“Well...that went well…”
Shawn glared at Carson. “I didn’t see you trying to help, Jerkson.”
Carson pushed several changelings out of his way until he was face to face with Shawn. “I didn’t see you trying to stop her from escaping!”
“But she’s still here.” Twig said, cradling the unconscious princess. “As sleepy as ever.” He looked down at her and smiled. “Aren't you, little pretty princess.”
“She’s not ‘little’ Twig.” Carson stated.
“To him, she is.” Stan said.
Twig nodded while Shawn tried calming himself down. “Listen, Twig, why exactly did you bring the princess here? I mean, what made you think this plan would work again?”
Twig thought about that for two seconds before saying, “Well, it almost worked before. If we did it again, then maybe it’ll work this time, right?...R-Right?”
Most of the changelings glared at him while Shawn continued thinking. “There’s got to be a better way at going about this…” Shawn rubbed his chin while others waited for him to speak, it was only until Shawn noticed the stares that he stopped. “It would be very much appreciated if EVERYLING could think with me!”
“But thinking is hard.” Twig whined. “Why can’t you just do it?”
“Because I’m not the only one who’s gonna get killed when the ponies find out we have her!” Shawn’s eye twitched at the end of that sentence, making many of the changelings in the room look away, especially the hatchlings. “So...unless everyling want’s to die, then I suggest we come up with a plan together.”
One hatchling stepped forward. “A-Are they really gonna kill us?”
Shawn was about to say he was over exaggerating, but Stan interrupted him. “Not if we kill them first!” He yelled. “Provided it’s just them and not...royals…”
“I say we get help!” One changeling yelled.
Shawn rolled his eyes. “From where, Paul? Who’s gonna help us with this anyway?”
“Maybe the DD’s can help.” One changeling suggested.
“It’s not saturday,” Sift said. “so they ain’t-”
“gonna be commin’ over here 'till next week.” Lift finished.
“We could call on the hydras.” One yelled. “Old Otis still lives with that four headed one, right?”
Shawn stomped his hooves. “It’s not about who it’s about how? How are they gonna help us?”
“They could give us advice?” Twig said.
“Advice on what?” Shawn asked, knowing only a stupid answer would soon follow.
Twig was about to answer, but another changeling stepped up. “We could throw her in the crystal mines again.”
Shawn growled. “What? so she can break out like last time.”
“Can’t we just throw her in a cocoon?” Stan suggested. “It worked with that white tyrant.”
“She’ll break out of that too.” Shawn said.
“How do you know?” Addison yelled.
Shawn dragged his hoof across his face. “Because our cocoons aren’t that strong for a horse like her! Even the queen had to help set up the one in canterlot for that princess, and if I remember correctly, our queen can’t really help us right now.”
“Are you sure she helped with that?” Paul asked.
As the conversations continued, Carson was starting to come up with a plan, one that he knew was the right thing to do. One that had a solution that was foolproof. One that would save all of them and especially him. “I say we kill her.”
The room went silent the second Carson said those five words. Every changeling in the room looked right at him in shock and terror. “Wh-what?” Twig said, hugging the princess even tighter.
“You heard me.” Carson got up on a table and pointed at Cadance. “They can’t get us if we don’t have the body. and she can’t fight back if she’s dead can she?”
Some changelings thought that could be true while others were still trying to process what Carson suggested. “You’re insane!” Shawn yelled. “We can’t kill her! Who knows what she’ll do if we lay a hoof on her while she’s asleep.”
Carson crossed his arms. “She doesn’t seem to be doing anything right now, is she?” He craned his head at Twig, who had now let go of the princess in fear that she would hurt him.
“B-But we can’t do that…” Twig said.
“And why not?” Carson stood even higher.
Twig bit his lip. “B-because...well, i-if the ponies come here and...and see a...a…” He gulped. “d-d-dead princess, d-don’t you think they’ll...ya know...hate us?”
Carson walked up to him and patted his head. “Twig, it’s times like this I’m glad you’re not in charge of anything.” Carson flew in the air. “Don’t you all get it!? Shawn said the second those ponies get in, they’re gonna kill us!”
Shawn was about to point out he exaggerated on that and only wanted his siblings to listen, but a hatchling stepped forward and said, “Y-you really think that...that…”
Carson flew up to her and picked her up. “I don’t think, little Sally...I know they’ll do it, I mean, what do you think they talk about out there? How good we are? NO! They don’t!” He put her back down and flew over everling. “So listen up, everyling! Any second now, those guards are gonna come through the cave entrance and bust us up like a bunch of fruits, so I say, as long as our juice is gonna spill, than HER juice is gonna spill too! PRINCESS JUICE!”
Shawn flew up next to him. “You can’t be serious!”
“I am dead serious...no pun intended.”
Shawn sighed. “Listen, everyling, even if we wanted to, well...ya know, then how would we do it? I mean…” Shawn flew down to Cadance and pointed at her. “She’s an alicorn! This creature is impossible to kill!”
Carson landed on the ground. “How do you know that if you haven’t even tried?”
“Then what do we do, huh?” Shawn tapped his hoof, waiting for an answer. “Do we just hit her in the head again? She seems to be surviving that, o-or how about this! We shove her into a cocoon like we did with that white one, it sure ended her life...oh wait. IT DIDN’T!”
“I-It didn’t…” Stan said with fear in his voice
Carson looked at the princess again. “There’s got to be a way...I mean, things die sooner or later...r-right?”
Shawn shook his head. “The thing is immortal, it can’t be killed, and-and even if we do kill her, then what? We just hide the body!? The ponies are gonna figure this out and hunt us down.” Shawn started making his way through the crowds. “You all better pray to our unconscious queen that they’ll be merciful.”
“We can, at least, try…” Twig said. “We could even do a song and dance routine too.” Twig clapped his hooves, making Cadance’s ears flick.
“This ain’t a musical” Shawn stated. “and like I said, if those ponies find a dead body next to us, especially one this important, then they will do to us what we’ll do to her.” He pointed at the princess again as her hooves twitched.
“Then how would you go about this, Shawny?” Carson asked. “Because I’m pretty sure if we end her life, then we can-”
“Can you hear what you’re saying, Jerkson!” Shawn yelled. “It’s no wonder ponies look at us like monsters!” He threw his arms in the air. “OH! let’s just kill her! Yeah! That’s exactly what monsters like us do!” He stomped his hooves on the ground, making Cadance’s eyes flutter open.
Addison fidgeted. “So...you want us to-”
“If we end her life, then we’re just proving them right! That we’re just monsters bent on sucking the life out of ponies.”
One hatchling sat up. “B-but we don’t...r-right?”
As Shawn started losing it, Cadance was slowly coming back into the world. Her ears could make out almost everything they were saying, and it was making her panic. She thanked Celestia that they didn’t tie her up again as she started getting on all fours.
Shawn dragged his hooves across his face. “I don’t know, little one, from the sounds of it, we are.” He looked over at Cadance. “Because if killing her is the only option you guys have, then...t-then…”
Shawn, and everyone else, gasped as Cadance got back on her hooves. Her face had nothing but fear plastered on it, her whole body shook and her eyes darted from one side of the room to the next. “Y-you’re going to...to...kill me…” She stepped back.
“Uh...uhm…” Shawn gulped. “I-I’m guessing you heard all that…”
Cadance started taking in more breaths than usual. “All I heard was ‘killing’ and ‘princess’ and...and…” She shook her head. “I-I don’t even want to know what else you said...y-you really are monsters!”
Twig stepped forward. “B-but we’re not-”
“S-Stay back!” Cadance yelled, making every changeling in the room do so. “I-If any of you even try it…”
“She’s gonna kill us!” One changeling screamed.
“Not with that gunk on her horn.” Carson pointed out.
Stan gulped. “She can still use that horn like a sword or something. A-Alicorns can do that, right?”
Twig gulped. “W-Well, they can in other stor-”
“TWIG!” Shawn yelled. “Now’s not the time!”
Cadance sighed, not even wanting to answer that question. “I-I thought for sure if one changeling was nice to ponies then...t-then…” She looked away. “I guess I was wrong…”
“One changeling?” Stan said. “W-What changeling?”
Cadance sighed. “One who I heard was nice, one who really loved somepony, and she loved him back for who he really was, and I thought all his brothers and sisters acted the same, but I know that’s just a lie now. You all are nothing but monsters to each other, and to everyone else!”
The changelings started noticing that she was becoming more angry than scared now. “L-Listen, princess,” Shawn said, stepping forward. “T-This was just Carson’s idea, he was the one who-”
“HEY!” Carson flew right up to him. “Don’t pin this on me!”
“You were the one who said we should kill her!” Shawn yelled.
“Well sorr-IE that I was doing what you told me to do.”
“I told you to come up with a good idea, not one that would just make our lives worse than it already is!” Shawn backed away. “y-you know what!” He faced Cadance. “I’ve had it! Just like I said in the beginning, We’re dead bugs, we have no leader, no plan, no nothing. So maybe it’s time to end this!”
“W-what do you mean?” Cadance asked.
“I mean that you might as well end it now, Princess! Here! Lemmy help you!” Shawn ran right up to Cadance and grabbed her by her shoulders. Before she could even scream, he bit down on her horn and ripped off the green slime, a slight spark of magic came out once all of it was off.
Shawn then spit out the green substance and stepped back. Every one of his brothers did the same, but more dramatically. Stan hid behind Twig. “S-Shawn…” Stan stuttered. “W-what have you done!?”
“Something smart.” Shawn said, spitting out the rest of the gunk and wiping his mouth. “We’re dead no matter what! Might as well end it now.” He faced the princess while the changelings started to panic, most of them hiding under the tables and some were trying to find the exit, but Cadance was standing right in their way.
“You…” Carson said. “You’ve dooms us all!” He ducked behind Twig, who was now hyperventilating.
“S-Shawn…” Twig said. “D-Don’t just stand there! T-There’s a princess who’s gonna-
“I know, Twig, and you know what? It’s not even worth it…” Shawn said, extending his arms out to his sides. “She’s gonna end our lives one by one, just be glad she’ll make it quick...uh...r-right?”
Cadance was still confused by what Shawn just did. She looked up at her horn and tapped it to see it was working. A small spark answered her question, and also made some changelings gasp and whimper. She looked at Shawn and said,. “Changeling, I want to know the truth, were you all really gonna kill me?”
Shawn continued having his arms out. “I don’t even know. We’re lost without a ruler. Our plan probably would’ve freed you at the end of this anyway. We’re nothing but idiotic, useless creatures that shouldn’t even get a chance, because we’ll all fail, just like we did with all the other places. We fail...and we fail...and we fail again...so why try?” Shawn put his arms down and looked up at her. “So go ahead. End it...s’better than starving to death anyway.”
“Geeze…” Stan whispered. “This went dark fast.”
“I know…” Twig whispered back. “It was fun a second ago...I think…”
“Right…” Carson said sarcastically.
Cadance started processing what was happening, from what she could tell, these changelings had no idea what they were doing and were probably more terrified of her than the other way around. She turned to all of the other changelings, each one of them trembled in fear of what she would do.
Cadance then looked back at Shawn, seeing that his blue eyes were on the verge of tears. She took a deep breath, knowing that he was right. She had to end this. “You’ve ruined my wedding,” She started, stepping closer and closer to the changeling. “You almost destroyed Canterlot, your queen brainwashed my husband...and worst of all, you ponynapped me...TWICE!” Cadance towered over Shawn, looking down at him. “I think you know just what you deserve…”
Shawn slowly nodded and lowered his head, not wanting to see what he deserved.