50 Questions! · 6:00pm Apr 11th, 2014

Because I haven't had anything to blog about in a while! Here is my personal headcanon and stuff if anyone cares. Also, expect either Prince of Dust or My Little Metro to update very soon now.

The Princesses:

1. How old are Celestia and Luna?

Around six thousand years old, born a little after ponies found their way to the land that would become Equestria.

2. How old is Cadance?

As old as any young adult sounding person like her would be. I'm guessing mid 20's?

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

They ascended via a series of trials and tribulations, proving their worth and self-control. Through various decades of war and peace, casting down dictators and fighting their own inner demons, they climbed the Tower of Eternity and seized the power of immortality. These trials came about naturally when they set out to keep ponies safe from all-comers; there was no outside force judging them.

4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?

No, but they play fundamental roles that will shape the world in the future. The real question, in my opinion, is: will they become immortal at some point later on? If anyone is going to succeed Celestia and Luna, there's nopony else who really could...

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?

Many. They shepherded the world in ages past and had a hoof in its creation, and before the Elements of Harmony they embodied the various virtues and positive traits that they would pass on to the rest of the world. But as time went on, they fell into darkness one by one, giving in to the very vices and negative feelings they had fought to oppose. Apathy, corruption, and greed eventually destroyed them, and opened the way for demonic entities and Nightmares to invade the world. Two alicorn brothers, however, managed to escape this dark fate, and fought back chaos long enough to lay down the framework that would, across many thousands of years, lead to the rise of Celestia, Luna, and Equestria in general.

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

Their word is law, but obviously ponies seem able to generally govern themselves in peace, so they try to rule with a soft hoof. Only truly dire situations bring their direct intervention; otherwise, Luna walks in shadow to guard their dreams and Celestia is the quiet chessmaster, trying to nudge her ponies into positions that benefit themselves and Equestria as a whole.

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

Probs yeah? Maybe not as directly, but I imagine he's definitely her top adviser.

8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?
I imagine she's had a few lovers here and there. Who wouldn't? Faust herself said they weren't gods, only regular but extremely powerful ponies, and ponies have needs! I also believe that at one point Celestia and Luna did have direct family, but have long since outlived them, and Blueblood is one of the sad remnants. Obviously, ever since Sunset Shimmer was introduced, we can deduce that Celestia has taken several apprentice type students in her time.

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)?

It seems clear to me that there's a few vestigial differences, with varying traditions and likes and dislikes. Pegasi still live in pegasi-only cities, earth ponies prefer doing things 'their way,' and unicorns like to be posh and rich and snobby. Other than these generalities, I don't think there's all that much difference. Only just enough to make everypony unique and special.

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?

No and no, if you ask me. There's no real evidence for that.

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 it is limited in some ways; it's pretty clear that Twilight is unique in her position as the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. Heck, it's implied she can learn how to do a spell just by looking at it. Any unicorn can grow powerful, but just like how some humans are better at math and some better at art, some unicorns just have innate talents for learning magic.

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

Yes. It's pretty obvious that earth ponies display feats of strength and power that other races haven't matched, so there's that. Also, earth ponies are the only ones who intimately and deeply understand the workings of the natural world, and are the best caretakers of anything that grows, from plants to ponies. See: Applejack and Pinkie Pie, the only ponies of the mane six who help raise families, and their ability to make super duper food and massive harvests without even trying.

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?

Well Cole, when two competitors are so evenly matched things can go either way! So, I dunno!

My guess is that it varies. Some families just have traditions that they pass on to their kids like anyone else; I don't think it's unique to ponies or any one race of ponies. The only thing I don't understand is how ponies can have names describing their cutie marks before they get their cutie marks...

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

Looks like about the same as a human. High school level learning is the requirement to be considered 'adequate,' and you have to actively pursue higher learning to get it.

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

I've always imagined some breeds and type of pony to be longer-lived than others. The only super duper old old old ponies we've seen are earth ponies, so I believe they live longer than most. In human terms, just add another fifty to a hundred years to our lifespan. It's hard to say without the show actually putting a number on anything. I do, however, believe that ponies on average live longer than humans. With how healthy and magical and super they are, how couldn't they push the limits of age?

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

No. Female ponies outnumber males by a significant margin—even moreso than human females outnumber human males. Stallions are noticeably swamped in mares even in canon.

Lucky bastards.

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

Not very. The mane six have saved the world, what, like five times now? But there's still ponies who seem to have no idea who they are. I'd chalk that up, however, to the very abrupt and short-lived natures of all the disasters they've faced so far, and they don't seem willing to push their celebrity on anyone. I've never once heard anypony in the show say "Oh, thank goodness Twilight's the Element of Magic!" or "Wow Pinkie, how nice that you're the Element of Laughter." I mean, they know they're Element Bearers, but being as humble as they are I can't imagine they went around showing off about it, so it's not impossible to believe some ponies just don't know who they are, only that some calamity was averted by some ponies in some other part of the world.

Ponies seem to generally not care what happens outside Equestria, probably because they have plenty of problems themselves. I mean, they still have free-roaming chimeras and manticores and quarray eels and whatever else? Yeah, the rest of the world can wait its turn for ponies' attention!

The Main Characters:

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

The Mane Six are anywhere between 17-25, with AJ and Rarity seemingly the eldest, if only by a matter of months or years or even just mental maturity. Spike, now, I've always imagined he's only around 10-11, and the CMC are maybe 12. Spike is still lagging behind the CMC in terms of growth if you ask me, while the CMC are, by pony standards, on the cusp of young adulthood.

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?

Fluttershy went back to the clouds, obviously because a small filly can't just sit down and live in the woods on her own, but did return to the ground often enough afterwards that she decided to stay the moment she was able. She and Rainbow Dash have always been friends.

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

They knew each other as any other Ponyvillian did, but I imagine relations were distant at best and frosty at worst. They clashed pretty severely even after Twilight brought them together, and still do. I like to think that both of them thought of the other as "them," that strange pony on the other end of town who did all those weird things totally opposite to themselves and somehow enjoyed it. They must be crazy!

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

Another hard question. I believe they are brother and sister without the guiding influence of parents, leading Twilight to occasionally (and very awkwardly) take up the role of mentor, parent, and best friend all at once. There's a lot of subtlety that not even they can describe, but they seem to know what their relationship is without having to put it into words.

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?

At first, I think Pinkie moved in almost immediately after coming to Ponyville, gravitating to the place that most accommodated her interests, but started out as an apprentice of sorts. Being very young at the time and the Cakes without kids, her infectious happiness led to them thinking of her as very nearly adopted. She's definitely part of their family unit by now, even if they don't think of her as a "daughter they never had."

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

AJ, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity seemed to have the best parents, given they all have fond memories of them or keep in close contact. Poor Rainbow and Fluttershy seemed to have distant or nonexistent parents, given we haven't seen Fluttershy's parents at all and Rainbow Dash only remembers her father.

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

I dunno, lol.

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

No and maybe!

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

No, I don't think it will. She seems to be gravitating toward something resembling Zecora's way of life, actually: an alchemist/shaman/jack of all trades with healthy servings of mechanical skill thrown in.

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

She's obviously much more coddled and spoiled, probably because Rarity seemed eager to be as independent as she could and must have left the cloying grip of her overly friendly parents at a fairly young age.

Side and Background Characters:

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

Of course he is!

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

Of course they are!

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?

He is indeed a distant, distant, distant relative of the Royal Sisters on Celestia's side, but it's so far apart by now that only a few words on a piece of paper prove it. Obviously, he waves it around in ponies' faces every chance he gets. He seems to be some remnant of perhaps the original unicorn founders of Equestria as well, but we can't be sure. Whatever the original function of his house was, it's faded into obscurity after so much time.

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

Maybe not as 'bad,' per se, but she isn't doing herself any favors. She clearly needs or wants strong leadership in her life, but she's getting it from the worst source possible.

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?

To those who bother to learn it, yes. It doesn't seem to be a magic that's limited to only certain zebras like unicorn magic.

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

To inspire ponies on some level I'm sure, but also because one can only live so long on rewards from museum donations. I also believe that despite her desire to stay out of the spotlight, she still wants her stories to be remembered. It's her legacy. Her way of being famous without having to be famous. And perhaps, one day, somepony will need the clues she's scattered through her books after she's passed away and Equestria needs a new young adventurer...

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

Prince Blueblood. See the story I wrote for him: No Quixote Here

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?)

I think the cows just willingly do what they do. They seem intelligent, but not very smart, but they're definitely smart enough to know they're better off with ponies than they are anywhere else. It's hard to say for anything else, but I imagine any race that bothers to form its own country is treated with the respect that deserves, and any visitors are considered friends until proven otherwise.

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?

Yes, they do. I've posted some thoughts on that in this thread on the World Building Alliance forum.

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?

Maybe very very distantly, splitting off from a common ancestor in prehistoric times.

38. Do all zebras rhyme?

No, but I do believe that it's a skill or a required task of any zebra who follows in Zecora's shamanic hoofsteps. Through rhyming they learn the rhythm of the world around them and get in touch with the pulsing heartbeat of the earth, or somesuch magical nonsense.

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

No. It's a mark they give themselves upon choosing certain professions or when they wish to display pride in their family, trade, or history.

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

Probably deer or some other hoofed animals, assuming they exist as separate nations of their own.

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?

A mix of both I imagine, as it looks to me that buffalo just prefer wide open spaces and like to run even more than earth ponies.

Headcanon and You:

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

Only until the show itself contradicts them, and even then I only pick and choose certain things that appeal to me. I take whatever looks fun and decide it's canon, rather than just saying 'ah ha, this is always canon because it is in the comics/movie/whatever.

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

I switch, but I don't really have a firm 'timeline' or anything else to group stories into. It does seem to me that The Long Haul Whisper Sun, Silent Moon and A Story of Solstice can all fit snugly into the same "Verse," assuming I got the gumption to make one out of my stories.

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

I can and do. I am not nearly popular enough for people to use my headcanon as their own, so different stories don't bother me in the slightest.

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

Not really, excepting the part about Celestia and Luna not being gods. Somehow the idea of them being deities never sit right with me.

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

That Celestia and Luna are actual, created the world and preside over eternity gods! I do believe their influence extends well beyond the corporeal and into the afterlife, to an extent, but I don't think they are rulers of the universe. It takes away from them as characters of their own, putting them on pedestals that shouldn't have to be occupied by anyone.

Also Twilight/Trixie shipping. And almost anything Derpy Hooves. Or Doctor Whooves. Or Mane Six shipping. Or—

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

Yep! Feel free to check them out. I haven't written many blogs so they should be easy to find.

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

Not at all.

Celestia is best Princess, and Rarity is best pony. It is not a matter of fanon or headcanon or actual canon. It simply is.

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

If it did bother me I'm in the wrong line of work.

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

As a squirrel, I find nut jokes offensive.

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