My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Page 373

So, Christmas summary!

tldr at the bottom, it got a bit more wordy than I thought it would o_o...

Christmas Eve is when we have our big get together, and this was the most nervous I've ever been. No one but my mom knew about my bronydom and the males in my family are very "traditional" so I expected the worst. Well, of course it came time to pass out presents, and I saw a big box with a welovefine post as the bow; I proceeded to take it to my place when I was stopped. It wasn't mine.
I certainly knew that I was the only one in this family who even knew about welovefine or any quality pony merch, but it was my little 5 year old cousin's gift. At the point I was fairly confused, I rolled with it though. I later found out when she was unwrapping her present that it came with my gift (I already knew that) but my mom suggested that we give it to my cousin.
First reaction: fuck you guys....what? That's mine!
Real reaction: oh...ok.
Ok, so my pony gifts came to a weird start, but then it came my turn to open presents. All of the 2nd youngest generation made our rounds each opening up a present. I honestly couldn't tell if I had gotten any shirts, none of the boxes were shaped like the usual shirt box and I was getting really frustrated. My order arrived I know it because of the poster, but why does this feel off?
But now the time came, I had opened up all of my other gifts. I finally open up my shirts and use every bit of natural acting to play it cool. Inside I was absolutely terrified of what they would think. I could care less about parasprites, but this is family, y'know?
The shirts come out. Two amazing shirts The RD hair swirly and the cloud RD ones) are in the open. I hold them up and wait to be judged. My aunt begins to talk, "Now can you explain the reason why you want this shirt?"
Ok, putting me on the spot, honestly I didn't expect this. I fumbled my way through why I liked it: great characters, great animation, fun community, ect..
"Are you doing this for a girl?" My older cousin Brian chimed in.
He's kind of a douche.
"No, I really like the show, I get up and watch it every Saturday morning, and you know I hate mornings" I said, with increasing frustration.
The aura is the room was extremely uncomfortable. Everyone kept unpacking presents, but it certainly felt like I had completely failed at making anyone understand. I can admit that although my explanation was perfectly adequate for other bronies and the open-minded, it was not conversion level sophistry. So I decided to just fuck it and put on one of my shirts. As I was sitting in a chair along with a few other family members my dad comes up to me and starts straightening out my shirt to get a better look.
"You're gonna have to explain this my little pony stuff to me"
I was tired so I brushed him off, I'd tell him later I've already said enough for now.
The party ended and I got home feeling just as weird as when I first opened the shirts. The real kicker was when right before my parents went to sleep. As we were saying goodnights my mother went up to me and said something which put a nail in my sleepless night coffin.

"Brian has a point, are you doing this for some girl?"
She was the only person that I've ever told and I've spent like 2 hours convincing her of how great this show is, but she is still acting like I'm pulling a stunt.
"No mom, its a great show and a great community and its a huge part of my life"
"Saying community makes it sound like a cult..."
"No, saying community makes it sound like a community-"
"ok, ok. Goodnight"

This was...a very jarring turn of events. I was just angry at everyone. I eventually calmed down, but the outright denial of something I like just because you see the title my little pony? No one has seen a single second of the show yet they dismiss it as some childish trash? My sheets felt the wrath of a thousand bronies as I tossed and turned and twisted them up in nervous energy. I managed to get a few hours of sleep though, as there was still more pony merch to unwrap on Christmas day.

As I woke up my bones protested the change in regime and demanded I go back to sleep, but I had a big task ahead of me, I still needed to explain MLP to my dad. My mom, dad, and brother were all already awake and I sat near them to bet a small bite to eat. And I began to explain. I thought about it a little bit during the night and how to approach him the best way possible. He's a huuuge Disney fan, as in our entire basement is filled wall to wall (literally) with Disney merch. So I asked him why he liked Disney.
"I like how they run their business and how they animate"
Well, I didn't have a lot to work with, but here goes nothing.
"Ok, so Hasbro sucks on the business end, but the animation is a reason I like my little pony too. It is incredibly well done. And the character development and the stories and everything is just so well done"
"Adam, this is a little girls show."
"You know that cartoons always have the same formula! They always have the same deal-"
"To sell toys"
"Yes, well that is why this show exists and I don't really care about those toys as long as they sell, BUT- the way kids shows are written is to entertain the child and the parent on different levels. Except, this isn't just entertainment for parents. There is quality story in almost every episode and the amount of attention to detail is so well done I have to appreciate it"
My mom suddenly talks "Tell him about that one potter one you told me. Its such a coll example."
"Oh yea, thanks. So there is this pony (it still feels weird saying it out loud -_-v) named Starswirl the bearded and I can't remember the fancy term, but he made some sort of spell..."
As I explain to him this very intricate reference to harry potter a small smirk comes onto his face. Its the first positive response I've had from my family besides my mother. And I felt good knowing that she was on my side despite what she said late Christmas eve.
"Yea that is pretty neat" He said as he gave way an inch.
"And its a show that is driven almost completely by character development, so you have to watch at least half of a season to truly understand the characters and get the full value from it. And honestly it just makes me happy. It's a good show that I like and it makes me happy to watch it."
"Hmm, ok"
And that was it. He went to get changed for the Christmas party.
I did end up getting more pony shirts, pocket ponies and a fluttershy shirt (both totally epic), but it seems irrelevant now. Everyone seemed to be in a state of confusion the night before and to have even the smallest of breakthroughs was wonderful. I had small conversations the night before that produced no results and are not worth elaborating on, but this was different. I could rest a little easier now.

As the tension fell the emergency response team was no longer needed, my bones finally won the majority vote and I napped for a long time. I was completely passed out for a majority of the party, I was with my family for maybe one and a half hours. I only clearly remember the very end when people were slowly beginning to leave. Another cousin and his fiancee (both in their late 20's) were not at the christmas eve part but were at this one, so they didn't experience the confusion. I wasn't sure how they would react.
As I relax and talk with the younger generation and have a pleasant time talking to said cousin's fiancee one of my uncles begins to laugh and tells her
"heh, did he tell you about the my little pony? hahaha tell her about it!"
She stares at him blankly and faster than I could talk-
"Yea that's the thing kids like now a days, you must be too old to understand"
I'm not sure what I just heard, but I go with it.
"Yea my mom understands and she even older than you, so what does that say?"
"Well yea I really can't understand" he said still laughing, but it died off fairly quickly.

Most of my family still doesn't get it, and I think it will be impossible for them to understand, but there are a select special few who do. I'm grateful for that.

TLDR;
Awkward pony swag, but who gives a fuck? PONIES.

And now, less non-fiction, more pictures!

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