Fun question!
As a kid I had several g3s. 3 different Toola Roolas (two of the original purple release, one core 7, who was my favorite :3), an applejack, and a 3.5 Pinkie Pie! I never remembered getting them. I think that they may have been given to me by the daycare program I went to, but I was so young I don’t remember. I definitely got them used. I learned how to braid hair on them when I was around 6, but when I was around 8 or so I was like “
I’m soooo grown out of ponies” And they stayed in a box for years.
Then in 2022 or so I was cleaning out my closet and found them, and decided to clean them up. I didn’t know much about pre g4 ponies at the time (I was a “brony” when I was a teenager but never looked into older gens) I didn’t even know their names, but I thought they were cool and nostalgic so I put them on my shelf. Then, fate made it so about 2 weeks later I went to a really obscure little toyshop with a vintage toy section and I saw my first ever g1 pony: A Hippity Hop with perfect flocking for 5 dollars. I panicked because “wait that looks like a really old My Little Pony…is that Gen 1?” quickly looked up her name on my phone, freaked out and bought her. I fell in love instantly and I couldn’t tell you why, I guess it was cool seeing something vintage and related to a fandom I had really loved. I learned how to properly clean up ponies and just started researching, learning more, buying more… Now I have 191 ponies and counting haha
So I credit Hippity Hop with being the first pony to really throw me into the pony collecting fandom
I still have all my childhood ponies! Except for one of the duplicate Toola Roolas… Sharing is caring and since I had two, my bf has one!