"OH GOD! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEEEE!" Joey Schmidt's voice rang out like a scared pubescent boy's screams across the entire Everfree Forest.
Being at the age of twenty-one and at his third year in college, Joey suddenly found himself stranded in the middle of the dark, twisted forest by a flash of light, unknowing that his fellow race had been transported there, too. For days he had struggled to survive, his body shaking and growing weary from hunger and thirst, from the fear that easily addled in the recesses of his mind, and from the fact that he had been ripped away from his home and never to return.
Now Joey was certain he would never return home as his body tried its hard to sprint away from the three Timberwolves whom he had the misfortune of running afoul with. Joey's legs carried him as fast as a mouse would using what little muscles were left in his legs. The trio of mangy, slobbering, glowing-eyed wooden beasts were closing in on him, each one following the first instinct of kill now, feast second, no questions after. With no way of knowing of how to get out of the forest, Joey knew that his days were coming to a horrifying conclusion.
Joey looked back at the three Timberwolves at his tail, the one in middle and front licking its chops with anticipation. A slight yelp was Joey's only response before his nerves convinced him to change course. He looked to his left into the slightly open spot in the Everfree, then to the right where the ground descended into a small ditch with big log placed over it. Without thinking, Joey suddenly switched direction and ran to the ditch where he was flanked by the Timberwolf in the middle and the other two on his sides. The middle Timberwolf pounced to make its killing stroke, but Joey quickly slid on his rear and under the safety of the log as the claws skewered the ground like meat hooks.
Joey crawled himself deeper under the log as the claws failed to reach for their prey, same going for the Timberwolf on the other side. The young college student knew he wasn't safe; for days, he was lost in the forest with nothing to eat or drink, he's been separated from his family, and now he was going to be killed by giant wooden wolves. He was weak and vulnerable in his state, and the fact that his mother, his sister, and his father were gone somewhere in this crazy world was just as terrifying. Without any courage left, he curled up his legs and sobbed, crying as hard as his sore lungs allowed him.
All of a sudden, a loud, wood-chipping noise jumped Joey from his pitiful state. He looked up and gasped when he saw a Timberwolf on top clawing its way through the log. The young man whimpered then let out a startled yelp as the Timberwolf's claws scratched through the surface of the log's underbelly, nearly making contact with his body. Joey now knew that no log or tree hollow would give him with safety in this twisted forest, and now the only one around here he could rely on was his survival instincts.
Right now, his instincts told him to run.
Quickly, Joey rolled away just as the lupine wood giant's claws broke through the log and dug at the dirt. The young college student quickly got on his knees and crawled out of the log, avoiding the vicious claws reaching for his tiny frame. As soon as Joey was out from under the log, he got on his feet and took off with the three Timberwolves hot on his tail.
The chase went on for a few minutes as far as Joey's diminishing speed and the Timberwolves' intense hunger could tell. Joey jumped over root in the ground, ducked under every branch in his way, and ducked under any tree hollow that would buy him time from the Timberwolves, but he couldn't shake them off. When at last, Joey made a turn around a tree that one of the Timberwolves jumped in front of him. The young college student screamed in horror and turned to run, but it was too late. He made it no more than three steps when he felt something sharp clamp down on his right leg which shot with excruciating pain. His whole body was then jerked violently before he found himself flung in the air and onto the bark of a near tree, breaking a few ribs and knocking the wind out of him.
Joey soon felt himself falling down and landed on the ground hard. He felt the pain in his leg rise as warm liquid spilled over the area and seeped all over the ground. He couldn't move anymore, let alone run. His lungs were burning like a furnace, his stomach was shriveled up like a rotting apple, and his legs were set gelatin with the crunchy center inside. His eyes were heavy as the amount of exhaustion finally taking its toll, but he could see his three tormentors stalking up to him. Their feral eyes gazed down on the little college student, mouths drool with their wooden tongues wiping them away. Joey watched as the TImberwolf in the middle opened its drooling mouth just wide enough for him to gaze inside the maw.
"No... stop..." Joey begged with a raspy voice, holding his hand up to the Timberwolves in defense. "Please..."
The Timberwolf lowered its head down and opened its maw wider, letting the drool (actually tree sap) splitter down on its next victim. Joey squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end to come.
THWACK!
The noise of splintering wood jerked the college student's eyes open. Slowly, Joey looked up to see a giant figure wrapped in a burlap coat, standing in the pile of twigs that was once the TImberwolf's body. The other two Timberwolves stood in shock for a moment right before their eyes narrowed and they backed up by a couple of paces, growling angrily. Apparently, the Timberwolves' battle instincts had kicked in after their seeing their fellow comrade fallen by the giant cloaked figure. The wooden wolves readied their stance in a battle-ready pose as did the figure.
One of the Timberwolves reeled back and pounced at the figure, but the latter was ready. It swiftly turned around and delivered a kick that shattered the entire body like glass. The pieces fell into a pile of immobile, unmoving sticks, and the very act set the second Timberwolf off. The remaining TImberwolf pounced on the figure as well, pinning it down and snapping its moist jaws in its hood. Fortunately, the cloaked shape was ready as it took its hind legs applied leverage on the wooden wolf's belly, sending it over the shape's head and smashing it entirely.
With the three Timberwolves snuffed of their lives for a short time, the cloaked being stood up and shook itself. Joey watched with fright as the being stood up and turned to him before it slowly walked in his direction. Two glowing yellow eyes pierced from the darkness of the hood with something that resembled a horse's nose and mouth stood out from the hood as well. Joey gasped and used his arm to drag himself away from the frightful being, but the cloaked figure was already towering over him.
"No... stop... get away...!" Joey squeaked from lack of breath as the mouth opened up wide. "No... wait! Stop! NO!"
Joey screamed as the open maw came down on him, sealing him in a warm darkness that put his exhausted body into sleep.
The first set of senses that Joey experienced while he slowly recovered from his unconsciousness were voices. The voices were warped like when a video is slowed down and the audio of people talking becomes slower and deeper than a baritone pitch, or when people came out of the dentist's office after they were given a dose sleeping gas. At first, the voices were inaudible, but as Joey's conscious mind became clear, he began to make out the words spoken to each other.
"H... luc... tha... e wa... ble t... sta... ali...e. Thos... Timb... olves nearl... co...t him h...s leg."
"And he...s los... a lo... of bloo... too. He loo...ed as pale a... a ghost."
"It's a good thin... we had an emerge...cy supply of blood j...t in case. He woul...ve died of b...od loss if Z...ra hadn't found him."
"You think h... can walk again, afte... getting his leg nearly chomped of...?"
"That's something I'll have to tell him. J...ua, why don't you run out and get some food ready for him?"
"Sure thing, doctor."
Footsteps were being carried away into the distance, and the first crack of light came when Joey finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw were two square walls, and a tile ceiling over his head. Joey grumbled, signaling a middle-aged man in a big white coat to rush to his side. "Take it easy, son. You body's still trying to recover from sever blood loss. You're lucky to be alive."
Joey grunted as he moved a hand to his throbbing forehead. "What happened to me?" he asked. "Where am I What's going on?"
"You're in a medical ward, son. Someone saw you were in trouble and they brought you here," the doctor explained. "Luckily, we were able to give you a blood transfusion just before you went into hypovolemic shock; that's when people experience symptoms relating to severe blood loss. If you weren't brought here earlier, you would've been dead by now. You've been out for a few hours."
"Wha...? What do you mean?"
The doctor looked over his notes on Joey's condition. "Let's see. Other than the fact that you've suffered lacerations around your torso, three cracked ribs, a punctured lung, and a bruised spleen, you nearly lost your leg in a feral animal attack. Aside from the near blood loss, your muscles were torn apart, and you have a spiral fracture in your tibia. We managed to repair most of the damages, but you'll have to be confined to a cast for a long time."
Joey looked down at his feet and found his leg hoisted up in an angle, wrapped in a thick cast. His stomach dropped from the mere sight of his heavily bandaged injury. "Wha...? What happened to my leg!?" Joey demanded to know in a fit of panic. "Why is my leg stuck in a cast!? What's happened to me!?"
"I wouldn't panic if I were you, son," the doctor advised. "Your body's trying to recover from the sedatives we've given you."
"I don't care about the sedatives! I want to know how I almost lost my leg!"
The doctor sighed. "Look, I can answer your question, but you're going to have to give me your side of the story first. Do you remember what happened to you before you woke up here?"
Joey rubbed his face into his palms. "Well, I remember having this dream where I was with my family at my house until there was this brilliant flash of light. I woke up alone in this giant forest, and I couldn't my family anywhere. I tried calling out to my mom, my dad, and my little brother and sister; but then, next thing I knew, I was being chased by these... these... three big, giant, wooden... wolves of some sort. I tried to outrun them, but one of them just bit me by the leg and threw me a tree.
"I remember I was in so much pain, I couldn't move. I thought I was a goner, until this weird, cloaked thing just came out of nowhere and beat those wolves down hard. Whoever or whatever was wrapped in that cloak walked up to me and ate me. That's when I woke up in the hospital with this cast over my leg."
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "And that's it?"
"That's it," Joey said before he chuckled. "Look, I know this all sounds like some hippie, psychoactive dream I had, but believe me, that's the last thing I remember."
"Hmm," the doctor hummed. "Well, I hate to break it to you, son, but that wasn't a dream."
Before Joey could ask, the doctor pointed to the left side of the room, sealed off by a couple of curtains. The doctor disabled the bed's wheel locks and guided Joey to the curtains, opening one of the flaps big enough for him to see. Outside, he saw the outside world sitting on a decorated table inside a giant spacious room, like the interior of an African hut. The "hospital" room, one of many huts that sat near the edge of the table, was overlooked by potted bonsai trees (the size of the average full-grown tree) with a village of miniature huts built around the branches or the pots, connected by staircases or rope bridges. It was like looking at the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house with an additional village on the surface.
Joey's head swam from the sight of it all. His heart beat like a jackhammer, his skin suddenly glimmered in perspiration, and he found himself struggling to breathe. "Wha.. wh... I... wha..." Joey mumbled as his head jerked back and forth. "What's going on? Where am I? How did I get here!?"
"If I had a nickel for every time they said that," the doctor grumbled under his breath. "Look, I'm going to give it to you straight. We're is another world that's different from our own world, but with a lot of similarities. This world is Equestria, and it's inhabited by ponies. Really big ponies that can talk and think like most humans do. That flash of light you experienced? That was a teleportation spell that brought everyone on Earth here; everyone experienced it as well. The forest you were stranded in with those giant Timberwolves? It's called the Everfree Forest, and that's where we are right now... well, we're in a hut in the forest belonging to the same cloaked figure whom you thought ate you actually brought you here. Do you get me?"
"What? I... I... I didn't understand everything you said! I don't understand any of it!" Joey stammered.
"Well, once our host - your savior - gets back, then she'll..." the doctor trailed off as he and Joey heard a thunderous creak of door hinges opening. "Ah! Here she comes now."
"Here who comes?" Joey asked as the door fully opened revealing the cloaked figure with the horse-like nose and mouth, and two glowing, piercing eyes. The intense feeling of fear overwhelmed the young college student as the cloaked giant approached the table inhabited by his fellow kind. The children of every age and size scrambled out of their huts and swung or lowered themselves from the bonsai trees and ran to the edge of the table, surprising Joey as they welcomed the approaching giant.
The giant stopped when it stopped at the edge and looked down on the waiting, excited children. With a backwards flick of its head, the hood flipped off, revealing the head of a giant zebra with a mohawk mane and gold rings on its ear and neck. The children cheered a cacophony of happy screams in the form of "MISS ZECORA!" as the gargantuan zebra smiled and lowered its head down.
"It is good to see you, little children so small. Tell me, have any of you behaved at all?" the zebra spoke in a female, African voice.
The children screamed "YES!" or "YEAH!" as some of them hugged the zebra, Zecora's muzzle, even nuzzling her warm, supple flesh. Zecora smiled and nuzzled them back affectionately, feeling a few of the little tykes dare to climb up her muzzle using her lips and the insides of her nostrils. The children made it to the top of her nose, ran up to the top of her head and played around with her mane. The giant zebra chuckled a little while the doctor laughed at the display, but Joey being completely dumbfounded.
"That... that's a... big zebra... and it talks!" Joey squeaked.
"Of course she can," the doctor laughed. "That is Zecora, the owner of this hut. She's a zebra from a faraway land who rented out this part of her hut as a sort of sanctuary for humans who are lost in the Everfree Forest. She goes out each day to search for any lost humans while I provide the medical expertise for anyone we find sick or injured."
A lump caught in Joey's throat. "That's... a big... zebra..."
The doctor laughed again and patter Joey's shoulder. "Don't worry, son, she won't bite. She's actually a nice zebra once you get used to her."
Zecora chuckled as the children ran around her hair, the pitter-patter of their feet tickling her. She looked over and saw the doctor and his new patient standing outside, the middle-aged man waving to her. "My fondest greetings to you, my first human friend. I see that you have saved this human from an untimely end."
"Yes, ma'am. We nearly lost him once during his blood transfusion, but he's alive and kicking," the doctor said before he remembered who he was talking about. "Ooh, sorry about that, son."
"It's fine," Joey stammered, still fixed on Zecora's size, intelligence, and the ability to talk. Just about everything about her had him fixed. "Just... nothing like a little accidental hospital humor to help make the healing process go faster."
Zecora gently lowered her head to get a better look at Joey, careful not to shake off the children playing around on her head. "I see you are recovering, that is quite good. It is fortunate that I have saved you from becoming Timberwolf food."
"You? You were the one who saved me back there?"
"Indeed. I am glad to see you are finally awake, although it is too much for you to take."
"I'll say. I thought you were going to eat me like those wolves nearly did."
"Timberwolves," the doctor corrected.
Zecora gently shook her head. "If you thought I would consume you because you were in my mouth, I was actually trying to carry you down south. Forgive me if that put you in shock and awe, but rest assured, you were safe in my maw."
"S-So you carried me in your mouth?" Joey asked. Zecora nodded, making the human cringe. "Ew, that sounds nasty."
"Like your leg wound before we had to move you here," the doctor said. "After we got the cast on you, Zecora went back out to search for more humans before I even got to thank her."
Joey's eyes widened with a gasp. "Wait a second. You've been out already, haven't you?" he asked the zebra. "Tell me, have you seen my family anywhere?"
Zecora tapped her chin with her hoof. "I cannot tell if I have found your family. Try to explain their appearance for me."
"My mom. She's got blonde hair, a bit short for her age; my dad's a bit taller than me, he's got black hair beginning to grey; my sister is younger than me, and she's got dirty blonde hair on her head, and my little brother, he's got dark brown hair with long bangs. Have you seen them anywhere? At least any one of them?" Zecora shook her head regrettably, the simple act of doing so bringing tears to his eyes. "Oh, God. I'm the only one here..."
The giant zebra bowed her head while the doctor sighed. "I'm sorry, son. Many of the villagers here have been separated from their families," he said, patting Joey's shoulder. "All you can do now is hope and pray that they're sa--"
Joey's hand slapping on his mattress silenced the doctor, surprising him and Zecora. "You don't understand!" he barked. "You have no idea if anyone in family is still alive or not!"
"Be still, my little human, you cannot despond. They may still live in the world beyond," Zecora attempted to console the college student.
"You don't get it!" Joey snapped, eyes brimming with tears. "I get caught in a flash of light, I land in a dark forest separated from my family, I suffer from starvation trying to find my way out, I get chased around the forest by those giant wooden wolves and nearly lost my leg in the process, and now I wake up in a makeshift hospital with a cast on my leg, unable to walk, move or do anything worthwhile for God knows how long, and I'm now talking to a giant, talking zebra of all things!"
"Alright, that's enough, son," the doctor firmly ordered. "You're gonna overexert yourself with your punctured lung."
"No! You still don't understand! Neither of you understand! I've just been separated from my family, and that means they could be separated too! They could be lost or scattered somewhere in this crazy forest, or maybe in other places beyond! My mother and father could be stuck somewhere in another country! My sister is probably being held captive by another giant! My little brother is only ten years old, he doesn't know how to survive in the wilderness! For all I know, they could be crushed, they could be eaten, they could be sold into slavery, or they could be hurt! Or worse! And now I'm the only one in my family who's actually made it here and I can't do anything because of my stupid leg! I'd rather risk giving myself a prosthetic leg than wait around to help them! I can't sit here and-- AAGH!"
Joey cringed from the shock of pain sent from his lung, trying to hold back his sobbing as the doctor quickly backed his hospital bed and turned it around. "Oh, dear, now you've done it," the doctor murmured as he wheeled him in his room, turning to a young boy depositing a bowl full of fruit. "Joshua, get the oxygen generator going. He just reopened his punctured lung wound."
"Yes, doctor," the boy said before he ran to a table next to Joey's bed and turned it on. Joey emitted pained grunts mixed with sobs as the doctor strapped the oxygen mask around his face. Suddenly, Joey could feel like he was breathing again, opening the way for him to cry out in sorrow with a terrible fact weighing him down. He was alone. He would never his parents, his siblings, or his friends again.
He wished he was Timberwolf food.
The final light of Celestia's sun disappeared over the horizon, making the way for Luna's moon to slowly rise on the other side.
For Joey, he had been awake for about two hours by estimation, each minute passing becoming a curse. He was confined to a hospital bed, unable to move, unable to help, and going crazy by the drips of the IV next to his bed. He had been close with his family, the eldest son looking after his little brother and sister when they needed him. When his siblings needed him the most, Joey, would always be right there with them. That fact scared the college student the most. Where were his siblings now when they need him the most? Lost, scared, possibly betrayed, even. Joey shivered to the possibility that the two siblings were surrounded by creatures like the Timberwolves, being swept up in their jaws and devoured. He couldn't lose his family in this world that was six times his height. They were probably terrified, even...
His thoughts were interrupted by the trotting of giant hooves at the hospital. Slowly, but suddenly, the ceiling lifted up like a box flap, revealing the zebra looking down on the human like a goddess, one that carried him in her mouth with all the chances for her to swallow him whole. She had a frown on her face, but a look of understanding in her eyes.
"Oh, your eyes are still open," she said softly. "I was thinking that you were still moping."
"Yeah, I still am," Joey said as guilt built in his chest like a weight in his heart. "Listen, Zecora, I'm... I'm sorry for yelling at you like that before. I didn't mean to be angry at you. It was highly uncalled for, and you didn't need to be at the end of the stick, and..."
Zecora lifted her hoof, silencing him. "I can understand your anger for one of so little size. There are lots of your people here that can sympathize."
Joey scoffed. "Yeah. I bet they're angry at me for yelling at their guardian."
"They will come around," Zecora reassured, "just wait and see. For here in my hut, we are all one family."
"But what about their families?" Joey asked. "Their families could be lost all over the forest or in Equestria, and yet, I see no one even batting an eye about the possibility of their loved ones who could be in danger right now."
"They cover their sadness with their own happy faces, knowing that the ones they loved are away in many paces. You seem to take the subject of your loved ones at heart. Tell me, what does it feel like with your family split apart?"
"Concerned... sad... helpless... useless."
Zecora nodded understandingly. "So your loved ones need you as a shield, someone who has so much courage he could wield."
"Yeah. It's like that," Joey said as an uneasiness filled his chest. "See, from the moment my sister was born, I realized... no, I knew I had to look after her no matter what happened. I stuck my head out for her whenever she needed it. I helped feed her, helped her when she was stuck with her math homework, heck, I stuck by her when her guinea pig passed away. When I heard that my mother was pregnant with my little brother, I knew I had my work cut out for me. I knew it wasn't gonna be easy and it hasn't, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being around my siblings a lot as much as I loved being around my mom and dad.
"But then that flash of light happened, and now I feel like my entire life was ripped away from me. My home, my family, my friends, everything was just taken away in one fell swoop. I was scattered from the only people I loved more than anything else in the world, lost and afraid in that forest. I thought I was going to die alone without anyone there with me, and now I have you to thank for saving my life. But when that doctor gave me his diagnosis on my leg, when he told me I had to be confined in my bed for weeks or possibly months... I just didn't know if your good deed was a blessing... or a curse..."
Zecora's face writhed with concern as Joey slapped his palm over his mouth, trying to contain his sobs. "I'm alone, Zecora. I'm the only one in my family who's made it here alive. The worst part about it is... I can't do anything about it! My family is lost somewhere, and I can't do anything to help them! My little brother and sister haven't learned how to survive in the wilderness! What if something happens to them and I wasn't there to protect them!? I wouldn't even know if they were in any kind of danger! My parents must be worried sick! They'll never forgive me if they think I let something happen to my siblings! I can't sit around here while they're out there, fighting for their survival! They're all I have left now, and they're gone! Just all gone!"
Zecora lowered the wall to Joey's room and nuzzled him gently, prompting the college student to hug and wail into her cheek. The hard crying took about six minutes for Joey to calm down before Zecora pulled her head back with a saddened look of her own. "If it means all the same, then you are not the one to blame. You're alone without your family, that much is true, but if you look at it this way, they might be looking for you."
Joey's breath shuddered. "You think so?"
Zecora nodded, a small grin on her face. "You may be far away from the ones you hold dear, but that does not mean they're not searching for you here. You were right to rant and yell and berate because you were worried about your family's fate, but if you want if your family is staying strong, then I will go out to search at the crack of dawn."
"Really? Y-You'd do that for me?" Joey asked, his spirits raising up high.
"It would be unkind of me to say no. I will scour the depths of the forest just to have it a go."
"Thank you. That means a lot to me," Joey said, a saddened smile on his face. "Zecora, may I ask you something? Is it possible for me to accelerate my healing process?"
"There is more than one way to heal you quickly, that much is sure for your leg injury."
"Is there any way that I can have my leg healed up as soon as possible so I won't have to wait so long before I can walk again? I really want to be there to see my family again, at least one of them."
Zecora pondered the question with her hoof tapping her chin. "There is a remedy that will you get you back in motion. All you have to do is stew in this potion for a week or maybe two. Then your leg will become better, as good as new."
"Great. If finding my family means bathing in some potion, than I'll take it," the excited Joey exclaimed.
"But before I allow you to wallow, then it must be this potion and you I must swallow."
All at once, Joey felt his hopes shatter into glass. "What? You... you want to swallow me whole? Like alive and whole?"
Zecora nodded firmly. "In order for this brew to kick, you must reside inside of my stomach."
"Huh!?" Joey reeled back and thrust his arms out in defense. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no! There's no way I'm letting you eat me like those TImberwolves nearly did to me. Even if you do manage to swallow me down alive, I can't survive in your stomach! There's barely any air, it's gonna smell, and.. oh let's see... you might digest me!"
Zecora chuckled which Joey found to be offensive. "What are you laughing about!? This is serious! I didn't come all this way for you to--!"
"Ease yourself, boy, put yourself to rest," the zebra interrupted. "Here in Equestria, the humans do not digest."
"You're kidding me. How can I expect to trust you if you say that we humans can't be digested?"
"I have heard other ponies say they wiggle and squirm, but their stomachs does not kill them as worms. This method seems barbaric and humans think it as scary, but we use our insides to transport them or carry." Joey was till unconvinced, even so by Zecora's smile and half-opened eyes. "So what do you say, little one? Do you want linger here, or do you want to get this done?"
Joey gulped down a lump in his throat. "All of a sudden, staying in bed for a few months doesn't sound so bad?"
"What!?" The door to Joey's hospital room opened, and in came the pre-teen, Joshua. "And miss out on one of the most pleasant experience of your life!? No way!"
"Huh? You've done this before?" Joey asked with surprise.
"Sure I have!" the pre-teen said, hopping with excitement. "When I was rescued by Zecora, I had a bad gash on my arm that couldn't heal for weeks. So when I asked her the same thing you asked her, she told me she had to swallow me for a week so that my arm could heal faster! It's a little scary at first, but once you're in her stomach, then it feels like a hot bubble bath!"
"And you were in her stomach for how long?"
"Three days, then my arm was all better after the second night!"
"And you never felt yourself melt in her acids!?"
"Nope!"
"When human are usually consumed, they always think that they are doomed. But when you came to Equestria, you were endowed in magic to prevent such a burning end, so tragic," Zecora explained. "I do not know why the humans are protected from the acid's sting, but they heal and soothe just like a hot spring."
"And you're sure of it?" Joey asked the zebra.
"Quite right," she replied.
Joey sighed, feeling reluctant to go through with the crazy idea. "Alright," he finally said after a moment. "I'll take you up on your offer. Just no funny business alright? I'd rather feel refreshed than digested by the time I see my family again."
"Do not worry, I will make sure that you will come out healthy and pure."
So Zecora turned around and went to her cabinet, taking out a glass vial of glowing green liquid inside. She took the top off with her teeth and drank the entire amount in one swing, coughing and cringing to the bitter taste. Joshua helped the college student to the outside by disabling the wheel lock of his bed and rolled him to the window where the giant zebra awaited Joey's arrival. Zecora lowered her head to Joey and Joshua's level with a big grin on her muzzle.
"Are you ready?" Joshua asked the nervous patient.
"No."
"Don't worry. This will be all over before you know it."
Joshua nodded to Zecora who nodded back. She opened her maw, showing Joey the inside of her mouth that she carried him to her hut in. Her orange tongue slowly slithered from her mouth and towards the bed. Suddenly, Joey felt something moist and meaty slip underneath him, and he yelped as he was lifted away from his bed and slowly sliding into the dark, humid cave. As he was forced into the zebra's maw, he looked up to the teeth built precariously over him like stalactite blades that could easily slice a tiny human into two. Joey saw himself approach the back of Zecora's mouth, past the crunching molars and finally to the dangling uvula hanging over the entrance of her throat like a Christmas ornament.
What little light cast into Zecora's mouth was cut off when she closed her lips, bringing both layers of teeth together like a gate and effortlessly bounced the injured human towards her throat. Joey whimpered when his feet felt a slope into a tube of muscles, gently hugging his injured leg. With another wriggle of her tongue, Zecora swallowed down the human, feeling the human squeeze down her esophagus until she felt a tiny wriggle at the base of her belly.
Joey was hugged by the esophagus muscles, not knowing if he was still going down in Zecora's throat or if he was stuck. When at last his feet went through a fleshy opening, Joey knew where he was heading to. His body slid through the sphincter and down the groaning walls, eventually falling into a glowing pool of acids and potions. Joey struggled to surface himself from the stomach liquids until he found someplace dryer than the liquids. He tried to climb up to it, but the stomach muscles reacted to his presence, sending him into the pool again to burn and drown.
It wasn't until, while Joey struggled, that under the surface that he noticed two things: The liquid was warm, and he wasn't digesting. Joey swam up to the surface with a splash, gasping as he found an incline where he could relax. All around him, Zecora's stomach churned and undulated, a cacophony of lungs breathing, a heart breathing, and a stomach moaning and growling. Suddenly, he felt something rub underneath him, that begin Zecora's hoof.
"I can feel you down there. Are you okay? Would you like to release you right away?" Zecora asked.
"No, I... I feel good actually," Joey asked. "It's warm, it's fizzy, it's everything that kids told me it was like."
"See!? I told you so!" Joshua yelled into the zebra's belly before she patted him with her gigantic hoof.
"You seem to be doing fine. In my stomach, you can keep," Zecora said softly. "It is getting late, my friend. You may wish to sleep."
Joey yawned and stretched. "Yeah, I think I should."
Joey turned on his back and snuggled up into the stomach muscles, feeling the sounds of the stomach, lungs, and heart lull him to sleep.
"Zecora?"
"Mm?"
"Thank you for saving my life."
"You are welcome, little Joey. Now get some sleep; tomorrow we shall look for your family."
Joey hummed and nodded his head as he closed his eyes and let sleep take over.
I wonder how my family is doing? He thought before sleeping.
Somewhere:
Little ten-year-old Timmy Schmidt huddled up to his seventeen-year-old sister, Emily, as they tried to remain vigilant through the sounds of the stomach growling, the noise of food digesting in the bubbling acid, and the stallion's snoring over his beating heartbeat. Timmy's eyes were wet with moisture while Emily ran a comforting hand through his hair. "Sis?" he squeaked. "Will Joey and the others know that we're been trapped in here?"
"Maybe," Emily whispered into his head. "We'll have to wait until he wakes up, Timmy. That's the only time we can let him know that we're in his stomach."
Timmy wiped his eyes. "But I don't want to wait! I want to get out of here now!"
"And we will," Emily reassured him, "but we'll have to wait until morning when he's awake. Then we'll make sure he knows we're in here. Just wait and see."
Horrible thoughts of her older brother's fate ran through Emily's mind as a couple of tears streamed down her face. "Just wait and see."