Lines crossed by DCFTEF

 

(07/10/2021)

 

 

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As Princesses of the city-state of Zephyr Heights, it was no surprise that the sisters Zephyrina Storm and Pipp Petals went to the best school available in all pegasusdom. It was also no secret that Queen Haven held her daughters to a high standard; especially Zephyrina, who was heir apparent to the throne. The Monarch's unhappy response to a poor report card was well documented on younger sister Pipp's video blog...the filly really held no filter between what happened in her life and what she broadcast out to her ravenous fans, who consumed every bit of content she doled out with zeal.

 

Pipp had seriously crossed the line with her older sister a few grading periods ago, when Zipp brought home a report that was less than stellar and definitely less than Queen Mom demanded. Watching and recording from the hallway Pipp livestreamed Zephyrina's desperate (and very embarrassing) pleas to keep the Royal Hairbrush away from her heir-apparent rump. Zipp avoided corporal punishment for her report card that day but went apoplectic with rage when she discovered her little sister had broadcast her promises to be a good filly and blubbering begging for mommy not to spank her bottom out to an audience of thousands.

 

But that was months ago.

On this day Zipp had nothing to be worried about. Spurred to studiousness by the promises she'd made (and threats she'd received) in previous periods, her marks were top-of-the-class this time. Zipp even felt confident asking for a reward. At 15 she was now allowed to go out on the town on non-school nights, provided she was escorted by Royal troopers as bodyguards. Zipp hoped she could talk Mom into reducing her number of bodyguards today and this report card was a fine bargaining chip.

 

No bodyguard could have saved Zipp from the unexpected attack she was suddenly subjected to within the most secure chambers of the castle. As the teen filly walked happily to see Queen Mom in her office she was tackled from her right side and shoved into an alcove behind a tapestry.

It was no assassin or foalnapper that had assailed Zephyrina but something that posed far greater danger; her little sister.

 

It was not surprising that Pipp's report card was bad. Her grades were not awful but every teacher had left some sort of damning comment;

The younger filly watched with teary eyes and quivering lips as her senior struggled to read the paper in the poorly lit hiding place.

She lowered her voice and asked the most horrible question in a hushed voice.

 

At that Zipp had to laugh. She loved her sister but like any sibling was was a little tired of Pipp's shit and relished her getting a little comeuppance.

Pipp only gave out a little squeak of fear. She kinda already knew this but was REALLY hoping her big sister would wash away those fears and tell her she was being silly.

But Zephyrina could only shrug her shoulders.

Zipp wasn't mean, she knew how much a spanking from their Mom hurt and felt bad for her sister, but every word written on that report card was truth. Pipp was giggly and disruptive. She was ALWAYS on her phone and she never had to work as hard as Zipp. Half-assed always seemed to be good enough for Pipp because she was cute and everypony loved her. Well, Mom wasn't gonna give a half-assed spanking when she saw that report card.

 

Zephyrina rolled her eyes. She knew this was coming.

Pipp pranced on all 4 hooves anxiously and whimpered.

But her older sister's laugh snuffed that little glimmer of hope.

 

Pipp's face twisted into one of sorrowful misery and her eyes glistened with tears. Zipp knew what this was and braced herself for one of her sister's most powerful weapons. Pipp was a natural manipulator. It didn't make her a bad pony, it was just her nature that she could convey emotion expertly and use it to get other ponies to do what she wanted. She could use this power for good or evil but now she was only looking for help and a little protection.

The 13-year old pushed herself right to the brink of tears...quivering lips, pouty eyes glazed with tears just about to fall, ears turned down flat...but she held herself there and did not cry.

She wanted to say 'No', Zipp really did. She had worked hard this grading period and was expecting to be praised, even rewarded...not help silly dingbat Pipp out of the hot seat.

 

Zipp couldn't believe she was saying this. Her voice was a growl.

Pipp looked dumbly innocent.

Zipp didn't even reply, she pushed to leave the hiding place and abandon her sister to the terrible fate of the hairbrush, but Pipp took her seriously and stopped her.

Pipp looked up and her angry sister, shrinking down a little to look smaller and helpless.

The understatement made Zipp angry.

 

Zipp didn't want to do it. She had worked really hard and for weeks had looked forward to walking in, showing Mom a stellar report card and walking right out, hopefully with fewer guards this Friday night. Sticking around and trying to get Pipp out of hot water was not part of the plan.

But Pipp was her little sister and even though she totally deserved it the thought of her being punished broke Zipp's heart.

grumbled the elder sister

Pipp squealed with hopeful excitement and whipped out her phone. She threw an arm around Zipp's neck and yanked her close so both of their faces would be in the camera frame.

Zipp groaned.

 

They met their mother in her Royal office, where she could usually be found when they got home from school. She was busy with government business so the fillies had no expectation of privacy as they presented their grades. Adult ponies worked all around them, coming and going. The Princesses knew all of them, and they all knew the girls. At least for Zipp this was a good day. Poor Pipp wasn't going to have it so easy.

 

As expected, Queen Haven was pleased with the achievements of her eldest.

Zipp blushed. She and her mother butted heads on a lot of things, and many times she'd screamed that she didn't care what Mom thought, but at times of more gentle emotion such as these her approval did feel good.

The Queen grinned and added;

Zipp couldn't help but give a little prance and flap her wings happily when she heard that news.

She felt brave enough to ask;

Haven grinned and made a concession.

Her Captain of the Guard barked out a crisp “Yes Ma'am” and Zipp squeaked with excitement because this made it feel official. Today was a good day.

 

In a dream world Zephyrina could have walked out of there triumphant, but there was more to be done and Zipp hoped it wouldn't bring her perfect day crashing down.

The younger sister had watched with sorrowful envy as Zipp had been praised, knowing her experience was going to be very different. Summoned, she put her phone away quickly (she had been live streaming) and stepped out of the shadows to report unhappily;

The Queen read her youngest's report carefully and without words. Both Princesses cringed, Pipp leaning up against her big sister for support and Zipp wrapping her in a loose wing hug.

 

For the next few minutes Pipp stammered out explanations and apologies for her substandard performance in school. She promised to pay less attention to her cell phone, a promise that made both Haven and Zipp roll their eyes in disbelief. She promised to fool around less and study more and respect her teachers but Zipp could tell she was just getting more desperate as her defense went on and Mom was not moved.

 

Calmer and clearer minded because her rump wasn't in immediate danger, Zipp struggled to think of a defense strategy that would work for her sister. The usual stuff wasn't changing Mom's unhappy expression any.

As ruler, Pipp & Zipp's mother valued public opinion polling highly...a little too much in Zipp's opinion but it was something she could use now.

The Queen seemed a little annoyed but allowed her eldest to speak.

Haven sighed and muttered;

 

In defense of her sister Zipp spread the bullshit on thick.

Desperate, Pipp just nodded her head and agreed enthusiastically. For a moment they thought their argument might change the Queen's mind but at last Haven replied;

She turned to Pipp and spoke, softly but menacingly;

 

Mom had used the horrible S-word not once but twice now, and that second one sounded to Pipp like it was directed at her own poor precious tushie. She was trembling all over now and just instants from being in full tears. Zipp recognized the danger signs and muttered to herself;

Mom asked Pipp one last time;

And just as her older sister feared, Pipp just exploded.

 

Zipp covered her face with her hoof. Every time. Every. Fucking. Time!

Whenever Pipp was in trouble she would ask for help, which Zipp grudgingly agreed to every time. Then, when the heat was on, she panicked and tattled on something her sister had done to draw Mom's attention off her. And it worked. Every fucking time.

 

There was no point in lying. Zipp could not believe how quickly this day had gone from great to disaster.

Queen Haven held out her hoof to Pipp.

By now Pipp had regained her composure and knew how badly she'd screwed up. She made a feeble attempt to fix things.

But it was too late for that.

The other ponies in the office looked at each other awkwardly, achingly sympathetic to the two poor Princesses' predicament.

 

Frantically, Pipp struggled with her phone while Queen Mom tapped her gilded horseshoe impatiently, but at last she brought up the short clip and gave it to her mother. Haven watched the incriminating evidence without a word then tucked the phone under her wing. Pipp whimpered with dismay when she did not get it back.

 

Pipp did not want to look her sister in the eye, but could not avoid it forever. At last she turned to meet Zipp's angry glare. She gave a sheepish, embarrassed smile and muttered;

Zipp just shook her head and grumbled;

as they were led away.

 

Epilogue

Later that day, after the worst of it was over, Zipp lay on her bed, wrapped in blankets except for her rear end, which was had a fan blowing on it. It didn't help much.

Pipp had done this to her 6 times now...desperately begging for big sister's help when she was in trouble, then losing her nerve and blurting out something secret that Zipp had done. Every time Pipp apologized and felt horrible about it, but she'd done it again and Zipp went along with it every time.

 

The older sister wasn't even that mad at Pipp. For certain she wanted to beat the tar out of the bratty little tattle-tale, but having just suffered a painful session with Mom's Royal hairbrush across her own rear she had refreshed understanding of why Pipp got so scared. Spankings were one thing Queen Haven did not delegate to underlings and she knew how to make a naughty filly howl from the very first whack.

Her rump still throbbing with pain, Zipp couldn't get comfortable so she unwrapped, got up and went to pay her sister a visit. She wasn't sure if she wanted to comfort or yell at Pipp; she would decide when she got there.

 

When she saw her older sister Pipp exploded into fresh tears. These were real, not fake internet tears.

Zipp flopped down on the fluffy bed next to her and groaned;

Pipp blushed.

Pipp didn't think it was six times, but she didn't argue. Once was bad enough.

With a sneer, Zipp growled;

Pipp stuck out her lip and pouted, but did not argue.

They both knew it was nonsense. The next time Pipp was in trouble she knew she would run to her big sister for help...and Zipp knew she'd always give in and stick her neck out.

 

“So was Mom really mad?”

Zipp considered the question and replied;

Pipp went looking for something, sliding open a drawer under her bed. There were at least 4 spare phones down there, all ready and charged.

The younger filly innocently said;

Zipp laughed, her first since the spanking,

 

But Pipp didn't hear a word of her sister's advice. As soon as a spare phone was booted up she held it at arms length and began streaming;

 

Mortified, Zipp pushed the camera away and protested;

Zipp was still mad but she grudgingly read some of the replies that were scrolling in from Pipp's weird fans.

Some of the comments were lewd but most were supportive. A few anonymous ponies posted nasty things about Pipp getting her sister in trouble, but Zipp quickly put them in their place.

 

That is how the rest of Zipp & Pipp's afternoon went, live streaming and answering embarrassing questions about their ordeal. It was something Zephyrina wouldn't have done on her own, but Pipp knew this world better and made it fun. The sisters stayed online until the sun dipped low and they were called to the dining room for dinner.

 

Unbeknownst to them, Queen Haven had watched the entire stream with a smile. She knew Pipp had spare phones, and would only act angry if she caught her with one. If not, let her do her insta-chat thing, it kept her connected to the citizens. Zipp was a wild child, but Haven knew she would be okay and make a fine ruler. For now it warmed her heart to see them laughing together; that both of her Princesses had gotten over their punishments and were happy enough to get on with normal (if grounded) teenage fun.

 

For a brief moment Haven wondered if unicorn and earth pony parents had days like this.

 

END