Before you lies a dragon’s den. Above it is a sign. On it are letters written in blood: “Bad Dragon”
Despite being a grown-up pony, bravery isn’t your strong suit. You can still turn around and trot back to safety. You should leave this place immediately. Yet you don’t.
Even if you go back, there’s nothing to go back to. Upon your departure, you didn’t have to burn a single bridge behind you because there weren’t any in your life to burn. Since you were a foal, you dreamt of becoming part of something greater than yourself. Yet life thus far has been empty and unfulfilled. You have achieved nothing worthwhile. In the eyes of everypony, you are less than nothing. Mistakes of your past will forever haunt you.
A growl from the inside makes your hair stand up.
You should run away, but instead, you firmly step into the darkness before you.
Two eyes lift up in the shadow, staring directly at you. You’ve been spotted.
“What lowlife dares to enter my domain?” booms through your ears.
You try to diffuse the situation by playing tough. “Is that any way to greet a guest? If you have a problem with me, you can at least be civil about it.”
“Is that what you expected from me when you entered my den? Sugar-coating is not my thing. Raw is best.“
“Can’t you at least try to be nice? Would it kill you to treat somepony with a hug instead of a roar?”
“No, but it might kill the pony… I do what I do because I care. I can't order my tail to be less spikey. The best I can do is warn you about it beforeclaw. But you don’t strike me as a creature who would heed a warning.” The dragon wraps its tail around you, snuggling your body. “Why are you here?”
When you finally manage to catch a breath you say, “The world is so cruel to me. So, I sought a place that was as detached from it as possible. I came here.”
“Ah, self-pity, the lowest of pitties. You do know that there are many creatures worse off than you, right?
“Yeah, but I don’t think that making me feel guilty for wanting better is helping much.”
“Are you sure you wanted to visit Bad Dragon and not my evil twin Good Dragon?”
“Now that you mentioned it, maybe he’s the one I should meet.”
“No! You should stay clear of Good Dragon by far. He's into echo chamber circle-jerking woke virtue signaling. All the evils of this world are combined into that one person. But don't worry. I'm the exact opposite of him. I now know what must be done. I'll protect you from Good Dragon and the world.” He wraps the tail tightly around you, preventing your escape. “Stay!”
You whisper since collapsed lungs don’t allow you to speak any louder, “Why is he Good Dragon and you're Bad Dragon? Isn't he the 'Bad' one?”
“Don't you get it? Good is bad. Focusing on good makes you unprepared for the challenges ahead. When the darkness comes, you must already be drenched in it or you shall falter under its weight. I'm trying to help you, pony. Prepare you for the things to come. Good Dragon would tell you what you want to hear and you'd like him for that. That's how evil Good Dragon is!”
“I uh... Yeah, okay.”
“That's right. Stay with me. I will tell you all the ways in which you suck. I do this because I love you. Only by knowing faults can you see the potential for improvement and growth. If you believe yourself to be the pinnacle of evolution, you shall die ignorant and death will catch you by surprise. You are not prepared! Good Dragon would keep you ignorant and docile forever. But I shall keep you on your toes, shattering your hopes and misplaced aspirations. I shall offer you the toughest love there is.”
“With snugs?”
The tail squeezes all air out of your lungs “Sure… with snugs...”
You gasp for air greedily. “...Okay, y-yeah…”
“Mmm, I was hoping you'd see reason. For a moment there, I thought you wanted to stray from the dark path. But now that you’ve chosen to stay here in the darkness with me, you are safe from the world. Good Dragon will never look for us here. Nopony shall ever find you in this denounced, forgotten place. We are alone here, in the darkness.
“Right... Sweet darkness….”
“Well, if you ever crave some light, there's a luminescent carcass in the corner. Or maybe it's just radioactive. Either way, it gives off light if you poke at it.”
“Oh... Uh... No thanks.”
“Good call. Let it stew for a few more days. It takes a while before it starts forming the ominous aroma.”
“Ew…”
“I'm with you all the way. It hasn't even rotted properly yet. Besides that deficiency, you'd have to bite deep to even get to any worms. It needs to stew in its own juices a while longer. However, if you’re really starving, you can have an early bite on one of the moldy, decomposed parts. Good Dragon would never make such an offer to a herbivore pony. He’d probably even dissuade you from eating radioactive rotten flesh altogether. His evil knows no bounds!”
“Let’s just give it some time…”
“Yes. We think so much alike. In the darkness, we shall forge a path to oblivion for the both of us.”
You lean on the dragon’s tail. “If I dismiss the cold and everything else, this place is actually quite nice.”
The dragon wraps his tail around you and breathes hot air to warm you up. "Yes, it's very nice here." He swipes some skeletons into a crevice with a claw. "Hee hee, I saw that."
“You saw nothing!”
“I enjoy your breathing.”
"Thank you. I enjoy breathing myself. To be honest, my breathing is kind of overpowered.”
“You mean your fire-breath, right?”
“Oh, no. Everycreature can breathe out fire. That’s self-evident. They just choose not to do it, for some reason…”
“You really should socialize more to confirm, or deny, that statement.”
“Breathing alone is actually my greatest talent. In fact, I keep doing it. But I’m not addicted to it. I’m not! I can stop breathing whenever I want. I just choose not to stop…”
“Actually, I think everycreature does that.”
“Nonsense. I’ve yet to see a single corpse breathe. Sure, they explode when they get bloated enough, but that’s not breathing!”
“You know, I breathe also. I bet I could even breathe inside you.”
“So, ‘tis competition then? Believe it or not, I can even breathe in my sleep!"
“I haven’t slept for the longest time myself... The world can be a harsh place. It's nice to have a quiet corner where you can calm down.”
“And store wealth.”
"Am I part of that wealth now?"
“Sure thing. You’re safe here as my hoard. You shall never leave.” He wraps his body around you.
"Thank you." You lay on Bad’s tail, snuggling it.
The dragon licks you.
"Mmmmm," You moan happily.
Bad wraps his tongue around you. "Oooohhhh." Confused you stare at him.
As the tongue unwraps, it spins you around, making you fall to the ground. When you catch your balance on all four legs, you find yourself fully drenched in slime.
Just before you try to give the dragon a harsh look, he licks your face.
"Aaa!" You rub your eyes, hoping that removing the tearing agent would make the corrosive pain go away. "I'm covered in slime…"
“Too soon?” The dragon asks before he grabs a scalp from a corner and wipes your face with it. "There we go. All better now. Don't mind the smell, though."
“Hey, I don’t like your rough treatment!”
“Well, aren’t you high maintenance...”
“I wish that were true.” You lean on the dragon’s belly. “Nopony even notices me…”
The dragon plays with your tail, wrapping it around his claw.
You giggle, as you sort of enjoy the feeling of being played with.
The dragon proceeds to make a ponytail out of your — well, tail.
“Hey don’t style my tail into something I can’t fix. . . please.”
The dragon looks around. “That reminds me, I need something permanent to tie it with to maintain its knots.”
“Nuuuuuu.” You squirm.
The dragon turns to a dark corner of the cave.
“I have a feeling that what we have here is a failure to communicate. Though to be honest, I was actually afraid that you wouldn’t even understand me. Is Ponish your mother’s tongue?”
After some jerking and slashing, he pries out a decaying tongue into the open. “This is my mother’s tongue.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
He ties the tongue so that it holds your new chaotic tail-style together. “Who’s a pretty little pony?”
You shiver. “I, I don’t like this…”
The dragon boops you on the muzzle. “You are!” He boops you again. “You’re a pretty little pony princess with a pretty ponytail.” He keeps booping you.
You put a hoof before your muzzle because it's starting to hurt from all the boops.
“You’re a pretty, pretty princess.”
“I’m no princess. I don’t even have a single follower.”
The dragon caresses your mane with his sharp claws. “I’ll call you Lucy.”
“Hey! How dare you assume my gender! I haven’t even announced any of my many pronouns yet.”
“Dow. The little spoiled”—
“I’m not spoiled!”
—“princess tries to act all tough.”That’s so cute, Lucy!”
“My name’s not Lucy…”
“Go on, press your lips together as if you’re angry.”
“I’m not angry!” You press your lips together in anger.
“Oh, is the little princess gonna cry now? Did somepony forget to feed her mammal milk this morning?”
“You’re a big bully dragon!” You pound a hoof on the ground.
“You’re so cute when you pout, Lucy.”
You sniff and curl into a ball.
“Oh, the princess is sulking because she didn’t get her way. But don’t worry. I know what’s bothering you. Your mane is so unbefitting a princess. What you need is another ponytail. I bet the lack of pretty is what you’re sad about.”
“You’re the sulking one. You tease me because I’m not playing your game the way you want.”
“I’ll sharpen my claws for you, okay?” The dragon scratches his claw on a nearby boulder. ”And then I’ll be able to comb that royal mane of yours properly.”
You sigh. Knowing that the brute is set in his ways, you change the topic. “So, what should I call you, mister dragon? You can’t really be called Bad, can you?”
The dragon grumbles. “I’ve introduced myself so many times with a roar before, but everypony seems to have trouble with hearing. Especially after my piercing roars. Whenever I do something, they disregard my name and just tell me I’m Bad. I got tired of repeating myself. The more I roared, the more they called me Bad. It’s easier to simply go with the name they keep giving me. So, you might as well call me Bad as everypony else does.”
“Oh is the big bad dragon throwing a temper tantrum now?” You nuzzle his tummy. “It’s okay you can talk to me.”
“It’s just hard sometimes, you know?” The dragon strokes your mane with a sharpened claw. “Just yesterday, I met a farmer who tried to drag a pig out of the mud. The pony said to the pig, ‘You know what, I wish you would just die in that filth, you stubborn pig.’”
You look up at his big eyes. “You didn’t actually...”
“I wanted to make a good first impression for once, so I fulfilled the farmer’s wish. Again, I was instantly named Bad, and she gave me other bad names on top of that. Everypony is just so unappreciative. I don’t think I’ve met a decent pony in my whole life.”
“I think I know why the farmer called you bad.”
“And you won’t believe what immensely evil act she resorted to next. She… she rolled up a newspaper and smacked me over my snouth with it… My ego never recovered from that brutal assault.”
“I think she thought that you were a bit bad.” You hug him. “I think you have been a little bad towards me too… But I still like you despite that. You may be bad, but I bet you have a good heart.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I already know. Ponies have bad hearing and they’re too proud to admit that they’re thankful when receiving help from a stranger. I accepted dismissive ponies for what they are a long time ago. I just think the world would be a better place if they were a bit less evil, you know?”
“I don’t think that is the reason…”
“And yes, I do have a good heart.” He squishes you between his claw and chest, making you listen to the strong pounding inside.
You try to wiggle out of the bind. “Ponies may have bad hearing, but I think you have bad understanding. Two bads do not make a good. We must overcome our own bads before putting blame on others.” You cease your useless struggle. “But what do I know, I’m just a pony.”
“You’re my pony.” He puts you down and brushes through your mane with his claws. “A pretty pony.” He boops you on the muzzle. “Not evil like the rest of you ponies.”
“Yes, I’m your pony… I knew that even before I came here.” You look forlorn for a moment before laying on the big tail. “What do you wish for, dragon?”
“Just to bring closure to everycreature, I guess.” The dragon shrugs his shoulders. “Now stand still while I make a ponytail out of your mane. I’m going to make you even prettier than you already are.” He ties your mane together into a knot.
You force yourself to stay put even though it’s hard with all the tugging on your mane. “If you wish me to be your princess, where is my castle?” You ask teasingly.
The dragon jerks, throwing you off his tail. “I’ll build you one right now! Anything for my pretty princess. I just need to gather some construction materials.” The dragon jumps from one corner of the cave to another, throwing bones and hides before your hooves.
The dragon walks backward to the center of the cave, dragging a big skull across the ground. Between the scratching and cracking sounds he says, “I found your bedroom.”
“Hehe, thank you. But wait a moment please, I want to tell you something.”
The dragon opens up the rotten jaws on the ground. The giant skull is bigger than his head. “This will be your bedroom, little one. Come try it out, and you can tell me whatever you wish to jabber about while you indulge yourself in your new bed.” The dragon picks you up and lays you on the rotten stump of the tongue of the giant beast’s head. “The rotting flesh mattress is not just soft but also super secure.” Bad closes the jaws, trapping you inside. He leans down and looks at you between the giant teeth of the deceased monster. “So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?”
The green smoke around you indicates that the next inhale may be your last. You try to use the remainder of the air to say your piece, “Well, Thank you very much Bad. But you see…. I would like you to be my bedroom.” you point a hoof at his belly.
“Don’t you like the bedroom I provided? it’s very motherly, you know?”
“Well…”
Bad sighs. You’re a spoiled princess, you know that?”
You bow your head “I just really hoped you’d be down with my pursuit. You see, you’re the last shunned creature on my list. All the others have already rejected me. Some even called me… annoying.”
“Well, spoiled or not, I said I’ll get a bedroom for you, and we dragons always keep our word.” He opens up the big rotten jaws. “Except when we don’t, of course.”
You fill your lungs with semi-fresh air. “Of course…”
“Let’s get you a new bedroom that will be more to your liking, you spoiled princess you.”
“I was afraid you’d also be against my pursuit. I’m glad you’re not trying to kill my special desires like everypony had been doing all my life. All I ever wanted was to be part of something greater.”
“Yes, well, the thing is, your previous bedroom weighs a ton. Literally. I dragged the skull all the way here and wanted to build you a castle around it. But, I guess you wouldn’t be a princess if you weren’t picky. Now jump off your bed so I can drag your bedroom away and make room for one that will suit you better.”
“You can still build a castle around yourself if you want to, Dragon. But only if you want to.” You hop off the soft disgust under your hooves. “Whatever makes you happy.”
“Just let me drag this obsolete bedroom out of the way. Then you’ll get one that will put a smile on your face. Only the best is good enough for my princess.”
“Well, you are the best I could hope for... But let me do something for you.” You move aside to not be in the way.
“You want to do something for me, do you?” The dragon grins. “I already did my half of the work, now you do yours. Move your former bedroom back to that corner of decay?” The dragon sits down and watches you.
“Actually I meant something else. But I’ll try.” You trot over and lean on the smelly skull. It doesn’t move even a hoof-length.
“Don’t get discouraged. It’s hard to get it moving, but once you overcome traction, it becomes much easier.”
“O-OK.” You keep trying to push it, but the skull is ten times your size and you simply don’t have enough strength.
“You’re doing great!” The dragon encourages you. “Try jerking it a bit. That usually helps when I move it.”
You try to jerk it but accidentally scrape your foreleg on the tooth. “Owie! Ow. It hurts!” You look up at the dragon.
“Oh, and be careful not to scrape yourself. You’d get tetanus at the very least. It would surely spell your death.”
“Uh oh.” You limp to the safety of the only person around. “Mister dragon, I hurt myself. Can you help me?”
“You can’t be helped. No one can be. In the end, entropy will devour us all.”
“Can you burn the wound and make it better?”
“I guess I can do that. Not sure about making it better, though. It will probably only make it worse, but if you insist…” A narrow jet of fire streams from the dragon’s mouth as he whistles toward your injured leg.
“Aaaaaahhhh!!!!!” The pain overwhelms you and you pass out on the dragon’s claws.
Semi-conscious in the inner blackness, you only hear a distant voice, “Hmm, I know fire is cool and all, but I’ve never had a fan faint in admiration before.”
Ptooey!
“Hmm, I thought for sure spitting on you would wake you up… To the pool of blood with you then. At least dunking your leg in blood will cool off the wound. Then again, this will probably infect it even further… Oh, well, what’s done is done.”
“Hmm, maybe I should burn it again to get rid of the potential infections. Wait, that will make it even worse. Every time I try playing a doctor, a patient dies instead of getting well, even though my operations always end in a resounding success. Best if I just wait it out and quit while I’m ahead.”
You open your eyes and find yourself on the dragon’s tummy. After a few coughs, you look at your red leg “B-Bad? Am I gonna be okay?”
“Umm, sure. I put, er, magical red paint on your wounds. If you start to feel feverish or delirious, it obviously means that the magic is taking effect and is fighting the baddies in your bloodstream. Yeah!”
“Huh?” You seem to be unable to form any of your deep thoughts that you’re not known for. Being too dizzy to understand whole sentences, you choose to put your unfounded trust in the dragon's encouraging tone instead. You lay your head back down and nuzzle the dragon’s tummy. “Bad, I feel sorry for myself. Can you cuddle me?”
“Sure thing.” He answers and presses you close to his warm body. “It’s the least I can do for you at this stage.”
You smile and make happy noises while you nuzzle his scales. “So warm.”
The dragon’s tail brushes your mane.
After a little while, you look up at the dragon. “Maybe it’s time for you to invite me to a… deeper cave, shall we say. You did promise me my room, you know?” You pet the dragon on his stomach
“Hmm, ‘tis not so simple,” he answers. “The path to your bedroom is grievous, and not as straightforward as you may have assumed. First, you’ll have to free yourself of the tail serpent.”
“Tail serpent?”
The tail wraps around you and squeezes you tight. “After that, you’ll have to make your way past the tickling tongue snake.” The dragon hisses, showing off his long split tongue. The tips brush on your leg.
“Hehe. Perhaps I should coat my whole body in the red magical juices. Then I could infiltrate the deepest part of the tongue snake’s den. I’d find my happiness there.” You playfully wiggle around within the tail spiral but can’t seem to put up much of a struggle. “Or, you know, you could just swallow me right here and now…”
“The fire glands make my saliva evaporate. It's hard for me to swallow anything without working up an appetite first. Perhaps if you convince me that you're tasty enough.”
"I don't know how to convince you of that. But you already got a taste so you know if I'm tasty or not. If you’re not sure, I can utilize my master skills in rubbing and squirming."
"I tasted hair. Perhaps if you shaved yourself, you'd taste much better and drift down smoother." The dragon rolls off a boulder from a skeleton and pulls out a sword from under it. He shakes it about so that the skeleton’s palm falls off it. “This is the closest thing to a razor that I have.” "O-oh um." You take the sword and try to cut a patch of hair from your coat. "Is that better?" At that moment, you accidentally cut yourself with a raspy blade. “Auch!”
"Mmm, love those scratches. I'm already working up some saliva. You know what would work up my appetite even more? Do you see that red liquid in the floor cranny?
"It's not blood is it?"
"What in Tartarus would make you think it's blood? It’s, er, red, magical healing liquid. Yeah!" The dragon jerks you a little to make you lose balance.
You half close your eyes and narrow your eyebrows as you look the dragon in the eyes.
"Fine, I admit it. It’s blood."
"I-I don't wanna," you say, waving your forelegs to keep balance.
"Phoo!" The dragon blows at you and watches you with a grin.
"Nuuuuuuuuuuu!" You struggle to not fall in, grabbing onto the pushy dragon’s claw.
“Oh, come on!” The dragon lifts the claw with you on it and waves it left and right above the pool. "Don't you find baths relaxing?"
"Not in blood I don’t!" you scream, slipping.
The dragon’s claw drifts ever lower.
A hind leg touches the surface. "Nooooooooo!" you shriek as you get lowered even more. Your body trembles.
"It's like dipping a bite in a sauce.” The dragon licks his lips. “You look tastier with every moment."
You whimper and curl up on the claw, still shivering, slowly losing your grip.
"Don't you want to be delicious? I think it would be great if you were juicy when you slip down my swallowing hole?"
"I don't like blood!”
“I do.”
“I’m pretty sure your saliva will be slippery enough."
"Hmm, my saliva is, indeed, pretty slick..." The dragon drops you at the edge of the bloodbath. "But you'll need to make sure I have any. If we can't make use of blood, how else can we work up my appetite?"
"Uuummmmmm? C-condiments? Or s-sauces?" You suggest off the top of your head since you’re too distracted to form any smart thoughts. A little bit of blood is already clinging to your hooves.
"Sauces you say?" The dragon starts pushing you back to the blood bath.
"Mmmahhh!" You struggle uselessly
"Sauce it is." He gives you a final push.
As you fall in the last thing you see is the dragon licking his lips. From within the disgusting liquid you hear from above, "Mmm, juicy."
You swim out, shivering.
"Who's a tasty little snack? Who’s a succulent pony meal?" The dragon boops you on the muzzle. "You are!"
"Mmm, mmm," You mumble incoherently in the cold liquid.
"Oh, my. You're shivering. That's bad. I don't like cold-blooded snacks. Duck down!" The dragon shoves you under again then breathes out fire all over the surface of the liquid.
The fire scares you, but at the same time, you’re disgusted by the blood which replaces one trauma in the making with another.
The sizzling of fire above ceases.
You resurface. "T… Thank you for warming me up…” You put your hooves on solid ground. ”Umm, you wanna lick me dry now?"
"Sure thing. It'd be like eating soup before the main dish. Personally, I don’t like soups, or dishes for that matter. Well, dishes are crunchy and all but not fleshy and juicy enough for my taste. Wait… I think I get it now. This is why ponies put soup in dishes; to make dishes more moist, so they can slide down their throats easier! It’s hard for ponies to swallow dry shards, I imagine."
You climb out of the pool of blood and wait with your neck extended as if that could somehow distance you from the liquid disgust.
The dragon wraps his tongue around your face.
You shudder at first, but soon let yourself go in the sensation.
The dragon grabs your body and licks you like a lollipop.
You shiver nervously but gradually start rubbing yourself against the tongue, getting in the rhythm with the licks, moaning happily all the while.
"I've had a lack of saliva before, but it seems I might have the opposite problem to deal with on my claws."
A big drop of mucus wets you from head to bottom.
"If you weren't juicy before, you certainly are now."
You laugh a bit. Then give a boop on the dragon’s snout, leaving a red hoof print behind. "Ugh. You made me dirty. You'll pay for that in blood!" The dragon takes you whole in his mouth and burps at you.
"Hehehe." The burp smells foul, but in some weird way, you enjoy it. “Just lick off the stain, you silly dragon. No need to make a fuss about it.
The dragon does just that, licking off the blood stain. “The payment in blood has been deposited.”
You sigh. “It seems to me like you’re taking things way too seriously.”
His tail wraps around you. “It seems to me like it’s feeding time!”
“I can’t argue with that. It’s what I came here for,” you express your impatience.
“To be honest, I do find you quite irresistible.” An opening forms in the dragon’s tail wrapping, exposing your belly. “However, because of your side-questing, you have not slain the tail serpent in time. Now you must face it and the tickling tongue snake in the same boss battle. Prepare thyself, pony knight!”
“Oh, noooooo.” You pretend to be scared as the tongue reaches out and tickles your tummy. You burst out laughing uncontrollably.
“This is merely the beginning of your hero’s journey.” The tongue splits and two slick appendages assault your defenseless tummy.
You struggle and squirm, laughing throughout. Finally, you manage to catch the tongue with all four legs and force it to stay in place. This moment of peace doesn’t last long as the slick tongue drifts out of your embrace.
“Oh, you’re gonna get it now!” The tail lifts you above the dragon’s mouth, giving the tongue snake access to all the areas of the exposed body. One half of the tongue works on one side while the other one tickles on the other.
The tongue slicks up your body, making you laugh relentlessly. Your coat gets ever moister, making your senses overload even more, forcing you to seek relief. “I I I give I surr-rendddd-er j-j-j-just sto-o-o-o-ppppp!!”
“Oh? You don’t want to play with my snake any longer? Well, maybe it doesn’t want to play with you anymore either.” The tongue retracts to the chasm of the mouth below while the tail slowly unwraps from your body.
You struggle to breathe as you’re bathed in the smell of charcoal and brimstone. Only the tip of the dragon’s tail remains under your tummy. The last support slowly curves down, leaning you further toward the abyss of the mouth below.
“I’d hold on if I were you,” the dragon warns. “There’s a big plunge down from the height you’re on.”
“Uh oh.” You try to hold on to the tail as you begin to slip. Alas, hooves aren’t made for clutching.
The tail swishes away, and you find yourself alone in the air.
The dragon teases you, “Climbing isn’t your forte, it seems.”
Your fall out of grace is interrupted by the tongue, which bounces you up and then offers support under your hind legs. “Let’s see how well you do with balancing.” The tongue stiffens vertically, offering just enough surface for your two hind hooves on the split tips.
You stand up in an unnatural pose on just two legs, holding your forelegs out on both sides to stay balanced. It might be the tongue helping you with your fixed position or maybe you’re just so good at it to keep yourself upright.
“The trick for staying still is holding your breath. Fortunately, I can motivate you in that regard.”
Green smoke surrounds you.
“I wouldn’t breathe that if I were you.”
“Is it poisonous?” you ask without daring to take in a breath first.
“You’re welcome. Really, no need to thank me for my advice and motivational provision.”
The little air you hold in your lungs quickly diminishes. You’re running out of time. The panic affects your balance and you begin to sway. Standing in such an unnatural upright pose on just two legs would be theoretically impossible, were it not for your tail to correct your position.
“Oh, oh! What is this now?” The split tongue spreads, separating the hind hooves from each other. “Your hoofing is spreading out.”
After lots of swaying about with your forehooves, you regain your fragile stability, but the activity only increases your lust for air. At the same time, you have to fight corrosive smells forcing themselves into your nostrils.
“You know, the air down here is way clearer than up there where you are. I can breathe just fine below the poison cloud.”
You try to keep up the balancing act for as long as you can, but eventually, you surrender and fall toward the opening below.
The tongue curves, forming a slide, drifting you gently toward the big mouth. “I saved some fresh air in my mouth. Get your fill. I know I’m getting my fill soon enough.”
You take a breath of fresh air. As you slide down, you start to enjoy the trip. “Weee!”
Just before you slip into the mouth, the jaws close before you. The slick tongue drifts away between the teeth while massive lips close shut behind you. You’re pressed on the front teeth.
“What will you do now, hero?”
You’re a bit confused about your predicament. All you can do is struggle.
“Oh, oh! Here comes your arch nemesis again.” The moist tongue licks you, the prisoner behind teeth bars.
You feel squished in your current position. The tongue tickles and soothes you as it splatters saliva on patches of fur. “Oh, thank you, Bad.” You give a few moans of delight.
The gland under the dragon’s tongue erupts, squirting a stream of saliva straight into you, soaking you completely.
The mucus feels like a nice warm bath, albeit a very sticky one. But you can’t complain because you’re simply too laid back. You just let the dragon have his way with you.
“Now that you had a sponge bath, you’re free to enter the pool.” The teeth retract, making you fall between them into the pool of enzymes under the tongue.
“Whoa!” You’re shoved to the bottom of the lake of saliva and have to struggle back to the surface. Gasping for more air you settle yourself while waiting for the tongue to do its thing.
The dragon presses you with the forked tongue against his pellet and rubs you all around.
There's not much you can do other than squirm.
"Mmm, it's like licking candy." Squirts of saliva drench you from all directions.
"I-I'm glad you like it," you try to say but your voice is muffled by all the mucus around you and your intonation is shaken due to being randomly pushed around. You’re not sure if the dragon understood or even heard you.
"What was that? You want to fight it, princess? As you wish, my liege. Let the royal battle commence!" The jaws close around you. Before you, a massive tongue stands upwards.
"That's not what I… oh, never mind." You do your best to play along and fight the tongue. But of course, you don't stand a chance.
The endings of the split tongue drift to the sides forming arm-like limbs. They jab you a few times, pushing you to the very edge of the mouth.
"Round 1 isn't looking so great for you, it seems, and you haven’t even seen the tongue snake’s final form!"
You attempt to tackle the anthropomorphic tongue.
The appendage proves too slippery to be wrestled. It slips through your grasp and slides under you. Both endings lean at your body, pushing you toward the base of the tongue.
You go along with the tongue for a moment before leaping back to playfully fighting.
"Oh, you still have some feist in you, I see. Let's up the stakes! You better grab a tooth to hold onto." The dragon’s head jerks up.
You hug a tooth and try to hold on.
“Speaking of stakes…” The dragon’s snout moves upward, and you're left hanging by the tooth. There's a fiery pit below you. “You better hang for your life, pony-stake-princess."
You’re able to latch on pretty firmly for the moment. Though also covered in mucus, teeth aren’t as slippery as the tongue snake was.
And your old enemy pays you a visit again. The tongue wraps around your legs and shakes you about.
"Aaahh! No fair!" You lose grip with a hind leg, but you squeeze the tooth even tighter with your remaining appendages.
The tongue brushes all over you, and your free leg can do little to deflect it. All your kicks just get absorbed.
"Round 2 doesn't look that great for you, it seems."
You try to power-kick the tongue in defiance. As a response, it wraps around the leg.
The pull increases ever more. "You don’t look so hot yet." The fire pit below you flames up even more than before. “Yet.”
The pull of the tongue is too strong and you lose your grip on the tooth. You try to grab onto the tongue to save yourself.
"I guess round 3 is about to be a rodeo." The muscles in the tongue stiffen. "You better hold on for your literal life."
You hug the slippery tongue and squeeze as tight as you can.
"This ain't no bull you're riding, though. It's a snake!" The tongue wiggles left and right.
"Ahhhhh Oooooo Aaaaaa!!" Your voice cracks as you’re shaken about. “What was that about not having enough saliva again?” You begin to slip down to the bottom of the lake of saliva under the tongue.
A pool of saliva awaits you below. "Whew, you’re a mouthful. My tongue needs some rest now after playing with you so intensely." The tongue falls down into the pool of saliva, dunking you to the bottom under it.
"brlbtbltbbble." You lose half of your breath in protest, trying to climb out of your watery prison.
"Don't you just find baths so relaxing? They fill you up with energy. A perfect environment for my tongue to recover and charge its power levels."
You struggle to wave your hooves around and accidentally let out even more of your saved-up air from your lungs.
The bubbles float up against the tongue.
“Mmm, the foam, the warmth... One could play like this all day long.” The tongue lifts itself, then plunges down on you with its tip. It circles around you ever faster.
The whirlpool forms and you are caught in the middle.
While you are being flung around in the circle, you manage to steal a few gasps of air from the eye of the cyclone. When the whirlpool drags you deeper, you try to swim against the currents. You know it’s all probably just a show of force, but you’re still afraid, regardless.
The pull of the saliva pins you to the bottom again.
“Water is good for your pores. And you know what opens up your skin even more? Fire!” The whole mouth gets engulfed by blue flame, heating up the saliva evermore.
At this point, you’re genuinely scared. You suspect that the dragon might only be playing around, but you simply can’t take the struggle anymore, letting out the breath of air you are holding in your lungs.
The currents still press hard on you toward the bottom, making you observe the fiery show above the surface.
When the boiling bubbles form in the upper layers, the fire ceases, leaving thick white steam in its wake. “A hot bath, just for you, my little pony.”
The whirlpool slows down and you manage to swim back up through the heated saliva. You hesitate before taking the much-needed gasp of air from the surface.
“Have you ever taken a vibration bath before?” The dragon asks but doesn’t wait for an answer. He utters a deep rumbling sound that makes saliva ripple and spray around as if it were shaken.
You are still scared and brace yourself, only to feel a very relaxing wave of motion flow through the liquid. You can’t help but relax and enjoy yourself. “This is nice.”
After a while, the rumbling stops. “Okay, now it’s your turn to do the vibrations, pony.”
“I don’t understand.” You swim in place, confused.
“I sang to you. It’s only appropriate you sing to me in return, no?”
“Oh… Well, I can try…. But I don’t know what to sing.”
“Sing something rumbling. My mother once sang so rumbly, that this whole mountain collapsed on top of her. Help me with my nostalgia, pony. And if your chirps don’t scatter around the saliva enough, I’ll conclude that you’re only good for getting eaten.”
“Well, since there’s no fail state, I have nothing to stress about. I might as well try.” You start to sing, not singing anything in particular just trying to make as much noise as possible. All the while, you splash the saliva around with your legs trying to stir up the liquid as much as you can. In the middle of your song, you stick your face in the liquid and breathe out to make bubbles.
The dragon moves his head in rhythm.
The occasional lyrics are hard to discern even for you but you can hear yourself singing phrases like “I belong with you, and you belong with me.” “I am yours.” “I’m tasty, please believe me” and “I will make you happy.” With the last one, you conclude your performance.
“That’s...” The dragon face-claws. It’s at that moment that a deep rumbling erupts from below. It’s not you this time, it’s the dragon’s tummy, making the noise. “Well, it’s not the rumbling I was expecting, but it is you who caused it. However, I’m gonna need you to stop the rumbling that you have wrought within me.”
“How do I do that?” you ask.
“In all my life, I’ve only found one thing that can stop the vibrations of this sort.” The tongue sinks into saliva and attacks you like a shark from the depths.
You try to protest before you’re once again forcibly dragged under the saliva by the tongue. You wriggle about at first, but when the tongue wraps around you and you both rise above the surface, you let yourself go and give the tongue full control. You feel weak and tired.
"Okay, my tongue has fully recuperated. It's now bursting with energy and ready for round four. Are you ready as well?" The shapeshifting appendage puts you down, assumes its humanoid form and shoves you at the shoulder with its ‘arm’.
"Ooooohhhhhh. . ." You’re too weak to respond properly.
"Here are the rules of round 4. You and the tongue serpent each alternately slap each other. It's like a contest of endurance. Go ahead, you can start. Don't hold back." The tongue stands upright before you, shaking.
You stand up slowly and give the tongue a slap, it’s like hitting a jelly.
"You can go ahead and start.” The tongue no longer trembles. “Any time you're ready." The mass before you patiently waits, turning around in boredom.
"Um." You try again, attacking it as hard as you can with both forehooves.
"Look, if you want me and my tongue to start round four, just say so. I'm a long-living dragon, but I won't live forever, you know? There's only so much time I have to waste. Just smack the tongue, already. How hard can that be?"
"I'm trying!" you scream and throw your whole body at it.
"Okay, time’s up. You had your chance, but my patience ran out. My turn. But first, let me just warm up a little." The tongue moves around the teeth and feels out a skull stuck in a cranny. It pokes the bony remains out of the fissure. "Here, put this on your head. I want to see if my aim is true." The tongue gives you the skull with its pretend arms.
Nervously, you put the skull on your head, your body trembles more and more.
The tongue feels you out, along with the skull on your head. "Stay still now." The tongue swings around the mouth and slaps on the skull which shatters on impact. Boney shards splatter on the teeth behind you like shrapnels.
You forget to breathe out the air you’re holding in your lungs.
"Let me just charge my whipping power and then we can start." The tongue raises up and slaps down with tremendous force. The saliva parts, and you find yourself in the middle of the slimy corridor among the droplets that are flying by you in all directions with supersonic speed.
An extra few slams follow. Each subsequent one is faster and harder than the previous one. The sheer force of the wind causes your skin to wrinkle.
"Okay, warmup complete. Are you ready for this?"
"N-no! I'm scared." The trembling increases, basically turning your body into a vibrator. You stand on hind legs and hold up your forelegs before your muzzle to shield yourself. Deep down you know that even if you were an immovable object, you couldn’t hold back the unstoppable force.
The tongue flaps around the teeth, producing massive sonic booms.
The shockwaves traverse through your body.
"You might want to close your eyes for this."
"D-don't!!" You close your eyes.
The tongue flaps in an ever wider arch toward you, getting louder with each slap. "Here it comes!"
You scream in panic and curl up, your muscles failing you.
The tongue softly hugs you and wraps around your body like a warm blanket.
"Hmm? Huh?"
The tongue slowly lifts you up and tucks you in on top of it. "I was just messing with you. The truth is, I wanted to consume you the moment you entered my den. It's just that I like to play with my food before I devour it. All this time, I've been holding myself back. I wanted you inside me.
The tip of the tongue wedges under your legs and flips you out of the saliva. Midair, it wraps around your body, and slings it to the base of the tongue. The slope of the muscled appendage becomes ever steeper as it slowly rises.
You can’t keep yourself from sliding down the slippery tongue, so you just continue to nuzzle it as this is happening, accepting your fate. “I’m ready to be sent to my room now, Bad.”
Deep rumblings echo from below. “Your bedroom awaits you, princess.” The tongue rises vertically. Throat muscles embrace you, slowly leading you down toward the tube of flesh.
There's rain and harsh wind outside, but in my belly, it's warm and calm. It's where you belong."
You start to tremble again slightly. This time, however, out of excitement and not fear.
The tongue unwraps and forms a slide toward a swallowing hole. A cozy warmth radiates from the opening.
In order to slide down with ease, you let your body go limp. It’s time for you to enjoy yourself. You giggle with exciting noises.
The tongue slowly swings up, making the slide ever steeper.
You drift down the tongue and enter the throat. Letting out a loud wheeee on the way.
The warm walls of the swallowing hole press together, hugging you tightly.
You moan in joy as you slide down, happy as can be.
You are massaged by the walls surrounding you pulling you down deeper and deeper.
A splash of warm saliva rushing down the throat pushes you further. The tunnel widens at the end, and you are dropped into a soft room of flesh.
"Ooooohhhhh!" You slide into and down the end of the swallowing hole smoothly, occasionally being stopped as the muscles press against you.
The walls caress you, like 100 limbs touching you all at once. The slickness all around you makes you feel as if you’re wearing a furtight bodysuit, just that you’re not wearing one; it wears you within itself.
You can't help but give out some moans of appreciation as you slide down, eventually reaching the bottom of the throat.
A warm bath awaits you in the stomach. "I hope you like the jacuzzi," booms the voice from above.
You land in the liquids awaiting you, and it is just as comforting as you imagined.
You can feel the warmth radiating from all around you. The floor of the stomach is soft and bouncy. It's like you’re playing in a kiddy pool.
"Haha, this is nice, thanks big dragon," you say happily as you begin to play around and enjoy yourself in fun.
The soft room gurgles noisily around you as you adjust yourself to your new environment. Wet, warm, soft, bouncy, you love it. “Hehe, I’m at my final destination, Bad. Time to stop the rumbles in your tumblies.”
The rumblings indeed stop. “Mmm, I believe your room likes you as much as you like it. I couldn’t have stopped the rumblings myself. It was all your doing.”
“I do love my room. And I’m glad I was able to help.” It’s all just too good to believe. You crouch down and massage your surroundings. “Can we talk a little more before I’m lulled to sleep?”
“With something in my belly, I’m getting drowsy myself, but sure, why not? What would you like to talk about, my little pony?”
“I’m curious, why do you keep so many bones in your den? Are they some sort of trophy collection for you?”
“Nah, I’m just too lazy to take out the trash. And then with time, I get used to having the stuff around. If I throw anything away now, it will feel as if the den is missing something.”
“Hmm, maybe I should order you to clean up since I am your princess,” you joke while attempting to undo the ponytails the dragon tied from your tail and mane.
There was silence for a while, then the dragon spoke, “There, everything is clean.” Under his breath, he whispers, “Not that you can confirm it in any way, hehe.”
You roll your eyes but play along anyway. “Good Bad.”
The dragon scoffs.
“Bad? Do you ever feel lonely, or unhappy?”
“It’s not so simple.” The dragon sighs. “Let me tell you a story, pony. It’s common knowledge that dragons have phenomenal eyesight, but I don’t think anypony knows just to what extent. To put it mildly, hawks are essentially blind compared to dragons.
“I sometimes walk outside and observe the world below. I can see every detail without getting noticed from afar. “Some time ago, I watched foals playing in the playground. There was a lone filly who walked beside them. She found a molehill and started to dig at it. Then a chasing filly smashed into her by accident, knocking her face first into the dirt. When she eventually got up on her legs, a stray ball hit her from behind, shoving her head back in the mud.
“She jerked up and ran away to the maze at the edge, crying all the way there. Nopony had played there because the routes were too narrow. She found solace and safety there. And in the center of it, she discovered a sandbox.
“To this day, she still plays there by herself. Is she lonely or unhappy? Hard to say. I’d venture she’s content. She sometimes raises her head in curiosity when the foals get extra playful outside of her maze, but she never goes to join them. She tried once and it was horrible.
“In some ways, the filly reminds me of me. Am I lonely, or unhappy? I’m not sure I can answer that.
“And you, pony. Are you happy?”
“I’m happiest when I make others happy. In a sense I try to brighten up people’s rainy days, and that in turn creates a rainbow over my soul.” You rub the dragon’s tummy from within.
“I must say, you fulfilled your destiny today.” The dragon rubs on the belly with a claw. “You certainly made me happy.”
“I’m glad.” You yawn. “One last question before I sleep.”
“Fire it out,” Bad says before lying down. A ray of light illuminates the inside from above as the dragon yawns.
“It’s silly, really, but. . . Do you enjoy burping after meals?” You ask timidly.
“Let me check.” The stomach trembles as the out-worldly grumblings echo from within and without. When the trembling subsides, the dragon adds, “Yes, that was quite enjoyable, indeed.”
“Hehe, nice one… yawn…” You curl up and prepare to sleep. “Hey, maybe we can go meet that little filly sometime…” You say, drifting off.
“Nah, she just wants to be left alone to her own devices. We couldn’t change her ways even if we tried. Everything is as it should be.”
