The Family Cygnet

Once again, he’d received a letter from Cadance and had to excuse himself for the evening. At least this time there was no angry screaming in the background. He’d left them sitting around the new table, laughing about how terrible the food choices were, and how messy an eater Twilight was. The conversation had been fun, but it had felt like there was a thread just beyond his reach somehow, like he was being excluded but politely.

While it made him feel uneasy, he tried not to think about it, instead being grateful that they were getting along. As he focused on the letter, it seemed that Flurry’s problem was getting bigger, and he needed to be more involved. A lot more involved.

Her dissipated coltfriend? Actually a front pony for a rebel group that had been trying to kidnap her in order to perform some ritual to resurrect Sombra. Thankfully, Cadance had revealed the situation personally to Flurry. He needed to up their spymaster’s pay, as one of his ponies had identified the connection before anything had happened.

Flurry, was of course, devastated. Cadance was consoling her with ice cream, cozy blankets, and hugs the best she could. Flurry’s emotional state, while more dangerous than any weapon, wasn’t a problem Shining could help with right now.

Now the rebel group and their cultist leader, that was something he could tackle. Most of the bad guys had been caught, but a few had managed to escape in the chaos. He had a night of letters to write, and lots of sending magic to work with; it couldn’t wait.

Why anypony would want a return to Sombra’s rule was beyond Shining, but the reality was that ponies rarely knew what they wanted and often gleefully stepped into terrible situations. Most of the ponies in the group probably weren’t truly bad ponies, just swindled by some cult leader’s idea of how Sombra would treat them.

He sighed, angrily.

They’d still be dealt with harshly. It didn’t matter why they were on the wrong side, they just were. Sometimes he hated his job. But all those hard decisions kept most of the crystal ponies safe, so that made it worth it. He needed to mark them as “Wanted by the Crown” and give the order for his special teams of guards to start tracking them down.

He had a list of names, and he started putting little black crosses next to them as he went down the list, his heart sinking further with each mark. The marks identified the ponies who needed to be captured—dead or alive.

It was a grim, terrible task. One he wouldn’t wish on anypony else.

As he worked, the worries about his family and personal life faded. Instead he wondered about the names he was condemning. Each one had a life. Each one had hopes, dreams and relationships. Each one was a whole pony, with everything that came with it. He desperately hoped they surrendered when his agents caught them. He knew some wouldn’t.

The list and the associated paperwork took him all night, and when sleep came it was fitful, cold, and lonely.