh,
thank you for bringing an edge
To My Little Pony.
You rock!"
A conch shell!
Piggy's got the conch!
And... oh,
with a note inside of it.
"Your new Shell Phone.
I have an incoming call
for a Mrs. Atlantic Ocean.
She wants to say hello.
Will you accept?"
Hello?
Yeah, I guess I feel like
I'm a part of something.
I'm a part of this movement,
like...
I'm not a Brony, but I'm...
I'm, uh...
I'm a part
of these people's lives
because I voice
these characters.
Yeah, before I left
for this convention,
I really wasn't sure
what I was getting myself into.
I was a little nervous.
I wasn't quite sure
what to expect
and who these people were...
like, who are Bronies?
I'd had a couple interactions
in the past,
But not at this capacity at all.
To get this response
from any group of people
is incredible,
and it just happens to be that
this particular group of people
are mostly grown men
who are into this series
about girl ponies...
which is pretty bizarre,
when you think about it,
but at the same time,
they're not doing
anything wrong,
and they found each other,
and I think it's an honour
to be a part of that.
- Yeah,
- it's a beginning of something.
It could fizzle out.
Things like this
have happened before.
There's a big rising tide,
there's a force,
and then it doesn't go anywhere
because nothing
picks up the torch,
and I really hope that something
comes along that will do that,
because
this is not selfsustaining.
It can't carry on forever.
But it has so much potential
to just shape the way
that we think about things,
and make people be like,
"Oh, well, maybe it's just
if something is good,
Then we can like it."
People like to think
it's just a TV show,
It's not that big of a deal,
and at the end of the day,
maybe that's all that it is,
just a small footprint
in history.
But so many people's lives
have been bettered by it.
I think the best part
about being a Brony
is that it just really is,
you know,
like, it's more than a fandom.
It's more than a community.
It really is like a big family.
It's not about My Little Pony,
it's about
"Friendship is magic."
You know what I mean?
And about that sense
of solidarity,
That sense of community,
and all those different things
that really
bring people together
under a really wonderful
umbrella.
It's not cynical, that it's
just this positive oasis
in a sea of sarcasm and cynicism
in modern society.
The characters
are well developed.
They try to accomplish goals.
If they fail,
they learn from their mistakes.
They move on.
It doesn't become this big,
you know, ironic to-do.
Give Bronies
the benefit of the doubt
that they're all good people
that like a kids' show
for what it is.
They aren't weird, deviant,
you know, people.
All they are are people
who like a cartoon show.
That's it.
You've noticed how big
the fan base has gotten so far.
My question is, how much bigger
do you think it's going to get,
and for how long?
As long as My Little Pony
exists,
There will be Bronies.
You remind me of a boy
who once left me destroyed
When he cut me like a saw
with his back and forth
And I remind you of someone
you loved when you were young
She tossed you like a stone
into the ocean
We thought
we'd never dance again
So scared of second chances
But now
there's something happenin'
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna move
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
Like no one ever has
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up, yeah
And you know the moves
'Cause it's our dance
And you know the moves
And you know
the moves
'Cause it's our dance
And you know the moves
Slow
Dance
Square
Dance
High School
Dance
So you think you...
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna move
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
Like no one ever has
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna move
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
Like no one ever has
You make me wanna
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna
make a new dance up
You make me wanna make
a new dance up
You make me wanna dance
I have the feeling
that I went out last night
I'm sticking in
for the rest of my life
No more temptations
walking in front of my eyes
I'm turning 'round
and living inside
Living inside
Living inside