Tirek’s Star

Twilight groaned. It felt like a pounding drum beating inside her head. Worse still, she hadn’t figured out what had happened in the last hour or two. Shakily, she got up on all fours. Looking around, Twilight’s vision slowly came into focus. Her head thumped with pain, and it was a struggle to keep her eyes open.

Looking around, Twilight saw that the room was some sort of cell. The walls were rusted with chains and moss, and Twilight swore she could see a tiny bit of blood on the walls.

She hoped her suspicions weren’t true.

As her vision cleared further, Twilight could see that the crusty stains on the walls were indeed blood. Dead carcasses littered some of the corners, almost completely covered in mold and maggots. They were all chained up, seemingly grinning at her unsettlingly. That’s when Twilight noticed something.

The bodily remains were moving. MOVING.

As if that weren’t enough, they looked like they were attempting to get to her. Their chains prevented them from doing this, but that didn’t make it any less disturbing. Twilight looked at herself, seeing that she was chained up. Unlike the other occupants’ chains, Twilight’s chains looked like they had been installed sometime recently. Twilight was about to fire up a spell when she noticed the magic inhibitor wrapped around her horn. There were several, actually. All with the same purpose; to take her magic from her.

Twilight attempted to get it off with her hoof, but stopped when she heard a loud sound of metal on concrete, Looking in front of her, she saw one of the disfigured ponies walking up to her. Then another chain broke. Then another. Twilight, not being able to to take it anymore, curled up into a ball. All of a sudden, the zombies dissipated.

“Glad to see you’re awake, Twilight.” Echoed a familiar voice, and Twilight looked up to see Tirek in the doorway. Twilight jumped, shuffling into the corners. Upon realizing who it was, she growled.

"Why didn't you remove my magic..!?" She blurted out, and Tirek chuckled. To be honest, Twilight didn't know why Tirek hadn't removed her magic. Looking around, Twilight's eyes once again landed on Tirek. After coughing, he spoke up.

"That is none of your business, Twilight." Tirek stated, sounding a bit hesitant. And to be honest, he was. Tirek didn't want Twilight to know that he couldn't remove her magic entirely. He had been draining her for more than an hour straight, and the magic didn't stop flowing. Twilight looked at him, as if she knew everything he had just thought. Sighing, he stared at her before yanking her chains off the wall. Well that was a change of plans.

Ignoring Twilight's screams of protest, he set her down on a heavily decorated stool. Keeping her in place with his magic, Tirek thought for a moment. The young alicorn was certainly going to be a roadblock in his path. If he did not get rid of this roadblock, then it could cause other potential problems. Scratching his chin, Tirek thought for a moment.

Twilight wasn't very smart when it came to social situations, but she wasn't stupid, either. Even with her trust, Tirek didn't know if he could trust her in return. Too much of a risk. If only there was a way to keep her under control. A way to control, without taking over her entire mind. Sweating, the cenutar thought deeper. Twilight was going to defeat him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Sighing, Tirek levitated a random book off the shelf.

A Beginner's Guide to Potions

He stared at the cover, before turning to a random page. On that page, read;

Potions for Hypnosis

Tirek grinned, formulating a plan in his head.

This day is going to be just perfect.