I'm a Gemini! :D

PPI

Hey, all! I just had a very interesting thought. How old are the grand 9 exactly? I mean, we can exclude Euryala (who is centuries if not millennia old) but what about the others? We see them celebrating their birthdays in a few chapters, but that's about all :(

Snippypoo asked me today who is the oldest of the bunch, and I found that I couldn't answer. Well, we know that Megan is older and Molly is slightly younger, but the rest are a complete mystery.

Personally, I think that Eric is the oldest, but that's purely based on how he behaves.

What do you all think?

PrinceEric

Either I'm having a deja vu, or there's been another thread asking this question. Either way, we don't know. Things have been kept deliberately vague. Personally I'm not sure that even the authors know.

We know that they were in high school in Mistmount, so that places them anywhere between thirteen and sixteen. In Everhere I think they are all about 18 give or take.

I'm more curious about their zodiac signs, to be honest. That's been mentioned a few times and I find the concept fascinating. To be honest the age whole thing is getting old. The more I think about it the more it's pointless. The only exception I can think of is Molly shipping.

MixaMax

Daaaymn! Hold on, hold on! You all realize what this means, right? Euryala is centuries old, right? (That *yay* is probably even older, but let's play nice) Centuries! And she got herself a young male? By what you've said Blazen must be about 20 at most.

How does this happen in fiction? I mean really. In Equestria the moment you reach 30 griffins/stallions start looking the other way. In colt fiction it's like “yo, I'm a few centuries older than you. Wanna hook up?” “Sure.”

How the *yay* does that happen?

Feather

@Feather: Hey! My special girl is a few thousand years old and absolutely magnificent!

Goddesses are goddesses, that's one of the perks of the job: eternal youth. It's not like the Skyla corp CEO is hitting on Eric. Although that would be a perfectly legit fic (that I'm not writing).

I don't hear anypony complaining how old InItForTheShipping is.

Simile

My bf is older than me and I don't care one bit. And I totally agree with Simile: goddesses exist. Also I refuse to believe that stallions are as shallow as described.

@PrinceEric: I consider them in their 20s and Molly close to 18, mostly because of the way she behaves in Chosen. I know it's just me, but I actually see her being in our class. She just behaves a bit different. Also, keep in mind the target audience. There's no way that a 7-year old could understand advanced physics. That's not until middle school.

PaintDrop

You certainly are all over the place with your numbers. For the most part human college starts round 18-20. Also, keep in mind some of them gave jobs, which means they have to be at the very least 16 (though I doubt anyone will hire a model such as Bellucio if he weren't 18 already).

Interesting point about the zodiac signs. Maybe we can determine based on their behavior. :)

@Simile: also, I'm not that old! I'm actually 31. (You can stop cringing now :P).

InItForTheShipping

@InItForTheShipping: You're actually 25 :P

But, yes, I'm getting pretty old myself… Who came up with this painful topic? :P

I’m not sure what their age is, to be honest. In some instances they behave like 14, in others they seem to have been through a lot. Personally I like to think that the age doesn't matter. It's more the window in which they are places. We are told they are in college now, so it's best to think of them in that contest.

Megan is working full time, Molly is in high-school, the east are said to be in college. Even Euryala (who is far older) behaves as fi she's in college, but has additional life experiences.

SaltyHuman

@SaltyHuman, @MixaMax, @Feather: It’s probably not important, but it's just so natural. I mean what's the first thing you ask when you meet someone as a foal? “How old are you?” Age is pretty much everything.

Maybe that's the reason why they haven't specificity the ages? If Bellucio is 19 and Danny is 18 ponies will automatically start thinking that Bellucio is actually the leader. Maybe that's why I consider Eric the oldest… O:)

PrinceEric

Did you know that the exact birthdate of every major character in Midnight Castle is known by S.Child? Just joking :)

I have no idea if they are known or not. One of the requests made by Blueblood, however, are that there's deliberate vagueness on the matter. The only requirement is that they age. So if they are in school, after one story year they have to move to the next class, or graduate. In theory if they have children, the children will grow at the same pace as well.

(I leave it to you if that's foreshadowing or not ;))

Luna

Age is where the heart is. Personally, I am of the opinion that they are younger than the majority of readers thing. My reason for this is that based on tech world. Humans are far more intelligent than ponies. A human of thirteen might well be of the intellectual and biological level of a sixteen year old pony. I would like to remind everyone that they do not go through a cutie mark phase, so they are aware of what they are supposed to do at a very early age (I'd speculate around seven).

It is also noticeable that we don't see too many old people in the stories either. At the end of the day it's coltfiction, and as any coltfiction there are certain rules that are followed. As the saying goes “realism is a good thing, but only if used in measure”.

Thank you,

The TechNightling

Good discussion. :) A lot of food for thought.

I'll try to include some of this in my next fic… when I actually manage to write it.

@PrinceEric: next analyses tomorrow?

LittleFinger

@LittleFinger: you bet! :)

PrinceEric