Reform!  
Banish!
 
Why not both?

sorry guys is sombra different shadow,in crystal umbrum > sombra

I’M FLUSHING! I’M FLUSHING!

@Hollow_Shades_resident  
The Shadow wasn’t imprisoned in the Well of Shade, he was simply resting there until a vessel could be found.
 
Now, banishing him to limbo, it took a great deal of effort getting him out. Someone powerful would have to go out of their way WITH an item belonging to the shadow (Stygian maybe?) to get the Shadow out of limbo.

Tbh, the way the actual shadow pony was banished opens up possibilities for his return. Someone had to have summoned him to begin with, since the Well of Shade existed before Stygian.

Rainbow Power could be more powerful than the Elements, being a one-shot. Twilight never used her Element, so maybe they COULD have used the Elements to exorcise the evil from Stygian? …no, they had to go through all the trouble to use them WITH the Pillars of Equestria for a banishing spell.
 
So, that is one notable thing about him, that he could withstand the increased power of the weapon that purified Nightmare Moon and turned Discord to stone.

@Darth Sonic
 
Honestly, I thought the rainbow power was just the power of the elements becoming manifest to stop Tirek because he was a direct threat, and after he was defeated that power coalesced into the Cutie MAp.

@Darth Sonic  
We really don’t know what they are.
 
Rainbow Power would’ve been mighty useful against the Pony of Shadows.

@Evil Emperor Proteus  
I always assumed they were just different manifestations of the same power?

@Darth Sonic  
Pretty sure Tirek needed super mega-hyper ultra quantum love-love friendship powered up Elements of Harmony to beat, rather than just the regular old Elements of Harmony.

@Josh103  
By back it up, do you mean in-universe or out of universe?
 
Because as boring and underwhelming as he was to watch from this side of the 4th Wall, in-universe he pulled off a feat that puts his power level way above far more openly destructive villains such as Tirek and Discord.

@gingerninja666  
It was a claim that had nothing to back it up.
 
I feel it was just added to put tension in the episodes.
 
Still he had more destructive potential which this show doesn’t like to showcase much.

@Darth Sonic
 
I liked him. I liked his voice. I liked his design. I liked his backstory. I found him sad.
 
That’s the thing. He’s a sad character. He’s not really meant to be all that intimidating and his voice actually reflects that. He’s a pony who’s lived so long as a weakling and when he actually gets power he tries to sound all badass and it comes off as so tryhardy.

@gingerninja666  
And yet he was so BORING! He didn’t even have the force of evil nature thing Sombra had going on to make up for his lack of character and dynamism.
 
It’s like Goku VS Superman pre-DBS (with Superman being the Pony of Shadows and Goku being everyone else). It doesn’t matter how much more consistently impressive Goku is compared to “sometimes mobsters can get the drop on me” Superman, that one time Superman benchpressed the universe means he wins.
 
Now, this isn’t a perfect comparison. For one, Superman is a good character and can be exciting to watch unlike the Pony of Shadows. Also, Goku no longer gets curbstomped by Supes thanks to Dragon Ball Super.

@Josh103
 
It’s still impressive. Because here it wasn’t only the elements. It was the elements’ CREATORS too, and defeating him would drain the elements of their magic and render them useless. Something no other villain can claim to have pushed the elements to do.

@Darth Sonic  
Twilight never used her Element.

@Evil Emperor Proteus  
You know what really sucks about this, though? Is that the one impressive thing he did do puts him head and shoulder above all those villains who consistently did more cool shit then him: he was able to resist the Elements of Harmony (or equivalent power like the Crystal Heart) for a time. Every other villain got insta-gibbed, so it doesn’t matter how many mountains Tirek blows up or how thoroughly Discord rapes the laws of physics, or how lame the Pony of Shadows usually was. He was able to endure for a time what immediately KO’d everyone else, so he wins.
 
I wish they did more with him…

MAY JUBILEUS, THE CREATOR, GRACE YOU!

@gingerninja666  
I never said he wasn’t the main villain of the episode, I said he’s the kind of main villain who doesn’t appear as much and doesn’t seem the main focus, despite being the main villain. In Anastasia the main focus was Anastasia getting to Paris and finding who she was, while in Season 10 of Supernatural the main focus was trying to get rid of Dean’s Mark of Cain, yet Rasputin and Rowena are obviously the main villains there.
 
Sombra seemed to have more of a presence in The Crystal Empire than he did here

@gingerninja666  
Indeed, defeating him is never really in doubt for the characters, the conflict comes from what method to use and how much they have to sacrifice to do it (as well as locating him).

@Background Pony #B56F
 
He’s definitely the main villain. It’s just that defeating him isn’t the main conflict. You need him for the story to work though.

I always felt the episode was more focused on Starswirl and the Pillars, and that big conflict between Starswirl, Starlight, and Twilight, and Starswirl learning of the magic of friendship, rather than the Pony of Shadows himself. He was like that sideshow main villain, like Rasputin in Anastasia, or Rowena in Season 10 of Supernatural. Well, not so much coz for all of Part 2 they were trying to find a way to defeat him.

@blacksunset  
@Background Pony #B56F
 
Well, if it did turn out to be Sombra,  
I’d also not have wanted him to be saved/redeemed,  
but then the cool major plot conflict between Starswirl, Twilight, and Starlight wouldn’t exist

@Background Pony #B56F  
Finally someone who gets it.

Noooo!Darkness! Come back!