(Equestions changed to Questions. It was a dumb pun at 3 AM anyway)

Years ago, back when Friendship is Magic was a brand new thing and pony was just starting it's rise to incredibly popularity, we interviewed Jayson Thiessen about all things My Little Pony . The guy has been pluggin away at the TV series for longer than we have been around! With his recent shift to the official movie releasing in 2017 , we figured it was a good time to revisit it.Below the break, we bombard the poor guy withto make up for not bugging him all these years. Expect insights into how things work behind the scenes! Expect responses to our wild fandom! Expect movie hype! And expect a sweet potato recipe. Yeah, we went there.Head on down below to check it out!I don’t think we have ever asked this specifically, but for those not aware, what were your daily duties as director on Friendship is Magic? What are you passing on to Big Jim now that you have switched to the 2017 movie full time?It has been a whopping five years for us now, and probably more for you. What is it like working on a show that was such a huge internet sensation? Does it still amaze you that so many adult men are into cartoon ponies?The fandom tends to be a lot more critical than the original target audience for the show, especially with the rise of "analysis". Does this side of us ever bother you? Do you ever take any feedback and plan around it in the future? Or do you largely ignore it?If you knew bronies would be a thing when first planning FiM, do you think the team would have modified anything in the beginning?What aspects of Friendship is Magic do you think caused such a massive explosion of love for it? Are these things you focused on continuing to do as the seasons roll forward?Are there any especially funny moments behind the scenes that stand out to you in your years directing pony?If you had to pick a favorite thing you personally influenced in the content or spirit of Friendship is Magic during your time as Supervising Director, what would you pick?You were our first Dr. Hooves before Peter New gave him a British accent, and our first Bulk Biceps long before he had that name. Overall, who was your favorite character to voice act and why?A lot of people thought Tanks for the Memories was a way for the team to deal with the concept of death, without actually going there; especially with the crying scene. Was that the original intention?Traveling Equestria was something we did a lot of in season 5 with the Cutie Map, and we built some amazing lore for the fandom to play with because of it. Were there any that didn't quite make the cut that you thought would be a lot of fun to explore? Maybe places like Hollow Shades or the Dragon Empire?We've seen an increase in "Epic" episodes over the past few seasons. Does pony have a much larger budget than it used to? Or did you all simply master animating them so well that it leaves room for more time to really expand things out with guest stars and huge musical numbers?The season finale was probably one of the darkest we have seen with World War 2 style Equestria taking the center stage. Is that something you have always been allowed to explore? Or a more recent opening of themes?Episode 100 was awesome. Few disagree with that statement. What sort of influence did you have on the choice of brony fandom shoutouts? Did you think it was a good or bad idea, or simply that it was another episode? Is it exciting to work on a show that gets to 100 episodes or is it fairly commonplace for you these days?Of all the brony fandom characters celebrated in episode 100, Derpy Hooves was probably the most significant. She went from being completely axed a few years ago, to playing a major role with a ridiculously cute voice and demeanor in the big celebratory episode. How did you all decide on how you would portray her? Were there a few other ideas on what she would do, or how she would act in the episode?And in the realm of cutting things, we heard M.A. Larson mention a few scenes from episode 100 that didn’t quite make it, including bat ponies, a “Devil went down to Georgia” music battle between Sombra and Octavia, and more. Were there any others that you all had that didn’t air in the end?Has there ever been anything in the last five seasons that when looking back, you would have changed based on how the show played out?Is Hasbro more or less pushy about adding certain things these days? We saw a lot of product placement early on, but aside from the upcoming swan boat, the concept seems to have waned over time. (At least, I don't think I remember ever seeing Applejack with a pink truck in the show.) Do they give you a lot more freedom than they used to? Or do they still influence a lot of what happens?How does the process of getting guest stars on the show work? Is it really as fluid as a twitter message and a yes or no like we see on our end?As an obvious fan of potatoes, give us your best potato-related recipe.Was there ever any talk of a spin off series for the show outside of Equestria Girls? We saw a lot of rumbling about splitting the Cutie Mark Crusaders into their own thing early on, and obvious excitement about the idea from the fandom. If Hasbro handed you a blank check and said “Make a pony spinoff!” how would you play it out?The My Little Pony comics are one of the tools we use to survive the inevitable pony episode hiatuses. Typically, they tend to be pretty different than what we expect in the show. Luna in particular is much more silly in the comics, almost completely abandoning her serious personality in recent episodes in favor of a more "out of her timeline" jokey style. How much sharing of information between your team and IDW's comic staff is going on? Do you both typically do your own thing?In the episode Princess Spike, the OC Character Avatars for IDW MLP Comic Writer Katie Cook and IDW MLP Comic Artist Andy Price made cameo appearances as attendees of the friendship summit. How did the cameo for those two come about?We have seen this guy in the background, and despite several "hints" at a relationship with Twilight in both toys and movies, he never really went anywhere. Were there ever plans to add Flash Sentry to ponyland from Equestria Girls in a major role?And on the topic of relationships, it seems to be something that has been completely avoided for the mane 6 over the last few years. Was this due to the possible reaction from fans? Or was it never in the original vision of the show to begin with?Does the team prefer creating their own villains? Or do you like bringing in the old school G1 bad guys and modifying them to fit the current world?The number of show episodes that depend on continuity has slowly gone up over the years. How do you find a balance between keeping the show accessible for casual viewers and telling more involved stories that many dedicated viewers, kids and adults, seem to enjoy?If Hasbro suddenly decided to shift into generation 5 after the movie, would you want to direct it?Everyone wondered how you would top the Season 4 finale, and Starlight Glimmer rewriting time did not disappoint. Should we already start getting hyped about the Season 6 finale?I think that about covers it! Thanks a ton for answering our crazy fandom questions! Was there anything else you’d like to leave us before you get back to making us an awesome 2017 pony movie?Follow Jayson Thiessen on Twitter over here