//------------------------------// // In Big Trouble (Shoes) // Story: Tales from Tinies. // by MrAquino //------------------------------// Tomorrow was Stewart's sixth birthday. Stewart lived with his mom, who was as caring as any mother can be, especially at this time with people disappearing. They lived in an ideal home, with a lush forest that, on many days, Stewart and his mom saw many animals pass by, more specifically, wild horses. If he wasn't in school, counting on who was gone, he strolled around the forest with his Teddy Bear, Ruffles, the gift from his father on his last birthday. His father was actually a soldier, and, though only his mom knows, he was taken away from the lights, as well as his crew. Tomorrow, they were going to the park, where a rodeo was held, where he and his friends would ride the ponies and, hopefully, won't be ruined by the lights. However, he wanted something else. Stewart's mom tucked him to bed, setting Ruffles next to him. “Mommy?” He asked. “Yes?” His mom replied. “Can you tell me what you got me tomorrow?” She giggled. “Oh,I would, Sweetie, but that'd ruin your surprise. And, I'm sure you're gonna love it.” She kissed his forehead before standing up. “Now, get some sleep; don't want to miss your big day, do you?” “No, mommy.” He giggled. She got up and walked out, flicking the light off. “Mommy?” “Yes?” “Is Dad gonna be there?” silent came. “... Your… your dad's very busy, Sweetie. It's… it's gonna be hard for him to come.” “Oh, okay. I wanna see him again. I miss him.” “...we both do.” She left the door slightly ajar, turning everything off. Stewart, as many kids, was afraid of the dark, but he knew that Ruffles, despite his cuddly nature, was like a mix between Batman, the Hulk, and, well, a bear. The monsters may wanted to eat Stewart, but Ruffles was always there to scare them off! Of course, the nightlight was his sidekick, aiding Ruffle’s fight against the monsters that were afraid of the light. They both didn't need sleep, and Stewart was always safe each night. But… tonight was different. It was late at night, but Stewart woke up, feeling a tingle across his body. I gotta Potty He thought. Stewart got out of bed, taking Ruffles with him to do his business in the bathroom. He he finished said business, Stewart washed his hand and was ready to go back to bed. However, he stopped as he heard crying. His mommy was crying. In only his pajamas, and Ruffles at his side, Stewart went to see what was happening. Why was mommy crying? Did she hurt herself? Was she watching one of her favorite movies? Is Dad really too busy? He opened the door to see his mom, also in her pajamas, crying while drinking a bottle. Next to her was a broken frame of Stewart's dad, and glass was all over the floor. “Oh God,” she teared. “Why? Why did it happened to us? Why's this happening? We should've been together…” She took another swig. “Mommy?” Stewart asked. She gasped, seeing him at her doorway. “Mommy? Why are you sad? Please don't be sad.” She teared up. He walked to her. “Mommy... what happened to daddy?” She teared even more, crying harder. A glowing light appeared on his mommy. Stewart thought that it was an Angel trying to calm her down, but it turned worse when she gasped. “STEWART!!!” He looked down at himself and realized that he was glowing! “MOMMY!!! WHAT’S HAPPENING!?!?!?” She stumbled to him. “Stewart!!! Don’t-!” Everything vanished. Stewart found himself in an opening, surrounded by gigantic trees. The place looked a lot like the forest back home, but the trees… they were as tall as Skyscrapers! He looked around him, seeing nothing but large trees and the occasional boulder. He was still in his pajamas, and Ruffles was with him, though it seemed that the Teddy bear couldn’t protect him this time around; he was a monster fighter, not an animal fighter. It didn’t take long for Stewart to realize that he was lost. “H-Hello?” He asked, looking around “Hello!? Mommy? Mommy!? Mommy, are you here!? Mommy!?!?!?” Only the cold wind blew into him. He held onto Ruffles, tearing up. “W-we’re alone… Ruffles… Mommy… she… she’s gone.” He looked around “T-trees…. Rocks… h-horse moon? I-I like horses… horsies are nice.” His attempt to calming himself down failed. He sat on the floor and cried. “MOMMY!!! I WANT MY MOMMY!!!” Not too far from Stewart’s area, Troubleshoes strolled along, heading back to his home: a shack in the woods, located near the desert and the town of Appaloosa. Many of the residents, both human and pony, could already tell who Troubleshoes was for two major features; The first and easiest was that he was the tallest stallion with enough girth to not be considered underweight, but wasn't overweight, easily towering over anypony, and looking more horse-like with his muzzle, mane, and coloring. The second thins, something that helped him become a rodeo clown, was that he was REALLY clumsy. When news of humans being tasty, indigestible treats reached to Appaloosa, Troubleshoes wanted to try it out, but wasn’t able to, mostly due to the fact that he easily missed any human on or around him, and something went wrong for him when he tried chasing a human, whether it be somepony catching them before him, or, more than likely, he’d crash into something else. He gave up his attempts and went along with his days; it was easier that way, and way less painful. The larger than life stallion strolled back home after another practice of rodeo clowning. To him, a successful day is a painful day, but he knew that many of the greatest comedies came from pain, a first hand experience he kept at heart. He stopped and his ears flicked as he heard a small boy crying. “Hm… hope I don’t accused for kidnapping… again.” He grumbled to himself, walking to the crying child. He stopped as, with it’s back to him, was a human child, crying to himself. “Ah… poor kid. Must’ve landed here without his family.” He was about to walk to the kid, make a friendly chat with him, and perhaps let the kid sleep with him for the night… preferably, away from him and anything else that can seriously hurt him. But he stopped as his stomach growled. That’s when he remembered. Wait a minute… he’s a human… I’ve never had a human before and-. No! Cut it out, Troubleshoes!!! He’s just a kid. He shouldn’t have to go through with that. ...But… then again… I don’t want anything to hurt him when he’s asleep… maybe this is a whole lot safer. Hope my bad luck won’t get in the way here. He turned back to the kid, seeing him hug his teddy bear. He remembered all of the times seeing somepony snag & swallow a human, and some of the other ponies telling him how delicious they are, making his mouth water. Okay… just… don’t do anything stupid, Troubleshoes. Keep calm… and be silent. He crept to the child, holding back all his excitement on eating his first human, and laughter for how tall he was & the bean sized child not realizing what was behind him. He laid down, very slowly, and opened his mouth, letting his tongue snake it’s way to the kid. Stewart held onto Ruffles, sniffling. He remembered that, if he were lost from his mom, he would go back to where he they were last time and he’d wait there. If not, find an officer... but… he didn’t know where to go... and there was no one around. Should he stay there? Would his mommy find him? ...Is his dad here? A spark of hope came into his eyes, but he froze as he felt warm wind hit his back, with the sound of liquid. Was there a warm rain coming? No… it can’t be! He turned around slowly, only to see a gaping maw! He froze in fear, unsure what to do… but he felt something slimy wrap itself around him and Ruffles. He screamed as he quickly realized that, in front of him, was a monster’s mouth, and it’s tongue wrapped itself around him. He could see it all: The monster’s mouth drooled all over the place, it’s teeth were ready to grind anything down to a pulp, the uvula that looked to be his salvation over the gaping hole that lead to it’s belly. He was too late to react as the top half of his body was in the monster’s mouth, and only his legs were sticking out, kicking in the air. He felt the monster stand up to it’s full height; it was either falling to his doom, or becoming a snack to the beast. The latter seemed to win. “MOMMY!!! HELP!!!” Troubleshoes smiled as the boy’s feet dangled out of his mouth, finding the sight to be a bit cute. Can’t believe that actually worked. He thought to himself. His luck seemed good at the moment, and he wanted to use it even more! He didn’t had a lot of candy as a colt, but the child was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted; he wanted more!!! Quickly, he slurped the rest of the child in and tossed him in his mouth, being careful to not let the kid near his teeth and not crushing it hard with his tongue. He was in heaven; he didn’t care at all if he was drooling, or if anyone was watching, it was his human snack! Stewart silently whimpered as the monster toyed with him in it’s mouth. The boy was covered in spit; his hair & clothes were now stuck to his skin, he didn’t want to open his eyes, but, he still held onto Ruffles. He thought of the many adventures Ruffles may have had back home, and battling giants must’ve been one of them! Then, he remembered the times he had with his mom, reassuring him that nothing bad was gonna happen anytime soon. If only his mom knew what was happening right now. The tongue stopped moving, but he felt heavy & warm wind hit his face. He opened his eyes and whimpered even more as he was just inches away from the monster’s throat. “M-M-Mommy… Help!!!” And now, the finale. Troubleshoes felt the child at the back of his mouth, near his throat. As tasty as the kid was, he was still hungry. He probably won't be very filling, but it’s better than nothing. He tilted his head, flicking his tongue, and sent the kid down into his throat. GLUP!!! Troubleshoes shook as he felt the kid slide down his throat. He had heard how many humans would struggle as they go down, taking at least a minute before they landed in their stomachs, but this kid didn’t resist at all; he went down in less than ten seconds. It was probably that, and perhaps, with his size, his throat was a lot more stronger than others. That, and the kid was covered in his saliva. He let out a content sigh as he looked down at his belly, feeling the child land inside. After going down what was short, but felt like an hour long, trip down it's throat, Stewart landed in the one place he didn’t want to be in; the belly of the beast. He hyperventilated as, all around him, the beast’s breathing, heartbeat, and stomach gurgled, almost telling him ‘Welcome to your death’. Everywhere was the stomach walls, all moving around with slime that fell from the ‘roof’ and the ‘walls’, making puddles on the ‘floor’, all of which was hard to see. He stood and shimmied along the sides, avoiding any of the puddles, fearing he and Ruffles will be digested. But, the place is huge; a whole classroom can be in here and it still wouldn’t be filled. But, with no place to go, no signs of escape, or even survival, Stewart sat down, hugged Ruffles, and cried. “Mommy… I miss you… I want you back… please…” Troubleshoes, despite it being muffled, heard the kid crying inside. A huge amount of guilt hit him like a set of anvils… something that happened before, but that’s not for now. He sighed as he traveled back home and talk to the kid. “Hey, kid.” Troubleshoes spoke, the place booming with his voice and shaking the place. Stewart gasped as the place moved and heard the voice, holding onto Ruffles tightly & looking around his new prison. “W-who’s there!?” He asked “S-somebody here!?” “Yes… and no.” “Wh-who are you!?” “Name’s Troubleshoes, a rodeo clown.” “R-rodeo clown? W-where are you? D-did you get eaten too? D-” “Settle down there, sonny. Look, I don’t know any other way to put this, but… I ate you.” Stewart gasped as he looked around. “Y-You’re the monster!?” “Monster? Oh… ya’ll didn’t see all of me. No, I’m not a monster… not really. I’m a pony.” “...A pony monster?” “Nah, just a pony. I saw ya’ll cryin’ back there. Couldn’t just leave you alone; the woods aren’t safe at night.” “Th-then why did you eat me?” “...I was hungry and I never ate a human before.” “Y-you wanted to… eat… people?” “Sorta. Everypony I know loves the taste of you people, or ‘Tinies’, as they prefer. I tried to, but I’m too big to see them, and I ain’t the best at huntin’.” “...Wait… you said there are others… that eat people?” “Yeah. It’s normal ‘round here.” Stewart grabbed onto Ruffles again, shaking in fear. “Oh no… this is how we die now?” “Die!? Oh, no, I apologize for not tellin’ ya, but yer safe in us.” “S-safe? How?” “It was an accident, but somepony accidentally ate a tiny, we learned that you taste good, and you’re all safe in our stomachs. The Spell that brought ya’ll here protects you from anything we do, from us stepping on you to your situation, sonny.” Stewart looked around his place. “S-so I’m not gonna be… digested?” “‘Course not. Yer just gonna be in there until you get out, preferably, when I burp you out.” Stewart giggled at that. “You burp us out?” “Yeah… it’s much better than tossin’ our cookies… or going through the… you know.” “...Oh.” Troubleshoes entered his home. He took off his hat and laid down on his bed. Stewart let out a squeak as the stallion’s stomach shifted into place. The stallion felt him move in there and chuckled, shaking the place “Yer quite smaller than I imagined. Didn’t think I could feel you.” “Y-you can feel me?” “‘Course.” Stewart, out of curiosity, touched the stomach wall in front of him, feeling the slimy flesh pulse from his touch. He realized that he was in a puddle of acids, but they weren’t harming him, nor Ruffles, at all. Relaxing, he felt how warm the place was. “It’s… it’s warm in here, sir.” The place moved and he was gently smothered in between the flesh. He could still breath, but he felt some weight on him. Troubleshoes rubbed his belly, feeling the kid in his stomach. “I bet it is. Better in there than out here in the cold, sonny.” Stewart pushed at the flesh. Troubleshoes lifted his hoof off. “Well, goodnight.” “Uh… Troubleshoes?” “...Yeah?” “Can… can you help find my mommy?” “... I’ll talk with my managers in the mornin’. Hopefully, we’ll find her before the next rodeo.” Stewart smiled at his answer. Despite being eaten, he found Trouble Shoes to be nice, willing to help him find his mommy. His eyes became heavy; the warmth of the place, the heartbeating in the distance, his breathing, and the gurgling of the stomach felt like a strange, but welcoming lullaby. He accepted it and fell asleep, snuggling into the flesh. "...Tomorrow's my birthday, sir." Troubleshoes' eyes widened at that fact. "...Shoot."