Ponyleaks: Lauren Faust FAQ

Lauren Faust has published an FAQ on her DeviantArt journal (via EqD). She is always getting swamped with questions over questions from fans, and probably has close to no time for answering them. If she does, her answers are quickly washed from the first pages by the influx of new comments. With this FAQ, a large chunk of the more frequent questions and their answers is now easily accessible right there on her journal.

The answers don’t contain any major revelations as far as I can see. Since she hasn’t been involved in the show’s production since April, she has only limited knowledge of future developments, and of course doesn’t give away anything she does know about the second season.

The questions and answers are grouped into the four categories “Animation Job FAQ,” “MLP:FiM FAQ,” “More technical MLP:FiM FAQ,” and “Me FAQ.” I’ll skip over the first section, but have a concise summary of the latter sections after the break.

The mane six’s “maturity level” (not necessarily age) is somewhere between 12 and 18. She had already answered that in a comment.
“I imagined [Equestria] as a country, but beyond that it is left intentionally undefined.” In Hearth’s Warming Eve it seemed very much country-like and Jayson Thiessen has also vaguely and even more vaguely commented on this.
“Is it Derpy Hooves or Ditzy Doo?” “It sounds like it's finally landed on Derpy Hooves, but you should ask the current show runners.” Well, the experts on Derpy’s name are this way.
Applejack’s parents are AWOL by definition. (“Where are Applejack's parents?” “To put it bluntly, we just never figured it out. …”) However, “there was brief discussion of them being traveling salesponies or explorers, but … nothing was ever made official.”
And about her role in season 2: “On Season 2, as ‘Consulting Producer’ I was involved in story conception and scripts only (with the exception of ‘The Return of Harmony,’ which I saw through record and storyboards.) I saw roughly the first half of the season through to final script, and the second half I only helped with concepts and attended the story meetings. My part in the show ended in April 2011 and I am no longer involved in the show.” Here is her corresponding journal entry (from early May).
Oh, and this question: “What do you think of Rule 34 applied to ponies?” “It’s not my thing, but I know that it comes with the territory of having your work on TV, so I’m used to it. I admit I avoid looking at it, and would rather not have it pointed out to me—so please don’t!” This answer may be partially triggered by this picture. (If you are Lauren Faust, don’t click; you know it already.)
And her name is pronounced “F-ow-st. Like, ‘how now brown fowst.’” But she’s repeating herself.