So I might have said something similar somewhere else but what the heck? The biggest contradiction I saw G5 had with the finale was it didn't Twilight's form we saw in the last problem. This, along with other things like the geography, animals, and more, has led me to believe that it takes place in an alternate universe or timeline. At least the last problem didn't occur I think, unless Twilight regained her old form somehow. She did become Ruler of Equestria as said by Sunny in the Traditional Unicorn Sleepover, but in her ordinary form it seems.

At first, I was kind of thrilled with the idea that it would take place in the same world as friendship is magic. Mainly for the possibility that it might confirm Twilight would not outlive her friends. Which could be true in G5, but it would likely be thanks to Opaline there, maybe Twilight gave up her immortality when she sealed all the magic away? I'm firmly against immortality and view it as a curse rather than a blessing.

But that aside, I've changed my mind on liking the idea of G5 in the same universe. I prefer my own ending that I made with my main fanfic on. I don't hate G5 in the slightest, but I'm putting a wall between it and G4 for myself. They are separate to me. Now I'm not looking to argue with anyone here, if you would prefer it's the same universe or Twilight still being alive and out there somewhere, that's fine, you just do you. But let me know you're thoughts if you want.

7865852

At least the last problem didn't occur I think, unless Twilight regained her old form somehow. She did become Ruler of Equestria as said by Sunny in the Traditional Unicorn Sleepover, but in her ordinary form it seems.

The projection seen in Growing Pains was not Twilight but the crystals speaking; they selected a form the recipients would be familiar with.

Also, with your other points bear in mind thousands of years have passed. A lot can change in that time; my suspicion as to why info doesn't always seem to line up is that information has become garbled or lost in the intervening centuries.

7865879
Wrong, it was a recording. And Opaline said it's only been hundreds of moons since she saw dragon fire not thousands.

Edit: Also during chapter 4 episode 1 when Opaline discusses how the Crystals were made Twilight was once again shown in her old alicorn form, she WAS the one to create them. Now evolution might have clarity but I'm not so sure I believe it.

7865932
We're not helped by the fact we don't know how long a moon is as a period of measurement. This is because we:
A: we don't know how quickly the planet rotates;
B: we don't know how long the planet takes to complete a full orbit of its nearest star.

Furthermore, enough time has clearly passed for the events of G4 to have become legend, hence my suggestion of thousands of years.

Yes, I have seen that episode of MYM. But that doesn't neccesarily mean she made the recording (Zipp is simply assuming this is the case). As a full size alicorn a la Last Problem Twilight would probably be quite intimidating for the average pony (notice how alicorn and EP Sunny are the same size), selecting something closer to the Mane 5 in size makes sense.

7866129
That doesn't really sound convincing to me. Who else would make the recording besides Twilight who was the one who created the unity crystals in the first place. Also after everything that happened in Friendship Is Magic with Twilight creating a pretty much utopia in Equestria after overcoming the trio it is just destroyed? She faced the same problem of dividing pony kinds once before with the trio and she couldn't prevent it this time?

7866197
Look at human history. History shows that people only really band together in the face of a common threat (WW2, for instance). The second the threat is gone, it's back to business as usual (Gordon Craig, the American historian, termed this negative cohesion). Seeing as the three tribes came together in the face of an external threat (the alternative was death by Wendigo) and Imperial Equestria was beset by external enemies its entire existance, it's not that much of a stretch to argue that the three tribes only stayed together because they shared the same enemies. Once those enemies were defeated during the Battle of the Bell, unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi no longer had any reason to co-operate.

I go into more detail with these thoughts in this blog, if that interests you:

https://www.fimfiction.net/group/213399/the-official-generation-five-site/thread/518934/futures-past-my-thoughts-on-the-fall-of-imperial-equestria-revised-edition

7866317
Eh I don't buy that. Their friendship was reestablished by Twilights students.

7866330
If you're alluding to EotE Part 2 there, that was before the external threats were defeated. I'm talking about after those threats were defeated, which is when the splintering happened. As stated above, we only tend to stick together when we share enemies, and the fact they broke apart in EotE based on some rumours really casts doubt on how united the three tribes really were.

7866415
Maybe but I still don't consider it good enough to be a sequel to g4. And I haven't really noticed much division in fim, but ponies seem to be rather simple minded and lack common sense. After all Twilight’s friends seemed to forget all the things they'd learned in Canterlot Wedding. But regardless I'm not convinced it's in the same universe. I'd prefer it wasn't.

7866464

lack common sense.

That also describes a lot of people.

7866633
Yeah. Well I will admit you have good points I still stand by the alternate universe theory. The Twilight not being in her final form is just too contradictory for me. And I've been watching MLP from the beginning for the past couple months now and never seen anything that suggests the different kinds were really divided expect in a few episodes. They all seem to get along fine except when a villain does something.

7866674
What ponies think privately rarely manifests on the surface. Same with humans; Hitler couldn't have gotten as far as he did without the German people privately agreeing with much of his rhetoric.