Prologue

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It was around 9:00 pm, and six friends were gathered together in the Treehouse of Harmony. They all sat comfortably on cushions, having already eaten plenty of snacks and played a few games, and were now in the midst of one of the more creative and exciting parts of the average slumber party: telling scary stories.

The room was dark, and Gallus was holding a flashlight under his face, smiling wickedly as he concluded his tale.

"And when they finally pulled the griffon's body. . . out of the crumbled. . . burning. . .house. . ."

Gallus suddenly turned off the flashlight, plunging the room into complete darkness.

"He looked. . .like THIS!"

Gallus gave a piercing shriek as he turned the flashlight back on, revealing his face, now covered with white chalk dust and with his head feathers sticking out wildly.

Ocellus and Silverstream both let out a short cry of fear and immediately leaned close to each other. Yona, Sandbar, and Smolder; however, were completely unfazed.

Gallus looked at his friends, then frowned and said, "Well, 2 out of 5 isn't bad."

As Gallus wiped the while chalk dust off of his face and neatened up his feathers, Ocellus slid away from Silverstream and said, "Actually, 2 out 5 is an F."

Gallus was unconvinced and said, "You mean 'F' for how 'frightened' you and Silver were?"

Ocellus shrugged and said, "I wasn't really afraid of the story. I was just shocked by the end."

Silverstream nodded slowly and said, "Yeah, Ocellus is kinda right. . . Ooh! But the face you did at the end was scary!"

Smolder groaned and said, "This is so laaaaame! Does no one here know how to tell a scary story?"

Yona looked with a frown at Smolder and said, "Smolder not tell good scary story either."

"Ugh! Fine. So I'm better at sad, tragic stories with bad endings," Smolder remarked with irritation in her voice.

"How was mine not scary?" Sandbar remarked, "I mean, think of! A stain that never comes out. . ." Sandbar shuddered and said, "Ugh. . .I'd hate to have to face that. . ."

Gallus frowned bitterly and said, "Yeah, this was a total bust. We're not getting any really scary stories tonight."

There was a sudden flash of light in the midst of a group, and the sparkling, spectral form of Twilight Sparkle appeared.

"Perhaps I might be of some assistance," it said.

Silverstream sat up excitedly, her wings flapping energetically as she said with a smile, "It's the Spirit of the Tree of Harmony!"

Yona looked to the spirit in slight confusion and asked, "Did Tree want to come to slumber party?"

The spirit turned to the yak and said kindly, "Actually, I am always pleasant within this sanctuary." It then addressed the group at large and said, "Be that as it may, I sensed that you had a problem, and I wish to solve that problem."

"Um?" Gallus said, unsure of what the spirit was saying.

"Is this about us not being able to tell any scary stories?" Smolder asked while peering at the spirit oddly, "'Cause I'm not sure how a spirit of peace, love, and harmony could do anything about that?"

The spirit chuckled soundlessly at this, lifting a forehoof to her mouth as she did this. Then she said, "You are mistaken, Smolder. For you see, Harmony is actually a balance between light and dark, positives and negatives. Consider my attributes. To be Honest, one must tell hurtful truths. To be Kind, one must sometimes be firm with others. Laughter is often a defense mechanism meant to deal with misery. To be Generous, one must first accumulate wealth and possessions to distribute. When one is Loyal, they cannot be loyal to all. That is impossible. To be truly loyal to one's friends, one must be disloyal to others. And Magic is able to both create and destroy, to attack and to defend."

The spirit then bowed elegantly and said, "Therefore, I am more than capable of conjuring up tales they will suit your needs."

Ocellus stared at the spirit with wide eyes and said, "You're here to tell us scary stories?"

The spirit shifted her wings and said, "The stories I have planned for you are far more than simple scary stories." Her gaze hardened slightly as she looked upon the six youngsters. "They consist of light and of shadow, of fear and of knowledge," she continued, "They are stories of not only sight and sound, but of mind. They are wondrous stories of imagination, and I wish to share them with you all."

"Um. . ." Sandbar said nervously, but when Yona moved close to him and smiled warmly at him, his nerves faded, and he smiled and said, "Heh, sounds good to me."

Gallus smiled eagerly and rubbed his talons together, "Aw, yeah! Now this is what I'm talking about!"

Ocellus looked very much intrigued, "If they're something more than just scary stories, then I think we'll all enjoy them a great deal more! Maybe we'll learn something too."

Silverstream was bursting with excitement, and she was finding it hard to sit still, "Oh! My! Gosh! This sounds incredible! Thanks a ton Spirit of the Tree of Harmony! . . Um, that's kinda long. Is it okay if we just call you Harmony for short?"

The spirit nodded and said with a kind smile, "That would suit me just fine."

Smolder, having been left relatively unconvinced and unimpressed by Harmony's speech, sat up from where she had been reclining carelessly on the cushions, and said, "Alright then, Harmony! Time's a wasting and there's still some fun stuff we haven't done yet. I'm dying to have that pillow fight, so bring on the stories! We're all ready for it!"

The other five voiced their agreement, and Harmony simply smiled widely at all of them. She flapped her wings and held her head high as the tip of her horn began to glow.

"To adequate relate these tales to you, I must take you all to another dimension. . . A dimension beyond that which is known to mortal beings. . . It is a dimension as vast as space. . . and as timeless as infinity. . ."

As Harmony's horn glowed brighter, the six creatures suddenly noticed that a strange magical breeze was whirling around the room, and they could feel a strange force slowly making its way within their very beings.

"It is a dimension of imagination. . . It is realm of shadow and of substance. . . of things and ideas. . . of what-ifs and what-could-bes. . .It's only boundaries are that of imagination itself. . ."

Harmony began to float off of the floor, and the six youngsters also began to float as well. All of them, even Smolder, were now staring at Harmony in shock, and even slight fear.

Harmony then close her eyes and said, "Your next stop is. . ." She then opened them, revealing that they were glowing a blinding white, " . . .The Simulacrum Realm."

Then, the spirit, and the six creatures, vanished, leaving only a dark, empty room.

A griffon, a changeling, a hippogriff, a dragon, a yak, and a pony—a collection of possibilities. Six unlikely heroes, each set out into a journey into the unknown. Six tours, each one a cross between dreams and nightmares; in which justice, retribution, and the unexplainable walk hand in hand through the shadows. In a moment, we'll start collecting clues as to the whys, the whats, and the wheres. We will not interfere, we'll only explain —because this is the Simulacrum Realm.

1- Time Isn't Money

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Sandbar stared around at his surroundings. He was in a rather fancy looking room, with artwork hanging on the walls and other expensive furnishings all around him.

Sandbar, dumbfounded on how he arrived here, then turned around, and was startled when he was met with another pony in the room with him. She was an adult mare, with a pale, grayish-pink coat and a styled, magenta mane. For a Cutie Mark, she had a sparkling diamond ring. She had a constantly turned up nose, and was currently frowning in disgust as she sat in a comfortable looking chair.

Sandbar mouth opened and closed a few times, then he finally found his voice and said, "Um, I'm sorry, I. . . I'm not exactly sure how I got here, I. . ."

The angry mare didn't reply. She just continued to sit and scowl, seemingly not even looking at Sandbar.

Sandbar blinked, and he turned his head slightly and said, "Uh. . . can you hear me? I mean. . ." Sandbar lifted his forehoof up defensively and said with a desperate look on his face, "Look, I didn't break in or anything! I just-."

Suddenly, the door behind Sandbar swung open, causing him to turn and look. Through the door came a pony who was clearly a butler. Right behind the butler was a pony who Sandbar finally did recognize: Diamond Tiara.

Before Sandbar could say another word, the two ponies walked right through him.

"Wha-what? What was-? How-? Is this even real?" Sandbar thought as he stood frozen in disbelief.

The butler bowed to the mare and said, "I have brought your daughter home as you asked, Madame Spoiled Rich."

Spoiled Rich waved a forehoof dismissively and said, "You may go, Randolph."

The butler named Randolph turned and promptly left the room, leaving Diamond Tiara alone with her mother, excuse the young pony neither of them could see.

"I have been doing some thinking," Spoiled Rich said as she gaze levelly at her daughter, "And I have come to the conclusion that years of work grooming and training you are slowly being undone." The woman then scowled and said, "All because of a hick farm pony, a simple minded unicorn, and a worthless crippled pegasus."

To her credit, Diamond Tiara didn't appear daunted by her mother's harsh tone. Rather, she just shrugged and said with a role of her eyes, "Oh, but mother, I don't know any ponies with those descriptions. I do know a hardworking and sensible earth pony, a unicorn that's an amazing singer, and a brave and tough daredevil of a pegasus."

Spoiled Rich suddenly sat up, anger and disgust in her eyes as she said in a harsher tone, "Listen very carefully, young lady. You will no longer associate with those. . . those. . . ugh, Cutie Mark Crusaders." The way she said the name was like she was spitting out something slimy and bitter.

Diamond Tiara gazed back and said determinedly, "Those are my friends. They helped me understand myself, my Cutie Mark, and what real friendship is all about. They've done nothing but good for me and everypony in Ponyville."

"What they did," Spoiled Rich said bitterly, "was give you the brilliant idea to humiliate me in front of that school, undermining my authority, and contradicting all of the values I worked so hard to teach you."

"How can you call those values!" Diamond Tiara said incredulously, "Treat those below your station like dirt? Back stab as many times as you need to get ahead?"

"Enough back talk! You will stop associating with insignificant low-lives, especially those three worthless wastes of flesh!" Spoiled Rich hissed, "For the last time, young lady: You will not associate with those Cutie Mark Crusaders or any others I deem inferior for as long as I live. Do you understand me?"

Diamond Tiara simply stared unflinchingly into her mother's eyes for a moment, then she nodded once and said in a level let slightly frustrated tone, "Yes, mother. I understand."

Spoiled Rich nodded and waved her daughter off, saying, "You may go."

Diamond Tiara turned to leave, but stopped part way as if to say something. But she ended up biting her tongue and proceeded to leave the room in silence.

Spoiled Rich huffed loudly reaching for a bank book that lay on the table next to the chair she was sitting in. Sandbar could only watch in disbelief as the mare began smiling to herself as her eyes eagerly read each and every line of the book, excitedly watching the numbers get bigger and bigger.

"What a terrible pony. . ." he remarked, but then he suddenly felt a presence next to him. He turned to look, and he saw that Harmony had suddenly appeared next to him, wearing a kind smile.

"Submitted, if not for your approval, then for your analysis: one Spoiled Rich, who is the biggest shrew in Equestria. A money loving, back stabbing, living embodiment of class discrimination whose chief function in life was to revel not only in her own wealth, but also in the pain and suffering of the lower classes. And like all creatures like her, she shared the one affliction most common amongst her breed: she walked the land without a heart. And it's very likely that, as of this moment, she would have gone through life in precisely this manner: A cruel, arrogant bigmouth who sets back the art of motherhood a thousand years. I say she very likely would have, except for something that will soon happen to her, something that will considerably make the world better. . . for everycreature else. For she is about to learn that time and money aren't synonymous. Especially in. . . the Simulacrum Realm."

Spoiled Rich entered the Ponyville Day Spa, focused on on getting on with her spa appointment. "Lotus! Aloe!" she barked out authoritatively, "What have I said about keeping me waiting? Attend to me, NOW!"

The two spa ponies were quickly running towards the irate rich pony, when all of a sudden the scene was interrupted by the door behind thrown open. Everypony turned to see Lyra Heartstrings stride in, clearly on cloud nine as she flashed a smile at all those present and said, "Ponyville's newest resident millionaire mare would like the works, today!"

At the sound of the word "millionaire", Spoiled Rich's eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me!?" she said in utter disbelief.

Lyra was still grinning from ear to ear as she replied, "Oh, you haven't heard yet? Well, I won the Mega Lucky-Four-Shoes Golden Jackpot yesterday!"

"Oh, congratulations!" Aloe cheered as Lotus simply smiled and clapped her hooves in delight.

Spoiled Rich, however, was far from happy to hear this. "WHAT!? How could a worthless, socially challenged, nopony like yourself possibly win all of those bits!?" she shouted, seething with rage.

Lyra just laughed and said, "Oh, insult me all you want, Spoiled Rich! I'm just too happy. I'll even tell you how I won! You see, there's this pony who moved to Ponyville recently, her name's Amethyst Rose. She's got these legit psychic powers that can see the future. I was curious, so I decided to check her out. She used these special cards to give me a reading, and she said that the date of my birth would bring me great joy the next day. I was confused at first, because the next day wasn't my birthday. But then I just happened to read about that lottery jackpot in the paper. So, I played my birth date, and I won!"

Lyra pranced right by a shocked Spoiled Rich and said, "So, like I said, give me the works you! You'll be getting a bit tip, too!"

As Aloe attended to Lyra, Lotus looked over at Spoiled Rich and said nervously, "Um. . .your appointment, Mrs. Rich?"

Spoiled Rich blinked her eyes, finally breaking free of the thousand yard stare she was in. Then she shook her head distractedly and said, "No. . .no . . .I. . ." She then briskly walked after Lyra and said, "Excuse me. Where exactly does this Amethyst Rose live?"

Spoiled Rich wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting, but at any rate, the inside of Amethyst Rose's house was unlike anything Spoiled had ever experienced. The walls and furniture were all hot pink in color, and even the carpet was a lighter shade of pink. There were also strange posters and painting on the wall, all of them depicting strange archaic symbols and fractal designs.

Amethyst Rose, an Earth Pony mare, welcomed Spoiled Rich into her home the moment she answered the door, talking excitedly about doing another reading. Her coat was a warm pink color, with green eyes, and a light pink mane that was styled to be strangely spiky and stringy. Her Cutie Mark was a Tarot card with a single pink rose on the back.

"Sit down, sit down! Let's get started, miss!" Amethyst said gleefully as she sat down at a small, circular table with a deck of cards on top, which were identical to the one in her Cutie Mark.

Spoiled Rich sat down stiffly opposite the psychic pony, and she said, "That's Mrs. Rich if you please. I would expect someone who supposedly has psychic abilities to know that."

Amethyst shook her head and said with a smile, "Not true, Mrs. Rich. What I see comes exclusively from my readings. They don't come from just seeing a pony."

"Very well," Spoiled said impatiently, "Just so you know, I'm only here because I heard that you helped some mare win the lottery. If a peasant like that gets rewarded, an important pony like myself had better get some beneficial information."

Amethyst had a deadpanned expression on her face, and she said, "I don't think you really understand how this works."

Spoiled rapped her right forehoof onto the table and said, "I cancelled a spa appointment to come here, so I don't appreciate your stalling! Now stop wasting my time! Time is money!"

Amethyst kept her blase expression and said, "Yes. . .and speaking of money. . ."

Spoiled Rich huffed and tossed a hoof-full of bits onto the table, which Amethyst promptly pushed into a gold hollow cylinder with a pink stripe around the center. Spoiled nodded and said, "There you are, now let's get on with it."

All the lights went out.

Spoiled Rich sat in the dark for a moment, which irritated her rather than frighten her. Then a lamp turned on right above the table, bathing the pair of mares in its light.

Amethyst split the deck of cards into two stacks, then she smiled and said, "Give me your hooves."

Spoiled sighed and rolled her eyes in irritation. "This better be worth it," she said as she begrudging slid her fore hooves onto the table.

Amethyst touched the bottom of her fore hooves to the bottom of Spoiled' forehooves. She closed her eyes and said, "Breath in. . .breath out. . .Let me feel the rhythm of your soul. . . and tune it to the rhythm of the universe. . . Yes. . .I can feel the energies that flow through you. . .and react. . . A window to the future appeared. . .I will now open it. . ."

Amethyst then opened her eyes wide, although they appeared almost sightless, and she chanted, "Memoria semper malum. . . mala sunt tempora. . . I SEE!"

Amethyst pulled her hooves back, held them high, and brought them down hard on the two stacks of cards. She then shuffled the two stacks together once, then a second time, and then a third time. She then dealt out three cards in a row and laid them on the table.

Staring intently down at the three cards, Amethyst flipped the first one over, and then the third one over. She hummed to herself thoughtfully as she looked at them. The cards both depicted golden stars. Amethyst then flipped over the middle card, and let out a shocked gasp.

"Oh no-no-no-no-no!" Amethyst gasped in horror, "I didn't think this would ever happen! I never wanted to do a prediction like this! Why, why me! Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm so very, very, very sorry! I never wanted- I didn't mean-!"

"Stop it, you gibbering idiot, and just tell me what this nonsense is supposed to mean!" Spoiled Rich spat out irately, still unimpressed by all that had happened.

"The Kyrkogrim!" Amethyst shouted, her eyes begin to tear up as she pointed to the middle card. It depicted a large
black dog that appeared to be ghostly in nature. It sat on it's haunches, staring menacingly with eyes that seemed to glow with blue, spectral fire.

"A spirit of death. . ." Amethyst said in a hushed tone, then her eyes drifted to the two cards on either side of the ghastly image. "These other cards represent a date. . . tomorrow. . .you will die."

"Give me my money back," Spoiled Rich snapped.

Amethyst sighed and shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid money won't be of much use to-."

Spoiled suddenly reached out and slammed Amethyst's face onto the table as hard as she could. She then said harshly, "I said, give me my money back, you idiot!"

Amethyst's eyes were wide with pain and shock as she looked back at the sneering mare in front of her. Amethyst then slowly calmed down and frowned before replying in cool and distant tone of voice, "Fine. Take it."

Spoiled knocked the cylinder over, sending bits spilling out. "I believe I'll be taking extra to make up for my time which you wasted," she said as she scooped and large amount of bits and put them into her saddlebag. She then stood up straight and looked directly at Amethyst before continuing in a voice laced with scorn and venom, "But that's not to say you've heard the last of me, you fraud. That whole lottery incident was clearly dumb luck that won't happen again for a thousand years. It's bad enough you try to deceive me, but to dare insult me the way you did just now? You disgusting, loathsome, pathetic waste! You've messed with the wrong pony! Before the end of this week, not only will I have you run out of town, but I'll also have this house demolished, and blacklist you throughout all of Equestria! Your will suffer long before you reach Hellgates!"

Spoiled Rich then turned and swiftly left the house, slamming the door behind her, and leaving Amethyst Rose sitting at the table, frowning in thought before sighing and shaking her head.

The next day found Spoiled Rich and Filthy Rich walking through the streets of Ponyville. Filthy Rich looked very well exasperated as his went on and on, very animated in her talking.

"-Ooh, I want to make that little freak squirm! She'll regret trying to insult someone of my wealth and status! She will suffer soooo much!" Spoiled Rich ranted, the very thought of Amethyst Rose angering her a great.

"Dear, please," Filthy Rich said, desperation in his tone, "Fortune telling is just entertainment. Smart, intelligent, shrewd ponies like us shouldn't let it get to us. You got a refund, and then some, so there's no need to, um, knock down houses and blacklist ponies."

"Oooh, yes there is!" Spoiled Rich argued, "I have the resources to do so, so that's what I"m going to do!"

"Spoiled, dear, you're the head of the school board," Filthy said carefully, and with a rather nervous look in his eyes, "I'm the head of Rich's Barnyard Bargain."

"I am your wife!" Spoiled said sharply, "Everything you own, I own! It's your duty to give me what I want!"

Filthy huffed, finally loosing his patience, and said, "Dear, I really have to warn you. You're starting to become the town's biggest joke."

"WHAT!?"

"Ponies all over are making comments about your attitude, and how you view others not as well off as you," Filthy said seriously, "They make snide remarks about you being greedy and wicked. Some ponies have even started expressing their sympathies to me and even patting me on the back and telling me to 'hang in there'."

"It's that disobedient daughter of mine," Spoiled hissed, seething with rage.

"What? No, dear, you need to stop-."

"Talking back to me in front of all those brats," Spoiled hissed, "Convincing me into giving the school the money for that playground equipment. What a waste! I had to give them that money to save face. Darn it, I should have been tougher on that girl. But she'll regret her disrespect. . . dearly!"

Filthy sighed and said somberly, "Was that sweet, well-mannered mare I married all those years ago just an act?"

Spoiled Rich stuck her nose up into the air and said, "When we got married, you got what you wanted, and I got what I wanted. It's as simple as that."

Filthy Rich just stared at the ground for a moment, silently mouthing words to himself, then he finally said, "Spoiled, just. . .just let me handle Diamond Tiara, please?"

Spoiled moved her head back down and was about to reply when something caught her attention that stopped her in her tracks. "And what good would that do," she said bitterly, and then she pointed across the street and said, "When she's busy doing that when you're not looking!"

Filthy looked to where his wife was indicated, and she spotted Diamond Tiara with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all of them speaking with Derpy Hooves. The mail mare held a tray of freshly baked muffins, which were currently the topic of discussion.

Diamond Tiara paced around in front of Derpy confidently as she lectured smartly, "So, if you coordinate your muffins by both color and flavor, as well as push the quality of the ingredients and the benefits of from scratch baking, you're certain to make bank in no time." Diamond Tiara stopped her pacing and smiled proudly at Derpy and said, "Like my daddy always says, 'Overestimate your supplier's intelligence, NOT your customer's intelligence."

Applebloom nudged her two best friends and said with smug sass, "See. Ah told ya gals that she was good."

Filthy Rich was smiling proudly at his daughter, but Spoiled Rich was glaring hatred at Derpy Hooves.

"She's fraternizing with an afflicted freak!" she snarled, and she began to cross the street, on a warpath towards the group.

Alarmed, Filthy Rich called out, "Spoiled, wait! Please, stop and think for a moment!"

Spoiled Rich ignored her husband and called out to her daughter, "Diamond Tiara! Step away from that retard!"

The group all quickly looked towards the approaching mare in surprise. Derpy suddenly gasped and called out worriedly, "Mrs. Rich! Get back!"

"SHUT-UP, REJECT!" Spoiled barked out as she continued to cross the road.

Then Applebloom called out, "Look out, Mrs. Rich! There's a-."

"QUIET, MUDPONY!" Spoiled shouted back, "Stay away from-!"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" a voice called out.

Spoiled turned, and saw to her horror that a cart loaded with stone was rolling at a fast pace right towards her, with a frantic construction stallion running after it. She stumbled backwards, and in her panicked state, tripped and fell down on her side in the path of the out of control cart.

When the cart was only several yards away, it hit a pothole, causing it's axle to snap. This sent the cart into a spin, and eventually landed on its side with a tremendous crash, coming to a halt only a few feet away from Spoiled Rich.

As the wealthy mare lay staring at the cart with her heart pounding and her chest heaving, the construction stallion ran over to her and said while short of breath, "Are you . . .Are you okay ma'am?"

"I almost died," Spoiled said emotionlessly, with a thousand yard stare in her eyes.

"P-please," the stallion stammered out, "It was an accident, it wasn't my fault. I have no idea how it just. . .Please, you have to believe me."

"Amethyst. . ." Spoiled said in the same flat tone.

The stallion paused and blinked in confusion. "Ma'am?"

Spoiled Rich suddenly stood up and walked briskly towards Diamond Tiara, who had been frozen in shock along with Derpy and and Crusaders. Spoiled grabbed Diamond's foreleg and began dragging her away from the scene.

"Ow! Mother! Wha-?"

"We're going home. Now," Spoiled said testily as she pulled Diamond Tiara towards her father, who looked shocked and confused as well. "Home. Move it," she ordered to her husband, and he followed along wordlessly as she lead the family back home to their mansion.

Spoiled Rich sat in her bed, staring at the face of her ornate grandfather clock. Dinnertime had come and gone hours ago, yet Spoiled hadn't gone down to eat. She had simply demanded not to be disturbed for any reason, and locked herself in her bedroom with Randolph silently standing guard inside with his back to her. The faithful butler wasn't in the room at the moment, however, for Spoiled had sent him out to fetch something, or rather, somepony.

Randolph unlocked the door with the key Spoiled had given him, and in came him along with Diamond Tiara, who looked far from happy at the moment.

"Stay out in the hall, Randolph," Spoiled ordered.

The butler nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"You disappoint me, Diamond Tiara," Spoiled Rich said coldly.

Diamond Tiara's eyes were pleading as she said, "Mother, please! You have to stop this!"

"What are you talking about?" Spoiled replied.

"The insults! The name calling! The way you treat everypony around you!" Diamond Tiara said, "For years I've been nasty to everyone because you taught me that anypony that didn't have wealth or Cutie Marks or wasn't a party of high society was worthless and should be disrespected as much as possible!"

"That's the way they should be treated," Spoiled Rich replied without hesitation, "If they don't have the intelligence or strength or ability to be successful, then they should be made to suffer. The middle class exists to serve the upper class, and the lower class exists to show off how superior the upper class truly is. They're all invalids, cripples, and idiots; every one of them."

"That is so wrong!" Diamond argued, but then she put a forehoof to her forehead and said, "Ugh! I can't believe I actually went along with all that for so long. I ordered Silver Spoon around like a servant. I could've had so many real, true friends."

"The confused, impoverished masses don't deserve your friendship," Spoiled said with a scowl.

Diamond slammed her hoof down on the floor and shouted, "That's not how friendship works! Don't you know what everypony else says and thinks about you? You're the Wicked Witch of Ponyville! The other kids forgave me for being a bully because I've got you as a mother!"

"What do I care what the proles say?" Spoiled said dismissively.

"Some ponies are saying that you married daddy just for his money!" Diamond Tiara said with wide eyes.

"I was beautiful. He was wealthy. Quid pro quo. Have you forgotten that lesson as well?" Spoiled questioned.

Diamond Tiara looked absolutely heartbroken, and she shut her eyes tightly to hold back the tears. "I can't take it anymore," she whispered.

Spoiled hardened her gaze at her daughter and said, "You listen to me. If you want to fraternize with lesser ponies, then you'll have to live like a lesser pony. I can take away your allowance, and all of the money you have saved. I can strip your room of all your toys, books, furniture, everything! You can sleep on the floor. You can eat grass and fast food. I'll make you regret wanting to be anything else but exactly like me. This your last chance, and this is my final warning. You will not associate with those Cutie Mark Crusaders, their families, their friends, or anyone else not of our social and economic standing for as long as I live. And I intend on living for a very long time. Do you understand me? . . . .LOOK AT ME!"

Diamond Tiara opened her eyes, and revealed that they were completely dry.

"Yes. I understand, mother."

"Leave me."

Diamond Tiara left the room rather quickly, and Randolph swiftly came in and locked the door behind him. As he approached Spoiled while holding the key out to her, she waved him away and said, "Go to the kitchen and fix me some tea, Randolph. I need something to settle my nerves."

The light was still on in her room as Spoiled Rich stared intently at the face of the grandfather clock as she lay in her bed. A smile was slowly spreading across her face as she noticed the time: 11:39 p.m.

"That disgusting little mare," Spoiled said as she resisted the urge to cackle, "Thinking that she knows my future. Thinking that she's special. No one tells Spoiled Rich what to do, or what her destiny is. When tomorrow comes, Amethyst Star's pitiful existence will soon becoming a living nightmare that she will never escape!"

Suddenly, there was knocking on the bedroom doom, coupled with a voice calling out.

"Mother? Mother? Please, let me in. It's important."

Spoiled sniffed, and she said to her butler, "Let her in."

Randolph unlocked the door, and Diamond Tiara entered the room.

"Stay," Spoiled said to Randolph as he was about to exit the room, then she focused her attention on her daughter and said, "Well, why are you up at this hour? And you better have a good reason."

Diamond Tiara was holding a small sack in her mouth, and she emptied its contents on top of Spoiled Rich's covers. "I got these for you," Diamond said simply.

It was a tall, erect green stem crowned with clusters of violet flowers.

Spoiled Rich frowned and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What is this you bring into my bedroom? A cheap plant you pulled up from the Everfree?"

"It's called wolfsbane," Diamond Tiara stressed.

"What significance does this have to me?" Spoiled said, her attention stolen away by her grandfather clock. "11:46," she thought confidently to herself.

"It's really useful," Diamond Tiara explained with a sad look on her face, "I actually used it earlier. That's the leftovers."

"Useful for what?" Spoiled said, her gaze still upon the clock face.

Diamond then turned to look at her mother's night-table. On it sat an empty teapot and an empty teacup on its saucer. "My Cutie Mark. . .it's for. . .it's for taking charge of things so I can get what I need." Diamond Tiara's voice was trembling a great deal, "I - I - I understood what you told me earlier. . .and I. . .I knew what I had t-t-to do."

"What are you talking about?" Spoiled said impatiently, mere moments from telling her daughter to leave her in peace.

"Did you like your tea?"

"Yes, what of it?" Spoiled said testily.

"That's where I put the wolfsbane."

Something in Diamond Tiara's tone caused Spoiled to finally tear her gaze away from the clock. She looked at the filly, and saw that Diamond Tiara's face was that of pure terror. Confused, Spoiled was about to question her daughter on it when a wave of nausea swept over her. Then, her entire body was attacked by waves of numbness and tingling sensations. Fully panicking, Spoiled Rich tried to get out of bed, only to fall in the floor as the most intense abdominal pain imaginable struck her. As her heart pounded erratically and wildly out of control, Spoiled Rich screamed and wailed like a wounded animal as she writhed around on the floor while clutching her stomach.

"RANDOLPH! FILTHY! HELP MEEEEEEE!"

Spoiled Rich's screams seemed to just go on and on, but eventually they did stop, and the room was finally silent.

Diamond Tiara's breathing was heavy and labored, and her eyes were finally releasing their tears.

"All you wanted to do. . ." Diamond said tearfully, ". . . was hurt other ponies. You didn't want friends . . . you didn't want to help others. . .you didn't want to make the world better. . .You just wanted to step on everypony else. . .To tell everypony that they were nothing. . .and that you were everything. . .and that your life was more important that theirs. . .and. . and you would have kept doing that. . .You would've destroyed ponies lives. . .Daddy's life. . .My life. . .I just. . .I just. . .I couldn't take it anymore. . . I just. . ."

Diamond Tiara broke down and burst into tears as Randolph unlocked the door. Filthy Rich, who had been waiting patiently outside, entered the room and quickly ran over to his daughter. He embraced her tightly and held her as she wept into his coat.

Randolph stared at the body of Spoiled Rich and and sighed.

Just then, the grandfather struck midnight and began to chime.

Sandbar's mouth hung open as he beheld the scene before him. Randolph's disappointed expression. Filthy Rich hugging and comforting his sobbing daughter. The body of Spoiled Rich.

Then Sandbar felt the presence of Harmony nearby, and he could hear her say:

"The late Spoiled Rich, a mare with a sour face to whom contentment came with difficulty. A mare who was given the rare gift of knowing exactly how much time she had left, and yet utterly failed to capitalize upon that time. She was given the opportunity to change her fate, and yet she still remained on the wide road and refused take the straight path to the narrow gate. She lived a life of constantly stabbing the backs of those with their backs to her, but foolishly failed to expect those supposedly close to her to do the same. For in her narrow-mindedness, she failed to realize that when one has no friends to keep close, her enemies are all the closer. Basic family values. . .from the Simulacrum Realm.

2- If a Changeling Calls, Hang Up

View Online

Ocellus let out a gasp of surprise as she took in her new surroundings. No longer was see in the Treehouse of Harmony. However, she did in fact know her new location quite well.

"I'm back home?" she said as gazed around one of the rooms within the Changeling hive. She turned around, and gasped yet again when she saw that back of King Thorax, who's head was lowered slightly as he stood facing away from her.

"K-King Thorax! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude! I'm not even sure how I got here. I hope I'm disturbing you to much," Ocellus said both apologetically and rapidly, worried that the Changeling leader would be upset with her like he had been when she had left home after the Tree of Harmony had been destroyed.

However, Thorax didn't react with anger. In fact, he didn't seem to react at all. Rather, he kept his head down, magic flowing from his horns as he continued to work on something Ocellus couldn't see.

Ocellus nervously stood still as she coninuted to stare at Thorax's back, her nerves getting slightly worse as she waited for Thorax to speak to her.

"I. . . I really don't know why I'm here. I swear!" Ocellus said again, her eyes darting around as she spoke, "Please, I didn't mean to upset you again. I just. . ." Ocellus hung her head in shame and said, "Please, I just want to know if you accept my apolo-."

"THORAX!"

Ocellus whirled around fast to see Pharynx grouchily storming into the room, right towards her. Ocellus was to nervous to move, so she ended up shrieking as Pharynx walked right through her, completely unaware of her existence.

Ocellus' breathing was heavy as her mind raced to make sense of what had just happened. "What was-? Am I. . .not really here!?" she gasped out.

Ocellus then looked over to Pharynx and Thorax, the later of which finally looked up from whatever he was working on and turned to his brother.

"Anything wrong?" Thorax asked with a sunny smile.

Pharynx huffed in annoyance and said, "Hmm, let's see. . .how about the fact that you've been working on this contraption of yours all day!"

Thorax held out a forehoof to his brother and said with a still sunny disposition, "Hold it right there, Pharynx. I'm afraid not even you can put a damper on what I'm doing right now. Everyling thought that Chrysalis' long distance communication spell would be lost forever after she ditched the hive, but it turns out that I'm just about to prove them wrong!"

Thorax then motioned to what he was working on. It was a large quartz-shaped crystal, about three feet in height. It's coloration was a mixture of lime green and jet black swirls, and it appeared to hum with latent magical energy.

Pharynx sighed and said, "Brother, look, Chrysalis guarded that spell for who knows how long. It was literally her personal spell. One could say it was part of her. So, the chances of you figuring it out a pretty slim. . .to none."

Thorax shrugged and said, "Sorry, Pharynx, but I honestly don't care what you have to say about this. I'm sure I know what I'm doing. So sure that even hearing you criticize me, as usual, can't get me down. I've already sent smaller receiving crystals to Spike, Ember, Trixie, and Starlight, and once my master crystal is finished by tonight, we'll have our first call."

Pharynx leaned forward and said, "You're going to wind up staying up all night, and tomorrow you'll be tired and cranky on your coro-."

Thorax was barely listening at this point, as he was bubbling over with excitement at this point, then he continued on, "And then, once it's a success, we can make tons more of them, fix is so that any creature can power them, and the whole world will be linked with instant communication! It'll be a breakthrough for friendships everywhere!"

Thorax then promptly turned back to his master crystal and resumed working on it, causing Pharynx to just shake is head and say, "Well, if you want to ignore and mess with Chrysalis' magic. . .fine. Go ahead. Learn the hard way."

Ocellus watched as Pharynx left the room, and then looked back at the determinedly excited looking Thorax. However, a sudden presence nearby caused her to turn her attention away from him, and she then saw Harmony standing by and wearing a smile.

"Changeling King Thorax has always been a Changeling with ideas ahead of his race's time: from the advantages of friendship to the value of sharing love. Yet again, the inexperienced King has another idea with the best of intentions. However, what King Thorax doesn't realize is that his good intentions are paving the way to an experience relayed through a six way conversation routed directly through. . . The Simulacrum Realm."

It was around 7:00 P.M., and Thorax was sitting alone in the room he had closed off for the sole purpose of working on his magical invention, or rather reinvention. He was gleefully smiling with pride, having finished work on it not to long ago.

"Alright, it's time. . .Now for the moment of truth. . ." he said breathlessly, and he carefully lit up his horns to activate the crystal.

The crystal glowed a bright emerald green, and a decent sized flame of the same color appeared over it. The flame hovered there for a moment, and then, all of a sudden, the image of Dragon Lord Ember's face appeared within.

Utterly thrilled, Thorax leaned forward and said loudly, "Ember, can you see me? Can you hear me?!"

Ember blinked owlishly at first, then she smirked and said, "Heh. I gotta be honest here, I thought you were crazy. Fine. I was wrong. It works."

"YEEEEESSS!" Thorax shouted as he took off and flew in a loop, "I DID IT! I DID IT! WOO-HOO!"

Ember chuckled a bit and said, "Oh boy, you sure are an excitable guy."

Thorax landed and nodded his head excitedly as he looked at the image of Ember, "This is great. This is so great! This is gonna make everything better for everycreature in the world!"

Ember nodded in a slower, more relaxed manner and said, "Well, yeah, if you say so. But aren't you forgetting one other dragon and two ponies?"

This helped Thorax to regain his focus, and he said quickly, "Oh, yeah, you're right. Okay, I'll call Spike's crystal now."

Thorax activated the crystal again, and Ember's image move to the side to make room for another green flame, this one containing Spike's image.

"Holy guacamole, it works!" Spike said in excitement, and he gave a thumbs up as he said, "Congratulations, Thorax!"

Now on a success fueled adrenaline rush, Thorax grinned and said, "I'm not done yet! Now, two at once!"

The crystal glowed yet again, and now arranged in a two by two square were four images; Ember and Spike on the bottom, and Trixie and Starlight on the top.

Starlight grinned and said, "I had total faith in you, Thorax!"

"Behold! The image of the Great and Powerful Trixie, seen all the way from Manehatten!" Trixie declared grandly.

Starlight eyes were darting around, clearly marveling at the four images she was seeing on her end, and she said, "This truly is amazing. Five locations: the Changeling Hive, the Dragonlands, Ponyville, Manehatten, and the Crystal Empire. All connected!"

Thorax nodded and said, "I know, right? This is the beginning of something truly great, I just know it!" Thorax took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"Yeah, I gotta admit, this pretty cool," Ember remarked with a sly grin, "This could help me check up on Smolder more often."

Spike looked pretty eager as he asked, "Okay, so what's next?"

Thorax, now a bit calmer after his gleeful react to his triumph, said, "Well, I'd like to test a few things. Let's try disconnecting and reconnecting. To disconnect, just tap the crystal three times. Then I'll call you guys back. Then we can try changing the volume. We do that by sliding your hoof, or claw, down the side of the crystal."

The testing phase went quite smoothly, and quickly. Thorax's friends all disconnected and were reconnected by Thorax with no problem, and adjusting the volume was simple and without issue. Thorax explained that the current set up of a master crystal and several smaller crystals only allowed him to make the calls. However, he had plans to fix the spell so that all creatures could own a master crystal that they could use to contact anyone they wished via a code of some sort. Idea ranging from numbers, to letters, to full names, and even pictures of whoever somecreature wished to call were thrown around. Nevertheless, Thorax was certain that the finer details would work their way out one way or another.

And so, the five friends proceeded to make full use of Thorax's communication device and spend some time socializing.

". . .And I taught that Roc a lesson on why he shouldn't mess with my friends!" Spike finished proudly, pumping his fist for emphasis.

"Good for you, Spike!" Thorax cheered.

"No Ursa Major, but a notable accomplishment, no doubt," Trixie remarked.

"Aw, come on, Trixie," Starlight said teasingly.

"My story is true!" Spike said a sly smirk, which appeared to irk Trixie just a bit.

"Not a bad molt-story, Spike," Ember said with approval, "Not as good as mine, though."

Spike looked super eager at this, and he said, "Oh, I gotta hear this! Tell us, Ember!"

Ember suddenly frowned and looked away, "Well, on second thought, maybe not."

Trixie scoffed and said, "Oh come now, surely the Dragon Lord isn't afraid to tell us of her past deeds."

Starlight rolled her at this, but smiled and said, "Come on, Ember. You've got us all curious now, we have to know. And if it's embarrassing, we'll all Pinkie Promise not to tell anycreature else."

"Hmmm," was Ember's only reply.

Thorax moved closer to the images and said encouragingly, "Come on, Ember. I'd really like to know you better. Please?"

Ember's eyes seemed to meet Thorax's for a briefest of moments, and she appeared slightly flustered for that moment. However, she quickly gained an aloof appearance and said, "Huh. Well, if you guys are gonna keep begging me, fine. I'll tell you. I-."

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a fifth flame poofing into existence, hovering above the four images of Thorax's friends.

Thorax stepped back from the crystal as he stared up at the fifth flame. "Huh? Where did that come from?"

"A fifth flame?" Starlight said, sounding slightly confused.

"Who'd you call, Thorax?" Spike asked.

"Nocreature! Really!" Thorax said in confusion, "I didn't do anything, it just appeared by itself."

Ember sniffed and said, "Well, it looks like this whole thing still has a few bugs in it. . .Uh, no offense, Thorax."

Thorax frowned as he stared up at the fifth flame. There didn't even seem to be an image within it. All he could see was green flames. "I don't understand what could've gone wrong," he said, sounding frustrated and distressed, a stark contrast to his earlier glee, "Hang on. I'm going to disconnect everyone and see if that fixes it."

"Don't disconnect."

Everycreature quickly looked up, Spike even let out a gasp of fear.

"It-it-it-it talked!" Spike stammered out.

"Everycreature must stay where they are. . .don't any of you dare leave or touch your crystals," the voice said. It was vaguely feminine, yet it was so badly stretched and distorted that it sounded unnatural and all the more terrifying.

"Who are you!?" Ember demanded.

"Thorax will find out soon enough," the voice said harshly, "It doesn't matter if any of you find out or not."

Spike was trembling like a leaf. "I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm so scared!" he said as his eyes widened from his fright.

Concerned for his friend, Thorax extended a hoof in a comforting gesture and said, "Spike, calm down. It'll be alright. There's no danger here." Thorax then put on a comforting smile and said, "A voice can't hurt you, can it? No, of course not. Right?"

Spike blinked, he his trembling ceased as he replied slowly, "Well. . ."

"It most certainly can't!" Trixie cut in, looking very much aggravated by the turn of events, "How dare anyone try to intimidate Trixie!"

"You are the weakest of this group. You would do well to do as you are told."

Trixie gave a hollow laugh and said, "A threatening voice versus the Great and Powerful Trixie! It is to laugh! Ha! Go on, Thorax. Restart these things so we no longer have to listen to whoever this conjurer of cheap tricks is!"

"Do it, and there will be death."

Thorax's eyes widened with fright at this, and he found himself speechless.

"WHAT!?" Ember shouted, eyes widened as she beheld the fifth flame with disbelief.

As Spike began whimpering and trembling, Starlight put on a nervous smile and said, "O-o-okay, let's not lose our cool."

"BAH!" Trixie shouted, "Trixie can't be intimidated so easy. I shall simply set an example of courage for the others."

"TRIXIE, NO!" Starlight cried out desperately as Trixie's image reached forwards. Then, her flame disappeared. "CALL HER BACK IN, QUICK!" Starlight shouted at Thorax, he face frantic.

Although a great deal frightened himself, Thorax immediately complied. However, when Trixie's image returned, Thorax wished he hadn't.

Trixie was screaming in utter terror as a rope in a field of green energy was being tightly wrapped around her neck. Her own magic didn't seem to be working, and her screams reached bloodcurdling levels as the rope around her neck pulled her up off the ground so that he head couldn't be seen in the image. However, the remaining four could see Trixie's body struggling as she hung from the rope, until eventually both her struggles, and he screams, finally ceased.

"NOOOOO!" Starlight screamed out as the others simply stared with wide eyes and open mouths until Trixie's flame vanished yet again.

"Do I have you attention now?"

"HOW?!" Starlight cried out through her tears, "How did you even do that!?"

"That isn't important. What is important is what happens next."

"Please don't kill me!" Spike shouted desperately, getting on his knees and into a begging position, "I don't wanna die!"

Ember suddenly whipped out her Bloodstone Scepter with her right claw and wielded it threateningly as she said, "Listen, you. I don't know who you are or how you're doing this, but if this keeps up, there's gonna be an entire army of dragons looking for you! You got that!"

"I cannot be found. Your dragons cannot got to where I am as they are now."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean!?" Ember demanded, still quite furious.

"Spike, do you want to live?"

"YES!" Spike cried out, "I want to get out of this and never use this crystal or anything like it again! Please don't kill me!"

"Hey! Thorax worked hard on this!" Ember argued.

"Trixie died because of it!" Spike shot back, terror and desperation fueling his rage.

Thorax nodded swiftly and said, "He's right, Ember. It's all my fault! I don't know how or why, but-."

"Exactly!" Ember said as if it were obvious, "You had no idea any of this would happen. Of course you're not to blame. We just gotta get through this and tear apart whoever that voice belongs to."

"Good luck with that," the voice said, now suddenly filled with mirth, as if she found the whole thing funny.

Starlight was sobbing quietly as she pounded on the ground with her forehooves. Trixie. . .she's gone. . .Thorax. . .you idiot."

"Not his fault!" Ember said sternly with all the authority of her position, "Not. His. Fault."

Thorax blinked at the Dragon Lord and said softly, "Ember. . .I . . ."

Starlight was a broken mess, sobbing as she sadly shook her head, "Why, why, why, why, why. . ."

"Continue to suffer, Starlight Glimmer. I'm enjoying it a great deal," the voice said, a strange smugly satisfied edged to her voice, "Now, as for you, Spike. If you want to live, then tell me who you love the most."

Spike blinked and said, "Wait, what?"

"Who do you love the most?"

". . .That's it?" Spike remarked.

"Spike, wait, it's a trap!" Thorax shouted quickly, "If you tell it, it'll probably kill whoever you say!"

"But if he doesn't say, then he'll die!" Ember argued.

Starlight's tearful eyes were wide as she said, "Spike. . . Rarity. . .oh, I don't know!"

Spike looked in slight surprise in the direction of Starlight's flame, "Wait, who? But Starlight I. . . ohhhhh. . ." Spike's eyes were wide, as if he suddenly came to an unexpected realization.

"10. . .9. . ." the voice began.

Spike's face became panic stricken, and he exclaimed, "Wait, what? Seriously?"

"8. . .7. . .6. . ."

Ember gripped her Bloodstone Scepter tightly and shouted, "Say it, Spike! Just say it! You can't die on me!"

"5. . .4. . .3. . ."

"What should we do, Thorax!?" Starlight cried out.

"I don't know!" Thorax shouted back, his face wracked with panic.

". . .2. . ."

"RARITY! I love Rarity!" Spike shouted, breathing heavily as his claws shook like crazy.

"Oh, Spike!" Starlight wailed as she covered her face with her forehooves.

Thorax hung his head and said, "Spike, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"We'll find this creep, Spike. I swear it," Ember said resolutely.

Spike shut his eyes tightly and clenched his fists even tighter, guilt and anguish surging through him.

"You lied."

Spike's eyes snapped open, and everyone looked up at the voice's flame in shock.

"You thought you could fool me. You thought you could save both yourself and Gabby. You thought wrong."

"Gabby?" Starlight echoed in shock.

Frantic yet again, Spike cried out desperately, "Wait, wait! I used to have a crush on Rarity! Doesn't that-" He was promptly cut off when his flame went out.

"Nononono! Bring him back, Thorax!" Ember cried out, reaching forward with her free claw in desperation.

"Please don't," Starlight whimpered.

"DO IT!" Ember roared, a mad gleam in her eyes.

It turned out that Starlight soft whimpering lost to Ember louder exclamation, and Thorax quickly reconnected to Spike's crystal. When Spike's flame reappeared, Starlight was the first to react, letting out a wail of despair as Spike was seen having a jug of bleach shoved into his mouth. The jug was suspended in the same green energy field that held the rope that had hung Trixie, and Spike was helpless to stop the bleach from being poured down his throat. All the while, his eyes showed nothing but pure terror.

"Spike. . .Spike!" Ember shirked out, a mixture of horror and violent rage radiating out from her as she watched the gruesome scene.

Thorax fell to the floor, his entire body shaking as he pressed his forehooves against his head. "Make it stop. Please, just make it stop," he moaned.

The horrible image of Spike suddenly vanished, leading Ember to shake her Bloodstone Scepter violently and scream, "I'LL FIND YOU! I'LL FIND YOU AND KILL YOU! I SWEAR IT! I'LL KILL YOU SLOWLY!"

"Keep telling yourself that," the voice snarked, and Thorax couldn't help but notice how the voice seemed to be gaining more and more personality as this horrible experience went on.

Thorax lifted his tearful eyes up to the voice's flame and said, "You win. . .We'll do anything. Anything. Just please stop this. Anything you want."

"YOU GET NOTHING FROM ME! EXCEPT A LONG SLOW DEATH!" Ember continued wrathfully.

"I want to know who Starlight Glimmer loves the most!" the voice said in a sing song voice.

"Not answering," Starlight muttered, her head lowered and her eyes sunken in and empty.

"Starlight, please!" Thorax pleaded, "I don't want to lose anycreature else!"

"Don't care. Not answering," Starlight muttered in that same, cold, distant voice.

The voice sighed in what sounded like great disappointment, "Oh dear, she's broken already? This is no fun. I suppose I should've gone slower. I suppose there's no point in dragging it out then. I really should have been more careful. Curses to wasted opportunities. . . Oh well. At least I have my other target!"

BANG!

Ember jumped, while Thorax actually screamed when Starlight's horn suddenly exploded in a burst of green magic. The unicorn screamed in intense agony as the explosion ruptured her skull and threw her backwards several meters. The image hung on Starlight's body for a few seconds before finally disappearing.

Now Thorax sat facing two large flames, one depicting Ember, the other revealing nothing and belonging to the voice.

"I. Will. Kill you," Ember said, her eyes filled with enough hate and loathing to cause even the mightiest of yaks to cower.

"Is there nothing else you can think of saying?" the voice said in annoyance, "Never mind. It's time to discuss your feeling for each other."

Thorax's eyes widened. "WHAT!?"

"Thorax loves you Ember. Its aroma. . . its flavor. .. Oooh, it is oh sooooo intoxicating."

Ember simply stared at Thorax in disbelief, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Now then, Dragon Lord Ember, what is your response?"

Thorax gazed at Ember's face, his eyes seemingly gaining a will of their own as they drunk in every aspect of the dragoness before him. Ember's eyes, meanwhile, were simply darting around wildly as her mouth opened and closed as if trying to find the right words to say. Then she snarled and said, "Darn it! Dragons stink at talking about feelings!"

Thorax gulped. Everything that had happened tonight had been draining to him, and this was just making everything worse. The only things keeping him awake right now were terror and anticipation.

"Thorax," Ember finally said, averting her eyes from his gaze, "That talk we had by the lake, where we first met, one of the best days ever for both of us, I'm sure. Yeah. . ." She then gulped audibly, and continued, "And sure, I think you're a really swell guy and all, but I just can't see us being. . .together. . ."

Thorax clenched his teeth as he himself had to turn away. "I. . .understand Ember. I-."

"Auuuuuuughack!"

Thorax quickly looked back at the flame containing Ember's image, and saw to his horror that the sharp end of the Bloodstone Scepter had been driven right into her heart. The green magic had seized control of Ember's arms, preventing her from doing anything about it. The wide eyed dragoness slumped forward a bit, and then the flame image vanished without a trace.

Now Thorax was left alone with the voice.

"She really should've learned from Spike what the price of lying was."

Thorax's heart lurched uncomfortably, and for a brief moment he actually felt like laughing, making him fear for his own sanity. "She. . . she loved me. . ." he said brokenly, tears dripping from his face.

"Yes. . .How sad. . ." the voice said with false pity, "Now then. . .do you know who I am, Thorax?"

Thorax stared into the voice's flame, his mind working hard is it forced it's way through the painful recent memories of this horrible night. Before long, the clues began to slid into place and click together, and Thorax spoke a name in a terrified whisper: "Chrysalis."

As if summoned forth by the name, the image of the former Changeling Queen appeared within the flame, a wicked smile on her face. "I knew you'd figure out eventually, oh King!" she said, her voice clear and no longer distorted.

"H. . .H . . .How!? You're a statue," Thorax said, still in that hushed whisper of terror.

Chrysalis chuckled and said, "Oh Thorax. You really shouldn't have tried messing with my spells. They were a part of me, and I am a part of them. Such an action on your part was bound to. . .backfire."

Thorax felt as though he was condemned eternally to deepest pit of despair as he said, "It's my fault. . .all my fault."

"It certainly is!" Chrysalis said with a triumphant grin, "I really do appreciate the way you allowed me to get my revenge. So, it's only fair to reward you! You get 20 more seconds to live!"

Thorax's heart began to pound as he began to feebly plead, "No. . .no, please. . ."

A look of vile anticipation was on Chrysalis' face as she leaned forward and began to gleefully count down, "20. ..19. . .18. . .17. . ."

"Please, just hear me out! It doesn't have to be this way!"

"16. . .15. . .14. . .13. . .12. . . "

"I never wanted you to be turned to stone! I wanted you back! We all wanted you back!"

"11. . .10. . .9. . .8. . ."

"We all hoped you would change! We wanted you to be our mother again!"

"7. . .6. . .5. . ."

"PLEASE, MOM! PLEASE!"

"4. . .3. . "

Thorax let out a cry of anguish and rage as he charged up magic in his antler and fired it at his now hated creation.

"2. . ."

SMASH!

Shard of the crystal were scattered all over the room, a black mark on the floor marking where it once stood. No more flames, no more voices, only silence. However, the silence was broken by the sound of Thorax throwing himself flat onto the floor and loudly sobbing his heart out. This went on until Thorax finally used up the last of his strength, and mercifully passed out.

Knock-knock-knock!

The knocking caused the Changeling King to awaken, his heart pounding as he gazed about the room. The shards of crystal only reminded him of the ordeal he had been to, which then caused his pounding to heart to ache with a dull, throbbing pain.

"Thorax? Wake up in there! You're needed out here," barked the sharp voice of his brother.

Thorax let out a soft, whimpering sigh, and he slowly got up onto his hooves. In spite of a full night's sleep, he felt exhausted. He was drained emotionally and physically, and it seemed to take longer than ever for him to make his way over to the door and open it.

"SURPRISE!"

Thorax's mouth and eyes were wide open as he beheld a huge gathering before him. All of the Changeling were smiling and applauding, even Pharynx. But what truly caught Thorax's attention were four familiar faces.

"HAPPY CORONATION DAY, THORAX!" declared Trixie, Ember, Spike, and Starlight.

Thorax's mind was reeling as he beheld his four friends, unable to take their eyes off of them, even as the rest of the Changelings were cheering for him.

Starlight approached the Changeling King and said, "When your communication crystal didn't work out last night, we figured that we could cheer you up by paying you a visit on your Coronation Day celebration."

This statement finally caused Thorax to find his voice. "Didn't. . .work. . .?" he stammered out.

Spike flew over to Thorax and said with a wry grin, "Yeah. It cut out and went dead right before Ember was about to tell us her molt story! What a bummer."

Thorax blinked his eyes slowly and echoed, "Before. . .her. . .molt story. . .?"

Ember shrugged and said, "Yeah. And, I guess if you want to hear it that badly, I'll tell you it later, if ya want."

Trixie bowed elegantly and said, "Surely such a tale may. . .come close to the entertainment that The Great and Powerful Trixie will provide for this event."

Ember smirked and said, "Heh. Okay, I'll admit it. The magician is starting to grow on me."

Starlight turned to the still shell shocked looking Changeling King and said, "Well, Thorax. You feeling pretty good, now?"

Thorax stood still and was in a deep daze. However, his state of shock was suddenly shattered as he used his magic to pull his four friends into a tight hug. He squeezed them all as tight as he good, tears running down his face as he wept uncontrollably and shamelessly, all the while unable to form coherent sentences.

While the other three were silently confused, Ember blushed a bit and remarked, "Heh. Talk about emotional. . .But I can't help but kinda like it. . ."

Ocellus watched the scene, visibly and deeply relieved by what she was seeing. She let out longest sigh of relief as she sunk down to her knees. "Oh thank goodness. Thank goodness," she said in a shaky whisper. Then, the voice of Harmony spoke to her:

"Witness if you will, the morning after a nightmare. The calm after the storm. An unforeseen consequence having run it's course. Luckily for Thorax, he was able to learn a few lessons without any lasting side effects. One of those lessons being that the best solution to a problem is also the easiest. So the next time you receive a call you neither expected nor wanted, the best course of action would be to hang up. Occam's Razor is as sharp as ever. . .in the Simulacrum Realm."