Brony Nation

On a recent weekend in Seacaucus, N.J., some 3,500 fans roamed the Meadowlands Convention Center’s “all ages, family friendly” BronyCon–which is similar to Comic-Con, except exclusively for fans of My Little Ponies.

Therein you might’ve encountered a dude preferring to be called “Faron,” bedecked in three-piece suit and blue wig with matching whiskers, in the style of animated My Little Ponies character Mr. Fancy Pants. Faron, one might say, is a total “Brony”–an adult male unabashed by his love of  My Little Ponies.

According to Slate.com:

[Faron] keeps figurines in his office, and he photographs ponies posed on aircraft and guns. The women at work seem to understand him, he said, and half of the younger guys don’t care. Some do tease him, but, he says with a broad smile, ‘I’m their superior.’ At first, he says, his wife was a little uncomfortable with his costumes, but she’s gotten used to them.

Men—and some women—trot around the Meadowlands Exposition Center in homemade and custom-designed pony attire. Some of the bronies have been to other conventions like Otakon or Comic-Con, but BronyCon is a first for many.

…

‘You don’t have to fit in a certain mold,’ says Jim, 27, from Pennsylvania. ‘You can just like what you want to like.’ The brony community doesn’t care about race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. All they care about is ponies.

Sessions entitled “Studying the Herd” and “Pony Parliament” took place over the course of the two-day convention.

For more of the BronyCon story, check out BronyCon.org and Slate.com.