//------------------------------//
// Chapter 60 
// Story: Off Duty 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

The Sun's light slowly ebbed from her mind as Celestia floated gently down to the courtyard. The Raising of the Sun ceremony always left her feeling bittersweet when it ended. The rush of power as it began was a counterpoint to the remorse as it left her again. On her left, Luna hung in the sky, motionless from her perspective, even though the sisters were gently descending. They smiled at one another. As usual, their ceremony had been flawlessly executed. It took a lot less power than anypony imagined, if done properly, because the two worked together in perfect harmony.

The moon, as it slid down the sky, shed its energy, which Luna captured and sent her way. It was the magic of the night, starry skies and a blanket of darkness. Stillness and a gentle, cool breeze. It even smelled of her sister - or maybe Luna smelled of it. The scent always put Celestia in mind of lilies. She smoothly caught the energy and sent it to the sun. It rose and took the moon's place on the sky. After this initial push, the orb would follow its path to the west and then Celestia would lower it the rest of the way in the evening, again feeding the same power to her sister so she could lift up the moon. It was all about balance, which was what the ceremony really represented. It did ponies good to see their alicorns so synchronized, so in tune. Their hooves touched the ground at the same time and the sisters folded up their wings almost in unison.

The crowd cheered. They cheered every time, but it was still incredibly rewarding to soak up their admiration and love. Celestia had missed this on Earth. Almost as much as she had missed Luna. There was a slight commotion at the edge of their raised platform and Luna waved to the guards over there. Celestia didn't immediately understand what was happening. Two unicorns were  pushing a black wheelchair up the steps. Glancing at her sister, Celestia stepped forward to greet them. It was obviously very important, whoever they were, if Luna herself had invited them up.

She looked in the chair, where a thin, frail filly stared back at her with wonder in her large, shining eyes. She was bundled up in cloth against the morning chill, but she pulled the hood away to watch the Princess in awe. Her condition nearly broke Celestia's heart. The poor filly had no mane and large patches of her fur were missing. There was a plastic tube attached to her thin foreleg, leading up to a clear bag of some fluid, which was hooked on the side of the chair. It was human medicine, which in itself was an unusual sight, even in Canterlot.  The wheelchair stopped before her, with the parents standing nervously to either side. Luna stepped to the side so she could look both at the child and at her sister, then extended her wings.

"Sister," she said gently, "of course you remember Morning Breeze?"

"Oh! Of course!" How could she not? The filly who had needed human medicine! Her contract with Mr. Plain! Young Morning Breeze with her devastating illness which even magic couldn't cure and her dam, Cobalt Shard. When they first met, the mare had been distraught. Now she was smiling. The husband, too, looked as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His name was Salt Lick, the Princes remembered. It took her less than a second to put names to faces, but then Celestia looked in anguish at the poor, ill child. She glanced at her sister, who gave her a slight smile and a nod. That, together with the expressions on the parents' faces was all she needed to know. Relieved, Celestia sat on her haunches and leaned down.

"Hey, sweetie!"

The little thing smiled up at her beatifically and lifted a hoof. Celestia came closer so the filly could touch her face.

"I, uh, we don't k-know how to thank you, Princess," the mother said quietly, her voice, husky with emotion, breaking a little.

When Celestia looked at her, she saw that tears were running freely down her muzzle. "It has worked? The human treatment?"

Both parents nodded. The mare went on: "The doctor says she will make a full recovery! They only let us take her home yesterday. We came to show you right away!" The mother was overwhelmed by relief and gratitude and almost collapsed forward to grasp at the Princess. Celestia caught her in a hug. She could feel the silence of the crowd as they drank all of this in. A few cameras clicked, bathing the group in bright flashes of light.
Cobalt Shard in her hooves was weeping openly now and the stallion looked close to tears himself, but they were tears of joy. Luna, showing remarkable empathy, came to take the grateful pony from Celestia's hooves, even if it meant that the mare clung to her instead. This left her free to look at the little unicorn filly who was watching her mother uneasily.

"Don't worry. Your mother is just happy you are well. How do you feel?"

The filly gave this due consideration. "It still hurts," she admitted in her tiny voice. Her ears went down at the memory. Then she brightened up and smiled. "It's not as bad as before! The nice man in the hospital said I am going to be okay!"

Celestia matched her smile. She sat on her haunches, reached her hooves into the wheelchair and lifted the too-light pony out. Her magic carefully unhooked the clear bag and kept it nearby, so the tube wouldn't pull out of her leg. She brought the filly to her chest for a hug. Celestia knew she was grinning like an idiot, but she didn't much care. This, perhaps more than everything else she had achieved, made it worthwhile. All the trouble, all the fear. Even the heartbreak if Rawsthorne couldn't join her. Here was all the justification she needed.

"Mommy said you made it so I could go to the hospital," the child whispered. "I didn't like it there."

"I am sorry."

"They poked me with needles all the time and I was sick a lot," the pony complained, but then she nuzzled the Royal Chest Fluff and sighed happily. "I didn't really mind! The doctor brought me a lollipop every day and said I was a brave pony!"

Her own tear slid down Celestia's muzzle and fell to the floor, unheeded. The bundle in her hooves shivered in the morning breeze and she quickly wrapped her back up in the blankets. As she was carefully laying her back in the wheelchair the Princess whispered: "Come, I will see if I can find you something sweet inside." She gave the child a conspiratorial wink. "There may even be some cake left!"

The poor thing needed to gain back a lot of her weight. Celestia didn't know what the human treatment for this disease involved, but she looked too thin by half after it! The Princess looked to the father, who was just watching his daughter closely and smiling. His and the mother's reactions told her that the news was good. The humans were confident the child would live and they even dismissed her from the hospital. Poor thing must have been in there almost from the day Celestia went to Earth. She deserved a bit of spoiling. No, a whole lot of spoiling!

Luna had managed to disentangle herself from the grateful mare, so Celestia now addressed both parents. "Cobalt Shard. Salt Lick. All three of you are most welcome to have breakfast with Luna and me."

The ponies looked at each other, then nodded and bowed deeply. Before they could begin pushing the wheelchair away, Celestia levitated it to give the child a smoother ride. She walked to the castle and the crowd parted before her. Happy, joyous pony faces stared from every direction. A lot of the mares and quite a number of stallions had tears in their eyes.

Celestia made a decision. She didn't know yet how she would do it, but she swore to herself she would find a way. She turned to address the crowd and lifted the wheelchair so she could put her wing around the filly. "My ponies. Thanks to the humans, Morning Breeze will make a full recovery. They can cure some things even magic cannot! Already my sister Luna and I are working to make these wonders available to all, but now we shall try harder! Soon this hope will be granted, freely, to all ponies!"

There was a cheer, but Celestia didn't wait it out. She led her guests inside, to the private dining room, barely aware of her steps. Her mind was already buzzing. Ponies in human schools and hospitals, learning from the humans, and vice-versa, of course. There were some things magic could do that humans could not. It would be a fair trade, between equal nations. The key was, Celestia realized now, not bringing all her ponies home, but putting more ponies on Earth! Not as slaves, or prisoners, but as valued friends and colleagues. In order to establish the worth of Equestria in human eyes, she would have to let her people go and prove themselves.

Of course they would have to be protected under law. She needed Miriam! The woman would know where to begin. How to even lay down the groundwork for the legislature. Yes it would take a while, Celestia realized that minds could not be changed this quickly, but Morning Breeze gave her new drive to make it happen. New conviction. New energy. Morning Breeze was an inspiration to the Princess.

When she looked at the filly Celestia saw she had dozed off. She tucked the blankets more tightly around her small form. Luckily they were nearly there. She carefully slid the chair up to the table so the parents could check on their filly. Cobalt Shard fussed a little with the blankets and nuzzled Morning Breeze a little, before sitting down. They were both a little self-conscious with Princesses, so Celestia broke the ice:

"Might I offer you some tea while you wait? I will have the pancakes ready in a few minutes!"

Two muzzles fell open in shock as the Princess levitated up a couple of pans and laid them on the stove. "Y-you will c-cook?!" the mare squeaked.

"Of course! I always make breakfast for myself and Luna. I would love to cook for all of us today!"

The couple looked at one another in shock, but they didn't comment. They took their seats around the filly and tried to wait as patiently as they could. The stallion fidgeted a little, until Luna spoke up: "Salt Lick! You hath spent time in the human place, on Earth?"

The pony gave a nervous nod.

"Describe it to Us," the Princess demanded.

The stallion stumbled over his description of the hotel room they had been given and the hospital where Morning Breeze had been treated.

Celestia kept her ears trained on the discussion as she worked the stove and the pans. "Excuse me. You said the doctors had you sign waivers before they would treat Morning Breeze. Do you perhaps have copies of those forms still?"

Cobalt bobbed her head up and down. "Yes! At home! I'll go get them straight away!"

She had already stood up, but Celestia stepped closer and laid a calming wing on the mare's withers. "Oh, there is no rush. I will be grateful to see them later."

She sat back down a little hesitantly. There was a quiet squeak from the wheelchair and the filly looked around with curiosity. Celestia leaned closer and extended a wing toward the nearby shelves. They were loaded with all colors of jars.

"What flavor jam is your favorite, Morning Breeze?"

It was delightful to see the child's look of wonder as she took in rows upon rows of sweet toppings. Morning Breeze turned her gaze on Celestia, then blushed a little and looked down at her hooves.

"Can I t-try them all?" she whispered.

Her mother opened her mouth to admonish, but Celestia shook her head slightly and Cobalt Shard fell silent. The Princess expertly levitated all the jars and brought them to the table to stack them up before the filly.

"Of course, sweetie. A spoonful of each!"

There were far too many even if the spoon was exceedingly small, but Celestia wouldn't mind seeing the filly attempt it. Perhaps it was rather a lot of sugar, but it would do her good. She leaned closer and lowered her voice, as if to keep their conversation a secret from her parents. "Afterwards you tell me which one is the best and you can take it home to have every day!" The Princess grinned widely and winked. In moments the child smiled back. She licked her lips expectantly.

Just in time. The first pancake was ready and Celestia expertly flipped it onto a plate, which she laid gently on the table before the filly. She also brought a small spoon, a knife and a fork, which she passed to Cobalt Shard. Then the Princess went back to the oven.

Luna, watching all of this with a slight smile, faced the stallion again. "The humans treated you with respect, then? As they would another human?"

Celestia focused on their conversation again as she poured fresh batter into the pan.