I trudge along, having walked through the Everfree for several days now. I was determined to prove once and for all that the forest wasn’t actually all that dangerous. I had been challenged by some friends of mine to spend three weeks within the forest and return safely. So far, I had only spent five days within its trees. But there is good news, however. I am still alive. The aching in my hooves is telling me this much.

I suppose at this point, I should introduce myself. My name is Fire Spitter. I am a dark orange pegasus, with a bright blue mane and tail. I am 22 years old, and I am a local weather mare from Ponyville.

Finally, I come across a small stream. The water looks clean enough to drink, so I take a small amount in my mouth, and taste it. I couldn’t taste anything harmful, so I filled up my canteen and went to rest by a nearby tree. I sat down, and took a few sips of water, before passing out. The next thing I know, I felt a strange tugging sensation at my mouth. I open my eyes slowly and look downward. There, I saw a little black creature with a red underbelly trying to force its way into my mouth. So far, I don’t think it had realized that I had woken. I move slowly, as to not alert the creature, before suddenly grabbing it and bringing it up to eye level.

“What are you doing there, little one?” I say to it. Honestly not expecting a reply.

“Um… Looking for a place to sleep?” It replied, taking me somewhat aback. I had a decent look at the creature. It looked almost like a small, elongated pony with a serpentine tail.

“And why, pray tell, did you choose my mouth?” I ask with as much sternness as I could muster, given the weridness of the situation.

“I didn’t…” She replied. Her voice betrayed the fact that she was female.

“Then why were you trying to crawl into my mouth?”

“I was trying to get to your stomach.”

This took me by surprise. I stood there with my mouth moving, but unable to make a sound. I must have looked ridiculous.
“M...my stomach?”

The creature nods. “Yeah. It’s all warm, and cozy, and moist, and dark. Perfect for an Aup-Luachra!”

“A… what?” I ask, puzzled look on my face.

“An Aup-Luachra” She responded. “It’s what I am.”

I had heard of many of the strange creatures that lived within the Forest, from Manticores, to Ursa Majors and Cockatrices. I was even prepared to face off a Chimera. But I had never heard of an Aup-Luachra before. Finally, I gathered enough of my thought capacity to speak again.

“So… You wanted to sleep in my stomach? But… what if I digest you?”

“You won’t” She replies with a smug look on her face. “My skin is immune to all the acids of the stomach. Do you really think that a species like myself, which crawls into other creatures stomach’s would be around if it wasn't?”

I have to admit, she had a point there. The more I looked at this… Aup-Luachra, the more I grew curious about her. About her species, and just her in general. Finally, after examining her for several minutes, I let out a short sigh.

“If I let you sleep… inside me…” I start slowly. “ Will you let me study you?”

She looked a little unsure. Her tail tightened its grip on my foreleg slightly. Her face shows worry.

“What do you mean by “Study”?” She asked. Obviously, and rightfully so, a little concerned about what might happen to her.

“Nothing serious,” I say, to try and ease her nerves. “Just study your behavioural instincts. How you move, and what your skin can put up with…. With your permission, of course.”

She takes a minute before answering. Her face somewhat fixed in thought, before she finally answered.

“Okay” She said. “If you give me a place to sleep… I will come out at your request, and let you study me. I can tell you what can and cannot harm me. If anything becomes too dangerous, I hold my right to refuse, right?”

“Of course.” I chuckle. “I wouldn't want to hurt my new friend, now would I?”

She looks up at me with big eyes.

“F-friend?” She asks, a little unsure.

“Well… Yes.” I reply, a soft smile on my face. “Friend.”

“No-pony has ever called me a “Friend” before…” She said. her mind obviously racing.

“Do you like it?” I ask.

She slowly looks up to me with a big smile. “I love it.” She said. We both laugh for a second, and we nuzzle slightly, before I slowly open up my mouth to let her in. She crawls forward with little hesitation.

As I felt her going inside, my mind began to tick over with worry. What if she chokes me? What if she gets stuck? These thoughts kept racing through my mind. But as she had reached the back of my throat, and had begun to trigger my swallow reflex, there was little I could do now to stop her. So I just tilted my head back, and let her slide down. I could feel her body go right down my oesophagus, and into my stomach. She nestled there, and shifted around slightly, which I admit, felt weird. But once she settled, I could barely tell she was there.

“Comfortable?” I asked, after a few seconds. She tapped the wall of my stomach a couple times, which I assumed meant yes, and I chuckle. “Good. Going to be a couple days before we get home.” There was no reply. I assumed she had fallen asleep already.

This was going to be an interesting acclimation period.

I wondered what my friends would think of her.

I wondered if I should even tell them.

Maybe she could be my little secret.

Author's Note

I was originally going to just write this as a one-shot... But thought that this needed multiple chapters. I will continue to work on this story when I can, and I hope you enjoy it.

Quick edit... HOLY FUCK! I had a lot of typos there. I thought I'd just go through and proof-read this chapter myself, and wow... I don't think there was a single paragraph there without a typo in it... I gotta re-read my works more often... Anyways, it's all fixed now. If you spot any that I happened to have missed, please, feel free to let me know in the comments. It helps me improve as a writer.