Madness for Power
Anyone else really, really struck by that random Discord cameo on page 22 of this comic? As this fic will show, I clearly was lol. I hope you guys like this second installment in my Fiendship is Magic companion fic series.
Next week--The Dazzlings. 
“Scorpan, you don’t have to stay in here with me. You’re free to roam around the safety of the castle and the grounds to your heart’s content while Father is gone, remember? He doesn’t hate you.” Tirek sighed as he stood gazing out of the bedroom window with an angry glare.
Scorpan just did his best to smile encouragingly at his brother. “But I don’t want to roam around, brother. I want to stay here with you. Thank you for letting me into the room finally. And father doesn’t hate you, Tirek, really.” Scorpan had to frown just a little as he flew close to Tirek. “Tirek, I wish you would talk to him more. He just wants you to be happy. He doesn’t want you to end up like Sendak.”
“Sendak had more than happiness!” Tirek snapped with a sharp sigh though his nose as he turned to Scorpan. “He had power, true power!” Tirek glared back out the window again, looking over the kingdom below. “I did not ask to be born with a great gift for magic, yet I am punished for my gift and for pursuing it. Sendak has the same gift, but he was a fool. He thought too small. I could become so great…so much greater than father could ever imagine. I was born to do more than just inherit a throne.”
Scorpan frowned all the more. He didn’t like when Tirek would talk like this. It frightened him… He tired not to let his concern show though, or he knew Tirek would accuse him of being a child and just as sensitive as mother. But still, he had to say something at least. “Tirek…what’s so bad about just being king of our land?” He smiled a little. “It’s a great honor. And it’s an honor you deserve.”
Tirek, however, just shook his head. “I deserve more than that, Scorpan. And father doesn’t deserve to have someone as powerful and gifted as me for an heir.” He looked down a little. “It would be better if I abandoned my claim to the throne now and went out on my own as Sendak did. Father will never want to pass the crown onto me, and besides I have much bigger plans to see to.”
Scorpan landed, frowning completely and looking up at his brother. “You’d abandon your place as prince? Right now? But…what would I do without you, Tirek? Mother and father do need you…and I need you too.”
For just a moment, Tirek looked away from the vast reaches of their land back to the soft, gentle face of his brother. And for just a moment he smiled a little. “And that need for me is why you will never have the conviction necessary to be a king. And that need for me is also why you are my only friend and the only one I trust, Scorpan.”
The tenderness from his brother was nice—it reminded Scorpan of Tirek in their early youth. Yet still, there was something underlying everything his brother said and did these days that troubled him. “I trust you too, Tirek.” Scorpan summed up his conviction and courage to say the words, and he smiled as he added, “And I’m sure everything will be okay one day. I know that something good will come.”
Something a touch dull returned to Tirek’s gaze, and he sighed and then opened his mouth to speak again when suddenly…
KNOCK KNOCK
“Master Tirek?” A guard opened the door and firmly addressed the young prince.
Tirek turned away from Scorpan to address the guard. “Yes?”
“You have another visitor,” the guard explained.
“Another visitor?” Tirek raised an eyebrow. ‘Certainly not mother, not after all of that disappointment in her eyes.’ “Who?”
“Discord, your highness.”
“Discord…” Tirek’s eyes went a little wide.
Scorpan frowned, and he flew up to over in the air at his brother’s height level again. “Tirek, I’m not sure if you should be seeing guests right—”
“Send him in,” Tirek commanded with a nod of his head to the guard.
The guard nodded in return and then slipped out of the doorway. A moment later the door was pushed open entirely…and Discord entered.
The being of chaos lowered his hood and looked to the two young princes. “Your highnesses.” He gave them a slight bow.
“Master Discord…” the princes said in unison, giving a slight bow of their heads to him in return.
The door closed, leaving the three beings in privacy.
“Discord,” Tirek started, crossing his arms over his chest and lowering his legs to recline on his bed of throw pillows, “If you need some sort of assistance that requires royal help, I’m afraid I’m not the best person to ask at the moment. I’m confined to my room like a child, and either way I don’t exactly have the ear of the King and Queen anymore. Scorpan might be able to assist you though—he’s always been beloved by all.” He gave a quick gesture with his head over to his brother.
Scorpan blinked and shrugged humbly. “Well, I don’t know about that.” He looked to the being of chaos and smiled a little. “But if you do need any help with anything, Discord, I’ll be happy to assist you where my bother cannot.”
Discord smiled a little, approaching and then snapping away his cloak and flying up to lie on his stomach in the air. “No, no help necessary, thank you. Actually, I just wanted to tell Prince Tirek that I found his little performance in the throne room very intriguing.” Discord raised an eyebrow, looking down upon the eldest prince. “What did happen last night to cause such an explosion at Sendak’s? He won’t say a word about it…or so I’m told.” His eyes narrowed a little in interest.
Tirek frowned and scowled, looking down. “Nothing happened. Nothing at all. A mistake. It won’t happen again.”
“So you were indeed there then?” Discord’s grin grew on one side. “Or at the very least you know what Sendak was up to with bringing a pony from Equestria here…”
“And so what if I do know?” Tirek challenged coldly, glancing up at the draconequus.
Scorpan moved back a little and just looked on uneasily. Master Discord had always made him nervous with his strange magic. Yet, he and Tirek usually got along well enough since they were both magically gifted beings…though right now was proving to be an exception. But, regardless, there was something about Discord that Scorpan did not trust, and right now things were already so bad with Tirek and his parents and the state of the kingdom that he just wished the chaos creature would leave before he possibly made matters worse.
Discord, meanwhile, lowered himself in the air a bit more and glared down at Tirek. “Well, if you do know Sendak’s intentions, then you have a very valuable piece of information. Oh, I’m sure that unicorn your father’s escorting back to Equestria will tell him his impressions of Sendak’s actions, but only you really know the grand design behind it all. But if you’re keeping it all to yourself, then the real question is not what Sendak was doing…it’s what you’re planning to do with what you’ve found out from Sendak.”
For a moment there was a silent stalemate between Discord and Tirek.
“What, did father send you to spy on me?” Tirek finally asked, his voice ice.
Discord waved him off. “Please, of course not. I have better things to do than to play reverse psychology games with teenagers.” He twisted in the air, flying around lazily in circles around the two princes. “No, no, I’m just curious myself. You see, you’ve been behaving a little chaotically, and that intrigues me.” As he floated, he snapped his fingers a few times, making a flock of vultures outside the window fly upside down and then making some strange blue and pink clouds appear in the air outside (he still hadn’t decided on the best flavor for his cotton candy yet) and then making a glass of some chocolaty-looking substance appear in his paw which he consumed in one swallow (glass and all). “And you’ve caused a problem with Equestria,” he added to Tirek, letting his head hang down to observe the prince upside down, “that intrigues me as well.”
Tirek’s eyes carefully followed Discord’s movements, never once being distracted by the chaos outside. “My chaotic behavior interesting you I can understand, Discord. But why would anything about Equestria interest you? You have no business there.”
“My business is beyond the scope of this conversation, and I keep such business to myself, thank you very much,’ Discord replied, his playful grin becoming a dark scowl as he turned in the air to stop his circling and look right side up at Tirek again. “And you might possibly be disturbing that business.” He lowered himself to Tirek’s eye level. “Your father may want to keep ignoring the problem and your mother may not have the heart to talk to you herself, but as an old member of this court I will say it for everyone else. When you push dark magic too far, bad things can happen to you Tirek—and you are pushing dark magic too far.”
“Equestria and its ponies are a valuable resource,” Tirek countered coldly.
“I don’t disagree with that assessment of the situation,” Discord countered in return. “But you’re missing the point—your father was right. Celestia could have declared war. You’re underestimating the power of these ponies and especially the two sisters. You could easily never be strong enough to defeat them. At the very least, you’re not strong enough yet. My point is, if you want to brood and rebel and pout around here, fine, I don’t care and I’m sure no one else does either. But watch yourself in other lands where there could be consequences beyond your control.”
Tirek glared back at him defiantly, rising to stand on his four hooves and look down at the draconequus just for a moment. “At least my way of using magic isn’t to play silly jokes and make absurd changes and turn myself into a clown.”
Discord landed. And Discord glared darkly down at the prince. His voice was ice. “I am no clown. I guarantee you that.” He leaned down closer, his voice lowering. “And if there’s one kind of magic you’d never be able to handle, prince, it’s chaos.” Discord snapped his fingers.
Suddenly the pillars of the room were giant springs and Tirek’s throw pillows were a pile of giant mushrooms, and the floor had become a pink and blue checkerboard, and in the air pastel colored balloons with scary faces floated. Then the room grew dim save for the occasional flash of different colored lights while off-key circus music played as Discord stood in the center of it all, his face painted like a clown…but the firm expression on that face suggesting something even scarier than his balloons—a being never to be trifled with.
“Oh no!” Scorpan gulped and shot up into the air, flying up and glancing around. “Discord, please stop this! This has to get fixed! If mother and father find out, they’ll be furious!” Scorpan glanced in Discord’s direction but then looked away with a shiver. There was something so angry in the being of chaos sometimes, and it could make him almost as uneasy as Tirek’s ravings could.
“Discord, enough!” Tirek boomed in a commanding tone, holding up one of his hands, not flinching at all despite Discord’s display. “By order of the Prince of the Royal House.”
Discord glared darkly down at Tirek, but finally nodded once and snapped everything back to normal again.
Tirek observed Discord very closely for a moment. Then a thought occurred to him. “You really are one of my father’s most powerful magical allies….”
“I’m one of the most powerful magical members of his court. But I always think it’s best if I work alone,” Discord corrected. Then he observed Tirek very closely for a moment. “You were taking some of the pony magic, weren’t you?” He grinned. “Or at least, you were trying to. Not as easy as it looks, is it?”
Scorpan swallowed, flying down low near the throw pillows (and now trying to keep his distance from Discord.) “Brother…what is he talking about?”
“Enough!” Tirek ignored Scorpan and continued to stare down Discord. “Discord, let me make something perfectly clear to you. To rule is my birthright, and to rule I require power. And I will do anything to find, take, and keep that power. I will not be confined. And I am capable of more than you realize—I can feel it.” He moved closer, lowering his voice so that only Discord could hear. His tone was perfectly calm. “And if a bunch of ponies have to suffer for my greatness, then let the suffering begin.”
There was a moment of quiet in which Discord and Tirek’s gazes met and something was communicated. Then Discord pulled back slightly and cleared his throat. “Yes, well…I believe I’ve gotten everything I came for out of this conversation. It’s been a most enlightening meeting, Prince Tirek.” He gave a slight bow of his head to Tirek. Then he snapped his fingers, making his cloak reappear. “But I think I’ll take my leave now.” Discord turned to Scorpan and gave him a nod as well. “Prince Scorpan, thank you for your company as well. It has also proved very…interesting.” He glanced from one brother to the other, his smile picking up a little on one side. “Farewell.” Discord donned his hood again and then snapped his fingers, disappearing from the room.
Tirek just watched the spot where Discord had been with a curious glare. Scorpan looked more uneasy than ever. He flew closer to his brother. “Tirek, what was all of that about? Why did Discord come here, and what did you whisper to him? Is something going on?” He tried to look into Tirek’s eyes. “Please tell me, Tirek. You’re my brother, and I love you. Please don’t lie to me again. Whatever it is, I want to help.”
Tirek looked into his brother’s eyes. Then he sighed deeply. “Scorpan, there are going to be some changes around here soon. I wasn’t meant for this simple life we have—father can sense it, I think mother’s finally accepted it, even Discord sees it. And I think you do too. And Sendak was the only one who acknowledged it.” He held his head high, his gaze going to the window again to look out upon his land, arms behind his back. “My magic is great, but I need more. Do you know why Sendak has lived so long? Do you know what gives the Equestrian ponies such full lives and the alicorn sisters near immortality? Do you know what even let’s someone as dark as Discord have such free reign with his abilities? It’s in the nature of their magic, the nature of Equestria—there’s a certain joy woven into it that perpetuates and lends itself to the capacity for untold power. I hunger to combine that power with my own.”
Scorpan’s eyes went a little wide. “You want to…you want to feed off of Equestria’s magic? Is that what Sendak was doing?” He frowned more.
Tirek smiled a little. “Yes, that’s what Sendak was doing. But, no, I do not just wish to ‘feed’ off of the magic as he did. Don’t you see, Sendak was thinking too small—he just wanted to gather some extra magic to extend his pathetic, shriveled life for as long as possible for the sake of adventure and study. No, no, I see it now…I won’t feed off of the magic—I’ll take the magic. Completely.” Tirek’s eyes narrowed. And his tone was devoid of feeling.
Scorpan took in a sharp breath. He saw something in his brother that frightened him again. “I…and…what would that do to the ponies if you took all of their magic?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“You don’t understand, Scorpan—it doesn’t matter what it would do to the ponies,” Tirek replied, his gaze cold and still lingering on the view of the kingdom outside. “All that matters is the power I will gain to finally achieve my destiny. Ruler of worlds, master of magic, destructor of the old order and founder of the new.” Suddenly he turned back to Scorpan, his eyes flaming with ambition. “Will you join me, brother?! Will you stay by my side?! Rule with me and help me, as you said!?”
Scorpan gulped but nodded. “Yes, of course, Tirek. I would never abandon you, no matter what.”
Tirek looked him in the eyes, moving closer. “I will leave this place one day. Not for a while, but one day. And I won’t come back. Will you still join me then?”
Pain entered Scorpan’s eyes. “I…but mother…and father.”
“Will you join me then?” Tirek repeated simply.
Scorpan took a deep breath. Then he came close to his brother. Scorpan knew if his brother left to fight for his destiny himself, Tirek might get himself hurt and he certainly might hurt others. He also knew that he was the only one who Tirek would let get close enough to possibly talk some sense into him when the time came. Scorpan came to a difficult decision. Then he nodded. “Brother, I will join you. I promise. But in return, I want you to wear this.” He reached up and slipped a cord from around his neck, holding out the triangular amulet it contained to Tirek.
Tirek blinked at the sudden offer. “The amulet that mother gave you? But…you care for that amulet more than anything else in the world.” Something in his eyes softened.
That softening made Scorpan smile. “But I care for you more. And I want you to wear it as a symbol of our bond. And so that no matter what happens, you’ll always have something with you to remind you of how close we are and how much I love you.”
Tirek looked at the amulet, not saying anything for a moment. Then he smiled…though something glaring and sharp still remained in his gaze. “Brother…I thank you for your gift.” He put his hands over Scorpan’s with the amulet between them, but then gently pushed the item back toward his brother. “But keep this for now. I will not forget your offer here. Make it again when I have finally come in to my true destiny and you have joined me by my side. Then I will accept the amulet. And then we will have finally achieved greatness.”
Scorpan hesitated, but finally nodded, doing his best to keep smiling. He took back the amulet and put it around his neck again. “Yes, Tirek. I’ll be very happy on the day I offer this to you again and you accept it from me.”
Tirek smiled and nodded. “Brother…” he put a hand on Scorpan’s shoulder. “Thank you. You have always been the only one in this family who truly cares for me and accepts me.”
Scorpan smiled, so happy to see such relief in his brother’s eyes…and just hoping nothing bad would truly come of whatever Tirek was planning. “Of course, Tirek. I’ll always care for you no matter what happens.”
“I know, brother. I know.” Tirek then let out a breath and removed his hand from Scorpan. “Now, if you don’t mind, Scorpan, I think I need some time alone. I have much to think about, many plans to make, and I would prefer to do so in solitude.”
Scorpan frowned a little but nodded. “Of course.” He flew up headed to the door. “I’ll bring you by some lunch later.”
Tirek merely nodded and went back over to the window, resting on his pillows to look out to the world and think.
Scorpan sighed and left the room, his thoughts and heart heavy. As he flew down the hall, he looked up to a large painting of his father and mother straight ahead on the high wall. ‘Please do not worry, father. I will not betray you or cause harm just because I love Tirek. I know what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad. I will not go mad with my love. But I will do everything I can to help my brother before I give him up to the madness for power in his own heart. Trust me, mother. Everything will be okay.’ Scorpan bowed his head and continued on his way.
In another (and quite shadowy) corridor of the castle, meanwhile, for several minutes now, the hooded figure of Discord had been resting and brooding.
“That little ‘prince’ is going to force my hand.” He sighed in annoyance. “I despise royalty—those two pony princess sisters are bad enough, but that Tirek is a nightmare.” He rolled his eyes. “He has the potential to be powerful though, I’ll give him that.” He shook his head. “But there’s no need to harm the ponies—what does that get you? A land of injured and fading beings for you to rule over on high? How boring! And pain is so uncouth. No, no, as long as you’re going to be a dictator, you might as well have a little fun, keep the ponies around and thriving for the sake of having an audience.” Discord grinned. “You don’t have to make the ponies suffer, you just have to take over their lives until they bow to you and let the rest take care of itself.”
Discord chuckled to himself as his visions for his successful and chaotic future as ruler of Equestria danced before his mind’s eye again. “Oh maybe this isn’t so bad…. In fact, maybe this new development with Tirek is something I can use to my advantage.” He twirled his beard around some of his fingers. “Yes, yes…King Vorak will have his hands full with Tirek, but Tirek still won’t be able to strike in full force for quite a while. And that brother of his will hold him back too somehow.” Discord nodded to himself. “I’ll talk to Sendak again, then slip into Equestria, sever all ties with this kingdom, and finally have a throne to call my own, a place where I can truly spread my chaos away from this gloomy, orderly land. It’ll be easy—the sisters just came to power in Equestria not too long ago, the government is still unstable, and I’ll take control for myself with a snap of my fingers! Then by the time Tirek is powerful enough to come to the ponies, I’ll be so established as ruler and so powerful with all of my subjects at my beck and call for fear of my chaos that he’ll never stand a chance.”
Discord’s grin grew and his eyes narrowed. “Hold on to your horseshoes, Equestria,” he held up his fingers to snap…and then his smile fell and his tone grew dark, “The spirit of chaos is coming.”
And with those words and a snap of his fingers, Discord was gone.
Many years later…in the magical land of Equestria…
“Starswirl…you’ve taught me much about friendship in my time here. I want to thank you for that.” A (full grown now) Scorpan turned to his unicorn friend Starswirl the Bearded sitting next to him upon this verdant, sunny hilltop and smiled.
The white unicorn in his dark blue robes and with his long beard like a cloud smiled in return and nodded to his friend. “Scorpan, you are always welcome to my wisdom and advice. I sense a great goodness in you, and a rich heart.”
Scorpan smiled more. But then he looked down and forward to the peaceful fields and ponies playing in the valley below. His smile faded. “But Starswirl…do you think there are bonds stronger than friendship? Bonds you have to honor even above the ones with friends?”
Starswirl smiled a little more and looked out to the ponies and the beautiful landscape as well. “Scorpan, there are many bonds that are just as strong as those with friends or even stronger, but I think you are missing a key piece of understanding about the magic of friendship. Every strong positive bond among people has friendship at its base—mother and child are friends, lovers are friends, teacher and student are friends…brothers are friends. So it is difficult to argue that one specific bond should be put above another when all have the same great bond at their core. All you can do is let love guide you, use your judgment well, and do your best to spread laughter and honesty and generosity and kindness and loyalty to all.”
“The Elements of Harmony…keys to the magic spark of friendship,” Scorpan replied.
“Yes.” Starswirl nodded.
“Loyalty can be a difficult element to maintain when deciding between bonds,” Scorpan remarked, still observing the ponies. “I want to be loyal, but I don’t know who to be loyal to.”
Starswirl smiled warmly. “That is easier solved than you realize, Scorpan. Be loyal to yourself, your integrity, your own heart. No true friend would ever expect you to go against those things. Be loyal to what you know is right, Scorpan, and all will be well.” Starswirl looked to his friend and then blinked. “Scorpan, what is wrong? Why do you cry?”
Scorpan blinked, and a few tears did fall from his eyes which he quickly wiped away. He sighed, his gaze falling downward. “Because I have to tell you something, Starswirl. But I think it will cost me my best friend if I do. But if it does, then…that might mean he never was my best friend at all, or at least that he hasn’t been for a very long time.” Scorpan looked to Starswirl, frowning so much. “But if I don’t tell you, all of my new friends will suffer and so will you. So will so many people…and so many people already have.”
“I see.” Starswirl frowned. “That is a heavy decision to bear, my friend, and I am sorry it is upon you.”
Scorpan took in and let out a very deep breath. “If I do tell though…then the person I love the most will suffer. He’ll be punished for his crimes. And I know that…and I can accept that. But…just promise me you won’t let him end up like Discord.” Scorpan frowned more. “Sometimes I can’t bear to think of what happened to Discord here.”
Starswirl reached out and put a hoof on Scorpan’s shoulder. “Yes, Discord’s fate in stone was an extreme one. I cannot even say that I entirely approve of it. But it is what the Elements and the sisters deemed necessary. And for now it might be best—he was relentless, he caused the ponies strife, and chaos is not easy to contain.” He smiled a little and removed his hoof from Scorpan. “But other magical beings are much easier to contain. Stone may not be necessary for your friend. Even the use of the Elements of Harmony may not be necessary. I’m certain if we talk to Celestia and Luna, they will understand and do their best to help you and your friend.”
Scorpan considered and then looked out upon the beautiful landscape again. “There is something else too, Starswirl. Once whatever will happen happens…once my brother Tirek is punished for what I must reveal to you he is about to do…there will be no one to rule our land in our parents’ stead. Tirek has already taken so much power from them, but when he cannot return there then I will be heir to the throne. And I will have to return home and work hard to see to the safety of my kingdom, so I may never be able to return to Equestria to see my friends here or you again.”
Starswirl smiled softly. “Take heart, friend Scorpan. We may still meet again. As I get on in years, I’ll probably want to take a good vacation from time to time. I wouldn’t mind visiting you.”
Scorpan tried to smile but still frowned.
Starswirl sighed, looking out to the ponies again. “But I know you had hoped to live here—I know you found the peace of this place comforting. I am sorry that staying among us is not in your fate. But we shall never forget you, and I hope you and your kingdom shall never forget us.”
“Never, Starswirl. Not ever.” Scorpan put an arm over his friend and hugged him.
The two friends separated after a moment.
For a little while longer, Scorpan sat looking out over the happy plains of Equestria full of smiling ponies, and Starswirl sat in silence beside him, likewise enjoying the peaceful moment and the magical view.
Then eventually Scorpan let out a breath and stood up. There was a firm look never before seen in his eyes. “I have tried everything to sway Tirek from his plans to rob this land and its ponies of their magic for his own selfish gain of power. He won’t listen though…but the responsibility lies with me to make sure he doesn’t succeed for the sake of what’s right, and for the sake of true friendship and love.” He bowed his head. “Let’s go see Celestia and Luna, Starswirl. We don’t have much time.”
Starswirl nodded and rose. The two friends turned away from the scene before them and headed to the Everfree Forest and the Castle of the Two Sisters in the distance.
My name is Lord Tirek.
And I lie here in Tartarus in chains because everyone in my life has betrayed me…including my worthless brother.
I am a being destined for greatness beyond greatness. My power can be infinite and absolute—I figured out how to do it. Sendak was a fool, weak, limited. He always behaved as though I was the barely talented pupil lucky to serve under his masterful guidance, but no…. In truth he knew I was master of an art he could barely comprehend. And all I had to do to embrace that art was free myself from every other tie in life that bound me.
Perhaps therein lies my mistake though—I did cut every tie…except the one with my brother. Still, I never thought… Yet, he is the one who has put me here into this cold, rocky, lonely place. Tartarus. His betrayal lost me everything just as I was on the brink of owning this land for my own. I had already weakened father, pushed aside mother, gathered supporters in my homeland, and I had my birthright. With the power I could have acquired here, I would have dominated both this land and my own, all under one rule, all serving to bring me power and power and more power. I am capable of wielding all power at once. All of everything would have been mine.
And yet now I sit here in the shadows alone…with NOTHING.
Celestia and Luna even took away the little power I had already started to steal from the ponies. Oh certainly, with something about this land’s magic still tainting me and with my own natural abilities, my life will at least be long and my mind sharp...but already I feel myself shriveling into a state little better than Sendak’s all those years ago.
To have tasted power, to know you can wield all power, to know that you know your destiny and it is right before you and you have the will and drive to achieve it in all of its glory but have simply been prevented from doing so by others…It’s maddening.
Next time, though, nothing shall prevent me.
And there will be a next time. I can wait…. One day, something will change, something will shift, the sisters will fall…or at the very least I’ll find a bone to throw to that old dog who guards us. There are some other magical creatures imprisoned around here—I can almost smell their power. And perhaps one day I’ll slowly acquire enough particles of it to cast a little spell and send that dog just far enough away for me to make my escape.
But for now I will wait. I deserve this much punishment for my foolishness—I must take some time to think about what I did and my great mistake. Scorpan… There is a weight on my chest, the weight of my brother's amulet. As they brought me here, he offered it to me—he said he never wanted me to forget him or our family or our home. And he wanted me always to know that he loved me and that he was sorry for how everything had turned out.
I said nothing. And then he left me.
Scorpan is so weak. He wasn’t worth me saying anything to. Brother—I’m ashamed to claim the relation.
No, no, this amulet I will wear and bear so as to never forget my greatest mistake—trusting someone else enough to give them any power over me. From now on I will claim all of the power as it is my right to do. From now on…I will be the only one doing the betraying.
I look up to the stars in this dim, cold place. And I know that the sisters and the ponies and Scorpan and mother and father and Sendak were all wrong…and I am the only one who was ever right. Love is a weakness, love is not worth striving for and does you so little good as I have learned from my bother. But power is worth any action…power is worth going mad for.
I smile in the night.
Alone now, my madness finally completes me.
I shall be Tirek, Lord of All.
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Bravo! Thanks for a great story possibly linking the events in Fiendship is Magic #2 comic with Discord's conquest of Equestria. This felt like a much nicer tie-up to the events in that issue (which, I must admit, felt a bit rushed to me). And Discord appearing as part of the court was definitely the biggest highlight for me as well. It opens up so much questions about his origins, or what type of life he'd led up until Princess Celestia and Princess Luna turned him back to stone. He was certainly a dangerous opponent.
The interactions between Scorpan and Tirek were also very well-done. Maybe we'll get to see Scorpan someday in the actual show (maybe ^_^).
5857453 Thanks you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it
I know what you mean--I enjoyed the comic, but when it ended it just felt so sudden, like there needed to be at least a couple more pages for a real conclusion of some kind. And I think I stared at the page with Discord for like ten minutes just trying to figure out what was being implied lol--are all villains from this other land? Did Discord used to serve King Vorak but there was a falling out? Was this just their way of getting Discord into this villains comic series somehow since he's not getting an issue of his own? I want answers 
Anyway, I'm glad you liked my take on things, and thank you for reviewing
And I wouldn't mind a Scorpan cameo one of these days myself--he seemed like such an awesome guy in Celestia's little history flashback about him at the end of season 4 
Dayum! This was awesome!
This does a pretty decent job at filling in the gap between the story in the show and the comic itself. And goes deepey into Tirek's feelings and way of thinking. Pretty awesome.
I also liked how you made it so the event kinda pushed Discord to take over Equestira. Adds a nice sense of continuity.
5857828 Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the character exploration
And yeah, I wanted to tie in Discord in some way that made sense--that cameo was just too random for me not to attempt explaining it lol.
5857477 Me too! Actually, I think this was the main thing I took away from the comic. There were implications here and there about other matters as well. For instance, it would have been interesting to know the identity of that unicorn--or why King Vorak only said Princess Celestia, as opposed to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. In the comic, there is also the implication that the gremlins at the court might have been the ones to see what Tirek had done (and perhaps to alert King Vorak).
In addition, if this is implying that Discord was in King Vorak's court, I'd be kind of curious why they weren't exactly shown to know each other as well in the Season 4 finale. Or, at least, it didn't seem as if Discord really knew Tirek from his: "Tirek, I presume?" line during their encounter, or even during Tirek's rampage. You would think he might have also recognized their royal crest.
Who knows? Perhaps Discord even went back in time to see how things unfolded in Tirek's early life and was actually a visitor there at the moment.
Although, it still doesn't change the fact it would be nice to see Discord's past explored more in show--or the greatness of your story. ;3
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I feel like if his identity didn’t matter, they wouldn’t have given him such a distinct character design and cutie mark. Have we ever seen Starswirl’s cutie mark? Do you think it could have been a super young Starswirl? But then I always thought Starswirl was white from the flashbacks…unless Celestia just always likes to imagine him when he’s really old? XD Very confusing stuff! I just kind of wrote off Vorak only saying Celestia’s name just because of the slight Celestia prejudice there probably was around that time in the years just before Nightmare Moon. Though honestly, it would really help if this show didn’t make every major event occur exactly a thousand years ago. Sombra got defeated a thousand years ago, Discord got turned to stone a thousand years ago, Luna got banished a thousand years ago, I’m guessing Tirek got sent to Tartarus a thousand years ago—unless all of those dates are just rough approximations, the pony sisters must have had one heck of month on their hands a thousand years ago. No wonder Luna became Nightmare Moon—after all that stress, who could blame her lol? 
Yeah, that unicorn confused me too.
I almost feel like the comic was trying to going with how it seemed like Discord and Tirek ‘sort of’ knew each other (or at least Tirek knew Discord) and was trying to explain it by saying they knew each other in the past…but then it just seemed like they would have shown more recognition for each other in season four, like you said. Unless Discord’s ‘Tirek, I presume?’ was just his catty way of saying ‘wow, the years in Tartarus have not been good to you—is that really you, Tirek?’ I just wish we’d had a few more panels explaining things, or even some direct Tirek/Discord interaction in the comic to go by.
I like your time travel idea—that’s probably the safest bet with the least amount of canon-violating issues.
You know, I kind of have a theory…I mean, Discord was a pretty glaring omission to leave out of the Fiendship comics, and I know with the comics they tend to coordinate with the show and stay away from exploring anything the show’s going to be exploring. So it makes me wonder if we’re possibly going to get a Discord origin ep this season.
I really, really, really hope that’s the case. Aw and thank you! Who knows—even if we don’t get a Discord origin ep, we might get more comics in the FIM and FF series that deal with him and his past. And if we do, I’d absolutely love to write a companion fic for it! 
5859139 Honestly, I really don't know. But it does feel like the unicorn should have played a bigger role, especially with the type of cutie mark he possessed (that planet and stars) and even his reaction to Tirek. He didn't back down but insisted he be let out. I'm not saying he should have been submissive, but that was pretty brave in the face of the situation. That it could be Starswirl in his younger days would be interesting. Although, I think by this point they show him through the illustrated flashback in show and in the Journal of Two Sisters that Starswirl would have been quite old at the time. Hah. Although, the 1,000-year timeline for all these events is hilarious. It seems everything coming back to threaten Equestria happened around this time period, unless there is some deeper meaning to it that hasn't been revealed yet.
Then again, I guess another major thing about the comic was how it spurred more questions than answers. For instance, does this mean Scorpan is ruling their kingdom at the moment? What happened to Sendak (or is he still 'in the mines')?
Also, and may it's just me, but Discord never really struck me as the kind of character who would stand by quietly in a magical court, especially at this period if he liked having everything his own way and didn't feel friendship (or similar types of connections) mattered. Then again, the queen at the court did mention towards the beginning of the comic that Tirek was supposed to have had the most magical prowess within their walls. So maybe Discord had either done well to hide this fact or had just arrived that morning. That's another reason I thought he might have been a traveler to the court.
Funny enough, I heard rumors that Discord didn't get a Fiendship is Magic comic because it's possible Season 5 might at least start going into his background more. This would also make sense, since Discord is at the point where he'd probably be a little more open about these things with Twilight and the others.
So I've been rooting for that too! And, honestly, I'm hoping for the rumored episode where Discord gets jealous of having to share his time with Fluttershy with others.
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I agree, the cutie mark seemed very significant too—it made me think of Celestia and Luna actually and wonder if he was tied to them somehow. And his response to Sendak and Tirek really was impressive. I figured he would be much more panicky. That’s a good point about the thousand years though—maybe it’ll turn out later on in the series that it was all part of some significant magical issue or something.
Scorpan is another excellent point to bring up—if he has the same immortality that Tirek/Discord/alicorns seem to have, he might very well be ruling this other realm. If we really are going to get a Discord origin ep and it really will be tied with this other kingdom (maybe the comics were trying to give us a little bit of a teaser?) then maybe we will see Scorpan again at some point.
I agree, I feel like Discord’s quite/stand-offish behavior does need some explanation. I’m more inclined to think he was just hiding his true abilities and kind of waiting for an opening before striking. The kingdom did look pretty bleak—maybe he wanted a better place to try taking over, and when Equestria came about he abandoned his old home to try conquering the ponies. Unless of course the time travel thing is the true explanation, in which case I could see him just putting on a hood and trying to blend in to the background. There seems to be an assortment of creatures in Vorak’s kingdom, I doubt Discord would arouse too much suspicion as long as he kept his magic to a minimum.
YES! We NEED that episode!
I was just grateful enough to see he was going to be in the season at all thanks to that Smooze animatic we saw, but if he gets his own backstory ep that’ll be way better than just a cameo. Oh yes, and more cute Discord/Fluttershy friendship stuff would be a bonus too! Seriously, whichever writer thought of the two of them being besties was brilliant—it’s the most adorable friendship there ever was. 
5860778 Actually, for a moment I half-wondered if that unicorn may have been related to the princesses in the same way as Prince Blueblood--although I guess what keeps getting me is what is suggested by this comic when taken alongside the narrative from the journal of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, where supposedly they are alicorns on their own (without known family members) around the time Starswirl meets them (and he's older then). Then, going back to the Season 4 finale, Princess Celestia actually does state Scorpan made friends with a "young" unicorn wizard (suggesting it's Starswirl). That is, unless we're seeing conflicting histories (which happens sometimes in other large fantasy universes).
Whether or not Scorpan may have the same long lifespan as his brother is a great point to bring up. Apparently, Word of God is that alicorns tend to live much longer than other ponies by default. Meanwhile, Discord is a spirit and/or mythological deity. But perhaps Tirek and his kind are eternal, or perhaps Tirek lengthened his lifespan through the kind of magic he learned?
Discord choosing to cover up his abilities is definitely a possibility, and something a trickster character would do. In any case, though, I hope we eventually find out why he was there in the first place. It puts a bit of a different spin on his character as a whole if he was actually part of a magical court as opposed to wandering about from here to there without answering to anyone but himself. Then again, there was the comic where he took Fluttershy and the CMC to Egypt, where he seems to have stuck around long enough to spur a revolution. But, as Baast stated: "Discord never stays put."
I agree! Fluttershy and Discord being best friends is adorable. Of course, another rumor I've heard in the same line (which seems to have been revealed through the chapter book with him supposed to come out in July) is that Discord will have settled into Ponyville by then. So perhaps we'll get to a few episodes with him in them well before then. That'd be fun, although I'm really looking forward to that smooze episode too. It looks like it's going to be so funny!
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sorry, it’s been a while since I read the journal, but I think when Celestia talked about Starswirl using time travel spells she mentioned that they would also affect his aging) so in theory regardless of his actual age he may have seemed young at the time Scorpan met him.
Celestia could have meant he was ‘young’, I guess, in the sense that he was more early-middle-aged than the really ancient Starswirl we’ve seen in a lot of the old engravings and stuff of him with the super long beard. Or I’m wondering if he just happened to be young then because of the time travel spells (
MLP—the historical canon needs its own series just so we can begin to make sense of it. And again, it would really help if every major event hadn’t spontaneously occurred roughly a thousand years ago.
I’m theorizing that Tirek’s ability to drain magic would lengthen his lifespan (similar to how Celestia and Luna draw power from the sun and moon, which I think has probably lengthened their lifespans past that of even normal alicorns or at least has contributed to their eternal youth). But Scorpan could still be alive—biology for creatures of that other kingdom could be very different than what it is for ponies.
That’s a good point—Discord’s presence really could be just another repeat of Egypt: he sticks around long enough to amuse himself then leaves when he finds greener pastures. I really do wish the comic had addressed his presence there somehow, because if the show doesn’t then I’m just going to remain confused forever.
Ooo, there’s a chapter book coming out about him?!
Oh I really do hope he settles into Ponyville—I’d love a few eps with him per season. I really think the Smooze ep will be a highlight of the season. I can’t see how that couldn’t be hysterical. And I’m still fan girling over Discord in the top hat, suite, and cane lol. 
5871496 Hah. That definitely could be the case for Starswirl the Bearded, considering how powerful he is and his knowledge of time an aging spells. It probably wouldn't even be too far-fetched to if he could choose at what age he'd like to appear when meeting other characters--although the whole thing kind of makes me want to see a side comic all about those two getting together. On a related note, it sounded like they also left the possibility open that Starswirl might still be somewhere out in Equestria or elsewhere. To be honest, my knowledge of that journal mostly comes from reviews through Amazon and the like. How was it, overall?
Comically enough, they released a three-page preview of the Fiendship is Magic issue with Chrysalis, and they talk about keeping her sentence of imprisonment for the next 1,000 years. So that seems to be a recurring jail or confinement sentence for threats against Equestria, apparently. Although, when they talk about yet another event that happened 1,000 years ago, Spike also makes a comment like: "Wow. 1,000 years ago must have been one rough year!"
That's a great point as well. Given the magical exchange of energy, the forces the princesses are connected to, or even simple biology, there might be several things that contribute to their overall longevity. Of course, then you also get cases like Princess Cadence, who must have lived from several centuries as well but extended her lifespan due to becoming a princess. Perhaps possessing a certain level of magic might also have something to do with it. For the time being, though, apparently that will mostly be left up to the imagination (such as for fan fic writers like us ^_^).
Agreed! Maybe one of the writers interviewed about the Fiendship is Magic series will elaborate at some point, although I haven't seen one yet from the writer who did the second issue. Have you?
Yeeup! The chapter book is supposed to come out sometime in July, according to Wikipedia.
And here is even better news: It seems episode 7 will be Discord and Smooze episode! A posting on Equestria Daily mentioned the summary should involve Discord getting jealous because Fluttershy invites another new friend to the Grand Galloping Gala. So, I guess this is where those two ideas (the Smooze and Discord being jealous) will come together. ;3
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I agree, I would not mind a side comic about Starswirl and Scorpan’s friendship at all. As for Starswirls’ time travelling, not only do I think he might be out there (in the sense of having visited pretty far down Equestria’s time line during his days living in the castle), but I really think he’d be an interesting pony to have make an appearance in the upcoming MLP movie. I’d really like to see him in the show in more than just the form of a poster or a painting-style flashback of Celestia’s. And is it bad that I sort of want him to be voiced by Patrick Stewart, and for him and Discord to have some kind of exchange just for the sake of the references? XD
The journal is worth a read (but honestly I’d try to find a cheap used copy because it’s not quite worth the $15 or whatever that they charge for it). It provides some interesting insights, and actually does get a little dark/serious regarding how the sun and moon were raised before Celestia and Luna came along, but I was disappointed that there’s nothing in there toward the end really hinting at Luna’s turn. But one cute thing—the second half of the journal is all of the Mane 6’s journal entries during season four, and they include Discord’s highlighted passages
LOL, yay, Spike finally acknowledges that Equestria was basically exploding a millennium ago!
It’s about time someone said something. I’m really looking forward to Chrissy’s comic. Honestly, the Sirens one was a little too ‘comedy relief’ for me. I liked a lot of the Starswirl stuff, but I wish they’d gone more into the origin of the Sirens.
No, I haven’t seen an interview with the second comic’s writer yet, but if/when it comes out, I’ll definitely check it out. Hopefully that’ll shed some light on things.
Yes, I heard about the ep!
So excited it’s happening that early in the season—maybe it means we’ll get another Discord ep on top of it before the finale. I have to say, I think it sounds kind of adorable. Discord, actually feeling insecure about going to a party without his best friend by his side—I predict lots and lots of cuteness along with the laughs from the Smooze (and from Discord himself in general of course.) I love their friendship so much. 
5876448 Oooh! Having Starswirl appear in the MLP: FIM movie would make for an intriguing watch--and then we would get to watch Twilight geek out on the silver screen. And having Patrick Stewart voice him would rock, especially if he has a nice long discussion with Discord (perhaps on the state of ponies, or their travels to distant beyond Equestria).
Nice. I've heard that reading the journal is pretty much similar to an "Equestrian fairytale," since it isn't in encyclopedia format like the Elements of Harmony guidebook. It's too bad it doesn't reveal more about Luna's darker shift, and probably several more tantalizing details. Although, perhaps this is because the writers plan to deal with those issues in-show and so don't want to give anything away prematurely. Still, hopefully it'll appear on a thrift shop shelf or at the local library (actually, the latter is mostly likely the best bet).
Same here! Based on the title, they might at least do some much-needed exploration on where Chrysalis has traveled in the past--along with another ancient civilization, apparently. The Siren comic was definitely sillier, although it was interesting to see that that version of Starswirl was blue (a little like the young unicorn from the Tirek issue). But that could be a coincidence.
"Make Friends and Keep Discord," is definitely going to be worth the wait. Did you hear they released a rumor-based and very tentative episode list for season 5? It may or may not be true, but on that list there is also another episode down the line called, "What about Discord?" And then, it's possible he'll pop up for the finale, at least.
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XD I mean, she freaked out about the chance just to see one of the bells from his hat at that Starswirl the Bearded exhibit with Cadance—but the pony himself? I think that might actually break her, lol. Yes, another Patrick Stewart as Starswirl supporter! Seriously, whenever they have him speak in the comics, I imagine the voice of Patrick Stewart. Oh the fun conversations he and Discord could manage to have. And if we go by the comics, Discord’s a bit of a time traveler too, so maybe he could have a hand with finding/getting everyone to Starswirl.
Omg, could you even imagine Twilight’s reaction ?
Yeah, like I said, the Journal’s fun enough, but I’ve found a lot more psychological depth in certain issues of the comics. One cute thing about the Journal though—it also includes at the end all of the Mane 6’s journal entries from season 4, and they even have Discord’s highlighting whenever something key-related comes up.
I was surprised btw—I really thought this week IDW was issuing the Chrysalis comic, but it turns out it was Luna. I’ve been looking forward to that one just as much though. I’m going to try and read it tonight. But then I’m definitely looking forward to what they’ll come up with for Chrysalis’s origin story. Yeah, I was surprised to see such a stylistically different Starswirl in the Sirens comic. My guess was that we were dealing with a super young Starswirl (maybe he just always had the beard no matter what?)
Yes, I saw the rumor-based ep list!
Very interesting! I really hope we start seeing more confirmed ep titles for upcoming ones that’ll give us an idea either way of how true the episode list is. And I’m really thinking “What About Discord?” is going to be an origin story if it turns out to be a real ep. In the meantime though, I’m still looking forward like crazy to the Grand Galloping Gala ep in a few weeks (I just know the Smooze is going to be a riot lol).
5899030 Very true! It'll be a great day when we get to see Starswirl appear in the actual show, even if this happens only through a flashback. But given how Starswirl is so wise and powerful, somehow I'd almost assume he might have watched most of the events taking place in the modern era from faraway (or, least, it seems like something he would do). And, of course, since Discord is now true friends with the mane six and his time-traveling abilities have been established, that certainly opens up many different avenues for them to explore story-wise. Hah. Patrick Stewart would probably love getting the chance to exchange dialogue with John De Lancie like that. They have been able to get so many great guest stars. I even heard they might have David Tennant doing Dr. Whooves at some point (though that is a rumor as well).
The journal definitely sounds cool. ;3
It would make sense if Starswirl the Bearded always had a beard (maybe this could have been true even from the time he was a colt, for all we know). Of course, that is also considering the fact there were several versions of how he possibly got his hat as well--all of which were pretty funny. I'm looking forward to the Chrysalis comic as well. Did you see the extended preview for it, by the way? It seems Chrysalis has undergone some noticeable changes over the years (and not just in terms of her shape-shifting abilities).
Me too! It would be awesome if it turns out that list of rumored episodes turns out to be real, especially the "What about Discord?" Hah. I'm basically counting down the days until the "Make Friends and Keep Discord" airs at long last. Yay!
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I could definitely see Starswirl having been a spectator for a great deal of Equestria’s history. In my head canon, he’s pretty much Doctor Who, time travelling and observing whatever interests him, only he has the added bonus of his time spells restoring his youth. But it would be great to see him finally come out of the temporal shadows and meet everyone. Speaking of The Doctor though, oh wow, if they got David Tennant, that would be great! I really hope that pans out!
I haven’t checked out the Chrysalis preview yet (I like to be suprirsed each week), but I think Katie Cook is writing that one, so I have high hopes. The Nightmare Moon one, to me, had some issues. It was interesting but what always fascinated me most about Luna’s banishment was the solitude she must have endured for the thousand years, and the Nightmare Moon comic kind of did away with that. Still, it was interesting that they tried to tackle the idea of why she can dream walk.
So excited there’s only a week and a half until more Discord. And I’m so excited John de Lancie is going to be at Bronycon. I’m crossing my fingers that I can manage to get an autograph lol.
5918645 Yeah! Perhaps that would be territory for them to explore during Season 6 (since that is apparently confirmed already), because they appear to be focusing on cutie marks in general during this season. But exposing Starswirl the Bearded as an observer to all the action that has been going on in the series thus far would be awesome. Not to mention, Twilight would go crazy with delight. ;3
I agree. The Nightmare Moon comic was one of the weaker ones (in my opinion). It kind of felt like that arch took away from the grave sense of loneliness and devastation Luna, being trapped within Nightmare Moon, would have felt during their period on the moon. Actually, it would have been interesting if they had explored Luna either while she was trapped within the nightmare state or her fall into the darkness. There were also some places where they kind of contradicted themselves, such as when it is shown Princess Celestia combatted Nightmare Moon once more despite her imprisonment, and similar.
But the Chrysalis comic certainly was intriguing. So Celestia was responsible for why she looks that way. Hmm.
Agreed!
5928771 I agree, Luna’s solitude would have been such an interesting thing to explore. I get that trying to write a comic that would have been mostly her monologuing would have been a challenge, of course, but with enough effort and creative thinking it could have been pulled off. But instead the comic seemed to care more about keeping with the canon of the Nightmare Rarity arc than exploring Nightmare Moon/Luna as a character.
The Chrysalis comic, to me, made up quite a bit for the Nightmare Moon disappointments though. What was great about that one was that while they acknowledged some of the comic canon about Chrysalis (the big pinkie suit thing, etc), the focus was on her as a character. She came off some kind of a high-functioning sociopath—dark but really clever. And also I’m going to have nightmares about that tree lol. And the Celestia thing was another random but very interesting dark little point. I like the idea of exploring little ways in which her reign hasn’t always been perfect and how, in defense of her subjects, maybe sometimes she’s gone too far. I’m glad that from how it ended it seems like they’ll be bringing back Chrysalis in the comics (and I hope they keep letting Katie Cook write her).
I’m sort of sad the Fiendship series is already over. But I’m glad they picked now to release it since at least we have new eps to look forward too (less than a week til Discord! Yay
)
5933184 Very true, and other comics have had monologues or simple narratives (and done very well). They could have even had Luna telling her story to someone, such as Celestia or Twilight, where it came across more like a fairytale. So that was kind of disappointing.
But the Chrysalis comic was definitely worth the wait. To be honest, this was the one I'd been waiting for ever since they announced the Fiendship is Magic series--and it certainly did open up a lot of different doors for future stories. Hah. "High-functioning sociopath" is a great way to describe Chrysalis, especially since she clearly has paper-thin morals and praises herself above all else (where her swarm becomes more of an expendable tool for her to use in her invasions). Of course, given how many different places she appears to have successfully invaded and overthrown, I'm surprised there hasn't been a bigger point made about just how she is essentially the biggest threat to Equestria at the moment. Although, Changelings could be something taught about in the history books for fillies, and that everyone knows about (and that we just haven't seen as much concerning). But, in any case, there was a lot of awesomeness here, and I agree. Katie Cook is a wonderful storyteller. ^_^
Oh, dear. Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait more than a week for Discord. Have you heard that there will be a break on Mother's Day weekend? The next new episode won't air until the 16th.
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I really like the idea of a framing device like that for the Luna one—I could see Twilight coming to her and wanting to know more about her time on the moon, first just as a point of historical curiosity but then I think Luna’s emotional experience would draw her in even more deeply and on a more personal level (and I think Twilight could relate in a way—before the series started, she had her own share of isolation in her life). Or it might have been interesting to explore the angle of Celestia and Luna trying to talk right after Luna’s return, and Luna sharing her experiences. Overall, the comic as it is wasn’t ‘horrible’, but it definitely missed a lot of opportunites to do a lot of Luna character exploration in favor of just giving us a random Nightmare Moon exploit.
Chrysalis was everything I hoped it would be and more.
I loved the inside of her cell decorated with all of the crazy anti-Twilight stuff. And just her way of weaving the story of her people was great. And even though you see her berating some of her drones and even being a little violent with them, you also see her sticking with them as their leader and doing anything she can to get them food. It’s like she’s as self-absorbed and cruel as you can possibly be while still being a potentially noble leader. I really loved the balance. But then of course with how she talks to ponies, you see the dark side of her completely take over. I was terrified about what was going to happen when Twilight went into that cell, lol.
I hope we see more about changelings and their history and origins in the actual series or at least in the comics again. There’s so much there to explore. And I think the show could definitely do some interesting things with bringing Chrysalis back (either on her own or teamed up with a new villain).
NOOOOO! We have to wait even longer for Discord?
But I’ve been in withdrawal about him for almost a year! Lol, I swear, sometimes the wait between eps each season feels even worse than the season hiatuses.
5949003 I definitely agree. Pushing into new territory and approaching the Nightmare Moon tale from Luna's perspective would have for a stronger comic, although apparently there is supposed to be episode on the way in Season 5 where Luna herself has a nightmare. So perhaps they might address--and we might see--a storyline from that angle (hopefully).
Whoever thought up Chrysalis and her changeling army was a genius, and they are the type of villains you love to hate. I love how the comic established not only their history of invasions, but also set up so much for the future. Chrysalis' balance between being cruel yet noble was done very well. That can be so difficult to do just right, so the writer deserves a round of applause for this alone. Of course, one of my favorite parts was how Chrysalis kind of lampshaded the entire Fiendship is Magic series at the end when she told Twilight that she was born that way. There were no tragic breaks or personal descents from innocence to her current state, or redeeming qualities (in her relation to ponies). Chrysalis has always been a conceited queen out for her own interests and swarm.
I hope they bring Chrysalis back as well. According to one interview, I believe there was an mention to the fact that there is going to be a longer project where both Chrysalis and Discord appear--and that was before the announcement for the movie in 2017. So perhaps the film they are pulling out all the stops for will involve Chrysalis' return or invasion of Equestria, with all the mane six and their friends banding together to fight back against them. That would be awesome, certainly.
I know, right!? Waiting that extra week is going to be excruciating. To be honest, I keep checking Equestria Daily in the hopes they will at least up out a preview clip or two before much longer of the episode. That would ease the ache just a little. That and coming up with Discord-related stories. ;3
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Thank you!
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I heard that rumor about the Luna ep too—I really hope it’s true. It’d be nice to have another episode centered around Luna finally, and great for the show to acknowledge her complicated past some more.
I agree, Katie Cook presented Chrysalis really well in this. She expanded on her character in a way totally believable based against what we’ve seen of her in the show. And her origin was an excellent way to finish things, like you said. She didn’t fall or make a bad choice, she was just born this way, and needs to be this way to survive (and to let her people survive). I really hope they bring her back soon in the comics (and that they let Katie keep handling her character). And if it’s something involving Discord too—all the better
Lol, seriously, I agree—writing Discord is the only thing getting me through Discord deprivation too. I cannot wait for the weekend to come back around again. I have a feeling this gala ep is going to top the season one finale gala ep in terms of wacky shenanigans and screwball comedy, and that is no easy task
5965478 Agreed. Luna definitely deserves some of the spotlight, and an episode more around her life and past. We got a hint of how things are for her now through the comics, and through her visits into the dreams of distressed fillies, but having an actual episode that does this would be a treat. Of course, in the same vein, it might also be nice to have an episode focused around Celestia as well...
Katie Cook is such a great storyteller! I read in one interview that things in the show will not necessarily reference occurrences in the comics, but this is definitely one instance where these comics bridge the two nicely. It's really possible to see all this as happening in-between Chrysalis' initial appearance to Twilight and the others and her return in the show, believing Twilight and the others have gone through what happened in the comics. With any luck, we'll see her appear in either medium very soon (unless that is Season 6 territory).
Me too! Sometimes, it feels like this smooze episode has been a harder wait to endure than for Season 5 in general. Or, perhaps that's just me. I'm kind of the person for whom every new episode involving him becomes my new favorite Discord episode. Although, perhaps that is just because he tends to go through a lot of character development almost every time he has appeared so far. ;3
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I’d take any further info on either of the sisters (or both of them) at this point. The comics sometimes try to give us some background, but as for canon show stuff we’ve really gotten very little about their pasts and histories. I’m really hoping the upcoming movie touches on this a lot. But I really do hope Chrysalis ends up in a future season too—she’s too good of a villain to just ignore in the show. And as for Katie Cook, that’s one of the reasons I enjoy her work so much—she takes on some pretty heavy storylines (not just slice of life stuff that could definitely be happening ‘off screen’), but she makes them work so that you can believe that these epic adventures could really be occurring between episodes even though they’re such game-changing situations. And I always love that they team her up with Andy Price so frequently. He does some of my favorite artwork for the comics.
I know exactly what you mean about the Smooze ep and about Discord eps in general—they always add so much to his character and give us such great insight into who he is as a person. It’s pretty much impossible to be bored (and not to laugh) during a Discord ep. And I really want to shake the hand of whoever’s in charge of his dialogue. It’s always hysterical lol. I saw the two teaser clips (it took them long enough to release them!)—I think we’re going to be in for some fantastically dramatic Discord clearly hiding his insecurities about his friendship with Fluttershy underneath a completely childlike jealousy XD I have to wait til Sunday to watch the ep, but it’s definitely going to be worth all this suspense
5982411 Me too. If they’ve had an episode that is taken mostly from Discord’s perspective, it stands to reason they should feel free to have ones from both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I did hear a rumor, which stated we might see an episode where Luna has a nightmare—yet this would probably be much further in the season.
Definitely! I mean, the comics establish Chrysalis is on the loose somewhere—and this could have already been the case based on only watching the show. So it would be awesome if we could see this epic confrontation between all of Equestria and the changeling forces, alongside many spells for dealing with the threat (among various other solutions or struggles). I agree. Katie Cook does such a great job at making her stories actioned-packed, and not too rushed, really. And Andy Price’s illustrations are incredible as well. The storylines and artwork are two of the best things about these comics as a whole. There are just so many expressions you can capture in this format that are harder to do in animation (although all the expressions in-show are still wonderful).
“Insecurities about his friendship with Fluttershy underneath a completely childlike jealously” is a brilliant way to describe this. I like the fact that despite the fact Discord is centuries old (and probably far older than Princess Celestia or any of the other characters we’ve seen on the show so far), it is really endearing that he has to learn about friendship from the ground up. Things the ponies take for granted in terms of relationships are pretty new for him, so it is going to be interesting to continue watching his development on that front.
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At least in this last ep we got some Celestia, but I’m surprised (again) that Luna’s absence at the gala wasn’t acknowledged. Even if she wasn’t going to show up for whatever reason, you’d think the show would give us a quick line from Celestia or something explaining why she wasn’t there last year or this year. I know the gala’s at night and that she has duties, but it seems like the party is early enough in the evening that she could absolutely go for a little while if she wanted to. It looks like the rumored ep list is confirmed though, and there’s definitely one with ‘dream’ in the title, so hopefully that’ll be about Luna.
And yes, I’m really hoping that what happened with Chrysalis in the comic isn’t just a sign that she’ll be coming back in the comics but that we’ll see her again in the show. She definitely deserves more exploration, canon or not.
Thanks, I’m glad I pegged Discord well, lol. Really though, it was precious watching him care that much about making sure she wasn’t going to stop being friends with him. I think he put more energy and effort into addressing that fear than he did into trying to conquer Equestria again the first time he came back. I love how he’s still the same old snarky, over the top Discord, but his priorities have shifted so clearly. The way the show has developed his character has been just wonderful, and I’m so glad the quality of it is keeping up for this season too.
6005074 That’s very true. Even though there is supposed to be an episode focused around Luna having a nightmare later on in the season, hopefully we’ll be able to see the princess of the night attend more formal or informal events as well. Hey, perhaps she’ll even make an appearance if they decide to have another Nightmare Night festival episode (one of the titles was “Scare-Master,” after all).
Definitely. Chrysalis is too intriguing of a character to leave out of the rest of the series, and so many people enjoy her as a villainess. So I’m sure the writers will eventually bring her back in a big way someday soon.
Agreed! We also got to see a lot of new and different abilities from Discord that didn’t come across in his earlier appearances. Actually, now he seems like even a bigger force to reckon with if someone got on his bad side. He can not only alter reality, but he can open gateways to different dimensions, burn up, and more. I remember one writer commenting in an interview that Discord is basically a walking visual pun at times, because he uses magic so glibly to not only create things, but also to affect his own appearance or body.
They’ve really made Discord something special. Hah.
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I’m really hoping ‘Scare-Master’ turns out to be another Luna ep too—she so rarely gets any screen time, if she got a total of three eps this season where she’s played a crucial role (counting “Bloom and Gloom”), it’d be a nice change of pace. But of course more Celestia would be welcome too. There’s so much of her character’s past that it would be great to explore, or even the past of the two sisters in general.
I’m really looking forward to see how Discord now would react to a serious threat to his friends. With all that chaotic magic at his disposal, plus his deep attachment to everyone, the writers’ll have to work out some way of keeping him able to contribute to battles while not just being an ‘auto-win’ for the side of good. I’m really hoping he’ll play at least some role in whatever they’re cooking up for the season finale.
Lol, him being a visual pun makes him such a great part of the animated show, but for me it makes him so difficult to write sometimes. He can’t just say chaotic things, he’s got to interrupt everything by snapping up randomness, and half the time I feel like I skip over the randomness he could cause just for the sake of getting the dialogue in there. This last ep with him, I think, topped everything with the visual puns—I swear he used more chaotic magic being jealous over friendship at the gala than he did when he first came back in “Return of Harmony” and tried to take over Equestria, lol.
6025844 Agreed. Luna definitely deserves more of an opportunity to shine, both figuratively and literally. She has a lot to contribute, after all. I almost feel as if there should be an episode where Twilight or another of the mane six would go on a quest with her. It would be interesting to see more of what her usual nights are like, besides helping little fillies in their dreams.
If the posted Season 5 list is completely true, and we will get another Discord-centric episode towards the end, perhaps it would really help to tie into the finale. That would be great and help to build up suspense for Season 6. Hmm. Do you think the film that is supposed to come would happen between Season 5 and Season 6?
You’re right, and I have the same problem with writing Discord. One aspect of his character is the tendency to make references to different things (like Rodney Dangerfield or Gallagher), and at times that is difficult to depict in writing. Yet when you do manage to get into his “groove” it is a lot of fun as well.
Hah. It is certainly true Discord probably used more chaotic magic while being jealous over his friendship with Fluttershy than at any other time. And considering how crazy life and ponies can get around Ponyville (such as Twilight during “Lesson Zero,” for instance), Discord fits right in with this herd.
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I’d love to see a quest ep happen with Luna (did you read the comic where she and Spike go off together to deal with a dragon problem—it’s one of my favorites ). I’m really hoping with the “Do Princesses Dream of Electric Sheep” ep that we’re getting something that’ll involve some of the girls spending time with Luna and learning more about her, especially the nature of her duties (beyond just the dream-walking). And it would be nice to see her and possibly the other princesses play some sort of role in the season finale as well.
That’s a good question regarding the film. It’s supposed to be out in 2017, and I’m assuming this season will wrap up at the end of this year (and leave us with another unfortunately long hiatus). It could possibly be set between season 5 and 6, but I’m going to guess it’ll be set between season 6 and 7 (I know we don’t have a confirmed season 7 yet, but honestly I feel like there’s a really strong likelihood of it happening…unless of course the movie is supposed to be a series finale, which is a possibility I don’t even want to think about lol). My guess is this season will end, next spring/summer we’ll get EG 3, then season 6, then the movie…and just like I really hope Discord plays a role in this season’s finale, I really really hope he plays a role in the movie as well.
Yes, the specific references can be a killer—it’s easy to make them subtle and amusing when you have the visuals to fall back on in animation, but to write it out can seem really heavy handed which takes some of the humor out of things. But, agreed, once you do get in his groove, he’s just so much fun to work with. And he’s definitely fitting into the group now in his own weird way. I rewatched the ep again recently, and I still can’t get over how much friendship means to him now. I only hope we’ll get to see more about how important his friends are to him now in the next Discord ep.
6053318 That is very true. The princesses were able to play an interesting role in the Season 4 finale, but perhaps they will make more active positions in the Season 5 finale. Princess Luna has so much to contribute as well. Maybe, since they've given Discord a "day in the limelight" episode, the "Do Princesses Dream of Electric Sheep" will come mostly from Luna's point of view. I agree! It would be awesome to see more interactions between her and the other mane six. ;3 I'm still rooting for another Nightmare Moon episode as well.
A while back, I remember hearing that there was a possibility Hasbro might have around three or four more seasons of MLP:FIM in mind (though this was just a rumor). In any case, wherever the movie shows up will really make a huge impact. I'm just curious as to whether it will be the type of film the happenings in it only get referenced on occasion, or not at all, in the actual series. This sometimes happens with television series that release movies.
Definitely! Writing Discord is a lot of fun. His character opens the way to so many possibilities that might not be possible for the other characters. And it truly is remarkable how much friendship has come to mean to him. I keep going back through his earlier episodes and watching his character development. It's strange. Even though his design stays the same, he feels so much different (just in how he relates to others, and even the way he reacts to things). Simply beautiful. Hah.
6060158 I’d love if the “Do Princesses Dream of Electric Sheep?” ep was primarily from Luna’s perspective. After “Make New Friends…” someone from the ‘Bronies’ group on facebook pointed out that while we’ve had a lot of eps so far in the show with Discord in them, that was the first ep that was actually fully about him as the main character as opposed to just having him as a supporting character. I feel like Luna’s in a similar position. Even “Luna Eclipsed” was more about Twilight’s experience teaching Luna how to make friends than it was about Luna herself. I’d love to see her take on the main character role instead of the supporting character role for once. And I’d love to see some Nightmare Moon flashbacks/explanations too (and hopefully if Luna really is having some bad dreams in that ep, that’s what we’ll get lol).
I get the feeling that no matter where the movie happens chronologically in the series, it won’t be referenced any more than the regular season finales/openers are referenced. If it creates a major change in the situation of the MLP universe, I’m sure they’ll carry it over into the series, but I think for the most part it’ll be another major thing that takes place that then doesn’t get referenced in the series again (*cough* Chrysalis *cough*) unless some sort of revenge or reform is going to happen. I’m really looking forward to what they’ll come up with :)
Discord has truly been a work of art. He’s changed so much, yet the changes are all believable considering the gradual transition they’ve let him go through. I think my favorite thing was that after Fluttershy ‘reformed’ him, they didn’t just have him become a perfectly upstanding good guy—he was resisting it and being sneaky and clearly hadn’t decided yet whether to really stay reformed or not until everything with Tirek. The fact that they took the time to give him that thorough and realistic of a transition instead of just changing him from bad to good overnight was great. And I really wish I knew who on the staff decided he and Fluttershy should be best friends, because it’s still the most adorable thing ever ^w^ And it’s great how he retains his chaos but, like you said, relates to others so differently now and goes through all of these emotional shifts that we never would have seen in him just as a villain. I can’t wait for the fall when we get to find out his origins—I’m predicting lots of colorful stories and wacky shenanigans, and lots of heartwarming draconequus feels lol.
6089669 Definitely. Season 5 seems distinct from what we’ve seen before in that there are episodes from perspectives other than the mane six (or the CMC). If they have had an episode focused around Discord, and another around all the background characters in Ponyville, then Luna truly deserves an opportunity to stand in the spotlight as well. It would help to flesh out her character in a whole new way, and to give us as an audience more on her current mindset at this point. Luna struggling with Nightmare Moon flashbacks and experiences would make for great viewing. Did you also happen to see the trading card released recently showing a version of Princess Celestia as a villainess? I think it was “Solar Flare,” or something very similar. So there is a possibility an evil version of Celestia might be in Luna’s nightmare. Maybe we’ll even get to see what Luna envisioned would have happened if she had been the one who needed to banish her sister for 1,000 years.
Very true. Unless something major happens that they cannot avoid bringing up in the series, the movie should involve an incident solved within the span of the time allotted. Chrysalis would make a great incident, though. Plus, she’d look great on the big screen.
I really like how you described Discord’s change as a “work of art,” since it is nothing less than the truth and stated so poetically. There is something to be said that his reformation was gradual, since there are far too many shows out there were converted villains are instantly “nice guys.” You get to see Discord as a character learning what it means to care for others, and how to relate to them. It certainly is more believable than that he would suddenly have that type of knowledge or experience right away. Of course, this is something amazing about the writing team and how they have handled their characters. We have gotten to see them develop over the course of the series so well, becoming stronger and better characters—who can still surprise us with their antics or quirks. I remember reading somewhere just how many odd friendships there are on MLP: FIM, between characters you wouldn’t have expected would want to have anything to do with one another. For instance, there such is Rarity and Applejack, who became closer through their friendship with Twilight. But they grew closer to one another due to their adventures, and discovering how much they actually do have in common. This is what has happened with Discord as well, beginning with his friendship with Fluttershy (before getting closer with Twilight and the others). It is so much fun to watch.
Me too! I’m looking forward to how they explain Discord’s origins, and all the wackiness to ensue.
Even if he is there in the comics I don't buy Discord and Tirek having met before. Their interactions in season 4 gave off the distinct they only knew each other by reputation at most. I know the comics and the show aren't the same continuity but that's so blatantly off canon it's ridiculous.
Let me make it clear I'm talking about the comic, not this story which is a fan fiction, you can follow whichever canon you want. As for the story itself, it's interesting but Tirek is way too much of whiner here for my tastes. This guy was a cold, cunning, master manipulator who outwitted Discord, managed to escape Tartarus and was a freakin badass throughout the two parter. I just can't imagine the best villain (in terms of just the show, it's Sombra overall) being a brat with daddy issues crying "I want this, I want that, gimme gimme gimme."
The interactions with Discord and the part with Scorpan and Starswirl are still nice though. Have a like.
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Hi! Thank you for the comment and feedback : ) As for Discord and Tirek knowing each other and Tirek’s attitude, the comic’s set when Tirek’s a teenager and portrays him with a lot less maturity because of his youth and his frustration with not having power over anything (he’s a prince of some unnamed dark land, but his father doesn’t trust him and his mother favors Scorpan a lot, so his freedom’s very restricted), so that’s part of why he’s more whiny in this story. And as for him and Discord knowing each other, there was just a very weird background cameo of Discord in this comic—very out of place and it had no explanation unfortunately, but it implied that Tirek and Discord are from the same land and that Discord had some place in that land’s royal court in the past. So I wanted to acknowledge the idea that Discord at least knew of him according to the comic (though I agree, the show did not at all suggest them having a relationship that goes back that far). Most of my stories only follow show canon, but with this series I wanted to go back the comic one as much as I could.
But I’m glad you liked some of the interactions regardless, and thank you for the like
Hey there! I did a full cast reading of your story! I loved every piece of it! YouTube Reading