“Soooo…hm, I didn’t actually think I’d make it this far. What are your hobbies? You know, besides what you did before.” Discord inquired, alluding to his past since he honestly wasn’t sure how to carry on a decent conversation with the former tyrant.
Sombra deadpanned as he continued eating the grapes, finding Discord’s presence increasingly annoying, even though he knew he would have to tolerate it if he wanted any chance of getting out. “You mean to tell me, that you worked so hard to carry on a conversation and you have no idea how to go about it?”
“I’m not the type to make plans, alright!?!” Discord huffed, figuring that was a pretty stupid question to ask a former tyrant. Sombra probably focused all of his attention on taking over the Crystal Empire, and if he was any wiser he was probably doing that right now behind his back. Well, nothing like blind trust for friendship, right?
“Fine, since I figure you’re not the type to appreciate personal questions anyway, was there anything you wanted to know about me?” The draconequus offered, thinking maybe that would help break the ice a little.
Sombra was silent for a few moments as he thought about what he wanted to ask. Well, it didn’t really matter to him since he cared about nopony else besides himself, but he needed to come across like he was making an effort to carry on a cordial conversation. “I suppose I’m intrigued by the mention of you betraying Equestria for Tirek. I was convinced you had completely sold out to those ponies.”
“Ah, yes, wasn’t my finest moment, was it? Actually, I’ve had many moments that weren’t great, but I am still learning, to my credit. After I had been sent by Celestia to apprehend him, he told me that I had sold out to ponies, like you just did. I wasn’t going to listen, but then he called me a ‘pony errand boy.’ That kind of hurt, and I decided to join forces with him. One of the worst decisions of my life after he betrayed me.”
“You were a fool to team up with a centaur that relies on other ponies for power. Alliances never last once one person in the team has all the power. That’s why I work alone.” Sombra muttered, finding that Discord, who was practically over a thousand years old, still acted like a child was laughable.
Discord scowled, trying his best to ignore Sombra’s attitude. “Yes, well, I did say that I’ve learned my lesson, and I haven’t betrayed Equestria ever since. And I practically redeemed myself anyway when I helped to stop Chrysalis and her hive from taking over all of Equestria, so…”
“No doubt for Fluttershy, who you said was your favorite.” Sombra noted, smirking when he remembered landing a hit of his dark magic on Discord. Even if it was fake, it was a gratifying moment, to finally have the upper hoof for once in his fight for his kingdom.
“Yes, who you so graciously almost killed after you took advantage of that fact.” Discord pointed out, rolling his eyes. “But it’s for good reason. She was the one who showed me that friendship means more to me than anything else.”
Sombra resisted the urge to gag at hearing something so sappy, deciding instead to act like he was interested and ignore the jab towards him. “What’s so special about friendship, anyway?” He inquired, annoyed by how many times Discord mentioned it or alluded to it. For the Lord of Chaos to be reduced to sentimental nonsense…it must be a very powerful thing.
“Well, for one, it turned me into stone and banished you back to the Frozen North, but I suppose there’s a better explanation than that.” Discord mused, as he thought about how he was before he was reformed. “I thought that by doing everything my way and getting what I wanted, I would be truly happy.”
“I have no qualms with that.” Sombra muttered, unsure as to what Discord was trying to get at. Yes, doing everything his way got him what he wanted, and it felt good to get what he wanted. Was there nothing better than not having somepony else’s opinions get in the way of his plans for the Crystal Empire?
“But I realized, after being offered friendship by Fluttershy, that being alone didn’t feel very good. What does it matter if I have everything I want, but I’m alone in it? For me, being able to have companionship while making compromises is something that I value more than making Equestria the epitome of chaos, even if it’s still tempting from time to time.” Discord explained, while Sombra looked like he wanted to gag before catching himself.
I have to play nice if I want any chance of getting out of here. “Oh, how…interesting.” He replied, even if Discord’s words were so sickly saccharine that it made him physically sick. How someone so great could sell out to something so low, he would never understand.
“So you value companionship over your own interests. You don’t make everything chaotic just because you want to because you take other ponies' feelings into account. Is that right?” The charcoal stallion inquired, finishing up his grapes as he licked his lips. Though he found it embarrassing that he had to accept what he felt like pity from Discord, he hadn’t had proper food in a while besides stale bread, which he greatly appreciated.
“That pretty much sums it up, yep. Tirek called it pathetic, but I really do value it. Especially when I got the Equestrian Pink Heart of Courage for saving Equestria from Chrysalis; that was definitely rewarding for me. You should’ve seen it when I was cheering for myself from the crowd!” Discord grinned, materializing a duplicate of himself with comical looking merchandise on.
“I was banished to the ether, so I wouldn’t have been able to witness it even if I wanted to.” Sombra pointed out with a huff, unable to help himself since Discord was really getting on his nerves. He supposed it helped make his “reformation” seem more organic anyway, if he didn’t just turn on his hoof and decide to be nice.
“Ah, well, I’ll probably win many more as I help save Equestria! I should get one just for reforming you alone.” Discord said confidently, before looking thoughtful for a few moments as he raised an eagle claw to his goatee. “What was it like, being dispelled into the ice of the Frozen North?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t conscious at all during my thousand years of banishment, nor was I conscious when those six ponies you’re acquainted with so well banished me again. As far as I’m concerned, a thousand years ago feels like yesterday. This is the first time I’ve managed to survive being hit by the power of friendship, or whatever you’ve called it.”
“But you always manage to come back, so is survive really the right term?” Discord called into question.
Sombra was silent for a bit since Grogar had brought him back this time, but he really didn’t feel like telling Discord since he’d be doing the ponies a favor by giving them fair warning of what was to come. Not like he wanted to protect the pathetic group he had gathered together, but it was more to spite those who had dared incarcerate him.
“I always come back because I am inextricably linked with the Crystal Empire. As long as it exists, I will exist in some way with it, since I am its rightful ruler.”
Discord resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that, since Sombra never was nor would ever be the rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire, as long as Celestia and Luna had anything to say about it. “Uh huh. Who were you before you took over the Crystal Empire?”
Sombra raised an eyebrow at the personal question, deciding that he wasn’t comfortable talking about it because first of all it was none of Discord’s business, and he also didn’t know the draconequus that well. They had met only twice, and he didn’t feel like talking about his childhood with someone that was doing Celestia’s bidding.
“I grow tired of your needless questions. What does it matter who I was before I took over the Crystal Empire? I am its rightful leader, and that’s who I’ll always be. It’d be like if I asked you who you were before you reigned over chaos incarnate. It makes no sense.”
Discord sighed, assuming that word salad meant that he wasn’t going to get an answer. Well, his progress with Sombra had to hit a dead end somehow, right? “Well, fine, have it your way. I thought it was a good icebreaker too…so is there anything that’s not off limits to you? I’m just trying to carry on a conversation here.”
“Since you asked me what it was like to be banished into ice, what was it like being a statue in the Canterlot Gardens?” Sombra inquired with the hint of a smirk on his usually stoic features, knowing Discord probably wouldn’t appreciate that question, which was the point of him asking it.
Discord initially was going to vehemently protest, not wanting to go back to that point in his life, until he realized that maybe he could sway Sombra to see reason and not choose to be turned to stone, if Sombra was faking trying to be better.
“Let me tell you, it’s not a pleasant experience. Mercifully, you weren’t conscious the entire time you were banished to the ice of the Frozen North, or wherever the princesses banished you. Me? I was fully aware of whatever was going on. It’s like being paralyzed forever, and spending a thousand years without being able to speak or move is torture. Absolute torture.”
Sombra fell quiet at that, unsure of what to say to that. He even felt…was that fear? No, he was a king. He did not tremble in fear at anything; he was the one to be feared. Discord was just trying to scare him into reforming himself. But…maybe what he was saying was true? He huffed as he put on a facade of confidence, not letting himself look fearful at all.
“You managed to break out at some point. I don’t see why you’re telling me all of this anyway; I don’t plan to be encased in stone anytime soon.”
“Just in case you’re still considering breaking out and then going right back to your old way. Trust me, it’s much better when you drop the defiant and tough act and come to a compromise; it’s called acting in self-preservation, and I still have a lot of freedom, believe it or not.”
Sombra was silent at this, wanting desperately to retort something snarky since he didn’t truly believe that Discord had the freedom that he once did. Compromise wasn’t something he considered nor was it something he ever planned to consider, but Discord did have a point, when he thought about it.
He was always defeated every time he rose up again, and he couldn’t find a way to truly defeat the six ponies who stood in his way. Logically, even if he humbled himself and teamed up with Grogar and his legion, they would likely fall in the end as well. Was reformation really his only option?
“It sounds like you decided to reform yourself out of desperation, knowing that you’d be turned to stone otherwise.”
“Well…it wasn’t totally that. I do value Fluttershy’s friendship and company, but I really matured after being betrayed by Tirek. He gave me a worthless medallion that was supposedly worth more than friendship, until he turned his back on me and stole my magic. I then learned that nothing is worth more than true friendship.”
Discord paused, cringing at what he just said, knowing that probably wouldn’t sway Sombra. “Celestia, that sounded less cheesy in my head, but I meant what I said.”
Sombra sighed, muttering an noncommittal “uh huh” as he started to grow increasingly tired of Discord’s attempts to reform him. He just had to convince the gullible draconequus that he was truly reformed, and then the Crystal Empire would be his for the taking. He’d stick to his plan, despite his increasing doubts.