ALICORNS EXPLAI-NAH

[dad george 105]

We don't really know much about the lifespan of ponies in general... MLP ponies that is. Both Luna and Sunbutt have been around for atleast 1000 years, but that doesn't say much. For example. Applejack could be 670 years old and we wouldn't know it.

[The Weapon 168]

 

670-year-old Applejack.

 

The Apple family is really long-lived.

 

Granny Smith IS centuries old and was there, founding Ponyville with her family. That ISN'T a canon contradiction problem and negative continuity, BUT IS SOLID CANON!

 

Celestia is older then Granny Smith at least marginally, and had presumably already banhammered her sister to the moon by then because when she gave the land deed nobody said a word on Luna being involved or even on the planet.

 

1000 years of pony isn't that much time.

 

Celestia/Luna were either mass-trolling the universe or the Elements of Harmony didn't seal Luna for what was a long time period.

 

Celestia really does love Luna and she felt those 1000 years like they were.

 

Wow, I can make connotations alright...

[Vinstar59 59]

Well, it's now official that regular ponies can become alicorns, at least that's how it looks right now. I'm super intrigued about this episode now. May give us some insight as to how alicorns work.

[BronymanMiranda 25]

There hasn't been any mention that alicorns are immortal. I mean there are philly alicorns after all. And I doubt kid viewers would be comfortable about Shining Armor marrying a really old mare. I mean they call Celestia a princess instead of a queen for one thing. Old = evil, young = good.

 

Also there has been no mention of Luna and Celestia leading the ponies to Equestria on the Hearth Eve episode or any of them existing at all.

That is true.

 

In most fan fictions, they make it so that Celestia and Luna came into being after those events.

 

But aren't Celestia and Luna on the flag at the end of the episode? I could be wrong though.

 

Also, on the idea of Cadence being immortal or not, maybe alicorn's grow at a different rate then normal ponies.

 

Like that they age normal for a period of time, and then, once they reach a certain age (like say, 20 or something) they stop aging all together or at least they age VERY, VERY, VERY slowly.

 

Kinda like the Asgardians in Marvel Comics.

 

Well, it's now official that regular ponies can become alicorns, at least that's how it looks right now. I'm super intrigued about this episode now. May give us some insight as to how alicorns work.

And they did say that they'd give us some back ground on Celestia and Luna this season

 

They also said that we'd get to see Flutterdragon or Rarity and Octavia singing a duet, but no such luck.

[Crispy 5,563]

I'm telling you, she's a Super Saiyan.

 

She's pure of heart and her power level has skyrocketed over the last few seasons.  It's about time she transformed.

[BronymanMiranda 25]

I agree that Celestia and Luna can and should show "human" traits. A lot of things can be immortal, have immeasurable power, and still have the flaws of a non-divine being. Hell, they can even be evil. The most common example of "lower" immortality would probably be any instance of elves, or, if you're feeling dramatic, the undead. 

 

Do you guys think that alicorns simply have extremely long lifespans, like Equestrian dragons do? Longer, shorter?

I like the idea of them having long lifespans. Makes sense.

 

And in Lord of the Rings, Elves themselves age, just at a slowed rate. I still think that elves age for awhile, then stop at a certain age.

 

That could explain why all the elves we see in LOTR all look about 25-35 years old, and yet they're thousands of years old.

[SkyeRibbonPwny 406]

Does anybody have any cpnfirmation or spoilers about the finale? I only saw a minor one on My Little Brony  but that was it. Is she really becoming an Alicorn?!

 

 

BTW just became a Parasprite with this post. yay!

 

Also, i have a theory tht Alicorns stop growing when they meet their true love--just a dumb romantic idea-- but wouldnt it be weird if Cadence kept getting bigger and bigger while Shining Armor stayed that size?

Edited January 29, 2013 by SkyeRibbonPony

[Scootalove 10,689]

Yes, Twilight is becoming an alicorn. But, I think alicorns are mostly like god-like ponies because of the addition of pegasus wings and Unicorn horns.

[himanuts 165]

Aye, this topic is the second reason why I didn't want Alicorn Twilight to happen. Cadence made the concept to the alicorn "species" confusing enough. But now Twilight makes it even more.

 

I've said it before, and I'm glad many seem to have taken up the same idea. With atleast the alicorn sisters being sort of a pony equivalent to the LOTR elves. 

 

But then we throw Cadence into the mix. And the Princess of Love doesn't seem to give off the same vibe the sisters do. She seems like a mortal alicorn. Perhaps a mixbreed of sorts. Decendant of alicorns and standard ponies.

 

And now we get to Twilight... Oi. She becomes one most likely by spellcasting. And by any of the promotional pictures it seems she doesn't change much phyisically aside from getting a pair of fancy wings. She doesn't seem to have the same regal body the others have.

 

At the moment I'm classifying alicorns coming in three variants. LOTR Elf pony equivalents (Celestia and Luna), mortal hybrids or something along those lines (Cadence), and those changed from a standard pony into one by the use of magic. :T

[Lateon 589]

At this rate, I don't think we can even attribute god-like powers/status to alicorns any more. Unless, like hima said, there are several types of alicorns, some holding immense power, some not, which I would be willing to accept. I never really gave the idea of alicorns being a separate species any credence either, so this just supports the whole "Alicorns are made, not born" idea.

 

This development also just debunks my huge headcanon post earlier in this thread. Just killed it dead. Without mercy. imadbro.

 

I'm still not entirely convinced Twilight is becoming an alicorn, per se, since all she's getting is wings. What about the Earth Pony side of things? Will she get that too? Probably, now that I think about it.

[SOHCAHTOA 51]

This is so confusing. We know next to nothing about Alicorns, but what we do know is mostly self-contradictory. I know there is a reasonable explanation for all that, but we don't know what it is. In my opinion, the best we can do is wait for this season finale. It must have some sort of answer. Even if it doesn't explain everything, we need at least an answer that makes sense. Until then, it's impossible for anyone here to guess right anything about Alicorns, considering all the contradictory information we've been given.

 

@@himanuts, I think the reason Twilight didn't change much is because she's still young. If ponies aged like humans, I'd say Celestia looks about 30 to 35 years old, Luna 26 to 27 years old, Cadance 21 to 23 years old and Twilight 14 to 18 years old.

[himanuts 165]

 

@@SOHCAHTOAWhen the characters where first designed they where meant to be young adults with rather childish minds and attitudes at times. Twilight is already an adult by in world standards.  I don't think she has anymore growing to do.

 

But ugh, I totally agree with you on this being so confusing. Yes, waiting is our best option now. If the finale doesn't deliver answers, I'll see if I get the chance to approach Meghan McCarthy and ask her about it as Las Pegasus in February. Should've done it when I had the chance at BronyCon. 

Edited January 30, 2013 by himanuts

[dekutree64 713]

I was just thinking... since it looks like the finale will go something like this:

-Twilight screws up spell, cutie marks are shuffled

-Ponyville in ruins due to lack of talents

-Twilight devises solution, uses elements of harmony

-I'm a princess now!

 

Perhaps the elements of harmony have always been the key to creating alicorns. Could be that Celestia and Luna were just regular unicorns when they first encountered Discord. Then discovered and used the elements of harmony, populace declared them rulers, and sometime later they did something with the elements that resulted in wing sproutage/immortality.

 

In fact, maybe the immortality is unique to them, granted by the elements because that's what Equestria needed for its rulers. After all, the only reason dictatorships are bad in real life is because the initial good dictator dies and the power position inevitably falls into the hands of evil at some point.

 

Cadence is still a puzzle though, since the elements apparently hadn't been used since the Nightmare Moon incident, and Cadence was a young alicorn before the start of the series.

 

It also leaves the question... will Twilight be immortal? On one hand, she'd outlive her friends. But on the other, Spike needs her, and in my Twilestia shipping mind, things would be better in the long run if she lives on.

[Lucky Clover 22]

Well, I do like to think that one does not need to be a unicorn to become an alicorn. Personally, I believe that since Twilight became a unicorn because she displayed a great feat of friendship, in the same way perhaps Cadence became an alicorn by displaying a great feat of love. I sorta feel that she was a pegasus before she became an allicorn. I don't have any solid evidence, just a hunch. Like how at the last second she can pull her wings out and save the day. She did this in both A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire. Also, just her traits. It may be considered racist in pony terms to define somepony's species by their attitude but she just strikes me as a pegasus. I honestly cannot imagine her as a unicorn or earthpony, but a pegasus seems quite fitting.

[Anadu Kune 668]

Many compare alicorns to gods. This I think was suitable in season one and to a certain extent two. However given Magical Mystery Cure I think a more proper comparison would a buddha, someone who has obtained an heightened level of spiritual awareness and is raised to a new level. In the case of a buddha it is ending the cycle of reincarnation. In the case of alicorns it is reaching an hightened/ultimate understanding of a major harmonious/good element relating to or being their talent. Reaching this level of understanding starts a magical transformation/process. In Twilights case she reached a higher magical plane of reality before Celestia came in to guide the rest of the process. 

I dont think the Elements of Harmony are required to ascend in such a manner. Though their correlation makes sense when you think about it. Turning into an alicorn requires a hightend awareness and harmonious connection with that ponies talent. The very form of an alicorn seems to be one of harmony. All of the aspects of pony races in one form working in harmony. The elements of harmony require the harmony of friendship to function. It makes sense that most of those who have weilded the element have been, had become, or had been heavily associated with alicorns.

[Alleviate 342]

I've got the solution: 

 

IT'S MAGIC!!

 

 

Well, in all seriousness, (as best that can be expressed when dealing with magical ponies) I think they are just a really rare and lucky mutation from a unicorn X Pegasus relationship. I'm thinking that they, like the donkey/horse crossbreeds cannot reproduce. BUT luckily they have a massive life span- and if they are bound to something (sun or moon, for example) They live as long as their bind does.