“Tia?” Luna whispered as she poked her head through her big sister’s bedroom door. She inched her way inside and closed the door behind her, blocking the light spilling in from the hallway. It was the middle of the night and their parents were fast asleep. The only ponies still awake were the guards patrolling the hallways. Technically, she wasn’t supposed to be out walking around, but there was something she wanted, something she craved.
She wanted to cuddle with her big sister.
Celestia had a much bigger bed, and besides, her mattress was a lot more fluffier than hers, perfect for cuddles. She had at least twice as many pillows, and on top of that, she slept a lot better when her sister held her in her hooves. For some reason, she slept like a rock whenever she cuddled with her, and because of their schedules, they hadn’t been able to do that lately. She was going to change that, though.
Lately, she hadn’t been sleeping that well. She kept waking up several times in the night, and she could not figure out why. Luna had even cut out all sweets after dinner, but that didn’t do anything. It was driving her crazy, even more so than her studies with Starswirl.
Celestia’s room was dark, just the way she liked to keep it at night. The drapes were closed shut, blocking any and all light from seeping into the room. Luna preferred to keep her drapes open so that she could see the moon, but to each their own.
Luna crept forward, hoping to not wake her sister. Her vision was still getting used to the dark but she knew her way around her sister’s bedroom. She trotted across the carpeted floor and made it up to the bed, but much to her dismay, Luna remembered that she wasn’t tall enough to get on her big sister’s bed; she was just barely able to poke her muzzle over the top of the mattress.
That was the one thing she didn’t like about her sister’s bed; it was much to tall for her to climb on. Celestia didn’t have any chairs for her to use to climb onto, either. She still couldn’t fly like her big sister could, but she knew that where there was a will, there was a way. Luna’s gaze flicked about the room, but she didn’t see anything she could use to climb on.
She trotted around to the foot of the bed and eyed the solid piece of oak. Maybe I can climb up that? she thought, rubbing her jaw as she thought. She reached up with a hoof and grabbed onto one of the intricate carvings in the wood and started pulling herself up. She struggled all the way up to the top, and as soon as she reached over the edge, her sister unknowingly shifted in her sleep and kicked her hoof loose.
Before she knew what was happening, Luna fell back with a surprised ‘eep’ and hit her head on the ground. Pain exploded from the point of impact, making her curl up into a ball. Tears welled up in her eyes as she held the back of her head. She sniffled a few times before she started sobbing, laying there at the foot of her sister’s bed.
“Who... who’s there?” she heard her sister ask. Luna kept sobbing even when she heard the bed frame creak. “Luna?” She felt her big sister swoop her up in her magic, pulling her close to her chest right above her forelegs. Luna hugged her sister as tightly as she could, burying her head into her breast.
“I... hic—just want—wanted to cuddle with you, big sis!” Luna cried, her tears soaking into Celestia’s pristine coat. “I couldn’t find a good way to climb onto your bed, and I didn’t want to wake you up, so I—hic—tried to climb up the foot of the bed, and I... I slipped and hit my head!” She nuzzled her head into the crook of Celestia’s shoulder, letting her grip loosen on her sister.
“Oh, you poor thing...” she heard Celestia whisper. Luna felt them fly for just a brief moment before they landed on the bed. She felt her big sister’s wings surround her sobbing form as they settled down. “You can sleep with me tonight if you want, little one,” Celestia said, laying a kiss on the back of Luna’s head. “Would that make you feel better?”
Luna nodded. “Mhm...” The pain in the back of her head was quickly fading away. Her big sister wiped away the tears from her eyes and then lay down on her side. She held open a wing for her, which she gratefully accepted. “Thanks, sis.”
“Of course, little one...” Celestia whispered back, flicking her pink mane behind her head.
“Can you... can you open your curtains? I sleep better when I see the moon,” Luna asked softly. She snuggled up against her sister’s belly and laid her head down upon Celestia’s foreleg moments before she felt her sister’s wings surround her small form.
“Sure...” Celestia whispered as she lit her horn. She opened all of her curtains, letting the moonlight seep into her bedroom. Its pale light fell just short of the bed they shared. “It sure is beautiful, is it not?” she asked as she laid another kiss on Luna’s head.
“Yeah...” Luna let loose a tremendous yawn. “It sure is...” She smiled and hummed in content as the warmth from Celestia’s body seeped into hers. Her sheets back in her own bed would never compare to what another warm body felt like. “Hey Tia?”
“Hm?”
“I’m sorry for waking you up,” Luna said, her voice tinted with a hint of regret.
“Oh, it is quite alright,” Celestia whispered back. She lit her horn and used her magic to pull open her nightstand. “Here, I snuck a treat out of the kitchens before we went to bed. I was going to eat it as a midnight snack, but I think you would like it more than I would.” Much to Luna’s surprise, Celestia pulled out the largest chocolate chip cookie she’d ever seen. It was easily larger than the size of her two front hooves combined.
“Why don’t we split it?” Luna asked with a growing smile. “That way we can both have it!”
“That’s a splendid idea, Luna.” Celestia split the cookie in half with her magic and levitated one half to her waiting hooves.
“Yay! Thanks, Tia!” Luna said as she munched away on the cookie.
Celestia chuckled. “Anytime, Luna,” she said as the two of them quickly devoured their half of the cookie. “So, shall we get some sleep? Mother told me that Starswirl was going to teach you how to fly tomorrow, so I think you should get some rest.”
“Really? You aren’t yanking my tail?” Luna snuggled closer to Celestia, pulling her wing into a better position.
“Really...” Celestia yawned and used her magic to pull the sheets up over them. “I can’t wait for you to fly with me, sis... Flying is the most wondrous thing ever.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” Celestia said with a light giggle. “And if you think snuggling with me on a bed is awesome, just wait until you do it on a cloud...”
“I can’t wait, Tia...” Luna yawned and closed her eyes. The warmth from her sister’s wing was gently lulling her to sleep, and unlike the past week, she had a rather good feeling that she was going to sleep well tonight. “I love you, sis...”
“I love you too, Lulu...”