King Sombra isn't totally destroyed by the Mane Six's blast in Canterlot, but he's banished back to the Frozen North and is severely weakened. Determined to take revenge, he's eventually imprisoned by Princess Celestia and has a choice to make: reform himself to use his magic for good, or be turned to stone.
Takes place during Season 9, just after Sombra's defeat. Also assumes you've seen Season 9 so beware of spoilers!
2/18/2023 - This made it to the featured box on the day it was posted I'm SHAKING??? I'm so grateful aaaaa 
3/6/2023 - Featured again!!!
Chapters (27)
an interesting idea you got there
oh dear
nice one!
its alwways ard to swallow the pride
oh dear...
11509658
I'm glad you've liked the story so far! When I watched Season 9 I thought King Sombra deserved better than being killed off, so here we are. XD
11509663
yeah. thanks to a friend who likes sombra, he's a favorite of mine now too! helped him with a few stories as well
Some of the expositional dialogue struck me as being laid on a little too thick for comfort, but besides that, this is an interesting start. I'm looking forward to seeing where you take this.
Congrats on your first story siteside! Hope you enjoy your stay, and best of luck down the line!
:)
11509724
Thanks for the constructive criticism! It's always a fine balance between trying to be descriptive and being too flowery. 😅 Working on the next chapter now, and thanks for the welcome!
I’m gonna check this out, looks good!
Discord suprised because that is almost the same dialogue Celestia use when reform him
11509881
I think it works though, right? Kind of poetic in a way that she says something similar.
Thank you!!! Hopefully you won't be disappointed XD
11510151
Yeah, I might've reused her dialogue a bit for her rationalization to reform Sombra.
Really enjoying this story so far. It has an interesting premise and I'm wondering how you're gonna tackle an antagonist who has (debatably) the least backstory on the entire show. I'm also wondering if Discord will be trying to juggle reforming sombra and trying to keep Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow occupied as Grogar?
11510172
I'll have to tackle Sombra's backstory at some point, yeah. I read his backstory from the comics, but I don't really like it, so I think I'll come up with one of my own, if I don't decide to leave it a mystery like intended. XD And yes, Discord will have to juggle reforming Sombra and keeping Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis occupied as Grogar. Once Sombra is truly reformed (not pretending) he'll probably spill the beans about his brief stint as part of Grogar's team to Discord, which will only complicate things.
11510176
That'll be really interesting to read, glad to see you have a solid plan for this story. One more question (if it's a spoiler you don't have to bother answering) when Sombra is reformed will Discord try to reform Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis as well because he saw how good of a job he did?
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I honestly don't think so, besides this side plot with Sombra's reformation I'm sticking to canon so Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow will end up as stone in the end. This is probably favoritism playing in but I just don't see those three as reformable, especially Chrysalis since she already rejected the chance to. 🤔
wise words, discord
11510486
Yep! He's wise beyond his years. Well, maybe not by the end of the season
11510491
yeah
Good so far! I like Sombra’s portrayal and it’s pretty true to his character!
11511941
Thank you! I try to keep the characters in character so I'm glad you think I've portrayed Sombra well.
one can only wait t o see if it works out for him
11512360
In time, it will! Sombra just has to learn the art of patience. 😏
11512361
indeed and i loook forward to it
discord being a hypocrite here he is after all responsible for sombra return and near take over and his current plan with villain trio as Grogar, so he is in fact betraying equstria in the exact manner that sombra wants to do to gain freedom
11513052
True, but Discord has good intentions, albeit misguided ones. He's the only one who knows the truth right now so he figures if he reforms Sombra like Celestia asked him to, then he has an additional safety net if things go awry with Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow.
i fond Sombra's foalhood is somewhat sad/tragic
11513912
Indeed. It's somewhat based on the backstory that they gave him in the comics, just tweaked a bit.
11513914
mhm
nice work as always
11515879
Thanks!
11515882
youre welcome
Nice work as always. I figured canterlot would be unknown to sombra at first, never having been directly at it
11517306
Yep! He's only been in the Crystal Empire his entire life and his time of rule was quite short, thus he's never been anywhere else.
11517311
Mhm. The mentioning of fluttershy is a bit ironic for me here.
11517311
Pardon, old habit
This is a great Sombra reformation story! I initially wasn't too sure how I'd feel about a story where Discord is his reformer after the series finale kind of soured my opinion on Discord, but honestly, this story is actually making me remember what I liked so much about Discord in the first place. The way he talks with Sombra is so much fun and I'm liking the very natural progression with Sombra changing as the walls in his mind are slowly coming down. Definitely faving this and sticking with it all the way through!
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And yeah, I know MLP has a habit of reforming villains in one episode (I'm looking at you, Starlight and Sunset) so I wanted a more natural progression since Sombra isn't going to accept friendship that easily. He has his ego to protect, after all! XD I'm trying to write this fic as if the writers of Season 9 included a Sombra reformation arc and didn't just kill him off.
Thank you so much for the comment! Yeah, I kind of hated the twist in the series finale which I believe ruined Discord's character, but maybe with his successful reformation of Sombra he can redeem himself a bit when that time comes.
Interesting approch about the armor. Of course.m its more comfortable to sleep without it.
And that with fluttershy, let me put it this way. How likely you find she could redeem sombra?
11519134
Yeah, I'm kind of building my own headcanons around Sombra with him always appearing with his armor and stuff like that. XD And I don't think Fluttershy could redeem Sombra as easily as Discord can; she's probably terrified of Sombra and wouldn't be able to make very good conversation. Discord's more out there and the plus is that he can connect with Sombra on many things that a villain considering reformation would be worried about.
11519139
And eager to see more.
Well, if i may say, my friend who got me into sombra tried that with a funny result
11519144
They tried getting Fluttershy to reform Sombra? I've seen many fics about that.
11519146
Pardon, old habit. I just find it amusing as sombra here, screwed up in a hilarious way
ah, yes, that episide was funny!
And as i said, pardon, old habit
11520795
No problem! Yes, I thought that episode was funny as well XD
11520807
yep
Very nice! And i agree, fluttershy is nice but hard to say if she's place one on that, or pinkie pie
the roots of Friendship are setting in quite deeply...
11523555
Indeed they are! Sombra can't keep up the tough guy act forever. XD
Don’t you DARE bring Starlight into this! She actually had a motive for her actions. Controversial as it was, she at least believed in her equality agenda, despite how twisted it is. Sombra just did what he did for giggles.