• Member Since 14th Jul, 2012
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Georg


Nothing special here, move along, nothing to see, just ignore the lump under the sheet and the red stuff...

More Blog Posts479

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Apr
13th
2014

50 Questions from Bookplayer - Answers by Georg · 5:01am Apr 13th, 2014

First, before you read any of my answers, you need to go read three related things:
1) Bookplayer’s original blog post on this.
2) GoH answers to the questions in much better detail than I can.
3) Bad Horse answers the questions very much in character and so funny that I’m still laughing (either that or the neurotoxin that he coated his webpage with is affecting my brain in strange fashions).

Now go. Shoo. These will still be here when you get back. And if you want to track who else has responded to the questions, Bradel is keeping track of who has responded.



The Princesses:
1. How old are Celestia and Luna?
Around 3500 or so, but nopony has ever asked. (Or at least we have never heard of any who survived the asking, which is not exactly the same thing)

2. How old is Cadance?
Around 1100 or so, given Skywriter’s Cadence of Cloudsdale series as my personal guidelines, but she did not begin to age until about 20 years ago when she was taken from Reduit to Canterlot by Celestia.

3. Were Celestia and Luna always alicorns, or did they ascend?
Depends on the time of day. Perhaps Queen Majesty created them with the last of her magic before she faded away into myth. I do believe they are actually sisters, instead of just two alicorns who treat each other that way because of their fairly unique status.

4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?
No, but I’m willing to bet they age very slowly, with a lifespan of several centuries (less if Twilight doesn’t quit experimenting with chemicals in the basement of her house),

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?
No. I believe Queen Majesty was a unicorn.

6. How much authority do Celestia and Luna have in Equestria?
I’ll defer to Ghost of Heraclitus here. Being that I live in a democratic republic, I find it difficult to imagine a world where the rule of a wise sovereign is law without some democratically elected idiots to muck it up somehow.

7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?
It always struck me a little silly that after being imprisoned for over a thousand years by a unicorn, the Crystal Ponies immediately give all their political power to a pink alicorn who by any account was only a newborn when Sombra cursed them away from the world. Also, she is married to… a unicorn. Technically, his title is Prince Consort Shining Armor, and he has no political power over any of the empire. Practically, I would be willing to bet Cadence stuck him with some duties other than just standing around and coaching the athletic team. Possibly duties involving armor and sharp pointy things.

8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?
Well, other than her secret love affair with Bad Horse, and their three adorable little foals (Mayhem, Disaster, and Destruction), she is always portrayed as a kind, loving mother figure for everypony who crosses her path, able to remember names and relationships no matter how low in status is her conversational partner. It makes the royal household seem a somewhat different and warmer place than most large businesses of modern era. Imagine the corporate CEO meeting you in the hallway in the morning, shaking your hand, and telling you what a remarkable performance your son had at the school basketball game last night. Imagine that was a regular occurrence for most of the people in the business.

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)?
There is crossover, but there still seems to be a rather dark line that distinguishes the three major clan responsibilities: food, rulership, and weather/defense. With that crossover, there are cultural stereotypes that get mixed (Picture Perfect the fashion earth pony to name one offhand)

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, the pegasi would either starve to death or have to eat grass if they didn’t have the earth ponies growing food. Then again, there are the Cloud Cakes, which only pegasi can create, and for which Celestia has a particular weakness. Perhaps there are rare varieties of mountaintop mushrooms too.

11. Can all unicorns learn all spells, given the time and effort spent practicing them, or is magical talent usually limited in some way?
Yes, in the same regard that if I were coached extensively by a team of practiced nuclear power plant operators, after years and years (and years) of study I could possibly be trained to properly run the glowy rods up and down in the reactor. You want to live upwind. Really.

12. Earth pony magic: Does it exist? What is it?
Obviously. They grow food. Next?

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?
Whimsy, I would presume. Either naming conventions are amazingly accurate when compared to cutie mark acquisition, or other names can get given/taken when they get their marks. Royal or noble families would tend to hew more closely to a naming scheme, I would presume.

14. How much formal schooling is an average, middle class pony expected to complete?
Middle-high school for earth ponies and pegasi (with slightly different educational foci), and at least a few years of college for unicorns. There is a social “blot” on any unicorn family whose child does not at least go to college, and a great number of turned-up noses.

15. What’s the average lifespan for a pony? At what age is a pony expected to be independent of their parents?
80 or so for pegasi (hot fires burn faster), 100+ for really old earth ponies and unicorns. Pegasi are independent once they can leave the nest (so to speak), earth ponies when they can buy their first house/apartment, and unicorns once they get their first full-time job (or for the royals, once they throw their first social party) Batponies are somewhat different. Once they mate, they either go to their mate’s family or the mate goes to theirs, depending on circumstances. The family houses get fairly large over the years in a patriarchal/matriarchal arrangement where the respected elders rule the roost (so to speak).

16. Are there roughly an equal number of male and female ponies?
Yes. Males tend more to manual labor, and therefore don’t show up as much in the cartoon.

17. How informed are most ponies about things that happen in other parts of Equestria? What about other parts of the world?
Due to the lack of modern electronic media including cable and broadcast news, the ponies receive an honest account of ongoing events through newspapers. (Snerk!) Yeah, right. I’d say they get the news somewhat delayed by distance, but with more information and less panic-filled disinformation. For that, they have scandal sheets and gossip rags.

The Main Characters:
18. How old are the Mane Six? Spike? The CMC?
The Mane Six range from 20-22, with Twilight being the oldest. Spike is 12, having turned that during the show. The CMC are around 8-10.

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?
I presume Fluttershy moved to the ground with some relative, which would have separated the two of them. I wonder if she lived with the Cakes. That would make a good When They Were Young story.

20. Rarity and Applejack both seem to have grown up in Ponyville. What were their interactions like before the show?
Very little. They move in completely different circles.

21. What do Twilight and Spike consider their relationship to be?
Big sister, little brother, obviously, although sometimes Twilight treats him as unpaid labor.

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?
There’s a problem that popped up recently. The cartoon showed that it takes a train trip to get to Pinkie’s parents, which somewhat rules out commuting. Again, would it make a good story to have Pinkie and Fluttershy as little fillies moving into the Cake’s business. The Odd Couple. Hm. Ideas…

23. Who among the Mane Six had the best parents growing up? The worst parents?
I’d hesitate to guess, but perhaps Rarity? She seems to have gotten a good start on making her mark in the world when the story started. Fluttershy seems to have no parents at all, or they just dropped their ground-loving daughter into the dirt while they stayed in the clouds.

24. Why didn’t the CMC hang out more/know each other before Call of the Cutie?
Social circles? Who says they didn’t know each other before, but this was the event that forged a friendship that will last forever.

25. Is Scootaloo an orphan? Will she ever be able to fly?
No, and yes. (Hasbro gave Twilight wings, after all)

26. Will Apple Bloom’s cutie mark involve an apple in some way, even if it’s unrelated to farming or baking?
Of course. It will sell more little plastic toys.

27. How is Sweetie Belle’s relationship with their parents different than Rarity’s was?
Much more distant. I presume Rarity got a lot of quality parenting time until Sweetie was born, then was old enough to ‘go at it alone’ while they focused on their new daughter. Now she’s more or less shared between her vacationing parents and her very busy sister, and she feels neglected.

Side and Background Characters:
28. Is Mr. Cake the father of the Cake twins or not?
Yes, of course. The alternative is highly unlikely. Then again, so is Ponyville.

29. Are Big Mac and Cheerilee an item, romantically?
As much as the two of them have a romantic life, yes. If asked, they’re just good friends.

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?
He’s the most legit descendant of Princess Platinum, ready to take over rulership of Equestria the moment Princess Celestia is indisposed. Oh, wait. Make that both Celestia and Cadence. Are you kidding! What do you mean Celestia had a sister entombed in the moon! Okay, if Celestia, Luna and Cadence were to vanish in some accident. Princess Twilight? Since when did she get wings! Oh, to heck with it. I’m getting drunk.

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

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?
Only among the shamans.

33. Why does Daring Do publish her stories as fiction?
Because you can fudge the heck out of the facts in a fictional story. Plus she keeps the artifacts. Hey, there’s not much money in being an author. How else do you explain the huge mansion?

34. Do you have a strong headcanon for any non-speaking or one line background ponies that you want to share?
I’ve always thought of Lyra as the ‘weird’ one and Bon Bon as the ‘sane’ one in their relationship, whatever it is. Knowing Hasbro, at the absolute maximum they’re roommates.

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?)
Speaking sentient species are considered ‘people’ for the purpose of law, but only species that are willing to contribute to society are permitted representation in Parliament. Therefore, no Diamond Dogs (antisocial), cows (politically apathetic), or chimeras (really?) as elected representatives, but there may be some minotaurs who are outside of their kingdom.

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?
Other nations are generally species-centered, with splinters of other species inside the Equestrian borders being given the choice of keeping ties to their home nations or a representative in parliament. Thus the griffon aeries in the mountains may have a pony representative who has never met his constituents (and might not want to).

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?
No.

38. Do all zebras rhyme?
Only the shamans.

39. Do zebra cutie marks work the same way as pony cutie marks?
See GoH’s response.

40. Do any species have types of magic, other than ponies and zebras?
Dragons have several: the ability to determine the exact value of any item in their hoard, the ability to determine where any of their hoard has been taken, and when they get older, the ability to bring an obscene amount of gold and jewels with them as they take trips to find places to snooze.

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?
Cultural. Buffalo prefer the company of buffalo in the open air in their ancestral stampeding grounds.

Headcanon and You:
42. Do you consider official sources other than the show (comics, card game text, movies, novels, etc.) to be canon?
Depends on if it makes sense. The Shining Armor/Cadence comic was perfect. Big Mac and the Gazebo also. Fluttershy’s Chamber of Extreme Knitting… not so much.

43. Do you have one headcanon that you always use, or do you switch depending on projects?
What fun is it to have only one reality in your head at once?

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

45. Is there a part of your headcanon that you wish was more popular among writers?
Yes. Batponies. Ok, so that’s a topic that has a particular resonance with me.

46. Is there a popular piece of headcanon that other writers use that you dislike?
Nothing springs to mind. Well, there were an awful lot of “Shining Armor and Chrysalis had a love child” stories that flooded the site for a while, and I wrote Shining Armor and Son - A Loving Parody to apply a little well-needed parody to the genre. Same thing for the “A New Alicorn Shows Up” stories that made me writeThe Stallion Who Fell to Equestria (Parody) to poke a little fun at them.

Then there was a brief time when I was reading shipfics and I got really irritated at the “Meet, fall in love, bang” stories that seemed to be all over the place. I had a little free time, so I outlined a story that made sense, wrote a few chapters of The Traveling Tutor and the Librarian, popped up the first chapter and started writing like crazy. Two months and 37 chapters later, I hit finish and looked back, pretty happy with what the results were.

47. Have you ever written a story or blogpost just to explain some part of your headcanon (other than this one)?
Actually, yes, and yes.
My first real story, To Sleep, Perchance to Dream was made when I was considering the relative ease at which Luna was welcomed back into Celestia’s life despite the horrible thing that she did to her sister. This eventually was added to by Nightfall - Luna’s Reunion giving a history of the Nocturne and an apology in the same story.

And my blog post, A Very Short Guide to Batponies as seen by Georg which, of course, explains my Batpony headcanon.

48. Does your headcanon influence things like your favorite pony, ship, or episode?
Yeah, it probably explains why I like Luna so much.

49. Would it bother you if the show proved part of your headcanon wrong? Any specific piece that would really bother you to lose?
Yeah, I really expect Batponies to be explained in some what that really toasts my whole background. It won’t bother me too much.

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

Will the CMC get their cutie marks? No, probably not.
Will Twilight outlive her friends by centuries? No, the show will probably only cover a few years at most.
Will Hasbro introduce another alicorn, possibly male? Oh, God. I hope not. And you thought Twilight getting wings roused the flock to a great amount of chirping and squawking.
Will other background ponies get more in-depth treatment? I hope so. Lyra and Bon Bon seem to be the best prospect.
Will Hasbro ever license fanfic? No, probably not. Hopefully they maintain their present attitude of benign pretending it doesn’t exist.

Comments ( 3 )

Regarding licensed fanfiction: The Star Trek franchise has released several collections of epic-length alternate universe stories called "Strange New Worlds" that have been acceptably popular. I could see Hasbro doing the same with some of the longer and less extreme fanfictions (i.e. Conversion Bureau and Fallout: Equestria not being up for consideration) appearing in a book called "Through the Mirror of Worlds" or something like that.

FWIW, I'd like to see original characters like Nyx and Marshall Graves ascend to semi-official status.

What fun is it to have only one reality in your head at once?

Amen to that.

It's always interesting to see responses to this questionnaire. I'm pretty sure the only person who's thought about every question is bookplayer herself. Thanks for doing this, Georg. :twilightsmile:

One thing, though. The idea of unicorns' tribal responsibility being "leadership" just doesn't scan with me. In Canterlot, maybe, but what about everywhere else? I'm sure Mayor Mare would object, as would many of Ponyville's unicorns. Could you clarify this?

Always enjoy reading about other people's view of Equestria.

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