'Red'emption of a Showmare

Chapters

Coming to an Understanding...
A Switch in Time...
In a Rare Mood... (Written by Triskelion)
A Dash of Penance...
Paying Royalties...

Coming to an Understanding...

“Red”emption of a Showmare

Chapter 1: Coming to an Understanding...

Trixie (a.k.a. “The Great and Powerful Trixie”) and Twilight Sparkle awoke to the pleasant sensation of being snuggled comfortably in each others’ forelegs. As their heads started to clear, the first thing they noticed was the sunlight shining through the windows. It was a bright, sunny day outside, probably mid-morning if not later. The second thing they noticed was that they were still lying on the floor of the library.

That brought them both awake with a bit of a start. They looked around, then looked back at each other with a mixture of worry and adoration as they discovered they were snuggling underneath a warm blanket that had been draped over them – and that sitting beside them, leaning up against the wall only a short distance away, was a sleeping baby dragon.

Twilight chuckled quietly at the sight of the little drake, smiling fondly. “He must’ve come home some time after we passed out,” she said to Trixie – quietly, so as not to wake up Spike. “It must have been a bit of a shock for him to see you... us... here like this. I guess he thought it best to keep an eye on you... and fell asleep.”

Trixie chuckled softly as well, nuzzling Twilight’s cheek adoringly before working her way back onto her hooves. “Trixie guesses she’ll have a lot of explaining to do when he wakes up, then.”

Twilight sighed thoughtfully as she stood up as well. “I suppose we both will,” she said, with another glance towards Spike. “You know... you’ll have to apologize to my friends. They may not accept you at first... but I think they’ll understand once they’ve had a little time to get used to the idea.”

Trixie nodded. “Trixie hopes you're right, Twilight. Though... I thought you said it wasn’t my fault? You forgave me, and what I did to you was worse than anything I ever did to them...” she said, although she didn’t sound entirely certain of that last part. The things she’d done while under the Alicorn Amulet’s corrupting influence were a bit of a jumble; it was sometimes difficult to tell the difference between things she’d actually done, and things that she’d only imagined doing when the amulet had even corrupted her dreams as she slept. Even after being freed from its control, she’d suffered some terrifying nightmares for several weeks afterwards. But she knew some of the things she’d done were very, very bad...

Twilight saw Trixie’s sudden look of worry and fear, and pressed up close against her, wrapping a comforting hoof around Trixie’s neck . “And I meant it, Trixie, it wasn’t your fault. Not completely. But... well, my friends can be stubborn sometimes,” she said, with a fond smile for them in spite of that. “Of course, they’d probably say the same thing about me sometimes, too. None of us are perfect, and we’ve had plenty of rough patches in our friendships. But we do forgive each other, Trixie... and I think once they get over the initial shock, they’ll be open to forgiving you, too. Just give them some time... and show them how humble The Great and Powerful Trixie can be, when she’s truly sorry for what she did, and wants to make amends. That’ll go a long way towards persuading them, I think.”

Trixie blushed deeply as Twilight used her own title, then closed her eyes for a moment as she considered Twilight’s words honestly. “Trixie supposes you may be right, Twilight. Trixie is...” She stopped, then looked up at Twilight. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be with you.”

Twilight smiled warmly, and kissed Trixie’s cheek. “That’s my mare,” she chuckled softly. “Let’s get Spike up to bed, and then we’ll talk more about our... new and very improved relationship.” She gave Trixie a sly wink, before finally removing the inhibitor from Trixie’s horn. Trixie blinked and shook her head at the odd sensation; after so many hours of having her magic blocked, she’d almost stopped noticing it, and it actually felt a bit funny to have it back again.

On the other hoof, it had just felt... right, somehow, to have been kept small and powerless like that for a while. That wicked belt of Twilight’s had broken her – I wonder where she learned to give spankings like that? she found herself thinking – but it was the induced feeling of helplessness from the inhibitor that had kept her there when Twilight had started asking about her past. Broken and humbled by the fierce punishment, feeling so small and vulnerable afterwards, she’d told Twilight everything she wanted to know, even things the proud showmare would have preferred that no one else ever know... and in finally unburdening herself, admitting all the guilt and pain she’d carried inside all these years without any evasions or embellishments to salvage her own pride or ego, she’d begun to let go of it at last, making room in her now-lightened heart for something more...

As they made their way upstairs to the bedroom, Twilight carefully floated Spike in front of her, suspended in a bubble of magic, while Trixie helped by moving various books, scrolls, and other items out of their way. After Twilight had placed Spike in his little bed, Trixie brought up that warm blanket that she and Twilight had been sleeping under, and draped it gently over the sleeping baby dragon. The smile Twilight gave her, as she saw her former nemesis showing such tenderness towards her “number-one assistant”, warmed Trixie’s heart in a way she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

While Twilight finished getting Spike settled in, Trixie took a moment to look around the room with curious interest. Stacks of large books sitting beside a writing desk, a few vials of unknown substances, and a neatly-made bed that would make any mother proud, all spoke of a room which suited the studious, compulsive unicorn mare so perfectly that it was hard to imagine her living any other way. Trixie particularly admired the tight bedclothes wrapping the mattress, and couldn’t help giving Twilight a sly grin as wicked thoughts about that bed slowly crept their way into her mind.

Twilight glanced over at her new marefriend, noticing her look, and returned a grin of her own. “Behave, Trixie,” she whispered, so as not to disturb Spike. “None of that around my number-one assistant. At least not until he’s a little more used to you... and us, I suppose.” She gave Trixie a reassuring smile that promised many glorious “experiments” in their future, then motioned for Trixie to follow her as she made her way back downstairs.

Trixie gave a playful pout at her words, but could see the fire in the unicorn’s eyes. She glanced towards the bed once more, then obligingly followed Twilight out of the room with a soft chuckle. “Well... I hope it doesn’t take too long.”

Twilight glanced behind her, and smiled. “It’s already been too long.” Her voice was laced with longing... and perhaps, a hint of mischief? Trixie raised a brow at Twilight’s words and nodded, following her lavender marefriend the rest of the way in silence. To Trixie’s surprise, Twilight didn’t stop at the lobby. Instead, she opened a hidden door beside one of the many bookshelves, revealing a curving staircase leading downward. She motioned for Trixie to follow her as she used her horn to light the way.

As they came to the bottom of the staircase, Twilight used a quick shot of magic to activate the ceiling lamps suspended around the room, revealing a well-stocked basement laboratory. Trixie looked around in awe as Twilight led her into the cavern beneath the massive library tree’s roots. A table full of glassware for chemistry experiments, shelves full of advanced scientific texts, several notebooks and two large blackboards covered in diagrams and equations that Trixie couldn’t even begin to make sense of... and along the far wall, a large computer of some kind, something Trixie had never seen outside of a few newspaper stories about the then-new and exciting science of “computing machines”, attached to several other pieces of equipment intended for Celestia-only-knew what purposes.

She looked around in stunned amazement, taking it all in. No wonder Celestia chose her as her personal protege... she thought, humbled by the realization that there was so much more to her unicorn marefriend than she’d ever thought. Twilight gave Trixie a moment to look around her, then motioned for her to follow towards an adjoining room. Inside was a table and a few chairs, with a single lamp sitting in the middle of the table.

“Welcome to my laboratory,” Twilight said with a soft chuckle at Trixie’s expression. “We can talk in here, without disturbing Spike.” She moved two of the chairs so that they faced each other, then settled into one and motioned for Trixie to take the other.

“Wouldn’t want the child to get an eyeful, huh?” Trixie replied, giving the lavender mare an obvious grin as she took the offered seat.

Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at the obvious meaning behind Trixie’s words. “I meant what I said, Trixie. We’re here to talk about what comes next.”

Trixie stuck her tongue out playfully. “Yes, ‘coming next’ is what Trixie’s talking about too, sexy mare,” she said, enjoying the slight blush her comment brought to her marefriend’s cheeks.

Twilight sighed softly and shook her head. “As much as I love your playfulness, Trixie... we really do need to talk.”

Trixie bit her lip as she caught the serious note in Twilight’s voice. In her experience, “we have to talk” was never the opening to a pleasant conversation. “All right, Twilight. I’m listening,” she said, trying to put on a weak smile as she waited to hear what the lavender mare had to say.

Twilight smiled warmly as she heard Trixie slip back into first person, and reached over to put a hoof onto Trixie’s. “Glad to hear it. Look... Trixie, as you know, my friends did not take your first visit to Ponyville very well... and I can’t imagine your second visit was taken all that well either. I may have forgiven you, but my friends...”

Trixie sat still and just nodded, as she listened to her new marefriend’s words.

“I’ll be there with you, Trixie. I’ll talk to them... but you have to be prepared for the possibility that they might not be willing to forgive you right away. In fact... even an apology might not do much for some of them, especially Rainbow Dash. As I said, they can be stubborn sometimes. But no matter what happens, I want you to know... I won’t give you up, Trixie.”

Trixie smiled, truly happy to hear those words. “Trixie won’t give you up either, Twilight Sparkle,” she said gratefully. “Twilight... I know I did terrible things to them,” she added with a sad sigh. “I know that, and I... I accept it. It may have been the amulet corrupting me, but I’m the one who chose to put it on in the first place, because I’m the one who chose to blame all of you for my problems and wanted to get even with you, instead of facing the truth. And if the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ wants to become a newer, better Trixie, then...” Trixie looked up, meeting Twilight’s gaze with renewed determination. “Then she must face the consequences of what she did, even if it hurts. I’ll do whatever it takes, Twilight.” The words were hard to say, but the smile they brought to Twilight’s face made them worth saying.

“I’m glad to hear that, Trixie... ‘cause there’s something I want you to do. I think it may help.”

Trixie raised a brow curiously. “What?”

Twilight stood up from her chair, and motioned for Trixie to stand as well. “Turn around Trixie, and lift up your cape for me,” she said in a tone which left no room for questions. It wasn’t a tone of voice she used very often, and it commanded Trixie’s instant attention and obedience even before she had a chance to think.

Trixie’s eyes widened at the order as she slowly turned around, actually shaking in her hooves as she used her magic to lift her cape away from her form, baring her flanks as her marefriend commanded. “Tw... Twilight?” she stammered fearfully.

Twilight summoned something into her magic grip as she spoke warmly. “Don’t worry, Trixie. I’m just giving you something to help you keep your tongue and your pride in check. A little reminder.”

Trixie glanced back, and immediately wished she hadn’t. Twilight was holding that wicked belt once more, and just the sight of it turned her insides to jelly again. “T-Twilight... p-please...” she whispered fearfully, even as she found herself automatically assuming the same position she’d been placed in yesterday, lifting her hindquarters and tail as she lowered her head to the floor, exposing herself for punishment.

Twilight raised a brow as she saw Trixie’s instant obedience and submission. “That’s... not actually what I was planning to do to you, Trixie, but if it’s really what you want,” she said, unable to resist the temptation being offered. Trixie barely had time to register the words before she felt the crack!! of leather against her flanks once more...

...but instead of the vicious explosion of white-hot pain she’d been expecting, there was only a sensation of impact, followed by a soft warmth and a moderate bit of sting. Two more strokes, one above and one below, spread the warmth and sting a little more – but once the initial shock had passed, Trixie gave a sigh of relief as she realized that Twilight was hardly putting any real force behind them. This was, indeed, nothing more than a reminder, and almost pleasant in a strange way... Trixie felt her cheeks warming with an embarrassed blush at that thought.

“Not that you don’t look adorable in that position,” Twilight added, giving Trixie a playful hoof-pat on her left flank as she used her magic to wrap the belt around Trixie’s waist, snugging it firmly enough that Trixie would be aware of its presence with every step she took, but not tightly enough to hurt her or restrict her movements.

“Wh... what?” Trixie gasped, startling at the touch of Twilight’s hoof and the belt cinching snugly around her body.

Twilight chuckled as she caught Trixie’s cape in her own magic and laid it across her flanks so that it hid the belt from view. “Maybe keeping it close by will help keep the Great and Powerful Trixie from doing something she’ll regret later,” she said, leaning down to nuzzle Trixie’s cheek affectionately as she encouraged her marefriend to rise from the submissive position. “They’re going to bait you, Trixie... but I want you to stay humble. Do you understand?”

Trixie bit her lip nervously, easily able to figure out exactly what she’d be regretting, and where she’d be regretting it, if she ever let her arrogance get the best of her again. “Yes, Twilight,” she said, already feeling very humbled just by the feel of the belt around her waist, and what it represented. “Trixie understands...” Trixie will face the consequences of her actions, even if it hurts. Her words came back to her, and she shivered a little. It would hurt so very, very much... but not as much as betraying the love, and trust, and forgiveness Twilight had given her, she realized.

Twilight raised a hoof and trailed it along Trixie’s muzzle affectionately, causing shivers to run down the azure mare’s spine at her touch. Trixie looked up, her heart beating faster as she looked deep into those knowing violet eyes. “What... is on Twilight’s mind?” she asked in a soft whisper.

Twilight smiled and gave Trixie a soft kiss against her lips. “Only you, Trixie... Only you.” She gave Trixie a wicked grin as her horn lit up, and Trixie heard a solid “clunk!” from behind them as her marefriend locked the door to the room. Twilight walked around Trixie slowly as she traced her hoof along her form, flicking her hat off her head as she passed, and Trixie felt a strange sense of submissive excitement at the way Twilight was taking charge of her, acting so possessive of her, as though she belonged to the lavender unicorn mare. Shivers ran down Trixie’s spine as Twilight’s hoof glided along her back, all the way from her withers to the dock of her tail, following the star patterns on the soft fabric of her cape.

“I always did like your cutie mark, you know,” she heard Twilight say, in a voice laced with desire, just before she flipped the cape aside to bare Trixie’s hindquarters once more.

Trixie felt herself going weak in the knees under Twilight’s loving touch, especially when that touch reached the dock of her tail, then circled around her hindquarters to her cutie mark. “T.. Twilight?” she breathed shakily. She couldn’t help but look around to see just what Twilight had in mind for her...

Her marefriend’s next actions, though, left her more confused, as Twilight smiled back affectionately while her horn lit up to unbuckle the belt from around Trixie’s waist and place it on the table. Trixie raised a brow and, after a moment’s hesitation, slowly turned around to face Twilight, giving her a look of deep longing and need. “Why...?” Why was Twilight taking the belt off already? And why did its removal seem just as humbling, yet exciting, as having it put on her had been?

Twilight moved forward and licked Trixie’s cheek playfully. “Because I gave ‘Trixie’ that belt to help keep her humble and restrained. But right now...” She turned around and bent herself over the edge of the table, turning her head to give her dumbfounded lover a sly wink. “...that’s the last thing I want from you, my love.”

Trixie’s eyes almost popped out of her head at the sight of Twilight presenting herself that way, while her words caused Trixie’s legs to shake for a different reason as they clicked in her mind. Suddenly, Twilight was no longer the calm, rational, and somewhat adorably-awkward unicorn Trixie had woken up snuggled against just a few minutes ago. She was a seductive, exciting, sexually-aroused mare who knew just what she wanted, and who she wanted it from. She wanted what Trixie had given her last night... and this time, she was offering herself for it willingly.

Just the thought of it took Trixie’s breath away as she gazed at Twilight’s hindquarters. Twilight, feeling Trixie’s eyes on her back there, both blushed adorably and smiled wickedly to herself as she slowly, deliberately lifted her tail, exposing herself to her marefriend and lover. The soft folds nestled between her hind legs were already visibly damp with arousal and anticipation.

Perhaps it was her love for Twilight, perhaps her own personality, or maybe it was simply the lack of the belt along her hide, but the sight of Twilight’s arousal glistening against her mare-folds triggered something in Trixie. A wicked grin began to form along her muzzle. “Trixie did always like your flanks, Twilight. Though I do think they looked better in red...” She bit her lip in excitement as she walked toward her lover. She, too, was feeling a definite wetness between her hind legs, and the scent of their mutual arousal sent shivers up the spines of both mares.

Twilight felt her breath catch in her throat as Trixie returned to her more familiar dominant attitude. She kept her eyes locked on Trixie’s, turning her head to follow the azure mare, as her legs began to tremble in anticipation and longing. “I love you, Trixie...”

“I love you too, Twilight.” Her words were sweet, even as she gave Twilight’s rump a firm swat with her hoof. She gently ran her hoof over the soft pink imprint left behind, before tracing her way downward a bit more. “And Trixie can see just how much you love her,” she added, giving Twilight a playful wink as she started to rub gently – almost too gently, causing Twilight to let out a loud gasp and a moan of pleasure and need.

“Ahhhhh! Trixieeeee....” She fell across the table, her body going limp, as that soft touch seemed to take control of her own body away from her.

Trixie chuckled softly as she continued to rub Twilight’s soft marefolds, teasing her until she had the lavender unicorn trembling. “Trixie will certainly enjoy this... and I know you will...” She pressed her hoof forward gently to spread her lover’s plump outer folds... only to pull her hoof back and smack it across her flank once more. “...Twilight Spankle,” she finished with a soft little chuckle.

Twilight moaned softly as she felt the hoof pressing against her mound, only to squeal in frustration as the pleasant stimulation was suddenly taken away and replaced by another sharp, stinging smack to her rump. She began to breathe heavily as she flexed her haunches and relaxed them, trying hard to regain her composure as the unexpected combination of pleasure and pain sent her mind reeling.

Trixie grinned at Twilight’s reaction as she raised her hoof to her lips and gave it a tentative lick. “You taste as good as you feel, lover,” she murmured into Twilight’s ear as she came up to nuzzle her submissive lavender marefriend. “And Trixie is going to make you feel very, very good indeed.”

Twilight sighed contentedly, leaning her head into the affectionate nuzzling. “Bananas...” she whispered, giggling a bit at Trixie’s raised brow of confusion. “That’s the safeword. Bananas,” she added.

“You’re bananas,” Trixie replied, sharing the giggle before nodding her understanding.

Suddenly, pain blossomed across Twilight’s backside again as Trixie gave her flank several sharp swats with her hoof – but before she could even make a gasp of protest, her marefriend’s hoof was back between her legs again, and she melted helplessly under the pleasure as Trixie rubbed the wet folds in slow circles. “HnnnHHH! Oh, T-Trixiiiieee... I... p-please...” Almost of their own accord, her haunches started to move in a rhythm matching the pressure of Trixie’s hoof against her mound, but Trixie continued to make her lover suffer the delicious frustration of never quite getting the full amount of stimulation she craved, making sure to pull her hoof back every time Twilight tried to push herself onto it.

“No, no, no... not yet, my precious Twilight Sparkle. You’ve been very naughty, teasing Trixie like this, and naughty mares don’t deserve that... yet,” she added, the last word speaking volumes to Twilight. She would get exactly as much pleasure as Trixie permitted, and no more. “Naughty mares have to earn that, don’t they... don’t they?!” she snapped, punctuating her sudden question with two sharp smacks of her hoof right at the most sensitive spots on Twilight’s backside, making the lavender unicorn squeal and bite her lip as the pain caught her by surprise again.

“Y-yes, Trixie!” she gasped.

“Much better,” Trixie smiled. “Now, let’s see... Trixie could use your belt across your own flanks...” she said, pretending to think out loud as she resumed rubbing Twilight’s wet folds, though she already knew what she was going to do. Twilight moaned piteously as she was teased like never before. She squirmed and wriggled against the table, trying hard to find some form of relief, but there was none to be had. Trixie had her exactly where she wanted her... exactly where Twilight had offered to place herself.

“It would be an appropriately sweet revenge...” Trixie continued. “Even if Trixie isn’t actually looking for revenge anymore.” She abruptly pulled her hoof back and delivered ten more sharp swats, five on each cutie mark, making Twilight gasp and moan as the stinging pain blossomed across her flanks again, intensifying as each swat struck the same target multiple times in quick succession. The fire in her rear did nothing to quell the fire in her loins; if anything, the pain seemed to be making the pleasure even sweeter.

Endorphins... painful sensations... inducing euphoria... bonding experience... I think... I understand why... ponies do this... the broken thoughts flashed through her head, though she couldn’t concentrate on any of them for long, and didn’t really want to just now. But even as aroused as she was, a small part of Twilight’s brain could never stop working, analyzing, and trying to understand anything new, and she had to giggle softly at herself. I really am such a geek sometimes...!

“No... Trixie thinks she’ll let you keep that belt as something precious and special,” Trixie said, chuckling at Twilight’s expression. “Besides... Trixie paid good bits for her own special toy; it would be a shame to let those bits go to waste. Don’t you agree?” With a quick flash of magic, she summoned her crop from her saddlebag upstairs, and hovered it menacingly in front of her with the tip aimed straight at Twilight’s rump. “Spread your legs... pet.”

Twilight squeaked as Trixie’s final word bit like the crop, but even the forcefulness was laced with a passionate longing. She quickly turned her head away, looking resolutely forward, not wanting to see it coming as she obeyed, spreading her rear legs as far apart as she could, trembling with fear of the wicked, evil mare she’d willingly surrendered herself to.

Trixie smiled, delighted by the sight before her. Her precious Twilight, completely exposed before her now, helpless and vulnerable and so very, very visibly aroused with that glistening wetness all along her plump marefolds and even dampening the insides of her thighs a little. “Mmmm... now that’s what Trixie likes to see,” she teased, as she brought the crop up to draw its tip slowly across the center of Twilight’s fully exposed mound, trailing the dampness upward as she circled the tip along the puckered opening under her tail, delighting in the soft whimpers Twilight made in response.

Twilight’s squeaks and moans were music to Trixie’s ears as the tip played along her folds. She bit her lip and cried out, in fear and anticipation, as her own liquids were played along her rosebud. The sensation was exquisite and frightening all at once; the lavender unicorn had never touched herself there in a sexual manner before, and certainly had never had anypony else do so! The fact that it was that wicked crop doing the touching just made it seem even naughtier, like she was being forced to do something dirty and forbidden. “Pl... please, Mistress!” she heard herself cry out.

Trixie stopped moving the crop as she heard that unexpected cry from Twilight, and her playful grin grew even wider. “Oh, my... you really know what Trixie likes, pet,” she purred as she tapped the crop’s rod between the cleft of Twilight’s backside. “Trixie has always wanted to hear you squeal, Twilight. Hear you squeal, and beg,” she said, punctuating each word with those playful taps, keeping Twilight on the edge with anticipation and fear. “Although not for the same reasons as she does now, of course. But either way, this seems the perfect opportunity, don’t you think?” She raised the crop into the air, then drove it down sharply across Twilight’s tailhole.

Twilight shivered as she listened to Trixie’s words, her eyes widening as she realized just what was to come. She tensed up just before the strike fell... Oh no... oh please... she wouldn’t really...!

“EEEEEAAAAAHHHH!!!”

Trixie got her wish as Twilight’s squeals echoed through the room. She clenched and unclenched her cheeks as that place under her tail blazed with pain in a way she’d never even imagined. Yet somehow, the pain only made her even wetter, and through the pain she felt a sense of both astonishment and lustful need as she felt her marehood winking invitingly to the wicked showmare. “Th... thank you... Mistress...” she gasped out, surprising herself.

Trixie laughed as she looked over her “victim” with lust-filled eyes, enjoying the sounds of Twilight’s squeals and the unmistakeable sign of her arousal. Hearing Twilight call her “Mistress” again, and thank her for the pain she’d just inflicted, was just the icing on the cake. “Look at you, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, pretending disapproval. “You’re soaked. You really do enjoy having your flanks smacked like the naughty mare you are... don’t you.”

“Yes, Mistress!” Twilight’s response was immediate, without any hesitation, bringing another smile to Trixie’s face.

“And you want Trixie to punish your naughty flanks, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mistress!” Twilight said, smiling a little herself as that analytical little corner of her mind worked out how the game was to proceed next. “Please... I... I mean, your pet has been very naughty, and... and... um... she begs you punish her as she deserves, Mistress.”

Oh, you are good, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie thought to herself with a silent laugh. I wonder which one of your books you got that out of? “Of course, my love,” Trixie said aloud as she raised the crop over Twilight’s flanks once more. “Since you asked so nicely... Trixie will give her precious little pet exactly what she deserves.” She gave Twilight a moment to brace herself, then brought the crop down across her flanks, alternating between the left and right side in turn. This time, instead of starting off with the strikes at full force, she started off slowly and more gently, gradually increasing the force every couple of minutes or so as she struck every inch of her “pet’s” hindquarters with precision, watching Twilight’s lavender backside slowly turning a deeper, hotter purple as her skin reddened underneath the fur.

Twilight closed her eyes tight, biting down on a hoof as she whimpered softly in pain and deep pleasure, her flanks stinging and burning with a painful fire rivaled only by the liquid heat of her own arousal. “Please... Mis...tress....” she moaned, feeling herself growing wetter by the moment, her own dewy moisture trickling down the inside of her legs as she writhed and squirmed while the strikes continued to fall across her sore hindquarters, dreading every strike even as she heard herself begging for more of it...

And then, without warning, Trixie changed tactics. Suddenly, the crop went splat! directly onto Twilight’s wet marehood, not so hard as to truly hurt her, but more than enough to sting ferociously. Trixie’s reward for this was another ringing squeal of pain, followed by a deep moan as Trixie rubbed the crop’s tip against those wet folds, stimulating her willing victim right at the most sensitive spot, over her clit. Just when the pain seemed almost forgotten and buried under the intense pleasure...

...Trixie struck her marefolds with the crop again. Twilight squealed in pain and melted in pleasure as the combination, and her willing submission to it, hit Twilight in places she never even realized she had within herself. Oh, dear sun and moon, it... hurts!... and it’s... I want... I... please...! Unable to even complete a thought, she trembled in pain, fear, and need under the assault, barely able to hold herself upright as she felt her knees going weak from the strain of holding her spread-legged position despite the torment being inflicted on her sensitive marehood. “Pleeeeeease, Miss...tressssss!”

Another strike... another loud squeal of pain, followed by helpless moans of pleasure as her clit was rubbed by the crop’s tip, blending the fiery pain with exquisite pleasure. And another... another... until finally, on the seventh strike, Twilight broke, letting out a scream that was somewhere between agony and ecstasy as she fell limp against the table, shaking uncontrollably, her winking marehood dripping on the floor as she lost herself in an orgasm unlike any she’d ever experienced.

Trixie immediately tossed the crop to the floor and brought her muzzle just inches from her marefriend’s flower, taking a deep sniff. “Truly amazing, my love,” she said, genuinely impressed. The lavender bookworm was made of tougher stuff than Trixie had thought; she hadn’t expected Twilight to be able to endure that for more than a couple of strikes. But seven shots of the crop, right to her marehood? That was a lot more than she’d have thought Twilight could handle! More than Trixie could take, I’m sure! she thought to herself with a giggle. Although... it might be interesting to find out...

Putting that thought aside, Trixie nuzzled in closer, pressing her muzzle in between Twilight’s cheeks, and drew her tongue slowly and sensuously over those wet folds, tasting the delightfully musky flavor of her marefriend. Twilight was so very, very wet... “My, my... you did enjoy that, didn’t you, pet...” Gently, she began to lap at Twilight’s mound, soothing the painful burn of the crop with tender licks, while working her tongue in between the plump outer folds to give even more pleasure.

Twilight was completely oblivious to anything but the burning in her flanks, the exquisite agony in her cropped mound, and the lingering glow of her orgasm, so she never heard Trixie’s comments, at least not consciously. She did, however, feel that tongue lapping across her sensitive, aching petals. Sensitized by her own arousal, and made over-sensitive by the crop, even the soft touch of Trixie’s tongue provoked another ringing squeal of pain and pleasure. “AAAAIEEEHHAH! TRIXIEEEEE PLEEEEASE!!”

Trixie giggled softly and began driving her tongue deeply into Twilight’s marehood, lapping at the musky wetness trickling from those soft, dark-lavender folds, sliding her tongue in and out in a steady rhythm as if it were the piston of a motor, each lap driving Twilight mad with lust. Pressing her muzzle firmly against Twilight’s wet mound, she inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of her incredibly-horny marefriend as she nuzzled her there, making sure that the lavender unicorn’s clit got its share of attention. “Come on now, pet... Trixie wants to hear her precious Twilight Sparkle...” she said – although with her muzzle buried up against Twilight’s mound, Twilight couldn’t have made sense of the muffled words even if her own squeals and screams of pleasure hadn’t been ringing off the walls.

Twilight was lost. She felt her marehood clenching down on the intruder plunging in and out of her marehood, but her slick dampness made it impossible to hold. She moaned and cried incoherently, her excitement building higher and higher, losing awareness of everything around her except the endless pleasure of Trixie’s tongue blending so incredibly with the pain in her flanks, taking her to a place she could never have reached by her own hoof. She began kicking the floor and banging on the table as each lick stripped what little self-control she had left away from her, breaking her once again, little by little, lick by lick, until one last deep lick and soft suckling at her clit threw her over the edge.

“TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIXIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

Twilight let out a piercing scream as she unleashed the flood. Her whole body shook, bucking so hard against the table she nearly tipped it over, and Trixie had to react fast to catch the lamp in her magic before it hit the floor. Twilight’s horn sparked, firing off a flare of purple light that bathed the walls in fluorescent color – not an uncommon reaction for a unicorn in the throes of orgasm, but one which delighted Trixie nonetheless. It took a deep, powerful, and truly satisfying climax to make a unicorn’s horn involuntarily “ejaculate” their magic like that, and Twilight’s world was clearly being rocked by one right now. And Trixie had been the one to give it to her.

Trixie had given something special, to a mare she cared about. She liked that thought.

“Ba... bana... nas...”

That single weakly-whispered word snapped Trixie’s attention back to Twilight. In a flash, she caught Twilight in her magic, holding her up as the lavender unicorn’s strength finally gave out. “Easy, my love, easy...” she murmured softly, gently lowering the dazed, exhausted mare to the floor. “Easy now, I’ve got you... Trixie’s here, pet...”

Twilight’s only answer was a deep, soft sigh as Trixie helped her lay down on the floor. Her heavy panting began to slow as she came down from whatever dizzying height her orgasm had taken her to, and her glazed-over eyes slowly fluttered closed. In moments, she was fast asleep, a little puddle of drool collecting under her half-open mouth, which made Trixie giggle softly. Sometimes Twilight was just too adorably awkward for words.

Trixie stepped back from the exhausted mare, then sat back on her haunches and just watched Twilight sleep for a few minutes. The sight was a memory to treasure. Hopefully, the first of many. It will be. I’ll do whatever it takes to stay with you, Twilight Sparkle... no matter what. And if humbling myself before your friends is what it takes... then that’s what it takes. The Great and Powerful Trixie is done with running away from her mistakes.

Her muzzle was still drenched in Twilight’s lust, and the powerful scent made Trixie’s own marehood soaking-wet with need. Unfortunately, Twilight was in no condition to fulfill that need at the moment. Trixie sighed softly to herself as she summoned a towel and began cleaning herself off. “You would fall asleep...” she said with a playful note of disappointment in her voice, even though she doubted Twilight could hear it, as she used the towel to gently clean her lover as well.

Finally, she laid the the towel on top of the puddle of juices Twilight had dripped onto the floor during her “punishment”, then settled into one of the comfortable chairs and tried to relax as she waited for the one she truly loved to awaken. She would have liked to lay down and cuddle while Twilight slept, but considering the state they were both in, she didn’t think she could resist the temptation of wrapping herself around that warm lavender body and...

“Trixie hopes you wake up soon,” she told the unconscious mare with an amused smile. “Trixie has a Great and Powerful Hunger... and you’re the only one that can unlock the door.”

Author's Note

The long awaiting (At least I hope) Sequel to "Many uses of a Brush" is finally started. With my first attempt at clop as well... Don't expect more of that for a few chapters though.

Hope you enjoyed the ride, as sadly this story will be far longer between posts, as I now have a Co-Writer to help make this story exactly what I hoped it could be.

Thanks again to Triskelion for his much appreciated help.

A Switch in Time...

“Red”emption of a Showmare

Chapter 2: A Switch in Time...

For a while, Trixie just enjoyed watching Twilight sleep. The slow rise and fall of her barrel as she breathed, the occasional twitch of a leg, the look of blissful contentment on her face... and the bit of drool collecting on the floor under her partly-opened mouth which made the scene just so adorably silly. There was just something so very satisfying, Trixie mused, about knowing that you’d given your lover a sexual experience so powerful that they’d passed out in your hooves from sheer physical and emotional exhaustion afterwards...

Unfortunately, Twilight was a very sound sleeper, and by the time Twilight finally began to stir from her slumber, Trixie’s “great and powerful hunger” had been joined by an equally great and powerful need to take care of a few other bodily demands as well. Wake up, Twilight... wake up, Twilight, wake up, wake up, wakeupwakeupwakeup oh horseapples I shouldn’t have drunk all that water when are you going to wake up you and your stupid magic door locks WAKE –

Twilight’s eyes slowly fluttered open, and the lavender unicorn let out a soft groan as she blinked and tried to focus on an azure-blue blur that kept moving back and forth in front of her vision. “It’s about time you woke up, Twilight!” the azure-blue blur snapped as it slowly resolved itself into an uncomfortably-squirming azure-blue unicorn pacing anxiously back and forth.

Twilight shook her head to clear it, then slowly started to push her orgasm-wearied body up off the floor and back to her hooves. “...Trixie? What are we –?” Oh, right, she thought as her brain finally got itself back up to speed and the memories caught up with her. “How long was I asleep?”

“Long enough!” Trixie hissed through gritted teeth. “Could you unlock the door for Trixie, please?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, love, I didn’t mean to pass out on you like that,” Twilight said, coming over to nuzzle her marefriend. “It’s just that it was so... um... intense, that I –”

“Twilight, while the Great and Powerful Trixie would love to listen to you praise her greatness, she would love it even more if you would unlock the door for Trixie right now!” Trixie interrupted in an increasingly-desperate tone.

Twilight blinked, then blushed furiously as the significance of Trixie’s anxious squirming and fidgeting suddenly became clear to her. She quickly shot a bolt of magic at the door, unlocking the magicked wards and throwing it open with a strong telekinetic push. “Yes! Right! Sorry! Up the stairs, second door on the left!” she called out as Trixie galloped off through the open doorway, through the underground lab, and up the stairs to the library as fast as her legs could carry her.

Note to self, Twilight thought with a mix of wry humor and embarrassment as she wandered out into her basement laboratory, stretching her aching limbs. Item one, have an extra lavatory put in off of that side room if we’re going to be using it for... stuff. Or maybe even a full bath. A shower stall, at least. I really ought to have a shower down here anyway, just in case I splash something on myself, she thought idly as she caught sight of her chemistry-and-potions equipment on one of the lab tables. Strange how she’d never thought of that before...

Item two, set the lock wards on that door so Trixie can undo them too, and teach her how to do it. Or maybe a variation on that spell in the inhibitor-breaking crystal, so that if anypony says a safe-word within a few inches of the door...? Now there’s an interesting idea, and that might actually be useful to a lot of other ponies, too... Maybe one of Irongate’s double-ward locking spells, combined with a trigger spell from... Horsefeathers, I can’t remember his name. Sonic... something. Sonic Fuzz? Sonic Phase? No, that’s not right. Where did I put that book on voice-triggered spells again...?

When Trixie finally came back down the stairs a few minutes later, looking much relieved, she had to stifle a giggle-fit at the sight of her marefriend. There she was, her mane and coat a rumpled mess, still smelling of sweat and sex, her marefolds still visibly damp with lingering arousal... and completely absorbed in whatever intellectual puzzle had suddenly caught the studious, endlessly-curious unicorn’s mind as she flipped through pages in a spellbook with her hoof, while a piece of chalk caught up in her signature purple aura scribbled out formulas on one of her chalkboards. The sight was erotic, adorable... and thoroughly Twilight.

Trixie just sat at the foot of the stairs and watched for a while, not wanting to disturb her marefriend’s train of thought. The ‘hot sexy librarian’ is such a clop-film cliche, she thought to herself with a silent chuckle. But it’s true! She’s cute as a button, magically gifted, wild in bed... not that we’ve actually made it to the bedroom yet... and one of the smartest mares I’ve ever met. And I love all of that about her. The fact that she doesn’t even realize how sexy that combination is on her, just makes her even more adorable...

Twilight gradually became aware that she was being watched, and “eeped!” softly as she turned around to see Trixie sitting there watching her work. “Oh! Sorry, Trixie, I just had an idea all of a sudden, and wanted to get it written down before I forgot it,” she said sheepishly.

Trixie smiled as she came over and gave Twilight a tender, loving nuzzle. “No, Twilight... don’t ever apologize for being you,” she said. “You’re smart, as well as sexy –” (Twilight blushed visibly at that) “– and Trixie loves both of those things about you. Besides...” Trixie added with a wicked grin, “there’s just something so very, very hot about seeing you with your nose buried in your books, while you’re still all sweaty and messy from screaming Trixie’s name...”

Twilight’s blush deepened, and she gave Trixie a playful shove. “Oh, please... the ‘sexy librarian’ is just a clop-fiction cliche,” she said, echoing Trixie’s earlier thoughts.

“No, the ‘sexy librarian’ is right here next to me,” Trixie replied, pressing in closer. The two mares shared a moment of affectionate, tender nuzzling and soft sighs of contentment. “However, Trixie does think the ‘sexy librarian’ and her ‘Great and Powerful marefriend’ might want to take a hot shower before your assistant wakes up and sees us like this,” she added teasingly. Her stomach grumbled, provoking a giggle from Twilight as they separated. “And dinner. Definitely dinner. Sexy librarians are like cotton candy – tasty, but not very filling.”

Twilight blushed all over again. “Trixie! You’re terrible!” she laughed as she started towards the stairs.

“And what are you going to do about it? Spank me again?”

“I might...” Twilight smirked.

Trixie shrugged. “As long as you buy me dinner first.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

One long, hot shower later, both mares were sitting around the dinner table, looking very refreshed and considerably more presentable, while Spike busied himself with putting together the evening meal. A large bowl of salad was already in the middle of the table, and both Twilight and Trixie were munching contentedly on their portions as Spike brought out a large, steaming casserole dish and set it next to the salad bowl.

“So...” he said, eying Trixie warily as he started to serve up three equal shares of the fire-roasted vegetable enchiladas he’d prepared onto their plates – adding a generous dusting of crushed gemstones to his own portion, of course.

Both mares took deep, appreciative sniffs of the spicy, aromatic steam rising off their plates, and smiled. “This smells delicious, Spike!” Twilight said happily. “New recipe?”

“Uh-huh,” he said, glancing between the two mares. “Got it from Carrot Top in the marketplace. Looked tasty, figured I’d give it a try. So...?” he prompted again.

Trixie levitated a fork in her magic and cut off a generous mouthful of the steaming-hot vegetarian entree, blew on it slightly to cool it, then let out a soft moan of pleasure at the taste as she nibbled it off the fork. The strips of roasted vegetables rolled up inside the thin flatbreads were nice and tender, and the creamy sauce had just enough of a spicy kick to it to make it flavorful without being overwhelming. Although as hungry as I am, even that leather belt would probably taste good right now! she thought to herself with amusement, trying not to blush as that thought reminded her of the belt once again cinched around her waist, underneath her cloak. Still... “This really is very good, Spike,” she said, hoping to disarm the tension in the room. “Trixie’s compli– I mean, my compliments to the chef.”

“Spike does most of the cooking, actually,” Twilight chuckled as she started in on her own portion. “I’m only so-so at it, myself. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably just be living on sandwiches and canned soups most of the time.” She gave him a warm smile across the table, adding, “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Spike sighed and set his fork down, forcing himself to meet Twilight’s gaze. “Are you going to do without me now, Twilight?” he asked flatly. There. I said it, he added to himself with a silent sigh of resignation.

Twilight nearly choked on her mouthful of food. “What?! Spike, what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about her, Twilight,” he said, nodding towards Trixie. “You two are an ‘item’, now, as Rarity calls it. Am I right?” He snorted at Twilight’s goggle-eyed expression. “Oh c’mon, Twi. I may be ‘only’ a baby dragon, but I’m not that naive. I come home, find you two curled up in each others’ hooves on the floor... I wake up in my basket, you’re downstairs with the door locked, and when you finally come out you both head straight for the shower... and I hate to tell you this, Twi, but you really, really should’ve put a soundproofing spell on that room.”

Both mares blushed bright red under their coats as Spike confronted them with the accusations. “Oh. Well... um... ah-heh... you, um... heard that, huh?” Twilight finally managed to say.

Spike just shrugged and sighed. “I heard enough, yeah. Look, Twilight,” he said, his tone softening again. “I don’t care about... that. I just... I just want to know... do you still need me, if... if you’ve got her to make you happy now?” That irrational fear that the day would come when Twilight would no longer need him or want him around was eating at him again – and given their past history, he couldn’t help thinking it was entirely possible that Trixie wouldn’t want him around, and that she would try to persuade Twilight that he was no longer needed.

Twilight sighed and came around the table to hug Spike close, nuzzling his head-crest. “Spike... of course I’ll always need you. Trixie’s not going to take your place,” she said gently, trying to reassure him. “Nopony could ever take your place. You’re my number-one assistant... and my oldest friend, Spike. We’ve been together since the day you were hatched, and I love you, Spike, as much as I love my own brother. You know that.”

Trixie looked at the pair for a moment, considering the bond between them and where she fit into it. After a few moments’ thought, the young drake’s obvious apprehension began to make sense to her. Spike undoubtedly feared that she still held a grudge against him, or that she would try to get rid of him just out of spite or jealousy.

“Spike...” she began, waiting until she had his attention before continuing. “Trixie realizes that she...” She stopped and sighed, chiding herself for slipping into that habit so easily. “I realize I haven’t made a very good impression up until now...”

“No kidding,” Spike deadpanned.

“Spike!” Twilight said sternly.

“No, it’s all right, Twilight,” Trixie said. “He has every right to be upset and suspicious of Trixie. I nearly wrecked Ponyville twice, hurt and humiliated your friends, sent you into exile... he has no reason to believe Tri–... to believe me, or think any better of me.”

Spike blinked in surprise as Trixie spoke. She seemed almost... humbled.

“Spike,” she continued, “Trixie swears, she is not here to take your place. She – I couldn’t take your place even if I wanted to. I’m here to... to make amends, and be part of Twilight’s life, because I love her. And she loves me. We didn’t realize that until last night, but... we do. But that doesn’t mean she’s going to stop loving you, too. It’s okay if you’re still mad at Trixie for what she did... because the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ knows she has a lot to answer for, and apologize for.” She slowly got up and walked the few short steps to join Spike and Twilight at Spike’s end of the table, then placed a hoof on his shoulder and bowed her head. “Trixie is... I’m sorry, Spike. All of those things I did... I was wrong, and I swear... by the sun and the moon, I swear... I want to be better from now on. But Trixie can’t do it alone, Spike, she... I need Twilight’s help, and yours. Please... forgive me.”

Twilight gave her marefriend a warm smile of approval as Trixie humbled herself before her dragon assistant, begging his forgiveness. Spike looked between Trixie, then Twilight, as he pondered this new situation. He still wasn’t fully sure he could trust the showmare after everything she’d put him and Ponyville through – twice! – but she did seem to be acting more modest and repentant than he’d ever seen her. Even when she’d apologized after the Alicorn Amulet incident, “The Great and Apologetic Trixie” had still acted a bit arrogant about it, as though she were proud of herself for apologizing. But this seemed more... genuine, somehow. Like maybe she really was sorry this time.

Still... “Okay,” he said slowly. “On one condition, Trixie.”

“Name it – eep!” Trixie swallowed as she suddenly found a pawful of sharp dragon claws right at her throat, with Spike leaning in to put himself nose-to-nose with her, his slit-pupiled green eyes blazing as they stared straight into hers.

“Twilight raised me from an egg, Trixie,” he said quietly. “My whole life, she’s been like a mother to me. If you ever hurt her again...”

“Spike!” Twilight was aghast. She’d never seen Spike threaten another pony like this before. Spike wasn’t terribly happy about doing it himself – he normally tried not to let those aggressive dragon instincts get the better of him – but even Spike had a limit past which he would simply not be pushed, especially in defense of somepony he cared about. Twilight had been his caretaker, companion, and teacher for literally his whole life, and Trixie had already hurt Twilight and their friends twice before. That was two times too many.

Trixie glanced between the two of them... then smiled and nodded to Spike. “If Trixie ever harms Twilight again... she will deserve that, and more.” Cautiously, she leaned up to nuzzle his head-crest, as she’d seen Twilight do. “And that is why you’ll always be her number one,” she added softly.

Spike lowered his claws and relaxed his guard, making both mares sigh in relief. Huh. Maybe she really has changed... he thought to himself. “Um... actually, now that I think of it... make that two conditions.”

“And the second one is?” Trixie asked cautiously.

Spike turned to Twilight. “My own room. With a soundproofing spell.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Twilight, Spike, and Trixie stayed up late into the night, talking, as the two mares explained the events of the evening before. How Trixie had shown up seeking revenge by trying to punish and humiliate Twilight; how Twilight had turned the tables on the showmare, disciplining and eventually humbling her in turn, and how all of that had led to their reconciliation as Trixie had finally unburdened herself and told her unhappy life story. Spike had glared dangerously at Trixie at hearing what the azure unicorn had done to his surrogate “mother” with the inhibitor and the crop, but had eventually calmed down and grudgingly accepted Twilight’s repeated assurances that it had been what both unicorns had needed to achieve closure and put the past behind them. He still wasn’t entirely pleased at the prospect of having Trixie living there in the library, but getting his own room out of the deal helped make him feel a little better about the situation; it was, after all, a tacit admission by Twilight that he was a little older and more mature now, and that it was time he had a little space to call his own.

Their lengthy talk, and the reshuffling of rooms to make a place for Spike, lasted well into the night. The library tree had numerous smaller rooms in the upper-branch levels, any one of which would have been fine for Spike’s new room – but as otherwise-unused rooms often do, all of them had acquired various assortments of “stuff” which several generations of prior librarians had deemed too important to dispose of, but not important enough to actually organize or keep track of. Naturally, Twilight’s obsession with lists and details demanded that everything moved from the room they’d chosen as Spike’s had to be written down and catalogued, so Luna’s moon was well past its highest point in the sky and beginning its slow arc back downwards by the time the lights finally went out in the windows of the Golden Oaks Library tree.

The next morning, Celestia’s sun was just reaching its peak when Spike cautiously peeked into Twilight’s bedroom. He was both relieved and irritated at finding the two mares still snuggled up in Twilight’s bed and sleeping soundly – irritated, because they were sleeping in so late; and relieved, because that was all they were doing. The last thing the little drake wanted was to walk in on a repeat of... whatever it was they’d been doing down in the basement. The mental images had been disturbing enough to deal with; he didn’t need to see it first-hoof.

“Time to wake up, sleepy-heads!” he called out, in a tone that was entirely too cheerful for the sleeping mares’ tastes. Twilight came just awake enough to mumble something incomprehensible, but decidedly uncomplimentary, under her breath before trying to bury her head even deeper into the pillows. Spike just rolled his eyes, grabbed the bedcovers, and yanked them off the bed, causing both mares to fall off their respective sides of the mattress and hit the floor with a soft thump and a harmonized whimper of protest.

“What was that for?” they chorused indignantly, each glaring up from the floor at the vaguely Spike-shaped blob of purple and green swimming in their vision as they rubbed the backs of their heads.

“Ugh... what time is it?” Trixie added with a groan, wincing as the annoying Spike-shaped blob threw back the window curtains to let entirely too much light into the bedroom.

“Almost noon,” the Spike-shaped blob said, as it slowly turned into a smug-looking young dragon.

“So?” Twilight asked as she pushed herself back up to her hooves. “It’s Sunday. We sleep in on Sundays.”

“Yeah, but you told me never to let you sleep past noon, remember?” Spike chuckled. “Because otherwise you end up staying awake all night, and then your whole schedule gets out of whack.”

“Oh... Right. I did say that, didn’t I.”

“And, I have to get over to Fluttershy’s place before she leaves for Canterlot. She’s –” He stopped as he saw the baffled look on Twilight’s face. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“Tell me what, Spike?”

“Oh. I guess I didn’t. Fluttershy came by yesterday while you two were... um... whatever, and asked me if I could keep an eye on her cottage for a day or two while she’s off in Canterlot,” he explained.

“Fluttershy’s going to Canterlot?” Twilight asked, still baffled.

Spike huffed and pulled the planning calendar off Twilight’s desk, showing it to her. “Princess Celestia has that big summit meeting with the neighboring tribes, remember? She’s asked Fluttershy to Canterlot look after Philomena for her while she’s gone. Phoenixes get territorial when it’s mating season, Fluttershy says, so Philomena can’t go to the summit with Celestia when she’s like this.”

“Oh,” Twilight said as she read the calendar. “Okay, but why does she need you to watch her cottage?”

“Some workponies are coming by today or tomorrow to fix a leak in her roof, and you know how crazy Angel gets sometimes.”

“That rabbit’s crazy all the time,” Twilight chuckled, rolling her eyes.

“Heh, I can’t argue that,” Spike chuckled as well. “Anyway, she says as long as someone he knows is there to watch him, he won’t go all ‘ninja guard-bunny’ on them. That’s the theory, anyway. Besides, I owe him a batch of carrot-raisin salad anyway.”

“You... owe him?” Trixie asked, tilting her head curiously.

“Yeah, never should’ve gone double-or-nothing on that last hand, darn it,” Spike said with a shrug. “I was holding a full house, and he bluffed me into folding when all he had was a pair of deuces, can you believe it?”

Twilight and Trixie exchanged glances, then decided maybe it was better not to ask for details. “Okay, Spike. Be careful.” Twilight wrapped her forelegs around her favorite baby dragon and nuzzled his cheek affectionately, ignoring the soft chuckle from Trixie. “I’ll miss you.”

Spike feigned disgust at the display of affection, but smiled inside, happy to know he was still number one in Twilight’s heart. He said his goodbyes as the two mares followed him downstairs, then grabbed his carry-pack and left for Fluttershy’s place.

“So...” Twilight said as she and Trixie stepped into the kitchen. “What would you like, Trixie? Like I said, I’m not exactly a gourmet cook, but I can manage oatmeal and toast, and there should be some yogurt in the icebox, if you like that kind of thing... it’s just plain yogurt though, not flavored. I like it that way, but I could cut up some fruit and mix it in if you don’t like it plain. We’ve got eggs, but... I’m not really good with frying eggs. Or I can make sandwiches, since it’s technically lunchtime, although I’d have to look and see what we have...”

Trixie just chuckled and shouldered her way past Twilight, her horn already lighting up to grasp bowls, measuring cups, and a frying pan in her telekinetic fields. “Watch and be amazed, Sparkle.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Half an hour later, the two mares sat back from the table, feeling absolutely satisfied from the pair of brunch-time omelettes Trixie had whipped up using the leftovers from last night’s dinner. “That was really good, Trixie,” Twilight said. “I didn’t know you could cook like that.”

“Yes, well, there’s a lot you don’t know about Trixie,” Trixie chuckled. “She is a mare of mystery who amazes and stupefies all who see her greatness, remember?”

Twilight chuckled as well as she came around the table to nuzzle her marefriend. “A mare of mystery, huh?”

“Who amazes and stupefies,” Trixie insisted as she returned the nuzzle, feeling a contented warmth inside at the simple gesture. “Don’t forget that part.” I really have been such a fool, she chided herself. If only I’d come to my senses earlier, I could’ve had this ‘great and powerful’ feeling a long time ago, instead of... No. That was the past, she told herself firmly, and it was time to move on from it, and atone for it if necessary, not continue to dwell on it. “Truth be told, Spike’s cooking is probably better than mine, but when you’re a traveling entertainer living on the road all the time, learning a few tricks with a skillet to make the most out of your leftovers comes under ‘basic survival skills’,” she added with a wry chuckle.

Together, they cleared away the table and washed up the pans and dishes, making short work of it with their combined magic, then settled into a pair of comfortable chairs in the main library room. “Okay, Trixie,” Twilight began. “I know we talked about this last night, but... we still need to come up with a plan for how we’re going to do this.”

Trixie bit her lip as she remembered what needed to be done. “I know,” she said, giving Twilight a brief nod. “I’ve been thinking about it, but you know your friends best, so... what do you think we should do?”

“Well, the first order of business is deciding who we tell first, I think,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “Personally, I think Rarity might be the easiest to get forgiveness from. She’s emotional and prone to dramatics,” she said with a slight chuckle, “but she has a generous nature at heart. Applejack won’t be that difficult either, I don’t think... she can be heavy-hoofed and stubborn at times, but she’s basically fair-minded, and she usually listens to me. Rainbow Dash will definitely be the hardest to convince, though. She’s loyal to her friends, but kind of hot-headed, and even more stubborn than Applejack sometimes... especially if her pride is wounded,” Twilight finished with a significant glance at Trixie.

Trixie nodded her understanding as she thought it over. Twilight’s description of her friends seemed to match her own impressions of them fairly well, especially Rainbow Dash. It did seem likely that the rainbow-maned pegasus would be the most difficult and stubborn of the three she owed personal apologies to; not only had she made Rainbow Dash look ridiculous in front of everypony, she’d done it to her twice...

Finally, Trixie reached a decision. “Applejack first.”

“Any particular reason, Love?” Twilight asked, raising a brow.

“Partly because Trixie feels that Applejack is more of a family mare than the other two,” Trixie said, wincing as she slipped back into third-person again. Discord take it, I have got to stop doing that! “So she seems like the kind of pony who’s had to deal with... well, misbehavior and apologies from foolish foals before, so she might recognize a genuine apology more readily than the others. Also... what I did to her was less harmful than the other two, I think.”

Twilight nodded as she considered her marefriend’s logic. Trixie was probably right; between Applejack’s normally solid and steady nature, and her having to be a surrogate mother as well as a big sister to Apple Bloom, she probably would be the most likely to hear them out before deciding whether Trixie’s apology was sincere or not. I wonder why I didn’t consider that myself... she thought idly. “I see your point,” she agreed. “We’ll go see Applejack today, then.”

“Actually, Trixie thinks... I mean, I think we should see both Applejack and Rarity today. If we can.”

Twilight tilted her head curiously. “Why?”

Trixie let out a long, slow sigh before answering. “Having both of them on our side first would make it a lot easier to speak with Rainbow Dash, I think. What I did to Rainbow was dangerous, as well as mean-spirited, and Trixie can’t help thinking Rainbow might not want to listen to her even with you there to speak for her–... I mean, for me. I don’t know if any amount of humbling will help... but having your friends there as well might spark her loyalty, if she sees that I’ve already earned their forgiveness as well.”

Twilight sighed as well, as Trixie put into words what Twilight had already suspected might be true about Rainbow Dash’s willingness to forgive. I love Rainbow... but Trixie’s probably right. If it’s just the two of us, Dash still might not listen. She’ll probably just think Trixie has me under some kind of mind-control spell or something... She’s right. We need Applejack and Rarity there to back us up. “Are you sure about this, Trixie? Rarity might be generous, but she can be just as stern as Applejack if she feels her friends are threatened. I don’t think either of them will go easy on you.”

Trixie nodded firmly. “I know, but Trix... I still think it would be best. The sooner we get it over with and, hopefully, get your other two friends on our side, the less risk there is of Rainbow Dash finding out about me being here and doing something rash before we can talk to her. And maybe Rarity will be quicker to forgive me if she sees just what I’m willing to go through to be with you. What I did to Rarity may not seem like much, but as a fellow artist I’m sure it devastated her far more than you think. In a way, what I did to her was as bad as what I did to Rainbow Dash; I inflicted a very public humiliation on her, by striking at something very personal to her.”

Twilight raised a brow as she nodded in understanding, surprised at the amount of clarity and logic in Trixie’s arguments. Clearly, the azure showmare had put a lot of thought into it. Who knew Trixie could think things through like this? She must really be worried that she’ll lose me... “Then that’s what we’ll do, Trixie,” she said decisively. “And remember... I love you, Trixie. No matter what happens, I’ll stand by you.”

Trixie smiled as she felt a single tear roll down her cheek. I don’t deserve somepony so truly Great and Powerful, she thought to herself as she walked around the table to embrace her marefriend gratefully. “And Trixie loves Twilight Sparkle, more than anything in this world,” she said, giving the blushing lavender mare a sweet kiss to her cheek as she broke the hug. “And I will do whatever it takes to be with you.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Trixie stayed awkwardly close to Twilight for the entire walk as the two mares made their way across Ponyville, heading for Sweet Apple Acres. Not wanting to be recognized by anypony else in town (especially Rainbow Dash) before she’d had her chance to make apologies to Applejack or Rarity, she was once again wearing the “Tracy” disguise she’d worn at Crimson Brush’s shop a few days earlier, when buying the crop and magic inhibitor she’d used on Twilight. The azure unicorn’s horn was magically concealed under an illusion spell, and her back and flanks were covered by a plain, deep-black cape that hid her cutie mark. Her usual star-and-comet-spangled hat and cape were safely back at the library; those would have been a dead giveaway of her identity, and even wearing a plain black hat to cover up her horn might’ve aroused too much suspicion if anypony happened to make the connection between “azure-blue mare”, “cape”, and “hat.”

The only difference between then and now was the leather belt cinched snugly around Trixie’s waist. The cape kept it concealed from view, but every step Trixie took reminded her of its presence, and she was very aware of what it represented. Her complete commitment to Twilight, and her willingness to face the consequences of her past actions, no matter how much it hurt. Her willingness to be humbled.

And Trixie was fairly sure there would be plenty of that in her immediate future. But if that’s what it takes... then that’s what it takes, she thought, reminding herself of the vow she’d made the day before while watching Twilight sleep.

It wasn’t long before they spotted the farm with its seemingly-endless rows of apple trees in the distance. Despite her resolve, Trixie couldn’t help shivering a little as they drew closer, and by the time they reached the whitewashed fence with the arched gate, Trixie was shaking so badly that she could barely bring herself to step through the gateway. Seeing her marefriend’s distress, Twilight pressed close against Trixie’s side, nuzzling her cheek reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Love. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as we thought,” she said, trying to sound confident for Trixie’s sake. “I’ll be with you the whole way, no matter what.”

Trixie gave her a weak smile and nodded. “Trixie hopes you’re right, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. The fact that Trixie didn’t even try to correct her third-person tic told Twilight just how stressed her marefriend was. Twilight nuzzled her again, then gently nudged her forward, sticking close by the entire time as they made their way up to the front door of the Apple family’s farmhouse.

Twilight raised her hoof and knocked on the door. Here goes nothing, she thought.

About half a minute later, the door opened, revealing a pale-yellow filly with a huge pink bow holding her apple-red hair in a ponytail. “Oh, hey, y’all!” Apple Bloom smiled brightly as she saw who was at the door. “Hey, sis! It’s Twilight!!” she shouted back into the house. “C’mon in, Applejack’s just finishin’ up the dishes. So who’s your friend?”

Twilight rubbed Trixie’s shoulder for comfort before they both made their way inside. “This is a dear friend of mine,” she said to Apple Bloom. “Somepony I’ve been hoping to see again for a very long time.”

“Well, howdy there, Twilight!” Applejack said warmly as she came out of the kitchen to greet her guests. “What brings y’all by these parts? Oh, hey, you brought a new friend?” she said as she noticed the unfamiliar azure-blue earth pony mare standing next to Twilight. “Nice ta meet you. Name’s Applejack,” she added, offering a hoof.

Trixie bit her lip, still feeling a little nervous, but the jovial welcome from the orange farm-mare seemed to ease her tension a bit. “The... pleasure’s all Tr... mine,” she said as she shook hooves with Applejack, barely catching herself from slipping into third-person again. To her relief, Applejack didn’t seem to notice the slip.

“Aw, shucks, any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine, ain’t that right, Twilight?” Applejack said with a chuckle. “So, what brings you by?”

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” Twilight asked. “In private?”

Applejack tilted her head slightly, giving her unicorn friend a curious look. “Um... sure thing, sugarcube. We can go upstairs to my room. Big Mac and Granny are out in the barn, so it’s just me and Apple Bloom here in the house. That private enough?” Twilight nodded, and Applejack turned to her little sister. “Sis, can you finish up in the kitchen for me while I talk to Twilight for a bit? Dishes are done, just clean th’ counters an’ sweep up.”

She waited until Apple Bloom disappeared into the kitchen, then led Twilight and her new friend up the stairs to her room. On the way, it occurred to her that she never had gotten the azure earth-pony’s name... Or had she just forgotten it already? Dang it, I’m so bad with names sometimes, she thought to herself with a wry chuckle. Maybe I oughta take one of them memory courses, or somethin’.

“So what’s got ya so worked up, Twilight?” she asked as she closed her bedroom door behind them.

Twilight waited until the door was fully closed, then nodded to Trixie. “Go ahead, Love,” she said, making Applejack raise a brow at the affectionate nickname.

Trixie took a deep breath to steady herself... then canceled the illusion spell concealing her identity.

Applejack gasped and jumped back as a blue glow briefly surrounded the unfamiliar earth-pony mare, leaving an all-too-familiar unicorn standing in her place. The Great and Powerful Trixie, who had nearly wrecked Ponyville not once, but twice. “Jumpin’ horsefeathers! Get back, Twilight!” she cried, instinctively lowering her head and scraping a hoof on the floor in preparation for a fight. “What the hay are you doing here, Trixie?!”

To Applejack’s surprise, instead of firing back a bolt of magic in response to her challenge, or even a verbal threat, Trixie whimpered softly and pressed in against Twilight, turning her head away so as not to meet Applejack’s angry gaze, as if she were a frightened foal trying to hide behind her mother. Even more surprising, Twilight didn’t seem at all surprised to see the azure-blue mare’s true identity, and Applejack realized that Twilight had known who Trixie was all along.

Applejack turned her gaze to Twilight. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on here, sugarcube?” she demanded.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. She’d hoped Applejack would have reacted a bit more calmly, but she supposed it was only natural that her friend would assume the worst, given Trixie’s past history. “Stand down, Applejack... Trixie’s not here to make trouble, I promise. She’s here because I asked her to come... and because she wanted to talk to you. We have a confession to make... and she wants to make amends.”

For a long moment, Applejack just stared at the pair of unicorns, her face going through several different expressions of suspicion, amazement, and disbelief. Every time she’d run into Trixie in the past, the unicorn’s arrogance had made even Rainbow Dash seem as meek and modest as Fluttershy by comparison... but she had to admit, there was none of that arrogance about her now. Trixie was cowering against Twilight like a scolded filly who was afraid she was about to be spanked...

Finally, Applejack relaxed her stance a bit. “I reckon y’all better start talkin’ then,” she said, still keeping a wary eye on Trixie.

Twilight settled a foreleg across Trixie’s back, gently rubbing her withers to reassure her as she hugged the showmare closer. “Trixie came to see me yesterday... no, sorry, day before yesterday,” she corrected herself. “Spike’s right, I really need to stop staying up past midnight so often. Anyway, we... had a long talk, and we’ve both come to a few realizations.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, Applejack. First of all... Trixie feels bad for everything that happened the previous times she was here. She didn’t mean for anypony to get hurt.” She held up a hoof as Applejack opened her mouth to protest. “The Alicorn Amulet wasn’t entirely her fault, Applejack. She didn’t know what it would do to her. It scrambled her mind, Applejack... just like Discord did to us, remember? By the time she arrived in Ponyville she was already so far under its corruption she hardly even knew what she was doing. And the Ursa Minor? Snips and Snails were the ones who lured it here, not Trixie. Okay, she bragged about beating one as part of her stage act, but it’s not like she told them go into the Everfree and bring an Ursa back here. I mean, honestly, how was she to know they’d be dumb enough to pull a stunt like that?”

Applejack studied Twilight for a moment, not saying anything, trying to make up her mind whether she should believe any of this or not. If Trixie had said any of those things herself, she wouldn’t have believed a word of it. But this was coming from Twilight, one of her best friends, and Applejack couldn’t imagine Twilight being willing to lie for Trixie...

And as much as she still wanted to blame Trixie for the mayhem she’d unleashed on Ponyville the last time she’d been here, she had to admit Twilight had a point about what supernatural mind-scrambling could do to a pony. Being “Discorded” had been a horrifying experience, one which had made Applejack feel as if even her own mind and body no longer belonged to her. Trapped inside her own head, completely unable to stop herself from lying continuously to everypony around her, her “true” self raging and screaming uselessly within its mental prison as her “Discorded” self drove all of her friends away by telling lie after lie after lie...

She shuddered and shook off the memories. Horseapples, I had nightmares about that for weeks afterwards. If whatever that Amulet did to Trixie was even half as bad... dang it, I could almost feel sorry for her. Sweet Celestia, I wouldn’t wish somethin’ like that on anypony. Nopony deserves to have their own brain hijacked like that...

“Go on,” she finally said.

“The second thing we’ve come to realize, is...” Rather than finish that sentence, Twilight turned her head towards Trixie, lifted her marefriend’s muzzle, and gently pressed her lips against Trixie’s. She held the kiss for a few moments, then slowly released it and turned to look at Applejack once more, giggling slightly at her friend’s slack-jawed look of disbelief. “...I love Trixie,” she finished, “and she loves me. We’ve come here for... your blessing, for lack of a better word.”

“I... I don’t rightly know what to say, sugarcube...” Applejack said slowly, still staring at the unicorns in disbelief. “Honestly, I don’t know if I can just... accept you two bein’ together, and forgive her just like that, after everythin’ she did. I hear what you’re sayin’, Twilight,” she said, shaking her head firmly as Twilight tried to speak up in Trixie’s defense again. “An’ I suppose it makes sense, but... it just ain’t that simple. She hurt a whole lot o’ ponies, sugarcube, an’ just ‘cause she says she’s sorry, that don’t just suddenly make it all better again.”

Twilight simply nodded. “We didn’t think it would be that simple, Applejack. But Trixie is willing to do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness.” She nuzzled Trixie reassuringly, then took a step back. “Turn around, Love,” she said in a firm, commanding tone.

Trixie blushed deeply, knowing what was coming next, even as she obeyed the commanding tone in her marefriend’s voice without question. She glanced briefly at Applejack, then turned around as ordered, bending her head down to the floor as she lifted and braced her hindquarters into the correct position. She gasped and swallowed nervously as Twilight suddenly flipped her cape aside without warning, exposing both her flanks and the leather belt wrapped around her waist.

“She’s already accepted penance from me,” Twilight explained, rubbing her lover’s back reassuringly as she spoke. “Now, she’s prepared to accept whatever punishment you feel she deserves as well, if that’s what it takes to earn your forgiveness.”

Applejack’s expression went through another round of stunned amazement, suspicion, and disbelief as she regarded the sight in front of her. She understood right away the significance of the position Trixie had placed herself in; Applejack herself was intimately – and painfully – familiar with it, as were her brother and sister. Corporal punishment was a time-honored tradition in the Apple family; even Granny Smith had gotten her flanks tanned on several occasions as a filly, and there wasn’t a colt or filly anywhere in the family tree that hadn’t heard those dreaded words “turn around and bend over” at least once. But to see “The Great And Powerful Trixie!” put herself in such a humbling position – at Twilight’s command, yet! – was the last thing Applejack had ever expected to see...

“Let me see if I have this right,” she said cautiously, addressing Trixie directly. “You’re tellin’ me you’re willin’ to accept a whoopin’ just to get my forgiveness?”

Trixie shivered noticeably at the mention of a “whoopin’”, and took a deep breath to steady herself before replying. “Trixie... loves Twilight, and wants to be with her,” she said evenly. “But because she loves Twilight, she... I don’t want her to have to choose between Trixie and her friends. So... yes, Applejack. Trixie will... I mean, I will take whatever punishment you think I deserve, if that’s what it takes to put things behind us so that Twilight and I can be together.” Discord take it, why can’t I break that habit? she chided herself. Although I suppose not shouting my title all the time is a good start. Especially since I’m not the Great and Powerful Trixie anymore... I’m Twilight’s Trixie, she added, comforting herself with that thought as she awaited Applejack’s decision.

Applejack regarded Trixie for a moment longer, still trying to get her head around the idea of a humbled Trixie expressing seemingly-sincere love for anyone other than herself, and actually asking to be punished like a misbehaving filly. Finally, she turned to Twilight.

“Twilight... can I have a word with you, sugarcube?” The orange farm-mare pulled open the door and waited for Twilight to walk out into the hallway, then looked back at Trixie with a deadly glare. “An’ you? Stay right there an’ don’t... you... move,” she commanded in a tone that, combined with her glare, sent icicles of fear down Trixie’s spine. Trixie understood instantly that this was a test of her willingness to submit to whatever penance Applejack intended for her, and obediently froze herself in place, willing herself not to so much as twitch her tail without permission.

Satisfied that Trixie would stay where she was, Applejack closed the door behind her and led Twilight back downstairs to the living room, not saying a word until they were all the way downstairs. “All right, Twilight,” she said, “tell me just what the hay is really goin’ on here. Is Trixie really so changed as all that?”

“Yes, Applejack, she is,” Twilight said.

“How can ya be sure?”

“It’s a long story, Applejack...”

“Ain’t it always?” Applejack snorted. “Fine, give me the condensed version then.”

Twilight sighed and sat down, gathering her thoughts, then gave Applejack a quick rundown of the events that had happened since Trixie had first caught her by surprise in the library, and how the two mares had come to recognize their true feelings for each other. “I know it sounds crazy, but... I love Trixie with all my heart, Applejack,” she finished, giving Applejack a look that not even the Element of Honesty could find the slightest untruth in. “And she really does want your forgiveness. Rarity and Rainbow Dash’s, too.”

“An’ if I’m not willin’ to give it?” Applejack asked, in a flat tone that gave Twilight no clue as to what she was thinking.

Twilight glanced down at the floor for a moment, frowning in thought at the prospect of having to choose between her marefriend over one of her best friends. “Then... I’d be sorry you felt that way, but...” She looked up again, meeting Applejack’s steady gaze. “It won’t stop us from being together, Applejack.”

“She means that much to you?”

Twilight’s gaze didn’t waver. “Yes, Applejack, she does,” she said without hesitation.

Applejack looked deep into Twilight’s eyes for a moment, judging her honesty, then gave her unicorn friend a small smile of understanding. “That’s the answer I wanted to hear, sugarcube. I believe ya.” She stepped forward to nuzzle Twilight, and the two mares held each other in a warm embrace for a few moments, reinforcing the strength of their friendship and trust in each other. “But...”

“But...?” Twilight asked cautiously.

“But I think I am gonna take her up on her offer to do a li’l penance,” Applejack said with a sly grin.

Twilight nodded. “If that’s what you think is best.”

“I do, Twi. From what you just told me... I think deep down inside, she wants that closure, just as much as I do. Apple Bloom!” Applejack called out over her shoulder towards the kitchen. “Git in here, pronto!”

A moment later, Apple Bloom came galloping in from the kitchen, skidding to a halt as she saw the stern expression on her big sister’s face. “What is it, sis? What’s up?” she asked anxiously.

“Go an’ fetch me an apple switch,” Applejack said firmly. “An’ don’t worry, darlin’, it ain’t for you,” she added, giving the filly a soft pop to her rump to send her on her way. “Though if you bring me a bad one, it just might be.” Apple Bloom flinched and reluctantly started towards the door, glanced over her shoulder apprehensively, then broke into a gallop and swiftly ran out the door as she caught sight of her sister’s still-stern expression.

“A switch? Is that really necessary, Applejack?” Twilight asked, concerned. While she had no first-hoof experience with them, from what she’d been given to understand a switch was very similar to a cane – and based on how Crimson Brush had reacted to just a few strokes of one of those, that night when the zebracorn had persuaded Twilight to help her “test” her merchandise, she felt fairly sure that canes and switches must be far, far worse than the belt...

“I believe it is, sugarcube,” Applejack said patiently. “Twilight... I don’t know if I’ve ever come out and said this before, but... you been like family to me, almost since the day you came to Ponyville. Shoot, after all we been through together – dragons, Discord, shape-changin’ bugs invadin’ Canterlot, parasprites, lost Empires... Nightmare Moon herself? Not ta mention all the times you been there to pull me an’ my family’s chestnuts outta the fire from my own dang stubbornness an’ stupid pride. You are family, sugarcube, an’ I love you like you were my own sister.” She smiled and nuzzled Twilight again as the unicorn mare blushed at that sentiment. “An’ if you want me to let Trixie into this family too... then she’s gonna have to take what all of us Apples got when we did somethin’ wrong.”

Twilight nodded again. Put that way, she really couldn’t disagree with what Applejack had said, and if it would bring closure between her and Trixie... “Okay, just... try not to be too hard on her? She really is sorry.”

Applejack chuckled as she gave Twilight a reassuring smile. “Don’t you worry none, sugarcube, I promise I won’t give her anythin’ worse than I’d give my own li’l sister.”

Before Twilight could inquire further, Apple Bloom came trotting back into the house carrying a thick, smooth switch in her mouth. The filly’s wide-eyed, apprehensive look as her sister came over to take the switch from her suggested that Apple Bloom still wasn’t entirely convinced that the switch wasn’t meant for her own flanks, though she couldn’t for the life of her imagine what she might’ve done to deserve it. She hadn’t done anything! Not lately, anyway...

Applejack inspected the switch, then gave Apple Bloom an approving pat on the head. “That’ll do fine, darlin’. Give it here, an’ then go finish up in the kitchen.” Apple Bloom swallowed nervously as she passed over the switch from her mouth to Applejack’s, and was only too happy to make herself scarce as her sister motioned towards the kitchen door with a hoof. Applejack chuckled softly as her sister beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the kitchen, then turned around and led Twilight back up the stairs to her bedroom.

As they walked in the door, they both noticed Trixie had taken Applejack’s command to heart, and hadn’t moved so much as an inch since they’d left her there. Applejack raised a brow as she considered Trixie’s bent-over form; the unicorn mare had barely even flinched when the door opened, and the tension in her muscles made it clear that she was fighting the urge to make even the slightest movement to relieve the stiffness in her body from holding this position so long. Well I’ll be dipped. If she’s really willin’ to go through all of this just to be forgiven, Applejack thought to herself, maybe she really has changed...

Seeing that Trixie’s eyes were tightly closed, Applejack walked around beside the bent-over showmare, placing the switch down on her bedside table for a moment. “Trixie...” she said quietly but firmly, startling Trixie out of whatever thoughts she’d been wrapped up in. “Twilight and I have had a li’l talk. She’s explained everythin’ to me... an’ for her sake, I’m willin’ to forgive you. She’s one of my closest and best friends, an’ if you’re the one she truly wants as her ‘special somepony’, then... I’m happy for her, Trixie. I’m happy she’s found someone to make her happy.” She waited for Trixie to acknowledge that with a slight nod, then continued. “But there’s one condition, Trixie. Somethin’ you need to understand.”

Everypony has “one condition”, Trixie thought wryly. Not that she could’ve reasonably expected anything else; she certainly had no right to expect unconditional forgiveness after the awful things she’d done. That they were willing to forgive her at all was more than she deserved. “What is it, Applejack?” she asked, forcing her voice to remain calm.

“Twilight’s a darn sight more than just a friend to me, Trixie. That mare an’ I have been to Tartarus an’ back a dozen times over, stood shoulder-to-shoulder against nightmares that’d scare your cutie marks off... an’ she’s been there for me, even in my worst moments. She’s picked me up when I’ve fallen, and there is nothin’ I wouldn’t do for her. She’s family to me, sugarcube... an’ if you’re goin’ to be with her, that makes you family, too. An’ in this family... we believe in firm discipline. Y’ follow me?”

Trixie swallowed and nodded. Even though Applejack had spoken quietly and evenly, there was no mistaking the firmness behind her tone of voice. The tone of a mother scolding an errant foal who was about to be soundly spanked for her shameful misbehavior. Trixie had held out a small hope that it wouldn’t come to this, but she supposed it was fitting. She’d behaved like a thoughtless, selfish foal, so it was appropriate that she receive a thoughtless, selfish foal’s punishment.

Slowly, she lifted her tail, exposing her flanks. “Trixie un... I understand,” she said quietly. “But afterwards... someday... do you think you and Trix–... could we ever be friends, too?” she asked.

Applejack couldn’t help but smile a bit at Trixie’s request. Her meek, humbled tone told Applejack everything she wanted to hear, more clearly than words. Trixie truly had put her pride and arrogance aside, and was all but begging for her forgiveness.

“You prove to me you’re willin’ to accept th’ consequences of your actions... an’ when this is over, you’ll have a good friend in me, an’ that’s a promise. Now brace yourself, sugarcube... ‘cause the Apples don’t play around with discipline.” She grasped the switch once more in her teeth, glanced towards Twilight... and at her friend’s approving nod, she gently tapped the switch over the azure mare’s flanks, taking aim for the first strike.

Trixie’s eyes widened as she felt the thick piece of wood tapping against her hindquarters, and bit her lip to keep from crying out in fear as she braced herself, tightening every muscle in her legs and back, willing herself not to pull away. I deserve this... I deserve this... she kept reminding herself, over and over, as she closed her eyes tight and waited for her punishment to begin. She felt Twilight’s hooves rubbing her ears, and drew what comfort and strength she could from the contact, telling herself that as long as she had Twilight, she could take the coming punishment, no matter how much it hurt...

There was a thin, high whistling sound behind her... and then an explosion of agonizing pain across her hindquarters as Applejack drove the first stroke home, searing a line of white-hot fire that throbbed and burned more fiercely than anything Trixie had ever imagined. Even the hardest lashes Twilight had given her with the belt barely measured up to the intense pain delivered by just that single stroke, and it took every ounce of willpower Trixie had to stifle her cry of pain and keep herself from bolting from the room.

Applejack watched as the line of deep-red fire formed underneath Trixie’s blue coat, giving the showmare plenty of time to feel it to the fullest... then drew back and laid down another stroke, just above the first. Trixie hissed in pain, her body shaking from the effort of holding herself still under the harsh punishment. I deserve this... I deserve this... I...

“...deserve this... I deserve this...” she whispered, over and over, her mind latching onto the words as a way to deal with the ferocious pain spreading across her backside. “I deserve this... IIIIEEEEEEEE!!” she let out a scream of agony as another stripe of white-hot fire painted itself across her flanks, below the first two, hot tears rolling freely down her cheeks as she gasped for breath after the shock of pain had passed. “I’m sorry! ... I’M SORRY! ... PLEASE!!”

The switch whistled through the air again, and Trixie’s will was broken as another explosion of searing pain shattered what little composure she had left. Her desperate apologies and pleas for mercy dissolved into a stifled scream of agony as she bit down on her own hoof, her whole body trembling as she forced herself to hold still for the unbelievably excruciating punishment, telling herself that she deserved every bit of it, and more... You hurt so many ponies... she reminded herself fiercely. You hurt everyone, and you didn’t even care... then you ran away like a coward... you earned this...

Twilight winced as each stroke came whistling down across her marefriend’s flanks, her eyes misting up a little as well as Trixie sobbed and cried out in pain under the switch. She wished it hadn’t come to this, but knew it was ultimately for the best. The punishment, harsh as it was, would bring closure to Applejack and Trixie, settling the bad blood between them once and for all, allowing them both to let go of the anger and guilt so each could move on from it... just as it had done for her and her marefriend.

Applejack waited until Trixie pulled herself back together a little, then delivered two more strikes in quick succession, above and below the four already received. Trixie jerked and howled in agony as the double strike seared her hindquarters, and only her marefriend’s steady presence and continuous rubbing of her ears to remind her that she was loved kept her from bucking and bolting.

“AAAAAIIIIIIIIIHHHHH!!! PLEASE!!” Trixie sobbed, her tears flowing freely as she surrendered, crying so hard from the awful pain she could hardly even catch her breath. “I... I... I c-can’t... no more, please... T-Trixie is... she’s... I... I’m... s-sorryyyyyy, A-Applej-jack, I’m s-sorry... p-please, I... I... f-forgive me... please...!!” Her whole body shook as she fought to keep still while she begged and pleaded for mercy, hardly even aware of what she was saying as the intense pain overwhelmed her...

“You can do it, Love,” Twilight whispered into Trixie’s ear. “Be strong for me...”

For Twilight... for Twilight... Trixie seized on that thought and held it tightly. For Twilight, she could endure anything. For Twilight, she would prove that she had changed, even if it meant suffering the worst punishments her friends could deliver... “Please...” she whispered, gasping for breath in between her wrenching sobs of pain and shame. “I... I’m... s-so.... s-sorryyyyy....”

“We know, Love... we know. It’s almost over... be strong, now...” Twilight whispered, nuzzling Trixie as she held the shaking mare’s shoulders in her hooves to steady her and give her strength. She glanced up, and raised a brow at Applejack, silently adding her own plea for mercy to Trixie’s agonized sobbing.

Applejack smiled to herself as she heard the honest care and affection in Twilight’s soft whispers, and the genuine remorse and shame in Trixie’s broken sobs and pleas for forgiveness. She knew only too well how much pain Trixie was in; six strokes of an apple switch was more than enough to break even the most stubborn colt or filly, as the memory of several well-deserved switchings from her own foalhood could testify to. If Trixie was truly willing to suffer this much just to earn Applejack’s forgiveness, for Twilight’s sake...

The love and pleading in Twilight’s eyes as she looked up convinced her. Enough was enough. If Trixie was willing to pay this harsh a price to repent for her sins...

Forgiveness should come when repentance is offered, she thought. Wise words passed down to her from her mother, and from Granny Smith, and probably from Granny’s parents and grandparents too. Everypony deserves another chance to make things right.

“One more, sugarcube,” she said, after Trixie’s sobs had died down a bit. She gave the azure mare a chance to brace herself for it, then pulled back one last time and delivered one last stroke, aiming it to cut diagonally across the half-dozen angry-red stripes still blazing underneath Trixie’s blue coat. Trixie bit down on her hoof to stifle her scream of pain as the final stroke reignited all of the others at once, driving every thought from her head as she sobbed out her apologies and pleas for forgiveness while her hindquarters burned...

Applejack tossed the switch aside and sat back for a few moments, letting Trixie cry herself out while Twilight rubbed her ears and neck, whispering to her sobbing marefriend that it was over, the punishment was done, and Twilight was so very proud of her...

Finally, as Trixie’s deep, wrenching sobs of pain finally quieted down to soft crying, Applejack came up beside her and pressed up close, giving her a comforting nuzzle as well, and rubbing her withers to help calm her. “I forgive ya, Trixie,” she said gently. “I forgive ya. You treat my family well, now, y’ hear?”

Trixie just stood there for a while, hardly daring to move, while Twilight and Applejack pressed themselves close against her, supporting her while she cried herself out... both mares giving her little caresses and nuzzles to calm her, and to assure her that she was loved and forgiven. All was forgiven...

Finally, she pushed herself back up to her hooves and turned to face Applejack, trembling a little as even that small motion set those stripes ablaze all over again. “Trixie... would n-never hurt Twilight...” she said shakily, leaning against Twilight for support as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes with a hoof. “A-and I... I’m glad to h-have you... as a friend. Th-thank you, Applejack...”

Applejack chuckled softly as she brought over some tissues for Trixie to dry her eyes with. “You really oughta work on breakin’ that third-person schtick, sugarcube,” she teased.

Trixie blinked, not quite sure how to take that comment at first – but then she caught the slight twinkle in Applejack’s eye, and relaxed as she realized the farm-mare probably wouldn’t tease her like that if she was still angry with her. “I’m trying,” she said, chuckling a little despite the ferocious, burning pain in her flanks.

“Thank you for understanding, Applejack,” Twilight said.

Applejack smiled and gave Twilight a nuzzle as well. “Well, I meant what I said, sugarcube. You’re family to me... an’ family forgives. An’ if Trixie makes you happy, then I’m happy for ya. Now – I’d better get on back downstairs before Apple Bloom manages ta set somethin’ on fire,” she added with a fond chuckle for her overenthusiastic little sister. “Y’all c’mon down an’ we’ll sit an’ talk for a bit. Well, me an’ Twilight’ll sit, anyway,” she said, giving Trixie a teasing grin.

Twilight giggled as Trixie stuck her tongue out at Applejack. “Actually, we should be going, Applejack,” she said. “We need to get over to Rarity’s place before it gets dark.”

“What’cha going to see her for?” Applejack asked, raising a brow.

Twilight smiled and hugged Trixie closer to her. “For the same reason we came to see you, of course,” she said. She gestured for Trixie to walk ahead of her as the three mares left Applejack’s bedroom, quickly brushing Trixie’s cape back over her flanks to cover the switch marks as she spotted the pale-yellow filly waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Trixie winced and stifled a hiss of pain as the fabric made contact with the stripes seared into her backside. Every movement of her hind legs made her hindquarters burn so much...

“Everythin’ all right up there?” Apple Bloom asked, looking up the stairs with wide eyes.

Twilight and Trixie glanced at each other for a moment, then glanced towards Applejack. “Everythin’s fine, sugarcube,” Applejack called back down to her sister as she, Trixie, and Twilight made their way down.

“You sure?” Apple Bloom persisted, her eyes focusing in on Trixie. Was she seeing things, or had the blue earth-pony mare who’d gone upstairs suddenly turned into a blue unicorn coming downstairs? “Sounded like a whole bunch of caterwaulin’ goin’ on up there... what’s goin’ on?”

Applejack rolled her eyes at her sister’s curiosity. “Nothin’, sugarcube.”

“Sounded like a pretty loud nothin’ ta me, sis...”

“Apple Bloom...” Applejack said, in a slightly warning tone that the inquisitive filly recognized as a signal to drop the subject if she knew what was good for her.

“Okay, okay, I was just askin’ if everything was okay, sis...” she said, backing away from the foot of the stairs as the three grownup mares came all the way down.

“It’s all right, Applejack,” Trixie spoke up. “Your sister and Tr... and I just had some things to... settle between us, that’s all,” she said to the filly. “Everything’s fine.”

Twilight glanced over at the clock, then nodded towards the door. “Come on, Love, we really should get going if we’re going to make it to Rarity’s today. We’ll see you later, Applejack.”

“Ohhh, no you don’t,” Applejack chuckled as she took her trusty Stetson hat down from the pegboard by the wall and set it on her head. “I’m comin’ with ya.”

Twilight and Trixie exchanged glances again. Having Applejack along to vouch for Trixie might make things go more smoothly with Rarity, but neither of them wanted to put the farm-mare out any more than they had already. “Are you sure, Applejack?” Twilight asked.

“Sure I’m sure,” Applejack said as she pulled open the front door, gesturing for Trixie and Twilight to go ahead of her. “You’re both family now. Family sticks t’gether, right?”

Apple Bloom watched them leave, tilting her head curiously as she tried to figure out just what the hay had been going on. The stiff, cautious way that blue unicorn had been walking just now, almost like it hurt to move her hind legs, seemed awfully familiar...

Suddenly, the pieces fell together. Applejack making her fetch a switch... all that caterwauling upstairs... just like Apple Bloom would bawl and cry when her sister or brother gave her a well-earned whoopin’ whenever she flagrantly, willfully disobeyed them, or did something so hay-brained stupid that such painful correction was necessary... how she would walk funny for a while after a switching, because her flanks would hurt way too much to even think of sitting down...

Twilight... brought that blue unicorn over... so my sister could give her a switchin’?! she thought incredulously, as she followed that train of thought to the only conclusion she could think of. Since when do grown-ups get switched for bein’ bad?

She pondered that strange notion for a few moments, then shrugged.

Grown-ups were just so weird sometimes...

Author's Note

All hail Triskelion for this wonderful chapter.

In a Rare Mood... (Written by Triskelion)

“Red”emption of a Showmare

Chapter 3: In A Rare Mood...

The walk back to Ponyville was going to be torture.

The narrow stripes of white-hot pain from that vicious, wicked switch hurt more than anything. Every step she took was a fresh burst of agony from the welts crisscrossing her backside...

And the cape rubbing against them wasn’t helping at all. Every slight shift of the cloth, light as it was, felt like barbed wire being dragged across her flanks. Trixie just prayed that this was the worst of the punishments she’d have to submit to. Surely it had to be; she could hardly imagine Rarity or Rainbow Dash would be able to do anything even worse to her than the sheer torment inflicted by that awful switch. Dear Celestia, she’d never even imagined such excruciating pain...

“You okay, sugarcube?”

It took Trixie a moment or two to realize Applejack had asked her a question. “Wh... what?” she asked.

“I said, are ya okay?” Applejack repeated, with honest concern in her voice.

“Trixie is fine,” Trixie said cautiously. “Why do you ask?”

“‘Cause you’re walkin’ kinda like Granny Smith does when her bad hip is actin’ up,” Applejack chuckled gently. “Are ya sure you’re all right?”

“Trixie... may be feeling a little uncomfortable,” Trixie admitted. Noting the raised-brow look from Twilight, she sighed as she realized she’d slipped back into her third-person tic again. “That switch really hurt...”

“Well, that’s kinda the idea, sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled again.

Trixie opened her mouth to give a sharp reply, then quickly closed it again, mindful of Twilight’s steady gaze and of her own determination to break free of her former arrogance. A few painful steps later, she winced and gasped softly as she felt her cape being lifted and flipped back again, exposing the angry red welts across her hindquarters.

“I think you may have been a little harder on her than you needed to be, Applejack,” Twilight said as she studied the damage to her marefriend’s backside. No wonder Trixie was walking so stiffly; those deep red welts hurt just to look at. She didn’t even want to think about how much pain Trixie must be in right now.

“Huh? I said I wouldn’t go no harder on her than I would’ve done on Apple Bloom, remember?” Applejack protested mildly. “An’ I didn’t. Heck, I got whalloped harder’n that once, when I was a filly... Foolin’ around with the kitchen stove like a dang idiot even after I’d been told more’n once not ta touch it, thinkin’ I was gonna be so clever an’ smart an’ make a batch of oatmeal cookies all by myself...” she said, blushing at the memory of her younger self pulling such a hay-brained and willfully-disobedient stunt. “Thank Celestia th’ only thing that ended up gettin’ set on fire that day was my backside.”

“Yes, but you’re earth ponies, Applejack,” Twilight explained patiently. “Physically, you’re the strongest and toughest of all three races, by far. Unicorns are more... um... fragile, on the average.”

Applejack halted in her tracks, blinking in surprise, as if that notion had only just occurred to her. She backed up a few paces to take a closer look, then gasped softly as she saw what the apple switch had done to the unicorn mare. While she hadn’t broken the skin, thank Celestia, the welts she’d left were much worse than she’d expected, and she realized with a guilty twinge in her heart that she had, indeed, given Trixie a much harsher switching than she thought she had. Oh, Celestia forgive me, no wonder she can hardly walk... she must be in agony from those...

“Oh my gosh...” Applejack looked up, her wide green eyes full of apology. “I’m sorry, Trixie, I didn’t... I didn’t mean ta hurt you that bad, I swear. I only meant ta... I mean, I just...”

“...just don’t know your own strength, obviously,” Trixie said with a roll of her eyes as Applejack’s voice trailed off. “Trixie will... I’ll live,” she added, trying to give a small smile. “It’s nothing Trixie didn’t deserve. She’s caused so much pain to others, it’s only fitting that she – that I suffer some pain in return, I think.”

“Maybe so, but ain’t no need for ya to suffer that much, sugarcube,” Applejack said, surprising Trixie by giving her a warm, compassionate nuzzle by way of apology. “I’m so sorry, Trixie. I really didn’t realize I’d... I mean, it never even occurred ta me that’d be too hard a whoopin’ for ya, bein’ a unicorn ‘stead of an earth pony...” Now it was Applejack’s turn to look down at the ground in shame. “I’m sorry, Trixie. I shoulda stopped ta think about that, ‘stead of just layin’ into ya. Can ya forgive me?”

The “old” Trixie would have felt smug and vindicated at having another pony humble herself before her like that... but instead, Trixie actually found herself smiling a little at hearing Applejack’s sincere apologies, and feeling a pleasant sort of warmth settling into her heart as she realized the earth pony mare actually meant it, and was genuinely sorry to have done harm to her, even inadvertently. Is this what... real friendship feels like? she thought. Giving forgiveness when you hurt each other, instead of holding grudges? If so, then I think... I think I like it.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Applejack,” she said, returning the nuzzle. “As I said... Trixie deserved it. The old Trixie deserved it, I mean. And if a ‘whoopin’’ like that is what it takes to make sure I don’t become that ‘Proud and Arrogant Trixie’ again, then... it was worth it.”

“I suppose, but still...”

“Trixie could have stopped you, you know,” Trixie reminded her, gazing steadily into the farm-mare’s green eyes. “But she... I didn’t. I took it willingly, Applejack, because Trix... because I swore to Twilight I would face the consequences of my actions, no matter how much it hurt, because Trixie deserves it for what she... what I did to all of you. So if you can forgive Trix... forgive me for the pain I caused, then I forgive you, too. Even if it does feel like a timberwolf just clawed my backside,” she added with a wry chuckle. Applejack chuckled a little as well, and the two mares exchanged a few nuzzles and a brief hug to cement their mutual forgiveness and the beginnings of what was, hopefully, a new friendship.

Twilight gave her marefriend a proud smile as Trixie offered her forgiveness to Applejack. You’re getting there, Trixie, she thought fondly. Little by little, you’re getting there. “Hold still for a moment, Trixie,” she said, her horn lighting up as she prepared to cast a spell.

Trixie gave Twilight a quizzical look over her shoulder, then suddenly yelped as she felt a series of crackling, tingly little “zaps” igniting across her rump. Almost before she could voice a protest, the sensation faded, and her eyes widened in surprise as a blessed relief of pain came in its wake. She could still feel the welted stripes across her rump, and they still hurt – but not nearly as much as before. The welts still felt hot and tight, and walking was still going to be more than a little uncomfortable, but each step would no longer be sheer torture for her.

“Dang,” Applejack said admiringly as she saw the welts fading a little under Twilight’s purple aura. “Now that’s a neat trick.”

“Healing spell,” Twilight grinned smugly as the aura faded from her horn. “It doesn’t do much for really major stuff, but it’s handy for minor injuries like scrapes, bruises... paper cuts,” she added with a chuckle. “It helps suppress the pain and speeds up the healing some. You’ll still feel those for a while, though.”

Trixie sighed with relief, and nodded. “As Trixie deserves to, Love,” she said, giving Twilight a soft kiss on the cheek.

“I don’t suppose you could teach me that trick, could ya?” Applejack joked. “That’d come in awful handy th’ next time Big Mac sprains his barrel durin’ applebuck season.”

“Ha! Not unless you’ve been hiding a horn under an illusion spell all this time, Applejack,” Twilight laughed.

“Well, shoot.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every outfit is chic, unique, and magnifi –”

Rarity’s customary cheerful greeting halted in mid-word as she came out from one of the curtained-off areas of her shop and saw who it was who’d just come through the door. Her expression quickly shifted from businesslike friendliness to warm fondness as she saw two of her best friends had dropped in for a visit... then just as quickly shifted to wary suspicion and hostility as she saw the third pony standing between and slightly behind Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. An azure-blue unicorn mare whom she was sorry to say she recognized, and had very much hoped to never see again.

“What is that... pony... doing in my shop?” she demanded, barely catching herself from using a much more uncomplimentary and unladylike word instead. Trixie flinched under Rarity’s openly-hostile gaze and backed up a step, pressing closer against Twilight as if she were trying to hide behind her.

“Simmer down, Rares,” Applejack said, taking a step forward. “Trixie ain’t here to cause trouble. She just wants ta talk.”

“I very much doubt she has anything to say that I want to hear, darling,” Rarity said. “Honestly, I’m surprised she even dares to show her face again after what she did.”

“That’s what she’s here to talk about, Rarity,” Twilight said.

Rarity looked back and forth between her two friends, not quite sure what to make of this. Applejack and Twilight standing right next to Trixie? The mare who’d turned Ponyville upside-down – quite literally, in some cases – and tried to enslave everyone, who’d brought an Ursa rampaging through town... who’d humiliated her by turning her fabulously-styled indigo mane into a hideous pileup of the most appalling shade of swamp-muck green...

“Very well, what is it you want this time, Trixie?” Rarity finally asked, her tone still full of suspicion.

Trixie swallowed nervously, then cautiously stepped out from behind Twilight and Applejack. Slowly, she made her way over to where Rarity stood, each soft clop of her hooves against the floor echoing in the deadly silence, then halted just a few steps away from the ivory unicorn. Rarity tensed as Trixie drew nearer, a light-blue aura forming around her horn as she prepared to defend herself against whatever mischief the arrogant and thoroughly uncouth showmare had planned this time...

...and then, Trixie did the one thing Rarity would never have expected. The proud showmare closed her eyes, stretched out her forelegs, and bowed to Rarity, lowering herself all the way to the floor. “Trixie... is here to apologize,” she began in a quiet, humbled voice. She’d rehearsed what she’d wanted to say, and how to say it, all the way from Applejack’s farm to the boutique. Her impression of Rarity was that the ivory unicorn mare put a high value on propriety and formal etiquette, and Twilight had agreed with that assessment when Trixie had mentioned it. So after giving it some thought, Trixie had decided that a formal display of submission might be the best way to get through to Rarity.

“Trixie’s behavior has been both shameful and inexcusable,” Trixie continued. “She... I accept full responsibility for everything I did to you, and to your friends, and to Ponyville. Even if it was the Amulet’s influence making Trixie do some of those things, it was still Trixie’s... my choice to put it on, because I was a selfish foal who found it easier to blame all of you for Trixie’s misfortunes and seek childish, petty revenge, instead of facing the consequences of her... my own poor choices like a grown-up mare.”

Rarity blinked and stared down at the humbled unicorn, her expression slowly changing from suspicion to confusion. This can’t be the same Trixie, she thought to herself. “What kind of trick is this, Trixie?”

“No tricks, Rarity,” Trixie said, still keeping herself lowered before the one she’d come to apologize to. “Not any more. Trixie is... I’m sorry, Rarity. Please forgive me.”

Rarity tilted her head as she looked up at Applejack and Twilight, trying to determine whether there was some hidden agenda going on here that she just wasn’t getting. Finally, she turned her attention back to Trixie, narrowing her eyes. “You turned my mane green, darling,” she said darkly. “Swamp-muck green. With twigs in it. Dirty twigs. Swamp-muck green with dirty twigs and earthworms in it...!”

Trixie just nodded, closing her eyes as she kept herself lowered and humbled. “And that was wrong of Trix... of me,” she said. “There was no need for Trixie... for me to humiliate you that way. Rarity... Trixie is sorry, for everything she’s – I mean, for everything I’ve ever done to you. And...” She paused and swallowed before continuing. “Trixie begs for your forgiveness, and will accept any punishment you feel she deserves... that I deserve.” Discord take it, I swear I’m going to break that habit if it kills me!

“She means it, Rares,” Applejack spoke up quietly. “She’s already taken penance from me an’ Twilight... an’ I’m assumin’ Rainbow Dash is next on the list?” she added, receiving a confirming nod from Twilight as she glanced over at her friend.

“The three ponies Trixie... I hurt and humiliated for no reason other than my own foolish pride,” Trixie added, still addressing Rarity. “There is nothing to excuse what Trixie did to any of you back then. Some might say that when you three heckled Trixie’s... my magic act, I had a right to try to put you in your places rather than let you continue to disrupt the show – but Trixie took it too personally, and went too far. There was no need for Trixie to humiliate you the way she did.” She closed her eyes and bowed her head down to the floor again, still formally humbling herself before Rarity. “Trixie is ashamed of how she behaved back then, and... again, I beg your forgiveness, Rarity, and... I will submit to any punishment you feel that I deserve.”

Rarity studied the seemingly no-longer-proud showmare groveling for forgiveness at her hooves, raising a curious and more than a little confused brow. “Assuming, purely for the sake of argument, that your apology is sincere,” she began cautiously, “I suppose it would be... ungenerous of me to refuse it... but... why? What does it matter to you? You’ll forgive me if I find it hard to believe you’ve had a sudden attack of conscience, given your past history...”

“Not so much a sudden one, as a painful one, from what I’m told,” Applejack chuckled.

Twilight sighed and shushed her earth-pony friend with a hoof. “It’s a long story, Rarity...” she said with a sigh of resignation, knowing she was going to have to tell it all over again. And then tell it yet one more time to Rainbow Dash, as well. She found herself wishing they could have just gotten Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash together in one room and gotten this over with all at once, so she and Trixie wouldn’t have to keep repeating themselves... but it was far too likely that such a meeting would’ve quickly gotten out of hoof and simply resulted in a huge blowup of an argument, instead of a reconciliation. No, one at a time was best.

“Isn’t it always,” Rarity remarked dryly.

“That’s what I said too,” Applejack chuckled.

Rarity sighed dramatically. “Oh, very well. I suppose just listening won’t kill me. Give me a moment, I’ll make us some tea, and we can discuss this in... well, something approaching a civilized manner, anyway.”

Trixie saw an opportunity to make another display of humbled submission to Rarity... or, if nothing else, to at least disarm a small bit of the tension by removing herself from the room for a few minutes while Rarity talked to her friends. “If you’ll tell Trixie where the kitchen is,” she said, still keeping herself bowed low, like... like a servant, the thought flashed through her mind, “Tri– I’ll make the tea, while you three talk... if you’ll trust me to, that is.”

“Darling, I trust you about as much as I trust Opalescence with an open jar of catnip,” Rarity said frostily. Catching the look of disappointment in Twilight’s expression, she relented a little. “But I suppose it would be ungracious to refuse the gesture... the kitchen is that way,” she said, nodding towards an archway. “Through there, second arch on the right. Use the Coltley’s ‘Orange Dulcet’ blend in the tin that’s already opened, if you please.”

Trixie nodded respectfully and pushed herself back to her hooves to make her way to the kitchen, trying to ignore the feel of suspicious eyes on her flanks as she walked away from Rarity. Hoping to show that she could be trusted, she didn’t even stop to look at anything else in the shop, but headed straight for the second archway and vanished into the kitchen as directed.

All right, let’s see... there’s the kettle, there’s the tea... oh, it’s loose-leaf tea, isn’t it. Grasping the kettle in her telekinetic field, she filled it with water and set it on the stove to boil, then quietly began searching for a teapot and a tea-ball to brew the loose-leaf tea in. She hoped that rifling through Rarity’s kitchen drawers would be the lesser of two evils – or at least the more forgivable one – versus going back out to interrupt a conversation that would probably go much more smoothly if Rarity didn’t have to see or hear her for a few minutes.

“She... did... what?!”

Yes, that conversation would definitely be better off without her in the room. She continued searching though the cabinets, until she found what she was looking for. A beautiful sterling-silver tea set engraved with a seashell pattern, sitting on a matching serving tray, along with a large metal tea infuser for the pot.

“...You what!?” Rarity’s voice seemed to be shifting from cold anger to incredulous disbelief. Trixie hoped that was a promising sign.

Carefully, she slid the tea service out from the cabinet and set it down on the table, looking at it with interest. It was an old-fashioned style, of the type often used for serving “high tea” in the more elegant houses and hotels of Trottingham or Canterlot, with a two-tiered serving tray for little sandwiches or pastries to be served along with the tea. Trixie frowned slightly as she thought it over. This elegant tea set seemed a bit excessive for just serving a plain cup of tea to everypony; this was the kind of set one would normally only bring out for formal gatherings and important occasions...

Important occasions... she thought to herself, as an idea began to form. Twilight Sparkle’s words came back to her. Show them how humble The Great and Powerful Trixie can be, when she’s truly sorry for what she did, and wants to make amends...

It might work, or it might not... but it seemed like the sort of gesture that Rarity would appreciate, so Trixie decided it was worth a try. She resumed her search through the kitchen, catching up ingredients and utensils in her signature azure-blue field, making sure to work as quietly as possible and to clean up everything as she went. By the time the kettle began to boil, everything was ready.

“...simply cannot believe what I’m hearing, darlings,” Rarity was saying as Trixie came back from the kitchen. “Every time she’s come here, she’s been nothing but arrogant, rude, and thoroughly disagreeable – when she wasn’t being a power-mad lunatic, that is! And you’re telling me she’s... humble, now? Repentant, even?”

Applejack glanced up as she saw the mare in question come plodding back into the room, and smiled in amusement as she saw what Trixie was bringing with her. “Don’t take our word for it, sugarcube, have a look for y’self,” she said.

Rarity turned her head to look, and blinked in surprise as she saw Trixie crossing the showroom with slow, measured steps, keeping the tea service held firmly in her telekinetic field so as not to spill a drop. She had re-tied her black cloak into something that made a passable imitation of a short “Prench Maid’s” skirt, and appropriated a set of frilly lace garters from one of the ponyquins for her rear legs. The outfit wouldn’t win any awards for style or authenticity, but it was the symbolism that counted.

Carefully, she set the tray down on a table near some lounging chairs, then turned and bowed to Rarity once more. “Trixie t–... I took the liberty of preparing some refreshments for your guests, Miss Rarity,” she said, giving Twilight just the barest hint of a wink, and receiving one from her marefriend in return. “I hope they’ll be to your liking. If you and your guests would care to be seated, Trixie will be happy to serve you.”

Rarity raised a brow as she regarded the azure unicorn bowing submissively before her, glancing towards the “high tea” Trixie had prepared for them. Trixie obviously hadn’t had nearly enough time to make everything from scratch, and had had to make do with what Rarity already had available; but fortunately for Trixie, Rarity had a long-standing habit of treating herself to a scone with jam and cream in the afternoon, so Trixie had been able to put together a reasonable selection of treats out of what was on-hoof. Rarity was a bit irritated that Trixie hadn’t asked permission first, but she had to admit, the cucumber sandwiches and toast triangles with melted cheese did look rather tasty, and seeing as how Trixie had clearly gone to so much effort in hopes of pleasing her, she supposed it would be a shame to let them go to waste...

...now there was a strange thought. Trixie had done all of this... just to please her? That proud, arrogant, downright rude mare was humbling herself like this, just to please her and earn her forgiveness?

Trixie will submit to any punishment you feel she deserves... Rarity glanced over to Twilight and Applejack, still with her brow raised in a silent inquiry, and received only a pair of barely-perceptible smiles and nods in return. She turned her gaze back to Trixie, and smiled a little smile to herself as well. This could, perhaps, get very interesting...

All right, let’s see just how far you’re willing to go, “Humble and Submissive Trixie”...

“Well, then... shall we be seated, darlings?” she said, gesturing grandly to the couches. “Trixie, you may begin by pouring the tea, one lump of sugar and a touch of milk in mine, and then we’ll begin with the cheese-on-toast while it’s still nice and hot.”

Trixie noted immediately the lack of a “please” accompanying any of those commands, and the way in which Rarity simply gave them with the expectation that they would be obeyed, as if Rarity had every right to order her around. A bit of her old prideful ego tried to rebel at the notion, but she firmly squashed it down. If that was how Rarity wanted to play it, then by Celestia, the “Humble and Obedient Trixie” would submit to the white unicorn’s every whim.

“Yes, miss Rarity,” she said, waiting for them to all be seated before rising from her submissive bow. She made a point of serving Rarity first, pouring her tea into a cup and preparing it exactly to specification, then floating two of the hot toast-and-cheese triangles onto a small plate and setting them before her. “Please be careful, miss Rarity, the cheese is still quite hot,” she cautioned, before turning her attention to Applejack and Twilight. “Miss Twilight, miss Applejack, how will you take your tea this afternoon?”

Applejack and Twilight traded glances of amusement as Trixie slipped into her role of a lowly, humbled servant, clearly intending to play it to the hilt. “Two sugars, no milk in mine if ya please,” Applejack said, biting off her usual “sugarcube” term of endearment at the end since it didn’t seem like the sort of thing that would be appropriate to the roles being played. Taking her cue from Rarity and Applejack, Twilight phrased her preference as a casual order as well, though she couldn’t help raising a brow slightly as she saw a tiny shiver pass through Trixie when she gave the order like that. It seemed a lot like the kind of shiver that had passed through Twilight when she’d willingly submitted herself to being Trixie’s pleasure-toy, down in the basement, and she made a note of that for later.

The slight shiver wasn’t lost on Rarity, either. My, my... this might indeed get very interesting... She waited until Trixie had served everypony their tea and cheese toast, then made a show of examining the showmare’s improvised serving-mare outfit with a critical eye. “Mmm... you know, if we’re going to do this, we really should do it properly,” she commented idly. Summoning an old-style iron key from its usual resting place (underneath the false bottom of a jewelry box in her bedroom), she floated it over to Trixie. “Down the hall, all the way to the back, I have a showroom especially for certain... specialty outfits, shall we say,” she explained with a mischievous smile. “Use this key to get in. The black outfit on the ponyquin third from the doorway on the right will do nicely for the occasion, I think.”

Trixie raised a brow as she caught the key in her magic, noting the odd looks Twilight and Applejack were giving the ivory unicorn as they wondered what Rarity was playing at. Trixie wondered as well, although she had her suspicions...

“Yes, miss Rarity,” she said.

“And don’t take too long, darling, we wouldn’t want this lovely tea to get cold, now would we.”

“Of course not, miss Rarity,” Trixie said, already making her way towards the arch leading to the hallway again.

“And be sure to wear all of it, darling,” she heard Rarity calling out after her as she disappeared through the archway. Wondering just what Rarity meant by that, specifically, Trixie trotted down the hallway to the doorway at the end, as indicated, and slid the key into the lock. She pushed the door open, then flipped on the lights...

Ah. So that’s what the ivory fashionista had meant by “specialty outfits.”

So be it, then.

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Several minutes later, three sets of eyes turned to look towards the archway as they heard hoofsteps approaching... and one orange earth-pony and one purple unicorn did a double-take as they saw the outfit Trixie was wearing. The ivory unicorn just smiled. “Much better, darling. Now come over here and resume your duties, there’s a good girl.”

Trixie stepped across the showroom, trying not to blush any more deeply than she already was. Her body was encased in a web of heavy faux-leather straps and steel rings fitted tightly around her barrel, stomach, and the upper portions of both her front and rear legs, while leaving her flanks and hindquarters uncovered, with a large steel ring fitted right at the dock of her tail and a short “sleeve” of strapping that forced her to keep her tail lifted high, preventing her from covering herself back there. A matching halter fitted equally snugly around her head and face, and each leg had a sturdy cuff buckled just above her hooves. A short, frilly “Prench Maid” apron, a matching cap of black satin and white lace, and black-fishnet socks with matching garters on the back legs indicated her status as a serving-mare without giving any cover at all, adding a bit of flirtatious playfulness to the ensemble.

Even in a clothing-optional society like Equestria, the right outfit could still make a mare (or stallion, for that matter) feel even more naked and exposed than they normally were anyway, if only because of the symbolism of the outfit in question – and there was no mistaking the symbolic message this outfit was meant to send. The tight black straps, steel rings, and sturdy hoof-cuffs, along with the forced lifting of her tail to expose her marefolds to anypony who cared to look, were an open acknowledgment that the ensemble’s wearer had given herself over to a Master or Mistress. Not just as a servant or a maid, but as a sexual object – a slave, forced to display herself for her owner’s amusement, and to be available for her owner’s use at any time, in any manner, that they chose to use her.

And oh, horseapples, that thought was exciting Trixie a lot more than she really wanted it to...

“Dang...” Applejack murmured appreciatively. Twilight just swallowed. Suddenly, it seemed very warm in Rarity’s boutique.

“Yes, quite,” Rarity agreed. “Now hurry up, Trixie, we don’t want to keep our guests waiting.”

Trixie trotted over to obey as quickly as the tight straps would let her, her horn already starting to glow as she lifted the teapot to refill everypony’s cups. “Yes, miss Rarity.”

“That’s Mistress Rarity, dear,” Rarity said firmly, giving the azure unicorn a stern look.

Oh, so that’s how you want to play it, do you? Trixie thought rebelliously, even as that commanding tone combined with the feeling of being nakedly, sexually exposed this way by the harness straps had her bowing to acknowledge her error almost before she even realized she was doing it. “Yes... Mistress Rarity,” Trixie said, feeling the humiliated blush flaming on her cheeks.

“Much better. That outfit suits you nicely, I think. The Obedient and Submissive Trixie. Much more suitable... don’t you think so, Twilight?”

Twilight blinked and shook her head slightly to clear it, then smiled and nodded. Apparently, Rarity intended to punish Trixie by dominating and humiliating her, instead of just lighting up her flanks with a hairbrush or a belt – although there was no guarantee she wouldn’t do some of that as well. Her first thought was to wonder if she should be jealous of Rarity taking over the role of Trixie’s dominant like this, but – no. Rarity was her friend, and there was no reason to be jealous of her; Rarity had no intention of stealing Trixie away from her, or anything silly like that. To the contrary, this could be a valuable learning experience; Rarity clearly had some first-hoof knowledge of this kind of thing, and studying her technique might come in useful for later...

“Oh, definitely,” she agreed, giving Rarity a warm smile and a quick, conspiratorial wink. “In fact, I just might buy that outfit for her and make her wear it all the time. It might do wonders for her attitude.”

“Just say the word, darling,” Rarity chuckled. She got up and circled around the bowing, blushing unicorn mare, making a show of examining Trixie’s exposed backside. She actually felt a twinge of sympathy for Trixie as she got a good, close-up look at the welts crisscrossing those azure-blue hindquarters; those truly did look excruciatingly painful. Good heavens, Applejack... she thought to herself. You certainly can’t be accused of having gone too easy on her, can you... Dear Celestia, those must hurt terribly. I almost feel sorry for her...

Seeing those welts made Rarity feel more comfortable with her intended course of action; while the idea of punishing Trixie for her misdeeds had an undeniable appeal, Rarity hadn’t been altogether sure about simply making her bend over for another spanking. Her own experience with such things was, after all, almost entirely limited to disciplining her little sister when she misbehaved – and Sweetie Belle wasn’t a deliberately bad filly; she just had a tendency to let her high-spirited enthusiasm get the better of her common sense at times, so it hardly ever required more than a dozen crisp swats on each flank for the gentle, sensitive filly to learn her lesson. Stubborn, prideful Trixie, on the other hoof, would be a much tougher nut to crack, and Rarity wasn’t quite sure if she could bring herself to inflict quite that kind of harsh, painful punishment on another pony, especially after Applejack had already done such a very thorough job of searing the showmare’s flanks...

But dominating and humiliating her? That, Rarity could do. And she would enjoy it. Oh, yes... I will thoroughly enjoy seeing you broken, darling... she thought evilly to herself. You want to earn my forgiveness? Then you will crawl at my hooves and beg for it...

“But you haven’t even seen the most interesting feature of the ensemble yet,” she added out loud as she brushed a hoof across the cleft of Trixie’s backside, making the azure unicorn gasp and squeak at the unexpectedly intimate touch. “Trixie, did I not say to wear all of this outfit?”

Trixie blinked. She’d put on everything that the ponyquin had been wearing; what more was she supposed to have worn? “Trixie th–... I mean, I thought I did, Miss... Mistress Rarity. Was there more to it?”

“You didn’t see the box sitting under the ponyquin?”

“I...” Trixie furrowed her brow for a moment. “No, mistress, if Tr– if I saw it, I didn’t realize it was meant to go with the outfit, mistress. I’m sorry.”

Rarity made a dramatic sigh. “Wait right there, and don’t move.” She gave Twilight another wink, unseen by the showmare, then trotted off to the back room to retrieve whatever it was that Trixie had overlooked.

Both Applejack and Twilight had to chuckle at Trixie’s expression. “Look at it this way, sugarcube, it beats gettin’ th’ tar whalloped outta your butt again, don’t it?” Applejack said.

“Twilight, you wouldn’t... really make Trixie wear this in public, would you?” Trixie asked, looking towards her marefriend with an embarrassed blush. Although whether her embarrassment was because she would be utterly humiliated to be made to openly advertise herself as Twilight’s slave if Twilight made her go out dressed like this, or excited to do so, even Trixie herself wasn’t entirely sure.

“I might,” Twilight smirked, taking her cue from Rarity’s earlier actions. “And that’s Mistress Twilight to you, Trixie.”

Trixie eeped! and looked away again, closing her eyes as she shivered with a mix of embarrassment, humiliation, and... excitement? Anticipation? She wasn’t sure what to call it, but the way it made her heart flutter and her stomach feel hollow at the same time was certainly something...

“Dang, Twi, I had no idea you were such a kinky li’l mare,” Applejack teased. She had to admit, it was interesting to see how easily and naturally Twilight seemed to be taking to asserting dominance over her marefriend that way. It definitely wasn’t a side of the studious and occasionally socially-awkward unicorn that Applejack saw very often.

“I’ve been studying,” Twilight replied smugly.

“Of course ya have,” Applejack chuckled. “I might hafta drop by the library an’ borrow whatever books you’ve been readin’, then. Sounds like they might be educational.”

“Ohh, you have no idea...”

They both looked up as Rarity returned, floating a small box in front of her. “Very good, Trixie. Now, Twilight, come over here and allow me to demonstrate the most... interesting feature to this particular ensemble. I think you’ll find it quite amusing and educational.” Twilight raised a brow, then got up and walked over to stand next to Rarity as the ivory unicorn set the box down behind Trixie. “Now, Trixie... keep your head and forelegs down, and spread your rear legs as wide apart as possible,” Rarity said firmly.

Trixie flinched and hesitated for a moment, then slowly adjusted her position to stand with her rear hooves widely spread, as ordered. The resulting position was decidedly uncomfortable as well as humiliating, but Trixie sensed it was only the beginning.

“Now as you can see, this outfit normally leaves the slave’s marefolds nicely exposed,” Rarity said cheerfully as she lifted a black strap out of the box. Emphasizing the word “slave” hit Trixie right where she lived, and she couldn’t help making a little squeak of protest. “What was that, slave?” Rarity snapped, deliberately emphasizing the word again. “Do you have something to say, slave?”

“N-no, Mistress Rarity,” Trixie stammered, cowed by the commanding tone in Rarity’s voice. Even Applejack was impressed by it; Rarity always seemed so soft and delicate on the surface, but there was a great deal more steel under that marshmallow exterior than most ponies thought.

“I should think not,” Rarity said, glaring at Trixie for a moment to drive the point home, before turning her attention back to Twilight and her demonstration. “However,” she continued in that same cheery tone, as if nothing had happened, “should you prefer to keep that lovely sight all to yourself, this extra strap attaches here, and here, and allows you to cover her up. It can also be used for more... entertaining purposes.”

“What do you – oh, my,” Twilight started to ask, her eyes widening as she saw the other items still in the box.

“Oh, my, indeed,” Rarity agreed with a wicked chuckle. “Would you care to do the honors, or shall I?”

Twilight sat back on her haunches to watch. “Go ahead, Rarity,” she said. “She’s doing penance for you, after all, so for the moment... she’s your slave, not mine. Do whatever you want with her.”

Applejack raised a brow at that... then raised both brows as she saw what Rarity was levitating up behind the bent-over, humiliated showmare. “Jumpin’ crabapples...”

Trixie risked a look over her shoulder, and quickly wished she hadn’t. Oh, not that she had anything against the type of toys being levitated in Rarity’s blue aura, as such, and they were certainly preferable to seeing yet another instrument of punishment being aimed at her instead... but the thought of having them used on her, while everypony watched... “Please, Mistress...” she whimpered softly.

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” Rarity chuckled. “Now observe, Twilight.”

Trixie felt a tingling sensation across her folds as the magic aura surrounding the first of the toys brushed up against her... then bit her lip and let out a groan that was somewhere pain and pleasure as that thick latex replica of a very well-hung stallion’s shaft pushed its way into her, thrusting slowly in and out within Rarity’s telekinetic grip as it spread her open and filled her inside, deeper and deeper with every thrust... and oh, sun and moon, it was huge, she could feel every ridge and vein molded into its surface as it stretched her inside, surely there was no way she could possibly take the whole thing... Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, knowing that everypony could hear the obscenely wet sounds of that thick toy moving in and out of her arousal-slicked marefolds... “Please...” she whispered, pleading, even as her hindquarters started to rock and thrust back against the toy, almost without her even being aware she was doing it. “Trixie is... she...”

“...wants more?” Rarity asked. “Oh, never fear, I have plenty more for you, slave. Now hold very still.” She knew it was dreadfully wicked of her, but the way Trixie squeaked and shivered every time she called her by that particular title just sent such a little thrill along Rarity’s spine that she couldn’t help it. Besides, it seemed quite appropriate. Trixie had tried to enslave the whole town... now she, herself, was going to be enslaved to Rarity’s will. The fact that she was doing so willingly, at Twilight’s command, just made it all the sweeter. Poetic justice at its best, Rarity thought smugly, as she floated a small bottle up underneath Trixie’s tail, then tipped it over...

Trixie gasped and let out a louder squeal as she felt something cool, thick, and slippery dripping onto her back there, coating the puckered rosebud under her tail. She knew immediately what the liquid substance was, and what it implied... Oh no, oh no, please... I can’t... “M-Mistress... please... Trixie hasn’t... she’s never...” She could hardly bring herself to say it in front of everypony.

“Oh? Are you admitting there’s something I can do which the Great and Powerful Trixie can’t do better, slave?” Rarity teased. “I’ve had a full-grown stallion under my tail; surely you can handle this small little toy...” She pressed the toy in question up against Trixie’s lubricated tailhole, and pressed it forward a little. “Or do you admit that you’re less of a mare than I am, slave?”

Both Trixie and Twilight shivered at Rarity’s tone, for different reasons. Twilight found herself getting more than a little aroused, both by Rarity’s commanding dominance of Trixie, and of Trixie’s obvious humiliation. The side of her which had enjoyed dominating Trixie was fascinated by Rarity’s technique, and taking copious mental notes for later use – and at the same time, the side of her which had enjoyed submitting to Trixie’s dominance couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to be in Trixie’s place, submitting to Rarity’s dominance herself, forced to perform such humiliating acts right in front of everypony...

Applejack, on the other hoof, was just wondering how much longer she could stand to watch this without taking... certain matters... into her own hoof. She’d heard about this sort of thing, of course, but seeing it played out right in front of her in living, sweating, moaning color was another barrel of apples entirely. Sweet Celestia, I think this is the hottest dang thing I’ve ever seen... I had no idea Twi an’ Rares were inta this kinda stuff! As she watched the scene play out in front of her, she found that she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to participate in a scene like this, rather than just watch from the sidelines... and the fact that she couldn’t quite seem to decide which unicorn’s hooves she’d rather be in sent a strangely giddy thrill up the farmpony’s spine. It was easy enough for the strong-willed earth pony to see herself in the dominant position... but to be in Trixie’s place? To have every shred of control and dignity stripped from her, and willingly give herself over to another pony’s domination?

I don’t know if I could ever bring myself ta do that... but darned if it don’t make me feel a li’l light-headed thinkin’ about it! she decided.

Trixie closed her eyes and whimpered as she felt the tip of the conical latex plug – which definitely felt neither “small” nor “little” to her! – starting to force its way into the passage under her tail with firm, steady, relentless pressure, spreading her a little wider with every fraction of an inch. She’d had sex with stallions before, as well as mares, but nopony had ever taken her there before, and even this little bit of penetration was wildly uncomfortable. Not actually painful, as such, but definitely not a sensation Trixie was enjoying at all. “M-Mistress... please...” she pleaded.

“Do you admit you’re the lesser mare, slave?” Rarity repeated in a demanding tone. When Trixie’s only answer was another whimper, Rarity increased the pressure to push the toy in another fraction of an inch. “Do you admit you’re the lesser mare...?”

Another whimpered pleading from Trixie got her nothing but another fraction of an inch of the toy forced into her, and now it did hurt as she instinctively fought the penetration by clenching tightly against the toy’s intrusion. “Do... you... admit...” Rarity repeated in a harder tone, making it clear that there would be no relief until Trixie told her what she wanted to hear.

“Y-... yes...” Trixie finally said in a small voice.

“Yes what, slave?”

“Yes, T-Trixie admits... that... she’s the l-lesser mare... Mistress Rarity,” Trixie said, forcing the words out past the remnants of her tattered pride and ego, even as the humiliation of humbling herself this way only seemed to make her own arousal even stronger. She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that. “Trixie is... lower than Mistress Rarity, and is... unworthy of her...” she said, hoping the answer would please the ivory unicorn.

“But you’ll take it anyway, won’t you,” Rarity said, holding the toy in place without forcing it in any deeper, even as her voice took on a softer, gentler tone. “For Twilight’s sake, you’ll do anything I want, no matter how uncomfortable or painful or degrading it is, to prove your apology and desire to do penance is sincere... isn’t that right?”

Trixie hesitated for a moment... then slowly nodded, even as she tried to brace herself for what was coming, feeling certain that it was going to hurt a lot more if that toy went in any deeper. “If it’s... what Mistress wants...” she said, “then... Trixie will try. But... Trixie honestly never has... had... anypony there, so please... Trixie begs you to be gentle, Mistress Rarity...”

“My, my... you have her nicely trained already, Twilight,” Rarity chuckled, trading winks with Twilight and Applejack. “Take a breath and let it out slowly, Trixie. It will help you to relax, and if you relax, this will go in much more easily.”

Trixie nodded her understanding, and tried her best to comply, breathing slowly and deeply while trying to keep from clenching around the uncomfortable intrusion. For Twilight... for Twilight... do it for Twilight, do it for Twilight, do it for ohh horseapples that really is uncomfortable I don’t know if I can take this it’s too much I can’t – “HNNNHHH!! Please, it’s t-too much!! Trixie can’t... she can’t! Please, it’s – AAAIIIHHH!!” she cried out, squealing in pain as the toy stretched her anal entrance to the limit and then some before suddenly popping all the way inside. Sun and moon, that stings...! she thought as she focused on her breathing, trying to relax again and overcome the very unpleasant sensation of having that thick toy stuffed into her no-longer-virgin tailhole like that...

“It’s already all the way in, darling,” Rarity chuckled, patting the showmare’s backside with a hoof. “And now that both of these are in place, we simply secure and tighten this strap like so, and... there! You can keep her stuffed nice and full as long as you like, without having to expend any effort beyond the initial insertion. Clever, yes? And now that they are both securely in place...” Her horn lit up, and a quick shot of magic arced from the tip of her horn to each of the thick rubber toys buried deep inside Trixie...

Trixie yelped and bucked forwards as both toys suddenly came to life inside her, throbbing and pulsing, hitting her with a shock of pleasure that took her legs right out from underneath her. She hit the floor with a thud that took her breath away for a moment, then started to writhe and squirm helplessly, unable to resist the powerful sensations throbbing through her nether areas. “I... OH!... Miss... tresssss... I... AAAHHH!!”

“Damn, Rares,” Applejack said admiringly. “Okay, I hafta ask. Are all unicorns this kinky, or am I just lucky t’ have especially interestin’ friends?”

“Well, I can’t speak for anypony other than myself, of course,” Rarity chuckled, “but in my business, one does tend to meet some... interesting clients, shall we say, who will pay well for a seamstress who can fulfill ‘special requests’ discreetly, if you follow my meaning? So, I suppose I may have picked up a few odd tidbits of knowledge about this sort of thing here and there, in passing...”

“Uh-huh.” Applejack’s expression showed she wasn’t buying that explanation for a moment.

Rarity just smiled, then walked away from the writhing, squirming, moaning showmare on the floor and resumed her seat, lifting her teacup. “Now... slave... you may resume serving this lovely afternoon tea you’ve prepared for us. Shall we move on to the sandwiches, girls?”

It took the words a minute or so to register through the haze of pleasure fogging Trixie’s head. “I... you...” Surely Rarity didn’t expect her to just get up and carry on playing “serving maid” with those... those things throbbing away inside her, driving her mad with pleasure as the relentless vibrations rocked her to the core. But a quick glance at Rarity, then Twilight, was enough to convince her that was exactly what was expected of her; so, gritting her teeth, she struggled back to her hooves, willing herself to overcome the torture of those throbbing, pulsing, humming, oh-so-pleasurable sensations and forcing herself to focus on serving them even though her body was screaming at her to just surrender to it...

“Y-yes... M-miss...tress...” she gasped out. It took everything she had to summon up a simple telekinesis spell to float the cucumber-and-dandelion sandwiches onto their plates, then hold her focus long enough to refill everypony’s teacups. The pleasure was just about unbearable; while Trixie had certainly pleasured herself with similar stallion-shaped toys on occasion, whatever magic enhancements had been done to these were lighting up the nerve endings all over her plot, inside and out, like nothing she’d ever experienced, and it was driving her mad.

She set the teapot back on the tray, then dropped back into her submissive posture, head and forehooves down, bowing to Rarity... which proved to be a mistake, at least as far as maintaining her self-control or dignity was concerned. With her rear end hiked up in that position, it was all too easy for the constant stimulation to overcome her self-control. At first, the thrusting motions were just small little twitches that she could at least hope weren’t noticeable enough to draw the other three mares’ attention, but it wasn’t long before the twitches grew to obvious squirming and rocking motions, and finally to blind thrusts of her hindquarters against the empty air, like a mare being mounted, seeking release and relief as she lost herself in the sensations.

Somewhere, she heard the sounds of a mare letting out soft little moans in a steady rhythm as a stallion covered her, driving his thick shaft deep into her wet folds with every thrust, filling her to the bursting point as her body bucked and writhed and burned with lust, her liquid heat dripping down the inside of her thighs as she bit her lip to stifle the screams of pleasure that were trying to get out. Dimly, she realized through the fog of lust and need that the sounds were coming from her, and she wondered what kind of obscene show she must be putting on for everypony as they watched her try to rut herself with the throbbing toys held deep within her by that damnably tight strap against her marefolds. And worse, somehow the toys seemed to be responding to these motions, generating pulsating waves of stimulation that matched the rhythm of her hindquarters as she rutted herself against the toys, making it all too easy to lose herself in the fantasy of having the living daylights bucked out of her by one... no, two stallions, plunging their delightfully thick, hard shafts so deep into her marehood and tailhole with every glorious thrust of their strong bodies against hers... using her, while her marefriend and her two friends watched...

“I... hhfff... I... please... I c-can’t... hnnhhh!...”

“You can’t?” Rarity snapped. “Can’t what?”

“T-too much...” Trixie stammered, feeling the hot blush blazing across her cheeks as she writhed and bucked helplessly, rutting herself right in front of everypony as the twin toys sent throbbing wave after wave of pleasure deep into her. “It’s... too... much... Mistress... please...”

“More than you deserve, obviously,” Rarity agreed coldly. “Perhaps you’d prefer me to finish what Applejack started and add another half-dozen welts across your flanks instead, slave?”

Rarity was bluffing on that last part, of course, but Trixie had no way to know that, and the threat alone was more than enough to silence any further protests. “No, M-mistress Rarity, I’m... hffff!... I’m sorry!”

“As well you should be. A good little slave would be thanking her Mistress for generously permitting her to enjoy such pleasure, instead of complaining about it.”

Trixie took the hint. “Th... hnnnhhh... thank you... Mistress...” she gasped out. “Thank you, Mistress...”

“Good girl,” Rarity said. “Isn’t she a good girl, Twilight?”

“Huh?” Twilight snapped out of her reverie, looking a bit flushed herself. “Oh, yes. Very good. Very... very good...” She shook herself and took a sip of tea to calm herself. “Very good.”

Applejack stifled a giggle at Twilight’s flustered expression. ‘Course, it ain’t like I’m not gettin’ a mite worked up myself... she thought, a slight flush coming to her orange cheeks as she caught the heavy scent of her own arousal – though her embarrassment was lessened a bit when she realized that not all of that lusty scent was from her; Twilight and Rarity were obviously enjoying the show as well, and Trixie was practically leaving a puddle on the floor... Dang it all, I’m gonna need a cold shower ‘fore I head back to the farm, or every stallion in town’ll be followin’ me home tryin’ ta get inta my plot! she thought with a snort of wry amusement.

“Yes, that’s right, Trixie... you’re a very good little slave, aren’t you...” Rarity said, grinning at the writhing showmare as Trixie fought to make some kind of coherent reply.

Trixie let out a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a moan, torn between the warmth of hearing her marefriend praise her, the relentless pleasure being inflicted on her by the toys, and the humiliation of being so easily dominated by Rarity and forced to put on such a shameless display like this. She felt dirty and degraded, her ego and pride slowly being crushed under the disgrace of being treated as nothing but a sexual plaything for Rarity’s entertainment while everypony watched – but the rising tide of sexual arousal inside her drove her on, despite her shame and embarrassment, as she rutted against the empty air, trying to get that last bit of stimulation to push her over the edge, her mind clouded with lust and pleasure and burning, aching, dripping need...

Oh yes, oh yes, oh sun and moon, I’m almost... almost there... oh yes, I’m almost... almost...

“...AHHH! NO!” she screamed in frustration as the throbbing sensations suddenly stopped and her nether areas went completely numb, denying her that last little bit she needed. “NO, NO, NO!!”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that little detail?” Rarity cooed, her expression one of pure wickedness despite her falsely-pleasant tone. “How thoughtless of me. The spell crystals inside those toys are sensitive to the user’s state of arousal, you see... and will not permit you to achieve orgasm, until your Mistress chooses to allow it. No matter how badly you want to climax, no matter how close you think you’re getting to it... they won’t let you have it. In fact, they will actively numb you back there and suppress your ability to feel any sensations, until you’ve completely lost the moment. And then they will do it again... and again... and again...”

Trixie let out another incoherent moan of frustration as she tried to push herself over the edge anyway, only to discover that Rarity wasn’t exaggerating in the least. No matter how much she writhed and squirmed, she couldn’t get any relief; it was as if the toys were suddenly no longer there at all, leaving her feeling empty and hollow inside. Not even trying to rub herself through the tight strap produced any sensation to speak of; it was as if everything from the dock of her tail down to the insides of her thighs had been suddenly hit with the kind of numbing anesthetic a dentist would use, robbing her of the ability to feel anything there. No pain, no pleasure, not even a sensation of touch or pressure... nothing. The orgasm that had been so tantalizingly close just a moment ago began slipping away from her grasp, leaving only empty disappointment and helpless, frustrated longing in its wake.

Applejack blinked at that explanation as she watched Trixie’s frantic squirming. “Dang, Rares... you really are true, concentrated evil, ain’tcha?” she chuckled.

“Why thank you, darling,” Rarity grinned back, toasting both of her friends with her teacup. “But I can’t take all the credit. A rather good friend of mine put me on to these a couple of years ago... so to speak,” she explained, with only a slight tinge of pink under her ivory cheeks, “and I can assure you from personal experience... the torment is exquisite. She’ll be screaming for relief within fifteen minutes, at most. Just you watch.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Rarity,” Twilight said. “She’s stronger than you think. She just might surprise you.”

“Mmm... shall we make it interesting then, Twilight?” She leaned over and whispered something into Twilight’s ear, causing the lavender unicorn to flush an even deeper shade of purple at Rarity’s proposal. The idea was shocking and scandalous, and...

“You’re on.”

Rarity raised a brow as Twilight agreed to the proposed wager. She’d only offered it half in jest, just to see what Twilight’s reaction would be. “Are you sure, darling?”

“I said, you’re on,” Twilight said confidently. She leaned in and whispered something back to Rarity, and Rarity brightened in understanding once she understood Twilight’s rationale in accepting the wager.

“Oh, my, yes, I see your point. Very well. Trixie!”

“Y-yes... Mistress RaaaAAAAA!! R-Rarity!” Trixie gasped out as the vibrators suddenly surged to life inside her again. They seemed to be even worse this time around; within mere moments, her body was consumed by the sensations, her breath coming in ragged gasps and pants as both of the thick rubber toys buzzed and throbbed and pulsated and drove... her... mad...

“Listen carefully. Twilight and I have made a little wager on you. For some reason, she seems to think you can actually withstand fifteen minutes of the most intense stimulation those toys can deliver, without begging for relief. Personally, I don’t think you can last nearly that long. An arrogant, selfish, egotistical little braggart like you is hardly accustomed to putting anypony else’s desires ahead of your own, after all.”

Fifteen minutes?! Trixie wanted to scream already. She didn’t think she could even stand it for five more minutes, much less fifteen. Fifteen minutes of this would break her... which, of course, was precisely what she knew Rarity wanted. To see her broken. Or, failing that, to be vindicated when Trixie’s failure proved her to be nothing more than the same old “selfish and egotistical Trixie” who would put her own wants above everypony else’s, even her marefriend’s, when the chips were down...

“What’s... the... what are the... stakes, Mistress?”

“The ‘Submissive and Obedient Trixie’ will be receiving a spanking, as part of her penance,” Rarity said with a grin. “But if you cause Twilight to lose our little wager... she will take the spanking in your place.”

Trixie’s eyes went wide at that, as the implications broke through the haze of unbearable pleasure being forced on her by the throbbing, magic-infused toys buried inside her. “I – no! Please, Mistress Rarity, don’t... Trixie will do... aahhhh!... anything you want, but please... hnnnhhh!!... please, don’t punish Twilight for Trixie’s failures... please!”

Rarity couldn’t help raising a brow at the pleading look in Trixie’s eyes as she begged for her marefriend not to be punished in her place. The old, boastful, self-centered Trixie wouldn’t have cared; if anything, she probably would have considered it a “win” if somepony else ended up paying the price for her wrongdoing. Maybe she really has changed...? It hardly seems possible... but I just can’t imagine the self-aggrandizing egotist she was before being willing to humiliate herself like this, no matter what kind of scheme she was trying to pull off... And she had to admit, it did seem significant that Trixie hadn’t even once tried to use her magic to oppose anything Rarity had done to her so far. Even when she’d begged Rarity not to insert the second vibrator under her tail, she hadn’t manifested so much as a spark of opposition to stop her from doing it...

Rarity studied Trixie a moment longer, then smiled as an idea occurred to her. It was something she had occasionally been curious about, but the opportunity to try it had never really presented itself, as the few lovers Rarity had felt comfortable sharing her kinkier fantasies with in the past had never been interested in that particular activity. I wonder if she’ll actually go that far...

“Anything?” she finally asked.

Trixie swallowed and nodded. “Anything, Missssss... hhaah!... Mistress Rarity... please...”

Rarity stretched herself out on the couch, lying on her side. “Kiss my hooves.”

Trixie looked up, startled by the request. Whatever she’d been expecting Rarity to demand of her, it certainly hadn’t been that! “Wh... what?”

“Trixie, would you agree that it has been your mouth that’s gotten you into more trouble than anything else?”

“I... suppose, M-mistress R–aaaaahhh...! Rarity...”

“Then kiss my hooves. Put your troublesome mouth to good use for once. Kiss them... lick them... and clean them with your tongue like a good little slave,” Rarity commanded, curious to see if Trixie would actually do it.

Trixie swallowed as she considered her options. Again, a small part of her rebelled at the very idea; it was obvious to her now that Rarity’s primary goal was to see her utterly, completely humiliated and broken... forced to perform the most disgraceful, degrading acts for the ivory unicorn’s amusement, to crawl before her, as if she were nothing...

...just like you did to them, she told herself sternly. Forcing her tattered pride back into its corner, she lowered herself all the way to the floor and crawled forward, then took Rarity’s left hind-hoof into her forehooves and brought it to her muzzle to kiss it, nuzzle it, and then lick it clean, bathing every inch with her tongue all the way from the bottom of the outer walls up to the pastern. She was relieved to find that it wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as she’d imagined it might be – after all, it wasn’t as if Rarity had been out stomping around in the local garbage dump, or anything nasty like that. The ivory unicorn had showered just that morning, and had spent the whole day in her shop, so she was still perfectly clean... it was just the symbolism of the act that made it so filthy and shameful.

But for Twilight, she’d do it. She’d do her best to please Rarity, no matter how much she had to lower herself to earn the ivory unicorn’s forgiveness. If Rarity wanted to see her humiliated and broken, then for Twilight, she would let herself be humiliated and broken...

For her part, Rarity barely managed to keep her composure and maintain her “Mistress” persona, when what she really wanted to do was stare at the former showmare in pop-eyed, open-mouthed astonishment. She’d half-expected Trixie to balk at that command, thinking it would be further than the boastful showmare’s pride could stand... but instead, here she was, willingly degrading herself by bathing Rarity’s hooves with her tongue, at Rarity’s command, all for the sake of the newly-found love between her and Twilight and oooh, that actually doesfeel rather interesting, doesn’t it...

Applejack and Twilight traded amused glances as the battle of wills between Trixie and Rarity continued, with Trixie fighting to keep control over her increasingly-desperate need for some kind of release as the throbbing dildos tormented her with one denied orgasm after another, pulling her right to the edge, but never allowing her to get all the way over, while she tongue-bathed Rarity’s hooves one at a time. In a strange way, Trixie decided, the degrading task was actually helping her keep control, at least a little bit, by giving her something to fixate on other than how desperately she needed that orgasm that the damned toys just wouldn’t let her have...

“Oh, my... Twilight, darling, I strongly suggest you consider having her do this for you sometime,” Rarity cooed in a dreamy voice, her eyes half-lidded in blissful pleasure. “It’s simply... exquisite...”

“I gotta say, Rares, I never woulda figured you for this kinda stuff,” Applejack chuckled. “Just seems so darn unladylike. Then again, can’t rightly say I’d’ve ever figured Twilight for it neither, so shows ya what I know, I guess.”

“Well, you know what they say, darling,” Rarity’s half-closed eyes sparkled with amusement. “A lady on the streets, a freak between the sheets, yes?”

Both Twilight and Applejack had to giggle at that. “Yeah, I’d say this is just ‘bout th’ freakiest thing I’ve seen anypony do since mah sister caught th’ cutie pox,” Applejack said. “Can’t deny that it’s kinda dang hot, though.”

Trixie tried to ignore the conversation and just focus on cleaning Rarity’s hooves, doing her best to please the ivory unicorn even as the torment of being continually kept just below the brink of orgasm by those damnable toys made her want to scream... to cry... to beg... to do anything if only she could get some relief from it! She could feel her hindquarters thrusting blindly at the air, trying to mount the stallions in her imagination, trying to get just that little extra bit she needed, trying to get a little friction from the strap pulled tight against her soaking-wet marefolds, trying to get anything that would release her from this maddening, exquisitely-pleasurable torture before she lost her mind entirely...

“Pllllleeeeaaaasssseeee....” she heard herself whining as yet another round of being taken right to the edge, only to have her orgasm denied her by those damnable magic-enhanced toys, finally broke her resistance. Realizing with a sob that she’d lost count of how many denials she’d endured, or how long she’d endured it, she prayed she’d held out long enough, but... Forgive me... Twilight... I can’t... stand it... any more... I... can’t... I can’t... I... need... it...

Rarity blinked and shook off the dreamy haze, snapping her attention back to the present as she heard Trixie’s pleading cries. “Please... oh. Please what, darling?”

“Please... may T.... Trixie... nnnnhhhhh.... may she.... May... I... can’t... stand it... a-anymore, Miss... Mistress...” Trixie could barely form the words; her whole body was trembling with need, her breath was coming in ragged pants and gasps, and her mind was lost in a dense fog of frustration and desire and desperation for some kind of release...

“May you what, darling?”

“Trhhh.... I.... please... I need...”

“Yes, I know you do, slave,” Rarity said, grinning wickedly. “But you have to say it.”

Trixie stifled a scream of frustration and pounded a hoof on the floor to try to clear her head enough to form the words. “...come, Mistress, may T-Trixie please... please... please be allowed... to come... pleeeeeease...” It was the final humiliation, to have to beg for the orgasm her body craved, but she didn’t care anymore. She couldn’t bear another second of having that need denied her, and she would do anything – even grovel and beg at the hooves of the one who had well and truly broken her – if that was what it would take to release her from this exquisite torment. “Please, Mistress... please may I come... please... may I... please... Mistress... please...”

Rarity smiled and stroked Trixie’s cheek with a forehoof. “Yes, Trixie... you may come for us....” She paused, holding Trixie on the brink just a little longer before giving the final word. “...Now.” At the instant she said it, Rarity’s horn lit up, reactivating the vibrators inside the sweating, shaking, pleading showmare, signaling the crystals inside to unleash their full force of mechanical and magical stimulation...

...and Trixie’s scream of ecstasy rang off the walls of the boutique as her world exploded in a brilliant flare of pale-blue light.

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Trixie let out an incoherent groan as she tried to roll over. Ugh... sleeping on the floor again? she thought hazily to herself. Judging by the stiffness in her joints, she’d been there a while, too. How long...? The last thing I remember is... Memories of the torment she’d endured at Rarity’s evil-minded whims, and the mind-shattering orgasm that had finally resulted from it, drifted through her foggy head. Oh. Right... That explained the aching stiffness, then.

A loud whack! and a squeak of pain brought Trixie to her senses. She opened her eyes, willing them to focus on the blurry forms in front of her, shaking her head several times to clear it as the two sounds were repeated. “What...?”

Suddenly, the scene snapped back into focus. Twilight, kneeling with her forelegs stretched out, rump in the air, tail lifted to expose her flanks... Rarity standing next to her, with something held in her light-blue telekinetic aura, aimed at Twilight’s backside... the object swinging down to strike Twilight’s flanks with another whack!, provoking another squeak of pain from the purple unicorn...

Twilight was getting spanked. Because of her.

Instantly, Trixie was on her hooves, her own telekinetic field grabbing the mane-brush before Rarity could deliver the next strike. “Stop!” she cried.

“Now, now, darling, a wager is a wager,” Rarity said firmly. Trixie didn’t see the slight wink Rarity and Twilight exchanged. “You had to hold out fifteen minutes, or she takes the spanking meant for you. You didn’t, she lost, now she has to pay up.”

“No,” Trixie said firmly as she stepped closer, meeting Rarity’s gaze with her own as she kept a tight telekinetic hold on the mane-brush. “Trixie is the one who failed, not Twilight. Trixie is the one you’re mad at for humiliating you. Trixie is the one who deserves to be punished, and she... and I will not let Twilight be punished for my failures.” Turning her back on Rarity, she knelt down next to her marefriend, copying Twilight’s pose, wincing a little at the discomfort as she realized those thick toys were still lodged inside her. “Punish me for what I did to you. Not her.” She closed her eyes, released her hold on the brush, and waited for it to strike...

All right... now I’m convinced, Rarity thought to herself. “As you wish, Trixie,” she said out loud as she adjusted the brush’s aim, now that she had uncontested control of it again. She paused for a moment, then brought it down onto Trixie’s flanks, swift and hard, landing a dozen swats so quickly that Trixie barely had time to cry out from the pain before the spanking was over – but at the same time, she made sure to avoid the welts that still showed across Trixie’s rump, focusing her strikes on the sensitive “sit spots” she’d learned about from Crimson Brush when the zebracorn brush-maker had showed her how to deliver a proper disciplinary spanking to her little sister. Judging by Trixie’s reaction, those spots were just as effective on grown-up mares as on misbehaving fillies. “There. Now we’re even, darling.”

“Th-thank you,” Trixie gasped softly, before turning to nuzzle Twilight affectionately. “Are you all right, love?” she asked, her eyes full of concern for her marefriend. “Trixie is... I’m sorry you had to take any of Tr–... of my punishment...”

Twilight chuckled and glanced back at Rarity. The two mares exchanged another conspiratorial wink, and suddenly the brush came down onto Twilight’s flanks with a loud whack!... and a brief ripple of purple light across the unicorn’s backside, as the brush collided with Twilight’s small shielding spell. “I didn’t feel a thing, love,” Twilight said, unable to suppress her giggles at Trixie’s startled expression as she pushed herself back up to her hooves.

“You... you...!” Trixie sputtered indignantly. “You... and she...!”

“Played ya like a fiddle, sugarcube,” Applejack said, busting out into laughter at the look on Trixie’s face.

“Yes, quite,” Rarity chuckled as well.

“Are you convinced now, Rarity?” Twilight asked.

Rarity pursed her lips, and nodded. “Yes... I believe I’m quite satisfied, darling. Trixie... I must admit, up until this moment, I still harbored a few shreds of doubt about your sincerity. But when your first instinct was to fight to protect Twilight, even if it meant taking on even more punishment than you’d already endured? That is an act which cannot be ignored.” She smiled at Trixie – and this time, it was a genuine smile, full of warmth and forgiveness, as she stepped closer. “And that being the case... perhaps it is time for both of us to put the unfortunate past behind us.”

The two unicorns regarded each other for a moment, as Trixie hesitantly returned the smile, and then the two mares gently nuzzled each other, entwining necks for a moment. “I accept your apology, Trixie,” Rarity said warmly. “And I forgive you.”

“Thank you... Mistress Rarity,” Trixie teased, making both mares chuckle softly as they stepped back. Trixie winced as each step made those damnable toys shift inside her again, causing Rarity to put a hoof to her mouth and giggle in a rather less-than-ladylike fashion as she noticed the peculiar expression on Trixie’s muzzle, and saw the way the azure showmare was trying not to squirm uncomfortably as she moved.

“Yes, I think it’s about time we got you out of those, darling...”

“Other way ‘round, Rares,” Applejack said with an amused snort.

“Yes, quite,” Rarity smirked. “Hold still a moment.”

Trixie braced herself and tried to hold still as the tingly magic played around her nether areas, her cheeks burning with embarrassment as the rubber toys were slowly pulled out of her with a pair of rude, wet-sounding pops. She groaned in sheer relief, then started to reach out to grasp the toys in her own magic. “Give them to Tr... to me, and I’ll go clean them off...”

“No need, darling,” Rarity said. She closed her eyes for a moment, and the floating toys were suddenly surrounded by a glowing corona of ice-blue light. When the light faded, the toys were as dry and sparkling-clean as if they’d just been freshly molded. “There,” she said as she opened her eyes and floated the items back into their storage box.

Twilight raised a brow. “A cleaning and sterilization spell? I didn’t know you knew magic like that, Rarity,” she said, visibly impressed.

“Well, it does come in handy on occasion,” Rarity chuckled. “Especially when one spends much of their day working with sharp scissors and needles, and has a white coat that shows every little speck of dirt. Remember the Sisterhooves Social? How do you think I dispersed all that mud off of me so quickly after Sweetie and I crossed the finish line?”

“I kinda wondered about that myself,” Applejack said. “Too bad y’all can’t bottle that trick an’ sell it.”

“Well, it probably could be impressed into a spell crystal,” Twilight said thoughtfully, causing Trixie to giggle softly to herself as her marefriend once again made that instant switch from playfully-sexual mistress and lover to endlessly-curious, inquisitive scholar, caught up in the intellectual problem posed by Applejack’s off-hoof comment. “The hard part would be keeping it charged up enough to be useful. Even the simplest spell crystals generally take at least a day to recharge themselves from natural magic currents alone; you’d either need a unicorn to keep recharging it for you if you were going to be using it frequently, in which case you may as well just have them cast the spell directly, or you’d have to keep a few dozen of them around and try to keep track of which ones you’ve already used and which ones are still recharging, so I’m not sure how practical it’d – ”

*WHAM!!*

Trixie, Twilight, Applejack and Rarity all jumped and turned around, startled, as Carousel Boutique’s front door slammed open hard enough to make the walls shake. A sky-blue pegasus mare with a wind-blown, polychromatic mane was hovering in the now-open doorway, her ruby eyes blazing with incandescent fury.

“Where is she?!”

A Dash of Penance...

“Red”emption of a Showmare

Chapter 4: A Dash of Penance...

“Where is she?! How dare she show her face around here again?!”

Trixie gasped and ducked behind Twilight, terrified by the sheer rage in the eyes of the pony she’d dreaded facing the most. Applejack and Rarity had merely been angry with her; Rainbow Dash looked like she wanted to burn Trixie at the stake. Oh, horseapples, she’s really got it in for me, I should’ve gotten Twilight to teach me that teleport spell or invisibility or something and oh horseapples oh horseapples...

“How dare you, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped. “Kicking in the door of my boutique like that!”

Dash gave her a dismissive look and a snort of contempt as she glared around the interior of the shop. “Yeah, whatever, now where is she?”

“Where is who, exactly?”

“That bucking bitch Trixie, damn it!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said coldly, lowering her head and narrowing her eyes, giving the angry pegasus the sternest expression of icy disapproval she had. “I’ll thank you not to use that sort of language in my home!” Especially not with the door standing wide open, she added to herself. What happened in private behind closed doors, with the window-shades down and a soundproofing spell up, was one thing; coarse language booming out of the open door of her shop for everypony to hear was another matter entirely.

“What-ever!” Dash said impatiently. “Look, I know she’s here! Blue mare, cape, stars-and-wand cutie mark? That stupid disguise didn’t fool anypony, and I’m gonna kick her plot all the way to the Everfree when I get my hooves on her!”

Twilight stepped forward, still blocking Trixie from view. “Look, Rainbow Dash, just calm down for a moment, and we’ll explain everything,” she said in what she hoped was a calm, reasonable tone.

Dash raised a brow, her ruby eyes still blazing with anger. “What the buck’s the matter with you guys?” she demanded. “She got you all hypnotized or something? She’s –”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said tightly.

“She does, doesn’t she! She’s here to destroy Ponyville again, and she’s got you guys all mind-controlled or something, and –”

“Dang it, RD, would ya just cool your jets for a moment an’ listen?” Applejack said as she stepped up next to Twilight, giving Dash a firm stare. “C’mon now, sugarcube, do ya really think Twi could be mind-controlled by the likes of her?”

“Why not? What if she got her hooves on another amulet, or found some kind of magic... mind-control... thing?” Dash was a little vague on the details of how that kind of magic would work, but given that just about every other kind of weird magic artifact and sealed-evil-in-a-can in Equestria seemed to get dropped into their laps sooner or later, she felt pretty safe in assuming “magic mind-control things” were out there somewhere...

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “I promise you, she did no such thing, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Which is exactly what you would say if she had you under mind control, Twi.”

“She doesn’t have me under mind control, Dash,” Twilight said with exaggerated patience. “There isn’t any such thing as ‘magic mind-control... things’.”

“Yeah? What about when Chrysalis brain-zapped your brother, huh?”

“She’s not a changeling, either!” Twilight insisted, a bit less patiently.

“Oh fer cryin’ out loud,” Applejack mumbled under her breath. “Dash, would ya put a cork in it an’ use your head, already? I mean, think about it, sugarcube, if Trixie was able ta brain-zap all three of us, like you’re thinkin’ – then how come she ain’t already done it ta you, too?”

“Well... maybe she just wants me to think you’re not mind-controlled, so she’s making you act like you’re not under mind control when she’s really got you all under mind control!” Dash shot back.

“AARGH!” Twilight let out a cry of frustration as her patience wore thin.“Stop trying to use logic! I’m the logical one here! You’re trying to prove a negative, which is logically impossible, which you would know if you actually knew how to use logic, which you don’t, so quit trying to be logical because you guys don’t do logic!”

“Easy there, Twi,” Applejack said, giving the frustrated librarian a gentle nudge. “Do the breathin’ thing, remember?”

“But she’s–!”

“She’s just bein’ her usual hot-headed self, sugarcube–”

“Hey!” Dash protested.

“–so don’t let her make ya go all ‘Smarty-Pants Incident’ on us, okay?” Applejack finished, ignoring Dash’s glare as she tried to calm her unicorn friend. “Keep it t’gether for Trixie’s sake, Twi,” she added in a whisper, nuzzling Twilight’s ear. “She needs ya right now.”

Twilight blinked, then slowly gave Applejack a sheepish smile and a small nuzzle in return, grateful as always for the earth pony’s solid, steady presence at her side when she needed her. And to think there’d once been a time when she’d been so sure she didn’t need friends... Keep it together, Twilight, she told herself firmly as she took a moment to perform the meditative deep-breathing trick Cadance had taught her to use whenever she started to get over-stressed. Just because Rainbow Dash is being a stubborn plothead...

“There ya go, sugarcube,” Applejack said encouragingly.

“All right, look. Yes, Trixie’s back in town–” Twilight started to say.

“I knew it!” Dash cried triumphantly. “Where is that–”

“I took her over to Applejack’s place earlier today, and then the three of us came here to Rarity’s, to talk. That’s all. Just to talk.”

“To talk!?” Rainbow Dash said, giving Twilight a stare of disbelief.

“Yes, Dash, to talk. And we were going to come see you tomorrow to talk to you, too.”

“Yeah? And just what would that bucking plothead have to say I’d wanna–” she started to snap back, slamming a hoof down on the floor for emphasis as she landed.

“Rainbow! Dash!” Rarity thundered, loudly enough to shock everypony into silence. “I am not going to ask you again. You are in my home, not some drunken back-alley bar, and I will not stand for that sort of offensive language being shouted at the top of your lungs in my home!” She moved to stand next to Twilight as well, on the opposite side of her from Applejack, helping to shield the cowering Trixie behind them until they could get Dash calmed down. “Now either lower your voice and watch your language, or leave my home until you can speak in a civilized manner.”

Dash was momentarily taken aback at the hardness in Rarity’s voice, and the icy coldness in her eyes. This was completely different from the usual over-the-top dramatics she was accustomed to seeing from the ivory unicorn; it was obvious, even to Dash, that Rarity was furious with her. “Are you nuts?” she demanded. “She... that... she wants to destroy Twilight, and you’re getting mad at me? What the b–... hay is wrong with you?”

“Trixie hasn’t come here to ‘destroy’ anypony, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said firmly. “She’s here to apologize, and ask our forgiveness for her past transgressions. Nothing more.”

“Forgiveness?!” Dash cried incredulously. “For her? Are you out of your buc– out of your feather-brained mind? All the horse... radish she pulled, and you’re telling me she’s just here to say ‘Oh, gee, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wreck your town and make you look stupid in front of everypony’?” she said in a mocking tone, as she launched herself into the air again. “Well forget it. Maybe she’s got you three fooled, but I ain’t buying it. Just let me get my hooves on her for five minutes, and I’ll get the truth out of her!”

Twilight summoned her magic and pinned Dash in place by her tail before the pegasus could start tearing the Boutique apart looking for her quarry. “What Rarity said is the truth, Rainbow. If you’ll just settle down for a moment, we’ll prove it to you.”

Rainbow Dash fought the magical pull for a few moments, then gave up and dropped back to the floor, glaring at Twilight. “All right, fine. Prove it,” she snapped.

Twilight sighed and nodded to Rarity and Applejack in turn, and the three mares stepped aside to reveal the azure-blue unicorn cowering behind them. Still decked out in the black-leather harness ensemble, Trixie had turned away from the door and tucked her legs under herself to try and make herself as small a target as possible, and the resulting position had her flashing a still deeply-welted pair of flanks to a now very confused pegasus.

Sensing that she was now exposed and unprotected, Trixie squealed in terror and buried her head in her hooves, unaware that Rainbow Dash was still pinned by Twilight’s magic. “Please don’t hurt Trixie!” she cried. Between the pain and exhaustion she’d already been through, and her paralyzing fear of the furious pegasus mare’s wrath, she couldn’t even muster up enough mental focus for a shield spell to protect herself; cowering and pleading for mercy was all her terrified mind could think of. “I really am sorry! Please!”

Dash’s jaw dropped as she got her first good look at the terrified showmare, her anger momentarily overridden by sheer disbelief as she stared at the painful-looking welts across Trixie’s backside. That can’t be the “Great and Powerful Trixie”... she’s acting like a filly about to get spanked, and... holy horseapples, her flanks look almost as bad as what I did to Scoots that one time! And what the buck is with that get-up she’s wearing?

“What the...? What’s going on here? That’s not Trixie – it can’t be! There’s no way she’d be acting like that...?” she sputtered in a mix of anger and confusion.

“It’s her, Dash,” Applejack said. “And ya can see for yourself, the ‘Great an’ Powerful Trixie’ ain’t exactly in charge of the situation an’ got us wrapped around her hoof, here.”

Twilight nodded as she stepped back to nuzzle Trixie reassuringly, then laid a supporting hoof across the showmare’s withers as she gently but firmly encouraged Trixie to stand up. Reluctantly, Trixie pushed herself back up to her hooves, still trembling with fear despite Twilight’s steady touch. “Go on, Trixie,” Twilight said as she slowly turned Trixie around to face her accuser. “Tell Rainbow Dash why you have those marks on your flanks, and why you’re dressed like this.”

Trixie stared down at the floor, too afraid to look up and see those furious ruby eyes glaring at her with such hatred. She blushed deeply as Twilight commanded her to describe the punishments she’d endured so far, but in her current humbled, submissive state of mind, it never even occurred to her to disobey. “Trixie... I... asked for Applejack’s... a-and Rarity’s forgiveness,” she began, stumbling over the words, “and offered to accept... a-any punishment they felt Tri... I deserved for what I did to them. Applejack... wh-whipped Trixie with an apple switch, and... Rarity made Trixie her... her slave... just like Trixie tried to do to so many of you into the last time she... I was here...” She hung her head in shame, tears of sorrow and fear dripping from her eyes. “A-and I deserved all of it. I... r-really am sorry for a-all the pain I’ve caused, and Trixie is... I truly am thankful that Applejack, and Rarity... a-and Twilight... have chosen to g-give me another chance.”

She paused and swallowed nervously before finishing, knowing that her next words would be committing herself to facing the consequences the rainbow-maned pegasus’ anger. “Trixie... asks for your forgiveness too, Rainbow Dash, and... to earn it, Trixie will... a-accept punishment from you as well, if... if you feel she deserves it...”

Rainbow Dash just stared at the trembling, weeping showmare, her eyes flashing between rage and confusion, as she tried to get her head around the idea of a humbled, penitant Trixie actually acting as if she were ashamed of her behavior, and asking for punishment and forgiveness. The whole idea was... it was crazy! There was just no way the Trixie she knew would ever act like that! It had to be part of some kind of scheme to set them up, somehow... it just had to be!

“Yeah, well, those two might be able to forgive you for your little tricks, but that stunt you pulled on me nearly sent me to the hospital!” she snapped, her anger winning out over her momentary confusion at Trixie’s appearance and attitude. “That little tornado trick of yours coulda ripped my wings off! Not to mention what you did to me with that bucking amulet of yours.”

Trixie whimpered and pressed up against Twilight for support. “Trixie never intended to harm you. She was only trying to perform! Please believe Trixie... she never wanted anypony to be hurt...”

Twilight sighed and bit her lip as she noticed Trixie’s third-person tic returning full-force in her fear of Dash’s wrath. “Rainbow, please try to calm down,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “Trixie really does want to apologize for everything.”

“But she–” Dash started to object.

“If you remember, you were one of the ones who started heckling her in the first place,” Twilight reminded her. “What was she supposed to do, just stand there and let you guys ruin her show? Yes, all right, she went a little overboard, but you have to admit, you still had a hoof in starting it.”

“She’s right, sugarcube. We did kinda throw the first rotten apples, so ta speak,” Applejack agreed. “An’ that thing with the amulet? From what Twi tells me, that thing... ‘Discorded’ her, kinda. Remember how that felt? Like sleep-walkin’ through a livin’ nightmare, an’ no matter how hard ya tried to stop yourself, somepony else was pullin’ your strings an’ there wasn’t nothin’ you could do about it? I dunno about you, Dash, but... me, I can’t fault her too much for what she did when that thing had her brain turned ta applesauce like that.”

Rainbow Dash found herself torn between conflicting emotions once more. I just don’t get it... Why are they all standing up for her? she thought uncertainly. I mean... okay, maybe AJ’s got a point about the amulet... kind of. But still...

Part of her did want to believe them. Twi and AJ were two of her best friends, and in her heart she knew they were every bit as loyal to her as she was to them. For that matter, so was Rarity, even if the two of them did get on each others’ nerves as often as not. She couldn’t imagine Twilight or Rarity being willing to lie to her face, just to protect Trixie... and AJ would certainly never lie to her; even before the orange farm-mare had gained her Element, she’d been known as one of the most dependable and trustworthy ponies in Ponyville, her given word and solemn hoofshake as solid as a signed-and-witnessed contract. But none of that could completely erase the memories of what Trixie had done to her...

“Okay, I guess maybe you have a point about the amulet thing,” Dash admitted reluctantly. “But she’s still a rotten pony. You can’t tell me you guys have forgotten how arrogant and selfish she was!”

“The key word is ‘was’, darling,” Rarity said. “She’s more than proven her sincerity, as far as I’m concerned. Honestly, can you imagine the mare she was before, allowing herself to be humbled in front of everypony like this?” she added, nodding towards Trixie. “For any reason?”

Dash hated to admit it, but Rarity had a point too. It was obvious just by looking at her that Trixie had been put through the wringer at the other mares’ hooves, and given that there were no signs of a battle having taken place in the boutique to subdue her, she must have submitted to it willingly, as unbelievable as the idea seemed. But she still couldn’t just let it go...

“Okay, so miss ‘Great and Powerful’ wants to do some penance?” she said sarcastically. “Fine by me, let’s do it. I’ll roast her flanks right now, and we’ll see how long she keeps up this act.”

“Now hold on a moment there, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “She’s been through a lot already today; how ‘bout we give her a chance ta sleep it off an’ recover from it before you go addin’ to it?”

Dash started to open her mouth to demand that it be done now, but before she could get the words out, Trixie wriggled free of Twilight’s foreleg across her withers and stepped forward. The prospect of enduring yet another round of punishment on top of what she’d already been through was turning her insides to jelly again, but at the same time, she felt a sudden determination to just to get this whole thing over with. She would have to face Dash’s wrath eventually, either way; waiting until tomorrow would just mean she’d spend every moment until then in terror of what was coming, and that would just make it worse. “No, it’s... it’s all right,” she said, her voice trembling a little as she swallowed her fear. “I-if this is what Trixie must do, then... she’ll do it.”

Rainbow couldn’t help raising a surprised brow as Trixie voluntarily stepped up to take her punishment, but once again her hot-tempered anger won out before any momentary surprise or confusion could cool her down. “Darn right you will,” she said. “Rarity, you mind if I borrow your bedroom for a few minutes for this? I don’t want you guys buttin’ in. If she’s really changed, she won’t need your help.”

Rarity glanced over at Twilight, asking a silent question with her eyes. Twilight thought it over for a brief moment, and nodded. “I think it’ll be all right, Rarity,” she said. “I trust them both... more than one of them probably deserves at the moment.”

“Yeah,” Dash agreed wholeheartedly, completely missing the implications of Twilight’s comment. “She really doesn’t deserve your trust.”

Rarity gave a little smirk, unable to help feeling a bit of amusement at the brash pegasus’ naivete, even though such amusement didn’t seem entirely appropriate under the circumstances. “Oh, very well, I suppose I can allow it,” she said. “As long as you promise not to break anything.”

“Oh, I’m planning to break one thing,” Dash said, with a grin that made the showmare cringe at the implications behind it. “I just want some privacy, that’s all. This is between her and me.” She turned her attention to Trixie. “Go to her room and wait for me,” she said, pointing towards an alcove leading to a spiraling staircase with her wing.

Trixie swallowed and nodded, then turned to raise her brow in a silent question to Rarity.

“Up the stairs, the door at the end of the hall,” Rarity said gently. Trixie nodded and swallowed again as she slowly made her way up the stairs, her own hoofsteps pounding in her ears as loudly as her heart as she made her way to the bedroom, conscious of those angry red eyes watching her every move.

“Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes. I need something from the house,” Dash said cryptically once Trixie was out of sight. Then she turned around and launched herself out the front door of the boutique and into the skies above, before any of her friends could question her.

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

“Where is she?” Twilight fretted as she paced back and forth across the floor of the boutique. “She said she’d be right back! What’s she–!”

She stopped in mid-step as the front door opened with a soft ringing of the bell above, and a familiar rainbow-maned pegasus swooped through the doorway to land in the midst of the showroom. “There you are!” Twilight said. “Where’ve you been?”

“Told ya, I had to get something from the house,” Dash said, nodding towards her saddlebags and the large wooden box sticking out of one side. “Took a little longer than I thought, that’s all. She still upstairs?”

“Yes, she’s up in Rarity’s room waiting for you, just like you wanted,” Twilight said with a sigh of resignation. “Look, Rainbow... please don’t be too hard on her? I know what she did was wrong... but she really has changed.”

Rainbow Dash just sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not gonna beat her senseless or anything, okay? She’ll survive. Look,” she added before Twilight could object further, “you guys all got to punish her your way, right? So now it’s my turn, and I get to do it my way. I promise, I’m not gonna hurt her. Well, I am, but... you know what I mean. Now just let me do this.” She pushed past her friends and headed for the stairs, up the stairway, and down the hall to Rarity’s bedroom with a purposeful stride that made it clear she wouldn’t stop to answer any more questions.

Twilight followed Rainbow as far as the foot of the stairs, then sat back on her haunches and stared upwards, watching the pegasus mare ascend the staircase and disappear down the hallway with a mix of worry and confusion. Is it just me, or... was she not nearly as angry as she was when she left? she wondered to herself. Oh, Trixie... I hope you know what you’re doing...

Rainbow Dash paused in the open bedroom door, contemplating the sight in front of her. Trixie had already assumed “the position”, bent over with her rear legs spread, forelegs stretched out with her head down, hindquarters and tail lifted, exposing herself for the punishment she knew was coming along with those approaching hoofsteps. Despite her lingering anger, Dash couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sympathy as she got another look at those painful-looking welts across the unicorn’s flanks, and a bit of amusement at the kinky slave-mare’s ensemble still wrapped around her body. Of all the ways in which she’d imagined she might see Trixie, if the boastful showmare ever had the gall to show her face around Ponyville again, she’d never quite imagined she’d see Trixie humbled and humiliated like this...

Ugh... there is so much pink in here, Dash thought to herself with a shudder as she stepped into Rarity’s bedroom. Pink pillows, pink bedsheets, pink curtains... How can anypony stand so much PINK? It’d drive me mad. I feel twenty percent less cool just being in here...

Trixie whimpered softly as she heard somepony close and lock the door behind her. She assumed it was Rainbow Dash, but she was too afraid to look back and see for sure. She closed her eyes tight, trying to keep from shaking in fear, as she waited for the angry pegasus to lay into her...

“I’d ask you to soundproof the room,” Dash said, “but I’m pretty sure Twilight would bust in here to rescue you if she couldn’t hear what was going on, so...”

Trixie flinched and whimpered again as she heard that dreaded voice behind her. It took a moment for the actual words, and the tone of voice they were spoken in, to register with her. Dash still sounded annoyed – but the words had been spoken softly, almost with a bit of amusement behind them, not at all like the furious rage Trixie had expected.

“She likes you, Trixie,” Dash continued. “I can tell. And as her friend... I guess I should be happy for her. That’s she’s finally found somepony special to her, y’know?”

Trixie looked up, surprised by the unexpected change in Dash’s attitude. “Wh... what?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled at the trembling unicorn’s expression, and gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Keep your voice down... I don’t want the others listening in. Don’t want ‘em thinking I’m going soft or anything.” She moved closer, leaning up against the side of Rarity’s bed as she undid her saddlebag straps and laid the box down on the bed. “Anyway... look, I’ll be honest, I was pretty mad when I heard you were back in town again. I figured you must still have it in for Twilight, and you’d come back to fight her again and turn Ponyville upside-down while you were at it, like last time. I’m glad I was wrong.”

Trixie blinked, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. It hardly seemed possible that this could be the same Rainbow Dash that had been ready to rip her head off just a few minutes ago. “But... Trixie thought that you... that you hated her?” she said cautiously.

“Well... yeah, I kind of did,” Dash admitted. “Heh... no ‘kind of’ about it, really, I did hate you. I was ready to beat your flanks ‘til they were redder than Big Mac’s, at least,” she said, letting those words hang in the air for a few moments while Trixie just stared at her, wide-eyed. “But... that was before I flew back to the house to get this,” she finally added, nodding towards the wooden box.

“Trixie... doesn’t understand...?”

“When I got home,” Dash explained as she sat down next to the bent-over unicorn, “Scoots was there. She saw how mad I was, and it worried her ‘cause at first she thought I was mad at her for something. So I had to calm her down, and explain what was really going on. And when I told her... the little squirt actually scolded me!” she said, with a fond chuckle at the absurdity of a grown mare being chewed out by a ten-year-old filly. “She told me I, of all ponies, should know better than to punish somepony when I’m angry. Well... at first, I told her to just mind her own business – but she held her ground, and, well... the thing is... she was right.”

Dash paused, and shook her head at the memory. “See, a while back, she did do something that made me really mad at her. She broke something that was really important to me. She didn’t mean to, but she did anyway, and I got so mad at her for being so careless, that I...” She paused again, and looked away. “I lost my temper, and I beat her little butt, badly. I... spanked her so hard... and I felt so bad afterwards... I think I was crying harder than she was when I realized what I’d done,” she said, her scratchy voice breaking a little. “Thank Celestia the little squirt forgave me for it... I wouldn’t’ve blamed her at all if she’d hated me after that, but... she forgave me. She’s such a great kid... I really felt like sludge for what I did to her. I just about cried myself to sleep that night, I felt so bad...”

Trixie looked at the sorrowful rainbow-maned mare with a mix of worry and understanding. “I... see,” she said cautiously, not yet entirely convinced she wasn’t about to receive the same treatment.

“Anyway, Scoots chewing me out like that made me realize what I was about to do, and... she’s right, I should know better than to punish somepony when I’m that mad. I... I never want to do that to somepony, ever again.” She looked up and fixed Trixie with an even gaze. “Not even the pony who nearly shredded my wings just because she wanted to show off.” Her voice still had an edge to it, but her earlier rage was no longer there. “Look... I’ll be honest, Trixie, I can’t promise you and I will ever really be friends... close friends, I mean, like me and Applejack, or Twilight... or heck, even Rarity, even if all her marshmallow girliness drives me batty sometimes,” she added with a wry chuckle as she glanced around the fashionista’s frilly, insanely-pink bedroom. “But if you really mean that much to Twilight, then... I’m willing to give you a chance. Fair enough?”

Trixie managed a weak smile and a nod. “Does that mean... you forgive me?” she asked.

“Heh, well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” Dash said with a soft laugh. “I may not be mad at you anymore, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting off that easily.”

“B... but...” Trixie squeaked.

“Yeah, that’s about right,” Dash chuckled.

Trixie groaned at the obvious joke and fell silent, watching cautiously as Dash got up and walked over to the bed.

“The thing is, Trixie,” Dash said as she flipped open a latch on the wooden box with her hoof, “you and me? Believe it or not, we’re a lot alike. We both love to show off. And, well... much as I hate to admit it... I used to be a lot like you were. I used to be a pretty big bragger and showboater too. Heh – I still am, kinda, but what I mean is... I didn’t used to care very much about anypony but myself. Not really. Sure, I was loyal to them, or at least I thought I was, but it was still kinda all about me, y’know? Ask Twilight about how I acted the first time she met me, or... ask them about the ‘Mare Do-Well’ incident sometime. Not one of my prouder moments...

“Anyway, my friends – Twi, and AJ... Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy... even Scoots. They’ve kinda helped me to grow up a little in that department, but... they really shouldn’t have had to, y’know? I mean, the ‘Mare Do-Well’ thing wasn’t exactly the first time my bragging and showboating got out of hoof, or got me into trouble. See, my Dad was an ex-Wonderbolt, so I had a lot to brag about as a kid – or at least I sure thought I did. And I... um... wasn’t exactly the most well-behaved filly at times. Dad always knew how to deal with me, though,” she said, with a soft chuckle for the fond memories of times gone by. “He knew I wanted to be a Wonderbolt someday, just like him. So whenever I let my bragging get the best of me, or pushed things too far... he had this.”

She opened up the wooden box and pulled out a wide, overly-long paddle, painted blue and yellow with a jagged white lightning bolt across the middle, and a grip-handle that was specially made to be held in a pegasus’ wings. “See, the Wonderbolts are kinda like a fraternity. They’ve got this initiation thing. This is the paddle they used for my Dad’s... and the one he used most often on me.”

Trixie’s eyes went wide as she saw the evil-looking device that would, no doubt, be “fraternizing” with her rump very soon. It was obvious that the paddle had seen frequent use over the years; there were visible signs of wear and tear, with the paint nearly worn off of one side in a way that was clearly the result of having administered a great many firm spankings to a very stubborn filly. She swallowed nervously and kept quiet, not wanting to hasten things along by interrupting Dash while the pegasus still felt like talking.

Dash chuckled at the apprehensive look on Trixie’s face. “So, I guess we can call this your initiation, Trixie. And don’t think I’m not gonna give you a good lickin’ for all those stunts you pulled, either. I got a reputation to keep, y’know... and you did hurt my friends.”

Trixie whimpered and bit her lip nervously. “Trix... I understand. I... really am sorry for everything, Rainbow Dash...”

“I know you are. So... how ‘bout we get this over with, before Twilight busts in here thinking I’ve killed you or something?” Dash chuckled with a grin and a nod towards the door.

Trixie gave a small nod in reply and closed her eyes, trying to keep her body from trembling as she waited for the spanking she had coming, unable to keep from groaning a little as every muscle and joint ached from having held herself locked in this position for so long.

Dash started to raise the paddle, then stopped as she saw the way Trixie’s body was twitching. As an athlete who often pushed herself to her body’s limits, Dash quickly recognized the signs of stress and muscle strain in those little spasms. Good gravy, did she spend the whole time I was flying to the house and back bent over like this, waiting for me? She must be stiff as a board by now...

She set the paddle down and turned towards the bed, moving her saddlebag and the paddle’s wooden box onto the floor, then shifting the pillows to the center of the bed. “Listen... um... just climb up here and lie down on the bed, over the pillows. It’ll be a little easier for you,” she suggested, a bit hesitantly. She’d spanked Scootaloo a few times since that unfortunate day in Crimson’s shop, but being on this end of the paddle was still a somewhat novel experience for her. “And... y’know, just keep your tail out of the way.”

Trixie nodded and moved to do as Dash suggested, groaning as her strained muscles protested each movement as she cautiously, painfully hauled herself up onto the bed. She laid herself out across the pillow pile, sighing in relief as the mattress and pillows took over the job of supporting her body while keeping her hindquarters lifted up, allowing her aching body to just relax at last. It would almost have been a comfortable position, if it weren’t for her awareness of what was coming next...

Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit in spite of herself as she brushed Trixie’s tail aside with a wing, baring the unicorn’s flanks. “Whew,” she said, letting out a low whistle as she took another good, close-up look at the dark welts across Trixie’s backside. They were healing, thanks to Twilight’s spell, but they still looked very painful. “AJ really did a number on you, didn’t she. I’d hate to be on her bad side.”

Trixie couldn’t help chuckling in spite of herself as well, nodding in agreement. “She’s nothing compared to Twilight, though,” she said.

Rainbow Dash raised a surprised brow at that. “No kidding? The bookworm’s got an evil streak in her?”

Trixie smiled warmly at the memory and nodded again. “She really is my greatest rival.”

Rainbow could hear the fondness for her new marefriend in Trixie’s tone. She couldn’t quite reconcile her image of the bookish, awkward librarian with the kind of firm disciplinarian Trixie seemed to be suggesting, but the genuine warmth in Trixie’s tone made her feel a little happier for the unicorn pair. “Huh. You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.”

“Maybe if you go easy on Tri... on me,” Trixie said with a small grin.

Dash couldn’t help but laugh at that as she hefted the paddle. “We’ll see. I guess I can’t say I wasn’t a little to blame for what happened... but you really did nearly rip my wings off with that stunt, y’know.”

Trixie swallowed and nodded her understanding, and closed her eyes again, not wanting to see it coming. She heard a small swish of air, and then a light tap across her backside as Dash took aim. She squeaked as even that small contact set off little stinging sparks of pain in the welts that wicked apple switch had left behind. This was not going to be a pleasant experience at all.

Rainbow Dash paused again as she saw how Trixie reacted to just that small tap. “Um... are you okay?” she asked, genuinely concerned. Now that her earlier rage had cooled off, she was willing to admit, at least to herself, that she didn’t really want to see Trixie truly injured or harmed by what she was about to do. Punished, yes, but not harmed. The memory of Scootaloo lying limp across a padded spanking stool, her whole bottom a furious shade of scarlet-red, crying so hard she could barely breathe, all because Dash had allowed her anger to get the better of her and give poor Scoots a far harsher punishment than she’d deserved, still haunted the rainbow-maned mare. Not even Trixie deserved that. “Should I get Twilight up here to see if she can heal those a little more before... you know?”

Trixie raised a brow as well, surprised by the concern in Dash’s voice. “Trixie is... I’m okay,” she said firmly. “I earned this, Rainbow. I hurt so many ponies... it’s what I deserve. I can take whatever you dish out,” she added, hoping the implied challenge would tweak Dash’s ego enough to just get on with it so they could get it over with, already.

Dash snorted at the obvious attempt to get a rise out of her. “Fine. But I ain’t stoppin’ until your rear’s at least twenty percent redder, y’know.”

Trixie swallowed and nodded, closing her eyes tight as she bundled up the blanket in her hooves, wanting something to hold on to. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Rainbow Dash swung the paddle back, lifting it high into the air, then brought it down in a swift arc, connecting solidly with Trixie’s upraised flanks with a loud whap!! of wood against flesh. Trixie howled in pain as the blow lit up each and every mark the switch had left behind all at once, while driving its own stinging burn across both azure cheeks at once. Instantly, she regretted having baited Dash like that. Sun and moon, it was only the first swat, and already it felt every bit as bad as that awful apple switch...

Dash bit her lip at the unexpected reaction. I didn’t think I put that much force into it... she thought uncertainly. AJ must’ve done more of a number on her with that switch than I thought. She waited a moment, then drew the paddle back and brought it down for another swat, trying to put a little less force behind it... then raised the paddle and brought it down a third time, then a fourth. Trixie howled into the blankets with each swat, sobbing in pain as her upraised bottom blazed and burned with furious, stinging heat, the switch marks reigniting into stripes of white-hot pain each time the broad wooden paddle slapped against her flanks.

Seeing how much pain the unicorn mare was in already, just from those four swats, Dash hesitated and set the paddle aside for a moment, giving Trixie a chance to recover while she lay there sobbing into the blankets. Once again, the memory of an orange pegasus filly crying brokenly under a too-harsh punishment came to Dash’s mind, and she stretched out a wing to stroke the azure unicorn’s burning flanks, trying to soothe a little of the pain. She really has changed, she found herself thinking. The “old” Trixie would’ve blasted me through the wall by now. Heck, I probably would’ve done it to Dad, if I’d been a unicorn... That thought caused her to chuckle a little as she glanced at the paddle, reminiscing, as she absently continued to stroke Trixie’s backside with her wing until the showmare’s sobs quieted down.

Once Trixie seemed to have pulled herself back together, Dash smiled and gave her a soft pat. “Two more, Trixie. Six was the least I always got whenever I made Dad have to break out the paddle, so I figure that’ll make us even enough. Twilight’s done a pretty good job whipping you into shape already.”

Trixie’s groan at Dash’s ironic choice of words had nothing to do with the pain in her flanks. “That’s terrible.”

Dash chuckled as she picked up the paddle and took aim once more. Without warning, she brought it down in two swift, firm strokes, one right on top of the other, right at the sensitive bottom curves between rump and thigh. Each solid whap! echoed loudly throughout the room, along with Trixie’s howls of pain as the ferocious heat and sting from that double strike right on the “sit spots” cracked all the way through what little resistance she had left to her, leaving her sobbing and broken, clutching her backside in her hooves as she writhed and bucked against the pillows in a useless attempt to shake off the searing fire in her flanks, crying openly through her apologies and pleas for forgiveness. “AAAAAIIIHHHH! I’M SORRYYY! PLE-EE-EE-ASE!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’M SORRYYYYYY!”

Rainbow Dash nodded in satisfaction as the no-longer-prideful showmare broke completely under those final two strokes. “Yeah... that’s enough,” she said, as much to herself as to Trixie, as she set the paddle back into its case and locked it. She sat back and waited for Trixie to cry herself out, then reached out to brush a wing across Trixie’s withers and back as the crying azure unicorn settled down again, lying quietly atop the mattress and pillows, her broken sobs gradually quieting into soft little sniffles and whimpers. “We’re done, Trixie,” Dash said quietly. “No more.”

Trixie’s eyes fluttered open at the soft touch, and she looked over to see Dash smiling at her. Not a gloating smile, or a smile of amusement at Trixie’s pain, but a smile of warmth. Not necessarily the warmth of friendship, but at least a measure of forgiveness. “I... I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash... for what I did... I’m sorry.”

Dash nodded and withdrew her wing. “Yeah, well... don’t sweat it. I’d be lying if I said I’d never hurt anypony with my recklessness, once or twice. Just... don’t let it happen again, and maybe we can be friends, huh?”

Trixie smiled and nodded. “I’d... I’d like that.”

Dash chuckled and perched herself on the edge of the bed. “So... now that we got that over with... how ‘bout you fill me in on just what’s up with you and Twilight, anyway?”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

“What are they doing up there?” Twilight fretted. Once again, she was pacing back and forth across the boutique, much to Applejack’s amusement and Rarity’s increasing annoyance, though the ivory unicorn tried not to show it for her friend’s sake. Those awful sounds from upstairs – the sound of something hard and heavy striking somepony, and Trixie’s screams of unbearable agony (or so they had seemed to Twilight, anyway) – had chilled Twilight to the heart, and only the steady presence of two of her closest friends pressing against her on either side had kept her from bolting upstairs to rescue her marefriend from Rainbow Dash’s vengeance. It had been nearly two hours since the upstairs had gone quiet again... and they still hadn’t come out! “What’s taking so long? Why haven’t they come out yet?”

Applejack tried to give Twilight a reassuring pat and nuzzle on her withers as she passed by. “Take it easy, sugarcube,” she said calmly. “I’m sure they’re just talkin’ it out, that’s all. Dash promised she wouldn’t harm Trixie, remember? Have a li’l faith.”

“She’s right, darling,” Rarity added, trying to sound confident for Twilight’s sake. “I’m sure that’s all it is. I imagine they have a great deal to talk about – and if anything more than that was going on, we’d hear it.”

“Not if there was a soundproofing spell up!” Twilight said anxiously.

“I assure you, Twilight, that room is not soundproofed,” Rarity said patiently. “Not to mention, Trixie isn’t entirely defenseless, despite that rather... restricting outfit,” she added with a soft chuckle.

“That’s right,” Applejack agreed. “She coulda teleported out or put up one o’ them fancy shields or somethin’ if things were gettin’ outta hoof, right?”

Twilight sighed dramatically as she paced over to the couch for another sip of the fresh pot of tea Rarity had made while they’d been waiting. She knew her friends were right, but knowing that didn’t didn’t help. She sat down and tried the deep-breathing trick again, and that helped for a few seconds – but then her worries returned full-force, and her nervous back-and-forth pacing along with it.

“ARGH!” she groaned in frustration, stamping a hoof on the floor as her patience finally wore out. “That’s it!” Before either Applejack or Rarity could stop her, she charged up the stairs, her horn already lighting up to undo the lock as she stalked down the hall to Rarity’s bedroom. She flung open the door, prepared for just about anything...

“...but she’d magically sealed the door! She just laid there passed out for over four hours, and I was stuck in there with nothing to eat, no way to go to the bathroom, or anything!”

...anything except the sight of Rainbow Dash just about doubled over in laughter, right as Trixie reached the righteously-indignant climax of a very embarrassing story. Dash startled and nearly tumbled off the bed as she heard the door slam open, and her laughter quickly subsided as she caught sight of the thoroughly-aggravated look on Twilight’s face.

“Um... hi, Twilight,” Dash said, trying (and completely failing) to look innocent. “We were... um... just... snrk!... talking about you...” she added, desperately trying not to break into giggles.

“TRIXIE! You are in so much trouble!” Twilight’s purple eyes blazed as fiercely as Trixie’s reddened flanks as they zeroed in on her marefriend still stretched out across Rarity’s bed. Trixie let out a loud “meep!” and tried to will herself to sink deeper into the mattress, then yelped as Twilight’s horn lit up and she felt her lover’s magic grip grab her by the ear.

“Are we done here, Dash?” Twilight snapped as Trixie scrambled to obey her lover’s... no, her Mistress’ summons. Mistress Twilight was the one in control, and Trixie belonged to Mistress Twilight, and “The Submissive and Obedient Trixie” would obey Mistress Twilight without question if she knew what was good for her...

...and despite the pain in her still-burning hindquarters, the aching exhaustion of her tired, punished body, and the moment of startled fright induced by that fierce stare of aggravation and disapproval when Twilight had come bursting through the door, those thoughts of submission and obedience were turning her on so much...

Holy horsefeathers... Trixie’s right, the egghead does have an evil streak in her! Dash found herself thinking as she tried to stammer out something that might save Trixie from the librarian’s fury. “Hey, Twi, she... it’s... I mean, it’s no big deal...” she tried to say as she followed the pair of unicorns at what she hoped was a safe distance. Although what constituted a “safe distance” from a unicorn as powerful as Twilight was anypony’s guess...

And then, Trixie surprised her by glancing back over her shoulder as Twilight practically dragged her down the stairs. Was that a quick little half-smile and a sly, conspiratorial wink from the humbled showmare? Dash raised a brow, then grinned and gave Trixie a quick wink in return, stifling a chuckle of amusement.

“Thanks for the hospitality Rarity but Trixie and I really ought to be going now it’s getting late and Applejack probably wants to get home for dinner and I’m sure you and Rainbow Dash have things to do too so we’ll just say goodnight goodbye thanks for the tea and we’ll see you girls tomorrow BYE NOW!” Twilight said in a rush, not even glancing in their direction, as she stalked through the boutique’s showroom and out the front door, still towing Trixie by the ear.

“Twi–” Rarity started to ask, but before she could get any further, the angry librarian and her apprehensive companion both disappeared in a flash of purple light, along with the wooden box containing the “accessories” that went with the slave-mare ensemble Trixie had still been wearing. Rarity stared after them for a moment, then blinked a couple of times to clear the spots from her eyes.

“Ah. Yes. Well... I’ll just send you the bill for the outfit later, then,” she said to the empty doorway, her surprised expression slowly turning to a sly, knowing smile.

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

The lobby of the Golden Oaks Library Tree lit up with a crackling flare of purple light, which quickly faded to reveal two unicorn mares, one azure-blue and wearing a black-leather bondage harness, the other lavender-purple and wearing nothing but an expression that was somewhere between mortified embarrassment and righteously-indignant outrage. The azure-blue mare stumbled for a moment as she shook off the effects of her lavender companion’s teleport spell. “Twilight, Trixie is–” she started to apologize.

“Not one word, Trixie,” Twilight snapped. “Not. One. Word. Just get your plot upstairs and wait for me in our bedroom. On the bed, face down, not one peep out of you until I’m ready to deal with you, got it?”

Trixie gulped and nodded, trotting towards the stairs as quickly as she dared, all too conscious of Twilight’s eyes staring daggers at her the whole time as she went up to the bedroom. It wasn’t until she was safely inside the bedroom that one particular word Twilight had spoken finally registered with her.

Our bedroom. Ours. Twilight’s and Trixie’s... It was a comforting thought to hold on to, as she laid herself out across Twilight’s bed as her marefriend and Mistress had instructed. Assuming she was probably in for further punishment for her indiscretions, she dragged the pillows down to the center of the bed and arranged them in the same manner as Rainbow Dash had done for her earlier, piled up to support her under her hips and lift her hindquarters up without her having to actively work to maintain the position. She felt so vulnerable in this position... so helpless... and yet, somehow, so safe, here in this room. Our bedroom... The more she turned those words over in her mind, the more she loved the sound of them. Twilight and Trixie’s room. Ours. Their sanctuary. A place where she belonged. A place where she was loved.

Downstairs, Twilight waited until Trixie was out of sight, then turned and stalked downstairs to her underground laboratory, slamming the doors behind her. She stood in the center of the room, shaking with outrage...

...then burst out laughing. At first, they were just nervous giggles, but the harder she fought not to laugh, the worse they got, until finally she was reduced to rolling helplessly on the floor, clutching her aching barrel in her forelegs, as she laughed herself sick at the sheer absurdity of the whole situation. Oh, sun and moon, the looks on their faces were priceless! she thought gleefully to herself as she remembered bursting into Rarity’s room right at the tail end of Trixie presumably telling Dash all of the embarrassingly naughty details of how she and Twilight had gotten together. Details which the brash pegasus would no doubt have far too much fun teasing her with, the next time she saw her...

Twilight let out a derisive snort at that thought, in between her giggles of laughter. She was hardly the only one in her circle of friends who had an “interesting” sex life, obviously. The stuff in Rarity’s back room was proof enough of that, and the ivory unicorn had sure seemed to know how to use them, too. Yeah... ‘may have picked up a few tidbits’, my purple plot! I’ll bet she could write a book... not under her own name, of course...

Some fifteen minutes later, Trixie’s ears swiveled towards the door as she heard the soft clop of her marefriend’s hooves finally coming up the stairs, bringing her inevitable doom with them. She swallowed and kept her head down, eyes closed, not wanting to see it coming, and flinched as she heard the door closing and latching shut. Her ears tracked the soft sound of those hooves against the floor, as their owner circled around the bed...

“Open.” The firm command was accompanied by something soft and rubbery unexpectedly being pressed against her mouth. She squeaked a little in surprise, then obediently opened her mouth for the object – a large rubber ball – to be inserted. Wider... wider... sun and moon, just how large was it? Finally she got her mouth opened wide enough for it to be forced inside, then bit down on the jaw-stretching sphere as she felt a tingle of magic around her muzzle fastening it to the bridle harness still wrapped around her head. The straps tightened, and she whimpered around the gag as it robbed of the ability to speak. Now she couldn’t even tell Mistress how sorry she was. Mistress would punish her, and she wouldn’t even be able to beg for Mistress’ mercy and forgiveness...

“Trixie,” Twilight’s voice said into her ear, softly and lovingly, “since you can’t speak right now, this is your safeword. Slap your left hoof against the mattress four times, like this.” She demonstrated, hitting the mattress in a measured rhythm that would be an unmistakeable sign to stop. “Do you understand?”

“Yfff, mfff-rfff Hwihh-eyehhh,” Trixie replied automatically, groaning at her inability to form even those simple words.

“Show me.” Trixie nodded and copied the gesture, pounding her hoof as Mistress Twilight had instructed her. “Very good.” Trixie moaned softly as even that tiny bit of praise made her feel so warm inside. Mistress wasn’t going to hurt her. She had a safeword. She was safe with Mistress...

“Now keep your eyes closed, Trixie.” Trixie nodded obediently, even though the command was unnecessary. She didn’t want to see it coming, and wasn’t going to look. She felt more tingles, this time at her hooves, as something was attached to each of the four cuffs still fastened around her cannons. Ropes, being pulled tighter and tighter, until she was spreadeagled across the bed, unable to move, completely at Mistress’ mercy. Just enough slack left in the ropes on her forelegs to let her perform the mattress-slapping signal, but her rear legs were pulled wide apart, the ropes taut and tight, leaving her helpless...

...and oh, sun and moon, she was loving it so. Her heart was racing with a mix of fear and excitement, and she could feel herself already getting damp with arousal. A fact which did not go unnoticed by her marefriend as Twilight saucily brushed a hoof along the insides of Trixie’s wide-spread thighs, all the way up to her marefolds.

“Well, well... look who’s getting turned on already, Trixie,” Twilight chuckled. “I’m going to punish you for all that embarrassing stuff you told Rainbow Dash. You know that, right?”

“Yefff, Miffrefff Hwii-highh,” Trixie said, trying to force the words into some kind of coherency past the ball stuffed into her muzzle, then letting out a squeak of surprise as she felt yet another item being added to her ensemble. A thick silken blindfold over her eyes, tied into place. Now she couldn’t look even if she wanted to. Mistress could do anything, and she’d never see it coming...

“I mean it, Trixie... I’m going to make you pay for embarrassing me like that,” Twilight snapped, her voice taking on a harder, more commanding tone. The tone Trixie both dreaded and craved, as Mistress took control of her, to put her in her place...

She heard something swish through the air, and her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the sound. It was her own riding crop, the one she’d used on Twilight first to punish her, then to dominate her. Now she would feel its painful, stinging bite for herself. She whimpered and flinched, then obediently lifted her tail to expose herself for punishment, shivering as she anticipated the pain the crop would deliver, and how it would make her already so-sore flanks burn so awfully. Sun and moon, how much more pain could she take? Her hindquarters already hurt so much...

She tried to beg and plead for mercy, but there was no getting the words out past that thick ballgag. Her ears flicked back and she let out a muffled little whinny of fear as she heard the swish of Twilight raising the crop high in the air... then came the most dreaded sound of all, that terrible whistling sound, as Mistress Twilight brought the crop down for the first strike...

...and a small bit of heat and sting blossomed, not across her welted-and-paddled hindquarters, but across her withers instead, as the crop delivered a light, almost playful tap instead of the viciously-painful swipe she’d been expecting. Almost before she registered what had happened, the crop tapped her again on the opposite side... then again... and again, and again, tapping her upper body in a steady rhythm, as Mistress teased her with the crop, striking her everywhere but her painfully-sore backside as Twilight methodically cropped the squirming, whimpering showmare’s back from withers to dock.

Trixie nearly sobbed in relief as she realized that for the moment, at least, Mistress was being merciful. The cropping, painful as it was, was almost pleasant in a strange way; while each tap left another small little blossom of sting and heat in its wake, it was nothing like the punishing agony she’d suffered under the apple switch or that heavy fraternity paddle. The mild, stinging warmth of the crop under Mistress’ precisely-controlled strikes was almost sensual, in a way; the heat was building up slowly, one tap at a time, gradually igniting a fire in her loins to match the warmth spreading across her back...

“Good girl, Trixie,” Twilight said, bringing out another groan as Trixie drank in that small morsel of her Mistress’ approval. Her violet eyes shone with several emotions as she found herself relishing the sheer power she had over her marefriend right now. I could do anything I want to her right now... and she’s letting me do it, she realized. This wasn’t like last time, when she’d turned the tables on Trixie and slapped an inhibitor on her horn, then twisted her tail into accepting punishment by threatening to turn her over to Celestia, or to the Guard, for assault – Trixie had placed herself in this position of her own free will, and was laying there taking her “punishment” without raising so much as a spark of magic to stop her. For the moment, the azure-blue unicorn mare belonged to Twilight Sparkle, completely and utterly...

...and oh, horseapples, was that an intoxicating thought. Trixie, humbled and obedient Trixie, was hers.

“You do understand, Trixie, that was very!... naughty!... of you to tell Rainbow Dash all about what we did downstairs,” she said, emphasizing her words with more forceful snaps of the crop against Trixie’s withers, making her marefriend squeak and jerk against the restraints as the sharper pain blossomed across her shoulders and back. “You embarrassed me, Trixie. That stuff is private. What you and I do together is nopony!... else’s!... business!”

Trixie squealed under the painful swipes of the crop, feeling a mixture of shame at her marefriend’s disapproval – at Mistress Twilight’s disapproval – and relief that Mistress was continuing to be merciful by directing her punishment at her withers rather than her backside. Those strikes hurt, but not nearly as badly as they would if they were landing on her welted flanks. She tried to gasp out a muffled apology, then groaned in frustration as the gag turned her words to unintelligible moans.

“Nothing to say for yourself, slave?” Twilight snapped, curious to see if that would have the same effect on Trixie as before. Trixie squeaked and whimpered as that word hit her like a slap across the face; it was dirty and humiliating, yet so powerfully arousing – and coming from Twilight, from Mistress Twilight, it made her heart skip a beat, and the whimper turned into a soft, apologetic little sob as she felt her ego slowly crushing under her marefriend’s domination.

“Hm. I guess you haven’t learned your lesson yet, have you,” Twilight added, pretending not to notice the sounds Trixie was making. She felt a certain sense of accomplishment, almost like passing an exam with a perfect score, as her attempts at copying Rarity’s technique and attitude seemed to be working so well. Then again, I always was a quick study, she thought to herself with a giggle. She’d have to find some way to thank Rarity for that very educational demonstration... later. But for now... “I guess I’ll just have to keep spanking you until you do apologize to me... slave.”

How am I supposed to apologize when you’ve got me gagged! Trixie thought indignantly, before realizing that was the entire point of Twilight’s taunt. Trixie couldn’t apologize, therefore she had no way to make the punishment stop, no matter how sorry she was, or how much it hurt...

...No, that wasn’t entirely true. She had her safeword. Four slaps of her hoof against the mattress, and Twilight would stop. She knew that. She had no doubt of it. She was absolutely certain that Twilight would stop as soon as she heard and saw those four slaps... which meant she was absolutely safe, and since she was safe, she could relax and accept Mistress’ punishment for her misbehavior, even as the crop continued to rain down strike after painful strike on her back.

After all, Mistress Twilight was right. She did deserve this. She’d forgotten her place, and embarrassed Twilight by telling Rainbow Dash all those personal things. She’d just been so relieved that Dash’s rage had cooled, and that the pegasus didn’t intend to beat her senseless after all, that she’d just let herself talk without thinking about the consequences...

No, it was more than that, Trixie, she thought to herself. You were bragging about it. You let your ego get the better of you again, and you were boasting about how you subdued the Great and Powerful Twilight and had her screaming your name. And now you’re going to pay the price for that.

Dimly, she was aware that Twilight was still speaking, scolding her for the way she’d embarrassed her in front of her friends, as the crop tapped out blossoms of pain all across her back... and a small corner of her mind did notice that Twilight didn’t seem quite as upset as she was pretending to be; her marefriend’s voice had that firm, no-nonsense tone, but there seemed to be no genuine anger behind it, and the swipes of the crop weren’t nearly as hard or painful as Trixie knew it was capable of delivering. And yet, that dim realization only seemed to make her sink even deeper into submission, slowly melting as she scolded herself mentally for her thoughtless actions. Twilight – Mistress Twilight – was being merciful to her... her slave... even though she’d done something very wrong, and Mistress had every right to punish her for it, and she didn’t deserve such mercy from Mistress...

Twilight smiled to herself as she saw the unmistakeable signs of surrender in Trixie’s body language. No longer struggling against her restraints, or even tensing up under the strikes of the crop, Trixie was simply melting onto the bed, lying limp across the pile of pillows, accepting Twilight’s discipline. She was actually a bit surprised at herself; she’d never even considered this kind of kinky bedroom play until that experience in Crimson Brush’s back room had opened her eyes to the realization that yes, ponies really did do this kind of thing with each other, and actually enjoyed it... and even then, she’d never seriously thought that she would find pleasure in this, or that anypony would be willing to share the experience with her, until two days ago when Trixie unexpectedly came back into her life.

But somehow, it just felt so... right, to do these things with her. To share such complete and utter trust in one another that they would willingly submit and surrender, not out of fear, but out of love...

Whap... whap... whap... whap...

The sound of Trixie’s hoof slapping the mattress brought Twilight out of her thoughts. Quickly, she set the crop aside and came to Trixie’s side, stroking her marefriend’s burning-hot withers with a gentle hoof. “What is it, love?” she asked, her voice no longer firm or dominant, but tender and loving. “Too much? Do you need to stop?”

Trixie huffed and moaned around the thick gag a couple of times, then shook her head.

“No? What, then?”

Trixie tried to say what she wanted, then groaned in frustration at the impossibility of doing so with that huge rubber ball fastened tightly in her mouth.

“You need to say something?”

Trixie nodded, and felt the tingle of magic surrounding her muzzle again as Twilight quickly undid the gag. Trixie blushed a little as she realized she’d been drooling on the mattress all through her punishment. Not the sort of “wet spot” Trixie was hoping to sleep in tonight, she thought with wry amusement. Of course, being a unicorn did have its advantages; the wet spot could simply be magicked away... when she had the strength to do it. Right now, she was so fuzzy-headed and wrung out, exhausted, and yet so aroused, she doubted she could even muster up enough mental focus to lift a writing quill. She worked her jaw a few times to relieve the stiffness, then lay her head back down on the mattress. “The... belt... please, Mistress...” she moaned weakly, as she lifted her tail high.

“The... you want the belt?” Twilight asked. Even without being able to see her, Trixie could easily picture the look of stunned surprise just from her marefriend’s tone of voice.

“I... deserve it, Mistress,” Trixie said, a little more firmly. “I embarrassed you...”

“Trixie...”

“I embarrassed you for... my own ego, Twilight. Rainbow Dash asked what was up between the two of us, and I told her about our relationship... but Trixie’s ego got the better of her again, and I couldn’t resist a little bragging,” Trixie said. “I know you’re... going easy on me because I’ve been punished so much already today, but... I need you to punish me too, Twilight. Please. Just a little...”

Twilight blinked as Trixie explained herself, then sighed and nuzzled her marefriend tenderly. “Are you sure that’s what you want, love? It’s going to hurt... a lot.”

“It’s what I... it’s what ‘Proud and Boastful Trixie’ needs... my love,” Trixie replied calmly, even as her insides turned to jelly once again, knowing all too well what she’d just asked for.

Twilight sighed again, and nodded. If Trixie felt she needed that harsh discipline so badly... “Two strokes, Trixie. No more. You’ve suffered enough for one day,” she said, in a tone which left no room for argument or negotiation. “Now open up,” she added, moving the ball gag back against Trixie’s mouth to reinsert it.

Trixie nodded, and did her best to brace herself, opening her mouth for the gag and then biting down on it again, shaking with a mixture of terror and arousal as she felt the faux-leather belt loosening from around her waist, to be taken up in Twilight’s telekinetic grip...

Twilight studied her marefriend for a long time. Trixie was shaking with fear, making soft little noises that sounded like she was already starting to cry, and the belt hadn’t even touched her yet... but at the same time, as Twilight took a few steps back so she could see where she was aiming, she saw that her marefriend was wet back there, her marefolds winking with her inflamed arousal as she dripped musky juices onto the pillow-pile under her hips, filling the room with the unmistakeable scent of a mare’s lust.

She raised the belt high, and brought it down with a loud, echoing crack! of leather against flesh.

Trixie gasped and went rigid, all four limbs pulling desperately against the restraints, letting out an agonized howl through the gag as that single lash brought all seven apple-switch welts roaring to life again. Twilight hesitated, then quickly brought the belt down for the second stroke, getting it over with as quickly as possible, then threw it aside and climbed up onto the bed beside her marefriend, holding Trixie’s shaking body tightly against hers, nuzzling her, murmuring words of love and forgiveness into her ears, while casting a spell against Trixie’s backside to ease the pain as much as she could...

She worked the ball-gag free of Trixie’s mouth again, and the words of apology came pouring forth. “I’m s-sorry, Twilight, I’m s-sorry... I’m sorry...”

“Shh... I know, love, I know... it’s all right...” Twilight murmured soothingly. “It’s all right...”

“For... forgive me...”

“Always, love. Always.”

Trixie felt her tears of pain turning to tears of joy as that simple reassurance, that promise of forgiveness, seemed to ease the pain even more than Twilight’s healing spell. No matter what she did, Twilight would be there for her... to discipline her when she needed it, to love her, and forgive her...

Gradually, she became aware of an entirely different sensation coming from “back there”. A pleasant, tingly feeling that was slowly growing stronger, centered on her...

She squeaked in surprise, lifting her head to look at Twilight before remembering that she couldn’t see anything with the blindfold still in place. “Tw – Twilight? What are you...?”

Twilight gave a throaty chuckle as Trixie finally noticed what she was doing to her with her horn’s magic. “What am I doing?” she asked, teasing Trixie by intensifying the stimulation a bit. “I’m just doing what I was going to do to my Trixie after I finished cropping her, before somepony suddenly decided Trixie wanted her flanks scorched again.” She smiled, even though Trixie couldn’t see it, and tenderly nuzzled her lover’s ears, planting long, slow, sensual licks along the back of each one. “You’ve been punished more than enough, love. Now it’s my turn to make you feel good...” She nuzzled in close, whispering her final words into Trixie’s ear. “...and see if I can make you scream my name.”

Trixie felt the bed shift underneath her as her lover moved, inching her way back behind Trixie – or so the showmare assumed, based on where the sounds and sensation of motion were coming from. It occurred to her that she could take the blindfold off to see for sure, since Twilight hadn’t put the inhibitor on her... but no. That wasn’t her place. Mistress had placed the blindfold there, and if Mistress wanted her blindfolded and bound, then she would remain so until Mistress said otherwise.

Oh, horseapples, those thoughts were so exciting. Twilight was her Mistress, and she belonged to Twilight, and – “OH!!” She yelped, startled, as Twilight’s muzzle pressed itself up against her dripping marefolds. She felt Twilight’s tongue brushing against her, and the soft touch was cautious, almost hesitant, as if...

Oh, my love... have you never done this before? Trixie thought with sudden realization. Am I your first? She almost started to ask, then quickly stopped herself. Twilight would be so embarrassed if her inexperience was pointed out to her; she’d fall all over herself apologizing for doing it wrong, then probably run downstairs to try to find a book on the subject. She suppressed a giggle at the sudden mental image of Twilight lapping at her mound with a “how-to” manual propped up on the bed next to her, following the instructions to the letter.

“What’s so funny?” Twilight asked.

Trixie caught the note of uncertainty in her marefriend’s voice. “It tickles,” she said, hoping to reassure Twilight that she wasn’t doing anything wrong.

“Oh,” Twilight giggled as she went back to her cautious exploration, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach as she ventured into this unfamiliar territory. Not that the anatomical details were any mystery to her, of course, but to press one’s muzzle right up against them, to smell and taste that thick, musky flavor of sex, was another matter entirely. Trying to recall what Trixie had done to her, she drew her tongue slowly across the split of Trixie’s mound, then did it again, licking a little deeper inside each time.

“Ohh... hfff.... ohhh, yes...” Trixie moaned encouragingly as Twilight started to get the idea. “Please, love... mmmmmhhhh.... ohhh, sun and moon, please...”

Encouraged, Twilight continued to nuzzle deeper into Trixie’s folds, lapping up her marefriend’s juices as they dripped onto her tongue. At first, she wasn’t sure what to make of the musky flavor, but hearing those soft moans of pleasure and need was all her mind needed to make the association between the taste of her marefriend and the exquisite pleasure they could share this way, and soon she was lapping more hungrily at those soft, wet azure-blue folds, making happy little noises of her own...

With each lick, Trixie lost herself a little more, sinking deeper into a haze of blissful pleasure as her marefriend gained confidence in what she was doing. Each soft lap of Twilight’s tongue brought out a little squeak, and then the squeaks became whimpers, and then whimpers turned to deep, lustful moans...

“Mmmm... somepony’s having fun,” Twilight teased.

“Yes... Mistress Twilight...” Trixie breathed, slipping back into her submissive mindset as the pleasure of her lover’s tongue blended so nicely with the lingering pain in her back and flanks.

Twilight giggled and pressed her muzzle more firmly against Trixie’s folds, then darted her tongue deep inside, copying the technique Trixie had used on her the afternoon before. She was rewarded by a loud gasp and a cry of pleasure, and a sudden thrust of Trixie’s hips against the pillow pile, as Twilight’s maneuver caught her by surprise and sent a shock of pleasure right through her core.

“YES! Oh sun and moon, yes, right... there!” Trixie squealed as Twilight’s darting tongue found just the right spot inside. Encouraged, Twilight did it again, and smiled to herself as each deep lick produced the same squealing cry and reflexive bucking motion. She braced her hooves against Trixie’s cutie marks to keep her from wriggling around, lit her horn to apply gentle pressure just above Trixie’s dock to keep her pressed down into the pillows... then went after that special spot with all the enthusiasm of a filly trying to eat a triple-scoop ice-cream cone before it melted, darting her tongue deep into Trixie over, and over, and over...

Twilight Sparkle always was a quick study.

Trixie threw her head back and howled under the assault. Screaming, not in pain, but in ecstasy as shock after shock of exquisite pleasure shot through her, making her clench down on that wonderful tongue as it licked deep into her marehood, slowly driving her mad with lust and need. “Please, Twilight... please, Twilight... please...” she heard herself moaning, over and over, begging for... something, anything, more...

Twilight giggled and briefly considered seeing if she could get Trixie to beg for relief the way Rarity had, but decided against it. That game could wait for another day. She and Trixie had all the time in the world to explore the boundaries of their mutual domination and submission to each other, to inflict and suffer exquisite torments at each others’ hooves, to push each other to their limits and take each other to places they never even knew they could reach. But not now. For now, she just wanted Trixie to feel good. To feel loved.

“That’s it, love,” she said encouragingly as she heard Trixie’s gasps and moans taking on a sharper urgency. “Come on... I want to hear it, my precious Trixie Lulamoon... let me hear it...”

Trixie writhed and bucked under the assault, straining at her bonds, her physical helplessness against the tight restraints and Twilight’s magic only driving her on towards the release she craved as Twilight’s enthusiastic tongue brought her to the breaking point. “Hnnhhh... HAAahhh... Twi... light.... please... please! ... I... need... I want...! PLEEEEEASE!!”

Okay, so maybe Twilight couldn’t resist making Trixie beg just a little bit. “What do you need, love?” she asked mischievously.

Trixie kicked her rear hooves against the mattress and squealed in frustration. Curse you... Twilight Sparkle... you learn... far too quickly! she thought to herself, the thought flashing through her mind in fragments in between the shocks of pleasure and need that were wracking her body. “Let me.. come... please!” she screamed. “Please, Twilight!”

“I never said you couldn’t, love,” Twilight giggled, giving Trixie just enough time to register the words, before resuming her assault on that place that made her marefriend squeal so delightfully...

“Oh Twilight... oh Twilight... Twilight... oh, oh, OH TWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILIIiiIIiiiIIIiiIIGHT!!!”

Trixie threw her head back and let out a higher-pitched scream as the last shred of self-control crumbled. Pleasure shot down every nerve ending all at once, radiating outward from that special spot, making every muscle tense up until her entire body was shaking, and Twilight had the satisfaction of seeing the room bathed in azure-blue fire as Trixie’s horn sparked and shot off an involuntary flare of unfocused magical energy.

Twilight quickly sat back and released her hold on Trixie’s body, leaving the azure unicorn free to buck wildly against the pile of pillows under her hips as she screamed her lover’s name at the top of her lungs. Twilight giggled at the sound, glad that she’d remembered to put up a soundproofing spell around the room this time. Spike hearing us downstairs in the lab was bad enough; we don’t need everypony from here to Sugarcube Corner hearing that coming from my bedroom!

While Trixie was still deep in the throes of her orgasm, Twilight’s own horn lit up as well, quickly freeing her marefriend from the blindfold and hoof restraints. She crawled back up to lay down next to Trixie, gathering her close, holding her tightly and once again murmuring soft words of comfort into the showmare’s ears, as Trixie rode out the aftershocks with incoherent little squeals and helpless twitches. “Easy now, lover... shhh... I’m here, love. I’m here...”

Trixie finally went limp as the release drained all of her tension away, leaving her floating in a warm, soft cocoon of blissful contentment. Weakly, with what seemed like the last of her strength, she slapped her left forehoof against the mattress, four times. “M-mercy... Mistress... Twilight...” she whimpered, almost too softly to hear. “Mercy...”

“Shh...” Twilight shushed her marefriend and lover as she lay limp and helpless within her embrace, just stroking her back and withers with a hoof, giving her lover an anchor to hold on to until Trixie could find her way back to her senses again.

Finally, Trixie’s eyes fluttered open, to see Twilight’s eyes gazing into hers. The warmth and love in those eyes made Trixie melt all over again, and she let out a deep, contented sigh. “I love you, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, grimacing as her suddenly-dry mouth and throat made her cough slightly over the words.

Twilight giggled at the slight cough. “I love you too, Trixie Lulamoon,” she said, slowly disentangling herself both from their embrace and the now thoroughly-rumpled bedsheets. “Just lie there a minute, and I’ll bring us something to drink.”

Trixie struggled to roll over and climb out of the bed as well, groaning as her stiff limbs protested the motions. “I think... ugh... I can make it to the kitchen,” she said with a weak chuckle. “But you’re going to have to handle cooking dinner tonight, Sparkle. The Exhausted and Worn-Out Trixie is definitely in no condition to be juggling hot skillets after that...”

Twilight snorted at that. “Me, cook dinner? Haven’t you been punished enough for one day?”

Trixie laughed as she nuzzled her marefriend. “Trixie will take her chances. Believe me, your cooking can’t be worse than some of the moldy-hay dives I’ve eaten in.”

“You’ve never seen me try to fry haybacon, have you...”

Author's Note

And here we are again, with another chapter done and only one to go.

Triskelion did an amazing job, and did far more than fix up this chapter. So I have to give credit where its due.

Paying Royalties...

“Red”emption of a Showmare

Chapter 5: Paying Royalties...

Twilight Sparkle “hmm”-ed thoughtfully to herself, her writing quill drifting lazily in her telekinetic field, as she studied the contents of a pair of letters resting on her desk. That should do it, she decided. She dipped her quill into the inkwell, then signed both letters with a flourish.

“Spike!” she called downstairs as she rolled up both sheets and sealed them with a bit of candle wax. “I need you to send some letters for me, please.”

A minute later, Spike came ambling into Twilight’s bedroom with a fresh scroll and quill at the ready. “Okay, shoot.”

“Hm?” Twilight said distractedly as she finished sealing the second scroll. “Oh! You don’t need to write these for me, Spike. They’re... personal letters, not official reports. Just send them as-is.”

Spike “ahhed” and nodded in understanding. “Okay... who do they go to?”

“This one goes to Princess Celestia, and this one goes to Cadance.” She held up each letter in turn as Spike sent them on their way with a puff of dragonflame.

“On their way, Twilight. Need anything else?”

“Put on a pot of coffee for us?” Twilight suggested hopefully, nodding her head towards the blanket-covered lump still sleeping soundly on her bed. “We’ll be down for breakfast in a few minutes.”

Spike just rolled his eyes and made his way back downstairs with a tolerant chuckle. Once he was gone, Twilight went over to her bed and softly nuzzled Trixie’s cheek. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Trixie groaned and rolled over, raising a sleepy hoof to try to push the tickly feeling away from her cheek as she pretended to still be asleep, then gave up and slowly opened an eye. “Oh... morning, Sparklebutt,” she yawned, giving her love an adoring, if slightly sleepy-eyed smile at the end of it.

Twilight blushed a bit at the pet name Trixie had decided on for her after their most recent... “interesting” experience together, and stepped back from the bed as Trixie tossed the covers aside to stretch each limb in turn. “I just sent out the letters,” she said. “We should hear back from them before too long.”

Trixie groaned again as an especially good stretch popped everything back into place, then rolled over and hopped down to the floor. “What letters?”

“The letters we talked about last night, Trixie,” Twilight said patiently.

“Oh, right, those... wait, I thought it was just the one letter, to Princess Celestia?” Trixie asked, tilting her head quizzically as she finally came awake enough to properly follow the conversation.

Twilight bit her lip pensively, and nodded. “I sent a letter to Cadance, too,” she said. “There’s something I need to discuss with her.”

Trixie looked at her marefriend curiously as no further explanation seemed forthcoming, then decided not to press the issue. “Do you think they’ll come today?”

“I doubt it,” Twilight said with a slight shake of her head. “I’m sure they’re both very busy at the Summit, still – and I requested that they come together if possible, so it might be a while before they can both get away at the same time.”

“Oh, good, so we have time for breakfast, then?” Trixie suggested with an impish grin.

“Yes, love, I think we have time for breakfast,” Twilight agreed, giving Trixie an amused nudge as she passed by on her way to the stairs.

Together, the two unicorn mares made their way downstairs to the ground floor, following the scent of brewing coffee into the kitchen and dining nook. Trixie’s eyes locked on to the coffee pot, her horn already lighting up to grab a mug from the cabinet. “Ugh... I forget, Spike, is it my turn to cook breakfast this morning, or yours?” she asked with a yawn.

“Yours,” Spike answered. On the whole, he’d decided, having Trixie around hadn’t been all bad; despite his initial suspicions, she genuinely seemed to be trying to turn over a new leaf and build on her new relationships. She’d even insisted on “earning her keep” by taking on an equitable share of the kitchen duties, and it was definitely a pleasant change to have somepony else around the house who knew how to make something more complicated than toast. I swear, though, I’ll never understand how somepony as smart as Twilight can’t even get her head around something as simple as a three-cheese omelet... I mean, come on, it’s just a scrambled-egg pancake with stuff in the middle. Then again, she still hasn’t figured out pancakes, either.

Trixie nodded as she poured herself a full mug of coffee, then drank most of it down in one go, intent on getting that first hit of caffeine as quickly as possible. Twilight shuddered and tried not to watch. Trixie’s habit of drinking her coffee black was one of the few irreconcilable points of disagreement they’d discovered between them so far; Twilight could not for the life of her understand why anypony would want to drink coffee without cream and sugar to soften the bitterness, while the very idea of ruining perfectly good coffee by putting stuff in it made Trixie stick out her tongue in disgust.

One thing they both could agree on, though, was that Spike’s habit of pouring his over ice was just plain weird.

Trixie rubbed the last bits of sleep out of her eyes with a foreleg as she poured herself another cup, then started pulling skillets, mixing bowls, and ingredients out of the cupboard with her horn’s aura. Twilight sat back to watch with a fond smile, still impressed by her marefriend’s magical dexterity. While Twilight was undeniably the more powerful of the two in terms of how much raw magical energy she could channel into a single high-powered spell, Trixie’s ability to perform multiple tasks with dozens of small objects at the same time – and more impressively, to keep track of all of them at once even when they weren’t directly in her line of sight – was something Twilight couldn’t help but envy.

Under Trixie’s skilled manipulation, within only a few minutes three stacks of apple-cinnamon pancakes were making their way to the table, dripping with butter and warm maple syrup, accompanied by some savory, grilled black-bean patties topped with poached eggs and tomatoes. Trixie turned around to watch the plates as she guided them to the table – and just as they settled into place, Trixie suddenly reared up on her hind legs, throwing her forelegs out in front of her with a theatrical flourish, as a scattering of crushed blue gemstones materialized in mid-air and dusted themselves over Spike’s pancake stack. “Revel in the amazing delights of Trixie’s Great and Powerful Breakfast!” she finished with a smug, playful grin.

Twilight and Spike both chuckled at her display as Trixie settled back to all fours and trotted over to join them at the table. Twilight gave the showmare a light swat to her rump just before she sat down. “Keep that up, and I’ll be having something else Great and Powerful for dinner,” Twilight smirked.

Trixie couldn’t help but blush a bit at the swat, even as she playfully stuck her tongue out at her marefriend’s taunt. “Not if I get you first, Twilight.”

Twilight gave her lover an affectionate smile and a soft, tender nuzzle on the cheek, not at all displeased by that possibility, then rolled her eyes as Spike made a choking sound. “Oh, honestly, Spike, you’d think –” she started to say, just before the dragonling coughed out two scrolls in a burst of green flame.

“Mail’s here,” he said.

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Celestia and Cadance were just finishing up their own breakfast, and getting ready to face yet another day of summit meetings with the neighboring tribes, when a pair of scrolls materialized next to them in two puffs of green dragonflame. Each raised a curious brow as the scrolls landed in the middle of the dining table, then traded equally-curious glances. “From Twilight?” Cadance asked.

Celestia took a second look at the scrolls, and nodded. “One for each of us, apparently,” she said as she caught up the scroll addressed to her in her magic.

“I hope everything’s all right,” Cadance said, with a slight tinge of worry in her voice, as she picked up her own scroll. What could be serious enough to make Twilight send messages to both of them?

Together, they cracked the wax seals on their scrolls, and sat back to read.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I hope this letter finds you well. I’m sorry I don’t have a Friendship Report for you this time, as such, but I’m afraid I’ve been somewhat preoccupied this past week or so, dealing with the situation I informed you of previously. However, I am happy to be able to report that the situation is mostly resolved now; Trixie and I are doing well, and while there were definitely some rough patches to smooth over at first, in the end my friends accepted her and welcomed her warmly. Very warmly.

Actually, now that I think about that, I suppose I do have a friendship report to make after all. Sometimes, ponies get off on the wrong hoof with each other. Sometimes, they even hurt each other, and because of that, they think they can never be friends. But if they show true remorse for their actions, and a willingness to atone for their past mistakes, even former enemies might just find the seeds of a new friendship.

However, that’s not the primary reason I’m writing. I’m sending this letter both to you and to Cadance, in hopes that Trixie and I might have an audience with both of you here in the library. I know you are both very busy, especially with the summit meetings going on, so it doesn’t need to be right away – it’s nothing terribly urgent. There are just some... personal issues which both of us would like to discuss with you and Cadance, in confidence, when you both can spare the time.

Also – if at all possible, I would prefer if both you and Cadance could visit together, though of course I will understand if that is not possible due to your busy schedules.

Thank you for your time and patience.

Your Ever-Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia raised a brow as she read the letter, then looked up to see Cadance looking at her with a similarly-curious expression. “Twilight says she’s doing well,” Celestia said. “And that she wishes for both of us to visit her and Trixie at the library, at our earliest convenience.”

Cadence nodded agreeably. “That’s what mine says, too.”

“Interesting...” Celestia said thoughtfully.

“How about we drop by and see her tomorrow, then?” Cadance suggested. “Today’s the final summit session anyway. We’re expected to put in an appearance at the post-summit receptions tonight, but I don’t think Luna and Shining would mind too much if we took a little side trip to Ponyville tomorrow before heading back to the castle, do you?” she said with a teasing grin.

Celestia gave a knowing grin as well, nodding in approval. Luna certainly wouldn’t mind the chance to be left in charge of things a little while longer; if anything, she would appreciate the vote of confidence, that Celestia didn’t feel as if she had to rush back to the castle the moment the summit meetings were done. “I’m sure you’re right. As for Twilight... I don’t think she expected us to be together when we received the letters, so perhaps we should send separate replies?”

Cadance nodded in agreement as she magicked up a quill and scroll and began to write.

Dear Twilight...

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Twilight nuzzled Trixie’s withers, trying to help her lover calm her nerves a bit, as she forced her to come down the stairs. “Come on, Trixie... we both agreed this was necessary. It’s not going to do either of us any good to get cold hooves now. The Princesses will be here any min–”

Just as she was finishing her sentence, a flare of golden light lit up the library’s main lobby, causing Trixie to let out a startled “meep!” as she tried to hide behind Twilight. When the light cleared, there stood the Princesses of Sun and Love in all their radiance.

Celestia smiled at the two unicorns and gave them a light bow. “Hello, my faithful student,” she said fondly. “And hello to you as well, Trixie Lulamoon. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other. Are you both doing well?”

Twilight tried not to let her sudden nervousness show as she gave her mentor a small smile and a deep bow of respect in turn. “We’re fine, Princess. Trixie’s just a little nervous about the reason for our request for your visit,” she added as she stepped aside and nudged Trixie with a foreleg, prompting Trixie to snap out of her startled moment and hastily copy Twilight’s bow of respect.

Cadance trotted up and gave Twilight a firm hug. “It’s so good to see you, Twiley!” she said warmly. “I’m sorry your brother couldn’t come too, but it’s still kind of hard for both of us to get away from the Crystal Empire at the same time, unfortunately...”

Twilight hugged Cadance in return, nodding at her explanation. “Well... I think, in this case, it’s probably best he isn’t here...”

Cadance traded glances with Celestia as she and Twilight released their mutual hug, tilting her head quizzically at Twilight’s comment. “Just what did you need to see us about, Twilight?”

Twilight looked up at her mentor, and then back at her favorite foalsitter. “Can you come downstairs with me, Cadance? I think it’d be best if Trixie speaks with Celestia alone... and for us, as well.”

Cadance blinked, still giving Twilight a curious look, then nodded in agreement and followed Twilight through the door leading to her underground lab, leaving a nervous Trixie to shiver under the warm gaze of the Princess of the Sun herself.

“So tell me, Trixie,” Celestia began, once Twilight and Cadance had left. “What did you need to see me about, my little pony?”

Trixie took a deep breath as she made herself look up at the Princess. Finding only warmth and caring in Celestia’s steady gaze, alongside a hint of curiosity, eventually calmed the showmare’s nerves enough to let her speak. “Trix... I wanted to... apologize to you, Princess Celestia,” she said quietly.

“No need for formality, Trixie... you’re one of Twilight’s friends, and obviously very special to her, from what I hear,” Celestia said with an encouraging smile. “You may simply call me ‘Celestia’ if you like. Now... what is it that you feel you need to apologize for?”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Cadance glanced around curiously as she followed Twilight through the underground lab and into the side room. At Twilight’s gesture, Cadance to take a seat in one of the chairs in the middle of the room while Twilight closed the door behind them, then raised a brow as she saw Twilight stop just short of taking the opposite chair. Instead, Twilight kept raising a hoof towards the seat, then dropping it to the floor again, almost as if she’d somehow forgotten how to sit down in this strange thing called a “chair” to begin with.

Cadance had seen this behavior from Twilight before, as a filly; this was Twilight’s “I have something I need to tell you but I really really really don’t want to” tic. The last time she’d seen Twilight act like this had been that unfortunate incident with her older brother’s record player...

Twilight bit her lip and finally settled for just taking a seat on the floor. “You’re probably wondering what this is all about, huh?” she started with a nervous laugh. “Well... Cadance, I asked you to come here today because I... well... I need to apologize to you.”

Cadance gave her a look of concern, but didn’t interrupt.

“Do you remember when we used to play together, when I was a little filly? And you used to pull pranks on me and my brother all the time?” Twilight asked.

“Of course, Twilight,” Cadance said, smiling warmly at the fond memories. “How could I ever forgot the most precious times of my life?”

Twilight smiled as well, though it was a bit strained. “Well... you remember how sometimes I was a really picky eater, and wouldn’t try anything new?” Cadance nodded again. “And how sometimes, you used a spell to... trick me into eating it anyway? Well... you didn’t know it at the time, but I kept my memory of that spell you used. I even worked on it a bit, mostly just to test myself, and I... well...” Twilight paused and swallowed nervously. “I made the spell quite a bit more potent. I called it the...”

Cadance waited for Twilight to continue, giving her a look of concern when the unicorn remained silent. “What’s wrong, Twilight?” she asked gently.

Twilight took a moment to go through the deep-breathing motions Cadance had taught her, raising her hoof to her chest as she breathed in, then and breathing out slowly as she moved it away, to calm herself. “I called it the ‘Want-It-Need-It’ spell. I... I used it on a doll. Somehow I... I got it into my head that the Princess would be angry with me for not giving her a Friendship report on time, and my friends were treating it like it wasn’t a big deal, and I... um... went a bit nutty,” she confessed, blushing in shame as she looked away. “I decided that if I couldn’t find a friendship problem to solve and write a report on, I’d make a problem to solve, so I used that spell on my Smarty Pants doll, to cause three little fillies to fight over it, so that I could... help them.”

Cadance opened her mouth to respond, then fell silent as Twilight held up a hoof.

“It didn’t end there. The spell... got completely out of control, to the point that it... it set the entire town into a frenzied battle over the doll. It took Princess Celestia to undo the spell, and if it hadn’t been for her appearing when she did, there’s no telling what might have happened.” She looked up at Cadance, her eyes brimming with guilty tears. “I’m so, so sorry, Cadance. I should never have used your spell for something so malicious. You used that spell out of love for me... and I turned it into something filthy and evil...”

Cadance said nothing for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts, unable to help feeling a little shocked at hearing what her little prank all those years ago had led to. Twilight’s magic had been potent, even as a filly, but it had never occurred to Cadance that her young charge could’ve learned those kinds of spells just from seeing them used. Finally, she stood and walked over to rest a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight... it’s okay,” she said gently. “I’m sure no one holds a grudge for what you did. Least of all me...”

Twilight sighed softly and shook her head. “Don’t... please. The whole town, and even the Princess, forgave me. Celestia barely even scolded me for the whole thing.” She took a moment to take in a deep breath and release it slowly. “I didn’t call you here just to have you forgive me for it too...”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

It took a few moments of silence before Trixie finally worked up the nerve to answer Celestia’s question. “In the past... you saved my life, and... you tried to do so much for me after that. Giving me a home, a life... even a place in your school. You even checked on me, to see how well I was doing.”

Celestia nodded as she listened. It’s nice to see she isn’t referring to herself as another pony anymore. My student must have really been a good change for her, she thought idly to herself.

Trixie bit her lip a moment before continuing. “But I... I have to admit something to you. I resented you, all those years. In fact, in some ways, I... I hated you.”

Celestia raised a brow at this revelation, but said nothing. She’d suspected Trixie had been keeping some unhappier feelings buried below the surface during those years, especially after Trixie had suddenly quit the school and left Canterlot without giving any reason why, or even saying goodbye to anypony before she left, but Celestia was still a bit surprised to hear the depths of those negative feelings said out loud.

“I hated you for... not saving my Uncle. I know, now, that it wasn’t possible... but at the time, I was just too hurt and angry to see past it. I was too young to understand why I felt that way; all I knew was that my Uncle... the only family I had... was dead, and you hadn’t saved him, and that... just stayed with me all those years. Even when you praised me for doing well in your school, I was convinced it was just pity from you. I resented everything you did for me. And when you chose Twilight as your personal student... I felt like I’d been tossed aside. Like I was just some charity case you didn’t want to be bothered with anymore. My anger got the better of me, and I left.”

Those last words gave the Princess pause. I suppose I can understand how she could’ve felt that way, she thought sadly. After all, she’s not the only one who felt like they’d been pushed aside after I started giving all of my attention to Twilight. She opened her mouth to apologize, then fell silent as Trixie shook her head, indicating that she had more to say.

“I carried those feelings around with me for a long time. I know, now, I didn’t deserve even a small portion of the effort you put forward for me... and that you didn’t deserve all the anger and resentment I gave you in return for the kindness you tried to show me. I should’ve said these words a long time ago, Princess, and I’m ashamed that it’s taken me so long to say them now.” She looked up, meeting Celestia’s kind gaze. “Thank you, Celestia. For everything you did for me.”

Celestia gave the azure unicorn a warm, caring smile. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Trixie. You did deserve it, whether you think so or not. You were never a ‘charity case’, as you put it. I saw so much untapped potential in you, when I enrolled you in my school... I could see it in your eyes, and in your display of magical skills. And I never meant for you to feel pushed aside or discarded, my little pony. There were... reasons, why I took Twilight as my special pupil back then. I’m sure you can guess for yourself what they were, now. Perhaps... perhaps I should have explained, but I was afraid that if the truth were widely known – that Nightmare Moon’s imminent return was more than just an old legend, or that Twilight was destined to become one of the Element Bearers and to defeat her, that it might... jinx it, somehow.”

She moved forward and rubbed Trixie’s head affectionately as she continued. “You never needed to thank me, Trixie. But... I have a feeling that thanking me isn’t the true reason you asked to see me,” she prompted.

Trixie looked up into the searching gaze of her lover’s teacher, and nodded. “No... it’s not...”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Cadance took a step back, tilting her head in confusion. “Then... what?” she finally asked.

Twilight looked up into her eyes. “You never got upset with me, when I was a filly. Neither did my parents, or my brother for that matter.”

“Of course not, Twilight,” Cadance said, still confused by the odd turn the conversation seemed to be taking. “You were such a sweet little filly. How could we ever be mad at you?”

Twilight shook her head. “That’s just it, Cadance. I got in all kinds of trouble when I was young... and everypony mostly just patted me on the head, called me a ‘silly filly’, and let me get away with it. And it didn’t really stop when I got older, because now I had the Princess of all Equestria to forgive me for everything I did, so everypony still let me get away with everything because after all, if the Princess was letting me get away with it, it must not be that big a deal, right?”

Cadance bit her lip thoughtfully as she began to suspect what Twilight was getting at.

“But even with all the misbehaving I did, with all the trouble I caused... it was that spell that caused my biggest failing, and... Cadance, I don’t want you to just forgive me for it. I don’t want to just... be allowed to get away with it again.”

Cadance frowned slightly, still not sure she’d quite figured out where this was going. “Then what do you want, Twilight?”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

“Even though Twilight and I haven’t been together very long, I’ve already learned some very important lessons from her, and her friends, while working to earn their forgiveness,” Trixie explained, trying to keep her voice steady under Celestia’s curious, searching gaze. “And one of those lessons is that we must... accept the consequences of our actions, no matter how much it hurts. My hatred and resentment towards you was unfounded, and unnecessary, Princess. It was wrong of me to blame all of my sorrows on you that way, and...” She paused for a moment, taking a breath. “And I must accept the consequences of my actions.”

Celestia raised a brow at that last. “I’m not sure I follow, Trixie?” she finally asked, when no further explanation seemed forthcoming.

Trixie’s answer was to light up her horn to remove her hat and cape, placing both on the table in the middle of the room, leaving herself bared save for a single sturdy, black faux-leather belt cinched around her waist. She unwrapped the belt, folded it over once, then floated it towards Celestia, holding it out for the ivory alicorn to take. “I ask... no. I deserve your punishment, for rejecting the love and care you tried to give me, and giving only anger and resentment in return.”

Celestia’s eyes grew wide as she looked down at the belt floating in the showmare’s blue aura. If Trixie was suggesting what she seemed to be suggesting...

“Trixie Lulamoon. Do you realize what you ask of me?” she finally asked, speaking with an air of authority, softened with the warmth of a teacher to her student.

Trixie nodded as she turned around and bent at her forehooves, lifting her hindquarters up for punishment, just as she’d done so many times already this past week. “Please...”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Twilight’s answer was to point a hoof towards the table in the middle of the room, directing Cadance’s attention towards it. At first Cadance wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be looking for, until Twilight’s purple aura surrounded an object on the table and floated it over between them. It was a plain, wooden-handled mane brush. But what was it doing down here in Twilight’s lab?

“I’m sorry Twilight... I don’t understand?” Cadance finally said.

Twilight gave her an understanding smile. “I didn’t either, at first,” she said. “But not too long ago, a good friend of mine helped me to... well, to understand some things about myself. One of which was just how much guilt I had built up over the years. She was also kind enough to show me a way to relieve that guilt, as well as truly earn forgiveness for the things I’d done in the past.”

Cadance still looked confused, but some part of her mind was beginning to put the pieces together as the mane-brush drifted closer to her. She couldn’t possibly mean...?

“You asked me what I want. What I want is... no, what I need is for you to spank me, Cadance. To punish me for what I did. I took something gentle and kind, and turned it into something awful. Something that could’ve gotten a lot of ponies hurt, or even destroyed the whole town, all because of my own selfish wants.”

“But why... you want... you... what!?” Cadance stammered in astonishment as she took a step backwards from the floating mane-brush. “You... want me to hurt you, for a spell you couldn’t possibly have known the dangers of?”

Twilight shook her head and smiled a bit at her old foalsitter’s concerns. “No, Cadance, I don’t want you to hurt me...”

“But...?”

“I want you to discipline me,” Twilight emphasized. “Because I did something very wrong. I did know the dangers, Cadance. After all, I was the one who expanded the spell’s parameters in the first place... and it was my choice to misuse it for that purpose. I may not have meant for it to get as far out my control as it did, but it was still my choice.” She stepped closer, bringing the mane-brush with her, and gave Cadance a soft nuzzle of love and trust. “Cadance... please. I need this. I need...” She paused and took a deep breath. “I feel like I wronged you by misusing your spell like that, and I need to not be allowed to just get away with it again.”

Cadance stared at the brush Twilight was holding out to her for a long time. Finally, her gaze shifted to Twilight, looking into the eyes of the mare she’d cared for and loved for an even longer time, seeing the trust and need within. Finally, she reached a decision. “Very well, Twilight Sparkle. It’s been a long time... but if this is what you really want...”

“It’s what I need,” Twilight repeated quietly. “Please.”

Cadance lit up her horn to take the mane-brush from Twilight’s magical grasp, then pointed towards the table with a hoof. “Bend over,” she said in a suddenly-firm tone, as if she were dealing with a misbehaving foal.

Twilight simply nodded and moved to bend herself over the edge of the low table, stretching her forelegs out across the top to grasp the edges with her hooves, forcing her flanks and hindquarters outward towards the pink alicorn as she spread her rear legs apart to brace herself. “I’m sorry, Cadance,” she said softly.

Cadance nodded in understanding as she tapped the brush across Twilight’s flanks, testing her aim as she prepared to discipline the younger mare. “I know, Twilight.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

“Before we begin, Trixie,” Celestia said as she stood over the trembling showmare, holding the belt in her golden-yellow telekinetic aura, “I just want you to know, that I do not blame you for your feelings towards me... nor do I agree that you deserve to be punished for them. Despite what some ponies think,” she added wryly, “I’m not in the habit of punishing ponies just for thinking unkind thoughts about me.” She waited a moment for that to sink in, then gently brushed Trixie’s upraised rump with a wing. “But... that being said, I’m not so naive as to fail to understand your feelings... or your need to feel as if you’ve atoned for them before you can let go of them. If this is truly what you wish from me...”

Trixie gave a soft “eep” at the unexpected brush of downy feathers against her backside, then closed her eyes and nodded. “I understand, Prin... um, Celestia. If not what you feel that I deserve... give me what you feel that I need,” she replied, her breath catching a little as she tried to make herself relax and give herself over to the coming punishment.

Celestia nodded and took a step back, examining the folded belt with an approving eye for the workmanship as she raised it high, holding it suspended for a few seconds as she aimed it towards her chosen target... then, without warning, the belt came lashing down with sharp but controlled force, swishing loudly through the air, then impacting right across the middle of Trixie’s hindquarters with a loud THWACK! of leather against flesh.

Trixie’s eyes flew open as the first strike landed solidly across her flanks, delivering a shock of pain so intense all she could do was gasp for breath. That single stroke had been almost twice as hard as anything Twilight had ever given her, and already it felt like a red-hot iron burning across her flanks. “Th... thank you...” she managed to gasp out as she braced herself, forcing herself to remain in position even as the realization of just what kind of punishment she might’ve let herself in for sent a cold pit of fear into her stomach...

Celestia raised a brow as she heard the sharp gasp of pain and saw the angry red stripe forming underneath Trixie’s azure fur. Perhaps that was a bit too much... she decided after a moment’s consideration. She raised the belt and brought it down again with more carefully-measured force, delivering another lash just below the first. Trixie stubbornly set her jaw, refusing to cry out, even though the pain was still easily as bad as that awful apple switch...

Celestia paused again, giving Trixie a moment to collect herself before the next stroke. Then came a third swishing of the belt through the air, and a third explosion of fiery pain as the belt thwacked! across her rump...

...and Trixie knew this was only the beginning of what would be a very long and painful – and well-deserved – penance.

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Cadance continued tapping the brush against Twilight’s flanks as she considered what her friend had just asked her to do. She still wasn’t entirely sure about the situation, but it did seem to be what Twilight wanted. Even if Cadance didn’t agree that Twilight had deliberately wronged her, or deserved to be punished for the mistake she’d made, Twilight obviously felt otherwise, and felt that she needed to be chastised for it.

All right, then, Twiley, she decided. If this is really what you think you need...

She tapped the brush across Twilight’s flanks a few more times, making certain of her aim as she picked a target to begin, then pulled the wooden brush back and flicked it sharply, striking her right flank dead-center in Twilight’s starburst cutie mark with a firm clap!, quickly followed by a similar strike to its twin on the left.

She heard Twilight squeak under the first strike, though it seemed to be more from surprise than any actual pain. The second stroke, though, was taken in silence and acceptance, without even a hint of protest. I wonder if she’s done this before... Cadance thought to herself, even as she raised the brush to begin spanking Twilight’s flanks in a steady rhythm, alternating from one side to the other every few strokes so as to spread the fire evenly.

Twilight began to squirm a little under the continuous rain of firm swats as each one sent a small blossom of sting and heat across her flanks, feeling a strange mix of nervous apprehension and fondness as her favorite foal-sitter took charge of her once more, caring for her, giving her what she needed... though certainly not in a way either of them had ever expected before.

Cadance watched over her precious charge with a mix of wonder and endearment as she kept working the mane-brush back and forth between Twilight’s cutie marks, watching the tinge of dark, hot pink forming underneath the lavender fur as the brush clapped against the younger mare’s flanks over and over. Gradually, she began to shift the brush’s target further back, aiming for the fuller portion of Twilight’s rump, putting a little more force behind the swats as she pinned a forehoof against the dock of Twilight’s tail to hold her in position.

Twilight gasped as she felt Cadance’s hoof pressing down on her, then firmly stifled her whimpers of pain as the heavier blows began to light up her backside in earnest, accepting her discipline in silence as the fire spread further with each painful clap! of the wooden brush...

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

The ivory alicorn paused for a moment, to examine the painful-looking scarlet stripes already showing underneath Trixie’s azure-blue coat. “Prepare yourself, Trixie,” she said firmly as she drew the belt up high. Trixie swallowed and nodded, just once, as she braced herself for the next strike. The belt swished through the air...

Despite her best efforts to hold it back, a squeal of pain forced itself past her clenched teeth as white-hot pain exploded across the backs of her thighs, right at the most sensitive spot – followed by a second, then a third, and a fourth, as Celestia began applying the belt to her hindquarters in a relentless rhythm, laying the strokes down squarely on top of the four stripes she’d already inflicted from dock to thighs, each stroke searing the fiery pain deeper and deeper into her upraised rump, with only a scant few seconds granted to her to recover from each one before the next stroke delivered yet another shock of pain that took her breath away...

By the tenth stroke, she was shaking from the effort of holding herself in position, and hot tears of pain were spilling from her tightly-shut eyes and running down her cheeks as each lash broke down her resolve. By the fifteenth, any lingering thoughts of taking her punishment with stoic dignity were driven from her mind as the belt lashed across her thighs yet again, and by the twentieth, she buried her face in her forelegs and began to sob openly as each lash lit up her flanks like a Hearth’s-Warming Eve tree...

Celestia watched the sobbing unicorn with care and compassion, and no small amount of admiration for her endurance, as Trixie broke down, even as she continued to deliver the excruciatingly-painful strokes to those deeply-reddened flanks, silently counting each one to herself even though she had no particular number in mind she planned to stop at. She must have received quite a few spankings from this belt already, if she’s able to take this much punishment, she found herself thinking. Even without an alicorn’s strength behind the blows, not many ponies could’ve withstood this heavy a dose of the belt’s discipline without breaking under it.

Finally, as the count reached an even thirty strokes, Trixie’s broken sobs became a wrenching howl of pain as the throbbing, searing fire in her backside overwhelmed her. Celestia immediately pulled the belt back and paused, giving her little pony a minute or two to pull herself back together before resuming her punishment.

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

Cadance gave her charge a loving smile, even as she drove the brush home again and again across those visibly-sore, slowly-reddening flanks. The steady clap! of the wooden brush echoed through the small room, along with Twilight’s stifled whimpers as each one sent another burst of stinging heat across her backside, until every inch of her hindquarters felt like it was on fire...

“I’m sorry... I’m...”

They were the first words Twilight had spoken since she’d first bent herself over the table, and that soft, whispered apology told Cadance it was time to finish this. She gave Twilight a few more solid claps of the brush on each side of her rump – and then, without warning, changed targets and aimed the next swats directly at the sensitive spots right at the tops of Twilight’s thighs, driving the lesson home.

Twilight squealed in pain as the swats across her thighs stung like angry hornets, then burned like red-hot coals, then finally seared an unforgettable white-hot lesson into her burning thighs and hindquarters as swat after swat rained down on those most sensitive spots. “I’m sorry! I’m SORRY!!” she cried out in between her choked sobs, pleading for her old foalsitter’s forgiveness as she fought to hold still, her whole body trembling as she held on to the table with her forelegs for all she was worth. “I’M SORRRYYYYY!”

Cadance couldn’t help but tear up a bit herself as she heard Twilight’s cries of apology in between those ragged gasps and sniffles. “I know, Twiley... I know,” she said gently, even as she continued to spank the crying younger mare until her thighs were as deeply-reddened as her rump and cutie marks. Twilight’s cries for forgiveness dissolved into incoherent, choked sobs as she fell limp across the table, unable to hold back any longer, as all of her guilt came pouring out in a flood of hot, stinging tears under the mane-brush’s painful discipline.

All right, Twiley... enough is enough. Cadance drew the brush back and took aim, then drove it down firmly and solidly for ten more heavy claps right down the cleft of Twilight’s rump from dock to thighs, hard enough to make Twilight howl as each one scorched its final, painful lesson deep into her burning-hot cheeks, insuring that the burning reminders of her misdeeds would last for some time. On the final stroke, Cadance set the brush aside, then came up to rub Twilight’s back and withers, comforting her with the same hoof she’d used only moments ago to punish her favorite mare. “It’s over, Twiley...” she whispered softly, nuzzling the unicorn’s ear. “It’s over.”

“I’m... s-sorry... Cadance... I’m so... s-sorry...” Twilight sobbed quietly, tears of guilt and remorse streaming down her cheeks.

“Shh... it’s all right,” Cadance whispered again, reaching out a gentle hoof to brush the tears away, just like she’d done so many times in the past when Twilight had been sad, or her feelings had been hurt, as a filly. “I love you, Twiley. Nothing you could do would ever change that.”

They remained like that for a few minutes, Twilight simply crying into her forelegs while the loving caresses of her favorite foalsitter soothed away the lingering pain and guilt. “I... I love you too, Cadance,” she murmured softly, sniffling as she finally cried herself out. “Thank you for... for forgiving me...”

Cadance smiled and shook her head as Twilight’s eyes fluttered open to look at her. “There was never anything to forgive, Twilight,” she said. She wrapped her forelegs around the smaller mare and squeezed her close in a loving embrace, then carefully helped Twilight get down from the table and back onto her own four hooves. “When you’re ready, we’ll head upstairs and see how Aunt Celestia and your marefriend are doing. They’re probably wondering, with how long we’ve been gone by now...”

Twilight gave a weak smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes, wincing as a few cautious steps brought out sparks of stinging pain in her reddened flanks. “Let’s give them a few more minutes,” she said as she entwined her neck with Cadance’s, affectionately nuzzling the pink alicorn’s mane and withers. “Trixie has some... unresolved issues of her own to work out, so to speak. It might take a while.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

A few minutes passed in near-silence, broken only by Trixie’s hiccuping sobs as she recovered from the harsh strapping she’d just received. Celestia waited patiently until the showmare’s sobs quieted down into soft weeping, then took a couple of steps forward to once again brush a comforting wing across Trixie’s hindquarters with the very gentlest of touches, the tips of her feathers barely even brushing the fur. Even through her feathers, she could feel the furious heat radiating from those deeply-reddened flanks. “My dear little pony...” she said quietly, her voice full of soft, loving warmth. One day, I’ll explain my actions to you, Trixie. The actions that led to your hatred towards me, and the reasons for them. One day... when Twilight fulfills her destiny... you’ll know the part you played – and the mistakes I made. And perhaps, when that day comes, I shall be the one needing to beg for penance and forgiveness...

Trixie tried to stop her tears, sniffling softly as she drew in deep, strained breaths. “Is it... is it over?” she managed to ask. She hardly dared open her eyes to look back, in case she should catch sight of that wicked belt still aimed at her backside.

Celestia smiled affectionately at her question, but shook her head. “You asked me to give you what you need, Trixie... and somehow, I sense we haven’t reached that point quite yet. Am I wrong?”

Trixie reluctantly raised her head from her hooves and looked back over her shoulder, to see Celestia regarding her with those piercing, yet loving eyes, a soft smile on her face, as she waited for Trixie’s answer. She gazed into those eyes for a long time... then finally gave a small, teary-eyed smile of her own, and shook her head.

“No... not quite yet, Princess,” she agreed. She turned her head forward once more, a look of determination on her face as she closed her eyes again, bracing herself for what was surely coming next as best she could.

Celestia nodded approvingly. You have more true strength within you than you know, Trixie. Perhaps I should have given you more of a chance to prove it, all those years ago.

A tendril of magic wrapped itself around the base of Trixie’s tail, then gently tugged upwards, lifting the mare’s hindquarters until her back hooves barely touched the floor, rump lifted high for the final part of her punishment. Trixie gave a soft “meep” of surprise and fear as she felt her flanks and thighs tightening, dreading what was surely coming next. She bit one of her hooves and closed her eyes, willing herself to take what would surely be the hardest spanking she’d ever received with as much dignity and resolve as she could muster up. I’m ready... she told herself firmly. I can do this. I’ve fought long and hard to get through this. To atone for all the pain I caused, and let go of all that old guilt and shame... Just one last shame to atone for, and then I can truly love Twilight, with everything I have...

Celestia could almost feel the resolve of the mare she held in her magical grasp as she drew the belt into the air once more. She took aim carefully, choosing a single target for her final assault, and with a final check to be sure her magical hold was steady, she began driving the belt down with firm, quick lashes onto the sensitive juncture between flanks and thighs. Trixie howled as the shocks of pain shattered any resolve she might’ve had to take the punishment with dignity; every lash bit deep, and between the rapid speed of the strokes and the sensitivity of that particular target, with each lash laying down on the same spot, by the time the fifth stroke landed she was she was already pounding her front hooves on the floor, sobbing and wailing her desperate apologies and pleas for forgiveness, as the pain swiftly built to a level beyond even that excruciating ordeal with the apple switch and the fraternity paddle...

“I’M –” *THWACK!*

“–SORRY!” *THWACK!*

“I’M SORRY!” *THWACK!*

“I’M SORRYYYYYY!”

Her screams of pain and apology echoed off the walls of the library, punctuated by the relentless *THWACKS!* of heavy faux-leather against a pony’s taut hindquarters, as the strap continued to lash its painful discipline deep into Trixie’s flanks and thighs, each stroke igniting white-hot agony as it landed squarely on top of the ones before it. By the time the tenth stroke had fallen, she could barely even form the words through the haze of pain; by the fifteenth and final stroke, she was beyond words entirely, her whole body shaking as she struggled to breathe through her deep, wrenching sobs and howls.

Down in the basement, Twilight winced and pressed herself a little closer to Cadance, a few sympathetic tears leaking from her eyes, as the sounds of her marefriend’s punishment made their way through the closed door. Cadance looked down at her, raising a questioning brow, silently asking whether they shouldn’t, perhaps, go up and put a stop to this, then closed her eyes and gave Twilight a comforting nuzzle as the unicorn gave a quiet shake of her head. As much as she wanted to gallop up the stairs and rescue her marefriend from Celestia’s wrath, Twilight knew that would be exactly the wrong thing to do. This punishment was Trixie’s choice; she had asked for this, knowing full well the consequences she was inviting on herself.

Celestia held the belt suspended in mid-air for a moment as she examined Trixie’s backside. Fifteen lashes to the “sit spot”, one right on top of the other, had left a deeply-welted purple stripe of searing agony across the showmare’s thighs, and Trixie herself was crying so hard she hardly even seemed to realize that the punishment had stopped. Enough, my little pony, she thought to herself. More than enough.

She placed the belt on a nearby table, then gently lowered Trixie to the floor, cradling the mare’s shaking body in her magic as she laid her down to rest after her ordeal. Trixie continued to sob into her hooves, hiccuping as she cried herself out, her senses so overwhelmed with the searing, throbbing, burning pain in her hindquarters that she hardly even noticed when Celestia lay down beside her, spreading a wing across her back to shelter and comfort her. “It’s over, my little Trixie,” Celestia murmured softly, giving Trixie a tender nuzzle behind one ear. “All is forgiven, and all is well. You showed great remorse, and an even greater strength, then anypony I have ever had to discipline in the past... and with you at her side, I believe my faithful student will be in good hooves.” She thought about that last statement for a moment, and gave a soft chuckle as she caressed the mare’s mane soothingly. “And so will you, I think.”

Trixie could barely hear or comprehend the words through the throbbing pain, but they still gave her some comfort as she sobbed her way through the last of her lingering guilt and slowly, very slowly, came back to her senses. It was many minutes later before she found the strength to even raise her head more than a fraction of an inch from her hooves – but when she did, she felt a warmth spread through her that had nothing to do with the searing heat in her flanks as she found her old teacher lying there beside her, looking down at her with love and compassion. “Thank you, Prin... Celestia. For... for everything you’ve done for me. I’m sorry it... took me so long to say it, and... I’m sorry I never appreciated the gifts you tried to give me, before.”

Celestia smiled and shushed Trixie with a slight tap of her hoof against the showmare’s muzzle. “No more apologies, Trixie... and no need for thanks. I am your Princess, and I am here to serve you. Even if that means serving you your hot flanks on a silver platter.” She gave the mare a playful grin, then pulled her close in a gentle hug. Trixie couldn’t help but give a soft giggle at Celestia’s reply, as she wrapped a hoof around the alicorn’s neck to return the embrace. Together, they rested together in companionable silence, until the door to the lab opened once more.

Twilight slowly walked over to the pair, then crouched to give Trixie a soft kiss to her muzzle. “I assume you two have settled your... unresolved issues?” she asked playfully.

Trixie gave her a wry smile, knowing that Twilight could hardly have missed the furious red-and-purple stripes across her backside, and nodded. “Yes... I think we have, Love. How did your... umm... little talk with Cadance go?”

Twilight chuckled a bit as she wrapped her hooves around her lover. “It was a long time coming, but it was... enough.” She smiled back at Cadance, and received a warm smile in return. “Thank you Cadance... and you too, Celestia.”

Cadance gave a soft giggle and an approving nod. “You behave yourself now, Twiley... and write to your brother once in a while! Or, I just might have to tell him how to handle you,” she added with a sly wink.

Twilight blushed and turned away a bit, although she couldn’t help but smile a little at the thought of her brother showing her that level of love. “I’ll try...” she said, glancing sideways at Cadance with what she hoped was a suitably chastised expression. Cadance raised a brow as she caught the glint of mischief in Twilight’s eye, and winked back.

Celestia listened to the exchanges with a warm humor. She stood up slowly, working out a kink in one of her forelegs while settling her wings back into place. “It was a pleasure seeing you both again, my faithful student,” she said, with genuine warmth and affection underneath her regal mannerisms. “We’d love to stay and visit longer, but I suspect Luna is getting anxious for me to return and resume my duties, and Shining Armor is undoubtedly eager for Cadance to return as well. We’ll visit again soon – and of course, you are always welcome to see me any time at the Castle. Both of you,” she added, giving Trixie a regal nod to emphasize that privilege now extended to her as well. “In the meantime, I shall expect a letter about both of your adventures together, very soon.”

Twilight trotted up to her mentor to wrap her in a quick hug. “We will, Princess. And thank you. For everything.”

\/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ * \/

{ Three days later... }

It was deep into the night when Spike rolled out of his bed, giving up on sleeping for the moment. Dragons weren’t normally prone to insomnia or indigestion – but then, dragons didn’t normally get talked into helping Pinkie Pie perfect a recipe for red-velvet cinnamon-orange muffins with zap-apple jam filling and coconut-mascarpone frosting, either. Five hours of taste-testing each tweak to the recipe was enough to give even a dragon a high-octane sugar rush; how in Equestria the pink earth pony could eat that much cake and sugar without simply exploding was – like most things associated with Pinkie Pie – a mystery that was probably best not pried into too closely if one valued their sanity.

Sighing again, he made his way out of his room and downstairs to the kitchen for a drink, treading quietly so as not to disturb Twilight or Trixie since they were probably asleep by now. As he reached up to the cabinet for a cup, he paused as a faint noise from under the floor caught his attention. He perked a ear for a moment, listening, then groaned and shook his head in resignation as the sound was repeated. “Forgot to soundproof the room again, didn’t you, Twilight,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Y’know, keeping your ‘playing’ where I won’t see it really doesn’t do much good if I can still hear it...”

“Hear what?”

Spike startled and turned around, nearly dropping his water glass as he saw a by-now-familiar azure unicorn mare walking through the archway into the kitchen.

“Couldn’t sleep either, huh Spike?” Trixie chuckled as she came over to playfully ruffle his head spines, much to his chagrin.

“Trixie?! But... I thought... you’re not downstairs with Twilight...?” he stammered.

Trixie tilted her head curiously. “No...” she said slowly. “I’ve been in bed all this time. Twilight said she had some work she wanted to finish up, and not to wait up for her. I just woke up a minute ago to get a glass of water. What made you think we were...?”

Spike took a moment to collect himself, then made a shushing motion as he pointed to the floor, then to his ear, indicating for her to listen quietly. Together, then knelt and lowered their heads closer to the floor, trying to hear. Trixie’s brows shot up in realization as a faint, but all-too-familiar “thwack”-ing sound came from underneath the floor, obviously from the underground lab. But neither was ready for the voices that came after.

“Ahhh! Consarnit, that smarts...!”

“Applejack...?” They both chorused in a loud whisper.

“Hnnhh! Darling, that really hurts...” came a slightly louder whine.

“Rarity...?!”

“Oh, buck up and – HSSSS!! – take your medicine like the rest of us, Rares...”

“Rainbow Dash?!”

The two stared at each other in shock for a few moments, before Spike noticed a few tears start to roll down Trixie’s cheeks. “Hey – I’m sure there’s a good explanation...” he said, instinctively taking her hoof in between his paws as he tried to reassure her.

Then she smiled, and the look in her eyes made him realize that the tears were ones of joy, not sadness. “She really does love me...”

Author's Note

Whew! And she's finally over.

Thank you all for sticking with it... I know it's been really long in updating. And of course thanks to Triskelion for ALL the effort and help he put into it.

This will probably be the last story for me... at least for a very long time. Love you all ^^.