20 Questions, and then 30 More · 1:22am Jun 15th, 2014
The Princesses:
1. How old are Celestia and Luna?
As old as the hills. Their precise age is uncertain, but you can be sure that they are OLD. They don't really like it when ponies bring it up, though.
2. How old is Cadance?
She's a young adult, roughly the same age as Shining Armour.
3. Were Celestia and Luna always alicorns, or did they ascend?
Celestia was once an Earth Pony, and Luna was once a Unicorn.
4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?
Nobody's sure yet. Neither of them has been an alicorn long enough for any aging or lack thereof to become apparent.
5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?
Most ponies don't really care. If there are or were other alicorns ruling other lands, they hope that all goes well for them, but as such lands are evidently too distant to communicate with that hope is about all that can be expected.
6. How much authority do Celestia and Luna have in Equestria?
They have almost total authority and can overrule almost any other pony - in theory. In practice, they exercise the full extent of their potential power so rarely that for centuries at a time they might as well not have most of it. In day-to-day governance, they are constitutional monarchs with a seat on a number of councils and a tiebreaking role in parliament.
7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?
Yes, as Crown Prince and Colonel in Chief of the Armed Forces. He was a little reluctant to hold both civil and military authority, but the Crystal Ponies feared a weak ruler allowing Sombra to return more than they did a potential dictator who could never be as bad as Sombra.
8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?
More than can accurately be counted. All of the above, and more.
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)?
Equestrian culture as a whole is homogenous, barring differences in aesthetics. There are more regional than racial differences.
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?
Yes to both, though I don't care to list them.
11. Can all unicorns learn all spells, given the time and effort spent practicing them, or is magical talent usually limited in some way?
All unicorns can understand all spells, though very very few can perform all spells.
12. Earth pony magic: Does it exist? What is it?
Yes. Let's see you manage Sweet Apple Acres without being some kind of druid.
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?
The reason is "because". Neither is notably more common than the answer.
14. How much formal schooling is an average, middle class pony expected to complete?
What the fuck is an average pony?
15. What’s the average lifespan for a pony? At what age is a pony expected to be independent of their parents?
Pegasi tend to live to somewhere around 65. Most Unicorns live to 80 or so, though supremely powerful ones can extend their lifespan almost indefinitely. Earth Ponies can reliably hit 90, and for one to break 100 is not uncommon. As for parents and such, who knows?
16. Are there roughly an equal number of male and female ponies?
Yeah, probably.
17. How informed are most ponies about things that happen in other parts of Equestria? What about other parts of the world?
Most ponies have at least a rough idea of current events in Equestria, but very little idea of what's happening outside it.
The Main Characters:
18. How old are the Mane Six? Spike? The CMC?
Old enough to serve the needs of the plot at any given moment.
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?
Yes and yes. I don't see why that second one needs to be an "or" question.
20. Rarity and Applejack both seem to have grown up in Ponyville. What were their interactions like before the show?
Rare.
21. What do Twilight and Spike consider their relationship to be?
They don't often think about it, because neither can think of a good name for sister/mother/mistress/friend or brother/son/servant/friend. They're just Twilight and Spike, and they will be til the end of their days.
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?
A few years before episode 1. She's mostly their apprentice, and will probably inherit the business when they retire. Such arrangements are not uncommon in Equestria.
23. Who among the Mane Six had the best parents growing up? The worst parents?
Well, Rarity's were the most supportive of their daughter doing something radically different to them, so maybe she had the best ones? Depends on how you figure it. None of them had the worst parents. I'm not sure who had the least good parents.
24. Why didn’t the CMC hang out more/know each other before Call of the Cutie?
What, all kids should know each other?
25. Is Scootaloo an orphan? Will she ever be able to fly?
FUCK NO and probably, respectively.
26. Will Apple Bloom’s cutie mark involve an apple in some way, even if it’s unrelated to farming or baking?
We'll just have to wait and see.
27. How is Sweetie Belle’s relationship with their parents different than Rarity’s was?
So far it's difficult to say, especially as Rarity didn't have a big sister.
Side and Background Characters:
28. Is Mr. Cake the father of the Cake twins or not?
Probably.
29. Are Big Mac and Cheerilee an item, romantically?
Yes, though they're taking it slow and keeping it quiet until everyone forgets the whole love poison thing.
30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?
By inheriting it. How else does one get a royal title?
31. Is Silver Spoon equally as bad as Diamond Tiara?
Man who cares
32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?
Not common, but widely known of at least.
33. Why does Daring Do publish her stories as fiction?
Fiction sells better. Woman's gotta eat.
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?)
Each species is treated individually. Cows are Equestrian citizens and mostly covered under laws regarding labour, workplace safety, etc. Diamond Dogs are foreign nationals, who are expected to obey Equestrian law within its borders. Chimeras are too few and far between to have any especial status.
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?
All nations have at least a few different species, though the number and demographics vary. Griffons are very cosmopolitan and mixed griffon/pony marriages are known to occur, though Diamond Dogs are notably more insular. Probably comes of living on an oil rig.
37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?
They're descended from a common ancestor.
38. Do all zebras rhyme?
Dude there's no need to be racist about it.
39. Do zebra cutie marks work the same way as pony cutie marks?
Zebras' "cutie marks" are their stripes. Zecora just got tattoos because she thinks they're neat.
40. Do any species have types of magic, other than ponies and zebras?
Most of them.
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?
Lack of buffalo presence in Equestria? Every time we've seen a buffalo has been within Equestria's borders.
Headcanon and You:
42. Do you consider official sources other than the show (comics, card game text, movies, novels, etc.) to be canon?
I pick and choose individual bits from secondary or more distant sources. I like one issue of the comic, but dislike another? Only the one I like is part of my canon.
43. Do you have one head canon that you always use, or do you switch depending on projects?
I tend to vary.
44. Can you easily accept the headcanons of different writers? Do you prefer when stories match your headcanon?
Yes and yes, though for the second one it's rarely a major issue.
45. Is there a part of your headcanon that you wish was more popular among writers?
All of it. That's the point of headcanon, isn't it?
46. Is there a popular piece of headcanon that other writers use that you dislike?
Scootaloo the homeless orphan, because it's so completely out of place with Equestria as presented in the show and so obviously a cheap emotional ploy. It's on par with Richard Nixon's dog.
47. Have you ever written a story or blog post just to explain some part of your head canon (other than this one)?
No
48. Does your head canon influence things like your favorite pony, ship, or episode?
I don't think it does
49. Would it bother you if the show proved part of your head canon wrong? Any specific piece that would really bother you to lose?
Only if it were replaced by something I actively disliked. Braeburn being straight wouldn't be a problem (and let's all be honest here, it's pretty likely the case) but Braeburn dating a character I disliked might be.
50. Is there something that wasn't asked about here, but you feel like you need to explain to everyone?
If you're wondering how he eats and breathes, and other science facts
Then repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax"
Huh. Haven't seen one of these in a while. Thanks for it. Though I'd love to hear more about number 10 and the Diamond Dog oil rig.
2207474
For more information on the Diamond Dog oil rig, consult the Metal Gear Solid 5 trailer from E3.
Just, don't be eating anything while you do, because it's pretty gruesome.
2208183
Oh. All I'd heard about that game was the tactical horse pooping action. Hang on...
Huh. So Big Boss is Kratos, Kojima has a knife fetish, and the game is going to come out thirty years ago. Yeah, seems par for the course for that particular insane Japanese game designer.
2208302
I can't wait for it to be 1984!