Must... Indulge... Headcanon... Questions!

The lovely Bookplayer and Chatoyance have raised my attention to something to get my creative juices flowing, fifty questions about headcanon.

The Princesses:
1. How old are Celestia and Luna?
Approximately three thousand years old.

2. How old is Cadance?
Approximately fifty.

3. Were Celestia and Luna always alicorns, or did they ascend?
They ascended, both from being Earth Ponies.

4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?
They'll both live about as long as Celestia and Luna will. By our standards this might as well be immortal.

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?
No. There have been many creatures which approach and surpass individual alicorns in terms of magical capability and longevity however.

6. How much authority do Celestia and Luna have in Equestria?
Celestia began the process of relinquishing legislative authorities in Equestria after the banishment of Luna. Equestrian's penchant for self management has slowly grown under this process. Celestia still retains extensive executive and judicial authority, as does Luna. The two of them hope ideally to be able to act in the interest of their ponies.

7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?
Cadence has established a system of rulership similar to Celestia's, though the self-drive of the Crystal Empire was crippled in the time it was trapped in a pocket dimension with Sombra. Shining Armor holds office in several executive positions by appointment from Cadence, but does not by default hold any office due to his marriage.

8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?
Celestia was incredibly fond of Starswirl the Bearded, who contributed greatly to pony's understanding of the underlying rules by which magic operated and interacted with other physical phenomena, as well as his works in bringing diasporic pony populations to the safety of Equestria.

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)?
Naming conventions remain distinct between the tribes. Cultural stereotypes are uncommon.

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?
Apart from cloud architecture, no. Also, Cloudsdale has no rock farms.

11. Can all unicorns learn all spells, given the time and effort spent practicing them, or is magical talent usually limited in some way?
A unicorn's magical capability is limited by two factors, raw output of energy, and specificity/accuracy with which the energy can be applied. To accomplish a specific goal, unicorns must figure out how to use the amount of energy and accuracy they have in order to accomplish it. This requires study, and can set limits on what at unicorn can learn.

12. Earth pony magic: Does it exist? What is it?
Yes. Earth Pony magic is effectively a constantly active field. It causes the domestication of suitable plants and animals, rapidly altering them into a form that is appropriate for use. Wild sheep grow wool faster, plants grow larger fruits, etc. Minerals accumulate into mineable stone. Sometimes the aura provides sensory input as well. How effective an Earth pony's aura is at accomplishing each of these tasks varies.

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?
Naming conventions are more common. Ponies will change their names in the event of significant changes in their life.

14. How much formal schooling is an average, middle class pony expected to complete?
Nine years in a school setting, followed by apprenticeship and tutelage under a pony in the field of their cutiemark/special talent/chosen field. The practice of apprenticeship in Equestria typically lasts a decade. The relationship between master and apprentice is regarded as familial, though distinct from biological or marital relations.

15. What’s the average lifespan for a pony? At what age is a pony expected to be independent of their parents?
Approximately three hundred years. A pony is expected to be pursuing apprenticeship on their own initiative by fifteen.

16. Are there roughly an equal number of male and female ponies?
This is partially dependent on the population of an area. Low population areas typically have a higher occurrence of female births. The viability of Y-chromosome sperm in males is lowered because of hormonal regulation in environments with a low population.

17. How informed are most ponies about things that happen in other parts of Equestria? What about other parts of the world?
Ponies are not particularly knowledgeable of events in other parts of Equestria or the rest of the world. Communication technologies are nearly nonexistent within Equestria.

The Main Characters:
18. How old are the Mane Six? Spike? The CMC?
At season 1...
The Mane Six: ~25
Spike: ~12
CMC: ~9

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?
After her time on the ground, Fluttershy apprenticed to a shepherd, a forest guide, a veterinarian and an entomologist as she pursued ever more specific knowledge of animals. During this time her contact with Rainbow Dash was minimal, but neither would characterize it as drifting apart.

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

21. What do Twilight and Spike consider their relationship to be?
I wrote a story about this.

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 moved in with the cakes at age twelve, and is effectively an apprentice, though in Equestria, as I said before, that relationship holds connotations of closeness and affection.

23. Who among the Mane Six had the best parents growing up? The worst parents?
Fluttershy grew up with only her mother raising her. Her mother had very stringent rules about her interaction with others and her education as a pegasus. Fluttershy arguably had the worst parents. The best parents may have been Twilight's.

24. Why didn’t the CMC hang out more/know each other before Call of the Cutie?
There were still an appreciable number of ponies without cutie marks. By the time of Call of the Cutie though, they were the only ones in their age group without cutie marks.

25. Is Scootaloo an orphan? Will she ever be able to fly?
She is not an orphan. She will be able to fly.

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

27. How is Sweetie Belle’s relationship with their parents different than Rarity’s was?
Sweetie Belle is benefitting from Rarity's efforts with regard to her parents. Their parents are taking a more hooves-off approach with Sweetie Belle than they did Rarity, but also making sure she spends an appreciable amount of time with her elder sister.

Side and Background Characters:
28. Is Mr. Cake the father of the Cake twins or not?
Mr. Cake is the father of the Cake twins.

29. Are Big Mac and Cheerilee an item, romantically?
Big Mac and Cheerilee still don't know the answer to that.

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?
His family line is descended from the unicorns that first settled the area immediately surrounding Canterlot Mountain, establishing a principality. When it became the seat of Equestria's capital, they maintained the title.

31. Is Silver Spoon equally as bad as Diamond Tiara?
Again, watch Season Five.

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?
Yes.
33. Why does Daring Do publish her stories as fiction?
For the safety of herself, her contacts/friends, and the security of the artifacts she has recovered.
34. Do you have a strong headcanon for any non-speaking or one line background ponies that you want to share?
Philomena, Celestia's pet phoenix, is older than Celestia. While sapient, Philomena's memories of her past lives are hazy. Philomena originally joined Starswirl the Bearded as a companion after Starswirl led a group of freed pony slaves from their diamond dog masters, to the safety and freedom of Equestria. Philomena inexplicably gets excited by the color pink and images of lightning bolts.

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?)
Species that gained their sapience/speaking abilities due to exposure to Earth Pony magic, including cows, sheep, pigs, dogs, and cats, are still considered a responsibility of their pony caretakers. Species independently endowed with sapience/speech such as diamond dogs and chimera are considered to be fully responsible for themselves, including the consequences of their actions. Ponies try to be amenable to all sapient species of this category, but given the near universality of their hostility such as the case is with chimera, they hold them in little esteem, and consider them even more horrifying than non-sapient predators such as the Timberwolf.

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?
Diamond dogs possess two remaining city states in the mountains south of Equestria. Buffalo have their nomadic range in the badlands. Zebra and Minotaur exist under the same government largely. Some very old dragons have their own city states which they rule. Griffons have their own nation as well, though most of the race is seafaring.

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?
No, and never imply that they are if you value your insides being inside.

38. Do all zebras rhyme?
Most of the time. The manner of their enchanting and alchemical magic means that the steps of a 'spell' are reinforced by rhyming. In conversation, it's considered a favorable method of staving off boredom while still communicating.

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

40. Do any species have types of magic, other than ponies and zebras?
Diamond Dog digging abilities are heavily reliant on 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, though pony town construction is certainly an additional hindrance.

Headcanon and You:
42. Do you consider official sources other than the show (comics, card game text, movies, novels, etc.) to be canon?
All sources, even the show, are simply sets of tools to be used at my, or any other's personal discretion to form their own cohesive image of Equestria.

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

44. Can you easily accept the headcanons of different writers? Do you prefer when stories match your headcanon?
I can accept the headcanons of different writers for the purpose of enjoying their stories.

45. Is there a part of your headcanon that you wish was more popular among writers?
Not really?

46. Is there a popular piece of headcanon that other writers use that you dislike?
Lyra and Bon Bon romance, Vinyl and Octavia romance.

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

48. Does your headcanon influence things like your favorite pony, ship, or episode?
Not really, no.

49. Would it bother you if the show proved part of your headcanon wrong? Any specific piece that would really bother you to lose?
Look at my answer to question 42 before continuing. Yes, it would bother me, but I'd be able to disregard it. The headcanon I'd hate to have infringed upon would be Philomena and Starswirl.

50. Is there something that wasn't asked about here, but you feel like you need to explain to everyone?
Yes. Pony hearing and smell is exceptional, but their night vision is quite poor. Thestrals/bat ponies are a distinct tribe, and are an exception to poor night vision.

Comments

[Shine]

Wow. I know this was written quite a while ago but you put a lot of thought into this! I'm really impressed at all the detail you've formed.