As Iron Sharpens Iron
The cool night wind blew on your face as you surveyed the lights of the city far below. You took your time in scanning the city, your focus slowly drifting from west to east across the cobblestone alleys and art deco motifs still lit up by the streetlights. Eventually, your eyes wandered up at the sky. Even with the lights from the city, the stars of creation shone clear as day, appearing as a vast and endless band of light across the sky. One moment they seemed to sing together with joy; the next, they warred against you from their courses in the heavens.
You had lost track of time when you heard the door to the balcony open behind you and a set of hoofsteps echoed toward you. An ethereal blue mane appeared in the corner of your vision, and you turned to take in the timidly smiling face of one of your hosts.
“I brought you some lemon ice from the kitchen. It’s your favorite, right?” Princess Luna quietly began, placing the dish on the small ledge in front of your body.
“Thanks,” you told her with a smile, taking a bite. “A little cold for it, but I do like it.”
Luna’s face fell a little. “Ah, I didn’t think about that. I just saw you sitting out here all alone, and thought that you might need some company. What are you doing?”
“I just needed some air, I guess. Plus, the stars are so beautiful. They look just as good as they do at home.”
Luna’s ears perked up. “Really? You like them?”
“They’re spellbinding. You do a really good job.”
“I can’t take any credit for them, you know. I just move them around. They’re far more splendid than anything I could do on my own.”
You looked over at her lonesome form just standing on the cold stone balcony. “Do you want to come up here and relax a while with me?” you asked, patting the area next to you on the platform that you had assembled from the multiple outdoor tables you had pushed together.
Luna hummed and happily clambered up onto the table, sitting down on her haunches about a foot to your left. “Thank you. It’s very nice out.” She looked over at you. “I’m glad that my night reminds you of home, but I don’t want you to feel lonely here in Equestria. I know Twilight says that she’ll have perfected the spell to send you home within a few months, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be miserable in the meantime. Celestia and I care for your well-being; you can always come and spend time with us. Maybe we can even help you find some more friends?”
You smiled at her. “‘In the multitude of counselors there is safety’, I suppose. Anyway, I’m not completely depressed out here. It’s kind of a happy thing to look up and be reminded of home. Bittersweet, I guess…but not sad. I’ll be home not too long from now, so I should be focusing on exploring how awesome Equestria is in the meantime. Canterlot looks like an interesting city.”
Another breeze blew across the balcony, its power being multiplied by the great height at which you and Luna were perched.
“It is certainly chilly out,” Luna remarked. “About time that the weather pegasi got on a proper time schedule, it’s nearly November already!”
You immediately peeled up the side of the extra-large comforter you were lying stomach-down under and looked at Luna sincerely. “It’s certainly too cold to be sitting with nothing. Do you want to share the blanket?”
Luna nodded enthusiastically and slid under the comforter, placing her body in contact with yours as she lay on her front hooves and placed her chin down on the other side of the pillow you were using. Both your sets of eyes were now free to view Canterlot’s night sky clearly.
Almost instinctively, you put an arm over her. You were surprised by your own audacity, but Luna didn’t seem to mind and in fact seemed to hum calmly at the contact.
A moment passed. Your eyes were on the stars but you paid them no mind, instead focusing on your sense of touch. Luna’s coat was warm and soft, and the entire side of your body that was in contact with her seemed to relax.
“Want to hear a secret?” You asked her.
She looked over with a curious glance and a smile. “Absolutely.”
“I love snuggling. Can’t get enough of it. It’s too bad, too, because it happens so rarely back home.”
Luna giggled behind a hoof. “Me too!” she extended a wing over you. “Just because I’m a princess, nopony will snuggle with me…And I don’t feel right asking my guards to do it. It’s so nice to have physical contact with somepony again.” She looked down, thoughtfully. “To be honest, I was really afraid you would be mad when I scooted right up against you under here.”
“I thought you would object to my arm being put over you!”
You both shared a hearty laugh.
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave,” you sighed as your laughter petered out.
“Do you want to hear a secret too?” Luna asked, looking away from you.
“Sure,” you say.
“I’ve…uh, I’ve always wondered…Your hands. They have all those little worm thingies on them-“
“Fingers.”
“Yes, fingers. It’s embarrassing, but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how it would feel to, you know, be pet by fingers.”
“Are you asking me to pet you?”
Luna blushed and shut her eyes.
“You don’t even have to ask,” you said, beginning to stroke her fur with the hand you had over her. “We were already snuggling, you silly filly!” You sucked in a quick breath of shock at your own indiscretion. “Oh, uh, I’m really sorry for calling you that, Princess.”
Luna giggled and leaned her head onto you, nuzzling your shoulder. “Mmmmm…that’s okay, you cuddly human.” She fidgeted under the comforter, and a few seconds later her crown, chest piece and royal slippers clattered to the ground unceremoniously. She then leaned back into you. “Resume your petting, lowly subject,” the teasing began. “Your princess commands you.”
You brought your first hand up to her ears and began slowly scratching and caressing them. You then flipped on your side to face Luna so that your second hand could trace circles around her chest.
Luna purred. “How come we never did this before?”
“Because I was too intimidated to ask.”
Luna looked into your eyes. She was smiling, but the rest of her face wore an expression of faux anger. “How dare that you insinuate that your Princess is intimidating! Your punishment will be swift and severe!”
She clambered up and laid on top of you. She used all four hooves to squeeze you tightly, and relied on her body weight to crush you. “Haha, are you in pain now, you evildoer!?”
You let out a fake groan. “Oh, no, I am defeated! Please, Princess, forgive me! Definitely don’t hug me any tighter, have mercy!”
Luna chuckled deviously as she nuzzled your head, her starry mane spilling over your field of view. Meanwhile, you just enjoyed the hug she was giving you.
She eventually grew bored, flopping herself belly-up back next to you. “Hey,” she whispered, “if you wanted to come out to see the stars, you should roll over.”
You followed her command and came face to face with ten times as many stars as were in your previous viewing window. You let out a low whistle.
Luna shuffled herself over and nestled into you, watching the stars. With her guidance, you were able to test your knowledge of Equestrian constellations over the next few minutes.
You let out a small groan as you got another one wrong. “I need to run and use the bathroom, Luna. You won’t freeze if I leave you out here, will you?”
Luna had already turned her head to rest on your chest, and her eyes remained closed as she let out a hum and delivered her answer. “I won’t get cold, ‘cause you’re not allowed to leave me.” She tightened her grip a little bit.
You smiled and sat up.
Or, tried to sit up. The first attempt, Luna’s strong grip allowed her to push you back down. When you gathered your strength and launched into the second attempt, you found your limbs strangely glued in place.
The iridescent glow around you told you all that you needed to know. “Are you using magic on me?”
Luna hummed in affirmation as she rubbed her face against you, disheveling her coat.
“Come on, cuddle bug, I promise I’ll be right back,” you plead. Snuggling or no snuggling, the physiological situation was fast becoming serious.
“Noooooo,” Luna whined.
“Sister,” a voice called from the entry to the balcony, “you can’t just unilaterally deny our honored guest bathroom privileges.
Startled, you both looked up to see Princess Celestia smiling down at both of you. It was awkward enough for you, but you could literally feel Luna’s body temperature heat up as she blushed.
Celestia took off all of her royal regalia as well, although she placed them neatly on the ground. “You can only deny him that privilege if both of us agree.”
Luna and you froze as Celestia hopped onto the table, assisted by a single, powerful blast of her wings.
“Well, is it okay if I snuggle with you too?”
Still surprised by her intrusion in the first place, you nod. Soon, Celestia had finagled her way under the comforter and was snuggling you in a similar position to Luna’s.
“I’m mad at you,” she said, booping your nose with a hoof. “I’ve made sure to hug you at least three or four times a day since you’ve shown up, and you decide to snuggle with Luna first! Did you not take the hint or did you not want to cuddle me?” She looked up at you with a pout.
“Listen, this is fantastic, but please, PLEASE let me use the bathroom!” you cry.
Celestia giggled. “Let him go, sister.”
Instantly, you felt your magic bonds dissipate.
“You have seven minutes,” Celestia ordered. “Then your Princess demands that you return to give her the rightful snuggles that she deserves.”
“And do not run from me,” Luna tacked on. “If you try to escape I will hunt you down, find you, and snuggle you for days, on my terms. Which actually probably doesn’t seem like that bad of a thing to happen…But trust me, it’s better for you if you come back.”
“Yeah, I got it,” you sputtered, sprinting off the balcony and to the restroom.
You finished up a few moments later and walked slowly down the hallway back to the balcony. You advanced slowly, the full weight of the realization that you were being snuggled by two alicorn princesses hitting you like a ton of bricks. In fact, you stopped for a moment when the exciting epiphany hit you like a ton of bricks.
In the midst of your deep breathing, a voice sounded from the balcony ahead. “Hey!” Luna cried, “Your time is up! Come here!”
The shock of being yelled at shook you out of your stupor and you rolled your eyes as you walked back onto the balcony. Immediately, you were pulled into Luna’s magical grip and stuffed unceremoniously under the comforter.
Luna turned you toward her and immediately nuzzled herself into your chest, hugging you tightly. Celestia wrapped her hooves around you from behind and nuzzled your ear. You let your free hand play with Luna’s ephemeral mane, petting it and letting the stars in it run between your fingers.
About five minutes later, you heard some whines and sighs begin to echo from behind you. They became more and more frequent until suddenly, Luna’s face shot from out under the blanket and glared behind you, her mane and fur disheveled and standing on end with static electricity. “Celestia! You are ruining the moment!”
“But Luna,” Celestia whined, nuzzling the back of your head, “you’re getting almost all the snuggles and I’m getting almost nothing…”
“Tough, I got here first,” Luna spat before drawing close to you again.
“Now Luna,” you scold, “I think it’s about time that Celestia gets a turn, don’t you think?”
Celestia wiggled with excitement. Luna growled. You released your grip on Luna and flipped onto your other side, nuzzling into Celestia’s neck as she pulled you into her hooves. Reluctantly, Luna scooted over and started snuggling you from behind.
“So, I have to ask, can I get pet with those interesting hands of yours?” Celestia asked.
“You don’t even have to ask,” you smiled at her before scratching her ears, rubbing her neck and petting her mane with your hands. Whenever Celestia would hum in happiness, Luna would let out a low growl and tighten her grip on you.
It certainly would have been fun to parlay the jealousy into a snuggling war, but you eventually decided that two pissed off alicorns did not make for a scenario you wished to be present at.
An hour later, with everypony’s feathers, hair, manes and coats disheveled from advanced-level cuddling techniques, you let out a yawn. “Oh boy, I really think that it’s time for me to go to bed.”
Instead of whines, you were met with silence. “Well, okay,” Celestia sighed, using her magic to zap-teleport you all onto her bed in her chambers. She grabbed onto you with all four hooves and collapsed back on to her pillow. “Alright, goodnight Luna, see you in the morning?”
Luna’s face appeared between yours and the ceiling, looking down bemused at her sister. “What in Equestria do you think you’re doing?”
“He wants to go to bed, and you have to go rule over the night. So, uh,” Celestia removed one hoof ever so briefly to shoo her sister, “Go.” She replaced her hoof and then covered you with her unfurled wings as well.
Luna scoffed. “I was snuggling with him first, and tonight is my day off this week. Give him back!”
You couldn’t see from your cuddly prison, but the change in Luna’s expression told you that Celestia had probably stuck out her tongue at her.
“Your highnesses,” you said in a dignified manner, “we need to negotiate this or else nopony will get snuggled tonight. Now, it seems clear to me that both of you want to snuggle me, is that right?”
Luna nodded while Celestia gave you a squeeze and nuzzled your ear.
“Well, then we’ll just do it in my room. Neutral territory. Now, all we need to do is figure out a way to split the cuddles evenly to everypony’s satisfaction. Celestia, would you kindly?”
Celestia popped you both onto your bed with her magic…in the same position. Luna was nowhere to be seen.
“Celestia…”
“Aw.”
Luna popped into the room as well, obviously not happy at being temporarily left behind.
“Okay,” you began as you extricated yourself from your fluffy white holding cell, “first, both of you lay next to each other, face up with about six inches between you.”
They got under your covers and obeyed the instructions, although Luna’s scowl and Celestia’s wary gaze let you know that the situation was nonetheless tense. Carefully, you laid face down between them, one arm and one leg snuggling each pony and your face resting on a pillow.
“See?” your muffled voice asked. “Easy. Now both of you get half of me to snuggle as you see fit.”
The situation seemed to be acceptable to both parties, and in a minute or so things had settled. One of your arms was rubbing the front of Celestia’s coat while the other gently caressed Luna’s check, occasionally going up to pet her between the ears.
The warmth made you really happy and your insides felt like a cluster bomb full of fuzz and morphine had gone off. You sighed, and so did the Princesses, although they sounded less happy about it.
“Thanks for snuggling me…And spending time with me tonight, in general,” Luna choked out. “I get a little lonely sometimes and it’s nice to have a friend in the castle.”
“I think Luna’s trying to say that we’re going to miss you when you go back to your world,” Celestia forlornly explained. “I know because I really will.”
Unbelievable. You had known royalty for a period of only weeks, and yet here you were, snuggling with them both and delivering heartfelt confirmations of your friendship to each other.
You looked back and forth between the two sisters, smiling sadly. “Yeah, but now that we’re snuggle buddies I have a great reason to enjoy the rest of my time here.” You stroked both of them affectionately. “Besides, we can find a way for me to come back and visit after I leave.”
You saw Celestia smile softly at you and pat your head with a hoof before Luna snatched you into a big hug, burying her muzzle into your neck and nuzzling you. You could have sworn you heard a single sniffle.
When she was done and returned to her first position, you saw Celestia give her a single wink from the corner of your vision, and soon Celestia and Luna leaned in and kissed your cheeks.
“Awww, man,” you groaned playfully. “Pony kisses…gross.”
“Well, we can lick your ears next time if you prefer that,” Luna teased. Celestia accentuated the point by sticking her tongue out and moving it only about an inch from your face.
“Gahh! Noooo!” you cried more sincerely, stuffing your face into the pillow in a desperate attempt to save your ears.
They both giggled, but soon stopped.
“So…” Celestia began.
“So…what?” you ask.
“We each gave you a goodnight kiss,” Luna responded. “Don’t we each get one too?”
You paused for a moment. There was no arguing with logic. What they were suggesting was fair. “Well, I guess so. Especially since we had a fun night snuggling, you guys have earned it.” Gingerly, you brought your lips and pressed them to the very tip of Celestia’s muzzle for a few moments. “Good night my Princess.” Then you gave Luna the same treatment, but whispered in her ear afterwards, “Thank you for coming to visit me on the balcony. Also, your mane is really soft.”
Soon, you let out a great, joyous fit of laughter. “Oh, man…This has been such a weird and awesome night. I wish Equestria could see you guys without all the royal flair.”
Celestia chuckled at your words and Luna rolled her eyes.
As you returned to your resting position, both sisters turned their muzzles toward you and nuzzled your cheeks. Their warm breaths lulled you to sleep.
You smiled all night long. You were looking forward to spending tomorrow in Equestria.