Celestia woke up before her human. For a few moments she tried to keep the dream alive, because in there Rawsthorne wasn't mad at her. Memory returned and the illusion faded. Undoubtedly he would be angry. Probably he would toss her out of the bed.
Punishment? The alicorn didn't think so. She would have taken it, but it didn't seem like something her human would do, not in this instance. The mare saw only one way to fix it. She slowly and carefully lifted the blanket up and slid down under it. If Rawsthorne didn't see her, he wouldn't get mad! It was the kind of thing Celestia would believe if she was three! The human had said it: sometimes she behaved like she was a filly. The important fact was, each time he had said that, Rawsthorne was smiling. If he liked that side of her enough, it might push him along through betrayal and anger toward forgiveness. The factor of 'cute' was a sadly under-appreciated diplomatic tool.
Any moment now. Celestia felt the human began to stir. His breathing changed and a hand moved to seek out her mane. She allowed herself to enjoy the touch - hopefully not the last.
"Huh?" Rawsthorne murmured as he woke up. "Celestia?!" He sat up and tried to lift the blanket, but her magic easily kept her covered. "Just what do you think you're doing?!" the human demanded. He tried to move away, but the alicorn was holding grimly onto his leg.
"Cuddles."
There was silence as Rawsthorne processed this, but at least he had stopped struggling. Good, give in to the inevitable, the mare thought.
"Is this some kind of a hare-brained scheme to make me forget what happened?" the human demanded.
"Nope. Just cuddles." Short, nonsensical responses, that was the key.
The human was not amused. "Celestia, this isn't funny!"
To the contrary, the mare found herself enjoying the little contest. It was a battle of wills. If she could outlast his annoyance and his anger, the human would move to exasperation. She could work with that.
"Is."
Now the man groaned and rubbed his face. He wasn't quite past the first part. "Release me this instant! This is ridiculous!"
"Nuh-uh!" She shook her head a little. Rawsthorne couldn't see it, but he would see the bulge of her horn move.
"I will take a belt to you if you don't obey, Princess or not!" came the threat.
What her human didn't know was that the alicorn would prefer that over some of the alternatives. A good beating would be better than him never speaking to her again, but there was the game to be played. She leaned her head to the side as if thinking.
"Nuh-uh!" The horn glowed for a moment and all his belts rose up from the wardrobe and floated out into the hallway. The doors opened just to let them through, then closed. Such accuracy without seeing was difficult, but Celestia was good!
"I can still use my hand!"
She gave this due thought. Then, in response, Celestia shuffled a little and lifted a corner of the blanket. The picture of the sun on her white rump came into sight, but she made sure no more of her was uncovered. For a moment she hoped a blow would land. Punishment for her crime would move them along even faster!
Rawsthorne didn't hit her.
"Well?"
The man heaved a sigh and tried to pull his leg away again. The mare tightened her grip. She hadn't needed magic yet, but she would, if that was what it took to keep Rawsthorne in place.
"This is beyond rude, you know that, right?"
Celestia just shrugged slightly with her wings without saying anything.
There was a minute of silence as the human gathered his thoughts. Then he went on, quietly: "You can leave if you want, you know? I'm not stopping you. Of course I'll have words with Mr. Plain, but I don't think you care that much about him. Why are you doing this?!"
Was it time for some truth? The alicorn was undecided for a moment, then decided to go for it. "I like you, Greg. I don't want it to end."
She felt the mattress move and imagined clearly the man spreading his arms in a hopeless gesture. "Well, you lied to me - not to mention your own people!"
She nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I was sorry the moment I started liking you." More silence. After several uncomfortable seconds, Celestia continued. "I still need your help."
"Help?! With what?" The human sounded disbelieving. Perhaps he could wrap his mind around her infatuation, but he couldn't imagine the Princess needing anything this desperately.
"The case, for one. I want to see it through. I have been lucky, but sooner or later someone will recognize me from the pictures. Some human, I mean."
"What will happen then? What can I do about it?" Rawsthorne asked. The mare smiled a little. He was thinking about it! He was moving past the 'lied' part and onto the 'after' part!
"I don't know. It might be a diplomatic incident. I just need long enough to win the case. Then I'll make an official statement and go home, I promise! I can handle the Ambassador when I'm back in Canterlot."
She wasn't entirely certain about that last bit, but she certainly knew that she would prefer to face any accusations or fallout from her bastion of power, rather than from Rawsthorne's house, or - worse yet - from a human prison.
A hand landed on her mane. Annoyed and maybe angry, yes, but the human still wasn't insensitive to her concern. She took it as a good sign.
"There is more. I don't know what to say to my subjects about me. I need to think. Can you get the ponies here?"
The human froze. "What? All the ponies on Earth?"
Now Celestia shook her head. "No, just the group. Glitter and Heavy Hoof and... them."
"If I do that, what will you tell them?" he asked uncertainly.
The Princess didn't know yet, but a vague plan was forming. "I don't know yet. Maybe... the truth? I will need you to say I'm not your slave, really. That you will let me go when I'm done."
It was a big thing to ask, and it was a lot of money. Rawsthorne hadn't really seemed to care much for money so far, but Celestia expected him to feel differently when this much of it was at stake. "I will get you your money back, I promised. Please?"
This was the point where visual cues would help. She pulled the blanket away and gave Rawsthorne one of her best, finely crafted Looks. The mane was frazzled and hung over her face, but it only added to the cute. Sleepy and disheveled pony Princess, begging her strong human protector for help. The eyes went a perfect amount of round. The pupils as large as she could make them. A slight, pleading smile in the corners of her mouth, with just a hint of worry that he would say no. She risked letting him go, so she could include her legs in the overall picture. Forelegs extended flatly on the bed before her, as if in supplication. The room was just light enough from the snow outside for him to see. Perfect.
"Please?" Even the voice had harmonics which went straight to the pity center of the brain.
Of course Rawsthorne couldn't stand that look, not for long. He lowered his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "Damn it, don't give me that look! How long have you practiced it in front of a mirror?" the human asked with exasperation.
Celestia nearly pumped her hoof in victory. Yes! It was working! The Look never failed to work! "Ages." She squeaked the word, as if embarrassed about it. She even blushed a little and lowered her eyes to her hooves. It was a finely-tuned act. In her time, the Princess had used it on minotaurs, griffons, even dragons! Anything to serve her subjects better!
A human was no contest. The man lifted his face to the ceiling and sighed theatrically. "Fine, I suppose I can't say no, can I?"
Celestia smiled beatifically. Victory!
Rawsthorne watched her for a while. The mare imagined that he liked what he saw. "How do we get your friends here?" he asked suddenly.
"Simple. Call the owners. They might be more inclined to listen to you than them." It wasn't an entirely happy thought. Her subjects weren't exactly maltreated, but their opinions sometimes mattered very little. Lake Frond and Rock Lichen were most strongly in that boat. Their owners saw them as little more than pets. At least Silent Brook's human treated him as a thinking individual, even if was mostly just a convenient target for yelling, and Glitter Dust shared some of the responsibility for Maggie's store. Perhaps she came as close to independence as any of them. Though she wasn't above spankings when she messed up.
Celestia had seen that first-hoof. She pushed such thoughts to the side and looked at her own human. "Yes?"
Rawsthorne shrugged, mostly to himself. "Okay, I will call them. I won't promise anything, but I will try."
The pony hugged and nuzzled him. "Thank you, Greg."
There was one more thing. The mare felt the two of them were moving past the lie. Now they were on a more equal footing. Maybe she could get away with a small joke, to remind Rawsthorne of the fact and lighten the mood? "By the way, how does it feel knowing that you've spanked a Princess?"
His eyes bulged out most pleasingly! Celestia laughed a little and flicked her tail in amusement. "I didn't know that at the time!" he said a little defensively. The pony quickly renewed her hug and the nuzzle.
"Don't worry. I didn't mind. I deserved it."
There was no immediate answer. Obviously he was still worrying. Celestia patted her human's back with a wing. "It was... liberating."
"How so?" Rawsthorne was relaxing in her grasp. It caused a pleasant, warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Princesses don't get spankings, Greg. We don't get punished for our mistakes, not really. Not unless we decide to do it to ourselves." She sighed as she remembered some of her larger blunders. "Mostly the punishment is the guilt we feel for having let our subjects down." She released the human and moved away so she could inspect his face. Maybe there was a touch of pity, some slight understanding there. It was hard to speak about these things with non-alicorns.
"Being so... directly responsible for my actions was a new feeling, Greg. I will cherish the memory of it, always."
Now he blinked in confusion. "You'll... cherish it? Memory of being belted?!"
"Yes!" She giggled a little at the uncomprehending look. "Do not worry about it. Just be assured I am not sore about it."
"Fine. Please yourself, I'm sure."
It was time to move on from it, but it was still amazing how rapidly the human changed his viewpoint. It was as if a switch had been flipped in his mind and now suddenly she was no longer a slave. It felt like he was treating her as an equal.
An equal!
"Um, about that other thing?"
Rawsthorne stared at her. "What other thing? There's more?!"
She quickly shook her head. "No, no. I said I liked you and there is still that date."
Her human paused uncertainly. Maybe his mind didn't work quite as well in the morning, so the alicorn prodded him along a little more.
"You promised me a dinner, remember?"
The human rolled his eyes. "Oh, that. Yes, I remember. You keep bringing it up," he replied. The mare held her breath while Rawsthorne thought about it. "Fine, we'll have dinner, but no promises."
It was a good start. Celestia smiled again. There was a strong chance to move them forward. She knew her human liked her too!
In fact...
The morning was going swimmingly. Perhaps she could push her luck yet again? Celestia pulled herself closer, so she was staring at his face as closely as her horn would allow it without gouging out his eye.
"Thank you!" Then, without any real warning, she closed the last bit of the distance and put her lips on his.
The body under her stiffened in shock before he tried to pull away. Unfortunately for him, the only way was down and the mare followed it smoothly. She ended up lying on Rawsthorne's chest, still touching lips. Now there was nowhere else to go. Celestia paid close attention to his hands - if the man tried to push her away, she would go, but until he didn't, she took it as 'yes'.
She held her breath as she waited for either acceptance or rejection. Yes! His eyes closed in supplication and the body relaxed. It was happening! After some time, his arms came to her barrel and gave it a gentle push. It wasn't a rejection, so Celestia allowed it and pulled her face away.
He was looking at her, his face a mess of confusion and wonder. "We'll be late for work," he whispered.
It wasn't something the alicorn wanted to hear, but she understood it. Yes, he was receptive and yes, they would move forward with the relationship, but what he was really saying was that her human needed some time to process it.
After all, she had been thinking about this - about them - for a while. For him, it was a very new idea. He had responded, yes, but it was a physical thing. Celestia didn't just want Rawsthorne's body. She would give him time - as much as he needed. Whatever blossomed forth between them had to be fully consensual, for both of them. A small, hypocritical thought sprang up. Had she made the decision for him? The alicorn shook her head slightly. Yes, she had nudged him along a little, but that had just been a way to prove to him that he was interested!
The pony lowered her head for a quick peck on his cheek, then she rolled off. "Of course, Greg." The clock would begin ringing any minute now. "I'll make us breakfast."
Rawsthorne lifted himself on his elbows. He was about to argue, or at least ask about it, but she smiled and pushed him back down.
"Relax, I enjoy the housework and cooking, remember? Think of it as me earning my keep. Pulling my share."
He still seemed uncertain.
"Look, Greg. Even when you thought I was a slave, you never ordered me around. You made requests and I obeyed them because I wanted to. I was very grateful for that. You treated me more like a maid than a servant." She climbed out of the bed and stretched a little. The wings went out, the legs extended and the back arched. It felt good after a night trying to be as still as possible. Celestia glanced back and caught Rawsthorne staring. It made her smile.
"I would like for you to think of me as... something else, from now."
There was no reply, but his expression said it all. She also didn't miss a slight movement as the human brought the concealing blanket around his waist. Too late, she had seen the bulge through his clothes.
"Breakfast will be on the table in twenty minutes." A mixture of familiar and new. Mundane and alluring. Of course there would be a bit of time to flirt in the office, too. Celestia felt her grin widen at the thought.
It would be the perfect distraction from her hard work! Besides, the plan regarding her ponies on Earth was crystallizing. Maybe her stay in this would could be both productive and pleasant, after all. There was some extra spring in her gait as she made her way down the stairs. The mare remembered and focused her magic for a few seconds. The iPad floated down and she quickly scanned the song list.
Something fitting. Something upbeat. "I got a feeling! Yes, perfect!" she exclaimed in delight. It seemed like the song was written for her, for that exact moment and the lyrics fit her mood almost to the letter!
Celestia turned the volume up and tapped a hoof to the rhythm. In a minute her rump would begin to swing to the beat. A singing mare would further convince Rawsthorne that he made the right choice! She began to plan breakfast with a smile on her muzzle.