Life Span and Immortality

[~Scootaloo 440]

I was wondering about the Life Span of the ponies in the show and who lives the longest. From what I understand it goes like this...

 

I listed the life span (from what I understand anyway) from shortest to longest (going down):

 

Ponies/Pegasi/Unicorns: Average 

Dragons: Longer than ponies/pegasi/unicorns in general

Alicorns (like Celestia, Luna, and now Twilight): Immortal (what?)

 

So does that seem about right? also why are alicorns immortal again?

 

I mean in a way it makes me feel a bit sad.

 

 

Yes I did use the search bar prior to posting -.-

 

[Planty 1,053]

It's an interesting Idea, but i think alicorn are either immortal or live for a really really long time (Celestia didn't age in family appreciation day).

 

 

Dragons I think live for a lot longer (shown from dragon quest? ) I think it was mentioned that migrations are very very rare.

[~Scootaloo 440]

Honestly I could not tell you about the whole Alicorn life span thing however I am almost positive that normal ponies (earth/pegasi/unicorn) have the shortest life span.

[Rain Dance 131]

Well, i don't really know. But i would suppose that alicorns just live for a very very very long time? I'm not completely sure of course.

[Rainbow Dash Loyalty 1,275]

I don't think there was any information in the show about how long they live, they looked the same 1000 years ago and it doesn't look like they're getting any older. Although Princess Luna looked like she's grown if you compare her when you first see her after being redeemed by the elements of harmony from the episode Luna Eclipsed 

 

[Scootalove 10,689]

Pegasi/Earth Ponies/Unicorns all, pretty much do have an average life span. Dragons do have a longer life span, correct. Alicorns are claimed to be immortal, like Celestia and Luna.

If you pretty much compare the ages of the Mane 6 to Spike and the alicorn princesses.

 

 

[Betez 1,734]

I honestly don't know. I mean, Granny Smith doesn't appear to be aging a bit. I'd say Alicorns are Immortal, but regular ponies probably have a lifespan similar to that of humans.

[Phoenix237 353]

 

I have evidence that proves that regular ponies live a longer life span then you imagine.

 

Now then according the the episode Family Appreciation Day Ponyville was helped built thanks to Granny Smith. So Ponyville existed since Granny Smith and her family got there.

 

My piece of evidence

Let me put in text from the episode Winter Wrap Up back in season 1

Twilight: Ponyville was started by earth ponies, so for hundreds of year, they've never used magic to clean up winter

 

And thats the truth!

And the truth shall set you free!

 

According to Twilight the residents of Ponyville have been doing winter wrap up without magic since it was founded for hundreds of years.

Since Granny Smith was there for Ponyville's founding this proves that ponies can live for an excruciating long time.

 

He shoots

Swoosh

And that's the game!!

Edited March 16, 2013 by Phoenix237

[Tank the tortoise 262]

I am almost positive that being an alicorn has nothing to do with immortality itself.  Take Cadance for example, in the very first episode we encountered her we got to see her at least several years younger.  You have to remember besides Cadance and Twilight our experiences with Alicorns are limited to the twin (figure of speech here) princesses who are more or less deities in the universe.

 

If Magic Duel is anything to go by Alicorns are simply a higher level of Unicorn and one of there potential spells are age spells.  Argument could be made that Celestia has been around for so long to wait for a pony of sufficient power and judgment to replace her, and while searching for this replacement she had to keep herself at peak physical condition due to her responsibilities.

 

Also as phoenix has suggested prior to me Granny Smith is suggested to be in the hundreds at least.  I would like to add that if you look at the pictures in Family Appreciation Day they would seem to indicate that Uncle Apple Strudel is even older than she is.  I like to think that Twilight's lifespan is more or less unaffected in the great scheme of things.  I asked a similar question to the writers during one of the LPU panels and basically got a 'we aren't sure' kinda answer.

 

  Regarding the lifespans of dragons we have been privy to the fact that they do in fact live quite a bit longer.  I remember long before Twilicorn there were a couple of fanfics about Spike having grown old and depressed as all of his closest friends' lifespans were merely moments compared to his.

 

It is hard for us as an average lived species to comprehend, but if a race was long lived among shorter lived races they might and likely would take a different psychological approach to attachment between the two.  For that reason one could take Celestia's forgiveness of Luna as a sign of longing for companionship due to differing lifespans.

 

Also regarding death, this has been only touched on subtly in Apple Family Reunion with the infamous pair of shooting stars stated by Sibsy to represent AJ's parents no longer being with them.

 

Finally, magic, all logical arguments are now invalid.  It is nigh impossible to apply logical statements when you have characters who can control the heavens, the earth, and at least two examples of time itself.

 

TL;DR: I doubt Twi is going to last any longer than she would have prior to becoming a princess, and if she does one must remember we have already seen time travel in the show.

Edited March 17, 2013 by TanktheTortoise

[~Scootaloo 440]

I am almost positive that being an alicorn has nothing to do with immortality itself.  Take Cadance for example, in the very first episode we encountered her we got to see her at least several years younger.  You have to remember besides Cadance and Twilight our experiences with Alicorns are limited to the twin (figure of speech here) princesses who are more or less deities in the universe.

 

If Magic Duel is anything to go by Alicorns are simply a higher level of Unicorn and one of there potential spells are age spells.  Argument could be made that Celestia has been around for so long to wait for a pony of sufficient power and judgment to replace her, and while searching for this replacement she had to keep herself at peak physical condition due to her responsibilities.

 

Also as phoenix has suggested prior to me Granny Smith is suggested to be in the hundreds at least.  I would like to add that if you look at the pictures in Family Appreciation Day they would seem to indicate that Uncle Apple Strudel is even older than she is.  I like to think that Twilight's lifespan is more or less unaffected in the great scheme of things.  I asked a similar question to the writers during one of the LPU panels and basically got a 'we aren't sure' kinda answer.

 

  Regarding the lifespans of dragons we have been privy to the fact that they do in fact live quite a bit longer.  I remember long before Twilicorn there were a couple of fanfics about Spike having grown old and depressed as all of his closest friends' lifespans were merely moments compared to his.

 

It is hard for us as an average lived species to comprehend, but if a race was long lived among shorter lived races they might and likely would take a different psychological approach to attachment between the two.  For that reason one could take Celestia's forgiveness of Luna as a sign of longing for companionship due to differing lifespans.

 

Also regarding death, this has been only touched on subtly in Apple Family Reunion with the infamous pair of shooting stars stated by Sibsy to represent AJ's parents no longer being with them.

 

Finally, magic, all logical arguments are now invalid.  It is nigh impossible to apply logical statements when you have characters who can control the heavens, the earth, and at least two examples of time itself.

 

TL;DR: I doubt Twi is going to last any longer than she would have prior to becoming a princess, and if she does one must remember we have already seen time travel in the show.

Regarding that part I made larger and pin bold....

 

I don't know why people keep bringing it back up:

 

The actual show will probably never have one of main characters or any of the current living ones die off [publicly], because it is a kids show (granted it is not disallowed, but it is a sensitive thing). Plus as I've explained before (and no I will not go post hunting for it - if you want to do so go ahead) that cartoon characters generally will grow in mind (learning/experience/etc.) however they seldom actually show signs of aging (except if it is like a major turning point - remember there are exceptions).

Edited March 17, 2013 by ~Scootaloo

[Eureka 1,119]

The alicorns live a long time because of their power. Nightmare Moon (Luna) comes out of the moon every THOUSAND years.

Have I made my point?

Edited March 17, 2013 by Eureka86

[~Scootaloo 440]

The alicorns live a long time because of their power. Nightmare Moon (Luna) comes out of the moon every THOUSAND years.

Have I made my point?

Not really you've only pulled out a line or two from the shows story line. Yo have not articulated on the point very much at all.

 

Anyway I guess it could be because of power or something like that. Once Celestia was reunited with her sister Luna shrunk and looked almost like a filly I have no idea what that's about...

[Ficta_Scriptor 165]

For the moment, only Celestia and Luna can be considered immortal because they are confirmed to live for thousands of years. Twilight and Cadence are potentially immortal, but there's nothing so far to outright prove this. For now, it's up to your personal head canon.

 

One thing that's interesting to point out is that Lauren Faust said that her vision was for Twilight to become Celestia's successor. Now... This begs the question, why would Celestia give up her position to a mortal? Surely the whole idea would be to have someone who can watch over Equestria for centuries to come.

 

I think there are only 3 occurrences that would confirm alicorn immortality.

 

1. They outright say in the show that Twilight will rule for hundreds/thousands of years to come.

2. An episode takes place years later (possibly time spell) and Twilight hasn't aged but her friends have either grown old or are absent.

3. Twilight has a second ascension that gives her the sparkling mane and much taller stature. (Like Celestia/Luna)

 

Personally, I hope they never do any of those in the show. For them to confirm that Twilight outlived all her friends would be a stab in the heart.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Ficta_Scriptor

[luke72397 13]

 think there are only 3 occurrences that would confirm alicorn immortality.

 

1. They outright say in the show that Twilight will rule for hundreds/thousands of years to come.

2. An episode takes place years later (possibly time spell) and Twilight hasn't aged but her friends have either grown old or are absent.

3. Twilight has a second ascension that gives her the sparkling mane and much taller stature. (Like Celestia/Luna)

 

Personally, I hope they never do any of those in the show. For them to confirm that Twilight outlived all her friends would be a stab in the heart.

 

I personally hope they never confirm any of the occurrences listed above, either one of the three would be too sad for me to accept.

But I'm afraid the first one will be the one that most likely to be confirmed in the show, probably in series finale, either directly or indirectly....(hope not). For a show like this to confirm that Twilight will eventually outlived all her friends and family due to being an alicorn would be a stab in the heart for me as well and kinda unfair to her friends in my opinion.

 

I just opened a topic in Alicorn Twilight section earlier this day to express my concern toward the potential lifespan issue of Princess Twilight, I am glad to see I am not the only one feel worried about. Also, thanks for ~Scootaloo for notifying me about this thread.

 

So for the lifesapn, I'd rather believe in this way:

 

 

Ponies/Pegasi/Unicorns: Average 

Dragons: Longer than ponies/pegasi/unicorns in general, considering a hundred years is only a nap for a dragon.

Genuine Alicorns (Celestia/Luna): Either Immortal or have an incredibly long lifespan compare to others.

Ascended Alicorns (Twilight/Cadance): Average but with some special/powerful magic talent than regular ponies.

 

Since I'm not quite sure about how Cadance became an alicorn, I simply put her into the same category as Twilight.

That's my personal headcannon for now.

[Ficta_Scriptor 165]

I personally hope they never confirm any of the occurrences listed above, either one of the three would be too sad for me to accept.

But I'm afraid the first one will be the one that most likely to be confirmed in the show, probably in series finale, either directly or indirectly....(hope not). For a show like this to confirm that Twilight will eventually outlived all her friends and family due to being an alicorn would be a stab in the heart for me as well and kinda unfair to her friends in my opinion.

 

I just opened a topic in Alicorn Twilight section earlier this day to express my concern toward the potential lifespan issue of Princess Twilight, I am glad to see I am not the only one feel worried about. Also, thanks for ~Scootaloo for notifying me about this thread.

 

So for the lifesapn, I'd rather believe in this way:

 

Ponies/Pegasi/Unicorns: Average

Dragons: Longer than ponies/pegasi/unicorns in general, considering a hundred years is only a nap for a dragon.

Genuine Alicorns (Celestia/Luna): Either Immortal or have an incredibly long lifespan compare to others.

Ascended Alicorns (Twilight/Cadance): Average but with some special/powerful magic talent than regular ponies.

Since I'm not quite sure about how Cadance became an alicorn, I simply put her into the same category as Twilight.

That's my personal headcannon for now.

I have a feeling that they might not mention it considering how many people would be upset by this, but you never know. Personally, I'd feel more sorry for Twilight than the rest of them. She'd not only have to watch her friends die. But their children and their grandchildren and great grandchildren etc. It reminds me of The Green Mile where the main character is doomed to live for hundreds of years, and he calls it a 'curse'. Regardless of how much she could say 'I remember all the good times' there's only so much one person can take. I know that I would never want to live forever.

 

D'awww... This has got me all depressed again...

[Luke Watson 7]

After reading this topic in full, I’d have to agree with some of this stuff.

I think that the ponies’ average life span is about a thousand years (for all types). Of course, this opens up problems like: “Why are families so small then?”, but considering this…

On 3/16/2013 at 0:05 AM, Phoenix237 said:

Now then according the the episode Family Appreciation Day Ponyville was helped built thanks to Granny Smith. So Ponyville existed since Granny Smith and her family got there.

 

My piece of evidence

Let me put in text from the episode Winter Wrap Up back in season 1

Twilight: Ponyville was started by earth ponies, so for hundreds of year, they've never used magic to clean up winter

 

And thats the truth!

And the truth shall set you free!

 

According to Twilight the residents of Ponyville have been doing winter wrap up without magic since it was founded for hundreds of years.

Since Granny Smith was there for Ponyville's founding this proves that ponies can live for an excruciating long time.

…they probably live for a very long time.

I’d agree that dragons live a lot longer, probably 7,000-10,000 years. However, ponies still have an advantage. I'll get back to that in a moment...

On 3/17/2013 at 10:52 AM, luke72397 said:

Dragons: Longer than ponies/pegasi/unicorns in general, considering a hundred years is only a nap for a dragon.

If it was just a nap, that would suggest an unbelievably long time, even for a fantasy setting. It would probably be over 100,000 years! I think it was more of a hibernation.

Now for alicorns.

I think that all alicorns have immortality, natural or ascended. Here's the advantage that ponies have over dragons. I think that alicorns can revive dead ponies / make ponies functionally younger, thus allowing ponies to live longer. (Sorry Trixie, you're not that great and powerful.)

On 3/17/2013 at 7:30 AM, TanktheTortoise said:

I am almost positive that being an alicorn has nothing to do with immortality itself.  Take Cadance for example, in the very first episode we encountered her we got to see her at least several years younger.  You have to remember besides Cadance and Twilight our experiences with Alicorns are limited to the twin (figure of speech here) princesses who are more or less deities in the universe.

I think that she either wasn’t done growing yet or she had a second, more minor ascension which gave her a bit more “royal” shape. Remember that she hasn't grown since then. (Probably the first one.)

 

Anyway, that’s what I think!

P. S. I know this is a dead topic. Don't comment on that.

[sweetolebob18 728]

IDK that I'd call Alicorns immortal, although they do seem to be unaging (that is, they can die. They just don't die from old age) I base this on the flashback Twilight had in Princess Twilight. She saw Celestia's battle with Nightmare Moon & Celestia looked about the same age as she would 1,000 years later.

I remember an article that Isaac Asimov wrote where he pointed out that most critters live about 1,000,000,000 breaths (give or take). Smaller critters with faster metabolisms cover that span faster than larger ones. So, the Breezies probably live only a few years. Diamond Dogs & Griffons probably have about the same natural span as Ponies but in practice don't live as long because they have worse medical care.

Dragons being larger, they probably live longer. How much longer is Head Canon territory.

[Denim&Venöm 18,849]

This should answer all your questions.