The School of Friendship. Center of Higher Learning...for certain definitions of that. Not to say it wasn’t well accredited these days, with loads of creatures, from ponies to kirin, all wanting to teach here. Not everyone could teach the meaning of Friendship though, and as noted by the rather interesting statue in the middle of the Courtyard, not everyone could learn that meaning either.
The Student Six...as they had come to be called, were some of the brightest stars of the program. Together, the six of them had brought together the world entire, to face down the three, frozen in stone, along with champions, past and present. They felt good any time they passed the statue, though Sandbar noted more than once Ocellus looked a bit longingly at Chrysalis’ solid sneer.
That was not deep on his mind, however, not today. After all, today was normal for him. The town was still cleaning up from the tenth anniversary celebration of the defeat of the Terrible Trio, and he had been sent in to go grab something for Ms. Rarity from her office in the school. While she no longer taught there full time, she would always have a place, along with the other Elements.
He, however, was still here. Not teaching persay, but he lived in Ponyville, and gave lectures all the time, along with Yona. They, as well as Ocellus and Smolder, represented deeper connections between the various races of the world, and impressing that into young minds was always a worthwhile thing...even if Sandbar would admit he’d rather be painting back at his home most days.
However, today, as he strode through the halls, he felt a chill to the air. Something wasn’t right, and it set his nerves on edge, even as he smiled at the groups that ran between classes, from those young enough to still need parents permission, to those the age he’d been when he’d attended, way back when. All of them had a smile for him in return, but that only made his nerves even rawer.
It was as he grabbed the sheet from Rarity’s office, an old design for a dress for Yona from their days in the school, that he finally felt what it meant. A tingle from deep within himself, a connection, like a Heartsong, but not quite so pleasant. Quickly, the earthpony stuffed the drawing into his saddlebag, and then rushed off, wishing, not for the first time, he could fly like most of his other friends.
Still, he was no slouch, as he tore across the garden, and then over the bridge, actually leaping over an incoming cart with a jump that would have made a rabbit proud, before he was in the tone. Here, he was thankful for some of the town’s prestige, as cobbled roads carried him far more easily along their routes, twisting around buildings, as he made his way straight through, to the edge of the Everfree Forest.
This place, which every creature that came to the School was warned about, was dangerous, and even on a clear sky day like this, with Twilight’s lovely sun shimmering above, it looked foreboding. He didn’t hesitate, tossing the guards at the post along the road a look, as he simply hopped over their barricade, leaving them to fall behind as distant cries, as he ran faster than he really seemed able.
It was, fifteen minutes, only a quarter of an hour, and almost five miles of turf, behind him, that Sandbar finally had to stop, his legs burning, with sweat mixed in with his fur, foaming at the joints. He was breathing heavily too, and despite the warmth, steam leapt from his nostrils with each exhale, as if something was sucking away the joy of the world within these deep, dark woods.
He powered through the ache of muscles, and the feeling of oppression, however, his hooves echoing with crunches on dried leaves, as he rounded a tree, and finally, at last, he realized what was going on, and his heart jumped from his chest, into his throat, skipping a beat, and leaving him breathless for just a moment, before he found a surge of strength, and charged forward.
“YONA!!!” he cried out, and ran to her side, only to pause as he looked behind the fallen yak, and spotted plants. Now, it was the Everfree Forest, and there were several plants that might give one that instant of hesitation and reluctance to grow near, but this one in particular was one with quite the reputation. A patch of blue flowers, some of which had been trampled down by large hooves.
“Sandbar? Yona no feel so good,” she said, opening her eyes to reveal them flashing all sorts of colors, and a few petals fell out of her mouth. Sandbar, put on the spot, could only guess what had driven her into a patch of the things, she had to have known the danger, but eating one too? That was just not a good idea...then he noticed that not all the flowers had been torn by hooves.
“What hap-,” he began, only to be cut off, as he spotted it. A Timber Wolf Alpha, one of the largest, and most dangerous of the creatures in the Everfree. It was dead, the head completely crushed, but apparently, in smashed it from above, Yona had rolled through the patch of Poison Joke, which would explain the damage, and how one might have ended up in her mouth.
“Yona, come on, get up. We’ll head back to town and get you some help,” he said, and gently began to lift her to her hooves, as she wobbled a bit on unsteady legs. Luckily, the flowers didn’t seem to stick to her, allowing him to do so without touching them himself. Unluckily, he began to notice the changes right away in her body, as his helping her up resulted in her going up, and up, and up, as he watched.
Sandbar, as a resident of Ponyville his entire life, knew of the stories of Poison Joke, the flower with a sense of magical humor. He knew its effects varied, but usually took a day or two to take effect. Of course, he also knew it could be faster, especially if you ate the flowers. Still, this effect seemed quite severe, as Yona now stood three times her original height, and was growing, the trees around her starting to bend outward from where she was pressing into them.
“Oh boy...oh no...Zecora! We have to get to Zecora’s! You know where that is, right Yona?” he said, and the yak shook her head, her braids dancing around her face, as she let them smack into her, waking her up from her daze, at least a bit, and then nodded down at her love, who was already only the size of her hoof, and getting smaller, as she took a single step forward, and shook the forest.
Sandbar would have started biting his nails at this point, if ponies did such things, but instead kept guiding Yona forward, running ahead, and watching as her stride grew in length, her body soon towering over the nearby trees, though fortunately not too far. She still uprooted a few, making him wonder just how much of the cure they’d need to heal her, but was confident that Zecora could come up with a solution.
That confidence did not wane as he drew nearer her hut. After all, Zecora was internationally recognized as a Potions Master. Her brews had touched royal lips, and been used to heal everyone from nobles to street urchins. The problem was not his confidence in her skills, as he came in sight of her home, but rather, his confidence in her location, as he found himself staring at a dark and empty hut, with a note on the door.
“‘To whom it may concern, went back to Zebrafrica for the holidays there, will return on the solstice in two months,’” he read aloud, actually wondering in the back of his mind why the note didn’t rhyme, but then shaking his head, as he turned back towards Yona, and then up towards her face, where her eyes were now focused a bit more, and she seemed to be recovering from her daze.
“Uh, Yona, we have a problem!” he shouted up at her, and Yona leaned down, her legs bending under her, and the trees cracking and crunching as she lowered herself down to his level, showing off just how big she was, as her muzzle was larger than his room back in their home. Her breath almost knocked him over too, as she breathed out onto him, the hot, humid wind actually blowing away the sweat from his legs.
“Striped Lady not home? That is no problem. Yak know where Zebafriaca is. We go there to get to her.” she declared, as if it was that easy. That continent was as far away as Yona’s home in Yakyakistan. Unless you were Professor Pinkie Pie, to whom such trivial matters as a week long journey could be as easy as stepping across a room, it would take a long time for them to get to her.
Then Yona opened her mouth, and Sandbar felt his cheeks turn red. The maw of his lover was quite spacious, her teeth glittering and clean, as the walls pulsed with her heartbeat. Each breath in and out of her caused the throat in the back to widen, then close, and widen again, the sudden power of her breathing enough to almost take the legs out from under him and leave him on the forest floor.
Before he could say anything about the sight before him, her tongue lolled out of her mouth. The long, slick member slipped over the forest floor as it spilled over her teeth and lips, coming right up to him. With a surge of motion, it knocked the hooves out from under him, sending Sandbar sprawling onto the length of it, landing with a wet slap on the fleshy thing, which dimpled under his weight.
He tried, briefly, to stand, but found himself unable to do so, as the tongue wobbled and wavered, hanging above the ground, and then began to retract anyway. He was able to give out a single, strangled cry, lost as she breathed out onto him, as he was drawn within her. He felt the sudden surety and strength of her lips, soft but also steady, and then the hard counterpoint of her teeth, as the tongue was pressed into it by his weight.
And then the drop off, as her tongue, and he with it, passed fully into her mouth, leaving him sprawled out on the length of it, a pool of saliva already forming around him, leaving him slick and coated with it, as he rolled over, and then stared outside. His view of the world, framed by Yona’s lips and teeth, was a sight he had never in his life thought of before, and then he had a thrill shoot up his spine, as the world shifted around him.
The scent of the forest, earthy and homey, were soon replaced, as he shot upwards into the sky. The view of ground was replaced by trees, then leaves, each with their own smell to grace him, then, as he rose above them, only the smell of Yona’s breath, strong, powerful, and somehow, comforting, was all around him, as the yak stood up to her full height, and let him see from this vantage.
He’d flown before, but that was different. That was with something that was only in the sky. This was...like a mountain, one with a heartbeat, one with warmth, and it showed him the whole of the world, breathing with his, and making him smile, as she slowly turned her head, leaving her mouth open, as if to give him the best view of his home, before she started off, the distant echo of thunder from her hoofsteps translating him as quaking.
The tongue did not allow him to slide around, however, curling up around the edges, keeping him in the center, and even preventing him, as she carefully stepped over the river, from slipping back into her throat, all while keeping her lips parted for as long as she could, only closing them for a moment, to press him into the roof of her mouth, the paradoxically soft but hard flesh there holding him, as she swallowed the spit.
From there, Sandbar was allowed to watch the world pass by, faster than a train or balloon, though probably slower than a pegasus. Still, it was a sight to behold, as mountains and forests gave way to rolling hills of grass that shook with Yona’s every step, then to deserts that literally moved like waves as she strode over the dunes, and then finally, to the rocky outcroppings that dotted Equestria’s shoreline.
Yona’s pace slowed as she came to the edge of the ocean, the waves lapping at her ankles, as she stared out. Even from his perch, Sandbar could not see the distant shore they were headed for, though, as he noted, the sun in the sky had gotten lower, as Yona had outpaced it in their journey. Still, she seemed flummoxed, standing there and staring, before she let out a long sigh.
Sandbar was about to ask what was wrong, only for his voice to cut off, as her teeth suddenly snapped shut, and then, with a toss of her head, he felt himself sliding backwards. The earthpony’s hooves began to scramble for purchase on the slick surface of the yak’s tongue, but even though they were good at grabbing things, his grip did not avail him here, and so he slid backwards, and down into her throat.
Here, the power of her body was evident, the walls closing in around him, pressing down about him, and keeping him from moving, as Yona swallowed, softly, but firmly. Her neck bulged, just slightly, as the one within her mouth, traveled far deeper into her, and she let out another sigh, as she began to step into the deeper water, her form slowly descending into it, before landing with a crash and sending a wave out in all directions.
Within, Sandbar felt the movement, as he was passed down into her, past her beating heart, between the roaring lungs, and finally, with a pop, he was pushed through a tight ring of flesh, and into the belly of the beast. Here, he fell, and landed with a splash in the lukewarm liquid that had pooled up at the bottom of the fleshy organ, his fur tingling a little, as it washed away the spit that covered him.
At first, Sandbar was afraid it would do more than that, and shut his eyes, wondering what was going to happen. But then he stood there waiting. For a minute, for five minutes, for ten, as the world gently rocked from side to side, the motion of Yona’s swimming body translating into him, and moving him around, as the steady drum above him, and the smell in his nose began to dull his senses.
“Yona! Why did you do that?!” he shouted out, as she swam along the ocean’s surface, his voice muffled, but something she could understand.
“Yona no risk Sandpony’s life on trip over big water! Many things happen on ocean. Bad things! But Yona protect you! No bad thing happen while she have you inside her!” she said, her voice not loud persay, but from all around the earthpony, who shook with each word from her, and making his head ring a little.
“I...I guess that makes sense, but could you warn a guy next time!” he shouted, and he felt a bobbing forward, as she obviously nodded at him...but then paused in her swimming, the sudden motion jerking him forward, and spilling him across her stomach juices, covering his body in them ,and making him shake himself clean, as she started forward again, her only thought being ‘next time?’.
Sandbar would, after some time, finally grow bored of standing in the middle of her stomach, and climb into the corner of Yona’s belly, watching as the contents of it sloshed from side to side, listening to her, and the sea outside, before he found his own mind growing tired, and with a deep yawn, Sandbar curled up, and then began to doze, slumbering deep within her, as Yona sailed across the sea like a great shaggy ship.
Hours later, she would belch, thanks to a potion from Zecora, sending the still sleeping Sandbar up and out of her belly, before he landed in some hay, and woke up startled. He would then be greeted by the sight of Yona, her body quickly shrinking back in on itself, and the pair embracing, as the zebra shamaness chuckled at the pair, and arranged with her tribe to send them home.
