//------------------------------//
// Police Reports 
// Story: A Slave From Ponnheim 
// by reedman 
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Incident Report 1 by Officer Stahl Huf

Officers were called to the house of famous businesspony Schnellverkauf. His human slave displayed magic. It was seen when Schnellverkauf observed it catching a multitude of books with a levitation spell when said books fell off a high shelf. The slave was restrained by his master with standard In Skin Obedience Runes(or ISORs as they’re commonly referred to in previous reports). Despite attempted interference from the daughter of the slave’s owner, the human was handed over to Ponnheim Police. The ISORs were used to order the human to cease use of its magic unless permitted. It was then interrogated for the origin of his magical ability. Despite the use of ISORs during the interrogation, I couldn’t get the slave to answer my questions. The ISORs activated their pain-induction until it fell unconscious. It was placed in a holding cell until further orders are given.



Incident Report 2 by Officer Stahl Huf

The anomalous slave was visited by Sternenblick, the daughter of Schnellverkauf. I noticed the slave show genuine excitement at the sound of her voice. To the shock of numerous officers, she entered his cell without any incident. He showed total docile behavior in her presence, despite her not using the ISORs in any capacity. Its upper half rested on her forelegs and held a calm conversation for almost an hour. When I later asked of the docile behavior, Sternenblick said her father used the ISORs on Nebel constantly(Nebel is the unofficial name she gave the slave). She never used them in the five years they owned the slave. She also said she treated the human like a friend rather than something she owned. Chief Hoofstead is unsure of what the next step will be and has contacted Prinz Fiesling.



Incident Report 3 by Officer Stahl Huf

The mayor of Ponnheim came to the police department with a surprise announcement. The professors at Ponnheim University’s primatology department would be taking the human to study it. There was protest from some, but a majority of officers were glad to be rid of it. It is suspected that Sternenblick used her influence at the university to make the transfer happen. While no crime is being broken, the Germaneigh prinz wants an officer keeping a close watch on the human. I volunteered for this duty. According to reports from guards assigned to the human, Sternenblick had been telling it about Equestria. One of the only countries on Equus where enslavement of humans is illegal. The prinz was concerned, as escaped slaves can be granted asylum in that country by Princess Celestia. A magic-wielding slave loose on the world was far too dangerous according to the prinz.



Incident Report 4 by Officer Stahl Huf

I have been observing the anomalous slave for a week now. I have been working out of uniform as not to raise suspicion among the university staff or students. The slave is living in an abandoned indoor hoofball stadium. The human has been practicing his magic there, and the professors are noting every aspect of it. It is only a theory, but I suspect Sternenblick had previously trained the human to master its magic. Its finite control is on level with a unicorn graduated from magic school. I have overheard her express the difficulty in teaching it new spells. It seems to have only learned and mastered levitation for now. Prinz Fiesling is inquiring daily updates on the situation. While he could simply take the human by force, he doesn’t want word to get out about a slave knowing magic. He says he will be taking a subtle approach soon.



Incident Report 5 by Officer Stahl Huf

Prinz Fiesling came to the university today. He visited the primatology department. He told the professors he knew of the magic-wielding human they have been harboring. Rather than get upset, he had asked how their work was progressing. They took him to the stadium where the human resided. Sternenblick was too busy with her work in the astrology department at the time to be there. The human had grown relaxed around the professors, so it was calm when approached. They said this was a rare opportunity to test a hypothesis in front of the prinz. The human was asked to levitate a small rock. Something I had seen it do over and over. However, it could barely keep it in the air for more than a few seconds. The professors had a theory. They believed his magic was born out of his friendship with Sternenblick. With the mare not there, his reason for using magic was gone as well. Even from my hiding place, I could see the wheels turning in the prinz’s head. If befriending a slave was all it took for them to get magic, how many more magic humans are out there?



Incident Report 6 by Officer Stahl Huf

I was discovered by the human. I made a rookie mistake. I had gotten too comfortable and used the same viewing position multiple times. Sternenblick had left to get lunch, and the human levitated me out of my hiding spot. It used a bind of magic around my mouth to prevent me using the ISORs. I was kept in that position until the mare returned. It told her I had been watching them since it had been there. The human knew, but only chose to act now?  Not a question I could ponder for too long. Sternenblick asked the human to release me, and it complied. She asked why I was there. I told her the truth: the prinz asked the Ponnheim Police to quietly monitor the anomalous human and to update him if anything happens. It was a unicorn and a magic-wielding human versus a single earth pony. The truth sufficed for them, as I was then invited to join them for lunch. Sternenblick and I split a hayburger and a pear. The human had a fish and vegetables. She noticed me staring at it. She hated seeing it eat slave feed apparently. She thought it was demeaning. I was asked to join them for lunch tomorrow. This is not the most subtle approach, but it could yield more accurate reports on the human’s activities.



Incident Report 7 by Officer Stahl Huf

The past few days have been calm. I’ve been buying the daily lunches for Sternenblick and the human slave. While buying cooked fish more than passerby griffons has earned me some odd stares at the market, the trust I have gained from the human is worth every bit. Just today the mare left me alone with it when she had to tend to at the astrology department. I decided to take another chance at asking it questions about the origins of the magic it wields. The only issue now was taking the conversation slow, as humans tended to have limited vocabulary. I asked about the earliest memory of its magic. I was told about a year ago, when Sternenblick took him out for a walk through Schauriger Wald. The forest was known for runaway slaves in hiding. Slave catchers often patrolled the forest for an easy bounty or two. While walking, two runaway slaves ambushed them and attacked her. Her unicorn instincts kicked in, and she created a shield around herself. She refused to use the ISORs, as that would’ve meant hurting Nebel as well. The slave felt terrified for his friend in a way he never felt before. The thought of losing her. He remembered his hands glowing, and a flash of green. Sternenblick came back before he could finish the rest of the story, but I could fill in the blanks. So his magic was born out of a desire to save his friend. Friendship magic granting power to a non-magical creature? The prinz had admitted to me that he had been considering a law against befriending humans. While no other anomalous humans have appeared, the seeds of doubt were long since planted.



Incident Report 8 by Officer Stahl Huf

The past few days have seen a record number of slaves trying to escape their owners. It’s no surprise to me. Summer is usually the time they try more desperate measures. Ponnheim now has more slave catchers on patrol than police officers. Ponies left and right are having to use ISORs almost nonstop. Sternenblick is terrified to leave Nebel alone in the old stadium. She feared a stray slave catcher would find him. The primatology professors assured her over and over that he is safe here. I found myself giving her the same assurances. At some point in the conversation, Sternenblick considered taking Nebel and running away to Equestria. I brought up her work at the university to steer her away from that thinking. The laws against helping runaway slaves are strict. I myself have seen ponies sent to prison for life for the crime. Sternenblick is not Nebel’s legal owner, her father Schnellverkauf is. In our conversations, Sternenblick tells me her father replaced Nebel the day after the human’s arrest. The two have rarely talked, since she moved out after the arrest as well. Prinz Fiesling is now considering charging her with conspiracy to assist an escaping slave. However, I reminded him this would expose the existence of a magic-wielding human. I’m not sure what the prinz’s plans are for the human. Between Sternenblick’s desire to protect Nebel and the prinz’s desire to squash out humans with magic, I do not see this ending well.



Incident Report 9 by Officer Stahl Huf

This is the shortest time between reports. After writing up the previous report yesterday afternoon, I found myself returning to the human. I happened to be walking home when crossing paths with Sternenblick. She was out resupplying Nebel’s food. The fear of a slave catcher taking him while she was gone was very prevalent. She pondered spending the night with him. I told her a young mare needed her sleep. I offered to spend the night with the human. Admittedly, the words fell out. Before I could take them back, she thanked me over and over. So I went back to the stadium and told the human I would be spending the night with him so Sternenblick could sleep soundly. He was skeptical, but accepted it when she told him. Our night wasn’t very eventful. Nebel and I talked a lot. He told me about being born into slavery. He was told his parents were forced to conceive him. His father being sold off before he was even born. Being ripped away from his mother when he was ten. Having ISORs put on him when he was eleven. I never knew we put ISORs on them so young. Nebel told me he’s seen it done as early as birth. Depended on what breeder you were raised under. I listened to him tell me about four years of going market to market. Most slave owners never had a use for young slaves. Schnellverkauf only bought him because Sternenblick begged him for a slave her age. Now here he was five years later. A twenty year old human who only knew enslavement. I let him sleep on me for a pillow that night. Better than the stuffed sack he had been using.



Incident Report 10 by Officer Stahl Huf

I found myself rewriting this report so many times. I struggled to find the words to describe what I felt. Disgust? Anger? Rage? They failed to satisfy what I wanted to express. The morning after my impromptu night with Nebel, he asked a question he wanted to ask last night. He asked me if I knew my father. I did. I came from a long line of officers on the Ponnheim Police force. I told him about trying to wear my father’s uniform as a colt. It never fit. He told me he wished he could of heard his father’s voice at least once. To see his face once. He would never tell Sternenblick, but he was envious of her. She had a father in her life. Even though she hated him with all her heart, he was still there. He told me how nice it would be to have somepony to call ‘dad’. Even if it was a stallion instead of a human. Sternenblick came with breakfast shortly after that, and I had to excuse myself to cry. I realized in that moment, what monsters we were. Nebel is not a slave, or an it. At one point, he was a little boy who had everything taken from him. His mother. His father. His freedom. We took it all from him and for what?  Nebel is twenty, and has to spend every day wondering if somepony’s going to take him away. I have a nephew his age, and his biggest worry is what pickup line to use on the cute mare he sees at the university library. I can no longer in good faith live with the life I have lived. I looked at Nebel and I still saw the little boy who needed a father in his eyes.


With this report I announce my resignation as an officer of the law for the city of Ponnheim. My uniform is on my desk.