>>42477827
I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as MLP, is in fact, MLP:FiM, or as I've recently taken to calling it, MLP plus FiM. MLP is not a TV show unto itself, but rather another component of a fully functioning cash cow made useful by the FiM branding, toys, appeal to bronies, and cute porn comprising a full fandom as defined by EQD.
Many people run into a modified version of the MLP show every day without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of FiM which is widely viewed today is often called "MLP", and many of its viewers are not aware that it is basically the FiM show, nurtured by the FiM fandom.
There really is a MLP, and these people are encountering it, but it is just a part of the show they view. MLP is the franchise: the part of the company that allocates funding to the various products that they sell. The franchise is an essential part of a show, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete animated production. MLP is normally used in combination with the FiM branding: the whole show is basically MLP with FiM added, or MLP:FiM. All the so-called "MLP" fans are really fans of MLP:FiM.
