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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!
„
~ Tirek while stealing a unicorn's magic.
“
You're right, dear father. One day I will overpower you. I will take this land for myself. And once that is done, it is I who will journey to Equestria and do what the elder could not. One day... I will be an indomitable force!
„
~ Young Tirek plotting his future.
“
Turns out that the magic of friendship is your biggest weakness! A fitting end to your pathetic story.
„
~ Tirek taunting the Mane 6.
Lord Tirek, simply known as Tirek, is one of the main antagonists of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. He appears as the main antagonist in Season 4's finale "Twilight's Kingdom", a minor villain in "Cutie Re-Mark", the secondary antagonist in Season 8's finale "School Raze", and one of the three main antagonists of Season 9 (alongside Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow). He is also one of Twilight Sparkle's archenemies.
He is a power-hungry centaur with the power to drain the magic and abilities out of other creatures, particularly ponies. In Season 4, he escaped from his imprisonment at Tartarus to steal magic and gain power to take over Equestria, before he was defeated and banished back to Tartarus by the Mane Six, powered by Rainbow Power. In Season 8, he conspires with his new protégé Cozy Glow for the sake of revenge but his plan backfired. In Season 9, he and Cozy Glow were released from Tartarus and becomes a member of the Legion of Doom, a team of villains bend on conquering Equestria. However, he and his teammates were defeated once more by the Mane Six and their allies. He is Friendship is Magic's incarnation of Tirac; the first villain of the original series.
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 horns and a white beard, his eyes are jet black with yellow pupils. 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 primate/bull-like shape. 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 bigger and nastier he gets. Notably, he becomes much more muscular, grows more hair, and his horns grow much longer. After he absorbs the power of the five main characters (sans Twilight), his shackle bracelets shatter.
Personality
Tirek's evil grin.
Befitting his status as a revamp of one of the original show's darkest characters, Tirek is extremely power-hungry, oppressive, brutal, abusive and obsessed. He wants to have complete and utter dominion over all of Equestria, and he will stop at nothing to accomplish this goal. However, he does not kill his enemies, preferring to leave them alive, but powerless, to better oppress them. Tirek is also very quick to anger, and his wrath is absolutely terrifying to behold.
Despite this, Tirek is not purely a brute as he was 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 who cannot be trusted. 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. Despite this, he will sometimes keep his word, but only when he feels he's not really losing anything out of the deal, such as when he released Twilight's depowered friends. 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 that he simply could not grasp the concept of forgiveness.
Despite Tirek's low opinion on friendship and ponies, he conspired with Cozy Glow to get his revenge on the Mane Six. He even referred to Cozy Glow as his "little protégé". However, after she is locked in Tartarus with him, he becomes annoyed by the filly's attempts to befriend him.
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. Tirek along with Chrysalis and Cozy Glow then decided to betray "Grogar" after they retrieved the bell. Tirek was also shown to be very proud of the huge physique he gained after draining a large portion of Equestria's magic including the magic of all the alicorns and Discord. He keeps a portrait of himself in his most powerful achieved state in his room and uses it as inspiration when working out. After being freed from Tartarus the second time, he becomes determined to regain all the power and physique that he formerly had. Whenever he regained some of his former strength, he was prone to kissing his biceps.
In 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 Part 2, Discord suggests that Tirek uses magic to compensate for the fact that deep down, he is afraid he will never be enough to please his father, King Vorak. This enrages Tirek to the point of attacking Discord and accidentally set Starlight free. Tirek's Fiendship is Magic issue elaborates on this by showing his life as a child. It is revealed that Tirek was a sociopath as a child, and that his father disapproved of his behavior. Tirek developed a hatred of his father because of this, plotting to one day overthrow him.
Tirek was shown to be very bossy toward Scorpan when they were young, though Scorpan was devoted to Tirek and tried to make him happy. As an adult, Tirek holds deep resentment toward Scorpan for turning on him, never considering the fact that Scorpan tried to talk him out of his plan and was forced to betray Tirek when he refused. He deems both Scorpan and the amulet he gave him as a final gift the last time they ever saw each other as a memento of their former bond as "worthless". In this regard, 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 all his many personality flaws, Tirek does have a few redeeming features. Despite his burning hatred for his father and brother and seeming indifference toward his mother, he was shown to genuinely love his grandmother or "Gram gram" as he called her. He also showed a more sympathetic side to him when he caught a bird in his hand and let it fly away unharmed after it was blown away by the Canterlot castle's air defenses. He even came close to reforming in "Frenemies" before Chrysalis snapped him and Cozy Glow out of it.
Powers and Abilities
Tirek has manifested the following abilities so far:
Magic Drain: In his first appearance, Tirek is shown to be able to consume the magic of ponies, removing their cutie mark in the process - he seems to literally suck this magic into his mouth, like a more kid-friendly version of "soul stealing" (and possibly a flat-out violation of the ponies' selves). A pony drained this way is completely stripped of all magic. Tirek adds the stolen magic to his own, increasing his size and power. The more magic he drains, the bigger and more powerful he becomes. After devouring enough unicorn magic, he becomes able to strip Earth and pegasus ponies of their innate magic as well. At very high levels of power, he can steal magic from alicorns or a draconequus. If Tirek drains the magic of every single pony in Equestria, he effectively becomes its god, able to single-handedly control all the aspects of the land that ponies normally regulate collectively. He can also drain dozens of beings at once. "Frenemies" reveals that he cannot drain magic from nonliving things, and that he can return magic to those he has drained if he so chooses.
Demonic 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 Tatarus.
Heat Generation: Tirek once generated enough heat to melt a stain-glass window depicting Twilight.
Earth Manipulation: By slamming his fists into the ground, Tirek can cause pieces of the earth to stick up and attack his enemy.
Immense Strength: At high levels of power, Tirek displays an enormous degree of super 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 smash the ground to create a fearsome shock wave. Presumably, his physical power depends on the amount of earth pony magic he has consumed.
Durability: Tirek's durability seems to be immense as he managed to ram himself and Twilight through an entire mountain, tank several powerful beams from her and even survived the magical equivalent of a nuke. Tirek almost never shows any sign of feeling pain (except at rare occasions like when Twilight blasted him in the face) and never seems to be injured at all. He may even be immortal, since the rainbow did not kill him, instead only draining his power and sending him back to Tartarus. Also, like Celestia, he is over a thousand years old.
Flight: During his battle against Twilight, he is capable of high-speed wingless flight, which would be consistent with him stealing Pegasus magic.
Relationships
Family
Scorpan
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 Starswirl 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 Saccarnas). 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
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 reveals that Tirek has been stealing magic to compensate that deep down, he will never be enough to please Vorak, causing the Centaur to blast Discord angrily. This could also explain how Tirek became evil in the first place was from his father's disapproval for his son (besides learning to absorb magic by a centaur hermit).
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 behavior. 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.
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
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.
Though Tirek is skeptical with all the magic being gone, he went ahead to help her with the plan, so he can get his revenge on Twilight Sparkle and her friends when she tricked them to be locked in Tartarus. Tirek reveals to the Mane Six the dark truth behind Cozy Glow, her plans, and the fact that he conspired with her. But after the Mane Six escaped from Tartarus, Cozy Glow's plan was foiled by the Young Six and was taken to Tartarus for her crimes. She was locked in the cage next to Tirek's cage. Cozy Glow soon attempts to befriend Tirek, even making him a sculpture of the two of them. Tirek is annoyed by this, as he does not fall for her tricks since he too is a master manipulator.
Later, Tirek and Cozy were released from Tartarus by "Grogar" and join his team of villains to conquer Equestria. Tirek is forced to work with Cozy Glow and to take over Equestria. Tirek and Cozy Glow didn't get along with each other, as they constantly bicker and argue, especially during their mission to retrieve the Bewitching Bell. However, because of their shared hatred for Twilight Sparkle, Tirek finally was able to cooperate with Cozy, despite his animosity towards her. They continue to work together and put their trust over each other. They continue to bicker and fight even in the series finale, 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
Tirek and Chrysalis.
Tirek and Queen Chrysalis have a very strong relationship but it didn't start off that way at first. Before they team up in Season 9, 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, which he angrily does so. During the song A Better Way To Be Bad, Tirek claimed himself to be smarter and stronger than Chrysalis and Cozy, which causes Chrysalis to disagree and reminds 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 over 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 continue 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 refuses 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 to 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. Chrysalis and Tirek both get angry at Cozy Glow for trying to use the stolen magic from the Bewitching Bell, as they have no clue how to use it. Later on, as the Windigos run rampant, Queen Chrysalis wanted to use the Windigos to her advantage, which Tirek strongly disagrees with as they too will become victims if they do not deal with the threat now, much to Chrysalis's anger. Before they bicker again, Cozy tells them both that they needed to deal with the Mane Six, who has arrived to challenge them.
In the end, Chrysalis and Tirek continue to work together to face off their enemies, before they were defeated and is turned to stone alongside Chrysalis and 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
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, helping Tirek steal almost all the magic from Unicorns, Pegasi, and even Earth Ponies. Tirek learns that the Princesses have given away their magic so he won't take it from them. After banishing the Princesses, Discord questioned over the fact that he said that everypony will bow to his will, and not their will. Tirek continues to gain Discord's trust by giving him a Medallion that he got from someone "very close to him" out of respect and gratitude for his loyalty.
However, Tirek learns of a fourth Alicorn princess, Twilight Sparkle, over a stain glass window. He gets angry at Discord for not telling him about it while Discord explains that he needed reassuring that Tirek respects him for his loyalty. Discord tells Tirek that Twilight lives in a Library in Ponyville, so Tirek and Discord go to Ponyville. There, they capture Twilight Sparkle's friends, much to their shock and horror by Discord's betrayal. Tirek steals their magic and he becomes even more powerful. Tirek asked Discord if Twilight will do anything for her friends, which Discord answering that all of Twilight's magic will be his eventually and that no pony will stop them.
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 suffer the consequences. Twilight decides to sacrifice her magic for her friends, to which Tirek holds his end of the bargain and sets them free. All of her friends, except Discord, were free. Twilight demands Tirek to free Discord. Tirek questions that after Discord's betrayal, the ponies still consider him a friend, but he sets him free as well. Tirek steals Twilight's magic and goes on a rampage, while Discord gives Twilight the medallion, which is revealed to be the last key needed to open the chest at the Tree of Harmony. The chest soon gives the Mane Six super "rainbow" powers and they finally defeat Tirek and send him back to Tartarus.
Later in the series, Tirek was freed from Tartarus by "Grogar" and join 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.
After Tirek bickers with the other villains how to use the stolen magic in the bell, which includes Discord's chaos magic, Discord, who is remorseful for his actions, enacts a ploy to trick the villains into telling them how to use the magic in the Bell. Tirek does not trust Discord as he knows he is lying, and Discord is equally distrusting, reminding Tirek of his betrayal towards him in Season 4, and insults him. After calling him a pathetic Centaur with daddy issues, Tirek angrily blasts him with magic. Discord blocks and reflects the attack with a crystal rock, and it strikes Starlight Glimmer's cage, setting her and the others free. Discord and the freed prisoners manage to keep the villains busy while Twilight's friends went to search for Twilight. In the end, after an epic battle between the Legion of Doom and the allies of Equestria, Discord suggests that he help Celestia and Luna turn Tirek and his fellow villains to stone.
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
Tirek and Twilight Sparkle after their battle.
Tirek is one of the biggest enemies of the Mane Six. Tirek first heard of them from Discord, who tells him that Fluttershy is the one who taught him about friendship. Tirek is unimpressed by Discord's friendship with the ponies, but he decided to use Discord for his schemes. Tirek later learns that a fourth Alicorn named Princess Twilight Sparkle exists and has all the Alicorn Magic he needed to gain more power and control in Equestria. This is thanks to a stained glass window that he discovers and asked Discord where he can find the fourth Princess. Discord tells him that Twilight lives in a library in Ponyville. Tirek smirks evilly and destroys the stain glass window with his magic. Tirek and Discord find Twilight's friends and traps them in cages.
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 than betrays Discord, steals his magic, and then goes to find Twilight. Tirek does eventually find the Princess and he attempts to steal her magic before Twilight teleported quickly to the Golden Oak Library. Looking through a telescope, Twilight spots Tirek shooting his magic blast, heading straight for the Library.
Twilight quickly teleports away and saves her pet owl, Owlowiscious, before the blast destroyed the Golden Oak Library. This causes Twilight to become enraged and a grand battle between the two occurred. After the short dramatic and epic battle, Tirek and Twilight are at an impasse, so Tirek begins to offer Twilight a deal, by trapping her friends in bubbles and demands her to give up all the Alicorn magic that she has, which the other Princesses has earlier transferred their own magic to Twilight to keep it safe. Twilight decides to give up her magic in exchange for her friends, which Tirek holds his end of the bargain. He steals all the Alicorn Magic from Twilight and becomes even more powerful and unstoppable. As Tirek goes on a rampage, Discord apologizes for his actions and gives Twilight the last key needed to open the Chest of Harmony, which is Scorpan's medallion. The Mane Six opened the chest and the Tree of Harmony has grand them more powerful forms, which they used to finally defeat Tirek and reimprison him back in Tartarus.
In the Season 8 finale, magic is disappearing across Equestria and the Mane Six suspect that it is Tirek's doing. So they go to Tartarus to question the Centaur. Tirek denies this but he did reveal that he conspired with Cozy Glow, who is the true mastermind behind the disappearance of magic, and he intended to trap the Mane Six with him out of revenge for his defeat. However, his plan backfired and Tirek is forced to help them escape from Tartarus after Pinkie Pie irritated him enough.
In Season 9, Tirek and Cozy were released from Tartarus and join forces with other villains to conquer Equestria and get rid of Twilight and her friends once and for all. Tirek thinks that the reason the Mane Six always win is that they are "annoyingly lucky". He even 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, but this time, he is not alone. Tirek and his cohorts managed to defeat the Mane Six for a brief time, but they gain the confidence back and battled the villains one last time, this time with the help of their own allies. Tirek and Twilight share a brief rematch during the final battle. They are both not as powerful as they once were during their epic battle in Season 4, which Twilight having her own magic while Tirek was in his third form. In the end, the Mane Six and their allies managed to defeat Tirek and his partners, who are turned to stone.
Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance
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. Thousands of 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 as 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 in Tartarus for many years. Later on, Tirek was reimprisoned 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 stealing magic from the Pillars.
Tirek serves as an enemy towards the Pillars of Equestria which included Starswirl the Bearded, Somnambula, Flash Magnus, Rockhoof, and Mage Meadowbrook. Starswirl 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 Starswirl during the battle and it is unknown if Tirek knew of Starswirl'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 regain 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
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 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
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 "indominable 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 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 showrunner Meghan McCarthy said that Tirek is her "new favorite character".
Tirek is one of the most popular villains in the Brony fandom, the others are Discord and Queen Chrysalis. His popularity and reception are likely the reason he returned in Season 8 and also Season 9.
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. 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 some 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.
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.
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. It was evidenced in the episode The Summer Sun Setback where the bird lands onto Tirek's hands and allows it to fly free. He also shows that he has standards such as when he questioned Cozy's plan on draining all the magic in the episode "Frenemies." Tirek was also shown capable of honoring 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. He even almost came close to reform in that episode 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. 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.
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.
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 Armor.
“
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.
“
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.
“
PRINCESS TWILIGHT!! (Twilight: *gasps* Tirek!) YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME!!
„
~ Tirek before his epic fight with Twilight Sparkle.
“
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 when I 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 in the series before his defeat.
Trivia
Tirek shares the main antagonist role with Cozy Glow and Queen Chrysalis in the entire series, since he and his cohorts have more connection to the heroes than any other antagonist in the show.
Tirek is the third most recurring main antagonist in the series, appearing in 8 episodes. He is also the most recurring male unreformed antagonist in the series.
Tirek is the only antagonist in My Little Pony who has been shown as capable of actually beating Discord - though he did have to use trickery to gain enough power to do so, nevertheless it is a testament to Tirek's cunning that he could achieve this (since every other villain so far has been stated as incapable of even harming Discord, unless he allows it).
In his fully-powered state, Tirek was easily the most powerful antagonist in FiM. After consuming enough magic, he surpasses even Discord in power. However, despite the raw power he possesses, he is not as skilled with it as the Draconequus is; Tirek mostly uses the magic of others to fuel his own familiar offensive spells, rather than reshaping reality at will as Discord does.
He is considered to be one of the most evil villains in Friendship is Magic, along with Queen Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and King Sombra. 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. 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 demeanor. Perhaps the most comedic Tirek has ever been is 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.
Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Queen Chrysalis are the only recurring major antagonists of the series who did not reform.
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.
He seems to be a sort of Satanic archetype for the show. He is obviously a demon, the most powerful antagonist of his show, and beyond a doubt one of the evilest. He corrupts Discord into betraying the Mane Six and his ultimate ambition is to rule as God of Equestria.
Aside from the real Grogar, Tirek is the oldest villain in the My Little Pony franchise as he was in his age when Star Swirl the Bearded was a young unicorn. The second ones are the Dazzlings, who were in 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 is the third male main antagonist of the series. Interestingly enough, all three were imprisoned by Celestia and Luna a thousand years ago, while none of the females were (although Nightmare Moon and the Dazzlings were banished a thousand years ago, only Celestia banished Nightmare Moon, and Starswirl banished the Dazzlings). The only major male antagonist who was not banished a thousand years ago was the Storm King.
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, the second being the Storm King.
Tirek is the third antagonist to appear in two two-part episodes, others being Starlight Glimmer and Queen Chrysalis. He was the main villain of Season 4's finale and one of the main antagonists of Season 9. He was also the overarching antagonist of Season 8.
Tirek's second form resembles Tirac'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 Tarturus.
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. This is one of the few times the series actually referenced the IDW comics.
In Season 9, Tirek, along with Cozy and Chrysalis, were thought to be the secondary antagonists while "Grogar" was the main antagonist. However, they would take over this position when "Grogar" was revealed to be Discord.
Tirek, alongside Queen Chrysalis respectfully, is the third major villains 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, 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.
Tirek can be considered a foil to Discord as both were tyrannical-wannabe who wanted to take over the world, also didn't care about friendship and were enemies of ponies at first. However, while Discord ended up redeeming himself and making peace with them, Tirek was far too irredeemable (though he did came close to redemption before Queen Chrysalis snapped him out of it), had a passionate hatred against friendship and a severe grudge against ponies. Tirek represents of what Discord could've become if he was never offered friendship by the Mane Six.
