Plot Bunny Theater: Have you Ever Heard the Tragedy of King Sombra? · 1:21pm May 26th, 2020
Deep in the Canterlot Archives sits a small, unassuming black pyramid-shaped artifact. Left alone, it has been collecting dust for centuries. But one day, the princess's own apprentice Twilight Sparkle happens across it. She is briefly interested, but is then distracted by finding her actual quarry... Until she hears a voice in her head.
"Hello...? Is anypony out there? Anyone? Please... It's been so long... I'm so alone..."
"What? Who are you?"
"It's been so long... I cannot remember... My name. I cannot remember... Anything else... Please... Don't leave me alone again..."
Twilight Sparkle takes the artifact, and begins questioning it. It does remember a few things, after Twilight gets it to think: That it's been in the archives for a long time. That it was once from the Crystal Empire. And that it knows magic... Incredible magics. Magics that Twilight is keen to learn, and the artifact is keen to teach.
But the truth is that the artifact is a mental recording of King Sombra, made before he fell to powerlust and utter madness. Back when he was cunning and clever. And while the artifact doesn't have everything put together, it does know that it wants to be flesh and blood again. It wants to rule again.
And it will have to be careful...
I thought not; it is not a story the alicorns would tell you. It's an Umbra legend...
But in all seriousness, this could go in any number of fascinating directions. Especially since even then, Twilight has an uncanny if undeveloped talent for befriending others, as Moondancer can attest.
Did you ever hear the Tragedy of King Sombra the Wise?
I thought not. It's not a story the Alicorns would tell you. It's an Umbrum Legend. King Sombra was a Dark King of the Umbrum so powerful and so wise, he could influence the magichlorians to create, life. He had such a knowledge of dark magic that he could even keep the one he cared for, from dying. Dark Magic is a pathway to many abilities some would consider to be, unnatural. He became so powerful that the only thing he was afraid of was, losing his power, which, of course eventually he did. Unfortunately, the one he cared for sold him out to the Alicorns, then the Alicorns killed him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself.
I would read the Hell out of this. Especially if it had Sombra slowly remembering/learning about his past, while at the same time becoming genuine friends with Twilight, and he hides this conflict from her. And when he finally regains his physical body, Celestia figures it out and tells Twi about the horrific things he did to the crystal ponies: the slavery, the mind control, the forced labor. Twi then has a blowout with Sombra, and he has that moment of, "If the world is only ever going to see me as a monster, then there's no point trying to be anything else," and vanishes in a puff of shadows.
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Is it possible to learn this power?
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Not from an Alicorn.
"Heck Rarity, if'n ah wasn't th' Element of Honesty, ah'd say a pony could make more money on Bridleway writin' a play that bombed than from one that was a hit!"
"Oh...OH...IDE-AAAAA!..."
"Whoa now, why would anypony deliberately write a bad play?
"Not anypony, darling--come with me..."
****
*sigh* "Discord, ah'm contractually obligated by the Magic of Friendship to ask you about that there thing with Sombra..."
"What? No! I wasn't there! I didn't do it! I was only following orders--"
"Dear, she said 'Sombra,' not 'Tirek.'"
"'Sombra?' You...you mean you're interested in the script for my musical?"...
****
Crystal Empire, long ago:
Oh what a sad sad story!
Looking for a leader to
Restore its former glory.
Where oh where was he?
Where could that horse be?
We looked around
And then we found
The one for you and me!
And now it's....
SPRIIIIINNNGTIME
FOR SOMBRA
AND TYRANNY!....
Wait, Shadow Marvolo Riddle is an anagram for Sombra if you add in extra letters and take some out!
How did Enid the Cockatrice get stuck below the bathroom of Celestia's School for Gift Unicorns, and why was she only petrifying students who had earth ponies for parents? (I suspect it's that Blueblood student up to no good.)
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"Why did Shining Armor even come along on this trip if all he was going to do was throw Cadance at Sombra when she could have just flown?"
"Because there's always a role for the Princess' husband."
Be a genius
Not a dumdum
Let's all join up
with the Umbrum.
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My dad was teaching astronomy when comet Kohoutek came by. To lighten up a few minutes at the end of a class he read his students this crazy New Age article by somebody who claimed, among other things, that if you took all the k's and o's out of "Kohoutek" it spelled the name of some Mesoamerican god or another.
To which one student replied "Yes, but if you take out everything BUT the k's and the o's it spells kook."
There’s a lot of potential with this premise
That idea is something I would love to read.