Parental relationships

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

The subject of parenthood itself was somewhat explored in the Baby Cakes episode and in that direction -- although not technically -- there's also the Family Appreciation Day episode with Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. I've got no reason to believe we won't see more episodes that explore a parent-to-child kind of relationship or give parent characters a bigger role.

 

For one thing, we got somewhat of an idea of how awkwardly Rarity relates to her parents in the Sisterhooves Social episode. 

 

We know who Twilight's parents are and they did appear twice so far but not a single line from them yet. Also, how do you think they would relate to their children now?

 

Well, that's just one thing off the top of my head. 

[Espurr 449]

I don't know. Maybe like My daughter's a princess, yay! Or whatever.

[Pastel 7,627]

They must do an episode about Twilight's parents. I guess they're very proud of their son and daughter.

 

I find the show lacks of episodes about parental relationships.

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

We know Rainbow Dash had a dad.

 

From absence of statement, many take the lack of mention of parental relationships to mean that Fluttershy is an orphan but I don't subscribe to this notion.

Pinkie simply doesn't life with her parents. Which is fine I guess.

The show seems to indicate that the mane cast are mature enough to not need adult supervision the majority of the time, but the lack of parental interaction is indeed egregious.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Blue

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

I would certainly love to see Twilights parents interact with her. Not only is their eldest captain of the royal guard, but their daughter is now a alicorn princess. It would be interesting to see if they follow the normal "my child is famous" narrative that so many celebrity parents do in the real world.

 

Also Scootaloos parents. We have shown she has a house, and an entire room to her self. So if she is an orphan, then she is certainly not an Oliver Twist. But I would love to be able to put that fanon to bed, and just show her parents, or confirm that she does not have any.

[ManaMinori 4,144]

We know Rainbow Dash had a dad.

 

From absence of statement, many take the lack of mention of parental relationships to mean that Fluttershy is an orphan but I don't subscribe to this notion.

Pinkie simply doesn't life with her parents. Which is fine I guess.

The show seems to indicate that the mane cast are mature enough to not need adult supervision the majority of the time, but the lack of parental interaction is indeed egregious.

I can't remember, but did Dash say that that guy was her dad, or are we just implying, here? Could be her brother, for all we know.

 

again, i can't remember if it's confirmed that he's her dad or not- as in, she actually SAID it,

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

I can't remember, but did Dash say that that guy was her dad, or are we just implying, here? Could be her brother, for all we know.

 

again, i can't remember if it's confirmed that he's her dad or not- as in, she actually SAID it,

He does look like a fully-grown stallion where Dash was just a little filly. Very unlikely that he's her brother instead of her father because there seems to be a very significant age gap.

 

 

 

The show seems to indicate that the mane cast are mature enough to not need adult supervision the majority of the time, but the lack of parental interaction is indeed egregious.

Egregious that they seem totally disconnected from them. I get that the title of the show is Friendship is Magic but the concept of friendship doesn't have to be confined to people you're not related to. Though it can be argued that the mane 6 are in touch with their parents but it's just that it isn't shown or talked about in the episodes.

 

Though if we look at things from the perspective of the writers, episodes involving parent-children interactions aren't that straightforward because at the end of the day, every episode needs to deliver something on top of being entertaining. That said, I don't believe it to be a coincidence that Mr. and Mrs. Cake's foals ended up twins with one being a unicorn and the other a pegasus. It just may not have been as entertaining had the most likely scenario happened; that being a single earth pony foal. Take that as just an example.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,154]

I can't remember, but did Dash say that that guy was her dad, or are we just implying, here? Could be her brother, for all we know.

 

again, i can't remember if it's confirmed that he's her dad or not- as in, she actually SAID it,

 

IIRC I do not believe it was ever confirmed by the shows staff and I am sure Dash never made any on-air comments about the older rainbow-maned stallion that she was with. It seems to imply that they are related, but it is never explicitly stated.

[Cassafrass 249]

I would certainly love to see Twilights parents interact with her. Not only is their eldest captain of the royal guard, but their daughter is now a alicorn princess. It would be interesting to see if they follow the normal "my child is famous" narrative that so many celebrity parents do in the real world.

 

Also Scootaloos parents. We have shown she has a house, and an entire room to her self. So if she is an orphan, then she is certainly not an Oliver Twist. But I would love to be able to put that fanon to bed, and just show her parents, or confirm that she does not have any.

I feel the same way! An episode about the mane six' parents would be amazing, as would seeing Scootaloo with her parents.

[Forlong 1,725]

Don't forget Seabreeze.

 

So beautiful!

[Jeric 46,837]

I kind of expect them to introduce an implied single parent equation into the show somehow. Maybe Dash or Fluttershy.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

If this is an umbrella topic for parental relationships, allow me to say Rarity's relationship with her parents is one of the most fascinating areas of the show for me.

 

As seen in "One Bad Apple," her parents have a cozy little house on the docks.

 

 

I like to imagine that this is where Rarity was raised, as well - that small, sunlit home on the docks just down the hill from where she would soon set up her boutique, her dad working as a fisherman for a living, catching exotic Equestrian fish to display in the Ponyville Aquarium and her mom being a stay-at-home mother.

 

Rarity was an ambitious filly, and that's what lead to who she is now - she despised her parents' lifestyle, even if she loved them

 

Their slovenliness is what led to her desire for all things to be prim and proper, and I can see her often cleaning up their messes as well as hers as a kid, even though she didn't have to.

 

I've also been particularly interested in her relationship with her father, Magnum.

 

He's a BIG stallion, as we've seen before. Big Mac size, actually, so we know he's a big and strong fella. I can see him being one of those dads who's ultra protective of his two daughters - the kind who'd pull out a shotgun on his daughter's dates when they showed up at the house to pick them up. He'd be extra protective of them.

I don't see much of a struggle of him getting along with his children, though - he'd just be lazy. I see a problem with Rarity and her mother, though

 

I can see Pearl being one of those mothers like this:

 

 

Her heart would be in the right place, but she'd end up embarrassing her daughters more than helping at times. I can see her being obnoxiously loud in public, calling out to friends all the way across rooms, etc. She'd basically humiliate her daughters, namely Rarity.

 

Of course, she'd still love them to pieces and be a good mother when it came down to it, and the same goes for how Rarity and Sweetie Belle feel about her.

 

Overall, it's a fascinating relationship that I'd love to delve deeper into later, but I gotta jet right now
 

 

 

 

 

[Jennabun 1,578]

I want to know more about Fluttershy's family background. I think it would be absolutely fascinating.

 

I can see her as the type of pony who loves her parent(s), but just prefers to live a more independent life due to her introverted personality. Or maybe her parents travel all over the place and don't really have time for her. I could also see her as the type who has a bad, uncomfortable relationship with her parents and that's why she prefers life on the ground so much. Perhaps she could have been raised in a foster home type situation.

 

I would guess that she's an only child, since she never had much experience socializing with other ponies. Or maybe she just has siblings much older or younger than her and she never bonded with them very well.

 

Orrrrr perhaps this is all just reading too much into the fact that Fluttershy's family hasn't been mentioned, and the writers are just waiting for a special time to reveal everything? I don't know.

 

I also would love to see more Pinkie with her parents/sisters. I would think Pinkie is NOT the kind of pony who would just up and leave her family and never talk to them. I bet the interactions between her and her sisters are hilarious, her being all crazy and her sisters being all serious.

Edited June 3, 2014 by Jennabun

[Red Cedar 1,408]

I'd definitely like to see more on the relationships between the ponies and their parents. As it is, we've only really seen anything about Rarity and Pinkie Pie's parents. Twilight's have been seen, but not shown to do much. Rainbow's have only been seen in a flashback. Fluttershy's had no mention of her family at all. Applejack has had plenty on her family life, but nothing on her parents directly because, well, you know...

 

So I'd love to see some more on Fluttershy, Scootaloo and the other ponies' parents. It would be neat to see.

[Forlong 1,725]

Forget the mane six.  I want to know who Discord's parents were.

[Magical Anarchy 177]

Forget the mane six. I want to know who Discord's parents were.

Yeah, that'd be more fun. That art is awesome!

[Eloquence 2,076]

I would love to see more about the Mane Six's parents, but in some instances I can't imagine it would happen. This is a show for children, so I doubt we'll ever hear much about Applejack's parents unless they decide to do an episode that gets really deep + sad. 

 

And as far as Fluttershy goes, based on the fact that it seems like she moved out of Cloudsdale as soon as she possibly could I don't think she has a positive relationship with her family. In fact, my personal headcannon goes so far as to say that she suffered some emotional abuse as a child. That, I imagine, would be difficult to address with a child audience... 

[Washougal_Otaku 1,020]

Forget the mane six.  I want to know who Discord's parents were.

 

YES!!!

 

I would love to see more about the Mane Six's parents, but in some instances I can't imagine it would happen. This is a show for children, so I doubt we'll ever hear much about Applejack's parents unless they decide to do an episode that gets really deep + sad. 

 

And as far as Fluttershy goes, based on the fact that it seems like she moved out of Cloudsdale as soon as she possibly could I don't think she has a positive relationship with her family. In fact, my personal headcannon goes so far as to say that she suffered some emotional abuse as a child. That, I imagine, would be difficult to address with a child audience... 

AJ - Or they could tap into an idea that I have about her parents being at another family farm...

FS - I can see your logic on that, but it could also be possible that her parents are the encouraging types; they might've even believed that this would've been the best for their little scaredy bird.

[Pastel 7,627]

It would be very interesting to see and know about Fluttershy's parents. I don't think there has been anything about them in the show yet?

No, absolutely nothing...so far.

[LED Dasher 228]

The show does an AMAZING job of depicting sibling relationships. I would love to see it look into parental relationships and I'm sure it can be done in a similar manner.

[kelseymarie805 300]

If this is an umbrella topic for parental relationships, allow me to say Rarity's relationship with her parents is one of the most fascinating areas of the show for me.

 

As seen in "One Bad Apple," her parents have a cozy little house on the docks.

 

 

I like to imagine that this is where Rarity was raised, as well - that small, sunlit home on the docks just down the hill from where she would soon set up her boutique, her dad working as a fisherman for a living, catching exotic Equestrian fish to display in the Ponyville Aquarium and her mom being a stay-at-home mother.

 

Rarity was an ambitious filly, and that's what lead to who she is now - she despised her parents' lifestyle, even if she loved them

 

Their slovenliness is what led to her desire for all things to be prim and proper, and I can see her often cleaning up their messes as well as hers as a kid, even though she didn't have to.

 

I've also been particularly interested in her relationship with her father, Magnum.

 

He's a BIG stallion, as we've seen before. Big Mac size, actually, so we know he's a big and strong fella. I can see him being one of those dads who's ultra protective of his two daughters - the kind who'd pull out a shotgun on his daughter's dates when they showed up at the house to pick them up. He'd be extra protective of them.

 

I don't see much of a struggle of him getting along with his children, though - he'd just be lazy. I see a problem with Rarity and her mother, though

 

I can see Pearl being one of those mothers like this:

 

 

Her heart would be in the right place, but she'd end up embarrassing her daughters more than helping at times. I can see her being obnoxiously loud in public, calling out to friends all the way across rooms, etc. She'd basically humiliate her daughters, namely Rarity.

 

Of course, she'd still love them to pieces and be a good mother when it came down to it, and the same goes for how Rarity and Sweetie Belle feel about her.

 

Overall, it's a fascinating relationship that I'd love to delve deeper into later, but I gotta jet right now

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, that's a really interesting concept, I think I can actually see Rarity's parents being a lot like that too. 

 

Also, to add to the discussion, I would love to see more on the parents too, it would all be really interesting, I think it would be neat to see an episode where they show brief backgrounds of each of the Mane 6's parents, as well as explaining why they're not in the picture. As someone mentioned, it could very well be that they are there, but they're just not shown very much. I don't really feel like it's like that though.