My Little Pony...and the rest of the story

My Little Pony...and the rest of the story...

Memes are interesting. They are dynamic, unexpected, perhaps brief, but they seem to touch some instinct within, and so they become pervasive, at least for a time. The My Little Pony meme is one that's been around for a while, long enough that it might almost qualify as an archetype, which is (from what I understand) basically just a long-lasting meme.

If My Little Pony is in the process of becoming an archetype, I'd like to suggest one possible place where that archetype may have previously broken through the surface of our global consciousness. But like all good memes (or archetypes), this starts with a personal story.

When I was growing up, I (and my six brothers and sisters) often heard from my parents a story (joke or fable) that ended with the moral: "There's got to be a pony in there somewhere." I've often repeated that adage when things look dark: "There's got to be a pony in there somewhere." Of course, I'm met with blank stares or that particular look that says "Do I need to take you to a doctor?" So now I'll tell you the rest of the story.

My childhood fable went like this:

"Once, there were two children who were the subject of an experiment. One child was put into a room for an hour. In the room, he had every toy imaginable. Big, small, common or rare; he could play with anything he wanted. If he broke something, no worries; the toys were his to do with as he wanted.

"The other child was put into a room for an hour. The room was filled to the ceilings with...well...horse manure. Side to side, top to bottom, anywhere you looked there was horse manure.

"After an hour, the researchers returned to the first room filled with toys....and found the child crying inconsolably in the center. They asked 'Why are you crying?' To which the boy replied, 'Well I knew any time now someone would be along to take this all away....'

"Then the researchers entered the second room, and found the boy running happily, jumping here and there, jumping from one pile of horse manure to the other, clearly full of joy.

"'Why are you so happy?' they asked the boy. 'Don't you realize this room is filled only with horse manure?'

"'Oh, I know that,' said the boy. 'But you see, with all this horse s**t, I figure there's got to be a pony in here somewhere.'"

And now you know the rest of the story.

I expect the My Little Pony meme/archetype will survive a long time.