Let’s face it. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a childrens cartoon. It doesn’t matter how dark its themes sometimes are, or how many "frightening" characters there are, or how many references it has to things kids wouldn’t know about. It’s a family show, primarily aimed at young girls. It always was and always will be. It doesn't take a genius to understand that.

But is the terrifying MLP fanbase for young children? Can they get involved? Nope. Not in the slightest. The fanbase for this show is now overflowing with shameful adult content, including immense quantities of despicable pony porn and grimdark art/videos/fanfictions which are in no way safe for kids. And that isn't even the start of it. As we've seen time and time again, bronies have evolved into uncontrollably obnoxious, unpleasable Internet monsters when it comes to their obsession, making massive mountains out of the tiniest of molehills to the point where it is almost impossible to believe and put up with.

The more you think about it, the less sense it makes, and for sane bronies, ex-bronies and non-bronies everywhere, the fanbase is like a nightmare that won't end. But trust me - no-one has it worse than the show's actual target audience, the young and innocent early school-age girls. One day these little girls are going to have grown up, will learn to use the Internet, search for the show they loved (or still love) so much - and see everything. Yeah.

Think of how horrible it will be for them when they find the wonderful cartoon they loved as kids was also a gargantuan Internet religion worshipped by thousands of over-obsessed teens and adults. Imagine how they’ll feel when they find out how their show was used to create copious amounts of porn, fan-fictions, ridiculous crossovers and parodies. Imagine what will go through their mind when they read about the embarrassing brony drama, the insane conventions, and encounter the fandom's darkest and most controversial side. Their childhood will be destroyed, and they will be utterly mortified at the idea.

It's happening as I type this, and it will continue to happen. It's totally inevitable. Bronies are ruining childhoods. It angers me that there are so many bronies out there that have no shame in uploading pornography to DeviantArt and using "Rule 34" as an excuse, or saying "Welcome to the Internet" to cover up rabid, tasteless behaviour. I no longer care for the show myself (the chances of me every becoming a brony again are a billion to one) but I am still sympathetic for the younger fans, because they're the harmless ones who are going to get a nasty surprise when they log on to the Internet in the near future. They are the ones who are currently experiencing their actual childhood, and in a few years time they'll grow up and find out about the horrific things that happened to the show they grew up with.