Depending on how it tracks, I'm potentially descended from Rob Roy MacGregor.
What makes the issue confusing is that after what Rob Roy did, the MacGregor name became outlawed, so the clan split up and took on various other names, like MacGreg, Gregg, Gregor, that sort of thing.
I always wondered about that. To have a nephew, either Celestia or one of _her_ ancestors must have, ummmm, done something which can't be mentioned on a children's show.
If each pony-couple averages just 3 foals, then there ought to be 1.5^54 -- over 3 billion equally valid claimants! Of course, I don't know how ponies figure primogeniture. Obviously not limited to just the male line. (Issue probably never came up, what with immortality and all.)
Actually, if he was descended from Celetia, then he'd be her (multi-great) grandson, not nephew, so it's quite possible BlueBlood is descended from Luna.
According to Faust herself, he is the "great great great great great great great great great great great (and probably even more greats) nephew on Celestia's and Luna's mother's side, about 52 times removed, roughly speaking."
This wording implies that he's actually descended from one of Celestia's cousins and not a sibling, and "nephew" was because it was simpler, or that no one knows how cousins work
It's probably the former, as he was originally supposed to have the title of "Duke" and it was changed simply because someone at Hasbro thought kids wouldn't know what a duke was
If cousins were involved, that would only raises more questions, like who are Celly's and Luna's cousins? Why haven't we heard of them? Are they also royal and seemingly immortal?
Though a mom figure is also equally mysterious. Were the sisters born alicorns?
Implying that Celestia and Luna have parents raises even more questions! Either or both could have become parents by adoption and they've had a very, very long time to take mortals under their wings both figuratively and literally.
If Celestia needs an N-grand nephew it's trivial to posit Luna adopting a foal many centuries ago.
Actually, it's mentioned by Celestia herself that neither her nor Luna were born alicons. This comes when Celestia says "No alicorn has ever been born one before" when referring to Flurry Heart. This means that, at some point, Celestia and Luna were born as normal ponies/unicorns/pegasi. At some point, like both Twilight and Cadance (both who are also confirmed to have become alicorns and were not born as such) Celestia and Luna became alicorns via some sort of trial. Likely, Star-Swirl had some hand in it. Possibly, even, Star-Swirl was the cause of the first alicorns, Celestia and Luna.
Which then begs the question... Are alicorns immortal? Celestia has ruled Equestria for 1,000 years, yeah, but is it possible that she only did so because she and Luna were connected to the Elements of Harmony? Perhaps, the Elements kept them sustained and alive through those 1,000 years. Could it be, then, that Celestia and Luna, as we've seen with Cadance, are aging normally again? After all, Cadance was an alicorn as a teen, but she grew up, and I doubt that Cadance would choose to marry if she was knowingly going to live forever, obviously outliving her husband and even children.
The son of my sibling is my nephew.
The son of my nephew is my grand nephew.
The son of my grand nephew is my great grand nephew.
So on.
Note that none of the nephews are removed in any way.
The son of my first cousin is my first cousin once removed (descending)
The son of my first cousin once removed descending is my first cousin twice removed descending.
The son of my first cousin twice removed descending is my first cousin thrice (or three times) removed descending.
So on.
The son of my second cousin is my second cousin once removed descending.
So on and so forth.
My second cousin is NOT the son of my first cousin.
My second cousin's parent is my parent's first cousin.
My third cousin's parent is my parent's second cousin.
So on.
Genealogy is the same patterns over and over and over again.
What the DM said is random babble and doesn't mean anything at all. :)
Although they won't mention it on a children's show, Celestia isn't a monk, and is clearly not so ascended she doesn't secretly pine to be "one of the girls." To wit, I point to her "Trollestia" moments, when she tries to liven up her life with random acts of utter chaos.
Celestia has obviously had coltfriends at various points in her life. She just doesn't have one right now. As for why Canterlot isn't drowning in Celestia's relatives, there are two possibilities. The first is that it's actually fairly hard for Celestia to get pregnant, for whatever reason.
The second reason is that she courts fillies more often than colts, specifically to prevent the influx of royal offspring who would dilute the power of the family line. She has special prodigies she all but adopts every generation, and they stand in for her as children most of the time. But now and then, she sees a pretty face. And if that face is male, it's time to expand the royal nursery...
The third option: She's just a pedophile. The only ones she's willing to get close to are children, and I wouldn't be surprised if she had colts and fillies as students in the past. Given how quick she is to abandon those that disappoint her (like Sunset), I doubt most colts that she gives the pleasure are old enough to get her pregnant either way, so it's an incredibly rare occourence.
Turn that around: Celestia <i>isn't</i> a pedophile. She's thousands of years old; it must be hard for her to have a serious relationship with a pony one percent her age.
I rather think she just uses birth control. Given that most families in Equestria seem to have 1-3 children, either birth control exists or ponies have very little sex. 'Tia is a very busy princess, so it's probably been a long time (or perhaps never) since she's chosen to have a foal, since she knows she doesn't have the time for it.
Or her immortality doesn't extend to refilling her ovaries, and she hit menopause around a thousand years ago. (Cue some joke about hot flashes.)
I've always thought Blueblood was the descendant of an adopted colt or filly from back when Equestria was still recovering from Discord and the like. Like, the child of a dear friend of Celestia and Luna. Either that, or an adopted child from the devastation that Nightmare Moon and Celestia caused.
As far as I know my great grandfather was some kind of noble. In East Europe. Should ask my grandpa whether he the Communists got him or not.
(Dear Princess Celestia,
I learned, that binge reading a comic with several years of content will make you feel as if you were aging at a higher rate. Still worth it.
Sincerely,
TheStevest.
My best friend asserts she would be royalty in Ireland if the peasants hadn't gotten hungry.
Everybody's a potential heir to some throne.
What makes the issue confusing is that after what Rob Roy did, the MacGregor name became outlawed, so the clan split up and took on various other names, like MacGreg, Gregg, Gregor, that sort of thing.
And my maternal grandfather was a Gregg.
Story time?
Sure, let's go with that one.
I know, preferably a story, but the closest thing I got is a talking mimic that wanted to become president.
If each pony-couple averages just 3 foals, then there ought to be 1.5^54 -- over 3 billion equally valid claimants! Of course, I don't know how ponies figure primogeniture. Obviously not limited to just the male line. (Issue probably never came up, what with immortality and all.)
This wording implies that he's actually descended from one of Celestia's cousins and not a sibling, and "nephew" was because it was simpler, or that no one knows how cousins work
It's probably the former, as he was originally supposed to have the title of "Duke" and it was changed simply because someone at Hasbro thought kids wouldn't know what a duke was
Though a mom figure is also equally mysterious. Were the sisters born alicorns?
If Celestia needs an N-grand nephew it's trivial to posit Luna adopting a foal many centuries ago.
Which then begs the question... Are alicorns immortal? Celestia has ruled Equestria for 1,000 years, yeah, but is it possible that she only did so because she and Luna were connected to the Elements of Harmony? Perhaps, the Elements kept them sustained and alive through those 1,000 years. Could it be, then, that Celestia and Luna, as we've seen with Cadance, are aging normally again? After all, Cadance was an alicorn as a teen, but she grew up, and I doubt that Cadance would choose to marry if she was knowingly going to live forever, obviously outliving her husband and even children.
The plot twist is that there is no royal family, and everyone makes it up. Celestia knows the truth but is too amused by it all to say anything.
The son of my sibling is my nephew.
The son of my nephew is my grand nephew.
The son of my grand nephew is my great grand nephew.
So on.
Note that none of the nephews are removed in any way.
The son of my first cousin is my first cousin once removed (descending)
The son of my first cousin once removed descending is my first cousin twice removed descending.
The son of my first cousin twice removed descending is my first cousin thrice (or three times) removed descending.
So on.
The son of my second cousin is my second cousin once removed descending.
So on and so forth.
My second cousin is NOT the son of my first cousin.
My second cousin's parent is my parent's first cousin.
My third cousin's parent is my parent's second cousin.
So on.
Genealogy is the same patterns over and over and over again.
What the DM said is random babble and doesn't mean anything at all. :)
Celestia has obviously had coltfriends at various points in her life. She just doesn't have one right now. As for why Canterlot isn't drowning in Celestia's relatives, there are two possibilities. The first is that it's actually fairly hard for Celestia to get pregnant, for whatever reason.
The second reason is that she courts fillies more often than colts, specifically to prevent the influx of royal offspring who would dilute the power of the family line. She has special prodigies she all but adopts every generation, and they stand in for her as children most of the time. But now and then, she sees a pretty face. And if that face is male, it's time to expand the royal nursery...
Or her immortality doesn't extend to refilling her ovaries, and she hit menopause around a thousand years ago. (Cue some joke about hot flashes.)
(Dear Princess Celestia,
I learned, that binge reading a comic with several years of content will make you feel as if you were aging at a higher rate. Still worth it.
Sincerely,
TheStevest.
Keep up the good work.)