Headcanon Q&A · 6:13pm Apr 11th, 2014
A cannon, with two 'n's, is a piece of artillery.
So someone posted a blog with a list of 50 questions concerning headcanon. Because I'm bored and can't get to sleep, why not?
The Princesses:
1. How old are Celestia and Luna?
You should never ask a lady their age. But I reckon somewhere in the vicinity of four to five thousand is about right.
2. How old is Cadance?
Early 30s.
3. Were Celestia and Luna always alicorns, or did they ascend?
I'm of the school of thought that they were always that way.
4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?
Longlived, yes. Immortal? Maybe.
5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?
I'm undecided on that one. So, a 'maybe', I guess. After all, no telling what Discord did.
6. How much authority do Celestia and Luna have in Equestria?
A lot of things get delegated to ponies with actual training. After all, Celestia knowing how to tweak a budget so it stays in the black consistently seems silly, given it;s something that takes dozens of people here on Earth. There is a Senate, where the politicians argue and debate, but in the end Celestia and Luna have a final say in any decision if they want to or feel it's needed.
7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?
Shining takes care of things like law enforcement,
8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?
Students, clearly. She takes an apprentice whenever a unicorn does something that shows that they need a special kind of teaching to stop them from being a danger to everyone around them.
Family? Some of the noble houses rightfully lay claim to being of her blood, but she wishes that they would try and make a name for themselves on their own merits.
Lovers? Well, loneliness is inevitable at the top, so finding a confidant is important.
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)?
Of course there are cultural differences. It would be silly if there weren't.
As for stereotypes? Well, yeah.
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?
Good luck finding cloud-based furniture in a place like Ponyville. Or finding a solid oak table in Cloudsdale. Materials are used according to how much sense it makes. While pegasi can compact clouds so it can support a non-pegasus/griffon, it's usually easier to just manufacture to suit the environment.
11. Can all unicorns learn all spells, given the time and effort spent practicing them, or is magical talent usually limited in some way?
The limit is that it has to be related to their talent. So, a unicorn who has a talent for finding things can learn a metal detection spell, a motion tracker spell, an infrared vision spell... But they try to learn a spell to breathe underwater? Far more effort than is considered safe is needed.
12. Earth pony magic: Does it exist? What is it?
Yes. It's what allows them to grow crops at constant high yields, train animals with ease and work in places like construction sites without breaking a sweat. It also manifests in their high natural physical strength and endurance.
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?
Common with both farming families and nobility. Farmers so they can keep track of their clan, nobility because they want ponies to know what house they belong to.
As the majority of ponies aren't either, though, these are minority cases. Some of these ponies even change names if they decide to.
14. How much formal schooling is an average, middle class pony expected to complete?
Five years of secondary schooling, which leaves them at around 15 years of age. If their talent is specialised, then there is an expectation for them to continue.
15. What’s the average lifespan for a pony? At what age is a pony expected to be independent of their parents?
Somewhere around 70 to 90, depending on factors like lifestyle and diet.
The average is somewhere between 15 and 18, depending on their talent.
16. Are there roughly an equal number of male and female ponies?
The ratio is somewhere around 6 females to 5 males in most places. In others it can be as bad as 9 mares for every 5 stallions
17. How informed are most ponies about things that happen in other parts of Equestria? What about other parts of the world?
Only if it's something that has a chance of affecting them, like taxes, or something momentous like Luna's return. Otherwise, local matters are more important as they are more likely to change their lives.
The Main Characters:
18. How old are the Mane Six? Spike? The CMC?
Twilight is 20, Rainbow and Fluttershy are 22, Pinkie and Rarity are 21 and Applejack is 19. Spike is around 13 to 14. Apple Bloom is 12, Sweetie is 11 and Scootaloo is 12 as well, though eldest by a few months.
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?
She obviously went back up to complete her schooling, but her parents didn't enroll her in any more flying classes than strictly necessary.
She and RD did drift apart for a while, as their studies took them in different directions.
20. Rarity and Applejack both seem to have grown up in Ponyville. What were their interactions like before the show?
Almost non-existent, beyond a polite 'hello' if they happened to pass each other. Rarity stayed in school to take courses that would help her business, while AJ dropped out at 14 to ease the pressure at the farm.
21. What do Twilight and Spike consider their relationship to be?
Mainly Brother/Sister with a mix of Employee/Employer.
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?
She was apprenticed to the Cakes at 17, and works for room and board with some of her pay going towards savings.
23. Who among the Mane Six had the best parents growing up? The worst parents?
Applejack didn't have any parents beyond the age of seven, so that's worst by default, I guess.
As for best... Probably a tie between TS and RD, as both sets would have been incredibly supportive of their talents and goals.
24. Why didn’t the CMC hang out more/know each other before Call of the Cutie?
They had other friends who either abandoned them after they got their marks or moved away.
25. Is Scootaloo an orphan? Will she ever be able to fly?
No, her parents are in the Guard, and she lives with an aunt in Ponyville.
Her wings aren't deformed, but the normal flight methods taught to pegasi don't take into account differences from the norm. Her wings are simply different, and work in a different way.
26. Will Apple Bloom’s cutie mark involve an apple in some way, even if it’s unrelated to farming or baking?
It's a family thing. She is an Apple, her mark will involve an apple.
27. How is Sweetie Belle’s relationship with their parents different than Rarity’s was?
They tend to dote on her a bit and try to build her self-esteem through little white lies, like praising her bad cooking. Rarity didn't get such treatment, and is a little bit annoyed at her parents for this.
Side and Background Characters:
28. Is Mr. Cake the father of the Cake twins or not?
Yes. Pony genetics is weird.
29. Are Big Mac and Cheerilee an item, romantically?
Once upon a time, years ago. Not anymore, and it looks set to stay that way.
30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?
Birth into the one house with the closest ties to both the pre-Unification royal family and Celestia.
31. Is Silver Spoon equally as bad as Diamond Tiara?
She sticks around to try and mitigate the damage. Sometimes, though, she fails to be the better half and comes across just as bad.
32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?
Given enough training? Yes.
33. Why does Daring Do publish her stories as fiction?
Because fiction sells and nopony would believe anything she writes actually happened.
34. Do you have a strong headcanon for any non-speaking or one line background ponies that you want to share?
Not particularly, no. Maybe I should work on that.
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?)
If they can provide written proof or communicate verbally, then that is considered a definite 'yes'. Otherwise, there are tests they can take to prove they are capable of higher thought.
Eating another sapient in all but the most direst of circumstances is considered completely and utterly wrong.
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?
Yeah. I haven't worked out much in the way of specifics, though.
37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?
Discord did stuff to cows ages back.
38. Do all zebras rhyme?
Zecora does it because she learned Equestrian by listening to songs. Now it's a habit she just can't break.
39. Do zebra cutie marks work the same way as pony cutie marks?
No. They're much more vague, if they have any meaning at all.
40. Do any species have types of magic, other than ponies and zebras?
Well, griffons have the same magic as pegasi, obviously. The Diamond Dogs are masters of mining, jewelery-making and other such things related to rocks and precious stones. Minotaurs are master architects and metalsmiths. Cows have similar magic to earth ponies, but nowhere near as potent.
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?
A bit of both, one leading to the other. The buffalo are happy with where they live, and see no reason to visit pony towns. As a result, pony towns don't build to accommodate buffalo.
Headcanon and You:
42. Do you consider official sources other than the show (comics, card game text, movies, novels, etc.) to be canon?
If it doesn't clash too heavily, then yes.
43. Do you have one headcanon that you always use, or do you switch depending on projects?
Scootaloo's parents being in the Guard.
44. Can you easily accept the headcanons of different writers? Do you prefer when stories match your headcanon?
I like seeing what they do with the world. And while it is nice to see overlap, I prefer it when they do something different.
45. Is there a part of your headcanon that you wish was more popular among writers?
Scootaloo's parents being in the Guard. It's the perfect explanation!
46. Is there a popular piece of headcanon that other writers use that you dislike?
Blueblood the douchebag. Yes, he acted like one. Doesn't mean he's always that way, though. It could have been an act.
47. Have you ever written a story or blogpost just to explain some part of your headcanon (other than this one)?
I don't think so...
48. Does your headcanon influence things like your favorite pony, ship, or episode?
Not really.
49. Would it bother you if the show proved part of your headcanon wrong? Any specific piece that would really bother you to lose?
If they confirm Scootaloo as an orphan, I will be very unhappy. It's unoriginal. (I admit making her a military brat isn't terribly original either)
50. Is there something that wasn't asked about here, but you feel like you need to explain to everyone?
No, I think this covers it all.
25. My personal headcanon is her parents are prolific businessponies. Most of the time she lives with her aunt Quick Fix, who gave Scoots her scooter.
She can't fly cause neither parent is a pegasus so she never learned proper wing maintenance, and having naturally weak magic didn't help.
38. HEADCANON
46. I believe all it took was one look at Rarity sent Blueblood's gold digger alarms ringing.
2000746
46: More or less my logic, yeah.
Now everyone and their waifu will post blogs with this list. Notification post I knew thee well, for now I shall have to ignore you for a few days.
The stories were delayed for THIS?!?
In all seriousness though...
I am not amused... Although some of this Blog is interesting, my headcannon that I wish more people used would be the multiple changeling hives thing, with the one that attacked Canterlot being the "vocal minority"