Twilight suddenly fell back, and was breathing hard, causing the others to rush to her side, which nearly sent you falling to the floor before you grabbing Octavia's mane tightly. Not that you minded, you were concerned too, having been in a situation like this not a few minutes ago, and not really liking it. Luckily, Twilight, after a few seconds of opening her eyes and then shutting them tightly while taking a deep breath, seemed fine, and rose to her feet in a wobbly fashion, and that had Rarity using her magic to keep her steady while Vinyl, showing she could be helpful, brought a couch closer for her to lay down on. It took another minute of hard breathing before Twilight could speak again, and all the while she looked over towards Dash with a concerned look in her eyes.
"I don't understand, that spell's a bit more magic intensive than most, but I haven't done that much today. I didn't even feel tired until I tried to cast it again, almost like my magic was drained from me without realizing it," she said, her eyes not leaving Dash.
"Well, can you quickly teach Vinyl or Rarity that spell?" you ask, and four sets of eyes turn to you, not one of them looking like you'd said something sensible. Dash, for her part, was trying to stay as still as possible, obviously to not bump Applejack around too much inside her belly, but even she seemed to think you'd gone crazy.
"Magic isn't something that one just does, human boy, it's...something one knows. I mean, sure, I can rock the tunes, and we saw cuz's skill with fashion a bit ago, but for most of us who aren't Ms. Sparkle here, it's a lot more effort to learn a spell," said Vinyl, which was, again, oddly helpful of her, and you revised your opinion of her quickly. She probably had looked really concerned after she'd eaten you, but unless there was real danger, she was laid back. It was something to note.
"Like when she learned that spell to make wings for Rarity by just reading it n a book," you said without thinking, and Twilight's eyes narrowed at you. This was not your best day for keeping your mouth shut, but then, you were in a cartoon universe, tiny...well, bigger than you had been, but still smaller than the resident sophents(Thinking Beings). Still, this time your slip of the tongue costs you as Twilight approaches Octavia, who does skitter away a bit under that withering gaze.
"Okay, how the hay do you know about that little incident?" she demands, but then groaning can be heard from Dash that distracts everyone again, and even from across the room you can hear a gurgle, which was not good sign.
"Figure that out later Twilight, you have to get Applejack out of me, now!" shouts Dash.
"But how? I can't teach the others the spell that quick, and I don't think I can get you to vomit without some study..." she said running back to Dash's side, and trying to think, as she quickly levitated a few books towards herself, reading a passage or two before tossing them aside. Of course, then it occurs to you that this was likely your fault, though Twilight hadn't said it. She'd only cast that spell earlier on you, and probably you being human had screwed it up, which was why she hadn't noticed it before that point. That meant you had to do something drastic, and with a look at Dash, who was now visibly sweating, you decide what it is and pull on Octavia's mane again.
"Octavia, I think I could get Applejack out," you tell her.
"How dear?" she asks, and you turn towards Rarity.
"Rarity, get me some yarn, your toughest stuff that can take a lot of punishment," you tell her, and Rarity, generous and giving, is off like a shot.
"Vinyl, use your magic to get Dash to stand perfectly still," was your next order, and Vinyl, showing she could be counted on in a crisis, quickly did so, just as Rarity returned with a ball of yarn.
"Okay, this is going to suck, but I think it will work. Hey Dash, think you could swallow something my size?" you ask as Rarity holds out the ball, and you tie the loose end around your waist. Of course, she'd figured out your plan the moment you'd asked her to get the yarn, but Octavia, her head turning as around as she can, stares at you in concern, which you found rather sweet.
"Are you sure about that? I mean, we barely got you out of Vinyl before she digested you," she told you in no uncertain terms.
"Yeah, and doing that is probably why you can't do the same for Applejack, so let's try this real quick. If it works, I get her out. If it doesn't...we hope Twilight can figure out how to make her vomit," you say, and Dash, looking concerned, and like she has no idea what to do, stares at you. She didn't even know what you were, but after a moment, she opens her mouth, and Octavia, still looking concerned, takes you in her own, and then walks forward, and kisses Dash, her tongue pressing you into Rainbow's tongue with her own, before pulling back, and you were glad you hadn't put the suit back on since it would have gotten dirty, and also glad it was dark in Dash's mouth, so no one could see you really liked what had just happened.
Suddenly, everything was plunged into darkness, and you could feel Dash's tongue try to push you back towards her throat, but then hesitate and leave you in the lurch, pushing you forward again. She was having a hard time swallowing something of your size, despite having done the same to Applejack a few minutes beforehand. Like trying to swallow a pill, after knowing it's there. If you'd been thinking straight you might have asked her to get a drink or something to wash you down with, but your mental state, especially given your current surroundings, wasn't the best, and so, in lieu of that, you merely jump towards her throat, getting the front half of your body jammed between the back of her tongue and the roof of her mouth, and making her choke, before she tilted her head back, and the tight walls passed you downward.
And unlike with Vinyl, they were tight. The walls, seeing you as the whole load, rather than a tiny crumb on a donut, squeezed against you, and for a moment or two you wonder if her body might squeeze you to death, as it feels like being in a vice. However, after the rough direction change, indicating you had passed out of her neck, and into her body, you felt the grip tighten for a moment, threatening to break you in two, before you were tossed out and landing with a shout in a pool of muck, the remains of the apple that Dash had said she'd eaten given the smell, and with a quick shake, you looked around, finding once again, there was just enough light to see by in a pony's stomach, and in one corner, curled up and eyes closed, was Applejack.
"Come on Rainbow, notice I'm in here already and get me out," she says, trying to stay out of the stomach juices. Obviously, she hadn't heard what was going on outside, which wasn't hard to conceive, considering Dash's belly was gurgling loudly, and probably had been for a while.
"Applejack!" you shout, swimming towards her. Luckily, despite last time looking like this stuff could melt you into paste, the stomach juices in Dash's belly seemed to tingle only, though that was probably not going to keep up forever, all things considered.
"What the...who in the hay are you?" she said as you swam up next to her and climbed onto the bit of stomach fold she was clinging to, to stay out of the muck.
"Explanations later, out of stomach now," you tell her, gasping for breath. You really should have visited the pool more often you chide yourself as you quickly tie the yarn around your waist around her, and then mount her like you would a horse.
"Pray to Celestia that this thing holds, Applejack," you tell her as you tug on the yarn, and feel it pulling you,, causing AJ to cry out as she's dragged into the muck, and then towards the stomach entrance.
The ride through the muck is awful. Swimming in it was bad enough, but you'd been able to at least try and keep your head above it, but as you and AJ are dragged towards the exit, the stuff pulls you under, and the two of you hold your breath. Your lungs feeling like they are on fire, while your skin tells you it might feel that way if this keeps up for too long, though luckily, you don't, as a few seconds after you find yourself underneath the muck and mire, you are dragged against some soft, folded skin, the stuff rubbing against you and making your own skin crawl. It was actually pleasant really, if you ignored the fact that tingle in your skin grows into sharp pin prick everywhere the wall touches you, before you two finally hit the surface, and each take a deep gulp of air, as you are pulled towards the exit.
Of course, Rainbow Dash's stomach is just a intent on winning as the pony herself, and doesn't like it when meals try to escape, so the two of you are slammed into the hard valve of flesh that leads from the stomach to the throat, and then dropped back, as everything shakes hard, making you grab onto Applejack, even while she tries to get her feet to a standing position on the soft skin of the stomach lining. After a moment, the violent quaking tops, and you feel yourself pulled again towards the exit, this time the yarn glowing a bit with Rarity's magic colors, her telekinesis being added to the tugging as the two of you are forced against the tightly closed flesh again. This time though, the tugging doesn't let up, even as you feel like you're going to be cut in two by the yarn at your waist, and with a pop, you enter a tight tunnel.
Going down the throat had been bad, it had felt like being in a vice. Going up it, against the current that had at least been working with you, well that felt worse. It felt like being in one of those car compactors, with the walls and ceiling both coming in at once, crushing you from two sides. The walls, seemingly soft to the touch are pushing against you, hard muscles behind them trying to force you back down, while above the flesh closes almost as tightly as the stuff that had been blocking you from escaping the stomach, making you grind your teeth against the pain. You would cry out, as every inch you move seems like hours of work, but the crushing force of Rainbow's throat doesn't let you draw a breath as you are steadily pulled upward.
For a moment, just a moment, you think you're going to die. Oh, you'd thought that plenty of times since appearing in Ponyville, after all, things your size don't usually last long in your world, but then, that had all been sudden, climactic changes to status quo, nearly getting step on, then flying, then flying again, and getting eaten, which you did willingly this time, you tried to remind yourself. However, all those others had been sudden changes, with no time to consider them, but as you are dragged upward, with the weight of the world, or at least the weight a pegasus' swallow produces, pounding on you, you can consider it, and you realize you don't want to die. It was scary to die, and you force yourself to stay awake against the pressure and the lack of oxygen, even as you feel Applejack pass out beneath you.
Had she stayed awake just one moment longer, she would have felt the pressure suddenly multiply exponentially, before vanishing altogether as the two of you fly weightless into the air, sailing for a moment, before you can feel the power of magic surround you again, this time in Vinyl's colors, as she lowers the pair of you gently down to the floor, letting you slip off Applejack's back as you come in contact with the wood, and rise wobbly to your feet, next to the passed out pony. Looking upward, you see four concerned faces filling your sky, Octavia, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity, with Vinyl in the background assisting Rainbow, who is on the floor, coughing, but getting nothing up, which made you smirk for some reason, before leaning down to check on Applejack.
"She's breathing! And now, I'm gonna take a nap!" you shout out, holding your hands in fist triumphantly over your head, before you feel everything tilt to the side, and you distantly hear the dull thunk of a tiny body slam into hard wood. The last thing you hear before blackness takes you is the pounding of hooves, and several concerned voices as the ponies rush around you, and yet, you drift off to dreams with a smirk still on your face.
Dreams come and go, it is said. Fleeting images, born of the mind and spirit, windows to the deepest fears and desires we have. You haven't had one in years. Your slumber is just darkness, until you waken. So it is today, you are swimming in the void, content, if not peaceful, when the world begins to intrude. a few voices, none of them ones you know, just background noise to the void, which tries to keep you in its grasp, one of protection. Here you are safe, no light to guide you down a dangerous road, just a shadow to guard you as you lay at rest. It's tempting, ever so tempting, to stay in the void, as you feel the pain of the world return, the ache and soreness of a mortal body. Still, temptations can be resisted, and you slowly open your eyes, a groan coming out of your lips.
"I think he's waking up," a voice says, and you find yourself staring up at huge faces. The void still has that part of you that comprehends things, and so you stare at them, in slack jawed wonder. They are faces of beings that cannot be real. The real world was a wash of colors and designs, of various shades and hues, but all the faces you see, which number in the twelve, are things of simplistic colorings, single hues, mostly lighter tones. These are things of fantasy, yet your sore body tells you, you are awake, and though such things can be fooled, you refuse to contemplate them. If this is what you see and hear, you act like it's real. The only other option is to accept madness, and you would rather revel in it than let it have you.
"Are ya'll alright, little 'un?" comes a voice, not the same one from before, but one with an accent you recognize as southern. Looking towards the faces, it is from the orange face in the middle, Applejack. Standing around her are the other five that wield the greatest weapon of their world, the Elements of Harmony, the ones who dispelled the darkness that had taken Luna and twisted her into Nightmare Moon. They were also the ones who had vanquished Discord, sentencing the seemingly jovial entity to stone, for they had felt the touch of chaos, and knew that beneath that exterior laid a core of evil worse than even the Mare of Darkness, an evil that would have corrupted Order, and turned all to madness, simply for a joke.
"I'm functioning within optimal parameters," you say, and then smirk. Data from Star Trek had said that once, you were sure, when he woke up. It amused you, even when you got odd looks from the ponies staring down at you. Behind the Mane 6 were the faces of Octavia and Vinyl, the latter actually looking quite concerned, considering who she was, while the later looked relieved more than anything else, probably at least understanding what you had said. Beside them stood three younger ponies, without the marks on their flanks that came with age, sisters to two of the Mane 6, and a worshiper of another, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Behind them stood a rather commanding presence, a huge pony, but not one of the Princesses. Instead it was Big Macintosh, looking like a big red mountain to you.
"Uh, anypony wanna translate that for me?" asked Applejack, looking towards Twilight, who shook her head in dismay at her friend's lack of understanding.
"I said I'm fine, Applejack," you tell her, rising, and then falling back down with a grimace, and because the surface beneath you caved in a little as you tried to stand. As one might expect, you were no longer on the hard floor, but instead, on a nice soft, if somewhat fragrant, bed, with clean white sheets covering you, though, as noted previously, nothing else, your body once again nude. You didn't care now though, since any covering would have only made you sorer than you already were.
"I don't think ya'll are fine t'all. Still, I hope Twilight and the Doc's magic at least helped a bit. I know I was plum sore after that little hayride," she said, smirking down at you, and Rainbow's face went a bit down at being reminded of why you were sore.
"I'm alive, and in another dimension. Those two facts should be completely incongruous, so considering they're happening at the same time, that's something," you say, a bit more steadily than you felt and the ponies watching you visibly relax. Obviously, you'd been asleep for a while, probably because Applejack was a pony, and something they knew how to heal, but you were something altogether different, meaning they had probably thought you might die.
"Oh man, I am so sorry, I really am," said Rainbow Dash suddenly, as her head got closer, causing you to involuntarily flinch and try to retreat, right into a giant pillow.
"Dash, you really must stop crowding the poor dear. We all know you're sorry, and I'm sure, given time, he'll forgive you. You will, won't you?" asked Rarity, as her horn glowed a bit, and she dragged Dash back from the bed.
"Heh, I got to play the hero for once in my life thanks to her. I'm sure that deserves a bit of forgiveness in payment," you tell her, trying to rise again, and this time, able to do so, though you keep the sheet covering your body, mostly out of some sense of modesty, as you look up towards the ponies surrounding you. This was, truth be told, the third strangest way you'd ever woken up, and yet, despite not really knowing anyone, it was still more pleasant than most mornings with your family, so you smirk a bit as you look around, Rarity quickly realizing what you're looking for and lifting you with her magic while bringing an outfit towards you, dressing you in a replica of the clothing you’d been wearing when you arrived in Equestria.