A Little R&R

by CrimsonWolf360

Rating: everyone
Tags: Shining Armor, Human, Anon, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance
Length: 2159

Anon and Gleaming Shield's relationship has always been more platonic than anything else, but they've also never been too physical with each other either. When Anon brings this up... Gleaming decides to rectify it on the spot.

Gleaming Shield and Anon have been friends for a few years now, ever since the portal opened between worlds and humans have started immigrating to Equestria. Exchange programs and military co-ed training brought them together, and a friendship quickly blossomed between them.

Their relationship has always been more platonic than anything else, but they've also never been too physical with each other either. When Anon brings this up... Gleaming decides to rectify it on the spot.

Contains: R63 Shining Armor, a flustered Anon, snuggles, ear scritches, nuzzling, and an impish mare who knows exactly how much she's flustering her friend

This was the Patreon one-shot for the month. Hope you guys like it :)

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Not sure who the artist is so if anyone can tell me, I will credit the artist for the coverart used on this story. Just know that it's not mine.

Published 2023-11-07 19:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-11-07 19:30:01 UTC

A Gleaming Start to your Morning

As Gleaming Shield kicked open the door to her barracks room, the familiar sight of Anon laying on his bed graced her tired eyes. She muttered a weak 'hello' as she trudged past him, sweat dripping from her brow and just about everywhere else on her body.

"Hey there. How was PT?" Anon asked, looking up from his book.

"Long." Gleaming curtly replied as she stepped over to her bathroom.

The sound of spraying water quickly filled the air, putting a quick end to any conversation Anon may have attempted to pursue, and so with a shrug, he went back to reading his book. A few minutes passed with only the sound of running water to keep him company as he finished up the chapter he was on. Rather abruptly, the water came to a stop and he could hear the sound of magic in the bathroom as his unicorn roommate dried herself off.

After only a few more moments, Gleaming stepped out of the bathroom and sluggishly walked over to her bed. She glanced up to Anon again, finding the cover of his book to be something of a peculiarity the piqued her interest.

"Intimacy Inquires?" Gleaming asked, a slight teasing tone in her silky voice.

Anon immediately blushed as he closed his book at his current chapter and set it down beside him, "Uh, yeah. Just doing some reading on pony body language. You can never be too sure when it comes to that kinda stuff. Been here for six months and I still mess it up sometimes." He admitted.

Gleaming crawled onto her bed and laid on her belly, her legs stretching out as she relaxed into the soft mattress. She eyed Anon curiously as she noticed the blush on his features.

"What do you mean? You're pretty good at pony body language already. I mean... you and I got along within the first week we met in the exchange program." Gleaming offered.

Anon rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well that's because it was just basic communication. I just want to learn the more... you know, intimate kinda stuff." He sheepishly admitted.

Gleaming raised an eyebrow, "What, like bucking?" She asked, bluntly.

The blush on Anon's face exploded into a burning crimson that consumed his entire face and neck.

"W-what!? No! I-" Anon tried to defend himself, but quickly paused as the sound of Gleaming giggling reached his ears.

"Oh mare, it's so easy to get you all riled up." Gleaming teased, giggling into her hoof.

Anon's face quickly morphed into a deadpan look as he stared at the alabaster mare sitting on the bed across from his, "Har har." He muttered.

Gleaming playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh relax, Nonny. I'm just busting your teats."

Anon sighed, "Yeah, yeah. You're always busting my 'teats'." He grumbled.

Gleaming turned slightly to face him head on, "And here I thought I was the one in a bad mood. Come on, Nonny. Lighten up. You know I'm just teasing you." She said, more sincerely.

"Are you? Cause sometimes I don't even know." Anon rebutted, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his bed.

Now clearly sensing that something was off, Gleaming stood upright on her mattress and hopped to the ground with a small *clop*. Anon kept his eyes glued to the ceiling as the unicorn made her way up to the side of his bed, a concerned frown forming on her muzzle.

"Alright, spill it. What's got you all upset?" Gleaming ordered, gently.

Anon sighed, "It's nothing, Gleam. Just forget it."

"Clearly it's not nothing. What's up with you? Come on, Nonny. I'm sorry if I teased you too much. Just talk to me, okay?" She replied, softly placing her hoof on Anon's thigh.

After a few moments of pregnant silence, Anon let out a heavy sigh, "It's just... I've been reading and... well, it says that a big thing about pony body language is that you guys... well, you're really physical." He began, sounding slightly nervous.

"Okay, yeah. That's true. What are you getting at?" Gleaming asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well... it's just that... we've been friends for six months now, right?" Anon replied, lifting his head just enough to look at the pretty unicorn beside him.

Gleaming nodded but said nothing.

"And... I mean... after reading through the book it's just got me thinking... you never really... do any of the stuff it says ponies do with their friends, with me." Anon finished, his eyes glancing anywhere but the soft blue eyes of his roommate.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Gleaming pursed her lips, "So... you think that because I haven't been nuzzling, cuddling, and snuggling with you... that I don't really like you?" She asked, slowly.

Anon awkwardly looked away, "I... well... when you say it like that..." He trailed off.

Without another word, Gleaming suddenly crouched down enough to spring load her hind legs, and jumped up onto Anon's bed. She landed with a *thump*, her momentum transferring through the mattress and bouncing Anon slightly into the air.

"Woah, Jesus!" Anon exclaimed, landing with a *pomf*.

He frantically looked up to see Gleaming as she climbed atop of him, her steely gaze locked into his brown eyes like a heat seeking missile.

"G-Gleam?" Anon stuttered, his arms instinctively spreading out to catch himself.

Rather than reply verbally, Gleaming continued to climb over Anon's legs and torso, effectively straddling him with all four of her legs until her muzzle was just a few inches above Anon's face. The clearly frightened human nervously gulped as he stared up at the icy blue eyes of the mare atop him while she only continued to get closer and closer.

"You really are a lot like my little brother, you know that? Always taking a book as gospel." Gleaming snickered.

"I... what?"

"Nonny, you know if you wanted to snuggle... all you had to do was ask." Gleaming stated, the softest of grins forming on her muzzle.

"I... uh-but... you... really?" Anon managed to ask, his confusion evident in both his tone and his eyes.

Gleaming giggled, "Yeah. Here, I've got about an hour before I have to get back to work and now that you've mentioned it, I haven't been very good with human body language, either. This whole time I thought that human's weren't really the 'touchy-feely' types."

Anon owlishly blinked at the mare straddling his waist, "Uh... what... what made you think that?" He asked.

Glreaming snickered, "I read it in a book." She replied, before laying down on top of Anon's stomach.

As her weight settled onto him, Anon was instantly assaulted with the warm of her body. While he was aware that ponies held a higher internal body temperature than humans, nothing could quite prepare him for the sublime heat radiating from her soft coat as she settled on top of him.

She wasn't heavy, by any stretch of the imagination- ponies weren't exactly too much larger than a large dog- but the sudden addition of nearly a hundred pounds onto his chest made it ever so slightly harder to breathe. Either that, or the fact that her muzzle was just a few inches away from his face and for some reason Anon couldn't focus on anything other than her gentle blue eyes.

"You okay, Nonny? I'm not too heavy, am I?" Gleaming asked, giving him a playful smirk.

Anon nervously gulped, a fact that was not unnoticed by the snow white unicorn, "Uh... nah. You... you're fine. Just caught me by surprise, is all." He responded, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"You know, the whole point of snuggling is to get closer together, right?" Gleaming impishly asked, tilting her head to the side.

It was at that moment that Anon realized his arms were spread out as far to his sides as possible. He quickly adjusted himself and brought his hands closer, but still kept them just a few inches off of Gleaming's body. Seeing this out of the corner of her eye, Gleaming tsked and ignited her horn. The familiar pink aura of her magical might enveloped both of Anon's arms and quickly lifted them up to her barrel.

Anon yelped in surprise from the sudden magical touch. It always felt so incredibly strange when a unicorn touched him with their magic. The sensation reminded him of a massage gun, vibrating all around the area their aura touched, only it also held a distinct warmth to it. That warmth was only compounded by the velveteen sensation of Gleaming's fur as Anon's digits sunk into her soft coat.

While he had touched the mare before, whether in an encouraging 'pat on the back' or one-armed hug, nothing he'd done with her had ever felt so intimate and right. The second Anon's fingers sank into her plush fur, he couldn't help the soft sigh of excitement that rushed out of his lungs. His reaction brought a bright smile to Gleaming's face, and she leaned her head down until her cheek rested against Anon's neck.

Anon felt the shorter hairs of Gleaming's neck and cheek brush against his skin, sending goosebumps all over his entire body. The soft texture of her fur was something he simply could not get over, as she settled against him, her forelegs wrapping around his shoulders and squeezing him a little closer. Instinctively, Anon wrapped his arms around Gleaming's back and hugged her back, the action pressing her chest against his just a little tighter.

Gleaming sighed into Anon's neck, the hot air of her breath sending a shiver down his spine as it washed over his neck and collar. For a moment, they fell into silence, both simply holding each other tightly while the sun slowly continued its assent into the early morning sky.

"You're nervous." Gleaming stated, teasingly.

"N-no, I'm not." Anon lied.

"I can feel your heart beating like a drum against my chest, Nonny." Gleaming replied, squeezing him again to emphasize her point.

Anon fell silent for a moment before letting out a huff, "Alright, fine. I'm a bit nervous." He admitted, bashfully.

"What's there to be nervous about? We're just two friends, snuggling a little because a certain human said he wanted to." Gleaming responded, her voice filled with mirth at Anon's expense.

"You're evil." Anon muttered.

"And you're adorable." Gleaming giggled, nuzzling her cheek against Anon's neck some more.

As the seconds slowly ticked by into minutes, Anon's heart eventually calmed down to a steady beat, and he was able to appreciate the blanket of warmth and comfort the mare atop of him provided. She was equally happy to accept the soft mattress that was Anon's torso, and softly cooed in happiness as Anon grew bold enough to run his fingers through her coat. Soft, slow strokes that raked through her fur from her wither down to her haunches brought a small shiver of delight to the alabaster unicorn, prompting her to nuzzle even harder against Anon's neck as thanks.

As his ministrations did not bring a reaction of disgust or revulsion, Anon was further emboldened to touch his pony friend even more. His hands slowly made their way up to her neck, then to her fuzzy cheek, and finally to her fluffy ears. The furry appendages flicked back at first contact, but as Anon's gentle touch persisted, they held firm, and Gleaming let out a low groan as his dexterous fingers scratched her ears.

"Ooh... right... there." Gleaming practically moaned, her eyes fluttering shut.

Happy to oblige, Anon continued to scritch at her ears for quite a while. He eventually switched up his ministrations to rub, pet, or scratch all over Gleaming's back, withers, neck, barrel, and head. She absolutely melted into his arms, her eyes rolling back in her head as she sunk further and further into Anon's embrace, becoming nothing more than a puddle of relaxed mare, fading out of consciousness.

In fact, just as the clock struck nine in the morning, Anon glanced down to see that his friend was snoozing softly in his embrace, a gentle smile on her fuzzy face. He couldn't help the smile that split his face as he scratched under her ear, getting the fuzzy appendage to flick back on instinct. He couldn't help but blush at just how adorable Gleaming really was. Try as he might, he couldn't deny that he wanted much, much more than just to be friends with the beautiful little equine.

"Maybe some day... for now... we've got twenty more minutes before you have to go." Anon murmured, squeezing Gleaming closer.

Author's Note

Hey all! This was an adorable little snuggle fic that I am really happy to have churned out. I hope you all like it as much as I do. R63 Shining Armor doesn't get enough love. She's a real cutie pie.