“Fillies and Gentlecolts! This performance has already dazzled you with the finest conjurations and visualisations ever performed in this land and beyond! But now, the great and powerful Trixie will perform the most astounding, the most daring, the most captivating feat of practical performance you’ve ever laid eyes on!”
Starlight Glimmer stood stage-right, watching Trixie perform her routine for the crowd of ponies in front of her. Trixie was already standing next to the canon behind the crowd, with one hoof guiding the audience’s attention to its impressive size, while a curtain in the middle of the main stage smoothly lifted up to reveal the manticore waiting patiently.
Starlight could see that some of the audience had seen this before and looked expectant, or even eager to see what was coming next, some were paying rapt attention, wondering what the performing unicorn had in store, and some were completely under her spell, their awestruck faces ready to be deceived by the climax of the show. This was Starlight’s favourite part, not the show itself, but the audience's reaction. Trixie waffled on for another few minutes, building anticipation in the audience. It was impressive how long Trixie could drag this bit out for. If Starlight were up there next to that canon, she would say; “I’m going to shoot myself out of this canon and into the belly of that Manticore, and then reappear unharmed. Here I go.”
Trixie somehow managed to turn that statement into a tour de force of personal deliverance, as if this were an entire legendary tale that had been foretold centuries ago, and absolutely not been performed three other times this weekend alone.
Alright, show time, thought Starlight, seeing Trixie arm the canon and start climbing in. There could still be another five minutes before the canon was actually fired, but Trixie liked to vary this bit - sometimes deliberately firing the canon mid-monologue to surprise the crowd and make them think that something had gone wrong. Thankfully, Trixie had started giving Starlight a quick, but distinct glance to signal when she was about to fire the canon.
And there it was, Trixie caught Starlight’s eye, and Starlight nodded. Then a gasp from the front of the crowd caught Starlight’s attention, and she looked back to her left - a young colt had climbed onto the stage! Starlight lunged forward while looking back to Trixie to check if she had seen the interruption, but Trixie wasn’t looking, her forelegs were now tucked into the canon. In slow motion the cannon fired, launching the blue unicorn over the frozen crowd. Starlight reached the colt, who was looking up at the huge manticore in awe, and pushed him to one side, just as Trixie collided with her. Starlight felt herself being punted back with enough force to wind her, and before she could even consider framing the teleport spell in her mind, both Trixie and herself shot sideways into the yawning jaws of the manticore.
Manny the Manticore was quite used to this performance by now. He wasn’t sure exactly why the blue pony kept launching herself into his belly, but given that he wasn’t allowed to eat ponies, this was a routine treat that was close enough. He assumed the position with his mouth open and ready as soon as the blue one stopped the twittering song that had all the other ponies staring at her. This time, however, a simply enormous bundle of pony smushed into his salivating maw with far more weight than what he was accustomed to. There was new taste here as well, and without so much as a second thought he undilated his head and gave a mighty gulp to tuck the extra special treat down into his belly.
Starlight felt the slick and slimy padding of the manticore’s tongue wrap around her hips, saliva soaking her fur coat and plastering her tail flat in an instant. The shock of this alien sensation kept her brain from formulating an escape, all she could think about was the initial disgust, and how Trixie could put up with this. And then with a lurch, the fleshy floor that Trixie and herself were tangled up on gave way to a dark tunnel that pulsed and twitched, almost snapping to wrap around their collective body. The sudden pressure forced the ponies into a closer hug, as they were squeezed down a tight tube lubricated with a seemingly endless supply of stringy spittle, the seconds seeming to pass in unbearably slow motion, and then with a plop, they both splashed into a wider chamber and a puddle of ooze.
Trixie had already illuminated her horn, being more used to this event, but with the two of them together, there was considerably less space than she was accustomed to. They leaned back from each other enough to see one another’s faces, but the plush walls of the manticore’s stomach kept them pressed together in a cosy embrace.
“S- starlight! What happened?” stuttered Trixie, squirming to get comfortable.
“Euuuuurrrgh! Some kid ran onto the stage and I had to push him out of your way...” exclaimed Starlight, wiping her sopping fringe aside with some difficulty, “Trixie how can you stand doing this? This is… gross!”
“Hey, I didn’t ask you to do it! Teleport us out!”
Starlight closed her eyes, trying to ignore her predicament and focus on the spell of teleportation. But at a time when she needed an acute awareness of where she wanted to teleport to, all she could hear and feel was the thump of the manticore’s heartbeat, the warm squelch of the stomach massaging her back, and the liquid gurgle of stomach juices bubbling between her body and Trixie’s. It was as if the outside world had been completely cut off, despite being less than a foot away through the belly fat of a huge manticore.
“I- I can’t!” she said, opening her eyes with a gasp, “It’s too close in here and I can’t focus, we’re stuck until someone outside fetches help and- Trixie? Are you enjoying this?”
Trixie had her eyes closed and was rhythmically rubbing her shoulders into the soft lining behind her. Starlight could feel her wiggling her hips in time, rubbing her slicked legs entwined with her own. Trixie opened one eye, glancing sideways in the dim light from her horn.
“Well… you get used to this, and… it feels kinda nice. Makes a change to enjoy it a bit longer when usually you teleport me out before I can get settled…”
“Trixie! You’re terrible, we need to get a message out and get help! And stop rubbing up against me, there’s a crowd out there, in case you’d forgotten!”
“Relax, it’s not like they can see us through Manny’s belly. He’s getting chubby.”
Starlight wondered about this. It was true that Trixie barely made a mark when she was swallowed - it was part of what made teleporting her out trickier - but both of them at the same time was probably making a big round bulge that everypony in the crowd could see. Not one pony but two, swallowed alive, writhing about in the belly of a huge beast that was laying back in content at its unexpected meal. What if they were still waiting for the act to finish? What if no one had caught on that the stunt had gone wrong for real? They’d get digested! Twilight could probably help, but not before…
Starlight twitched as she felt Trixie’s idle motions reach the sensitive areas between her legs. She gasped in confusion, not sure how they’d managed to get so entangled. Trixie could be surprisingly flexible, but Starlight was no contortionist. I’m getting softer! she realised, noticing how much the stomach walls had smushed her up against Trixie.
“Trixie, I think I’m going soft…” she said softly, urgency in her voice.
“Please, it’s not like it’s the first time we’ve been this close. You’ve always been a big softie…” said the other mare with a sly wink.
“Trixie!” hissed Starlight, “This is serious I think we’re digesting!”
“It’s… kind of hot…” said Trixie, her smile turning sheepish, “Just… enjoy it for a moment. It’s not like we can do anything about it, right? It feels rather nice now that we’re more flexible…”
Starlight didn’t reply, gasping as Trixie worked her hips back and forth. She could feel their bodies pressing into each other, and in the glow of Trixie’s horn, the view between them was turning into a swirl of blue and her own light pink. She tried to lift her forelegs clear, but they felt heavy as if they were stuck in treacle.
“Starlight? This might not be quite what you’re used to… but it feels very nice to be so close to you.”
“Oh Trixie… um… well I have to admit this certainly isn’t the burning horror that I’d expect it to be… and… well I’m glad that of all the ponies to get digested in a manticore with, I’m happy it’s you too.” At these words Trixie bit her lip slightly, taking this statement to be as close to a blessing as she was likely to get.
“Aaah, I- I can feel you all around me, like I’m stuck inside you…” she said, leaning in to kiss Starlight.
“Mhmmm,” moaned Starlight. She wasn’t ready to admit it openly, but now they were just throwing caution to the wind and letting this play out, she had to admit that the sensation was incredible. She let Trixie smother her with kisses as their lower bodies slowly melted into one another, legs twisted up like marshmallow twirls, forehooves both pressed far enough into each other’s sides to be entirely enveloped. She wondered how long they’d remain conscious for. What would happen when their heads went under? Would it hurt? “Trixie, I’m going to cast a spell that will keep us alive without breathing, for… you know, when we go under…”
“Mmm, do it, I want to be awake for as long as possible…”
Starlight’s magic added to the glow around them, and the two ponies felt the tingle touch their chest and sink into their lungs, gently feeding oxygen into their bodies just in time for their torsos to collapse into each other. She would’ve been terrified alone, but having Trixie here with her, it was… erotic. The two of them looked like they were shoulder deep in melted ice cream, except the ice cream was part of them, mixing together to create a wonderful flavour.
With no need to breathe anymore, they locked lips for the last time, tongues dancing together while the stomach walls pressed and kneaded the goopy pool of their bodies. It was a message like no other, and it was almost with anticipation that they both felt their heads slip under the pool, dissipating into the soup of their liquid selves. They could no longer kiss, but they could feel one another swirling in the maelstrom, an overwhelming sensation that began to cloud their minds until they were no longer aware of what was happening, but locked into a blissful dream.
Twilight arrived at the show to find out where Starlight had gotten to - it wasn’t like her to be back late without notice. She was surprised to find the crowd still assembled at the show that should’ve ended hours ago, all watching a very fat looking manticore sleep soundly on the stage.
“WHAT?” she yelled as the nearest pony explained what had happened, “And you all just stood here and watched without anyone thinking of getting help?”
“Well, we thought it was part of the show… and well… it was amazing to watch! I’ve never seen anything like it - Trixie really is great and powerful! I can’t believe she can be eaten and digested, only to return unharmed!”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah… all by herself… Tell you what, everypony go home, and just like magic, Trixie will be around tomorrow morning to sign autographs.”
The crowd cheered at this and began to disperse. Twilight alighted on the stage, regarding the fat manticore with disdain. It was going to be a long evening of syphoning the essence of her friends out of that belly and restoring them to their former selves.
