King Sombra [Ready]

[dragonofruin]

 

Roleplay Type: WoE

Name: Sombra
Sex: Male
Age: Adult
Species: Umbrum; visibly a unicorn
Eye colour: Red
Coat: A plain grey
Mane/Tail: A long, wavy black mane often kept swept back from his face. His tail is kept short, but has the same wavy quality as his hair. The only noticeable facial hair he keeps are sideburns- all kept well groomed if he is able.
Physique: Sombra stands at a height that allows him to tower head and shoulders over most ponies, and his tall stature is matched by a physically fit appearance- what can best be described as buff. Somewhat barrel-chested and athletically toned, without the awkwardness of overly defined musculature; sturdy in appearance.
Residence: Previously the Crystal Empire. Currently nowhere.
Occupation: While he currently holds no job, Sombra spends his time traveling and it is mostly in search of new knowledge, to see how much the world has changed since he'd been gone, and to see Equestria with his own eyes at last. Being a foreigner, he has a lot to discover about the modern day.
Cutie Mark: None
Unique Traits: Red eyes with cat like pupils, a curved horn, and visibly sharp teeth. Seems to be able to morph into shadow, but never in the light of the sun.

 

Skills

Dark Magic: The only brand of magic Sombra is capable of using. Its source is rage, and Sombra employs offensively or defensively when it's required of him. It is most often used in doing one of the things he is best at, casting curses, as well as creating traps that target a pony's greatest fear. Along with that, he can make doors open up onto small rooms or serve as a portal to another spot, so long as it's in the same area or building.

Crystals: Perhaps an addition to what he can do with dark magic, Sombra can make strange, black crystals grow from the ground. Spread by his corrupting influence, or used defensively as a barrier between himself and others.

Fear: Capable of feeding off of the fear and despair of ponies the way changelings feed off of love.

Weaknesses

'Light' Magic: Any magic considered to be pure, such as the Elements of Harmony, and the crystal ponies' combined magic through the Heart. The two sisters' magic is equally as capable of hurting him more than the standard unicorn's.

Love Magic: As an opposite for what he seems to stand for as an embodiment of hate, the love magic that is used by Princess Cadance and her possible ancestor, Princess Amore, can do the worst damage to him. The light and love channeled through the Crystal Heart is enough to destroy him.

Other: Sombra cannot swim, and his own arrogance is enough to be his undoing.

 

History:

Originally found by the crystal guard outside of the Crystal Empire, a young grey colt was brought to the city's orphanage, run by a mare named Chestnut Falls. With no knowledge of pony language, the only word he knew or was capable of speaking later became his name, Sombra. He had no knowledge of any parents or where he came from, and so the orphanage took him in. It is there that he learned how to read and write, with some difficulty, and described learning to speak the pony tongue 'like chewing peanut brittle'. His broken speech and dull, dark coloration earned him the mockery from his fellow orphans, as he was the only non-crystal pony in the city. Out of all of them, the only one he found a friend in was a fellow outcast by the name of Radiant Hope, a kind and imaginative filly. It is she who he would grow up with as close friends, and together tried to find their cutiemarks; a task that they never seemed successful in.

Sombra would first learn a hint of what is to come when he and Radiant Hope visit the Crystal Heart a time before their first Crystal Faire, remembering what they'd been taught about the Heart showing them a glimpse of their futures. While Hope saw herself as a princess, Sombra would only see a shadow with glowing eyes that would haunt him for the rest of his life. It is here, too, that he would meet Princess Amore. When asked of what he saw, Sombra lied and claimed he saw 'nothing, only darkness' and he would feel guilt about lying to the princess.

 

When the Crystal Faire came, the magic of the Faire kept Sombra bedridden by the pain. Nopony could figure out what was wrong, and the pain was gone by the time the Faire was over. Hope would always be by his side no matter how badly they both wished to see the Crystal Faire, and this would continue for every Crystal Faire after. There came a time in their early adulthood that that magic would nearly shatter Sombra, but Hope used her magic in desperation to prevent this. In doing so, she finally gained her cutiemark in healing. The development of such magic earned Hope a chance to study under the princesses, and it was both what she gained and this offer that would drive Sombra to flee in hopes that he would find his own destiny as she had. It drove him out into the frozen wastes surrounding the empire, where he would encounter a strange red crystal that spoke to him, naming itself his mother. She revealed him what he was, and that he was forced into the form of a unicorn in order to allow his escape. She unlocked his dark power and bid him to find the door to the prison and free them all.

 

Driven by this purpose, Sombra returned to the Crystal Empire that night to steal the Crystal Heart. Princess Amore confronted him, and Sombra discovered then that she knew exactly what he was and kept that information in hopes that he would make the right choice, to choose not to be like 'those monsters.' Both her insult and the information she'd knowingly withheld angered him to the point that he lashed out against Amore, turning her to black crystal and shattering the statue. Hope, witnessing this, attempted to reason with him and fled when she could not. Sombra covered up the hurt caused by her parting words and gladly accepted the title of king of monsters, disowning Hope as a friend with unspoken regret. Sombra went on to do what he was known for: enslaving the Crystal Empire's citizens and forcing them to dig, all in order to find the door to the umbrums' prison buried deep beneath the city. It was only a matter of time before the princesses arrived to banish him beneath the ice for a thousand years. His last act of defiance was ensuring the empire disappeared along with him in a curse he cast.

 

A thousand years spent in an icy void would take its toll on the king when he returned disoriented, desperate to regain his throne. It was this desperation and fury that drove him to act so recklessly. He would find his second defeat at the hooves of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and the new crystal princess, Princess Cadance. The magic of the Crystal Heart would shatter him at last, freeing the crystal ponies of him once and for all. It would only be a few years later that he would rise again, his body reformed but temporarily weakened by the toll the Heart's magic took on him. With nothing but his cape left intact and his mind clear again, Sombra left the Frozen North behind to venture south.

 

Character Personality: Sombra has a passion for knowledge and uses his intelligence to his advantage to manipulate, scheme and prepare against possibilities. His greed and a rage born of lifelong bitterness once drove him to achieve his goals by any means necessary; though his defeats have tempered this, he still holds a belief that he deserves something in life. He is also gruff, self-conscious, and uncertain about his identity, calling himself 'the king of monsters' because of how many times those he once trusted flung the word monster at him. He believes it to be the truth of what he is, not only because of how others choose to see him, but because of what he'd glimpsed in the Crystal Heart. A vision of his future and his destiny, he did not believe that he could choose a different path. Sombra is outwardly confident to the point of arrogance and does not shy from interacting with ponies if he absolutely must. Those who meet him may describe him as rude and rather grumpy. Some of his overall personality and actions are a coverup for how he truly feels- self-conscious, alone, and lost without his intended purpose in the Empire. He is fiercely protective of his true emotions and has a difficulty opening up or trusting others because of his past. His treatment at the hooves of others leads him to believe he is justified for what he has done to the crystal ponies and he refuses to acknowledge that he is wrong for it. He is equally unafraid of lying and being dishonest when it suits him.

Notable guilty pleasures, that anypony could notice if they pay close enough attention, is that he has a hidden love for stories and will gladly sit attentively during any that are told, and he adores having his mane stroked or petted to the point that he'll go still and relax whenever anypony touches it.

Character Summary: King Sombra was once the tyrant of the Crystal Empire that he enslaved, ousted from his throne twice by the actions and decisions of the princesses and their allies. Once controlling and power hungry, he remains a deeply flawed individual who allowed others of his kind use him to fulfill a purpose, and he hasn't yet learned the importance of choices. Without a way to follow what he believes to be his destiny, he feels he has lost his purpose and chose to travel south into Equestria, giving up on a place that has once been a home and a bane on his life. He mostly intends to lie low and see what has changed in the time he'd been gone.

 

Most of it is based on what was seen in the show and comics with my own interpretations, additions, and development.

[RainbowFoxxy]

Welcome to the herd! Treat this character well