Epilogue: Vigilance and Stalwart Shield*

Vigilance stood behind Stalwart Shield in a locker room. With nopony else around, the blue unicorn was preparing to administer his own brand of punishment on the recalcitrant pegasus. Vigilance smirked as he tightened the straps around Stalwart Shield's hooves.

"No, please!" Stalwart Shield begged, "Not again! I can't take another session. The merciless pounding is more than I can take."

"What's wrong?" Vigilance asked, grunting, "I guess it's not as fun when you're on the receiving end, is it?"

"I was never this rough on anypony, you self-righteous dick," Stalwart Shield muttered as he winced in pain, "It's too tight! This is cruel and unusual punishment."

"Quit acting like a little filly. I'm almost done," Vigilance said, straining, "At least I remembered the protection this time."

To accentuate his remark, Vigilance tapped his fore-hoof against the hard protective cup covering Stalwart Shield's genitals. Vigilance had spent the last several minutes helping the whining pegasus put on the protective padding that now covered his entire body.

After it was proven that Stalwart Shield and his fellow dishonorable guards were in league with Cadance, Celestia had threatened to punish them most severely.

In order to avoid being shipped off to the front lines of Zebra-bwei, Celestia offered Stalwart Shield and his friends one last chance at redemption. This required them to spend their time assisting in a mare's self-defense class.

"It really is poetic justice," Vigilance said, gloating, "Your new job is to teach mares how to protect themselves from stallions like yourself."

"Bite me," Stalwart Shield muttered as Vigilance tightened the last straps on the body armor.

"There we go. Nice and secure," Vigilance said as he levitated a whistle around his neck, "We wouldn't want another accident to happen, now would we?"

"Yeah, 'accident,'" Stalwart Shield grumbled sarcastically. When he said the word 'accident,' the pegasus made quotation marks in the air using his wing tips.

During last week's demonstration, Stalwart Shield's cup had somehow managed to fall off moments before he got kicked in the groin. This resulted in him writhing in pain on the ground as he was subjected to the full force of the nut shot. Looking back on the event, he didn't think his cup fell off by mere coincidence and guessed that Vigilance's magic was somehow responsible.

Giving a heavy sigh, Stalwart Shield followed Vigilance out of the stallions' locker room and towards the self-defense class.

Inside the gym, two rows of ponies faced each other. One was a row of mares who were being instructed on how to defend themselves. The other row consisted of Stalwart Shield's friends, who had been given the same punishment. All the former guards had turned in their armor in exchange for white helmets, white padded vests and protective cups.

Stalwart Shield took his place at one end of the row and stared at the mare directly across from him. She was a pretty green earth pony with blond pig tails and freckles. Stalwart Shield felt his binding cup grow even tighter as he leered at the attractive mare.

Once Vigilance blew his whistle, the stallions stood at attention. All the mares looked at Vigilance as he instructed them on what they'd be doing here today.

"You are here to learn self-defense," Vigilance said loudly as he walked between the two rows of ponies on the padded floors. The mares looked at each other excitedly, while the stallions across from them wore expressions that ranged from mild disinterest to annoyance.

For the purpose of instructing the class, Vigilance had memorized the steps in Iron Will's self-defense pamphlet.

"Never be afraid to tell your assailant that 'No Means No,'" Vigilance said, "There are many decent ponies out there who understand the need for mutual consent in sexual partners. Unfortunately, there are also some ponies who we'll refer to as "N.M.E's." Your N.M.E. think that 'No Means Eeyup' and will use you sexually unless you learn proper defense techniques." The mares looked slightly uncomfortable as they stood across from the row of padded stallions.

"According to statistics from the Equestrian Health Organization, a mare is raped in Equestria every two minutes," Vigilance said gravely.

"If she's raped every two minutes, I bet her cooch is so loose that it drags along the ground when she walks," a grey Earth pony stallion whispered to Stalwart Shield. Normally, the pegasus would've smirked at misogynistic humor like that, but he was so angry with Vigilance and his punishment in general that he didn't even crack a smile.

Stalwart Shield wasn't the only one who heard the joke, as Vigilance soon walked over to the grey stallion and looked him in the eye.

"I believe I just heard you volunteer to demonstrate," Vigilance said, narrowing his eyes. The grey Earth pony gulped and reluctantly stepped forward. Vigilance asked the grey stallion and the mare standing across from him to move to the middle of the two rows.

The mare was a lavender pegasus with glasses and a lime green mane. Her cutie mark depicted two bright green round melons. She looked up at the grey stallion, who looked like an intimidating hoofball player with his helmet and padding. Vigilance walked beside the mare.

"What's your name?" Vigilance asked politely.

"Dewey Melon," the mare said.

"Dewey, today you're going to learn self-defense," Vigilance said, "I'll teach you what to do and Blazing Buckler here will assist me."

He instructed Dewey Melon to turn around so her behind was facing her assailant. She let out a timid squeak as Blazing Buckler mounted her, resting his fore-hooves on her flank.

"Nice melons," Blazing Buckler whispered to her as he rubbed his padded fore-hoof against her cutie mark. Dewey Melon grit her teeth as a chill ran down her spine.

"Tell him that no means no," Vigilance said, seeing the mare start to panic.

"No means no!" Dewey Melon shouted, "Get off of me now!"

"Shut up!" Blazing Buckler said, quoting his lines, "Don't resist or I swear to Celestia I'll kill you." Dewey felt her heart race as the stallion leaned forward. Dominating a mare while groping her was Blazing Buckler's favorite part of the demonstration. Unfortunately for him, it was always short-lived. Seeing the panic in the mare's eyes, Vigilance offered her some words of advice.

"Always fight back," Vigilance said, "A stallion's most vulnerable spot is located between his legs." Dewey Melon hesitated for a moment as her padded assailant brushed up against her privates. She let out a terrified squeak and Vigilance knew she needed further prompting.

"When somepony won't follow the rules, then kick him hard in the family jewels!" Vigilance shouted, quoting directly from Iron Will's pamphlet.

Raising her hind-hooves off the ground, the mare bucked hard, connecting with the protective cup. The force of her kick sent Blazing Buckler falling flat on his ass. The grey stallion winced in pain as he rolled onto his side, covered his groin area with his fore-hooves.

Dewey Melon stood there beaming at her accomplishment. She assumed that Blazing Buckler's whimperings were still part of the act.

In actuality, the pain he felt was quite genuine. In an effort to adequately punish the stallions, the cheapest of materials were used on their protective coverings. Even when the cups were securely in place, they provided only the most basic of protection to the groin area, due to their flimsy construction.

Once the technique had been successfully demonstrated, the other mares were eager to try it themselves. The line of students advanced towards the stallions and turned around in order to assume the position. The padded guards hesitated to make a move, because they knew what would happen if they did. Vigilance blew his whistle impatiently, which prompted the other stallions to mount their respective mares from behind and try to hold them down.

Stalwart Shield stood there apathetically as he waited to feel the searing pain in his nethers. Being a skilled apple farmer, the green mare bucked the pegasus with enough force to send him flying into the padded gym wall.

"Ow," Stalwart Shield said in a high, squeaky voice. Sliding down the wall, he teetered for a moment before falling flat on his face.

Cries of 'NO' and other shouts of defiance echoed throughout the gym as the mares kicked their assailants squarely in the junk. One by one, the stallions fell to the ground as they were struck hard in the gonads.

The self-defense classes continued for weeks. During that time, dozens of mares had bucked their hind-hooves directly against Stalwart Shield's crotch. All the guards took turns advancing on the mares, only to be incapacitated and emasculated.

After several months, the classes finally ended. Vigilance hung up his whistle and returned to his regular job as second-in-command of the Royal Guards, under Shining Armor.

Stalwart Shield and his friends were eventually allowed to leave the Royal Guards with an honorable discharge. The repeated nut shots during their self-defense assignment had permanently raised their voices by several octaves.

Eventually, Stalwart Shield and his friends became famous as Equestria's first all-male soprano choir. They performed renditions of popular songs, calling themselves 'The Royal Nards.'