The Champions of Equestria

by LordBrony2040

Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony, that’s Hasbro

Prologue: The More Things Change

It had been an hour after Twilight and her friends had attended their awards ceremony where their newest display of heroism had been unveiled to show her and the others turning Discord back to stone, and she was still fighting the urge to blush in embarrassment. If anything, it was even harder to fight now than back at the awards ceremony!

At least back then it had just been a bunch of screaming ponies watching her back. Now, she was sitting at a banquette table with her friends and both princesses! She had never eaten with both the princesses before; and the few times that Celestia had decided to take lunch with her had been completely informal!

She hadn’t studied the rules of proper etiquette in years! On top of that, Twilight knew what a stickler for the rules her teacher was!

What if she used the wrong fork? What if she used the wrong spoon? Worse! WHAT IF SHE USED HER BUTTER KNIFE FOR TRYING TO CUT THE BREAD ON HER SANDWICH?

Sandwich? Twilight asked herself. I DON’T EVEN HAVE A SANDWICH! Am I supposed to have a sandwich? Are they okay at formal dinners? What type of food is okay at formal dinners? WHY DIDN’T I RESEARCH THIS?

Luckily, before Twilight could begin the process of hyperventilating or collapse into a gibbering mess, Celestia cleared her throat and brought the unicorn out of her state of distress. Heart attack levels of panic could wait, Celestia was talking!

“My little ponies, I would like to say once again about how proud I am of all of you for being able to subdue a threat the level of Discord,” Celestia told them. “And at the same time, apologize profusely that it came to that in the first place.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Oh its alright your Highness. Everything worked out in the end,” she told the goddess. The rest of the ponies were quick to add their assurances Celestia had nothing to apologize for, but she simply shook her head, not accepting their forgiveness so easy.

“No, it should have never of some to this at all,” Celestia continued as she lowered her head in apology. “What I saw him do to all of you…if I had only listened to Luna, and prepared you all for this…”

“Beg yer pardon Princess?”

Rainbow Dash was the next to take up the line of questioning. “Wait a second, you saying you knew Discord would be breaking out?”

“No friend Rainbow Dash,” Luna assured the pegasus, “that we did not foresee. However, we could have given you all training and preparation to resist his mental trickery.”

Twilight Sparkle tilted her head in confusion. “Um Princess, I don’t think anypony could be trained to handle Discord. I mean…he took away our horns and wings,” she said before giving a little shudder that Rainbow Dash shared upon reliving the memory. To lose her horn like that... She hadn't had time to be afraid in the maze, but Twilight had woken up more than once in the week leading up to the ceremony, covered in sweat from nightmares that showed her what could have happened.

“But I remind you of when you faced him alone Twilight, with just one element, you were able to undo his effects within a limited area,” Celestia told her. “And you also managed to undo his mind alteration magic on your own. Not to mention when you all had your elements on, he was unable to even touch you thanks to their protective magic.”

Rarity was the one to speak the question several of her friends were thinking. “So you’re saying…we get to keep our accessories this time, your majesties?”

“In a way,” Celestia told her, getting a few confused glances from the assembled ponies.

Then, the goddess of the sun sat silent for a moment, took in a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. “I guess there is no easy way to say this, so I’ll just go ahead and do it,” she mumbled just loud enough for them all to hear before raising her head to look at all the ponies at the table. “Recent events have forced us to reconsider our arrangement with Twilight Sparkle and your own…living arrangements.”

The purple unicorn felt as if she had been kicked in the gut. “P-Princess Celestia? Am I…are you…does this mean that you’re making me move back to Canterlot?” she asked with trepidation.

Luna was the one to answer her. “Not just you Twilight Sparkle, but all the Bearers for the Elements of Harmony will need to be relocated to the castle grounds.”

The announcement from the Princess of the Night opened the floodgate of outcries from the assembled ponies; albeit very hesitant and respectful outcries. Applejack asked about her farm's well-being, Pinkie Pie talked about needing to foalsit the Cake’s twins, Rarity tried to explain about the growing needs of her sister, Fluttershy mumbled excuses as to why she couldn’t move because of her animals, and Rainbow Dash… “Well, I guess if I give my two-weeks notice to the Mayor, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

“Whatever happened to never leaving Ponyville hanging?” Twilight asked, remembering what the pegasus had told her when they first met.

“Princess orders beat Ponyville needs.”

After all of her friends had finished voicing her objections and problems with Celestia and Luna’s decision, the Princess of the Day spoke again. “I know this is sudden, but I fear what may happen if you are not properly prepared for the next time danger threatens our land. Discord, while powerful, was…”

“Incompetent,” Luna supplied.

Celestia rolled her eyes at the harsh assessment. “As the avatar of chaos, he was bound by certain rules,” she corrected. “And his magic, while versatile, wasn’t as fixated as the power of Harmony.”

A thought from the back of Twilight’s mind that had been nagging at her since Discord’s defeat made it to the forefront of her mind. “That’s why he didn’t just leave us as earth ponies, or turn us to stone or…kill us, isn’t it?” she asked hesitantly. “He didn’t…not choose to, he just couldn’t.”

“Yes,” Luna explained, getting a flinch from all the smaller ponies in the room. “Death and stone imprisonment, unmoving, unchanging, ending, it is the very opposite of what Discord is. It is the same reason he could not simply imprison you, or remove the Elements from play completely. Chaos is all the forces working against one another, to deny that battle would be to deny his very existence. In a way, we were lucky he was the first to come forward, it shook my sister and I out of our…complacency.”

Once again, Celestia took up the discussion. “I am sorry to do this to you my little ponies,” she apologized. “I owe more to you all than I could ever repay, and to do this to you all. I have seen the joy you all share from Canterlot and-”

“Wait,” Pinkie Pie interrupted before looking at Celestia was a raised eyebrow. “Does that mean you’ve been spying on us? What about our rights to privacy and…” the pink party pony let out a gasp, “don’t tell me you know about my and Gummy’s deep dark, dirty little secret!”

“PINKIE!” Twilight shouted, at the mare for interrupting the princess. “We live in an absolute monarchy where our rulers are literally worshiped as gods! WE DON’T HAVE ANY RIGHTS IF THEY SAY WE DON‘T!”

As Twilight took a breath Fluttershy put in a minor correction. “Technically, if Celestia and Luna are deities that makes what we have a theocracy.”

“And,” Twilight continued in a hesitant tone. “What, um…dark secret?” Although, something told her she shouldn’t have asked that. Especially in front of the paragons of virtue that the princess’s were. Um, Pinkie’s not… No, it couldn’t be… But, no bad Twilight! Don’t even go there!

Pinkie let out a groan and leaned back in her chair. “Ugh, fine! I confess, I never got Gummy registered as my pet with the Ponyville animal control center!” she admitted. “They wanted two hundred bits! Two hundred bits for an exotic animal caretaker license!”

“Yes…well, I do not believe you will need to worry about that any longer friend Pie,” Luna assured her. “The crown would be happy to grant you special considerations for your help with our troubles."

With the distraction apparently over, Celestia cleared her throat and continued on. “As I was saying,” she began again. “I know this will be hard for you all, but it is not something I can simply allow to remain unattended to. I allowed Twilight to stay with you all, not only because the bond of friendship you all share is what ties the Elements of Harmony together, but seeing her there with all of you at the Summer Sun Celebration was the happiest I had ever seen her. So I gave you that time together in your home.”

Rarity looked at the goddess with a raised eyebrow. “Pardon me Princess, but it almost sounds as if you intended to move us to the castle from that day.”

“Yes, I did,” Celestia informed them. “I will say that I am glad that I didn’t…but the time has some to stop delaying. In one weeks time, I will expect you all back in Canterlot to be assigned your apartments in the palace. To help with this change, I will authorize any request you make of me, be it funds for your respective families for the problems your absence would cause, a letter to the main weather branch allowing instant termination as well as a replacement, the relocation of any animals you require to the palace menagerie gardens, and arrangements to be made if one or more of you requires a member of your family to join you for any length of time.”

On the other side of the table, Luna gave them a gentle smile. “We apologize for this once again my friends, but…such is the fate of rulers and heroes. Are their any questions?”

Much to Twilight’s surprise, it was Rainbow Dash who spoke up. “Uh yeah, you mentioned some kind of training? What’s that all about? I mean, we know how to use the Elements better than you. I mean we turned Nightmare Moon back to Luna and…um…okay, maybe I should shut up now,” the pegasus mumbled under Twilight’s glare that she had began receiving since saying they knew how to use the Elements better than Celestia of all ponies!

The sun goddess giggled at the interaction. “True, your connection with the elements does surpass anything Luna or I possessed with them. And I do not know what sort of power you shall unlock when you all begin to explore their magic. But, it is not yet time for that journey to begin. What we shall be teaching you is the magic we know.”

Applejack learned her throat. “Beg yer pardon princess. But…magic’s all fine and dandy fer Twilight and Rarity…but, where does that leave the rest of us? Me and Rainbow can’t be flinging around spells like them.”

“Do you truly believe that unicorns are the only ones possessing of a mystical nature good Applejack?” Luna asked her. Then, she looked back up to Celestia. “I understand a lack of need or desire has resulted in a…decline of the deeper magic since my departure sister, but do not tell me our little ponies have forgotten everything of them.”

Celestia shook her head. “It is complicated sister,” she said before looking to her ponies. “And unicorn’s are not the only ponies possessed of magic to affect the world in miraculous ways. Before the founding of Equestria, each tribe possessed several secret arts that were used to ward off attack from outside forces…and in some times, each other. When Luna and I came to power, this magic were no longer required and fell into disuse. Even after Nightmare Moon, attempts at revival of these practices for the defense of the nation have been…limited.”

A bit of history in her mind made Twilight ask for conformation. “Are you talking about the EUP?”

“No,” Celestia said. “However, the later incarnation of the Wonderbolts, and the School for Gifted Unicorns that I founded eighty-six years ago to assist me in protecting Equestria do hold a piece of the knowledge we shall be instructing you all in.”

Once again, Rainbow Dash jumped into the conversation as she put her forelegs up on the large table. “Wait a minute…you mean, I’m going to get Wonderbolts training?”

“No Rainbow Dash,” Luna told her, shooting the pegasus’s dreams right in the heart and having her collapse onto the table. “The arts we shall teach you go far beyond anything given to normal ponies. By the time I am finished with your instruction, they will be idolizing you as I am told you look up to them.”

Rarity turned her attention back to the solar princess, a look of apprehension on her face. “Princess, I’m not sure what Twilight’s told you about me,” she said in an uneasy tone. “But…I’m not a magic talent like her. I know basic levitation and a single spell for finding gems. I have tried dabbling in other magic, but the ability…the talent, it just isn’t there.”

“All unicorn are talented at magic Rarity,” Celestia informed her. “We just have to find the right school for you. As we have mentioned, there have been many arts lost to time during my reign due to being under used.

“The same goes for you Applejack, and you Pinkie Pie,” she went on. “I understand the Pie family has quite the talent in their line for Geomancy, and Applejack, you cannot tell me you do not feel a special connection to your orchards that transcends simple appreciation for their value and beauty. These are just the beginnings of two schools of earth pony magic.”

Luna took up the conversation once again. “Of course, it will not simply be magic that we shall instruct you in. Tactics, strangely, lore, politics and history. Your education under us shall be complete in every way.”

“Ummm excuse me, Princess?” Fluttershy spoke up with a voice that could barely be heard by everypony at the table. “If you don’t mind me asking. Why would we need to learn all of that?”

All the smaller pones in the room looked back and forth between the two alicorns for several minutes before Celestia finally spoke. “While you all are gong to be granted titles of nobility as well,” she said, getting an elated cry of joy from Rarity, as well as a look of apprehension from Applejack. “That is only to help with the eventual…transition of power.”

Celestia paused, obviously letting the deeper meetings of the words start to sink in. Most of the ponies in the room just looked confused, but Twilight had been with her mentor long enough she had an inkling as to where this was going. A transition of power…she couldn’t possibly be talking about…no…no, she’s not…

“The time of the sisters is coming to an end. We have felt it since Discord’s release,” Celestia announced. “Luna and I…we were born to counter the imbalance brought about by Discord. As we lingered, errors have been made.”

Luna bowed her head and shook it for a moment at the words while Celestia continued. “However, we have prepared the way for you. Twilight,” she paused, then looked over to the other ponies. “No, the six of you. I do not know if we have a year, ten, or one hundred, but I assure you that when the time comes, you will be prepared to take your proper place as the rulers of Equestria.”

The announcement hung over the room, with all the little ponies staring at the sun goddess in shock.

Okay, now would be a good time for that panic attack, Twilight told herself.

Comments

[Setokaiva]

YES YES YES YES YES!!!

I can see it. Fluttershy gets divine healing magic... Pinkie Pie gets Geomancy... Applejack gets druidic plant-growing magic... Rarity becomes a master illusionist / paragon of precision spells... Twilight becomes a POWERHOUSE arcanist and Photomancer who masters teleportation martial arts... and Rainbow Dash? Oh, hoo hoo. Rainbow Dash masters Aeromancy as well as flight, and maybe time/space compression, as well, allowing her to MANIPULATE HER OWN FLIGHT CONDITIONS, making her easily the fastest thing in the UNIVERSE, let alone Equestria.

I DEMAND to see more. Your writing style is nice and fluid, really -- perfect for the kind of action I imagine this fic to have. The 6 of them learning top-tier powers, gaining noble titles second only to the Princesses, and eventually INHERITING THE COUNTRY? (Squeeee!!!)

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

[The Yaoi Mistress]

this is now in "read later's list"

[acerbicCatharsis]

How the neck is this not more popular? Gold star.

[Jordan179]

Substantative

A thought from the back of Twilight’s mind that had been nagging at her since Discord’s defeat made it to the forefront of her mind. “That’s why he didn’t just leave us as earth ponies, or turn us to stone or…kill us, isn’t it?” she asked hesitantly. “He didn’t…not choose to, he just couldn’t.”

“Yes,” Luna explained, getting a flinch from all the smaller ponies in the room. “Death and stone imprisonment, unmoving, unchanging, ending, it is the very opposite of what Discord is. It is the same reason he could not simply imprison you, or remove the Elements from play completely. Chaos is all the forces working against one another, to deny that battle would be to deny his very existence. In a way, we were lucky he was the first to come forward, it shook my sister and I out of our…complacency.”

Two points: removing their horns and wings wouldn't make them Earth Ponies, because they wouldn't have Earth Pony abilities. They'd be simply reduced to maimed unicorns or pegasi.

Second point: Even if Discord can't directly kill you, he could put you in a possibly-fatal situation. And, as both Jafar and Iago point out in Aladdin 2: "You'd be surprised what you can live through."

As Twilight took a breath Fluttershy put in a minor correction. “Technically, if Celestia and Luna are deities that makes what we have a theocracy.”

Indeed, Fluttershy.

Much to Twilight’s surprise, it was Rainbow Dash who spoke up. “Uh yeah, you mentioned some kind of training? What’s that all about? I mean, we know how to use the Elements better than you. I mean we turned Nightmare Moon back to Luna and…um…okay, maybe I should shut up now,” the pegasus mumbled under Twilight’s glare that she had began receiving since saying they knew how to use the Elements better than Celestia of all ponies!

On the other hoof, Luna's probably grateful for that.

Typos

Especially in front of the paragons of virtue that the princess’s were.

"Princesses" -- it's a plural not a possessive.