Chapter 33 - How Far am I Willing to Go?
It's a fair question, isn't it? It's a question each and everyone of us ask ourselves in our lives. 'How far am I willing to go to accomplish my goals?' Will I accomplish my goal by working hard and taking the path most trodden? Or will I take the quick and easy route that normally leads through betray, loneliness and loss?
I sat upon my chair as I stared at the phoenix egg I had acquired a few days ago. When I told Trixie what it was she actually assumed I had stolen it from some unguarded nest. No, I'm not so cruel as to take a child away from its parents, but in the end does it really matter? I had saved the egg from a small gang of teenage dragons. The idiots wanted to smash it against a rock, as if such an action held great honor. Needless to say all of them ran off with burnt scales and wounded pride.
But... were my actions truly honorable? At first I did search for a nest, but as the hours rolled by I had all but given up hope. It's possible that I saved the sole surviving egg of the family. For all I knew the parents were dead. The chick that would hatch from this egg would be an orphan. Of course, it's more than likely the chick would imprint upon me should it hatch, but I'm not a caretaker. I have neither the time nor the patience to look after an infant, intelligent bird or otherwise.
Which led me to the debate I'm currently holding with myself. Before I had been imprisoned in stone I had read a substantial number of books I had 'borrowed' from the princesses. One such book was actually a potion book which held a number of formulas, some of which I no doubt would be considered illegal today. I'll never forget though the one potion in that book that caught my eye. It was a very advanced concoction and the ingredients were rare and difficult to acquire. The most difficult ingredient though? The egg of a phoenix. If I could get a hold of a phoenix egg and some of the rarer ingredients, I could concoct a potion of eternal youth. I would forever escape the winds of time.
Was it the immortality I had originally envisioned? No, but it certainly would be a great first step. All I needed to do was sacrifice an innocent life for my own benefit. And the worst part about it? It's so much simpler than one would assume. All I had to do was turn a blind eye and eternal youth would be mine. I never really put much faith in my moral compass anyway. Why should I start now?
If anything I would be doing the creature a favor. If I allowed it to be born than not only would I occasionally neglect it, but it would also live a dangerous life simply because it was with me. I can sense the energy within the egg. It's getting stronger with every passing day. If I had to guess I would say that the egg would hatch in little over a month. It would probably be sooner too if I gave it the correct amount of warmth, whatever that may be.
I rubbed my face to chase away the haze that had covered my eyes. I don't know how many hours I had dwelt on the subject, but I needed to come to a decision soon. The book stated that the egg had to be close to hatching, which was exactly what I had. All I needed now were the other ingredients, each of which were perfectly legal and very possible Zecora had some to share. And yet the question still plagues my mind.
How far am I willing to go?
I shook my head as I got up from my chair and made my way to my room. It was late and there was no point in brooding over the question now. Perhaps a good night's rest would clear my mind. Still, the window for the potion closes with every passing day. By tomorrow morning I would have to come to a decision.
Do I spare the egg and raise the chick within it?
Do I sacrifice the unborn life for my own betterment?
I can only hope I make the right decision.
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This is the comment I'll be looking at when checking the votes.
Thumbs up if you want the phoenix to live.
Thumbs down if you want Robin to sacrifice the egg.
7354838
Considering I eat eggs for breakfast like twice a week, I am really not seeing the moral dilemma.
Down the hatch it goes.
7354857 It really depends on who you're asking. I don't see the moral dilemma either, but that's for normal eggs. But an egg that belongs to a species of highly intelligent birds which borders that of sapient creatures? I may have to think about that one for a bit.
7354862
Crows are nearly as intelligent as certain kinds of monkeys, but, well, if it was a question of deciding between crow balut and not living forever...
7354838 We would enjoy seeing how far down the 'rabbit hole' magus Robin falls, also he could have a couple long lived friends among dragon kin now. If young robin truly used his new taken first step, he could do quite a bit more, perhaps even build a tower that could help become a magical foci for bigger things.
If he does sacrifice the egg will we see his original plan for immortality?
my mind right now
7354723 I remembered it was something like that on the crossovers and you have my respect for that and the high overall quality of this story.
If robin's world is like any other displaced, then he's going to fight enemies from the fire emblem and other displaced there fore he can't afford to grow old and weak or Eqeustria get's destroyed.
There are other routes to immortality, maybe the properties of pheonix ashes, lichdom, however celestia and luna do it (divinity?)
So save the pheonix as the worst fate for an immortal is to be lonely.
7354862
7354872 The difference is that most of the time the eggs eaten by people (the ones sold in stores) are unfertilized. Meaning nothing actually dies there. This phoenix eggs is clearly fertilized and very close to hatching.
Considering how intelligent lot of the animals in Equestria seem to be and that phoenixes are often considered rather intelligent beings, sacrificing the egg could also be viewed the same way as killing an infant of some semisapient species during the last stages of pregnancy. Not a choice I would ever like to make but honestly, I doubt I would be able to sacrifice it.
But that is just my personal view on these things.
7354900
7354971
Regardless if he sacrifices the egg or not, his final goal is still immortality. As I said the result of the decision wont change the path of the story, just the way Robin lives.
Spare the egg I say.
7354857
I went with save the egg because I feel like that could play into his character arc, whatever that might be.
Plus, there's almost always a third option.
7354979
Well, I suppose there's that, although, to be quite clear about this, fertilized eggs do happen over the course of the industrial egg-farming process, they're just sorted out before sale and thrown away or turned back into feed. They are also perfectly edible before the fetus starts developing. Then they're edible but crunchy.
Secret option C: Save the Pheonix but find a way that can use it's natural rebirth to be able to do a rebirth for himself. I mean isn't he Atleast an almost master in the necessary magics for that?
What kind of immortality are we talking? Unaging, absolutely unkillable, or both?
Two new chapters in one day, hot damn.
SPARE IT!!!
Spare. I may sacrifice eternal youth but gain a companion later one.
I say spare because if he start making justifications for the greater good now he won't be able to stop.
Give the egg to spike and be done with it.
I feel that if cracking an egg really is such a huge moral dilemma for him vs immortality then he should give the egg to Spike so he doesn't have to deal with it any more. I really don't see Robin taking care of a child/pet effectively without it seriously delaying his quest to become strong if he even has the patience to continue to care for it when it does something to hold him back. Personally IDGAF, smash dat egg, immortality FTW!
On a more serious note, if you are going down the whole "animals in Equestria are smart" route with your reasoning for not breaking the egg then I have to ask you, where is Robbin getting the meat he needs to eat to survive right now? Even the beasts of the Everfree Forest have proven to have comparable intelligence to the other animals that Fluttershy has as pets so really he has been doing the exact thing he is deliberating over now the entire time he has been free. This assumes, of course, that he hasn't found another way of obtaining the necessary nutrients and isnt doing the stupid thing and letting himself become weak through malnutrition. The only differences between hunting in Equestria and breaking the egg are that the egg is unhatched so wont feel any pain and that instead of sustenance the end result is immortality.
I think Robin can keep the egg, after all exist a full Multiverse around, who say that he can't find another way to inmortality? Between a fountain of youth to a spell to something else.
And if he don't like it, he could later find another egg.
In the Cannon, Spike take care of the little phoenix, until he decide to return it to their parents, I don't think the little phoenix got much showtime. If Robin take care of the egg, it could be more important.
------
P.S: Suddenly I Imagine Robin like this if he choose to save the egg, but I still go with save the egg.
Sorry but I say SACRIFICE !!!!
7355397 You are missing the point, he will still seek immortality if he refuses to break the egg so your reason doesn't fit.
7355487 That would be worse than just using the egg he has as he would be killing the child of a long term friend. It's not possible anyway because the egg has to be fertilized to be near hatching which is impossible with one bird.
7354984 I agree with Nuclear; he's been making this kind of choice every time he hunts for meat, so he doesn't suffer from malnutrition... The only difference is that he's one step closer to immortality with this act... Seriously, there is no real, legitimate difference. The path to saving the egg, is just more set backs, which he can't really chance at affording right now... So, sacrifice that thing to Nyarlathote- I MEAN, for eternal youth... Yeah, not to a Displaced Outer God for it's Immortalality via Fiery Rebirth... Speaking of which, have a token!
I can't help but notice that the early results of the poll are for saving the bird. I am a bit disappointed by this because I have yet to see a single solid argument for doing so. Ah well, that's 0/3 in polls on this site against me, maybe next time.
7355642 I wouldn't let it get you down. I gave my readers a chance to make a decision and I plan on siding with the majority. That being said this is mostly just a trial run to see how my readers handle a poll such as this. I can assure you polls done later in the story will be much, much more important. And for those who have played Fire Emblem before, you should know just what kind of consequences a single choice can make.
*ominous thunder in the background*
Gunna have to side with, well not evil, but with pragmatism. There no reason to save the egg, just think of it like eating an immortality omelette. As for the consequences, well, if he keeps living, he can safeguard his magic for all time, rather than risk it being passed to someone who will misuse it. Healing tears is nice, but not worth all the potential lives he can save in a 100 years. Celestia would probably be pissed, what with Philomena and all, but eh, what are you going to to.
That being said, looks like everyone's going for the easy "save everything" ideal, rather than the "do the most good" option.
7354838 I guess you can probably guess which way I'm leaning. I know there are several pragmatic reasons and justifications for eating the egg. "It's only one phoenix egg, there are more." "The future has a threat so great that this hatchling would probably die anyway." And many other things.
But you know what, I can find plenty of what I feel are pragmatic reasons to keep it alive, too. Studying phoenix biology, a companion to watch your back, the healing tears you mentioned, and many other things. But most of all, I think that despite his aversion to companions, I think Robin needs someone to interact with, especially one that can revive itself. Hell, if nothing else, you can raise the chick, let it grow into an adult, and the take one of it's eggs.
I'm going for save the egg and not just cause 'Killing the Baby is wrong.'
There is a pragmatic side to this choice, while eternal youth is a lovely amazing thing. It only protects you from TIME nothing else, that means getting fatally wounded, debilitated by illness or toxins, and magical death curses are still well and truly able to ruin your day.
Healing tears can offset most if not all of those things if you got enough of it, though I am not sure HOW strong these healing tears are. Can they cure ANY illness regardless of how `uncurable` they generally are? Will it be able to save someone from the almost mystically potent venom of say a Basilisk or the like? Can it by chance save someone from being petrified, or save someone from turning into the undead if bitten by a zombie?
Furthermore if Robin can store healing tears in some way that keeps their potency then he can carry around a few just in case. As we seen, his ability to heal others or himself is limited as sure he CAN do it but it is not exactly the most efficient method of doing so. It is very draining and can kill him if he isn't careful. This could make a vital difference in situations such as...Trixie is badly hurt by some monster or accident, and Robin is not healthy enough to heal her his normal way. Keeping the egg allows him to use the tears to save Trixie, otherwise....sorry bro your student is either dead or gonna be crippled...but hey at least you keep your looks!
Then there is the fact Robin might be able to figure out special potions or mixtures to use with stuff he gets from his little fiery friend, as beyond the tears he could use the ash from when the Phoenix burns itself for something. As I would believe Phoenix ash would be handy, then you got the feathers and so forth...lots of handy rare ingredients he can collect without even harming his old friend. Ashes will be made, and feathers will fall out in time.
Lastly I doubt the Phoenix will be just a simple pet, I am pretty sure Robin would learn to make the fire bird an full fledged Familiar of sorts. Maybe I'm odd but I do play D&D and Familiars can do handy things a pet can't do at all, and for some reason I could easily see Robin trying to do some of those tricks. Besides...shouldn't be too hard for him to figure out a way to help his Phoenix become a viable battle partner to deal with future foes. As I sure as hell wouldn't want to have some flaming bird trying to rip my eyes out, and that is before Robin figures out a magical way to make the creature even MORE dangerous. As don't forget, Dragons only pick on Phoenixes in the show because they are specially able to negate all the fire bird's defenses. Immunity to flames and heat combined with armored like scales, to every other creature though...a Phoenix would be a nightmare to deal with in a fight.
Of course if I get told the bird won't be as handy as all that, then I'll change my vote to sacrificing the egg. Till then a powerful familiar to help in future fights and provide very useful abilities seems far more useful than being young forever. Besides...aging is just your body wearing out, find a way to keep yourself from wearing out and you are golden. Just ask Wolverine and his super regeneration abilities~
I wanna kill it
Hello Mountainmanmad how are you doing?
I have seen that the update is finally here after 3 months thank you for updating this story again and I can't wait to see the next one when it comes. I have to say that with time of immortality it will be nice but then he will live through the ages alone and even though he is particular in being alone I don't think even he will enjoy being alive and seeing his friends die one by one and make more only to see it happen again.
I think keeping it would be nice as it will give him many advantages and even though he won't be immortal, he will still have a great ally to rely on in the future and even then when he is old and possibly have future students or future generation of his lineage he will be able to pass down his phoenix to them to guide them as the phoenix is immortal. It can work like that.
You have a lot more options open up in the future if you save the phoenix.
You can also achieve eternal youth other ways. Ascension is one. His own magic combined with a little bit of phoenix ashes/feather/magic is another. There are ways.
Personally, I prefer true Immortality.
And if you can justified this sort of action for the greater good...It will definitely open up the doors for many more and worse moral dilemas.
Also...he have quite some time to look for eternal youth or immortality. It was mentioned that his magic extented his age to a few thoudsands or several hundred at least along with keeping his body healthy.
Then there is also the high price that short paths tend to have,
Id say sacrifice it, in the end robin is right he likely couldn't take very good care of it better to at least use it for something.
saving the egg means feathers of a phoenix and its ashes which lead to better things down side raising phoenix sacrificing it would lead him to think that taking the quick way out is better than the working for your efforts is a waste of time and time to prepare for battles ahead.
I vote save cause a strong bond with a phoenix can do wonders after all.... also one up Celestia his phoenix is bigger or more powerful if he can train it to tap more into its powers take dota 2 phoenix for example.
Does it have to be a fertilised Phoenix egg? He could probably get a 'dud' from philomena and hatch the one he has now.
Birds lay egs regardless of whether or not they mated. It's why egg farms can exist.
7354838 I reckon he should keep the egg.
Combat capable party member that can heal him? That sounds like a good idea to me.
Also
There may be another way for him to become immortal.
the phoenix might actually be more usefull alive so spare it i say
He should raise, or at least hatch, the phoenix. Robin may feel that he won't regret it now but that could change, and no matter how long he lives he will have to live with himself. And while he thinks this may not affect him much individually, he still has Trixie, his friends (and acquaintances) in Ponyville, and the princesses in his life who will judge him if/when they find out, and he will probably judge himself for the decision when he interacts with those ponies whether or not he truly feels guilty about it. Could you imagine trying to look Fluttershy in the eye after gaining immortality through a method like this?
This may be a personal choice with few others involved right now, but it will still affect the other people in his life by their decision to associate with him, and he will in turn be affected by their reactions. I get that for the longest time he was alone and didn't have or really want others involved with him, but hasn't he been trying to change that, if just a little?
Also, while he has decided (probably for the best) to stop comparing himself to the original Robin since they really don't have much in common, I still think that should be a factor in this. Although he might want to distance himself from the same idealism that drove the original, wouldn't Robin prefer the same choices, interests, and home environment even if it is for different reasons? Killing the phoenix for this potion would be a step away from the good kind of life the original had in a happy place like Ylisse and a step closer the brutal but efficient goal-oriented style of King Gangrel. This one choice wouldn't immediately decide anything, but it's one step of potentially many on a path that leads somewhere he may not want to go.
Robin says that the matter at hand is actually simple despite the difficulty, and it is. But simple doesn't mean it isn't deep and either choice will have far-reaching consequences. He might gain immortality with this potion but I really doubt it will take him where he truly wants to go. I vote that he spares the egg and gains another being in his life rather than sacrifice it for eternal life that others may no longer want to share with him.
7355657 Just look at the newest fire emblem, beat all three paths and (for the first FE game I played) I have a small understanding about where you are going by having these options. You said it yourself that his goal will be immortality, so why not take the longer road and save the egg. After all: patience is a virtue.
I would say he saves it.
He himself stated that he has other methods he was considering for immortality and when you get down to it killing a phoenix isn't quite like killing any other animal. The phoenix itself is immortal, so you're not just ending it's life a few decades early. You're ending a life potentially eons before it would otherwise die unless killed.
Plus, if he does become immortal having an immortal pet/companion will only be a bonus.
I can just imagine the next time he meets Celestia with Philomina it would play out like this.
Spoilers for FE: Awakening ahead (why would you read this story if you didn't know and accept that I have no clue but here's a heads-up.)
As Grima incarnate/in human form isn't Robin immortal regardless? Grima can only be killed by himself aka Robin, Robin can only be killed/banished temporarily and only by self-sacrifice or Grima (even if you sacrifice yourself in the ending to kill Grima, you return not long after. He no longer has the Mark of Grima then since Grima's dead so presumably next death is permanent/he's mortal then, but judging by the creepy voice in Robin's head Grima very much still exists, therefore he can't die until Grima does/Grima consumes him.)
7354862 And from what i know, also VERY rare. And who knows if he study it after it hatches maybe then he can make his own solution on the imortality problem.
7355001
And lets not forget that people regularly eat full grown birds as well. And, like you said, if we're going to talk about intelligence, there's a difference between mere 'seeming' and actualities.
Let's look at the facts, shall we:
__1. The infant birds (eggs) of phoenixes are left alone in a nest, without walls, magical or mundane, to protect it from foreign elements, be they weather or some wandering teenage dragon
__2. cartoon physics matter in this world, much like in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit', where something as simple as groucho marx glasses are enough to fool someone of another's identity, so long as it constitutes a gag (much like how a small, molting phoenix might hold a newspaper with wings AND feathers bent in wholly unnatural positions that should, by rights, be forever crippling)
__3. Speech does not necessarily make one intelligent. Coco the Gorilla knows sign language, and can hold conversations, but her ability to speak is limited to that of a basic human 3 year old, she cannot surpass this, and intelligent as she is, she is still an animal and not a person, no matter how many Disney films people watch to try and trick themselves otherwise.
__4. We know that beaks are NOT an impediment to the ability to talk, as given precedence by the griffin species, who, as it turns out, construct dwellings to protect themselves and their offspring from the elements
So yeah, gonna say this is just a dumb animal, and rank up eating a fertilized egg right up there with veal.
Damn, a moral question........ Well, if he saves the egg is it possible that he could synthesize another one somehow? Or perhaps when the phoenix gets old enough he could go to Celestia and Philomina and hope that Philomina takes a shine to Robin's phoenix and get an egg that way? Maybe perhaps if he used his phoenix's genetics to make a scrying spell to find other phoenixes? There is a lot more potential in a live phoenix than offing it right away. I say let it live, then use it to get another egg later if possible. I'm sure Robin is smart enough to see that he could do one of these eventually.
I'm going to vote to let it live.
7355642
There you go.
7359609
Nicely summed up and very reasonable. One might, of course, speculate that phoenixes leave their offspring alone and unsheltered for cultural reasons, but, well, personally? I think that would only pull their intelligence and personhood into question more.