Mother To The Nation (Celestia, Lactation, Incomplete)


                                            >It was over.

                                            >The battle had raged across Equestria, but finally peace had been restored.

                                            >And all it had cost Celestia was her palace, the Elements of Harmony... and her sister.

                                            >The painful decision had been made to relocate the capital to the burgeoning fort town of Canterlot.

                                            >It was central to the kingdom and more easily defensible should the enemies of Equestria choose to take advantage of the chaos in the wake Nightmare Moon's rebellion.

                                            >(Even now, Celestia couldn't bear to think about the instigator of so much strife as her sister Luna.)

                                            >The thing that gnawed at her the most was how she had failed to head off her sister's madness.

                                            >She had been so distracted with the demands of statecraft that Luna's melancholy had escaped her until it had been too late.

                                            >Now, that same statecraft demanded her full attention and, frankly, she was glad for the distraction.

                                            >The rebellion's deprivations had played havoc with the country.

                                            >Displaced peasants, having no where else to go, were gathering outside the newly formed capital.

                                            >As the summer closed the now singular ruler had very difficult choices ahead.

                                            >She could delay winter and artificially lengthen the growing season.

                                            >It wouldn't be hard to do.

                                            >But she knew that the long term consequences could be disastrous.

                                            >Without the hard freezes of winter to reset the biological clock of the flora and fauna, the ecosystem might be thrown into turmoil worthy of Discord.

                                            >And without the replenishing of the snowpack up in the mountains, her subjects would face possible drought the following year.

                                            >No, winter had to come.

                                            >This was why the people of Equestria had entrusted their leadership to her; she saw past the petty demands of the here and now and ruled for the long term.

                                            >In some cases the VERY long term.

                                            >However, her current troubles weren't tomorrow, they were today.

                                            >Normally there were abundant food stores prepared against such times of need, but her sister's followers had made sure that those assets were useless now, having stolen them and putting what remained to the torch.

                                            >Her only silver lining at this point was that the worst of the traitors and agitators had been exposed during the civil war and were now mostly dealt with.

                                            >Although, that wasn't to say she still didn't have people to worry about.

                                            >Certain members of the court, while not openly seditious, were quite opportunistic and since the uprising had taken advantage of the situation to draw influence to themselves.

                                            >Still, those petty jacknapes could be dealt with, kept under control, as long as Celestia could deal with the most pressing issues of her subjects.

                                            >And right now the most vital was food.

                                            >Conventional aid was not going to come in this situation; the price for help from other nations would almost certainly be too high.

                                            >Equestria would have to look to itself and Celestia would have to look to herself.

                                            >So the tireless princess took to studying her spellbooks and grimiors in the dark hours of the night, while her exhausted subjects slept.

                                            >By candlelight she poured over tomes full of precious knowledge that she had managed to keep out of the clutches of Nightmare Moon and her cult.

                                            >She knew that there was no magic to make food magically appear, but perhaps there was something that could be useful...

                                            >"Highness?" a concerned voice spoke from the study door. "You're at it again, I see."

                                            >The princess looked up to see a familiar face. "Yes, Banner. I just wanted to go over this last book before retiring."

                                            >Proud Banner, Captain of the Royal Guard shook his head ruefully.

                                            >"I know you don't need as much rest as us mere mortals. However, I am tasked with ensuring your well-being. In other words," the soldier smirks, "get some sleep, Princess."

                                            >Anyone listening in on their exchange might have considered the captain to be overbold in making such a demand of his liege.

                                            >Celestia, however, replied with good humor. "Yes, Nurse Banner. I will right away."

                                            >Both of them knew she was lying, so the tall man simply shook his head in defeat.

                                            >"Very well. Good night Highness. If you need anything Archer and Far Caster are right outside."

                                            >"Thank you, Captain. You be sure and get some rest too."

                                            >Celestia smiled after the departing officer.

                                            >Proud Banner was one of her most valuable assets.

                                            >After the previous captain had proven himself a coward during the early days of the insurrection, Celestia's had scrambled to find a commander to lead her troops.

                                            >She had found that commander in Proud Banner, a line officer who's bravery in battle and tactical thinking had earned him one field commission after another.

                                            >The nobles howled when she had made such a low-born fellow her leader of the armed forces, but Banner was loyal and intelligent and Celestia would take one of him over a hundred high-born fops.

                                            >It was a happy coincidence that the rough-hewn soldier was also a gentleman through and through.

                                            >True, his knowledge of ettiquette might be a little lacking, but he understood courtesy and honor and those meant more to the princess than how to word a propper greeting.

                                            >Celestia was grateful to have such a man acting as her shield; it gave her time to think and plan and try to find solutions to the nation's problems.

                                            >Turning back to the book in front of her, the ruler continued her search for anything that might alleviate the suffering of her people.

                                            >The text she was studying this night had been penned by the famed Starswirl the Bearded.

                                            >While he was known for creating many potent spells, what most people didn't realise was that Starswirl had actually spent most of his life researching older magic spells and either finished them or improved upon them.

                                            >This book in particular was his summary of a very ancient branch of the mystic arts dealing with fertility and life manipulation.

                                            >Oh, how her sister had wanted this tome!

                                            >The madwoman had been certain that she could use the knowledge to breed flora and fauna that would thrive during her endless night.

                                            >Of course, such a thing was impossible, as the magics required to maintain such living things would be enormous.

                                            >She shook her head.

                                            >Thinking about her poor sister wouldn't do anyone any good right now.

                                            >She could grieve later.

                                            >Thus far, the recipes and techniques catalogued were of no use. >They dealt primarily with animal husbandry, and while helping bunny rabbits have larger litters might be an interesting experiment, it wouldn't produce much more food in the short term.

                                            >What she really needed was something that would be viable immediately.

                                            >Reading on, she saw a curious footnote to a recipe for a potion dealing with a common farm yard complaint.

                                            >She flipped to the cross-referenced page and examined it.

                                            >It was a little surprising to her that there would be such a link between the two sections because this new chapter dealt with morphic magic; spells that could shape the body and transform the mind.

                                            >Here was another reason Nightmare Moon had wanted this book and why this particular copy was the only one in existence.

                                            >This magic could be seriously misused.

                                            >Reading through the page she determined that the spell was a sort of morphic enchantment designed to feed off the user's own internal magic reserves.

                                            >But how it related to the previous recipe was beyond...

                                            >She paused, her thoughts clicking into place.

                                            >She read it again.

                                            >Her eyes went wide, then she chuckled a little.

                                            >"Oh Starswirl, you old pervert."

                                            >The next morning Captain Banner entered Princess Celestia's chambers.

                                            >The new palace that was being planned was still years away from being finished and so, for now the royal court was making do with the hastily refurbished rooms of Fort Canterlot.

                                            >"Thank you for coming Captain, you have arranged for the guards to be stationed as I ordered?"

                                            >"Yes, Highness." he couldn't keep the concern out of his voice.

                                            >His ruler had asked for discreet layers of security to be placed around her room prior to the meeting with her subordinate.

                                            >It was a protocol they had often used to thwart any spies that might try to listen in on their strategy meetings, but it had not been used since the end of the war.

                                            >"Please have a seat Captain. Would you care for some tea?"

                                            >If it had been anyone else he would have refused, but the pouring and serving of tea had become a ritual of sorts between them.

                                            >It created a moment of calm before the two would go on to discuss weighty matters.

                                            >Not that the sharing of tea was always a precursor to life and death decisions.

                                            >Just most of the time.

                                            >Once the steaming beverages had been poured and they had both taken a sip, Celestia got down to business.

                                            >"I think I may have found a solution to the short term food emergency." she stated bluntly.

                                            >The soldier started.

                                            >It was unlike the princess to be so direct.

                                            >He waited for the rest of it.

                                            >"I found a spell. One that I believe will tide us over until the spring when we can start foraging again."

                                            >"That's wonderful," Proud Banner said. "Now what's the catch?"

                                            >Celestia laughed, her voice ringing like crystal.

                                            >"I knew you'd see through me. The catch, my dear captain is that you are going to have to rule in my stead for a little while."

                                            >She laughed again at the look of shock that had come over the captain's face.

                                            >"Oh, not officially. I won't be relinquishing my authority. But you will have to make decisions on my behalf and I'm afraid you won't be able to do it openly."

                                            >"Not do it openly? What are you planning to do?" he asked.

                                            >"Have you ever heard of the cornucopia?"

                                            >"Sure, it's a horn of plenty. Did you find a way to make one?"

                                            >Celestia smirked. "No, nothing quite so grand. But most people don't remember the legend behind the cornucopia. Acording to the most ancient of myths, when the young king of the gods was born he had to be spirited away. He was hidden on an island and nursed by the immortal goat Amalthea."

                                            >"Alright..." Proud Banner was completely lost at this point.

                                            >"The cornucopia was one of Amalthea's horns that the young king accidentally broke off, a testament to how abundant her bounty was. So abundant that she could give enough milk to suckle the future ruler of the universe himself."

                                            >"What is this spell, Highness?" Captain Banner asked in a fearful whisper.

                                            >"It is a combination of a potion that helps mothers produce suck for their offspring and a spell that channels the user's own magic into whatever processes the body needs. Be it strength, speed... or producing enough milk for a nation."

                                            >Captain Banner sat in his chair, dumbstruck.

                                            >"You're going to..."

                                            >"I don't have many options at this point. Winter is on it's way and we have no food stores. I've already started setting up a supply chain and will be talking with Rose Dusk and Willow after we're done here."

                                            >He still wasn't sure what to make of all this, but the pragmatist in Banner started asking questions anyway.

                                            >"So when you said I would be ruling in your stead, you meant that I would be representing you while you're, um, busy with, uh..." he waved his hand helplessly, unsure of how to continue.

                                            >"Busy producing milk?" she offered, "In part. And that will be the official line. But the truth of the matter is that you will likely be making a great number of decisions for me and passing them off as my own."

                                            >"Why is that? Does the spell require your complete attention?"

                                            >"That's a good guess, but it's actually the complete opposite."

                                            >"Then I don't see why you need me as anything more than a messenger."

                                            >The princess tried to give the simplest of explanations.

                                            >"Once I've cast the spell and drunk the potion, my body will draw upon my mystic link with the sun. I'll take the power I receive and turn it into milk. I won't have to give it a second thought. My body will do it naturally."

                                            >"Again, I'm sensing a catch here." he reasoned.

                                            >"Indeed. The problem with the spell is it makes huge demands on certain parts of the body. That means that the rest of me will get thrown out of balance. The longer I'm under the influence of this enchantment, the more my judgement and emotions will suffer."

                                            >Now it was clear to Banner what the princess needed him to do.

                                            >She couldn't afford to look weak in front of the nobles at this critical time, so he would have to act as a shadow ruler in order to keep up appearances.

                                            >He would make policy and she would simply sign what he handed her.

                                            >To say the captain was humbled was an understatement.

                                            >"Highness, are you sure there isn't a minister that you could call upon to do this? I'm just a soldier."

                                            >"Running a country isn't so different from commanding an army, Captain. The main difference is you can't hand out corporal punishment when one of your followers backtalks you."

                                            >Banner had to laugh at that.

                                            >Celestia gave her captain a sincere look.

                                            >"Proud, you've worked with me for years now. You know my mind as well as anyone alive, especially on matters of policy. For goodness sakes, there are even times where you finish my thoughts for me! If there is anyone I can trust with this, it's you."

                                            >Banner slumped in his chair a little and sighed.

                                            >"Of course I'll do it, Princess. I'm just nervous about this whole enterprise."

                                            >Celestia stood up, indicating he should do the same.

                                            >"As am I. But if you weren't here, I don't even think this would be an option."

                                            >She smiled and the soldier sighed.

                                            >For his princess, he'd do anything.

                                            >Even deceive his country.

                                            >The next morning Princess Celestia called her council together along with prominent members of the court and laid out her plan.

                                            >She would seclude herself and undertake producing enough suck for the hungry refugees that had gathered from the hinterlands.

                                            >The reaction, of course was disbelief and, in some cases, outrage.

                                            >Most of the comments centered around whether or not she could actually produce enough milk to satisfy the populace.

                                            >She assured them she could and that for the most part it would be a supplement to normal food rations.

                                            >Others complained that Captain Banner would be her representative, saying it should be a senior member of her council.

                                            >To this, Celestia answered by reminding them of the soldiers unfailing service to his country and that she trusted him with the security of her correspondence as well as her life.

                                            >They was still grumbling after that, Celestia though, ignored it and concluded the convocation.

                                            >Heralds were sent forth to proclaim the news and the princess retired to her chambers to begin her preparations.

                                            >That evening, Rose Dusk sought out the captain of the guard.

                                            >"Milady is ready," she informed him. "She would like your presence."

                                            >"Of course." Banner followed the older servant.

                                            >Rose Dusk had served the crown for the better part of thirty years.

                                            >It had broken her heart almost as much as Celestia when Luna rebelled.

                                            >She was to be one of the two servants who would tend the princess directly during her seclusion.

                                            >The other one, Willow, was waiting for them in the royal chambers.

                                            >She was younger than Rose Dusk and quite different in temperament.

                                            >Where Dusk was always bustling and fussing, Willow was measured and even.

                                            >Willow was also learned in the magical arts and it was she who was going to prepare the potions that would sustain her mistress and, ultimately, bring her back to her normal state.