I will remember the early days. The overwhelming autistic glee that came with being part of something new and exciting. Ponies made everything better. Ponies made you better. The hype levels in that first season were unreal. It seemed like every episode spawned some great new meme, or a new background character for us to obsess over. OC was everywhere, and even when it sucked, you appreciated it because ponies.
I'll remember the spaghetti-fest that was Everfree Northwest 2012. I'll remember the cult-like vibe I got when a huge hall full of people all sang the Smile song together in unison. I'll remember getting jewed at the vendor hall and picking up on the hilariously pedosexual overtones when Mando performed with Michelle Creber. Speaking of Michelle, I'll always remember the bemused look she had on her face during the autograph signing. You could tell that she had no idea what the fuck was going on with these manchildren, but that she was doing her very best to smile and be professional.
I'll remember the great shitstorm of February 2013. Alicorn Twi was confirmed just as the brony convention phenomenon reached its shitacular climax in the form of Las Pegasus Unicon. That was the end, I think. The show and the fandom jumped the shark at the exact same time. The casual fans gradually melted away, leaving only us sick fucks doomed to the neverending ride.
I'll remember falling in love with Herr Writefag's Anon x Cadance x Octavia greentext. It made me want to write, even though I had never done it before.
I will remember the great exodus. It felt amazing to come to /pone/ after watching Scruffy shit all over /mlp/. There was so much freedom. So many possibilities. The board culture was young, malleable and very much up for grabs, as the three polls demonstrated. It was also nice having hundreds of UIDs. It made things exciting. The board needed OC, and I decided to finally give writing horse smut a try. It turned out to be lots of fun, and I'm still writing today. I never would have started without you, /pone/.
It's been a wild, stupid, spectacular ride so far, and I'm glad I get to share it with you all as we descend into oblivion.