"Well that was certainly a surprise," I heard Luna's voice exclaim from behind me. As I turned to face her, her hoof rested on my chest before a rather powerful shove sent me falling back onto my rear. "But I guess there's always more than one way to reach the end of the game." Her eyes gazed down at me half closed, coupled with a grin spread upon those dark lips of hers. "So, Summers—" suddenly dark, cloudy tendrils sprouted from the ground and coiled around my wrists and ankles "—is there anything you would like to say before you receive the Best Friend Cuddle of the Night?"
A rather apt name for it, I admit. I tugged on the tendril around my right hand and… it moved. It was only a few centimetres but it definitely moved. Then everything came to me. The falling through the ring of darkness, to the scenery just vanishing in front of me, and now with these tendrils feeling so easy to break away from… it became apparent that it wasn't just pony magic that didn't work on me, but also Luna's own power didn't work on me either. In was only in my terror that I had just let it take hold.
Oh, now it's payback time. Now it's a whole new game.
A grin crept along my face as I gazed back at her. "Not much, except… You've just activated my trap card!" Her expression twisted from that overconfident, victorious smirk to a more confused, concerned looked—a look that I thought suited her a lot better. My hands turned, palms against the grass as I pushed off of them, quickly sitting up. The tendrils uncoiled around my wrists submissively as my whole body lunged forwards. My arms wrapped around her waist as I sprung to the side of her, my whole weight forcing forwards into a pouncing tackle as it near enough pushed her whole body off the ground, making her yelp rather loudly. She was quite light for such a large pony. or maybe I was just really strong in this dream world. Ah, it didn't matter either way.
An 'oof!' was forced out of the both of us as she landed onto her back softly against the grass, landing between a couple of flowers to either side of us, while I ended up belly to belly with her. Swiftly I knelt over her, pinning her down under my hips as my legs lay beside her, my hips straddling her own as I looked down at her. Now it was my time to grin and look victorious—and look completely awesome doing it too.
"Y'know, for what it was worth, I had a lot of fun playing prey in that little cat and mouse game of yours, Princess," I spoke admittedly. My hands rested gently on her chest as my body hunched forwards ever so slightly. "But I think it's my turn to pick a game. Oh, and it's one I'm really good at too."
Her bright eyes widened as my face drew closer to hers. Her forelegs tucked inward like a kitten being all cute like. Well, she was kinda cute like that. "And… exactly what game is this?" she asked. Her hips and withers shifted frantically as she tried to wriggle her way out of it, but I think we both knew she wasn't going anywhere.
"Oh it's a rather simple game. No running or anything. It's called, 'Let's tickle Princess Luna until she begs for mercy'!"
A squeaky whimper pierced past her lips as the pupils of her eyes shrunk to little pinpricks. "You… You wouldn't! I am a Princess! You would dare unmercifully tickle royalty!?" Oh, yes. Yes I would. And I was gonna start with that fluffy tummy of hers. As I reclined back a little, my fingers trailed along to her stomach. Little jolts of her muscles gave away her ticklish nature, and I was gonna exploit it harder than the Mario Bros level select trick. My hands ran to either side of her, and my fingers began to slowly curl and dance against that soft skin of hers. "Gah! N-no, stop! S-stop this at once! Desist! I-I command you!
"Stop? But I've only just started!" I replied in defiance, and boy did it feel amazing. My palms clamped down on either side of her stomach, holding it in place while the tips of my fingers worked their magic. A high pitched yelp came from the pinned pony as they curled and tickled against her sides and a little around her tummy. "And besides, the game only stops when you beg, not when you command."
It was just too adorable watching this lofty Princess be taken down a notch or two. Or twenty. Seemed as though the Princess and the Night became the Princess of the Squealing what with the babbling noises coming out of her mouth. "Nyaahahah! Y-you are horri—Eeeeeh!—Horrible! Please, please stop! I insist! Pleaseeee!"
She began to shuffle so much that even I was beginning to rock from side to side from it, but she was totally not going anywhere else. Her forelegs began to bang on the ground beside me, which was fine by me; would rather she hit the ground than hit me. Then again, I was surprised that she hadn't tried to do anything to force me off of her other than rock from side to side. She didn't try to push me off with her forelegs or even to just whack me away with her wings.
Was she… enjoying this?
I pushed the thought to one side, and just kept the relentless onslaught of tickles. "Oooooh you're getting closer! But pleading isn't the right thing either." Leaning forward once more, I let my hands glide along her sides until they were just under her ribs, making Luna blurt another hysterical yelp. I was gonna be nice though, and give her a bit of breathing room; her chest kept expanding and contracting in a quick rhythm as she caught her breath. I'm sure five seconds was plenty of time. "What if we went a little more upward, hm?" More tickle tortured ensued as that generous little window of pause soon faded.
"Oh, no! No, no, no, no—Eeeeeeh!" A shriek of hysteria pierced the skies as she tried to buck her body up to push my hands away from her, but they weren't going anywhere. "Nooohohoho! Stop it, stop it, stop iiiihihit! I-I give up! Mercy! I plead for mercyhyhyyyy!"
Well that didn't take long. A couple of minutes at best, but it was fun while it lasted.
But, you know … I didn't say I was gonna stop.
"Ooooh well done, Princess! You won the game! And in a quick time, too!"
Tired and breathing heavy, Luna looked up at me as her body lay slump in the grass. Her abdomen was pushing me up and down as a testament to her heavy inhales for oxygen. "O… Okay… I win… Now remove yourself from my body, Summers…!"
"Huh? Oh no, you misunderstand." Oh I saw that little glimmer of hope in her eyes vanish quicker than a five pound note on the sidewalk. "Because you won the game so quick, you get to play the bonus round! Endurance test!"
"E-Endurance te—" my hands quickly slid up to just under her forelegs, tickling and teasing under her pits "—EST! Aaahahahah! Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh GOSH! STAAAHAHAHAHP!" But I wasn't about to. Not yet anyway. Even as all four of her legs kicked, her forelegs tried to push me away weakly, and tears began to stream down her cheeks, I wasn't going to just "Stahp". She had her little fun spooking me, and now I was gonna have my fun torturing her. Every so often I pressed my fingers into her pits, making her jump and squeal as he held her forelegs tight against my fingers, but that only made things more ticklish for her. "Please, Summers, please stop! I give in! I submit! Oh, mercy! Uncle! Sweet Celestia just STAHAHAHAP!"
I guess perhaps she did have enough for one night. Generously I relented, slipping my hands out from under her pits and bringing them to my side. For a moment I gazed down at her, the poor mare's eyes were practically rolling to the back of her head as she panted heavily for breath. Slowly I pushed myself standing before lifting a leg over her body, now standing to one side of her hips. Even I found myself, for the first time here, tired. "Phew! Who knew that tickling a Princess would be so much hard work?" I teased as I wiped a hand over my brow. Though my skin was quite cold and no sweat was there, my head felt so hot.
Luna came to somewhat, taking a lungful of air before sitting up to look at me. "That was… That was unfair! Bonus level, my hoof!" she exclaimed with a scowl on her face, though I didn't know whether to be scared of her seriousness or laugh at how cute it made her look. But after a paused she ended up giggling a little to herself. "Although I must admit that I had fun."
I inwardly sighed in relief as my shoulders relaxed a little. But looking down at her sitting there, she seemed more relaxed, more casual than before. It was like watching Queen Elizabeth walk around in jeans and a hoodie. In turn, I sat down in front of her in a similar manner, one leg outstretched while I rested an arm upon the knee of the other. It wasn't like sitting with someone higher than me, with more authority than me. Now it was like relaxing with a friend.
"I had fun too, Princess—"
"You may call me Luna."
"Ah, my apologies… Luna." We both shared a smile as our eyes locked, though I couldn't help but shift them away from her, in thought of a past moment.
"Is there something wrong, Summers?" she asked, shifting her hind legs until she lay prone on her front like an equine would.
"Earlier you mentioned something that caught my mind, though I didn't respond in kind." I paused for a moment. My voice became soft as I spoke, "You said about how ponies look upon you as 'Nightmare Moon'. What did you mean by it?"
I could see that the mere mention of it was a painful thing, whatever it was. Her smile turned upside down just repeating the words 'Nightmare Moon'. to her. For a moment to remained silent before she spoke with a distant voice. "A thousand years ago, me and my sister, Celestia, ruled Equestria as equals, side by side—she by day, and I by night. However… I was jealous. Envious of her. She was able to look on as her subjects frolicked and danced under the light of the sun, while I… I ruled over them as they slept. I had nothing but ruler in title only.
And in my hubris, I was overtaken by darkness. That darkness transformed me into Nightmare Moon. I fought with my sister, intending to spread darkness through the whole of Equestria and become the one to rule all. But my sister… She did what she had to do. She banished me with the power of the Elements of Harmony to the moon, until I returned one thousand years later.
But Twilight… Twilight Sparkle and her friends saved me from that darkness, and I have returned to being a princess beside my sister."
For every word that she spoke and through every expression I watched, I saw this pony tear herself in half as she relived a powerful, regretful experience. I didn't know what to say, and I didn't know what to do. For what seemed like antiquity we sat in silence as our eyes gazed at the floor before us. And for some reason, I too began to ache. I didn't know whether it was for her, or if my own memories were beginning to resurface, but that tightening knot in my chest came back again.
I could only grim and bare it though. But I smiled a little as I gazed up at the sullen princess. "They must really care about you." It was all I could say to try and brighten the mood I didn't have a reason or thought to why I said it, but I did. Everything else was to be played by ear.
"I… I guess you are right."
"There's no guessing about it, Luna. Instead of killing you, Celestia instead banished you. Though you are her sister, I think she did it for another reason. I think… No, I know, that she banished you because she had hope that one day you would be saved. And that hoped definitely paid off… don't you think?"
It was good to see that smile return to her face. She nodded before replying, "I would certainly agree with that, Summers. Without my sister and Princess Twilight, who knows what might have happened."
"Ah, there's no point dwelling in the 'what ifs' when you can live in the "what is'. Right now, you have your sister back and you've made a bunch of new friends."
"Including you?"
"… Yes, including me."
Luna giggled behind a hoof before her wings expanded and lifted her off the ground some feet, carrying her before she plonked herself beside me. I edged away a little to give her a little room to tuck her wings away. And then a little more as she leaned into me. "You know… we never finished my game, you know?"
"… Eh?"
Before I even clocked on to what she was talking about, her wing flashed outwards and wrapped around me like a blanket, dragging me towards her and holding my body against hers. "Gotchya! I win!" she cried out almost too eagerly.
"Ugh… Yeah, you got me." For a moment I was a little pouty. But a little smile sprawled along my lips before I turned and wrapped an arm around her withers. "I've got you too!"
The both of us giggled as we held each other around the shoulders, feeling more like a chum's night out that it did just an acquaintance meeting. But in the end the both of us nudged a little closer as our arms wrapped around one another. Luna rested her chin upon my shoulder while mine nestled against her collarbone. I couldn't help but just nuzzle my cheek against that soft fur of hers. Was like hugging a kitten.
"For something you're so scared of, you seem to cuddle rather well," she teased.
"Oh shush and just enjoy the moment."