What calendar era does Equestria have?

[raykv423 1,689]

Does it share a Gregorian calendar or something? And how about technology? And what year does it sets in?

I know It might sound crazy but....

I'm wondering about that since 

1) in FiM, there's some modern tech such as some speakers and audio equipment that Vinyl Scratch use, some cameras, and refrigerators and there are also some outdated equipment that are still in use at Equestria like gramophones but it seems to me that nopony uses a modern tech electronics (like cell phones, computers and/or tablets) in Equestria so I wonder about the technology in Equestria.

2) I wonder about the calendar system does Equestria have? I mean, does it have a Gregorian calendar or something? And what year does MLP FiM is sets in?

[Will Guide 21,362]

According to TV Tropes page on My Little Pony, the trope Anachronism Stew:

Consider the fact that Equestria possesses technology from several different centuries. The houses of Ponyville are straw-thatched cottages lit primarily by candlelight; the Kingdom of Canterlot has architecture based in Medieval Stasis while advancing in all other aspects; and Cloudsdale appears to be more technologically advanced, having the abilities to control weather and develop a modern military, despite having architectural motifs from ancient Greece. Appleloosa is a Wild West town, while Manehattan is a modern metropolis. The creatures range from a Cerberus and phoenix, associated with ancient myth, to farm animals and domesticated pets. Characters might use a wooden cart, a chariot, a feather and quill, or non-electrical farm equipment in daily life; others might use a jackhammer, a record turntable, an anemometer, or even a laboratory meant to monitor vital signs and natural phenomena.

End quote

And in two separate episodes they mentioned Tuesday and Saturday at least

[Will Guide 21,362]

There is a fictional chronology on MLP Wiki that makes a great timeline reference tool.

[SharpWit 2,682]

From what I remember, Equestria has at least 4 annual holidays. Hearths Warming would arguably be the most important, but the Summer Sun Celebration is based around a solstice.

This gets a little complicated because their planet is similar but not true to our earth, where a solstice in which we're at our furthest distance from the sun and it is Summer for our northern hemisphere, and another in which we are at our closest, in which case it's Winter for our Northern hemisphere.

We know Equestria to have seasons, and I think it would be safe to assume that they're of perfectly equal length, but whether this is the result from interference of natural processes (i.e. weather control) or from the allignment of the solar system is up to debate.

Our year is based around the time it takes for us to revolve around the sun, plus an additional day every 4 years with exception to every year that is divisible by 100 but not by 400 because of allignment issues.

A Lunar calendar used to be common, as it is only natural to use its phase cycle as a form of measurement, but as it does not line up with the solar cycle which has a greater impact on every day, it's largely fallen out of favor for practical usage. This is not an issue for Equestria which can and likely does have the solar and lunar cycles synchronized,,,

I thought that I had this worked out but an annual solstice completely contradicts a daily revolution from the sun. The lesson to take away really is that you can have a lunar cycle equate to your month length with no issues and a year can be pretty much whatever.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,307]

Twilight Sparkle has a well equipped lab.

And the ponies have modern hospitals too.

 

Yikes! I hope nopony saw that! I didn't notice the caption someone added! I have to go find an image now!

Edited December 21, 2020 by cuteycindyhoney

[Tom Gallagher 33,588]

I'm just glad they don't have phones. 

[Awkward Segway 317]

Presumably, they have twelve months per year, considering that Winter Wrap Up (the song) begins with "three months of winter" (assuming each season is a quarter of the year).

6 hours ago, Califorum said:

there is no 'year'. 

Then why do they refer to so many things happening a thousand years ago?

[ExplosionMare 18,065]

3 hours ago, TomDaBombMLP said:

I'm just glad they don't have phones. 

 

[Tom Gallagher 33,588]

11 minutes ago, ExplosionMare said:

 

Well, crap! 

Edit: Discord doesn't really count, right?

...

...Right? 

[Denim&Venöm 19,142]

Same orbit around the sun as earth, divided into 12 months and quarterly seasons, but their lunar calendar appears to be 7 days long. If you organize episodes by phases of the moon and excluding ones where Luna is incapacitated, you get a fairly accurate chronological timeline. Someone on DHX staff noticed the pattern and kept it up. 

[Jesse Terrence 2,968]

16 hours ago, SharpWit said:

From what I remember, Equestria has at least 4 annual holidays. Hearths Warming would arguably be the most important, but the Summer Sun Celebration is based around a solstice.

This gets a little complicated because their planet is similar but not true to our earth, where a solstice in which we're at our furthest distance from the sun and it is Summer for our northern hemisphere, and another in which we are at our closest, in which case it's Winter for our Northern hemisphere.

We know Equestria to have seasons, and I think it would be safe to assume that they're of perfectly equal length, but whether this is the result from interference of natural processes (i.e. weather control) or from the allignment of the solar system is up to debate.

Our year is based around the time it takes for us to revolve around the sun, plus an additional day every 4 years with exception to every year that is divisible by 100 but not by 400 because of allignment issues.

A Lunar calendar used to be common, as it is only natural to use its phase cycle as a form of measurement, but as it does not line up with the solar cycle which has a greater impact on every day, it's largely fallen out of favor for practical usage. This is not an issue for Equestria which can and likely does have the solar and lunar cycles synchronized,,,

I thought that I had this worked out but an annual solstice completely contradicts a daily revolution from the sun. The lesson to take away really is that you can have a lunar cycle equate to your month length with no issues and a year can be pretty much whatever.

Most likely they have 2 solstices, and their longest day is likely to be the summer sun celebration. Having a quasi-goddess for both the moon and sun make for huge problems regarding how they measure their time. It also must mean all other species have no way to control day cycles. Think about it, the definitive weapon of mass destruction in case of war. Celestia could simply move a star far too close to whatever country is at war with her just long enough to scorch them. Maybe equestria is a single planet orbiting a smaller star than our sun, but even then how they manipulate both the sun and the moon makes me wonder how comes they haven't destroyed the world by accident xD.

Either way, we can be sure they use months as a thing, and maybe they measure years through lunar phases. I mean, it was no coincidence the 1000 years of luna's banishment fell on summer sun celebration. Maybe they use "moon" as a generic term for year aluding the banishment. Who knows? 

[SharpWit 2,682]

@Jesse Terrence The problem with the solstices is that they occur daily from a geocentric model, rather than biannually.

I love the idea of Celestia being able to abuse such power, 

Spoiler

But I don't think her ability to move the sun has the same affects moving ours would. Afterall, in the alternative time line where Nightmare Moon reigns, the world isn't frozen over from eternal night, and Ahuizotal nearly completed an artifact that allowed him to bring about drought and intense heat for a while region. Her power is based more on her divinity and means to establish a world order, rather than raw power.