She was abandoned because she couldn't fly.

Interesting idea?

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She was abandoned because she couldn't fly.

You'd think that would be less of an issue for changelings, though, since they could always just mimic a unicorn or earth pony.

...Actually, if Scoots was a changeling, why wouldn't she do that? I suppose posing as a flightless pegasus could be a way to gain easy sympathy, but it would still be a disadvantage when trying to pass for an ordinary pony.

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No.

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Yeah, I shouldn't post when I'm hungry. This headcanon's stupid.

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Are you starved for love?

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A little bit. W-what? N-no of course not.

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Meh, it's been done. Didn't go the abandonment route, though. Not creative enough for my tastes.

Also, Crippleloo is getting tiresome. It's hardly worth the effort arguing anymore.

always though that she is the separated daughter of blueblood
And the principal reason of that awful actitud
Of him, after all if i was separated of my daughter by some reason (nobility) i would be very pissed whit the world
The headhouse invest on giving her a home and a pair of "aunts" to watch over her.
just because a prime example if nobility like blueblood can't be the sire of a crippled Pegasus filly. Or something like that said her grandparents before trowing her away

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Actually, I wouldn't say full on changeling, but perhaps part changeling. This is based on observation I have looked at recently. There are other fillies her age that are flying, but when they fly, they flap their wings at a pace our eyes can see a fluent motion. Watch the most recent episode, and there's a character in there that will show what I mean.

When we look at Scootaloo's wing flapping, she's doing at the pace of, what seems like a humming bird. One other pony like race that does that are changelings. Now I'm not saying this is the only reason she should be considered a changeling, but I see it as a promising factor.

Another aspect to look at, is changelings once drew their strength from consuming love from ponies. What if, because Scootaloo is only feeding the pony side of herself with actual food, and not feeding off of love, she's not able to fly like everyone else who has wings since she's half starved? She may not even know she's a changeling. And that talk she had with Rainbow Dash in Parental Glidance, also can show of promising factor of love-food depervation. Not to the point of starvation mind you, but not enough to strengthen her. But that's just my thoughts. I can't say it's the stone written truth.

Now, I know that would bring up the question, which parent is the changeling? To be honest I don't know. And I don't even know if Chrysalis's changeling kingdom was the only kingdom. We have to consider the possibility that one of her parents could be from a different, perhaps even rival hive. Now if she was from the hive of Queen Chrysalis, well, there is three possibilities:

1. Her father is part of the Changeling hive. This could be an easy scenario where the father could keep his mouth tight lipped about the situation, so the Queen didn't find out he cross-bred.

2. Her Mother is part of the Changeling hive. This scenario is much more complicated. I mean. I don't know if Scoots would be a hatchling, or a live birth, since she's part of two different races. But her mother, would have to have her somewhere in secret without Chrysalis knowing about the pregnancy, and warrant and explanation as to why she was gone for a period of time, but that part can easily be remedied by saying she was patrolling for potential targets for the queen.

3. (Most unlikely) Queen Chrysalis is her mother. Well, I mean, who's to say Chrysalis didn't have a fling with a pony before she tried to woo Shining Armor. And who's to say she wasn't or isn't carrying a child of his as well (I don't know how long gestation/egg development is for changlelings). Unnerving I know, but you have to consider the possibilities of what happened during the events of the wedding. So Scoots could have a little half brother or sister.

But yeah, those are the three explanations of being part changeling I can come up with. Now I am not saying this is canon, but I consider the possibility, based on what I have observed about Scootaloo and other pegasi her age recently.

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Wings:



Seems to be more than just Scootaloo that flies that way.

Not as fast, but much faster than they typically flap when depicted as adults. Seems to be just a thing that smaller wings often get animated as flapping faster.

Not hummingbird fast, but still fairly fast flapping.

Pretty small wings.

So, the changelings are not the only "pony-like" race to flap that way. Ponies also flap that way. Overall it feels like they're not trying to suggest something like, "Scootaloo, Bulk Biceps, and Zippoorwhill are secretly changelings/changeling hybrids." It instead seems to indicate that these three fliers are "trying hard." In Zippoorwhill's case, she's a highly energetic little pixie. Bulk Bicep's case, he's got ridiculously tiny wings, but tries super hard, and is incredibly enthusiastic. Scootaloo's hummingbird effort seems to fall in line with those two.

In contrast, even when small, Rainbow Dash, Gilda, and Pound Cake all just seem to flap "a bit fast." And all three are exceptional fliers. Rainbow Dash needs no explanation, Gilda was her friend and often raced and competed with her in their youth, indicating she's a strong flier. Pound Cake being able to fly as well as he can while still an infant was supposed to be shocking to us.

"Normal" ponies like Fluttershy, Gabby, and various other ponies, griffons, and hippogriffs flap more sedately, with a bit of increase when they're pushing themselves.

As for the love-food item, eh. Scootaloo's parents aren't as supportive of her as Rainbow Dash's parents were, but Scootaloo clearly has Rainbow Dash's love, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's love, and probably some from her parents even if distant. Not enough to "starve to death" but even if she was starving enough to feel malnourished, it seems like she'd be far less enthusiastic in her general demeanor. I'd expect her to be slow and sluggish like Snails. Or if she pushed herself as hard as she tends to in the show, she'd wind up exhausted all the time. We could also expect to see her being a bit frail, but she seems just as robust as her two friends.

On the other end of the scale, our bodies are pretty good at guiding us towards eating that which we need to eat for nourishment. It is among the many senses we have once you learn there are way more than five. If Scootaloo's parents being distant was somehow a damper on her gaining enough love to grow up properly, you'd expect her to seek out love wherever. Whatever instincts young changelings have that urge them to seek out love nourishment, she'd have those instincts too. I'd expect her to be a lot more interested in gaining love from those around her. Not just merely making friends with a couple of fillies and fangirling over Rainbow Dash. I'd expect her to be seeking the attention and adoration of her classmates, much more like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

I think in order for this idea to work, you'd have to change Scootaloo from what we see in the show. The "wings" idea is really grasping for straws, and the "love-malnourished" idea just doesn't really feel all that fitting. Both feel like trying to take an idea and fit it like a square peg into a round hole, just hoping the hole is large enough for the peg to fit. You could get it in there with force even. But no one looking at it would agree it was the right shape for that hole.

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I'm going to contribute my own theory: Scootaloo is part giraffe.

Do you see what I see? Orange spots. Scootaloo is orange. Giraffes also have purple/black tongues. Scootaloo's mane and tail and eyes are purple.

Also, giraffes are canon:

Scootaloo's parents are distant because they're dual citizens of Equestria and Zebrica, and they have to travel a lot. Their jobs keep them busy in Zebrica a lot.

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Well, like I said, I wasn't saying my idea was canon, but something to consider. And you did point out a lot of holes in my hypothesis, and I have nothing against that. I will admit, some of the stuff you showed me, and explanations you had, I didn't think about at the time, and I feel quite silly about that.

I do have other hypothesis's about how she could be half changeling, but the more I think about them, the more I can debunk them myself.

This is kind of the reason why I want Scoot's parents to be canon, so any theories we make about Scootaloo's life can be shot down in glorious fashion. And to be truthfully honest, I'm tired of hearing fans say Scootaloo's an orphan cause the show doesn't have her parents in it. Yes, it can make for some good fanfics, but that theory is just as likely as the one about Rainbow Dash being Celesita's daughter because both have a rainbow colored mane, which I'm pretty sure was disproved, when we were introduced to her dad, Bow Hot Hoof, who also has a rainbow mane. A mortal descendant? More probable, but still unlikely, but daughter, I highly doubt it. So I have my reasons to think Scootaloo has parents we haven't met yet. We'll just have to wait and see. And I'm rambling. Sorry.

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Interesting hypothesis. Never thought about that aspect. But the question that remains is, which parent is pony, and which parent is giraffe?

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I do have other hypothesis's about how she could be half changeling, but the more I think about them, the more I can debunk them myself.

That's all I can ask of anyone, really. Just keep thinking about whatever idea you have. Debunk parts if you can. Attempt to tear the idea down. But also keep an eye out for other parts that support it too. Even in my response to you, I offered the possibility that not only is Scootaloo part changeling, so are four others (I forgot Featherweight in my original post and only specified three of them). I mean, if Scootaloo is part changeling, why aren't others?

The important part is, "OK, now what do we do with this?"

OP and others try to bring up speculation like this in an effort to answer questions they have about canon. Rather than simply waiting to see if Canon will answer that question on their own (they often do).

If you have, like, a fanfic in planning and are trying to puzzle out the ramifications for an idea you plan to use in your fic, that's another story. What you presented looks like the start of how that should look: have an idea, find bits of canon that support it. Present the idea. Others, like me, may pick out things you didn't consider, like four other ponies who flap their wings exactly like Scootaloo does. Maybe these holes are too much for you to want to use the idea, and maybe if you had used the idea, readers of your fanfic would have objected to your idea. This lets you come up with a different, better idea.

Or, maybe picking holes at the idea can inspire you to anticipate them, and patch them yourself within your story. Four other ponies in particular flap the way Scootaloo flaps. Maybe there is a long history of changelings occasionally mingling their DNA into the gene pool, and they're responsible for what is not too uncommon a disorder that renders some pegasi incapable of flight. Maybe your fic could explore that idea. Maybe it would star a medical doctor researching the disorder.

The idea could lead to an interesting fic. And if the idea is being driven to such ends, more power to you and your creative efforts. But do explore your ideas thoroughly, and examine them for holes. Seek to make your ideas the best they can be.

Interesting hypothesis. Never thought about that aspect. But the question that remains is, which parent is pony, and which parent is giraffe?

Scootaloo has two parents. Each of them has two parents. And so on, and so forth, back who knows how many generations. Somewhere in that family tree is a giraffe/changeling/whatever. Perhaps some of her ancestors has a lot more giraffe traits. Maybe a lot of her ancestors, despite having some giraffe DNA, had no outwardly visible traits indicating such. Maybe orange, yellow/tan, and purple just happen to be pretty common colors in her family tree. Maybe a lot of her ancestors were earth ponies or unicorns, and not particularly impacted by giraffe traits. Maybe one of her great, great, greats had two horns, but really weak magic.

There are far too many possible family trees to lay them all out. It also isn't that important to specify exactly which ancestor was the last full-blooded giraffe. Unless one of her parents being one adds something specific to the story, there is no reason one of them is that odd parent (this works for your changeling idea too, if you hadn't caught on yet).

Is the story about Scootaloo herself and her weird DNA and the effects that has on her life? Then her parents probably ought to be normal ponies. Is the story about "Scootaloo and her weird mom/dad?" Then that determines which parent is the giraffe.

None of this serves even one iota of value towards the OP's question though. Idle speculation that attempts to offer headcanon to answer blank spots in canon material are all useless and even harmful. Too many headcanons have been utterly smashed by canon. A lot of people impacted by this are super butthurt about it. As you said, it would sure be nice if canon got around to clearly indicating what Scootaloo's parents are like. They've managed to show us Sweetie Belle's parents and now even Apple Bloom's (dead) parents.

Yet the headcanon that Scootaloo is an orphan lives on until they do. Despite the fact that Apple Bloom literally is an orphan. Once canon tells us more about Scootaloo's parents, we'll get to watch the butthurt people crying about their broken headcanons. All the fans of Orphanloo might even quit the fandom in rage (probably not). And when neither parent is a giraffe or a changeling or a hippopotamus or an animated kazoo, some people will be disappointed. May as well not wasting time trying to be one of those.

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None of this serves even one iota of value towards the OP's question though. Idle speculation that attempts to offer headcanon to answer blank spots in canon material arealluseless and even harmful. Too many headcanons have been utterly smashed by canon. A lot of people impacted by this are super butthurt about it. As you said, it would sure be nice if canon got around to clearly indicating what Scootaloo's parents are like. They've managed to show us Sweetie Belle's parents and now even Apple Bloom's (dead) parents.

Well...

It partially depends if you consider non-show sources canon. The Ponyville Mystery books may not show Scootaloo's parents, but they do tell us that they are alive, busy, and are away a lot and Scootaloo's Auntie Loftie and Aunt Holiday usually stay with her when they are gone.

Now, this is a book series, but it's written by two authors who also write episodes for the show. The bits about Scoots parents being busy and away a lot is also what Lauren Faust had said she had in mind as far as Scoots parents goes, too.

It'd be nice to see it confirmed on the show, but I'm pretty much defaulting to assuming the family situation shown there. It's interesting to note that Aunt Holiday is Scootaloo's father's older sister, and is an earth pony...

--Sweetie Belle

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Only the show is canon until the showrunner explicitly states anything else is canon.

Other sources, like those books, are useful source material for discussions like these, writing fanfic, and so on. But to be canon would imply that material from them is fully equal in explanatory value as an episode.

For example, Tanks for the Memories is an episode. In order to fully understand the episode, you can be expected to have watched May the Best Pet Win. Without watching that, since Tank isn't a regular character, you might not understand much beyond that he's Rainbow's pet. If someone has only watched a handful of random episodes, their understanding of Tanks for the Memories is lower, but we can all agree that is their problem and they ought to watch more episodes. Their lack of understanding is their fault, not a fault the show can be expected to anticipate.

By suggesting the books are canon, that would allow the show to present episodes which treat the books that way. If they reference Scootaloo's aunts in passing conversation, without explaining who they are, introducing them to us, or anything of that sort, they could get away with it easily if they expect viewers to have read the books. Since they're not canon though, the show isn't ever going to do that. We both know that if Scootaloo's aunts are ever in an episode, they'll be introduced to us as if none of us has ever read the books.

That's the part everyone who tries to argue things like the books, the comics, and so on are canon fails to grasp. "Canon" as far as we're concerned, are characters, places, and events that are real and exist or did happen within the continuity of the show. A Canterlot Wedding happened. It introduced Cadance and Shining Armor to us. From that point on, they can just have Cadance or Shining Armor show up in an episode, we all know who they are. The show can't do that with Aunt Lofty yet. Nor will it if/when she's every in an episode.

People spend to much time trying to argue things like, "well, it doesn't contradict canon, therefore it is." No. That isn't how this works at all. There is far more to canon than just lack of contradiction.

As for the authors of the books being staff on the show: not really important. What it means is that they have permission to write (and sell) the books, probably due to some agreement involving profits with Hasbro. It also means that your speculation that future episodes may include material from the books is more likely than it otherwise would be. That still doesn't make it canon now nor does not being canon make the material any less useful to discuss and/or fanfic with.

Unless the showrunner for MLP:FiM officially declares anything else but the cartoons to be canon, they're not. It isn't something that needs to be figured out by us, as it isn't our place to do so any more than it is our place to tell some fanfic author what did or did not happen in his or her story. No matter how well-written or badly written some other source might be, it is canon if the author of a book says it is canon, or the showrunner of a series like MLP says it is. And only then.

And maybe, just maybe, someday, this conversation will stop having to be had.

As for the relevance to the topic: I am well aware of the general existence of Scootaloo's aunts, as declared by the book. There are implications that one of them is Scootaloo's biological aunt, and the other is her girlfriend/wife. Until I get my hands on some copy/copies to read to determine how much I happen to like them myself, or the show decides to introduce them to me in their own way, I am not particularly interested. And, as always, the show might decide to entirely ignore those books and present Scootaloo's home life in an entirely different way. Settling too much on headcanon only to have it dashed by canon is still a bad idea.