Two rows of leafy, green birch trees rose up on either side of Twilight Sparkle as she trotted along the leafy path. The trees were old, knotted and decaying in parts. Nonetheless, they proudly waved in the warm wind which lifted the Unicorn's mane. The path was far older than the trees. It was made up of stone that had crumbled away to nothingness in parts. Grass and weeds pushed through cracks along the road. A bird sang in the distance.

Twilight's magic held a birch wood paddle aloft in the air which she laid on her back. She had carved it herself, an offering and a means of atonement if she deemed her worthy of punishment. It was according to the good and ancient rites. Bad fillies needed to be punished. Her eyes were downcast as one treading the Path of Penance should be. The paddle was held in the glow of her magenta field.

Here and there, the path had vanished altogether. Moss spread green fingers over the surviving stone. A few stray dandelions sprouted from the rock. She tread past them, the yellow flowers teasing her legs as she went by. The rock was coarse against her hooves, but the grass was soft and comforting. She could imagine what the road must have looked like three-thousand years before. Worshipers from all over Equestria would have come, bearing offerings upon their withers. The road would have gleamed in the light of the sun. It would have been clean, kept free from weeds or other vegetation by those clergy who would unkindly come to be called zealots in succeeding centuries.

Twilight paused at one giant stone block, pressing her hoof against it. It was rough, worn away by the tread of thousands before her. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions. The years had not been kind to this road. The trees overhead met in a canopy of thick branches and clouds of leaves.

The sun could only barely pierce the gloom of the grove, speckling upon the ground in points of light and poking out from between the leaves. The path disappeared entirely. Twilight continued her trek, her body beginning to shiver in anticipation the further into darkness she walked. She found herself shrouded entirely in darkness, but continued her journey. The sunlight returned as the trees thinned out. A little, wooden bridge spanned a clear, blue river. Twilight could see the rocks beneath the rushing waters, small white river stones. Twilight prostrated herself, touched the water with her hoof and pressed the same hoof to the chakra beneath her horn. "Ave Sol Regina."

She stepped up onto the bridge and crossed it, coming into a valley ringed by pines. Her hooves crushed the orange needles as she tread through the land. The temple was coming into view.

She stopped and gazed at the rough, alabaster pillars. In ancient days they would have been painted in the colors of the rainbow for the rainbow magic, the source of all creation. There were six spiraling rings of stone and each stone bore inscriptions which the rains and misfortunes of centuries had rendered illegible.

There had never been a roof for this temple. In those days, religion was different. Simpler for a simpler time. She entered the temple and walked towards the center ring. In the very center of the rings was an altar and next to the altar was her Goddess. Her coat was as alabaster and pure as the pillars within which she stood. Her mane floated and waved in all the colors of the rainbow. Her wings were spread to their full length and a gentle smile adorned her face.

Twilight knelt and kissed her hoof, her lips lingering upon the Princess's fur. Though Twilight had worn nothing, Celestia had dressed up for this occasion. In addition to her crown and torc with the amethyst in the center, gold filligree lined her wings. Her mane and tail were braided in roses and a ruby hung from her horn and rested in the place above her eyes.

Twilight gazed at her Goddess and planted a second kiss on her other hoof, tasting the dirt and grass that clung to them. She slowly drew her tongue up Celestia's pastern. Celestia drew her hoof up and stroked Twilight's mane. "Why hast such a beautiful creature come to this place by way of the Path of Penance? Surely, a pure and innocent filly such as thyself meant to come to this shrine by way of the Path of Righteousness and what you carry is but an offering?"

Twilight drew her gaze downward. "Oh, but I'm not a good filly. I'm not a good filly at all. I'm a very...naughty filly."

Celestia traced Twilight's cheek, pressed her hoof to the Unicorn's lips. Twilight shivered. Celestia's lips turned upwards at the display of the submissive, vulnerable maiden before her. Twilight hesitated before nuzzling Celestia's chest to which Celestia responded by kissing her horn. "Tell me, what hast thou done?"

Twilight leaned deeper into her chest as if trying to merge with her then she placed her mouth against her ear. "Sometimes when I'm studying I allow myself to get distracted by thoughts of thee. Of thy embrace."

"Dost thou believeth that to be an offense worthy of the paddle?"

"There's more. Even though I thinketh of thee always, I sometimes arrive late for our meetings."

Celestia's lips grazed her ear. "I forgiveth thee. Also, five minutes early is not late."

"There's even more. Though I have eyes for only thee, though thy touch is all I yearn for, thou art not always with me so I...fulfill my longings with my own hoof or magic."

Celestia's wings stiffened. "Naughty though that is, I forgiveth thee."

Twilight stepped away from Celestia and crouched low, presenting her rump for punishment or pleasure, whichever her beloved mistress deemed fit. "But I have heard that the Goddess chastiseth the ones whom she loveth. So tell me, dost thou love me?"

Her answer was the smack of the paddle across her rump. She jumped and a hiss of air escaped her lips. A second whack fell beneath the first, leaving a bloom of warmth. It was sharp, a line of fire on her backside. The sting faded away and the warmth remained, a nearly pleasant tingle.

Celestia's breath was hot against her ear as she used her magic to trail the paddle across her purple posterior. "I loveth thee, Twilight. This is the chastening of love."

A third lick fell, harder than the others. The sting contained that same tingly sensation that worked into her bottom, released a thrill. "Hast thou ever felt this manner of reprimand before?"

"No, Princess, never."

"I shall be merciful then. Three more spanks."

The fourth spank was the hardest yet. Twilight felt her knees buckle, pain building up to a nearly unbearable degree. Quickly, a fifth slap of wood landed. The tingly feeling was building with the pain, her nerves alight with sensation. Yet, she could not say if that sensation was pain or pleasure.

Celestia gave the final blow, the paddle whistling through the air as it spanked the Unicorn's behind.

Twilight gasped. "More, please, more."

"More? My, thou art a naughty filly. I'd almost thinketh that thou were enjoying this." Celestia slipped her hoof between Twilight's legs. Twilight gasped and a seventh whack fell and then an eighth. Celestia stroked her bottom again and again, stoking an inferno of sensation, tingly and hot and with an unbearable pleasure or pain, she couldn't be sure of where one ended and the other began.

Her breath came out in ragged gasps, in time to the paddle's spanks and the hoof caressing her marehood. Her entire body was awash with sensation, her mind subsided altogether. "B-bananas!"

The spanking stopped immediately and the paddle was thrown away as if it were a viper. Celestia enfolded Twilight in her wings, pulled her into a hug. "Are you alright, did I go too far, was it too hard-"

Her tirade of questions were cut off by a kiss. Twilight wrapped both her hooves around Celestia's neck and shuddered as she orgasmed in her lover's embrace. "It was...wow."

Celestia grinned. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes. Just yes. I stopped it because it was just a bit too intense. Harder than the brush or your hoof. It wasn't the pain exactly, it was just this intensity, I liked it, but I'll need to get used to it."

"The paddle is rather severe, though I believe I got into it too much. There's just something about seeing you squirm and those adorable squeaks you make when getting spanked."

Twilight blushed. "I squeak when getting spanked?"

"Like a mouse."

Twilight paused and lit her horn up. Celestia jerked and began to moan as Twilight's magic caressed her intimate places. The energy was like velvet rubbing against her lips and nub. "T-Twilight...oh...oh, Twilight!"

She reached her peak, fluids dripping onto the grass as it had upon these grounds in days gone by. Twilight nuzzled her and Celestia nuzzled back. "Tia, I think that was the first time I ever used the safe word."

Celestia collapsed down onto the ground, her mind foggy for a few moments from afterglow. Twilight nestled in beside her. Celestia nodded. "I do believe you're right, Twilight."

"And you stopped. Immediately. No hesitation."

Celestia stared at her. "Of course. I would never wish to harm you. This was but play for our mutual enjoyment."

Twilight rested her head against Celestia. "It's just...I trust you and to know you respect that, to confirm that trust, it's an amazing feeling. I love you."

Their lips met. "I love you too, Twilight."

For a while, they just leaned against each other until Twilight spoke. "Tia, why did this festival fall out of favor?"

Celestia hummed in thought as her mind sifted through the long and winding centuries. "Too many stallions and a few mares were coming merely to be spanked by young and nubile priestesses rather than truly atoning for their wrongdoings. It was never intended to be an orgy, that's what the Harvest Festival is for. There's...there's another reason."

Twilight rubbed her cheek against the Princess's. "Go on."

Celestia heavily sighed. "I used to come to every festival held in Canterlot. I still do. I stopped coming to this one. Secluded myself."

"Why?"

Another heavy sigh. "I no longer felt worthy of forgiving sins. That was an important part of the ritual. It wasn't just punishment, it was a rite of penance ending in forgiveness. Thy sins are forgiven thee, go in peace. I no longer felt worthy to forgive sins when I couldn't forgive myself after what happened to Luna. The ceremony was discontinued when I stopped showing up and Ponies found other ways of finding the peace of forgiveness. New rituals. Religion changes, the world changes."

Twilight pressed up against her, offering her the comfort of her presence. "You know, you have to forgive yourself at some point."

Celestia smiled and wrapped a wing around Twilight. "I get better every day."

They rested in one another. Celestia finally broke the silence. "It's been a while since you requested this odd lesson plan in the ways of the flesh. What have you learned my faithful lover?"

"Well, I've learned that sex feels good. Really good. It's an expression of love-or it should be. It involves mutual trust and vulnerability. It creates a new sense of intimacy with another Pony. There's a lot of psychology involved. I feel a lot more comfortable with my body."

"I'm glad. You have a beautiful body and you should be comfortable in it." She rested her muzzle in Twilight's neck eliciting giggles. "You have a beautiful soul and mind too."

"Thanks. So do you."

Their lips met in another kiss. A bird sang in the distance and the sun journeyed steadily towards the western sky. In a long forgotten temple, two Ponies in love nuzzled and cuddled, kissed and loved.

Author's Note

Ave Sol Regina-Hail Queen Sun

Old English is hard.