Night had fallen on the peaceful lands of Equestria. Somewhere in the rocky wilderness, a lone pony stallion could see a swarm of lights moving in the far distance. The Breezies, heading home from their long migration of collecting pollen, traveled peacefully along the gently breeze while admiring the clear moonlit sky as their antenneas lit their path. Following a short distance behind, were three other Breezies. Sea Breeze, the head of Breezie migration, trailed behind the swarm along with two other Breezies; Glow Leaf and Chanterell. The reason for this was due to the inclusion of an unexpected 'passenger'.
The three Breezies were bringing with them an unconscious human girl who was unfortunate enough to get bombed by Glow Leaf's Sleep Pollen. Now sound asleep, the girl rested comfortably from inside a sealed cocoon they made for her, with Glow Leaf and Chanterell carrying her all the way from the forest where they encountered her. Being a rather timid and weak race, the two Breezies had a hard time keeping themselves floating on the breeze with such a heavy load. They flapped their wings and struggled to maintain altitude, trying to keep up with Sea Breeze as he led them on, constantly urging them to move faster in order to catch up with the others. While carrying their new human friend was a tiring effort, Glow Leaf was not ready to give up. It didn't take long before the three Breezies to eventually catch up with the others. They arrived just in time to see the other Breezies enter the grotto located on the side of the cliff, leading to a portal from Equestria to the enchanted land of the Breezies.
“Really?!?” Glow Leaf shouted. “Is that true??!”
“That's what I overheard...” answered Sea Breeze with a shrug. “...I can't be sure if it's really true. I only heard it briefly.”
“But what if it IS true?” asked Glow Leaf rather excited. “Do you think... I mean, is it possible we also-”
“In case you forgot, Glow Leaf. It's impossible! How exactly are we going to accomplish that?” Glow Leaf was quiet for a moment before answering.
“Maybe... Maybe we have something that-”
“Look!” Chanterell pointed as they began to approach the grotto. “We're almost home!”
“Enough chit-chat Glow. Hurry! It might be already closing!” Sea Breeze led the way as he, Glow Leaf and Chanterell hurried inside the grotto with their precious cargo. They soon reached the portal to their homeland, which on cue was already beginning to close up.
“We made it girls!” Seas Breeze cheered as he and the others passed through the portal. “Our journey is over and-”
“WOAH!” Sea Breeze was startled by the sudden and unexpected shout from both Glow Leaf and Chanterell.
“What is it?!” he turned around and was surprised to see both Glow Leaf and Chanterell all of a sudden gain altitude. “What happened? What's going on?”
“Whoa...” Glow Leaf uttered as both she and Chanterell descended back down. “...Either we've gotten really strong...”
“...Or our human just got lighter!” Chanterell finished. Sea Breeze just blinked.
“What? Put her down and let me see!” The two Breezies gently placed the cocoon on the ground and stepped back for Sea Breeze to inspect it. “Hm... Everything seems to be in order...” Expecting it be really heavy, he made a grab with his hooves and, with shock and surprise, lifted it with incredible ease. It had indeed had gotten lighter. “What is this??!?”
“Quick!” Glow Leaf yelled. “Open it!” Sea Breeze put the cocoon back down. The three Breezies then gathered closely around it and quickly opened the one side of the cocoon to find... nothing. Right where Shanna's head was supposed to be, there was nothing but an empty space.
“What..? But how?” Sea Breeze stuttered. “How can this be?! Where did she go??!”
“Did she fall out?” asked Chanterell.
“How?!! There's no hole!” Sea Breeze scratched his head in confusion. “This is really strange!” He then glanced back at the closing portal. “You!” He pointed to Glow Leaf. “Keep an eye on the cocoon. Chanterell and I will go back and look before the portal closes completely.” Glow Leaf nodded and watched as her friends flew back to search for her, while remaining beside the empty cocoon.
“I hope they find her!” Glow Leaf glanced back at the cocoon. She trotted over to it and inspected it with her antennae. “What happened? How did she-hm?” Glow Leaf's ears twitched as she suddenly heard moan. It was faint, but it seemed to come from the cocoon. “But... But there's no one in it...” Curious, Glow Leaf placed her ear on the cocoon and discovered that the sound indeed was coming from inside. She carefully tore the rest of the cocoon open and was met with a very unexpected surprise: The human was still in the cocoon, and she had... shrunk?!? There was no doubt about it; Somehow, upon entering their land, the human had gone from an already tiny human to an even tinier human, making Glow Leaf and every other Breezie around them giants compared to her.
“But... But how..? What could've-” As Glow Leaf struggled to figure out just how this could've happened, she suddenly realized something: The human was now tiny. And Glow Leaf was bigger than her. The human was now small enough for her to actually consume. This was a perfect opportunity! “If it's really true, then I can find out...” She was about to reach in for her, before suddenly pulling back and shaking her head. “No! I can't just eat her! I didn't bring her here just so she could become Breezie food! Did I..?” As much as it intrigued her, she couldn't just eat her. Especially not in such such vulnerable state. She then heard her tummy rumble and shot Shanna another glance, remembering the delicious taste. “I'm so sorry.” she licked her lips. “I... I don't want to do this... But I have to! I just have to know...” Gently, Glow Leaf scooped up Shanna and lifted the still sleeping human up from the cocoon. Looking around to make sure no Breezie was looking, Glow Leaf closed her eyes and opened her mouth. “Forgive me...”
Stirring from her enchanted slumber by the movements, Shanna gradually woke up, only to find herself staring straight into a mouth. Still feeling the effects of the Sleep Pollen, she was awake long enough to register that the mouth belonged to the same butterfly pony that put her to sleep. Only now she was huge... And was going to eat her!
“No... Please don't...” Shanna whispered weak protest before dozing off again. It went unheard as Glow Leaf stuffed her inside her mouth.
“GLOMF!” Glow Leaf was overwhelmed by Shanna's flavor as she touched her tongue, blissfully savoring her and tossing her briefly around in her mouth before finally swallowing her whole.
“GULP!" A large bulge squeezed itself down the tiny Breezies' throat before reaching her chest and disappeared. Glow Leaf swallowed some more and breathed a sigh of relief while wiping away some leftover drool. “That... was delicious!”
“Glow Leaf!” Glow Leaf looked up to see Sea Breeze and Chanterell return, both of them looking very down and depressed. “We searched everywhere by the entrance. There's no sign of her.”
“I'm so sorry Glow Leaf...” said Chanterell. “I know how much you wanted to make things right.” Glow Leaf swallowed nervously. She couldn't lie to them.
“Actually... I found her...”
“You found her?!” Sea Breeze asked in shock.
“Where?!” Chanterell added.
“She was in the cocoon.” Glow Leaf answered
“Really? That's great-” Sea Breeze tilted his head in confusion. “Wait...Was? Where is she now?” Glow Leaf gulped.
“Um...” She directed their attention to her tummy and blushed. “She's... Um...” Both Sea Breeze and Chanterell gawked at her.
“You... You ATE her?!??” yelled Sea Breeze, utterly flabbergasted.
“How in the world did you get her in there?!?” asked Chanterell, trotting forward and poking her belly in surprise. “She was too big for you or anyone else! What happened?”
“Well...” Glow Leaf smiled sheepishly. “You see...She... Well... She kinda shrunk...”
“SHRUNK??!” both Breezies yelled.
“She shrunk..?” Sea Breeze was nearly rendered speechless. “But then why did you eat her? You don't know if our stomach won't digest her!”
"I can still feel her in there. She's not in any danger. Trust me! I know this will work.”
“I don't know...” Sea Breeze shared an unsure look with Chanterell. “Fine, we'll wait and see what happens. For her sake, and yours, I really hope it works.”
Hours later.
“Hng...” Shanna moaned, waking up as the effects of the Sleep Pollen finally wore off. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. Once her head was clear, she opened them to find herself in a lightly dark, flesh-like cavern. The walls were moving and pulsating, and she could hear the sounds of gurgling and a loud heartbeat close by. “What happened... Where am I-” Shanna's eyes widened with shock as she remembered. “The butterfly pony... She... She ate me...!?” She touched the wet walls and recoiled as it moved and shifted. She huddled up in a ball and panicked. “I've been eaten... I've been eaten by a HORSE FLY!” Shanna wept. “This has got to be a dream! A really awful dream! It can't be true-!”
“You're awake.” Shanna stopped crying as she heard a voice. It was loud but sounded distant.
“Uh... Hello?”
“Hi there! Are you feeling okay? I heard you crying. Are you hurt?” Shanna took a moment to process the question that was asked
“I... No. I'm not hurt... but I'm far from okay.” Shanna sniffed. “Did you get eaten by the horse fly too?”
“Horse fly?”
“Yes...” Shanna sobbed. “Some dumb horse fly with butterfly wings. She threw some kind of powder at me that caused me to fall asleep. Somehow she shrank me and now she's eaten me!” There was even longer pause. “Hello? Are you there?”
“Little friend... That horse fly is me.”
“What?” Glow Leaf swallowed nervously. Shanna felt a glob of spit land on her back, making her cringe in disgust. “Sorry! I... I'm the one that put you to sleep. I'm so sorry about that. I thought you were going to hurt me. We use Sleep Pollen when harvesting to prevent getting caught or eaten by dangerous animals.”
“...Instead you used it to capture me and shrink me just so you could eat me...” Shanna growled sarcastically. “Congratulations...”
“That's not true!” Glow Leaf shouted. “I didn't shrink you! I didn't plan to eat you either. I mean, I wanted to at first but you were too big and-nevermind... After I accidentally used the Sleep Pollen on you, I felt really guilty about it. I didn't want to leave you alone in the forest, so we brought you here to the land of the Breezies so you could recover and-”
“Land of the Breezies?”
“That's what I am. I'm not a horse fly, I'm a Breezie. My name is Glow Leaf. Um... pleasure to meet you.”
“Think you mean 'pleasure to EAT you'?...” Shanna muttered with more sarcasm. “Names Shanna by the way. I'm a human in case you're wondering.”
“So you ARE a human!” Glow Leaf smiled. “Guess Sea Breeze was right?”
“What do you mean? And who's Sea Breeze.”
“She and Chanterell helped me get you here. Sea Breeze told us about you humans and that you are really delicious and eaten by ponies.”
“What?!” Shanna exclaimed in shock. “There are other people here? And they are being eaten as well?! By PONIES??!!! What kind of strange nightmare have I been sent to??!!!”
“Calm down!”
“'Calm down'? CALM DOWN??!? I just found out that my kind is at the bottom of the food chain. And now I'm going to get DIGESTED!!”
“Relax Shanna. You're not going to be digested.”
“Don't mess with me!” Shanna sniffed. “I'm not in the mood for jokes.”
“It's not a joke! Listen... You can't be digested. You've been in my stomach at least four hours.”
“FOUR HOURS??!” Shanna couldn't believe what she was hearing. “You're lying!”
“I'm not. To prove it, I'm going to let you out now. Hang on.” Shanna heard a strange noise and then all of a sudden the stomach was filled with air. Just then, she was grabbed by a wind and braced herself as she was forced up a tunnel. It all happened so quickly. And soon enough, she saw daylight.
“BURP!”
Shanna flew out of Glow Leaf's mouth and into her hooves. Glow Leaf watched with a mixture of relief and concern as Shanna coughed and wiped the saliva and juices from her face and body.
“What a rush...” Shanna then looked up at the giant Breezie before her. “Glow Leaf... Right?”
“Da! Zu make de Shanna?” she smiled.
“What?” Shanna was confused. She suddenly couldn't understand her. “What did you say?” Glow Leaf was puzzled.
“Ta me ne? Shanna na treble de?”
“Why are you talking like that? Didn't you just speak to me a moment ago? Do you understand me?”
“She can understand you.” Shanna turned around to see two more Breezies; One with a mushroom on her head and one with the male-like voice. “But she can only speak Breezie. I however can speak Equestrian.” Sea Breeze trotted over and greeted Shanna. “My name is Sea Breeze. This is Chanterell. And Glow Leaf you know.”
“...Hi... I'm Shanna...” Shanna replied while her eyes took in her surroundings. She found herself in a peaceful countryside with a waterfall and clear skies, with a tiny mushroom village close by with more Breezies. “So this is the Land of Breezies? It's... beautiful...”
“it's not much, but it's home.” Sea Breeze smiled. “And I hope you can call it home too.”
“What do you mean? Where exactly am I? And why am I smaller than you?” She pointed at Glow Leaf. “When I saw her, she was barely my height!” Sea Breeze took a moment to work up an answer.
“First, you are in the land of Equestria. Home of ponies and their Princesses Celestia and Luna. Our land is more of a 'pocket dimension', A hidden world within the world. It shelters us from the hostile beasts and elements of Equestria.” She then lowered her head closer to Shanna and studied her. “My best guess as to why you are so small, might be because of this place. Here, ponies would have to be Breezie to live. In your case, it changed something that made you small, making you even smaller.”
“So... What you're saying is... I'm now technically the size of a microbe?”
“I don't know what a 'microbe' is. But if it's smaller than a Breezie, then yes.”
“Is it permanent?”
“Only as long as you're here...” Sea Breeze scratched his chin. “I can only assume that you'll return to normal once you leave this land.”
“Well... Now that I'm awake, thank you for... 'caring' for me while I recovered.” She threw Glow Leaf a frown that made her blush and smile sheepishly.
“Bedager...” she said, to which Shanna could only assume was an apology.
“It's okay...” Shanna smiled. “I suppose you meant well. Though I don't know why you wanted to eat me...” she again faced Sea Breeze. “I suppose I can leave now? I'd really like to be back with my own kind.” Sea Breeze sighed.
“I'm sorry to say that it's not possible now.” Shanna gave a skeptic look.
“What do you mean?”
“The gateway to Equestria only opens during our migration to harvest pollen. It won't re-open until that time approaches again...” What was left of Shanna's hopeful smile faded.
“So... I'm stuck here...” Sea Breeze and the others nodded. Shanna sighed. “So... What now?” Sea Breeze smiled.
“You will stay with us. We'll take good care of you until the gateway opens again.” Shanna then remembered something.
“One more question; While I was... *Cough!* inside her stomach... I could actually understand her. Why can't I now?” Sea Breeze pondered.
“That I'm not sure... It must be some kind of magic we have yet to fully understand.”
“I see...” While Shanna had hoped for a better explanation than magic, she decided to take it as it was: Some kind of freaky magic. She looked up at Glow Leaf. “I suppose we'll just have to take language lessons if we are to understand each other...”
“Dree...” Glow Leaf solemnly sighed. Just then her ears perked as she seemed to get an idea. “Oda... Da dama ka nitti mi!”
“What?”
“Da da! Du dama ka nitti dem haba ka mi!”
“I didn't catch that...”
“Do you realize what you're asking her?” said Sea Breeze. “What if she says 'no'?”
“What is she saying?”
“I don't know how to say this...” Sea Breeze nervously rubbed the back of his head. “She said that you can still talk to her... if you let her eat you again...” Shanna looked at Glow Leaf.
“Let me get this straight; You want to eat me so we can talk again?” Glow Leaf smiled and nodded. “Huh...” Shanna turned to Sea Breeze. “I was in there for four hours, right?”
“That is correct. She did not lie.” Shanna face Glow Leaf again and sighed.
“You will let me out when I want to, right?” Glow Leaf nodded. “Alright then... Go ahead.” Shanna closed her eyes and relaxed as Glow Leaf again stuffed her in her mouth, savoring her a bit before swallowing her. Can't believe I'm doing this...
“GULP!" Shanna slid down the Breezie's throat, which was, luckily, squishy and firm enough to constrict her. She opened her eyes, falling headfirst into the Bug's stomach, landing with a splash. She turned around to sit against, but not entirely, on the pulsing walls.
"Ah~! You taste SO good! You okay Shanna?” Glow Leaf asked, patting her belly.
“I'm okay. It's going to take me a while to get used to that but I can understand you now.” Shanna yelled from inside. “So... what now?”
“I don't know... Maybe we could get to know each other better? Tell me about yourself and the world you came from and I can tell you a bit about myself. And while you're in there... Could you...” she blushed. “...If you could move around a bit in there, that would be great.”
“...Why?”
“I don't know why, but feeling you inside me is so... relaxing.” she smiled. Shanna cocked an eyebrow.
“Maybe you'd like for me to give you a belly rub too?” she said with playful sarcasm.
“Would you?!” Glow Leaf asked hopefully.
“I'll think about it.” Shanna smiled. “So tell me, how's it like to be a Breezie?”
“It's fine I guess...” Glow Leaf shrugged as she flew them into the village, leaving Sea Breeze and Chanterell behind. “...But it does get quite hazardous during the migration.” She paused and bit her lips. “I know the feeling of being food myself...”
“...Ever been eaten?”
“Well, there was that one time I got stuck in a stallion's throat. We flew over him while he was sleeping and then...”
Watching the two leave, Chanterell turned to Sea Breeze.
“You think she will be okay?”
“Glow Leaf will treat her well. She's a kind Breezie.”
“I do hope she will let me try...” Chanterell then had a thought. “You don't suppose we can...”
“Can what?”
“...She was pretty tasty...”
“...Are you suggesting we now should harvest humans during the migration?! That's not how we are.”
“I know! But you don't suppose we can arrange some kind of deal with them and the ponies? To have some humans come and live with us?” Sea Breeze took a moment to think.
“Maybe... Let's just see how things turn out with Glow Leaf and Shanna.” he smiled.
“It would be nice to be the bigger ponies for once...”