How Weird is Pinkie Pie-Sweetie Belle? Counting Stories, Checking Bar Charts, and Looking for Any Surprises Whatsoever

Blog Number 127: Peaks, Popularity, and Combos Edition

Today, I'm going to be doing a whole bunch of character-tag-story-number-counting-things-that-caught-my-eye.

No reason, really.

What? I fancied taking a peek at how "big character tags" are used on-site. Let the number party begin!

Sadly, there will be no checklists, but Pinkie generously gave us a check anyway.

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The three major topics of random counting, for those who don't mind spoilers, are:

1. Looking at major character tags and seeing if they have any major trends in output, which can be loosely interpreted as "popularity".
2. Looking tangentially at major character tag combinations and seeing if they turn out any surprising anomalies in frequency of occurrence.
3. Looking at neighbouring character tags and seeing if they have any unusual trends in output/"popularity".

So here we go! For real this time!

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For the purposes of the "major trend" comparison and the "combinations" comparison especially, I will pick tags from the top of the on-site Tag Directory of Character Tags, ranked by story count. The most obvious candidates are the Princesses, the Main Six, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, so let's go with those.

Also a reminder to keep your Mature filter off in the settings menu, if you wish to obtain the complete counts yourselves too. Otherwise, you end up ignoring a portion of all fics on-site and get inaccurate numbers.

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List of Major Character Tags

Er... not that kind of major...

Here are the candidates, roughly defined as tags belonging to any character present since the first season unto the last, and for every season in-between (this excludes popular major cast additions like Discord, Sunset Shimmer, Trixie Lulamoon, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor). Listed from most numerous to least numerous below.

Main 6 (35,861)
Twilight Sparkle (31,243)
Princess Celestia (29,810)
Princess Luna (24,983)
Rainbow Dash (14,864)
Spike (14,686)
Cutie Mark Crusaders (9,385)
Fluttershy (9,341)
Pinkie Pie (8,883)
Rarity (8,416)
Applejack (8,022)
Scootaloo (3,956)
Apple Bloom (2,922)
Sweetie Belle (2,823)

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"That's all I get!? Oh COME ON! I'm in the freaking TITLE!"

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Individual Tags: Peak and Decline

If we have a look at each tag's page (here, for instance, is the Main 6's tag page; each character's page is connected via hyperlink in the list you just passed), you should see a bar chart monitoring the frequency of tag use over the years. It's on the right of the screen.

Since it's the biggest of all tags - not exclusive to character tags - we can feel reasonably sure that the "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" tag page in particular is the best representative for overall trends in writing, against which any local deviations in other tags will stand out.

So let's check there first. What is the dominant trend we see?

Well, according to the "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" tag page, fic production hit its peak during 2012-2013, and has slowly declined over the years until it reaches what appears to be a plateau in 2018-2020. The peak reaches approximately 22,000 fics per year; the plateau stabilizes around 8,200 fics per year, very roughly resulting in an overall decrease down to three-eighths of what it was at its peak.

Now we have our baseline for trends, let's look at all fourteen character tags selected here.

And...

All of them tell pretty much the same story!

Well, that was anticlimactic.

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There are a few small wobbles and nitpicks here and there (for example, Rainbow Dash's count rises slightly in 2020, and Scootaloo's decrease over time results in closer to one-quarter of what she had at her peak), but very obviously, they all follow the same trend of "peak in 2012-2013 and then decline to a 2018-2020 plateau".

Oh, Pinkie has an odd dip in 2013, and Rarity's 2014 result is higher than expected, and Sweetie Belle actually takes longer to rise and hit her peak in 2014 before starting her decline. Other than this small number of anomalies, all the tag pages fit the trend.

Curious about the rise in Rarity fics and in Sweetie Belle fics come 2014, I zeroed in on that timeframe in the bar chart using the range-defining sliding scale underneath. On closer inspection, they both hit a spike during the transition between December 2013 and January 2014. That's roughly at the end of the first quarter of Season Four.

So was something like "Rarity Takes Manehattan" or "Flight to the Finish" really that inspirational, or did it coincide with some fandom event, perhaps? Or else Sweetie Belle and Rarity simply had slightly more staying power or a slower growing appreciation among their fans than, say, Apple Bloom and Applejack? Hard to tell.

Meanwhile, Pinkie's odd dip takes a bite out of the majority of her 2013 stats, after Season Three ended. An exceptionally weak season for Pinkie, perhaps? Or else everyone else somehow stole her thunder in their own ways at the same time? Fandom event? Lack of staying power until Season Four boosted her popularity?

Or else all three of these deviations could be complete coincidences based on the arbitrary, multifactorial fluctuations of fanfic interest and happenstance? If the other bar charts weren't so broadly consistent with the main trend, I might take this "luck" suggestion more seriously, but the trend holds so strong that the anomalies seem deliberate.

Not being a statistical expert, though, I don't feel fully confident in ruling it out. Worse, I don't have any particularly clear explanation for these very local spikes and plummets.

Alas, with nothing conclusive, let's move on to the next phase...

...combos!

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List of Major Character Combinations

For stupid people: who do you think was the most popular character combo?

Here we go: 14 sets, each of 13 possible character combinations per individual character. Listed from most numerous individual tags to least numerous individual tags.

Note that the double-counting is deliberate, as it makes it easier to consider each character's set on its own, without clumsy reference to bits of others for a full picture. For instance, all Sweetie Belle combinations can be examined in one dedicated set rather than piecemeal from all the other sets; since she has the fewest stories, just go to the bottom of this list for her set.

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Main 6 - Twilight Sparkle (5,687)
Main 6 - Princess Celestia (13,390)
Main 6 - Princess Luna (10,695)
Main 6 - Rainbow Dash (2,193)
Main 6 - Spike (7,474)
Main 6 - Cutie Mark Crusaders (5,311)
Main 6 - Fluttershy (1,533)
Main 6 - Pinkie Pie (1,137)
Main 6 - Rarity (815)
Main 6 - Applejack (831)
Main 6 - Scootaloo (597)
Main 6 - Apple Bloom (422)
Main 6 - Sweetie Belle (346)

Twilight Sparkle - Main 6 (5,687)
Twilight Sparkle - Princess Celestia (7,957)
Twilight Sparkle - Princess Luna (5,682)
Twilight Sparkle - Rainbow Dash (4,778)
Twilight Sparkle - Spike (5,550)
Twilight Sparkle - Cutie Mark Crusaders (1,139)
Twilight Sparkle - Fluttershy (2,390)
Twilight Sparkle - Pinkie Pie (2,872)
Twilight Sparkle - Rarity (2,731)
Twilight Sparkle - Applejack (2,195)
Twilight Sparkle - Scootaloo (499)
Twilight Sparkle - Apple Bloom (327)
Twilight Sparkle - Sweetie Belle (430)

Princess Celestia - Main 6 (13,390)
Princess Celestia - Twilight Sparkle (7,957)
Princess Celestia - Princess Luna (18,308)
Princess Celestia - Rainbow Dash (1,041)
Princess Celestia - Spike (3,454)
Princess Celestia - Cutie Mark Crusaders (2,069)
Princess Celestia - Fluttershy (726)
Princess Celestia - Pinkie Pie (662)
Princess Celestia - Rarity (552)
Princess Celestia - Applejack (455)
Princess Celestia - Scootaloo (229)
Princess Celestia - Apple Bloom (158)
Princess Celestia - Sweetie Belle (141)

Princess Luna - Main 6 (10,695)
Princess Luna - Twilight Sparkle (5,682)
Princess Luna - Princess Celestia (18,308)
Princess Luna - Rainbow Dash (877)
Princess Luna - Spike (2,442)
Princess Luna - Cutie Mark Crusaders (1,749)
Princess Luna - Fluttershy (617)
Princess Luna - Pinkie Pie (557)
Princess Luna - Rarity (437)
Princess Luna - Applejack (376)
Princess Luna - Scootaloo (269)
Princess Luna - Apple Bloom (146)
Princess Luna - Sweetie Belle (151)

Rainbow Dash - Main 6 (2,193)
Rainbow Dash - Twilight Sparkle (4,778)
Rainbow Dash - Princess Celestia (1,041)
Rainbow Dash - Princess Luna (877)
Rainbow Dash - Spike (943)
Rainbow Dash - Cutie Mark Crusaders (733)
Rainbow Dash - Fluttershy (2,592)
Rainbow Dash - Pinkie Pie (2,084)
Rainbow Dash - Rarity (1,608)
Rainbow Dash - Applejack (2,539)
Rainbow Dash - Scootaloo (1,580)
Rainbow Dash - Apple Bloom (227)
Rainbow Dash - Sweetie Belle (165)

Spike - Main 6 (7,474)
Spike - Twilight Sparkle (5,550)
Spike - Princess Celestia (3,454)
Spike - Princess Luna (2,442)
Spike - Rainbow Dash (943)
Spike - Cutie Mark Crusaders (1,737)
Spike - Fluttershy (638)
Spike - Pinkie Pie (732)
Spike - Rarity (1,592)
Spike - Applejack (583)
Spike - Scootaloo (234)
Spike - Apple Bloom (246)
Spike - Sweetie Belle (368)

Cutie Mark Crusaders - Main 6 (5,311)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Twilight Sparkle (1,139)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Princess Celestia (2,069)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Princess Luna (1,749)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Rainbow Dash (733)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Spike (1,737)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Fluttershy (334)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Pinkie Pie (304)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Rarity (579)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Applejack (641)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Scootaloo (571)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Apple Bloom (316)
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Sweetie Belle (393)

Fluttershy - Main 6 (1,533)
Fluttershy - Twilight Sparkle (2,390)
Fluttershy - Princess Celestia (726)
Fluttershy - Princess Luna (617)
Fluttershy - Rainbow Dash (2,592)
Fluttershy - Spike (638)
Fluttershy - Cutie Mark Crusaders (334)
Fluttershy - Pinkie Pie (1,106)
Fluttershy - Rarity (1,118)
Fluttershy - Applejack (995)
Fluttershy - Scootaloo (275)
Fluttershy - Apple Bloom (127)
Fluttershy - Sweetie Belle (116)

Pinkie Pie - Main 6 (1,137)
Pinkie Pie - Twilight Sparkle (2,872)
Pinkie Pie - Princess Celestia (662)
Pinkie Pie - Princess Luna (557)
Pinkie Pie - Rainbow Dash (2,084)
Pinkie Pie - Spike (732)
Pinkie Pie - Cutie Mark Crusaders (304)
Pinkie Pie - Fluttershy (1,106)
Pinkie Pie - Rarity (1,039)
Pinkie Pie - Applejack (1,017)
Pinkie Pie - Scootaloo (185)
Pinkie Pie - Apple Bloom (142)
Pinkie Pie - Sweetie Belle (113)

Rarity - Main 6 (815)
Rarity - Twilight Sparkle (2,731)
Rarity - Princess Celestia (552)
Rarity - Princess Luna (437)
Rarity - Rainbow Dash (1,608)
Rarity - Spike (1,592)
Rarity - Cutie Mark Crusaders (579)
Rarity - Fluttershy (1,118)
Rarity - Pinkie Pie (1,039)
Rarity - Applejack (1,592)
Rarity - Scootaloo (131)
Rarity - Apple Bloom (139)
Rarity - Sweetie Belle (1,100)

Applejack - Main 6 (831)
Applejack - Twilight Sparkle (2,195)
Applejack - Princess Celestia (455)
Applejack - Princess Luna (376)
Applejack - Rainbow Dash (2,539)
Applejack - Spike (583)
Applejack - Cutie Mark Crusaders (641)
Applejack - Fluttershy (995)
Applejack - Pinkie Pie (1,017)
Applejack - Rarity (1,592)
Applejack - Scootaloo (183)
Applejack - Apple Bloom (1,202)
Applejack - Sweetie Belle (139)

Scootaloo - Main 6 (597)
Scootaloo - Twilight Sparkle (499)
Scootaloo - Princess Celestia (229)
Scootaloo - Princess Luna (269)
Scootaloo - Rainbow Dash (1,580)
Scootaloo - Spike (234)
Scootaloo - Cutie Mark Crusaders (571)
Scootaloo - Fluttershy (275)
Scootaloo - Pinkie Pie (185)
Scootaloo - Rarity (131)
Scootaloo - Applejack (183)
Scootaloo - Apple Bloom (621)
Scootaloo - Sweetie Belle (669)

Apple Bloom - Main 6 (422)
Apple Bloom - Twilight Sparkle (327)
Apple Bloom - Princess Celestia (158)
Apple Bloom - Princess Luna (146)
Apple Bloom - Rainbow Dash (227)
Apple Bloom - Spike (246)
Apple Bloom - Cutie Mark Crusaders (316)
Apple Bloom - Fluttershy (127)
Apple Bloom - Pinkie Pie (142)
Apple Bloom - Rarity (139)
Apple Bloom - Applejack (1,202)
Apple Bloom - Scootaloo (621)
Apple Bloom - Sweetie Belle (583)

Sweetie Belle - Main 6 (346)
Sweetie Belle - Twilight Sparkle (430)
Sweetie Belle - Princess Celestia (141)
Sweetie Belle - Princess Luna (151)
Sweetie Belle - Rainbow Dash (165)
Sweetie Belle - Spike (368)
Sweetie Belle - Cutie Mark Crusaders (393)
Sweetie Belle - Fluttershy (116)
Sweetie Belle - Pinkie Pie (113)
Sweetie Belle - Rarity (1,100)
Sweetie Belle - Applejack (139)
Sweetie Belle - Scootaloo (669)
Sweetie Belle - Apple Bloom (583)

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Combinations Ranked By Size

"Rainbow Dash, I think you'll find I'm actually slightly bigger than you on close analysis."

For my next trick, all 91 combinations are listed from most numerous to least numerous. Here, double-counting is absolutely NOT allowed, so if you want to find a particular combination, search by the most numerous tag first (for instance, Twilight is more numerous than Sweetie Belle, so search for "Twilight Sparkle - Sweetie Belle" and NOT "Sweetie Belle - Twilight Sparkle").

Also includes all 14 individual character tags for the sake of comparison.

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Main 6 (35,861)
Twilight Sparkle (31,243)
Princess Celestia (29,810)
Princess Luna (24,983)

1. Princess Celestia - Princess Luna (18,308)

   Rainbow Dash (14,864)
   Spike (14,686)

2. Main 6 - Princess Celestia (13,390)
3. Main 6 - Princess Luna (10,695)
   Cutie Mark Crusaders (9,385)
   Fluttershy (9,341)
   Pinkie Pie (8,883)
   Rarity (8,416)
   Applejack (8,022)
4. Twilight Sparkle - Princess Celestia (7,957)
5. Main 6 - Spike (7,474)
6. Main 6 - Twilight Sparkle (5,687)
7. Twilight Sparkle - Princess Luna (5,682)
8. Twilight Sparkle - Spike (5,550)
9. Main 6 - Cutie Mark Crusaders (5,311)

10. Twilight Sparkle - Rainbow Dash (4,778)

    Scootaloo (3,956)

11. Princess Celestia - Spike (3,454)

    Apple Bloom (2,922)

12. Twilight Sparkle - Pinkie Pie (2,872)

    Sweetie Belle (2,823)

13. Twilight Sparkle - Rarity (2,731)
14. Rainbow Dash - Fluttershy (2,592)
15. Rainbow Dash - Applejack (2,539)
16. Princess Luna - Spike (2,442)
17. Twilight Sparkle - Fluttershy (2,390)
18. Twilight Sparkle - Applejack (2,195)
19. Main 6 - Rainbow Dash (2,193)
20. Rainbow Dash - Pinkie Pie (2,084)
21. Princess Celestia - Cutie Mark Crusaders (2,069)
22. Princess Luna - Cutie Mark Crusaders (1,749)
23. Spike - Cutie Mark Crusaders (1,737)
24. Rainbow Dash - Rarity (1,608)
25. Rarity - Applejack (1,592)
26. Spike - Rarity (1,592)
27. Rainbow Dash - Scootaloo (1,580)
28. Main 6 - Fluttershy (1,533)
29. Applejack - Apple Bloom (1,202)
30. Twilight Sparkle - Cutie Mark Crusaders (1,139)
31. Main 6 - Pinkie Pie (1,137)
32. Fluttershy - Rarity (1,118)
33. Fluttershy - Pinkie Pie (1,106)
34. Rarity - Sweetie Belle (1,100)
35. Princess Celestia - Rainbow Dash (1,041)
36. Pinkie Pie - Rarity (1,039)
37. Pinkie Pie - Applejack (1,017)
38. Fluttershy - Applejack (995)
39. Rainbow Dash - Spike (943)
40. Princess Luna - Rainbow Dash (877)
41. Main 6 - Applejack (831)
42. Main 6 - Rarity (815)
43. Rainbow Dash - Cutie Mark Crusaders (733)
44. Spike - Pinkie Pie (732)
45. Princess Celestia - Fluttershy (726)
46. Scootaloo - Sweetie Belle (669)
47. Princess Celestia - Pinkie Pie (662)
48. Cutie Mark Crusaders - Applejack (641)
49. Spike - Fluttershy (638)
50. Scootaloo - Apple Bloom (621)
51. Princess Luna - Fluttershy (617)
52. Main 6 - Scootaloo (597)
53. Apple Bloom - Sweetie Belle (583)
54. Spike - Applejack (583)
55. Cutie Mark Crusaders - Rarity (579)
56. Cutie Mark Crusaders - Scootaloo (571)
57. Princess Luna - Pinkie Pie (557)
58. Princess Celestia - Rarity (552)
59. Twilight Sparkle - Scootaloo (499)
60. Princess Celestia - Applejack (455)
61. Princess Luna - Rarity (437)
62. Twilight Sparkle - Sweetie Belle (430)
63. Main 6 - Apple Bloom (422)
64. Cutie Mark Crusaders - Sweetie Belle (393)
65. Princess Luna - Applejack (376)
66. Spike - Sweetie Belle (368)
67. Main 6 - Sweetie Belle (346)
68. Cutie Mark Crusaders - Fluttershy (334)
69. Twilight Sparkle - Apple Bloom (327)
70. Cutie Mark Crusaders - Apple Bloom (316)
71. Cutie Mark Crusaders - Pinkie Pie (304)
72. Fluttershy - Scootaloo (275)
73. Princess Luna - Scootaloo (269)
74. Spike - Apple Bloom (246)
75. Spike - Scootaloo (234)
76. Princess Celestia - Scootaloo (229)
77. Rainbow Dash - Apple Bloom (227)
78. Pinkie Pie - Scootaloo (185)
79. Applejack - Scootaloo (183)
80. Rainbow Dash - Sweetie Belle (165)
81. Princess Celestia - Apple Bloom (158)
82. Princess Luna - Sweetie Belle (151)
83. Princess Luna - Apple Bloom (146)
84. Pinkie Pie - Apple Bloom (142)
85. Princess Celestia - Sweetie Belle (141)
86. Applejack - Sweetie Belle (139)
87. Rarity - Apple Bloom (139)
88. Rarity - Scootaloo (131)
89. Fluttershy - Apple Bloom (127)
90. Fluttershy - Sweetie Belle (116)
91. Pinkie Pie - Sweetie Belle (113)

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"Analysis"

(Title's in scare quotes because this isn't really a formal analysis: just interesting observations).

Analysis... the most dangerous part of any science.

And...

This time, there just aren't many surprises at all. In fact, quite a lot of "well, duh!" observations. Here they are, serving as confirmation:

• Tags with higher story counts on their own generally have higher story counts for each combination.
• Princesses (Celestia, Luna, Twilight) cluster high, followed by members of the Main Six, followed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Whole groups (e.g. the tag for all the CMC) tend to rank higher than individual members (e.g. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle).
• Spike acts a lot like the Princesses in terms of combinations and numbers. This is likely due to his affiliation with Twilight.
• Natural cliques generally cluster strongly. Princesses combined with Princesses (Celestia, say, with either Luna or Twilight) cluster near the top, Main Six combinations cluster throughout the middle, and Cutie Mark Crusader combinations cluster near the bottom. Lower than usual are nonstandard combinations between categories (e.g. a non-obvious Main Six tag with a Cutie Mark Crusader, like Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle).
• Obvious combinations generally rank higher than usual. Spike and Twilight Sparkle, for instance, as well as sisters like Applejack and Apple Bloom.
• Other relatively obvious and numerous combos include: the group tags and the Princesses/Spike, Spike and any of the Princesses, Spike and Rarity (possibly explaining why combos with him and Sweetie Belle are slightly more numerous than usual), CMCs and any of their sisters, most of the non-Twilight Main Six and Rainbow Dash (and, to a lesser extent, either and Scootaloo), and Rarity and Applejack.

It's interesting to speculate on why Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy cluster reasonably close together, yet Rainbow Dash - alone of the non-Twilight Main Six - is far, far higher on the table than they are.

Likewise, Scootaloo has an advantage over Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, possibly for the same reason Rainbow Dash does over her canon clique. Celestia being slightly more popular than Luna is kind of surprising, too, considering how strong the fandom is for Luna.

Whereas Twilight and, by extension, Spike are relatively explicable in terms of their popularity, as are core and deep worldbuilding characters like Princesses Celestia and Luna (goes some way towards explaining why Discord elsewhere comes close to rivalling the Main Six, though he joined the show relatively late and took a while to establish himself as an ongoing character).

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Neighbouring Character Tags: Their Peaks and Declines

"Right here! Helloooooo! Don't make me pull out the 'my ears are burning' gag again."

While we're on the subject of Discord, let's briefly glimpse at their neighbours, shall we? (I'll ignore "Other" and "Original Character", since they by nature are so broad that any analysis for them is unlikely to be interesting). Maybe we'll see surprises there!

Well, only if Derpy being popular surprises anyone.

Discord, Sunset Shimmer, Trixie Lulamoon, Princess Cadence, Queen Chrysalis, Derpy Hooves, and Shining Armor all fill the large gap between Applejack (the lowest single Main Six member) and Scootaloo (the highest single CMC). With the exception of Sunset Shimmer, all appeared or gained their popularity within the first two seasons.

That said, Sunset Shimmer is unusual in appearing much later, after Season Three, and currently remains the highest-ranked Equestria Girls character (another "well, duh!" observation). Another unusual one is Derpy Hooves, who is easily the highest-ranked background pony based on story count, but she otherwise fits the mould of "her popularity got there early".

Their bar charts are a little more interesting, though not necessarily inexplicable. Discord's peak outlasts the typical 2012-2013 range, only declining in 2015, likely as a result of his reintroduction and increasing focus in Seasons Three and Four. Trixie follows the usual peak-then-decline pattern, surprisingly unaffected by her association with Starlight Glimmer in later seasons (you'd expect a resurgence of interest).

Queen Chrysalis fits the pattern, but her peak lasts longer and her decline is less severe than most, nearly reaching a half of her peak. Shining Armor and especially Princess Cadence show a similar resistance to decline, the latter reaching more than half her peak, with the former not far behind.

By contrast, Derpy Hooves fits the pattern but has a much, much more severe decline than most, down to roughly a tenth of her peak. A quick glance at other background ponies in the 1000s range (that would be DJ P0N-3, Octavia, Lyra, Doctor Whooves, Bon-Bon, and Dinky Hooves) show similar steep drops. Possibly this is a trend that affects all background characters in general?

Sunset's peak is understandably delayed, appearing after the two sequel movies that made her popular 2015-2016 before declining, but her decline is far, far more gradual than anyone else's, to the point that it's barely there. This is possibly due to having a more dedicated niche audience than mainstream pony; worth pointing out that other popular Equestria Girls tags such as the Main 7 (EqG) and Twilight Sparkle (EqG) show a similar staying power, though they peak later.

On the other hand, Adagio Dazzle, Sonata Dusk, and Aria Blaze are also popular Equestria Girls tags, yet they show the more traditional "gradual decline" trend, in line with the main pony series. Even weirder, the Dazzlings as a collective experience an arbitrary peak in 2017 and are otherwise stable, fitting neither pattern.

(EDIT: But see this comment for a correction of this particular point re: Equestria Girls).

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More Neighbouring Tags

Numbers don't lie: the fandomchangelings never really recovered from this one...

Moving further down the tag directory rankings...

Between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom + Sweetie Belle are: Big Macintosh, Nightmare Moon, Changelings, Starlight Glimmer, DJ P0N-3, Octavia Melody, and Lyra Heartstrings. Again, mostly "their popularity got there early", within the first two seasons.

Only Starlight Glimmer stands out as a late exception, hitting peak popularity after Season Five, at the beginning of 2016, and remaining reasonably high and stable since (Sunset Shimmer had a similar burst of popularity late-2014, after the release of Rainbow Rocks, and has also remained reasonably high and stable in popularity since).

I've already discussed the background ponies along with Derpy earlier, so let's focus on the rest of the lineup.

Big Macintosh and Nightmare Moon follow the usual trend of peak-then-decline. That said, theirs come within range of the background pony declines in terms of severity.

Meanwhile, the Changelings have a conspicuously sudden pattern. They peak 2013-2014, right after their introductory season, and stay reasonably strong (with only a slight drop) 2015-2016, and then - after Season Six - their fic output sharply drops by a half. Although stabilizing at over 200 a year thereafter, their fic production rate never really recovers. Compare that with the slower and weaker decline of Chrysalis. Naturally, it seems pretty obvious the controversial change to their species in that season's finale caused the drop.

Overall, the peak-then-decline pattern largely holds true for the neighbours as well, though for some (background ponies, changelings) it ended up being more severe than for others (pretty much anyone named and introduced during "A Canterlot Wedding"). Even exceptions, like Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, largely have transparent reasons for bucking the trend.

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OK, Now What?

And... no real surprises, to be honest. Sometimes, you set out to find something extraordinary and eye-catching, and just don't. Or don't find much. Welcome to the world of bean-counting, folks.

I'll leave this up as a sort of snapshot in time. There are far more comparisons one could make here (most obviously, by comparing the neighbouring tags to see if anything interesting comes out of e.g. pairing each Cutie Mark Crusader with Trixie or the Changelings). Merely examining combos of 14 tags, though, produced 91 possibilities, so I'm not rushing to add another 14 tags and end up examining 378 possibilities!

That's all for now. Impossible Numbers, out.

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Okie dokie, so what do I count next...?

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Sometimes the trends really are what they appear to be. Thanks for taking the time to crunch the numbers... though now I wonder how different ponies compare when paired with genre tags...

[Impossible Numbers]

Addendum

Couple of things:

Firstly, if anyone's wondering why the layout keeps changing... it's because I keep changing it. My laptop suddenly went off just as I was halfway through editing. Although I did recover the meat of the blog, once I got the laptop to behave again, I panicked enough to just publish the blog and fix it as I went. At least I wouldn't risk losing hours of work suddenly.

And secondly, yes, I'm taking blog layout cues from DannyJ's blog series on the last three seasons, because I like it and/or envy it. Only stealing from the best, people!

[Impossible Numbers]

5435301

Whoops, sorry! I didn't notice you'd commented until after I added my little addendum down here.

Sometimes the trends really are what they appear to be.

I blame real life. It lacks an imagination.

Thanks for taking the time to crunch the numbers... though now I wonder how different ponies compare when paired with genre tags...

You're welcome.

Curiously enough, I did have half a mind to go through and count romance stories, largely because I was counting "pairings" and the word suggested I should do that. Ultimately, I abstained on the grounds that I was already doing a lot as it was. The same reason explains why I didn't compare character combos for the likes of Discord, Starlight, and the Changelings (it would have massively inflated my workload).

Maybe another time? I dunno. It would be nice to find out.

[Impossible Numbers]

Equestria Girls: A Word of Caution

5435301

Ooh, ooh, something else I just thought about!

For all the character tag comparisons, I used the "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" tag as the standard against which to compare the peaks and declines over time. But that doesn't make sense for Equestria Girls character tags like Sunset and the Dazzlings!

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

When you look at the "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls" trend, you see that it isn't a decline, but a rise up to 2016 and then a steady plateau since. Which means Sunset - recontextualized - actually fits the mould, because she shows the same pattern.

It also makes the Dazzlings - individually rather than as a group i.e. as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata - look even stranger with their declines, as they match the broader "Friendship is Magic" trend better than the "Equestria Girls" trend (the opposite is true for the actual "Dazzlings" character tag itself, barring that weird 2017 spike).

All we need now is some explanation as to why the individual Dazzlings deviate so much from their franchise's trend.

static.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/2/2b/Aria_%22Go_back_to_sleep%2C_Sonata%22_EG2.png/revision/latest?cb=20141029224849

[Csquared08]

These are some pretty cool numbers, yo

[Impossible Numbers]

5435405

All numbers are cool numbers, but some numbers is cool numbers.

The funny thing is, I only originally set out to look for a handful of odd character combos. At first, that is. But then curiosity (and my completionist compulsion) took over, and then I got distracted by the bar charts on the character tag pages, and before you know it, the search took on a life of its own and I was just tagging along...