I feel like the Internet is being invaded by equestrians (or whatever the hell they call themselves). Every forum, every comments section, every EVERYTHING has some person with a My Little Pony avatar, and people talk avidly about the show.

Am I missing some crucial piece of the puzzle here? What has drawn so many people to Friendship is Magic? Is it ironic love? Or do they actually enjoy this show about magical animated ponies? It almost seems like it's a contagious outbreak. I'm scared that if I end up downloading and watching the free episode on iTunes, my avatar will suddenly change into a pony everywhere I go, and I will start eagerly discussing this product of the dark arts.

I desperately tried to find the joke in all of this. I fear that it may be no joke at all.

A quick look at Wikipedia informs me that the woman who developed the show was heavily involved with The Powerpuff Girls and Fosters Home for w/e the rest of the title is.

Based on that alone I'd be tempted to watch an episode. It might be great, in all seriousness. I think you should watch it first though and let us know.

All right, I suppose I'll give it a shot in a couple of hours, when I'm not busy anymore.

Cheese, you're right, that is nuts. Now, it it was MLU, then they'd have something, but WTF MLP? I'm sorry, but that's not even worthy of contemplation.

The level in which some people are obsessing over this cartoon is disturbing.

Indeed, next people will be naming themselves after cartoon characters.

That would be truly insane.

I think its fairly obvious I'm a fan of the show.

Here is why I like it: It's a throwback to the cartoons I grew up with. I grew up watching original Loony Toons reruns, and remember watching episodes of Ren and Stimpy, Doug, Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, etc. Those were awesome shows that were fun to watch, and some of which did have a moral lesson to the story.

Fast forward to when I was a teen: Cartoon Network got a bunch of new shows that were hilarious. Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, etc. Powerpuff Girls, despite the initial thoughts of "It's a girls show", it was a success with just about everyone who watched it.

Since these shows, we've honestly had a ton of shit cartoons. Nick cartoons arguably died after Cat Dog was released. I also hate Spongebob for the record. Cartoon Network got rid of many of their original shows, replacing them with shows that were really just noise and bright colors. Part of making a good cartoon is making something the whole family can enjoy, not just the kids.

Enter My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It has elements of the original cartoons on Cartoon Network. It has funny scenes that adults can chuckle at as well as the kids. The animation style is incredibly well done, and a far cry away from the overly-girly show. In fact, it's really removing the gender gap for cartoons in a way, by making something everyone can enjoy, and not just having it be about "Oh, what boy pony is the cutest" or "Does my mane look pretty?". Rarity is the only pony that really focuses on the stereotypical "fashion-conciouss" girl. Twilight Sparkle is the intelligent, realist bookworm for the most part. Pinkie Pie is the carefree, lively one. Rainbow Dash is the athletic tomboy (And lesbian if you wanna make that connection). Fluttershy is the shy one (Durr). Applejack is the hard working southern girl. I can guarantee that you can relate to at least ONE of the characters, if not more.

In watching the episode "Griffon the Brush Off" the entire opening of Rainbow Dash trying to avoid Pinkie Pie is an obvious nod to the original Loony Toons, with Rainbow Dash sprinting off in fear, while Pinkie Pie just happily (and slowly) bounces up and down following ,and always seems to be there ahead of her.

TL;DR Version

EDIT: Also, my wallpaper on my netbook I take to school is a wallpaper of Rainbow Dash. I do this mainly to fuck with people. I'm 27 years old, almost a senior in college, taking serious history courses. I typically wear Industrial band shirts and camo pants (ARVN Tiger Stripe, Swedish M90, urban, etc)and have a military-looking hair cut. The fact that someone the other day saw my wallpaper, looked at me, looked at my wallpaper again, then at me, back to wallpaper again? You can't buy that level of mind-fuckery.

I think 4chan decided that MLP was a good idea. And the Internet followed.

My theory is that it's somehow related to this.

/edit: I ended up checking out the first episode (on youtube) and it's pretty cool. I'm gonna proceed to the next one.
/edit2: I now have a MLP avatar in Digsby. this show is where it's at.

It's enjoyable and it's not complicated. It's a nice break from life.

It's really well done, and is adorable and fun to watch, if you can tolerate the heart warming messages about friendship that is.

Welcome to the herd!

It's basically just that people need an identity or some group follow... It's nothing more than a fad.

Hahaha, this is really a fad or subculture now (or whatever you want to call it)? I remember stealing my younger sister's My Little Ponies back in the 80s and teasing her with them (I was and adolescent, she was around 6 or 7 :P).

My recollection of My Little Pony is that it was a show for girls, like Gem and the Holograms, She-Ra, and the Care Bears. Young boys watched Voltron, Thundercats, He-Man, G.I. Joe, or the like. But, hey, to each their own, I guess. I suppose compared to the garbage I see on TV now, My Little Ponies would be a step up for girls AND boys :P.

Well... That certainly was something else. I really don't know what else to say. It was a kind of cute overload, but I survived. Except that intro song is so cringe-worthy.

I can also definitely see the Powerpuff influence. Very similar art style and type of humor. The show seems decent, but since I would have to pay to watch beyond Episode 1, I'm not sure if I will be continuing this show.