***
Twilight sighed. Celestia's double doors were open, and yet, she still refused to come out. The sun had risen in the morning, a royal missive had requested that every cat below the age of one present in the castle be brought to Celestia's chambers, and then no word had come from Celestia since. Her poster bed stood with shut curtains, daring the world to disturb her mysteriously prolonged slumber. Several had dared, several had failed, and now it was decided that it should fall to Twilight to stage an attempt.
Her ear twitched at the sound of lazy mewling that came from inside the veil of curtains, a lock of hair already beginning to curl threateningly up her forehead.
"Princess?" Twilight ventured, looking through the veil at the lump of what appeared to be blankets and fur in the centre of the room.
"Yes, Princess?" The fuzzy lump replied with a tingling mirth.
"Everypony's worried. They say you aren't in court and they want to know if something's wrong."
"Well, in point of fact, something is wrong. But I imagine you can remedy that with sufficient care and diligence. You always do, after all."
Twilight's eyes widened, and worry crept into her trembling voice. "Wh-what is it, P-Princess?"
The bundle shook, and then whispered. "Come closer. Not for anypony's ears but yours."
Twilight swallowed, and crept towards the bed with trepidation.
"I have caught a mysterious disease, Twilight, that has rendered me temporarily unable to perform my duty. However, with sufficient time and enough kittens, I should be able to cure it."
Twilight blinked. "Kittens?"
"Yes. Now, come closer. There is one more ingredient I need in order to cure this debilitating ailment."
Twilight edged to the border of the bed, daring to lift the veil ever so slightly. When the bundle did not react, she pulled it open fully. Lying in the middle of the bed was a pile of blankets, from which drifted an iconic multi-coloured flowing mane. Hidden in various nooks, crannies and folds of the blankets were the slumbering forms of over twenty kittens, all of them sleeping in different states of lazy bliss. Twilight blinked again.
Leaning in, Twilight moved up as close as she could to the bundles without disturbing the kittens' rest. There was a moment where all she could hear was the gentle rush of Celestia's breath, and the snoring of the kittens nearby. And then a pair of forehooves burst from the covers. Before Twilight had time to even cry out, she was dragged beneath the sea of blankets and trapped in an ocean of fur and warmth. A contended hum pricked at Twilight's ears, and she turned to see that she was currently pressed against her elder ruler's chest. Twilight searched Celestia for any signs of infection or injury, but found none, to her great relief and exasperation.
"Celestia! You said you were sick!"
"And I am, Twilight. I have caught a case of the snuggles."
Twilight only glared at this. "You cut off your entire work day to cuddle with cats?"
Celestia smiled gently. "I did. And so will you, unless you say the magic words."
Twilight glowered at this. "What magic words."
"Say 'nyaah, I'm a cuddly little kitty cat', and I'll let you go." This was met with much eye-rolling.
"Nyah--"
"Nyaah, dear."
"Nyaah, I'm a cuddly little kitty cat. There. Can I go tell them you're not hurt, just lazy now?"
Celestia only smirked at this, giving a moment's pause where she loosened her grip. "Of course. You must have a very busy day ahead of you, and I would not dream of keeping you from your long, tedious work."
Twilight caught Celestia's meaning quickly, and only groaned. And then she thought about it. All the while, gentle hooves stroked her head and mane, and a very affectionate head rubbed up against her.
"You could have picked Luna, you know. She'd be happy to cuddle while she sleeps."
"That would have been the efficient thing, yes, but I know who would come looking for me, terrified and worried, the instant it seemed I was not myself. And I choose to cuddle with she who cares about me most, though only for as long as she desires."
Warm fur tingled against Twilight's skin, and as usual, Celestia made her blush and lose higher brain function with only a few gestures and words.
"I think you may be infectious, Princess. I suppose we'll both have to ride out the symptoms until they pass. I think, maybe, oh, another full day should do it. What do you think?"
Twilight's body felt an ecstasy of warm and tender caresses, from wings, head and legs, all of them reaching for her chest, sides and shoulders, and even wrapping around her arms and nuzzling up against her head. She sighed peacefully, then began to cuddle back in earnest, pushing her head and neck so far into Celestia's skin and neck that the two bodies smoldered with a single warmth. Twilight, against her better instinct, began to purr.
A guard walked in in time to hear the lump behind the veil say in very tender, loving words "Nyaah, I'm a cuddly little kitty cat.", and the battle for her Majesty's attendance in court was officially declared lost.