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"Is he friend, or is he foe?", the pony wonders. I can assure you… I am no friend. I am Lord Tirek, and I will take what should have been mine long ago!
~ Lord Tirek's first words in the series while stealing a unicorn's magic.
How does it feel? Knowing that soon every Pegasus, Unicorn, and Earth Pony will bow to my will, and that there is NOTHING you can do to stop it?!
~ Tirek taunting the Princesses, and his most famous quote.
Turns out that the magic of friendship is your biggest weakness! A fitting end to your pathetic story.
~ Tirek taunting the Mane 6 in their final confrontation.

Lord Tirek is one of the main antagonists of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. He is a power-hungry centaur with the power to drain the magic and abilities out of other creatures. He is G4's incarnation of Tirac; the first antagonist of the original series. He is also the archenemy of Discord and the second archenemy of Twilight Sparkle.

Long ago, he invaded Equestria alongside his brother, Scorpan in an attempt to rob its inhabitants of their magic, but was betrayed by his brother and then imprisoned in Tartarus by Princesses Celestia and Luna. A thousand years later, he escapes to terrorize Equestria again, even convincing the reformed spirit of chaos, Discord into helping him steal all the magic he could until he betrayed him and took his magic as well. However, he was then defeated, de-powered and returned to Tartarus by Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Mane Six. Later on, he conspires with his new protégé, Cozy Glow for the sake of revenge, but his plan backfired, thus forcing him to help them escape. In the final season, he and Cozy Glow were released from Tartarus and become members of the Legion of Doom alongside Queen Chrysalis, a team of villains bent on destroying the Mane Six and conquering Equestria, but is defeated once more by the Mane Six and their allies and petrified by the Princesses and Discord.

He was voiced by Mark Acheson, who also played Unicron in Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Energon, Moses Tripoli in Fargo, Magistrate Wilkins in Smallville, and Sabretooth in Marvel's Hulk Vs.

Appearance[]

Tirek's character is based on a centaur, whose head, arms, and chest are those of a human, and the rest of its body, including four legs, hindquarters, and a tail, is like that of a horse. Because there are no humans in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, his head is more bull-like, with a goat's shaggy whiskers.
~ Tirek's appearance being described in The Art of Equestria.
WeakenedTirek1

Similarly to his original incarnation, Tirek is a demonic-looking being with elements of a centaur. His lower body is black, with a white horse tail and cloven hooves. His upper body appears to be covered in black fur, except his arms and face, which are crimson red. He has a pair of razor-sharp horns and a white beard, his eyes are jet black with yellow pupils.

In the beginning, Tirek appears far smaller than he was in the original series. He is also scrawny and old-looking. However, the more power he absorbs as well as after enhancing himself with the Bewitching Bell, the more bigger, muscly and nastier he gets. He dons steel bracelets which seem to be all that remains of his shackles, a steel collar, and a ring in his nose. He also wears a gold amulet that is a keepsake from Scorpan. Unlike his bestial yet human-looking face from his original incarnation, his face has a more gorilla or bull-like shape.

Personality[]

Taw 79 lord of the rainbow of darkness by tourniquetmuffin d7jhoag-pre

Tirek's evil grin.

Tirek is extremely power-hungry, sadistic, oppressive, ruthless, brutal, wrathful, abusive, cold-hearted, heartless and obsessive. His main goal is to absorb as much magic as he could to make himself all-powerful, as well as complete and utter dominion over all of Equestria, and he will stop at nothing to accomplish it. However, he prefers not to kill his enemies, preferring to leave them alive, but powerless, to better oppress them. Tirek is also quick to anger, and his wrath is absolutely terrifying to behold.

Despite this, Tirek isn't purely a brute as he is patient enough to wait for a long time after escaping Tartarus, recovering just enough power to become able to launch an assault on ponies. He is also shown to be an expert manipulator, He was even able to persuade Discord, himself known as an expert master of puppets, into joining him, only to betray him and consume his power after gaining enough magic to do so.

Tirek seems to be quite lucid because he did not understand how Twilight could still consider Discord as his friend after the way he betrayed him. It is unknown if he truly values honestly or if he simply could not grasp the concept of forgiveness. In "The Beginning of the End", he shows fear when he is awed and intimidated by "Grogar", having heard stories of the villain's reign of terror when he was a child. At the end of the episode, his laughter, along with that of Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, is less maniacal and more reluctant.

Tirek also seems to have a high opinion of himself. In "Frenemies" during the song "A Better Way To Be Bad", he calls himself Smarter and Stronger and did not need Chrysalis or Cozy, at least until he has to team up. He begins to learn how to cooperate with his allies to get things done. "The Summer Sun Setback", Tirek steals magic from the ponies secretly to help his allies retrieve the book about the Bewitching Bell. After they succeeded, Tirek was forced to return the magic to the ponies to avoid suspicion from "Grogar", which he personally dislikes.

In "The Ending of the End", Tirek is proven to be more cautious and pragmatic than his allies, suggesting that they should hunt down Twilight and deal with the Windigoes immediately. Tirek is shown to be hypocritical, as he deems Scorpan worthless for turning on him even though he tried to talk him out of his plan and left him with a final gift as a sign of their former bond yet he shamelessly turns on Discord just to take his magic and become stronger, making it clear that he never saw Discord as anything more than a pawn.

Despite his evil personality, Tirek did have some redeemable qualities. In the episode "The Summer Sun Setback". a bird lands in Tirek's hands and he allows it to fly free, though it's uncharacteristic of him. He also was shown capable of honouring a deal sometimes, such as when he returned Chrysalis's magic back to her (even if he wasn't even gonna do it at first) and kept his end of the bargain by releasing Twilight's friends.

In the case of the latter though, this was clearly because he saw killing them as pointless since there was no longer an apparent way to stop him. Tirek even almost came close to reform in "The Summer Sun Setback" before Chrysalis snapped him out of it and maintains his villainy for the rest of the series. Tirek also cares about his grandmother as when Cozy Glow was taunting him about having dreams of his grandmother, Tirek told her to leave his grandmother out of it.

Powers and Abilities[]

  • Magic Draining: Tirek is shown to be able to consume the magic of any other creature by literally sucking it into his mouth. He can also drain dozens of beings at once if they are all close enough to him and each other. Any pony drained this way is completely stripped of all magic and strength, removing their cutie mark in the process. Tirek then adds the stolen magic to his own, increasing his size and power.
    • Magic: Tirek displays a degree of magical power consistent with the amount of magic he has consumed. At low levels of power, he is only able to fire a weak, paltry blast. After consuming enough magic he becomes almost unstoppable. His magic seems to be affiliated with fire. The way he casts spells is unique to him: instead of emitting magic directly from his horns, he instead forms a ball of infernal energy in the empty space between his two horns.
      • Energy Projection: Tirek can shoot beams of magical energy from his horns. He is able to do this even at his weakest state without having to absorb any magic, as shown when he began charging up to attack Sombra in Season 9. At high levels, his beams can rival Twilight while she was powered up by the three other princesses' magic. In his third form, he gains the ability to fire magical energy blasts from his hands as well.
      • Shield Construction: Tirek can construct a force field to protect himself. At high levels, his shield can withstand a large blast of energy from a powered-up Twilight.
      • Telekinesis: Tirek can levitate objects with his magic. At high levels, he can even bind the mighty Discord and once hurled Twilight into a mountain miles away.
      • Portal Creation: With enough magic, Tirek can create portals to anywhere he wants, such as when he banished Celestia, Luna, and Cadence to Tartarus.
      • Heat Generation: Tirek once generated enough heat to melt a stain-glass window depicting Twilight.
      • Bubble Imprisonment: Tirek can summon others within seemingly indestructible bubbles, just as he did with Twilight's friends.
    • Superhuman Strength: At high levels of power, Tirek displays an enormous degree of supernatural strength. He is able to lift and throw chunks of the earth bigger than himself, flying and hitting Twilight straight through a large mountain, and smashing the ground to create a fearsome shock wave. Presumably, his physical power depends on the amount of earth pony magic he has consumed.
      • Earth Manipulation: By slamming his fists into the ground, Tirek can cause pieces of the earth to stick up and attack his enemy.
  • High Intelligence: Aside from being incredibly powerful, Tirek is also quite intelligent. After escaping from Tartarus, he knew to wait in hiding for a while before making his move to avoid being recaptured.
    • Psychological Manipulation: Tirek was able to convince Discord, who is a master manipulator himself, into quitting his friendship with the ponies and aid him in his quest for power by playing on his ego and need for freedom, and then betray him and take his magic once he was powerful enough to do so. He also forced Twilight to give up her alicorn magic when he saw that he and she were evenly matched by threatening her friends.
    • Magic Intuition: Tirek has intricate knowledge about absorbing magic through other means than just his own, as he instructed Cozy Glow how to use magical artifacts in a spell to absorb all of Equestria's magic.

Weaknesses[]

  • Oldness: Due to Tirek's old age, he must absorb the magic of others to keep himself strong. Without it, he is basically a weak, shriveled-up shadow of his former self.
  • Draining Limits: If an individual's magic is too powerful, Tirek will not be able to absorb it unless they willingly allow him to, so he must wait until he is strong enough or somehow coerces them to give up their magic somehow.
  • Lack of Hindsight: Despite his intelligence, Tirek doesn't always think things through, as he did not think of the fact that he would be trapped forever with the Mane 6 when he decided to help Cozy Glow with her plans.
  • Inanimate Objects: "Frenemies" reveals that Tirek can only absorb magic from living beings and not from nonliving things, such as magical barriers.
  • Chaos Magic: It's later revealed that, while Discord's chaos magic increases Tirek's power, Tirek cannot actually control it if he were to absorb it via Grogar's bell since those who possess Discord's magic would be driven into madness, which happens to Cozy Glow and Pinkie Pie.

Relationships[]

Family[]

Scorpan[]

Scorpan tries to convince Tirek S4E25

Tirek and his brother Scorpan.

Scorpan is Tirek's younger brother and they had a close relationship at first before Scorpan befriends the other ponies. As they arrive to steal the magic of Equestria, Scorpan began to appreciate the ways of Equestria and befriended Star Swirl the Bearded. Scorpan urged his brother to abandon their plans, but Tirek refuses. Scorpan soon alerts the Princesses of his brother's intentions, so they send Tirek to Tartarus. Before Scorpan returned to his own lands, it is possible that he gave his medallion to Tirek during his first days in Tartarus.

Tirek was hurt by his brother's betrayal and is angry with him while Scorpan still cares about Tirek. However, it is also possible that Scorpan gave Tirek the medallion before he was imprisoned. Either way, he kept the medallion all these years. It is possible he kept it to remind himself of his brother and that he does show some care about him, but is still hurt and betrayed.

In the Season 4 finale, he gave away his brother's medallion to Discord as a sign of "his gratitude and loyalty". But when Tirek betrays Discord later, he reveals that the medallion was given to him by his "worthless" brother, thus severing his only connection toward his brother. It is possible that Tirek gave away the medallion so he can finally forget the pain his brother caused him in the past. Scorpan and Tirek never saw each other again in the series.

It is unknown if Scorpan is still alive or has died before the events of the series (although he was originally planned to appear in a prologue for the movie as the original owner of the staff of Sacanas). In the IDW comics, Scorpan and Tirek remained close but Tirek sometimes bullies his brother for being too sensitive and abuses him on occasion.

King Vorak[]

You're right. "Cretin" is too polite. How about "pathetic centaur who uses magic to compensate for the fact that deep down he's afraid he'll never be enough to please dear old dad, King Vorak?
~ Discord describing how he failed to please his father.
Vorak and Tirek

Tirek and Vorak in the IDW Comics.

King Vorak is the father of Tirek and Scorpan. In the series, he is only mentioned once by Discord when he suggested that Tirek has used magic to compensate that deep down, he will never be enough to please Vorak, causing the centaur to blast the draconequus angrily. This could also explain how Tirek became evil in the first place was from his father's disapproval of his son (besides learning to absorb magic by a centaur hermit and his thirst for power).

In the IDW comics, Vorak appears physically in FIENDship is Magic Issue #2 and he shares the same name as the series version of Tirek's father. It is shown that Tirek had a rough relationship with his father. While Tirek was born a prodigy with more magic than any other being in their kingdom, Vorak disapproved of how he acted, fearing that Tirek would one day try to use his power to overthrow him.

Unlike Tirek, Vorak was a benevolent ruler and wanted peace with Equestria. Their relationship was strained due to Vorak's disapproval of Tirek's behaviour as a sociopath. At the end of his issue, Tirek vows that he will one day overthrow his father and take the kingdom for himself. The fact that Tirek was shown to still be on good terms with Scorpan (who clearly respected their parents) when they initially journeyed to Equestria suggests that Tirek either abandoned this plan or set it aside. Though it's possible that he overthrew his father in a cunning way, to which it would seem he would have inherited the throne legitimately and no one other than him and his father found out.

It is unknown if the Vorak in the comics and the series are one and the same, but it is possible that the writers took inspiration from the comic to the series, even if some of the elements in both the series and the comics retconned each other, such as the defeat of the Dazzlings and the different versions of King Sombra. It is unknown if Vorak is still alive or has died before the events of the series, though the latter is very possible (although he could possibly still be alive, as Discord mentioned him in the present tense, saying that Tirek will never be able to please Vorak).

Queen Haydon[]

Queen Haydon is the mother of Tirek and Scorpan, and the wife of King Vorak. She is never mentioned in the series. In Tirek's issue in the FIENDship is Magic mini-series, she is shown to have loved both of her sons and wanted to keep peace in the family. Unlike her husband, she was shown to be more supportive of Tirek, though she was shocked when he lied to them. Despite her obvious care for Tirek, he seemed indifferent to her. Tirek had no problem with lying to her and vowed that he would overthrow her husband and take the kingdom for himself, showing a lack of care for her feelings. It is unknown if Haydon is still alive or has died before the events of the series, though the latter is very possible.

Tirek's Grandmother[]

The unnamed grandmother of Lord Tirek and Scorpan is only mentioned once by Cozy Glow that he talks to his "Gram Gram" in his sleep, which made Tirek angrily yell at her to not bring his grandmother into their argument. This confirms the fact that Tirek did care about at least one member of his family (despite his resentment toward his father and brother and indifference to his mother) and that Tirek deeply misses her. It is unknown if she is still alive or has died, but the latter seems to be a more reasonable explanation.

Allies[]

Cozy Glow[]

Cozy Glow puts a hoof around Tirek S9E8

Tirek and Cozy Glow.

Tirek and Cozy Glow share a very strong relationship and learn to trust one another. Cozy Glow is also Tirek's protégé. It is unknown how they actually met, but Cozy Glow and Lord Tirek began writing letters to each other on occasion. It is also unknown why Cozy Glow decided to contact Tirek, but it is possible she wanted one of Equestria's biggest enemies to help her with her own schemes in erasing all the magic of Equestria.

They continue to work together and put their trust in each other. They continue to bicker and fight even in the series finale, in which they argue how to use the magic they stole in the Bewitching Bell. In the end, Tirek became trapped in stone alongside Cozy Glow and Queen Chrysalis.

Queen Chrysalis[]

Lord Tirek glaring; Chrysalis grinning S9E8

Tirek and Chrysalis.

Tirek and Queen Chrysalis have a very strong relationship but it didn't start off that way at first, Queen Chrysalis has heard of Tirek. However, Tirek himself has never heard of Chrysalis until they were summoned to Grogar's lair. At first sight, Tirek refers to Chrysalis as a "Changeling" and is impressed by the fact that she knows his name fully, pointing this out to Cozy Glow which made the filly roll her eyes. Chrysalis assumes that Tirek and Cozy Glow summoned her, but they confirm that they didn't. Later on, "Grogar" shows up to reveal he is the one who summoned the villains so that they can join the Ram in his plan to take over Equestria and defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends. "Grogar" orders Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow to learn to work together so they can achieve this task.

During the first few weeks since joining the team, Tirek and Chrysalis didn't get along at first as they argue and fight. Tirek even tried to steal her magic one time, which causes the Queen to demand him to stop, to which he angrily does so. During the song A Better Way To Be Bad, Tirek claimed to be smarter and stronger than Chrysalis and Cozy, which causes Chrysalis to disagree and remind him of his defeats. They later learn how to tolerate one another during the mission to retrieve the Bewitching Bell and they seem to finally get along over their shared hatred to Twilight Sparkle and the others.

Later, Tirek is forced to borrow Chrysalis's magic so he can break the barrier that is preventing them to enter the cave and grab the Bewitching Bell inside. Chrysalis is genuinely worried that Tirek will leave her with her stolen magic in his veins. Tirek looks at Chrysalis and contemplates his decision to leave her or return her magic. He was not going to do it at first, but after some thinking, he believes it will be smarter to return her magic and keep her as an ally rather than continuing to fight and bicker. So he managed to return her magic to her, doing something noble for the first time in his life, much to the surprise of Chrysalis.

It was thanks to this brief sweet moment that Tirek and Chrysalis almost fell victim to the Magic of Friendship. Finally, Chrysalis snapped out of it and refused to give in to "friendship" and the other villains decide to agree with her. However, they continue to work as a team as Chrysalis came up with a plan to betray "Grogar" and take over Equestria for themselves. Tirek agrees to this and tells them that if they win, they can resume hating and destroying each other. Tirek and Chrysalis continued to put their trust in each other, with Tirek doing everything Chrysalis tells him to do and he helps his fellow villains to secretly steal a book in Canterlot so they can learn how to unlock the power of the Bewitching Bell.

In the series finale, they succeed in this and gain superpowers, and they betrayed "Grogar", who is revealed to be Discord all this time. After Discord leaves, Chrysalis and Tirek briefly argue over the Bewitching Bell before Cozy stops them and forces them to fix their relationship by complementing each other. Tirek admits that Chrysalis is not as annoying as he expected her to be. Soon, they went out to conquer Equestria and manage to defeat their enemies, trapping them in cages.

In the end, Chrysalis and Tirek continue to work together to face off their enemies, before they were defeated and are turned to stone alongside Cozy Glow. In the end, Tirek sees Chrysalis as a worthy ally and shows some respect towards her, which he never did with Discord.

Enemies[]

Discord[]

Discord tells Tirek about Princess Twilight

Tirek and Discord

Discord and Tirek have a very poor relationship, but they started off neutral at first. Tirek has heard of Discord and has admired him for his evil ways. However, when they meet in the Season 4 finale, Discord chains up Tirek. Tirek thought that Discord wanted Equestria to himself, but Discord reveals that he is reformed and is tasked by the ponies to capture Tirek and end his threat.

Tirek is surprised and disappointed that Discord is redeemed and working with the ponies, even comparing the Lord of Chaos to his "weak-minded" brother. Tirek then uses his manipulation tactics to have Discord join him in taking over Equestria and help him take all the magic of Equestria, and in return will let Discord roam free to do whatever he pleases. Discord eventually falls for Tirek's tricks and then they team up.

This is where Tirek decides that Discord is no longer useful to him and he betrays Discord, stealing his magic as well. Discord questions Tirek over the fact that he gains the medallion out of respect and loyalty. However, Tirek revealed that he lied to him and the fact that his brother Scorpan gave Tirek the medallion. He considers the relic and his brother worthless before he leaves to face Twilight. He later holds Discord hostage, telling Twilight to choose between her friends and risk giving up her magic or suffering the consequences.

Tirek was freed from Tartarus by "Grogar" and joins forces with the other villains to take over Equestria and defeat Twilight and her friends. Up until the series finale, Tirek has no knowledge that "Grogar" is Discord all this time. However, very similar to what he did to Discord in the Season 4 finale, he and his fellow villains betray "Grogar", using the Bell to take away his chaos magic and reveal his true identity. Tirek was surprised by this, as he found it unexpected. Discord manages to escape without his magic and Tirek and the other villains soon take over Equestria thanks to their superpowers granted by the real Grogar's bell. Discord is among those who were captured by the villains and is tied to chains.

Overall, Tirek can be considered the archenemy of Discord. He never truly respected him and ended up hating him after finding out "Grogar"'s secret. Thus, despite not interacting much after the fourth season, they have one of the most intense conflicts in the entire series.

The Mane Six[]

Twilight facing Tirek S4E26

Tirek and Twilight Sparkle after their battle.

Tirek is one of the biggest enemies of the Mane Six but he is also one of Twilight Sparkle's archenemies out of the whole group. Twilight's friends, most especially Fluttershy, are shocked and heartbroken by Discord's betrayal and Tirek managed to steal their magic, powering to his final fourth form.

Tirek returns as the secondary antagonist but is still locked in his cage after his defeat in Season 4, magic is disappearing across Equestria and the Mane Six suspect that it is Tirek's doing. As Tirek and the Mane 6 meet again as Tirek denies this, as the Mane 6 argue with him and noticed they're stuck in Tartarus with him, he did reveal that this was a master plan by his pen pal, Cozy Glow who is the Mane 6's friend and the true mastermind behind the disappearance of magic, who lied to them to lure them into their trap and he intended to trap the Mane Six with him out of revenge for his defeat.

Tirek thinks that the reason the Mane Six always win is that they are "annoyingly lucky". He shares his hatred of the Mane Six towards his cohorts and mocked them. Tirek faces off against the Mane Six again in the series finale, as the villains get the upper hand threatening to hurt Spike if they don't stop fighting, as the Mane 6 surrendered the villains were all just about to have Twilight and her friends finally defeated and killed, to finally get their revenge on them and to finally have them out of the way so they'll never get in their way ever again, in which Twilight had her own magic while Tirek was in his third form. the Mane Six and their allies managed to defeat Tirek and his partners, who are turned to stone by Celestia, Luna, and Discord, never to be seen by the Mane 6 again.

Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance[]

Tirek facing the princesses S4E26

Tirek threatening the Princesses.

Tirek serves as one of the biggest enemies to the Princesses of Equestria, which included Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance. Though he has no history with Cadance, he has one with Celestia and Luna. After his brother Scorpan alerted Celestia and Luna of Tirek's intentions, they send Tirek to Tartarus for his crimes. A thousand years later, Tirek escaped from Tartarus.

One of Tirek's main goals in Season 4 was to steal Alicorn magic to become powerful enough to conquer Equestria. When he arrived in Canterlot, he learns that the Princesses have given away their magic to Twilight Sparkle for safe-keeping. Tirek thinks this is a dumb idea for the Princesses part and taunts them about it and that he is going to force the ponies to bow to his will and there is nothing they can do about it. The Centaur then sends the Princesses to Tartarus as revenge for trapping him there for many years. Later on, Tirek was re-imprisoned back in Tartarus by the Mane Six and the Princesses were set free from Tartarus thanks to the magic of friendship.

The princesses again face off with Tirek in the series finale, but this time he has teamed up with Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow and defeated them once again. Later on, the Princesses take part in the final battle against the three villains, and Celestia, Luna, and Discord turned Tirek and his cohorts to stone.

The Pillars of Equestria[]

Tirek draining the Pillars of their magic S9E24

Tirek stealing magic from the Pillars.

Tirek serves as an enemy towards the Pillars of Equestria which included Star Swirl the Bearded, Somnambula, Flash Magnus, Rockhoof, and Mage Meadowbrook. Star Swirl has befriended Tirek's brother Scorpan and may have taken part in helping the Princesses send Tirek to Tartarus.

In the series finale, Tirek battled the Pillars and easily defeated them thanks to his newfound power acquired from the Bewitching Bell. Tirek seems to not recognize Star Swirl during the battle and it is unknown if Tirek knew of Star Swirl's friendship toward his brother. Tirek later imprisoned them in Canterlot with the help of Chrysalis and Cozy. During the final battle, the Pillars were released and regained the magic that Tirek stole from them thanks to the magic of friendship. Tirek and his cohorts were defeated and turned to stone.

Others[]

King Sombra[]

King Sombra acting pompous S9E1

Tirek and his fellow villains annoyed by Sombra's boasting.

Lord Tirek barely has a relationship with King Sombra as they don't interact much. The only time they met was during the Season 9 premiere, when Tirek and Sombra were both summoned by "Grogar" to his lair so they can learn to team up and conquer Equestria, defeating their enemies in the process.

When Sombra arrived, the weak Tirek powers his magic to threaten him, before he was interrupted by "Grogar", when he arrived. When Tirek regains his second form after "Grogar" gave him a sample of magic, Sombra looks at Tirek with a bored expression on his face, as he is not intimidated or surprised. Sombra later helps Tirek explain to Cozy Glow who "Grogar" truly is. Later on, as "Grogar" tells the villains to work together, King Sombra refused to join the newly formed group and leaves to conquer Equestria on his own. But before he left, Sombra boasts towards Tirek and the other villains that he will crush those who will defy him and defeat all who get in his way. Tirek backs off from Sombra with an annoyed expression on his face before "Grogar" sends Sombra away.

Later on, he and Chrysalis asked about Sombra's whereabouts and if he succeeded. "Grogar" reveals in his crystal ball that Sombra is destroyed once again and he warns the others that could happen to them if they do not submit to his will. Tirek reluctantly submits to him. However, later on, after they retrieved the Bewitching Bell, Tirek schemes with his fellow villains to betray "Grogar" and take over Equestria.

Grogar[]

Tirek complains to Grogar about Cozy S9E8

Tirek with Discord, who is disguised as Grogar.

Though the real Grogar and Tirek never met, Tirek has heard stories of him when he was young of how he was once the Emperor of Equestria and of his reign of terror. Tirek even thought of Grogar as just a legend at first, before he learned that he was indeed real once. Grogar was even powerful and threatening enough to even scare Tirek.

In Season 9, Tirek meets Discord disguised as Grogar, but he never found out his secret identity until the series finale. As Grogar, Discord played him very well enough to even convince Tirek to join his team of villains to conquer Equestria. Tirek was awed and terrified of him at first, but he later gets over it when he conspires with Cozy and Chrysalis to betray him after retrieving the Bewitching Bell, so they can conquer Equestria for themselves.

Once they did put their plan into action, they learn that Grogar is Discord in disguise all along, much to the surprise of the three villains. It was Grogar's magic from the Bewitching Bell that powered Tirek into his third form but is powerful enough to jump across obstacles and easily defeat his enemies with his new super-strength. If he didn't share Grogar's magic with the other villains, Tirek would've been in his fourth form again and will almost be unstoppable. In the end, Tirek and his allies were stripped of their powers and turned to stone by Discord, Celestia, and Luna.

Sendak the Elder[]

Tirek&Sendak

Sendak alongside his student, a young Tirek.

Sendak was Tirek's old mentor from childhood who taught him how to drain magic from others. Tirek was unhappy with the way his father disapproved of his actions and started meeting with Sendak despite his father's protests, eventually becoming his protegee. Tirek learned to control his magic from Sendak. It was also Sendak who inspired Tirek to attempt to one day drain all the magic from Equestria, as he convinced Tirek that Equestria had more magic than anywhere else in the world, and absorbing it all would make someone an "indomitable force".

Sendak seemed to care for Tirek and wanted them to drain the magic from Equestria together when Tirek was older, but Tirek betrayed Sendak and abandoned him during a cave-in. Though Sendak survived, he was imprisoned for the rest of his life, with Tirek vowing that he would succeed where Sendak failed.

Reception[]

Lord Tirek standing over Star Swirl S9E24

Lord Tirek standing over Starl Swirl.

Lord Tirek received a positive reception from critics and fans of the show. He is praised for being evil, intimidating, threatening, manipulative, powerful, strength, abilities, and is considered by many to be the biggest and strongest foe ever faced in MLP:FIM. Even show-runner Meghan McCarthy said that Tirek is her "new favourite character". Tirek is one of the most popular villains in the Brony fandom, the others are Discord and Queen Chrysalis.

In both Season 8 and Season 9, he is notably a bit more comedic, however, he maintains his serious and manipulative side as well, especially when confronting his enemies, though it has some negative reviews, with some fans saying that they enjoyed Tirek being serious in his debut and complains that the writers giving him too many comedic moments in his later appearances just dumb him down and lessens his evilness and intimidation a bit. His portrayal in Season 9 has gathered positive reviews, with fans saying that they enjoyed Tirek's chemistry with Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow and that he is given more character development as well. Some fans shipped Lord Tirek with Queen Chrysalis as they are similar characters who steal magic/love from ponies to gain power and acted as "parents" to Cozy Glow at times. Though they never show any romantic feelings for each other in the show, they did learn to cooperate with each other and their relationship could possibly have happened if Chrysalis and Tirek didn't reject the concept of friendship and love. They are also the same age, even though Chrysalis looks to be a few years younger than Tirek. Big Jim Miller has joked on Twitter about their relationship that if they did get together, he expected a quick divorce between the two. His chemistry with Cozy Glow is also praised as their constant bickering and arguing is very humorous to watch and that they are willing to work together. However, some fans were wondering how Cozy Glow came into contact with Lord Tirek in the first place, but it can be assumed that Cozy found out about Tirek in the School of Friendship and decided to write him a letter so she can have the magic stealing villain help her with her plans.   Tirek's battle with Twilight Sparkle in Season 4 received acclaim from fans as the battle was intense and epic. The fight was based on Dragon Ball Z, which is one of the reasons why the fight was so acclaimed. His defeat in the Season 9 finale gathered a mixed reaction. While most were pleased that he was turned to stone alongside the other baddies, others were wanting Tirek to be reformed, since he did come close to reform in "Frenemies". Despite this, unlike Chrysalis and Cozy, Tirek's fate is more widely accepted and not many have a problem with it. Despite this, Tirek remained one of the most popular and fan-favourite villains in the series.

His voice actor Mark Acheson is praised for his performance by fans as they enjoy his menacing voice in both his weak and strong forms. At Everfree Northwest 2019, Mark stated that he enjoys voicing the character as he is playing "two" characters. He gave Tirek a weaker and frail voice whenever he is in his weaker first form. But when he gets stronger, he makes his voice much deeper and he mostly shout out his lines whenever Tirek is at his most powerful state. In Season 9, Mark and Sunni Westbrook, Cozy Glow's voice actress, did their lines together respectfully and they had great chemistry together.

Episodes and Appearances[]

Appearances in the Show

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic[]

Season 4[]

Season 5[]

Season 7[]

Season 8[]

Season 9[]

Comics[]

Friendship is Magic[]

Friends Forever[]

My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic[]

Legends of Magic[]

Nightmare Knights[]

Differences from Tirac, his G1 original counterpart[]

  • The obvious difference, Tirac's and Tirek's names are spelled and pronounced differently.
  • In the original show, Tirac used the Rainbow of Darkness to transform ponies and other creatures into monsters. In G4, he eats unicorn magic, and eventually the power of Pegasi and earth ponies, and increases his size and power.
  • Tirek shoots energy waves with his horns while Tirac only seems to use the Rainbow of Darkness or attack physically (although he did cause an explosion to blow up part of the wall of his castle).
  • Tirac wanted to bring eternal darkness, while Tirek simply wanted power.
  • Tirek is Scorpan's brother while Tirac turned a prince into Scorpan and forced him to work for him, threatening to behead Spike after Scorpan's repeated failures.
  • Tirek has a few appearance differences from Tirac, such as a white beard and tail, a longer tail, a nose ring, and no spikes on his wrists. His wrist braces also break when he becomes big enough. As they couldn't have humans in Equestria, Tirek was designed to look less humanoid and more bull-like.
  • Tirek does not ride a Chariot of Midnight.
  • Tirac is destroyed while Tirek was imprisoned in Tartarus before being freed by "Grogar" (who was revealed to be Discord in disguise). However, one similarity is that both were defeated by a rainbow. However, unlike Tirac, Tirek was freed by "Grogar" and continued his villainous ways alongside Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, until all three were defeated and frozen in stone.
  • Tirac never met Grogar in G1 (he was dead at that point) while the opposite happened in G4 (which later turned out to be Discord disguised as Grogar).
  • Tirac was irredeemable, whereas Tirek was shown to have redeemable qualities despite not redeeming himself. Whereas Tirek showed redeeming qualities like keeping promises to Twilight and Queen Chrysalis, Tirac has no redeemable qualities whatsoever, even going as far as to threaten Scorpan to behead Spike, a baby dragon for Scorpan's repeated failures.
  • Tirac has no villainous theme song (though the creepy tune that goes with Midnight Castle could count as one), while Tirek shares one with Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow.
  • While Tirac took major inspirations from the biblical Devil, Tirek mostly takes inspiration from Erebus, another villain from MLP's first generation. Other than common tropes like being power-hungry and betraying a henchman that is no longer useful to them, both start out very weak and cloaked, trick a good character into helping them get stronger, and as they get stronger (which both do via consuming shadows/magic through their mouths) they increase in size as well. And once they are defeated, all the power they stole is stripped away from them and the two are imprisoned instead of killed. Additionally, Tirek's horns in his later forms sometimes resemble Erebus' spiky eyebrows. Tirek's motivation to steal all the magic of Equestria also resembles a similar objective from another G1 villain, Lavan.

Quotes[]

Oh, please. I've seen this before. But he was always weak-minded. You are Discord, you are legend, you cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother! Help me to grow strong, and be rewarded with something far greater than "friendship": freedom. Once I've stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the master of chaos himself? Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness. Unless, of course, "pony errand boy" is the role you've always wanted to play in this world.
~ Tirek convincing Discord to join him.
The only one Discord betrayed was himself. Abandoning his true nature to make friends with weak-minded equines who offer him nothing!
~ Tirek to Shining Armour.
Give my regards to Cerberus.
~ Tirek banishing the Princesses to Tartarus.
Tirek: Us? Who said anything about us?
Discord: You did…
Tirek: You've helped me grow strong. You've provided the means by which I can obtain Princess Twilight's magic. And now you are no longer of
any use to me.
~ Tirek betraying Discord and stealing his magic.
Tirek: PRINCESS TWILIGHT!!
Twilight: [gasps] Tirek!
Tirek: YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME!!
~ Tirek before his fight with Twilight Sparkle.
How is this possible?! You have no magic!
~ Tirek after his attack had no effect on the Rainbow Powered Mane Six.
If my protégé has followed my instructions, by sunset tonight, every last vestige of Equestrian magic will disappear into the ether forever!
~ Tirek bragging about Cozy Glow's plan.
Tirek: I'd had enough of you trying to manipulate me with that insincere, syrupy sweetness. At least now we can see the real you.
Cozy Glow: This is not the real me! I'm cute and lovable!
Tirek: No, you're not! You're annoying, and you snore.
Cozy Glow: I do not snore!
Tirek: [mock-snoring]
Cozy Glow: At least I don't talk to my Gram-Gram in my sleep.
Tirek: DON'T YOU DARE BRING GRAM-GRAM INTO THIS!
~ Tirek bickering with Cozy Glow.
DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!
~ Tirek's last words.

Trivia[]

  • Tirek is the Generation 4 incarnation of Tirac, the first major antagonist from the Generation 1 series, My Little Pony 'n Friends.
    • The main difference between them is that while Tirek wanted to take all of the ponies' magic, Tirac wanted to cover their land in perpetual darkness (which reflected Nightmare Moon's scheme to force Equestria in endless night).
  • Tirek is the third most recurring main antagonist in the series, appearing in 11 episodes. He is also the most recurring male unreformed antagonist in the series.
  • He is considered to be one of the evilest villains in Friendship is Magic, along with Queen Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, King Sombra and the Storm King. Tirek is shown to have consciously flat-out rejected the very concept of friendship with the ponies of Equestria, his brother Scorpan, and Discord, believing it to be a weakness. Also, without any rain or food (due to stealing flight from Pegasi and strength from earth ponies), the ponies of Equestria would likely die early into his rule if he stayed in power (And in the alternate timeline he was shown destroying a lifeless wasteland).
    • However, he is later willing to cooperate with Cozy Glow and Queen Chrysalis to achieve his goals and he did come close to reforming in the episode "Frenemies" before Chrysalis snapped him out of it, thus making him not as evil as his G1 counterpart.
  • In his debut, Tirek is shown to be very serious, traitorous, and threatening, though not as evil as his G1 counterpart. In his later appearances, Tirek is shown to be a little more comedic, but he still maintains his seriousness and threatening demeanour. Perhaps the most comedic Tirek has ever been was in the non-canon Most Evil Q&A Instagram videos, where he is shown to be a fan of the Rock and wants to open up a Yoga studio (Though this was likely a joke video non-canon or not meant to be taken seriously).
  • Despite the difference in backstory and his relationship with Scorpan from G1, it is given a nod in FiM with Scorpan betraying Tirek for the ponies, though Scorpan never appears in the series.
  • Aside from the real Grogar, Tirek is the oldest villain in the My Little Pony franchise as he was his age when Star Swirl the Bearded was a young unicorn. The second one is the Dazzlings, who were their age when they were defeated by Star Swirl.
    • However, in FIENDship is Magic Issue 3, Discord is shown to be present when Tirek was younger, meaning Discord is older and thus, the oldest villain (though he is later reformed). Furthermore, in the show, Tirek is familiar with Discord and is well aware of his imprisonment in stone.
    • Also, in FIENDship is Magic Issue 4, it is shown that when Starswirl banished the Dazzlings, they appeared in the present day, meaning that they never aged, to begin with.
  • Tirek's claims of friendship being a form of imprisonment in which those involved are forced to surrender their true nature was eerily predicted in the Season 5 premiere episode "Cutie Map," in which the residents of an unnamed village are made to believe that they must give up their unique talents in order to remain friends with one another by Starlight Glimmer.
  • Tirek is the first antagonist to steal the Alicorn magic followed by the Storm King and Cozy Glow.
  • Tirek's second form resembles his G1 counterpart's appearance the most.
    • However, Tirek's third form appears to be his main physical appearance as shown in a flashback of when he and Scorpan came to Equestria, he was in his third form already before being stripped of it and sent to Tartarus.
  • In Season 4, when Tirek is in his third form, his voice is deeper. However, in Season 9, when he is in his third form again, he oddly still has the voice of his second form. This might be because Mark Acheson decided to voice his more powerful form a bit more normally and not as over the top as in Season 4.
  • Tirek's backstory is somewhat explained in "The Ending of the End", where Discord reveals that deep down, Tirek feels like he is not enough to live up to his father King Vorak's expectations, though this may have not been true and simply Discord trying to get under his skin. This is one of the few times the series actually referenced the IDW comics.
  • Tirek, alongside Queen Chrysalis respectfully, is the third major villain to be the main antagonists of the whole season, the others are Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow. In Tirek and Chrysalis' case, it was for the entirety of Season 9 alongside Cozy Glow.
  • Tirek, alongside Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, is the final antagonist of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. This is fitting, as he was the first antagonist in the My Little Pony franchise.
  • Unlike Grogar, who turned out to be Discord in disguise in Season 9, and the Smooze, who was not antagonistic in G4, Tirek is the only major antagonist originating from G1 that stayed as a villain through and through in FiM. Despite this, Grogar was a real historical figure in Equestria's past and Discord poses as him in Season 9.
  • Tirek can be considered a darker reflection to Discord. Both were powerful and dangerous tyrants and were rejected by someone close to them. (Fluttershy rejecting Discord out of anger for flooding Sweet Apple Acres and then turning it into ice. Tirek rejected by Scorpan after Scorpan turned good.) But the difference is that while Discord made up for his mistakes buy turning Sweet Apple Acres back to way it was, Tirek became angry and bitter when his brother betrayed him and wanted to destroy everything in his path. And while Discord had some sympathetic and redeeming qualities (such as feeling remorse when Fluttershy rejected him and when he betrays her along with the other Mane Six along with helping them figure out how to open up the Chest of Harmony) Tirek was far more despicable, as he wanted power for himself and feeling no remorse when he betrayed Discord. Ironically, In Frenemies it showed that Tirek also had redeeming qualities but unlike Discord, he would still retain his villainous nature. And while Discord still made mistakes after being reformed he had good intentions (bringing back Tirek along with King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow while posing as Grogar to help Twilight be more confident of being ruler of Equestria) Tirek's intentions were purposely to harm others and to have power and ultimately Tirek (along with Chrysalis and Cozy Glow) were turned to stone like Discord, presumably for eternity. Thus, Tirek serves as an example of what Discord would've become if he became angry and bitter after being rejected by Fluttershy and didn't feel any remorse for his actions. Tirek also serves as a lesson to Discord, because if he hadn't learned the values of friendship, he would've ended up like Tirek.

Navigation[]

           My Little Pony franchise logo Villains

Generation 1
My Little Pony 'n Friends
Ahgg | Beezen | Catrina | Dragon Gang | Erebus | Flories | Grogar | Hydia | King Charlatan | Lavan | Princess Porcina | Queen Bumble | Raptorians | Reeka & Draggle | Somnambula | Squirk | Tirac

My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
Hydia | Reeka & Draggle | Smooze | Ahgg

Generation 4
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Apple Bloom's Shadow | Ahuizotl | Arimaspi | Bugbear | Changelings | Chimera | Cockatrice | Daybreaker | Dr. Caballeron | Diamond Dogs | Diamond Tiara | Discord | Dragons (Dragon Lord Torch, Garble & Sludge) | Flim Flam Brothers | Gladmane | Grogar | Hydra | King Sombra | Legion of Doom (Queen Chrysalis, Tirek & Cozy Glow) | Mane-iac | Maulwurf | Mean Six | Nightmare Moon | Parasprites | Pony of Shadows | Puckwudgies | Roc | Sable Spirit | Silver Spoon | Snips and Snails | Sphinx | Starlight Glimmer | Storm King | Svengallop | Tantabus | Tatzlwurm | Tempest Shadow | Timberwolves | Trixie Lulamoon | Vampire Fruit Bats | Windigos | Wind Rider

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Dazzlings (Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze & Sonata Dusk) | Juniper Montage | PostCrush (Kiwi Lollipop & Supernova Zap) | Principal Cinch | The Predaplants (The Predaplant-Titan) | Snips and Snails | Sunset Shimmer | Trixie Lulamoon | Vignette Valencia | Wallflower Blush

Comics
Accord | Bad Apple | Changelings | Chupacabra | Cosmos | Cozy Glow | Daybreaker | Dazzlings (Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze & Sonata Dusk) | Diamond Tiara | Discord | Dyre | Flim Flam Brothers | Grackle | Grogar | Grootslang | High Heel | King Longhorn | King Meowmeow | King Sombra | Knights of Harmony (Danu, Balor, Morrigan, Taranis, Mannah, & Ceridwen) | Long-Face | Lord Goldstone | Mane-iac | Mirror Pony of Shadows | Nightmare Forces | Nightmare Moon | Nightmare Rarity | Pony of Shadows | Pharaoh Phetlock | Prince Huginn | Princess Celestia | Princess Eris | Pseudocorns | Queen Chrysalis | Rabia | Rough Diamond | S'Monies (Black Belle, Violet Shiver, & Shadow Storm) | Sendak | Shadowbolts | Shadowfall | Shadowfright | Shadowmane | Silver Spoon | Smooze | Smudge | Snips and Snails | Starlight Glimmer | Storm King's army (Storm King, Tempest Shadow, Grubber & Storm Creatures) | Sunset Shimmer | Thrace Ponies (King Diomedes | Terri Belle | Swift Foot) | Tirek | Trench | Trixie Lulamoon | Umbrum | Vampiric Jackalope

My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
Storm King's army (Storm King | Tempest Shadow | Grubber | Storm Creatures)

Generation 5
My Little Pony: A New Generation
Sprout Cloverleaf

My Little Pony: Make Your Mark
Queen Opaline | Misty Brightdawn | Sprout Cloverleaf | Troggles | Allura | Twitch

Comics
Discord | Fet Lockland | Queen Opaline

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