FLASH A bright flash is what woke Minty Shine from her slumber. She sat up slowly, yawning.
"Wake up little pet~" A voice cooed from in front of her, barely above a whisper but resonating in the air.
Minty rubbed her eyes blearily before freezing, remembering that She lived alone. Her eyes snapped open and were greeted with the sight of two massive orange eyes staring right at her, owned by a giant fuzzy head. It... she? Had a plum colored coat and a violet mane with a plum streak curving down her left side. mostly obscured by her mane was a horn, the tip just barely poking out. A unicorn. A giant unicorn. This was not what Minty Shine was expecting to wake up to. Minty herself was an earth pony with a mint colored coat and a pine colored mane, shorter than that of the unicorn before her, with a white streak. Minty had cyan eyes and a white muzzle. Her cutie mark was a tooth brush.
Startled, Minty stumbled backwards before falling flat on her back, to the amusement of her unicorn audience who let out a low chuckle. Now facing away from the giant, Minty noticed something odd. A wall of sky-blue fur and feathers lay before her. Rolling over to stand upright Minty craned her neck to get a better view. She was surprised to discover the sleeping form of another giant pony. This one a pegasus, evident by the wings. To Minty's right she saw a sleek rump sporting a fluffy cloud cutie mark. How original, she thought. The tail was silver-white with a lavender streak. To Minty's left she saw the head. Judging by the structure of the face, this pegasus also appeared to be female. She was asleep, sprawled out on her back, snoring softly with her mouth agape. Her somewhat-scruffy mane matched her tail, silver-white with a lavender streak. Her hooves, minty noticed, were a dull gold color.
Feeling the soft ground under her hooves, Minty looked down. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be a bedsheet. It was a dull blue color adorned with a cloud pattern. Turning around, Minty saw the edge of what she assumed was the bed about ten feet in front of her, followed by the looming face of the mysterious unicorn who was sporting an unsettling grin. Taking in the rest of her surroundings, Minty noticed that she was in a bedroom. More accurately, it was not her bedroom. It was dim, but she could see walls, a desk, and a window showing the night sky outside. With these observations, Minty concluded that these ponies weren't huge, but she was, in fact, tiny.
"Done looking around?" The unicorn finally spoke. standing up to her full height, Minty saw that she had been leaning her head to be level with the bed. At her full height, her body was about level with the bed while her neck and head towered over Minty.
At this time Minty was more confused that scared. This was probably some kind of dream, she thought. But she didn't recognize either of the ponies in the room, which was a little odd. More so was the fact that she was quite small, barely larger than a Pygmy mouse. She had never had a dream like this before.
"I know what you're thinking," the unicorn began, "You're thinking this is a dream, or a hallucination. It's not." Minty was unconvinced. In response, the unicorn raised her left hoof, which transitioned to a dark purple at the base, and brought it down over Minty's head. Minty quickly covered her head and closed her eyes, however a moment later she felt the ground beneath her bend downwards. She opened her eyes to see the hoof pressing down on the mattress next to her, causing her to fall into the indentation it made. She bumped into the hoof awkwardly, looking back to its owner. The unicorn smiled, and flicked her hoof off of the bed. This caused the mattress to spring back up, flinging Minty, shrieking in alarm, high into the air. The lurching of her gut and the feeling of the wind in her mane told her this was no dream. Flailing through the air, she caught a brief glimpse of the mysterious pony's cutie mark, which was some kind of red berry. After several heart-stopping moments, Minty landed perfectly on the bridge of the unicorn's nose, just above her muzzle, her hooves spread over the sides. she shuddered as those two orange eyes focused on her. A giggle escaped the giant's lips before her horn lit up and Minty felt something grab her tail. In one swift motion she was carried up and out, dangling back over the bed. "My name is Midnight Briar, by the way." Minty was then unceremoniously dropped back onto the bed. She bounced once, twice, but was unharmed.
Now fully awake, Minty backed up frantically until she once again bumped into the sleeping pegasus. "W-wha-" she stammered before Midnight cut her off
"Now that you're awake, we can begin!" Midnight rubbed her two front hooves together gleefully. Her eyes reflected Minty's nervous form staring up at her as she continued. "First of all, congratulations! You've been selected as tonight's entertainment. For me. By me." She paused long enough for Minty to nervously wonder what that could mean. "We're going to play a game. A sick, twisted little game, but one of my favorites." She leaned in close. "If you win, I'll let you go. I'll even answer one question, any question you want! isn't that nice?" She leaned back again, pointing a hoof at Minty. "But if you lose... well... let's just say... you really don't want to lose." The grin on her face and the look in her eyes did nothing to calm Minty. Before Minty could so much as squeak in protest, she was scooped up again by Midnight's levitation. She was brought up to float above the bed, then Midnight continued. "This adorable Pegasus here is Sky Blue. What's fun about Sky Blue is that she's a real heavy sleeper. Why, she could sleep through an earthquake. So don't you worry about waking her up." Minty was levitated onto Midnight's outstretched hoof. "You're a dentist, right?" Midnight said, "Then this should be right up your alley." With her three remaining hooves, Midnight climbed up onto the bed, straddling Sky's sprawled figure. Sky continued to snore softly, completely unaware. "The rules are simple." Midnight began. "You're going on a field trip inside Sky's cute little muzzle. All you have to do is sit your rump in there for ten minutes without getting yourself swallowed. If you do get swallowed, you lose. If you climb out before the ten minutes is up," she looked contemplative, "I'll... squash you like a bug under my hooves." she raised her other hoof above Minty for emphasis, making little squishing motions, "...Or something. I don't know. Please don't, cuz I want to squish you about as much as you want to be squished." She paused, before continuing, "If you survive for ten minutes, you win! C'mon it'll be easy!" she finished, sounding almost giddy.
Minty swallowed nervously, her mind still trying to process the absurdity of her situation. Midnight smiled at that. "That's the spirit!" Minty was held out over Sky's gaping mouth. It was then that the implications of what could very well happen to Minty clicked in her brain, and she looked to Midnight, shaking her head frantically. Midnight only smiled bigger, nodding. "Ready... Set..." The ground beneath Minty shifted as Midnight turned her hoof, "...Go!" Minty tried to hold on but was unable to find purchase, falling down with a mute scream towards the sleeping pegasus. She landed all four hooves on the tip of Sky's snout, her open mouth just inches in front of her. Minty cowered in place. This was completely insane, it must have been a dream! She rationalized to herself. Just a very... convincing dream. "Remember..." She head Midnight say. Looking up, she saw Midnight making crushing motions with her front hooves. Minty whimpered softly, before feeling a nudge from behind, eliciting a squeak of surprise, sending her toppling forward and into the open maw.
Warm. The first thing Minty noticed was the warmth. The second thing she noticed was the tongue under her hooves. It was velvety, spongey, and slightly moist. Minty noticed a distinct lack of saliva, which wasn't too uncommon for those who slept with their mouths open. Sky's head was leaning to her right, meaning her tongue, although definitely not flat, was not too steep to stand on. Whoosh~ Minty felt the rush of air as Sky exhaled... followed by inhale... exhale... Minty's mane blowing slightly in the breeze. it was almost calming. Well, not really. Sky's breath while not exactly pleasant, had a faintly peppermint smell to it. The maw was slightly claustrophobic, the roof resting less than two feet over Minty's head. Well, two feet relative to Minty's reduced size. Looking around, Minty saw Sky's molars up slightly and to her left. Sky's right teeth were mostly obscured by the lolling tongue due to the angle of her head. Without thinking, Minty briefly examined what teeth she could see. Her inner dentist was pleased by how well Sky had been taking care of her teeth, before Minty remembered just why she was getting such a good look at them. A nervous pit in her stomach, she slowly turned around. There, behind her, was the abyss from which nothing could return. Minty couldn't see the entrance to the esophagus from where she was, but she knew it was there, just beyond the downward curve at the back of the tongue. Hanging above, the uvula swayed gently with each breath. Minty felt a shiver go through her. If she wasn't careful, she could end up being swallowed alive, like some piece of food. The thought was terrifying... and also just a little arousing? Feeling a little morbid curiosity, Minty tested the tongue beneath her, bouncing gently. Aside from a few twitches, there was no response. A tiny part of her told Minty to take a few steps closer to the throat... just to get a better look. Slowly, she lifted a hoof, but stopped when she noticed the already dim light that entered the mouth through Sky's open lips become darkened. Minty turned back around, and was greeted with the sight of Midnight peering at her just outside of Minty's fleshy prison. She almost stumbled back again, but caught herself. She took several deep breaths to try and calm her nerves.
"Having fun in there?" Midnight cooed, "Something tells me I'm not the only one with a morbid fascination." She leaned back, exposing the grin on her face. "You have eight minutes left, by the way." Meanwhile, Minty gently laid herself flat, shuddering at the feel of the damp tongue on her belly, resolving to keep her gaze forward and avoid thinking about the passageway behind her. The horrifying... oddly provocative thought... of sliding down the throat... kicking and screaming... just like any morsel of food. Minty vehemently shook her head to clear her thoughts. Why in Celestia's name was this making her feel... like that? Minty reminded herself that getting swallowed would most definitely seal her doom. Besides, that wouldn't happen. As it was, she wasn't in any immediate danger. All she had to do was sit in place and wait for her time to be up. Easy.
Hearing a low chuckle, Minty looked up to see Midnight's grin widening. "My my my, you are enjoying this! How naughty. I love it~" She leaned back, tapping on her fetlock about where a watch would be if she were wearing one. "Just about five minutes left. You're at the halfway point little snack, which means it's finally time to spice things up a little." she leaned out of view, disturbing the bed in the process and causing Sky to shake softly.
Minty sat up with a start. She spread her legs to steady herself until the shaking stopped after several moments. She had slid back just a little, and so took a step forward to make up for it. That wasn't so bad, Minty thought. Moments later, Midnight leaned back into view, this time levitating something next to her. It appeared to be a sandwich bag, the contents were hard to make out due to condensation inside the bag. It was safe to say whatever was inside was warm. "Do you know what Sky Blue's favorite food is?" Midnight purred. Minty got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Midnight leaned in close, her voice lowering to a whisper. "Grilled. Daffodil. Sandwiches." She leaned back again, shaking the bag. "And guess what I happen to have right here?" This could only be bad, Minty corrected herself. "That's right. A nice, fresh, warm grilled daffodil." Minty opened the bag with her telekinesis, taking a big whiff of the contents. "Ahh. And it smells delicious." Moments later, Minty could smell it too. She tried to guess how a sandwich qualified as 'spicing things up' as she was interrupted by something wet landing on her back. Her heart skipped a beat. She craned her neck to see saliva beginning to form around her. The tongue beneath her was slowly becoming slick with drool. Her ears folded back fearfully. And then she heard something that made her heart stop. Growl~ The stomach growled hungrily behind her. "Sounds like somepony is hungry~" Midnight sing-songed. Heart pounding, Minty lurched forward to try and escape, only for her world to fall to darkness.
Still asleep, Sky closed her mouth, unconsciously tasting Minty, oblivious to her frightened squeaks from within her maw. She hummed happily, no doubt dreaming of sandwiches. Meanwhile, Minty was tossed to and fro by the suddenly active tongue. The fleshy appendage rolling her around, tasting her, covering her in saliva. Minty shrieked, trying desperately to find purchase while scarcely able to tell up from down in the chaos. After the longest ten to fifteen seconds of her life, the tongue was finally still. Moments later, Minty heard a resounding gulp as Sky instinctively swallowed excess drool at the back of her throat, her mouth then hung open again as she resumed her soft snoring. Only now she had shifted, her head facing almost straight up. The much steeper angle combined with the now slick, slippery coating of saliva caused Minty to quickly begin sliding backwards. Panicking, she wrapped her front hooves around as much of the tongue as she could, slowing her descent but not stopping completely.
"That was certainly effective." Midnight chuckled. "Four minutes left. Think you can make it?"
As Minty slowly slipped downwards towards the waiting throat, thoughts of being swallowed down once again filled her mind. A thrill of fear mixed with excitement coursed through her, and for the briefest of moments she considered letting go. Then, she snapped back to reality. Her very life was at stake. She was a living, breathing pony, not some piece of food. She wanted to live! And as morbidly tempting as it was, this was not how she wanted to die. With renewed desperation, Minty struggled to stop her descent, but with little success. GROOWL~ Another stomach growl, this one louder, only heightened her sense of panic. Her rear legs scrabbled for a hoofhold but found none on the slippery tongue. Suddenly, her legs scraped at nothing as she felt the ground curving downward beneath. Her eyes shot wide and with a whimper, she squeezed the tongue with all her might with her front legs, barely managing to stop herself from sliding further. Her rear legs now dangled over the edge of the throat. Her mane and tail were soaked in saliva, messy and sticking to herself. Her fur was matted down likewise saturated with drool. Her breathing was heavy, heart pounding in her ears.
Outside, Midnight Briar watched with rapt attention. "Just two more minutes little snack... Better hold on tight." Her eyes were lustful. "Has anypony ever told you you're adorable when you're terrified?"
Midnight's words barely registered to Minty, who was focusing entirely on maintaining her grip. Slowly, ever so slowly, she attempted to inch her way forward. And slowly, at a heart-wrenchingly slow pace, she succeeded. Her rear hooves gained just a little traction as she inched forward, little by little. But her legs were quickly tiring out. It was taking all of her strength just to keep from slipping, sheer adrenaline was all that allowed her to make any progress, but that was swiftly running out.
"Just one minute left." Midnight's voice was only a whisper now. she bit her lip in anticipation.
Hyperventilating, Minty stole a terrified glance behind her. The uvula dangled tauntingly just behind her rear legs, strands of saliva arcing from it. It was then that Minty's heart stopped. Excess saliva was building up at the back of the throat behind her. Sky's tongue undulated beneath Minty, rising up at the back, pressing her against the roof of the mouth before... glp Minty shrieked as she was pulled back, her rear legs again dangling over the edge. Her strength failing, she began to slip further. She moaned in desperation, trying to regain her footing but it was no use. More saliva was coating her form, pooling behind her. Once again the tongue writhed beneath her, rising up as- glup -another swallow pulled her deeper, the uvula dragging up her body as it happened. She was now more than halfway over the edge. She could feel the opening of the esophagus with her rear hooves. She desperately scrabbled for purchase but found none.
"Twenty seconds." Midnight whispered. Minty wouldn't last that long. Midnight knew it.
This couldn't be how it happened, couldn't be how she dies. Minty cried hot tears as she knew the end was imminent. She had never been so terrified, or aroused, in her life. There was no time to contemplate that, as Sky began to swallow again, triggered by the obstruction at the back of her throat. With her strength nearly spent and nothing that could save her, Minty did the only thing she could: she screamed. The tongue lifted, the esophagus opened to receive her, and- GULP she was pulled halfway into the esophagus. Minty couldn't see out of the maw any more. There was the briefest of pauses, just long enough for Growl~ another hungry growl, before Sky swallowed again. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Minty, lubricated with sticky, slimy saliva arcing from her to the tongue, which rose one final time, blocking all light as finally, gulp Minty's screaming body was pulled down, down, down. She kicked and she thrashed with the last of her might but- glp each swallow- gulp only forced her- glup deeper.
Outside, Midnight watched as Minty disappeared from view, becoming nothing more than a bulge in the slumbering pegasus' neck, her screams heard faintly behind the wall of flesh. gulp The bulge travelled down briefly before stubbornly stopping. "You're quite the fighter." Midnight mumbled to herself, grinning. gulp Sky's face scrunched up, she wasn't getting much air between swallows. glp The bulge travelled a little further before stopping again. Sky's face scrunched up more, and just as it looked like she might wake up, she leaned her head back and... GULP with one final swallow the screaming bulge that was Minty Shine was sent the rest of the way down, disappearing into Sky's body. Sky's face relaxed, yawning, before she rolled onto her side, curling up and snoring happily. Midnight Briar licked her lips. Her eyes briefly flashed an insectoid red, fangs protruding from her mouth, before whispering "Your terror is delicious." Her face changed back to normal as she curled up next to Sky Blue, her head against Sky's belly, listening to her stomach gurgle happily with its meal. "Goodbye, Minty Shine."
The pressure was immense, Each swallow forcing her deeper, Minty's strength quickly failed her. One final swallow forced her downwards and she lost the energy to fight. Soon she could no longer even scream as breathing became difficult. She felt like she would be crushed by the powerful muscles guiding her down. She began to feel drowsy, massaged on all sides by the throat muscles. It was unbearably hot, and Sky's heartbeat thudded in her ears. "N-no..." she barely managed to squeak as she began to lose consciousness, the last thing she felt was a sudden moment of weightlessness followed by a dull wet thump as she arrived at her final destination. A dull gurgling echoed in her ears as she finally blacked out, succumbing to her fate.
Author's Note
For your convenience, here are some quick renders of the characters I made in Ponylumen.
Minty Shine:
Midnight Briar:
Sky Blue:
Minty's eyes snapped open as she shot bolt upright in her bed with a gasp. she quickly examined herself, feeling her body as if to make sure she wasn't a ghost. To her relief, she was unharmed. She wasn't even wet, well, mostly anyways. She took several deep breaths until her heart slowed to a somewhat normal pace. Shouldn't she be covered in stomach acid? How was she still alive, much less back in her bed for that matter? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a voice.
"Thou hadst a nightmare, and a powerful one at that."
Minty snapped her head to the left to see none other than princess Luna sitting at her bedside. Minty squeaked, pulling the covers up instinctively. "P-princess Luna! Wh-"
Luna raised a forehoof calmingly, "Fear not, dear subject, we still reside upon the dream plane. You needn't worry about formalities inside your own head." She cooed.
Minty blinked. Letting the blankets fall back to the bed, she replied. "W-wait, so... t-that was just a nightmare...? B-but it felt so real... and if I'm still dreaming, why are we in my room?" Suddenly a realization dawned over Minty, causing her to cringe with folded ears, shying back slightly. "O-oh you s-saw what it w-was then, didn't you. I p-promise I don't normally have s-such weird-"
"Be at peace, Mrs. Shine," Luna interjected, the tiniest smile on her muzzle, "As guardian of the dream realm, it is our duty to banish nightmares from the dreams of our subjects. In our many years we have seen very, ah, peculiar dreams." Luna cleared her throat, looking away for a moment in which Minty could swear it almost looked like she was blushing, before continuing. "As for our presence within thy bedchambers, this was simply the first place thy mind created upon our banishing of thy nightmare." She placed a hoof on Minty's shoulder reassuringly. "Be not ashamed, Minty Shine, for in truth thy nightmare tonight was not summoned by thy mind alone."
That piqued Minty's curiosity. "W...what's that supposed to mean? N-not summoned by my mind alone? As in... s-someone else was involved...?" Someone else? Controlling her dreams? The thought sent a chill down her spine.
"Indeed," Luna confirmed, backing up to give Minty more room. "We believe this to be the work of a Fae Spirit. Unsavory beings that feed on emotions found in dreams. Most Fae feed on darker emotions, such as fear, terror, and lust. They draw upon one's mind to create visions of their worst fears or desires so deep even the affected individual does not know of them, sometimes both at once, to feed on the powerful emotions generated by such." Luna paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in.
"S-s-so that's why y-you're here? B-because I'm possessed??" The thought was not pleasant, but it would explain her dream. Nightmare. Whatever it was. Wait what did she say about desires and lus-
"No. Thou art not possessed." Luna said firmly, before softening. "We art here to allay thy fears. Although the presence of a Fae spirit here is not to be ignored, Fae only have power in the dream realm. They cannot harm thou in the waking world. Furthermore, though not common, Fae meddling is something many experience in their lifetimes, it is merely another aspect of our vigil. Fae are only dangerous if allowed to feed from the same individual many times, however such a thing shan't happen under our watch."
This calmed Minty greatly. "W-well that certainly explains things." She was at a loss for words to say anything else.
Luna merely nodded, standing up. "Thou hast nothing to fear, Minty Shine." She walked out the bedroom door and turned back, "Now Rest." she murmured, before closing the door softly, and was gone.
As her bedroom began to fade, Minty contemplated the night's events. She would need time to process everything that had happened, but at least she could rest easy knowing she would be free from another experience like that. With a yawn, Minty lied back down in her bed as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
~ ? ? ? ~
Once the Dream Guardian had left, it emerged from hiding. The Fae observed Minty's slumbering, dreamless state with its red eyes, hungry for more but knowing that the Dream Guardian's spell protected her... for now. With a sly grin and a chuckle it... she... Midnight, withdrew herself from Minty's mind. "I'll be seeing you~" She cooed, and was gone.