There were a great deal of things that fascinated the Princess Celestia, high ruler of Equestria. Many of them would seem odd to anyone who didn't truly know the royal white alicorn with the rainbow mane, but it mattered little to her – she was in a position where she could seem odd as much as she liked, and get away with it too.
For example, she loved to watch her subjects just milling about on their daily business. People fascinated her greatly – especially what they did and why – and it was only a few years after the beginning of her reign that she successfully mastered a spell which would allow her to observe them doing so without everypony stopping what they were doing just to see her.
Another one of those things was administration. Where others saw numbers and figures and rules, she saw potential, prosperity and order. As others saw her weekly referendums as a waste of time, she saw the opportunity to hear something new, to see ordinary pony-folk make a difference in the wide scheme of things.
The referendums were held in a special building, built especially for the task. Celestia had named the building 'Parler-ment', from the French word to speak and the suffix to take action. She had thought it a particularly clever word at the time, and one that summed up the intended function of her referendums fairly well – they were so she could take action from the people's discussion of various facts and ideas.
But so few ponies spoke French that there weren't very many who actually appreciated what the phrase meant, and most of them were in the upper-upper class. She probably should have called it a "speaking house" and have been done with it – but unfortunately, the name was too well known to change now.
As much as she enjoyed hearing the people's opinions, an unfortunate side-effect of these things were arguments. And that was one thing she did not find at all pleasant.
"The current position of the Canterlot to Manehattan Main Trunk Line is unacceptable!" said Philfy Rich, a brown pony whose keen sense of business was only matched by his desire for monetary gain. "As it stands, I am having to pay twice that of my competition to cart supplies from Ponyville Town to the far outskirts, where the train station is, and back – all the while, the Supply Hut in Manehattan only has to send it two blocks!"
"We're not here to cater to the whims of – hmph! – corporations," intoned a gray pony on the other side of the ledgers, giving a snide glance at the pony's hip, upon which was adorned the image of several bags of money. "Public money should only be applied for the public good!"
"Excuse me, Abigale, but if you think Mr. Rich is the only reason I'm requesting the realignment, you're sadly mistaken," rebutted Mayor Mare, the yellow-haired mayor of Ponyville. "Cheerilee here has some important testimony that I think you should hear."
"Right, it's also putting a strain on the amount of field trips we can do down at the school," said the purplish-red pony educator. "If we walk, the children end up too tired to properly do anything. If we take the cart, it costs three times as much as it would – and with the price of hay going up, that cost is only going to increase."
"What use are field trips, anyway?" the gray pony snorted. "Apart from having little fillies and colts running around instead of learning, any value could easily be obtained from a book!"
"As an educator, I've learnt that books can only take things so far. Field trips on related subjects help reinforce what is taught – often young children need something physical, something real to attach their thoughts and knowledge to. To give an example: would the size of the moon seem more real if it were a number in a book, or if you went there yourself?"
She nodded her head, as if she felt she had made her point – but the next moment, she'd realised exactly what she had said, and she quickly glanced to the Princess.
"Uh, n-n-not to suggest there was any kind of, uh, threat involved, Your Highness-"
Princess Celestia sighed. "That's quite alright, dear." She turned her head to Mayor Mare. "You may continue your case."
"It's not just children and Mr. Rich," the mayor of Ponyville continued. "The Cakes, who as I'll remind you are only small business owners, are finding it difficult to pay the costs of sending their wares abroad – and with a baby on the way, that's one extra worry they don't need. The postage overall has had to gone up to subsidise sending mail to others far away. And I've heard personally from my constituents that some of them have missed travelling to be with family for holidays, weddings, even birthdays – just because of the cost! We need a station much closer to Ponyville. The people need it."
The pony named Abigale glared across the room, and then adjusted her glasses.
"Uh- we're already spending enough money upgrading the tracks in preparation for the steamification of the engines, not to mention double-tracking the freight lines. Not only is a deviation unnecessary, it would also be too expensive to fit within the budget."
Celestia nodded. "Fine point. I am quite inclined to agree with you."
"But-" stammered the Mayor.
"Thank you," Abigale said, putting her nose in the air. "Now, if that'll be all-"
"Not quite," said Celestia, smiling. "Since you seem to care so much about the fine detail of this plan, I am putting you in charge of it."
Abigale paused, and then laughed. "Ha ha, good one, your Highness! Now, if you'll excuse me-"
"I'm not joking, Abigale."
"You're actually going to go ahead with it?"
"Not only that, but I am going to make it up to you to find the funding. After all, I wouldn't dream of putting anyone but my most trusted minister and accountant in charge of such an important project. I'm sure you'll do a perfect job."
"Bu-bu-"
Abigale shook her head.
"How am I going to do any of that?"
"I'm sure you'll find a way," said Celestia. "But I'd suggest listening to the ponies. They might have some good ideas."
"They might have some good ideas!" Abigale repeated in a snide, low voice – evidently, she had thought it too low for the Princess to hear.
"Sorry, what did you just say? I didn't quite catch that."
"Uh- nothing, your Highness!" she stammered sheepishly. "It is, of course, a great honour to be chosen for this task, as always, and I shall try and complete it to the best of my ability."
"That's good to hear, Abigale. Now, unless there are any more matters to attend to before this council, I think we should declare this session dealt with."
"All rise!" ordered one of the guards, his wings unfurling in salute, his golden armor clinking and clanking. "By declaration of Her High Majesty, Ruler of Eqeuestria and all Her Lands Forthwith, the Princess Celestia, this meeting is now finished. You may now leave."
As various ponies filtered through the doors, Abigale looked back at the Princess, a very apprehensive look on her face. Celestia smiled and nodded her encouragement, and the pony turned back and headed for the exit.
Celestia knew that it would most likely be tough on Abigale, no doubt hindered further by a major stubborn streak, but she was tough on her for a reason, for the same reason she tried to challenge many a pony in the land of Equestria – so she could be the best she could be.
And besides, she also knew that for someone to see something that was right in front of her nose, sometimes they needed a little push.
Abigale paced around her room, her mind racing at the thought of what was to come. She was furious.
No, furious wasn't the right word. She could never be furious at the Princess – after all, it had been she who had trusted her as her minister in the first place, and she was only doing what she felt was right. Furious implied anger, and while she definitely didn't feel happy about the whole ordeal, she didn't really feel angry either.
A word floated through her mind, and she seized upon it. She was frustrated.
Surely Celestia could see the logistical nightmares a project of this scale would have! Apart from the fact that funding it with cash from the coffers would mean taking money away from other more important projects, as she recalled Ponyville was surrounded, on different sides, by several mountains, a humongous forest, a river and at least several hundred acres of farmland! How she was going to even get the line into Ponyville, let alone complete it, was mind boggling enough.
And if things weren't bad enough, eventually she'd have to deal with… her.
She could not stand Ms. Mare at all – even at the Canterlot Academy, she had disliked her immensely – and it had come as no surprise to her that she had gotten a cosy job as mayor of some rundown town in the middle of the sticks.
She took a deep breath. She should calm down and think – after all, Celestia had entrusted bigger things than this to her before. This was her special talent, the very reason the cutie-mark image on her hind legs was an abacus – her ability to solve problems that seemed difficult from the outset.
Realigning a train line through a village? She smiled at her silly worries – why, it should be a piece of cake!