//------------------------------//
// Choosing a Champion 
// Story: The Champions of Equestria 
// by DrakoGlyph 
//------------------------------//

	“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia said, almost slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice. Twilight was hushed when her named was called, but still teary. Her amethyst coat was soaked from the bridge of her snout to the bottom of her head. “I have complete faith in you, as I always have.” She gave Twilight a smile, holding up her chin so that she was sure her most faithful student saw it. “Now, I propose we walk around Ponyville to help you collect yourself.”
The four princesses, without any form of Royal Guard or fanfare, trotted out of the library. It was pure surprise on everypony’s face when they saw their entire set of Regal Figures walk out of Golden Oaks. They all bowed left and right.
“Who can we find that exemplifies friendship, but doesn’t succumb to chaos?” Twilight asked.
“I think our answer lies here in Ponyville,” Princess Celestia said with a smile. She seemed to know something that Twilight couldn’t read off of her. It was as though she knew the answer already. Twilight made an attempt to inquire when Rainbow Dash came nearly falling out of the sky. Twilight managed to catch her within her Telekinetic Grasp.
“Rainbow? Are you okay?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, but get ready to catch Scootaloo!” she said in a hurry, and sure enough there was the orange filly plummeting off a cloud. Twilight dropped Rainbow Dash harshly on the ground and leapt to the air to grasp Scootaloo in her Telekinesis.
“I was about to get it, Twilight! Just a little longer!” Scootaloo gave Twilight a stern look before looking down and seeing how close to the ground she was, her eyes dilated and she stopped complaining. Even a Pegasus would have sustained injury if she had hit the ground at that speed. Twilight was giving a scowl straight at Rainbow Dash, though.
“What?” she said, assuming a defensive position, though, if Twilight really wanted to do something to her, she could always just use magic. “I was going to catch her!” The scowl from Twilight didn’t let up. “Seriously, I was, then you used your magic on me!”
Twilight wouldn’t have any of this.
“Okay, so it’s how I learned to swoop back home!”
“And your parents approved of this?” Twilight didn’t believe this for a minute.
“Well, to tell the truth, they didn’t really know I was doing… but I turned out fine, didn’t I?”
There was a scowl from Twilight, who gently placed Scootaloo on the ground before leading the Princesses onward through the town. Rainbow tagged along, following in the air a few feet behind her friend.
“Why is everypony here? I mean, what’s all the Royalty of Canterlot doing here in Ponyville?”
“I’ll tell everypony when I’m go back to the library. I need some time to think clearly.” Rainbow joined the promenade, followed closely by an eager Scootaloo. The Princesses continued on. It wasn’t long until they came across Applejack, who was selling some of her finest apples in town. She was taking care of a customer, then she looked at the procession of ponies coming down the street.
“What’s up, Twi?” she asked, giving her greatest look of concern. Not long after, Applebloom came running up, with a saddlebag filled with what looked like tools.
“I gots the tools, sis!” she said, trotting up to her older sister before looking at the four princesses, Rainbow, and her friend. All she could do was stand there, dumbstruck.
“What are ya doin’, Applebloom? Bow to the princesses!”
“That’s quite alright,” Princess Celestia said, “You don’t need to bow.” There was a smile from Luna and Cadence that echoed the sentiment.
“So, what are ya’ll doin’ here in Ponyville?”
“I’ll tell everypony when we get back to the library,” Twilight said. Her mind was still churning over possible champions. Who was it that best showed chaos and friendship despite all that chaos?
The promenade, with Applejack and Applebloom in tow now, headed down the main street, passing straight past Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie appeared in the doorway and, upon seeing all of the princesses and her friends parading down the street, popped out of the bakery.
“Where is everypony going? Is it a party? I hope it’s a party! Why wasn’t I invited! Oh! I know! It’s a surprise party! Oh, wait, I just spoiled the surprise didn’t I? I guess it’s a ‘Formerly a Surprise’ Party! And with all four princesses! This is going to be AWESOME!” Twilight just gave her a sideways glance, and she calmed down. “Oh, so it’s not a party? Then is Equestria in danger? Who is it? Has Chrysalis returned? Oh, I know! We’re actually going to fight King Sombre this time instead of just poofing him with Hope and Love! No? Well,” Pinkie took a moment to think about who else could be endangering her homeland, but was coming up blank.
“Pinkie,” Twilight said, “I am going to explain what I know when I get back to the library.”
“Oh, okay!” She hopped along the back of the procession.  They all continued on toward Carousel Boutique. When they arrived at the door, they could hear crashing.
“That’s… good,” came Rarity’s voice as she tried to squeeze out a sincere approval for whatever the last crashing noise. “Now, you need to focus more.”
“Rarity!” Twilight called. 
“Just a moment, Darling, don’t want to hit you in the head with a passing levitating object.” Another crashing was heard before she opened the door. Her hair was a little frazzled, and coat covered in various colors of what appeared to be dye, as though she had been ducking and hiding from the various crashes but was rather unsuccessful.
“What’s going on in there?” Twilight said, concerned.
“Nothing abnormal, my dear Twilight, just trying to teach Sweetie Belle how to control her Levitation. I was like this when I was starting out too,” Rarity replied. There was another loud crash from behind her. “Nononono, Sweetie Belle! You need to start on the small stuff, like the crayons! Or the… oh dear Celestia no, not the Pincushion!” Rarity ran back from the door, her horn starting to glow in its familiar blue aura.
Twilight and the others walked into the boutique to find all sorts of mayhem. The mannequin ponies were strewn across the room haphazardly, there were gemstones littering the normally spotless floor, and Sweetie Belle was standing in the other corner of the room levitating a pincushion when Rarity made her way over there to stop her from hurting somepony, specifically herself. Twilight began setting up the mannequin ponies again, watching carefully as Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed again with its aura. A small crayon lifted from the table, did a little loop in the air before dropping to the table again. 
“There you go, Sweetie! That’s how it’s done!” Rarity embraced her little sister in a large hug, celebrating her accomplishment. When she opened her eyes again, the dressmaker shuddered at the mess. The thing was a complete disaster, but she didn’t care for now. The fashion was in a state of content, which was eternally rare, and she had some time to spend with her sister before all the latest crazes were sure to come pounding  a path to her little shop.
She had taken some large steps in her relationship with her sister over the last three years. As part of the Elements of Harmony, and especially since she was tasked with writing Friendship letters herself, she was ever more aware of the value of friendship. Sweetie Belle was her best friend, destined to be through all they shared. Now, if only she would realize that her talent was in music…
Rarity got back up to her hooves and turned to face her company, when she realized that it was more than just her friends. “Well, I do apologize…” she said, her pearl face turning red.
“It is no problem,” Princess Celestia said, looking at her younger sister. “I understand how it feels to be in a sisterly bond where things do not always go according to plan.” She smiled at Luna, who gave a chuckle.
“Rarity, I would like it if you and Sweetie Belle came to the library with me.” Twilight said. She had an idea, but she wasn’t sure how it was going to withstand the scrutiny of the other princesses. She was going to bring everypony to the library before she revealed what she was thinking.
“Of course, Twilight, we’ll be there momentarily,” Rarity said, giving Sweetie Belle a smile.
“We’ll wait,” Twilight said. She remembered Discord requesting some time with Fluttershy, and that was the last of her friends to retrieve. The sister unicorns went upstairs, there was the sound of laughter and a little while some water running, then they came down stairs, looking like their regular selves.
The walk to Fluttershy’s cottage was not an uneventful one. The various denizens of Ponyville were often bowing to the Princesses. They all congratulated Sweetie Belle on her accomplishments in magic.
“It was all how my big sis taught me!” Sweetie Belle said with cheer, causing Rarity to smile wide.
“You’re a natural, Sweetie,” Rarity said, “maybe even the next Twilight Sparkle!”
“Do you think so, Rarity?” Applebloom and Scootaloo dashed over to their friend.
“What if we were the Elements of Harmony one day, girls?” Applebloom exclaimed.
“That would be so cool!” Scootaloo said. “I’d be the Element of Loyalty, no doubts about that! That’s the coolest Element!”
Rainbow Dash gave a little chuckle. “Do you think you’ve got the coolness for my Element, Scoots?”
“Of course Rainbow!” Scootaloo hovered a few feet off the ground, the extent of her flying ability. When her hooves touched the ground again, she realized that she wasn’t a great flyer.
“Then I’d be the Element of Honesty, like my big sis!” Applebloom declared.
“I’d be Generosity!” Sweetie Belle asserted, hopping a few times like Pinkie Pie.
“But wait,” Applebloom said, stopping in her tracks and falling back a few lengths, “there’s six Elements of Harmony.”
“Don’t forget Babs Seed and her friends from Manehatten!” Scootaloo said.
“Oh yeah! I nearly forgot!” Applebloom said. The three of them had that glint in their eyes, and Twilight covered her ears in preparation for what came next:
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ARE A GO!” They all met each other in a high hoof. “YAY!” The whole of Ponyville shook with the sheer force of their cheer. It was amazing to think that they did this so often, and yet there were still so many times that Twilight still didn’t know what they were doing. Spike told her once about how they were trying to jump into the river from one of the bridges as bungee jumpers.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, “Like we’d ever save Equestria from mortal peril.” She gave a frown that displayed just how disappointed she was that her dream of becoming just like her hero was only so much farther out of reach.
“It was a nice thought,” Sweetie Belle said, “but we don’t even know what our cutie marks are.” She sighed. “I would like to be a hero like Rarity.”
“Oh hoho,” Rarity said, “I’m hardly a hero, Sweetie,” she said, falling back to her sister’s side. “That’s all Twilight Sparkle. All I’ve done was be her friend.”
“You’ve done more than that, Rarity,” Twilight said, smiling as she thought about all the things Rarity had done through the years. From their first meeting, Twilight didn’t see much value in having a friend so into fashion and formality, but since she became a princess especially, Rarity had been helping her act prim and proper. Something she was still having trouble with.
“Certainly not, Twilight. It was you who reminded us all who we were when Discord first returned. It was you who knew that Queen Chrysalis was in disguise as Princess Cadence. It was you who found the Crystal Heart. It wasn’t any of us, dear.”
“That’s true, Rarity, but I would have never been able to do any of that if you hadn’t been my friend.” She smiled and the warmth of their friendship flowed over her. 
“I think we need to get Fluttershy and have a large group hug!” Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically.
“Yeah,” Twilight agreed. “I think we need a group hug, but it will have to wait for another time.”
They approached the cottage to find Discord and Fluttershy sitting on the lawn drinking tea. The Elements of Harmony hade learned to trust Discord in his recent ‘reformed’ state, but they always took what he had to offer with a grain of salt. He was, after all, the Spirit of Chaos.
“Oh,” Fluttershy said softly as she noticed the whole entourage approach, “I wasn’t aware you were bringing all of these guests over, Twilight.”
“Oh yeah,” Twilight remembered that today was supposed to be their preening day. That was, until Discord ripped her out of her library with his form of magic. “This sort of happened.”
“You don’t mind if I attend to my friends, do you, Discord?” Fluttershy asked of her guest.
“They are here because of the same reason I am, dear Fluttershy. I suppose this means you have chosen, Princesses?”
“I do believe we have,” Princess Celestia said, giving a look at Twilight that conveyed that she understood what must be done. For Equestria.
“Then I suppose we would like to be a little more comfortable while we discuss these matters,” with a snap of his fingers, they were all in the Royal Garden, which was complete with a pairing of sets for tea and thirteen chairs around a circular table. Each of the members of the party took a seat and Discord placed a teacup in front of each of them with a little flourish in the china. 
“Just what in the hay is goin’ on here, Twi?” Applejack asked.
“Well, to cut a long explanation short, there was a piece of Discord lost long ago—his left fang to be exact. In it was contained the most unruly of all chaos.” She took a sip of tea, after which the tea pot proceeded to prance over and refill her cup. “He put it in a part of his reach that he says he could only barely reach.”
“And how does that affect us, exactly?” Rainbow Dash asked with a tone of boredom. He held the teacup, but she didn’t drink any as she held herself in the air above her chair.
“He says there is something making its way to the Left Fang, something that could unleash it upon us with all of its malicious intent.”
“To clarify,” Discord said, “this fang contained all of the chaos I could not control.”
“That sounds serious,” Rarity said.
“Very much so,” Twilight said.
“So why don’t we just use the Elements of Harmony when it gets here?” Rainbow asked belligerently.
“That’s where the head-long attitude of a Pegasus will doom us all,” Discord said, as though he had seen this comment coming. “If that fang makes it back here, to the real world, it will no doubt destroy all reality.”
“In short, we need ponies who can go to the end of the Chaos Continuum, where the Fang is, and retrieve it. We’ll find some way to take care of it when we have it in our possession,” Twilight continued.
“Then let’s go!” Rainbow said.
Discord could only sigh. “Harmony and Chaos are two completely opposite forces, Rainbow Dash, and putting them together will have catastrophic results, and though I like Chaos, I prefer to have something left after it.”
“Like what?”
“Imagine if we were to…” Discord had to find some way to explain the power of the resulting destructive force that would happen if the energy contained in the Elements of Harmony were to contact the pure, untamed chaos that lay in the Left Fang he had left so long ago, “Princess Celestia, you’re more in tune to what these ponies would know about. Why don’t you try telling them why the Elements of Harmony and my fang coming in contact would create an explosion that would destroy all of known reality.”
The entire party gasped.
“You failed to mention that in the castle, Discord,” Princess Celestia said.
“But I still warned you ponies about the dangers of the Elements of Harmony and my Left Fang.”
“That’s true,” Twilight said. “It just means that we can’t use the Elements, and that’s something that I already figured on.”
“Enough side tracking, what’s your choice, Twilight?”
“I did some thinking, and from all my time in Ponyville, I know just the friends who can save Equestria from the danger it is currently in.”
This, this was a pony who understood suspense, Discord thought as he waited for Twilight’s decision.
“I think we should send the…” The sentence seemed to drag on forever. When would he know the answer to his most important question? Which of these little ponies would she deem fit enough to retrieve his long lost fang?
The suspense was killing him. He was beginning to find out why Celesita hated suspense. He wanted to know what the answer was, and he was growing impatient as the feeling in the pit of his stomach grew worse.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders.”