Drama, Drama, Drama...
Author: Soothing Stone
King Sombra survived his defeat, but just. By the time he returned to form, Twilight became the newest princess of Equestria and the Crystal Empire was restored to its former glory.He cannot take over Equestria the same way he tried before, but he has a card up his sleeve. Twilight won't see it coming, and Sombra might gain a powerful ally in the process.And it will all begin...with a book.
This one has a bit of interesting history. It's really one of those things where if you really take something seriously enough, it can have a strong impact on yourself and those around you, no matter how trivial it may seem. This fanfiction apparently made the author, and I quote from him, "[go] through tons of emotions, [lose] faith in the fandom then [gain] it back, and so forth."
Wow. This seems like touchy territory that I should tread carefully on.
.....
LEEEROOOOOYYYYY JEEEEEEENNNKINS!!!!!!!
Kiss of the Dark (Word Count: 82,186)
Sombra was never really a well-developed character. He hung out in the background for most of his debut episode, serving more as the looming apocalyptic time-bomb rather than an active villain. While that's fine for a Book Trilogy or a series of movies, making this sort of villain intimidating and memorable is difficult to accomplish in just 40 minutes. As such, Sombra has received ire and ridicule from critics and was even on the receiving end of good ol' creator backlash. However, some sections of the fandom, namely fanfic writers, seem to be more divided on how to represent him. The more comedic writers typically like to give him a crystal fetish and a speech impediment. Other more serious writers have latched onto his potential as a Ganondorf-y schemer villain archetype; the one who waits in the shadows and slowly but surely manipulates chess pieces from behind the scenes to usurp power. And given how trusting and optimistic ponies are, it's no wonder these ponies face peril on a day to day basis.
Such is the case here.
The story begins with Sombra plotting his revenge because his horn flying towards the screen post-love-kaboom was totally not a hint of his survival. He's still alive, and wants to take over the world again because he's just a di... pen... hotdog. His first target? Twilight Sparkle. The plan? Seduce and corrupt her and turn her against Celestia. Does he succeed? Sort of...
How Sombra corrupts Twilight is actually pretty clever. After disguising himself as a normal citizen, he appeals to Twilight's bibliophilic nature and lust for knowledge by dropping hypnotic suggestions about a book containingDark Special Magic written by Starswirl the Bearded. Can you say Hook, Line, and Sinker?
The usual tropes then set in, we got the bombshell where he reveals himself to Twilight, she debates/mopes then accepts him, all that silly mushy romantic stuff. Eventually she has an incident with dark magic, causing her to accidentally murder a few Royal Guards. Twilight, understandably, is horrified and drops into a state of panic, thinking Celestia will severely punish, possibly execute her. Sombra then pretty much has Twilight wrapped around hishoof finger and whisks her away to the Northern Wastelands to comfort her and "protect" her.
Celestia and Luna eventually figure out what happened and try to get her back. This is probably the weakest part of the story as what follows is a short series of misunderstandings and misinformation that kinda pushes my suspension of disbelief. I know it still speaks more to Sombra's manipulative nature to have these things and have them work to his advantage, but even I have to draw the line at some of these misunderstandings. Not going to spoil anything else, as I've done enough of that already, but trust me when I say I found some of these events a little too convenient.
What makes Sombra an effective villain in this story is that he is playing like a real puppetmaster. He knows exactly what kind of pony Twilight Sparkle is and how to use her personality to his advantage. She's a perfectionist, she hates to disappoint, she always jumps to worst case scenario. Sombra plays each of these traits against her, and that's what makes him so diabolical.
This isn't the most original thing in the fandom, as many other fics have explored Sombra as a character and/or discussed Twilight messing with Dark Magic. This one goes a bit beyond those average fics and tells the story mostly from Sombra's viewpoint. As such, we learn he has a few quirks and insecurities, like how much he enjoys coffee. He surprisingly seems like a normal character that we can, dare I say, sympathize with. In fact, there's times when the story is actually making you want to root for him.
And... that kinda does explain a few things.
This fic has two endings. More genre savvy readers could probably take a few guesses as to what the outcome of each ending is. Originally, the writer had an idea for how he wanted to end the story, but slowly the followers kept the pressure up on how they wanted to see the story end. What followed was basically the writer caved into those requests and ended the story the way he didn't want to.
Kind of ironic, now that I think about it.
Half of his fanbase wan't happy. They asked for a different ending, which he decided to evetually write because it was what he wanted in the first place. As a result, the previous fanbase wasn't happy. The story eventually dipped into hiatus for a few months as the writer slowly slipped into emotional instability. However, recently, a few short epilogue chapters were written to fully conclude the story.
Soothing Stone learned a valuable lesson as a writer. Fan input is great, especially if the ideas are creative and the criticism is constructive. However, if it gets to the point where you feel like you're not writing the story you want to write, then that's the time when you stick to your guns and push through the blacklash you know you might receive. After all, you can't please everybody. Fans also learned that authors DO listen to what their fans say, and what they say does affect what the writer creates, or if he creates anything at all.
Stupid tangents. Back to review.
All in all, I'd recommend giving it a shot. Nothing too new or interesting happens in this one, but it's competent enough where it's a nice, fun, distracting read. If you're looking for something to read on a long bus trip and want to gain a little more respect for Ganon-pony, then this is the fic for you.
("Read It" is what it says on the cover. This fic gives readers an interesting take on a situation or was an entertaining read. Trust me when I say it's worth your time.)
This is Commander Firebrand saying Semper Filly, and coffee is disgusting.
The story begins with Sombra plotting his revenge because his horn flying towards the screen post-love-kaboom was totally not a hint of his survival. He's still alive, and wants to take over the world again because he's just a di... pen... hotdog. His first target? Twilight Sparkle. The plan? Seduce and corrupt her and turn her against Celestia. Does he succeed? Sort of...
How Sombra corrupts Twilight is actually pretty clever. After disguising himself as a normal citizen, he appeals to Twilight's bibliophilic nature and lust for knowledge by dropping hypnotic suggestions about a book containing
The usual tropes then set in, we got the bombshell where he reveals himself to Twilight, she debates/mopes then accepts him, all that silly mushy romantic stuff. Eventually she has an incident with dark magic, causing her to accidentally murder a few Royal Guards. Twilight, understandably, is horrified and drops into a state of panic, thinking Celestia will severely punish, possibly execute her. Sombra then pretty much has Twilight wrapped around his
Celestia and Luna eventually figure out what happened and try to get her back. This is probably the weakest part of the story as what follows is a short series of misunderstandings and misinformation that kinda pushes my suspension of disbelief. I know it still speaks more to Sombra's manipulative nature to have these things and have them work to his advantage, but even I have to draw the line at some of these misunderstandings. Not going to spoil anything else, as I've done enough of that already, but trust me when I say I found some of these events a little too convenient.
What makes Sombra an effective villain in this story is that he is playing like a real puppetmaster. He knows exactly what kind of pony Twilight Sparkle is and how to use her personality to his advantage. She's a perfectionist, she hates to disappoint, she always jumps to worst case scenario. Sombra plays each of these traits against her, and that's what makes him so diabolical.
This isn't the most original thing in the fandom, as many other fics have explored Sombra as a character and/or discussed Twilight messing with Dark Magic. This one goes a bit beyond those average fics and tells the story mostly from Sombra's viewpoint. As such, we learn he has a few quirks and insecurities, like how much he enjoys coffee. He surprisingly seems like a normal character that we can, dare I say, sympathize with. In fact, there's times when the story is actually making you want to root for him.
And... that kinda does explain a few things.
This fic has two endings. More genre savvy readers could probably take a few guesses as to what the outcome of each ending is. Originally, the writer had an idea for how he wanted to end the story, but slowly the followers kept the pressure up on how they wanted to see the story end. What followed was basically the writer caved into those requests and ended the story the way he didn't want to.
Kind of ironic, now that I think about it.
Half of his fanbase wan't happy. They asked for a different ending, which he decided to evetually write because it was what he wanted in the first place. As a result, the previous fanbase wasn't happy. The story eventually dipped into hiatus for a few months as the writer slowly slipped into emotional instability. However, recently, a few short epilogue chapters were written to fully conclude the story.
Soothing Stone learned a valuable lesson as a writer. Fan input is great, especially if the ideas are creative and the criticism is constructive. However, if it gets to the point where you feel like you're not writing the story you want to write, then that's the time when you stick to your guns and push through the blacklash you know you might receive. After all, you can't please everybody. Fans also learned that authors DO listen to what their fans say, and what they say does affect what the writer creates, or if he creates anything at all.
Stupid tangents. Back to review.
All in all, I'd recommend giving it a shot. Nothing too new or interesting happens in this one, but it's competent enough where it's a nice, fun, distracting read. If you're looking for something to read on a long bus trip and want to gain a little more respect for Ganon-pony, then this is the fic for you.
("Read It" is what it says on the cover. This fic gives readers an interesting take on a situation or was an entertaining read. Trust me when I say it's worth your time.)
This is Commander Firebrand saying Semper Filly, and coffee is disgusting.
