“Okay Harry, make sure you’re ready now!” called Fluttershy. She stood balanced on the branch of a tree not far from her house, above a large bee nest. Under the nest stood Harry, long time companion and currently very hungry bear.
The bees had created entirely too much honey - so much that it was clogging up their nest and they had no idea what to do about it. The poor things lacked the cognitive functions of bigger animals, but Fluttershy could understand them enough to know that they needed help, and a brief inspection of their nest told the rest. Harry found himself in the right place at the right time for a free and very fresh meal. He opened his mouth wide, ready and waiting.
Fluttershy leaned down, placing one hoof under the nest to tilt it and pour the excess honey out. A golden thread of sweet syrup began to pour, eliciting a satisfied gurgle from the bear, while Fluttershy shuffled to maintain her posture. Maybe I should’ve hovered next to it after all… she thought. Flying was very awkward when trying to hold something steady, but so was standing on this branch.
The bees didn’t seem to mind, they buzzed and hummed with approval as their disastrous situation drained away in front of them. A few were so content that they zoomed in to land on Fluttershy’s raised hindquarters.
“Aiieee!”she shrieked, entirely unprepared for this physical contact - and her front hoof that was supporting her on the branch slipped off. Her other hoof holding the base of the nest, her head immediately dropped down, but before she had any chance to spread her wings to catch herself, she pitched head first into Harry’s huge and gaping maw. Harry heard a wet schlop and felt a large obstruction in his throat. Instinctively he swallowed, suddenly finding himself standing with the end of his friend’s long pink tail sticking out from his lips.
Fluttershy’s world suddenly turned very dark, very hot, and very slimy. A soft and stretchy tube surrounded her on both sides, rippling and convulsing with wet and muffled squelches, passing her further down into – somewhere. The light breeze and twitter birds had been replaced with a low-pitched roar that sounded like holding a conch shell up to her ear, but reverberated throughout her entire being. However all of these senses were drowned out by a steady and frighteningly powerful bass-thump of an enormous heartbeat, a turbulent pulse that set the pace of her new world.
Her breathing gasped in time with this drumbeat as she felt the confining walls about her tighten into a pinch, and then relax and deposit her scrunched up body into a soft and undulating bag. Forelegs freed, she wiped her face of a heavy sticky mess that smelt like honey. As she began to process what had happened, a shrill bellow vibrated her enclosure, sounding to her very bones, and the realisation struck her.
I FELL IN HARRY’S MOUTH I’M IN HIS BELLY I MIGHT’VE HURT HIM!
Her body trembled violently at this realisation, curling up as tight as she could, but this merely enabled the stomach walls around her to close in all the more, their honey-slick walls moulding into her shape.
Suddenly there was a lurch, her prison pitched forwards and she was shoved face first into a pinch above her from which she had presumably entered by, and then the rippling tube above opened wide and she was ejected from her slimy chamber, carried up, or at least across - as her world was sideways now - until the bright white glow of sunlight hit her tightly closed eyelids and her body was expunged through the open jaws of Harry’s mouth.
The yellow pegasus fell unceremoniously into a heap on the soft grass, drenched in a mixture honey and saliva. Harry, along with a crowd of birds and other critters who had seen what had happened stared down at her anxiously.
“Umm,” she murmured, peeking up at them through her messy hooves, “Sorry if I hurt you, Harry.”
The bear growled, his face full of concern and guilt.
“Oh, I’m fine!” replied Fluttershy, “Although… I am very wet and… covered in honey. I think I’m going to take a bath now if you all don’t mind…”
Somewhat dazed and leaving a trail of goop in her wake, Fluttershy trotted back toward her cottage.
It had taken Fluttershy most of the afternoon to clean herself up, honey being one of the worst substances to get stuck in her flowing mane and tail. Strangely though she felt no remorse nor revulsion for what had happened. Washing herself was a nuisance, but she felt surprisingly unphased by being in the belly of the beast. She trusted Harry with her life, and he would never knowingly harm her. The evening was a harbinger of heavy rain from the adjacent Everfree, a lashing downpour that the weather team had decided to leave well alone - the day was waning and there was little to gain from the danger of tackling the monolith clouds rearing into the sky.
The downpour brought with it a rumbling thunder that alternated between deep murmurs in the clouds and great claps that rolled across the land. She dreamed of darkness, of being lost in the woods, unable to see the sky or escape the seeing eyes of predators between the trees. She awoke with a start just as the remorseless clouds over her cottage voiced their discontent again, illuminating the room in a split-second of unnatural shadows that surrounded the bed.
Fluttershy’s mouth was dry and she knew that there was little chance of sleeping again without fetching a drink, although that meant leaving the safety of her bed. Waiting to make sure the last rumble of thunder had faded, she slipped out from under her duvet, pulling the top blanket with her and wearing it like a cloak.
The bathroom was only at the end of the landing, but allowing for time spent hiding against the wall every time there was a lighting flash it seemed to take an eternity to reach the sink and draw a glass of water. No sooner had she quenched her thirst than the biggest crash of thunder exploded all around her - the room turning dazzlingly bright so that she cowered under her hooves in alarm and the empty glass rolling across the floor into the bathtub.
If only there were somewhere I could escape this storm! she thought, trembling on the floor, Even indoors I don’t feel safe, the rain is so loud!
The little pegasus racked her brain for a place she could hide and wait out the storm. Her friends were too far away to reach, and she didn’t have a cellar. The last place she knew of that was warm and quiet was… Well, it was when Harry swallowed her earlier on in the day.
For a moment she forgot about the thunder and lighting as she remembered the sensation of being in that soft belly, surrounded by a big powerful cuddly bear who wasn’t afraid of anything. Neither he nor she seemed any the worse for wear after the morning incident, and his home was only a minute or so from her front door.
Once the idea had struck her, she clung to it like flotsam in the ocean, not quite sure what to do with it, but certain that it was integral to her survival. Going to Harry’s cave meant going outside, but as far as she was concerned the cottage offered her little protection as it was. Her animal friends were all deeply burrowed into their respective houses and she was caught out in the open, exposed and ripe for the taking. It wasn’t a matter of if she should do it, it was a matter standing up again and doing it. Fluttershy opted for a compromise and crawled back down the hallway and stairs, the blanket covering her head and body.
As she peeked around her front door the noise only redoubled with the hiss of rain assaulting the sodden ground. She squinted into the gloom, taking aim for her bear friend’s abode, and then launched into a mad dash through the deluge. The blanket flew wildly about her, absorbing some of the rain until the wind caught its flapping tails and whipped it into the air, exposing the terrified pegasus carearing down the path towards the edges of the forest. Her squeaks of fear and surprise were drowned out by the thunder that cued them, her vision mostly obscured. But her memory was sufficient, and more by luck than skill, she made it to the edge of Harry’s cave, diving under the partial curtain of ivy that covered the entrance. A growl reverberated from deeper in the cave, accompanied by a pair of yellow eyes the frowned out at the would-be intruder.
“Harry? It’s only me! I’m sorry to disturb you!” she spoke into the darkness. Her voice was barely audible above the incessant clamour outside, but the frown turned into peace and the familiar shape of Harry the bear lumbered out from the shadow. He growled at her in confusion, beckoning her deeper into the shelter of the cave.
The bear had gathered a nest-like bed of hay and soft foliage from the forest that was spread around the back of the cave, near which there were also several large earthenware pots that Fluttershy herself had given him as a means to store food and water for himself.
“I have to ask you something and I’m afraid to ask because it’s a very weird thing to ask but I couldn’t sleep and the thunderstorm is very scary and my cottage was really spooky so I came out here to ask if you can help me tonight because I don’t feel safe anywhere else.”
Harry blinked and scratched his head, looking down at his pegasus friend in confusion. He was very fond of the yellow one, but she was behaving very strangely right now. He sat down in front of her and growled his confusion.
“Oh, I know you can’t stop the rain, Harry,” replied Fluttershy, “But… well, I was thinking about this morning, when umm, you… When I accidently fell in your mouth. And it actually felt… nice. I mean it was a little scary at first because I didn’t know what was happening, but I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon and I felt very safe in… uh, in your belly.”
The bear had spent the afternoon trying not to think about it - he’d found it concerningly too easy to swallow her during that episode - decided to try and comfort the small yellow one by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight bear hug.
“This is nice,” continued Fluttershy, shrinking into his arms, “But the storm is still very, um, loud. It was nice and quiet in there…” She placed one hoof on his rounded belly, gently feeling the plush fur coat over his layer of padding.
Harry rumbled in concerned response. As a bear he was used to other animals being afraid of him. His pony friend was kind and gentle, but it seemed strange that she’d want to be inside his belly. And also dangerous. He was fairly certain this wasn’t a good idea.
“I umm, I thought of that too,” she said, “I was thinking if I covered myself in honey again, it would be less dangerous for you and it would also keep me safe in your tummy. Because honey is a preservative?”
To demonstrate her resolve she stepped out from Harry’s lap - wincing as the thunder boomed outside again - and walked over to the earthen pots. She quickly found his stash of honey, and without hesitation upended the pot over her head. Harry’s mouth opened as he watched his friend drench herself in a huge thick glob of golden food, the stuff slowly creeping down her small frame, glinting in the light.
“See?” she said, clearing her lips, “Now I’m sweet and tasty, and easy to swallow, right?”
She waddled back over, trying to touch the ground as little as possible where she would leave a sticky mess. “I’ll be okay, Harry, I promise, I’ll just stay in your tummy overnight. And tomorrow I’ll get you more honey…”
Harry was salivating at the talking honey-pony in front of him. She was very clever compared to him… surely she wouldn’t give bad advice? He shrugged and decided to do as he was bid. If Fluttershy said it was the thing to do, then he’d do it for her. He sat down in front of her with one paw on each side of her little body and lifted her up like a little teddy bear, opening his mouth as wide as he could.
Fluttershy stared into the black hole of her friend’s mouth, feeling his warm breath on her face. He held her aloft with such ease, handling her like a doll, and carefully threaded her head into his yawning maw. She felt her ears flick under those huge sharp teeth and his lower lips brush against her neck, taking in her honeyed flavour. For a moment she wondered how she would actually fit in - the morning’s event had happened so fast she wasn’t sure how he’d been able to fit her through his jaws. But as if to answer her directly, his mouth seemed to stretch wider still, and feeling as though she were shrinking in the growing depths of his throat she was pushed into his gullet.
Harry gulped and Fluttershy’s head was pulled into his neck, dragging her midsection behind her into his long, salivating jaws. She was so covered in honey that her fur coat caused him no discomfort, her slick form glided into his soft and spongy esophagus with ease while he crammed her butterfly emblazoned hips into his mouth, tongue pressing up against her belly.
She felt his paws release her and her weight pitch forward as Harry tipped his head back. She couldn’t see anything in the confines of his throat, and her ears had been pressed back against her head, closing off the outside noises leaving only wet gulps and the squelching of Harry’s mouth taking in her rump. It was off-putting to her while her legs were trapped and unable to move, but she knew it was only while she was squeezed down into her haven. She wriggled forward in anticipation, prompting the bear to swallow down as hard as he could. Her long pink tail hung out from Harry’s mouth, honey sliding down its length. He pursed his lips and slurped the noodly length into his mouth, sucking on the honey embedded into it before swallowing again to send it down to its owner.
Fluttershy could feel the throat close up around her, fully enclosing her into the bear’s body. It took a few moments while the contractions gripping her flanks squeezed her headfirst through the fleshy tube, until she was suddenly released back into the rounder chamber she’d visited that morning. In the dark she couldn’t see the lightning anymore. Nor could she hear the rain or thunder. She fumbled with her hoof for the top of the stomach and both heard and felt the steady drum kick of Harry’s heart, its aftershocks pulsing all around her, surrounding her with protection and life.
“Thank you Harry,” she said. She wasn’t sure if he’d hear, but her world vibrated as he sighed with satisfaction, and a lumpy movement that translated to him returning to his straw bed. She knew that the inside of a stomach probably wasn’t the nicest environment, but in the dark she had only her secondary senses to go by. Her hoof touched soft walls that cradled her curled body, her ears picked up a deep rush of life powering the body around her, her nose and her tongue tasted the honey coating her body, and skin felt the humid warmth of her new bed for the night.
In front of small animals Fluttershy seemed big and powerful, solving problems that seemed insurmountable to them, but she always felt small and weak. In this moment, she felt the strength and power of a bear coursing through her, and she had the taste of being a formidable bastion that need not fear the world and its predators.
It wasn’t exactly quiet inside Harry’s belly, but the atmosphere felt so intimate, cradling her and hugging her from all sides, that she felt her eyes dropping heavily. The fears of the night seemed far away, her responsibilities patient, her own heart succumbing to the omnipotent metronome beat of Harry’s.
The bear felt the squirming pony in his gut slowly fall into motionless sleep, her steady breathing giving his swollen belly its own undulations that phased in and out of sync with his own powerful lungs. He watched the flicking entrance to his cave for a while, keeping an eye out for any opportunist predator following his friend from her house before slowly nodding off himself.
The morning sunshine banished the shadows of the previous night’s storm in a dazzling glitter of raindrop-laden trees and mirror-like puddles dotting the grass and roads. The clamour of the night was evident, with leaves and lose branches strewn everywhere, but all the trees looking the better for their unintended haircut.
Fluttershy was oblivious to all of this, existing in a world of darkness and soft warmth, a visitor to another planet where everything pulsed and rippled around her, caressing her body until she felt like melting. She woke up to the sensation of regular movement around her. Her little world was bobbing up and down not with natural rhythm, but the steady shake of walking. It made no difference to her if she opened her eyes or not, but her other senses had acclimatised, picking up sensations and sounds she hadn’t detected the night before - glimmers and signs of the outside world.
She felt Harry lean down, her centre of gravity pitching forward again - although in the grip of his belly her orientation made little difference - and a sudden convulsion from beneath her pressed her sticky body into the roof of her chamber. The esophagus that formed a dimple-like impression above her opened to grab her and in a rapid series of rippling waves she was squeezed up that tight, narrow tube once again.
Harry was bent over Fluttershy’s bathtub, Angel bunny standing on his head in a very demanding pose, quite unsure as to why the bear was invading his keeper’s bathroom. With a groan he managed to bring her sodden form back up and gently deposit her into the empty tub. She was bedraggled in every possible imagination of the word, hair slicked into a tangled mess on her mane and tail alike. Her eyes were screwed shut, squinting at the sudden blinding light after spending half a day in pitch black. As she got over the initial shock of being back on her home planet, Harry the bear turned on the tap so that the deliciously warm water bagan to flood around her.
“Thank… thank you, Harry…” she mumbled letting herself sink into the water and start to clear the sticky mess out of her fur.
Harry growled kindly and patted her on the head. He turned around and walked out the bathroom, making his way downstairs and out of the front door. Angel Bunny stood in the doorway and waved goodbye. The bear raised his paw in acknowledgement and began to trudge back to his cave again.
Author's Note
...and then I said to Fluttershy: “That’s not how honey works! It’s a preservative against food going off, not digestion! In some cases it can be a digestive aid!”
To which she said that she seemed to come out just fine. I advised her to talk to me about proper protective magics before jumping down any more throats. Feathers on the brain, those pegasi have!
