User:Elunalis/Headcanons

This page is a collection of headcanons I have devised about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP:FiM) since Summer 2013 when I came to realize that the renewed franchise had reached outstanding levels of quality serving a unique open universe and an extensive lore.

Although I am very dedicated to staying faithful to the canons of the animated show, the chapter books and the comics and bridging the occasional gap between those sources, this page remains a product of speculation and imagination which should not be regarded as canon unless proven otherwise.

Thank you very much for your interest and please feel free to write your comments on my talk page if you wish. — Last revision: 

Main Personal Headcanons
This section gathers headcanons that apply to my general vision of the MLP universe both in fan-labor and in canon as opposed to the secondary headcanon section which gathers content that is more specific to my personal version of Equestria featured in my fan-work.

Changeling evilness has been overplayed for the sake of simplicity
Faithfulness to canon: Unknown.

My biggest headcanon guilt is that I like to consider that, in order to make the story and the moral of the show clearer and better suited for the younger audience, Hasbro required that the changelings be depicted as more purely evil than their creators (Meghan McCarthy, Rob Renzetti, Lauren Faust and art designer Rebecca Dart) intended them to be.

Therefore, had the show been aimed at a higher age bracket with more room for dramatic content, I feel that Queen Chrysalis' potentially deeper personality and her changelings' more likable features wouldn't have required to be hidden behind acts of stereotypical evilness.

In the end, whether the above is true or not, it seems to me that the MLP staff, possibly under the pressure of fans, has eventually opted for another one of those situations that are left open to interpretation with an obvious "evil changeling" storyline for all to see while a door remains open for the fans who wish to see the changelings under a different light.

Supporting Evidences

 * 1. In the official book "The Art of Equestria", Rebecca Dart (character designer for the show, including Queen Chrysalis and the changelings) states that Hasbro sent her a note saying "she [Chrysalis] wasn't scary enough". The artist adds that she had to "prove that she [Chrysalis] could be a super villain".

Sadly I cannot verify the source or the validity of this statement, which consequently has no value. If anyone would happen to be able to provide a valid source for this statement, by all means please inform me, I would be extremely grateful! "I think I can do more of what I'd like to if I wasn't restricted to such a very young audience." (source: a Q&A session retrieved from Ponychan and compiled on Equestria Daily)
 * 2. Supposedly, Lauren Faust herself would have hinted that she had initially planned Queen Chrysalis to be a more subtle character than regular archetypal, pure evil villains.
 * 2.1. Here are examples of Lauren Faust expressing her feel of having been limited by strong audience-related restrictions:

"[U]ltimately, fewer than a quarter of the episodes had this adventure aspect to it. There were several reasons why. For example, restrictions on what was considered too scary for our younger demographic put limitations of the types of stories we could tell." (source: an Equestria Daily interview)

However, neither of these comments are specifically related to the Canterlot Wedding two-part episode, so they are of little use in proving that the nature of the changelings was altered in order to meet peculiar restrictions.


 * 3. Whereas the original American version the Canterlot Wedding two-part episode puts an obvious emphasis on the changelings' "evil crave for power", a number of official foreign translations, notably the Japanese and French versions (to cite only those I can verify by myself), seem to let the changelings' struggle for food surface (resurface?) a little bit more.

This might be due to translation discrepancies but this may also be due to the fact that both cited countries generally enforce less restrictive young audience guidelines than the USA does.
 * 3.1. Please see evidence 1. from my "Emotions are a changeling's only source of food" headcanon for more details.

As a matter of fact, none of the comics have ever mentioned the archetypal evil gain of "power" emphasized during Chrysalis' first animated appearance. Instead, The Return of Queen Chrysalis comic notably uses the word "strength", which is a perfectly natural and necessary element of the life cycle of any creature that is physically limited to surviving through predation. Predators need to capture and feed on preys in order to remain strong enough to keep hunting successfully and repeat the cycle, otherwise they grow increasingly weak and eventually stave to dearth or die to a retaliating prey.
 * 4. Likewise, the comics are aimed at a higher age bracket and enjoy more freedom of content than the high-profile animated series.

This seems to show that, even though Katie Cook and Andy Price have been supporting a truly evil version of Chrysalis (source), their comics nevertheless incorporate mitigating truths that the staff of the animated show may have been forced to deliberately obfuscated.


 * 5. Furthermore, although the first and most popular MLP comic book "The Return of Queen Chrysalis" depicted the darkest and most evil version of Chrysalis up to now (Feb 2016), the later comics seem to have shifted into depicting Chrysalis as a slightly more sympathetic character, which may be a hint or a limited return to what Chrysalis might have been initially planned to be.
 * 5.1. In "The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis", Chrysalis seems depicted as a revengeful queen who favors invading kingdoms ruled by dishonorable leaders (albeit because draining their emotions may possibly be more rewarding).


 * 5.2. In "The Siege of the Crystal Empire", Chrysalis is shown to clearly understand the feelings of others even though she eventually chooses to care for nothing other than the well-being of her people whom she calls her "children".

Emotions are a changeling's only source of food
Faithfulness to canon: Probably canon (in my humble opinion).

This headcanon arguably may or may not be regarded as canon since the official materials have remained vague on the subject up to this date.

I personally find the changelings to be a tremendously more interesting species if draining the emotions of other "sapient" species really is their only mean of feeding and surviving.

Supporting Evidences
"Mes chères petits changelings vont vraiment avoir de quoi manger." ["My dear little changelings will truly get something to eat."]
 * 1. The focus between food or power seems to vary between official translations of "A Canterlot Wedding". The French and Japanese versions (to cite only those I can verify by myself), seem to respectively imply a struggle for food and a vital need for consuming emotions:
 * 1.1. The French version of Chrysalis says:

As a native French speaker, I can ascertain that there is a needy tone to it. You use that kind of statement to describe animals or people who struggle to find or get food on a daily basis.

「われわれ、チェンジリングは愛を食べて生きるのさ. 」 ["We, changelings, survive by feeding on love."]
 * 1.2. The Japanese version of Chrysalis says:

This grammar form describes a diet needed to stay alive.

"As queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects." Although, in that version, Chrysalis' later lines peculiarly diminish the sense of vital struggle.
 * 1.3. Even the original American version of Chrysalis herself does say:

"Hmm. These creatures are very loving... ...and we do feed on -love-... ...I guess we could -eat-."
 * 2. In "The Return of Queen Chrysalis" comic, Chrysalis mentions:

The fact is, "to feed on" is often used to describe the usual diet of a creature, just like one would say "carnivores [mostly, if not exclusively] feed on meat". It doesn't normally have a sense of luxury to it.


 * 3. In "The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis" comic, Twilight Sparkle notices that Chrysalis appears to be in a very poor-looking shape and asks the prison guards if they "follow her [Chrysalis'] approved diet".

I tend to believe it is very unusual to worry about the diet of most wanted prisoners unless it is critical to their health. If Twilight's words actually hint toward some sort of emotion-related diet, it would prove that emotions are truly vital to changelings, otherwise the prison staff would most definitely avoid putting the facility at risk by providing their prisoners with a type food that is also known to increase their power. If Twilight's "approved diet" doesn't involve emotions, at least, it would imply that Katie Cook and Andy Price acknowledge some sort of unusual nutritional need for changelings, which they somehow cannot or do not wish to elaborate on any further, possibly due to the restrictions I hinted in my "Changeling evilness has been overplayed for the sake of simplicity" headcanon.


 * 4. In "The Siege of the Crystal Empire", Queen Chrysalis gets into a heated argument with King Sombra, her partner in crime, over compromising the ability of her changelings to feed in a land where despair would be the only type of emotion left.

This does not necessarily prove that emotions are vital to changelings but it goes to show that Chrysalis could go to great lengths to ensure that nutritious emotions are preserved on her people's "hunting grounds", almost starting a fight against a possibly overwhelming enemy.

"CHANGELING. Shapeshifters who feed on love and sometimes other strong emotions. - excerpt from Monstrous Manual, by Marey Hijinx"
 * Changeling_Drone,_Fear_Eater_card_MLP_CCG.png. The official MLP Collectible Card Game features a card called "Changeling Drone, Fear Eater" whose flavor text says:

Again, the use of "feed on" suggest that love is the changelings' main diet. Besides, the description adds that, along with emotions of love, changelings would be able to gain nutriment from other strong emotions such as fear (as the name of the card implies), although the hinted occasional nature of this event may insinuate that such emotions could be less nutritive than love.

The Changelings' Survival to the Cantelot Wedding Events
Faithfulness to canon: Probably canon (definitely canon in the comics).

Although I respect fan-written theories suggesting that Queen Chrysalis may have fallen to her death at the end of the Canterlot Wedding (following the tradition of darker "Disney-quality" villains), I personally prefer to stay true to my rule of trying to conciliate animated and comic canons and I consequently consider that she is still alive since The Return of Queen Chrysalis comic depicts Chrysalis and her changelings surviving their inevitable crash landing.

However, the actual depiction of the changelings' very anticlimactic crash landing in "Wovey Dovey Land" in the comics does not quite fit the serious and quality villain I envision in Queen Chrysalis and I prefer to imagine a landing that is significantly more dramatic and punishing for the defeated queen and her companions.

In my headcanon, Chrysalis owes her life to a crafty usage of what little magic she was able to muster from the leftovers of Shining Armor's love. As for her subjects, I imagine it was purely a matter of luck... or lack thereof...

The changelings' insectoid chitin envelope may also have contributed to save some lives (see evidence 9. from my "Changelings are hornet-like insectoid creatures" headcanon).

Also, in accordance to those hornet-relatedness theories, I consider that a portion of Queen Chrysalis' subjects stayed back in the safety of the hive; notably guards, maintenance workers and, possibly most importantly, nurses who watch over the "brood" — the young of the hive.

Queen Chrysalis can be redeemed
Faithfulness to canon: Uncertain.

- Work in Progress -

The changelings are hornet-like insectoid creatures
Faithfulness to canon: Speculation (the insectoid status is canon).

This headcanon expends on the official MLP canon fact that the changelings have "insect features and translucent wings" (source: Elements of Harmony guidebook).

I consider that Queen Chrysalis and her changelings are not only insect-like but, more precisely, "eusocial" insectoid creatures whose physical features and behavior would best match the description of the "Hymenoptera order" (bees, hornets, ants).

Supporting Evidences

 * Official Description

Whereas the words "chrysalis" and "carapace" (see evidence 4.) are characteristics of very different creatures (respectively butterflies and arthropods/arachnids), the shape and aspect of the double pair of "transparent wings" of the final changeling design are rather typical of flying hymenopterans (even the tattered aspect is believable, although insects rarely get to sport such mangled wings within their short lifetime).
 * 1. In an interview, Rebecca Dart (the character designer for the animated series who also designed Queen Chrysalis and the changelings) says: "With a name like Chrysalis I figured she should be insect-like, thus the carapace and transparent wings" (source).

"We [Katie Cook and Andy Prince] deliberately do not answer everything there is to know about her and her hive" (source). The word "hive" is exclusive to the organization system of flying eusocial hymenopterans.
 * 2. In his comment on a preview page for The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis comic, Andy Price writes:


 * Physical Observation


 * 3. The holes scattered on the changelings' legs seem to prove that, just like any real insect, including hymenopterans, the changelings would be invertebrates and would consequently have a semi-rigid chitinous exoskeleton in place of a regular skin envelope and bone structure (endoskeleton). This exoskeleton would be rigid enough to support their legs but also soft enough to allow their knees and joints to bend in spite of the lack the visible articulations. The fact the exoskeleton always appears to remain damaged may be another proof of relatedness to hymenopterans.

The supporting evidences are:
 * Fluttershy attack S02E26.png. This changeling cannot possibly have a soft skin nor a bone structure.]]3.1. It seems totally impossible for soft skin and flesh material alone to make sharp angles, all the more when pointing upward. A higher degree of rigidity is required for a material to take such shapes.


 * 3.2. Most of the holes scattered on the changelings' legs are located in such way that they should expose leg bones (most notably their "cannon bones"), yet changelings appear to have none.

This can make sense only if:
 * [Hypothesis 1] the changelings actually have no bone structure but a semi-rigid exoskeleton instead.


 * [Hypothesis 2] the changelings have bone structures of totally absurd shapes (which appear alarmingly prone to breaking).

However, the natural regeneration process of skin and body tissues should attempt to close up the holes over time, similarly to a piercing or a wound, yet it doesn't. Conversely, exoskeletons have no self-regeneration capabilities. Instead, insects go through a regeneration process called "molting" or "ecdysis" where they shed their former shell and secrete a new exoskeleton but hymenopterans cannot undergo molting after reaching their winged adulthood state (just like other insects that go through "complete metamorphism"). Therefore, it would make sense that hymenoptera-like changelings would be forced to bear with their damaged exoskeletons.
 * 3.3. According to The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis comic, the origin of the "holes" would be physical damage done by Princess Celestia's magic.

Extra considerations:
 * 3.3.1. The fact that every single changeling spotted in recent times seems to sport hole-ridden exoskeletons (not just their long-living queen Chrysalis) may imply that:
 * [Hypothesis 1] every changeling may be born naturally with such hole patterns and the story about Princess Celestia having blasted holes through their bodies would be nothing but a legend (which would make sense to me... How could Celestia possibly blast every single changeling in such similar patterns?).


 * [Hypothesis 2] every changeling may be long-living, just like their queen, and those changelings who sport holes in recent times may be the exact same ones who sustained Celestia's wrath a thousand years ago.


 * [Hypothesis 3] Celestia's spell may have caused a genetic mutation in the changelings' DNA and newborn changelings would inherit the signature pattern of holes.

The fact that these elytra are non-functioning would make sense because hymenopterans do not have such features in the first place (it is mainly a characteristic of members of the "Coleoptera order", such as beetles). Just like hymenopterans', the changelings' wings are exposed at all time.
 * 4. The saddle-like "carapace" feature (mentioned by Rebecca Dart herself — see evidence 1.) on the changelings' back appears to actually be a pair of "elytra" – reinforced wing shields acting as wing-cases at rest. However, considering the changelings keep their wings exposed at all time instead of sheathing them under their elytra, it would seem that the changelings' elytra are non-functional and/or fused together.


 * Behavioral Observation


 * 5. Similarly to the queens of true eusocial hymenopteran species such as hornet or ants, the changeling queen appears to be the unique and undisputed leading figure of the hive/swarm (aside with a few armored changelings who have yet to be depicted exerting independent leadership).

The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis comic depicts Chrysalis' own changelings resting in similar pods. Cocons are part of the growth (or metamophosis) cycle of hymenopterans (along with numerous insects that undergo complete metamorphism).
 * Celestia coccooned S02E26.png. In [[A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2]] as well as the in The Return of Queen Chrysalis comic, changelings are depicted using green cocoon-shaped pods as a mean of containment along with other possibly untold usages.

Realistically, this performance could be the result of a strong "swarm intelligence" – the intelligent behavior of a group of coordinated leader-less individuals who act together toward simple shared goals as if they were one. Such behavior can emerge in groups of any species, including humans, but self-less social insects such hymenopterans display some of the most elaborated forms of swarm intelligence and, apparently, so do changelings.
 * 7. Still in the Canterlot Wedding two-parter, the changeling swarm masterfully subdued a strengthened garrison on high alert without a hint of any order given.

Their swarming maneuvers and swooping attacks depicted in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 are also strongly reminiscent of flying hymenopteran strategies.
 * 8. The changelings' outstanding flight capabilities seem to belong to the insect world. Aside with humming birds (and pegagus ponies, somehow!), only a limited number of insect families can achieve true hovering. Changelings even demonstrate lateral and backward flight in the episode The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2 while attempting to surround Twilight Sparkle running at full gallop.

Some studies show that an exoskeleton can be nearly 3 time more resistant than a regular bone structure (endoskeleton) of equivalent size (source).
 * 9. In The Return of Queen Chrysalis comic, Chrysalis and her changelings survive a rather unbelievably life-threatening crash landing. One possible explanation to their survival would be that the changelings' chitinous exoskeleton acted as a shock absorber.

Naturally, the totally unrelated and infamous "Looney Tunes/Team Rocket-style" death immunity also comes to mind concerning the depiction of Chrysalis' landing in the comic.

According to my researches, the air temperature inside the crater of an active volcano (but not in an state of eruption) would be about 100~140 °F (40~60 °C — source 1, source 2) despite the proximity of stagnating lava lakes whose temperature seems to range between 350 and 1100 °F (180~600 °C — source 1, source 2). Even occasional bursts or streams of "running lava", whose temperature can ranges between 1,300 and 2,200 °F (700~1,200 °C — source: Wikipedia), do not cause overly significant changes in air temperature.
 * 10. In The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis comic, Chysalis and her changelings are shown surviving the heat and toxic fumes of an active volcano, which appears to be yet another feat of insectoid creatures and notably hymenopterans.

As a matter of fact, one of the most heat-resistant creatures living on earth is the Sahara Desert ant, again, a member of the Hymenoptera order. It can "sustain a body temperature well above 122 °F (50 °C) with surface temperatures of up to 178 °F (70 °C)" (source: Wikipedia). Meanwhile, regular bees and hornets can sustain rather decent 113~122 °F (45~50 °C) body temperatures as well (source: Wikipedia). Therefore, it seems plausible that hymenopteran-like changelings would be able to survive in an active volcano provided they do not go belly flopping into lava like some dragons do!

All those actions are part of a process called of "absconding". Absconding describes the depart and migration of a whole eusocial hymenopteran colony in order to avoid starvation, disease or danger. Indeed, the need for food and danger (in the Siege of the Crystal Empire) are what seems to have motivated the chagelings' migration movements. At this time, whether Queen Chrysalis has been leaving active hives in her wake is completely unknown. I would tend to believe that Chrysalis' hive does not swarm as, otherwise, I would assume that more than a thousand years of active changeling colonization would have resulted in overpopulation issues.
 * 11. As hinted in the animated series (A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2) and depicted in the comics (The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis), Queen Chrysalis and, to the very least, a portion of her hive have been traveling around Equestria and beyond. In the Siege of the Crystal Empire, Chrysalis is even shown leading her whole hive in an emergency overseas migration process. Lastly, in The Return of Queen Chrysalis, the changelings are shown converting a whole town and castle to meet the seemingly peculiar needs of their hive.
 * 11.1 Those actions may also be reminiscent of "swarming" which is yet another typical behavior of winged hymenopteran where the queen mother quits her nest with a large half of her workers and sets off to found a new colony. The queen mother leaves a new queen behind to take over her duties in the old hive.

Secondary Personal Headcanons
Theses headcanons are more specific to my personal vision of Equestria and were devised to support a larger fan-work project. However, I still put a lot of attention to ensure those headcanons can blend as harmoniously as possible with canon.

Changelings are cursed Flutter Ponies
Faithfulness to canon: Fairly unlikely.

A recurring fanon theory which will most probably never be canon.

Although I feel compelled to acknowledge Katie Cook and Andy Price's story about changelings' origins (The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis) due to my self-imposed rule of not contradicting the animated show nor the comic canons, I still like to consider that the comics merely depict one stage in the existence of Queen Chrysalis and her people.

I prefer to assume the changelings live under a curse and formerly were flutter ponies — reclusive fairy/insect winged ponies originating from the first generation of the My Little Pony toy line and animated series. In the current Frienship is Magic generation, the whereabouts of the flutter ponies remain unknown.

The flutter ponies, just like the changelings, followed the command of a queen (Rosedust, first introduced in My Little Pony: The Movie [1986]), demonstrated overwhelming hymenoptera-like battle strategies as well as flight capabilities (compare with evidence 8. from my "Changelings are hornet-like insectoid creatures" headcanon), and also expressed an attitude toward other pony tribes that could sometimes leave to be desired.

For major First Generation flutter pony appearances, see also:
 * My Little Pony: The Movie.
 * The End of Flutter Valley (first My Little Pony 'n Friends story arc).
 * Bright Lights (sixth My Little Pony 'n Friends story arc).

The Changeling Family System
Faithfulness to canon: Unlikely.

With all due respect for real-world hive queen, I do not like to imagine Queen Chrysalis (or any other changeling queen) as an egg-laying "mother of all". Beside, Chrysalis' slender frame looks nothing like that of an egg-laying hive queen. To me, the usage of words such as "mother" or "children" between Chrysalis and her changelings are terms of endearment without any meaning of blood relatedness.

I like to assume that the changelings usually forms regular couples and have their own young who spend their earlier life-stages in the hive nursery under the care of dedicated changeling nurses.

Nevertheless, I also like to consider that the changelings have the ability to resort to "facultative thelytokous parthenogenesis", which is a form of female-only self-reproduction capability notably found among hymenopterans. Similarly to actual occurrences in nature, the changelings would resort to this alternative makeshift reproduction system notably in an attempt to reduce the food cost associated with the rearing of male offsprings (source: Wikipedia). This could be the cause of the clone-like aspect of the great majority of Queen Chrysalis' subjects.

The Changelings observe the Law of the Bees
Faithfulness to canon: Most unlikely.

I consider that, as creatures very closely related to hymenopterans (see my "The changelings are hornet-like insectoid creatures" headcanon), the changelings people has decided to observe the "Law of the Bees" as their code of law.
 * — To be elaborated —

The Changelings are linked together by an emotion-carrying Hive-Mind
Faithfulness to canon: Unlikely.

I like to assume the changelings possess a form of limited "hive mind" – the improved science fictional rendition of the real-life swarm intelligence (see evidence 7. from my "Changelings are hornet-like insectoid creatures" headcanon) which is frequently associated with insect-like hive-structured alien societies such as the Zergs in the StarCraft lore.

I envision the changling hive-mind as a link between a hive queen and her subjects which is limited to carrying the changelings' own emotions and propagating semantic memory (general long-term knowledge). Only the stronger emotion have a chance to get through the indistinguishable emotional mass of the hive. This hive-mind wouldn't allow any form of actual conversation between any changelings but a consequence this limitation is to allow the changelings to retain a stronger sense of individuality than most hive-mind users in fiction.

A changeling's disguise can consist in "becoming" a complete copy including the personality
Faithfulness to canon: Uncertain.

I consider that the changelings' shape-shifting ability would have several levels of perfection which depend, not only on individual skill but also on how much contact they can get with the pony they aim to mimic. In addition, I consider that the highest level of perfection would consist in the changelings truly "becoming" complete copies of their target ponies, which even includes having their own personality temporarily replaced with that of their targets. However, the changelings would not inherit their targets' memories. Therefore, their opinions, mood and most importantly their sense of self would remain unchanged, contrarily to other science fictional entities such as the "Flesh people" from the Doctor Who TV series who inherit memories and are consequently prone to exhibiting severe identity disorders and distress if they come to realize they are only imitations.

Supporting Evidences
In her true changeling form, Chrysalis appears to be measured, sarcastic and snickering whereas in the form of Princess Cadance during the scene in the mine, she appears to be laughing maniacally to a point nearing hysteria. I would tend to suspect that the personality depicted in the latter scene may not be that of Chrysalis but that which Cadance would display if she were in the same hateful and spiteful frame of mind as Chrysalis was in that scene.
 * 1. In the Canterlot Wedding two-parter, Chrysalis appears to have different personalities, depending on her form, even when she overtly shows her true colors.

I consider that the only early blunder Chrysalis committed was her lack of response to Twilight's childhood dance, which she naturally had no idea about since she had never inherited Cadance's memories.
 * 2. In the episode The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, the level of perfection of Chrysalis and her two guards' disguised performance seems purely otherworldly. I do not believe this can be regarded as "mimicking" anymore; I consider this scene to be an illustration of changelings truly "becoming" copies of exiting ponies, both in body and in mind.
 * 2.1. Consequently, I like to believe that, during the Canterlot Wedding events, the reason why Chrysalis made many seemingly "compromising" mistakes that only Twilight Sparkle got to notice was because she was willingly showing her true colors to the dangerously perceptive pony in a successful maneuver to stir conflicts between Twilight and her unsuspecting friends.

Isolated Hive-less Changelings grow Royal Features
Faithfulness to canon: Most unlikely.

Similarly to the way real-life hymenopteran workers develop queen-like egg-laying capabilities when they become queen-less (source), I consider that isolated changelings who somehow get completely cut off from the influences of both their queen and hive slowly grow royal features such as a developed mane and eyes with elongated oval pupils and bi-color irises reminiscent of a central heterochromia condition (as opposed to simple reflection-less eyes).

Actually he might even still remain under the influence of a queen (Chrysalis or otherwise), for all we know.
 * Changeling at the Ponyville wedding S5E9.png reason why a changeling such as Kevin, one of [[Matilda]]'s friend (source: M.A. Larson's Twitter) in the Slice of Life episode, does not grow a royal mane is because he remains in company of friends.

Nevertheless, I do not acknowledge this possibility because it automatically makes most male changeling OCs (Original Character) completely invalid and, although there are no such male character in my headcanon MLP universe, I do not wish to deny them the possibility of existence.
 * An extra explanation for Kevin's lack of evolution might be that he is a "drone" (male hymenopteran) and could consequently be unable to evolve, whatsoever.