I looked up to see the twins enter the cave we were hiding in, lifting the flap we had hung to keep the wind out and the warmth in.

“Deal me in.” Antumbra said, shrugging his cloak over his wings to warm them from the flight back.

“Shit.” Fang hissed. “Had a straight going.”

I smiled and tossed my cards in the center.

Fang gathered them up, shuffled, and dealt new hands. I picked up my cards, shifting them around to suit my preferences.

“Anything to report tonight?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Penumbra looked to Antumbra, silently bidding him to speak first. Her eyes were distant, and dim; every time she went out, less of her seemed to come back.

“Well sir,” he drew a card from the center. “You know that thing I talked about a few days ago, and you told me to make sure?”

I nodded.

“I can confirm that there are no foals, fillies, or colts anywhere in the empire.” He looked up, his eyes meeting mine. “The only place I haven’t checked is the castle, but elsewise, there are homes with children’s rooms. The beds, the toys...in each home-it’s all the same. Each one has a thin layer of dust over everything.”

I sighed and pondered over the implications while Fang studied his cards. A light layer of dust meant that the rooms hadn’t been disturbed for some time, but not so long back for it to accumulate more heavily. And then for each home to have it, well, that means whatever happened to the young ones happened around the same point. Vague timelines though didn’t tell us why or how they had disappeared, and what happened to them.

“I...see.” I hmmed.

No I don’t. Liar.

“Is that all?” I pressed. I needed more information. Or at least more actionable information. Not to criticize Antumbra’s skill at gathering observations, but considering that Sledge, Fang and I had spent two days and nights of sitting in a freezing cave, losing card game after card game to Fang...the tedium was beginning to wear thin.

Antumbra scratched his chin. “The parents don’t seem to be looking for their offspring so I’d venture a guess that they know something.” He swallowed. "I mean, what sort of parent wouldn’t go searching if they didn’t know where their foal was? How could they not care?”

My thoughts flashed to my sire hanging from the rafters. I pushed them away as quickly as they came. There was no reason to dwell on the past when it couldn’t help the present.

“Penumbra, did you find anything?” I asked.

The mare shifted on her haunches, wrapping her tail around herself protectively. “Another mare was dragged into the castle last night, kicking and screaming at the guards who brought her there. This morning she was pushed out the castle door, and left in a heap on the step.” Penumbra’s tail tucked tighter against herself. “She looked absolutely broken sir.” Her voice wavered.

It was no secret to us that Sombra was treating his empire as his personal harem, of sorts. Every night, a new young, fertile mare was taken to the castle, often by force. The next morning, sometimes they were seen leaving; other times...not.

The very thought of ‘what if that was Breeze?’ made me sick to my stomach. Granted she was years away from that sort of maturity, but it still scared me. What happened to the fathers of this cursed place? How could they allow this to happen without fighting back? To allow their daughters to be taken from their homes and then taken again in Sombra’s bedchambers? How broken were they?

I didn’t understand. I’m wasn’t sure I wanted to.

Penumbra continued. “And then on my return flight I saw him doing something in the tower.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Something?”

She rolled her eyes. “I couldn’t see very well, but it looked like her was casting spells at some large chunk of crystal. The weird part was, that anything he did, the whole tower would change colors and weird black crystals would grow, then disappear when the spell stopped.”

I rubbed the bridge of my muzzle.

Great. Another thing I don’t understand.

Freaking unicorn magic. I knew what it could accomplish to certain extents, but I didn’t understand it. Not truly. I had never needed to. And yet, here I was, trying to contemplate what Sombra could possibly be doing.

I took a deep breath and folded my cards. It was a good hand, but I needed to focus.

I, vaguely, recalled reading something about the Crystal Empire having some sort of effect over the rest of Equestria back under Luna’s tutelage. Unfortunately, it seemed the rest of that information had long been replaced by other memories, leaving only an echo.

Granted though, if that fuzzy recollection was true, then whatever Sombra was doing could have far-reaching repercussions. Back to Equestria repercussions. Sure, he could just be redecorating his living space, but I didn’t trust the bastard to do anything so innocuous and mundane.

But I was grasping at straws. Penumbra couldn’t tell me anymore about the spell he was using--she knew even less than me about magic--or what he was doing. The only three things I knew about Sombra was that, one, he was actively violating the minds and bodies of his subjects. Two, he was doing...something…to the Crystal Tower. And three, that I had grown to hate the stallion.

I set my hoof down, and blink-blinked at that realization.

I hated Sombra. A deep, searing hate that scoured right through the core of my heart.

I was many things, but a hateful pony wasn’t one of them. Sure, I was quick to anger, and fight if necessary, but I was never hateful. I didn’t hate my ‘father’, despite him leaving me at a young age; alone in this world with no other family. I didn’t hate the hydras and manticores I’d slain, despite them killing several ponies and close comrades of mine. I didn’t even hate Nightmare Moon, who had done plenty to me to earn such a feeling.

And yet, I hated Sombra. I hated what he had done, and continued to do. I hated him for all the crimes he did, but I didn’t know about. I hated him because he was an affront to the ideals and ponies I held dear. I hated Sombra, because he was, as far as I could tell, evil.

I didn’t even know why he was! Maybe, if I dug through his past far enough, I might learn that his evilness was due to a tragic past, or good intentions gone awry. I couldn’t bring myself to care though. As far as I could figure, he was evil without reason. He existed solely to spend his brand of misery and pain as far as he could. And try as I might, there was no outcome, no world, that would better off with him in it.

I glanced around the cave at the other ponies. I suddenly wasn’t sure I should lead this mission. How could I? How could I expect to remain calm and impartial?

More worrisome though: could I abdicate my authority?

I looked at Fang, who was engrossed in the game. Sure, he was my second-in-command. I knew him to be a capable leader in battle. But when faced with a problem, Fang only had one question: Can it die? If so, then he fought. If not, he’d find somepony else to deal with it.

He wouldn’t do this time,

I looked to the other three. Each of them was talented, no doubt. But leaders? No. At least, not yet. They were still too green. If they were guard members, I wouldn’t even consider them ready to even be sergeants. They absolutely had promise, and great deal of it, but they each still had a ways to go before they could fulfill it.

I slumped and took another deep breath. My tail flicked and twitched back and forth on the cold ground. I couldn’t entrust this mantle to somepony else and...

...I couldn’t trust myself. I chewed the inside of my cheek. I knew what my heart wanted--Sombra’s head on a pike--and my head wasn’t level enough to sway its burning desire.

“Sir, new round?” Fang asked, offering the deck. His eyes studied me with concern.

Still, I don’t have to rely on my judgement alone.

I pushed the deck away. “Put the cards away. I need to have a serious talk with you all.”

Fang grumbled, but complied. The others just perked up their ears.

“First,” I turned to the twins. “As it stands, you two have been doing all the reconnaissance due to your talents. You know more than anypony else in the room.” I let my gaze hold them for a moment. “I need an honest assessment. Do we have enough to determine if Sombra is a threat to Equestria?”

The two looked to each other, seeming to have a silent conversation. Their eyes flickered and darted, accompanied with the occasional facial twitch. Finally they turned back to me, and shook their heads.

That came as no surprise. “How much time do you think you would need to find anything that definitively says he is?”

Both their mouths immediately jumped open, and I cut them off with a hoof. “One at a time.”

Penumbra grimaced. “Sir, I couldn’t begin to tell you. We could get lucky and find plans of an invasion tomorrow. Or it could take weeks, or months, maybe even years.”

“We just don’t know.” Antumbra finished.

“Great...,” I sighed.

Orchid, returning from her own sort of mission, collapsed to the ground next me. She curled up against my side, shaking and crying. Ever since Penumbra told us the first day, Orchid had left each evening to go bear silent witness to the heinous acts that Sombra carried out on the mares brought to him for his pleasure. Orchid would try, in vain, to bring some comfort to the victims as she did to me. She was my personal reaper and only I could feel her affects.

Every night, I would tell her that she didn’t have to go. That she didn’t have to torture herself like this. And everynight, she would tell me that while she couldn’t help them, they didn’t deserve to suffer alone.

I couldn’t argue against that. Still didn’t stop me from wishing she wouldn’t go. Orchid had a good heart and pure soul and I feared what continual exposure would do to her.

“Um...boss?” Fang raised a hoof. “Does that mean us three-” He pointed at himself, Sledge, and I. “-are just going to sit here and wait until they do?” He raised a barely restrained eyebrow. “Because I don’t know about you, but I can’t do that. I can’t sit here and play cards for forever while they try and find evidence! We don’t even have the rations, or supplies for a sustained effort like that!”

I nodded. Hell, even if we did have the necessary supplies, I wasn’t sure I could ask that of them in the first place. It was a miracle they dropped everything and came in the first place, out of respect and loyalty to me.

“So what do we do?” Sledge asked, his head swiveling to each of us for an answer.

“We gather what information we can and leave.” Antumbra piped up. “After all, that’s what the mission is, right?” I saw him look to me in my peripheral, but I couldn’t raise my eyes to meet his. I continued to keep my eyes down, just listening.

“And what?” There was steel in Penumbra’s voice; steel and anger. “We leave and fly back to Equestria where it’s nice and safe?” She pointed out at the Crystal Empire. “So we leave and what happens to them!? Those mares are dragged to the castle every night! Every night Antumbra!” she screamed at him, spittle flying from her lips. “And you say we should just leave and let that sick bastard continue to-to-to,” she struggled to say what came next, tears budding in her eyes. Her tail tucked itself tightly between her legs.

Orchid shook a little harder against me.

“To rape them.” Antumbra said as clinically as possible.

Penumbra nodded as she glared venomously at her brother. Warm tears streaked down her cheeks. “Yes,” she whispered.

None of us had said it before. We always phrased it differently or left it implied. We knew though. There was no mistaking what was occurring, but none of us said it. To say it was to make it real. To admit that it happened in no uncertain terms.

And now, it had been said.

“The mission is to determine if he is a threat to Equestria, and to cripple any efforts that make him so. That’s all.” Antumbra continued, his voice cold and neutral. I don’t think he liked what he was saying, but legally, that was all the mission allowed. It was the truth. It was right.

It sucked.

I felt my rage begin to flow through my veins with every beat of my heart. A slow trickle at first, but rapidly growing. I looked to the others gathered around me. Nopony said anything, each lost in their own thoughts.

Justice demanded action.

My eyes flicked to my wingblades. I traced the razor edge of the polished steel, light glistening along its length; flickering as if reflecting some unseen fire.

Justice demanded retribution.

I looked at Orchid, who was still shaking and whimpering.

Justice demanded consequences.

I picked up a hoof and looked at it. I’d spent my whole life fighting and killing. The most recent, in my river of blood, were those lives I claimed in the civil ‘war’. Surely some of those ponies hadn’t deserved to die. But they were my enemy at the time. So it was right. It was legal.

Justice demanded a reckoning.

I closed my eyes. If I followed what Celestia had told me, the outline of our mission, then we could do nothing here. That was right. That was legal.

Justice demanded a decision.

The righteous fury in my veins turned to resolve.

Justice demanded many things but I demanded just one.

I demanded a death.

“We abandon the mission.” I said, clear, and confident.

Silence hung pregnant in the air.

“I’m sorry. What?” Antumbra blinked at me.

“We abandon the mission.” I looked him dead in the eye. “Come sundown, I’m going hunting. I welcome anypony that comes with me, and blame nopony who leaves.”

Fang nodded solemnly. “I’m in.”

Antumbra looked at Fang in horror. “You can’t be serious?” He looked back at me. “You can’t be serious!”

I didn’t say anything, but just looked at him.

“But-this isn’t the mission! This isn’t what the princess asked us to do!”

“You’re right on both accounts.” I nodded, still radiating calm. “But this isn’t about what the princess asked us. This about what we ask of ourselves. Sombra has violated the sanctuary that is the minds of his soldiers, stripping them of their agency and free will. He has violated the sanctity of the bodies of the mares under his rule.

“That is two ways he has raped his subjects and for that-” I set my hoof down forcefully, it’s echo ringing in through the cave. “-there must be judgement.”

“Sombra is bad. He hurts ponies.” Sledge nodded slowly.

“I think that means Sledge is in Boss,” Fang said.

“You can’t do this!” Antumbra rallied. “You are a captain in service to Celestia! Not a judge! You can’t decide who lives and who dies!”

“Funny. I never saw any judges on the battlefield telling me where to swing my blade.” I remarked dryly. “And do you really need another pony to tell you that what is happening here is wrong and needs to be stopped? Honestly?” I asked.

Antumbra froze with a pained look on his face. He knew, just as we knew. Nopony had to tell him. His mind warred with itself, trying the resolve the two sides in a way that wrapped everything in a nice little bow.

Penumbra put a hoof on her brother’s cheek, forcing him to look at her.

He stared at her, at the truth in her eyes, shaking his head. “You-you can’t-”

“I am,” she cut him off.

The shock on Antumbra’s face didn’t subside.

“I can’t turn my back on this. I’m sorry.” She kissed him softly on his forehead, before walking over and joining Sledge on the other side on the circle.

Antumbra now sat alone.

His eyes passed over us, one to another. His mind racing, trying to fit it all together. I could almost read his thoughts on his face. ‘How could we abandon the princess’ orders? How could we be both judge and executioner? How could his sister leave him to do this?’

But he couldn’t walk the path we were taking.

“No.” His wings flared a little. “There have to be other ways! We could capture him! Drag him back to stand before the princess! Something!”

My eyes bored directly into his. “Say we do capture Sombra. How are we going to get him back to Equestria? Prevent him from using magic on us or escaping?” I looked to him for a response, but none came. We just didn’t have the tools to do that.

He turned his back to us. Taking shaky, uncertain steps, he plodded over to his sleeping roll and lay down.

I turned to the others. “At this point I’d like to give one last chance for anypony to back out. Actions have consequences. We want to make Sombra pay for his, but we need to be prepared to pay for ours should the time come. Can you accept that?” I looked to each of them, only moving onto the next once that pony gave me a nod.

None left.

“Very well. Now, how do we kill a king?” I posed the question before them.

And we planned.

Author's Notes:

I don't think this came out perfect, but it's out. I just hope y'all don't hate me for it.

As always, feedback is welcomed and encouraged.