TartarusFire_Portal

a thing i just realized is that the cookie filter predates the game by 2 whole years and i know i didn't have it in mind when initially making the game because the first version uses some basic pixel art graphic for the cookie:

which means when i got around to updating the game with all the new assets i must have suddenly remembered the filter from years prior and went wait i know JUST the thing

and so,

vector credits below the cut

Escapism. It was a happy, cheerful universe where real problems don't exist. It hit the beats that appeal to both anime fans and furries so bronies ended up a hybrid of both. There's a reason why self insert human-teleports-to-equestria fanfiction was massively popular.

Cultural trends. You know that joke that bronies turned into either trans women or white supremacists? Yeah there's truth in that. It was very popular among outcasted, unhappy nerds who were going through A Thing in 2011. See point one.