Deep within the swamps of Trihearth, a deaf stallion marches through, searching for his old partner. As the day is dying and the night is awakening, the unicorn knows he must hurry with whatever light still remained to keep his sight. Dorch quickly locates the hut where he first met the witch and teleports to the balcony. With a mighty swing of his hoof, he punches at the door, breaking it from its hinges. However, instead of the large metal chamber that Dorch expected, inside the hut, was a tiny wooden room, fairly proportionate to its exterior.

An old cackle is heard from behind the sir, followed by an old, familiar voice, “My, my, my, it seems you truly do believe in me. I’m quite surprise. Oh, I see that look on your face, a face that has heard nothing for several hours, with the only thing to break the silence is my voice.”

“You,” Dorch growls, “I know that that rouge bolt of lightning didn’t truly kill you. Also, I know that you have made me senseless in the ear. I demand that you return it at once. After such, I will see to it that you are punished for betraying me.”

“Hahaha, such nerve, you threatening me like this. I’m almost flattered…”

“Enough of your games, restore my hearing, or so help me, I shall have you executed.”

“And by what power do you command so with?”

“By the power of my father, the Emperor of the Pearl Kingdom. Don’t pretend yourself a moron, you know as well as I that you are knowledgeable about what is all that has happened upon this island and off.”

“I know you are a royal of the Pearl Kingdom. I know who your father is. I know that as heir, you most certainly have the power to summon your forces to arrest me and kill me without trail.”

“Right then, then I suggest you do as I command.”

“But, I just have one question to ask…”

“What ‘tis is, you witch?”

“Is there still a Pearl Kingdom?”

“Why must I just tell you,” from her left wing, Medicine pulls out a bottle of grey gas and slams it between her and Dorch. Gas spews from the jar and completely clouds their vision. “…when I can show you. Show you what is happening before your eyes.” The grey smog dies quickly though, as the two now find themselves in the forest by the coast. However, there was no sand to be seen at the forest’s edge, just the sea.

“What ‘tis this?”

“The ocean, you should know. Aspidochelone has awaken as is beginning his voyage across the world. The salty waters of the seas have washed over the coast upon my master’s decent, and soon this forest will no longer be here above. The land in which you once called home, is now gone, many metres below.”

“No… This can’t be…”

“Yes it ‘tis, Trihearth is sinking, all thanks to you. In a matter of moments, this land shall no longer exist for hundreds of years. However, there is more that has happened that you are not aware of.”

“Like what?”

“Remember the night you came to me, the night I created the love poison from your body? More specifically, remember the sixty six drops of your blood that was added to the love poison?”

“What about it?”

“Look to thy right.” Dorch does what Medicine An Uisce commanded, and what he sees before him causes his jaw to drop. Several tens of Changelings, all gathered together in a single clearing of the woodland, with Chrysalis watching over them from the center.

“What are they?”

“They were once your ponies. The sixty six drops of blood you’ve given to Crystal hast transformed her into the queen of this hive. The Changeling creatures that follow her are the lifeless bodies of the ponies you’ve loved, turned into imps. See those two laying together a little to the right? Those are your parents.”

“Father? Mother?”

“You did this to them, ha, ha.”

“NO!” Dorch begins to run towards the Changeling horde, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a mighty earthquake.

“The master is departing from his slumber. Quickly, we must go before we sink and drown.”

“No!” As the quake continues to grumble, the Changeling herd rises from the ground and flies off. “Mom! Dad!” Another cloud of grey gas appears around the midnight unicorn, dissolving shortly after to reveal that Dorch is now on the decrepit ship he was on when Crystal fell overboard. From the bow of the vessel, the sir can see what’s left of Trihearth in the distance, slowly dipping down into the waters below. Medicine slowly walks to his side from seemingly nowhere to watch the spectacle unfold.

“Isn’t it just beautiful? Centuries of anticipation and patience, rewarded in the most satisfying of matters, something most ponies would never have the feeling of. Though you have murderous intentions bent upon me as of now, I am a merciful pony. For your services of freeing me from the oppression of the ponies of Trihearth, I have spared your life upon this vessel.”

“Mercy? Beautiful? What madness do you speak of?! All that I have loved are now lifeless husks or dead!”

“Not all, Ceann and Seirbigh managed to escape from Crystal.” The zebra turns to Dorch and gives a fulsome smile. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Why you!” In a split-second, Dorch grabs the mare by the neck and pins her to the floor.

“Oh, what good will come if you were to attempt to kill me? You know I won’t truly die.”

“I can very well try to!”

However, before Dorch can get a proper grip of the hag’s throat, the rouge rays of the twilight sun flash into his eyes, blinding him for several minutes. Upon recovering his vision, the witch had already fled, leaving Dorch alone on the damaged galleon in the dead of night. Silence returns to his ears once more, but in his mind, the screams of millions of ponies roar inside. His parents, his friends, his sister, and everypony else he knew, were the loudest to be heard inside his head. Eventually, Dorch becomes absolutely mad from the voices, screaming out loud to nothing.

“Is this what you want!” He hollers. “I admit it, I am a foal! It was wrong for me to betray my friends and family! I beg to anypony, anypony! Make the madness end!” The voices and screams grow louder and louder against his command, driving his sanity into oblivion. “I know what shall appease the ghouls that haunt me!” Dorch rushes into the captain’s quarters and finds a log book placed upon the desk. With a flick of his horn, the book opens and an inked quill is levitated from the nearby bottle and begins to frantically write into the empty pages.

“My name is Sir Dorch Folam, heir to the now nonexistent Pearl Kingdom upon the now nonexistent isle of Trihearth. I have written this to appease the ghosts and souls of the ponies I have destroyed. May it be my own insanity or the work of that vile witch, I no longer know. I shall recount every sin I have performed, in hopes that I will be forgiven by whoever or whatever is watching over me and cure me of my curse me. I will recount my parent’s struggle, my villainous plots, my deal with the vile witch, the death of one of my only friends caused by be, and the eventual loss of everything. I pray, I pray that those that shall read this will forgive me…”

Dorch continued to write aboard that ship until he died from unknown causes. His diary, filled with his side of the story that has unfolded was found on the coast of a distant kingdom long after the fall of Trihearth.

Trihearth, a once proud and mighty land, ruled in harmony by its three kingdoms, sank underneath the waves in a night and a day, leaving no trace other than the ships which eventually capsized. Perhaps, if it wasn’t for Dorch’s intervention, the land would’ve been torn apart by the wars amongst the three kingdoms during its unseen final hours. Centuries later, legends came around the world, each stating that if a pony were to see the ghost island, a terrible storm would come.

The six final rulers of Trihearth, Kind Adamán Charm, Queen Ceria Charm, Lord Seirbigh Cystic, Madam Petti Cystic, Emperor Tiotán Folam, and Empress Dia Folam, all perished. The Charms, although hid well from their daughter, went down with the island of Trihearth and drowned. The Cystics died as Changelings, being knocked out and drowned by their own son. The Folams became Changelings and followed their queen for the rest of their existence as heartless succubi.

Seirbigh and Ceann, having escaped from Queen Chrysalis and the destruction of their hope, were married on a neighboring land that housed a kingdom that Trihearth had good relations with. Without a kingdom to rule, the two lovers and their followers became citizens of the neighboring kingdom. The couple eventually had foals of their own, whom they watched over relentlessly due to their fear of Chrysalis’ wrath towards them. They taught their children of their once friend and the story that caused Trihearth to fall, a story that would be passed down from generation to generation for all time.

As of Medicine An Uisce, her fate remains unknown, as if she had vanished from all of history.

Princess Crystal Charm, once the heir of the Forest Kingdom, once to be married to the love of her life, once to have a great life set for her, now a monster that despises love and friendship. As queen of the Changelings, she and her army began their global campaign of destruction. Fitting to the disguises of loved ones, the Changelings toppled kingdoms left and right, devouring every grain of each country’s love and growing their army. However, despite Queen Chrysalis’ finest efforts, she’ll never be able to let go of the betrayal of Seirbigh. There will always be a void in her soul, and no matter how much love she consumes, she’ll always remained tortured and desire more, for the rest of her eternal days.

Many who have heard this tale and wrote it from their own perspective often make mistakes in their interpretations. They tend to create a villain, whether it be Crystal for her transformation, Seirbigh for his betrayal, Ceann for her disloyalties, Dorch for his schemes, Medicine for her plans of summoning the great beast, Aspidochelone himself, or even Emperor Tiotán. However, the truth is, there is no true villain, nor is there a true hero. Everypony did something that influenced the fall of Trihearth and the corruption of Crystal, either it be of intention or of indirect faults. Yet, these causes were not of the sake of evil desire, but to perform betterment to all in their sight.

What this story is, should not be the battle between good and evil, but rather, a cautionary tale of how the choices we make can create an impact on everything. Ask yourself the questions this story has given you. Who made the right choices? Who made the foalish choices? What would you have done in those situations? Who should you give your pity towards? There is no wrong answer. Perhaps the fall of Trihearth was a good thing in the end. Though causing many to suffer and die, this tragedy can teach the future.

May you exit our performances with an open mind, and question yourself upon the choices seen before you.,,