50 questions and BABSCon. · 4:24am Apr 20th, 2014
So I caught a stomach virus of some kind, so I'm kind of down in the con. I freaking hate it. However, I will still be doing my panel, and filming it for your viewing pleasure. As long as I don't vomit, pass out, or seizure during the panel, I don't care what happens after.
So, I want to do something productive while I'm bedridden, so I saw this thing and figured that it was as good as any. I'm a few thousand words into a new Alicorn chapter too, so yeah. I should be all better either tomorrow, or when I make it back to Colorado. Whenever that is.
Anyhoo, I found these 50 questions, and figured that I'd answer them.
1. How old are Celestia and Luna?
In Alicorn Princess I had Celestia give her age as about three thousand years. Then I shipped her with TD, thereby making her the biggest cougar in the history of the term. That aside, my logic is that Luna spent a thousand years on the moon, so the both of them are over a thousand years old. There would also be a period between NMM and Discord, which I think would be a decent amount of time. Luna didn't fall to The Nightmare overnight. Also, there are a ton of societies that have to have developed between Discord and NMM. At the very least the pony one did. That kind of stuff takes hundreds of years. Also, we see in the Season 4 opener that Celestia and Luna look pretty much the same as they do now, so they had already reached maturation by the time they fought Discord. So, given all of that, 2-3 thousand years isn't ridiculous.
2. How old is Cadance?
I'd say not that much older than Shining Armor. She could even be younger. She's clearly aged, given that she was younger when she was foalsitting Twilight. Of course this is merely speculative, but I'd say she looked about the same age as what I'd imagine Shining Armor to be.
3. Were Celestia and Luna always alicorns, or did they ascend?
I'm actually gonna go with ascension here. It'd be how Celestia knew how to have Twilight ascend: she had done it herself. We obviously don't see any sign of them in the Hearth's Warming Eve episode, so they had to come from somewhere.
4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?
Nope. TD the Alicorn Princess introduced my headcanons about Alpha and Beta alicorns. Celestia and Luna are Alpha alicorns, and Cadance and Twilight are Beta alicorns. Beta alicorns are mortal, though I think they are still going to live a little longer, susceptible to weapons and diseases (so if you shoot Cadance in the face with a bazooka or give her a smallpox blanket it would kill her) and are made up of all three races and are more powerful than even the strongest unicorns.
5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?
No. Celestia and Luna ascended. They were not birthed from alicorn parents.
6. How much authority do Celestia and Luna have in Equestria?
Total, until the show reveals otherwise. That is, total within reason. There is obviously a nobility class, but while Celestia and Luna play chess around them, I would wager, the nobility on the whole wouldn't dare challenge ponies that were around long before their great, great grandsires were even conceived, and will be around long after their great, great, grandfoals are dust. We have had no sign of any parliamentary system in Equestria, nor any lower courts or police force outside of Mayor Mare and the Royal Guard, for that matter. Let's be honest: it would take all of about two days for Celestia and Luna to implement complete, totalitarian control over Equestria, and the best part is, nopony would challenge them on it. Who the heck could? Their subjects are complacent, and complacent subjects cannot resist very well. Celestia and Luna may pretend that they don't have that much power and authority, but they really have it all if they could completely take over whenever they wanted.
7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?
He sure does. Even if he doesn't have official power, there is no way that he's not at the very least Cadance's most trusted adviser. He is a prince, after all. Besides, Cadance would probably love the help in ruling an entire nation. Who better than the stallion she entrusts her very life to?
8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?
In a society that values friendship as highly as Equestria's there is no way that Celestia hasn't. Ignoring Sunset Shimmer, because I don't like thinking about just how bland EqG was in general, Celestia wouldn't want to shut herself off from the world. I hate to keep referencing it, but, given that Celestia is such a major character, it's my headcanon playground, in TD the Alicorn Princess, Celestia says that it's healthy to indulge the Id every once and a while. If she falls in love, then she would partake, because she would recognize the value of doing something for herself. She can't give, and give, and give, and give, and still remain mentally balanced. She's had some bang buddies. I'm certain of that. As for close friends, same with that too. She wouldn't tell them everything, but she needs equine interaction the same as everypony. Otherwise she would have just shrugged and moved on when she banished Luna.
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)?
Let me follow up that question with another question: Are there still cultural differences between Caucasians and African Americans, or is the culture homogenous? Are there cultural stereotypes (positive/negative)?
Yeah, same idea.
There will always be the stereotypes, especially in Equestria, because the races are, on the whole, set to one type of job. It's rare to see a unicorn farmer; the majority are earth ponies. So, the stereotype would inevitably be that all earth ponies are farmers. Of course that isn't true (Cheerilee, the Cakes, Mayor Mare) but if you look at the Hearth's Warming Eve episode, that's the cultural background.
Same idea with pegasi. They're weather control, because they're the only race that can do it. Ain't no stinkin' mud ponies pushin' clouds around. Pegasi in the show who don't have jobs related to the sky are even rarer than earth ponies who aren't farmers. It's their cultural background. Stereotypes tend to stick around, particularly if they're perpetuated. If a pony grows up and sees that the majority of the pegasi he or she knows have jobs in the weather industry in some capacity, then that's going to be his perception of what pegasi do, at least subconsciously.
In terms of intelligence, there will always be the racists. Unicorns who think that the earth ponies are below them because they can't use magic, pegasi who think that the unicorns are snobs, and so on. It's part of any society.
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?
I'm gonna say no. Cloudsdale imports it food in exchange for weather. Pretty simple.
11. Can all unicorns learn all spells, given the time and effort spent practicing them, or is magical talent usually limited in some way?
Not all spells. I'm pretty sure that there are some spells that only Celestia can do, and discussing scale is important too. We know that every unicorn we've seen so far can do levitation, but we've only seen Twilight lift an Ursa Minor. She's the only one with the raw power to do it. But I'd say that on the whole yes. Twilight's special talent is magic, so she can learn spells a lot faster than most, but Sweetie Belle could eventually learn the gem finding spell given enough practice. What really should be discussed is raw power, because that defines what kind of spells you can learn.
12. Earth pony magic: Does it exist? What is it?
Yep. It's a natural connection to the earth that helps with farming.
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?
I think that no conventions is more common, save for in farming communities. Then I think it's really common, because the assumption is that any offspring is going to continue to work the farm. Outside of that, no real reason for it.
14. How much formal schooling is an average, middle class pony expected to complete?
I'd say our equivalent of grammar/elementary school. They've got to learn basic math/reading/writing and so on. After that, it would just be a waste of their times to not got into the fields that their cutie marks indicate.
15. What’s the average lifespan for a pony? At what age is a pony expected to be independent of their parents?
To answer the first question, we have to go to Granny Smith. She's old. Really old. But she still has aunts older than she is who are alive and kicking, as shown in the reunion episode. To me, I'd guess around 100-130
As for what age ponies are supposed to be free of their parents, I'd put that at around 16-18. At that age, they've had their cutie marks for a while, and have a good idea of what they're going to do. No need to stay with their parents if they already know their career.
16. Are there roughly an equal number of male and female ponies?
I'd say that there are more females, but it's not a 10-1 sort of thing. I agree with the people who think it's a 55-45 split. We just see more girls. Even in the background.
17. How informed are most ponies about things that happen in other parts of Equestria? What about other parts of the world?
News travels slower, so not as informed. Spike is the closest thing that ponies have to e-mail, so if something happens in Manehattan, then ponies in Baltimare aren't going to find out about it until they read it in the next day's newspaper. It'd be even slower for the rest of the world. Besides, given how simple pony life tends to be, especially in places like Ponyville, they don't really care if some random thing happens in Las Pegasus. They care about them.
The Main Characters:
18. How old are the Mane Six? Spike? The CMC?
Mane Six are in their early twenties, I'd put Spike at around twelve, and the CMC at about eight to ten.
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?
RD values loyalty. She did the race for Fluttershy (mostly) so I think that once she figured out that Fluttershy was missing, she would have led the charge to go find her. I think that Fluttershy went back to the clouds, but for a very short time. It goes back to the whole "when do ponies move out" question. Fluttershy already knew what she wanted to do. Why would she stay in the clouds where that was restricted?
20. Rarity and Applejack both seem to have grown up in Ponyville. What were their interactions like before the show?
Probably something similar to, say, Rarity and Lyra. They see each other, they might even have a nice conversation at the asparagus stand, but Rarity isn't thinking of making Lyra the Maid-of-Honor at her wedding, or anything. Same idea. Rarity and AJ were a touch more than causal acquaintances since the town is so small, but not much more than that until Twilight.
21. What do Twilight and Spike consider their relationship to be?
Brother and sister, but sibling seems to be different in Equestria than on Earth. Rarity and Applejack both seem to have quite a hoof in raising their sisters. It's confirmed that the Apple siblings are all orphans, so AJ and Big Mac would have had to raise Apple Bloom. Rarity seems to have some power over Sweetie Belle, as well, and is raising her on some level. Siblings tend to be closer than parents from what we've seen. It's not unusual for older siblings to have a hoof in raising their younger ones, so, as the Apples especially show, raising a foal does not necessarily mean that the foal will grow up to see them as a parent, especially considering that Twilight was so young when she hatched Spike.
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?
Probably not long after she got her cutie mark. Her parents, who I do think love her, would realize that the rock farm wouldn't be the best place for her, so they'd find somewhere else for her to be once she got a little older. Again, going back to at what age the ponies move out.
I think that there's some sort of familial relationship. The twins would seem to think so, anyway, or they will, as Pinkie will be a constant in their lives for a long time. In terms of the elder Cakes, I think that they love Pinkie because it's hard not to love somepony who so unconditionally loves you. I have no doubt that Pinkie loves the cakes, jut because... well, she's Pinkie. The Cakes can get exasperated with her sometimes, but they know that she doesn't have a single malicious cell in her body.
Pinkamena, on the other hoof...
23. Who among the Mane Six had the best parents growing up? The worst parents?
Well, we can't count Applejack, because her parents are dead.
I think that Twilight had the best parents growing up. I mean, not everypony can bounce back so quickly from being turned into a potted plant, but they did. They are shown to be highly supportive of her.
For worst, I'd give that to Rarity's parents. I don't think that they're bad ponies, per se, but they dump Sweetie Belle on Rarity a lot.
24. Why didn’t the CMC hang out more/know each other before Call of the Cutie?
Because the writers hadn't thought of that before writing the episode. I mean, really, this isn't headcanon stuff at this point. Given all of the retconning stuff, such as putting SB and Scoots into AB's school, there really is no reason. AB would have known that she and Twist weren't the only foals left at school without cutie marks.
Yeah, I got nothing.
25. Is Scootaloo an orphan? Will she ever be able to fly?
Scoots won't be able to fly in the near future, I can tell you that for sure. Someday, yes, I think that she will be able to. Maybe not very well, but she'll be able to putter along, I think.
Is she an orphan? Nah. I just think that we haven't seen her parents yet, much in the same way that we haven't seen Fluttershy's. It'll happen.
26. Will Apple Bloom’s cutie mark involve an apple in some way, even if it’s unrelated to farming or baking?
Yep. As much as building and such is her special talent, she's still good with apples. She can still apple buck. We've seen her at it. So yes, yes she will have an apple on there somewhere.
27. How is Sweetie Belle’s relationship with their parents different than Rarity’s was?
The second child's relationship is always different. Parents think that they've figured it out, so they're not quite as attentive and doting. We've seen that they dump Sweetie Belle on Rarity when they feel that the situation calls for it, and they obviously couldn't do that when Rarity was Sweetie Belle's age, so they spent more time with her.
Side and Background Characters:
28. Is Mr. Cake the father of the Cake twins or not?
He is. Mr. and Mrs. Cake love each other. He was nervous when explaining because he was nervous that others wouldn't believe that, and spread around rumors that his wife was loose, and that would cause all sorts of problems for the both of them.
29. Are Big Mac and Cheerilee an item, romantically?
No. TDLee is my OTP!!
Even without that, I think that they're just friends.
30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?
He's a glorified duke, really. He's a descendant of a line of ponies that used to have a lot more power. He's not a legit nephew of Celestia.
31. Is Silver Spoon equally as bad as Diamond Tiara?
No. She's just a toadie. DT calls the shots, and someday Spoon is going to grow a spine and get out from under her. If I had to guess, DT and SS' families are connected, so the two have known each other since the womb.
32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?
Uh-huh. See later comment about zebra societies and potions and such.
33. Why does Daring Do publish her stories as fiction?
They sell better that way. Besides, if ponies were told that somebody like Ahuizotl actually exited and was routinely trying to destroy the world, then they would panic. Fiction has always had a better appeal than non-fiction. It's escapism. Plus, then A.K. Yearling can exaggerate anything she wants and ponies aren't going to call BS on anything. It's fiction!
34. Do you have a strong headcanon for any non-speaking or one line background ponies that you want to share?
Nah. See below comments about me and headcanons.
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?)
Well no species are slaughtered for food, so let's start there. After that, I imagine it's like the Roman Empire in a sense. Only equines or other beings who have live there long enough/earned it/married into it have citizenship and everything that comes with it. But I imagine that even non-citizens get busted when they break laws. If Rarity hadn't slaughtered all of the Diamond Dogs with a katana after the events of A Dog and Pony Show, then I'm pretty sure that Celestia would have rounded them up and tried them as criminals. They foalnapped and enslaved an Element of Harmony for Pete's sakes! That's freaking illegal everywhere.
Now, cows, as established, are livestock, so I don't think that there are any colonies of them. Just the small groups that live on farms, and such. Chimeras don't live in herds, so there isn't a Chimera parliament, or something like that.
Nothing would get done if there was one.
Nothing.
But it would be hilarious to watch.
Anyway, if a species has a society, then it's treated like that. Non-speaking animals aren't sapient, so there's no real need to treat them the same way they treat a pony beyond basic rights. You can't try a dog in court. Or a Hydra.
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?
I think that other species form their own nations, with some species spread out here and there. Cows are livestock, so they're spread out. I don't think that there is a cow nation. I think that's dumb, especially if we go with the idea that griffins eat meat. Sure, I'm positive that there are expatriates, ponies living in the griffin lands, griffins living in Equestria, and so on, but I think on the whole, you'll find far more griffins in Griffonia (or whatever) than Equestria or any other territory.
37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?
No. That's stupid. That's getting into weird fanfiction territo... uh
...
Moving on!
38. Do all zebras rhyme?
No, but I do think that potions are a big part of their society. It makes up for their lack of magic. You don't want to mess with a Zebra army for that very reason.
39. Do zebra cutie marks work the same way as pony cutie marks?
Sure. Don't see any reason why not. No idea what Zecora's means though.
40. Do any species have types of magic, other than ponies and zebras?
Imma go ahead and say yes. Now I can't see Iron Will casting magic like Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice or Harry Potter...
hmm...
Anyhoo, griffins can sit on, and presumably manipulate, clouds, so they share that same pegasus magic that allows them to do the same.
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?
Buffalo have their own territory, and don't really care what they Equestrians are doing unless it's encroaching. What the heck reason do the buffalo have to go to Canterlot (save for maybe a diplomatic mission) if they have everything they need right where they live?
Headcanon and You:
42. Do you consider official sources other than the show (comics, card game text, movies, novels, etc.) to be canon?
Nope. Just the show. Not to say that I don't enjoy the other stuff immensely, because I totally do.
43. Do you have one headcanon that you always use, or do you switch depending on projects?
Forcing yourself to stick to one headcanon can be limiting. If your story improves by having Lyra and Bon Bon having never met, then you'd be absolutely stupid not to do it. I mean, yeah, LyraBon being at the very least very good friends is a headcanon of mine, just because I love the way that the fanon personalities play off of each other.
44. Can you easily accept the headcanons of different writers? Do you prefer when stories match your headcanon?
I can, but it really depends on if it benefits the story. That's what it should all boil down to anyway.
45. Is there a part of your headcanon that you wish was more popular among writers?
Serial killer Rarity.
46. Is there a popular piece of headcanon that other writers use that you dislike?
I cannot say this with any certainty given that every time I do it happens (writing TDLestia, attending conventions, writing fanfiction, being a Brony at all) but I do not think that I will ever write any inter-Mane Six shipping. Or RariSpike, for that matter. I mean, you all know that I tend not to write shipping that often anyway, save for TDLestia and TDLee, but any OTP headcanons I ignore.
47. Have you ever written a story or blogpost just to explain some part of your headcanon (other than this one)?
nope. Don't think so. Other than delving a little into my Serial Killer Rarity stuff in my "Could I Write for the Show?" blog.
48. Does your headcanon influence things like your favorite pony, ship, or episode?
I swear Rarity has a torture and murder basement under Carousel Boutique. She's a serial killer, I know 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?
It already happened: Trixie and Flim and Flam returning. Before that, I would swear up and down that Rarity killed all three of them. So far we don't have any proof that she didn't kill Gilda, the two vendors who were rude to Fluttershy, or the Diamond Dogs, so...
That's not counting the two Diamond Dogs we watched her kill on-screen. She knew what she was doing when she put that X there.
50. Is there something that wasn't asked about here, but you feel like you need to explain to everyone?
I went stark raving mad years ago.
O...kayyy, then...
Things like this are so fun. I wish I could do one of these without feeling like an idiot. It's cool to know little things about you.
2026912 Like I said, I'm down at BABSCon with a stomach virus of some kind, so this was something to do.
2026940
Well, I do hope that you are feeling better soon. Being 
is no fun. When I have to be cooped up for that long, I get a little bit 
resulting in tendency towards 
. Take it easy, keep calm and sip ginger ale, or eat foods with a little bit of fresh ginger in it, might help the stomachache. Hope it helps!
First: Are you sure you are for that panel?
Second: How did Applejacks parents die, and why hasn't it been mentioned in the show?
I got a stomach flue literally today not fun...
That really sucks that you got sick.
I do hope you feel better sooner then later.
I liked your list of stuff. I think lots of it makes sense and matches with things I have in my headcanons. Though, I have a different take than your number 4. In my headcanon they will be immortal, just not yet, as they are still maturing as alicorns.
I think a blog post detailing how you came up with the Serial Killer Rarity thing would be interesting.
2033403 I am mostly joking.
There are little things, though that make me wonder. Glares that she gives Applejack (such as the one in Over A Barrel, which the script that I read noted as "Rarity glares at Applejack like she'd very much like to throw her from the train) and the line "couldn't you just simply die?" from "Art of the Dress."
Little things like that.
But overall, yes, I am mostly joking.
Mostly.
2033419 I see.
Also, that reminded me of this, slightly.
He's only MOSTLY dead.
This post have over 50K views... and only 12 comments...
The logic is real
Why is this the most viewed blog post?
5062568
Fuck if I know, past me. Apparently it must include the word "buddy" in it somewhere. (context I'm looking for the skirts alts circular blog chain