In: Fanfictions, Parallel Universes
"When Darkness Falls" is the first in a series written by Fimfiction writer MisterEdd. It depicts an alternate "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" universe following the events of the season three two-parter "The Crystal Empire" and focuses on the return of King Sombra, who is depicted here as an anti-villain as opposed to the mysterious, 100% evil antagonist seen on the show. It is described as a "head-canon universe", i.e. one shaped by the writer and containing ideas and concepts he would've preferred to have in the show and thus ignores most of the series' continuity.
Concept and Creation
MisterEdd was disappointed by many creative choices made by the show's writers, such as the exclusion of many G1 villains and the overall conclusion to the series. He decided to make his own series, using the show as a springboard and including most of the episodes, albeit with new additions like characters and plots. He has voiced his displeasure at the treatment of the character King Sombra, particularly his depiction in season nine, and decided to move him "in a different direction". He wanted to tackle themes of redemption and morality, seeing as how former villains like Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer were almost immediately forgiven and went 180-degrees with their established personalities and reformed baddie Discord's six-season character arc was tarnished in seasons eight and nine.
Plot
Resurrection
Two months after the Main Six liberated the Crystal Empire, a lone she-wolf wandering the Frozen North caught a rabbit before happening upon King Sombra's horn, which survived his explosive demise. Sombra's spirit emerges and flies far away from the Frozen North, traveling to the Everfree Forest, where it detects the Alicorn Amulet and refers to it as "My phylactery". It discovers the amulet in a tree trunk, where Zecora had hidden it following the events of "Magic Duel" and unites with it, restoring Sombra's physical form. He considers his death, recalling both Spike and Princess Cadence (though calling neither by name) but ultimately blames Princess Celestia for his fate, going so far as to claim that she's a tyrant. Affirming his hatred for alicorns, he shifts into his shadow form and heads in the direction of Canterlot, ready to avenge himself on Celestia.
Meanwhile, Princess Cadence has a nightmare about King Sombra's return and is convinced that he is coming for her. Shining Armor comforts her, claiming that the king is gone but Cadence remains skeptical, believing that there's some connection that she's not seeing.
Secrets
Back in Canterlot, Sombra sneaks into the castle and, using his shadow-bending powers, enters Celestia's bedchambers, encountering the sleeping mare herself. He considers how peaceful she looks and is filled with a mixture of both love and hatred at being reunited with her. Changing his hoof into shadow-scissors, he cuts a piece of her mane off and, taking one last look at his former love, makes his escape. Setting himself up in a cave deep in the Everfree Forest, Sombra enjoys some cooked bear and prepares a memory potion, adding in ingredients he'd stolen from a Canterlot pharmacy and others found in the forest itself. Slipping in the piece of Celestia's mane, he successfully brews the potion and drinks it.
Sifting through Celestia's memories, which includes raising the sun for the first time and moments with her late mother Queen Concordia, Sombra happens upon an as-yet-revealed memory that leaves him enraged and betrayed. Furious that she "tricked" him, Sombra berates himself for now strangling her when he had the chance before deciding to make her suffer before ending her life. Teleporting a chest from his secret room back in the Crystal Empire, he sorts through the different items within it before coming across an intricately-woven wool baby blanket. He bemoans the fact that it will never be used and laments the time that he's missed. Holding the blanket to his face, Sombra sheds a tear and utters, "My Persephone. My little girl."
Back in Canterlot, Princess Celestia awakens from a nightmare and while getting a midnight snack, bumps into Princess Luna. She tells her that it was about her last meeting with Sombra before the rebellion and that she feels guilty for everything that happened. She is especially guilty of an unknown secret that she's kept hidden away and while Luna agrees with her, she reminds Celestia that no one can know the devastating truth. The story then flashes back to a thousand years ago, where the sisters and their guards have a meeting with King Sombra, who is demanding that they recognize his rule over the Crystal Empire and to leave the Frozen North forever. He then brings up the fact that he is aware of the existence of their daughter.
With an encouraging nod from Luna, a tearful Celestia lets Sombra know that she couldn't let her reputation suffer so she "got rid of" the newborn filly, thus implying infanticide. Shocked and horrified by this admittance, Sombra falls to the ground and lets out a wail of despair. After a moment of silence, he swears to burn Equestria down and make Celestia suffer. He then vanishes in a ball of fire, leaving Celestia wondering what she just did.
Scheming
Back in the present, Sombra arrives in Ponyville and, in order to avoid detection, travels around in his shadow-form and at the size of a fly. He is rather unimpressed with the home of the Element Bearers, though notes that humble lodgings are misleading as he himself was once a peasant and later became a king. Detecting the presence of strong unicorn magic, he travels to Golden Oaks Library and covertly enters, having learned of Twilight Sparkle and the other Element bearers and deciding to focus his attention on the leader of the group in order to weaken them. He sees Twilight and instantly feels an attraction towards her but brushes it off and angrily recognizes Spike as the one that prevented him from obtaining the Crystal Heart. A mailpony named Parcel Post arrives to deliver a package and Sombra realizes that he can get closer to the Main Six via becoming a mailpony.
That night, Sombra sneaks into Parcel Post's home and takes him hostage, extracting his memories and taking his shape via illusion magic in order to replace Parcel Post at his job. He meets Parcel's co-worker Sunny Delivery, a pegasus mare that has an obvious crush on Parcel and in order to maintain the façade, Sombra has to mildly flirt with Sunny, albeit reluctantly and briefly considers pursuing romance but quickly changes his mind in favor of keeping to the mission. He delivers packages to the other members of the Main Six, his experiences ranging from amusement to total aggravation, finding Fluttershy's bashful nature adorable, ogling Rarity (and she even seeming to encourage it), impressed by Rainbow Dash and laughing at the embarrassing mail her parents sent her, and frustrated by the Cutie Mark Crusaders accidentally knocking him over and covering his uniform in mud.
That night, Sombra decided to research himself and discovered that lies had been printed about him, such as using foals in dark rituals and holding mass public executions, leading to him destroying the history book in rage. He admits to disposing of the Crystal Empire's rulers and forcing the crystal ponies into slavery, showcasing a startlingly level of self-awareness. However, Sombra also defends his actions by clarifying that he created a home for persecuted races like the changelings and bat-ponies and pushed for better education of the Crystal Empire's youth. He admits to himself that he was a tyrant but was nothing like the figure depicted in history books, further fueling his rage towards Princess Celestia. Sombra then goes over the strengths and weaknesses of the Main Six and considers taking Twilight as his wife, provided he can free her of Celestia's "brainwashing".
Romance Is In The Air
The next day, Twilight is training herself in the magical arts so as to not be as unprepared as she was during King Sombra's return and wishes to be ready for the next time there's such a threat. "Parcel Post" arrives, sans uniform and wearing cologne, desiring to hang out with her and they get to talking, with Parcel supplying Twilight with compliments and she shyly enjoying them. Parcel then nervously asks Twilight out on a date and she is hesitant given that she has zero experience, since she was concerned with her studies and stallions' often ignored her as a result. Twilight then consents and they agree to have dinner at a local restaurant called The Golden Horseshoe that evening. Parcel leaves and Spike makes fun of Twilight for her awkwardness and obvious attraction towards the mailpony.
Guilt
In Canterlot, Princess Celestia has a nightmare about the aftermath of a great battle, with the corpses of fallen warriors blaming her for their predicament, claiming that she "lied" about an unknown topic. A visage of a crumbling King Sombra appears to taunt Celestia, telling her that she could've prevented everything if she'd only told the truth and that she stole his daughter. Celestia fires back that she was protecting the filly but Faux-Sombra counters that Celestia was only protecting herself and tries to kiss her when Princess Luna appears to banish the nightmare and console her sister. Celestia admits that she wants to tell the mysterious mare the truth about her parentage but fears that she will be hated as a result. Despite Luna's support, Celestia decides that now is not the time to divulge that information to her and Sombra's daughter.
Pep Talk
At the Carousel Boutique, Twilight visits Rarity and sheepishly tells her of her upcoming date, to which Rarity reacts enthusiastically, nearly crushing Twilight in a tight embrace. Although unimpressed with Parcel Post, Rarity nevertheless agrees to help Twilight prepare for her date, especially when Twilight voices her insecurity about not being beautiful like her. Rarity assures Twilight that she is beautiful-and a natural beauty, at that-and that she only needs to believe in herself.
First Date
At the Golden Horseshoe, Sombra nervously awaits Twilight’s arrival, noting that he fearlessly took on both Royal Sisters and yet is terrified by the prospect of a date. Twilight appears, dressed in a custom gown and Sombra is rendered speechless, much to her amusement and after some light flirting, they go inside. While waiting for their food, Sombra stares into Twilight's eyes and, to his shock, discovers that he’s fallen in love with her. He uses his natural empathic abilities to detect his date’s trepidation and this leads into a conversation about how anxious both of them are, Twilight because of this being her first date and “Parcel” as he has been out of the dating game for a long time and was half-hoping that she’d turn him down. The two then agree that they like each other and to officially establish a permanent relationship.
The two stay until closing time and Sombra escorts Twilight back to the library. After a moment of awkwardness, Sombra gives Twilight her first kiss, which she enjoys immensely. Bidding Twilight good night, Sombra makes his way back to Parcel Post’s house and congratulates himself on a job well done until he realizes that Twilight is in love with Parcel Post and not Sombra himself. Wracked with the knowledge that she’d never care for him, Sombra admits his love for Twilight and inspects his cheeks, incredulously finding that he is actually crying.
Transformation
In the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadence finds herself tormented by King Sombra’s voice inside of her head, both while awake and asleep. Both frightened and fascinated, she scours the records section of the library but finds little in the way of personal information, only that he was a member of the extinct race known as “umbrums” or shadow ponies. The umbrums were involved in a major Equestrian conflict known as the Umbrum-Draconequus War, during which both races were nearly wiped out, leaving only Discord and Sombra left. Cadence is startled by her reflection in a crystal pillar, finding that her eyes are glowing green with streaks of purple smoke. She is found by the head librarian Amethyst and, upon noticing that her eyes have returned to normal, brushes it off and assures Amethyst that everything is alright, though she is unconvinced.
Butterflies
At the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight is distracted by the previous night's events. She tells Spike that Parcel kissed her, though she internally wonders why his lips seemed to almost swallow her own and notes that he tasted like ground cinnamon and blueberry. Spike congratulates Twilight and asks if she's going to see Parcel Post again, to which Twilight replies that she wants to but also needs to think about it. She elaborates that she's coping with her new romantic feelings and that having a coltfriend is completely new to her. Twilight also admits that she's afraid of losing Parcel.
Ascension
Sombra, meanwhile, is at his job and behaving in a depressed, sluggish manner, having become depressed after his revelation about Twilight. He bemoans that fact that the mare that he's fallen for is his enemy and considers that whatever hypothetical gods that exist must be sadists. Deciding to spin this, he then postulates that this happened to remind him of sticking to the plan and calls Twilight a "distraction" from his goal of saving the world. However, he finds himself unable to stop thinking about Twilight and her positive traits, such as her beauty and intelligence. Sombra then finally concedes that he doesn't want to be with anyone else.
While on his mail route, he finds that Twilight's friends have swapped cutie marks and professions: Pinkie Pie is at Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash at Fluttershy's cottage, Applejack at Carousel Boutique, Rarity trying to control the weather and Fluttershy at Sugarcube Corner. Puzzled by this, but still apathetic, Sombra goes about his day and wonders why Twilight is the only one of the six unaffected. Later on in the evening, he spots a flash of light over Golden Oak Library in the shape of Twilight's cutie mark and runs over to investigate. To his horror, he discovers that Twilight has ascended to alicorn status and that means that there were now four princesses for him to contend with. He spots Princess Celestia and figures out that this latest development was a result of her machinations and decides to take action.
Delivering Parcel
Hurrying back to Parcel Post's house, Sombra drops the illusion spell and frees the real Parcel Post, telling him that he gets to live but is still going to have to serve Sombra. Using his hypnotic gaze, Sombra commands Parcel to ship the Alicorn Amulet to the Crystal Empire, forget everything about Sombra, and to have an accident by walking into traffic and getting his head slammed into a cart. In addition, Sombra tells Parcel that as soon as he gets out of the hospital, he is to ask Sunny Delivery out on a date. Presumably the next morning, a mesmerized Parcel Post does as he is commanded, boxing the amulet up and marking it as "urgent," having his coworkers send it out immediately. He then waits until an oncoming produce cart is speeding by to jump and hit his head against it, knocking him unconscious.
The Main Six and Spike wait in the Ponyville General Hospital lobby until Twilight is called back by Nurse Sweetheart to see Parcel Post. She is informed of the details of the incident but is confused and hurt, wondering if she made him happy and if she could've done more. Nurse Sweetheart explains that Parcel Post has amnesia and leaves the two alone, with Parcel Post confused as to why Twilight is visiting him and not remembering the events of the past few days. When he mentions not being much of a reader and that the biggest book he'd ever read was one on beekeeping, Twilight realizes something is wrong and flees the hospital. Arriving at the library, she curls into a ball and cries.
Invasion
Meanwhile, at the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadence has sequestered herself to her room, refusing to leave her bed or see anyone after finding that her canines momentarily became fangs and her horn turned into a scarlet, curved one. She also refuses to go to Celestia or Luna for aid, not wanting them to see her in such a condition or to bother them with her problems. When Shining Armor visits her, he sees that her pupils are crimson and her sclera bright green but isn't bothered by this, assuring her that nothing will change how he feels. This calms Cadence down enough to where her features return to normal and she embraces her husband. Just then, Sergeant Jacinth of the royal guard arrives with a package supposedly from Twilight Sparkle and that it's a matter of "life and death".
Opening the package, they find the Alicorn Amulet inside and a shadow leaps out of the amulet's gem, knocking Jacinth out of the room and blockading the room with magic to prevent anyone from getting in. Adopting its equine form, it reveals himself as King Sombra and conjures black crystals around Shining Armor's horn. He then cryptically informs Cadence that they have business to discuss.
Message
Back in Canterlot, Princesses Celestia and Luna are preparing the castle for Twilight's upcoming coronation. Princess Celestia, however, seems rather preoccupied and when goaded by Princess Luna, she admits that while she is proud of her student's accomplishments, she is concerned that Twilight will be forced to face even more dangerous challenges and might be unprepared. Princess Luna wonders if "she" is ready to know the truth but before Celestia can answer, a large black crystalline column bursts through the floor in front of the throne's dais, throwing the castle into a storm of chaos. Green and purple flames etch out a message on the surface of the crystal, which reads:
"Princess Cadence and the Crystal Empire are mine. Come and get them back, Celestia. -King Sombra."
Standing Up
At Golden Oaks Library, Twilight is lying in bed and in a state of deep depression, unwilling to do anything even read. She goes over the past few days' events in her head, unable to comprehend how Parcel Post could seem like such a dull and boring fellow yet could also be so mentally acute and charming. She considers the possibility of having a broken heart and how it might actually have more merit than a mere metaphor but is interrupted by Spike and her friends, who burst in and give her a letter from Princess Celestia. In it, she details how Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are being held captive in the Crystal Castle by King Sombra and that they need the Elements of Harmony. Reinvigorated by the news, Twilight decides to stop moping around and tells her friends that they are going to save her brother and sister-in-law.
Bargaining
At the same time, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are confronting King Sombra, who, if asked if he's seeking revenge against them, answers that while, yes, his main focus is revenge, they are not the subject of it. Shining Armor points out that they witnessed him blow up, Sombra answers but is ignoring Shining to look at Cadence, explaining that he had a back-up plan for such an event. When Cadence calls him out on his behavior, Sombra apologizes for his behavior, commenting that he's been waiting for this "reunion" and asks Shining Armor to leave the room. When both of them refuse, Sombra makes a deal with Cadence: if she swears to remain with him, he will let Shining Armor go free and unharmed. Despite Shining's pleas, Cadence agrees to Sombra's terms and Shining Armor is teleported out of the castle.
Sombra admits Cadence that he only wants to talk to her and, retrieving his previously unused memory potion, offers it to her, revealing that it contains Princess Celestia's memories. He tells her that he wants her to drink it, that it contains "sensitive material" that will forever change how she views herself and "Aunt Celestia." After assurances from Sombra that he didn't go through all this trouble of getting Cadence alone just to poison her, Cadence takes the memory potion. Following a brief moment of doubt, she drinks it.
Truth
Princesses Celestia and Luna arrive in the Crystal Empire with a cadre of royal guards. As soon as they land, Celestia rushes towards the castle and encounters Shining Armor, who informs her of Sombra's deal. Undeterred, Celestia heads into the castle and after wandering around in the dark, during which Sombra attempts to frighten her by speaking to her from the shadows, she meets with Sombra for the first time in over a thousand years. She is taken back by how attractive she still finds him but ignores this to demand Cadence's location. A little back-and-forth occurs, during which Sombra admits that the reason that he hates her so much is because he never stopped loving her but abruptly offers to lead Celestia to Cadence.
They arrive at Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's room, where a trembling Cadence is huddled in a corner with Sombra's baby blanket draped over her shoulders. Celestia notices a shattered bottle on the floor near her and the remnants of a memory potion. Celestia attempts to help her up but Cadence slaps her hooves away, revealing her crimson eyes, tear-covered face and angered expression. Cadence screams at Celestia, demanding to know, "Is it true?!", wisps of purple smoke flow out of her eyes. When Celestia protests that she doesn't know what Cadence is talking about, Cadence calms herself down and asks her a shocking question: "Is King Sombra really my father?"
The story then flashes back to a thousand years ago, revealing the memory that Sombra saw at the beginning of the story. In it, Princess Celestia gives birth to a filly, whom she names "Cadence" and notes that she resembles her late mother Queen Concordia. A week after Cadence is born, Princess Celestia, accompanied by Princess Luna, takes Cadence into a secret room inside the castle to hide her from her father and the common folk. She also notes how she is sickened by the lie she is going to tell Sombra about their daughter's fate but sees it as being necessary. Placing the filly inside of a special crystal cradle, which will keep Cadence from aging, Celestia puts her into an enchanted, thousand-year-long sleep and breaks down in tears.
Back in the present, Princess Celestia confirms that yes, Sombra is indeed Cadence's father. Cadence then asks if Celestia is her mother, to which Celestia replies yes. The elder alicorn then lashes out at Sombra and the two bicker, with Sombra arguing that he had the right to know about his daughter and that Celestia's choice was more about protecting her own reputation and that he was more honest with Cadence in one hour than Celestia was for her whole life. Cadence then snaps for them to stop, accusing them both of being wrong, that Celestia is a liar and has been controlling her since day one. She also points out that Sombra had no right to tell her and asks him point-blank if he only used her to get back at Celestia.
Trapping Celestia in black crystal when she interrupts, Sombra swears to Cadence that he would never do anything to hurt her and admits that he originally returned to get revenge on Celestia for the "death" of their daughter. However, he then learned of Cadence's survival and realized that he wasn't alone anymore. In order to make up for his absence, Sombra has decided to conquer Equestria but instead of being its king, he wants to give it to Cadence to rule over. He believes that Cadence should overthrow her mother and aunt, right the wrongs of the alicorns and usher in a period of peace and prosperity. In a moment of genuine vulnerability, Sombra tells Cadence that he only wants to be the father that she deserves and that he loves her.
Despite now longer viewing Sombra as just a wicked tyrant, now seeing a lonely stallion trying to reconnect with his child, Cadence refuses, vowing that she won't become someone her subjects will fear and that she doesn't want to be like him. Pained by this decision, Sombra states that he was a fool for believing that Cadence would want anything to do with him and that she'd rather live in a fantasy world than wake up to harsh reality. He points out the falsities that are taught to ponies, such as the Three Tribes being the first to land in Equestria and that the umbrums invaded when races like the umbrums, bat-ponies, and changelings lived in Equestria before the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies ever arrived. Queen Concordia actually ordered the extinction of the umbrums and forced the changelings and bat-ponies from their land. Detecting the presence of other ponies, Sombra stops mid-rant and leaves to greet his "guests", slipping through the black crystals around the door and resealing them.
Rescue Party
The Main Six arrive in the Crystal Empire, where Princess Luna greets them and lets them know of the situation, stating that powerful dark magic is keeping them out of the castle. Shining Armor informs Twilight that Cadence is voluntarily inside and that Sombra only wanted to privately speak to her about something. Rainbow Dash flies towards the dark magic force field around the castle and successfully passes through, which Applejack is also able to do while a few royal guards try and fail. Princess Luna speculates that it is apparently only possible for the Element Bearers to enter and wish them good luck. The others enter and Twilight promises Shining Armor to get Cadence back no matter what before she too passes through the barrier.
Face to Face
They find that the castle's interior has become transformed: random spouts of purple fire shooting through cracks in the floor, the walls covered in black crystals and light-green mist seeping through the air. Twilight turns to address her friends when she finds herself in a dark, endless corridor and Sombra appears, apologizing to Twilight for scaring her. While Twilight takes the form of the aggressor, Sombra behaves in a subdued, almost passive manner, telling her that he wished they met under better circumstances while briefly taking on the appearance of Parcel Post. A horrified Twilight puts two and two together, realizing that it was Sombra that was courting her and asking him if tricking her into falling in love with him was a part of his plan. Sombra, clearly hurt by this, explains that he initially only wished to spy on Twilight and her friends but he came to truly care for her and that he was being himself when he was with her.
Sombra confesses to loving Twilight but she refuses to believe him, calling him a murderer and a tyrant. In response, Sombra replies that history is written by the victor and since Celestia is in charge, she can have the history books say whatever she wants them to say. He then points out how strange it is that Twilight and her friends have fought villains that Celestia had previously defeated (Sombra, Nightmare Moon, Discord) and suggests that Celestia feeds her ego by creating villains to fight so that everyone loves her. Again, Twilight protests but Sombra also argues that Celestia could've used the Elements of Harmony in various other ways to neutralize her enemies but didn't, causing Twilight to develop a sliver of doubt in her teacher. Twilight asks if Sombra is going to try to convince her to join him and Sombra tells her that she is too "indoctrinated" and is wasting her potential.
Stealing Twilight's tiara, Sombra uses shadow tendrils to restrain Twilight and apologizes to her, expressing his wish that they'd met in another life. He tells her that he is a monster, just not the one she thinks she knows. When Twilight asks what he is going to do, Sombra replies, "Make Celestia suffer for taking my child away from me" but vanishes before explaining that remark, leaving Twilight alone in the dark corridor.
Reconciliation
Princess Cadence is still in shock over the revelation of her true parentage and when Princess Celestia tries to talk to her, Cadence shoots back that she can't trust anything she has to say and doesn't trust her anymore. Princess Celestia admits that she lied and that Cadence's "parents" were a couple that couldn't conceive a child so she placed Cadence in their care. Although the truth about Cadence would've caused Celestia's subjects to lose respect for her, Celestia was primarily concerned with keeping Cadence safe by not burdening her with such knowledge, allowing her to grow up as a normal, happy filly. She wanted to tell Cadence about her lineage so many times and it killed her to continue lying to her only living child. Although she regrets it, she is firm in her decision of protecting her daughter from being harmed by knowledge of her father.
Seeing Princess Celestia in such a genuine, vulnerable state causes Princess Cadence to look back on her life, noting how "Aunt Celly" has been there for every major moment of her life and concedes that Celestia has been looking after her like a mother. Celestia confirms this through her tears of joy, stating that despite having many children and grandchildren, Cadence is her firstborn and has a special place in her heart and that she doesn't deserve forgiveness. Princess Cadence says that they have a long way to go before they can be fine but thinks that she can forgive her, even calling Princess Celestia, "Mother." Recalling that umbrums are adept at dark magic and that Cadence is half umbrum, Celestia tells her to dig deep down inside of herself and think of every negative moment of her life, to harness every feeling of anger and hatred. Unleashing a surge of dark magic, Cadence frees Celestia from her confines and shatters the crystal barrier around the door, temporarily altering her appearance into a darker one.
Final Confrontation
While trapped in the void, Twilight considers everything Sombra told her. Although she is unable to believe his claims about Princess Celestia, she concludes that he believes it and that is what matters. She then thinks back to their time together and considers that he may've been honest when confessing his feelings about her. Her friends then reappear and Twilight realizes that both the void and the tendrils holding her down were nothing more than illusions and rejoins the others. They enter the ballroom but before she can explain what's going on, Sombra teleports onto the ballroom's stage within a giant flaming eye, the Alicorn Amulet secured around his throat, and announces that it's the beginning of the end.
Twilight pleads with Sombra to cease his activity, telling him that whatever Princess Celestia did to him is in the past and to not make innocent ponies suffer because of it. Sombra, however, counters that there are no "innocent ponies", accusing the Main Six of helping Celestia maintain her tyrannical rule and that instead of peace, they only make things quiet. He then makes the claim that he doesn't want to conquer Equestria but, rather, he wants to save it. While the others dispute his claims, Twilight appears uncertain and Sombra tells her that she knows this deep down and that she doesn't have to live in Celestia's shadow. Instead, Twilight apologetically turns him down, refusing to betray the princesses or her friends and Sombra says that she shouldn't apologize, that it "wasn't meant to be."
Sombra then attacks, wrapping Rainbow Dash in chains and informing the others that he can't simply let them leave, separating them with black crystal floor-spikes. Nabbing Rarity with a magic blast, he hurls her into a table, the impact either spraining or breaking her left foreleg and covers her horn with crystals. He hits Pinkie Pie and Applejack with paralyzing spells (after the former throws a banana cream pie at his face) and frightens Fluttershy into cowering beneath a table. Deeming her a non-threat, he leaves her to confront Twilight, who pelts him with a barrage of magic missiles. Adopting his shadow form, Sombra grows to a massive size and attacks her with a torrent of flames, which she blocks with a full-body shield but finds herself becoming exhausting by the effort.
Sombra pleads with Twilight and tells her that they don't have to fight but Twilight responds that it doesn't matter what they want, only what they need and she needs to stop him. Just then, the Canterlot Royal Voice rings out and they all see Princess Cadence accompanied by Princess Celestia, except Cadence has a much darker appearance. She informs everyone that her name is Persephone and that she is the daughter of King Sombra, much to their collective shock and confusion and tells Sombra that they have time for catching up, addressing him as "Father." Resuming his pony form, Sombra embraces Cadence, only then for her to transform back into her regular self and steal back Twilight's tiara from Sombra's cloak, tossing it over to her sister-in-law. She apologizes and together with Princess Celestia, uses their combined magic to restrain Sombra and prevent him from escaping.
Locking eyes with Cadence, Sombra can only look at her with betrayed grief before the Elements of Harmony are used on him. Instead of destroying or banishing him, they surround him in a weird energy field and smash the Alicorn Amulet before sending Sombra sprawling to the floor. Twilight checks on Sombra's inert body, determining that he is unconscious but alive and strokes his mane.
Imprisonment
In Canterlot, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the Main Six use a crystal ball to observe Sombra, who is being held in a private cell deep below the castle. Applejack wonders aloud why the Elements of Harmony didn't work and the princesses reveal that after examining Sombra, they determined that the Elements removed his magic, possibly on a permanent basis but are uncertain. Twilight asks to visit Sombra, reasoning that he must not be completely evil if the Elements merely took away his magic instead of banishing him or turning him to stone. She leaves out her conflicted feelings for the umbrum and asks herself whether or not they are really helping or contributing to the problem. Although Celestia can tell Twilight isn't being entirely truthful, she grants her access to Sombra's cell but warns her not to underestimate him.
Heart to Heart
Princess Celestia finds Princess Cadence in the hall of stained glass windows and staring intently at the one depicting Spike's retrieval of the Crystal Heart and defeat of King Sombra. She is guilty for helping to capture Sombra and recalls the look of betrayal he gave her as he was being taken away, making her wonder if she truly did the right thing. Looking at the window, Princess Celestia admits it was a moment of both pride and sorrow as she got to see Spike become a hero but she also had to mourn Sombra's death, losing the stallion that she loved a second time. When asked if all of the stories about him were a lie, Celestia admits that she and Luna stretched the truth, hoping that by exaggerating his misdeeds they would deter future wrongdoers by having Sombra serve as a warning. Celestia expresses hope that one day Cadence will forgive her but Cadence says she already has and, hugging her mother, asks that there be no more lies between them and Celestia wholeheartedly agrees.
Twilight arrives in the dungeon to meet with Sombra, who is wearing an enchanted collar to negate his natural umbrum shape-shifting abilities. Sombra expresses his frustrations at being locked up by his mortal enemy, betrayed by his daughter and having his magic removed for the foreseeable future. He admits that he didn't have a firm grasp on who he is and that he was defined by his magic, its absence making him feel as though a part of him is missing and Twilight empathizes with him. After a moment of silence, Sombra tells Twilight to forget about him and find someone else to be with so she can have a normal, happy life. He swears to escape one day to get his revenge and hopes that she will have the common sense to stay out of his way.
Twilight turns to leave but stops to tell Sombra that she believes deep down, Sombra is actually a good person and has merely forgotten how to be that. Sombra, however, thinks she is mistaken, stating that he may not be the monster everyone says he is but he is one nonetheless. Twilight is skeptical of this claim and departs. Afterwards, Sombra assures himself that they are not going to break him, recalling his survival of the Dravite Hill Massacre, his training under the dark wizard Grimoire, the battle against the Royal Sisters, his imprisonment in the Frozen North and his untimely demise. He considers his enemies, ruling out Cadence and Spike as mere pawns and notes that he couldn't hurt Twilight and settles on Celestia and Luna.
An Old Foe Rises
At the Castle of the Two Sisters, a being known as "the Darkness" awakens and crawls out of the ruins of the old structure. She recounts how her feeble form was brought about by the Elements of Harmony, leaving her weakened and beaten thanks to the efforts of the Main Six. As she is a disembodied spirit, the Darkness can't sustain herself on food like a living being and thus needs a corporeal host to latch onto so she can feed on their negative emotions. Detecting a nearby host body to possess, she starts making her way towards it, albeit with great difficulty due to her weakened state. The Darkness swears to punish the Main Six, overthrow the princesses and reclaim her birthright as the sole ruler of Equestria, revealing herself as the one formerly known as, "Nightmare Moon."
Allusions
- Sombra notes that Princess Luna always tried hard to win the approval of Princess Celestia and their mother Queen Concordia, derisively referring to the latter as "Mommie Dearest." This is most likely a reference to Mommie Dearest, a controversial 1981 film based upon the equally controversial 1978 memoir of the same name by Christina Crawford, the adoptive daughter of actress Joan Crawford. Both the book and film detail Christina's abusive childhood and portray Joan as a hot-tempered, borderline psychotic woman. Queen Concordia is later depicted as a cold, emotionally distant pony with mood swings and fits of rage and paranoia, making the comparison quite appropriate.
- When confronting the Main Six towards the end of the story, Sombra teleports in while taking the form of a giant flaming eye. In the fantasy epic, "The Lord of the Rings", the dark lord Sauron appears as a large fiery eye. MLP: FiM's writers originally compared King Sombra to Sauron, thus making this a deliberate choice by the author.
- When disguised as Parcel Post, Sombra mentions a book entitled "Principles of Magic", which was written by a "Dr. Jog Dee". In real life, Doctor John Dee (1527-1608/09) was a famous mathematician, astronomer, occultist and alchemist who served as an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603).
- When Princess Cadence informs everyone that King Sombra is her father, Pinkie Pie screams, "No, that's not true! That's impossible! Noooooo!" Pinkie's dialogue, as well as the context, lampoons the infamous scene from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back where Luke learns of his own parentage.
Notes
- Throughout the story, Sombra is speaking in another language, apparently his mother tongue. This is actually Icelandic, which was chosen as it sounded more guttural and savage, as well as serving as an alternative to Latin. It also connects him to his umbrum heritage, which is inspired by the old Norse.
- The Alicorn Amulet is referred to several times by Sombra as a "phylactery." In some fantasy works, most famously Dungeons & Dragons, a phylactery is a magic object that allows a sorcerer to rise from the grave after death, becoming what is known as a "lich".
- In this continuity, it is mentioned several times that Sombra and Princess Celestia were, in fact, in love and married at some point, albeit when Sombra was a crystal pony known as "Prince Tourmaline". Later stories expand on this idea, revealing that the rulers of the Crystal Empire changed a six-year-old Sombra into a crystal pony and altered his memories in order to raise him as their son.
- Early on in the story, Sombra is seen eating bear meat, confirming that he is omnivorous.
- The memory potion from "Princess Twilight Sparkle" serves as a major plot point and it's established that using strands of a specific pony's mane allows one to peer into their memories.
- During his and Rainbow Dash's initial "meeting", Sombra (disguised as Parcel Post) observes the pegasus performing an "Immelmann turn". This is a real-life aerobatic move in which the pilot does an upward half-loop followed by a half-roll.
- Sombra is present to witness both the Main Six's cutie mark-swap and Twilight's ascension to alicorn status, thus retconning him into the events of "Magical Mystery Cure".
- Sombra originally named Princess Cadence "Persephone" after his own mother. In Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest, and was made both the wife of Hades and queen of the underworld. She fell into these roles when Hades abducted her, apparently with the consent of her father Zeus. Here, a daughter is separated from her father by her mother, thereby reversing the roles.
- Princess Celestia took a week-old Princess Cadence and placed her inside of an enchanted crystalline cradle hidden somewhere inside Canterlot Castle, ensuring that she was in a magic sleep that kept her from aging. This means that Cadence is actually more than a thousand years old.
- It is later established that Sombra is two years older than Princess Celestia and four years older than both Princess Luna and Discord, thus making him the oldest being in Equestria to appear thus far.
- Funny enough, Princess Cadence is said to resemble Queen Concordia, her maternal grandmother, who Sombra immensely despised.
- During their final confrontation towards the end of the story, Sombra tells the Main Six that it's "the beginning of the end." The first two episodes of the show's ninth season was a two-parter entitled, "The Beginning of the End", though MisterEdd insists that he thought of the line before watching the series and was not initially aware of this fact, making this a mere coincidence.
- According to Sombra, the former alicorn rulers (Celestia and Luna's parents) and the Three Tribes threw native Equestrian creatures such as bat-ponies and changelings off of their land, continuing to bully and oppress them for many years. This not only casts the settlement of Equestria by the equine races in a new light and makes Sombra's motives more sympathetic but it also parallels real-life colonialism, chiefly the English and African tribes and North American settlers and indigenous peoples.