I might have mentioned the Quinnaverse in one of my journals. I might have mentioned it’s the ‘wacky things that don’t fit anywhere else’ ‘verse. I’ve not actually ever put up any art the eponymous Quinna, but that may change soon as I’m on a kick for this ‘verse right now.

In the Quinnaverse, Scootaloo is a hippalectryon – half horse (front end), half chicken. They don’t have beaks traditionally, but whatever. ^{^} She looked like a pegasus up until she earned her Cutie-Mark because her parents (she has them! they’re both pegasi but Motherloo has ‘lectryon in her ancestry.) didn’t want her to grow up being weird so they had her enchanted. I mean, not the best idea but I guess they thought it would help?

Relatively little information exists about hippalectryons – they don’t have any legends around them like Pegasus – but from what little you can glean off Wikipedia they’re quite interesting. They look so ridiculous to inspire laughter in any who look at them, which banishes evil. They also share the trait of crowing with roosters – whose cries are also said to banish evil. They’re associated with the Sun, and also act as guides for the souls of the dead. They were used as symbols of protection.

So when Pinkie Pie dressed as a chicken all the back in Luna Eclipsed, all I could think was that whoever came up with it was a genius. I’m half-convinced Granny Pie must have been a hippalectryon, and she certainly was in the Quinnaverse.

I figure they must be some odd sort of hippogriff sub-species or something.