Hazel Blossom groggily opened his eyes. His vision was blurry as he slowly woke up, a mish-mash of swimming colors accompanied by an annoyingly bright light the only thing he could see. He tried to rub his eyes with a hoof, only to realize after several attempts that he could not. This seemed to encourage his brain to wake him up faster. He blinked rapidly as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dim room, enough to tell that he was not in his bedroom. Which was odd, he thought to himself hazily, because the last thing he remembered was getting ready for bed. At his house. Not wherever this was. That realization finally snapped him out of his daze, and he made to jump out of bed, only to notice several things when he could not. One, he was not laying on a bed. Two, he was not able to move _any_ of his legs. And three, he wasn't laying down at all. He found that he was also unable to turn his head left or right, and his up and down movement was limited, making it difficult to see much around him, and at the same time he felt some sort of brace on his muzzle, although it was not preventing him from opening his mouth. His heart raced as he started to feel just how trapped he was. He couldn't turn his head to look, but could feel each of his legs tied down, onto what he assumed was a table of some sort, currently holding him at a steep angle. The room he was in was very dark, save for a light on the ceiling illuminating the area around him. He couldn't see any windows or even a door, although it could just be outside his field of view.
Hazel struggled against his restraints for several seconds before remembering he was, in fact, a unicorn. He focused his magic on his bindings, only to be disappointed when nothing happened. He tried again, and again, each time to absolutely no effect. What was going on? Why couldn't he use his magic? And why was he bound up like he was? Hazel tried not to hyperventilate as scenarios filled his head. Was he being kidnapped? Raped? Interrogated? No that wouldn't make sense, what would anyone want from him? All he did was grow hazels and work on his medical degree on the side. There was nothing secretive about any of it, certainly nothing that would warrant this. "Hazel!" His rising panic was interrupted by a tiny voice shouting his name. His eyes darted about, searching for the source of the voice. "Up here Hazel!" Hearing it again, his gaze homes in on the source, a little tacao-colored blob suspended above him. He squinted his eyes to make out what it was, noticing its equine features.
"...Cinnamon? Cinnamon Swirl?" Hazel murmured. Cinnamon Swirl was a very close friend of his, they had known each other for a long time. She was an earth pony mare with a tacao colored coat, striking paprika pink eyes, and a light creamy colored mane. Currently she was suspended above him by a thin string tied around her front legs, barrel, and back legs. The cord binding her extended up into some sort of reel mounted on the ceiling. Because she hung by her front legs, she had to strain her neck around to look at him. And perhaps most notably, she was rather small. As in, shrunken small. It was hard to tell exactly, but she seemed to be barely the size of a tiny mouse.
"Yes!" she called out. "Hazel are you okay? Where are we? How did we get here?"
"I'm fine." Hazel answered, trying to sound reassuring, suddenly interrupted by a loud growl from his stomach, which is when he noticed how hungry he was. How long had he been here? It felt as if he had skipped breakfast and lunch. "...Except I feel like I haven't eaten in days. I have no idea how we got here. What's the last thing you remember? And why are you so tiny?"
"I was in the shower, when I started feeling sleepy all of the sudden... and then I woke up here. I don't even remember passing out." The worry in her voice was evident. "And I was going to ask why you are so huge!"
Despite the situation, Hazel couldn't stop himself from saying with a smirk. "Heh, thanks."
Cinnamon blushed. "S-Shut up! That's not what I meant! And this is hardly the time for that! I meant that either I am somehow shrunken or you are somehow gigantic!"
"I know I know, sorry." Hazel replied bashfully. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a new voice from somewhere behind him.
"Hello my pretties~" A feminine voice cooed. Hazel heard the soft clip clopping of hooves as a unicorn mare trotted into view from his left. She had a plum colored coat which transitioned to a darker purple on her legs, orange eyes, and a violet-and-plum mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a bushel of three red berries. "Allow me to welcome you to tonight's event, as well as not answer any questions you have." She slowly circled from Hazel's left to his right, examining him. "My my, quite a stud you are." Her eyes looked to Cinnamon's dangling form. "And aren't you quite the catch, you little cinnamon roll~" another angry growl rang out from Hazel's belly, making him wince. He wasn't literally starving to death, but was definitely feeling hunger pangs which only made it more difficult to pull against his restraints. The mysterious mare chuckled darkly. "Don't worry, we'll be taking care of that."
"Who are you!?" Hazel yelled, a sudden anger rising in him. Who did this mare think she was, kidnapping ponies? "Where are we!? And what are you even talking abou-mrfff!!" He was cut off as the brace on his muzzle suddenly clamped down, forcing his mouth shut. Any fire inside of him fizzled out as he remembered just how out of control of the situation he was. His ears folded back as the mare spoke.
"Tut tut," she chastened as the magic from her horn faded, "I didn't say you could speak. It's rude to interrupt others when they are talking." She cleared her throat before continuing. "Now, where was I? Ah yes, let me introduce myself. My name is Midnight Briar." She gave a small flourish. "You may call me Midnight. And all you need to know about me, is that I like to play games." She smiled wickedly. "And you two get to play with me tonight." She moved in close, speaking into Hazel's ear while remaining loud enough for Cinnamon Swirl to hear. "If you win, I'll let you and your marefriend here both go home. I'll even grant you one wish! anything you can think of." She giggled before continuing eagerly. "Oh, but if you lose..." her voice lowered to a whisper, leaning even closer to Hazel's ear, "you, and only you, will live to regret it." Hazel's breath caught in his throat at the implication of Midnight's threat. Midnight leaned back. "What do you say? Sound like a deal?" Her only response was a wordless squeak from Cinnamon and muffled protests from Hazel. "Wonderful!" She clapped her hooves together gleefully. "Because you don't have a choice either way."
Midnight walked out of Hazel's sight, but Cinnamon craned her neck enough to watch as she opened a trunk and grabbed something from inside. "Now I know you're probably dying to know what exactly you have to do to win." Midnight turned to look at Cinnamon. "The good news for you dearie, is that you get the easy part. Just hang around and look pretty." She winked. "Stellar job so far." She grabbed what appeared to be a small plate of assorted grapes and berries with her levitation. Moving back to Hazel, Midnight addressed him. "And as for you my dear stallion, you get the hard part." She rested her chin on his chest, looking into his fearful eyes. "Resist your instincts." She leaned back up, levitating the platter closer to her. "Now, how about a few practice rounds? It'd be a shame if we got right to the main event too soon~"
Hazel was still wondering what she was talking about, when he felt his maw being forced open accompanied by a soft clicking sound emanating from the brace on his muzzle. He tried to force his mouth closed, but could not. "What are you doing!?" He shouted, or at least he tried to, but with his mouth held open it came out more like "Ahh aar oo ooee!?"
"You can scream if you want," Midnight said with a small chuckle, "but consider saving your voice. You don't want to choke, after all." Hazel barely had time to process her statement before he felt something deposited onto his tongue. It was small and round, a little on the cold side. Seeing his face scrunch in confusion, Midnight spoke up. "It's a grape, silly. You like grapes, don't you? Everyone likes grapes!" Hazel did not trust this mad mare. Tilting his head down he flicked the offending object from his mouth with his tongue. Midnight caught it mid-air with her levitation. "Aww," she pouted, "don't be that way. It's just a harmless little grape." She casually popped the fruit into her mouth, unbothered by how it had just come out of Hazel's, chewing happily before swallowing. "See? Harmless." She grabbed another grape in her levitation. "You poor thing." She purred with false compassion, "I know you must be starving. Your body needs food after all." She placed another grape into Hazel's maw. Reluctantly, he did not resist this time. He was equal parts scared and confused, but his stomach was begging him to eat something, anything. With his mouth held open like it was, he was unable to chew at all, so after a bit of hesitation Hazel swallowed the small fruit whole. This was humiliating, being totally helpless, fed grapes by some crazy mare. At least it was just grapes.
"Good boy." Midnight simpered. "Marvelous, isn't it?" She placed another fruit into Hazel's maw. Hazel resolved to play along for now, with Midnight's thinly veiled threat hanging over him, he didn't want to do anything to upset her. He looked up to Cinnamon Swirl who still hung in the air above him. She met his eyes with the same fear and confusion he felt. He tried to look reassuring, but it ended up being more of a wince. His eyes snapped back to Midnight as she continued her speech. "The pony body, I mean." Hazel swallowed the fruit in his mouth. "Billions and billions of teeny little cells, brainless things that they are, somehow all working together to keep you alive. Like an incredible fleshy machine." Midnight gave herself a raspberry before continuing. "And the act of consuming things, the process of digestion, it's really weird if you think about it. Most machines can only use one specific method or fuel to power them, but these fleshy machines, these ponies are different. You put something inside of you, and eventually that thing just... becomes part of you. And that something, can be a whole slew of different things." Hazel felt something placed in his maw again, he could tell from the taste that it was a hazel nut. Midnight chuckled. "Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'you are what you eat', doesn't it? Isn't it just so strange to think about? That grape you ate, will be broken down, and repurposed to serve your needs. All the same molecules are there, yet it won't be a grape any more."
All the while, Hazel's mind raced to think about what any of this could mean. He glanced back up to his shrunken friend Cinnamon, who was struggling weakly against her bindings, and started connecting the dots. His heart rate increased as he began to suspect what Midnight's plan was. No, he thought to himself, she wouldn't... she wouldn't really make him...? Her words from earlier popped into his head, 'resist your instincts.' she had said. "If you lose, you, and only you will live to regret it." she had said. Oh. Oh no. Hazel nearly choked on the nut in his maw as the terrible realization hit him, forcing him to swallow it roughly. It felt like a brick landing in his stomach, and yet the feeling of hunger outweighed the sickness he felt at the very thought of... what he really hoped wouldn't happen. It did not help, that he could tell by Cinnamon's face she had come to the same conclusion, hence her renewed struggles.
Midnight seemed to notice this, and her grin grew wide. "Ah, I see you are beginning to get the picture, yes?" She levitated the platter away. "How strange it would be, I wonder..." She murmured as her horn glowed, and the table Hazel was bound to suddenly tilted flat, leaving him looking straight up at his tiny friend. "...If one were to find themselves on the receiving end of this process." Hazel bucked against his restraints with renewed desperation, firing every spell he could think of, which only resulted in a few pitiful sparks leaping from his horn.
Cinnamon Swirl watched with growing horror as her friend was tilted onto his back, his (forcefully) open maw now directly beneath her dangling legs. She jolted as the rope tied to her began slowly lowering her down. Midnight simply looked on in glee as Cinnamon descended. "W-wait!" Cinnamon exclaimed, "Why are you doing this?"
"Well you see, my dear," Midnight replied with a dark chortle, "everyone has something they love. Sports, comic books, food." She stuck her muzzle mere inches from Cinnamon, "Maybe I just love to watch things struggle. Your friend is going to swallow you whole. And when he does, his body will treat you just like any other piece of food. You can't stop it any more than he can and believe me, he is going to try. I'm counting on it. It will make the moment you both realize there really is no hope all the more delicious." Midnight pulled back, a look of smug satisfaction on her face at Cinnamon Swirl's appalled expression.
Cinnamon's mouth hung agape at the madmare's words. Only the sudden sensation of warm air on her rear hooves brought her back to the present. She quickly glanced down to see she was already almost entering Hazel's maw. For his part, he continued to fight against his restraints, although it was clear he was tiring fast. His tongue slid back and up to the top of his throat, barring entry and forcing him to breathe through his nose. Cinnamon's eyes met Hazel's for only a few moments, before his jaw obscured her view. She felt her rear hooves make contact with his tongue, sliding down the legnth to rest on the line where the tongue met the top of the throat, her back laying on the tongue like a big fleshy bed. The rope she was tied to kept lowering, allowing for some slack, before stopping altogether. She tried to move, but with her front and back hooves tied together she could only flop around like a fish. She looked up, seeing the rope extending above her back to the pulley on the ceiling. Suddenly, what little light came in was dimmed as Midnight Briar's face took up the view.
"Comfy in there?" Midnight asked sweetly, looking down at the tiny mare in her captive's maw "Don't get too comfortable now, the game is about to start." She turned her attention to Hazel, who was regarding her with a mixture of anger and growing fear. "As for you..." She levitated a small glass of what looked like water up to her. "Let me just get this set up real quick." She held the cup over his mouth, tilting it to pour a small amount of water inside, eliciting a frightened "Eek!" From its occupant as she found herself up to her rear fetlocks in water.
Setting the glass aside, Midnight returned to Hazel once more. "I'm sure you're feeling very clever right now." She said. "Yes, right now we appear to be at a stalemate. Which brings me to my challenge for you." Her horn lit up as she leaned to his ear. "Resist. Your. Instincts." A small but dense piece of cloth was pressed onto his muzzle, blocking one of his nostrils. Hazel's eyes went wide, his breathing slowly getting faster. "Are you getting enough air, Hazel?" She said evenly.
"What are you doing to him!?" Cinnanon shrieked from inside her wet prison.
"Shhhhhhhhh" Midnight cooed. She levitated a pair of scissors over to the rope suspended above, and cut it. The excess fell into Hazel's open mouth, before another flash of Midnight's horn caused the restraint to force his mouth mostly closed, leaving a tiny gap open.
"Don't do this! Let me out!" Cinnamon screamed, but her cries only made Midnight's smile grow wider.
Midnight shifted the rag, now pressing it down over both of Hazel's nostrils. Hazel's eyes began to water, chest heaving, trying to get air but unable to, unless he were to breathe through his mouth, but in order to do that he would have to swallow its contents first. "That's it" Midnight cooed softly. "Fight it, Hazel. You know what will happen to your friend when you give up." Midnight stared into his eyes, watching with glee as they quickly filled with desperation, tears running down his cheeks.
With a whimper, Hazel's insists finally won out. Jamming his eyes shut, he gasped for air, which was swiftly cut off by sputtering as the water in his mouth flowed down his throat, followed by his helpless marefriend. "Wait! No no no DON'T-!" Her terrified scream was cut off as powerful muscles involuntarily pulled her down with a wet Glurp into the waiting esophagus. The howling bulge traveled partway down his neck, and before he could stop himself he instinctively swallowed again, dragging her the rest of the way down into his body. His stomach growled hungrily with its new meal.
"There she goes." Midnight said, removing the cloth from Hazel's muzzle. Hazel barely managed to choke out a sob between ragged breaths. "That is just too bad. Five more seconds and I'd have called it good." With a soft flash of her horn, Hazel's mouth restraint was unlocked.
"Liar..." he wheezed.
"You got me there." Midnight chuckled. She placed her rear up to Hazel's belly, listening intently. "I think I can hear her."
"You're a monster!"
Again Midnight merely giggled. "You're not to far off with that one." Seemingly satisfied, she got down and clapped her hooves together. "Well! This has been fun, but it's about time for me to go."
"No!" Hazel screamed, fighting against his restraints. "Bring her back!"
Midnight's horn glowed. "Go to sleep, Hazel Blossom."
Hazel felt a wave of drowsiness sweep over him. He fought it with all his remaining strength, but his exhaustion quickly won over. The last thing he saw was Midnight staring at him with a twisted smile. Cinnamon... I'm... sorry. and then sleep took hold, and all was blackness.
Author's Note
This was sitting half finished in my archive for like two or three months, so I decided to just finish it.
You're welcome, or I'm sorry. Whichever applies.