When Twilight Sparkle in her School of Friendship announced a chaperon-free field trip up into the great Crystal Empire, Silverstream was the first to sign up! Two weeks later, she and several of her friends, along with some students she wasn’t too familiar with, were on their way, the overnight train chugging diligently along and cutting through the night. Silverstream couldn’t sleep. One of the first things the pink hippogriff did after confirming the trip details was race to her room, bust out quill and parchment, and scribbled out a note. She had a pen pal up in the empire, and was finally getting a chance to see her again! Silverstream was wont to try new and exciting things, and when the pen pal program was initiated within the school she was again the first to sign up for it! And as such, she was able to pick first among the many connections, acquaintances, and friends of Twilight Sparkle and her various teachers.

It didn’t take long at all for Silverstream to settle on a partner. One picture of the adorable alicorn was all it took. “This one!” Silverstream declared, holding a photograph of one Princess Flurry Heart up to Twilight, almost pressing it to her snout in the process.

Silverstream wrote more than she ever did before, she and the pony princess-to-be hitting it off instantly. Poor Spike was reminded of his earlier days of playing messenger between other princesses, but was willing nevertheless to participate in the pen pal program whenever he could. Instant transmission of writings was very convenient, after all, and a privilege enjoyed by those in charge. As such, Silverstream often got instant delivery (sometimes receiving, when Spike was up in the Crystal Empire; somewhat of a celebrity up there, as Silverstream understood). Over the years the pen pal relationship blossomed further. They’d met on several occasions already, although Flurry Heart was always the one visiting. Silverstream had yet to make the journey north.

But now here she was, speeding along on a train to the Crystal Empire, to (among other things) spend some good quality time in a beautiful city with an alicorn she’d grown to be friends with! Silverstream was looking forward to hanging out, particularly since Flurry Heart was no longer a foal, now teen-aged. On one claw this was good, giving the two more things they could do together that fillies and colts couldn’t. On the other flipper, the hippogriff reminded herself, Flurry Heart’s duties and training were expanding as well. Still, the two had a general itinerary, with Flurry Heart making herself explicitly unavailable and “to not be disturbed with any mundane duties concerning the Crystal Empire or princesses” (Silverstream laughed at how flowery official conduct looked when she read that in her latest letter) for large swaths of time. Silverstream and Flurry Heart were going to have a wonderful week together!

It was late in the day when the train pulled into the station. Though the worst of the arctic weather was kept at bay by the magic within the city (Silverstream just had to get a picture with her and Flurry by the Crystal Heart!), that didn’t stop the general climate from being much colder than lower Equestria! Some were okay with this, not adorning anything more than a hat at best to stave off the chilly weather. Silverstream, though not as lithe as she used to be, shivered some despite being bundled up in multiple layers. Her wings were buried under all that clothing but still felt that chill, the hippogriff winding another layer of scarf about her neck. Despite herself she was elated. Silverstream didn’t mind the cold one bit, in fact embracing it! She loved to experience new places and environments, anything the lands above the oceans and seas had to offer. She’d seen plenty of those in her time in hiding. Now was the time for exploration.

Silverstream and the others had a late lunch together, the glimmering locals happily greeting the latest set of tourists. Word may have gotten out that these were students from the School of Friendship, but the crystal ponies could relate to Silverstream, had they’d known each-others recent histories. Crystal ponies, most boasting ages rivaling those of the elder princesses, had maybe caught sight of a griffon at one point, but otherwise only knew their own kind. Seeing the likes of a hippogriff or a yak milling about with a changeling and another dragon, with all flavors of other sorts of ponies, definitely made the traveling party stand out in a crystal pony crowd! The lunch was excellent, mostly due to the company, but also from the exotic, crystal-curated dishes the locals had provided.

Delicious as it was, though, Silverstream did wish for something much more lively and filling. The hippogriff was no stranger to eating up ponies, but was severely restricted in who she could eat! Relegated to only villains who’d constantly threatened the well-being of the world (the return of a full-grown Cozy Glow was a particularly rough period for Equestria, but Silverstream loved what the curly-haired mare did to her figure), it was a rarity to dine on equine. Not that Silverstream wished harm on Equestria, but peace had reigned now for some time, and though the Crystal Empire dining experience was fantastic, she hoped to get another chance at some point in the near future.

The itinerary for the field trip was to stay for a week, then return home. Silverstream’s plans with Flurry Heart didn’t commence until the following day, so she and the other students were taken on a grand tour of the ancient empire. Though Silverstream greatly anticipated meeting with Flurry, the teenager princess-to-be was busy with something-or-other and couldn’t join up with them at this time. Flurry was taking care of everything she could, so that the rest of her week was completely free and unencumbered. “No guards,” she insisted despite protests from parents and royal guard captains alike. “Nu-uh, not while I’m spending time with my pen pal. We’ll be fine, okay? We just want to enjoy ourselves and we can’t do that with Big Burly standing six feet away!” Reluctantly convinced, the powers of the Crystal Empire assured Flurry Heart that, for the duration of the students’ trip, Flurry Heart would be left completely to her own devices, with no check-ins or anything of the sort. Growing ponies – even alicorns – needed their space to spend time with friends and grow, after all.

Tourism was a booming business in the Crystal Empire (re-emerging after hundreds of years dormant and hidden away tends to do that). As such, had Silverstream and the others on this trip been responsible for finding a place so stay, they’d be spoiled for choice. This part was taken care of: The accommodations Princess Twilight Sparkle arranged for her students were nothing short of spectacular. While the Princess of Friendship couldn’t secure a royal stay in the palace itself, she did manage to book the biggest, fanciest place a stone’s throw away. Every student got their own luxurious, exorbitant rooms to call their own, each one furnished with a large bed, living room furniture, washroom, balcony equipped with a telescope, and more. The crystal walls refracted even the smallest amount of light around, with glowing crystals cleverly hidden providing a comfortable glowing ambiance, that guests could tweak the colors of, or turn off entirely, with a simple voice command. Silverstream’s jaw hit the floor when she was shown to her room. The place was bigger than the classrooms at school! The hippogriff settled in easily, with nothing to unpack, just sprawling out on the wide bed and playing with the crystalline light sources. Before she knew it a half hour ticked by, and Sandbar had to stop by and remind her they had dinner to get to. Silverstream would’ve dozed the night away without so much as a bite, and darted out of bed to go get some more crystal pony grub.

Supper was served in a grand dining area within their accommodations. The students spent the next two hours there, and enjoyed various courses served one after the other while chattering excitedly about their various plans for the coming week. There wasn’t anything official for them to do on this field trip, but many did intend to spend time together! Silverstream had most of the week booked with Flurry Heart, though there was time near the end to explore the Crystal Empire with her close friends from school. As much as they all wanted to do everything together, they knew time with Flurry Heart was rare, and they’d still have nights and the end of the week together (and likely some time with Flurry Heart too). Twilight Sparkle had felt this kind of self-planning and cooperation fostered good friendship growth, which is why she allowed them all to do it themselves. Plus it let them do something very entertaining: Create schedules!

After a fancy dinner capped off with a delicious dessert, Silverstream was back in her room and all washed up for the night. Her mane and tail were freshened and there wasn’t a feather out of place. Tucked in under several layers of blankets and quilts and head resting on several pillows, she woozily commanded the lights to dim all the way, leaving her in relative darkness. Solid crystal walls prevented any and all sound from intruding, and the at-peace hippogriff, stuffed with tasty food (which she had to admit was about as good as a squirming meal), had no trouble finding sleep. She was snoring away mere minutes after, her last thoughts being of Flurry Heart and all the fun they were going to have together.

Silverstream slept in. The schedule she and the princess-to-be had cobbled together accounted for this, as neither alicorn nor hippogriff were morning risers. Silverstream awoke to a mass of tangled bed stuff, feathers askew, mane and tail a disaster. She groggily emerged and got a good chuckle at herself in the washroom mirror. Then the revelation that this was the day she’d start hanging with Flurry Heart hit her, and she leapt for joy! She quickly freshened up and was out the door in a few short minutes, winging it straight from her room’s balcony (telescope sent spinning as she whizzed by). Her quick exit made her miss out on the continental breakfast waiting for her in the dining hall, but she didn’t care. She reached the crystal palace in no time, quickly going vertical, leaving a scant feather or two for a guard to happen upon and wonder about. Silverstream laughed with her body nearly skimming the palace wall, bursting with energy and excitement while racing up to rendezvous with Flurry Heart. Why bother with things like royal procedure when she could just meet the teenage princess at her room directly?

Silverstream swooped to the balcony, talons clacking to the crystal surface when she landed on all fours with an ostentatious flick of her tail. “Tada!” she exclaimed to herself, though a giggle told her she wasn’t alone! Flurry Heart was waiting for her there, standing just inside her royal bedroom, beaming.

“Heya, Silver!”

“Flurry!” The two darted for each other and the next moment they embraced in a hug, the hippogriff squeezing the pliable pony affectionately and claws grazing through the fur. They parted and Silverstream gave her pen pal a once-over. “You’ve gotten big!” At that Flurry Heart made a regal pose, before breaking into a fit of giggles. Indeed, the princess-to-be, alicorn from birth, was already taller than a regular full-grown adult mare! She sported slightly longer-than-usual legs, cotton candy colored mane curling all the way down her neck and to her back with a tail to rival it. What really surprised Silverstream was how plump the alicorn was! She’d guessed that would be more properly distributed when she grew up all the way, but for the moment, between the rounder cheeks, plump barrel, dangling paunch of a belly, thick thighs, and hips that jostled when she laughed, Silverstream couldn’t help but think Flurry Heart had a little too much sugary-sweet pony food. 

Speaking of, the sight of the almost-princess triggered an intrusive thought in Silverstream: The young royal pony, legs squirming and struggling just outside her hippogriff beak, the rest bulging down her neck, destined to fatten Silverstream up… Silverstream shook her head rapidly. Her desire to devour delicious equines was one thing, and alicorns were something she’d yet to sample (despite yearning for the opportunity), but Flurry Heart was her pen pal!

“You okay Silver?” the alicorn inquired, cocking her head.

“O-oh yeah!” Silverstream chirped. “Just… You’ve grown so much since I last saw you!”

“Why thanks for noticing,” came the bubbly reply filled to the brim with sarcasm. Flurry Heart giggled. “Most ponies tend to do that you know.” The gals shared a laugh, Flurry spreading her wings and giving them a stretch. “Come on, let’s get outta here.”

Silverstream followed suit, hippogriff wings deployed. “Don’t have to tell me twice!” The pair mounted the edge of the balcony and dove off together, wings flaring and flapping and the two were sailing away from the palace casually before long. “Love sneakin’ you out like this!”

“Now Silverstream, a princess in training need not sneak out,” Flurry grinned. “I just convinced the guards to give me some alone time while you’re here. So for once, everything’s on the up and up! Besides,” Flurry shot in front of Silverstream, looped through the air twice, and returned to her side, “princess training has made me pretty formidable. I can take care of myself now.”

“Aw that’s so cool! So you’re a super duper flier and can shoot giant death beams with your powerful alicorn magic like the princesses can?”

“I mean, they wouldn’t describe their offense as ‘giant death beams’… but nope! Never saw much reason to learn all that stuff. Equestria’s in a great spot these days. What am I gonna do, fry an evil cloud blotting out an otherwise-sunny day?” The two laughed and caught up with each other more as they soared around the outskirts of the city. Flurry Heart talked more about her training in magic. Her alicorn nature gave her a big boost in that department, but she focused more on doing lots of the cool stuff, less-so anything boring and blunt like combat. “Besides, if something actually happens ain’t nopony who’s gonna get through my shield spell. Daddy taught me the strongest one he knows!”

The pen pals gabbed and caught up some more while casually searching for a place to eat. While Flurry Heart explained she rarely ate outside of the palace and wasn’t as good a town guide as she could be yet, Silverstream’s thoughts on food again wandered to the chubby alicorn. Ponies were always filling, but an alicorn would likely be something else entirely! Flurry was kind of big (not to mention plump) but Silverstream assured herself she could do it. Maybe right now even, right out of the sky: Find a cloud, convince Flurry to stand still while Silverstream would run sharp claws through her fur, clamp down on Flurry’s love handles, and– 

“Silver? Helloooo Silver?” The hippogriff snapped out of what was becoming a lovely daydream. “You alive in there? Hah, wow, you are hungry!” Silverstream blinked, then blushed as she wiped the drool off her beak.

“U-uh yeah you know it! Missed breakfast you know? Couldn’t leave you hangin’ after all this time apart! Let’s just pick a place and go.” Flurry Heart was happy to oblige, the growing alicorn being something of a bottomless pit of food herself lately. The two landed delicately along the crystal roads, clip-clopping along with a very casual air between the two, which both fascinating and mystified the crystal ponies about. Flurry Heart was seldom seen without either her parents, her guards, or both, yet here she was, going for a stroll with some creature most hadn’t seen before, enjoying the lovely day! Some bowed as she passed, others waving, and yet more simply stumbled out of the way. Flurry constantly tried to tell the ponies not to bother with such things, despite her training emphasizing the importance of appearances, but the crystal ponies insisted. The two pen pals just sighed and giggled at each other, the door to their chosen restaurant opening for them by a serving pony, who could hardly believe their luck in having the princess elect to eat there.

Lunch was a quick affair. Despite both Silverstream and Flurry Heart alike being famished, the pair wanted to maximize their time together. They had their meal, Flurry taking care of the bill (“put it on Her Royal Highness Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s tab!”), including a generous tip the establishment unsuccessfully tried to refuse, and left with smiles on their faces. Silverstream was still dealing with thoughts of how much better a pony would’ve filled her up there, but she couldn’t deny how good the Crystal Empire cuisine was, which placated her urges somewhat. With food out of the way, Flurry asked what Silverstream wanted to do in the empire. Silverstream shivered, as the cooler climate finally caught back up to her. This didn’t escape Flurry’s notice! “Think we’re do for a little clothes’ shopping.”

“Clothes? Aw Flurry, I didn’t bring a whole lotta bits to get any fancy Crystal Empire stuff.” Flurry was already waving off Silverstream’s modesty.

“Don’t worry about a thing! You’re my pen pal and everything’s on the house. Palace. Princesses. Mom’s paying for it.” Flurry offered a hoof. Silverstream hemmed and hawed for only a moment before taking it, convinced, and the pair flew off for a fancy little clothing shoppe on a populated street corner. Flurry Heart indeed was told she could enjoy herself with her friends on their bits, provided she didn’t go too crazy. Flurry was all-too-happy to oblige! Not that she abused her purse string powers: She did genuinely love her family, after all, and even as an adolescent she’d never been so angry at them as to drain the empire’s coffers. In the end, Silverstream warmed up by virtue of a colorful fluffy faux-fur coat, Flurry Heart opting for a big fancy sunhat. After hitting up a couple more stores, with Silverstream picking up some tourist trinkets to hang from the ceiling in her room when she got home, the two were off to the races.

Literally! There was an in-air practice field for the Wonderbolts, though it was open to the public any time they weren’t around. The Crystal Empire wasn’t exactly known for its fliers, but some Pegasi had taken residence in the cool area up north of late, and were commonly spending time up in the fancy race course. Silverstream and Flurry Heart settled in, the latter using the sunhat to her advantage and obscuring the notion that there was now an alicorn in their midst. The pen pals cheered uproariously at the most mundane of amateur races taking place and stunts being practiced, drawing some unnoticed annoyed glares from time to time. The two drew each other into hysterics after a while, losing each other in their own tears-shedding laughter. Only when they calmed down did they realize the stadium in the clouds had cleared out, which sent the two into another giggling fit.

Afternoon crept into evening, hippogriff and alicorn still out and about, painting the town silly. The coat Silverstream wore kept her warm despite the cold, though that was the last thing on her mind, given how much fun she was having. So much fun, in fact, that she was missing dinner, which was being served about now. But, she figured she’d suffer through a few hunger pangs here and there to keep going with Flurry Heart, who appeared to not have left the palace in weeks. The princess-in-training seemed determined to spend as much time outdoors as possible. “...And tonight after a walk in the park we can sit on the palace spire rooftops and watch a wicked meteor shower slated for tonight!”

“Wow, a real meteor shower?! I’ve never seen one before!” Silverstream exclaimed, agreeing to another addition to their day’s itinerary. She grew more excited by the moment, but faltered a bit. “I should probably go and tell my friends I won’t be back until late tonight I think…”

“If you want we can just get a guard to do that,” Flurry offered. “Don’t need to interrupt our time together or anything. Come on let’s go take care of that, then we have the whole rest of the day!” Silverstream beamed at the suggestion and the two took off once more, this time for a quick stop at the palace. It took some time to locate even one royal guard, to Flurry Heart’s frustration. “Never one around when you need ‘em,” she muttered. With Flurry wanting time off, staff was lighter in the palace that day, resulting in finding anyone who worked there a bit of a challenge! But Silverstream finally spotted one, on duty, and she and Flurry landed in front of them, clothing and all. The guard, not fooled by any kind of disguise, immediately bowed to Flurry Heart and asked what she wanted. The alicorn told the guard to deliver a message to Silverstream’s friends, and Silverstream gave him the details: That she’d be out with her pen pal tonight and won’t make dinner, and that she’d make it up later in the week. With a nod and another bow (Silverstream gasped when he bowed to her as well), he was off, galloping away.)

“See? Easy!” Flurry Heart giggled. Then paused. “Oh, but guards aren’t supposed to leave their posts like this… Hope he doesn’t get in too much trouble.” The dilemma ended with a shrug and a smile. “I’ll vouch for him if he does. Anyway, time for the park! Race you there!” Without missing a beat, Flurry Heart took off.

“Hey no fair I’m wearing this big heavy coat!” Silverstream lamented and laughed, following the alicorn close behind. The two got to the park and had a comparatively calm, relaxing stroll after landing. The hippogriff was in awe of many of the recently-erected crystal statues strewn throughout the park (the colder climate wasn’t great for growing trees, no matter how hard earth pony agriculturalists tried), depicting the many legends, tales, and history of the Crystal Empire. Even current history, Silverstream absolutely recognizing the relocated statue of Spike the dragon proudly posed reclaiming the Crystal Heart from evil.

Though one thing the many offerings of the park couldn’t quell was Silverstream’s gnawing hunger. Lunch was good, but she was quickly regretting skipping supper. More and more she found herself glancing over to Flurry Heart, stealing quick looks at any opportunity. She even licked her beak at one point, quietly, without Flurry noticing, as the pony’s girth and form looked positively scrumptious to the hungry hippogriff. Once again intrusive thoughts invaded the natural-born predator’s mind, imagining tasting and sampling an alicorn for the first time, and she could only wonder how wonderful the rare treat of alicorn would be to her. Her stomach actively growled some, but Flurry either didn’t notice or didn’t comment, the young almost-princess just happy to be out of the palace all day, spending time with her friend. It was the hardest point of the evening for Silverstream, that walk, as it was too slow to be distracting, and the hunger only worsened with such a temptation walking beside her the whole time. The concept of devouring a whole alicorn was too exciting and intriguing for Silverstream to stop pondering, the whole time spent in the park.

Night encroached on the pair almost without warning, and by the time the stars began to twinkle, the two pen pals loftily flew back to the palace, to watch the meteor shower. Maybe I can snag some grub at the palace? Silverstream wondered, and honestly didn’t know if the grub would be stuff from the kitchen, or the chubby pony flying ahead of her. The two flew slowly, chatting (Silverstream keeping her hunger in check by making conversation), though both were quieter overall. It’d been a long day! They were grateful when settling on the top spire of the palace, the surface flat enough for them to do so comfortably. Silverstream laid down beside Flurry Heart, nudging her coat over the alicorn to stay warm together. The two snuggled comfortably with heads craned up, as without much fanfare the meteor shower began. Many “oooh”s and “ahhh”s were had the shower successfully distracting Silverstream from her nagging hunger for a time. Then, when the last of the sparkling shower faded away, Flurry Heart separated from Silverstream’s coat and stretched like a cat. “I don’t know about you, but I’m gettin’ pretty hungry. Missed dinner you know?”

“Oh, did we?” Silverstream said with some pitch added to a giggle. “I barely noticed!”

“Well I’m starving. What say we pilfer the kitchens for something delicious before having a little slumber party, hm? My room’s plenty big enough for guests, and I wouldn’t want you flying all the way back to where you’re staying this late at night.”

It took a whole second for Silverstream to respond. The alicorn stretching and inadvertently displaying her hindquarters to the starving hippogriff almost made her pounce on the spot. “D-don’t have to ask me twice! Sounds like the perfect way to cap off the night!” Despite the hour, Silverstream was anything but sleepy. Her mind was laser-focused on getting something… or someone… to eat!

The two lazily glided down and around the spiral they’d camped out on, first making a pit stop at Flurry Heart’s balcony to discard the day’s acquisitions, from clothes to souvenirs of the empire. Then Flurry led Silverstream back out into the cold night, insisting they take the shortcut to the kitchens and getting there in no time at all. They zipped through an open window and the two landed in the sprawling, empty kitchen of the palace. “Alright, there’s always leftovers, food in reserve for dinner guests that never show, stuff like that.” Flurry said, leading the charge on the quest to find something good to eat. While Flurry Heart searched for something sugary-sweet to snack on, Silverstream loitered and leered at the alicorn hungrily. Any time she tried to convince herself to join the hunt for something more socially-acceptable for a hippogriff to chow down on, her vision was drawn back to Flurry Heart every time. She even had to wipe away more drool when the pony reached wings-deep into a cabinet, swaying hips side to side as she worked, really tempted the poor Silverstream!

“Aha!” Flurry exclaimed suddenly, fluttering down from a high shelf and cradling a delicious-looking pie, chocolate and whipped cream and more dancing along the crust on the top. The hungry alicorn licked her lips and was just about to engage in a one-sided meal, before she caught herself. “Oh, do you want some Silverstream? You must be starving!”

“A-actually I’m fine,” Silverstream tried, giving a weak smile and doing her best to let her mane dangle over a twitching eye. “You go ahead and have it, Flurry.” The starving growing alicorn didn’t need to be told twice, and dug right in! She removed the pie from its tin and gobbled it up in a manner that would make Pinkie Pie jealous, taking large bites and not minding the mess on her cheeks. Silverstream once more tried distracting herself, and was somewhat more successful while Flurry Heart sat and ate the whole pie up over the course of a few minutes. When she heard the smacking of lips Silverstream turned back, and gasped a little. Not only was the alicorn’s face coated with a layer of splashed-up creams and fudge, but in her voracious eating Flurry had managed to get some over her sides, wings, fores, and even on her back some. Not to mention the bit of extra chubbiness that was now sagging from a paunch under her belly. “You look… ridiculous!” Silverstream caught herself and offered a giggle. “Think you got more of the pie on you than in you!”

Flurry Heart shared a laugh, then hiccuped. “S-sorry, couldn’t help myself! The food they make here is so good and nopony wants to deny royalty seconds, or thirds, when they ask for it. Come on, back upstairs we go to my room. I can clean up once we’re there.” Silverstream nodded, and followed the plump Flurry Heart up and out the window they came in from, ogling the alicorn from behind and openly licking her lips. Such a rare opportunity would likely never present itself again to the hippogriff, and even though Flurry Heart was one of her best friends… the starving Silverstream wasn’t going to turn down such a delicious-looking meal practically gift-wrapped for her here like this.

The flight did little to dissuade the foodstuffs from leaving Flurry Heart’s fur, and the two entered the bedroom with the princess-in-training as food-covered as ever. “Just gimme a few, I’ll go wash up.”

“Well…” Silverstream said, not taking any time to appreciate the splendor of a royal pony’s vast opulent bedroom, instead closing up the glass balcony doors and finding curtains to let fall over them. “I can help you out with that, Flurry Heart.” Flurry, already halfway to her private washroom, paused and turned.

“Hm?”

“I mean what are friends for, right?” Silverstream continued, trotting to the youngest alicorn and standing in front of her, tapping an impatient talon noisily against the hard crystal floor. “Least I could do is help you get… get cleaned up.” Inaudible to Flurry, Silverstream’s belly grumbled again. Flurry was actually a hair taller than Silverstream, but, she mentally calculated, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to– 

“Uhhh sure okay, I guess,” Flurry Heart agreed, thinking this was just the way hippogriffs did things. And since being a princess meant having a thorough understanding of other species’ cultures, she figured it couldn’t hurt to oblige. What she didn’t expect was how quickly Silverstream moved. The instant Flurry Heart assented to her request the hippogriff was all over her: The hippogriff lurched forward and gripped Flurry in her sharp claws, drawing the would-be-princess up to her beak, where Silverstream immediately took several slow, loooooong licks of her pie topping-covered face. She didn’t comment, but Flurry could almost feel Silverstream vibrating, hearing moans of pleasure escaping as that rough tongue dragged across her fur. Where once chocolate and more stood, instead was matted-down fur and saliva dripping off. Flurry lamented having to go wash up regardless of what Silverstream was trying to spare her, but she was committed at this point… Not that she felt like she could escape the oddly-iron grip the hippogriff had on her.

Flurry Heart figured she’d just get her face cleaned off and that would be the end of it, but Silverstream didn’t let go. The hippogriff maneuvered around her body expertly, gripping legs and heaving them up for her hooves – which barely had any food on them – to get licked clean one at a time. Flurry giggled here and there, thinking this hippogriff tendency was rather silly, and the playful alicorn didn’t mind being lifted and then toppled backwards suddenly, left on her back with her pudgy middle defenseless. Silverstream towered over her, lowering her head between Flurry’s hinds and lapping up and against the plush round stomach, streaks of drool left in the wake of the hippogriff tongue, snagging every last little crumb off Flurry Heart and more. Flurry Heart started to squirm while she was cleaned up by the hippogriff, legs twitching some as they stood mostly inert on either side of Silverstream. “Uhh Silver? I think I’m good now…”

But Silverstream was beyond reaching at this point. When her tongue first met alicorn a spark of pure pleasure and joy ignited in the primal centers of her mind. So much flavor! It was as if Silverstream were tasting the best parts of earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus simultaneously, the combined sensations proving almost too much for the hippogriff to handle. The added dessert toppings only sweetened the deal, and Silverstream was in paradise lapping over every single inch of the prone pony princess-to-never-be. She noticed Flurry starting to squirm and protest just a little with how far Silverstream was taking things, but the hippogriff merely planted her claws down on Flurry’s chest to stop her, and continued to lick away at the prone pony belly. The chubbiness was pushed this way and that, slobber oozing down either side of the barrel and messing up the wings on either side. Silverstream murred deeply, tail twitching erratically, as that fantastic alicorn flavor continued to ring in her mouth.

Flurry Heart attempted to struggle a little bit more, growing uncomfortable, and an odd thought popping into her head.

Was Silverstream going to eat her?

She immediately dismissed the thought. Silverstream was one of her best friends! And Princess Twilight Sparkle would never let a creature showing any signs of predatory tendencies towards ponies into the School of Friendship! The idea that this was just the way hippogriffs did things with friends rang true in the young, inexperienced alicorn’s mind. Silverstream was her pen pal! Her… Flurry’s thoughts were disrupted as hippogriff claws gripped tightly around her middle. The sharp, deadly points of those talons did not go unnoticed, and Flurry Heart did realize that even if she wanted to try and break from this grip… There was no way. It was so strong and absolute, in a means that most predators in nature had to possess in order to successfully keep themselves well-fed. The claws ran down to her wings and gripped tightly there, crumpling several and preventing the alicorn from so much as twitching them effectively.

“Uh, Silver? Would you mind letting me up now? I really should go and wash up and– ugh!” Flurry was interrupted yet again, witnessing a wide hippogriff tongue slide right up her chin, muzzle, and between her eyes, leaving her vision blurry a moment. Finally, Silverstream relented, loosing her ironclad grip and taking a step or two back, still licking and smacking her beak rather noisily… and never taking eyes off the prone, dripping alicorn sprawled before her. “Well… I think you got it all,” Flurry Heart said with a meek smile.

She didn’t like the look of the grin that was returned.

Silverstream had made her decision the moment she got to taste Flurry Heart. The alicorn was hers now, and nopony was going to take that away. “That was really tasty,” Silverstream remarked, beginning to pace around Flurry, flicking her tail and never taking her eyes off her. Flurry Heart cringed on her back, drawing her legs in onto her self and curling her cotton candy colored tail to her side. “I’ve never even tasted alicorn before, but I’ve definitely been missing out! Definitely more delicious than any pony I’ve had before.”

“You… Of course. That’s where all those evil villains ended up, wasn’t it?” Flurry put two and two together. Threats to Equestria not long after three of the most threatening ones teamed up to try and take over, never seemed to make a second appearance. And Silverstream, who’d filled out a lot in recent years, was the one who disposed of them. “W-well, I’m flattered? I guess? I’ll just be headed to get washed up now…” But the instant she tried rolling onto all fours she froze, when a sudden tongue lapped across her exposed stomach once again. “S-Silver!”

“What?” Silverstream grinned planting one claw on the base of Flurry Heart’s curled tail and the other on her chest, the grip large and strong enough to grapple around the squishy pony hide. Only then, when Flurry’s vantage point below was staring right up at Silverstream’s belly, did she hear it growl, long and low. An empty stomach yearning to be filled… Flurry’s eyes widened, even as Silverstream confirmed the impossible. “You don’t have to go get washed up, Flurry. You’re scrumptious as you are right this moment.” That set Flurry off, the pony struggling violently under the powerful hold of the hippogriff above her. She couldn’t stop Silverstream from stealing additional long, thorough tastes of her plump midsection, tongue even gliding down to each of her thighs, inner and outer. “Mmmm… You’re gonna make a lovely midnight snack. All this plump meat just hanging off you, no wonder you’ve been kept cooped up. Everypony probably thought you’d be snatched up by a passing dragon or something with how much you’re just oozing flavor.”

“S-Silver, stop this!” Flurry cried, wishing now more than ever that she hadn’t sent her royal guard ponies away. There was nopony on this whole floor, let alone most of the tower, at this time of night without them around. “Let me go!” She squirmed and flared her wings, flapping them uselessly against the floor, feathers loosed. She even tried using magic, but the sheer horror at the notion of being eaten alive – by one of her best friends no less – drove any possible concentration away.

“No,” Silverstream purred, moaning when she dragged her tongue up one hind and glazed about a hoof. “I’m gonna eat you up, Flurry Heart. My first, and hopefully not last, alicorn buffet. And what a pony to kick this off with! You’re going to make me so, mmf… full and fat. Then,” lick, slrrrrp, “you’re gonna digest down completely, just like any other meal. Probably hang off my rump for a while, plenty of fat on you after all.”

“N-n-no Silver, please! We’re pen pals! I c-can’t go away forever like this! P-please you can’t eat me please please!” Flurry Heart, reduced to begging, did still try and protest against the all-dominating form of the predatory pink hippogriff pinning her and tasting her at her leisure. She plead over and over to not be eaten alive, but any appeals to the heart of one of her best friends fell on deaf ears. Digest down completely, just like any other meal repeated over and over in the would-never-make-it-past-training alicorn’s mind. “Please Silver, d-don’t eat meeee!”

Silverstream happily ignored her prey’s pitiful requests. This was the best part to her, feeling the squirming struggles of who she captured. Tasting and confirming just how wonderful the upcoming meal was going to be. The fear oozing from the alicorn only enhancing her flavor, Silverstream confirming with several more licks against the fattened-up alicorn tummy. She couldn’t wait any longer: Silverstream suddenly grasped the malleable pony hindlegs up by the cutie marks, clenching them tightly. Flurry Heart squealed for her life when Silverstream took a seat and yanked the alicorn forward, her chin banging the floor with fores and wings sprawled limply on either side. Silverstream brought the hinds together and licked the two hind hooves thoroughly, slowly, while craning her beak open wide. Flurry Heart stole a glance up and behind her to see that hippogriff maw opening so big, that there was little doubt even a pony her size would fit in there.

To be swallowed up and digested down to nutrients for the voracious hippogriff.

“Nooo, nonononono!!!” Flurry Heart shrieked when her twitching hind hooves breached threshold and were devoured into the glistening squishy insides of Silverstream’s maw, feeling that razor-sharp beak clamp heavily down around her ankles. The beak bit hard against Flurry, securing her in place, with claws firmly gripping her thighs. Flurry whipped her tail against Silverstream’s face but that didn’t deter her: The hippogriff’s eyes rolled in pleasure as she slurped and licked over the ingested hindhooves. Alicorns tasted spectacular! Not wanting to wait to get the meatier part of her meal, Silverstream swallowed thickly, a GLP left ringing in Flurry’s ears, no longer able to move those crammed-down-the-gullet hooves. And Silverstream kept feeding more of her up into her slavering beak. “Help! Guards! Anypony! She’s eating me alive!”

Silverstream relished the awesome meal she was just digging into, cramming the bulk of those glued-together hinds into her ravenous beak, tasting them along the way, and guzzling them down without much thought. Her dominant claws squeezed around the thicker upper legs and eventually worked their way up to Flurry Heart’s butt, beak teasing around the thighs now. The hippogriff murmured and sighed happily, hot breath brushing across the panicking Flurry Heart’s fur. Silverstream’s tail swayed back and forth along the floor as she ate, wings flaring almost of their own accord, while continuing to drag and slurp her tongue over every inch of the supple fur coat of her pen pal. Flurry Heart continued hollering for aid, hoping against hope that somepony just happened to be wandering the corridors of the tower late at night. Every scream was more futile and weaker than the last, Flurry having the pause to catch her breath eventually. She frightfully glanced up at herself, feeling her rear end start to get coated with drool as hot rivulets poured form the yawning hippogriff mouth down her body. “S-Silverstream, stop it please! I-I won’t survive digestion! Y-you can’t eat me I’m gonna be a princess!” In response, Silverstream peeked down at Flurry. She grinned around the chubby thighs and playfully shrugged, before casually opening wide and chomping forward, squishing that alicorn ass right into her maw and plumping out her own cheeks. Flurry’s eyes quivered in horror, feeling her squishy rump sink to the back of the throat with the tongue playing all about her cheeks, cutie marks, and hips. Then, with an elongated MMMNGLUCK!, Silverstream swallowed down the juicy alicorn rump, it bulging out her neck considerably and jiggling halfway down that pink furry form. The sight of her own body being devoured whole one gulp at a time made Flurry Heart lose it: She flailed her wings and fores, desperately looking for purchase, something to cling to, but there was nothing but slippery crystal floor on all sides. “C-Celestia please, d-don’t let Silverstream eat meee!”

ULRK! Sliverstream’s eyes clenched shut as part of Flurry Heart’s lower belly sank into the gullet, chasing that butt of hers down. Flurry squealed louder when her hooves felt the squashy bottom that was the hippogriff’s stomach. She felt it vibrate and groan all around her, digesting revving up to welcome the newest meal. Silverstream chewed sloppily and lashed her tongue all over the pudgy, pie-filled pony’s midsection, matting fur down every which way. Silverstream’s mane was blown back with all that erratic wing-flapping Flurry was doing to try and bail, and growled around the lower half of her midnight meal: She lashed forward with her claws, snatching those flapping wings and compressing them tightly against Flurry’s squashy barrel. She whined and cried out when the flickering wing tips slipped into the hippogriff’s mouth and beyond, saturated with slobber and being far too heavy to maneuver as a result. Flurry Heart turned to look forward and down as she was suddenly hefted upward, naught but a chest, fores, neck, and head hanging out of a predator’s jaws at this point, with the rest bent and bulging down a neck and growing stomach. “W-we’re friends! Princess Twilight won’t let you g-get away with this! She’ll save me! Somepony will! Somepony… please! D-don’t let Silverstream do this!”

But the hippogriff continued merrily devouring the plump almost-a-princess alicorn. She flicked her head higher still, widening her jaws to take several meaty, wet, squishy swallows in succession, gulping Flurry Heart down like a bird of prey would a rodent. Each one sent a wailing alicorn deeper down the hippogriff, the belly beneath widening with every effort. Flurry Heart cringed when her rear collapsed down into that belly and made the pink thing slosh outward, her royal highness’s hiney becoming saturated in stomach fluids. Every dip further down made Flurry’s heart beat faster, her breaths more frantic, her cries less intelligible. Soon her chest was gulped inward, Silver finally releasing her grip on the mostly-devoured pony and letting her protruding head and forelegs flail about however much Flurry could muster. The terrified alicorn shook from head to tail, seeing the lining of that deadly hippogriff beak on the edges of her vision, fresh slobber dribbling onto her snout and dribbling off.

It was a lot of effort for Silverstream to devour a pony this large, but the combined sensations of alicorn taste were just too good to pass up, and she’d been one starving hippogriff until now! Even as her belly swelled to new sizes, she continued eating Flurry Heart one little swallow at a time. One claw rested gently atop her now-bloated stomach, patting it, while the other was placed delicately over the whimpering pony’s face. Muffled squeals of protest roared around it but Flurry couldn’t do a thing to dislodge the claw, not with half her forelegs slurped inward, leaving those ankles and hoofs flickering limply through the air. The edges of the beak surrounding Flurry’s vision vanished as they grew wider and wider, Silverstream seeking to work around that useless horn of the alicorn’s. With claw pressed against her face, Flurry Heart could only shriek when it suddenly pushed hard against her muzzle, throat working in concert as the shoves and swallows forced her head to recede backwards into the hot slimy maw. GLUP, GLK, GULK, GLRK! “Mppfhff hllllp!” her muffled cries rang past the pressing claw, which didn’t relent until Flurry Heart’s chin was squashed down on the active hippogriff tongue. A louder scream echoed out when the claw suddenly pulled away, just in time for Flurry Heart to see the beak close in front of her.

Most light was blanked out for Flurry Heart. There she was, nearly completely devoured by the hungry hippogriff, naught but the tip of her curly mane and the edges of forehooves protruding. Silverstream took one claw and, with a single talon, guided one flicking hoof in. Then, the other. The beak closed all the way, leaving that lock of pony mane the only feeble anchor Flurry Heart had to the outside world. Trapped in utter darkness and unable to open her jaws to form words, she was left to groan and make loud, horrified noises, eyes stretched open as far as they could go in the dank, dripping maw. A muffled stuttering cry of terror from Flurry Heart roared out when Silverstream casually clenched her beak tight, that last lock of mane fluttering independently away from the rest of the alicorn to the ground. Flurry Heart then sputtered as the rough hippogriff tongue lifted to slather back and forth across her face again and again and again. Sliverstream’s murring content at the exquisite flavor rumbled on either side of her head, the alicorn’s ears pinned to her skull. But the loudest wail Flurry Heart managed was when that tongue cupped up against her muzzle and ushered her to the back of the throat, limp fores quickly following suit.

And with a satisfied, elongated exhale, Silverstream swallowed Flurry Heart whole right then and there. GLOURRRK! A terrified face imprinted on her neck for a split-second as it squelched noisily down her throat, the last of the alicorn princess immediately piling down into the already-bloated stomach of the now-sated hippogriff. Silverstream immediately rolled backwards, thumping up against the end of Flurry Heart’s bed, belly sloshing up in front of her and forcing her hindlegs apart. “URRRAAAP! Phew, now that’s what a proper meal should be like!” Silverstream gloated, wiping her beak with the back of her claw before lovingly squashing into her sated, bulging belly, hearing whimpering whines and intimidating churns bubbling out within. “Mmmm… you’re gonna round me out so much by the time I’m done digestin’ you, Flurry!” Incoherent cries roared out from within, as Silverstream leaned against the foot of the bed and licked her beak repeatedly while massaging her engorged gut. “You were worth the wait, that’s for sure!”

Inside the now-very-cramped belly, Flurry Heart cried out again. She only accomplished hurting her own ears, which pressed to the malleable inner walls of the belly. Saliva and stomach fluids gathered around her grounded rear end, hinds forced up and on either side. Her wings were a lost cause, twisted and feathers broken or at odd angles everywhere, joints strained and throbbing. Forelegs managed to cram to her sides on their way down, leaving the chubby alicorn’s muzzle compressed hear her own squishy belly. Her mane was plastered all over, and her slightly-shorter tail crammed up underneath her bulk, swimming in stomach acid. Another threatening grumble quaked about her, making the alicorn cry out again. Despite the ringing she kept at it, no training possibly preparing her for being eaten alive! She had to get out soon, or else… “P-please Silverstream, i-i-it’s not too late! Let me ooout!”

And to her surprise, she go an answer. Silverstream’s voice permeated all over those insides, making it sound like the voice was coming from everywhere at once. “Mmm, don’t think so, you delicious alicorn you. Already told ya’ what you were gonna do to me, and no way I’m gonna let go of such a scrumptious pony like you!” Flurry whimpered and flinched when the walls tightened and another burp echoed down from outside. A few saliva-soaked feathers splatted to the floor. “Ahh… ponies don’t really make it through the night, so I guess you don’t have a whole lotta time since it’s so late!”

“N-no Silverstream please! Please!” she cried. The respondent giggle only terrified the adolescent alicorn more, Silverstream making it perfectly clear that, barring intervention… Flurry Heart wasn’t going to be let out. She was going to be digested, transformed into nothing but pounds of pudge scattered throughout the proud predating hippogriff’s body. “I-I won’t tell anypony what you did! I’ll give you all kinds of riches! Anything you want! J-j-just don’t let me digest!”

The outside was silent a moment. Flurry thought there, for one brief second, Silverstream was reconsidering. But instead the world sloshed and shook all around her, Silverstream standing upright and letting her full belly splat against the ground. Flurry yelped and then screamed with itchy stomach acids splattered up against her chest. On instinct, she clenched her eyes and flared her horn to life. A subconscious erection of a defensive shield rolled over her body, coating her from one end to the other. The itching was still present as acids were already worked into her fur, but at least, Flurry thought an instant later, this would slow things down some… give more chance for somepony to notice she’s missing… And at the sounds of bed springs compressing… a chance for somepony to see a far-too-stuffed hippogriff lounging on her bed!

Silverstream yawned wildly and made a few efforts to kick the thick blankets on the bed over her engorged body. She rested on her side, the many bulges comprising the devoured alicorn taking up the bulk of her vision. Silverstream murred quietly and rested her head against a pillow, gently caressing her swollen tummy and grinning from ear to ear. Flurry struggled and whined, a particularly powerful shriek roaring out when Flurry Heart opened her eyes. The light from her horn exposed the foul innards she was encased in, and her fortitude and magic would only prolong the inevitable for so long… The alicorn wanted to shut that light out but she had to persist it in order to keep the spell going. When that spell dropped, she knew she’d be out of options. Silverstream had no idea what the never-to-be-princess was doing, assuming she’d be properly softened up as quick as any other pony. The throes of digestion kicked up a notch, drawing Silverstream into a deep, contented slumber. Loud gurgles and churns that would wake a pony up normally were soothing and satisfying to the predator, another successful hunt tucked away in her furry, bulging belly. Flurry Heart didn’t sleep, couldn’t sleep, not without succumbing to the powerful acids roiling within. She kicked and thrashed and contorted all she could, only serving to drain what energy she had all the more quickly.

It was a question of when, not if, Flurry Heart would be digested.

*	*	*

The bright light of Celestia’s sun managed to sneak through the not-quite shut curtains of Flurry Heart’s bedroom. As it happens, the thin beam ladled right over a snoring Silverstream’s eyes. She snorted, squinted, and blinked ‘em open groggily. Smacking her lips and yawning wide, Silverstream pulled herself out of the bed, gurgling stomach thumping to the floor beneath. She smiled sleepily down at the unmoving belly, flicking her tail and licking her lips. “All settled down in there, then, Flurry?” she boasted.

Then was surprised as she felt a struggling kick from inside, hearing a terrified muffled pleading from within. Silverstream blinked, then sighed, expression growing grumpy. “You were supposed to digest, Flurry,” she admonished, smacking the side of her belly, annoyed. Within, the light from Flurry’s horn had dimmed considerably, and stomach fluids were up to the young alicorn’s chest… but her alicorn fortitude and magic both were persevering.

“I-I’m sorry for what I did Silver!” Flurry, exhausted, wheezed out. “W-whatever it was I’ll do whatever you want, i-if you’ll just–”

“You can digest, just like everypony else,” Silver grunted, stretching one leg at a time, using her bulging stomach to balance and compressing a now-crying-out alicorn. She barked out a laugh. “I ate you because you’re food, Flurry Heart. Cuz that’s all you are now.” At that notion, Silverstream perked up a bit, and licked her beak once more. “And no matter how long takes you’re gonna be nothin’ but nutrition for me.”

The crestfallen alicorn whimpered at another rejection, the magic from her horn faltering in a sudden lapse of concentration. A few flecks of the more active stomach fluids penetrated and sliced through her fur, a strong sudden itch and soft burn felt along one of her hips. “N-noo!” Flurry yelled, renewing her spell and bringing it back up. She could do nothing but cringed as the stomach fluids ate away against her, some fur shedding at the points of impact. “Oh please please please Silverstream please, y-you’re stomach’s s-s-starting to digest me alive!!”

“Good,” Silverstream purred, and rocked back and forth on four legs, making the belly sway and slosh to and fro. Flurry Heart whined desperately as stomach fluids sloshed about and she grew dizzy from the world shaking about her. The hippogriff ignored the still-struggling pony inside her belly, and made hasty plans to get the hay out of the palace before someone stumbled in and put 2 and 2 together. Flurry hastily swept up the floor where feathers or fur had fallen, those bits tucked under the bed. Then she waddled her way to the discarded clothing from last night, donning her new coat and Flurry’s sunhat both, before sloshily swaying her way out to the balcony. She’d flown with a full churning stomach before, though a still-thrashing pony within was going to make balance difficult. Despite this, Silverstream clambered over the balcony ledge and tumbled into a dive, spreading her wings wide. The very scared Flurry Heart had no idea what was going on outside, left to the mercy of physics and bouncing from one wall of the belly to the other, shield hanging by a thread as deadly acids splattered against the light and settled down it slowly, only to be thrust back upward to repeat the process.

“Aiyeeee!” Flurry Heart shrieked, heart pounding in her chest and breathing nothing short of hyperventilation in the cramped belly.

Silverstream managed her flight without a whole lot of trouble, and landed, quite unexpectedly, right in front of her friends! She was grateful at that moment for her disguise of sorts, the poofy coat draped over her full form, mostly obscuring the stomach, and hat to hide her expression (she wasn’t a great liar, at least not to her friends). The follow-up interrogation, thankfully to Silverstream, was short. She quickly rattled off how she spent the day with her pen pal, then got back here late at night after catching a meal since she missed dinner here. Her friends, trusting as they were, accepted the story at face value, and were further pleased to hear that Silverstream would be joining them all day.

Flurry Heart, privy to Silverstream’s words at least, figured she was talking to somepony, and cried out in hopes she’d be heard. But the thick coat in conjunction with the now-plump hippogriff made her impossible to hear. She was forced to listen to what Silverstream said, and that Flurry Heart said she would be too busy the rest of the week to join them after all. The friends were sympathetic and assured Silverstream that they’d have a fun week regardless. Silverstream giggled, and that laugh was now something that made the struggling Flurry Heart moan in pure fright. And though Silverstream would have preferred sneaking into her room and taking a nice long bath, she was happy enough to idly hang out with her friends to walk her exorbitant meal off instead.

She just hoped that the day’s activities didn’t include a tour of the palace.

Lucky for her, nothing of the sort was on her friends’ schedules. They seemed to go anywhere but the palace, though she did end up at the restaurant she and Flurry ate at yesterday. The same pony that hosted them yesterday inquired as to the young highness’ whereabouts, and Silverstream quickly, shrilly, told the same story as she did her friends. The host was less accepting of the tale, though he wasn’t about to contradict the shifty hippogriff’s story. Not like Flurry Heart was here, so she was of course elsewhere. Mentally, he figured the princesses were off on some secret world-saving affair again and this creature had to play cover.

Didn’t seem to matter either way though, as Silverstream and her friends made plenty of business for the restaurant that day. Though the hippogriff didn’t order so much as a bite, the others had more than their share. Tourists seemed to simply inhale food compared to crystal ponies, as evidenced by the portly belly the pink one was clearly hauling around (no wonder she wasn’t hungry!). Ah well, the host thought. They tipped well, and that was all that mattered.

Some time later, Silverstream found herself again retracing steps from yesterday as she and her friends toured the park. Her belly was diligently working away at the rapidly-weakening spell Flurry Heart had cast, and the belly was noisy as ever. Flurry heart gave the occasional kick or thrashing, but she was largely concentrating on the spell more than anything, leaving her little to spare to struggle futilely. With her friends a bit ahead Silverstream couldn’t help but reach inside her coat and press to her belly. “Not long now, I’m sure,” she taunted with a grin.

“Uhhh Silverstream? You might want to get over here.” The hippogriff’s head jerked up, her heart sinking at the sight. No fewer than a dozen royal guard ponies were milling about the park, questioning seemingly every creature they came across.

And her friends were now the targets for this questioning, which now included her!

Meekly, Silverstream made her way up to the crystal ponies, doing her best to keep her coat bound about her form. “Ah, Miss Silverstream? We were wanting to ask you a couple questions regarding the whereabouts of Flurry Heart.”

“O-o-oh?” Silver sputtered, unconsciously twirling a tip of her mane in one claw, lowering her hat over face with the other. “Ask away!”

“As we understand it Flurry dismissed her guards to spend time with you. Far as we can tell you were the last pon… creature with her. As of today she’s vanished. One of the servants of the palace found a lock of her mane in her bedroom the only sign of her.”

Whoops.

Silverstream’s friends collectively gasped. The hippogriff herself, however, meekly peeked her head up, doing her best to look shocked. “Oh my,” she said, with such a quiet bashfulness it would put Fluttershy to shame.

“Could you tell us exactly where you were, last you saw?”

Her squealing scrumptious face as it squirmed down my gullet, Silverstream immediately thought, and it took all she could to not crack a smile at that thought. She was about to respond when Flurry Heart, having recognized the guard voices and heard Silverstream, thrashed and kicked with all her might. She didn’t even care that the spell was fizzling about her: She knew this was her last chance. “Grrrd, hllllp!”

“What was that, Miss?”

“Goood... helpful… trip!” Silverstream covered with a fake smile. “U-uh yeah! We were all over town yesterday you can ask anyone, yep! We were in this park too when it started getting dark, and Flurry and I had to part ways… sadly,” she added to help convince. “She had some sudden princess-related… thing, about being good and helpful on some kind of trip? And that was all I saw of her.”

“So you didn’t see her after that evening? Just went back to sleep the night off?”

“Nope, I mean yep!” Silverstream managed a head shake and nod at the same time, before correcting it into just the latter. “Flew around for a bit, got myself a late late dinner, and climbed into bed later that night.”

“Hey Flurry didn’t we meet you outside this morning?” Sandbar remembered.

“And took a morning flight!” Silverstream practically yelled, eyes darting side to side. “Yes, a morning flight, to burn off the late late dinner, you know?”

The guard stared intently for a moment, looking Silverstream and her big coat over. “Think you need to work a bit more off,” he commented dryly, and relaxed. “Well, if you remember anything else, let us know, alright? Last thing we need is a lost pony of such a stature to deal with.” Flurry Heart, hearing those words, let out a horrified yell and pushed out with every limb she had, head included, trying desperately to get the guards’ attention, even as they trotted away. That exertion cost her the spell, and her last defense faded away, gut going dark. “N-nooo mlllfpfhffffllrrgggglbbl!” she babbled as the rush of stomach fluids coated her whole body and then some, the build-up proving too much for the sloshing stomach.

“URP,” Silverstream let escape, before covering her beak and looking around. No creature noticed. “Excuse me,” she sighed, internal and external pressures released. She smiled loftily and heard a powerful GLRRRRN… CHURRRGLE roar from her belly. “Ahhh, that’s more like it,” she soothed, happily waddling back up to her friends, who somewhat-morosely were headed off. “Wait for me!”

*	*	*

It was night again. Silverstream hadn’t had to eat a bite since her heavy alicorn meal. Her belly diligently gurgled away, though she was constantly surprised to feel Flurry Heart still twitching and struggling, despite the sloshing stomach fluids doing their best. Alicorns were definitely made of something special, she mused, as she had that nice long bath she yearned for that morning. An hour’s soak and 15 minute drying session later, Silverstream crawled into bed, and laid right on that belly. Her legs sprawled over all her sides, wings limply hanging to those sides too, with her butt propped up behind her by the wide bulging stomach. She didn’t even bother with the blanket this time as she rested her chin on the pillow, glancing back at Flurry-filled belly and licking her lips. “Bet you won’t last another night, my delicious alicorn treat.”

Flurry Heart was in a daze. With her shield spell long-since burned out she was at the mercy of every groan, gurgle, acid and stomach wall. She was compressed against from all sides, acids and more rubbed into her fur, leaving her a plump, limp alicorn slowly digesting within. Feathers had burned away, clumps of fur had fallen off, but she’d survived to this point, still meekly struggling. “P-please, Silverstream… L-let me… D-don’t d-d-digest… N-not food.”

“Oh yes you are. You and every last alicorn, if I have anything to say about it,” Silverstream chuckled, running a claw through her supple belly fur, under a wing. She heard a whimper from within, which just made her laugh again. “That’s right. Even a mighty princess would be nothing but food for me. I had no idea just how tasty you were compared to normal ponies.” Silverstream’s tail flickered at the thought, the hippogriff wiggling back and forth, making the churning belly sink deeper into the soft mattress. “I wonder if Twilight Sparkle will taste as good as you… or Princess Cadance.”

“Wh-wh-what? N-no! Y-you can’t eat… them… S-Silver…” Flurry Heart moaned, vision going fuzzy in the dark gurgling stomach confines. She felt a claw press against her body through the gut, compressing the already-tight spaces.

“A hungry hippogriff enjoys whoever she wants,” Silver gloated, patting her stomach and seeing it wobble, chuckling. She waited a few moments for another response from the surviving alicorn, feeling another thrashing kick or two, but nothing more. Silence fell in the room, save for an uproar of loud, elongated groans and GLTs from within. Flurry Heart’s eyes rolled up and she sank fully into the powerful stinging stomach acids, the belly echoing out nothing but digestion from that point onward.

Satisfied, Silverstream yawned and nuzzled into her pillow, enjoying another wonderful food-coma-induced sleep. Over the course of the night, Flurry Heart digested away completely. The bulging bloated stomach gradually softened and formed into a single soft mass, slowly shrinking as the night wore on. The belly gurgled and glorped with fervor, the alicorn indeed digested completely and ending up just like any other meal Silverstream ate. Her barrel thickened up from all that chubby alicorn had to offer, to say nothing of her own thighs, rear end, and hips. Why, by morning, she was several pounds heavier even with a now-empty stomach!

Said morning arrived with little fanfare. The week-long field trip had been shortened due to the now Equestria-wide search for the lost Flurry Heart, Twilight recalling everyone home to help with the search. Silverstream was in no rush getting out of bed, however, oozing off the bed and barely managing to get on all fours, smacking her lips once more and making her way to the washroom. Inside, there was a full-body mirror, which the hippogriff happened to glance at. She smile widely at the sight: There was naught but a sagging paunch remaining on her gut, it jiggled with every step she took; she turned and looked over her shoulder, swaying her tail before a healthy plump rear. She stuck out each leg in turn. “Wow Flurry, you sure are a clingy one,” she gloated with a sleepy giggle. Silverstream checked herself out a bit more, admiring every angle, appreciating the newfound build of her barrel and even up her neck.

She left the coat and hat behind, the hippogriff not feeling cold at all in the Crystal Empire climate, anymore. As she left her room behind, she paused, then smiled. “Wonder how long my new pen pal will last before we get a chance to – urp – meet up.”