A few more hours later...

The library's bathroom door finally opened, revealing a very groggy Twilight who staggered into the glade her home provided. The early afternoon's sun shined through the hollowed tree, contributing to an unusually serene setting. It took all of Twilight's remaining strength to not pass out on the sofa again, wanting to ride out her tiredness for just a little while longer. Scanning the immediate area for Spike, she made her way to the kitchen feeling unfathomably dehydrated.

"Spike? Spiiiiiiiiike?", she called out precariously, keeping in mind that the dragon could still be asleep. When there wasn't a reply, Twilight made a mental note to check on her little helper after she had her glass of water. Taking a gander out of her window, she saw a considerable number of ponies pacing towards the same direction, most likely towards a scheduled weekend event at some location not too far from where Twilight herself resided in. The autumn weather made for a more than decent scenario, bringing ponies out to breathe in the crisp air that came with it. Twilight thought about attending the evening bash but, seeing as how she was in no condition to go anywhere at the present, elected against it. Not only was she behind on her responsibilities pertaining the constant care of the library, but she was also adamant on exploring more of her newfound interest that she had discovered earlier that day.

Upon inspection, Twilight had grown quite fond of her newly rotund belly. Even after they had left her body, the multitude of pancakes certainly did a number on the mare, and by Celestia did it show. Every time she looked down and underneath herself, she became lost in her stomach's hypnotic trance, how it swayed as she swayed, and she soon became unable to resist the temptation to caress it with both of her fore-hooves.

Forgetting about her thirst, Twilight sprawled herself in front of her sofa, resting her back against the soft furniture. Her adorably fluffy paunch had her full attention, and she allowed it to hang over her thighs while she went through with her massage. She overlooked the possibility of Spike coming out of nowhere, and the small, awkward doubtfulness she had possessed at the very beginning of her venture was waning rapidly, her only thoughts being circled around her sizeable abdomen. As time passed, a familiar rumbling sound filled the room, a sound that shouldn't have had even the slightest chance of existing.

Twilight had casted a medical-check spell during her small(emphasis on small) trip to the bathroom, significantly worried that her consistent... "symptoms" may be from some sort of disease or illness she was unaware of. Being the intellectual that she was, she would be hitting the books about it later, but she had wanted an immediate, close-to-surefire answer at the time. Surprisingly, everything had checked out fine both internally and externally--hardly any sign of a virus or some other kind of abnormality presented itself, save for one, silly little thing.

Twilight was hungry.

It was indeed silly, as well as implausible. She believed that she had eaten enough for a week, let alone a single day. Still, a quick magical scan confirmed that she was in fact without nourishment, her system begging for any form of sustenance. Sure, the unicorn had both slept through and imprisoned herself for hours on end, but she had eaten a lot. It would have made more sense if she was just a tad peckish for not consuming anything between then and now. But alas, it seemed that she was right back at square one, albeit a few pounds heavier.

The whole ordeal didn't bother Twilight much after her self-examination, however, as she continued on with her belly rubs. It was clear that she wasn't sick, just starving beyond belief, and that her love for a certain section of herself was much more than a bonus. It wasn't until she swallowed that Twilight stopped her massage, being reminded that she required something to quench her thirst. "I'll get back to you, later", Twilight whispered, nuzzling herself one last time before she reluctantly forced herself onto her legs, feeling the sides of her cute pudge with her limbs as she started once again toward the kitchen.

Upon entering, Twilight noticed several things. The table where she had eaten her breakfast was mess-free, and in its place was an abundance of assorted pastries that she didn't remember receiving in person. Donuts and cupcakes and different kinds of drinks made up the majority of the spontaneous slice of heaven, and in the center stood a large, circular cake. The width and the size of the cake was phenomenal and, though it wasn't a tall cake, it was still considerably enormous. If that wasn't all, bits of confetti and the like were strewn around the table, giving the impression that there had been a party going on in her kitchen not too long ago. An angry gurgle could be heard as she trotted past the pastry-covered table, Twilight's intestines instantly reacting to the sight of food. Her thirst overpowering her curiosity, Twilight elected to rehydrate herself before she went through..."investigating".

The mare hastily reached out toward her fridge with her magic, grabbing a chilled glass from within and began filling it with water from the built-in filter system. As soon as it was full, she quickly downed it and set it aside, taking a moment to relish the cold liquid as she looked over the desserts in front of her. From an angle, she had spotted a card sticking out of one of the cupcakes. Levitating it over, Twilight noticed that the entire thing was covered in pink, yellow, and blue glitter. Oh yeah...now it's a mystery..., Twilight thought sarcastically as she opened the card. "Get Well Soon!!!" was written in big bold print, and the names of some of her closest friends were found right underneath the declaration.

"'Rainbow Dash'...'Pinkie Pie'...and 'Spike'?", Twilight finished reading the names aloud, putting down the card in favor of the very cupcake she received it from. Taking a bite, she started to question how much time had actually passed during her occupation in the loo...

Two Hours Ago...

Spike opened the door to the library, inviting two certain energetic mares inside the library. Apparently, they were there to invite Twilight to the special gathering that very afternoon. Seeing as she was nowhere in plain sight, they took it upon themselves to find her. "Oh Twiiiiliiiiiight!", Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced around inside the tree, searching high and low for her lavender friend. "Vinyl Scratch is hosting a concert tonight in front of the town hall, and everypony's gonna be there! Put down whatever book you're reading and come with us!"

It wasn't often that the duo insisted on the studious mare to attend a party at a scale such as the one they were planning on attending, and even when they tried she would always proclaim that she was busy either "reshelving" her precious books or studying for one of Celestia's big tests. Still, they made it a priority every now and then to at least try to incorporate Twilight into their date nights. With Pinkie's pleas yielding no results, she was about to resort to straight-out yelling when Rainbow appeared in front of her, a smirk etched onto her face. Motioning to follow with a hoof, Rainbow led the pink mare in front of the library's main restroom. The door was locked, and the aura of Twilight's magic was recognizable to her friends, whom began to laugh heartily at the scene that stood before them.

"Pffft, haha! Twilight doesn't want anyone to hear her letting the dogs out!" Rainbow exclaimed freely, rolling onto her back as she bellowed. Pinkie followed suit, and together they relished their discovery as Spike entered the room, still recovering from the lag that came with waking up.

"Oh yeah, Twilight's been in there for hours. I'm thinking it has something to do with the breakfast she ate this morning," Spike declared, making his way over to the two ponies as he continued. "I'm telling you, she went through all of those pancakes like it was nothing! I spotted her taking a nap right before I went to sleep myself--probably that's what did her in." Spike knew that it was much more than that, for he'd been listening to the cacophony of noises Twilight produced from the other floor, happily tuning in as the sounds carried him to his own slumber. Being smart, however, Spike said nothing else.

Rising from the floor, Rainbow and Pinkie Pie wiped the tears from their eyes and listened to what their dragon friend had to say about Twilight. When Spike finished, concern immediately laced their faces, the well-being of the librarian put into thought.

"Gosh, I hope she's fine in there. I wouldn't stay in one place for any longer than I had to," Rainbow said, her attention once again directed toward the door. Raising a hoof, she tried knocking, but not a single sound came out of her action.

"'Can't do it, Dash. I'm afraid she's really taken the extra pro-caution of isolating herself from the outside. No sound goes in-," Spike placed his hand over the door, watching as it made an imprint on the thick wall of magic,"-or out."

Upon hearing this, the ponies' expressions fell more-so than before, feeling bad that Twilight had to miss out on account of... whatever she was battling at the moment. Suddenly, Pinkie sprang upwards, obviously filled with the intent of doing something about her troubled friend. With newfound vigor, she galloped towards the kitchen, Spike and Rainbow following close behind.

Reaching into her hair, Pinkie began pulling out every kind of edible delicacy one would hope to find at their local pastry shop, rows of cupcakes and crepes and soda and milk making their appearance as they were hastily thrown onto the table. As Pinkie worked, she became a pink blur, pieces of confetti occasionally flying out of her visage. Moments later, the pink mare stepped back to admire her handiwork while two witnesses had their jaws hit the ground. If any young filly were to make a wish, it would most likely be for the sight that the trio beheld, the army of treats seemingly calling out to them in unison.

Rainbow hesitatingly reached out for a glazed donut, which prompted Pinkie to bat her hoof away. "This isn't for us, silly! Twilight's probably having a rough time in there, so this will be our way of helping her get better!"

"I don't know, Pinkie. I'm no doctor, but I think somepony like Twilight would want something more healthy than sugar and sweets," Rainbow stated, scanning over the table for the umpteenth time.

"Hey, you'd want some comfort food too if you were feeling...," Pinkie whipped out a dark pair of sunglasses and equipped them before finishing, "...down in the dumps."

Suddenly, a faint but recognizable piece of music made itself heard from outside, an elongated cry of "Yeah!" radiating alongside it.

"Oh no, Dashie! That's gotta be the opening sequence! Let's go before we miss it!" Pinkie exclaimed, starting towards the door of the library with her strangely mute friend in hoof. "Bye, Spike! Tell Twilight we dropped by to take her with us but we heard that she was feeling ill so we left a bunch of 'get well' stuff and that I put a little card into one of the cupcakes with our names on it so that when she finds it she'll be all warm and happy and better and stuff so don't forget ta ta!"

And with that they were gone, the only evidence of them ever visiting lying both with Spike and the horde of goods in the kitchen. The song from outside was still going, and Spike couldn't help but nod to it; it was definitively catchy. At the same time, his face donned a grin as he grew excited, already thinking about what he would do when Twilight got out of the bathroom, everything he needed having been conveniently delivered just moments ago...

Present...

Twilight placed down the card, still savoring the cupcake she retrieved it from. It wasn't difficult to deduce that Pinkie Pie had certainly dropped by to persuade her into joining the (rather quiet) party outside. While she appreciated the gesture, Twilight never really liked those kind of gatherings before, the sheer loudness of everything always keeping the mare from actually enjoying the music those few times she tried her hoof at it.

Her stomach couldn't stand the wait anymore, a low rumble escaping Twilight. Just the smell of the cupcake she held alone was enough to assuage the rest of her non-food-related cognitions. Pushing the mystery of Spike's current whereabouts to the back of her mind, she lividly swallowed the rest of the cupcake, enjoying the small bulk all the way down.

Licking her lips, Twilight looked over excitedly at the rest of her large gift. True, if she was in her right mind she would have opted for something more hearty. But alas, Twilight was already going for the next small treat while the one she consumed before started to digest. One delicacy after another found its way from Twilight's muzzle to the bottom of her belly, collecting inside of her as she went on. She grabbed a chair and sat upright as she felt her stomach slowly bulge outwards, aware of the new weight she was attaining. After finishing off most of the cupcakes, she let her back rest into the seat as she admired the perfection that was attached to her.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of this, Twilight claimed in her head. Who would have guessed something as strange as this would turn out to be one of my new favorite hobbies...It's weird, but...

One audible churn from her belly later, Twilight's face turned beet red, and soon a loud belch made itself heard. She grabbed her inflated gut and hugged it to the best of her ability, enhancing the experience. Her belly once again sat on her thighs, being constricted purposefully while Twilight felt and heard all of the gurgling and the rumbling that it had to offer.

Moments later, Twilight ceased gripping her abdomen further as the long burp subsided, the area around her quiet save for the digesting cupcakes. She blew out excess air through pursed lips, retiring her assault as she pondered over what squadron of delicacies she would attack next.

A noise from the kitchen entrance caused Twilight to quickly eject from her relaxed state. At first, she was shocked that somepony had walked in on her, her current features showing everything but composure. Quickly going through the possibilities, however, she silently resigned where she sat, not even bothering to turn around to meet the eyes of the smiling, intruding dragon.

Now it was Spike's turn to join in on the fun.

"Need some help, Twilight?"

"..."

"...Twilight?"

"..."

Spike was taken aback by the silence. He knew that she acknowledged him, yet she was irresponsive. Receiving the impression that he wasn't welcome at the moment, Spike started to turn around as he began to slowly exit the room, worried that he might have upset Twilight with his presence...

...That is, until he gained a reply in the form of a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"...yes, please..."

Author's Note

I'm not sure if it was a good idea to have the involvement of other characters in the story, but at the same time I couldn't see any decent progression without some outside help. So here it stands.

The next part will definitively be the power chapter, so stay tuned. :)

Also, YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!