“Twilight, I guess you would know most about this since you’re super smart: Can ponies and dragons mate?” the man’s question sent a wave of murmurs through the audience. The ponies at the table looked at each other awkwardly, but none more so than Rarity and Spike, who probably had an inkling as to why the question was asked, given humans’ prior insight into many aspects of their lives.

“Um, I think we’ll leave questions like that alone—” the panel organizer began but was cut off by Rarity putting her hoof up before Twilight could speak.

“Actually, it’s perfectly all right. Truth be told, I’ve been researching this topic rather intently for my own reasons and can probably give an apt explanation regarding such.”

“Okay, then, if you say so,” the organizer shrugged, and Twilight let Rarity have the floor. Spike’s gaze was locked on her. She cleared her throat,

“The short answer is, yes, it is possible for a pony to give birth to the offspring of a dragon, and vice-versa. Nature in our world is fascinating in the fact that this can happen. I won’t go into the mechanics of it, since I’m sure if you’re mature enough to ask whether it can happen you are also aware of the act of making it happen.

“The offspring of a pony and a dragon has a few names. One is ‘dracony,’ which is a simple portmanteau of ‘dragon’ and ‘pony.’ Another name used by eastern lands such as Neighpon is ‘kirin,’ an like I said there are several more

“Both strands of DNA in a dracony child that dictate species are quite active, and will combine rather than drown one another out, which is what renders many other species combinations impossible. The result is a baby that retains various anatomical features of both species.

“Take, for example, a unicorn mother and a dragon father,” Rarity’s eyes flicked toward Spike for a barely noticeable time, “The child would be born as a pony would, straight from the mother. It is likely the offspring will have a coat and mane like a pony, as well as a quadruped body. The visible combinations manifest themselves in the horn and hooves. There may be two horns that curve backwards like a dragon’s, but are still capable of magic manipulation like a Unicorn. The hooves may end in some sort of hoof-claw combination.

“Especially in the case of a pegasus parent, the child will likely have wings, though whether they are pony or dragon wings is random. Some draconies retain the ability to breathe fire, while others lose it.

“Granted, much of what I say is speculation based on only general genetic research. There are few records of dragon-pony offspring in Equestria, especially in the last few centuries, which unfortunately have seen rapidly declining dragon numbers. There are larger numbers of dragon-pony couples documented, but few produced children as the pony parents were not keen on raising a child that could not get a cutie mark, which is a huge part of pony culture, as I’m sure you’re aware.

“To reiterate, it is possible for a pony and a dragon to mate. It is also, however, extremely uncommon.” There was silence for a short time, followed by a crescendo of applause. Even Twilight clopped her hooves a few times.

“I couldn’t have put it better myself. You really have been researching this well,” the purple alicorn said. Rarity took a long drink of water from the bottles that had been set aside for them. Wiping her mouth with a napkin she said,

“Yes, well, one must bear in mind the intricacies of life that may arise in any possible future.” She blushed slightly after taking another sidelong glance at Spike.

“Okay, who’s next?” The organizer asked. Hands fired up again, and the organizer indicated to his assistant to bring the microphone to a girl in the front row. She asked,

“Applejack, you’ve got that hat on almost all the time. Where’d you get it?” Applejack looked up at her head as if she had forgotten there was something on top of it. She smiled,

“Oh, that’s an easy one! This here Stetson used to belong to my Pa! Y’all wanna hear the story about how he gave it to me?” Various words of affirmation came from the audience.

“I don’t think you’ve even told us about that hat,” Pinkie said, attempting to swipe it from Applejack’s head. AJ kept it on and Pinkie fell over, eliciting laughter from humans and herself. In a moment it was dead quiet, though. Years of fan speculation was about to come to an end, the answer coming directly from the pony who knew best. Right before she began, Rainbow Dash returned to the room, looking exhausted and toting a fizzing glass of water, likely medicine for her earlier gastric discomfort.

“Hey guys, sorry for rushing out like that earlier. I just… I just don’t know anymore…”

“Sit on down there, RD. I’m just about to tell everypony how I got my hat.” Applejack patted the seat next to her. Rainbow immediately perked up,

“Really!? Aw, sweet! I’ve always wanted to know about that!” She zipped up to her seat and planted the elbows of her forelegs on the table, squishing her face between her hooves.

“All right, here goes,” Applejack took off her hat and set it on the table. She stared at it as she began, as if there were text there she was going to read from.

“I was just a little filly. Hadn’t even gotten my cutie mark yet. Ma was pregnant with Apple Bloom and it was one of those seasons where nothing at the farm grew. Big Macintosh left school to do everything he could to help us make at least some profit, though Ma always told him ‘the best way y’all can help out is by keepin’ your nose in those books.’ Reckon she was right, too. The stuff he learned at college helped him come up with a secret method of near fail-proof growin’ that we’ve been using ever since…” she paused and a wistful sigh escaped.

“Anyway, Pa loved his hat just like I do now. He got it himself from his Pa, and his Pa before him. I’m the first Apple mare to own it, actually. Not out of any father-son tradition or nothin’, I just happen to be the first daughter it’s been passed down to. Only… I wish I hadn’t gotten it so soon. Just like me, Pa was stubborn when it came to workin’. Even if it was just him his entire life he woulda tried to work the farm all by himself with three broken hooves n’ a leg cramp in the fourth. He was an Apple, though, and Apple families always stick together. That’s why it was a real surprise when I woke up one stormy night to see Pa leavin’ the house all on his own.

“I asked him where he was headed, and he told me ‘Workin’, like he always did. It didn’t make sense, though—It was the middle of the night and stormin’ hard ‘cause Ponyville’s weather team was makin’ up for lost water the week before. He shoulda known not nopony shoulda been out there, but he went anyway, off to the east orchard, which had been hit hardest by the poor growin’ season. His face was weird, like he knew what he was doin’ but confused outta his mind at the same time.

“It was stupid, but I followed him into the orchard. There he was, buckin’ what little harvest he could in the dead of night, lightnin’ all around us. Then it happened in literally a flash. Right when his back hooves hit one of the trees, so did the biggest bolt of lightnin’ I ever did see. Pa was sent flyin’ and he… he landed on the ground so lim… limp…” Applejack had started out the story sounding somber, but as she spoke her voice became more and more strained and at this point she was struggling to speak through sobs. Rainbow Dash put her hoof on her friend’s shoulder, and the rest of the ponies were in various stages of fighting back their own tears. Suddenly Applejack threw her head up,

“Dangit, Pa! Y’all coulda waited! You knew there were gonna be more growin’ seasons! We coulda done better next time! But with my little sister comin’ you just had to lose your Celestia-danged mind for one night!” She banged her hoof on the table, startling nearly everyone in the room.

“Applejack, darling, please. You can stop now. It’s okay.” Rarity consoled the orange earth pony. Applejack sniffed, took a deep breath, and slowly put her hat back on.

“Sorry, y’all. Been a while since I thought about that this hard,” she wiped her snout and took another breath, “Ya see, I always thought it was my fault that he went out the way he did. I thought if only I had stopped him lil’ Apple Bloom would have a Pa to play with today.” Another sigh.

“Ma spent the rest of her pregnancy repairin’ Pa’s hat. It was burnt and had a couple holes from the strike. Losin’ Pa was real hard on her, so much that she was in bed most days before givin’ birth. Granny Smith said she put all the love she had left in her body into two things: that hat and Apple Bloom. It ran out after AB was born. I insisted Big Mac take the hat on account of him bein’ the first child n’ all, but he just told me that Pa would want me to have it, and I didn’t have any reason to doubt him. This hat ain’t never left my sight since that day.” Applejack managed a small smile as she finished.

“I commend you, Applejack. Tales of grief are not always easy to tell, but you did so admirably,” Luna complimented her.

“I’ll say,” the panel organizer agreed, “How about we give Applejack a huge round of applause for being so brave?” Applejack received a standing ovation. She blushed intensely and pulled her hat down slightly.

“Really, y’all, it’s just a story. No need to make this much of a fuss over it.” Applejack waved her hoof in an attempt to calm the crowd.

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, how about we ask another question? For all our sakes, though, let’s keep the tears out of it,” the organizer said. This time a young man from the middle of the crowd was chosen,

“Luna and Celestia, what do you do in your spare time?” The princesses smiled. It was not often they got questioned about normal things like their daily lives. Twilight asked every now and again, but they thought it would be nice to let others know that they were also simply ponies like anyone else.

“Well, with the both of us running Equestria most of the time, days off or alone time is hard to come by. However, when I do find time to myself, I enjoy having a quiet tea or spreading my wings and flying around Canterlot or nearby towns for a few hours,” Celestia giggled at the thought of free time, “Very rare times I even get the chance to vacation, and I love travelling abroad. It’s nice to visit other lands such as Neighpon and Saddle Arabia, as well as the territories that griffins and zebras call home. All those cultures are very fascinating, and I make sure to take note of how they grow and change over the years.” The sun princess nodded to her sister, letting her know that it was her turn to speak,

“Having been away from the throne for a thousand years, I have considerably less work than my sister, as I must get more acquainted with everything that has changed in my absence. In it all, there are a few things that I have grown quite fond of. During the night, ponies all over Equestria have found reasons to celebrate things, so whenever I can I like to make rather impromptu appearances at parties—”

“Like last week! Did you know that Luna really knows how to shake her—”

“Yes, like last week,” Luna wrested control of the conversation back, ever so slightly using the din of the Royal Canterlot Voice to drown Pinkie out. “Also, these days there are games that are also machines, and though it took me several attempts to activate it as well as a considerable amount of my own personal funds to replace the ones I damaged on accident, I believe I am finally beginning to master the ‘Ultra Pony Siblings’ game of videos.” Luna appeared proud of herself. Some of the humans quietly laughed, aware that Equestria’s video game age was just dawning and Luna had done the equivalent of discovering fire: a huge achievement in itself, but petty in comparison to what could also come if the moon princess was so inclined to insist on further investment into entertainment technology.

“There you have it, folks!” the organizer gestured to the sisters, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, doing normal stuff just like the rest of us!” This audience would cheer at anything. “Okay, who wants to ask the next question?”

Author's Note

Mating and hats and princesses. Oh my? More questions get answered.

Be sure to give feedback and ask your own questions to any of the Mane 6, Spike, or Princesses Celestia and Luna in the comments!