The lieutenant tilted her head. "It is rare for a noblepony like the Major-General to be against the purchase of commissions, but Georgia Hoofstrong would hardly be the only one. A largely uninterrupted period of prosperity in Equestria has led to the elevation of a large number of nouveau riche entrepreneurial families, and the gradual impoverishment of the landed noble houses. That, combined with repeated examples of mismanagement from noble officers who bought their way into a rank far beyond their skill to handle, has turned the general public, and even the competent members of that group, almost entirely against the practice." Arching her eyebrows, she shut the folder and tucked it under a foreleg. "Why, I even count myself among their number."