Life is hard, and the universe is cold and uncaring. It takes what it wants from you, and leaves the rest of you to rot. That was what was going through the head of Princess Cadence as she was brought forth before the crystal city on that fateful day. The mare sat in the carriage, dressed in an extravagant yet revealing gown that did almost nothing to cover her swollen belly. She was eight months pregnant, and this fact was obvious, as her belly bulged out from her otherwise slender, faintly chromatically pink body. Even as she sat there, she could feel her little one kicking inside. She placed a single hoof upon it, , feeling the little life, and was filled with regret and sadness. She hung her head, tears springing to her deeply pink eyes, trying to suppress the tears. Normally, she was ecstatic at any sign of life from her future child, but now, she was only filled with grief at the life it would never have.
As the carriage came into view of the crowd, she heard a distant roar. She had been in that crowd once, and had never thought she would be anywhere but on that side of things. But now, she was on the other side- the place she had never wanted to be.
Yes, this ritual was necessary for their race's survival. But why did it have to be her? A tear slipped from her eye, and she looked out the window at the cheering citizens of the city around her, brushing a lock of pink and yellow mane hair away from her eyes so she could see. Didn’t they care about her? Didn’t they care about her baby?
She knew the answer. Of course they did, but to them, they were bestowing upon her the highest honor. To sacrifice herself for the good of them all; how much nobler could one get? The fact that she was pregnant was merely an unfortunate circumstance; the lottery had chosen her, and she was to be the sacrifice.
Ahead, she could see the gates of the crystalline citadel, that place that was forbidden to all but the sacrifices. It was where Neh-Buh-Loh, the personification of the galaxy they lived in, would come- and where she would meet her fate. How ironic that she had, in her youth, hoped to LIVE in there. But now? Not it was different. The mare who would be princess was now trapped. Once her eyes fell on that, she found herself holding her breath, and felt her heart pumping in her chest as she got closer and closer. The end was coming…
A thought went through her head; was there any way of escape? Could she still get out of this nightmare? She glanced around, desperately trying to find a place where she could jump out and run, but she found nothing. Of course, there was no way out. She had seen what had happened to those who had tried to escape; they never succeeded. It was rare, but when it happened, the crowd turned vicious, and refused to let the offender even close to escape. She didn’t want to deal with that; not when she was certain the attempt would never work. And Shining...
She could picture his soft face. She could faintly feel his embrace, feel his head resting on her shoulder, remember the pain in his face as she'd been chosen. He had tried to object but because he'd tried to keep her from being taken, he'd been put in jail. What was he thinking? She was so worried over herself, she couldn't even begin to imagine how Shining Armor felt. He probably didn't even know if she was still alive. Cadence wished she could hold him, just...just one more time.
But she couldn't. And so, she was left with no other choice than to accept her fate.
The carriage entered the crowd, and moved along the road. Outside, Cadence watched the faces. They were cheering her on, yet she felt no fellowship from them. In fact, she felt nothing towards them. The next couple minutes seem to go by in a blur. The carriage drew closer and closer to the building, and the crowd continued to cheer. Then, just like that, the carriage drew to a stop.
The door opened, and a stallion dressed in the blue guard’s uniform stepped up. “Miss Amora?” The soft-eyed stallion said. “The time has come.”
Cadence nodded wordlessly, and stood up. Resting her hoof on her belly one more time she steadied herself, then climbed down from the carriage, and her feet came to rest on the ground. At the sight of her, the crowd roared in approval. Here was there perceived savior, standing in front of them. Again, nobody cared what it meant for her.
She turned to the front of the carriage, and saw the horses that had pulled her; big, white and majestic, like gigantic diamonds. Then, in front of them was the gate. It was big enough to fit the carriage through, but since only she was allowed inside, she would be going alone. It was decorated with extravagant gold designs, and had she not been facing her doom, she would be in awe at the privilege of being able to enter such a grand design.
Two guards stepped forward, and grabbed the handles of the door. A third produced a large key, and inserted into the lock before turning it. The two other guards pulled open the doors, and waited for Cadence to go through. She swallowed nervously, and then walked forward, stepping through the threshold. A cheer went up from the crowd behind her, and then the doors were shut behind her, sealing her inside forever.
She now found herself in a small foyer area, with crystalline walls stretching up about three stories depicting images of Neh-Buh-Loh, the Mighty Huntsman. She had seen art of him before, but none ever this detailed. Had she been here on better business, she would have stopped to admire it. Everyone knew the tales of him, of course. He had defeated Sombra those many eons ago, freeing the Crystal Empire from the unicorn's grip. He kept the banshees of the north away, had even devoured every single invading Caribou. Tales of his might were legendary, and now...she was to be his sacrifice. Gulping slightly, she turned, looking in front of her was a long, red carpet, that led to what looked like an elevator on the other side. As she walked towards it, she saw that it was indeed an elevator. Impressive, really. Other cities were still trying to catch up to such technology.
When she reached it, she pressed the single button on the side of it, and waited. Almost instantly, the doors slid open, revealing the cabin inside. For a moment, she hesitated. Maybe she could just wait here, until the crowd left. But that wouldn’t work. They wouldn’t leave until they got the signal, and they wouldn’t get the signal until the deed was completed. No, she had no choice but to go forward.
She stepped into the elevator, and turned around. On the inside of the wall, there was a single button. She pressed it, and the doors shut, and the elevator began to rise.
Her breath caught in her throat, as her heart thumped in her chest. Never in her life had she been more nervous than she was now. It felt like hours passed until she got to the top of the elevator, where the cabin stopped, and with a ding, the doors opened. Right in front of her was a set of stairs, covered in the same red fabric that composed the carpet downstairs. They led up a corridor with golden walls, out of her sight. She knew that at the top of those stairs was Neh-Buh-Loh.
Cadence closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She found herself resting her hoof on her belly protectively. Then, she opened her eyes again, and stepped out of the elevator. “Come here, little one.” a booming voice echoed through the air around her. A shiver went up her spine; he could sense her premise.
Slowly, cautiously, she walked up the stairs. As she reached the top, she emerged into another hall, bigger than the one she had entered downstairs. It seemed to stretch across the entire interior of the structure at this level. Yet it was empty, save for a huge figure at the end of the chamber in front of her, hunched over and facing away. As she reached the top of the stairs, he turned around to look at her, and stood up fully. Despite his size, he was smaller than she anticipated; she had expected him to fill the entire room, and completely dwarf her. Though he was definitely bigger than her, he was only about eight or nine feet tall. Big, certainly, but not quite the giant she had expected.
Other than that, he looked exactly like she had anticipated. He had the figure of a being QUITE unlike a pony. What was the term her dear friend Twilight had used? "Human", yes, that species she had studied in those alternate dimensions. Human, and yet...not quite; his head contained crests that came off the top of his skull, and curved forwards and down like horns. His body was a dark, glowing blue, almost like the night sky, and the surface of his form seemed to pulse and move with a cosmic energy. His eyes were a piercingly, haunting shade of Trojan Blue, and his neck and forehead were covered in what looked like bluish white jewels.
"What's your name?"
"Cadence."
“Come to my side, Cadence.” he directed her, holding out a clawed hand.
She almost didn’t obey. But there was nowhere for her to go, so she stepped forward, first with one hoof, and then another… and then she was being carried over to his side by her feet, which seemed to move of their own accord.
As she moved closer, Neh-Buh-Loh moved his entire body around to face her. He sank to his knees, and then maneuvered himself to sit cross-legged in front of her. He patted the ground by his side, gesturing for her to sit next to him. Cadence, who was halfway across the room from him now, faltered, not expecting this. She had thought he would just gulp her down without any care. What exactly was he up to…?
She kept moving without a word, and eventually reached the large being. There, she stood looking up at him, unsure of what to do. “Please.” he said. “Sit.” His voice was ethereal, deep and booming, and to her it felt like it was coming from something much larger than him. Without a word, she sat cross legged a couple feet away from him. Her belly rested nicely in her lap, and she placed a hoof on it. Seeing her distended stomach, Neh-Buh-Loh shook his head sadly. “Oh. Oh my. So it would appear they sent me a mother-to-be. A shame...” he said. The pity in his voice sounded genuine.
Cadence was surprised. She wasn’t expecting him to show remorse. “Maybe… Maybe you could let me go, then?” she asked, hopefully.
Neh-Buh-Loh shook his head, though he still seemed sad. “No…I am afraid I can’t do that,” he answered. Cadence felt her heart sink… and then she felt pure, raw anger flash up.
“Why?” she demanded. “WHY?! You expect me to believe you feel BAD for...for eating us? When you hold us hostage!? Demanding a sacrifice in exchange for the rest of us? Who do you think you are, anyway?”
She stopped for a breath, and then realized what she had just done. She had spat in the face of possibly the most dangerous entity any of them knew. The very galaxy they lived in incarnate. Who knew what he’d do to her now?
But…he did nothing. Instead, he simply looked at her sadly. “I’m sorry… I wouldn’t do this unless I HAD to. I should explain… You deserve to know.”
He took a deep breath, pinching the space between his eyes and then continued. “I am not immortal, you know. There’s a force called entropy… It eats away at my life force. With additional energy, I can fight it off, but to do that, I require sacrifices. Like you.” Cadence was stunned. Nobody had ever told her what purpose the sacrifices truly served. Perhaps they didn’t even know. “Nobody ever told you, did they?” Neh-Buh-Loh asked. “It seems like this city has forgotten what its purpose truly is. Perhaps I should visit them, and teach the lesson again… But that’s for another day.”
Cadence was still trying to find words to respond. “So… You do this… Because you have to?”
Neh-Buh-Loh smiled down at her, but beneath his smile she could see a sadness. “Yes. I must take in sentient beings, for only their souls emit the tantric energy needed to keep entropy at bay. If I do not consume them, I shall die... billions upon billions will die. I am not cruel… I only do what I must.”
Cadence looked down at the ground, her hoof still caressing her belly. “So… I really don’t have a choice, do I?”
“Sadly not.” said the entity. “But… I can tell you that it doesn’t hurt. It’s not even bad. You’ll be slowly and gently broken down, and then… You and your little mare will become part of the cosmos. You’ll see and feel everything. You’ll become a part of all life as you know it.” He offered, gently stroking her cheek with the flat of his clawed digits, looking upon her.
Cadence looked up, strangely comforted by this revelation. “…Really?” she asked.
Neh-Buh-Loh smiled again, only this time it was warm and genuine. Just like that, she believed and trusted him. “Yes.” he reassured. “You have my word. I promise, you won’t suffer ever again.”
Cadence could feel tears coming. She had wondered how long they would take, but she hadn’t expected them to come under circumstances like this. She was sad at the life she was leaving behind, yes… But she was crying tears of joy, too. Perhaps life wasn’t so cruel after all.
She felt a hand on her back, and looked up into Neh-Buh-Loh’s reassuring eyes. “Come, young one.” he said. “Let’s get this over with.” A sense of readiness filled her, and she nodded. She stood up, and opened her arms to him, exposing her body and belly. “Are you ready?”
She took a moment, then replied, “Yes.”
“Alright. I’ll be gentle, I promise.”
With that, the cosmic being stood up, and grabbed Cadence’s body in both hands. His hands almost wrapped around her entire body, and as he lifted her into the air, it felt like it was with little effort. She tensed as her body moved into the air, but soon relaxed. She trusted him. He lifted her up to his head, and then opened his mouth wide. He stuck out his tongue, and moved it over her head, taking in her taste. Withdrawing it, he moaned. “You taste exquisite.” he complimented to her.
“Well...good to know.” she said, unsure just how to react.
Without any further ado, he opened his mouth wide again, and passed her head through his lips. As he closed his jaws behind her, fear struck through her once again. It was warm and wet in this place, and rather hard to breathe. Yet… It didn’t really smell bad; not like she had imagined it would, anyway.
The dark, slimy, light blue, faintly pointed tongue passed over her face, soaking her skin and mane, yet it wasn’t too bad so long as she didn’t struggle. In fact, whenever it wasn’t directly in her eyes and mouth, it actually felt kind of nice… Perhaps she would enjoy this much more than she thought she would.
Soon, the alien being took more of her into his mouth. Her chest popped through his lips, and she felt her head hit the back of his throat. She had one moment to prepare before he gulped, and sent her into the gullet. She expected it to be tight; crushingly so. But… It wasn’t too bad. It was a little tight, but it was rather comfortable. As the muscles moved around her, it almost felt like a full body massage. Granted, it was one she would never come back from, but still. Cadence could feel as Neh-Buh-Loh worked more of her body into his mouth. His tongue was moving over her chest now, tasting her supple flesh through the thin cloth that covered them.
Then, he moved onto her belly.
She could feel the swell of her pregnant midsection being slowly taken in, sliding beneath the entity’s lips. His tongue licked over the baby bump as it came in, and she could even feel her child inside kicking against it. Oh, the poor thing… It would never know the world. But, then, that wasn’t true. He had told her so. Her child was going to become part of the universe. He was going to know all of it.
That thought brought her comfort, as she slid down the gullet. As the giant being's lips sealed around her waist, he stopped for a moment, licking at her belly. The tongue swirled around the bulge, licking it, tasting every inch. It appeared that her stomach was very delicious. But, soon, it was time to move on. Neh-Buh-Loh brought it to the back of his gullet, and with a few sharp gulps, he swallowed it down. Her baby joined her on the way to his stomach. By now, her hips and butt were inside his mouth, and he was gulping those down as well. Then, only her legs were left. Those went quicker than anything else. He slurped them up, and then, he swallowed down her hoof, and she was gone.
As she felt the last of the fresh air being cut off from the world behind her, she also felt herself being pushed against a tight ring of muscle, which she immediately recognized as the entrance to the stomach. It was a tight fit, and she was almost afraid going through it. But as she came out on the other side, she found herself in a much larger chamber. As more of her was packed into it, she started to curl up inside, and found the walls very soft and comforting. She could probably get used to it.
As more and more of her slid down the throat, her chest were packed inside the gut, and then her belly. As the baby-filled sphere entered the space, she hugged it with her arms, as if to sooth the child inside. Then, her legs and feet entered, and she was fully inside. It wasn’t so bad, really. Like the gullet, it was a little tight, and a bit difficult to get comfortable in, but at the end of the day… It was quite comfortable. Plus, something about it felt so soothing… As if she were in good hoofs.
She felt Neh-Buh-Loh’s hands touching the side of his belly, stroking the skin, and she pushed her own hooves into the belly walls to meet it. Thank you, he seemed to say. Now that she was in here… She could think of worse ways to help the greater good.
Neh-Buh-Loh looked down at his swollen gut as he caressed it with one clawed hand. She had been particularly delicious… While it was true he didn’t eat others for pleasure, he couldn’t deny that they DID taste good. It had been so long since he had eaten a pregnant woman too. He had forgotten quite how good their bellies had tasted. Now that she was inside, she was there to say. Already, he could feel and hear his belly getting to work on her. Over the next few hours, she would be slowly, gently and painlessly broken down. Odds were she wouldn’t even be conscious for most of it, and would slowly be lulled to a calm sleep by his belly. Then, he would absorb the body of her and her baby, and that would be it.
With this...she would become one with the cosmos.
"Be at peace." He crooned lovingly. "I will never, EVER forget you...Cadence."
