How do I find other players?

[Dr_Nomz]

Just started playing, got a bit into the werepony quest (no spoilers) but are there a lot of players?  About how many are on at a time? How often? Which times? More on Amareica or Europonia?

Also do I have to do anything specific before I can see/interact with them?

[Cogsworth Wingthrop]

Sadly there is not many players on LoE. Although I can not say about the Europonia server. The best times to interact with other players is when there is a player created event like the various parties, Sweet and Elite Hide and Seek, or the Sweet and Elite RP Meet and Greet.

[CMC Scootaloo]

Sadly there is not many players on LoE.

Don't say this so seriously. This statement sounds rather dramatic, but the actual situation isn't so bad. It wouldn't hurt to answer such a question by a new player in a way that doesn't give them the feeling they will be lonely and alone most of the time. Just a little more tact in approaching new, interested players.


@Dr_Nomz

On weekdays, the player count is lower. Work and school prevent most active players from playing there. I don't have enough statistics to give 100% reliable data to you, but I estimate that there are 20 - 30 players online on weekdays (about 10 at any given time). The number of players rises strongly on the weekends, from what I could see so far, there seem to be about 50 - 100 players being online across Saturday and Sunday and maybe Friday evening already (probably around 30 at any given time). That's what I could gather from my observations since the Open Beta started.
This is a player count that you will usually, unless there is a specific event or party, not be really aware of. These players are scattered over several areas on the server and over two different rooms in each area. Additionally, players drop in and out of the game all the time. Not everyone plays the game for an entire day or on the same days. Some play a few hours, then leave, then return on the next day at a different time or maybe skip a few days before they play again. The time when players are online and the amount of time they spend in the game before logging out again varies greatly.
Due to that, the number of players you will actually MEET while playing will be much lower than the total amount of players that are online at the same time. But that's obviously not a true reflection of the game's activity, there are a lot more players than those you see around you.
And these numbers I've given you increases significantly when a new update releases. That makes even inactive players return in droves, so you will see a lot more activity in the first few weeks after an update.
And, of course, there are new players coming and discovering the game, like you. Especially lately, I can see an increase in new players. Your thread here, as well as the thread by another new player that was just opened a few days ago, confirms that observation nicely.
LoE is a game that grows slowly (the fact that it's only in Open Beta so far and hasn't reached Version 1.0 yet also contributes to it that not everyone wants to play it right now, a lot seem to be waiting until it's more rounded), but lately, it seems to me like a lot of people suddenly realize that LoE is actually there now. I wouldn't be surprised if you and Magicphobic (her two threads are below yours) are the first ones of a flood of new players that comes from somewhere.
Overall, there are enough players online to play (or, roleplay, that is very popular), fight, kill mobs, farm, level-up, ect. together.
It might not always seem like there's anyone here at first glance, but if you reach out when you need somepony to play with, you will usually get a response and find someone who would like to join you in whatever activity you want to do. If you want to know how many and which players are in the same area and room as you, you can check that by typing the command /players in the chat window. Amareicas has a lot more players than Europonia, so that's probably where you want to play in most of the time.
There's nothing super-special you need to do if you want to interact with players. Just type in the chat to talk with them. If you right-click on a player, you'll get a number of options, like sending somepony a friendship invitation or forming a party with them. The former, if they approve the invite, lets you see at any time when they are online and where in the game they are. You can find that info in your friendlist, just press F to open it quickly.
If you do the latter, you will be able to talk only with members of your party in the party chat. The party chat is the pink tab on top of the chat window. You can also whisper to them by typing /whisper Playername (write the name in quotation marks if it consists of two parts that are separated by a space). All whispers show up in the green tab on top of the chat window.
Both the party chat messages and the whisper messages sent to you can also be seen in the global/locat chat, however, so you won't miss anything if you don't have these tabs open constantly.

If you want to quickly get to know to some ponies and socialize, I recommend the Sweet Elite Roleplay Meet & Greets to you:

https://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=17220.msg1033907#msg1033907

They happen weekly and the next one is tomorrow at 4:00 PM EST / 9:00 PM GMT. There are also a couple of other events going on, ranging from random birthday parties to specific holiday-related events and even big, organized roleplays with a huge crowd of ponies and a developed storyline, which you should find out about rather soon if you get to know to a few ponies or poke around in the forum here.
There's a lot to discover and a lot of fun to have in "Legends of Equestria".

[Cogsworth Wingthrop]

I thought it was blunt but, okay. That was the reason for me going on to mention the player events.

@Dr_Nomz

Most of those player created events will be announce here in the forum. So check in every so often. There have been parties where as many as 80 ponies have shown up.

[Dr_Nomz]

Wow, that was all very detailed. Thanks!

Not really into roleplay, but hopefully I can find some like-minded players.

[CMC Scootaloo]

You're welcome! If you want to play, Scoots is online almost all the time, so don't be hesitant to approach her!