MLP Timeline Discussion

[Darker 1,347]

Very Good, but If there's gonna be a relation between G1 and G4, why no G2 or G3, I can understand why not G2, there are no fantasy elements, but why not G3?

[caramba2654 601]

Wait. In your timeline, the Mane 6 are around 40 years old.

[Abia 258]

Interesting, but a lot of this was proven incorrect by The Journal of the Two Sisters. We also don't know if all events in G1 are linked to G4--all we know it that the events involving Tirek were true.

 

Mythic Age

Celestia and Luna are born. How they get their cutie marks is not known. This is basically equine prehistory. Ponies evolve, learn to use tools and get civilization up and running.

 

Celestia and Luna get their cutie marks after establishing the Crystal Empire, but before King Sombra threatens it. Star Swirl the Bearded requests that Luna and Celestia lower the moon and raise the sun, respectively, and they receive their cutie marks at what may have been the same moment.

 

1260: Starswirl the Bearded is born.

1348: Clover the Clever is born.

1367: Clover the Clever begins magical tutelage under Starswirl the Bearded.

1986: Starswirl the Bearded disappears.

Neopony Period (2101 TA - 3400 TA)

3321: The events depicted in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant begin. Windigo activity causes a dramatic climate shift in Dream Valley.

 

Would Clover the Clever and Star Swirl have survived that long? I can understand it happening to Star Swirl, as he invented a time-age travel spell, but surely Clover the Clever would have a more notable role in Ponyville history if she received the same education as Star Swirl. Because she isn't a noted sorceress, I doubt she could perform such powerful life-sustaining magic.

 

3342: Equestria is founded.

3350: Discord arrives from another plane of existence.

 

Equestria was founded immediately after the events depicted in "Hearth's Warming Eve". This was at the same time that Celestia and Luna began The Journal of the Two Sisters. As there was no mention of Discord in the journal, it would have to have happened after its end--sometime after the establishment of the Crystal Empire.

 

3390: All attempts to defeat, destroy or even contain Discord end in failure. An expedition to the wild Everfree Forest is chartered in the hopes of finding a natural power source.

3398: After years of chasing legends, rumours and theories, Celestia and Luna discover the Tree of Harmony and extract the Elements of Harmony.

 

The Tree of Harmony was discovered before the arrival of Discord. Celestia and Luna also established a home in the Everfree Forest before his coming.

 

3400: Celestia and Luna accept the invitation of the former unicorn-earth pony-pegasus government leaders to rule as an absolute dual monarchy. The Everfree Forest is partly cleared and construction begins on both Everfree City and the Castle of The Pony Sisters. The beginning of the First Celestial Era is declared.

 

Celestia and Luna are crowned princesses of Equestria almost immediately after the events in "Hearth's Warming Eve".

 

1E 36: First contact with The Crystal Empire.

1E 123: First contact with the Griffon Kingdoms.

1E 521: First contact with the United Zebrican Tribes.

 

Contact with zebras was first, then contact with griffons, then with the Crystal Empire.

This may not be accurate--the Crystal Empire may have been first--as they refer to it in the journal as a place pre-established, but its culture and details about it are not mentioned until after peace is made with griffons and zebras.

[keidachan 48]

So while I was creating an oc to fit into the lore of the equestrian universe I ran into a problem, most timelines I looked at had very different stances and many had little to no evidence behind them. So I started to gather up facts that I found through out the show to see what logic I could apply to them. Here is the list of facts I found:

• Luna and celestia did not control the sun and moon during hearths warming eve(The unicorns were raising the sun and moon)
• Luna knows starswirl (seen in the nightmare nights episode where she comments on twilight's costume)
• The events of hearths warming eve occurred around starswirl's time (as seen by the role twilight takes on as his apprentice in the play.)
• Starswirl befriended Scorpan (seen in the images while Terik talks of how his brother befriended a magician.)
• Terik knew Discord before he was turned to stone ("Discord, you're free?" he asked as he talked to discord like and old friend in the season 4 finally)
• Discord was turned to stone before Nightmare moon (luna was needed as normal for this to occur so she couldn't be on the moon.)
• The Crystal Empire disappeared for a thousand years (as stated in the crystal empire episode)
• Nightmare moon trapped on the moon for a thousand years (as stated in the pilot)
• Nightmare moon occurred in one night (as seen in the season 4 premier)
• at some point there was a love potion applied to an alicorn princess (hearts and hooves day episode.)

So based on this information here is the rough list in order from earliest at the top and most recent at the bottom of what occurred along with why I put it there:

• hearths warming eve (Luna and celetia did not control the sun and moon)
• Luna and celestia's reign (Luna knew starswirl)
• Scorpan and Terik show up (princesses and starswirl around before discord turned to stone)
• Discord's reign (at a time when Terik could know him and Scorpan could know starswirl)
• Sombra takes over crystal empire (may swap with Discord's reign but roughly in the same place)
• Discord turned to stone (before nightmare moon)
• Crystal empire disappeared (before nightmare moon but also a thousand years ago)
• Nightmare moon (the most recent event in the lore)

I may have also busted a hole in the the starswirl is discord thing with the Scorpan/Terik catch...

 

If you have something to add or feel as though I may have gotten something wrong please let me know. Also this one is based off the show only as I have not read any of the comics.

Edited October 20, 2014 by keidachan

[Bright Bastion 241]

I was wondering abut the time line myself! I'm really into lore (I became a bit of a lore freak when I was researching Dragon Age). Unfortunetly, that's about all I figured out too. (besides the hearth's warming eve nice job)

[Scritches 91]

Something of note, Luna's betrayal against Celestia happened before she became Nightmare Moon http://i.imgur.com/LkZqttN.jpg

 

 

Luna and celestia's reign (Luna knew starswirl)

If you take a look at the Reflections arc of the comics and 'The Journal Of The Two Sisters' book, you'll discover that both Celestia and Luna were very familiar with Starswirl and regularly spoke with him. He and Celestia were particularly close.

Something else you might be able to add is that Starswirl was around somewhere right around Luna's rebellion/Nightmare Moon's banishment as mentioned in the Reflections arc.
Celestia meets alternate Luna
Luna mentions context for when that took place

[Nature's Spell 525]

I think your timeline is good OP, but the exact order can be debated for certain topics. Here is what I said in another post. My time line is more sparse and focused.

 

 

1. The sisters didn't exist in their current form, or role, prior too, and perhaps for an unknown amount of time after the three tribes period.

 

2. Discord ruled for an unspecified amount of time and it's not been made clear who he usurped to take over.

 

3. At some point the sisters defeated Discord and began to rule. The animators made them look the same, which is really unfortunate and a big loss IMHO.

 

4. Celestia and Luna rule some amount of time until Luna rebelled and became NMM. Princess Twilight Sparkle 4-1 & 4-2 makes it seem like NMM existed for barley 10 minutes if we assume Twilight saw the whole confrontation.

 

5. A thousand years past between the banishment and the start of the show.

 

Talk about canon quicksand! Not a great foundation.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Nature's Spell

[keidachan 48]

Something of note, Luna's betrayal against Celestia happened before she became Nightmare Moon http://i.imgur.com/LkZqttN.jpg

 

Something else you might be able to add is that Starswirl was around somewhere right around Luna's rebellion/Nightmare Moon's banishment as mentioned in the Reflections arc.

Celestia meets alternate Luna

Luna mentions context for when that took place

Well I assumed the part of the betrayal before the nightmare moon incident was a bit self explanatory but I had not known that starswirl had been there during nightmare moon, that means he had to have lived during discord's reign. For some reason that doesn't seem right though...

It seems I also forgot about the original use of the love potion sweetiebell read about. Seeing as the princess in the book was an alicorn I'm unsure where to place it.

 

Talk about canon quicksand! Not a great foundation.

 

I agree, though it does open up the universe to fan speculation.

Edited October 9, 2014 by keidachan

[Nature's Spell 525]

I agree, though it does open up the universe to fan speculation.

Of course, that's part of the fun, but speculation quickly becomes fanfic if you're not careful. Nothing wrong with fanfic, but it has no walls or limits. Canon speculation is limited by what we're shown or not shown. Again, not a bad thing. I see canon analysis as a great way to better understand the show. Edited October 9, 2014 by Nature's Spell

[keidachan 48]

Of course, that's part of the fun, but speculation quickly becomes fanfic if you're not careful. 

 

lol I'm finding that with my own head cannon as I ended up working a OC into it   still completely fits within the show and timeline, through probably over thought out XD I should really write it down sometime.

[Scritches 91]

1. The sisters didn't exist in their current form, or role, prior too, and perhaps for an unknown amount of time after the three tribes period.

Wrong, they were all familiar with at least 5 of the founding members of Equestria according to "The Journal of the Two Sisters" by Amy Keating Rogers. So they took the throne no more than a few years after the founding of Equestria.

 

It seems I also forgot about the original use of the love potion sweetiebell read about. Seeing as the princess in the book was an alicorn I'm unsure where to place it.

In the "The Journal Of The Two Sisters" Luna mentions "The Alicorns" implying that there were others before her and Celestia and that both Luna and her sister were raised by these alicorns. The princess in the love poison story was probably one of these alicorns or a predecessor to them.

2. Discord ruled for an unspecified amount of time and it's not been made clear who he usurped to take over.

It was Celestia and Luna, hence why they were the ones who had to defeat him. This is proven by the fact they had their cutie marks and they earned their cutie marks while being on the throne.

4. Celestia and Luna rule some amount of time until Luna rebelled and became NMM. Princess Twilight Sparkle 4-1 & 4-2 makes it seem like NMM existed for barley 10 minutes if we assume Twilight saw the whole confrontation.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Luna rebelled against Celestia before becoming Nightmare Moon, the conflict became so desperate that many of the survivors rallied in Canterlot where Celestia and the defenders staged a desperate last defense against Luna and the Nightmare Forces.(see the Celestia micro-series comic for details)

Edited October 11, 2014 by Leatherneck

[A Black Circle 1,585]

I is super lore freak

 

has own headcanon

[keidachan 48]

In the "The Journal Of The Two Sisters" Luna mentions "The Alicorns" implying that there were others before her and Celestia and that both Luna and her sister were raised by these alicorns. The princess in the love poison story was probably one of these alicorns or a predecessor to them.

It was Celestia and Luna, hence why they were the ones who had to defeat him. This is proven by the fact they had their cutie marks and they earned their cutie marks while being on the throne.

well that backed up my head cannon

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Luna rebelled against Celestia before becoming Nightmare Moon, the conflict became so desperate that many of the survivors rallied in Canterlot where Celestia and the defenders staged a desperate last defense against Luna and the Nightmare Forces.(see the Celestia micro-series comic for details)

so before nightmare moon luna still had a few scuffles with celestia? 

[Scritches 91]

so before nightmare moon luna still had a few scuffles with celestia? 

A pretty nasty one, it's detailed somewhat more in the Celestia micro series comic, but you can see some of it here:

http://i.imgur.com/HqOGFiE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LkZqttN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KLZmGjJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6e7XJs0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xC3B9aG.jpg

[Darker 1,347]

It's spelled Tirek, by the way.

[keidachan 48]

A pretty nasty one, it's detailed somewhat more in the Celestia micro series comic, but you can see some of it here:

http://i.imgur.com/HqOGFiE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LkZqttN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KLZmGjJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6e7XJs0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xC3B9aG.jpg

 

wow luna did that? 

 

It's spelled Tirek, by the way.

 

 thanks for the catch.

[Scritches 91]

wow luna did that?

Eeyup! She sure did. Blew my mind when I first found out too.

[keidachan 48]

Eeyup! She sure did. Blew my mind when I first found out too.

That's insane, even if she's upset about not being loved that doesn't quite seem like something she would do?

[A Black Circle 1,585]

That's insane, even if she's upset about not being loved that doesn't quite seem like something she would do?

One answer:

 

DISCORD.

 

I have a theory that there is a FORCE of harmony (that embodies itself in the elements) and a FORCE of discord (that embodies itself in.. ykno) and that discord actually infulenced EVERY.

 

VILLAN.

 

EVER.

 

Likewise, Harmony influenced

 

EVERY

 

HERO

 

EVER.

[keidachan 48]

One answer:

 

DISCORD.

 

I have a theory that there is a FORCE of harmony (that embodies itself in the elements) and a FORCE of discord (that embodies itself in.. ykno) and that discord actually infulenced EVERY.

 

VILLAN.

 

EVER.

 

Likewise, Harmony influenced

 

EVERY

 

HERO

 

EVER.

That is basicly my head cannon in a nutshell, I'm glad it really supports the show.

[DerpyFanatic 114]

Wow. I left this thread thinking it had run its course, then come back to find it's blown up!
 

 

Interesting, but a lot of this was proven incorrect by The Journal of the Two Sisters. We also don't know if all events in G1 are linked to G4--all we know it that the events involving Tirek were true.
 
Mythic Age
Celestia and Luna are born. How they get their cutie marks is not known. This is basically equine prehistory. Ponies evolve, learn to use tools and get civilization up and running.
 
Celestia and Luna get their cutie marks after establishing the Crystal Empire, but before King Sombra threatens it. Star Swirl the Bearded requests that Luna and Celestia lower the moon and raise the sun, respectively, and they receive their cutie marks at what may have been the same moment.
 
1260: Starswirl the Bearded is born.
1348: Clover the Clever is born.
1367: Clover the Clever begins magical tutelage under Starswirl the Bearded.
1986: Starswirl the Bearded disappears.
Neopony Period (2101 TA - 3400 TA)
3321: The events depicted in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant begin. Windigo activity causes a dramatic climate shift in Dream Valley.
 
Would Clover the Clever and Star Swirl have survived that long? I can understand it happening to Star Swirl, as he invented a time-age travel spell, but surely Clover the Clever would have a more notable role in Ponyville history if she received the same education as Star Swirl. Because she isn't a noted sorceress, I doubt she could perform such powerful life-sustaining magic.
 
3342: Equestria is founded.
3350: Discord arrives from another plane of existence.
 
Equestria was founded immediately after the events depicted in "Hearth's Warming Eve". This was at the same time that Celestia and Luna began The Journal of the Two Sisters. As there was no mention of Discord in the journal, it would have to have happened after its end--sometime after the establishment of the Crystal Empire.
 
3390: All attempts to defeat, destroy or even contain Discord end in failure. An expedition to the wild Everfree Forest is chartered in the hopes of finding a natural power source.
3398: After years of chasing legends, rumours and theories, Celestia and Luna discover the Tree of Harmony and extract the Elements of Harmony.
 
The Tree of Harmony was discovered before the arrival of Discord. Celestia and Luna also established a home in the Everfree Forest before his coming.
 
3400: Celestia and Luna accept the invitation of the former unicorn-earth pony-pegasus government leaders to rule as an absolute dual monarchy. The Everfree Forest is partly cleared and construction begins on both Everfree City and the Castle of The Pony Sisters. The beginning of the First Celestial Era is declared.
 
Celestia and Luna are crowned princesses of Equestria almost immediately after the events in "Hearth's Warming Eve".
 
1E 36: First contact with The Crystal Empire.
1E 123: First contact with the Griffon Kingdoms.
1E 521: First contact with the United Zebrican Tribes.
 
Contact with zebras was first, then contact with griffons, then with the Crystal Empire.
This may not be accurate--the Crystal Empire may have been first--as they refer to it in the journal as a place pre-established, but its culture and details about it are not mentioned until after peace is made with griffons and zebras.

OK, let's start from here. If we can pin down roughly when the Crystal Empire was founded, we can then sketch out a natural extrapolation of how long it took for Celestia and Luna to get their cutie marks (which would seem an awfully long time for anypony to get their mark, even an alicorn).

 

Second point: we don't know how long unicorns live. Because they're overtly magical beings, I'd bet even Hasbro would be willing to give them a pass in terms of lifespan. It's pretty much taken for granted that alicorns are immortal; making unicorns obscenely long-lived wouldn't be too much of a stretch. Even during the Dream Valley climate crisis, you wouldn't see an awful lot of unicorns dying unless they starved or froze to death.

 

[keidachan 48]

Wow. I left this thread thinking it had run its course, then come back to find it's blown up!

 

I was actually surprised to see that mine suddenly had over 40 replies and found that it had been merged with yours XD I'm not entirely sure what to make of your system of finding the years as I've been focusing more on the order of events in the lore but it seems cool none the less.

 OK, let's start from here. If we can pin down roughly when the Crystal Empire was founded, we can then sketch out a natural extrapolation of how long it took for Celestia and Luna to get their cutie marks (which would seem an awfully long time for anypony to get their mark, even an alicorn)

 

I always assumed that they received their cutiemarks soon after the events of heaths warming eve, I thought that it made sense that celestia would run forward and help the unicorns raise the sun and in the process receiving her cutiemark as she found she could do it on her own, however I haven't read the comics yet so I may be missing some key information.

[sweetolebob18 723]

From what I've read, all ponies have magic.  Most wizards are unicorns because the horn acts a built in wand.  Other ponies can be wizards, it is just harder (Zecora & Cadence, for instance)  Pegasi use their magic to fly.  Some seem to be partly blocked & can't fly well (Fluttershy, Derpy, & Scootaloo, for example)  Dash is such a good flyer because the force is strong with this one.  Earth ponies internalize their magic & thus have more strength & endurance than other ponies.  This is why they can "buck" trees.  It's not just strength, it is magic.

 

Thus, I think Granny Smith might well be over 100 (and the town's Oldest Inhabitant).  Twilight was, uhm.... very young.  When she said "hundreds of years ago" it was an off hand remark, not an exact date.  She just meant "some unimaginably ancient time before I was born"

 

On a completely different note, Pinkie grew up on a farm.  In episode 65, you would think she would be better at it.  Still, maybe that is why she left the farm. 

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,088]

Thus, I think Granny Smith might well be over 100 (and the town's Oldest Inhabitant).  Twilight was, uhm.... very young.  When she said "hundreds of years ago" it was an off hand remark, not an exact date.  She just meant "some unimaginably ancient time before I was born"

 

On a completely different note, Pinkie grew up on a farm.  In episode 65, you would think she would be better at it.  Still, maybe that is why she left the farm. 

 

Or ponies just have much longer lifespans than humans do. Think about, we know Alicorns can live for thousands of years, is it that strange to think that Granny Smith can live for hundreds of years with the right diet?

 

Pinkie grew up on a rock farm though. If I grew up on a cattle ranch, it would hardly mean that I can go work at a pig farm. They are completely different animals with different rearing methods, just like farming... er... rocks is completely different than farming apples, corns, and other foodstuffs.

[keidachan 48]

 

Thus, I think Granny Smith might well be over 100 (and the town's Oldest Inhabitant).  Twilight was, uhm.... very young.  When she said "hundreds of years ago" it was an off hand remark, not an exact date.  She just meant "some unimaginably ancient time before I was born"

 

 

and that is why I avoid exact dates when outlining the lore, you just can't get it right when they're like that.