//------------------------------// // 3. Pacifying the Prisoner? // Story: Visiting Hours // by Wow_Gay //------------------------------// Tirek sighed as he carved yet another stripe into the ground beneath him, marking another day of torment, his face a mask of utter boredom. It had been two days since Twilight Sparkle's little stoodge had decided to pester him with questions, and the centaur had been feeling odd ever since. It had been so long since someone had just...talked with him. In his youth he'd loathed inane chatter, but for some reason the boy's presence and questions had made him feel...something. He couldn't really pinpoint what. However, after realizing that attempting to be civil with Tirek wasn't going to do anything but psyche the poor thing out, he had dejectedly gone home. Likely to cling to his master's skirt, or perhaps pester his obnoxious Equestrian friends- "Yoohoo!" The centaur nearly chipped his nail in shock. His head whipped around, mouth going slightly agape. The boy was actually back!? The dragon trotted up the stairs, a large basket in his hands and a polite smile on his face. "You're joking." The centaur deadpanned, standing to his full height and walking over to the bars, still convinced that the boy was some sort of hallucination. "You...returned here." The boy set down the basket, still smiling that annoyingly laidback and saccharine smile...it made his guts churn with nausea. Or rather, that was the only way whatever emotion it invoked could be parsed by the centaur. "Yup!" "...Why?" The teen cocked his head. "We...didn't finish our game?" Tirek stomped his back hoof, nostrils flaring. "I thought you got the hint yesterday. I want no part of your asinine friendship slave contracts, boy, so do us both a favor and leave!" Spike blinked, before sighing. "...Man, that's a real shame, Tirek-" "Lord Tirek." Spike rolled his eyes as he crouched low and opened the top of the basket. "And just when I made us both these treats to share..." A wave of scent wafted out, and the centaur's eyes widened. Food. Not just food, but clearly some sort of dessert. His mouth watered a bit, before he shook his head, eyes narrowing once more. "...what is it?" The boy casually reached inside and pulled out...pie. Some sort of fruit pie by the look and smell, with a beautifully latticed top and dark sugary goodness visible through the cracks in it's flaky crust. "Blueberry pie. Made it myself. Starting to get really good at baking. Want a piece?" The centaur looked as if he was reeling. A piece? Did he want one? The only thing I have consumed in over a millennium is my own spite and bitterness, of course I want a piece- "...Is it poisoned?" The boy cocked his head, looking very confused. "Pardon?" "You speak Ponish don't you!? Is. It. Poisoned!?" The teen gave an impressive eyeroll. "Yeah, I carried my flank all the way down here just to feed you some poisonous blueberry pie. If I was gonna kill you I probably coulda done it two days ago. You aren't fire resistant, you know." Tirek actually looked thoughtful. As young and seemingly soft as the dragon was, he was still a dragon. With teeth fit to pulverize gemstones like rock candy and fire that could melt metal into slag. He was lucky the boy had been weakened and ruined by the saccharine environment he was born into...otherwise he may have been attacked and wounded horribly by now. "Fine...then why have you brought it, child?" "My name is Spike. Tell you what, if you use my name, I'll give you a slice right now." The centaur blinked. "...Are you actually bribing me, with food?" "Mm...yup!" The dragon chirped cheerfully. The centaur's eyes narrowed. "...Perhaps being raised by those pitiful ponies has not tempered your cruelty, dragon..." He eyed-- and smelled-- the fragrant, delectable dessert. Food. Something to actually taste...gods he wanted it. His body had been kept in a state of stasis for all these centuries. He did not need food, nor drink, nor sleep...but they would all feel utterly amazing. "...Fine...Spike. Give it to me." The boy smiled. "And the magic word?" "Now." He snarled. Spike's face fell. "One step at a time, huh? Fine." He pulled plastic cutlery and a few plates from the basket, and what appeared to be a specially made pie spatula, then cut a generous slice of the warm pie out and set it on a small paper plate. Gods, it looked mouthwatering to the I imprisoned centaur. Golden, flaky crust, oozing thick, succulent blueberries and deep blue juice that no doubt tasted utterly scrumptious and pleasing to the palette. "Uh...Tirek? You're drooling." Tirek blinked and looked down, noticing that he was, indeed, drooling a thin line down his chin. Embarrassed, he scowled at the boy and hurriedly wiped it away. "Hurry up, child- Spike...at the rate you're going, it will be another thousand years before I taste that pie... Spike rolled his eyes and set the paper plate on the floor directly in front of the bars, knowing Tirek could reach it. He stuck a plastic fork in the top of the pie, and then gestured in a 'ta da!' fashion. Tirek lowered himself down, getting comfortable (or as comfortable as a prisoner of Tartarus could be, anyways...), and he almost hurriedly took hold of the fork... He paused and gazed at the little dragon suspiciously. Spike rolled his eyes. "Oh for the love of Celestia-" He quickly repeated the process, cutting himself a nice slice, before grabbing a plastic fork and promptly shoving a large bite of pie into his waiting maw, giving the centaur a tiresome, deadpan look the entire time. "There, shee? Ish-" He swallowed. "It's not poisoned. Happy now, Mr. Paranoid?" "Very..." With that confirmation, he dug in voraciously. The first bite he had put in his mouth nearly made him moan from just how good it tasted. It was divine. Like a goddess had just full on kissed him, tongue and all. It was utterly enrapturing. The sweetness, the tanginess, the fragrance, the crunch, the chew...all of it was perfect. He could have died a happy centaur if it had been poisoned. One he swallowed down that bite, he proceeded to voraciously decimate the pie, humming and sighing, very nearly tearing up from the sheer euphoria of the taste. Spike watched him in a mixture of amusement and slight shock. "Don't...forget to chew, buddy..." The centaur sighed as he finished his slice, utter satisfaction filling him. That had been delicious. His stomach was absolutely thrilled to digest something so divine... "So, about my next two questions..." Spike chirped. His blissful, enraptured expression fell. Right. The boy... "Questions?" "Questions...we were playing 20 questions and you asked me two in a row. So, I should be able to do the same before we return to the regular order." The centaur folded his bony arms and glared. "I don't recall our deal involving answering and asking more inane questions..." "Oh, it doesn't. But uh, well...I brought a whole pie." The dragon grinned. "There's more deals to be had, ya know?" Tirek's eyes widened. "W-What!?" His expression was utterly bewildered. "You would give me more!?" "Sure I would. Info for pie? Sounds like a good trade to me, Rekkie~" The centaur looked remarkably like he'd bitten a lemon. "...It doesn't matter how many baked goods you give me. You will never again refer to me by that infernal nickname, or else you can kiss this game of yours goodbye." Spike looked nervous. "Right, right, sorry, g-got carried away...so, uh...a slice for each question you answer?" The centaur stroked his beard, contemplative. "Very well, boy...ask away." The boy grinned. "Alrighty...Question four...do you have a hobby? Besides y'know, being a bad guy and doing bad guy stuff." Tirek sneered. "And why do you want to know this, Spike?" "Hmmm, that sounds like grumpy centaur speak for: 'I don't want pie because I'm bitter'. I hit the nail on the head, huh?" The centaur snarled, mumbling and cursing under his breath. "...Carving." "Huh?" "Carving!" He snapped. "I...enjoyed woodcarving, in my youth. I made wooden figurines." The boy's eyes widened. "Wow, really? Was it...fun?" Tirek looked away, glaring. "C'mon dude, is it gonna kill you to answer me?" "Unfortunately, no, it won't." Spike narrowed his eyes. "Tell me or I'll eat the next piece." Tirek cringed, looked pensive, then snarled and relented. "Yes. It was quite fun. I enjoyed wood carving thoroughly, and I still wish I could do it now. It was an outlet for me as a child, and it relaxed me more than almost anything else..." The centaur spoke softly, gaze gentle, even reminiscent. He then remembered what was going on, sighing heavily at those feelings welling up, that were summarily suppressed. "...Now give me that god's forsaken pie, boy. You've humiliated me enough." Spike blinked. "W-wow...I uh...didn't expect that." Tirek growled. "Great. I don't care. Pie, now." The boy's brow furrowed, before he relented, cutting the centaur another piece and watching as he greedily devoured the slice, a bit slower but just as ravneously. Once it was almost gone, the boy spoke up. "Question five...how often do you eat down here?" Tirek swallowed his last piece, eyebrow raised. "....Never. Hence the decimation of these baked goods." Spike's jaw fell open. "W-What? You don't get food down here!?" The centaur sniffed and chuckled derisively. "Poor little dragon. Unaware of the cruelty of Tartarus, it seems. I am not fed because I simply do not need to eat. My bodily functions were put on hold the moment that I was imprisoned. I do not need water, nor food. I do not need to execute any sort of bodily function...though sleep is fine when I need to make time pass...." At the growing shock on the teen's annoyingly cute face, the centaur continued maliciously. "Tartarus has dastardly magic to ensure those imprisoned within its bowels are forced into penance without pause. My body resets to its initial imprisonment state every new day. Anything I ate, any injury I sustained, it's all completely erased. I could slit my wrist open and by the time you returned tomorrow, I would be here, alive and well. It would be unpleasant and painful, sure...but the next day, it wouldn't matter..." Spike looked pale and clammy, emerald eyes comically wide. Tirek could have laughed, it was so damned funny. "Surprised?" "V...Very." Spike choked out, emotion boiling through him. That was so...cruel. Sure Tirek probably deserved it, but gods... The centaur smirked, triumphant. "Hmmph, horrifying, isn't it? This isn't merely a prison, after all. You think my only punishment is being trapped in a cage for as long as your princesses see fit? Tch. As if Celestia, or her pathetic sister, or that miserable high court would have been so lenient." Spike felt a bit sick, cringing. "I...I..." Tirek grinned, casually twiddling his plastic fork. "Mm, now that you have your answer...here's my question five...what will you do with this knowledge exactly, my boy?"