The Pudge

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 2

Chapter 1

It was an early Summer morning. The sun shone brightly above in a cloudless sky and the temperature was comfortably warm. Such a wonderful start to the day was made possible largely thanks to the efforts of the Pegasus of the local weather patrol team. The five pony team had gotten up at the crack of dawn in order to clear out the clouds. And of course, it was also thanks to the daily blessing of the Princess. Under this prefect morning sky, in a wide open field next to the northern train line leading to and from the town of Ponyville, a herd of dairy cows were grazing with content, basking in the heat of Celestia’s Sun.

For the last half hour, the only sounds to have been heard in this corner of Equestria were the chirping of birds in the hedgerows, the gentle breeze blowing through the air and the occasional, casual moo from a satisfied cow. However, at a little bit past eight thirty, this tranquillity was shattered by the abrupt arrival of clopping puller ponies hooves, the blast of a steam whistle, and the gentle but resounding dodo dodo of passenger carriages as the third train of the day began to approach.

The two cows closest to the tracks leisurely lifted their heads at the sudden sounds of the pony drawn train. They stopped their lazily chewing on the damp grass of the field to watch it pass by with mild curiosity. The train was being drawn at speed by four large, powerfully built earth pony stallions wearing engineering caps and overalls. The locomotive was a dull metal gray, while the four carriages behind it were of the shiniest silver. Proudly displayed upon the sides of each carriage, written in black blocky letters, was the company name, Great Northern Railways.

The cows only had a brief glimpse of this speeding machine though, as it wasn’t long before it past them completely. When the train was out of sight, and the noise of it had departed from their ears, one cow turned to another with a disapproving look.

'‘Trains a runin late again’’ she drawled.

‘‘Yep.’’ replied the other. Then they shook their heads and resumed grazing.

On board the train, sat in the third carriage on the left hand side in the seat closest to the window, was a bright pink filly with shining blue eyes. She had a long, curly mane which resembled cotton candy. Her Cutie Mark was comprised of three bright and colourful balloons, one yellow, and the other two blue. Her name was Pinkie Pie.

Between her two front hooves was a bright pink, pinker than herself, super sized milkshake cup with a vivid red straw, which she had purchased from the station shop before boarding. Under her seat was her budging saddlebag. At the start of Pinkie’s journey, this bag had been filled with her clothes and toiletries, plus Momma Pie’s home made presents for her all her friends back in Ponyville, and dozens of different types of cakes she had baked for the journey. However, nothing was left of the cakes now, other than the scattering of crumps all over Pinkie’s person. Pinkie was triply glad that she bought the ’shake now. All the better to help wash those cakes down with she thought to herself.

Sat next to Pinkie was an old brown stallion in a tweed jacket and black bowler hat. He was mostly hidden behind the early edition of ‘‘Equestria Today’’, with only his hind legs and hat totally visible to his fellow passengers. He too was covered in the crumbs of Pinkie Pie’s cakes, but looked decidedly less happy for it. On each of his flanks was a golden pocket watch Cutie Mark, fully opened, with the hands set at 12 o’clock. He cleared his throat and flicked over to the next page with his teeth. Now that the pink filly had settled down for the first time since this journey had began, perhaps he could finally read the paper in peace.

The air of the carriage was filled with the low rumblings of the talkative passengers around them, the clink of stirring spoons in cups on saucers, the occasional cough of the sick little colt up front, and the long, drawn out slurping of Pinkie Pie as she drew out the last of the ‘shake. Sssslurpppp it went as she sucked on the straw, her eyes shut tight with the effort of extracting the ‘shake. The old stallion wrinkled his muzzle in annoyance.

When Pinkie Pie finally reached her limit she paused for breath, slumping deeply into her seat and sighing contently as she did so. As soon as she got her breath back however, she lazily opened her eyes half way and muttered in long, drawn out ecstasy mmmm, milky strawberry goodness, before loudly resuming her slurping. Her eyes closed again in pure bliss. Sssslurpppp went the now empty cup. The old stallion beside her shook his head and adjusted his paper. Binnnggg Bonnnggg went the speaker at the front of the carriage.

‘‘Attention passengers’’ said the voice in the speaker. The passengers all looked up, and the noise in the carriage, except for Pinkie’s slurping, began to settle down. ‘‘The next stop is Ponyville station’’. Pinkie suddenly spat the straw out and gasped at the mentioning of the name. Her eyes had snapped wide open again, like twinkling dinner plates, and a fantastic open mouth smile suddenly beamed from her round face. ‘‘Please remain seated until the train has come to a complete stop…’’ the voice continued. However, whatever it was the voice said after that Pinkie just did not know, because she was too excited to continue listening.

Dropping the milkshake cup, Pinkie Pie rotated sharply in her seat so as to face out the window, disturbing the paper reading pony beside her in the process. The old pony tutted and sighed. Then, he shifted his position, flicked out his paper, and carried on reading, as Pinkie planted her front hooves against the window with a loud bump. The intensity of the grin on her face and the glee in her eyes could not be understated. She looked hard, waiting, hoping, and then, there! There it was, off in the distance and approaching rapidly. Ponyville!

As she saw her home town draw near, Pinkie giddied with anticipation and turned back inside the carriage, gripping the chair tightly. The passengers around her began to stir, making their preparations to depart the train. Pinkie began to tremble with excitement, and it wasn’t long before this pent up energy exploded out of her.

‘WOOHOO!’’ she squealed, her voice impossibly high. She began to bounce up and down excitedly in her seat, her front hooves waving with joy. ‘‘Woohoo, alright, next stop Ponyville everypony!’’ She turned to the old paper reading pony, pushing his paper down with her right front hoof so as to see him better. ‘‘I can’t WAIT to get back home to Ponyville! Oh it’s so exciting it’s the most exciting thing I can think of! Can you wait? I can’t wait! Soon we’ll be in Ponyville and I’ll be able to see all my super duper amazing friends again! I can’t wait can’t wait can’t WAIT to see them all! And I bet they can’t wait to see me either. But not as much I can’t wait to see them! Oh it’s been so long since I last saw them it feels like for-EVER! Three whole months even! And when I see them I’m going to be all like, GASP OH MY GOSH IT’S YOU GUYS OH THIS IS SO AMAZNGLY WONDERFULLY EXCITING BECAUSE I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER!!!’’ She paused to inhale deeply, then continued her vocal onslaught. ‘‘I mean oh sure we sent letters to each other and all, but letters are nothing compared to actually seeing your friends in the person! Oh, it’s going to so super spectacularly amazingly awesomely fun and wonderful and fun YIPPIE!’’

‘‘…oh er, yes, yes so am…I?’’ replied the old paper reading pony with a look of mild confusion on his face. He had never before seen somepony go through so many words in such a short period of time. The filly ploughed through them so fast, he wasn’t even entirely sure what it was she had just said to him.

‘‘I felt terrible for having to leave the girls for all this time’’ continued Pinkie. Her demeanour had shifted from impossibly joyous and cheery to sad and forlorn faster than the old pony thought was equinely possible. So much so, his own demeanour was shifted from mild confusion and a little irritation to outright surprise. ‘‘I didn’t want to leave Ponyville, but poor Poppa Pie hurt his leg so so badly and he was in such a bad way I just had to go home to visit him and Momma. I love my friends, and I thought about them all day, everyday when I was out at the farm, but I love my family too!’’ She shifted back to happy again so fast the old pony was left completely gob smacked. ‘‘And it was so so wonderful to see Momma and Poppa again! Poppa told me all his funny stories and I told him funny jokes and looked after him while Momma made us her delicious home cooking and made presents for me and all my friends and took care of Gummi here’’.

At the mentioning of his name, the little alligator popped his head out of the top of Pinkie Pie’s cotton candy mane and bared his lack of teeth at his fellow passenger. The old pony give a yelp, threw away his paper and jumped off his seat, which sent his hat tumbling to the ground. He then ran to the back of the carriage, moving faster than he had ever moved in his life. The pages of his abandoned paper scattered and fluttered all over the carriage. Pinkie looked momentarily puzzled as Gummi blinked his trade mark blink from atop her head. Then see looked down at the discarded hat and gasped in surprise. She anxiously called to him across the carriage over the heads of the other confused and startled passengers.

‘‘Ohh oh oh oh, Mister Watch, sir? You forgot your hat! Mister Watch…where’re you going? We’re supposed to remain seated until the train stops! Why are you trying to open the window, Mister Watch? Are you feeling sick? Do you need some air? Oh no! Here, let me help you!’’ Pinkie got up out of her seat to go and help him, carefully carrying his hat in her teeth by the brim. Unfortunately, as she moved down the carriage, the other passengers began to notice the alligator hanging off her mane. And then, the screaming started.

Chapter 3

It had been three weeks since Pinkie Pie had returned to Ponyville, and her welcoming home party had already been cemented as one of the greatest in the town’s history. Sugarcube Corner had been packed to the rafters with dozens of ponies wishing to welcome back Pinkie Pie, the prime party pony of ponyville, to her hometown. The party had everything required for a truly great celebration. There had been cake and streamers and balloons and party hats and pin the tail on the pony, and most importantly of all, friends. It had been one of the happiest nights of Pinkie’s life.

Dawn was breaking. Inside the apartment above Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie lay sprawled out on her back upon her bed. She was fast asleep and snoring gently under the white and red polka dot sheets. The little wooden bed sagged under the weight of the pink pony as the great polka dotted mound of her belly rose and fell in sync with her snoring. Gummi the alligator was also asleep on the bed, curled up into a little ball of green scales over his owners rear legs. As the sun began to rise, a rooster crowed from towards Sweet Apple Acres, and then Pinkie Pie’s alarm clock sounded. The filly’s blue eyes sprang open.

‘’GOOOOOOD MOR-NING E-QUESTRIA!’’ the pink pony bellowed. She sat upright on the bed, which groaned as she shifted her weight. She silenced the buzzing clock, yawned loudly, stretched out her front hooves, then looked down at the still sleeping alligator at her rear hooves with a gushing smile. Gummi was just so cute when he was asleep she thought to herself. Pinkie gently nuzzled Gummi’s head to wake him up. ‘‘Wakey waky, alligaty!’’ she cooed gently. The alligator slowly woke. Just like his owner, he yawned and stretched himself out. Then, he blinked his trade mark blink, and hoped off the bed in order to find a ball of yarn to play with.

‘‘Did my little biddy widdy scaly baby sleep well?’’, asked Pinkie. ‘‘No scary wary nightmares I hope.’’ Pinkie slumped back into a more comfortable position, resting her hoofs behind her head. As she did so, she realised that her pillow was no where to be seen or felt. ‘‘Hey, where’s my pillow? Huh, that’s weird. Well, anyway, I had a wonderful dream last night. I dreamt that I was high up in the air and afloat on a fluffy cloud just like the time I went to Cloudsdale. And I was eating a big big delicious marshmallow. It was like, as big as an applecart! It was so big it took me hours and hours to eat it! It was soooo goood! Boy, just thinking about it makes me wish I was eating a marshmallow or two right now. Hey! Now there’s an idea!’’

Pinkie smiled at the brilliance of the plan that had just taken her. She reached out and opened the draw on her bedside cabinet, to reveal a massive open bag filled with plump, fluffy marshmallows of white, pink and blue. In few seconds, Pinkie Pie had completely devoured all of them. She chewed and smacked with content, but as she did so, she give a little hiccup. A single white feather popped out of seemly nowhere, and slowly drifted away from the bed. Pinkie looked at it with confusion at first, but then she just shrugged and carried on savouring the marshmallows.

Once she had finished with the marshmallows, she threw off the polka dot sheets and climbed out of bed. It creaked and groaned once more. Pinkie slipped on her green fluffy alligator themed slippers with the little golden bells on them, and threw her dressing gown over herself. She approached the standing mirror in the corner of the room, humming happily to herself as the little bells on her feet jingled. She picked up a hairbrush and began to groom her coat and mane, to little avail. Neither could ever be tamed, no matter what she did to them. After a while, she stopped humming and brushing. Looking at her reflection, her smile slowly faded away, and she sighed. ‘‘Boy, I sure am a big filly these days aren’t I Gummi? All those yummy cakes and things have really done a number on my flanks. I’ve so much of a pudge it’s a wonder that I can still budge!’’

She shook herself and pinched her cheeks to emphasise her plumpness. ‘‘Maybe I should start laying off the baked goods, before ponies start laughing at me and calling me Rolly Polly Olly or or, Ate All The Pie or just, plain old…Fatty. You know, because I’ve become such a big fat fatty.’’ Pinkie cast her gaze down at the floor. ‘‘And what would my friends think of me then? If I embarrass them all like that? Other ponies might start laughing at them too’’. Her voice began to fill with anxiety. ‘‘And what if my friends didn’t want to be my friends or come to my parties anymore, because I was embarrassing them all by being so fat and making other ponies laugh at them!’’ Pinkie begin to panic even more. ‘‘Oh no! OH NO! I can’t lose my friends! Without them, I’d be a no pony! A big, fat pudgey no pony who nobody likes and…and I…I …hey, wait a minute. What am I saying? My friends are better ponies than that! They’d never ditch me just because I was a pudgey pony!’’

Pinkie turned away from the mirror, and went back towards her bed. She sat down on it, resting her head in her front hoofs. In the corner of the room, Gummi had located a bright yellow yarn ball, and was now busy poking it. ‘‘Why, in these past few weeks, they haven’t even said a single thing about my pudgeiness at all! And they were all so so super happy to see me again when I got back from my parents! They threw me such an amazing party! The party to end all parties! And they loved all the presents I brought for them!’’ Pinkie Pie hiccupped again. Once more, a single white feather appeared out of nowhere. This time though, she didn’t even acknowledge it.

‘‘Twilight give me a heart felt welcoming home speech, and later in the week Fluttershy took me out on a picnic so we could catch up, and Dashie has a whole bunch of pranks she wants me to help her with and…and…’’ Pinkie Pie sighed and put a hoof on her head. ‘‘Oh Gummi, I did it again! I was thinking the worst of my friends, just like at my last birthday! Ergh, I said I would never, ever, ever do that again!’’ Pinkie Pie began to rub her eyes and sniff loudly, a sure sign that tears were on the way. Gummi the alligator stopped playing with the yarn. Sensing his mistress’s distress, he scuttled over to her and began to bite and snap at her tail affectionately. Pinkie stopped rubbing her eyes and smiled at her pet.

‘‘Thanks Gummi. You always know how to cheer me up.’’ she said, patting him on the head to signal her thanks. She jumped off her bed, which almost bounced away from her, and made her way towards the stairs. The little bells on her slippers jingled once more. Pinkie Pie went down the staircase and into the kitchen. The more she thought it over, the more it seemed to her as though her friends really didn’t care about her pudge. And if her friends didn’t care, then why should she care either? Clearly, they loved her no matter what size she was. And come to think of it, there was now more of her to love! Maybe she shouldn’t be in such a rush to lose the pudge after all. And even if some ponies did laugh at her, it was probably all in good fun. Heck, even if they were being mean, meanie meanie pants for real, that was nothing that a good party couldn’t fix!

Pinkie went to the fridge were the muffins were kept. She felt like having muffins for breakfast, and she had worked up quite an appetite fretting over her friends opinion of her. She licked her lips at the thought of the crumbly blueberry delights awaiting her in the fridge. But when she opened it, they were completely gone! All of them! Only a note was left on the empty, crumb strewn plate that once held them. She read it aloud.

‘‘I…raided…your…fridge. Signed, the Mad Muffin.’’ Pinkie suddenly gasped when the gravity of the situation hit her. ‘‘Oh my gosh…Mr and Mrs Cake! MR AND MRS CAKE! QUICK, WAKE UP! WAKE UP, WE’VE BEEN ROBBED!’’

Chapter 4

It was midday, and the centre of Ponyville was alive with activity. The town was the busiest it had been all week. In the market quarter, crowds of ponies milled around the stalls, buying and selling. Foals played games in the street, and even the elusive sheriff of Ponyville had stepped outside his office to speak to the citizens who supposedly lived under his protection.

On the wall of nearly every building, there was a wanted poster. Upon it was a colourless portrait of a wall-eyed female Pegasus pony, wearing an undersized bowler hat and a domino mask which obscured most of her face. It read; ‘‘Wanted: The Mad Muffin. Severely Beaten Up Or Alive.’’ It then went on the list the numerous charges against this miscreant. Muffin theft, muffin fraud, muffin evasion, impersonating a Muffin shop sales assistant, impersonating the Duke of Hoofington, fridge raiding, home invasion, criminal damage, cheeking the Royal Guard and sticking her tongue out at the Mayor of Ponyville. The award for her capture was 10,000 gold bits and a carrot.

Twilight Sparkle finished reading the wanted poster, rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the world she lived in, and made her way towards Sugarcube Corner slowly, with her head held low to the ground. A dozen thoughts were racing through her mind at once. She was so caught up with them, she barely even noticed Rainbow Dash plummeting into the back of an applecart in front of her. It was only due to the displaced apples scattering onto the ground in front of Twilight that Rainbow Dash managed to catch her attention. She looked up to see the Pegasus with the multicoloured mane thump the side of the cart in frustration.

‘‘Hi Rainbow Dash. Still can’t get the hang of that new stunt I see?’’ Twilight mused with a slight smirk.

‘‘I’ve nearly got it.’’ Dash replied in annoyance. ‘‘Just can’t get the timing right is all. If I pull up too soon it’ll ruin the whole run, but if I leave it too late well…’’, she broke off, holding out her hooves to highlight the cart she had landed in. ‘‘Oh well. As they say, practice makes perfect. Anyway, what are you doing today? Magic stuff?’’

‘‘Pretty much. But right now I’m too hungry to even think about magic, let alone practice it, so I’m off to Sugarcube Corner. You want to come with?’’ said the purple Unicorn.

‘‘Sure. I’ve worked up a pretty good appetite.’’ smiled Dash. But then, she looked troubled. ‘‘By the way Twilight, speaking of Sugarcube corner, have you, erm…seen…Pinkie Pie lately.’’ Twilight sighed at the thought.

‘‘I have, yes.’’

It had been almost two months since Pinkie Pie had returned home from her parent’s rock farm. In that time, not much had happened, except for an incident involving a beautiful mirror possessed by the spirit of an evil witch donkey which stole ponies away and replaced them with evil clones made entirely of glass. Luckily however, with a little help from the Doctor, Twilight managed to defeat that evil braying witch and rescue Rarity from the mirror verse. The enraged fashionista then vanquished her evil clone with a single sharp kick to the face which shattered it into a thousand pieces. It had been a highly disturbing scene, only made worse by the blood curdling scream the copy had shrieked out as it slowly cracked and fell apart. Twilight Sparkle shuddered at the memory of it.

In the course of that adventure, Twilight had learned how to spot the warning signs for when a friend might have been replaced with an evil copy, and Rarity learned that when a mirror that old, beautiful and gem encrusted turns up in auction at such a bargain price, it’s probably best to ask why that might be before purchasing it. Overall, it had been an enlightening, and terrifying, experience for all concerned. However, one thought plagued Twilight’s mind more than any evil mirror ever could.

It was her friend Pinkie Pie. She had gained a lot of weight during her time at the farm. Initially, Twilight had hoped that a return to normality (by Pinkie’s standards anyway) back here in Ponyville would have solved the problem. However, this had sadly not proven to be the case. In fact, if anything, Pinkie’s problem had only gotten worse. She was eating more sweets than Twilight had ever seen her eat before, which was quite a feat in itself. But critically, she wasn’t burning it off. And Twilight could swear that Pinkie’s girth was still expanding.

It seemed to Twilight that due to her excessive weight, and decreased levels in physical fitness, Pinkie had lost her ability to constantly remain active. Rather than hopping, skipping and dashing around Ponyville as she used to, Pinkie instead could only waddle around at a trot, often whilst binging on cakes and snacks. Worryingly, she seemed to become short of breath very easily these days. Although Pinkie was still as fun loving and outgoing as ever, it was clear that her weight problem was having an adverse effect upon her.

‘‘Hello! Equestria to Twilight! You still with us or what?’’ said Dash. She had cupped her hooves over her mouth and was talking directly into Twilight’s ear from the cart, the better to get her friend’s attention. Twilight snapped out of her train of thought, and turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash.

‘‘Oh, yes, sorry Dash.’’ Twilight said, her mind zooming back the present moment. ‘‘I was just thinking about Pinkie Pie.’’ Her face dropped as she continued. ‘‘I really had hoped that she might have noticed her…problem…by herself, by now, and taken steps to resolve it. But…I was wrong.’’ Twilight paused, and sadly turned to face in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. ‘‘And now I’m starting to get really worried.’’ Dash hoped out of the cart and came up beside her, scattering more of it’s contents all over the street. Smashed and squashed apple remains were stuck all over her rear. She brushed them off, and as she did do, said to Twilight;

‘‘Y’know, if this is such a big deal and all, maybe we should just do what AJ says we should do, and tell Pinkie Pie what we think. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Hay, you know Pinkie. She might not even care about being fat. She still seems pretty happy to me, now that I think about. But at least we’d have this monkey off our backs. And who knows, maybe she will do something about it if we tell her.’’

‘‘And what if we do hurt her feelings? What then huh?’’ Twilight replied. Dash stroked her chin in thought. After a brief moment, she just shrugged. ‘‘Well, we’ll just have to play it by ear then. I don’t Pinkie Pie would be too mad if we said something, and even if she was, I’m sure it wouldn’t last too long. Remember her last birthday, when she got mad at us for ditching her all day? She did forgive us pretty quickly.’’

‘‘Well, yeah, but that’s only because we didn’t ditch her. Not really. We were trying to keep her birthday party a surprise, remember? There’s a pretty big difference between keeping a friend’s party a surprise and just outright telling that friend that she’s fa…overweight, straight to her face’’ Twilight replied with a frown.

‘‘Oh…yeah…yeah that’s…right’’ Dash said with a chuckle. As she looked away in embarrassment, Twilight noticed the bump on her head for the first time. She shook her own head, and continued.

‘‘But maybe if we put it delicately, and tell her that we’re only saying this because we’re very worried about her, she might understand, and not be offended.’’

‘‘Well, whatever. I still don’t think she’ll care anyway.’’ Dash replied. ‘‘Now, we going to get some food or what? I’m just starting to realise how hungry I am myself.’’

‘‘Yes. Let’s go eat.’’ Twilight said. The two ponies set off towards Sugarcube Corner. Twilight walked at a quicker, more upbeat pace than before, while Rainbow Dash hovered overhead. As they came to the Corner, Dash turned to Twilight before they entered.

‘‘Hey, if we see her, are we going to say something now?’’ she said. Twilight noticed that she seemed apprehensive. This made Twilight feel worried herself.

‘‘I don’t think we should. Not now. I think it would be better to talk it over with the others first.’’

‘‘Oh, OK. Good. Not that I wouldn’t be up for…you know…doing it now, or anything. But yeah, let’s talk it over with the others first.’’ Dash said. She seemed slightly relieved. They nodded in agreement, and entered the shop. The bell ring as they opened the door.

Chapter 5

As it was lunchtime, the Corner was quite busy. It smelt of freshly baked bread and confectionary. Twilight inhaled this aroma as soon as she entered the shop. She loved that smell, and for a brief moment it made her forget about her worries. But then she remembered that the source of this sweet scent was the cause of her worries, and she began to fret again. There was a queue ahead of Twilight and Rainbow Dash. In the middle of this queue an excited Ditzy Doo was loudly talking about the exploits and secret identity of the infamous Mad Muffin to an unimpressed looking Carrot Top.

‘‘And I heard she has, like, a super muffin sense, so she can always sense where your muffins are! She’s a criminal mastermind of the highest order! No muffin is safe! Not while the MAD MUFFIN is still at large!’’

‘‘Yeah, I hope they catch her one day…whoever she might be.’’ Carrot Top replied in a very deadpan tone. She looked her friend up and down as she did so. At the front of the shop, Mr Cake spotted Twilight and Dash in the queue. He give them a smile, which they returned, and then turned to his wife.

‘‘Honeybun’’, Mr Cake called out. ‘‘Tell Pinkie Pie her friends are here!’’

‘‘OK deary’’, Mrs Cake replied from the other side of the shop. ‘‘Pinkie! Oh, Pinkie! Your friends Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are here! Come say hello!’’ There was a tremendous YIPPEE from the back room, and then, the ground itself began to shake. It sounded as though a great monster was stomping towards the shop. Cutlery and window displays began to shake. Some even toppled off their counter or table onto the ground. Cakes and buns fell to the floor. The chatter in the shop ceased immediately, and startled ponies looked around for what could possibly be making such noises. One pony asked if a Dragon was approaching. Then the source of the tremors arrived in plain view for all to see.

‘‘Woah…’’ was all Dash could manage. Pinkie Pie had entered the shop front, but not before getting stuck in the doorframe to the kitchen out back. With great effort she forced herself through, cracking both the door frame and the plaster of the wall around it. She hopped into the middle of the shop, making everything in the building shake further. Terrified costumers backed away from the immense smiling pink blob in the white chiefs hat and apron. Twilight and Dash just stared, slack jawed, at their friend. There was no other way to put it. She was enormous.

Twilight would safely bet that Pinkie Pie now occupied a little over twice the floor space of both herself and Dash put together. She resembled a massive pink barrow with pudgy legs and cotton candy mane. Her great belly, now trailing slightly along the ground, bounced and flopped up and down as she skipped. Her plump face was sticky with sugar and glaze, and there were crumbs, lolly pops and other candies stuck to her face, mane and sides. It had only been about five days since Twilight last saw her. How had she expanded so much in that time! It was impossible! The only thing about Pinkie Pie that was bigger than her girth was her grin!

‘‘Hi guys it’s so great to see you how are you doing are you here for lunch course you are what a silly question whoops somebody dropped cakes all over the floor don’t worry I’ll clean it up!’’ she rattled off. Then, with a single sweep of her tongue, she scooped up and devoured all the spilled confectionary.

‘‘Yummy!’’ Pinkie said with a full mouth. Twilight was absolutely shocked, and Dash was simply stunned. There had been enough food there to feed around two dozen ponies. And Pinkie Pie had just eaten it all. In three seconds flat. And the high speed impact of all that food landing in her stomach had made it begin to bounce around again.

‘‘Hi Pinkie Pie!’’ Twilight said. She adopted a great fake smile and cheery facade, as Dash just continued to stare at Pinkie in silent disbelief. ‘‘So nice to see you, but we can’t stop to chat! We were just looking for…Fluttershy! Yes, that’s it! We saw an injured…rat, and we think that she needs to know! But she’s not here, so, we better go find here! Love to stay and chat, but that rat needs help and time’s a factor! So, see ya bye!’’ She then took off out of the shop, before returning to drag Dash off with her. Pinkie just smiled and waved at her departing friends. Twilight whispered to Dash in a firm and commanding tone as they left, ‘‘Intervention, my place, everypony, ASAP!’’

‘‘OK bye then! If I see Fluttershy I’ll be sure to let her know!’’ Pinkie called out with a beaming smile. Then, there was a loud, slow, creaking sound. Pinkie Pie only managed to say ‘‘huh?’’, before the floor beneath her collapsed, and she went crashing through it into the basement below. A great plume of dust and floor was thrown up. The other ponies in the shop gasped, and rushed around the hole in the floor. A frantic Mr Cake pushed his way through the ring of shocked onlookers.

‘‘PINKIE PIE! PINKIE PIE! ARE! YOU! OK! SAY! SOMETHING!’’ the panicking baker called down to the darkest of the basement below.

‘‘S-some…something.’’ a groggy voice replied from below.

‘‘No no no, I didn’t mean that literally! Just tell me if your OK or not!’’

‘‘I’m…I’m OK Mr Cake…but I think we’ve got termites in the shop’’. The yellow baker pony could only plant his front hoof on his face.

Chapter 6

It was two days later, and approaching 8 o’clock. Within the Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle descended the staircase towards the ground floor, using her magic to carry her carefully prepared and rehearsed speech with her. Gathered in the main hall of the Library was Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. There was also Mr and Mrs Cake, The Doctor, and all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Excellent Twilight thought to herself. Everypony whom she had asked to attend tonight was here. They had trouble arranging a date for this meeting, but now they could finally begin.

The attending ponies were all grouped together in the middle of the room talking to one another, no doubt discussing the reason as too why they had all been called to attend this preparation for intervention meeting. Twilight went to the podium Spike had set up earlier. Taking her position at it, she set up her stack of papers, and cleared her throat. This was enough to get everyone’s attention. They ceased their chatter, and turned to face Twilight, who began to address them with an air of authority.

‘‘Fillies and Gentlecolts. Thank you all for taking the time to attend tonight’s meeting.’’ She was careful to look each pony in the eye as she said this. Always engage the audience directly. That was the key to making a good speech. ‘‘I think that it is safe to say that we all know why we’re here.’’ There was a murmur of general agreement among the gathered ponies, and the nodding of heads.

‘‘I don’t!’’ called out Pinkie Pie. She had inexplicitly appeared at the front of the assembly, drawing looks of startled surprise from the others. Pinkie was sat on her haunches with an enormous box of baked goods in her hoofs, already open and half eaten. The pink filly’s immense belly was spread out all before her, and her plump face and curly mane were coated in sugar, frosting, jam and sprinkles. She was by far the most sizable pony in the room.

‘‘Pinkie Pie?’’ Twilight gasped. ‘‘W-where…where did you come from?’’ Pinkie cocked her head in curiosity at the question. Then she cracked a smile and give out a snorting giggle.

‘‘Why, from my room, silly! Where else would I come from? Space? OH! That would be cool, if I had a spaceship and I just touched down after a journey through…’’

‘‘No I mean…oh never mind. OK, since you’re here, we might as well skip the speech and just get to the business at hoof.’’ Twilight said glumly. She couldn’t hide the disappointment at being denied the chance to read out her speech. About coming together to confront a close friend about a problem they were having, and being there for that friend when they needed them. She had been really proud of this one.

‘‘We were going to talk to you tomorrow about what it was we were going to discuss together here tonight.’’ Twilight said.

‘‘You were?’’ Pinkie asked. Her face was alight with delight, as ever.

‘‘Yes, and what we were going to discuss was…you. You’re the reason we’re here tonight.’’

‘‘I am?’’ Twilight wished Pinkie would stop looking at her like that. It was only making this so much harder.

‘‘Yes dear. You have a problem Pinkie Pie. A big problem.’’ quipped up Rarity.

‘‘I do?’’ Pinkie asked, turning to face the white unicorn from her seated position on the floor. Applejack then took up the lead.

‘‘Am afraid so, sugarcube.’’ She took off her hat, and approached her friend, looking forlorn. ‘‘This is hard for me tah say Pink, but I wouldn’t be honest to myself or you if I just kept my mouth shut on this matter. And that goes for the rest of us as well. We think yur headin’ down a dangerous route, and as your friends, we gotta call ya out on it.’’ The gathered assembly of Ponies voiced their agreements. Pinkie was now anxious looking. Her eyes desperately searched AJ’s face for a clue as to what could possibly be wrong.

‘‘What is it Applejack? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong. Am I in trouble? Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do it, whatever it was!’’

‘‘No no no Pink, ya ain’t in no trouble. At least, not in the way that yer thinking’ of. The reason why we were goin’ at talk to ya tomorrow is at tell ya…’’. Applejack stopped, inhaled deeply, then stated what everyone thought. ‘‘Pinkie Pie…you’ve gotten fat.’’

The assembled ponies held their collective breaths. Pinkie Pie just looked at Applejack with a blank expression. Dash and Rarity were both avoiding the gazes of anyone else, with Dash rubbing the back of her head and Rarity fidgeting with her front hoofs. Spike looked more uncomfortable than Twilight had ever seen him. Fluttershy looked like she was on the verge of tears. The CMCs were all looking at Pinkie with sad little faces. Mr and Mrs Cake each came over and put a comforting hoof on Pinkie. The Doctor, looking quite serious, cleared his throat and nodded slowly in agreement with what AJ had just said. Twilight bit her lip in apprehension. It was now out in the open. And this was her idea. If this went wrong, the fallout would all be her fault. Pinkie Pie finally answered.

‘‘Aaannnddd?’’

‘‘And, that’s it Sugarcube. We all think you’ve fat and…we thought we should tell ya…that’’ AJ replied. Pinkie Pie didn’t answer for a moment. Then, she let out a massive sigh of relief, wiping her brow with her hoof.

‘‘Oh so that’s what this is all this about? My pudge? Oh boy, whew! You really really really had me worried there for a second! I thought I was in big big trouble or something!’’

‘‘Wait you’re…you’re not upset?’’ Twilight asked.

‘‘Of course not silly! Why would I be?’’ Pinkie had returned to eating the baked goods. At this moment, Fluttershy completely broke down in tears and fluttered over to hug Pinkie, who gladly returned it.

‘‘Awww, there there Fluttershy! Aww, don’t cry. It’s OK! Your old auntie Pinkie Pie’s here for ya. Want a cupcake?’’

‘‘Ha, told ya!’’ Dash called out with returned bravado and confidence. ‘‘I knew she wouldn’t care! Nothing gets Pinkie Pie down, right Pinkie?!’’

‘‘NOPE!’’ Pinkie Pie said over the sobbing yellow Pegasus, now with a great toothy smile.

‘‘So you knew you gained weight?’’ Applebloom plucked up. ‘‘And you don’t care?’’

‘‘Sure I knew. How could I not! And yes, there was a time when I was worried about it, but I got over that ages ago! I know all my saddles have stopped fitting me, and my bed collapsed, and I fell through the floor of Sugercube Corner, but on the plus side, at least now there’s more of me to share around! A lot more! And I can use my big jelly belly tummy as a big soft cushion when laying down, which is pretty comfy! Why…do you all care that I’m fat?’’

‘‘Pinkie Pie?’’ asked the Doctor in an inquisitive tone. ‘‘Is there any particular reason you can think of as to why you’ve become so, heavy? The others told me that when you came home from your parent’s farm, you mentioned your mother’s cooking. A lot. I’m assuming that you…enjoyed it quite often while you were out there. Why was that?’’ Pinkie seemed to ponder over this.

‘‘Well, we farmers always have big, hearty meals as a reward for a hard day’s work. And when I got sad and lonely from missing you guys so so much, Momma Pie would make me a big plate of her chocolate fudge brownies…oh they were so good all chocolately and moist. I wish I had some right now …’’ Pinkie broke off in mid sentence. She began to drool heavily over herself and the sobbing Fluttershy, and her eyes rolled upwards in pleasure and her tongue fell lose at the memories of the brownies.

‘‘Pinkie? Pinkie? Pinkie?’’ said the Doctor. Pinkie didn’t answer. She was just mumbling incomprehensively. The Doctor shook her to bring her back to the present.

‘‘Huh? Oh, sorry Doctor Brownie, I was just brownie about those brownies and their sweet, sweet brownie…’’

‘‘And how often would your mother make you these brownies each day?’’ the Doctor cut in before she continue.

‘‘Erm…three times. Yes, three times everyday. At least.’’ Pinkie said. She seemed to have snapped out of her trance. ‘‘They were no where near as good as hanging out with you guys, but they sure did help me cope without you.’’

‘‘Oh my…’’ said Rarity. Now she seemed close to tears as well.

‘‘Well, ah must say…I’m touched by that.’’ said AJ.

‘‘And you didn’t do a lot of exercise while you were out there, did you Pinkie Pie?’’ the Doctor continued.

‘‘No, not really. I was too busy eating Brownies and looking after Poppa to do any of that.’’

‘‘Ah. Well then. That explains everything.’’ the Doctor concluded. He turned to face all the assembled ponies and the dragon.

‘‘It does?’’ Pinkie asked.

‘‘Yes. It’s perfectly simple. To cope with the loneliness and isolation of being separated from your friends for all those months, you turned to food as a substitute for social interaction. By feasting upon these Brownies, you were trying to fill the hole in your being that is normally occupied by your friends. And that is a pretty big hole to fill. Combine that with the lack of physical activity, and that is the reason why you’ve gained all this weight. But what’s more, a vicious cycle has been placed in motion. You’ve become so used to comfort eating, now you can’t stop. And your decreased fitness levels is only exasperating problem.’’

‘‘Oh…’’ said Pinkie Pie. She looked sadly at the box of baked goods. Fluttershy still cried and hugged her friend.

‘‘So that’s it.’’ Dash said. ‘‘She just needs exercise and proper diet. That’s my speciality!’’ The rainbow maned Pegasus flew over to Pinkie. ‘‘You leave everything to me pal! I’ll get rid of this pudge of yours. Give me three weeks, and I’ll have you back to your normal bouncy self. Wadda say?’’

‘‘Yes, let’s all help Pinkie Pie beat this eating obsession!’’ Twilight said with enthusiasm.

‘‘We can help too!’’ said Applebloom. Then she and her fellow crusaders sprang into action. ‘‘CUTIEMARKCRUSADERSFITNESSINSTRUCTERS!’’ the trio of fillies yelled out.

‘‘Well, what do think of this then, Pinkie?’’ asked the Doctor. Pinkie looked around at her assembled friends, before answering.

‘‘OKKI DOKKI LOKKI!’’ she said with a big beaming smile.

Chapter 7

Twilight poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. She blew on it before taking a sip. Then she slumped back into her seat at the kitchen table and sighed. It was impossible to tell if it was a sigh of content, or a sigh of gloom. On the table before her were some medical spell books. She had been studying them for most of the night. On the page of the chunky doorstopper she had returned to reading was the title, Chapter Three: Liposuction.

It was almost a month now into Pinkie Pie’s weight loss regime, and things were not going well at all. On the night of the intervention, the fillies had all pledged to help Pinkie slim back down to her pre-rock farm weight, and to help her control her confectionary lust, just as Pinkie had pledged not to eat any more unhealthy junk food (although Twilight did persuade Pinkie to allow her to cast an appetite suppression spell on her each week, similar to the one she had used on the Parasprites). And they had all sincerely believed that teamwork, and the magic of friendship, would give them all the strength needed to help them achieve their aim. Oh how misguided they were.

Their initial optimism was shattered almost as soon as they got the pink pony up upon the scales the next day. Twilight Sparkle had been shocked to discover that Pinkie was just under ten stone overweight. Rainbow Dash’s boasts of slimming Pinkie down in three weeks were now out of the question. Even she herself had admitted that almost immediately. And at the weigh in that morning, they were all dismayed to learn that Pinkie had barely shed half a stone.

At the beginning of this seemingly impossible undertaking, the ponies had cleared Pinkie’s home of all the unhealthy treats which were the primary cause of her ballooning weight. It hadn’t been an easy task. Pinkie Pie at the time didn’t seemed to realise that attempting to lose weight meant no more cakes, candy or muffins. At all. Period. And she did not take that revelation well. Even though she had pledged not to eat any of the treats, and had magically barred from doing so, apparently she still wanted her home littered with them.

Twilight had been amazed at just how much of a resistance Pinkie could put up when her snacks were under threat. She remembered how herself, AJ and Dash had been forced to rush her, and how she had used her immense bulk to absorb the impact of their change, and then send them flying straight back out of the room with the recoil effect. Her friends had eventually been forced, with great difficulty, to tie her down in order to prevent her from hindering their efforts at de-treating her home, but they eventually located and removed of all them. Twilight had to admit, some of the hiding places were quite imaginative. And others were…best not thought about.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had helped to get rid off most of the treats. The ones that were still eatable anyway. Twilight remembered with a smile the sight of the three bloated and over stuffed little fillies, faces stained with chocolate and sugar and unable to move under their own power anymore, swearing to never touch any confectionary ever again. The fact that three ponies were completely defeated by barely half the food Pinkie Pie had hoarded really highlighted the gravity of the situation.

In the aftermath of the purge though, Pinkie did apologise to her friends for being so difficult, once she began to accept her situation. Particularly to Fluttershy, who suffered mild injuries and trauma when the frantic party pony sat on her in order to prevent her taking away all the gingerbread ponies. Twilight had been forced to levitate Pinkie with her magic in order to free Fluttershy. It had taken a surprising amount of effort.

After the battle of Pinkie’s apartment, each one of her friends had then taken it upon themselves to help her lose the pudge in their own way, corresponding with their own unique talents and specialities. Twilight Sparkle, as the most organised of the group, had been self-appointed (with the consent of the others) as overall coordinator of the weight loss programme. Working with the advice of the others, she had devised both a diet plan and an exercise regime which, by her own calculations, should have helped Pinkie shed two stone by now. How Pinkie Pie’s pudge refused to budge went against all known science.

Rainbow Dash had taken it upon herself to act as Pinkie Pie’s personal trainer. Each morning, Pinkie would be awoken by the shrieking sound of Dash’s whistle. After some quick and simple five minute warm ups, which would leave Pinkie badly sweat soaked and short of breath, Dash would then make Pinkie canter once around Ponyville will shouting words of encouragement through a bullhorn. Some were less encouraging than others though.

‘‘Come on, come on, MOVE IT PINKIE PIE! Pick up the pace, ya big blubber but!’’ yelled Dash into her horn as she hovered along beside the pink pony.

‘‘Dashie!’’ replied Pinkie. The hurt was evident in her voice. And her eyes.

‘‘Alright, I’m sorry. That was completely uncalled for.’’ Dash said sincerely, stroking the bullhorn. She looked embarrassed and deeply ashamed of herself.

Once Pinkie had completed Dash’s portion of the exercise routine, it was off to the gym with Rarity for twenty minutes of aerobics. Rarity, fit and alert in her purple leotards and sweat bands, made a stark contrast to the gasping, sweat soaked Pinkie Pie in her ill fitting pink track suit.

‘‘Keep at it Pinkie Pie! You can do it!’’ Rarity said as she stepped on and off the steps. She shot her friend the biggest, most encouraging smile she could possibly muster as the thumping beat of the Gym’s motivational music played in the back ground. ‘‘I believe in you darling!’’

‘‘R-rar…rarity? I just…threw up…in my…mouth…a little…bit.’’ gasped Pinkie Pie in reply.

‘‘Oh…..ok. Time to call it quits then’’. She tried not to do the same.

Applejack had taken it upon herself to supply all the food for Pinkie’s diet. Following the purge of party food, she had stocked up Pinkie Pie’s fridge with lettuce, cucumbers, celery, and apples. But mostly celery. All freshly picked from the farm.

‘‘Y’all leave everythin’ to me, Pink! I’ll keep ya stock up on veggies till the cows come home!’’ the cow filly proudly declared each time she delivered the weekly batch of vegetables.

‘‘Yeah…veggies! Veggies are…yeah!’’ replied Pinkie with a brave face.

Fluttershy too had been playing her part. Although the little Pegasus had been apprehensive when near the still massively plump pink earth pony after the incident in the apartment, she had eventually agreed to teach Pinkie Pie yoga. Unfortunately, they had to cease and desist their secessions permanently after only one afternoon. Pinkie Pie had fallen over on her friend again. Fluttershy was left in a neck brace after the accident, and was in no state to teach yoga to anypony.

‘‘I’m sorry I can’t teach you yoga anymore Pinkie,’’ she said to her friend as Pinkie Pie continued to sob and hug her. The brace made the once graceful Pegasus move in a stiff and jerky manner.

‘‘I don’t care about that! I put you in the hospital again Fluttershy! I’m a terrible pony!’’ bawled Pinkie.

‘‘Oh no, you’re not, really! I mean…even though you feel like it…you really aren’t. And besides…it was an accident this time!’’

And yet, despite all this hardship, they had achieved virtually nothing. The look of absolute and totally crushing hopelessness on Pinkie Pie’s face when she saw how little weight she had lost that morning had really stuck a cord in her friends hearts. A sad Pinkie was absolutely soul destroying to see.

And this was why Twilight was now reading over these spell books. Desperate times called for desperate measures. It had been Spike who suggested that Twilight use her magic in some way to help slim Pinkie down. Then Rarity suggested the Liposuction Spell, claiming that most celebonies had underwent the procedure without incident. Initially, Twilight had refused. She had said that they should encourage Pinkie to lose the weight with her own efforts. A healthy lifestyle change is what was needed, not a quick fix. But now…

Twilight yawned. She was too tried to continue studying. She used her magic to close the book shut, and prepared to go to bed. In the morning…she would ask Pinkie what she wanted to do.

Chapter 8

In her apartment above Sugarcube Corner, a barely conscious Pinkie Pie was laying flat out on the floor upon her belly, once again left utterly exhausted by her daily exercise regime. She made a feeble effort to eat the celery on the plate in front of her. Her misery at having to eat the veggie couldn’t be more evident. Behind her, Gummi the alligator was busy dragging her sweat soaked track suit to the laundry pile.

Pinkie had been left so exhausted by today’s exercise, not only had she not been able to make it to the pile, but she had needed her pet’s help in getting the track suit off her too. After finishing the celery stalk, she sighed and rolled onto her back. Her massively over plumped body, barely decreased in girth by all the punishment she had been subjected to these past weeks, jiggled and wobbled as she did so.

‘‘Ooooooh…I can’t do this anymore Gummi!’’ the pink pony lamented with a groan. Her great belly was rising and falling with her heavy breathing. And there were the beginnings of tears in her bright blue eyes. ‘‘I just can’t do it! All this exertion! All this burning, pain! All this sweaty…smelly…stickiness! All this injuring my best friends! All this celery! I…just…can’t…do…it!’’.

She wiped sweat off her brow, then sniffed under her right front leg. This action made her wrinkle her muzzle in disgust. ‘‘Ewww, I am so gross right now. I smell worst than Mr Cake’s socks. Be a dear, Gummi, and run me a bath please? That’s a good boy.’’ The little alligator, finished with the track suit, rotated on the spot and blinked his trademark blink before scuttling off towards the bathroom.

That morning had been a particularly tough one. Rainbow Dash had made her canter even further than usual today. She claimed that she obviously hadn’t been pushing her friend hard enough, otherwise she still wouldn’t be so fat. Dash apologised to Pinkie for going too soft on her, and promised to push her harder and harder from now on. The thought of this prospect filled Pinkie with dread. However, on the plus side, Rainbow Dash did also promise to go easier on her with the motivational shouting. So at least her feelings wouldn’t be hurt anymore. Just her body.

Things hadn’t been any better with Rarity after the daily canter either. The poor fashionista had slipped on the large puddle of sweat which always formed around Pinkie Pie when she was working out in the gym. The Unicorn went down hard, and badly twisted her leg in the process. Rarity did her best to underplay the whole thing, but it had been obvious to Pinkie that her friend was in tremendous pain. Combined with the memories of what had happened with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie’s sadness began to reach critical levels.

‘‘I promised my friends I’d get slim…’’ she whispered very slightly to herself. ‘‘And I’m not…and I’ve hurt them so much. I’m…I’m a terrible pony.’’ Tears began to flow slowly down her cheeks. Her bright pink coat and her bright blue eyes began to dull, and there was a faint trace of air escaping from a deflating balloon as her puffy, curly cotton candy mane began to ever so slowly straighten out on it’s own. At that moment, there was a knock upon the door. Pinkie Pie wiped her face clean of tears and sweat.

‘‘Come in!’’ she called out flatly. There was the sound of the door opening gently, and then the sound of hooves clopping upon the wooden floor as the visitor entered her room. Pinkie Pie couldn’t see who it was though, not over the vast mound of her huge belly, and she was still too exhausted, and now too miserable, to bother shifting her position for a better look. Whoever it was though, she hoped that they couldn’t see her tears.

‘‘Pinkie Pie?’’ said a female voice. Pinkie recognised it as Twilight’s.

‘‘Oh…h-hey Twi-Twilght! How are you doing to-today?’’ she replied. She fought to keep her sobs under control.

‘‘I’m…fine, thank you…Pinkie? Are…are you ok?’’ her friend asked. Her voice was full of concern. Pinkie Pie decided to muster the strength needed to sit upright after all. She didn’t look Twilight in the face, but she did answer her question.

‘‘No…no not really. I’m actually pretty down right now Twilight.’’ Pinkie said in a completely flat tone. Twilight saw now the deflated, straightened mane, and the dullness in Pinkie’s watery eyes. ‘‘I’m pretty down because…I’m a big fat tubby mess of goo who can’t lose any weight and breaks promises to her friends and who hurts them when they’re only trying to help her.’’ There was the sound of running water and a gentle steam coming from the bathroom now. Pinkie looked over to it, and sighed before continuing. ‘‘And I’m wasting time, and hot water, running a bath in a tub that I can’t even fit into properly anymore. I’m a pathetic, p-plump, pony hurting…p-p-p-punk!’’ Pinkie practically spat the last word out. Then her lips began to tremble, and she buried her head into her hooves as she began to openly cry.

Without a word Twilight Sparkle, herself now teary eyed, went over and hugged her friend tightly. She left Pinkie Pie cry herself out onto her shoulder. After a few moments, she took hold of Pinkie firmly, and said;

‘‘Pinkie Pie. You are not a punk. And you haven’t broken any promises to any of your friends. Do you hear me? Do, you, hear, me? You promised you would try your very best to lose the pudge, and you did. You really, really, did. That’s all anypony could ask of you. The others and I can plainly see that. You’ve done the exercise with Rainbow Dash and Rarity every single day. They’ve told me how hard you’ve been pushing yourself, and how proud they are of you for it. And I know, that you’ve stuck to the diet, because you would have starved otherwise. I know my magic, and there’s no way you could have willingly eaten any junk food while under that spell.’’

‘‘But…I hurt Rarity and Fluttershy, Twilight!’’ Pinkie Pie said.

‘‘Hey…no pain no gain…and that applies to all of us.’’ said Twilight defiantly. ‘‘And besides…they were accidents right? Nopony can blame you for an accident! Erm, incidentally, what exactly happened with you and Rarity in the gym?’’

‘‘She twisted her ankle when she accidentally slipped and fell in my sweat puddle.’’ replied Pinkie.

‘‘Oh…well, you see? You even said it yourself! An accident!’’

‘‘The first time with Fluttershy wasn’t an accident though. I deliberately sat on her that time.’’

‘‘But she got over that quickly enough, didn’t she? And she was walking around and flying again in no time…for a while. Look, the point is, none of us are mad at you, and you shouldn’t be mad at yourself either, OK?’’

‘‘OK. I guess so.’’ Pinkie then asked Twilight the question which had been running through her mind for what felt like forever.

‘‘But…why can’t I lose my pudge Twilight? Why am I so fat still? Even with all the exercising and dieting and sweating, I’m still super-sized! You know things about stuff. What gives?’’

‘‘I don’t know Pinkie. It’s a mystery alright. But…listen. I think I’ve found a way to help you end this, once and for all.’’ Pinkie Pie looked up hopefully.

‘‘You…you have?’’ she asked. Her eyes portrayed her interest very keenly.

‘‘Yes, but! To do so will require you to give me your permission. It involves more magic you see. Advanced magic. And I understand that it can be…unpleasant…potentially. And there might be some small risks involved as well. But, if it works, you’ll be back to your previous weight in no time at all!’’

‘‘REALLY?’’ Pinkie gasped. ‘‘What is it? Whatever it is, I’ll do it!’’

‘‘Now hold on Pinkie! I haven’t explained what it is yet. You need to fully understand the potential implications of this procedure before you can truly decide whether or not you want to go through with it. It is called…Liposuction. It’s often used by celebonies to…to…erm, Pinkie Pie? Your bathroom’s flooding.’’

Pinkie shifted her weight to see what Twilight was talking about. Water was now seeping into the bedroom from the bathroom. Steam was pouring out of there, and by the sounds of things, the taps were still on. Then Gummi the alligator, his expression as emotionless as ever, came skidding into the bedroom atop a massively oversized yellow rubber duck. When the duck came to a halt, he blinked his trade blink, then started gumming the duck’s head.

‘‘Oh, Gummi! You so silly!’’ said Pinkie with a chuckle. Some of the brightness began to return to the pink pony. She then explained to Twilight. ‘‘I forgot that I haven’t taught him how to turn the taps off yet. He’s still one lesson short. Silly, forgetful me! Oh well, I better help him out.’’ Pinkie Pie attempted to get up onto her hooves by herself, but she just couldn’t manage it. After a few tries, she blushed, and asked Twilight with a nervous laugh;

‘‘Little help?’’

‘‘Of course’’ said Twilight kindly with a smile. Her horn then began to glow, as she prepared to summon a powerful levitation spell.

Chapter 2

Pinkie Pie was one of the first passengers off the train, skipping off the carriage onto the crowded platform with bulging saddlebag on her sides and a look of wonder and joy on her face. Gummi the alligator was once again out of sight. Looking around the station, Pinkie Pie didn’t see the angry glances directed at her from behind by several grumbling passengers also departing from her train, nor did she see several ponies shaking their hooves at her in anger, nor did she hear the complaints of ‘‘stupid filly, bringing a flipping crocodile onto a train, for goodness sake! I mean…really!’’ from the old brown stallion with the pocket watch cutie mark and half eaten bowler hat. She was just too lost in wonderment to notice.

When she reached the middle of the platform she stopped and jumped up onto a garbage can so as to see over the heads of the ponies crowding around her. Where were they? Where were her friends? They did say that they would be here. Where they over here? No? How about over there? No? How about - GASP! There! There they were! She could see them! Her friends were here! Her friends were here! Her friends were HERE!

All of Pinkie’s friends, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Apple Jack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, were grouped together at the entrance to the station. Twilight was in the middle of the group, watching the new arrivals with intent. Spike was on her back, watching the crowds also. AJ, in her plain old usual hat, was in a deep conversation with Rarity, who was wearing a magnificent looking unusual hat. And the two Pegasus Ponies were both fluttering gently above the heads of the others. They held out some sort of pink banner between them with writing on it. As Pinkie narrowed her eyes and shielded them with her left front leg to block out the sun, she could just make out what it said; ‘‘WELCOME HOME PINKIE PIE. WE MISSED YOU’’. It was written in sparkling glitter.

Awww, you guys Pinkie thought. She began to tear up. Her eyes glistened, and her lips trembled. Then she laughed, and bawled, simultaneously at the top of her lungs, startling those around here, and charged right off the can into the crowds towards her friends.

‘‘Hey! Hey, there she is!’’ Dash called out! ‘‘She’s here! And she’s coming in fast!’’ They all turned round, and saw the rapidly oncoming Pinkie charging right at them, twin streams of tears in her wake. The other passengers in the station jumped clear of the rapid pink projectile hurtling towards the group of fillies.

‘‘Oh…my.’’ said Fluttershy. Her face was filled with trepidation, and her irises were contracted in fright.

‘‘Brace yurselves!’’ AJ called out. They all put on their best welcoming smiles, and prepared for impact.

‘‘AHHHH HAAA HA HA HA!’’ laughed and cried Pinkie as she crashed into the group. After knocking Twi, Spike, AJ and Rarity down, sending Rarity and AJ’s hats flying in the process, she then scooped up all her friends, including Dash and Fluttershy, into a massive and constricting Pinkie Pie hug. Her tears of joy soon soaked her friends as well. She was talking to them, but it was so rapid, they couldn’t make out any of it, but it was safe to assume that she was really glad to see them all again. This went on for quite a length of time.

‘‘We’re…all…hap…py…to see…you…too…Pinkie…Pie!’’ Twilight gasped. She could barely get her words out due to the constricting hug, but she managed to pry herself out of it once Pinkie calmed down slightly. ‘‘We really missed you’’.

‘‘Yeah, it’s great to see ya again Pinkie Pie. This whole place just ain’t been the same without ya sugarcube.’’ AJ chipped in. Her expression was initially warm, but then she began to look bemused. Still within the hug, she looked Pinkie Pie up and down as Fluttershy chirped up her greeting.

‘‘Yes, it’s been really tough going without you around to cheer us up, but we knew you had to go visit your family.’’ said the yellow Pegasus as she rose softly into the air. ‘‘And it’s just so…wonderful…to have you back, hee hee.’’ She was grinning in a most adorable fashion as she hugged Pinkie back. But then, she too began to look puzzled. Something felt…strange, about Pinkie Pie. Then it dawned on her what it was. Oh dear, she thought to herself.

‘‘Thanks guys’’ Pinkie said quietly, wiping her face clean of tears as her sobbing was brought under control. ‘‘I really missed you all too.’’. Pinkie’s friends freed themselves from her grip, and grouped round her with warm smiles as the pink pony gasped at the exertion of her outburst.

‘‘OK OK,’’ laughed Spike. ‘‘You can stop being all mushy now. Ponies are starting to look. And hey, guess what? We’re having a little shindig at Sugar Cube Corner for you later, and practically all of Ponyville’s going to be there! And it starts in an hour!’’ Pinkie once again gasped.

‘‘A PARTY? FOR ME? OH YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE! THIS IS SO AWESOME I CAN’T STAND IT! HEY, LET’S GO THERE NOW! I WANT TO GO SEE EVERYPONY AND GIVE YOU ALL THE PRESENTS I BROUGHT BACK AND TALK ABOUT HOW AMAZINGLY AWESOME I THINK YOU ALL ARE!’’

‘‘Sounds like a plan’’ Dash smiled. The group began to make their way out of the station to Pinkie’s home, with the pink filly leading the way. AJ and Rarity quickly retrieved each others hats and put them on, before quickly exchanging them with much sniggering when they saw the mix up. Pinkie skipped ahead of the group with joy, talking loudly to herself about great it was to be back in Ponyville and how her friends were simply the best. But behind her, her friends began to exchange glances. They had all new seen, and felt, the problem with Pinkie Pie.

‘‘Whohoo! I’m only just back in town and I’m already going to a party! I knew today would be fantastic! C’mon guys, let’s go let’s go let’s go!’’ Pinkie said.

‘‘Yes, and on the way you simply must tell us how things were out on the farm’’ said Rarity to Pinkie as she corrected her unsettled mane. The twin purple feathers in her hat were now quite crooked. She was maintaining an air of politeness with a wide smile, but like the others, her mind seemed elsewhere, and the smile seemed false.

‘‘Sure thing Rarity!’’ Pinkie said. ‘‘Well, the farm’s still kinda boring. Nothing ever changes around there, but it was still great to see the family again. The old folks are pretty good. Poppa’s leg was really badly broken though, but he healed up real good thanks to my efforts! My sissie pies stopped in once and a while. They’re doing a-ok, but they still need to learn to lighten up! Granma Pie’s as feisty as ever! Oh, and Momma’s home cooking was just as delicious as I remembered it! Mmmm, couldn’t get enough of it!’’ she finished, licking her lips for emphasis.

‘‘Yeah, I bet she couldn’t’’ sniggered Dash to Twilight and Spike. She was pointing to Pinkie’s flanks, and was the first to voice an opinion about Pinkie Pie’s problem. It had become quite obvious to her friends that Pinkie had gained a substantial bit of, girth, since they last saw her several months ago. The party loving ponies’ previously lean physique had now given way to a chubbiness that was now visibly jiggling as she skipped along. Her belly now hung only a few inches above the ground.

‘‘Oh dear, you see it too’’, whispered Twilight. ‘‘She’s really let herself go, hasn’t she?’’ All sorts of bad thoughts concerning high cholesterol levels and blood pressure began to enter Twilight’s mind.

‘‘Yeah, ah’ll say’’, AJ said quietly. She looked very concerned. ‘‘And ah don’t think she knows it. Shouldn’t maybe we, y’know, say something, perhaps?’’

‘‘Certainly not!’’ Rarity cut in crossly, sending the feathers of her hat tweaking. ‘‘That would be most rude!’’

‘‘Yes, that would hurt her feelings, and just when she’s so happy to see us all again!’’ said Fluttershy. Dash nodded in agreement.

‘‘Yeah, I’m sure that would go down well.’’ she laughed. Then, she adopted a sarcastic and smug tone. ‘‘Hey there Pinkie Pie, great to see ya again pal! How long has it been since we last saw ya, like, three months? Oh hey, by the way, did you realise how fat you’ve gotten! Holy cow, you look like, well…a cow! And just look at them jellyrolls! Your like a big fat pink marshmallow, girl!’’

Twilight scowled at the Pegasus, but then she pondered to herself. Dash did have a point, even if she didn’t exactly put it delicately. Yes, on the one hoof, it might be hurtful to point out Pinkie Pie’s weight gain straight to her face. But then on the other hoof, if Pinkie Pie didn’t know that she had gained weight, then surely they as her friends should say something? But after a few moments of pondering their dilemma and Pinkie’s possible health problems, and even considering whether or not to voice her concerns, Twilight quickly cleared her mind of such things.

It was, obviously, just an ill verse effect of her mother’s home cooking and months of a lack of exercise. Given how energetic Pinkie was in her normal routine back here in Ponyville, Twilight was sure that once Pinkie was settled back in again, this temporary extra weight would be shifted in no time.

‘‘Don’t worry girls.’’ said Twilight. ‘‘I’m sure everything will be just fine. Don’t say a word to her about this. Not today at least. Now come on, we have a party to attend…’’

‘‘Well, ah don’t think we should just say nothing’!’’ AJ said with determination. ‘‘Ah think we should say something’ to Pink about her …’’

‘‘Hey Applejack, what cha talking about?’’ Pinkie said. She swung back round to face her friends, who all jumped. Her bright blues were still twinkling with joy, and she had a face splitting smile that completely disarmed Applejack.

‘‘Oh er…’’ AJ stuttered, biting her lip and averting her gaze. ‘‘I was just…erm’’
‘‘Why, nothing at all, dear! Nothing. At. All!’’ Rarity cut in, shutting the cowfillie up with stern look and a hoof over the mouth. ‘‘Now, how is little Gummy doing these days?’’