Sleipnir Colony - A Short Story Collection

It was midnight, far too late for a vid-call. Melody groggily woke up, blinking as she tried to open her eyes. She rubbed her eyelids with a hoof, the soft material of the suit she was still wearing after all this time rubbing against her face. The call was still there, ringing away as she looked at the screen.

Friend - Charity Bell - Call Incoming

She thought it best to get up and out of the bedroom, if she was going to have to talk she didn’t want to wake her husband. She heaved her huge frame out of bed with some effort, the bed visibly rising as it no longer had to support her obese frame. A yawn erupted from her lips as she wandered out the bedroom and into the living room. Finally she answered the call. A familiar face appeared on the screen.

“Melody? Oh thank goodness, that must have been at least forty seven rings!” Charity said on the other end, she looked rather distressed although it was always hard to make something like that out through a phone call. Especially when facial expressions got lost in blubber. She knew when her friend was worried though.

“Charity it’s….yawwwwwnnnnnn... midnight. I was hardly expecting a call this late…” She replied. “What is it? Something is clearly wrong for you to call at this time.”

“Look I know it’s late but you have to listen to me, take that infernal suit off right now! Once you’ve done that meet me at the local park. Nopony will be there this late.”

“What? Take it off right now? And go out and meet you? Come on Charity this is crazy. It’s late at night. I am not going out.”

“C’mon Melody I don’t ask much of you, and this is your fault! I’ll be there in twenty minutes, you better be there too!”

“Hey, my fault?...” She was about to say more but Charity hung up the call. Whatever had her friend in so much distress this late was her fault? Well she’d see about that. She wasn’t taking the suit off though, it was chilly out this late. It at least provided some level of warmth for her. Silently she took her house keys and gently opened and shut the front door behind her, waddling out towards the park.

She couldn’t help but notice how silent everything was. She never really ventured out the house this late however. When she got to the park it was completely deserted. Deserted except for one large rotund pony who had plonked her hide on one of the plus sized benches, it was clearly Charity. Melody thought it best to approach.

“Okay, so what’s all this about?” She started, but immediately her friend went wide eyed and quickly waddled her way over, her horn glowing ever so slightly as she started to prepare a spell.

“You didn’t remove the suit? Oh no! This is going to be even worse!” Charity blurted out as she started to tug at the zipper to try to get it off. Melody stepped back as her body wobbled and pushed against her friends in close quarters.

“H-hey, what the heck are you doing Charity? No I didn’t! It’s cold! Why is it so important I get this thing off?” She asked as she felt the magic dissipate around her and Charity stop tugging at it, she knew a few moments would make no difference now.

“...We should have listened.”

“We should have listened? That’s ominous even for you. What are you talking about?”

“THE SUITS!” The mare blurted out as she scowled at her friend. “I knew this was another one of those fads that was going to end in disaster! I went to see a doctor a while ago.”

“What? About these things?” Melody gave her suit a little rub, she still loved how it felt. Although that seemed to make Charity even more impatient as she watched her scowl harder. “Anyway what happened?”

“He told me to take it off immediately and to not wear it for at least a week. C’mon I was hardly going to do that was I? Well I ignored his advice and kept wearing it, but I thought perhaps I should take it off and let my body go back to its natural shape. I mean we meet all the time Melody, when was the last time you saw me wear it?”

Melody thought to herself, come to think of it, it had been a while. “You know I honestly don’t know…”

“It's been a month Melody, an entire month. I haven’t touched the thing. It has been hung up in my closet along with the rest of the ones we bought. What a waste of bits those were! And look at my body, look at it.” She growled. It was the same round perfect spherical shape the suits gave them like it had been for ages now. Melody suddenly went wide eyed.

“W-wait. It’s been too long? Your body won’t revert anymore!?” She gasped. All Charity did back was nod.

Immediately Melody frantically pulled the zipper down as fast as she could and removed the suit, it fell to the floor off her obese body. Charity just sighed.

“Really Melody it’s too late, you think that will help at all now? We’re stuck.”

“N-no we can’t be. They just said that to scare us! They didn’t want us to keep these bodies…” Her eyes darted back and forth as she started to panic looking down on the ground at the suit.

“I wish it were so, but the doctor explained to me how the suit works. He was quite specific. These are our bodies now, for better or for worse.” Charity replied. “Probably for better really, I mean it is still a good shape right?” She said with a small giggle, her previously concerned nature fading.

“Yeah but, for the rest of our lives? I don’t know…” Melody said, now it was her turn to be the concerned one of the two. “I mean perhaps if we take them off now and never wear them again we might go back? Maybe even if it takes years?”

“Trust me I wish, but I think this is us now forever.”

“Well...I just hope there are no more side effects, even if the side effects are great.” She said, her smile returning. “Hubby still thinks I look amazing…”

“Same, and well - the bigger we get the more this shape will just become more obvious. Not like we can do anything about it now. Might as well keep eating right? Buffet lunch tomorrow at The Trough? Since this is your fault, you’re buying.” Charity said with a smile.

“...Is that why you dragged me out here this late? To get a free meal?” Melody looked at her a little perplexed.

“Of course not! You’re my best friend, I was concerned for your health. Also I didn’t know if your body was still um, saveable. But you’ve been wearing that thing more than me. Its gone past that now by a long way.”

“I suppose...hey do you think there are other ponies on Sleipnir who have done this? We weren't the only ones who bought these suits.”

Charity thought herself now. “Hmm...perhaps. But if there is I haven’t come across any, not yet anyway. I’ve just seen other ponies wearing the suits. I suppose we’ll find out one way or another.” She laughed, it was late though. They should probably think about getting home before anypony knew they were missing. Melody picked up the suit from the ground.

“Gonna take it huh?”

“Of course, what’s the point leaving it here if I’m stuck this way? I won’t be wearing it for a while but...you never know. I love this round shape far too much to risk losing the one thing that gave me it.” She said and winked at Charity.

“True I suppose, anyhow. See you...today! I’m looking forward to that meal.”

“Me too, see you later, I’m going to get some sleep.”

And with that, the two friends parted, at least until their dinner date.