Our fandom has seen its share of upheaval and drama this past half year or so with the coming of alicorn Twilight and the reveal of Equestria Girls. Not since the departure of Lauren Faust as executive producer back in the first season have I seen such unrest in the community, but unlike those times the way the fandom has handled this news has at times been not exactly ideal. We have spewed some vitriolic things at Hasbro for sure, but we have also done the same to the people who brought us ponies and made them what they are: the good folks at DHX.
These folks for going on three years now have not only done the impossible and made those who would scoff at the MLP name ardent fans but have also shared in our enthusiasm and become part of the community in their own wonderful way. Never before have I seen such tight connections between the creators and the fans, a connection I fear without would have lessened many of our experiences (Derpy anyone?). This connection has been a feedback loop that fuels our passions as well as their own, making them work long into the nights on both weekdays and weekends to make the best things they can because they love what they do and they love seeing us react.
Unfortunately, with such tight connections, the bad has a way of effecting things as much as the good. Word has been going around that since the trailer for Equestria Girls was released, and us learning that DHX was behind the movie, that attacks have been made on the competency, the commitment, and ability of the staff to pull this off. This wave of negativity, compounded surely by the months of them nervously waiting on our reactions, has apparently gotten more than a few members of DHX disheartened and possibly considering leaving the show (MLP or EqG). While I can understand that change is scary and that it can be easy to let emotions run high and say what comes to mind, the negativity has a real life impact, something I can relate to very much as of late.
One of the greatest things about the fandom in my opinion was that it was a community filled with caring individuals which who they might not agree on certain things were at least respectful when they did disagree. I am in no way advocating we be blind optimists, but that we should take greater care in our disagreements with these changes and also to put more trust in our friends which have given us 65 full episodes of pony. There are already some signs the new series will have at least some of FiM's charm with clips of Twilight adorkably adapting to human life. And even if EqG doesn't pan out we still have season 4 of ponies coming to us in normal fashion this winter! So let's give them some encouragement that we still trust in them! A campaign is underway on Twitter under the #thankyouDHX tag, so go lend them some support, encouragement, and love.
At the very least they deserve a shot to show us what they got right? We gave them a shot once when we all watched our first MLP:FiM episode, why not give them another chance? Let's be that supportive community we're known for, supporting one another like our fun loving ponies.
