Comments have pointed out that there appears to be a large instance of Accidental Innuendo in the photo The Hub posted

@Kegi Such is the risk of writing fanfiction for an ongoing series.

I, on the other hand, ended up drawing some pretty significant fanon from the fact that there were two towns named in the show that didn't show up on the map: Hoofington and Trottingham.

Thanks to that, in my head Hoofington doesn't exist (it was made up by Trixie to support her Ursa Major story), and Trottingham isn't in Equestria, but across the ocean to the east as part of a Europe-equivalent landmass.

Celestia seems to be well equipped there...

edited 20th Sep '12 1:50:10 PM by Cookoo

We got an announcement for the approximate time period of an announcement? I feel like slapping someone upside the head.

Really?

edited 20th Sep '12 1:57:14 PM by MousaThe14

@ Mousa

Here, you can slap me over the head.

I have no reason to, I meant moreso the people whose bright idea was it to come out with such a vague way of telling us this news.

@Lurker: Makes sense. It would explain the differing accent. The question is whether Trottingham is a city, or a country.

Also, upon reflection it's very easy to fit most of the countries I'd created into the map with a bit of creative jumbling. The fact that Equestria is just below the 'frozen north' means that it's about aligned to Canada, longitudinally, so there's a lot of room beneath it for varying climates. There's certainly fanon to be had here, I just need to rethink things.

And I mean, the stuff within the country itself - that's good stuff. Especially those two little arrows about 'here be dragons' and 'yonder griffons' tell that there are documented places for groupings of both species, and that they're important enough to be worth noting on a map where they don't appear. Also that Equestria has a very large port, so it must have contact with overseas areas - unless the continent curls around in such a way that sea travel is farm ore convenient than land travel.

The map itself says "Distance not to scale", implying its not entirely accurate and just gives a general idea what Equestria looks like. I'm sure it will be updated over time if the need arises. With War Craft, there were multiple maps of Azeroth before World Of Warcraft came around and solidified the position of a lot towns. Then again, that's a video game completely unrelated (though I did do a dungeon the other day with a zombie warlock named Rainbowdash... I can't escape ponies if I try!))

@Mousa at least they don't pull a valve

Valve: Half Life 2 will be released on this day

-This Day-

Valve: Half Life 2 is being delayed.

30 days... damn Im at the risk of becoming apathetic to ponies before the new season is even announced.

Are people seriously going to take a hard "canon" stance on the map of Equestria? To be honest I doubt it is anymore canon then the short comics are put out.

Where? I'd honestly be kind of disappointed if so.

edited 20th Sep '12 2:24:38 PM by Mio

But Hasbro confirmed it to be hard canon. Word of Publisher and all.

I hath uploaded the height chart's sketch but scanned in a proper scanner for a clearer picture.

Pardon me if I am wrong, But I clearly see the Hub Logo and Hasbro logo on the picture, But Let me find a more reliable source

@ height chart

Fluttershy's height still amazes me. In a good way of course.

Also, I can't take my eyes away from Ponkie and Rarity's...everythings.

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/09/30-days-away-from-season-3-announcement.html

So according to this we have just 30 days to wait and after that we will know s3 premiere. Thats nice of them.

Valve before summer came with agreement with Hasbro and with Stubio B(or what is name now) they work on MLPFIM. They are busy with season 3.

Yay, Season 3 announcement in 30 days! :D

I wonder how much longer it'll be after that until the season actually STARTS, though...

@Mousa: Heh, I'm actually a little taller then Pinkie, I'm surprised.

@stevebat: Well by that logic then all of the "events" in the posters have actually happened in canon. The labels are probably just their for promotional and copyright purposes.

Unlike European magazine comics (which Nayuki said are "Definitely not done here at the studio"), the map did have show crew involvement; its designer Phil Caesar is one of the show's location designers, its colorist Geoff Manson is one of the show's color artists, and it was known of by Sibsy and Nayuki before its release.

WeLoveFine's version, on the other hand, is just a Hasbro-approved fan interpretation.

edited 20th Sep '12 2:58:28 PM by Whatshisgame

My personal take is that it's canon until something in the show proper contradicts it. Basically it comes down to this:

Show>Other official show related material=Word Of God>Headcanon

Stuff that isn't related directly to the showmakers (i.e. toys, the European comics, etc.) is considered non-canon unless it appears in the show or I like it enough to headcanon it.

edited 20th Sep '12 3:09:55 PM by JapaneseTeeth

Wouldn't peple call Trixie on it if Hoofington really didn't exist?

They may have just forgotten about it while making the map. Or, they decided it no longer exist. Or, the map is nowhere near complete and subject to change.

We'll see if the map actually is at all an accurate depiction of Equestria, I think it is only in the vaguest terms, and even then it's all subject to change.

It may just be too small to be worth mapping. Those seem to be fairly major cities, for the most part.

Just saw the announcement!

The Hype Train is back on the rails.

Sibsy did say that she didn't know if the map will be used by writers. The "distance not to scale" disclaimer helps the map avoid contradiction, though (not that that means it definitely won't ever be contradicted).

edited 20th Sep '12 3:47:54 PM by Whatshisgame