A Lion's Pride

Chapters

Opening the Box
An Unlikely Hero
Breaking Expectations
The Sun Rises

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!”

Author's Note

If you liked this story, be sure to favorite, like, and comment. I want to hear your thoughts.

An Unlikely Hero

10 Minutes Earlier in Britannia

Escanor sat in his horse-drawn carriage as it traveled down the dirt road. A few miles behind him was Bernia village, famed for their self-named Bernia Ale. As Bar Master of his traveling tavern, My Sweet Gluttony, he held high standards towards the drinks he provides. With his cargo in tow, he proceeded to the next town on his list.

As much as he would love to keep his business in one place, his condition made life around others difficult. Even though he only opened his tavern at night, he still needed to run other tasks during the day when the other stalls in the market were open. While he could get by in the early mornings or late afternoons, people who recognized him from the tavern would notice the striking difference near high noon. It didn't help that humans were abused by other races in the land including the Holy Knights.

He was just on his way to move to a new bar in a new city. 'A new day; a new start,' he said to himself. Suddenly, a bright light appeared above him, causing his horse to immediately stop. "W-W-What!" Freaked by the event, the horse bucked the carriage to get away. "Wait! Come back!" Escanor reached out to his steed now several trots away. "Don't leave me!"

Slowly, him, his cases, and crates slowly began floating upward. "What kind of magic is this?" the lanky bar master exclaimed. He attempted to swim through the air downward to no avail. One by one, his cargo began disappearing into the light, and he was inching closer as well. "No. No. No. No. No." His fate was sealed as he made contact with the strange energy. He cried out. "Nooooooo!!!!!" With that, his vision went completely white.

Cave of Harmony

He didn't know what happened next, but he landed on the ground with several other objects dropping around him. 'Oww...' He mentally groaned in pain. Escanor readjusted his glasses to rub his eyes. Finally, he examined his surroundings. He was in some sort of cave, that was for sure. He was sweating profusely in a panic. 'Was I captured by the Holy Knights?' he asked himself before shaking his head. 'No. If they did, they would have executed me or bound me by now.' Light from outside shined through the ceiling of the cave and bounced off several crystals embedded into the walls. 'Wherever I am, it certainly is beautiful.' Trailing the several reflections, his eyes laid upon the monument he nearly missed. Immediately, his glasses drooped at the sight of the immaculate object.

It was a tree entirely made of crystal. At its base was a strange open chest, but be moved onto the main features. It's trunk held symbols of the sun and moon. Several branches spread out from its core. Some of them held peculiar gemstones. There was a pink butterfly, a blue balloon, a red lightning bolt, a purple diamond, and an orange apple. In the center of them was a six-pointed star of a lighter shade of purple.

Escanor slowly got up, and slowly approached the wonderment of nature. When he was mere inches away, he raised his right hand. placed a soft hand against the ancient trunk. "This tree," Escanor whispered to himself. "I can already feel its harmonious magical energies flowing within. I know this magic from anywhere."

He turned his head for some other confirmation of his new location, and he certainly found it. In front of him were several distinct creatures. There were six equines of varying colors, a small purple dragon, and a strange yet familiar creature of multiple animal parts. His eyes drifted to the purple mare once more, precisely at her horn wings. He smiled brightly at the conclusion. 'I have to be there. It's the only way. Is she another princess? Does she know where Celestia is?'

The silence felt like it lasted forever, and as if to break it, the pony covered in pink fur and hair hopped towards him. While he didn't expect her to do anything malicious, Escanor was still apprehensive toward the mare. “Hi, there!” she greeted.

Present

A moment of silence passed before Escanor regained his composure. It's been a while since he talked to animals even back home. With that, he took a short breath and greeted back. "H-hello, little pony."

His response generated a positive reaction from the strangers, especially the pink one. "Cool! You can talk and understand us! That makes things much easier."

Escanor remembered a similar response the last time he was here. "Y-Yes. It's quite fortunate."

The pink mare hopped closer to Escanor with a growing smile. "Anyways, I'm Pinkie Pie, party pony extraordinaire, and behind me are my friends."

When he turned back to the others, they gave an awkward wave of hello, and he did the same in return.

Pinkie turned to Escanor. "What about you, stranger? What's your name?"

He doubted remembered him from before, so he introduced himself. "Uh... Y-Yes. M-My name is Escanor."

Seeing him as less of a threat, the others began to gather before him. The blue and rainbow mare with wings tilted her head. "Escanor? That's a weird name. I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier around."

The comment caused the man to slump. His demeanor went from nervous to depressed and self-conscious. "I'm sorry for my parents giving me that name."

"No. No. No," a soft feminine voice sounded. The yellow and pink mare with wings slowly stepped forward. Normally, being approached by a stranger would put the man on edge as with Pinkie before. However, this mare gave off an aura that radiated kindness as she placed a hoof on his hip and patted. "I'm sure Rainbow Dash doesn't mean that. I'm sure it's a lovely name where you come from." She blushed before continuing. "Sorry, my name is Fluttershy."

She definitely raised his mood, and he smiled. "And a lovely name yours is too," he complimented in return.

"Yes, don't be so rude, Rainbow," the white mare with a horn chastised. She stepped forward while Fluttershy moved back with the others. "He's obviously not from around here." She offered a hoof to Escanor. "I am Rarity. It is a pleasure to meet you."

To him, she seemed like a mare that held herself in high regard, but she wasn't like the snooty families back in Britannia. Understanding her gesture, he carefully accepted the hoof shake. "I-It is a pleasure to meet a fine young mare as yourself as well."

The orange and blonde mare stepped forth. With a tip of her hat and a nod of her head, she introduced herself. "Mah name's Applejack, but friends call me AJ for short. I hope that I can consider you one too."

Escanor nodded with a meek smile. "T-That means a lot. I would be lying if I said I had many friends." The other sins came to mind, and that only amounts to six people.

The Draconequus stepped forth to Escanor. The human nearly fell over at the stature of the creature. He was easily three times his height. Escanor started to sweat in panic again. The fangs in his mouth didn't help.

Discord's color seemed faded compared to the ponies. The being opened his mouth. "Greeting, mortal. I am Discord, Lord of all Chaos in the world. Well, I'm the former lord of chaos in this case." He groaned as he snapped his fingers to no effect. "I can't even make myself a cup of tea."

"Yeah... after he totally backstabbed us to work with the enemy," muttered Rainbow Dash.

Hearing the comment, Discord glared at the blue mare. "I said I was sorry! If you hadn't noticed I'm in the same boat as you too. I'll make it up to everypony one this whole ordeal is over." He sighed. "I just hope I don't end up in stone for another millennium." Discord continued to ponder on Escanor. 'I swear that I've seen this manner of creature and his name before, but I can't put my claw on it.'

Finally, the purple mare with both wings and a horn approached him. "Greetings, Sir Escanor. I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and this is my loyal assistant, Spike." She gestured to the young drake behind her before focusing her attention back to Escanor. "I man not fully understand why you are here, but the Tree of Harmony obviously summoned you for a purpose." She then bowed before him. "We are all very grateful to you for coming in our time of need."

Escanor became confused and nervous all over again. 'I was summoned? They need help?' Escanor needed to know more. "I-I am in Equestria, yes?"

"Wow. You sure are!" Pinkie exclaimed before jumping onto Escanor and toppling the man to the ground. Some her friends wondered if this guy even was the hero they were given. "Are you psychic or something? Where are you from? Are you some sub-species of minotaur? If not, are there other creatures that look like you? Normally, I'd throw a party if you get to visit Ponyville, but some big meany ruined that and all future ones!"

"Pinkie!" Twilight interrupted before levitating Pinkie away from the downed man. "I'm so sorry about that. Pinkie can be overly enthusiastic at times, but what she last said is true." She frowned. "There won't be any time of celebration or happiness if we don't stop the crisis at hand." Then she thought about Escanor's question. 'Has he been here before?'

Taking a deep breath, Escanor got down to his knees in front of Twilight, surprising the others. There was one more thing to know. "P-Princess Twilight, what about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?! Are Celestia and Luna alright?!" he begged with all his heart.

'I guess that answers my question, but that only leads to more. How does he know the Princesses?" She stared at the desperate and pleading eyes behind glasses of the human before her. 'It does seem like he cares for their well-being. I'll ask about that later, but he deserves to know.' The other ponies along with Twilight were surprised by the revelation. Soon her face became a somber one as she started to recap recent events. "They aren't not alright at all. Their magic was stolen, and that are both locked in Tartarus.

"N-No!" Escanor cried out on his knees. "That can't be!" Escanor fell further to the floor with streams of sweat and tears running down his face. "How could this have happened to them?!" Escanor crawled to the purple alicorn. "Who did this horrible deed to such a wonderful being?! Please, tell me..."

While the ponies too felt sad about their ruler's capture, they needed to push their feelings aside in order to save them. Seeing their supposed hero in such a state was heartbreaking, and soon the somber emotions of the mares leaked out.

"An ancient enemy of Equestria escaped Tartarus earlier this year," started Twilight.

Pinkie continued. "Yeah, the Demon Lord Tirek showed up and started sucking the magic out of everypony."

"D-D-Demon!" Escanor exclaimed in fright. 'I don't remember Equestria having demons last time.'

Twilight shook her head. "Pinkie, Tirek is not a demon."

"He's big, red, has horns, and is super mean," argued the pink mare.

Applejack shrugged. "She's got a point."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Demon or not, Tirek's desire for power now has him in possessions of almost all the magic in Equestria."

Spike looked at the crying frail man at his feet and back at the chest. "Is it too late to trade up?" he asked dryly.

Finally stopped crying, Escanor pulled himself up. "I see what position we are in now. In order to save this land, we must confront this Tirek."

"We already tried stopping him before, and that led us nowhere," argued Rainbow.

"He's too powerful," added a downcast Fluttershy.

"I don't suppose you have some sort of plan?" asked Applejack.

Escanor tried to bulk up his already thin chest in bravado to little effect. "I-I will firmly ask him to stop this madness and set the Princesses free."

"That's it... You're going to talk to him?" gawked Rainbow and everypony else.

"Your words wouldn't happen to hit with the force of a party cannon, would they?" asked Pinkie.

Twilight smiled crookedly at Escanor. "While as the Princess of Friendship, I support a diplomatic approach, but I don't think Tirek is of the same mindset."

Escanor clenched his two noodle arms. "I-I must do whatever it takes to save the Princesses from this ruffian."

"Please tell me you are you some sort of old guy who knows martial arts and junk?"

"Actually, I'm a Bar Manager."

The creatures around the room froze. It seemed as if hope had been drained from their faces.

"What?" Discord asked as he turned to his friends. "Did we all hear that correctly?"

Escanor didn't notice their shock and seeing his crates strewn around the cave, he approached one and opened it. "I-I'm not much of a fighter. In fact, I own a traveling tavern called My Sweet Gluttony." From the crate, he pulled out a set of cloth and two bottles. Setting the bottle to the side, he turned to the others. "If I will be meeting Tirek soon, I must be appropriately dressed."

Trying to keep face, Rarity slowly nodded in agreement. "I do agree, Escanor. While the green complements your orange mane, it is a tad tacky."

He nodded. "If you will excuse me for a moment." Escanor began changing behind the Tree of Harmony.

Meanwhile, the gang was in a panicked frenzy. "This is what we risked our lives for?" asked Rainbow Dash. "This is what the magic box gave us to save the world form Tirek."

"I feel the same way, Rainbow," replied AJ. "We can't hope to defeat him like this. We'll be run over like the rest of Equestria."

"I don't want to live under his rule." cried Fluttershy. "Judging by your fight with him, he doesn't care about nature at all."

Discord attempted to comfort his barely only friend. "I know, Fluttershy. I regret everything I did to hurt you all."

"Don't lose faith Rainbow," stated Twilight. "It's all we have left."

Spike thought for a second before speaking up. "What about the Crystal Heart? If Escanor doesn't work out, maybe we could use that?"

"Sorry Spike, but we can't remove the Crystal Heart from the Crystal Empire. Without Princess Cadence protecting the kingdom, the land would freeze over along with everyone in it."

"Even if we tried to use it there," added Discord, "we would somehow have to lead Tirek all the way up north and into the empire. That alone would take days on hoof without anyone running a train. Dash might make it earlier, but I'm sure Tirek would see the plan coming."

"I guess Escanor really is our last chance," whispered Rarity and Fluttershy.

The blue mare stopped her hooves. "You know what, if this is going to be our last day of freedom because of Tirek, let's enjoy it." Rainbow flew over to the bottles left out. "Hey, Escanor," she called out. "Do you mind if we try some of your drinks?"

"O-Oh, I don't mind," he replied. "P-Please try some. I hope you like it."

"Thanks!" Rainbow tossed a bottle to the orange mare. "Bottoms up." Applejack shrugged, and they both took a few swigs. Soon, both of their eyes widened in surprise before staring back at the bottle in their hoofs. "Wow, this is really good stuff."

"Yeah, definitely competes what we make back at the orchard," complimented AJ.

RD smirked. "If we make it out of this, I'm definitely getting more to taste test."

"Okay," Escanor called out.

Escanor walked out from behind the tree, and what little hope they had nearly disintegrated.

"I'm ready to face Tirek."

"I may not be much of a fighter," he added, "but I will end Tirek's wrath."

All the mares in the room gazed at his toothpick body in clothing way too big for him. Even though he put away his glasses, he looked like a foal trying on his parent's clothes. Everypony collapsed to the ground.

"We're doomed!" cried Rainbow Dash.

Twilight groaned and faced the downed Rainbow and Applejack. "Let me have some of that before we leave..." The depressed faces of Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity showed. "Them too..."

Pinkie frowned, her hair flat. "You better have something up those baggy sleeves Escy, or we're toast."

Author's Note

First off, I want to thank you all for your love and support for this story.

I was ecstatic to see that my story was featured and all those notifications that piled up.

If you liked this story, be sure to favorite, like, and comment. I want to hear your thoughts.

Breaking Expectations

Outskirts of the Everfree Forest

The Equestrians had much-needed drinks, and Escanor put away his things. With everyone ready, Twilight led the way to face Tirek once more. Clouds of ash filled the sky, rays of sunlight could barely be seen. To say that they were scared was an understatement. It didn't help that Rainbow was still holding onto the bottle. Discord carried Fluttershy despite the numerous protests. She just wanted to stay in the cave and away from any demons. Ponyville came was not far from them, and they could feel the aura of hopelessness filling the air. Escanor was their flicker of hope in these dark times. If he failed, then all was lost.

About an hour later, the group crossed over a bend, and Tirek came into view. The form of Tirek dwarfed the various trees in the background. The giant Centaur was too preoccupied with his plans to notice them. He was standing in the field using a large tree as a pencil as he drew a crude map in the dirt. "Now, let's see. Who should I lay siege first? The Griffins? No. They have no magic and are living in destitute. I'll save them for last. I'll definitely go after the Crystal Empire, but I need to prepare for the Crystal Heart. I guess I could go after the dragons. They are the next closest thing to a threat at the moment."

The gang quickly hid behind the bushes and trees like ants.

Escanor turned to Twilight. "S-so, that's Tirek?"

She nodded with a small glare directed toward the red monster. "Yes. That's Tirek."

Escanor shook in his boots. "H-He's bigger than I thought he would be." 'Oh my gosh. He's bigger Diane!'

"I'm not surprised since he stole so much magic." Twilight sighed. 'Escanor, I hope you know what you're doing.'

Spike bit his claws. "From the sound of it, he plans on going after the other kingdoms."

Escanor shook his head. "N-Not if I have anything to say about it."

Spike deadpanned at the attempt to be threatening. "Sure you do..."

Discord sneered at the villain. "Look at him, standing all high and mighty. If I ever get my powers back, he won't know what hit him."

"Come on, guys. Let's take this sucker down." Rainbow was about to blast off, but Twilight pulled her back.

"Stop it, Rainbow."

"Don't just rush out there. You'll be creamed," chastized Applejack.

"While that is true, that's not the point. We went over this. It may seem unorthodox, even for me, but we all agreed that we would let Escanor take the lead."

The bartender nodded. "Don't worry, princess. I'll be sure to give that hooligan a stern talking to." He turned back to his adversary before shaking again.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath before casting a glance at the shivering human. She led their group except for Escanor away a few meters. "Take the lead?" she whispered. "He wants to talk Tirek and convince him not to rule over us with an iron fist. I decided to humor him, hoping that something else would happen, but nothing did. You guys all realize how bad this is, right?"

"You think that we don't feel the same, Rainbow?" answered Applejack. "We all have family and friends relying on us back home." She stomped her hoof. "Even if it means risking my life, I would do anything to keep them safe."

"I can feel the anxiety boiling over." Rarity nodded. "I'm worried sick about Sweetie Belle. I told her to stay at the boutique, but then we got captured." She started to tear a bit. "I couldn't look at myself if anything happened to my little sister."

Fluttershy sobbed. "So many animals are getting hurt and losing their homes because of Tirek." She buried her face into Discord. "I just want this to stop..."

The former Lord of Chaos comforted her once more before looking over his shoulder and widening his eyes. "Um. Girls..." Discord whispered.

"My parents and Shining are practically drained in Canterlot," added Twilight. "Celestia, Luna, and Cadence are trapped in Tartarus." She wiped away her own sob. "Even with all the power the princesses, I couldn't do anything... I felt so useless."

"I hope Mom and Dad are okay..." replied the young Drake.

Pinkie jumped in to comfort Twilight and Spike. "I'm so sorry, you two. Everyone in Equestria needs help. We can't expect you to bear all of that alone. If it makes any of you feel better, there's something about him that makes my tail slightly tick."

Discord's started shaking Twilight. "Girls!"

"What is it, Discord?!" The alicorn shook herself out of his grasp.

Spike pointed at where Discord was staring. "He left! Escanor is going to Tirek!"

They were all shocked. "What?!" They immediately all ran after their possibly doomed friend. When they finally caught up to him, they were all in full view of the villain.

The red giant crossed his arms in amusement. His imposing shadow cast over all of them. "Well. Well. Well. Look who we have here." He looked at his former ally. "Hello, Discord," he waved mockingly. "I didn't expect you to show up anytime soon."

The Chaos Lord was furious. "You betrayed me, stole from me, and left me there in the dust!"

Tirek rolled his eyes. "This is coming from the guy who turned on his alleged friends first."

Discord cringed. "I thought you understood me..."

"Our partnership was simply business, a temporary alliance to achieve my goal. You were just another stepping stone to my victory." The centaur wasn't swayed. "You should have stayed there where you belong, you incompetent nuisance." He growled. "You had all this power, and you let it go to waste, for friendship..." spitting the last line with poison. 'I will deal with him later.' He then turned his attention to the ponies. "Don't you all look more colorful than before. I take it that you found some way to recover your magic."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, we did, and we're not running away from you."

He laughed. "I could drain you all right now, but then again, I don't need to. I am the most powerful being in all of Equestria! You are but insects to my greatness."

"We're not here to fight, Tirek." Rarity strained to speak. "We just want to talk..."

"And why would I ever do that?" he asked.

"We're not the ones who want to talk," answered Applejack. "He is," she stated as she pointed to their new friend.

Tirek cocked a brow at the strange bipedal creature. She saw him before, but he didn't seem like much. "Who and what in Tartarus are you?"

The man nearly fell over in fear. "My name is Escanor. I am a human."

"A Hooman? Strange. I've never seen something like you before. You're like some scrawny hairless minotaur. " He turned his head to the plans drawn in the dirt and frowned. Looking back at this human, he asked "What business does a weakling like you have with me? I have a very busy schedule."

Escanor gulped before speaking. He needed to be as direct as possible. "I come on behalf of all the citizens of Equestria. I-I formally request you to return the A-Alicorn magic to the princesses and the rest of the ponies, and leave us in peace."

Almost all of Escanor's allies face-hoofed. 'That was his plan...'

A silence rang through the field at the bluntness of Escanor's request. It soon ended thanks to thunderous laughter. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Tirek pointed his massive finger to the small creature. "A being like you is asking me to just go away?" Escanor slowly nodded, and Tirek responded with even more bellowing.

"Is it too late to live as a hermit with the Tree of Harmony?" Discord whispered to Spike.

"I doubt we'll make 10 steps before we get squished," the dragon replied.

Escanor frowned. "I apologize, Mr. Tirek, but I'm not joking. I'm serious."

Taking a breath from his laughter, he morphed his face into a malicious smile. "Tell me. What would happen if I say no?"

Sweat dripped from the man's face. "I prefer to not use violence, but I will stand my ground for those I care about. You imprisoned my dear Princesses in Tartarus and usurped her kingdom!" The cloth holding onto his left shoulder slipped onto his arm, revealing his lanky build even more.

Tirek laughed once more. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! This is unbelievable. " He moved his head dangerously close to Escanor"Well, unlike you, I do prefer violence," he responded. "Take a look over there." He pointed South East.

Escanor readjusted his glasses to get a better look and nearly gagged. He heard from the others that Twilight's fight with Tirek was bad, but holy moly. Numerous mountains had parts missing, and the fields were scorched to soil and bedrock. It was like Meliodas and Ban went to town there.

"So, have you changed your mind," a smirking Tirek asked.

The tension was getting too much for the elements to stay quiet. "Escanor, please, you don't need to do this!" exclaimed Applejack.

"P-Please don't fight," begged Fluttershy. The others also voiced their protests.

At first, Tirek frowned at their resistance, but then he smiled wickedly. "Tell you what, you made me laugh, so I'm gonna give you a chance."

'It actually worked?' "You mean, you're finally going to stop this madness?" asked a hopeful Twilight.

"Like I would do that. Fat chance. I'm no idiot. What I'm proposing is a little wager, a game if you will?"

The elements were confused by the offer and were too anxious to hear their other companions speaking. "Why would Tirek even offer something like that?" whispered Spike to Discord.

Discord placed a hand to his chin. "It seems that the Chaos magic is starting to affect him."

"What do you mean?"

"No one can wield Chaos magic without turning chaotic as well. That's why I am who I am or was. If this keeps up, he'll reach the same madness that I am but with more malicious intentions."

Spike paled. "That's really bad."

"A g-game?" Escanor wasn't expecting this, but it seemed good.

"A game? Do we all get to play?" asked a slight pepper Pinkie.

"Uh uh uh, pink one." Tirek playfully shook his head. "The only one who needs to play is this twig right here." Tirek rubbed his hands and turned to the man in question. "Now listen. If you win this game, I'll surrender to Equestria, no strings attached."

Rainbow Dash glared. "We're not gonna play your sick games!"

With a tilt of his head, he smiled once more. "I can always just destroy you now if you want." He charged his left hand with glowing red magic. Everyone cowered to the ground in fear. The magic orb radiated with vigor before it died back down. "Then again, I do love seeing such weaklings squirm for mercy."

"You can do it Escanor," cheered Pinkie.

"I don't know what you'll be doing, but do your best," stated Rarity.

"Show that varmint what for," added Applejack.

"Do it for us, for the princesses, for Equestria!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Alright!" answered Escanor. "I'm not much of a fighter, but I'm pretty good when it comes to games. What will it be? Cards? Dice? Charades?"

Tirek slowly crossed his arms. "The rules are simple. I decide who goes first, and then we take turns attacking each other until one of us dies."

...

"Waaaah?!" Everyone was shocked by the turnaround. Fluttershy fainted into Rainbow's hold. That wasn't a game at all, it was a fight to the death.

Tirek paid no mind to his their shock. "Since I'm in a good mood and doubt you'll survive my turn, I'll let you go first."

Before the others could protest immediately at the savageness, Escanor stepped right in front of Tirek and answered once more. "I-I'll do it." Tears and sweat were practically flowing from his hair.

"Well said!" Tirek clapped him on the shoulder, sending the man about a meter into the ground.

The entire parts screamed in terror. "Escanor!" They ran a few meters before being blocked by Tirek.

"No interference." Tirek raised a brow at the man-shaped hole. "Huh? I thought I was holding back?"

"Is he...?" Twilight couldn't bear to ask. The others begged not to get a bad answer.

Focusing his ears, Tirek frowned. "Nah, he's still breathing, just out cold."

They all sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Celestia." Not a second later, they paled at the possible conclusion to the game. "Does this mean we lost?"

"Nah. This fool didn't even take his turn yet." He harrumphed.

"You're going to wait for him to wake up?" asked Discord. He hoped to Harmony that he would.

The giant shrugged. "Meh, I'll give him fifteen minutes to get back up. If not, I'll destroy the lot of you." He though for a moment before speaking again with a sinister smile. "Or, I could give you an offer."

"What?" More games? They were all under the hooves of Tirek, so they had to play along. It was madness.

"I'll let you all go free if you abandon this creature and leave him to his fate right now."

Fear washed over the gang. It was so tempting. They would live to see another day and fight, but they would leave a friend behind. They wanted to say no, but fear wrapped around them. If they left, they could try and find help in the other kingdoms but at what cost. Could they live with that guilt?

Tirek turned to his former ally. "Come on, Discord. What's one more abandonment to add to the list?"

Discord scowled. 'I can't... not again.'

He turned to the blue mare. "What do you say, Loyalty? Who matters more, you and your friends, or some weird creature you brought here before me?"

Rainbow growled. She was the Element of Loyalty. He was trying to force her to give up on her values just like that. If she turned her back on Escanor, she would bring shame to herself and Harmony. She looked at the others and saw their hesitance. She needed to take charge, so Rainbow Dash stepped in front of everyone and declared, "We're not leaving him, you freak!" Just one voice was needed to get the ball rolling.

Pinkie jumped to attention with a stern expression. "You're right Rainbow! We never leave our friends. No matter what."

Rarity went next. "He may be a stranger, but he is one of the nicest Stallions I've ever met. What kind of lady would I be to leave him in your uncouth hands?"

Discord sneered. "You have taken almost everything from me. Like Tartarus, I would let you take away my last chance of salvation from your demented horrors."

Seeing almost all of her friends stand up to the terror, Twilight felt more confident to fight as well. "As the last princess of Equestria, I stand by my friends and my family against all that you stand for. You may have tempted us, but we won't stoop to your level. Escanor will wake, and he will beat you!" The vigor in the Mane 6, Discord, and Spike erupted in passion.

Tirek smiled at their petty last stand. "Then I guess we let fate decide." With a snap of his fingers, an alarm clock was conjured and set. "Let the wait begin."

The passion of the group soon turned to awkward silence. Fluttershy finally came to and was updated on the situation, glad that Escanor was relatively okay. The temporary peace allowed the wind to blow, moving the black clouds out of the area. Finally, the sun shone over them all. Time went by, and it started to feel more uncomfortable each second, emotionally and physically.

"Is it me, or is it getting really hot?" asked Rarity, she fanned herself as she started to drench in sweat.

Tirek didn't even feel the change. He simply stared at the clock, waiting for his moment to act.

"Well, it is around noon right now," answered Applejack. "I gotta say, it certainly is hotter than usual."

"I blame it on the lack of weather ponies," added RD. "There's not a cloud anywhere for me to shade us."

"Twilight!" groaned Discord, Spike and Pinkie. "Why did you have to leave the sun up that much. It wasn't even supposed to be noon when you moved it."

"Noon?" The Princess of Friendship looked to the sky, and the Sun was in fact in a different place than where she left it. 'That can't be right. I specifically put it up for early morning.' "H-how did...?" Before she could finish her question, the alarm rang, signaling their imminent doom.

"Looks like time's up," cheered Tirek.

Escanor had still not woken up, and they were subject to the consequences. Rarity and Fluttershy started to cry into their friend's hugs. The more resilient of them tried to comfort them while they could, but even they had emotional cracks start to form. Soon, the entire group was crying in a group huddle.

"I love the sounds of your anguish. It fills me up like a glass of fine wine. It's too bad that your alleged savior failed you all. I was expecting more, but I suppose he was just a fool like the rest of them. I really wanted to see the desperation and hopeless in his eyes just like you all have right now." After another laugh, Tirek reached into the ground and pulled out an enormous chunk of Earth.

"I'm so sorry that I pulled you all into this," apologized Rainbow Dash. "I didn't want to prove him right. We don't abandon our friends."

Discord patted her mane. "It's okay, Rainbow Dash. If you didn't step up, we would have let the only one who believed in us down, and we would give Tirek the satisfaction of our fall. I just blame myself for falling for his lies. This is all my fault... I'm sorry, to all of you."

Twilight sobbed. "I just want you all to know that you are the best friends I ever had." They all exchanged the same sentiments, feeling the weight of the situation bearing down on them.

"Isn't that just sweet..." Tirek cooed before frowning. "It sickens me. Goodbye, little ones. I hope to never see you all again." With almost no effort, he tossed the object of their demise.

As much as their legs wanted to run, they knew that would never survive. Their fate was sealed. The shadow of the mass of Earth cast over them. They all closed their eyes for the coming of their demise. Dust flew everywhere; however, they didn't feel anything.

"Did... Did he miss?" asked Spike who kept his eyes close.

"Not quite," an unknown deep voice spoke.

They all opened their eyes, at the voice of their apparent savior. When waved away the dust, they all saw the reason for their survival. In front of the group was the man they almost lost their faith in. "Escanor!"

They were all wide-eyed. He was much different than before. He appeared taller. His body filled in his uniform much better, and his muscles were more toned.

The girls blushed a bit at the masculine essence that radiated off of him. Discord and Spike also stared in awe.

Some of them started to cry in happiness. "Thank you, Escanor. I had hope that you wouldn't let us down," wailed Pinkie who latched on the man's leg. "I should have known my tail wouldn't lie to me. How did you get so big?"

"What?!" 'How are they still alive. How is he alive?' Tirek looked back and forth from the hole Escanor previously laid unconscious. "I suppose I was wrong. There certainly is more to you than I thought."

Escanor tossed away the mass easily. He turned his attention to the red giant. "It's not surprising that a lowly demon such as yourself would attack such innocent souls."

Tirek frowned. "Do not let your minor rescue fill your head. You have barely seen the height of my power."

Escanor simply smiled. "And to me as well. To think you have gone through all this trouble just to greet death."

The elements looked at each other, surprised by his change in tone.

Tirek became curious. "What's wrong with you? You're nothing like before. What happened?"

"Escanor?" asked the ponies around him, but he didn't reply to them.

The man stood tall against his adversary. "I am just a human. However, I am also one who stands atop all races."

Hearing that phrase, it finally clicked in Discord's brain. "No. It can't be!"

"He's what, Discord?" asked Twilight and Rarity.

Fluttershy tapped his side. "Didn't you say that you might have known him before?"

Discord ignored their questions as pieces came together in his mind. "I-It's really him! He's..."

Escanor pointed skyward. "I am the Seven Deadly Sin's Lion's Sin of Pride, Lord Escanor." From the angle the others watched, it seemed as if the sun rested on his finger.

Tirek raised a brow. 'He's certainly stronger than before, but it is of no concern.' "I am one who stands atop all races, you say? Big words for one still so small." Escanor had only grown about a meter, still dwarfed by Tireks immense size. "You have only delayed the inevitable." With that, Tirek laughed at their hopelessness. "Hahaha."

Escanor began to chuckle along with him.

The others were confused by the interaction before Escanor made the first move. With simple elegance, Escanor jumped backhanded the centaur's face with a resounding *Smack*, sending Tirek flying through several trees and onto his side.

Escanor tilted his head to the fallen Tirek. "That is the Sin of Pride."

Everyone was gobsmacked. Escanor had knocked their tormentor away with little effort. What in Tartarus was going on!? Deep inside, they knew their prayers to Harmony have been answered.

Author's Note

How far will Tirek push Escanor? How does Discord know Escanor? Will Equestria survive? Find out next time on A Lion's Pride. The real battle begins.

Holy Crap... How long has it been? About 2 months? I've finally updated, and the fight is on! Thank you to all those who were patient or just recently found my story. I'll do my best to update sooner, so stay tuned.

If you liked this story, be sure to favorite, like, and comment. I want to hear your thoughts.

The Sun Rises

Outskirts of the Everfree Forest

To put it simply, Tirek was pissed. He underestimates this creature. Whatever this Escanor was, he's able to hold his own. The unharmed Tirek pushed himself from the ground. Walking back to the clearing, the red giant narrowed his eyes at the male. 'He may be more trouble than I initially thought.' Tirek stood across from Escanor once more.

The Mane six and friends' pupils shrank as Tirek's figure once again towered over them.

The Lion Sin of Pride lazily crossed his arms. "Do you wish to end the game now? I wouldn't blame you if you did." Escanor gave a loud chuckle.

From behind, the gang was still shocked by the display. Rainbow Dash had just awakened Fluttershy a minute earlier. "Please, say yes," the yellow Pegasus begged.

"I did not expect this at all," Twilight staring at the two giants.

Spike laughed nervously, trying to break the tension. "On the bright side, we're not crushed like pancakes under a rock. It was pretty awesome."

The centaur glared immensely. "Don't get too high on yourself. The game isn't over yet. After all," Tirek grew a cruel smile. "It's my turn."

The sin of pride smiled. "By all means, take your turn, but first..." Escanor turned to the princess. "Twilight, take the others as far from here as possible."

The purple unicorn stared widely at him. "What?! Why would hmpf."

A panicked Fluttershy cut her off with a hoof to her mouth. "Please, just do what he says so we can get out of here."

Tirek rolled his eyes. "Aren't you a nice guy."

"Of course, I am," Escanor replied without missing a beat.

Tirek gave Fluttershy a hateful glare, and she instantly hid behind Applejack. He dismissed the ponies. "It makes no difference to me whether the whelps run and hide. All of Equestria will be next."

Rainbow Dash shook her head in disbelief. "Escanor, how can you ask us to leave you alone after what just happened!"

Escanor stood tall over the Princess of Friendship.

She grew a bit intimidated by the gesture.

"I wasn't asking..." His face grew soft, calming her down. "I don't want any of my new friends to be hurt. Don't you trust me?"

Twilight took a deep breath and turned her friends. "Do you guys agree with him?"

"I say we get out of here while we have the chance," answered Spike.

Applejack sighed. "Considering everything that's happened today, we really shouldn't expect anything less of you."

Rarity cleared her throat. "If those two are really going to come to blows, then we really must give them space. I felt the years shave off my life just a minute ago."

Rainbow hovered with an inquisitive expression on Escanor. "I mean, I don't want to leave you alone with Tirek, but I do want to see you lay down the law on the jerk."

Pinkie got into a mock fighting stance. "Yeah, we can cheer him on from the sidelines with signs and everything!" She somehow pulled out a sign with a lion head out of her mane.

Escanor raised a brow at the magic.

Fluttershy tried to say something only to mumble when she saw Tirek's eyes.

Discord patted her mane to stop and placed a claw on Twilight's shoulder. "Let's do as he says, Twilight." Discord shivered a bit. "I have seen what happens when he gets serious. Things will definitely get hotter around here."

Escanor's eyes widened with realization. "Ah, Discord. I knew I remembered you from before. It's been a while hasn't it." He gave a hearty laugh before giving the Draconequus stern look. "We will be having a chat once this is all over."

Discord glanced at the Tirek before letting off a tired sigh. "You are the least of my worries at this point."

Twilight lit up her horn. "I suppose we better get going." She turned to the Sin of Pride.

Applejack gave him a sincere look. "You best show that Tirek fellow what for."

Rainbow made a sly grin. "Yeah, make him sorry for even trying to mess with the world!"

Rarity moved a strand of hair away from her face. "When this is all over, I can't wait to make a dashing new suite for you."

"You get him, Escy!" cheered Pinkie.

"I wish you luck, Escanor. Thank you, for everything." With that, Twilight teleported all of them away from the battlefield.

Distant Cliff-side

The group appeared and saw the two titans down below.

Spike hopped onto Twilight's back. "What do you think of this?"

Discord answered. "Trust me. The real battle is about to begin."

"What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy.

Pinkie chimed in. "Yeah, you never got to tell us how you know Escy."

Rarity nodded. "Apparently you two have some sort of history."

"Well, we know that he can obviously kick butt," added Rainbow.

"Anything you can tell us?" asked Applejack.

The drained Discord gave a short laugh. "I'll just say that him being the one who stands above all isn't really a lie."

They all looked at Discord and then to Escanor in surprise. "Woah."

Twilight looked to the sky and the sun continued to shine brightly. "I hope Equestria is still standing afterward."

Meanwhile

Escanor looked back at Tirek. "Now, where were we?"

"I was about to destroy you!" Rearing head back, Tirek quickly charged an orange sphere of energy between his horns before unleashing a massive beam of energy straight to Escanor.

The Sin of Pride crosses his arms over his chest taking the impact in full force, pushing him many meters back. The attack scorched a massive wound in the Earth. The excess energy that passed by detonated in the distance, explosions dotting the landscape.

Tirek laughed, believing in his victory. However, as he focused on his line of attack, he could see the silhouette of his enemy getting closer.

To everyone watching, Escanor did not falter. While still inside the beam, Escanor dropped his arms and began marching through the attack. Energy washed over him like a rock in a river.

Seeing the man relatively unfazed in the attack infuriated the Tyrant. He poured more and more power into a beam. The intensity and potency skyrocketed. The attack was continuing far longer than Tirek was comfortable. By the time he stopped his attack to recover, the Orange haired man was already in front of him.

While his clothes were lightly scorched, there was nary a wound on his body. In fact, Escanor started to stretch his arms. "I must say, that was underwhelming."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Dear, Celestia. He took it like it was nothing!"

A spark of fear and a torrent of anger flowed through Tirek. A menacing red aura started to roll off his skin.

"Now," Escanor cracked his knuckles. "Allow me to show you a real-"

"Don't think that you can treat me so lightly!" Tirek launched an enhance uppercut straight to his chin. A small amount of blood spewed from Escanor's mouth.

The gang in the distance stared in shock.

"That cheater-cheater pumpkin eater!" Pinkie screamed.

Applejack huffed. "I knew that rat would show himself."

Discord stroked his chin. "I'll be honest, I was kind of expecting that." He glared at his former associate.

The centaur didn't give Escanor the change to retaliate. In a flash, Tirek struck Escanor's skull. The man's body slammed against the floor and went through it faster than lightning. Debris flew everywhere as the laughing crimson villain flew after him. When the dust cleared, Escanor was at the bottom of the hundred-foot crater, a shadow covered his eyes as he was facing down.

Wasting no time, Tirek jumped down to meet him. With channeled magic, he telekinetically grabbed the human and launched him upward. Escanor flew out the crater and through the air. Tirek blitzed to the highest point of Escanor's arc and laid a hay-maker, crashing Escanor against the ground. It seemed as if there was no way for Escanor to keep up with him. Landing, Tirek strolled toward the fallen enemy.

Fear crept upon the ponies and Spike. Was Tirek too strong?

Just as Tirek was a meter away from Escanor's downed form, an imposing presence like the sun bore down on him. Tirek had no time to block.

The audience in the distance didn't even understand what had happened. Escanor seemed to teleport himself right next to Tirek, slamming him with a left hook. Tirek's head spun around like a tornado.

'I see that the Chaos magic is having some effect.' thought Discord.

Before Tirek could recover, Escanor once again vanished from sight and appeared above, bashing down at Tirek with a power that, despite Tirek's attempt at blocking, exploded the area around them and sent shockwaves everywhere.

The dust cleared, revealing Tirek on his knees.

Escanor looked at him. "Oh, what's wrong? Did you drop a coin or something?"

Tirek's body flared with magic. 'Impossible.' "This can't be happening!" he yelled.

Escanor raised a brow. "Really? You skipped my turn. That wasn't very nice. What happened to our game?"

"Forget the game!" Tirek's eyes flashed a sickly yellow for a moment. "It's time that I stop holding back!" The former red aura flared. Bursts of energy erupted all around him. The ground exploded. Dirt and rocks flew everywhere. Not wasting any second, the centaur flashed closer, his fists slammed against the ground. A seismic wave of stone pillars erupted toward the man.

With casual impacts of Escanor's fists, the pillars crumbled into rubble.

Tirek shot forward, engulfed in flaming energy, ready to ram against the prideful man.

The world seemed slow as Escanor moved in an impossible angle and at an impossible speed to dodge his simple attack.

Quickly turning around, Tirek grabbed him with magic and sent him flying over the tree line.

The small sense of accomplishment was soon shattered when an object impacted near him. Escanor had jumped back into the fray without hesitation. Enraged even further, Tirek shifted tactics. With both fists, a barrage of punches flew at Escanor.

What happened next stupefied everyone. With fluid yet strong movements, Escanor deflected each and every blow with his palms.

'Faster.' Tirek internally screamed. 'Faster!' With each passing consecutive punch, shock waves tore the area apart.

However, Escanor simply moved faster. Seeing an opening, the Lion Sin of Pride extended a mighty kick to Tirek's gut.

The tyrant gagged as he was forced a couple of meters back. Shock waves of air blew down several trees in the background. Recovering his bearings and not wanting to waste a single instant, Tirek desperately reared back his other fist and let it shot forward again, intent on smashing it against the man's chest, only for it to be caught. Wide-eyed, Tirek stared from his fist to Escanor's radiating form, almost 'feeling' the man's inner power.

The clearing they battled had gone through the butcher. It was entirely unrecognizable from before. Numerous patches of the Everfree forest were gone.

Escanor opened his arms dramatically to the sides. The man seemed to be welcoming the sunlight into his embrace. "Are you really the one who took away the beloved princesses?" he bellowed. "You haven't even shown me half of what Lady Celestia is capable of."

The audience's eyes shrunk to pinpoints "What?"

"Is Tirek still holding back?" asked Twilight. "How is that possible? I was fighting with everything I had with him."

Back on the battlefield, Tirek shook his head. "You are not wrong. I have yet to adjust myself to my newfound energies. Even with my previous battle with the purple one, we only had a taste of its true potential."

"Are you telling me I wasn't even using the princesses magic properly?!" exclaimed Twilight.

"No offense Twilight, Celestia and Luna have had the magic for centuries. You and Tirek had it for less than a week," answered Applejack.

Escanor shook his head. "It is no surprise that you would never be a match for me as you are now."

"I will bend this power to my will." The tyrant clenched both of his fists. "With someone like you in my way, there's no time like the present."

Escanor scoffed. "We shall see."

Taking a breath, Tirek yelled at the top of his lungs. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Every moment, Tirek reached deep within himself. The power was there, but it was unfocused, untamed. This would not stand. He would bend it to his will. Unlocking the potential of Discord's chaotic magic would have to wait. He wasn't strong enough to handle it, not yet. As soon as his soul wrapped itself around the alicorn energies, his power spiked exponentially. The ground began to quake. The magnitude of pressure coming off him blew away anything not held down. Numerous trees fell, and any clouds nearby dissipated.

The power was unreal. Even at a distance, it was overwhelming.

"Oh, Buck!" cried Rainbow Dash. She latched onto a tree just to stay still.

"My hair!"

Applejack tried to keep her hat from flying off. "What in tarnation!"

Fluttershy covered her eyes. "I want to go home!"

Pinkie held several sun-shaped pinwheels spinning rapidly."Woohoo!"

Discord wrapped himself around the others in an attempt to ground them. "This is just the beginning!"

"Now would be a good time to do something, Twilight!" screamed Spike.

"Hold on to something!" declared Twilight. She put up a shield as they all gathered together. Slowly crack started to form, but Twilight would not let up, feeding more magic to protect them.

Escanor stood firmly through the raging energy output.

Black and white tendrils crept around Tirek's limbs. His skin started to blend with it. With a final scream, his body was engulfed in an explosion of light. As it faded and the dust settled, Tirek's new form appeared.

He was smaller than before. The energy that he gave off was reduced, but it seemed as if his body was denser in magical energies. Arcs of lightning traveled along his form. Surprisingly enough, he grew dark wings with white fringes. His hair flowed mystically much like the princesses, but the flames of destruction burned within. While his left arm grew armor whitest of day, his left arm grew ones the blackest of night. On his flanks was a twisted amalgamation of the lunar and solar cutie marks. "Ah..." Tirek breathed in relief. "Much better."

Escanor crossed his arms, narrowed eyes at the transformation. 'Such a bastardization of such innocent beauty.'

Tirek reached out with his right hand, a portal appears. With Telekinetic magic, an object flies through and lands firmly into his grasp. "Behold, the Zenith Blade." It was a brilliant sight to the audience. The weapon was a long golden double-edged sword. From it's hilt, several spokes protruded, giving an impression of the sun. "Forged by the masters of old, Celestia wielded her to defend the homeland." In his left hand, he summoned it's complementary tower shield. It too had decorations resembling the sun.

The Mane Six and Spike were amazed at such a magnificent weapon Celestia had owned.

Discord's eyes widened as the last time he saw it was a millennia ago and cutting off his tail for the third time.

"And now she is in the hands of a monster," Escanor finished. That immediately crushed the positive feelings the others held for the blade. "If you must abuse the extensions of others, then I will discipline you with an extension of my own. Escanor raised his hand upward. "Heed my will! Come to me, Divine Axe Rhitta!"

At the Tree of Harmony, the silent cavern was soon filled with the booming voice of Pride. In turn, each of the gemstones on the stone tree shimmered. Just like before, the magic began to swirl, and another portal was made.

Outside the battlefield, the spectators were confused. "What's he doing?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Rarity tilted her head in confusion. "I could have sworn he was calling for someone named Rita?"

"Hold on, guys. My Pinkie sense it telling me that something's coming here super duper fast."

When they looked to the sky. it seemed as if a flaming meteor was headed right for them.

"Escanor watch out!" Spike yelled.

Escanor pain no mind as the flaming ball of energy landed directly into his palm unfazed. Slowly, the flames began to dissipate from his hand upward. It was revealed to be a giant ornamental axe with a blade shaped like a crescent moon. The axe also features two golden protrusions, one larger than the other, with the white tips of a spear, the longer one is in the middle at the top of the axe and the smaller one is on the opposite of the blade of the axe. The handle is dark blue and it features a golden semicircular guard with four golden spikes on it.

"Hmmm, what a magnificent battle axe! I will gladly pry it from your cold dead hands." Taking a closer look, Tirek raised a brow. "Although, it looks too short for a two-handed ax."

"Of course. This is a one-handed axe. Divine Axe Rhitta. A battle axe bearing the name of a lady beloved by the sun. It is not something to be touched by some lowly beings that crawl in the darkness. But you are truly foolish and unfortunate." Escanor raised his blade against the Lord. "Now, come Centaur. Retribution for your sins shall be severe!"

The two dashed toward each other like blurs. The sounds of blades crossing filled the area. With each strike, a crater formed, growing deeper with each blow. The pattern was only stopped when Tirek bashed with his tower shield. Escanor flew over the horizon. Not wanting a repeat of last time, Tirek followed suit.

Twilight started pulling at her mane in panic. "What in Tartarus just happened!"

Rainbow and Spike shook her back to normal. "What are you waiting for Twi? We have to follow them!"

The real battle had begun, and all of Equis would be their battlefield.

Author's Note

The battle has expanded to the entire planet. Does Tirek have more tricks up his sleeve? Will Equestria survive? How long until high noon? Find out next time on A Lion's Pride.

Holy Crap... 4 months. Thank you to all those who were patient or just recently found my story. I'll do my best to update sooner, so stay tuned.

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