//------------------------------// // Fluttershy: Whale Biologist // Story: Fluttershy: Whale Biologist // by Marine Delight //------------------------------// One warm day in Seaddle, Fluttershy walked along the coast of the North Luna Ocean, letting the cool waves lap at her hooves. She sighed as she enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the beaches of Equestria, especially after the long morning she had. It was only yesterday that she was personally called from Ponyville to take care of some special pets. She honestly never knew that a pony other than Pinkie Pie had an alligator for a pet. The big difference was that Pinkie’s gator, Gummy, was small and lacked teeth... There was also the case of one pony’s pet beluga whale, who ended up swallowing another pony’s pet otter by mistake. She had to reach her hoof down the whale’s throat and pull the otter out. The rest of the day was so exhausting, she didn’t even bother taking off the wetsuit she wore in the beluga’s tank. But now, she’ll be leaving on a train to Ponyville tomorrow, and she wanted to take in her last day while she could. She looked out over the horizon to find some dolphins jumping around in the distance. She couldn’t help but smile at the dolphin’s playful nature. If only she could be more like the dolphins, happy and care-free without any worry of judgement or danger... Maybe someday... Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted when a large black shape beached itself in front of her. She screamed hysterically and hid her face underneath her hooves, hoping the thing will go away as she shivered in the sand. And then she heard the pained moans of a hurting beast and looked up. The black mass was that of a large killer whale, who moaned to the pegasus in front of him for help. “Oh my!” Fluttershy cried. “What’s wrong, Mr. Whale?” The whale moaned and opened his mouth in front of Fluttershy. She wasn’t that fluent in whale, but she did have some practice with the beluga. “You have a toothache?” The whale moaned again. “Oh, sorry. You have a stomachache?” The whale moaned what she assumed to be a “yes” and Fluttershy rubbed his tongue. “Oh, you poor thing. Don’t worry. I have something that can help.” Fluttershy turned to her side and looked at the emergency veterinary kit she kept with her after her day of work. With a flick of her wing, she slipped the kit off and turned it towards her. She popped the lid open and took out a bottle. “Zecora helped make these. ‘A couple of pills will help appease, the illness that makes your belly queaze.’ That’s what she told me.” Fluttershy giggled as she mimicked the Everfree Forest’s zebra and her tendency to rhyme. “And considering your size compared to the average pony... Ten pills will be just enough to immediately ease your stomach.” She popped the lid off with her teeth and slowly shook out ten pills onto the killer whale’s tongue. The whale retracted his tongue and sent the pills tumbling down his throat. He swallowed them down, but as soon as they hit his stomach, his moaning got worse. “Oh dear! This is more severe than I thought! What can I do?” There was something seriously wrong with the poor whale’s stomach, and medicinal magic wasn’t helping. She thought about performing surgery on the whale, but the thought of cutting open any creature left her queazy. Besides, she didn’t want to make a serious mistake and injure, or worse, kill the whale. There was one alternative she could think of, but the thought alone was terrifying. No pony would dare to try something so dangerous, not even Rainbow Dash, and especially not Fluttershy. But, as the whale continued to moan, she had to convince herself that she can’t let her instinctual fears get in the way of helping a patient. With a deep breath, she stepped up to the whale and spoke clearly. “Mr. Whale, I need you to open your mouth. Um... if it’s not any trouble...” The whale complied, despite the pain, and opened his gaping maw wide, giving Fluttershy a much better look inside. She looked upon the rows of conical teeth lining the jaws. They weren’t at all sharp, but with enough force, they could easily crush bone. She turned away in a panic, but soon looked back to find her eyes staring down the whale’s throat. There wasn’t a uvula at the top like ponies usually have. It was just a hole. A fleshy, squishy hole with a tube leading down to his stomach. It looked wide and soft. Almost inviting… She shook her head, not wanting to focus on it too much. She turned around, grabbed her medical kit in her teeth, and backed up onto the killer whale’s tongue. The feel of the organ on her hooves was soft, wet, and a bit bumpy. It felt weird, but, at the same time, it almost felt pleasant to the touch. Gently, she lay herself belly-down on the tongue and called out as best as she could with the kit’s handle in her teeth. “Okay, Mister Whale, you can swallow me. If that’s okay with y-” The whale interrupted Fluttershy as he swallowed her back hooves and rump, startling the Pegasus. The pegasus looked back at the throat, seeing herself halfway down his gullet. It was strange and terrifying, as if she was being dragged into a big fleshy dungeon. She didn’t have time to protest, however, as the whale soon took one more gulp and swallowed her completely. The little mare cringed as the esophagus pushed all around her body, carrying her further down from behind and leaving her no idea of what was ahead. In hindsight, she probably shouldn’t have went in back-first. Not to mention the fact that she was basically trapped in a closed space, with no idea if she’ll come back out. This was a horrible idea! Who gets eaten by their own patient in order to heal them?! It’s crazy and borderline suicidal! She felt like kicking and screaming in a panic to get out! No. No, she had to see this through. She had to think more positive thoughts. But what could be so positive about being eaten? Her mind trailed off to find an example when soon, she heard the loud yet gentle heartbeat of the killer whale, accompanied by his soft and rhythmic breathing. They were bigger and much more clear than when Harry the bear allowed her to sleep with him. Not to mention, the temperature was quite hot, but the heat felt soothing coupled with the environment of the whale’s moist insides. She soon convinced herself, this whale wasn’t eating her. He was giving her a long wet hug with his esophagus before she reached his stomach. Yeah, that was it… Eventually, Fluttershy was squeezed through a sphincter and plopped into the stomach. It was much softer and much hotter than the esophagus. The walls nearly gave way in the presence of her tiny body. She could still hear the whale’s heartbeat and breathing from here. It didn’t feel like a dungeon at all. It felt more like a fleshy sauna. It almost felt like she was a developing baby being cradled inside her mother’s womb, only it was a stomach of a male killer whale. Who would have guessed that being swallowed by a whale could be so... peaceful? She shook her head. She had to focus on her mission. Looking around, she immediately spotted something wrong: a large, bleeding abnormality growing out of the wall. “An ulcer!” Fluttershy winced. “And it looks infected.” She was afraid it would be something messy... She had no choice but to perform surgery, but at least it’s better than cutting him open to get the ulcer. With gritted teeth and a mask covering her mouth, she set to work. A heated scalpel and all her courage were used up as she cut away the ulcer, containing it in a plastic bag with tweezers. She then clamped the wound closed and cauterized it with the heated scalpel. After a grueling half-hour, she sighed in relief as she leaned back on the stomach wall and admired her handiwork. The stomach of this whale felt much more peaceful without the infection hurting him. She rubbed the stomach wall as she spoke to her gentle predator. “Do you feel better, Mr. Whale?” The whale responded with a healthy clicking. Fluttershy giggled. “I’m glad to hear that. You were probably the most unique patient I’ve ever had. Much more unique than that beluga who swallowed that otter. I mean, I’ve never been swallowed whole in order to heal a patient before. And it feels very nice… I think I want to do this again sometime…” The killer whale clicked again. Fluttershy blushed at what she interpreted. “Oh no, I don’t really taste that delicious. I mean, I am wearing the wetsuit, so that might mask the taste a bit, but even then, I don’t think-” The whale interrupted her with some more clicks. Fluttershy sighed. “You’re right. I should stop selling myself short. It’s hard to kick these kind of habits… But thank you for the compliment, Mr. Whale.” Fluttershy leaned in and kissed the stomach wall. It felt weird kissing something so wet and fleshy and not covered in fur, but she smiled nonetheless. “Well, if it’s alright with you, I should probably get out now. I have a train to catch and you probably have to eat quite a few fish to make up for all this pain.” The whale clicked once more. “Oh, sorry. Seals. I should have known you were a Bigg’s killer whale. That was my mistake.” As soon as she returned to the hotel room, Fluttershy washed herself clean of the fish and ocean smell. This was quite the eventful day, but she had to return to Ponyville tomorrow. But as she looked at the photo taken of her and the killer whale in order to document her operation, she hoped one day to return to that Seaddle Beach and visit her newest patient once more. But this time, it won’t be for business…