Shards Of Sombra: Onyx

Artwork by the amazing Magfen

[ ONYX ]

The first and eldest Shard of Sombra is the enigmatic and conniving Onyx. Her goal to see her Father resurrected fell short of its' illustrious triumph because of Obsidian's defeat of Sombra; in all honesty, Onyx's plan didn't fail... however, she hadn't been prepared for what sort of sacrifices she'd have to make. Meeting her end in a rather gory fashion, Onyx seemingly got what she deserved...

However, now with her appearance in Obsidian's DreamScape, it seems that Onyx may have found a way to continue her work from beyond the grave. Time will tell what the future holds for Onyx, but one thing is clear: Obsidian may have bested their Father, but Onyx is still technically undefeated - has she been effectively stymied, or will she rise again to put all of Equestria in peril?

[Story Notes]

Onyx was one of the main villains in Obsidian: Daughter Of Sombra; when I created her, my goal was to have one of those villains who was hiding in plain sight - someone crafty and intelligent, who could plausibly get the better of the hero in a number of ways (which, during the course of the story, Onyx most certainly did). I'd planned her out to be wicked, but determined to see her Father reborn; too many cliches out there of 'screw him - I'M in charge'; I wanted a LOYAL leader, not a Starscream-wannabe.

Writing for her in the story was tough; I had to make sure NOT to reveal her hoof too early, yet I wanted to be sure to time her surprise entrance juuuuuuuust right. Wungiel (Obsidian's creator) may have seen the moment coming ('cuz he's a smart cookie), but Obsidian was taken completely by surprise when 'Miss Tome' first revealed her truth - a moment I was rather proud of.

During the course of ODoS, there comes a point where Onyx rather graphically describes what she would do to Obsidian's friends; it's a bit of a chilling scene, and it's also the main reason ODoS has the [GORE] tag. Honestly, it had been my original idea to make Sombra's Shards into cannibals... then, the idea came that Onyx herself was a cannibal... which eventually was shuffled out of Onyx's personality. I realized she would have just been antagonizing Obsidian - she was evil, yeah, but it felt like cannibalism would've crossed the line & made her too off-putting to really fit in.

Onyx seems to have quite a bit of disdain for her siblings, but in all honesty, she has a bit of a hidden heart for her family members. In Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra, I wanted to make her a touch more forgivable; the fate of Diamond's drawing was a good point to that end. She'd told him she'd burnt it, yet was apparently touched enough to have kept it, all this time. I like characters that break the stereotype like that - all heroes aren't ALL heroic, so the same should be said for villains and villainy.

NO SPOILERS, but I really ended up liking what happens to her within the story; I feel like it's appropriate, and that Onyx ends up right where she should be.

From the very onset of the story, it had been my goal to provide a number of obstacles and issues for Obsidian to have to deal with - and Onyx, at least for a moment, was at the top of that list. Her machinations were varied and effective; due to planning, she literally seemed to be two or three steps ahead of Obsidian at almost all times. Which was how I wanted her to be; good villains succeed in at least a few of their goals... but Onyx actually achieved her goal...

Too bad she didn't know what that goal would cost her... which makes her plight even more tragic when you realize that she did EVERYTHING she was supposed to do, and even successfully resurrected her Father... but she never once got to actually SEE him again with her own eyes. Sacrificed herself for someone she cared about, but would never again get to see... gotta love that irony, there.

For her personality, I wanted her to be snide and haughty - like a Bond villain. I wanted her to be infuriatingly clever, as well as antagonistic and mean... but not exactly cruel. The sort of mare you'd want running your company... but not your life, because she'd be far too demanding for you to enjoy living under her command - ask Amethyst & Tourmaline.

[Factoids]

If I had to give her a theme song, it'd be Hell's Bells by AC/DC; it's arrogant, it's powerful and the feel of the tune emotes both power and swagger; something Onyx most certainly displays best in ODoS.

Though she should be wearing her black bodysuit from ODoS in the picture, I decided to ditch it to show off her AWESOME Cutie Mark.

The 'shushing' scene between her and Cupcake Sprinkles was one of my favorite comedic bits in the entirety of the story... yes, I'm easily amused. *chuckle*

The inspiration for Onyx came from some interesting sources: Blofeld from Dr. No, Lex Luthor from the Superman comics, and just a dash of Chrysalis thrown in for good measure.

[SPOILER]

Each one of these files will get a spoiler for the upcoming, unpublished story; read at your own risk.

Onyx ends up being betrayed, and eventually finds herself joining forces with Obsidian to deal with the problem at hoof... though before the end, she pays a HEFTY price for her choice.