//------------------------------//
// 10: Final Resting Place 
// Story: Demon of the Deep Wood 
// by Argonaut44 
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The company was reunited. 
Amalza writhed inside her slimy, fleshy, skintight prison, stuck alongside Merigold, who had just fallen unconscious again. There was hardly any air inside the stomach of the giant worm. In the worm’s gut, liters of green ooze and clear mucus gushed out to cover both of the mares from head to hoof. Every one of Amalza’s senses was being assaulted, as the worm slithered across rocks, dirt, and grass. Her left foreleg was bent up by her head, while her other foreleg was stretched across her chest. 
The eight worms with their nine victims spent the evening traveling to their lair, a subterranean cavern that began near the roots of a great red maple tree. There were other worms inside already, lounging about and sucking on old scraps. Bones and blood and ooze littered the floor of the lair, which was a slimy, sloshing cacophony of amoral invertebrates. A squirrel’s skeleton lay half-buried in the dirt, next to a deer skull and the spine of some animal, along with a pony’s rib bones strewn about. There were steel gauntlets, a belt, and some kind of rusted metal object also lying on the ground; this was not the first time the worms had tangled with ponies. Two worms were wrestling with each other when the eight newcomers arrived, and undoubtedly one would soon have to devour the other.
 The biggest worms gathered in the center of the lair where rays of afternoon sunlight shone through from between the tree roots in the lair ceiling, conforming to the strange sort of social hierarchy the worms had developed; the smaller, younger worms were left at the outskirts of the cave. 
Once the worms were settled in their home, the proper digestive process began, when the prey is moved so that the worm can sit comfortably. 
Cat Claw’s forelegs were raised over her head, as she slipped in and out of consciousness. The worm’s stomach walls constricted around her, crushing her chest and pushing the air out of her lungs. 
She wouldn’t accept that this was the end. She wouldn't accept that she was going to be melted and digested and turned into worm shit. 
It’s just a bad dream.
Over time, the former victims of Gorgo had their silky cocoons fade away, as the preliminary cleaning acids went to work, breaking down the fibers of Gorgo’s magically-enhanced strain of webbing and dissolving particles of dirt and external bacteria before flushing them down the duodenum. Merigold, Raquelle, Zo’Lara and Clair de Lune had lost so much oxygen while cocooned and ingested that none could manage to stay conscious for longer than a few fleeting moments. All the mares’ clothes were still intact, however. 

Amalza, unlike any of the others, was still fighting with all her might. She kicked and screamed as the stomach crushed her against Merigold, who lay motionless against her. 
Shara, meanwhile, had long given up. She would sooner save her strength for when the burning sensation of the acid got really bad. Giant worms had magical properties that prevented magical attacks from penetrating the worm’s flesh from the inside. However, her magic would prove to be a lifesaver against the digestive acids, though for now all she felt was a mild sting. She was semi-conscious, drenched in green slime, with her scarlet dress torn to scraps, after only a few hours in the worm. Rescue is coming. I just have to hold out a few days, and they’ll find us. 
Cassandra shifted in and out of consciousness, having fallen victim to the intense heat and pressure of the worm’s stomach. Her head was heavy and her skin was slick with sweat and mucus, and she had become so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open.
And Val, meanwhile, was still awake, gritting her teeth in frustration as reality set in: there was no escape. Five hours in, she was screaming non-stop, as the heavy acids began to secrete onto her skin. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, and the stomach was so tight she was helpless but to tremble and writhe and cry. I’m burning alive. The pain was so sharp she thought she might have gone under again in shock. Her green gladiator garb was half-dissolved off her body. 
Raquelle dreamed of home while the acids dissolved her silky cocoon, which had taken longer to break down than the others. 
Shara could hear the occasional scream or groan of agony from nearby. She could hear the fear in their voices, and it made her heart give out; there was nothing she could do to help them. I can’t even help myself. 
Amalza had finally passed out, her body going limp in the stomach as the heat overcame her. The last thing she could feel was her skin turn red and soft as the slime soaked her. Below her, she thought she felt the leather of Merigold’s catsuit, now free from the cocoon, which had mostly been dissolved.
Cassandra’s hooves curled up in discomfort as she writhed and winced and whined, groaning in misery. Celestia, Goddess, please. Don’t make me suffer, please. Cassandra was horrified to discover how weak she was, begging for mercy when clearly this was Celestia’s will. Cassandra wondered what sins she had committed to warrant such a gruesome end. Please spare the others. Send somepony to help them. Please Goddess, please. Let my death pay for their lives. She groaned again as a spray of acid coated her hind leg.The material of her skirt and top was strong, at least, and had yet to dissolve beyond a few tears here and there. I have faith, she reminded herself, I have faith that Celestia knows what is best. If I should die, let me die. She only wished it wouldn’t have to be so painful.
 After the first 12 hours, Val was the only mare who could manage to stay awake for longer than thirty minutes, and she spent her time gritting her teeth as the last of her clothes turned to tatters and her skin came alight. Shara, meanwhile, was completely unconscious, as the acid ate through the rest of her red dress. Cat’s tunic dress was still mostly intact. Clair’s cocoon had remained mostly intact as well; her hind legs were still sealed and she was still blindfolded and wrapped up above the waist. She had been unconscious for hours, her mouth hanging agape as the acids poured down on her. 
Cassandra’s dress was torn to shreds, and her hind hooves had crossed over each other as she dreamed away, lost in delirium. 
Merigold’s enchanted catsuit had begun to wither away too, and her enchantment belt had been vomited up by the worm. Amalza whimpered and cried, while Merigold lay with her mouth hanging open, her eyes shut, completely drained of energy. 
By 10 P.M. on the second day, Zo’Lara became the first casualty. Her eyeballs had burst from their sockets, and her flesh had turned to a mealy paste that oozed off her bones with the flow of acid. The acid had burned through most of her chest and stomach, spilling out her intestines and organs. Blood dripped down her mouth. She had not been awake to have felt a thing. 
On the third day, around 2 A.M, Val found that her worm, which was far smaller than the rest, was making quicker work of her than its peers did to the other victims. The worst of the acids had begun around three in the afternoon the previous day. She had not stopped screaming since then, even after her voice gave out. She screamed and sobbed, while acid melted all of the flesh off her forelegs, partially down to the bone. Her left hind calf was flayed to reveal her tibia, and the flesh on her chest was hanging on by mere threads. She could feel everything - the flesh dripping off her bones, the nerve endings being burned to crisps, her exposed bones and muscles brushing against the slimy stomach walls. Her face, however, was mostly untouched, save for a steaming bloody hole on her forehead. She found herself thinking of her father, and how he would have razed this cursed forest to ash to rescue her, if only he was still alive. I’m not strong like you. I never was. Her misery would only last for another hour or so, when the blood loss had become too much, and the acid had burned through her throat. 
Around 5 A.M, Cassandra could be heard screaming in agony as her flesh melted off her bones. There were holes in her skin along her neck, thighs, knees, calves, and chest, and even atop her forehead. The pain was so intense she had to open her eyes, but quickly shut them to protect them from the slime. She was completely naked, and her skin was searing hot as the green slime washed over her. She screamed and cried out for Celestia, for mercy, for death. 
At around 7 A.M, Amalza felt portions of flesh melt off parts of forelegs and cheek. Her eyes darted around the dark, sightlessly, and she screamed at the top of her lungs in pain. Below her, Merigold fared worse. Acid had seeped into the sleeping captain’s left eye, which had burst into a bloody film, soaking Amalza’s hind hooves. Merigold’s face was covered in red sores where her flesh had been burned away. The acid would soon have an easier time slipping up her sinuses, where it would melt her brain into goo. 
By 3 P.M, Cassandra’s face had melted off. Her eyes and nose were all gone, and all that remained was the bare muscle. Her body had been constricted, and bones had been compressed, while her liquefied skin and organs and muscle threads lay exposed. Her last thought had been a prayer, begging Celestia to make it so that the others might escape somehow.  
By the end of the third day, Shara heard the last of the screams. There was nothing left of her friends but bones and organs and melted flesh. She felt the stinging of the acid on her thigh and she ignited her horn again, exhausted. Some time later, she made the mistake of falling asleep for a few hours, before she woke up to find some new holes burned into her flesh. She quickly forced herself awake and ignited her horn, repelling the effects of the acid. She used some rudimentary healing spells to patch herself up, though the pain lingered. She could only do this for one more day. Maybe two. 
Raquelle and Merigold could be alive too. They were powerful sorceresses, and they surely knew the spells to keep themselves alive at least a little while. Merigold had always been polite towards her, but never friendly. Merigold isn’t friendly with anypony. Shara had never gotten along with Raquelle, who had always resented Shara for her having come from a foreign land. If we get out of this, perhaps we could all be friends. Shara would like that. She only had one friend, and she wondered what was left of Amalza, some bloody skeleton, some mess of melted guts. I was supposed to protect her. Shara burst into tears at the thought, and felt like vomiting, but focused on maintaining her spell. 
Somepony must be coming. They must be close. Just a little longer.
Part of her wanted to give up already. All of her friends and closest colleagues were dead, and all because she was outwitted by a creature that had no brain. 
Mom. Dad. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.





The skulls of Amalza and Merigold landed in the dirt with a slimy splash, not far from where Cat’s skull had been spat out hours earlier. The worms had trouble digesting particular bones, which would be vomited up or excreted right out into the floor of the lair. 
Cassandra, Clair, Val, and Zo’Lara all remained in the worms still, reduced to crumpled skeletons covered in loose strands of muscle and brown gore, and occasionally some patches of flesh that had yet to dissolve. Locks of hair could still be found stuck to some of the mares’ skulls, and so they might have been recognized if anypony was to ever discover them. 
As time went on, the intensity of the acid grew, requiring more of an effort on Shara’s part. Unicorns weren’t made to cast a single spell for an indefinite amount of time, however, and it took all Shara’s concentration to maintain the strength of her spell. All the effort it took left her exhausted, however, and she could not help but fall unconscious every now and then. She would awake to intense pain, and quickly get back to work. There was the matter of food, too. Shara could conjure meals directly to her stomach, though balancing that with her acid-repulsion work became a precarious act.   
Breathing was not getting any easier, either, and the heat was unbearable. Part of her spell included a cooling effect; she had originally intended to freeze over the worm’s innards to kill it, but this wicked organism prevailed against every single one of her attacks intended to impair it. 
Her fate was up to the gods now, but unless somepony came soon, her time was running out.