• Published 5th Aug 2016
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Favorable Alignment - Ice Star



Princess Luna disappears from Equestria with hopes of saving the world and is accompanied by the enigmatic Sombra. Meanwhile, Celestia tries to bury secrets as immortal as she is and Cadance must choose her loyalties carefully...

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Chapter 25: Continued Correspondence

Dearest Cousin Celestia,

I do not think that your plan to utilize the potential of a demon as a living weapon is a bad one. Perhaps that is because I have more reason to loathe them than I think you do, but that right not that matters not.

I am not sure how you wish to carry out such a plan, since most magic that revolves around controlling the mind in such a way that does not involve viewing memories is the same magic the demon, King Sombra uses.

Outside of simply being a demon, I have only the knowledge of history books to explain his deeds and character. Even then, he appears to be shadowy with information on him only be introduced again after your student supposedly killed him. Your own words also describe a vicious and grandiose figure that appears to relish in bloodshed, no matter the occasion. Many accounts support that he has a lack of any empathy based on the sadistic deeds done in his name. I see the lack of mercy described, yet there is little mention of his intelligence. One with nothing but a desire to carry out brutal acts without a thought in the world, or even a hint of ingenuity, would not have been able to cast some of the finer enchantments that this fellow does.

You have encountered him far more than I. What is there to say about his intelligence? When I encountered him, he didn't do much that I could assign meaning to.

Even though Luna may still be a filly in a mare's body, I worry about her. Never have I wanted to see her hurt, and especially not by a monster like this. In such a position, Luna could manifest her distress in a way that would result in the near catastrophic spat you two had ages ago that ended with you sealing Luna into the moon.

I have addressed you as the more reasonable of my remaining family before, and I still stand by that claim. If Luna is able to be returned to your country, I would advise trying to make sure that somepony is looking after her. She isn't sound enough to look after herself and is the more emotional of the three of us. I'm afraid that that is her fatal flaw. Your little sister is in no condition to help you manage a country if the Tantabus matter we discussed is any indication of what her future behaviors will be.

It's a shame that Luna is probably already in some far-flung area of the world that might not even be mapped.

Sincerely,

H.R.H. King Neptune of Aquastria

...

Neptune-

How dare you! How dare a stallion like you tell me how to look after my sister! She just needs to be social and gain the help of friends, or maybe even a special somepony, if she ever has one. We have discussed therapy and many other options I left out of our conversations. You, Neptune, are the one who is in need of help if the lack of empathy you display in your words is any sign at all. Have you ever really cared for anypony? Your mortal consorts, mares whom who gave titles and riches until they were among the most powerful of mortals, did you really love them? Your friends and members of your court? Your own sons and daughters, past and present?

Did you love any of them? Do any truly reside in your heart?

You have been ruling Aquastria from the time your parents vanished, being the only heir. You had no siblings and cared more about the matters of a prince than you did about anypony. Numbers, gold, and proposals meant more to you than the fragile, precious life of anypony around you. You care more about the work of somepony and the wealth they have to their name than their very life!

If you ask me, that's not caring at all. Do you know nothing of kindness and is your 'charity' truly motivated by generosity? Were any of your friendships real, or did you purchase their trust?

With all your material wealth it would be hard to say you see Aquastria as anything short of a business that you only want to be successful. You do not realize that those you rule are not just census marks do you? Those are lives. That is what you rule, not a hoard of gold. Ponies are social creatures more equal than your entitled court makes them out to be.

Maybe if you pulled your head out of a meeting now and then, and looked to the what matters: your subjects, the social working everypony who works for everything, offers kindness and gratitude to all they see, and puts humility and courtesy above individual wants. If you were to do that, then you might see that maintaining order is not just something that should be done with absolute power, but through the values of ones subjects.

If you were my student instead of a neighboring ruler, then I would discontinue your lessons immediately, as you don't deserve the education or wealth you have if you cannot fathom the bonds between siblings. To me, it is clear they are so exotic to you, or something to regard with distaste. You put such emotionless conduct above empathy, unity, security, and happiness.

Luna needs help that only somepony (or ponies) who are positive could provide. You only prove that you don't care for her by mocking her condition, which makes me doubt your status as a good pony if you can't even recognize her malaise and work up even a shred of empathy for one you call family.

How are you, a monarch at such a young age, supposed to know the bond of a sibling? Your condition is a curse, Neptune, that has left you unable to feel for others in a way that I find almost downright villainous. Do you know what it is like to care for somepony who has shared most of your life? Somepony you promised to protect? Can you imagine not remembering life without them?

You don't.

-Celestia, Princess of Equestria and Goddess of the Sun

...

Dear Cadance,

After much hardship, I have finally found Sombra again! He was at the very same island I needed to go to in this lonely ocean. I don't think I fully understood just how much I missed him and wanted to apologize until I stumbled into him.

I know that more than anything I needed and wanted to talk to him, and talk we did. He's not like what you said... he's more.

He really does love me, but I haven't the faintest idea to why he does. There was so much we needed to discuss and he's much more understanding than I would have thought. We aren't friends any longer and that fills me with elation in the strangest way. The words to describe this have escaped me as I write this. Sombra and I agreed on that, and many other things. While we were not friends, we are not foes at all, and so far from it. The two of us have started a sort of trial that distantly resembles the relationship he was trying to pursue with me.

At least, I think so. I lack the talent you have in this area, or I would not be writing to you.

I have been greatly enjoying my time with Sombra. He has proven to be very helpful and caring when I need him to be. He's very gifted, and I appreciate his intelligence and confidence greatly. Sombra has also made his respect for me apparent, and enjoys many of the same things I do.

In one of your past letters you asked me if I found Sombra to be... cute. Now that all this has been resolved and-

I do not think I need to dance around this any longer: Sombra exceeds being cute. Do not take my words the wrong way, Sombra is indeed adorable, yet he is not limited to just that. He possesses devilish charm and is utterly dashing. Had I ever noted his quirky charm before? I think I recall writing something of it to you. His company is all the more splendid as a result.

Did you know the way his mane is all natural? I asked him about it and so many other things. He loves it when I ask him questions, and even let me braid a few locks of his mane (so as long as I made him look - as he terms it - 'fabulous'). I have come to adore his various quirks and he has even proven to be warm and understanding towards me.

Doesn't Sombra remind you of a cat? He has the pointed teeth and manner in which he carries himself. They are awfully feline, just like many of his other mannerisms and apathetic, isolated demeanor.

At this point, I am probably rambling about nothing. Perhaps you do not care to read all these things about Sombra and have other matters to attend to.

Sincerely,

Luna

...

Dear Auntie Luna,

Oh my gods. You smitten with Sombra! Aaaah! You found Sombra! Double Aaaah! You're dating Sombra (sort of)?! Triple Aaaah! I'm so happy you were able to locate one another and talk through this, not just because I had been working with Sombra but because you two are such dear friends to me.

Well, that is part of the reason, but you get what I mean. When Sombra told me that he loved you of all ponies, I told him that he had a chance and not simply because I thought it would help him feel motivated - he would have killed me right on the spot if that was the case - but because I thought of everything I knew about Sombra at the time. Next, I thought of you and all the things that you might like in a pony. I am the princess of love, after all!

Once I did that, it felt like a match made in Paradise, at least to me. You two seemed like you could actually understand something about the other (and were both antisocial weirdos). Plus, I imagined that the dashing rogue type might do the trick for you, even if Sombra is only the second part.

Now that I think about it more, Sombra isn't exactly a highwaypony-esque gentlecolt, since he appears to love rocking the 'I'm a homeless immortal with a freaky judgement stare' look.

But the parts about Sombra being cute? I'm not sure what to make of those, but I'll have you know that I don't really see him as catlike. I would want to hug a cat as close to me as possible and buy it toys and cute matching sweaters, like the ones Shiny and I wear for ugly sweater competition on Hearth's Warming Day (you know the ones that light up and glow in the dark, along with other things that I guiltily think don't look horrid at all).

I would not want to do any of that with Sombra! I'm also sure that Sombra's hardened, cynical stares could melt all those poor, innocent sweaters.

Please Luna, think of the sweaters!

-Cadance

P.S. Do you think the end of the world means that Shiny and I will have to miss Hearth's Warming?

...

Dear Cadance,

I would not call what Sombra and I are doing dating. Is that not what ponies do when they are sure they both have a mutual love for one another? Do I need to go out more if I cannot answer that? Modern courting was not the first thing I looked over on my return, and it certainly wouldn't have been an important subject; the briefing you and Tia gave me sufficed.

'This is all so confusing to me in so many ways.' That is the best way I can say all of this without rambling for paragraphs or distracting myself from other things I wish to write to you about, even if they must be written anyway.

At least Sombra seems to know what to do and isn't pushy or rude to me. I would have felled him if he were either! Without him, I think I would be more of a wreck of nerves than ever in this sort of situation, which is one that I would have avoided at all costs if it were any other pony...

I wrote that he does love me; I dare not think enough about it, lest he have to console me over another doubt that my mind has imagined.

Yet, I do not love him. He knows this and accepts it. He won't doubt me, and I don't doubt him. He's caring and agrees to compromise, and that is something I imagined I would have had to constantly bribe him into doing for anything important.

Do I deserve somepony like this? I enjoy all the time I spend with him, but Sombra cares about me so deeply. I always find myself wondering, at some point or another when he isn't around, if such care would be better for somepony who...

...There isn't anypony else who would love him that he would love in return.

Have I gotten myself into a mess I don't know how to fix? I feel as if this statement is true, yet my heart is also torn knowing that Sombra cares for me. Those words are so phenomenal to me I'm not sure I could ever explain their effect on me to you, since you have not been through the things I have to know the enormity of this.

Deep down, I think this kind of decision frightens me. Writing it out helps me very little. Each time I stare at these words, I wonder if there is another angle I have yet to see and why none of these words feel whole.

I do not hate Sombra, but I do not love him. How is it that such a simple sentence from the mind of a mare who has never cared a thing for romance be so truthful yet spiral into this confusion and web of drama? I ask questions that half of me knows the answer to, while the other half bemoans a failure it fears as occurred from my conclusion! What am I to do? Sombra is more than my friend, and I value him deeply as a companion. Even if he was never supposed to join me on this journey, having him here has made things into a true adventure. Though, sometimes it is at the cost of me being able to make decisions with a clear mind.

I do not know what to do any more. I feel as if I speak lies where there are none and am playing with Sombra's heart. Celestia said that other ponies can offer their own help, which is very apparent in the case of Sombra and I. He is so easy to work with.

Such an important decision resting in my hooves? It is bound to end so horribly, is it not? I do not think I can trust my own mind on this matter for much longer, but I don't think this is a choice that I should have to make, one that will not only decide my own fate but Sombra's as well.

Perhaps it is the thought of making this choice that scares me the most. I have never loved anypony the way Sombra does with me. He should have a companion that cherishes and respects him. Somepony who can keep up with his intellect, laugh along with his wit, is able to listen to his problems, and sit beside him sharing silence when such an event comes around. He's so wonderful - even more so when he is happy.

We're both equals, but that does not guarantee us love or happiness.

I had so much of this journey laid out in my mind's eye: where to go, how to go there, what to learn... I had backup plans, Cadance. There was room for improvisation, as any good plan needs to be flexible but...

I wasn't prepared for this. There is some worry in my mind from this thought alone, though I continue to go on and proceed with this needed journey.

For Sombra to hold such emotion, who will go so far to see me smile, extend the trust he holds onto so tightly to me, devote time to teaching me things about him, seek out my company, and be sincere - as I wish ponies were - in his enjoyment in my presence...

To have an eternity to live...

To spar with me as a comrade...

'I love you' would be the most frightening words I would have to speak in my life. I fear so little. The monsters that haunt many a mortal and the darkness that creeps in their minds, as well as the isolation and wars they look upon with fear have never caused me the terror I feel now. I live for adventure, wonder, and fostering hope...

...He lives for adventure, too. Did you know that he wanted nothing more than to roam the world as a youth?

Does he expect these words from me? I have never been one to live up to the expectations of any. He's incredibly judgemental, but I trust his judgement. It is wise in a way that I'm not sure anypony else can see. He judges me as worthy of his love. I still want to know why.

I've never felt a connection with anypony like this before. Many of my desires for him parallel his for me, and still there is something missing. No matter how aware I am that he loves me, I fear that his passion will go unrequited since I do not return his love.

I still have yet to speak to him of a matter that Celestia (or even Twilight Sparkle) may have spoken to you about in regards to my emotional health.

What if he sees it as weak, and his love turns to hatred or some other thing only a foe of his would receive?

Please Cadance, tell me you see the panic I put into each word. I need a judgement other than my own, which feels buried under these anxieties that pester me in my private moments, even when I try to meditate on other matters.

He's smart, understanding, introverted, and so many other things that make him unique. These traits and more give him a sense of daring and spark something that I have never found in another. With more time, I think I might be able to love him. He would certainly let me.

I didn't used to be like this, where I had my nerves mocking me with words that could belong to none other than myself, for what could hurt worse than the knives I fling at myself? I never want to repeat the mistakes I have made and want nothing more than to be over them. Sombra knows something of guilt, but if I let somepony close to me they will end up hurt. I might be harmed too. I have never feared the power that marks my birthright or the magic I have brought to this world. I do not fret over what my strength can do.

I don't fear myself, but I can't say I love the same mare Sombra probably sees, as alike as we may appear.

I'm caught in a storm of nothing but doubt that hangs over me when I want nothing more then for it to vanish so I can be around myself in peace and spend time with those I care about, like you, Sombra, and Celestia. I want to work as hard as possible, but don't know where to start.

May you find luck in all your endeavors,

Luna

P.S. I have no solution to your Hearth's Warming dilemma, and for that I apologize.

...

Dear Luna,

I'm going to pull a page from Sombra's book (let's hope he doesn't notice) and be direct and honest:

Start with Sombra.

Take all the time you need.

Relax when possible.

Talk to him about anything and everything when you're comfortable.

Be realistic in when you choose to talk to him, one month from now is probably a great time but 3,000 obviously isn't.

Does he like eggnog?

-Cadance

...

Cadance,

Thank you for the advice, even if others would scorn the brevity, I appreciate it very much.

Sombra does not like eggnog. He is a vegan, but one that greatly enjoys regular pizza, or so I am told by none other than Sombra himself. Perhaps one of those might do?

I am fond of hot chocolate.

Would you write to my sister for me? It may be very early for Hearth's Warming discussions but she is bound to be lonelier by the hour as the date rolls around. A letter might be disastrous if penned by me, being a traceable object as well as unable to hold anything she might want to see from me. I have always favored being direct when possible. Honesty is for all occasions, but this would be an improper time for the latter to be used.

I've just been overwhelmed with some aspects of our journey. I counted on there being obstacles, but not of this variety. Sometimes, when I feel anxious over something I'll think all sorts of things as you saw in my previous letter. Each concern is valid in its own right, but I worry too much at times. This adds up until I become overwhelmed so quickly... and hours later, the thoughts of what was present can seem so puzzling or unlike me when I return to them.

I really ought to worry a bit more about Celestia, shouldn't I? She loathes being alone, in a quiet way. I do not want to hurt her so directly by not being able to attend what would be our third Hearth's Warming together. These things, as necessary as they are to forgo on my end, are almost a ritual to my orderly sister. If you can, would you perhaps make a stop on your own journey in order to get some small memento for her to show her she isn't alone on this holiday she loves so much?

I do not think that Sombra has learned much more about the holiday than the history that frames the cause for celebration, but he gave me a gift yesterday.

The day back at our camp was quiet, as it was only a few hours since we had both risen that evening and he said he wanted to go check on Fish (who is his pet fish, I do not jest when I say that is what he named the creature) and make a stop at the Sky Scraper. When he returned and called me down from the tree I had been watching birds in, he offered me a beautiful hardcover book filled with blank parchment.

I am aware - and I imagine that you are as well - that Sombra will commit petty crime in order to obtain things he likes. He explained that he mistook the fine piece for a novel and did not notice any difference until he opened the book at his residence. Instead of discarding something he could find no immediate use for, Sombra kept it since it was 'far from useless in the long run', as he explained it. When he caught me fretting over the letter I sent you he thought I might want a journal to scribble any thought I had in. Isn't that thoughtful of him?

Once I looked closely, I had to explain to Sombra that because the lines one is likely to find in a journal were not present, he had technically obtained a sketchbook. I loved it nonetheless and couldn't thank him enough! Journals and diaries have always been such nice places to leave my thoughts, work on my poetry, many an incomplete still life, and observations of any fascinating things I happen to locate throughout the day.

We spent three pages playing tic-tac-toe (I let him cheat at since he didn't really like it) and solving riddles the other would write. He's very gifted and has one of the sharpest minds I have ever heard of, and that is including all the boasts of old nobles in regards to their less than ordinary heirs. I wonder if he would agree to have some tests done so his intelligence could be scored. It is such a shame that if he were anypony but Sombra he could probably get into the grandest and most prestigious of universities. They wouldn't deserve him even if they begged for his attendance.

Perhaps I could pull strings to at least obtain the materials for him, if Sombra has the desire to seek the education that could be offered to him. Do you think he would like that? He is certainly of the age - his banishment subtracted, of course - where he could attend one. I can do anything for him, I would not at all mind acting as his benefactor.

Sombra was certainly given little opportunity to be anything but what others forced him to be. At times, I wonder how many opportunities have been robbed from him by what he has gone through. He is very lucky that he is still able to function in everyday scenarios, from what he has told me.

I want to give him back some of what was stolen from him, though I can hardly call myself the usual example of being charitable or considerate.

I wish you luck on your own quest for a Hearth's Warming away from home,

Luna

...

Uncle Sombra,

I'm so glad Auntie Luna was able to find you. I'm not going to ask what happened. I've learned a thing or two from being around you and Auntie Luna makes it clear that this is something personal between you two. Other than that, how are you? I've just been on the Pink Sunset, which is a big hunk of flying, enchanted pink metal with Shining Armor. We're both heading south. I know that you and Luna are down there too, but it seems like you two are in a different part of the ocean.

This feels much more like travelling to a summit for me. There aren't any pirates or sea monsters out to get us, and even though I have some knowledge that the world might be ending I'm only losing about seventy percent of my sleep over it as I write letters to crazy ponies over a tub of ice cream.

Both Shiny and I are a bit worried... about everything, I guess. There's a lot going on here and it feels like we're all just waiting for something. I'm much more distressed, if the ice cream was any clue. In the letters that you and Luna send me you mention things for only one line and drop it. I read them over and over again trying to see if there's any puzzles that I'm missing out on. Everything you have said to me is just so cryptic. Luna worries so much and...

...I worry about you two. A lot. As much as I can, even if you two are both so far away. I know it's pointless to worry about you, since you are too stubborn to let even Stolas himself take you. I mean the only reason that I was able to celebrate the closest thing you have to a birthday with you was because you were too stubborn to die. You're emotionally probably as cold as the very snow of the region you hail from. I shouldn't have to worry about you, but for all I know you're even more awkward at romance than Twilight.

I worry about Auntie Luna a ton because she's almost as secretive as you are. She worries a lot about you and sometimes. You're all she ever writes about, but I still can't figure you two out half the time.

You and Luna live lives of grand adventure. Before I met you, simply walking into the snow to the Empire for the first time was the most epic thing that I've done, that and defeating a witch when it was still okay for somepony my age to be listening to mix tapes as much as I do.

I once had to rule Equestria under Auntie Celestia's name because she was sealed in the sun and then 'poof'. Twilight Sparkle was suddenly the Spark of Magic and I had a new Auntie who barely even talked to me. Or to anypony. She was pulled right out of a book of fairy tales too!

I thought that an epic adventure like that would change my life for the better. I was going to be the big hero in all the storybooks!

I got you as a companion, and I saw the world as it was. It's a scary place, Sombra. How do you just drop everything and do this sort of thing with such certainty that you'll make it? And if you didn't have that certainty why would you do it? I think that's what I hated about adventure. I never knew what would happen, and a single mistake wasn't just something I could smile and apologize for.

Adventure can hurt ponies, and that's something I've never been okay with, even if I'm surrounded by ponies who know how to make hard choices that mean others might not be happy.

I've also realized that I never apologized to you for treating you like, you know, an evil king when we first met. It doesn't feel like there's time between then and now, but these adventures... well they make any hiatuses vanish, I guess.

Sombra, we both know what I thought of you and how wrong my first impression was. I was always taught that being judgemental like you are towards another pony is wrong... but then why are you right? What was your first impression of me?

After all the things I've been through, I don't feel useless any longer... just small. The world is such a big place and I'm not sure if I matter any more.

Sorry for venting on you like this. Maybe you understand. Maybe you don't.

Sincerely,

Your Best Niece

...

You want my first impression of you? How intriguing. I think I'll hold that off for a while since there's clearly a few other topics that we must address.

First, it appears that the rest of your naivety is fading away so allow me to officially welcome you to the world:

Welcome to the world. It's going to chew you up and spit out your bones right back into the face of your ghost, provided the weak little twigs don't splinter sooner. It's not a place that's ever going to be very happy. That's something you are always going to have to make for yourself, and maybe that's at the Empire for you. Just because the world is such a vast place doesn't mean that you of all ponies has to explore it. That grand duty falls to ruffians like Luna and myself.

I'm quite pleased that my influence on you is showing so nicely. Unlike your abhorred sister-in-law, you are starting to see the world for what it is: an almost delightfully vicious place where the supposed order that has been instilled in you crumbles away like the lie it is.

You've no doubt been told that bad things happen.

That's nothing; I've been living in the world as it is the very moment I was created.

Horrible, traumatic things have and will happen. The price of Celestia's outrageous views in more than one field has blurred the lines between 'good' and 'ignorance' because some ponies (read: almost everypony) can't tell the two apart. This is often achieved through a variety of different ways to oppress that I could do myself, if I held some of the views you don't know you should fear. For now, I'll spare you the details. Promise me you won't place too much trust in Celestia until our paths cross again. I have more than a few stories to share with you and none of them are things you'd like to hear. That is what makes them so important.

Don't worry about Luna and I. Worry is best reserved for those you love and only the former has reason for you to worry about her. I'm not one who needs it. Don't you have a husband that you can fret over?

As for the 'advice' you've been given by either your parents or Celestia herself: don't follow it. You've already deterred from its so-called teaching multiple times because it is impossible not to judge those around you, even if you aren't aware that you're doing it.

Being judgemental is only wrong if your judgement skills are awful. It's the same as if you were a smith: your shields and blades will only be as good as your skills. Don't forget what everypony has told you, since you might need to shove it right back in their faces later.

Even if you are wrong, instead of discarding such a valuable instinct, find out why you are wrong.

Now, how about I finally give you a rundown of a few first impressions - including you, as per your request.

It should be very clear that my opinion of Celestia is not a popular one. I had never met her directly until recently, but was able to piece together a very vivid picture of her from the memories of her in Onyx's youth and the affect she had on those surrounding her... especially Luna.

If I had known what a cactus was at that point of my life, when the Empire was doomed to be my grave I would have screamed for her to-

Nevermind, I don't think you'd care to know.

Lavender Loudmouth I found to be dull, slow-witted, and capable only of very lucky guesses when we properly met. She proved to be far stupider.

One thing you might care to know is that the doors in the castle - the ones that showcase ones' worst fear - are accessible to me so that I can view what others have seen inside of them. Like the spell you so crudely named 'Seventeen', those doors have a connection to me.

I'm going to refrain from mentioning Celestia's no matter how much you try to pester me for the details of her... rather interesting vision.

Purple Eyesore's was disgusting. For a mare who whines so much about her friends, she didn't care one bit about their fate.

She simply wanted to pass a test and gain Celestia's approval.

Those doors are meant to show the fears one never wants to be in a manner that's so personal, none would see the same thing unless there were two ponies out there with the exact same fear down to every esoteric detail.

Her worst fear was to fail a test, and I suppose, displeasing Celestia. Not to see the blood of those she loves beneath her hooves or for the world to end or something decently traumatic... but to fail a single test. She didn't care about the costs of failing, she simply didn't want to. She's that weak. Failing a test and being rejected by Celestia was the worst thing her mind could fathom.

Why am I called selfish as a result? She actually meddles deeply in the lives of others and has enormous cases of misplaced loyalty, but instead of caring about all that she only fears disapproval as a result of not pleasing others.

And I'm the one who is sold off as a caricature of selfishness. I admit, I hold affection towards only three individuals in the entire world: Myself, Luna, and some pink princess who calls me her uncle.

It really starts to grate on my nerves, the lies I'm surrounded by and not simply because they aren't true, but because these are things even I wouldn't say about somepony I hate. Don't look into the 'historical documents' detailing things I supposedly did. Don't snoop around too much in the castle with the limited dark magic you possess. As a candy golem, you're horribly sweet. That means I don't want you to see or hear some of these things. You already found out about my origin. That went so well. I'd obviously love you to be misinformed about me even more!

Here's the part you've been waiting for: my first impression of you.

I thought you were inexperienced, and despite being a byproduct of Celestia's teachings, you were had an almost bizarre degree of open-mindedness, even if I found you to be a nuisance chatterbox. I was at least pleased that even if you were very naive and painfully optimistic at the worst times, you could take care of yourself. By the time we had seen the temporarily ruined Empire and continued to head north, I had gotten rid of all plans to dispose of you and see if I could seek the Heart myself.

-Sombra the Enigma

...

Dear Uncle Sombra,

Why did you leave out Luna? I figured your first impression of her would have been the most important of all four.

I know that you were likely to reply, but thank you for the advice, even if it was very you and wasn't really comforting. It's the thought that counts. When and if this is all over, you might want to get out more or something. You already do live on a mountain...

I told Shining Armor about you and Luna, but mostly about you. That was something I knew I was going to have to fill him in on.

I left out a lot about the things I'm sure you would slit my throat for saying except...

I knew that I was going to have to tell Shiny either one of two big things: that you were a demon or that you were in love with Auntie Luna. I told him the former... sort of. I tried to leave so much out but then I blurted it out...

After an hour, I was able to calm us both down. I honestly panicked when I thought you would appear and disapprove of me before asking what my last words are. Shiny took it well once I tried to explain things even more to him. I should tell you that he's not happy about what you did to Twilight and he's not going to like you much. He still agreed to tolerate you and doesn't think you're evil... only suspicious.

The two of us are travelling along the Maretonian shores now. I have been keeping a diary of sights and other trivia I thought you might find interesting.

Do you believe me when I write that I'm sorry? I had to tell him about you. I wouldn't lie to Shiny about something as big as this. He promised that he wouldn't write to Auntie Celestia about this either if what I was saying was true.

Sincerely,

Feeling Like Less Than Best Niece

P.S. If you're mad at me, just don't write again. I won't give up any more of your secrets. I also brought something for you, in case we meet.

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