The Irony of the Internets: Revenge of the Bronies

It's funny when people see something and immediately think of you. With me it's peacocks, anything turquoise and, sigh, Bronies. Yes, I have a bit of reputation when it comes to the Brony phenomenon due to the article I wrote about them on MOMfia last year. The post blew up on the site, and the Bronies came out in herds (haha - get it?) to defend themselves.

At first I let these kids (?) explain their side of the story and welcomed their comments that were desperately trying to prove me wrong. Cries of "we just love the animation" and "the story lines are aimed at adults" were thrown out and most of the initial comments were innocent -  Bronies just trying to prove that they were NOT wanting to have sex with animated rainbow horses or children. Then the comments turned a bit nasty, and we decided to shut them off. But that doesn't stop the Bronies from emailing me on a regular basis telling me I'm a closed minded, uptight bitch.

I will admit, there for awhile I thought maybe I was. And that kinda horrified me. 

I did make a jump to associating Bronies with child molestation and that, in hindsight, may have been too harsh. Because a grown person likes rainbows, hearts and talking horses does not mean they want to have sex with children. I get it. It was pure MOM-paranoia. And if this subculture really was not hurting kids, why should I care what these older men (and women) are doing in their free time? I really didn't mean to be overly dramatic about the whole thing... or come off so judgmental. I really just thought that this was an important thing for other moms to know, because YOU NEVER KNOW. Right?

RIGHT?

10 months after writing that article I was on a long call with AT&T Tech Support. In an attempt to keep Zoe entertained, I gave her my iPad and set her down on my bed while I argued with the tech support not 10 feet away. I've talked about what a digital child Zoe is before; She's 4 years old and can navigate an iPad better than most baby boomers. In fact, a recent tantrum was sparked because I refused to give her my password to iTunes. 

Seriously. She wanted to buy an app and I wouldn't let her. Hello, Being 4 in 2012: This is what you look like. 

So, Zoe was playing with the iPad and I heard something about Rarity and Pinky Pie in the background. She does have a few episodes of the show on my iPad in addition to the My Little Pony app, so nothing that raised suspicion. Until I heard a distinct male voice saying something about petting ponies. I ran over as fast as I could and grabbed the iPad from her hot little hands while screaming "NO YOUTUBE!" But it was too late. The "damage" was done... 

The ironic part? She wasn't watching something made by a Brony - but a cartoon called "My Little Bronies" by College Humor, which, in fact, pokes fun at the Brony subculture. 

Yes, I'm well aware that the Bronies reading this right now are smiling and muttering things about "karma being a bitch"...

While my main fear of the Brony fandom was my innocent daughter finding sexualy explicit MLP YouTube videos, in actuality I was left trying to explain to a 4 year old why a grown man has a collection of ponies and why Rarity and Pinkie Pie were trying to run away from him.

Quite literally when it came to the Bronies,  I had nothing to fear but the fear itself. 

That squealing you hear? It's because the My Little Pony App is now available in the iTunes Store

Today, the My Little Pony app “Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day,” became available in the iTunes store. I was lucky enough to sit next to the PR person for Rukus Media at the Clever Girls Collective CleverTech Brunch during BlogHer and she was nice enough to send me a free download of the game. 

This is a little video I shot of Zoe today, as she was anxiously awaiting the download of the game. Please note, this is what she had on today - I did not change her outfit for the taping of the video. 

Seriously. 

The game is cute. It's a read-along story book with interactive games mixed in. I may never get my iPad back. 

Also note - there is another My Little Pony "Pro" game available in iTunes. This one is NOT for kids. I think this one is more for the Bronies of the world. 

The app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is going to be available on iTunes for $0.99. My Little Pony fans, young and old,  can also tune in to the animated series “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” Saturday and Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM EST and Fridays and Mondays at 1:30 PM on The Hub TV network.