Confused about what happens when in Diaries of a Madman? Wonder no more with this timeline of events! Beware that spoilers are unmarked.
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Ancient History
Ancient Human History to the Modern Era
Events that take place from the time Discord is created, to after the fall and extinction of humanity.
- Unspecified distant past:
- Discord is inadvertently created by Cain.
- Classical Antiquity:
- Arachne is cursed with her current form by Athena.
- Athena forms her book world and starts collecting the world's knowledge.
- The Middle Ages:
- Arthur and Merlin battle Discord.
- 20XX:
- Nav is sent back from the future for a week.
- Humanity is nuked, resulting in the deaths of most of the species.
- The elementals are created.
- Nav's past self heads the team that creates the various species that would go on to populate Earth.
- The dream machine is created.
- Humanity goes extinct.
- The elementals begin their mission to guide the evolution of the new races.
- Unspecified length of time later:
- The elementals are imprisoned.
Equestrian History
Events that took place between the downfall of the alicorns, and Nav's arrival, set several million years after the extinction of humanity.
- Approximately 6200 years before Nav arrives in Equestria:
- Celestia is born.
- Alicorn civilization is destroyed by Discord.
- Ponies are created by Discord splitting the alicorns into three.
- Discord creates the changelings by corrupting alicorns.
- Luna is born.
- Celestia flees with Luna.
- Moonbeam is corrupted into Chrysalis by Discord.
- Celestia discovers the Elements of Harmony within Discord's lair.
- Discord is petrified by Celestia and Luna using the Elements of Harmony.
- Celestia and Luna gain their extended lifespans by their use of the Elements.
- Reginald saves the ancient naga city from destruction.
- Celestia and Luna start to stabilise Equestria.
- The pony tribes are segregated into three to try and avoid conflict.
- Approximately 4000 to 3000 years before Nav arrives in Equestria:
- Luna goes on the warpath, teaming up with Reginald and anyone else who will ally with her.
- Grogar restores the climate of the Arctic to its original frigid state, resulting in ponies being forced to migrate.
- Celestia and Luna's efforts fail, with the lack of resources from the climate change resulting in open conflict among the tribes.
- The Crystal Empire is founded.
- Celestia and Luna form a system of institutional racism to bond the pony tribes together, leading to the use of terms like "anypony".
- "True magic" is stamped out and replaced with unicorn spells by Celestia and Luna.
- The Everfree begins appearing.
- Grogar's experiments become dangerous and attract the attention of Sombra.
- Sombra intervenes and puts a stop to Grogar's actions.
- Sombra begins to be corrupted by his use of shadow crystals.
- Approximately 1000 years before Nav arrives in Equestria:
- The Crystal Empire disappears.
- The Everfree becomes an issue.
- Luna is tasked with dealing with the Everfree.
- Luna stumbles across Discord's lair and is corrupted after looking into his magic mirror and seeing her true self.
- Luna is banished by Celestia.
- After Luna and Celestia's battle, the Everfree is strengthened by the ambient magic released during the fight, leading to more mutations, as well as creating the timberwolves.
- Approximately 900 years before Nav arrives in Equestria:
- Chrysalis asks Celestia for aid. Celestia refuses.
Story Timeline
The events that take place following Discord's release, and Nav's subsequent arrival.
Year 1
- September: (Prologue, Chapter 1)
- Discord escapes from his confinement.
- Nav is brought to Equestria by Discord.
- October: (Chapters 2-4)
- Nav meets Luna for the first time.
- Nightmare Night festival.
- November: (Chapters 5-6)
- Twilight and Nav duel Trixie.
- Nav is temporarily turned into a pegasus.
- Twilight is briefly turned into a human.
- Nav gains his wings permanently, following the reversal of Trixie's botched spell.
- December: (Chapter 7)
- Nav meets Derpy.
- The CMC get their Cutie marks.
Year 2
- January: (Chapter 8)
- February: (Chapter 8)
- Nav meets Celestia for the first time.
- March: (Chapter 9)
- Nav turns 19.
- April: (Chapter 9)
- Nav has his run-in with Pelt.
- May: (Chapter 9)
- August: (Chapter 10)
- The Grand Galloping Gala takes place.
- September: (Chapters 11-12)
- Summer Wrap Up takes place.
- Luna is secretly sentenced to 7 years 'house arrest' in Canterlot.
- October: (Chapter 13)
- Pinkie Pie's family are taken hostage by the naga.
- Nav kills for the first time.
- November: (Chapter 14)
- Nav meets Lyra.
- December: (Chapter 14, Christmas Chapter)
- Nav brings the spirit of Christmas to Ponyville.
Year 3
- January: (Chapter 15)
- Nav is sent to Egypt by Celestia.
- Celestia leaves for Israel to investigate the growing unrest.
- February: (Chapter 15)
- Nav arrives in Egypt with Spike, and is kidnapped by rebels.
- March: (Chapter 16)
- Egyptian leaders are overthrown, Nav and Spike are rescued.
- Nav turns 20.
- April: (Chapter 17)
- Nav arrives in Ramla, Israel.
- September: (Chapter 17)
- Nav leaves Israel for Equestria.
- October: (Chapters 18-19)
- Nav arrives back in Equestria.
- November: (Chapter 19)
- December: (Chapters 20-21)
- Fleur manages to get Rarity and Nav arrested on charges of treason.
Year 4
- March:
- Winter Wrap Up takes place.
- Nav turns 21.
- April: (Chapter 22)
- The dragon migration takes place.
- Luna has 5 years remaining on her sentence.
- May: (Chapter 23)
- Nav leaves for Egypt for the second time.
- June: (Chapters 23-25)
- Nav arrives back in Egypt.
- Equestrian diplomatic mission to Egypt initiated.
- Nav finds Taya on the streets of Catro.
- Nav leaves Egypt for Barkelona, Spain.
- July: (Chapter 26)
- Nav arrives in Barkelona.
- Nav encounters the pirates.
- August: (Chapters 27-30)
- Nav arrives back in Equestria.
- Grand Galloping Gala takes place.
- Taya badly injures Nav with a power meltdown.
- Nav gains his extended lifespan.
- September: (Chapter 31)
Year 5
- March: (Chapters 32-37)
- Maris party takes place in France.
- Blueblood is nearly assassinated, resulting in him being poisoned and having his appearance ravaged.
- Nav meets Cadance for the first time.
- The changelings attack Canterlot.
- Cadance and Shining Armor get married.
- Nav becomes a Lunar knight.
- The dream machine is reactivated by Nav and Luna.
- Nav turns 22.
- April: (Chapters 37-40)
- Nav discovers his key, gender-switching stones, and anti-magic ring within Everfree Forest.
- Nav meets Reginald for the first time.
- Nav is challenged to a duel by Blueblood.
- After losing his duel, Blueblood makes a deal with Discord.
- Luna has 4 years remaining on her sentence.
- May: (Chapters 40-42)
- Gilda visits Ponyville to make amends for her previous actions.
- June: (Chapter 42)
- August: (Chapter 43)
- Grand Galloping Gala takes place.
- September: (Chapters 44-45)
- Nav helps the changelings genocide a diamond dog clan.
- The changelings start experimenting with human technology.
- Ponies start experimenting with human technology.
- October: (Chapter 46)
- Nav accompanies Cadance and Shining Armor on a diplomatic event to the griffon capital, Gryphus, in Canada.
- Cadance is almost assassinated by a griffon.
- November: (Chapters 47-48)
- December: (Chapter 49)
Year 6
- January: (Chapters 49-50)
- February: (Chapters 51-55)
- Nav visits Appaloosa.
- Nav meets Flo, and finds Excalibur.
- March: (Chapters 56-65)
- Fabulous Flankfurt Festival takes place in Germany.
- Nav joins the naga.
- Nav and Luna cause a diplomatic incident with the griffons.
- Nav is forced into an Arranged Marriage with Gilda.
- Nav turns 23.
- April: (Chapters 66-71)
- Nav and Gilda's Arranged Marriage is cancelled.
- An assassination attempt is made on Cadance's daughter, Princess Skyla.
- The war games exercise between the Day and Night Guard takes place.
- May: (Chapter 71)
- July: (Chapters 72-77)
- Nav gets sent back in time.
- August: (Chapters 78-80)
- Grand Galloping Gala takes place.
- Nav is nearly killed after declining a duel from Blueblood and being stabbed in the back.
- Blueblood is killed by Taya.
- Taya gains her Cutie mark.
- September: (Chapters 81-83)
- Nav meets Eva.
- The griffons start experimenting with human technology.
- Bon Bon and Lyra get married.
- October: (Chapter 84)
- Autumn Harvest takes place.
- December: (Chapter 85)
Year 7
- February: (Chapters 86-87)
- Luna's Rambunctiously Radical Rave takes place.
- Nav and Luna's relationship completely breaks down.
- March: (Chapters 88-93)
- Luna publicly confesses her crimes against Navarone.
- Nav leaves Equestria on his quest to free the elementals.
- Stupendous Stalliongrad Soiree takes place.
- Nav turns 24.
- April: (Chapters 94-100)
- Nav arrives in the Crystal Empire.
- Sombra is killed.
- Aqua is freed from her prison.
- Nav first meets Athena within her Portal Book world.
- The Elements of Harmony are stolen by Discord.
- May: (Chapters 101-106)
- Nav encounters the spiders in South America.
- The first Element of Harmony, kindness, is recovered.
- Nav is captured by the monkeys and crowned their queen.
- Nav's gender stones break, trapping him in female form.
- June: (Chapters 107-109)
- Nav arrives in Atlantis and meets the water elementals there.
- Nav returns to Equestria and agrees to work with Miners Without Borders for his expedition to Antarctica.
- Nav arrives in Antarctica, and discovers the human bunker.
- July: (Chapters 109-111)
- Nav is trapped within the bunker after the ground gives way.
- Nav gets possessed by Ava, a ghost from the bunker.
- Nav escapes the bunker after a week or so of being trapped.
- Flo grows more powerful thanks to tangentially related events in the bunker.
