//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12: Plans For The Future 
// Story: A Tyrant To A King 
// by ShuTodoroki 
//------------------------------//

"Of course I'm thinking about what I would do when I reformed! It's the only option that doesn't involve being turned into a statue!" Sombra retorted, playing off his question like he was being forced to reform himself, not that he was actually considering it of his own volition.

"So you do have a sense of self-preservation after all!" Discord remarked with an amused chuckle, glad to see that Sombra was making progress under his efforts. "You most likely wouldn't be allowed back in the Crystal Empire for a while…to be honest, I'm not sure what would be a good position for you if it doesn't have to do with the Crystal Empire. I guess that'd be a decision left to Celestia and Luna."

"Well, that's reassuring." Sombra said with a roll of his eyes, curious about how Celestia and Luna thought it was a good idea to try to reform him when they didn't even have a plan for what he would do if he wasn't ruling the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof.

"Aw, come on, don't do that!" Discord pouted, as he tried to think of something since that answer obviously didn't appease Sombra. "I don't want to suggest anything since it's not set in stone, but there are many things you could do once you've learned about the magic of friendship!"

"Like?" Sombra pressed on with a raised eyebrow, looking at Discord expectantly.

"I was thinking eventually you'd serve as an advisor to Cadance and Shining Armor or something in the Crystal Empire, but before that the possibilities are endless. You could write an autobiography since apparently those are popular nowadays, you could teach at Twilight's school, you could move in with me into my realm and we could be roomies; really, I'm sure Celestia and Luna would probably just let you go."

Sombra deadpanned as Discord listed off those examples, as he only found one even remotely realistic. "I'm not writing a book about my life or moving in with you. The only thing I see that's possible is teaching at Twilight's school, and even that's a stretch since I've never seen myself as a teacher."

"You'd be able to boss other ponies around, what's not to love?" Discord joked before deciding to change the subject, since that prospect wasn't likely. After all, if Sombra had only just learned about friendship, was he really qualified to teach about it? If anything, he himself was more qualified to teach friendship.

"Since you're eager to think about what you're going to do once you're free, I should get started teaching you about friendship. Anything you want to ask about in particular?" The draconequus offered, before he annoyed Sombra so much that he wouldn't get anything out of him.

Sombra was silent for a bit as he thought about what he wanted to ask. Well, there was one thing that Discord had said that intrigued him, but he didn't really want to ask it. Yet his brain seemed adamant on doing so, as if it was leading him to lowering the walls he usually had up.

"You said before that fear and respect were two very different things. What did you mean by that?" He asked, deciding "to hell with it" since the question would probably incessantly plague his mind unless he got it answered.

"Ah, I said that when you mentioned how everypony respected you when you ruled the Crystal Empire, right? What I meant by that is if somepony fears you, they don't really respect you. Yes, they do whatever you say and treat you well, but that's because they're afraid of punishment. Actual respect is a two way street, from my experience. You respect somepony, and they respect you back. There's no power dynamic involved."

"So you're saying the respect I was shown by the Crystal Ponies I ruled over was fake, because it was one sided and they were afraid of me." Sombra repeated, trying to sum up what Discord had told him.

"Basically, yeah. And mind control of course doesn't count since they don't have free will, right? I initially thought the same thing since I enjoyed being able to boss anypony I wanted around and make them do what I wanted with my chaos magic, but once I learned with Fluttershy how good it felt for her to care about my wishes while I cared about hers, I didn't want to lose that ever again."

Sombra fell into silence once again as he mulled over what Discord had told him. He wanted ponies to respect him since he hadn't been shown any in the orphanage, but he had been going about it in the wrong way. While it did feel good to have power, according to Discord friendship was better. But that required him to acquiesce to somepony else's wishes from time to time, something he wasn't eager to do.

"I don't particularly like how I have to take somepony else's wishes into account. It's much easier when the only things that matter are what matter to me." He said adamantly, speaking his mind.

Discord nodded in understanding. "Believe me, I understand that. I mean, I still sometimes dislike how I can't rule Equestria in chaos like how I did back then! But making compromises and understanding that you can't always get what you want is something that's important to know when you want to make friends."

"Like how you had to turn everything back to normal because you were about to lose Fluttershy as a friend?" Sombra pointed out, to an enthusiastic nod from Discord.

"Yes, exactly! I would even consider you willingly carrying on a conversation with me hooves on experience with building friendship."

Sombra was taken aback by what Discord said. Was he saying that they were…friends? He played it off, his ego not liking that one bit. He didn't need friends…or did he? "Well, you serve as decent company since I have nothing else to do while I'm locked in this room."

"Wow, I'm so flattered." Discord said sarcastically, as he tried to think of something else he could say about friendship. "Oh! I didn't tell you what actually happened at the Gala when I was invited, did I? I have loads of friendship lessons I've learned over time that I could share."

Sombra really didn't want to hear about what Discord had learned about friendship over the years since that would probably turn into his life story, but he had to remind himself that he was trying to humor the draconequus so he could put in a good word for him to Celestia and Luna.

"I suppose you talking about them would help me learn about friendship, since that's the alternative to being turned to stone."

Sombra sounded pretty deadpan when he said that, though Discord just thought that he was trying to be a tough guy again. "Great! It really is a great story, especially since Celestia didn't seem to mind in the end. So, Fluttershy mentioned going to the Grand Galloping Gala, and I assumed that she would bring me as her plus one. Instead, to my horror, I found out that she had already invited someone else!"

"That must've been tragic." Sombra muttered in a non committal tone, not really authentic but he was trying his best to humor Discord.

"Oh it was!" Discord shuddered at the thought, as he recalled what had happened. "She was some hippie named Tree Hugger, and although we made amends in the end…"

He leaned in close to Sombra, who backed away slightly due to the invasion of his personal space. "Between you and me, I still don't really get along with her. Anyway, I was determined to one up Fluttershy so I brought a guest of my own, the Smooze! He's basically a green ball of slime who grows whenever he eats shiny things. Come to think about it, maybe that's why he liked them."

"You think?" Sombra remarked dryly, to which Discord rolled his eyes.

"I didn't think about it at the time, okay!?! Anyway, when I invited him and ignored him in my attempts to impress Fluttershy, he ended up causing a huge mess when he got into a room that was full of jewelry. When Tree Hugger managed to calm him down, my jealousy came to a breaking point, and in not one of my finest moments I decided I was going to banish her to another dimension."

That got Sombra's attention, as he visibly perked up at the mention of Discord sending somepony to another dimension. Discord really had the power to do that? He knew that the draconequus was the Lord of Chaos, but that sounded quite extreme.

"You were actually about to send somepony to another dimension? I had no idea that you had the power to do that."

"Ha! Of course I have the power to banish somepony to another dimension. I can rip the very fabric of reality since I'm the spirit of disharmony and chaos. Anyway, Fluttershy convinced me not to, and I learned that just because somepony has different friends doesn't mean that I've been abandoned."

Sombra found the story somewhat ridiculous, especially since what Discord did sounded like an overreaction to him. "So you decided to banish somepony to another dimension for all eternity just because you were jealous. That sounds extreme."

"Says the pony who enslaved his entire kingdom because he felt disrespected in his foalhood." Discord retorted, not appreciating the jab towards him. "Look, I said I wasn't proud of what I did back then, and I've learned my lesson. That's all that matters."

"I suppose so. Apologies seem to be a running theme with friendship. You apologized for teaming up with Tirek and you apologized for threatening to send Fluttershy's friend to another dimension."

Discord nodded, finding this a prime opportunity to explain to Sombra the importance of apologies. "That's because it is. I know it's not very pleasant to admit you're in the wrong, but understanding when you've messed up and wanting to make it right is the first step for others to forgive you."

Sombra mulled over what Discord told him for a while, his expression clearly showing how deep in thought he was. So he would apologize for what he did a thousand years ago, and what he did when he took over Canterlot? He decided not to think about it, lest he have those feelings of doubt creep up within him again.

"Anyway, I notice that you mention Fluttershy a lot. She seems like a nice pony to meet, and since I can't leave this room and you talk a lot about your tea parties, maybe you could bring her here to host one. I would assume it would help me to learn about friendship."

Discord's eyes lit up at this idea, before he thought about what Fluttershy would think about it. "While I would love to have a tea party with you, I'm not sure whether Fluttershy would be so keen. She's gotten better at being assertive and braver, but if I know her, she'd be terrified of you."

For good reason. Sombra thought with a small smirk, before he reverted to his serious expression as he looked at Discord expectantly. "Well, you never know if you don't ask, right?"

"Hm, alright. I suppose I could ask her. You'd love the food she prepares for our tea parties! I'll be back!" And just like that Discord was gone, giving Sombra some time to himself as he let out a sigh of relief.

He hated how much he relied on Discord as his key to freedom, but maybe with this tea party and getting Fluttershy involved to advocate for him, he could finally be let out of house arrest. What he would do after that, however…suddenly it wasn't so clear for him.