S03:E01+02 - The Crystal Empire

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

I have ALLOT of questions referring to King Sombra. Like what happened in his past? Did he face off with the Crystal Empire before? Where has he been for the last 1000 years? Why did Celestia send the Mane 6 to deal with a King without some kind of help? Shouldn't they get a medal or something after taking down a ancient King? But over everything I wanna know King Sombra's back story and where he came from. These were the first things I thought of after watching the episodes. Also if you haven't noticed King Sombra is my favorite villain so I would like to know more about him. If someone has an answer to any of these things I would be grateful. 

 

Like you I'm a big King Sombra fan.

 

Saying that, we're never really given much info on him, but I will try to answer your questions as best as I can.

 

1.  Like what happened in his past?

-Simple answer is that we just don't know. Anything you read is for the most part speculation and headcanon.We really don't even get much hints about his past in the comics. We know he was VERY good at setting up traps & all, but as for the time before his reign; nothing.

 

2. Did he face off with the Crystal Empire before?

-Again, we have no information. It's possible he rose within the ranks of the Crystal Empire society, or he could've been an invader.

 

3. Where has he been for the last 1000 years?

-He was locked away in the frozen north under ice; banished by the royal sisters. That much we do know, lol.

 

4. Why did Celestia send the Mane 6 to deal with a King without some kind of help?

-To be fair, she had sent Cadence & Shining Armor there first, so it's not like help wasn't already there. Bad thing is that Shining Armor was incapacitated and Cadence was putting all of her effort into the shield. As for the Mane 6 themselves, it's fair to say that Celestia had faith enough to trust them. They have already shown enough to at least handle an entire army of Changelings for a while, and if Twilight was to grow in her destiny (considering that was the theme of season 3 anyway), Celestia had to do that anyway.

 

5. Shouldn't they get a medal or something after taking down a ancient King?

-Maybe, but it's possible they got some sort of recognition off screen.

 

6. But over everything I wanna know King Sombra's back story and where he came from.

-As much as I would like to know this as well, I doubt we'll be getting much from Hasbro/DHX on that front. It's well known that Sombra is not that popular of a villain, and I don't see much impetus from the animators or writers to bring him back.

 

Sombra is my favorite villain in the show as well; however it might be good that we don't have a solid backstory on him. Part of his charm for me is that we don't know much about him which leaves plenty to the imagination. I also loved his AU version in the comics, and that might provide some clues on the Sombra we know and love; I suppose.

[KingsInEquestria 32]

Thanks Pathfinder! I agree it might be better that we don't know much about him so it leaves plenty of room for imagination. I hope Lauren Faust makes another episode with him so that we might get some answers though. Thanks again Pathfinder for your help.

[Galen Selanno 351]

This, on the whole, was not a bad episode. What I'd like to do is address the whole season. I think this season was either an intermediary for Twilight's princess-dom, or a lead up to Equestria Girls. Likely, it was cut off early for one of the two things, because there were only 13 episodes.

[KiwiPony 125]

I just got this season on DVD and watched the whole season this evening. I can safely say this two parter is my all time favorite two parter! Ohmygosh I just loved it The way it's done was totally different to any other episode until then and I probably can't say anything that hasn't been said a thousand times but after my binge watch of season 3 I had to log on and say it's amazing!  

[RainbowTashie 378]

 

 

Topic unlocked! Finally some Season 3 awesomeness!!!!!!

 

Let's get this party started. I've kept myself mostly unspoiled for this, all I know is there's a sad kingdom out there with crystals and stuff. ^^

this gif is officially 20% cooler than other gifs

[Dulset Tarn 441]

So hey, does anyone have a clue what this was?

 

Twilight tried getting past the door and failed horribly, but then she's like "Don't worry I'll just open it" and uses this fancy magic we've never seen before. What the heck did she do?

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

So hey, does anyone have a clue what this was?

DoorSpell.png

 

Twilight tried getting past the door and failed horribly, but then she's like "Don't worry I'll just open it" and uses this fancy magic we've never seen before. What the heck did she do?

 

I just considered it light magic, being the polar opposite of the dark magic Twilight first used on the door.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

I just considered it light magic, being the polar opposite of the dark magic Twilight first used on the door.

First off, they can't just have her know magic to counter dark magic and not say anything...

And second, we actually saw Celestia use light magic just in the same episode to destroy the dark crystals and it was completely different!

Oh, though I did hear this really cool headcanon once.

Sombre used the door as a trap for anyone going after the heart, but how exactly did HE intend to get past it? Dark magic only sets it off, counterintuitively, so was he just going to leave it there out of his own reach?

 

Well the door leads to your worst fears, right? In most cases it's an illusion, but what if Sombre's worst fear IS the Crystal Heart? Makes sense, after all, since it can apparently destroy him and undo everything he's done. So maybe he just opens the door naturally, it confronts him with his worst fear, and that's exactly what he wants when he's going to the door, the Crystal Heart!

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

First off, they can't just have her know magic to counter dark magic and not say anything...

And second, we actually saw Celestia use light magic just in the same episode to destroy the dark crystals and it was completely different!

Lightmagic.png

 

It's not something that bothers me, but I can see your point. In any case knowing details about the particular is irrelevant to advancing the general plot. It'd be interesting, but ultimately useless.

 

True, but does it HAVE to be the same?

[Dulset Tarn 441]

It's not something that bothers me, but I can see your point. In any case knowing details about the particular is irrelevant to advancing the general plot. It'd be interesting, but ultimately useless.

 

True, but does it HAVE to be the same?

No it really is important! The door was an obstacle that hindered Twilight, so by the rules of narrative it has to be apparent how she overcomes that obstacle. She can't just choose to get past it after having already been hindered...

Simply ignoring the fact that the door is in her way would be as silly and badly composed as, I dunno, simply ignoring the fact that Cadence had spent the last of her strength and was collapsed on the ground once she's needed to catch the Crystal Heart.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

No it really is important! The door was an obstacle that hindered Twilight, so by the rules of narrative it has to be apparent how she overcomes that obstacle. She can't just choose to get past it after having already been hindered...

Simply ignoring the fact that the door is in her way would be as silly and badly composed as, I dunno, simply ignoring the fact that Cadence had spent the last of her strength and was collapsed on the ground once she's needed to catch the Crystal Heart.

 

If it suits you, it's fine. I don't personally need to know it.

 

And the door was not ignored. We know it had a purpose, that it presented Twilight & Spike with their worst fears, and that Twilight overcame overcame it with Spike assistance.

 

To me, it's a case of light magic vs. dark magic and that satisfies me well enough.

[CC_Maud_Pie 6,431]

Rewatched this episode today. I liked how it valued love and hope over hatred and fear. It's one of those episodes where you wonder how Twilight, Spike, and the rest of the Mane 6 will succeed if you're watching the episode for the first time.

[Honnathan 6]

Sunshine,sunshine,ladybugs awake,clap your hoofs and do a little shake! XD XD I love that when Twilight and Candance would do that lol!

[SteveMorison 404]

King Sombra: Don't worry Discord, I've hidden the Crystal Heart in a top secret hidden location where nopony, not even Twilight Sparkle would ever think to look. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Chrysalis: Let me guess, it's at home, under your mattress

King Sombra: CURSE YOU CHRYSALIS!!!

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

Twilight: I made a Crystal Heart out of a Crystal Block.

Applejack: It's a stone Twilight, you didn't make it.

Twilight: I CHISELED IT!!!

[Juggerpony 92]

I found this a really good episode (Couple of episodes? Meh, its 40 minutes of entertainment.). The humor was excellent, the illustration was amazing (Princess Twilight Sparkle was amazing in this sense, but still great), and I thought the story was well put. Great, mature moral at the end. Good execution of an episode.

[FlyingLikeDash 33]

Just keep giving the specials to Meghan McCarthy. PLEASE. Both the season 2 finale and the season 3 opener were brilliant.

[Magic Note 2,738]

I thought the Crystal Empire was a great season opener. Although, they could've expanded on King Sombra's backstory a bit, I enjoyed the two episodes nonetheless, and the animation was sharp as always with the darkness effect.

 

In particular, I liked the two songs that I thought fit well with the theme.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

Sombra: "Join me, slaves, and I will make your faces the greatest in Equestria! Or else you will die!"

 

Spike & Cadance: *Activate the Crystal Heart.*

 

Sombra: "NO! NOT INTO THE PIT! IT BURNS!" *Explodes.*

 

Cadance: "As it is written -- you, Spike, are the hero of the Crystal Empire!"

 

Spike: "I won!"

Edited July 11, 2018 by A.V.

[Flint Sparklehooves 37]

I really didn't enjoy these episodes.  Again, it holds with the trend of me not particularly caring for the season openers and finales, or episodes involving Big Bad villains.  Give me an Applebuck Season, Green Isn't Your Color, Party of One, Lesson Zero, or Family Appreciation Day over these more grandiose epic action, flash bang boom, beat the Big Baddie type episodes, any day.

[Dracu98 139]

first of all: I totally didn't like the song. it was boring and totally didn't fit the story. it was a song about failing a test, which leads us to the next point.

 

Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, who shows such love and care towards her subjects, puts the fate of a whole empire and, as we've seen in the finale of season 5, the whole kingdom, in the hoofs of her student as a freaking TEST. what the heck girl? those are pony-lives we are talking about! if Twilight would've failed, Equestria would've experienced a war which it probably would've lost! and you're just like "yolo"? holy sh*t!

 

Next point on my list is Sombra. if you've read the comics about his origin, he makes a pretty cool villain, and he looks pretty badass in the finale of season 5 too. but in those two episodes, he's just boring. he's a dude who appears out of nowhere (as common with most mlp-villains), but unlike Discord or Chrysalis, he has basically no character. he's just there and...well, nothing. he's just there and needs to be stopped. I really hope for a real comeback of King Sombra (and most of the other villains as well. elements of disharmony, maybe...?)

 

and this is already everything that has bothered me. it was nice to see the crystal empire and the crystal ponies (although I'm confused again about the fact how old ponies can become. all of them remembered Sombras reign which was a thousand years ago. wtf?), as well as seeing Sombra (if you've read the "Fiendship is Magic"-comic about him. otherwise, he's just boring.), but sadly, that does not cover the big flaws of this episode.

[Graystrip 551]

Toward the end of part 2 when the crystal ponies saved the day, the colors in the sky reminded me of something I have seen before.  Then it dawned on me, the Crystal Empire is real! Here is a scene of the "Northern Lights" in Fairbanks, Alaska. Doesn't it look the same?

[TheMaskMaker 65]

It's episodes like this one that make me wish I had started watching the show sooner. While I thoroughly enjoy the more subtle episodes, where a problem is presented and solved through moral values, I find myself legitimately invested when I see my favorite characters facing high stakes. It's more gripping when you see something you've grown to love in real danger, and all the more powerful when you see everything resolved in a way that is rewarding to the viewer, and the characters depicted. It really does go to show how the creators cater to the older fanbase, creating quality animation with a full story arc, rather than a series of flashing colors to appease children for inattentive parents. The opening to this seasons really speaks to the overall quality of the show, and the love that's put into it.

[heavens-champion 1,893]

On this day, Sombra became the most underrated villain in the show's history.

We get it, already. You wanted a generic cartoon villain. Just no pleasing some people.

And let's face it, in real life, Sombra's shadow form would be horrifying.

Edited May 6, 2016 by heavens-champion

[powerpuff-tsubasa 447]

great episode! i would want to live in crystal empire