//------------------------------// // Princess Luna // Story: Royal Cuddles? // by Grasshopper Keller //------------------------------// Being one of the Royal Guard to the Princesses of Canterlot, the capital city of the land of Equestria, is quite a demanding job. But it's even more so if you are in either the Solar or the Lunar Guard. You selected yourself to become a Lunar Guard a long time ago when you first arrived in the land that your new charges ruled. But you had solemnly expressed to your superiors, as well as the Princesses, that you wanted to be a guard to the royalty because of your extended law enforcement background, along with the credentials of having been educated in both mind and body on how best to protect both the people and your superiors. The training itself, to which you passed with flying colors according to the official reports from your commanding officer, a bad-mouthed bat-pony named Stella, had both seen with her eyes and heard from the comments that your fellow training plebs had made about you. It was then that Princess Luna, the one that you wanted to say was just the most beautiful of all the ponies in the entire world, had given you the promotion of Sergeant in the Lunar Honor Guard. This had given you quite a bit of a beating, both literally and figuratively, from your trainer, even though it was the last bit of training that you needed to keep you sharp. After hearing the vernacular of a drunken sailor flowing out of your trainer's mouth, she sends you off with a rare smile, along with a warning to not slack off. But of course, that was just a few years ago. And now, you were standing at attention, near the door of Princess Luna's bedroom. Aside from the fact that you were always a figurative night-owl, you were always serious about making sure to arrive at your post on time. And you were always punctual, with ten minutes to spare. The other Lunar Honor Guard, a bat-pony named Night Shield, had noticed how happy you were before going into your practiced stone face. "You seemed quite happy before you stood at attention, sir," Night Shield comments to you in a flat tone. "How so, Corporal?" you deadpan back. "You always have a smile on your face before you go into your stance," he simply answers you. "You find that to be a problem?" you ask him. "No, sir. I find it neat," he replies. "Thank you, Corporal." "You're welcome." The next few hours, after that brief conversation was made, pass by before you hear the creak of the door behind you. Keeping your stance, both you and Night Shield wait patiently for the Princess to open the door. When she steps out, judging from the sounds of horseshoes getting closer, you feel her presence near you. "Guards? Thou be here already?" Luna asks you both curiously. This curiosity nearly makes you jump out of your skin because of how you wanted very badly to just break your stance and give her a huge hug. But that would have been considered a very bad move. And thus, you clear your throat in order to catch her attention. "*ahem* Yes, my lady," you reply to her in your best flat tone while keeping your poker face up. "And how, we pray thee tell, art thou always here on time, Sergeant Anon?" Luna then asks you with that cute smile on her face of hers. "Princess, if I may please?" Night Shield speaks up. "Night Shield, don't do it!" you silently tell him from your head. "Thou may, Corporal Night Shield," Luna nods to him. Darn it! "Sergeant Anon and I make it a point to never be late for our posts, your Highness," Night says to her plainly. "Hmm.... and yet we recall how thou only arrived five minutes late a few years ago, young Shield," Luna giggles, nearly making your heart jump up from your chest. "Again, I must deeply apologize for that, your Highness," he bows his head in shame, even though you don't see it. "Sergeant Anon? Is this punctuality thy doing?" she then asks you. "Yes, ma'am," you reply to her. "Well then, we must allow thee to enter our chambers, Sergeant Anon. For there is much for us to discuss, my good guard," Luna then suggests to you with her regally decorated hoof guard touching your shoulder. You look to your left and see her face looking at you with a soft smile at you. "Follow us, my Honor Guard," she whispers to you. You glare at Night Shield with a 'You-are-so-going-to-get-it-when-I-get-out-of-here!' look, to which you were sure he was silently snickering at your dilemma. You follow the Night Princess to her bedroom and see that the same place where she sleeps is quite a sight to behold. Decorative curtains, a lovely wallpaper of dark blue (which looked black in the night) with her very best constellations painted with bright stars on it. And the fireplace, to which you had heard is never lit up, is glowing with the logs flaming up, giving a big glow that illuminates the room along with some candles. "Your Highness?" you ask her nervously, wandering to yourself why she would bring you, of all the people or ponies in the world, to her most private sanctuary. Anxiety and worry nearly overpowered your rationality before Princess Luna spoke up. "Anon, we must confess something to thee, and we wish for thou to stay for this," she almost pleads to you in a sad tone. "Is... is there something wrong, my lady?" you ask her with real concern for your superior. Not just as her Guard, but also as someone that truly wished for her to be happy. "We.... have been hearing these little rumors about thee, young Anon," Luna says with a small giggle that escapes her mouth, causing her to blush a little bit. "What? Uh...." you stammer a little bit before shaking your head to compose yourself. "W-w-what... exactly... did you hear about me, Princess?" you then ask her, hoping that you would not hear something bad from her. "Well, for one thing, thou have been rumored to be on time because of how thou wishes to see us entering and leaving our room," she begins with a small teasing tone to you.The reaction from your face was just priceless to her. “The second rumor that we hear about thee says that thou have kept a small but beautiful poem in your pocket about us.” Before you could even react to that, a light blue aura surrounds your pockets. And just as quickly, her magic finds that sheet of paper that you were always careful about hiding from the world. And Luna was about to read your thoughts about her. This was getting to be too much for you to handle. “No!!” you quickly yell out as you try to grab the paper from her magic. But it was as successful as a cookie trying to defend itself from a hammer. “No, please! I beg of your Highness! Please! Don't read it!” you nearly cry out as you fall to your knees, nearly defeated by the mare of your dreams, both literally and figuratively. “No....” you quietly sigh from how your image as a rough and tumble man had instantly faded away. “Hmm.... now, let's see what thou has dreamed of us, shall we?” Luna giggles before gliding a candle towards herself for a reading light. And the same poem that you were not finished with, from many years of writing it all down, was being said out loud by the mare: “With constellations aplenty, many with the souls of great lovers, a sailor's light is never empty, for the one for whom I write, is never leaving her subjects without a light, and my soul craves for no other. For it is Luna, the Princess of the Night-- No, a Goddess, that word is just right-- who leaves the dreams of souls once frightened, to dream of dreams, all-in-all greatly heightened. And no other love can be compared, but to tell her is not what I dare. For to love the night, unless I am wrong, will send me to die, something I've feared all along. But if she sees this, then she must know this: I love the Princess Luna, even if it's wrong. Her beauty surpasses them all, she holds my heart. I worship her stars, I worship her heart. And to even be a friend, before becoming her boyfriend? I must confess....” “....would be the best start,” you mutter out loud, hoping that your ruler would not hear you. “Anon.... You... wrote this poem about us?” Luna gasps to you with a huge blush across her perfect Alicorn face. "Yes, my lady," you shamefully admit to her. "I fell in love with you when I first met you, all those years ago.... and I wanted to be in your Lunar Guard because of how I wanted to protect both you and your subjects...." With that said, you rise up from your knees and stand up to meet her face with yours, noticing the same blush that matched yours perfectly while you feel a tear falling from your cheeks. "I love you, Princess Luna.... *sniff* but I can't be-- MMMPPHH??" Your words were swiftly cut off with the weight of the Alicorn tackling you to the floor, holding you in a deep hug. "Don't ever tell us that thou can't be with us, Anon," Luna almost cries, obviously showing how she has fallen for you as well. "We are just... a little miffed that thou could not be brave enough to tell us sooner," she giggled when you saw that she saw how confused you were. "We.... I mean, I... I love you, too." Despite the fact that you had been pinned to the floor, your love for the Alicorn on top of you had reached an all time high. You immediately raise your head up close to her and kiss her full on the lips, sealing your fate with the Goddess of the Night as your arms wrap around her shoulders. She allows her own, though renewed from your actions, affection to be reciprocated to you as she allows herself to be embraced by you while allowing her lips to kiss yours back as her wings do the same thing that her forelegs are doing. The taste of dark chocolate and chamomile allows itself to mix into your mouth, sending you into a nearly dreamlike state of mind that surpasses what the world wanted from you. And nothing could ever take away the feeling from you. Ever. A minute or so had passed by before you and Luna rise from the floor and make yourselves presentable to each other. And after panting out from the lack of oxygen, quickly regaining consciousness, you then say to her. "I know that we are quite different, but.... if you'll have me, I would love nothing more than to know that I can be your special somepony." *smooch* "Thou will have to wait until your shift is over," she nods to you before continuing her answer, "Because when I lower our moon, that is when you are to change out of your uniform and come into my chambers at exactly seven o'clock. I... I wish to cuddle with thee as I slumber, Anon," she blushes in her request. "I'll be there, Luna," you quickly say to her, knowing that she wanted to be your special someone just as much as you for her. "Count on it," you wink at her with a big smile. Some hours later, you report to the barracks and change out of your armor before turning to the showers to change into your regular clothes afterwards. And with all of those chores done, you head to the door of your Princess once again. When you open the door, you see the twilight hour upon you from how much brighter the color of the sky was. Luna's horn was glowing the same aura that you loved seeing performing her magic from. "Thou ready to cuddle with us so early, Anon?" Luna teases you a little bit before facing you after setting the moon down to allow her sister, Princess Celestia, to raise the sun. "Yes, Luna," you smile at her. You are then pointed to the bed that she normally sleeps alone in. But given that you were asked to cuddle with her just hours ago, you slowly crawl up to her on the bed while she gracefully undoes her regalia before floating herself over to her side of the bed. You then hold her in your arms, kissing her full on the cheeks and lips that you so wanted to kiss for the rest of your life. "I love you," you smile at her. She motions herself to meet your face to kiss you back just as lovingly as you did. "Mmm.... I love you too, my darling Anon," Luna purrs as she wraps herself around you in a deep embrace that you returned with a last kiss. "Have a good sleep," she purrs again before allowing herself to sleep. "Sleep tight, my Night Goddess," you softly wish of her as you allow the spell of sleep to take over you. *****