Damper Strength's eyes slowly opened as the brightness of the daylight started lighting his room. The sunlight took a while to hit his face directly, but eventually, it did so. It was time to wake up. It was going to be a long day.
Damper went straight to the kitchen, where his parents were already on full energy, preparing the breakfast for the family.
"Good morning, mom! Good morning dad!"
"Good morning, Damper!" said his dad, a blue maned, light blue coated earth pony named Alul Shade.
"Good morning!" said his mother, Ruby Bloom, a pink coated and bright red maned unicorn. "Awake already? You've been waking up earlier than usual."
"It's the damn sunlight," replied Damper "It's shining right on my face every morning in the last two weeks. It's harder to get any sleep with the brightness of a thousand flashlights on your eye."
"Oh, I have to agree on that. Wait, have you been sleeping with the windows opened?" Ruby Bloom replied with a slight worried face.
"Well, yes. It's been somewhat warm these days, specially inside the house," Damper replied in a silly voice.
"You know you shouldn't play around with that sort of things here, son? It's not exactly the safest place in the world at night," his mother said, with a little more concern on her expression.
"C'mon honey, you're making it look like it's really dangerous. There's really not much to worry about," said Alul, followed by a small giggle.
"Well, if you say so," Ruby Bloom replied, sensing the confidence in her husband's voice. "Damper, could you please get a bucket of water from the well for us please?"
"Sure!" He quickly went outside in the direction of the well.
When Damper was walking outside, he stopped and started to scan his surroundings. The place they lived was pretty unusual. It was an isolated house in a scattered and not so dense forest. On one side, the forest continued to be somewhat scattered for about half a mile, until it would suddenly become really dense. On the other side, there was a small, distinguishable path that went swirling around the trees, through as long as his vision could see. Down on that path, it would be just a mile of walking to reach some civilization. Isolated would be kind of an exaggerated term —slightly distant from other ponies— was a longer, more accurate description of their living. He looked at the forest and started to overthink about the dangers this place could offer. He suddenly stopped thinking too much about everything, and walked to the well to get the water his mother asked for. While bringing the water, he thought of why did his parents choose this lifestyle. He didn't complained much, though. His life was fine, he never felt that he lacked anything.
He wanted to change, though. And today was the day. He was going to the town nearby looking for a new place to live. His family was already acknowledged of that. The breakfast today was going to be a little more interesting.
He brought the water to his mom, and she quickly finished preparing the breakfast. Damper's sister, Lila Parhelia, a young unicorn, had also woken up and joined for the special occasion.
The breakfast was a great moment for all. They chatted about a lot of stuff, specially about Damper leaving home. His parents were feeling very happy and enthusiastic, their little son was now a full grown stallion, ready to start his own life, starting an interesting job, get a marefriend, and maybe even forming a family! Damper wasn't really sure about getting a family, but he surely wanted a marefriend. Oh yes, a marefriend would be great! He still would have time to think through all of it.
The sun continued to go higher in the sky as the morning kept going. Damper gathered all the stuff he needed: Some food and water for the walk to the town, extra supplies, and some knives. Yeah, that probably felt like too much, specially since he was going in full daylight, in an open path, but it was never too much to be prepared for anything. When grabbing the two knives, he started overthinking again. That was abnormal. His family and him have been living in remote areas for many years, and they never had any major danger incoming at them, but for some reason, there was this gut feeling. Why was he feeling that? Damper dismissed it though, he probably was just a bit anxious about all of this. Everything always worked fine for him and his family, and this time it would be no different.
The nice warmth of the mid-morning sun was perfect for his departure. He crossed the front door and said goodbye to his family. Lila, his younger sister, was also feeling a bit anxious and sad.
Damper immediately noticed that, "Lila, why do you look sad? It's not like I'm going to leave forever, I'm just going a few miles down. We'll still see each other like every few days. I can always come to visit you, mom and dad."
Lila didn't look any happier though, "I know, but you know how much I love you? You are always there for me, the whole time to cheer me up. You're the best brother ever! Not seeing you by my side even a single day will be boring, and I'll miss your company."
"I'm pretty sure you're gonna survive like, 2 or 3 days without me. I'm just gonna settle down in the town and at the first opportunity, I'll be coming to spend a day with you and our parents. Everything is gonna be fine!" Damper replied, with a warming smile on his face.
He approached his sister to give her a tight hug. That certainly lifted her feelings!
"Well, mom, dad, sister, it's time for me to go start going! Bye bye!" said Damper, receiving three, long goodbyes from his family. He now started the not so long walk into the town.
*****
An hour later, there he was, entering the town. Nothing has happened. He was feeling normal and confident again. The first thing he looked for was a restaurant, he was hungry after the walk and needed a good meal. He entered the small restaurant, there were quite some tables available. He sat down and the mare waitress soon approached him.
"Welcome to the End Of Equestria restaurant Sir!" she said with a happy and dedicated voice, "What would you like to order today?"
Damper gave a surprised look at the restaurant's name. I mean... what? This was in fact a location far out, close to the borders of Equestria, but that was still a surprise. He giggled, but he was hungry, so he quickly dismissed that, and took a quick look at the menu: "I would like a big sized order of fried hay, together with the large vegetable combo!"
The waitress got his order written on the block of paper. "Your order will be here in a few minutes!"
His stomach growled while he waited. But It didn't take too much waiting though, as his order soon arrived at the hooves of the cute waitress. She seemed to be new around, she wasn't working here the last time he was at the town.
"Here's your order gentle colt. Bon Apetit!" she said, then leaving to attend other customers.
Damper looked at his food. Wow, it was definitely a lot. Maybe he ordered more than he could swallow. "Nah," he thought, as he started eating the fried hay, accompanied with the large bowl of vegetables.
*****
Damper suddenly put both his hooves on his mouth, trying to soften or even mute what could have been a loud, embarrassing burp. "C'mon, you're new in town, don't show bad manners like that!" He thought to himself. That's was a large lunch, he was surely gonna feel well fed for the rest of the day, most likely. He called for the waitress for his bill. The waitress came with a hoof written receipt, charging him 24 bits. That was a somewhat cheap price, considering how much he ate. He handled the waitress 30 bits, stating the remaining 6 bits as her tip. She was cute, really cute.
"Thank you very much for eating at the End of Equestria restaurant! Have a good day Sir!" The waitress said happily then ever, "and thank you for the generous tip!"
"You're welcome, lady!" Replied Damper. As he exited the restaurant, he noticed he forgot to ask for the waitress' name. He would be eating on this restaurant again most likely, so he would have another chance.
He wanted to get things done quickly after that, so he went straight to the town hall. He could have walked faster, if it wasn't for his full stomach. "Dammit, i think i ate a little more than I should," he said mildly expressing a discomfort in his face.
Upon entering town hall he was received by the mayor of the town, Scarlet Charm. "Hello Damper, nice to see you again! How's your family doing? And what brings you here today?"
"They're doing great, and so I am. I'm actually here because I'm looking for a place to live for some time."
"Oh, that great to hear! Let me show the town map with the homes available right now!" The mayor prompted him the map. After some thinking, Damper pointed out one in the map.
"This one here. It says it comes partially furnished, and it's only 400 bits per month."
"Let me see... I think this one probably only have the most essential stuff. Like, a single room with a bed, a small kitchen with a small fridge," said the mayor.
"A bed is all I need! I think this one will do it for now," said Damper.
"All right then... please, follow one of my assistants. He'll guide you to the house on the map. He'll also take most of the paperwork with him, if you like the house, you can just sign everything there and you'll can just settle in straight forward!"
After a quick greeting to the mayor's assistant, they went walking without wasting anymore time. Damper was excited. Everything was just fine! "So much for those worries" he thought to himself.
*****
After inspecting the house, Damper just decided to go with it. It was no mansion, had a very simple construction, but he was satisfied. He signed off all the paperwork, and nodded when the mayor's assistant said that he could go to the town hall if he had any problems or complaints.
And finally, there he was. He had his own home now. Well... rented, but basically was where he was going to live, at least for now. He was really happy. He went to the kitchen and got some of the small amount of food he brought into the fridge. That, and he really needed to rest, all that walking, specially with a full stomach, was harsh, he needed some rest. But it was still mid afternoon, maybe he could still have some time to walk through the town some time after.
After all of this, he lied down on his new bed, "Hmm... somewhat comfortable!" He finally had time to think about his family again. He wondered what they were doing right now.
*****
Alul was preparing for a small walk into the forest. He was going to search and collect some herbs, flowers and stuff. Most of what his family needed was farmed right by the house. Nothing spectacular, a small farming just for living. With the help of his wife and daughter, he packed all of what he needed in his saddlebags. Between everything, there was a dagger. Yes, a dagger. He rarely had used it at all, but it was good to have around. This was something he always did, and he wasn't really worried. He was going out in the warm bath of the mid afternoon sunlight, and even the most dense part of the forest was not exactly cavernous. He would still see the sun and the blue sky above him. Without much time to waste, he left.
"Be careful honey!" His wife shouted, while his daughter only waved with her hoof.
Alul spent the next hours venturing in the forest, without any problems whatsoever. As time was passing by, the sun went lower and lower in the sky and the amount of light in the forest was slowly diminishing. Sunset was getting closer, so he knew he needed to head back home. During the night, things were a little different, and the forest was not so safe anymore.
As he was coming back home, the forest was getting less dense. In between the trees, he could see his home. It was less than half a mile. He could only see it due to the more scattered trees at this point. He suddenly started hearing something. Something big was making some noise as it walked through the foliage. He was not aware of something that big living around this part of the forest. That caught him in surprise. Without knowing what could it be, he stopped and drew his dagger.
The tension was building up in his body. It was getting dark, and that was leaving him in disadvantage. The more the time passed, the worse it was getting. After several minutes scanning his surroundings, he didn't see anything.
He thought he knew that forest well, but he didn't noticed that the large bush standing by a large tree a dozen meters in front of him wasn't there before. When he turned around, still with the dagger in his mouth, a mysterious creature soared in his direction. When he turned around again, he only had time to noticed four large legs running in his direction. Before he could do anything, something slimy quickly wrapped around his body. It was too fast. His chest, neck and back legs were wrapped by whatever the hell that thing was. He panicked, his body taking a shot of adrenaline when he realized he was in great danger. Lifted up in the air, he was still with his dagger in his mouth, but any possibility of fighting was lost when that same slimy thing wrapped around his muzzle and tightened. His dagger was now locked in his mouth and he could not move his head. His breathing had suddenly been overtaken by coils around his chest and neck, that were tightening more and more.
The breathing of the creature was easily audible to him. He was restricted of movement, of shouting, and partially, of breathing. What was this monster? He could see no way of escaping his embrace. The slimy piece of flesh around his snout slipped into his dagger, which was forcefully pulled out of his mouth. During this moment he tried to scream. "hhhh-" No sound came from his mouth, his attempt of screaming was nullified by the coils around his neck. Breathing was difficult now, and he couldn't scream as well. He was getting dizzy. At this moment, he realized that he could actually lose his life. He started thinking about his family, and how would they cope if he never returned. A proud stallion, reduced to a mere prey under this monster. This monster... he was gonna die without even knowing what killed him? There was still some daylight left. He looked down as much as he could. He saw hooves... Huge hooves. And then he looked up. The face of a pony, but with multiple tentacles coming out of its mouth. The realization hit him really hard. Was he gonna get killed by some kind of pony monster? What was him and why was he doing that? It didn't matter anymore. He was losing his senses. "Ruby... Lila... Damper..." These were his last thoughts. He fainted.
What looked like an eternity for him was actually only one minute. One minute to be chocked to unconsciousness. A rumbling noise was heard. The creature's was hungry. It didn't waste more time. Its tentacle-like tongues retreated inside his throat, pulling Alul's unconscious body together with it. His jaws closed on Alul's chest, and slowly but steadily, pulled him inside. I didn't take to long for the poor stallion to be swallowed whole. A bulge could be seen going down and deeper into the monster's body. It settled into its stomach. If Alul was still alive, it was a matter of time until suffocation or the digestion process would claim his life.
Satisfied for now, the monster retreated. But it would come back for more.
*****
The sun had set. Alul hasn't came back. His wife and daughter were already worried.
"Mom, do you think something happened to dad?"
Her mother didn't answered. She was really worried. At night time, they couldn't risk getting out of home looking for him in the forest. It was dangerous now. All they could hope for is for him to comeback. Unknown to them, of course, it would never happen. The hours continued to pass.
"Daughter, you need to go to sleep," Ruby said.
"No mom, I can't sleep, I won't sleep, I'm worried about dad. Why he hasn't came back yet? Do you think... do you think he was attacked by something?" Lila said a bit loudly, with a little cracking in her voice.
Ruby looked with a sad face. "Dear, please keep your hopes. He could be lost in the forest, maybe he got some shelter somewhere, and will come back at morning." She said that, but her worries were eating her from the inside. She thought of all creatures that could be a threat to a pony: manticores, timberwolves, dragons... But they were used to them. They knew how to avoid these common creatures. She was thinking of everything that they didn't know. They lived far from the denser populated and safest parts of Equestria. Who knew what kind of unknown monsters could arise from outside.
The hours passed. No sign of her husband. Her daughter managed to fall asleep, leaving her alone with the worry. Despite still having hopes of him showing up after sunrise, every minute was an intense feeling of tightness in her heart. The thoughts of never seeing her husband anymore were growing more frequent.
*****
Half-way into the morning, both Ruby and Lila were desperate. Something definitely happened to their husband and dad, respectively. They could wait no more. With the bright day out, they gathered their courage to go out and look for him. With the potential of a dangerous animal or monster nearby, they were taking many risks. But they had to do it.
"Mom, I'm scared, maybe we should go to the town and call my brother, it will be safer having us three going together."
"I also think that way Lila, but we have already wasted too much time. We need to go right now. We run some real risk, but we cannot wait any longer," said Ruby.
They were ready to leave their home. Ruby was carrying a spear with her. I looked pretty savage, but in reality, she didn't have much experience using it at all. Her daughter was not carrying any weapon. And so, they ventured into the forest. As they got further and further away from their house, the forest grew thicker quickly.
Hours and hours of exploration resulted in nothing. Almost 24 hours since his disappearing and no sign of Alul. When they were returning home, something called Lila's attention. Something shiny, reflecting the light of the sun. As they approached it, it was a clear vision of a dagger. Upon detailed inspection, they immediately recognized it as being Alul's dagger, the same one he carried was he left yesterday. The dagger seemed pretty clean: No signs of blood or any other stuff indicating that it has been used for attacking or defending.
"Mom... I... I... this is not a good sign. He... He probably was attacked by something."
Ruby approached with an aching heart and gave her daughter a tight hug. "No... we cannot give up yet, We have to keep searching, even if we have to venture even further into the forest."
Lila didn't look very positive. "Mom, we should go back, I'm... I'm scared, something is out in these woods, and it could get us too."
"Lila, if you wanna go back home, you can. I will look for him myself."
Lila immediately reacted with anguish: "No no no, you can't go into these woods alone, I won't let you go. And I don't wanna venture into it as well. Please mom, let's just go home."
Their home was not very far away, it was barely visible at the distance, between the scattered trees. The wind was gently blowing the foliage, which made hearing something around a bit more difficult. And both Ruby and Lila got distracted with their conversation. Unknown to them, a beast was watching. In fact, they were distracted enough that it was able to get very closed to them. In this moment, Lila diverted her vision and saw something grey in the middle of the green forest. The grey patch of color moved fast.
"MOM, LOOK OUT!" Lila shouted while instinctively running away. Her mother didn't have enough time to react, and it was knocked out with a kick. Her supply bag, together with the spear, was knocked meters away from her. She didn't have time to stand up, as she felt coils of slimy flesh wrapping around her body. The coils went straight for her chest and neck. She had been successfully captured by the monster. This victim was smaller and weaker than his previous meal. The monster new exactly what to do.
When Lila turned around, her expression was just pure terror. What she saw... she couldn't believe her eyes. A pony, or something that looked like a pony, with grey coat and a long orange mane, that shortened and followed its spine until the tip of her tail, a tail that didn't look equine at all. What shocked her the most were the four long, thick tentacles that came out of his mouth. Her mother was captured by them. She was terrified and only wanted to run away, but she needed to help her mother, but how was she going to do it? The monster pony was about three times taller than the average pony, and everything about it looked terrorizing, except for one fact: He looked rather thin. She was frozen in place, not knowing what to do, one side of her wanted to save her mother, the other just wanted to run away to save her own. She continued staring at the monster, and when she thought it couldn't get worse, she witnessed something that would haunt her for the rest of her life, if she managed to survive: The tentacles started retreating into his mouth carrying her mother with her, and his mouth opened in an angle that was impossible for a normal pony. And worse yet, the bottom jaw of the creature split in two, left and right, to make its mouth even bigger. She was staring at her mother being pulled into a gapingly wide mouth, and she could do nothing. She realized what was going to happen: Her mother was gonna get eaten. Alive. Fully conscious. Slowly, Ruby was being swallowed, and her attempts of resistance were futile. Lila, in a burst of courage, or madness, grabbed the dagger, the same one used by her father that she collected a minute earlier and ran into the creature.
"NO!" She heard her mother shout. "Run away, run away! Hide in the basement!" Lila immediately stopped. She didn't know what to do, but with her mother disappearing into the monster's gullet, she had to make a decision. And her decision left her in desperation: she ran away, away from any chance to save her mother. When she looked back again, her mother was no more. A chill sensation run through her spine, what she just witnessed... She wasn't ready. She was sure that she heard the muffled screams of her mother while she was descending the monster's esophagus, even already picking up some distance.
"Run, run, run," It was everything that was on her mind. The monster being bigger meant that it was much faster. "I don't wanna die, not know, not like this." Her house was so close, and yet so far away. She looked behind her and the monster wasn't there anymore. Another horror in her mind: Would the monster appear in front of her and capture her too before she could get home? Fortunately for her, she made it into the front door. She immediately closed and locked the door. She ran around the house, closing and locking every window and door. She found herself down into the basement. That thing could probably put the house down if it wanted to.
Lila finally found the moment to cry. She cried intensely, immediately realizing that her mother was still alive inside the stomach of that... whatever monstrosity that thing was. And she couldn't do nothing to save her. She continued crying for hours. She saw her mother die, her father was probably dead as well, and she was now alone, with a pony-eating monster stalking nearby. "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die."
"Damper, I miss you. Please, relieve me from this nightmare."
*****
Damper woke up at early morning in his new home. Two days after he left home. He was completely unaware of everything that happened to his family in the days before. Today would be the day he would be visiting them. He didn't waste anymore time. He was gonna go completely unpacked as he didn't need anything other than his breakfast, which he consumed quite quickly. With the sun shining in his face, he proceeded into the way to his family's home.
When he arrived, almost everything seemed normal, except there was no one working on the little farm outside. He knocked on the door. There was no response. He knocked again, this time calling for someone. "Mom, dad!" He heard a large door opening inside his house. "Is that the basement door?" He thought. When the door opened, he was receptioned by his sister Lila. But everything looked wrong. Her mane was a mess, she really looked like she hadn't slept at all, and marks of tears flowed down her face.
"Lila, what in the name of Celestia just happened?" Where's mom and dad?"
No response. Only a sob, and then she was crying again.
"Lila... what the hell is going on? Where's mom and dad?"
She finally found the strength to talk but she ended up screaming, "THEY'RE GONE DAMPER, THEY'RE GONE!!" she continued to cry and sob.
Damper's world suddenly collapsed. His body started to tremble. "W... what... what... do you mean 'They're gone'?"
"They... they are DEAD!" she shouted again, crying and sobbing so much she was losing her breath.
A million thoughts ran through his mind. Damper didn't know how to process that information. He slowly approached her loved sister and hugged her as tightly as he could. After a few minutes, the warmth of her big brother was slowly calming her down. They continued hugging for a few more minutes before she was just barely recomposed.
"Lila, my sister, my loved sister, please... please tell me what happened, leaving no details off, please, I beg you."
Lila took a few deep breaths before she started.
*****
When she was finally done with the explanation, Damper's brain was frying. A monster... a pony looking monster swallowed her mother alive. And although her sister couldn't confirm it, it was very likely that his father had the same destiny. The monster could have eaten her was well, but for some reason it didn't pursued her.
"Brother, you think I'm crazy don't you? You don't believe me right?"
Damper didn't answered. There was so much information to process he felt mentally disabled. Minutes went by while he was only sitting, looking at the ceiling with an emotionless face.
"We're gonna die, I know we're gonna die. It will come back for me, for us... I'm so happy to see you again, but now i realize that you might get caught as well. There's no escape, we're condemned to be eaten alive by that monster. Damper, you need to leave now. I don't know if that creature is around, but if you were able to come here, then maybe you can still get away if you leave right now."
Damper finally broke out of his mental breakdown after hearing this. "Me, leave? Get out of here alone, and leave you to be captured by this creature? Not a chance," He said, with a voice of confidence that made Lila both less miserable, but scared. "I should have known that, I should have known that," Damper whispered to himself. "The day I left, I had some... gut feelings, but I ignored them. It was like I was being told that something bad was gonna happen! Maybe this monster was already stalking on our family the day I was leaving!"
"Damper, there was no way you could know that. And even if you knew, would it had made any difference? Had you decided to not leave, you could have gone out with our father... and could have been captured and eaten as well," Lila stated.
Damper was thinking too much about everything now. "Ok, It's over. We can't change the past. Now we need to concentrate on how to get out of here alive."
"Damper, listen to me. I'm trusting on you right here. If you haven't returned today, I would probably just give up and end being monster food as well. Please, look into my eyes... I want to live, and I am depending on you for that."
Those words penetrated deeply into his mind. He was her big brother, the one who always protected her in any dangerous situation. And now, the ultimate danger was upon them. He now felt a tightening in his chest right above his heart. He knew what that meant, and after considering his possibilities. He made his decision. "Lila, my sister, I want both of us to get out of here alive, but... would you accept my sacrifice so that you can live?"
"Damper, what... what do you mean?" Lila asked with fear in her eyes.
"What I mean is, in case we end up in a situation where both of us might get captured, I will use myself as bait so that you can escape. You will run, you will not look back, you will just escape. I'll still try to save myself even if my chances are against me. But right here, right now, I just want you to promise that you accept that. If I have to die so that you can save yourself, I will do so."
"Damper, no, you can't do th-" Her response was interrupted by her brother's hoof. "Do you accept it, yes or no?"
Lila didn't want that. She didn't want her brother to die just to save her. But she didn't want to die as well. She wanted to live. She gulped down and said: "Yes, i accept it."
"Good. Now we can start planning our escape."
*****
"A tatzlpony?" Lila asked confused.
"Yes, it's a sort of pony mutation of unknown origins. They've been banned from living in Equestria for their vicious appetite and possible predation of ponies. They're known to be bigger than normal ponies, but the size you described for me is... is kinda terrifying. Do you remember that book of known creatures I've got in our last visit to the town? Well... I never thought I would need to remember of it." Damper closed his eyes and found himself thinking again. "But two ponies in two days... for his size..."
"It... it looked thinner than a normal pony, considering his size. I don't know if that's just how it should be, b- but he probably was hungry before... maybe even starving?" Lila responded.
"I see... I don't think he'll give up then. We're easy prey on his mind. We'll stick to the plan. We're leaving at night. But we need to watch our backs the entire day. He could show up at any moment and try to break into. Also, I bet you haven't slept at all this night, right? You need to rest right now. We need to eat as well. I'll go out to gather some of the remaining crops on the farm."
"Wait, you shouldn't go out right now," Lila responded.
"Don't worry sis, it'll be fast, I haven't seen any sign of any creature when I was coming, and it's going to be quick."
For their relief, everything went right. Damper collected everything he could from the farm and a little bit more. He came back inside and shared every piece of food with his sister. With both well fed, Damper and his sister went down the basement, where Lila would try to get some sleep, while Damper would stay awake, alert for any sign of the that monster attacking again.
*****
"Lila, sister, wake up wake up!" Damper whispered.
"mhm... Damper, what is it?" Lila yawned and responded.
"I think it's here."
"Oh no no no, why right now? What time is it?" Lila whispered.
"It's still afternoon. I heard the hoof steps of a large pony. A very large pony, it can only be the it. He just arrived. I don't know what he is doing now though," Damper whispered in response. "Stay quiet, we need him to think no one is here."
Suddenly, a loud crash followed by the whole house shaking made the siblings panic. The monster was trying to break in, or maybe put the house down. A second crash was heard, and the sound of big hoof steps on wood was heard. He was inside the house. Damper thought about the size of his monster again. He was big enough to eat ponies, but small enough to walk inside the house? The sound passed right above them. making them more alert than never. They heard the sound of doors opening, was he checking the rooms? There was a good chance that he would find the basement door. It wasn't very well hidden, and could be easily spotted on the floor, specially due to the small handle. The hoof steps came back right above their heads and stopped. They couldn't know exactly what he was doing. They heard the door move. Fear invaded their minds once more. There was a lock on the door, but it was simple and it would not resist the force of such an abnormally big pony. The monster pulled the door but it didn't open. The second pull was much stronger, which made the basement tremble.
"This is it, Lila. Prepare to run away," Damper whispered right in her ear.
The third pull came with a loud crashing sound, with the door flying up with the force it was puled. The monster lowered his head and when his eyes met the interior of the basement, he was surprised with a stallion running straight into his direction with a dagger on his mouth. The monster only had time to put his tentacles in front of his face before he was stabbed straight into his tentacles and right into his lower jaw. An eerie scream went out of the monster's throat as Damper released the dagger and tried to run, but the monster's front hoof hit him and smashed his chest, throwing him against the wooden wall of his house. Meanwhile, Lila ran straight bellow everything and jumped through the hole the monster made when he first crashed into the house, and immediately ran through the path that would take her to the town. When she noticed her brother wasn't following her, she stopped and yelled his name.
"RUUUN RUN RUN! GO AWAY!"
That was the only response she heard. She would regret this decision for the rest of her life, but she turned around and continued her sprint towards safety, not daring to look back.
Damper's chest was hurting, but it didn't feel like anything broken. Unfortunately for him, he failed to save himself: Only one tentacle was penetrated by his dagger, and due to that protection, the wound in his lower jaw was mostly superficial. The tatzlpony pulled the dagger out of his jaw, still in pain, but the damage was not severe.
Damper tried to stand up, but the remaining tentacles grabbed him and immobilized him quickly, finally lifting him up in the air. He looked to his side, the part of his home that had been put down, to see that his sister was far away. He never thought she could run so fast, being an unicorn. Despite the fear of his imminent doom, he felt some relief to know that his sister was going to survive. His attention went back to his predator, which was already opening his mouth to reveal a dark, fearful throat ahead. "Damn you... you monster! Why are you eating my family!?" Damper couldn't do nothing to escape, as he found himself wrapped with several coils around his body, pinning down his front legs into his chest and immobilizing his hind legs and muzzle. There was some blood leaking from the tatzlpony's wound but it didn't seem to affect him much. Was he resistant to wounds, like dragons were? He would never get the chance to know, as he felt his hind legs touch the moist confinds of the tatzl's mouth. It closed on him and he was slowly engulfed. Slimy saliva soaked his fur quickly. Slowly being pulled in, his head went inside the tatzl's mouth, where he saw the upper jaw and the two-parted lower jaw covering his field of view and blocking the external, bright world outside. Finally, when he was deep enough, the monster's throat muscles contracted and closed his view, pushing him down into the guts and leaving him in pitch darkness.
Damper was swallowed whole.
And alive.
He knew that his fate was sealed and didn't try to fight the powerful esophagus muscles pushing him down further and further into the belly of the monster. The ambient sound was now dominated by low pitched growls, the tatzl's breathing and the thumping sound of its heart. After seconds that felt more like minutes, the tight passage that squeezed him down even more announced his entrance into the stomach.
He immediately felt the small pool of liquid. The smell almost made him puke. The hot, moist and heavy atmosphere of the stomach was asphyxiating. He could move around a little bit, but he didn't had much space. The undulating walls around him were growling and shifting ever so slightly. He started to panic again, he would either die of lack of oxygen or by the chemical burns from the powerful acid. None of it sounded comforting.
As minutes went by, a surge of activity around the tatzl's organism let him knew what was coming— The breathing and heartbeat were getting faster, the stomach was contracting, making his space even tighter, the stomach acid was raining on his body and oozing on the walls around him. It accumulated and he started to submerge on it. His skin was already tingling, and he imagined how much it would hurt... to be digested alive. He wouldn't have to wait long.
He was now confined into his doom. The attempts of fighting the muscular sphincter at the entrance of the stomach only resulted in more panic and oxygen consumption. More than half of his body was submerged in stomach acid when he started feeling dizzy and weak, as the lack of oxygen and the acid was finally affecting him. His skin was already burning, and he was gasping for any oxygen available.
As he struggled to keep his head out of the burning acid, a sudden contraction of the stomach together with the echoing of a burping sound squeezed his body and forced him to be fully submerged. The sudden submerging of his head made the acid hit his eyes, which burned within seconds. With air already faulting him, his body instinctively breathed in, which filled his respiratory system with the corrosive acid. From his nose to his chest, he felt a quick and painful burning. Drowning in acid was the worst pain he had ever felt, but It was quick. In seconds, he lost his consciousness.
Forever.
*****
Lila finally made it into the town. By the time she made the running was slowed down to a mild fast trot. Her body ached so much and she breathed heavily. She collapsed on the ground. A pony that was casually walking around saw the fainting pony in the distance and ran to help. "Miss, are you okay? Miss, answer me!"
A single drop of tears was released from her eye. "H- help me... please," she said to the stranger. The pony lifted her body into his back and trotted her down to the small medical clinic of the town.
The nurse stated that the mare brought to her was only extremely exhausted from too much physical stress and only needed a rest. Lila was conscious the whole time. Unbeknownst to everyone in that room, not only her physical was affected, but her mind was fully destroyed. She just lost her whole family, she didn't know what to do. She thought she could just die right there... to end her nightmare forever.
The mayor, Scarlet Charm, arrived at the clinic after knowing someone was rushed there in bad conditions. She immediately recognized the mare: It was Lila Parhelia, sister of Damper, the pony from the family she knew so well, and that was living on the town now.
"Lila, Lila, do you remember me? Scarlet Charm, the mayor. Are you okay? What happened?"
"They're gone, my... my whole family is gone... dead..."
"What!?" the mayor exclaimed in surprise, "How!? What the hell happened?"
"A monster... a tatzlpony... devoured them all..." Lila whispered.
"What the hell..." The mayor was sad, confused and scared. "Lila, they were eaten by what? what's a tat-"
She was interrupted right away. "Call for help, he... he will come to the town and devour everyone!"
The mayor was really scared now. She knew Lila's family well, she wouldn't tell any crazy stories like that if it wasn't true. What was the name of the monster again? She wouldn't take the risk.
*****
In the following days, several royal guards and warriors arrived to guard the city. Lila was living in the house her brother had rented, and she was the only witness of the tragedy that has fallen upon her family. Her testimonies of a giant tatzlpony nearby were confirmed by the royal forces. Luckily to the town, the forces arrived in time to stop that abomination. But things got a bit complicated when they lost track of the creature. It was probably moving somewhere else, now that he was on the hunt.
Lila was now alone in the world, completely shattered by everything that happened.
But she had to be strong. Her brother decided to give up his own life for her. She would not disappoint him. Being such a naive and unprepared mare thrown into the world like this was a hard deal, but she would make it. She would recover from this and build a life for herself. And maybe one day, she would be able to see this monster paying the price for its actions. That was gonna be her main goal in life.
Eventually, the mourning had to cease. She was leaving this town and she was gonna move somewhere safer and further inside Equestria.
*****
"Stupid griffin, thought he had a chance against me," The tatzlpony thought to himself. "now keep squirming in vain until you die." A poor griffin was the tatzlpony latest catch while he ventured further inside Equestria. There were a lot of life into this land. His days of hunger would no longer come back. Never. "Equestria is certainly a beautiful piece of land on this world. What a wonderful place to live."
Author's Note
Well... what can I say, thank you for reading!
