Editorial: The eleventh anniversary of the broadcast, the ponies have a far-reaching impact

This Sunday marks the 11th anniversary since the first airdate of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the third year since my first aquaintance with its whole episodes. In these years, its profounded influences has been shown and revealed by some Bronies and Pegasisters, the boys and girls that are named after due to their passion for the program.

This Sunday marks the 11th anniversary of the G4 Pony premiere, and the 4th anniversary of my first glimpse of the anime. Over the years, the work has had a profound impact on her fans.

Apart from a total of 221 episodes, namely nine seasons（Season 3 is an exception.）, one MLP movie, four Equestria Girl movies, two specials including Best Gift Ever and Rainbow Roadtrip, and many animated shorts（EGs' are not included） that consist of 3 Miscellaneous shorts and 5 Best Gift Ever shorts, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic was originally screened by The Hub and Discovery Family, two American channels run by Hasbro on Oct 10, 2010. The program mainly tells us a story of how a little purple pony named Twilight Sparkle befriends with the other five main characters in Ponyville, so as to finish the task given by her mentor Princess Celestia. During the period of time, with the accompany of her No. 1 assistant Spike, a dragon that was hatched out from a purple and green egg in a school operated by Princess Celestia, she eventually truly understands the meaning of friendship and guards Equestria with her five best friends.

In addition to the 9 seasons and 221 full-time drama episodes (the third season is an exception, only 13 episodes), G4 Pony also includes one "Pony Big Movie (2017)", four "Equestrian Girls (2013-2016)", two specials (including "The Best Gift (2018)" and "Rainbow Journey (2019)", "Equestria Girls" short film is not counted), three hybrid short films and five "Best Gifts" short films, It premiered on October 10, 2010 on Two Hasbro-owned channels, The Hub and Discovery Family. The show mainly tells the story of a purple pony named Twilight Twinkle (Purple Delight) who makes friends with five other pony valley residents who are also the protagonists in order to complete the task given to him by the mentor Cosmic Princess. Accompanied by her number one assistant Spike (Spike Dragon), she finally understands the true meaning of friendship and works with her best friends to protect Little Mary.

For many Bronies and Pegasisters, MLP has saved them from the maze, changed their points of view and their ways to communicate with others. One said on Zhihu that he used to be very arrogant when he was a boy during his middle school age. And because of being insulted and blamed for a long time, he became a hater who was fond of making others feel uncomfortable by talking in a way that is peculiar. He's looking down upon his classmates with a pathetic excuse like his excellent grades to lord over, and the way he treated others made his relations among others worse. But things changed after he watched the videos and finally got himself out of a situation that was being isolated with a revengeful heart.

For many horse fans, the anime dispels the haze for them, changing their worldview and the way they behave. A pony fan in Zhihu said that he was very arrogant in middle school. Because of the long-term blame and insult, he became a troll who spoke yin and yang. He only looks at his excellent academic performance and looks sideways at his classmates, which worsens his relationship with his classmates. But after watching this animation, he reformed and got rid of this situation of hating others and being isolated.

However, as a member of Bronies, I think there is more to it. More and more punchlines or puns has been created. Like Hong Linqin（虹林檎）, a contradictory puns referring to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. （Linqin means apples and Hong is defined as rainbow. Some people hate it.）Zise Shaofu（紫色少妇）, Twilight Sparkle's nickname originated from MLP's fan work. Princess Zi Kuaile（紫快乐公主）is her another nickname taken from her name and feature. Kuaile is from her Chinese name chosen by the translators. So if you are willing to listen, I can tell you the puns eternally.

However, as a horse fan, I think the influence of ponies is much more than that. More and more puns are being coined. For example, the controversial "Rainbow Forest" is used to refer to Rainbow Dash (Rainbow Dash) and Apple Jack (Apple Jia'er). (Lin refers to apples, and rainbows refer to rainbows.) Twilight Twinkle (Princess Ziyue) is nicknamed Purple Maiden, derived from Paulie's fandom (a fan-made work that uses official characters and characters and has nothing to do with the official plot). Princess Purple Happy is another of her nicknames, derived from her official translation and her own characteristics. If you're willing to listen, I can say it endlessly.

As has been said above, fan works has been thriving during this time. Many comics are created for fans to read, videos to watch and pieces of music to listen. Snowdrop tells us a story from Princess Celestia's standpoint that in order to welcome the Spring Sunrise, a celebration to memerize her coming in power after 1000 years, a disabled pony named Snowdrop tries her best to prepare a gift for the two sisters on her own because her inability made other foals laugh at her. During this process, with the help of her acute hearing, the guidance of her teacher and her mother, she finally made a snowflake by herself, even mocked by her classmates. The snowflake has been stored for millennia after Snowdrop's death in memory of her achievement, which is letting ponies realize the meanings of cold, dark and winter.

As mentioned above, pony fandoms reached the pinnacle during this period. Fans have created many cartoons for people to read, made many videos for people to watch, and composed many movements for people to listen to. From the perspective of the Cosmic Princess, "Falling Snow" tells the story of a disabled pony named Falling Snow, who tried his best to prepare gifts for the two royal sisters alone in order to welcome the spring sunrise, a grand ceremony commemorating the 1,000-year reign of the cosmic princess. In this process, with his keen hearing and the teaching of teachers and parents, Luo Xue finally made a snowflake alone under the ridicule of other classmates. In honor of the great feat of falling snow that made people (ponies) understand the meaning of cold, darkness and winter, this snowflake was stored for thousands of years.

Have you got an idea with BronyCon, a kind of gathering to be held annually, mainly in Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Guangzhou? It's a special festivity for Bronies and Pegasister, just like Crystal Heart, mentioned in the first and second episodes of Season 3, to the Crystal Empire. Through this kind of activity, many people have enjoyed themselves both in local dish and the magic of friendship.

Do you know about the annual horse show? Mainly held in Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Guangzhou, it is a special gathering of horse fans, and its significance is no less than the role of the Crystal Heart on the Crystal Empire mentioned in the first two episodes of the third season of the show. By attending such gatherings, many people are immersed in the magic of local cuisine and friendship.

Do you know where the sentence “Buy Our Toys” comes from? When Hasbro, the animation maker, tries to sell their toys made on the basis of the episodes to the fans, they will roar this sentence at the end of their advertisement. Their action has worked and many fans has bought their toys and made a persiflage on them like making the music video carefully, creating the animation with brain, making toys with feet and safeguarding with nostrils. They had developed a good relation with their fans and made a lot of money.

Do you understand the origin of the phrase "buy our toys"? When animator Hasbro wants to sell toys to fans, it usually yells this sentence at the end of the commercial. Their approach worked, with many fans buying their toys and joking that they "make music with their hearts, animate with their brains, make toys with their feet, and use their nostrils for security." They have a very strong relationship with their fans and make a lot of money.

Whether in commerce, mentality or culture, MLP has a giant influence on both its fans and authors.

Whether commercial, mental or cultural, the G4 Pony series has had a huge impact on its fans and authors.

October 10, 2021

October 10, 2021