There were a lot of things that Spitfire didn't understand about her lieutenant, Soarin. His love of pie that borderlined on addiction, for one. Or his laid-back, casual attitude to life, although she had to admit that it balanced her serious, hyper-aggressive attitude out at times.

But the thing that was most confusing to her was the fact that he liked it when she tied him up.

The two top Wonderbolts had been in a relationship for over a year now. Both of them knew that they were taking a risk, mixing work and personal lives, but they had agreed to certain terms and to try hard to make it work. And she would be the last to say that there hadn't been rough patches--she still burned with shame whenever the last Equestria Games tryouts was mentioned, forcing her to remember how she had allowed her competitive spirit to overcome her loyalty to the team--but Soarin, with his cool confidence and total faith in her, even when she felt she didn't deserve it, had allowed the water to flow under the bridge and kept the relationship going. She smiled to herself--Soarin definitely was in charge of the emotional aspects of their relationship.

But she was in charge everywhere else. Including in the bedroom, where they relieved several years worth of sexual tension between them.

Still, the first time he had asked her if she would tie him up, she had balked. "Why?" she had asked.

"Because I...like it," he said, lying next to her on his cot in his dorm room. "I like feeling like...you could do whatever you wanted to me."

"You like feeling helpless?" Spitfire said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well...yeah, I guess you could put it that way," Soarin said, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly, turning away for a moment. "But...only when it's you. See, it's a trust thing. I know you won't actually do anything to hurt me, but not being able to do anything to stop you sends an adrenaline thrill through me." He paused, licking his lips as he tried to think of a way to explain himself. "You know what it's like to be in freefall? You know you can pull out in time and save yourself, but your body thinks you're in danger, so your adrenaline is really flowing?"

"Yeah," Spitfire said.

"It's kind of like that," Soarin said.

Spitfire thought for a moment, staring at the ropes that he had brought with him and placed on the bed. "I guess I understand, but...you really want me to do it?"

"Oh, yeah," Soarin said, with his trademark cocky grin. "Unless you think you can't."

That did it. He knew she could never resist a challenge. "Oh, now you're gonna get it," she had said with the same devious grin that she used to intimidate recruits as she prepared them for a particularly hard drill, grabbing the ropes.

That night had been an unusual one, new and different, but he seemed to have enjoyed it, and she liked feeling him squirm and moan beneath her. She had tied him up quite often afterwards, experimenting with different positions and methods. The two always took the time to talk over what each wanted beforehand and talking about what they had liked and disliked afterwards. It was safe, it was fun, it was sexy.

But it was still kind of weird.

And it piqued Spitfire's curiosity, to be honest. So, on this particular day, when she found herself in the rare situation of being in her cabin at the Wonderbolts HQ all caught up on paperwork and with nothing to do, her mind began to wander down unusual paths. One path led her to an odd conclusion: maybe if she tried it herself, she'd understand.

Heading into her bedroom, she opened up the closet and reached into the back, pulling out the "toy chest," as Soarin called it. Opening up the chest, she extracted a couple bundles of rope and a bright red ball gag. Sitting down on the floor, she started binding herself. She'd done it enough times that she was pretty good at it.

First, she tied her hind hooves and knees together, then her wings to her sides. Taking the ball gag, she placed it in her mouth and buckled it tightly at the back. She paused for a moment to study the taste of the gag. The faint rubbery taste was not, she decided, altogether unpleasant. She tried to speak, finding that it effectively muffled her voice while still allowing her to breathe easily.

Continuing, Spitfire tied her upper forelegs, then formed a double loop with another length of rope with a knot in the center. Putting both her front hooves into a loop, she took hold of the knot and pulled, tightening the rope around her hooves. Having completed her binding, Spitfire settled down to examine herself. The ropes, which were strong but gentle, embraced her skin firmly, restricting her movement as she tried to wriggle out of them. She laid down on the floor, playing with the bonds. This was...interesting. She imagined having Soarin standing over her, grinning mischievously from ear to ear, no doubt imagining all the things that he could do to her while she couldn't...

...move. Wait a minute.

It suddenly occurred to Spitfire that she hadn't fully thought this expedition through. She hadn't left a way to untie herself. She reached for the knot around her hooves, but she had done too good a job: she couldn't untie it herself. Growling in increasing frustration and fear, she began to struggle futilely against the ropes. But it seemed that the more she struggled, the tighter they became. Even after a full ten minutes of struggling, she was still tied up on the floor.

Spitfire took in a breath to yell for help out the window, but quickly stopped herself. Even if anypony could hear her, she really didn't want to have to explain herself to one of her teammates. With a muffled grunt, she flopped onto the ground. Now what?

A horrible thought came to her. What if no one came by? How long would she be tied up here?

At that moment, the door to her office opened. "Hey, Captain--"

Recognizing the voice, Spitfire looked up in a mixture of relief and embarrassment. Mostly embarrassment.

Soarin stood in the door to Spitfire's office, his mouth hanging open slightly and his eyes wide in surprise. He had had fantasies about walking into Spitfire's office and finding her in a suggestive position--including a few where she was tied up and gagged and waiting for him. But none of those fantasies included seeing her lying on the floor, looking at him with her eyes wide with humiliation and fear. Not knowing how to react, he just stared for several seconds. Eventually, Spitfire's humiliation gave way to anger.

"Don't just stand there!" she growled at him (although it came out like "Dough jugh sandere!").

Moved to action, Soarin entered the room and unbuckled the gag. "Spitfire? What happened?"

"Just untie me," Spitfire said.

"Did you tie yourself up?" Soarin asked.

Spitfire was about to deny it, but then hung her head, her face burning. "You're gonna laugh at me."

"No, I won't," Soarin said. "I swear I won't."

Spitfire licked her lips, still unable to look up at her lieutenant. "I...was curious. I was wondering why you liked being tied up so much, so I thought, maybe if I tried it, I..." She fell silent, realizing how stupid that sounded.

Soarin titled his head a little to the side, considering the mare before him, looking so miserable. He reached out a hoof and gave her a gentle side hug, but she didn't respond. An idea suddenly came to Soarin's mind: with a grin, he set his hooves at Spitfire's sides. Realizing what he was going to do, Spitfire turned to him, her eyes widening in fear.

"Don't you dare--" Her command was lost in a peal of laughter as Soarin began to ruthlessly tickle her. With a triumphant laugh, Soarin pinned her to the floor and delivered a barrage of belly raspberries, leaving Spitfire in hysterics.

"No fair, no fair!" she gasped out. Soarin relented and grinned down at Spitfire, who was trying to glare at him through her remaining giggles. Once she calmed down, he leaned down and gently nuzzled her.

"Silly filly," he said. "If you wanted to try it, you could've just asked me. We could've talked about it."

"Yeah, you're right," Spitfire sighed as Soarin began to untie her. Once she was fully untied, she stood up, stretching her limbs. "I just gotta work on the whole...relationship thing."

"And on thinking before you act," Soarin said, earning a glare from his captain. "Listen, you can talk to me about anything, you know. It's what I'm here for."

"I know," Spitfire said, leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "And I love you for it." Enveloping him in her wings, Spitfire pulled Soarin close, nuzzling into his chest as he returned the embrace.

"So," she said, pulling back. "Maybe we could try tonight?"

Soarin grinned. "Sure."

Author's Notes:

Don't ask. Just don't ask. I came up with this idea and I had to get it out of my head.

I hope you enjoyed, and rest assured to my watchers, I'm still working on the Phillip Finder series. This was just something that I worked on while I brainstormed for the next chapter.

Josiah