Twilight's best guess was that the small room they had just entered had probably gone unused for some considerable time, but that, upon her assent to try this, Princess Celestia had quickly had it furnished with everything necessary for the night ahead. The exposed brickwork and wooden beams should have given it claustrophobic feel, but rather, she found it cosy and homely. It was rather like an old attic. The amber light from the lamps affixed to the wall lent it an almost intimate air.

        The only furnishing in the room was an old wooden table; sitting atop it was a closed burlap sack, while a number of wooden tubes about as long as her legs and half as thick lay criss-crossed across its surface.

        Only the rusting hinges and faint scratch marks in the mortar hinted at the rather drab past of this room.

        She soon found her mulberry eyes being drawn to something glittery and silver in the ceiling; no, not the ceiling, but attached to the beams that intersected the roof. Upon closer inspection, she saw that they were, in fact, a row of eye-bolts. Easy to guess what they were going to be used for, and Twilight couldn't help but shiver nervously as she pictured herself suspended and helpless. “Presumably, you've tested their load-bearing capacity?”

        Celestia nodded slightly. “Each bolt is capable of holding up to two hundred kilograms.”

        “Better safe than sorry, huh?” Twilight said with mock-hurt as she counted the number of eye-bolts.

        Stifling a giggle with her hoof, Celestia placed a kiss on the tip of her lover's horn and smiled sweetly at her. “I was more concerned with the age of the beams than I was about your weight, dear. They are rather old after all, and I thought it would be best to distribute the load over as wide an area as possible.” She'd, of course, tested the beams' structural integrity with a series of heavy objects earlier in the day, but it never hurt to be careful. Especially where one's partner was concerned.

        Mollified, Twilight returned the gesture, though she had to raise herself up on her hindlegs in order to reach Celestia's. “Am I ever gonna be the same height as you? I mean, you've towered over me ever since I was a filly!”

        Wrapping her forelegs around Twilight's withers, Celestia grinned at her. “In time. It takes a few years for the alicorn magic to fully assert itself.”

        There was a catch in her throat as she spoke her next words; in truth, she was content to stay in Celestia's embrace for the rest of the night and beyond, but that was not why they were here. “So. How do we begin this?”

        Instead of replying with words, Celestia broke their hug and offered her foreleg to Twilight, which the younger alicorn gratefully accepted; she led her to the middle of the room, kissing her lover affectionately on the lips while gliding her hoof along her silky lavender coat. Twilight made a noise a noise in the back of her throat as Celestia's hoof found her rump and gave it a soft squeeze while their tongues met in a passionate embrace. Breaking the kiss – somewhat reluctantly – Celestia's lilac-purple eyes met Twilight's mulberry ones. “If you could please sit for a moment while I prepare.”

        Too enervated to speak, Twilight silently complied with the request; her mind was so flooded with adrenaline that she could barely think in a straight line, and she caught herself almost toppling over before she regained her balance. All that from one kiss! It was far from their first, but the younger alicorn felt as though something new, something once hidden, had just been revealed to her from that simple act: the depths of stimulation that Celestia was capable of evoking when she put her considerable mind to the task.

        Levitating the sack and untying the knot which kept its contents hidden from view in the same swift motion, Celestia emptied the items it contained onto the table. Twilight saw that there were a number of light brown ropes piled on top of each other, waiting to pounce like coiled snakes. “Some recommend jute rather than hemp,” Celestia said, cutting into Twilight's alarming thoughts, “but I think that the hemp ropes have a softer texture, in addition to being a lot stronger. Could you hold out a leg for me, please?”

        Twilight did so; Celestia took one of the ropes in the grip of her magic, and wrapped it gently around the proffered leg. “How does that feel?”

        “It's feels fine,” the younger alicorn said. “What-?”

        “-Hold on a moment.”

        A moment passed and Celestia nodded in satisfaction before removing the rope. “Rough? Itchy? Coarse?”

        “It was quite soft, actually. Kind of … tickly, I suppose, is the best way to describe it, but not unpleasant.”

        “Good,” Celestia replied before explaining: “One, I wanted to check to see if you were allergic to the rope. It wouldn't be much fun if you were breaking out in hives during the process, after all. Two, the tactile nature of the rope and its proximity to your flesh is part of the experience, and I don't think you would be able to stand it for very long if it was scratchy and irritating.”

        “I appreciate your forethought.”

        “Safety first.”

        Celestia levitated a strand of rope from the pile high into the air with her magic and drew it through the first of the eye-bolts with the needle-point precision of a master seamstress; she gave it a couple of experimental tugs to make sure that it was fastened securely to the beam, then matched the length of both ends before tying them off with a neat little flourish. It had been a while since she'd done this, and she was pleased to see that she wasn't nearly as rusty as she'd feared she might be at the knotting stage. Then again, learning to tie was one of the basic skills a unicorn was expected to become proficient in. “Stretch your forelegs out as far as you can, and try keep to them as straight as possible, Twilight,” Celestia said, giving the younger alicorn an expectant look.

        With only the slightest trace of hesitation, Twilight did so; she took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths, and found that most of her anxiety had faded by the time she'd completed her little exercise. Cadance's method certainly did come in handy, though she wondered if the Princess of Love had ever envisaged its use in a situation such as this. “How's this?” she asked tentatively.

        “Perfect. And hold that pose.”

        One of the wooden tubes was brought up behind Twilight and she craned her neck to get a better look at it; it was, in fact, a bamboo stalk, and she felt its rugged contours brush up against her arms and arched back as Celestia manoeuvred it into position, defining the length of her outstretched limbs.

        With the methodical exactitude of one who had spent thousands of hours honing their craft, Celestia manipulated the ropes in her magical grasp until they were tenderly, carefully, lovingly, wreathed around Twilight's forelegs; the younger alicorn's muzzle stiffened as a tinge of anxiety thrilled through her when she realised that she could no longer freely move her upper body, but she firmly set her jaw rather than make any complaint to her. Quickly finishing her work with a pair of loose knots – leaving quite a sizeable section of free rope – at the tips of Twilight's hooves, Celestia leaned into her ear and asked in a low, warm whisper, “Are you all right?”

        “I'm fine. It's just a little disconcerting to be … exposed like this,” Twilight said honestly, feeling the sweat beading on her forehead and prickling her scalp. It wasn't like she hadn't seen every part of her before, but this wasn't like those other times; she could still feel the warmth and love that Celestia radiated, but there was something else at work, too: a craftspony at work, a sculptor contemplating an engraving, searching out any and all imperfections. Twilight couldn't help but feel a little perturbed by that, that she was nothing but a puzzle to be figured out.

        “Do you want to stop?” Celestia had caught the doubt etched on Twilight's muzzle.

        “I'm fine, really.” In spite of her misgivings, she wanted to complete this little adventure for Celestia's sake; she might not say anything, but Twilight sensed that her lover would be broken-hearted at ending this little journey so soon.

        Accepting Twilight's word, Celestia gave her a quick peck on the tip of her ear, then grasped the loose section of rope and threaded it through the network of eye-bolts; with this now done, she would be able to hoist her bound lover into the air and her weight would be nicely spread amongst the ceiling beams. Doing it with magic was one thing, but this was something else entirely. Celestia found that Twilight's flushed cheeks and look of naked vulnerability was incredibly endearing, and the bindings set the scene off rather well. A prisoner brought in front of a cruel tyrant. Knowing the practice's connection with ancient disciplinarianism, Celestia found that she was unable to fend off some of the more unseemly fantasies conjured up in her mind's eye. Maybe it'd be a bit longer before she could share that aspect of her personality with the younger alicorn.

        Returning to the present, Celestia passed a rope through the eye-bolt that was furthest along the beam, then brought its length down to Twilight's ankles; next, she gripped the other bamboo cane in her magical field and aligned it along Twilight's spread hindlegs. Instinctively, the young alicorn tried to bring her violet tail up to protect her modesty, flushing brightly as she did so, but with a benevolent smile Celestia flicked it away with her hoof. “It's nothing I haven't seen before, Twilight.”

        “Still, though, it's a little bit … different … like this.” Twilight had expected it to hurt, for her body to be straining to its limits to cope, but Celestia had been right: the weight was distributed so perfectly across the beams that she was feeling none of the tension at all, only the glossy smooth encasement of the rope pressing snugly against her flesh itself. Mentally, her mind was racing though as she considered how fragile and, indeed, how bare she was up here. It wasn't a simple matter of her most intimate parts being fully on display, it was knowing that Celestia could do anything she wanted to her and she wouldn't be able to resist. She couldn't help wondering if Celestia wasn't herself having those exact same thoughts.

        Using a third rope, sliding it down under the croup of Twilight's back – Celestia made a mental note of the spot for future use when she heard a soft giggle escape the young alicorn's throat – and attaching it to the ceiling to take the weight off the ankle ties left Twilight Sparkle hovering more or less horizontally, her fore- and hindlegs prostrate. With the remaining length, she looped it around her barrel, then brought the concluding whorl down around her hips. Celestia hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should draw the final strand of rope through Twilight's pelvis, but she finally decided that it was probably too much too soon. This wasn't about sex right now. After a few patient moments, the knots were tied and there was very little lavender left to see, but Celestia savoured what was on view, enhanced by the sight and smell of the rope.

        “Are you all right?” asked Celestia, stroking the graceful curve of Twilight's neck lovingly. “Are you comfortable?”

        “Surprisingly, yes, I am,” Twilight replied, amazed at the weightless feeling she was experiencing … and even more amazed that it had been accomplished without the use of magic.

        Only Twilight's unsupported head was still fully visible at this point, and Celestia's took off the shoes of her forelegs in order to feel the fine silken threads against her bare flesh; she traced the lines of Twilight's purple and pink highlights, eventually gathering it up in her hooves. She braided it together simply, as she had once done with her sister so long ago, then brought the final piece of rope – a much thinner one this time – to bear. With a few simple knots, and a final loop through the eye-bolt, even Twilight's hair took on an ethereal, wafting quality.

        With Twilight now completely bound, Princess Celestia took a step back to admire her hoofiwork; if somepony were to burst through the door right now announcing the end of Equestria, they'd probably do a double-take at the ensnared form of the younger alicorn, thinking that Celestia had lost her marbles and had started rounding ponies up and subjecting them to cruel tortures. She felt a smile blossom on her muzzle. There were cruel tortures and there were very sweet tortures. With a brush of her foreleg, she wiped away some of the burning sweat collecting on her brow. She had no idea what time it was. The practice of binding required absolute mental focus, and somewhere in the midst of it all she'd lost her connection to the sun. Her smile dimmed.

        “Is everything all right?” asked Twilight, the slightest edge of distress creeping into her voice as she observed the slant of Celestia's face.

        “Hm? Yes, everything's fine, Twilight.” Celestia shook her head, though not to clear it. Without the crushing pressure of the sun, she felt lighter than she had done in years. Pity it couldn't last longer. “I got so wrapped up in things, no pun intended, that my link to the sun has been momentarily severed.” To allay the inevitable panic, she quickly added, “Don't worry. It happens from time to time when I allow my mind to wander. It is but the work of a moment to re-establish contact. How do you feel?”

        Twilight moved her head as much as she was able to and took in her rope-embraced form; while she was far from an expert on knot-tying, she could appreciate good work when she saw it, and even the least important of bows were an intricate work of art in themselves. She took a deep breath and it felt cleaner, purer, than it had any right to this far down in the belly of the castle. Her limbs were limp and relaxed, as was her spine, supported totally by the lengths of thread coupling her to the ceiling. Surprisingly, she felt at peace. “I feel … good,” she said brightly, no trace of anxiety or fear whatsoever clouded her tone. Twilight felt as though she'd perhaps gained a smidgen of understanding: here, trapped, she had given herself utterly and completely to Celestia. There were no tough decisions to make, no worries, no agonies, just … bliss.

        It wasn't confinement, it was freedom.

        When Celestia began to gently disentangle her from the ropes and the bamboo, Twilight was almost disappointed, though she was careful not to let this fact register on her face. It had been an amazing bonding experience for both of them, and she didn't want to leave it on a sour note. When at last she was back on her own four hooves – if a mite wobbly after having been constrained for so many hours – she looked up at her lover with an abashed look. “Can we … I mean, will we do this again?”

        “If you'd like to,” Celestia replied, using her magic to return the ropes to the sack, delighted that Twilight had enjoyed herself so much and was open to continuing the practice. “There are many variations on the theme still to explore after all.” There were as many twists and turns to the practice as there were stars in the sky, and Celestia's mind raced as she pictured herself and Twilight working their way through them all, but she would be patient, breaking the young alicorn in carefully, gently, and most critically of all, with love and tenderness.

        As they prepared to return to the throne room, both ponies became lost in their thoughts; Celestia's mind turned to that ancient photograph that had so dominated her imagination, and now that she had made that fantasy a reality with a mare that she loved with a fervidness that surpassed any relationship she'd been in before, she felt a certain sense of … completeness. Twilight, for her part, had learned that bondage was not a confining experience that one needed to be anxious of, but one that professed liberation and comfort.

        Most importantly of all, both had come away with a deeper understanding and respect of the other.