And they shall know no fear

by Naroe_Clan


Chapter 10: protests and pranks

Celestia sits upon her throne, her sister beside her as they both make their declarations on the last scheduled petition to their royal court for the day. The almost forgettably generic noble stallion standing before them looks as if their denying him the massive sum of money he asked for (in order to purchase a sixth vacation mansion) is the greatest offense he has ever received.

As he petulantly stomps away he passes by the several dozen members of the royal court loitering along the edges of the throne room, whispering between themselves and only occasionally glancing towards the day's proceeding while eating their hor d'oeuvres. The only exciting portion of the group to outside observers is Prince Blueblood having a heated conversation with a whole cadre of 'lesser' nobles off to one side as Fancy Pants sighs and shakes his head.

Only a few of the self-important members of nobility notice that the princesses have not yet declared the day's proceedings finished when the last petitioner left the room. Of those, only a couple question what their plan is instead of beginning to complain about being kept longer than necessary on such a 'hard day's work'.

Their complaints barely leave their lips before the throne room doors open once more, admitting a creature from some of their worst nightmares. His massive black feet stomp on the marble floor only a few times before he stops halfway down the grand room. The skull on top of his form slowly swings around, surveying every pony present with its blood-red pits of eyes before settling on the thrones of princesses.

The royal announcer only then begins to announce this newcomer, sounding amazingly calm as he recites. “Announcing the presence of the Black Templars Holy Chaplain Russell, former Lord High General of Equestria, representing the Holy God-Emperor Of Mankind and His Holy Imperium as His designated ambassador to the Equestrian court!”

As the announcement finishes the massive black beast continues his march towards the thrones, the crashing of his feet making several ponies flinch back with every stomp. He stops several meters from the royal sisters, staring at them for a long moment before lowering down on one knee and bowing his skull-head.

His deep voice growls out “Formal greetings to the Royal Equestrian Diarchy from this representative of His Holy Self.” He looks up at the sisters, seeming to the noble observers to stare through their smiling faces. Any nobles with remaining mental faculties can only think in terms of confusion at the sister's smiles, getting tremendously more confused as they both stand from their thrones and walk toward this great beast.

Their confusion grows to levels never before reached as both sisters reach in to hug the monster before gesturing in invitation towards a side door of the throne room. All three figures walk side-by-side out of the room, with none noticing Princess Luna subtly biting her lower lip. As they leave the room, every noble takes that as a dismissal and gallops from the room, leaving none to hear the sound of three bodies falling over with paroxysms of laughter in an adjacent hallway.