King Sombra

King Sombra is described by Princess Celestia as a unicorn whose heart is "black as night". In person, King Sombra is sadistic, fierce, and cruel to the point of addressing the Crystal Ponies as his "crystal slaves" and appearing to delight in their misery. Though untalkative, he is desperate to retake the Crystal Empire and relentless towards that end. He chases Shining Armor and the Mane Six during their first encounter, ultimately lays a curse on the former, and later races Spike in an attempt to regain the Crystal Heart.

Sombra is much more talkative in The Beginning of the End - Part 1 and Part 2, in which he is depicted as being pompous, self-centered, and arrogant (to the point of having the brainwashed Cakes bake him a fruitcake congratulating him on his conquest of Ponyville). He believes with full confidence that no one (not even Discord) can overcome his power, that he alone is capable of conquering Equestria, and that he has no need for allies. As such, he is dangerously overconfident, believing that the Mane Six are no threat to him without the Elements of Harmony. When the Mane Six use the magic of friendship to overpower him, he breaks down, desperately denying his impending defeat.

In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #18, a parallel version of King Sombra in another world is stated by Celestia to rule that world's Equestria with "kindness and benevolence", as opposed to the King Sombra seen in the series. In his introduction, he is generally very kind and polite. He is also quite dashing and charming, as evidenced by Rarity and Fluttershy swooning over him. The alternate Sombra is later revealed to be deeply in love with Celestia, who reciprocates his feelings. This Sombra also has a humble side, considering himself a normal pony who is also a king, shown when he has a heart-to-heart with Twilight Sparkle, helping her with her doubts of being a princess. Unlike the original, this King Sombra is selfless, as he gives himself up to evil to spare the good Celestia and restore balance to both their worlds, even if it means never seeing the pony he loves again. Even after being taken by evil he mourns his beloved Celestia, now lost to him, possibly forever.

In My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic Issue #1, Sombra is shown to have been friendly, caring, and shy during his youth. However, after learning about his origin, he becomes evil and power-mad, referring to himself as the "king of all monsters."

In Siege of the Crystal Empire, Sombra holds a grudge toward Radiant Hope for her apparent betrayal and the princesses for his imprisonment, and he bears a great deal of self-consciousness in regard to his true nature. However, he still cares deeply for Hope, demonstrated by his concern for her well-being. Sombra also displays an imperious attitude, referring to Queen Chrysalis as a "queen of vermin".

Appearance: King Sombra is a dark gray unicorn with a black spiky mane and tail. Unlike regular unicorn horns, which match the pony's coat color and are straight and segmented, Sombra's horn is curved, smooth, sharp at the tip and it gradients from dark gray to red. He has sharp teeth with two visible fangs unlike other ponies and red—green when younger—irises, but most often his otherwise white eyes appear green and have a purple mist emanating from them, which disappears both times he is attacked. He wears silver armor on his legs and neck, a crown with horn-like points on his head, and a red cape that covers his flank. When his flank is shown briefly in Princess Celestia's flashback, he has no visible cutie mark. When he is turned to shadow in the flashback, only his head remains, and when he returns as an amorphous black cloud, only his eyes are visible at first.

After he got defeated by Twilight ig-