Discord's Gift by DCFTEF

(Guard / Twilight)

M/F, whip, stocks, bruises, blood, non-consensual

 

(27/04/2014)

 

 

---

 

There were certainly more enjoyable things to be studying.

Twilight Sparkle would have preferred to be reading up on the life of Starswirl the Bearded...the adventures of his student, Clover the Clever, or the early days of Celestia & Luna's reign, but instead there was serious work to be done. The annual Equestria Law & Justice Conference was just a few days away and this was Twilight's first year sitting on the panels.

This wasn't going to be a cloistered conclave of friends, like the recent Princess Summit in the Crystal Empire. That had actually been enjoyable once Twilight got over her nervousness. The Law & Justice Conference gave the young Princess reason to be nervous all over again. It had a reputation for being a raucous free for all, spawning impassioned shouting matches that sometimes Princess Celestia couldn't even control. There would be representatives attending from every major city. The Equestrian Military always sent a strong delegation. Every important judge in the nation tried to attend and those who couldn't sent an aide in their place. Pony civil rights groups were there in force...and outside there would be crowds of protesters on every side.

She'd attended the conference before, as a page, but she'd never held an important decision making role. Whatever she did was sure to make some of the crowd happy and some of the crowd very angry at her. It was downright scary.

 

What concerned her most was the Sentencing Limits panel on day two. She would be the only Princess in the room for that debate...the other three having played a quick game of 'Not Me!', leaving the most junior Princess with the undesirable job. There were a lot of issues to be debated; this meeting was sure to turn ugly.

 

At issue would be the maximum sentences judges were allowed to hand down for various crimes. Certain politicians pointed their hooves at unfavorable crime statistics and demanded harsher penalties like in the old days. Civil rights groups roared at such demands, pointing out that Equestria already allowed public whipping & paddling, and if it wasn't working a new approach should be tried.

 

Twilight Sparkle had always thought herself a kind and forgiving pony, but the more she read the more she found herself siding with the pro-punishment crowd.

Back in the Medieval days before Celestia's monarchy began the tortures inflicted on ponies were absolutely horrifying. Hoof splitting was a common punishment for Earth ponies. Pegasi could have their wings smashed with hammers, and Unicorns had their horns sawed off. There was even something called the 'Pear of Anguish' which was inserted directly into a pony's...well...the whole idea sent a chill down Twilight's spine and she had to turn the page without reading any more.

But there were other ideas which sounded more reasonable. Longer stays in the Canterlot Dungeon? Public paddling for the first offense, rather than waiting for the second or third like present law required? Heavier & more painful punishment tools perhaps? Twilight hated the idea of making any pony suffer...but these were criminals after all, they'd made their choice to break the law.

 

That voice was unmistakable.

If only there was some sort of punishment that would make an impression on Discord.

 

The draconequus coiled himself around the annoyed purple alicorn, peering over her shoulder at what she was reading.

She tried to shoo him away with her tail, as she would a troublesome fly, but it had little effect.

It was not that easy to get rid of Discord though, and Twilight knew it.

Twilight Sparkle looked down to see that she had his eagle claw and lion's paw grafted onto her body alongside her own two front hooves.

With a resigned sigh the chimera snapped the toes on his lizard foot, restoring all appendages to their rightful place.

Discord picked up a book and flipped through its pages.

 

The annoyed pony sighed. Discord obviously wasn't going to leave her alone. Maybe if she actually acknowledged his presence he'd get bored and leave on his own.

Twilight froze. What exactly was Discord saying? She was wary of his tricks but her usual way of doing things was just not working...and time was running out.

 

Discord's bushy gray eyebrows raised.

Twilight was skeptical; Discord always had an agenda.

The trickster shook his head.

It was a rather clumsy attempt to goad Discord into using his magic for her own purposes, but Twilight hoped he'd take the bait. To her surprise he hesitated.

 

Looking back on it later, Twilight knew she should have proceeded with more caution. If a reckless prankster like Discord doesn't think something is a good idea...it might not be a good idea. But hours of pouring over old histories with little to show for it had worn away at Twilight Sparkle's patience. She decided to push, and goad Discord into showing her what a punishment from the Equestrian Middle Age was like.

Discord snorted in derision.

Realizing she'd struck a nerve Twilight teased him a bit.

 

Discord placed his lion paw on Twilight Sparkle's head and she immediately felt dizzy. The young Princess fought to keep her eyes open, but she lost that fight. The floor seemed to evaporate away beneath her hooves, and she felt herself being carried away into a dream.

 

There followed a flash of light, and Twilight regained full consciousness along with a splitting headache.

It took her a few moments to realize where she was, but when she regained her bearings Twilight was shocked.

She panicked, and struggled to get free, but the chains and bars were real.

Nobody answered...Twilight realized she was alone, sitting in a cage on the back of a wagon. She tried to zap the chains with her magic, but to her horror nothing happened. She looked up...her horn was missing.

With a clattering bang the door of her cell opened. There stood an Earth stallion with unmistakable yellow eyes. It was actually a relief.

Twilight rubbed her temples, at least the headache was fading away.

Twilight's eyes grew wide with horror.

Discord shook his head.

 

Twilight looked up to where Discord was pointing. There on a platform sat a number of important looking Unicorns, one of which looked just like Princess Platinum from the Hearths Warming Eve legend. Her crown and robes looked remarkably similar to the costume from the pageant, although the Princess herself did not look anything like Rarity.

Discord shook his head again.

 

Twilight's questions were cut short by a loud crack and a scream. Although it was out of her view the young alicorn knew that a pony was being whipped nearby. The dignitaries watched with apathy, sipping wine and eating bits of fruit as the howls of pain continued.

Discord frowned. Instead he grasped Twilight and pulled her down from the wagon.

 

With a gasp, Twilight realized this WAS what she'd asked for. Temporarily disarmed by the shock, she allowed Discord to lead her to the center of a large crowd, where thankfully the screams had stopped, and a near unconscious young stallion was being untied from the flogging frame.

Discord pushed the terrified mare forward toward the frame. Two more guard stallions stepped forward to assist him.

 

The other ponies seemed oblivious to whatever Twilight and Discord said, they went about their business strapping the terrified victim down for her flogging.

He leaned in close and assured her.

Twilight fought against her restraints, but she was strapped down tight. Without magic she was as helpless as a foal...but what she faced was not a punishment for foals.

 

A herald stood up and addressed the crowd;

Twilight looked to Discord, who seemed genuinely unable to do anything to stop this.

Princess Platinum turned her nose up and laughed.

 

Twilight Sparkle gasped in horror as she saw a Unicorn to her left uncoil the instrument of her doom.

Twilight said nothing in reply, she was hyperventilating and struggling against her restraints. It was a vine like those that still grew in the nearby EverFree forest, covered in thorny barbs, dried out to give it sinewy strength.

The stallion wrapped the whip around his hoof a few times and swung it through the air. From their vantage point the audience gasped, pitying the poor filly about to be tortured for a seemingly petty crime. What she was really guilty of was challenging the authority of the Unicorns, and in this time period that would not be tolerated.

 

Tears of panic and terror were already streaming down Twilight's face as the stallion took his position behind her. He checked his aim, then with a nod to the dais delivered the first lash without warning.

Twilight gasped, unprepared for the burning agony...then she let it out with a scream. There was nothing else she could do. She had no magic, the restraints had her secured tightly and Discord seemed powerless to help her escape. A second lash tore across her rump; this time Twilight felt every thorn scratch her tender skin.

 

In modern times, ponies facing corporal punishment had their legs secured tightly together, to shield sensitive genitals, but no such courtesy was provided here in the Medieval era where Twilight was trapped. With her legs strapped down to either side of the frame her most delicate bits were exposed and the third lash caught them with a direct hit. The suffering mare screamed so hard a stringy wad of snot shot out of her nose, smacking Discord directly in the face. She felt dizzy and sick to her stomach but the terrible blows did not cease.

 

By the sixth lash Twilight's rump was a mess of terrible looking welts. Mercifully, only that third blow had caught her sensitive mare parts, but that was enough to inflame them painfully. The prisoner was only a quarter way through, and she was already close to throwing up from the pain. She earned no mercy though...not until the ninth lash when she actually did throw up.

Her executioner paused while Discord scrambled to lay fresh sawdust over her puddle of vomit.

Twilight coughed and hiccuped, tears and drool dripping from her muzzle.

The stallion was getting impatient.

All he could do was give her a sorrowful look and step away. Twilight Sparkle's face twisted up into a grotesque mask of misery and terror as she realized the torture was going to continue.

 

The ninth, tenth and eleventh lashes ripped across the screaming mare's rump, and the twelfth caught her anus cruelly. It was so painful that Twilight convulsed and wrenched her back muscles against the restraints. Now even screaming hurt, but Twilight could not stop. The terrible whip felt like it was stripping the skin right off her behind...it was agony beyond anything she could have imagined.

Poor Twilight swooned. She could not imagine enduring even one more lash...much less twelve more. There was a short pause allowed, in which Discord was permitted to give her water. She drank deeply, but threw it up immediately.

 

Helpless, Twilight moaned and whimpered in anticipation of the next cruel blow. She did not have to wait long...another searing hot stripe of pain ripped across her backside; this time she could feel tufts of fur being torn out by the root. It hurt so badly that there was little difference between the actual lashes and waiting for the next. She screamed in agony and even that hurt...her throat dry and burned by her own stomach bile. There was no misery in Twilight's experience to compare with this, and the greatest horror was that there was no escape. If somepony had demanded the tactical secrets of Canterlot Castle, or the hidden location of the Alicorn amulet Twilight would have blurted them out immediately...anything to end this terrible torture. But no pony was asking questions...there was no escape.

And then Twilight Sparkle passed out.

 

She awoke seconds later with cold water dripping from her face.

Discord looked on disconsolately. In his present form there was nothing he could do to help.

Twilight wailed, begging for mercy;

She felt the warm trickle of blood running down her thighs...her rump had to be mangled by this point. She'd be scarred for life.

 

There was a brief discussion amongst the important Unicorns on the dais, and finally a decision.

The executioner flashed Twilight a cruel smile.

 

Twilight Sparkle tried to stand, but her back was too badly wrenched...she needed to be carried back to the wagon. Discord stayed with her, laying a wet cloth over her bleeding rump.

He petted her mane and tried to soothe the bawling filly.

 

She lifted her head. She was back in the library. There were birds singing outside...her cup of tea was still steaming.

Shrugging his shoulders, Discord replied;

He snapped his eagle claw fingers and Twilight's body was multiplied six times, all arranged in a circle so she had a view of her own rear-end. It was unblemished.

The fear, the torture, the pain...it all boiled over into rage and Twilight turned on Discord furiously.

His eyebrows raised in genuine surprise and he replied calmly;

 

Blinded by furious tears, Twilight Sparkle attacked Discord, pummeling him with her hooves and screaming obscenities until she had no more strength left. He took it stoically until she finally collapsed against him, sobbing in helpless rage. Then he wrapped himself around her, and held Twilight as she cried out the last of her fear and anger.

 

It took a long time for Twilight to regain her composure, but even after she did she remained curled up in Discord's embrace.

To her surprise he shook his head.

Upon consideration, Twilight found that she was not surprised by his answer. It actually made sense.

He shrugged his shoulders and replied;

The purple alicorn let out a little laugh, the first since her ordeal.

Twilight snuggled her head deeper into his fur and whispered;

 

Whatever Discord's motives, Twilight Sparkle felt like she had been given an important gift...a first hand insight into the cruel past which must never be allowed to return. She would go into the daunting Sentencing Limits panel armed with more knowledge that she ever could have accrued from books...knowledge that had come from the most unlikely source imaginable. Perhaps he didn't even know it, but Discord was a much better friend than he would ever admit to.

 

THE END