What's up with the Pony obsession?

[radishhead]

I invite you to the official thread, where we've had this debate before- and I'm more than willing to have it again.
My short version for now:
It's genuinely an entertaining show- I, as almost every other member of the fanbase, started as very critical of the series (I mean come on - it's My Little Pony :S), but being the open minded and curious person that I am, I decided to watch a couple of episodes as an experiment; to see whether the show could be considered good in any way, or whether the fans were only watching to be ironic. I discovered a show with fantastic characterisation, good animation and great music; I watched a couple more to make sure that it wasn't a fluke, and I found myself wanting to watch more. It was around this time that I created the "Help! Am I a Brony?" thread.
Some people in there suggested that I looked at some fanart etc., and I did- I realised that the community is so dedicated and fond of the MLP:FiM series, that their work is better than what I've seen almost anywhere else. It inspired me to watch a few more episodes, and eventually the creation of the MLP:FiM Official Thread on VGChartz, which was intended to be a place for fellow fans of the show to share their thoughts and feelings without being lambasted by other, more shallow, members of VGC.
This thread developed, and I genuinely believe that the VGC MLP thread contains some of the best people on the site - not because they watch Ponies, but because they're great people. Not only this, but I feel that watching the show has inspired me to become a better person myself, by recognising the benefits of kindness and friendship - it sounds ridiculous, and maybe it is, but that's what I believe.