Headcanon Corner: The Questionnaire

Okay then. There seems to be a headcanon questionnaire going around created by the user bookplayer. So, yeah. That's a thing.

I, suppose I can throw in my own two cents, although be forewarned: I don't have a firm answer for every question on this list. That's because, well, I haven't actually given much of these questions much thought. But, I'll try my best. Here we go!

The Princesses:

1. How old are Celestia and Luna?

Considering that they were alicorns when they fought Discord, I'd say they are well over a thousand years old. If I were to ballpark it, I'd say they're around fifteen hundred years old or so, give or take a century.

2. How old is Cadence?

If we're going by human years (which according to For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils is what the writers are going with), I'd say she's in her early to mid thirties.

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

Seeing as show canon trumps book canon, they ascended. Flurry Heart is the first pony who was born an alicorn.

4. Are Cadence and Twilight immortal?

Only if they choose to be.

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?

It's possible that an alicorn was the first ruler of the Crystal Empire (there's no way Tirek could've known about Cadence specifically). Otherwise, it's highly unlikely. In order to ascend, you have to achieve something beyond your special talent, and very few ponies can do that, animation errors notwithstanding.

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

You know the phrase: "The buck stops here?" Yeah, that pretty much applies to Celestia and Luna. And please don't take that saying out of context.

7. Does Shining Armor rule the Crystal Empire alongside Cadence?

Of course he does. Why wouldn't he? Next question.

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

Well, two important ones are her pets, Philomena and Cerberus. There's also the teacher from her comic mini-series (Inkwell, I believe her name was) that she personally fought alongside against an unknown foe. I also believe that she had a similar relationship with Sunset Shimmer before she fell from grace.

I might add Spike to that as well, although I think she's more important to him than he is to her. Not to say that he isn't important to her, but you know what I mean.

Edit: She was also apparently mentored by Starswirl the Bearded himself, but they had a bit of a falling out. Also, if you happen to follow the comics, she was quite smitten with a parallel universe version of King Sombra, and her constant visits to him caused her falling out with Starswirl.

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)?

In the modern Equestria era, prejudice amongst ponies is rather minimal. It's hard to say if stereotypes exist or not, as all of the stereotypical traits mentioned in the Hearth's Warming pageant can easily apply to any pony of any race. Unicorns are said to be haughty and stuck-up, yet Hoity Toity is not a unicorn. Pegasi are said to be brutal warriors, yet there are plenty of unicorns and Earth Ponies in the Royal Guard. Earth Ponies are said to be simple country folk, which is a term that can apply to Rarity's parents. It's really a grey area.

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?

Food cannot be grown in Cloudsdale for obvious reasons. All of their food is imported from other cities in Equestria.

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

Amethyst Star talks about this in my story My Little Investigations: The Gemstone Godfather, but I'll reiterate it here:

Unicorn magic is the act of making something you want to happen happen. This is something unicorn foals discover quickly through magic surges. However, there is a specific process to every spell. For example, Lyra cannot recreate Shining Armor's forcefield spell just by wishing for a forcefield. This is why a unicorn's spell repertoire is limited to telekinesis and their special talent.

However, if you know the procedure behind the spell and you just so happen to be a unicorn, you can cast it.

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

Earth Pony magic exists, but it's quite rare. It takes the form of the Pinkie Sense and the Cheesy Sense: Being in-tune with your surroundings to the point where you know what's going to happen next. Heck, I personally think that Pinkie's mother, Cloudy Quartz, is a geomancer (she can predict the future by reading trails in the dirt), and she uses that talent on the rock farm. But again, it's a statistical anomaly.

Edit: Since it was revealed in Twilight's Kingdom that Cutie Marks are tied to magic, it's safe to say that all ponies possess some form of magic through that.

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?

Naming conventions are very odd in Equestrian culture. For instance, I think Cup Cake was called that long before she was married to Carrot Cake (I mean, what else would you call her?). Seeing as names are more often than not tied to a pony's special talent, I'm gonna have to say that the typical name-surname formula isn't all that common.

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

Formal schooling lasts from K-12. There are universities and specialized schools for those who wish to expand their skill sets beyond their special talents.

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

Since the writers are going by human years, I'd say the lifespan roughly the same. As for independence, it varies from pony to pony. I will say this, though; ponies are not expected to be independent until they get their Cutie Marks.

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

Mares are in the slight majority, but only slight.

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

The pegasi are perhaps the most informed about what goes on in all of Equestria. Being in control of the weather, they have to be. Only the most politically-savvy of ponies know what goes on in other nations.

The Main Characters:

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

The Mane 6 are roughly in their early to mid twenties. Spike is three and a half, but in dragon years, he can be seen as ten or so. The CMC probably started off around eight, but are now closer to twelve or thirteen.

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 was probably picked up by her parents after discovering her special talent, and she and Dashie have always been rather close.

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

Somewhat minimal. Seeing as they were part of the group that accosted Twilight in Friendship is Magic Part II, they obviously had some sort of connection. But it clearly wasn't as strong as it is today.

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

Brother and sister. Next.

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?

It got to the point where Pinkie Pie ran out of parties to throw for her family (don't ask her about her Marble Found A Pretty Rock party), so she decided that it would be for the best if she struck out on her own. She made her way to Ponyville, met the Cakes, and became their apprentice. There might be something involving Gummy and Diamond Dogs in there, as hinted at in my story Pinkie's Trio of Tales for Tots, but I'll leave that up to you guys.

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

Twilight probably had the best parents, followed by Pinkie Pie, then Rainbow Dash, then Rarity, and finally Fluttershy (Applejack is a non-factor because her parents are, well, dead). With the way Fluttershy's parents allowed Zephyr Breeze to walk all over them, it's no surprise that Fluttershy herself had difficulties advocating for herself for so long. By contrast, Twilight Velvet and Night Light (in the very few instances we see them) seem to be very supportive of their little daughter.

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

Most likely, it was due to them being in separate classes at different times of the day. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle seemed to hang out with each other, but it's only when Apple Bloom came onto the scene that they became the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

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

First off, no. Scoot is not an orphan. We see her house in Flight to the Finish (not just her room), and honestly, I think it's a bit too small to be an orphanage.

As for her flying ability, I'm ambivalent about this point. I used to maintain that Scootaloo is a late bloomer and not handicapped because her wings clearly work. They're just too small to generate lift. However, after seeing some analysis videos and reviews of the episode Flight to the Finish, I think her having a birth defect that prevents her wings from growing is equally plausible. I'm just gonna wait and see where the writers go with this.

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

Most likely.

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

Rarity makes every attempt to distance herself from her parents' lifestyle. I don't really get the same vibe with Sweetie Belle, although she doesn't seem to be following in Magnum and Cookie Crumbles's footsteps, either.

Side and Background Characters:

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

Why is this a question? Of course he is! Genetics is a thing, people!

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

Their relationship is budding, though it's unclear if the CMC are to blame.

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?

He's related to Princess Platinum.

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

Actually, no. As detailed in my story Heart of Silver, she's actually more mature than Di (at least, she's mature enough to admit defeat). She also doesn't let Di push her around as much as others might think.

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?

Most choose to study it.

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

I actually wrote an entire story about this, known as A Real Legend. Seeing as explaining it here would involve spoilers, you can check it out here if you're interested.

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

I've covered most of my headcanon regarding this kind of thing in most of my stories, and it would take forever to list them all. However, there is one I'll share here:

I firmly believe that the Pie family is full of eccentric ponies who march to the beat of their own drums. For example, Marble (Inkie) Pie has a pet rock shelter and thinks about things way too much, while Limestone "Key Lime" Pie (aka Blinkie) utilizes wisecracks and sarcasm to giggle at the ghosties.

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?)

Creatures such as dragons, chimeras, and Diamond Dogs either keep to themselves unless provoked or are savage barbarians similar to vikings. Otherwise, creatures that are capable of speech have the same rights as ponies (with the exception of breezies, but it's more of a grey area with them).

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?

Indeed, most creatures have their own nations. The griffons have a kingdom to the northeast, the buffalo have the Mild West, et cetera et cetera.

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?

While it would be neat to learn that they descended from a common ancestor, it's highly doubtful.

38. Do all zebras rhyme?

No. That is a hurtful stereotype, and you should be ashamed for thinking that was the case. Zecora herself doesn't even rhyme all the time (she simply states "Have you gone mad?!" in the episode Swarm of the Century with no follow-up rhyme).

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

I don't see how they could, seeing as we're talking about two separate species. But it could be similar.

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

Sure. I introduced the concept of Dragon Magi in Deserts and Dragons, mystical gemstones used by Diamond Dogs in My Little Investigations: The Gemstone Godfather, and several more besides.

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?

I'd say it's a little of Column A and a little of Column B. There are probably countless buffalo tribes in the Mild West outside of the one headed by Chief Thunderhooves, but none of them have the same level of contact with ponies. Besides, the stampede tradition would be pretty hard to maintain in other towns.

Headcanon and You:

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

Some yes; some no. Fiddlesticks and Neon Lights will still be Fiddlesticks and Neon Lights to me no matter what the cards say, but I consider the movies, comics, and novels to be at least somewhat canon.

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

I don't think I need more than one headcanon.

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

Depends on the story. If it's executed well, then I can accept it. If not, then no. This applies to the headcanon itself as much as the story (I'll never accept the headcanon that Marble Pie and Octavia are the same pony).

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

The headcanon where everypony in Pinkie's family is eccentric. The only other author I've seen do this is xjuggernaughtx (who first introduced me to the concept. Thanks for that, by the way), and we need more of it. Oh, also the fact that Spitfire is not a jerk, Derpy is not stupid, and Fluttershy is not afraid of everything.

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

None come to mind at the moment.

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

The Importance of a Wingpony, War Games of the Mind, Heart of Silver, A Real Legend, Spitfire Stumbles, Wonder-Breezies, and Friends in High Places. All of these are stories where my headcanon takes center stage. Oh, and a few blog posts, too.

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

Not exactly. Any episode that sparks my creativity in some way automatically earns brownie points in my book, but that's about it.

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

For the most part, my headcanon is quite flexible.

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

Nothing that isn't already covered in my stories.

Comments

[Celestias Paladin]

Second time I've seen this... perhaps I should do one as well