Prisoner
Tartarus.
The ultimate prison.
The ultimate jail cell.
Tartarus was a place created for the worst of the worst. The scum of all scum, and therefore eternal suffering was meant to be given for all it’s visitors.
The guard to the only exit of Tartarus, stood staunchly. All his three heads surveying the dirt road, littered with various graves here and there. Each grave had a number on its tombstone. Each number represented the number of a prisoner that had tried to escape none of them making it out alive. And even if they did, they never got past Cerberus.
Millions of years ago the dog to this underworld was given one command by his creator.
“One cannot leave after they have passed through those gates. Any that try, must be stopped, no excuses or questions asked. Do your duty and see to it that this place is well guarded and never leave your post.”
The middle head of the three headed beast growled weakly in his throat. Two years ago he and his brothers had made the horrible mistake of allowing one of the prisoners to slip through their watchful eyes while they went on their nap break.
It was a horrible mistake they had made, one they completely forgot about when that orchid unicorn waved a stupid, insignificant little bone in front of their eyes when they had come to find that prisoner in the first place and return him to Tartarus. Only for them to completely lose their cool and state of mind over a measly bone.
The middle head whimpered and the head drooped morosely with shame. His brothers however, unsure of why their brother looked so distraught, merely shrugged and looked on, continuing their duty.
They had long since come to terms with their own guilt of allowing a prisoner to escape and had simply promised to never let it happen again. The middle one however was still having trouble of sorts coming to terms with what they had let happen.
“How long will you continue to mope brother?” The right head asked. “It has been two years since the incident, yet still you cannot let bygones be bygones and move on?”
The middle head snarled loudly before speaking. “Two years, yet how long have we been here in the underworld guarding the gates to Tartarus Ti? Longer than those two alicorns have been alive and certainly longer than Discord. Yet look at what we let happen.
One of the most dangerous creatures in this world escaped, and when we went to retrieve him what did we do? We let her creation steal our attention with nothing but bone marrow before she led us all the way back here. And even then we didn’t recall the duty Father had given us before it was too late. If that is not something shameful I can mope about than I do not know what you expect from me.”
“Grow up” said the Elder, the first head. “So we let Tirek escape once. It was just as I said, Mother’s beloved children would take care of him just like they had done the first time Tirek and his brother arrived on our world. They always do. It is what we expect of them.
They save the world. And we stay in the shadows making sure the world stays safe. Besides, you act as if Father is still around when we all know they have been gone for millennia.”
The middle head sighed. “Yes, brother. I know...it is just, when I think of how he would look at us if he saw what happened-”
“Silence” Elder stated, and so Senior did. “He is no longer here. He has not been here for a long long time. You know that, the gods above that serve as our bosses know that. I will not hear of this any longer. We are Cerberus, a ferocious entity meant to protect the creatures on the surface world from the demons and monsters tossed down here and meant to rot down here for the rest of their mortal or immortal lives.
We made a mistake, but who doesn’t? Two years have passed since then, and you continue to mope like a child who had their candy stolen. I suggest you grow up and this discussion ends immediately. I will not continue this discussion on Father or the others. The gods above us don’t and neither shall we.” The elder said with finality.
“But brother-” Senior began, only to be silenced by the first heads feral growl that warned the second if he continued to persist he would bite his ear.
All three heads went silent after the first had asserted his dominance. Once all was quiet Elder lifted his head up and continued to watch stoutly over the gates of Tartarus, Ti the third head following his lead and after a few minutes of silent self-reflection so did the second head Senior.
Cerberus watched over the gates of Tartarus once again devoted to his undying duty.
Protect the surface dwellers for as long as he lived.
Inside Tartarus acting as his watchful ears and eyes were billions upon millions of orthros, ogres and other creatures that watched over every prisoner with an iron fang or fist, but unknown to them all not even the tightest security could keep out the guest they were about to have.
Screams. The screams of a thousand or more souls were suffering in this prison. Some had gone mad with how long they had been here, others would awake thrashing about in their night terrors wondering what they had done to deserve this only for an ogre to beat his giant club against the bars of that cell and silence the screaming prisoner instantly with a roar that rivalled the Royal voice.
Orthros moved about doing their duty for their brother, the guard of this realm. Making sure that not a prisoner could escape nor a fool would try to aid them once entered.
Many had gone mad in their prison cells. Some cells were rumored amongst the prisoners to see the true horrors of their actions through the eyes of those they had slewn or greatly affected.
Others said it was because of the darkness and emptiness one felt within their prison and how it never seemed to end. How even though you knew others were suffering and begging for this to end, the only thing you could hear in your own cell was silence. And that was it.
If you did hear something, it was because Hades allowed you to. If you didn’t it was because Hades didn’t want you to.
That was what most prisoners believed. At least those that were still alive and weren’t completely insane.
Yet sitting silently in his cage, shackled from the wrists to his hooves was an old, decrepit centaur that every prisoner whether sane or mad knew him for the act that they had never been able to do safely.
Tirek.
Since the first escape, security had doubled and was now four times more strict than usual. Harpies flew above the skies watching every prisoner carefully. If one did anything foolish, a harpy would swoop down fly into the skies and drop him back to the ground where it would appear said prisoner would meet a gruesome end if they were not immortal or had the physical capabilities to survive such a drop.
It was only when they were merely feet away from welcoming true death did a ogre catch them then have them thrown back in prison when allowed to be given the time to roam about under heavy guard.
These were all precautions being made. Hades had seen to it this happened and was intent on making sure no one ever escaped again.
And for that, all that inhabited the realm of Tartarus despised Tirek more so than any creature could on the entire planet.
Murder was not allowed in Tartarus, because the punishment faced would be one worse than death itself. If murder were committed, then it would be done by the guards and Cerberus himself when a prisoner tried to escape.
That was a rule that had been set by the Big Four eons ago. But if death could be delivered despite the consequences, than needless to say Tirek would find himself in an even tighter situation than he already was now.
The cages opened and the voice of a giant boomed loudly within Tartarus past its gates. “You may roam about for a short amount of time, start anything however and you will be punished. Kill anyone and you will be punished, attempt escape” said the giant slowly. “And death is what awaits you. Do what you must at the cost of your own lives, you will not be going anywhere anyway.”
Tirek however did not move, he remained seated in his cell, his shoulders dropped in a relaxing manner, his eyes closed and his breath steady.
What was the point in going out there when he already knew what would happen. The day he had been put back in this hell hole, was the very same day he had been laughed at by every single disgusting creature in this entire vicinity. Hades himself came down from wherever he resided with the sole purpose to simply laugh at him.
So again I ask you, “What’s the point?” Tirek said to one of the orthros trying to get him to come outside.
“Because you idiot” the orthros said with a smile. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Tirek scowled. Surprise. A term usually meant they were going to torture him with the food they received again.
Food was something the prisoners that were immortal, weren’t often given. Mortal prisoners were constantly had the opportunity to eat, but the food they were given was nothing compared to the food the guards were given.
And Tirek was in no mood to be tortured.
Time wasn’t relevant to Tartarus. Everyone here aged according to their own respective times depending on where they came from or based solely off their own biology and how their genomes reacted.
Yet even without having knowledge on the actual time, Tirek still knew how much time had passed.
“Three days” Tirek said.
The orthros raised a brow on either head.
“For three days I’ve waited patiently, yet the deal has yet to be fulfilled. I gave him the information he wanted but here I am still trapped. I knew I should have sucked out the magic from his very essence when I had the chance.” He snarled.
“Tirek” the orthros standing before him said with a frown. “Look at me.”
Tirek rolled his eyes and lifted his head up to stare at the six foot beast before him. The sooner his torture ended, the sooner he could go back to rotting for eternity.
But when Tirek looked up at the orthros, he did not see ember irises that they all possessed. Instead he saw yellow slits staring right at him instead.
It took a second for Tirek to realize who he was staring at or rather who was staring at him. And when it dawned on him the centaur rose from the cold ground he had been sitting on to get a closer look at the orthros, his shackles clanking and rustling with every step.
Both heads watched Tirek approach and when he was close enough, the two headed demi dog smiled revealing all 42 of his sharp teeth. His yellow eyes glinting when Tirek squinted.
“Bill Cipher?” Tirek asked.
One of the heads nodded. The other continued smiling. “The one and only” both heads said.
For a second Tirek said nothing, he merely stared at the form of his ‘comrade’ and then asked the question that had been bugging him. “How did you-”
“I made this guard an offer he couldn’t refuse” Bill explained with a toothy grin. “Now then” he said awkwardly turning around, “let’s get you out of here shall we?”
Tirek stepped out of the coldness that was his cage and into the burning warmth that was Tartarus. “How do you plan on getting me out of here with this guard? We can’t fight our way through here you know that I hope.”
Bill Cipher cackled like a hyena within the orthros body. “Tirek if I’ve learned anything in the past millions of years I’ve lived, it’s to never directly do things yourself” he said with a grin. “It’s to cause trouble and watch what happens from there.”
Then just like that both of the orthros’ eyes flashed white and returned to their natural color. A second later a dragon that had been in Tartarus for the past 400 years made his way through the oncoming crowd and intentionally smacked a unicorn with two smaller horns sticking out on the sides of his head.
The smack was strong enough to knock the unicorn into three other prisoners who had already been riled up from being trapped in their own cells for so long. It was rare to be given the opportunity to leave the confines of their cells, and these four minotaurs had been waiting for something to happen so they could start a fight.
The three horned unicorn smacking into them was the first thing that started it.
Tirek watched as the dark red dragon that had smacked the three horned unicorn into other prisoners flash him a smile. And for a brief second he saw Bill’s eyes replacing the dragon’s.
The orthros guard beside Tirek had been passed out but was now beginning to come too again, Tirek moved away from it. Backing into the shadows as he watched Bill do his job.
Switching from prisoner to prisoner.
The dark red dragon was now being approached by the three horned unicorn who was now scowling at him. From Tirek’s view, Bill no longer had control of the dragon.
More prisoners were passing by and Tirek moved with the flow, doing so he got farther away from his prison and also lost sight of Bill in the process.
In the distance he heard the flap of wings showing the harpies were watching over them, then quite suddenly one harpy descended to the ground approaching a troll that had started something with a manticore.
Tirek moved on, the harpy was moving to stop the fight. Four seconds later, a cyclops, yet another prisoner approached the bickering dragon and the angered three horn unicorn and quite suddenly smacked the both of them.
Harpies descended with piercing cries and the surrounding orthros and ogres watched from the distance. The cyclops merely flicked his wrist and swung an arm, sending most of the harpies aimed at him scattering.
Then suddenly the cyclops spoke, “They were about to start a fight I was just trying to stop them!” He shouted.
The harpies aiming to attack slowed, the other guards did not approach and many prisoners who were still unsure of what was going on watched the unicorn and dragon the cyclops had smacked rise with fifty or so other prisoners the cyclops had knocked over when he moved to knock out the harpies.
All of them were glaring at either the cyclops or each other for somehow causing them to get tangled up in this mess. Some prisoners were still on the ground, and the harpies that had been knocked out of the air crashed into other prisoners breeding even more anger and angst.
Tirek watched all of this silently in interest, the cyclops also had a glowing yellow eye and a slit for a pupil, but the next moment he blinked his eye was normal again.
“Interesting” Tirek stated.
Then quite suddenly he felt a large figure shove him. A large black minotaur, broken right horn, covered in scars that currently towered a majority of the prisoners shoved Tirek aside and several others.
It was brief but Tirek was sure of it when he saw the eyes. Bill was possessing this one also.
The large minotaur punched and shoved, kicked and moved aside every other prisoner beside him and even went as far as kicking the dark red dragon already riled up from recent events squarely in the toe.
Ignoring the shout of pain from the dragon Bill pushed onward in the minotaur’s body, ignoring the calls the dragon was shouting at him to come back.
Finally Bill reached his target. The cyclops he had just possessed.
Everyone in Tartarus watched as Fierce the minotaur Bill currently possessed approached then stopped. The dragon Bill had kicked was still growling angrily, but he didn’t follow after.
Fierce stared at the cyclops currently trying to explain to the other prisoners he had no idea what was going on.
Bill smirked with Fierce’s wicked grin. “Cyclops!” The deep voice of Fierce called.
The cyclops stopped his rebuttals and turned before looking down at the minotaur below. His eye narrowed when he saw who it was. “What do you want Fierce?”
Bill held Fierce’s grin. “I simply wanted to speak to you, please Othelius come down here.”
Othelius paused, but after some thought he conceded. Everyone all except Tirek held their breath as they waited to see what was going to happen.
Now on one knee Othelius stared at Bill with a raised eyebrow. “What do you want?”
“Oh come on” Bill said in a friendly gesture. “You can’t be that far away come closer, I may have a deep voice but you won’t be able to hear me if you’re that far away.”
Once again Othelius’ eye narrowed, but he did inch closer till Bill raised the minotaur’s hand to stop.
“That’s perfect, thank you.” Bill said. “Hey Othelius, I have a question. We’re friends right?”
Othelius scowled. “Hardly, not after you’ve made fun of my eye multiple times with these other scum. Now. What do you want?”
Fierce nodded his head, running a hand through his hair in the process. “I see...I see, so we aren’t friends then yes?”
Othelius’ scowl grew. “What do you want?”
“Well then that will make what I’m about to do much easier.” Using Fierce’s superb strength Bill grabbed Othelius by the scruff of his beard and pulled the cyclops in close before he whispered. “I want a show” he smiled widely, raised Fierce’s fist then delivered when strong punch right in the cyclop’s eye.
The scream that filled Tartarus was by far greater than any other that had ever been uttered as the cyclops leapt back from the minotaur’s grasp. So loud was the yell that many prisoners, guards included had to cover their ears. Some even collapsing, others banging their heads to ignore the ringing that filled their ear lobes.
“MY EYE!” Othelius cried, stumbling backwards with both palms over his face, cradling his weeping eye that burnt like a thousand celestial suns. And as he stumbled Othelius scattered many prisoners, all before landing on his rump with an earth shattering thud that shook the grounds of Tartarus to no end.
Tirek slowly rose from the ground as did many prisoners exposed to the cyclops’ fall.
The sounds of Othelius groaning and moaning in pain was what filled every crevice within the realm and just when Tirek was about to question what in all the gods Bill was doing, he heard a shout cry: “FIGHT!!!”
Chaos ensued.
Tirek dodged and knocked aside those charging him.
Everyone was going insane. Years upon years upon years of anger, shame, torture and guilt had boiled up to this moment.
Battle royale, the brawl of all brawls. And he was stuck in it.
Quite suddenly he felt something grab him from behind and lift him off the ground. The centaur prepared himself to strike down the harpy carrying him but he stopped when she tilted her body and craned her neck forward before looking down at him, with Bill Cipher’s eyes.
“Enjoying the trouble I brewed?” Bill asked cheerfully.
Tirek looked back down at the battle below. Ogres and other harpies were joining with the orthros and others to try and stop this battle. But the prisoners were too riled up to quench these flames.
A slightly disturbed yet impressed look crossed Tirek’s face. “I am...surprised. I did not think you could possess so many in such a short time. If you could do that then why didn’t you release me sooner?” He asked with a hint of anger.
Bill grinned. “Let’s just say certain conditions need to be met. Speaking of conditions” Bill stopped just inches away from a jet of fire another dragon had sent in his direction.
“Right now, hey Tirek one question. Do you trust me?” Bill asked as he picked up altitude.
“I have no choice since I’m dangling thousands of feet from death right?” Tirek said casually.
“Good, hold on tight then” Bill said.
Then in a flash the harpy closed her eyes and Bill was no longer in control. Both harpy and Tirek plummeted and as they did so Tirek could still hear the groans of Othelius as the raging battle ensued.
Instantly Othelius’ groans ceased. He rose in a sitting position, several prisoners stopping their fights to look at him, a hand lifted from his teary eye, a vein on his temple pulsed, his teeth clenched then all of a sudden he opened his slightly puffy eye and a ray of concentrated energy shot out of it straight towards Tartarus gates.
The beam came right at Tirek and just when he thought he was about to die.
The unconscious harpy awakened grabbed him and took off out of the beams range. He looked up and saw Bill looking at him, and the beam that had pierced the gate slowly fading.
Tirek had to say. He was impressed with Bill’s power.
The two took off towards the hole but stopped when the gates opened.
Cerberus stepped in and saw all the chaos. All three heads growled ferally as he watched chaos ensue and in an instant he was in the battle trying to end all this chaos, barking orders to his servants as he ripped away prisoner from prisoner.
As this was going on Bill and Tirek returned from their hiding spot and quickly flew through the opening just in time as the gates closed and the hole sealed itself.
The gates of Tartarus shut with a loud thud. And with it all chaos and Cerberus’ angered shouts silenced.
On the other side Bill and Tirek.
Bill lowered Tirek slowly to the ground, then landed beside him still in the harpy’s body.
For a moment it took a second for Tirek to realize he was outside again. Everything had happened so quickly, but a small breeze that passed him by and played with his hair and made his shackles jingle told him that the plan had worked.
He was free.
Bill still in the harpy’s body smiled at Tirek and said “Now then, our deal is complete” he lifted a talon and slashed through the chains and shackles binding his ‘partner’.
“Yes...our deal” Tirek said rubbing his wrists. “Speaking of deals, Bill, would you like to make another one?”
The harpy’s brows raised in confusion. “Go on.”
“With your powers and my knowledge of this world. I can finally do what I’ve been trying to do for so long. Lay waste to Equestria. I can finally have my revenge for what happened all those years back when my own flesh betrayed me. By ruining the lives of the ones that took him from me. I don’t usually make deals but with what I saw back there” Tirek smiled proudly at the being. “I’d be honored if you worked with me.”
Bill said nothing, he did however raise a wing and begin feeling the body of this new form much to Tirek’s confusion and slight discomfort.
“Hmm well it’s tempting... buuuuuuut the answer is no.” Bill stated. “From what I’ve seen in the past you could betray me.”
“But then again there’s a chance I won’t Tirek” said still smiling.
Bill chuckled. Everything turned gray, time froze and he left the harpy’s body. “I like you, you’ve got spunk. But once again, my answer is no. I’ve got plans Tirek, big plans. One of them involves torturing a friend of mine I haven’t seen in quite some time and making sure he stays the way he is now. So I gave you your freedom, take it, use it. DO whatever you want. I’ll have my eye on you though when things get crazy in the meantime.”
Tirek’s smile faded as he watched Bill go back into the harpy’s body. “I see. Well then this is where we part ways” Tirek said offering his hand in a friendly gesture.
Bill looked at, smiled sweetly with the harpy’s face then shook Tirek’s hand. But the centaur didn’t let go.
“Oh Bill” Tirek said with a smile. “There’s no way I’d ever let a being of your power, ever leave without letting me have a taste of what you can offer me. If you’d taken my offer, you’d have lasted much longer, but” he shrugged. “Oh well.”
Opening his mouth Tirek began sucking in magic. Bill stood there with a horrified look on the harpy’s face as ‘his’ magic began getting sucked out of him for a good few minutes before he finally collapsed.
When Tirek was done he grew about three inches in size and his appearance changed. The harpy layed on the ground with Bill looking weak.
Tirek grinned, but a few seconds later he stared confused. “This doesn’t feel right.” He muttered.
Bill’s laughter filled his ears. “Of course it doesn’t you idiot. You can’t suck out my magic you numbskull” Bill stated leaving the now weak looking harpy. “I’m just a ghost, and besides my magic is unsuckable! So I appreciate the offer, but I have to tell ya nice try. In the meantime I’ll be watching and waiting for you to screw up and get sent back here again” Bill stated with another chuckle.
“So suck on that horse boy! BOOM!” He clapped his hands and in a burst of white light he was gone.
Time resumed its pace, birds chirped and Tirek stared at the unconscious harpy on the ground whose magic he had drained. The gates of Tartarus rumbled with a roar and Tirek realized he was still in danger.
The centaur galloped off into the distance away from Tartarus, away from his prison.
He was finally free, and it was time he went straight to the source of his problems.
The Tree of Harmony.