//------------------------------// // Man Eating Insects (Guest) // Story: Tales from Tinies. // by MrAquino //------------------------------// Sarah and her family are wandering through a thick fog, lost in a forest. Their family was fortunate enough to have remained together after being transported to Equestria. That however is all the good fortune they've had, as this forest, massive in scale both in height & in length, though not dangerous like the Everfree, still had them wandering in search of food and protection from the weather, and this fog wasn't helping. Sarah is the middle child, having just turned thirteen; a lanky girl who's long legs and long arms made her a bit of a klutz, she has brown hair and hazel eyes, and if measured by human standers stands, was at about four feet ten inches. Her younger sister, Kelly, nine years old, was only just beginning her growth spurts, being only three foot seven inches, her small size was absolutely tiny here, but her bright red hair made her stand out more than anything and made a strange combo with her ocean blue eyes. Their older brother, Terrence, walking at the rear of the group, is seventeen, stood a good five foot ten inches and has the same brown hair Sarah has, though his eyes are a much lighter blue than Kelly's. Their dad, Samuel, took the head of the group and tried desperately to find somewhere safe in the thick fog that overshadowed their hike to a new haven in the forest, he stood at six foot four inches, his hair a deep auburn brown with sapphire blue eyes. Their mom, Elaine, walked with her two girls, keeping them calm in this now, somewhat nightmarish setting; she is about five foot seven inches and has the same bright red hair as Kelly, her eyes the same hazel as Sarah's. Sarah kept pace with her siblings, watching warily as they continued. The family made their way by a large tree. Suddenly they hear Terrence yell out for help. Sarah screamed when they turn around and saw him floating away, out of site. He continued to yell for help but to no avail, because as soon as he was obscured by the fog, his yells faded. "No!" With no way to help, and obviously a hungry predator around, the family turned and ran, sprinting in hopes of getting away. Then Sarah stopped, out of breath by another tree, she looks around and then realized that she made a mistake; She couldn't see any of her family. She was lost and alone. "Oh no!" She cried out, but resisted the urge of yelling out for them. The whatever-it-was is still out there, and it was probably still hungry. She started walking around the tree. "Maybe we didn't get as separated as we though, and they're just on the other side." When she got over there though, she found nothing. Suddenly she heard her little sister scream. "Oh no! Kelly!" She clasped her hands over her mouth in horror; all sorts of horrible ends for her little sister ran through her mind. Tears fell down her cheeks, she turned and starts sprinting, once again, as fast as she could away from where the screams came from. She turned again when she heard her mom scream, and bounced right into her dad. "Daddy!" She hugs him as tight as she can, sobbing into his shirt. "Come on Sarah, we have to find somewhere to hide." He said, trying his best to keep calm under the circumstances. They made their way to another tree, and circled around it, finding a small hole in one side, just big enough for Sarah. "Hide in here, I'll find something to cut deeper." He carefully jogged off, leaving her there alone, hiding in the small hole, curled up, her head on her knees as she sat, rocking back and forth. Time passed, minutes seemed to turn into hours, and she continued sitting there, waiting. Then the fog left, allowing her to see much further finally. Unfortunately, she couldn't see much besides the forest; no dad in sight and no whatever-it-was either. She started to cry again, curling further pressing her eyes to her knees, crying into her jeans. Suddenly she got the eerie feeling that she's being watched and looked up. There, blocking her view of everything else was a giant, cat-like eye, staring down at her, which backed off to reveal the face of a huge monster. The massive creature she found herself in a staring contest with was huge: It's maw so big, it could swallow a bus, that is, if the sharp teeth didn't shred it first, and each of those were larger than her own dad. The eye glows an emerald green and she noticed it has a strange set of hair that remind her of the plants they used to keep in an aquarium, the strange strands were nearly similar in color to the eye. Sarah started to sob again, curling up even tighter, knowing full well that it was in vane, as the monster could still see her. She felt a strange sensation cover her body, and she looks around only to see that she's being drawn out, the same way her brother was taken. Her entire body outline in a strange green light, which she notices on the creatures horn. This only causes her to curl back up and bawl even louder than before, attempting to grab anything just to save her life. "Sh, sh, sh, sh. No, don't cry, I'm sorry I frightened you." The creature, Sarah realized by the tone of it's voice, was a woman's voice, almost motherly. "It's just, well, I've been alone for so long, and I'm starving." Sarah flinched "Sorry, that was a poor choice of words. I need to explain to you, as I've done with your family. Don't worry, they're alive, I'm keeping them nice and safe. Now then, like you, I can eat solid foods, but I also require emotions, more specifically, love. I- I apologize for hunting you, I should have just come and talked to your family, but as I said, I'm so hungry, and I couldn't afford you humans to refuse." Sarah gasped in surprise. "Oh, yes, I know what you are, I've seen plenty of your kind, while I hid in some pony towns, and I've seen the whole of it. You really don't need to worry, I can't digest you at all. Now, it's completely up to all of you to accept, and if you refuse, I can take you to the nearest town, but here is my offer: You live in my stomach and provide me with the Love I need; I promise it doesn't hurt, so you'll be fine; and in exchange, I will take care of you, give you food, water, and anything else you need." Sarah agreed; if anything, it was so at least she can be with her family. She didn't know if the creature was telling the truth, but she was in the creatures power anyway. Sarah watches the huge creature opened her mouth and placed her on it's tongue before closing it's mouth. The place quickly becomes a huge slide as the creature tilted her head back and swallowed. Sliding down the creatures throat, she slid into the stomach, finding her family inside, all in one piece. They all ran & hugged each other, happy to know they're all alive, well, and together. Phasia, the monster, which was really a changeling Queen, felt the family's love inside her, making her feel stronger. "Oh, I've completely forgotten to introduce myself: I'm Phasia, a once proud queen of a changeling hive, up until tragedy struck and left me on my own. Thank you all for accepting my offer and don't worry, I promised to keep you safe and that is what I'll do." The queen left, heading off into some direction, as Sarah and her family start to explore her stomach. Phasia's stomach possessed a strange glow that glowed green as her eyes, and further down the stomach they noticed that a portion of her was translucent, they could see out somewhat, but it gave everything a green hue. Phasia, meanwhile, felt the family explore her insides, finding it rather ticklish and, with the love they had, she may have enough strength to restart a new hive, one that will be better, and possible have a mutualistic relationship with humans. Only time will tell.