The Shrine Mare's Story by DCFTEF

(21/11/2021)

https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/37813344/#q37858086

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>Hi everybody, my name is Lavender Dance.
>My coltfriend Acorn Snap introduced me in his story.
>What he didn't tell you is I'm half Eastern Unicorn.
>My Mom and her whole family.
>Every summer we take a trip to the Eastern Lands to visit all our aunts, uncles & cousins. 
>It's a long journey by ship.
>But Dad always gets tickets aboard the best steamer so there's lots for us to do on board.

>I was super excited to be going this year.
>It's the first year I'm old enough to volunteer at the Celestial Temple.
>My Grandmare was a Shrine Mare,
>my Mom was a Shrine Mare,
>my older sister and all my cousins are Shrine Mares.
>See; the Eastern Lands have never been part of Equestria.
>But we give respect to Celestia & Luna.
>Equestria has always been a friend and ally to the Eastern unicorns.
>The Temple maintains an eternal flame, lighted by Celestia's sun.
>Over 700 years they've kept that flame!

>My friends think it's lame to volunteer at a kooky old shrine all summer.
>But it's only a few hours a day.
>The work isn't hard and I get to hang out with my big sister and older cousins.
>At the end of the summer we all get to wear really pretty temple robes and play a big part in the Sun Festival parade
>That's worth a few hours of sweeping and weeding flowerbeds all by itself.

>Mom's got a big family, so it takes two days just to see every pony and say hello to them
>But soon I got my chance to work at the shrine
>I was awake earlier than my sister and cousins that morning
>Does it sound like I was an eager filly?
>None of my friends back home understand it either.
>You just gotta understand my family;
>Everything revolves around Grandma
>She's the boss...at least of all the mares
>and when we have a big family gathering
>(which has been every week this summer, sometimes more)
>all us mares spend most of the day in the kitchen, under Grandma's command
>We send the stallions off to gather mushrooms & herbs
>That way they can come back in the afternoon and feel like big providers
>After we did all the work.

>But I'm not complaining.
>It's super fun spending the day cooking with my Cousins and Aunties
>Once, my sister and I even saw Grandma konk Mom on the head with a wooden ladle because she was washing the rice wrong
>Jasmine and I were both there to see it...OMG, best day ever
>You learn so much cooking with your family
>Not just about the food, but all the old stories
>A LOT of gossip
>The best dirty jokes...the ones we don't say around stallions
>And a lot of sweet stuff too.
>Like how many times Mom got in trouble for seeing a foreign colt from Equestria that Grandpa disapproved of
>Let's just say I'm never gonna cry “you don't know know it feels!” ever again when I'm in trouble
>Seriously...Mom took her licks. Respect. 
>Even when she was a legal adult and could have married without permission, Mom stayed stubborn
>She wore Grandpa down at last. Mom and Dad were married in the temple where I work now

>You hear lots of great stories like that
>But mostly you hear;
“FILLY! Go fetch...”
>Water from the well, supplies from the basement, something from the market
>Always more firewood
>When you're the youngest you do a lot of fetching
>And there's always something to learn from your cousin who had the job before you
“Chop the firewood thinner, so it burns quicker. It has to burn just right or the dumplings will be soggy.”
>Yesterday I caught myself showing my little cousin the easiest way to fetch water
>Circle of life...I feel like such a dork.

>Which finally brings us back to the Shrine.
>In the kitchen, at family gatherings, I'm still very much a little filly
>Adored; the treasure of the family
>Now go mop that up
>Things only start to change the summer you first work at the shrine
>My cousins all agree, this is the point where you finally get some respect as a mare
>It sure was like that for my Big Sis
>That summer; BAM! She busted out of the proverbial kiddie table
>When I tried to tag along my cheeks were squished and I was told I was adorable by lots of Aunties
>Then, with a swat on my rear;
“Now go fetch more firewood.”
>So yeah, now you know why I'm so excited about working at the shrine.
>Finally moving up to the big leagues.

>The work at the shrine is light and we have fun
>Lots of tourists visit to see the eternal flame
>My sister's job is guiding tours this year
“This Temple has maintained a flame honoring Princess Celestia, lighted by her own sun, for over 700 years...”
>There's lots of ohhhh's and ahhhh's but Jasmine knows she has to keep the crowd moving
>The Temple is free to visit, but we pay the bills by squeezing the tourists for a million little things
“Right here is our ancient Koi pond...”
>Feed the fish, just a few coppers
“The sacred tree will help find love for any who tie a prayer to its branches...”
>A mini-scroll to write on? One silver. Comes with a ribbon.
“If a bird lands on you at the temple, you will have many healthy foals...”
>And if you buy a big bag of Temple birdseed to feed them, you won't be able to keep them off you
>The birds are in on the hustle...they know the score.
“The flowers from the Temple garden are said to bring luck to any home.”
>Lucky for you, a packet of genuine Temple seeds can be purchased right at the Gift Shop.
“Which is right this way, follow me...”
>Jasmine is a pro at it
>I'm in my first year volunteering, I just clean up

>Between crowds I do my job
>Sweep up, mop if it's a rainy day
>Light some fresh incense sticks
>Gently remove the spider webs
>We're not allowed to squish the spiders, but I don't have to touch them myself
>I just call for a monk and they'll carefully relocate them
>Better them than me

>I'm alone as I clean the shrine
>There's a record player that they use for music during ceremonies
>Well, there's no rule against playing some records I brought from home, right?
>Countess Coloratura, The Coltie 5, Serenade Songbird...you know, the Equestrian teen pop stuff
>I had that shrine spotless in minutes, jamming to my music
>Dancing with my broom, popping my gum
>I was gaining respect in my family and having fun at the same time

>A few weeks went by and everything I dreamed of was coming true
>My Aunties now looked at me more like one of the mares...not a little filly
>They listened when I said something (especially about the Temple) instead of just squishing my cheeks and telling me I was adorable
>And one epic day;
>Grandma even told me a racy story about when she was a young Shrine Mare and the Head Nun & Abbott of the Temple got caught making out in the Flame Shrine
>Mom just looked proud, and that made me feel proud too

>Okay, don't get me wrong
>I'm not gonna let this go to my head and start thinking I'm all grown up
>I might have taken a big first step to being a mare
>But I'm aware that if I do something bad enough Mom WILL remind me I'm still a filly
>My sis Jasmine made that mistake when she was my age
>Worked one summer at the shrine, got a little respect
>Came home to Equestria and started mouthing off to her teachers and our folks
>Thinking she was a grown mare now
>Dad dropped the hammer big time and Jasmine got the paddling of her life
>I literally hid under my bed it was so scary to listen to
>If you thought that was how I was going to mess up and turn this into a legitimate spanking story you're wrong...I learned from Jasmine.
>But I still messed up.

>To be fair I have to admit; my cousins tried to warn me
>A few of the older ones, who now had much more important jobs than sweeping up, tried to help
“Lavender, you're getting a little sloppy.
“This is a holy shrine, it's not like cleaning your room at home.”
>Aww, what does she know?
>Orchid Breeze works in the Gift Shop now
>She hasn't swept the shrine in years
“And I don't think playing records while you work is a good idea either.
“You KNOW why we have the wind chimes, right?”
>Whatever.
>Orchid probably just wants to get her hooves on my Equestrian records so she can play them in the Gift Shop while she works.
>Wind chimes aren't as cool as the Coltie 5.

>Summer gets really hot in the Eastern lands
>Probably gets hot back home in Equestria too, but I'm always here in the summer
>More tourists come, it's the busiest season for the Temple
>Soon it will all culminate in the Sun Festival parade
>I was keeping up with my duties just fine
>Jasmine or one of the other tour guide fillies would bring a group into the Flame Shrine
>They would pay their respects, snap some photos.
>And she shuffles them along so I can clean up for the next group.

>Did I mention it was hot?
>Wheew...I slid open all the doors to get some air in the stuffy room
>Put on Countess Coloratura's “Live in Las Pegasus” album, which I'd listened to a thousand times that summer already
>With a nice breeze blowing thru I got to work, bopping my rear end to the music as I swept.
>Snapping my gum, livin' my best life
“Hey, Lavender...”
>I was feeling pretty cool and responsible
“Lavender! Hey! Are you listening?”
>When the summer was over, I was going back to Equestria as a new filly
>A new Mare.
“LAVENDER DANCE!
“What the heck is going on?”
>My older sister Jasmine turned down the record player
>She often came over to hang out and listen to music while she waited for her next tour group
>But today she cut the party short
“Sis, what do you think you're doing?”
>What's her problem anyway?
>I'm just doing my job like I do every day.
“Lavender, the FLAME...why isn't the flame lit?” 

>I froze
>All I could hear were wind chimes now
>LOUD wind chimes
>In a panic I looked to Celestia's eternal flame
>Lighted by the sun and kept for over 700 years
>I had left the doors open because it was hot and the wind blew it out like any other candle
“OH CELESTIA, NO NO NO NO...
“This can't be happening!”
>Jasmine and I ran to the flame but the worst was confirmed
>Not even an ember to blow on
>The flame actually comes from a little clay pot with a wick
>When the oil runs out the flame is moved to a new pot and never goes out
>UNLESS THE WORST FILLY EVER LETS IT GET BLOWN OUT BY THE WIND

“Jas, what do I do?”
>But my sister is just as horrified as me
“Didn't you hear the wind chimes?
“The chimes are there to warn us when the wind is too strong...to shelter the flame!”
>I just fell down on my rump and bawled
“I had my music up too loud! I didn't hear them!”
>700 years of tradition that's SO IMPORTANT to my family
>Ruined in one dumb moment
>Ruined by ME.

>By now the commotion had drawn others
>A few of my cousins, who were just as horrified as Jasmine
>Some nuns & monks...and finally the head nun, The Reverend Mare
>Crushed, all I could do was confess I was responsible for this tragedy and wail
>My sister defended me;
“Blame me! I should have been checking on her more often. I should...”
>But the Reverend Mare shut her down immediately
“Jasmine Dance, be quiet.
“Your sister and I need to go see the Abbot of the Temple.”
>Head hung low, I willingly went to make my confession to the Temple's chief
“Bring the pot!”
>Unable to use magic in my near-hysterical condition, I picked up the cold pot with my teeth, holding it by a rope that tasted oily and bitter
>My sister and cousins watched silently, sympathetically, as I left the Flame shrine, possibly forever. 

>Exile, I felt, was a certainty
>I just hoped my whole family would not be similarly banished from the Temple for my error
>Would the Temple even continue without Celestia's Eternal Flame?
>700 years and little old ME was the pony who ended it
>Seriously, words can not describe how awful I felt
>For her part the Reverend Mare said nothing
>No anger, no sorrow...not a word to me
>She probably hates me 
>I deserve it.

>When we entered the Abbot's inner sanctum I fell to the floor and bowed in apology
>I didn't know what to say, but luckily the R.M. went over to speak with him
>I couldn't hear any of it
>But it seemed awfully calm for a tragedy of this magnitude
>She explained what I had done
>He nodded and walked over to where I was kowtowing
>Literally crying my eyes out
>I couldn't even say 'I'm sorry', I was so choked up
>I hope he knew
>At last the Abbot spoke; his voice soft and gentle
“This is your first summer working at our Temple, Lavender Dance?”
>First...and last
>In just a few weeks I managed to destroy a 700 year tradition
“Then perhaps you do not know;
“the ceremonial flame gets snuffed out at least once a week.” 

>I froze
>I could not believe what I was hearing
>Never stopped crying, that's for sure
“No pony ever said we kept the same exact flame burning for 700 years.
“There have been wars...hurricanes...the Great Cupcake Shortage.
“We didn't keep one silly smudge pot burning that whole time.”
>Mind blown, nose blown, everything I thought was true, blown.
“Anytime the flame goes out we just re-light it with Celestia's sun.
“Come with me, dear filly.”
>The Abbot led me into a little garden in a courtyard that I didn't even know existed
>Here was a huge mirror of polished gold
“Your cousin Harmony Song does a very good job keeping it shiny.”
>He showed me how it worked;
>It spun effortlessly on balanced rollers
>Turned to face the sun, its curve sent a hot shaft of light toward a smaller focusing crystal
>Just like an adventure movie, where Daring Do uses an amulet to find the hidden treasure
>So cool, if I wasn't in so much trouble
“Bring the pot.”
>I obediently held the pot's wick right where the Abbot told me
>I whispered the right blessings that he dictated to me
>And miraculously the flame popped into life, dancing on the tip of the oily black wick
>Seeing that moment, as the Celestia's sun re-ignited the sacred fire, filled me with genuine joy
>It had nothing to do with the trouble I was in
>I was still in deep trouble and I knew that
>But seeing that flame pop into life...it was like being there the first time, 700 years ago
>It didn't matter that this happened every week
>I had experienced the moment and understood its power. Pure, pure joy.
“See, no harm is done.
“But we have other things to talk about, don't we?”

*gulp*
>Yeah, had to know this was coming
“Playing loud music and dancing in the shrine?
“Chewing bubblegum?
“Ignoring the wind chimes?”
>It seemed like another good moment to bow
“I am so sorry, Sir.”
>I'm expecting my exile now
>Maybe I'll be able to come back next year, but I'm sure I'm fired for this summer
“Not as sorry as when our Reverend Mother finishes her work, I predict.”
>I gulped again
>What did he mean?
“You are to go with her. Accept your punishment for lazy, sloppy work in the shrine and learn from it.
“I do not think you will make this mistake tomorrow, or ever again, eh?”
>OMG, I have a tomorrow?
>I'm not fired? Or even suspended?
>I kinda spazzed out
“Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou...
“I'm SO sorry I was lazy, I'm so sorry I was careless.
“Thank you so much for this second chance, I won't let you down, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou...”
>My endless thanks were cut short by a painful magical tug at my ear
“Come along, filly, we'll see how that gratitude holds up.”
>The Abbot gave me a sympathetic smile but did nothing else to help as the Reverend Mare dragged me down a hallway by my poor tender ear

>We arrived at another little courtyard garden but we only stopped for a moment
>My older cousin Serenity Mist was there and she had something for the the Reverend Mare
>Actually it was for me, I just didn't know it yet
“Reverend Mare, I...”
>Cousin Serenity tried to speak on my behalf but she was stopped
“Thank you, that will be all.”
>She inspected the tool my cousin had given her
“You've done good work, but Lavender is my responsibility now. You are dismissed.”
>Just a bundle of freshly cut sticks, maybe 24 inches long
>Tied up neatly on one end forming a handle
>Oh sweet Celestia...it's a fucking birch!
>Luckily I did not say that out loud
>Just then I realized what the Reverend Mare was going to do to me
>Nothing my folks hadn't done a hundred times before, but I never looked forward to it
>But what choice did I have?
>I went along when the R.M. ordered me to keep walking down the hall

>I saw a birching once before
>Back in Canterlot
>My folks don't know, so don't tell them
>They don't want me watching the public judicial punishments that happen in the city
>But Acorn Snap and I went to one
>I dared him, he dared me...who remembers?
>It was a big nasty stallion getting birched that day
>Convicted highway robber
>He walked up on the platform proudly and sneered when he saw the Royal Guards only sent two little Unicorn mares to administer his sentence 
>I didn't think they could hurt such a big tough bully either
>But the Guards did their duty professionally
>And by the 3rd stroke the highway robber was screaming for mercy like a naughty blank flank
>Poor guy was sentenced to a hot hundred...Acorn and I didn't make it past 25
>The screaming and pain was too much, we both got scared and ran away
>We were still shook up by the time we got home, but we lied to our parents and said we'd gone to see a scary movie after school
>I heard that big stallion begging, crying for forgiveness in my nightmares for a month 

>I knew my birching wasn't gonna be THAT bad
>The weapon Serenity Mist had been tasked with assembling for me was a fraction of that size
>And I knew from my cousins that a small birch as a pretty common spanking tool for Eastern unicorn families
>But I was still scared
“Take your place over the bench.”
>Whoa...okay, that was new to me.
>The chamber we entered was a comfortable little sitting room that could be used for any number of things
>except for the ominous dark piece of furniture right in the middle
>Oh, wow, that thing was scary 
“Take your place, Miss Lavender.”
>This was going to be a first for me
>I'd experienced my share of spankings, too many!
>But every single one had been over somepony's knee
>Usually Mom or Dad
>A teacher a few times in foal school, but I've been lucky at school in my teen years 
>Always across the lap of an adult
>This was the first time I ever had to bend over something and stick my own rear out
>But I had to do it

>The bench was easy to understand
>I knew where to lay down without any lessons
>Lecturing a bit, the Reverend Mare put a wide canvas strap across my back to hold me down
>My stomach was churning with nervous butterflies, it was such a weird feeling 
>Under different circumstances the bench might have been a comfortable spot to lay down
>But this wasn't going to be comfortable. I knew that
“Lavender Dance, I'm going to begin now.
“I'm very sorry but you are not going to enjoy this.”
>Duh
“Learn and benefit from it, and some good may come of today's mistakes.”

>There was a ceremony that went with everything at the temple
>Prayers to open in the morning
>Chants to welcome the sun
>Bells to be rung only at the correct hour
>Blessings to be given when you stupidly allow Celestia's eternal flame to get blown out and you need to re-light it.
>But there was no ceremony for this
>I didn't have to count, or apologize to the gods and beg their forgiveness
>Reverend Mare just yanked my tail out of the way and proceeded to spank the daylights out of me
>She could hit hard with the birch, and not do any real damage
>But each one of those thin twigs hurt like an individual switch
>Uncountable tips and pointy angles on each stick stung fiercely
>Each spank was like a crackle of tiny pains that didn't hit all at once and never the same places twice
>And Reverend Mare was laying them on FAST
>She allowed no time to recover or catch my breath
>Before the last rain of little stings faded the next one hit
>The pain didn't go deep like the paddle at home, but my unlucky bottom probably burned twice as bad under the birch
>And it felt so bad not having Mom or Dad's lap to hold onto
>I couldn't believe what a difference it made, but laying across the bench felt lonely and awful
>Trust me, I hated all the OTK spankings I'd gotten before
>But if you're gotta get a spanking what better place than the safest, coziest place in Equestria and the whole wide world?
>As I cried my eyes out I missed Mom & Dad's laps tremendously
>Hard wood doesn't hug back when you're having the worst day of your life 

>The agony felt like it went on forever
>But I guess they all feel like that
>No filly or colt ever said;
“I sure wish I'd gotten a longer spanking than that.”
>Maybe some of you weirdos reading this, but no foal I ever knew.
>At last Reverend Mare ended it with a few slower smacks
“You will not be careless again,”
>*thwaap!*
“You will listen for the chimes to warn you of danger,”
>*thwaap!*
“You will be more careful and take your duties seriously!”
>*thwaap! thwaap! thwaap!*
>The one mercy of the birch is that it doesn't hurt much more when you spank harder
>The Grand Finale didn't hurt that much more
>That was fine; I'd had enough
>All tears and snot; gasping for breath
>Reverend Mare at last released the strap and helped me up
“You can have the afternoon to recover, my dear.”
>And surprisingly quick, I was asleep on a futon.

>The work day at the Temple ended
>By now ALL my cousins and a lot of the other young Shrine Mare volunteers had come to check on me
>Totally embarrassing to have every pony know I screwed up
>Tragically humiliating that I'd gotten a spanking in a temple with mostly paper walls
>Once they knew I was okay my cousins gave me so much shit
>Every one had a different joke about letting the flame blow out, or listening to my music so loud I ignored the warning chimes 
>And I just had to take it

>After work my Sis and cousins tried to cheer me up
>They dragged me to the games parlor in town
>Tried to talk me into a girly romance movie
>But I was in no condition to sit anywhere for 2-hours
>Truth was I was pretty worried about what the family would say
>Sure, there was a happy ending (my end sure didn't feel happy!)
>but I still expected at least a fierce scolding from Mom and Grandma
>No doubt they knew everything already.

“Hi Mom”
>I found my mother already in the kitchen, starting dinner
>At least there was no huge family party tonight
>Rather than the dressing down I expected, I got a tight, understanding hug
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
>I opened up, pouring out tears about how I messed up
>How scared I'd been when I thought I'd ruined a 700 year tradition
>How embarrassed I'd been from beginning to right now
“Well, you won't do that again, will you?”
>That was all the scolding I got
>Mom really understood, and accepted that I'd learned my lesson
“Reverend Mare said you took your punishment with dignity”
>Seriously, she said that?
>I screamed like a baby. I coughed up a snot glob on her robe
“She said you never tried to get out of it.
“You made a mistake but confessed and endured what you deserved without complaint.
“I'm very proud of you.”
>Another tight hug
>Wow, didn't expect that.

>Grandma got in a little dig though
>We were already in the kitchen, so I was drafted into duty
>As I already explained, this is no chore
>Cooking with my family is fun
>And this time Grandma, perhaps knowing my poor heinie was too sore to do much else, assigned me to watch and feed the wood stove
“Don't let the fire go out this time!”
>My Mom and cousins all laughed
>I blushed, but took Grandma's joke with good grace
>Yeah...don't let the fire go out.
>After the usual terrific dinner I sought out Dad
>He doesn't understand any of this Eastern Unicorn stuff
>He just goes with the flow
>Since the Temple drama did not involve him all he knew was that his youngest daughter was having a really bad day
>And that entitled her to unlimited time on his big, judgment-free Daddy lap
>Which I eagerly took advantage of.

>Lots of jokes were made, but I didn't catch any more trouble from the flame incident
>I worked with my sister & cousins at the Temple until the end of summer
>We all marched together in the Sun Festival Parade, dressed in priceless shrine robes
>I didn't get a spot of dirt on mine...nailed it!

>There was a big party with lots of goodbyes at Grandma & Grandpa's house
>And the next morning my family went to the docks to board our steam ship for Equestria
>As with every year tons of farewell presents were exchanged
>My folks carry some gorgeous diplomatic gifts to be delivered to Princess Celestia & Luna
>Since I'm a Shrine Mare this year, I even get to go with them to present the gifts
>Acorn Snap thinks it's soooo cool that his doctor Mom took a nail out of Princess Luna's hoof once
>I'm gonna get to meet them both!
>Just hope they don't ask about the flame...

>It's tradition for my big Sis and I to leave all the records we brought with us
>It's difficult for our cousins to get the latest pop songs from Equestria
>But this year there was one album in particular they wanted
“Okay, admit it, which one was it?”
>I try to act confused, but I know what they're talking about
“Which one were you listening to when you let the eternal flame blow out?”
>I groan
>Never gonna hear the end of this
“It was Countess Coloratura: Live in Las Pegasus.”
>They shriek with laughter when they find it in the stack.
>All my other old records get played until the grooves wear out
>Then they get retired to a box of outdated teenage obsessions, forgotten in some parent's garage
>But not that album
>My cousins kept that record nice, and played it at least once a year when I visited
>Forever
>Seriously...Acorn Snap & I have our own foals now
>And when we take them to the Eastern lands each summer their Aunties STLL play Countess Coloratura:Live in Las Pegasus...full album, every time
>They will NEVER let me live that down.

>Part of me hopes they never do.

END