I am working on a story and want to know how much time passed in the series canon because the passage of time always seemed strange to me and I would like a half decent timeline to work off of.

6511661
This one is tough. Before season 4 came out, people tended to treat the show as one season--one year, thus three years at that time. However, in season 4, we learn that it was just a year from the beginning of the series. Guessing by the current number of Hearthswarmings, Grand Galloping Galas and so on, I guess now it's about three or four years from the events of the pilot episode.

Also, I remember that there was some timeline project a few years ago that tried to set the episodes into an approximate order. Interesting thing was that Putting Your Hoof Down may have happened some time ago before Twilight came to Ponyville and Fluttershy was just writing to Celestia about her memory.

6511708
Nothing in season 4 ever demonstrated that. The only way to reach that conclusion is to seriously mangle a few lines of dialogue and assume a great deal without evidence.

Forcing the first three seasons into a single year creates more problems than it solves.

6511717

Forcing the first three seasons into a single year creates more problems than it solves.

I can't say I'm happy with that either, two or three years of the first three season sit better with me as well... but, yeah.

I'm curious, how do you interpret what is said about the Summer Sun Celebration and the timeline? I wanted to include a quotation of the line that at implies the one year paradox, but don't remember where exactly it was and I don't have time right now to scroll through the transcripts

Celestia states at the end of Princess Twilight Sparkle that the summer sun celebration is now one of joy for the return of her sister. this is only a paradox if you assume that there have been no summer sun celebrations in between. Given there are episodes that have featured other seasonal events (winter has appeared twice, as has autumn), implying more than one year has taken place, it's reasonable to assume that the general idea of one season = one year holds true. We just haven't been shown every event from every year in every season.

It's easier to fit things together as well, then, rather than having to mash so many events into a single year.

And then, of course, in The Cutie Remark, Nightmare Moon declares that Celestia has been locked up in the moon for years, plural. That usually implies at least three.

All together, the fanon that seasons 1-3 is a single year requires more effort and more suspension of disbelief than the idea that each season is approximately a single year.

6511746
Alright, thank you for your thorough explanation.

I believe(d) there was some remark about the year passing, but most probably it was just my mind making up things. My bad

As for the three seasons, one can argue that not all the episodes might be in chronological order or that the events of The Cutie Remark may take place who knows when in the alternate future. But I’m just playing the devil’s advocate here.

In the end it’s all just a mess we are trying to untangle with our headcanons. Throw in the fact that the length of a pony year might not correspond with ours and it becomes utter chaos in the long term

6511746
6511767
No Celestia defiantly said that Twilight did a lot over the last year at one point one point, don’t know what episode but she said that when they were both on a balcony if that narrows the search down.

6511959
Interesting, that narrows it down quite significantly.

However, if I may speak for archonix, we both got a little carried away from your topic. Is there anything else with the timeline you wanted to discuss?

6511987
Pretty much just how much time has passed, I’m helping in a displayed story where discord gives the main character a time limit of two years and I needed help with fitting that into the timeline.