@CalypsoFantasy  
I kinda was like that too, until just 3 years ago, at first I was too anxious, and then when I bring up the courage, I’ve grown accustomed to it.

I joined in September 2018…blinded and fueled by anti-bronies for the first eight and a half years.
 
I remember the first time I ever heard about Friendship is Magic was on a Youtube video in November or December 2011. Someone mentioned Celestia’s name in a comment, I was like ‘huh?’ googled it and ‘Yikes! I’m too old for that!’
 
Then I began seeing pony videos on Youtube everywhere: UN Owen was a brony, You Pinkie Promised!, This Day Aria. Sparks turned into flames when I noticed (and believe even was recommended) the trailer for the first EQG movie.
 
 
What a foolish little preteen I was back then.

@genervt  
And it’ll last well into g5.

The party is not over yet.

I joined in 2010 and I still feel like I’m late to the party.

This is basically me. But I joined in 2017.

if I recall the episodes are about 20 minutes long, and all seasons except 3 got 26 of them, so to marathon the entire show at this point from start to finish would take 3 days nonstop with no breaks to eat or sleep.
 
…
 

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your current filter.

@Digital Seapony  
Well, just about every episode with both of them is a good one.

@Amethyst_Crystal  
That’s an intriguing question. Honestly, even if I had started watching the show all the way back in 2011, I think I would’ve grown to like them just as much as I do now. I’m a firm believer in second chances, and they both showed they wanted to change.
 
I know for a fact that I liked Trixie’s arc in Turnabout Storm, which was written way before the show even considered having her back. The same goes for her portrayal in most pre-2016 fanfics, such as this one. Assuming I didn’t stay completely isolated from the rest of the fandom while watching the early seasons, I’d probably start to root for her redemption sooner or later. The real question is, would it happen before or after Magic Duel?
 
I honestly don’t know about Starlight, though. I know that her change of heart at the end of season 5 came off as rather sudden for a lot of fans, and I know that the suddenness of Sunset Shimmer’s redemption always bothered me, so maybe I’d be skeptical about Starlight as well. I’d probably warm up to her from The Crystalling onward, though - her confession to Sunburst was really touching.

@Digital Seapony  
I wonder if you’d have thought less of Starlight and Trixie if you saw their bad guy episodes first.

@Background Pony #4DE9  
It might be a little late for that. I did my best to get (mostly) up to speed so that I could watch the rest of season 8 as it is released. Sorry. Still, it’s an interesting idea, and there are some episodes I know I’d enjoy writing about, so I may think about reviewing them anyway.
 
@Boulder318  
That thing scares me. It shouldn’t be possible to hold that much knowledge of the future. Not unless you’re Sherclop Pones, anyway.
 
@Narrator007  
Hey, give me some credit! I did know that Twilight was originally a unicorn. :P
 
No, the truly confusing part about starting off partway through season 6 was seeing the CMC with their cutie marks first.
 
@BarryFromMars  
That’s a wise philosophy.

@Digital Seapony  
I bet your first question upon going back to the first episode was (or is going to be) “Wait, what happened to Twilight’s wings?” :D

@Digital Seapony
 
@pearlluna
 
@Background Pony #9443
 
Even if I’m months or years late, welcome!
 
I’ve been a member since August 1, 2011 (about 6 weeks before S2 showed up;) although I sometimes ponder if the fandom’s not as much of a deal now (and TBH, there probably are many who just stayed for a short while) it still has meaning to it. I never watched it ironically, I actually took the “Love and Tolerate” thing seriously. Doesn’t matter how many used it as an anti-troll device or a “for shits and giggles” device or didn’t really mean it…
 
… Though TBH, even with that in mind I still felt hate to one character in an old Charlie Chan movie tonight. Yeah she turned out to be a murderer but that doesn’t matter, holding on to the hate would kill me (not necessarily by the most common definition of “kill.” And yeah, it was a movie character but I find feelings to movie characters, if I keep them, often spill out into my life…)

@sTs  
Just going with what was available, did think of Grogar when seeing it but, meh, didn’t feel like trying to edit it.

@Boulder318  
That might be dated because of grogar

Welcome to the herd. Having been here since summer 2011, it’s always nice to see new members joining. Have you considered maybe blogging/reviewing the episodes as you watch? I’d be interested in seeing your perspective, given how you mentioned starting.

@Digital Seapony  
Wow, that is pretty cool.  
I personally consider ‘No Second Prances’ to be one of the very best episodes in the show.
 
Starlight & Trixie were horrible villains, like really awful.  
Trixie’s awfulness gets downplayed somewhat more because she’s a fan favorite,  
and the terrible stuff she did was much longer ago (but this was also her first reappearance since).
 
Starlight’s awfulness was far more recent and a lot of people were sour about her redemption arc by that point.  
But both of these ponies wanted to find redemption, without giving up who they were.
 

@Amethyst_Crystal  
I’m glad you asked. I used to believe that people probably only liked the show ironically, but stumbling upon several really well-made fanworks (like Turnabout Storm) made me think that there might be something more to it than that.
 
So, I decided to watch an episode. Just one. Not a premiere or a finale, because I’ve heard those are always quite spectacular in MLP. Just an ordinary episode in the middle of a season.
 
And because I wanted to see an episode with characters I knew something about, I picked No Second Prances, with Twilight and Trixie in the lead roles, since I loved both of them in Turnabout Storm.
 
The thing is, the next five episodes I watched were also No Second Prances, just because of how perfect it was. I’ve always loved redemption arcs, and instead of one, I got two, playing off of each other brilliantly. There was the complex relationship between Twilight, Trixie and Starlight. There was Starlight herself, who I only learned existed while watching the episode. There was Trixie calling herself pathetic and friendless in front of a live audience, apparently deciding that being admired by the crowd means nothing if her new friend isn’t there by her side. And then Twilight apologizing to Trixie and Trixie referring to her by her loyal title without a hint of sarcasm.
 
Oh, and on a less serious note, there was also Tara Strong’s delivery of “she got lost amongst the artichokes”.
 
Then, I just kept on watching season 6, until I realized that yes, the show is that good and yes, I should probably go back and watch Friendship is Magic, Part 1 before I get spoiled on literally everything else.

Too relatable.

@Glim Glam  
And I am glad people like you are so welcoming…. most of the time

@Background Pony #B123  
Man (or woman or stallion or colt or mare or filly) I joined like in jan 2018 and my experience was actually not bad as I thought befor, it is a grat fandom :)

@Digital Seapony  
So did you start watching from the start of a particular season,  
or did you jump right in and watch a random episode (and what was it)?

@pearlluna  
I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one who feels that way about joining late. Thankfully, the fandom seems rather welcoming to new arrivals. I haven’t even had the chance to attend a pony con yet, but it’s definitely an experience I’m looking forward to.

Relatable but in the form of shitty memes