I think Shimmer isn’t interested in Twi’s stuff.

@ClockSpiral  
Stopped reading once the guy said Sunset was probably 8-10 years older than Twilight. The age gap between the may be as little as about three years, by my estimation.

All these comments, and the best answers I’ve seen are elsewhere:  
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/199035/sunset-shimmer/thread/162650/sunsets-age#comment/4184901  
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/199035/sunset-shimmer/thread/162650/sunsets-age#comment/4486365

De moustache~

Starswirl’s true student. >>250765

@YetAnotherBrony1  
Oh wait, sunset, not sunshine. My bad.

Come on, Sunset Shimmer, she named the poem after you, the least you can do is participate.

@The Smiling Pony  
That just makes it seem like they’re even more needful of talent when it comes along, however young that talent may be. Speaking of which, I’ve seen somebody floating around the idea that Twilight was reportedly 16-17 years old by someone on the show’s staff. I wonder where such a mention was made.

@Niggoslav_Krawczyk  
Taking into account the royal guards locked when the Princesses went missing up until Twilight gave them the grand strategy “look for them”, Imma go ahead and doubt it.

Maybe their society is just a tad bit more intelligent and values talent over cronyism?

@The Smiling Pony  
Rainbow Dash doesn’t just have a job as a weathermare. She’s in charge of Ponyville’s weather team.
 
I could credit “they’re teens, but in pony society you’re independent from a younger age” if the mane six weren’t routinely placed in positions of authority over groups of adults.

@Background Pony #074A  
Rarity’s family seems to contrast her in terms of temperaments and interests. Her family appears to be an outdoors, sports type of ponies. While Rarity hates the outdoors. But there likely could have been a thriving Father/Daughter relationship between Rarity and her Dad, seeing as how surprisingly physically adept Rarity is. Her parents also has this “country” type personalities.
 
Rarity is a pony who wishes to have been born into a elite family in Canterlot, but was instead into a Ponyville commoner family, and shows desires to live in high society.
 
Twilight on the other “hoof”, is born into a Canterlot elite family of high society. But, she prefers to live a quiet and casual life in Ponyville.

@The Smiling Pony  
Depends on the culture. They may not have the societal prejudices that we do against “teenagers”.

@Background Pony #074A  
I find it more plausible to believe they’re all just older and in their early 20s. Rainbow Dash lives alone and (iirc) has a job as weathermare, Fluttershy lives alone tending to some sort of pet sanctuary, Applejack is damn strong workhorse tending to her family and farm; these are kind of roles that indicate being adults, not teenagers.

@The Smiling Pony  
People (and ponies, presumably) grow at different paces, so we still don’t know that they’re the same age, but even if they are, Rarity owning her business from a young age still isn’t all that farfetched. Did you notice how breezy her parents were about taking vacations? Also, check out that cutie mark:  
 
Quite possibly, Magnum was some kind of pro football player back in the day, and now he spends all his time fishing and taking trips with his wife. I don’t see any reason why money from his career couldn’t have gotten Rarity going.; it’s plausible enough.

@The Smiling Pony  
On the lake front. With their own windmill.

@Background Pony #074A  
They were the same size when they got their cutie marks (on the same day). Her parents seem as well off as most any other ponyvillain: they live in a house.

@The Smiling Pony  
How do you know? Rarity certainly seems older than Twilight, and besides, she’s been making dresses since she was a half-pint. I happen to think that her parents are well-off too, so they could easily have had a hoof in getting her business started at an early age. I’m just sayin’, it’s possible Rarity could be younger than she seems, but even if she isn’t, there’s no need to think Twilight is as old as she is.

@Background Pony #074A  
She’s roughly the same age as Rarity, an independent shop owner and moderately successful clothes designer. I have a hard time seeing Rarity being under 25, much less under 20 or anywhere close to 16.

@Background Pony #09E0  
Well, Twilight may have been grown at the beginning of the show, but we don’t know what her age was. I hit my full height by the time I was 15. She didn’t necessarily need to be more than 16 at the series premier.

>Sunset Shimmer’s age  
Clearly older than Twilight – enough so that they never met despite Shimmer being Celestia’s previous prize pupil. Twilight is an adult in the pilot, so probably at least twenty at the time of Equestria Girls.
 
…so, let’s say at least twenty-five?

Shimmer’s got some kind of man-jaw thing going on there.

Shimmer is lazy

Sunset not amused.

@Amber  
Thank you. And yeah, I did say it was just a guess, after all.