 In January 2014 , 11 @-@ year @-@ old Michael Morones became hospitalized after attempting suicide from being bullied by others at his school for being a fan of the show ; the brony community subsequently reached out to the family and with several of the show 's production and voice actors , started a charity drive to help pay for his medical bills and starting a non @-@ profit organization to help combat bullying ; the efforts raised over $ 48 @,@ 000 within a week and more than $ 72 @,@ 000 a month later . Many of these donations were raised by Tony Wayne and other tattoo artists across the country , with the funds going to Michael 's family and anti @-@ bullying charities . Thousands of men and women received pony tattoos to both support Michael and show their support for anti @-@ bullying . 
