Special Duty Service by DCFTEF

(Discipliner / Mare)

 

(25/01/2017)

 

 

---

 

It had been a long wait but at last Ivory Lance got on his hooves and walked into the office of his new superior, giving a polite nod to the secretary as he entered.

Ivory Lance walked in, tall, straight, at attention...the picture of perfect military bearing.

The Sergeant Major was considerably less formal.

He shuffled a few papers on his desk, sweeping them away into a drawer but leaving one folder.

 

Ivory Lance never dropped his rigid professional demeanour.

Sergeant Cannonade nodded...he was aware of all this. It was standard procedure for a new member of the Canterlot Special Disciplinary Detachment to act as an assistant a few times before he or she was called upon to deliver a punishment themselves. Break 'em in slow...it's a hard job.

The Sergeant Major opened up the last folder left on his desk.

Ivory Lance downplayed it;

Sergeant Cannonade's eyebrows rose.

He gave the junior NCO a respectful nod. In 20 years of service in the Equestrian military he'd never seen combat himself. It wasn't exactly envy, but he had a solemn admiration for this young Sergeant who had actually proven himself in battle.

Ivory sensed it was time to loosen up a bit; he answered less formally.

Again, the Senior Sergeant nodded.

He shifted subjects to the work of the day.

He pulled a paper from his desk and slid it over to Ivory Lance.

As Ivory read the Court Order for Punishment his supervisor continued;

Sergeant Cannonade rolled his eyes.

It had been part of a much bigger fraud case...dishonest bankers had been caught selling bad investment bonds to senior citizens. Princess Celestia took a hard line against that, and a lot of formerly rich ponies were going to be spending time in the dungeon...or worse the salt mines...for that. But one young stallion chose to save himself by giving evidence against his superiors, so earning a lighter sentence of 50 whacks administered privately.

 

He'd been pretty anxious and didn't sleep the night before, but when the time came and the young banker was led into the punishment room he completely lost his nerve. He began struggling and begging for mercy...Ivory Lance and the other assistant had to drag him across the room to the flogging frame, then force him down to be restrained. All the time the panicked young stallion fought them...screaming and pleading for help from the witnesses who had to sit and watch uncomfortably his shameful display.

 

By the time the struggling prisoner was finally strapped down tightly Ivory Lance was panting, nearly out of breath. He straightened up and reported;

He had to raise his voice; the banker never stopped his pitiful howling.

 

Luckily the trooper appointed to deliver the whipping that day was an experienced mare named Tre Buchet. Sergeant Buchet never showed a hint of emotion, neither pity nor anger. When it was time she stepped up, delivered 50 lashes to the rump of the screaming, bawling banker and when it was over professionally reported the sentence had been carried out.

Exausted (more by his own struggling than the beating) the stallion had to be helped up and almost carried back to the recovery room. When he was released later that day he was very ashamed of his conduct.

 

Ivory agreed.

Ivory Lance got up, snapped to attention and left with the same military professionalism he'd entered with.

 

First Ivory checked the punishment chamber and found it in perfect order.

The flogging frame was in position...all restraints in good working order.

There were chairs set up for the witnesses.

The room was clean...the dreaded leather strap was freshly oiled.

Satisfied, he moved on.

 

As Ivory walked down the hallway, hooves clopping on the old stones beneath them, he passed the stairway down to the old dungeons. No longer used, these were the ancient torture chambers from the bad old days before Princess Celestia's reign. Down there were preserved the terrifying tools of punishment used by the Unicorn Kings to keep their subjects in line.

Clamps and chisels for splitting the hooves of Earth ponies...

Hooks for ripping out Pegasus feathers...

Neck restraints and saws for cutting the horns off Unicorns.

Some of the awful tools worked equally well on all 3 races, like the rack where ponies were stretched until their joints tore apart, and blackthorn vine whips that cut flesh with every cruel lash.

 

Of course none of these things had been used for centuries...not since Celestia had taken over and reformed Equestrian justice. Now they were museum pieces, carefully preserved as reminders of a harsh past. Every year around Nightmare Night the old dungeons were opened up for tours; popular with goth teenagers and ponies with a macabre sense of curiosity.

 

More to come

Continuing...

 

5

Despite her abolition of cruel torture methods Princess Celestia was resolute in her belief that ponies who had broken the law could still benefit from a reddened rump, and that society would benefit from watching those miscreant ponies have their rumps reddened in a public setting.

In most small towns this was done by the local constable. Equestria was a peaceful country with no need for large police forces. If the town constable did not feel up to the task a detachment of the Royal Guard could be sent to assist, but it usually wasn't necessary.

In larger cities where there was more crime the police departments handled these unpleasant matters. Canterlot was special...as the capitol city its law enforcement was handled by the Royal Guard and City Guard, so a special detachment was set up to carry out punishments. It was considered a difficult assignment, delivering painful beatings went against the nature of Equestrian ponies, but there were always a few volunteers willing to take the responsibility. These were screened carefully to weed out sadists and perverts, leaving and elite group of trained professionals sworn to carry out the orders of the courts.

 

Today Ivory Lance would be delivering his first punishment. He stopped at the door of a locked cell and took a deep breath. Up to this point it had all been just training. Even when he was serving as an assistant...leading the unlucky ponies to the flogging frame, strapping them down...it hadn't been him delivering the torture. Today it would be, but first he was going to meet the filly he would be torturing.

 

The guard on duty in this section came down the hall to unlock the door for him.

Ivory thanked him and he unlocked the door.

The room was not a long term prison cell, simply a waiting room where the prisoner spent her time between her sentencing at court and the punishment. It was comfortable, with white painted walls, a barred window and a bed. There was a single chair, and the prisoner was allowed to have books.

Ivory Lance entered and saw the young shoplifter laying on the bed, but she jumped to her hooves when he entered.

She stammered nervously...the bags under her eyes told Ivory she hadn't slept much last night.

For this Ivory Lance dropped his strict military bearing and tried to put her at ease.

There was a plate of hay and vegetables on the chair, only nibbled at. Most convicts didn't have much appetite before their punishment was carried out. Ivory carefully moved her plate to the windowsill and sat down.

Juniper nodded, and sat down on her bed across from him.

Ivory spoke softly to put her at ease.

Ivory Lance continued to list the ponies who would be present at Juniper Jewel's whipping;

Juniper shook her head.

Ivory nodded understandingly.

She gulped and nodded. There was a lot of nodding.

Juniper shuddered. 30 lashes were going to be bad enough, but that was the deal. The risk of a few extra in exchange for a private whipping.

She brought her eyes up to meet his. Juniper wasn't crying, but her eyes were full of nervous tears.

Ivory Lance didn't know what to say. Sorry or not, it made no difference, he had a job to do.

 

Ivory Lance shook his head.

Juniper sniffled, but confirmed with a nod.

That seemed to scare Juniper;

Juniper said she understood.

 

Juniper was quiet for a while, pondering her fate, but she finally spoke.

Ivory got up.

She thanked him one last time and Ivory gave the code knock. The guard let him out of the cell. The next time he saw Juniper Jewel he'd be taking a strap to her behind.

 

Hours later, Sergeant Ivory Lance stood in the main punishment room waiting for his two assistants to arrive with the prisoner. Already the witnesses were in their places; the Court Officer to his right, the Doctor standing near the front of the flogging frame, where Juniper Jewel's head would be.

Juniper's court-appointed defense attorney and the independent observer from Amnesty Equestria sat together in the front row of seats, behind them sat Sergeant Major Cannonade. He wasn't required to attend every flogging, but since this was Ivory Lance's first time he was there to watch. No other witnesses had opted to attend.

 

It was the civil rights observer who first noticed the approach of the assistants and their prisoner. His ears perked up as he heard their hooves on the old stone floor; everyone noticed that so it was no surprise when the door slowly swung open.

 

Juniper Jewel stood between her two guards. She seemed relaxed and brave as she looked around the room, seeing all the ponies she'd been told to expect. But as her eyes scanned the chamber they reached the wooden flogging frame. She gasped.

Up to this moment her doom had all been in the future but the instant she saw the sturdy wooden apparatus it all became very real. This was happening right now.

 

The Court Officer spoke up.

But Juniper stumbled, taking a nervous step backward. She bumped into the armored flanks of her guards though; they had angled their rumps to cut off any ill-advised escape dashes.

The trembling filly forced herself to do as she was told, taking short, tentative steps into the chamber until she stood in front of the Court Officer and the dreaded flogging frame.

Juniper had been told not to answer herself. Instead her lawyer spoke for her;

Satisfied, the Court Officer motioned toward the flogging frame.

 

Juniper whimpered a little, but allowed the two assistants to lead her forward. As she passed Ivory she gave him a desperate glance. He'd been nice to her earlier, and just seeing him there calmed her down a little...even if he'd be the one whipping her behind in a few minutes.

 

The two troopers scooped up Juniper's front hooves and set them down on the wooden frame. Without giving her any time to object or back out they lifted her by the hips, sliding her forward into position on the wooden rack. The filly kicked her back hooves a little; unable to reach the floor she felt vulnerable and helpless.

The two guards were polite as they strapped her down; first her front fetlocks, then one heavy padded belt around her mid-section. Her legs were last; they tightened buckles around Juniper's thighs, just under her rump, then finally her rear fetlocks.

She tried to squirm a bit, but gulped in fear to find she could not move.

Sergeant Ivory Lance watched his two assistants secure the prisoner down to the punishment frame. This was a role he had filled twice before but he did not interfere with their work. Instead he turned away and prepared the instrument of discipline.

 

The regulation strap was thick, heavy leather, two and a half inches wide. It was doubled over with both loose ends locked into a wooden handle. There was careful consideration put into its design; the leather was thick enough that it took tremendous force to flatten it out fully...more force than would ever be used during a judicial punishment. This way the end was self cushioning. It had no loose tip to strike like a whip and therefore did not risk breaking the skin. Even the edges of the leather strap had been carefully sanded to ensure no sharp edges would injure the unlucky prisoner.

 

As an Earth pony, Ivory Lance held the wooden handle with his hoof and a leather lanyard around his fetlock. Unicorns often preferred to use their magic but they all had training to keep their blows uniform. Everything in the Royal Guard was carefully regulated.

With a nod he checked all the straps, finding them snug and satisfactory. Her tail was safely tied out of the way. There was nothing to wait for now. The Court Officer had given the go-ahead...the prisoner was ready. Every pony in the room was silent, save for an occasional sniffle or whimper from the prisoner. Following the training he'd received and the practice runs he'd done, Ivory Lance got down to business. He took up position behind the flogging frame, drew back the strap and delivered the first...

*WHACK*

Juniper Jewel's whole body tried to jump forward when the strap smacked her rump, but she could not move an inch. She was still panting, in disbelief of how much that first one had hurt when the second lash fell.

*WHACK*

That one felt even worse than the first. Panic entered Juniper's brain. This was just the second blow...'no, no, I can't take 30 of these!' Tears were already flowing from her eyes.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

 

The shoplifter howled but Ivory Lance kept up his steady, measured pace. One lash every 3 seconds...he'd practiced it enough that you could set a watch by it.

He had a view of the young mare's privates, which quivered violently between blows...he was careful to keep his aim lower, at the chubbier part of her rump.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

It was hard not to feel sympathy for the bawling filly in front of him. Earlier today she'd seemed genuinely contrite and sorry for her crime but now she had to suffer for it. Ivory had to put that out of his mind. This was the Court's decision and Celestia's law; he was just the government functionary appointed to carry it out.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

It didn't matter to Ivory if poor Juniper thought she could take it or not. He had a job to perform. She'd done the crime and now she had to suffer the consequences.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

 

The Court Officer gave the signal for 10. Up to this point Sergeant Lance had delivered all his blows to the same area at the chubby base of the prisoner's rump. As per his training it was time to vary his aim a bit.

Careful not to catch her sensitive exposed privates, Ivory let the next lash fall higher up. The instant it hit he knew it was no good.

*SPLAT*

He'd been too careful...that wasn't nearly hard enough to satisfy the Court Officer, who shook her head. That one had to be re-done.

*WHACK*

Juniper's reaction let him know he'd gotten it right that time.

Her punishment dragged on...

By number 19 Juniper Jewel was a sobbing, miserable mess. With each smack the strap added new fire to her already burning rear-end...no prize or thrill that shoplifting could provide was worth this agony. In-between blows she made sobbing promises to herself never to be so foolish again. When the strap landed all she could do was shriek.

 

Ivory Lance had been order to repeat 2 blows so far...the eleventh was too soft and the seventeenth only struck one cheek. It frustrated him not to be perfect...experienced guards could deliver a flawless, drama-free punishment with no repeat strokes but this was just his first time. His boss had told him no pony gets it perfect on the first try.

 

*WHACK*

He got the signal for 20.

Of course Ivory said nothing out loud. It was not his job to take sides here, just chastise the trembling rump in front of him.

*WHACK*

Her cries trailed off now, weaker than when the punishment had started. Juniper sounded less shocked at every lash, more contrite and mournful.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

But then Ivory under-estimated how tired he was getting. He wobbled and missed his aim badly. A hard lash fell way too low, across the back of Juniper's legs.

*CRACK*

 

She did not scream, she just gasped. It had been a mistake and hurt MUCH more than any of the carefully delivered blows before it.

She panted in agony. Ivory felt genuinely bad about the error, but knew it wouldn't be his decision whether or not to stop. In the pause the Doctor gave Juniper a quick look over...he nodded to confirm that she'd be fine.

Ivory Lance looked to the Court Officer, who was considering whether it should be counted. Technically it was not a proper lash...but it had clearly hurt so much that she consented to count it as official. Ivory was glad he didn't have to repeat that one.

Only a few more to go; but Juniper was beyond counting. She wasn't thinking of anything but the end...hoping and praying that each blow would be the last one.

*WHACK*

Ivory ignored the ache in his arm and gave each blow carefully, as perfectly as he could.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

Juniper's cries were just a hoarse, guttural moan now...the Doctor wiped her muzzle to prevent her gagging on runny snot.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

Last one. Ivory Lance knew he had to make it a good one.

He drew back and delivered on last spank to the lower part of her rear-end.

*WHACK*

 

And he waited. Everyone in the room was silent except for Juniper Jewel, still whimpering & sobbing. At last the Court Officer announced what every pony was waiting for.

That was all. The other ponies went about their work.

The assistants untied their prisoner.

The civil rights observer signed his report.

The Doctor gave Juniper a final check-up.

Ivory Lance took the lanyard off his wrist and put the strap away in its box.

 

With a degree of formality the Court Officer presented Sergeant Ivory Lance with a small bag.

50 bits. The traditional pay for a pony tasked to deliver a flogging. From that he dispensed 10 bits to each of his assistants...that too was an old tradition. They all got their regular pay from the military but this custom had been honored since the early years of Celestia's reign...supposedly to discourage guards from accepting bribes from prisoners to lighten their punishment. At least that's how the legend went.

 

The assistants led Juniper away. They had a stretcher in case she was too wobbly to walk, but the filly seemed okay apart from her painfully swollen rump. She was legally free to go now but most ponies spent a few hours in a comfortable recovery room.

Before she was led away, Juniper paused and gave Ivory a shy smile that seemed to convey;

A few hours later, after completing his paperwork (it was the military; there was ALWAYS paperwork) Ivory Lance trotted down to the recovery room to see if Juniper had left yet.

The young mare was happy to see him.

She was lying on her belly, on a bed, but got up and sat to speak to him, visibly wincing when she put weight on her rump.

He still felt guilty about that one blow which missed its mark so badly;

She shrugged, equally embarrassed.

 

Juniper nodded emphatically;

Sergeant Ivory Lance replied with a smile;

 

She hopped up to her feet and surprised him with a hug.

 

That was the last thing she said before leaving. Ivory watched her reddened butt walk away down the hall. His first whipping had gone well. As she disappeared, returning to her life, Ivory turned around to check the assignments posted on the wall. He was scheduled to be an assistant tomorrow morning, then a primary later that afternoon.

There was always another naughty pony.

 

END