Lord Tirek

Lord Tirek is a male centaur, the older brother of Scorpan, the main antagonist of the season four finale, and one of the main antagonists of the season nine finale. He is a villain who escapes from Tartarus, steals magic, and seeks to rule over Equestria.

Tirek is defeated and banished back to Tartarus by the Mane Six through Rainbow Power magic acquired from the Chest of Harmony. He is later released from his imprisonment by Grogar to join his alliance, along with Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, to defeat Twilight and her friends and conquer Equestria. He is defeated by the Mane Six and their allies, and turned to stone along with Chrysalis and Cozy.

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 was redesigned by Jeremy Tin for the current Generation 4. He is a centaur with red skin, white hair, dark fur, black horns, and cloven hooves. His head has bull-like facial features with a goat-like beard. DHX Media designer Phil Caesar strove to make Tirek "as scary as [he] can", receiving input from his 10-year-old daughter on whether each design was "too scary" or "not scary enough". According to Hasbro developer Brian Lenard, Tirek was originally designed with an "almost entirely red" body, but was recolored with a black torso to "tone down the intensity" and give more focus to the expressions of Tirek's face and arms.

Over the course of Tirek's appearances in the finale, his appearance gradually changes as he absorbs more magic. He initially 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 increase his size and makes him 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." In a series of tweets during January 2015, Joshua Jackson replied to Jim Miller "Was that Tirek's shadow at the end of Castle Mane-ia?" "I don't really think it is, but I'd like to hear from someone on the team." "Or, I think it's up to me to decide huh? :)," Miller replied "You got it!" Jackson further replied "I got what?" "I got what exactly?" "Here's a compaison [sic] of The Pony of Shadows and Tirek pic.twitter.com/UxTgEUfnkg," and Miller further replied "you got that it's up to you to decide." On March 15, 2015, Miller was asked, "I would like your thoughts on this: are Sombra and Tirek the redeemable types? This is not about Season 5 at all[,]" and replied, "I don't want to speculate in case we ever decide to use them again."

Season four
Lord Tirek first appears in Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1 in a frail and weakened state, indicated by pale colors and a raspy voice. In a Canterlot alleyway,  he approaches the unsuspecting unicorn Rare Find and drains his magic, growing larger and more powerful. Princess Celestia senses this attack in a vision in her dream, causing Princess Luna to see it and become aware as well.

Celestia and Luna explain to Twilight Sparkle that Tirek and his brother Scorpan came to Equestria from "a distant land" to steal Equestrian magic. However, Scorpan grew to appreciate the ways of Equestria and even befriended 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. Scorpan returned to his homeland while Tirek was imprisoned in Tartarus for his crimes.

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 powers 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 as he pleases. With Discord's aid, Tirek continues absorbing unicorn magic, becoming larger and stronger, and increasing in power. He soon becomes strong enough to begin absorbing magic from Pegasi and Earth ponies as well.

In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2, Tirek continues to grow in strength and size. He becomes powerful enough to steal Alicorn magic and makes his way to Canterlot Castle. Anticipating his arrival, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance transfer all of their magic into Twilight and send her into hiding, believing Tirek is unaware of her royal status. When Tirek arrives and finds the princesses devoid of their magic, he banishes them to Tartarus as revenge for his own imprisonment.

When Discord has doubts about their alliance, Tirek gives him the medallion he wears around his neck as a token of his gratitude and loyalty, claiming that it originally belonged to "someone very close to" him. He soon discovers Twilight via her depiction in a stained glass window and questions the existence of a fourth princess; Discord confirms this and directs Tirek to Twilight's home in Ponyville.

When the two arrive, they capture Twilight's friends and Tirek absorbs their magic, growing even more powerful. The prospect of ruling Equestria alongside Tirek thrills Discord, but Tirek suddenly turns on him and says he is no longer of any use, proceeding to absorb his magic as well. When Discord reminds Tirek of the medallion, Tirek reveals it was given to him by his treacherous brother Scorpan and considers it "as worthless as he is."

Tirek soon finds Twilight and pursues her relentlessly, destroying the Golden Oak Library in the process. Enraged, Twilight fights Tirek in an intense battle of magic. Tirek fights back, but their evenly matched might leads them to a stalemate. Thus 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 despite his betrayal. Upon releasing them, Tirek promptly absorbs all of Twilight's magic, making him all-powerful.

However, when Discord bestows Scorpan's medallion upon Twilight as a sign of true friendship and gratitude, it proves to be 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 again. He last appears locked in a cage within Tartarus, guarded by Cerberus.

Season five
Rainbow Dash briefly mentions Lord Tirek in The Cutie Map - Part 1.

Pipsqueak mentions Lord Tirek in Crusaders of the Lost Mark, stating that Tirek's battle with Twilight is the cause of the poor condition of the schoolyard.

In The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, Tirek appears laying waste to Equestria in one of the alternate timelines created by Starlight Glimmer.

Season seven
Lord Tirek is mentioned in Shadow Play - Part 2.

Season eight
In School Raze - Part 1, the Mane Six visit Lord Tirek in his Tartarus prison and accuse him of stealing the magic of Equestria again. Tirek denies this but reveals that he conspired with Cozy Glow to drain Equestria of its magic in order to get his revenge on the ponies who defeated him. In Part 2, Tirek realizes the ponies being trapped in Tartarus means he would be trapped together with them for eternity, and he agrees to help them escape after Pinkie Pie almost drives him insane with her clownish antics. After Cozy Glow's plans are foiled, she is imprisoned in Tartarus for her crimes, and she tries to make friends with him.

Season nine
In The Beginning of the End - Part 1, Lord Tirek suffers from Cozy Glow's repeated attempts to befriend him while imprisoned. Grogar suddenly transports the two from their cages to his lair to join forces with him, Queen Chrysalis, and King Sombra against the Mane Six. As a demonstration of his power, Grogar feeds Tirek with a sample of magic that rejuvenates him into a slightly younger form. In Part 2, Tirek struggles to work together with his fellow villains until Grogar shows them the Mane Six destroying Sombra, who had earlier left the group to conquer Equestria on his own. Under the threat of meeting the same fate, Tirek and the others reluctantly submit to Grogar's will.

In Frenemies, Tirek, along with Cozy Glow and Chrysalis, are tasked by Grogar with retrieving his Bewitching Bell from the summit of Mt. Everhoof, but he is unable to cooperate with Cozy and Chrysalis at first. Tirek quickly determines the quest to be too difficult to face alone and decides to let Cozy and Chrysalis do all the work. When Tirek finally learns to work together with Chrysalis and Cozy, they successfully retrieve the Bell and decide to use it in their scheme to overthrow Grogar.

Tirek is mentioned by Twilight and Mudbriar in A Trivial Pursuit with him and Scorpan being the answer to the question of who came to Equestria to steal magic from pony inhabitants.

In The Summer Sun Setback, Tirek, along with Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, infiltrate Canterlot library's forbidden wing to get information in how to activate Grogar's bell and use its magic. He takes in part in sabotaging the Summer Sun Celebration by stealing the magic of various ponies at the event, and he and his fellow villains steal a book from the Canterlot Archives, which they plan to use to learn how to unlock the bell's power.

In The Ending of the End - Part 1, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy successfully unlock the power of the Bewitching Bell to make themselves all-powerful, with Tirek powering himself up to his largest form. They also drain Grogar of his magic, revealing him to be Discord in disguise. In their siege upon Equestria, Tirek fights and defeats the Pillars of Old Equestria, and he, Chrysalis, and Cozy overwhelm the Mane Six and their friends in Canterlot as Twilight makes her escape.

In Part 2, Tirek and his fellow villains imprison the ponies they defeated and celebrate their victory, but they fail to reach an agreement regarding what to do with the magic they stole. After the rest of Twilight's friends escape and the windigos appear as a result of their creating distrust among ponies, Tirek and the villains face off against the Mane Six, and later an army of the Mane Six's allies, in a grand final battle. At the end of the battle, Tirek is de-powered to his frailest form, and he, Chrysalis, and Cozy are frozen in stone for their crimes.

Magic
Lord Tirek is potentially one of the most powerful magic users in the show. However, his magic severely diminishes due to his imprisonment in Tartarus. He frequently shoots beams from an orange orb floating between his horns, and he absorbs magic from others.

Upon escaping from Tartarus, he steals unicorns' magic to restore his strength, later stealing it from Pegasi, Earth ponies, and even Discord himself. Tirek changes both physically and magically, gaining brighter colors, a more muscular physique, longer horns, and a deeper voice. As he progresses, he drains magic from dozens of ponies at once.

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. At this level of power, he matches Twilight Sparkle in a magic battle when she is imbued with the power of all four Alicorn princesses in Equestria. When negotiating with Twilight, he snaps his fingers and summons Twilight's drained friends in levitating bubbles.

After absorbing Twilight's Alicorn magic, Tirek grows even larger. The Mane Six finally overpower him when they gain the power of the Tree of Harmony, and he loses all of the magic he had drained from his victims.

It is revealed in Frenemies that Tirek can only absorb magic from living beings, and that he can return magic he has absorbed if he so chooses, as shown when he gives Chrysalis back her magic.

Depiction in Equestria Girls
In the Equestria Girls: Better Together episode A Fine Line, Sunset Shimmer waits in line to buy a video game called Tirek's Revenge, which is a follow-up game to Rise of Tirek.

Other depictions
Lord Tirek is featured in September 14, 2019 and September 23, 2019 posts on the Discovery Family Instagram as part of "The 'Most Evil' Q&A Ever". In the former post, he expresses great respect for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In the latter, he shares his dream of opening a yoga studio.

IDW comics
Lord Tirek appears on 's Fan Expo retailer exclusive cover RE.

explores Tirek's "secret origins": at a young age, Tirek, a prince of his homeland, was instructed in the ways of magic by a centaur hermit named Sendak the Elder and became interested in pony magic through him. Tirek's ambitions greatly concerned his parents King Vorak and Queen Haydon.

When Tirek attempts to absorb the magic of a unicorn that Sendak captured, it backfires, resulting in an explosion that catches the whole kingdom's attention. King Vorak sends Sendak to the mines for his crimes, punishes Tirek, and returns the unicorn to Equestria. While confined to his castle quarters, Tirek plots to overthrow his father and rule over Equestria.

Tirek appears on 's Hot Topic cover and on page 16. He is also mentioned on page 21,  page 1,  page 10, and alluded to in. In, Tirek appears on a playing card on cover RI and in Princess Eris' casino on pages 12 and 14. He also appears on cover A.

Chapter books
Tirek is mentioned several times in Discord and the Ponyville Players Dramarama. Everyone displays uneasiness about Discord being in a show since the last time he did it, he worked for Tirek.

In Lyra and Bon Bon and the Mares from S.M.I.L.E., Agent Foxtrot of S.M.I.L.E. states "Tirek was a cover-up."

Tirek is briefly mentioned in Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Forgotten Books of Autumn.

The Elements of Harmony Vol. II guidebook
''LORD TIREK is a cruel Centaur who tried to steal Equestrian magic after escaping from his prison in the dark realm of Tartarus. His boiling anger and frightening appearance are enough to make anypony shiver with fear. Thankfully, Twilight Sparkle and her friends defeated Lord Tirek, sending him back to his underworld prison.''

My Little Pony (mobile game)
Tirek appears as a boss character in Gameloft's mobile game in a loose adaptation of his appearance in the series. During a story event based on the season six finale, one of the Changelings faced by Starlight Glimmer's party takes Tirek's form. He also serves as an enemy boss during the School Raze-based event, in which he only reveals his connection with Cozy Glow after being fought.

Shorts
Tirek appears an antagonist in the short Save Equestria from Lord Tirek!!, part of the My Little Pony Established 1983 series.

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. He also appears on the Season 4 poster.

Personality
Tirek is evil, domineering, narcissistic, and driven by an obsessive desire for power, believing that all the magic of Equestria should be his. He has a violent temper and fierce nature, which he directs towards Twilight Sparkle and the other princesses. He is also very manipulative and highly persuasive when striking a deal. However, while Tirek may hold up his end of a bargain in some cases, he is generally dishonest and traitorous, not hesitating to turn on and dispose of anyone whose usefulness has expired, such as Discord.

He harbors a deep resentment toward his brother Scorpan after his betrayal, describing him as "weak-minded" and "worthless."

Tirek holds a very low opinion of the concept of friendship, believing it to be both a sign of weakness and a form of imprisonment. However, he conspires with Cozy Glow for the sake of realizing his goal of revenge, even referring to her as his "little protégé". After having her as a fellow inmate for him, he has become deeply irritated by the young filly. Despite his animosity towards both Cozy and Chrysalis, Tirek shows a willingness to cooperate with them to retrieve Grogar's bell, and later establishes a partnership with the two to betray the ram.

He is both awed and intimidated by Grogar, having heard stories of the villain's reign of terror when he was a child.

After joining Grogar, Tirek develops an obsession to regain his massive size and physique that he obtained after absorbing all magic in Equestria. He makes great gains toward this goal when he absorbs Chrysalis' magic so he would be powerful enough to bypass a barrier protecting Grogar's bell. Once the bell was retrieved, however, in an uncharacteristic act of honor, Tirek keeps his promise to return Chrysalis' magic to her, willingly setting himself back in the process.

In Frenemies, Cozy Glow states that Tirek talks to his "gram-gram" in his sleep, suggesting he holds a great deal of affection toward at least one member of his family.

In The Summer Sun Setback, Tirek catches a small bird that was blown away by Canterlot castle's defenses, then releases it, in an uncharacteristic moment of compassion.

In The Ending of the End - Part 2, Discord insults Tirek by stating that he uses magic to compensate the fact that deep down, he's afraid he will never be enough to please his father, King Vorak. This causes Tirek to angrily blast Discord, but the chaos lord managed to reflect it and the blast strikes Starlight's cage, setting her free.

In the same episode, Tirek also proves himself to be more cautious and pragmatic than his allies, suggesting that they hunt down Twilight, and that they need to deal with the Windigos immediately.

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."

- To Rare Find, 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

"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."

- Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1

"The only one Discord betrayed was himself. Abandoning his true nature to make friends with weak-minded equines who offer him nothing!"

- To Shining Armor, Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"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?!"

- To Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, 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."

- To Discord, Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"Us? Who said anything about us?"

- To Discord, Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"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."

- To Discord, Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

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

- Referring to Scorpan, Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

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

- To Mane Six, Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

"The Princess of Friendship here for a visit. What have I done to earn the honor of your company?"

- School Raze - Part 1

"I'm not usually a fan of ponies, but draining your precious world of magic so she could trap the six of you was inspiring!"

- School Raze - Part 2

"Of course it's boring here now! But at least you're not in a cage!"

- To Cerberus, School Raze - Part 2

"It is Lord Tirek. And what is it now?"

- To Cozy Glow, The Beginning of the End - Part 1

"I'd had enough of you trying to manipulate me with that insincere, syrupy sweetness. At least now we can see the real you."

- To Cozy Glow, Frenemies

"Those ponies have weaknesses. I used that turncoat Discord. Tricked him into helping me capture his so-called "friends"."

- Frenemies

"You're right, dear father. One day I will overpower you. I will take this land for myself. And once it 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!"