At her coronation after-party, Twilight gets a little freaked out at the prospect of growing into her new life, especially one specific aspect of it. She knows better than anyone that talking her problems over with a friend can help tremendously, but she doesn't have many friends with whom she'd be comfortable talking about this particular problem, let alone ones who would really understand what she's going through.
...unless she broadens her definition of "friend."
Now with a reading, courtesy of PresentPerfect! Go check it out, if you're so inclined.
Ahora en español gracias al maravilloso trabajo de SPANIARD KIWI!
(Now in Spanish thanks to the brilliant work of SPANIARD KIWI!)
Chapters (1)
This is absolutely perfect.
I HATE the Twilight immortality crisis subject. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this. What I hate about most fics involving this subject is the fact that there is never a logical conclusion that can be drawn from the story. It's a conflict most authors can't resolve. This story ended with a clear resolution to the conflict. Well done sir (or Madame) have a multitude of moustaches
Discord did a good job explaining his view on immortality.
Great story sweetie belle and spike so cute
3994775
thing is milked for drama and pathos. Here, the question of immortality is used to make Twilight (and the reader) think about mortality, the way we tend to live our lives as if we were immortal anyway, and the inevitability of sorrows and loss in any life, immortal or mortal. Which makes all the difference!
Usually, the "Woe is immortal me!"
I've gone on record saying that I don't particularly care for these types of stories. A lot of the time, said stories are melodramatic, pretentious, and suffer from Grave of the Fireflies Syndrome, whereby we feel bad for the character's situation rather than, well, the character.
This, however, is a philosophical think piece that I can really sink my teeth into. Twilight isn't bemoaning her situation; she's weighing the pros and cons, just like we would expect her to. Discord's advice is actually quite sound here, and it shows that he actually can be a good friend if he puts in some effort instead of treating friendship like an obligation rather than a bond. The matter of Twilight being immortal or not is left completely ambiguous, which I find to be more welcome than a definitive answer. And of course, there are the points that 3995542 made oh-so-eloquently.
This is the "Who Wants To Live Forever?" trope done right, and for that, I salute you.
I love the idea of Discord being capable of being a helpful guide for Twilight, I really, truly do! It makes sense, in a way, and is just so perfect; he's a foil to her neurosis and the two of them could learn a lot from one another!
Extremly well written
This was wonderful
Discord as not a villain is an amazing character, and this story demonstrates it perfectly. Also, his view on immortality is pretty logical (but don't tell him that)
Discord giving sane advice?
What bizarre world is this?! THE END IN NEIGH!!
One note I should mention which practically every author makes mistakes on.
They assume immortality comes with losing old memories. This is almost certain not to be the case. Memory does not function that way. Long-term memories, especially old ones, seem to be almost hard-wired into the brain. They are often the LAST memories to be lost, as is frequently the case with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
New memories are far more tenuous. If we are dealing with an immortal, they may eventually reach the 'out of memory space' point if they still posses organic brains, and become incapable of forming new memories unless they develop a conscious means of overwriting older memories to free up space. Otherwise, the many little channels in synapses which store the memories will always be there.
If they DON'T have organic brains... well then, there's no reason to assume they have limits of any kind on their memories! Indeed, they could operate as virtual Akashic Records, where all that they have ever experienced and thought is forever stored, immutable for all time.
They are immortal, remember. Their bodies are not burdened by the processes of age and decay which afflict us as we age, and that includes the damage/death of neurons which store memories. Assume that they are perpetually in their 'roaring 20's' with regard to health and brain function, everything working at maximum efficiency in perpetuity.
3996693
I'm aware that Discord, having lived for millennia and had plenty of experiences in that time, is probably going to be wise; that doesn't make it any less weird and jarring to actually see that side of him. I would be demanding continuations if I didn't think it would be bad for the original story; it has been a wonderfully thought-provoking read.
3996726 Eh, sorry, Alondro, but even a human lifespan is waaaay longer than humans have the capacity to remember. We're all functionally immortal because not only have we already lived longer than we can remember in any detail, we're going to live long enough that what we're doing right now will be forgotten.
That's why I think worrying that immortality will be awful is stupid, anyway.
3996843 I would request that you read up on some modern neuroscience before you make incorrect statements.
The upper limit of the human memory has NEVER been quantified, because it has never been reached. People with excellent memories suffer senility or die before they reach their maximum storage capacity.
There are people with memory so astounding, they can recall the imperfections on every page of every book they've ever read.
Even assuming that what is suspected to be the root of memory designates the threshhold of human memory, the limit is calculated as follows:
Excerpt from Paul Reber, professor of psychology at Northwestern University
"Although there must be a physical limit to how many memories we can store, it is extremely large. We don’t have to worry about running out of space in our lifetime.
The human brain consists of about one billion neurons. Each neuron forms about 1,000 connections to other neurons, amounting to more than a trillion connections. If each neuron could only help store a single memory, running out of space would be a problem. You might have only a few gigabytes of storage space, similar to the space in an iPod or a USB flash drive. Yet neurons combine so that each one helps with many memories at a time, exponentially increasing the brain’s memory storage capacity to something closer to around 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes). For comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, 2.5 petabytes would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the TV running continuously for more than 300 years to use up all that storage."
Now, this may not even be the limit. There is evidence that INDIVIDUAL ION CHANNELS can function at quantum levels and each channel can function to store parts of multiple memories! This brings the absolute physical limit up exponentially if it turns out to be true, to the tune of thousands of years worth of memory space.
And again, it still ignores the fact that a true immortal would no longer even function according to natural physiology.
3995542 I couldn't agree more
Wow. This was perfect. A Discord that oscillates between goofy and harsh is perfect as the spirit of Chaos. I can't really say what it was, but the flash to the heartbreaking scenes and his frank tone there was fantastic, reminding me of his shifts from goofy to threatening in the show. Well done. Really well done. And a much better handling of this issue than the trite immortality thing that people always make with Celestia, always going "oh, boohoo, I'm so sad and tired."
Have a like and a fave and a "please write more".
Happy writing.
A delightful response response to the "waaaaa, immortality sucks" crowd. Well done.
3997137 All that stuff you're saying doesn't matter because human memory doesn't work that way. Except for a few people with freakish memory -- they probably still don't have to worry about it based on what you said, but maybe if they were immortal they would.
Everyone else forgets almost everything in a time frame that's so much faster than the theoretical limit that it's stupid. Not to mention that we don't record full-motion video; we compress things and regenerate them on demand when we imagine that we're remembering them.
From what I've read on neuroscience we don't even really *experience* full-motion video, and mostly just imagine that we're seeing and hearing things in the first place, before they even get to short-term memory.
3997417 Ah, so my memory is indeed superhuman. I can recall many movies with staggering detail when I concentrate upon the reflections. I can also recall when subtle details have been changed in later versions of movies. For instance, the sound effect 'shrieks' of the vaporizing ear-parasites in "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan" were changed in the Star Trek Motion Picture collection. In "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", I noticed that several scenes involving the android 'probe' of Leiutenant Ilia used a different edit, and cut out several small portions of dialog. Also cut out was the scene in which Kirk followed Spock out into the V-ger ship in an attempt to prevent him from entering the closed chamber. This also led to a scene being cut in which Robo-Ilia angrily asks, "Why have two carbon units entered V-ger?" and Decker's response. You see... I am not exactly human anymore.
Besides, the fact that a few people are savants with regard to memory indicates that, in ideal physiological circumstances, the human brain IS CAPABLE of hyper-detailed memory.
Certainly not EVERYONE possesses the trait. But SOME do, which means humanity as a whole has that capacity. It is then very likely, that upon ascending to an immortal state the brains of any being granted that level of being would natually attain flawless physiology in every system.
This was painfully out of character, which is a shame, because otherwise I really liked this.
Honestly, this is pretty good. I always thought that immortality was an blessing and a curse. Now though... hm... you gave me a lot to think about.
3994699
Dunno if I'd go that far, but I definitely appreciate that you think so! Thanks for reading.
3994775
I know that most stories involving this subject fall into the same traps, and I tried to stay consciously aware of that while writing to avoid it. Glad you think I did a good job!
3994854
Discord was difficult for me to write. His intention had to come off clearly in the end, but he had to take a roundabout way of getting there in order to keep him in character. Hopefully I did it right!
3995458
Heh, that's something that just sort of cropped up as I was writing the story—I didn't have it planned originally. Glad you liked it!
3995542
You hit the nail on the head.
3995623
Thanks, Met! I really had to be careful writing this one since I know it's such an easy trope to screw up. Looks like my intent shone through, based on your analysis of the story here.
And I purposefully left the question of whether or not Twilight's immortal unanswered because we don't actually know whether she's immortal or not. We can debate it one way or the other, but the show hasn't offered a conclusive answer yet. I'm definitely glad that you appreciate the ambiguity there.
3995808
It's funny. When I started writing this I had no real idea of how well Twilight and Discord would work together. After having written it, though, I totally agree. He's a great foil! Can't wait to write more about their "friendship" in future stories.
3996067
Thanks for saying so! And thank you for the myriad of moustaches, as well.
3996514
And you're equally wonderful for having read it! Thanks a ton.
3996547
He has so much more potential when he's not a villain, to be sure. And I'm glad you liked his answer to the immortality issue. It's logical, but not intuitive.
3996693
Duck and cover! Hides under an actual duck.
3996726 3996843
I'm glad to see something I wrote sparking such an intelligent debate between you two! I think I'm gonna side with Alondro on this one, even though my story goes against it. The scene which caused this debate adds to the story's theme, and I'm willing to sacrifice some accuracy for that.
3997209
I had a pretty tough time writing Discord, honestly. He's such an enigmatic character that it's hard to judge what he would or wouldn't do. I'm glad you think I did a good job, and I'm even more glad that you liked my take on the immortality issue. Thanks for reading!
3997239
That's what I was gunning for. Thanks for the praise!
3997585
I agree. I changed it up a bit, and I think it works a little better. Thanks for the feedback!
3997613
The most I can hope to do with my writing is to make people think. I'm glad I accomplished that for you. Thanks for reading!
I absolutely loved this piece of yours; the humor and everything blended together so well, and everything just seemed dead on with the characters personality, and Discord...I don't know how you pulled that off, but you matched his wit and canniness perfectly! I noticed it said complete, but will there be more chapters once the show gives a definite conclusion, if it does?
3997724
I think one of the writers stated that "Twilight will not outlive her friends."
...clearly this means that ALL of them will become alicorns at some point.
FimFic Episode V: The doublepost strikes back
3997137
The problem with your logic is that you assume celestia has photographic memory. while her brain wont decay as a human would in old age, if she doesnt think about something for a very long time, then that memory will be lost to her.
yes her cutie mark was an important moment in her young life, but after all she has been through, comparativley its not a big deal. so if she doesnt think about it for a few hundred years, or maybe just 50 or so, she would find herself having trouble recalling it.
Liked for the unique perspective on the Twimortal debate.
Faved for the SweetieSpike.
This is, by far, one of the best fan fictions I have ever read. Very nicely done!
3997943
... or all die in one hellacious Heroic Sacrifice.
3997943
Or she can simply live her normal age as she would live as a unicorn and not outlive her friends. =P
I suppose this is one of the better emotality fics, but fuck that whole thing is played out.
This sounds like it'd be a good fit between season 3 and 4, well, aside for the heavy emotional stuff that is. Still, it's typical Discord to make things more lighthearted than they are.
...they really need to add a Discord emote
3998690
Or they might just not be friends anymore.
3999397 Or perhaps Twilight will die first.
I always love to see what direction writers take with Discord; each has their own little twist on the way he acts and speaks—quite fitting, actually.
3999662
Wow, that got real sad real fast.
wow, discord droppin' the knowledge bomb, this was a huge learning experience for me. fantastic, fantastic fic.
Daw, this was a nice read! I like how it never jumped in time, staying within the same unbroken night.
Also liked the little detail of Twi's old hourglass room reminding her of what was on her mind. It was a nice detail.
3998690 or she will not outlive them within the context of the show. Since the show will end way before they even get a chance to get old let alone die of old age. In other words this is way to vague an answer to be considered definitive.
4000331
Good thing we exist to fix that!
Great read. I could say you put an excellent thought in my brain about immortality. Now that I think about it, and being as extremely apathetic as I am, I don't think immortality would effect me as much as I thought with how you had Discord put it into perspective. I could just reinvent myself after a while like an elf to stave off the boredom.
Sweetie and Spike were really cute by the way.
4000331
Well yes, the show is very likely to end with them all still alive, but that's not really an answer within the context of their LIVES.
Hmm. Good to see that someone writed Discord being actually wise. Granted, he's still same chaotic wacky old joker, but you cant deny his wisdom when he decides to share it. Pretty simple, nice story that I can see being in official MLP when it gets a little more 'for teens'.
Good job!
This is one of the few stories about Twilight's immortality (and resulting emo-tality) that manages to be good. Most stories seem to take the sour-grapes angle that Twilight starts out with here, and Discord nicely deflates that one; his fake flashes of immortal-toggling worked quite nicely. And he certainly took it seriously as Twilight requested; "Let’s get a tad heavier" indeed.
It's clear why Discord didn't want to spend any more time coaching Twilight through this: he made far too much sense, and what fun is there in making sense?
4000751 That's just it though the tweet is too vague to tell for sure what she meant and can be interpreted many ways thus not giving us a real answer. Leaving it up to the fans to decide i guess.
I just wanted to say that you have done one of the best jobs with characterizing Discord I have ever seen. When it comes to Discord characters, I feel like there are two main balancing acts to preform in a story like this:
1) Wisdom vs Whimsy
2) Friend vs Foe
(yay alliteration!)
You, sir, have them both down in spades! He shows the wisdom that any being his age would have and all the while maintains his carefree attitude that we have come to love. He shows that he does care about Twilight and the others, but is still himself and old habits die hard.
On a different note, I find it odd that I used the phrase "old habits die hard" with a divinity of chaos. Shouldn't old habits be easy to replace if his whole shtick is that he changes everything at random?
That was fantastic. I love the take on immortality, I havent seen that before