Bookplayer's fifty questions · 9:14pm Apr 11th, 2014

The Princesses:

1. How old are Celestia and Luna?

I picture them around 1200-1500 years. If they were given responsibility of the sun and moon pretty soon after their birth, then it shouldn't have taken too long for Luna to grow jealous.

2. How old is Cadance?

30-ish. Somewhere around the same age range as Shining Armor.

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

They were born as alicorns.

4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?

They aren't, ascended alicorns aren't immortal.

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?

I haven't really considered it much. I like the thought of Luna and Celestia's parents being alicorns.

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

They have a great deal of authority. If they wanted to abuse their power, they could go a long way before someone would have the balls to disobey.

7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?

Yes. If something were to happen to Cadance, Shining should be experienced enough to lead the country without her. Also, I don't think there would be laws that state that ponies married into royalty can't rule.

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

I think of Discord as a close friend and possible love interest, before he lost control of his chaos tendencies.

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)?

Because of how things were before Equestria was founded, I think that some Earth pony racism existed, and still exists in some of the older citizens. While not getting along with each other, both pegasi and unicorns could easily think of Earth ponies as having nothing special, because they have nothing the other two races don't have. (Aside from whether or not they have Earth pony magic)

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?

Rainbowbased pastries and edible cloud food that's common in Cloudsdale. Any type of base produce that grows in the ground would be uncommon in Cloudsdale. I think they import all kinds of finished foods.

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

Unicorns can learn each spell, but without innate magical talent and depending on the power they start with, it would take a lifetime to learn them. Twilight has the talent, the magical reserve and good guidance.

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

It exists. They have the power to give nature a little help, by speeding up growth a bit and sensing where the most fertile ground is.

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?

For some a sign of kinship (Applejack) and for some a sign of royalty (Twilight), I think that having last names shared with your family is more common than not.

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

They follow normal school and when they have their cutie mark, they can choose to specialize in that, or complete their education normally. The end of the education would be somewhere along the middle of high-school since they don't have very complicated machinery or systems they need to learn.

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

70-90, and independant around 18-22

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

Female ponies are about 60% of the population.

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

I assume that the ponies in canterlot are well informed to keep up with all the gossip, along with all the big metropolitan areas. Places like appleloosa would be a bit uninformed about current events.

The Main Characters:

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

22-26, 14, 11-15

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 moved to the ground shortly after, after informing her parents. They stayed friends while Rainbow stayed in Cloudsdale.

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

I think Rarity could've actually been a bully towards Applejack. She as the 'popular' girl and Applejack as the victim who's too nice to do anything back, because she grew up that way and maybe is dealing with the loss of her parents. They eventually reconsiled after Rarity learned a lesson about not becoming popular through the wrong means.

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

Brother and sister, with a slice of occasional mother and son.

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?

Pinkie left her family, knowing that that she had to get out and see the world. She got an interest in baking, since it made parties even more super-dooper, so she applied for an apprenticeship with the Cakes. They offered for her to stay in the guest room they had, with plans for Pinkie to leave when her apprenticeship is done. Over time, Pinkie became part of the family, and the Cakes don't bring up the fact that her apprenticeship ended four years ago, as long as she doesn't.

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

Applejack, with no doubt. Even after her parents died (according to my headcanon), her family would be the most loving foster-parents ever. Rarity would have the worst. Her parents just give off a vibe of 'I do not care about my children' to me.

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

They didn't know anything they had in common yet. It's a little hard trying to check for cutie marks when you're huddled under a table hiding from an angry moon princess.

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

Yes and yes.

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

I think she would have a cutie mark related to building or repairing things, and that her family would accept her all the same, after a bit of shock for the first non-apple cutie mark in eons :)

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

While Rarity grew up fairly independent, Sweetie Belle is less so, and their parents are keen on just dumping her with Rarity because of it. As I said, I consider them bad parents.

Side and Background Characters:

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

Yes, I'm perfectly fine with something like latent genes being a thing.

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

I want them to be, but I think they're not quite there yet. Hasbro must know how many people would cry out at a confirmed relationship.

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?

Sucking up to the right ponies.

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

She's just a follower. I think she would be the most likely to turn good of the two.

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?

Yes. Zebrica is a dark and mysterious place, and the Zebras have used this magic to defend themselves for ages.

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

So people wouldn't start looking for her, so her publisher, or whoever distributes them to the book stores doesn't ask any questions.

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

Derpy isn't mentally retarded. She just has her head in the clouds too many times, but can be quite smart if the situation turns serious.

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?)

They don't differntiate between speaking or non-speaking, but rather between civilized and non-civilized. Cows are treated as equals, while Diamond dogs are enemies.

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?

Dragon nation, Griffin nation, minotaur nation, Zebrica with all kinds of species.

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?

Nope.

38. Do all zebras rhyme?

No, it's just a habit that Zecora picked up to make her life in solitary more fun.

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

I'd say yes, but I have no idea what Zecora's means :p

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

Dragons have an innate magical resistance, along with fire-creating 'magic'.

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?

Cultural. The buffalos prefer the hot climate of Appleloosa and such.

Headcanon and You:

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

Both comics and movies I consider canon. But apparently, sometimes Hasbro gets them mixed up.

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

I switch, depending on projects and what kind of headcanon.

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

I can accept headcanons when it really makes sense. Or when I really respect the writer and it compliments the story. I think I actually prefer when it doesn't follow my headcanon, so I get something new each time.

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

Discord being a past friend and/or love interest of Celestia's

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

Derpy being on the mental state of an eight year old.

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

Don't think so, but too lazy to check posts. :p

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

Negatory.

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

The discord thingie, and if they take Derpy too far as comic relief.

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

Welp, that was that