So um yeah.
A little bit about myself: I first discovered ponies when I was about eight. Unfortunately, they weren't mine! One of my best friends had an enormous collection of very nice G1s that filled her little sister's old bassinet, and I was engrossed the moment I saw them. I'm not sure if she knew they were collector items (I've now realized a lot of them were older than us and she couldn't have been the one who first owned them) or if she was just very picky with her toys (I can't blame her, so was I!), but we rarely played out all the adventures I had planned for us.
My first pony was G2 Berry Bright, and even though she was different from the ponies I knew, I absolutely loved her 'cause she was finally my own! I still have her somewhere in the attic, though all the leaking plasticizer stories I've heard have me a little worried and maybe I should fish her out sometime soon...
Even though I loved my obnoxiously bright pony, I forgot about them entirely for years as other toys and, eventually, video games and books took my attention. In fact, coming across the new FiM show by happenstance made all those memories come rushing back, and while I've been stalking sites like this for a while, I haven't until recently given in to the collecting bug, so here I am in my small pile of blind bags and brushables!
...Merp. :V