Madness for Power

by Azure129

Rating: teen
Tags: Tirek, Tragedy, Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad
Length: 5699

Young Prince Tirek ponders his great destiny following Sendak's imprisonment while his brother Scorpan listens fearfully...and while Discord grows intrigued. Later, after Scorpan's betrayal, Tirek lies in Tartarus, betrayed and going mad for power.

Part of a series of companion fics to each of the "Fiendship is Magic" comics.
Fiendship is Magic #1 Fanfic (Sombra) : Sombra Omega
Fiendship is Magic #3 Fanfic (Sirens) : Music Wars
Fiendship is Magic #4 Fanfic (Nightmare Moon) : For the Love of a Nightmare
Fiendship is Magic #5 Fanfic (Chrysalis) : The Need for Change

King Vorak may think his punishment of Tirek and imprisonment of Sendak is the end of his son's dark pursuits...but Tirek realizes that his first experience with Equestrian magic is only the beginning. As Scorpan tries to understand his brother, he watches as something darker and more disturbing than he has ever seen before in Tirek starts to take shape. And Scorpan grows worried...especially when Discord pays the young princes a visit and seems even more interested in Equestria than Tirek is. The younger brother can only hope that love will quell Tirek's mad quest for power one day before it is too late.

Many years later, Scorpan, having befriended a young unicorn wizard, makes the most difficult decision of his life...a decision which banishes his best friend to Tartarus.

And, alone in Tartarus, Tirek contemplates where he went wrong in his quest for power, and the significance of the betrayal that has come upon him.

"The pain you're in right now is not what it seems. Haunted by the memories. Moments of hope aren't what they used to be. They're only reflections of a dream."
~Aviators, "Reflections of a Dream, Part 2 (Finally Home Mix)"
Aviators Bandcamp

Published 2015-04-12 19:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-04-12 19:50:02 UTC

Madness for Power

Author's Note

Anyone else really, really struck by that random Discord cameo on page 22 of this comic? As this fic will show, I clearly was lol. I hope you guys like this second installment in my Fiendship is Magic companion fic series.

Next week--The Dazzlings. :pinkiecrazy:

Madness for Power

“Scorpan, you don’t have to stay in here with me. You’re free to roam around the safety of the castle and the grounds to your heart’s content while Father is gone, remember? He doesn’t hate you.” Tirek sighed as he stood gazing out of the bedroom window with an angry glare.

Scorpan just did his best to smile encouragingly at his brother. “But I don’t want to roam around, brother. I want to stay here with you. Thank you for letting me into the room finally. And father doesn’t hate you, Tirek, really.” Scorpan had to frown just a little as he flew close to Tirek. “Tirek, I wish you would talk to him more. He just wants you to be happy. He doesn’t want you to end up like Sendak.”

“Sendak had more than happiness!” Tirek snapped with a sharp sigh though his nose as he turned to Scorpan. “He had power, true power!” Tirek glared back out the window again, looking over the kingdom below. “I did not ask to be born with a great gift for magic, yet I am punished for my gift and for pursuing it. Sendak has the same gift, but he was a fool. He thought too small. I could become so great…so much greater than father could ever imagine. I was born to do more than just inherit a throne.”

Scorpan frowned all the more. He didn’t like when Tirek would talk like this. It frightened him… He tired not to let his concern show though, or he knew Tirek would accuse him of being a child and just as sensitive as mother. But still, he had to say something at least. “Tirek…what’s so bad about just being king of our land?” He smiled a little. “It’s a great honor. And it’s an honor you deserve.”

Tirek, however, just shook his head. “I deserve more than that, Scorpan. And father doesn’t deserve to have someone as powerful and gifted as me for an heir.” He looked down a little. “It would be better if I abandoned my claim to the throne now and went out on my own as Sendak did. Father will never want to pass the crown onto me, and besides I have much bigger plans to see to.”

Scorpan landed, frowning completely and looking up at his brother. “You’d abandon your place as prince? Right now? But…what would I do without you, Tirek? Mother and father do need you…and I need you too.”

For just a moment, Tirek looked away from the vast reaches of their land back to the soft, gentle face of his brother. And for just a moment he smiled a little. “And that need for me is why you will never have the conviction necessary to be a king. And that need for me is also why you are my only friend and the only one I trust, Scorpan.”

The tenderness from his brother was nice—it reminded Scorpan of Tirek in their early youth. Yet still, there was something underlying everything his brother said and did these days that troubled him. “I trust you too, Tirek.” Scorpan summed up his conviction and courage to say the words, and he smiled as he added, “And I’m sure everything will be okay one day. I know that something good will come.”

Something a touch dull returned to Tirek’s gaze, and he sighed and then opened his mouth to speak again when suddenly…

KNOCK KNOCK

“Master Tirek?” A guard opened the door and firmly addressed the young prince.

Tirek turned away from Scorpan to address the guard. “Yes?”

“You have another visitor,” the guard explained.

“Another visitor?” Tirek raised an eyebrow. ‘Certainly not mother, not after all of that disappointment in her eyes.’ “Who?”

“Discord, your highness.”

“Discord…” Tirek’s eyes went a little wide.

Scorpan frowned, and he flew up to over in the air at his brother’s height level again. “Tirek, I’m not sure if you should be seeing guests right—”

“Send him in,” Tirek commanded with a nod of his head to the guard.

The guard nodded in return and then slipped out of the doorway. A moment later the door was pushed open entirely…and Discord entered.

The being of chaos lowered his hood and looked to the two young princes. “Your highnesses.” He gave them a slight bow.

“Master Discord…” the princes said in unison, giving a slight bow of their heads to him in return.

The door closed, leaving the three beings in privacy.

“Discord,” Tirek started, crossing his arms over his chest and lowering his legs to recline on his bed of throw pillows, “If you need some sort of assistance that requires royal help, I’m afraid I’m not the best person to ask at the moment. I’m confined to my room like a child, and either way I don’t exactly have the ear of the King and Queen anymore. Scorpan might be able to assist you though—he’s always been beloved by all.” He gave a quick gesture with his head over to his brother.

Scorpan blinked and shrugged humbly. “Well, I don’t know about that.” He looked to the being of chaos and smiled a little. “But if you do need any help with anything, Discord, I’ll be happy to assist you where my bother cannot.”

Discord smiled a little, approaching and then snapping away his cloak and flying up to lie on his stomach in the air. “No, no help necessary, thank you. Actually, I just wanted to tell Prince Tirek that I found his little performance in the throne room very intriguing.” Discord raised an eyebrow, looking down upon the eldest prince. “What did happen last night to cause such an explosion at Sendak’s? He won’t say a word about it…or so I’m told.” His eyes narrowed a little in interest.

Tirek frowned and scowled, looking down. “Nothing happened. Nothing at all. A mistake. It won’t happen again.”

“So you were indeed there then?” Discord’s grin grew on one side. “Or at the very least you know what Sendak was up to with bringing a pony from Equestria here…”

“And so what if I do know?” Tirek challenged coldly, glancing up at the draconequus.

Scorpan moved back a little and just looked on uneasily. Master Discord had always made him nervous with his strange magic. Yet, he and Tirek usually got along well enough since they were both magically gifted beings…though right now was proving to be an exception. But, regardless, there was something about Discord that Scorpan did not trust, and right now things were already so bad with Tirek and his parents and the state of the kingdom that he just wished the chaos creature would leave before he possibly made matters worse.

Discord, meanwhile, lowered himself in the air a bit more and glared down at Tirek. “Well, if you do know Sendak’s intentions, then you have a very valuable piece of information. Oh, I’m sure that unicorn your father’s escorting back to Equestria will tell him his impressions of Sendak’s actions, but only you really know the grand design behind it all. But if you’re keeping it all to yourself, then the real question is not what Sendak was doing…it’s what you’re planning to do with what you’ve found out from Sendak.”

For a moment there was a silent stalemate between Discord and Tirek.

“What, did father send you to spy on me?” Tirek finally asked, his voice ice.

Discord waved him off. “Please, of course not. I have better things to do than to play reverse psychology games with teenagers.” He twisted in the air, flying around lazily in circles around the two princes. “No, no, I’m just curious myself. You see, you’ve been behaving a little chaotically, and that intrigues me.” As he floated, he snapped his fingers a few times, making a flock of vultures outside the window fly upside down and then making some strange blue and pink clouds appear in the air outside (he still hadn’t decided on the best flavor for his cotton candy yet) and then making a glass of some chocolaty-looking substance appear in his paw which he consumed in one swallow (glass and all). “And you’ve caused a problem with Equestria,” he added to Tirek, letting his head hang down to observe the prince upside down, “that intrigues me as well.”

Tirek’s eyes carefully followed Discord’s movements, never once being distracted by the chaos outside. “My chaotic behavior interesting you I can understand, Discord. But why would anything about Equestria interest you? You have no business there.”

“My business is beyond the scope of this conversation, and I keep such business to myself, thank you very much,’ Discord replied, his playful grin becoming a dark scowl as he turned in the air to stop his circling and look right side up at Tirek again. “And you might possibly be disturbing that business.” He lowered himself to Tirek’s eye level. “Your father may want to keep ignoring the problem and your mother may not have the heart to talk to you herself, but as an old member of this court I will say it for everyone else. When you push dark magic too far, bad things can happen to you Tirek—and you are pushing dark magic too far.”

“Equestria and its ponies are a valuable resource,” Tirek countered coldly.

“I don’t disagree with that assessment of the situation,” Discord countered in return. “But you’re missing the point—your father was right. Celestia could have declared war. You’re underestimating the power of these ponies and especially the two sisters. You could easily never be strong enough to defeat them. At the very least, you’re not strong enough yet. My point is, if you want to brood and rebel and pout around here, fine, I don’t care and I’m sure no one else does either. But watch yourself in other lands where there could be consequences beyond your control.”

Tirek glared back at him defiantly, rising to stand on his four hooves and look down at the draconequus just for a moment. “At least my way of using magic isn’t to play silly jokes and make absurd changes and turn myself into a clown.”

Discord landed. And Discord glared darkly down at the prince. His voice was ice. “I am no clown. I guarantee you that.” He leaned down closer, his voice lowering. “And if there’s one kind of magic you’d never be able to handle, prince, it’s chaos.” Discord snapped his fingers.

Suddenly the pillars of the room were giant springs and Tirek’s throw pillows were a pile of giant mushrooms, and the floor had become a pink and blue checkerboard, and in the air pastel colored balloons with scary faces floated. Then the room grew dim save for the occasional flash of different colored lights while off-key circus music played as Discord stood in the center of it all, his face painted like a clown…but the firm expression on that face suggesting something even scarier than his balloons—a being never to be trifled with.

“Oh no!” Scorpan gulped and shot up into the air, flying up and glancing around. “Discord, please stop this! This has to get fixed! If mother and father find out, they’ll be furious!” Scorpan glanced in Discord’s direction but then looked away with a shiver. There was something so angry in the being of chaos sometimes, and it could make him almost as uneasy as Tirek’s ravings could.

“Discord, enough!” Tirek boomed in a commanding tone, holding up one of his hands, not flinching at all despite Discord’s display. “By order of the Prince of the Royal House.”

Discord glared darkly down at Tirek, but finally nodded once and snapped everything back to normal again.

Tirek observed Discord very closely for a moment. Then a thought occurred to him. “You really are one of my father’s most powerful magical allies….”

“I’m one of the most powerful magical members of his court. But I always think it’s best if I work alone,” Discord corrected. Then he observed Tirek very closely for a moment. “You were taking some of the pony magic, weren’t you?” He grinned. “Or at least, you were trying to. Not as easy as it looks, is it?”

Scorpan swallowed, flying down low near the throw pillows (and now trying to keep his distance from Discord.) “Brother…what is he talking about?”

“Enough!” Tirek ignored Scorpan and continued to stare down Discord. “Discord, let me make something perfectly clear to you. To rule is my birthright, and to rule I require power. And I will do anything to find, take, and keep that power. I will not be confined. And I am capable of more than you realize—I can feel it.” He moved closer, lowering his voice so that only Discord could hear. His tone was perfectly calm. “And if a bunch of ponies have to suffer for my greatness, then let the suffering begin.”

There was a moment of quiet in which Discord and Tirek’s gazes met and something was communicated. Then Discord pulled back slightly and cleared his throat. “Yes, well…I believe I’ve gotten everything I came for out of this conversation. It’s been a most enlightening meeting, Prince Tirek.” He gave a slight bow of his head to Tirek. Then he snapped his fingers, making his cloak reappear. “But I think I’ll take my leave now.” Discord turned to Scorpan and gave him a nod as well. “Prince Scorpan, thank you for your company as well. It has also proved very…interesting.” He glanced from one brother to the other, his smile picking up a little on one side. “Farewell.” Discord donned his hood again and then snapped his fingers, disappearing from the room.

Tirek just watched the spot where Discord had been with a curious glare. Scorpan looked more uneasy than ever. He flew closer to his brother. “Tirek, what was all of that about? Why did Discord come here, and what did you whisper to him? Is something going on?” He tried to look into Tirek’s eyes. “Please tell me, Tirek. You’re my brother, and I love you. Please don’t lie to me again. Whatever it is, I want to help.”

Tirek looked into his brother’s eyes. Then he sighed deeply. “Scorpan, there are going to be some changes around here soon. I wasn’t meant for this simple life we have—father can sense it, I think mother’s finally accepted it, even Discord sees it. And I think you do too. And Sendak was the only one who acknowledged it.” He held his head high, his gaze going to the window again to look out upon his land, arms behind his back. “My magic is great, but I need more. Do you know why Sendak has lived so long? Do you know what gives the Equestrian ponies such full lives and the alicorn sisters near immortality? Do you know what even let’s someone as dark as Discord have such free reign with his abilities? It’s in the nature of their magic, the nature of Equestria—there’s a certain joy woven into it that perpetuates and lends itself to the capacity for untold power. I hunger to combine that power with my own.”

Scorpan’s eyes went a little wide. “You want to…you want to feed off of Equestria’s magic? Is that what Sendak was doing?” He frowned more.

Tirek smiled a little. “Yes, that’s what Sendak was doing. But, no, I do not just wish to ‘feed’ off of the magic as he did. Don’t you see, Sendak was thinking too small—he just wanted to gather some extra magic to extend his pathetic, shriveled life for as long as possible for the sake of adventure and study. No, no, I see it now…I won’t feed off of the magic—I’ll take the magic. Completely.” Tirek’s eyes narrowed. And his tone was devoid of feeling.

Scorpan took in a sharp breath. He saw something in his brother that frightened him again. “I…and…what would that do to the ponies if you took all of their magic?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“You don’t understand, Scorpan—it doesn’t matter what it would do to the ponies,” Tirek replied, his gaze cold and still lingering on the view of the kingdom outside. “All that matters is the power I will gain to finally achieve my destiny. Ruler of worlds, master of magic, destructor of the old order and founder of the new.” Suddenly he turned back to Scorpan, his eyes flaming with ambition. “Will you join me, brother?! Will you stay by my side?! Rule with me and help me, as you said!?”

Scorpan gulped but nodded. “Yes, of course, Tirek. I would never abandon you, no matter what.”

Tirek looked him in the eyes, moving closer. “I will leave this place one day. Not for a while, but one day. And I won’t come back. Will you still join me then?”

Pain entered Scorpan’s eyes. “I…but mother…and father.”

“Will you join me then?” Tirek repeated simply.

Scorpan took a deep breath. Then he came close to his brother. Scorpan knew if his brother left to fight for his destiny himself, Tirek might get himself hurt and he certainly might hurt others. He also knew that he was the only one who Tirek would let get close enough to possibly talk some sense into him when the time came. Scorpan came to a difficult decision. Then he nodded. “Brother, I will join you. I promise. But in return, I want you to wear this.” He reached up and slipped a cord from around his neck, holding out the triangular amulet it contained to Tirek.

Tirek blinked at the sudden offer. “The amulet that mother gave you? But…you care for that amulet more than anything else in the world.” Something in his eyes softened.

That softening made Scorpan smile. “But I care for you more. And I want you to wear it as a symbol of our bond. And so that no matter what happens, you’ll always have something with you to remind you of how close we are and how much I love you.”

Tirek looked at the amulet, not saying anything for a moment. Then he smiled…though something glaring and sharp still remained in his gaze. “Brother…I thank you for your gift.” He put his hands over Scorpan’s with the amulet between them, but then gently pushed the item back toward his brother. “But keep this for now. I will not forget your offer here. Make it again when I have finally come in to my true destiny and you have joined me by my side. Then I will accept the amulet. And then we will have finally achieved greatness.”

Scorpan hesitated, but finally nodded, doing his best to keep smiling. He took back the amulet and put it around his neck again. “Yes, Tirek. I’ll be very happy on the day I offer this to you again and you accept it from me.”

Tirek smiled and nodded. “Brother…” he put a hand on Scorpan’s shoulder. “Thank you. You have always been the only one in this family who truly cares for me and accepts me.”

Scorpan smiled, so happy to see such relief in his brother’s eyes…and just hoping nothing bad would truly come of whatever Tirek was planning. “Of course, Tirek. I’ll always care for you no matter what happens.”

“I know, brother. I know.” Tirek then let out a breath and removed his hand from Scorpan. “Now, if you don’t mind, Scorpan, I think I need some time alone. I have much to think about, many plans to make, and I would prefer to do so in solitude.”

Scorpan frowned a little but nodded. “Of course.” He flew up headed to the door. “I’ll bring you by some lunch later.”

Tirek merely nodded and went back over to the window, resting on his pillows to look out to the world and think.

Scorpan sighed and left the room, his thoughts and heart heavy. As he flew down the hall, he looked up to a large painting of his father and mother straight ahead on the high wall. ‘Please do not worry, father. I will not betray you or cause harm just because I love Tirek. I know what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad. I will not go mad with my love. But I will do everything I can to help my brother before I give him up to the madness for power in his own heart. Trust me, mother. Everything will be okay.’ Scorpan bowed his head and continued on his way.

In another (and quite shadowy) corridor of the castle, meanwhile, for several minutes now, the hooded figure of Discord had been resting and brooding.

“That little ‘prince’ is going to force my hand.” He sighed in annoyance. “I despise royalty—those two pony princess sisters are bad enough, but that Tirek is a nightmare.” He rolled his eyes. “He has the potential to be powerful though, I’ll give him that.” He shook his head. “But there’s no need to harm the ponies—what does that get you? A land of injured and fading beings for you to rule over on high? How boring! And pain is so uncouth. No, no, as long as you’re going to be a dictator, you might as well have a little fun, keep the ponies around and thriving for the sake of having an audience.” Discord grinned. “You don’t have to make the ponies suffer, you just have to take over their lives until they bow to you and let the rest take care of itself.”

Discord chuckled to himself as his visions for his successful and chaotic future as ruler of Equestria danced before his mind’s eye again. “Oh maybe this isn’t so bad…. In fact, maybe this new development with Tirek is something I can use to my advantage.” He twirled his beard around some of his fingers. “Yes, yes…King Vorak will have his hands full with Tirek, but Tirek still won’t be able to strike in full force for quite a while. And that brother of his will hold him back too somehow.” Discord nodded to himself. “I’ll talk to Sendak again, then slip into Equestria, sever all ties with this kingdom, and finally have a throne to call my own, a place where I can truly spread my chaos away from this gloomy, orderly land. It’ll be easy—the sisters just came to power in Equestria not too long ago, the government is still unstable, and I’ll take control for myself with a snap of my fingers! Then by the time Tirek is powerful enough to come to the ponies, I’ll be so established as ruler and so powerful with all of my subjects at my beck and call for fear of my chaos that he’ll never stand a chance.”

Discord’s grin grew and his eyes narrowed. “Hold on to your horseshoes, Equestria,” he held up his fingers to snap…and then his smile fell and his tone grew dark, “The spirit of chaos is coming.”

And with those words and a snap of his fingers, Discord was gone.

Many years later…in the magical land of Equestria…

“Starswirl…you’ve taught me much about friendship in my time here. I want to thank you for that.” A (full grown now) Scorpan turned to his unicorn friend Starswirl the Bearded sitting next to him upon this verdant, sunny hilltop and smiled.

The white unicorn in his dark blue robes and with his long beard like a cloud smiled in return and nodded to his friend. “Scorpan, you are always welcome to my wisdom and advice. I sense a great goodness in you, and a rich heart.”

Scorpan smiled more. But then he looked down and forward to the peaceful fields and ponies playing in the valley below. His smile faded. “But Starswirl…do you think there are bonds stronger than friendship? Bonds you have to honor even above the ones with friends?”

Starswirl smiled a little more and looked out to the ponies and the beautiful landscape as well. “Scorpan, there are many bonds that are just as strong as those with friends or even stronger, but I think you are missing a key piece of understanding about the magic of friendship. Every strong positive bond among people has friendship at its base—mother and child are friends, lovers are friends, teacher and student are friends…brothers are friends. So it is difficult to argue that one specific bond should be put above another when all have the same great bond at their core. All you can do is let love guide you, use your judgment well, and do your best to spread laughter and honesty and generosity and kindness and loyalty to all.”

“The Elements of Harmony…keys to the magic spark of friendship,” Scorpan replied.

“Yes.” Starswirl nodded.

“Loyalty can be a difficult element to maintain when deciding between bonds,” Scorpan remarked, still observing the ponies. “I want to be loyal, but I don’t know who to be loyal to.”

Starswirl smiled warmly. “That is easier solved than you realize, Scorpan. Be loyal to yourself, your integrity, your own heart. No true friend would ever expect you to go against those things. Be loyal to what you know is right, Scorpan, and all will be well.” Starswirl looked to his friend and then blinked. “Scorpan, what is wrong? Why do you cry?”

Scorpan blinked, and a few tears did fall from his eyes which he quickly wiped away. He sighed, his gaze falling downward. “Because I have to tell you something, Starswirl. But I think it will cost me my best friend if I do. But if it does, then…that might mean he never was my best friend at all, or at least that he hasn’t been for a very long time.” Scorpan looked to Starswirl, frowning so much. “But if I don’t tell you, all of my new friends will suffer and so will you. So will so many people…and so many people already have.”

“I see.” Starswirl frowned. “That is a heavy decision to bear, my friend, and I am sorry it is upon you.”

Scorpan took in and let out a very deep breath. “If I do tell though…then the person I love the most will suffer. He’ll be punished for his crimes. And I know that…and I can accept that. But…just promise me you won’t let him end up like Discord.” Scorpan frowned more. “Sometimes I can’t bear to think of what happened to Discord here.”

Starswirl reached out and put a hoof on Scorpan’s shoulder. “Yes, Discord’s fate in stone was an extreme one. I cannot even say that I entirely approve of it. But it is what the Elements and the sisters deemed necessary. And for now it might be best—he was relentless, he caused the ponies strife, and chaos is not easy to contain.” He smiled a little and removed his hoof from Scorpan. “But other magical beings are much easier to contain. Stone may not be necessary for your friend. Even the use of the Elements of Harmony may not be necessary. I’m certain if we talk to Celestia and Luna, they will understand and do their best to help you and your friend.”

Scorpan considered and then looked out upon the beautiful landscape again. “There is something else too, Starswirl. Once whatever will happen happens…once my brother Tirek is punished for what I must reveal to you he is about to do…there will be no one to rule our land in our parents’ stead. Tirek has already taken so much power from them, but when he cannot return there then I will be heir to the throne. And I will have to return home and work hard to see to the safety of my kingdom, so I may never be able to return to Equestria to see my friends here or you again.”

Starswirl smiled softly. “Take heart, friend Scorpan. We may still meet again. As I get on in years, I’ll probably want to take a good vacation from time to time. I wouldn’t mind visiting you.”

Scorpan tried to smile but still frowned.

Starswirl sighed, looking out to the ponies again. “But I know you had hoped to live here—I know you found the peace of this place comforting. I am sorry that staying among us is not in your fate. But we shall never forget you, and I hope you and your kingdom shall never forget us.”

“Never, Starswirl. Not ever.” Scorpan put an arm over his friend and hugged him.

The two friends separated after a moment.

For a little while longer, Scorpan sat looking out over the happy plains of Equestria full of smiling ponies, and Starswirl sat in silence beside him, likewise enjoying the peaceful moment and the magical view.

Then eventually Scorpan let out a breath and stood up. There was a firm look never before seen in his eyes. “I have tried everything to sway Tirek from his plans to rob this land and its ponies of their magic for his own selfish gain of power. He won’t listen though…but the responsibility lies with me to make sure he doesn’t succeed for the sake of what’s right, and for the sake of true friendship and love.” He bowed his head. “Let’s go see Celestia and Luna, Starswirl. We don’t have much time.”

Starswirl nodded and rose. The two friends turned away from the scene before them and headed to the Everfree Forest and the Castle of the Two Sisters in the distance.

My name is Lord Tirek.

And I lie here in Tartarus in chains because everyone in my life has betrayed me…including my worthless brother.

I am a being destined for greatness beyond greatness. My power can be infinite and absolute—I figured out how to do it. Sendak was a fool, weak, limited. He always behaved as though I was the barely talented pupil lucky to serve under his masterful guidance, but no…. In truth he knew I was master of an art he could barely comprehend. And all I had to do to embrace that art was free myself from every other tie in life that bound me.

Perhaps therein lies my mistake though—I did cut every tie…except the one with my brother. Still, I never thought… Yet, he is the one who has put me here into this cold, rocky, lonely place. Tartarus. His betrayal lost me everything just as I was on the brink of owning this land for my own. I had already weakened father, pushed aside mother, gathered supporters in my homeland, and I had my birthright. With the power I could have acquired here, I would have dominated both this land and my own, all under one rule, all serving to bring me power and power and more power. I am capable of wielding all power at once. All of everything would have been mine.

And yet now I sit here in the shadows alone…with NOTHING.

Celestia and Luna even took away the little power I had already started to steal from the ponies. Oh certainly, with something about this land’s magic still tainting me and with my own natural abilities, my life will at least be long and my mind sharp...but already I feel myself shriveling into a state little better than Sendak’s all those years ago.

To have tasted power, to know you can wield all power, to know that you know your destiny and it is right before you and you have the will and drive to achieve it in all of its glory but have simply been prevented from doing so by others…It’s maddening.

Next time, though, nothing shall prevent me.

And there will be a next time. I can wait…. One day, something will change, something will shift, the sisters will fall…or at the very least I’ll find a bone to throw to that old dog who guards us. There are some other magical creatures imprisoned around here—I can almost smell their power. And perhaps one day I’ll slowly acquire enough particles of it to cast a little spell and send that dog just far enough away for me to make my escape.

But for now I will wait. I deserve this much punishment for my foolishness—I must take some time to think about what I did and my great mistake. Scorpan… There is a weight on my chest, the weight of my brother's amulet. As they brought me here, he offered it to me—he said he never wanted me to forget him or our family or our home. And he wanted me always to know that he loved me and that he was sorry for how everything had turned out.

I said nothing. And then he left me.

Scorpan is so weak. He wasn’t worth me saying anything to. Brother—I’m ashamed to claim the relation.

No, no, this amulet I will wear and bear so as to never forget my greatest mistake—trusting someone else enough to give them any power over me. From now on I will claim all of the power as it is my right to do. From now on…I will be the only one doing the betraying.

I look up to the stars in this dim, cold place. And I know that the sisters and the ponies and Scorpan and mother and father and Sendak were all wrong…and I am the only one who was ever right. Love is a weakness, love is not worth striving for and does you so little good as I have learned from my bother. But power is worth any action…power is worth going mad for.

I smile in the night.

Alone now, my madness finally completes me.

I shall be Tirek, Lord of All.