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Crystal Salt Cookie fell to its knees, their body aching. Scratches littered the surface of their dough; bits of jam bleeding from their wounds. They panted, it’s energy depleting with each seconds. They were so, so tired.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, and really, it wasn’t. His companions, the ones originally regarded as saviors were always worthy opponents. It knew it’d never be able to take them all at once, not when they’d barely even trained to fight them, but what else could it do? They had to do something.
Their friends, those who it’d met when it was only just starting it’s travels, had become distorted to something they could barely recognize. One by one, they’d all descended into evil, destroying their own kingdoms and any creatures that dared to stand in their paths. Nobody and nothing was spared.
It felt like such a switch from the caring, kind, and merciful cookies they’d once known. It had grown up with the others, seen their highs, their lows, but this…They’d never had to face anything like this.
Truly, it wasn’t sure if it could keep fighting for any longer.
Not even just the physical toll this was taking on them, though with the way every part of their body burned, that wasn’t helping its odds. The fact it had to fight their friends, hearing them laugh as it struggled, seeing their new, terrible forms…It was more than the knights heart could take.
They hobbled back to their feet, panting and wiping jam from their face. The jams sickeningly sweet smell filled the air as they huffed, raising it’s sword again.
“Why…” They near whispered, feeling their former friend’s eyes circling it. It raised its sword, hands shaking. “WHY?! Why are you doing this..!” They couldn’t ignore the way its voice shook, teeth gritted.
Laughs and snickers surrounded it, the beasts treating their question as if it was some comedy routine. They stomped their foot on the ground, raising their sword higher, though it had little effect. “ANSWER ME! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!”
Suddenly, the laughing stopped, as if they’d ruined the joke. Its fury only grew, so they kept on. “WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR PROMISE TO PROTECT EVERYONE ON EARTHBREAD?WHAT ABOUT THE COOKIES WHO LOOKED UP TO YOU, WHO DEPENDED ON YOU?” They couldn’t help the tears that pricked in their eyes, though it tried their hardest to shove them back down. “WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR?!”
The area was silent, Crystal Salt standing in place. It was about to open its mouth again, before a quick slash cut them off.
It was Searing Spice— no, Burning Spice Cookie was what he called himself now. He’d knocked the sword out of Crystal Salt Cookies hands, along with leaving a gash on its torso. The knight covered their bleeding wound as it stumbled to not fall, though it couldn’t help but note how the spicy cookie was clearly holding back. Hell, they all were. Crystal Salt had put up a good fight, but if they truly wanted to, the 4 could’ve killed them long ago.
Why hadn’t they..?
A booming laugh from Burning Spice Cookie cut off its thoughts, showing off his newly sharpened teeth. He stood between Crystal Salt and their sword, a sinister grin on his face. Nothing like the previously warm, inviting smile he’d once sported.
“A shame, really…You truly don’t know, do you?” He taunted, raising a brow. Crystal Salt scoffed, glaring at their former friend. “Know…Know what?” Burning Spice only grinned wider, his sharp canines gleaming even with how dark their surroundings were.
“It really doesn’t know…” Shining Sugar— Eternal Sugar Cookie murmured, above the both of them. The knights eyes shot up, seeing her smirking aa she laid lazily on a soft pink cloud. “Well, it’s no wonder they’re still wasting their time like this, I suppose.” She yawned, as if this was just some bothersome activity.
“What are you talking about?! Speak up, say what you mean, dammit!” Crystal Salt ordered, though without the leverage of even its sword, it didn’t have much of an effect.
“Surely you’ve felt it too…” Refined Flour— Mystic Flour Cookie said calmly, to Crystal Salt Cookies side. “The futility of all of these responsibilities, the truth of all these cookies who depend on you so?”
Crystal Salt couldn’t understand what they were on about. All this cryptic talk— it just made its head spin. Or maybe that was from all the jam they were losing. They weren’t sure. “Just…Say what you mean already,” Crystal Salt huffed. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Oho, but you’ve wasted your time helping ungrateful pests?” Blueberry Milk— Shadow Milk Cookie said with a grin. His eyes, once filled with benevolence and the love of knowledge, now held a sick sense of mania. He floated in front of the knight, a taunting pity in his tone.
“How could you call my subjects that?! They’ve always regarded you so highly—“ Crystal Salt was cut off.
“But what about how they see you?” Shadow Milk asked.
The question caught Crystal Salt Cookie off guard. What did he even mean? Of course their subjects thought well of them!
“Oh, I know what they think of you…” Burning Spice sneered, arms crossed as he leaned against his axe. “‘That Crystal Salt Cookie, what does it even do?’” He quoted smugly. The knights stomach dropped, that couldn’t be true! It tried to contest him, but—
“‘They really don’t do anything, do they? Sure, it gives us freedom, but what’s the good in that, really? Even Searing Spice Cookie is a better fighter than it…’” Eternal Sugar added, sounding like a direct quote from one of Crystal Salts apprentices. “Th-That isn’t true!” Crystal Salt Cookie shouted. “They wouldn’t, I know them!”
“Do you?” Mystic Flour questioned, her eyes slightly opened. Her gaze seemed to pierce their very soul, doubt spreading through its being. “How could you know them, when you haven’t heard what they whisper about you when they know you aren’t listening?” She went on, seeming to look down on the other cookie even as they were on the same level.
It couldn’t be true. Crystal Salt knew it, why would their subjects think of them that way? After all they’ve done, after all it’s sacrificed to ensure their rights, they wouldn’t say such things of them…Would they?
“Th-that was before!” Their justification didn’t even convince them, but it had to say something. “Surely, they see how hard I’ve worked to protect them from the 4 of you!”
The beasts around him laughed again, that taunting, terrible laugh.
“C’mon Salty, do you really believe that?” Shadow Milk laughed, a deranged look on his face. “I know even you’ve heard how angry they are with you! Don’t play dumb.”
“Or do I have to repeat it to you?”
No. The jester didn’t have to. Even it couldn’t pretend like he didn’t hear the whispers around his kingdom, getting louder with each corruption of his friends.
’How can we trust them?! How do we know it won’t turn against us next!’
‘Is it even trying?! Everything keeps getting destroyed, and what do they do?! Nothing! What’s it even there for!’
‘If Blueberry Milk, or even Shining Sugar Cookie had stayed uncorrupted, we’d be fine! Why’d they have to stay!’
‘If it’s going to be so useless against the beasts, it may as well crumble. Better than them switching up too.’
“I didn’t think so.”
“Theyre just…” Crystal Salt Cookie trailed off, gaze glued to the floor. They couldn’t meet the others’ eyes, it would hurt too much. “They’re just, they’re all just upset, thats it. They don’t mean it.”
“Really? After all you’ve done to help their sorry asses, you’ll let them say those things about you because they’re mad? You can’t be that pathetic, Salt.” Burning Spice Cookie rolled his eyes. Crystal Salt couldn’t bring itself to respond.
“So deep in denial, are you? Just admit it, they never valued you. Why go through all this pain to protect them?” Eternal Sugar Cookie tilted her head, a conniving, yet soft smile on her face. Again, the knight had nothing to say.
“Don’t you feel it within you? Your resolution crumbling beneath your feet?” Mystic Flour prodded. No response, just the thud of Crystal Salt Cookie falling to its knees, head down.
“Aw, it’s too much to admit, isn’t it?” Shadow Milk snickered. “That’s fine! You don’t have to say anything, we all know.” The jester floated over to Crystal Salt Cookie, lifting his chin to face him.
The resolve previously in its eyes had completely faded, replaced with apathy, hurt, and most importantly, a want for vengeance. “You understand it now, don’t you?”
A nod.
“Good thing. Now come on, we have work to do.”