#61) I'm young and people have told me I can't be a brony. At what age can you be a brony?

<sub>Answer: I've got friends who have attended brony conventions and they've seen eight year-olds dressed up as Scootaloo; at Everfree Northwest a kid of ten or so asked the voice actresses a question and received a bro-hoof in return. As long as you're old enough to understand what you're a part of, I'd say you fit in as a brony.

The whole brony 'thing', when it comes down to it, is about being a fan of the show outside of its intended audience. I'm not sure if you're male or female, but that might come into the equation, insofar as if you were a six year-old girl, you might just be classed as a fan of the show. If you were a six year-old boy, that might be slightly different. Not that I'm saying that girls and boys can't both be bronies, because they obviously can.

I think that it's the awareness that really matters. If you are aware that there is a large fanbase of people who like the show and aren't little girls, and you consider yourself part of that, then I don't see why age particularly matters. And hell, if you were a six year-old girl and you were also aware of the fandom and considered yourself as part of it, you'd probably be a brony as well.

I have to add, though, that this sort of thing is precisely why I dislike labels. While it's natural to 'tag' yourself so that people with mutual interests can find you, it's also important that we realise that these boundaries don't really have a definition. Despite the name of this series and how I've been talking in response to this question, I don't actually like the word 'brony' at all, and instead just prefer to call people fans of "Friendship is Magic".

I'd also like to add that by embracing the 'brony' title, people aren't helping to normalise behaviour such as being an older individual and liking My Little Pony: by sticking an identifiable label on people, it alienates them from normality. What people should do, if they really want people to consider liking the show to be a normal and reasonable thing, is to drop the 'brony' moniker and just describe the show as an interest that they have. By getting rid of the 'brony' name, you would remove the stigma and the sensationalism associated with it. It would just make your interest in the show into a mundane and regular part of your life, which in turn would prevent people from isolating you based on the interest, and pointing you out as something identifiably abnormal. That, my friends, is what you should do if you want the masses to accept your interest in "Friendship is Magic".</sub>


#62) In the haters' mind, MLP is meant for [little] girls and thus they find bronies pretty disgraceful. Why would they have to hate the show so much when Spongebob Squarepants is even worse? Moreover, don't people realize that quality cartoons tend to keep the animation industry alive? Shows like The Simpsons are still well praised whereas Spongebob is the exact opposite which is eating out the industry's blood-line like a vampire. Don't you think the haters should put their hate into Spongebob completely and also see the clearer picture of what he has done to the animation industry today? I know money is money, but don't you think one day, without proper tender love and care on the industry, it will finally die and there will be nothing left but crappy cartoons? Imagine a future G5 and then 'boom', it lasts just 7 episodes because the executives say it's "too expensive"!

<sub>Answer: Did "Spongebob Squarepants" kill your family or something? I ask because not only are you directing a lot of hate towards the show in this question, but you've also brought up the show before in comments seemingly at random, and always in a negative light. If you don't like "Spongebob Squarepants" that's fair enough, but I think your idea of 'moving hate onto Spongebob' is a shitty one. Why?

Because it makes your argument completely redundant. You complain about haters of My Little Pony, and yet at the same time you try and channel that hate into another show. That's messed up, to be honest. I have no qualms with "Spongebob Squarepants" as a cartoon, and I don't see why it's damaging the animation industry any more than other cartoons. Is Spongebob seriously the worst animated show you could think of? Try watching "Crash Canyon" – that thing fucking sucks.

Spongebob isn't as critically well-received as it once was, but it's funny that you use "The Simpsons" as a counter-argument, because that has gone downhill as well. I believe the last couple of seasons may have been a little better received than some of the ones preceding them, but "The Simpsons" in general has gone on for too long. Spongebob might be going that way as well, but I think your point about money is a bit of a confused one. If more seasons of "Spongebob Squarepants" are being commissioned, then it's because it's making the people commissioning it money. I don't see the animation industry dying just yet, on account that there are plenty of new animated shows being released all the time, and we get animated movies coming out every other week.

I don't quite see what Spongebob has 'done to the industry': his earlier seasons earned the show critical acclaim, the writing is decent and voice-work is to a high standard. It's full of pop-culture references (not dissimilar to "Friendship is Magic") and it appeals to people of all ages...again, not dissimilar to the show that you're defending. Had you argued that people should stop hating on "Friendship is Magic" because such hate damages the show – which in turn would damage the industry slightly – then my answer would be more compliant. However, as you've merely used your question time as a forum to say that you dislike "Spongebob Squarepants" and to try and get people to hate on that show, I can't say that I have high hopes for your attitude towards other issues.

And "The Simpsons" is your example of quality long-running animation?

Could have at least said "South Park"</sub>



#63) The [pony] fanfiction you wrote (Hospice) made me re-evaluate how I treat my girlfriend. Have you heard any inspiring stories from the brony fandom?

<sub>Answer: Other than the one you've just told me? Actually, you're not the first person to mention how Hospice helped them with various issues. The fiction is about relationship dissolution, much like the album the title is based off, and so through various fiction sites, such as the archive or Pony Vault, I've received a variety of comments. One that truly moved me, to paraphrase, was a fellow who said he believed that finding the story was fate, as he'd just been dumped by his long-time girlfriend and he was feeling suicidal. After reading the story, he said he realised that he'd been neglecting her, and I hear he made a grand speech and totally revised how he treated her. When I last spoke to him, they were back together and he said he no longer wanted to die, which was something.

I've had various comments of the same nature in relation to Hospice, and I do find it to be heart-warming that a lot of people find it to be an emotional journey. The death of a loved one is something that we all have to deal with, and so the story, while an underground fiction, appeals to a lot of people looking for some sort of bitter-sweet catharsis. Having had a decent amount of people say that the story has made them treat their loved ones with greater respect is inspiring.

Outside of Hospice, there are a lot of inspiring stories from the fandom, most of which are related to charity. There are a variety of brony-based campaigns that raise money for charity, and a lot of money is given to people connected to the voice actresses who are in need of, quite often, medical treatment. Bronies are at their best, in my mind, when they're doing selfless things like that. I'm sure there are a variety of inspiring stories from individuals within the fandom, but to me, it's the charity that takes the cake. Forget funding a documentary or getting a commercial to air on the Hub – the charity thing is where it's at. More of that, please.</sub>