Tirek lay motionless inside his cage. After all this time, he had only the faintest bit of energy left. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t open his eyes, so he couldn’t even look around at his bleak surroundings. He could still hear fine, but what is there to hear in the depths of Tartarus, other than the grunts and roars of that damnable dog that keeps them imprisoned here? All he could do was think. Think and remember about the events that brought him back here, over and over again, non-stop, forever.
How long had it been since he had been defeated by that tiny alicorn and her friends? One hundred years? Two hundred years? A thousand years? It had been so long that he had completely forgotten. Being stuck down here for so long, with nothing to do but dwell on his failures. It was maddening, even for him.
After all this time, he still could not comprehend how he had lost to those little ponies. He had taken all of their magic, and he had all of the magic in Equestria; from the unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, and even the alicorns. He had taken it all and left them with nothing. But even still, he had somehow been overpowered almost too easily and sent back here to this detestable prison without any resistance, to rot for all eternity.
How could this have happened? Surely there can’t actually be any real power in something like friendship. It can’t actually be turned into real energy. And it certainly couldn’t be greater than his own power. However, as ridiculous as it sounded, and how much he didn’t want to believe it, he couldn’t deny what had happened. He had taken all of their magic and they had still defeated him.
How?
Using what little energy he still had, he opened his left eye a crack, and beneath his hood, just outside the border of his cage, he saw the same sight that he had been forced to watch over and over again ever since he came back here. Just down the steps from where his prison cell was situated, that damned dog continued to walk back and forth, keeping a close eye on all of the prisoners, making sure that none of them got out.
There was nothing Tirek could do to change his fate. At this point in his imprisonment, without magic to steal from other ponies, he couldn’t do anything but lie here. Since he didn’t have the energy to do anything else, he simply closed his eye shut again and tried to find some escape from his prison or the memories that still haunted him; even if it was only in sleep.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Tirek’s eyes suddenly shot open as he heard three loud noises that he had never heard before. They were then followed by a loud roar from his warden, which he had become all too familiar with by now.
He couldn’t see what was happening from here. He simply lay down, sprawled out in his cage, without the energy to pick himself up. His black cloak covered his body and his hood obscured his vision.
However, he could still hear clearly what was happening below. There were more of those strange sounds; some were more spaced out, while others came out in a continuous burst. There were also more roars from Cerberus; from all three heads. There was also a lot of crashing noises as the dog kept moving from side to side, presumably dodging attacks, perhaps from what was producing those strange, clambering, metallic noises, or to attack the enemies himself.
Tirek continued to listen closely, trying to figure out what was happening below and why now.
“What the hell is that thing?” Came a voice that he had never heard before. It sounded like a pony, but how was that possible? There were no ponies in Tartarus, and the prison itself was nigh impenetrable. Had some ponies actually managed to break in? Have things changed on the outside since he had last been locked away?
“I don’t know,” responded another voice from below. “Just keep shooting. We’re wearing it down. It can’t hold out against us much longer.”
As Tirek continued listening to the fight that was going on, he continued to hear more of those strange sounds, followed by more of that dog’s roars. It sounded like it was in pain. This was enough to restore enough of his energy to smile. That dog was part of what had kept him prisoner here for what felt like an eternity. If it wasn’t for him, he would have easily been able to escape long ago, but after all this time that opportunity had long since passed. Even if Cerberus were to leave now, after all this time, he didn’t have the energy to escape anymore. It was all he could do now to just grin sadistically. He simply didn’t have the strength to do anything else anymore.
As the fight continued, he heard more of those strange noises and more roars. He also started to hear a soft, squelching sound. It sounded kind of like a rock had been hurdled at a pony at high speed, fast enough to break the skin. He then heard the unmistakable sound of trickling blood, just as the dog’s roars became softer and more pain filled.
After a final volley of strange sounds, there was then a loud, deafening crash against the stone floor, and for the first time since he had come back here, the dog’s roaring ceased.
As Tirek attempted to mentally piece together everything that had just happened, he then heard the clopping of hooves on the steps leading up to his cage. As the seconds passed, they got louder and louder.
“What’s that?” One of the voices from earlier asked. The voice sounded like it was coming from just outside his cage.
“I don’t know. Go and check it out,” responded a new voice. This one sounded female.
Tirek then heard the hoofsteps start up again as the owner of them approached his cell. There was then a sudden flood of light, or whatever passed for light in Tartarus, in his vision as someone lifted the hood from his face.
The first change in the amount of light in his vision for the first time in who knows how long caused Tirek to squint his eyes shut tight for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a pony staring back at him. It was a unicorn stallion, with a grey coat and grey mane. He also had a large scar all the way down the side of his face. He wore a strange device strapped to his side, and his cutie mark was of a tornado.
The unicorn had a scowling expression on his face, but Tirek saw him almost immediately switch to a look of disgust after he had opened his eyes again. “Eeeuuugghhh, what the hell is this thing? It’s so old and dried up and it doesn’t even look like a pony.” He then turned his head back around to look at his associates.
Tirek simply stared back at the first pony he had seen since that rainbowfied purple alicorn that sent him here. Then, instinctively, his eyes started to glow and a ball of energy formed between his two, stubby horns.
The unicorn stallion suddenly felt strange and he quickly turned back around to face this thing in front of him. Suddenly, his horn lit up in a brown aura, and his eyes started glowing too. A stream of energy then started pouring out of his horn and started moving towards Tirek.
“Hey, what the hell is happening?” One of the ponies to the side called out. However, Tirek didn’t pay any attention to him. Tirek then opened his mouth as the stream of energy from the unicorn stallion then flowed into his mouth, and Tirek felt energy flow through him for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
His mind then wandered back to that purple alicorn princess, and he gripped his fist tightly in anger. His anger felt good, and he now had the energy to properly express it. He then sucked harder and drained the unicorn of the last ounce of his magic.
When he was finished, the stream of energy between him and the unicorn stallion dissipated, as the last of the unicorn’s magic was transferred to him. The unicorn’s eyes stopped glowing, but they were now grey and colourless, instead of their prior red, and his cutie mark had vanished. His body then fell over to the side, completely limp, his hoof falling away from Tirek’s hood.
With the unicorn stallion no longer holding it up, Tirek’s hood fell back down, obscuring his vision once again.
“Wh-what just happened?” A pony to the side of the cage stammered out. He then unhitched something from his side and cocked it.
A smile crept on to Tirek’s lips as he felt the strength to stand for the first time in he couldn’t remember how long. Chuckling softly to himself, he slowly stood back up on his four hooves, using his hands to steady himself as he rose back on to his feet. When he was standing up fully, he reached up his hands and pulled back his hood.
Suddenly, the landscape around him came completely into view. His cage was at the top of a small mountain plateau. There were other spiky mountaintops, holding other prison cells for as far as the eye could see. The whole area was incredibly dark, but compared to the darkness that he had faced for what was definitely at least a hundred years, he felt as if he were watching Celestia raise the Sun over the horizon, from atop a cliff, overlooking the ocean.
He then turned his head to the side, and he saw two ponies, both of whom were unicorns, a mare and a stallion, staring back at him. The stallion was levitating something between them. It looked like a long, narrow piece of metal, with a small hole at the tip of it, which was being pointed directly at him.
“Hey, wh-what are you? And what did you just do to him?” The unicorn levitating the strange contraption asked him. The mare standing next to him simply stared back at Tirek, with a blank expression on her face.
Tirek simply narrowed his eyes at them and then turned his body fully around to face them. For thirty seconds, the three of them simply stared back at each other in silence.
The unicorn stallion suddenly grunted in irritation and levitated the strange device closer to the centaur. “H-hey,” he responded in an angry and annoyed tone, but still stammered and sounded a bit off.
In response to this, Tirek simply smirked devilishly and then opened his mouth wide, and a ball of energy formed in between his horns again.
The unicorn stallion tensed up at the sight of this and narrowed his eyes in response, but almost immediately felt himself grow weaker. As his telekinetic grip on his weapon wavered, he quickly pulled the trigger. However, because he had lost his concentration for a split second, his weapon dipped and his shot merely grazed the bottom of the cage. His weapon then dropped from his hold completely and fell to the ground in a loud clang.
The mare next to him staggered and swayed because of the shock of what she was seeing. The stallion’s horn and eyes then started glowing, and a stream of energy came out of his horn. Tirek opened his mouth wide as the magic passed to him. After only five seconds, the stream of energy between them ceased and the unicorn fell over, just like the other one.
With that over with, Tirek then turned to face the unicorn mare. Regaining her footing, she quickly reached back into her saddlebag and pulled out a small object that looked sort of like a metallic apple. However, before she could bring it back around, Tirek opened his mouth wide again and proceeded to suck out her magic as well.
The mare quickly brought the strange apple-like object around towards her, but when Tirek began draining her of her magic, she suddenly lost all feeling in her hooves, and the small object dropped to the floor with a small, metallic clink.
Tirek clutched his fists together in front of his face, triumphantly, as a smile crept on to his already opened mouth. After another five seconds, the energy transfer between them ended, and the unicorn mare simply collapsed, just like the two stallions that preceded her.
When Tirek was all alone once again, he simply stood there in his cage, as he grew ever so slightly taller from the magic he had drained from the unicorns. He then started softly laughing triumphantly to himself, his volume gradually growing louder as he clenched his fists and threw his head skyward.
He was still feeling very old and weak, still feeling no stronger than when he first ran into Discord, but still, he felt stronger than he had in centuries. He could stand up, he could speak, he could smile, he could laugh, he could clench his fists, and he could drain energy. They were all tiny, insignificant things that he always took for granted, but he hadn’t been able to do even any of that for so long. Sometimes you don’t appreciate what you don’t have until you have it.
For all that time, all he could do was lie down, unable to move and unable to do anything but dwell on his failures, reliving the same moment over and over again in his mind, of him being defeated by that blasted purple alicorn; but no longer. He had the strength to change that now, and that annoying dog couldn’t stop him this time. He oh so loved it whenever that mangy mutt was gone.
Tirek finally stopped laughing triumphantly and faced forward again. He then charged a ball of energy between his horns and fired it at the cage bars right in front of him.
There was a loud explosion and smoke scattered everywhere. When the smoke cleared, there was a large hole in the side of the cage. Tirek simply stepped out of the cage, walking passed the bodies of the three ponies that had provided the means for his escape, and made his way over towards the stairs leading down towards the exit.
Tirek slowly walked down the stairs, step by step, the only sound in the area coming from his hooves as they clanked against the hard rock of the stairs beneath him, one step at a time.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stepped out on to a large flat surface. Just to his left, beneath his hooves, was the body of another pony. This one was an earth pony. He had several deep indentations all over his torso, which looked like bite marks, which ran deep enough to draw blood. By the looks of things, Cerberus had bitten down on him tightly enough to squash several of his internal organs. He likely died instantly.
With a stoic expression on his face, Tirek simply looked back up and away from this pony. To his right, several feet away from him, lay the body of the beast that had tormented him throughout his imprisonment. The big, black, three-headed dog lay sprawled out on its side, with its limbs hanging limply from its body. Multiple small, bloody holes littered its body, and one of its heads was missing. The two heads that were still attached lay completely still, with their eyes closed. The spot between them was simply a red, gory hole, with a black, spiked collar just beneath it.
Staring at the body of one of the banes of his existence, Tirek knew that it was dead. He was positively giddy with excitement, but for some reason, he couldn’t show it. He simply stared blankly at the beasts’ dead body.
After just standing there for about a minute, Tirek faced forward and started walking along again, but then he suddenly felt something brush against his hoof. He looked down and he saw the dog’s middle head that had been blown off during the fight. Unlike the other heads, this one still had its eyes open, and they were both staring back at him, unblinking.
As Tirek stared back into the eyes of the severed head of the dead dog that had kept him imprisoned here, suddenly all of the anger that he had felt came rushing back. His anger towards this dog for keeping him here all this time. His anger towards his brother for betraying him to those ponies. His anger towards Discord for interfering with his plans. His anger towards Celestia and the other alicorns for withholding what should have been rightfully his. But most of all, he felt the anger he had for that little, purple alicorn that had ruined everything.
He had won. He had taken all of her magic and left her with nothing, but she had still defeated him. She had cheated him out of his victory. She was the true bane of his existence. Compared to her, even this dog was nothing.
He then clenched his fists hard, narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth and snarled in anger. The anger radiated from him like a power source. He slowly started growing bigger and musclier just from the anger that he was exuding.
In his anger, he then raised his hoof up and brought it down hard on the head in front of him. The head popped like a balloon beneath his hoof. Tirek just tilted his head down, staring at his handy work. He was seeing red. In his mind, the head that he had squashed belonged not to that dog, but to the purple alicorn he so despised. It was enough to bring a smile to his face.
Tirek realised in that moment what his greatest strength would be: anger. It was his anger that gave him strength. It was his hatred for Twilight Sparkle that kept him alive in captivity all this time, just imagining how he would repay her for what she had done to him. It was his anger that allowed him to easily steal the magic of the ponies around him to regain the strength he needed to break out. It was his anger that showed him his reason to break out of here; what he would do with his life once he was free. He would dedicate the rest of his life to hunting that little pony that was the source of all his anger.
Even if she defeated him again, her kind heart would keep her from finishing him, and would just send him back here again. That’s just the way she was. Unwillingness to kill is the biggest weakness of the pony race, always thinking that they can just lock their problems away. It always ultimately backfires on them in the end, but they still refuse to compromise their beliefs that no one should be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. He, however, was not bound by such morality.
Even after everything that he had done to her and her friends, he knew that she never intended to kill him; seal him away at the most. But he had no such reserves. He fully intended to kill her for all the suffering that she placed upon him. He would kill her, that much was certain, but not before making her suffer; slowly, intimately, in the cruellest way possible.
Even if she were to somehow defeat him again, his anger would keep him alive until he broke out again. Even if he had to wait another thousand years. Even if he had to try another million times, he would just keep coming after her again and again until she was defeated.
He would hunt her. He would hunt her children. He would hunt her children’s children. He will continue hunting her descendants until there was not even the slightest trace or memory of that pony left. The anger that he felt towards her knew no bounds.
The cycle of hatred would continue on forever until one of them was gone for good.
She had the so called ‘Magic of Friendship’ but he had anger. It was his anger that gave him strength, and it is through that that would lead him to victory. He just knew it. He would not allow himself to be defeated by something as insipid as Friendship.
With a clear plan in motion and a wicked grin on his face, Tirek started walking again, towards the partially opened gates of Tartarus. The huge gates had been forced open a crack, just large enough for a pony to squeeze through. When he stood before the gate, he pressed his hands up against the large doors, and with almost no trouble at all with his anger-enhanced strength, he pushed hard and threw the gates wide.
With the huge gates open wide, real light poured into Tartarus for the first time in centuries. The Sun’s light pouring on to his face held no warmth for Tirek or his darkened heart. He simply stared out at the land he so despised, with a cold look of indifference on his face.
With the way out clear and a goal set in his heart, he stepped out into the Equestria that awaited him beyond.
When he stepped outside, he was greeted by the familiar barren wasteland of the Badlands. The dry earth cracked and split beneath his hooves as he took his first steps outside and made his way along.
He had been locked away for a long time, but to him that just meant that he had a lot to make up for.
With a wicked grin on his face, a goal in his mind, and anger burning fiercely in his heart, he set off on his mission.
Some people never change.
