Dear Baby Ribbon:

I have a question.  Okay, you are Baby Ribbon, and your mother is Ribbon.  I got that.  But what about babies like Baby Rainribbon, Baby Noddins, and Baby Frosting?  What about the Newborn Twins and the Teeny Tiny Ponies?  Do they have mothers?

Mary Elizabeth in Montana

Dear M.E.:

Actually, they grew from pods.  No, of course they have mothers!  Everybody has to have a mommy.   A Ponyland with a bunch of orphans running around?? That would be so sad!  And Ponyland is a happy place.  Always!

Look, it's easy.  In the Western human world, if there is a guy named John, and he has a son, he could name him John, Jr.  But couldn't he also name him George, or Bob, or Hippocrates, or Elvis, or whatever?  Well, we have a comparable tradition here. 

My mom is Ribbon, so she named me Baby Ribbon because I happened to have been born with a ribbon symbol like she has, and because I had that same breathtakingly gorgeous traffic-stopping 100% natural red stripe.  But what if I had been born with a different symbol?  That is, actually, what happens most of the time.  Then she would have named me something else, based on my physical characteristics, which would be perfectly acceptable (even preferable) in most mainstream pony circles.

I am extremely proud to be named after my mother, but most other Little Ponies are equally proud to be named what they are, regardless of whether or not they have a namesake.   Our names tell everyone about who we are, and there are not many things more satisfying than being proud and thankful for who you really are.