Her Most Faithful Servant

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today was a very different sort of lesson. I suppose, in a sense, it was more quality time than a formal lesson.

When I came to your study for today, I sat in front of you and you looked at me curiously. I was nervous from your gaze. I felt like I did something wrong or that I was going to be punished for something. So, I opened my mouth.

“Uhm, is everything okay, Princess?” I asked.

You hummed under your breath then looked into my eyes.

“Well, I’ve been thinking of the path that’s ahead for you, Anon,” you replied.

“My path?”

“The things you will be learning,” you replied. “And, I’m a little concerned about you.”

“Concerned? Am I not ready?” You smiled lightly and shook your head.

“Ready or not isn’t what I’m concerned about. My concern is a lot more simple than that,” you answered.

I decided to remain silent and wait for what you were going to say. I didn’t want to sound dumb by asking too many questions.

“Anon, do you trust me?”

“Trust you? Of course I trust you. Why wouldn’t I?” I questioned. “You’re the ruler of Equestria. Of course I trust you.” You shook your head again, this time with a slight air of disappointment.

“No, you trust me as a ruler. You trust my title, but do you trust me personally? Do you trust me with the deepest, darkest parts of yourself? We’re going to learn a lot about each other during your training and you need to trust that I won’t hurt you.”

I could feel the air escape my lungs. The idea of opening up my most well-kept fears and secrets to someone was terrifying. How would I know it wouldn’t be used against me?

“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously.

“I mean exactly what it sounds like,” you said. “I need you to trust that I can keep you safe and wouldn’t hurt you. Right now… I’m not completely sure you do.”

I tried to respond, but I couldn’t find the right words. I remember thinking all sorts of crazy thoughts. How could I open up to someone who I’ve only actually spent less than a week with? What if I said something you didn’t like?

“I guess not…” I said.

“Then, I have an idea of how we can work on that,” you said, a gentle smile forming on your lips. “A trust exercise.”

“A trust exercise? Like what?” I asked, curious yet slightly scared.

All of this seemed to be coming on a little fast, but I wanted to see where this would go. Your horn glowed with a golden energy and several long red ropes levitated onto a desk in your study.

“Rope tying. I would tie you up deprive you of your free range of motion. You would be completely helpless. I could do anything I want to you. Would you trust me to do that to you, if I promised I wouldn’t hurt you?”

I sat in my chair, my eyes wide and my body weightless. Anything? The first thing I thought was that I was studying BDSM. You probably had whips and chains. There was a distinct possibility this could hurt somehow.

“It’s alright to say no, but remember. I’m not going to hurt you,” you said softly.

I shifted awkwardly in my seat. A part of me was worried about all of this. A part of me was scared of what could happen, but honestly, there was a deeper part of me that was saying ‘Go for it!’

I decided to listen to that other part of me.

“Alright,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s do it.”

“You sure?” you asked.

“I’m sure.”

“Just remember to say ‘Stop’, and I’ll stop what I’m doing immediately,” you said, your horn lighting up once more.

“Okay,” I said, a little more reassured.

The ropes lifted into the air and swirled in the air beside me.

“Stand up, please,” you asked.

I stood up from my chair and turned to face you.

“Fold your hands behind your back.”

I moved my hands behind my back and folded them comfortably as your magic went to work. I felt the rope wrap around my wrists, up my arms and across my chest. Once the rope was at its ends, the two stubs met in the center of my chest and wrapped themselves into a large bow.

“There. Can you move your arms? Is that too tight?”

I tried to move my arms and hands, but they only moved about an inch or two. The rope felt like it was only gently holding me, but I couldn’t move at all. I felt my heartbeat quicken, but none of this really hurt.

“No, I can’t move. And it’s not too tight,” I replied.

“Good,” you answered happily. “Now then. Feet together, please.”

I put my feet together and another made it’s way around my ankles and tightly bound my feet together and through my legs. I could feel the rope press into my clothes and tighten around me.

“How’s that? Is that too tight? I know I prefer it tight.”

“Yeah, a little bit,” I said.

I could feel the rope loosen until it felt like it’s brother.

“Better?” you asked.

“Much,” I said, a little calmer now.

You smiled, then circled me, admiring your handiwork. I felt vulnerable and began to sweat a little bit. I chuckled and reflexively tried to tell a joke.

“The little bow makes it like I’m a present to you, huh?” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

You laughed and stopped in front of me. Then, I felt my whole body become warm. I looked down and I saw I was glowing a gentle gold and immediately looked to your horn with concern.

Then, the floor slowly moved away from the bottom of my feet. I became weightless as you lifted me into the air. I took a few deep breaths and watched you carefully as I looked around the room. Your magic turned me so my back was to the ground and I got a good look at the ceiling. That’s when I noticed two medium-sized hooks there.

“What are those hooks for?” I asked with concern.

“They are going to hold for you a little bit,” you said.

“Are they strong enough?”

“Would I hurt you?” you said tenderly.

I looked at the hooks cautiously, but a little bit of concern left my mind.

“No.”

You raised me higher and looped a few of the strands of rope around the hooks and let me down. I felt the warmth around me leave as the only thing that held me up was the two hooks and the rope that wrapped around me. I tried to move, but the only success I had was to wiggle my toes.

“There, how’s that?” you asked.

I looked around and assessed my situation.

“Well, the ceiling’s nice,” I said. “I’m not really worried about falling, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Perfect.”

I heard a few pops of magic from down below and a part of me was nervous about what I couldn’t see. I listened closely, but all you did was gently hum as more magical pops filled the room. After a few long minutes, you spoke again.

“How are you doing up there?”

“Oh, you know. Just hangin out,” I said.

“That was a terrible pun,” you snickered.

“Well, you set me up for it,” I replied. “What’s next?”

“I’m going to drop you,” you said.

I felt my blood run cold for a second. Drop me? The ceilings were extremely tall in the castle. I could get hurt, but...

I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.

“Okay,” I said. “I trust you.”

I felt the warmth of magical energy surround me once more as I was raised up and off the hooks.

“Now then, on the count of three. One. Two,” you counted

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Three.”

The warmth disappeared and I felt the air rush on my back for a split second, before the feeling was replaced by soft fluffyness. I opened my eyes and looked around me. I was on top of an extremely large stack of pillows and completely unable to move. I looked up as you approached me.

“So, how was that?” you asked.

I remember just smiling and asking one thing.

“Can you do that again?”

“Only if you tie me up sometime,” you answered with a smile.

I had a lot of fun today and I’m really happy I decided to take a chance and trust you more. I feel a lot more comfortable about our lessons now. I think I could definitely get used to rope tying. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s lesson.

Your Faithful Student,
Anonymous