Fictional chronology

This is a fictional chronology of events as depicted in the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic franchise. For a list of works in chronological order of release, see episodes, books, and comics.

=New article=

Pre-classical era
In the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, Spike, as the narrator of a pageant, tells that "long before the peaceful rule of Celestia, and before ponies discovered [...] Equestria, ponies [...] were torn apart, by hatred. [...] Each of the three [pony] tribes, the Pegasi, the unicorns, and the Earth ponies, cared not for what befell the other tribes, but only for their own welfare."


 * "The Pegasi were the stewards of the weather. But, they demanded something in return"...
 * ..."Food, that could only be grown by the Earth ponies."
 * "The unicorns demanded the same, in return for magically bringing forth day and night"...

..."And so, mistrust between the tribes festered, until one fateful day, it came to a boil. And what prompted the ponies to clash [...] was a mysterious blizzard that overtook the land, and toppled the tribes' precarious peace."

The episode then shows a very harsh winter coming to the land, forcing the ponies to discuss an agreement to unite all forces. The summit ends up a catastrophic failure. After that, the three tribes' leaders, each accompanied by one subordinate, venture to find a new land to establish their tribe upon.


 * Commander Hurricane, accompanied by Private Pansy, founds Pegasopolis on a cloud, for the Pegasi;
 * Princess Platinum, along with Clover the Clever, names Unicornia a spot she finds "dazzling", for the unicorns;
 * the Earth ponies ' Chancellor Puddinghead calls their new found land Dirtville before changing it to Earth, following the advise of her right hand, Smart Cookie.

The episode then shows that one problem immediately appears: these three places are steps away from each other, and it is not long before each of the leader claims their rights on the biggest possible portion of territory to separate from the others.

The place is then surrounded by terrible blizzards in minutes, which forces the six ponies to find shelter in a nearby cave. There, the leaders continue their disputes, and are soon frozen alive, after what the three subordinates express to each other their compassion.

When the three remaining ponies are in turn frozen, a surge goes through the unicorn Clover the Clever. Her horn generates a giant fiery heart shape, the Fire of Friendship. This warm light quickly frees everyone from the cold, and banishes the cause of the blizzards, the hatred-fed Windigos.

"All through the night, the three ponies kept the fire of friendship alive by telling stories to one another and by singing songs, which of course became the winter carols that we all still sing today. Eventually, the warmth of the fire and singing and laughing reached the leaders, and their bodies began to thaw. And it even began to melt their hearts. The three leaders agreed to share the beautiful land, and live in harmony ever afterwards."

- Spike as the narrator of the pageant, in Hearth's Warming Eve

The six ponies representing the three tribes then meet outside the cave, where they declare together the foundation of one common country under the name of Equestria.

The flag the actors display for 'Equestria' at that time features two alicorns similar to the representation of the regal sisters Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in Twilight Sparkle's storybook at the beginning of the episode Friendship is Magic, part 1. However, no mention is made of alicorns during the play. This flag is also not shown any other time in the show.


 * #↓ Aftermath

Star Swirl the Bearded



 * In the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, during the play relating events prior to Equestria's foundation, Clover the Clever talks about her mentor, Star Swirl the Bearded.
 * Star Swirl is however never shown in the series, only mentionned or imitated.


 * In Luna Eclipsed, Twilight Sparkle, disguised as Star Swirl the Bearded, says he "is only the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era", and that "he created more than 200 spells"; evoking a book "about obscure unicorn history". Later, she mentions that he "has a shelf in the Canterlot library of magic named after him".
 * Princess Luna is the only other character to recognize the costume at that time.
 * In It's About Time, the protagonists go to the Star Swirl the Bearded wing of Canterlot's library, "the most secure section of the archives".


 * In Magical Mystery Cure, Princess Celestia sends Twilight Sparkle a letter and Star Swirl the Bearded's "secret unfinished masterpiece", which Twilight succeeds in finishing. Celestia then explains that if the conjurer has not been able to complete it, it is because he lacked knowledge of friendship, unlike Twilight.


 * In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1, Starswirl can be seen in a picture when Princesses Celestia and Luna are showing Twilight Sparkle a storybook depicting how Tirek was imprisomned. He is referred to as a "young unicorn wizard" who befriended Tirek's brother, Scorpan.


 * #↓ Aftermath

Timeless fashion
"Since the beginning of time, the elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashions that truly expressed the essence of their very souls. Patiently waiting decades – no, centuries – for the perfect pony gown."

- Spike to the attendants of Rarity's fashion show, in the episode Suited For Success


 * #↓ Aftermath

Discord


In the episode The Return of Harmony Part 1, Princess Celestia tells that "Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. [He] ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness."

"Luna and [Celestia] saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike; so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, [they] combined [their] powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone".

Celestia also explains that she then "though the spell [they] cast would keep him contained forever".

"This creature is called a 'draconequus'. He has the head of a pony, and a body made up of all sorts of things. [...] This statue represents 'discord', which means 'a lack of harmony'."

- Cheerilee to her class in Canterlot's sculpture garden, at the beginning of The Return of Harmony

This is arguably the 'earliest' mention of the two regal sisters in the chronology, however it is not explained if the princesses were already princesses at that time, nor if they already controlled the sun and moon.


 * #↓ Aftermath

King Sombra

 * Quotes from The Crystal Empire - Part 1

Nightmare Moon
"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest[, Princess Celestia,] used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger[, Princess Luna,] brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon S01E01.png She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon..."

- Introduction of the serie's pilot episode Friendship is Magic, part 1

"...and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since."

- Twilight Sparkle, in Friendship is Magic, part 1

The legend of Nightmare Moon
"Follow me, and very soon, you'll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon.Listen close, my little dears, I'll tell you where you got your fears;of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary; of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary.Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves from her searching eyes.But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing: to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!Hungrily, she soars the sky. If she sees nopony, she passes by.So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year![...] Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat you!"

- Zecora telling the legend of Nightmare Moon, in Luna Eclipsed


 * #↓ Aftermath

The creation of Ponyville

 * In the episode Family Appreciation Day, Granny Smith recalls how Earth pony settlers, among whom members of the Apple family, received from Princess Celestia a land where to establish themselves, which they turned into Ponyville. Granny Smith remembers herself as a pony about the same age as the show's Applejack at that time.


 * In Winter Wrap Up, Twilight Sparkle says "Ponyville was started by Earth ponies, [and] for hundreds of years they've never used magic to clean up winter."

Recent history

 * Princess Cadance oh yeah S2E25.png In the book Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, Princess Cadance tells the story of how she became an alicorn by overcoming a love-stealing pony called Prismia.
 * The series introduce Cadance as Twilight's old "foal-sitter" in the episode A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, recalling how the young Alicorn princess played with the still "blank flank" filly.


 * In Games Ponies Play, the Pegasus Rainbow Dash recalls how she was deeply affected by the choice of Fillydelphia to host an edition of the Equestria Games, in place of Cloudsdale, when she was a younger filly.


 * In the episode The Cutie Mark Chronicles, the main characters recall how Rainbow Dash's first sonic rainboom ever caused more or less directly them to gain their cutie mark.
 * Filly Rainbow Dash sonic rainboom S1E23.png In her memory, shortly after initiating her sonic rainboom, Rainbow Dash is seen earning her cutie mark, and winning a race.
 * In Twilight Sparkle's memory, the rainboom causes the unicorn to get a surge of magic power at her entrance exam to Princess Celestia's school "for gifted unicorns", making the dragon Spike hatch from his egg and temporarily grow enormous. Princess Celestia consequently takes the filly as student, but also as her personal protégée, revealing her cutie mark which had just appeared.
 * In Fluttershy's memory, she launches Rainbow Dash's race, and one of the competitors makes the young pony fall. Fluttershy being almost incapable of flying, she is saved in extremis by a bunch of butterflies passing by, and is enchanted by the ground land, being there for the first time. After she befriends a few creatures, the sonic rainboom that Rainbow Dash creates during her race causes the animals to flee in fright. When Fluttershy reassures them, convincing them that there is no danger, her cutie mark appears.
 * In Pinkie Pie's memory, dissatisfied with her life as a rock farmer, she is overwhelmed by the appearance of the sonic rainboom, and spends one night preparing a party for her family. It is a success, and grants her her cutie mark.
 * In Rarity's memories, her horn is irresistibly attracted, and dragged the rest of her body for at least one day and night all the way to a giant rock. The sonic rainboom then makes the rock split, which reveals it to be filled with gems. She uses them for school costumes and her cutie mark appears.
 * In Applejack's memory, she moves from Ponyville to Manehattan, to live the life of her uncle and aunt Orange in the big city. After at least one day, she feels a heartache, and sees the rainboom showing her the way back to Sweet Apple Acres. Conforted, she gains her cutie mark upon arriving there.


 * Twilight reveals in Lesson Zero that she was traumatized in Canterlot's Kindergarten.


 * In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, Twilight recalls how she and her brother Shining Armor went their separate ways through life.


 * 1) In Friendship is Magic, part 1, Twilight Sparkle, sent by Princess Celestia to check on the preparations for the Summer Sun celebration, participates in an Apple family reunion.


 * #↓ Next occurence

The Mare in the Moon

 * Quotes from Friendship is Magic, part 1, Friendship is Magic, part 2, Luna Eclipsed, S4E1, S4E2, about the Mare in the Moon and subsequent events with the return of Nightmare Moon

Friendship is Magic

 * Quotes from events after Twilight's arrival in Ponyville.


 * In Friendship is Magic, part 1, Twilight Sparkle, sent by Princess Celestia to check on the preparations for the Summer Sun celebration, participates in an Apple family reunion.


 * Applejack: Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family?
 * Twilight Sparkle: Thanks, but I really need to hurry--
 * Applejack: This here's Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala. Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp... [deep breath] Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith. Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests.

Applebuck Season

 * In Applebuck Season, Applejack confirms the bountiful Apple family were present solely for the Apple family reunion.


 * Twilight Sparkle: What about all those relatives I've met when I first came to Ponyville? Can't they help?
 * Applejack: [sigh] They were just here for the Apple family reunion. They actually live all over Equestria and are busy harvestin' their own orchards. So, uh, I'm on my own. Which means, I should really get back to work. Ahem... hint hint? Get back to work?
 * Twilight Sparkle: Fine.

Suited For Success

 * #↑ Prelude

other titles
S1

The return of Discord

 * Quotes from The Return of Harmony Part 1, The Return of Harmony Part 2, about these events.

Lesson Zero

 * Pic showing at least 3 previous lessons.
 * Quotes.

Nightmare Night

 * #↑ Prelude

other titles
S2

A Canterlot Wedding

 * In IDW'w main series comics' arc 4, Shining Armor tells the story of how he met Cadance.
 * crys (and comics)
 * and consequent appearances
 * The date for the wedding is April 21st, 2012, according to an advertisement an a tweet from HubTVNetwork. However, according to "Neigh Anything", it is placed shortly after the Summer Warp Up Festival, so at the begging of autumn, and Twilights opens the 27th day of an unidentified month in her calendar to check if the gift for the wedding anniversary is scheduled to arrive at the correct date, making September 27th a second possible date.

The return of the Crystal Empire
and consequent appearances

Apple Family Reunion

 * In Apple Family Reunion, Granny explains the timing of the reunions as "every 100 moons" (if we assume a "moon" to be the equivalent to a lunar cycle (29 days) then this is roughly 8 1/3 years)
 * We are also shown photos of previous family reunions. The third photo is of particular interest, as you can clearly see Applejack, Big McIntosh, and Apple Bloom in the picture.


 * Granny Smith: Why, thank you, Applejack. I still can't believe it's been almost one hundred moons since our last family reunion. Aw, I remember it like it was yesterday.
 * Applejack: Well, you have been talkin' about it pretty much every day since then.


 * Granny Smith: And, of course, we can't forget to take the big family photo! We always snapped a photo in front of the barn at the end of every reunion, let's us see how our family's grown!
 * Applejack: Photo in front of the barn. Got it.


 * This means at least eight years have passed between Friendship is Magic, part 1 and Apple Family Reunion

S3

Magical Mystery Cure
MMC

Coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle
what it says.

S4 stuff

 * EoH

S4 Apparently an unknown number of years has passed from S1E1 to S4E1, since it's another annual Summer Sun Celebration.
 * Princess Celestia tells this one is "no more" a celebration of the banishment of Nightmare Moon.
 * It may be more than one year as the comic "Neigh Anything" is set nearly one year after "A Canterlot Wedding" (Shining Armor's and Cadance's wedding anniversary in close), but as Twilight is still an unicorn, it is before season 4.

Etc
=Old article=

Equestria before show time
Parts of the history of Equestria, the homeland of ponies, are known; mainly from the show.

The Crystal Empire
The Crystal Empire is considered a region of Equestria, but according to Princess Celestia in the episode The Crystal Empire - Part 1, very little of its history is actually remembered.

In this episode, it is made clear that the Crystal Empire's most valuable magical relic is the Crystal Heart, which channels the light and love within the Crystal Ponies to repel evil forces.

To this end, the Empire's first queen established the annual Crystal Faire, which would become the Crystal Ponies' most cherished tradition. The purpose of the Faire is to "renew the spirit of love and unity in the Empire so [the Crystal Ponies] could protect it from harm".

At some point in the Crystal Empire's history, a "Crystal Kingdom Anthem" is written; as mentionned by Twilight Sparkle in the episode.

Princess Celestia tells that sometime in the Empire's past, its ruler was overthrown, and an evil unicorn stallion named Sombra took over as king. She says that he subsequently enslaved the Crystal Ponies, and his influence transformed the Empire into a dark land and covered it in black crystal spires. The Princess continues, explaining that she and her sister, Princess Luna, eventually overthrew Sombra himself, turning him to shadow, and banishing him under the ice of The North.

However, Princess Celestia finally reveals that King Sombra had a contingency plan: a curse that caused the Crystal Empire and its population to vanish into thin air, supposedly indefinitely.


 * #↓ Aftermath

Nightmare Moon
"A little less than 1000 years go by, between the above events and the ones below."

The Mare in the Moon
The episode Friendship is Magic, part 1 reveals that the banishment of Nightmare Moon was not permanent, and would end after a thousand years. Coincidentally, the last day of the millennium comes two days after when Twilight Sparkle reads the book.

Two days after, "the stars [...] aid in her escape", and Nightmare Moon is released from her imprisonment on the moon. Upon return, in Friendship is Magic, part 2, Nightmare Moon claims her legitimacy to the throne of Equestria, while Princess Celestia is amiss.

The main characters finally defeat her, which makes her disappear. All that is left of her are smoking shredded pieces of her armor, and Princess Luna, under a different appearance. Celestia returns at this moment and reunites with her sister, offering her to rule with her, as was "meant to [be]".


 * #↑ Prelude
 * #↓ Aftermath

The return of Discord
To understand what comes next, here is a short reminder of the franchise's storyline related in the episodes Friendship is Magic, part 1, Friendship is Magic, part 2, The Return of Harmony Part 1, and above.

In the episode The Return of Harmony Part 1, Princess Celestia tells that she and her sister Luna discovered the six items known as the "Elements of Harmony" more than 1000 years before the show's time, making them their oldest known historic holders.

In the episode Friendship is Magic, part 2, Twilight Sparkle reads that "the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters [, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,] located in what is now [the] Everfree Forest". The royal castle used by Princess Celestia, at that episode's time in the show, is situated in Canterlot. The episode also shows how the main characters become the bearers of the Elements of Harmony at that time; which happens some time before the events of the episode The Return of Harmony Part 1.

In the episode The Return of Harmony Part 1, Princess Celestia continues her story where it was cut above; at when her and her sister Luna turned Discord to stone. At the time of the episode, "since Luna and [her] are no longer connected to the Elements of Harmony", due to them being connected to the main characters since the episode Friendship is Magic, part 2, "the spell [was] broken".

Indeed: in the beginning of the episode, Discord is accidentally freed from petrification by arguing children.

The Princess then attempts to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, which she had hidden in Canterlot Tower since their last use in the episode Friendship is Magic, part 2.This to give them back to the main characters, in order for the ponies to use the artefacts to turn Discord into stone once again. However, she doesn't find them and Discord makes it clear that he had displaced them beforehand, avoiding Celestia's move. He then tricks five of the six bearers to render them harmless.

In the episode The Return of Harmony Part 2, the draconequus turns Ponyville into his "chaos capital of the world" by messing with much of its features in chaotic ways. He eventually breaks the will of the last active Element bearer, Twilight Sparkle. The Princess then succeeds in bringing her student back to her quest thanks to Twilight's assistant Spike. The unicorn then regains the aid of her five fellow Elements, who finally turn Discord into stone again at the end of the episode.


 * #↑ Prelude
 * #↓ Aftermath

The return of the Crystal Empire
King Sombra's spell, as related above, was not definitive. In the episode The Crystal Empire - Part 1, more than 1000 years later, Princess Celestia sends the main characters to the Crystal Empire, which has apparently returned.

Upon arrival, they learn that King Sombra has somewhat returned too. in The Crystal Empire - Part 2, Twilight Sparkle and Spike manage to find the Crystal Heart, which Sombra had hidden in the capital city castle's paramount spire when in power; and manage to return it to its stand, where the heart immediately regains its power from the Crystal Ponies' confidence. The Crystal Heart then bursts in energy, which destroys Sombra, and frees the Empire from the harsh conditions he had brought back with him.


 * #↑ Prelude

 In the episode Magical Mystery Cure, Twilight Sparkle mixes up the cutie marks of her friends, wrecking havoc in Ponyville, and causing them deep pain. She finds a solution, succeeding in her final student's test. Having created new magic, she is consequently turned into an alicorn, accompanied by Princess Celestia, and crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle. 

Here ends the historical part about Equestria as of the end of Season three.

Buffalos
In the episode Over a Barrel, Chief Thunderhooves of the buffalos, near Appleloosa, tells the story of how his tribe has lived in the same place for generations, and how he sees that the pony settlers arrived one year before are invaders, especially with their misplaced apple orchard.

The moon
The history of the moon is not richly explained in the show.

In the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, it is explained that before the Princesses ruled over Equestria, it was the unicorn tribe which was in charge of raising and lowering the sun and moon.

In the episode Friendship is Magic, part 1, it is told that from an unknown date up until about a thousand years before the show's time, Princess Luna, bearing a crescent moon as her cutie mark, raised the moon and stars to begin the night, and lowered them to make place for the day her sister, Princess Celestia, brought forth by raising the sun.

When she turned into Nightmare Moon, she was banished to the satellite for a millennium. During this period, Celestia took over the charge of the moon cycle. After these ten centuries, she came back to Equestria, became Princess Luna again, and it is assumed that she got back her power over the astre.

In the second arc of IDW Main Series comics, the nightmarish power which had enslaved the princess threatens Equestria again. When Luna and the main characters go to the moon to stop it, it takes control over Rarity. It is the occasion to get to know more about this place which has been under the malefice of this nightmare for an undetermined period of time.

The main six finally destroy the villain entity and free the moon's denizens, as well as Rarity's spirit, and Luna, from her fears.

Continuity
As visible above, many episode do not feature a clear continuity. Such is not the prime purpose of the show. However, continuity may be established for a few events. ¡ Work in Progress ! (develop here about the order: ... mostly developped above 101 : twilight and co meet. ... 203 : 3 crosses in twi's agenda : at least 2 lessons learned since luna's return. also, happens before the others start writing. ... )