Want to cuddle with an underrated background pony? Or perhaps a more well-known one? Come to this Choose-Your-Own-Adventure sleepover!
You, a human living in Equestria, get invited to a Ponyville sleepover full of ponies you've barely heard the voices of and know little info about. You accept the invitation, and at bedtime, you have a choice of which background pony to go with for a fluffy, cuddly night!
Contains a mixture of well-known background ponies and lesser-known ones that have maybe one or two stories on this whole site!
Story premise inspired by CategoricalGrant's awesome story Mane Six Cuddle Simulator. Check that one out too! Also, CategoricalGrant did grant me permission to use this idea, so big shout out for that!
You walk around under the night sky in the town of Ponyville, taking in sights of the city in a different look as an end-of-day activity before you call it a day and head home for bedtime.
It is a beautiful portrait; the black sky decorated with distant stars and the moon of none other than Princess Luna herself placed over a sea of many lights; those of the windows, those of the streetlights, and those of some late-night businesses trying to make themselves stand out. You feel calm and content under this environment, not a worry to be found.
After a short chat with some ponies about to attend a nighttime movie screening, and another short chat with ponies shopping for their groceries at a less-busy time, you decide to declare your day over and head on the path to your house.
You make it to where your house is visible... but then, an off-screen call-out stalls your movement. "Hey! Is that you, human friend?", a female voice calls.
You look around for the source of this voice, and the correct direction is to your left, where Bon Bon, a pony you've been in the early stages of friendship with along with her BFF Lyra Heartstrings, is looking at you.
"Hi! Hope I didn't startle.", Bon Bon says. "I'm out here to let you know that me and a group of other ponies, including Lyra, are having a really cool sleepover, and we wanted to have you in it."
Hmm?, you think in your head. A really cool sleepover, and they want me?
Bon Bon explains the event. "We're having a 'background pony sleepover', which is exactly what it sounds. We figured that us secondary ponies should come and share our status together."
Wow, that does sound like a good idea!, you think to yourself. In your history of being a pony fan, you had always wondered about those other recurring ponies who pop up all the time, but hardly speak any words or play any plot-affecting role. A background pony sleepover would give you a chance to learn more! Get to know these ponies better!
Oh yeah, and what was that other thing she said?
"And... you said you were inviting me?", you ask Bon Bon.
"Yes!", she exclaims. "You're an amazing human to have in this town, and we know you like to cuddle. We will absolutely be cuddling in this sleepover; we love it too!"
"Plus, it's a sleepover. We have plenty of pre-bedtime activities!"
That's true; you had a knack for cuddling ponies if there ever was one. You had become notorious in town as the "serial cuddler"; a position you giggled along with as it was accurate. If anypony was in need of cradling arms, you were the first to offer.
You had also become known for your expertise in cuddling, particularly with your practice of helping ponies who have never done it before ease into it. Nothing but great success so far, including with ponies who do already have experience! Every single pony who has gone into a (free) session with you left a positive review.
In fact, your skills in the field were what earned you your Equestrian nickname! A while after ponies had been calling you the "human cuddler", one pony, during a session with you, shortened it to "H.C." She then insisted that was a good-sounding nickname, to your agreement, and later on, became further entrenched in it after she called you Ponyville's "head coach" of cuddling.
"Head coach" abbreviates to "H.C.", so... there it was! Ponies settled on referring to you by that nickname, and you had grown quite fond of it, if you do say so. It is really fitting.
Back to Bon Bon's invitation: Well, there's cuddling, and a sleepover is a sleepover, so here's a no-brainer decision. You were going to go.
"Thanks so much, Bon Bon. Let me tell you that I am going.", you say, walking up to her.
"You are? Sweet!", she says. "Thanks a lot, just follow me!"
Forget about going to your empty home and sleeping solo. You were going to be in company tonight!
You follow Bon Bon over to a building you don't recognize, but that's neither here nor there. What matters is the sight to behold as she opens the door.
A wide, spaced-out room coated in brown paint with a candy-like mixture of colors sprinkled in it, in the form of sleeping bags, games, and ponies. The ponies who all shout to you in unison, "Hi, H.C.!"
You place your hand on your chest, in sweetness that you could be paid that much close attention to by these creatures you love so much.
"Hey everyone!", you say. "Bon Bon here invited me to this 'background pony sleepover' that she said you're having."
"That is exactly what we are having, a white pony with a puffy blue mane says, coming into your view. "I'm White Lightning, your host of this party. We may be calling it a background pony sleepover, but we knew from the start that it would be more fun with you."
Man, you can't even compose words at their sweetness. You just want to move on.
"Uh, thanks.", you say. "So, what kinds of things are we going to do tonight?"
"Well, as it turns out, I decided to get that as neatly organized as possible.", White Lightning says, pulling out a white sheet of paper. All these girls and I worked together on a schedule of activities, to avoid a jumbled mess of ponies arguing about what to do next."
"Good idea.", you say quickly. "Arguments are a killer of good times."
White Lightning nods in response. "Alright, what's up first is roasting s'mores in the fireplace. Good thing this place has one.", she announces.
You're all in on that first activity, as is everypony else. Beforehand, though, you turn your head around the room to check who all was here. In addition to Bon Bon and White Lightning, you see Berry Punch, Golden Harvest, Derpy Hooves, Rose, and Bon Bon's friend Lyra. But those were just the ones you recognized by name.
In addition, there's a lilac pony with a blue mane and two dolphins as her cutie mark, a forest-green pony with a raining cloud as her cutie mark, and a pale yellow pony with a purple mane, and her cutie mark... is that an umbrella?
Huh, so there were even ponies here who are almost complete strangers to you. You know you've seen them before and recall their appearances, but that's as far as it goes.
Should be an interesting sleepover!
The roasting of s'mores, activity number 1, begins, and in addition to the deliciousness of those treats, the mostly-sitting endeavor enabled you to, first, gather the new names. You find that the lilac pony with dolphins is named Sea Swirl, the forest-green pony with the rain is Sprinkle Medley, and the pale-yellow pony with the umbrella-like object is Parasol. And that thing is a parasol, as you guessed after hearing her name.
The s'more roasting plus the other sleepover activities you did, got you acquainted with these three pretty well. During the bedtime story portion, Sea Swirl talked about a dolphin exhibit she led the speaking of, revealing her occupation.
And there was plenty of further acquainting with the ponies you did already know more. Not in short supply at all.
After the list of activities runs dry, White Lightning declares the sleepover to have reached bedtime, which brings you back to remembrance of what was to come with that. You hold a wide smile as your signature activity approaches.
Your signature activity that the host knows about and has a plan for. "Alright, so since H.C. is the special guest here, I'm thinking we should give them the first choice on who to share a bed with.", White Lightning says.
"I know, we all want to cuddle with them. But we can't all fit one one bed, and cuddling is more intimate when done with one or two ponies."
"So H.C., you get to pick your cuddle buddy for tonight."
All the ponies in the sleepover follow the calm, choice-giving pattern, lining up in front of you for the selection screen. Here comes your moment.
Right after your announcement, all the other ponies simultaneously move backwards behind Berry Punch, giving your selection a visual symbol of being such.
"Ooh, so you're gonna cuddle with Berry!", White Lightning says, sliding a pillow into her pillowcase. "Good choice; she should be interesting, as she's never once cuddled with a human before, and barely cuddled at all!"
You look over to Berry's standing area with a smile, where she is blushing and holding up her left leg behind her head. Looks like she didn't expect to get the honor, and might be a bit nervous too.
But you have experience.
"Hey, Berry Punch, I fully understand if you're feeling uneasy. Cuddling is like that when you're new to it. But speaking from my own experience, it quickly becomes awesome, and pretty soon you forget about yourself being a rookie to it."
"Plus, being a rookie means you get the choices. I'll cuddle you how you want."
Your words appear to be successful, as the punch pony sighs off.
"Thanks, H.C. It is weird. Like, I know I want to be cuddled, but it's hard to actually do it."
"It is. So that's why I'll be gentle with you.", you say, kneeling down to her eye level.
Berry then trots over to her white foam mattress that's covered in a blanket and pillows of a color identical to her coat. Looks like she considers you a good cuddle buddy for her!
You, with your solidly white pajama combination of a thin T-shirt and shorts (the current season being summer), shuffle under with her on the left, forming the zone where more awkwardness is bound to arise. But you know what to do.
"So Berry Punch, how would you like to cuddle?"
She almost didn't want to state what she was thinking, because it seemingly goes against what you had just offered her. Her face shows a worried look. But alas, it is all she can say.
"I really don't know. I'm new to this whole thing."
"Since you're the experienced one, I'd like to ask what you think is best for a rookie."
Alright. Here comes a play out of your book!
"Well, I actually have what I think is the perfect position for a pony in your situation.", you say, smiling at her.
"I find, that if a pony is nervous about cuddling, it is likely a better option for them to be in the more dominant role, for example, as the big spoon. Being smothered, especially by someone they don't know well, can be overwhelming."
"So, would you like to spoon me?", you offer.
Berry loves your thinking and finds your offer to be spooned adorable, but it's not quite what she was looking for.
"I agree that I wouldn't want to be something like the little spoon, but I'd still prefer to be hugged. However, I do like the idea of being somewhat dominant. Got a good position for that?"
"I sure do!", you exclaim. "The perfect position for us here is to have me laying on my back and you laying on top facing down, with both of us hugging each other. You'd get to be hugged, but you'd be in the more dominant role, as you're on top."
Berry Punch... loves it.
"Great thinking, H.C! Let's do that!", she exclaims.
"Perfect.", you say. You slide to the middle of the floor mattress and roll over onto your back, where you can see Berry still hesitating, silently staring at your body.
"It looks hard at first, but it'll feel much more comfortable once you get into it. Just start by lowering your stomach on top of me."
Berry does so, leaning in and pressing her rather pudgy belly onto yours, along with your chest somewhat, making you feel like you have an extra pillow.
"There you go!", you encourage. "Now, I feel like the best way to do this position is for your back legs to also lay on top of mine."
Berry completes that movement, forming the position more.
"Good.", you say. "Now, we hug."
Following your rookie cuddler protocol, you allow Berry to make that movement first. Seemingly powered by the magic of affection, she doesn't have a delay in sliding her right foreleg (on bottom) and her left foreleg (on top) under your upper back. You follow by doing the same to her, after which, you two simultaneously pull the hug tight.
"There you go!", you say to her. "This is it; we're cuddling!"
You lay your head on the pillow and remain silent after this sentence to let Berry get a feel for the sensation.
In the meantime, you enjoy the feeling yourself. Her belly is more on the plump, squishy side, and that, along with her slow breathing, relaxes you under the simulation of a moving pillow.
After a couple minutes of Berry spending time under your cuddles, she gains some rhythm and nuzzles her cheek into your upper chest, contacting your skin with her mane for the first time. It's very fluffy; she must take good care of it.
After a few more minutes, you decide it's time to break the ice. "Feeling good?", you ask.
Berry Punch lets out a deep sigh in contentment. "Yes. This is super relaxing. I love it."
"Good to hear!", you say. "It takes a bit of getting used to, but if you turn out to like it, once you're in it, there it is."
"Oh, yeah.", she says in a whisper as she tries to bury her head deeper into you. You lightly giggle; there's the oxytocin taking hold of her.
After Berry remains motionless for about a minute or two, you feeling like she's falling asleep, and so you continue hugging her from below, tightening your hold on her and also bathing in the cuddle magic yourself, as her front legs continue to affectionately be clasped around you.
But she didn't want to fall asleep. She was determined to squeeze in time on getting to know you better.
"So H.C, you like the drinks I make?", she asks, with her face heavily obscured as it nuzzles into your chest.
A very Berry Punch-style question.
"Yes. They're very good.", you say. "You fit with your name."
You remember that genius creation of natural strawberry juice and sour powder you had drank at your welcome to Ponyville party, right after you first came to Equestria. Berry Punch made a name for herself in your world through that drink. And the grape juice too.
Events like these seem to tighten cuddling, as you can feel yourself being squeezed harder. Like a fruit being juiced!
And you have the opportunity to up it further.
"Berry Punch, is there anything that ponies nickname you by? 'Berry Punch' is kind of a mouthful.", you say.
"Hehe. You're right; it is a long name, and ponies do nickname me.", she responds. "You may have heard White Lightning calling me 'Berry' earlier, and most of the time, ponies call me 'BP', my initials, or 'Punchie.' That one is personally my favorite. It sounds so cute."
"So, you'd like me to call you 'Punchie?'", you say playfully.
Berry giggles. "Yes please.", she says. "Especially on cuddling terms, because that's where the affection comes in."
"Aww.", you say, as "Punchie", as you'll now call her, displays even more cuteness by moving up her head a bit and laying it to the side, so that her mane touches your chin. It's thin, but plenty soft.
You then figure it's time to bring in cuddling bonus no. 2, as you gently run your hand over Berry's back, sliding over to her side on occasion. She lets out another content sigh; if she could purr, you bet she would.
"That feels good.", she says in response to the back petting. "Thanks. I, uh, haven't been pet much in my life."
Haven't been pet much? Well, here were you to change that!
"In what spot on your body have you felt most curious about being pet in, if any?", you ask her.
Uh-oh. Choices, choices.
"Well, I'd really like to have my belly rubbed, but, I. don't. want to leave this hugging position!", she says, squeezing you even tighter. That oxytocin is really overtaking her.
"Aww,", you say, almost overwhelmed by cuteness. You give her mane a ruffle, and note that this is just one night.
"How about this: We'll let sleep take charge. If you don't fall asleep in this position, or if both of us wake up in the night, we'll switch positions. But if it remains like this, it remains like this."
"If such goes that way, well, there's no reason I can't stay for breakfast tomorrow. I don't have any schedule commitments; we'll have plenty of time for belly rubs there."
Berry giggles. "Sounds good to me.", she says.
You smile and give her mane more soft strokes; turns out, that's also something she'd been wanting to experience.
And now that you think of it, breakfast tomorrow, with all these ponies, should be great.
With you and Punchie still in the hug, everything is great. Everything is great for you both to drift off to sleep.
...Golden Harvest! Or "Carrot Top", as ponies seem to call you! Anyway, you're the one!"
Here comes the moment of honor.
"Well, I'll be.", the yellow and orange pony says in front of you. "I get the cuddles."
You drum up more excitement from her by walking closer up and saying "You sure do!", while holding your arms out.
Golden Harvest giggles. "See you under here!", she says, sprinting over to and sliding under her solidly green sleeping bag, completely covering herself up in the process.
You giggle too. She seems so playful. Great personality for cuddles.
You slowly move into the sleeping bag with a grin, preparing to surprise Carrot with a sudden hug. But as you find out well before you can do that, you had lost.
She quickly wraps her front legs around your chest and back and squeezes tightly. "I've got the cuddler!", she exclaims.
You let out a laugh. She sure is happy for you to have chosen her.
But in any case, you two separate from the preliminary hug and actually get into the session. Without thinking about it, you both lay on your sides facing each other, with you on the right side of the enclosed sleeping bag, and her on the left. What presents is no movement, and awkward silence.
"So... are we going to cuddle like this?", you say, breaking the ice.
"That sounds good to me.", Golden responds. She spreads out all four of her limbs in a "come in for hugs!" position, and you waste no time shuffling into her cuddly grasp. She wraps your upper back into a hug, and even uses her back legs too, by resting them on top of your ankles. Your faces are also very close together, in a way that you can both feel each other's warm breathing.
"Ooh... humans are so huggable.", she says, hugging you tighter.
Ponies did seem to enjoy having a creature of larger size to hug. Not that two mares cuddling each other wasn't awesome, but this town has a low supply of stallions, so cuddle-loving mares rarely get the opportunity for bigger hugs.
"Happy to hear that.", you say, giving Carrot a pat on the side followed by a light rub. Which leads to your first question of the night.
"So, Golden Harvest, do you have a favorite style of petting, or the sort?", you ask. "Like, which area, or which technique, or the like?"
Turns out, this was a question especially relevant to her. "I really like to have my mane stroked.", she says. "Like, easily my favorite. Though a good pet almost anywhere else is good too."
"You don't have to ask me twice.", you say. You reach your left hand out to Carrot's curly, puffy mane and start giving her all the pets she could take. Your hand sinks into the sea of orange, displaying just how thick it is. Stroking your hand down from the top to finishing by unraveling the curls at the end, and repeating the process, Carrot closes her eyes and tightens her grip around you, utterly in bliss.
"Please keep going...", she whispers.
You didn't plan on stopping. Your hand continues to move tenderly across her orange mane.
After that, you remember her previous statement "A good pet almost anywhere else is good too". This prompts you to pet Carrot in all of the other main affection areas. You slightly move out of the hug and make room to rub her tummy.
"Heehee! That tickles!", she laughs, swishing her tail around and bumping the insides of the bag. She slightly blushes, with laughing not really being the expected result here.
"Hehe. This is a common thing when ponies are in an affection session with me. It's kind of hard to pet me there since I'm so ticklish. But I enjoy being tickled, so by all means include it here if you want."
You giggle in response. Ticklish ponies are adorable. You were trying to relax here though, and you wanted back into the full hug, so that could be saved for the morning.
The two of you silently decide to try and drift off to sleep mode, restoring the full hug from before at even tighter strength. Golden Harvest reciprocates your treatment on her by lightly petting the back of your neck, and adding things on with verbal treatment.
"I have to say, I feel so honored by you here, H.C.", Carrot says. "Like, what I've got with you here... I was only one out of nine who could have gotten it. And I was the one. I'm trying to feel grateful."
This sentence gives off bittersweet vibes for you. You get reminded of all those other ponies that aren't getting cuddles from you. Those who had their dreams for this night go up in smoke.
But looking at Golden Harvest, you're proud to make her happy.
She sure loves cuddling with you. And hey, this sleepover isn't the only time you'll see these ponies at night.
Yeah, you can put that aside. For now, it's all about Golden.
You lay your head down on the pillow and close your eyes for a long night of being hugged by her. That's everything you need.
"Wait a minute.", you pause. "Bon Bon and Lyra, you two are standing much closer to each other than everypony else; is this signaling that I have a double-cuddle option?"
Ah-ha! You detected that!
"You do!", Lyra giggles. "Bonnie and I are inseparable; we can't fathom the idea of being in a cuddle session not featuring each other, and three-player cuddles sound like a fun and sweet twist!"
Suspicions confirmed, and it's what you were after.
"Well, in that case, you two are my selection."
Lyra was giddy with excitement; she couldn't wait. She sprints up and wraps you in a hug before you even get to the bed.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!", she exclaims. "You'll be so much fun to have in our bed!"
You feel your heart warm at the fulfillment you're giving Lyra and her friend, as you look up at her eyes-closed, smiling face. They clearly got what they were looking forward to hearing.
"Yes.", Bon Bon says. "Thanks so much for choosing us. Now, what do you say we get to the bed?"
"Let's go!", you say.
The three of you encounter Lyra and Bon Bon's double-pony bed; as expected, it's noticeably wider than the other sleeping areas. As for color, the mattress is dark tan and the blankets and pillows are a light brown.
As you and the ponies slide in, you have a setup of you in the middle of the bed: Bon Bon on your left, and Lyra on your right. And that... that's where all the progress stalls.
"So, um, I didn't really think about three-way cuddling with regards to... how to operate it, hehe.", Lyra says. "Like, what position do we go in here?"
Good thing the cuddle expert is in the building.
"I have an idea. How about I lay on my back, you two lay on your sides, and you both hug me from there."
The ponies, having never heard of this position before, raised a few eyebrows at it, but seeing as how they couldn't think of another way to make a triple cuddle, they test it out. Bon Bon, on your left, and Lyra, on your right, slide over and press their tummies against each of your sides. There is a noticeable difference on each side; Bon Bon is a slimmer pony.
Both of them attempt to use your suggested position and wrap their forelegs around you, but...
Uh-oh, something's not right.
There appear to be some technical difficulties with holding a two-pony hug on one human. Lyra's left hoof bumped into Bon Bon's left hoof, and Bon Bon's right hoof also hit Lyra's right hoof. Then when they tried to do the hug a second time, they were covering each other's forelegs more than you.
"Well, um, this isn't going well.", Lyra says with a mix of giggly sadness and full sadness.
"Yeah.", Bon Bon says. "Performing a hug featuring four legs, while not getting in each other's way and with all four of them actually hugging you; that's harder than I thought."
"I think it also has to due with a difference in positioning that applies to who's in this bed. Most ponies, when they hug, have their left foreleg on top and their right foreleg on bottom; that's how I do it too. But for Lyra, it's the other way around. She has her right foreleg on top."
"That is right.", Lyra says. "Ponies tell me all the time about how they can feel that my hugs are different somehow."
"Huh.", you respond. This was something that had completely glossed over you despite all your days of cuddling ponies. You never paid much attention to which leg was on top, but as you remember some specific cuddle sessions; yeah, it does seem that most ponies prefer left leg on top. In fact, you couldn't ever recall an instance of right leg on top, which is apparently how Lyra does it.
And even if that anamoly wasn't present here, the task of properly holding a double hug seemed difficult, so you hatch up another plan.
"Okay. Well, we can try something else.", you say. "In fact, I already have an idea. How about, we have Bon Bon do what the original plan was, in honeymoon hug me from the side, but Lyra, you use me as a pillow."
"Okay! That sounds really sweet!", Lyra says, gaining her excitement back.
"It sure is.", you say. "I sure feel the affection rush when ponies do the pillow position. Go ahead!"
Lyra does just that, resting her head sideways on your chest, and positioning her forelegs much in the way of ordinary sleep. Bon Bon then does her part; pressing against your side and sliding her right foreleg under you. She avoids also using her left foreleg, as it would obstruct Lyra, but she does manage a half hug.
"This works. I feel comforted like this.", you assure the ponies. It's definitely a very underused and awkward position if there ever was one, but a good deal of creativity was needed with three cuddlers involved.
"Good!", Bon Bon exclaims. "I don't feel quite as comfortable; having only one leg hugging does feel awkward, but it works. Lyra, do you feel comfortable?"
"Yes.", Lyra struggles to say. She has a very wide smile as she tries to nestle deeper into you. "I love the pillow position."
You lightly giggle. She's so adorable.
You do like the feeling of her head on your chest, you have to say. The breathing motions are still present, and it does feel relaxing.
You had closed your eyes in that position, preparing to fall asleep, but it was blocked. A certain lack of something was keeping you awake with a hole.
The lack of hugs.
Not that this position was bad by any means, but you couldn't help but crave the feeling of tight forelegs wrapping around your upper body right now.
You know what happened last time the three of you attempted that position, but you were too determined. You needed a full-on hug.
"Hey girls. I was just thinking... can we try the double-hugging position again? Like, I really want to be properly hugged."
Knowing the experience from last time, they seem hesitant, but ultimately, they wanted to make you happy.
"Yeah, I'm sure we could figure something out. Maybe just... do it a bit slower this time. So we can figure it out to begin with.", Bon Bon says.
"I agree; I think the problem was more that we jumped in too fast.", Lyra adds. "Thanks to cuddles, I feel more chill now, so yeah, let's try it again."
"Thanks.", you say.
The ponies disconnect from their positions and work out how they can both hug you at once.
"Ooh, I think I know!", Bon Bon says. "How about, I spread my forelegs further apart, so Lyra, you can have both of yours in between that space."
"Sure! That could work!", Lyra exclaims.
You like the sound of that; after all, they'd be actively trying to leave a proper space for each other's legs, and you would have your double hug...
"Alright.", you say. "Take it away."
Bon Bon starts first, continuing to press her stomach on your side. She wraps her left foreleg over your chest and under your back, and, wait a minute, where does her right leg go?
With her being on your right and preferring the left-on-top position, her right foreleg would have to cross under her left... not exactly comfortable.
However, this doesn't lead to a feeling of defeat. You three only sense a victory, uncovered by this mistake.
"Ooh, I think I know what we need to do now!", Bon Bon says. "Me and Lyra just need to switch sides."
Oh yeah! How did you not think of that before?
The ponies simply move to the opposite sides from before, and try it out. Lyra's right leg, which goes on top, wraps under your back and over your chest near your neck, then her left foreleg wraps over the bottom of your ribcage, leaving a clear space in between. Looking good so far!
As expected, Bon Bon, from your right, is able to wrap her left leg under and right leg over.
There it is! There's the double hug! And before, you thought you couldn't do it!
"Yay! We got it!", Lyra says.
"Yep! And now it's time to use it!", Bon Bon adds.
As if one hug around this area didn't feel good enough, now you had two ponies there. Totally awesome.
The three of you fall in ultra-peaceful bliss with the comfort magic, seemingly on the brink of sleep, but it would seem that there could be more to come.
"Bonnie, I was thinking something.", Lyra breaks the silence of the nighttime room with. "Something to upgrade these cuddles even more."
"Shoot it.", Bon Bon says.
"Do you think it might be better if..."
"...if H.C. had their shirt off?"
Your eyes come awake at the hearing of this sentence; you do give it consideration.
The idea of shirtless cuddling had never really made itself known in your mind, but upon its appearance here courtesy of Lyra, it does make a lot of sense. Both she and Bon Bon would be able to feel your body heat to a much higher degree, and you'd have their soft, fluffy fur pressing directly on your skin. Currently, both these things are significantly filtered out by going through your shirt. So....
"Hehe. Alright ponies, you'll need to disband the cuddling for a short spell so you can get an even better version of it.", you say. "This thing's coming off."
The ponies disconnect their grips, and you remove your white top. Here come the heat and fur.
They then settle back into their before positions, and here are the results.
"Oh wow! You are warm!", Lyra exclaims.
"I never realized.", Bon Bon adds.
"And I didn't get to feel until now how fluffy you two are.", you say.
Lyra turned out to be right; it felt even better this way. Who knew cuddles could be upgraded?
Laying there for a while, you feel utterly in bliss. The double hug, the direct contact with soft fur, the warm breathing that can also be felt to a higher degree; those technical difficulties now seem like a distant memory.
You wrap both of your arms over the ponies' backs and onto their sides, seeing it as a thank-you for the feel-good that they're giving you.
It's all good now. Good enough for sleep.
Wait a minute, you think to yourself just before you drift off.
We could have done a triple spoon... that would have been a lot easier.
The pony whose name you just called out holds her hoof up to her chest, pleasantly perplexed by your selection.
"Really? Me?", Derpy says, skipping over to you.
"You!", you say. "I want to cuddle with you tonight!"
Derpy smiles bigger and stands right by you, displaying a symbol of togetherness to the other guests of the sleepover. And the host loves it.
"You made a great choice here, H.C.", White Lightning says, nodding and holding her pillow. "As you might know, Derpy goes through quite the adversity. But affection, both physical and emotional, really does help her."
Oh really?, you think. Yeah, I must have made a great choice here.
Derpy excitedly runs over to her gray sleeping bag, the color of it perfectly matching her coat. "Hop in, H.C.!", she says, covering herself up right after she says that.
You follow her and slide right on in, entering "the zone" with a pony who, as White Lightning stated, is emotionally vulnerable. You had to make sure to be careful with this situation.
You enclose the bag, perfectly ready to help with whatever.
"So Derpy, what cuddling positions do you like?", you say, not wanting to pry on anything if she didn't open it up herself.
"I like a lot, but what I'm thinking tonight is spooning. With you as the big spoon."
You couldn't help but think her desire to be the non-dominant role could be correlated to her emotional vulnerability. But who knows, and you consider that 'not my business.' "Good good. Just roll over, and here I come.", you say playfully.
Derpy rapidly tumbles over onto her left side, and you, from the right, come at her with your hug attack. Trying to avoid her delicate wings, you rest your left hand on her tummy and your right hand below her shoulder, then tighten the grip with your midsection pressed against her back.
You give her sunny yellow mane a light stroke, and let out the elephant in the room.
"As for any talk about your emotional hardships tonight, that's up to you, Derpy. We can just focus on the good if you want."
Resting under your arms and hands, she does lay in silence for a bit, seemingly taking time to consider. Possibly powered by your affection power, she does decide to open up.
"Well, I'm sure you know why I can be sad a lot. Because of this stupid condition that I have. Clumsiness factor 100, eyes don't look right, sometimes can't even think straight. I'm lucky I'm stable right now, when I'm cuddling with you."
"And the worst part is... I wasn't always like this. I was born... stable. I used to be one of the best flyers in the Junior Wonderbolts Academy. I won a race once."
"But then... things started changing. Unlike my classmates, who were starting to place better and better the more races they raced in, my performance went nowhere but down. And as it went down, I could notice myself feeling... off. Like, I definitely knew how to fly, but I kept making these ridiculous mistakes, like backing up into a wall."
"And one night, after I suffered an injury that took me out of practice prematurely, my parents noticed my eyes starting to go out of place."
"They took me to the doctor... they could not help me. Even their biggest medical book did not have an entry for whatever was happening to me."
"So, my quality of life just got worse and worse without me having any idea why. And that's brutal. When your life is literally going downhill, for something you have no control over, you clamor to know why. But nopony could figure it out."
"And I was suffering. Sweet Celestia, I've lost count of how many glasses I've broken. How many drinks I've spilled. How many hard-worked-on dinners I've knocked on the floor. I trashed so many things my parents loved and worked hard to make exist... and none of it was on purpose."
"But even still, I got consumed by guilt over it."
"I've also broken some of my own beloved things, too. Like that childhood toy I had been playing with every day for years."
"And again, it didn't used to be this way. In my earlier days, I could do things, well, properly. I could carry a glass without dropping it every time. I could eat a pizza without losing my mind and swallowing too big of a piece."
"To become like this, when I previously wasn't... I cried so much. I went through grief and back for the stability I once had."
"Now, having lived with it for many years, I've gotten used to it and have sort of accepted it as the way of my life now, but it definitely causes problems."
"You know that I work as a mailmare; I delivered your first batch of mail after you arrived here in Equestria. Thank goodness my mind didn't lose itself at that part, but there is also a lost count of how many mailboxes I've broken or gotten stuck into, or how many letters I've delivered to the wrong address... it's surprising to me that I still have this job."
"And if I lose my job... I don't know where to go."
"Oh yeah, and there is currently no cure for my condition."
Derpy lets a few tears fall, accompanied by light crying noises that are audible to you. You respond by continuing to hold her tightly and run your fingers through her mane.
This was your first time hearing Derpy's full story. You knew she was a mailmare and had that clumsiness problem along with her, well, derpy-looking eyes, but never had you known before that this condition snuck up on her. That she used to be like a "normal pony."
What did she say about her performance regressing in the Junior Wonderbolt Academy? Oh yeah. With her saying she once won a race there, your heart starts to hurt thinking of what she could have become. If her mind hadn't left her like that, she might be a Wonderbolt today.
Dinners ruined, toys broken... ouch. You use your strong sympathy to hopefully power your support, as you prepare to let out your verbal comfort.
"Hey Derpy, to start off, I'm really sorry this all happened to you. You're right to be frustrated and wish you weren't like this. I can't pretend to know what it's like myself."
"What I will say then, is that your derp makes you unique. You've sure gained a lot of recognition from it. I too wouldn't know you as well without the condition."
"And ponies seem to agree with me when I say that your eyes are cute. Like, really, they are."
"Lastly, you have, and still do, provide good things to others. You have a child, Dinky, and ponies say she does great with you. That's a really big accomplishment to be had."
"And you have a service job, that you went into despite the challenges. You clearly are a very sweet pony who cares about others."
"One more thing: Who's to say you couldn't be the star of a comedy show? Your condition doesn't only lead to ruining things; what if we placed you at a table full of pies?"
"I praise the derp!"
Derpy lets out a cathartic sigh after about a minute; it seems your efforts worked.
"Thanks, H.C. I really needed to hear that."
"And I can tell you're sweet too; this cuddling feels good."
"Let's move further into it. A bit of trivia about me; I love belly rubs. A lot. And... you already have a hand there. Know what I'm getting at?", she says, lifting up her head a bit to wink at you.
You do know what she's getting at, and your hand is about to move. You start the tummy rubs by going around in circles, then back-and-forth, with slow, smooth flow. She lets out a content sigh, a far cry from what she showed earlier.
"Oh yes... it's just as good as ever.", she says.
You let out a light giggle. You didn't know Derpy liked belly rubs so much. Perhaps she could use more of it; you wonder if any ponies have given some to her.
You double the petting by going back to her mane with your right hand; her mane is a lot thinner than most ponies. You could only bet she has the shortest showers.
Continuing on, you come across another surprise in hearing Derpy lightly giggle as you continue to rub her tummy.
Wow. She's ticklish? Who knew?
Derpy may be different than most ponies in regards to stability and ability, but affection sweet spots and ticklishness; not at all. Right now, she seems just like any other pony. And while she does need to be handicap-accommodated, ultimately, she really is just any other pony.
"You feeling better?", you say to her.
"Yes.", she replies instantly. "Thanks a lot; this really does help."
"And now... I'm thinking we should change positions, so I can hug you too."
This excites you as if you were just told you're going out for pizza tonight. You slightly raise your voice above sleep levels as you say "Yes. Let's do that."
Derpy giggles at your enthusiasm and rolls over onto her other side, holding out her limbs. You slide further in and Derpy scoops you up in her grasp. She clearly is happy to be with you.
As the warmth settles in, both of you let out a content sigh at the same time. Perfect.
"You're awesome, H.C.", Derpy says.
"Aww. You too.", you say, giving her mane another pet.
There aren't very many feelings better than comforting a pony who suffers from a visible disability that puts them at odds with living the "normal" life. And per the disabled pony's words, you were great for doing it.
It's also good to get a more in-depth look at what the disabled ponies go through, as opposed to just watching it from the sidelines in town.
With you firmly in Derpy's grasp and her smiling face being visible to you, your heart is almost going to explode.
The other selections disband from the line, isolating the forest-green mare in your view, who is smiling at you and holding out a moment.
"Cool!", she exclaims, walking up close to you. "I am happy to share my bed with you tonight, and yes, I'll cuddle you too! I love cuddles."
"I have a question, though: Why me, specifically?", Sprinkle Medley asks.
Whoever you ended up choosing, you expected that question.
"Well, I haven't really spent any time with you, and I figured it would be cool to go for something new."
White Lightning chimes in with an unknown bonus of your pick. "I can get behind that, and in addition, you made a really relaxing choice. Sprinkle Medley has a refreshing, cool scent; optimal for sleep."
Based on this pony's name and cutie mark, you could only guess what that scent was. And, well, you're about to get the deepest possible whiff of it tonight.
"Heehee.", Sprinkle Medley giggles. "Well, you'll know what she means soon enough! Shall we get to my sleeping bag?"
"Yes!", you say.
The double-green pegasus walks past you, leading you over to her sleeping bag in the center-south of the room. Her bag is dark-gray color, like a raincloud gray. Not in any way a surprise. She lifts up the opening for you with her hoof and looks at you, signaling her invitation for you to come in first. You slide into the relaxingly dark bed, and Sprinkle Medley joins you shortly.
"So, how should we cuddle?", she asks you, zipping up the bag and laying on her side.
"I'd like to start with the basics, seeing as how this is our first activity together.", you say. "Let's do a basic hug, or, in cuddling terms, a honeymoon hug. While laying on our sides."
"Okay. I'll do that. Starting with the basics sounds good.", she says, sliding up closer to you.
This was going to be a different cuddling session if there ever was one, as you and Sprinkle Medley are jumping head-first into close, loving physical intimacy. You two have only, like, just met. To say you'll be cuddling with a stranger does sound about right.
But you were excited to be experimenting with it. Both you and her spread out your arms/forelegs and move closer to each other until your midsections touch, then you coordinate the simultaneous wrap around each other in a great big hug.
With Sprinkle Medley's mane right in front of your nose, now was the perfect time to take the smell test. Yep, she does smell like rain! And White Lightning wasn't kidding when she called the scent refreshing. You can feel yourself getting woozy as you continue to naturally inhale while so close to her.
The pegasus decides to give a status check after some silence as she looks into your closed-eye face. "Am I cuddling you well? For me, I feel good. You're clearly doing it well on me."
"Yeah. You're doing fine.", you encourage.
"Good!", she says, closing her eyes and resting her head on her pillow while letting out a large exhale. She definitely seems comfortable with you. No stranger anxiety to be found here.
But because you are strangers, and in a bed together, Sprinkle Medley figured it was time to get more acquainted with you.
"So, as you've probably heard, my name is Sprinkle Medley, but with that name being kind of long, ponies nickname me a lot. My friends call me 'Sprinkles', and you can call me that too."
"Sprinkles." You like that nickname. It's cute.
"Got it.", you say. "So then, Sprinkles, why do you have that name, and why is your cutie mark a raining cloud? Does your special talent have something to do with rain?", you ask inquisitively, not understanding how that could be a pony's special talent.
"Yep.", Sprinkle Medley says shamelessly. "As my trading card says, I love to fly in the rain, sing in the rain, and even eat picnics in the rain. Sometimes I myself think it goes a bit too far. Hehe."
You lay there in befuddlement as you continue to hold Sprinkles. Uh, okay, so... she likes being wet., you think internally, not wanting to risk sounding judgmental to her in this delicate situation. Can't ruin a cuddle with a stranger.
"It's okay. All of us have our unusual quirks.", you say reassuringly. "Now, what is your job?"
"Oh yeah, my job!", she says, her breath hitting your face. "Yeah. So I'm a member of the Cloudsdale Weather Team. Not much to say about that job itself, but what my coworkers tend to know me for is that I'm the youngest member to ever join."
"Oh?", you say, with this interesting info.
"Yep. I've been working there for four years and I'm currently 20.", Sprinkles says. "The team hires starting at age 16, and I was that age when I joined."
"Wow.", you congratulate as you briefly hug her tighter. "That's a great achievement!"
Sprinkle Medley did not respond the way you expected. Her face was frowning and she let out a melancholy sigh, which prompted you to listen closely.
"It is a great achievement, but the thing is, and this is something I've been trying to tell society about, is that reaching success at a really young age isn't as cool as it sounds. It's hard, I tell you."
"Think about it in terms of school; I was still a sophomore in high school when I joined the weather team, so I had to go to the trouble of working out schedules, helping the team find substitutes, and overall often feeling overloaded and stressed by the balancing act."
"And then it's about the age in general. Like, when you're still a kid and are entering the workforce, where a lot is expected of you. When your mind is still so underdeveloped. I sometimes felt too much pressure."
"And then after that, I feel ahead of my age, if you get me. Like, because of my early career start, I feel like I'm 25 or 26. Again, I'm only 20."
You did feel things clicking into place as you listened to her insight. She does have good points. Success is great, but any edition of it in general can have struggles as part of the package. And that must be exacerbated when you're so young.
"I can see that.", you say. "Well, in any case, I hope you do great going forward."
Here comes another rainy (in bad terms) thing about this pony you didn't know about.
"Thanks. Going forward though... I don't even know what I want to do going forward."
You raise an eyebrow at this. Didn't she already have a job?
"It's not that I'm unhappy as part of the weather team,", she quickly notes, "but I can tell that it's not what I want as my long-term career. I don't see myself as being there ten years from now. But... I have no idea what I want to do next."
She lays her head onto your right arm with a sad face on, which prompts you to give her mane a pet and bring out your words of comfort.
"Hey. It's perfectly alright to not know what you want to do next. But what you can know is that you will figure it out eventually. There's no way a change won't come if you know it needs to happen.", you say, continuing to slowly pet her mane.
"And in the meantime, you've got me here.", you say, tightening your hug.
A smile comes back to her, and she pats your back gently. "Thanks. I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that."
You do seem to have this way with words that even you don't recognize.
"No problem. This is what I do.", you say.
"So, while we're here, what kinds of pettings or other affection practices do you like, Sprinkle Medley?"
"All of them. Belly rubs, ear scritches, you name it.", she responds, gaining her cheerfulness back.
"Do you like what I'm doing right now?", you say as your hand strokes across her dark-green mane.
"Mmm... yeah. It feels nice."
Sprinkles closes her eyes, and you move from her mane to give her left ear a scratch. She lets out a soft hum in response. "Human fingernails feel like heaven.", she says, pressing her head into the area between your neck and chest.
You move your hand back over to pet her side, where she remains content. Her breathing becomes steady, a possible sign of falling asleep. So you redo the full hug-wrap and settle into the position.
Sprinkle Medley performs a reciprocation on you, by wrapping both of her back legs around your left leg, and, much to your surprise, draping her tail over your side. You had never gotten that before.
And you like it even more than you expected. Her tail is soft and fluffy.
With Sprinkles' eyes being closed and the position seemingly complete, you relish in the full feeling of it. Your arms are cradling her over her back and sides as she's doing the same to you. Your bodies are as pressed together as possible; she still has her head resting below your chin and letting her warm breath fall on you. You two are absolutely all over each other.
"I love this, H.C. For the first time cuddling you, it feels amazing. Thanks so much.", she says.
"No problem, Sprinkle Medley.", you replied.
"I'm glad I chose you."
Perfect last words of the day before you settle in for sleep.
"Oh wow. Me!", she says, giggling. "Well, thanks, H.C.! I'd love to cuddle with you!"
"You don't have to ask me twice!", you say, walking up closer to her.
"Awesome! We're cuddle buddies tonight!", she beams as she high-hoofs you. "Come on over!"
You follow the white, blue-maned pegasus over to her sleeping area on the right side of the room, which is, much to your surprise, neither in the form of a sleeping bag or a floor mattress. White Lightning's bed is a pure pile of blankets.
"Huh. Interesting bed choice.", you say to her.
"Yeah. It is.", she says. "I was trying to recreate the feeling of clouds. I felt like blankets would accomplish that. Pegasus ponies like me often sleep on clouds, and I'm one of them who primarily does. Even in my own house, I use a floating cloud as my bed."
"Oh yeah, that makes sense.", you say, remembering all the times you've noticed Rainbow Dash napping on a cloud when you've walked by her house.
In any case, you climb down into White Lightning's bed made of blankets, and to your slight surprise, it was highly comfortable. With the bed's high-rise build and thick-blanket support structure, you couldn't feel the ground even if you tried to sink through the bed with every muscle.
Looks like White Lightning is an expert at creating these makeshift cloud substitutes; you really do feel like you're on a cloud! Not that you had ever slept on a cloud before, you physically couldn't, but you could bet this is what it felt like.
Your cuddle buddy climbs in on the other (left) side, pulls the light-brown, for-cover blankets up, and announces her own plans.
"So, I have an idea for how we should cuddle.", she notifies you. "I'd like for us to take turns spooning each other. Starting with me, if that's alright with you."
You giggle. White Lightning is the host of this sleepover, and she sure sounded like a host here. But host or not, you were fond of her idea.
"Sure. We can do that.", you say. Instantly after, you flop onto your side, facing away from White Lightning, where the black fireplace you and the ponies had just used for all that s'more roasting is right in front of your eyes. Good memories.
You then feel White Lightning press her slim stomach against your back and wrap a hug around your lower ribcage from above... but only with one foreleg. You went "huh?" in your head at the half-hug, and then, to your further surprise, she rested her other hoof on the top of your head, and began to stroke.
Something new here! You had the practice of a human petting ponies stapled into your life, but nowhere could you find a memory of a pony petting you.
And that petting... you closed your eyes with a wide smile. It felt great! With the gentle petting of your head, coordinated by a soft pony hoof, you spill out a content sigh, like what you hear from the ponies.
"Feel good?", she asks you as she continues.
This was sure an unusual question for you to hear. Again, normally it was you petting the ponies. Them petting you was rare.
"Yes. This is awesome.", you say honestly.
White Lightning gives you a giggle and then forms a full, tender hug, moving her left leg to wrapping around your chest and back from below, and draping her fluffy wing over your side.
"I just so happened to remember that humans don't seem to get pet a lot. We're the ones getting all of it from them.", she says.
"Yeah. You're totally right about that.", you respond. "I can't remember being pet like that, and I'm a pro cuddler."
"Would you be interested in doing it more someday?", White Lightning says, her warm breath finding your neck.
"Oh yeah. That felt great.", you respond.
White Lightning nestles her nose into your neck, accompanied by her hug, and she leaves you to feel the embrace. You could feel yourself about to doze off probably sooner than usual, given how much you had been relaxed by her stroking, and now comes the warm, tender hug. But you wanted to stay awake for longer to return her favor.
Except, then, though, you'd have to move out of this position in order to pet her. And you didn't want to do that anytime soon.
You consider the undisputed best option to be engaging in some small talk with her.
"So, White Lightning, how did you come to be the host of this party?", you ask.
"Good question. Simply because I was the one who came up with the idea for the sleepover. We all figured it made sense.", she responds.
Oh, wow! She was the one who started the whole thing? Well, in that case, you had something to give her.
"Awesome!", you exclaim. "That means I'm extra grateful for you, and as such, perfect recipe to be cuddling.
"Hehe. Thanks.", she says, nuzzling the back of your neck. "And yeah, I'm happy to be cuddling with you too."
"Aww.", you say, trying to hover your hand as you want to pet her in response to that. But you're being spooned.
You decide to let this position hold for a while continue the chatting period. "Do you like being the leader?", you ask.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool in this little just-for-fun activity.", she says. "I don't think I'd want to be the leader of a big business like the Cloudsdale Weather Team, though. That's where I work, by the way. I'm a member of the Weather Team."
"Cool.", you say. "I figured you might be, as most pegasi I've met are members of that team."
You decide to change the topic now, the topic being putting the dilemma you're facing into her hooves. "So, at what point are you thinking I start spooning you?"
White Lightning takes a short bit to respond; the scene you picture happening behind you is her tapping her hoof to her chin in thinking.
"I think I'm ready now.", she says.
"Okay.", you say. She loosens her grip on you and turns over to face the other side, which you copy.
You can now see her laying there with her backside exposed, just totally inviting you to give her a giant hug. It's adorable. You dive right into taking full advantage of this, holding out your arms big and wide before you even press your body against her. When it does, both of your hands wrap tightly around her upper body, which is coated in pleasantly soft fur.
"You're so cute, White Lightning.", you say affectionately.
You can see her cheeks go pink from your side view. "...Am I?", she responds.
"All of you in this sleepover are cute.", you say. "But it came to my mind with you specifically because of that spooning invitation."
White Lightning giggles. "I guess I was being pretty adorable there."
"You were.", you say, moving one of your hands east.
No time to sleep yet. You start sinking your hand into and around White Lightning's blue mane. It is as puffy as it appears, and incredibly smooth and slick, probably from her interactions with the sky. You then use your left hand to lightly rub her tummy, which results in deep breaths of content along with a few light giggles.
As you continue, White Lightning looks so happy.
"No sugarcoating it, I love this.", she says without shame. "Thanks a bunch, H.C."
"You're welcome.", you say. "I've been loving cuddling with you, too."
You could feel a cuteness overload coming on. Guess that means you and White Lightning make good cuddle buddies.
Powered by the cuteness, you hug her tighter and rest your cheek on the back of her neck. The position? You didn't see a need for a change now. You felt content holding White Lightning for the whole night.
Suddenly, probably less than a second after you sounded off that name, you feel yourself get knocked down to the ground fairly hard-and-fast. Upon regaining yourself and looking up, you can see a certain yellow pony with a purple mane already covering your field of vision.
"Yay!", she beams loudly in your face. "I so wanted to be your cuddle buddy tonight!"
After hearing that, it didn't matter to you that she bulleted at you like Pinkie Pie would, or that you were laying on the ground. You can only giggle at how happy you've just made this pony.
"Let's go to my sleeping bag!", she says, jumping away from you and running to that area, leaving you behind.
Well. Looks like I've chosen one of the playful ones.
You lift yourself back onto your feet and walk in her direction, to a spot in the northeast section of the room. You get a glimpse of Parasol's sleeping bag, which is a light pastel pink in color. Interesting choice, as she has not a trace of that color on her body.
"Come on in!", Parasol says excitedly, peeking out from under her sleeping bag. You didn't even notice her getting in; wow, she was nimble! A lot like Pinkie Pie in that regard too!
You join her for your awaited session, and inside of her sleeping bag, after you had quietly laid yourself on your back, Parasol surprises you by flipping over onto your front side and wrapping you in another tight hug. "Now this is what I call a sleepover!", she exclaims.
Her adorable playfulness is almost too much for your heart to bear. You felt yourself succumbing to a cuteness attack, about to go dark, but then you remember there's an easy way to balance things out. You simply boop her nose, and your mind focuses on her response.
Parasol giggles and boops you back, and you turn it around yet again. A fourth boop never came, though, and after a moment of brewing silence, where you could feel something about to explode, she falls down back onto the bottom of the sleeping bag, in a fit of laughter.
"Looks like I ended up choosing the silly pony.", you say, twisting over your body to the side and booping her nose again. She really is acting a lot like Pinkie Pie, and you were ready to only add to the fun.
After the sleeping bag vibrates with laughter from the two of you, you finally felt your breathing catch and your ability to carry out your normal cuddle routine restored.
"So, Parasol, in a bed-sharing setting, what kinds of things make you happy?"
Her cheeks go pink; your question may have brought out something she has difficulty speaking about. But she's determined to receive this happiness-inducing fun, so she pushes herself and tells you.
"T-Tickling makes me happy.", Parasol says. She clearly was embarrassed; her blush grows darker and her speech stops in its tracks.
"Do you... want me to tickle you?", you ask her.
Parasol's cheeks darken even further, to the point of redness, and she holds a hoof up to her mouth. "...Y...yes.", she struggles to say.
Nothing daunting for you, though.
"Ah, no need to be embarrassed, Parasol!", you reassure. "I can tickle you."
Parasol giggles in her worries being utterly wrong. "Thanks.", she says, rolling over to lay on her back. "Your choice on what to do."
Ah, so she's putting her experience here up to fate. And the decider of that fate was none other than you. Sporting a fate-carrier grin, you spread out your fingers and move them towards the bottom of her right hoof. "Tickle tickle!", you tease, running your index and middle fingers in the center.
"You sure are." You transfer your current technique to her left hind hoof, then you do the same to the right simultaneously with your other hand, all while bombarded by that chasm of cute laughing.
You then move your hand up to her right side, still using the finger-tickling method, which you plan to use the whole way through.
"Ah! Hahahaha! It ti-i-ckles!", she laughs, as your hand perfectly operates in tickle mode all over her side, up and down.
Good results going, you make it even better by simultaneously tickling her left side, causing her laughing to become louder.
"Eep! Hahaha! You-hu-re intense!"
One more run. After the sides, you place a hand on Parasol's tummy and start tickling her there, for the final act. This also reveals her figure; she seems to be among the more plump and squishy ponies.
"Haha! Heehee!", she laughs out.
You laugh back, feeling the environment too. Playful tickling, powered by a cuddle session, was something you couldn't ever decline.
After a couple seconds, you ease off. The laughs linger for a while, displaying how ticklish Parasol is. She breaths the rest out and plops down on her side. "Thanks.", she says. "That was fun."
You don't say anything; you just give her a mane a ruffle. You were happy to make her happy.
But now it's time for something a bit more chill, you'd say.
"So, how should we cuddle?", you ask her as you slide up beside her to lay on your side as well and look into her eyes.
"I'd like to hug you, so I wouldn't say spooning with me as the little one would be in the cards.", Parasol says.
Okay, so she specifically wants to hug you. You take that to say that a position with her in the more dominant role would be the best option.
"Okay. How about, then, I lay on my back and you lay on top of me facing down?"
"Ooh, I like that.", Parasol says, smiling. "I don't think I've ever done it before; it sounds cool!"
"Alright.", you say, rolling over onto your back. Parasol, with her Pinkie-like athleticism, climbs her back legs right on top of your legs, lifts her upper body up, then plops down onto your frontside, hugging you as tightly as she can.
This display affection from her screamed "success" to you. Parasol was practically a stranger, so you were definitely satisfied with how this first meeting was going. And you wanted to take it further.
"Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, Parasol?"
"Sure.", she agrees. She starts off with the familiar aspects.
"Well, I'm a member of the Cloudsdale Weather Team, as are most of the other pegasi in this sleepover. But I like to be in Ponyville as much as I can; I typically fly back down there after leaving work every day; my only house is in Ponyville. Pretty long commute, but it's worth it to me."
Ah, so a pony living in one city but working in another. You were rather impressed with how she can take that commute five days a week.
"As for my name and cutie mark... yeah. The reason I'm called Parasol is because I prefer to fly more slowly and make gentle landings, like a pony holding a parasol would. Then, I like parasols in general. I have a large collection of them."
Ah-ha! Cool origin story she has there!
"As I'm sure I displayed here, I love being affectionate with others. Cuddles are my jam; I'm friends with Sprinkle Medley and we cuddle almost every time we meet. Oh yeah, and I like being tickled. Don't know why. I just do."
You giggle. You sure remembered that!
You gently pet Parasol's purple mane, sinking your fingers further in than your hand as you stroked up and down, introducing her to softer, more relaxing touch from a human hand.
"Purr... that feels good.", she says, being silly and using an onomatopedia for the sound of a cat, which, you're sure she would purr if she were a cat.
You move your hand over to her soft back, for more sighs in contentment and a rest of her head onto your chest.
"Thanks, H.C., for choosing me as your cuddle buddy.", she says gratefully, looking you in the eyes from her close-up, sideways view. "Like, you've given me everything I wanted here." She tightens her hug around you and again nuzzles her head into your chest out of happiness.
"No problem, Parasol.", you say, giving her mane another pet. "Also, did you know?"
"What?"
"...that you're really cute?"
She doesn't say a word; she's currently speaking through cuddles. Cuddles that she tries to tighten even further.
These cuddles were deep for you to fall asleep to them.
"Yay!", a voice instantly cries out in response. You could only assume that was the voice of Sea Swirl.
This was confirmed when you looked over and heard the same voice as her mouth moved. "Oh, thank you so much!", she says. "I'm going to love cuddling with you."
"I'm going to love it too!", you say, following her from behind.
Sea Swirl's sleeping bag was located near the bottom right corner of the room; you could see White Lightning shuffling into her blanket-pile bed right in front of you while standing at Sea Swirl's area, and looking to the right, you noticed some tables, drawers, and shelves that you hadn't seen before due to them being tucked in that corner.
While you were busy taking in that sight, you hear a "ready?" hit your left ear. You turn your head over and notice that Sea Swirl had already made herself at home on the left side of the bag, with her beach sand-colored blanket pulled up.
You giggle. "Yep. I'm ready. I just happened to notice all that stuff in the corner that I couldn't see before.", you say, pointing your index finger behind you.
Sea Swirl giggles back. "Lots of guests at this house don't notice that area for a while."
In any case, you join her on the right side of the sleeping bag. It really does have a beach sand feel; that effect doesn't come from just the color. The sleeping bag has a sandy design, with seashell images too. Perfectly fitting for the pony who's all about the ocean.
With no plans in mind yet, you lay on your side facing Sea Swirl, while she is coincidentally doing the same thing. You kind of anticipated this; you and her were practically strangers, using a co-sleeping session featuring cuddling as your introduction to each other.
You decide to let her take the helm. "So, Sea Swirl, is there anything you wanted to do with me? Like, a cuddling or petting technique you've been waiting for?"
Unknowingly, you seem to have set off an "Oh, heck yes, but..." moment in her. She blushes a bit and remains silent, seemingly a bit embarrassed to tell you.
"I really could use a belly rub.", Sea Swirl says, rubbing that area herself with both of her hooves. You found that adorable.
"Sure thing!", you say with a light giggle. "Just roll over a bit."
Sea Swirl flops over to lays on her back, and you place your left hand on her tummy, starting to gently rub in circles. Her breathing becomes slower and deeper, and she holds a smile on her face as she closes her eyes.
"Mmm... it's so soothing!", she says, still managing the exclamation despite feeling that calm.
"From my experiences in this town, ponies sure do love belly rubs.", you say.
She had given you food for thought here. Who knows.
You continue to go at it, and while she does continue to be in utter bliss, there's also a fair bit of giggling and quivering. Sea Swirl is among the more ticklish ponies at this sleepover.
As you lift off your hand and nestle deeper into the bag, preparing for sleepy relaxation on your part, she rolls back onto her side and reaches out to wrap around you, trying to pull you in for a cuddle. Looks like you made her happy!
"Thanks, cuddle buddy. I don't think I even knew how much I needed that.", she says.
"Always happy to pet you adorable creatures.", you say, accepting her invitation and forming a honeymoon hug.
Sea Swirl giggles and nestles her head in the junction between your neck and chest, her mane touching your chin as she hugs you. You softly pet her back in response.
"This feels so good.", she whispers.
You felt the same way. You tighten your grip around her body; this is a very close cuddle. And you were doing it with a stranger.
Your success in that field is enough to put you to sleep.
Wait a minute, you think to yourself, as something suddenly strikes you as you wake up into the still-black night.
I didn't really take time to get to know Sea Swirl here. I didn't ask her about her job, or her cutie mark, or things like that.
You can feel your face muscles start to deflate. You were cuddling with somepony you hadn't met before; how could you forget all of that part and let the awake portion of the session slip away like that? It was so short, too!
You open your eyes to entertain the possibility that Sea Swirl was upset about that too, staring into your eyes and preparing to ask "You didn't ask me anything about myself!" You convinced yourself that was a possibility you should prepare for.
But what you see instead, is a Sea Swirl who is dreamily smiling in her sleep as she holds you tenderly and takes deep breaths.
The sweet sighting got your face to shift back to its earlier state, and Sea Swirl's current.
Well, she doesn't seem to have a problem with it., you think.
You re-rest your head deep into the pillow and allow the combination of Sea Swirl's limbs, cuteness, and contentment to relax you back to sleep.
The cream-colored, red-maned flower pony stands there in silence; no movement from her face or body.
"W...what's that you said? You want to cuddle with me?"
"Yep.", you say, smiling at her.
"Oh. Well, I did want to, but I did not expect that.", she says. "What I was thinking during the time you were thinking was that my name was unlikely to be called. Wow."
You don't point out that you considered your probability of selecting any of the nine options to be equal. All you want to do is appease Rose. "Well, you are the one.", you say, walking up and holding out your arms to her.
To your surprise, she completely hops into your grasp. "Whoa!", you say. "Looks like somepony likes to be held!"
Rose blushes and changes the topic by pointing to her sleeping bag. Not having to grunt at all in carrying her due to her light weight, you take her on the trip.
Rose's area of the room is in the bottom left corner, and her sleeping bag sports a color matching exactly with her mane and tail. She even included the pink strands, with that being the color of the pillowcase. "Such accuracy!", you compliment.
You two head under her dark sleeping bag and enclose the area with the zipper. "So, what do you want to do with me tonight, Rose?"
"Everything.", she says. "I want to try out different positions, be pet all over, and use all of your techniques that you've ever used in physical affection with ponies. Yes, including tickling."
Wow. She was really into it.
"Sounds good to me.", you say, giving her a nose boop. One down!
Rose has a short burst of giggles mixed in with snorts, then spreads out her limbs for you. Okay, you'll start with the honeymoon hug.
You clasp around her body with two arms, then reach out with one to pet her straight mane. You start at the top of her head and then make the whole trip down, repeating that process a few times, then go back-and-forth while lightly putting on extra movement with your fingers, for more of a massage.
"Mmm. Oh yeah.", she breathes.
You then focus on the ending strands of her mane, which become shorter and separate like Lyra's. You hold together each strand with two fingers and swiftly give it a stroke, going one by one.
"Yess. Please keep going.", Rose encourages in a softly squealing voice.
You continue going at that for a while, before you consider it time to move on with her requested session featuring everything. There's only so much time before you need to sleep.
"Alright, so I'm thinking what we should do is change cuddling positions every time we move to petting a different area on your body.", you say. "So let's change positions now."
"Which one?", she asks, lifting her hooves off of you.
"Depends on what technique you want next. Do you want me to pet your back next? Or, perhaps belly rubs next?"
Rose spends some time thinking, as you find trouble in waiting to know where you'll be touching. Stop the suspense!
"You choose.", she says.
Ooh, okay!
Hmm... you'll go with belly rubs.
"Okay! Can you lay on your back?"
Rose does just that without saying a word, turning over and leaving her soft belly exposed. You, with her to your right as you lay on your back as well, wrap your flattened-out right hand over behind her neck and around, then start stroking her tummy softly, using circular motions.
"Heehee!", she giggles, flicking her tail up. "This tickles a bit!"
"Well, tickling is on my list of techniques.", you remind her. "And you said you wanted all of them, so..."
She giggles again as you continue to rub. Whether that's due to the rubbing or your sentence, or perhaps a combination, you don't know, but she's about to confirm the existence of a green light.
"That's true. I did.", Rose says. She doesn't say anything further; only more giggles come out.
You were planning to do this part later, but the silliness has progressed too far. You, still with your hand on her belly, launch an early, unexpected tickle attack, using your fingers.
"Heeheeheehee! Hahaha!"
"Heeheehee-yo-hu-hu're good at this! Haha!
"Thanks.", you say, moving your fingers to her right side.
"Hahahaheehee!", she laughs out loud.
"Wow, you're more ticklish than I thought, Rose!", you admit.
"Heeheehee!", she laughs, probably in response to both the tickling and your tease.
You ease off your fingers, and Rose catches her breath while still letting out the lingering laughs.
"Heehee. That was fun.", she says. "I like tickling as affection."
"I do too!", you say. "It's part of my list for a reason."
"Not to mention, I also allow reciprocation of any technique.", you say, holding your pointer finger up.
Rose giggles. "I think I want to get back to cuddling now."
"Okay," you say. "What technique? I mean, we haven't pet your back yet. Or scratched your ears or your chin. So a position where all three of those can be done?"
"Yes please.", Rose nods.
"Okay.", you respond.
"I think I have the position for you. Here, I'll lay on my back, and you can lay on top of me facing down. Does that sound good?"
"Yeah, that sounds good!", Rose says. She lifts her right back leg to land it left leg, then does the same on the other side, and finally, lowers her body down on top of you.
"There you go!", you encourage. "You've got the position!"
Rose blushes. She's doing better than she thought.
"Do you want me to scratch your ears first?", you ask.
"Sure.", Rose says, lowering her head onto your chest. The feeling of that relaxes you significantly; you start considering using this position for sleeping.
Your right fingernail hits the base of Rose's right ear and you move it back and forth. The mare closes her eyes and lightly squeals in delight.
"Ooh... yeah, that feels good!"
You then briefly scratch her left ear, before you request "Chin up", and scratch under there. Rose falls into the dog-like behavior you know from chin scratching, sticking her tongue out, then almost falling off of you! She narrowly avoided it by realizing just in time and grabbing onto your shoulders.
"Whoa! Heehee!", she says. "I guess I really like chin scratches."
"Oh, you sure do.", you tease, ruffling her mane.
Rose is loving it, and she has something to add that may seem like bad news, but there is a caveat.
"I have to say; trying to get through all the techniques became a little tiring. It was hard for me to lift my chin up due to the fatigue.", Rose says.
"But luckily; we have only one technique left, and it's perfect for relaxing into sleep."
That's right! You haven't pet her back yet, and it was a perfect ending before you fall asleep.
Your right hand strokes up and down across her cream-colored back, to periodic up-swishes of her tail, particularly when you hit the center.
Rose gets so into it that she grabs hold of you and turns sideways, flopping you both into a sideways cuddle.
"Whoa!", you say in surprise, giggling. "Somepony's into this!" Rose had been in it on the surprises tonight, doing this as well as jumping into your arms after you chose her to cuddle with. Seems like it's one of her things.
She lightly giggles again, and changes the position to where she's hugging your upper body and her nose is close enough to nuzzle yours. You respond in resting your left hand on her side and the other on her mane. You give her mane a pet, and it's off to sleep.