Idea for my own route for a EqG Sombra-centric story.

[Jerry246 43]

A haunted house story with human Sombra or rather a formerly human Sombra as the antagonist and the main spirit haunting the house.

Obviously, this would be darker than what's usually in EqG since Dark magic and other forms of "Evil" magic would be presented in a manner similar to real world Black Magic, occultism, witchcraft and Satanism. I mean before he becomes a demonic ghost upon death, Human Sombra was obsessed with Dark Magic and even the worship of Dark beings and deities out of the belief of gaining power, wealth, and Immortality at the cost of losing his sanity and humanity.

I pick him as the ghost because some portrayals of him have him be this dark shapeless mass with just his eyes.

I like to think that assuming that if he even had a counterpart, he'd be the leader of the EQG equivalent of either a Satanic cult or the various cults found in Lovecraftian Fiction. Due to being frequently exposed to dark magic through him and his cult performing rituals, he'd gain his cruel personality as he had completely gone insane with his heart becoming "As black as night", like his pony counterpart. How he would become the demonic spirit would be from a confrontation between his cult and a group of occultists trying to stop him from carrying out his terrible plans, resulting in his physical body being killed and his soul, being so badly corrupted by dark magic, takes on a demonic form. All of this would take place almost 100 years in the past. So something like the early 20th Century.

He'd be those individuals in Lovecraftian horror stories who struck deals with eldritch deities to gain wealth and power (why he was able to build his mansion), but at the cost of their sanity and also those wealthy individuals who search for and collect eldritch artifacts with the intention of using them for an ulterior motive later down the line.

The house he would be haunting is his own estate. the Mansion having been turned into his prison upon his defeat. Having multiple magical wards and seals prevent him from escaping. In the present, the place is almost forgotten and has faded in obscurity. To demonstrate how forgotten it is, There would be a pathway for road vehicles to access to reach the estate, but over time, it became overgrown until it was no longer visible. The School bus from Canterlot High actually passing the old roadway when it was heading for Camp Everfree during the event of that movie.

TBH, I actually have no concrete image or vision on what the mansion would look like other than the vague description if it being a large stony building exuding a sort of corrupted elegance. The general mood of the area being something like this.

some quotes from the 1963 movie, "The Haunting" to also add onto the nature and description of the nature of this magical building.

"It was an evil house from the beginning. A house that was born bad."

Basically, my image of the mansion is that it was as evil as the man and cult who built it, inhabited it and performed profane rituals inside. It's construction funded by wealth that was gained through a deal with an evil being and the fabric of the structure being imbued with evil magic with evil symbols and designs engraved into the very frame and architecture of the Manor. As if it were a magnet for dark magic flowing in from the pony world.

Despite being sealed up inside the manor and weakened significantly, his presence and the dark magic tainting the house would have an effect on the surrounding area within a certain radius. Transforming the grounds and the coniferous forests around the estate into an overgrown and unruly marsh reeking with rot and decay.

This quote from the 1960 film adaptation of "The Fall of the House of Usher" best describes what I'm saying,

"And then something crept across the land and blacked it. The trees lost their foliage. The flowers languished and died. Shrubs grew brown and shriveled. The grain fields perished. And the lakes and ponds became black and stagnant. And the land withered as before a plague."

In the short form, it means that the house would become a literal blight on the landscape.

It's also this presence and the demonic paranormal activity by Sombra that would explain why the place wasn't demolished or converted into something else by the likes of Filthy Rich and Well-To-Do. The City should have also torn it down a long time ago but the dark magic was so great that such plans never moved forward.

Some more details I have on Sombra's estate. There would also be this secret network of tunnels and chambers running under the property. Something akin to the Hellfire Caves in West Wycombe, England:

The main chamber that Sombra conducted his rituals with his cult being directly under the mansion and would be the epicenter of the demonic paranormal activity plaguing the estate as his corrupted soul was trapped and sealed up inside. Because of this, they would be the "final area" as it would be near-impossible to get inside.

As with EqG's trope of magical artifacts, his artifacts of power would be a replica of his pony counterpart's crown, a pendant resembling his eye and a ceremonial dagger resembling his pony counterpart's horn. These would be the macguffins integral to the plot in the scenario where the protagonists try to defeat him.

Sombra wouldn't be the only spirit haunting the estate. The other spirit would be the former human counterpart of Princess Amore. The "Good" ghost aiding the protagonists and in some situations, protecting them from Sombra's wrath. The "Light in the Darkness" so to speak.

Amore would be of equal power to Sombra and aside from the various magical wards placed upon his imprisonment in the mansion, she would be an additional reason as to why Sombra is still kept in check even when the Mansion was forgotten.

She would also be the reason the protagonists, specifically the Cutie Mark Crusaders are able to maintain their sanity during their exploration of the estate as Sombra would be bombarding them with horrifying visions and manifestations and takes delight in the misery he inflicts upon them. Many of these visions this evil spirit creates being aimed at where it would hurt the most to those three: their attachments and relationships with their friends and family. Visions ranging from being disowned or hated by them to them being threatened and even losing their lives in cruel and grisly ways. Him reveling at the tremendous anguish and grief he inflicts upon them, Which is why Amore would exist to keep the three from going completely insane from the visions. She would be responsible for various "safe rooms" protected from Sombra's presence where the CMCs could take shelter in and give time to regain their sanity and plan out their next move. 

the epicenter of the supernatural activity from her would be in the form of a Crystal statue of her likeness in the Garden, or rather the small patch of garden that still looks like a garden as the rest of it and the grounds around the mansion turned into a decayed swamp. Similar to what her pony counterpart turned into in the idw comics:

However, unlike in the comic and just like Sombra's prison being near impossible to enter, it would be impossible to damage or destroy the statue.

Radiant Hope on the other hand, I'm indecisive on that one as i don't know if she should be alive or another "good" ghost like Amore.

My choice of protagonists would be the Cutie Mark Crusaders rather than the Mane 7. I'd go for them because it would be more interesting if they didn't have prior knowledge like with Sunset and had to learn about their situation by themselves instead of always consulting Twilight, their short stature makes the Mansion and the grounds around it seem much larger than it should and because the premise of Preteens confronting a powerful supernatural entity that could easily kill them and take their souls is shared with some other horror movies and stories such as Stephen King's "It" and the movie, "Monster House".

Basically, the plot here goes like this: The first visit to the mansion by the Cutie Mark Crusaders was initially to do some amateur Urban Exploration on the location, unaware of the true nature of whatever still lurks in the manor house and how insidiously powerful it is, despite being still being chained and shackled. Upon encountering Sombra's spirit for the first time, they barely escape with their lives as they ditch the urban exploration and are chased off the property by this dark entity.

However, they did not escape completely unscathed as in the days following, they experience slew of horrifying nightmares and visions they had to endure in the days after due to some of his dark magic from the manor attaching to them after their escape. Allowing him to invade their subconscious and relishes in the pain he inflicts upon them by bombarding them with disturbing visions such as sleep paralysis episodes where he visits them in their dreams and looms over them while they're in bed.

After experiencing and enduring a full week of these nightmares and visions, they decide to return to the Manor with the intent of confronting and vanquishing Sombra for good in order to end his reign of terror and preventing him from harming any more people. Here, they would have to struggle against all of Sombra's efforts to kill them and take their souls as well as also being aided by Amore's spirit in their mission to permanently defeat Sombra.

pretty simple here.

 I'm debating whether or not to throw in Snips & Snails into this story. like they broke into the Mansion before the CMCs arrive in their second visit to the mansion. Explaining as to why there is a new hole or breach the protagonists use to get in the property much easier and then into the manor itself. S&S being later found by the CMCs, hiding from Sombra in a small chamber such as a crawlspace, pantry or closet, Utterly terrified by what they saw.

I'd think that in the final confrontation, the mane 7 would come in and they and Amore's spirit help the Cutie-mark crusaders in defeating Sombra and his demise is visually similar to the destruction of his pony counterpart, After which the caves begin to collapse and the Mansion burns itself to the ground as the source of the dark magic it was imbued with is no more and it dies along with it's master. The swamp around it reverting back to the commonly seen coniferous forests. Amore being freed from Sombra's grasp and finally moving on.

On the musical side of things, if I were to imagine this premise having a soundtrack, I'd go for Akira Yamaoka's work on the soundtrack of the Silent Hill games, which cover a variety of genres of music, not just the ambient/horror music. I choose this soundtrack to try something different from cliche spooky organ and orchestral music and because i feel that the lo-fi Trip Hop and Rock genre music in the soundtrack could fit into Equestria Girl's Modern setting. Especially the songs sung by Mary Elizabeth Mcglynn.

Song as the protagonists walk down the forgotten carriageway and towards the front gate at the start of their second visit to the manor.

Speaking of Silent Hill, when exploring the estate and the surrounding area, the protagonists would all be using swivel head flashlights as a nod to that series as well as for the practical reason of keeping both of their hands free and not having to carry a handheld flashlight in one hand. That and also one of the CMCs wears Heather Mason's outfit from Silent Hill 3.

Edited March 31 by Jerry246