The youngest member of the night guard, Strawberry Shadow, blinked a few times as he looked down at Princess Luna.
“Aren’t you going to come snuggle me?” she asked him softly, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.
“A-are you sure, Your Highness?”
“Of course I am. You work so hard and are quite comfortable-looking; both of which are very admirable traits.” She ran a hoof down her soft belly enticingly and blinked a few times at him. “Please come over, won’t you?”
With a wavering, goofy smile on his muzzle, Strawberry Shadow tentatively walked over and laid next to Princess Luna, placing a wavering hoof on her floofy chest.
Princess Luna let out a soft whine. “Stop teasing and hold me, already!”
A beaming grin on his muzzle, Strawberry Shadow wrapped his hooves around Luna’s midsection and pulled her tightly against him in a spooning position, causing her to squeal with delight.
“Oooh! I was right! You’re such a good cuddler!”
Just as Strawberry Shadow closed his eyes, another voice was heard, sounding just like Luna’s. “Do ponies really think that I sound like that?”
Strawberry Shadow lifted his head up, furrowing his brow in confusion. He was met with the sight of a rather aloof Princess Luna looking down at him.
Strawberry quickly looked down to the pony he was cuddling- Luna. Then looked back up to the pony watching him- also Luna. “H-huh?”
“Is there something wrong?” the Luna he was cuddling asked.
“I...I...uh…”
“Yes, why don’t you tell her what’s wrong?” the other Luna added, narrowing her eyes a bit.
Strawberry awoke with a start and a small, startled skree. He whipped his head around quickly to find that he was in the Cuddle Dungeon’s break room; and that Princess Luna was looking at him with the same disinterested expression that she had been in his dream. He looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes, not exactly sure if she had been aware of his dreams.
“You are not afraid to dream big, I will grant you that,” Luna told him with a smirk.
Strawberry babbled for a few moments before deciding on an ashamed silence. Not only had he fallen asleep on the job, but he’d been caught dreaming about cuddling his boss- not necessarily the best way to climb the rungs of the bureaucratic ladder.
“Why are you sleeping? For that matter, why are you down here at all?” Princess Luna asked, suddenly seeming more curious than displeased.
“L-Lieutenant Papaya Sunrise gave me the early morning shift in addition to my scheduled double shift, ma’am,” he told her quickly and reverently. “I’ve been on duty for almost twenty-four hours, and...forgive me!” His eyes darted back and forth between hers, fearfully searching for some purchase. “I-I’ll get right back to my post,” he stammered, standing up from his chair and moving toward the room’s exit.
Princess Luna’s hoof landed gently on his barrel and pushed him back into his seat. “Stay where you are.”
A blush over his cheeks, Strawberry just looked up submissively at the powerful, elegant alicorn standing in an intimidating fashion over him.
Princess Luna merely continued looking blankly at him for a few seconds, before a spark seemed to glint in her eyes. “A touch of harmless work-schedule hazing, and you can’t even keep yourself awake? What if one of the dangerous prisoners here were to escape!?”
Not many prisoners ever wanted to really leave the Cuddle Dungeon in the first place, but Strawberry understood her point and bowed his head shamefully.
“Truly, falling asleep on the job- I should have you court-martialed! Drummed out of the guard!” Princess Luna took a few intimidating steps toward him.
Strawberry’s body shook heavily, as he continued to stare down at the floor, awaiting the just payment for his crime.
“Or, I could work up a special punishment for you,” Princess Luna delivered, her voice slowly lowering into a whisper as she leaned into his ear. “Although I’m not sure it’d be much better for you.”
The guard swallowed a heavy lump in his throat and remained silent, his vocal cords paralyzed by fear, confusion, and indecision.
“Court martial...or my punishment?” Princess Luna breathed a little more forcefully.
“P-punishment,” Strawberry squeaked back, unsure what compelled him to his answer.
“So it will be, then.” With a magical flash, Strawberry found himself thrown to the floor of the Cuddle Dungeon’s purple room, with Luna standing next to him.
Strawberry’s heart started to beat quickly. This wasn’t a punishment after all, was it? Could it be that-
“Get on the table,” Luna ordered, pulling the dazed guard to his hooves with a burst of telekinetic aura.
Strawberry Shadow scrambled obediently up the table in response, lying quickly on his back.
“Oh, good, you know what’s coming.” Luna’s horn came to life as the bindings closed around Strawberry’s hooves. “I just hope you’re ready for it.” Regally, Luna stepped up onto the stage at the bottom of the cuddling table, taking her sweet time.
Strawberry began to sweat as Luna lowered her fuzzy midsection onto him and wrapped a back hoof around his leg such that it laid next to his tail between his legs. He let out an inadvertent skree of contentment in response.
Luna into his eyes with a raised eyebrow. “You do hate this, don’t you? If you don’t absolutely despise me holding you tightly against me, I’ll have to find another punishment for you…”
Luna’s grin gave Strawberry all the confidence he needed. Still in shock that this time it wasn’t a dream, he responded. “Princess, I hate this, I-I can’t stand it. Don’t hold me any tighter against you, and p-please don’t run your hooves over me or wrap me in your fluffy wings!”
Luna chuckled darkly. “Now you have revealed your weaknesses to me!” Placing her head down on his upper barrel right under his neck, she pulled him tightly against her with her top hoof, causing her silken tummy to rub gently against his side. Unfurling a wing to cover his body, she ran her other hoof gently over his far front leg, occasionally redirecting it into little circles. Finally, Luna floated over the blanket and covered them both, yawning gently and squeezing one of his back legs between her own.
Strawberry was thankful that Luna turned off the lights next, which served to hide his embarrassingly bright blush of ecstasy. Still, he was nearly certain that Luna could hear his heartbeat.
The two laid together in silence in the dark, until it was broken by Luna. “Ooooh, I was right,” she said, mocking the intonation of the dream Luna from his fantasy earlier. “You’re such a good cuddler!”
“P-princess,” Strawberry Shadow stuttered. “Why...why are you doing this?”
Luna let out a pleased groan and nuzzled his neck softly. “Because I like snuggling and fall asleep easier with a cuddle buddy. Plus I felt a little sorry for all the trouble the others have been giving you. You’ve been on staff a couple of months, I mean geez. Don’t they have somepony else to pick on?”
Strawberry’s heart dropped in his chest. “O-oh.”
“...I would be lying, however, if I did not say that I agreed with your false version of me’s analysis: I find your work ethic impressive, and you do appear and feel quite comfortable.”
Strawberry smiled and yawned. “Th-thank you Princess. D-does this mean that I could be the big spoon?”
“Absolutely not. You’re awake, so I’m in charge.”
Strawberry was far too tired to protest as Luna’s soft coat and gentle warmth lulled him to sleep soon after.
Strawberry Shadow blinked a few times as he looked down at Princess Luna.
“Aren’t you going to come snuggle me?” she asked him softly, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.
The ecstatic guard took a step forward before halting. “Wait a minute...I can’t do this! I’m cuddling with Princess Luna in real life, if I got caught again cuddling her in a dream, who knows what she would do?”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind,” Luna responded softly, lying on the floor with her belly facing upward.
“I-I don’t know, she’s hard to read sometimes…”
The Luna on the floor rolled her eyes. “Come now, I’m sure she’s not around.” She ran a hoof up her tummy and barrel, fluffing up her coat alluringly.
Strawberry’s gaze darted around his blurry dreamscape, searching for any sign of his employer. “You can’t know that. She’s a sneaky one.”
“Strawberry, I’m sure that she wouldn’t care. In fact, she probably wants you to come and hold her.”
Strawberry’s eyes flashed with understanding. “Luna?”
Luna growled. “No...Twilight.” With a scrunching shut of the eyes, her former submissive demeanor was restored. “I mean, of course, Strawberry. Y-you aren’t just going to leave me all alone here, are you?”
“I-I’m with you now though,” he exposited as he laid next to her and placed his head on her barrel.
“But I want you with me here, too,” she responded. “You deserve it.”
Strawberry rolled onto his side and wrapped a hoof around her. “D-does this mean I can be the big spoon?”
Luna smirked. “You’re not awake, so I guess you’re in charge...here, at least.” She rolled onto her side and pressed her flanks and back gently into Strawberry’s body, the natural complementarity between their forms causing Strawberry to relax in comfort.
Smiling softly, Strawberry rubbed Luna’s tummy and nuzzled her galaxy-spanning mane. “Thank you, Princess. F-for your punishment, I mean.”
“You’re welcome. Oh, and Strawberry Shadow?”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“You’ve got tomorrow off. Enjoy it.”