So, thanks to all the damn EVO drama involving ponies, I totally started watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. And you know what, I was totally mislead about it.

No, I never condemned the show or fans of it. I tried watching the first episode of it, and I found it kinda boring. Yet the "bronies" that I've talked with all talk about how the show has great writing and people keep talking about how great the plot is (hopefully the actual plot, not the other plot). I found all that to be total lie.

Friendship is Magic is a kids' show, so the writing isn't going to tell the most interesting tales. It's a show about the importance of friendship, and each episode is about teaching the ponies on how valuable your friends are (at least in the first season, they get away from that stuff from the second season on). It's as how intended for kids, and it's not gonna go super dark. This is no Batman: The Animated Series. Twilight Sparkle isn't going to have to sacrifice her life in order to save her pony lover. In fact, the show's idea of "self sacrifice" is Twilight having to send someone else to deliver an item because she'd be stuck in a room for an extended period of time, not even forever.

But, despite that, I found myself to continue to watch the series. Why? Because it's so damn cute.

If you know me, you should know that I love cute shit. Kirby, baby seals, Sanrio characters, plush alpacas. If they're small, have stubs for appendages, and have big beady eyes, I love 'em. And Friendship of Magic has plenty of those.

The Ponies

Like most pieces of fiction that I've enjoyed, it's the characters that make me invested in it. Despite their lack of depth, I find the characters of Friendship is Magic to be really endearing, and I like seeing them interact to solve whatever the day's problem is.

So I'm just going to start off by briefly listing the main characters (or as fans refer to as  the "mane six," as I've been lead to believe).

Twilight Sparkle	Twilight Sparkle is a magical purple unicorn. She is probably considered the leader of the group, the "Leonardo" if you will. Despite the status of leader, she is nowhere near the most balanced of the bunch, as she has a tendency to give in to her obsessions and paranoia. And when that happens, it's great. If it's a "Twilight goes freakin' bananas insane" episode, you know it's a good one. Dat girl is crazy. Twilight represents "Magic," which is apparently an Element of Harmony.
Applejack	If you're looking for a more level-headed, responsible pony, you're looking for Applejack. She's hardworking and dependable, though at times her pride may get in the way. If anything, she should be the leader, not that nutso Twilight. She works on an apple farm with her family. They grow apples to provide Ponyville with food, which is to be expected. They also raise cows for milk, which I guess makes sense (the cows can talk, too). But, they also have pigs? What the hell do they use the pigs for? Do they eat them, too? That's kinda disturbing. A.J. represents the Harmonious Element of Honesty, so she apparently never lies, but she totally freakin' does in multiple episodes. It's pretty obvious that the "elements" don't really come into play outside of 4 episodes.
Rainbow Dash	Rainbow Dash seems to be the most popular pony of the fandom, and I don't get it. I find her pretty annoying, and most Rainbow Dash-centric episodes I tend to skip. Overrated, if you ask me. I couldn't even find any screencaps of her making dumb faces. She's a pegasus pony, meaning she can fly, and really fast, it turns out. But the pony team rarely takes advantage of this. Instead of using her skills to reach magical artifacts to save the world from tall heights, she's uses it to show off and be a total dick to everyone. Her Element of Harmony is Loyalty. She embodies this element once in the very first episode, and she's a jerk after that.
Pinkie Pie	Pinkie Pie is another popular pony. She turns out to be Gabe Newell's favorite. Again, I have to be the one who rejects the appeal. She's so "random lol." She's like Deadpool, but a pony. I can see her spastic personality as entertaining, it's a kid's show after all, but I find her most interesting when she's just downright depressed! Weird, huh? She represents the Element of Laughter. I'm rarely laughing with her, though. :(
Rarity	Rarity is so posh, so sophisticated. Despite your inclination to view this type of character as a snob, she's actually quite friendly. She does embody the Element of Generosity, after all. But, again, the show rarely takes the Elements of Harmony as totems for a characters' personality. Rarity will often coerce characters into doing things for her. I'm not sure what's so generous about that. She does enjoy making dresses for her friends, though, and does what she can to please them, even if her friends' ideas of fashion conflict with her own. But why do ponies need clothes anyway?
Fluttershy	Fluttershy represents the element of Kindness. As her name implies, she's very soft-spoken, and it's kind of adorbs. A lot of the Fluttershy jokes come from her hyperbolic reactions of fear to the most innocuous tasks. It seems like a common archetype for a character in a kid's cartoon, but I find it endearing, and I think she's hilarious. She has a penchant for animals, and enjoys taking care of them. But that just brings up all sorts of questions to me. In this world, it seems like the dominant species are horses, so I'm not really sure where in the hierarchy all of Fluttershy's pets fall in.

So, yeah, those are the main characters. There are others, such as Spike, the dumb baby dragon who sucks all the way, and Princess Celestia, the trollest princess in the land. And, I dunno, Apple Bloom? Whatever. But it's the "mane six" who, obviously, are the stars of the show.

Also, just to be silly, I rate them as follows:
Fluttershy > Twilight > Applejack > Rarity > Pinkie Pie > Rainbow Dash

The Show

Yeah, I know people criticize adult fans of the show because it's supposedly a show for little girls. And, you know, that's partly true. The show is for little people. But I'm really not sure why it should be considered exclusively for girls. Is it just because the main cast consists mostly of female characters? Is it because the ponies are of a pastel color? Those are dumb reason to consider it just for girls. It's not like the show is about things only girls can relate to. The show is about friendship, and last time I checked, boys are allowed to have friends, too. I understand that, historically, the title "My Little Pony" has been associated with girl toys as much as "Barbie" has, but Friendship is Magic is pretty gender neutral from what I can tell.

But yeah, it is a show for kids. But, hey, it's a cartoon. How is it different than any other cartoon that is perfectly acceptable for adults to enjoy? Even in the adult subculture of cartoon watchers, why is it okay for a college kid to be into Adventure Time or Spongebob or Naruto, but My Little Pony is off the table? It's the same as all those shows. It's goofy characters getting into wacky situations. It's fun.

I bet if they removed the title "My Little Pony," made the horses darker shades of color, and made Applejack and Rainbow dash dudes (but not change their personalities), the ostracism of Friendship is Magic fans would be greatly lessened. They're all shallow reasons to hate a cartoon.

The Bronies

Closing Thoughts