King Sombra Was Always There (Fan Theory)

[Misty Shadow 7,086]

Why wait for him to return in the comic? 

https://www.deviantart.com/cloudmistdragon/art/King-Sombra-Was-Always-There-Fan-Theory-853608830

Intro

I think it’s time to change things up. Don’t worry, I’ve not lost my fire for the shadow king, and I’m saying that he’s still alive until the day I die. It’s just that now that the Season 10 comic is finally out, a particular reveal from a plot synopsis has provoked me to look at things from another angle. As much as I enjoyed both my King Sombra is Still Alive theory and my King Sombra is Discord’s Creation theory, and still feel that some of the ideas I discussed in them will hold up, other ideas I discussed, I have begun to rethink.  

 

From the start, I always knew that getting everything right would be impossible. These are just fan theories after all, and coming to a concrete conclusion always takes trial-and-error. Granted, I’ve not seen anything that proves Sombra couldn’t be related to the Tree of Harmony yet, nor have I seen anything that proves he couldn’t be related to Discord in some way yet. Honestly, however, it’s not about being right or wrong. I just feel my greatest error in making those theories in retrospect was...overthinking in the wrong places. 

 

I came to some very grandiose conclusions, pointing to ideas that the creative staff may have only intended to reserve in case of a different situation. We know quite a few of the ideas they had originally intended for Season 9 were cut, so what if they had an idea for King Sombra that had to be drastically simplified? What if there’s a simple story telling us what happens to Sombra after he gets defeated that we can construe from clues in the show? Clues put there to show careful watchers of the show that...he’s never truly been gone. 

 

Sombra’s Story in the Show

 

The main reason I’m still hung up on this, even after so much theorizing, is not something so simple as my fandom for Sombra or a grudge against what happened in the final season of the show. I would’ve let go of all of this and moved on long ago if Sombra’s story on the surface was clear and made sense. But currently, on the surface, it is unclear and does not make sense, and I can’t settle for that. Why does it not make sense? Plotholes and inconsistencies. 

 

The notion that the Mane 6 killed Sombra isn’t just insulting to Sombra. It’s also insulting to the Mane 6. The Mane 6 do not kill. Sombra can not just die, come back to life again with no explanation (or survive with no explanation), then die again forever. There was no reason for him to not put the Mane 6 under his mind control again. There is a blatant contradiction between the opening of the second part of The Beginning of the End where he says that their greatest fear is him conquering Ponyville, when in the first part, we clearly saw that Twilight’s greatest fear was letting Equestria be destroyed, a far worse fate than Ponyville being taken over. And after the reveal of Discord being Grogar, meaning Discord would’ve put Twilight’s family in actual danger if Sombra really was going to destroy any pony who got in his way, how in the world are we supposed to just sit back and say that there’s not more to Sombra than meets the eye? 

 

He doesn’t have to be the dark counterpart to the Tree of Harmony. He doesn’t have to be created by Discord. He doesn’t have to be a kirin. He doesn’t even have to have gone through what I’m about to propose. All that matters is that we know something is wrong, and I want to find out what. And with newfound evidence, I have a better idea than ever now what. 

 

Sombra’s Appearance in the Forest

 

 

Though this piece of evidence, the appearance of a Sombra-like figure in the forest in Between Dark and Dawn, is something you might recognize from my second theory, new facts about it have come to my attention. Do you recognize the setting in this image? It’s the exact same forest that appeared in Apple Bloom’s nightmare in Bloom and Gloom. Not only is the background exactly the same, the visual foreshadowing is exactly the same. In Bloom and Gloom, during the scene where Apple Bloom is questioning her shadow, you can see her shadow pass by her at lightning speed to hint that the source of Apple Bloom’s trauma is her shadow. Yes, the exact same way the Sombra-like figure passes by Celestia. 

 

This indubitably proves that the shadow is designed to resemble Sombra, nothing else. Why make an Easter egg like that, a reference to something most fans haven’t caught...for a simple gag involving Celestia being afraid of chickens? Why would they go through the trouble of including that visual for the last episode starring Celestia and Luna in the spotlight? I feel the reason is because there’s something about Celestia, Luna, and Sombra the show means to imply…something in regards to a familiar villain...

 

Sombra’s Appearance in the Moon 

 

 

Remember the scene in The Summer Sun Setback? Where the unicorns use their magic to create an image on the moon before the fireworks display? You may have assumed the image was meant to be of Nightmare Moon. But it’s actually an image of King Sombra. How can it not be of Nightmare Moon? Because Nightmare Moon wears a helmet that covers everything except her horn. The image of the pony on the moon was wearing horned headgear. And there was clearly something trailing from the pony’s eyes. There’s only one pony in the entire show who meets that description. 

 

Also, take note of the two circles that appear by the image, as well as the pose of the pony. Those most likely represent the fact that a circle of friends had to defeat Sombra twice. And the pose of the pony, aghast as he is holding up a hoof, is the exact same pose Sombra was in when he was defeated by the Mane 6 for the second time. How in the world could this visage of Sombra in the moon be a simple coincidence? 

 

Regardless of what we’re meant to infer from this, it’s undoubtedly odd. What is it with all the similarities between Nightmare Moon and King Sombra all throughout the series? 

 

Sombra’s Relation to Nightmare Moon 

 

Long before I ever thought I would be getting into writing fan theories, people drew comparisons between these two. Long before I was comparing Sombra to Discord, fans were pointing out how similar Sombra and Nightmare Moon are in design with their armor and flowing hair, in charisma with them both being hammy, shadowy villains with gawkish laughs, and in powers with their abilities to manipulate ponies with fear and turn to dark smoke. However, in my personal experience, I have never seen someone argue how much Sombra pays direct homage to Nightmare Moon. 

 

Both of them destroy the Elements, both of them get defeated at the throne of the castle of the two sisters, and both of them are the only two villains in the entire franchise to be disintegrated. Say what? Yes, give Part 2 of Princess Twilight Sparkle a rewatch some time and look closely at what is happening to Nightmare Moon when she is being banished by Celestia.

 

She’s not just being enveloped by the light. There are holes opening up in her body and marks where you can clearly see that she’s actually being broken apart. Yet exactly like Sombra, she was able to let out a campy cry of “Noooo!” while she was being disintegrated. 

 

I know where you think I’m going with this. “King Sombra is still alive and totally going to return in the Season 10 comic!”. The former, I feel is definitely true, obviously. The latter, I can’t say with absolute certainty. Though I would love for Sombra to reappear in the comics, there is a clear issue…

 

Sombra’s Story in the Comics 

 

Yeah, I’m really getting deja vu here. First, I’m talking about Sombra’s relation to Luna seriously again for the first time in nearly four years and now this. I had a whole section in my very first Sombra theory dedicated to proving how the comics were not canon to the show. And then I turned out to be right in the wake of the Season 9 premiere. However, that was then and this is now. Things change. Now, we are getting a comic meant to be a continuation of the show, and things could go one way or the other in regards to Sombra.

 

They could choose to either scrap the story of him being an umbrum entirely, retcon the story in the comics to make it fit with the continuity of the show, or retcon the show to make it fit with the continuity of the comics. At first, the latter two options seem highly unlikely, because how many ways could they make these two completely different stories with contradicting lores fit together? Well, now that the crew making the comics does not have to worry about something in the show contradicting them anymore, they could find a way.     

 

By pretending the conversation in the Season 9 premiere where Rarity clearly recalls the events of the Season 3 premiere where Sombra was dispelled into the ether and makes no recollection of any events that transpired in Siege of the Crystal Empire never happened, or throwing in an explanation of how it was a result of, let’s say for example, Discord erasing their memories of the events as part of the test, they could very well bring Sombra back while calling both his story in the comics and his story in the show canon. Or even more simply…

 

Now that the company that produced Friendship is Magic no longer has any say in what happens with the franchise, the comic could easily deem itself “the true canon” henceforth, asserting its right to deem as many things from the show as it needs to “noncanon”. 

 

So is what I’m actually going with that this entire theory was a waste of time because anything in the show can now be overwritten by the comic? No. What I am going with is that no matter what happens in the comic, King Sombra can’t return...because he’s still been around all along. 

 

Sombra Was Never Really Gone

 

King Sombra can not die because he is a concept. A concept that the crew creating the comics now can do whatever they want with. Regardless of how much respect they decide to pay to the canon of the show, I believe that the canon of the show was never meant to kill Sombra for good. At worst, I believe the end they intended for him...was banishment. And I believe that banishment...would be to the moon. 

 

Yes, as hackneyed as that sounds, I’m being completely serious. I’ve suggested crazier. I know, the image on the moon could’ve just been a drawing. But think it through. Where does Sombra go when he purportedly dies? We know he can’t be totally annihilated if his conscience can just be brought back to life, so where did he go when he got blown up the first time in the Season 3 premiere? If he was dispelled into the ether, that would mean the sky. 

 

Yeah, it’s already starting to sound less ridiculous, even if that may have something to do with how ridiculous this show is in general (not an insult, I cherish the fact I doubt even the biggest MLP fans would deny). To further the plausibility of this suggestion, I would draw attention to the fate of Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis in the finale. If they get turned to stone, suffering the same fate as Discord, wouldn’t it be consistent for Sombra to suffer the same fate as Nightmare Moon, being sent to the moon? Especially after they’ve already shared the same fate? 

 

I do acknowledge that this line of reasoning would only correct two of the plotholes I originally addressed about the story of Sombra in the show. However, what if we were to include what I postulated in my theory involving him and Discord, where I showcased evidence of him being Discord’s accomplice? Discord possessing shadow magic, knowing of Sombra’s disobedience ahead of time, knowing he wouldn’t actually harm anyone, too many strange things were happening to be deemed coincidental and that’s not even including what I realized recently of how unlikely it was for even Discord to be able to find both Arimaspi’s Eye (the ball he uses as Grogar) and Grogar’s Bell while putting this entire plan of impersonating Grogar together by himself. 

 

Going down this line of reasoning, the other three inconsistencies essentially explain themselves. Sombra didn’t actually hurt anyone and gave the Mane 6 a chance at a fair fight under Discord’s orders. Discord originally intended to bring him back again, but now that Sombra was sent to the moon, he couldn’t. Not all of his magic went with him though, and that’s what stalked Celestia in the forest. The fact that Sombra was sent to the moon is what made everyone confident of the fact that he was not coming back despite the fact that he was clearly able to return after being taken care of by the Elements before, and is also what gave ponies the idea to put an image of him on the moon. The theme makes perfect sense as an homage to Nightmare Moon too. Because if Nightmare Moon is the mare in the moon, then King Sombra is the shadow on the moon. 

 

Conclusion

 

In the end, whether or not King Sombra was actually banished to the moon, these new facts that came to light when I went back and observed things more closely were quite eye-opening and say a lot about what his presence might have actually meant for the show. This is only the fifth theory now, you know the drill. This is only a fan theory, take it with a grain of salt. Trial and error are how I come to my conclusions, thus why I had to go back to my theories and re-evaluate many things, leaving aside ideas that I once embraced but had to assess again. 

 

I just make these theories because I love to share with other fans of Sombra what I find, and you’re allowed to take whatever you want from them, including finding them silly, as even I can’t believe this series of theories ended up becoming a quintology. That’s just what happens though when you refuse to stop saying, “Long live the shadow king.”. It’s not about what you get wrong or right, and I can definitely say that I have long lost interest in fruitless debates about who’s wrong or right on the internet. I’m just backing up why I feel the way I do with the best facts I can find. Sombra was already always alive to me, and now, I feel that he’s always even been where I once couldn’t see him.    

Edited August 31, 2020 by CloudMistDragon
Minor typo.

[Dashy 4 Ever 4,832]

Glad to know someone else thinks Sombra will make a comeback

Love your in-depth explanation, it really gets you thinking.