//------------------------------//
// Chapter X - Dragon Daze 
// Story: Snack-Sized Sweetie 
// by Autismo555 
//------------------------------//

Sweetie Belle woke up to the feeling of rough dragon scales rubbing against her like sandpaper.

Following with the sensation of nausea and vertigo combined, Sweetie Belle felt like she woke up on the wrong side of Spike's massive foot, the side where most bugs are subjected to his weight and pressure of his sole. The pungent smell of unwashed feet and festering toe jam was the second sensation to hit the shrunken filly's nostrils, though none torturous than what Spike had in mind for what he considered to be the "lump" between his toes. Sweetie Belle's mind slowly clicked its gears on, and her eyes finally opened to her purple vice grip that held her and rendered her unconscious for only a few long moments.

Sweetie Belle's vision cleared away all blurriness, save for the buildings in the distance that stretched up higher than Mount Everhoof. It was then she looked around and saw herself still stuck in between Spike's big toe and index toe, holding her lower torso without any efforts of tightening her whatsoever. Spike must've traveled a few good feet into Canterlot before stopping to deal with the bothersome sensation in his foot. That sensation, however, was the unfortunate Sweetie Belle, doomed to be a part of Spike's foot forever.

The first part of this torture were the toes squeezing Sweetie Belle's already fragile body. The immense pressure from both sides reactivated Sweetie Belle's pain receptors as she felt herself pinched in between the baby dragon's foot. It was as painful as getting her tail slammed by a door, but that was nothing compared to the pain when Button Mash's mom squashed her tail with her hind hoof. She still has the little stubble where her tail used to be to prove it.

Spike scrunched his toes like a dissatisfied pony's muzzle, adding in to the pressure brought on to Sweetie Belle. The tiny unicorn screamed hoarsely from the vice grip as her breath was squeezed out from her lungs before the toes reverted back to their flattened form. With Spike's toes loosening his grip on Sweetie Belle, the unicorn took advantage of this moment to collect the sweet Equestrian oxygen, coughing and wheezing the crushing sensation in her lungs out.

"That... was bad..." Sweetie Belle muttered to herself in between breaths and hard coughing. "If I ever... get squeezed like... like that again, I... it'd be... too... soon..."

"Is something wrong, Spike?" the gargantuan voice of Princess Cadence asked the gigantic baby dragon. "You just stopped walking all of a sudden."

"Nah, I'm cool," Spike replied, waving his claw down for effect. "I just got this pebble in my foot and it's been really bothering me." To illustrate his point, Spike squeezed his toes together, unknowingly causing Sweetie Belle to once again shriek out in unbearable and unspeakable pain. He wriggled his toes and cringed from the sensation, unaware that he subjected Sweetie Belle to another round of torture with his feet as his toes rubbed upwards and downwards roughly against her body. "See? It's really annoying."

"That's no surprise," Cadence giggled. "For as long as I remember, you've had the most sensitive feet since you were just a hatchling."

"Isn't that the truth?" Shining Armor chortled. "You're the only dragon I know who's biggest fear is stepping on some feathers."

"Hey, that was a one-time deal. You don't even know how much it hurt when I laughed that hard," Spike deadpanned. "Anyway, let's go."

Before Spike could take another step, it was high time he had to deal with the problem at his right foot. Sweetie Belle coughed once more and groaned from the painful rubbing sensation before she slouched over Spike's index toes. A shadow eclipsed the sunlight over Sweetie Belle, and she reluctantly looked up and saw Spike's glowering face glaring down at her shrunken form, he too not recognizing the white dot between his toes. "Stupid pebble. Why don't you just get lost?"

Spike wriggled his toes a little, causing Sweetie Belle to inch down his toes with her screaming from the rough turbulent movement until she reached the end of his foot. Sweetie Belle was mildly relieved that she would be at the edge of Spike's toes, but that relief fell short when she saw the baby dragon lift his gargantuan toe to squeeze her out. The tiny unicorn screamed bloody murder as the toe came down on her, threatening to turn her into red jelly left in between the crevices of Spike's digits. Luckily for her, the toes were mildly wet with glimmering sweat. Like a fat pony squeezing his way through a small window with butter, Sweetie Belle was forced out underneath Spike's foot as his big toe pushed it out.

The tiny filly fell on her flank on the hard stone road. After a slight groan and the shake of her head, Sweetie Belle looked around and saw darkness, mixed in with dark purple and linear lights where it peaked through the draconic toes. Then the light appeared in front of Sweetie Belle and shone in her eyes as Spike's massive foot went up and over her, the tiny filly gaping in amazement by how a creature half a pony's size could be so huge.

Her wondrous thoughts were replaced by logical thoughts. Spike was Princess Twilight's adopted little brother and Number One Assistant. He was undoubtedly Sweetie Belle's best chance for her to get her attention and restore her back to normal size. As Spike was figuratively the closest character who could easily have access to Twilight and the literally closest character she could find, Sweetie Belle quickly went up on her hooves and cantered towards the heel of Spike's feet. Her little hooves and her speed made for great time as Sweetie Belle took a split second to crouch and leapt toward's Spike's left heel, clutching onto it just before it lifted to take another step.

Another feeling of vertigo overtook Sweetie Belle as Spike's foot lifted up and fell down to the ground, ending with an earth-shattering BOOM! The feeling was like a combination of a roller coaster with the added sensation of a haunted elevator ride at the end of each step. Sweetie Belle moaned slightly by the sensation in her nerves, but forced herself to ignore it. She was holding on to the scales of Spike's heel and that would prove both rough and dangerous for her. With no other option other than getting onto a more even level, Sweetie Belle began to climb.

The scaly surface was comparable to the side of a rocky ridge, except made flesh and mobile. Luckily, Sweetie Belle remembered when she and her fellow Crusaders tried out for becoming Cutie Mark Crusaders Rock Climbers, which nearly ended with a disastrous result. However, since Spike's scales were tough and only months away from its shedding, Sweetie Belle had a good chance of reaching up to Spike's tail in no time. Sweetie Belle remembered the important routine of rock climbing: put one hoof up as high as she could, pull up and repeat it with the other hoof. The first several climbs up were cake, but then Sweetie Belle slipped at a couple of points and nearly fell off. After all, she had no harness to protect her, so she had to be extra careful, especially since she was coming up to the back of Spike's knee.

Sweetie Belle watched as the back of Spike's knee bent in an angled movement, squishing at the midsection before opening back up to take another step. There was no way Sweetie Belle could ever compete with that. She may have been a death-defying filly since she shrunk, but even she knew when to take it easy and take a more easier route to safety. With that in thought, Sweetie Belle shimmied over to the front of Spike's knee and continued to climb, making it past Spike's knee wrinkles and making it up his thigh. Again, Sweetie Belle shimmied over to the back and climbed up to the base of Spike's tail, using one of his lime green spines for support. Then, using some extra muscle in her forelegs, Sweetie Belle pulled herself up and settled onto the gigantic reptilian tail, in between two tombstone-sized spines to help her hold her position.

The tiny unicorn sighed, completely relieved that she made it up to safety. She slumped back against one of Spike's spines, closing her eyes for a moment to help her regain her strength. Upon opening her eyes, she saw only the purple backside of the titanic young dragon, complete oblivious to his shrunken friend currently resting on his tail. Sweetie Belle looked back until she couldn't see through the corner of her eye. She saw Princess Cadence on the left side of Spike, conversing with Shining Armor on the alicorn's right. To her left, Sweetie Belle caught a glimpse of Zecora and her mother, smiling sweetly as they heard Cadence's plans with her husband and to the group. She swore saw Zecora's mother return the look back with a sweetly smile, though it was hinted with sadness.

Maybe the end of the supposed path was coming up soon. That's why the zebra elder was masking her forlorn frown with her smile.

Sweetie Belle couldn't deny there was a hint of truth somewhere in Zecora's mother's words, but she dared not dwell on them. Right now, her top priority was to find Princess Twilight, change her back to normal and return to Rarity and friends before they get badly hurt trying to find her. That moment would come soon as Sweetie Belle looked up past Spike's mountainous head and saw a castle in the background rising up into the sky. In an instant, all of Sweetie Belle's lost strength seemed to return, for she knew the castle as well as the next pony.

She was coming up on Canterlot Castle.

Sweetie Belle squealed with joy as Spike walked up to the grandest structure in all of Equestria, rising up near the peak of the mountain without counting the tall spires that perched at the top of each tower. Never before had Canterlot Castle look so majestic at the size of a bug. Not only that, but Sweetie Belle was nearing her long and endearing journey, and it would take only one alicorn to fix it all up. Now all she had to do was wait for the right moment and she would finally meet with Princess Twilight.

The waiting began as two armor-clad stallions allowed Spike, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor and the two zebras entry into the palace, where the castle underwent last-minute preparations before the royal convention began. In the meantime, Sweetie Belle had to lean forward and hold onto the spine until the time was right.

====

"No, guys! The banners should have the perfect length of thirty-seven and three-eighths centimeters, not thirty-seven and one-eighth! Come on, everypony, this is a worldwide gathering of royalty, not just some get together between Equestrian nobles!"

Twilight directed the voluntary workers who helped prepare for the gathering to hang up decorative banners colored white, hanging from one banister to another in the aforementioned measurements. With a mass gathering of such royalty from the lands of Diamond Dogs, Dragons, Griffons, Saddle Arabia, the Crystal Empire, Zebrafrica, Germane, Prance and all other countries with any form of monarchy, the pressure could not be any higher. In fact, the workers had a hard enough time with trying to produce satisfactory results for Twilight than she did pushing them for those results. As always, she was a dictator when it came to organizing important events.

Luckily, the much-needed relief for everypony in the room was rewarded with the doors to Canterlot Castle opened, revealing Spike, Shining Armor, Princess Cadence and two zebras walking alongside, all escorted by a couple of armored crystal stallions. Twilight gasped as she saw members of her own family arrive and galloped up to Shining Armor and Cadence, a big smile crossing her muzzle. "Cadence! Shining Armor!"

"Hey, Twily! Aw, I missed ya, kid!" Twilight cantered over to Shining Armor, who pulled her in for a bear hug before they pulled each other away. "How's my LSBFF been?"

"I've certainly been great, BBBFF!" Twilight replied happily. "You have no idea how much work I've been doing just to help organize this event!"

"Well, I'm sure that whatever you went through to get this all organized was worth it."

"Totally! This place looks amazing!" Spike commented.

"Oh, it was nothing, Spike. Just a little direction here and there, nothing else."

"Nothing else?" Cadence parroted, keeping her stance composed regally. "Surely the Princess of Friendship isn't that modest, is she?"

Twilight looked back to Cadence, first with near blankness, then converting to a stance similar to the Princess of Love. She cleared her throat before simply stating, "No, of course not, Your Highness. Why, it's merely a matter of planning and organization that is critical for an event such as this."

"Yes, quite right. Now then, shall we commence with a proper Equestrian royal greeting, Princess Twilight?"

"It would be rude not to, Princess Cadence."

The two alicorns bowed down to each other like they would for royalty. Then, as they were at the pinnacle of bowing out of respect for each other, Twilight and Cadence peeked at each other with only one eye open before their lips began to wriggle and they burst into laughter. After their laughter died down, Twilight and Cadence approached each other and commenced with their secret greeting which consisted of a secret dance and a little poem.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake.
Clap your hooves and do a little shake."

Twilight and Cadence finished off with a giggle, followed with a hug and a sisterly nuzzle. "It's so good to see you again, Twilight. It's been almost like forever since we last saw each other."

"I know," Twilight replied happily. "It looks like we have so much to catch up on, and this convention might be the perfect time to do so."

"Alright. How about you start with the three flower fillies at my wedding you promised to teach?"

Twilight rolled her eyes in a whimsical manner. "Sure, only if you'd like to start with how the Empire's been doing."

"It's a deal," Cadence giggled before perking up in realization. "Oh, Twilight, I'd like you to meet the ruler of Zebrafrica. I just ran into her while we got off at the train station."

Twilight turned to faze the elderly zebra mare, who wore a gentle smile on her muzzle. "Of course. I recognize you from the tabloids. The newspapers told of how you helped to end poverty and hunger in your nations." Twilight gave the zebra a formal bow. "It's an honor to meet you."

The zebra mare hummed and nodded her head once, then spoke to Twilight in her native tongue that normally most ponies would not recognize. The zebra then turned to her cloaked daughter, who translated her speech in the form of a familiar rhyme. "My mother is honored to be here as well. She commends you for your heroics as the papers tell."

Twilight nearly went into shock upon hearing the familiar voice and mannerism. "Wait a minute... is that...? No way!"

The zebra smiled as she pulled her hood off, revealing the familiar face of Zecora, causing Twilight to freeze with astonishment. "I can see the wonder deep in your eyes. You were not expecting me; what a surprise."

Twilight could not come up with the right words, which expressed her confusion perfectly. "Wha... but... I..."

"Twilight, Zecora is the daughter of the queen and the next in line for the throne to Zebrafrica," Cadence explained gently. "I thought you knew that already."

"But I didn't! This is uncanny! Zecora never told me about her lineage before! This changes everything!" Twilight turned to an exasperated Zecora. "When were you planning to tell me this and why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Zecora was planning to tell you soon on the first day of the week under the full moon," the latter zebra said. "As for why I hid my title was because I did not think it was too vital."

"Not too vital!?" Twilight snapped as she grabbed onto Zecora's shoulders. "This is too vital! When you first came to Ponyville, everypony was afraid of you because you lived in the Everfree, but now you're welcomed into our society for a few years now and... you never mentioned how you're the next in line to rule Zebrafrica!?"

"You did not ask, and I was too busy with each task."

"UUUGGGGGHHHH!" Twilight grunted, holding her temple with her hooves to keep a pounding migraine at bay. "This is unbelievable! I would've spent hours at your hut in the Everfree Forest talking with you about your country, your culture and your family! I would've sent a million notes to Princess Celestia telling her about everything you would've told me! But now you're telling me about your lineage now of all times!?"

"I would say the timing couldn't be any better."

Every pony, zebra and Spike turned to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing at the top of the main stairwell, looking more regally and composed as they ever were. The worker ponies working on the banners bowed out of respect for their princesses as Celestia turned and looked at them. With a delicate clearing of her throat and a gentle flick of her head, Celestia gestured the workers to exit the premises, for they had fulfilled their work and it was time for them to leave Canterlot. The worker ponies nodded in accord and went out the front entrance as the guards shut the doors behind them.

Then Celestia focused herself onto Twilight as she and Luna gracefully trotted down the stairs. Twilight bowed to her former mentor on instinct, but was met with a hoof lifting her chin up to meet her smiling face. "Please, Twilight, there's still no need for that. You're a princess now, not my student."

"Sorry. Old habits, die hard," Twilight replied meekly, smiling sheepishly as her dimples squeaked.

"That's alright, Twilight. Being a princess of Equestria means you will have to kick a few habits now and then," Celestia said before clicking her tongue. "Now, as for Zecora's lineage, Twilight, it's been a long tradition in Zebrafrica that the eldest child of the royal family must venture out on their own into the wilderness and explore the world, eventually settling down in the nearest jungle or swampland they can find that reminds them of home."

"Well, that also explains why Zecora chose to live in the Everfree Forest," Twilight said.

"So true, so true. Plus it helped me to practice my brew," Zecora rhymed in accord.

"But there's something I still don't get, Zecora," Cadence said concerningly. "You've known Twilight and her friends longer than any of us here in this room and you've completely earned their trust. Why didn't you tell them about your lineage in the first place?"

Zecora gave everypony a serious glance, as did her elderly mother. "I was sworn to secrecy to the throne of my home, for there is great danger wherever I roam. Apart from the creatures that roam the Everfree, there are assassins who would want to end me."

"So that's why we have tight security around Canterlot," Twilight guessed. "We're trying to keep the royals safe from any possible hostile attack from any assassination!"

"That is not all, Twilight," Celestia continued, turning her face up to the ceiling with seriousness. "Should anything happen inside the walls of this castle, like the threatening of a royal member's life, then it could very well lead Equestria into a hostile war. While Equestria's safety remains my top priority of this convention, so do the lives of every monarch from all over the world. It would take just one incident and this convention would end with Canterlot and our subjects going up in smoke."

Twilight reached out a hoof to her former mentor's foreleg, a comforting gesture that. "Don't worry, Princess. I have every confidence that this convention will go without any sort of incident." 

Celestia smiled, sighing as her former student gave her comfort. "Thank you, Twilight, for your kind words. Now, since the time is about noon, I would say this might be the perfect time to officially begin the convention."

Celestia lightly stamped her hoof twice like a judge's banging gavel. The doors opened again, and in a single file form, came the royals from every corner of the planet, all ranging from the Griffons, to the Kirins, to even the Diamond Dogs. The royal guards announced the arrivals of the royals as they all walked in, each graciously providing a respectful bow to each of the four Equestrian princess while they passed them by. 

Each bow that Twilight returned to royals made her feel as  equally as a princess herself. She felt no twinge of nervousness from meeting the royals; she had seen them before when she was only a filly, when she would peep through the cracks of the door and listen to Celestia and another monarch discuss their politics. Of course, there was the fact of Twilight being punished for snooping around after curfew, but at least she learned a bit from the political world and the monarch system. To her, this convention would be a piece of cake.

Twilight felt her mane being tugged at before she turned down to Spike. "Wow. For a first-timer alicorn at her first royal convention, you're actually doing pretty good so far," the baby dragon complimented before bowing to another passing royal.

"Thanks, Spike," replied Twilight. "I spent a few hours yesterday and this morning reading a book on how to keep my regal posture for royal gatherings such as this. It's always a good thing to read ahead so you would know when to be be prepared." 

A short grumbling made Twilight jump as she looked to the undulating form of her stomach, demanding to be filled. A royal Griffon couple passing by looked down on Twilight as they too heard the grumbling. Twilight giggled nervously and smiled sheepishly, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment as the Griffons huffed and continued to walk with their beaks held up high. Spike couldn't help but giggle at the moment as well.

"Does one of those preparations include having something to eat before the event?" he asked.

Twilight nervously giggled again in response. "Sorry, Spike. I was so busy organizing that I had to put off breakfast."

"Perfect timing, too. The last royal couple just went by and we're headed towards the dining hall. I heard the Diamond Dog country just shipped in some rare amethysts for lunch." Spike licked his chops and shivered as the thought of eating those sweet, succulent gems ran through his mind. "I can taste them already."

"Easy there, dragon boy," Twilight chortled, rolling her eyes. "Remember: self-control. You'll have to be patient before you can snack on your crystals, you know."

"I know but..." Spike reached out to an imaginary purple crystal in the air, shining down on him like an angel sent from Elysium. His clawed digits twitched as his eyes glimmered, noisily slurping up his chops at the very thought of the crystals. "...Diamond Dog amethysts are the best gems I have ever tasted, and they're so rare!"

Twilight rested a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "Don't worry, Spike, you'll get those gems soon. Remember, you can't let your hunger go by without any incident, right? I mean, what would be the worse thing that could ha-MMMPPPHHH!"

Spike was snapped out of his reverie and stuffed his claw over Twilight's mouth before she could say another word. "Don't say that, Twilight! You know how finishing that sentence brings bad luck to anypony who says that!"

Twilight grumbled in a muffled tone as she lifted the baby dragon up with her magic and set him to on her back. Once Spike was settled on her back, Twilight began to trot behind the enormous crowd of royals and their guards, followed by a couple of armor-clad stallions by her side. "Honestly, Spike, that whole bad luck story you told me was just a myth, an urban legend designed to trick ponies into believing something might happen at that moment."

"I don't know, Twilight. Ponies who even attempt to say that sentence is likely to be jinxed in the near future."

"Don't worry about me, Spike. I don't believe in that myth anyway. Besides..." Twilight used her magic to seal Spike's mouth and tightly restrained the dragon onto her back, conjuring up a leather belt to pin his arms and legs down from any interference. "...what's the worst that could happen?"

Spike wriggled frantically in his seating and screamed through his sealed lips, but knew that his efforts were all for naught as he deflated into his adopted sister's back. Feeling defeated, Spike groaned, not noticing that Twilight spotted a single blue fruit on the floor. With her stomach grumbling like timberwolves in the Everfree Forest, Twilight levitated the fruit to her mouth and bit into it, chewing it and savoring the flavor, like blue raspberry mixed with regular raspberry. The juices tingled her tongue and caused her to shiver out of sheer enjoyment before taking another bite into the fruit.

====

"Oh, perfect! I just had these hooves cured the other day!" Rarity whined as she stepped in the mud of the dark, cavernous passage, her friends and the two Cutie Mark Crusaders tagging along.

It wasn't long after the train left that Rarity zipped back into the library, searching for maps that showed a secret passageway that led into Canterlot. Obviously, the sewers wasn't the ideal travel plan, what with Rarity's persnicketiness and the fillies' health and all. So, with a frantic search in one of Twilight's books, "The Secret Passages and Roads All Over Equestria: A Reference Guide", Rarity found a passage closest to Ponyville: an old abandoned tunnel used to smuggle escaped prisoners of war to Canterlot.

Of course, in Rarity's case, she was using that same tunnel to secretly enter the dungeons of Canterlot and find some unorthodox way to find Sweetie Belle.

"Rarity, there's a whole lot more ridin' on this search and rescue than just a muddy hoof," Applejack pointed out as Apple Bloom flanked Applejack, Scootaloo trotting next to her and a forlorn Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy kept an even pace and Pinkie Pie just bounced alongside, keeping a bubbling smile on her face.

"Yes, I'm quite aware of the consequences for our actions should we get caught sneaking around Canterlot," Rarity replied. "But I don't care about the rules. I only care about finding Sweetie Belle and fixing her right up so there would be no further cause of incident."

"B-B-But, Rarity...? What happens if we do get caught and we don't find Sweetie Belle?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, Sweetie Belle is tinier than a pocket mouse and she's in a castle full of ponies and other creatures big enough to stomp her..."

"Alright, Fluttershy, I get it," Rarity interjected.

"...or eat her..."

"Please, Fluttershy, that is enough," Rarity said, anxiety growing inside. "You're frightening me..."

"...or keep her as a pet..."

"Fluttershy, enough!"

"...or keep her as a pet, then take her home where they can stomp her and eat her!"

"Fluttershy! Please stop! You're not helping me keep calm about this situation!" Rarity shrieked. "Pointing out the dangers my sister is experiencing is one thing, but that is my sister we're talking about! I can't bear to think of what Sweetie Belle is going through right now!"

Fluttershy covered her face with her hooves, her irises expanding as tears leaked out from her eyes. She shrunk back into her mane and began to sob quietly. Applejack trotted over and held Fluttershy in a gentle embrace, joined in by the other ponies, except for Rarity. "It's alright, sugarcube. She didn't mean ta make ya cry." Applejack turned back to the unicorn. "Right, Rarity?"

Rarity's lower lip quivered, a sign of guilt piercing her as she saw her timid friend cry because of her. She rushed over to Fluttershy and snatched her up in her forelegs, bawling out a dramatic weep of her own as her vise grip squeezed the air from Fluttershy's lungs. "Oh, Fluttershy, I am SO sorry! I should never have yelled at you like that! With all the talk about what might happen to Sweetie Belle that I got angry and... and... I'm so sorry-hee-hee-hee-heeee!"

Fluttershy gently released herself fro  Rarity's vice grip and pulled her in for a more gentler, soothing embrace. "No, Rarity, I'm the one who should be sorry. I was so worried about what would happen to Sweetie Belle, I didn't take your feelings into consideration. Can you forgive me?"

Rarity sniffed, wiping a tear away from her eye. "But of course, darling I forgive you."

The two weeping ponies smiled as they brought each other in for another hug. Applejack, Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie all smiled warmly as a trio of "d'awwwwww" resounded through the cave, leaving only Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to hold their hooves to their gaping mouths and their drooping tongues. "Okay, okay, enough with the sappy stuff already," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Can we get on with the search-and-rescue before I get bored to Tartarus here?"

"Oh, right." Rarity and Fluttershy pulled away from each other and dusted themselves off, the alabaster unicorn levitating the pilfered piece of map up to her face and inspecting the lines. "Now, if we continue onto this path, then we might be able to reach the underside of Canterlot Mountain in no time at all."

The walk down the dark, underground tunnel spanned for less than a mile. As the party continued to trek into the tunnel, the air began to feel musty, the sound of water droplets dripping away from the stalactites. The muddy, soil ground began to harden into damp rocks underneath the ponies' hooves as it carried them into a slightly steep incline, prompting Rainbow Dash and Applejack to carry their little sisters on their back. When at last, after nearly reaching a long mile on their voyage underground, the girls spotted a lone ladder reaching up to a wooden hatch in the ceiling.

Rarity used her magic and undid the locks keeping the hatch in place before lifting it open, slowly as the hinges creaked open. Rarity poked her head out, did a double-take around the dark area and perked her ears up for any noise. "It's all clear," Rarity whispered as she climbed out of the hatch, the mares and two fillies following.

Rarity floated the map over to her face, trotting straight ahead without looking past the ripped paper. "Hmm... we seem to be on the right track, and this is the underside of Canterlot Mountain," she said with growing confusion, "but the path just stops here and nothing else. Where did the tunnel lead us?"

CLONK!

"Ouch!"

With her view obstructed by the map, Rarity did not see the vertical, metal bar she walked into. With the heavy CLONK!, Rarity's magic suddenly wore off, as did the magic surrounding the paper floating gently down to the ground. Rarity's head swam for a moment. Then, after a quick shake of her head, Rarity saw herself behind a set of bars which made her suspicions arise inside. After peering past the bars, Rarity looked and, to her horror, saw similar caverns with similar bars attached.

"Oh, dear..." Rarity quickly checked the map and carefully inspected the location. Then the unicorn gulped nervously as she dropped the paper and turned to her friends. "Um, girls? I'm afraid we might've taken the wrong tunnel."

"Huh? Whaddya mean by that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I mean, it did take us to the underside of Canterlot Mountain, but..." Rarity gulped. "We took a wrong tunnel, and now we're in... the dungeons!"

"WHAT!?" came the choir of shocked ponies.

"Ya mean ta tell me we went the wrong direction and now we ended up in the dungeons!?" Applejack demanded.

"Yes," Rarity admitted. "It seems we took the red tunnel by the rock when we should've taken the tunnel by the red rock."

"Umm..." Fluttershy whimpered. "I pointed that out earl--"

"I totally knew something was wrong with that tunnel!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing a hoof at Rarity. "Now we've ended up in the slammer, like how you're plan was going to end!"

"Oh, please, Rainbow Dash! Even if we did get caught or not, we would still get an audience with the Princesses!"

"Yeah, but what if we don't get the audience!? Suppose we get stuck down here waiting for somepony to come across us and thinks we were locked up before his shift began!"

"Well, that is why we turn around and go back the way we came through."

SLAM!

The mares all turned to the spot where the hidden hatch was and where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stood with a shocked expression, the yellow filly's hoof covering her "O"-shaped mouth. Scootaloo looked at the mares blankly before she subconsciously pointed her hoof at Apple Bloom, who in turn, pointed her hoof at the pegasus filly as well. Rarity rushed over to the spot where the hatch was and attempted to use her magic to lift it open, only for her aura to fizzle away into dust.

"Magic dampening spells." Rarity threw herself up and wobbled over to the bars, leaning down on the rusted metal as she began to weep. "It's no use. We're stuck in this filthy dungeon cell, the only way out of here has just shut behind us, and now my coat is covered with rust!" Rarity covered her face with her forelegs and wept, her voice muffled by the fur. "I'll never be able to find Sweetie Belle!"

"Never say never, Sugarcube," Applejack reassured. "We're gonna get out of this. Ah'm sure of that."

"How can you be sure, Applejack?" Rarity asked, her mascara flowing down her face. "We're the only ones down here in the dungeons and there's nopony in sight."

"Not yet," Pinkie Pie replied with her trademark innocence. Before Rarity could ask what she meant, Pinkie Pie took a deep breath and yelled at the top of her lungs, the same volume that attracted the Ursa Minor in the Everfree Forest.

"HEY GUARDS! COME DOWN HERE AND HELP US! WE HAVE A RABID MARE ON THE LOOSE!"

"MARE ON THE LOOSE!"

"MARE ON THE LOOSE!"

"MARE ON THE LOOSE!"

Just like before, Pinkie's shrill voice rang out through the dungeons, reverberating off the stony walls and echoing all the way up through the cave. Everypony covered their ears a little too late, and they were met with an intense ringing in their ears. Then, immediately responding to the voice, the sound of clanking armor and metallic hooves quickly marched down to the mares' cell where a few armor-clad stallions appeared with unsheathed spears. 

The stallions pointed the spears at the mares, which, even though they were protected by jail bars, made them flinch in response. Rarity darted her eyes back and forth as she sat on her haunches with her hooves up. Then she swallowed a nervous lump in her throat before she let out a shaky, ladylike giggle.

"Can we, by any chance, see Princess Twilight Sparkle please?"

====

It took nearly an hour for Sweetie Belle to regain most of her strength.

The shrunken filly had enough strength to navigate through Spike's giant spines and jump off his purple head and onto Twilight's head, had it not been for her restraining spell holding the giant baby dragon down. Sweetie Belle was forced to wait a little longer until Twilight lifted her spell off of her and Spike as the giant alicorn trotted into the spacious dining room. Everywhere Sweetie Belle saw, there were round tables the size of a small town (at her size of course), royal members of every nation in the world and trays filled with food, each dish cooked by their originating nation's best chefs.

It was shortly afterwards when Sweetie Belle took in the sights when Twilight undid the spell around Spike, allowing him to move and speak once more, which also proved fortunate for the tiny unicorn as well. Spike climbed off of Twilight's back as soon as they reached the table where the Princesses of Equestria, the Royals from the Crystal Empire and Zecora and her mother were assigned. Spike, being Twilight's closest friend to a brother, was assigned a seat at the table and he climbed on the chair with ease. Spike's tail loomed past the back of the seat, which worried Sweetie Belle a little.

The tail had a slight decline towards the edge of the chair. Sweetie Belle was lucky enough that she had some lime green spine scales to hold onto.

With a bit of strength, the shrunken unicorn climbed up the spine she held onto for so long. The spine felt like cardboard with a tall height, and wobbling movement that nearly knocked Sweetie Belle down. Sweetie Belle, however, managed to get her footing on the apex of the spine before she crouched and wriggled her blank flank, jumping ahead to the next spine. Then, when she found perfect balance with the spine she landed on, she jumped to the next one...

...and the next one...

...and the next one...

...until she found herself staring at the incredibly big, vertical ladder of Spike's spines. There was no way she could make it up there without her hooves slipping off their grip. An idea popped inside Sweetie Belle's head before she slid off the spine and clutched the scales on Spike's skin, climbing up the tall, purple wall with an able grip on the grip. Hoof after hoof, Sweetie Belle climbed up Spike's back, taking about ten minutes to accomplish until she found her vertical grip becoming a declining hill at Spike's right shoulder. When the ground became more stable for her to walk on, Sweetie Belle cantered along Spike's arm and jumped off of his elbow and onto the table.

Unfortunately, the timing and location could not have been batter. For one thing, Sweetie Belle was so completely focused on climbing Spike that she could not hear him order a plate of rare Diamond Dog amethysts over her pain and adrenaline rush.

Also, Sweetie Belle neglected to note that she was on top of the same platter that served as Spike's appetizer plate.

As Sweetie Belle's tiny hooves landed on the porcelain surface of the platter, a shadow was cast over her. The tiny unicorn lifted her head up and was immediately met herself in a monsoon of boulder-sized gems falling on her like a bad meteor shower. Sweetie Belle and ducked to the reflective surface, covering her head with her hooves as she was pummeled and piled by the amethysts, completely obscuring her sight of the outside world, including the hungry eyes of the baby dragon towering above her. 

The shivering filly opened her eyes, finding herself in a cave of darkness with the faintest of light peering through only a few cracks. She suffered only a few bruises and sustained minor injuries, but she was nevertheless feeling alright. Sweetie Belle sighed a breath of relief; nothing else had gone wrong for her.

Unfortunately, Sweetie Belle's relief ended abruptly as she was piled in with the amethysts by a giant, purple claw, lifted up into the proverbial sky. The tiny filly yelped with surprise as she struggled to get free of her stony hold, only succeeding in inching her head through the cracks of the amethysts. A shrill gasp came from the filly and she immediately regretted ever trying to see what was happening, for she was staring straight in the giant, reptilian face of Spike!

Sweetie Belle's heart stopped momentarily as Spike licked his chops before opening his mouth. The mouth was coated with sticky, slimy dragon saliva, with a dark silhouette of the uvula and the throat, carpeted by the waving plump tongue. 

The teeth made Sweetie Belle worry the most.

If Spike can chew through a rock with his teeth, just think of what it could do to Sweetie Belle at her size.

The answer would soon come as Spike tossed the amethysts into his mouth and onto his tongue, taking the tiny filly along with them. Sweetie Belle screamed bloody murder when she landed on the squishy, forked tongue, rolling over a few times before the teeth clamped together. Sweetie Belle coughed and got up to rush at the front of Spike's mouth, only to be interrupted by the movements of Spike's jaws crunching down on the gemstones. The shifting jaws pulverized the amethysts into a fine powder, and the saliva made them all the more gooier and easier for Spike to swallow. Sweetie Belle held onto dear life on one section of the tongue as Spike continued to chew and savor the amethysts before he used his tasting organ to scoop up the gems onto his tongue, and lifted it up for them to slide down his throat. Sweetie Belle once again screamed as the tongue threw her onto the roof of the draconian mouth, pinning her against the surface as the blow knocked the wind out of her. Turning back, Sweetie Belle watched as the gemstones slid into the entrance of Spike's throat and disappeared with a GLURK!!

Eventually, the tongue flattened into its original position, which made Sweetie Belle splash in a puddle of saliva. The tiny filly groaned and rubbed her head; she thought she could get used to this sort of thing after a while. That feeling would soon pass, though, as Sweetie Belle staggered up on Spike's tongue and headed for his sharp teeth. She slipped a little on Spike's saliva, having little or no traction at all, and came up to the white stalactites and stalagmites that helped frame the dragon's mouth. Then, with a deep breath, Sweetie Belle took her hooves and banged them against the teeth enamel and screamed as loud as she could.

"SPIKE! IT'S ME, SWEETIE BELLE!! CAN YOU HEAR ME, SPIKE!? WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T SWALLOW ME!! PLEASE, I CAN'T AFFORD TO--OOF!"

Sweetie Belle was rudely interrupted by Spike's tongue as it took the tiny filly and once again slammed her into the roof of his mouth. The taste buds savored the flavor on Sweetie Belle's fur, and she could feel him sucking on the taste too. Spike maneuvered his tongue to his cheek where Sweetie Belle found herself caught between a massaging pink serpent and two layers of gigantic dragon teeth. Then, with the work of his lip muscles, Spike caught the micro unicorn in between the corner his lips and moved her to the front of his mouth, where a few good wriggles allowed Sweetie Belle's head and hooves to stick between a purple and a green mound.

Sweetie Belle once again coughed as she took in the sweet, cool air, as opposed to the humidity inside Spike's mouth. Looking up, Sweetie Belle saw a gigantic hand reach to her place in the lips, two gigantic claws forming a crane while the other two were curled up in his palm. The claws gently caught Sweetie Belle by her back and her belly and removed her from the dragon's lips, and loosened themselves as Spike turned his hand upwards. The tiny filly whimpered with surprise as the loosened grip allowed her to slide down Spike's thumb and into the very center of his palm, where four, building-sized fingers acted as some sort of cage for her. 

Sweetie Belle looked up past the hills of Spike's palm and saw the gigantic, green, reptilian eyes looking down on her, though not the way she expected them to look at her. She saw Spike's eyes glowering down at her with both disgust and anger as the titan-sized drake opened his mouth to speak.

"The heck!? How did a bug get in my food!?"