Sandell Examines: My Little Pony: Frienship is Magic?

I understand how...unusual it might be for a 24 year old to write an essay over a show intended for little girls. Hear me out! This show has received a large following of people outside of it's original demographic. The question is why. I decided to investigate this query and what I discovered was something that I wasn't expecting. This show isn't  just good, it's fantastic!
Honestly though, my strong feelings for this show do make me feel embarrassed for myself.

Couldn't say it any better myself .

Why is this show so good? And what kind of following does it have? Simply put, the characters in the show have strong dynamic personalities, the dialogue is very well written, and the high concept situations that the ponies are written into are unique and fun. Still not enough to convince you? I could go on forever and talking in great detail, but I'm not here to analyze the show itself. I want to analyze the ponies and why each of them are so loved by their fans.

A school physics presentation over the 'My little Pony' that became viral

How did all of this start? How most anything gets popular in this day and age. YouTube. The episodes were posted on YouTube and as time went on more and more people started to watch this show. Since a great deal of the followers often visit or have visited 4chan's /b/ or random board, the term /b/ronies or simply 'Bronies' was coined to describe anyone who likes show outside of its demographic.

Stephan Colbert gives a shout out to the bronies

I did notice something interesting about all of the main ponies in the show. I believe that each one represents a strong character archetype that is attractive. In other words, each pony represents a type of girl a guy might go for. And it is true that there is a significant presence of females outside of the intended demographic; but you can't ignore the strong male attention that this show is getting. So lets talk about each main pony individually. God I can't believe I'm doing this...

Twilight Sparkle

  Twilight Sparkle is lead character of the show. She's studious, organized, and at first is anti-social. The pilot of the series throws her into a series of events that enables her to befriend the other ponies. Thus, the series theme of friendship begins as she learns about the nature of and maintaining her new friendships. This pony represents the smart girl fetish. Though, she's not just an ordinary nerd. She plays the voice of reason on many occasions and often acts as the leader of the group. She does have a breaking point though. When her organized nature is disrupted she may act out of her usual behavior by being temperamental or nonsensical.
Intelligent, skeptical, studious, and mature. That is the smart girl fetish.

Apple Jack

 Apple Jack is the down home country girl. She is not afraid to get dirty and works hard. She is also described as the most reliable and honest pony. She clearly represents the southern girl fetish which comes with a lot of imagery. This fetish is pretty straight forward but what makes her stand out? It's not just her sweet southern voice,  rather the actions that she takes on the show. She is always the first pony to risk her life if something dangerous happens to her friends. She is also incredibly strong to boot, often taking on physical tasks that others would not be able to do.
Honest, tough, and reliable. That is the southern girl fetish.

Fluttershy

Fluttershy is the calm and timid pony of the group. She is often seen with animals and tending to their needs. She represents the 'shy girl fetish.' Do you want a girl who is calming to be around? Then this is your type of girl. She's not a total push over though. When her friends have been threatened by fearsome creatures, she has been know to give them 'the eye.' Basically she stares threateningly at them until they eventually back down. This more dominate side of her as come out on another occasion when she discovers that not all animals may warm up to her. This caused her to become irrational.
Calm, timid, and gentle. That is the shy girl fetish.

Rainbow Dash

 Arguably the most popular character in the show, Rainbow Dash is brash, athletic, and competitive. She represents the 'sports girl' or tomboy fetish. Rainbow Dash is also the fastest flyer in the show. She apparently is able to fly up to mach 5. There was even a death battle with her against Starscream from the Transformers franchise. While this doesn't really have too much to do with her personality it's still pretty awesome and worth noting. Though her skills do  cause her to act lazy and arrogant, saying that she can do things later because of her speed. I almost see her as a female version of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Athletic, arrogant, and brash. That is the tomboy or 'sporty girl' fetish.

Pinkie Pie

Pinkie Pie is the party girl fetish. Though thankfully, she isn't drinking like a fish on the show and blowing dude-ponies in the bathroom of a club. No, this is the type of party girl who shows up and the fun revolves around her. Every guy flirts with her and wants to get with her. However she is just too busy having fun. In the show her friends describe her as "someone who throws the best parties". She is also very spontaneous and is known as a light trickster.
The life of the party, energetic, and fun to be around. That is the 'party girl' fetish.

Rarity

Can anyone say gold-digger? Actually she totally is not a gold digger. Though she does wish for a prince to find her and sweep her off her...hooves. Rarity represents the 'glamorous girl' fetish. She is obsessed with beauty and fashion. She is an accomplished fashion designer on the show, gaining recognition on several occurrences for her style and fashion creation. This is type of girl that you just want to take care of buy pretty things for. Rarity is very generous. Often designing things out of kindness of her heart. Don't expect her get dirty for you though. Her obsession to stay clean and her love for the spot light will usually override her generous heart.  In a lot of ways, she foils Applejack. Which the show plays around with quite a lot.
Sophisticated, beautiful, and stylish. That is the 'glamorous girl' fetish.

The interesting thing about these characters are not how well they fit into their archetypes. It's how they each have a negative character trait to help balance the good ones. When someone doesn't have anything wrong with them we don't find them interesting. That's usually why kid shows seem so bland to adult. Its great to have a show intended for little girls that does not pander to them and treats them like intelligent human beings. I personally recommend this show to anyone. If you can see past that fact that this show is about ponies, I think you'll be quite pleased.