If Solaris had a Text-to-Speech Device

by Jay David

Long Live the King

The moment those words had been said, all fell silent. Even Discord, chatty though he usually was, was taken aback by Solaris' confession. But the biggest shock was, naturally, felt by his daughters. They stared at him, uncertain of how to respond. And in the end it fell to the newly-arrived Celestia to step forward and get just the barest whisper out. "W...what?"

But Solaris did not reply, at least at first. Instead, all in the chamber watched as the blinking lights on his text-to-speech device began to cease. Then, a long silence fell over them all, during which time they began to see something. A wispy magic, like smoke, emanating from the ancient bones. They stepped back in unison, watching as the fumes all came together, forming a new shape. It was an alicorn, no question, and one that soon came intro greater focus, taking on more detailed features and even colours. A pristine white, like Celestia, but far taller, sporting a bright red mane and beard. The face was one that was clearly more used to being stern than warm, but as soon as the eyes opened, that face smiled. "Before the end...I wanted you to see me as I was, not as I am."

"Father," Luna began, stepping ahead to join her sister. "What is this? What are you doing?"

Solaris sighed, closing his eyes. "My daughters...you and I both know the truth. A hard truth, to be sure, but one that we have needed to stare in the face for far too long." Opening his eyes again, he laid it all out for them. "I...am dead. I have been dead for many a century. Many a millennia. It is only by the great power I wielded that I was able to hold onto this mortal existence for as long as I could." He approached them, keeping his voice calm and collected. "You know my nature. I am order incarnate. Change...never came easy to me. Always, I felt it my duty, my charge, to watch over ponykind. To guide them, keep them from falling. For the world to keep in turning, to develop beyond what I'd originally intended for it, that was something struggled with for a very...very long time." He took a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. "For that long span of time, I stubbornly refused to let go of the notion that, one day, I could return as I was, to take the reins of the nation and to stand as its sentinel. But time, the world itself, it has...outgrown me."

Celestia shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "No! That's not true!"

Solaris again smiled to her, reaching out with his hoof. Though he could not truly touch her, he nevertheless placed it upon her shoulder as an act of comfort. "My sweet Tia. You and your sister..." He glanced around the room. "And those others I have met since my reawakening, you have all shown me a truth I have refused for too long a time. That the world cannot remain as it is forever. Things change. The old gives way to the new. Just as the mighty oak must one day fall so that new growths can stand in the sun, so too must the figures of the past one day be gone from the world if the next generation is to forge its own path." He chuckled. "You know that lesson well, my daughter. You have lived it. Just as I needed to be out of the picture for you and your sister to rise as the leaders of our people, so too did you come to understand that you yourself needed to stand aside so your protégé could achieve all she could. Your chapter in the story of Equestria succeeded mine, Twilight's succeeded yours, and one day she too must learn this lesson and pass the torch."

It was the truth, and both of them knew it. They weren't happy, that much was certain, but they could not deny what their father was telling them. Luna, for her part, took a deep breath before adding her words to the matter. "You are right." After Celestia turned to her, she continued. "I, perhaps more than anycreature else here, understand how difficult it is to recognise and accept that the world changes, and how it can carry on without you." Slowly, she gave a solemn nod. "But you speak truly. Nothing can remain forever..." She shut her eyes tightly. "Not even loved ones."

Celestia, by contrast, was having a harder time of it, and looked again to her parent. "But...we just got you back," she said with a slight wobble in her voice.

As before, Solaris gave her a warm expression. "And you'll always have me with you, Tia. I am of the Higher Powers. Like Harmony, I will always be here, even if not in flesh and blood. In the existence beyond this mortal plane...I will see you." And so it was that those were the last words he said to any of them. For once his wisdom had been offered, he closed his eyes, and in the moments that followed, all in the chamber watched as he once more began to lose his distinct shape. His form, his colours, it all began to revert back to the Smokey magic it had started as. The two sisters watched, dismayed but powerless to prevent it, as their father, at long last, disappeared before their eyes. The passing that had been staved off for centuries, now having finally come to a head. In mere seconds, the magic was gone, leaving behind only the now-lifeless bones he had inhabited for so long.

Silence fell again, broken when Celestia eventually fell to her knees, her quiet sob echoing throughout. Discord wasn't able to look at them, lest he get caught up in the emotion of the moment. Even Blueblood, selfish stallion though he was, gave Sweetie Belle a pat on the shoulder as she too became saddened by the loss. As for Flash, he looked up to the skeleton and, after a while, gave a bow. "Rest easy, Solaris, King of Equestria."

Author's Note:

No idea what the original TTS might have had planned for their skeleton, but I'm fairly certain this wouldn't have been it

Comments

[techyhalo]

Just had a thought
If the Alicorn of order as well “retired” from his body(mainly saying that cause of how he mentions the higher power part). That explains why things get so chaotically bad after the show.

Even with discord being good the presence of a physical chaos spirit without an order one to balance it out would cause problems. Like a a great amount of chaos then a slam of order to balance it which would explain why magic was gone for so long in g5. It was drained used to restore balance and needed to be recharged which the Gems did greatly.

[Iron Comet]

Death, death is just the beginning. Imagine if in death he was reborn sometime again in the future...