“Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?”
It should have been so easy to refuse. Fillies often made such unreasonable requests, and Twilight had learned to be firm with them. Twilight was here on official royal business for the princess, and she needed to get moving. With practiced apologetic diplomacy, she replied to the little filly.
“Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do.”
An eruption of disappointed sighs met her answer to the filly. It seemed that every pony in attendance had been expecting her to linger a while. And that face. Between the trembling lip, the glistening eyes, the pained expression, and the downcast looks of the other ponies...
“... fine.” Twilight hung her head in defeat. It would not do not to be on good terms with the host residents for this year’s celebration—Princess Celestia would certainly not be pleased with her—so if a bit of pandering to hospitality was required, she must—however reluctantly—oblige. The earth ponies gathered leapt in rejoice as she conceded.
Looking up at the assortment of treats, though, gave her a bit of pause. Did they honestly expect her to eat all of that? There was no way she was going to be able to just sample everything, let alone eat a whole bit of it. Perhaps there was a spell she could use.
Thinking quickly, Twilight racked her brain for a spell that might allow her to consume everything in front of her safely. There had been one spell she’d noticed last week, but it was difficult to remember off the top of her head. Wait, her notes!
As the earth ponies raced around setting up tables and setting out a plate for Twilight, she turned to her assistant for, well, assistance.
“Spike. Do you remember last week when we were going over the book on metamorphic spells?”
Spike blinked, eyes refocusing on her; he’d been staring at the enormous pile of goodies. After a moment of thought, his expression drooped into one of disapproval and impatience.
“You mean when you were looking for a way to make yourself skinnier and you made me write down all those dieting spells?”
He’d remembered. Nodding in satisfaction, Twilight went on.
“Yes. I’m looking for the one that would allow me to eat as much as I wanted. Do you remember what that was.”
He rolled his eyes and let out a groan.
“Yeah, I’ve still got the scrolls. You made me bring them, remember?”
Oh yeah. Twilight had predicted she might be asked to eat a lot, and asked Spike to bring her notes with her. Such a good little assistant. She smiled appreciatively.
He fumbled through her saddlebag for a few moments then pulled out a scroll and unrolled it.
“Here it is, ‘Voracious Growth’ for when you must eat absolutely everything in sight, and not gain a single pound.” He looked up, a worried expression on his face. “Uh, I don’t know, Twilight. I’m still having second thoughts about this one. There was a huge warning label on the page, something about the spell being untested, and the name still sounds funny to me. I don’t think it’s safe.”
And that’s why you’re the best assistant in the world. Twilight silently thanked him for being so observant, and considered his apprehensions. On the one hoof, he did have a point—an untested spell could prove disastrous if the caster wasn’t careful. On the other hoof, she was an accomplished and highly gifted unicorn, enrolled at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and personal pupil to the princess herself. She could most likely handle whatever side effects arose, and this was an emergency after all.
Deciding it would be okay as long as she was careful, Twilight telekinetically snatched the scroll from Spike and looked it over
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” She said, smiling cheerfully. Spike glowered at her. As an afterthought, she added “I do appreciate your concern though.” His face softened.
It wasn’t a particularly difficult spell, and thankfully went away on it’s own when the caster was finished. She simply had to go a full day without eating, and any weight she’d gained while under the effects of the spell would just melt away. Perfect.
The Apples had finished setting up lunch by now, and were beginning to serve up the massive tray of food. Twilight lit up her horn and quickly cast the spell, just as an enormous pile of apple dumplings landed quietly in front of her. Wow. These ponies sure did eat a lot. Good thing she was prepared.
Looking around, Twilight noticed everypony was digging into their apple treats as soon as they landed in front of them. She looked down at her own, steaming plate of apple dumplings, their sweet, succulent, sugary flavor wafting up through her nostrils. She inhaled deeply and felt a shiver pass through her nasal cavities. Her eyes fluttered in turn and she bent down to take a bite of the dumplings.
She nearly choked on the flavor! The apples were warm and gooey and sweet and … everything the intoxicating aroma had promised. She chomped down the first one and attacked the second, finishing it off before long as well. She knew she ought to savor such a delicious treat, but the compulsion to devour them whole was hard enough to resist, let alone leave them on her tongue for more than a few seconds.
Down went three more, and before long Twilight found herself staring at an empty plate, and not feeling the least bit satisfied. Her stomach grumbled loudly, and she frowned at the lack of food. There must be more.
Her silent complaints were met swiftly, however, as two plates landed in front of her. One piled high with apple fritters and the other with apple cobbler. Most of the cobbler went straight down her throat, but the little bit that ended up plastered to her nose only furthered the euphoria these apple treats sent her into. She left it there and attacked the apple fritters, finishing them off in a few large chomps.
“Uh, Twilight?”
Twilight licked her lips, having finished her plate, and looked to her right. There was still one apple fritter on Spike’s plate, and Twilight’s stomach was still screaming for more.
“Are you al—HEY!”
The apple fritter on his plate disappeared into her gullet.
Something wrong, Spike?” Twilight asked, swallowing the fritter and smacking her lips.
Spike rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, looking the other way as he swirled one clawed hand dramatically.
“Well, no, aside from you eating three plates of food in the time it would normally take you to finish one apple, and then swiping food from my plate without—are you even listening?”
A large apple pie spent a moment on her plate before she gobbled it down in one bite. Twilight managed to keep it in her mouth for a brief moment, squeezing it against the roof of her mouth with her tongue. Her eyes rolled back as the intense flavor hit her, before the whole thing slid down her throat in one big lump.
Did you just, eat the pie tin, too?” Spike seemed to have forgotten about his own pie, and it too migrated to Twilight’s stomach a moment later.
Twilight’s stomach was emitting loud groans now that seemed to have been noticed by the ponies around her. They had stopped eating and were now staring at her with worried expressions on their faces. Suckers. Twilight dove onto the table, devouring each pie in a single gulp—tin and all—before the ponies in front of them could react. They really should watch their food more closely.
The orange mare who had greeted her earlier trotted up to her, lower lip set in her teeth.
”Um, Twilight, are you feelin’ alrigh—Whoa Nelly!”
Twilight wasn’t quite sure why she’d done it, but the apples emblazoned on this pony’s flank had just looked so delicious. She leapt onto the mare and began licking her flank. Darn. No apple flavor. Just pony fur.
Oddly enough though, it wasn’t such a bad flavor.
”HEY!”
A smack across the horn sent her sprawling. Twilight blinked, finding herself on the ground, with an enormous ache in her horn. Spike was standing between her and the orange mare, rubbing one of his clawed hands and looking rather cross.
“That’s enough, Twilight. We’ve got other things to look at while we’re here. You’ve had enough to eat. Now let’s go.” By the time he was finished, he didn’t look angry or disappointed, but… afraid?
Twilight shook her head, looking at the other ponies beginning to gather around her, similar expressions on their faces. She rubbed her stomach, which had stopped grumbling, and was quite distended.
“Fine. Let’s go,” Twilight sighed. She picked herself up off the ground, and trotted away, her head hung almost as low as her new belly.
~ ~ ~
”Ugh, I ate too much pie.”
In stark contrast to the grumbling and groaning her stomach had been broadcasting earlier, it now gurgled and churned, emitting low wines and waves of nausea. It almost felt as though her stomach were trying to excrete itself into every other facet of her body at once. The feeling was utterly bizarre, but Twilight tacked it up to not having eaten herself full before. She was certainly having regrets about her decision to stay for brunch. But it was far too late now, and they had other business to attend to.
”Hmm. There’s supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds,” her assistant read, scanning their checklist.
Twilight looked up. The clouds were decidedly not clear, littering the sky like a box of spilled cotton balls.
Twilight rolled her eyes. Typical weather ponies. Never could be trusted to get the forecast right.
”Well, she’s not doing a very good job, is she?”
WHAM!
Twilight had decided to scan the sky for this elusive pony, only to have one slam right into her. Clearly pegasi didn’t watch where they were going either. The guard ponies back in Canterlot would never be so ignorant of their surroundings. This was the ground, after all, far too many things to fly in—
The other pony’s hoof was in Twilight’s mouth. And it tasted… surprisingly good. Better even than that earth pony mare from earlier. Did all ponies taste like this? How had she never noticed before? She sucked on it experimentally, drawing out the flavor.
She could taste perspiration in the pony’s fur, but a surprising lack of dirt, which would have been very bitter. But underneath there was something she couldn’t quite place. Sweet and sugary, but not at all the way apples were. No, this was more… exotic.
“Nnnn,” Twilight couldn’t tell if she was moaning in appreciation of the flavor or groaning at the soreness of being struck to the ground, which she’d just remembered.
”Um, S’cuse me?”
Twilight was on her back, and the pony who’d slammed into her was standing over her, hoof still stuck in her mouth. The other pony raised an eyebrow and stared at Twilight as though trying to decide whether to just yank her hoof out or say something.
Twilight’s stomach let out a groan. How could she be hungry again already? A few moments ago she was still bloated from all the apple treats. She looked down past the hoof—still in her mouth. Her stomach was as flat as it had ever been. How peculiar.
She returned her gaze to the pegasus pony whose hoof she was still sucking on. Her stomach rumbled again and a thought popped into her head that both stupefied and horrified her at the same time. ‘Can’t I just eat you?’
It seemed like it would have been only too easy. If she just grew a little bigger she could swallow the pegasus whole. Wait, what?! Twilight spat the hoof out, then rolled onto her feet.
The pegasus was considerably smaller than Twilight, and her coat was the same color as the sky above, which cumulatively explained why Twilight hadn’t seen her coming. Her mane, though. It was a full rainbow of color, accenting the clouds on her flank quite nicely. She looked like a rainbow sherbet dessert.
The pegasus seemed to have noticed Twilight staring, and crossed her legs over each other, blushing slightly.
”Um, Twilight? You’re drooling.” Spike poked Twilight in the shoulder, breaking her trance. She shook her head, blinked, and then regained her composure.
Oh, um. Sorry about that.” She turned to the pegasus. “Let me guess. You’re Rainbow Dash.”
~ ~ ~
Next on their to-do list was to check on the Summer Sun Celebration decorations (wow, try saying that five times fast) at Town Hall. Spike checked the map and guided Twilight to their destination—the tallest building in town, and located directly in the center of town. Of course.
Twilight ducked under the small doorway and stepped inside. The room was larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, but not by much. A stage sat opposite the door and upon it stood a white unicorn foal, passing colored ribbons in front of her face with what was obviously well practiced speed and skill.
Spike seemed a bit more interested in her flanks than the task at hand. Odd. Nothing ever seemed to distract her number one assistant. She ignored him and trotted up to the filly. Just a quick greeting and they could get lunch. Twilight couldn’t believe it, but she was already hungry again after that enormous brunch she’d had at the farm. Her stomach roared ungraciously.
“Good afternoon—” Twilight began, but the filly cut her off.
“Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were. Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent.”
She wasn’t a filly at all! Twilight frowned. That didn’t seem right. She was so small, yet had an adult voice, and spoke with a sophisticated, upper class dialect, worthy of any Canterlot noble. The filly—mare—finished placing a ribbon on the wall and turned to address Twilight.
“Now, um, how can I help yo-AAAGGHHHHHH!”
The unicorn looked up at Twilight and shrieked, her eyes widening until her luxurious eyelashes were nearly invisible. She began backpedaling furiously, collecting herself after gaining some distance between her and Twilight.
“Oh my stars, darling! You gave me such a fright. I wasn’t expecting anypony to visit just yet, and certainly not somepony so… tall.” She fumbled for the last word.
Tall?
“I don’t suppose you have any Horse in your lineage? I must say I’ve never met somepony of your… um, considerable stature.” Beads of sweat appeared on the side of the little pony’s forehead as she took a trembling step backward.
Twilight blinked. She’d never been very large compared to her peers. Perhaps the poor pony had simply cast a shrinking spell on herself without realizing, or—more likely—somepony had given her flowers with a shrinking spell in them as a joke.
Twilight shrugged it off and continued with business. “I’m flattered, I suppose. I’m just here to check on the decorations and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
The unicorn took another step backward, crouching low and staring unblinkingly up at Twilight’s horn. “Out of my hair…” she whispered slowly.
A light rap on her flank caused Twilight to jump.
And hit her head on the rafters above the stage.
“Ow!” Twilight sat down and rubbed her horn, looking around for whoever had poked her. The other unicorn was gone.
“mmmmmmmmpph” A muffled moan came from somewhere beneath her rump. Twilight turned and examined her flank, then laughed. Spikes tail was sticking out from underneath her own. He must have poked her, and she’d landed on him when she jumped. How silly of her not to notice. She got up, allowing him to gulp in huge lungfuls of air.
“Guh!” He stooped over, choking on his own heavy breathing. “Whoo! Um—Twilight. I uh—” He gulped in more air. “I’m kinda worried... about you…” He heaved a few more times. “I think there might… be something wrong with… that spell—” He sat down, still choking on air, but less violently now. “I think we should write a letter to the Princess.” He finished, breathing more steadily. Twilight’s stomach rumbled loudly.
“Nnnnnng.” She rubbed her empty belly, moaning along with it. “Sorry, Spike, but it’ll have to wait until after lunch.” She took a step back toward the main door and pushed her way through it. There had to be somewhere nearby with some decent food.
“Twilight, wait!” Spike called after her, but she ignored him. Food first. Princess second. She took off at a gallop, scanning the streets for any signs of food. Unfortunately, the houses were so small it was difficult to make anything out. The various signs posted on the buildings were somewhat helpful, but still not enough. A bath house, Quills and Sofas. A carousel. A tree with books—that must be the library. Twilight paused for a moment to look inside, but her stomach forbade her from entering. The lights were off anyway.
~ ~ ~
She continued scanning the little town. Little houses whizzed past as she raced around faster than she felt she was capable of running. Come on, come on! Something to eat. There! A large cupcake sign! Confectionary sweets weren’t exactly a four course meal, but Twilight had to have something in her stomach. She leapt over the nearest house, landing soundly on the other side, and smashed through the wall of the sweet shop.
The aroma was intoxicating. Sugary goodness, everywhere. Her nose went blind as the various smells assaulted her senses, but it didn’t matter. Twilight plowed her face into the nearest shelf, devouring six entire trays of something soft and chewy.
“Hey, keep your monstrous muzzle out of those muffins, Mister!”
The voice only preceded the icing smacking into the side of her face by half of a second. Twilight ceased her devouring of said muffins and turned to see a small pink pony armed with a cart full of cakes. The next incoming projectile looked to be made entirely of chocolate, chocolate filling, and chocolate icing. Rather than get it all over her face, Twilight opened her mouth and swallowed the sweet surprise.
Her attacker continued flinging various confectionaries from a cannon she’d pulled out of nowhere.
“EAT SKITTLES, PONY!”
The interloper shouted. pouring a bowl of colorful pellets into her canon and pulling the string. These tasted very much like the blue pegasus pony from earlier. Twilight sucked on them and let out a moan of delight as she drew out the flavor.
The little pink pony ran out of ammunition before long, but Twilight’s stomach wasn’t even close to satisfied, so she returned to the sweet shop, which seemed smaller than Twilight remembered it. She pushed the thought aside and levitated out all the sweets she could find with her horn, popping as many into her mouth as would fit. Which was a surprising amount.
”NO! Not the cupcakes! Those are for for the party!”
Attached to one of the trays of cupcakes was the little pink pony from before, who seemed determined not to let go of it. Well, Twilight had no intention of stopping, so if she didn’t feel like becoming a meal, she had better let go soon. Twilight thrust the tray into her mouth, and the pony followed. Oh well.
Twilight clamped her mouth shut around the pony’s back, trapping her head and front legs inside her mouth. A sugary sweet flavor Twilight knew very well filled her mouth. This they had had in Canterlot, and it was one of Twilight’s favorite treats—cotton candy. The whole pony tasted of it, and her mane was fuzzy like the cotton candy itself. Twilight pressed her tongue up into the roof of her mouth and drank in the flavor.
The two little legs sticking out of her mouth began kicking furiously. But they weren’t a problem. The cotton candy flavor was intoxicating, and Twilight’s stomach still growled for more food. Twilight wondered if ponies were edible. Well, no better way to find out. She tilted her head back, and did her best to slurp in the rest of the pony.
It was a bit difficult to get the pony down past the top of her gullet., but with the help of her magic, Twilight was able to swallow—slowly. Her neck stretched outward—farther than Twilight thought it should have. Farther and farther until it was wider than her head. Well, that’s what she got for trying to swallow such a large meal.
The enormous lump slid down agonizingly slowly, stretching out first all of her neck, and then her chest, to the point that Twilight thought her ribs should surely have broken. The pony’s head reached her stomach, and Twilight could feel it pressing against her belly, which also began to expand. Finally, the rest of her meal arrived, and Twilight was left with a very large bulge extending almost past her knees.
At last Twilight’s stomach seemed satisfied. She could feel the pink pony squirming inside her stomach, but there was really nothing she could do about the situation at this point. Even if she wanted to magic the poor pony out—and could do it without hurting her—Twilight’s stomach would probably begin roaring again, and she might just eat the pony again anyway. Best to leave things as they lay. She turned away from the carnage she’d left behind and headed back for the library. She wondered where Spike had gotten to.
By the time she reached the library, Twilight was already hungry again, and surprisingly, the bulge from her stomach was nearly gone. Had the pink pony really dissolved that quickly? Twilight reached a hoof under her belly and gave it a rub, producing a low growl. Wow. That spell sure worked fast.
Twilight bent down to squeeze through the main doorway, but found it far too small to accommodate her. Her head slipped in with some effort, but there was no way her shoulders would fit. Giving up, Twilight backed up a bit, only to find her head stuck in the door. She rolled her eyes and lit up her horn to teleport inside. She got a brief, dimly lit image of a lot of ponies waiting on the inside of the tree, before she landed in complete darkness.
There was a loud crunching sound, as something beneath her buckled and collapsed, snapping into sharp little pieces that poked into her butt. Something warm and wet began spreading out on the floor beneath her.
“Ahh!”
Twilight jumped up and began backpedaling away from whatever—or whomever—she’d just crushed. She collided with the wall behind her and fell, squishing what must have been several more ponies beneath her. Shouts of protest mixed with cries of dismay, and an uproar of pandemonium broke out until somepony shouted for the lights to be turned on.
The room was immediately lit, and Twilight realized just how small the room had gotten. The far wall seemed awfully close, and if she were to jump, she could probably hit her horn on the ceiling. And that wasn’t even half of her troubles. The room was entirely packed with what looked like a party gone wrong.
There were ponies running around blindly, smashing into one another and falling to the floor, becoming obstacles. A few smart ones had fled through the door. There was a smashed wooden table in the middle of the room, covered in various party snacks ranging from chips and dip to a large bowl of punch that had been spilled. A dark red puddle was spreading out from beneath the splintered remains of the punch table.
Feeling a few jabs and prods from her hooves, Twilight looked down. She was lying on a few ponies, and their friends were trying to free them from beneath her forehoof. She lifted the leg, hoping she hadn’t killed them, and tried to make sense of the situation. No. The room hadn’t gotten smaller. She had somehow gotten bigger. Wait. The spell!
Spike had listed it in her notes under dieting spells, but maybe this was why it had a warning label on it. Twilight thought back to what Spike had read in her notes.
“‘Voracious Growth’ For when you must eat absolutely everything in sight, and not gain a single pound.”
Well, maybe it wasn’t strictly a dieting spell. It had originally been in a forbidden archive after all. For when you must eat absolutely everything in sight. Twlight groaned. And the name was voracious *growth*. She bit her lip at the implications of that, and at how stupid she had been to cast the spell in the first place. She didn’t even know the counter-spell.
But she didn’t need one. The book containing that spell had listed exactly how to end it. Twilight simply needed to not eat anything for a full 24 hours, and any weight she’d gained while under the effects of the spell would just melt away. Easy enough.
Except that her stomach was once again begging for food. This must have been what the spell meant by everything in sight. Taking another glance at the remaining chaos inside the treehouse, Twilight decided it would be safer if she were outside; all these little ponies were beginning to look like tasty morsels.
Twilight zapped herself back outside, relaxing a bit at the open space. She wouldn’t have to worry as much about stepping on anypony out here. She was standing in the clearing outside the library/tree, and the ponies who had been inside where running in every direction. One of them—too impatient to run around her like the rest of the fleeing ponies—ran right under her. His mane tickled Twilight’s stomach as he went by, and she giggled a bit. She nearly stepped on him as her hooves shifted, but he was quick, and managed to avoid her.
Twilight’s stomach continued it’s uproar, and her hunger grew stronger by the minute. She had to eat something again soon. Her last meal was long gone, and it wouldn’t be long before her foolishness claimed another unfortunate victim. But… the ponies just looked so tasty. Drool formed on Twilight’s lips and her tongue began to slide out.
“YOU GIVE HER BACK, MONSTER!!”
Twilight turned her head toward the shout, and found a small yellow missile hurtling toward her through the air. She shifted her feet so she could get a better look. It was a little pegasus, with long pink hair. Tears blew from her narrowed eyes as she flew right at Twilight, and her lips were pulled back in a tight snarl. Twilight wasn’t quite sure what her intent was, but it must involve smashing into her, judging by the pony’s high speed. Perfect.
Twilight sat back on her haunches, smiling. The last pegasus pony tasted wonderful—like the skittles that pink one had thrown at her. Twilight licked her lips and grinned wide. The pegasus zoomed closer, right at her head. Twilight opened her mouth wide and extended her tongue to increase the likelihood of the pony being caught. She closed her eyes, anticipating the flavor; it was sure to be delicious.
Something collided with the side of her head, nearly knocking her over. Twilight managed to catch herself by side stepping. She rubbed the side of her head where it had been struck, then looked around for the source of the impact. It was the blue rainbow pegasus from earlier. She was hovering in the air where the yellow one had just been, a stern expression on her face.
“Nopony hurts Pinkie Pie,” she spat out through gritted teeth.
The yellow one had continued on, and was looping around Twilight in a flanking maneuver. Twilight kept her gaze on the rainbow one. She was so getting it for that sneak attack. Twilight concentrated with her horn, and the rainbow pony was surrounded by her magic.
“Whoa. Hey! Let me go!”
The rainbow pony’s shouts were ignored, as Twilight swiftly pulled her toward her newly open mouth. The pegasus turned and flapped her wings hard, to no avail. Twilight’s jaw clamped shut over the struggling pony, filling her mouth with its sugary flavor. Cries of dismay reverberated around her mouth, but they would do no good now. Revenge was sweet.
Twilight swirled the pegasus around with her tongue, drinking in the various tastes that filled her mouth. It was almost too much not to savor, but her waiting stomach begged for food, and Twilight eagerly gulped the pony back—with a bit more ease than the last one. Patting her slightly satisfied stomach, Twilight looked around for the other pegasus. She’d disappeared from sight, but that was no problem. She’d been angry enough to attack the first time, and she’d certainly return now.
Twilight marched off in search of more food. The ponies inhabiting this town would certainly make wonderful meals—if the last two were anything to go by—but Twilight would rather not devour the whole town if she could help it. Everything in sight, though…
She had to find something to eat, and fast. Just until she could find someplace to hide, and lock herself up until the spell wore off. Her pace increased to a gallop as she searched for any source of food. Maybe this was why dragons slept for so long—so that they didn’t outgrow their environment.
Wait, the farm! Of course. There had been loads of food at the farm. She could eat until her stomach was filled, and then think about where she could rest until the spell wore off. Twilight stopped just short of smashing into somepony’s house, and looked around for the farm. It shouldn’t be too hard to find, especially when she could see over every house in town.
There!
All the way across town, up the hill, and back by the fields. At this size, it wasn’t even too far to run. Twilight wiggled her rump, and took off at a full run.
“Twili—”
There was a loud crunch as something fell beneath her hoof, and a small voice was cut off abruptly. Twilight put the brakes on hard, turning to see who she’’d squashed. There was a small purple lump on the ground, and it was groaning faintly.
“Oh, I hope I didn’t hurt them.” Twilight forgot her stomach for a moment, and trotted over to the small mass. As she got closer, and realized who it was, horror struck.
“No. SPIKE!”
Crumpled on the ground, and about as flat as something with bones can get, was her number one—and only—assistant. She reached out with her magic to pick him up, but what small amount of life force was left in the little dragon was fading quickly.
Twilight’s stomach growled again, loud enough to make her jump. No! Not now. Her super duper assistant was beginning to look like a super duper snack item. With all her telekinetic strength, Twilight thrust the small body away from her and turned around in the other direction, tears in her eyes. She didn’t care what she damaged along the way this time; she had to get to that barn fast, before she killed or ate somepony else
~ ~ ~
Building after building fell beneath Twilight’s hooves. Screaming ponies ran in every direction, some foolishly running beneath her, and quickly becoming one with the ground. A few pegasi got in her way as well, though they mostly stayed away after one was nearly skewered on her horn. Twilight had heard the wingbone snap, and the poor pony had gone spinning off to her right somewhere. Ignoring the downed flier, Twilight raced on at what might have been a frightening speed, were she smaller.
At last she reached the farm. Rows upon rows of apple trees lined the fields before her. Food! Twilight searched with her horn for the nearest apples, collecting them in front of her as she took a huge bite out of the nearest tree, branches and all. Crunchy, but juicy as well. She didn’t care much for the leaves, however.
“Hey! You stay outa those! Y’hear?”
Something collided with the back of her hoof, and Twilight turned to find the orange pony she’d met first kicking her back leg. Not exactly a smart pony. Twilight swallowed what was in her mouth, and leaned down to level herself with the farmer. The orange pony’s eyes went wide and she took a few steps back, shaking a little.
“Please run away. I don’t want to eat you,” Twilight pleaded, struggling to stop herself from enveloping the poor pony with her magic. Her stomach roared for more food, despite the full tree of apples she’d just eaten. Her tongue slid out, dripping with saliva and reaching for the little pony, who—thankfully—obliged.
She turned and took off at a full gallop, but Twilight’s hooves seemed to have a mind of their own and she found herself in pursuit of a meal she’d sampled earlier; her mind was quickly losing the battle with her stomach. Twilight smashed into the barn the pony had fled into, sending splintered wood everywhere, and burying anypony who might have been inside.
Bales of hay and barrels of cider were strewn everywhere amidst the mess, and glancing up, Twilight saw the trail of carnage she’d left, leading up from town. Houses smashed; buildings fallen left and right; injured ponies outnumbered the uninjured. Somehow a fire had started near the town center.
“Twilight Sparkle!”
Twilight froze, then turned, slowly, toward the all too familiar voice. Celestia stood behind her, mane flowing and a very stern look upon her face. Twilight dropped onto her stomach, nearly eye level with her mentor.
“What have you done, Twilight?” Celestia’s voice was softer this time. More concerned. She took a few steps toward Twilight, worry forming on her face.
“I…” Twilight could not find the words. It had been all her fault, but she couldn’t figure out how she could have stopped it. “I don’t know!” she burst out, tears streaming from her eyes. She closed her eyes and sobbed into the air, front hooves stretching out in front of her. Celestia reached up and put a hoof on the tip of Twilight’s snout. Twilight opened her eyes at the touch, gazing down at her mentor.
“It’s alright, Twilight. Whatever it is, I forgive you, just tell me how you got this way.” She put the hoof down, standing right in front of Twilight’s nose. A single tear fell from her cheek. She looked like a mother begging for her child to come to her for help. But Twilight couldn’t. She’d made such a mess, it would be impossible to clean up. And even Celestia couldn’t bring Spike back.
Twilight’s tongue snaked out from between her trembling lips, giving Celestia’s face a good licking. NO! Twilight banished the thought from her mind. Not her!
She had to get away. There were too many ponies here she could hurt. Too many ponies she didn’t want to hurt. And she had hurt so many. Twilight concentrated her magic, building it up behind her horn. The pressure grew and grew, until she released it about herself in one great burst. Anywhere but here!
“Twilight, wait! Stop!. NO!”
With a bright purple flash, the giant pony, Twilight Sparkle, vanished, leaving a shattered barn, and a melancholy wail from the one she cared deeply for, behind.
Celestia scraped her hooves over the spot where her student had lain moments before, silent sobs rising from her chest. She pulled out the letter Spike had sent to her not ten minutes earlier, and read it once more.
Princess Celestia,
You’ve got to get to Ponyville, fast. Twilight’s freaking out. She cast some sort of weird spell, and she’s getting bigger by the minute, and doesn’t know how to fix it. I’m going to go try to calm her down, but she’s caused a lot of damage. She needs your help! Hurry!
Spike
Tears wet the ground in front of her as Celestia set the letter down. She curled up in the middle of the depression Twilight had left, and cried, loud agonizing sobs.
“Come back, Twilight.”
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
“Hey! Get out of the road!”
“Move it you useless lump!”
“What the hell is that thing?!”
“Whatever it is, it’s blocking traffic. Someone should clean it up.”
A cacophony of blaring sounds and loud voices assaulted Twilight’s ears as she appeared… wherever she’d teleported to. In her panic, she hadn’t given any thought to her destination, just that it had to be where she couldn’t hurt anypony.
Getting up and looking around, Twilight could determine that there certainly weren’t any ponies anywhere in sight
“Oh, it’s some dumb giant horse. Get out of the road! Go on move it!”
Something gave Twilight’s rump a solid thwack, which made her jump forward. She was surrounded by walls on all sides, with odd, hairless bipedals and larger, shiny cocoons swarming the little open space there was. She nearly stepped on one of the big yellow ones, and it let out an obnoxious roar which sent her stumbling backward.
Something caught her hooves and she fell, her rear end crushing one of the big yellow cocoons. Screams erupted behind her and four of the little hairless bipeds rushed from inside the cocoon, shouting at her as they ran.
A loud rumble rose up from Twilight’s stomach. Oh, right. Hungry. She rolled over—squishing more hard round cocoons in the process, and sending more little critters screaming— and examined the object she’d squished.
It had a hard outer coating, but it hadn’t hurt when she’d sat on it. She pressed down on it with the soft underside of her hoof, watching in silent curiosity as it caved in further with a grinding creak. It didn’t hurt. She tried it again, stomping on the little toy with all of her weight. It was almost… fun.
She stomped down the street, crushing cars and laughing as the little critters ran in every direction, some flinging small objects at her, which bounced off harmlessly. It was as though she could no longer feel pain. It reminded Twilight of when she’d exited the library, except then she’d been trying to avoid crushing her friends. Here? Well, these creatures meant little to her—she was crushing cocoons. Much too fun to worry about lives at stake, right?
But her stomach would not be forgotten, and it roared loudly above the metallic crunching. Twilight stopped. Her outer skin seemed impenetrable, but what about the inside? She reached down and sniffed one of the cocoons. It smelled of oil and tar—not very appetizing. But her stomach urged her to try it, and she took a tentative bite.
While the main body of such cocoons was hollow, the front seemed to be filled with solid bits of metal. She crushed them easily in her teeth, and found them… surprisingly tasty. Tangy, but palatable. She picked the cocoon up and tossed it a bit so she could get her mouth under it, snapping her jaw down over the front half of it. Mmmm, crunchy. She bit off a chunk and swallowed with some difficulty. It went down with less trouble than the pink pony from before, though.
Her stomach quieted down after that, but the small bloat her stomach had gained was already shrinking. Wow, this spell really works fast! Her hunger sated, Twilight returned to gleefully crushing cocoons, though she was disappointed that there were no longer any screaming critters scurrying away as she squashed their transports.
It had become a game. The streets of what was clearly a large city became emptier and emptier, devoid of the little critters that had scurried everywhere when she’d arrived. Twilight believed she now had a name for them. They were mentioned in a few of the forbidden books Twilight had snuck with her when she'd left for Ponyville. A girl’s got to have a bit of adventure, right? If Celestia had known, she hadn’t said anything.
The book mentioned an extra dimension or two. Well, 42 to be exact, but within them there were different universes, and in one of these was a world not unlike the one she was in now. If Twilight’s hunch was correct, these were the humans her friend Lyra from PCSGU had been so obsessed with. Perhaps, now that she knew where she was, she could find a way home. Her stomach let out another loud groan. Well, if she could ditch this spell first.
She reached down and chomped down another cocoon. Wait, no. Car! Yes, they were just like the cars mentioned in the book. Twilight frowned. Cars weren’t edible. The spell seemed to be allowing her to consume any substance as long as she could fit it in her mouth. Well, it had said ‘everything in sight’.
She came to a break in the tall buildings, where a raised railroad crossed her path, with a train heading her way. Heh, this should be fun. Squashing several cars and buses, Twililight bounded forward. She made sure to step on as many cars as she could; destruction was too fun to pass up, and the humans were all out of the way anyway. She smashed right through the railway, following her stomach’s lead. She positioned herself in the path of the oncoming train, and opened her mouth wide.
Come to me, tasty train. I want to see how yummy you are. There came a loud screech as the train put it’s brakes on, slowing nearly to a halt as it reached the torn up end of the rail, right in front of Twilight’s waiting maw.
Unfortunately it didn’t come sliding off the end of the rail. Much to Twilight’s disappointment, it made a complete stop just before it would have plunged into the abyss at the back of her throat, allowing hundreds of little humans to come scurrying out and running down the track in the opposite direction.
A scowl gripped her face, and a purple glow enveloped the train. The sides all crunched inward at once, and the whole thing shot off in the other direction, crushing the humans in its path under its wheels. She lifted the train and brought it to her mouth. Crunching it angrily between her teeth and swallowing. Her stomach barely even bloated a little this time.
By now Twilight could see over the tops of some of the shorter buildings, and located another train on a different part of the rail. Perhaps she could have some fun with this one. Bounding over to it, she planted a hoof on top of the front most car, drawing the train to a stop. She ran it backward and forward a few times, ignoring the cars that fell off the track amid screams and crashing metal.
There was nothing particularly interesting about this train that the other one didn’t have. Twilight wasn’t really sure what she was expecting, but trains were definitely more fun to eat than to play with. For good measure, she pressed down on the roof of the train, enjoying the feeling of crushing it beneath her hooves. More screams came out this time, but no humans. She levitated the whole thing up and downed it pretty quick.
After the trains, Twilight’s stomach gave her a few minutes break from the constant starvation. She turned to go tour the rest of the little city, but found she was now too large to fit comfortably between the buildings. Her shoulders and hips pressed against the bricks on either side as she squeezed down the main street, crunching little cars along the way.
Finally, she saw a break in the buildings up ahead. Her shoulders scraped against the buildings on either side of the broad street in front of her as she bounded forward, cars and humans darting every which way. Freedom! She tumbled out into a wide expanse of grass and trees, landing clumsily on her stomach. Of course, it only extended for a mile or two, and it was surrounded on all sides by more buildings, but still, open space! Twilight rolled over onto her back, squirming a little to smoosh the trees that were poking into her back, then closed her eyes. It was a good time for a nap.
Then something tickled her flank. She twisted herself so she could see what it was without crushing it. Several tiny humans were rushing toward her, throwing little pebbles and prodding her with little sticks. She gave a quick smirk, and rolled over them, enjoying the screams as they were silenced. Twilight chuckled as she thought of the silly things final thoughts as they were squashed by the titanic purple monster from above.
A spark of her old self lit up for a brief, shining moment. What was she becoming? She wasn’t even Twilight Sparkle anymore. What had she become? As the thoughts began to slip from her deteriorating mind, Twilight Sparkle decided to call herself something else, until she found a way to escape this prison she’d crafted out of her own body.
”I am Sparklezilla... And I will crush all of you.” The last few words were spoken from a mind entirely not her own. Twilight Sparkle was gone. Only Sparklezilla remained.
Sparklezilla turned her head and noticed a clearing in even the trees, where a huge crowd of tiny humans had gathered. She got up and strode over to it. The grass was completely covered by humans, all scurrying around playfully. Most of them stopped and turned to look at her as she approached. The others took a little longer, but soon all of the tiny humans were staring up at her. A greedy, gluttonous thought crossed Sparklezilla’s crazed mind, and she hungrily embraced it.
Sparklezilla enveloped every last one of the humans before her in her magic. It was easier to think of them as one large group, rather than thousands of individuals. She compressed the mass of humans into a tight-knit ball and squashed it a bit to resemble a burger. Floating it over to herself, she opened her mouth really wide, ready to accept the meal she’d gathered up. She was only able to get it about halfway in, but it was no matter. She closed her mouth over the humans in its range, released her magical hold on them, and tilted her head back.
It took several gulps to get all of them down, but Sparklezilla managed to swallow all of the humans in her mouth. The others still hovering in the air began screaming loudly as she lowered more into her mouth. She took another large bite, but there was still a good chunk left. She repeated the process she’d just completed, and gulped down a few hundred more humans. Finally, she stuffed the remaining ones in her mouth and just chewed them for a while, grinding her teeth over several, before dunking them back. They were crunchy.
For the first time in a while, Sparklezilla actually felt as though she’d eaten too much. Her stomach was now distended, and she lay down on the grass clearing she’d created. Now was a better time for a nap. Sparklezilla closed her eyes and went to sleep.
~ ~ ~
Sparklezilla awoke to find herself in a strange new world. She stood in a green clearing, and small metal buildings spread out for miles around her. Here and there were a few of them that could reach above her head, but most of them only came to her chest. She could see no humans in sight—no food in sight. No cars either. There was nothing. They had fled. Sparklezilla’s stomach cried out hungrily for sustenance. Her vision now separated into food and not food, and there was a lot of not food.
Then she heard a sound she did not recognize. She strained her ears to hear it. There, to her right, off in the distance. It came closer, and she could make it out. A rapid and repetitive booming, coming from a small black dot in the sky. Food, perhaps? She ran toward it, narrowing the distance in a few short minutes. Where had all the humans gone?
The sound came from a small flying car, at about her eye level. It sounded like someone very heavy was dancing in wooden tap shoes. Sparklezilla’s vision recognized it as food, and she smiled. It would make a tasty morsel.
Sparklezilla crouched onto her forelegs, and launched herself into the air. She snapped up the little flying car, then smashed through a tall building, knocking it over as she returned to the earth. It bit and clawed at her for a few seconds, but it did not manage to harm her, and she simply pressed it up against the roof of her mouth until it stopped struggling, and then swallowed. A delicious appetizer, but Sparklezilla needed more. She would need a main course eventually.
Sparklezilla wandered the city, but found no food. In a desperate rage she attacked one of the taller of the buildings. Perhaps if she could swallow cars she could swallow this. She tackled the tallest building near her and knocked it to the ground, then bit an enormous chunk out of it and chewed. It was very crunchy, and hard to chew, and went down slowly. Sparklezilla swallowed several times, using her magic to force the hunk down. Her jaws unhinged, and her neck became wider than her head, but she got it down. Not the tastiest meal, but it would do.
Sparklezilla’s hunger no longer left when she ate enough to fill her stomach. She could watch her world grow smaller now, as her belly emptied itself almost as quickly as she was filling it. As she noticed that her food also grew smaller with her world, Sparklezilla grew enraged, and smashed everything around her. Metal and concrete shards went flying, buildings tipped and fell beneath her onslaught. Her teeth tore off chunks, and down they all went, vanishing into the void.
As she stood up from devouring part of a tall building, Sparklezilla noticed a noise in her left ear. To her surprise, there was another small flying car next to her. She crunched it quickly between her teeth, and returned to leveling the city. She bit off another large chunk of the building beneath her hooves, and gulped it down. MORE!
As night fell, the light began to dim, because most of the city was simply gone. Vanished into Sparklezilla’s expanding gut. She left a few small buildings to provide light, but the rest she had devoured, and now began digging into the underground city. That’s when the noise began again.
More noisy flying cars had shown up, and they were pelting Sparklezilla with small sharp objects that hurt when they hit her butt and sides. She turned and scooped them up with her magic and ate them. They tasted so much better than the buildings. More of them came along the ground a few minutes later, and she ate those too.
Soon Sparklezilla ran out of city, and there was nothing at all to eat. She looked back in the direction the noisy cars had come from. maybe there was more food there. She marched on, her hoof falls thundering into the distance. She could not see where she was going, but it did not matter. She was too large for it to make a difference. Mountains might present her only obstacle.
She never found any more food. Nothing was large enough for her to notice, and there were no lights to guide her. With no food, Sparklezilla became weak. Her strength drained with each hoof fall, until at last the sun rose and she found herself in a valley, with a few scattered tiny houses nearby. As she went to raise her hoof, she found that she could not lift it, and tripped forward into the valley. She collapsed between two mountain ridges with a resounding crash. Whatever had been in the valley, it did not exist now. Sparklezilla could not move, and there was nothing near her that she could eat.
The sun rose higher and higher, and beat down on Sparklezilla’s back. It became hotter and hotter, and she wished she could just die. Her stomach cried out in vain for any sort of food, but there was none. Any there had been had fled, and what was left was no meal. Barely crumbs. She would starve to death in this blistering heat.
Sparklezilla could not keep her eyes open. She faded in and out of consciousness as she baked in the sun. She could hear her skin sizzling and feel it blister. She cried out in pain; deep, rumbling roars echoed throughout the nearby valleys. Her throat grew hoarse as the hours dragged by, and her roars slowly turned to moans, and eventually to low murmurs. Finally, as the light began to dim, Sparklezilla fell asleep, the last of her strength gone.
I just want to go home
~ ~ ~
'You could eat the mountains.' A voice called out in her head. 'They would sustain you. You could eat metal without trouble; rocks and earth should be easy.
'But what would I become?' She replied When would I stop? I've killed so many people, and so many ponies. I can end this, now. I just want to go home.
But your own body compels you to. Even now you are trying to gather your strength for one last meal. Except it will never be your last meal. With each feeding, you will grow larger and stronger, until there is nothing left to consume
And what would become of this world? I've ruined one city, slaughtered thousands, because of you. Why should I make matters worse?
But what would you go home to? You have no friends to speak of, and any you might have made have long since left the contents of your stomach. There is nothing for you there.
But what choice do I have? If I stay here, I'll just destroy the world, and then what? I'd starve, and the spell would wear off, and I'd starve again. At least if I go home now there will be a world to go back to.
They will never accept you there. They will remember the terror you've caused
So be it. I would meet the same fate here as there. At least I'll get to see Spike this way
Her mind made up, Twilight Sparkle summoned the last few drops of energy she had, and focused it through her horn.
Spike. Canterlot. Celestia.
