Answers To Bookplayer's Fifty Questions on Headcanon · 3:27pm Apr 11th, 2014

Well, no episode this week, but Booplayer put up a fun list and I thought I might answer them for you.

The Princesses:

1. How old are Celestia and Luna?

Celestia: I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night. Although I have taken the form of Celestia, I am all ponies as I am nopony and therefore I am a God.

Luna: Actually, neither of us quite know. My sister just likes to be dramatic. Ponies weren't paying much attention to things like calenders when we first encountered them.

2. How old is Cadance?

Going to go with the comic on this one, Candance is roughly 25-30, just a little older than Shining Armor.

3. Were Celestia and Luna always alicorns, or did they ascend?

They were born as they are.

4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?

No, I believe an alicorn becomes "immortal" when they attune to a celestial body, and then they are linked to it from that moment forward.

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?

I believe Discord and Sombra are Alicorns gone wrong.

6. How much authority do Celestia and Luna have in Equestria?

As much as they need, and as little as they can avoid being thrust on them. Neither sought out the role.

7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?

No. He is simply a prince by virtue of being married to a princess.

8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?

I believe Celestia has taken a lover or two in her long history.

Ponies and Equestrian Culture:

9. Are there still cultural differences between earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, or is the culture homogeneous by the time shown in canon? Are there cultural stereotypes (positive or negative)?

The fact that there is an earth pony way pretty much demonstrates that some cultural difference does exist.

10. Are there foods or items native to Cloudsdale that are uncommon on the ground? Are there foods or items on the ground that are uncommon in Cloudsdale?

Cloudsdale strikes me as a city that has to import everything, and pays for it by providing the world with weather workers and transportation.

11. Can all unicorns learn all spells, given the time and effort spent practicing them, or is magical talent usually limited in some way?

I believe that unicorns can learn spells not native to their talent, but being a magic talent makes things much easier. That being said, a pony with a natural talent for say, finding gems, would have an easier time using a more generalized divination spell because it was related to their talent.

12. Earth pony magic: Does it exist? What is it?

It exists, but it does not have an active component that we can see. Earth ponies tend to be incredibly strong compared to the other two, and tend to be very talented at growing things.

13. Some pony families we’ve seen seem to have naming conventions (the Apples, Twilight’s family) and others don’t appear to (Rarity’s family, Pinkie’s family), which is more common? Are there reasons for one or the other?

Pony names are... weird. Pinkamina... Maude... these do not appear to be pony names, yet they exist. The naming is too inconsistant for me to develop a true headcanon.

14. How much formal schooling is an average, middle class pony expected to complete?

Up to normal high school level, then usually apprenticing to a career, not always related to their talent.

15. What’s the average lifespan for a pony? At what age is a pony expected to be independent of their parents?

Ho boy. Well, Granny may well be 500 years old. So it's hard to say. I think the normal age of independence varies based on the pony, but usually 16-18 is when they would strike out on their own. That being said... apparently even a pony the CMC's age can just hop a train with no questions...

16. Are there roughly an equal number of male and female ponies?

I believe there is a greater number of females in certain population centers, and a higher number of males in others. Ponyville seems very mare-heavy, but a pioneer town like Appleloosa would be more stallions. Major cities would be roughly half and half.

17. How informed are most ponies about things that happen in other parts of Equestria? What about other parts of the world?

Ponies seem to be woefully ill-informed about things not going on in their town/city.

The Main Characters:

18. How old are the Mane Six? Spike? The CMC?

The mane six are as follows. Rarity and Applejack: 22 Fluttershy, 21. Pinkie and Rainbow, 20. Twilight, 19. The cmc are all around 12-13 by now, and Spike is approximately six years old. That being said, dragons age at a different rate than ponies, getting larger based on environment. In a place of safety where he does not have to protect a horde, Spike's aging will mirror ponies for the most part. He grows up as quickly as his environment dictates.

19. Did Fluttershy remain on the ground after getting her cutie mark? Were she and Rainbow Dash friends all along, or did they drift apart for a while?

She returned home for a time, but eventually went back to the ground when she found that her true talent would not ever be satisfied until she could live with her friends. She and Rainbow were friends until Rainbow dropped out of school, but reconnected when Rainbow ended up in Ponyville on the weather team.

20. Rarity and Applejack both seem to have grown up in Ponyville. What were their interactions like before the show?

I believe they were childhood friends, but being very different ponies they tended to fight over petty things.

21. What do Twilight and Spike consider their relationship to be?

She's his pony, and he's her number one assistant.

22. When did Pinkie move in with the Cakes? Is she a worker who rents a room, an apprentice, or is there some other relationship?

Pinkie moved in shortly after getting her cutiemark. The pies and cakes are distant cousins, and they sent her to apprentice with them because throwing parties wasn't a great talent for a rock farm, plus they could see that Pinkie was not happy unless she was making lots of other ponies happy and being happy is exhausting to them.

23. Who among the Mane Six had the best parents growing up? The worst parents?

Best parents: Applejack. Worst parents: Also Applejack. Wonderful ponies, left far too soon.

24. Why didn’t the CMC hang out more/know each other before Call of the Cutie?

Because Bloom was a loner who mainly stuck to her sisters side when not in school. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo seemed to have known eachother prior to forming the group, however.

25. Is Scootaloo an orphan? Will she ever be able to fly?

No, she has a home, and family of some type. And yes, I believe with time she will be able to.

26. Will Apple Bloom’s cutie mark involve an apple in some way, even if it’s unrelated to farming or baking?

Yes.

27. How is Sweetie Belle’s relationship with their parents different than Rarity’s was?

Sweetie Belle is the younger sister. The baby of the family will tend to both resent and expect coddling.

Side and Background Characters:

28. Is Mr. Cake the father of the Cake twins or not?

He was involved in the conception.

29. Are Big Mac and Cheerilee an item, romantically?

Not at the moment.

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?

He was a distant relative of one of Luna's consorts before she went Nightmare.

31. Is Silver Spoon equally as bad as Diamond Tiara?

She could yet be redeemed. She seems to be a Coco Pommel type.

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?

I believe Zecora is a shaman amongst her tribe.

33. Why does Daring Do publish her stories as fiction?

To avoid crazy fangirls.

34. Do you have a strong headcanon for any non-speaking or one line background ponies that you want to share?

No.

Other Species:

35. Does Equestria differentiate between speaking and non-speaking species, in terms of respect, rights and legal responsibilities? Is there some other line or scale used? (For example, how are cows classified? Diamond Dogs? A chimera?)

Griffons are citizens. Cattle in general seem to be treated as such, but their job is to get milked/sheered. Diamond Dogs are basically vermin, and Chimera are respected as much as any large animal that can eat you should be.

36. Do other speaking species form their own nations, or are all nations largely integrated, with some having larger populations of a species than others?

They are all largely integrated into the land of Equestria.

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?

No, separate species.

38. Do all zebras rhyme?

No, only shamans.

39. Do zebra cutie marks work the same way as pony cutie marks?

In a way, but the symbols would not be recognizable to a pony.

40. Do any species have types of magic, other than ponies and zebras?

Griffons and dragons have their own magic.

41. Is the lack of buffalo presence in Equestria cultural, or simply because most pony towns aren’t built to accommodate a full grown buffalo?

It's cultural. Buffalo are nomadic.

Headcanon and You:

42. Do you consider official sources other than the show (comics, card game text, movies, novels, etc.) to be canon?

Yes, but there is hard canon and soft canon. Hard canon is the show. Soft canon is other sources. Hard canon trumps soft canon when they conflict.

43. Do you have one headcanon that you always use, or do you switch depending on projects?

I develop different canons at times, based on the project.

44. Can you easily accept the headcanons of different writers? Do you prefer when stories match your headcanon?

For the most part, if you explain your setting, I can roll with it.

45. Is there a part of your headcanon that you wish was more popular among writers?

Badass Fluttershy needs to be more popular. She can be such a dynamic character when written to her strengths.

46. Is there a popular piece of headcanon that other writers use that you dislike?

Dominatrix Rarity. I just... I don't like it very much. I can read it, I have enjoyed some stories with it, but I really don't see her as being the type to have whips and chains in a closet.

47. Have you ever written a story or blogpost just to explain some part of your headcanon (other than this one)?

I have not.

48. Does your headcanon influence things like your favorite pony, ship, or episode?

It can, but it's malleable.

49. Would it bother you if the show proved part of your headcanon wrong? Any specific piece that would really bother you to lose?

I would be bothered if the show expected me to accept a canon relationship for any of the mane six.

50. Is there something that wasn't asked about here, but you feel like you need to explain to everyone?

Nope, this about covered it.

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