*SPOILERS* Age Spells

[Radiance64 7,053]

In the episode 'Magic Duel', a new type of spell was introduced to the series called 'age spells'. Although it was said that only the highest level unicorns were able to perform such a spell, Trixie was able to cast them with the Alicorn Amulet to mess around with Snips & Snails' ages.

I for one think this spell brings a bit more mystery to some things in the series- are alicorns like Celestia and Luna truly immortal, or are they the indicated 'highest level unicorns' who cast these age spells on themselves? Is this the reason Granny Smith has lived so long, and has some secret powerful unicorn sustaining her(ok probably not, but I thought it was a fun, silly idea anyway)?

What are your own thoughts on age spells?

Edited December 2, 2012 by SBB64

[Bright Honor 2,717]

Very interesting.  The can be really bad or really good, depending on how you use it. Although I think it is an unlikely explanation, it could explain why Luna and Celestia lookk so young.

[khaine21x3 789]

I would LOVE an episode where all the mane 6 were transformed into little fillies and they have a more  child-like adventure.

 

I think that Celestia grants immortality to her most loyal subjects so she can cling on to power and prevent political reform.

[Dr. Vojislav Seselj 691]

Welp, Trixie had the Alicorn amulet, which grants her badass powers, so she can do the age spell.

Self explanatory.

 

And yeah, Celestia and Luna probably do use age spells on themselves, since immortal ponies make no sense

 

OH WAIT! MLP itself does not make any sense, so my own argument is invalid xD

[Champion RD92 8,658]

I don't think Celestia and Luna use age spells to stay young, I think it's just the fact that they are Alicorns and they are immortal (I think)

Edited December 2, 2012 by Champion RD92

[Galex Dj 173]

I think it could be true about that, I mean what is stoping them from doing it on themselves. And even if they can't do it on themselves, Luna could do it to Celestia, and Celestia do it to Luna. This could cause a new theory on exactly how old is Celestia and Luna, and how long have they ruled Equestria. But what I'm wondering is how long can they live up to, or how many times can they do the spell on themselves? 

 

 

 

I don't think Celestia and Luna use age spells to stay young, I think it's just the fact that they are Alicorns and they are immortal (I think)

 

 

Of course that could be true as well. Maybe being an Alicorn means you automatically get immortally. So that opens up yet another question to me though. Are they immortal or do they just live really long? and also where are Celestia and Luna's parents? Maybe they did die, but lived really long. All because of one new spell I have so many new questions on MLP now. But now I just need to find out the answers to them.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

I had the same thought earlier actually. It might make sense, but it could be that alicorns are just immortal. To be honest I don't expect the show to answer this question.

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

The biggest question this raises for me is about the nature of magic. What exactly is magic in Equestria? We know that it can only be used by unicorns and alicorns (insofar as we've seen) and that it "comes from within," as Twilight told us, but how does it interact with other objects and creatures that are subjected to a spell? How can magic affect a non-magical being like an earth pony? Consider the Weave from the Forgotten Realms. It's an invisible web of strands that permeats the physical world; it's literally the stuff of magic. Spells are actually created by reshaping the weave into the desired effect. Only high-level mages can see the weave, and everybody at least has the potential to become a wizard with proper study. In Equestria, unicorns and alicorns are the only ponies that can cast spells, but does it really come from within their horns, or is it found everywhere and are they the only ones with the anatomy to manipulate it?  I guess alicorns have naturally a level of power that the most gifted of unicorns have to work for. Given enough time Twilight would be able to use aging spells and increase her longevity. Even so, I think there's a limit to what she can do and she'll eventually die. The alicorns, being so naturally attuned to magic, might never get sick and age slower, their bodies automatically converting magic into beneficial effects. Or if not, they can probably extend their lives much longer and starting from an earlier age, though I would think they still have a limit. 

Maybe being an Alicorn means you automatically get immortally. So that opens up yet another question to me though. Are they immortal or do they just live really long? and also where are Celestia and Luna's parents? Maybe they did die, but lived really long.

I prefer the longevity theory myself, but it also begs the question of why there aren't more of them. Maybe very few births are viable or pregnancy takes many more attempts for them.What if they're from another plane of existence? I don't like that one so much and it's not in my headcanon, but it's something I've toyed with.

[SkyeRibbonPwny 406]

Well I sure hope they use age spells....otherwise wouldn't that make the most tragic romance between Cadence and Shining Armor? He would grow old and die and she would live on forever....that's also why i hope Alicorns can be made. /)^3^(\

[Dashicorn 74]

I believe Luna and Celestia are the highest level unicorns, think about it, Luna was trapped in the moon for what a thousand years? She still looks young, also Celestia is her OLDER sister.   They are immortal in my opinion, and have cast age spells on themselves.

[SkyeRibbonPwny 406]

I wonder if we could do a Punnett square??

If the cakes can randomly spawn unicorn and pegasus twins....what if they hadn't been twins?

What traits are dominant and ressessive? If two different races mate, how is the race of foal determined?

[Snowfeathers 43]

Although I'm not fully sure where I stand on the immortality/longevity question, I find myself leaning towards immortality; because the only alicorns we've seen are females, yes? So, unless I'm proven wrong by, say, Celestia's father making an appearance, my theory is that they are either the last of their kind, or the only ones of their kind.

However, Cadance jams up the the 'only ones' part... So perhaps alicorns were plentiful a long time ago, not necessarily with the same powerful magic as Celestia and Luna, until many of them were wiped out by some disaster. Maybe... Discord had something to do with it? 

I'm sorry if I got off topic... I theorize too much

Edited December 2, 2012 by Snowfeathers

[pinkiefan1287 610]

Well we don't know how long a unicorn can keep the spell going. When Trixie did it she had that amulet that gave her all kinds of power. So she could make it last along time. It just most take a lot of magic in order to age someone. Still who knows.

 

I believe Luna and Celestia are the highest level unicorns, think about it, Luna was trapped in the moon for what a thousand years? She still looks young, also Celestia is her OLDER sister.   They are immortal in my opinion, and have cast age spells on themselves.

 

Well it is true that Celestia could have used the age spell on herself, but Luna I don't think did. Luna was sealed inside of the moon and if sealing works the same way as anime that means she did not age at all when hit with the spell.

Edited December 2, 2012 by pinkiefan1287

[Jammo 986]

So Alicorn-level power is needed to reverse aging?So when Father Time is closing in on Granny Smith.. The Apple Family can he say "Hey Princess, can yeh turn the clock back 'round a couple decades so we can enjoy 'er company more."Alicorns really are seen as deities, they can cheat death. If that's not a godly power I don't know what is.

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

Whether or not the age spell is permanent isn't revealed. If it is permanent, I don't know exactly how well that would go down, as the magically superior unicorns could make themselves and their peers immortal... Also, if they were turned younger, how would they remember their abilities, or even who they are since the age spell seems to wipe your intelligence as well?

 

Also, this also gives me a question on the powers of magic in this show. Is unicorn magic completely able to wipe your memory for the duration of the age spell and your entire mindset and intelligence you've acquired over the years of your life? From the age spell, we could tell that Snips and Snails were completely turned into babies. The two ponies cried just like babies and, since those two are chatterboxes, and they didn't talk, it seems they implied that they were unable to, as the spell Trixie cast on them snatched their linguistic abilities. I mean, it's kind of dark that Trixie was able to turn Snips not only into a baby physically, but mentally as well.

[RazzyJam 1,519]

I think ponies lifespans are just much longer than normal. Plus it seems that this would give more detail as to how intricately energy and ponies are intertwined

[Jokuc 8,174]

Well even though it is possible, I think Luna and Celestia can live that long because they are born in the royal family. But age spells are cool.

[NavelColt 22,882]

Using magic to stay young is frankly a bit selfish and self-centered, even cowardly when you think about it. 'I don't want to die/stop ruling/grow old/grow weaker, gonna be immortal :D'. That's how I see it, anyway. I don't think the princess's would do that. They're not looking to rule -forever-, they're just doing what they can as they are, and are humble about it. Alicorns, or just them, are immortal for some other reason IMO.

 

As for age spells in general, I think it's interesting. Not as interesting as dark magic, but an interesting new concept.

[AppleTreeBrony 228]

Yes, I subscribe to the theory that Celestia used an age spell right when I heard 1,000 years ago.

I was like "Ok, Either she has some pretty good botox, or she's using some spell" So then this

episode comes along and proves that this theory may be true. Age Spells are Canon

 

Luna however could not use this spell, She was trapped on the moon for 1,000 years. The reason she didn't age was Space's time warp. For all we know It could have been only 10 seconds she was on the moon (In her perspective of course)

 

EDIT: I noticed people saying that It's self centered. Princesses will do what they gotta do to stay alive

Edited December 2, 2012 by AppleTreeBrony

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Ugh, now I remember why I hate discussing the politics of the show...

 

Its obviously biological. Granny smith is near several hundred years old at least considering she was around for the creation of Ponyville. I would guestimate the princesses living to see thousands of more years, and twilight being only near 100 or so years.

 

Who knows, perhaps we are overthinking this, and a solar year is much shorter because of the speed at which they orbit the sun is neckbreakingly faster? They are not aging any faster or slower, the planet is just moving quicker, and therefore the number of days it takes for the planet to move around the sun is much fewer. Like how on Venus a Day is longer than a year because the planet rotates slower than it revolves around the sun. 

The more I think about it, the more this seems likely^

Edited December 2, 2012 by WingedRatchet

[Genepool 224]

It definitely throws a monkey wrench, though not unexpected, into the world of MLPFIM.  Thankfully, the spell is contained to the "Highest level of Unicorn," so not every unicorn in equestria, not even Twilight, can cast it.  Though that's not to say it doesn't present an odd set of challenges. 

 

With Cadence being introduced and growing it, things are difficult to pin down.  Sadly, we don't have a 4th alicorn, pray it stays that way, to test these ideas on.  Perhaps they reach a certain phase with their bodies slowly starting to age less. 

 

One potential idea is Alicorns aging extremely slowly to the point it's not existant.  As the guy in the first Hellboy movie said, "think reverse dog years."

 

Another point to make is the actual longevity of a magical spell.  How long do these exactly last? Do they lose power after time, eventually returning things to normal? Or are they completely permanent?

 

Arguments could be made for either way which makes it hard to pin down.  I'll mostly go with the idea that Alicorn's have such strong magical power, it keeps them alive for so long.  And, the reason Granny Smith is still alive is due to her being a hardy earth pony. 

[dad george 105]

Well, Zecora can use some kind of magic, maybe Granny Smith can use magic as well? With like, apples instead of herbs or magic?

I mean, she does know a lot about apples, and Zecora can do some kind of magic with herbs, so maybe Granny Smith is an apple magician?

[Radiance64 7,053]

Using magic to stay young is frankly a bit selfish and self-centered, even cowardly when you think about it. 'I don't want to die/stop ruling/grow old/grow weaker, gonna be immortal :D'. That's how I see it, anyway. I don't think the princess's would do that. They're not looking to rule -forever-, they're just doing what they can as they are, and are humble about it. Alicorns, or just them, are immortal for some other reason IMO. As for age spells in general, I think it's interesting. Not as interesting as dark magic, but an interesting new concept.

Yeah, I can see why you'd think that, but I honestly wouldn't put it past them, especially Luna since she was evil once, and she might have just gotten used to casting the spell on herself or something.

[roptiriolg 49]

Luna and Celestia have their own power you could even say 'divine' power to stay young. But they just don't get older, while they were younger in the past. I think from the first two episodes of Season 1.