- Written by Jeremy Whitley, Art by Brenda Hickey, Coloring by Heather Breckel
Sunburst now turns to the tale of Somnambula, but before he can begin, runs into Pinkie Pie, who is preparing a birthday party for Luna's pet, Tiberius. Seeing that he's about to read the book, she offers to read it for him, including doing all the voices for it.
In Somnambula's tale, after helping to rescue Prince Hisan, the Prince suddenly calls for her as a giant snake had taken over his palance and engulfed all of his guards. Somnambula tries to go to talk to the snake, but the snake eats her whole too. Inside the snake, she refuses to give up hope and decided to venture further into the snake. She soon encounters the recently-eaten guards - still alive as they were just swallowed whole, and instructs them to wait at the snake's mouth as she continues deeper down the snake. On the way, she runs into a number of villagers who were all also eaten whole by the snake, and she similarly tells them to get themselves to the snake's mouth. Finally, she finds an old wizard who knows all about the snake and its giant size. The snake had been one of the creatures he kept, but it got into trouble trying to eat too much, so he gave it a stone to make it think it was full. Too late, he realized he gave the snake a magic stone that would cause it to grow to that size, and soon he was eaten.
Finding the magic stone still inside the snake, Somnambula drags the wizard to the mouth where the others are waiting. Using a pole she brought with her, she and the others force the snake's mouth open, far enough so she can toss the magic stone out. Immediately, the snake starts to shrink down, and all the ponies are quickly spat out, safe and sound. Prince Hisan and the others all celebrate Somnambula as a hero for never giving up hope.
Tropes:
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The giant snake, which was turned by a cursed stone from a normal-sized animal into a constantly growing behemoth that, by the time of the story, is larger than Prince Hisan's palace.
- Deadpan Snarker: The old wizard. As part of his role as a cynical foil to Somnambula, he gets a few dry zingers to complement her cheerful forthrightness.Somnambula: Oh, there you are. Hey, you look like a wizard!
Old Wizard: Wow, it's not just your necklace, you are bright. - Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Somnambula's home in the deserts of Southern Equestria is one for ancient Egypt, drawing inspiration from it from the appearance of the buildings to the clothing and kohl worn by the local ponies.
- Foil: The old wizard to Somnambula. He's cynical and ill tempered where she's bubbly and upbeat. Further, his defeatist attitude and desire to simply wallow in his guilt rather than try to fix his predicament contrast Somnambula's much more proactive attitude, as well as reinforcing her stories' message about not giving up on hope.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The old wizard's reaction to having accidentally created the giant snake while trying to rid himself of a pest. He considers himself an old fool and failure, and wants to be left in the snake's gut to wallow in his guilt. He seems to get over his depression by the end, when Somnambula figures out how to shrink the snake back down and rescues the ponies trapped in its gut.
- Prehensile Hair: Pinkie uses her front curl to snatch the book containing Somnambula's story from Sunburst, and continues to use it to hold onto the book while she reads it.
- Swallowed Whole: The snake's various victims — Somnambula, the soldiers, an entire village, assorted other ponies, a large number of woodland animals and the wizard — are all swallowed whole, and are found alive and well sitting in the beast's stomach.
- Wizard Classic: The wizard wears a robe and a conical (but brimless) hat, both decorated with eye and star motifs, and a long beard. His flashback when he tells Somnambula where the snake came from also shows a preference for studying magic and potions in seclusion.
