Life is a pony stable. At least for the fans of the american animation series "My little Pony". Therefore, more than a thousand fans from Germany and other countries swang there hooves on the weekend and traveled to the Gala Convention, a fan meetup, to the forum in Ludwigsburg. Almost half of them came from abroad, from England, France, Poland, Italy, Russia and even Surinam.
For outsiders it seems very funny that adult people decorate themselves with yellow pony ears, place a plush pony on their shoulder, hold it in their hands and wear flashy costumes. A long queue of colorfully costumed people has built on saturday afternoon in front of one of the seminar rooms. In this room Andrea Libman and Peter New were busy giving autographs, they signed posters and plastic ponies. The two voice actors were giving their voices to the cartoon characters Fluttershy & Pinkie Pie as well as Big Macintosh in the american original of the show.
The rows in the upper main hall were closely filled when the artist Jon Joseco answered questions about himself and his work. The fans could also fill their time with computer animated games, listening to music, participating in a karaoke competion or listening to the venerated voice actors and artists. But they are also interesting as paying clients. That's why there were offered plush and plastic ponies, wooden trays, towels, games and DVDs around the TV series.
What is behind this phenomenom? "It is actually a kids show which is aimed for a young, female audience. Character, plot and music are of such high quality that also older people feel addressed to." explains Jens Jasper, the financial coordinator of the fanclub "Bronies from Stuttgart". He has organized this fan meeting for the second time. It costs 69€ to attend the two-day meeting. Gerjet Betker, called Wheatherhoof, the leading PR-Manager of the meeting tries to give a scientific explanation. He describes the typical fan as "male, used to the internet and in his mid-twenties". This kind of pop culture originates from the internet. It is called a "Memme" when a link, a picture, a sound- or a videofile is spreading fast over the internet. The song "Gangnam Style" from Psy, which became the most successful internet video of all times within a few weeks also falls in this category. "Wheatherhoof is the ponified version of my nickname" explains Gerjet Berker while yellow pony ears are sticking out of his hair. The green wings in the corner belong to a helper who is occasionally transforming into his favorite character. Betker himself has stumpled over this topic in the summer of 2011. The internet hype had only started a few weeks before. The tickets for the event were also sold in the internet and the first wave was sold out within two hours. "It only took that long because our server went down" said Betker.
"It is simply awesome to slip into a different role" reported Melanie (17), who came from the black forest. She wore a purple wig, a short dress and high heels. Varity is a pony that sets value on fashion, and her favorite character. "You don't have to live in the same city or know the names of the others. You just belong to the group" explains Helena alias Rainbow Dash with a colorful wig on her head. Kevin, also 17, took the role of the good humored Pinkie Pie. According to the three students their parents are ok with the enthusiasm. "That is much better than if we would get drunk all the time", said Kevin.