Canterlot! A breathtaking model of magical engineering that never failed to take Twilight's breath away whenever she visited.... even more so now that she was approaching the spectacular city by air... in a rather small golden chariot.... that doesn't actually have a seat... or a restraining harness... or a door or retractable safety rail that would close up the chariot once the passenger is aboard and soaring miles above the ground... the hard, unforgiving ground that the pilots, being strapped in to the heavy, ornate mode of transport would be unable to save one from should they schedule a high speed meeting with it. Come to think of it, all of the princess's personal transports seem to be lacking in the passenger safety department...
Twilight was jarred from her increasingly fatalistic thoughts when the royal death trap touched down upon the royal landing pad, a flat roofed tower that offered a sweeping, high vantage view of the city of Canterlot and an imposing, low vantage view of the castle proper. It was constructed for the princesses to depart from their personal chariots and reach the private areas of the castle quickly while the vehicles were flown away to the significantly less regal royal maintenance hanger.
It also, to Twilight's growing unease, lacked safety railing.
Scuttling ahead of her armored escort a bit faster then was perfectly princess-ly proper, Twilight entered the royal residence proper, took a moment to take a couple of deep breaths, looked back at her ever stoic guards sheepishly, did her best to attain a royal composer (which made her look rather stiff and goofy in motion) and set off for her meeting with Princess Celestia.
Twilight could see it now: Her grand debut into the Equestrian political system! Rarity would have insisted on a flashy entrance down a catwalk with an ornate dress, but Twilight was determined to prove herself a practical princess. She was going to walk in, no doubt the most anticipated of Celestia's many meetings for the day, lay her proposals down on the table in precise, intelligent language, earn a rousing chorus of cheers from the nobles and civil servants, and Celestia would give Twilight that proud look that Twilight associates with the greatest happiness in the world and a kinda weird sensation in her...
Twilight was jarred from her increasingly context-inappropriate thoughts when the royal guards accompanying her knocked strongly but politely upon the gold embroidered doors marking Celestia's residence. Twilight steeled herself, took a breath, closed her eyes and sallied forth...
To find herself in a remarkably cozy study. Not at all the grand hall of government function she had expected, but Celestia was present (seated at a rather plain table and munching on what seemed to be pastries) and a chair was extended, so Twilight took a set.
"Pastry?" Celestia offered, levitating one of the treat's in Twilight's direction.
"Of course Princess!" Twilight responded cheerfully, overjoyed that Celestia-senpai had noticed her today, and took the offering of baked goods into her magic fields... only for the treat to splatter on the table when it proved much heavier then expected.
"Apologies, Princess Twilight, I have neglected to inform you of this wonderful treat." Celestia responded with a small giggle. "These pastries each have a jars worth of honey, sugar and assorted jams compressed inside them. They're dense as rocks, but taste heavenly and are quite useful when you need to meet the energy needs of three ponies and handle mountains of paperwork." During this explanation, Celestia had cleared the spot by floating the plate of uneaten treats off the table, setting it ablaze for a few seconds with a spark of the horn, and then conjuring a fresh tablecloth to put the plate back on.
Twilight was now sweating bullets, all her grand proclamations and triple checked calculations forgotten. "So, what brings you to Canterlot, my faithful princess?" Celestia asked warmly.
Now in full panic attack mode, Twilight shakily levitated her papers out of her saddlebag while stuttering out an explanation. "Well, Princess, ever since my, I mean our, recent adventurers in the Everfree Forest, we, I mean I! I came up with this idea, the consequences of it should not effect my friends! Was thinking of a way to make Ponyville, uh, less monster attack prone? As well as boost national education standards... Not that those aren't good! Equestrian education is great! It made me, right?"
Celestia mercifully took the papers into her magic grip and began reading them, a clear signal that Twilight could stop speaking and compose herself. Unfortunately, this only served to wind Twilight up further, who obsessively scrutinized every micro-expression Celestia made, all of which read "failure" in Twilight's eyes.
The solar princess, accustomed to reading both political proposals and her student's writings, finished the proposal quickly. "So, you wish to completely develop the Everfree forest?"
"Not completely!" Twilight stated quickly, believing that remark to have been derogatory instead of a question. "At least, not right away, but if you think better..." The air was quiet for a moment, and when Celestia didn't give a response Twilight was waiting for, the youngest princess resumed. "The Everfree Forest is a menace, not just to public safety and our weather infrastructure, but to Equestria's academic progress!"
"Ever since Ponyville was founded, uncontrolled nature has regularly ruined lives and harvests, but not only has nopony attempted to remedy this, nopony has ever attempted to unlocks the secrets of Equestrian history lost to the forest! Your castle and the mountains of ancient knowledge within have been lost for hundreds of years, and the Tree of Harmony is completely beyond proper study down there!" Twilight's nervousness vanished as she fell into the rehearsed lines and began building momentum. "It's unacceptable that ponies have been injured and knowledge left to rot when the forest is within our power to change!"
Twilight telekinised a specific few papers out of her stack, and laid them out. "By utilizing my crystal tower as a base of operations I'm confident the Everfree's numerous unique flora and fauna can be documented and compared with recorded species, to see if the Everfree inhabitants are offshoots or simply distant populations. I've divided the forest into zones that can be developed with minimal impact on the forest whole. By cataloging each sector then developing them, we can ensure no unique species go extinct (I have some early sketches for a research facility the populations can be transferred to) and ensure every page of lost knowledge is found and duplicated. This project will last years, yes, but it will remove a national threat to Equestrian security, unearth hundreds of years of lost history, open up hundreds of acres to civilization and kick into action a national civil works project that will directly and indirectly employ thousands!"
Her speech concluded, Twilight rushed back to reality and gave Celestia a cheesy grin. The Princess of the sun was still for a moment, then gave one of her tiny smiles. "I think this is a wonderful project that is sure to benefit Equestria for years to come. I grant you unlimited access to the personal resources of the crown for use in this project, as well as permission to use my personal stamp when negotiating with independent businesses and other branches of the Equestrian government, effective immediately."
"Thank you your highness, I'll begin right away!" Twilight declared, leaving behind a copy of all the papers for Celestia while galloping out the study doors. As the doors shut behind the purple princess pony, Celestia's smile dropped a bit, but did not disappear. Oh Twilight, you really don't know what you're getting into. You're not the first person to challenge the Everfree, and you won't be the last. Then Celestia's face perked up. Still, this will be a valuable learning experience on the limits and functions of federal bureaucracy. After a few months and a couple of discoveries, Twilight will decide to cut her losses, and I'll cheer her up with a some similar stories from my past.
In the castle hallways, Twilight bristled along excitedly, buzzing along with ideas on how to see her project to completion. "No matter what comes along, I will see this through to completion. I'll prove myself a proper pony princess by not giving up, no matter what tries to stop me!"
A moment after this, Twilight was stopped because she happened to run into the large white body of Prince Blueblood, sending her papers all over the floor. "Oh, hello there Twilight. Fresh from another confidence inspiring meeting with auntie?" He commented dryly while catching the scattered papers with his magic.
"Blueblood! Good to see you again, how's your research going?" Twilight, frazzled and trying to grab all her papers back up.
"Well, I haven't had any wings burst out of my spine yet, but on the plus side I haven't had to move to a smelly boondock fully of idiots yet." Blueblood responded, earning him a glare from Twilight.
"You know I don't like you talking about my friends like that Blue."
"Yes, yes, and I don't like that the smartest pony since Starswirl the Bearded is out living a satisfying life in a healthy environment instead of spending her energy haggling with bureaucrats and politicians." Blueblood replied in voice both sarcastic and weary, before cracking a smile. "So what are you and auntie up to now?" he asked while levitating the cover page within reading distance. "Huh, developing the Everfree Forest. I suppose the polar ice tap has been completed the bridge to the moon will be started up next Tuesday?"
"It's not just about development Blue." Twilight explained. "The Everfree Forest is both mysterious and dangerous, not just on an individual scale but a national one. Its uncontrollable weather and abundance of monsters have caused incalculable damage across Equestrian history. My project will dismantle the Everfree Forest, preserving everything unique and wonderful within it while neutralizing it as a threat."
"Well, it has my complete support then." Blueblood replied. "Would you like my support to be delivered in the form of several passionate public speeches or a stockpile of blackmail material?"
Twilight grinned and roles her eyes at this. "That won't be necessary Blue. I've received free use of the crown's resources and Celestia's personal stamp!"
Blueblood stared at her blankly. "Twilight, you are aware that "the crown's resources" are mostly just cash stockpiles generated by auntie opening savings accounts every hundred years or so? That the crown directly commands very little in terms of horsepower and supplies?"
"It's okay though, I got the stamp!" Twilight reassured. "As long as I've got the official support of Princess Celestia and enough bits to compensate business and government offices for their time and work, they'll be happy to support this monumental undertaking!"
Blueblood continued to stare blankly, then snapped back to reality. "Well, if that's the case, I wish you the best of luck in your project Twilight. It will surely go down in Equestrian history! And now, I must get going." With that done, the two royals separated. Once he was a fair ways away, Blueblood made a mental note to himself: Definitely get her the blackmail material.