Deep in the darkness of a cave, a pair of glowing red eyes watched the sky. The pony they belonged to waited, patient, as the clouds glowed golden, then turned a light shade of pink and orange. She did this often, and knew that such colors meant night was drawing close. With the dark came the hunt.
A soft thud, then an imposing figure stood near the cave entrance. It bore a yellow coat, a frazzled pink mane that flowed down her back and parted on both sides of her head, and a pair of leathery bat wings. A creature who was impossible to exist, yet there all the same.
She waited a few more seconds, her long forked tongue running slowly across her fangs, until the last beam of sunlight disappeared under the horizon. The reaction was immediate. The intimidating mare shot from her perch like an owl who just spotted a mouse far below, spread her wings, and flew. The destination wasn’t far off, and at the speed she went, she’d make it there in but a few minutes. Then it would be time to feast.
The cool night breeze blew against her face and coat, and the mare cooed contently. She couldn’t imagine being out during the day, with the harsh sun beating its intense heat on her. No, the night was better. The night was familiar. The night was hers.
Large trees loomed in the distance, and she flapped her wings all the harder. When one finally came close, a strong flap of her wings shot her up into its branches. Though she vanished for a moment under the leaves, she re-emerged a moment later holding a bright red, round, apple. Flutterbat’s body shook in anticipation. Her tongue swiped her lips free of drool. After less than a moment’s hesitation, her head darted forward and her fangs pierced the thick skin of the delicious fruit. The sweet juices flowed across her sensitive tongue like the sweetest nectar, and down into her warm belly. The apple shrivelled underneath the assault, and it rolled off of her lax hooves before it fell to the ground. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth for a minute, then spat hard. Several small seeds flew straight and true, then embedded themselves in the ground.
She licked her hooves to savor every last drop, but even more waited. Her body was but a blur as she returned to the branches above. No apple was safe from her ravenous appetite. Bite after bite, apple after apple, and before long, the ground below was littered with apple seeds. Once that tree was done, she hastily began to work on the next one. Speed was key.. Who knew when competition might show up? A repeat of the last orchard she visited was unappealing, with those five annoying ponies constantly trying to catch her. No, she preferred this orchard. Quiet, peaceful, and full of delicious apples.
As she finished the next to last apple in the branches, an apple on the ground far below caught her attention. It was moving, rolling on its own. Her wings flapped hard, and she shot towards the ground, picking up the apple and carrying it with her on the ascent. Her fangs pierced it without a second thought, and her tongue probed the exterior to lick up whatever delicious juice escaped.
However, she tasted something different. Her flight came to a halt as her ears perked up. She licked the apple again without taking it out, then decided to investigate. She grabbed it with both hooves and slowly pulled it away, a combination of saliva and juice dripped to the ground below her.
A small, bipedal creature with a blonde mane and some kind of cloth covering it clung to the front of the apple. It was soaked wet, and his eyes reflected fear.
Flutterbat’s reaction was immediate. She dropped the apple onto the ground, and jumped back and away from it as her ears went flat. The most menacing hiss she could produce rose from her throat.
“Well, hello to you too.” The thing responded with a masculine voice. It wiped itself off, wet with juices and Flutterbat’s own saliva. “Not the most conventional way to treat someone after you almost ate them.”
Her body remained locked in place, and she didn’t dare to take her eyes off of the unfamiliar creature. It was time look for somewhere else for apples. She didn’t enjoy competition, much less from a creature she didn’t recognize. However, a particular scent caught her attention. She stuck her nose into the air and sniffed deeply. Her ears slowly rose as her face changed from aggression to curious interest.
It stopped wiping itself off long enough to notice her sudden change in demeanor. Its annoyed expression twisted into a frown. At Flutterbat’s steady advance, its feet skidded against the dirt as it tried to push itself away. She leaned forward, just slightly, to make absolutely certain that she knew where the smell was coming from. Once she got close enough, she could no longer deny it.
It was coming from him.
The scent reminded her of apples, but it went beyond that. It smelled untainted, like an apple in its purest, ripest state. Similar to the giant one she’d almost feasted upon at the old orchard. The question was, did the taste compliment the smell? The mere thought of such a delicious taste was already causing her to salivate.
Slowly, Flutterbat licked her lips.
“Oh, no.” It stood, keeping its arms outstretched in some meaningless attempt to coax her down. “Look, I don’t know if you can even understand me, or if you’re even a pony, but I’ve been eaten more times than I can count since I got here. I’m not fond of repeating the experience.”
Her forelegs bent as her body crouched closer to the ground. Her glowing red eyes remained locked onto him, staring at him not as an unfamiliar creature, but as food.
“Crap!”
He dove to the side just as she landed where he’d been standing. A hiss rang through the silence of the orchard, as her prey ran for it.
Her forelegs left the ground in a second pounce, and she unfolded her bat wings to remain in the air. The wind rushed past her face and whooshed past her ears. The small creature passed underneath of her, so she turned to face him, and landed directly in his path. He tried to stop, but his feet failed to find purchase on the soft dirt, and his feet slid out from under him as he fell onto his back. She saw her chance, and lunged forward with a hiss.
“N-” His cries became muffled as she closed her hooves over him. With her prize secured, her wings flapped hard and carried her into the branches above. Only once she was safely seated on a branch did she dare to open her hooves and look at the prey within. He immediately tried to escape, but Flutterbat closed her hooves again and hissed at him. A second or two passed before she opened them again. This time, he didn’t make an attempt to get away, though he did curl away from her.
Flutterbat’s muzzle scrunched, and she carefully sniffed again before extending her long, warm, wet tongue. It ran across his form and left a long trail of saliva, before she retracted it.
“Eugh, c’mon! If you’re gonna do it, just do it already! This is gross!” She ignored him, instead running her tongue around in her mouth. Satisfied, the wet muscle came back for a second sample, much more wet than the last.
After several more, the ‘hooman’ as he’d taken to calling himself was significantly coated with her saliva. He writhed and wriggled the whole time, but she’d already decided what to do with him. The only question was how. He didn’t look like an apple, and biting into him seemed unappealing. Still, the taste was simply magnificent.
Deciding to worry about specifics later, she dipped her head down.
“Hey, what are you mrrrf-”
Now with the man’s upper torso sticking in her mouth, Flutterbat’s long, dexterous tongue extended, then wrapped around the rest of him to pull him inside.
A small moan escaped her lips as she gently pushed him around inside, her head leaned back and she took a long, juicy gulp.
Relief immediately flooded her body, and steamy breath left her mouth as she released a long sigh. Her tongue dangled from her mouth, and the only thing left of the human she’d eaten was a small bulge in her throat. One that soon vanished into her chest with a muffled yell.
Flutterbat licked her lips, then her hooves, which still had some of his taste on them. The wiggling and movement in her stomach felt quite satisfying, very unlike the apple juice she was used to.
She rubbed her stomach, then thought about maybe grabbing a few more apples before she turned in. that was before a couple of voices reached her ears.
“Flynnn!”
“Hey Flynn!”
“Where are ya, buddy?”
With a gentle coo, Flutterbat retreated into the shadows of the trees, only the red of her eyes showing as she prepared for the main course.
Far below the branches of the trees, a group of humans, clad in hiking gear, shouted their friend’s name over and over.
“Do you think someone got him?” A woman with long, brown hair asked near the back of the group.
“Who? Flynn?” The male at the front, a tall man with a fairly dark complexion and black spiked hair spoke. “Nah, he’s tough. If he can’t fight off whatever attacks, he can run.”
“I don’t know, John.” The woman hugged herself, then cast a cautious glance to the looming trees and darkness all around them. “I don’t like this place. I’m worried about him.”
To her right, a young man with a red baseball cap and a camping backpack yawned loudly. “We were supposed to start heading back when it started getting dark.” He shrugged the backpack further onto his shoulders. “Maybe Flynn started heading back? I know we were supposed to meet up after we got all the apples we could, but maybe he didn’t feel like waiting around in the dark?”
“Maybe…” John sighed. “You’re right, he’s probably fine. You worry too much, Nicole.” He grinned.
Silence.
“Nicole?” John turned, and saw only Nicole’s backpack sitting on the ground a few feet back.
“N-Nicole?” Another girl spoke up, this one directly behind John. She was shorter, with braided blonde hair and a pale complexion.
“Hey! Nicole!” A third man, this one tan with dark red hair, ran up to the backpack. He stepped around it, producing a flashlight from his pocket as he pointed it down the path they came, and into the trees that surrounded them. It cast ominous shadows behind them, akin to figures reaching for them with their twisted fingers. “Where’d you go? Is this some kinda joke? It ain’t funny!”
John produced his own flashlight, his pulse beating in his ears as he searched around.
“Maybe she had to go to the bathroom or something...yeah…” John mumbled to himself. “Just couldn’t hold it and had to go…” he tried to reason with himself, but a question still nagged at the back of his mind.
Then why did she leave the backpack?
As the light panned through the branches, he caught the briefest glimpse of a shadow. One that moved out of sight.
“Who’s there?!” He called out, grabbing the flashlight with both hands and taking a step forward. “Show yourself!”
With no response, he cursed quietly and slowly backed away…
Only to trip on a backpack that laid on the ground. A large camping backpack.
“Jeremy?!” John scrambled to his feet, about to approach the backpack, when something shot from the bushes, wrapped around the backpack, and retracted.
John’s flashlight immediately shot towards the bushes, but after a slight rustling, it went completely still.
“Andrea! Michael!” John spoke in a harsh whisper. “Come here!” the three remaining humans pressed their backs to one another. “Keep your eyes open, let’s start heading out of the orchard, we need to get help!” The other two nodded, though Andrea looked much worse for the wear.
“I told you this was a bad idea, John! The ponies really hate it when you steal from their apple orchards, and now they’re coming after us one by one!” She sobbed louder and louder with each word.
“Shhh!” John hushed her. “Unless you really want to become a pony’s meal, keep your voice down, or they’ll hear us!” She complied, covering her mouth. John glanced behind them before turning towards Michael. “Michael, you see anything?”
“Nothing so far.”
“Good, not much longer to go now.”
The three stayed shoulder to shoulder. When suddenly, a sharp cracking sound came from the woods off to the right.
John swerved, immediately giving it all of his attention. Upon seeing nothing, he swallowed hard, then turned to sling his arm around John and Andrea’s shoulders.
John felt no different, but Andrea’s body was bigger than he remembered. And softer.
John slowly turned, looking towards their friend. Rather than her familiar face, there was a leg. Following the leg up, he saw a large, yellow pony with bat wings, and glowing red eyes staring back at him. Andrea’s legs were sticking out of her mouth, but the mare simply flicked her tongue and pulled her inside, then gave an audible gulp.
“Michael?”
“Yeah?”
“Run.”
They did just that, just as a sharp hiss came from behind them.
“The hell kind of thing is that?” John asked, panting for breath as he ran.
“I don’t know, doesn’t seem like the other ones we’ve seen! I definitely haven’t heard them hiss before!”
“Just keep running!”
The loud, heavy pounding of hooves on dirt was only right behind them, and though he knew they couldn’t die if they got caught, the idea of getting caught by something so...unfamiliar, terrified him.
Next to him, Michael tripped, and grunted as his chest impacted the dirt.
John stopped, skidding on the dirt as he went back to help his friend.
“Just go!” Michael shouted as he motioned for John to go on. “Get help and come back, I’ll be f-”
The bat-mare’s mouth descended upon him, then lifted him by the collar of his shirt. She effortlessly threw him high into the air, then opened her mouth. He fell into it, and her mouth clamped shut. John didn’t stick around to see what happened next, he was already running when he heard the gulp.
He could see the silvery moonlight filtering through the treeline ahead, which led out to a wide, open area. He was almost out.
Just as he cleared the treeline, something warm, wet, and alive clamped onto his foot. John fell forward, braced himself for an impact against the ground, but he was suddenly jerked backwards. He could only drag at the ground, letting out a yell for help as he vanished back into the darkness of the trees.
He was lifted up, in the hooves of the ravenous pony, and she stared at him with a smug grin. Her red glowing eyes lit up the darkness, casting ominous shadows across her face as she slowly licked her lips, then stuck the tip of her tongue out. He could hear her stomach growl, and the muffled cry of his friends within. John grimaced, but was unable to move. Instead, he spat at her.
“Screw you.”
He expected her to be angry, or growl, but instead, she gently licked at his face, before the cave-like maw opened wide, and he was enveloped in warm, squelching darkness.
The flight was shorter this time. Perhaps it was the wonderful squirming of six pleasant treats in her stomach that made the trip shorter, or perhaps she flew faster, eager to relax and enjoy her hard-earned meal. Regardless, she circled once before gracefully landing at the entrance to her cave. She sauntered in, slightly off balance with her heavier stomach, as she approached her sleeping spot. She carefully wrapped her tail around the rock embedded in the ceiling, then let herself hang.
Gurgling and groaning filled the otherwise quiet cave, and Flutterbat sighed happily before her eyes drifted to a close. Her breathing became softer, deeper, and before long, she was fast asleep.
Other than an ear or limb occasionally twitching, she was out cold.
A few hours later…
A small hand poked out of Flutterbat’s mouth. It clenched, then grabbed at her lips as a head soon followed it.
John took a deep, gasping breath. Thick strands of saliva dripped off of him as he quickly glanced around. Though his eyes had adjusted to Flutterbat’s dark insides, it was still hard to see, wherever they were. He looked down, making sure the ground was close enough, before pulling himself completely out.
He fell a short distance, then hit the ground with a grunt. He rolled onto his back, sputtered, and climbed to his feet.
One, two, three… he slowly counted all the way up to ten, when another head emerged from her mouth. Flynn took a gasping breath, before sliding all the way out and falling. He yelled, shortly, before John caught him and clamped a hand over his mouth.
The mare shifted and mumbled, but didn’t wake.
The process repeated, four other humans fell out before Michael finally emerged. They helped catch him, then slowly made their way towards the cave entrance. When they figured they were out of earshot, they talked quietly among themselves.
“Everyone alright?” John asked.
“Yeah.” They all echoed.
“I lost my backpack in there. It had all our apples.” Jeremy sighed. “All of that work.”
“Just be glad we’re alive.” John whispered. “Let’s get out of here and back to town, before they start sending search parties to look for us.”
Just as they turned to leave, a familiar bat pony landed between them and the cave exit. Her glowing red eyes bore into them accusingly, and they didn’t even have the time to try and run before she opened her maw and bore down upon them.
This time, Flutterbat slowly let her legs slide out to the sides as she laid on her belly. She ignored the muffled cries from within, and rubbed her stomach against the ground a little as she folded her forelegs in front of her, and stuck her muzzle between them. Satisfied that her meals wouldn’t repeat themselves, Flutterbat’s eyes drifted to a close as she fell asleep once more.