I have right opposite opinion - ponies is better with everything. Or in other words everything ponified is better then ponies themselves.
If ponies had 5% of awesomness that ponified stuff had I'd watch them with pleasure. Otherwise I remember the horror and suffering when I watched one episode for the sake of my other half(no, I don't have split personality based on ponies,
, I'm calling my honey that way).
P.S. if you watch parodies and than watch ponies - it have nothing in common expect video row, with same success it could be any other cartoon, why that one for little girls and overgrown bronies remains mystery for me. Maybe it was good PR move by creators caucht up by some watchers... Again, pony fandom born more out of those parodies than ponies itself...
Fan stuff involves everything else except ponies themselves. It's variations of other cartoons/games/movies, there even horror shows. Yet pony show have nothing to do with parody, few cliche joke moments and that's all.