How old are the ponies?

[Shankveld 4,949]

Rarity is speculated to be the oldest, since she lives on her own and is one of the only ponies with a REAL job (sorry tending to woodland creatures doesn't create a source of income) . ~

[Devyp2theizo 170]

Q: How old are the ponies?

 

The ponies' ages were left intentionally undefined. I like to think of them as having maturity levels anywhere between 12 and 18, (but remember that maturity is different than age. You can be a 10-year-old with the maturity of a 15-year-old, and you can be a 35-year-old with the maturity of a 15-year-old.) For story telling purposes, they needed to be able to live independent of parents, but innocent enough for the type of lessons they learn at the end of the episodes. Since horses are full grown around 5-ish, I guess I sort of justified it in my head that they could be childlike young adults. I know this answer is frustrating for some people, but it happens often in cartoons. How old is Bugs Bunny? Mickey Mouse? Sponge Bob? I don't know either.

 

Lauren Fausts' Deviantart page. http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/

 

 

So they are around 16 ~22(people years) but live in a world where thats old enough to be out on your own and done with school and such.

 

in my opinion

Edited January 6, 2012 by Devyp2theizo

[SBaby 660]

Most of the theories on this topic can be attributed to a tried and true equation.

 

The Theory of Pony Age Equation:

 

The Average Age of the Ponies => The Age of the Person Theorizing It

 

ie: The older people are, the older they tend to think the ponies are/should be.

 

In truth, they are probably in the realm of 14 to 16 (which is the average age range for characters in these kinds of shows). Keep in mind that in alot of fantasy settings, it isn't all that uncommon for people that age to be independent. I don't imagine Equestria would be that much different.

 

On a lighter note, I did learn that the ponies in FiM likely average around 30 to 34 inches tall (not counting Celestia or Luna).

Edited January 6, 2012 by SBaby

[KPM 288]

Pinkie Pie's age = X

Fluttershy's age = X+1

[Broccoli 127]

I agree with most of the posts here, that they are around their late teens to early twenties. But exact age? This calls for a My Little Ponytologist. Also the CMC, and other fillies, seem to be around 10-13, judging from their size and behavior.

[Zacharius The Prosecutor 46]

I was informed that pinkie could be 14-16, And we must consider how shys a year older than her..., but I DO know how tall they are. 4 ft tall.

[Magileo 0]

I like to think of them in there teen years. Just when they learn what their cutie mark is they don't need to to go to school much anymore they just do what they are good at. Apple jack feels 18 and fluttershy and rainbow 17 Twilight 16(her party for sweet 16 in the palace ball room), rarity 18. and pinkie around 16 because they decide to throw her a party. for her sweet 16. i dunno. sounds good.. and spike i'd like to think hes around 9-11 because i guessing He was hatched when twilight was 5 trying to get into a school.

[Lightning Blaze 20]

Assuming ponies age about the same as humans, I agree with them being late teen to early twenties.

Both Applejack and Rarity hold down jobs with enough experience to be well known for their products, Rarity more so. 19-23

Twilight is a high level student in charge of her own studies and doing a research project. 19-21

Pinkie works at sugar cube corner but it seems to be more of an apprenticeship than a full job. 17-19

Fluttershy looks after sick and injured pets, paid or voluntary? 18-20 (pinkie + 1)

Rainbow Dash...old enough to be out of school, not old enough or not enough experience to join the wonderbolts, the Equestrian version of the Red Arrows? 17-23

[Raita 68]

I think....

 

Twilight can be 21 years old [since it was obvious that she studied magic at Princess Celestia's for some time, since she was just a filly who just earned her cutie mark when she first started]

Pinkie Pie can be 23 years old

Fluttershy can be 24 years old [since she's "a year older that Pinkie"]

Rarity can be 24-25

Rainbow Dash can be the same as Twilight.

 

of course, dunno for real. just guessin.

[Arashi Takamine 123]

Well I'm gonna use my realworld logic here for horses.

 

A horse is still considered a yearling up until the 20's where their ready to be ridden then so..I'd say the Mane 6 were in their late teens I dunno they just feel like teens to me.

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

Old enough for me.

 

Oh god.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

I personally think they are in their late teens or early twenties seeing as they all have jobs and live alone. Plus with custody of younger siblings as is the case with Applejack and Rarity. Their sometimes childish behavior is simply mortal failings. (Haven't we all met people that acted like they were ten?) They were meant to be role models that the girls who watch this show could grow up to be, but also demonstrate that nopony's perfect.

 

You ever notice how Bronies all think they're 18-25 and most kids think they're teenagers? Gee, I wonder why...

 

I'd put them in the range of 14 to 15 actually (maybe 16 tops). I just couldn't see characters that are over 20 having to write letters to the Princess about what they learned about friendship.

 

Unless you go the immortality route. Then they could theoretically be in the 100-200 range.

 

That's a very cynical way of looking at it. Cynicism! On a brony forum!

Braeburn: Shame on you.

I do think they're at least 18, but because teenagers don't live by themselves. I'm 20 and I still act like I did when I was 14. (Albeit, that means I'm still an introspective stoic. So I might be a bad example.)

[Tom 891]

Just began reading this thread...

 

Old enough for me.

 

 

What have I done!

 

Me thinks their around early 20. Rarity is probably the eldest.

[Nah 3,182]

Now then everypony, you must realize, horses age differently from humans, we are known for having one of the longest maturity cycles in any of the species on this planet.

[FIMChangedmylife72 58]

Cartoons don't age with an exception of Dragon Ball.

[averagetoaster 8]

I think Rarity> Fluttershy > Twilight > Pinkie Pie > Apple Jack > Rainbow dash. At least thats the order I believe. Now I cant say exact ages but I would put rarity somewhere between 22-24, if that gives any kind of base.

 

This makes sense. I never decided on their exact age in my head but I always thought of Applejack as the oldest. She seems the most mature of the group.

[EvilToasterPony 33]

At least we know that Fluttershy is older then Pinky.

[Tom 891]

At least we know that Fluttershy is older then Pinky.

 

But that's all we know for sure.

[DiZzYLiF3 15]

between 17 and 25 i guess

[Jibbs93 64]

I don't think Rarity is as old as everyone thinks. She couldn't be living alone, otherwise Sweetie Belle wouldn't have any parents to look after her. We know that Rarity wakes up in one of the episodes (forget which one) and SB is making breakfast for Rarity and her parents.

 

It could be that she is living on her own with her parents nearby though.

 

Spike is five years younger than Twi, and was born when Twi was trying to get into Magical Kindergarten. Spike is still a 'baby' dragon, as Twi always says, but it's hard to work off that because it's hard to say what classifies as a 'baby' dragon, as we know greed causes them to grow.

 

Applejack is old enough to be hired by a different farm, as seen in S2, E14. Surely they wouldn't be able to hire a pony under working age? But then again, what is the 'legal pony hiring age', and is there even such thing.

 

I'll see if I can find more to add to this analysis.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

I'm afraid I must disagree. Rarity seems rather surprised to encounter her parents in her kitchen. I think it's more likely that Sweetie Belle lives with them somewhere else in Ponyville and that Rarity lives on her own.

 

Although I am aware of what Lauren Faust has said about the maturity of the characters, I feel the characters are a bit older. Because I believe that the ponies live at the very least human length lifespans, I am willing to state their ages in human years, with their ages determined at least partially through when they obtained their Cutie Marks, since Cutie Marks are fairly similar to the process of puberty. Thus, as follows:

 

Twilight is twenty-three. She was thirteen when she obtained her Cutie Mark, and has continued to be the personal student of Princess Celestia since as she works her way through school. She is probably a graduate student by now, working as a librarian in Ponyville as part of her day to day job while she does her work on the side for the Princess, graduate studies. If the educational system in Equestria is anything like the ones in the real world, she probably has the equivalent of at least a Bachelor's degree and is working towards her Masters. I feel like twenty-three is an appropriate age for this sort of level of education, and it makes Spike about ten years old, which is the age I've always thought of him as being.

 

Fluttershy is also twenty-three. I've speculated elsewhere, principally in the analysis on her that can be found in the Fluttershy Fanclub thread, that she has been living on her own since she first obtained her Cutie Mark and moved to Ponyville. Unfortunately, her career choice and lifestyle, apart from obviously not living with her parents(if she has any) do not give much indication of her age, thus I am setting her age directly relative to Pinkie Pie's, since we do have the canon statement that she's a year older than Pinkie Pie.

 

Applejack is twenty-five. She was a late bloomer, and frankly has always seemed a bit more mature and adult than the rest of the Mane Six. Up until The Last Roundup I thought she was the actual proprietor and owner of Sweet Apple Acres, managing most of its business and so on, but the events of both that episode and SSCS6K throw that assumption deeply into question. Admittedly it was based on my thinking she had already taken over for Granny Smith due to Granny's advanced age. In any event, she's probably the oldest amongst the Mane Six, and yes, I mean that she is older than Rarity. Not by much though.

 

Pinkie Pie is twenty-two, the youngest of the Mane Six. She's always seemed a bit more childlike, though she is still employed and works for her room, board, and probably an extra salary on the side with the Cakes at Sugarcube Corner. She's a pastry chef, basically. It also means she obtained her Cutie Mark earlier than the others...my initial thinking was that she might be twenty-one or even twenty, but that to me feels like it pushes her obtaining her Cutie Mark too far back to be all that plausible. I'm also still wondering how she managed to secure the arrangement she has with the Cakes in the first place, because it's rather unusual to say the least, since we know they're not her parents.

 

Rainbow Dash is twenty-four. She's old enough to own her own house, a fairly large one at that. She is highly important as a weathermare in Ponyville, probably chief weathermare. Although at times she's seemed a bit young and hotheaded, that's just the way her personality works. She struck me as already being a teenager during the events of Cutie Mark Chronicles, rather brash at that.

 

Rarity is twenty-four as well. How exactly she managed to afford ownership of the Carousel Boutique, given its size, is unknown to me, but she definitely does own it. It's her own shop for dressmaking and other tailoring, and in order to be a successful businessmare she has to be older than most of the others. Plus, Rarity does have that aura of maturity and class.

 

 

These ages in my mind aren't set and can and will be subject to change as we learn more about the Mane Six over the course of the series. After all, these ages are fairly high compared to what even Lauren Faust would have estimated, and at least one episode is thrown rather into question on the whole on its plausibility as a result of them, that being Look Before You Sleep. (Granted, adults can have sleepover like events.) Still, for the most part I'm fairly confident that they're at least within this age range of early twenties, because they've always struck me as adults, especially due to their occupations.

[Xbox The AWESOMEST Cookies 13]

16-22??

[Lunatic 1,186]

Pretty much what everyone else has said: early 20's, possibly 18 or 19-ish.

 

But the idea that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are close to the same age also says something else. If Pinkie Pie is a year younger than Fluttershy that would also probably make her younger than Rainbow Dash. So maybe idea of Pinkie being the youngest are pretty accurate.

 

we agrea with thy sister!

[QueenChrysalis 176]

i say like 18 to 20

[Rainbow Storm Ash 10]

This sort of leaves me to wonder why Luna and Celestia are much taller than the other ponies. I understand that they're centuries upon centuries old, but why the huge height difference? Is it because they're alicorns?

 

This also kind of applies to the Flim Flam brothers from the most recent episode. They were somewhat taller than everyone else. I guess that their heights shouldn't be based off their ages, however it still makes me wonder.