It doesn't matter how many times you come here to try to "redeem" me. My answer is the same. Go and tell my dear brother that his pleas are worthless to me. There is no going back after what he did, and I will never, ever forgive him.
...No, I shall not. You will not persuade me. He betrayed me. He betrayed his own brother. How could he do such a thing, and then expect things to ever be the same between us? There is no bond more sacred than family. I thought he knew this. I would sooner see him burn than forgive such an act. That traitor is dead to me.
What? What did you just say? Come closer. Come over to this cage, and say that to me again. Look me in the eye this time.
You do not dare compare me with him! I am no traitor. You are the traitors. You, your little ponies, your wretched snake, all of you! You dare stand there, call me a traitor? For Discord? When he himself betrayed you? Abandoned his friendships with you for the likes of me?
Feh. None of you understand. I am the only one here that prizes loyalty. I am the only loyal creature left. I would have died for my brother. I would've have laid my life down for him a thousand times over! That is loyalty! That is family! ...But nobody else but me cares... Family... loyalty... it all meant nothing to Scorpan. As soon as he saw something better, he stuck a knife in my back and left me.
...Why? What do you mean why? I did not betray Discord. Discord was a traitor. You can't betray a traitor. What I did was not betrayal. It was karma. That vermin deserved his fate. In fact, he deserved far worse. That I didn't crush him under my hoof and smear his remains over the grass is testament to my mercy. He should think himself lucky. Had it been me he betrayed, I would've shown none.
...It is far from hypocritical. It is the truth. It is the way the world is.
No, you can't. You can't betray a traitor, because there is no loyalty there in the first place. I despise traitors. What I did was not a betrayal.
It's true. I have no respect for Discord's decision to become your personal housepet, forsaking his true self for your weak-minded, disgustingly saccharine notions. He was a conqueror. He was a king! A fallen king, and a king of a broken nation who ruled for no reason, certainly. But he had power! I respect power, and I respected him. So I do find it disgusting what you did to him. What you turned him into. He did betray himself to make you all happy, and he's doing it again by going back to you. One day, you might regret forcing him to do that, because this won't be the last time he lashes out like this. Once a turncoat, always a turncoat.
But I lied in Canterlot when I said that that he only betrayed himself. Because he did betray you as well. I know. I was the one who tempted him. You might not think that I'd care about something like that, but I do. While I might not have respected what he became, I could've still respected his loyalty, if only he'd shown any. If he had ignored my poisonous words and stayed true to those he pledged himself towards, I would've gone back to prison with a higher opinion of Discord.
Instead, he sold you out. He turned against those he once considered his friends, and I watched him do it. I knew from the moment he agreed that he wasn't worth my time. I could never trust him. I could never call him a friend, because I knew then what he does to his friends. He's just like everyone else. Sooner or later, he'd stab me in the back in favour of somebody new. If my own brother could do it, anybody could. Discord especially.
That is my tragedy, princess. I am the only one left who puts any value on loyalty. But I am alone in this world and have nobody left to be loyal to. I would've been honoured to call Discord my friend if I had met him in his prime... Instead, I met the weasel wearing that old legend's skin who aligned himself with your pitiful lot. If he had remained loyal, he would've arrested me, and I would be alone. If he betrayed you for me, as he did, it would've helped propel me back into power, but I still would've been alone in the end. And here I am now.
Scorpan did this. He is the reason I am alone in the world. He is the reason I can never trust again. He's the reason I can never call anybody a friend again. Because I'm on my own in a world of traitors, and if there is anybody left who cares about loyalty, then they're not on my side.
Do you see now, princess? Do you see why I can't forgive him? Why I can't ever?
...Leave me. Just leave me alone. I don't want your pity or your platitudes about "friendship" and "forgiveness." I hate you. For what you did. For what you took from me. For what you all have that I never will. Go away and let me rot in peace. Give me another few centuries, and maybe I'll finally die and this nightmare will end. That's all I really have left to hope for.
And another thing?
Stop visiting me. Stop coming here every year. Stop offering second chances. And especially stop bringing me messages from him. I don't care anymore, princess, and I want you to tell him that I don't care. I want you to tell him to give up on me, and then I want you to give up as well.
I am damned. Now leave, and let me reign in Hell.
Author's Note
This story is a part of the Borderworld.
Probably my shortest story to date, and the quickest to write as well, clocking in at about half an hour's work, including editing. Partially done for self-challenge. I wanted to see how quickly I could write a story, so I decided to do a oneshot monologue based on my interpretation of Tirek's character. I don't think there's been enough stories about Tirek, and I think there's a lot more to him than writers have bothered to explore. Hopefully, this shows some of the potential I see in him.
