//------------------------------// // You want to be MY friend?! Earn it! // Story: The Tirek Who Tolerated Me // by Kotatsu Neko //------------------------------// Eventually, he would forgive her. It wasn't her fault. Cozy Glow had done her best to inform Spy on how matters stood in Equestria, but the one thing she missed was so natural, so basic, that she hadn't even considered including it in her explanation. It would have been like explaining sunlight, or breathing. It wasn't anything unusual to her. It just happened. It was going to happen in forty seven minutes. The newspaper was exactly as boring as he'd expected it to be. Spy was sure that the reporters for the... oh, God, the Boopingham Snoot ("We've Got a Nose for News!") did their best, but everything was candyfloss and rainbows in Equestria. No wars, no assassinations, no internal strife that couldn't be resolved in half an hour. It was revolting. If he did end up living in this world, he'd have to do everyone a favor and give them some real news. (The fact that he could even read the paper was only slightly interesting. He'd suspected that whatever enchantment allowed him to understand the local language might extend to the written word as well. If he concentrated, he could see the meaningless (to him) squiggles that were actually printed on the page; otherwise, they registered in his mind as English. But why English, and not French? As he often did in such circumstances, he blamed Canadians. Not any particular Canadians, just Canadians in general.) But at the moment, the newspaper was just a prop, something for his eyes to focus on while his mind turned over a larger problem. One with purple fur and a broken horn. How should he handle Tempest Shadow? It pained him to admit it, but he'd underestimated the mare, and badly at that. Was he getting sloppy in his old... no longer quite so young age? Perhaps. Working the Mann account for so long probably had something to do with it; it was easy to stop thinking about the consequences of failure when the Medic's strange science could erase them in a matter of moments. Of course, that carried its own risks. Spy had once spent a horrific three days physically grafted to the Demoman because, in Medic's words, 'zere veren't enough kidneys to go around'. And then there was the time he'd run out of smokes and was scrounging in the infirmary (because you never knew) and tucked in the back of a cabinet he found... Spy shuddered at the memory. So many severed Scout heads. And he knew they weren't Soldier's property, because they were still talking. Incessantly. Focus. He had to come up with a new angle of attack, and to make matters worse he couldn't coordinate with Cozy Glow. He would just have to trust that she'd follow his lead. Even though... well, the pegasus still thought that coming clean was the way to go, and didn't seem to find his rejection of that plan very convincing. 'Just tell Tempest who you really are,' she'd said, 'and the Princesses would definitely try to send you home! They're easy marks for a hard luck story.' And why not? asked a little voice in his head. Even you aren't so proud as to refuse help from royalty, and it may be your best chance to- He firmly throttled the voice until its struggles ceased. No. That was the one option he would never take... A purple hoof abruptly inserted itself at the top edge of the newspaper and pulled down. Spy roused himself from his introspection and met Tempest's gaze impassively. "Finished yet?" she asked, just a bit too politely. He glanced down at his dinner. It was a large fish, even for a stomach that hadn't been fed in at least a few years, and there was still a fair amount remaining. Clearly the fish had lasted longer than Tempest's patience. "I suppose so," he said with Tirek's voice, though he didn't put the newspaper down; an act of minor defiance that did not escape Tempest's notice. "But I still don't see what you're hoping to accomplish. I have nothing to hide." He gestured at his cage. "My life is literally open for review." She snorted. "You can drop the act, Tirek. I know you're up to something..." He responded with a gasp and a wide-eyed expression of shock and dismay, pressing a hand to his chest at this vicious slander. "...I'm just not sure what," Tempest continued, ignoring this. Her tone was soft, musing over the puzzle he was giving her to solve. "Even after you bungled whatever you were trying to do, are you still plotting to break out of here? Or do you have something else in mind? For all I know, sending me to get food was part of your 'master plan'." Spy laughed at this. "Oh, yes. I'm going to escape this inescapable prison using a stained newspaper, a half-eaten fish and..." He cast around for a moment, but there really wasn't anything else but dust and small rocks. "You can have the thistles off my hayburger," Cozy Glowed offered from behind him. "I don't like thistles." "Eat your thistles," he said absently. "They're good for you." "And that's the other thing," Tempest said, pouncing on his words. "Why are you so concerned about what's 'good' for Cozy Glow?" "This again?" He rolled his eyes. "It's just an expression. You're imagining things." "Am I?" she shot back. "You two went through that whole production just now to make me think you were literally at each other's throats, but at the last minute you couldn't go through with it, could you?" She circled around his cage again, stopping on the side facing the filly. "What's your angle, Tirek? You've never even pretended to care about her before. What's changed?" "Nothing has changed, and I don't care about her," he snarled, though he carefully hid his rising concern. This was becoming rather dicey. Tempest was getting dangerously close to remembering the possibility that 'Tirek' might not be Tirek; she had mostly seemed to come to accept that he was the genuine article, but his slip-up earlier may have fractured the facade. Distract her, quickly. "Besides, what does it matter? What could I possibly be planning? I'm in a cage with no door. I used up the last of the magical residue on my previous attempt, and I'm hardly going to fight my way out, am I?" He gestured at his wizened, feeble body. "Not like this." This made her pause, and she regarded him for a moment. "No... that's a fair point," she admitted, still frowning. And then Tempest's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and her head subtly changed positions. Her jaw twitched as she started to speak but stopped, still staring at him. Nearly imperceptible motions, but to an expert in the art of reading body language (even if the body in question was a different form than he was used to) they added up to one thing: she'd come to a realization, and was working out how best to act on it. Spy found himself tensing up, and redoubled his efforts to hide it. "...in fact," she said finally, "the only other thing I can think of... is if you were planning to outsmart me." She moved closer, her snout mere inches from the bars. "You might be plotting to outwit or distract me somehow. Maybe you've got something worked up with the kid while my back is turned." Her eyes blazed into his. "Is that the plan, Tirek? Are you going to try to trick little ol' me?" He didn't dare look away, though he was sorely tempted. She was uncomfortably close, in more ways than one. Close enough to snap her neck? his inner assassin suggested, but he pushed the urge down. He'd been frank about the nature of his profession, but brutally murdering someone in front of Cozy Glow would likely put something of a stain on their relationship. Besides, it was a rather thick neck. Before he could formulate a response, however, Tempest gave a short laugh and took a step back. "Oh, who am I kidding? You'd never be able to pull off something like that anyway." The tension drained away (but even that had to be kept hidden) and Spy lifted his newspaper again. "Yes, y-" He stopped as her words lined up and presented themselves for his inspection. "Wait. What's that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously. "Well, I mean, let's be real here. You may be the big, bad archvillain," she said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable, "but when it comes to subtle? Oh, honey... you ain't it." He stared at her, outrage rising in a scarlet tide. His training told him to hold back his emotions, that it was good Tempest was no longer on the verge of realizing what their plan was, that she was aiming the barb at Tirek, not him... but his emotions pointed out that Tirek would react the exact same way and how dare she?! "You couldn't hope to comprehend my subtlety," he growled menacingly. "In case you've forgotten, I conquered this miserable land of yours!" "Oh, yeah, like that's a high bar these days," she said, unconcerned. "And how did you do it? By draining the magic from everypony, getting big, and basically stomping around knocking things over. Not really the sign of a strategic genius there, is it?" "Mmm, she has a point," Cozy Glow noted. Spy glowered at her. "You stay out of this!" "Face it, Tirek," continued Tempest, "you're a thug, not a planner. I mean, you teamed up with Discord. Discord!" It was a good thing he'd memorized the details of Tirek's invasion. "Only to betray him later!" "Yeah, but still," said the filly, making a face. "Discord." "And come to think of it," Tempest drawled, "why am I even talking to you? I should be talking to the real brains of this operation." With that, she turned and walked over to the other cage. Spy couldn't stop himself. "Her?! But... she's just a foal!" While Cozy Glow shot him a glare that said 'I know you're just playing the part, but watch it', Tempest gave him a knowing smirk over her shoulder. "A foal that just about managed what you did, without having all your power and experience. Or, for that matter, her own private army, shadow crystals, or the ability to warp reality itself. Honestly, Tirek? She's a lot scarier than you are right now." He found himself almost trembling in anger as she sauntered away from him. Of all the insolent, insulting, infuriating... She glanced back again, and there was something... odd in her eyes. Something... ...deliberate. He all but slapped his forehead. Of course. He should have realized; that had been her angle all along. She was trying to get Tirek angry enough to let slip details of his 'plan.' After all her earlier bluster, she was trying to outwit him! Or, rather... And you nearly fell for it, the inner voice jeered. A trap not even aimed at you! He silenced the voice again; there was no time for that. Tempest was expecting a reaction from him - from Tirek - and if Spy didn't anticipate what she was looking for, she would grow suspicious. He had to maintain his cover... ...no. That was the wrong decision, he realized, or at least it was insufficient. Just staying in character wasn't going to work anymore. Time was running out; if he didn't make progress soon, any chance they had for escape would vanish. You could stay cloaked in a corner of the enemy base all day long, but sooner or later you had to go out and stab someone. (Thirty eight minutes.) What to do, what to do... well, rant and bluster until an opportunity presents itself, that was always a solid tactic. "Don't you dare turn your back on me!" he shouted. Even facing away from him, Spy could feel Tempest's smug expression as she came to a stop and looked down at the pegasus. "Hey there, Cozy. How was the hayburger?" "Oh, it was so...!" She stopped, glanced at Spy, then visibly reigned in her delight. "Y'know. It was okay." "Glad to hear it. Maybe we'll make this a regular thing." Cozy Glow couldn't help but brighten up. "Can I get prench fries next time?" "We'll see," the mare said in a placating tone. "If you're good, and don't try to conquer Equestria." "Aw. Okaaaay." "Don't talk to her!" Spy bellowed. "Tell her nothing!" When Cozy Glow looked at him, however, he flashed a wink and the briefest of nods. Keep her talking. The filly's expression turned to one of annoyance so genuine that for a moment Spy thought she hadn't caught on. "Don't try to tell me what to do, Tirek," she snapped. "I can say whatever I want to say, to whoever I want!" "Yeah, Tirek," Tempest said, grinning at him. "You don't control her. She's a free filly." She paused. "So to speak." "That's none of-!" "Oh, calm down," Cozy Glow said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I'm gonna tell her anything important. Fizzlepop might think a little sweet talk and a hayburger is enough to get me to spill the beans, but you at least should give me more credit than that." It was... heartwarming to watch as Tempest realized what the pegasus was saying. She froze in place, her eyes widening even as they were dragged down to stare at the filly. "...uh..." Now the smug was on the other hoof, and Cozy Glow was taking an absolutely infernal amount of enjoyment at Tempest's discomfort. "Golly, did I say the quiet part loud? C'mon, silly filly, I galloped rings around Headmare Twilight and all her besties without breaking a sweat. I saw what you were trying to do in a Manehattan Minute." "I-I wasn't... I...!" Then Tempest gave up and, with a small and embarrassed laugh, held up a forehoof in surrender. "Okay, okay. You caught me. I guess you really are the smart one here." Cozy Glow giggled. "Aw, you're just saying that because it's true." Tempest looked down at the pegasus for a long moment, wearing an expression Spy could easily recognize at this point: the look of someone reconsidering their preconceptions about Cozy Glow. "Okay... how about a compromise, then? Was that hayburger enough to buy the details of the other plan? The one Tirek messed up before I got here? It couldn't hurt to tell me about that." "Welllll..." She made a show of thinking it over. "I guess that'd be okay. What do you think, Tirek?" "I will pluck your feathers one by one!" "Sounds like a 'yes' to me!" she said brightly. "All right, Tempest, it's a deal. I don't know how much I can tell you, though. Apart from the ritual he taught me, I don't know anything about magic." Tempest shook her head. "That's fine. I'll let the big brains in Canterlot figure out the actual spell he used. Just tell me what you remember." "Fair enough." Cozy Glow sat down, and Tempest followed suit, folding her legs beneath her. "Am... am I being ignored?" Spy-as-Tirek asked in simulated disbelief. "I'm being ignored! How dare-!" "Oh, you're not being ignored, Tirek," said the pegasus without looking up. "We just don't care." He poured as much shock and outrage into the single syllable as he could: "What?!" "Hey, you had your chance to talk," Tempest noted. "Just sit over there and read your newspaper, and maybe I'll get back to you later. M'kay? M'kay." He sputtered and growled for a time, but when it because clear they weren't going to respond, he let out a loud "Hmph!" and opened the newspaper once more, doing so as forcefully as possible to make it clear that, as Scout would put it, his 'jimmies' had been 'rustled'. As the two equines started to talk, there he sat: insulted, betrayed, and disrespected. Perfect. Not only had Cozy Glow diverted attention away from him, giving him a chance to plot his next move, but whichever of Tirek's post-escape 'plans' she gave away would amount to nothing more than some false leads for the authorities to follow when the two of them finally left Tartarus. All without more than the most basic of prompting. Of course, Tempest was willingly playing along as a part of her own ploy to infuriate Tirek, but even so the filly clearly had a knack for this. What a tragedy, he thought (and not for the first time) that she'd been born a pony! If he'd met her as a human on Earth and seen the potential within her... well, there were any number of prestigious organizations that would pay top dollar for the chance to induct someone with such natural talent for deceit and manipulation into their ranks. Or perhaps even... no, he wasn't in a position to take on an apprentice of his own. Even if he were so inclined, the Mann account took up all of his time, and the contract was exceedingly ironclad. But if he never returned to Earth... Bah. No time for idle speculation now. How to turn the tables on Tempest's plan? He needed to find out if she was carrying the key, but she was so unflappable, every motion careful and deliberate. How could- ("And now you're Celestia's hired muscle!" He sneered at her. "That doesn't make sense either, now does it?" He saw her falter, but only for an instant; the hesitation was quickly replaced by anger. "I'm not-") ...oh. Yes. Turnabout indeed. Anger was a double-edged blade, after all... "Whoa, whoa, hold on a second." He peered over the top of his newspaper to see Tempest looking uncharacteristically confused. "You mean both of you, right?" "No, just him," Cozy Glow confirmed. "He said there wasn't enough power to teleport both of us, so he'd have to go first. Once he drained a few ponies and got his strength back, he was going to bring me through." Tempest's body language did not so much say 'skeptical' as declaim an entire five-stanza poem on the subject. "And... you believed that?" The filly's eyes went theatrically wide (though given their size, it was hard to tell). "Gosh, of course I did, Miss Shadow! I made him Pinkie Promise on it!" Involuntarily, Spy's gaze went to his own hands. But... she doesn't have pinkies...? To Spy's surprise, Tempest - while still appearing uncertain - was taking the claim seriously. "Uh... sure, usually that would do the trick, kid..." ...it would? "...but I don't think the threat of a cupcake in the eye would bother someone like Tirek." What?! Then Cozy Glow giggled. "Naw, I'm just pulling your bridle. But I've gotten to know him these last few moons, and I was pretty sure he was on the level. He's nowhere near as good a fibber as I am, after all." The mare still seemed unconvinced, but looked over at Spy. "How about it, Tirek? Were you really going to try to break in to Tartarus and get Cozy Glow out?" Spy gave her a level look over his newspaper for several seconds before responding. He couldn't be sure how Tirek would have answered the question, but he could guess. "Now why," he asked, "would I ever do something like that?" The filly laughed again and waved a hoof. "Oh, c'mon, Tirek. You know you promised that-" "I would have said anything to get my hands on that magic you carried," he pointed out. "Once I'd escaped, there would have been no reason for me to risk my freedom for the sake of one mere child." (Thirty one minutes.) Cozy Glow's sudden expression of uncertainty was, he realized, wholly unfeigned. "B-but... you said I was part of your plan to retake Equestria. You said you needed me!" He felt a pang of... was that guilt?! That seemed unfair. It wasn't his fault Tirek made promises he clearly never intended to keep, and Spy was only drawing on his best guess of Tirek's true motivation. Yet... he could see it was hurting her. What else could he do, though, with Tempest watching? "I admit your... adequate talents for planning would have been useful," he said, "but I'm sure I could have managed without them." "Because that worked so well last time," Tempest murmured. "So..." the filly said slowly, "you were never going to help me get out? You were just going to take the magic and... abandon me?" "Obviously," he said, though every ounce of scorn he put into the word came at a cost. "That's just what he's like," Tempest added, and she and Spy glared daggers at each other. "Why would you ever cover for someone like-" "Yeah, I can see that." Centaur and mare stared at each other a moment longer, then turned to look at Cozy Glow. "You can?" they said in unison. "I mean, duh. Like Tirek said, it's obvious." The filly gently knocked her hoof against her temple. "Now that I think about it, it was kind of dumb of me. He's a villain. Of course he's gonna betray me for his own benefit; that's what villains do. I mean, it's only fair, really. I used him for my plan, and now he used me for his." Spy and Tempest looked at each other once more, and there was a definite sense of fellow feeling in the latter's gaze. There was clearly something... off about the filly's worldview. "And... you're okay with that?" Tempest managed Cozy Glow looked up at the cavern ceiling for a moment, thinking. "I'm not sure how else that could've gone," she admitted. "It's not like there were any other options, and I didn't have any real leverage to force Tirek to come back for me once I gave him the magic. I knew it was always possible he would break his word, but..." She shrugged. "What choice did I have? Either way, I'd still be sitting in this cage. At least there was a chance that he'd help me escape. "Besides," she continued, looking at Spy, "we don't have to be nice to each other to be a... a team. We just need a common goal, and there's no point in pushing our allies under the train for no reason. If Tirek hadn't betrayed Discord, he'd probably still be ruling Equestria. I just feel like us villains should look out for each other; we're usually outnumbered, if nothing else." 'Us villains'. He started to reply, but Tempest seemed to be chewing over the pegasus' words as well; he remained silent. "So even after all this," she said finally, "after everything he just admitted, after he used you... you still trust Tirek. He took advantage of you, and you still trust him." "'Trust' is a strong word," Cozy Glow mused. "But... I think I understand him. I can work with him." She glanced his way once more. "He just better not think he can pull the wool over my eyes again," she added sternly. Spy snorted and retreated behind the newspaper. How odd, he thought. He could tell she was being... was probably being genuine (best not to underestimate her talent for guile again). She really did hold no grudge toward Tirek. Was it just the naivete of a child, or was there something more...? Tempest stared down at Cozy Glow for a long moment, then shook her head roughly. "No." "Huh?" "No," she repeated, her tone sharp. "I still don't buy it." Spy's eyebrows went up slightly. Well, well... what have we here? "Don't buy... what?" "This!" The mare pointed a hoof from one cage to the other. "You really expect me to believe it's all hunky-dory between you two, Cozy? That everything's all fine now, no hard feelings? I've been in your horseshoes myself. I know what it's like to get stabbed in the back! There's no way you'd just forgive him!" The filly looked genuinely confused. "I never said I forgave-" "No, there's something else going on here," Tempest insisted. "You two have been playing your little games since I got back, and I think this is just another trick you're trying to pull. It was cute for a while - both of you pretending to like each other, then hate each other, then like each other again - but it's gotten old. So just drop the act already!" Fascinating. Perhaps this was another of Tempest's feints, but her outburst seemed real enough to him. Though he hadn't expected the mare to lose her temper so soon, and certainly not without his personal intervention, he was hardly the type to leave Dame Opportunity standing at the door when she came calling. Now was the time to strike; he just needed an opening. (Twenty six minutes.) Cozy Glow scowled, the accusations clearly getting on her nerves. "I'm telling you the truth!" "Oh, and I'm just supposed to believe that?" Tempest scoffed. "From you, the filly who tricked an entire school? I don't think so." All but forgotten, Spy held himself motionless, scarcely breathing as he listened. Any moment now... "Are you kidding me?! If you can't trust what I say, then why are you even talking to me?" "Because it's my job to-" There! "Oh, yes," he said, injecting as much sneer into his voice as he possibly could. "Your precious job. Groveling at the hooves of yet another tyrant! Why change a winning formula, after all?" Cozy Glow glanced at him with an expression of shock, but Tempest didn't so much as flick an ear. "Not in the mood, Tirek," she growled. "What will be Celestia's penalty for failure, I wonder? I've always been a one-centaur operation, so I've never had any lackeys to discipline." "I said drop it!" "Well, I'm just curious," he said with false sincerity. "Will you be joining us in a cell of your own, or will you just be sent straight to the moon? After all, if it's good enough for her sister..." Tempest held herself rigidly still. "I'm warning you...!" "Um, Tirek," Cozy Glow said nervously, "maybe this isn't the best time to-" Spy snapped his fingers. "Oh, I know! Maybe she'll turn you to stone! That would be nice and ironic, wouldn't it? I hear you were fond of that tactic, back in the day." "...oh, moltfeathers, you're making it worse! What is happening right now?!" The mare whirled around, rage and shame battling for supremacy behind her eyes. She stalked closer to his cage, every movement a declaration of war... then stopped and took a long breath. When she spoke, it was in a cold whisper, but the sparks leaping from her severed horn belied her true feelings. "No. You can't manipulate me like this, Tirek. I don't care what you say. I'm no lackey, and I'm not responsible for what Celestia's done. I'm doing the right thing." "Oh, yes," he returned, "do keep telling yourself that." He regarded her for a moment, then reached out to grasp one last lever. "But you're right. You're no lackey. You're nothing." She rolled her eyes at the weak insult and turned her back to Spy, a mistake previously made by so many corpses. He lifted his gaze to the source of the sparks. "You're. Just. Broken." All time stopped in the cavern, the only sound being the high-pitched, horrified creaking noise of Cozy Glow's intake of breath. Then- He didn't see her move, and he'd been watching to see her move. Hooves struck iron, and suddenly he was in motion, the cage tumbling through the air toward the edge of the plateau. For a fraction of a second (which was all the time he had to react), he thought he'd miscalculated her reaction... but the cage struck one of the rocky outcroppings that surrounded them, and rebounded back onto solid ground. It rolled briefly before coming to a stop, leaving him sprawled on his backs with all four legs in the air. Dazed, he tried to reorient himself, but in an instant she was upon him: her hooves on his shoulders, blazing lights sputtering unchecked from her horn, and... And a glint of metal suspended from a cord around her neck, partially dislodged from within her garment during the attack. The key. ...well, he found it. Now all he had to do was survive the next few minutes... "I'm going to make you regret that," she snarled. "I'll fry you so bad you won't wake up for another thousand years!" He bared his teeth in response. "What a Celestia thing to say!" "Oh, you are-!" "Don't hurt him!" Tempest whipped her head around. "Excuse me?!" After a moment to let the dizziness pass, Spy followed suit and saw Cozy Glow, looking very small and alone, standing on her rear hooves and gripping the bars with the others. She was trembling in the face of Tempest's anger, but didn't back down. "...don't hurt him," she repeated quietly. "Please." The weight left Spy's shoulders, and Tempest approached the filly in three quick steps. The electric display had died down a bit, but the mare was still a seething mass of rage. "You think I should just leave him alone? After that?!" "Please. He... he doesn't deserve it." Seconds ticked by, then gradually the falling sparks went out completely. Tempest tilted her head slightly as she regarded the filly. "...there are a lot of ponies out there who would disagree with you ," she pointed out, her expression unreadable. "Yeah, well... they don't know him like I do. Please, Tempest. Just... let it go." "...why?" "He's just...!" Cozy Glow stopped for a long moment, then turned away. "He's not the monster you think he is. Just leave it at that. Okay?" Spy's heart sank with dread. ...oh, no. It was just a simple phrase, and said with the best of intentions in order to protect him... but a clue, nevertheless. If the mare caught on... Tempest continued to stare at the filly, brow furrowed and mouth slightly agape... then her eyes suddenly went wide, and with a barely audible gasp she turned to look at him in shock and disbelief. Damn! He held his expression steady, unflinching. Whatever you're thinking, Miss Shadow, he mentally commanded, you're on the wrong track. Abandon this train of thought at once! "No..." she breathed, her gaze moving to Cozy Glow and back to himself. "No, it can't be...!" Well, the sudden development of telepathic powers had been a long shot anyway. Spy watched silently as Tempest walked to the edge of the plateau, eyes fixed on nothing as her mind raced. He risked a glance at Cozy Glow; her attention was focused on him, trying to see if he'd been injured. She didn't even realize... no. Useless to cast blame at this point. (Which was an odd thought, he would come to remember. He'd never hesitated to point fingers before, especially when the possibility existed that others would point them at him. Scapegoating was a fairly common pastime on the battlefield.) He gave her a reassuring nod, then turned his gaze back to Tempest. The mare hadn't budged an inch, though he could see her jaw moving; talking to herself, it seemed, in tones too quiet to hear. Well, that's it, the annoying inner voice noted. The jig, as they say, is up. A valiant attempt, but it's time to start planning to work with Tempest Shadow, rather than against her. No. There had to be a way through this. There's no stopping it. If she knows you're in Tirek's body- She can't know. She can only suspect. We can still win this. Fool. Optimist. What are you playing at? At this point, losing is better than winning! Just swallow your pride and- But this wasn't about pride. It never had been. There were things more important than his own ego, and that was not something he admitted lightly. No, if he had to be honest with himself - and that, too, required a certain mental effort - he had to acknowledge there was only one reason to keep going with the 'plan', to defy Tempest and the alleged good graces of Princess Celestia. It was a strange and surprising reason, a reason counter to everything he thought he knew about himself... ...yet somehow it was reason enough. ...fool. On your own head be it, then. Just don't be surprised when the purple horse decides to take her frustrations out on you in a more... procedural manner. Torture? Unlikely. He may have gotten under her skin - hah, fur - but she hardly seemed the type to indulge in- A sudden piercing whistle roused him from his inner monologue. "Cerberus!" Tempest shouted, without turning around. "Get up here!" With an answering trio of barks and a clatter of paws, the massive hound loped up the narrow path and leapt onto the plateau. The tension in the air must have penetrated at least one canine skull, for he let out a confused whimper and looked to Tempest for instruction. "I need to have a little chat with Tirek," she announced. "Take Cozy Glow's cage to one of the other 'cells'." And then she moved her head slightly, aiming one baleful eye at him. "She doesn't need to be here for this." (Eighteen minutes.)