With every one of these appreciation days, every year, the discussion is a bit of the same: some history of the pony, some questions asking what you would have done differently, episode ideas and such. With today being my birthday while I write this on the 19th, about ready to visit my own family and during a time when the appreciation days themselves have their birthday I figured it might be fun to talk about how these days came about.
A long time ago, poor AJ was always at the bottom of any pony poll. Not that she has surged into great popularity in the mane six or anything over the years, but it was especially obvious when your pony picks on an old EqD poll were basically mane six plus Luna. As such, she was picked on and found herself with the nickname of being called the Background Pony.
With myself being an AJ fan, I didn't quite appreciate how she was being treated and so, way back in either fall 2012 or 2013, I created the first appreciation day: AJ Day. A day that was meant to just to elevate a picked-on pony to the spotlight. It was only meant to be a one-time thing, but seeing how popular it became with AJ, I brought it back the next year and it wasn't long after others were asking for appreciation days for the main cast which was fun to center around various holidays or special themed days from around the world.
I would not have imagined back then just how big this concept would expand, even bringing artists in from around the fandom to draw something for these days, accepting these appreciation dates as these seemingly official dates that would come and go every year. Now, as I sit here typing all of this, I'm happy to see how much happiness these days have brought fans over the years even if they are starting to feel a bit long in the tooth, I hope you will all enjoy for the years to come.
All it took was a little Background Pony to make everyone smile.
Twitter: Calpain
