//------------------------------// // 1. Two Years...then a Visitor // Story: Visiting Hours // by Wow_Gay //------------------------------// Tirek leaned against the bars of his cell, eyes closed. Two years. Two years since he had lost to the Elements of Harmony. Two years since he had been defeated. Two miserable years since he had once again been trapped in this wretched prison. Two years of near silence, barring the sounds of the other creatures in this place or the occasional baying of Cerberus. Two years of utterly boring, unchanging, listless monotony. At this point, he somewhat welcomed death's sweet, merciful embrace...but he knew that neither Tartarus, nor those wretched princesses, would ever deign to provide him such a mercy. He would suffer here for all eternity, alone, with nothing but that three headed mutt and the sound of his own- "Hey, are you asleep?" Tirek's eyes shot open at the sound of a boyish voice. A voice. Somepony had truly come down here. He bared his sharp, simian teeth in a malicious grin, before rising to his hooves fully, then turning around as fast as he could with his decrepit, worn out bones. He licked his lips at the prospect of absorbing some fool's magic- Oh. What a...surprising turn. A dragon stood before his cell. He was definitely young...in his teens, perhaps? Green head spines and ear frills, purple scales, emerald eyes, and fanged mouth twisted into a perturbed pout. He wore a turtleneck sweater, a pair of loose fitting, baggy cargo pants, and a purple scarf. Tirek squinted. He knew this dragon. Or at least...had a vague recollection of him. "...Sorry to disappoint you, visitor, but I am quite awake. Any attempts to assassinate me will need to wait, hm? And to whom, exactly, am I having the pleasure of speaking?" The dragon cocked his head and narrowed his eyes, before walking a bit closer. 'Yes, that's it...closer, fool...' "Uh, Spike. Spike the Dragon. And I'm definitely not here to assassinate you. You know me...you probably just don't remember. It's been about two years since Twi and the girls blasted you back down here." At the mention of his defeat, the centaur snarled. "Yes, I very well remember that, but I'm afraid I don't recall any sort of meeting with an adolescent dragon..." Suddenly, he in fact did recall. The little toadie that was the fourth princess' assistant of some sort. His weakly glowing gaze narrowed. "Ah yes. Now I remember. You're Twilight Sparkle's little pet." The boy's snout scrunched up as he walked a bit closer. "Tch. Was that a dig? Weak, dude." The centaur grabbed the bars of his cage. "I assure you, even in this state, there are few things about me that are weak, boy." He growled. However, the little dragon was in range now, and Tirek gave a victorious, vicious smile. "I thank you in advance, for being foolish, though." Suddenly, he lunged forward as far as he could go, and inhaled, the magics within him he used to siphon the energies from magical creatures sparking to life. The boy was small and weak looking, but he knew for a fact, due to Discord's incessant chattering, that the dragon was capable of magic feats. As such, he had something quite useful to the centaur. He had never drained a dragon before...he wondered how it tasted... A few seconds ticked by as Tirek waited for the telltale energy of outside magic to fuel him, strengthen him... ... ... Nothing was happening. Spike let out a soft breath through his nose, before raising a hand and pressing a claw to the centaur's nose, moving him backwards and away from the dragon's face. "Yeah, uh...personal space. Please don't do that, thank you." Tirek reared back and snarled in outrage. "Dragon, I can't consume your magic. Explain, now." Tirek growled, gripping the bars of his cage. "You could at least be polite, jeez. Newsflash, you can't absorb dragon magic. It doesn't play well with other magic. And even it did, you wouldn't be able to use it. It relies on a lot of biological stuff that you don't have..." He then frowned. "And anyways, it's rude to drain someone dry when they've come to talk with you, you know..." The centaur sneered, moving back to rest on his haunches. "It's a shame I don't particularly care what you Equestrians find rude or not." He folded his arms. "So, what do you want then, boy? If not my death, and you are unable to be an unwitting pawn in my escape from this place, then what use are you down here?" Spike blinked. "Ah...hm. I guess I just...want to know more about you? Y'know. Research I guess." "...What." Tirek deadpanned, an impressively unamused expression on his apeish face. Spike plonked down on his rump, looking thoughtful. "I don't know, I just think I wanna know more about you? Like, every other bad guy Twi has faced, they had a reason for being nasty to everypony. But you...I don't get you. It's so strange. Even when you won, you didn't really do anything. You just kinda...started blowing things up." Tirek sputtered. Had this little oaf really come down here to question his motives and goals? Pick apart his choices? Like some sort of...character study? Having enough of this percieved foolishness, the centaur stood abruptly to his full height (which despite being withered, was still a good foot or two above Spike's own), and stomped his hoof. "Enough of these games! Where is Twilight Sparkle, and why has she decided to torment me further after two years!?" He began pacing. "Or, were you sent by that wretched Celestia?" He paused and peered at the boy accusingly. "Or was it Discord. Is that slimy serpent having a laugh at my expense!?" Spike held his hands up placatingly and shook his head. "No, no, I came on my own! Nopony even knows I'm down here!" Tirek looked bewildered, before glaring pointedly. "...Then why in the seven hells are you here?" "Like I said already. I wanna...figure you out." "...Why?" Tirek asked, sounding and looking genuinely confused. Spike rolled his eyes. "I dunno, I'm bored, you aren't going anywhere for a while, and I bet you're tired of listening to nothing but the sound of your own voice and thoughts." The centaur flinched as if he'd been struck. Damn, this dragon seemed a bit perceptive. "...And what exactly do you want from me, boy?" Spike looked thoughtful. "Uh...hm. We could play...20 questions?" Tirek narrowed his eyes, then raised a brow. "20...questions?" The dragon raised a scaly brow of his own. "Never played? It's simple. We each ask each other 20 questions, that's it. When we both get to 20, it's over. It's customary to start with softer stuff, then work your way up. And it's also customary to theme every subsequent question after the one asked before it." Tirek cocked his head. "Sounds...juvenile." "It can be, depending on who's playing." Tirek thought it over. He was bored, of that there was no doubt. Conversation would likely be stimulating, and perhaps he could discover some information...information that may lead to him being able to escape. "...Very well. We shall play your '20 questions', boy." Spike smiled. "Alright...20 questions. You wanna go first, or should I?" The centaur rolled his eyes and laid down on the ground as well. "Oh, please. By all means, go right ahead, child." Spike similarly rolled his eyes, before beginning. "Alright, question one: How old are you, exactly?" Tirek looked thoughtful. An interesting question. "...That's...difficult to ascertain. Before I was imprisoned, I was rather young for my species. Centaurs live longer than Equestrians do. I was in my twenties when I was imprisoned here...23, if my memory serves. So I suppose my biological age is 1025." Spike blinked. "Huh...you look so old now, though." The centaur bared his teeth in a snarl. "For your information, I would not normally be like this if all of my power and magic hadn't been stripped from me. Typically, the form you likely first saw me in when Discord and I captured you and your little friends would be my natural appearance...perhaps a bit smaller." Spike thought back, contemplative. "...Oh. Yeah, I get it. You're kinda like Discord I guess. He looks way older than he's supposed to...but that's more cuz he's malnorished." At the thought of being compared to the draconequus, Tirek groaned. "Ugh. As a rule, refrain from comparing me to that fool again." "...Fine, fine, fair enough. Now, what's your first question?" Tirek stroked his raggedy beard, frowning. "...What is your age, hm?" Spike chuckled. "Knew you'd ask that. It's cuz I'm short and look young, huh?" He scratched his leg scales. "...17. My birthday's in 5 months." Tirek grunted. "Hmmph. Almost matured, then." "Maybe for a centaur or a pony. I'm not even a juvenile dragon yet. That'd be another 40 years, at least." Tirek managed a thin smirk. "Questioned by a whelp...how undignifying." "This whole position you're in is kind undignifying though, isn't it?" The centaur narrowed his gaze coldly. "...Ask your next question before I lose my meager patience, boy." Spike smirked. "Sure...alright. Question number 2..."