//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: Off Duty 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

Celestia enjoyed riding in the front of the car this time. The view was much better and seeing the road rushing at her was quite exhilarating. She glanced at Gregory, who was still smiling. The alicorn made a face. Her awakening had been most rude, she had decided. Slave or not, she did not deserve that kind of treatment! Even if she did technically eat his hedge. Slightly.

The human had woken before the exhausted pony. He had touched the tip of her nose. And Celestia had licked the spot. So he did it again, with the same result. The jerk had then spent several minutes doing that to her, until Celestia had woken up enough to realize what was happening. She gave him an icy glare, huffed and stormed out.

Undoubtedly it made his bed too cold and boring to stay in it, because the human joined her in the living room shortly after. He had apologized, after a fashion, but it would take more time for her to fully forgive that horrible transgression.

Thinking about the torture most cruel and unusual, however, reminded her of a real problem. "Uh, Gregory? I just thought of something."

He glanced over, but then returned his eyes to the road. It was a definite drawback of the car - it couldn't drive itself, like a good, honest, pony-pulled carriage. Not to mention that it couldn't even fly!

"What is it?" the human asked.

"Maybe it's not the best idea for me to be seen like this."

He thought it over. "You mean without your clothes? Should we go back and fetch them? I thought you said ponies didn't wear anything."

"No, not that. You might have noticed that I have both wings and a horn? Have you ever wondered about it?"

Again the man glanced in her direction, even though he had had time to thoroughly inspect her on many occasions. "I'll admit to a polite interest," he said carefully.

"Well, it's a rare thing. So, most of the ponies we might meet will... have heard of me. I don't want this information - that I'm on Earth - to spread."

Now the human frowned. "Why not? Did Mr. Plain lie to me after all, and you really are some kind of fugitive?"

Celestia gave him a deadpan stare. What kind of attorney was he if he couldn't even inspect her purchasing papers and contract?"Nothing like that! I'm more worried about humans."

It was a small lie. If her subjects, the ones on Earth, learned that their Princess was a slave, it would cause problems. She didn't want them to lose heart.

"Due to our... rarity, We are worth a lot of money. Maybe you've noticed, you know... when you were purchasing me?"

"It was a bit steep, yes. But Mr. Plain assured me you're worth every cent. I'm still not convinced, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

The mare stuck her tongue out at the human, who chuckled a little.

"Well, you got me really cheap, in fact. There's only four alicorns in all of Equestria. That's ponies with both wings and a horn. Some... collectors, I guess... would pay a lot more for one of us." She hoped it was vague enough. With luck, the human would think it was only a biological feature, and not a sign of her status. After all, why should it carry any kind of social standing? The humans didn't, as far as Celestia had seen, have races like ponies. There were no 'pegasi humans', or 'unicorn humans'. Racial strife probably didn't exist on Earth.

"Okay, so you don't want word about you to spread, because you're afraid of..." the human said and waited for her to finish the sentence.

"... of foal-napping. With you, there's a contract. I know what to expect. If criminals got me, who knows what could happen. I'd much rather stay in your house, you know?"

"You mean kidnapping?"

The pony had heard the expression. It put her in mind of goats, but that was how the humans said it. She nodded. "Same thing."

Luckily, Rawsthorne didn't probe further. But he did raise a valid point: "So, what do you propose to do about it?"

There was a very easy solution. "I'll change. Remember when you first saw me and I looked like an earth pony. Smaller, and cyan-colored? I can change like that again, whenever we're out among people."

Perhaps there was a trace of doubt, but Rawsthorne shrugged and went along. "Okay, sounds simple enough."

"Oh, and you shouldn't call me Celestia. I'm known by name. If you mention that near a pony, they'd get very... curious."

"Fine, fine. What do you-"

"Supple Branch."

"Good, good. It's all a bit shady, but if you insist."

The mare breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid the human would ask many more questions, or proclaim the scheme silly. She was grateful that he was willing to play along with almost no begging or coercion.

"But you'll have to do something for me when we're back home."

Oh. OH! The pony kept her eyes firmly on the road, but she swallowed a nervous lump. Here it came. She had thought about it - sex with humans - but the mare was still quite undecided. Perhaps the choice had just been taken from her?

"S-sure. What di-did you have in mind?"

"You said you were a diplomat. Have you ever brokered a trade agreement?" The human waited for her weak and uncertain 'yes', then went on. "This case is similar. I'll give you the reference law books for both countries. I need to you read a contract and point out anything which might be against the law in either country. Can you do that?"

Celestia let her breath out and turned a stare on Rawsthorne. "That's it?!"

He didn't seem to understand her tone. "I know it's tedious, but it would save me a couple of very boring, dull hours. And in return I'll go along with this 'Supple Branch' scheme. Deal?"

"Of course! No problem! I'll be happy to! I was just surprised. I thought maybe you wanted-" She shut up quickly and blushed.

The human glanced at her again. His eyes returned a few more times, after he saw how red she was in the face. "Wanted what? What's wrong?"

She made herself continue. "Well, some humans - I heard! - like to be... intimate. With their ponies. Or so I've heard."

She could actually see his eyes bulge out in surprise at the idea. "What?! No! God no! Jeez! I'm not anything like that!"

"Yes, I know."

Mr. Plain had said much the same. But Rawsthorne really wanted to drive it home. "Let's make this clear right now. Celestia, you will never have to worry about anything like that from me, okay? You can take this to the bank!"

"I know. I know. Thank you, Rawsthorne. It's a relief," she murmured, but she couldn't quite suppress a tiny flash of disappointment.

They drove in silence for a while and it began to grate on the pony. She sought for a topic. Any topic, just to clear the air. "So, where are we going?"





The marketplace where Rawsthorne took her to buy fresh produce was very similar to what Celestia had seen at home. Rows of little stands, vegetables and fruits on display. The noises, and smells and sights were quite familiar. If she closed her eyes, the mare could almost imagine she was in Equestria.

As soon as she saw the huge variety of things for sale, the pony forgave her owner for the morning 'nose-bopping'. She ran from one stand to the other, trying to see everything.

The people stared. Some of them pointed or took pictures with their pocket-telephones - Rawsthorne explained the concept to her when she asked what they were doing. But the Princess was used to being at the center of attention and took it in stride. She was quite fortunate, she learned, that the city had no leash laws for ponies. Although a collar was mandatory and Rawsthorne said he would take her to buy one right after the market.

They made their first purchase at a stand where she saw carrots, onions, garlic and squash. The pony told her owner that she would make him a vegetable stew for dinner and he shrugged and acquiesced.

The mare almost made a mistake after Rawsthorne paid and the seller packed her vegetables in a bag. She reached for it with her magic and only at the last moment remembered that she was supposed to be 'Supple Branch' - an earth pony.

"Hand it down to me, please?"

The human frowned in confusion. "Can't you reach it? I've seen you-"

It was rude of her to interrupt, but she didn't want to risk anyone hearing. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you - earth ponies can't use magic, you see? You're thinking of unicorns."

He got the message and passed the bag down. She took it in her mouth, which became the second problem. She looked pleadingly up at the human, who laughed and took it back. "So, now what?" he asked.

"I'll need some saddlebags."

He nodded to himself. The bag went under one arm and he turned back toward the parking lot. "Let's take this to the car and then we'll go to the pet shop first.

"I'm not a pet!"

"No, of course not. But that's where they sell pony-related accessories. Sorry."

The information reminded her just what her subjects were reduced to, on Earth. She sighed and tried to put it out of her mind. She wouldn't be able to help now, not as 'Supple Branch', but when she was back home, she would call the human ambassadors again and make new demands. That mollified her nagging guilt a little and she could put it behind her.


At least the collar was pretty, Celestia thought, as she examined it in the small mirror. Of course the pet shop - she made a face when she remembered where she was - didn't have a mirror for their clients. Luckily, the lady at the counter had one in her purse and now Rawsthorne was holding it for her.

The band was dark blue with silvery, metal trimmings and buckle, which reminded her of Luna.

"It's nice. We'll take it."

Her owner paid - this time with a plastic rectangle, rather than paper. They had been lucky and the store had exactly one set of saddlebags. They said that with the dropping number of ponies on Earth it was no longer in stock. That made Celestia feel slightly better.

She needed Rawsthorne's help to get the leather strips around her barrel and the bags along her back. It was obvious these humans gave no thought to how a pony might wear the getup by herself. Then, feeling like a packhorse but strangely liking it, they walked out. It was true that ponies opted to wear saddlebags quite often back home. They were convenient for a race that didn't have pockets, after all. But here, these human-made things were meant primarily for ponies to carry things for their owners. It was yet another sign of servitude and so, deeply embarrassing.

On the other hoof, it was also slightly thrilling. Now she was really getting into the nitty-gritty of slavery.

"Quite the little packhorse, aren't you?" the human joked. Celestia thought she should be mad, but she just laughed a little and stuck her tongue out at him.

"We should get you a little saddle, so I didn't have to walk."

Now he was going too far, but luckily - for him - the mare remembered something she had forgotten to mention. "Oh, that reminds me! Some woman came by. Name of 'Christine'. She asked if she could bring her daughter to see me. I told her to come back Monday and that I'd ask you."

The man was thoughtful. "Hmm, Christine, Christine. Yes, I think I remember. Lives nearby?"

"Yes, she said a couple of miles down the road."

"Yeah, that's her. What do you think? Do you want to see her daughter?"

Celestia hadn't expected the decision to fall on her. She shrugged. "Sure, I guess? I wouldn't mind." Luckily, she had had a lot of practice with children. Running a school, even if it was in name only, had given her a lot of opportunities.

Now if she only knew why she had associated riding with the human child...

Okay, now if she could only think of a less embarrassing reason...


By the time Celestia was done with the market, her saddlebags were positively bulging. They were also noticeably heavier and the mare was starting to regret her wanton purchasing.

Even the human noticed. "You alright there? Those look heavy."

She wasn't about to admit it, not to him. After all, he had kept quiet and paid for whatever she set her mind onto. Most of it was food he would also enjoy, true, but it had been her choices. The alicorn doubted many of her subjects on Earth had this much freedom. "It's fine," she said firmly.

"Well, do you need anything else?"

She glanced back at the multitude of foodstuffs. There were all kinds of vegetables. Flour. Lots and lots of flour. Sugar, eggs, fruit - all the essentials for her baking. Then she had loaded up on potatoes and rice and various salad ingredients. Then, for good measure, she had a few small tins of spices. Things Rawsthorne lacked in his kitchen, such as marjoram, lemongrass, sassafras and a few herbs native to Earth she didn't know, but liked the smell of.

It had been very kind of the seller to let her sniff through his entire stock. After she had promised not to get snot on anything, of course. Celestia estimated that she had enough stuff to make varied and interesting meals for the entire week. And desserts. Of course she didn't forget desserts. There was some baking chocolate somewhere, she could smell it. It was maddening. And it mixed so perfectly with the stalk of vanilla she found at the spice stand, that the mare found herself drooling a little.

"No, I think we're fine."

There was no meat in her packs. She had seen several shops in nearby buildings that sold dead flesh and she avoided them. Luckily, her owner hadn't noticed. The mare remembered his words from the first day. Eventually, she will have to face it. She had no illusions that Rawsthorne would turn vegetarian, just to appease his squeamish slave.

Maybe she could wow him for another week or so, before he started asking for that. Perhaps, with luck, he would go and buy those ingredients by himself. The pony felt she could just about deal with small packages of the stuff. But she didn't want to see it arrayed on a display before her.

There was one stop left - something Rawsthorne had promised her. "Just the 'garden center' now, right?"

The human snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right! You wanted to pick up some seeds for the flowerbeds! Come on, it's not far. We can walk. It's nice out."

Celestia glanced again at the bags on her back. She didn't feel too confident about going any distance with those. Her legs were starting to tremble as it was! "Uh, could we drop this off in the car, please?"

The human didn't mind. They made the trip to the parking lot again and Celestia breathed out a sigh of relief when the burden was lifted. It went in the back part of the car. She was left with the leather straps around her barrel, but she didn't mind those. Her steps were much lighter as they set off again.

Gregory was right. It was a lovely walk, despite the incessant traffic. There was even a park! I looked so... normal! Celestia gaped in surprise. If you took away the people and replaced them with ponies, it would almost be like a town in Equestria. Even the noise of the cars was muffled by thick foliage.

Until she saw something that twisted her insides with anger. It was another pony. That, in itself, would have been interesting. But the pony - an earth stallion, she noted - was crouching down with his ears folded and tears streaming from his eyes. Even his tail was tucked beneath him in fear.

Over the pony stood a red-faced human, shouting.

It had started suddenly. She didn't even register the first few words around the bend in the path, not until the saw the scene.

"... worthless, miserable idiot!" the human was screaming. He had a white and red box in his hand, which he waved in the stallion's face. "How many times must I tell you?! Light, you stupid creature, not regular. Light!"

He threw the object at the pony. It bounced from the stallion's snout and landed on the ground. Celestia had tensed up and reached for her magic, but Rawsthorne put a hand in her mane and she looked up. He shook his head silently.

Fortunately, the object wasn't heavy and didn't hurt the pony. It just made him flinch and squeak. But then the irate human stepped on the thing and ground it into the dirt. Celestia guessed it was made of shiny paper.

"You'll get the right ones! I don't care where you get the money! If you show your face back home without, I'll make sure you're sorry!"

The pony babbled something quiet which looked affirmative, but they were too far and Celestia couldn't hear the words. The angry human spat on the ground beside the stallion and stomped off. After a few moments, the pony got up and picked up the destroyed packet with his mouth. He dragged his hooves as the started down the path toward them. As he came closer, she could see him more clearly. Vividly orange coat - it reminded her of one of Twilight Sparkle's friends. Except this one had a burgundy mane, rather than a blond one.

All that had time to flash across her mind before she realized that the stallion hadn't even seen her yet with his head hanging that low. The alicorn looked up at Rawsthorne.

"Do something!"

It took all her concentration to keep her face and voice at least somewhat polite, but her owner spread his arms. "Sorry, can't. He didn't strike him. The pony doesn't look abused or neglected. Law says it's fine."

"Well, then it's a stupid law!"

The mare did her best to keep tears from her eyes. She swallowed the anger - Rawsthorne wasn't responsible for this, after all. But she would have words with the human dignitaries when she was back!

They waited as the stallion came to a waste basket, reared up and dropped the thing in. Then he looked around and spotted them. His eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back. It looked as if he might run away, so Celestia made herself smile brightly as she trotted forward. She sensed, more than saw, Rawsthorne following her.

"Hi! Hi! What's your name?"

He swallowed and gave her a hesitant smile in return. "B-brook," he managed. "Silent Brook."

"Supple Branch. Look, I couldn't help seeing-"

His face fell and the pony turned away angrily. "None of your business!" he said gruffly. He glanced back, then up at Rawsthorne. "Just go. I'm fine!"

The mare cocked her head to the side. "It looked pretty bad. Does he beat you?"

Now it was the stallion who got angry. "What does it matter to you?! Leave me alone! I've had enough of people looking at me like I'm a foal!"

It wasn't a reaction she had expected. She took a step back and stared incredulously. "Okay, okay. Sorry. I just hoped there might be something we could do..."

"If you try anything," Brook said, "I'll go to the police!"

Now Celestia was on the verge of tears. It didn't make any sense. "Why are you defending that... human?!"

The stallion sat on his haunches and sighed. "Listen. I know what it looked like! But it's not like that! He's a good Master, okay? Just loses his temper sometimes. Things have been hard, okay? For both of us. So just back off! Don't try to do me any favors!"

The mare looked behind her, at Rawsthorne. "Uh, could you give us a moment, please?"

The human didn't make a fuss and walked a few steps away. Then Celestia lowered her voice and leaned closer to Brook. "What if I told you I can get you back to Equestria?"

The stallion stared at her in shock. "Are you for real? There's no way any of us is getting through the border!"

"What if there was a way?"

Brook held up a hoof. "Please, don't get my hopes up. Please! It's not that bad here! I have friends. I made peace with it. And Master's daughter visits some times. I like her a lot, I wouldn't just up and leave her like that, even if I could!"

Perhaps, in a way, Celestia could understand that? If Luna was on Earth and there was no way to get her out, she would also chose to stay. 

Even if her owner yelled at her?

Even if he beat her!

"Does he..." She was about to ask again, but Brook glared at her. "No, if you must know! He doesn't! He just yells, then he gets drunk and then he cries in my mane. It's... complicated, just drop it!"

The mare nodded slowly. "Sorry. It was nice meeting you, though. Are you here often? Maybe I can get Gregory to come down here sometimes so we can talk?"

The stallion looked at the ground. "Don't wanna talk. Not if you'll keep saying those things!"

"I said I'm sorry. I won't, I promise. I just like to talk. There's not many ponies around."

Brook relaxed a little and nodded to her. "I've been here five years. Almost from the start. A lot of them got sent home. Some died. Some escaped, but I don't know where to. But a few of us like it here. We meet on Wednesdays, if we can make it."

He said 'if we can make it', but Celestia read the unspoken words clearly: 'if we can get our owners to bring us'. For that matter, she wasn't entirely certain she could get Rawsthorne to take her to a pony meeting. Perhaps occasionally.

"You like it here," she repeated flatly, "even with that human yelling-"

"I can handle him!" Brook spat. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do!"

The alicorn watched her new friend - if she could call him that - walk slowly away. Now that he was aware of another pony, his steps no longer dragged. He held his head up proudly and glared fiercely at the world. Then, as he passed by Rawsthorne, the human held out a hand. There was some of that paper money in it.

Brook stared up in surprise. "What's that for?"

Her owner shrugged. "Just helping out."

The stallion looked from him to Celestia with deep suspicion in his eyes. She gave an encouraging nod and a smile. He hesitated for a few seconds, then took the money gingerly in his mouth. "'ank 'oo," he said to Rawsthorne and left without looking back at them.

The mare watched him go and barely felt Rawsthorne's hand back in her mane. "There's all sorts," he said quietly. "But if the owners really are abusing their ponies, someone reports it sooner or later. The police take these things very seriously around here. Unfortunately, there are no laws against yelling, for now."

Celestia closed her eyes and nodded. She wasn't even entirely sure what had happened. Silent Brook had acted almost as if she was the aggressor. And the threats to report her! Was it possible that some ponies really wanted to stay in this world? Even if the humans mistreated them? The mare suddenly realized that she hadn't asked what the yelling was about. What if Brook really had messed up? She herself had been willing to accept lashes for her mistake.

If someone came after that punishment and told her she was being treated unfairly and she should escape, how would she react? Probably not much differently than Brook. She needed to know more. She hadn't even asked if Brook had a contract with an expiration date, or if he was enslaved for life. He had said that he'd been one of the first, so it was probably the latter. She would have to find a lawful way to sort such cases out when she was back.

The pony considered getting a notebook to write all these to-dos, so she wouldn't forget. One thing was certain, though. She needed to learn more. A lot more.

"Rawsthorne?"

"Hmm?" the human asked. He was also lost in thought, it seemed. They had started walking again, but not really seeing where they were going.

"Would you take me to a pony meet-up sometimes? It's every Wednesday, but I don't need to go that often..."

He thought it over. "Maybe. Where is it?"

Celestia opened her mouth to tell him, then realized she hadn't asked. Her ears fell down and her face turned slightly pink. It made Rawsthorne laugh, which made her blush worse.

"I'll see if I can find anything on the Internet," he promised and reached over to ruffle her mane.

"Internet?"

She remembered she had heard the word before. Some ponies mentioned it as the greatest human invention. But she never understood what it was, really.

Rawsthorne stared for a moment, then shrugged. "I'll show you when we get home. Come on, garden center is just around here."

The mare looked behind, but of course Silent Brook was long out of sight. It hadn't gone the way she thought her first pony encounter on Earth would go, but it had given her a lot to think about. Clearly the situation was not black and white. There were nuances. Details she had to understand, before she could hope to propose any kind of policy to resolve matters.

Right at that moment they entered a huge, warm building. There were plants everywhere, mostly sprouts. The mixture of scents and sights threatened to overwhelm her as she took it all in.

All thoughts of policies and ponies fled her mind.