The First True Alicorns

The King and Queen had watched the sun drawn down out of the sky from the vantage point of a tower on the palace, looking down as Celestia’s yellow aura laid it to rest for another day, a day they now knew they would never see.

Luna’s horn glowed blue and reached silently out to the moon, retrieving it like a favourite toy to put it back in pride of place in the night sky where it belonged.

They shared one last kiss and walked down to meet the others waiting for them in the Great Hall.

The King strode confidently across the floor to meet his two daughters and Clover, his hoofsteps echoing around the eerily empty hall.
“You know, I can still feel the atmosphere of that wonderful party just like everypony was still here; it’s quite uncanny.”
“Events that happen in a place leave a signature, Sire” explained Clover, “This signature is very strong and it’s also fresh. That’s why we’re here to perform the spell casting.”

“Have you decided then?” the King asked his daughters, already knowing the answer, but wanting to look them in their eyes for any signs of doubt.
He felt his wife close beside him and could feel a tremor in her hindleg rubbing up against his.
“Yes Papa” said Celestia, stepping forward, “With your permission, Sir, I am prepared to accept the responsibility.”
The formality of her response shook the King, but he didn’t show it, keeping instead his eyes locked on hers. He was skilled at reading other ponies and could see she was speaking truly.

“Luna” he summoned, “Do you concur with your sister?”
The blue alicorn stepped forward beside her sister, “Yes Papa, I do, with your permission.”
“Very well, so be it. Equestria will be gifted with two wise rulers who will provide peace and prosperity for their subjects; their future is in safe hooves” pronounced the King in sealing their decision, “What must we do now, Clover, my dear friend?”
“We must stay within this room now Sire, and absorb the energy we first encountered when the magic formed at the party. At midnight, the magic will return and the spell will be cast.

Conversation was muted, an air of expectation hanging heavily all around. Clover went to take his position on the stage where he had been struck by the magic before and began to enter a meditative state. The others followed respectfully to the positions where they had been on that night, each alone with their thoughts and fears. The King and Queen shared one last lingering look, each admiring what they saw in the other, not just a passion and a love undimmed by the years, but the strength to perform a duty that would see them parted forever.

As the hour approached, a mist started to form in the room and Clover’s eyes turned moonstone white.

Faint traces of auras flowed from the empty places where guests had been and converged onto the stage, just as they had before.

Without further warning, there was a flash and a pulsing mass surrounded the two Princesses and the Mage who began to speak in a strange unearthly voice.
“Celestia, Princess of the Sun, do you accept the gift of immortality and all that entails?”
The white alicorn paced uneasily and looked around catching the eye of her father who smiled back reassuringly.
“I do” she replied.

“Luna, Princess of the Moon, do you accept the gift of immortality and all that entails?”
“I do” she replied after only a short pause.
“I call upon the parents of the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of the Moon to enter and complete the spell” summoned the voice from Clover.
The King reached over to offer a forehoof as his wife rose to join them. He looked her in the eye and saw she was crying; he was too.
“I love you” he said as they walked together into the swirling vortex of magical energy.

Clover’s horn lit brightly, its aura reaching out to the souls of the King, the Queen and their two daughters, draining the life force from the parents and feeding its energy, magnified many times over through the power of the spell into their daughters.

In acting as the vessel through which the young alicorns were being made immortal, Clover was being the instrument of their parents’ deaths. He knew it had to be this way, but even though he was in a deep meditative trance his eyes still wept, wept for the loss of two foals who had first drawn Equestria together, wept for the loss of two good and faithful friends who had walked willingly in to sacrifice themselves for their daughters and the whole of ponykind.

Suddenly the spell dissipated, and the bright light vanished leaving them all together on the stage, like the aftermath of a slapstick comedy act; three standing looking dazed and two laying down.
“Wow! Has it happened?” asked Celestia.
“Papa?” called Luna tentatively, “Papa?”
She looked down and saw him on the floor and immediately bent down to him.
“Papa! Wake up!” she cried, rocking him gently.
Celestia saw her mother in the same state and tried to revive her too, hugging her tightly.

Clover watched in great sadness as realisation began to dawn over the two young mares.
Luna hugged her father dearly and cried so hard she thought she would die. Right at that moment, she wished she could.
Celestia rose and stomped over to Clover.
“Bring them back!” she demanded.
“I cannot” he replied, “The spell is irreversible.”
“You knew!” she screamed, her face contorting in agony, “They knew too, didn’t they?”
“Would you feel better if I said no?” he replied sadly, “Honestly?”
Celestia crumpled at her knees wailing pitifully at her loss but recoiled as Clover tried to lay a gentle hoof on her for support. Instead she picked up her tear soaked head and looked for her mother, then staggered over to lie with her and give warm hugs to her cooling body.

Long after tears had run dry, Luna looked over to Clover.
“They gave their lives for us” she croaked through her dry throat.
Celestia pricked up her ears at the sound of her sister’s voice and raised her head to listen.
Clover had stayed with them, unsure of what they would need or even what he could do. He just felt it was his place to stay until they had cried out the immediate shock of their grief.
“One way or another, that’s what all parents do” he said, “It’s an unwritten, unspoken agreement that they took seriously because they wanted what was best for you. It was also the best choice for Equestria, so their decision was the best for you and the best for Equestria. The fact they never tried to dissuade you even though they knew they would die, shows how much they loved you.
Be true to their values and remember them fondly.”

He turned to leave and give them space to grieve in peace.

“Who is in charge now?” asked Celestia, red rings round her eyes betraying the tears she had shed.

“You are, your Majesties” replied Clover.