Lord Tirek

Lord Tirek is a male centaur and the main antagonist of the season four finale. He is a villain who escapes from Tartarus and steals magic.

Development and design
Tirek shares his name and certain aspects of his design with a Generation 1 villain from the animated television special Rescue at Midnight Castle. He is a centaur with reddish skin, white hair, black fur, cloven hooves, and is somewhat bovine in appearance.

Over the course of Tirek's appearances in the finale, his appearance gradually changes as he absorbs more magic. He intially appears very frail, with muted colors and a hunched posture that leaves him roughly at the height of a normal pony. After absorbing the magic of many unicorns, he gains a more muscular physique, brighter colors, and a pair of curved horns. His later transformations exaggerate his form even further, becoming larger, brawnier, and with increasingly long and elaborate horns.

During her May 2014 takeover of the Hub Network's Twitter feed, Meghan McCarthy identified Tirek as her "new favorite character", and described Tirek as having "some serious issues and some serious magic". On May 10, 2014, Jayson Thiessen tweeted "hehe" in reply to a fan's tweet "Was just rewatching episodes with a friend. Was that Tirek at the end of Castle Mane-ia? My mind may have just blown."

Depiction in the series
Lord Tirek first appears in Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1. He is introduced in a frail, weakened state, with pale colors and a raspy voice. In a Canterlot alleyway,  he approaches an unsuspecting unicorn and drains his magic, regaining a little of his strength. This attack is sensed by Princess Celestia in a vision, causing Princess Luna to see it and become aware as well.

In a scene similar to the opening scene of the first episode, Celestia and Luna reveal that Tirek (depicted in his strengthened form) and his brother, Scorpan, came to Equestria from "a distant land" to steal Equestrian magic. However, Scorpan grew to appreciate the ways of Equestria, even befriending a young unicorn wizard. Scorpan pleaded with his brother to abandon their plans, but Tirek refused to relent. To save Equestria, Scorpan informed the Princesses of Tirek's intentions, leading to Tirek being imprisoned in Tartarus for his crimes while Scorpan returned to their homeland.

Celestia states that Tirek likely escaped during the events of It's About Time, when Cerberus left his post at Tartarus' gates, and has only recently regained enough strength to use his dark magic after languishing in Tartarus for centuries.

While continuing to devour unicorn magic, Tirek is captured by Discord, who is there on behalf of his friendship to the ponies. Likening Discord's actions to those of his "weak-minded brother", Tirek appeals to Discord's former nature as a master of chaos, convincing him that friendship is "a new form of imprisonment", and that betraying the ponies will grant him freedom to do what he pleases. With Discord swayed to his side, Tirek is able to continue his efforts to repower himself, gaining a stronger, more colorful form as his power increases. He is soon strong enough to begin draining the magic of Pegasi and Earth ponies as well as unicorns, accelerating his rampage even further.

In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2, Tirek has regained much of his old strength, rivalling Discord in height and gaining longer, elaborate horns. Now powerful enough to steal Alicorn magic, he travels to Canterlot, draining the Royal Guards of their magic on his way to the castle. Anticipating this, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance transfer all of their magic into Twilight Sparkle and send her into hiding, believing Tirek is unaware of her existence as a fourth princess. When Tirek bursts into the throne room and finds the princesses devoid of their magic, he banishes them to Tartarus in revenge for his own imprisonment.

Noticing Discord's growing doubts about his allegiance, Tirek gives Discord the medallion around his neck, claiming that it originally belonged to "someone very close" to him and that it is a token of his gratitude and loyalty. He found momentary amusement in Discord's modified stained-glass windows, but his humor quickly disappeared when he discovered Twilight via her depiction in an unaltered window. Discord admitted that he had concealed Twilight's existence out of worry for Tirek's loyalty to him - with their alliance apparently secure, the draconequus directs Tirek to Twilight's home in Ponyville.

At Discord's suggestion, the villains capture Twilight's friends. As Tirek absorbs their magic, he learns from Discord that Twilight will do anything to protect her friends, giving them a bargaining chip against her. With that knowledge, Tirek suddenly turns on Discord and absorbs his magic as well, breaking his bracers and gaining a mane of white hair as his power rises even further. Tirek explains to a stunned Discord that the latter is no longer useful to him; when the draconequus reminds him of the medallion, Tirek reveals that the medallion was given to him by his brother Scorpan - who, having betrayed him, he holds in little regard. Declaring that the medallion is "as worthless as [Scorpan] is", Tirek leaves a distraught, depowered Discord behind as he set off to find Twilight Sparkle.

Tirek soon finds his quarry in the outskirts of Ponyville, trying to control the combined might of four Alicorns. He pursues Twilight relentlessly, destroying Golden Oak Library when she tries to take refuge there. This proves to be a mistake, as an enraged Twilight unleashes all of her magic against Tirek in an intense duel that ravages the landscape. Tirek fights back with his own enhanced powers, but neither combatant could gain the upper hand.

Noting that their powers are evenly matched, Tirek offers Twilight a trade: the release of her friends in exchange for the Alicorn magic. Despite her friends' protests, Twilight agrees to trade the magic for her friends, including Discord. Although bewildered that Twilight would consider Discord a friend after his betrayal, Tirek releases all of his prisoners before absorbing all of Twilight's Alicorn magic, making him all-powerful and nigh-unstoppable.

However, Tirek's deal would ultimately prove his undoing - a humbled and broken Discord gives Scorpan's medallion to Twilight as a symbol of his genuine gratitude and repentance. In doing so, the medallion is revealed as the final key needed to open the Tree of Harmony chest. As Tirek rampages through the Everfree Forest, the Mane Six open the chest, gaining a new, powerful magic that Tirek is unable to overpower. With this magic, the ponies strip Tirek of all his stolen magic and reduce him to his weakened state once more. He is last seen locked in a cage within Tartarus, guarded by Cerberus.

Personality
Tirek is evil, sadistic, and narcissistic, driven by an obsessive desire for power. He has a violent temper and a bloodthirsty nature, as seen during his battle with Twilight Sparkle. He is also very manipulative and highly persuasive when striking a deal. However, while Tirek will follow his end of a bargain in most cases, he is fundamentally dishonest and traitorous, not hesitating to turn on and dispose of anyone whose usefulness has expired, like Discord.

He has a deep resentment toward his brother Scorpan after his betrayal, describing him as "weak-minded" and "worthless". His hatred also shows a certain myopia, as Scorpan had repeatedly asked Tirek to stand down and abandon his plans of conquest before being forced to ask the princesses for help.

Magic
Besides Discord, Tirek is potentially one of the most powerful magic users in the show. However, his magic is severely diminished due to his imprisonment in Tartarus.

Upon escaping from Tartarus, he is forced him to leech off of unicorns' magic to restore his strength, later building up to Pegasi, Earth ponies, and even Discord himself. The drained magic empowers Tirek both physically and magically, giving him brighter colors, a more muscular physique, longer horns, and a deeper voice. His absorption powers increase in scale as well, enabling him to drain dozens of ponies at once. He also exhibits new abilities, such as creating holographic image constructs.

After absorbing the magic of Twilight's friends and Discord, Tirek's size increases to the point at which he towers over most buildings in Ponyville. His growing musculature shatters the bracers on his arms, and he grows a mass of white hair on his head to match his beard and tail. In this state, his power and magic equal that of an Alicorn magic-empowered Twilight Sparkle, and he can stand on even footing against her in battle. Among his abilities include an energy shield, flight (or very powerful leaps), and incredible physical strength and durability - being struck by an empowered Twilight's strongest attacks only seemed to irritate him. When negotiating with Twilight, he also displays abilities similar to Discord's chaos magic, demonstrated when he snaps his fingers and summons Twilight's drained friends in levitating bubbles.

After absorbing Twilight's Alicorn magic, Tirek grows from his already-impressive magnitude to a size comparable to that of a hydra. His other abilities are similarly enhanced, but he still proves inferior to the Mane Six when they gain the power of the Tree of Harmony, losing all of the magic he'd drained from Discord, the princesses, unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies.

Merchandise
Lord Tirek is featured on the fan-designed WeLoveFine T-shirts "Tirek's Lousy Tee" and "My Kingdom for a Sandwich", both of which are by the same artist.

Quotes
"'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."

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1

"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."

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1

"How does it feel knowing that every Pegasus, unicorn, and Earth pony will bow to my will, and that there is nothing you can do to stop it?!"

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"Give my regards to Cerberus."

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"Here, I want you to have something. This was given to me by someone very close to me. I give it to you as a sign of my gratitude and loyalty."

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"My brother, who betrayed me. It is as worthless to me as he is."

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"How is this possible? You have no magic!"

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2