This is a very interesting perspective on King Sombra's door that I haven't thought of before, but it makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for writing this, it was an enjoyable read.

Fascinating. That has a lot of implications as to the type of psychology Sombra himself had when he made the door, or the type of pony he was expecting to get that far.

This is a very interesting perspective on King Sombra's door that I haven't thought of before, but it makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for writing this, it was an enjoyable read.

Thanks for your supportive feedback! It means a lot.

Fascinating. That has a lot of implications as to the type of psychology Sombra himself had when he made the door, or the type of pony he was expecting to get that far.

I would like to hear your theory. Could you elaborate?

Well, basically what we have to wonder is what the true intent of the door is.

If the door is to stop access completely, then Sombra was under the impression that the victim's 'greatest' fear at that time will in fact trap the viewer. If your analysis is correct, then either he never tested the trap (and it was never triggered in the time he was 'alive' and able to modify the enchantment from experience), or he was expecting ponies with only those lesser, insidious fears you mentioned to reach that point, and not somepony with a true 'greatest fear'. As if he believed that Heroes (the capitalized ones) were naturally without a 'greatest fear' or had already artificially removed or suppressed that greatest fear somehow in preparation of the attempt. So the door would actually trigger on a far more debilitating fear.

Or, more likely the door wasn't meant to be a permanent trap, but a delaying tactic. In that was designed to also magically alert Sombra that someone had opened the door, and the trap was to give him enough time to respond appropriately before the victim had recovered. Perhaps dealing with your greatest fear in that way normally produces an emotional exhaustion that Sombra was relying on to reduce the threat level of the victim.

Of course, that brings up the question on how Sombra intended to bypass the door himself. Did he have a.. *cough* backdoor? Would it simply not trigger on him, or was his greatest fear simply something that wouldn't even slow him down in this way, something he didn't expect anyone else to have as a greatest fear?

Those are interesting thoughts. Regarding him overriding it - he placed the magic, so he can control it. Yeah, he's got the key.

I think it's safe to assume that Sombra likes to strike fear into ponies, thus it was a kind of playful type of trap. Seeming to be kind of an expert in that field, I think he was aware that everyone has great fears, ot at least he assumed that, since no champion of innermost fearlessness had bested him at that point. It would be kind of a natural belief system for someone who dedicated himself fully to the path of fear. Because people do bad things out of fear, he is a character most unaware of how he is actually an unconscious slave of fear instead of a master.

So he is a living example of someone who does not have expertise in overcoming fears. I think it was incomprehensible to him. The playful nature of the trap indicates that he was very sure of himself, so I think he actually believed no one could overcome that trap.

Twilight Sparkle would risk her life for her friends, but Sombra apparently does not have something in himself that is more powerful than the fear of death, and since any situation where he would have to overcome HIS greatest fears would require him to be willing to die, naturally he would assume that people's greatest fears are an absolutely reliable means for a trap.