"Oh, Luna," Celestia lamented. "I am so sorry. I knew I should have been there--- !"

"Tis of no difference, Sister," Luna said, her voice impassive. "The cards have been dealt, let them fall where they may."

"Still," Celestia said. "I could have softened the blow.." she shook her head. "Our little ponies are far less stubborn with me..."

"I know," Luna said flatly. "I would rather not dwell on that." She gestured around her. "Besides, thou wert busy with... this."

The princesses and the Mane Six were gathered together in the chamber of the Tree of Harmony. A large, flat area had been cleared out in the floor before the tree. A complex star-like diagram, an enneagram, had been sketched out on the floor, and nine crystalline obelisks, each of a different shape and hue, had been placed in a circle around it....with the Tree taking the space between the first and the ninth. The others, Twilight in particular, were scrutinizing the layout curiously.

"Indeed," Celestia said. She cleared her throat as one preparing to give a lecture. "This, my little ponies, is the Enneagram, used to summon beings from other dimensions. With it, we shall summon a champion from Darth Vulcan's homeworld. A match, a counterpart to him that will reestablish the balance between our forces and his... and enable us to tip victory in our favor."

Several in the group looked to each other. "What?" Celestia asked. "Go on, speak your minds."

Rainbow Dash was the first to raise her hoof. "Um, Princess, I'm sure you thought of this already but-- why don't we just use this tesser thingy to send Darth Vulcan back home?"

Celestia shook her head. "I did think of that," she said. "If only things were so easy. There's a long complicated magical explanation for why, Rainbow Dash, but it boils down to the fact that it's easier to pull a string than to push it. We would basically have to find his world, go to it, and pull him from our world to his. Not...exactly feasible."

"I am curious about something, Sister," Luna said sourly. "Did thou not hear the words of the filly whose advice thou sought? How dost one leap from hearing the sage advice that twill take more than a single fierce blow to unseat our enemy, to this?" She swept her hoof about, indicating the Summoning of the Champion. "How is summoning some random 'champion' from the aether anything but doing the exact opposite of what thou was counseled to do--- putting all on a single throw of the die?"

Celestia lowered her head, sighing unhappily. "We really don't have time--"

"Make time." Luna's reply was curt, and brooked no argument.

There was a painful pause. "Very well. Simply put, little sister, I am NOT putting all our eggs in one basket. I do not in the least expect a Champion to defeat Darth Vulcan out of hand. But Vulcan... he is too alien to us. A Champion, one of his own kind, from his own world, familiar with his way of thinking will, at the least, occupy him while we put other plans into play."

Luna's eyes widened. "...A pawn to sacrifice," she said. The words, the accusation, hurt to say. The room got painfully still, the other ponies present regarding Celestia with wide uncertain eyes.

Celestia gave a half-smile. "I would say rather a knight, to place him in check," she said. She lowered her head to the summoning pattern, her magic moving stones and vials and other items into place on the chalk lines. "I have no intent of throwing somepony to the wolves. We will give the Champion all the support and aid that we can in his mission. He will either defeat Darth Vulcan or counter him, but either one is to our greater advantage."

"It is still a great deal to hang our hopes on, Auntie," Cadence said. "All or nothing, on one shot..."

"Which is why we will attempt this more than once," Celestia said. "We have enough power... just enough... to attempt this three times within this Solar Year. We will have to space the summonings out over considerable time, and the Champions will each only remain a limited time--- from one or two weeks to a month--- before the summoning ends and they return home. But three chances is better than none."

She straightened. "There, that does it," she said. "Everypony take your places." With a considerable amount of pointing, stepping, moving and switching places, every pony present was soon standing in place around the circle. "While we cannot specifically know whom we shall pluck from the currents of space and time, the Enneagram will make our search... more selective. It will search first for one who embraces the values embodied by those in the pattern. Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty, Loyalty, Love, Friendship..." She nodded to each in turn. "And while 'Sun' and 'Moon' aren't exactly virtues," she chuckled, "It will mean that the Champion will respect the balance in the Cycle, and our authority as rulers.

"And not, one hopes, seek to take a crown for themselves?" Luna said dryly.

"Ahem. That as well," Celestia confessed. She gave Luna an irritated look. "MUST you spoil the moment?" Luna merely shrugged and looked away. "I have already put in other parameters into the search as well," Celestia continued. "They must be in fair health, neither halt nor lame, in the prime of their youth, and they must be willing to come of their own free will if summoned. I have no desire to someone old, crippled, sickly, and angry at us for yanking him out of his bed." Nervous titters greeted this. "But now, to complete the Summoning,  each of us must name an attribute for this Champion... what each believes to be a vital characteristic, above and beyond what we have already listed. Choose carefully; you only get one, and once named, they cannot be undone." She nodded to Cadence. "You first, Niece," she said.

Cadence blinked and nodded. She wet her lips, thinking. "The Champion must be chivalrous," she said. As she spoke, a ball of lavender light floated out of the branches of the Tree of harmony, entered the circle and hovered before her. The tree of Harmony chimed.

Next was Fluttershy. She shuffled nervously, peeking out from behind her mane. "Th--the Champion must be brave," she said. A pale yellow light formed at her place.

Rainbow Dash tapped her chin, scowling. She wasn't the sort to list vague things like 'brave' or 'noble' or the like.... "The Champion must beeee.... good with weapons," she said. "Swords and shields and stuff." The tree chimed again, and a blue spark floated in the air over the enneagram.

Dash's practical thinking seemed to inspire Applejack. "He's gotta be a big feller," she said. "Don't need a shrimp for this hoedown." The tree chimed even as Celestia winced. "Whut?" Applejack said.

"You might have chosen your words more carefully, dear," Celestia said. "By saying "he," you pretty much eliminated half the candidates."

"What? Oh, dang, I meant 'He or She...' what? Too late?" The orange light in front of her remained unchanged. "Well nuts."

Twilight bit her lip. Now she was really, REALLY nervous about her choice of words. "Um.. the Champion must be---  well educated," she said. Some of the others rolled their eyes at her or hid smirks. She made a "Well?" face back at them. They didn't want some illiterate savage, did they?

"The Champion must have absolutely no allergies," Pinkie Pie said with a confident smile. A pink spark appeared. The others stared at her. "Well? What good would it do if we got some big brave burly super-warrior who took one bite of a muffin and keeled over dead? Duh. Am I the only pony who thinks of these things?" That put a thoughtful look on several faces.

Rarity surprised them. "The Champion must be well-versed in battlefield strategy and tactics," she said primly. The blue-white spark before her seemed to agree.

Luna nodded in approval. "Indeed. The Champion must be a seasoned veteran of many campaigns!" An indigo star floated before her.

Celestia gave her a nod. She had thought over her own words carefully. She wasn't quite sure where they came from, but they fit, of that she was sure.

"The Champion must be willing to explore strange new worlds, to walk among new life and new civilizations..." she paused.  "....to boldly go where none have gone before." A pale pastel light formed before her.

All nine of the lights floated to the center of the diagram on the floor, merging into a single white light. It hovered over a tiny pile of items; a brass key, a few copper coins, a bus ticket, other odd bits and bobs discreetly plucked from Darth Vulcan's pockets while he had been a prisoner in Canterlot. The light danced over them briefly, absorbing the fragments of quantum signature from the inert matter, then plunging into the lines of the Enneagram. The light raced along the chalk lines back to each of the mares in the circle, levitating them off the floor and haloing them in a nimbus of light. The ball of light at the center became a crackling pillar, and flared a blinding white...

The light winked out. All of them fell to the floor, landing on their butts with loud OOFs and cries of complaint. Rainbow Dash was the first to shake it off. "Did it work?" she said, getting to her feet and looking around. She looked to the center of the circle. "Ho-lee horseapples...."

The others looked where she was staring and gawped in shock. A bipedal figure stood there. He was enormous--- not merely in height, but in width.... He had on tennis shoes with knee-high socks, plaid shorts, a fanny pack, and had a t-shirt stretched over his girth that proudly proclaimed "New York Renfaire 2015" in fancy black script. He wore a horned helmet that looked to be made of pot metal, and a pair of thick rectangular glasses. A foam padded broadsword was strapped to his back, along with a round wooden shield, and he was currently clutching a stuffed dragon and a cheesecake-on-a-stick in his terrified grip. His gaze was locked, riveted on the Tree of Harmony before him, which glowed and chimed serenely as ever.

"Oh.... my...." Fluttershy said. She YEEPED as the strange figure's head whipped around, fast as a striking cobra, to rivet her with eyes that bulged like boiled eggs over his fat cheeks. She-- and everyone else on that side of the room-- jumped back a pace or three in alarm.

Celestia took a couple of hesitant, cautious steps towards him. "Ah, Hello?" His head whipped around to face her now, making her jump a bit. She decided to go for Enigmatic Smile Number Three. "Ah.... we welcome you, Champion of Equestria."

He made a sound like a strangled seal. Without a further sound, his mouth fixed in a perfect circle, he fell straight over like a felled tree, hitting the stone floor with a splat.

"Well," Celestia said, looking down at her brave, chivalrous, intelligent, land whale of a Champion. "...Buck."