Are alicorns immortal?
Twilight Sparkle lay on her bed. She stared up at the canopy. Though it was dark, her eyes could faintly discern the yellow color of the fabric. The bed, and the room of the palace that it was in had once belonged to Princess Celestia, but for twenty years, it had been Twilight’s.
Speaking of Princess Celestia, what had Twilight awake that night was something the princess had said, many years ago. It was something that, for many years, the sole remaining Princess of Equestria had ignored. But now, she could not avoid it anymore, could no longer pretend that the question did not exist.
Twilight’s friends were aging. It was growing more apparent every time they met. Rarity’s graying hair, Pinkie Pie’s daughter growing up, the bags under all of their eyes. They were long past their primes now. Every one of them was complaining of aching joints. All of her friends were growing old, and someday, Twilight had finally realized, they were going to die.
And she was not sure whether she would join them.
Once, Twilight had asked Celestia whether or not alicorns were truly immortal. At the time, she had gotten a rather vague answer. She had ignored it at the time, for some reason or another. But now, with the world changing, it was coming back to bother her. Tonight, her mind was fixated on it. The questions kept spinning around in her head.
Lost in her thoughts, Twilight almost didn’t hear the door to her chambers creak open. On the edge of her awareness, she recognized the sound of hooves on the tile floor. They were quiet, almost inaudible, but the princess noticed them immediately. Twilight lay there, not speaking a word. When she risked a peek over the covers of the bed, she saw nothing but a figure. It had four hooves, but beyond that, no discernible features.
The figure stood in front of a tapestry, one depicting a sunrise over a hillside. It was one of the many decorations in the room that Twilight had never bothered to remove. The pony, whoever they were, stared at the tapestry intently. Then, they reached up, throwing the hanging off the wall. Behind it, barely visible, was a doorway The figure stepped into it, moving and disappearing down a set of stairs.
Twilight sat up, staring at the doorway. She looked at it for a minute or two, her mind buzzing. Who was that pony? How did they know that doorway was there? How long had that staircase been there? Where did it lead?
Cautiously, Twilight climbed out of bed. She quietly walked over to hole in the wall. She lit her horn, creating a small magenta ball of light. It illuminated a long spiral stairway that appeared to wind into the depths of the palace.
Twilight paused for a moment. She took a moment to think about her options. She could call the guards, and have them investigate it for her, or at least accompany her. Then she shrugged away the thought. Whatever was down there she could handle in. And if she couldn’t, then guards would be of no use anyway.
Twilight began to make her way down the steps. The stone stairs seemed very, very old, nearly as old as the castle itself, They were chipped and worn away, obviously not cared for in the slightest. “Not that you could expect a staircase hidden behind a tapestry in the royal bedroom to be polished by maids regularly,” she muttered to herself.
Finally, Twilight reached the bottom. Before her stretched a passage. From what she could tell, the steps had brought her down under the foundations of the castle, into the ruins of the old fortress that history books had said once clung to the face of the mountain. The passage itself was hewn of rough gray stone, with torches in brackets glowing with an orange fire.
The passage itself came out in a large room. Twilight stopped at the end of the tunnel, her jaw dropping. Inside the room, was massive lab. Wires ran everywhere. Tables with magical devices of all sorts were scattered around the space. And forming a large circle were a series of tanks, each one filled with a liquid.
In the center of the room, was a large pony, facing away from Twilight and looking at one of the tanks. A pony with a white coat, and the cutie mark of a sun adorning her flank.
Twilight stuttered for a moment. “Ce...Celestia, what are you doing here?” She asked, stepping forward.
The alicorn turned, and Twilight’s eyes widened. Celestia was very obviously aging. Her pastel mane was hanging around her neck, limp and unmoving, and it was streaked with grey. Her eyes were tired and baggy. Her coat had lost it’s pristine glow.
“Hello, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” The white alicorn said. Her voice was a regal and motherly as always, but it too was touched with her age, sounding more tired than Twilight had ever heard it.
Twilight stared around the room, at the tanks, pipes and wires running from their tops. At the equipment. “What is this place?” She finally said.
Celesita gave her a small smile. “This, Twilight, is the secret to my immortality.” The words stopped Twilight, who was in the middle of opening her mouth to say something else. The purple alicorn’s eyes filled with confusion as her mind tried to figure out Celestia’s words. “What...what do you mean by that?”
Celestia sighed. “I think I’d better show you.” She stepped out of the way, allowing Twilight to see the tank. The princess stepped closer, coming within a hoof length of the contraption. When she saw its contents, her mouth opened even wider, and her mind dropped even further into confusion.
Inside the container was another Celestia. But unlike the Celestia standing next to Twilight, this one was pristine. Exactly the way that Twilight had known her. The white pony’s eyes were closed as she floated in the liquid in the tank. Her wings were folded at her side and her long hair floated around her.
“Once, Princess, you asked me whether an alicorn is immortal,” Celestia began. “At the time, I was not sure how to answer you. Now, I will tell you that, no, we are not immortal. The lifespan of an alicorn is longer than that of a pony, about 250 years. But alicorns do age and die.”
Twilight took a moment to consider this. “But Celestia, if alicorns only live for a few hundred years, how can you be over a thousand years old?”
“It’s very simple really,” Celestia replied. “I am not Celestia. I mean, I am, but not the original her. I am a clone of Celestia. One who has all of her memories, and the memories of all of the clones that came before me.” She pointed a hoof the various tanks.
Finally, Twilight began to understand. “So, the original Celestia, realizing that she would die someday, cloned herself, and, when she began to show signs of aging, switched her memories over to a clone and let the clone take over Equestria.”
“Exactly,” Celestia said. “I knew you would be smart enough to figure that out.”
“And you’re here,” Twilight continued, looking at the other mare, “Because you’re reaching the end of your lifespan, and need to activate another clone.”
Celestia nodded. “I need to transfer all of my memories to my successor. My final successor.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the original Celestia only made a certain number of clones. She hoped that someday she would find someone worthy of ruling Equestria, so that she could step down. And luckily, I found you before we ran out of clones.”
Twilight nodded. It made sense to her. But she had one more question. “Why did she do this in the first place. The original.”
Celestia looked at her with a sad smile. “It started after the battle with Nightmare Moon. At that point, Celestia had reached about 200 years. Her hair had begun to fade back again.” At Twilight’s questioning look, she explained, “When an alicorn ages, they first grow taller and eventually gain a flowing mane, as you and Cadence have. However, when they reach a certain age, that mane stops flowing again.” She gestured at her own locks. “Anyway, after the battle, Equestria was in a state of chaos. She...I couldn’t ensure that the kingdom would stick together after my death. So, I...or she, it's confusing to talk about… she created a bunch of clones, so that Princess Celestia would continue to be able to rule Equestria, and help it remain stable.”
Twilight finally understood. It gave her many answers. How Celestia seemed immortal, and why, all those years ago, she had deflected Twilight’s questions. Without standing in this lab, she never would have believed any of the story.
As Twilight contemplated the situation, Celestia turned back to the tank, and the clone inside. She pulled out a complicated device. The alicorn hooked it up to a machine, which she then connected by a wire with the tank. She slipped the device on her head.
Celestia’s horn flared white. The machine began to start up with the sound of grinding gears. The wires began to glow with golden power, starting at Celestia’s head, and flowing through the wires to the machine, and then to the tank. The liquid in the tank began to glow. It surrounded the clone inside, filling up her nose and ears.
Then Celestia fell to the ground. Her eyes closed and a final breath escaped her lips. Twilight stared in shock as her mentor died before her. She looked at the tank. Inside, the Celestia clone began to stir. Purple eyes opened.
The horn glowed with a familiar golden glow, and the tank began to drain, the strange liquid being sucked up After it had been drained, the alicorn opened the door to the tank, stepping out. She groaned, moving over to the other table and picking up a contraption lying on it. She swallowed it, then looked back at the shell shocked Twilight.
“Don’t worry Twilight,” The white pony said. “I’m still me. I’ve just changed my body. I still have all my memories, all my emotions.”
Twilight just stared at her for a while, deciding upon what to say. She went with was was bothering her most. The purple alicorn spoke. “If you’re on your last clone, what will you do after this body runs out? And what about me?”
“Well,” the white mare responded, “I suppose that I will die. Since Luna is about 100 years younger than me, she will not die for a while yet. But, once this final body wears out, my life will end, the same as anypony else. As for you,” she smiled, her eyes full of compassion, “Well, that’s up to you to decide. It's your life after all. But, the equipment is down here, should you need it. Remember your options, your values, and make your choice when you are ready.”
Twilight stared a Celestia for a moment more. Then she turned and began to walk back towards the tunnel. Her night had just gotten a lot more complicated, and she had much to think about.