Chapter Five:
A Test

Twilight Sparkle wasn't sure if she should knock on the door that the staircase led to. She wanted to get out of the dark hallway, but she didn't want to just burst in like she was expected, even if she was. Cadence's words had gotten to her about Luna. Luna seemed strict. She didn't want to start things off on the wrong hoof with a bad impression. Caution probably wouldn't hurt here.

She knocked with her booted front hoof on the heavy oak door. There was a moment of silence, then permission was given.

“You may enter, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Please be sure to keep your head down and your gaze at the floor when you enter.”

The request was odd, but there was nothing conventional about the situation she was in. She pushed the door in, her gaze at the floor just as Luna had instructed. The stone floor beneath her booted hooves was much like the floor in Cadence's chamber, with a small exception. Tiny lunar decorations marked the corners of the stone tiles, giving her a small pathway to walk on. She followed the tiny crescent moon designs in a straight path, until Luna instructed her to halt.

“Raise your head, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, her voice close as she approached.

Twilight glanced up slowly, unsure of what to expect. Luna's chamber was large and dimly lit, like Cadence's. There were a few things she could see from the corner of her eye that startled her, but before she had a chance to properly inspect them, Luna came into view. The Princess of the night bore the same collar Cadence wore, although the ring that dangled from it bore a tiny crescent moon charm. She wore a beautifully crafted corset. Leather bound her body into a beautiful feminine shape and the lace only added to the charm. The leather continued down her hind legs, in the same manner of boots that Cadence wore. Luna was beautiful in a dark way, sexual in the way that only the night could bring. Her tail was bound with a leather and lace tie that matched her corset, raising the hairs up enough to leave her exposed.

“Look at me, Princess,” Luna said, her voice soft but firm in its instruction. As Twilight's gaze met hers, Twilight saw the same dark eye makeup that ringed Luna's gaze. Her eyelashes seemed longer than usual, fuller. She was some otherworldly creature, not the Princess that Twilight was used to.

“You are here because you have consented to Princess Cadence's treatment and have passed her inspection. My training will not be like hers. It is more dangerous and there will be more discipline involved, should you disobey. You have the option to back out at any time. Do you understand? You have permission to speak.”

“I understand,” Twilight said softly. Her heart was beating fast once more at Luna's words. Cadence preferred her riding crop for discipline and that in itself hurt with its short, fast stings. What exactly did Luna have for her?

“Do you give me permission to teach you the old trainings? Be aware that the point is to push you to and beyond breaking. That is why you have the option to back out. Do you wish to continue? Speak accordingly.”

Twilight had to wonder what would happen if she insisted on going home. Relieved of responsibilities as a Princess, no doubt. Again came the thought of facing her friends, knowing she hadn't even tried.

She nodded. “I want to continue. Yes.”

“Cadence must have told you the safety word all Princesses abide by. Banana. It seems ridiculous and simple, but that is the point. There's no point in getting you to say stop if that is a part of the play and stop means to keep going. Likewise, you will keep using banana. Should you need to stop at any point, please make use of it. I will stop immediately, no questions asked.”

Twilight wanted to ask about the reasoning behind the word banana. Like the rumors about Queen Celestia and cake, there were other rumors spreading about her love for bananas. She wondered if that had something to do with it. Not that she was going to ask. Not here.

Luna walked to a small table, where there were different whips assembled in a neat line. “As you can see here, I have my whip collection on display. I have many to choose from, but this one will be my go-to discipline tool. I'm introducing you now, but your obedience will determine if you will meet again, and to what degree.”

The whip's main body was a dark, midnight blue. It split off into different sections, or tails, each one either black, midnight blue or purple. The cat o' nine tails was colored to Luna's liking. Her personal disciplinary method of choice.

The sight of the whip made Twilight draw in a nervous breath. The riding crop Cadence used was quick, with a simple enough shape. Each tail of the whip Luna bore was meant to inflict pain along with its sisters. She imagined it would sting. The obvious choice would have to be obedient and avoid the sting of the multiple tails.

Luna kept the cat o' nine tails with her, using her magic to tap it in the same manner Cadence had. “First, a test. You should be able to pass this with ease.”

Twilight was quizzed on what Cadence had taught her. Her egg head instincts kicked in strong, pulling from memory the answers that she hadn't realized she had latched onto with Cadence's teachings. She was questioned about the origins of their dark ritual, of her place in line and how to properly address each of them. In theory, in a calm setting like this, her brain worked quickly to seek the correct answers. Somehow in the haze of pleasure and pain that Cadence had introduced to her, she had remembered the right thing to say. Egg head until the end, maybe, but it proved to work in her favor for this task.

“As always, you are a diligent student,” Luna said. “Queen Celestia will be pleased. Your successful studies have always been something she has been proud of. This will work in your favor.”

The praise was small, but Twilight practically glowed with it. Everything she had known about Equestrian royalty might have been flipped upside down, but her studies were a constant in her life, just the same as before to assure her that her life was still somewhat normal.

“Now, then, to start. Along the wall to your right will be a table that is tall in height but lacking in length. Walk on your hind legs and find it. Drape your front legs over this table and wait for further instruction. Confirm my order.”

The words tumbled from Twilight's lips. “Yes, Mistress Luna.”

More of the hind leg walking. Twilight wanted to protest and question why, yet part of her understood the strange method behind this. Humiliation, plain and simple. This was a way of establishing order. Establishing dominance without having to raise a voice or a whip. Humiliation came from being put in an unnatural stance, forced to walk what seemed like miles across the room. The realization was a shock to her. She wasn't sure why she suddenly understood, but with the understanding came a certain power. Some of the fear of the unknown faded when the understanding set in.

This, like so many other things she had faced, was just one more test.

She was still shaky as she propped herself up on her hind legs. With the understanding of the walk on her side, she kept her chin up proudly, even as she wobbled. True to Luna's word was the table nearby. It was tall enough for her to lean on, at her current shaky stance, but it might have only been wide enough to support only a portion of her body. It seemed so far away with her unsteadiness. She drew in a breath and put one hoof in front of the other, praying that her focus would pay off.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Twilight was at the table. Her legs threatened to give out on her and drop her back to her natural four-legged stance but she steadied herself against the table, using it for support. It was just wide enough to lean her chest on.

There was the sound of the metal on stone, from the metal horse shoes on the bottom of the boots as Luna walked. The rhythmic sound grew closer until Luna was next to her. The Princess of the night chuckled. “However wobbly you may seem, you have good instincts. I intended to have you in that very stance. Stay still now.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Twilight said in confirmation, although she had not been given permission to speak. The confirmation must have been met with approval, because Luna said nothing to reprimand it.

Luna approached the front of the table, where two lengths of chain hung off of the side. One end of both lengths of chain was looped around the table leg and welded closed, not meant to come off. The other end of both lengths of chain held leather cuffs. The inner side of the cuffs were cushioned with fleece, as if to soften the grip of the leather. Wordlessly, Luna worked at the zipper and pulled at each of Twilight's front boots. Once they were free of her hooves, she let them fall carelessly to the floor, replacing them with a fleece-lined cuff.

“Stay still. There is more to come.” Luna's voice was soft but full of certain authority.

It wasn't as though Twilight had much of a choice. Chained to the table, she didn't have much room to move, unless she wanted to drag the table with her. She watched as Luna slipped from her line of sight. She couldn't turn and glance at the other Princess, but she did hear the abrupt rasp of another device opening, one she was sure was meant for her.

A spreader bar stood between Twilight's hind legs, ready to separate her. The black metal seemed to gleam in the dim lighting of the chamber. Luna maneuvered Twilight's hind legs apart, fastening the metal cuff of one side of the spreader bar around one hind hoof. The second hoof had to be pushed apart further to accommodate the spreader bar's width. Twilight fell forward onto her chest, thrown off balance.

“Almost done,” Luna said. “You're doing good so far, Princess. Very obedient. It's a good sign.”

Where Luna vanished off to next, Twilight didn't know. She heard the rattling of chains above her, coming closer. There must have been a pulley system of some sort in this room as well. Luna's hoof steps returned and Twilight felt her wings being pulled up and bound into cuffs as well, at the base. She could still technically move her wings, but the range of movement was bound by the leather cuffs that held her in place.

Next to be bound was her tail, gathered up and away from her sensitive areas in the same manner that Luna's was. Twilight felt her tail pulled higher up and bound. She felt bare, oddly exposed, with her tail pushed out of the way.

“Just a few more things,” Luna said, her voice soft once more.

Twilight couldn't get a reading off of her voice, of what those few things meant. She sounded so calm, as if this were an every day occurrence. Yet, with each new item that she was bound with, she felt a slight flicker of fear nip at her. She had never been this limited in her ability to move before.

“Open your mouth.”

Twilight obeyed the new command as Luna returned to her line of sight. A rubber ball was pushed into her mouth. She almost gagged at it, from surprise and the biting taste. It too was being bound to her, behind her head.

The final touches were a leash clipped to the ring at the front of her collar and a blindfold. The blindfold slipped over her eyes and blocked out what little light was available. It was this touch that completed her outfitting. Twilight was having trouble breathing from the ball gag, but with her movement and sight restricted, fear set in faster, flooding her like an ice cold river of adrenaline. She was completely exposed and restricted from moving, completely at Luna's mercy. Luna could do whatever she liked to Twilight and not only would Twilight not be able to see it coming, but she couldn't do anything to fight back.

Panic clawed its way up Twilight's throat.

Luna's voice broke through from in front of her, thankfully giving her some sense of direction and orientation. “I'm going to test you again, Twilight Sparkle. Answer to the best of your abilities. A nod for a yes, a shake of the head for a no. Alternatively, one hoof stamp for a yes, two for a no. Understood?”

Twilight swallowed the scream that threatened to escape her and nodded.

The questions Luna asked were more or less the same as before, just in a different order and with different wording. The answers should have been the same. Should have been. In a calm setting where Twilight felt as though she could fight back, the purple alicorn felt some sort of power. She felt confident. This was different. Bound, deprived of sight and movement and even the ability to communicate properly, Twilight's brain scrambled itself. She knew the answers, she knew them. She just couldn't think of them fast enough. Her nods or hoof stamps were half guesses, based off of fleeting thoughts that entered her mind. She had no idea of if what she had answered was correct or not, and Luna never gave any indication. The questions just kept coming, with no confirmation of right or wrong.

When it was over, Twilight only felt disappointment flood her. She had failed. Luna hadn't said anything of it yet, but she knew. Her egg head intuition never proved wrong in her studies.

“I'm disappointed, Twilight,” Luna's voice said, moving behind her. The soft fall of hooves and metal horse shoes on stone followed the sound of her voice. “You did so well earlier, when there was no pressure. Now that you're all pretty and bound, you can't seem to handle it.”

Failed. Twilight hung her head. What would happen to her now that she had failed this test? Panic crawled its way through the disappointment once more, making her breath come out in fast, short gasps. Whatever Luna decided to do as punishment, she wouldn't be able to see it coming.

“Now what exactly would happen if this were a real situation and someone more cruel than I were to hold you captive and torture you for government secrets? Would you crack under the pressure like you just did? Weak Princess. A Princess cannot rule if she breaks as easily as you did. She would crumble under the first neigh-sayer. A Princess must be strong under pressure, must be able to keep her head and her wits about her.”

An apology was ripe on Twilight's lips but she bit it back, not wanting to incur more of Luna's disappointment and possible wrath. Instead, she kept her head down. That was, until she felt the slight tickle of something run over her body. She jumped and shivered.

“Now, how to ensure that this doesn't happen again?”

The cat o' nine tails was caressing her. Twilight couldn't see, but she could guess. Each tail of the whip ran over her back, stirring up every strand of fur it came across. It was a hint. Luna meant to whip her. Twilight could feel that a mile away.

“You answered seven questions incorrectly. Seven kisses from my whip should do it.”

Twilight tensed at Luna's words, expecting the whip to smack her at any second. Instead, the whip continued to caress its way down her back, heading to her flank and tail.

“Ready?”

Luna didn't wait for Twilight to nod. The question was the only warning she gave, before the nine-tailed whip cracked down on Twilight's rear. Twilight couldn't help the muffled scream that escaped her, muffled only by the ball stuffed in her mouth.

“That's one.”

Luna's discipline continued, a smack then a count off. Her whip kissed different areas of Twilight's body, although it remained on the same rear half. Her buttocks were smacked; her flanks and the base of her tail received the same cruel kisses. Pain from one smack was enough to handle, but in continuous servings, Twilight's body didn't know how to process the sensation. Her vision turned white and her mind blanked with each smack.

When it was over, she could only pant as her body tried to recover.

“Again, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Again?

With that, Luna's questioning began once more. If Twilight thought it was hard to keep up when she had first been bound, she was wrong. Oh, so wrong. Her bottom tingled with pain and the pain threatened to numb out her mind. How did Luna expect her to be able to answer coherently when all she could think about was the pain?

“That requires an answer, Twilight.”

Crap. Twilight hadn't been paying attention to the question. What had Luna said? Should she guess?

She cried out again as the whip connected with her flank.

“I don't like being ignored, Twilight. An answer?”

Moving her head seemed beyond her, so Twilight tapped her hoof once. Luna's questioning picked up again, this time with questions that weren't familiar at all. They weren't a part of the first two tests.

When it was over, Twilight again knew that she had failed. Shame overwhelmed her this time. What good was she here when she couldn't think? Luna's questions were so fast, so different each time, that she couldn't keep up.

“Twelve questions missed.”

Twelve licks of the whip. Fear grabbed hold of her first, wracking her chest with sobs. Her blindfold was dampened with tears.

Instead of a whipping, there was a pause. Luna's voice came loud as it lectured, although Twilight could have sworn there was a shake of hesitance in there. “You must focus, Princess. Should our great land ever be threatened by anyone truly harmful, they would treat you far worse than I. They would have no mercy in truth. And in truth, if you wish to stop, you know the word to do it.”

The way out was a clear opening. It was also pure cowardice. Was Twilight that weak? Was she ready to give up and crawl out of this place a failure? Cadence had surely gone through this. Luna might have as well. She was the newest of the Princesses. The newest to rule and responsibility. Luna was right. Should any hostile situation rise, this would seem like child's play compared to what someone with actual cruel intent could do.

Her voice was strong as she spoke around the ball gag. “No. I know the answers. I know I do.”

Any warmth in Luna's voice vanished at her defiance. “Then twelve kisses from my whip you shall receive. And one more for speaking out of turn.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, my lovely readers. Luna's section caught me a little off guard in how to portray it, so I spent some time waffling between my writer's block and wondering how readers would take this. It's a bit shorter than expected maybe, but I'm going to make up for it with the next chapter. Oh, it will be juicy...

Btw, I do appreciate it when you guys point out wrong usage of wording and other typos I might have let slip. I need to get on fixing what I missed in the last chapter. Don't be afraid to continue that kind of treatment with me, I need my readers to whip my butt into shape and make me a better writer as well <3