“Afternoon, Starlight,” you greet as you walk down the upper hallways of Twilight’s castle toward your room.

The little lilac pony greets you back, perky as ever. “Hi! Good to see you.” Suddenly, she comes to a stop as you approach. “Actually, could I ask you a quick question?”

“Sure thing.”

She purses her lips, as if steeling herself to say something abnormal. “Well, I just got this new soap, but I don’t think it’s working. Can you smell anything?” she asks, tilting her head.

You buckle at the waist, leaning down and sniffing her mane. “Nope, not really.”

She smacks your leg gently with the side of one of her forehooves. “It’s soap, not shampoo, doofus.” She puffs out her barrel. “Try down here.”

You move over toward her chest, noticing immediately the soft, fluffy coat covering it. It’s mesmerizing enough that it gives you pause, but after just a heartbeat you close the distance and sniff quickly. Pulling away, you think for a moment. “I do smell something herbal…”

Starlight’s ears perk up; obviously she’s pleased that her toiletries are actually working. “Good! Try again, see if you can figure it out!”

You move your nose closer this time, burying it just under the surface of her silken coat. “Oh!” you cry, moving your face away for just a moment. “Rosemary!”

“You got it!” she cries happily. “Okay, I feel better about spending all those bits on the ‘organic’ option, now.”

Unable to control yourself, you press your face forward into her floof again, inhaling and nuzzling into her warm chest. The strands of her coat tickle and caress your nose as you rub your face across her barrel.

She chuckles softly, and you’re surprised when she places a hoof on the back of your neck in a half-hug. “You can just tell me if you want to cuddle, you know.”

You pull away and look into her eyes. “Really? You’d cuddle with me sometime?”

“I’d cuddle with you now!” she declares boldly. “I have nothing going on the rest of the day.” Smiling sweetly, her eyes flicker down for a moment before they meet your gaze again. “And...it’d be nice to spend some quality time with you. We haven’t been around each other much, recently.”

Your heart warms at your pony friend’s sincere, kind words toward you, and a beaming smile works its way onto your face. “Cuddling it is then, Starlight.”

“Wonderful,” she celebrates, turning tail to face in the same direction you are. She gently leans her side into you. “Come on, let’s head to my room.”

You wrap an arm around her withers. “Lead the way, mon amie!”

Less than a minute later you arrive at the door to Starlight’s room. She busts it open with a single, practiced flare of her horn, and you saunter inside with her, finally removing your arm from around her midsection.

For whatever reason, Twilight’s inclination to provide room and board to ex-villains and aliens was especially well suited to Starlight’s tastes. Her room is a simple one, but still better decorated than your own. A few kites are scattered about on the floor, with a soft shag carpet at the foot of her bed. The shades are drawn such that a pleasant, calming dimness fills the space.

Starlight hops onto the bed with an effortless spring, and collapses on her side to face you. Smiling, she holds her forehooves out, beckoning you into a lying hug.

Not wanting to leave her waiting, you oblige her by lying down yourself and wrapping your arms around her neck. This gives Starlight her own chance to nuzzle your chest, while you take the opportunity to run your fingers through her wavy, satiny mane.

“How was work this week?” you ask her softly, allowing the tips of your fingers to leave trails on her scalp as you continue to stroke her mane.

“Hurmmmm,” she purrs briefly at your affection while collecting her thoughts. When she speaks, her voice vibrates pleasantly into your chest. “Things were a little hectic this week. Nothing catastrophic, but a lot of students came to the office wanting help on little things. Next week looks like it’ll be a little less stressful.” Removing her muzzle from your chest, she looks up and nuzzles the underside of your chin. “What about you? What were you up to?”

“Ah, you know…” you hesitate. “Human stuff.”

Starlight giggles and gives you a tight squeeze with her forelegs. The hug puts you at even greater ease. “My poor little human. Still having a rough time settling in?”

“I’m all settled,” you protest quietly. “Just...a little too settled, is all. It’s hard finding things to do.”

Starlight pulls her face away from your neck to look you in the eyes. She leans in, pressing the tip of her muzzle to your nose in an eskimo kiss. “Sounds like you could use some counseling,” she teases as she retreats.
“Oh Friendship Counselor Glimmer,” you perform, removing a hand from her to place on your forehead in faux distress. “I just don’t know what to do!”

Giggling, she nuzzles your cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you, my lost little alien!”

Lifting your arms from around her neck, you snake them under her forehooves and around her torso. Shimmying your body down across the comfortable mattress, you bring your face down to the level of her ample floof again, and take the dive.

“Mmmmm…” you hum. “Rosemary.”

Starlight wraps her forelegs around your neck and puffs out her barrel for your sake, which gently presses your face deeper into the soft terrain. Your senses are bombarded by all manner of inputs almost instantaneously. The strands of her soft, freshly-washed coat glide teasingly across the sensitive skin of your face as you nuzzle into Starlight’s enticing embrace, and after another few moments her unique natural fragrance begins to mix in with the scent of her rosemary soap. Inhaling deeply, you savor her warmth and listen to her gentle, comforting heartbeat. Using your arms to tighten the hug, it dawns on you how wonderful all of this is, and how absolutely real everything feels. Starlight is real, and you feel at home locked in her gentle caress.

You’re not exactly sure how long you spend like that. You’re not sure why, but it seems Starlight is enjoying the attention too, which makes you glad. When you do decide to move, you shift your face to one side of her barrel, exposing a patch of the fluff. Releasing half of your grip on Starlight’s midsection, you bring your hand down to play with it. You allow the fur to slip softly between your fingers as you rub up and down, occasionally closing your hand to compress the ample strands.

Humming softly, Starlight brings a hoof up slightly to rub the back of your head, and folds her lower body to gently swing one of her hind legs over your hips. The extra contact seems to suit you both, as your simultaneously sigh in comfort.

You begin to nuzzle Starlight’s chest vertically, allowing your face to rub against her neck as well.

She tightens her grip around you. “I’m glad we did this.”

“Me too,” you agree.

“And I’m glad you like my new soap.”

“Not just the soap,” you bashfully reply, bringing your head down to hum into her floofy barrel again.
Starlight’s giggling is interrupted by a shout coming from what you gather is downstairs. “DINNER’S READY, GUYS,” Spike’s voice echoes into the room.

“Aww,” Starlight huffs. “I don’t wanna leave yet…”

“Neither do I...but we should probably go.” You let go of Starlight and hop off of her bed. “Can we, um, do this again sometime?”

“How about after dinner?” she sings, following suit. “And if you want, we can play hoofsie under the table during dinner, too!”

“I’d like that,” you tell her, holding open the door for her. After a moment you follow her into the hallway. “You think Spike made daisy sandwiches again?”

“Probably,” Starlight answers, rolling her eyes as she walks with you side-by-side down the hallway. “He’s been on a sandwich kick, recently…”

“I hope he at least garnished the plates with some rosemary.”

Snorting, Starlight leans into you affectionately. “You’re a goofball.”

Author's Notes:

If you want to support me, Buy me a coffee!

OFFICIAL FAN GROUP HERE

GROUP DISCORD HERE