• Published 9th Feb 2020
  • 1,881 Views, 31 Comments

Hoard of Friends - Maran



Years have gone by, and Smolder comes to the unsettling conclusion that her friends are running out of time in this life. But Smolder considers her friends to be her hoard, and a dragon and her hoard are not so easily parted.

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The Forever Young Six

Smolder's mother lived in a cave that was artfully decorated by dragon standards. Part of a circus tent was draped across the entrance to keep out the elements, the stone floor was covered with a patchwork of ornamental rugs, and oil lamps hung from the ceiling. Smolder thought that Discord might appreciate the décor. She stepped through the passage that led to the main chamber, pausing to look at a framed photograph held by a nail driven into the rock wall. The display of modernity and sentimentality made Smolder tilt her head. Most mature dragons had as much use for pony inventions as they had for breath mints, and they didn't keep reminders of their children in their homes unless they happened to be fashioned from precious metals.

“What did you do this time?” came her mother's voice from the interior chamber.

Smolder shook her head. “Nice to see you too, Mom.”

“Oh. I thought you were Garble.” There was a pause as Smolder walked deeper into the cave. “But it's still a valid question.”

Smolder strolled into the main chamber and saw her mother stretching out the cricks in her joints on top of her favorite sleeping spot: her pile of treasure. Even though she had updated her residence with amenities, some traditions were difficult for any dragon to let go.

As a dragon of full maturity, her mother was easily ten times bigger than Smolder, with orange scales on her upper body and a standard off-white belly. Many dragons thought that Smolder resembled her, except that her mother's crest and tail tip were blood-red instead of magenta, and they were pointed like Garble's.

Smolder sighed. “I didn't really do anything worth writing home about. My problem is that I don't know what to do.”

“Oh?” Her mother raised her eyebrow. “You're asking your mother for advice? Perhaps my little whelp has finally matured.”

“I wish.” Smolder plopped her rear end onto the pile of gold next to her mother. “See, my friends are all grown up and raising their own replacements, and I'm still barely older than a juvenile! I can't lay an egg yet even if I wanted to!”

Her mother's eyes grew to the size of wagon wheels, which was significantly greater than their typical dinner plate size. “You don't want to lay an egg, do you?”

“No!” Smolder clenched her fists. “But all of my friends are! They've grown up and in just a few decades they'll be old and then they'll leave me and their kids will probably be old with kids of their own by then, and it won't be the same! Their kids think of me as their aunt, not their friend.”

Smolder took a deep breath after her rant, and tears stung her eyes. She looked down so her mother couldn't see her blubber. “I can never be friends with them the way I am with Ocellus, Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, and Sandbar.”

“It's okay to be upset.” Her mother's voice was like gentle rain. “Anydragon would be in your position.”

Smolder stared up at her in surprise and relief – relief that she could be vulnerable in front of her mother without being scolded. “Really?” She sniffled.

Her mother nodded her head, which was as big as Smolder's whole body. “To be honest, I was afraid this would happen. This is why dragons shouldn't be friends with other species.”

Anger replaced Smolder's relief. She welcomed the ire, because it made her feel stronger than grief.

“Oh, really?” She infused as much sarcasm as possible into her words. “You let me go to the School of Friendship in Equestria and you expected me not to make friends with other species?”

Her mother held up her hand. “The Dragonlord handpicked you to go. What was I supposed to do? Tell her no?” She snorted, twin puffs of smoke billowing from her nostrils. “You can't say no to the Dragonlord. Just ask your brother.”

“Well, I'm glad the Dragonlord chose me.” Smolder wiped tears from her eyes and grimaced. “I mean, not right now, but a lot of good came from it. The school taught me that friends are the greatest treasure anycreature can have.”

“Even if that treasure will be gone in mere decades?” her mother asked pointedly.

Smolder's throat tightened, as if she had just swallowed a mouthful of peanut butter. “I . . . I don't know.”

Her mother placed her hand on Smolder's arm, which was a little awkward with their size disparity, but Smolder accepted the gesture nonetheless, since her mother did not often show physical affection.

“Let me tell you something,” she began quietly, as if revealing a deep, personal secret. “When I was your age, a salamander followed me home.”

Smolder didn't have to ask which type of salamander – she knew her mother meant the fire lizard as opposed to the amphibian.

“The salamander became my constant companion. He wasn't the brightest star in the sky, but he was the most loyal and affectionate lizard that a dragon could ever ask for.” Her mother smiled sadly. “I remember how I used to breathe fire in front of him and he would breathe fire back at me.” Her smile faded. “And then one day he stopped eating. I took him to a healer, but there was nothing he could do for him.” She closed her eyes. “It was so painful to lose him that I never got another pet.”

At first, Smolder wasn't sure how to react. She'd expected sympathy, or even scorn, but she didn't anticipate that she would be the one to have to offer comfort to her mother. Fortunately, her friendships with softer creatures had given her experience in offering a metaphorical shoulder to cry on.

Smolder patted the giant hand. “I'm sorry to hear that, Mom, but . . . You know my friends aren't my pets, right?”

“I know.” Her mother gazed down at her. “And Garble was not just a pet, either. He was part of my family.”

“Wait . . .” Smolder raised her eyebrows. “Garble? You named Garble after a salamander?” Despite the sad story, she snickered. “I'm sorry, but I can't wait to tell Garble!”

Her mother began to smile again. “I should have told both of you sooner, but it was too painful to talk about.” She shrugged. “But maybe if I had told you before you went to the School of Friendship, you could have kept your distance from those short-lived creatures and spared yourself the heartache.”

Smolder shook her head. “That's the funny thing – I actually tried to do that at first, but I didn't last long. They kind of sucked me in. Changelings are all about love, and hippogriffs are free-spirited and welcoming, or at least Silverstream is. And yaks are actually pretty friendly even though Prince Rutherford is known for his quick temper, and griffons are basically just fragile dragons, so we get along really well. And Sandbar and the other ponies literally weaponized friendship!” She spread her arms. “Six ponies planted the seeds that became the Tree of Harmony, which turned out to be pretty important in regulating the forces of chaos and disharmony in Equestria and beyond. It can stop conflicts before they start! And the Tree chose me and my friends!” She took a deep breath after this long speech and held her claws to her chest. “We helped regrow it into something better after it was destroyed! So how can I let five of its chosen ones die?”

Her mother closed her eyes once more. “That's a lot to take in.” She opened her eyes and picked up a tiara, a tribute from a lesser noble from ages past. “I have often thought about the innovations ponies and other equines create in their brief lives. They are like children to us dragons, and yet the average equine is more clever and ambitious than the average dragon.” She turned the tiara in her claws. “So how is it that with all their intelligence and, dare I say, freakish magic, only a handful of them have managed to live as long as dragons?”

“I already asked Princess Twilight about that. She said something about how eventually all spells wear off – some just take longer than others. The only pony magic that hasn't worn off yet is the magic that makes ponies alicorns, and only ponies can become alicorns, so that's not an option for anycreature besides Sandbar.” She sagged, resting her claws on her knees. “But if I can just save him, it'll be better than if I lost all of them.”

“If your friends really are your greatest treasure, you should do whatever it takes to hold onto all of them,” said her mother, tapping a claw on the tiara's golden surface. “If I could travel back in time and save Garble, I would.”

Smolder ran her hand down her face. “Don't even get me started on time travel. If even half of what Princess Twilight told me is true, it's more trouble than it's worth.”

Her mother blinked. “I was speaking hypothetically. You mean ponies can actually do that?”

“A few of them can,” confirmed Smolder.

Her mother went still. “Do you think–”

“Not a chance.”

Sparks flew out of her mother's mouth. “Don't interrupt your mother! You don't even know what I was going to ask!”

Smolder rolled her eyes. “You mean you weren't going to ask if the ponies would send you back in time so you could save the original Garble?”

“Okay, so you do know what I was going to ask,” grumbled her mother.

“Look, I know you miss your pet, but the ponies wouldn't cast a time travel spell for you even if you bribed them with all of your hoard.” Smolder spread her arm over the golden mound.

Her mother slipped the tiara onto her claw. “Fine, I'll take your word for it. But are you sure that all pony magic wears out except for being an alicorn? You said that the Tree of Harmony has only grown stronger since it was planted. That was a while ago, wasn't it?”

“Yeah, uh . . .” Smolder eyed one of the oil lamps in thought. “I think it was planted in the third century of Dragonlord Torch's reign.”

“That's pretty old for a tree,” said her mother with a satisfied nod. “If it hasn't started to deteriorate yet, maybe it's possible for other magical things to last that long.”

“So you're saying that the Tree could help my friends live as long as dragons?” Smolder scratched at her crest.

“I'm saying that the pony princess either doesn't know everything or isn't telling you everything. You may need to look beyond pony magic to get what you want.” Her mother lumbered from the pile of gold over to a marble table, where a stone tablet lay. “Since you last came to visit, I traded four doubloons for this rare sphinx-crafted tablet,” she said proudly.

“That's pretty cool,” said Smolder, admiring the craftsmanship – or craftssphinxship, as it were. “But what does it have to do with anything?”

“Sphinxes are some of the most magical creatures in the world.” Her mother swished her tail. “Maybe if you and your friends put your heads together, you can find some use for it.”

Smolder leaned over the tablet. “Wait, that's a picture of the Unchanging Stone!” She pointed to an octagon with four intersecting lines.

“The what?”

“I heard about it when I went to Southern Equestria!” said Smolder with a grin. “I can't read hieroglyphics, but this tablet could be the key to unlocking the Unchanging Pyramid!”

“The what?”

“Why didn't you tell me about this in the first place?” Smolder glanced up at her mother.

“Because I thought it was just a rare sphinx-crafted tablet, and I still don't know what you're talking about,” said her mother, wrinkling her brow.

“Can I borrow it? Please?” Smolder clasped her hands in front of her chest.

“Of course.” Her mother held up her claw. “But be careful with it. If you break it, you owe me four doubloons.”

Smolder frowned. “Where am I supposed to get doubloons?”

“Well, that's more incentive not to break the tablet, isn't it?” Her mother smirked.

“Fine,” said Smolder, picking up the tablet, “but I'm gonna need something soft to wrap this in.”

“Here, take my smallest rug.” Her mother wrapped up the tablet in the rug and placed it in her arms.

“Thanks, Mom.” Smolder paused, feeling the weight of the tablet. “So, what made you change your mind?”

Her mother tilted her head. “You mean about your friends?”

Smolder hunched her shoulders. “Yeah, I mean, first you said I shouldn't be friends with non-dragons, but now you're helping me be friends with them for life.”

“Well, like I said, at first I didn't condone it, but I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want the Dragonlord breathing down my neck. But you've obviously grown quite attached to your friends, and I know better than to get between a dragon and her hoard.”

Smolder smiled, feeling a lightness in her chest. Her family were not huggers – most dragons weren't – but she had to do something to show her appreciation.

To Smolder, words came more easily than embraces.

“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, Smolder,” her mother said quietly. “Good luck keeping your hoard.”

Three weeks later . . .

The monarch of Equestria walked in a slow circle around the octagonal limestone pyramid. “This is amazing!”

Smolder interlaced her claws together in front of her belly as she watched the tall mare inspect the carved rock. When she and her friends had found the pieces of the stone and pushed them together, she'd felt satisfied and relieved, but now that the wizard ruler was scrutinizing her priceless charm, she felt nervous. Her life, and more importantly the lives of her friends, were about to change forever. To Smolder, it was no less momentous an event than the arrival of her friends' children. Once her friends became dragons, there was no going back – such was the magic of the Unchanging Stone. But unless mages and scientists invented a way to reverse aging, there would be no going back when they grew old in a few short decades. Being dragons in their prime for centuries would be preferable to short lifespans as other species, but Smolder was biased, being a dragon herself.

“There are so many uses for this stone! But if it ever fell into the wrong hooves, the consequences would be disastrous! Just imagine what you could do with poison joke alone!”

“We'll make sure nocreature steals it,” said Gallus, bringing his talons to his chest. “Or at least I will, if the stone stays here in the royal castle.”

“And even if they do, it's not like Equestria hasn't had magic artifacts fall into the wrong claws before,” added Smolder with a shrug. “If there's one thing I've learned from school, it's that any villain can be defeated with friendship.”

“Or reformed.” Ocellus raised her foreleg.

“So, can you do it, Twilight?” asked Silverstream. If she seemed overly familiar, it was because she was a princess herself, even though most creatures tended to forget. Also, she was Silverstream.

“Can you cast a permanent transformation spell?” she added for clarification.

The alicorn lifted the stone in her aura before setting it carefully on the checkered marble floor. “The Unchanging Stone was designed to make any magic permanent, which means it's irreversible. I can use it to cast an unchanging spell, but before I do, I'm going to tell you the same thing I'm going to tell my friends. My recommendation is to try living as dragons for a week or two before I cast the spell to make the transformation immutable. Once I cast it, you can never go back to being the creatures you were, not even for a minute. You should make sure this is what you want.”

Ocellus changed into a dragon with pale blue scales, a raspberry crest, and backward-curving horns the color of charcoal. “I've been a dragon before,” she said simply. “I'm ready.”

Twilight gave her a fond smile before turning to the remaining four creatures. “What about the rest of you?”

Yona and Sandbar held hooves. “I think we already made up our minds as soon as we decided to help Smolder find the Unchanging Stone,” answered Sandbar. “Neither of us want her to have to care for us in our old age, or mourn for us when we're gone.”

“The same goes for Silverstream and me,” said Gallus with a nod. “We've already explained to our daughter what we're going to do. I think she understands as much as possible for a chick her age.”

Smolder blinked back tears. “You guys are the best! But what about your kids? Are you going to get them to change, too?”

Ocellus shook her head. “I thought we all agreed that dragon puberty is rough. I wouldn't ask my nymph to go through that!”

Smolder held up her claws. “Hey, I hear you. But won't it be kind of weird with you being . . .” She trailed off as she caught Yona's and Sandbar's eyes, remembering who was in the room.

Yona smiled. “Yona and Sandbar already have unconventional family.”

“Yeah,” agreed Sandbar, chuckling. “You know, it's funny – growing up I had accepted that I was always going to be average, but my life has been anything but!”

Yona kissed Sandbar on the cheek. “Sandbar always above average to Yona.”

Smolder crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Ugh, get a room.” But she was smiling.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Are all of you really sure you want to become dragons now? Because if you want to keep bantering, I can go work on my speech for the Festival . . .”

“We're sure!” said Silverstream. “But first, I want to get a picture to remember the last moment all of us were like this.” She held out a camera to Twilight. “Will you take it for us, please?”

The regal pony obliged, holding the camera in her telekinesis while encouraging the six friends to group together.

“Alright, everycreature,” she said as she floated the camera back to Silverstream. “First I need to cast a simple spell to make you like Smolder. This might feel a little funny,” she cautioned.

“Funny ha-ha or funny – waaaah!” Silverstream cried as a bright beam shot into her, Gallus, Sandbar, Yona, and then Smolder.

The dragon felt dazed as the brilliance filled her vision, and for a moment she forgot where she was or what she had been doing. After a few seconds, the dazzling luminescence faded, and Smolder blinked and shook her head. And there before her stood five dragons, but she still recognized them as her friends. Yona, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Gallus each stood on all fours, and each was a bit larger than Smolder, with Yona being the biggest. The colors of their scales matched the hues that their fur, hair, and feathers had been. Yona's horns were unaltered, while the others had sprouted horns in various sizes and colors: Gallus had small gold horns that bent backward, Silverstream's were slender and pink, and Sandbar's were turquoise and curved forward. They all shook themselves and looked at each other in surprise.

Gallus's gaze lingered on Silverstream. “You look beautiful.”

Silverstream peered at her limbs before turning back to Gallus. “And you make a handsome dragon.” She nuzzled his cheek.

“Finish spell, pony princess!” demanded Yona.

Twilight straightened to her full height and gave them all a serious look. “You do look good as dragons, but this is about more than just appearance. It's not too late to slow down and think about your decision first.”

“No, I've already thought about it,” said Sandbar. “If this is the only way to be friends forever, then I'm all in!” He made a fist with a triumphant expression, as if he felt proud that he mastered the use of four digits on the first try.

“Wellll,” Smolder scratched her head. “For a few millennia, at least.”

Gallus flexed his leathery wings. “We're ready, your Highness.”

Twilight smiled. “So be it.” She sent a ray of magic into the stone, and it shot up out of the top of the pyramid, descending in a shower of sparks over Ocellus, Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, and Sandbar. The five dragons glowed for a few seconds, and then faded.

Silverstream smiled and hugged Gallus with one arm, and then embraced Smolder with the other. “Now we really are best friends forever! Group hug!”

And as Smolder felt the warm scales enfold her, she knew that they really would be her friends for as long as she lived.

She'd done it. They had done it. They had saved her hoard of friends.

Author's Note:

This story was inspired by a blog post written by Ultra-the-HedgeToaster, who came up with many ways for Twilight (and Spike and Smolder) not to outlive their friends.

The original draft described the Young Six finding the Unchanging Stone, but then I realized that it was just “go to a thing to get a thing” with almost no drama. All of the emotion was in the first scene. I still wanted a happy ending for Smolder, though, so I kept the “everycreature becomes a dragon” scene. Hopefully it works.

Comments ( 31 )
Esalen #1 · Feb 9th, 2020 · · 1 ·

I like the concept, but I feel like Twilight wouldn't take it as lightly as she seemed too. Also, the other five have lives outside, and while losing a loved one is painful, I view it as almost a necessity to grow and mature. I understand Smolder's hoarding instinct, but I didn't really expect the other five to be as on board as they were-they're throwing away their entire lives for something that seems a bit superficial. Don't get me wrong, I understand motives and such, but it seems kind of hasty.

Scyphi #2 · Feb 9th, 2020 · · 1 ·

10076363
I kinda have to agree. I'm not altogether against the concept, but I agree that this shouldn't be something just hastily rushed into. It might seem like a good idea now, but a few years down the road, the novelty might wear off. So I do feel like all creatures involved should've at least put a bit more thought into it, or taken Twi up on the offer to be dragons temporarily, get a feel for it, and then decide if they really want to make it permanent or not.

And even then...there's something to be said about the moral of accepting the loss of loved ones when their time finally comes, because it still will, and frankly it's a little selfish of Smolder to try and fight it, even if her friends are all onboard with it too. And just because they're dragons now doesn't mean they can't still be taken away prematurely--they're not any more immortal now than they were before, just longer-lived...assuming all circumstances allow them to live the healthy lives required to get that far.

Personally, I think there's an even better story to be had in Smolder having to learn to let go and move on regardless and accept reality for what it is, rather than just dread and focus on all the negatives of it because it needn't all be negatives necessarily. It's a lesson I feel some fellow bronies could stand to learn themselves when these sort of subjects come up. But that's just me.

All said, the story certainly isn't bad. But it felt it would've only benefited from fleshing out these points a bit more than it did. :twilightsmile:

10076753
If one fights furiously to prevent one's death from cancer, is it that much different to fight furiously to prevent one's death from cell death?

10076831
I'm not so much saying we all should give up and embrace death, I'm just saying everybody has their time no matter what, and I think it's part of life learning to accept that and move on from it. I would've liked it had the story addressed that a bit more than it did. But I digress.

10076753
I agree, plus there's the matter of the others' children, grandchildren, etc., as well as any other friends they have now or will have in the future. Are the five of them supposed to outlive their descendants? Are they supposed to watch their other friends die away? Are they supposed to ask of them to become dragons in order to maintain the same relative life expectany they would have had if they hadn't gone through the transformation? And if they do, what about their families and friends? Either it would cause some very awkward and hard-to-face situations for many of them, or it would potentially start a chain reaction in which everycreature would eventually become dragons (okay, not likely but it's 1 AM and I'm not in the mood for thinking up a more detail explanation), or something else would happen which would show that this was a bad idea. Having Smolder turn into a pony (or some other creature with similar lifespan) might have been less drastic (for lack of a better word), but still far from ideal. She should learn to accept death as part of life and realize that she isn't limited to her five friends and won't have to be alone after they die; all she'd have to do is make new friends.

10076953
It makes me think of a fic I read ages ago, long enough that I can no longer recall the title, in which Twilight faced the same issue with her own friends and decided to fix it by making them alicorns. This then led to the same thing happening as you describe--soon everybody and their brother were being made alicorns so to "cheat" death, and the story then proceeded to very seriously explore all the potential ramifications of this. It was an intriguing concept, but I walked away from it feeling like it sort of missed one of the biggest lessons of life--how to deal with death, accept it, and move on, remembering thereafter those who had died for who and what they were.

Luckily, I don't feel this fic has that same problem, I just more think it's opened a can of worms it hasn't thought all the way through and is potentially unprepared for all of the aftermath that could follow such an event.

...of course, I suppose one could always explore that more in a sequel... *shrug*

10076856
Sure, but if there's an option to avoid death, why not? What is everybody's "Time on Earth"? 70 years? 100? 150?

Is it "Congrats, you've reached 80, you're time is up"?

10077033
Maybe. 80 isn't so bad an age to die at. :twilightsmile:

Part of what makes life special is that it's only temporary. If it instead just goes on forever, then big whoop. Besides, from the realist perspective, death, as tragic as it is, is still necessary as it helps regulate populations and ensure there is never more than there is room or resources to provide for, at least in this imperfect realm of ours. If there was no death, not even the universe would be big enough to support us all before long.

And even if we just have a select few overcome death but not all, then that still raises the question of why does one get to escape death, but not the other. Why can one live but the other die?

It's not a matter you can just hastily rush into, because, like it or not, there are consequences that come with it.

10077044
So what, if you see someone's who's still perfectly healthy at 81, you're going to arrest them for exceeding The Limit? I personally think 200 years would be enough. And really, assuming there's an average of couples having 2.5 children, population is never going to stop growing. Its far more likely that, like when baby death was no longer so prevalent as several centuries ago, the birth rate will also slow down a lot. When China's population was getting too big, they implemented a 1-child rule. The whole sudden over-abundance of males and female-infantcide aside, they were able to reduce the population. A society with a lot of longer lived beings will also likely heavily encourage having children much later in life. Its extremely unlikely society will continue the way it is if life expectancy increases.

Also I'm pretty sure there's a few turtles and micro organisms that literally don't die from old age, only from predation and disease. In a clean environment, and a steady supply of food, they basically never die. Others are just absurdly long lived, like some whales, which can reach 200, with the population around 100 years old on average. Natural death barely is a concern for them.

There are also several tree species that are multiple centuries old, and forests aren't exactly overpopulating the planet. They just reproduce very slowly. There's an entire list of trees that are easily 1000+ years old. For the most part, animals don't even reach natural death, the most common cause of death in the wild is from disease, starvation, or predator attack.

As a final note, I never said No More Death. I only advocate against cellular death. If you're still perfectly healthy and have a giant bucket list of things you want to do, arthritis and deteriorating muscles shouldn't be the things stopping you.

Of course, this is all assuming I don't hate myself enough to see 40

10077098

So what, if you see someone's who's still perfectly healthy at 81, you're going to arrest them for exceeding The Limit?

Oh no, no, no, I think we misunderstood each other here. I thought you were asking "if I knew I would die at age 80, if I would be okay with that" when you were more asking "once everybody reaches age 80 they gotta die," and no, I don't mean that, of course I don't mean that.

When China's population was getting too big, they implemented a 1-child rule.

Yes, which China's population has long since disputed, but China's government isn't exact a democracy, so...

Basically, it's the same as your "Limit" on age you began by mentioning--if you see someone who's still perfectly healthy and capable have two children, you're going to arrest them for exceeding The Limit? It goes both ways on that too, y'know.

Others are just absurdly long lived, like some whales, which can reach 200, with the population around 100 years old on average. Natural death barely is a concern for them.

But they still die, at the natural end of their lifespans. Theirs is just longer than some. To them, dying at age 200 would be no different than us dying at age 80.

Further, those long-lived species you mention are also far fewer in number than humanity, AND have predators or other factors that keep them from reproducing out of control, so they aren't exactly in danger of overpopulating.

This is starting to get real deep into this subject more than I think either of us are really equipped for, especially as not even science has a straight answer on this (I've checked)...but I will remind that for every action there is a corresponding reaction, and trying to "cheat death" even just temporarily is no exception. I have no issue in trying to help people live longer healthier lives, but I also know that death is still inevitable, and I'd like to think I'll be brave enough to face and accept it when it ultimately comes for me.

I think that's the real issue I have with the story here--Smolder wasn't brave enough to face death. So she chose not to.

10077136
(ok, now that I've actually read the fic :V)

Its quite interesting to consider the question of whether having immortals on a planet is good or not when there's an entire species, maybe several, of immortals that already exist on the planet. None of the dragons, assuming they stick together, have to really worry all that much about their fellow dragons dying in the next century. Or five.

10076968
The fic you're thinking of is 'The Great Alicorn Hunt'. Good premise of that one, but the political agenda that was shoved in lowered its quality.

Anyway, I'm not here to dispute the idea of cheating death or argue about it. The story was good for what it was. I like the idea of the Young Six turning into dragons. You could make a series of stories where the Young Six explore the advantages and disadvantages of each other's species by transforming into each of them for one week per species. The designs would look pretty cool.

Smolder's conflict is a sympathetic one, and I'm glad she found a way to have more time with her friends.

10077244
True, and I agree--the fic is still good for what it is. Buuuuut I still would've at least made mention of these other points and discussed them a bit even if the end outcome was still the same, because they're still valid points to consider. But, again, that's just me. :twilightsmile:

As for "The Great Alicorn Hunt," I tried searching for it on the site just now so to verify but couldn't find it--is it not on this site anymore?

10076363

10076753

10076953

I don't want to argue point by point because I don't want to be That Guy (or girl in this case), but I will address a couple of issues raised:

1) There is already a glut of fanfics about Twilight learning to deal with the loss of her friends, and I didn't have anything new to add to the topic. Also, in my headcanon Smolder isn't the Element of Generosity or the Pillar of Bravery, so she wouldn't do the most selfless and courageous thing.

2) I would have liked to address the particulars of the other Young Five's children and other loved ones and how they came to terms with this change, and whether or not they eventually decided to become dragons as well, but as the deadline loomed, I ran out of time. But keep in mind that this situation doesn't exactly correspond with anything in the real world because they have a sapient species whose natural lifespan is at least 8 times longer than most other species - probably closer to 25 times longer if Torch was a full grown adult in the time of the Pillars. To Smolder, her lifespan is "normal" and the others are unnaturally short. She'd not only lose her friends, she'd also have to go through that grief again and again with their descendants.

“Oh. I thought you were Garble.” There was a pause as Smolder walked deeper into the cave. “But it's still a valid question.”

This says so much about her relationship with her kids. I love it.

See, my friends are all grown up and raising their own replacements, and I'm still barely older than a juvenile!

I'm not sure what I like more here, the very draconic view of shorter-lived races' offspring as replacements or the semi-explicit use of D&D dragon age categories.

...and only ponies can become alicorns, so that's not an option for anycreature besides Sandbar

Putting aside the question of what exactly Sandbar might do to ascend. Maybe hatch a world-turtle.

A fascinating twist on the usual immortality blues, and some great character interaction between Smolder and her mother. By dragon standards, it was almost sappy. Thank you for this.

10077301
Unfortunately not. From what I understand, the author had a big argument with the mods here and moved all his fics to other archives as a result. If you search other archives or TVTropes, you'll find it.

10078127
*does that*

Huh...actually that's not the fic I was thinking of anyway. The one I was thinking of was set in the future, where all the Mane 6 (except Twi) are getting all grey and wrinkly, among other things, and Twi and Celestia spend most of the story debating to make other ponies alicorns or not to make other ponies alicorns before basically ignoring each other and both going to do their own thing anyway...

Oh well, it's not a big deal anyway. The only thing I'd probably want to do is review what, if anything, I had commented on it, as I dimly recall mentioning all of this whole subject there then too. :twilightsheepish:

Here is why making the Mane 6 all alicorns is a really stupid idea. Applejack probably would outright not want any part of it. Plus she'll probably live a long time anyway. Freaky Apple Family genetics and all that.

Rainbow might want it, but I can't see her abandoning Scoots like that. Unless Twilight also makes her an alicorn too.

Rarity would want it. But what the fuck does she know about know about ruling? And I mean that in the real sense, not whatever fantasies she has in her head. Plus I can see her being the one to try and overthrow Twilight when the power goes to her head.

Do I need to explain why alicorn Pinkie Pie is unhealthy for the entire multiverse? Equestria would be better off with Chthulu.

Fluttershy is the only one I can see being the only safe choice. Not only can she keep Twiggles sane for all eternity. But she is also the only one to not go insane in the whole series, for one reason or another.

All this is probably why Twilight never actually did make them like her in the show. And if she is as smart as she thinks she is, she won't do it now.

Or the girls wise up when she does it here, and reject making it permanent.

Be fair Twi. If they decide later that it was a mistake they literally have centuries to work out a solution.

10078046
Thank you! It was fun to get inside the dragons' heads for a change.

10079372
That's a great point.

10078254

A better solution would be not making Twilight an alicorn in the first place. Then, the issue of lifespan would not even have emerged because it wouldn't be relevant. It was unnecessary to begin with.

10129075
I am not getting dragged into any anti Twilicorn horseshit. I just think making the rest of the girls alicorns isn't worth it.

An interesting idea with a lot of good lessons, characterization, and prose. However, I feel it was a little rushed near the end. I'd like to see a continuation, maybe one that explores if some of the characters decide to back out or change their mind. Maybe there is another long-lived or everlasting species that they would like to be. Like, maybe Sandbar wants to try for Alicornhood. You clearly have a knack for handling topics like this a mature and comforting way. Thank you for writing this.

10211272
Thanks. A lot of other people seemed to like the concept, but thought it was rushed. I probably should write a sequel that takes its time to explore the consequences of the Young Six's decision.

10213211
Yes, yes! Please let the sequel flow! I'd read the heck out of it.

you know, id be very interested in a series where the mane six transform into many different creatures during a lazy afternoon.

10076856
Lol, prove it

10129092
What about the human versions of the mane six plus sunset as in the rainbooms. As in the humane 7 being alicorns. You always have a problem with the mane six being alicorns but you never have a problem with the human version of them being alicorns. Like is the human version of the mane six a better Idea at being alicorns or a worse idea than the pony version of the mane six. Well I also read a fix where the humane seven basically became alicorns or gods in that case and well the humane seven actually act like they are more powerful than the pony version of the characters heck Rainbow Dash can travel so fast that she can go between universes. Also in that story it like the author was trying to say that in that universe the Geodes are more powerful than the elements of harmony because it took only one geode to turn one person into a god and because there were 7 geodes each one of the rainbooms became a goddesses. The story was called harmonic resonance here the link to the story if you want to see what I mean. It involves the humane seven actually becoming goddesses .

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/508004/harmonic-resonance

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