"If this sounds familiar then that’s because the way that the world of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic functions is very similar to the capitalist society that we live in today." -- Daisha WIlliams, 11th Grade
The world of the children's cartoon show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is very complex. There are different types of ponies and each of them have a different role in the society. Some ponies are born with more privileges than others and there are just a few that have almost complete control over anything. If this sounds familiar then that’s because the way that the world of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic functions is very similar to the capitalist society that we live in today.
In MLP there are three types of ponies. (There are also other types of personified animals, but these don’t appear in enough episodes for the audience to see how they add to their society. So this article will not be talking about those animals.) There are earth ponies. These are the types of ponies most similar to the ones we see in real life. They walk, they run, they have no magical or extraordinary abilities that they are born with. The second type of pony are pegasi. These are earth ponies but with wings. They can do everything earth ponies can do, but also fly. Then there are unicorns. Unicorns are born with a magical horn. They can do magic unlike all of the other ponies. They are born with the ability to do magic but must learn to control it as they grow. Alicorns are ponies that have both wings and a horn. They can be born this way or they can be turned into one.
Each of the main characters are one of these types of ponies. Applejack and Pinkie Pie are earth ponies. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are pegasi. Twilight and Rarity are unicorns. Applejack is a farm horse, and Pinkie Pie works in a confectionery. Rainbow Dash does not have a job in the beginning of the series however she becomes a weather patrol pony during season 6 in episode 7. Fluttershy’s job is to be an animal caretaker and in season 8 she gets a part-time job as a teacher. Rarity is both a fashion designer and a seamstress at her own boutique in town. Twilight is just a student until she becomes the fourth princess of Equestria, as well as an alicorn.
Ponies become alicorns one of two ways. They can be born an alicorn. Or they can be transformed into one like Twilight was in the 13th episode of season 3; when she was officially made a princess. Born alicorns have a longer lifespan than all other ponies and All alicorns are royalty and sometimes are seen as royalty due to the amount of power they each hold.
Lots of parallels can be drawn from our society to that of the one of MLP. One could look at a pony being born with wings or magic as a privilege similar to being born into a family with money. Earth ponies like AppleJack and Pinkie Pie must work for a living. These ponies are never seen not having a job of some sort. Also, they both work for other people; AppleJack for her family, and Pinkie Pie for the Cakes. They are also essential workers, AppleJack being a farmer and PinkiePie working to sell food. In our society the people who are born with less privilege are the ones who have steady jobs because it is necessary, and often work for other people. Both Fluttershy and Rarity also have steady jobs despite being more “privileged” in comparison to earth ponies. There is definitely a difference in the nature of their jobs. They both work for themselves, at something that they are passionate about. In our society, jobs like that are given to people who have access to more money, and even then they may have to go into debt before they can achieve their dream job.
The other pegasus, Rainbow Dash does not have a job the entire show. She is a better flyer than Fluttershy, and doesn’t need a job for the first two seasons of the show. When she does get a job it is her dream job. Twilight doesn’t have a job until she becomes a princess. Before that she was a student that studied magic intensely. From this information one can infer three things: the earth ponies are at the bottom of their society, the equivalent of a low income household. Aside from that, things get a little messy. A pegasus would be the next step up in the social structure, being born with more power than an earth pony, but less than a unicorn. Some ponies can still be stronger than other ponies though, even ones that are the same type of pony. Rainbow Dash for example is a stronger flier than Fluttershy because she worked at it.
This is true of people in real life who are born to a family that makes median income. They do need a job eventually, but have the freedom to wait and find something they really want to do. The two unicorns, Rarity and Twilight, are born the most powerful out of the six main characters. Twilight is undoubtedly more powerful than Rarity. That being said, Rarity owns her own business, something that none of the other ponies have done. It only makes sense that her advantage of being born a unicorn helped to make that possible. Twilight works very hard as a student before she earns the right to be a princess. By doing this she rises extremely high in the social ladder. Although she did work very hard to do this, this feat would be incredibly more difficult for a pegasus, and virtually impossible for an earth pony to do.
This is comparable to the idea that the United States was founded on, which is the idea that anyone can be rich. It is extremely difficult to do so, unless a person is born with some type of financial advantage. Even still, that person would most likely still not be equals with those at the very top, like how Twilight, even after all her hard work, is less powerful than born alicorns.
The society in My Little Pony has a social structure that is very similar to that of the United States. This may be because of the fact that the target audience for this show are kids who are growing up in this type of society. This helps to normalize class differences, as unfair as they may be, and helps kids understand that they are simply part of life, even in an idealistic magical society full of ponies.
Sources:
" A Look at Class In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic " General Katyusa
" My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Wiki "
" Solidarity is Illusion: The Political Economy of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic " Overthinking It
US Census
In MLP there are three types of ponies. (There are also other types of personified animals, but these don’t appear in enough episodes for the audience to see how they add to their society. So this article will not be talking about those animals.) There are earth ponies. These are the types of ponies most similar to the ones we see in real life. They walk, they run, they have no magical or extraordinary abilities that they are born with. The second type of pony are pegasi. These are earth ponies but with wings. They can do everything earth ponies can do, but also fly. Then there are unicorns. Unicorns are born with a magical horn. They can do magic unlike all of the other ponies. They are born with the ability to do magic but must learn to control it as they grow. Alicorns are ponies that have both wings and a horn. They can be born this way or they can be turned into one.
Each of the main characters are one of these types of ponies. Applejack and Pinkie Pie are earth ponies. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are pegasi. Twilight and Rarity are unicorns. Applejack is a farm horse, and Pinkie Pie works in a confectionery. Rainbow Dash does not have a job in the beginning of the series however she becomes a weather patrol pony during season 6 in episode 7. Fluttershy’s job is to be an animal caretaker and in season 8 she gets a part-time job as a teacher. Rarity is both a fashion designer and a seamstress at her own boutique in town. Twilight is just a student until she becomes the fourth princess of Equestria, as well as an alicorn.
Ponies become alicorns one of two ways. They can be born an alicorn. Or they can be transformed into one like Twilight was in the 13th episode of season 3; when she was officially made a princess. Born alicorns have a longer lifespan than all other ponies and All alicorns are royalty and sometimes are seen as royalty due to the amount of power they each hold.
Lots of parallels can be drawn from our society to that of the one of MLP. One could look at a pony being born with wings or magic as a privilege similar to being born into a family with money. Earth ponies like AppleJack and Pinkie Pie must work for a living. These ponies are never seen not having a job of some sort. Also, they both work for other people; AppleJack for her family, and Pinkie Pie for the Cakes. They are also essential workers, AppleJack being a farmer and PinkiePie working to sell food. In our society the people who are born with less privilege are the ones who have steady jobs because it is necessary, and often work for other people. Both Fluttershy and Rarity also have steady jobs despite being more “privileged” in comparison to earth ponies. There is definitely a difference in the nature of their jobs. They both work for themselves, at something that they are passionate about. In our society, jobs like that are given to people who have access to more money, and even then they may have to go into debt before they can achieve their dream job.
The other pegasus, Rainbow Dash does not have a job the entire show. She is a better flyer than Fluttershy, and doesn’t need a job for the first two seasons of the show. When she does get a job it is her dream job. Twilight doesn’t have a job until she becomes a princess. Before that she was a student that studied magic intensely. From this information one can infer three things: the earth ponies are at the bottom of their society, the equivalent of a low income household. Aside from that, things get a little messy. A pegasus would be the next step up in the social structure, being born with more power than an earth pony, but less than a unicorn. Some ponies can still be stronger than other ponies though, even ones that are the same type of pony. Rainbow Dash for example is a stronger flier than Fluttershy because she worked at it.
This is true of people in real life who are born to a family that makes median income. They do need a job eventually, but have the freedom to wait and find something they really want to do. The two unicorns, Rarity and Twilight, are born the most powerful out of the six main characters. Twilight is undoubtedly more powerful than Rarity. That being said, Rarity owns her own business, something that none of the other ponies have done. It only makes sense that her advantage of being born a unicorn helped to make that possible. Twilight works very hard as a student before she earns the right to be a princess. By doing this she rises extremely high in the social ladder. Although she did work very hard to do this, this feat would be incredibly more difficult for a pegasus, and virtually impossible for an earth pony to do.
This is comparable to the idea that the United States was founded on, which is the idea that anyone can be rich. It is extremely difficult to do so, unless a person is born with some type of financial advantage. Even still, that person would most likely still not be equals with those at the very top, like how Twilight, even after all her hard work, is less powerful than born alicorns.
The society in My Little Pony has a social structure that is very similar to that of the United States. This may be because of the fact that the target audience for this show are kids who are growing up in this type of society. This helps to normalize class differences, as unfair as they may be, and helps kids understand that they are simply part of life, even in an idealistic magical society full of ponies.
Sources:
" A Look at Class In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic " General Katyusa
" My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Wiki "
" Solidarity is Illusion: The Political Economy of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic " Overthinking It
US Census
