And before you say it, yes, I'll be curbing my posts, I was just taking a break and found something I thought you'd all enjoy. So, while I was chisling at my metaphorical stone slab my next forum debacle from what one could generously call a grammar train wreck into something resembling syntax and people words, I stumbled over in my notes (which span about nine journals by the by...) I found one of my earliest, and surprisingly, one of the few largely unaltered missives and theory pieces on the inner gears under the polished veneer of Equestria's cuddly surface (Even Shadow one day looking back on life of strife, turmoil, and blood that she had to face her sin, the horror of how she did it all... cute) to do with Immortals, and since its long enough and relatively coherent enough to be its own thing, I figured why not. It ultimately boils down to the conclusion that few, as in a handful, of nations are run by a Immortal, and those that are do so as having to have a aspect like sun raising being done from that spot.

The immortal

The term immortal is most easily described as in the same way the soul is: a thing one is aware exists, but one rarely truly understood, and like the soul, a thing ponies have the means of easily being able to isolate and study, but even with magic and thousands of years of stablity, still can often only offer a shrug or give a long winded sermon on the Sisters which by mere coincidence actually has to do fuck all to do with what they, and immortals are at large.

When one thinks of what one mortals call Immortal, we see the two most largely accepted notions of what these beings are in the Sisters: Celestia and Luna in their default personas, the wise benevolent stewards of a wise benevolent race of ponies, and what many view as what most others are, Nightmare Moon's, despots and more then likely deviants planning to do all manner of evil on the quivering masses. Of course when the point that is probably highly biased thinking, it is usually met with a doubling down that all other immortals are not only unfeeling pricks, but outside Equestria's borders, play an eternal game with the mortals pawns on the board, the prize being the lands and beings that reside upon them.

It should be noted, of course, that this has little to do with Immortals as it does with ponies, the ones defining themselves and others by their own limited sense, their place in Creation, and decidedly puts them as things of importance, even if its merely as pieces to be used and discarded.

The first thing to address is their is decidedly numerous ways one is Immortal. The Mantle's of sun and moon would seem to be the most widely accepted answer to an Immortals power and longevity, namely a relic attached to a source outside the pony in question. But by the same definition, any entity with sapience that continues within the physical could be granted the same title. Shadow, for example, could be labeled, and Discord seems to be an Aspect entity, as opposed to the Sisters who are Perpetual's. In short, his dickishness is not done for simple cruelty, but done because if he doesn't, he'll cease to be. And of course there's Aeternus, vampires in laymans terms, fae, and simply beings such as the Elder rune dragons and the windigoes leader Fenrir who are Jormungandr in their tongue, and Leviathans in Equestrian, who are beings of such size and ability as to have simply gone past the threshold where even the march of time is not much to fret over (Note:Yes, I have the world serpent there, and no, I'm not unoriginal, I wrote before Dad of War, and will cover him more when I edit my forum post on Cults, but I like to think he's less a prick then the norse one of old. He's the eternally pervy gatekeeping snow horse peoples dad noodle)

It should also be said that, unlike Chrysalis or Luna, Discord has never actually done permanent harm. He's a nuisance and a trickster, but not a decidedly evil sort.

What he is is what most Immortals are, childish. At least ones without duties or vigils to see too. And even those Immortals who seemingly have complete autonomy are still hobbled by the basic realities of their world

The fae as an example, while still dangerous, are in the end victims of their own success. They have great power, but none of its theirs, and like Discord, are under the Rules. What said Rules are and how they are enforced is unclear, but it is not as widely believed done as part of some eternal play, but because the fae and Discord have no choice. Their free will, as we know it, is shackled. In short, they have to spend eternity under a set of doctrines they had no choice in and stopped in many instances of having any purpose, or for that matter any discernable reason for them being written, for eons. Thus why its best to speak to them in Latin: being a dead language, the words are set and a fae is unable to wiggle out of a debt or agreement by feigning misunderstanding. Their wrath, to, is less a gods then it is a temper tantrum, done again because their are few about who can head off any mischief a fae could get into. And this seemingly endless intelligence and cunning is less a thing of learning and study as it is an inherent trait. Fae are born into and naturally are able to use their magic, but on an instinctual level. And since this lifts much of lifes burdens, they coast through much of it. They rarely, if ever, have to put much effort into getting what they want, and thus have little care of consideration for it. And worse still, why they can quite easily copy say a recipe, they would never be able to make one of their own.

Other Immortal beings, such as the Aeternus, suffer from a side effect of one sort or another for their existing, and are in their ways similar to the fae, often ceasing any real growth in ability or thought where they were changed, being stuck in that way of thinking and the era it was in for their existence. This often leads them to become entirely reclusive, desperately clinging to the past and all there. The widely held position of the horrors of blood drinkers is probably from either a poor wretch who wandered too far from home, or ponies stumbling over someones home. Others, if they can manage it, would have as little to do with mortals as possible, not out of dislike, but simply for their own safety.

And thus we come to the notion of Immortal's shadow government. Their response can be described as near universal and consistent: no. Not happening, nuh uh, I dear mortal am quite content with my books, my like cozy pocket dimension, and not having to take responsiblity for anyones life but mine, now fuck off out of said life if you'd be so kind. Often times, Immortals outside of their longevity aren't all that impressive, and what power and money they drew in was simply a part of living centuries. They can still die, and most are near paralyzed with fear on the matter, since even with many having so many years of experience, they're as clueless as to matters of the afterlife as mortal beings. And as for an active declaration of being the grand pumbaa of wherever, I'd imagine the idea of some unelected fop demanding Rule solely based on a physical trait would smack not only of racism, but would also be a horror show should the Immortal decide to go Calligula. At least with a mortal you've either got someone whose one jaded consort or lodged chicken bone from his demise, or just have to wait until the loving embrace of Aunt Syphalis works her magic on the tyrants brain.

But there are powerful beings in and abroad Equestria's borders, and as much as most loathe the matter, power gathers power unto itself, and some would have no choice. Beings like Fenrir and The Sisters do rule their people, but differ in degree. While it is the only course available to stave off someone using their status to bilk others of their coin and property or to engage in some other unseemly behavior, they have had to take extreme caution. If they do to much, their people will never progress, too little and they'll perish or lose hope. And Fenrir, much to his own broken, learned what being lax in a Rule meant: his main duty is to oversee both Nilfhelm, a sort of tarturus he's coiled around which houses untold legions within, and do so with as little movement as possible. He rarely speaks of his past, but numerous ballads and tales speak of the earth splitting and tides risen before him, and despite his fearsome appearance and fierce temper should the need arise, he has never allowed himself the luxury of believing himself so valued as to not see the death of entire nations collateral damage. And so, he was always fairly loose in his duties and commands, allowing and encouraging his people to see to such things as they could

The end result was a split between the houses, all out war, and the displacement of the ponies who would one day make Equestria. While things did work out, he still caused more pain and death then any before or since, so does keep a tighter rein on things. But Celestia and Luna are something of the opposite: theirs are a people in a mentality of the fae. They aren't bad or indifferent, but are infamously oblivious to anything outside their own lives or borders, or worse, viewing any of those outside as at best backwards, and at worst needing ponies to attend to their poor selves. Little seems to have changed culturally or socially in Equestria since the Lunar Rebellion, and even once that was over, Sunbeam's attempts at reforms, ones needed desperately whatever one thinks of the mare herself, would be to her dismay either actively stone walled or outright ignored. Fear of change and a rocked apple cart would win the day, and in the wake of what happens to a people who refuse change was now hanging overhead, ponies would desperately seek to return to the status quo, to forget. And unfortunately, as much as she would be busting for a wee desperate to do so, flash frying the loyal opposition would have resulted in less then an ideal future. Also the whole pissed off mob dusting off the Wicker Mare response would have aggravated her allergy to death. Much can be said of the Vizier, but being stupid was never one of them

As for your garden variety none aging type, their method of governing themselves, its simple: occassional meet up to see that the border lines are respected, a bit of re working if one of them gets axed or more likely simply kills themselves, and by and large making sure that the mortals about are kept as fat and happy as they can be. Yes, they're are many dozens of warlocks, rogue fae, and Immortals like Chrysalis who are either sick or stupid, and the Immortals are even more ruthless in policing themselves as any power grabbing mad being seeking some short sighted notion of sitting on a throne. After all, most of them had spent centuries learning what having all the time in the world can mean. And a fat and happy mortal is a productive mortal, and a productive mortal means the Immortals can continue on pretty much spending centuries in various degrees of debauchery and not being particularly useful.

.........................
And that's it. I've made a few adjustments here and there with the new stories that come out, but that's more or less how I see things standing at the time. A whole lot of people doing what people are inclined to do and assume much while knowing little and wanting to say they matter more then they do. You're horse people, my good Chengar, can be, as the Law Of Fruit Horse states, quite silly at times.