Princess Celestia and Princess Luna along with ten of their Guards escorted Artex and Razor toward the Main Courtyard of the Royal Palace where the announcement was to happen. Artex kept his breathing slow and steady, trying to calm the raging inferno of anxiety within his body and mind. His nerves began to fray as the procession neared the Main Courtyard. The sound of thousands of voices was unmistakable and just thinking about being the center of so much attention made him feel queasy. He could feel his hands shaking so he gripped the edges of his robe as a distraction. His discomfort did not go unnoticed though.
"Artex calm down, please." Razor said softly, "You're going to make yourself sick with worry."
Artex tightened his grip on his robe,
"I already feel sick. I mean I took a public speaking course in college, but the jitters beforehand always made me nervous," he chuckled mirthlessly, "And trying to imagine everypony naked won't do any good since they're probably all naked anyway."
Razor quirked an eyebrow and shook her head,
"Humans are strange."
The roar of the crowd was all but deafening by that point as the little procession halted just in front of a pair of heavy double doors,
"Luna and I will give a short speech then we'll open the doors with our magic, that's your queue to come out. If you feel so inclined, a few words would be welcomed, but do not wear yourself out. There are still interviews to be done." Celestia said.
The two royal sisters' horns lit up and they opened the huge double doors to the awaiting crowd. Artex caught a glance of brilliant colors filling up the entire courtyard. There had to be thousands of Kavim gathered to hear the announcement. Celestia and Luna stepped out and closed the doors behind them. The two Alicorns stopped at the top of the stairway which led from the ground of the Courtyard to the Palace interior. From the ground to the top was a height of three Fathoms. Royal Guards stood shoulder to shoulder, three deep around the stairs so that the top would be clear for the Princesses. The top of the stairs was a half circle which spanned ten Fathoms from left to right and fifteen Fathoms from front to doors.
The gathered crowd erupted in wild cheering at the sight of their beloved Princesses.
Artex stepped up to the closed doors so he could hear what the Alicorns were saying,
"Greetings my little Ponies." Celestia began.
The crowd grew quiet as they listened to their rulers,
"You have all heard that we have an announcement," Luna spoke, "And that is true but the nature of this announcement is most unusual."
Celestia picked up,
"We have known for ages beyond measure that we are not alone on this world, but recently we also learned that we are not alone in the universe either."
The crowd went from quiet to dead silent as Luna spoke next,
"A new species has arrived in Equestria. They come from another world. They were brought here by forces beyond their understanding and they were frightened. They arrived with no tools, no food, no shelter, and no friends save each other, yet they persevered. They sent to us an Emissary to ask for help."
Celestia spoke next,
"This Emissary was strange to us. He did not speak our language, he knew nothing of our customs, and most profound of all, not a single one of them knew anything about magic."
Luna took her turn,
"Their world is without magic. It is wild and untamed as we know of such things. They have no Pegasi to control their weather, no Earth Pony magic to give them the strength to work or grow plants, and no Unicorns or Alicorns to raise and lower their sun and moon. They are truly as alien as possible... yet in many ways... they are very much like us."
Celestia picked up where Luna left off,
"They think... they feel... they know right from wrong... they love and have friends and families... but also they are different as well. They do not look like us. They walk upright like the Minotauri and they have almost no coat or fur so they must wear clothes constantly. They are often stubborn and occasionally difficult to understand, but they are no less intelligent beings than we are. They have their own laws and though they may seem strange, my sister and I think of them in much the same way we think of all of you."
Luna spoke quickly,
"But we are not their rulers. These beings will govern themselves, for we, as beings from this world, have no right to impose our will on them so long as they wish to live peacefully. And to that end they have shown character the likes of which neither Celestia nor I were or could have ever been prepared to witness. They have suffered on this world we call home. Their time and circumstances have not been kind to them, yet they strove onward with tenacious perseverance."
Celestia spoke next,
"The Humans wandered about in the wilderness and my sister and I... guided them to a place for them to call home. They have thrived there ever since. They have taken great strides to live peacefully with us and many Ponies reside in harmony with them even now. Together the Humans and Ponies have built a town to call home."
Luna took up the speech,
"We needed a way to communicate with them and so their Emissary took it upon himself to work with a language specialist and write out a translation guide so we could speak." Luna cleared her throat, "Many of you have heard the news from the Diamond Dog City-States that a disease of some sort ran rampant through one of their towns. We regret to inform you that is true. What you did not hear however, was that the infected Diamond Dogs went mad. They attacked everything they saw and would have gone on a killing rampage..." Luna paused to let the information sink in.
The Ponies knew of the Diamond Dogs and their strength and claws and jaws. Many a shudder swept through the crowd at such a terrifying thought.
"But our new neighbors, the Humans, stopped them."
Every eye in the crowd widened as Celestia spoke next,
"The infected Diamond Dogs numbered more than four thousand," the crowd quietly gasped at such a number and Celestia continued, "The Humans numbered less than seven hundred, very few of them were warriors, yet... with the help of only a few Civil Guards and my sister, a mere two hundred Humans held off the Diamond Dogs until the Royal Guard arrived."
Luna spoke next,
"We shall spare you the details, but we have several points for you to consider. These Humans never met you. They held no loyalty to any of you... yet... they fought." Luna surveyed the crowd with intense eyes, "They fought to save the Ponies who lived with them and they fought for YOU. They didn't know you, they had never seen any of your faces or heard any voice from among your number, but they fought for all of Equestria. They did this not because they hungered for battle, not for their own glory, and not because they wanted to..." her voice grew quiet, "But because it was the right thing to do." Luna looked up and it seemed as though her gaze pierced through every Pony present, "They fought... and died for complete strangers. Think on this and join us in a moment of remembrance for those who gave their lives for every one of you."
The moment stretched on while Artex counted off the seconds. He reached 120 before the two Alicorns spoke once more.
"We are proud to know these Humans and to be able to call them friends. We have with us today the same Emissary who ventured forth on his own to ask for our help more than half a year ago. He will step out in a moment so you may see him. Humans tend to be easily frightened of large crowds so he might not say much right now. He did offer to conduct an interview after this has ended. Those members of the press who are interested in participating in the interview may come to the Throne Room after this is over."
Luna and Celestia stepped aside as their horns lit up,
"It is our pleasure to introduce Artex Rias, the Royally Sanctioned Human Emissary." Luna finished.
The two sisters pulled the double doors open revealing Artex.
There was no cheering or yelling from the crowd. There was also no panic or fear from them either. There was only an ocean of curious Kavim who were honestly and harmlessly eager to get a look at a member of the new species. They stood in silence as Artex slowly walked out to the top of the Courtyard stairs and stopped. He tried not to fidget, but his nerves were fraying quickly.
Artex felt the weight of thousands of eyes on him and it took every last ounce of his mental fortitude to open his mouth,
"Greetings Canterlot," he began as warmly as possible, "It warms my heart to see that so many of you have taken time to come here today."
He clasped his shaking hands together in front of his stomach,
"This day has been a momentous one, and you have made me feel very welcome with your presence." he paused for a breath before continuing, "Humans may be different from you in many ways... but in the ways which actually matter... the movements and currents of the heart and mind... we are nigh indistinguishable. There have been more than a few difficulties during our time here... and I am sorry to say that... many of my people did not make it to see the sunrise on this day. I am glad however... that we can stand here... in this hour... and face one another... not as native and alien... and not as Human and Kavim... but as equals. We stand here today united under the realization that our differences... are less profound... than our similarities."
He paused for dramatic effect,
"I speak for my people when I say that we would not have had such a warm welcome even from our own species... We thank you for your open minds and open hearts... and today we move forward... under the light of the same sun and moon. Today we take our first strides... side by side... toward the ultimate goal of every civilization... that goal is prosperity."
He paused again then began his closing statement,
"There will be difficulties... and there will be mistakes made on both sides... but through these trials... we will succeed. We will guide each other through the fires of tribulation... and we will emerge victorious. We will be wounded by our errors... but I believe with all my heart... if we stay the course... and follow our hearts... those wounds will heal into scars... and those scars will become lessons. We will wear those scars with pride... and use them as parables for the next generation... they will know... that their forebears were not perfect... for perfection is a goal and not a destination... they will see our examples... and learn from our mistakes. Today... we take that first step... in unity and harmony." he held out his right hand to the crowd, "Take these steps with us. Thank you."
Artex closed his hand and bowed his head in closing.
Seven silent seconds passed before the crowd of Kavim exploded into wild cheering.