Teabee

I'm hoping to go to both Fiesta Equestria in July and NMND in October since I live here in TX. Brony Fan Fair is not really an option for me since I've got a business retreat in September

Aaaah, Powerpuff Girls. Classic. I also watched Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura as a child and I guess they could be considered girly. These days, I occasionally entertain myself with Littlest Pet Shop, Sofia the First, and Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch. Zero bucks given.

I do so love Marshmelodrama. I must say, ever since I started watching MLP I've developed a great deal of respect for T St. G and her skill at dramatic hysterics. Seriously, I don't know how she held back from doing maniacal laughter at the end when she really starts chewing all that scenery. I know a lot has been made of Spike not learning from his experience with the enchanted comic book but honestly, I think that it makes sense that Spike, as a baby dragon, would not stop to think about his actions. He may speak more intelligently than the average human of his age but I think his mindset still has a long way to go. Plus the lesson was a great one to learn, especially in nerd fandoms since we tend to be tighter as individuals than some groups of friends. I've seen the kind of damage that a big name personality surrounding themselves with yes-men can do.

I probably wouldn't get the chance to tell my past self. My past self would probably be like "OMG you have muscles! Hey, there are a few people I need you to beat up..." But nah, he probably wouldn't believe it. I wasn't so much into the girly stuff back then.

What does it mean to be a guy? What does it mean to be manly? Actually this question is at the heart of the fandom and it's something that some people wrestle with a lot. When people say that the candy colored horses are manly, my best guess is that they are affirming the fact that they are watching a little girls' show but that they are secure enough in their manliness and heterosexuality (or whatever you choose to identify yourself as) that it doesn't matter to them. That's why, in the early days of the fandom, you saw a lot of people saying stuff like "I am X years old and I LOVE PONIES!" For me, being a brony doesn't make me manly. What makes me manly is having a career, being on track to success, being able to take charge of a situation and own my failures as well as my triumphs. I have a comfortable circle of friends, eat steak, drink beer, and shoot other peoples' virtual avatars in Call of Duty. So yeah, I could say that I'm pretty manly. Girls can be pretty manly too when you think about it; one of my female coworkers, in my platoon, is probably more manly than some of the guys I've met both in and out of the Army.

Career Twilight Sparkle: Alicorn Princess. Ceremonial and civil administration roles, and before that she was Celestia's student so likely entitled to a royal stipend as mentioned before. Doesn't appear to have much use for money because she doesn't have a whole lot of extravagant possessions and gets most of her bling free from Rarity in any case, at least on-screen. I could see the Library upkeep being paid for as part of Ponyville's budget and/or donations. Rarity: While her clientele is very upscale and probably pays well, it is also a small niche as ponies don't normally wear clothes. Factor in exotic materials, travel expenses for networking, and her own expensive tastes, the amount of money she actually puts away is probably less than one might expect. If her business wasn't profitable though, she definitely wouldn't be able to afford a lot of the stuff she has and if one is looking to be independently wealthy, being self-employed is a good way to go. Applejack: Family-owned apple farming consortium. Farming is an inconsistent source of profit and a lot of the Apple family's money seems to go into upkeep from barns that keep falling down, repelling invasive pests, and so on. So maybe not wealthy in the traditional sense but thanks to the family dynamic they have an extensive support structure all across Equestria. It's hard to comment as I don't know that much about farming except that it's hard and bad luck can leave you in a deep hole. Fluttershy: Animal care, home remedies, and her home doubles as an adoption center. The only way I can see her lifestyle working is if she lives off the grid, mainly going into town to socialize and buy the few supplies that she can't grow herself near the Everfree Forest. From what we've seen of Fluttershy's cottage it appears to be outside of Ponyville some ways so she seems to have a lot of space, and she's good at pacifying the more dangerous creatures from the forest so I'm guessing the town is more than happy to help her out in a pinch. Pinkie Pie: Assistant at Sugarcube Corner but also moonlights as a party planner. Potentially a profitable business but she doesn't seem to cater to corporate or rich clientele much and prefers that everypony have fun so she sticks to the local and/or casual market and prefers it that way. I think she could live quite comfortably off her pay from Sugarcube Corner and the occasional party if her room and board are covered. Ponies seem to have a habit of living where they work, an arrangement that would probably drive me insane. Rainbow Dash: Weather captain. Seems mostly like a government job although if she's been doing this for awhile she could be pretty senior and entitled to government housing. Cloudsdale could be weird like that; they have a very militaristic or military-inspired society and I can tell you that even junior officers are entitled to their own housing on base (subject to availability of course). As a government job that is pretty important given that growing crops is dependent on weather, her income is probably fairly stable. Of course there might just be no real life equivalent that we can draw a comparison to. She's a hard one and that house is pretty damn nice for a government shindig. Property Twilight Sparkle: Lives in a library. Humble but in keeping with her personality. Potentially no upkeep thanks to government funding, donations, and/or being an Alicorn Princess. Rarity: Works from home. Reasonably extravagant house but being in Ponyville probably keeps the property values down. Applejack: Apparently has enough land for at least two orchards so I'm guessing Sweet Apple Acres is one of the bigger farms in the area. After 9005 hours on Google I came up with 10 acres as a ballpark for an efficient commercial apple orchard but this is including modern farming equipment that Equestria just doesn't seem to have. Also there doesn't seem to be any labor aside from the Apple family so honestly it's a wonder that AJ gets to spend any time with her friends. Fluttershy: Lives in a cottage. That's pretty darn nice for a cottage if you ask me, but then it could easily have been renovated or incredibly cheap due to being right next to the Everfree Forest. Has a chicken coop and likely a garden too so Flutters could easily be subsisting. Millions of people all over the world do it. Pinkie Pie: Upstairs apartment at Sugarcube Corner. Probably doesn't pay for it. She gets by. Rainbow Dash: It might seem like you have to be rich to have a mansion but think about it - she lives in the sky. There's virtually unlimited space up there in three dimensions and the only ponies that can live up there are Pegasi so it might be more likely than you think. Also a good point made earlier was that it could be an apartment complex for Pegasi with a really nice common area (Dashie isn't the only one who likes the Wonderbolts). Skills Twilight Sparkle: Princess powers. Vast magical knowledge. Organization, management, civil administration, and basically anything she could look up in a book. Rarity: Fashion designer and entrepreneur. Possibly trained as a jeweller as well given the amount of gems she has to deal with. Probably extensive experience too, given how she is able to turn around other ponies' failing businesses (Rarity micro-series). Applejack: Applebucking. Ridiculous strength. Competes in athletic competitions in her spare time (how the hell does she have any spare time unless she never sleeps). Fluttershy: No formal training but does have extensive knowledge of animals. A little bit of veterinary knowledge perhaps, herbal remedies, the ability to talk to animals, the ability to pacify dangerous creatures with the Stare, animal domestication... Pinkie Pie: Party planning. Believe it or not this can get pretty complex between the catering, entertainment, decorations, guest list, and so on. Probably knows all the really good cooks and musicians in town. Well hell, Pinkie knows everybody. Rainbow Dash: Weather control and athletics. Has the personality for middle management. Could be responsible for the training program for weather ponies, as it seems very physical. Family Twilight Sparkle: Ascended into the Equestrian royal family. Parents probably reasonably well off if they can afford to live in Canterlot. Rarity: Reasonably successful parents, if they can afford to travel and go on vacations. Sister in school. Applejack: Apples. Fluttershy: Probably has family in Cloudsdale unless we want to go the Grimdark Scootaorphan route but I don't have this overwhelming compulsion to ruin everything I touch (just kidding). Pinkie Pie: Parents and siblings work on a rock farm aside from Maud who is going into graduate level education. Also, the Cakes practically think of her as family. Rainbow Dash: Unknown family in Cloudsdale. Also is a mentor to Scootaloo. Final Thoughts Equestria is interesting in that it has other services like Winter Wrap-Up that everypony must contribute to. Since it is a required service and takes people out of their day jobs I could imagine it being like jury duty where they get comp'd a little bit for their troubles. Ponyville is also a very small and tight-knit community so while certain ponies might appear poor at first they could actually be doing very well for themselves if everypony helps each other out. Conclusion Twilight Sparkle: Can probably subsist off income from the royal family. Doesn't really need to work as a Librarian but does so anyway because she likes it. Probably the most financially secure of any of the Mane 6 since, barring a major catastrophe, she will never want for anything. Rarity: Probably second most gross income, but her niche business and expensive tastes take their toll. Applejack: I'd actually argue that AJ has the most gross income thanks to her orchards and attempts to diversify into other apple-related products (cider, jam, pies, distribution to related businesses, and so on). She always seems to have money problems though whether it's a surgery for Granny Smith or having to raise a new barn because the old one got destroyed. Probably very frugal thanks to the nature of farming. Fluttershy: I'm fairly convinced of my subsistence interpretation. With a garden and some chickens she could grow enough food to support herself, plus whatever she can forage from the Everfree Forest. Her animal services probably make her a little money that she can use on trips to the spa or the occasional confection but given her personality I doubt she has as many needs as someone like Rarity so it's okay. Pinkie Pie: While she could be reasonably well off if she wanted to, I think Pinkie is quite happy where she is now with all the friends she could want and having fun every day. She probably doesn't think very far into the future about concerns like saving. Rainbow Dash: Again a mare of simple tastes. Cashes her paycheck and then flies off somewhere to chill out for awhile. Friendship with A.K. Yearling also means she now gets advance copies of Daring Do books, plus she can go to the library whenever she wants. So, as weird as it might sound, I'm going to have to go with Twilight being the most wealthy. It's honestly very close between her, AJ, and Rarity but she has practically no expenses by comparison and her wealth is relatively stable. In good years, Rarity and AJ would have more money but this fluctuates based on how the market/weather is at the time. Oh god, I actually spent an hour typing this up. Confound these ponies, they drive me to drink.

The reason why Season 3 was 13 episodes because the average show runs for 65 unless it is hugely successful and Hasbro still wasn't sure whether MLP would do well. Ratings and merch sales probably convinced them that it could do a lot better so the next season they ordered was a full 26 episode one. LPS has nothing to do with MLP beyond sharing voice actors and production crew; Tabitha St. Germain alone is involved in a metric feather-ton of projects so it's not like any sacrifices had to be made. IIRC, MLP has had its fair share of marathons too; the Royal Wedding and Crystal Empire arcs probably took up the whole of the Hub's saturday morning program block. I don't really remember.

Well hey, time flies when you're having fun and I've thoroughly enjoyed Season 4.

It was to make room for a marathon of Littlest Pet Shop, culminating in the season finale.