Love Letters of the Princess of the Sun

by Echo 27


January 15th - January 20th, the Year MCCCXLVIII

January 15th, the Year MCCCXLVIII



Still no sign of Sombra. The watchtowers of Canterlot and every major city are on full alert. Luna’s soldiers patrol the countryside, searching every cave, nook, and cranny that can be found. Every man, woman, and child that can walk and see is under orders to report any potential sighting of Sombra. A country that holds millions in its arms has every waking eye on the lookout.

Nothing. How can he hide himself so well to avoid all detection? Where even is he, if he remains in Equestria at all? Cadance and I are powerful, yes, but we did not deal enough damage against him to force Sombra to retreat. He fled to avoid further detection, meaning that he still has further plans in the kingdom to wreak more havoc. He is biding his time until he can bring forth worse.

Luna has been relentless in her searching, with little to no rest for days now. How she manages to keep herself awake and alert is a testament to her dedication to her people. As long as her soldiers continue to patrol the wilds, then so will she.

Cadance is keeping watch in the Crystal Empire, I requesting that she withdraws from offensive operations until Sombra is found. With two young children that still need their mother for support should not be left abandoned. Shining Armor has done well, but additional strength in the form of his wife is welcome assistance.

Twilight’s searching across Equestria has gone poorly, as much as I wish to say otherwise. Not only does she search for Sombra in the hopes of drawing him out, but her search for the stolen book has been unfruitful. We both fear that the only copy left in existence is now in Sombra’s clutches; if so, then we have no true idea as to what he plans to do next and we are left dangerously blind.

Here in Canterlot, the Solar Guard are uneasy. Hearth Fire is back to full strength but it seems as though Sombra’s return was his worst nightmare. There is a constant guard at every critical location, and he himself is exhausted and has been leaning on Ford for any additional support. My men are exhausted, and my heart turns for them. I wish to find a way to end this.

To do so will be no easy task. Sombra is clever, and has shown an unusual amount of patience in his plans of conquest. The battle of Griffonstone was over two years ago, and no one knew Sombra even existed until a few short days ago. He has kept himself hidden all these days, quietly biding his time. But for what? He steals a book from a library and kills the librarian, he attacks the Crystal Palace in the hopes of assassinating the royal heirs, and flees when Cadance and I corner him. I cannot discern a motive or a plan. It is as though Discord’s spirit now dwells in him, and Sombra’s propensity to violence has been merged with chaos.

I must think… he first caused the destruction of the Appeloosa Dam. After that, he orchestrated bombings in Manehatten and the Griffon Empire in the hopes of igniting a war between two kingdoms. When Faell’s attempt to kill me failed, he kept himself out of sight until only recently. Sombra’s efforts have been alternating between murder and targeted attacks on infrastructure. So if he tried to kill Flurry and Shield last, his pattern suggests he will attempt some form of destruction. But where? I am familiar with much of the key locations across the kingdom, but he will not choose at random. The Appeloosa Dam’s destruction caused massive losses of property and farmlands that the region has still not fully recovered from. Where will he go to cause that sort of repercussions from his actions?

I will consult with Hearth Fire in the morning, with a freshly updated map on the table before us. We will try our best to predict Sombra’s next move and see if we can corner him- and bring about an end to this once and for all.



January 16th, the Year MCCCXLVIII



The Vanhoover Dam. The mountains are a critical source of fresh water for the city below, as snow and the river intermix and feed down into the valley and into the sea- and all of it is prevented from flooding the region by the dam.

Hearth Fire and I are certain of it. If the damn were to fall in any form of cataclysmic damage, the results would be… catastrophic, to say the least. The Equestria Line runs through the region, connecting Vanhoover to Las Pegasus and the Empire in the north. If the rail line was destroyed, connection between the three cities would crumble. The waters from the resulting floods would decimate the city, and the harbor for trading westward would be destroyed from the debris and chaos that would come pouring in from the mountains. Thousands upon thousands of lives would be lost.

Luna met with us only a few short hours ago and we relayed our suspicions to her. As discreetly as we can, our patrols in the area will increase. Luna’s spy network will be deep within the city and doing what it can to keep tabs on the local underworld. If Sombra is nearby, whether trapped in the city or watching it from the wilds, we will know- and soon.



January 18th, the Year MCCCXLVIII



We may have him. A logging crew working in the mountains east of Vanhoover have reported strange activity in the area. The workers have begun to experience overly vivid nightmares and have found dead wildlife mutilated and drained. Both are signature marks of Sombra’s abilities. The area will be quietly evacuated to assure any potential dangers do not threaten the lives of the people.

Luna is already preparing to recon the area herself, with Twilight joining her only a few hours ago. If it is Sombra, then Cadance will have to be summoned and the four of us will unite our strength to bring him down. Sombra wishes to hold a claim to immortality through fool’s luck and blind hopes. I will not let him. Every inch of his existence will be wiped clean from the face of my kingdom, and not even ashes will remain.



January 19th, the Year MCCCXLVIII



Most of Vanhoover is currently underwater. Twilight and Luna acted swiftly, but I believe Sombra’s plans were already in the motion well before we were alerted to his presence. Twilight, in her usual verve, blames it all on herself. I do not accept such a proposition; my ever-stalwart, faithful student and friend, is not the soul who would allow herself to make such a monstrous mistake, particularly if lives were on the line.

The dam, as we suspected, was his target. It seems that Sombra found a way to erode its structural integrity and caused it to be overwhelmed. Late last night, just as Twilight and Luna moved in to engage him, the dam began to burst as seams split in the rock and eventually shattered as though glass. As Twilight and Luna struggled to save themselves, Sombra escaped in the midst of the chaos.

For the most part, loss of life has been minimal, with only a few deaths related to the surge of flooding. The evacuation moved swiftly and was efficient, save for a few of the foolish who refused to leave and thought themselves safe. Now, they likely will be found in the western ocean to where the floodwaters ran. However, as a whole, I have nothing but praise for the officials and rescue teams that played their part. The disaster could have been even more catastrophic than it already is. Most of the city is flooded and violently damaged. The Vanhoover harbor has been decimated with an estimated 300 million in damages, and the Equestrian Line than ran through the region has been swept away. Older trade routes to the Crystal Empire and Las Pegasus have been resurrected to ensure there is no break in supplies moving to either city.

Luna is hot on Sombra’s trail and continues to search. I am unwilling to leave it to her alone, and tomorrow I will join her on the hunt. However, this time there will be no engagement until all four of us are together to hold him off. It is strange… Sombra is powerful, but this is different. It is as though he has fed on something vile in the deep. As a man grows fat on food and drink, so he has grown fearsome on death.

But surely he cannot stand against the four Princesses united. I refuse to believe he maintains such strength in his bones.



January 20th, the Year MCCCXLVIII



We are in a very dangerous position. Though Sombra’s initial path east has been cut off by mine and Luna’s efforts, he still has far too much room to maneuver. Come the morrow, he will be dead at our feet.

I joined Luna at the break of dawn to aid in her hunt, immediately finding a trail as soon as I arrived. Luna, proud and eager to continue on, was obviously exhausted. She has slept little since Sombra returned and her wellbeing suffers. I ordered her to get some rest the moment we made camp.

The further on we made our path, the more concerned I became in our hunting. He had moved steadily southward ever since Vanhoover, but now he began to alter his course east as we made our way into unsettled territory. Soon we found ourselves nearing the border of Whitetail Woods; the outlying forest near Ponyville and growing ever closer to Canterlot. My thoughts went to Fluttershy, gentleness incarnate and a frequent traveler of those woods. If she were there now on a visit to the animals that dwelled in Whitetail- I could not bear the thought.

Whether it be by blind luck or a mistake on his part, Luna and I managed to overtake him before he could enter the forest, and did our best to drive him away and hold the line. Though we succeeded at preventing his entry, Sombra still remained nearby- though unwilling to strike out himself. I wondered if we had managed to drain some of his strength and whether we should not simply attack and put an end to this. I was tired at the moment, yes, but still had far more power left in me. But just as I opened my mouth to speak to my sister, she fell to one knee with her every breath coming in a ragged gasp. She had exhausted herself after all this time, and I knew my plans would have to wait.

I sent word to Canterlot, Ponyville and the Empire. Twilight, being the closest by, did not take long to arrive to the scene. The Solar Guard, who had been panicking at my absence in the palace, was more than glad to come to my side. Cadance arrived little more than an hour ago, and is resting in a nearby tent with Twilight.

I wish I could bring myself to find sleep, but I struggle. Perhaps it is what we face before us now: an evil I thought dead, a vileness that has been wiped away again and again but continues to resurface. Is it the wickedness that stands against us? Is it simply fear before battle? Or do I fear for what may be lost now? Twilight is young and full of life. She will someday take my place as a ruler of this kingdom, I do not wish to see her die tomorrow. Cadance has her children, what will they do without their beloved mother- or how will Shining Armor cope with the loss of his wife? Luna is my sister; to lose her would be to lose part of myself.

And Ford… I should have known he would throw himself into this fight. Alongside Hearth Fire he stands now, keeping watch over the area and observing Sombra’s movements. The dark beast remains hidden in a large pit on the border of Equestrian territory, out of sight. Ford shows no fear of Sombra, though he very well should. My beloved wishes for a fight he has no hopes of winning.

I summoned him to my tent earlier, knowing I would have to head him off. As soon as he entered, I gave him a simple command: “Sit.”

He knelt down before me, his eyes full of fire that spoke of vengeance. He was born in Vanhoover, of course he bore hatred for its destruction. But that hatred would breed foolhardiness, and that would lead to death.

“Ford, do you trust me?” I asked him.

“Always,” he replied.

“Then you know what will happen tomorrow.”

“Of course I do.”

“Then you must know I will not allow you to aid me in the fight.”

His eyes nearly popped out of his head so great was his anger. “Oh come- Princess, I’m part of your Royal Guard. Even Hearth Fire expects us to be right alongside you. Why do you ask this of me?”

“Because this is not a fight you can win, Ford.” I did my best to keep a rational tone of voice to combat his immediate fire, knowing he would need to be fully convinced. “Sombra is not like anything you have seen. I am not sure of how he managed to survive with so little of him remaining. Not me, not Luna, not Twilight or Cadance. Something foul is at work here and it keeps him alive- for what task I do not know. But two of us combined could not bring him down, so we will try with all four united in the hopes that it is enough.”

“What do you expect us to do, then? Be spectators at what could be your funeral?” he challenged.

“To keep the region safe. Sombra will try to move the battlefield over and over again. It is his nature to cause destruction wherever he goes. I and the others must be concentrated on him totally; if Sombra threatens any of my people, I need the Solar Guard to keep them safe. And… if one of the Princesses were to fall or be injured, then you must be there to get them to safety.”

“Do you do this out of a true plan?” Ford asked. “Or do you wish to simply keep me away from harm?”

“Both. I promise you that’s true,” I said. “Ford, I am afraid because I don’t know what will happen. Sombra is alive when he should not be, and I fear what powers he has gained in the dark. But I will not allow him to roam unabated. Even if it costs me my life, I will not let him harm my people further. Nor you.”

“Celestia, I am begging you. On my knees, I beg you,” Ford said. “I am the man who is to be your husband. Of all people you command, I want to be there beside you in this fight. Do not send me away to watch the woman I love fight on her own. If you are hurt, then so I will be. If you die, then part of me dies forever. Do not do this.”

I so desperately wanted to say yes. To have him there with me would be a comfort- but common sense won out in the end. One mere man against Sombra was dangerous. One man surrounded by the most powerful beings ever to walk the earth, all of them engaged in a battle to the death, was suicidal.

“I cannot do otherwise,” I told him. “I am counting on you tomorrow. Keep my people safe.”

Ford saw that his battle had been lost and he relented, a worn look of sorrow falling upon him. He walked as though he saw the specter of death before him, and his gaze could not meet my own. He paused at the threshold. “I love you,” he said softly. “In case I never get to say it again.”

“And you have my love. Forever until the sun fades from the sky and all the stars go out,” I told him.

The morning swiftly approaches, and so does our battle. The dawn shall be a red one.