GermBusters 1: The True Pilots

by Lukington17

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Go With Your Gut
Chapter 2 - Gatecrashers
Chapter 3 - Building Bridges
Chapter 4 - A Cutie at Heart
Chapter 5 - It Emerged from the Beach
Chapter 6 - The Big Reveal

Chapter 1 - Go With Your Gut

Author's Note

This story is based on a dream I had, and it's been great to have so many friends on-board with the idea! Enjoy

This chapter contains vore elements.

Chapter 1 - Go With Your Gut

"I don't know why you're saying no. You know it'll be fun."

Electric Blue rolled his eyes as his marefriend soaked up his words and debated. She wasn't averse to hosting parties in her belly, far from it; but Electric knew that she had made plans to see her friends for a picnic later today. "What's stopping you from going to Atrimy's to hang out?" she demanded.

"Because hun, I promised everyone we'd be having it at my place, and that we would have the place to ourselves. I swear I ran it past you already.

Cuteamena huffed, "well you most certainly did not. And what about my picnic?"

"You can still have your picnic! Just give me a call before you start eating or drinking so we know to move our party elsewhere. And I'll keep texting you so you know how we're doing in there." He prodded her tummy gently.

Looking up and sighing, Cuteamena gave a slight nod. "I suppose it's been a while since I saw some of them."

Electric beamed and hugged his partner. "Yes it has! And you can bet they'll bring a gift. They have to; they're guests."

The couple chuckled as they loaded the picnic basket.

The garden was all set up for the picnic, with lanterns and buntings decorating the lawn. The picnic mat was laid out and a cool summer breeze was blowing the overhanging tree's branches. Cuteamena smiled to herself at the job she and Electric had done. She was looking forward to inviting her friends Seraphine and Quinty over, as well as her sister Sunshine, and was confident they'd be okay with her slight personal imposition. Electric had employed the help of Twilight Sparkle and his magician friends to develop this shrinking potion, and besides making a home for himself in her belly, Electric had also joyfully let her have some fun herself. She had to admit, feeling a nosey pone slide down her throat was very satisfying. In any event, he'd been very sweet in helping set up and so she had to let him enjoy his night too.

Feeling something in her nose, she let out a cute sneeze quietly but was shocked to hear a 'bless you' come from behind her. She spun round and saw nopony; tilting her neck downward she found the source. Seven ponies, all about the size of an apricot, were goofing around in the grass by her feet. Electric, among them, flew up and placed himself on his marefriend's nuzzle. "Heya sweetie! The gang's all here. And they brought us a gift basket! I've left it in the kitchen, there's a lot of nice stuff for us to go through there. Hehe, I made sure to shrink the gang after they gave me the basket." Cuteamena chuckled in amusement, waving happily down at the ponies. "So, your friends are arriving at 6pm right? We've got ten mins, let's go - let us in when ready." Cuteamena nodded and knelt down like a sphinx. Electric turned to his friends - Atrimy Redclouds, Divinity, Flushie, Blaze Inferno, and his own brother Christian whose cousin Eminence Bloom was also here. Cuteamena had a strict no-alcohol policy, and so handing a Bud Zero to everypony he began: "Alright guys, Cutea's gonna open up and then we can enter the fun-house! Ladies first..."

Cutea (as she was called) shuffled and placed her chin on the ground, eventually opening her mouth wide and rolling out her tongue like a carpet with an "Aaaaah". Electric positioned himself by her side, ushering his friends in like some sort of carny. Flushie went first, waving up to Cutea who exchanged an affectionate blink above. At this size, the mouth was an immense cave, stalacties of saliva slowly dripping from the roof as the white rows of teeth framed the view inwards. Flushie stepped carefully along the squishy surface of the tongue underhoof, which was like walking across a bouncy-castle floor. She struggled a little bit, being relatively new to this experience. Eventually she reached the back of the throat, and holding Cutea's long uvula for support, she turned and waved at the crowd outside before jumping into the throat. Cutea let out a small 'gulp', and then Fire Blaze followed Flushie in. Atrimy and Divinity followed suit, both of whom were eager and quick to head on down, before Chris escorted his cousin in. Eminence had never ventured into a belly before (as indeed most haven't), and so she held onto her cousin as they went in. As Chris went into the throat first, Eminence waited for a bit of space before sliding down. Unfortunately she slipped and instinctively grabbed the dangly uvula above her, hugging it tight. Feeling this, Cutea started giggling, and Electric curiously peered in. "What are they doing, hun?" she tried to enunciate to Electric.

"Clearing a path for me, sweetie" he smirked. And with a helpful gulp from Cutea, the cousins went down. Electric had his satchel of the potions and some more tiny drinks and snacks ready, so he kissed his mare on her muzzle before heading deep into her gaping maw. Cutea meanwhile closed her mouth and gulped loudly, shaking her head and looking at the clock.

Chapter 2 - Gatecrashers

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3 - Building Bridges

The others listened in as Atrimy suggested his idea: "We're dangerous to those Micronauts because we're so much bigger than them, right? So all we need to do is show them that we're not actually harmful ponies. We've still got that potion, right Electric? Cool, then let's shrink ourselves more, closer to their size. Then we can try and show them we're peaceful." The others nodded in approval, but Electric looked pensive.

"Hmm, Cutea had always advised against shrinking myself too small inside her. I always wondered why - maybe it was because she didn't want me to meet these guys?! Nah, there's no way she could have known..." He toyed with the idea of calling her to check, but Eminence restrained him.

"Let her enjoy her picnic, dude. We can figure this out." With a reluctant nod Electric produced the potion, and gave it to Atrimy, who dripped it on them all as the largest there. The seven ponies watched as the throat around them grew in size, double, three times, so big until it was like standing in a vast expanse of about 6 baseball fields. Before then, it had been a bit of a tight squeeze for them all; now they could stand far apart in the immense chute. A few exclaims of 'woah' came from the gang, as they looked around. It seemed they had become so small that they could even see specks of dust floating around. Not wanting to waste any time, they flew down into the belly again, easily fitting through the oesophagus sphincter this time. They landed on a lump of masticated chocolate - which smelt delicious despite its state - and began calling out to the Micronauts. "We come in peace!" Eminence soothingly declared.

Sure enough, the gang noticed a large group of ponies heading towards them on what appeared to be a peanut, as Chris hypothesised. "That's no peanut," Divinity realised, "they've built themselves a boat!" Indeed, the Micronauts were sailing toward them on what must have been a ridiculously tiny boat, expertly crafted nonetheless and looking very much like a patrol boat you might see in a harbour.

"Y-you? You are the same folk who were just here in larger capacity!" One of the Micronauts exclaimed in confusion, jumping onto the chocolate with a couple of supporters. "How can you be like us?!" Up close, the difference in size was now only marginal.

"We mean no harm," Chris stressed. "We were just a lot bigger."

"Oh well that's alright then isn't it?" The leading Micronaut said. Chris smiled but it soon disappeared as the tiny continued, "I guess we'll just ignore all the destruction and chaos you've caused to my community here." The gang all looked confused, so he ordered his guards to lower their weapons and explained: "I'm Captain Biley and this is my district. As we said, we're Micronauts. We have the same appearance as ponies but we're much smaller organisms and more vulnerable. We've been here since Cutea was born, cellular beings coexistent with our host, and we stay here as the environment in this mare is pleasantly habitable. It's essentially our job to oversee that this body is kept in good healthy order! Naturally, we're suspicious of any outsiders, which is why we've had such issue with Cutea's occasional gulping down of you ponies. I run the stomach here and as you'll see, your visits cause damage for our species. But that's just in here; there's so much more to see in this place! Rest assured, there's more of us, harmlessly inhabiting other ponies out there. Maybe even you!" He appeared to joke as he pointed at Flushie's tummy. She smiled nervously as he went on, "Anyway, all that stuff you learnt in biology and anatomy? It's basically us. We're the physical representations of all your bodily functions. And we've developed sophisticated technology with the little bits and bobs that come through into the body, in order to help us defend the place we live in. Long live Cutea!" At the end of this speech, the other Micronauts all cheered and repeated: 'Long live Cutea!'.

"Waaaaait, wait wait," Electric shook his head, "so you're telling me that you guys have been part of my marefriend's body as long as she's been alive?"

"Yes sir, we have. Grown up with her and lived every moment. For allof you; within each and every one of you lives a tribe of us Micronauts!"

Blaze blinked in disbelief. "It's truly remarkable..."

Electric glanced over to his homely cabin, which now appeared huge in comparison to them all now. He sighed, and Biley commented, "Yes, a shame you didn't know about us then. How do you think we all feel about having to look at that every day?" On 'that' he had gestured to an immense Union Jack that Electric had pinned-up by his cabin, now dominating the proverbial skyline over them. A deafening klaxon suddenly sounded, and the Micronauts all ran onto dry land. 'Huh?!' the gang thought, holding their ears, watching as boats were disembarked...and they soon heard a roaring sound from the throat. Like an immense waterfall the tea came thundering down into the stomach, splashing in the distance and sending a tidal wave which died down thankfully. Almost instantly, four or five boats of Micronauts shot off towards it, presumably checking for microbes. It was all so remarkable indeed! As the gang were contemplating their own anatomies, Biley looked at them suspiciously now, staring them down, before touching a radio earpiece and nodding to his guards. "Okay, it checks out fine. I'll show you around a few places. Follow me." The gang duly were escorted onto the shore, where they proceeded to walk along the fleshy higher ground of the stomach, which was so big to them that they could barely see where they'd come in high above. They reached what appeared to be a village, a long row of houses and buildings, some supported on stilts over the waters of the belly. The sounds of construction work was audible, and sure enough Captain Biley led them to an absolute zone of destruction. Signs marked it, 'Warning: Site of Property Damage. Rebuilding in process, no unauthorised access'. Cranes and trucks were busy rebuilding what appeared to be a bombsite, and sensing the gang's concerned looks Biley explained: "See all this? That was you, young mare, about 15 minutes ago, landing your massive behind onto an office block.". He looked at Blaze, who blushed and stood innocently.

"Hey you! Thanks for nothing, now I got nowhere to work!" An angry Micronaut shouted at her, joined by a few others disgruntled officeworkers.

"Yeah, watch where you park your giant tush next time!"

"I like asses but not when they cost me my job!"

Blaze smirked slightly and turned her rear to them, "Come take a picture, it'll last longer." This was met by enthusiastic cheers from a few, but an 'ahem' from Electric reminded Blaze to stay cordial. Soon, Biley led them further into the village which quickly became obvious that it was more than just a village. A large suspension bridge over a canal of gastric juices, presumably leading to the intestine, seemed in disrepair as various tiny ponies were working on rebuilding the bridge. Beyond that, there was a large metropolis, tucked away in the stomach walls, with lots of modern-looking buildings and towers, some of which were coloured in Cutea's colours-cheme. As they were shown through the streets, various buildings lied in ruins. Electric felt as if he was walking through Blitz-stricken London, seeing buildings in disrepair.

"Captain Biley?" Electric began sheepishly, "you don't mean to tell us that we've been responsible for the dea-"

Biley was quick to interrupt: "One of the things worth noting is that we are ultimately cells here. We are incredibly flexible and can change shape, so we've never had any fatalities from these crushing incidents." The gang breathed a sigh of relief, and Chris even curiously poked one of the Micronauts and watched as their gelatinous texture stretched from it. "Right, come with me now. I'll show you to another site." As if on-demand, a helicopter landed in-front of them to board. This chopper was deep-red livery and its side-badge showed an open mouth with "MD Border Control" written in the middle.

"I think I have an idea where we're going..." Atrimy muttered, although Electric couldn't hide his eagerness. Sure enough, Biley informed them they'd be meeting his colleague up in the mouth, and saluted the pilot. The chopper took off with them all, heading towards the throat and soaring up the passage at great speed. Being a goof, Chris had forgotten his seatbelt and ended up getting tossed around the cabin much to everyone's amusement until Divinity took a smack in the face, at which point she strapped the joker in. As they went up the throat, they noticed little signs and streetlamps they hadn't noticed when they were larger before; these all seemed to be directions and traffic signals for travelling Micronauts!

Finally the chopper rose to the back of the throat, and the gang all stared in awe at the view: Cutea's immense cavernous mouth in front of them, illuminated by the chopper's powerful lights. The teeth were clenched tight, zigzagging their way around the front of the mouth, and the huge tongue shifted occasionally below them with Cutea's breathing. The chopper flew them up toward a molar (ginormous, the size of several convention centres on top of one another now) to show them several trucks parked on the gumline below it, and various Micronauts scrubbing and cleaning stains off the surface of the enamel with various jets and sprays. Listening carefully, the gang overheard several shouts:

"Why is there still tea on that spot? Faster, Clive!"

"There's too many of the buggers, look"

"Round 'em up, quickly! I don't want another one escaping..."

"Tell her to stop drinking then!"

Amused and intrigued, the gang fixed their attention ahead: the pilot was taking them to the uvula. The fleshy thing dangled menacingly at the back of the throat, swaying gently, and as they got closer they noticed that it, too, was bedecked in warning beacons and lights. A large sign read "Border Control: all visitors must stop". The chopper stopped at a helipad gangway connected to the uvula, and the seven ponies were led to a doorway inside the uvula. They found themselves in a vast observation platform, on the uvula's base, with glass walls all around, allowing perfect views of the mouth everywhere. Several Micronauts were busy at terminals and computers, monitoring screens and filling documents. A distressed Micronaut in a white labcoat greeted them: "Right, hello. Captain Biley informed me of your visit - I can't talk for long, I'm super busy today I'm afraid. I'm Nombula, leader of the Mouth Department. Have a look around, survey your achievements..." With that she went over to a sub-team briefing.

"Friendly mare," Electric muttered ironically, turning to the gang.

"What do you think she meant, 'our achievements'?" Flushie asked.

Chris was staring at something, and spoke, "That..." They all turned to see what he was looking at; a huge gaping hole in the glass panelling was cordoned off, walls dented and shrapnel of glass lying everywhere!

"You!" One of the workers confronted Eminence. "Think it's okay to crush our offices because you can't keep your balance?! It's hard enough trying to coexist with you darn intruders!" Eminence was taken aback, red-faced. She offered an apology but the worker simply huffed and went back to his work.

Divinity stopped another worker. "Excuse me, but what is this place for?"

"This is our main port of entry. All microbes and particles that come through the mouth when the mare inhales or ingests, we gotta check 'em out. We got big scanners here which pick up anything dangerous, but cos she guzzles we gotta work quick. The whole process is smooth, but sometimes we can't deal with the threats. They come either too large or in too great a number for us to detain them, so they get into Cutea's body." As if to illustrate the point, a dust particle was stamped for approval at one of the windows before continuing its course down the windpipe below.

Electric, who'd been quietly loving the tour of his partner's mouth at this scale, was saddened by this worker's revelation that not every bad organism gets stopped. Everypony was susceptible to that. As they all looked around, another siren warned of incoming food. Various Micronauts hurriedly assembled at various doors nearby: Plaque Patrol, Saliva Gland operators, Taste Receptors. The gang though all went to the front to watch: the jaws opened slowly, letting natural light come pouring in, and an enormous disc slowly slid into the parting teeth. There was no mistaking the chocolate cookie from the batch Electric and Cutea had baked that morning; and with a thumping 'CRUNCH' the teeth bit down onto the cookie. The tongue tossed the lump of cookie around, as the teeth grinded up and down hypnotically, and saliva was secreted all over. The bolus was eventually centred on the tongue, and with a huge GULP it plummeted under them into the throat. The entire office of the uvula swayed vigorously, and they all held on tight. Some quipmentA number of bacteria and pollen microbes reported to the border control windows; the pollen was told it would be ejected in the next sneeze. "Hey guys, look" Electric said, showing his friends his mobile. Cutea had just texted: "omg just tried one of the cookies, so good we should open a bakery! Yum :p " A universal 'aaaww' followed from the gang, as Electric replied:

Glad to know it, we'll try some too later. Right now we've made a mess.

"Yeah, I had a lodge in my throat a minute ago but can't really feel you guys anymore. Where are you?"

We're still in your throat, and you won't believe it, there's loads of tiny pones in here...

"What?! You let more of your friends in?! I thought I made it clear not to have a massive party!"

Hun, wait~

Electric tried to text but his signal had gone, and with Cutea annoyed at him he sighed heavily. Chris put his hand around him and comforted him. "You know what, bro?" the alicorn said to him, "I think we could actually help around here. We could make up for the damage we've done."

The others all enthusiastically agreed. "We could use our size to help repair the broken buildings," Divinity chipped in.

On account of the high activity in Cutea's mouth now, the chopper was waiting to take them back down to the safety of the stomach once more. As they exited the uvula, the smell of cookie wafted into their nostrils as, down below on the tongue, patrols and sanitation Micronauts were busy scrubbing clean the mushed lumps of cookie and saliva. As the helicopter headed down, Blaze had an idea: "We're gonna need some supplies, so why don't we go get some to bring? Like, construction tools and supplies and stuff."

"Well yeah, but I don't think Cutea wants us coming in and out of her maw right now. She's trying to enjoy her picnic," Electric thought.

"Oh I know," Flushie said, "Why don't we ask Seraphine to come bring some for us?! Isn't she there with her now?"

"Yes, she is...okay, let's do it. Sera's always been helpful and enjoys an adventure."

Cuteamena was enjoying her picnic with her sister Sunshine and friends Seraphine Night and Quinty. With her flowing blonde mane topped with a pink bow, Cutea looked the part as she poured the teapot to them in the sunny garden. Quinty, an affectionate white Brazilian stallion, was retelling a funny anecdote from a dinner party when Seraphine suddenly got up to answer a phone call. As Quinty kept going, Seraphine walked to the corner. "What is it now?" the French mare asked quietly. "Oh, you're joking...really? Well how am I supposed to do that?! Huh. Alright, I'll try my best. I'm sure she'll understand. Yup, see you soon." Nervously, Seraphine asked Cutea to one side. "Cutea, that was Flushie - she says Electric said they are having a little issue inside."

"Ugh, what sort of issue?" Cutea rolled her eyes.

"Well, I didn't understand everything but he says there are lots of little Cuteas who live in your body and they need help building stuff to keep you healthy. So I need to go in and bring them some supplies."

"What?!"

"Yeah that's what I think he said."

"Maybe he didn't explain properly, cos that sounds like the sort of silly thing he'd make up."

"Well, I think I should just go and see. I'll take some things with me, like snacks and tools...party supplies."

Cutea sighed, "Alright. Lemme go get his potion, then I'll let you in." She went into the house, and after Seraphine excused herself from Sunshine and Quinty for having to leave early, she messaged Flushie to let them know she was on her way.

Chapter 4 - A Cutie at Heart

The gang waited back in the stomach, having disembarked their helicopter gratefully. The stomach was calm, despite a few cookie mushes splashing in with tea. Some Micronauts were swimming around in the acids along the village's waterfront, and the Micronauts' police were patrolling nearby. Again, the klaxon sounded and a tannoy announced: "Warning, unscheduled large arrival incoming - life forms detected" A few beachgoers in the stomach's city ventured to the shores to see, but our heroes watched in anticipation as a familiar red-maned white pony came splashing into the juices over on the far side, about three times their size. Before she caused any more accidental destruction, they flew towards her and landed on her muzzle. Sera stared at them on her nose with her large red eyes in deep mascara. "Sera, don't move! We'll fix your size" Electric said clearly, and swiftly they had given her a bit of the potion. After a difficult process of trying to get everyone to the same size - about five times the size of their Micronaut friends - Sera looked around in protest, but the sudden size-change had caused a few arriving patrol boats to be swept aside, much to their complaints of 'hey!'. Sera looked around in a daze; and lifted up her bags of supplies that she'd brought. After an extensive explanation of the situation by Flushie, Sera unloaded her bags on a small boat the gang were using as a base for now. Construction tools, snacks, hygiene and health-related tools like toothpaste and vitamins were unpacked, including some paintball guns to use ice-cream pellets with! The gang commended Sera for her help. Turning to the cellular citizens, they asked where they could help most.

"I'd say the bridge is most important. Folks can't get from A to B unless that's fixed."

"Try help with the downtown financial district too. That's in a right state..."

"The bridge for sure, but also my house was crushed last week."

Taking it all in, they headed off to the bridge first. It was a large suspension bridge, a whole section in the middle missing, and so they all got to work helping out as best they could. Eminence held up the partition of the bridge as it was put in place by Electric and Divinity, and the Micronauts all looked adorable as they cheered and celebrated happily. Next they went to fix the buildings downtown, assisting with the foundations and heaving things into place. Then they rebuilt people's houses and parks. For the eight of them, it was like using building blocks - and Atrimy even got to help with rebuilding a derelict theme park in the belly! For a good 30 minutes the gang made full use of their size in order to help fix the things they'd done, and each time they did they were met by throngs of Micronauts eager to extend their thanks and shower them with tiny gifts - it was all very moving!

Captain Biley had been informed of their visitors' incredible help, and came out to meet them on the promenade. "Thank you, thank you! You've more than made up for yourselves, we are so sorry we were hostile towards you!"

Electric raised a hoof, "you don't have to apologise, Captain. We more than understand the need to be careful about who comes in here."

"Hopefully you guys can thrive again" Blaze said sweetly.

Biley nodded happily. "Come, now that we're back up and running here in Cutea's belly, we must give you a tour of our humble abode! There's so much more to how we run this place than meets the eye! I say, there's an idea - you must visit the eyes too! I'll introduce you to Guidalina, she's our lovely tour-guide here in the belly district. She'll take you around the body for a tour!" He escorted them to a building in the town alongside a shop appropriately selling bows and skirts.

Guidalina was a pretty lilac pegasus with a flowing pink mane, and she happily greeted the group and thanked them for their hard work. "You're all so sweet for helping, I can't wait to show you all around! It's been one of my lifelong dreams to meet one you actual outsiders, to show you how your bodies really work close-up!". The seven
smiled at each other feeling very proud, and they followed Guidalina into their first stop: the lungs. Leaving the stomach, they entered a small corridor which had gusts of air roaring through it at super speed. "Now the respiratory system is one of our most popular transit methods; it's just so far! We tend to harness a lot of our energy from the turbines in there. I suggest we all make a chain so no one gets lost. Hold on tight!" Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed Seraphines' arm next to her, who in turn grabbed Chris and the chain of them was formed. Guidalina jumped off the ledge into the tunnel and instantly they were all whisked and super strong speed down various passages and chutes, passing rotating blade fans and turbines, energy substations and such. Eventually they entered a grand open expanse, red-walled and with bronchi and their alveoli hanging from the ceiling. Guidalina explained some features and how Cutea's breathing was regulated depending on the public air demand, her emotions, exercising, and blood flow. On the subject of blood, she offered to show them a vein and see the heart. Only Electric showed interest, and so he set off solo after Guidalina showed him a shortcut into a vein. The others found a local cafe in the lung's base, where they sat and enjoyed a coffee. "Cuteamena herself isn't the biggest pro at handling coffee, so we tend to drink it in very, very small supplies here. Coffee isn't allowed in vast quantities in any one place." The others laughed, knowing all too well, and sipped their drinks happily.

Electric, meanwhile, was whooshing through the vein among the blood cells of his partner. He eventually reached the heart, pumping away as it sat there, and he looked at it in awe for a while, overcome with immense affection.
"Watch it, buddy" a Micronaut grunted as he shoved past the stallion with a bunch of other pedestrians. Electric apologised, shook himself a bit and flew onto the heart, hugging it. He then took a selfie and sent it to Cutea captioning it 'I found the quickest way to your heart'. He then went to rejoin his friends after noticing a nerve with a direction sign to the lung atriums.

Cuteamena was sitting with Sunshine and Quinty, laughing about Sunshine having spilt tea on her slice of fresh sponge cake, when suddenly she felt a pang in her chest and clutched it silently. The shock subsided and she was instead filled with sudden intense affection and amorous feelings for her Electric. She noticed her phone and saw the message. "Awww," she said aloud, attracting the attention of her companions. She blushed, "hehe, nothing. More cake please..."

The group had noticed Cutea's lungs increase their speed suddenly, and Guidaline had explained that it must have been something Cutea had seen or read to engage her emotions making her pant slightly. They were finishing up their coffees when a loud rumble from above revealed Electric falling from one of the alveoli. "Aaaah!" Everypony ducked and dived out the way as he fell and landed on the table, knocking the coffee dregs onto the floor. "Ooops", Guidaline muttered, watching as the coffee was absorbed by the lung membrane like a sponge.

Once everyone had got back up to their feet, Chris said, "Well thank you bro for that extravagant entry as always...say Guidalina, Captain Biley suggested we should visit the eyes?"

"Oh yes, good idea! Follow me", she replied, showing them to an exposed nerve and using a special pass to get past the security guard Micronauts stationed there. Their uniforms were chic to Flushie, reminding her of ones she'd seen in Manehatten. As they entered the nerve, they shot upward so fast, surrounded by electricity, and eventually reaching the eyes. They emerged from a busy highway that was the Optic Nerve, and witnessed a bustling neighbourhood.
Like two immense screens the ovular shapes soared high into the air above them, dominating this area and refracting colourful dark-blue shades all over it from Cuteamena's irises. These huge spheres occasionally twitched, and at one point the whole place was engulfed in darkness as the massive eyelids blinked.

"It's...beautiful," Eminence exclaimed, lost in the whimsical colourful sights around them.

"It truly is" Atrimy agreed.

"Huh, so I thought that there'd be a place where we can look through her eyes?" Blaze pondered.

Electric scoffed, "I guess not everything is like the movies, Blaze..."

Guidalina's own eyes glistened. "Oh but there is. Follow me~" The gang followed curiously as they walked down a path which led them to an observation platform, a giant screen placed in-front of it. The screen, named 'CuteaVision', was being watched by several civilians and officials, eager to see what their beloved host was up to. The screen showed the picnic lawn, and Sunshine and Quinty, talking as if straight to the viewer on the screen, and whenever Cutea spoke the crowd would cheer encouragingly. The gang watched as a piece of sponge cake disappeared under them towards the mouth, and then another blink, followed by a glance to her phone and the picture of Electric. A few gasps broke out among the crowd, and Electric shrunk embarrassed.

"You silly stallion," Seraphine said, booping him.

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Chris teased.

Guidalina rounded up the group and suggested they head back to the stomach, because she'd been informed of a beach-party taking place. "We were wondering if we could see the brain, since we're here?" a few asked, but Blaze assured them there was time for that after a little party downtown. So with eager anticipation they headed from the eyes to the throat via the nervous system, and back down towards Cutea's belly.

Chapter 5 - It Emerged from the Beach

"Remember it wasn't my idea"

"It's fine sis, tell us."

"Well, you know how Electric likes to chill in here?" Cutea gestured to her belly and poked it. "Well even today my annoying coltfriend decides to host a party there, and some of our friends are with him now."

"Oh, so is that where Sera went?" Quinty asked.

"Yeah, she had to bring them some party supplies. Paintball guns and snacks etc, I don't know. Silly stuff."

"Lol sounds like your body has become their playground, Cutea" Quinty joked.

"So where are they now?" Sunshine asked calmly.

"I dunno, I think they said my tummy still but I can't feel them. Oh look, Electric tried to call me. I wonder what they're up to..." Cutea pondered, as she looked down at her navel.

Deep on the other side of that navel, farther than the eye can see, a tiny party was underway. Crowds of youthful Micronauts were dancing and cheering on the beachfront, and performers lead the way on their constructed stage. Guidalina and the gang were there too, celebrating gleefully as they danced the evening away. They were all too busy to notice that the klaxon had sounded again, and most of the beach had evacuated after the coastguards had yelled to them all. The partygoers were none the wiser, and in a matter of moments, a giant lump of chewed food came tumbling into the belly, with a large splash that caused the stomach walls to ooze and gurgle, groaning loudly as they moved. Another wave rose up, rushing toward the shore menacingly and foaming at the crest. Eventually the singer on stage turned in terror and pointed. "Sandwich Tsunami!!!!" he yelled, and instantly the partygoers panicked and fled as quick as they could in a crowd. Guidalina told the gang to head for the tourist office again, up near the shop, and although the eight ponies made it safely they noticed a few cellular companions get caught in the juices and waves. The wave crashed the side of the pier and promenade, then things calmed down and Micronauts slowly emerged from their hiding-places. Blaze noticed a few young colts looking bruised, maybe having struck something, and she ran over to see if she could help.

"Blaze, be careful!" Divinity yelled.

"Hold up...what's that?" Electric gestured towards the enormous pile of sandwich that Cutea had swallowed, floating in the juices like an island with patrol boats surrounding. Surmounting the isle, an unpleasant-looking creature manifested. He let out a roar and declared himself in a menacing voice that he was a stomach virus, his voice resonating all the way to their shore. The gang watched as the patrol boats appeared to try and spray the virus to subdue him, firing iced water and green tea guns. They appeared to be having little luck, and the gang watched uncomfortably. "Maybe...we should go help?" Electric suggested. "We are bigger than it."

The others nodded, some more eagerly than others, and without a moment to lose they set off for the isle. As they got closer, Flushie bemoaned: "If only Cutea didn't wolf down her food so much."

Electric was pensive. "No, Flushie...I don't think it was because of that. Those sandwiches I made today, I wasn't sure about the lettuce. It had been left out and I thought I might have seen a bug on it. We gotta help her!" Immediately in-flight he texted Cutea. "Don't eat the sandwiches, any of you! They're contaminated; we're on it."

The gang arrived and spoke to one of the Micronauts on the nearest boat. He looked like a detective, wearing a trench-coat and fedora that Atrimy adored, and wore a badge sporting CBI. "What's the story, chief?" they asked after pleasantries, as he replied: "Stomach viruses are nasty ones. You need a hell of a lot of salt, ice, and a damn-good team down in the bowels 'cos it ain't pretty." The gang hastily assembled some makeshift weapons. Using the paintball guns Sera had brought, they loaded them with vitamins, ice-cream, salt, and potassium from the boat's cargo hold. They fired at the virus to momentarily stun it, but it stayed up. It proceeded to drag its claws against the stomach walls, leaving them seeping and stinging, and the entire stomach groaned as gastric bubbles rose up around them. The patrol and coastguard Micronauts slowly lowered their own weapons, watching as their visitors suddenly stepped things up a notch: Atrimy, using his creative streak, smeared his hat's rim with sharp salt granules, and hurling it at the virus like a boomerang he was able to strike it significantly. Seraphine filled her gun with orange juice and blasted it at the virus' eyes, blinding it for long enough to disable it. Electric then used his bullet speed to swirl around the virus, causing a mini tornado around the virus which made it incredibly dizzy. As it shook around dizzily, Chris then sneaked up on it from behind and whacked it super-hard in the privates, sending it jumping up into the air yelling! Eminence harnessed her organic nature connections to control Cutea's stomach walls, clenching them at the top and pinching the virus' head, leaving him dangling there. With this, just like a sniper Flushie then fired a perfect shot into the centre of the virus, exploding it into a spectacular firework that slowly disintegrated as it floated down into the acids to be dissolved. An immense cheer rose up from the crowd, and the gang all stood in amazement at what they just did. They all hugged each other as they were sailed back to the shore by the patrols, who exclaimed they couldn't have done it without them. They docked and found an adoring crowd who'd watched it all unfold! They shuffled their way through and found Blaze Inferno, miraculously having healed the injured colts thanks to her harnessed medical bars.

"That was insane...!" Flushie shouted.

"How the heck did we all do that?!" Chris exclaimed in amazement.

"Guys we totally kicked ass at that" Seraphine squealed.

"Great job, gang. I guess concern for our friend really brought out super-pony ingenuity haha" Electric laughed.

"Yeah...except for you, Divinity, thanks for nothing" they joked.

Divinity closed her eyes and looked relaxed. "Maybe I just haven't discovered what I can do yet."

The gang looked at each other and shrugged, joining the crowds of Micronauts in laughter and celebration. The detective even came and thanked them, introducing himself as Chief Wartz from the Cutea Body Investigators. When they found they had a moment to themselves, the eight of them chatted excitedly about their exploits. "We were like one of those cool crime-fighting teams!" Atrimy said, as Chris and Eminence hoof-bumped.

"Guys, we literally could be one of those teams!" Flushie yelped. A few of them turned confusedly, but she elaborated: "think about it! We control our sizes, and we each have special traits we can use against enemies! Any virus that tries to come into Cutea's body, we can smash 'em up!"

"Actually she's not wrong," Electric agreed, "We can really do some good whenever any of us are unwell - we know what to do, and I'm sure Cutea will be grateful. She just texted me, look: "Just had an upset stomach but it's gone now. Thanks guys x"

"So that's like, totally got to happen now" Eminence said, "I'm so buzzed for this, guys."

Electric texted Cutea that they were gonna go on a mission to fight viruses for her, to which she sent the eye-roll and kiss emojis. "Right chaps, now what we need is a name!" After 10 minutes of 'hmmm' and thinking hard, they settled on Germbusters, and put all their hooves into the middle for a team hype. "Let's do this!" Electric shouted, as they all prepared themselves once more with their weapons, heading to find Guidalina to get some info.

Guidalina was so happy for them, and hugged them all as they came to her office. "You guys were incredible! I've never seen such teamwork! Honestly, so much better than the CBI haha!"

Sitting with cups of tea and coffee, the gang made their proposition to her. "Do you think there's a need for us? Could the Germbusters be a useful ally for the Micronauts?" Electric asked.

Guidalina nodded. "Absolutely, without a doubt Electric. The police force here are good, but you guys just have so much extra to bring to the table. I always knew it would be awesome to have outside ponies come in, because look how handy you are! The law-enforcement departments would have to approve it but that should be no problem. You'd be local heroes for everyone here, and you'd be the Germbusters keeping Cutea's body super healthy!"

"Well, maybe we should get some uniforms. So ponies recognise us?" Atrimy suggested, which Guidalina beamed at. "Leave that to me, I'll get us some beautiful ones" he boasted proudly.

Electric smiled at him and then asked Guidalina: "Now, we need to know which sectors to target. Which are the most dangerous or vulnerable locations?"

Guidalina produced a 'city map' which showed a side outline of Cuteamena, divided into various sectors and departments. "Fortunately my friend Mabel works in Evidence at Cutea PD. She keeps me up-to-date a lot, to help with tours and stuff. If I were you guys, I would keep the stomach under control yes, but Biley's not bad and knows what he's doing mostly. The ears often get some unwanted intruders in the air, likewise the nose. In fact the nose today apparently got some pollen particles we think might be contributing to Cutea's developing allergies." The gang all took notes curiously. "The kidneys is where you could go to dispose of any evildoers... but our main Prison is in the left flank. Oh, and the mouth. That plays sees a lot of action these days, Mabel says. Plaque report last night, even."

"I did tell her she was due a dentist check-up" Electric said, shaking his head.

Chris spoke up: "Guidalina, do the germs and viruses tend to come in groups?"

"No, they come on their own and try cause havoc. Usually they're reeeeaally slippery and we can't get hold of them, which is why you guys were so impressive out there!" The team all smiled broadly and patted each other on the back, taking the map gratefully. "I'll call City Hall and see if the Mayoral team can meet you guys, I get the feeling you'll be in the news this evening! Make your way over to the brain, that's where it'll be."

"Thanks so much for your help, Guidalina. Give us a shout if ever you need some germs busted!" They all thanked their guide as she made the phone call, and altogether they set off for the brain...or at least tried to, before getting lost in a long passageway. "Follow that line there, look"

"No no, it's that way."

"We tried that already!"

"They have news reports?"

"Guys guys, I got this. It's this passage, then left there, then up this one. Let's go!" Electric trusted his navigation skills and sure enough they came into a massive clearing, dominated by the enormous cerebellum above. Stormclouds and lightning seemed to surge towards the top, rising dramatically into the darkness, and the electricity shooting off in different directions must have been various nerves and messages going across Cutea's body. At the base of the brain was a building of rather grand architecture, a befitting City Hall in the British neo-classical style. They headed towards it as a few passers-by recognised them. This whole space seemed to be like a big plaza, with various suburbs branching off this central square. In the very middle was a charming fountain statue of Cuteamena, which they snapped photos of to show her later. Eventually they reached the building's entrance and the security guards blocked their path momentarily, only to be shooed away by a small elderly mare from behind.

"Oh, let them in you buffoons. Didn't I tell you we're welcoming the visitors?" The mare ushered them into the reception and introduced herself. "My name is Medulla Mayweather, I'm the secretary to the Mayors. We've been so eager to meet you, the so-called Germbusters! What a delightful job you did down in the stomach, what a crisis averted! Anyway, let me escort you to the elevator." The team thanked Medulla for her warm welcome, and headed up the elevator.

"Did she say 'mayorS'?" Blaze asked.

"Must've been a mistake. She clearly works hard," Divinity pointed out.

The doors opened to reveal a vast ovular office, which had lots of glass panels just like the uvula department. At the far end was the desk bureau, and what appeared to be a sofa behind it rather than a desk-chair. As the team walked further in, they noticed the walls were lined with various outlines of body-parts, showing data and updates for each one. They could hear several voices arguing loudly now, and sure enough when they reached the desk they noticed that there was not one, but five Micronauts sitting on this sofa! Each one looked like Cuteamena, but with different matching bow and skirt colours: yellow, red, pink and blue. They all stopped talking and instantly stood to attention, waving at the team. "Oh hi!" said the yellow one happily. "Let us introduce ourselves: we are the Mayors of this civilisation, who together oversee the upkeep and healthy conditions of Cutea's body!". The gang looked humbled and exchanged waves and smiles with her. "Yeah, and we don't take kindly to strangers," the red one added, but the yellow one slapped her back. "Oh hush, you. Anyway, we each represent one of Cutea's core emotions. Our actions in here control how she behaves and feels on the outside!"

The pink one spoke softly, "And it would probably be the same for you guys."

The team nodded as the Mayors got up and showed them to the grand window, with its sweeping views over the neighbourhood. Electric went up to the red one, who was pouting looking annoyed. "Aw hey cute little Cutea, are you done being sassy for now? Big Electric is here to he-"

"BACK OFF, LOVERBOY!" The red one shouted in his face, knocking him over.

The others all laughed in hysterics as the stallion harumphed. "Careful, that's Anger. I'm Miserable, the yellow is Kindness, and the pink one is Cuteness", the blue one said.

"It's so great to meet you all, you're doing a fabulous job keeping this body healthy and shipshape," Flushie commented.

"Thank you so much! I guess you could say we're the pilots of this fine vessel."

"Yeah heh, and it's truly amazing being here and shown around," Atrimy added.

Eminence raised her hooves sensually, "you guys are like, so in-tune with your host....proper connection."

The Mayors all beamed until a red light flashed on their desk. "Uh oh, we've got a mouldy mango in that picnic basket. Repeat, mouldy mango!". All four of them started arguing over what to press, but Miserable seized control, "Oh my God that is GROSS" she said, switching a lever. A screen of CuteaVision nearby showed Cutea's hooves swaying away the basket, as they heard her shout to get rid of it to Quinty and Sunshine. The Mayors hi-fived at a job done, and went to the team who were surveying the view.

"Looks like something's going on down there~" Seraphine pointed down to the plaza. Indeed, a bunch of small orange unicorns with jagged and ominous armour were smashing up post-boxes and windows with their magic.

"Oh no, they've broken into the brain."

The gang gave a unanimous 'huh?!', to which Kindness replied: "Cutea's allergies. She had these occasional moments where she'd need to sneeze, and it's because of those guys. They're pollen microbes."

"Yeah, each day more of them came into the nose, and now it seems they're finally getting to Cutea's head...literally!"

The gang looked at each other with a smirk. "Looks like a job...for the Germbusters!" Chris squeed happily, as the others all cheered. "They're no match for us!"

"Oh my Goodness, that would be so so wonderful of you!" "Yes, a true favour." "Go on and prove it then..."

Taking the words of motivation, the team raced out of City Hall in a flash, heading straight for the pollen gang and employing their individual skills they'd used before whilst Blaze used her medicinal magic to help any afflicted Micronauts nearby. Again, they quickly subdued the pollen germs, with tricks such as Chris' counterspells which fired to make the microbes sneeze themselves, and Atrimy's giant hat trapping them allowing Seraphine to bulldoze them into the walls with her juiceblaster. As Flushie rounded them up with a rope, the others turned thinking they'd done their job. Suddenly, one surviving microbe tried to leap onto Sera's back, but Divinity shouted "look out!" and latched onto the microbe, engulfing it with her large hugging arms, and disintegrating it.

"Woah...!" Atrimy cried.

"How'd you do that?!" Electric stared.

Divinity chuckled, "I knew I'd find it eventually." Sure enough, her hugging was so strong that it could engulf her enemy, and further squeezing could disintegrate harmful organisms! A few passing Micronauts had seen that, and muttered how 'the white pony should be hired by the White Blood Cells defence unit'. She laughed at this, but with the pollen microbes still tangled in a ball, Eminence then used her magic to open up the nasal passage (connected to the brain via a large boulevard). Electric smashed them into the nasal passage by hitting the ball of microbes at great speed. The crowds cheered as the ball of pollen shot back down into the nose.

"Let's go send them back where they came from!" Electric yelled.

"Where?" Flushie asked teasingly.

"Um...I dunno, the air!" He replied, and they were cheered on as they chased the germs into the nose. The nostril was still an illuminated suburb until a certain point, when the houses stopped and the path became covered in hairs and snot lying in places, dripping around them. "Cuteaslime!" joked the stallion, but the others weren't so impressed.

"Okay, gross..." Sera exclaimed, as Eminence covered her eyes.

"Hmm, I think it landed over there," Atrimy said, pointing to a dark shadow. Sure enough, it was the ball of dizzy pollen microbes - and as they sneered and growled at the oncoming Germbusters, the nosehairs started swaying in the breeze as Cutea inhaled. 'Uh oh' they thought; the team had all started stroking various hairs, and even plucking one or two. A large gust of air whooshes in over all their heads.

"No, stop! We'll do anything!" the pollen microbes pleaded.

"Nuh-uh," Sera said, poking them with a plucked nosehair, "this town ain't big enough for both of us."

As the air kept coming in they heard an echoing "aaah...AAAAAH..." from poor Cutea, and grabbing tight to each other in a chain as Guidalina had shown, they stayed fixed to the passage walls on "CHOOOOOOOOOO!" The snot came gushing down the tunnel and air blew across them at infinite speed, various dust particles caught in it too. The pollen ball disappeared in a nanosecond, whisked away with everything else. The team could just about see the opening at the end of the tunnel, a blinding light from the slit which showed the picnic table's unmistakable chequers. "Uuugh, excuse me," Cutea groaned, wiping her nose clean. Inside, the team all hugged and celebrated another victory, heading back to the brain plaza and sending a group selfie to Cutea.

Chapter 6 - The Big Reveal

The eight ponies had returned to their boat inside Cuteamena's stomach lake, and a crowd of Micronauts were cheering and celebrating. A few colts and fillies had made posters and banners saying "Germbusters we <3 U" or "Come back soon" or"No GB no party". It all moved them very much, and encouraged them to pursue this in the interest of saving each other from health threats! Gathering their supplies, they tried to pick out Biley, Guidalina or the Mayors in the crowd. Cutea had texted the gang: "whatever you're doing in there, get out! I keep making myself look stupid here...", and so they were readying themselves for departure. Eventually the Mayors appeared on a large yacht which had Cutea's face in a goofy pose printed on the sides.

"We want to thank you for everything you've done here!"

"You've truly inspired us all and helped our communites so much."

"Yeah, um come back again soon yeah?"

Nodding happily at the Mayors' comments, the eight waved and settled as the boat launched off. "I think we'll be back soon," Chris said, "although any of us or our friends might need a visit sooner!" They laughed in agreement, and watched as the shore grew more distant. "I think I have an idea for our badge. The Mayors boat's Cutea face inspired me" Atrimy said, and they leaned in: he drew a minimalist stylised smiling face, like a masked helmet, which could be adapted to each of their colour-schemes. "And we'll wear this on our uniforms. I'll design them when I get home!"
They all agreed as Sera patted him on the back encouragingly. Eventually the boat's captain stopped and anchored near the centre.

"Um, actually yes how are we supposed to get out from here?" Flushie asked curiously. The captain smirked as he pointed to the throat's opening above, and an almighty roar of liquid came gushing down into the stomach. It was reddish-brown and fizzed loudly as it hit the waters, sending great ripples and knocking them to the floor. "Ah, of course" Flushie said.

"She never could resist a soda..." Electric mused happily.

The waters gurgled around them, and gastric bubbles began to surface around the boat. The captain used a special tool to drag a bubble over the eight of them, and then waved goodbye as they were raised off the boat and up into the air. "Hehee, this is cool!" Blaze cried joyfully. The bubble continued to ascend into the throat, the sphincter opening up to let them through. All of a sudden, they stopped halfway up the throat, and several other bubbles joined them. Eminence watched intently as the throat muscles tried to expand, and in a flash they felt it: a massive gust of air from the gaps burst through, scooping all the bubbles and sending them hurtling up towards the mouth. It all happened so fast and yet so perfectly slow, as they observed the throat with all its whacky signage, then a smack against the uvula (now nearly finished in refurbishment), and finally across the large tongue and out the gaping mouth through Cutea's teeth, into the outside air. They watched as their view changed from the back of the mare's throat to the mare herself, open-mouthed and belching super loudly as they shot away into the grass nearby. Picking themselves up, they watched Cutea blush and pardon herself.

"Right, that does it!" She yelled, dialling into her phone. "Electric? Get out of there NOW!"

As if by magic, all eight of her friends suddenly appeard behind Sunshine in the garden, some looking mesmerised as they wiped purple potion off their shoulders. "Hey hun, sorry for the interruptions" Electric said.

"Sorry? Sorry?! I've just sneezed and burped all over our picnic here, and that's after having provided unwanted stupidly loud music to accompany it!" Cutea ranted at them.

"Looks like the red Mayor's winning..." Blaze muttered cheekily to Atrimy, who laughed.

"What?!" Cutea demanded.

"Sweetie, sit down. We'll explain it all, just calm yourself. Here, have a nice cup of tea." Electric poured her a cup to drink, then watched gleefully as it went down her neck.

"Ooooh did you have an adventure? Tell us!" Quinty chirped.

"It's kinda amazing, what we saw...and did" Chris began. "You see, inside all our bodies are little tiny ponies, and they basically control our actions, and we were looking around when we came across some nasty bacteria - and we totally kicked their ass!"

Cutea, Sunshine and Quinty all gave them quizzical raised eyebrows, but Blaze went on: "It's true, all the tiny ponies loved us because we were wiping the floor with these bad guys!"

Electric added: "Then we got to meet the Mayors, who are basically tiny versions of you, Cutea." Cutea huffed in pleasant surprise, as her partner concluded: "we didn't mean to cause you any embarrassment. Your health was always the reason why we did stuff, and we genuinely discovered that we can fight germs together."

"Yeah, cos we're the Germbusters!" Divinity squeed excitedly. The three picnickers found that cute, and they listened intently as each pony took it in turns to describe what they'd done.

Cutea pondered and stroked her chin, until her eyes brightened up. "Sounds like a lot of fun...you better bring me along for the next trip hehe"

The friends all laughed and sat down together to enjoy the rest of the evening, and they retold stories of their discoveries with each pony looking curiously at their own bodies. A real sense of wonder overcame them as they felt capable of tackling any bodily issues, knowing each of them would help each other. As night fell, Cutea and Electric turned on their fairylights dotted around the garden, and they all lay down and gazed up at the stars. As they sat there, Quinty suddenly sniffed. The ponies all sat up and looked at each other with smirks:

"Ugh, I think I'm getting a flu again..."