Relationships are Evil

by TheTimeSword

Chapter 10: Sibling

“I’m sickened to say it, but Discord was right about something. We are out here enjoying this sunny weather, eating neatly wrapped sandwiches, and drinking sweet sugary lemonade. You should be happily prancing about, not a care in the world. Yet, here you are, still pushing your muzzle to the paper.”

Tirek and Twilight sat together atop a grassy knoll, a picnic blanket underneath their hooves, and the shade of a maple tree protecting them from the sun’s rays. The soft gusts of wind made the leaves sing like chimes. Twilight was indeed absorbed in a good book, completely ignoring the centaur, who was acting like a drenched hornet.

“Why did you even plan today if you were going to waste it?” he asked.

“You know Tirek, even Discord figured out how to impress me by now, and it took him a really long time,” she said, attempting to coax the centaur into a deeper reaction.

He looked down at the alicorn, his brow had furrowed from her mocking tone. As quickly as he could, he grasped the book she was reading and tossed it like a snowball, sending it deep into the meadow.

“H-Hey! What’d you do that for?” she yelled.

“Whoa, did you see that? Some wind just swooped down and sent your book flying,” he claimed, turning to stare her in the eyes. “What a shame.”

She puffed up her cheeks, angrily staring back at the centaur. “It’s as if all males are stubborn like mules! Maybe I should choose Chrysalis since she’d at least understand my plight.”

“I’m stubborn? You’re the one who is reading while out with a date!” he growled.

“This isn’t a date! You have to befriend me before I even give you that option. Today is about you reforming and proving you're nice! The point of my reading was for you to try and wavier my attention from something I already love. Even Discord figured that out!” Twilight rose from the ground, turning to face Tirek.

He knew arguing with Twilight would be like dueling with grenades, it wouldn’t be pretty. “And I’ve gotten your attention, Twilight Sparkle. Now what?” he said, his tone was filled to the brim with sarcasm.

Twilight let out a scream, frustrated with the whole situation. “What happened to the whole, I’m going to win you before Discord? All that lying, manipulation, and charisma, but you can’t even come up with a way to pry me from a book? At this rate, Discord may actually win the bet before you ever reform!”

“Well, what do you expect me to do out here? Oh Miss Twilight Sparkle, please, have some more lemonade, another sandwich. Let’s look at the clouds! I’m sure that will be the most exciting thing you’ve ever seen,” he sarcastically shouted back.

“Fine, you want to do something, then let’s talk. Sit your butt down.” She sat down in front of him, glaring at him with eyes as sharp as freshly made daggers.

Tirek raised an eyebrow, unsure of where this might lead. He lowered his body, laying atop his legs. With a cross of his arms, he asked, “Alright, what should we talk about?”

“Why do you want to rule over Equestria?”

His jaw dropped. “Come again?” he said, unsure if he heard the question properly.

Twilight rolled her eyes and echoed her question. “Why do you want to rule Equestria?”

“No one has ever actually asked me why,” he replied. He stroked his beard while contemplating the question. “Why ask me such a question? Do I have to give a reason?”

“Well, there’s not much information on you, Tirek. You and your brother showed up, he told the princesses you were going to steal magic, they locked you up. That’s about all I know besides the, well, recent history.”

With a wave of his hand, he replied, “Then you know nothing of me, nor my idiotic brother. Your princesses are not as pure and kind as you think.”

“Right, so, tell me your side. What about your brother, Scorpan?” she suggested.

He clenched his fist to keep it from shaking, it was the only thing he could do to prevent his rage from boiling over. “I… My vile brother, he cared deeply for you ponies. When he asked me to return to our pitiful homeland with him, I resisted, explaining that I wanted to absorb all the magic I could. I would become powerful enough to rule any kingdom, even our homeland.”

She gave a nod, allowing him to continue his rant.

“When the fool informed your tyrannical leaders, they immediately came for me, thrusting me into the pits of Tartarus without any judge or jury. I was swept under the rug, betrayed by my own blood. After that day, betraying, manipulating, deceiving, they all became words in my lexicon. I just needed the power to do it.”

“Tirek… What’s the point of ruling a kingdom if nobody is happy under your rule; if no one wants to share the wealth and power you’ve obtained?” she queried, placing a hoof onto his fist. “Being powerful, it doesn’t mean you have to take power from someone else. Power can come from yourself and your friends.”

“You sound like my brother,” he scoffed.

She gave a half-hearted smile before staring out in the direction of Ponyville. A lull in conversation came between the two as Twilight became lost in thought. Tirek sat, staring at the pony, confused as to why or what she was thinking. As he opened his mouth to break the silence, she spoke up first, asking, “Can you return power after you’ve absorbed it?”

With a raise of his eyebrow, he replied, “Yes, or give it to another pony. Are you finally coming over to the dark side? Want me to steal magic for you?” He gave a mockingly maniacal grin.

“I’d like to give a test to you.” She ignored his question entirely.

“A test?”

Twilight suddenly turned her head, looking directly into his yellow pupils. Her face was unmoved, serious and sure, a look that made Tirek slightly unhinged. “I want to see you act like you rule Ponyville as if you had the power to do so. I’m going to allow you to absorb my magic to do it too.”

“Pardon me?” he croaked, a bit disturbed by her strange request.

“I want you to-“

“It was rhetorical, I heard you the first time.” Tirek placed his hand covering his face. He didn’t know what to think. Stealing magic was a way to gain power and rule over the ponies, something they weren’t supposed to want. To Tirek, it seemed like some sort of trick. “Why?” he asked, removing his hand, sliding it down to his chin.

Her seriously sharp features gave way to a frigid smile. “You seem to think power is the key to happiness, so I want you to absorb mine. I believe that with a walk around Ponyville, you’ll finally understand what that type of power gets you. Think you can do that?”

“What makes you think I’ll give it back to you? What would stop me from thieving all the magic from the ponies there?” he asked, trying to find a cause or reaction, something that would help in figuring out Twilight’s manipulative puzzle.

“The girls and I have the magic of friendship to reign you back in if you get out of line, but I don’t think we’ll need to. You said you wanted to do something more exciting than sit here,” she replied. “Afraid of failing a little test?”

Tirek grumbled to himself, unamused with her brash demands. “Now I know you’re playing me, but I’m too curious to say no.”

“Good. Then do it,” she said as she stood up.

He rose up as well, his horse body barely towering over the alicorn. His mouth opened wide, extracting the magic from Twilight’s horn in one fell swoop. As he finished, he felt the magic flow through him. His body size tripled, muscles bulged on his arms, the white flow of his beard increased up his jawline, and his horns protruded from the top of his skull.

“Ah, what a refreshing reminder of what could have been,” he jeered, his voice no longer a frail croak, but gruff and gravely.

Twilight rubbed her temples, attempting to balance herself. She could feel the emptiness, no longer housing the magic that had coursed through her. She looked up at the centaur, her eyes gray and lifeless like a doll. She asked, “You have my power, are you still willing to take a walk?”

As he flexed his muscles, still staring at the alicorn. A maniacal grin was held across his face. He replied, “Twilight Sparkle, you are indeed a strange one. Before you were the last one to give me your power, now you are the first. My worthless brother would have liked you.”

She kept her eyes locked with his, focusing on keeping the gaze. “Is that a no?”

“Of course not. I want to see the great Twilight Sparkle lead without her magic. Take me to wherever you wish, I will follow, for now,” he replied.

The two set off in their march to Ponyville. Tirek’s physique could be seen long before they even arrived on the outskirts of the town. Ponies quivered in fear as they stared at the centaur, to which he immediately noticed. His evil grin slowly dissipated as he watched the children running in fear, hiding behind their parents, doors and shutters slamming closed.

As the streets emptied of ponies, Tirek could feel the glee in his heart, knowing that ponies were truly frightened by him. It did not take long for this glee to disappear, as he noted the same ponies who had attended the festival now ran in fear. He thought to himself, I’m still the same, only larger and more powerful. Why aren’t they simply ignoring me as they had been yesterday?

Mayor Mare trotted up alongside Twilight, sweat dripped from her brow as she nervously greeted the alicorn. “H-Hello Twilight, how’s the, um, reforming coming along?” She looked up at the centaur who ignored the politician.

“It’s fine Mayor, we’re on a little trust exercise today,” Twilight replied.

“That’s good news! And you’re performing this exercise by yourself? Without anypony else?” she questioned, attempting to skirt around without blatantly asking if Twilight needed the help of her friends.

“Don’t worry Mayor, everything will be alright.”

The Mayor gave a quick, sweaty nod and a half-hearted smile, hoping Twilight’s words to be true. As Mayor Mare walked away, Twilight looked to the centaur, only to be surprised by the confused look upon his face. His frown hadn't vanished, but seemed to be different as well.

As they reached the middle of the town, they stopped in front of town hall. The ponies that normally roamed the streets during a busy afternoon had all vanished, leaving empty stalls and roads. Tirek looked down at Twilight “Where is everyone?”

“Well, the last time a giant centaur roamed the town, our library was destroyed. I’d imagine they’d be a little nervous about that,” she mocked with a roll of her eyes.

“But they weren’t afraid yesterday… They greeted me and Sombra warmly, and then simply went on their way. They enjoyed the party to their heart's content,” he said, slowly becoming annoyed with the situation.

One small foal was the only one brave enough to walk up to the two. Apple Bloom’s face wasn’t confused or bewildered, but sad, as if she had witnessed a puppy being kicked. Tirek looked down as she approached, a smile appeared on his face, only to have it ripped off when he eyed her expression.

“Twilight, what’s goin’ on?” she asked.

Twilight looked up at Tirek, his expression almost matching Apple Bloom’s to a T. “It’s just a trust exercise,” she replied, before looking back at the foal. “I’m showing him what it’s like to rule as a real tyrant.”

Apple Bloom stared at the centaur. “Mister Tirek, why are you so big? You’re not evil again, are you?”

“Evil again?” he retorted. “I’ve always been evil.”

Apple Bloom shook her head in disagreement. “No, yesterday you weren’t. We had a lot of fun playin’ hide ‘n seek and tag, and then racing to see who could eat more of Pinkie’s cupcakes,” she argued.

“But… I…” He stuttered, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“You can’t be evil and enjoy a cupcake from Sugar Cube Corner! Scootaloo said so! Nopony who is evil can smile with a face covered in frostin’!” Apple Bloom stomped her hooves against the ground.

It had become apparent that Apple Bloom was growing increasingly upset, something Twilight nor Tirek, had expected. Tears had begun to form in her eyes as she stared at the centaur. Tirek was unable to form words, unsure of what he could say to appease one of the foals he had spent some time with the day before.

“Alright Apple Bloom, run along now. Applejack will want to hear about your day at school,” Twilight interjected, nudging the disheartened foal away before things truly went awry.

“Bye Twilight, bye Mister Tirek,” she replied, looking back with a dejected look at the two as she walked away. They watched as she vanished into the distance, a silence fell between them both. Twilight turned and looked up at the centaur, unsure of what she could say to him. His face was still distraught, but the look in his eyes told her that he was off in his own little world, a stare that could see for a thousand yards.

“Tirek?” she finally called out.

Upon hearing his name, he snapped back to reality, looking back down at the alicorn. “What?”

“Are you alright? You look… sad.”

He grunted in disapproval, flicking his hand at her as if to brush her comment away. “As if a puny pony could upset the great Lord Tirek. I am, however, annoyed with this boring test,” he scoffed.

To her surprise, his jaw opened wide and magic poured out, pushing back into her horn. She could feel the magic surge through her like a rush of adrenaline. When the magic had finished transferring, she opened her eyes, only to see the centaur had transformed back into the dainty, fragile stature he had been.

Tirek was crossing his arms, looking away from Twilight. Out of his peripherals, he caught a glimpse of a shine. When he turned to look, he saw the tears gushing down her face, a smile in between the two streams. “W-What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” he asked, shocked by her expressions.

She stood up bipedal, placing her forelegs around his waist, hugging him as tight as she could. Tirek raised his arms in the air, confused by the sudden affection. He slowly placed his hands around the back of her neck and atop her head. His sad expression returned to his face.

Somehow, this is your fault, Scorpan, he thought.

Comments

[Nerfyy]

lool xDD if all this bonding keeps going then this bet will turn out very bad for twi hahaha
when she likes them all and cant decide who she wants to be with
Discord already made some plus points :D and it seems twi appreciated the time she had with him to bring it up like that a lot ;3 (*yessssss*)
Tirek is getting better
Sombra too
Curious to see about Chrissy ^^

and im even more interested in how this all will end
will you decide to leave it at one partner for twi ? or like i said before big confusing thing between all of them at once xD
of if maybe the others, that do not get to be with Twi, get a diffrent partner
hmmmmmm
so exciting xD
keep up the good work

[2tail]

In the other chapter when "Rarity" was hinting dating her, I was thinking 'Omniship+'. Because adding her friends would make it that much more crazy.

But we still have a few foes not in the bet yet. Trixie, Sunset, the Sirens, and Starlight come to mind.

So just foes it could get to 10.

[WorldWalker128]

No force is a match for sad-face Apple Bloom.

[Razzy]

That was actually touching.

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

Blaming somebody that isn't there for your problems are we, Tirek?

[Super Ponyman]

“Well, the last time a giant centaur roamed the town, our library was destroyed. I’d imagine they’d be a little nervous about that,” she mocked with a roll of her eyes.

He also tried to disintegrate you and your fiends and destroy Equestria as we know it...

But who am I to judge?