Chapter 2 - A Visit to Tartarus
Several days later saw me sitting at my desk in my office. Twilight had passed word of the deal on the table to Rainbow Dash. Already quite embarrassed about her emotional breakdown/psychotic episode, the pegasus was happy to agree to the temporary pay cut, even going so far as to send a letter back to the princess, via Spike, thanking her.
With the incident officially signed off on, done and dusted, and otherwise dealt with and never to be heard from again, I turned my attention to more important matters.
The door to my office, usually open, or at least unlocked to allow ponies to wander in and talk to me, was now closed and double bolted. There was even a guard stationed outside the door, with orders to turn away anypony bar the princesses. I was sitting in my comfortable swivel chair, staring down at the large file on my desk. A manila folder stamped with various warnings such as ‘Secret’, and marked with the emblem of Royal Guard’s Intelligence Section. Opening the folder up, having put the correct three digit code into the tumbler padlock on the side, I read over the first page.
There was a photo of a pinkish unicorn, with a purple and aqua stripped mane. A second photo showed two cutie marks, one being that of a shooting star, and the other being a rather ominous looking black equals sign. Under the attached photos was the mare’s full file.
Her name was Starlight Glimmer. At present she is listed as number two on the Royal Guard’s most wanted list, just behind the renegade changeling Queen Chrysalis. We didn’t know much about her; records were sketchy at best. What we did know however, was that she was dangerous. Twilight and her friends had been sent by their magic map contraption to deal with her. When they got to the spot it indicated, they found an entire village subjected to her communist-like Equality philosophy. Attempts to stop her resulted in them briefly losing their own cutie marks. Her MO seems to be to remove them, and consequently a pony’s special talent, their individuality.
Luckily, they had managed to get loose, retrieve their marks and freed the town. Starlight however, had taken off running, and disappeared into a nearby cave network. Having pulled a Tora Bora on us, Starlight had been on our watch list ever since. Hell, according to Shining Armor, the blood in the Intelligence Section was supposed to have been ankle deep when it came to light that her actions had gone unnoticed for so long.
Anyway, as Celestia’s legal advisor, my job was to both build a case against Starlight, and help in the running of the manhunt. In a sense, I act something along the lines of a district attorney. Although it is rare that I actually prosecute cases; most of the time I’m more of a referee for both sides. But as this was a matter of national security, Celestia was pulling out all the stops.
So far though, Starlight had proved most elusive. We’d had possible sightings of her all over Equestria. And God knows how unreliable eyewitness testimony can be. We knew she was out there though, and almost certainly planning some kind of scheme. So it was better we caught her sooner rather than later.
Don’t get me wrong, she was by no means evil, she was certainly no Tirek. Having read her psyche profile, I’m fairly confident that she’s sane too. She was just…misguided in her actions. Her goal on its own sounded noble enough; it was just her means that lacked such qualities.
Closing the file again, I reattached the small combination lock to the outside, thereby stopping anypony else from looking at it, and placed it into one of the lockable draws in my desk. Given how well guarded this information was, it needed to be kept secure. With that done, I got up to go and unlock the door and release the guard outside. The poor sap had to have been standing there for the better part of an hour.
“Alright, Quick, you can head off…” I suddenly realised I wasn’t talking to Quick Strike, but somepony much further up the food chain. “Oh, Shining, what brings you here?”
Captain Shining Armor is the boss man of the Royal Guard, as well as the Prince of the Crystal Empire by virtue of marriage. Most of his time was mixed between his own new kingdom with his wife, Princess Cadance, and working from his own office here in the castle. His job description certainly didn’t include basic guard work.
“Sorry to surprise you,” the large white unicorn replied. “I dismissed Quick when I got here. The princess wants to see you, urgently.” My brow furrowed.
“And you needed to tell me this instead of one of the guards because?” I asked curiously. Shining’s eyes darted nervously.
“All I can say is that it involves Tartarus,” he said.
Now, for the uninitiated, Tartarus is Equestria’s version of Hell, sort of. There’s no fire and brimstone and no real devil. It’s a vast prison complex, intended to hold the very worst and most dangerous villains in the world. At least, those that weren’t put in their place by the Elements of Harmony. Tirek is held down there, now in a much more secure cell than before. The whole place is guarded by a giant three headed dog called Cerberus, though I personally I prefer to call him Fluffy. Nopony goes down there, if you’ve managed to wind up in Tartarus you are deemed beyond redemption, and most are condemned there for eternity. So, if Celestia wanted to see me about that literal hell hole, and had sent Shining down to fetch me, it had to be important.
“Alright then,” I said, still somewhat concerned. “Let me just lock up the office, and I’ll be right with you.” Shining nodded and patiently waited as I locked everything up and grabbed my briefcase. He then turned around and began to escort me. I had expected that we’d be heading to the throne room, but knowing that route well, I quickly realised we weren’t heading that way.
“Hey Shining, I thought you said Celestia wanted to speak with me. The throne room is back that way.” I gestured off to our left. Shining merely shook his head.
“The princess wants this meeting to be private, Roger. She’ll see you in her chambers.”
Now that was unusual. Celestia’s personal chambers are one of the most private areas of the castle. While she may open up the dining room to guests, the only ponies allowed into her own chambers are the maids who clean the place, who are carefully selected by the princess herself, and Princess Luna. If Celestia wanted to see me there, it meant whatever she had to say was decidedly sub rosa in nature. Literally, the only other pony I know who has ever been in there is Twilight, back when she was a filly and Celestia’s personal student. My gut began to do summersaults.
We finally came upon the large doors. They were a tad smaller than those of the throne room, but still imposing, with an image of the sun carved on them. Taking a breath, Shining rapped on the door and waited. A moment later, the doors opened and Celestia appeared.
“Ah, Roger, excellent. Do come in.” The tall white mare stepped back to allow me in. She then turned to Shining. “Thank you, Shining. That will be all.” The more junior prince briefly bowed.
“Yes, your highness.” He then left without another word. Presumably, he had other matters to attend to. As soon as I had crossed the threshold, Celestia closed the doors behind me.
Celestia’s personal chambers are opulent to say the least, and certainly befitting a mare of her wealth and station. The place was divided up into two main rooms. Firstly, where I entered, a lounge crossed with a study. Here there were cushions, the pony equivalent of chairs, a desk, several bookshelves and a large open fireplace. Up in the far corner, I noticed a small perch, presumably for Celestia’s pet phoenix. Beyond that, through a half opened door, I could see her bedroom, though of course, we weren’t going in there.
The princess led me over towards the fireplace and settled herself down on the large cushion. Tucking her forelegs under herself, she briefly lit her horn and brought in a chair more suitable for myself.
“Please have a seat, my loyal advisor.” It was not an order from a princess, it sounded, as is often the case with Celestia, more of an interaction between friends. I nonetheless quickly sat myself down. I waited for her to explain why I was here.
“I’m sorry to pull you away from your duties, as well as the odd circumstances. But this issue is something that needed to be discussed privately. You understand?” I quickly nodded, whatever she had to say, I was sworn to secrecy.
“Yes, your highness.” Celestia let out a peel of laughter.
“Please, Roger. We are not in court. You may drop the formalities for a moment.” That relaxed me a little.
“Alright, Tia,” I replied, switching to the informal name I was permitted to call her. “What’s all this about then?” Celestia leaned forward before she spoke.
“What do you know about Tartarus?” she asked. I provided a brief summary of my knowledge, possibly sounding a little like Twilight, for it made her smile.
“It’s this world’s underworld; where all those creatures who are dangerous to everypony else are kept imprisoned. It’s guarded by Cerberus, who keeps all the inmates in. Tirek’s locked up down there, as well as few other dangerous villains.” She seemed satisfied with that answer.
“Good. Now, you may know that the reason Tirek escaped his imprisonment several months ago, was due to Cerberus wandering off from his post.” I nodded, thinking that we ought to consider finding a better watchdog. “That was rectified by having Twilight’s friend Fluttershy go down to Cerberus every now and again, to ensure he doesn’t get lonely.” The image a meek, timid Fluttershy making a fuss of the giant, snarling, three headed dog almost made me laugh out loud.
“So Cerberus stays where he is, and nothing gets out of there,” I said. Celestia nodded.
“Precisely. However, despite all that, I’ve had quite a few ponies coming to court recently, voicing their concerns about security down there. The general consensus is that somepony is needed to go down there and ensure each prisoner is still where they’re supposed to be.
“A night watchman?” Again she nodded. I could see where this was going. “You are asking me to regularly go down to Tartarus and check everyone is still there?”
“Yes, I am asking you. You are free to decline, of course. I had previously asked Discord if he would do it. With his powerful magic, he wouldn’t be in danger from any of the inmates. However, he refused.” That was odd. I would have expected the semi-reformed draconequus to at least be mildly interested in the opportunity. I thought for a moment before the obvious hit me.
“Tirek, right?” Celestia nodded. Discord despises Tirek for his betrayal and for the harm he did to him and his friends. He went to see him once with me shortly after the incident. He’d told him then that he had no intention of killing him, but would torment him for the rest of his days. It was the one and only time I’ve ever seen Discord appear truly evil.
“He only said that if I let him down into Tartarus, he wouldn’t be held responsible for his actions.” Needless to say, Discord’s chaos magic gives him quite the gift when it comes to annoying ponies, it could easily be turned to something darker.
“I suppose then that I am the next logical choice. With no magic, I’m less vulnerable to the likes of Tirek. And I’ve got experience dealing with hardened criminals. Plus being an alien, I’m less likely to be affected by magic and other anomalies.” Tartarus, to my mind, holds actual criminals. In Equestria, minor crimes are treated much more seriously due to the more peaceful nature of the ponies, whereas some of the denizens of Tartarus are genuinely dangerous, even by human standards. After mulling it over, I decided to go for a middle ground.
“Alright, Tia. I suppose I can do a trial run of your idea. See how things work out. I can guarantee that my wife won’t be too happy about this though.”
“Rest assured that everything will be done to ensure your safety,” Celestia replied. “If you like, I will come down with you this first time.” That took a bit of weight off, you always feel more relaxed when you are with a pony that’s a few steps away from omnipotent.
“Yes, I would prefer that, Tia.” The princess nodded, though her face still showed concern.
“If you are happy to then, we will head down there in a few moments.” That caught me a little off guard. “Before we do though, there is another matter.”
“Oh, what?” I asked.
“One of the prisoners in Tartarus has requested to speak to you,” Celestia said.
“What?!” I exclaimed. “When? How? Hell, why?”
“When Fluttershy last tended to Cerberus, she found a note tucked into his collar. It was addressed to me. They asked for you by name, saying that they wanted to ‘chat’.”
“Which inmate is it?” I asked, now quite alarmed. Aside from Tirek, nopony should know of me down there. Hell, not even Tirek knows my full name.
“Sombra,” Celestia replied. I’m fairly certain my skin paled noticeably.
“King Sombra? He’s dead,” I replied. “Has been for years; since before we got here. Bones told me. He was blown to bits by the Crystal Heart.” Celestia shook her head and explained.
“A small part of him, the tip of his horn, survived the blast. He sacrificed most of his magic to regenerate himself. As you said, we all thought him dead. But when Twilight and the others used the Elements against Tirek, and created the magical wave that swept across Equestria, it picked up Sombra. For whatever reason, it deposited him in Tartarus, as it did with Tirek. Announcing his survival would only cause problems in the Crystal Empire. So, Luna and I decided to keep him a secret; a ghost detainee, if you will.”
Celestia’s explanation left me shocked. Sombra, the former King of the Crystal Empire, was definitely up there on the dangerous villains list. Potentially, he was much more dangerous that Tirek, or even Discord. More to the point, what in Equestria could he want with me? There was only one way to find out.
“Okay, Celestia,” I said eventually. “Let’s do a trial run with this business. We can go and see what all this is about.” Celestia smiled.
“I admire your courage,” she said kindly. “Though I assure you that you will be quite safe.” With that, she cast a powerful spell. A beam of golden light shot out to the far wall, opening a sort of gateway I suppose (Bones is the magic expert, not me), allowing me to see the entrance to Tartarus. With her usual grace, Celestia stepped through and waited for me to follow.
And so I stepped forth; into the jaws of death, into the mouth of Hell.
Unlike the human counterpart that I was brought up to fear as a child, Equestria’s Tartarus is actually quite chilly. There’s no fire or brimstone, nor endless torture, suffering and damnation. It’s actually quite quiet for the most part. I suppose that after a few centuries even talking to yourself becomes boring.
Celestia led me along one of the many bridges that connect the many cells to each other. Some, mainly special guests like Tirek, are out on their own on little islands. But most are in cells built into the rock itself. As Tirek was, and remains the only one of these fruitcakes to successfully get out, we would check on him first. Plus, while I know she would never admit it, I think Celestia would like to see Tirek again, considering on their last encounter he threw her in here.
Bastard.
I’d visited him once already, and having seen him in such a pitiful state, any hope he had of frightening me had long since evaporated. Whatever Twilight and the others had done to him, had resulted in him being rendered magically inert, a state previously thought impossible by magical science. As such, he was so weak that even Blueblood could probably take him in a fight and win.
As we got closer to his spot though, I began to hear faint chirping sounds. As if there were a flock of small birds down here. Of course, that was impossible. It wasn’t until we saw him in his cell that we realised what was going on.
Surrounding him, and doing all they could to harass him, was a small army of books. Yes, books. Except these particular volumes seemed to have come to life, and were flapping around like birds, chirping and calling as they went. Evidently, Discord had gotten bored of his previous torment and had come up with something new.
The centaur looked up as we approached, holding himself up by the bars of his cage. Judging by the haunted look in his eyes, these ‘birds’ had been here for some time.
“So, first you sic your little lap dog on me, and then you come to mock me personally. Is that it, Princess?” he sneered. As we walked up, the birds fell silent, landing on the cold floor of the cell.
“No, Tirek. I’m here to introduce you to your new friend.” Enjoying the moment, I waved at him.
“Hello again, Tirek. Enjoying a good book are you?” The centaur merely snarled. Celestia continued.
“He will be coming to see you once a month to check on you, as well as the other prisoners down here.” I couldn’t help but feel smug as I looked down on the battered centaur.
“Mark my words you miserable magicless ape,” Tirek seethed. “One day, I will get out of here. And when I do, your ‘children’ will be the first to fall.” I rolled my eyes at the idle threat. Even if by some miracle he did get out, it took him months to build up enough energy to take on the frailest of unicorns. And he’d get the bullet long before then.
There was no real point trying to make conversation with him. All you would get would be more shouted threats. Still, I made an effort. I leaned down and looked the withered demon in the eye.
“You touch them,” I whispered darkly. “And I’ll snap your neck.” Celestia didn’t react, though Tirek noticeably backed away. I allowed myself a small smile as I rose back to my full height.
He didn’t scare me, and all I had to do was come down and check he was still there, and still kicking of course. I mean, okay, to look at, he is quite unsettling. But if you listen to him for five minutes, and his tiresome rhetoric about how useless friendship is, he becomes quite tragic.
As we walked away, his shouting was drowned out as the avian books returned with a vengeance. I wonder what Discord will choose when he grows bored of them. Perhaps I can impart to him a few Greek myths. Prometheus maybe?
With Tirek done, Celestia and I continued through Tartarus. None of the creatures down here leapt out at me as being too dangerous. Like most jails, there was the odd one that tried to grab you or throw things, or simply yell profanities at you. Easy enough to ignore. Eventually, we had worked our way back around to Tirek’s little island. A little way beyond, there was a bridge that led into the rock face.
“Right, that’s almost everyone dealt with,” Celestia said. “You seem to be confident enough to handle this on your own.” I nodded in agreement.
“Yes, Tia. I think I can convince the wife that I can handle this. Most of these guys are no more dangerous than what you might find in the local cells on Earth.”
“Excellent. I will of course wait for your final decision. Now last of all, you will find Sombra’s cell just down there.” She gestured with a gilded hoof to the path into the rock. “I shall wait here until you are done.”
“You aren’t coming in?” I asked curiously. So far Celestia had led me around this place without even batting an eye, even walking up to Tirek as if it was nothing. It seemed odd that she would be frightened of a unicorn a little over half her size.
Oddly though, instead of replying, Celestia’s face took on a far away, almost nostalgic look. Her usual mask slipped for a moment, and I saw a pony who had clearly lost somepony close to them; somepony they cared deeply for. I don’t like to pry into ponies’ private lives, but evidently there was some history between her and the dethroned unicorn king.
“No,” Celestia replied. “Sombra does…not take kindly to me. If he sees you with me, it will affect his reaction. If he wishes to speak to you, it means he wants something. I’m rather curious to know what it is.” Seeing that she wasn’t going to follow me, I began to make my way along the path and into the cave beyond.
I had quite a few ideas of what Sombra’s cell might look like. Like Tirek, his is considered a special case and treated appropriately. Still, I expected a prison cell, which was not what I got.
Walking along a short tunnel, I came out into a large open cave. The side of the cave that I entered from was mainly featureless, apart from a few odd torches giving off an unnatural light. Across the centre of the room, large metal bars separated me from the prisoner within.
However, the other side of the room, the actual cell, was a stark contrast to the rest of Tartarus. It was a palace, literally. It was as if I had walked into the throne room of the palace in the Crystal Empire, only there were a few cosmetic changes, with crystals being black obsidian rather than their usual clear glass, and the stained glass windows having different designs.
Sitting on a throne atop the dais was Sombra himself. He was a tall stallion; Luna’s size, or there about. He was long legged, making him appear a little gangly, reaching about five feet tall, including his horn. In contrast, my son was around 4’6, whilst ponies like Shining or Big Macintosh were 4’8 or 4’9.
He still wore his crown, armour, and the blood red robes of a monarch. His horn was not the usual fare, but looked like an inverted fang, grey at the base and turning red as you neared the tip. The only thing that didn’t tally with what I had read was his eyes. Whilst the irises were a deep crimson, the whites were their normal colour, and no purple vapour poured from the sides of the eyes. Looking around, I found a rock that resembled a chair, designed for a human. Evidently I was expected. I addressed the unicorn on the throne.
“King Sombra.” Addressing him by his title seemed like a good initial way to open relations. Sombra’s gaze shifted to examine me. Foolishly, I made the mistake of meeting that gaze, and inevitably lost the staring contest that ensued. He might be a foot shorter than me but he was nonetheless intimidating. Satisfied with that, he got up, walked down the large staircase, and stood just behind the metal bars.
“Good morning,” he replied. His voice was deep with a vague echoing quality to it. Yet somehow it managed to sound soft, cordial, and almost friendly “Have a seat, please.” He gestured to the stone chair behind me. I sat myself down; it was surprisingly comfortable.
“King Sombra, my name is Roger. You asked to speak with me?” Sombra smiled, exposing some sharp looking fangs.
“Ah yes, you are Celestia’s new legal advisor.”
“That’s correct, sir.” Silence prevailed for a moment. Eventually, I continued with my introductions.
“Is there something you wished to speak to me about? Advice on your situation, or appeals?” I asked. Sombra smiled again.
“I find you…interesting, Mr. Owen,” he replied cryptically. I took the obvious bait.
“How so?” I prodded. Celestia was right; he wanted something, but for the moment was merely toying with me.
“Oh, please, sir,” he replied, feigning offense. “You are new species to this world. There are only two of you in existence. I’m sure you have been approached by many a curious pony.” That was true, aside from medical research types and magical scientists, Lyra had taken a great interest in me, asking questions about every facet of humanity.
“Somehow I doubt that is the reason you asked me here,” I replied, letting annoyance creep into my voice. Sombra’s face took on a disappointed and slightly offended look.
“That was very rude of you, Mr. Owen.” He leaned forward, menacingly, almost touching the bars. “And I do so hate rude ponies.”
“My apologies,” I replied, bowing slightly. It seemed I would have to let him lead.
“That’s better.” He smiled at his small victory. “As to why I asked you down here, I simply wanted to meet you. After all, you seem to have a special place in the heart of that oaf Discord, and Tia too. I wanted to see what it is that gained their interest.”
“And what is that?” I enquired. Sombra however, sat silent for a moment and then changed the subject.
“Tell me, what do you know about me? What has little Tia told you?”
“You once ruled the Crystal Empire,” I began. “You enslaved the crystal ponies and forced them to mine crystals for you. However, you were overthrown by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. You were banished to shadow and trapped in the ice of the Frozen North. But before you went, you placed a curse…” I didn’t get to finish.
“There is no such thing as CURSES!” Sombra bellowed, visibly enraged. His face was a mask of anger, and his eyes had taken on their more recognisable hue. Purple vapour poured from his eyes and his horn bubbled viciously. I stopped my narration and leaned back in my seat a little. A moment later though, the storm subsided. Sombra closed his eyes for a moment, letting them return to their natural state, and took a deep breath before speaking again.
“My apologies. That is a…sensitive topic with me.” Seeing my confusion, he elaborated. “In the study of magic, you will not find a single reference to curses, hexes or other enchantments. Such are things of children’s tales. They do not exist. I used my magic to seal away my empire, and block out the memories of the crystal ponies, but I did not put a curse on them. It irks me no end that so many minds today are polluted with such ill-informed drivel.” Rant over, he bade me to continue. After I completed my summary, he seemed much more relaxed.
“Good, very good. I think we are going to get along just fine.”
“I may not always have the time visit you, Sombra,” I replied. Sombra once again gave that unsettling smile, keeping eye contact for an uncomfortably long time.
“I do. I have oodles.” With that, he walked away from the bars and back towards his throne. He stopped at the foot of the stairs. I found myself looking around the throne room that Sombra inhabited.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” he commented, still with his back to me. “This is the throne room of the imperial palace. And just through there,” He gestured to an opening that led onto a balcony, “Is where I spend my time looking out onto the city below. Have you ever visited the Crystal Empire?”
“Once or twice, yes,” I answered. “Your craftsmanship is impressive.” I expected that to stroke Sombra’s ego a little. But instead, it made him chuckle; an unsettling sound. He turned around to face me.
“You don’t think this is real do you?” he asked. “Physical, I mean.”
“I assumed you’d spent your time down here carving it out of the rock,” I replied. I’d seen similar situations in other cells, though none had such detail or grandeur. Sombra though, shook his head.
“No, I am many things; a monarch, a gifted magician, a scientist, strategist, musician, cook, and chess player. But a sculptor is not one of them,” he said. “A simple enough spell really, an illusion.” Now I understood. My son occasionally used something similar when he wanted somewhere quiet to study. In his case though, he could only create a small sphere around himself. Sombra’s work covered the whole cavern. It made me realise his potential, even in his weakened state.
“So you recreated all of this? From memory?” I enquired.
“Memory is what I have, Mr. Owen, instead of the view.”
A short while later, I left Sombra’s cell and returned to Celestia. I decided that I had made some progress with Sombra. The entire meeting, he had been sizing me up, assessing me. For what, I was not sure. But his comment that we would get on well together piqued Celestia’s interest.
In any case, there was little to be done about it. For all I knew the dark unicorn was merely doing this to amuse himself; the whole thing could just be a pointless exercise. When we parted, Sombra had told me that he would contact Celestia the same way he had this time, when he wished to speak to me again.
The stallion unsettled me; he had all the hallmarks of a psychopath. Almost every emotion he had shown me had been a well-practiced act. I doubted that I had seen even a shred of his real personality. He had the trappings of civility, but underneath…God knows. I was certainly glad for the bars between us.
With my work done, Celestia led me back to Equestria, and we emerged back in the warm confines of her study. It was getting late by then, so she dismissed me for the day. I would discuss this new job with the memsahib, and if all went well, head down on my own next month.
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you get a up vote from me before I even start I just know it is going to be good.
I must say I like how you are handling Sombra and at the same time I am glad you are steering away from Starlight Glimmer.
I like how she is now staying in Twilights castle but it was all just way to easy in the show I know there is a plan for season 6 as it is over all about exploring equestria but she was just way to easy to turn around.
I'm... Impressed! Rodger isn't letting Sombra get to him, and I applaud you for doing an amazing job! Now that I've caught up, faving and activating the tracking beacon...
7155908 Thanks for the corrections. Those little typos can be so easy to miss at times.
Glad you like the story so far.
If you're interested, and if you have the time to spare, I could do with another proofreader to back up The Batmane of equestria.
The stallion unsettled me; he had all the hallmarks of a psychopath
Personal the word sociopath sounds more fitting
And I thought they had a daughter what happened to her? You keep mentioning his his wife and his son but not his daughter
7156050 I'd love to help when I can. PM me the details on how we would go about the proof reading, I've never done it outside the comments before.
As for this chapter's one.
I think you mean beam here instead of bean.
I love little typos like that, they don't get picked up by spell check and they put some beautiful imagery in your head.
7156968 Don't worry, she'll crop up and some point. I'm planning on doing her own spin off with Rainbow based on how well this one's been received.
7156968 In regards to sociopaths vs. psychopaths, Sombra seems to fit psychopath better. Sociopaths, while unable to feel remorse or empathise, can't as easily cover up their affliction. They tend to be disorganised and prone to sudden fits of anger and violence. They can however, occasionally form basic emotional attachments.
In contrast, psychopaths cannot form attachments, and tend to be more controlled, able to hide their condition from others through mimicry. They can appear charming and disarming, but at their core remain emotionless and highly manipulative. Psychopaths also tend to be better educated and extremely detail orientated, whereas sociopaths will come from a lower social class and be highly disorganised.
While Sombra may show signs of both, I wrote him as a pure psychopath. He doesn't feel emotions, nor can he empathise, though he can mimic both. He cannot form any real relationships. He is however, very detail orientated and sees things as one big picture; everything he does has a larger purpose in his plan.
7158951
Well you seem to know the difference between them better than me. So I'll leave it at that.
Ah, the savvy and dangerous Sombra. Sombra is an underrated MLP villain. Of all the big bads, he's the only one who was, comparatively, normal. A unicorn who managed to find ways to stand up to both Alicorns together, and even in defeat manage to make their victory hollow.
Communism or Socialism is more an Equality of Classes and less an Equality of...Everything like Starlight Glimmer's.
Though, she did make herself "More Equal" like many communist regimes.
Curse for me is the act of putting a negative status effect on a person/object through the use of magic.
So...Sombra still cursed them.
I remember an episode of South Park when Sudan Hussein showed up in Hell. Everyone was surprised & he was "Where else am I going to go - Cleveland?"
Hannibal Lector. But, my response to his greeting would be "I'm sorry you're displeased. I'll just go, then"
Wait a minute... did he quote Dr Hannibal Lecter at Roger?!? If so, I've got a bit of advice for Mr Owens: "Don't let him into your head."
I remember this, and I will say what I thought then: You're following the trope of when Celestia went through the mirror in the comic and fell in love with Sombra, before his gradual turn to evil. He went evil out of choice to protect Celestia from his world's hatred, but in doing so, lost himself to madness. As such, this is less of "Beat Sombra's ass again!" and more of trying to tweak the waterworks and wondering "Why can't they be together?!" Truly excellent.
inconsistencies... i do not like.
So far I'm enjoying what I'm reading