Smolder grumbled into her pillow and lay splayed across a bed that was almost too small for her. The come-of-age dragoness had intended on only taking a little cat nap, but once again found herself not rousing for several hours. Faceplanted, she continued muffling into the softness of the pillow her whole head engulfed, slowly pulling her knees in and raising her backside in a lazy stretch. The orange dragon had grown a fair bit as of late, going through something of a growth spurt, and the usually-dexterous Smolder found herself stumbling about more than she cared. She was anything but pleased when she finally managed out of bed, her dormitory within the friendship school in Equestria feeling smaller every day. She had the room to herself, at least, but a grown dragoness needed a bit more. “Oh well,” she stammered through a yawn, stretching wings and claws, “least it’s free.”

She did her best to not convey her general moodiness about her newfound clumsiness to anyone. It wasn’t her friends’ fault, after all, that she was now bonking her head against the top of some doorways. Or that she’d make occasional express trips down stairwells (she thanked her wings from saving herself a trip to the infirmary in those instances). Bottling all those feelings up, though, didn’t make Smolder feel particularly great, and she mumbled greetings to classmates and friends as she zombie-walked her way through the halls, aiming to grab some grub for supper. She was always hungry these days.

“Helloooo Smolder!” a familiar voice chimed, and Smolder groaned. Silverstream wasn’t the hippogriff that she needed right now. Her hyperactive perkiness wasn’t going to mesh well with the frustrations Smolder presently sifted through. Nevertheless, Smolder put on a smile and turned to greet her long-time friend. Like Smolder, she’d grown up too. Although she never suffered the awkward period of growing too fast. Silverstream was still small compared to the dragoness, but she was much more filled and stood taller than your average pony.

“Heya, Silver. What’s up?” Smolder asked, quirking a brow at the bow-adorned box the hippogriff was carrying. “Someone’s birthday?” That thought actually cheered Smolder up a bit. A little party and some cake would do wonders for her right now. She was disappointed, therefore, when Silverstream shook her head, dangling mane bobbing this way and that.

“Nope! This… is for you!” Silverstream suppressed a snicker, and offered the box up to the dragoness. Silverstream’s head only came up to Smolder’s chest, with the dragon’s recent spurts finally making her tower over most of the equines in attendance at the school of friendship. “Spike tipped me off to something dragons just adore the aroma of, so I thought of you?” Smolder curiously took the box in her claws, and Silverstream had to stifle a giggle.

“Well, thanks,” Smolder complimented. “Mind if we walk? I wanna head to the mess hall and grab a bite.” Silverstream nodded and fell into stride with Smolder, the dragoness fiddling the ribbon off the gift. She ripped the lid free off and revealed its contents, immediately balking. “Dragon sneeze fl… flow…” Silverstream burst out into giggles as Smolder’s face contorted into a goofy expression, and she let loose a sneeze. Her too-tall legs tangled up on themselves as they walked, tripping the sneezing dragon up. Silverstream let out a yelping laugh when Smolder’s face smashed right into the box, immersed in the agitating pollen. The flowers, box and all, vanished in a puff of flame when Smolder let out another roaring sneeze, scorching the carpet below. “Silver!” she yelled, eyes pink and quivering.

“Oh gosh!” Silverstream yelped, realizing at that moment that things were maybe taken too far. She galloped in front of Smolder and tried helping her up. “Sorry Smolder! I thought it was just like sneeze powder! I didn’t think it would be so allergy-like!”

“Wh-whaa…” Smolder stuttered, Silverstream yelping and ducking down to avoid another stream of flame. Smolder only got out a word between each gout. “What… were… you… thinking?! You know… growing… clumsy.” Silverstream couldn’t get a word in edge-wise, while Smolder fell into an uncontrollable fit of sneezes.

“Smolder, I’m sorry!” Silverstream tried again once those subsided. Smolder sniffled with red, bleary eyes, yet still managing to glower down at the pranking hippogriff. “It was just a silly gag!”

“I’m outta here!” Smolder croaked, taking wing and making a beeline for the dormitory.  Silverstream cringed as a flag was obliterated by a fresh sneeze, Smolder’s wavering flight somehow taking her home. Least she had the sense to not try and follow, Smolder thought as she edged into her room. The first thing she did was submerge her head in a vat of boiling water. The liquid was a poor substitute for a proper lava face wash, but most of the offending pollen was washed away among the boiling, steaming water. She brought her head up with a gasp and took a few moments to catch her breath, the steam helping her sinuses. Smolder stood there on quaky legs, claws gripped to the edges of the cauldron, eyes staring into a mirror she possessed. Her eyes were still red, but the sneezing had ceased and she could breathe cleanly again.

For 10 minutes.

Another fit of sneezes and three incinerated blankets later, and Smolder was quite ticked at her friend! “That Silverstream… Ugh! I’m gonna get back at her, that’s for sure. She’ll see what it’s like to mess with a dragon!”

Silverstream, meanwhile, was fraught with worry. She knew that her little prank – something she thought would be a lark for her growing friend – had gone too far. “She was just supposed to smell them, not fall face-first into them!” The hippogriff was pacing about in her own room, having the sense to not try and parlay with an incensed dragon. This didn’t help herself, though, with Silverstream screaming into her pillow in frustration. “Guess I’ll try to make amends in the morning…”

It was a rough night for the hippogriff and dragoness both. Smolder kept the cauldron by her bedside, occasionally dunking her face into the now-lukewarm water for relief. She’d missed out on the meal she was angling for, leaving her hungry, and she was too out of sorts to go fetch a meal now. Silverstream’s mind kept her tossing and turning, having dreams of her long-time friend seeking revenge for what was just a misunderstanding! The hippogriff bolted upright when one dream had her engulfed in a sneeze flame the size of the school. The night passed with neither one getting a whole lot of sleep.

Restless as it was, however, Smolder awoke in better spirits. She was pleased to see the symptoms had cleared up. The thirst for some amount of revenge still burned, but it was reduced from an utter torment down to maybe roughing the hippogriff up some. It ached Smolder to admit it, but getting too much revenge might sour what was a friendship that the dragoness treasured. Smolder stretched wings and limbs and idly wondered where she could pull off a little roughhousing with Silverstream, when she heard a knock at the door, and a quiet voice following. “Smolder? Are… are you in there? It’s Silverstream.”

Smolder grinned to herself in the mirror and winked. Perfect. The thought of incipient retribution distracted the dragoness from a soft grumbling from her middle. Instead, she answered the door. Smolder got some delight at seeing how disheveled the hippogriff was: Mane out of place, feathers askew, and even a missing seashell necklace. “Smolder?” she quavered, looking up to the smirking dragon. “I just wanted to say I’m sorr– GAK!” Smolder’s arm shot out and before Silverstream could blink, a big dragon claw was clasped around her throat. She was yanked into Smolder’s bedroom with a yelp, a few feathers trickling down in her wake. Smolder peeked out into the hall, looked about, and confirmed there was no-creature about. She blew a tuft of flame down to destroy those falling feathers, and shut the door.

Silverstream was still in Smolder’s grasp, the hippogriff trying to pry the gripping claw away with her own. “It’s not wise to prank a dragon, you know,” Smolder pointed out with a growl, smoke trickling from her snout as she turned to face her. “Pretty dumb, actually.” Smolder grinned and thrust her claw outward, tossing Silverstream to the ground. She tried to catch herself with her wings but failed, ending up a sprawling mess on the floor. “You wanted to come and say ‘sorry’ and think that would be the end of it? I was up half the night sneezing!” Silverstream only whimpered, noticing a not-small pile of ash in the corner: The remnants of whatever got in the way of a dragon’s sneeze.

“O-of course not!” Silverstream protested, nervously running a claw through her unbrushed mane. The shades on the window were drawn, with the morning light only managing through nooks and crannies of the window. “I knew I took it too far, but I honestly really didn’t think you were gonna trip! Ohhhh how does Pinkie Pie balance funny and mean so good?” Smolder was busy cracking her knuckles, thinking of feeding the pink equine a few sandwiches, but let her arms drop. The fretting hippogriff mumbled several “sorry”s out, and curled up on the bedroom floor morosely. “I understand if you can’t forgive me right away Smolder. O-or even ever… I felt so bad I could hardly sleep last night either! N-not that I’m trying to out-do your lack of sleep or anything…”

Smolder bared teeth, raised a fist once more… and just heaved a sigh. Even she could see that Silverstream had suffered plenty already. A few more thrashings wasn’t going to make either of them feel any better. The thirst for revenge was all-but-snuffed out in her heart, and Smolder sat down next to Silverstream. She stretched her legs out in front of the hippogriff and gave a single pat to the top of her puffy mane. “It’s okay, Silver. You have no idea how irritating it can be though. There’s a reason they’re called dragon sneeze flowers. Ponies sometimes are pretty blunt with how they name things.”

Grrrrwwwlllll…

Smolder paused. With most of her anger lapsed, her hunger surged forward to take things over. Silverstream was doing her best not to cry, and feeling a whole lot of relief at Smolder’s words, to notice what just rumbled throughout the bedroom. Smolder felt her tummy growl again, quieter this time, reminding her of why she’d gone out last night in the first place.

And that she was starving.

Silverstream felt the claw that patted her work down to her back. Smolder stared down at the hippogriff. Grown, a bit on the chunky side, soft… tender. “You know, Silver?” Smolder started, the hippogriff hardly noticing the claw not so much petting as it was squeezing here and there. “You’ve gotten bigger like me. Not as much of course. But I was just thinkin’. Been a while since I’ve gotten a bite…”

“You wanna go get breakfast?” Silverstream interjected, eyes all hopeful.

“Well, yeah,” Smolder admitted with a nod and shoulder shrug. Silverstream squeaked when Smolder guided her claw down to her flank and gave it a tender squeeze. “But I think I have a pretty good breakfast right here.” Silverstream looked puzzled, thinking Smolder had a hoard of gems stashed where she slept (typical dragon behavior) a moment. But what was a hippogriff going to do with a meal like that?

“You know how long it’s been since I’ve had a proper, meaty meal?” Smolder continued, and Silverstream’s eyes widened in revelation, and fear. Smolder met her gaze, and licked her lips with a forked tongue. “Since before I left the dragon lands to attend this school. It was hard but I managed not to eat a single pony while I’ve been here. Or any other creature.” Silverstream tried to not-so-gently pull away from Smolder, but the claw on her rump suddenly seized her tail and held her in place. “And I’ve never had hippogriff before. Wonder if you’ll taste any better…”

“S-Smolder? What in Equestria are you… Let me go!” Silverstream reached behind her to try and once again dislodge a dragon claw from herself. But dragons apparently had vice-like grips, and she failed miserably at freeing herself. She let out another squeaky yelp when Smolder yanked her around and pressed snout to beak.

“A full stomach’s great for an ailing dragon. You just might be the perfect response to a night of sneezing and nearly a day without food.” And Smolder didn’t hesitate to drag her tongue up under Silverstream’s chin, who let out a scream. She pulled her head back to try and get away from that hungry mouth, but the larger dragon had her in complete dominion. She was thrust harshly against the side of the bed, pinned by two claws, with her underside exposed to the hungry Smolder’s gaze. “So glad you stopped by,” she snickered.

“S-Smolder… no!” Silverstream writhed and squirmed, fores pinned and hinds kicking uselessly through the air. Smolder sank her head down and began to sample and taste her breakfast-to-be. Only then did Silverstream notice the bubbling growls emanating from the scaly stomach on the floor. “Eugh…! Y-you’re tasting me! A-and enjoying it!” Silverstream sputtered in revulsion. She felt gooey dragon slobber filter through her fur and feathers, squirming hinds not doing a thing to keeping the hungry dragoness at bay. Smolder worked her tongue up Silverstream’s belly and chest, all the way up to her shoulders; down each leg and turn, even suckling sweetly on a hoof.

“Mmm… You got that right,” Smolder mumbled with a happily-flicking tail. “Almost glad you stopped me from gettin’ grub last night cuz I’m gonna enjoy this a whole lot more…” The gleam in Smolder’s eyes told Silverstream all she needed to know. The hippogriff was no stranger to predation, although she’d never gone so far as to devour a fellow classmate. The hungry stare proved Smolder was serious, and that the hippogriff was the next thing for the ever-growing dragon to devour. Silverstream cowered when a second set of eyelids blinked and Smolder’s tongue flickered sibilantly, showering her in more spittle. She couldn’t wrestle free from the tight, unyielding grips of those sharp dragon claws, and was completely at the mercy of her friend. A quick thought raced through Silverstream’s mind to transform, but her necklace was several rooms away, on her nightstand.

Silverstream was trapped, and had no means to escape the hungry dragoness.
 “Help! Somepony, please help me!” she tried, though she knew it was in vain.

“Forget about the soundproof spell?” Smolder laughed, going “ahhh” as she opened her mouth wide and let her tongue slather across the bridge of Silverstream’s shuddering muzzle. “Perfect for studying. And for keeping squealing prey from being rescued.” She worked her tongue over her scaly lips and leaned up to Silverstream’s ear, whispering. “No-one’s coming to save you,” she said, flitting her tongue about the ear and savoring the hippogriff’s taste.

“Ewww… P-please Smolder! I-I’ll… Y-you…” Smolder just kept at the tasting, though, working her jaws around one ear at a time. Her claws had moved on from the hippogriff’s legs, Silverstream trying to beat against the looming Smolder. But her blows glanced off the mighty scales, Smolder freely continuing to taste and sample her. The claws worked into her chubbier middle and thighs, squeezing and feeling Silverstream up. “N-n-no…” Another whimper escaped, Smolder’s digits sifting through Silverstream’s fur and squishing her pudgier parts here and there. She vainly fluttered her feathery wings, but all that did was draw Smolder’s attention to them. Her claws worked through her feathers, loose ones falling to the floor, others matted down with dragon drool as licks and tastes followed soon after.

“Spiciness of a Pegasus. Bit of salty taste, from the sea no doubt. Definitely unique!” Smolder complimented. In a fit of desperation Silverstream brandished her own claws. They brushed against scales and didn’t leave so much as a scratch behind. Silverstream whined and clawed over and over again despite the futile nature, wearing them down to blunt, harmless edges. “That’s another thing you and ponies share, Silver,” Smolder laughed. “Food can’t fight back. And seeing how you’ve utterly failed, guess that means that’s all you really are.” Smolder’s belly agreed, and it grumbled out in time to a desperate wail from the trapped hippogriff.

“I’m not food…” Silverstream claimed, and she put her claws together in a begging pose, tearfully looking up at Smolder. “Please, Smolder? As a friend? Just… let me go?”

Grrrllmmble… Smolder just stood up latching a claw to the base of Silverstream’s tail, in response. Her legs straddled the begging hippogriff, who was forced to see that scaly belly growl and quiver in hunger. “I think that answers your question.” Smolder bared her sharp teeth at Silverstream, who shrunk at the sight of the glistening fangs. Smolder yanked on the tail, Silverstream squawking as her head bounced against the floor. Before she could steady her vision, a scaled dragon paw came down on her cheek, mashing the other to the floor, and held the hippogriff in place. “This is where you belong now. As food. And go ahead, keep squirming. I got all morning. Just means you get to feel where you’re goin’ for longer.” Silverstream got clued into what Smolder spoke of, when the dragoness bent to one knee. Keeping one paw pressed to the hippogriff’s face, Smolder allowed her belly to squish up against Silverstream, who could now feel the active stomach grumble in eager need. It had obviously been some time since Smolder ate, and the taste of the hippogriff still tingled on the tip of her tongue. Silverstream squirmed and clawed and batted away at the pinning form above her, but she only managed to wear herself out. Even her wings now laid stretched out and useless against the floor of Smolder’s bedroom, giving the dragoness free reign to sample and taste her, at the dragoness’ leisure.

Minutes ticked by, and Silverstream just panted pathetically with one eye staring up at Smolder and the ceiling. Smolder had removed her foot and laid atop the defeated hippogriff, dragging her tongue up and down her body, lathering her in copious amounts of shining, heated dragon saliva. Silverstream caught a glimpse of a feather or two stuck to Smolder’s tongue, until the dragoness gulped them down without a thought. “S-Smolder… please…” she begged, scrunching her eyes shut when the tongue passed over her face.

“Please… what, food?” Smolder said, pausing a moment and chuckling. “Oh, I know. ‘Please show me where I’m headed!’ Right?” She didn’t wait for an answer to her rhetoric. Instead, Smolder positioned her head just over Silverstream’s spreading her jaws nice and wide. Silverstream had hoped that Smolder wasn’t able to devour someone as big as her, bit it was obvious the superior sized creature was more than capable: The jaws stretched wide enough to engulf the hippogriff’s entire head… and more! Smolder didn’t give Silverstream much chance to react: She got no more than a pitiful wail out when Smolder’s quivering maw fell over her face. The jaws clamped down just around her ears and mane, chin and muzzle budging up against the back of the dragon’s throat. Hot, stale breath puffed over her face over and over as the tongue went to town tasting, slurping, salivating over a meal that Smolder’s stomach was actively craving. Drool poured out around the terrified Silverstream’s head down to the floor, and her limbs limply thrashed and kicked beneath the weight of Smolder. 

Silverstream took in every little detail of that maw, and the gullet beyond, having just enough light to make out the pulsating mass all around her, threatening to swallow her alive. It burned straight into her memory. She thought this was it, that this was the end, and she was truly nothing more than a hungry dragoness’ meal. She was quite surprised, therefore, when her head slipped out past scaly lips and splatted back to the floor below. Smolder murmured contently about her flavor, groaning and smacking her lips appreciatively. Smolder absentmindedly dug her claws into Silverstream’s middle, the sharp things pricking and prodding her fur and skin. “Ahh… Did you like that little preview, Silver?”

“N-n-no…” Silverstream whimpered truthfully, as Smolder wormed around atop her. The dragoness was rotating atop her captive prey, and Silverstream watched as the lengthy dragon tail came into view, swishing delightedly. The full weight of Smolder came down on her chest, with the belly squishing over her shoulders and holding her there, as she felt sharp teeth nibbling at and around her legs.

“Never have eaten food quite this large before,” Smolder taunted, licking about Silverstream’s shivering hooves. “Not in one piece anyway. Think I’m just about ready to try though!” At that admission her scaly stomach growled again, but Silverstream was too tired to even push away at the girth. She laid there limply on the floor, even as her hindlegs were pressed together. She felt the hot dragon breath buffeting her hooves, Smolder’s tongue slathering against her one last time. “Oof, gonna be carrying you around a while, Silver. But it’ll be worth it.” Smolder’s tail fell limp as she murred, licking across Silverstream’s ankles. “So worth it.”

“No… d-d-don’t…” Silverstream tried to wriggle but it was no good. Smolder’s jaws widened and started to sink down over the lifted, pressed-together hindlegs, and were dragged upwards into the heated jaws. They slid backwards on the lengthy tongue until they pushed against the back of the maw, feeling the muscles of the gullet yawn open. “N-no Smolder, don’t eat me!” Silverstream whined, just as jaws clamped sharply on her legs and her hindhooves were swallowed down. A slim bulge appeared in Smolder’s neck, the GLK ringing horrifically in Silverstream’s ears. Her body was pulled down between Smolder’s legs, as her own were lifted up off the ground and fed deeper into the voracious, dripping cavern of a dragon maw. “N-noooo!!!”

“Mmph… GLURK… ULK!” More swallows echoed out. Silverstream’s rear presented itself to the yearning mouth as it was hefted up off the ground, tail dangling uselessly away from it. Smolder placed a claw on the hippogriff’s thighs, squishing and squeezing the malleable cheeks about. It was trivial for the dragoness to open her jaws wider and slip the hippogriff butt into them, only clamping them when the bulk of the hips had worked their way in. “Stop! Please!” Silverstream begged, the dock of her tail scrunched against the roof of Smolder’s mouth. The discomfort from how she was bent up and over was the least of her worries, though, as heated slobber worked into every crevice and part of her furry rear, dribbling out and down her body, making her trip into the slimy gullet all the smoother. “ULP! GLRK, ULK… GLLLK!”

Silverstream managed a wailing cry when she felt, heard, and saw her rump squelch into the stretched scales of Smolder’s neck. Smaller gulps followed, and her backside slithered slowly down Smolder’s body, with her hindhooves already starting to press against the tight opening of the stomach. Silverstream’s wings folded up against her head when she was dragged further still, and her muzzle pressed right up against the stomach as her hooves slsh’d right into the belly proper, butt not far behind. “Mhmrmmmpph!!!” the hippogriff wailed, muffled by the dragon scales of the gut pressing against her face. Smolder smirked around her meal, and slurped her tongue up against Silverstream’s scrumptious belly. 

Desperate, Silverstream continued to rake her claws across hardened dragon scales wherever she could, all the while contemplating the thought that one of her best friends was eating her alive. “Smolder, Smolder please!” she begged, weak swipes and filed-down digits doing nothing at all to the orange scaly belly that continued to swell. Silverstream shivered despite the heated interior, with more hot drool running down her body from slobbering dragon lips. Smolder didn’t respond, too focused on consuming the writhing hippogriff, swallowing down the last of the purple-furred belly and starting up the chest and wings. It didn’t take Smolder much effort to gulp down Silverstream’s front half, wings and chest mashing together down the gullet as powerful, noisy swallows devoured more of the terrified Silverstream. “Help!” she called again, voice starting to peter out from sheer exhaustion. Silverstream continued clawing, though it was just through the air now, as her forelegs were stuck forward, as her shoulders slithered into the dragon maw.

Smolder greedily shoveled Silverstream in up to her neck, along with most of that mane, leaving nothing but a head and wriggling fores protruding. Her lips smacked and slurped around twitching ears, and heavy swallows continued to bulge out her midsection and chest. Smolder shot her forked tongue out and lathered up the sniveling hippogriff’s cheeks up delicately, smearing heated saliva across them and leaving a glistening pool behind. Smolder scrunched her eyes shut and gulped heavily, pulling Silverstream’s chin backwards along the squirming tongue. Silverstream saw very little beyond the mouth at that point, stuck viewing a sharp tooth-lined jaw dribbling viscous slobber every which way. She let out a last pathetic wail not to be eaten when the tongue suddenly bunched up against her face and Smolder clenched her jaws shut. Only Silverstream’s claws stuck out now, writhing about and trying to find something to grab onto to save her life.

Smolder smirked about those claws and easily slurped them in, making them disappear with a spurt of drool left in their wake. A soft gulp pulled Silverstream’s head down, forcing her to stare up into the dark maw, claws completely inert now as they laid across the tongue. Smolder ran her tongue between every digit of those worn-down claws, coiling around each one in turn and reveling in the last of the hippogriff’s flavor. She’d definitely have to find more hippogriffs to devour, long after working off the hefty one she was just about done devouring now, of course. The mingling of avian and equine flavors was something not even a griffon could provide, and Smolder made a mental note to make her way out towards Silverstream’s home one day. But now, she had her own meal to finish. Smolder sighed serenely before tipping her head up and swallowing the last of Silverstream whole with a powerful, elongated GLUOURRRRK, tongue slurping across her scaly lips as she did so. Smolder had ended on her knees with her own claws braced on the floor, on all fours when her stomach bloated out and loudly SLURSH’d and swayed. Silverstream was blind in the pitch-black innards of the dragoness, balled up pitifully and scrunched incredibly tightly within the belly of her friend. Smolder ran her tongue along her teeth a bit, then let out a short, heavy belch, singing another one of her blankets in the process. “I forgive you, Silver,” she cooed with a rough smack to her jostling belly and letting it rest and pancake out against the floor some.

Silverstream wasn’t given a moment of rest. Even after the long excruciating ordeal of being eaten whole and alive, the stomach didn’t pull its punches against the hippogriff. Silverstream almost immediately felt hot, sizzling stomach acids secrete from the walls of the belly and work their way into her fur and feathers. Gobs of saliva pooled about the bottom and was already bubbling away. It was like being stuffed into an oven, and the hippogriff could barely move a muscle with the tight, squelching walls of the stomach holding her in place. Silverstream’s beak was poised right near the sealed sphincter, with her fores having ended up tucked to either side of her face. The rest of her was a contorted, uncomfortable mess, made worse when she felt every patronizing squeeze from a dragon claw, barely felt from the outside, making the cramped space even less comfortable to deal with.

Silverstream was forced to come to terms with the reality that she was nothing more than Smolder’s meal now. Food devoured, soon to be digested, and nothing more. Probably forgotten about completely in a few weeks’ time. And Smolder couldn’t be happier with having ingested one of her former friends! The hippogriff was positively delicious in every way, and Smolder spent the better part of the next hour or so admiring herself: She’d managed to get back into her bed and heavily flop onto her back, with her stretched scaly belly hanging off her sides. She could make out the occasional indent of a limb or other body part here or there, and would always immediately squish into it. Smolder could hardly believe she was finally big enough to eat a pony-like thing whole, in one bite, getting it all down with relative ease! She fantasized about the future meals she would get to enjoy, now that she was sure she could do the deed with little consequence. Smolder’s tail was relaxed and limp along the bed, feeling just some of the violent squirming and protests from within the gurgling tummy, its tip hanging off the bed.

One thing Smolder quickly found out was how worn out eating such a hefty meal made her. She’d had some big meals in her time, but nothing quite like this! Much as she wanted to just rub and admire and reminisce all day about her Silverstream snack, the dragoness found her eyelids growing heavy, and a yawn escaping her every few moments. Inside the stomach things grew worse for Silverstream, who was nearly encompassed completely in the burning stomach fluids. Feathers were molting, fur was coming off in patches, and her skin was itching and burning all over. Her cries for help didn’t escape the groaning chamber, Smolder half-asleep as it was, sagging down the mattress of her bed. Smolder continued to play with her engorged belly until weariness from such a meal finally overtook her, the dragoness falling asleep with a smile on her face.

Smolder slept the entire day. Silverstream remained conscious for most of it, trapped in the roiling insides of the stuffed dragoness. The hippogriff was completely sapped of energy in the boiling-hot belly, and only passed out about an hour before the snoozing Smolder woke up. She smacked her lips and let loose a smaller burp, singed fur and feathers splattering out along her pillow. Smolder yawned wildly and sat up, rubbing her eyes and not noticing the gentle slosh of her still-protruding gut settling just above her legs. She stood and nearly lost her balance, flaring her wings to catch herself. “Whoa! Not use to being so front-loaded, heheheh.” Smolder caught a glance of herself in the mirror, and let out a small gasp.

For the first time in a while, the growth-spurt-afflicted Smolder actually liked what she saw in the reflection, completely. Not that she hated herself prior, but it seemed like Silverstream was just what she needed to more-properly fill out, to catch up with how tall she was getting: Smolder’s belly, a soft, sagging mass of pudge, was just a part of what such a meal had left on her. Hips carried thicker scales all along her top half well, with sizable hips and a rear end to match. Smolder flicked her tail about, noticing it was carrying some extra weight too. Obviously, Smolder realized, a diet of gems and pony food wasn’t what a growing dragoness needed. “Fresh friendly meat’s the way to go, clearly,” Smolder chuckled, using the mirror to pick at her teeth and getting a bit of stuck pink fur out of it. She spread her wings nonchalantly and only then noticed that they, too, increased in size. “Guess they gotta be bigger to carry the new me around,” Smolder figured, testing them with a few steady flaps and easily lifting off the dormitory floor, belly swaying to their gait.

Smolder left her bedroom and headed outside, carried on those wings. She took to the night skies, full of energy and vigor, happy to be past what she felt was an awkward period of growth for her. “What a rush!” she exclaimed, soaring up to cloud level with ease and leaving Ponyville behind her. As she flew aimlessly, Smolder looked down to her swaying paunch of a belly – one of the last reminders of just exactly who she ate to get to where she was now. Smolder pressed a claw up to the yielding scales, squishing it about and feeling a soft churn from within, the hippogriff not quite done being digested. Something Smolder would have to get used to. “You know what, Silver? That wasn’t such a bad prank after all.” That was the last time Smolder ever acknowledged Silverstream, or her fate, the hippogriff reduced to nothing more than fat on a growing dragon. A dragon who had acquired quite the taste for all things equine!