I’ve always headcannoned that the ponies and all the other species evolved in a completely different way than humans, and their technologies don’t really line up with ours time wise.
My headcanon has always been the 1920s, but i had no idea about when LED lights were invented! Gonna stick with my 1920s headcanon and just explain away any discrepancies with it's an AU that doesn't have to match up 100% with our timeline of technology lol. Great video!
I'd say 1920s is a good rough estimate, and any other discrepancies, as you say, is alternate universe shenanigans _or_ animation/writer *oversights* .
I agree with your headcanon, I think most or all of the advanced or modern technology we see in the show is powered by magic, probably created exclusively by unicorns. Flim and Flam are unicorns, Vinyl Scratch is a unicorn, and of course Twilight is a unicorn. The ponies definitely have steam engines for their trains, but I think that's as far as they've come with "real life" technology. Also, I don't think they ever had an industrial revolution. Their society seems to be very agrarian by nature; even though they have some modern technology they don't seem interested in adopting it into every aspect of their civilization.
Fair point! I mean, the whole point of their society is that each kind of pony has a duty, so most earth ponies are farmfolk specially because of their natural strenght and their connection with nature, most pegasi deal with the weather because, well, they can fly, and unicorns are the cool magical nerds obsessed with the stars - it just wouldn't make sense to implement technology for stuff they can already do and that define themselves as a kind
to have manehatten exist requires some sort of industry, heavy steal and iron are required to make sky scrapers and unless they spent decades to build each building its likely the industrial revolution did happen, however its possible in universe it was limited in how much it could be expanded and used due to the damage it does to the environment. which would make sense to a degree
When you look at the technology, there's not really an analog for a real-life year Friendship is Magic could be set in. HOWEVER there is _kind of_ an answer for what *fictional* year it could be. Cover A of IDW comic issue #11 shows Shining Armor's high school yearbook, and in the bottom right hand corner there's text that reads "CLASS OF 87". It's probably just a reference to 1987, the year Andy Price was born, but I think it makes a lot of sense if it _actually_ stood for the Equestrian year then being 987. Hypothetically, if the Equestrian calendar was reset to 0 when Luna was banished, then S1E01 could take place in the year 1000, and personally I see Shining Armor and Cadance being around 30 years old, so them graduating high school 13 years prior makes sense. There's a few holes in this theory, but I still think it works.
Tirek knew Cadence, but didn’t know about Twilight, this means Cadence would have had to be around when Tirek was banished to Tartarus, not to mention when Luna visited the Crystal Empire Cadence knew who Luna was. She didn’t want to be introduced to her and didn’t seem to think she was evil either. This means Cadence is at least 1,000 years old, I’m gonna say Cadence is 1,030, but the sisters are 1,200 - 2,000 years old. She could still definitely marry Shining Armor, and she could still have just graduated high school then, yknow, cause of all the saving the world shenanigans, but I’m just gonna say you got your ages wrong. Cadence may look young, but she’s pretty old.
@Wings_of_Genshin A counterpoint: Tirek was on the loose since Twilight went crazy about the future, well before her ascension. He could have simply learned about Cadence after escaping, since he had more time to learn about her than Twilight. Similarly, while we never see Cadence and Luna meet it would be quite odd if they never did, while presumably living in the same castle for a year.
and Twilight on the first episode said: "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year [...]". Of course, she could have meant the thousandth year since Luna's exile, but it seems to me that it makes just as much sense to consider this year as the thousandth according to their calendar. Especially since in S9E20 Trixie said: “In the Pre-Equestia Era, the year thirteen hundred and twenty-two (1322), Abraxius the Bold did...”. Meaning that their time is divided into two eras, just like with us. Adding the fact that in 987 Shining Armor graduated from high school this actually adds up to a meaningful whole. Assuming that he was born in 972, meaning that at about 15 he graduated from school (maybe that's the normal age for ponies?) and his wedding took place in 1001, it comes out that he is actually about 30 years old.
It’s always been pretty ambiguous what era MLP FiM takes place, and there isn’t a clear answer considering that it’s a completely different universe and timeline from our own. Though there are a few things I’d also like to mention that you missed in the video. There were arcade machines in the episode Hearts and Hooves Day, they were invented in the 1970s. Giant LED screens in For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils and they were invented in the 1960s. Plenty of colourised photos, which while they were invented in the 1860s weren’t very widespread until a century later. There’s also the genre of music, since Sapphire Shores and Coloratura are pop singers, and the kind of songs they sing are reminiscent of the 1990s/2000s. The Spectacle in the Mane Attraction is reminiscent of Lady Gaga. It appears that the show is trying to lean more towards the 2000s or 2010s based on these little observations. Though we’ll never know for sure, and Hasbro will probably never confirm it.
MLP FiM takes place in an alternate universe in a wrong timeline, the animation art style like it was made in 1962, and it looked like Jay Ward, the guy who created “Rocky & Bullwinkle”.
In the episode of “Party Pooped” she talked about going with a “traveling band” which obviously referenced The Beatles in the clip and even mentioned the breakup which happened in 1970 so definitely sometime during, if not, after the 70s But then in the first episodes where Cheerlie showed a picture of herself as a teen whom dressed in definitely 80s attire. Plus Vinyl Scratch as mentioned is a rave pony which rave was a think between the late 90s and early 2000s and honestly that’s where I’d place my headcannon on
Jumbotrons (Shadow Play part 2, when the Pillars are in Manehattan and Pinkie hijacks one to prove a point) were first used in 1985 so I instantly knew it was far later than basically anything you were talking about until the blue LEDs came up Although considering how common airships seem to be (Sweet and Elite, Once Upon a Zeppelin, My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)) compared to our world they definitely have gone down completely different tech trees G5 is very heavily implied to take place in a contemporary time (around the 2020s), so G5 takes place less than thirty years after Twilight ascended to the throne, and taking into account the time skip in The Last Problem, Lil Cheese should be in the prime of his life and around the same age as Sunny and co. Therefore, Luster Dawn somehow accidentally ended the world the very moment she walked off-screen in the finale, so she cast a massive mind-altering spell on the entire world to make them think the new status quo has always been. Radiant Hope is Opaline (and is secretly working with Luster Dawn), Scootaloo is Sunny's mom (and is also secretly working with Luster Dawn), Cozy Glow is Queen Haven (and is _not_ secretly working with Luster Dawn), Starlight Glimmer is Allura (she's under a species-change spell), Angel is Twitch, Sunburst is Comet, the Crystal Empire is Starlight Ridge, Mount Aris is the Isle of Scaly, Sans is Ness, etc In conclusion, I have already gone insane
G5 is almost impossible to quantify holisticall, as the apocalypse threw everything into a dark age, and the different races have developed in radically diverging ways since. The Pegasi have reached the present day, the Earth Ponies are in the 1980s, and the Unicorns have regressed to the Medieval. And these three societies are within walking distance of each other!
i personally think MLP takes place at the like, tail end of the 90s into the 2000s, Cheerlie shows an old picture of herself as a teenager in call of the cutie where she's wearing some like, 80s-90s fashion, and in hearts and hooves day Button Mash is playing an arcade game. DJ P0N-3 seems based rave DJs, so that's where I'm getting into the 2000s from. So 90s-2000s is pretty close??? It means the ponies will have smart phones soon.
Miniature blue light bulbs as holiday decorations were pretty commonplace by the 1930s, see the smithsonian article "Untangling the History of Christmas Lights"
Roman inspired chariots and guards+we learn that the pegesi came from a Roman inspired society. But also German inspired cottages,castles. But also We learn that the first people who founded pony vill traveled there Oregon trail style. +one school house+ appleoosa exists. But also Cheerily mentioned her 80s phase +Modern looking shops+a whole modern city But then There's the past elements that came from: . ancient China vaguely . ancient Celtic inspired culture .the swamp?? . Rome And then We know that 1000 years after that were solidly in modern times in make your mark.
Conclusion: The appleoosans are big I to revisionist history and like confusing historians by building things to look old on purpose. Celestia is as old as the celts and we are solidly in the very early 2000s when smart phones are just now becoming common.
In make your mark we can imagine that with such dramatic generation loss they lost a lot of other information and had to start over but not entirely from scratch. It's not completely unbelievable. Ancient Egypt lasted for a really really long time, it wasn't just a monolithic thing.
It seems like you can wind up in wildly different times and themes just walking from one place to another, my guess is that people in equestrian are just isolated and never leave their shire that often, resulting in distinct micro cultures
Since long I have a headcanon that FIM takes place over five years from 1911 to 1916. Reason why it's five years is because we never really see the younger ponies age, including Flurry Heart, the baby Cakes and CMC. Season 1 takes place from summer 1911 to spring 1912 S2 from spring 1912 to January 1913 S3 takes place over early 1913 S4 in summer 1913 S5 from fall 1913 to February 1914 S6 from April 1914 to July S7 from summer 1914 to that fall S8 from early 1915 to January 1916 S9 from February 1916 to April Epilogue takes place in the early 1940s
And the logo for the title itself, the word “Friendship Is Magic” where the font was first introduced in the original “Parent Trap” in 1961 where it was used in the opening and closing sequences where the credits were shown. If you have not seen the Disney film from 1961, go watch the opening and closing to the original “Parent Trap” and see what the font was first used which was the inspiration for the title of the series.
G4 Equestria feels like a Civilization game where you advance into the modern era but forget to develop some technologies. It's almost impossible for me to guess where it takes place, haha I always think that the period of the series would be between 1900-1940. No more no less.
Until you find out twilight somehow know what a computer is, I’m dying of laugher, because I swear mlp has the most confusing place in time and space ever, bruh
The interesting fact that Cloudsdale was in the heavens long after the Book Of Revelation in the Holy Bible where God’s destruction of evil and death where it brought to the heaven and entered Cloudsdale where the heaven was created by God in the Book of Genesis if you have not read the Bible.
This is the first thing I was considering. Mediaval town, post-industrial-revolution city, DJ pony,... A mix between several eras that makes each places in Equestria has his own era (because it's a magical land ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) Source : a great scientist
So, to put it simply: if Earth had magic and the year is around the 2000s, Equestria could have been our reality. Including turning animals intelligent and making them pull our carriages. Hell, those thatched houses are probably enchanted by magic to be as resiliant as our houses
we don't know because there's characters like Vinyl Scratch (DJ Pon3) who exist in the show but many fans think it's set in the 1920's which wouldn't make any sense whatsoever especially with every musical number the show has (most of the songs are electro-pop based)
Since fairly early on in my pony fan-life (c. 2017+) adopted the fanon that outside large cities like Manehattan, most of mainland Equestria is mid to late 19th century so like you said, oil lamps, trains, factories, etc. In later seasons we see hints of lightbulbs, interior plumbing, and a few fairly blatant discrepancies like a arcade video game, DJ PON3's turntable vehicle, etc. My thought is that for the average pone to have such novelties they either have to be RICH, fairly famous, or maybe a home brew innovator/guinea pig. Most pones like AJ for example still rely on wood/coal for fuel, have an outhouse for the fields/barns, and so forth. If you haven't seen, I highly recommend the artist Baron Engel who has a long-running art story (not exactly a comic) where he really drives home concepts like having to prep for winter, country fairs, and more.
I always considered Equestria a mixture of cultures, to be honest. Some towns prefer to remain rural and traditional like Appleloosa, Canterlot and Ponyville, whilst others like Manehattan, Cloudsdale, Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus are more modern. It would also explain the differences between technological advancements vs tried-and-tested contraptions associated with the olden times, like Oil Lamps, Quills and Scrolls. It's easier to consider it timeless though. There's definitely time involved within it, that's to be expected with how different G4 is to G5. But it's easier to categorise it as Old Equestria (Before the Show), Present Equestria (The Show's Run) and Future Equestria (G5's Run).
If you look at the title, the word “Friendship is Magic” has a font called “Generation B”, which goes back to 1961 where that font was introduced in the Disney film “The Parent Trap”. The font was designed by three Disney legends, X Atencio, Bill Justice and T. Hee, and the opening and closing sequences were made in stop motion animation if you have not seen “The Parent Trap” with Hayley Mills.
TBF, Ponies just don't need cars, There's chariots and trains, in which ponies can stand or sit in an open space. In a car they'd have to sit in a rather uncomfortable position in a more cramped space. Plus, Button Mash is shown playing an arcade machine in "Hearts and Hooves Day", DJ Pon3 has speakers and lightshows, and we can see lightbulbs on multiple occasions. So, Equestria does have more advanced technology, and even some sort of electricity or electricity esq magic. It just seems it's not as widespread as it is in our world. Also, they probably have no need for TVs, as Twilight and Trixie both demonstrate that a skilled enough magic wielder can make projections of moving images. You could just view it as ponies technology getting better and more advanced as the series goes on.
I like to think the ambiguous time and dating of the show is intentional to add character and make it obvious the world is not comparable to ours. It's just modern day but in a timeline where technology is only used or acknowledged when absolutely necessary.
I love looking at how they store information. They have vinyl records for music but no TV. The have film tho, but no telephones. I think the existence of magic and pony logic like messenger birds throws a viable human equivalent date out the window. (i also generally like to ignore how muddy it gets in later seasons. (Ra Ra Concert))
As you said at the beginning, to date something we need a calendar for reference. And the only accurate historical marker we have is Trixie's quote (S9E20): "In the Pre-Equestia Era, *year 1322* , Abraxius the Bold did... a bunch of boring stuff... for a really long time..." Which means there's at least 1322 years of recorded ponykind history before Equestria was even founded + some time before and during the reign of the Royal Sisters + exactly 1000 years of Celestia's monarchy. That's around 2400 years of magical pony civilization according to my *extremely* conservative estimate! In regards to technological progress. You can't really guess the age of a society by this metric due to its multifaceted nature. Some real life societies are still preserved in the hunter-gatherer state!
Also the cutie marks crusaders also made 80's references with their outfits in season 2 in a talent show. So i think magic and tech just runs MLP gen 4 worlds lol.
Well i would say this G4 mostly takes place around 1900's since by the look of your thoughts so im going to make my thoughts on G5 taking place in years of it So G5 could be around the 2000s like youhoof is a thing in G5 meaning it was around the 2005's since youtube was invented in 2005 and instagram (I think it has its own name in g5 just not seen yet) but instagram was made in 2010 and Cliptrot which is ment to be tiktok and tiktok was invented in 2016 so yeah thats all the apps that were mostly (i think all) mentioned in g5 so for sort G5 era is mostly around the 2000's which we are in now
And as for the layout and background, it looked a lot similar to the Jay Ward cartoons from the 1950’s and 1960’s like “Rocky & Bullwinkle”, “Fractured Fairy Tales” and “Peabody & Sherman”.
There's yachts, monorails, skyscrapers, modern microphones and sound equipment, electronic lighting equipment, construction vehicles, roller coasters, x-ray machines, non-digital photography, Jet Set's cutie mark is of actual air planes. There's no real consistent through line for the technological level of Equestria or the rest of the world. My headcanon is that technology develops primarily for the purposes of recreation and entertainment, and then for the sake of the joke.
Glad I'm not the only one that has thought about this! My personal headcanon is that this is a post apocalyptic world. The trains, taxis, etc... were all just leftover from before OR were remakes that didn't need tech since they weren't as advanced anymore.
I think that when you take into account the pop culture in MLP the early to mid 1990s make sense , but also if you see equestria girls as a parallel universe then putting MLP in the era of when it was made (so early 2000s) or just before it makes sense. I also think that the ponies don’t have the tech that the humans do simply because it would be too hard for ponies to make and they seem to do most of the inventing out of the creatures in the series.
FiM takes place during a time with a 1900s - 1920s equivalent technology level, but with divergent technology based on different cultural priorities and species abilities.
I always thought it took place in the late 1800s in an isolated part of Europe. When I see the medieval architecture of Ponyville, it reminds me of small villages in Europe which still have those buildings to this day. I travelled to a small town in Bavaria one time for an event, and lots of the buildings still look like they are 500+ years old. Big cities like Manehattan have advanced technologically but Ponyville is just akin to a small European village that would have gotten those advancements much later. Also pretty much the entire world at the time was either an imperial power or under the control of one, so it makes sense why we see monarchies like Celestia or Saddle Arabia. And just like in real life, the monarchs of completely different countries in the MLP universe were related by blood. Equestria and the Crystal empire were ruled by one big family, much like how most of Europe's monarchs were related at the dawn of WWI.
I always imagined that the world of mlp has a more scattered timeline in terms of inventions that's less coherent than ours and more scattered considering that there's a heavy focus on special talents and certain categories of which happen to reside in specific locations for the most part This would mean that something invented in one area by a specific pony couldn't properly be replicated elsewhere since the majority of ponies that would specialize in similar things would likely be in the same town or segment of equestria which would result in more primative versions being made elsewhere in said equestria to make up for it This would also cause a wider timeframe before certain items or inventions become staples nationally especially since communication from far out still takes significant time even after all those years canonically
Most of inventions made either for army or in technological race against others countries, Equestria doesn't have technological advanced neighbours, they didn't wage wars bc they are peaceful, so i think that they don't need to advance existing technologies beyond what they are, as people's say "if it works - don't touch". Oh, and ponies are individualists. Upd. I think its around 2000's, just remember that small villages have no need in most technologies, while such big cities like Baltimare or Manehattan will thrive from technologies for QoL.
Have you seen the move “Things To Come”? It was the first science fiction that features time travel from the 1930’s through the future. That was from 1936. This MLP FiM timeline was messed up. And one thing about is the animation style, the backgrounds and characters that looked like a mixed bag of Dr. Seuss, UPA and Chuck Jones which makes the cartoon looked like the 1940’s through the 1960’s.
I also agree that it generally sits somewhere in the 1920s. It's not a strict rule though, more of a guideline when scripting the show. LEDs and Vinyl's DJ equipment are just fun things on the screen which don't need an explanation. If you really want one you could say it's magic, technology was developed at different paces in different areas than our timeline, or ponies simply don't need newer technology. Most of what humans needed to develop for ourselves in our world were already done by Equestrian ponies. We use electricity in place of magic, aircraft for flight, and industrial agriculture instead of being mud ponies!
Always headcanon'd a few lore tidbits the fandom fics gave us. One is my favorite, that EqG and Equestria proper are synced and desynced at the same time. Namely, time passes faster in Equestria than it does in the human world. It kind of explains Sunset and Twilight's disconnect, and the fact that Twilight grows up, gets a crown, and does so much while Sunset is spending a few years in high school. Gonna keep watching your vid to see where your theories go, just wanted to put this here while it was fresh.
My headcanon is that mlp doesn't align with our time, because they have magic, and so most of the modern technology they don't need. I don't like bring up g5 when talking abou g4, but g5 basically kind of proved this. Since magic went away, technology had to improve so that they could do similar stuff that they could do with magic, but they also just started doing even more stuff that nopony ever thought of doing when they had magic, so the internet became a thing, and a lot of other stuff came along. One thing you may also notice in g5, they still don't use cars. This is because ponies can already travel on their hooves pretty well, so there was never a need for fast transportation in between running and trains.
If we will assume that Equestria can be a federation under the monarchy where each region has large autonomy, it can actually explain why every location has that large difference in years
The ponies are not affected by industrial complex, and they prefer live in traditional way because they are too dependant on magic. The only thing technology has bought far is when it comes to musical instrument, also picking quill pen with mouth is easier than plastic pen. Conclusion : they are living in 2000s with technological divergence
Fun video. One note, those aren't lightbulbs or LEDs. What Twilight was using was an EEG machine (electroencephalogram). It's obvious by the cap worn and the plots you see printed. The first EEG used for a human was in the 1920s so it still matches perfectly to the timeline. (Even earlier use in animals, late 1800s). Pretty sound until Pon3's DJ materials but she still seems to use flat records, so maybe it's just a modified version considering it's her talent.
the city of Manehattan looks modern since it resembles the city of Manhattan in New York state. fun fact: New York state was originally a Dutch colony known as New Amsterdam but when the British won a war against them, they took New Amsterdam and renamed the colony to New York. as for Old York, it's a city in the UK as Old Amsterdam is in The Netherlands. and before anyone says it, The Netherlands is the name of the country, not Holland, Holland is a place in The Netherlands and the people who live in The Netherlands are referred to as the Dutch.
When Luna was banished to the moon, and even before that, Canterlot existed, the castle and all, this period was over 1000 years ago, we don’t get to see a lot, and I haven’t seen the show in forever so my statement is pretty much useless, but if there are any tech from the 1700’s or 1900’s or 1800’s or whatever, in those scenes, (there’s a battle scene, maybe there’s something in there) this means that MLP could be taking place in the year 2700-3000
Yeah, I always put it in the 1800's to perhaps the 1930's. The exterior wood bracing on the Ponyville houses with thatched straw roofs. It bothers me that Manehattan has so many modern looking buildings rather than it being like 1920's New York. I would have liked to have seen Cherry Berry flying a biplane at some point or an early diesel train. Also, you seem like a cool dude. I wish I had a brony friend like you. So many people in this fandom are so toxic.
also the characters use either hot air balloons as transportation or use the Friendship Express train which is shown as a steam-powered train instead of a bullet train some other forms of technology appear to be outdated like the sewing machines used by Rarity
I think it takes place in a solarpunk future where the issue of climate change has been addressed through advanced technology. The antiquated aspect is merely the design.
I think what you are looking for is technological advancement equivalence which it is a concept discussed in Science Fiction due to the fact that different planets/species will make discoveries at different rates and even different orders (aka Inventing the aerosol can before the wheel). Magic throws a wrench into the equation since there would be advanced technologies that would be completely eclipsed by even basic magic. Imagine a civilization that invents teleportation networks before the combustion engine. Cars may never even exist in such a universe.
Equestria uses the same time thing or whatever, In an episode Twilight is worrying about a letter because she needs to send one to Princess Celestia every week on Tuesday.
Theory: I may be late but I have a suspicion that in Equestria, different regions have different technology levels which could explain on why technology going all over the place, and/or why ponies have different lifestyles, for example: Canterlot, is stuck in the medieval times, while Las Pegasus is in the Roaring 20s. This is the only explanation on why technology which is affecting years is going all over the place.
I always just assumed that Friendship Is Magic takes place around the same time as Les Miserables (1815-1832) because I remember watching Les Mis PMVs.
In season 4 ep 8 we do see a telephone in a guys office during the musical. Tech wise, I think the level varies from region to region they do have mass production facilities like the joke factory of Cheese Sandwich, but I would guess it's not really important to their economy. The ponies of Equestria have magic active and passive magic to them, like the unicorns own magic and doesn't need a whole industrial infrastructure to embow complex object with magic to function, but also the Earth Pony who apparently seem to have an atonement with nature which need they have no trouble feeding their population with their farming knowing exactly what they need to feed the plants with along with being assisted by the pegasis who control the weather itself which mean they don't risk crop failures anywhere nears as we can in overusing the soil. So in the end they the tech level in all over the place for them is because they didn't didn't at all developed like we did and new tech can be created at a very localized level with little in the need of complex infrastructure and is more hand craft stuff still.
I was going to be very disappointed with you if you didn't reference Read It And Weep but luckily you referenced hospitals near the end of the video and so you've been spared of my disapproval. Good job!
Im glad this video exist as i always wondered when exactly does equestria take place and then there's canterlot city does it takes place in the 2000s or something
Depending on which style of animation and background, it. Kinda reminds me of Chuck Jones of WB and MGM cartoons from the 1960’s and 1970’s. The styling are like UPA. Both of these animations were influenced by UPA and Chuck Jones.
i feel like with magic in any timeline, tech doesn't need to advance as fast or like ours so stuff that we invented early weren't a priority. by already having a form of instant messaging they wouldn't necessarily need a network to communicate slowing the invention of computers and digital tech, this would also explain why in gen 5 they do have smartphones and digital media, lack of magic to do it for em. transportation wise, they are horses and self travel is pretty much expected, anything else is considered a luxury like those flown carts or for really long journeys for train and boat, small scale travel like by car your just expected to do yourself with your horse legs
1:30 that actually reminded me of a question, how, tho?, like how does Celestia be able to move the sun at will, like think about it the sun is if we were to say its the same size as ours, its massive & as well if we add the distance, yea makes u question the whole thing about Celestia,(note i do not fully remember the full potential of alicorn magic), like if u think about it luna is probably more believable since well, the moon is closer to the earth & as well smaller then the sun.
Adding on to the post 1950 theory, Rainbow Dash’s pet turtle is named Tank, and with the invention of the tank in WWI and the usage of tanks afterwards it can be assumed that the time period is at least post WWI. This also does lead down another rabbit hole being how and why tanks were even used in Equestria. This usage of tanks is further reinforced when Pinky Pie (Pye?) had a tank in one of the episodes (Possibly the Cheese Sandwich one), though it could be argued that the only existence of tanks was in party tanks, as that is what Pinky Pie used, shooting confetti instead of ammunition. Even though that is a possibility, the technology for the party tank would in theory be the same as a normal tank. I’m probably just rambling but whatever, rabbit holes are fun. 🙂
I like to think that Ponyville stays in the early 1900's level technology while the rest of Equestria has more advanced technology.
What about Vinyl Scratch's DJ Kit?
Vinyl lives in Ponyville
@@officialcbyt Since Vinyl travels to different cities like Manehattan maybe she brought back technology with her to ponyville.
@@crpony Makes sense
Appleloosa seems to be in wild west times still
arcades....
Don't forget when Discord's clones had SMARTPHONES in Discordant Harmony.
Can we even categorize an entity who is the embodiment of chaos itself?
I feel like he shouldn't be counted if not making sense is one of his biggest things.
@@Constantine_Cvl8ummmmmm
Discord is also an extradimensional Lord of Chaos, chaos itself and possibly an immortal deity of some sort.
What part did show in the episode? 😭 legit can’t find it
I’ve always headcannoned that the ponies and all the other species evolved in a completely different way than humans, and their technologies don’t really line up with ours time wise.
i mean, why would they wanna invent alot of technology when magic can do all the same kinda stuff anyways right?
@@skakee10 Definitely, magic makes a huge difference in the evolution of technology
Why make cars when you can just run or hire others to run for you?
I love the way Vinyl Scratch’s DJ booth might just be the most advanced technology Equestria has
What about the arcade machines Button Mash plays on?
My headcanon has always been the 1920s, but i had no idea about when LED lights were invented! Gonna stick with my 1920s headcanon and just explain away any discrepancies with it's an AU that doesn't have to match up 100% with our timeline of technology lol. Great video!
I'd say 1920s is a good rough estimate, and any other discrepancies, as you say, is alternate universe shenanigans _or_ animation/writer *oversights* .
The principle behind LEDs was discovered in 1907, but the first working model was built in 1962. Take that as you will.
I agree with your headcanon, I think most or all of the advanced or modern technology we see in the show is powered by magic, probably created exclusively by unicorns. Flim and Flam are unicorns, Vinyl Scratch is a unicorn, and of course Twilight is a unicorn.
The ponies definitely have steam engines for their trains, but I think that's as far as they've come with "real life" technology.
Also, I don't think they ever had an industrial revolution. Their society seems to be very agrarian by nature; even though they have some modern technology they don't seem interested in adopting it into every aspect of their civilization.
Fair point! I mean, the whole point of their society is that each kind of pony has a duty, so most earth ponies are farmfolk specially because of their natural strenght and their connection with nature, most pegasi deal with the weather because, well, they can fly, and unicorns are the cool magical nerds obsessed with the stars - it just wouldn't make sense to implement technology for stuff they can already do and that define themselves as a kind
to have manehatten exist requires some sort of industry, heavy steal and iron are required to make sky scrapers and unless they spent decades to build each building its likely the industrial revolution did happen, however its possible in universe it was limited in how much it could be expanded and used due to the damage it does to the environment. which would make sense to a degree
This video is ADHD to the max and I'm loving it.
Fr lmaooo. I felt like I was watching a video of my brain trying to stay on topic
It’s funny because in one of this guy’s more recent videos, he reveals he has autism
When you look at the technology, there's not really an analog for a real-life year Friendship is Magic could be set in. HOWEVER there is _kind of_ an answer for what *fictional* year it could be.
Cover A of IDW comic issue #11 shows Shining Armor's high school yearbook, and in the bottom right hand corner there's text that reads "CLASS OF 87". It's probably just a reference to 1987, the year Andy Price was born, but I think it makes a lot of sense if it _actually_ stood for the Equestrian year then being 987.
Hypothetically, if the Equestrian calendar was reset to 0 when Luna was banished, then S1E01 could take place in the year 1000, and personally I see Shining Armor and Cadance being around 30 years old, so them graduating high school 13 years prior makes sense.
There's a few holes in this theory, but I still think it works.
holy shit quantum hippologist
@@Cxcd Where?!?
Tirek knew Cadence, but didn’t know about Twilight, this means Cadence would have had to be around when Tirek was banished to Tartarus, not to mention when Luna visited the Crystal Empire Cadence knew who Luna was. She didn’t want to be introduced to her and didn’t seem to think she was evil either. This means Cadence is at least 1,000 years old, I’m gonna say Cadence is 1,030, but the sisters are 1,200 - 2,000 years old. She could still definitely marry Shining Armor, and she could still have just graduated high school then, yknow, cause of all the saving the world shenanigans, but I’m just gonna say you got your ages wrong. Cadence may look young, but she’s pretty old.
@Wings_of_Genshin A counterpoint: Tirek was on the loose since Twilight went crazy about the future, well before her ascension. He could have simply learned about Cadence after escaping, since he had more time to learn about her than Twilight.
Similarly, while we never see Cadence and Luna meet it would be quite odd if they never did, while presumably living in the same castle for a year.
and Twilight on the first episode said: "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year [...]". Of course, she could have meant the thousandth year since Luna's exile, but it seems to me that it makes just as much sense to consider this year as the thousandth according to their calendar.
Especially since in S9E20 Trixie said: “In the Pre-Equestia Era, the year thirteen hundred and twenty-two (1322), Abraxius the Bold did...”. Meaning that their time is divided into two eras, just like with us.
Adding the fact that in 987 Shining Armor graduated from high school this actually adds up to a meaningful whole. Assuming that he was born in 972, meaning that at about 15 he graduated from school (maybe that's the normal age for ponies?) and his wedding took place in 1001, it comes out that he is actually about 30 years old.
Don't forget about the film that the pegasi watched in Hurricane Fluttershy.
Also, in one episode the teacher Cherilee shows a photo of her, as a teen, in a very 1980's look.
It’s always been pretty ambiguous what era MLP FiM takes place, and there isn’t a clear answer considering that it’s a completely different universe and timeline from our own. Though there are a few things I’d also like to mention that you missed in the video. There were arcade machines in the episode Hearts and Hooves Day, they were invented in the 1970s. Giant LED screens in For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils and they were invented in the 1960s. Plenty of colourised photos, which while they were invented in the 1860s weren’t very widespread until a century later. There’s also the genre of music, since Sapphire Shores and Coloratura are pop singers, and the kind of songs they sing are reminiscent of the 1990s/2000s. The Spectacle in the Mane Attraction is reminiscent of Lady Gaga. It appears that the show is trying to lean more towards the 2000s or 2010s based on these little observations. Though we’ll never know for sure, and Hasbro will probably never confirm it.
MLP FiM takes place in an alternate universe in a wrong timeline, the animation art style like it was made in 1962, and it looked like Jay Ward, the guy who created “Rocky & Bullwinkle”.
In the episode of “Party Pooped” she talked about going with a “traveling band” which obviously referenced The Beatles in the clip and even mentioned the breakup which happened in 1970 so definitely sometime during, if not, after the 70s
But then in the first episodes where Cheerlie showed a picture of herself as a teen whom dressed in definitely 80s attire. Plus Vinyl Scratch as mentioned is a rave pony which rave was a think between the late 90s and early 2000s and honestly that’s where I’d place my headcannon on
Jumbotrons (Shadow Play part 2, when the Pillars are in Manehattan and Pinkie hijacks one to prove a point) were first used in 1985 so I instantly knew it was far later than basically anything you were talking about until the blue LEDs came up
Although considering how common airships seem to be (Sweet and Elite, Once Upon a Zeppelin, My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)) compared to our world they definitely have gone down completely different tech trees
G5 is very heavily implied to take place in a contemporary time (around the 2020s), so G5 takes place less than thirty years after Twilight ascended to the throne, and taking into account the time skip in The Last Problem, Lil Cheese should be in the prime of his life and around the same age as Sunny and co.
Therefore, Luster Dawn somehow accidentally ended the world the very moment she walked off-screen in the finale, so she cast a massive mind-altering spell on the entire world to make them think the new status quo has always been. Radiant Hope is Opaline (and is secretly working with Luster Dawn), Scootaloo is Sunny's mom (and is also secretly working with Luster Dawn), Cozy Glow is Queen Haven (and is _not_ secretly working with Luster Dawn), Starlight Glimmer is Allura (she's under a species-change spell), Angel is Twitch, Sunburst is Comet, the Crystal Empire is Starlight Ridge, Mount Aris is the Isle of Scaly, Sans is Ness, etc
In conclusion, I have already gone insane
G5 is almost impossible to quantify holisticall, as the apocalypse threw everything into a dark age, and the different races have developed in radically diverging ways since. The Pegasi have reached the present day, the Earth Ponies are in the 1980s, and the Unicorns have regressed to the Medieval. And these three societies are within walking distance of each other!
i personally think MLP takes place at the like, tail end of the 90s into the 2000s, Cheerlie shows an old picture of herself as a teenager in call of the cutie where she's wearing some like, 80s-90s fashion, and in hearts and hooves day Button Mash is playing an arcade game. DJ P0N-3 seems based rave DJs, so that's where I'm getting into the 2000s from. So 90s-2000s is pretty close??? It means the ponies will have smart phones soon.
The character designs, backgrounds and visuals were influenced by the Jay Ward cartoons of the 1960’s.
My answer would be "1920s + magic"
love this guy's videos, really fills the commentary youtuber + MLP combo shaped hole in my heart
Miniature blue light bulbs as holiday decorations were pretty commonplace by the 1930s, see the smithsonian article "Untangling the History of Christmas Lights"
In “A Horse Shoe In” Trixie says that Abraxius the Bold “Did a bunch of boring stuff" "for a really long time" in Year 1322 of the Pre-Equestia Era.
Roman inspired chariots and guards+we learn that the pegesi came from a Roman inspired society.
But also
German inspired cottages,castles.
But also
We learn that the first people who founded pony vill traveled there Oregon trail style. +one school house+ appleoosa exists.
But also
Cheerily mentioned her 80s phase
+Modern looking shops+a whole modern city
But then
There's the past elements that came from:
. ancient China vaguely
. ancient Celtic inspired culture
.the swamp??
. Rome
And then
We know that 1000 years after that were solidly in modern times in make your mark.
Conclusion:
The appleoosans are big I to revisionist history and like confusing historians by building things to look old on purpose.
Celestia is as old as the celts and we are solidly in the very early 2000s when smart phones are just now becoming common.
In make your mark we can imagine that with such dramatic generation loss they lost a lot of other information and had to start over but not entirely from scratch. It's not completely unbelievable. Ancient Egypt lasted for a really really long time, it wasn't just a monolithic thing.
It seems like you can wind up in wildly different times and themes just walking from one place to another, my guess is that people in equestrian are just isolated and never leave their shire that often, resulting in distinct micro cultures
Or blame portal shenanigans or discord
Understandably a society run by horses would be slower to invent transportation
There’s a colt in the valentine episode that’s playing an arcade machine, so that’s already some 80s/90s tech there
It’s crazy how people are Still Talking about MLP g4, 5 years after It ended. 1:12 MLP g4 was my favorite series as a kid.
4 years*
Since long I have a headcanon that FIM takes place over five years from 1911 to 1916.
Reason why it's five years is because we never really see the younger ponies age, including Flurry Heart, the baby Cakes and CMC.
Season 1 takes place from summer 1911 to spring 1912
S2 from spring 1912 to January 1913
S3 takes place over early 1913
S4 in summer 1913
S5 from fall 1913 to February 1914
S6 from April 1914 to July
S7 from summer 1914 to that fall
S8 from early 1915 to January 1916
S9 from February 1916 to April
Epilogue takes place in the early 1940s
And the logo for the title itself, the word “Friendship Is Magic” where the font was first introduced in the original “Parent Trap” in 1961 where it was used in the opening and closing sequences where the credits were shown. If you have not seen the Disney film from 1961, go watch the opening and closing to the original “Parent Trap” and see what the font was first used which was the inspiration for the title of the series.
G4 Equestria feels like a Civilization game where you advance into the modern era but forget to develop some technologies. It's almost impossible for me to guess where it takes place, haha
I always think that the period of the series would be between 1900-1940. No more no less.
Until you find out twilight somehow know what a computer is, I’m dying of laugher, because I swear mlp has the most confusing place in time and space ever, bruh
Then you have Appeloosa and Manehattan at the same time
The interesting fact that Cloudsdale was in the heavens long after the Book Of Revelation in the Holy Bible where God’s destruction of evil and death where it brought to the heaven and entered Cloudsdale where the heaven was created by God in the Book of Genesis if you have not read the Bible.
Never mention that in : “green isn’t your color” they show a camera. Already exposes everything.
also they have video cameras
This is the first thing I was considering. Mediaval town, post-industrial-revolution city, DJ pony,... A mix between several eras that makes each places in Equestria has his own era (because it's a magical land ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Source : a great scientist
dont forget ms cheerilee showed her students a picture of herself in which looks like the 80s ERA!
So, to put it simply: if Earth had magic and the year is around the 2000s, Equestria could have been our reality. Including turning animals intelligent and making them pull our carriages.
Hell, those thatched houses are probably enchanted by magic to be as resiliant as our houses
we don't know because there's characters like Vinyl Scratch (DJ Pon3) who exist in the show but many fans think it's set in the 1920's which wouldn't make any sense whatsoever especially with every musical number the show has (most of the songs are electro-pop based)
So happy that people are still making videos about G4 ! 🙂
We love your videos !!!
Since fairly early on in my pony fan-life (c. 2017+) adopted the fanon that outside large cities like Manehattan, most of mainland Equestria is mid to late 19th century so like you said, oil lamps, trains, factories, etc.
In later seasons we see hints of lightbulbs, interior plumbing, and a few fairly blatant discrepancies like a arcade video game, DJ PON3's turntable vehicle, etc. My thought is that for the average pone to have such novelties they either have to be RICH, fairly famous, or maybe a home brew innovator/guinea pig. Most pones like AJ for example still rely on wood/coal for fuel, have an outhouse for the fields/barns, and so forth.
If you haven't seen, I highly recommend the artist Baron Engel who has a long-running art story (not exactly a comic) where he really drives home concepts like having to prep for winter, country fairs, and more.
I always considered Equestria a mixture of cultures, to be honest. Some towns prefer to remain rural and traditional like Appleloosa, Canterlot and Ponyville, whilst others like Manehattan, Cloudsdale, Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus are more modern. It would also explain the differences between technological advancements vs tried-and-tested contraptions associated with the olden times, like Oil Lamps, Quills and Scrolls.
It's easier to consider it timeless though. There's definitely time involved within it, that's to be expected with how different G4 is to G5. But it's easier to categorise it as Old Equestria (Before the Show), Present Equestria (The Show's Run) and Future Equestria (G5's Run).
If you look at the title, the word “Friendship is Magic” has a font called “Generation B”, which goes back to 1961 where that font was introduced in the Disney film “The Parent Trap”. The font was designed by three Disney legends, X Atencio, Bill Justice and T. Hee, and the opening and closing sequences were made in stop motion animation if you have not seen “The Parent Trap” with Hayley Mills.
TBF, Ponies just don't need cars, There's chariots and trains, in which ponies can stand or sit in an open space. In a car they'd have to sit in a rather uncomfortable position in a more cramped space.
Plus, Button Mash is shown playing an arcade machine in "Hearts and Hooves Day", DJ Pon3 has speakers and lightshows, and we can see lightbulbs on multiple occasions. So, Equestria does have more advanced technology, and even some sort of electricity or electricity esq magic. It just seems it's not as widespread as it is in our world.
Also, they probably have no need for TVs, as Twilight and Trixie both demonstrate that a skilled enough magic wielder can make projections of moving images.
You could just view it as ponies technology getting better and more advanced as the series goes on.
these videos feel so high quality and way underrated
I like to think the ambiguous time and dating of the show is intentional to add character and make it obvious the world is not comparable to ours. It's just modern day but in a timeline where technology is only used or acknowledged when absolutely necessary.
I like to agree that MLP:FiM's first episode takes place on the last day of 999AD.
I love looking at how they store information. They have vinyl records for music but no TV. The have film tho, but no telephones. I think the existence of magic and pony logic like messenger birds throws a viable human equivalent date out the window. (i also generally like to ignore how muddy it gets in later seasons. (Ra Ra Concert))
The schoolhouse made me think of the 1800's or later. The Medieval period would NOT have had education like that.
As you said at the beginning, to date something we need a calendar for reference. And the only accurate historical marker we have is Trixie's quote (S9E20): "In the Pre-Equestia Era, *year 1322* , Abraxius the Bold did... a bunch of boring stuff... for a really long time..."
Which means there's at least 1322 years of recorded ponykind history before Equestria was even founded + some time before and during the reign of the Royal Sisters + exactly 1000 years of Celestia's monarchy.
That's around 2400 years of magical pony civilization according to my *extremely* conservative estimate!
In regards to technological progress. You can't really guess the age of a society by this metric due to its multifaceted nature. Some real life societies are still preserved in the hunter-gatherer state!
I always thought that mlp went to the late 1800's to the early 1900's in the first 4 seasons, but vinly wouldn't make any sense in canterlot wedding
They're amish, ponyville is a town full of sunworshipping amish people
Also the cutie marks crusaders also made 80's references with their outfits in season 2 in a talent show. So i think magic and tech just runs MLP gen 4 worlds lol.
There's also the scene in Hearts and Hooves Day where Buttonmash is playing an arcade machine.
Twilight Sparkle Knows How To Operate Oil Lamp.
The style of music that Pinkie usually do parties to points to the 2010s... when the show starts )
Well i would say this G4 mostly takes place around 1900's since by the look of your thoughts so im going to make my thoughts on G5 taking place in years of it
So G5 could be around the 2000s like youhoof is a thing in G5 meaning it was around the 2005's since youtube was invented in 2005 and instagram (I think it has its own name in g5 just not seen yet) but instagram was made in 2010 and Cliptrot which is ment to be tiktok and tiktok was invented in 2016 so yeah thats all the apps that were mostly (i think all) mentioned in g5 so for sort G5 era is mostly around the 2000's which we are in now
And as for the layout and background, it looked a lot similar to the Jay Ward cartoons from the 1950’s and 1960’s like “Rocky & Bullwinkle”, “Fractured Fairy Tales” and “Peabody & Sherman”.
There's yachts, monorails, skyscrapers, modern microphones and sound equipment, electronic lighting equipment, construction vehicles, roller coasters, x-ray machines, non-digital photography, Jet Set's cutie mark is of actual air planes. There's no real consistent through line for the technological level of Equestria or the rest of the world. My headcanon is that technology develops primarily for the purposes of recreation and entertainment, and then for the sake of the joke.
that intro is amazing
and then like. the steam engine bit with the mines. top tier
also hi fellow Veritasium viewer!
Glad I'm not the only one that has thought about this! My personal headcanon is that this is a post apocalyptic world. The trains, taxis, etc... were all just leftover from before OR were remakes that didn't need tech since they weren't as advanced anymore.
I think that when you take into account the pop culture in MLP the early to mid 1990s make sense , but also if you see equestria girls as a parallel universe then putting MLP in the era of when it was made (so early 2000s) or just before it makes sense. I also think that the ponies don’t have the tech that the humans do simply because it would be too hard for ponies to make and they seem to do most of the inventing out of the creatures in the series.
And obviously they have magic lmao
FiM takes place during a time with a 1900s - 1920s equivalent technology level, but with divergent technology based on different cultural priorities and species abilities.
I always thought it took place in the late 1800s in an isolated part of Europe. When I see the medieval architecture of Ponyville, it reminds me of small villages in Europe which still have those buildings to this day. I travelled to a small town in Bavaria one time for an event, and lots of the buildings still look like they are 500+ years old. Big cities like Manehattan have advanced technologically but Ponyville is just akin to a small European village that would have gotten those advancements much later. Also pretty much the entire world at the time was either an imperial power or under the control of one, so it makes sense why we see monarchies like Celestia or Saddle Arabia. And just like in real life, the monarchs of completely different countries in the MLP universe were related by blood. Equestria and the Crystal empire were ruled by one big family, much like how most of Europe's monarchs were related at the dawn of WWI.
I always imagined that the world of mlp has a more scattered timeline in terms of inventions that's less coherent than ours and more scattered considering that there's a heavy focus on special talents and certain categories of which happen to reside in specific locations for the most part
This would mean that something invented in one area by a specific pony couldn't properly be replicated elsewhere since the majority of ponies that would specialize in similar things would likely be in the same town or segment of equestria which would result in more primative versions being made elsewhere in said equestria to make up for it
This would also cause a wider timeframe before certain items or inventions become staples nationally especially since communication from far out still takes significant time even after all those years canonically
Most of inventions made either for army or in technological race against others countries, Equestria doesn't have technological advanced neighbours, they didn't wage wars bc they are peaceful, so i think that they don't need to advance existing technologies beyond what they are, as people's say "if it works - don't touch". Oh, and ponies are individualists. Upd. I think its around 2000's, just remember that small villages have no need in most technologies, while such big cities like Baltimare or Manehattan will thrive from technologies for QoL.
Have you seen the move “Things To Come”? It was the first science fiction that features time travel from the 1930’s through the future. That was from 1936. This MLP FiM timeline was messed up.
And one thing about is the animation style, the backgrounds and characters that looked like a mixed bag of Dr. Seuss, UPA and Chuck Jones which makes the cartoon looked like the 1940’s through the 1960’s.
I also agree that it generally sits somewhere in the 1920s. It's not a strict rule though, more of a guideline when scripting the show. LEDs and Vinyl's DJ equipment are just fun things on the screen which don't need an explanation. If you really want one you could say it's magic, technology was developed at different paces in different areas than our timeline, or ponies simply don't need newer technology.
Most of what humans needed to develop for ourselves in our world were already done by Equestrian ponies. We use electricity in place of magic, aircraft for flight, and industrial agriculture instead of being mud ponies!
The reason ponies are pulling the train is because the Zebra Empire has stopped shipping coal to Equestria.
Love the Pipbuck, btw
Always headcanon'd a few lore tidbits the fandom fics gave us. One is my favorite, that EqG and Equestria proper are synced and desynced at the same time. Namely, time passes faster in Equestria than it does in the human world. It kind of explains Sunset and Twilight's disconnect, and the fact that Twilight grows up, gets a crown, and does so much while Sunset is spending a few years in high school. Gonna keep watching your vid to see where your theories go, just wanted to put this here while it was fresh.
My headcanon is that mlp doesn't align with our time, because they have magic, and so most of the modern technology they don't need. I don't like bring up g5 when talking abou g4, but g5 basically kind of proved this. Since magic went away, technology had to improve so that they could do similar stuff that they could do with magic, but they also just started doing even more stuff that nopony ever thought of doing when they had magic, so the internet became a thing, and a lot of other stuff came along. One thing you may also notice in g5, they still don't use cars. This is because ponies can already travel on their hooves pretty well, so there was never a need for fast transportation in between running and trains.
If we will assume that Equestria can be a federation under the monarchy where each region has large autonomy, it can actually explain why every location has that large difference in years
i love when he says "princess, not QUEEN" and puts celestia and chrysalis
i would say like early 1900s, maybe late 1800s
they don't need technology if they can power all that stuff with magic
The ponies are not affected by industrial complex, and they prefer live in traditional way because they are too dependant on magic. The only thing technology has bought far is when it comes to musical instrument, also picking quill pen with mouth is easier than plastic pen.
Conclusion : they are living in 2000s with technological divergence
Fun video. One note, those aren't lightbulbs or LEDs. What Twilight was using was an EEG machine (electroencephalogram). It's obvious by the cap worn and the plots you see printed. The first EEG used for a human was in the 1920s so it still matches perfectly to the timeline. (Even earlier use in animals, late 1800s).
Pretty sound until Pon3's DJ materials but she still seems to use flat records, so maybe it's just a modified version considering it's her talent.
the city of Manehattan looks modern since it resembles the city of Manhattan in New York state. fun fact: New York state was originally a Dutch colony known as New Amsterdam but when the British won a war against them, they took New Amsterdam and renamed the colony to New York. as for Old York, it's a city in the UK as Old Amsterdam is in The Netherlands.
and before anyone says it, The Netherlands is the name of the country, not Holland, Holland is a place in The Netherlands and the people who live in The Netherlands are referred to as the Dutch.
Well, I can't spare any staples, but I'll teleport you an enchanted MCA Discovision.
Thank you for still making pony content- ever since the disappointment that was G5 the whole fandom's been craving channels like yours, haha!
I think the show many take place during the early 90s and 2000s?? Due to some styles, technology, and characters
When Luna was banished to the moon, and even before that, Canterlot existed, the castle and all, this period was over 1000 years ago, we don’t get to see a lot, and I haven’t seen the show in forever so my statement is pretty much useless, but if there are any tech from the 1700’s or 1900’s or 1800’s or whatever, in those scenes, (there’s a battle scene, maybe there’s something in there) this means that MLP could be taking place in the year 2700-3000
I love this man (as a TH-camr)
Yeah, I always put it in the 1800's to perhaps the 1930's. The exterior wood bracing on the Ponyville houses with thatched straw roofs. It bothers me that Manehattan has so many modern looking buildings rather than it being like 1920's New York. I would have liked to have seen Cherry Berry flying a biplane at some point or an early diesel train. Also, you seem like a cool dude. I wish I had a brony friend like you. So many people in this fandom are so toxic.
Just to add to the insanity some of the technology might use magic to work.
So have fun with that.
also the characters use either hot air balloons as transportation or use the Friendship Express train which is shown as a steam-powered train instead of a bullet train some other forms of technology appear to be outdated like the sewing machines used by Rarity
Didn't know the video about My Little Pony timeline would be so educational :D
I think it takes place in a solarpunk future where the issue of climate change has been addressed through advanced technology. The antiquated aspect is merely the design.
I think what you are looking for is technological advancement equivalence which it is a concept discussed in Science Fiction due to the fact that different planets/species will make discoveries at different rates and even different orders (aka Inventing the aerosol can before the wheel).
Magic throws a wrench into the equation since there would be advanced technologies that would be completely eclipsed by even basic magic. Imagine a civilization that invents teleportation networks before the combustion engine. Cars may never even exist in such a universe.
really well put together video! I think the theory you gave at the end made a lot of sense
The jumbotron TVs in Manehatten when the Mane Six and the Pillars were trying to find The Pony of Shadows?
Equestria uses the same time thing or whatever, In an episode Twilight is worrying about a letter because she needs to send one to Princess Celestia every week on Tuesday.
Theory: I may be late but I have a suspicion that in Equestria, different regions have different technology levels which could explain on why technology going all over the place, and/or why ponies have different lifestyles, for example: Canterlot, is stuck in the medieval times, while Las Pegasus is in the Roaring 20s. This is the only explanation on why technology which is affecting years is going all over the place.
I always just assumed that Friendship Is Magic takes place around the same time as Les Miserables (1815-1832) because I remember watching Les Mis PMVs.
In season 4 ep 8 we do see a telephone in a guys office during the musical. Tech wise, I think the level varies from region to region they do have mass production facilities like the joke factory of Cheese Sandwich, but I would guess it's not really important to their economy. The ponies of Equestria have magic active and passive magic to them, like the unicorns own magic and doesn't need a whole industrial infrastructure to embow complex object with magic to function, but also the Earth Pony who apparently seem to have an atonement with nature which need they have no trouble feeding their population with their farming knowing exactly what they need to feed the plants with along with being assisted by the pegasis who control the weather itself which mean they don't risk crop failures anywhere nears as we can in overusing the soil. So in the end they the tech level in all over the place for them is because they didn't didn't at all developed like we did and new tech can be created at a very localized level with little in the need of complex infrastructure and is more hand craft stuff still.
I was going to be very disappointed with you if you didn't reference Read It And Weep but luckily you referenced hospitals near the end of the video and so you've been spared of my disapproval. Good job!
Im glad this video exist as i always wondered when exactly does equestria take place and then there's canterlot city does it takes place in the 2000s or something
Thor's voice~ I like this one...
i like how he blinds himself with this projector for the whole video and doesnt even project anything with it
MLP:FiM begins in the year 1041 Anno Concordia and ends less than 10 years later.
When you said “wrap up” I started singing the Winter Wrap Up song 😂🤦🏻♀️
is nobody gonna talk about his amazing Kermit impression??
I kinda want him to talk about Fallout Equestria now
I’ve always figured 1950-60s, or early 90s
Depending on which style of animation and background, it. Kinda reminds me of Chuck Jones of WB and MGM cartoons from the 1960’s and 1970’s. The styling are like UPA. Both of these animations were influenced by UPA and Chuck Jones.
i feel like with magic in any timeline, tech doesn't need to advance as fast or like ours so stuff that we invented early weren't a priority. by already having a form of instant messaging they wouldn't necessarily need a network to communicate slowing the invention of computers and digital tech, this would also explain why in gen 5 they do have smartphones and digital media, lack of magic to do it for em.
transportation wise, they are horses and self travel is pretty much expected, anything else is considered a luxury like those flown carts or for really long journeys for train and boat, small scale travel like by car your just expected to do yourself with your horse legs
The pony pulling train is a fine referrence to Kkat's FoE Chapter 3: New Apploosa, train raider trades
You do a spot on Kermit impression
We have to know that in Mlp the Tecnology it's the magic, the magic reemplace technology in their world
Don’t forget about pinky pies oven
1:30 that actually reminded me of a question, how, tho?, like how does Celestia be able to move the sun at will, like think about it the sun is if we were to say its the same size as ours, its massive & as well if we add the distance, yea makes u question the whole thing about Celestia,(note i do not fully remember the full potential of alicorn magic), like if u think about it luna is probably more believable since well, the moon is closer to the earth & as well smaller then the sun.
Considering the fact that the Equestria girls dimension seems to resemble modern day, I'd like to think that mlp might take place in 2010 - 2019
Adding on to the post 1950 theory, Rainbow Dash’s pet turtle is named Tank, and with the invention of the tank in WWI and the usage of tanks afterwards it can be assumed that the time period is at least post WWI. This also does lead down another rabbit hole being how and why tanks were even used in Equestria. This usage of tanks is further reinforced when Pinky Pie (Pye?) had a tank in one of the episodes (Possibly the Cheese Sandwich one), though it could be argued that the only existence of tanks was in party tanks, as that is what Pinky Pie used, shooting confetti instead of ammunition. Even though that is a possibility, the technology for the party tank would in theory be the same as a normal tank. I’m probably just rambling but whatever, rabbit holes are fun. 🙂
I think that MLP takes place simultaneously with our own timeline.