Lord Tirek sat in his makeshift hovel of cardboard and newspaper, staring out into the street as the rain poured down outside. Shivering, he drew his ragged cloak in closer around his shoulders before slipping his hand inside, slowly pulling out a ragged magazine.
"One day, Celestia. I can feel my strength returning. I will claim what I am owed. And then..." He chuckled to himself. "Oh yes, and then this view will be mine."
He smiled down on his view of the kingdom, the surface of the page marred by a hundred wrinkles, and yet still, it brought a smile to his face every time.
Or almost every time. His smile faded slightly at the sight of the Everfree Forest. It just wasn't right. It was too tall, too imposing, too green. But eliminating it would be quite a challenge. Even with the power of Luna and Celestia...
The sound of hooves splashing on the street drew his attention, making him fold the magazine up and return it to his cloak. "What do you want?"
"Mail!"
Lord Tirek blinked at the cheerful voice, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes at the pony. "You? How did you find me here?"
"It was on the label!" The mailmare bent back, nosing up the flap on her saddlebags to pull out the latest issue, seemingly heedless of the rain pouring down around her.
"Here! You will ruin it," he said, snatching it out of her mouth, a small white card falling away from it. The pegasus looked down at it mournfully as it fell in a puddle, rapidly graying as the water seeped into it. "Ugh! Look what you did!"
The grey pegasus stepped backwards, watching him uncertainly as he held the magazine in one hand, bending down to pick up the sodden piece of paper with the other.
Mr. LORD TIREK, we regret to inform you that your subscription to Better Lairs and Landscaping has been cancelled. We are sorry that our magazine did not meet your needs, but hope that you enjoyed...
"Cancelled? My subscription has been cancelled?" Lord Tirek roared, lashing out with his fists, smashing the nearest thing at hand – the flimsy cardboard wall of his hovel. The sodden corrugated paper bent and tore, the whole side of the structure falling downwards before his hovel collapsed entirely, pieces of boxes and bits of old magazines raining down onto his head and shoulders, nearly bringing him down to his knees.
Snarling, he shook himself as straightened up, hurling the remnants of his shelter into the street.
The pegasus was gone.
Hunching himself forward, he clutched his magazine to his chest as he fled down the sidewalk, taking shelter underneath a balcony as he shivered from the cold. Taking several deep breaths, he steadied himself before finally lifting his prize, looking down onto the cover.
"What is this? 'Princess Cadance's Crystal Garden'?" He licked his lips. "Another princess?"
He opened up the pages, glancing at the table of contents before flipping to page thirty-two, his hands trembling as the slick paper slid away to reveal a pink alicorn standing next to a handsome stallion, posing in front of an enormous crystal statue of a dragon.
"How interesting. Another alicorn. This changes everything." His eyes slowly traced over her body, from horn to wings to the crystal heart on her flank as he smirked. "With that power, perhaps..."
Lord Tirek reached into his cloak, pulling out the other magazine – his first – slowly opening it with shaking hands to the dog-eared page, his finger slowly crossing over the trees in the center of the page.