Alternate Theories: Pound and Pumpkin Cake · 2:05am Mar 9th, 2015
When the Cakes who are two earth ponies had a pegasus and a unicorn as their children, a lot of fans were surprised, myself included. It was odd, but I was able to kind of accept it. This is a very magical world after all. Other people, however, didn't seem to be so willing.
On multiple occasions I have seen the claim that Pumpkin and Pound were actually fathered by a different pony than Mr. Cake. Most often this is the result of an affair by Mrs. Cake, although at least once or twice there were stories that had the Cakes as swingers. Honestly, neither of these appeal to me: the former more than the latter. I like the Cakes, and the idea of one of them having an extramarital affair bothers me.
Plus, it does not seem like a very creative explanation. While I'm not too fond of the swinger theory, at least it is a little more creative and not so overdone.
So, I have come up with at least two alternate theories. One is not very creative, but a realistic possibility. The other is a bit more creative and if I had a story it would work in, I would use it myself.
First: Fertility troubles. For some reason or other (maybe multiple), the Cakes are unable to conceive children on their own. As a result, they resort to getting medical assistance. It then goes as normal, where multiple eggs are fertilized and then implanted into Mrs. Cake. The Cakes don't want to admit to this, or are embarrassed, and so decide to claim they are the biological parents and make excuses as to why the child (although it turns out to be children) do not look like one of them. Additional theories could also be added here. For instance, maybe pegasi mares are more fertile and produce higher numbers of eggs, while earth ponies are fewer or simply less inclined to donate because of their own wishes for large families. Or maybe regardless of the carrier's race, innate unicorn magic is required to allow the embryo to be accepted by the host. As a result, they end up expecting to have either a pegasus or a unicorn, until they find out about having twins.
Second: Discord. This one I came up with first actually, and like because it's creative and makes sense in a way. When Discord broke free and attacked Ponyville, Mrs. Cake would have been pregnant already. I don't remember us actually seeing them in the episodes, but it is more than likely that they were in Ponyville when he was causing chaos there. Either he does something to the Cakes directly with his magic, or they are exposed to large amounts of ambient chaos magic around them. Whichever may be the case, the result is that the developing Pound and Pumpkin are exposed to large amounts of unstable magic. This could cause them to be changed in previously unexpected ways, such as changing what race they were. It could also cause them to have a penchant for causing trouble that will develop as they get older, causing their lives to be slightly more chaotic and unpredictable than usual. If the Cakes were able to figure this out, they would want to keep it secret for fear of how other ponies might react. So instead of revealing the truth -- Pumpkin and Pound are their children, but were altered by Discord -- they try to come up with an explanation as to how two earth ponies could have a unicorn and pegasus. This way, they think they are protecting the twins from ponies who may fear them and what they might do because of their inadvertent connection, seeing them as potential acolytes or future avatars of chaos. If someone wanted, these could potentially be true, causing an older Pound or Pumpkin to struggle against their luck or nature (which would probably be easier with the help of Pinkie Pie and her own odd ways).
So there you have it, two alternate explanations as to how Pumpkin and Pound could be born as a unicorn and pegasus despite having earth ponies as parents. Both seem more creative than Mrs. Cake sleeping with another stallion (or stallions) even while being married to Mr. Cake.
I personally think pound and pumpkin were a mistake. They don't add anything to the show over all and were only conceived to make an episode to teach Pinkie some lesson or other.
I'm personally okay with the show's explanation that the twins being what they were was an extreme long shot. I don't believe Cupcake cheated on Carrot because I find that Pumpkin does kinda look like him. Admittedly, her coat and mane colours aren't exact matches with Carrot's, but Shining Armor's colours don't perfect match his parents either, and Pinkie doesn't look like any of her family members.
2861303 Yeah. I mean, how does a family of grays, browns, and blues, give birth to a child with a coat of pink?
If Discord interfered with their Tribe prenatally, that could open up a lot of interesting possibilities ... especially with Discord reformed and living in Ponyville.
2861019 I disagree to the mistake part. The Cakes are a married couple who own a business and in a way have parenting experience with Pinkie Pie. It would make sense that they would eventually want children of their own. It also gave Pinkie Pie an opportunity to grow and develop as a character, showing that even while extremely goofy, she is able to step up and be a responsible adult when she needs to.
2861303 I'm fine with it as well. That's part of why I wrote this. Almost as soon as the episode came out, people were making accusations of an affair. It was irritating that in a world where they control the weather and a single pony can raise the sun, people would rather believe that a couple would more likely have an affair than simply have children that had different magically related attributes. That's what made the story Mrs. Cake Loses It really nice to read.
Pinkie Pie is a wonderfully valid point, although I have seen (but not read) a few that were to explain that. In regards to Shining Armor, Twilight would be a slightly better example. An off-white mare and a blue stallion having a purple daughter.
2862645 Yes it could. Just imagine what a skilled writer could do with. Maybe the twins have unusual luck (good, bad or both). Maybe Pound has an affinity for storms and Pumpkin is similar to Twilight (extremely powerful magic, but a bit unstable).
2862669 Not to mention the possibility of Discord being a more tangible presence in their lives ... a mentor or unofficial godfather or somesuch. Ya know, I might just pull some aspects of that into a story I'm working on that features Pumpkin starting up the CMC 2.0 (with guidance from the originals).