Celestia
Celestia groaned inwardly, and fought the urge to rub at her head in irritation, as she listened to the Chief of Trade, Money Bags, complaints. This was the fifth in a week, and one of hundreds in the past three years. And it was all over the same thing. Every. Single. Time.
"You simply must do something your highness. These....creatures are ruining a nearly three million bits a year business with these raids. This has been a severe hit upon our economy." The Money Bags whined.
"The science community has lost many valued subjects since these raids began. Without a proper supply of human test subjects, many possible life saving research tests had to be put on hold. There simply isn't a better creature more similar to a ponies in bodily workings then a human." The Chief of Science, Tesla Coil, said as he fixed his glasses and began pulling out a number of files concerning some matter or another.
Humans, it all went back to humans. More importantly one human.
Castus.
Ever since that man had escaped from Canterlot with those humans, he had become the biggest headache causer then anything else Celestia could think of. And she had to deal with Discord's insane moments of humor at times and that was saying something.
The reports had originally been a single human with a strange magic attacking caravans of human traders. Celestia knew it was Castus, though the originally reports had made her unsure if she should be angry at him or impressed. She found the capturing of humans to sell to zoos, pet stores and as cattle to certain races to be too similar to what the Valhrua had done to her own people in ages past. But, she also knew that human trade had over the course since Equestrias founding become a chunk of its economy. All she could do was set down laws to make sure the humans were at least treated decently.
There had been no casualties against the ponies, though some were roughed up and not always without an injury. But all the attacks went the same way. Castus would appear, attack the traders and steal away the humans. Of course, any attempts at trying to track him had been futile; no doubt from a spell.
But then the reports had taken a more shocking and worrying tone. When humans had joined in the attacks, clad in what was best described as rough hide and leather armor and wielding stone head spears and arrows. And then they had begun attacking zoos and research facilities. And always, Castus was at the forefront of the attacks.
Still, though some ponies had suffered more severe injuries so far no pony had been killed. But the simple fact that now humans seemed to be wielding weapons and acting with tactics of ambush and hit and run, made Celestia worry.
'Perhaps he is preparing an attack. Is he trying to re-forge the Valhruan empire? By the Sun, how many humans could he have armed?' Celestia thought.
But first, she had to deal with these three. She couldn't think with all three of them adding to her headache. The three chiefs of staff looked at Celestia as she held up her hoof for them to stop; and thankfully they all went silent.
"I understand your worries. Know that I and my sister are working around the clock to apprehend Castus and his followers. Be patient and trust me when I say that all of this will be sorted out. I thank you for your time. You may go now."
The two chiefs seemed to want to say more, but they bowed and said, "Thank you your highness," and left. Celestia then turned to her advisor Kibitz.
"Is that the last of the audiences Kibitz?" She asked the elderly stallion.
Kibitz glanced at a schedule in his hooves, before looking up to her, "Yes Princess. That is the last of the audiences for the morning, we are three minutes ahead of schedule today before you meet with General Ironside to discuss the increased patrols on the roads and the moving of the thirty first regiment.
Celestia nodded, "Well, then let us-"
But before she could say anything else, the doors to the throne room were pushed open and in walked a pony that Celsetia truly did not want to deal with right now.
"Dear auntie. You simply must do something!" Prince Blueblood complained, brushing back his mane once with a heavy sigh.
Celestia had to try really hard to not grind her teeth, "Yes dear nephew...what is bothering you?"
"Bothering me? Bothering me?" Blueblood said, "This is perhaps the worse. possible. thing."
'That's what you said last time when you had run out of your mane conditioner.' Celestia thought, fighting back the urge to facehoof.
"Its these humans! They are ruining everything!" Blueblood said, "I had a pure bred Stalliongrad Brisker for order weeks ago. I was a sure win in the Canterlot Human show with that human and it cost a great many bits. But now I'm receiving word that the Brisker won't be coming because the merchants who were bringing it to Canterlot lost it in one of those raids from that Cactus creature."
"Castus." Celestia said, correcting her idiot nephew.
"Yes, yes. But do you see my predicament? That was thirty thousand bits down the drain!" Blueblood moaned, and placed a hoof to his head in dismay.
Celestia placed a hoof to her head, 'Why me? Why me?' She thought in dismay. Even Kibitz was rubbing his head and shaking it.
"Yes...it is quiet the tragedy my dear nephew. And I am soon to be addressing the matter of these human raids with my military advisors soon, so-" Celestia began, only for Blueblood to cut her off.
"Oh yes, perhaps I may join you. I was top of my class in the Militray Academy of Equestria, I am sure to have an eye for details missed by others." Blueblood said, puffing his chest.
Celestia doubted that, but if she said no he would no doubt complain and just come along anyway. She saw that Kibitz was pointing at the schedule now, and Celestia sighed and stood. She didn't bother to answer Bluebloods request as she and Kibitz made their way to the war room.
Blueblood sadly, also followed. She hoped he would have left or see something shiny and be distracted by it long enough to lose him.
Of course, Blueblood just stayed, blabbing on about his expertise in military matters and protocol. Celestia frankly had learned to tune him out when he got like this, otherwise she was sure she might have strangled the irritating prince long ago.
Entering into the war room, she saw her advisors and officers were already there. The gathered ponies bowed their heads, thumping their hooves against their breastplates.
"Your majesties." They said.
"At ease." Celestia said, "I trust we all understand why we are here."
"Yes your highness," One of the officers, Ironside, said as he turned to a map on the central table, "We have reason to believe-"
"Uh, if I may interject but exactly what is this meeting for? I feel I was left out of the official proceedings before this meeting." Blueblood said as he stepped over to the table, and picked up one of the pony-like figures from the map.
"Don't touch that." One of the other officers said, taking the figure and putting it back.
The officers all looked to Celestia, and she sighed as she noted the look in their eyes.
'They all want to know why he is here.' She thought, and silently mouthed.
"Officers, Blueblood here has....graced us...with his additional....help for this meeting." Celestia said, trying hard to sound polite.
The officers all looked to Blueblood, who was busy looking at the map and tilting another figure this way and that.
"I see," Ironside said, "Well....I suppose we can inform the prince so that he is not left in the lark for this important council. Stone Wall?"
Officer Stone Wall nodded and began leafing through a number of papers, "In the past few weeks, reports from our scouts and patrols have for the most part been unsuccessful in tracking the human raiders. They seem to appear and disappear out of nowhere, leaving barely a trace of where they have gone. We believe this is a magical ability of their leader Castus, though we are still unsure of the full extent of this ability."
"However, with our scout numbers have increased, we have come across new information that has proven vital. Not a week ago, one of our scouts reported to seeing a large body of humans moving south across the western plains at the edge of our borders. The humans seemed to be moving in a migratory path toward a destination we still do not know. We believe that this sort of nomadic movement is the reason why we have never been able to pinpoint a base as the humans never had one in the first place."
"Our scout did not get a good look, so we can't be sure of this groups number, but he roughed a guess of at least 100 humans; more or less." Stone Wall shifted through the pages of the reports.
"Only a hundred? Well I don't see what the worry is." Blueblood said, looking up from his fiddling with the map.
Ironside sighed, "Prince Blueblood, it is possible this group is only one of dozens of equal or smaller sizes. This Castus individual has been raiding traders and zoos all over Equestria to no doubt have a greater number then this one group."
Blueblood blinked, and seemed to pause a moment to think on that before finally saying, "Oh yes. Just as I was thinking. Do carry on." He nodded his head and crossed his hooves, a smug look on his face.
Celestia rolled her eyes, and ran a hoof through her mane. With all this business with Castus and humans, Celestia shuddered at the thought of having to deal with Bluebloods episodes of false drama and smugness. There had to be a way to get him out of her mane...at least for awhile till this whole affair was finished.
'I'll have gray hairs in my mane if I don't' She thought.
"Despite finding this one group, we have no idea where they are headed. Our scout had attempted to track them, but one day they were just...gone. Vanished."
"What?" Blueblood said in disbelief, "How can one hundred simple minded humans simply vanish. This scout is merely incompetent."
"It is Castus. No doubt a spell of some kind." Celestia said. She knew for a fact that Stone Wall's nephew had been the scout in question and decided to curb things before her idiot nephew ended up further insulting one of her best officers.
Stone Wall grumbled something, but continued, "Yes. This is what we suspected, and so while we did lose track of the human group, we at least were able to give ourselves a location of where they may be based." He pointed a hoof on the map, where the figures of ponies to designate the regiments near the suspected location, "Our best hope for now is to make a sweep through the area and see if the humans maintain any sort of presence there."
Celestia nodded and sighed. It wasn't the best option, but it was the only one they had right now. She would give Castus this, he was a skilled strategies. Equestria had never had to deal with a mobile like enemy, especially as mobile as he could make his forces. This would not be an easy campaign, and could take months to-
'Oh that's good!' Celestia then thought. The idea she had was so good she could kiss Castus for making it possible. She knew just how she could get Blueblood out of her mane.
"So, lets send the troops out and round these....creatures...up. I have an appointment at the spa in an hour." Blueblood said, now beginning to lose interest in the meeting.
'If he had any at all.' Celestia thought before speaking.
"Actually dear nephew there is one more important matter to attend to. That of leading commander of the regiments sent; I was thinking you are just the pony for the job."
"ME! HIM!" Blueblood, Ironside and Stone Wall all said at the same time, looking at her with wide eyes. The officers in particular looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
Celestia slowly nodded, "But of course. You said so yourself, you have such....experience with military matters. And I know you must simply be bored with merely lounging about the castle. You are after all an adventurer at heart are you not?"
The officers were silent, jaws hanging open. Blueblood stammered a bit before saying, "But...but auntie!"
Celestia cut him off, not allowing him time to think, "And think of it young nephew," Celestia walked over and placed a hoof around his shoulders and extended one of her hooves out, "You will be the leading pony to bring these humans to heel. You will be a hero in the eyes of thousands of ponies. One that is sure to be greatly rewarded for his part in securing Equestria's long standing peace."
Blueblood's ears twitched at the sound of reward and hero, and muttered, "That bounty is high for Cactus person."
Blueblood took a deep breath, puffing out his chest, "Well the position is big, but I accept. I am after all, the only qualified pony for such a job. I shall begin packing my things immediately. Come Kibitz, we have much to do."
And so, Blueblood began to walk off, and dragging Kibitz behind him who protested over his schedule to the prince. Naturally of course, Blueblood was already lost in his own little world to not hear.
Celestia waited till the doors were closed, before turning and letting out a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh thank the sun. I was worried he would manage to think of an excuse." Celestia said before looking to her officers.
They all were giving her looks of disapproval despite their best attempts to look civil.
"Your highness...I don't mean to question your....wisdom...but is this.....wise?" Stone Wall asked.
"Putting the Prince in charge of a delicate operation like this does not seem to be the best option." Ironside said.
Celestia sighed, "Yes....but I cannot focus on my other duties if I must listen to him complain about a minor inconvenience one more time. And I won't send him on a monthly deployment in Stalliongrad with the guard again. He spent nearly fifteen thousand bits of the crowns own money on frivolity. At least out there he can be kept out of mischief...and out of my purse."
The officers opened their mouths to say something, but closed them with a sigh.
"As you wish your highness." They both said.
Celestia nodded, though she felt guilty, "Well..I suppose that leaves only one last bit of business." She turned toward a small chest by the door and opened it. She took out two pieces of straw and held them in her hoof so that the tops were equal length.
Turning back to her officers Celestia said, "Well...let us see who will be second in command then." And held out her hoof.
While this was perhaps not the best way to decide upon a second in command, Celestia trusted both these ponies to be skilled and knowledgeable where Blueblood was.....Blueblood.
Besides....it was the only system that any of her military staff would accept when she sent Blueblood out with them to get him out of her hair in the past.
Ironside whispered a prayer, and Stone Wall rubbed at a four leaf clover amulet he wore under his military garb before both reached for a straw.