An interesting questionnaire indeed

A while back I found This little questionnaire. And just like the descendant, I got impressed by how easily it divided the canons and simplified them, so I decided to write my share. It would help others understand where I stand in the community.

The Princesses:

1. How old are Celestia and Luna?

I got to say they are either as old as the events of hearts warming eve, maybe a little older maybe a little younger.

2. How old is Cadance?

Around the age of Shining Armor

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

This is where my Canon and the rest of the bronihood differ: For me, Celestia and Luna ascended into alicornhood by raising the moon and the sun alone without the assistance of others. If I am to throw a wild guess I'd say that was sometimes after hearts warming eve when most of the unicorns have forgot how to raise the sun and moon.

4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?

No, and neither were Celestia and Luna when they newly ascended some thousand years ago, I think immortality among alicorn is something achieved which would further alter the pony's appearance, that would explain why Luna was in a weaker form after being defeated the first time.

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?

Definitely, if there weren't any, That would negate the essence of my canon.

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

I think both Celestia have equal authority: they are in charge of domestic affairs and military, we have yet to see the presence of a foreign country so I ruled that out as a possibility, I also think that each city have it's own domestic constitution that dictates how it works, with the mayor of said city being acting ruler.
There are however two points I like to clear about this particular topic:

The first is Luna's role in sleep walking: I think that is a strategy Luna is implementing since she returned after a thousand years, most of the previous generations have already a predetermined mistrust toward her, so Luna is aiding the crusaders and the younger generation in general as an attempt to regain the trust that she already lost.

The second is Luna sleeping patterns: most seem to think that Luna stay awake after raising her moon, sure that may have been the case in the past, but I don't think that that is the case now. For me Luna's original problem is that her ponies shunned her moon and slept through it while she remained awake alone, after her banishment and returning as Nightmare Moon, and being defeated, she decided to change that pattern, in the episode for whom the sweetie bell toils Luna was awake during the day. I also think that walking through every pony is an ability that requires her to be dreaming as well, something she must have acquired while spending a thousand years on the moon with nothing to do but plot revenge.

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

He is a captain of the royal guard, his authority is a military one, while Cadence's authority is the civil part of the ruling.

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

Star Swirl the bearded may have been a mentor so I think he counts as important, Lovers? I don't know, maybe with other previous now dead alicorns? depends on how the story develops and what new characters may emerge. Normal ponies? I don't think Celestia consider them important since she had seen too many to count.

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)?

I would expect Cloudsdale to have some few stereotypes since all it's residence are pegasi, other than that I see none.

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?

No that would indicate that Pegasi didn't need earth ponies in the first place, and the event of hearts warming eve would be useless.

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

With time and effort, sure, though I doubt they needed them.

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

Yes it does, though it appears in different form than that of unicorns, I think it is something to do with growing plants at an incredibly fast rate, as seen in hearts warming eve (yes I rely heavily on that episode for my canon)

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?

Possibly the families that are specialized in an area have one, that aren't specialized in an are don't. the apple family: apples. I think Pinkie's family have naming convention with Pinkie being the exception.

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

I do think it's obligatory till end of middle school, then it depends on each pony's specialization, if it require's high level of education (ex: Twilight) then that pony will continue, if not (ex: Applejack) then the pony will stop going to school.

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

I think in the story they age much like humans do. When they expect to gain their independence from their parents? depends on the pony himself, I think early teen years is the normal age for complete independence.

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

Yes

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

Not so much, unless a cataclysmic event occurs in one of the cities, I doubt any other city will even notice.

The Main Characters:

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

Mane Six: Late teens, early adulthood
CMC: late childhood
Spike: he is the most difficult to know for sure, I'd say he is the same age as the CMC, his mentality is that of an early teen, but his body is that of early childhood. Dragons seem to age entirely different from ponies or humans.

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?

I think she returned to Cloudsdale to tell her parents what happened first, then moved to Ponyville permanently.

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

Close Acquaintance.

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

I am going to quote what the Descendant have said about them, and yes he is my favorite writer thus far:

Sister and brother? Mother and son? Best friends? Boss and assistant? None of these easy terms fully define them. All fall short, and none feel perfect. In the end, whatever they are to one another, it is based on love, trust, devotion, and shared experiences over the course of their lives together. Whatever they are to one another, she’s his big one, and he’s her little one.

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?

From the flash back of pinkie pride, I am going to assume a little while after gaining her cutie mark.

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

I'm going to vote Twilight's as best parents, worst? Rainbow maybe?

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

They may have known each other, but never really clicked until that episode.

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

Not an orphan, and am I evil if I said that I don't want her to fly?

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

That is what the series is being guided toward.

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

Sweetie Bell is the younger more spoiled child, and I don't think she care much about her parents image as much as Rarity does, another difference that I think came to light.

Side and Background Characters:

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

Why wouldn't he be?

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

No, but I think Cheerilee likes him, and that Big Mac is oblivious to these sort of things.

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?

Through blood line, probably ancient nobility like the unicorn king, possibly related to Celestia herself, though highly unlikely.

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

Yes

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?

Another yes.

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

Money? or as a cover up, if she doesn't want every pony to know that the danger is real, then making it a fiction would dissipate any tension.

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

Not at the moment

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?)

I think Griffons are considered the most equal, Zebras are extremely rare so most don't know how to deal with them, Dragons are dangerous so they stay away from them, non speaking animals are either pets or wild.

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 have two Ideas for this one, one I already explored, but the other not yet.

In my story Dragon's Tale: The city of Darkrise I theorized that raising the sun and the moon only occurs in Equestria, in the city were most of the events occur, the sun doesn't rise, only the moon. So I thought other nations have their own magic to contend with, and possibly raises the sun and moon at their own time.

My other theory is that because the ponies play a central role in this world, Equestria is left on it's own so as to not endanger that delicate balance. We already know of Saddle Arabia, but we nothing of it.

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?

What?

38. Do all zebras rhyme?

If it turns out to be something cultural then possibly yes.

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

sure, why not.

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

Sure they do, Dragon fire seem to have a lot of unexplored properties I mean Spike uses his as instant messaging.

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 live in the southern most part of Equestria, Why should their presence be felt elsewhere?

Headcanon and You:

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

I have only watched the show, I wish I can get the comics but internet transactions are rare in my country.

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

I prefer to use my own head canon, but if another project requires another canon, then that is fine by me.

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

If a story matches my canon then I would be very pleased, however I do not make a habit of getting worked up over something like this, everyone have his own ideas, and it is always great to share.

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

All of it?? Nah that is asking too much, but I do like to see more Spike/Shining Armor around, I may start a story about them, if I find the inspiration for it.

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

I absolute loath incest shipping (twilight/shining are on top of that list), I am sorry but brother sister bonds are what got me attached to the show in the first place, these type of fics creep me out beyond measures.

47. Have you ever written a story or blog post just to explain some part of your head canon (other than this one)?

No this is my first.

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

I guess? I really like to see more shining/twilight time in opposed to the cadence/twilight that we saw this season.

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?

Not at all, as I said, I do not make a habit of getting worked up for a cartoon show.

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

I do like to explain why I don't consider Celestia and Luna to be ascended ponies and not naturally born, in the episode of too many pinkies, twilight changed a frog into an orange...... If that is not godhood then I don't know what that is.
If a unicorn can achieve something like that, then why not be able to raise the sun alone? of course it takes a very special kind of pony to be able to do so which is why Celestia and Luna are so unique at it.
The other part that I would like to explain is Celestia and Luna's immortality, and the fact that there are other alicorns in Equestria's history, I think their immortality is gained through the sacrifice of an alicorn in that period. Sacrifice seem to have played some part in Equestria's history but because it's an all out kids show, I doubt that Hasbro will ever go in that direction, though something like that will give the story a more realistic feel to it.

And that is all I have

Until next time