Headcannons

Really? Nopony has made a topic for this yet?

I'll just leave this one here as well...

I'm not totally into headcanon, although sometimes I do like to come up with things.
My favorite, though, was the theory that Putting Your Hoof Down was a flashback episode. That idea claimed that the Stare was an offshoot of Iron Will's training. I can't remember all of the flaws of the idea, although one of them was that she writes a letter at the end. Maybe she was just remembering it and wanted to tell Celestia about it! I don't know. :/
Anyway, sorry I can't be more help. That's about as much as I could think of. I did like your little story. Lots of interesting ideas.

My headcanon consists primarily of ignoring that 'official map' that popped up a little while ago. That, and I kind of like to believe that Rarity's and Sweetie Belle's parents are rarely ever around, and are hardly an influence on the two's lives. But really I like my headcanons to be like hats. I put them on and take them off depending on the situation.

AlicornPriest wrote:I'm not totally into headcanon, although sometimes I do like to come up with things.
My favorite, though, was the theory that Putting Your Hoof Down was a flashback episode. That idea claimed that the Stare was an offshoot of Iron Will's training. I can't remember all of the flaws of the idea, although one of them was that she writes a letter at the end. Maybe she was just remembering it and wanted to tell Celestia about it! I don't know. :/
Anyway, sorry I can't be more help. That's about as much as I could think of. I did like your little story. Lots of interesting ideas.

Still might be a flashback. She might've wrote the letter way after the events took place.

I dont suscribe to much headcannon myself, but i do like to imagine octavia and vinal scratch as being friends, or will become friends. Just friends mind you, i dont see any reason to force any two characters together romanticly. I also like the concept that derpy and the doctor go on adventures in time, but then that might be because i am british and therefore have liking Doctor Who encoded into my genes or something.

Lyra and the human thing though, thats because her family has been charged with keeping an eye out for the return of their human masters for several generations, and she has been raised to respect humans who will one day return to equestria.

Offical cannon always trumps headcannon though, and i am prepared to drop these ideas at the drop of a hat.

I agree with the "headcanon as hats" idea. For example, I use "Ditzy Doo" and "Derpy Hooves" interchangeably, and I like to power up and depower Celestia at a whim, depending on how effective I need her to be. One story she'll be omniscient and omnisympathetic, while in another she's the heavily flawed troll we know and love.
How about contradictory headcanon? Stuff we know is wrong, but just can't help but clutch to our chests? For example, I think I like my Discord's temptation of Fluttershy in "The Rule of Chaos" better than how she was affected in the show.

In terms of "Headcanons as Hats", removing them as need be, here's one I like but rarely actually wear:

The only "chosen" Element of Harmony, in the sense of mystic-clod and sparkling-earth and other-magical-whooziwhatits deciding your destiny, is the Element of Magic. Then, the Element of Magic chooses suitable host(s) for the other Elements.

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:In terms of "Headcanons as Hats", removing them as need be, here's one I like but rarely actually wear:

The only "chosen" Element of Harmony, in the sense of mystic-clod and sparkling-earth and other-magical-whooziwhatits deciding your destiny, is the Element of Magic. Then, the Element of Magic chooses suitable host(s) for the other Elements.

I would argue that the spark chose the bearers, and in this incarnation the spark was a flash of inspiration twilight had when she heard her friends calling, so you would be essentialy be correct, except the spark chose twilight as magic and then drew upon her experiances for the other 5, rather than the element of magic choosing directly.

Spoiler:

Another piece of headcannon i came across recently was that celestia didnt plan out the convoulted gambit involving the elements, but instead sent twilight away so that when nightmare moon returned and overthrew celestia, twilight would be put of harms way, surrounded by ponies she could call friends. Pure coincidence (or fate, or the work of the flying speggetti monster or whatever). that twilight is not only the element of magic but also found the other 5 elements at the same time, ready to face off against nightmare moon, hence the reason celestia was late to the party.

Oh man its midnight. I have class in the morning. I really shouldn't be getting into this now.

Starting from the beginning:
Shortly after the founding of Equestria, the Alicorn Regency took control- their advanced, powerful magic over not only the natural elements, but over the wills and emotions of other ponies, allowed them to take power quickly and without much oppostion. While ponies may have been peaceful, other races were not so much, so the King <NAME UNKNOWN> of the Solar Throne designated the creation of an army, for protection. While never on the offensive, he managed to end any and all campaigns into Equestrian territory, including the Griffons, Changelings, and, to a lesser extent, the Humans. Where as the others were defeated and sent packing, the Humans maintained civil diplomatic ties with the Ponies, and garnered enough favor to set up their own nation along the borders of Equestria. However, a century or so later, this diplomacy fell apart. The Alicorn's themselves seemed to vanish over that time, and the Unicorn Aristocracy was less intent on alliance as they were on their own fortunes. However, peace between the two was still assumed.

Then came the second act of Griffon Aggression against Equestria. The Ponies attempted to restore relations with the humans, who would be a helpful ally. They received no response, however. Some years into the conflict, King <NAME UNKNOWN> held camp near the border of Equestria, the Human nation, and the Griffon kingdom. Exact records are conflicting, but most reports suggest that at this time, King <NAME UNKNOWN> was assassinated by a Human force of unknown size. This betrayal came as a shock to the Equestrian throne, and Queen <NAME UNKNOWN> was reportedly driven to suicide by the sudden loss of her husband. Accession to the throne was swift, however. The Eldest Daughter, Princess Celestia, took the Solar Throne, while her younger brother, Prince Terrus, refused the Lunar Throne in favor of commanding the Armies of Equestria. This was allowed, and the youngest, Princess Luna, took the Lunar Throne. Terrus and Celestia both sought revenge for the deaths of their parents, and with Celestia's blessing, Prince Terrus led an overwhelming invasion of the Human nation, ultimately ending in the mass genocide of the Human species.

While Celestia was placated by the destruction of the Humans, Prince Terrus became overwhelmed by the power, and the thirst for blood. He soon declared war on the other neighboring kingdoms, without his sister's blessing. As he became more and more genocidal, he declared all non-equine races, and especially mixed-breeds such as griffons, manticores, and chimeras, impure and vile, worthy of destruction. It was here that the Royal sisters took a stand against their brother. Utilizing the ancient magics of the Elements of Harmony, they corrupted their brother. Attempting to turn him to what he hated most, they forced upon him the form of a Draconequus. This act was the final nail in the coffin. Terrus, completely insane, declared war on his sisters and Harmony itself, and took the name Discord. The war against Discord is well documented, taking several centuries, and ultimately ended with the Sisters again using the Elements of Harmony to seal him in stone, unable to kill him as they were.

But the loss of their brother to madness, coupled with unresolved despair left over from the loss of her parents, weighed heavily on princess Luna. In her depression, she was found vulnerable by one of the Ancient demons of Equestria, a Nightmare. The Nightmare, which sought to feed on her despair and fear, corrupted her, leading her to hate her Sister and all that she stood for. Thus, Luna fell to Darkness, and Nightmare Moon was born. She shrouded the land in darkness for a decade, before Celestia was once again forced to call upon the Elements of Harmony, banishing her to the moon.

We know that 1000 years passed before Nightmare Moon was able to escape. However, in those 1000 years, things became even more complicated. Having watched her Father murdered, her mother commit suicide, turning her brother into Chaos incarnate and trapping him in stone, and seeing her dear sister fall and then banishing her to the moon, Celestia had lost her entire family, and felt the effects. 198 years after Luna's banishment, Celestia fell ill, and disappeared from public view. The cause of her illness is to this day undetermined- conspiracy theories abound, though most believe it was a sickness of the heart. Whatever the reason, Princess Celestia never recovered. She died, alone in her chambers, unbeknownst to any Pony, even her closest attendants.

Of course, most ponies know that she lives to this day, a benevolent and caring ruler; so how could it be that she died? There are much older magics in this universe than that of the Alicorns, or even the Elements of Harmony. A lost, tortured spirit without a home or body, the last of the Daughters of Kyreth, had been searching the universe for her lost sisters. The spirit was drawn to Equestria by an undetermined force, and there she found the dying Princess. In an act of mercy, she took the form of the dying Alicorn, and allowed her soul to live on elsewhere. The Daughter of Kyreth took over the body and life of the Princess, acting in her stead. knowing all of her memories and past actions, the loss she experienced, this new Celestia emerged to the world, and no pony knew what had happened. So to Equestria, and to the world, it appeared that Celestia had recovered, and has been ruled Equestria since.

There. Part 1 of my Headcanon, specifically the History of Celestia, Luna, and Discord. That brings us up to present day; the other 65% of my headcanon begins three days before the Summer Sun Celebration, and the return of NMM.

Headcanons? These are always fun.

A personal favourite of mine is my headcanon on Alicorns and similarly powerful beings. A brief overview of this one is that they're all extremely powerful beings, and typically immortal, though not unkillable. Collectively they're known as Spirits. Borrowing some themes from a favourite setting of mine, The Elder Scrolls, the MLP world was created by the two original Primal Spirits. These are the Spirits of Order and Chaos (Yep, Discord). All the lesser Spirits have either a Chaos or Order bias, and those that are balanced between the two fall within the Harmonic area. Think if it as a Venn Diagram with Harmony being the intersection. The Elements of Harmony are the remnants of six powerful Harmonic Spirits, those representing the Elements. The bearers of the Elements would quite literally be wielding the powers of six near-gods. Celestia and Luna are obviously the Spirits of the Sun and Moon respectively.

Over time I've come up with a fair bit more on that idea, like the identity of some purely fanon Spirits and conspiracies about ancient Equestria, but that's the general gist of the idea.

How about something that's less of a grand world altering background?

Changelings were all over Equestria before the Invasion, waiting and preparing, before moving to Canterlot in the S2 finale. This is why we've seen duplicate background ponies everywhere. They were actually changelings.

Okay, might as well put out mine. Pegasi don't quite have families. Well, not as far as knowledge of their families. They are taken at a young age and put into a training acadamy.

I like that "pegusi don't have families" thing. I might don that headcanon hat one day.

Now, the simple headcanons that are fanon I won't bore you with. Let's do the weird ones:

Starswirl the Bearded is Discord. They're really the only two bearded characters in the whole word who are not blatant references to other fictions. Starswirl apparently is amazingly powerful and lauded in the academic circles, but his life and his appropriate fame don't exist ("you didn't read that book on little-known historic unicorns?") so clearly it was suppressed. Then I heard the song "monster" (by Aviators), and it clicked. He literally became the monster when he was rejected by Celestia, and used his amazingly overpowered level of magic to transform himself into something that could rival her, or be her equal, so she may reconsider.

Also, parents headcanons: Scootaloo is an Earth pony with vestigial but mobile wings, one parent of each type. Applejack's parents are dead. Rarity's are the "we support you financially, so we don't need to support you emotionally" type of parents. Pinkie was outcast from her family as a child and is the Cakes' adopted daughter. Twili comes from the highest of upper-class families, explaining the ease of her and her brother's successes as children.

Colter Bolt wrote:Okay, might as well put out mine. Pegasi don't quite have families. Well, not as far as knowledge of their families. They are taken at a young age and put into a training acadamy.

You know the weirdest thing... This fits really well with the Pegasi history in my mind.

Here's a sciency headcanon!

All pony fetuses are winged unicorns, until their personal magic begins to activate in the womb. This personal magic, being basically the same thing that will determine a pony's cutie mark (though of course much much less detailed and complicated then the cutie mark magic), determines which race a pony will be and acts accordingly; if it's not going to be a pegasus, the wings fold back into the body (pegasi have three less ribs then other races), and if it's not going to be a unicorn, the horn dissolves into the bloodstream and provides the magical endurance and traits of the other races. How or why the magic chooses is not exactly understood, as it's only vaguely related to genetics; however, recent cross research with the Ennegram psychology theory shows that Earth Ponies tend to be in the Feeling triad, pegasi in the Instinctive triad, and unicorns in the Thinking triad (although these are NOT hard and fast rules). When this "Firmament" does not come to pass, the resulting child is a genuine winged unicorn; these are exceedingly uncommon and generally tragic, as the foal's internal organs are unprotected by extra ribs and pegasi endurance magic, so they usually get crushed coming out the tract. Alicorns are completely different.

Here's an emotional headcanon!

Derpy Hooves nee Ditzy Doo was once mother to a unicorn named Sparkler, but after an accident that left her with permanent damage she was convinced by well meaning ponies to give the filly up to the foster care system. However, both mother and child were shattered by the choice; Sparkler changed her name to Amythest Star out of pain and confused spite, while Derpy spent night after night wracked with guilt. So when Dinky came around, Derpy promised herself that no matter what she would be a far better mother this time around. Derpy and Amythest have since made up and forgiven each other.

Here's a diagram related to the sciency headcanon and made by Mr Uhrig!