Here's to You, FiM (Part 1)

Nine years. Has it been that long, already? It feels like just yesterday the fact season three only had thirteen episodes caused some stir because it differed from the first two. Sixty-five episodes? No way they'd end things that soon, and thankfully they didn't. Twilight becoming an alicorn, Starlight making a Mane 7 (kinda), villains both minor and major, so many redemptions, fan theories confirmed/debunked, memes galore and so much more.

I still don't entirely know how to feel.

When the final season was announced, it didn't give the impression that things were actually coming to an end. Even in the past few weeks, there was no sense of impending doom, gloom, or anything in between. Now that the end is here, the freight train finally arrived and collectively slammed into our hearts. Laughter, sorrow, smiling and crying -- lots of crying. It's a barrage of emotions so contrasting and so unbelievable that putting it into describable context is nigh impossible.

It's loss, at its base.

If I told myself ten years ago that I would come to adore a show about cartoon horses that teach lessons in friendship and being a decent person through all its glory and its imperfections, I would have slapped me. If I told myself that not only would I love this show, but it would serve as the main domino towards me making the connections I have, meeting the friends I cherish, and even spurring me towards my passions, I would have slapped me even harder. This was more than a show; this was the key that unlocked a door to the path I currently tread. Through hills and valleys, thick and thin, darkness and light, this show and its community lit the kindling that started it all for me. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Everyone has their story of how they found the show, and that's a story I've already told here long ago. Instead, I will elaborate on how the show both directly and indirectly taught me lessons that I needed to learn to set me on the path I'm on. Am I going to write a novel on this matter? No. I'm going to come out of my cave and make a video (at long last!) so as to put less strain on the eyes. In the next week or two I should have a video made on the matter and will make a Part 2 to this. This show and fandom has impacted every one of us, and hopefully I can illustrate just how deep of an impact that truly is.

I leave you with a song that has, for me, come to represent the fandom, the show and the only real way I know how to express these emotions right now.

Until next time, stay frosty, folks.
-CC