The Question
Celestia sat in her personal chambers as she watched the scene play out before her on the mystical window into the past. Displayed upon it, six mares, the princess’s former student and her five friends were struck by beams of light shooting out from the Tree of Harmony in the cavern. The light consumed the little ponies before their essences were drawn into the jeweled box and six spheres of colorful light shot out to reveal that the Bearers had been reborn as something never before seen in Equestria.
While the sight of it was magical, and a boon to all of Equestria, Celestia’s heart could not help but ache for the young ones that had yet to realize their fate. A fate that would one day force them to watch their families grow old and die while they remained forever untouched by time.
She had checked up on all of them after everything had died down, visiting the little ponies for the past few days after their initial meeting to see how each of them were adjusting to the changes brought about by the defeat of the latest threat to Equestria. While her concern over any problems the latest adjustment in their lives had been genuine, Celestia had also wanted to see if any of them had noticed that the bodies they now possessed were any different from the old ones. Well, aside from the power to call on a magic to make them look more colorful and crush gods beneath their hooves like bugs that is.
Thankfully, none of them had become aware that the shells they now wore were any different from their previous bodies, aside from some old injuries or aches that no longer bothered them. None of them had noticed that they had been altered at all. Even Twilight had failed to grasp that her new alicorn body was a step beyond what she had been elevated to before the harmonic event.
Unfortunately, their lack of knowledge about the situation meant Celestia was faced with a difficult choice: she could let them remain blissfully ignorant to their newly gained immortality, or tell them of what had transpired and offer her advice on how to cope with the idea of Forever.
Celestia knew from personal experience that the first path had its appeal as well as disadvantages. After all, she and Luna had not been aware of their own immortality until her friends began to gray while the sister remained ever young and powerful. It had caused a great deal of heartache, jealousy, and the loss of more than one friendship when all the ponies around Celestia and Luna were dragged down by time and the sisters were not. Words had been exchanged in anger that still brought pain to Celestia’s heart, despite the fact that the ponies who said them had long since turned to dust.
She still wondered what would have been different had she known what was to transpire all those years ago. If she had come into the world knowing that she would never leave it through the fault of age. Would she have bothered making friends at all, or simply ignored the slights that became tearful arguments in order to not waste time with the ones she loved?
It was a question she would never find an answer to.
And something she need not worry about at the moment.
She had to focus on the effects her decision would bring.
There would be the change in perspective that came with the knowledge of immortality. It would happen to them now, or forty years down the line when they noticed the lack of slowing down, gray hairs, and the hundred other things that came with bodies that were supposed to be over the hill. But it would come all the same in time.
Either way, Celestia would at least be there to help them cope with the change in that regard. She would be there to guide them into the new perspectives they would need. Her little ponies didn’t worry about the future on the same kind of scale she did, nor did they think of what would happen to the foals scampering around their hooves when it came to the children's old age, as the older would usually pass before the younger. That was the way of the world after all.
Telling the Bearers, or whatever they were now, would put that weight on their shoulders much sooner than if they were to figure it out themselves. They would find themselves having to worry and plan for things years, decades, or even centuries down the line from day one instead of day ten thousand.
At the same time, it would allow them to prepare. Telling them would let Twilight and her friends stop wasting precious days simply lounging around, fighting with loved ones, or doing a million other silly things that ponies did to eat up time because of one reason or another. Armed with the foreknowledge, they could spend every second of every day with those that they felt close to. Because they would know that each second that went by was time closer to when they would have to say goodbye to their loved ones forever.
But there would be consequences for that foreknowledge. A little voice would constantly whisper in their ear that their families would one day be dead, and they would continue on. It was a weight Celestia knew all too well, and had stopped her from growing as close as she would have liked to several ponies throughout the years.
If Celestia were to remain silent thing would certainly be better in the now. There would be no worries, and no little voice in the back of their heads constantly reminding them that every second that went by was one step closer to never seeing their families again. They could relax and enjoy simply living life because they would think there wouldn’t always be a tomorrow for everypony and they had no need to wonder about what would happen centuries down the line; or how much they would regret decisions of eons past.
But on the other hand, just because ponies like Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack didn’t know just how long they would outlive their little sisters, just because they would be able to not worry about things like seeing the foals that trotted at their heels grow old while they remained the same… It didn’t mean they wouldn’t resent Celestia for not telling them later on.
That particular realization brought her to a completely different line of thought.
Was she doing this for them, or herself?
Immortals could carry grudges for a long time, and Celestia was more than a little worried of what a single pony out of the six who defeated Tirek while he had been next to unstoppable could do. The magic they held was beyond all the unicorns, pegasi, and alicorns in Equestria. It was more than possible that a single one of the six stood head and shoulders above the Alicorn of the Sun when it came to raw magic power, and even Celestia didn’t know what kind of new abilities the Magic of Friendship had given them.
And as much as it hurt to admit, she was afraid of them, if they were brought to anger.
A part of her called the notion silly. Celestia had seen the five other ponies since Twilight had come across them, watched them, and laughed at their antics from afar. In truth, she felt closer to those six mares than any other pony in Equestria save for her sister. And she knew that despite everything that had transpired between them, never once had they turned to violence against one they considered friend.
But then, never before had they faced such a problem…and the question of just how much friendship they held for Celestia was also in doubt.
Respect and admiration?
Yes. Celestia was their princess, their ruler. The pony who raised the sun and whom some ponies considered a deity despite her mortal roots. She had ruled Equestria for a thousand years and sacrificed the one she loved most of all for its safety.
Friendship?
Well…that was the question.
But it was neither here, nor there.
Celestia refocused her mind on the six ponies in the projection before her, on what was important, and made her decision on what to do.
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An interesting little quick read. I had wondered about the whole 'rainbow magic harmony beam' malarky at the end of season 4 and how it might have affected them, if at all.
sequel please?
I personally think that Alicorns are in general immortal, but I also think that all of the Mane Six (and several other Ponies of their generation) will ascend.
There's a fourth option: the girls live for a really really really long time, but they aren't immortal.
I really like how thought provoking this was. It is a question I've wondered about before, along with if I would accept immortality if offered. It is a conundrum that everypony must answer for themselves.
more please???!! i wanna see their reactions!
while i never thought about it with the tree of harmony, that does make sense... however, this brings up a family issue for twilight. Cadance. her cutie mark wasn't on the tree, so does that mean, despite being an alicorn, she'll die along with shining, just maybe live a few decades longer than him?
Definitely something that I've thought about whenever the show writers came out and said that Twilight wouldn't outlive her friends.
Also, I'd much rather know about immortality right now than later on. Hopefully I'll pass the denial + anger phase quicker. More time for living the life.
I happen to like the explanation Reality Check uses in his stories regarding immortality vs mortality regarding these issues, but I like what's written here, this conundrum of Celestia's.
I really want to know what her decision is.
4648324
The mechanics behind the Royal Sisters' enduring youth and longevity are explored in Amy Keating Rogers's The Journal of the Two Sisters, billed as "The Official Chronicles of Princesses Celestia and Luna."(1) I want to avoid spoiling the reason for his making this statement, but at one point Star Swirl tells Celestia and Luna that because they are alicorns, moving the sun and moon would "rejuvenate" them and, through the same process, strengthen their magic.(2) The key to understanding the sisters' enduring youth and longevity is the word "rejuvenate." Merriam-Webster's first definition of rejuvenate is "to make young or youthful again: give new vigor to," with a sub-meaning of "to restore to an original or new state."(3) In giving an example of this sub-meaning, Merriam-Webster refers to rejuvenating "old cars."(4) Its only other definition for rejuvenate relates specifically to landscaping streams, but alludes to developing "youthful features of topography."(5) Macmillan echoes Webster with its first definition, "to make someone look or feel younger or have more energy."(6) Macmillan seems to departs with its second definition, "to make something such as an organization, system, or place good or effective again," but this departure is not germane for this discussion.(7) The first definition refers to "someone" specifically, and the second definition refers to a series of things other than people.(8) Under the principle that we know what words mean by knowing what meanings they exclude, only the first definition is meant to apply to people, and while the second might technically apply to organic "systems," like a digestive tracts, or skeletons, it should not be read to do so in the context of this discussion.(9) Not only would such a reading deprive the first definition of its distinction from the second, it would also write organization and place out of the second definition. The Free Dictionary follows Webster almost to the word.(10) Its first definition says that to rejuvenate is "to restore to youthful vigor or appearance; make young again," which is a simple rearranging of the clauses of Webster's definition.(11) And just like Webster, The Free Dictionary exemplifies its second definition, "to restore to an original or new condition," with a comparison to an inanimate object; in this case, a sofa.(12)
Each dawn and dusk, Celestia and Luna raise and lower their respective celestial body.(13) Each time they do so, the act "rejuvenates" them.(14) The only meaning of rejuvenate that makes sense is the nonspecific returning vigor and youth. Not only does the meaning "restore to a new or original state" repeatedly refer to inanimate objects and things that are not people, it also does not match the action of the story. Celestia and Luna receive their cutie marks after raising the sun and lowering the moon, respectively, for the first time.(15) If the sisters had been restored to an earlier point, they would have lost their cutie marks, which would be preposterous. The only known way to take away a pony's cutie mark is to drain them of their magic,(16) but according to Celestia raising the sun for the first time was a "magical" experience.(17) What's more, Star Swirl's explanation that the sisters' magic will actually strengthen contradicts the notion that they would be set back in any way.(18) It is also apparent that the Royal Sisters' ethereal manes are a side-effect of their continual rejuvenation. In Twilight's Kingdom, Twilight's mane moves in a similar fashion when she absorbs their magic and when she changes night into day, in other words, when she first receives Celestia's and Luna's rejuvenated magic and when the act of moving the sun and moon rejuvenates her.(19) This also indicates that the rejuvenation effect is general for alicorns, and not tied to cutie mark; obviously, Twilight had her own cutie mark, and not Celestia's when she raised the sun!(20) To recap, moving the sun and moon is nonspecifically rejuvenative, in that it keeps the sisters young without returning them to some defined age, and repeated movings repeat the process. In other words, as long as Celestia and Luna continue to move the sun and moon, they will stay young and strong.
Conversely, if Cadance and Twilight do not find similar acts to repeat frequently and regularly, or take a few shifts on the sun and moon every now and then, they will not stay young and strong in the same way the Royal Sisters do. This neatly explains away Cadance's aging.(21) If she had never moved the sun and moon, and there is no reason to believe that she has, she would age at a normal alicorn rate. According to the Journal of the Two Sisters, this rate is "different" to pony aging rates(22), and on top of that alicorns have naturally long lifespans,(23) but nowhere is it stated that they are naturally undying. The hypothesis that sun-and-moon-moving yields rejuvenation also offers an explanation as to why Celestia might have weakened since the start of the series. She raised and lowered both sun and moon herself, simultaneously for a thousand years.(24) After handing the moon back to her sister, she would only experience the rejuvenating effects of raising and lowering the sun.
I hope that argument wasn't too much to wade through. And I hope everyone understands that the disagreement between the author's premise and my theory of the Royal Sisters' immortality does not affect my opinion of the author's writing.
(1) See Amy Keating Rogers, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: The Journal of the Two Sisters (2014).
(2) Id., at 108.
(3) Merriam-Webster, rejuvenate, Merriam-Webster.com, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rejuvenate (last visited Jul. 6, 2014).
(4) Id.
(5) Id.
(6) Macmillan, rejuvenate, Macmillandictionary.com, http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/rejuvenate (last visited Jul. 6, 2014).
(7) Id.
(8) Id.
(9) Id.
(10) Farlex, rejuvenate, Thefreedictionary.com, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/rejuvenate (last visited Jul. 6, 2014); see also Merriam-Webster, supra note 3.
(11) Id.
(12) Id.
(13) My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Friendship is Magic, part 1 (Hub Network television broadcast Oct. 10, 2010); see also My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Princess Twilight Sparkle, part 1, (Hub Network television broadcast Nov. 23, 2013).
(14) Rogers, supra note 1, at 108.
(15) Id. at 108-109.
(16) See My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Twilight's Kingdom, part 1 (Hub Network television broadcast May 10, 2014); see also My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Twilight's Kingdom, part 2 (Hub Network television broadcast May 10, 2014) and Rogers, supra note 1, at 107.
(17) Rogers, supra note 1, at 108.
(18) Id.
(19) My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Twilight's Kingdom, part 2 supra note 16.
(20) Id.
(21) See My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: A Canterlot Wedding, part 1, (Hub Network television broadcast Apr. 21, 2012).
(22) Rogers, supra note 1, at 14, 45.
(23) Id.
(24) My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Friendship is Magic, part 1, supra note 13.
4652367
Of course the loophole of that explanation being "Starswirl tells"
And they have hinted at other alicons existing on H&H day, so it's obvious they don't live forever even from way back in season 1 or 2.
In my opinion, while we do know about the sisters being immortal and all, not having the ponies who wield the elements also last forever is a pretty big plot hole as far as making sense of the overall lore of MLP goes.
Of course we ARE talking about a cartoon meant for kids that was never meant to include the demographic that it actually seems to be shifting to with the comics and Twilight's Kingdom (I mean come on what's next a big screen MLP movie directed by Micheal Bay like Hasbro's other cash cow toy line?) so we can expect some dubious explanation of things, but not having the Mane 6 living forever when they're holding what is kind of the be all and end all of pony magic just seems like a big oops on the part of the writers.
This was just the fix for that.
Awww... it's marked as complete. This was a really nice read.
4648442 She has Crystal heart as cutie mark. And we have Crystal Tree of Harmony. Hmm...
(Well, maybe Shining and Cadance will ascend too... With Pink Power or something like that. After all, what is love if you're alone?)
As for me, I'd probably prefer a now rather then later. Lets me plan out how to spend the rest of eternity burying my feelings. It probably wouldn't matter to me anyway because there are two days coming up relatively soon that I know I don't want to see. With my luck they'll both end up being around the same time as two other bad days that I never wanted to happen.
Probably not even the right word... I'll stop now.
On a completely different note, no one really ever covers what immortal means. Most think it means something along the lines of living forever as universal permanence, but then there's the whole age-less thing where you can still be killed or starve to death or something,
I dunno, I think dumb things if I try to be philosophical.
Tagged "sad". Instant dislike.
I would like to know (now you are making me think about researcher twilight).
4657537
Oh, depends. If they keep growing old, senile and ill...
Not exactly a fun life being 200yo and still alive while aging normally.
OTOH, eternal youth... In your face, grim reaper!
Hmmm, smart move addressing this issue.
I say tell them. Best to get the pain of THAT particular revelation over and done with as soon as possible, wouldn't you agree?
4656691 Narcissism.
...On the other hand, "Princess of Narcissism" does have a certain ring to it, don't you think?
4648442 Cadence's may not be on the tree but she is tied to the crystal heart so she might be immortal through that
4656691 true just like Twilight cant be the princess of friendship with out her friends Cadence cant be the princess of love with out her lover.
THIS NEEDS A SEQUEL!
This has been pretty much my headcanon since they introduced the damn tree.
4648343
Being immortal (not invincible) doesn't mean you live forever. It just means you live until plague, villains or random misfortune catches up to you. You're immune to age, not falling rocks.
5629853
Incorrect. You are talking about being ageless. Immortal signifies never dying by any means, ever. The best examples of immortals are the Greek and Egyptian Gods. Most notably Osiris, Egyptian God of the Afterlife, and Cronus, Greek King of Titans. Both of these two were cut to ribbons by their children, who then had their parts scattered. Even still, both lived on, either pulling themselves together (Osiris) or attempting to pull themselfs together to this day (Cronus). True Immortals can be brutally slaughtered, yet continue to live on.
6373214
I'd argue that's a lesser form of invincibility, but I guess the real issue here is that we're using the same words to refer to different concepts. So *shrug*
I guess it's:
Agelessness/Lesser Immortality: Immunity to aging.
Greater immortality/lesser Invincibility: You can be "killed", torn apart, take any amount of physical damage, but you don't actually die. Yikes.
Greater Invincibility: You are omniimmune, ala Superman.
6374258 wrote : "Greater immortality/lesser Invincibility: You can be "killed", torn apart, take any amount of physical damage, but you don't actually die. Yikes."
Similar to an idea I use in my CYOAs and fics for Immortality.
Girl : (in a room with explosive devices. Takes step.) (*Click*) Uh-oh.
*BOOM*
Girl : (Dies rather messily)(*Poofs* out of existence) (*Poofs* back into existence perfectly healthy and fine a few feet away from whatever killed her) I'm back and I'm fine! (Takes step) *Click* Oh not again...
*BOOM*