Opening the Box
The ground shook. A muted impact made pebbles leap and trees quake. Twilight Sparkle almost stumbled as Tirek’s roar of triumph tore through the woods around her, scattering leaves and ruffling her feathers against her back. Her body still felt weak after having her all of the Alicorn magic ripped from her. Everything felt muted and sluggish. It was like all the color had been washed out of the world. Moving was difficult. Running was almost impossible.
Twilight she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t give up now. She could feel the weight of the amulet Discord had given her bouncing against her chest. It was the final piece, she was sure of it. The last key to open the sealed crystalline chest that had taunted her and her friends for almost a year.
'My friends.' She risked a glance back as the ground shook again. A primal roar of fury echoed through the woods. Each of her friends was running behind her. Even Rainbow Dash was too weak to fly. Each of them looked ragged, drained, their sides heaving with exertion.
Twilight knew she didn’t look any better. She could feel her breath coming in ragged gasps, feel the slick of sweat making its way down her sides, and feel the telltale quiver in her wing feathers that said she was exhausted. In any ordinary circumstance, she would have called all of them, including herself, to wait for a doctor to treat them for magic exhaustion.
Then, another titanic hoof struck the ground some distance behind them. The impact almost threw all of them to the ground in a pile of limbs, so they redoubled their efforts.
'We can’t stop now!' she thought as the group ran on. 'We have to get to the chest! All of us! There had to be something in it that could defeat Tirek, something that could stop him. Otherwise, why would the Tree of Harmony give it to them in return for the Elements? There has to be a point to it, right?' she thought as she spotted the cave entrance ahead. 'Otherwise, why would a strange, magical tree bother?'
She burst free of the forest as brush scraped along her sides and galloped toward the cave. Another roar echoed after she sped through the entryway. A deafening rumble followed made it sound as if the earth was being overturned.
'Maybe it is,' she thought as she caught sight of the Tree of Harmony. It's crystalline surface still emitted a gentle, soothing glow despite the chaos outside the cave.
'When Tirek and I fought, we leveled mountains. With all the power he has now…'
She skidded to a halt before the chest, still sitting where she and her friends had left it. Her legs were shaking beneath her, quivering and crying out for rest, but she couldn’t give it to them. Not yet.
“Did everyone make it?” she asked, turning as the rest of her friends came to a stop. All of them looked equally exhausted.
“Barely,” Discord sardonically reply while bent over his hands on his knees. He opened his mouth again only to frown and then hold up one talon. “I can’t breathe,” he said. “I can’t do magic Is this what it’s like to be mortal?”
“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Spike said as he came to a stop. The little dragon was barely out of breath. "I’m doing all right, and I’ve got just as many legs as you.”
Discord fixed him with a glare, though there wasn’t much heart in it. “Well, when you’ve had the power to reshape reality at a whim, we can compare notes, all right?”
There was another roar outside, followed by a deafening series of cracks. Fluttershy shot a worried look. "Those poor animals.”
Twilight shook her head. "Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Discord. That’s everyone! Come on!” she said, waving a hoof towards the chest.
“Do you think it’ll work, Twi?” Applejack asked as Twilight stepped towards the chest and held out the amulet.
'If it doesn’t,' Twilight thought, 'we might all be doomed.' “It ’s going to work,” she said as she held the amulet up against the keyhole. The other five were already filled, each with a key that had come from one of her friends’ adventures. "It has to."
With a sudden vibration, the amulet leaped forward, spun, and then with a flash of light, changed into a golden key before sliding into the waiting lock. Her heart skipped a beat as the newly-formed key came to rest.
"It worked!" It sat like all the others, motionless. 'But why isn’t it—? Of course!' She turned to look at her friends. “Together!” she said, looking at each of them in turn. “I think we have to do this together!” Each of them nodded and then took up a position near their keys. Spike and Discord looked on. Each of the Element's eyes locked, and as one, they reached out and turned the keys with a simultaneous chorus of clicks.
"We’re doing it!" She couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement swell as the chest let out a heavy thunk as the petal-like lid glowed.
Despite almost a year of study, many of the chest’s higher properties had remained as much of a mystery to her as Pinkie sense, despite her best attempts. There simply wasn’t enough math for her to explain how it worked, though it obviously did.
As the lid began to open, her friends let out a collective “Oooh!” as dazzlingly bright light burst forth from it.
The light was moving now, and even in her magic-starved state, she could feel the power it was letting off as it rose into the air above the chest. Several beams of light split from the chest's opening. They hit everypony in the room, and the color returned to their coats.
"I can feel my magic coming back!" exclaimed Twilight.
Rainbow Dash smirked. "My body doesn't feel as heavy anymore."
The rest of them made similar comments of their strength coming back, and just when they mares thought they would receive more, the flow of magic to them stopped. They didn't feel exceptionally powerful. If anything, they felt like their normal selves. They all turned back to the chest to see something else happening.
“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow asked as the glowing energy in the air began to concentrate. Beneath it, the chest was starting to shake, a low creak filling the air. “Is it supposed to be doing that?”
“I don’t know. ” Twilight began as the itching sensation in her horn grew more pronounced. The distortion in the air was continued.
“What's goin' on?” asked Applejack.
The glow was multiplying before their very eyes, and the droning noise swelling with it. Rarity was confused. “I must say I expected, well, more rainbows for a start.”
Then, with a sudden flash, the surge of light whirled into a circle. The air currents informed them that something was about to come out of it. Soon, something could be seen in the glow. From what they could tell, its silhouette looked like a minotaur, and with a rush, the energy exploded outward. Twilight and the others in the room let out a cry of surprise as raw, untamed magic swept over her, electrifying her body and sending tingles crawling down her spine. Around her, she heard her friends cry out as well as the blinding wave crashed over them. The wave of magic pulsed all throughout the planet, and then it stopped.
With several thuds, several objects and a being landed on the ground. While the being stood on two legs, not a second later, the being fell down on its back.
'It’s…' Twilight paused. 'Actually, I’m not sure what it is. It looked almost like a minotaur, but the proportions were all wrong. It was very thin and lanky. Was it a malnourished minotaur?' she wondered as she ran her eyes over its body. The slim bipedal being had a mustache and a pair of glasses. Then, the realization hit her. This was a human. It's been so long since she last thought of them that she almost forgot. He wore a baggy suit commonly worn by bartenders. To his sides were a few crates and cases.
He was in a daze. What the chest did was definitely not comfortable for him. After rubbing his eyes, he looked at his surroundings. He was sweating profusely in a panic, clearly scared. Seeing the Tree of Harmony, he got slowly got up. While everypony else in the room backed up a bit, the being placed a soft hand against the ancient trunk.
"W-What is it?" Fluttershy barely managed to ask Twilight.
Twilight tried to explain it to her, "He's a -," but was cut off by another.
"He seems familiar," whispered Discord to Fluttershy. He narrowed his eyes at the orange head of hair. 'I swear that I've seen that thing before.'
Rarity breathed. "I just hope he's friendly."
Rainbow Dash grunted. "I don't care what he is. Is this thing supposed to save us from Tirek or what?"
Finally, the creature eyes laid on the others in the room. Everypony stepped back as the creature turned his attention to him.
“Twilight?” She wasn’t sure who had spoken. The voice had been faint, alarmed. Maybe it had been Spike. Or Applejack. She didn’t dare look away. The creature, whatever it was, was smiling brightly at Twilight, precisely at her horn wings.
Twilight opened her mouth, unsure of what she would say even as she moved to speak. 'Should I welcome the human? Caution him? Tell him about Tirek.' She wasn’t sure, but even as she tore her eyes away from the human, her decision was made for her.
Pinkie Pie bounded forward. “Hi, there!”
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just because Escanor, liked
PRAISE THE SUN!
Honestly, been wanting to do either a Meliodas or Estarossa displaced
OH MY GOD YES THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Wherever the Lion of Pride goes, no opponent is worthy to prove his strength.
Praise the sun
That box is just full of surprises. I still remember the time they pulled the Doom Marine of all beings out of it. Tirek didn't like that fight...
On an unrelated note, your images appear to be broken, might want to get that checked out.
9094590
Yup. After reading that one, I thought to myself "What if...?"
9094597
Ah, what if. The best question any author could ever have the pleasure of answering. Why, this entire site is built on it! I love that question.
Love Escanor, looking forward to more of this story
side note the images are broken and don't show up.
9094640
Is it working now?
9094674
they work on my phone but not firefox on my laptop
just found out why they don't work Firefox doesn't support webp images
Shouldn't Twilight know what a human is since she went thru the mirror?
9095008
Did she go through the mirror before or after Tirek? Cause I though it was after, though I'm probably wrong.
already featured
PRAISE THE EVER LOVING SUN!
More plz
You did rip the beginning from Tirek is Doomed, but I suppose you already mentioned that in the description, so I'm fine with it.
It's certainly well written. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out, especially since Pride is rather scrawny at the moment.
9095354
Yes in the 1st EG movie Twilight was still getting used to being an alicorn.
9095629
Ah. It has been like three years since I saw the movie, so my bad.
9095354
Twilight went trough the mirror some time after s3 but before s4. So she went through the mirror before she even discovered the chest
9095008
9095354
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I never had a chance to watch the EG series, but I have heard of it. I guess I'll try and fix that in my story.
You my good sir! You have my attention with this! Please continue ASAP!
Oh god, tirek is going to be fucking SLAUGHTERED
PRAISE THE SUN!
i.giphy.com/media/5ibGIHneWS6ek/giphy.webp
Escanor is the prime example as to why you don't f*#k around with Celestia.
Tirek, prepare to praise the sun!!! It doesn't matter how strong and skilled the enemy is, it does not matter if this one has an entire legion at his command or even if it has the aid of the demons.
All enemy falls by the power of sun itself!! The prideful lion and member of the deadly sins, Escanor!!!!
9095838
technically they are non-canon so you can ignore the EG movies
Oh dang, Tirek has indeed fucked up! Escanor, ready to slaughter all who stand in the way of his Pride!
this will be quite fun for us
Weirdest coincidence. I was thinking about Escanor in equestria yesterday and this pops up a hour later. I can't wait to see how this plays out.
What’s this a nanatsu no taizai crossover!?
NO WAY! proceedes to fangirl
*cough* lemme just *slides onto read later shelf*
Escanor was the highlight of the series for me so I'm interested to see how you'll portray him. Based on his outfit and cargo, I'm guessing he was pulled from his world during his time running My Sweet Gluttony?
9096674
Eh, I'll let EG slide for now.
9096780
If you like the direction I'm going, favorite, track, and like this story.
9096819
I want to stay as true to his character as possible. In regards to his cargo, did you expect him to be far from his sacred treasure?
Sadly, as much as I love Rhitta and the Grace Escanor wound up with from Mael - Sunshine, and his whole lion-sun motif, his fanbase is so toxic even I've fallen out of love with Escanor.
Haven't read it yet, but I like how the folks at Man At Arms finally made Divine Axe Rhitta yesterday
Exactly what is this a crossover with?
9097411
The anime: The Seven Deadly Sins Season 2 since the guy they summoned doesn't get introduced until then
9097336
Where have you been hanging around where the toxicity got that bad?
Its a great first chapter I hope you continue this
9097094
Here some videos that could help you write Escanor better:
And will Escanor also fight against others MLP villains too?
9097400 9096819 9096780 9096774 9096681 9096476 9096377 9095550 9096181
9100957
Are you part of the FBI? 😑
How did you get access to my Youtube History? 😆
9100957
I hope so, but since this fiction takes place in the 4th season finale, we might just see him fight Tirek and while other villains plot their vegance or are introduce *coughs* Starlight *coughs* our dear Escanor will settle in the "peaceful" town of Ponyville and maybe open a bar.
9097400
That video coming out soon after was a happy coincidence.
9100967 9100983
Well maybe Escanor could fight and body some G4 versions of G1 MLP villains like Grogar and Catrina.
9103006
I'll keep them in mind. 😀
9100957
*links Nuxanor*
A fellow man of culture, I see.