Author's Note

(LEGAL NOTICE: NO ACTUAL REVENGE INCLUDED)

The Mareiner's Revenge

DAY 56

BOOM.

Everybody on the lifeboat flinched as the cargo ship they had been working on completely exploded in the distance, sending flaming pieces of wreckage miles into the air.

"Good thing that boat ran on magic. Can you imagine if it was filled with oil?" Someone commented.

"This was a stupid idea to begin with." Someone else grumbled. "I still have no idea why a cruise company partnered with a game development company and a bomb manufacturer at the same time."

“Well, the consoles were built specifically to run for passengers of that cruise ship. That was why the three companies partnered up.” The first explained.

"Actually, they're the same company, the bomb people and the game people. It's already resulted in a few mix ups, making nukes that do nothing but run Doom and video games that turn out to be really boring, but they just won't stop. It's probably made the world safer, actually. They're too incompetent to make genuinely working bombs, but they still have a monopoly on them, and it only comes at the cost of a few shitty games each year." The third escapee reasoned.

The workers in the lifeboat all murmured that this was probably true, and drifted to join the others who had escaped the now rapidly sinking ship, New Moon Cruises logo disappearing under the horizon.

Several professionally sealed Kail Box Waves sunk with it, the majority of them destroyed, but quite a few flung away, to sink to the sea, never to be used again.

"Om nom nom." Tidal made exaggerated chewing noises as she experimentally gnawed around at the edges of the sealed plastic baggie she had found. Inside was an alien gray device with multiple fancy button colors that reminded her greatly of the Rainbow Carp she had found it drifting through the midst of.

Without a second thought, she gulped it down, noting with some sadness the diluted flavor of plastic, but forgot rather quickly.

Spitfire was not going to forget this for a long time.

In the absence of anyone who could see her, she fucking cackled like an evil villain. The unexpected arrival with the morning breakfast had nearly given her a concussion, but all qualms she could possibly have were forgotten when she saw what it was. A thousand to one chance, it must be. She had a portable, waterproof, magically charged game console.

"Yes! YES! THANK YOU, GIRL, YOU BEAUTIFUL GLUTTONOUS CHUBBY THING YOU ARE!"

Spitfire quickly fumbled to open the bag, having some difficulty with hooves, before finally tearing it open and whipping out the contents.

"Turn on, please turn on, Celestia, turn on... Yes! YES! English! Locat- Fuck, I don't know, Other. E-Shop! Yes-"

Spitfire's glee briefly died as she realized she couldn't remember her credit card details. The fact that the police outside would find her credit card still in her hotel room lent credence to the 'she was dead' theory.

"Doesn't matter! I'm downloading every free game I possibly can. Nobody can stop me."

Spitfire nearly fell off the driftwood when she opened the E-Shop.

Inexplicably, miraculously, against all possible odds, which was already a damn low number of odds just to get the console in here in the first place, every game in the E-Shop was free.

Spitfire had found her personal messiah.

DAY 63

BOOM.

Spitfire clucked her tongue as her avatar fell dead again, felled by distant precise gunshot. Through the tinny speakers, her teammate’s voice crackled through.

“Your tiny shooter man seems to be having some difficulty. He stops every few seconds before rocketing off in a random direction.”

“Yeah, ping over here is awful. Not that I’m the only one suffering technical difficulties- you sound like you’re monologuing into a potato.”

“I have only recently begun gaming. I heard it was quite a frivolous endeavor to pass time, and I’m finding myself agreeing, fun as it is.” His avatar took a shot from his sniper post at their base, and Spitfire took note of the kill count rising in the corner of her screen. “And I’m hardly living in luxury right now.”

“Same here, dude. Everything alright with you?”

He chuckled. “I’m fine. I’m just choosing to live on my own for now. Have you ever felt so suffocated by a person in your life that you feel the need to leave on your own, lest you suffocate?”

Spitfire returned the laugh. “Yeah, I know that feeling, dude.”

“Still, I enjoy the current living situation, claustrophobic as it may be.”

“We’re not so different in that regard.” Spitfire looked around, trying to liken the belly to a shitty apartment. “Untraceable smell?”

“Indeed. Mystery substances under your bed?”

Spitfire peered over at the fish below her. “Definitely. Something always seems to be dripping at night?”

“Of course. I suppose we’re not so different. But it’s only temporary, after all- nothing more than a fleeting moment. I’m sure I will prosper in the future, as will you.”

Spitfire smiled. “Hey, maybe so. Walker up ahead.”

A sniper shot echoed from across the virtual distance. “Got him.”

Unbeknownst to Spitfire, the other player was smiling too, looking around and wondering how tame his teammate’s living quarters must be to his- it wasn’t everyone who set up home in the wet, dank stomach of a shark-pony after all.

He chuckled to himself. She didn’t know how good she had it.

DAY 80

Tidal scrunched her muzzle up at the hull of the boat from underneath it.

Fucking boats.

She stuck her tongue out at it childishly. It didn’t know anything! All it was was a stupid piece of plastic for carrying around fish, something she could do all by herself! She wasn’t scared of it. Port, starboard, sail, maritime, all words made up by raving lunatics. They didn’t mean anything! What good had boats ever done for anyone? Just learn to swim, idiots.

She was gonna prove her superiority to this stupid boat. She was gonna swim right up, and touch it! She was going to slap it like there was no tomorrow, and she’d look so cool! She had no fear! Her best friend was a shark! One! Two!

An anchor came slamming down in front of her, slamming into the sand. She quickly shot backwards, cowering under her forehooves before peeking out. See? It couldn’t do anything to her! Weak-ass little-

A net drifted down above her. Tidal shrieked, instantly jetting off in the other direction at about the average speed of a tractor. This was a terrible idea, boats were horrible and wretched, boats were going to swim one day and then she’d no longer be safe.

Spitfire jostled about inside her, looking up from her game in confusion. “Hold on dude, I’m experiencing some turbulence, about to go AFK.”

She set the controller down and craned her ear to listen. Tidal was crying.

Wave rushed over to her friend, settling a comforting fin over her back and gently nuzzling cheeks with her. Despite everything, Spitfire found herself eyeing the wrinkled wall beside her, tentatively sticking a hoof out, and finally rubbing it with a grimace that evolved into a sigh.

She knew, deep down, she should despite the creature she was locked inside. It was likely nothing more than an apex predator, that thought only of killing and mating, and bore no sapiency- but no, that wasn’t true. Predators didn’t cry. Predators didn’t laugh. Predators didn’t play with their friends. Whatever she was inside, it was aware, and happily so.

Spitfire smiled, rubbing the stomach wall a bit more enthusiastically. “There, there, girl. I’m here for you.”

Outside, Tidal choked back another sob, smiling up at Wave, and found herself compelled to give her protruding potbelly a friendly rub. Her food deserved it.

DAY 130

In other news, a rogue rain storm has escaped pegasus control and is currently traveling due north from Manehattan. Be aware of unexpected weather conditions in the area, especially near coastal regions...

Spitfire awoke with a yawn. "Good morning, belly." The sphincter above her winked in a method she could interpret as a greeting.

She rolled over, stretching out her limbs and wings, which she still cared for despite how unused they were. She dipped her hooves into the warm acid pool, letting it work out her sleepy kinks in exchange for a few hairs. She stirred one around, finally grasping at a clump of seaweed stuck to a tall part of the mound below her, only inches below the surface. It pulled out a mostly intact fish skeleton, and she delicately picked out the bones before rolling into the pool and laying the seaweed out on her bed/breakfast plate combo. Her usual chew and spit out acid motion (tasted like lemonade, but could definitely give her internal burning), and she considered it a good morning.

"How was your sleep?" She called out, not expecting a reply from the chubby creature she was locked inside, but enjoying the small talk anyway.

"Me? Oh, I'm feeling fine. I'm really getting comfortable with the idea of never seeing the sun again- It was overrated. The smell isn't so bad anymore, the acid is pretty tame, and I've got all the food I could ever want. Well, sort of, you know. I am getting kind of slim from the fasting, but you know, what can you do? And of course, you're always fun to have around. Whatcha think? You planning on keeping me in here forever?"

At this point, it was an inevitability she was prepared for. Her schedule had long since solidified; she no longer made any attempts at escape. She knew it was a lost cause. Instead, she just peacefully passed her days with her two enmities- keeping up with radio news that no longer affected her, still holding opinions she loudly broadcast to nobody for the fun irony of getting irrationally angry at something that would literally never matter to her again, and playing games that were discounted to the low low price of free (She wondered what had happened to her credit card. If she was assumed dead, had her account already been emptied according to her will?). This was by far her favorite; while there were no shortage of curt, boring, or downright rude players in online lobbies, there was also no shortage of interesting parties with stories she liked to fish for. She'd ask questions like their hardest decisions, ways they lost their friends or family, most interesting thing they had seen from a stranger, and the veil of online anonymity would more often than not encourage them to answer her. Sometimes, listening would be more interesting than playing, which did little to help her pitiful K/D, but kept her tied to the outside.

And of course, she talked to her predator frequently, for lack of anyone else to talk to. The big girl had grown on her without ever saying a word back; there was just something cute about the way she moved, an inherent joy in all of the noises she made, and a respect she gave her food as she poured it into Spitfire's new home.

The sphincter above her flexed, and she looked up at the gurgling source. "Third breakfast already, girl?"

She climbed back onto her board, ready to sift through the hoard that would come tumbling atop her, but faltered when she heard a sound she hadn't heard in person in a long time- a laugh.

Someone was coming. Someone was laughing and coming. Spitfire certainly hadn't laughed her first time coming down here.

Spitfire stuck her legs into the water and kicked hard, pushing away just as the new arrival came crashing in- headfirst, wings spread as soon as she was inside, cheering and hollering so loudly Spitfire was shocked she wasn't heard. Then she splashed into the center, and rose up within seconds, shaking her hair dry (for lack of a better term).

The mare was a pale cream colored, pale enough that Spitfire almost mistook her for albino, with Bright, In Your Face, Capitalized For Emphasis Red Hair that pink found ways to streak through like wildfire. Her head was all she could make out, because the rest of her body was covered in a baggy grey suit with tight sleeves for her wings, which must have ruffled her feathers to hell and back. Her eyes opened to a nearly blinding shade of green, flickering back and forth with barely restrained excitement.

"Whoo, back in the cockpit, baby! Just me and my lone- Shit, when did you get here?" She did a double take upon seeing Spitfire, paddling backwards instinctively, a thousand thoughts flashing across her face at once.

Spitfire looked down at the tied together rig that had served her for so long.

"Six months ago."

She blanched. "Six months? What, you decide to vacation down here the moment I drop off? This is my turf, and- Heey, I know you! You're that Wonderbolt that went missing a few months back- oh. Oh. Oh no."

A sense of understandable dread washed over her face as she took in the ruggedness of Spitfire's current vacation spot.

Spitfire stared at her with a dawning realization of the full implications of the word 'vacation'.

"I've been trapped inside here. Nothing but a radio, surviving off seaweed-"

"You must have an amazing intestine by this point."

"And you come in here… after six months… to tell me that you pop in here every so often for a vacation?”

The pegasus swallowed. "I feel like we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Red Rush."

DAY 130

(BUT LIKE, A LITTLE LATER)

Spitfire hadn't expected a guest. She should've brought the fine china.

Spitfire and Red were huddled together in front of the wood, both leaning on it and once again surprising Spitfire with how much weight it could take. Spitfire still maintained her diet of seaweed, but Red seemed more adventurous, happily chewing on the slimy fish surrounding them, not even spitting away the acids that covered it. It was common knowledge that Pegasi were more opportunistic than most pony species, but her willingness surprised Spitfire.

"Damn, six months inside old Tidal Reef. No wonder you stink so much, no offense."

"Her name's Tidal Reef?"

"Hell yeah, we're gal pals. Sort of. I sometimes slip into her meals and she doesn't even notice me. One of these days I'm gonna talk to her though. She's cute, right?"

"Sweet Celestia, you're talking about a fish." Spitfire shook her head in disbelief, turning to the suited pony as she slurped up another tail.

"Orca pony!" She hastily corrected, "Orca pony. Half pony half orca. So it's okay to say she's cute." Red threw her forelegs into the air defensively, still paddling. "Harkness test. I’m allowed to say her ass is perfect."

"How many species have Ponies successfully fused with so far?"

"You doubt the volume of monsterfuckers in modern society."

Spitfire buried her face in her hooves. "They're nothing compared to you, kid. How could you possibly want to come down here?"

Red sheepishly looked askance. "I mean... it's kinda a fetish for me...."

"I'm sure that will be a great conversation starter when you decide to talk to Tidal for the first time."

"I mean, have you seen how she eats? Girl's got heft, I'm sure she won't mind." Red stared off into space happily.

Spitfire stared at the doggy paddling mare, completely lost at how she could be so openly perverse.

"The giant orca's not going to fuck you."

Red huffed. "Not with that attitude she won't. Plus, I like a girl who can swallow me whole.”

At this point, Spitfire was beyond spent, hanging her head. "So, you just come down here to get your rocks off every so often?"

"Hey, it's not just the horniness. I like the thrill- the feeling of barely keeping death at bay every day. It's a far cry from my weather reporting job, only getting exciting on the days with runaway storms, which almost never happen anyway."

Spitfire nodded, finally finding something she could understand. "Adrenaline's a hell of a drug, huh? Is that why you have that suit?"

"Yeah? I mean, who comes down into a pit of acid without a suit- damn, I should stop talking."

Finally, a realization slipped into Spitfire's bloodstream and bulleted into her heart like a poison. "Holy shit... I can leave."

She practically choked on her giddiness, memories of the sun and surface and steady ground lighting up in her mind. "Six months of no hope, finally coming to accept this as my life, and... I can leave. I really thought... I'd be in this treacherous darkness forever. That sunlight was a thing of the past. That... that my life was destined to be- what are you doing?"

Red looked up from where she was rubbing her cheek rather sensuously against the creases and folds in the wall the board had drifted over to. "...I mean, I told you I was turned on by this kind of stuff."

"I- Are you listening to me? I've been stuck in here for months!"

Red muttered something she would like to believe was "fuck", but was most likely "lucky", and- sweet fuck, her tongue inched out and ran up and down the slimy walls way too carressingly.

Spitfire gagged, face turning green as she looked away quickly. When she was finally sure she Red’s tongue was in, she looked back. "So you really suit up for this and everything. It's a hell of a vacation."

"Hell yeah, dude! I look forward to these. The islands around here are great, and I make sure to always spend a day enjoying them before the real vacation starts, but going out swimming, finding Tidal and slipping into her meals are where it's really at."

She stuck a hoof out, gently rubbing the stomach walls, not even carrying about the acid and slime rubbing off on her. To Spitfire's surprise, Tidal purred.

Tidal smiled at the sensation from inside her. Wave insisted the phantom belly rubs were made up, but she knew what she felt; she knew that her kindness and respect to the food the world gave her was rightfully repaid.

She never noticed that it was often repaid soon after the times she came across the elusive furred fish. She wasn’t very good at putting two and two together.

Spitfire looked up at the vibrating chamber, flabbergasted at Red’s affection. “You are one of the weirdest ponies I’ve ever met, and that really says something.”

“D’aww, you’re sweet.” Red affectionately rubbed cheeks with Spitfire, flicking more slime onto her, although she barely noticed at this point.

Spitfire blushed, looking down as Red rested her head in the crick of the wonderbolt’s neck. “Wait, are you coming on to me now? I thought you wanted to start a thing with- Celestia, this is a weird sentence to say, but I thought you wanted to start a thing with Tidal.”

“Hey, I can work something out!”

Spitfire groaned. “Well, for one, I’m straight.” She heard a subtle damnit as Red reluctantly but respectfully pulled away. “For two, I’m really not thinking about romance down here. I’d really like to get out of here as soon as possible, if you’re finished with your… Dinner.”

Spitfire looked away as Red gobbled down another fish, although concluding that it was really no different from Tidal constantly doing the same.

“Wait, but you can’t get out yet. I only brought one suit. I wasn’t exactly expecting a visitor.” Red interjected, reminding Spitfire to tuck her legs onto the driftwood before they started to get squishy and gooey.

“Celestia damnit, I had really hoped you could take me out now. Get back here as soon as possible- no lollygagging. I want to spend as little time in here as possible.”

Red pursed her lips. “Well, there is one way, but… it’s kind of a last resort.” She looked away, glancing back at Spitfire and trying to bat away the excitement from her eyes.

“Sweet fuck, I’d do anything at this point.” Spitfire moaned, not paying attention to her.

Red’s eyes lit up concerningly.

“Anything?”

THE FINAL HOUR

Red Rush psyched herself up atop the driftwood, flapping her wings out and stretching her legs, then excitedly waved her forehooves in front of her, unable to restrain her happy stims. This was her favorite part!

Before departing, Red made sure to make her sweet sorrows known, giving the stomach walls a few more rubs and a gentle kiss, both of which seemed to be happily received. Then, she pulled her helmet over her head, securing it tightly, and dived down. In the safety of the suit, she allowed herself to enjoy the scenery, calmly pushing aside fish and humming to herself happily. In the safety of the suit, she allowed herself to enjoy the scenery, calmly pushing aside fish and humming to herself happily. The acids bubbled harmlessly around her as she dug her way down, eventually reaching the familiar sphincter and pushing through.

The tunnel beyond was a lot bumpier and curvier than the throat- it pushed and shoved her every which way, ribbed tube moving her along like toothpaste around every bend like the world's slowest rollercoaster. Still, she savored every moment of it, dismayed that her vacation was suddenly cut short. After a few moments of climbing, grunting, army-crawling, and swimming, she finally reached the end, pushing her way through and into familiar water.

Tidal seemed oblivious as always to her exit, allowing Red to swim off before Tidal could clue in.

As she expected, she was nowhere near land when she surfaced, lowering her helmet and breathing in sweet methaneless oxygen. She coughed once, eliciting a groan of complaint from atop her tongue.

"I refuse to believe you were carrying around a shrinking potion for completely strategic reasons, knowing you." Spitfire yelled out accusingly, her tiny form resting on the plush surface like a cough drop.

"Well, you know, you're kinda cute, and it just seemed like the most logical way out..." Spitfire had to guess most of what was being said, given most of the consonants were melted into vowels without the help of tongue.

"No offense, but being called cute doesn't mean much to me when it's the same compliment offered to a whale. Can I come out now?" She yelled.

"Nope! I mean, it's a long flight back, I'd hate to drop you..."

"You're right, clearly this is the only option." Spitfire deadpanned.

"Yep! You've got it! So..."

Spitfire felt a lurch, and the tongue was pinning her against the roof of Red's mouth, slicking her already damp hair. "No, no, not again!"

"Just for an hour or so! You'll be fine!"

"Red, I swear, if you- RED!"

Giggles accompanied her slide back down the padded throat, and she crashed down into a familiar pool, in a stomach much less full and smaller.

Eyes screwed shut, she wailed to the heavens, "NO DRIFTWOOD!"

There was a pause, then the throat opened to dump the cork of the shrinking potion bottle inside, now the size of a bed to her.

"This is gonna be so fun! Oh, I haven't done that in ages!"

"Oh, goodie." Spitfire muttered.

Red's voice grew unusually hopeful and quiet. "Hey, I know that's probably a bad memory for you, you know, being only a few minutes old, but... would you like to go see her again? I mean, for me? I want to ask her out! You're all confident and stuff, you can help me talk to her! She seems so nice, and I'm sure she'd love to hear your story!"

Spitfire opened her mouth to rebuke. No, a thousand times no, she was never approaching the orca for as long as she lived, nor any other orca.

Then she thought, which was where most of her problems came from. It really wasn't her fault; she was just a glutton. Then she thought of the rare heart to hearts- the moments where it almost seemed like she was aware of her tiny passenger. Did she think of all the world like that, regardless of who was listening? Her gentle pats and kneads of her own stomach. The cute noises she made when she was content, which was all the time. Her happy aimless days, and how she spent them all the same. Her, even for the hardened captain, adorable snores.

Maybe she was worth coming back to.

"Maybe, just so you don't make a fool of yourself by blabbing about your fetishes."

Just not anytime soon. She desperately needed a bath, and she was gonna cherish her time on the surface for a while like a man released from prison. Celestia, it was gonna be weird eating normal food after this.

"Oh, this is great! I get the credit for finding a missing person, I get a new friend, and she's gonna help me talk to my gal pal! I knew you liked her! It's hard not to, when you're that close!"

As Red blabbed, Spitfire turned to the tiny radio strapped to her wrist, curiously pressing the PTT button again. It still didn't work, but she whispered into it nonetheless "I'm coming back, Soarin. I owe you."

Red laughed at her own joke outside, a laugh that shook her belly and nearly flipped the cork over. Spitfire sighed. She still had an entire flight left of stomach.

"Stomachs are weird."