//------------------------------//
// Chapter 49 
// Story: Off Duty 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

Celestia woke up to her phone ringing. It was such an unexpected noise that it took her, in her drowsy state, almost a minute to figure out where it was coming from. Then she held up the plastic rectangle and looked at it worriedly. No one except Rawsthorne should know the number, right? Could it be that the human authorities had figured out that this was now her phone? Why would they call? She considered crushing the device and chucking it into a trash can, but that would cut off her one line to Rawsthorne and Mr. Plain.

It didn't stop ringing. The mare swallowed a lump and gingerly prodded the correct button with a touch of magic. "Y-yes?"

"Hey, sorry about the hour," a voice said on the other side.

Celestia sagged in relief. "Miriam Adams. Why are you calling me? How do you know the number?"

The woman sounded dismissive. "Oh, Rawsthorne gave it to me. Listen, sorry I'm calling at this sort of hour," the woman apologized again.

A glance through the window showed Celestia that it really was early. The sun was not yet up, although the sky was already gray. Around seven, she estimated. "It is not a problem. I was about to wake up anyway. Why did you call?"

"Some good news, maybe," Miriam said. "I spoke with that Mr. Plain and asked what kind of papers you'd need to cross the border."

Celestia nearly forgot to breathe for a moment. She sat up and wrapped her hooves around her belly to still the butterflies. Was it possible her human friend had found her a way home?! "Yes?"

"There's the passport, of course. We also need some kind of proof of sale, like a contract or a bill. Rawsthorne has both of those, and then we need the emancipation form, which is something an owner can get. It's done at the city clerk's for some reason."

Celestia could guess at what the documents entailed from the names. They didn't seem too problematic at all! "That is all? Those shouldn't be too hard!"

"No, but here's where it gets complicated. The contract and the release form include a description. How much are you willing to bet your description - I mean as 'Supple Branch' - is already at the border crossing? The moment you show your mug there, you're toast and of course they know what an alicorn is, right?"

Her heart sank a little and Celestia sighed. There was always another hurdle. "Oh. Yes, of course they do. I'm still grateful you tried, Miriam. I really do appreciate it."

Besides, there was almost no way she could get any of those papers for Lake Frond or Rock Lichen, could she? The woman on the other end of the phone call laughed a little. "Now hang on, Celly. Don't give up that easily. What we need here is just two things, really."

Celestia stood up and went to look out the window. She saw a neighbor get into his car and drive away. Off to work, most likely. There was a light in his house and Celestia imagined his wife cleaning up after their breakfast. She missed doing that for Rawsthorne. Although, now that she thought about it, she missed going to work with him more than being essentially a housewife. Half an hour in the car, still half asleep, talking idly as the inside slowly warmed up. It was just so comfortable!

She wrenched her mind back to the present. "Which two things?"

"First, we need to change your appearance. Can you disguise yourself as a different pony?" Miriam asked.

"No, sorry. The spell takes a lot of study and I don't have it with me. My memory is good, but not perfect. I don't dare risk tricky magic like that without the book."

"Oh," the woman said, sounding a bit subdued. "Hmm."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault in the slightest dear," the D.A. assured her.

Celestia wished she could hug her. The woman was really kind and probably putting herself into no end of trouble by helping her. She really hoped no human would find out.

"Okay, another idea. How about hair dye?"

"Hair dye?!" It was true that some mares dyed their manes, especially when they started going gray. Celestia had thought about changing the color of her mane, but it probably wouldn't be enough, but to be done on you entire body? Unthinkable 

And yet...

The hope was quickly dashed. "Sorry. I don't think it would work. The paint would... uh, 'fall off' when I changed back."

There was a moment's silence, then Miriam pointed out: "What if you didn't change back until you were through? Get you dyed shortly before the border check. How long can you keep it up?"

Celestia thought back to her experiences in public. "I have kept my disguise for twelve hours before, but my head was really starting to hurt. I would say not much longer than that."

"Okay, that should be plenty," Miriam interjected. "That's the first thing solved."

"What is the second thing?"

"We get us someone who can forge the documents," the woman said, rather bluntly. "Change your description, mainly."

Celestia didn't like the idea too much. With her position as a diplomat and lawmaker, papers should be sacrosanct. Documents should be inviolate!

Still, she had known this would have to happen ever since she decided to take this vacation. Mr. Pain had to do a bit of forging to get her into the country with a fake history, and she had known he would have to do it again to get her out. It was a necessary evil.

"Do you know someone who can do this?"

The way Miriam hesitated made Celestia lower her ears further down. "Not sure yet. I'll get back to you on that," she promised.

At the very least it was the start of a plan. "Can we do something about the two others I wish to bring?"

There was silence. Then, finally: "I don't know. Maybe. It'd be easier if you can get their original contracts of sale. Then just change the owner to, I dunno, Rawsthorne and he can release all three of you."

It was a tall order. Maybe Lake Frond and Rock Lichen could do it, though. "I will speak with them and we will try to get their papers. The timing will be difficult, so their humans do not notice the contracts gone."

"Agreed," Miriam said. "For now, I'll see what I can arrange for documents. In the meantime, can you find a hair dye that works on you and give it a try? Send me a picture so I can get the description ready."

Celestia nodded before she remembered that Miriam couldn't see her. "Yes, I will. Thank you, Miriam Adams."

"No worries. Take care!" the woman said, and just like that the phone call ended.

It left Celestia thoughtful. With the D.A. and Rawsthorne both helping, she was starting to feel a bit more optimistic about getting home soon. Perhaps the dream she had in the night when Silent Brook woke her up was at least a little prophetic? Her sister had said they would see each other soon. Celestia went to her saddlebags in the corner and lifted out the peytral. How many times had she glanced at the sun emblem in the mirror as she prepared for a public speech or appearance?

That wasn't what the garment represented.

No.

Instead, each time Celestia looked on the sun symbol she was reminded strongly of its twin. The moon her sister wore. She held a gentle smile on her muzzle as she looked at the golden sun embroidered in the fabric. Then she slowly kissed it. "Just a bit longer." A solitary tear fell and splashed against the gold thread.

"You really miss her, don't you?" asked a voice from the door.

She had been so preoccupied that Celestia hadn't heard the stallion approach. She glanced to him and nodded silently while he made his slow way to her side. They both looked at the vestment.

"You know, just seeing that makes me feel safe," Silent Brook confided.

Celestia held the cloth for a few moments longer, then folded it and returned it to the saddlebag. "Family is important, Silent Brook. Do not give up on yours."

"Princess?"

She turned to face him and laid a careful feather against his cheek. "April and Saul. You must help them come back together. They are both important to you and seeing them avoiding one another is tearing you apart, Silent Brook."

His gaze dropped to the floor. "What can I do about it?" he asked, his voice defeated.

"I told you. Do not give up. Speak, and speak and do not stop while your voice works. Talk with Saul until he agrees to accept help. Talk with April and Lena until they agree to meet."

"I'm not sure I can, Princess," Silent Brook said quietly. He was very uncertain. It was a scary prospect, Celestia knew. From his point of view, Saul was hanging by a thread. Too much pressure would make him fall, but she had seen something in the human. He was stronger than the stallion imagined.

"Trust in yourself and trust in those around you. Sometimes ponies - and humans - can surprise you."

He gave her an uncertain nod, so Celestia decided to stop lecturing for now. She stood up. "Come, let us go and make breakfast. It has been a busy night and we will all feel better for a hot meal."

This was easier to accept and Silent Brook grinned. "Sounds good!"


Celestia walked up and down the house, dusting the same pieces of furniture over and over. It was the nerves as she waited for her friend to return from the store. She hoped he would find what she'd sent him to fetch. Hair dye. He had asked what color, but Celestia had been at a loss. It would need to be something bright and lively. A dark dye would simply make her cyan darker and wouldn't change it significantly. Not enough to alter the description, in any case. Or, it would make her black. That was rare enough among ponies that it would certainly draw attention. Maybe the same kind of bright red as April used? That would turn her fur into something purplish or fuchsia. It would be sufficiently different, in any case.

The most important part was that mixing red into her green mane should make it brown. Celestia tried to imagine the combination, but it wasn't particularly flattering. That was okay. It didn't have to look good, just different. There was no time to be picky. She had told Silent Brook to pick something as bright and as red as possible. She also needed to know how much dye to get and how to apply it, so she would be ready when the time came. Humans didn't have that much hair, so she told her friend to bring three or four packets of dye, or cans, or whatever it came in. Enough to cover at least a part of herself.

She shuffled her hooves nervously and went to check the kitchen again, but there was nothing more to do. She had cleaned up after their breakfast and their lunch. Walls still bothered her with their faint yellow tinge. Probably from all the tobacco smoke, but a fresh coat of paint for the entire house would be a bit much. With nothing else to do, Celestia went and checked the fridge. There was still half of the cabbage head left. Saul had stared a little strangely at the ponies over lunch. She had fried a fish for him and then mixed a very simple salad for herself and Silent Brook. The man didn't seem to think it was enough. He told them to get something more from the store and even left a few dollars.

At least he didn't bring up the night's events. He acted as if everything was back to normal. It was a little worrying and a bit calming, both at the same time.

The thump at the front door interrupted her thoughts. Finally! Celestia heard him enter and went to see what Silent Brook had found for her. As soon as he was inside, the stallion spat out a plastic bag from his mouth. "Here," he said when he saw her. "It's the only red I could find."

Celestia freed the little package from the bag and peered at it doubtfully. Then she looked up at her friend. "Neon pink?"

Her voice was flat. Even a foal should know the difference between red and pink, shouldn't they?

Silent Brook just shrugged. "Looks red on the label. Anyway, it's the brightest one they had. The rest were all brown and black and... so on."

Her stare intensified and Silent Brook shuffled uncomfortably under her scrutiny.

Maybe he didn't know colors? "You have finished elementary school before you came to Earth, did you not?"

Now he was indignant. "Yes! Of course! It's just... I don't usually think too much about colors, okay?"

The admission made her giggle. There weren't many ponies without a good sense for color. It was something she would have to mention to April, so the girl could teach her pony friend. Right that instant, however, she had something more important to do. She flipped the box around and looked at the back side. So nice of humans to include instructions for absolutely everything right there on the packaging, or, like in this particular case, on a folded piece of paper inside.

She spread it out with her magic and read quickly to herself. "Hmm, shampoo, rinse... dry." Something else caught her attention. "Pre-lighten?!"

Maybe that was for humans with dark hair who wanted it vivid pink. In her case, cyan should be light enough to simply go on. "Apply... twenty minutes. Rinse again."

Silent Brook was watching her with about the same expression as if she were doing serious alicorn magic. When she looked back to him, he up nervously: "Is... uh, is everything okay?"

Smiling, Celestia nodded. "Yes. I will go and try it now."

Her phone had a small camera and - thanks to the instructions - Celestia knew how to use it. With luck, she would send Miriam a picture before the day was over. She made her way upstairs and into the bathroom, with Silent Brook following her in curiosity, but at the threshold she stopped, turned around, and gave him a pointed look.

"A bit of privacy, if you would?"

His face turned a pleasant shade of red, which made the mare giggle, but she still firmly shut the door and set to work.


"So, what do you think?" Celestia twirled around to give her friend a good look from all sides. Two tubes of hair dye were enough to cover her completely, fur, mane and tail. That meant she didn't have enough left, but Silent Brook could easily get more from the store. The stuff was expensive, but she didn't have much use for money. Speaking of the stallion, he tried very hard not to laugh, so Celestia wasn't too cross with him. It was probably just that he was used to seeing 'Supple Branch' as a cyan pony, and now she was... brown.

She would rather call it a mixture of amaranth and purple, but there was no avoiding the truth. Her fur was brown and the mane was a lighter shade of brown. The important thing was that it looked different. Celestia stood in front of a white-ish wall and levitated her phone at head height to take a picture for Miriam. She wasn't entirely sure how to get the image from the phone to the lawyer, but presumably Glitter Dust would help with that.

Which reminded her. "Oh, by the way - can you get Glitter to come by the Laundromat again? There is maybe a way to bring Rock Lichen and Lake Frond with me, but I need to get in touch with them."

Silent Brook stopped giggling at her changed appearance and  gave her a genuine smile. "That would be nice. They want to start a family, but they can't on Earth."

"How about you?"

"Me?" he asked and put a hoof on his chest. "What do you mean?"

Could this be a reason to convince him to return? "You do not wish for a family of your own?"

The pony looked down and his ears went back. "N-no," he lied.

"Silent Brook..."

He heaved a sigh and managed to lift his eyes to hers. "Not yet," he corrected. "Someday... maybe, but Saul needs me and I don't wanna be away from April."

She wasn't trying to be mean. Celestia came closer and laid a gentle leg around poor Silent Brook's withers. "Someday, then. I will do my very best to give my ponies more rights on Earth."

The warm body pressed against hers relaxed. "Thanks, P-princess." He blinked and his hears perked up. "Wait a minute. Rock Lichen and Lake Frond? Their owners won't let them go. What will you do?"

There was no mistaking her mischievous grin. "They will... uh, 'steal' themselves. They need to find their papers and get them to Miriam Adams. She will arrange for the papers to be... let's say 'amended', and that will allow Lake Frond and Rock Lichen to pass the border as free ponies." Celestia could swear she felt Silent Brook's chest expand with pride.

"That's awesome! I'll go and speak with Glitter Right now!"

She levitated the phone in front of his face. "Take her this, please, and ask her to get the picture to Miriam Adams."

Maybe her faith in the D.A. was a bit premature - the woman had promised to think about it. It might happen that she couldn't find a forger, but Celestia was convinced that the lady was resourceful. She had worked with her for nearly three months and had consistently been impressed by her drive and acumen. If Miriam Adams could not arrange for a few forged documents, then probably no human in the city could.

There was the little nagging doubt. What would Celestia do if this hope failed her as well? She forced it out of her heart. If the forgery fell into water, she would march up to the border crossing and make them let her through! Maybe they were equipped to deal with unicorns, but Celestia was an alicorn. An entirely different class of pony! They could hold her back about as well as spider web could hold back a forest fire! She would still prefer to get home without starting an international incident, or, goodness forbid, a war.

Only as a last resort, then. Silent Brook apparently noticed that she was preoccupied, because he murmured a quiet goodbye and slipped away with the phone held carefully in his mouth.


The worst part of hiding was waiting for news, Celestia decided. Miriam Adams had her picture and her friends, Lake Frond and Rock Lichen, had their instructions to get the lawyer their documents. If they managed to steal them, they would bring them to the pony meet up the next day. Celestia wasn't sure if she should go or not. Maybe with her newfound disguise? Applying the paint was tedious, but it would give her a chance to properly say bye to everypony and tell them to keep their spirits up. Not goodbye for Lake Frond and Rock Lichen, though, if they could steal the papers. They sent assurance back through Silent Brook that they could do it. They were excited at the prospect of leaving and a bit sad to part with their owners. Other than being treated as pets, it hadn't been a bad life.

Now, all Celestia could do was wait. She sat at the kitchen table with her impromptu little 'family' - Silent Brook and Saul. She had made them dinner. Meat lasagna for the man and a vegetable one for the ponies, and, unless her ears had just failed her, Saul just gave her a compliment!

"Heh! Nearly forgot what it's like to have meals cooked for you," he had said.

Well, maybe not a compliment, but it was very good progress. Normally the human just ate in silence and left. Even Silent Brook stared at the man in surprise.

"Do you like it? I'm afraid I am not very good with the meat things, but I have read a book about it. I hope it is alright."

Saul had a piece stuck on his fork, which he waved toward her. "It's good," he confirmed.

It drew out one of her best smiles. She even felt her tail swish around in delight. If she had her normal shape, she would have fluttered her wings a little. "Thank you. Any wishes for tomorrow morning?"

Now the human shrugged. "Whatever. Eggs and bacon, I guess?"

Celestia gave a nod. "Of course. I am sorry for burning it the last time. It's quite hard to tell when it is ready."

His hand waved the self-critique away. "Just a bit crunchy, don't worry."

It was the longest and the most normal conversation she had had with Saul yet! Her heart was racing and Celestia fiddled a little with her forehooves under the table. She saw Silent Brook staring at her and gave him a smile, too. Then she kicked him a little and raised her eyebrows.

He didn't get it until she jerked her head urgently toward Saul a few times. Her grin was definitely a little strained at the end.

"Oh!" Silent Brook said suddenly, "so... how was work, Saul?"

Luckily, the human was focusing on his food and didn't notice the ponies' antics. "The usual. Sitting at a conveyor belt and making sure the product isn't complete crap."

Celestia made an educated guess. "So, you ensure the quality of what the factory produces?"

"Ha!" Saul barked, "if you can call it 'quality'!" He didn't volunteer anything more, but his eyes went back to his dish, so Celestia kicked the stallion again and silently mouthed 'April' to him.

Silent Brook shook his head, but the mare frowned and kicked him again. She nodded urgently and her friend rolled his eyes.

At least he obeyed. "So,..." he began, only a bit uncertainly. "I saw April the other day."

Saul looked up sharply, his food forgotten and all of his attention on the pony. He didn't say anything, just waited for more.

"She's... uh, fine. Doing good in school. Her hair is orange now..."

Celestia decided to jump in. It was a little white lie, but she was sure it wasn't too far from the truth. "She asked us to greet you, Saul. She misses her father."

The human grunted angrily. "Well, she has her whore mother to thank for that." Two pairs of ears folded down at the swear word, and then...

"Sorry," Saul said.

Celestia barely kept her mouth closed and it took yet another kick to get Silent Brook to stop gaping at the human. She was quite pleased with the progress. Just like she had said. A few more weeks to get the human behaving a bit more politely. Maybe a month to gently prod him to seek some professional help for his nightmares. It didn't seem as if she would have that time, but she could set Silent Brook on the right path. The stallion seriously underestimated the therapeutic quality of pony-belly-rubs. It mellowed humans out! If he could get Saul to do that, he might not even need a specialist!

"It really doesn't have to be this way, Saul."

His hand bunched into a fist around the fork and slammed down on the table. Silent Brook flinched, but Celestia remained steadfast.

"I'm not going back to that... that... To Lena!" he said firmly.

"I didn't say that, Saul, but you could spend at least some time with your daughter. I'm sure you both want that. Lena can't stop it, unless you give her the reason."

It looked like the human would get even angrier, but he closed his eyes, let his breath out, and muttered: "I'll think about it!"

Celestia smiled at the incredulous stallion.

It would be a long path, but she could get them started on it, and, maybe in a few months, she could invite them both to Canterlot and see how much progress they made. For tonight though...

Enough antagonizing the poor man. He was thinking, that was good. He was trying to control his anger, which was better. Maybe - Celestia couldn't be quite sure yet - he drank a little less? If true, that was the best sign of his progress yet! After a tense minute or so, Saul's shoulders slumped and he went back to eating in silence.