Because someone asked: the 'connected stories' timeline. · 9:31pm Nov 16th, 2013
Seriously, someone actually asked which order they all take place in. I answered as requested -- in private message -- and then was told by that person that it would potentially make a good blog post. This is possibly true. And it's also one I should put up before next Friday because dear gawds, at that point, it might come across as Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here, and that's really more appropriate for the NBC fall schedule. So I'm putting this up now and scheduling a displacing post for Wednesday, in which the Royal Canterlot Library crowd will be welcomed and I check the defensive fortifications just in case of any Colbert Recent News Sidebox bump.
Before I paste in the original answer, a note for new arrivals: the group is meant to have each story stand separately as much as they work together. You don't have to read everything to understand anything. (But those who do may spot references and connections here and there.) Please don't flee in terror without giving it two seconds of thought first. And if you do, go through the door. After opening it.
And with that both said and ignored, here's my PM reply.
------------------------------------------------------------
*groan* I was always afraid someone was going to ask me this as of fifteen minutes ago.
Okay. Of the stories which are up (completed or non), we can knock four off the list. The two CDA tales are on their own permutation. Dragon-Dog Day Afternoon never gets to Equestria: in fact, it never even leaves Los Angeles. And Jury Duty could be part of the set, but it's more or less just me playing around with an idea for comedy's sake -- so let's omit it for now.
That leaves thirteen.
For purposes of the overall timeline, each MLPFIM season is considered to occupy about one year, and those years begin and end in summer. So, in order...
100% Move=50% Fire Late in the first year: not quite at the Gala yet, about one moon after the end of Fluttershy's modeling career.
On The Application Of Time And Motion Efficiency Studies To Initial Relationship Formation Very early in year two: we're not quite at Twilight's second Running Of The Leaves yet. Probably just a little before Discord.
One Tenth-Bit Based on the relationship level between Rarity and the pony she's meeting with towards the end, this feels like spring of the second year.
A Total Eclipse Of The Fun Starts a few weeks before the second anniversary of the Return and ends on the second annual Return Day (which is held three days after the Summer Sun Celebration), putting it firmly at the end of year two.
A Mark Of Appeal (incomplete) Kicks in a little while after that.
Stupid Direction-Face (incomplete) The autumn after Spike's failed attempt to join the dragon migration, which would put it in year three.
Five Hundred Little Murders The first eclipse has already taken place and Flitter's been in Ponyville for some time. While the specific seasonal time hasn't been noted, I see it as occurring in early spring. (Triptych itself seems to be towards the end of summer, heading into autumn.)
Luna's Lottery Lunacy Some distance into year three: the national budget is trying to deal with the costs of recovery from the changeling invasion.
Sonic Rainbigot The press is well aware of who the Bearers are, as are a few members of the non-Ponyville public -- and Rainbow's been a Daring Do fan long enough to have finished reading the cycle. I see it as an early summer setting.
Dear Friend, While the piece itself is meant as theme-linked short piece comedy, it references enough other events while including bits which have appeared in other places to make it official. (Gawds, that word looks worse than 'canon'...) Call it right after returning to Ponyville post-coronation, which marks the start of year four.
Pinkie Pie vs. The Souffle One week before the story immediately below it:
Triptych (incomplete) itself. Yes, the first comes just about last.
Snowflake Shoe-Hare Kicks in right after Chapter Four in the above. The connection's basic: in that chapter, the Bearers leave Ponyville and before doing so, have to hire their replacements for the day jobs. Snowflake is Fluttershy's: she's seen signing him up at the marketplace. He heads for the cottage, and iris opens.
Hopefully that either clears everything up or makes things so horrific as to restart every issue at #1 just to pretend the new version makes any sense.
------------------------------------------------------------
...maybe I should blog-bury this on Tuesday just to be safe(r)...
Good to know. Consider putting a link to this on your user page, just in case other people think to ask in the future.
Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a plethora of your writing that I haven't read. I need to rectify that.
Nice, very helpful
Wonderful to have this, I had quite a time trying to figure out what order to read your storys in.
The cool thing about the way you've written the stories is they're all clearly set in the same universe but stand alone without issue. Still, nice to have a rough timeline.
I'm favoriting this. Btw. I haven't read it yet. But where does the whole Trixie goes to jail fic land in this timeline again?
Can you update this for your other fics in this timeline? I looked through your fics and you're missing Pony Up a Tree, and I remember you saying that the Trixie goes to jail fic was somewhere in the same point and time as Chapter 8 of Tryptic. And with the short fics that I missed over the months. I use this as a starting point of keeping up with the timeline.
After Mark of Appeal, I'm going to restart reading the timeline. Mostly because it's super epic, I love this AU.
Update?
2138666
I put it on the TVTropes blog entry.
2138674
Cool. Although I use this page when a story comes out, and would make a good link on the Tropes page since anyone new to the series could see how the story flows. I can't begin to tell you how helpful this page is [I actually have it bookmarked]. Although the Trixie fic, Orange Is The New Blue, and this newer one hasn't popped up on here.
And it could replace the link you have in paragraph 5.
1886291
Is there a way to favorite blog posts?
2138674
Any link?
4657674
The TV Tropes page.
4661313
This one? I searched for "blog" and only found a link back here (along with one to the forum thread).