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// Alicorn Reason 
// Story: Fault Beyond Reason 
// by PettyPonyDearest 
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"The Mechanics Of Immortality And Alicorn Reason."

"The reason no E.F.U. students even dabbled into immortality is because while it would be possible, it would very damaging mentally."

"Let's look at how our brain works. Our brain is all about conservation of energy, as such it only uses as much as is needed, and with magic, we can improve this because your mind isn't as strained as before. But for this, it requires great willpower, which might perhaps be one of the most important resources for a mage."  

"Let's go over a bit of the way our brain interprets information. Our brain takes all the information it can gather from various sources, such as our eyes, ears, and other senses, and puts it together so we can see a complete picture. But what happens when we take away one of those senses? What happens to the brain? We examined the brain activity of 1000 deaf creatures and found this. As you can see, the brain is able to reduce the number of areas dealing with hearing, as it knows the information is not as important anymore."

"If we were to look at a mage's brain, we would most likely find that the area dealing with magical energy and other such things are reduced as well as other areas not related to magic. This is why mages seem to have a greater capacity for magic than the average pony on the street. But what happens to the area of the brain that isn't using that extrasensory? Well, it seems that the brain is able to find ways to re-wire itself."

"As you can see here, this pony was blind, but through great willpower, he was able to regain some sight, as his brain was able to interpret other senses in a way that let him see things. This is also the reason why all the students that dabbled in immortality suffered from various mental illnesses. Because when you get into the realm of immortality some things become comprehensible that our brains don't necessarily have the capacity for, our brain overcompensates, and disaster strikes."

"What happens to the brain of a person who can live forever? What about a person who can cheat death? The brain, as it tries to make sense of this, begins to suffer from immense strain. As time goes on the person will begin to experience delusions, hallucinations and even less of their brain are actually focused on important things such as logical thinking and such. So that's why no student has ever become immortal with the desired effect, well (almost all) - they would all go mad first. Still, this does not change the fact that the Princesses of Equestria are now living forever with their manners intact. So how do they cope with this? The answer is surprisingly simple really, though it's one most people wouldn't agree with."

"You see the Princesses have found that by using something called 'Cognition release' or as they called it several thousand years ago, "Alicorn Reason" they can revert their brain activity back to that of a normal pony, sacrificing some memory and knowledge to compensate for the amount of mental capacity allowed. This is why Celestia and Luna, tend to be level-headed and experienced in life in general but still are able to have lapses of judgment, despite having lived so long. It's because they used the method of 'Cognition' release, I'll leave you to guess who didn't use this method, you can find them in the darkest deepest chapters of Equestrian history."

"Using Alicorn reason, they can still use magic to its fullest potential and retain their minds, without too many drawbacks. Making them the kind and discerning rulers that we know today, with a few lapses here and there of course."

"This has lead to the strange phenomena that the Princesses are all very young looking, yet have the wisdom of ponies thrice their age. I'll try to explain the Cognition release without going into too many details;"

"Cognition release isn't something that students are expected to know. It's an ability that is taught specifically to immortals and as such it's not something I was taught during my studies as I was an exception to the rule. However, since Luna insists that all students at the college know about it, it is mandatory that I teach it to you all. The method of release is fairly simple, it's effectively a meditation technique that allows the user to 'turn off' certain parts of their brain. This is done by sending magical energy to the desired part of the brain and telling it to stop doing whatever it is doing. In the most basic terms, you can think of this spell as stunting or re-interpreting time, so the brain sends signals to the body telling it, it doesn't need to age because it would expend too much energy, so it essentially stops doing so."

"In the princesses case, - without going too deeply into spell mechanics - she changes the focused mental picture to one of a younger version of herself so as to not waste as much energy and thus, could potentially live forever. That is where the drawback comes in, because if they stop using this spell, then their bodies quickly age very fast, rapidly in some cases. It's impossible to say how long it would take for them to age if this was the case, but it could be within mere minutes. That's why it is very important that they do not stop using the spell on themselves because if they ever need this spell again, they'll immediately remember that they can't afford to waste any more energy and they'll use this one on themselves, likely to avoid premature death."

"Another thing to consider is that the more powerful the spell, the more damage it does to the brain. The damage is not permanent, and depending on the user's reaction to the spell, it can be fixed."

"Putting it in simple terms the creature using the spell will need to focus on a picture inside their mind and visualize that picture growing and getting clearer and more defined and in turn, this process stops other parts of the brain from using up unnecessary energy in certain regions. The actual picture used for this technique does not matter, but the princesses all seem to prefer using paintings of scenery from their homeland or past. I've heard rumors that some students are able to use astral projection as a method of release, but I've never confirmed this. If you're interested in learning this skill, I'd suggest you speak to your preferred princess (or me)  about it, though it's still not going to be something that is normally taught at the College because of the danger it entails and not many of you will have reason or occasion to use it."

"This ability is not without drawbacks. Due to the nature of what it does to the brain, all creatures who use it will have a reduced lifespan compared to others. While this won't stop them from living a good long life, it's estimated that their lifespans will be somewhere between 30 and 60 years. So if you ever meet an immortal who appears older than this, they most likely have had - or denied, - this release technique for most of their lives. In the case of our princesses, they've been doing it for thousands of years. How is this accomplished, you ask?"

"No one is entirely sure. But those who have done it don't seem to remember anything before doing so. It's possible that this leads to the same amnesia which normally comes with this technique. One more thing I should mention is that due to this technique having to do with pictures in your mind it doesn't actually work for every person. Different creatures learn in different ways, as such some may be especially attuned to their sense of smell, but not sight. Others may be able to learn better through sounds or even a sense of feeling. This means that some are unable to learn this technique no matter how hard they try, it's just not something that they can do. As far as I know, there's no real way to tell if you are one of these creatures or not. And of course, being able to do it and learning how are two different matters entirely."

"As I said, immortals are able to teach this ability to other mages, but not everyone can learn it, so you have to find out through trial and error. The problem being, even just learning how often takes more than a common lifespan will allow. In the past, this was solved by using expendable soldiers from a young age to test these children to see if they were able to learn the technique. In the dark ages, foals were conscripted to determine eligibility for a century-long study though in more recent times they have abolished such practices. As horrible as this all sounds you have to keep in mind that back then this was a great honor for these ponies, it's also why the Princesses put so much faith into this method of release over the others. Which we will discuss at a later date." 

"To be able to live forever, to achieve something that no one else has ever achieved before, yes this is something to be proud of. I do hope one day that at least some of you can learn this ability and become immortals in the future. But to do so takes time and diligence, Let's look at an example of one person who achieved immortality, He was a milk farmer from the far north of the land of Gallopfrey, and he had it by the age of seventy-six. But unfortunately, without the necessary protection for his brain, his immortality was wasted, as he very quickly went mad. 

"This brings us back to the brain aspect of immortality. Since the release technique doesn't actually grant immortality to your brain, the only other reliable way of achieving it is through these little beauties."

I pick up a vial of clear liquid and tap it on the desk a few times to get everyone's attention. 

"This is the only way known to man to achieve immortality. By having your brain put in an eternal state of trance, essentially alive, yet with no feeling or sense or anything, practically immortality in purely the physical form although useless if you lack the secret to retaining your thoughts and memories."

I put the vial back down on the desk.

"Another thing to consider is that the more powerful the spell, the more damage it does to the brain. The damage is not permanent, and depending on the user's reaction to the spell, it can be fixed. For any other pony, the brain wouldn't be able to recover on its own, but due to the royal family having a much stronger brain activity, to begin with, they can achieve this in the form of potions or other medicines to heal themselves. At least, that's what I've heard. The princesses have never told me anything specific about their condition, only telling me to make sure not to shed too much light on our first day."

"Through this." I pick up the vial again.

We don't retain our knowledge. You will have achieved immortality, yes, but you will forfeit anything you have known or ever will know."

I pour the vial out on the floor. A flower grows instantaneously.

"But you see me, and you see our princesses. How have they retained both? This brings me to the final and most important method of achieving immortality which only our princesses know of. And that's why we're here."

"Now I'm sure many of you have heard about the magical kingdom where they came from and its princesses. You see even I haven't been there but our princesses have told me what they can. They say it's a magical place where alicorns have lived forever, staying young through the centuries because of the way they achieved immortality. Over the years 'Alicorn Reason' has chipped away at the memories of their origins as our princesses have sacrificed knowledge and countless memories to maintain order. So as they get further from their pasts they need something to remember this method with."

"This cognition release is something they keep in an ancient tome which has guided them on how to achieve this goal. We have this tome here today."

I pick up the ancient-looking leather-bound book and carry on talking. 

"In this tome contains the key to immortality, the fountain of youth. But as of yet, nobody but the princesses has been able to decipher its contents. It is said that our princesses are the key to deciphering it, it comes straight from Gallopfrey, because that's where the queen, whose name has long since been forgotten, is buried. Of course, this all sounds very far-fetched and most view it as a fairy tale. But as many of you know up until just recently, The Mare in the Moon was considered a fairy tale. The fact that we have been visited by our princesses and the ancient tome in the same lifetime is a miracle in itself."

"Our elders have long held a belief that one day we would be visited by these magical beings and they would help us in times of need. And look at us now, we have been visited by not one, but many sets of princesses which obviously held and still hold great magical power if they can keep themselves alive for so long. We are going to decipher this tome together. I don't need it, I've already achieved immortality. But I believe that if you have the drive to acquire this knowledge, you should have it and I will help you safely do it."

"Who knows? We could be looking at the next generation of immortals within this very room. But first, we need to learn the mechanics of ancient spells, the pronunciations of forgotten languages, and to sift through information nobody has perused in countless eons. Most of all we need a proper sheathe and a strong moral compass to hold the information we are about to wield and to be able to navigate it without turning to chaos. But I think we're up to the challenge.  With this in mind, our princesses have granted us a 100-year scholarship and a stay of execution, to see if we can achieve immortality as up until this point no creature has ever been allowed to lay eyes on it since the laws surrounding it was written."

"This means that during these years, nopony here will speak of any of this to anyone else, it will be a long, hard journey, you will have no time for anything but to study. But you will be provided for and watched over personally by me during your time. Only then will you have the means to learn and practice without the fear of death or harm to others. If the majority succeed, then we shall all be free to share this information freely, which you will have earned it. But it all starts with the brain. We need to be able to protect ourselves from ourselves. Because gifting immortality to common ponies is like gifting madness to an infant. Most of them simply can't handle it. How will you determine which are worthy? It's simple. The ones that survive the next few weeks are the ones I focus on."

"As the next few days pass, ponder your situation and we will try to learn some of what is in the tome, but a lot of it goes over your head, at least for the first few years. If you decide this isn't for you, there is no need to continue with me. You are free to go. If you stay, you have a chance to become immortal. If you go, you might spare yourself an eternity of misery."