Talk:Princess Amore/@comment-5837525-20150404040134

A common complaint I hear about Amore is that she should've done more to dissuade Sombra from evil, to which I can't help but argue: what more could she have done?

Her philosophy is that ponies can choose their own futures. Had Sombra been born a normal pony, this would be a non-issue. But because Sombra is what he is -- an umbrum, the polar opposite of the Crystal Heart -- his future was decided the very second he breathed life.

Amore says she's known all along that Sombra was an umbrum. But how long has she known? Since he was first found in the frozen wastes? If so, then yes, perhaps what Amore could've done was sent him to live away from the Crystal Empire -- perhaps at a Canterlot orphanage. But what if she didn't find out until later? Like... Sombra's first Crystal Faire, when he started exhibiting symptoms? Should she have sent him away then? Not only would Radiant Hope be sad, that probably would've raised suspicion and caused Sombra to start asking questions -- questions that Amore wasn't prepared to answer.

Maybe she wanted to keep a close watch over him, regardless of what the Crystal Heart was doing to him, until such time he was ready to learn the truth about himself. But by that time it was already too late -- he had already learned the truth from the wrong sources.

The ultimate irony here is now I want to know more about Amore and the possibility of her return. Jeremy Whitley's laid the groundwork for a very interesting ongoing story.