The pair trotted to the Vault, the place where all weapons confiscated from the invasion were placed.
“Chrysalis really values the lives of ponies,” Verdugo explained as the guards let the pair inside. “So She had all the lethal measures taken from them, lest we be tempted to kill them... Or for them to kill themselves.” She looked over the vast array of spears before settling on one of them. She pulled it from the rack to look at it more closely. “Now these weapons are only used for fighting unruly changelings or for executions.”
Verdugo sighed and pulled the weapon to her side. She solemnly nodded and turned toward the exit. “You should go back to your room. I can handle the ponies by myself.”
Starchy shook his head. “I'm coming with you.”
A frown tugged at the edges of her snout. “Don't look up to me, kid. I'm not a good role model.”
“You're the best I've got.” He shrugged. “What's the worst that could happen?”
Verdugo sighed and nodded. “Fine. But I'm doing all the talking.” The two made their way out of the Vault. “The crazy unicorn or the pegasus who stabbed you?”
“What... What are you asking me?”
“Which one should we kill first?”
“The stabby one,” Starchy replied almost immediately.
Verdugo chuckled. “Good choice.”
A lone changeling stood outside the Vault, awaiting them. He beckoned toward the pair and guided them to the cells where the prisoners were being kept. The first door held the pegasus, with the unicorn held in the next room. The changeling galloped away, lest it hear any of the events through the thin walls.
Verdugo turned to Starchy and put a hoof to her lips. She opened the door and the two trotted into the first room. She shut and locked it behind them with a simple latch.
The pegasus looked weakly up at them from his chair, his hooves and wings tied to it with sticky cocooning goop.
Between the prisoner and the executioner was a simple table. Verdugo shoved her spear through the wooden center of it and trotted up to the pony. She raised his head to meet her eye with her own hoof and smiled.
“So... Where are they?” she asked him.
The pegasus looked from her eye socket to the rest of the room and back. “There is nopony else,” he explained. “Sin and I were the last of the--”
Verdugo struck him with her hoof. The pony, chair and all, were now on their side. “No. I don't accept lies.” The pony rolled his eyes. “You really want to bet your life on that lie? Then I'll rip open your stomach and when I see everyone’s valuables, I'll be satisfied.” The pony crooked his head. “The valuables that are missing,” she clarified. “Someone had to take them and I know it wasn't you or this ‘Sin’ guy.”
“I don't know what you're talking about...”
“There's a spear in the table, pal.” Verdugo nodded toward it. “It's meant for you... But if you can prove your usefulness then it--”
“Changelings don't kill ponies,” the pegasus interjected.
Verdugo grinned. “Now you know that, yet you would threaten one? Stab one?!”
“Changelings capture ponies. We wanted to survive, so we would take the weakest ones we could find and barter for supplies.” He sighed. “It only ever worked once.” He smiled at her. “On you.”
“If that changeling hadn't miraculously survived your stabbing, you'd be dead where you lie,” Verdugo noted. “So instead we have time to talk...”
The pegasus looked up at her and shook his head. “My wife is gone. You monsters took her, and I never saw her again.”
“I'm sure if we looked in the dungeons--”
“Sin had escaped your complexes before. We teamed up to rescue her.” He shook his head. “Don't waste your time like I wasted mine. She's gone.” He silently looked down at the floor for a moment. “Kill me.”
Verdugo lowered her head, whispering under her breath. Such a shame about that... They were such a cute couple. She was always there for him when he returned from battle.
“What are you talking about?” Starchy asked her.
“What?” Verdugo asked him as the two heads looked back at the quiet changeling. “Starchy, just get my spear. Bring it for our friend.”
The recruit reluctantly nodded and pulled the spear from the broken table. He handed it over.
Verdugo took it with her magic. She turned to the pegasus. She nodded. Then she plunged it into his heart.
“It seems to me that you're not the problem here, pegasus...”
“Thunder...” the pegasus retched. “Sword...”
His body fell limp.
Verdugo pulled the blade out of him. “Well, ‘Thunder Sword’ was easy enough. Real tough guy type, but respectable at least.” She smirked and patted Starchy. “Let's go kill ourselves the real problem.”
“But if he wasn't the real--”
Verdugo shushed him and led him to the next room.
“About damn time!” the unicorn’s voice yelled out at the two changelings coming through the door. He rocked back and forth, stuck to his chair, goop on his horn. He stopped rocking when he saw the red-stained spear get gently placed on the table before him.
“By all means, don't let us shut you up.” Verdugo smiled at him. “Just tell us where your friends are and I won't kill you.”
“Nah, boo...” Sin chuckled. “You killed Thunder. He was the good guy who’d never sell his friends out for his own sake...” He smiled at her. “But me? I'm just here for the fun of it all.” He nodded happily. “So screw you.”
“I have a spear.”
“I’ve killed ponies.”
“I'm trying to give you a fair--”
“This isn't some playground fun time!” Sin chastised. “This is real life!” He laughed at her. “If life was fair, my parents would be alive still...”
“Did they die in the invasion?” Verdugo asked.
Sin laughed in her face. “What?! You think if they somehow died during your invasion that sparing my life might mean something to either of us?!” He laughed some more. “No. I killed them both. And each night I wish I could do it again.”
“And save them?”
“Heck no! Just kill them for the fun of it!” He laughed at her even more. “You changelings think you're sooo good with your little ‘values’ and your promises of ‘mercy’ just to kill us anyways...” He smiled dementedly at her. “You're nothing to me. I'm going to get out of these binds eventually and I will murder each and every--”
“Recruit!” Verdugo called to Starchy. He retrieved the spear.
“Rude!” Sin rolled his eyes.
“Wait for me outside, recruit.”
Sin chuckled. “Yeah, recruit! Go wait outside while I get some alone time with the royal bitch!”
“NOW!” she screamed back at Starchy.
He quickly left the room and within seconds of the door latching could hear horrible screams through the walls.
Then there was silence.
The door opened and a red changeling trotted out. Red dripped down onto the floor around her.
“I didn't want you to get wet,” the crimson Verdugo explained. “More than that, I didn't want anyone to think for a second there was anything resembling a pony in that room.” She shuddered, splattering the walls and floor in red droplets. “I just can't stand psychos like that.”
She smiled at Starchy. “You go on back the room. I'll catch up after I wash all this off.”
Starchy nodded, leaving the redness behind for the comfort of cleaner company, and a safe place to sleep.