Here's a question for you all · 4:12am Aug 25th, 2019
But, since we're in the final season of the show, and the finale is coming closer week after week...
What was your introduction to FiM? And what was the first episode that you watched?
I'm pretty curious to know, honestly.
My own experience discovering this show and the mega-fandom behind it is... something of a winding story to tell. I first learned of Friendship is Magic due to the NPR radio quiz show "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!" doing a skit about it as part of a "Not My Job" segment. That was how I first learned about Nightmare Moon, cutie marks and such.
I didn't get into the show as such until a few years later though, I think around the time I was first starting out at college. And that was only *after* I'd discovered the fanbase of the show... and also too, the depths to which it could sink-- 'cause I ended up learning about such *delightful* topics as The Conversion Bureau, Cupcakes and shit like that. 
But fortunately, for all of that dreck, there was still some really good fics out there too, and that helped ignite a healthier interest in this fandom of colorful talking ponies and their world. Further exploration into the stories led me to reading about the actual show, and the episodes, and eventually I decided to give one a watch on my computer.
And you know what episode was my first real exposure to MLP?
"Lesson Zero."
An experience that in part can be summed up a wee bit like this: "Huh this show is pretty good. Characters are pretty cute, there's some good humor out of Twilight freaking out so bad, I like the gag with the sun and HOLY JESUS THAT FACE"
...So yeah, that was how my introduction to MLP went. From there I ended up watching a few others, I recall other first episodes of mine being "The Best Night Ever" and "Pinkie Pride" (sought that one out the moment I learned that Weird Al Yankovic guest-starred) and from there I considered myself a legit fan of My Little Pony. 
Still took me a good long while to actually get an account on this site, and I regret that quite a bit, but oh well, whatcha gonna do? *shrugs*
So anyway, that's my own story of how I finally got into the show and its fandom. What about you guys? Got anything you feel comfortable sharing?
A while back I wrote a blog post about my first story on the site, which also talks about how I got into the series.
To sum up, I noticed all the creative work related to colorful ponies, which got me curious enough to take Season One along to watch on vacation. And identifying strongly with the character of Twilight Sparkle basically sold me on continuing to watch the series, all the way through, in order. And even though it has gotten weaker in later seasons, I've stuck with it, both for the occasional gem episodes, as well as for research purposes, to have an overall familiarity with the series as a whole for my writing. (I did mention I identify with Twilight, didn't I?) And after the first couple seasons I was into reading and writing fanfiction on this site, so that kept me going as well.
After getting caught up, I've been watching Seasons 8 and 9 "live" (on Amazon, really). So I kind of feel like I've arrived at the party just as it's winding down. But it's been a pleasant surprise seeing what a varied, vibrant creative fandom this show has -- as well as being a part of it!
My first introduction to the show was really the Rainbow Dash vs. Starscream Death Battle. My sister and I still argue to this day about the outcome. I wanted to see exactly what show this pony came from so I pulled up an episode guide and picked Boast Busters since the premise sounded the most interesting. That was around the time the Season 4 finale came out and Rainbow Rocks was airing, So I played catch up and enjoyed myself enough to keep going. Wrote my first MLP fanfic after Rainbow Rocks and it went over pretty well on fanfiction. Got into the fandom over on Equestria Daily. The show and fandom is a lot like the others I've been in. Has it's ups and downs, things I like about it and things I don't but it's fun all the same.
My first exposure to MLP was catching a re-run of Escape from Catrina back in the 90's. As for FiM, well I watching YouTube videos as a means to keep my mind active during my shift as a second-third shift Security guard, one of the YouTubers I watched TheMystyiousMr.Enter did reviews of FiM seasons 1,2,3,4, then I found Dr. Wolf, Commander Firebrand, Silver Quill. Then I found a reading of My Little Mages: The Nightmare Returns... and well I started catching up with the show after the CMC got their cutie marks in October 2015, the rest is history
My first exposure to the current iteration of the show was through screen grabs and gifs on sites I frequent. Good things were said about the show, so I gave it a watch starting with the first episode. Got hooked something hard.
My first full exposure was in 2015. I remember stumbling onto some PMVs of some of my favorite villain song (Chrsyalis particularly) and that's what got me interested. I decided to check out a full fledged episode which was Canterlot Wedding Parts 1 and 2, and that got me hooked to see more.
So that's when I started binging the rest to catch up with everyone up to Season 5, and that's when I continued on! Of course EG got me hooked as well, ... though I think I could have gone WITHOUT seeing Cupcakes. ... I saw the animation. ... and now it's in my brain forever.
And Smile HD... nuuuuuuuuuu
Blame TVTropes, in my case. I've used that site a lot, mostly because I've been seeking to write stories and gather ideas for a long time, so when the show kept popping up on it, I got curious and looked up its article. That led to me watching the first season on YouTube in broadcast order, premiere first and then working forwards. I watched it mainly out of intellectual curiosity.
Well, I say "watched"; I blazed through all 26 episodes in two days. Thursday 10th and Friday 11th November 2011, to be precise. After that, I caught up to the second season a week later (Friday 18th November 2011), watching all six episodes then available in one go. Only the fact that later episodes hadn't been released yet prevented me from watching more; Saturday 19th November 2011, with "May the Best Pet Win". Thereafter, I largely kept pace with the release dates. Saying I got "hooked" on it would be a pretty understatement.
Not so much these days, but that notwithstanding, I've long been a show-first kind of fan: the fandom as a whole wasn't even in my sights at the time. I only started looking up the works of the broader fandom when I got impatient with the weekly scheduling, late November and early December 2011.
To give you an idea of my approach, I found out about Equestria Daily's existence one whole week after "May the Best Pet Win" aired, and started writing fanfiction three days later yet. I didn't join FIMFiction.net until roughly one month after I first discovered the show. To be fair, this was just when the fandom was gathering momentum, and I've never really been as committed or active as most of the show's fans anyway.
As for DVDs, I'd have killed to own them back in 2011, but I didn't get a hold of my first set (both the first two seasons) until Tuesday 19th January 2016, over four years later. Ignoring YouTube, that date would mark the first time I officially watched the show. To this day, DVDs remain the only pony merchandise I've ever bought.
5111088
I'll have to check that blog out sometime. But anyway, thanks for commenting, and sharing your own experience of how you got into the show and its fandom!
Feels like the story of my life sometimes. I've gotten into a lot of fandoms basically after the show or peak has been reached. In some cases I'm relieved (like with Avatar the Last Airbender, I'd hate to have gotten dragged into the ship wars that went on then! Oof!), so I guess it just depends. Whatever the case, I'm happy for the good that can come out of the fandom experience. ^_^
5111097
Ah, Death Battle. I've never watched it but I'm WELL aware of the sheer divisiveness that it tends to bring. (Goku vs. Superman anyone?)
Honestly, around Rainbow Rocks is in some ways the time frame I really got into MLP, or at least into Equestria Girls. Probably quite fortunate if I'm being realistic.
Every fandom has its good and bad side. But more often than not, I'm happy to be part of this one, and I'm happy to have found your own work as well. Thanks for commenting and sharing your story. ^_^
5111169
Nice. And the beginning, like the old song goes, is a very good place to start.
5111214
Oh really? That's cool. Canterlot Wedding's definitely not a bad place to start out with. ^_^
And also, you have my sympathies about things like Cupcakes and Smile HD. Yeesh. I just count myself grateful that I never suffered through PONY.MOV, though I know about the whole shed thing. o_0
5111380
... I'm sorry, wat? ... I'm afriad to ask what is this... PONY. MOV...
5111382
It was this animated short subject series created by hotdiggedydemon, that basically portrayed the Mane Six and Equestria in the most demented fucked-up way imaginable. Basically, My Little Pony done by John Kricfalusi while on cocaine, is perhaps one way of describing it.
Like, Fluttershy is some kind of psychopath who murders people with a chainsaw should they look in the shed behind her house ("WHAT'D I TELL Y'ALL ABOUT COMIN' IN MAH SHED?!"), Applejack is a glutton who eats the ENTIRE ORCHARD on a dare, Spike is a stoner, Twilight is a psychotic mad scientist, Rarity is an overweight creep, and so on and so on. It's surreal and mind-fucking and grotesque as all get out... and yet the really weird thing is that it's actually not a bashing or anything. The guy who made it just has a very, very dark sense of humor.
5111386
... dafuq?
5111388
Yeah, I know.
But then again, I don't really want to point too many fingers. I've had some pretty twisted ideas for stuff that I consider funny. *shrugs*
5111266
TVTropes is a wonderful thing. It's what got me into a lot of wonderful sources of fiction.
Also, holy crap, you watched the entire first season in *that* amount of time?
Wow... I can't binge like that. I just can't. I can do about two or three episodes of a show at a given, then it's like I just have to get up and move.
Thanks for commenting, and for sharing your own experience of getting into the show.
Accidentally had it on when I woke up one day. It was the last episode of season 2. I was unable to find the remote and then..got sucked in xD
I said "now here's a show with potential."
5111935
Hah, how about that! Well that's one way to get hooked on a show, that's for sure. XD
5111462
That wasn't evenly split, either. On the Thursday, I watched episodes 1-10, which makes ten episodes total. On the Friday, I watched episodes 11-26, which makes sixteen episodes total. Wasn't even the last time I binged so hard, though I don't recall at the moment if I ever actually hit that target again.
To be fair, it's not as if I sat down for five plus hours straight. This was over the course of a whole day, after all (I was a student at the time). And although I've done marathons like that since, they were rare, and none were quite as intense as that (at least, I don't remember any).