“Where in Equestria are all the guards?” Twilight asked herself as she trotted through the upper levels of Celestia’s castle. There was not a single guard in sight, save for the two guarding the entrance outside. Wondering if something had gone horribly wrong, she quickened her pace, galloping down the hallway until she screeched to a halt in front of Celestia’s bedchambers. Panting softly, she took a few moments to catch her breath, then tentatively pushed open the cracked door and poked her head in.
“Princess?” She pushed the door the rest of the way open with a hoof to find her former mentor laying on the bed, her head resting upon a thick pillow clenched between her forelegs. Cadence lay to her left, her tail swishing about on the sheets as they locked eyes momentarily.
Celestia lifted her head from the pillow and threw on a warm smile. “Thank you for coming. I trust you read my letter?” She patted the spot beside her.
“Yeah, but... I still don’t understand why I couldn’t take the train.” Twilight wiped her brow with a hoof as she shut the door behind her. She trotted up to Celestia’s bed and hopped up on it, then grabbed a pillow for herself as she turned to face her. “I cleared my schedule for the weekend so we could spend some quality time together, so... why did you need me so urgently?”
Celestia let her head come to rest upon the pillow again, her ears flopping down against her head as she thought of what to say. After a few moments, she pushed herself up off of the bed and walked over to the window overlooking the city. She took a deep breath, then said, “Every thousand years, a certain set of stars align and make us alicorns a target for snuggling. I summoned you and Cadence here to keep you safe from everypony, as some in the past have gone to great lengths to even get close to either myself or my sister.”
Twilight’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about?” she asked as she shook her head.
“Barely anypony knows of this, and even I do not know exactly how or why this happens, but... it happens every thousand years like clockwork. When it happened the last time, I discovered that we release a very potent pheromone that makes anypony it comes into contact with want to snuggle with us. They act like they had been possessed by some entity. Seeing your friends lose all semblance of etiquette as they nuzzle you over and over, it is... quite unsettling, and that is why I summoned you here tonight.”
Twilight’s mouth hung agape as she stared at Celestia. “What you are saying... it can’t be possible!”
“Oh, but it is, my dear Twilight,” Luna said with glee as she trotted in with a large platter of delectable sweets on her back, balanced between her wings. She placed them on Celestia’s desk, then flopped on the bed in a manner highly unbecoming of a princess. “This is my favorite holiday of them all, and my dreadful sister wants us all to stay locked up in the castle,” she said, her tone turning sour. “At least we’ll have some snacks for when we get hungry.”
Celestia glared at her sister. “Luna, you know how bad it got a couple thousand years ago. Do you really want that... fiasco to happen again?” she dryly asked.
Luna’s ears flicked back. “No, but... maybe we could regulate it somehow? Like, only let in a few ponies each at a time?” Her ears flicked back up as she breathlessly waited for Celestia to respond.
“No.” Celestia turned back around as she used her magic to pull the curtains shut. “Too many ponies were injured that night; I shall not let that happen again.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on... They knew what they were getting into!”
“Did they? They were not themselves!”
As Celestia and Luna traded verbal blows, Twilight scooted over closer to Cadence, her eyebrows furrowed. “Do you know anything about this?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Cadence shook her head as she fluffed her wings. “No, I don’t, and I’m a little scared. Celestia is making all this sound like it’s going to be a catastrophe, but Luna is treating it so lightly. I... I don’t know what to think.”
Twilight sighed. “Yeah, me neither. At least we’re in good company, right?” She reached out and grabbed Cadence’s hoof and squeezed it, then shot a warm smile her way.
“Right,” Cadence said, squeezing Twilight’s hoof back. “Besides, how bad can it get? Some stars magically align and make other ponies want to snuggle with us; that doesn’t sound that bad to me.”
“Well... Celestia sure seems to think it’s bad. I—” Twilight looked up as Luna’s voice rose, breaking her concentration.
“There! Now we’re sealed in here until morning!” Luna said triumphantly, a smirk sitting plainly on her lips.
“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, though her words were ignored. Celestia lit her horn for several moments, then finally let her magic fade away.
“Did you really have to do that, Luna?” Celestia asked with a defeated groan.
“Oh, but of course! If you won’t allow us to snuggle whoever we want, then I’m going to make sure that we all get some quality snuggle time with each other!” Luna chirped as she pranced around the room, a wide grin on her face. “It’s not as big a deal as you’re making it out to be!”
“Not a big deal? Not a big deal?!” Celestia stormed up to her sister, making her stop in her tracks. “Lower the shield at once!” she barked out, staring deep into her eyes.
Luna rubbed her chin as she feigned thinking for a few moments. “Hm... nah,” she said with a giggle. “This’ll be fun!” She wrapped her forelegs around Celestia’s neck and nuzzled her cheek. “Oh, I almost forgot! Dibs!” she called out.
Celestia’s shoulders slumped. “You can’t call dibs on me, Luna.”
“Yes, I can! You’ve denied me snuggles for too long, sister, so... dibs! See? I did it again! That’s a double dib, and you know those can’t be broken!” Luna said with glee.
Celestia glanced at the clock and noticed that it was nearing the time that the stars would affect them, so with a defeated sigh, she trudged back over to her spot on the bed and lay down. “At least the bed is big enough for the four of us,” she muttered, her ears flopping down.
“Hehe, that’s the spirit!” Luna said as she lay down next to her sister. She nuzzled open Celestia’s wing and wiggled underneath until it was laying over her back. “Is this really that bad?” she asked as she nuzzled her sister’s neck.
“...No,” Celestia admitted with a blush, silently enjoying her sister’s display of affection. Feeling Cadence’s and Twilight’s eyes bore into her, she pointedly avoided their gaze as she let her head come to rest upon Luna’s.
“Is it happening already? I don’t feel different,” Twilight piped up.
Celestia shook her head. “No, but you will notice it when you feel an irresistible urge to snuggle us,” she said softly. Luna’s nuzzles grew more insistent and deep as their conversation faded away. Then, between the growing silence that seemed to drag for a few minutes, while each of them waited for this curious time, Celestia’s nose found a stray scent, one that grew more powerful with each passing moment. Immediately recalling the familiar feeling, she drew a foreleg over her sister and inhaled deeply, taking in an intoxicating blast of the aroma. “It begins,” she announced, feeling an overwhelming sensation of warming relaxation flowing from the tip of her horn down to her tail.
Twilight squeezed Cadence’s hoof again as she licked her lips, her muzzle twitching as she sniffed the air. “You smell that?” she asked her in a hushed tone.
“Y-Yeah...” Cadence sniffed the air a few times. “Smells like lavender and roses,” she said, peering down upon her. “And I think it’s coming from you.” Cadence leaned in and took a deep whiff from Twilight, then sat back, her eyes softening as her ears flicked back. “Oh yeah, it’s definitely coming from you,” she said as she blushed a little bit. She bit her bottom lip, her tail flicking about as she tried to resist the effects of the pheromone.
“Lavender and roses?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow as she looked Cadence up and down. “I don’t smell that at all. I smell something like strawberries, but it’s a very sweet smell. It’s, uh...” She nervously shifted closer to Cadence as she felt a comforting warmth overtake her body, putting her at ease. “It’s rather nice. I wonder if each of us releases a different scent,” she said as she let her gaze come to rest upon Cadence’s wings. Her wings look so soft... she thought, biting back a whimper as she wondered how they’d feel surrounding her body.
“That is correct, Twilight,” Celestia said as Luna rolled onto her side, clutching the golden sheets between her front hooves. “Luna’s scent reminds me of watermelons on a nice summer day.” Luna’s horn lit up and pushed her onto her side, making her wonder what she wanted with her in such a position. Before she could open her mouth ask why, Luna climbed up on top of her and wrapped her wings around, then wrapped her forelegs around her neck. Celestia couldn’t help but grin as Luna laid her head on hers, ferociously nuzzling her cheek as she hummed softly in content. “And what do I smell like, dearest sister?” Celestia asked.
“You smell like dried sweat,” Luna said, eliciting a groan from Celestia and giggles from the other two. “But in all seriousness, you smell like fresh coconuts, my favorite thing in all the land.”
Twilight’s mouth grew dry as she tried her hardest to resist the pheromone. Looking back over her shoulder, she nearly gave in to the rising urges when she saw how Luna and Celestia were snuggling. Aww... that’s so cute. “D-Do you think we smell like our favorite scents? I can’t think of any other explanation, because I love the smell of roses and lavender,” she said.
“Perhaps,” Celestia said from underneath Luna. With a quick burst of magic, Celestia disappeared and reappeared next to Luna. “My turn,” she said with a snicker. Before Luna could react, Celestia pulled her up against her belly and nuzzled her into submission, giving her the chance to drape her right legs over her. Celestia tugged her as close as she could, then felt Luna push herself into a more comfortable position.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Luna asked with a giggle, lifting up her right wing. “For someone as experienced in snuggling as you, I would have thought that you wouldn’t forget the best part.”
“Oh, hush, you,” Celestia murmured as she nuzzled Luna between her ears. Her horn alit with her golden aura, she tenderly grasped Luna’s wing. With her sister docile and amiable, the elder sister tucked Luna’s wing back aginast her side.Then, after the younger princess gave a content sigh, she wrapped her wing around Luna’s belly, tucking the tips of her feathers in underneath her.
Twilight couldn’t help but let out a soft whimper as she watched Luna blissfully close her eyes, wishing that she was in her place. She flicked her gaze up to Celestia’s serene, magenta eyes, who mouthed the word ‘soon’ to her with a wink, making her blush and look to the side, an embarrassed smile gracing her lips. She looked back at Cadence and noticed that she was squirming quite a bit. “So... you wanna snuggle?” Twilight tentatively asked.
Cadence’s ears perked up. “Oh my gosh, yes! I thought you’d never ask,” she said in a relieved gasp. She rolled onto her side and opened a wing for Twilight to come snuggle under, a relaxed grin on her face.
“Um...” Twilight drew random shapes in the sheets with a hoof. “Can I be the big spoon?” she squeaked out, feeling her cheeks burn crimson.
Cadence’s smile faltered as she rolled back over onto her belly. “But I’m bigger than you. It’d make sense for me to be the big spoon,” she whined, laying her head down in between her forelegs.
Twilight felt a pang in her heart as she acquiesced. “Fine, I’ll be the little spoon, but only if you promise that we can switch positions after a little bit. Deal?” Cadence squeed, then nodded as she flopped back down on her side, welcoming her in with a raised wing. “Just like when you were my foalsitter?” Twilight asked as she scooted in.
“I was wondering if you’d remember. You gonna suck on your hoof like you used to?” Cadence asked, covering her grin with a hoof.
Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled with mirth as she planned out how she was going to snuggle with her. “Nope, not this time.”
“Aww, but it was so cute!” Feeling like Twilight was taking too long, Cadence lifted her up with her magic and placed her down beside her. As soon as they touched, Cadence latched onto her like a venus flytrap, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight’s lower neck and draping her wing over her as she curled up around her.
“Geez, has Shining been denying you snuggles or something?” Twilight asked as she felt Cadence nuzzle her cheek.
“No, of course not. I’d never allow him to not snuggle me every night,” she said, making Twilight laugh. “Is this comfortable for you?”
Twilight nodded as she felt Cadence’s warmth seep into every essence of her being. “Makes me feel small again, back like when I was a foal.”
Cadence laid her head on top of Twilight’s as she wiggled about in excitement. Her muzzle pushed into Twilight’s silky, smooth mane, causing her to shiver with the stimulus of the pheromone and other soft smells that must have been there before.
“When Celestia was talking about how bad this was... I never thought it’d be this good,” Twilight murmured. “She made it sound like we were going to turn into mindless creatures or something.”
Cadence laughed at that. “Now that’d be a fun sight to see!” She sniffed the air as a sweet smell of coconuts and watermelons teased her nostrils, then an overwhelming desire to snuggle with Celestia and Luna overtook her mind, body, and soul. Cadence looked down, feeling Twilight’s chest rise and fall against her side as she simply enjoyed the tingly joy of being alongside a dear friend, wondering if she’d feel let down if she ended their snuggling so soon. She laid her head back down, her ears flicking back. After several moments, Cadence pulled up the courage she needed, then asked, “Hey Twilight... should we go snuggle with Luna and Celestia?”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open wide. “Yes. Let’s do that. Right now.” She pushed herself up, instantly missing Cadence’s comforting and loving embrace as the cool chill of the night air wafted across her coat. Walking across the bed, Twilight licked her lips and threw on a shaky grin. “So... got room for two more?”
Luna and Celestia both squeed. “Of course, little one,” Celestia replied. She pushed Luna up so that they were both laying on their bellies, then she opened both of her wings wide. Twilight darted underneath her left wing and hummed in content as Cadence settled down next to Luna.
Luna gave Cadence a comforting grin as she rolled onto her side, propping her back up against Celestia’s side. “I seem to recall that it’s your turn to be the little spoo—oh,” she said as Cadence snuggled up against her, pulling her wing over her as if it was a delicate blanket. Glad that Cadence had accepted her fate to be the little spoon so readily, Luna nuzzled her neck in silent thanks and wrapped a foreleg around her, tugging her into a better position as she felt sleep start to tug at her eyelids.
“Anypony know how long this is supposed to last?” Twilight asked, her voice soft and filled with trepidation. “Because I don’t want it to end...” she said as she yawned.
“Only for tonight, Twilight,” Celestia murmured as Twilight laid her head on one of her legs, pressing her head up against her breast. “The effects should be gone by the time we wake up.”
“Is it okay if we have a night like this each month? Where we all get together and just snuggle like this?” Twilight slowly nuzzled her old mentor, praying that it would help her say yes.
“Hm... I am certain that we can set aside some time for another get-together,” Celestia said. “In fact, I think that would be a wonderful idea.” She used her magic to extinguish the many candles around the room, plunging the room into darkness, then watched as Luna used her magic to surround them with pillows and blankets, encasing them in a fort of fluff. “Goodnight, everypony.” As a chorus of goodnights met her ears, she grabbed a nearby pillow and let her head come to rest upon it, enjoying the sensation of her head sinking into the ultra-soft and plushy pillow. We shall most definitely have another night such as this... she thought as she closed her eyes.
Hours later, a frantic knocking awoke everypony with a start. “What could possibly be the reason for such a rude awakening?” Celestia asked nopony in particular, her voice rough. Certain that the pheromones had worn off, she lifted her head and was about to stand up when her bedroom doors flew open wide. It would seem that Luna’s shield spell has dropped... she idly thought as a squad of guards stormed into her quarters. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked, fully aware that they were now able to see her in such an intimate position with her fellow princesses. “I asked not to be disturbed for a full day!”
“The Princess is secure!” one of the guards barked over his shoulder as he came to a halt in the middle of the room.
“What’s going on?” Twilight asked with a groan, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “What time is it?”
“It is one in the afternoon, your highness!” another guard said.
A certain feeling of dread filled Celestia’s heart. Time seemed to slow down as her head whipped around, her gaze settling on the clock. She suddenly bolted from the bed, galloping out onto her balcony with her horn lit. Closing her eyes, she raised the sun, illuminating the courtyard below. As her magic faded away, Celestia noticed something unusual out of the corner of her eye, so she looked down and saw that the courtyard was filled to the brim with worried ponies.
As cries and shouts of disbelief soared from down below, Celestia gulped. How am I going to explain this one? she thought, staring at the sun and the moon sitting side by side. Celestia darted back inside and whipped the covers off of her fellow snuggle buddies. “Sister, it is imperative that you rise at once! The moon has not been lowered!”
“Ugh, gimme another five minutes...” Luna groaned as she rolled over, feeling woefully unsnuggled on her left side. She cracked an eye open to look for Twilight, but as she spotted her, the light from the open door drove daggers into her eye. Even though the scents that had driven her wild were gone, she still wrapped a wing around Twilight and yanked her over into snuggling range. Twilight was tense against her side for a couple of moments, then relaxed as she laid her head down, scooting back under her wing. Luna felt Cadence pull her other wing back over her, then heard a short huff as she halfheartedly tugged the sheets back up over them. “Mmm...” Luna blinked a couple of times, then relaxed as she felt sleep tug at her body again. “Gonna need at least another twenty minutes of this... At least...” she murmured as she grinned, knowing it would make her sister angry.
“Luna! Now!” Celestia yelled in desperation, planting her forelegs firmly on the carpet. “Don’t make me...”
Luna rolled her eyes, then lit her horn and viciously shoved the moon back down below the horizon. “There. Happy?” she asked. “Now come back to bed and snuggle with us; you’re missing out on the best part!” she said, staring at her with a knowing smirk. Come on, she should know this!
“And what might that be?” Celestia asked as she stepped closer to the bed. She waved away the guards with a hoof as she shut the balcony door with her magic.
As the guards finally let them be, Luna flicked her tail in annoyance and said, “The part when you know you have to get up, but everything is so soft, warm, and amazing that you never ever want to get out of bed.” She glanced to the side as Twilight scooted away from her, giving Celestia her space back. “And I think we all want you to come back to bed and snuggle with us at least for another thirty minutes,” she said, her voice softening.
Twilight scoffed. “No, at least for another hour!”
But I have duties to attend to, Celestia thought, puzzled. “Why for another hour, little one?” she asked as she climbed back into bed.
“Because you snored all night long, and I didn’t get a wink of sleep!” Twilight said.
“W-What? I do not snore!” Celestia said indignantly as she settled back down between Luna and Twilight.
Everypony else shared a knowing look, then said, “Yes, you do!” before they all dissolved into giggles.
