The Burden of Knowledge
“Why don’t you tell them?” Twilight asked quietly, looking through the steam coming off her tea at the older princess.
“Tell them what?”
Twilight sighed, setting down her cup with a quiet clink on the tray. “This morning, while I was out walking around Canterlot, a filly walked up to me and asked what she had to do to have you make her into a princess.”
“And what did you tell her?” Celestia asked, smiling a little smile.
“I told her that it was really tough. I said that you needed to spend a lot of time studying, making friends, showing leadership, and trying new things.”
“That sounds like a very reasonable answer,” Celestia said, lifting her tea in her magic and taking a quiet sip.
“That’s not it. She thinks you made me into a princess!” Twilight pointed her hoof across the table accusingly.
“Well, I did. Technically speaking.” Another sip.
Twilight sighed again. “You know what she meant.”
Celestia’s cup floated back down to the tray. “I do.”
“So, why don’t you tell them?”
“Who says I haven’t?” Celestia smiled enigmatically.
“Please.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ve read every book there is on alicorns since I became one. Not a single one of them mentions how to become an alicorn. Only a few of them even mention that you can become an alicorn, let alone how.”
“And what do they say?”
“The same thing as the papers.” Twilight’s horn glowed as she retrieved Celestia’s daily stack of newspapers from their shelf, letting them fall onto the table with a quiet thump before she began to read out loud.
“Twilight Sparkle Earns Her Wings.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Yesterday evening, Princess Celestia elevated a fourth pony to the status of princess, bestowing her student and protégée, Twilight Sparkle, savior of Equestria, with wings.”
Twilight flipped to a second paper. “This is the second time in ten years that Princess Celestia has raised one of her subjects to alicorn status, after Princess Cadance earned her horn after defeating Lady Prisma.”
Twilight slid that one to the side, revealing a third. “Several nobles in Canterlot have quietly questioned Celestia’s choice, having twice passed them over. ‘Why hasn’t she made any of us into alicorns?’ wondered one anonymous high-ranking noble.”
“Oh, Blueblood,” Celestia said, shaking her head and chuckling quietly.
Twilight let the newspaper fall out of her magic before setting her hoof on top of it. “Everypony thinks you made me into an alicorn!”
Celestia arched an eyebrow. “And?”
Twilight looked levelly across the table at her mentor. “You know that’s not how it happened.”
It was Celestia’s turn to sigh as she rose from her cushion and walked towards the balcony. “I know.”
“So why don’t you tell them?” Twilight asked, tilting her head as she rose from her own cushion to join the larger alicorn, hooking her hooves over the edge of the railing.
“We did, once,” Celestia said quietly, gazing down on the city streets, ponies casting long shadows over the cobblestones as the sun sank towards the horizon.
“Really? When?”
Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head. “It was a long time ago. Luna and I had just ascended to alicornhood – the first ponies ever to do so, to the best of my knowledge.” She chuckled. “Of course, the idea of the alicorn was ancient, so perhaps there was another, long ago. But if so, they left no record of their presence.”
“So why did you stop?”
“Because that knowledge can cause terrible harm.”
Twilight laughed. “How can knowing something like that hurt somepony?”
Celestia’s eyes followed a family – two foals, a mare, and a weak-kneed grandfather as they slowly walked down the street far below. “Tell me, Twilight: do you think that Mister Greenhooves could become an alicorn?”
“Who?”
Celestia nodded her head towards the aged earth pony walking down the street below. “Bareroot Greenhooves, the royal gardener. He has spent his whole life tending to my gardens and the creatures which reside there, never showing a dollop of original magic, nor the inclination to learn it. He has seen many summers. Do you think he could become an alicorn?”
Twilight rubbed her leg with her hoof. “Well, probably not. It would be pretty hard.”
“And what of his daughter, Lemon Seed? While she may have a touch of the exotic with the seeds she sells, she has shown no extreme magical talent above and beyond any other earth pony. She has never studied magic formally, to the best of my knowledge. Do you think that she might someday become an alicorn?”
“Well, no.” Twilight’s ears fell back. “I don’t get why you’re even bringing that up.”
“Because their failure to ascend means that, one day, they are going to die.”
Twilight shivered. “That’s a kind of dark way of looking at it, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps.” Celestia leaned against the railing. “But that doesn’t make it any less true. In the end, either you become an alicorn, or you eventually grow old and frail until you are no longer able to weather the ravages of time.”
“Isn’t that a good reason to tell them?”
Celestia glanced over at her former student. “You just said that Mister Greenhooves and his daughter will never become alicorns.”
Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “Yes.”
“How many ponies can become alicorns, Twilight?”
Twilight blinked. “Well, you need to discover a new source of magic, right? So, I suppose as many as there are sources of magic.”
Celestia nodded slightly. “Yes. Or at least, we believe it to be so.”
“So, what’s the big deal? Are you worried that we’ll run out of magic?”
Celestia shook her head. “No, Twilight. I am not.”
“So what is it, then? I mean, I know that not every single pony is going to discover a new source of magic. But how does it hurt to let them know that anypony could become an alicorn if they tried hard enough?”
Celestia sighed and shook her head again. “Luna and I spent the better part of a century after we ascended telling ponies that they, too, could become like us. How many alicorns did my knowledge – and that of my sister – ever create, in all the decades we shared it?”
Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it, licking her lips. “I’ve never met one,” she said cautiously.
“That is because not a single one ascended. For decades, hundreds, maybe thousands tried – and failed. As far as most ponies were concerned, it was a false choice. And so, they chose not to believe they were capable of it.”
“So, what? You don’t tell anypony that they could become an alicorn because it is really hard? That seems kind of silly. I mean, there are lots of things that I can’t do.”
“Are there?” Celestia looked down into her student’s eyes. “Do you think that – given centuries of life – there are things that you could never master, if you truly put your mind to it?”
Twilight laughed a little. “Well, given enough time, anypony could, couldn’t they?”
Celestia’s gaze returned to the family ambling down the street below. “And yet, time is precisely what they lack.”
“Then let them get started early! Don’t wait until they’re as old as Mister Greenhooves or whatever. Let his grandchildren try.”
“But they did. Hundreds of ponies. Maybe thousands.” Celestia’s eyes followed the slow walk of the family down the street. “Nopony wants to lie on their deathbed and know the only reason their last breath escapes is that they weren’t good enough. Or worse, that their loved one only died because they failed in their pursuit of immortality.”
“I don’t think most ponies would think of it that way,” Twilight said, her voice more subdued than it had been moments before.
“Most, no. But some would. Some would struggle their whole lives in the pursuit of eternity, only to be found wanting. To fail to accomplish in fifty summers what Luna did before she was sixteen – it makes a pony bitter. Many blamed us for not teaching them well enough, or for hiding something from them. Or accused us of lying, of keeping the true secret to ourselves, and to make excuses for why others failed to follow in our hoofsteps.” Celestia sighed. “Luna took it especially hard. She spent many nights training her students, trying to guide them towards success, but not a single one of them ever earned their wings.”
“So what,” Twilight said, swiping her hoof through the air, “you lie to them because you’re afraid they’d be bitter? How is telling them any worse than letting them think that you make ponies into alicorns? Prince Blueblood sounded awfully bitter in the newspaper.”
“Have you ever stood by as a dying pony was told by his children that the only reason they’re going to die is because they were too stupid to keep on living?”
Twilight recoiled as if struck. “That’s horrible!”
“And yet, ponies did it.”
“Why would a pony do something like that?” Twilight stamped her hoof on the balcony.
“Because they were afraid. Because they were upset.” Celestia sighed. “Because it seemed so easy to them in retrospect. Why couldn’t anypony else do it when they had managed it so quickly?”
Twilight swallowed. “Oh.” She hesitated for a moment, then stepped up beside her mentor, leaning into Celestia’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s alright.” Celestia smiled weakly. “But you can see, it can cause real harm.”
Twilight stared down at the edge of the balcony, biting her lip as she watched Mister Greenhooves's family amble down the street around the elderly pony. “Is that why you stopped?”
“No, Twilight, it is not. Though we were not the only ponies to share such sentiments with our parents.” Celestia lifted her head, her eyes falling on the alabaster walls of the school just beyond the castle walls. “No, it was only much later that we realized what we had done.”
Twilight followed the other pony’s gaze. “Founded a school?”
Celestia laughed. “Yes, that was one of the bright spots.” She shook her head. “No. We realized that we had stolen away the lives of many promising young ponies, who spent their whole lives – or far too much of them – chasing after something that wasn’t theirs to achieve.”
“Is that really so bad? I mean, I’m sure they must have done some useful things.”
“Oh, it wasn’t all a waste. I was being overdramatic.” Celestia shook her head. “Still, they spent many of their best years on something that was ultimately futile. Many saw themselves as failures, in spite of all their achievements.” Celestia set her hooves on the railing. “Not one of them became an alicorn, and many of them spent far too many years on esoteric experiments instead of simply trying to practice what they were good at and do good things in the world with their talents.”
Twilight leaned over the railing shoulder-to-shoulder with the larger alicorn. “There is more to a young pony’s life than studying,” Twilight quoted.
Celestia laughed. “Indeed. A lesson which was extremely difficult to teach them when they thought that they could live their life after they achieved alicornhood, not realizing that they were sacrificing what little life they had to often achieve nothing at all.”
“I see.” Twilight looked up at Celestia. “So that’s why you lie to them?”
“I simply let them believe what they wish, and let those who would aspire to eternity achieve it on their own. Though every once in a while, I give them a little nudge here and there to guide them.” Celestia winked at Twilight.
Twilight chuckled quietly. “More than a nudge, I think.”
“You give yourself too little credit. That journal had been gathering dust on a shelf for quite some time. It was you who found the key.” Celestia reached over to rest a gold-shod hoof on the younger alicorn’s shoulder.
“Still…” Twilight sighed and rested her chin on her hooves, looking down at the city. “It doesn’t feel good enough.”
Celestia smiled gently. “You are a princess now, too. What would you do differently?”
Twilight stared down at the city in silence for several long minutes, watching the gardener’s family walk past the closed gate in front of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. The distant laughter of foals echoed across the courtyard, interrupting the sound of birds calling to one another in the garden below as they hunted for bugs. Her eyes flicked across the city, past the ancient towers and newly-constructed buildings, then away, to the shape of Ponyville clinging to the horizon.
“I don’t know.”
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"Better they think they're not worthy in my eyes, than discover they're not worthy at all." Basically.
Nice piece, man!
It's easy to set aside unrealistic hopes for normal achievements, like becoming a rock star or playing professional sports. It's a little harder to let go of when it's literally a matter of survival.
6604686
Pretty much. Is that a quote from somewhere?
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!
This was incredible, well thought out and a great story. Well done mate.
6604729 Nah, no quote. Just my summary of Celly's position.
Make everyone bitter and angry, the best option.
6604725
Quite a bit harder, really. It is a kind of strange thought.
Then again, some futurologists believe that everyone today is making the same choice by not pushing for immortality research.
6604765
So what would you do differently?
Or was that your answer?
That was a very nice read. But I don't think I understand Celestia's reasoning. If ponies believe that Celestia can turn them into alicorns, won't they try to convince her of their worth anyway (EDIT: by trying to achieve what they see as the necessary), much in the same way that they'd try to achieve it by themselves? What did I miss?
6604866
That was the point of this section, though maybe it wasn't obvious enough:
This sentence confuses me. It should really read "What would you do differently?" That or at least take out the last "you".
6604866 Yes, but they'll know what she find good, noble, etc.. and will try to live there lives that way hoping to be chosen. Most will eventually invest themselves into there lives while being chosen becoming a secondary goal to what they achieve. Others will whine and moan how they should be chosen.. but there the type to whine and moan about everything anyways.
With as long as Celestia's been alive i wouldn't be surprised if people regard her ability to do so as we might regard the presidents ability to do something. We'd be interested in the benefits but most of us know how insanely hard it would be to achieve and won't waste our lives on it.
6604947
Ahahah. Wow. That was a bad typo. Yeah, I rewrote that sentence and forgot to delete a few words. Fixed.
Eh, usually I find myself agreeing with what you're trying to say, but this time, not so much. I have to agree with Twilight on this and say Celestia is in the wrong. For one, she's choosing a few over the masses, as in, even though some will be bitter, not everyone will be, and the princess is coddling those few. We've all been told we can do anything as long as we put forth the effort, but regardless of if that's true, it doesn't mean we all aspire towards greatness. I could be a billionaire and go down in history for inventing something that everyone needs? Yeah, I think I'll just stick with my minimum wage job and enjoy life while someone else does that. Not everyone is ambitions.
On top of that, they'll still be bitter and self-deprecating anyway, it's just that now some of that will be focused on the princesses for different reasons. Okay, now when someone dies, they'll think it's because Celestia chose not to give them immortality. Fuck you, Princess. Why are you hogging all the alicorn juice? Why was I not good enough to you to be worth saving?
Also, what about an afterlife? It's hardly ever mentioned, but if more than 50% of the humans in our world believe in life after death with no evidence, I can't help but think the bulk of the denizens of magic pony land would be looking forward to some sort of heaven, and thus, not care that they are dying.
Yeah, some may be hurt by the truth, but since when does that justify lying? Even through omission? You preach honesty as one of the cornerstones from which your kingdom is built, for crying out loud! Practice what you preach, you dingbat!
6604951 Ok. But that is not what took Twilight into alicornhood. It was creating new magic. If ponies think that showing Celestia that they are noble and do things that she likes, I mean, using her as the example, ponies are shooting at the wrong target. I think that the episode itself had a confused message because to me it seemed that Twilight needed to understand the "virtues" of the Elements of Harmony in order to complete the spell, thus creating new magic (both of them necessary). Here, Twilight implies that creating new magic is all that is important. In a way, Celestia IS hiding something from the ponies and ponies will think "Meh... Too hard" regardless of what she tells them. So why not say that they are wrong, and keep saying it? One way or another, ponies can ruin their lives by trying, while half of them never had a chance because they were doing the wrong thing.
6604925 But Celestia could tell ponies that they can reach alicornhood by themselves and still teach the same lesson. Wouldn't that be better than letting them believe that she decides? Because if ponies are trying to impress her, they're still trying something that won't get them anywhere. And if Celestia needs to give them a nudge every now and them, there IS something that they are missing and she's not telling them up front. I get that the message here is that the problem is that these ponies are, in a way, "trying too hard", and they'd have better changes not even trying at all, but by letting them believe false information, she's dooming them to fail anyway, unless they figure out by themselves. In this case, I'd be pissed off she let me believe something wrong.
But now Celestia's creating even more tension by letting them believe that she can create alicorns whenever she wants.
That's a heck of a lot more controversial than telling them that the only way known is to invent new forms of magic, which sounds a heck of a lot more impartial... at least for unicorns!
Pegasi and Earth ponies still get squat.
6604925 "But Celestia," Twilight then had the sudden brains to ask. "What do they accomplish regardless if they all die?"
"Oh, nothing obviously! They'll just cease to exist forevers!" replied Celestia flippantly.
"But.. then life has no meaning?!" Twilight gasped.
"Nope! The universe is just trollin'!"
"Ermagerd. Ergzersternsherl crerserse..."
6605048
To be fair, Cadance was originally a pegasus (per the expanded universe canon, anyway) before she became an alicorn.
I wasn't particularly a fan for two reasons:
- The dialogue seemed off, it didn't feel real or like anything Celestia or Twilight would say. Naturally you got it hit and miss, but I wasn't able to get into the story realy because the dialogue seemed amiss. That's just my personal feelings on it.
- Two, the angst didn't feel real.
I don't know why, but it all felt unwarranted, like, "What was the point here," I asked a few times while reading.
It was a good story and a fantastic premise, but it seemed a bit, misplaced in my book.
Anyways, I do have to praise you, because while I didn't care for Celestia's dialogue, I liked what she didn't say. I really liked the implications being made and writing her as a emotionless/emotion filled ruler. She cares greatly for her ponies but doesn't show it for their own good. I think that's excellent that you did that.
Good job.
God Bless you!
6604686
I really like how you worded it
I like it. There are some points I think could be brought up, but I like how the writing phrases the question, and Twilight's answer. There's no silly excuse about population growth to withholding immortality, just a very down to earth and sympathetic view from Celestia. It also helps that she isn't withholding information, rather just not correcting their assumptions. Makes me think that if a pony approached Celestia and asked about it, she would give an honest, though warning, answer.
Twilight's answer is probably the best I've seen for these kinds of questions in fiction.
“I don’t know.”
The thing is, I don't think ponies even think about becoming an alicorn as something to strive for. As it is now, they can try for power, or they can try to strive for knowledge, or for whatever their special talent is... Equestria as a whole is, in many ways, very focused on each pony achieving their potential--or at least discovering it and recognizing it. Perhaps it's better to say discovering their passion? I mean, we've seen how important cutie marks are to ponies. Pursuing their passions is much healthier than trying to pursue a difficult dream of immortality--and since it is in no way guaranteed (it's not even somewhat likely), putting off your passion is just going to make you miss out. For those who have a passion for knowledge and discovery and magic, or who have the drive or ambition to strive for the very greatest they can be, well, they'll discover immortality for themselves.
Personally, I don't think immortality is worth it if you're not making the most of life--if you're so busy trying to get it that your life isn't worth much to you.
6605062
"But is it not the journey that matters, before the destination? A corpse cannot feel pride in its works, or regret for its failures. Neigh, the burden of caring is left to the living, the dead left with naught but apathy. It is those of us living who decide what matters, on this blank canvas that is life. Our grand painting is blank, a canvas of infinite potential and promise, left for the living to fill however we so see fit. Pointless it may be, but only before it is assigned a point." A haggard and very annoyed Princess Luna said from her bed. "Now would thee grant me a favor and get the buck out of mine bedchambers?"
"O-of course Princess Luna!"
"Oh you're no fun Lulu!"
"Just Luna, Twilight, please. We are equals now. As for you, sister, you can take your 'fun' and shove it up your rotund plot at this ungodly hour. Now would you kindly leave me to my rest?"
6605196 "Whew, at least I can feel comforted that we'll leave the world to our descendants... which I guess is something even though we won't be around to see any of it," Twilight mused.
"Until the universe runs out of energy, all particles break down, and there's a frigid cold nothingness forever!" Celestia snickered.
"HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGG!" groaned Twilight in despair. "Life truly is pointless!" She gave up hope and sat around watching "Keeping Up With the Kardasians" for the rest of her futile existence.
6605212
"Twilight, turn down that inane prattle lest I bring down the moon on your head instead! I am trying to sleep!" Shrieked Luna in a voice reminiscent of a choir of banchees from Tartarus.
A very nice extension of the original, especially the added bits of personal history. Thank you for it.
As for what to do... Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? The best option seems to be creating a society where everypony can fulfill their greatest potential without realizing the possible rewards that mighty come from doing so. So, basically what the diarchs are doing.
6605496
I'm glad you liked it! Funny how it ended up going from minific size to something long enough for the short story competition, sort of indicating it should have been that length all along.
6604951
Or blackmail her. Remember how Starlight had Twilight held captive? Make me an alicorn or else. And what's Celestia supposed to do then? She can't fulfill the demand. She won't admit that she can't fulfill the demand. Even if she tried to come clean, under the circumstances it would look like a self-serving lie.
If I were Twilight, I'd tell the truth if for no other reason than to keep the ponynappers at bay. She - or any of her friends or Spike - could end up dead for the sake of a rather dubious lie.
6605632
Clearly the correct answer is, "Sure. I just have to disintegrate you first to bring you into the field of stars."
Everyone knows that's how it works, right? :V
Also, I think Celestia has actually been held captive more than Twilight has at this point.
Still, could be an interesting premise for a story.
...Imma go ponder my existence and have a major existential crisis now.
*huddles into a ball and starts breathing rapidly and sobbing*
Great story.
All hail Princess Blueblood
6605632
I think I'm with Veylon on this one. If Celestia lets everyone believe that she can raise ponies to alicornhood at will and whim, then it's a matter of time* until she gets the letter: "We have them. Raise our Blessed Leader to alicornhood or we'll kill your loved ones."
Luckily TD didn't make this one too anvilicious, so we're left to debate it on our own.
* Or has it happened already? This is Enigmatic Celestia we're dealing with, so it's highly likely she's dealt with this before and simply isn't keen to clue Twilight in on it.
6605915
Well, half the fun of a piece like this is for the audience to decide whether they think Celestia is right or not, and what the implications might be. Twilight isn't sure, either, after all.
6605852
Oh, man, you're going to love Mistitled when it comes out.
Good title and concept for a one shot.
6606055
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
6605496
Unfortunately the ponies' greatest potential _is_ ascension. I realize they aren't taking away hope, or giving false hope. But, there's absolutely no reason the people should only be empowered to die and pay taxes. Even if there was a slim possibility, that they are in fact wasting their life on a futile effort, before they come to realize the sacrifice they made for that effort was in vain.
There's more than enough room for the ponies that exit through the gift shop with nothing to show for it but a pained smile on their face and the knowledge that they were once that selfish, vain, and naive. Just because something is more trouble than it's worth, or because someone is more willing to believe a lie when presented with whatever passes for truth and consequences, is no excuse to maintain ignorance.
I guess "creating new spells" isn't the same thing as "creating new magic".
Been a while since I've seen MLP canon, so I'm not sure what distinction (if any) the show makes. I don't find it very appealing, though.
Assuming that "creating new magic" means learning how to use something external to fuel your magic (sun, moon, love, friendship), than it's useless for ponykind as a whole if no one else can replicate the feat. Cadance can use love magic with Shiny, but that seems to be a special case, and I doubt he can use it on his own.
I suppose having immortals run Equestria's political system has worked out well, but I'd think that discovering entirely new fields of magic would have a more dramatic impact.
... Perhaps it did? Celestia and Luna ending the unicorns' monopoly over the sun and moon must have been a profoundly positive move worldwide.
Anyway, I'm just not satisfied with how ascension worked in canon, so the discussion around this story is mostly moot for me. Glad Twilight's thinking, though.
Hm. I'd say it's not even a matter of hard work so much as that future alicorns seem to be predestined to ascend. All four of them have their cutie marks show up on or, in Cadance's case, as some preexisting artifact.
6604988
I think that's actually the point; Celestia would rather they be angry/upset with her, rather than with themselves. By keeping the secret hush-hush, then the worst that happens at the end is they think she's a terrible pony, or don't think anything of it at all. But if she does tell them the secret, then several will die feeling like they wasted their lives because they chased after something they could never achieve and sacrificed living in order to do it.
Yes, either route will result in some ponies that are bitter and angry, and neither route increases the rate at which alicorns appear (yes, both Twilight and Cadence ascended within the same generation, but over a long enough period of time, the probability of that happening approaches 1), but the available empirical evidence shows that revealing the secret would induce some ponies to make choices that hold them back in life, whereas keeping it a secret would induced those same ponies to make choices that allow them to actualize their full potential.
Since neither option produces more alicorns than the other, the one that results in a greater number of ponies that are satisfied with their lives in the better option.
Putting that new Drama tag to good use, eh?
The story didn't quite work for me, probably because the idea is not something I've put much though into, or care very much about, rather than due to the actual writing (which looks good as always, TD). I quite liked the implications of Celestia talking to her parents on their deathbed, but there isn't much lasting impact for me here.
Though, if popular opinion is that Celestia makes alicorns, I wonder if any stallions accuse the princess of sexism. Four princesses and zero alicorn princes? There should be a protest!
Should be "that", I think.
Both options are terrible but if I had to choose I'd go with truth.
Honestly, I'd rather go out with my life being angry at myself rather than waste my entire life practically screaming "Notice me, senpai!".
6606573
Of course!
And I fixed the typo, too. Tch. Shame on me for not catching that before.
I'm pretty sure there's at least one terrible story out there about the shortage of alicorn stallions out there somewhere, though :V
Know what you know.
Do what you will.
Anything beyond is futile.
End of story.
...something isn't right here.
6606460
That's the sense I got too. Celestia would rather have them bitter with her than saying horrible things to themselves and their dying loved ones, as she herself did. It's at least partly a penance for that, I think.
And yes, it hurts when ponies close to her are angry for what they believe is her holding them back. Celestia knew right away that it was Blueblood talking to the newpaper. But the truth is, not even Alicorns can force a particular fate onto somepony. If they could, Celestia would be having tea with both Princess Twilight and Princess Sunset Shimmer right now.
6606580
But they wouldn't. Those newspapers are going to get tired of the story fairly quickly, I'd imagine. Like the news always does. People move on. But if you're constantly pushed forward by someone who did succeed? You're never going to let go.
Well written. Good for a one-shot.
6606460
Don't agree here. Ascension requires a secret ingredient that most ponies don't have. And one that Celestia doesn't seem to understand all that well.
But compare and contrast: Reconciling quantum theory and general relativity has so far been impossible for ALL humans who have ever lived. Many have spent part or all their lives trying only to fail. They could have spent that time being much more productive. Thus we should bury all knowledge on both subjects and stop anyone from trying ever again.
Celestia's view looks completely inane when you apply it in the real world about any number of hard problems. Humans are fine with slowly chipping away at a problem, knowing the solution may require the effort of many generations, and tat they may not live to see the final result. Ponies should be too.
6606678
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!
It seems to have engendered some discussion, at least, which is always cool to see.