Theory: King Sombra is Racist

[100 beasts kaidou 321]

As you can see from the title I think that King Sombra was actually a Racist Extremist Who Hated Crystal Ponies Because he saw them as Lowly creatures who were beneath Unicorns, Pegasus and even earth ponies, So he took away their freedom because He din't Believe they deserved it and thought that they should be punished for being born a crystal Pony by being his slaves (Or even harem for the female crystal ponies) . And the reason he turned out to be like this was because he was raised in a Household who hated Crystal Ponies and all the stuff that he heard as a Foal about the crystal Ponies made him hate them with all his heart even if he never met one of them.

[Zygen 6,066]

That very well could be the reasoning as to why he did what he did, or atleast at first I think. But then I think that after a while he discovered the dark power he wielded and that power corrupted him, to the point where he was just basically being evil and not really just racist.

 

But I could agree that it is a very possible reason for the start of the whole thing.

 

Although it also kinda mixes up some of the other headcannons I have floating around, but its still a very possible theory.

[Loona 287]

That seems reasonable, I guess. But there really isn't anything in the show that can prove it. (His personality...) And plus I doubt that becoming a tyrant would had evolved from plain racism.

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

There is nothing in the Crystal Empire arc that supports your claim. If there was any evidence of Sombra differentiating between crystal ponies and other races (such as offering the Mane Six a deal), you might have a point, but as it stands there is nothing suggesting that Sombra was in any way motivated by racism.

And just making assumptions does not constitute a theory.

[Castle Bleck 19,386]

From what we've seen and been told of him in the show, he didn't care what race you were, he just wanted power over you all the same.

 

Also, Celestia said his heart was "black as night," meaning he freely chose to be like that, unlike Trixie, who was just driven nuts by the Alicorn Amulet.

[Doctor Shuu 797]

Or... he took over an empire that already consisted of almost entirely crystal ponies, and the fact that his slaves were all crystal ponies were not a result of racism; but rather what he had on hand. (Hoof?)

[crazitaco 596]

My personal headcanon is that king sombra is part dragon and needed the slave labor so he could to harvest crystals to satisy his dragon greed. And of course the closest source of fresh labor would've been from the crystal ponies. I don't think he specifically hated the crystal ponies, I think he would've gladly enslaved any of the pony races

Edited June 27, 2013 by crazitaco

[Terilien 3]

While it's a viable explanation there's a simpler one in light of the facts. We need only assume that he was a jerk to explain his actions. If we assume that he was a racist, we still have to assume that he was a huge jerk. A general case is always more likely than a more specific one. 

 

Edit: Though I guess the fact that he wasn't a Crystal pony himself means that racism might have made him more likely to seek the opportunity to enslave the crystal ponies, rather than some other group he was closer to.

 

However one wonders why racism didn't lead him to exterminate them instead, as that's where racial hatred tends to lead. The sort of racism that leads to (or rather justifies) enslavement has generally been grounded in some kind of excuse that amounts to the people's lack of culture , but if anything the crystal ponies seemed pretty advanced. 

Edited June 27, 2013 by Terilien

[Scootalove 10,689]

I'm guessing that King Sombra only thought that if he only enslaved the Crystal Ponies then, he would be able to conquer the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof. So, he thought that the only race he would want to conquer were the Crystal Ponies.

[RrVPfX9cPtw59FpC 1,304]

It's true that he doesn't like certain types of ponies, but I don't know if he's racist. I mean, are pegasi and unicorns different races? Is it their skin color? What differentiates race in MLP?

[~Sole~ 852]

No... i'd just go with the fact that he's pure evil, not racist. Well, at least not to just crystal ponies. Look at it this way, if he's racist to crystal ponies, then why would he attack the mane six and shining armor? Besides, the crystal ponies are pretty much the exact same as normal ponies, just shiny. And without the crystal's magic, they also look basically like standard ponies.

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

Killer Croc: "You know what I think?"

 

Joker: "Not the robot theory again."

 

Killer Croc: "Well he could be..."

 

I think he conquered the Empire such as any tyrant would, but constant use of dark magic put him over the edge of sanity and had him obsessed with crystals.

[Mywas 687]

actually this theory makes a lot of sense.

 

But my headcanon is that he made a deal with the dragons in which he gives them crystals each month and they will help him againts the alicorns. but they broke thier promise and betrayed him

[Armin 168]

I agree, that would most likely be the reason why he enslaved them. We don't really know because he is a seriously underdeveloped(?) character with barely any screen time, even with being the main villain in two episodes. We can only guess what the actual reason is.