The late afternoon sky was clear and sunny as Verdant was enjoying his picnic date. His back was pressed up against Beanstalk’s belly, holding the shamrock stallion with one foreleg and her sandwich in another. On the far corner of their red and white picnic blanket was Crème Noire, merrily enjoying her own sandwich.

“So, how pissed off is High Gear?” Verdant asked before glancing up at Beans and taking a bite of his sandwich.

“Well, be glad she doesn’t want to use you for weapons tests. She’d make you look like goat cheese,” Beans replied with a chuckle. “She’s gonna make it a hard rule that on top of everything else, there’s a strict price limit for sandwiches in the future.”

“Duly noted,” Verdant said as Beans hugged him against her belly. “Still, this should only be a problem if she can’t get the teleporter to stop shrinking me.”

“Cremie?” Crème Noire looked up at the two equines with a look of confusion.

“Okay, that time with you and Princess Celestia was an exception,” Verdant replied to the cream creature. “Still, all the other times I got shrunk and swallowed because of that teleporter, it’s still a legitimate concern.”

Crème Noire shrugged her little arms before taking another bite of her food.

“So, how has it been with Crème as a new pet?” Beans inquired before taking a big bite of her sandwich. With how close Verdant was to her belly, he was able to hear it splash down inside her stomach.

“Pretty well, actually. She and Pizza get along really well,” Verdant said as he cast his eyes to the being of black and grey cream. “Surprisingly, her favorite food seems to be curry with dry tasting berries mixed in.”

“Anything come up with the lab tests that they ran on her?” Beans asked, recalling the times Verdant had to take the pocket-sized monster in for examinations.

“Well, I think Copper Top said something about finding latent traces of the energy that made her turn gigantic within her body,” Verdant replied as Beans finished off her meal. “Other than that, she seems to be a creature made of living cream and sugar, she tastes like matcha, she’s fairly intelligent and she’s able to shoot four different types of energy projectiles. Magic, fire, a kind of energy connected to plants in a way, and psychic energy.”

“Huh. Never knew there was a difference between magic and psychic powers,” Beans said as she let go of her grip on Verdant and stood up. “Well, thanks for the sandwich, Verdant. I had a great time tonight, but I promised my dad I’d help sort out some things in a bit.”

“Not a problem,” Verdant said as he looked up to the towering mare. “Are we still on for milkshakes at Strawberry Sundae’s later?”

“You bet.” Beans leaned down and planted a kiss on Verdant’s cheek. “Bye, dear. I’ll catch you later.”

“Bye, Beans.” Verdant replied as she trotted towards the front gate, waving at his giant of a girlfriend. “See you later!”

A little more than a minute later, the tall form of Beanstalk had vanished from sight.

“Alright, Crème Noire,” Verdant said as he pulled himself off the picnic blanket. “Time to clean up.”

“Cream.” The living cream blob gave Verdant a thumbs off and quickly shuffled off the blanket and picked up the empty basket.

Once Noire was off the blanket, Verdant started to roll up the blanket into a neat little bundle.

“Excuse me!” A scratchy mare’s voice suddenly drew Verdant’s attention. Looking beyond the gate, he saw the source.

She was a stone gray pegasus mare with a very short, messy and dark blue-black mane. Her tail was rather rough looking and upon her flank was the image of a dark gray brick wall.

The mare’s emerald green eyes locked with Verdant’s cool blues. “I could really use a hoof with something.”

“Sure thing,” Verdant said as he walked up to the gate. “What do you need help with, Miss?”

“Stoneback,” the pegasus said before looking back and forth, making sure there weren’t other ponies who could overhear them. She then leaned close to Verdant’s ear.

“I found an ancient castle out in the woods near the base of the Unicorn Range,” Stoneback whispered into Verdant’s ear. “Inside is a chamber that’s absolutely full of gold, jewels and other treasures. Too much for me to carry on my own. If you help me get the treasure out of this castle, I’ll let you keep half of it.”

Verdant brought a hoof to his chin and thought on the mare’s offer.

A ton of treasure found in a castle not too far from your house and the pony that discovered it is instantly willing to offer you half… Verdant lightly tapped his hoof against his chin. Normally, I’d say that sounds really damn unlikely and too good to be true… but then again, I’ve been in stomachs almost two dozen times, have a creature from another dimension made of cream as my pet, lived inside a princess for a month, have a girlfriend that turns into a giant because of a flower, and one of my friends is an automaton. At this point, a castle full of treasure is pretty mundane compared to all that.

“Alright, Stoneback,” Verdant said as he hopped over his fence. “Lead the way.”

“Oh, thank you!” Stoneback said before grabbing one of Verdant’s hooves and giving it a firm and rapid shake. “Always great to find ponies with strong meaty forelegs.”

***

The sun was starting to set as Verdant and Stoneback travelled through the thick woods near the base of the Unicorn Range.

“It’s just a little bit further,” the gray pegasus said as she led the earth pony along. “Everything will be good once we’re deep inside the castle.”

“Will it be dark inside?” Verdant asked as he started to feel somewhat nervous. “I know it’ll be night by the time we get back into town.”

“It’ll be fine. The castle’s insides have these enchanted torches that light up when you pass by them.” Stoneback replied as she looked over her shoulder to Verdant. “Trust me. Once we’re inside, darkness will be the least of our problems.”

A brief moment of silence was shared between the two when a smile appeared on Stoneback’s muzzle. “We’re here!”

Coming up to Stoneback’s side, Verdant took in the sight of the ancient looking building before them. It was made of worn gray stones mortared together with four towers. Vines covered the surface of the towers, but the entryway seemed untouched by the creeping plants. The entrance looked something like an open dragon’s maw with a drawbridge that was missing its chains made of oak and black iron. Above the entryway was a pair of green, stained glass windows.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Stoneback said as she rushed onto the drawbridge before looking back at Verdant. “The treasure’s in a chamber downstairs. You coming?”

“Right, I’m on the way,” Verdant said before swallowing and following the mare inside.

Looking about the chamber, he saw a bunch of sealed doors and some cobwebs strewn about the ceiling. Towards the back was a single open door with an unlit lantern hanging just beyond the doorway that led down a flight of stairs.

“I’ve already checked the other rooms. There’s nothing but dust and dead rats in there,” Stoneback said as she rushed up to the open door. As she neared it, the lantern lit up with a bright green flame. “The valuable stuff is all downstairs.”

“Y’know, it’s kinda odd that nopony’s found this old castle or this treasure in Faust knows how long,” Verdant spoke up as he came up to the doorway and saw Stoneback walking down the stairway, the corridor lighting up with green torches with her every step.

“Well, the Castle of Two Sisters is over a thousand years old and nopony decided to visit that place after Nightmare Moon,” Stoneback replied as Verdant started to follow her down the stairs. “I mean, she left the Elements of Harmony in the middle of a dilapidated castle instead of taking them somewhere secure, so a castle with a buttload of treasure in the middle of the woods seems pretty plausible to me.”

“I guess.” Verdant felt a growing discomfort in his belly as he saw Stoneback coming up to a door that she swung open.

Silently, Stoneback rushed down the stairs. When Verdant arrived at the chamber doorway, he saw a massive room of stone bricks with a pile in the center of treasure chests bursting with gold coins, crowns, jewels, and several weapons made of silver and gold.

“Since you’ve volunteered to help me and will be carrying a bulk of the stuff, I’ll let you have the first pick of treasure,” Stoneback said and Verdant reached the bottom of the stairs. “Go ahead. Take any one piece. It’s yours.”

“Thanks.” Verdant stepped up to the massive piles of treasure. Cautiously, he stepped upon some of the mounds of gold coins and reached for the golden hilt of a silver sword.

Grasping the hilt with his forelegs, Verdant stood on his hindlegs as he gave a strong pull, but he didn’t feel the sword budging a millimeter.

The shamrock stallion tried pulling on the sword two more times, but then he noticed something that seemed off. Looking down, he saw that not a single coin beneath him shifted, no matter how hard he pulled.

Verdant gave the pile a hard kick, but not a single coin budged. In fact, what looked like a stack of golden coins was a single solid mass.

“Stoneback, somethings wrong with this…” As Verdant looked over his shoulder, he saw a wicked grin on the pegasus mare’s face.

“Sorry, Verdant,” Stoneback said in a mocking tone as the doorway to the chamber slammed shut on its own. “But you’re just another one of many that have fallen into my trap.”

Before Verdant could say a word, the bottom of her hooves erupted in bright green flames that crept up her body as she drew closer. As the flames climbed her body, the fur seemed to be replaced with a dark gray chitin. Her wings were covered by a dark blue-black shell before the flames covered her face. The friendly pegasus face was now replaced by the face of a fanged creature with a row of dark fins along the back of her head with a sharp, curved horn and eyes that were almost entirely green.

“A changeling!” Verdant exclaimed as Stoneback drew closer to him. “What, did you lure me all the way out here to feed on my love or something?”

“Well, you’re half right,” Stoneback cheerfully replied as she stood in front of the frightened earth pony. “I did bring you here to feed on you, but not on your love. I’m here to feed on your magic and flesh!”

“I’d like to see you try, bug-butt!” Verdant said before he fell into a defensive stance, ready to charge at her. “There’s no way I’m going to let you eat me!”

The changeling suddenly cackled, her villainous laugh echoing around the massive chamber.

“Oh, poor naïve Verdant,” Stoneback exclaimed as her grin threatened to split her face. “You’re already inside me!”

Before he could ask what she meant, the chamber door erupted in emerald colored flames and started to spread around the chamber. Where the door once was now a tightly clenched green flesh valve as the stairs started to fade away.

“I am far from the changelings that Chrysalis led into Canterlot, you foolish earth pony,” Stoneback boastfully said as the flames seemed to turn the stone room into green flesh. “I am a centuries old mutation that has always been very different from my kin. I’ve feasted on flesh and blood my entire life and what you’ve been speaking to is merely an avatar I’ve birthed to lure in prey that will be digested alongside you.”

“Wait, are you saying-” Verdant started to speak as the flames swept under his feet, turning treasure below into a damp, fleshy floor.

“That’s right, you tasty little morsel!” Stoneback shouted as she took to the air. “I am this castle! And you’ve been inside my stomach from the instant you stepped into this room! You willingly walked into my mouth and down my throat! I pulled you in with only a few words, you delicious fool!”

As the changeling let out a mad cackle and torrents of acid began to pour into the stomach, Verdant only gave her a flat, half-lidded look.

“It’s no use trying to be brave, pony!” Stoneback said as she flew above the bubbling juices that soon reached Verdant’s hooves. “Soon you’ll be a part of the grandeur that is… my… what?”

Stoneback was stunned as Verdant seemed unaffected by the acid that was rising towards his knees. By now, her prey would normally be screaming in agony as their flesh started to melt. However, this stallion was standing as if he were merely in a large bathtub.

As she was dumbstruck by his lack of reaction, Verdant started to chuckle as he drew closer to the hovering insectoid mare.

“You really don’t know who I am, do you?” he said as he slowly approached her, making her feel as if the predator had become the prey. “I’m Verdant Range. I’ve been inside more stomachs than probably anypony else in history. It happens so frequently, I tend to get free sandwiches out of it. For me, this is just an average Wednesday. If there were a book about my life’s story, it’d probably be called something like ‘Stomach Stallion: The Misadventures of Verdant Range’ or something. And you’ve decided to park yourself outside of Vanhoover, a city that has had its entire population inside an alicorn’s stomach.”

Verdant chuckled aloud once more as he started to reach into his vest. “Believe me, you’ve already lost.”

“What is that?” Stoneback growled as she saw him pull a tin out of his vest and crack it open, revealing it full of small pills.

“Just some gas pills,” Verdant replied as he pulled one of the capsules out. “Some of the scientists at the science institute whipped these up in case I end up in a situation like this.”

“Drop it right now!” Stoneback roared as she charged towards him.

“As you wish,” Verdant replied as he let the pill fall into the juices that now reached his knees before he stowed the tin away.

Stoneback halted in the air as a large pile of bubbles fizzed up around the stallion and slowly started to fill the stomach.

Soon, one of the large bubbles burst, sending Verdant and Stoneback up her fleshy throat before they were sent flying out of the castle entrance into the blackened woods.

While Verdant tumbled against the ground and crashed into a bush, Stoneback struck a tree with such force that she was splattered from the impact, sending a chitinous foreleg landing by Verdant’s side.

“Well, that was a rush,” Verdant said as his eyes shifted from the severed leg to the castle. It was then he recalled Stoneback’s words that the changeling that had just been splattered like a bug was merely an avatar and that the true Stoneback was the castle itself.

I’ve gotta get back to town! Verdant said before he scrambled out of the bush and rushed back off the way he came. Beans and Crème Noire would be far better equipped for stopping a kaiju changeling than me!

As Verdant disappeared into the darkness, emerald colored flames erupted from under the stained glass windows. The flames quickly swept over them, seemingly replacing them with the organic eyes of a changeling.

I will NOT be denied my meal! Stoneback thought as the green flames started to sweep cover the castle entrance, replacing the brick with gray, stone-like chitin. In just over a minute, the entrance to the castle had completely transformed into a gigantic changeling head.

I won’t settle for a mere snack now! The flames continued to spread, starting to turn the front towers into forelegs. Now I’m in the mood for a city sized buffet!

Author's Note

Hey folks. Hope you all enjoyed the second part of this trilogy of chapters. It's something I've been planning for a long time.

For this chapter's pic, we have all the forms of Stoneback.

Two things should be noted about Stoneback's true appearance. One, her true form looks identical to her avatar with the only difference being that her true size is two-hundred fifty feet, seven inches. Another is that her chitin has a sort of smooth, stone-like texture to it.

At any rate, I hope you come back for the conclusion when we Enter the Fray.