October 2014. A friend of mine, a stereotypical big, strong black guy – basically the last person you’d suspect of being a brony – wanted to talk to me, so he came by. With him was an Applejack plushie. I was confused. My Little Pony was a kid’s show. I’d never heard of a brony before.

Needless to say, I did some research and ended up binging all four seasons at the time. Equestria Girls was meh.

Unfortunately the fandom has become a cesspool of toxicity and infighting, enough for me to say I’m done. There’s a few brony friends I’ll continue to talk to, but identifying as a “Brony” and going to meetups and cons? Nope. I’m done.

I won’t bore you with the details of the infighting as you can easily find that elsewhere. Just know that I feel right at home in the furry community.