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Chapter IV - Unforeseen Consequences
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I spent a few more minutes in the trashcan without any idea on how to get out of this stinking place. Add to all of this, it was completely dark and I couldn’t see anything. I could hear noises where cooks were making food for the guards and probably even royalty. Everyone I heard was sounding like they were in a hurry.
I really had to keep away from any food, or else someone might serve me with it. My thinking about not getting into food was interrupted when I heard a different noise. This time it was really close to me. I made my way toward the black, rubbery wall of the trash can, put my ear to it, and listened.
The sound was coming closer and closer. All of a sudden, the wall was getting ripped apart. Right above stood an elephant-sized ant! I guess he bit his way towards the junk for food in here through the wall of the trashcan. He just swooshed above me, probably not even noticing me, coming into sweet parts of the junk. He was fast, like a cheetah.
I didn’t try to catch to him. It was useless at this speed, so I went into a hole he made. It was a way put, but it was heading toward the kitchen floor. But there was a problem. The kitchen was in a rush, so my thoughts were correct. There was constantly somebody walking close to trash can, so if I tried to run over the floor, I would end up crushed to paste on that floor just like a smashed ant. There were about a dozen squashed bodies by those mountain sized hooves of unaware workers.
As I look at those lifeless bodies, I noticed that the edge of the floor was kind of ok to go. But I couldn’t risk it at this speed. I noticed a few ants coming from the edge, towards the table right in front of the trash can. They tried to chaotically run towards the table but were met with the hooves of workers. All of them got crushed to paste in mere seconds. I had no chance. Although maybe if I tamed an ant and rode it, I could survive at least until I reached the edge. But where would I find a living ant?
Ah, the ant in the trashcan! I hoped he was still in there. So I rushed back to the trashcan and started looking for that ant. After while I found him scavenging some junk. Now I only needed to find a leash. I then remembered that Luna left some blades of grass after she ate her salad and almost me.
I came to the place where I was dumped and took one blade. It was thick enough to not to get ripped apart. Now all I had to do was just silently jump onto the ant and tame it. I slowly climbed on used plastic fork, which was just high enough for me to jump safely onto the ant.
I jumped on the head of an ant. Immediately, the ant started to shake. I felt like I was in a rodeo. I took the leash and wrapped it around its mandibles. It was hard to stay on its head, but I emerged victorious. I tamed a goddamn ant! How cool was that? I just felt so proud of myself. I was finally able to ride the ant. We immediately went outside, but right after we came from the trash can, we turned left and headed for the edge of the floor. But before we were close enough to the edge, I saw a huge brown hoof coming really close to us. *BOOM*. It landed a few meters away from us, but it still made one heck of a shockwave. It threw us at the wall, right at the edge of the floor. When I looked back, I saw that brown pony taking the trash bin and dump its content out of window, right to the recycler. We were safe, for now.
It was at this point that I had the idea of naming this ant. I always wanted an animal named Sparky, so I’d name him Sparky! We were walking for several minutes, watching ponies as they tended to their daily businesses, sometimes even crushing several ants under those dirty, sweaty hooves. After that, we came to a huge wooden wall, reaching far beyond my sight. It was probably the leg of a table. It was so huge, like a skyscraper at my size. I coaxed Sparky to climb up. I would have to hold on really tightly if I didn’t want to fall down.
Over the next few minutes, I held tightly and tried not to fall. After Sparky finished climbing, we arrived at a tabletop full of exotic smells and sweets. Sparky immediately reacted and started running towards the closest sweet thing in range, which by the looks of it, was a gigantic banana pie. I was too afraid to let go, so I held on tight to him.
When Sparky jumped into the pie, I couldn’t hold, and I started falling. Sparky went flying right into the banana froth. I fell into froth too, only into different place. I was still on the same pie as Sparky, only I was on the other side. I tasted the froth; it was really good. Really fresh.
Only problem was, I couldn’t move, so I was stuck like a fly in an ocean of banana froth. I wondered what would happen next.
*--------Meanwhile--------*
About a half a hour ago, her majesty, Princess Celestia woke up. She raised the sun and said goodnight (or in this case good day) to her tired sister, Luna. Celestia then said to one of the stewards to bring her a banana pie for breakfast with an apple tea. The steward nervously bowed and ran like hell to the kitchen. Celestia meanwhile went back to her chambers to make herself presentable to the public. She brushed her mane, cleaned her teeth, and donned her hoofcups, tiara and necklace.
She then went to the royal parlor to wait for breakfast. Every guard on her way saluted to her. Everypony saw the traits that are fitting for a princess. Grandeur, wisdom, leadership, among others. But she didn’t like when they acted like that to her. Only a handful of ponies knew her true side. Grace, kindness and joy. Celestia was never able to show those traits to her subjects because she needed to look strong. But she always felt like she was doing something wrong.
She came to a set of large mahogany doors, and the guards opened them. When she entered, she didn’t see anypony else. “Of course”, she thought. Twilight was back in Ponyville with her friends and Cadance was with her husband, Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire. She felt alone in the castle. Sure, she had a sister she loved and cared for, but she never saw her much. She always liked when there was somepony new amongst her servants. She sometimes even pranks them, but they still act like they are accused of treason. She feels sad for them, same as for herself.
She sat in the chair. After awhile of waiting, the doors opened and the same pony from whom she had asked for food, was there. He had a blonde, shaggy mane and tail, a gray coat, and green-yellow eyes. She couldn’t see his cutie mark, because it was hidden behind his castle uniform. He was carrying a banana pie with apple tea, but the way he moved suggested to her, that he was really afraid. He came over to her and with half voice he nervously said, “Y...Your food, Your M...Majesty.” He put the plate with her breakfast onto the table. He bowed and stayed frozen like that, waiting for Celestia to allow him to go.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, my little pony. I don’t bite. Come on, look at me”. She said with a motherly smile. The servant raised his head and he saw a beautiful smile on Celestia’s face. He now had reason to smile too. And he did. “You see? It’s not that hard.” She finished with a chuckle. “You can go now. I will no longer keep you away from your duties.” The servant was then slowly walking towards the doors. But before he could leave, Celestia halted him and asked, “If I may ask, what is your name, little pony?”
The servant stopped and said, “M..My name is Sleepy B...Book.” And with that, he disappeared behind the doors.
“Hmm, Sleepy Book. What an interesting name. I shall remember it”.
Celestia took a sip of tea and got ready to eat her pie. She took a little knife and cut a piece of pie. She then took the piece with fork she held with her golden magical aura close to her maw. She then put that piece onto the tongue. It tasted so well that the froth gushed on the tongue really quickly. She then played with that piece with her tongue and then proceeded to put it onto her molars. She then started biting. But when she bit down, she felt something get crunched under the massive power of her teeth. It must’ve been a crumb of some other sweet a cook accidentally let fall onto her pie. But something was odd about it. It tasted oily, almost acidic. When she finished crushing her food into shapeless goo, she leaned her head backwards and swallowed. She then took a sip of tea. Then she cut another piece.
Throughout her meal, she hadn’t felt anymore crumbs getting crushed between her teeth.
When she finished eating her breakfast, she called for a toothpick. She felt a lot of things stuck in her crevices and gums. And she was also curious about that crumb she had crushed. Maybe there would still be some residue of it. When a guard brought her a toothpick she slowly put it into her mouth and started scraping. After her mouth felt clean of junk, she took the toothpick out and took a closer look at what was in her mouth. She saw pieces of half melted froth, as well as crumbs of dough of pie. No signs of that strange crumb. But there was something else. A tiny dot, that didn’t look like it was from that pie. She brought the toothpick closer to her eye and squinted. It was some kind of bug. Even smaller than an ant. How come that bug wasn’t crushed between Celestia’s humongous teeth? He must’ve been really tough to kill. “Hello, little one. How did you get into my food?” She said quietly so as not to destroy the bug’s ears, if it had any.
*--------A few minutes back--------*
As Sparky was enjoying an almost infinite amount of banana froth, I tried to move from my position toward the edge of the pie. But before I could make any progress, I heard hoofsteps. Somepony was coming. I dug a little bit more into the froth so he couldn’t see me. His green eyes scanned the pie, not noticing me, or even Sparky. He then grabbed a plate with his magic. It seemed we were getting transported somewhere, or more likely, to somepony. The unicorn steward lifted the pie and put the plate under the pie. If I weren’t in this froth, I believe I would’ve felt really sick.
When the steward lifted that pie up to his normal height, gravity got hold of me and I got sucked into the froth. I started panicking so much, that I had no idea of what’s going on outside if pie. When I somehow panic my way back to fresh air, I noticed we stood before gargantuan mahogany doors. I suddenly heard somepony say something really loud. “State the nature of your entry,” said with a military voice probably a guard, guarding the doors. “I..I’m bringing breakfast to our glorious P...princess Celestia,” Said the steward with timid voice. Princess Celestia? I have to get out of here before I end up as a bloody stain on her tooth! Unfortunately the froth just doesn’t want to slacken and I was just wading too much to have some real hope of getting out of here. After all of this, I almost forgot about Sparky. I could barely see him, but from what I saw, he was lying on his back, full of froth, probably taking a nap.
When the doors opened, the steward came in and was going towards the princess. When he put the pie onto the table, gravity once again got hold of me and I fell into the froth again. When I was in the froth, I could make out that they were talking, but about what I couldn’t make out. When I made my way towards the surface, I saw a shadow looming over me. It was a giant knife, that was about to cut into that pie. It loomed over me, and came crashing down close to where Sparky was. Everything was shaking, which meant that Celestia had started cutting the pie.
When she finished cutting, she took the piece of pie on which Sparky was on with her magic and levitated it before her maw. She licked her lips and then opened her mouth, showing off pearly white sharp teeth, saliva dripping from the roof onto her smooth tongue and her teeth. Then, she put the pie into her mouth, closing it in. I couldn’t see what exactly was happening. The only thing I saw was Celestia’s mouth moving up and down, using her teeth to grind the pie into nothing but goo for her stomach. *CRUNCH*. That was really loud crunch. It sounded like something full all of a sudden burst. Oh my god. Sparky! She had ground Sparky into greenish stain on her molars. Poor Sparky, he didn’t deserve to die like that. That made me even more motivated to try to get away from this froth. But before I could make any significant move, magic lifted the final piece of pie, with me in it. She lifted it close to her mouth but before she could eat last piece of pie with me in it, she drank from her tea cup. When she finished her tea, she opened her drooling maw. I could see a tiny green stain in the crevice of one of her molars. Poor Sparky. I was gonna end up just like him, but, I didn’t want to go. When I entered the humid, banana smelling mouth, I immediately fell onto her tongue, because the humidity in here had broken me free from my prison in the banana froth.
I accidentally fell under her tongue, where it seemed safe at the moment. I was there, safe, until Celestia started feeling dry in her mouth and has started to make more saliva all around me. After a while, I was in an ocean of thick, sticky saliva of the princess, barely able to swim to the surface. Dead by drowning in Princess Celestia’s saliva. That would an interesting way to leave this world.
All of sudden, the ocean of saliva was lifted upward, towards her throat. She was about to swallow! I had to do something, or else I was gonna end up as a savory snack for Celestia’s stomach. I somehow managed to catch on to a piece of half melted dough that had gotten stuck in between her teeth. I held tight, trying not to get pushed by the saliva current into her throat.
When the ocean of saliva retreated, I heard a terrifing sound. *GULP*. I couldn’t see anything, but I felt that chewing has stopped. I held on tight of that piece of dough stuck in between her teeth, which was covered in layers of Celestia’s sticky saliva, without any plan of escape and thinking to myself what was going to happen to me. All of sudden, I was blinded by light coming from the outside. Celestia opened her mouth. All of sudden, I felt like I was lifted up with that tiny piece of dough. I couldn’t see, what was going on, but I felt a rush of fresh air on my saliva covered body. I was outside of her maw again. I really had no idea, what was going on, but after some moments, I was able to at least squint.
The first thing I saw were the gigantic pink-purple eyes of the ruler of Equestria herself, and they were looking straight at me!
“HELLO, LITTLE ONE. HOW DID YOU GET INTO MY FOOD?” She said with a voice that could tear apart planets. After that, I remember nothing. I fell unconscious after all those adventures. I hoped that when I woke up, I would get to talk to the princesses. IF I woke up.