Father Time

Deep within a crumbling spire, amidst the decrepit ruins of a once-mighty empire, an unsettling silence lingered—one that had reigned for far too long. The vibrant buzz of changelings, their membranous wings fluttering like a thousand whispered secrets, had faded into memory. Now, only the distant howl of the wind remained, echoing through the empty halls, save for the sound of hoofsteps—one pair, distinct and unwavering.

Celestia walked through the labyrinthine tunnels, her heart heavy yet resolute. She turned left, then right, navigating the familiar route with an ease born from countless visits to this desolate place. Changeling sentinels bowed their heads in reverence as she passed, though Celestia could see the glimmer of unshed tears in their eyes, remnants of a grief that would not fade.

Eventually, she reached her destination—a throne wrought from jagged rock, its once-majestic silhouette now betraying its sorrowful decline. And there sat her friend, the once-feared Queen of the Changelings, awakening groggily from a dreamless slumber.

They had taken the throne room from the kingdom and the changelings all the way to ponyville, to make it easier for them to visit Chrysalis.

"Hello, old friend..." Celestia’s voice trembled at first, but filled the emptiness like a tender caress.

"What? ...Can’t you see... your queen is... is...?" Chrysalis stuttered, her words heavy with the weight of age and fatigue.

The once-piercing emerald gleam of her eyes had softened, dulled to a pale echo of their former brilliance. They struggled to focus on Celestia, drifting away as if searching for a world long lost. Her carapace, once a resilient armor, now flaked and cracked, a testament to the years of solitude.

"The...the wedding... is it time? At last?" Chrysalis murmured, the hope in her voice wavering like a fragile flame battling a relentless wind.

Celestia felt a wave of pity wash over her, the familiar ache in her chest tightening. She stepped closer, her heart breaking at the sight of this proud queen, now reduced to an old shadow of herself. With a gentle tone, the sun princess offered the words that Chrysalis desperately craved.

"Yes, my queen. Preparations are well in hand. Soon, you shall have all you desire."

Chrysalis's torn wings twitched weakly as she drew in a breath, a sound akin to relief escaping her cracked lips. She sank back into her throne, a flicker of joy igniting in her dilapidated form.

"Exc...ellent. Soon we’ll have... all the love we could need..." A fit of coughing rattled her, and Celestia instinctively stepped back, watching in sorrow as the queen’s body betrayed her.

"Please, rest now. You’ve waited so long," Celestia said softly, wishing to shield her old friend from the harshness of reality.

Chrysalis offered a weak attempt at a smirk, a flicker of recognition dancing in her fading gaze. “Leave me... I require rest…”

As Celestia turned to retrace her steps through the honeycomb of tunnels, the weight of grief pressed upon her. Familiar echoes of laughter and competition filled her mind. She whispered a farewell to the queen, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. But before she could escape the cavernous chamber, a firm voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Celestia... why do you humor this old woman?”

Celestia pivoted, her heart racing as she found Chrysalis again, the queen’s eyes now ablaze with an unexpected clarity. Gone were the wisps of confusion that had shrouded her mind, replaced by a depth of awareness that made Celestia hold her breath.

"Despite… it being pointless," Chrysalis mused, anguish flitting across her countenance.

“I wanted you to feel happiness once more, even if it exists only in your memories,” Celestia confessed, the words trailing off as Chrysalis’s expression fell.

“I am broken... But... for what it’s worth... Thank you for being my friend. Tell… starlight I said hello,” she whispered, her voice a fragile thread as uncertainty flickered in her eyes.

Celestia was startled by her asking about Twilight’s Pupil, Starlight was long gone, she remembered how Starlight helped Thorax reform Chrysalis after the war with Sombra.

“Thorax?... Is that you? Guards... guar...ds…” Chrysalis almost shouted but she coughed again.

Her eyes grew dull, the light fading as she sank back into the depths of her own despair, looking as lifeless as she had been when Celestia first arrived.

“I’m sorry, old friend,” Celestia murmured, her heart shattering silently, piecing together the memories of their past—the laughter, the battles, it wasn’t easier each time she and the other princesses chose to visit their loved friend.

With one last look at the slumbering queen, Celestia turned and walked away, leaving the once-thriving lair of changelings to descend back into silence, save for her muffled sobs, echoing against the cracked walls—a lament for the pain that lingered long after the sun had began to go down and the kingdom got darker.