How Old is Every Pony?

[Zestanor 98]

Playing with the ages of the characters

Granny Smith is at the edges of her "prime" when the Bright Mac and Pear Butter are very young, though they can talk (about three years old).

Exactly 15 years later, they marry clandestinely and Buttercup joins the Apple family. Assume that they have Big Macintosh immediately. Applejack and Big Mac can be pretty close in age, say three years apart. Apple Bloom is born much later. Big Mac hasn't aged visibly between "Where the Apple Lies" and the first episode. Let's say he's 18 in WTAL and AJ is 15. Assuming Apple Bloom is born very soon after this episode, then she is 15 years younger than AJ, and 18 younger than Mac, and her parents were 36 when they had her. Then they died, I guess.

Now assume Apple Bloom is six at the start of the first episode (five year old Sweetie Belle looks a little younger, so six is probably the youngest that would make sense). That puts the meeting of Applejack's parents 39 years in the past. Assuming Granny smith was in her early thirties at that point, now she's 70.

Mrs. Cake, if she were the same age as the Apple parents, would be 42 now, but keeping this number low seems necessary. We can let he be two years younger than Pear butter. This number is controlled by basically every number previously mentioned, so they have to be kept low too. As an aside, the Cakes seem to be masterful at raising an infant, so it's possible they had a previous child who has since moved out. This is possible if they had an earlier child at around 20.

Mayor Mare can be the same age as the parents.

So if everyone were alive at the start of the show, the ages would be:

Granny Smith: 70 ( = 6 + 18 + 15  + 31)
Mayor Mare: 42 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3)
Bright Mac: 42 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3)
Pear Butter: 42 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3)
Mrs. Cake: 40 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3 - 2)
Big Mac: 24 ( = 6 + 18)
Applejack: 21 (= 6 + 15)
Apple Bloom: 6

Wow, that sounds about right actually.
Applejack says she was late in getting her cutie mark, so she can be older than the rest.
AJ and Fluttershy: 21
The rest: 20.
Spike hatched when Twilight was about six, so he's 14 at the start of the series.

I like the idea of Starlight being younger than the Mane 6, since her Father treats her like a child, and she acts out in immature ways. I don't think she had her village for that long, say one year, or else someone would have called the authorities. The season 5 premiere happens a little more than a year after the first episode. Assuming she started the village at age 17 (having skipped a grade or something) with other impressionable young adults and ruled it for one year, that would make her 18 on her first appearance, and 17 at the start of the series (off screen). Making Trixie the same age also makes sense.

Starlight: 17
Trixie: 17

What do you think?

Edited May 5, 2019 by Zestanor

[Props Valroa 25,980]

I think Starlight would be older. Since when would a 17 year old have that ability to do that magic? And have the ability to run a Stalinist town?

Same for Trixie, since when would a 17 year old find an amulet that would allow them to take over a town? Applebloom seems like, 13 to me.

[Lucky Bolt 34,914]

I don’t know...the Mane 6, and Starlight, seem to me like they’re at least in their early 20s. 

The CMC seem to be around 13 ish...

[Dreambiscuit 8,022]

In the episode "Pinkie Pride," Rainbow Dash's cake has 21 candles on it. 

[Odyssey 5,713]

11 minutes ago, Darth Theta said:

In the episode "Pinkie Pride," Rainbow Dash's cake has 21 candles on it. 

So you're telling me I have been 8 years old all this time? That the amount of candles is symbolism to my true age?!  I can't believe my life was a whole lie! My parents keep on telling me I'm 20!!!  

[Rushing cash 824]

It seems to me like the main 6 are in their mid 20's, around 22-27(in my headcanon pinkie is the youngest and shy the oldest), starlight early 20's, spike is in his late teens and the cmc are in their early teens.  Granny is about 70.

Of course their years might not be comparable to human years, we are talking about a magical world when the ponies control the sun, moon and weather...  

[Kadeda 178]

I think at the beginning of the show... they were in there late teens to early twenties. These are the ages I think they are at the moment.

Twilight 29

AppleJack 32

Rarity 31

Fluttershy 28

Pinky 27

Rainbow 26

Starlight Glimmer 24

Spike 21

CMCs 18

 

I think about 9 years have passed in the show mainly because of the later seasons. The first three was one year. Season 4 another, Season 5 was about 2 years... season six... one possibly two years. Season 7 a few months to a year. Season 8 was 2 or maybe even 3 years.

Apple Bloom can't be 6 at the beginning of the show because we see how sweetie bell looked on her fifth birthday party. She was way smaller than apple bloom was at the beginning. I think they was somewhere between 8 and 12... so i just say 10. 

Of course... it's painfully subjective.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Kadeda

[Zestanor 98]

On 5/5/2019 at 4:19 PM, Califorum said:

I think Starlight would be older. Since when would a 17 year old have that ability to do that magic? And have the ability to run a Stalinist town?

Same for Trixie, since when would a 17 year old find an amulet that would allow them to take over a town? Applebloom seems like, 13 to me.

A lot of young people move out of their family’s home at around age 18. Starlight is naturally gifted in magic; she probably taught herself.

Apple Bloom and the others are not teenagers, because we’ve seen teenaged ponies.

On 5/5/2019 at 4:52 PM, Lucky Bolt said:

I don’t know...the Mane 6, and Starlight, seem to me like they’re at least in their early 20s. 

The CMC seem to be around 13 ish...

The Mane 6 should all be about the same age, since in flashbacks they all look the same size.

The CMCs are basically in elementary school.

18 hours ago, Darth Theta said:

In the episode "Pinkie Pride," Rainbow Dash's cake has 21 candles on it. 

Good catch; this gels with my math.

14 hours ago, Rushing cash said:

It seems to me like the main 6 are in their mid 20's, around 22-27(in my headcanon pinkie is the youngest and shy the oldest), starlight early 20's, spike is in his late teens and the cmc are in their early teens.  Granny is about 70.

Fluttershy said she is only a year older than Pinkie in the show.

The CMCs have been pretty consistently portrayed as grade schoolers, not middle schoolers. Increasing Apple Bloom’s age actually makes the Apple parents even older, as well as the Cake parents, which at some point becomes questionable.

Applejack said she was “late” getting her cutie mark, just like Apple Bloom. If AJ was in her teens (say 13 years old) when she got her cutie mark, then the difference between her age and Apple Bloom’s is even greater, shifting their parents’ and their parents’ friends’ ages up as well, two times (once for older AJ, once for older AB). It’s not impossible that the Cakes have their child in their mid forties, but the show doesn’t portray the Cakes as close to middle age.

9 hours ago, Kadeda said:

Apple Bloom can't be 6 at the beginning of the show because we see how sweetie bell looked on her fifth birthday party. She was way smaller than apple bloom was at the beginning. I think they was somewhere between 8 and 12... so i just say 10. 

Of course... it's painfully subjective.

The problem with making Apple Bloom start out that old is that it makes the Cakes unreasonably old.

[Rushing cash 824]

2 hours ago, Zestanor said:

A lot of young people move out of their family’s home at around age 18. Starlight is naturally gifted in magic; she probably taught herself.

Plus we have seen this happen a lot in mlp(a character leaving their parents at a young age), they move out early compared to us(there are countries when people start famillies at about 15. Plus starlight wanted to get away from her dad.

2 hours ago, Zestanor said:

Apple Bloom and the others are not teenagers, because we’ve seen teenaged ponies.

The Mane 6 should all be about the same age, since in flashbacks they all look the same size.

The CMCs are basically in elementary school.

Fluttershy said she is only a year older than Pinkie in the show.

The CMCs have been pretty consistently portrayed as grade schoolers, not middle schoolers. Increasing Apple Bloom’s age actually makes the Apple parents even older, as well as the Cake parents, which at some point becomes questionable.

Applejack said she was “late” getting her cutie mark, just like Apple Bloom. If AJ was in her teens (say 13 years old) when she got her cutie mark, then the difference between her age and Apple Bloom’s is even greater, shifting their parents’ and their parents’ friends’ ages up as well, two times (once for older AJ, once for older AB). It’s not impossible that the Cakes have their child in their mid forties, but the show doesn’t portray the Cakes as close to middle age.

Their design didn't change at all(no ones was changed during the show, age wise), so this doesn't mean the cmc are not teens. I think schools in mlp and real life are not comparable, it seem that after elementary school there is no high school just college or something(until twi opens hers) and work. 

in the flashbacks fluttershy is taller then dash(of course it could be that she is just taller at that age, snips and anails or even pipsqeak are about the same age and they are of different highs).

I remembered FS saying she is older but I forgot she said in how much. What episode was it? Then it makes RD as the youngest as far as headcanons go for me, unless I missed something else, and no, I don't think the cake shows her actual age as it was only the front of the cake, what we see from that angle(and even if it does that just shows that all the main 6 are really close age wise).  

In sparkle's seven, during AJs flashback(?) we see AB as a foal (infant) while AJ seems like a teen, she looks to me about 12-15 years older then AB. And lets say the cmc were 7-8 years old back in season 1, it makes AJ in her early 20's, and since then how many years have passed? Going by holidays it was at least 5 years, so it makes the cmc 12-13. AB got her CM in the middle of the show, so she was(and counting the episodes revolving aroung hearts warming) 8-9, 10 tops. The cakes are about the age as AJs parents, and their children were born in season 2, so they are pretty old for parents, but I know stories of 50 year old women who gave birth so its not impossible(plus its a magical land they live in, so they can probably make a mare pregnant in her 60s or something like this), they look like they were around 45 in season 2 so lets go with 43-47, and if big mac is lets say, 3 years older then AJ, so he was back then 23-24, it means the apple parents became, well parents at 19-24, so around early 20s.    

[Kadeda 178]

5 hours ago, Bas said:

Here are some thaughts from Lauren Faust, but ofc this is more her opinion than being official:

 

Basically... when the show started... they are all at least 18 years old?

[FirePuppy 621]

On 5/4/2019 at 10:02 PM, Zestanor said:

So if everyone were alive at the start of the show, the ages would be:

Granny Smith: 70 ( = 6 + 18 + 15  + 31)
Mayor Mare: 42 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3)
Bright Mac: 42 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3)
Pear Butter: 42 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3)
Mrs. Cake: 40 ( = 6 + 18 + 15 + 3 - 2)
Big Mac: 24 ( = 6 + 18)
Applejack: 21 (= 6 + 15)
Apple Bloom: 6

Isn't that a WAY too young age for Apple Bloom?