Mistress Do Well: Submission
by milesprower06

The Art

Fluttershy awoke to a fluffy tail brushing under her chin, following by a purring in her ear as Opal nuzzled the side of her face, letting her know that it was time for her to get up and provide breakfast.

'Dogs have owners, cats have staff.' Applejack had jokingly told her a few days ago. She still smiled at the joke.

Getting out of bed, seeing her house renovated and clean still brought warm feelings to her heart. The five of them working together, and it looked better than new. Better yet, she had an increasing number of animals living with her. It wasn't nearly as much as she had more than a year ago, but it was a great start.

Opal hopped off the bed and waited impatiently by the door as Fluttershy ran a comb through her mane. Setting the brush down on the dresser, she glanced just to the left, where a letter and white gold heart pendant rested.

To the kindest, sweetest, and most gentle pony I have ever known.

Love,
Your Secret Admirer

Fluttershy's heart still skipped a beat every time she read the letter, which she had done at least fifty times in the week since she received it. She took the necklace and carefully hooked it on, staring thoughtfully at the reflection of herself wearing it in the mirror, fiddling with the shimmering heart pendant for a few moments, before Opal's meowing finally got her attention.

“Alright, I hear you sweetie. Breakfast time.”

It took tending to the needs of numerous animals to keep her mind occupied throughout the day, because when she had time to herself, all she did was wonder who had sent the letter. It had made sleep difficult the first night after she got it. Would this admirer show up at her door? Who could it be and... Could she ever get that close to somepony ever again?

She couldn't answer that question, and she doubted her ability to reach a conclusion to that dilemma until she was looking her secret admirer in the eyes.

Opal snaked around on the floor between her legs as she opened the can of cat food and put it in the dish by the entry to the kitchen. About to make herself some breakfast, that plan was put on hold as there was a knock at the door. Setting the frying pan on the burner, she left Opal to her breakfast and went to greet her morning visitor. The front door opened to reveal Rainbow on the doormat, a scooter and helmet resting against the fence.

“Oh, good morning Rainbow. You've been riding with Scootaloo, I take it?”

“Yep. We just finished up an early morning run. Thought I'd come by, because I've been wanting to ask you about something.”

“Well, come on in. I was just about to start breakfast, but that can wait.”

Together, the two of them sat across from each other at the dining room table.

“That's a beautiful necklace. Where'd you get it?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh, this? I... I got it in the mail. Somepony sent it to me.”

“Wow. Who?”

Fluttershy brought her hoof up to fiddle with the white gold heart.

“I... I don't know. It came with a letter, but it didn't have a name on it, it was just signed 'Your secret admirer.'”

“Oh.” Rainbow said, now understanding, causing Fluttershy to lightly blush at the cheeks.

“Aren't you curious to find out who it is?”

“Yes, very.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“Well... I haven't exactly worn this out in public yet.”

Rainbow watched as Fluttershy averted her gaze and fiddled with the necklace for a few more seconds.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” the timid pegasus asked, aiming to change the subject.

“Actually, if you don't mind... I'd like to ask you about Rarity. About your relationship.”

Fluttershy stared silently for only a moment.

“What would you like to know?”

“Whose idea was it? You know... The BDSM?” Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy shifted around in her seat before answering, enough for Rainbow to notice.

“I mean, if you don't feel comfortable with-”

“No no, it's alright. It... It was my idea.”

Rainbow knew the answer could have gone either way, but she honestly wasn't expecting this one. She had always imagined that Rarity had coerced her into it.

“So... What did you get out of it? Did you enjoy being hurt?”

Fluttershy shook her head.

"It's not just about the pain. It's about trust. Letting go. Not being in control. Putting yourself in somepony else's hooves."

“So how did it start?”

"We were safe. That always came first. In the beginning we didn't have a safe word, I was supposed to just ask her to stop, but I never had to, she never crossed any lines. At the end of every session, she'd look me over, ask if I was okay, and check me over for injuries herself, then she'd wrap us up in a blanket. Comfort was always important to her afterward.”

Keeping a keen eye on Fluttershy to make sure she was still comfortable with the conversation, Rainbow pressed on.

“So where did everything start to go wrong?”

Fluttershy sat back in her chair, and reflected on the past, carefully constructing her reply.

"Thinking back, we both felt it had started to get a little boring. So we started focusing on the thrill more and less on the safety. We started using a safe word so we could act like I didn't like it sometimes. Over the course of about a year, the sessions got longer. Eventually, we thought we had gotten to a level of trust where we didn't need a safe word. A little bit after that, she'd just ask if I was okay, she wouldn't check me over. A few months after that, she stopped doing that too. Before I knew it... Pleasing her was all that mattered.”

Fluttershy couldn't help but feel guilty about how far things had progressed because of her lack of assertiveness. This whole thing could have been avoided if she remained in control. Pushing her limits was one thing, breaking them entirely was quite another.

“W-why are you asking me this?”

Now it was Rainbow's turn to seem uncomfortable. She leaned down to her saddlebags that she had put beside her chair, opened the right flap, and came up with a small white box. She set it on the table, and slowly and silently slid it across to Fluttershy. Fluttershy pulled it across the last quarter of the table, and lifted the lid off.

“Oh...” she said, trailing off, staring at the magic limiter inside.

“Twilight gave it to me last week. She said it was how she got through some of her nights alone, and if I was comfortable with it, she wants me to use it on her.”

“I see...” Fluttershy began, putting the lid back on and sliding it back across the table. “Are you comfortable with it?”

“I... I honestly don't know. On one hoof, I don't know if I can treat her like that, and on the other... I want to make her happy.”

“She must want it badly, if she gave it to you. Especially with what happened down in-”

“Don't.” Rainbow cut her friend off. “That's what I've been trying to get out of my head all week, because that's what I'm afraid of most. I have to stop thinking about what happened down there whenever I consider dominating her. Because what happened down there wasn't domination. BDSM, from what you just told me, is all about trust and consent. That was sexual abuse and torture.”

Fluttershy immediately nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

“I'd say you should definitely take the time to decide if you're comfortable with doing this.”

“That's kinda why I came over here. I've been thinking about it all week. I don't want to keep dancing around it, and make her think I forgot about it.”

“You don't want to rush it.”

“I know, but at the same time, I don't want to take so long that I... Ugh, fine, let me put it to you this way. Let's say you wear that necklace out in public. You find your secret admirer. What if they know what happened? What if they knew what you were into? What if they wanted to help you try BDSM again? Would you?”

Fluttershy was not expecting this kind of question. Her gaze fell to the table as she pondered an answer.

“If it was somepony I felt I could love and trust... Yes, I think I would. I think we've all learned from our mistakes.”

With this answer, Rainbow looked at the small white box once again.

“I was hoping to decide by tonight. I've already got most of the stuff I need. I was hoping if I got enough of it, that it would push me to finally do it.”

“How about a friendly bet? If you really feel like you have to stop dancing around and make a decision by tonight, do it. Make a commitment one way or the other, and I'll wear my necklace out when we all go for drinks tomorrow night. Deal?”

Rainbow smiled. Maybe that was the 'oomph' she needed. A friendly dare.

“You're on.”