Figuring out ages. · 3:07am Jan 23rd, 2017
Doing a little copy paste from someone elses blog where I did this. Though fixed due to having looked up something to see if I had recalled it right or not. I didn't. This has thrown my maths all out of whack.
Since I am doing a Sunsarity fic I wanted to put this up where others could find it easily. Main point is that there is a time-dilation effect with the portal. One than is likely more muted now that they are keeping it open more often that it's normal operation.
I also think that the portal has to have opened once inbetween Sunset running away, and her stealing Twilight's crown.
My recollection of when the last Apple family reunion was was incorrect. I thought it was when AJ was Applebloom's age, but it was when Applejack was a foal.
Going to leave my original maths below, so you can see what difference my thoughts made. Afterwards I'll make my corrections.
Depending on how certain things are in MLP:FIM I could see their ages being like that, but I think it might be closer to them being late teens to early 20's with a time dilation effect between Equestria and the Human world. Those things are as follows:
1: Whether or not some of the comics are canon, specifically the Sunset Shimmer origin comic that shows Twilight as a young filly in the background and her showing up in the human world during the Human counterparts being Freshmen.
2: Derpy's relationship with Dinky, about if they are mother/daughter or just sisters with Derpy being Dinky's gaurdian.
3: The best young fliers competition.
4: Apple family reunion, which happens once every 100 moons (important because the portal opens only every 30 moons and is suggested to have last opened when Sunset left through it).
The points are in no specific order, but the last one is somewhat the most important, and also require Applejack to be one of the older girls in their group. From memory and without looking it up, Applejack said that at the last family reunion she was around as old as Applebloom. Meaning that 100 moons equals AJ's age minus Bloom's age.
It seems like Bloom is 8 years old (I think it was stated that the CMC and other fillies/colts were aged up for the movies so they could be at the school). If Applejack was 18 then 100 moons would be 10 years, 30 would be 3. I will be back to this.
Point 1 comes about because Twilight has clearly finished whatever education they do give to ponies, so is either post high-school or post-graduate. It was at most a year between Sunset leaving and Twilight getting her cutie mark and entering school.
If it was only 3 years, then there would be no way Twilight would have finished all of her schooling in that time, especially considering that she spent between 1 and 2 years in Ponyville before becoming a Princess.
Now, if Applejack was closer to 25 there is more lee-way. Give and taking a bit, 24-8=16 and 26-8=18. 100/30=3.3 repeating. 16/3.3=5.3 repeating, and 18/3.3=6. So if 30 moons is between 5 and 6 years, and time passes closer to our own for the Human world, it would be either 2.5 or 3 depending on how they count moons. I'm doing 1 moon equal 1 month so 2.5 for the Humans. a ratio of 2.5:5.3 - 6 is easier to make some allowances.
If Twilight got her cutie mark later than normal (I think that was the case, can't really recall on that) so she was closer to 10-12 then mid to late teens for completing her school does work. Though that is cutting it very closely, and I think Rainbow was supposed to be the youngest of their group. Not sure if Twilight relative age to Rainbow was ever mentioned.
For the Best Young Fliers competition, it really depends on what 'young' means. 18 and down is obvious, but would require Derpy who was shown as a competitor, to be Dinky's older sis rather than mother. 21 and down is agreeable to most, and would let Rainbow be late teens, and Derpy have been a teen mother. 25 and down could be arguable, but unlikely.
If Rainbow is 18-21, Twilight would've needed to at least be 19-22. That does mean that there would've been at least 10 years between her getting her cutie mark and becoming a Princess.
However, if the portal had opened once in the intermitten years, and Sunset had waited to figure out the new world she was in and setting up a power base to start from before taking control over the student body through fear (somewhat suggest by the pictures in Principal Celestia's office showing Sunset winning the Fall Formal and going form 'nice' to outright evil) then the timing works.
Sunset flees through the portal. Twilight is around 10 years old.
Portal opens at some point while Twilight is finishing basic schooling before doing the more advanced (college level) studies.
Twilight around age 19-20 head to Ponyville and befriends the others.
Portal opens again, Twilight is around age 22. Sunset steals her crown yadda yadda.
I think that is all, though there might have been something I skipped from when I was thinking it over earlier. Going to add another comment on a separate thought.
EDIT: Recalled a point. What they view as a year is likely different than our own, since A) they make the sun and moon orbit the planet and B) they control the seasons. After a quick look, it doesn't seem like we have seen a calendar in the show and I don't recall them mentioning specific months, just the seasons. Which means they probably do the Harvest Moon thing where they treat the Seasons as the months and just have the year broken into 4 parts rather than 12.
Now, most of that does stay roughly the same, but as I was wrong in how old AJ was for the reunion it does change a couple things. Primarily, how much time 30 moons is, and Twilight's age when she got her cutie mark.
So since the reunion last took place when AJ was a foal, that means that 100 moons is equal to Applejack's age, roughly.
Since 30 moons would be a third of her age, if she was 18 then 30 moons is 6 years, 24=8.
That also means that the Rainboom happened when AJ was 1/3 her current age. Since she is older than Twilight, 6 can work, but that also means that the mane 6 age range is likely 16-19. This would make Twilight 4 or 5 when she became Celestia's personal student.
However, checking a clip of that, it seems that Twilight is a bit older than that when she gets her cutie mark. Also, in the recent episode where we saw AJ as a teen, but Applebloom wasn't born yet, AJ being in her mid 20's is far more likely.
Let's set her age at 21. This makes 30 moons 7 years. I would say the age range here would be 18-23. With Twilight being 19 or 20. This would put Twilight at 5 or 6. She could have gotten her cutie mark at 6, which is about when basic schooling tends to get started.
So AJ being 21, and Twilight being 20 works. The problem with that, is that needs to be their ages when the portal reopens. Something that happens after Twilight had been in Ponyville for about 2-3 years. That means that when Twilight got there Applebloom would only have been around 5.
This brings me to AJ being 24. As stated above, that means 30 moons is 8 years, and she was 8 when she got her cutie mark. Twilight could still be 6 or 7 years old when she got hers. Mane 6 age range is back to 20-21 to 25-26.
Even if Twilight was in an accelerated school program, 8 years would only let her complete most of it, as well as put her at age 14. This gives a bit more weight for the second portal opening. Portal opened twice, 16 years have gone by.
Timeline time.
Sunset flees through portal. Twilight is about 6/7. A few months go by.
Twilight is 7, Rainboom happens, Mane 6 get their cutie marks.
Portal opens again. Twilight is 14-15. Applebloom get born.
Twilight is 19-20, goes to Ponyville. Makes friends, rescues Luna.
Portal opens, Twilight is 22, Sunset steal her crown.
Timedilation wise that means the ratio is 2.5:8 or 1:3.2 years. That does mean that Sunset, who left in her late teens as she was shown having taken a final before going through the portal, she has been in the human world for about 5 years. From what has happened in the Equestria Girls movies, it seems like they are seniors. With that, I think she might've spent the first year getting used to the world and learning. Joined Canterlot High School as a freshman along with the human counterparts of Twilight's friends. With Sunset being late teens, she would be 20-22, when she stole Twilight's crown.
Granted, they could be juniors, maybe even sophomores. Though part of that depends on if the spring fling also had a princess, as we had seen 4 pictures of Sunset in a dress and crown in Principal Celestia's office. Though a couple of those could have been for other things. The friendship games, and their trip to Camp Everfree makes me think they are seniors. While juniors can get a class trip, that is usually something meant for seniors before they go into all the tests and stuff for graduating and getting into college.
Fluttershy is the oldest of the mane 6 and Fluttershy said it to pinkie.
4433237 I never mentioned Fluttershy's age. My math is based off of Applejack's since she is the only one we get a reference for in regards to her family reunion.
In fact, your comment and this one are the only places Fluttershy's name appears on the page.
4433245 well then it's wrong because the show cannon states Fluttershy is older then Pinkie by one year. And in season 1 episode 23 Fluttershy is the tallest out of them. And rainbow is the smallest of them meaning she is the youngest pony of the group.
And it is the same for equestria girls too.
4433637 Again, none of that really matters. I do have Rainbow as being the youngest due to the flying competition, but as I said Applejack is the only one where we have a reference for. The girls being older or younger don't matter if you don't have a point to go off of.
Applejack is 100 moons old, roughly since she was a baby at the previous family reunion and an adult at the one on-screen.
Also size does not equate age, there are ponies that have been shown to be shorter than their children.
4433865 well to me Fluttershy is the oldest pony and rainbow is the youngest. Someone worked out the mane 6 age. If I recall correctly the ages are:
Fluttershy 24
Rarity 23
Pinkie 23
Twilight 22
Applejack 22
Rainbow 21
Starlight glimmer is 32.
Sunset left when she was 22.
But you can't go by the apple family reunion because there was 2 in one year. Season 1 episode 1&2 and season 3 episode 8,
One at the summer sun celebration and one before twilight became an alicorn which was the next summer sun celebration.
So the staff doesn't have to show everything. We can't assume it. So there is no way to tell how many reunions they had.
So by that fact until we know what a moon is all theories are right and wrong at the same time.
But perhaps there is a way to figure it out.
And it's Equestria Girls.
Sunset states the dance happens on Friday which is the third day. So sunset steals the crown on Wednesday morning and by the moon in both worlds we can see a full moon last 3 days. So by that we can estimate a moon cycle can be applied in the same way. So 28.5x3=85.5 days. So we can assume it never the same so it could be anywhere between 2-15 years and judging by the fall of sunset shimmer with a cutie markless purple filly with an pink alicorn must be twilight sparkle and it adds up.
4434322 If you are trying to pass off the first episode as a family reunion, you are incorrect. That was just a gathering of the Apple family due to them being in charge of catering the Summer Sun Celebration. Granny even says that the last reunion is the one in the pictures that she was showing Applebloom since the filly hadn't seen one.
And once more I AM NOT DEBATING THAT FLUTTERSHY IS THE OLDEST. I AM JUST SAYING THAT HER AGE DOESN'T FACTOR INTO THIS.