#4) Pregnancy pony art-work annoys me! It's disgusting but I see it all over the place. Earlier today I saw a pregnant Rarity! What's up with that?

<sub>Answer: People have their own interests and fetishes. One of those might be an amorous attraction to/admiration for pregnant bellies: who knows what some people are into? Pregnancy is, obviously, a huge part of life and, in real-life, ponies do get pregnant. So you can't attack the artwork on the grounds that it's especially unnatural, as it's the reason why you're here, the reason why ponies in general exist, and it's why our species, and many others, will continue to live, and have lived, for thousands of years.

In terms of why people draw and like it, there appear to be two major crowds: the general interest crowd and the sexual crowd. The former may just be interested in the logistics of drawing a pony in a pregnant state; the larger proportions may challenge artists who like to be challenged, and it may help with creating more adventurous anatomy. Not to mention that pregnancy can be a beautiful thing, at least in person, and so those that like looking at pregnancy pony art might be applying the same logic.

The other crowd are, as mentioned, the sexual crowd, who may find the image of a pregnant pony arousing. You're well within your rights to feel uncomfortable around those sorts of people, but they should be easy enough to identify and ignore. Whereas appreciators of art may respond to a pregnancy picture by observing that, "[They] got the proportions spot-on", someone who views the image in a sexual light is likely to be far more overt with their, "This is HOT!" comments.

Honestly, different people like different things; that pregnancy art-work exists proves that there is a niche for it out there, and by drawing it people are meeting a consumer demand. You don't have to like it, but you shouldn't be too exposed to it for it to become much of an issue. Generally, pregnancy art seems to be fairly uncommon, especially images of an explicit nature, and so you should just regard the art as a conflict of interests with your own likes and avoid it. I wouldn't pursue any kind of action against it, simply because people aren't going to change what they enjoy and they'll get offended if you attempt to instigate any form of change upon them. As for Rarity, she'd probably make a great mother.</sub>


#5) Why do people care about Lauren Faust so much? She doesn't even work on the show now!

<sub>Answer: A lot of people revere Lauren Faust as some sort of minor deity within the fandom. And, while this can get a little frustrating to some, it's important to remember that she was, along with many others, vital in the creation of "Friendship is Magic". The characters you know and love are part of her concept for the show, as is the adorable art-style and a fair amount of the lore of the Equestrian world. Therefore, it's clear that Lauren Faust should be respected by anyone who enjoys the show for bringing her creative mind to it and taking the show down an entertaining route.

However, it is true that her involvement in the show has dwindled. While her ideas are still undoubtedly used, they may have been elaborated upon and changed a bit since her original vision. One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of people credit My Little Pony art to Lauren Faust above others such as Hasbro or the creative team at DHX Media and The Hub, which is perhaps a little concerning. Then again, she is an individual (and on DeviantArt), which makes it easier to acknowledge her than an entire series of subsidiary companies and production teams.

You shouldn't complain about people liking Lauren Faust. Her importance in the development of "Friendship is Magic" is fairly evident. That said, some people do, perhaps, take the excessive worship of her too far, flooding her page with comments, asking her all sorts of questions that she won't know the answer to and even, at times, linking her to inappropriate content. Then again, bronies, like most 'cultures', do require a single entity to lavish praise upon, and, in many respects, Lauren Faust seems to be the right person to receive it, as long as everyone remembers that "Friendship is Magic" is the work of many talented individuals, not just Mrs. Faust herself.</sub>


#6) I see shippers shipping ponies left and right, sometimes making pairings that don't even make sense! I know I need to respect that people have the right to this, but it's seriously starting to piss me off! What should I do?

<sub>Answer: Ah yes, shipping. This is a very popular thing among pony fans, and while I've never personally understood it myself, I can, at least, sympathise with the appeal. We must start, though, by observing that there are multiple kinds of shippings. For example, some people who are in a relationship may have pony characters of themselves that are 'shipped' together. This seems to be the most natural form of shipping, as it's entirely justifiable: two people who are attracted to one another portraying their romance through shipping.

Then you have the show-based shippings, which are a little more difficult to grasp. While some arguably have a degree of canonical support – stuff like Fancy Pants and Rarity, for example – others are completely out-of-the-blue and don't really have any basis in the show. A lot of radical people like to look for sexual references in the episodes suggesting that particular characters are attracted to one another, but, if you ask me, those sorts of people are just trying to find what they'd like to see rather than what's actually there.

Alas, there's nothing that you can really do, short of launching a one-man campaign against shipping, which will, sadly, result in failure. Shipping is so ludicrously popular that the best you can do if you dislike it is to just avoid it to the best of your ability. Thankfully, the majority of shipping is relatively tasteful – cuddling and kissing rather than full-blown sex – which means you can rationalise it as a cute little novelty rather than anything particularly sinister. The people who seriously ship ponies together in a hardcore way and think that it's canon, however, should probably take a step back and look at how silly they're acting in relation to a kid's show.

There are some shippings that you'll never be able to escape from. Lyra and Bon-Bon, for example, is such an absurdly popular shipping that you're at risk of being insulted if you do strike out against it. As said previously, a lot of people see what they want to see in a show, and infer things that may or may not be true. Is it likely that Lyra and Bon-Bon are an item? Of course not. Will rabid fans defend to the death that they are? You bet. Shipping is one of those things where you just have to hold your tongue and ignore it if you don't like it; I wouldn't suggest trying to do anything about it, as the majority of the fandom adhere to some form of shipping. You'd be going up against so many bronies if you lashed out that you'd struggle to make any sort of head-way. In this situation, passivity and indifference is the best course of action.</sub>