Chapter 5
Tirek opened his eyes and saw a completely different world fade in before him. He was standing atop a familiar balcony in the castle he remembered from his childhood. The sun was shining brightly and the land around him was more of a desert with little to no vegetation. He had been sent back in time to the Midnight Kingdom. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Scorpan standing in front of him, appearing in his base form before taking any magic from the Absorption Stone. Scorpan had his hands behind his back and a warm smile on his face. Tirek noticed there was a faint magic aura surrounding the two of them.
“Brother…what… what have you done?” Tirek asked. “Where are we…or rather, what year is it?”
“This is the age of our childhood when the kingdom was still undernourished. Look.”
Scorpan pointed to his left. Tirek glanced over to see himself as a young centaur colt romping around with an even younger Scorpan running after him.
“HAHA! Try and catch me, Brother!” young Tirek called to the little gargoyle.
“Hey, slow down!” young Scorpan called back.
Tirek could not believe he was seeing this. He had rather faint memories of his past and barely recognized his younger self. He could already tell Scorpan had used a time-travel spell, but no one could see either of them, so it was likely a visual one. Tirek then noticed his parents King Vorak and Queen Haydon by the balcony entrance. Haydon smiled at the sight of her sons playing. Vorak had his arms crossed but was also smiling. He then walked out to his boys to speak with them.
“I’VE GOT YOU, BROTHER!” called Scorpan as he jumped on top of Tirek.
“Hey! No flying!” young Tirek called back.
“Alright, that’s enough, boys. Come over here. I’d like to show you something,” Vorak told his sons.
The king walked over towards the balcony and Tirek followed him while Scorpan flew over and landed on top of the pedestal railing.
“Is this all going to be mine one day, Father?” young Tirek asked.
“All of this, Tirek, but don’t forget, your brother will become a ‘lord’ when you are crowned and will be part of the court as per the royal traditions.”
“I can’t wait to be king, Father! I’m going to rule with an iron fist! Just like you do!”
“Now, now, my son,” said the queen as she walked in and put her hand on Tirek’s head. “A king must rule with strength, but remember what we told you about your grandfather.”
“King Oltok made lots of mistakes. I know,” said young Tirek, rolling his eyes.
“That’s right. We must be careful to not repeat what he did.”
“My father took too much that did not belong to him to build up his palace. We lost much of the forests when he borrowed magic from the plant-life. We are still recovering from those dark times. But grandfather Oltok was no longer beholden to his greed in his last days.”
Off to the side, the real Tirek and Scorpan looked on as the conversation continued. Tirek was listening but he had a stern look on his face like he was trying hard not to speak out of line.
“Right from the beginning, both Mother and Father wanted what was best for us,” Scorpan explained. “You were the heir to the throne, brother.”
“Then why am I the lord now and you’re the king?” Tirek replied.
Scorpan put his hand up and the scene around them panned rapidly to the side. They were now in a training regimen where young Tirek and Scorpan were practicing their fighting skills and magic powers. They were slightly older from the last vision. Tirek’s horns were starting to grow sharper and pointing upward while Scorpan’s tail and wings were longer. Scorpan practiced his martial arts and magic in a rather balanced manner. He fired beams from his mouth and palms to land direct hits on some nearby targets. Tirek, on the other hand, was reckless. He would shatter targets with his fists, kick them with his hooves, or obliterate them with unnecessarily powerful blasts.
“This was our training,” Scorpan said. “Do you notice a difference?”
Tirek scowled and refused to answer the question, until he saw something from the corner of his eye. King Vorak was watching both of them. He was satisfied with Scorpan’s training but did not appear happy with what he saw Tirek doing. He finally walked over to Tirek to speak with him.
“Tirek, my son…” he said until Tirek began bragging.
“Father! Did you see that?! I’m getting faster! Soon I’ll be clearing each course in record time!”
“Yes, that is impressive, but you’re pushing yourself too hard. This test isn’t about speed or strength. You should be more concerned with accuracy here. These targets don’t need to be destroyed. You just have to land a hit as close to the center as possible.”
“So? I’m already good enough with my aim! I’ll be more powerful if I train as hard as I can!”
“Son, I know you want to be powerful, but this isn’t about power. A king must never react impulsively.”
“What if the kingdom is ever in danger? I can’t be a weak king, father.”
Tirek levitated more targets over and began to blast them again. Vorak put his hand up as if to say more, but Tirek had already started. He rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply. Behind him was Scorpan, looking concerned for his brother. Vorak shared a glace with his younger son, shook his head and left the room. Off to the side, the real Tirek rolled his eyes and finally spoke.
“Alright, so I was big-headed. I was a child,” he said. “I had a point though. The kingdom couldn’t have a weak king.”
“Do you remember when Sendak came into your life?” Scorpan asked.
Tirek didn’t answer and continued to scowl. He knew what Scorpan was trying to do. The scenery changed again and they were outside where a more adolescent Tirek and pre-teen Scorpan were walking towards a cave with a skull-shaped entrance.
“But Tirek, you know what Father said about visiting the Nether Lands.” said young Scorpan. “And mother will be summoning us for supper soon and-”
“Then I suggest you go back home to Mommy,” younger Tirek replied. “I have more important things to attend to than supper.”
They walked on until they got to the cave and entered. Sendak the Elder was standing by a cage with a cloth draped over it.
“WHO GOES THERE?!” shouted Sendak. “Tirek, is that you? My prodigy, I did not expect you so soon. And I sense you have not come alone.”
“It is only my younger brother Scorpan, who frequently follows,” replied younger Tirek. “A slight nuisance, nothing more. He would never betray me.”
Outside of the cave, the real Tirek cringed at hearing those words.
“Never betray me…” he grumbled to himself.
“I don’t know how much of this part you might recall since Discord erased your memories of Sendak teaching you that spell, but I’m sure you remember this,” said the real Scorpan.
“I remember this, brother. I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work. Reliving this part of my life does not make me feel good.”
“Do you remember later that night then?”
The scene changed to the royal dining room where Vorak and Haydon were waiting for their sons to attend dinner. They had already started eating when Vorak began to interrogate Tirek.
“Where were you and your brother earlier?” he asked sternly.
“Just out for a walk, Father,” younger Tirek said before munching on a grape.
“Two royal princes walking towards the Nether Lands?”
“What makes you think we would go there? There’s nothing interesting in the Nether Lands.”
“Nothing except that old hermit Sendak apparently.”
“Tirek, just be honest with your father. Please,” Haydon begged her son.
“Look, I just wanted to visit him to catch up, all right?”
Vorak picked up his glass and drank from it while keeping his eyes on Tirek. He put it down and continued.
“What did Sendak have to say?”
“Just…I just wanted to see if he was in the mood to teach me a new spell.”
“Did he tell you what he was doing in Equestria?”
“No, I didn’t know that’s where he went.”
“Tirek, I want you to stop seeing Sendak. There’s a reason he was excommunicated from the council years ago.”
“Father, there’s nothing wrong with him, I swear. You’re just still afraid of me becoming too powerful.”
“TIREK! You will never see that old centaur again. I’m not joking. If this continues, I will have to order the guards to keep you confined to the castle and have them supervise you when you go out. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Father.”
Vorak returned to eating his food while Haydon and Scorpan ate theirs. Tirek sat still, refusing to finish his dish. He left the table without asking to be excused. Haydon was about to ask him to stay but couldn’t find the strength. She looked back to her husband. Vorak looked at her sternly and shook his head.
While the real Tirek and Scorpan were watching, the former grew angrier at what he was seeing. Scorpan waved his hand and showed what happened later that night with young Tirek’s attempt to sneak into Sendak’s cave and steal the magic from the unicorn he had captured. Neither of them spoke while this was happening and Tirek just stood still with his arms crossed. The next scene showed King Vorak confronting his son the next day over the incident, but the real Tirek could no longer take it.
“Do you really think showing me these events is helping me?” he said. “You know after the whole incident with the unicorn that I tried harder at pleasing Father.”
“Yes, that is true, brother.”
Scorpan skipped ahead much further and showed Tirek and Scorpan the way they looked right before traveling to Equestria. Young Tirek’s horns were now fully grown in their signature S-shape and he was far more muscular while young Scorpan stood taller and had larger wings and longer ears. There were more buildings around the castle now with a small town starting to form and the castle had some additions to the base to improve its stability. Despite the improvements of the castle and its neighbors below, the land was growing more desolate and barren. There was no vegetation visible for miles aside from tumbleweed rolling on the ground every now and then. The Midnight Kingdom was becoming more inhospitable with each passing year.
“Scorpan, look, if we don’t do something right now, there won’t be a Midnight Kingdom,” said younger Tirek, pacing about. “I think the only option is to travel to Equestria for help. We’re not going to steal anything. We just need to ask for magic so we can use it to replenish the land.”
“I don’t know, Brother,” said younger Scorpan. “Do you think King Solmidas will really listen to us?”
“Why shouldn’t he? Is Equestria not a society focused on helping others?”
"Well, he hasn't exactly forgotten what you did with the unicorn years ago."
"Just leave that to me. I'm ready to apologize to him personally for that."
“They’re also having issues with the griffons. I’m not sure this is the best time.”
“Maybe if we help with that, the king will reward us.”
“All right, I see your point. Perhaps it can work. I can ask Father if we can bring the Staff of Sacanas.”
“We might as well bring the Stone instead. We will need a lot of magic.”
“That’s what worries me. Will there be enough for the kingdom?”
“It’s a start.”
Next, they appeared before an older King Vorak and Queen Haydon, petitioning to let them travel to Equestria to ask for help.
“While I do think this is more of a job for ambassadors, Tirek, it pleases me to know you want to go and make amends for the incident with the unicorn,” said Vorak, walking to his son.
“Thank you, Father. I won’t fail you,” Tirek replied.
“Just be as diplomatic as possible. Sol is not in the greatest of moods right now with what is happening with the griffons and that dragon. Even his daughters have failed him so he might need that magic for himself.”
“We will do our best, Father,” young Scorpan said. “We’ll take the Absorption Stone with us and we will only use it if and when Sol comes to an agreement on magic transfer.”
“I hope he agrees to something. The crop blight is getting worse. Good luck to you both and be careful. There are dangerous beasts in Equestria.”
Time stood still now. The real Scorpan took a moment to speak with his brother.
“You see what was happening here? Father was already warming up to you because you were behaving,” Scorpan explained. “Unfortunately this was just the beginning of your heel-turn.”
“Well I was helping, wasn’t I? After we saw what Discord had done to Equestria, we returned with the staff to use it against him, but Celestia and Luna had already turned him into stone, so our plans changed. Feel free to just zoom right through these blasted events. I’m getting tired of hearing them talk.”
Tirek was getting irritated, so Scorpan allowed the scenes to play while he spoke instead.
“When we came back, I suggested we just stick to the original plan to negotiate a magic transfer. With all their earlier problems now solved, Sol would have had no issues with it. He was even able to overlook your past transgressions. Everything was going as planned until you decided to turn your back on me and plot to take the magic by force.”
“Well it wasn’t enough, Brother. He did not meet our needs, so I took matters into my own hands. I did it for Father. I did it for the kingdom!”
“You defied Father! He told you to be diplomatic. Did you really think our citizens would have been happy to know we saved them at Equestria’s expense?”
“Oh, don’t give me that. They didn’t need to be told where that magic was coming from, and Solmidas could have easily found ways to get magic back.”
“It would have started a war between the Midnight Kingdom and Equestria!”
“I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT EQUESTRIA!!”
Scorpan chose not to reply and watched as Tirek lost his temper. Tirek stood, taking deep breaths until he continued talking.
“I never stopped thinking about my training as a colt! How I wanted to be a strong king! Ever since that incident with Sendak happened, I always harbored a grudge on Father and I wanted to prove to him my worth, and I would go to any lengths to do it, even if it meant stealing from those pitiful equines! The centaurs were bold in the ancient times! Father went soft and clearly so have you!”
Scorpan stared sternly at his brother for a few moments until it was time to move the scenes along. They saw the moment from over a thousand years ago where a younger Celestia and Luna overcame younger Tirek with the Elements of Harmony. His horns were being shattered by the rainbow blast and all the magic he had stolen was returned to where it belonged, but his own base magic had been taken out and transferred into the Absorption Stone so he could not fight back. Scorpan was holding the stone, with tears in his eyes as the magic entered it. Tirek then fell to the ground, completely weakened. His body had not been altered, but his horns were not long enough for him to use his centaur powers anymore and all of his magic had been drained. He could still use the absorption spell, but with very little success, and now he was surrounded by royal guards.
“Why are you showing me this?!” the real Tirek barked.
“You need to see all of these things, Brother,” the real Scorpan replied.
“No I do not! You are toying with my emotions!!”
Scorpan turned violently to his brother and finally snapped at him as Tirek walked back, surprised.
“YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO YOU WERE, TIREK! YOU PROMISED TO BE A GOOD KING AND LOOK WHERE IT GOT YOU!!”
As Scorpan shouted, the next scene was of younger Scorpan going to visit younger Tirek one last time in Tartarus before returning to the Midnight Kingdom. The real Scorpan was crying but tried to calm himself down. They both turned to look at what was happening.
“What do you want, traitor?!” asked younger Tirek, chained between two stalagmites in the underground prison.
“Tirek, I tried to warn you. I’m sorry it came to this,” younger Scorpan said, sullenly.
“Oh I’m sure you are! Thanks to you I will rot in this prison for all eternity!”
“King Solmidas is furious with what you have done. You terrorized his people and wreaked havoc on his kingdom. He’s right to imprison you. There’s nothing I can do. If I get involved, I risk very bad relations with Equestria. He’s not keeping you here forever. You may be released in another thousand years or so. The magic of Tartarus will keep you alive and your horns will heal, but they will not grow back to their full size. Even if you can somehow break free of those chains, Cerberus is ever watchful. Please don’t make any attempts, Brother.”
“I am the heir to the throne! What will the kingdom do without me? Don’t tell me Father will appoint you as king instead!”
“I didn’t want this, Tirek, but you left us with no choice. I still have faith that you will come to your senses again. This is all I can give you for now. My only hope is that one day you will use it to undo what you have done.”
Younger Scorpan removed the Pendant of Restoration and put it around Tirek’s neck. He then turned to leave as Tirek continued to rage.
“I do not accept this gift! What am I going to do with this stupid pendant?!”
“Good bye, Brother.”
“Scorpan?! SCORPAN! I WILL GET OUT OF THIS PRISON ONE DAY!! DO YOU HEAR?! I WILL TAKE MY REVENGE ON EQUESTRIA, AND THEN I’M COMING FOR YOU! SCORPAAAAAAAAAN!!!!”
The real Scorpan put his hand up and stopped the vision. Everything around them turned dark this time. Tirek watched as Scorpan wept bitterly and pounded his fist on the ground. He was still angry, but Scorpan’s reaction was now superseding his. For the first time in over a thousand years, Tirek began to pity his brother. Scorpan stood up and faced Tirek once more.
“Do you think that was easy for me to do, Tirek? Do you think it was easy being the king after all that? I had so much trouble when Father first gave me the crown. It took a hundred years till anything green showed up in the Midnight Kingdom again, and the citizens didn’t have much confidence in my leadership. It was because I let the ponies keep you in Tartarus that I earned the trust of the Equestrian royal family. They did in fact help us with revitalizing the kingdom.”
“But why? Why didn’t you try harder to stand up for your own flesh and blood?”
“Perhaps I could have. Believe me, not a day went by that I regretted it. I wanted so much to rescue you from there and face Sol’s wrath, but you had become a monster and I was afraid to even deal with you anymore, so I had no choice but to side with Equestria on this. I had to leave you there to think about what you had done. It was the only way.”
Tirek almost started to believe his brother, but he could not let go of his hatred just yet. He still had everything from before in the back of his head. He could not block out his memories of how Vorak favored Scorpan above him and how hard he was on Tirek. He started to realize that maybe he was in the wrong this entire time, even if he did it partly for his own people. Even then, the hatred in his heart lingered.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do not have the makings of a king, but whose fault is that? You were always Father’s favorite. He did this, and Mother let him do it. I’m sure my imprisonment was a huge relief for them.”
“Is that really what you think?”
Scorpan lifted his hand and they saw the throne room to the Midnight Castle once again. Younger Scorpan was with Vorak and Haydon. They all wept bitterly over what had happened to Tirek. Haydon and Scorpan hugged tightly as Vorak stood against the stained glass window of Tirek. He had his right hand against the window, while his other hand covered his face as he sobbed.
“I tried to warn him, Mother,” younger Scorpan said, continuing to embrace Haydon. “I really thought he had come around. I thought he would listen.”
“I know, my son,” she replied. “You did everything you could.”
“It’s my fault,” Vorak interjected. “I was too hard on him. I never should have let this happen. The kingdom has lost its heir and it’s all because of me. Why…why was I so foolish?! Oh, Tirek…my son…I’ve failed you…”
The three of them came together, still weeping. The real Scorpan had his eyes closed, fighting back more tears. Tirek on the other hand was mortified at what he was seeing. He trembled at the sight of this and tears began to form in his eyes as well.
“Father…Mother…what have I done?”
He backed away slowly. His breathing grew faster and his lips quivered. He couldn’t take it any longer.
“No…NO! I WANT OUT! END THIS NOW, BROTHER!! PLEASE!!!”
He ran away in the opposite direction as everything around him turned dark. He was blinded by the darkness until he woke up and was back in his own physical body, sitting in the palm of his titan-sized brother. He looked up to see Scorpan had tears streaming down from his face. Scorpan opened his eyes. The giant, forlorn gargoyle no longer looked like a large fearsome monster.
Tirek panted slowly and stared into space. He sniffled several times as real tears formed in his eyes. He finally let out a loud bawl and buried his face in both hands. Now he had finally come to realize his errors and broke down. He continued to wail until at last, he apologized.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I was wrong! I just wanted to please Father and I failed him. I should have known he cared deep down. All those years…all those years of thinking of myself…”
He wept for several minutes. As he wiped his tears away, his breathing slowed down and he calmed himself. Scorpan waited as long as he needed for his brother. Tirek sat still and let his face dry. He bowed his head and began to speak again.
“You were right, Scorpan. I was selfish. I let my desire to impress Father ruin me. I’m glad you showed me all of that.”
“I spent over a thousand years thinking of the day I would hear you say this, Tirek. I had no idea it would go the way it did, but I did all of this for you. The magic coursing through my veins will be returned. It has served its purpose to show you what you needed to see.”
“I just wish I could apologize to Father and Mother.”
“You still can. They are waiting for you down there.”
“What?”
“Mother preserved herself and Father in stone centuries ago. They told me to wake them up when you came around.”
“They’re alive?”
“They are. They entrusted me to bring you back.”
“But the others…how will they ever accept me? How will I ever make up for everything I did today?”
“With this.”
Scorpan lifted his right hand and opened his palm. The Pendant glowed and floated towards Tirek. His eyes widened and he held out his hands.
“The Pendant…you’ve found it?”
“It was brought to me by Princess Flurry Heart.”
“The princess? She did this…all for us?”
“She was called to solve this feud. She had faith your heart could be healed. She will be pleased to know it now has.”
“I see. Such a kind girl. I really have treated these ponies awfully. I now see why Father wanted to keep good relations with Equestria.”
“Are you ready to return to the Earth below?”
“Yes. I might as well get started. I will use the Pendant of Restoration to mend the land I have ravaged in our battle. There are many apologies I need to make. Will you help me?”
“That is what I am here for, Brother.”
"Thank you."
The brothers smiled to one another, and Tirek put the pendant around his neck. Scorpan put his right hand over Tirek to protect him and made his way down past the atmosphere to return to the Midnight Kingdom. Tirek sat inside Scorpan’s hand, peacefully reflecting on that day. It started out with a thirst for revenge, but ended with his heart completely transformed. For the first time in his life, Lord Tirek was free from his inner demons and on a path to redemption.
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I had to use that reference because of that quote
And basically this is how we saw them back in season 4 finale
The magic of Tartarus will keep you alive and your horns will heal, but they will not grow back to their full size. Even if you can somehow break free of those chains, Cerberus is ever watchful. Please don’t make any attempts, Brother.”
Well until season 2 in the episode of It's About Time somebody release Cerberus and that was the biggest opportunity for Tirek to make his Escape until he makes his appearances in season 4 finale he must have waited a long time just to gather up his strength then taking away the magic from the ponies
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Someone spotted it already! XD
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That's right! This is why I described Tirek as looking more full-grown and having his S-shaped horns cuz that's what he looked like in the flashback. I also based Scorpan's base form design on that.
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I like to think Tirek used a low-level laser beam blast on his chains until they became soft enough to bend and he could undo them. He then ran out of the door and hid until the S4 finale.
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Yeah and thinking about that episode who ever thought this will be the huge part that would lead to the season four that's crazy to think about it
For the first time in his life, Lord Tirek was free from his inner demons and on a path to redemption.
Wow that was pretty heavy stuff man so it looks like Scorpan took Tirek back to the past seeing his younger self actually was having fun with his little brother but then the father told Tirek he will become the king soon but throughout the years he's been very Reckless and very mean even learning some forbidden spells that his mentor taught him which the father wasn't too happy about it but then this is where the backstory of season 4 about them how they try to negotiate with Equestria but he had other plans and we all know what happened and that episode at least the backstory but after he was present Scorpan really want to help his brother but because of the threats he pulled he will face the consequences especially to the kingdom which they need help from the Equestria he even gave him the necklace that someday he will restore his kingdom but so much hatred he was bound he will return someday and get his revenge and somehow it did not change his mind about his view until he saw his parents especially their father feeling devastated that he failed his son and that's what really hit him he wanted to make amends to everything that he have done somehow he really wanted to change for the better which I'm actually glad I wonder what's going to happen next guess we'll find out next time
Holy crap, this was intense...Tirek wanted to prove that he could be a strong king who could protect the kingdom, but he was too reckless and prideful. He was willing to go to extreme measures, and didn't care what happened to anyone else if he needed to borrow resources from them. He's spent over a thousand years stewing in bitter resentment over his own brother siding with his enemies and allowing him to be imprisoned, but he had no idea that his parents actually cared about him and were heartbroken over what had happened to him. All it took was seeing that to show him how wrong he'd been. Scorpan, Flurry, well done. You've finally achieved what Twilight had been hoping for and brought about a change in Tirek.
Hooray!! Scorpan did it!!! Now they just need to make everything right again
Man that was both heartfelt & heartbreaking with what Scorpan did to finally get though to Tirek, well played Alex!
Wow, so we got a look into Tirek and Scorpan's childhood, and see how Tirek fell from grace. Tirek let his anger and need to prove himself consume him, which led to him trying to steal Equestria's magic. But, once he saw how miserable his family was after he was defeated and imprisoned in Tartarus it was enough for him to finally realize his mistakes.
So, Tirek is officially reformed now? I have to admit I am a bit surprised one of the three main villains from the finale is going through with reformation so soon, but it certainly has a heartwarming feeling to it. I was also surprised to hear that Tirek and Scorpan's parents are still alive, so that should mean we will probably see them soon.
I see what you did there…
Well... this was certainly quite the look into the past.
I recognize a significant amount of it from Tirek's FIENDship Is Magic Volume, but I can also see the elements that are out of your own creativity. And for what it's worth, I don't think that's a bad thing in the least. The series' canon is jumbled and contradicting more often than not, and even when it isn't, it's fanfic for a reason. As long as an author isn't rude about it (which I don't think you have ever been) there's no harm in following this approach.
It seems Vorak did turn out to be a touch nicer in some ways than he was in said volume... and curiously enough, Tirek himself also seems to have been a nicer kid, given that in that volume it appears that calling him a lost cause even as a teen would have been a valid interpretation (although not the only valid one, I will say). But even as a nicer kid, I can definitely see the traits that lead to him doing what he did as he grew older, and I think you did a good job of showing them becoming a bigger part of Tirek's personality as time passed on. Even so, I still see where he was coming from when he said that he and Scorpan had good intentions... but he definitely got greedy. I understand why he might have wanted more magic, but if he really was being given all the one that could be spared (which seems to be the case) it would have been a better decision all around to accept it.
Also, interesting bit of lore in where the 'Lord' title came from in regards to Tirek. It's an original route to follow, but one that makes sense as well, so props to you.
I recognize the name Solmidas from your deviantart gallery (as well as from the Villains Anonymous episode), and while there wasn't much said about him, I'm curious if he'll get any sort of larger role in the story, even if he never directly appears in the present day. Also, it was nice to learn a bit more about the order of events in this universe's backstory, as the series never seems to make it quite clear which of the three big 'past villains' came at which time.
Back to the previous point, though... not excusing Tirek's own actions, it was good to see that his family did care about leaving him in Tartarus and that they wanted to do more for him. And given he was shown to actually love his family in the end, it makes sense that actually seeing their reactions over what happened to him snapped Tirek out of his villainy. Did Haydon and Vorak show a lot of faith that Tirek could come back both literally and metaphorically, though.
That said, I'm sure now all of them are happy that they showed so much faith. It took a long time, but it's still good there was a happy ending. :)
You forgot the H in “with”
Did you mean reward instead of award?
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thanks. It's been updated.
... That's it? That's all it took? Tirek goes from murderous rage and revenge-driven to weeping and remorseful as soon as he learns the rest of his family felt bad?
You'd think he'd take some petty joy in seeing Scorpan suffer from the betrayal in turn. Or spitefully accusing him of selling his own brother out to cement his rule through Equestria's aid, which is kind of what he did. Considering how easy it turned out to be to convince Tirek to turn himself around, Scorpan's whole point that he had no choice and couldn't do anything but abandon his brother sounds a little hollow.