It was a perfectly ordinary Tuesday morning when Her Royal Highness Dr. Twilight Sparkle, Most Faithful Student to Princess Celestia…, Element of Magic, Envoy of the Rainbow of Harmony, and Princess of Friendship, Teacher of Foals, MD, PhD, LLD, etc. rose from her royal slumber and looked out of her window to greet the morning sun as it crept over the horizon. The birds were singing, the grass was growing, and the ponies of Ponyville were doing whatever the heck it was that ponies did on Tuesdays. Her Royal Highness Dr. Twilight Sparkle, Most Faithful Student to Princess Celestia…, Element of Magic, Envoy of the Rainbow of Harmony, and Princess of Friendship, Teacher of Foals, MD, PhD, LLD, etc. knew that there was no obvious answer to this question, for it was a trick question: ponies did nothing on Tuesdays.

But Princesses were not like the common ponies, who were bad horses, and like everyday this Tuesday brought with it a mound of paperwork that Her Royal Highness Dr. Twilight Sparkle, Most Faithful Student to Princess Celestia…, Element of Magic, Envoy of the Rainbow of Harmony, and Princess of Friendship, Teacher of Foals, MD, PhD, LLD, etc. was greatly looking forward to completing. She smiled as she rose from bed, a familiar itch like a thorn in her wing, and leapt towards her desk.

And that was how Spike the Dragon, Number-One Assistant to Her Royal Highness Dr. Twilight Sparkle, Most Faithful Student to Princess Celestia…, Element of Magic, Envoy of the Rainbow of Harmony, and Princess of Friendship, Teacher of Foals, MD, PhD, LLD, etc., Saviour of the Crystal Empire, Three-Times Winner of Canterlot Comic-Con Cosplay Contest, Self-Proclaimed Heartthrob of Ponyville, found her hours later, quill scratching across flurries of paper as she signed contracts, decrees, and fanmail in triplicate. Knowing better than to disturb his friend and mentor as she worked, he left a hayburger on the desk beside her and slipped soundlessly out of the room (resisting the temptation to blare his bugle.)

It was at that moment that Her Royal Highness Dr. Twilight Sparkle, Most Faithful Student to Princess Celestia…, Element of Magic, Envoy of the Rainbow of Harmony, and Princess of Friendship, Teacher of Foals, MD, PhD, LLD, etc. came across a proposed decree that warranted her attention. She was not a fan of most everything she signed, but this one would forever be her favourite. It stood out from the other documents, because it was one which finally made some sense:

Proposal: That ponies be allowed to refer to each other in writing without the use of their full titles. It’s ridiculous. “Welcome Her Royal Highness Professor Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria, Bringer of the Sun, Vanquisher of Chaos, Ten-Times Winner of the Equestria National Donut-Eating Championships, Hero of Harmony, She Who United the Sovereign Kingdoms, Most Senior Troll, Headmistress, Lecturer, and Tutor at Her Own School for Gifted Unicorns, MD, PhD, LLD, etc.” only fits on a page because we don’t allow recursion. It would be so much easier if we could simply call her “Princess Celestia.” We would even be able to fit that on banners!

Her Royal Highness Dr. Twilight Sparkle, Most Faithful Student to Princess Celestia…, Element of Magic, Envoy of the Rainbow of Harmony, and Princess of Friendship, Teacher of Foals, MD, PhD, LLD, etc. had never signed a form in triplicate so quickly.