History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E2TheBeginningOfTheEndPart2

Back at Grogar's lair, Grogar tells Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow of Sombra's defeat, intimidating them into agreeing that they should work together to defeat Twilight.

[[MoodWhiplash *cue happy music*]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fdba22d47b5a72ef946ebbb0a7575c97.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[HellishPupils A vision]] of friendships yet to come.]]

** Sombra exclaims this when the Mane Six still manage to overcome his power despite the Element being destroyed.

->'''Twilight Sparkle:''' You can't destroy our friendship, Sombra!
->'''Rainbow Dash:''' And we keep telling bad guys.
->'''Applejack:''' But y'all just don't seem to remember.
->'''Mane Six:''' Friendship ''is'' magic!

** As they prepare to enter the throne room and Twilight exclaims on how much they need Discord for this, how lost they would be without him, etc. one can see Discord looking quite somber at the implications, foreshadowing that he is going to do something to give Twilight and company more confidence in themselves.

* HypocriticalHumor: As right she might be about Discord, it's a bit rich coming from Pinkie Pie to call him a "Super Odd dude".
* IHeardThat: Discord, seconds after storming off in indignation over the sisters delaying their retirement, suddenly appears again to invoke this after Pinkie calls him a "Super odd dude".

* KilledOffForReal: Sombra's death at the end of this episode has him vaporized by the WorldHealingWave. He never showed up again for the rest of the series, making him DeaderThanDead.

* ForeShadowing:

* AnAesop: Being a leader may be tough, but it's important to know when to ask for help, and also to admit your mistakes.

* VillainBall: Sombra has the Mane Six dead to rights after destroying the Tree of Harmony along with the Elements by trapping them in a cage of crystals. But rather than either destroying them or brainwashing them right then and there, he decides to leave them be so he can take over Ponyville and then Canterlot, allowing them to escape, regain their resolve and finally put an end to him. At the time he justified it by stating it'd be pointless to use his fear spell on them, as what he is going to do will already be their worst fear. He also overlooks the fact that the Mane Six can and do dig their way out of his cage.

* AllForNothing: Discord feels this way after Celestia and Luna decide not to retire just yet, feeling like all his efforts to boost Twilight's confidence and his RousingSpeech were wasted.

-->'''Twilight Sparkle:''' ''[after blocking the first Sombra's blast]'' You may knock us down, but we're gonna get back up again! ''[Sombra blasts her second time; she is knocked back a bit, but otherwise unharmed]'' And again! ''[Sombra blasts her third time; [[NoSell Twilight doesn't even flinch]]]'' And again! As long as we're together, we will ''never'' stop trying to defeat you!

* SmugSnake: Sombra is extremely confident in his power, assuming that Celestia and Luna fled Canterlot out of cowardice to avoid facing him. (In reality, they just happened to be away in preparation for retirement.) He repeatedly declares that the Mane Six are no match for him and doesn't seem too concerned even when Discord joins them. After Discord seems to be seriously injured after taking one of his magic blasts, he confidently claims that the Mane Six never stood a chance even with Discord's help. Sombra even believes himself to be "The most powerful creature in Equestria." However, not only do the Mane Six manage to defeat him by themselves, Discord could have stopped him at any time and had only pretended to be taken out so the Mane Six could learn a lesson.

* VillainBall: Sombra has the Mane Six dead to rights after destroying the Tree of Harmony along with the Elements by trapping them in a cage of crystals. But rather than either destroying them or brainwashing them right then and there, he decides to leave them be so he can take over Ponyville and then Canterlot, allowing them to escape, regain their resolve and finally put an end to him. At the time he justified it by stating it'd be pointless to use his fear spell on them, as what he is going to do will already be their worst fear.
* VillainousBreakdown: Sombra has one of these before his second (and final) death.

* TheWorfEffect: Sombra's level of threat is further exemplified by him taking control of the magic prodigy Starlight Glimmer offscreen, seemingly with no real difficulty.

* VillainousFriendship: Cozy is seen trying to form this with Tirek and Chrysalis at the end so they can use ThePowerOfFriendship themselves, but the two of them just find her annoying.

** Grogar's magical orb bears a striking resemblance to [[Film/LordOfTheRings Palantír]].

* HorrifyingTheHorror: The episode ends with [[EvilerThanThou Grogar ensuring that his remaining three recruits]], all of them dangerous villains themselves, know the consequences of going against his plans, and as he gives off an EvilLaugh they can only give a off MirthlessLaughter themselves due to being terrified of him.

* BattleCry: Yep, even cute pastel ponies can get into it. They yell it twice: once while charging at the Everfree forest, and then when, joining forces against Sombra.

* TookALevelInDumbass: In "The Crystal Empire" and his "The Cutie Re-Mark" BadFuture, Sombra was a NoNonsenseNemesis who avoided pitfalls like EvilGloating and SuicidalOverconfidence. Here, he's an unrestrained SmugSnake who recklessly enables his own downfall (see BondVillainStupidity and VillainBall).

* NearVillainVictory: At first it looks like Sombra is coming out victorious since he has all of Equestria under his control, but a seemingly-wounded Discord reminds the Mane Six they still represent each of the destroyed elements, and with that, they unleash the magic inside them to destroy Sombra. If Discord hadn't told them when he did, Sombra would've won.

* NearVillainVictory: At first it looks like Sombra is coming out victorious since he has all of Equestria under his control, but a seemingly-wounded Discord reminds the Mane Six they still represent each of the destroyed elements, and with that, they unleash the magic inside them to destroy Sombra. If Discord hadn't told them when he did, Sombra would've won.[[note]][[SubvertedTrope Well no, he wouldn't actually]] because Discord was just faking and if things had come to the crunch he almost certainly would have stopped faking, but they didn't know that.[[/note]]

* NearVillainVictory: At first it looks like Sombra is coming out victorious since he has all of Equestria under his control, but a seemingly-wounded Discord reminds the Mane Six they still represent each of the destroyed elements, and with that, they unleash the magic inside them to destroy Sombra. If Discord hadn't told them when he did, Sombra would've won.

** While the Mane Six are unleashing the magic within them to destroy Sombra, Twilight's mane and tail sparkle and wave in the manner of Celestia and Luna's, like how they did in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom – Part 2".