Romp

“Submission,” Rainbow said, sitting across from Twilight on a cushion in the corner of the library.

Twilight blinked.

Rainbow nodded.

Twilight blinked a couple more times.

Rainbow nodded slower.

Twilight tilted her head, flicked an ear, furrowed her brow, and twitched an eye. “Uuuuhhhh—”

“I’m into submission,” Rainbow repeated, a little firmer this time. “Or, that’s what they call it at least.”

“Submission?”

“Submission.”

“...So, what do you submit?”

Rainbow made a face. “Huh?”

“You said you’re into submission, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, what do you submit?”

“Um… myself?”

“Yourself?”

“Yeah. Myself.” Rainbow fidgeted her hooves.

“...What do you submit to?”

“You mean who do I submit to?”

Twilight’s ears flicked back, her hooves clenching tight to the cushion beneath her. “What?”

“No. Who.”

“Y-yes, I understand, but… what?”

“No! Who!”

“Who?”

“Yes, who!”

“Hoo!”

“Guh!” Both Twilight and Rainbow jolted at the sound of a hoot overhead. When they realized it was just Owlowiscious observing from the top of a bookshelf, they exhaled.

Finally, Twilight said, “Okay, let me get this straight. You’re into something called ‘submission’—”

“Was into,” Rainbow corrected.

“Sorry.” Her eyes drifting down in thought, Twilight said, “And… if I’m getting this right, you submit yourself to someone? Kind of like… surrender?”

Rainbow winced. Glancing away, she mumbled, “I wouldn’t call it surrender so much as, uh… competitive withdrawal?” She winced harder. “No, that sounds even worse.”

“Well, alright, in any case,” Twilight continued, waving a hoof lazily, “when you were in flight camp, you and Gilda experimented with complimentary desires – she as the dominant, and I’m guessing you as the submissive – until an unforeseen event occurred a few months later?”

Rainbow blinked. “That… is totally not how I worded it.” She sagged her shoulders. “And when you put it like that, it sounds even weirder.”

“I’m still a little confused.” Shifting to a more comfortable position, Twilight said, “How does something like that work, exactly?”

With a groan, Rainbow sprawled out over her cushion and laid her head on a foreleg, looking away. “Look, I really don’t want to get into the details. At least… not yet. It’s really, really lame – I promise. But, uh… yeah. Th-that was a thing once.”

Twilight sat silent for a moment, processing the information. “Well, let me ask you this at least. Which do you prefer?”

Rainbow glanced over, arching an eyebrow.

With an uncertain look, Twilight said, “Do you prefer to win, or… to lose?”

A myriad of passionately offended expressions transitioned over Rainbow’s face, along with a few choked scoffs of disbelief, before settling on something bordering pitiful. “How can you ask that? I’m Rainbow Dash!”

Twilight quickly looked away. “Sorry! I knew I shouldn’t have worded it that way, I just—”

“Ugh.” Rainbow face-hoofed. “No, it’s alright. Just… look.” Drawing a breath, Rainbow then said, “It’s not as simple as that. Yes, I do still like to win. It’s my favorite thing to do… in normal circumstances.”

Twilight glanced back, ears pivoting forward. “Normal circumstances?”

“Uh, yeah. You know, like the Iron Pony competition, the Sisterhooves Social. Stuff like that.” She gulped. “But sometimes, in uh… different circumstances, I also used to like to… um…”

“Submit?” Twilight asked with all the innocence in the world.

With a bit of hesitation, Rainbow nodded. “Y-yeah. You got it.”

Twilight nodded before looking down in thought once more. “Okay. I’ll admit, I’m still a little lost since I don’t know the details, but I think I understand it conceptually.”

“Right. Well. Awesome. Heh.” Fidgeting her wings, Rainbow stood up, hoping to free some of the jitters forming in her legs. “But yeah, I just figured I’d share that with you since, y’know… you kinda did the same.”

“Mmm.” Looking up at her friend, Twilight said, “Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Uh, sure. Yeah. Go for it.” Rainbow offered a weak smile as she absently kneaded the pillow beneath her.

“How does it feel when I defeat you in the spell world?”

Rainbow froze for a second. Willing her nerves to remain calm, she slowly sat back down on her cushion. Avoiding Twilight’s gaze, she said, “It’s… well…” She sighed long and slow, releasing some of her tension. “Okay, I’ll be honest. At first, I hated it. Like, a lot.”

“Can I ask why, exactly?” Twilight said, her tone emphasizing the objectivity she was seeking.

Thankful her friend was being so open-minded, Rainbow answered with a little more confidence. “Well… it’s because it scared me.” Meeting Twilight’s eyes, she said, “I know I come across as being ‘brave’ whenever fighting villains and stuff, but… really, a lot of times, it’s because I’m scared. Not of them exactly, but… of losing to them.” She swallowed a lump forming in her throat. “That’s the real reason I’m so good at fights.” Rolling her shoulders, she said, “It’s kinda the same with competitions, too. I hate losing so much that I’m afraid of losing. So, of course, winning’s my big thing. When I win at something, I feel on top of the world, like nothing can challenge me. Like… nothing can scare me.”

Twilight leaned forward. “Then why in the world did you have me use the spell again? Twice, for that matter?”

“The first time, it was because I genuinely wanted a rematch.” Averting her gaze again, Rainbow added, “Seeing you as a giant was the first time in awhile that I felt afraid of somepony, rather than just losing. And… well, yeah. Kinda needed to fix that.” She cleared her throat. “But the second time was for you,” she said, looking back at Twilight with a guilty expression. “I mean, I guess you already know that, but—”

“Rainbow, you didn’t have to do that for me.” Shaking her head with a scoff, she then said, “You shouldn’t have done it at all, especially if that’s the way you felt!”

“Hang on, I didn’t finish.” Tensing her body in preparation for the next confession, Rainbow drew a deep breath, then said, “This last time was different. There were a few times I was scared of you, especially when I had you in that fit of rage. I was only able to stomach it because… I wanted to show you it was okay to do what you wanted. That everything would be alright in the en—”

“Like I said before, you didn’t have to—”

“Jeez,” Rainbow spoke over her, “you’re just as good at interrupting as I am, huh?”

Twilight blushed. “S-sorry. Continue.”

With a groan, Rainbow obliged. “So anyway, after you grabbed me that last time – and especially after I saw your anger disappear – I felt… okay.” Glancing away, she fought to keep a blush of her own from forming. “I, uh… I actually kind of… liked it, too.”

Twilight’s ears flicked sharply to each side as she leaned back on her cushion. “You mean, you liked me hurting you?”

“Well… okay, let me put it like this.” Gesturing with her hooves, Rainbow said, “So, there’s some ponies out there who like being hurt. I am not one of those ponies. But, like many pegasi, when I am hurt, I get really amped up for a good fight. There’s also this sort of rush that comes with it too, like no matter how big or bad the challenge is, I can win. Like I will win, guaranteed.

“But when you have a giant freakin’ pony crushing or eating you,” she continued, “that’s when you kinda have to say ‘Alright, yeah, I’m about to lose – game over,’ and just deal with it.” She raked a hoof nervously through the back of her mane. “When I was in flight school, another reason I hated losing was because of how worthless it made me feel. That’s also why I fought so hard to win at every competition, to beat everyone I ever had the chance to race with.”

She dropped her hoof and hung her head. “But then I met Gilda. And… well, let’s just say she helped me realize losing doesn’t always have to be bad. In fact, sometimes it can feel… pretty good. Don’t get me wrong, of course,” she added with stronger emphasis, meeting Twilight’s gaze, “I still love to win, and I still love a good competition. But…”

Falling silent for a moment, Rainbow slumped in her spot. “There’s a reason I gave up to you, Twi.”

Twilight tilted her head, ears trained on her friend.

Rubbing a hoof against a fetlock, Rainbow looked into Twilight’s eyes. “It’s because I trust you… more than you probably know.” Smirking a little, she added, “And losing to you? Well… that was the first time I’ve enjoyed losing in a long, long time.”

For several seconds, Twilight stared in awe, her jaw falling slack. “Rainbow Dash,” she eventually muttered, “I… never knew.”

Rainbow chuckled with a grin. “Well, that’s great! Means I’m doing a good job of being awesome.”

Twilight smiled for a moment, before returning to a contemplative look. “It’s so fascinating to me, learning about all this. There’s still so much I don’t understand – about the things I like, or you like. And of all the books I’ve read, I’ve never once stumbled across any objective material on matters like this.” With a bit of a smirk, she said, “I’ll admit that it’s not like I read up on fetishes before last night, but I’ve read enough works of psychology to know that the source of primal desires like these have never been identified. Some theorize it’s due to chemical imbalances. Others blame it on childhood factors.”

“And Rainbow Dash just assumes that’s how we are,” Rainbow said with her own smirk.

Twilight giggled. “Well, perhaps you’re right.” Frowning a little, she said, “But even if that’s true, does it really make what we like okay? I mean, I understand that you said you submitted because you trust me. But what makes that enjoyable to you?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is when I was originally friends with Gilda, and… y’know, with you now,” she said, glancing away for a second, “I just… I dunno. There’s something about letting go… letting someone I trust take over, that feels good.”

Twilight nodded, hanging her head in thought. “I wonder…”

Rainbow tilted her head. “What’s that?”

After considering some points silently for a moment, Twilight looked up. “I always knew from the ‘good’ dreams I had that I liked the feeling of power from being a giant. So… do you think that’s why I also liked… c-crushing you?”

“I dunno. Duh?” Rainbow shrugged with an arched eyebrow. “Seems kinda obvious to me.”

“Okay. I mean, yeah – I see where it connects to feeling powerful now, I guess.” Twilight nodded absently at her musing. “But I still don’t understand how I can like that sort of thing. The thought of doing something like that in real life makes me sick!”

Rainbow sighed. “I can’t help you there. I mean, even though I know I liked losing to you, I still don’t get why I liked it – especially considering how I feel about losing in general.” With a soft chuckle, she said, “But that might just be the way things are. And if you like eating ponies, crushing stuff, and whatever else, it might be the same sorta thing.”

“It’s not that simple, though,” Twilight said, her tone imploring. “I don’t like that stuff. I mean, I wouldn’t ever want any of that to happen to me, and I would never want to do it in real life! The only time I enjoy the thought is… in…”

“…Oh Celestia, I can’t believe I’m gonna say this,” Rainbow suddenly spoke.

Twilight blinked, cocking her head slightly.

With a roll of her eyes, Rainbow looked away and mumbled, “You only like it… in pretend.” She winced slightly, closing her eyes. “You like to pretend you’re a big bad pony who can do anything she wants.” Biting her lip, she glanced over, neck tense with the movement. “Right?”

For a moment, Twilight stared at her.

Then, with a choke, she collapsed to her side.

“Pffth-HAHAHAHA!” Flailing her hooves, Twilight laughed uncontrollably against her cushion.

Rainbow stood up, ears flicking back. “Alright, jeez, you don’t have to make a big deal out of it!” Turning around, she began to stomp off. “What, is this payback for me laughing at you last night?!”

“N-no Rainbow, wait!” Twilight fought hard to contain her giggles as she shifted to her haunches. “It’s not that, I promise! It’s just…”

Rainbow grumbled, looking back at the mare with a frown.

Sitting upright once more, Twilight wiped an eye with the back of her hoof. “Oh, Rainbow Dash…”

Rainbow blinked.

With a playful smile and soft, caring eyes, she said, “You just have the best way of wording things, sometimes.”

Grabbing a book blindly from the floor, Rainbow chunked the thing at Twilight’s head.

“GAH!” Twilight ducked, barely dodging the book.

“That’s for earlier, ya giant-loving egghead!”