@Amethyst_Crystal  
There was indeed a nice bantering between them, though it’s likely Spike didn’t recall any of it since 1, Celestia didn’t have him in the teaching rooms, and 2, was actually a baby.

Moondancer?

@Alexlayer  
Could be worse.

@4xblack  
I didn’t assume that it is the most likely, only that it is possible.

@moonlightaveger  
“This isn’t canon, but is a safe bet because we don’t see evidence to the contrary.”
 
That isn’t how evidence or deductive reasoning works. You can’t just assume your viewpoint is the most likely because there’s no evidence to dispute it.

@Amethyst_Crystal  
His Zebra caretaker I’m sorry.

@Daneasaur  
@Dirty Bit  
There’s unfortunately not any show canon about how long Celestia cared for Spike before making him Twilight’s ward.  
For all we know it happened almost immediately. ‘Congrats, you get a baby dragon for passing the entrance exam!’
 
Either way though, this is a nice moment between them,  
because who do you suppose Spike got that sassy attitude from?

@Darth Sonic  
By definition, headcanon is an explanation for something canon that doesn’t have a canon explanation. Of course, people will disagree where the line is when talking about what makes sense and what doesn’t, making it “good” and “bad headcanon”.
 
The problem with that in MLP is that implies something and shows another, not exactly mutually exclusive, but contradictory.
 
Now, I didn’t say that headcanon should be ignored. I mention, that Celestia’s isn’t a stuck up noble-monger because of her behavior. This isn’t canon, but is a safe bet because we don’t see evidence to the contrary. I just said that it isn’t canon, and the character is defined by canon, because if not, I can just say that Celestia is actually the most powerful creature in Equestria, owns the sun, and just lets bad things happen because she has her own godly reasons to and if anyone really made her use her powers, she’d be so powerful that she can change reality. Thus, she seems powerless because we never remember when she uses her power.
 
EDIT: Also, people will have different points where the line must be drawn. If find it easier to think that Cadance is a good mother than that she is a bad mother. But I’m not convinced that she’s a good ruler. Yet, there is nothing in the cartoon that says one way or another on both subjects.

@Darth Sonic  
As I said, the comics don’t represent the show.

@moonlightaveger  
I mean, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the whole “implications are just headcanon” idea. It severely limits a writers toolset, because suddenly they can’t utilize subtext because now all subtext is just “headcanon” to be ignored. The only reason I sorta agree with you about Celestia is because the only example of Celestia teaching Twilight presents her as a shitty teacher.

@4xblack  
@Darth Sonic  
@Meanlucario  
I think that the whole “show, don’t tell” thing is important for Celestia. First because you want your audience to experience things. Like the use of filter words in text (“He felt fear when he saw something” x “His stomach tied in a knot as his eyes found the thing”). A scene of Celestia sitting down with young Twilight, opening a book and talking to her, pointing at things, while Twilight looks at her with adoration in her eyes, as they read it together, is much more impactful than a vague implied series of events.
 
First of all, anything that is implied is headcanon. Somethings are strongly suggestive of the intention by the writer, such the fact that Celestia isn’t a stuck up bitch because she wants to be close to her subjects and wants them to relax next to them. But most of the times we saw Twilight learning something, Celestia was barely involved, normally in the form of Twilight fixing some mess or reading a pile of books.
 
And then we see a series of scenes where that happens and there is no real indication that Celestia actually took Twilight as a personal, close student of hers, other than “implications”.
 
So the reason I’m always complaining about Celestia is that the cartoon uses her a measure of power, but she’s never shown as powerful. She’s always needing someone’s help or is downright incapable of helping. This is a problem to me because Luna, for example, has been shown as capable of dealing with situations, without Celestia’s help, even when she’s also getting booted into the Damsel in Distress.
 
This is bad because when you use something that looks weak as measure of power, it makes everyone seem weak, instead of making someone so powerful that they managed to beat that standard. Also known as “doing the Worf Effect wrong” and also as “bad writing”. It’s lazy or at least uncompromised, because they’ve shown that are capable of doing it right (with Luna, Twilight, Cadance…)
 
Finally, I’m a fan. I have no shame in saying that I want to see my favorite character doing her thing. Not that I need her to be uber powerful and capable of beating any enemy. Just want to see that she can hold her own and contribute instead of being the eternal damsel in distress, “powerful, yet never victorious”. I think it’s bad writing, unless it’s intentional, and I’m not convinced that it is intentional. Also, Luna can have the spotlight, so can Discord, Cadance, Starlight Glimmer. Why not MY favorite character?

@Darth Sonic  
The comics aren’t canon, or at least canon enough for it to have anything carry over into the show.

@Meanlucario  
Usually I’d agree, but the comics did show a bit of Twilight’s tutelage under Celestia… and Celestia tried to teach Twilight responsibility by forcing the responsibility of a parent on to a 6 year old. Not the best way to present us with a wise teacher.

@Darth Sonic  
I’m trying to be a writer, so yes. I’m just saying that hints are good enough for things like these.

@Meanlucario  
… Yes? You know what “show, don’t tell” means?

@Darth Sonic  
The show also doesn’t tell us that AJ’s parents are dead.

@4xblack  
He’s making a “show, don’t tell” point.

@moonlightaveger  
What point?
 
It been stated and implied several times that Twilight received personal tutelage from Celestia.

@Darth Sonic  
Yes. But it’s fixable. It’s a huge period of their lives that could be explored and made nice as soon as they wanted to.

@moonlightaveger  
Yeah, saw that. The comics really dropped the ball there, didn’t they?

@Darth Sonic  
No. I was making a point.

@Daneasaur  
Every time I read the word “grooming,” I think of something else. Something bad.

@Daneasaur  
Agreed.

@Dirty Bit  
Twilight was hitting the books, Celestia was grooming Spike to be Twlight’s grounding assistant and connection to reality. Really would love to see just a small heartwarming moment between Celestia and Spike, perhaps even when all the other ponies are out of the room.

@Alexlayer  
Achievement is an amoral concept.
 
@moonlightaveger  
… Are you purposely being dense?