//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 - Nighttime 
// Story: The Princess Infestation 
// by PonyThunder 
//------------------------------//

Twilight's eye twitched for a moment as she mentally assessed the situation. Her castle was already packed to the brim with books, guests, and what seemed like half the population of Equestria. Now she was being asked to accommodate even more. "You...you need a place to stay?"

"Well, not me, exactly..." Shining Armor said sheepishly.

Cadence rolled her eyes. "Shining Armor is attending a ceremony in the Changeling Kingdom."

"Invited to attend, as a royal guard," he corrected her, receiving a slight glare in response. Twilight eyed them both, confused. "King Thorax wants a mixture of both changeling and equestrian security to emphasize the peace between our lands."

"And," Cadence interjected, "since Flurry Heart is a bit...much...to manage, I was hoping that her Auntie Twilight Sparkle would be okay if she and I visited for awhile...while Shining Armor is away at the party."

"We were hoping," Shining Armor added, this time receiving a more obvious glare. He'd omitted the fact that he'd also been invited to a party that would follow the ceremony, which had been a point of contention between them prior.

Twilight's mind ran through logistics while the two of them shot subtle glares at each other, calculating how much space she could allocate by shifting everything around, but ultimately came to the conclusion that she would have to undo a whole week's worth of organization to clear out enough space for Cadence and Flurry Heart to stay in. She sighed, wondering if her books and research supplies were somehow multiplying when she wasn't watching. On any other day, she'd have welcomed them with open hooves, but today all she could muster was a "Sure, come on in."

"Thanks, Twily," said Shining Armor as Cadence walked inside with Flurry Heart, who was waving back at him.

Cadence chose not to turn around as they said their goodbyes, instead opting to have Shining Armor say goodbye to her flank as the door abruptly closed shut behind her. Twilight noticed and sighed internally, somehow knowing that she wouldn't be able to spend time with Celestia or Luna anytime soon.





"Can you take care of Flurry Heart for a while?"

Twenty minutes. Twilight mentally noted the time it had taken for her evening to be booked with obligations. Although, moments after that thought, she felt terrible of herself for daring to have a negative outlook about spending time with her favorite niece. Time with the princesses could wait. "I'd love to!"

Flurry Heart threw her hooves up and babbled gleefully as Cadence gave her to Twilight. "Thank you so much, Twilight. Is it all right if I stay in a separate room? She's been keeping me up every night for several moons now."

"Well actually," Twilight paused to figure out where she and Flurry Heart could stay, "you can...stay in...my room."

"Oh? Are you sure? I wouldn't wan't to impose. Any room will do."

"It's no big deal, I can just sleep in the library...I like the smell of books anyway."

Cadence gave her an odd look, then a nod of acceptance. It was believable. "You don't have any other available rooms?"

"The thing about that, actually..."

Just then, Princess Celestia and Luna came from around the corner. Cadence gasped. "What are you two doing here?"

Twilight cringed. Even though they were technically on the same level, somehow it felt wrong to speak to the princesses so casually.

Neither of them seemed to mind though, and Celestia answered. "Our castle is being remodeled. Is yours as well?"

Cadence took several confused moments to process that response. "No, I'm just here while Shining Armor is in the Changeling Kingdom."

"Ah yes, the peace ceremony," Luna replied. "To emphasize the peace between our lands."

Cadence still seemed annoyed at Shining Armor. "Yes. That."

Twilight was growing nervous. She was hosting the princesses in her own home, her sister-in-law was steaming with anger, and she had a baby alicorn to attend to. She decided it was time to take action to avoid any possible problems. "Anyway, let me show you to my...your room."

Twilight escorted Cadence into a nearby hallway to bring her to her room, still doing logistics in the back of her mind in order to figure out where she'd be sleeping that night.





It was nighttime. Normally at this point, Spike would have been reading a comic book under a dim light in his room while snacking on some crystals. Tonight however, he had been relegated to a small basket at the edge of his bed while Princess Luna lay atop it, snoring. Instead of actually sleeping normally, however, she was spending the night entering the dreams of ponies all throughout the land, occasionally murmuring a few words. Loudly.

"DON'T BE AFRAID, LITTLE ONE."

Spike jolted upward in surprise, looking around like someone had broken into his room. He rubbed his eyes and tried to get his bearings. Luna was silently resting atop his bed, and after a solid minute of allowing his heart to calm down, he closed his eyes and began to drift back to sleep. The peaceful sounds of the night permeated the air for a few blissful seconds or so.

"HAVE NO FEAR!"

Spike screamed and fell out of his basket, looking up at Luna with a look of both terror and annoyance. Mostly terror. She was breathing softly and shifted around slightly for a few moments before going back to snoring, unconsciously grabbing a pillow for support. He stared blankly for several more seconds, too tired to think, and began to crawl back into his basket when once more, Luna had an outburst.

"YOU MUST NOT GIVE IN TO DESPAIR!"

The pillow launched outward off the bed and hit him in the face. Bewildered and confused, Spike tried to plug his ears in time but failed miserably.

"FOR IT WILL GROW INSIDE AND BECOME STRONGER!"

He curled himself into the fetal position, claws wrapped around his head.

"HEED MY ADVICE, LITTLE ONE, AND YOU WILL LEARN TO CONQUER YOUR FEARS!"

Spike curled into himself even tighter, shedding a small, wet tear over the thought that he would absolutely not be getting any sleep for the next several hours.





Starlight lay on the bed with eyes wide open, hooves clutched over the blanket, staring blankly up at the ceiling in the dark. 

Uncomfortably close beside her was the almighty princess of Equestria sleeping soundly, her royal chest rising and falling slowly with every graceful, majestic breath. Starlight shifted silently and carefully as possible in the opposite direction, towards the end of the narrow bed she was sharing with the princess. She was practically falling off the side, holding onto the blanket just to stay on, and had thought about sleeping on the floor several times, but seeing as how adamant the princess was about having a sleepover together, she thought it best to go along.

Celestia stirred for a moment, blowing air out of her nostrils. Starlight looked over, terrified, and ended up with a breath being blown into her face. Surprisingly, and perhaps not so surprisingly, it smelled like sunshine. She didn't know what to think of that thought, so she chose to ignore it and turn back the other way to attempt to go to sleep once again. 

Moments later, however, she felt a warm and soft presence engulf her backside. Her eyes opened once more, staring blankly in the opposite direction. She quickly shifted forward and further onto the edge of the bed in an attempt to escape the encroaching warmth, but there was no use. As soon as she tried to get away, a magnificent white wing swooped through the nighttime air and swiftly curled over her entire body, pulling her inward. The warmth and sunshine engulfed her like a warm wave pulling her out to sea, the grip around her tightening slightly as the princess unconsciously shifted to get more comfortable.

Celestia cooed softly in her sleep.

Starlight wasn't sure what to think anymore. The ruler of her nation was holding her tightly against her chest, making her unable to escape. That is, unless she wanted to wake the princess up, which was the last thing she wanted to happen. Instead, after several moments of panic, she had a thought that confused her.

This is kind of nice.

Immediately after, she began trying to squirm her way out of the alicorn's surprisingly strong grip.

Celestia murmured something in her sleep. "...equus. What a...fascinating..."

Starlight's eyes widened, and she stopped squirming.

"...think that we...together..."

She struggled once more to escape, but the wing pulled her in tighter, almost suffocating her.

"...don't leave me..." Celestia murmured softly. Her voice almost seemed distraught.

Starlight stopped immediately, freezing in place. The wing that kept her pinned against the alicorn's chest slowly pulled her back in tightly. She felt a soft sensation on the back of her head, quickly realizing that Celestia was nuzzling her.

"...mmm......Discord..."

Starlight audibly gasped, loud enough to wake Celestia. Suddenly, she was released from the grip of her wing and immediately tried to pretend to be asleep. Celestia shifted the other way and attempted to do the same.

Several minutes passed.

Celestia whispered softly, faced in the opposite direction. "If you heard any of that...please don't tell anypony..."

Starlight had no intention whatsoever.