Chapter Nine
(Untitled and Unfinished)

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“So, uhm, you can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Moondancer rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to kick you out of your own bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Twilight didn’t really want Moondancer to sleep on the floor. She told herself that she was just being a good friend, that this was nothing more than giving them both a comfortable place to sleep. She told herself, and she even listened to herself. She was a good friend, she didn’t have ulterior motives.

With that in mind, she made her suggestion. “We could share the bed. It’s big enough. I mean… if you’re okay with that.”

Moondancer smirked. “Yeah, okay. We can share the bed.” She brought her pillow and blanket over to the bed, and they laid them out next to Twilight’s, then both girls collapsed into it.

“This was definitely the right idea,” Moondancer said once they were lying down facing each other.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Twilight smiled. She was a good friend, and she had given her guest a nice place to sleep. She had no ulterior motives, and there was no need to think about it any further.

It was a strange feeling. Twilight liked it, but it was strange. Part excitement, part something else. She was so used to sleeping alone that sharing the bed with another mare was strange.

She didn’t sleep much. Here and there she’d doze off, but then she’d become aware of the body pressed against hers, and there was a rush of endorphins that kept her up.

‘Just like Moondancer,’ Twilight reflected. Granted, Moondancer didn’t snore like Starlight did, but she didn’t mind. As Starlight slept soundly in Twilight’s arms, the alicorn gently rubbed her hand across her friend’s stomach, her shirt having shifted in her sleep leaving them with skin to skin contact.

She hadn’t done that with Moondancer, but she had wanted to. The two teenagers had stayed up late talking, every little shift in their position getting them closer together, and then at some point – Twilight never could remember how it happened – they wound up holding each other awkwardly while they tried to sleep. For the first time, Twilight wondered if Moondancer was awake like Twilight had been.

No, Twilight didn’t stroke Moondancer’s bare skin. She hardly moved at all that night, afraid that she’d wake her friend and then Moondancer would be appalled that Twilight had gotten so close to her. That Moondancer was also holding Twilight didn’t seem to matter in her teenage mind, she was the one who was crossing the line.

Twilight took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of Starlight and her room. The room wasn’t one worth smelling – the stale scent of dirty laundry that Starlight continually neglected to do. But even so, Starlight herself was another matter.

Unlike Twilight, Starlight didn’t wear perfume. Instead she favored cheap body sprays that wouldn’t leave a scent for more than a few hours. And that meant there was nothing covering Starlight’s natural scent, which was how Twilight was coming to find that she enjoyed it quite a bit.

It was familiar, as she and Starlight had been friends and roommates for over a year. Starlight was familiar. She was comfortable. She made Twilight feel comfortable. She made Twilight feel at home.

Of course, Twilight was a scientist. She knew all about pheromones and how they worked. It didn’t change anything though. Twilight moved closer to her friend, burying her muzzle in Starlight’s hair, and she breathed it in.

“Mmm.” Starlight stirred in her sleep.

Twilight frowned, hoping that she didn’t wake her friend up, her hand stopping on instinct.

“You can go lower if you want,” Starlight mumbled.

Twilight pulled her hand back, but was stopped by Starlight taking hold of it and pressing it back on her stomach.

“Sorry…” Twilight said quietly, as if speaking low enough would keep Starlight from waking up further.

“Don’t be. I’m sorry. I said I wouldn’t tease you.” Starlight nestled deeper into Twilight’s hold. “It feels nice, though.”

Twilight resumed stroking Starlight’s skin. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Starlight yawned. “It’s okay. We went to bed kind of early anyway.”

“Did you at least sleep well?”

“I did. It was nice sleeping with you.”

Twilight chose not to comment on the phrasing, all too aware that if she gave an inch in teasing, Starlight would take a mile. “Yeah, same here.”

“Any dreams?”

“No, not really.” Twilight’s mind had been racing all night, but she wasn’t asleep, so they couldn’t be called dreams. “You?”

“I dreamed that I got a giant ferret, like bigger than a pony, and I was trying to hide it from you. But it kept knocking things over, so I blamed it on Apple Bloom.”

“Apple Bloom? Why would Apple Bloom be knocking things over in the castle?”

Starlight shrugged. “Why the hell would I get a giant ferret? It was a weird dream.”

Twilight laughed. “Sounds like it.”

They were quiet for a few minutes, enough so that Twilight wondered if Starlight had gone back to sleep. She wouldn’t mind, she was still immersed in her friend’s scent and enjoying how soft her skin was.

Twilight closed her own eyes and smiled. She’d never felt this comfortable with someone before. She wanted to go to sleep herself, to have that experience of sleeping with Starlight in her arms, but she knew it wouldn’t happen.

And if there was any doubt, Starlight shattered it when she spoke again. “So I think it’s safe to say you like spooning with me?”

“I do. It’s nice.”

“I could tell.”

Something about Starlight’s voice made Twilight open one eye and frown. “What do you mean?”

Starlight rubbed up against Twilight’s groin. “Oh you know, just something poking me in the butt half the night.”

In an instant, Twilight pulled away from Starlight. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. Starlight hadn’t noticed that.

Starlight laughed and rolled over, enveloping Twilight in a hug. “Hey, it’s okay.

Author's Note

For personal reasons, I will not be cotinuing this story, but I had written this like a year ago and thought y'all might want to see. Thank you all for sticking this out with me, and you can read my extended thoughts here.