The Rise and Fall of Sombra
The Rise and Fall of Sombra
“Today, if you would look at your class syllabus, we will see what lecture is going on today.” “Yes Mr. Tome.” The students answered in unison in the expansive lecture hall. “So, we will be discussing the Rise of Dictators. As you all should know, what appeared to be Sombra attacked the Crystal Empire recently. The situation was rectified, but the problem of ghost attacks still remains on a smaller scale. Sombra had an idyllic childhood. His caretaker, Soft Quilt, described him thusly.”
“The child plays with toys, sticks, and dice, much like any other. It is odd to think that this boy is to become a courtier as a stallion.” Mr. Tome continued. “She also noted that as Sombra grew up, he expressed a genuine hatred with the corrupt, inefficient systems of the Crystalline Kingdoms.
500 years ago…
“Father, why are there so many who starve to death on these streets?”
“Because, Sombra, the world is harsh.”
“Why then, does the government not provide them with food?”
“The treasury running low on funds. If we bought every single one of these people food for each day of their lives, it would become an enormous expense.”
“Is there not some way I can prevent it with the powers of a courtier?”
“There is not.”
“I disagree”
“As Sombra grew up, he looked at the many egregious wastes of money the Crystalline Kingdoms poured their money into each day. He saw the people starving, he talked to the merchants who wished the government would simply mark roads and establish safe passage, he heard the pleas of friends to talk to the king about public improvements and ways to help the plight of his people. The King, Niccolo Cadenza, replied thusly.” “That’s an unsustainable economic plan. Leave my quarters at once. Your plan is absurd for many reasons, not the least of which the way it favors the commoners over the royals.”
“Sombra then formed the Guardian Petition. It was legislation that would introduce various reforms in the fields of medicine, public transportation, water purity, magical control, and agriculture. One controversial provision was called the “Layabout’s Influx”. In it, each pony who had no stable job would be provided with bread, made from wheat harvested from farmers. Its supporters claimed that it would be important to keep families alive, while its detractors claimed it created a culture of sloth.
After no response was given to the petition from the king, even after five thousand signatures, Sombra had had enough with legislation. He locked himself in his room for a year, being fed by his family and friends. We know not what happened that year, however a quote from his brother gives us some insight. “I had no idea what happened in that room, but when Sombra came out, he was like a devil. His eyes were bright red, and his body was clad in armor. He could never cast more than basic telekinetic spells, but now he could control dragons. He always insisted he was experimenting with legal doctrine in that room, but I doubt it.” Modern scholars now suspect that Sombra had used a book of now-illegal dark magic, but how he used it, and for what purpose, remains unknown.”
“After that year, things quieted down. When Sombra next appears in history books, he had organized an assassination of Cadenza, claimed the throne for himself, and began writing his personal memoirs. A transcript follows in your textbooks.”
June 1st- I have just ascended. The poor and the downtrodden greeted me with applause, and I look forward to establishing the Guardian Reforms.
July 1st- The rebellions in the western city demand my attention. I should have never let the farmers’ strikes get out of control.
August 1st- I had to send my army into the rebels. They were cut through like grain by a scythe by my men, but I feel a twinge of guilt.
September 1st- I came to a revelation recently. I now know what I must do to stay in power and help the most amounts of people.
December 24th- I have killed fifty people in my magical assaults. The blood is on my hands. I can’t fear death, but the prospect of killing terrifies me. What have I done?
“However, two years later, after many rebellions, revolutions, and would be assassins, Sombra had become quite the different king.”
April 3rd- I sent a thousand men to the caves for associations with the strikers. Ten were executed. Rule by fear.
July 7th- Every mage who tries to shoot me to end my reforms will have his family killed in front of him before he is executed. I shall make it law.
“At this point, the Orange Conspiracy had begun. Many high-ranking members of Sombra’s court began plotting to have him killed.
May 4th- I fear that a conspiracy to topple me in favor of the corrupt elite begins. I have put spies to watch the castle day and night, disguised as courtiers.
May 7th- I shall live by a creed. Everything I have done, was for the common pony. It shall always be that way.
May 9th- I received a wound at the hands of a merchant today. He claimed my laws to keep consumers from being exploited hurt his business. I killed him.
July 6th- Almost everyone in the castle has been executed as a suspected rebel. Just me, the maids, and some of my trusted.
August 2nd- I must keep the people safe by exterminating any rebels. The Purge is coming!
December 23rd- I have figured out what the Orange Conspiracy is. What did I do? Why am I being targeted? I have created a society of no hunger. I made Utopia and the oppressors try to take it away! No more!
“ Sombra is thought to have killed himself by magically turning himself into a living bomb, than running into the quarters of a suspected Orange. Some historians believe this is innacurate, and he was killed. We may never know. Any questions?”
“Yes, Mr. Tome. Why are their people starving?”
