//------------------------------// // The Cuddle Party // Story: Spike's Dragon Code for Cuddling // by Kevinltk //------------------------------// It had been about a week since Spike discovered that Discord was behind the whole cuddling episode. All of his friends displayed varying degrees of annoyance at Discord’s prank, but they all had absolutely no regrets about their time with Spike. On the day of Pinkie’s cuddle party, Spike and his friends had gathered outside of a large room in the Castle of Friendship. It was a room that Pinkie frequently used for their parties ever since Twilight and Spike moved into their bigger home. The only pony not present was Pinkie herself, but judging by the clattering and some familiar giggling coming from the other side of the door, she was hard at work setting up the party. “Hey, Pinkie, we’re all here! Can we come in?” Twilight asked, knocking on the door. “Just a minute!” Pinkie replied in a sing-song voice. “So any idea what Pinkie's got planned?” Rainbow asked. Spike shrugged. “No idea. She did not give us any details.” “But surely one of you must have seen something,” Rarity pointed out, glancing between Twilight, Starlight, and Spike. “I mean, she has been setting up the party right here where you all live.” Twilight sighed. “Yes, that’s true, but you know how she is. Every time I saw her either enter or exit this room, she was empty-hooved. I have no idea what’s in there.” “I tried to sneak a peek at what Pinkie was doing but she caught me… multiple times…” Starlight confessed. “I had to give up when she made me Pinkie Promise to stop. I’m curious though, what happens if I do happen to break one of those promises?” “You don’t want to know…” Rainbow replied with a shudder. “Trust me.” Starlight slowly blinked. “Noted…” “Ah gotta say, as much as Ah enjoy everythin’ that happened, it still feels kind of odd that Discord was the one who started all of this,” said Applejack. “Well, even if it was a bit mean of him to trick Spike, he was just trying to help us,” Fluttershy added. “And if it makes you feel any better, he, uh, kind of apologized.” Spike’s eyebrow went up. “Did he? Did he really, Fluttershy?” “Sort of? Maybe?” Fluttershy replied with an uneasy grin. It fell a second later, and she sighed. “No… Not really…” “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I don’t think any of us are really angry at him. It was a harmless enough prank, and we all had a lot of fun.” “Yeah, yeah, that’s great and all, but aren’t you all getting tired of waiting?” Rainbow complained. “I wish Pinkie would hurry up.” “That eager for some cuddlin’, Rainbow?” Applejack asked with a grin. “N-no!” Rainbow retorted, a bit of red creeping up on her cheeks. “I-I just want to see what the fuss is all about.” “Rainbow, darling, we all know you enjoy cuddling as much as the rest of us,” Rarity remarked. “There’s no need to be shy.” “Shy? Me? No way!” Seeing the skeptical looks her friends were giving her, Rainbow sighed. “Okay, I guess I admit that cuddling can be kind of cool, but it’s not like I’m that into it.” “Really?” Spike smirked. “It didn’t seem that way last night when you came in through my window and—” A few chuckles were heard when Rainbow stuffed a hoof into Spike’s mouth. Everypony’s eyes widened when Pinkie’s clattering suddenly grew exponentially. The sounds of jackhammers, giant saws, hammers, and many other heavy tools filled the whole castle. They only had time to share an uneasy glance before the cacophony disappeared as fast as it came, leaving them in silence. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Pinkie with a huge, toothy, grin. “Okay, all done! Come on in!” Another round of skeptical looks passed through everypony’s faces before they all shrugged and proceeded into the room. A table laden with cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and a smorgasbord of other sweets, a given in all of Pinkie’s parties, was set up on one side of the room. Above them, there were streamers and balloons, but they were overshadowed by the enormous banner with the words “Cuddle Party!” and a crude crayon drawing of all them in a big hug. Despite all the decorations and food, everypony’s attention was drawn to what occupied the center of the room. A huge, square enclosure was built with its walls almost as tall as Spike. It was like a ball pit, except instead of balls, it was filled with pillows and cushions. “Pinkie, what is that?” Twilight asked, pointing a hoof at the construction. “I call it… The Cuddle Pit!” Pinkie cheered happily, standing up on her hind legs to raise her forehooves in the air. An eruption of confetti somehow went off behind her. “Okay, but what are we supposed to do with it?” “To cuddle on, of course! When I was planning this party, I was trying to figure out what was the best way for everypony to get enough cuddles. At first, I thought maybe we could take turns so that everypony would eventually cuddle with each pony at least once, but then I thought why settle for one pony at a time? Why not have all the cuddles?!” “Whoa…” Spike uttered, gazing at the Cuddle Pit in wonderment. He was already imagining all the cuddly possibilities he could get into. “Come on, what’s everypony waiting for?” Pinkie asked. “Ooh, I know how to get things started!” Before Spike knew it, Pinkie picked him up with her forehooves. A chill went through him when he realized what was going to happen. “Not again!” Spike cried out before he was thrown high into the air and landed on his back right in the center of the Cuddle Pit. Before he could get back up, his eyes bulged wide open when he heard Pinkie’s cheers and saw that the pink pony was falling straight down at him from the air with her hooves stretched out. Spike’s world was flooded with pink when Pinkie body-slammed into him, however, to his surprise, he hardly felt any pain. He did, however, feel Pinkie’s hooves snake around him, as well as the rubbing of his friend’s cheek all over his head. Sandwiched between Pinkie’s body and the cushions, Spike could hardly move and had to accept his cuddling. “Um, are you alright, Spike?” Spike could hear Fluttershy ask from somewhere above Pinkie. Spike tried to reply, but his mouth was muffled by Pinkie’s body. With some squirming, he managed to slide one of his arms out from underneath Pinkie and raised it into the air with a thumbs up. “Come on, Pinkie, give Spike some air,” Applejack’s voice came from nearby. “Besides, you don’t want to be hoggin’ him all to yourself, right?” “Oops, you’re right. Guess I got a bit too excited,” Pinkie replied. She kept her hooves around Spike when she rolled around until their positions were switched with Spike now on top and able to breathe fresh air again. Now lying on Pinkie’s stomach, Spike swiveled his head around to find that the rest of his friends had jumped into the Cuddle Pit after Pinkie broke the ice. Starlight was sitting close by, an amused grin crossing her face. Twilight and Rarity were also nearby and looking in his direction as they lay side by side on their stomachs, while Fluttershy and Rainbow were hovering right above them, observing the whole scene. Applejack, who was sitting on her haunches right next to Spike and Pinkie and had removed her hat, chuckled. “You two don’t mind if I get in on that action, do you?” “Not at all, Applejack,” Spike replied. “Oh, I know the perfect way! Here, you take Spikey Wikey!” Pinkie chirped. She picked up Spike and practically shoved him into Applejack’s hooves. “Uh, okay?” Applejack replied as her forehooves circled to Spike’s front, holding him close to her chest. Spike had to admit that it felt a bit weird that he was being passed around like a doll, but he shrugged it off since it was pretty much just Pinkie being Pinkie. He was also curious to see what it was going to be like to cuddle with more than one pony at the same time. Pinkie reached forward with her forehooves to wrap around Applejack’s body, pulling them together with Spike still in between them. Spike’s arms flailed while he was squished between his friends, but the oxygen deprivation only lasted a second before Applejack and Pinkie lay on their sides, easing their hold on him. “Oh, Ah see what you’re tryin’ to do, Pinkie,” said Applejack. Spike patiently waited while Applejack and Pinkie adjusted themselves, their hooves never letting him go. When they were done moving around, Spike was still in between them, but this time it was a warm and comfortable embrace. Applejack was still clutching onto Spike with both of her forehooves, while her chin rested on his head. Pinkie, in turn, had her chin on Applejack’s head with her hooves around her orange friend’s back. Nestled in between the two ponies, Spike instinctively moved his arms to Pinkie’s sides, hugging her with his limited reach. Spike quickly concluded that this cuddle was by far the best one ever. Before, when he was only cuddling with one pony, parts of him would always be missing out on the sensation. Even though some of his friends were able to ease that issue with their wings, the feel of snuggling into a warm body could not be matched. Now, he was surrounded by warmth and the soft hairs of his friends, completely encapsulated in snuggly bliss. The happy sighs and murmurs of contentment he could hear from his other friends were a nice bonus. Pinkie let out a giggle every now and then as Spike let his claws roam up and down Pinkie’s sides, and she would frequently rub her hind legs against Spike’s. Applejack was content with just lying in Pinkie’s hold with a dragon in her own hooves, her only movements being the occasional brush with her muzzle on Pinkie’s neck or Spike’s head. Spike was enjoying the double cuddle until he heard the sound of wings flapping. Turning his head, he saw that Rainbow Dash was flying above him. She was trying to look nonchalant, but her frequent glances at Applejack and Pinkie told another story. “Somethin’ you need, sugarcube?” Applejack asked when she also noticed their visitor. “Oh, uh, yeah,” Rainbow replied. “I was wondering if maybe Spike would like to join Fluttershy and I for a while. I, er, Fluttershy wants to cuddle with him.” Spike and Applejack shared a knowing glance, while Pinkie gasped. “Fluttershy wants some cuddle time with Spike?” Pinkie immediately separated herself from the cuddling, sat Spike up, and pushed him in Rainbow’s direction. “Of course she can! Go, Spike! You must go to her!” “Right, if that’s what Fluttershy wants…” Spike smirked at Rainbow. “Then that’s what she’ll get.” “Sweet!” Rainbow pumped a hoof with excitement, but her eyes widened slightly, and she hid her forehooves behind her back. “Er, I mean, that’s cool of you, Spike. Come on, we don’t want to keep her waiting.” After a wave goodbye to his former cuddle-mates, Spike walked a few steps over to where Fluttershy was lying on her stomach. “Hey, Fluttershy, I heard you wanted to spend some time with me.” “I did?” Fluttershy’s gaze looked up at the flying Rainbow for a moment before quickly moving back to Spike. “O-Oh, right, I did.” Spike rolled his eyes and swiftly turned around to see that Rainbow was frantically waving a hoof back and forth across her throat to silence Fluttershy. When the pegasus realized she was caught, she put her hooves behind her back and smiled sheepishly. “Rainbow, you know you don’t have to keep on playing it cool,” said Spike. “We already know you like to cuddle.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rainbow protested, looking away with red on her cheeks. Seeing the flat stare Spike was giving her, she groaned. “Fiiine… Yes, I do like to cuddle. I just don’t want it to make it so… obvious. You know, with me being a Wonderbolt and all, I don’t want it to look like I’m getting soft or slacking.” “I get that, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying yourself. I’m positive that the other Wonderbolts let themselves go every now and then. Like what about that Soarin dude? Doesn’t he like to eat pies?” “Yeah, I remember the one time the Wonderbolt Academy served pie in the cafeteria,” Rainbow said with a chuckle. “Spitfire had to literally drag him out.” “See?” Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I get you. I guess I shouldn’t worry too much about cuddling. I’ll try to ease up on my worries. Anyway, it’s not like I have a major problem with it.” “Well, I don’t know about that. Sneaking into my room last night was—” Spike was cut off when a yellow wing gently batted him in the face. “Why don’t we get to cuddling?” Fluttershy suggested. Nudging away Fluttershy’s wing, Spike withheld his snickering and simply smiled. He sat down next to Fluttershy, receiving a nuzzle on the cheek from the pegasus. Before he knew it, Rainbow had also lain down on her stomach on his other side, and once again, Spike found himself in between two mares. “So, got anything in mind?” Spike asked his friends. Rainbow responded by pushing Spike onto his stomach. She then moved her forehoof across Spike’s back and down his side, pulling him closer to herself. A second later, Fluttershy did the same with her forehoof, crossing over Rainbow’s hoof and resting on Spike’s other side. Both pegasi spread their wings and draped them over each other, also covering the dragon in between them. With a veil of velvety feathers completely covering his body, Spike was tempted to take back his earlier thinking about wings, but he could not argue against the fantastic, fuzzy feeling he was getting from Rainbow’s and Fluttershy’s bodies and hooves surrounding him. Rainbow and Fluttershy then lowered their heads onto the cushions, nuzzling into Spike’s cheeks. With his arms stuck to his sides, Spike could not do much except return the nuzzles with his head. Judging by the happy hums coming from either side of him, his cuddling companions did not mind. After a while in the pegasi embrace, Spike could feel movement, and he cracked open an eye. To his amusement, he found that Pinkie had flopped herself onto Rainbow’s back, hooking her hooves around the pegasus’s neck and burying her muzzle into the prismatic mane. “Uh, Pinkie, what are you doing?” Rainbow asked. “Cuddling,” Pinkie answered simply. “Oh, uh, hello, Applejack,” Fluttershy greeted, making Spike turn his head. Applejack had lay down next to Fluttershy and snuggled into the pegasus’s side. “Hey, sugarcube. Sorry about intrudin’ on ya’ll, but Pinkie here wanted to join in.” “Yep!” Pinkie chirped. “The more the merrier!” “You three don’t mind, do you?” As Fluttershy and Rainbow welcomed the additions to their cuddling, Spike asked, “What about the others? How are they doing?” “You mean Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight?” Applejack motioned with her head to somewhere behind Spike. “The three of them look like they’re doin’ just fine.” Locked in place between the two pegasus, Spike could not turn his head to check on the other half of his group of friends. As much as he would like to continue relaxing in the growing pile of cuddly ponies, he wanted to check up on Twilight. While Twilight had gotten over her cuddling trepidations over the past few days, she had only practiced with Spike. He wanted to make sure she was doing fine now that she had to cuddle with somepony else. “Hey, would it be alright if I go check on the others?” Spike asked. All four ponies nodded, and Rainbow and Fluttershy lifted their wings while they scooched away from Spike so that he could crawl out of their hold on him. Spike walked around his friends as they converged on each other to fill in the gap he left in the cuddle circle. Turning his attention in the direction Applejack pointed out, Spike marched toward the nearby Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight. All three magic users were on their stomachs with Twilight relaxing in the middle. Twilight had her eyes closed and a smile of contentment clear on her face while Rarity and Starlight nuzzled Twilight’s neck. As Spike approached them, Rarity noticed him first and greeted him with a smile. “Hello, Spikey Wikey, having fun?” Rarity asked. “Fun is an understatement. This is the best thing ever!” Spike replied. Starlight giggled. “I’ll have to agree with you on that.” “Did you need something, Spike?” Twilight asked. “Well, I wanted to check how you three were doing. Well, mostly you, Twilight, in case you were still nervous about cuddling.” Twilight chuckled. “Thanks for checking up on me, Spike, but don’t worry. Those sessions with you helped prepare me for this. Rarity and Starlight have also been very understanding.” “She made us read a pamphlet before we did anything,” Starlight stated with a deadpan face. Her horn lit up and said pamphlet rose into the air from behind them. “Nothing wrong with making sure everypony is clear on where we all stand before and after cuddling,” Twilight informed. Resisting the urge to facepalm, Spike said, “Well, at least you’re cuddling, and that’s what’s important. Looks like you three are doing alright, so I should head back to the others.” As Spike turned around, he felt the familiar tingling of magic encompassing his entire body. A mix of teal, magenta, and turquoise magic lifted him up and backwards through the air and onto Twilight’s hooves. “What’s the rush, Spikey Wikey?” Rarity asked. “Yeah, you already cuddled with the others. Let us have you for a while,” Starlight stated. “We just want to spend some time with the dragon that helped all of us,” Twilight explained. Spike shrugged and nodded. “Sure, I don’t mind. It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t make sure I spent some time with every pony anyway.” “Great! Now, we’ll just…” Twilight trailed off as her eyes glanced at all her companions. “Hmm, how are we going to do this?” Rarity leaned over to whisper into her fellow unicorn’s ear, and after a moment, Starlight nodded. “What are you two planning?” Twilight asked. “You just let Starlight and I take the lead,” Rarity replied as she and Starlight lit up their horns. Spike was again lifted into the air with magic and was deposited onto Twilight with his back resting against the alicorn’s neck. Once Spike was situated, Rarity moved back and shifted her body so that she could lay her head right on the dragon’s stomach. Starlight rested her head where Spike’s head was laying on Twilight’s neck. Sighing happily, Spike laid back. With his weight supported on Twilight’s neck and with plenty of legroom on the alicorn’s back, Twilight made for a really comfy chair. Spike ran one of his claws through Rarity’s mane, enjoying the feeling of the luxurious locks while eliciting coos of satisfaction from the unicorn when he scratched her head. His other claw reached over to stroke Starlight’s back, earning him even more sounds of a pleased mare. Other than the brief pause when he had to cover his extremely red face when Rarity snuck in a quick, chaste kiss on his cheek, Spike was once again lulled into a blissful state somewhere between sleep and consciousness. Spike was eventually brought back into reality when he heard the sounds of movement once again. Sitting up, he saw that the rest of his friends were approaching his group with Pinkie in the lead. No words were needed as nods and smiles were exchanged, and everypony shifted their positions to accommodate each other. When everypony was settled, Spike found himself cradled deep into Twilight’s embrace with the alicorn’s hooves wrapped around him, clutching him tightly to her chest. Starlight was right behind Twilight, nestling into Twilight’s back as she shared nuzzles with Fluttershy. To Spike’s other side, his back was brushing against Applejack’s side. Applejack was quietly chatting with Rarity, who was propped up next to Applejack, and Rainbow, who had a wing around Rarity. Pinkie was splayed out on Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity, earning her a few glances as she rolled back and forth on their backs. “Thanks for helping me come to this party, Spike,” Twilight whispered into the dragon’s ear. “I am having a lot of fun.” “Glad to do it. You’re always stressed with your studies, and all the princess duties you have now aren’t helping. When I felt how great cuddling was, I knew I had to get you into it.” “I guess you’re going to be doing a lot of cuddling from now on, huh?” “That’s a given.” Twilight chuckled. “Figures. Guess you’ll be busy. Do you want me to help you make a cuddling schedule?” “Twilight…” “Fine… Just remember to save time for me, alright?” Spike moved his arms to hug Twilight’s muzzle. “Always.” As Spike settled into the center of the cuddling circle, he vowed to keep on cuddling with his friends. And maybe not just the friends that were near him. There were other friends that could maybe use a cuddle, and if the opportunity presented itself, he could be the dragon to help them with that. But for now though, Spike wanted to enjoy the rest of the cuddling party. With a yawn, Spike let himself sink into the cuddly embraces of his friends. “Yep, cuddling is awesome,” Spike murmured to himself before he slipped into one of the most restful sleeps of his entire life.