//------------------------------// // Slumber // Story: The Cuddle Dungeon // by Penalt //------------------------------// The two shadowbolts carried Celestia, wrapped in blankets and straps, back into her room and gently laid her on the bed. It had been more than adequately demonstrated to her that any physical resistance on her part was little more than a futile gesture, so she lay quietly, refusing to give in to the temptation to squirm. Now was not the time to fight, it was the time to watch, listen and learn. “Would you like a pillow for your head, your Highness?” the shadowbolt Celestia had come to know as Damned Age asked. He appeared to be the senior of the two guards assigned to Celestia, and so far he had shown her nothing but the utmost respect. Bitted and muzzled, Celestia could make no verbal reply so she settled for nodding her head. Damned’s partner, Sand Storms, slid a small cushion underneath Celestia’s head in response, giving it a needed lift. “We will try this again tomorrow,” Mistress Cuddles had said, which told Celestia that they intended to keep her wrapped up like she was for a full day. I just hope my bladder can hold out, Celestia thought, regretting the juice she had drunk during her brief meeting with the ruler of this place. She sighed, mentally removing the two stallions in the room from her thoughts and relaxed as much as she could in her bonds, staring at a spot in the ceiling and beginning the slow, easy breaths of a meditative breathing session. She had used the calm and relaxation of this several times in the past, to push back her need to sleep. She was just settling into the needed rhythm of breathing when the bed flexed as Damned Age climbed in beside her. No, not that. By the light, please, not that, Celestia thought frantically, her eyes widening and her ears going back in sudden fear. Damned Age saw the mounting terror in Celestia’s eyes and he held up a hoof over Celestia’s body, stopping his partner who was beginning to climb in the other side. “You have nothing to fear from us, Princess,” the shadowbolt said. “You are not going to be touched like that. Not unless you specifically request it. Do you understand me?” Celestia gave a jerky nod, not entirely sure if she should believe the stallion. “And while it would be a joy to provide that service for you, Princess,” Damned Age said with a rueful smile. “Mistress Cuddles would have my hide if I didn’t clear it with her first, and I happen to like my skin where it is, thank you very much. No, Princess, what’s going on is that part of your immobilization therapy includes enforced cuddling.” Both of Celestia’s eyebrows shot up to their fullest extent. “Mrdlng?” she garbled out past her muzzle in surprise. Damned laughed, an easy, carefree sound and one completely at odds with the situation. “Yes Princess...cuddling,” he said, as he finished climbing into the bed to lay beside the bound alicorn and he pressed his body against the blanket that was wrapped around her. “Nothing sexual, just the comfort and warmth of another body against yours.” Celestia felt Sand Storms climb in the opposite side of the bed and mirror his partner. Celestia’s wrapped body now lay between both stallions and despite Damned’s assurances, Celestia felt very vulnerable indeed. Right up until the moment that Sand took one of his red wings and wrapped it over Celestia. It was an oddly comforting gesture which doubled as Damned did the same from his side with one of his black wings. Celestia flicked her eyes from one stallion to the other, trying to see which one of them was going to make the next move, and to her surprise the pair closed their eyes in near unison and bent their heads so that their muzzles touched Celestia on either shoulder. Celestia just lay there for a full minute, incredulous that her jailers appeared to be falling asleep beside her. Celestia could feel the warm breath of the two ponies on her shoulder and neck. She could smell the subtle male odor of their wings and fur. Slowly, the heat of the two bodies around her began to penetrate the blanket, warming her, and despite her intentions otherwise Celestia found herself relaxing and sinking into that warmth. The stallions beside her no longer guards in a prison, but intimate companions in a journey toward sleep and together the three ponies entered the Land of Nod. Sometime later, Celestia awoke. She realized that she had managed to somehow roll onto her side in her sleep, and her two sleeping companions were now spooning her. Damned Age was being the “big spoon” to her, curled against her back, while Sand Storms lay curled inside the arc of her larger body, facing her. Sand had kept his wing over Celestia as she rolled and it had pulled him in close, so close in fact that the solar alicorn realized that her horn lay against the side of his throat. All Celestia needed to do was a quick “twist and flick” motion and she could rip open the shadowbolt’s throat all the way down to his spine. He would never see it coming and Cuddles would have never threatened her with a check rein, if her head and horn weren’t a danger to her minions. Even as Celestia weighed the pros and cons of killing the shadowbolt, Sand’s eyes opened. His eyes flicked to the horn by his neck and then to Celestia, meeting her eyes but saying nothing a moment. Then, with slow care and deliberation he lifted his chin so that his jugular lay directly beneath the point of Celestia’s horn. “Will I see the next sunrise, Princess?” Sand Storms asked in a whisper, his wide brown eyes looking directly into Celestia’s. “I’m engaged to be married in a few months. Will you at least tell her I died bravely?” Celestia’s eyes widened as she realized that not only did the pegasus before her know he could die by her horn, but that he was prepared for it and accepted it. Celestia felt herself fill with shame at the knowledge that she had actually been considering killing him. To murder one of her ponies in cold blood would have been horrible enough but even worse, it would have been a useless death. She was still wrapped up like a piece of sushi on a plate, and Damned Age would surely notice the death of his partner. Celestia had a sudden flash of insight. Sand and Damned weren’t really shadowbolts. They might be wearing the costumes, but they were loyal Equestrians doing what they thought was right, and she had been thinking about killing one of them. Celestia’s eyes filmed with tears as bitter regret filled her and very carefully she lifted her horn away from Sand’s throat. “Thank you,” Sand Storms said, and then he noticed the tears beginning to leak from the alicorn’s eyes. “Shh, it’s okay. You didn’t do it. You’re still a good pony.” He began to stroke Celestia’s head in a comforting motion with his wing as muffled sobs began to wrack Celestia as she continued to pummel herself in the privacy of her own thoughts. Celestia spent the next while trying to bring herself back under control, while both of her cuddle partners now fully awake, made comforting, soothing noises in an effort to calm their charge. It took some time but eventually Celestia pulled in a deep breath to restore her shattered calm, while Damned Age carefully blotted away the remnants of her tears with a clean cloth. Her shame at considering stark murder being replaced by a cold anger. How dare whoever was behind this enmesh two such good ponies in their coils! Ponies who were prepared to lay down their lives for their Princess! It certainly wasn’t their fault that they had been deceived by the same power that had managed to force her own sister and majordomo to act against her. “Princess,” Damned Age said, looking at her carefully, “would you like to get up and use the facilities?” Celestia recognized that she was being offered a chance to start fresh, and this time Celestia vowed to herself, she would do it right. She nodded her thanks and bit by bit, Celestia was unstrapped and unwrapped from her bonds, but when Sand and Damned rolled her to the edge of the bed she discovered her legs simply would not support her. After so many hours of enforced inactivity all they could do was quiver and shake uselessly, and she looked up at the duo in wordless appeal. “It’s okay, Princess,” Damned said, reassuringly. “We’ve got this. Give me a wing here, Sand.” Together Damned and his partner rolled Celestia back to the middle of the bed with her legs underneath her. Once Celestia was there, Sand darted to the door and opening it, said something to somepony outside before returning with a classic hospital bedpan clutched under his wing. Oh, you have got to be kidding me, Celestia thought, just before she felt the cool metal pushed up against her nethers. She let out a tiny gasp at the chill and she cocked an eloquent eyebrow at Damned, who chuckled a bit. “Again, Princess,” he said, a wide smile on his face, “you have nothing to fear from us. We’re professionals here. Seeing as you can’t get to the latrine, the latrine has come to you. Go ahead and void, Ma’am, and we’ll clean you up afterwards, just like I used to do for my foals.” Again, Celestia’s eyes spoke volumes, their expression humorous now rather than angered or fearful, as she huffed out a sigh and let fly into the bedpan. A couple of minutes later, Sand pulled away the now filled bedpan as Damned gave their charge a wipe with a soft cloth, lingering no longer than was absolutely necessary and Celestia nodded her thanks and lay her head down onto her forelegs. “Just stay like that please, Princess,” Sand Storms said, from the garderobe as he emptied the bedpan. Celestia snorted in amusement as she contemplated the shackles on her fetlocks. Where would she go? She could barely move as it was and whatever the spells her cuffs were enchanted with, they were obviously up to the task of keeping her in check. A few moments later Celestia felt a new pair of hooves touch her, as somepony began to massage her rear legs. Celestia didn’t bother trying to look behind her as the pony working on her legs began to restore function to them with skill, technique and more than a little brute strength. The masseuse worked their way up to Celestia’s hips and then her spine and all Celestia could do was bow her head, moaning appreciatively at the wonderful warm sensations the deep massage was giving her. Celestia however, had been an ardent multi-tasker for years. So even as part of her mind was basking in the sensations of the massage, a second part was trying to figure out who was behind all this. Who had the resources to capture and hold her against her will? Who had the ability to force the most trusted ponies in her life to act against her? As she contemplated these questions her hearing just managed to catch the conversation her two escorts were having at the edge of the room. “Are you out of your feather-brained mind?” Damned Aged hissed to his partner. “She could have killed you.” “No, she wouldn’t have. She is Celestia,” Sand Storms replied, in a voice of absolute conviction. “Even if she had killed me, it would have been an honour to die by her horn.” “You idiot,” Damned Aged said, and Celestia heard the sound of a wing thumping against a body. “Can you imagine the crippling guilt she would have gone through after she killed you? It would have eaten her up and all of this would have been for nothing...nothing.” “Um...” Sand Storms said, sounding a little sheepish, “I guess I didn’t really think it through. Sorry.” Celestia heard Damned Age’s sigh clearly. “Just think a bit next time,” Damned Age whispered. “Now, go wake the Mistress and tell her Celestia is awake and should be mobile in a bit.” Sand Storms left the room as the masseuse continued to work on Celestia’s back and joints, the languid warmth of renewed circulation turning her into a puddle of goo and even without the muzzle she would have been incapable of speech. Some long while later, the massage ended as the pony at her back rubbed down her fur with cool cloths, wiping away sweat and restoring energy to her body. “Feeling better?” Damned Age asked, and Celestia nodded in response as the large masseuse pony left the room. She carefully and slowly got herself off the bed and onto her hooves. Sand Storms appeared at her side from almost literally out of nowhere. “Lean on me Princess,” he said, but Celestia shook her head in the negative, determined to rely on her own strength and she slowly walked around her bed in a wide circle, reacquainting her legs with movement. When she felt ready, Celestia stopped in front of the door leading out to the hallway and leaned her head toward it in unspoken question. “You would like to see Mistress Cuddles again?” Damned Age asked. Celestia nodded and tapped her fore shackles together, trying to indicate she now understood that her good behaviour would be compelled. “It’s almost morning again, so you both may as well have breakfast,” Damned said, in a wary voice. “Give me your word Princess that there won’t be a repeat of last time.” She nodded. “All right then. Let’s go,” the stallion said and again he led off through the door with Celestia following and Sand Storms behind her. The trio emerged back into the little glade at the bottom of the shaft, where Mistress Cuddles was waiting for them. The predawn gloom was broken by a set of glow lamps that illuminated stacks of pancakes, bottles of syrup and an array of fruity toppings. Mistress Cuddles sat at the table, only this time she wasn’t wearing the form fitting outfit of the shadowbolts, revealing the pink maned, yellow fur and bat wings of Fluttershy, only in her Flutterbat incarnation as Celestia had guessed. She walked up to Flutterbat, knelt and held out her head in mute request to have her muzzle removed again. “Just like that, you expect me to let you out again?” Flutterbat asked, cruel amusement on her face. Celestia let out an intentionally pitiful whine of request. “Oh alright, I guess you’ve learned your lesson.” Again, Celestia felt rather than heard the snaps of the muzzle and bit being undone and a moment later the bonds around her mouth were pulled away. Flutterbat indicated Celestia should have a seat where a plate of pancakes sat awaiting her and as Celestia took her seat a steaming cup of tea was placed by the pancakes. Celestia picked up the teacup carefully in her hooves and inhaled the steaming scent of the fragrant breakfast tea. Her sensitive nose picked up a hint of licorice and Celestia looked sharply over at her host. “Yes, you are quite right Princess,” Flutterbat said, holding a forkful of pancake and mango in the air. “Your dose of drug is in the tea. Now, will you cooperate and drink it without fuss, or...” Celestia drained the tea in a single, long swallow, then held the cup upside down to show she had drunk it all. “First off, Flutter--” Celestia began, only to be interrupted. “Stop,” Mistress Cuddles interrupted imperiously. “I am not Flutters, neither the ‘Shy’ nor the ‘Bat’, which is why I chose a name that combines the strength of one with the softness of the other.” “Could you explain it to me, please?” Celestia asked, trying to corral a pancake physically instead of with her removed magic. “You need help Princess,” Mistress Cuddles said, pulling out a folded newspaper from under her wing and putting it on the table beside her meal. “Fluttershy had the knowledge and the skill needed, but not the will to use it. Flutterbat had the determination and aggression to do what must be done, but none of the compassion to use it at the right times.” “From what I understood, you have to be one or the other,” Celestia said, finally pinning a pancake to the plate, but for some reason her eyes were drawn to the folded newspaper on Cuddles side of the table, rather than to her elusive food. “For a natural change, you would be correct Princess,” Cuddles said, and a sly smile graced her lips as she noticed what Celestia’s eyes were tracking. “But my change into ‘Mistress Cuddles’ is not a natural one. It’s an arranged blending of my two sides, so that I can be what you need.” Cuddles opened up the paper and lay it flat on the table, scanning it, or at least appearing to scan the paper. Instead, she watched Celestia staring hungrily at the newspaper. “Um, yes,” Celestia said, noticing that Mistress Cuddles was studying her and snapping her attention back to the conversation. “Wait. What I need? What is it that you think I need?” “Why an adversary, of course,” Mistress Cuddles said, brightening, as she refolded the newspaper and used it to gesture toward Celestia. “Somepony who can keep you pinned in place and force you to realize the truth of your situation and your problem. Somepony who can both whip you into shape and care for you with loving affection.” Mistress Cuddles watched Celestia’s head bob back and forth as she waved the newspaper around, punctuating her words. “You want this, don’t you Princess?” Mistress Cuddles asked, as she slid the paper below the level of the table. Celestia blushed slightly as she realized just how obvious her attempts to read something, anything off the front of the newspaper had been. “Yes, please let me read that newspaper,” Celestia asked, hooves quivering slightly with the need to snatch up the broadsheet, her unimportant pancake forgotten. “Why do you want it, Princess?” Mistress Cuddles asked, cool superiority in her tone and she motioned to Sand Storms and Damned Age to take up positions in case Celestia decided to be foalish again. “My ponies,” Celestia began, stilling her hooves, as the glint of the golden shackles on her fetlocks reminded her that she was still a bound captive. “Please, I need to know how they are doing, what is going on with them and Equestria. How my sister is doing. Please, let me read the newspaper.” “Very well, Princess,” Mistress Cuddles said, as she lifted the paper back up onto the table to sit beside her plate. “I will allow you to read the newspaper, but I want something in return.” Celestia looked up and Mistress Cuddles speared her with an amethyst gaze, boring deep into her, forcing her to reply honestly and in earnest. “W-What do you want?” Celestia asked, trying to push back the force of will flooding in through her eyes. “Your submission to my will.”