@Tirimsil  
You could say that she’s loyal to her own personality

@rannius  
Dashies too cute

@patachu  
absolutely  

@Tirimsil  
to me she’s always been and should have been the main character in the series instead of having perpetually the focus on purplesmart. Indeed in FiM she’s painted as a clown more than an heroine. We must have this mistake undone in the future ponering and give the best pegasus what she deserves!

Rainbow Dash was absolutely the most popular character in the early years and this has definitely fallen to a more manageable level.
 
The early years saw explosive popularity, because this saw the highest amount of casual fans who did not have the commitment to stick around for 9+ years and 3+ shifts in writing staff.
 
This sort of impatience is a trait we might expect from Rainbow Dash herself, and I found that the people who were the most obsessed with her (far beyond the level of just “liking” her) were basically Rainbow Dash in real life… more specifically, they shared the less admirable traits with her.
 
I similarly found that attention-seekers consistently tried to paint themselves as “zany and fun” and said their favorite pony was Pinkie Pie. It’s very common for people to excuse or decorate themselves by venerating proxies, and they use cartoon characters as proxies because everybody already likes them.
 
Rainbow Dash didn’t change as substantially as some of the other characters as the show went on. Despite becoming a Wonderbolt, she continued to be showboating and childish, and was punished rather gently if at all for her numerous incidents. She even still bullies Fluttershy in the later seasons. Screw you, Rainbow Dash, how are you of all ponies the Element of Loyalty??
 
tl;dr: Rainbow Dash has lost the most fans because casual fans liked Rainbow Dash the most and the casual fans left after season 2~3.

@rannius  

 
@Background Pony #A1CA  

 
Yeah Rainbow Dash lost alot of fans compared to other characters like Luna or Twilight

whoa I knew I have seen this one before, had it as a wallpaper for a while! excellent choice!~

We stand at the dawn  
Our kingdom reborn  
And wait for the sun to riiise again!

Wooo 1000 likes

Satisfied Extrospection.

@Background Pony #6156  
No, the show never turned into garbage.

Assassins Creed Style

@rannius  
Can confirm; the show gradually went to shit… But I’m still here.

Dang this was 7 years ago? It aged very well.

@The Smiling Pony  
Yeah i suppose, annd sttarlights adorable in your pfp lol

@Carter Resado  
Nostalgia is a double edged blade with no handle.

@Background Pony #F904  
Hows it sad…?

No. Show newer pics. This is too sad.

@Background Pony #A1CA  
That’s true, she was sort of a mascot for the whole show back when FiM was a phenomenon, even recognised by people who otherwise had no idea what MLP was.  
Maybe it was also because a disproportionately high amount of her fans (compared to all fans) stopped watching because they were unsatisfied with how things went.  
In any case, Dashie will always be my #1.

@rannius  
I feel as though she’s lost some of her popularity over the years.  
I’d perfer to be wrong, of course.

@rannius  
I’m a big fan of the Dashie

@Dreamy Orange  
I‘m pretty sure she has quite a lot of fans already ^^

Daaaw, Rainbow is such a precious pony I wish she had more fans of her, she’s my favorite pony
 
I love this pic

@Count Adramélekh Sear 🎸  
Nice

I had never seen this one before. I hadn’t even voted it. All fixed now.
 
^{Fun fact: this was submitted on DA on the same day I first visited Ponychan (May 2 2011).}