Author's Note

Thanks in advance to Mulberry Tart for her blessing on this story. Look her up on Tumblr! (NSFW, here be vore, yadda yadda)

1. Hook, Line, and Sinker

She squirmed, bound by something she could feel but not identify. She was enclosed in something soft, warm, and slimy. She felt like she should panic, but she didn’t seem to be in urgent danger, and if anything it felt nice. She was wrapped up and being massaged by constant and gentle movement, slowly being compressed and molded into a round shape, her fore and hind legs being pressed into each other until they–

Withania’s eyes snapped open, her body jolting into the waking world with a start. The duvet had tangled up around her legs, restricting her movement and overheating her. The earth pony carefully unravelled the sheets and starfished out on the bed to stretch her cramped muscles.

What a strange dream, she thought, Where was I? What was happening?

It had felt pleasant enough, but it seemed odd to take pleasure in such a strange and unknown sensation.

Donning her saddlebags she left the house to make her rounds, delivering herbs to the cafes, and collecting other resources to maintain the greenhouses. She was a botanist by trade and had greenhouses to attend to today, and the sooner she completed the manual labour, the sooner she could sit down with a book about plants or magic and a herbal tea. She liked books about magic as despite being an earth pony, her mother was a unicorn and Withania felt the stir of magic inside her, and wanted to use it in her gardening, if only indirectly.

As she passed the bakery on the end of Mane Street the owner stood outside, setting up an easel to hold a special offer sign.

“Free samples on everything Maple and Pecan today!” called out the pink unicorn with a bright smile, waving to Withania, “Drop by later perhaps? Before they’re all gone!”

Withania waved back but didn’t reply. She felt a strange sense of deja vu seeing the baker, that long flowing mane tied loosely on both sides that made her slightly jealous. But Withania had certainly never met her. Without stopping she cantered on to make her deliveries. She was partial to maple and pecan pastries, pecan pie, and pecans in general. She would stop by on her way home and treat herself, she thought. Visit somewhere new as well.

Her delivery rounds took Withania into the afternoon, and having not stopped to eat at lunch time it was with a salivating mouth that she poked her head around the door of the bakery.

“Hello?” he she called, tip toeing in. She wasn’t sure why she was sneaking around, this was a public shop after all.

“Ah!” came the voice of the baker, appearing in the kitchen doorway with a beaming smile, “You’ve come to sample my treats after all, miss…?”

“Withania Nightshade,” replied the earth pony, “And yes, you made them sound very enticing this morning… I hope I’m not too late, it almost looks like you’re winding down?”

“Not at all! It’s Mulberry, by the way, Mulberry Tart. Lovely to eat you – ahem, meet you sorry! Take a seat, let me get you some fresh samples - I’ve been making them fresh all day!”

Withania cooed at the thought of fresh pastries, her stomach rumbling and the saliva taps back on in her mouth. She watched Mulberry perform a lap of the display counters in a practised motion. The pink unicorn was noticeably padded on the flanks - which made sense, thought Withania, since if she were a baker making food that smelt this good she’d probably have trouble staying trim as well. It was a good sign.

“Okay! Let’s get started!” said Mulberry excitedly, sliding a tray onto the table with one hoof, and sliding a plait pastry into Withania’s mouth with the other, “I want to leave a lasting impression with you that’ll make you want to tell all of your friends about my business!”

There was an odd, almost practised tone to the way she said this line, but the earth pony was too distracted by food to really think about it.

Withania munched down the pastry in order to clear her mouth, and before she could do anything else another one was put in her hand.

“Oh, thank you!” she said, taking a bite out of it.

“A drink to wash it down?” asked Mulberry, “Juice, Tea?”

“Mmmpff, Chi please!” mumbled Withania.

Mulberry proceed to tell Withania all about her baking process in great mouthwatering detail, while her patron rhythmically alternated between eating pastries or tarts and drinking the complementary dark tea. She only intended to come in for one or two, but while entranced by Mulberry’s captivating performance she slowly cleared most of the tray in front of her.

“And that’s how I get that little bit of bite in the pastry without it being too crunchy or too doughy!” concluded the baker, taking note of Withania’s progress.

“Amazing!” said Withania, liking her lips and finishing her tea, “Phew… I’m stuffed. I’m so sorry- I didn’t mean to hog all of these, they’re just so good and I accidently kept eating! Let me give you some bits for all of this…”

But Mulberry waved her words away;

“No no, they’re all samples! I insist. In fact,” she said, turning toward the kitchen entrance, “Let me give you something for the road - or when you get home - it’ll be ready to serve right about now. Come and see…”

Having just been educated on the wonders of baking Withania was all too eager to see where the magic happened and didn’t hesitate to get up and follow, now feeling distinctly padded around the midriff herself.

“After you…” offered the baker politely, inviting her guest to go first.

Withania looked around eagerly, noting the ovens and cookers and racks of dishes for all manner of pies or muffins or cakes and more. In front of her was a central countertop upon which had been placed a baking tray of exquisitely decorated tarts, beautifully bronze with a syrup glaze and a dark chocolate curl in the centre. She put her forehooves on the edge of the counter to get a closer look, subconsciously swishing her tail behind her.

Without warning a pair of pink and surprisingly strong forelegs wrapped around her middle, pinning her own forelegs against her chest, and her entire head enveloped in something warm, humid, and pulsing.

Withania wanted to shriek in surprise, or fight the iron grip - but she was so busy trying to straighten her hind legs and not fall over that before she could do any of these things she was enclosed down to her shoulders, surrounded by the sound of squelching alternating with rushing breath, the pulse of blood pumping, and– moaning?

She’s eating me! thought Withania, the penny dropping, and suddenly a confusing flashback of last night’s dream flashed back into her mind.

Mulberry meanwhile found her surprise attack going swimmingly well. She had opted for the big first gulp in order to get control of her victim’s head, but was now able to take her time. Attacking from behind was always slightly awkward because the prey had to bend over backwards going down, but it did make the initial attack very easy. It also gave ample opportunity to dig her hooves into the pudge she’d loaded onto Withania’s belly for that satisfying preview of what was about to enter her mouth.

Half way down her host’s throat, Withania squeaked incoherently, quite unsure of what to do about her predicament. Her full stomach tipping upside down made her feel queasy for a moment, her front hooves were pinned at her sides by the rippling walls of Mulberry's throat, and her hind legs were bending backwards to support her.

Her predator soon took the decision on how to react out of her control however - Mulberry took another huge gulp, moving down to Withania’s abdomen and sat down so that the earth pony was almost on her back.

Mulberry paused for a moment, and then with a grunt tilted her body back, lifting the bottom half of her prey’s body into the air above her, eliciting another yelp from inside.

Her recently augmented weight now working against her, Withania felt herself descending steadily downwards, assisted by steady undulations around her. She felt wrapped up, cocooned in a warm wet sausage that stretched but hugged her tightly - and also a strange sense of weightlessness as she was now suspended off of the ground, supported on all sides except for her legs that twitched in the comparatively cold air outside.

She managed to get her breathing under control and found that she was falling into rhythm with her captor, whose body expanded and pulsed steadily all around her. The vibrations of Mulberry moaning in pleasure resonated into her core.

The slow, downward motion paused for a moment as the obstruction of Withania’s rump entered Mulberry’s mouth - but the predator was clearly practised at this, and with another huge gulp, the widest part of the earth pony entered the salivating jaws. With nothing left to slow her descent, Withania now slipped all the way down to her destination in the baker’s belly.

Falling into a pile of her limbs, mane and tail, Withania twisted about to right herself. The stomach walls around her were soft and spongy, but also slick with fluids so that she naturally came to rest at her center of balance, like a ball in a swimming pool. But there was no time to be relieved at the movement space, as Mulberry celebrated her victory with a booming belch, and with a sudden rush of escaping air the enclosing sack that trapped Withania hugged her even more tightly.

“Oh,” moaned Mulberry, her voice resonating from somewhere above, “oooh the taste of magic. Half unicorn ponies, without the horn. I should’ve thought of this years ago…”

Withania was still trying to find some kind of footing without slipping onto her back again, but her movement seemed to be succeeding only in covering herself with the pooling liquids around her. The slow massaging movement around her struck into Withania’s memory again, as she was slowly mushed about in the belly of the beast, stomach fluids squelching around her. She saw this in alarm, but didn’t seem to be in any discomfort. If anything they seemed to be soaking into her skin like a salve or cream. She experimentally pressed her front hooves together to find that they were softening, becoming malleable.

“Aaaah… I’m glad I taste good but uh… Maybe I could pay you those bits after all?” suggested Withania in a shaky voice.

“Don’t worry dear,” replied her prison, “I’ve already gotten my money’s worth I can assure you! Let me make you more comfortable…”

At this Mulberry sat up and twisted onto her front, holding herself up for a moment and then slouching down onto her belly.

Inside, Withania found herself righted by the movement, and then a great weight compressed her between a flat surface below that must’ve been the floor of the kitchen and the not inconsequential weight of Mulberry. The sudden press, followed by slow and deliberate rocking motions began to press Withania’s limbs into each other, and she suddenly panicked and gasped for the lacking air before passing out.

“Whoops,” remarked Mulberry, feeling her victim go suddenly limp, “Maybe that was a bit fast for you…”

Not that it mattered, thought the pink unicorn. As nice as it was to have a wriggler in the belly, she didn’t need her victim to be conscious to savour the flavour and the feeling.

And by Celestia what a feeling, the warming and almost slightly tingling sensation of another’s magic inside of her! Unicorns had a truly unique and delectable flavour, but the magical horn made eating them inconvenient as best and dangerous at worst. Mulberry had managed it in the past, but they definitely weren’t worth the hassle.

Mulberry laboriously got up and teetered back and forth to make her gloriously sagging belly sway, loving the sensation of its contents being almost heavier than she was. And of course, having a steadily softening pony curled up in there, ready to take a trip to all the best places on her body.

It was by chance she’d learned that the fern-coloured earth pony that cultivated herbs and other useful plants had a unicorn for a mother, and as a result apparently had especially potent earth pony magic in her. The flavour wasn’t quite as strong as proper full-fat Unicorn, but the ease of devouring Withania was well worth the trade-off.

All that was left now was to take a leisurely walk home and perform her digestion rites spell, which itself was a desert of pleasure. The spell would magically siphon off the eaten pony and restore them body and mind at whatever they considered home, which solved the issue of Mulberry not taking on more weight than she could handle, and then a little memory magic mixed in ensured that her victims awoke in the morning none the wiser to what had happened to them.

Little Withania was fortunate, or perhaps for her unfortunate, enough to be so tasty that today was the second time that Mulberry had tempted her back to her kitchen. It had been worth it, but in order not to test her own good fortunes she would have to ignore the delicious gardner for a while so as not to arouse suspicions.