//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18 
// Story: Off Duty 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

Celestia had been waiting for the sound of Rawsthorne's car on the driveway, but however much she tried to, the mare could not prepare herself fully. Her heart sank, there were butterflies in her stomach and her wings tried to flutter before she could force them to stillness. She desperately tried to recapture the comfortable, almost intimate moment they had shared the previous night, after her punishment.

Even with a sore rump, Celestia had felt closer to her owner than ever before, and his fingers, working their insidious magic on her ears had quickly turned her brain to putty.

Then she had woken up, still in that warm, comfortable lap, except now with a soft blanket covering her flank. She blinked, looked up and smiled. The human grinned back.  For a second, Celestia had the image of kissing him in her mind, but it passed when Rawsthorne scratched her ears again.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," her owner said. Celestia made a mewl of protest, but allowed herself to be prodded to her hooves.

"Fine, but I'm taking the blanket."

Moving reminded her how stiff her limbs were, and stretching made her yawn. On a whim, she leaned down and gave the human a friendly lick on his cheek.

"Goodnight, Rawsthorne."


Remembering helped, and Celestia calmed down. She listened to the now familiar noises of the garage door. Then she heard the second car. Maggie and Glitter Dust were right behind her owner! Celestia quickly cast the spell which turned her into Supple Branch. She glanced back at her rump and concentrated again. The cyan coat now sported very visible purple welts.

She was just in time. The door opened and Rawsthorne came in from the garage. "Evening, Supple," he said. Celestia was pleased that he took care to use the right name, but she didn't say anything back, because the human went to the front door and opened it without waiting for her reply. Maggie walked in and the alicorn in disguise gave her a weak smile and a wave.

The woman stopped. She had a leash in her hand, but there was no sign of the pegasus. The line stretched taut to the side, though. Glitter Dust was apparently hiding beside the door.

"Come on!" the woman snapped.

Celestia heard her friend's low, subdued voice: "Do I have to? I said I'm sorry! I don't understand why they have to see me like this!"

Glitter Dust sounded very whiny.

"You'll have more to show them if you don't move," Maggie threatened and tugged at the leash. "I'll do it in front of Mr. Rawsthorne and Supple Branch. Would you prefer that?"

The pegasus gave a sigh and walked into view. Celestia felt her breath catch and her eyes water in sympathy. The lime rump was glowing bright red! There were no blood or scars, thank goodness, but they didn't seem far off.

The Princess swallowed in fear. Glitter Dust's punishment seemed a lot fiercer than her own. It reminded her just how lucky she was with Rawsthorne.

Maggie gave the leash another tug to get the mare fully inside, so she could close the door and keep the chill out. "Well?" she demanded and lightly yanked the cord again.

The pegasus took the cue. "I'm very sorry for tricking Supple Branch into giving me your password, Mr. Rawsthorne," she intoned reverentially. "It was wrong of me to use her like that and to spend your money. I'll find a way to pay you back."

That part sounded rehearsed, but the mare hurried on with her own, improvised explanation: "I never meant to use that much, honest! Just a couple of dollars, until I got my allowance! And I would've paid it all back, I swear!"

Maggie was starting to frown, but Rawsthorne answered before the woman: "It's not me you should apologize to. It's Supple Branch. She'll earn that money back for me. How you two work it out between yourselves doesn't really concern me."

The pegasus stared, disbelieving at first, then her face split into a relieved grin. "Really?" she asked, brightening up. She stared at Celestia with a tiny little smirk. "I'm off the hook? Thanks! Thanks a lot!"

Maggie was faster than the alicorn. She had Glitter Dust's ear in a vice grip. "Not so fast, Missy! You're not off the hook that easy!"

The pegasus had no choice but to follow the hand, which lifted her to her hind legs. She had to flap her wings awkwardly to keep her balance. "Ow! Owowowow! YES!" she agreed preemptively, even before Maggie made her demands.

"You're gonna come here every weekend and do everything Mr. Rawsthorne or Supple Branch tell you to, until they think you've repaid them in full, understand?"

"YES! Please! Yes, I'll do anything! Ow! Let go, please! OW!"

Only then did her owner release the pegasus. Celestia did her best to keep her face straight and impassive. It was easier than she had anticipated. When Rawsthorne said she wouldn't have to repay him, Glitter Dust had a very impolite smirk on her face. She was all too happy to pawn her punishment on somepony else. It looked like the Princess would have to do some basic educating on the proper pony values. She looked imploringly at Rawsthorne and then leaned her head toward the living room. Her owner gave her a slight nod.

"Come on, Glitter Dust. I'll tell you what you'll have to do. Come with me."

There was something in her voice and expression, it seemed. Something stern. The pegasus immediately lowered her ears and bowed her head before trotting sadly after Celestia.

Maggie seemed satisfied with the effect and let Rawsthorne lead her to the dining room. Just before the door closed, the alicorn heard the woman complain:

"I really don't know with her anymore. Stealing? I wish I could say it was the first time. Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth keeping her around..."

Glitter Dust's face was burning brighter than her rear end as Celestia pointed her to the couch. Of course they both heard every word. "Don't worry. Humans like to exaggerate."

It helped a little and the pegasus gave Celestia a small smile. It was weak and uncertain, but it was there.

"Talk to me. What on Earth possessed you to spend that much money on a stupid game?"

Glitter Dust sighed and hung her head again. "Sorry. I swear I really don't mean to do it! You gotta believe me! It's just how these thins are made. I read about it once!"

Not her fault? The alicorn had her own thoughts on that, but she would give her friend a listen, at least. "Go on."

"It's like-" the pegasus began, then flung her hooves up in the air, "they pull you in with the game, give you some free stuff to get you hooked. And then, when you're invested, you need to put money in to keep going."

"I see. And you can't simply stop playing, because..."

Now the pony was getting sullen. "I knew you wouldn't understand. I stopped playing a million times. But then you get an email and it says your people are under attack and won't you come save them. It's the same for every game like that! I've tried them all and it's all the same! Keeps coming back to haunt you!"

That impulse, at least, Celestia could understand. She tried to remember what the game was about. Yes, there were small, cartoon people in the thing. Maybe it wasn't so hard to get attached to them? If she didn't have Equestria, would she be just as vulnerable as the pegasus?

"Okay, let's say for now that I understand. But you had to know what you were spending. Didn't it ever occur to you that there would be trouble?"

"Yes. But I kept saying 'a couple of dollars more won't hurt', and 'I'll pay it all back slowly', and suddenly it's a thousand bucks!"

The Princess, in her Supple Branch guise, jumped up on the couch and put a hoof around her friend. A wing would have been better, but she didn't have it at the moment. "Okay, okay, here's what we'll do."

An ear turned to face her, even if Glitter Dust didn't stop staring down at her hooves.

"First, you're gonna stop playing that. All those games. They aren't good for you, okay?"

The pegasus was about to argue, but she let the breath out and nodded faintly. "Fine."

"I mean it, Glitter! Use the iPad for Skype, nothing else. It's not the pony way to waste your life staring at that little screen."

Glitter Dust's hoof twitched, as if she wished to push the other mare away. "Okay, I said fine! You sound like my mom! If she knew about the Internet! And like Maggie!"

Celestia allowed herself a small, motherly smile. "I'll earn all the money to pay Gregory back. But you're not off the hook entirely." The alicorn had given it some thought. She could combine the punishment with doing something useful. It would help Glitter Dust's self esteem.

Since you can fly and I can't, you'll help me clean the roof, and check all the tiles. And clean the gutters. It's not pretty, but if you do that for me, we'll call it even, okay?"

The pegasus nodded slowly.

"Now, about you tricking me into giving you the pass word in the first place..."

"I said I'm sorry," the mare muttered darkly. "Besides, I asked if I could borrow a few bucks and you said it was fine."

"A few dollars, yes. Glitter, not a thousand."

The mare sighed, more deeply and with marked exasperation. "What else do you want me to say?! Sorry, Supple! I messed up, okay!? Or do you wanna whip me a little, too?"

It was sorely tempting, but Celestia decided a gentle hoof would work better. "No, no. I just wanted you to know. Sorry was enough. I forgive you."

She held her hooves open and the pegasus looked at her incredulously. Then, she fell into her hug with a small sigh. A moment later, she sniffled.

"There, there. I can see how good Maggie got you. I'm sorry."

The mare was turning to butter in her grasp. Her voice was one whimper away from full crying. "I de-deserved it! I'm a bad pony and a bad f-friend!"

Celestia nuzzled her grief-stricken friend. Now that most of the punishment seemed over, Glitter Dust was really letting it all out. Her shoulders shook as she tried to suppress sobs.

"It's over, Glitter. We'll do the work until we make it up to Gregory and then it's going to be fine. Just promise you won't touch those games again, okay?"

The pegasus nodded against her neck. Celestia felt some more encouragement was called for. "Besides, Gregory belted me as well. You must have seen it! Taught me to keep pass words private!"

"Passwords. It's one word," her friend corrected.

"Passwords. Okay."

"At least purple goes with cyan," Glitter Dust muttered.

Celestia blinked. It was an unexpected joke. When she didn't immediately laugh, the pegasus pulled her face away and gave her a weak smile. "Sorry. I couldn't help it."

They watched each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. After a moment they hugged again.

"Feeling better now?"

Glitter Dust nodded again, but it turned into a grateful nuzzle.

"Remember - you have pony friends around you. You're not alone. We'll help you kick this stuff, okay?"

Another nuzzle-nod. Celestia fell silent and just kept her hooves lightly around her friend.


That was how the humans found the pair. Even Maggie's face softened and she went to put her hand in Glitter Dust's mane. "Did you work out how you'll repay these nice people?" the lady asked.

Celestia answered so that her pony friend didn't have to. "Glitter will come and help me clean the gutters, and check the tiles on the roof. She can fly."

The alicorn felt a tinge of pride when her owner quickly took up the pretense. "That's right. It would be a very useful thing too, before the winter."

Maggie seemed satisfied. "Good. Some hard work might straighten her out. Teach her the value of money!"

The pegasus disentangled herself and focused her eyes on her owner. "And I'm giving up iPad games. C-can you lock it for me so I can only use Skype?"

The lady shrugged. "Probably. We'll ask Sam. You know how I am with electronics."

Glitter Dust nodded and looked back to the earth mare, who was still hugging her lightly. "Thanks, Supple. You're a good friend." She jumped down from the couch and went around to poke her snout at Maggie's lap. "We ready to go?"

The woman held out her hand for Rawsthorne to shake and made her goodbye: "Well, thank you again for being so understanding. Glitter will do a good job on your gutters, or she'll get another hiding. You can trust me on that!"

Celestia was watching the mare and saw the wince. She had no doubt that the pegasus would work hard to repay her debt, but would it all be enough to keep her from doing such things in the future? She would need her other friends to help out, when they could. After all, ponies were at their best in groups. Mutual encouragement.

"It's fine, really," Rawsthorne replied as he led the pair to the front door. Celestia followed them and made sure to give Glitter Dust a final hug before she left.

Her owner closed the door behind their guests and went back to the living room with the Princess in tow.

"Interesting idea. Checking the roof, cleaning the gutters. It'll give her something to do. Were you planning on doing all that yourself?"

Celestia shook her head mutely.

"Good. 'Cause I usually call a guy for that. I guess I won't have to this year."

The human sat on the couch and heaved a sigh. The mare stopped in front of him, then changed back to alicorn. Once she was herself again, she laid her head in his lap and closed her eyes.

"I don't like how easily the iPad made her steal from her friends."

"Makes sense. These people target these games at children and the easily impressionable. I've read about it. It's remarkably effective."

"It's not right. I can't believe it's legal."

A very welcome hand came down to her mane and ears. She smiled a little to herself. The human was being trained very well! "Well, there's a lot of debate about it recently. Maybe, in a while it won't be legal anymore. It's a complicated subject. Where does consumer protection become tyranny?"

Celestia shrugged with her wings. For a moment she tried to find a good solution, but then just gave it up. Her relieved sigh was heartfelt. "I'm glad I don't have to work out those issues." She opened her eyes and examined the human. "So. Denis?"

Rawsthorne nodded a little. "I made it clear to him. No offers of buying you. No offering you stallions. I will slap him with sexual harassment if he doesn't stop all that, you just tell me, okay?"

It made her feel immensely better about working for the man. "Thank you, Gregory. You're very kind."

"Anyway, there's two projects where he would like your help. One involves preparing a document - a basic guideline for trading contracts. It's internal use only, so it doesn't have to be idiot-proof. The other is a criminal case." She saw the human frown a little. "I don't know why he picked that one," her owner said thoughtfully. "Armed robbery. We're consulting for the district attorney."

"It doesn't matter. Work is work. Those two will be enough to cover my... bill?" She felt herself blush when she said it.

"Yeah, I think so. The document should take you two to three weeks. You can take a meeting room when it's free so you can work in peace. The robbery case you'll have to consult with him and probably a few others at the firm." Rawsthorne saw her expression and guessed her question: "Don't worry, they'll handle all outside communication. You'll be just another set of eyes so we don't miss anything. That one starts next month and your part should take about two weeks."

"So... going to work with you. I'll make us lunch each day."

The other hand came down to work on her other ear. It was quite nice and the pony heaved a satisfied sigh.

"Good girl," the human praised. "It will be an interesting month, yes."

"And the weekend with Glitter Dust, working on the house. I guess that means walk this time?"

Her owner gave it some thought. "Tell you what. Make sure your friend does a good job and I'll take you both down to the lake. We can get you cotton candy or icecream and if there's anything good on, we can go to the movies."

The mare enjoyed hearing such things. It sounded very pleasant. "Mmm, I'd love that."

He playfully tapped her rump, making her gasp. She was still quite tender down there! "Okay, time for dinner. Let me up."

She didn't immediately move. Rawsthorne seemed in a good mood, so the alicorn tried her luck: "How about a small bath after dinner?"

He laughed a little, but wouldn't budge: "Nice try. You're being punished, remember?"

"Please, Rawsthorne?" She tried to copy the big, sad, soulful eyes and the slumped, miserable posture she had seen Glitter do. It had zero effect.

Despite the failure, Celestia was impressed by her owner's resolve. Then, the man grinned and got that mischievous look in his eye. It made the alicorn uneasy and she lifted her head up.

"What? What did you think up now? Spill it!"

"Maybe," Rawsthorne said slowly, his grin widening. "I'll take a bath myself. Now that the tub is free for a change."

She was aghast. It was mockery of the highest order! "You wouldn't dare!"

It was a mere whisper, but the force behind the words made it carry and fill the room.

"You know, seeing how much you like it - I'm curious. I think I'll give it a try. Please don't disturb me. I'll be out for dinner in an hour."

He got up and made his way out the room. Celestia saw him turn down the corridor. She had always wanted to get Rawsthorne to enjoy a bath or a steam, but this was ridiculous! "Rawsthorne, this is entirely unfair!"

He didn't reply. The pony caught up to him and tugged on his shirt sleeve with her magic. "Come on! Please! You're better than this!"

She thought quickly. "At least let me come inside and put my hooves in the water!"

Still no reply.

"Ple-he-he-ease!"

The whine was a bit more sulky and desperate than she would have liked, but the human was already through the door and her time was running out.

"Stay!" he commanded and shut the door in her face.

All Celestia could do was stare in indignant shock at the wood as she listened to the noises. The water started! She knew that spigot like her own hoof - that was the squeak as it was turned toward 'warm'! And the first splash of water in the empty tub! And - the mare whimpered a little - the plug!

The unbelievable cruelty! The ghastly torment! She would not forget it.

The mare curled up on the floor, with her ear at the door so she wouldn't miss a single sound. The human would pay!