Neigh's Anatomy

by Kotatsu Neko

A Little Tone Shift Never Hurt Anyone

The teacup fell to the carpet, spilling its contents. It just barely avoided being crushed by Spinnerette as she stood from the couch abruptly, her eyes wide.

Chrysalis, who had been watching her daughter like a hawk from her preferred forelegchair, relaxed slightly. "Ah," she murmured, "there it is. I thought it wouldn't be long."

"It's hatched!" the younger queen announced, and her head swiveled to face the general direction of the clinic. "I... I have to go to it!"

"Yes, yes, of course you do. Just give me a minute or two to get ready, and we'll go toge-"

The door to the apartment's balcony was magically slid open, and Spinnerette took a step forward. "I have to go!"

"You're not leaving here looking like that!" her mother snapped. "Change first!"

"...o-oh! Right!" In a flash of purple, she became a pegasus, who pushed through the vertical blinds and out onto the balcony. A flap of wings, and she was gone. Any paparazzi seeking the newest scandal might note the departure of the unknown pegasus from Harmony Delight's apartment, but the building's security generally did well in keeping such unsavory types away.

Chrysalis snorted. "Foolish girl. Putting her entire masquerade in danger over a single egg." Then her expression softened. "But I suppose the first one is always special. Whether it's a drone or a-"

There was a sharp chime from the kitchen, and the queen gasped. "The gravel frosting is ready!" She quickly hurried to the kitchen, moving as though possessed by some narrative force that didn't want to spoil the surprise.

---

The lantern fell to the ground, and mercifully stayed lit. This seemed to be the only bit of luck Zakeem had at the moment.

He was already exhausted from chasing Goodmane, but terror poured fresh strength into his legs as he turned and ran, hooves scrabbling across the stone. There was a brief klak-klak-klak of the creature's steps, and then they stopped. He didn't turn around to find out why, and it wouldn't have helped him anyway, because he heard them again to his right... and above.

His head snapped up ,and he saw the beast clinging near the top of one of the support columns. How it was managing to stay up there without claws or graspers was beyond him, but it was managing it awkwardly. Before he could change course, it launched itself, and with a thunderous impact landed directly between him and the exit. He skidded to a stop, then turned again and fled, looking from side to side in a hopeless attempt to find some other means of escape...

There! The faint light barely illuminated one of the alcoves, its entrance thick with heavy iron pipes. He couldn't tell how deep the alcove was, but he should at least be able to squeeze past the pipes. The creature never could... though it might just smash through. It was a slim chance, but it was better than no chance at all. With the creature's snarls filling the air and that ever-present rumble growing louder, he dove toward the alcove and clambered between the pipes, then pressed himself against the wall.

The clacking noise grew near, then stopped. Zakeem tried to calm his pounding heart and ragged breaths, but his efforts were wasted when a limb was suddenly sent through the relatively small gap, seeking for its prey. It came near him, but couldn't quite reach. The limb was retracted, and the creature pressed its head (or at least what he thought of as its head; the lack of neck or eyes made the distinction rather vague) up to the pipes and regarded him. It didn't try to break through, which was something he was quite convinced it could do; on closer inspection, the pipes were ancient and brittle, and would probably leak like crazy if asked to actually carry water. Perhaps the beast was still too young and inexperienced to know how strong it clearly was.

Then its upper body twisted slightly, a movement that reminded him of somepony tilting their head. It was considering the situation, he felt. A moment later violet light shone from between its teeth, and he paled; could the thing breathe fire?! That seemed distinctly unfair.

But the light went out, the jaws opened... and something long and sticky darted out from its mouth and between the pipes, wrapping itself around him in an instant. He had no time to react. It immediately pulled him back out of the alcove, catching his head a nasty blow against the pipes as he went. It thankfully wasn't quite strong enough to pull him directly into the creatures mouth, but merely deposited him on the ground in front of it, which really was not that much to be thankful for.

Disoriented, he tried to stand up even as his scientific mind raced. It had changed itself. granting it the prehensile tongue it needed to solve the problem before it. Well, it was a changeling, after all, though he'd never heard of Chrysalis' drones having this kind of combat capability. Certainly a fascinating topic for investigation... if he survived. This seemed vanishingly unlikely as the creature stepped forward, maw opening wide...

There was a rapid flapping of wings, a burst of blue light, and then a full-grown yak barrelled into the creature from above, imbued with all of the former bat's forward momentum. The impact sent the unprepared beast tumbling several yards away, and the yak took up a position between it and the woozy doctor. "Get out of here!" it bellowed. "I'll hold it off!" In another flash of blue, it was replaced by a bugbear, which growled and advanced on the creature with claws out.

Needing no further prompting, Zakeem staggered toward the exit. He was nearly there when the bugbear was thrown though a support column and into the wall, leaving a huge crater. Light flashed once more, and a familiar changeling drone took its place. "Okay," Mandible managed, righting himself, "maybe not. Run!"

They darted out the exit, the creature hot on their hooves. "What is that thing?!" Mandible demanded.

Zakeem would have stared in astonishment if his attention wasn't fully occupied with staying alive. "Are you asking me? I don't have a clue! It came from the egg; I thought that you knew!"

"That's the hatchling?! Impossible! Why did-" He stopped himself. "Never mind, not important right now. Where's the stallion you were with?"

The zebra didn't stop to wonder how Mandible knew about that, agreeing that there were other matters at hand. "Gone," he gasped. "Eaten."

"By a changeling?!" Mandible risked a glance behind, saw the creature slowly but steadily gaining. "Glenching must have really messed that thing up!"

He fell silent as they ran, potential options being considered and discarded. Even if they could escape the hatchling, they couldn't very well leave it to rampage through the sewer. Not only would it put countless ponies at risk, if Zakeem was correct about its appetites, but if it were found by the authorities and its origins were discovered, it could lead to a citywide lockdown and a thorough investigation. He'd done a good job ensuring their secret remained a secret, but something like this would force Rarity's hoof, and he wouldn't blame her for letting Celestia know about the two queens in the city. Of course, this was technically not as dire as multiple ponies getting gobbled up, but it was still something he had to keep in mind, as much as he hated doing so.

No, he would have to deal with the situation somehow. But at the very least he could get Zakeem to safety first, maybe have him go get Spinnerette and Chrysalis. It would mean revealing where they lived to him, but at this point Mandible felt he could be trusted with at least that much.

"Look!" Zakeem's shout drew his attention. "There's light up ahead; it must be the sun's rays! A sweet path to freedom! Celestia be praised!"

"What? No! It's still nighttime! Don't go that way!" But the doctor had been through a singularly harrowing evening, and the prospect of escape was too much to resist. He galloped forward into-

A wide chamber, filled with makeshift shacks and the debris of living rather than just forgotten garbage. It was lit by fires in metal drums, and figured huddled around them to cook meager meals and fend off the evening chill. Heads began to lift and regard him with wary, tired eyes.

Even a storybook land like Equestria had its share of those for whom luck only came in one flavor.

Horror rose within Zakeem as he realized what he'd done. The creature was right behind them; it would surely gorge itself upon these unsuspecting ponies. And it would all be his...

"Manehattan PD!" a new voice shouted. "Clear the area! Violent suspect escaping on hoof! Clear the area!"

The zebra glanced behind himself to see a uniformed policepony by all appearances in hot pursuit. The ruse wouldn't have worked above ground - the standard Manehattan citizen would crane their necks and try to see what was going on - but it was a near-universal constant that the underprivileged wanted little to do with the authorities. Already many of them were retreating into their dwellings to avoid attention...

...but not enough. A few stubbornly remained by their fires, flat out ignoring the officer's command. And the creature would be there any second.

The officer frowned, then shouted: "Backup is on the way! Any witnesses may be asked to come to the station for questioning! You have nothing to fear from the police!"

That did the trick. Those sufficiently hardened to stay knew what a lie that was, and quickly made themselves scarce. There would be questions afterwards of the... insect crocodile thing?... that smashed its way through the settlement in single-minded pursuit of its prey, but no answers would be forthcoming.

---

Spinnerette was lost and confused. The strange sense of the hatchling’s location had drawn her roughly toward the clinic, but had veered off slightly as she got closer, and then she’d arrived at the doctor’s office window and saw the disarray within. There was no sign of him or Mandible, either. Maybe the hatchling had been ‘playful’, as her mother had put it, and had managed to slip away? And the two of them had given chase?

She swore, if they had let anything happen to the poor, defenseless thing…

But she’d followed her… intuition? And it had led her away from the clinic… and down. And now she was poking her way through the sewers, aware that the place could be twisty enough that a straight-line path was unlikely to be available. Staying transformed throughout the flight to the clinic had tired her out in her already weakened state, so she’d assumed her normal form and was seeing by purple hornlight. The feeling drawing her to the hatchling seemed to be fading, yet at the same time she could tell it was nearby, and getting closer.

Now the feeling pointed her toward a nearby tunnel, from which emerged a series of noises, hooves on stone and the occasional shout. She stopped and faced it. That had to be Zakeem and Mandible, racing back with her hatchling in tow. While she wanted to berate them for their carelessness in losing her young, that felt a little too Chrysalis, and as long as they all returned safe and sound she wouldn’t be too tough on-

Zakeem burst from the tunnel, his coat hopelessly stained and froth forming on his sides. He ran past Spinnerette without even noticing her, eyes focused resolutely forward. He was followed a few seconds later by Mandible, who skidded to a stop several yards past her. ”Spin?!”

“Dib? What’s going on? Where is-“

“Prepare… to fly!” Zakeem panted, circling back but still ready to bolt. “The beast is nigh!”

“What beast?” She turned to glower at the tunnel, from which she heard a rapid klak-klak-klak noise. The light of her horn brightened as she readied for a fight. “If some sewer creature hurt my hatchling I’m going to-“

And then it appeared, launching itself directly toward its mother.

Spinnerette was too shocked to move even in the slightest. She immediately recognized the creature as hers, but its horrific appearance was absolutely not what she had been expecting. It seemed to move in slow motion as it barreled forward at her, jaws gaping wide…

But Mandible had already been on the move. His path had curved around, and he tackled her at an angle, sending her stumbling to the side. She looked back at him, and their eyes met. “Run!” he shouted.

In an instant, the wide mouth closed around him. The creature raised its ‘head’, lifting Mandible into the air, his hind legs flailing. There were a few choking noises as it tried without success to swallow, but then it flared purple and grew two hooflengths in height and width, and several more in length. Mandible slid the rest of the way into the creature’s throat, and it swallowed. It smacked its lips, seeming somehow pleased with itself.

And then its non-head turned toward Spinnerette, and the rumbling noise increased in volume and intensity.

Her nerve broke, and in a panic she ran down the tunnel. Zakeem started moving when she did, but due to his already fatigued state, he had trouble keeping pace.

“What happened?” she asked as they fled. “I know that’s my hatchling, but…”

“Perhaps… the glench…” he managed, almost out of breath, “caused it… a wrench.”

A pang of regret shot through her. “Maybe it’s because I held it so long? But I didn’t know! Oh, that poor thing!”

The zebra said nothing, his hooves slowing. Behind them, the beast was not slowed down by its larger form in the slightest; in fact, it was gaining.

“Stay with me, doctor!” she commanded. Her horn lit, and she tried to lift him, but the day’s exertions had left her drained. “I promise we’ll-“

Something long and unpleasantly green suddenly wrapped around his barrel. He only had enough time for a gasped, “Not again!”, before he was pulled backwards with great force. The creature snapped him up, and underwent another purple-lit growth spurt.

Spinnerette found herself in a large chamber with a wide exit on the opposite wall through which shone pale and indirect moonlight. She could hear faint noises of carriage wheels, and felt a faint breeze of evening air. An escape to the city… but like Mandible, she realized that she couldn’t just lead the beast out to feed upon the populace. She had to take care of it here and now. Somehow.

She turned to face the creature, horn lowered. It stopped as well, making small chuffing noises as it tested the air. It knew what lay beyond, or at least seemed interested in investigating it. But then it turned its attention back to its mother, and stalked forward.

Well, she thought desperately, now what? Her magic was too weak to fight it, and even if she could transform into something big and nasty, surely Mandible would have already tried that. Perhaps if she turned into something too big to swallow, like a whale or a hydra, but it was a changeling too, and there was no way of knowing what its upper size limit was, or if it even had one. Besides, it might just escape past her and into Manehattan.

A thought occurred, one that she never would have even considered in normal circumstances. …what would Mother do? And she knew immediately, as if drawing from some royal inner databank.

She stomped her hoof loudly. The beast stopped, if only for a moment.

”I am your Queen!” she declared. “You are part of my swarm, and I command you to stop!”

It stared at her, or didn’t, for long moments. Then it leapt.

With a brief flash of understanding of how her mother felt when her own swarm liberated themselves, she quickly dodged to the side… or tried to. Her hooves seemed immobile, attached firmly to the ground. She looked down, and found them surrounded by magical light.

Green magical light.

“You’re dragging this out,” noted the familiar voice from the shadows disapprovingly. “Stop fooling around and get this over with.”

”Mother?! Why-?”

And then there was darkness.

To her surprise, there was something afterwards. There was the expected raising and then swallowing, but the thing's teeth were not employed, and while the sensation of muscles contracting around her and forcing her downward was not exactly pleasant (though unbeknownst to her, a certain subsection of ponies might be envious), neither was it particularly painful. Of course, that didn't mean that pain wasn't going to happen somewhere down the line, or rather down the esophagus...

She was deposited into what she assumed to be the creature's stomach, and landed on something soft. The impact resulted in a series of groans and exhalations, almost lost in the everpresent rumble. This was soon followed by a familiar voice asking, "...Spin? That you?"

"Dib? Oh my Grogar! Are you okay?" She drew on her remaining magic and lit her horn, but purple is not a good color for illumination and she couldn't make out more than a tangle of bodies and limbs. Wherever they were, it was barely large enough for the beings it contained.

"Yeah, I think so," he grunted. "I mean, I got eaten, so could be better, but..."

There was definitely more than a single drone's worth of legs here. "Doctor Zakeem?"

A groan was his reply.

"Wait. There's someone else down here," Mandible said. "I have a feeling he was with you, Doctor. Any idea who this is?"

"A colleague from work," Zakeem admitted. "...he's kind of a jerk."

"Oh. Him." The drone's voice was full of disdain. "That explains a lot. He's pretty well out of it. Probably got shook up pretty bad from all that running around."

"Him who?" Spinnerette asked.

"I'll explain at some point when we're not about to be digested. If we ever get there."

The prospect put a definite damper on further conversation, and several minutes passed. And then some more. "...it doesn't seem to be happening," she noted finally. "And shouldn't we have suffocated by now or something?"

There was no response.

"...Dib? Dib?!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's just... this rumbling's almost putting me to sleep."

She started to snap at him, but paused. "Yeah... it's weirdly comforting, huh?"

"Well, not to my ears, I have to admit," Zakeem said. "You're welcome to stay; I'd rather exit."

"Don't worry. Mother's out there; I'm sure she's thinking of a way to rescue us."

Mandible sounded dubious. "If she was with you, then why didn't she keep you from getting eaten?"

"Uh... actually she's the reason it caught me."

She could imagine his look of frustration. "...what the buck, Mom...?"

Then the creature moved. It seemed to have been lying down after its meal and not, as Spinnerette feared, moving to explore Manehattan, but now she felt herself lift as it raised its upper body. "Have you calmed down now?" she heard Chrysalis say, though greatly muted.

"There she is!" she announced. "Mother! We're in here! Help!"

But her words were drowned out by the rumble, which grew even louder. The creature began to snarl as well. "Don't you give me that tone of voice," she heard Chrysalis admonish. "I'm not your queen."

"You'll see," she said, holding on to hope. "Any minute now she'll... force its jaws open and set us-"

"But look at you!" Her mother's tone of voice was suddenly one of pride and approval. "You caught them all! What a good boy you are!"

The rumble got even louder, and the creature's lower half started to shake back and forth, causing the unconscious Goodmane to bounce off the walls a few times.

"A good boy like you," Chrysalis continued, "deserves a scrimblecake."

Stale sewer air swept past them as the creature sniffed at, presumably, the 'tasty treat' Chrysalis had devoted her evening to making. There was a pause during which Spinnerette could feel faint motions from above, then she was peppered with fragments of odd-smelling matter. The scrimblecake seemed to meet with the creature's approval, because its growling took on a sudden eager inflection.

"You like that, do you? Well, there's plenty more where that came from, at the bottom of this bag." The creature lurched forward suddenly, then let out a disappointed moan. "Ah-ah-ah," Chrysalis chided. "You'll have to change to something small in order to fit. No eating the whole bag at once."

It made a kind of deep burbling noise, the first sound it had made that wasn't a snarl, a roar, or the ever-present rumbling.

"Oh, don't worry about them." Spinnerette felt she could hear a tiny amount of malicious glee in her mother's voice. "They can go sideways for just a little bit without too much harm. And after all, turnabout is fair play, isn't it?" There was a faint rustle of paper. "Come along now!"

The three couldn't exactly exchange glances, due not only to the darkness but also their tangled positions, but a definite shared feeling of acute concern rose within them. "...is that safe?" Mandible asked, aware that no matter what the answer was, they were powerless to prevent it.

"I-I'm sure Mother knows what she's doing," Spinnerette said as purple fire began to rise around them, and almost managed to believe it.

Then there was... not darkness, not exactly, but something darkness-adjacent that the conscious mind was never intended to experience. The sensation was distinctly unpleasant, and it was rather unfair, they agreed later, that Goodmane didn't get to experience it.

Author's Note:

Correct guesses win a scrimblecake. And no, it's not a changeling dog or cat.

Comments

[Doctor_Den]

I did not expect that almost all the characters will be eaten.

[Savant Sentral]

petty lmao

[Cerulean Blue]

I would have thought a Changeling dog, but apparently it isn't one of those. Changeling guard creature, with Spin's drone safe in th stomach with them?

[A.P.O.N.I.]

Scrimblecakes sound like something Roald Dahl would have come up with.

[Ri2]

Oh god, not vore!

[Witchery]

Giant spider.

[Kotatsu Neko]

11246018
I figured if I didn't mention it, someone else would have.

[Scyphi]

All I know is that it's a thing. For now, that's accurate enough for me.

I do wonder how they're going to end up getting out of this, though, but I can only assume Chryssi's got some kind of plan...though knowing her reputation for plans...

[Herald of Opera]

"I-I'm sure Mother knows what she's doing," Spinnerette said as purple fire began to rise around them, and almost managed to believe it.

Yeah, your mother has never known anything in her life and isn't about to start now.