What Order Do The Episodes Belong In?

[sweetolebob18 728]

I'm a bit of a fussbudget & it upsets me not to be able to watch the episodes in order

 

In episode 2, Nightmare Moon escapes on "The longest day of the year"  (June 21st).  Season 4, episode 1 clearly takes place very shortly after episode 65 Magical Mystery Cure.  Probably the next day.  Twilight says it is 2 days to the Summer Sun Festival & Princess C implies (but does not specifically state) that this is the 1st one since then.  If so, everything in the 1st 3 seasons takes place in 1 year.

 

GREAT GOOGLEY MOOGLEY!!  Even allowing for a few 2 part episodes & assuming the CMC adventures take place while the Mane 6 are doing other things, this means a new adventure every 6 or 7 days.  Worse, there are few adventures with snow on the ground.  In Winter Wrap Up, they say 3 months of winter.  The ponies can control the weather & the seasons.  But, even assuming they cheat by having good weather continue on into what the calendar says should be winter, this cuts the available time for non winter adventures.

My sequence

Episode 45 Putting Your Hoof Down Fluttershy writes this to Princess C & that must have happened after episode 29 Lesson Zero.  But it could have been a flashback, prequel episode. If so, this would mean F, P, & R were in Ponyville long enough to be very good friends before episode 1.  In Suited For Success, R says she is from Ponyville, but doesn't say how long she lived there.  If you assume F & P both moved to Ponyville after getting their cutie marks, this could be.  In Griffon The Brush Off, Pinkie & Dash were out pranking & P stopped D from pranking F.  This implies she was either F's good friend or thought F couldn't handle it.  It is also possible it happened while Dash was off doing something else, say Read It & Weep, or at the Thunderbolt Accadamy

 

Episode 1&2 Anyone really have to be told why this comes next?  At the least, it has to come before any episode with Twilight in Ponyville.  Except for Pinkie, the others are all given important jobs preparing for Princess C's visit.  This implies they've been in Ponyville for a while.  Of course, AJ was born and raised in Ponyville.

 

Episode 9 Bridle Gossip Zecora's visits to Ponyville kick up more Hoo Haw than any visit since Sherman went to Atlanta.  Z says she comes to town once a month.  Twilight has never heard of her.  Thus, this must be her 1st visit since episode 1.  The other ponies have all heard of her, and must have been around for a while.  AJ is absolutely terrified of her.  (Very unusual for AJ) This implies either 1) Z has been around long enough that AJ has been hearing stories since she was very young (This raises the question why Apple Bloom isn't scared of her ) 2) A previous encounter with Z & it must have been pretty rough (But AJ says she has never heard of zebras & all the ponies are surprised to see her stripes) 3)AJ is unusually scared of magic (This raises the question why wasn't she scared of Nightmare Moon in episode 2?  But she isn't the only one to behave oddly in Episode 2)

 

Episode 6 Boast Busters  Nobody except Spike pushes T to challenge Trixie.  This shows she does not, as yet, have much of a rep as a wizard.  Of course, they've HEARD that she defeated Nightmare Moon, but what they've SEEN is a young, quiet nerd who stays in the library with her muzzle in a book all day. THAT'S a great & powerful wizard!? Yeah, right. (Of course, I'd bet Dash has been bragging all over town, but I'd also bet D's account was very heavy on What Dash Did & very light on What Other Ponies Did While Dash Was Saving Everyone's Butt. There were other ponies present while D was defeating Nightmare Moon? I didn't know that!)  This must have taken place after Bridle Gossip because, by the end, her rep was great enough that surely someone would have said "We are being terrorized by an evil enchantress who lives in the woods.  Help us, Obi Wan Twilight, you're our only hope!"  As to "Why didn't they ask Princess C for help?"  I think some of them must have & got told something like "Let me know if she ever actually does anything worse than act scary.

 

That's as far as I've gotten.

He tackled the job that couldn't be done

He cheerfully set out to do it

He tackled the job that couldn't be done

And, by God, he couldn't do it.

[GoldenOaks 33]

my theory is that seasons 1 through 3 all took place in one year, and the episodes within that year are all in a jumble, while season 4 is mostly chronological and takes place over the course of a few months. why is because the only festival that has ever repeated itself in the show is the summer sun celebration, and the times it happens in the beginning of seasons 1 and 4. also, at the end of "the show stoppers" scootaloo hugs rainbow dash even though it isn't until "sleepless in ponyville" that she becomes dash's honorary sister, which means that "the show stoppers" happens after "sleepless in ponyville.

 

that's all i have so far . the rest is still just a jumble.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

I've never really thought that hard about this, because I've always just accepted the episodes as occurring more or less in order, with the Equestria Girls films taking place between seasons 3 and 4 and 4 and 5 respectively. What I've had difficulty with is where specifically the IDW comics fit in, and the novels. At some point I want to try to watch/read through it all in canon order, but to do that, I'll need to come up with some kind of timeline.

[sweetolebob18 728]

OK A few preliminary thoughts. 

Episode 13 Fall Weather Friends, a 2 day episode.  If the ponies stick to an Earth calendar, then The Running of the Leaves is Sept 21 (Autumn Equinox)  This is about the only episode with bare tree branches & autumn leaf colors.  That HAS to be wrong, there MUST be more than 1 episode in autumn.  The artists are just putting green leaves on all the trees because it is easier.

Episode 27 & 28 The Return of Harmony  When Twilight returns AJ's memory she has a brief flashback.  For just a second, she sees the race.  So this takes place after that, but the trees still have summer leaves.  As I said, that HAS to be wrong.

Episode 62 Keep Calm And Flutter On  2nd Discord.  The importance here is that in ROH, Twilight has the Elements in her library.  In KCFO, Princess C brings them from Canterlot.  So, any episode where the Elements are in Canterlot must take place between these events & any episode they are in the library can't take place between them.

 

To digress for a moment.  In T's library they are hidden behind other books & probably have some magic spells but not otherwise protected.  In Canterlot, they are doubtless in maximum security.  If I was going to steal them, I know when I'd try.  How dangerous is it to touch them?  Well, the Mane 6 sometimes wear them & others presumably brush against them with no harm done.  Spike took the Element of Loyalty & even tried to invoke it with neither Dash's knowledge  nor consent.  Of course, Spike has a great deal of loyalty, was trying to invoke it for good & had T's specific orders to do so (As keeper of the "big crowny thing", presumably she has that authority).  Discord tried to take T's tiara.  Of course, he is arguably the most powerful magical being in Equestria & he did ask permission, + did he really expect to succeed or was he just yanking T's tail?  I've heard that in one of the comics (or 1 of the books?) a pony who tried to invoke 1 for evil came down with a bad case of Sudden Death Syndrone.  In short, I think if I was trying to steal them, I'd leave them in the box.

 

As to How powerful are they? IMO, the more Elements you can invoke & the better the invokers exemplify their traits, the more powerful the response.  Even without all the elements, Princess C & Luna were able to turn Discord to stone, & PC was able to banish Nightmare Moon for 1000 years.  At 1st, Twilight wasn't able to stone Discord, but how well were the Elements represented?  Even T wasn't feeling very friendly & the others were all under Discord's spell.  + The Tree of Harmony (IMO, their power source) has been getting weaker ever since the Elements were removed.

 

Back on Point  *THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS*

Back in the stone age, when I went to school (50+ years ago), school started around Labor Day (1st week in September).  When I wasn't looking, some states started opening 1st week in August.  Ponyville seems to follow USA conventions, so it is probably 1 or the other.  There is a brief flash of them being together in episode 2, but Hasbro has said that was a mistake.

 

Episode 12 Call of the Cutie  The Apples have lived in Ponyville as long as there has been a Ponyville  In Sweet and Elite, Rarity says she was born in Ponyville.  In small towns, the schools are small enough you know everybody in your grade.  Even if there are more classes than just Miss Cheerilee's, they  would have known each other a little bit.  Thus, this must be their 1st year together in school & it must take place within a day or 2 of the start of the school year.  Either they are in 1st grade (& thus 5-6 years old) or Scootaloo's parents must have come to town over the summer.  The CMCs are the last to get their Cutie Marks & 6 seems a little young for that. In small rural towns, there is a town/farm division.  The Vocational Agriculture kids have their own clubs (FFA, 4H), & their own cliques.  Sports teams help bridge the gap, but they move in different circles.  This is probably why Rarity & AJ don't get on well.  Just because you knew somebody back in school, it does NOT mean you liked them (Thank you, Captain Obvious!).  I'd make a small bet they had their run ins as foals (over a stallion or 2, perhaps?  Maybe R gets so nasty with AJ over Trenderhoof  because this isn't the 1st time it happened?)

Episode 49 Ponyville Confidential  Diamond Tiara is appointed editor of the school paper.  Thus, this must be the next episode & it must take place very shortly after Call of the Cutie.  School papers usually come out once a week & this covers several issues, so it takes place over, say 5-6 weeks.  Most of their other adventures take place over a day or 2 & some could take place during this time (say, The Cutie Mark Chronicles or Sleepless in Ponyville)

Sleepless In Ponyville (lost my notes on episode numbers) In Luna Eclipsed, Luna decides to appear in dreams, so this must take place after that.  She still isn't very good at it (compare w For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils), so perhaps it doesn't take place very long after that

Bad Seed  This must take place over Summer Break (June to August) because they don't seem to be in school.  Twilight has a very brief cameo, so it has to be before episode 65.  They are building a float for the Summer Harvest Festival.  It's not Summer yet, so this must mean "the festival that celebrates the Summer harvest" & not "the Summer festival that celebrates the harvest" if you see what I mean.  It has to be the last CMC adventure & it has to be very close to episode 65, perhaps only a day or two away.

 

I have more thoughts, but this post is already WAY too long

[sweetolebob18 728]

When I said Bad Seed, I was tired. Of course, I meant Episode S3 E4 One Bad Apple

 

I figured I'd try to date Episode 41 Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 by figuring out "When do they make cider?" Entered it on Bing Bar. HAH! What a noob!  Got an article on how to make cider.  Tried "When To Harvest Apples"  The Internet spits on your feeble efforts! Tried "When Is Apple Harvest"  Found out there are 2500+ types of apple tree & they all have different dates from Mid August to Late October + there are some Early Harvest Apple Trees that are earlier.  Why ain't life ever easy? Looked up some Cider Festivals & they are usually 1st or 2nd week in October. Oh & AJ wrote to Princess C so this is after Lesson Zero

 

Thought I could use "How Tall Are Apple Trees" to get an idea How big are the ponies? HAH! What a noob!  Apple trees are between 10-30 feet tall.  Orchards usually keep them trimmed down to the same height (usually 20-25 feet unless the trees are shorter)  As to the trees having more than 1 type of apple.  Apple trees vary widely.  Some are healthy but not very good apples.  So, they often graft good branches onto these trees. Thus, it is possible to have more than 1 type on 1 tree.  As to the harvest varying widely, back where I grew up they had a temporary harvest crew come in to do the picking.  So, you wanted all the apples ripe at the same time.  On AJs farm, they seem to do it all themselves.  It makes sense not to have too many ripe at once.  It is doubtless a pain, though remembering which trees are when.  If they make the most money off cider, why don't they make them ALL into cider?  Because not all apples are good for cider.  Bio diversity is good, it helps resist the spread of tree diseases (trees varying in their resistance).  Finally, trees take 3-5 years to give apples & have a useful life of 30-40 years. Thus, it makes sense for AJ to bring seedlings to her cousins.

 

I figure Episode 4 Apple Buck Season is after this.  Big Mac hurt himself on the last day of the festival.  It is important to get the harvest in, because they are getting to the end of fall & they'll lose their crop if they don't  Mid to late October

 

Episode 60 Apple Family Reunion For our Non USA readers, I'll state that in the USA school starts in early morning & runs to mid afternoon, Monday to Friday.  So, Babs could be in school & still go on trips. AFAIK, there are no schools below college level that have classes on Saturday or Sunday.  In One Bad Apple, Apple Bloom has never met her cousin.  So, this has to be after that.  The Vampire Fruit Bats are in the western orchid & attack one pony's hat, causing a stampede & destroying the barn.  But Season 4, Episode 7, AJ never tells Fluttershy "They terrorized my family & wrecked my barn!"  Thus, it has to be after that. Babs mentions her new school (& seems to like it), so this has to be at least early August, year 2.  I looked closely. Twice.   Spike & all the other mane ponies had cameos, helping to get ready.  Twilight wasn't there.  So, it is possible for this to be that late.  This assumes T was elsewhere doing something she thought more important.  AJ could use help, but it wasn't an emergency.

 

Episode 30 Luna Eclipsed  Not necessarily Oct 31.  Mexico, for example has Day of the Dead on Oct 26.  However I do make it late October, right after Apple Buck Season

 

Episode 43 Hearth's Warm Eve. Not necessarily December 25, but early winter.

 

Episode 11 Winter Wrap Up  If the ponies follow the calendar, March 21

 

Episode 43 Hearts & Hooves Day  Valentine equivalent.  However, they picnic outside, so it has to be after Winter Wrap Up

 

Episode 8 Look Before You Sleep. This has to be an early episode because it is the start of true friendship between AJ & Rarity.   AJ tells Rarity "It didn't rain last week, so they are having an extra big storm to make up for it"  Of course there wouldn't be rain scheduled for June 21.  I'm assuming there was a storm scheduled for June 22.  They allowed a little thing like the world almost being destroyed to disrupt their schedule? I am shocked & appalled! This shows a disturbing Slackness, a distressing lack of Hustle, & a complete Absence of a Can Do Attitude!  Dash, you got some 'splaining to do!  June 29

So far my timeline looks like this

*Mane 6 are born IMO, AJ is oldest & Twilight is youngest.  See my post in How Old Are the Mane 6?  I'd put a link if I knew how

*AJ & Rarity are both in school in Ponyville.  They meet & at the least, neither is much impressed w what they see (miss Cheerilee is also there)

*Cutie Mark Crusaders are born.  Best I can guess for their age is 8 seems pretty young for last w no Cutie Mark.  If they were over 13-14, I'd expect them to be bigger.  Add 2 years to their age after season 4

*1st Sonic Rain Boom  Spike is hatched, Mane 6 get their Cutie Marks

*Fluttershy & Pinkie move to town  I'd guess that in under a week, P knew just about every pony in town.  She was friends w all of them except a few grumps (who disapproved of her behavior & had the good sense to keep quiet about it to avoid being pestered to death).  IMO, Rarity had a problem with her cat (considering lifespan of cats, could be Opal or could be a predecessor).  Pinkie brought in F to help.  This was successful & the 3 became very good friends. (If unsuccessful, R would probably have held it against F)

Episode 44 Putting Your Hoof Down

*Dash gets job as weather pony (Cloudsdale?)  She doesn't have any problem getting into the Wonderbolts, so she must have graduated basic school despite her learning problems.  IDK if she got this job while still in school or afterwards.  She isn't stupid, so she picks up the job quickly & does well enough to be promoted.

*Dash moves to town.  In Pinkies Pride, she specifically says this is both her birthday & the anniversary of the day she moved to Ponyville.  IMO, this was 2 years before the events in Pinkies Pride.  IMO, she moved to town when promoted to Head Weather Pony on her 17th birthday. (see How Old Are the Mane 6?)

*Sometime over the summer, Scootaloo's parents moved to Ponyville (Who names their kid that? That has to be a nickname)

June 20 & 21 Episodes 1 & 2 Friendship Is Magic part 1 & 2

June 23 ? Episode 9 Bridal Gossip

June 26 ? Episode 6 Boast Busters

June 29 Episode 8 Look Before You Sleep

August or September 1st week Episode 12 Call of the Cutie

same week Episode 49 Ponyville Confidential

September 20 & 21  Episode 13 Fall Weather Friends

September last week Episodes 27 & 28 Return of Harmony part 1 & 2

October 1st week Episode 41 Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

October middle Episode 4 Apple Buck Season

October late Episode 30 Luna Eclipsed

November ? Episode 58 Sleepless in Ponyville

Early Winter  Episode 39 Hearth's Warming Eve

March 21  Episode 11 Winter Wrap Up

April or May Episode 43 Hearts & Hooves Day

June 1st week Episode 56 One bad Apple

June 17 or 18 Episode 65 Magical Mystery Cure

June 19-21 Episodes 66 & 67 Princess Twilight Sparkle part 1 & 2

YEAR 2

1st Equestria Girls movie (T is alicorn & sleeping in Princess C's castle)

late July, early August Episode 72 Bats! (The prize apple is getting ripe)

August or September 1st week (or later) Episode 60 Apple Family Reunion

 

So, if I'm adding this up right, that is 19 out of 65 episodes.  Any comments from any one?  I'll be adding more in a week or so.

[sweetolebob18 728]

Episode 40 The Last Round Up According to Wikipedia (that invaluable compendium of meaningless trivia), cherry harvest starts (in the USA) in California in late April & continues until mid August (the colder, the later until it gets too cold for cherry trees).  They don't say exactly how long AJ's rodeo is supposed to be, so I'm putting this episode in April after Hearts and Hooves day.

 

Episode 21 Over a Barrel Best time to transplant Apple trees is Spring (if there is going to be a freeze) or Autumn (if there is not).  They mention  the harvest is due to start.  This puts it after Fall Weather Friends.  This is going to take 4 days (1 unshown day, travelling back)  AJ couldn't know that Discord was going to escape, but she knew the Cider Festival was coming & would want to get back.  Sept 22-26.

 

Also, trees are easier to transplant before they start bearing fruit.  That city slicker artist probably didn't know that & just put them on to show it was an Apple tree

 

Episode 29 Lesson Zero  This is probably an early episode.  The CMCs know each other, so it has to be after Call of the Cutie, but nothing has happened for a week.  I'm putting it 1st week in August (because Spring, Sept, & Oct look too busy)

 

Episode 46 It's About Time  Twilight has built up enormous street cred as a wizard.  I mean, she tells a preposterous story, issues a vague warning w zero proof & yet every pony unhesitatingly drops everything & busts their tail on her say so.  Got to be Spring

 

Episode 48 Hurricane Fluttershy  No real proof, but I'm putting this right after Winter Wrap Up because this is when the reservoir would have the most water from snow melt, so it makes sense to fill the Cloudsdale reservoir then

 

Episode 20 Green Isn't Your Color, Episode 19 A Dog and Pony Show, and Episode 35 Sweet and Elite  The key to timing these 3 episodes is Safire has heard of Rarity (showing she must have done something to be heard of) but Rarity is surprised by this (showing it couldn't be very much).  I think Twilight's gown in Sweet and Elite fills this requirement.  Also, it is possible S read it in a fashion mag.  But, it is part of R's JOB to read the mags (to know what is hot -and who is not).  Now, maybe R just got backed up & got behind in her reading, but IMO S fibbed.  I don't think it was a fashion mag, I think it was some gutter trash tabloid with a headline like "Garden Party Disaster".  If so, S has a good eye for fashion.  Still, S strikes me as a tough boss, who goes through a LOT of designers & thus is always seeking whom she might devour.

 

I make the sequence Green Isn't Your Color, then T gets R a trip to Canterlot to recover (My nerves are shot, Ariel), followed by Dog and Pony Show.  In Sweet & Elite R says the garden party is "several months to the Grand Galloping Gala"  If that's in the Spring, it makes sense for this to be in the fall.  Obviously, if I knew when T's birthday was, I could say for sure when this was.  I'm going to guess that, since AJ was going to come, it was after the Cider Festival & thus November.

 

Episode 57 Magic Duel Trixie makes it sound like she spent considerable time getting ready for this, so it has to be a pretty late episode.  I'm going for June.

 

Episode 37  Zap Apples don't appear during regular apple season, it has got to be Spring, but it can't be too late in the school year, they would be getting ready for final exams.  I'll go with April

[sweetolebob18 728]

Since I can't seem to get the quote function to work (either I'm doing something wrong or my computer doesn't want to let me)  I'm going to make 1 consolidated time line that I can edit as I work out as I add new episodes

 

*Mane 6 are born. IMO, AJ is oldest & Twilight youngest.  Takes place over several years 12-22 years before episode 1

*Cutie Mark Crusaders are born 8-12 years before episode 1

*1st Sonic Rainboom  IMO 8-10 years before episode 1 Spike is born, Mane 6 get cutie marks, T enters magic school & meets Celestia

*Fluttershy & Pinkie move to Ponyville, become friends with Rarity. Several years before episode 1

*Episode 45 "Putting Your Hoof Down"  A year or 2 before episode 1

*Dash has 17th birthday, moves to Ponyville & becomes Head Weather Pony.  A few months before episode 1

*Scootaloo's parents move to Ponyville Sometime during June or July year 1

YEAR 1

*Episodes 1 & 2 "Friendship Is Magic" June 20-21

*Episode 9 "Bridle Gossip" around June 23

*Episode 6 "Boast Busters" around June 26

*Episode 8 "Look Before You Sleep" June 29

*Episode 40 "The Last Round Up"  July

*Episode 5 "Griffon the Brush Off" July

*Episode 12 "Call of the Cutie" 1st week in August, start of school year

*Episode 49 "Ponyville Confidential" (although this runs many weeks, IMO it starts at the start of the school year

*Episode 29 "Lesson Zero" early August.  Must be between "Call of the Cutie" & "Apple Buck Season"

*Episode 4 "Apple Buck Season" Mid August Start of apple harvest.  AB isn't helping, she must be in school

*Episode 3 "Ticket Master" Late August, early September

*Episode 13 "Fall Weather Friends" September 20-21

*Episode 21 "Over a Barrel" Sept 22-26

*Episode 41 "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" Early October

*Episode 39 "Baby Cakes" September or October

*Episode 44 "A Friend in Deed" Some time that fall.

*Episode 30 "Luna Eclipsed" late October, probably the 31st

*Episode 58 "Sleepless in Ponyville"  Sometime in November?

*Episodes 51 & 52 "Canterlot Wedding" p1 & p2 Early to mid December (before start of Winter)

*Episode 39 "Hearth's Warm Eve"  December 25?  Early Winter, anyway

*Episode 11 "Winter Wrap Up" March 21

*Episode 43 "Hearts and Hooves Day"  March 22

*Episode 46 "It's About Time" March 22-29

*Episode 33 "May the Best Pet Win" late March

*Episodes 53 & 54 "Crystal Empire" p1 & p2 Early April

*Episode 56 One Bad Apple Sometime in early June

*Episode 65 Magical Mystery Cure June 17 or 18 (This assumes these events took place over 1 day)

*Episodes 66 & 67 "Princess Twilight Sparkle" June 19-21

YEAR 2

Events in the EQ movie

*Episode 72 "Bats" Late July, early August

*Episode 60 "Apple Family Reunion"  mid August or later

Edited May 6, 2015 by sweetolebob18

[sweetolebob18 728]

The next obvious step is to figure out which episodes happen in Summer or Autumn & which episodes happen in Spring

Spring Episodes & why

S1 E26 "Best Night Ever"  In "Sweet and Elite" it is mentioned that the Grand Galloping Gala is several months away, so that puts this in Spring

S1 E14 "Suited For Success"  shortly before this

S2 E1 & E2 "Return of Harmony".  Based on number of letters Spike pukes up, it has to be Spring

S2 E11 "Family Appreciation Day"  School is in session, & Zap Apples grow before regular ones (IRL, Aug-Oct) 

S2 E20 "It's About Time" T comes up w a preposterous story & a vague warning.  Yet, everyone unquestioningly listens to her, drops everything & works their tail off.  T clearly has ENORMOUS street cred & must have done some amazing things to gain it.

S2 E22 "Hurricane Fluttershy"  The Ponyville reservoir would have the most water in Spring, so it would make sense to do this then.

S3 E1 & E2  "Crystal Empire" Celestia trusts T to handle this alone so T has done some things to prove herself + has to be after "It's About Time" because Sombra got loose from Tartarus. +After Canterlot Wedding, of course.

S3 E10 "Keep Calm & Flutter On"  Has to be after "Return of Harmony", of course

S3 E5 "Magic Duel"  Trixie made it sound like a long time has passed since "Boast Busters"

S3 E11 "Just For Sidekicks"  Has to be after "Crystal Empire"

S3 E12 "Games Ponies Play" same time as "Just For Sidekicks"

 

Anybody got an idea how long they were training in "Hurricane Fluttershy" or how long Dash was in the Wonderbolt Academy?

Edited January 9, 2015 by sweetolebob18

[sweetolebob18 728]

I seem to be the only person interested in this.  That's OK, I'm going to keep posting until I get all 65 in the right order (IMO, at least).  Then, I will post the finished product elsewhere so it can be ignored by others as well.

 

Ticket Master  IRL, apple harvest is mid August to late October.  Fluttershy says she is spring cleaning, T says "It's Summer".  T is helping AJ pick apples.  Late August, early September

 

Last Round Up  IRL cherry harvest is mid April to mid August.  Spring looks kind of busy, so I am going with July or August

 

Last Roundup takes long enough that it either has to take place after Lesson Zero or there has to be another adventure in there.

Edited January 13, 2015 by sweetolebob18

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

And I've never understood the idea that Putting Your Hoof Down was the first episode. That doesn't even make sense lol. Sounds like someone thought of that trying to be really edgy

[cuteycindyhoney 13,322]

Frankly, I accept original broadcast order as the proper viewing order.

[Misty Rose 3,216]

I don't focus too much on putting the episodes in order since for the most part I think they all happen in order with some exceptions. Fall Weather Friends, Hearth's Warming Eve, and Winter Wrap Up are all episodes that depict serious seasonal change, and these are obviously not in order for all the events up to Season 4 to have taken place in one year. So it is interesting to think about what other episodes could be out of order

 

But for now I won't think too much into it

Edited January 13, 2015 by Pink Mist

[sweetolebob18 728]

Apple Buck Season  After AJ handles the stampede, somebody says that it has been a week since anybody has seen AJ.  So, the episode is 9-10 days & has to be after Lesson Zero (or there is another adventure in there).  The CMCs are playing together, so it has to be after Call of the Cutie.  1st or 2nd week of August. 

 

Family Appreciation Day  2 clues as to when.  1) School is in session 2) Zap Apples come earlier in the year than regular apples.  IIRL, apples are ripe from mid August to late October.  So, this has to be either April or May

 

The Crystal Empire episodes have to be after the Canterlot Wedding, of course.  They are probably at least a few weeks apart because the Mane 6 travel back & forth instead of just staying up North.  I'm guessing the wedding in early to mid December (but before the start of winter), Crystal Empire late March/ early April, Games Ponies Play / Just For Sidekicks late May.

 

So, if you assume Hearts & Hooves Day is 1st day of spring (a holiday after all the hard work of Winter Wrap Up), then It's About Time could be from that night, then off to Crystal Empire.  As I said, the ponies unhesitatingly drop everything & work their tails off on T's unsupported word.  This shows she must have done some pretty impressive things & has enormous street cred as a wizard 

Edited January 16, 2015 by sweetolebob18

[sweetolebob18 728]

In Season 1, there are a number of episodes where Dash is mentioned as practicing special tricks + Read It & Weep, she is injured while trying a stunt.  These are likely before the air show (Episode 18 Sonic Rainboom)

 

The way Dash treats F makes it seem likely this is before Dragonshy

 

IRL, cherries are ripe from mid April to mid August.  Last Round Up clearly takes place over several weeks.  Spring just has too much going on, it has to be July.  Lesson Zero specifies this is the 1st time T has gone a week without sending a letter + the CMCs are shown practicing.  Since AJ is shown at the picnic, it most likely takes place after Apple Buck Season.  This means there must be several episodes that take place at the same time as Last Round Up.  Since they don't have AJ, some candidates would be

A Friend in Deed

Stare Master

Secret of My Excess

Bird in the Hoof

[sweetolebob18 728]

Rewatching some episodes, found some problems

Apple Buck Season  Nobody sees AJ for over a week.  Since this has to be before Lesson Zero (explain later), this means there has to be at least 1 adventure report during that week.  But, 1st 3 seasons AJ has only 4 episodes she doesn't appear in.

Stare Master, which has to be after Call of the Cutie

Hearts & Hooves Day, which IMO is in Spring

Hurricane Fluttershy, also Spring

Putting Your Hoof Down F writes friendship report, which means the report has to be written after Lesson Zero

Call of the Cutie has AB helping pick Apples which means that it has to start after Apple Buck Season & AJ has the time to take AB to a party, which means the party has to be after T helps harvest the Apples, + Mac isn't hurt.  So, I'm going w "school starts in September"

Lesson Zero  Has the CMCs playing together, which means this has to be after COTC +AJ has time for a picnic

Baby Cakes Has P writing a friendship report, which means it has to be after LZ  Friend in Deed starts w Cake twins, so has to be later

Griffon the Brush Off Start of friendship between P & D, has to be an early episode. P already seems to be friends w F.  This is partly why I think Putting your Hoof Down is a prequel

[GuillermoGage 246]

...I see that you put a lot of work and thought into this.

... Putting Your Hoof Down has a "Dear Princess Celestia" at the end. So it takes place after lesson Zero.

 

And Twilight appears in Apple Family Reunion very briefly and she doesn't have wings, so it must take place before Magical Mystery Cure, unless you wanna just ignore that / willfully pretend she has wings for headcanon of a consistent timeline.

[Radiance64 7,053]

...I just tend to assume they take place in airing order, with a few exceptions here and there like the seasonal/holiday episodes.

[sweetolebob18 728]

I've been brooding about this since February & I'm ready to try again

The # of days in each episode is from a list compiled by Corpulent Brony

 

According to "Ask Princess Twilight", Twilight's birthday is mid Spring.  This probably means late April, early May. (this dates some episodes)

 

For Non Americans.  Here in the USA, school runs 180 days, Monday-Friday, over about 9 months with several breaks & a 3 month offseason over the Summer.  Some states start in August, some September.  IMO, EQ runs August to May.

 

The calendar says different but here in the USA, we consider Summer to run from Memorial Day (last Monday in May) to Labor Day (1st Monday in September).  All of June is considered a Summer month, all of September is considered Autumn.  Thus, it is possible to have Summer events before June 21.

 

The Apple Family Reunion.  Something is wrong somewhere.  Wikipedia says there was a reunion going on in Episode 1.  In the Apple Family Reunion, Granny Smith says they take place every 100 months.  Either one of these is wrong or the EQ calendar is VERY different from Earth's.  I'm going with Wikipedia was misinformed (There's a shocker, 1st time that's ever happened)

 

My Time Line & Why

*15-25 years before the pilot.  Mane 6 are born.  Apple Jack is oldest, Twilight youngest.  I go over the reasons in How Old Are The Mane 6, but either my computer or I lack the skills to put in a link

*8-12 years before pilot.  The CMCs are born.

*10 years before pilot.  Events of 1st Rainboom.  Mane 6 get cutie marks.  Twilight was applying to school at this time & was 5 or 6 years old.  Apple Jack was 15 when she hitch hiked to Manehatten.  If you assume it was longer ago, that makes Twilight older but AJ has to be younger.  IMO, 10 years is a fair compromise (It has been pointed out to me that if Twilight is just 15, she must be the pony equivalent of Einstein or Newton.  IMO, yes, she is that smart)

*? several years before the pilot, Pinkie & Fluttershy move to Ponyville & become friends with Rarity

*Putting Your Hoof Down.  4-5 days Fluttershy writes the report after Lesson Zero but, IMO this is a flashback episode.  Mostly for time reasons but also because in Griffon the Brush Off Pinkie seems to be friends w Fluttershy & knows her better than Dash, despite Dash having known Fluttershy since Flight Camp.

*Dash moves to Ponyville on her birthday.  IMO, less than 1 year before pilot.  She doesn't know Pinkie well,  & in Pinkie's Pride it is her 2nd anniversary & 19th birthday (Based on 21 candles on her cake)

YEAR 1

Summer, Scootaloo moves to Ponyville.  Hasbro has said the CMC being together in the pilot was a mistake & they didn't know each other until events in Call of the Cutie

*June 20-22 Friendship is Magic, part 1&2 3 days (counting clean up on the 22nd)  Summer Sun Festival, longest day of the year = June 21

*June 23-24 Bridle Gossip.  2 days Twilight has never heard of Zecora, so it must be within 30 days.  If T had any kind of a rep as wizard, surely someone would have said "Help us Obi Wan Twilight, you're our only hope!", so I'm putting it 1st

*June 25-26  Boast Busters 2 days, Again, if T had any kind of rep as a wizard, someone besides Spike would have pushed for her to confront Trixie.  After Bridle Gossip because someone would have asked for help with Zecora after this.

*June 27-28 Griffon the Brush Off.  2 days  Early episode because this is start of friendship between Dash & Pinkie.  After some others because Pinkie respects Twilight enough to ask for help with Gilda

*June 29-30 Look Before You Sleep  Rarity says last week's storm was cancelled.  I'm going w "It was cancelled because of events in the pilot.  This makes it a week from June 22.

Edited June 11, 2015 by sweetolebob18

[colt_following 169]

sweetolebob18, I love you.

sweetolebob18, how I love you so.

 

Did you see someone else's analysis, which used, I think, four DEFINITE events in time, but I only remember these two:

1) Twilight comes to Ponyville

2) Twilight becomes an alicorn

 

Two events that happen at definite times on the timeline, whereas (technically) eerything else ie speculation (although I VERY MUCH believe your timeline! It's well-done)

[The Awesome One 1,315]

All I know is that there has been at least a year since Twilight has come to Ponyville if not more. Realistically I think it would be closer to two years.