>That Lauren Faust is a creative Tour dé Force (for the most part)  
>That commercial toy-peddling schlock can actually make good television  
>That there is a modern fandom as good as the trekkies of old

@greaterlimits
 
I know that feel brony :(

Stay a student for most of your life and be an absolutely insensitive jackass to everyone who calls you their friend, and you, too, can become royalty.

NOTHING

While I wouldn’t say that most of the episodes taught me much, I was having a situation that was almost exactly the same as Pinkie’s in ‘A Friend In Deed’ and that helped me realize he wasn’t shunning me because he didn’t like me personally. As it turned out he was diagnosed with some sort of social anxiety disorder and just really needed his space.  
But overall, I think that what the show has really taught me is to always give something new a chance before passing judgement on it. I don’t think I would be the same person I am today if I had dome that with Friendship is Magic.

That any idea can work, provided that enough thought has been put behind it :)

-Fedoras are a crime against nature (unless the wearer is actually British or a detective)  
-Tara Strong is a psycho  
-John de Lancie is batshit insane but still has a better singing voice than me  
-(most) Bronies get butthurt like no butt has ever been hurt before over the stupidest shit  
-U.N. Owen = M.A. Larson  
-Encyclopaedia Dramatica is always right  
-I don’t like Homestuck  
-TF2 and Garry’s Mod are prime trolling grounds  
-.308 rounds are very effective at ranges over 400m  
-I need to go outside more

It taught me that sex isn’t a bad thing.

Pony butts are bloody hot.

It taught me to stop holding grudges.

You don’t need a fandom to think things are awesome or not awesome.

@Background Human  
lol, tbh though, despite what you said about it, I would MUCH rather live in Equestria than anywhere in today’s society.

@someguy111  
I stand by what I said. Who wants to live in Detroit?

“Would you really want to live in a place where the gates of Hell exist and are poorly guarded, where artifacts of supreme evil can be had for a few hundred bits, where the freaking sun and moon can be held hostage by bad guys with an agenda?”
 
Have you ever been to Detroit?

That in this dark and cynical world, people are desperate for something bright and uplifting, even if it’s a ridiculous fantasy, even if that fantasy is dangerous and terrifying in its own way. (Would you really want to live in a place where the gates of Hell exist and are poorly guarded, where artifacts of supreme evil can be had for a few hundred bits, where the freaking sun and moon can be held hostage by bad guys with an agenda?)

Not the show itself, but the community has inspired a newfound sense of self-confidence and has improved my self-esteem. I’ve learned to stand up for myself and not be such a doormat. (Reading Eternal kicked my ass. It made me wake up and start appreciating the life I already had.)
 
I think we’ve seen a hint of what a community and world could be if everyone wanted such a thing. I’m not talking about the show itself, but the community the show inspired.
 
A TV show is just a show. We ourselves can decide where we want our lives to go, what to mean, how to treat others. It’s silly—*ridiculous—to let a TV show determine how one should feel about anything. Cynicism is a terrible thing that *will poison everything you love. That is always a decision we ourselves can make.

Friendship is magic.

The same thing that TMNT 2003 and the new Masters of the Universe taught me:  
“a remake is not necessarily worse than the old version”.

I learned that you are useless and untalented unless you have a tattoo on your butt.

That something awesome could be done with the My Little Pony franchise.

that i hate modern society more and more each day.
 
also friends are nice to have… and stuff…

That cartoon ponies are sexy and erotic :3

The positives – to give things a chance, that characters (even in a little girls show) can be diverse, if something develops a big enough following the culture it has backing it is incredible. It’s taught me to be more accepting, how adults can play and have fun, and that there are people out there who can like something on many levels without being truly obsessed with it. That there’s a diverse amount of talent out there that blows my mind. That people will ban together and still love something even though there are a lot of unpleasant political issues going on; that people will still stand up for what is right while being considerate of all aspects of their involvement in parodies and derivative works.
 
The negatives – it reminded me that the few can ruin a positive and supporting experience by pirating something specific and special that people put a lot of work into; that corporations might collaterally damage a wide variety of fan-based parodies and directivity works in an effort to control how their material is being used; that people who don’t get exactly what they want (even though they don’t care about it) might not listen to reason. It reminded me that, no matter how much people love something, that to a marketing department it’s always going to be a thing and they can bastardize it beyond the artist’s original intentions, ultimately betraying the original concept and alienating some of the fans.