My kids were talking at dinner about the fictional characters Butterbean and Sparkleface.

Below, you'll find a photograph that's been described as horrifying, disgusting, dark-sided, and "makes me feel physically ill." It's not all that shocking, though. It's just a My Little Pony doll that a man on the internet accidentally melted in a jar of his own cum.

The best source of information on Gamergate, the ongoing campaign by video game enthusiasts and basement-tier conservative celebrities who want ... well, it's not exactly clear what, is Reddit's /r/gamergate subreddit.

A 9-year-old My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan won't be allowed to bring his favorite lunch sack to school anymore because administrators say it's a bully magnet that leads to class disruptions.

Michael Morones is an 11-year-old boy who was bullied relentlessly at school in Raleigh, North Carolina, because of his love for My Little Pony. Bullied so much that he tragically attempted suicide by hanging himself from the railing of his bunk bed.

A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan who says he was fired from his job over his affinity for the popular animated show has sparked significant discussion concerning the legality of his alleged termination.

Adela's father recently took her to the toy store to buy a gift for her friend's birthday, and then, once there, informed her that she would not be getting a toy herself.

You thought you were out of the woods on explaining the Elmo sex scandal. Well you were wrong. Dead wrong. Puppeteer Kevin Clash, beloved for creating Sesame Street's Elmo character and also for creating this sex scandal, now faces three accusers who claim that Clash trolled gay phone chat lines to find underage teenagers to seduce at his home. And now you're asking yourself, "which gay phone chat lines, exactly, for research?" And also, "how can I tell my kids?"

Bronies are on the march. One of the strangest, most volatile fanbases on the internet has exploded over a tiny change to a beloved character on the children's cartoon "My Little Pony."

We're fascinated by Bronies, the subculture of mostly-male internet nerds obsessed with the new animated series "My Little Pony." So on Saturday, Gawker's Max Read and I visited their natural habitat: the Winter 2012 BronyCon in midtown Manhattan.

We've recently written a couple posts about Bronies, adult men who love the cartoon My Little Pony. This touched a nerve with one Brony, who is also a Gawker commenter. He was kind enough to explain a bit about his corner of the internet.

When we last left the Bronies—adult male nerds who love the kid's cartoon My Little Pony—they were reeling from the loss of their best source of pirated episodes. Since then they've made it to the big time with a My Little Pony-related correction in the New York Times.

Forget SOPA. The biggest online intellectual property story last week was the shutdown of a website offering downloads of the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which shook the burgeoning "brony" community to its core.

Bronies (bro+pony) are adult male fans of the new series launched in 2010 based on the classic ‘80s My Little Pony toy that [spoiler] your mom secretly threw out your collection of when you went to college.

If you think bronyism sounds like something only a serious pervert living in his mother's basement would be into, you're only about 30% correct. To address your immediate question: it's not ironic. It's nerdy guys who genuinely enjoy an animated series about ponies. The show has a legitimate appeal to older audiences—high production values, snappy dialog, and a heartwarming message. But the online fan culture of bronies grew out of 4chan, so they have a computer nerd vestigial tail of Mountain Dew, anime appreciation, chronic virginity, and cyberbullying.

Bronies have their own news sites, fan forums, and even a healthy amount of fan art of ponies doing unspeakable sexual acts on Tumblr. They've had real life meet-ups, and an upcoming BronyCon in New York will feature appearances by voice actors from the show.

Ryan Gosling sings the My Little Pony theme song and breaks hearts everywhere. Maybe he should team up with Christian Bale and release an album. We'd buy it!

The question that must be asked after watching this video: Will this become a Broadway musical or a big-budget movie? Because someone must find a way to capitalize on a creepy life-sized My Little Pony belting out Jennifer Hudson tunes.