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// 3: A Journey Into the Self 
// Story: The Tatzl 
// by Raging Mouse 
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Fluttershy gave Twilight a reassuring smile. “The simplest way is to curl up. The less your limbs splay out, the easier and quicker it is to swallow you.” She walked up to Twilight and laid a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Relax.”

Twilight laid down, somewhat shakily, and tucked her legs close to her body. “Like this?”

“Perfect. Now lie still.” Fluttershy nodded to Tatzlight, who immediately perked and rushed over to nuzzle Twilight. Then the tatzlpony circled to Twilight’s back. Tatzlight opened her maw… and opened it… until it seemed she was more maw than anything else. Her tongues encircled Twilight with a gentle, sinuous motion. Twilight eeped and looked back with apprehension but otherwise remained immobile. Tatzlight’s tongues found purchase, lifting Twilight with ease and bringing her to Tatzlight’s maw, tail first.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie shared an incredulous look as Twilight looked back at them. Twilight herself sported a wide-eyed look of worry as she observed Tatzlight’s maws' gentle folding over her body. A heartbeat later the tatzlpony threw her head back, letting gravity push Twilight further into her mouth. Twilight looked down in time for her head to disappear into the closing maw, coinciding with Tatzlight’s belly ballooning out. Tatzlight swallowed with a loud gulp, while from her stomach region there sounded a weak “oof” in Twilight’s voice.

Rainbow Dash walked up to Tatzlight’s side and bent her head close to the now bulging stomach. “Twilight! Are you alright?”

Although somewhat muted, Twilight’s voice was still clear. “Um, yes, I appear to be fine! Let me just…” The tingling of a unicorn’s horn issued from Tatzlight’s upper torso. “...Ah, there we go! Stomach seems leathery. Oh! Interesting detail: the tongues all have their own roots! They aren’t mere forks, like some snake tongue taken to its logical conclusion. Each tongue’s root seems placed to line up with the edges of the three parts of Tatzlight’s maw! Fascinating!”

Rainbow Dash chuckled and straightened up to meet the eyes of the other girls. “If I know anything, it is that if Twilight is in lecture mode then she is only a bit nervous at most.”

Tatzlight stretched, bowing low and putting her forelegs in front of her. While in that pose, she shut her eyes and opened her tripartite maw into a massive yawn. Rarity, who happened to be standing right in front of the tatzlpony, realized she could see all the way down Tatzlight’s throat to where Twilight’s horn was glowing. A fraction of a second later Twilight raised her head enough to peer out and wave at Rarity. Then the yawn ended, hiding Twilight from view again. Tatzlight smacked her lips, tongues hanging low. Then she froze, eyes going wide. Twilight could still be heard mumbling inside her.

“What’s this..?”

Tatzlight’s eyes crossed and she coughed, accompanied by a full-body twitch. All three of her tongues retracted into her maw, almost whip-like. A second later Twilight gave a giggling and somewhat muffled shriek.

“Nooo! Mercy! No tickling! I’m sorry~!”

The tongues reappeared after a couple seconds. Twilight quietened down except for some heavy panting and stray giggling.

“Note to self: Tatzlpony tracheal openings are sensitive, and poking them results in swift retaliation.”

There was another round of shared laughter, at the end of which Tatzlight turned to Fluttershy and chirped. “Home? Rest?”

“Um. Yes. Though could you let Twilight come out first?” Fluttershy had raised her voice towards the end of her sentence, to something that might be mistaken for loud in an otherwise quiet room. Tatzlight nodded and retracted her tongues. An “eep” sounded from her stomach, moments before it deflated back to its original size. Tatzlight’s throat bulged and her maw opened wide again, revealing Twilight carried in Tatzlight’s tongues.

As Twilight was set down on the cottage floor, she looked herself over. “Coat in slight disarray; likely due to the humidity and the tight confines. Otherwise everything seems completely normal.” Her ears perked and she stared back at Tatzlight. “This is amazing! They actually seem to have adapted their stomachs into a storage space; one that can carry living creatures!”

Rainbow Dash took to hovering above the floor next to Twilight. “Well, how was it?”

Twilight glanced up at Rainbow Dash before adopting a stare into infinity. “It was… weird. Cozy! Tight, but… warm and comfortable. To be honest, it didn’t feel all that bad. Er, I’d probably be quite content in there with a reading light and a book.”

There were general nods of understanding, coupled with some low-key chuckling at the Princess of Books being herself. Then Rainbow Dash flew in front of Tatzlight and booped the tatzlpony on the nose. “Well if Twilight’s brave enough to try it, and she says it’s fine, then I’m not going to lose to her! I wanna try being gobbled up too!”

Tatzlight, to everypony's surprise, shut her maw tight and shook her head. Rainbow Dash’s expression soured. “Hey! What gives? Am I not good enough for you?” She was booped back by a tongue as a way of response. Then Tatzlight chirped at Fluttershy, who spoke to Dash.

“She says she wants to let your counterpart swallow you first, as it seems ‘dibs’ were called.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew big. “There’s a tatzlpony version of me here?”

Fluttershy hesitated before nodding. “Um. Yes. Of us all. And… um… some more besides.”

“Oh now this I gotta see”, Rainbow Dash said and flew to Tatzlight’s side. “C’mon, lead us to your nest or whatever!”

Tatzlight gave a vigorous nod and bounded towards the front door of the cottage. A tongue curled around the handle and yanked the door open. A second later, all that could be seen of Tatzlight was a tail, disappearing to the right of the doorway. Rainbow Dash was next, timing the flapping of her wings so they folded as she flew through the doorway and gave chase. The others, except for Twilight, froze for a second before rushing to follow without uttering a word. Finally, Twilight snapped out of her staring contest with infinity and galloped to the door.

“Wait for me!”