A Tyrant To A King

by ShuTodoroki


Chapter 13: The Tea Party

Discord appeared in front of Fluttershy's house, having the decency to knock since he'd act normal to an extent only for Fluttershy. Hm, how to bring it up, Discord, how to bring it up… He thought to himself, knowing that it'd be quite a shock for Fluttershy if she was asked to host a tea party for Sombra of all ponies.

Well, nothing better than making up a plan on the spot, right? He decided to just knock on the door, reasoning that he could just figure out what he wanted to say when Fluttershy opened the door. He knocked a few times, waiting for Fluttershy to answer.

The pink maned pegasus soon opened the door, smiling sweetly when she saw that Discord was there. "Discord! I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow for our Tuesday tea. Please, come in!"

"You always do know how to make me feel welcome, Fluttershy! I just needed a break from trying to reform Sombra." Discord said with a chuckle as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, while Fluttershy looked a bit worried at the mention of the former tyrant.

"Oh, I do hope he isn't being too harsh on you, especially since you've been so kind to him. I know you told us that you managed to convince Princess Celestia and Luna to move him to the castle suite so he should be in better spirits, but I don't know what's happened since then."

"He's actually been doing quite well!" Discord sat down on the sofa Fluttershy had in her cottage, while the pegasus took a seat opposite him. "A few hiccups here and there, but I think he's warming up to me! In his own tough guy act way, of course. I'm sure he'll drop it at some point; after all, if he was really dedicated to being all brooding and vengeful, he wouldn't be carrying on conversations with me."

"I still find it so surreal that you can carry on conversations with him! I would've thought that he would refuse to talk to you if you were trying to make him accept the magic of friendship." Fluttershy mused, though she was glad that Sombra was taking steps in the right direction, whether it was conscious or not.

"It certainly started out that way, but he rationalizes it by saying that I'm decent company since he can't do anything else while he's under glorified house arrest in his castle suite. He's definitely been in better spirits since he'd been moved into the better accommodation, though. I mean, I would too."

Fluttershy nodded. While she understood her friends' mixed feelings about Sombra getting to stay in the castle suite when they had gotten the news from Discord, she felt that showing kindness could be the first step in helping Sombra to open up, and it looked like she was right.

"Of course! Anypony would want to be treated with decency. So what do you end up talking about when you have these conversations with Sombra? I don't think we know much about him besides his history of ruling the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof."

"It's mostly about me, actually! I try not to pry too much into Sombra's personal life since last time I did he got angry. It's mostly me talking about how you reformed me by showing me friendship, and how I'm still learning about it all the time. Most recently I talked about my not so finest moment at the Gala…"

Discord consciously decided to leave Sombra's backstory out of what he said, knowing that the charcoal stallion entrusted him with that information for a reason. It probably wasn't something that he wanted everypony to know, at least not without his consent.

"Oh, that was such a long time ago! Tree Hugger's already forgiven you for all of that. But if Sombra learned something from you telling that story, I suppose it's good that it happened so others can learn friendship from you." Fluttershy remarked, recalling that moment vividly.

"Speaking of how you helped me learn about the magic of friendship…" Discord started, deciding that now was probably a good time to bring up what he came here for. "Sombra actually brought up the idea of you hosting a tea party with the three of us, so he could learn more about friendship."

Fluttershy was stunned into silence as she heard this, her eyes going wide. She couldn't believe it; it seemed so uncharacteristic of what she knew of Sombra. "Wait, Sombra suggested this? He wants me to host a tea party for the three of us?"

"I know, right? I was shocked too when he brought it up during our last conversation. If you're not comfortable having one with him, though, I completely understand. I just told him that I was going to ask you whether you could do it; no promises." Discord explained, making it clear to Fluttershy that she didn't have to do this.

"I…I'm just shocked that he wants to have a tea party. I wouldn't take him to be the kind of pony that would enjoy that, after all." Fluttershy looked unsure, before she tried to put on a braver face. If this could help Sombra learn about friendship, she would do the best she could to make it a great tea party.

"I'll do the best I can to host one, Discord. He still scares me, a little bit, but maybe that'll change when I get to meet him. He sounds like he's been getting a bit better."

"Oh, of course! We weren't even on speaking terms when I first tried talking to him, honestly. I think over time he's been becoming more open to talking since I'm the only company he's got." Discord said with a chuckle, before becoming serious. "He's opened up a bit more though, and I think he's genuinely interested in accepting friendship."

Fluttershy had a cute smile on her face when she heard that, until it faltered a bit when she thought of something. "That's great news! I only hope he's not faking it to be set free…"

"Ah, I already extinguished any thought of that in his mind already, I think. Any smart villain would know betraying Celestia and Luna would be foolish, and unless he wants a one way ticket to Statue City, he'll come around. Besides, even if he did, he always loses to you and the others!"

"I suppose you're right about that. So, when did you want to do the tea party? I'll need time to get everything ready; maybe a few hours' notice at least since I've run out of ginseng tea." Fluttershy explained, understanding if Discord wanted to do the tea party today.

"Oh, of course! I can tell Sombra that you'll come around in a few hours for a tea party, then. I'm sure he'll appreciate being able to talk to someone else than me, anyway, as charming as I am."

Fluttershy held up a hoof to her mouth as she laughed, standing up to head out to the market. "I'm looking forward to seeing you back here again! I'll be ready in around two hours, is that okay?"

"Certainly! I'll let Sombra know. See you later!"

Discord was gone in a flash of chaos magic, reappearing instantly back in Sombra's castle suite. This time the former tyrant wasn't fazed by the Lord of Chaos' sudden appearance, used to his spontaneity by this point.

"So, what did she say?" Sombra asked expectantly, looking up at Discord which he hated since it made him feel short.

"Well, she's on board with having a tea party, which is good! I'll teleport her here later with the tea party all set up. Trust me, her carrot-ginger sandwiches are positively delectable. Fit for a king, I should say!" Discord told Sombra, who regarded his assertion that Fluttershy's cooking was "fit for a king" with skepticism.

"I'm not sure whether to regard your assertion as an exaggeration or the truth, but I shall see soon enough. What do you mean by 'later?'"

"If you must have an exact time, Fluttershy said she'd be ready in two hours. She's the nicest pony you'll ever meet, and maybe you can learn more about friendship from her since she's the Element of Kindness. After all, you can't make friends if you're rude to everypony you meet."

"Uh huh." Sombra muttered noncommittally, really just looking forward to having someone else to talk to besides Discord, who could get on his nerves at times.

Unfortunately, he had to suffer with Discord's presence for two hours since the draconequus thought it impractical to leave only to come back, so he ended up hearing most of Discord's life story while he had to try and act somewhat interested, lest he set back and progress he made getting on his reformer's good side.

It was both a figurative and literal sigh of relief when Discord disappeared to bring Fluttershy, and Sombra had to say he was impressed when Discord appeared with Fluttershy and a couch for two and a chair opposite it, separated by a table that already had a teapot with three cups on it.

A cart with various finger foods like scones and sandwiches was next to it, and although Sombra wouldn't admit it, they did look quite delectable. The quality of food he had been getting did go up accordingly when he was moved to the castle suite, but having different food for a change was nice.

"Fluttershy, Sombra. Sombra, Fluttershy. Oh, wait, I didn't need to do introductions since you two have met already! Silly me." Discord tried to break the ice, though Sombra just looked unimpressed as he regarded the two with a curt nod.

"I appreciate you making the tea and food. It can get quite dull, staying at the castle suite where they don't bother to change the menu." He said, as he sat down on the couch next to Discord, facing Fluttershy who smiled meekly.

"Oh, it's no problem! Usually we have more than enough food and tea when Discord and I have our tea parties, so adding you makes it just enough. I'm just glad that you're trying to be a better pony from what Discord's told me." Fluttershy replied, trying to be polite and cordial even though she still felt scared of Sombra.

Sombra could sense that fear, glad that some ponies still had a sense of who he was and how he wasn't one to be messed with, unlike Discord who obviously didn't fear him at all, treating him like everypony else. Though, when he came to think of it, he could at least appreciate how open and honest Discord was with him, even if he couldn't get him to shut up afterwards.

Wait, what? No, it's better when ponies fear me, obviously. He told himself, even if he doubted it more and more. "Yes, well, the alternative was being turned into a statue for ponies to ogle at in the Canterlot Gardens."

There was a brief moment of awkward silence as Fluttershy didn't know how to answer that, at which point Discord quickly took over. "Anyway, you must try the scones at least, Sombra. Fluttershy puts extra butter and it makes them twice as good!"

Sombra used his dark magic to pick up a scone, the aura obviously making Fluttershy uncomfortable since he had used it before to take over Canterlot and materialize dark crystals everywhere. He took an experimental bite, not expecting much, until he was proven wrong. The scone tasted quite divine, in fact, and he figured he could at least give a compliment.

"The scones are quite good, Fluttershy. Thank you for baking them."

Fluttershy lit up at that compliment, not expecting something like that from Sombra. "W-Well, you're welcome! I'm glad you like them…"

Already Sombra found Fluttershy quite endearing, and he could see why Discord was swayed to reform himself as a result of her. Whether he truly wanted that for himself, well…he was still conflicted, and he knew he had to make a decision at some point.