Theorycrafting King Sombra is in G5: Chapter 3 (Fan Theory)

[Misty Shadow 7,088]

Did you enjoy that break from Sombra theories with the alicorn theory? Hope you didn't get used to that.  This is partially done to celebrate my 300th deviation on DeviantArt, so sorry, not sorry. 

https://www.deviantart.com/cloudmistdragon/art/King-Sombra-is-in-G5-Ch-3-MLP-Fan-Theory-966948187

Prelude

For my 300^th deviation, you bet I’m going to be doing another King Sombra theory. I did take another break from doing theories on him with my last theory being my first non-Sombra theory about official MLP content, but I gave a nod in said theory to the discovery of more evidence of his presence in G5.

Additionally, I discussed how something I proposed in my earlier theories in that theory seems far less likely now, Radiant Hope being Opaline’s mother, something that wouldn’t be possible if Opaline was telling the truth about her backstory in Make Your Mark Chapter 4’s Sunny Side Up, but I’m not sweating it. My previous three Sombra theories will still be marked as “under scrutiny”, but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of them. Theorizing is about trial-and-error.

I also honestly, truly do not see any curveball being thrown with Sombra getting no recognition in G5 at all. With the way things are apparently going, even Hope and the umbrum should be receiving some recognition in G5 too. Even if Hope and Sombra are truly not connected to Opaline or Misty by blood or anything for that matter, we are still continuing to get evidence from the series suggesting the possibility of some kind of connection. I will now discuss that evidence and more.

Developments with Opaline

In no way do I intend to ignore developments with Opaline or Misty that go against my past surmisals. Even if Opaline was born a fire alicorn, contradicting both the comics and my theory on alicorns being born as spiritual beings in Skyros before being born in mortal bodies in Equestria, there is still the issue of evidence tying her to the Crystal Ponies as well as Radiant Hope.

She still looks strikingly similar to Hope and the spy mirror she had Misty give Sunny still bears the insignia of an alicorn that looks strikingly similar to Hope in her form of a princess. Something intriguing about Opaline that many fans like myself caught too when watching the MYM Chapter 4 finale, Missing the Mark, was the Chest of Harmony from Friendship is Magic being visible in her chest.

Tell me, where did the Chest of Harmony come from? The Tree of Harmony…long before Sombra destroyed it. Now how could Opaline have possibly acquired something that was magically buried within the ground after it served its purpose, especially with the Castle of Friendship over it? I can’t speak for the Castle, but regarding the Tree, we do know one pony who has the power to burrow in the Tree of Harmony’s territory without being detected by its defenses…Sombra.

Both Opaline and Sombra very likely share a connection with the Tree of Harmony. It’s also essentially been confirmed in the series that the Tree of Harmony is going to play a part in the show. The Tree of Harmony having a connection to Opaline is further cemented by the tree Imalou, G5’s character designer, confirmed to be the Tree of Harmony, also appearing in MYM’s A Little Horse in a photograph on Zipp Storm’s presentation board, something Zipp used as part of discussing her findings on alicorns and Opaline.

Developments with Misty

As for developments with Misty, MYM Chapter 4 shows her unlocking her latent ability to use magic, elaborating on her backstory of being found in the woods by Opaline, and getting her cutie mark. I do believe now more than I did in the past that Misty really is a unicorn, but there are still good reasons to doubt that she’s an ordinary unicorn. She still has a unique horn that is confirmed to change along with her mane style, something that also happened to Sombra when he was reformed in the arc of the IDW comics, Siege of the Crystal Empire.

There’s also still much to ponder about her backstory involving being found in the woods by Opaline. It’s highly implausible that Opaline would rescue Misty and take her under her wing for altruistic reasons. Why save a random filly in the woods with no connection to you, especially when you’re limited in how you can leave your castle with your compromised power? Something’s not adding up here.

A popular fan speculation regarding Misty’s backstory circulating right now involves Alphabittle being Misty’s father, something surmised from Alphabittle seemingly recognizing Misty in MYM’s The Manesquerade Ball. Although Alphabittle could’ve simply been finding it weird to see a unicorn that he had never seen in Bridlewood Forest before dancing at a fancy party, it is an interesting idea. Part of my first King Sombra is in G5 theory involved speculation of Alphabittle being a descendant of Sombra.

However, let’s also keep in mind that Misty doesn’t even know unicorn traditions foals know, conflicting with the notion that she was ever raised in Bridlewood. Thinking more along the lines with the clues we’ve been getting about the Tree of Harmony…what if Misty is actually referring to the woods outside of Bridlewood, where the Tree is at? What if she’s connected to the Tree of Harmony too? This wouldn’t explain her origin, but it would explain why Opaline would’ve been interested in her.

Something to note from Tell Your Tale too in the episode, As the Misty Clears, is Misty’s ability to wear an evil, magical necklace without succumbing to its corrupt influences, unlike her friends. When the Mane 5 attempted to find the secrets behind the necklace, it made them evil, turned their eyes red, and exuded purple mist all over the Crystal Brighthouse. Even if it’s just coincidence that Sombra’s eyes are also red and exude purple mist, this implies that Misty is indeed not just an ordinary unicorn. I believe that’s everything I want to discuss with the developments of our two villains, so I’ll move on to discussing things that relate to Sombra specifically.

Possible References to Sombra in MYM Chapter 4

Now is when I’ll elucidate the details on the three likely Sombra references I mentioned in my theory on alicorns. In MYM’s Sunny Side Up, the same episode where Opaline alleges to have grown up in Skyros, she sets out to claim an artifact called, “The Dragonstone”, from another realm. Oddly enough, this artifact resembles Sombra’s horn. The curve and the red color are recognizable enough, but one thing I’m sure most people haven’t noticed yet is that when the artifact is enhanced by the power of Sparky’s dragon fire, a small dot and a slightly smaller dot on it glow.

Sombra also has a small dot and a slightly smaller dot on his horn. Obviously though, a much more noticeable detail of the artifact in regards to circular areas is the green gemstone it holds. Open as I am to the possibility of this just being a coincidence, I will point out that after Sombra was reformed in the comics, there was a green gemstone on his headwear.

The next likely Sombra reference comes from the MYM episode, A Little Horse. In this episode, Izzy Moonbow prepares tea for Pipp Petals in order to help her overcome a sickness, pouring it from a giant teapot decorated with a Sombra-like horn.

Sombra himself has no connection to tea as far as I know, but remember what I’ve discussed in the past about him potentially being an ancestor of both Alphabittle and Izzy. Alphabittle operates the Crystal Tea Room, a place Izzy has been to since she was a young foal according to Tell Your Tale’s Foal Food, after all.

The last likely Sombra reference was the one that surprised me the most, given all the evidence we’ve discussed about canon from Sombra’s arc in the FiM comics being incorporated. This piece of evidence, however, strengthens the possibility of Sombra being sealed in the moon after he was defeated for the final time in the FiM show. MYM’s Bridlewoodstock special opens up with a shot of the moon.

Guess what it resembles?

Yes, the visage of Sombra on the moon in FiM’s The Summer Sun Setback. His eye can still be seen (as I’ve said in the past, darkening the image helps make it more visible), the shapes match with the lower parts of Sombra’s image looking especially similar, and there’s even a shadowy part on the moon that appears to have Sombra’s headgear on it.

Evidence like this would seem to contradict the notion of a comic-inspired Sombra being made a part of G5’s lore, but note what I’ve said in the past, we still don’t have confirmation of what G5 will consider canon, rewrites could be made for show canon and comic canon to intertwine. For example, the Sombra in the moon could be the evil inside of Sombra given life while the actual Sombra could be reformed. I could be wrong, yet there is more evidence related to comic canon for us to discuss soon.

Additional Evidence in MYM Chapter 3

That covers all three of the likely references to Sombra from Chapter 4 of MYM, but surprisingly enough, Chapter 3 of MYM provided us with evidence too despite only consisting of a holiday special. In Winter Wishday, we are shown that what the unicorns believe about words causing jinxes actually has truth to it, revealing that words now have magic to them following the return of magic.

Since they can recite spells with their words alone, it makes you wonder…is that how Sombra cursed the Crystal Empire? It would explain how he had the opportunity to do so despite being in the middle of a confrontation with Princesses Celestia and Luna. They would’ve immediately noticed him doing something with his horn, but if they didn’t know he could do spells with his voice…

We even get more evidence pertaining to Radiant Hope in this chapter. In Grandma Figgy’s book, one part of the book shows a unicorn bearing a resemblance to Hope.

Had this part of the book only featured said unicorn, I may have dismissed this as a coincidence. However, what is that shadowy, dragon-like being appearing to the right of the unicorn, accompanied by what looks like some kind of purple fire? Remember that cover of one of the issues of the FiM comics that showed Hope battling a dragon-like beast?

We’ve also seen something bearing likeness to this creature on Opaline’s ankle bracers. Purple fire is something both Opaline and Sombra have surrounded themselves with too, as I pointed out in my last Sombra theory. Remember when I also mentioned the umbrum in that theory? Well, the last piece of evidence I wanted to discuss relates to the umbrum.

The Possible True Nature of Sombra and the Umbrum

At the end of MYM Chapter 4, Opaline mentions the evil plans she has in store for capturing the fire of the dragons while making magical fire on her hoof manifest into the shape of something. When I first saw her do this, I thought she was creating the shape of a dragon. However, look closer at the shape. What dragon has the hooves of a pony?

This fiery creation also has a pattern of hair and a pattern on its body that both look familiar…too familiar…is this actually an umbrum?

We’ve never seen umbrum breathe fire though…but remember what I discussed in that last Sombra theory, how the umbrum burned ponies’ homes in the comics? Apparently with their own magical fire? If Sombra and the umbrum are not just beings of shadow but smoke like I’ve theorized, that would explain a lot. When Sombra takes over the Crystal Empire in the show, he turns the sky orange, something fire causes in real life. He chose to hide the Crystal Heart instead of destroying it despite the fact that it could destroy him to protect the Empire from dangerous snowstorms, and to stop him, Celestia and Luna banished him in ice…

And speaking of those two, Opaline mentioned “having to prove to them she was not to be underestimated”. …How? Now that I think more about it, it’s strange how Opaline would begin her revenge on them by making her move during Twilight Sparkle’s reign. Why not attempt revenge during their reign? Given her potential connection to the Crystal Ponies, what if she had something to do with the Crystal Empire’s first takeover by Sombra or the umbrum burning ponies’ homes?

Furthermore, plotting to forcefully take the fire of the dragons is something that should take an army to do. That’s the likely implication of MYM Chapter 4’s ending, and isn’t it also likely that Opaline has tried something like this before? It’s proven that she has the power to artificially create living beings, as we can see with her creation of a magic mouse in MYM’s The Cutie Mark Mix-Up. The question I can’t get off my mind now is this…

What if Opaline created the umbrum, and by extension, Sombra, with her magical fire?

I really do think now we had it backwards…Opaline is probably not Sombra and Hope’s daughter. She’s more likely Sombra’s “mother”. Or his “grandmother” if the show is to go with Rabia being Sombra’s biological mother. Where would that leave Hope though? Whatever they may rewrite or keep in line with the comics, we still have evidence of Hope becoming an alicorn princess with the insignia on the spy mirror.

Even in the comics, however, Hope and Sombra’s love is written as platonic. Them potentially being romantically involved is something we came up with. It’s possible that the two are actually like stepsiblings, with Opaline being Hope’s biological mother and the artificial creator of Sombra. Bizarre how it’s now looking probable that the opposite of what I initially theorized is true, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. However, it’s for that reason that I’d still be open to other possibilities. I will say though before I end this that every possibility I’ve discussed in this theory regarding Opaline is consistent with her character of being a terrible mother. Abusing Misty, her magical creations, and possibly Sombra.

Conclusion

So ends the third (or technically, fifth) installment of this series of G5 theories on Sombra. What I may get wrong, what I may get right, who cares? 300 deviations. That was a joke, I care deeply about the quality of these theories and will never wittingly perpetuate false information with them. If I end up having to put this theory under scrutiny too, so be it. The original King Sombra is in G5 theory, however, I believe with everything in my heart to be something I will never have to mark as under scrutiny or worse, disconfirmed.

In that worst-case scenario that shouldn’t ever become reality though, I wouldn’t make excuses for my mistakes beyond saying that I did my best with the evidence I gathered, respect whatever the G5 team intended to do without Sombra, and most of all, just be happy that there are people who read these theories and enjoyed them. Just like I said at the end of that first G5 Sombra theory, long live the shadow king. Never going back on that.

[Props Valroa 26,051]

@CloudMistDragon

You definitely raise a lot of very interesting points here. It would be AWESOME if something like this was in G5. Opaline creating the Umbrum and having something to do with Sombra would be fascinating. The show has confirmed that Opaline is far older than we thought so who knows what sort of impact she really had?