You are Princess Cadence and…
…
… and…
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" you ask the royal guard stallion once again, watching his frown grow even deeper as he hears your question.
And his expression alone is enough answer for you.
Yes, it is clear to you, from the way that he reacted to your question, that he is sure about it. It is clear that this isn't some sort of accident, or that what he just told you might be a miscommunication, or anything like that. In fact, you can see by the look on his face that his orders came directly from… from the source itself.
His body language already tells you as much. The way that he is at the same time tense, because this conversation is making him take too long to perform his orders, while he is also hesitant over the fact the answer he has to give you is not exactly a pleasant one.
But still, he speaks up nonetheless, even if only to confirm what the two of you already know.
"Yes, my Princess. Princess Celestia has summoned you," he says, not exactly being able to hide his own anxiety as he says those words. "She has asked me, directly, to bring you to her at your earliest convenience."
He says that in the most disciplined and courteous way possible.
But of course, you know what he means by that. You know that when he says "asked" he really means "ordered", and that the very polite "at your earliest convenience" is the best way he found to translate the "now" that he probably heard.
You nod at the royal guard, signaling that you will follow him. Although you can't help but notice that he isn't relieved even by that. In fact, you can't feel any positive emotion coming from him at all.
You can't feel any trace of satisfaction coming from him, even though he is successfully carrying out his orders. Not even the slightest hint of it. Not even that minute ping that ponies usually feel when completing a small task.
There is no sign of relief coming from him, even though he was able to locate you in a section of the castle where you don't usually go often.
You can't even feel from him that usual… that minute wave of contentment that ponies usually feel, or used to feel, when they are close to you. Because for all that you don't do it consciously, you are aware that you have a certain effect on ponies due to you being an alicorn.
But still, you feel none of that in him. You are more attuned to the emotion of love, of course. You are orders of magnitude more attuned to love itself. However, you still have this ability to feel… or perhaps
sense other kinds of emotions, coming from other living creatures. It was something you began to notice several years after became an alicorn, and that you have been slowly developing and improving as a skill ever since.
But still, again, you don't feel anything coming from him. You don't feel anything
positive coming from him, at least. The only things that you can feel are… his worry, that he might be late, and his nervousness, due to the uncertainty of what might come next, and his
fear.
You don't feel anything positive inside of him, and that pains you.
Truth be told, you can't feel any positive emotion coming from anywhere at all. Not from him, not from the castle, and perhaps not even from the entirety of Canterlot. And even though you are an alicorn, or perhaps
because you are an alicorn, you feel this hollowness weighting down a very deep and intimate part of you.
You know you can't blame him, for feeling like this. You can't blame anypony, for feeling the way they are. And claiming that he should be "strong" and not be disturbed by what is going on, just because he is a royal guard, would be as absurd as saying that you should not be affected by all of this just because you are a Princess.
So, since there is nothing you can really do about his pains, you just follow him.
- - -
You would be lying if you said that you aren't nervous. You would be lying if you said that your tension didn't grow more and more, as you followed the royal guard into the deeper reaches of the Royal Archives.
It doesn't help, that the air itself gets thicker with apprehension the closer you get. It doesn't help, that as you reach closer to Princess Celestia the quantity of royal guards that you pass by increases, and all of them have their expressions marred with the same trepidation that you are feeling.
Because, as everypony knows, Princess Celestia has… well, she hasn't exactly changed, but she isn't the same as she used to be either.
It is a bit of a paradox, even. Everypony still respects her, of course. Everypony still obeys her. You would even dare say that everypony still loves her. But still, nopony is truly…
at ease with her. Not anymore. After all, her mannerism, her humor, and even her way of ruling have all changed. It is a paradox in the sense that you can clearly tell that everypony, be they the guards or the servants or even the population in general, is still loyal to Princess Celestia, but still nopony really wishes to be in her presence anymore. Nopony is truly at ease in her presence anymore.
For obvious reasons.
"Princess Celestia? You called for me?" you ask, as soon as you pass through the large metal doors of the room.
Princess Celestia is at the center of the room, her back turned to you as she looks down at what appears to be several ornate wooden chests. Each of them, you can see, is incredibly old, clearly made from high quality wood and produced by the hoof of an able crafstpony.
However, you must admit that you don't exactly… know what they are for, or what they contain.
Well, you have a vague idea of what is inside the chests. The chests are filled with several very old scrolls. That is something you can see easily enough, given how all the chests are open and Celestia has a few of those scrolls floating in front of her.
But still, you have absolutely no idea of what those scrolls contain.
And that is because, to your… puzzlement, Princess Celestia has summoned you to the Royal Archives.
You are not in the Royal Library, so those scroll can't be maps, or historical notes, or anything like that. The two of you are not in the any one of Celestia's many magical libraries, so those chests almost certainly don't have anything in them that refers to magic or spells either.
Quite on the contrary. You know that those scrolls don't have any of that exactly because you and Celestia are in the Royal Archives.
You two are in one of the deeper parts of the archive, sure. The part that is kept locked and secure, and that is only accessible to high ranking bureaucrats and administrators. But these are still just the Royal Archives. So, you can't imagine that those chests, and the scrolls within them, contain anything but documents.
In short, the only thing that those scrolls can be is
paperwork.
"Yes, Cadance, I did," but still, she answers your question as if she is stating the obvious. And with a curt tone that... you are still not used to.
Without the gentle smile that she would usually have on her face.
Without turning around to greet you.
Without any of the thousand little things that she would always,
always, do whenever you or anypony else entered her presence.
She just says that, with a dry tone that you had never heard before… any of this happened.
You control your expression, to suppress the grimace you can feel coming to the fore. And you wait for her to continue speaking.
But while you wait, you can't help but think about this whole situation. And not for the first time, and certainly not for the last time, you wonder if there is something you should do. You wonder if there is anything you
can do.
Because sure, you have lived with Celestia for years, more than a decade even. You were mentored by her, ever since you became an alicorn, and you honestly believe that you are one of the very few ponies that ever became truly close to her.
She was… she
is your auntie Celestia, after all. She taught you almost everything you know, and you have already been there for her during some of her (very rare) moments of weaknesses. She has already told you things, about her regrets and fears and other things besides, that you are not sure if anypony alive even suspects about.
But still…
Still.
You are also acutely aware that you have only known her for a bit more than a decade. You wouldn't even be considered an adult mare, if you were to count only your alicorn years. And if you were to compare even your full lifespan to Celestia's
millennia of existence then you are less than a foal to her.
So, for all that you think you might know something about Celestia… for all that you think that, in all of Equestria, you have the "best shot" when it comes to doing something about the current situation, you also realize that your "best shot" isn't really a shot at all.
She is alone. And you are one hundred years too young to even say that you have been making her company long enough, for her to be thankful for you being here.
"Cadance," she says, that single word snapping you into attention so quickly that you can feel your back straightening.
Even though she still has her back to you, and only seems to be giving you slightly more attention than she is to the air that she is breathing.
"Do you know what these scrolls are?" she asks.
And you think, you
think, that you detect maybe the slightest hint of inflexion in her dry voice. A memory, or perhaps a shadow, of the tone she would usually have when teaching you about something.
"No, Princess Celestia," you answer.
Although you are not too sure if you answered too slowly because you hesitated, out of fear of her disappointment, or if you answered too quickly because you are
afraid of making her wait.
After all, for all that you think you heard the distant echo of an educator's tone, you are acutely aware that the mentor Princess Celestia is… not gone, you hope, but clearly absent.
"These are patents of nobility," she answers, still without turning to face you. "The original patents, that is. These are the documents that were made, by me, to each of the noble families. And it bears the name of every pony who was truly awarded the title of Noble, from the first member of the family down to the latest heir."
She then floats one of them towards you, that you grab it in mid-air with your own magic.
And sure enough, you can see what she means by that. Analyzing the scroll you can see Celestia's own hoof-writing, detailing what rights and powers a certain pony had been awarded, and for what deeds, followed by a list.
The one she gave you is rather long, you can see, and the scroll itself is ancient, clearly made out of magical paper so it wouldn't crumble away with the passage of time. And under the awards and deeds you see a long list of names, all of them followed by dates. This, you can see, is the true list of succession of a noble family, the link of inherited rights passed down from family head to family head. Each name being followed by a date of inheritance and a date of death, with the sole exception of the last name which only has a date of inheritance.
"This place, this locked room, is where the patents are kept," she continues. "They all stay here, in this room that is only accessed on the rare occasion that a new noble family is created by me…"
But as she speaks, you feel a cold chill run down your spine.
There is absolutely no difference in Princess Celestia's tone, as she explains that to you. However, you can still feel…
something…
Her words remain unchanged, her posture remains unchanged, her
presence remains unchanged. But you can still feel, perhaps with that sixth sense that allows you to feel love and other things inside of ponies, that there is something inside of her. Something that is heating up, perhaps even
boiling, in a very deep corner of her.
"… or on the less rare occasion that a family head perishes," she continues saying, and you feel a spike in that
boiling sensation that Celestia has inside of her.
If you didn't know any better, you would even think that the room temperature became higher, if only for a moment.
"Because when the head of a noble family dies, then the two patents, the copy that the noble family keeps and the original in here, must be updated with the name of the latest heir."
She says that, and then she becomes silent.
And for all that she has one of the patents in front of her, floating within an aura of golden magic in tandem with her horn, you know that she isn't really looking at the scroll itself.
You are not even sure if she remembers, or cares, that you are here in the room with her, right now.
Several moments pass by. Maybe even a few minutes. But you do not dare to speak up.
You do not dare to interrupt her, whatever thoughts she may be having. You do not dare to poke the extremely thin bubble that you can feel, around that
boiling thing that she is carrying deep inside of her.
Because you fear what might happen if that bubble pops.
So, you wait, until she finally speaks up again.
"Cadance," she says, speaking to you as if she had not been completely silent for several minutes now. "Tomorrow, at midday, have the nobles gathered in the court. All of the family heads, that have their names in these patents."
She says that, and then she turns around to leave the room. She doesn't even look at you as she passes by your side, leaving you alone with the several patent-filled chests.
"I will have a few words with them," she says, before she crosses the metal door.
Leaving you alone, with nothing but the several dozens of names that you will have to call for in less than twenty-four hours.
- - -
You are standing next to Princess Celestia, where she is sitting on her throne. Her fur is an impeccable white, her regalia is gleaming to a shine, and even though you know she is still wounded there isn't a single sign in her body that she was ever hurt.
Before the two of you are the five large wooden chests, filled with all the patents of nobility in the kingdom, their tops open and their contents visible for all to see.
And gathered in the court, separated from you and Princess Celestia by a line of royal guards, is a respectable crowd of ponies. All of them extremely well dressed, most of them of middle age and older. All of them are nobles, all of them are the family heads that you summoned, that you ordered to come, from all corners of Equestria.
The tension in the air is palpable.
You wonder what is going on in their minds. You wonder if they have heard the gossips, of how Princess Celestia has been acting these last few weeks.
After all, even though Princess Celestia has only stepped hoof out of the castle very few times ever since the tragedy itself, you are sure that gossip would still have spread regardless. The Royal Castle may have been locked for "petty affairs", as she called it, and she has not held court or received any nobles in here ever since the great tragedy. But still, you are sure that they must have learned about, or realized, some things.
No, you can feel it.
Because even though you can't feel even an ounce of love inside this great hall, you can feel what lies in its absence.
Uncertainty, trepidation and fear, in the hearts of the nobles.
A buried,
boiling something, in the heart of Princess Celestia.
And the thin, razor-sharp tension in the line of guards separating you from the crowd of nobles.
And you have no doubt in your heart that the royal guards are tense because of the one who is sitting behind them, and not because of the mass of nobles awaiting in front of them.
"Nobles of Equestria," Princess Celestia speaks, and you can feel the emotions in everypony's heart rise to a crescendo.
She says that, and then she pauses. And you swear that you can see her lean slightly forward in her throne, her eyes narrowing as if she was trying to see something that only she could see.
But that lasts only for a moment.
"I remember the first of you," she continues. "I remember the very first pony, that I asked to help me rule Equestria. I remember the very first one, of you, that had ever received the title of Noble."
Her horn begins to glow. And from the open chest in the center she floats a single piece of parchment, old with age and long with the name of heirs and dates.
"That title carried a different meaning, back then. I used the term Noble because, in truth, that was the only way I could describe her, the founder of the family that would later…
rename itself as Blueblood," she says that word with a slight, but still perceptible, tinge of disapproval.
Or perhaps disgust.
"I called her Noble because that was truly what I meant. I called her Noble because she had
qualities. Because she had personal characteristics that deserved to be admired and followed. Because she had characteristics that
I aspired to, and that I knew deserved to be used to help guide our fledgling ponykind."
You can hear it, a murmur of whispers coming from the crowd of nobles. Subtle stares and subtler words being exchanged, as Princess Celestia's words pointed at a… certain direction.
Her reproach is obvious, even if it isn't clear. But nopony, not even yourself, can still be absolutely sure of where she is taking all of this.
"It was about putting the right ponies in the right places, you see. Of making sure that leaders were allowed to lead. In fact, the patent letters were first created not as a badge to the holders, but as a guarantee to those around them who were being asked to follow. It was… it was literally meant to be a letter that said 'hey, this pony is really good at doing this, so you can trust what he says'. It was a way to show that those who were Nobles could be trusted, that were vouched for and that they should be
followed."
Princess Celestia raises a few more scrolls from the chests. All of them very long, and every last one of them written in her own hoofwriting.
"And for a good while it worked. It worked very well. And when the first Nobles passed away, they had their foals to carry on the torches. Their cutie marks were almost the same as their parents, and it was clear that they had been raised to continue opening the path from where their fathers and mothers had left off," she says, almost trailing off as her eyes fall on a certain name on one of the lists. "However…"
She then lowers the list, as if she is trying to compare the names that she can read with the crowd of ponies gathered before her.
As if she is trying to find somepony, anypony that is on the scrolls, in the group of nobles that is before her.
And of course, she can't find any of them.
They are all dead. All the names in all of the lists, save for the very last ones, are dead.
"However, at some point… things went wrong."
The murmurs from the crowd of nobles stop.
The exchange of glances stop.
You even think that some of the nobles have stopped breathing, holding their breaths in wait of what is to come.
"I am not really sure when it was, but I can only blame myself. I was too soft, you see. I let the nostalgia get the better of me. Because you all…" she says that, her eyes going over every single one of the nobles, one by one. "You are all so
similar to them. You all have something that
reminds me of them. In some generations, its only the color of your eyes, or a quirk or a habit. In other generations, you are so similar that I almost think your ancestors have somehow returned. But that's what I got wrong. I was so attached to the similarities that I saw between you and those first,
true Nobles, that I let myself become blind to the differences. Even as those differences... grew."
And with those words, she returns the scrolls to their chests.
However, her horn does not stop glowing, even though she is no longer floating anything with her magic.
In fact, you feel the concentration of magic in her horn increase, not decrease. You know that every last unicorn in the room can feel the same as well.
"At some point, your families began to use your letters of patents not as proof of trust to your followers, but as badges of authority to lord over them. You stopped carrying your titles with pride, and began to be carried by it."
Her surge of magic grows. To the point that even the non-unicorns can feel it now.
And you, and only you, can feel the
boiling inside of her grow as well. Even if her tone and posture remains dry and curt as it has been the whole time.
"You ceased to teach your heirs those qualities that made you worthy of admiration, that made you worthy of being
followed, and you became the self-serving
schemers that you are today. I do not blame you, individually. I blame your families, the long lines from which you inherited your behaviors and lessons, and I blame myself for being complacent. However-"
The magic on her horn reaches a peak.
And the wooden chests, filled with the original patents of nobility, burst into golden flames. Their contents becoming ashes and smoke before the gathered crowd of nobles.
"-your services are no longer required." Celestia finishes speaking. "Return to your riches, and your mansions, and your servants. Enjoy them all you want, and while you can. Your obligations and your rights end with you, and will not be inherited by your heirs. Keep your copies that you protect so jealously, and shove them in the face of anything that displeases you as you have done for these last few centuries. But I will not add any more names to them when you are done."
She says that and, ignoring all the shocked gasps and yelps from the crowd and nobles, she stands up from her throne and turns to leave.
And for all that you can feel the
boiling inside of her simmering with heat and pressure, she doesn't look at all disturbed as she makes her way towards the back exit of the court hall.
"You are all dismissed. I have no more need for you"
Princess Celestia takes three steps, her back turned to the increasingly distressed crowd of nobles. Each of them sporting a different reaction, from calculating indifference to near panic. However, when you are about to turn around and follow after Princess Celestia.
"How dare you!?"
One of the nobles cries out, stomping his way to the front of the crowd and only being stopped by a pair of royal guards.
But still, for all that the guards closed ranks to stop him from going any further, they still couldn't stop him from yelling at the retreating Princess.
"How dare you do this?! This is ours! It belongs to us! Our powers, our stations, our… they are out birthright! How dare you even
try to do this?! What makes you think that you even
ca-?!"
!!!!!
It happens in an instant.
You can barely accompany it, even though you are right there. Even though you are seeing it, as it happens.
Princess Celestia was about to take another step. Her hoof was about to touch the floor with the usual pace that she has as she walks.
So why is the floor cracked? Why is the place where her hoof only briefly touched now a
crater, marring the marble floor for several meters around it?
When did the air itself become so
heavy? When is it that everypony, the guards and the nobles and
almost you, was forced to
bow, their heads rammed against the ground as they prostrated themselves out of fear and awe and sheer
weight?
When did the air become so blistering hot?
It happens in an instant.
One moment, Princess Celestia has her back to the crowd.
Then the boiling thing that you could feel inside of her
bursts.
And on the next moment, she is advancing towards the noble, her eyes bloodshot red and her horn shining so much that it hurts to look at it.
She stops walking only when her horn is a mere few inches from your own.
"Princess Cadance… why are you standing in my way…?"
And only then do you realize that, at some point, you rushed to stop her. Only now do you realize that you are standing between her and the foolish noble, your wings outstretched and your own horn glowing.
But still, you realize that your posture is not imposing at all. You are not bravely standing up to Princess Celestia. You wouldn't be able to even if you tried.
No, you are just…
hoping. Hoping that she decides to stop, hoping that you at least give her pause…
Hoping that she doesn't lose her patience with you as well, and share with you the same displeasure she was about to share with the noble.
Hoping that your eyes, open wide in terror, or that your very palpable fear, or that the fact that
the tip of your feathers are beginning to trail smoke from how hot it is will somehow change her mind.
"I asked you a question," she says.
To which you can only reply with a whimpering, whispered…
"… please…"
…..
And to your absolute relief, you can see Princess Celestia's expression…
only slightly soften. Not because any peace has reached her mind, no. But only because the peak of rage that came to her passed, or at least diminished a fraction.
You can feel it in the room, even, seeing how the blistering heat is starting to diminish, and the terrible pressure that you were feeling, that threatened to push even you down to the ground, is beginning to recede.
Princess Celestia looks into your eyes only for a moment longer, and then her gaze moves to stare at the noble, who is now cowering behind you, shivering in fear even as he sweats profusely from the sweltering heat.
You know that he is not looking back at her. For all that he can feel her gaze on him, or perhaps
because he can feel her gaze, you still know that he has not yet moved from where he fell after throwing himself to the ground. His forelegs covering his face as he whimpers.
Still, Princess Celestia looks down at him only for a few more moments.
"Tomorrow you will be dust," and she says those words in a low tone, before she turns around to leave once again.
This time, thankfully, nopony dares to repeat the display that the cowering noble had made.
- - -
For several days, after she called for the nobles, nopony sees Princess Celestia.
She locked herself in her room. And nopony, not even you, dared to disturb her. Nopony even dared to knock on her door, not even to bring her a meal.
The guards stationed at her door, every now and then, would also report to you that they heard sounds of violence, coming from the other side of the door.
But still, several days pass before Princess Celestia summons you again.
And when you reach her, you can feel that the
boiling is… still there. However, you are thankful that you can feel that thin bubble around it once again.
You realize that to be something bad, of course. You realize that when a pony keeps something inside of them, especially something like that, then things are bound to end poorly at some point. However, you can't help but feel honestly relieved to see that she is… at least back in control of herself.
And what is more, she seems to be especially talkative. If only to explain to you what she will ask of you next.
"I am not a fool, Cadance," she says, and you suppress the wince that you always have when you realize how much Princess Celestia has changed. Even in the way she speaks. "What Equestria needs the most right now is stability and safety, not yet another radical and violent change. And for all their failings, the nobility is still the only thing keeping the current system running. They are still supplying Equestria with a modicum of stability."
You nod at her words, not really sure if you should say anything.
"And taking away all their titles and privileges would not have any effect, since they would still have their riches and the means to do what they wish. Besides, stripping them of their titles would also justify them in abandoning their own duties, so what little good things that they are still doing would quite literally vanish into thin air. And even though cutting off a sick leg might be the quickest solution, that kind of solution is still an amputation. I do not want my ponies to suffer any more pain than they already have. I will not have any of that."
"I… think I understand," you tentatively, and very hesitantly, say. "But Princess Celestia, you still took away their families' privileges. Won't that create conflict? Or at least cause dissatisfaction?"
"Yes, of course. But not in the way you are thinking. You see, Cadance, the ponies that I truly harmed with my decision were the family heirs, those who were situated to inherit the title of Noble as family heads once the current heads passed away. But until the current heads perish, absolutely nothing will change… Absolutely nothing will change officially, that is. But noble families are nothing if not protective of their future interests."
"What? What do you mean by that?"
"It is all about how they will react. How each individual player will react. Noble families, or at least the modern noble families, are basically rich families who have their power assured by a monopoly of sorts. Each family holds something like a right to explore a region, official power to govern a city, first rights over certain transactions, things like that. Rights that were twisted from their original purposes, but rights nonetheless. But the fact remains that they are all rich families, like a rich institutions or trade guild of sorts, that will lose those monopolies and obligations as soon as a certain old pony in their family passes away."
"But if they are guaranteed to lose their rights, what can they do? What future interests will they have to protect?"
"Well, again, it depends on what they decide to do from now on. Some families will have family heads that will work on preparing their heirs for when they die, so they can continue their family businesses even without the patents of nobility. Other families will see their heirs plotting and scheming against their family heads. Maybe to liquify as many assets as they can to ensure a fat inheritance, maybe to do something else. Other families may even see bloodier business, if the family head instead decides to burn all their riches and enjoy themselves as much as they can before they pass away. And I am sure those families will create particularly vengeful heirs, who might even expedite their elder's demise."
"But… Princess Celestia, won't that take too long? You are talking about things that will happen years… perhaps even decades down the line. Isn't that too much?" you ask, taking the opportunity that she is giving you, since your words have not yet been met with a reprimand. "If the system is broken now, why can't we fix it right now? Don't… doesn't the general populace needs it fixed now? Don't they
deserve to have it fixed now, after everything that just happened?"
"There is no immediate fix, Cadance," she says, her tone still level and disturbingly calm. "There is not immediate solution. Our kingdom was already hurt, and deeply so. This current generation, everypony that is alive right now, is already condemned to live the rest of their lives in the shadow of this wound, and under the lash of this pain."
She says that, and for all that you have been trying your best to control your expression you can't help but purse your lips at what she says.
"A quick and immediate change would only open more wounds, and there lies the risk, Cadance. Open too many wounds, and you bleed to death. We have barely survived this last blow, so I will not punish my ponies with another blow from my own hoofs."
She says that, and then she narrows her eyes, as if she is finally reaching the point that she wanted to reach.
"And besides, Cadance, if I were to disband all the nobles right now, what then? Who would I be able to trust, and I say trust to help me run a
kingdom, apart from you and me? I need a new system, Cadance, but I also need time to build it. And I intend to build is during the decades that the old nobles will take to die, expanding it to fill the spaces left every time another family head perishes."
She taps a hoof against the floor, and you are not sure if that is a mark of impatience, disappointment, or of something else.
Although you do feel the
boiling inside of her shudder slightly as she does that.
"And that is why I called you, Cadance. I have plans, and I need ponies I can trust to see them done. This last month I had you fly all over Equestria, in the wake of what happened, to put out the fires and make sure nothing truly fell apart, and you did my bidding well. But very soon we will need more hoofs, to do work that doesn't warrant the direct presence of an alicorn. Find me those ponies, Cadance. Bring them to me."
She says that, and then she begins to explain to you what exactly she has in mind. All the changes that she plans to do on Equestria, to reshape her kingdom after the tragedy that just befell it.
But more importantly, she explains to you in detail about one particular institution, that she will begin founding immediately. One particular group, that will have a function she sees as being immediately required. A project that will require a pony that can be absolutely trusted.
And when she says that, and asks you to find a pony to guide that group with all due haste,
one name immediately comes to your mind.
You tell Princess Celestia that name,
the one that you remember.
And to your surprise.
She remembers that name as well.
Velvet Cover's trait "Favored in Canterlot (Mi Amore Cadenza)" has evolved into "Above All Suspicion".
A Royal Summons has been sent to the Velvet estate in Ponyville
