Twilight Sparkle's Immortality

[Phoenix237 353]

Just a theory I have, but I think that Celestia and Luna arn't neccesarly immortal.

I think that alicorns live longer life spans then regular ponies, but I doubt that they are immortal.

They seem to be embodiments of the sun and the moon. Now the sun and the moon existed before Celestia and Luna as seen in the Hearts and Hooves day episode. So it's fair to say that didn't exist since equestria's creation.

Now we have to take into account that Lauren's original idea was to have Twilight succed Celestia. Now why would an suppose immortal gave up the throne to a mortal? Alicorn Twilight was not Exacly planned to my knowledge. Now concerning Luna she was traped in the moon using magic do it is likly that she didn't age as much.

There are many speculations we can make, but hardly any evidence to support any of it.

 

Now concerning regular ponies, they have lots of time. Granny smith is rumerd to be hundreds of years old. Twilight said that the citizens of ponyville have done winter wrap up without magic for hundreds of years since its founding. Since Granny Smith was there since ponyville's founding we can assume that Granny Smith is a couple of hundreds of years old. This regular ponies have longer life spans then you think.

 

So don't worry. They have a long time.

[Apocalyptic_Unicorn 240]

This is exactly what I was thinking about when I saw the episode, and I also feel saddened by that fact that Twilight may outlive her friends. 
I'm not really a fan of the change either, and this was one of the main reasons why.

[hawkflame 3,310]

Well it's not something that's ever going to be brought up in the show I'd imagine, and that's something of a shame.  It brings up some interesting ethical and existential questions about Alicornhood that I would like to hear some answers on.  If they did live forever, what kind of emotional impact would that have on them?  What about impact on future relationships?  Is it fair, then, to lead a pony down this path, knowing that they will eventually outlive their loved ones? 

 

And if they don't live forever, then that brings up questions about Luna, Celestia, Cadence, and Twilight, and the differences between them.  Why does Cadence seem to age but Celestia doesn't?  Was Cadence born an Alicorn or did she ascend like Twilight? 

 

Making Cadence and Twilight alicorns brought up a whole host of questions that I doubt will ever be answered in show, so I kind of prefer that they never happened to begin with.

[pinkieshyrose 58]

I think only luna and celestia are immoral they wavy hair and all twilight and cadence proably arent there hair isnt wavy or transparent

[Orca 8]

Remember the age spell from Magic Duel? I wonder if Twilight could cast that on her friends/family if she needed to, now that she's (I'm assuming) the highest level unicorn.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Maybe she could pull off the age spell from Magic Duel. I feel worried too but, I just hope that Twilight's friends don't leave her because of well I wouldn't say ''surpassing'' them. But, immortality is something that a alicorn could be able to pull of or they are just born with it. But, I don't think that it might happen about outliving her friends.

[Homura Akemi 974]

The mane 5 will never die in the show, so I doubt it'll happen. I am convinced Twilight and Cadence aren't immortal. Someone brought a good point that Cadence does age in the show. I don't think it should be any different for Twilie.

[Zygen 6,066]

The show will never really cover the aspect of death since its to dark and sad for a kids show, I still believe that Alicorns aren't totally immortal, I think the only ones who could possibly be immortal are Celestia and Luna, but not because their Alicorns but because of their flowing mane. I think Cadence is also non immortal aswell.

 

Regardless thats for another time.

 

I'm sure your not the only one, and if Alicorns are immortal It saddens me thinking about such things, but the show won't actual address it.(Fanfics will though, and I think already have.)

I still don't think Alicorns are immortal, or atleast Twilight isn't. (And Cadence to I suppose), but thats another debate.

[Moon Rat 4,772]

honestly, I really don't think that Cadence or Twilight will outlive any of the other ponies mostly because they really don't have the duties that Princess Luna or Princess Celestia have (i.e. raising Celestial bodies)

 

 

honestly, I believe that becoming an Alicorn just means that they have been promoted to Princess-hood. I really don't think it gives them an extra long life expectancy to be honest.

 

 

 

About Twilight outliving her friends: the show will probably never address death (that is too sad for a kids show imo) however fan fictions will cover those bases.

 

I honestly do not understand why death in a children's show is such a foreign concept.

I mean, they've done this with a lot of children's shows like Caillou and others that I really can't remember :/

[~Scootaloo 440]

I honestly do not understand why death in a children's show is such a foreign concept. I mean, they've done this with a lot of children's shows like Caillou and others that I really can't remember :/

 

Well for for the younger kids who watch MLP imagine this:

 

Narrator: Twilight Sparkle outlived all of her family and friends as she witnessed each and everyone die of old age. Twilight then lived on to watch hundreds of generations of ponies die off and with each one she became more depressed. After a while she ended up committing suicide from the overwhelming loneliness and sadness. The End. *MLP Theme plays*

 

Ya that totally wont scar anyone -.-

Edited March 18, 2013 by ~Scootaloo

[Moon Rat 4,772]

Well for for the younger kids who watch MLP imagine this:

 

Narrator: Twilight Sparkle outlived all of her family and friends as she witnessed each and everyone die of old age. Twilight then lived on to watch hundreds of generations of ponies die off and with each one she became more depressed. After a while she ended up committing suicide from the overwhelming loneliness and sadness. The End. *MLP Theme plays*

 

Ya that totally wont scar anyone -.-

 

I see however

It has been done before and honestly, it's really not like these kids don't understand the concept of death...

 

again, the whole thing of death has been done in other kids shows with little problems,

besides, I really don't see Twilight outliving her friends anyway...

nor will Cadence outlive Shining Armor

 

like I said earlier, I believe that when a some pony gets promoted to a princess, they seemingly automatically become an Alicorn

 

and just because they become an Alicorn does not mean they get an extended life expectancy...

[Admiral Colt 61]

I actually saw this video on youtube that had this scenario happen... It shows Twi, looking at the graves of her friends as she hasn't aged and it shows pictures of them as they show each grave... it actually made me cry a bit, so yeah... here it is.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KCW7N2NGiM

[Fhaolan 4,483]

*sigh* Okay, several points:

 

1) Tara Strong is the VA for Twilight, ande is not a writer or producer. She has no authority over the character's future, and only knows about scripts she's performed. And even then, they are not guaranteed to use everything that she's voiced for. Given her tendency to tweet stuff about MLP, and answer stuff at cons; if I was a writer I'd make a bunch of junk scripts to have her read for, just to see what tweets/con answers she'd come up with. But then, I'm actually pretty mean when you get down to it and sometimes I like to yank people's chains.

 

2) The question was 'Will Twilight live for a very long time?'. If the question was 'Has Granny Smith lived for a very long time?' the same 'Yes' answer would have applied. Just because Twilight will live a 'very long time' there is no indication of scale in the question, nor does it indicate that she won't age during that time. Basically, the question was very badly phrased, so the answer is ambiguous. People are assuming 'very long' means effective immortality, which isn't a good assumption. The question *should* have been more direct: 'Will Twilight live as long as Celestia & Luna have?' But that's not the question that was asked.

[Blue Moon 6,341]

No, I'm not worried. Only Celestial and Luna get extended lives, as they are basically gods of Equestrian. Cadence is an alicorn and she doesn't seem to be outliving anyone.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Blue_Moon

[Clover Heart 978]

I think the thing you have to understand is that it's a cartoon. The writers don't have to write out the entire lifespan of the characters. Come to think of it, when have you ever seen that happen in a cartoon? It's typical of cartoons to never make any permanent changes to the show and never age the characters. (This is actually a reason I like Twilicorn. It's very rare to see such a permanent change made to this type of cartoon.) Look at The Simpsons. If they aged their characters every year, Bart and Lisa would both be in their 30's by now. But even now, 20-something years later, they're still 8 and 10. There may be fan works about Twilight living longer than her friends, but I'm highly doubtful that this will ever happen within the show. I really don't think there's anything to worry about.

 

No, I'm not worried. Only Celestial and Luna get extended lives, as they are basically gods of Equestrian. Cadence is an alicorn and she doesn't seem to be outliving anyone.

 

I don't think we have enough evidence to make that conclusion. After all, Cadance is a lot younger than Celestia and Luna. And unless we live out 1000 years in Equestria time, we won't actually know if Cadance's lifespan is comparable to that of Celestia or Luna. Though, I do accept that it's possible that only Celestia and Luna have extended lifespans.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Clover Heart

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

Yes, it does worry me quite a bit. Even though this will probably never be addressed in the show (which is a shame), it does burden my head canon-verse a lot. I'd like to think that both Cadence and Twilight are a mortal breed of Alicorn, as opposed to the godly Luna and Celestia. After all, they both have deep relationships with regular ponies, and to force them to watch their loved ones die would be cruel. 

 

Again, it's a shame that this topic will likely not be discussed in the show. Kids are not idiots, most understand what death is to one degree or another, and I'm sure there are more than a few kids in the "intended audience" who are wondering about Twilight's fate, too. Kids are smarter than Hasbro seems to believe. After all, if Adventure Time can tackle these deeper subjects, why can't MLP?

Edited March 18, 2013 by AtomicBassCannon

[Azura 1,107]

It's a cartoon, they're the Mane Six, I doubt they would kill them off leaving Twilight all alone.

 

I know that Alicorns will obviously outlive normal ponies, but they wouldn't just kill the others.

[SBaby 660]

It's a cartoon, they're the Mane Six, I doubt they would kill them off leaving Twilight all alone.

 

I know that Alicorns will obviously outlive normal ponies, but they wouldn't just kill the others.

 

We're not really talking about killing anyone off in canon.  We're talking about Twilight pulling an Albedo and having to deal with the issue that one day all of her friends might die while she lives on, unable to die.  After all, Celestia and Luna are thousands of years old, and we don't really have an explanation of why this is, outside of them being Alicorns.  But the point I would make with this is that Celestia and Luna both had to face the fact that one day all their family and friends would pass on, while they were left by themselves to live forever.  And with the uncertainty surrounding the Alicorn mythos and whether or not this is one of the rules of Alicorns, there's a real possibility that the same thing could happen to Twilight one day.

 

While I can't say if the show will in fact address this, I think it would make for a great Season 4 episode.

[luke72397 13]

Thanks for all the ponies who came and shared their thoughts toward the issue, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who feel worried about Twilight's fate for being an alicorn princess. It is also good to hear all those feedback from different perspectives.

 

We're not really talking about killing anyone off in canon.  We're talking about Twilight pulling an Albedo and having to deal with the issue that one day all of her friends might die while she lives on, unable to die.  After all, Celestia and Luna are thousands of years old, and we don't really have an explanation of why this is, outside of them being Alicorns.  But the point I would make with this is that Celestia and Luna both had to face the fact that one day all their family and friends would pass on, while they were left by themselves to live forever.  And with the uncertainty surrounding the Alicorn mythos and whether or not this is one of the rules of Alicorns, there's a real possibility that the same thing could happen to Twilight one day.

 

While I can't say if the show will in fact address this, I think it would make for a great Season 4 episode.

 

This! This is what I'm trying to say and this is why I opened this thread.

 

Being a Taiwanese, I always find it difficult to fully express my feelings toward certain issue in English, sometimes I don't even know if my sentences are grammatically correct or not. What SBaby said above just hit the nail on the head and that is exactly what I'm worry about.The lack of explanation and canon evidences regarding alicorn do create so many uncertainties around them and I can't help but thinking stuff like immortality or outliving the other ponies.....since this is the only obvious thing (though no proven) we can observed from the show for being an alicorn. I don't know why I keep thinking in this way, maybe it is because MLP:FIM is so special to me and I really don't want to see they officially open up a potentially saddening arc for Twilight.

 

And this is a bit off topic but I have a mix feeling about kids' cartoon addressing issue like death, I know technically friends and family will die at some point anyway and that is an inevitable truth of real life. Although it is a bit surprised for me to know that many people actually think it is a shame which MLP probably won't address this issue but I agree that Kids are not idiots and most of them understand what death is to one degree or another and they probably wondering Twilight's fate just like us. 

 

I see the points that people made in previous posts. But I watch this show because it pulls me away from the cruel world we live in and I expect it to stay that way, so personally I don't want to see such a sad/dark subject being addressed in the future seasons/episodes. If I want something that starts out happy and gets dark in the end, I would go watch Madoka Magica.

[Spectator 11]

Well, we can't really be sure what is going to happen next, but when I was watching it the thought most certainly did occur in my mind.

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

And this isn't just because the show (or even the comics, for that matter) won't be able to discuss death and immortality to little girls, either.

 

Remember how we saw Cadence as a teenager when she foal-sat a filly Twilight?  She also married Shining Armor, whom ironically was not an alicorn himself.  If Cadence can age normally, and perhaps even grow old and die together with Shining Armor, then I don't see why Twilight, as an alicorn, can't grow old and die together with her friends, either.  It's like when you look at Arwen from Lord of the Rings; she gave up her own immortality and elven heritage to eventually marry Aragorn and live happily ever after with him.

 

Twilight is taller and given wings, sure, and there are a lot of fanfics, fan-comics, and flash-animation constantly discussing Twilight as an immortal alicorn.  But, even if the show were to discuss death and immortality to little girls, there is no way, in any of the nine circles of Tartarus, they are going to make her outlive her friends for the next one-thousand years and beyond.  If her friends go, Twilight might as well come with them, princess or not!  Likewise with Cadence and Shining Armor; if the latter dies, the former might as well join him!

 

Oh, and the way Tara Strong said that Twilight will live "a long life as an alicorn," she didn't say anything about her being immortal.  If anything, she probably meant that Twilight will still die at age at around eighty, which is not only considered a pretty long life itself, but also the normal life-span of all ponies, Twilight's friends included.

 

But other than that, alicorn immortality is pretty much powerfully vague at best, and up for debate.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Commander_PonyShep

[Betez 1,734]

Exactly. I don't think that just because she's a princess, she's immortal. I think the only reason Celestia and Luna are still alive is because they were born 1,000 years ago, when Equestria was unspeakably magical. I feel like Twilight, as sad as it is for me to say it, will grow old just like everyone else.

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

I agree with @Link, and yourself. If Candance can age, so can Twilight Sparkle, princess or not. The only reason Celestia and Luna are around is because when they became rulers, they had the option to become immortal. (Or at least that's my head cannon.) Candence must have turned this down once she became the ruler of the Crystal Empire. Since Twilight has yet to rule anything, she hasn't been offered this privilege.

Or, she was never offered immortality at all.

 

*SPOILER ALERT*

 

You also have to remember that, in the book The Crystal Heart Spell, Cadence was once a pegasus before she reformed a certain villain, and as a result became an alicorn princess. However, even as an alicorn, she still retained her mortality, as implied by her adolescence spent foal-sitting a filly Twilight.

[poniesforfun 716]

Exactly. I don't think that just because she's a princess, she's immortal. I think the only reason Celestia and Luna are still alive is because they were born 1,000 years ago, when Equestria was unspeakably magical. I feel like Twilight, as sad as it is for me to say it, will grow old just like everyone else.

 

It has something to do with greater magical prowess. The way I see it Celestia and Luna aren't immortal. But they live longer than other ponies. They are more like the enlightened humans that possess unnatural abilities related to spiritual connection through meditation training and whatnot like people that reach higher consciousness. Like Gandalf and Dumbledore, they're humans but due to their practices in magic they can outlive other humans.

 

And yes it seems the ponies were more magically powerful back then seeing that they could move the sun and moon without the aid of the two sisters. This could work in the same canon as most "human world fiction," as in people in ancient times possessed greater spiritual connection before the technological age.

 

That's not to say the writers could make them immortal. Immortal characters just leave a bad taste on me like vampires and such.

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

It has something to do with greater magical prowess. The way I see it Celestia and Luna aren't immortal. But they live longer than other ponies. They are more like the enlightened humans that possess unnatural abilities related to spiritual connection through meditation training and whatnot like people that reach higher consciousness. Like Gandalf and Dumbledore, they're humans but due to their practices in magic they can outlive other humans.

 

And yes it seems the ponies were more magically powerful back then seeing that they could move the sun and moon without the aid of the two sisters. This could work in the same canon as most "human world fiction," as in people in ancient times possessed greater spiritual connection before the technological age.

 

That's not to say the writers could make them immortal. Immortal characters just leave a bad taste on me like vampires and such.

But when you look at Twilight and Cadence, while both have strong magic, it isn't strong enough to rival even Celestia and Luna's magic. They STILL have an eternity to go before they could match their magic with the royal sisters, and in-turn live longer lives, another reason why neither of them will outlive the other five main ponies and Shining Armor, respectively.