Clap your Hooves and Do a Big Jiggle
The orange unicorn mare sighed, blowing a few locks of red mane out of her eyes. She had been sitting in the Crystal Empire Castle's waiting room for what felt like half an hour, and one thing she disliked was being made to wait. She had a lot of things to do that day, and she needed as much time as possible.
But one of the most important things she needed was to meet with Princess Cadence. The sooner she could talk with her, the sooner she could get back to work. But with Hearts and Hooves Day coming up, she was quite busy putting together the annual festival, and the guard had told her she was meeting with the festival's head organiser. Her ears pricked up occasionally as she swore she could hear small explosions amongst the excited yelling muffled by the large double doors.
She sighed and looked around the waiting room, her eyes straining at the shining crystal walls and the little sapphire statues, emerald paintings and plants with little gems hanging off them like fruit. Even if her orange coat shimmered similarly, like the rest of the Crystal Ponies living in the Empire, another thing she disliked was gaudy decorating. At least this couch was comfortable.
She lifted her head when she saw one of the large doors opening, and a pink earth pony, lacking the shiny coat of the locals, performed a backward somersault out into the waiting room.
"You're not gonna regret this, Cadence!" she chirped. "This is gonna be the greatest, lovingest Hearts and Hooves Festival in the history of forever! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a-"
"Yes yes, thank you Pinkie," another mare's voice sounded from inside, stopping this 'Pinkie' just moments before shoving her hoof into her own bulging eye. "I have all the faith of Equestria in you! I just have a lot to do so-"
"Say no more! You get back to party plannin' and I'll get right to party organisin'!" The hyperactive mare gave a salute before bouncing along the ruby-encrusted carpet toward the hallway, only to halt in mid-air (literally) as she spotted the orange unicorn. She rushed right up to her in a blur.
"Hiya local! Don't think I ever saw you before but I don't really come up here often so that's probably why! I should visit more! Maybe bring some more party stuff next time! Oh, speaking of party stuff, I'm Pinkie Pie and I'm organising the Hearts and Hooves Festival this year!"
"Really?" The Crystal Pony forced the biggest smile she could muster. "That's fortuitous for you."
"Oooh, Rarity says that word a lot too!" Pinkie's mouth dumped more words like a broken faucet. "Good thing I got Twilight to tell me what that means! Thank ya kindly! Here, have a sample of the catering!"
And the next thing the amber mare knew, 'Pinkie' was bouncing away, and her mouth was stuffed with some kind of incredibly sweet-tasting batter. Having nowhere to spit it out, she had no choice but to force it down her throat.
"Eeuugh," she groaned once the party planner was out of earshot, shaking her head. "How do ponies eat that much sugar?! I think my teeth are already melting!"
"Excuse me," a stallion's voice spoke up, and the mare turned to look at a guard pony by the ajar door. "The Princess will see you now."
"About time," she mumbled under her breath, and she slid off the couch to walk to the door. "Ahem, thank you sir." she said in her sweetest voice.
The carpet changed to a light purple as she entered the throne room, with white walls sporting draped windows showing the bright blue sky outside. Pillars of crystal stuck out from the ground against the walls here and there, with a taller and darker set of crystal pillars in the middle of the room, the carpet leading up to the throne built onto them.
A pink alicorn princess sat on the throne, with a rather exasperated look in her eyes. Clearly she was putting some effort into this festival. That or, the mare thought more accurately, pillars of crystal did not a good throne make. She would be better off with the couch in the waiting room, she mused in her head.
Reaching the base of the throne, she bowed her head before the alicorn. "Your Majesty," she began in a polite tone, "my name is Amber Light, and I've come to offer my services to you for the Hearts and Hooves Festival."
"Oh, I'll take any help I can get," Princess Cadence said, offering a tired but grateful smile. "Even with my husband organising security and the royal wizard taking care of Flurry, I still have so much to do."
I didn't ask for your life story, Amber snarked internally, before clearing her throat. "Ahem, yes well, I may have just the solution you need. You may have noticed that the other ponies in the empire have grown a little...apathetic lately."
"Yes I have, and I have no idea where it came from or what caused it," sighed Cadence, lowering her head. "And with Hearts and Hooves Day tomorrow, I don't think I'll have enough magical power to get everypony in the right mood." She rested her head in her hoof. "Ugh, it'll be the King Sombra incident all over again...oh, but never mind all that. What did you want to say?" She added, hastily returning to her regal pose and forced welcoming smile.
The unicorn resisted the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation as she opened the flap of her saddlebag. She fished out a heart-shaped pendant with a small, turquoise gem in the middle that shimmered from the crystal walls. She floated it toward Cadence, who took it in her own magical grip to inspect it.
"Oh, um," the Princess mumbled, her forced smile fading the smallest bit from the underwhelming trinket, "it's very beautiful, but..."
"Ah, but this is no ordinary pendant," Amber explained, smirking as Cadence's ears pricked up to listen. "Like you mentioned, you only have so much magic to use on enhancing the love between couples. The gem in that pendant is enchanted to not only enhance your magical power, but it also acts a little like a siphon - a fraction of love power is sucked into it and gives you more energy!"
"Hm, I see," muttered Cadence, staring at the gem with intrigue. "And it works, yes?"
"I've tested it myself," confirmed Amber, raising her chin with pride, "and it works without a problem. No dark magic, no strings attached; just wear it around your neck and cast your magic on a couple, and it will do the rest itself. Nothing more than a gift from an aspiring wizard to assist you this Hearts and Hooves Day."
"An aspiring wizard, you say?" The alicorn chuckled. "Well, if this all works out, I'll make a note to recommend you to Sunburst after the festival. He'd love to take on a student."
"I would be so honoured," Amber agreed and bowed her head as she backed away toward the door. "Well, I shall take no more of your time, I'm sure you're very busy."
"Oh, incredibly," confirmed the Princess, but bowed her head in return, "but thank you for this. I'll certainly try this out tomorrow."
"Oh believe me," the unicorn smiled as she turned to exit, "you'll be very surprised by the results."
And with that, Amber nodded with a smile to the guard pony as she walked out of the waiting room and to the hallway.
And now for some last minute preparations...perhaps I should pay another visit to the Crystal Heart, make sure nopony suspects anything.
Princess Cadence slept like a log that night, and in the morning she was staring at herself in the mirror as she dressed herself. using her magic to put on her jewellery and brush her mane. It was Hearts and Hooves Day, which not only meant the day of the Festival, but also heralded what might potentially be the toughest day of the year. With usually loving couples suddenly acting so aloof with each other lately, she could only wonder what was going on. Some kind of dark magic maybe? Perhaps she should ask Twilight about it when the day was through?
She looked down at her dresser and spotted the pendant she was given the day before. Amber Light, she believed the unicorn was called. She didn't recall that name or that face before, but Shining Armour had assured her that she was probably just a little frazzled from the hard work putting the Festival together.
She lifted the pendant in her magic and gave it a close look, especially at the shimmering turquoise jewel in the centre. Something about it seemed eerily familiar, like she had seen it somewhere before. Perhaps in one of the garments Rarity had sent her recently? Either way, it was a gorgeous piece. She shrugged and wrapped the pendant's chain around her neck, clicking it together around the back. It somehow felt comfortable on her.
"It looks good on you," a sweetly familiar stallion's voice said from behind. She looked up and saw Shining Armour's reflection over her own's shoulder. He was dressed in his Guard Captain's uniform, sans helmet. Their daughter, Princess Flurry Heart, was cradled in his front hoof.
"You look good too," she purred, nuzzling her cheek against his. "But you don't have to wear it, we have all the security we need."
"Yeah, but it helps boost morale for the other guards," he explained with a grin. "Plus, the foals love it."
"And you love showing off," Cadence added with a teasing smirk, making him blush. She craned her head down to Flurry and started cooing, "You're excited too, aren't you?"
The filly giggled and babbled, smiling ear to ear.
"I know you'll be busy," Shining went on, "so I'll be taking care of her while you do your thing."
"Alright," Cadence agreed with a nod, "but don't start panicking if anything happens, just come get me."
"Oh we'll be fine, won't we?" He said, giving his daughter a little nuzzle before looking down at Cadence's new pendant. "You're sure that thing will work?"
"I hope it does," she confessed. "I'm counting on it, actually."
"You'll do fine with or without it," he assured her, giving her a kiss. "And hey, when the day's over, how about we go out for a nice dinner, all to ourselves?"
"I'd love that," she said, smiling and returning the kiss.
The two Crystal Empires looked up as they spotted a strange pink mist seeping gently out from both their horns. The mist then quickly glided down and into the gem in Cadence's pendant. She suddenly felt the slightest bit peppier and more awake.
"That must be the love energy," Shining guessed, then smiled at his wife. "I guess it does work!"
"Oh thank Aunt Celestia," Cadence sighed, smiling with much more peace of mind. "Okay, let's get out there and enjoy ourselves, hm?"
She walked toward the bedroom door, and stopped to turn back to her husband who seemed...distracted by something. "Are you okay? Is there something on me?"
"O-oh no!" Shining shook his head and followed her out to the hallway. "Everything's fine! C'mon, we have a Festival to watch."
Cadence smiled and continued her walk, oblivious to the new, slight bounce in her backside to her saunter.
The Hearts and Hooves Festival was in full swing. Music playing all over; stalls and attractions set up along every street; streamers, banners and signs with pink bright colours and hearts all over the place. Pinkie Pie certainly went all out.
Though, while everypony was out enjoying themselves, having some cakes at the catering stands or playing games for prizes, the Princess of Love didn't feel any love in the air. Couples were barely talking or even looking at each other! She had to fix this.
"I guess I'd better get to work," she said to Shining Armour.
The stallion nodded. "Alright, I'm gonna see if I can win Flurry a toy at that archery game or something. Just come get me if anything happens, alright?" He smirked.
"Don't use my words against me," she chuckled, and they shared a kiss. "But yeah, I will. Look after your daddy, Flurry." She added to the filly, giving her a little kiss.
Once Shining and Flurry had gone off, Cadence decided it was time to get started. She spotted a nearby mare and stallion who were, while sitting together, were barely giving each other the light of day.
"Nice fair, huh?" the stallion mumbled.
"It's fine, I guess," the mare muttered, resting her head in her hoof.
Time to get to work, thought Cadence, her horn charging with light blue magic. The gem in the pendant began to glow as well, and Cadence fired a stream of magic at the couple, stronger than she had intended. Though once it hit them, they looked at each other with a rekindled interest in their eyes.
"Wanna get some cupcakes?" The stallion asked, suddenly sounded full of energy. "I heard the bakery in Ponyville is baking them."
"Do I!" The mare chirped, and the two practically hopped off their chairs and cantered off together. A small cloud of pink seeped out from between the two and shot into Cadence's pendant like before.
"Wow, potent," the alicorn muttered to herself. She looked down at the glowing gem and smiled, feeling a buzz of energy through her body. Any doubt in her mind was beginning to clear - whatever magic Amber Light had cast on this pendant was definitely working.
A tiny burp escaped the alicorn, causing her eyes to dilate and her pink cheeks to turn pinker as she clapped a hoof over her muzzle.
"Pardon me," she muttered, but it seemed nopony had noticed the sudden eruption. "Goodness, where'd that come from?"
Before she could think about it any further, she spotted another couple, who seemed to be having a quiet argument. And for the Princess of Love, especially on Hearts and Hooves Day, that just wouldn't do. She walked over to fix things up, not realising her backside, that had grown a little bigger and wobblier than before, had caught the eye of a passing stallion.
As the day went on, Cadence continued to literally work her magic. Whenever she saw a pair of ponies arguing, she used her magic to get them to make up and enjoy the Festival. She put a lot of effort into putting the event together, and she was going to make sure everypony enjoyed it. And with the pairs of mares and stallions getting together, and even fillies and colts with little crushes getting together, it seemed like it was working.
The more she used her magic, the more happy couples, and the stronger she felt. And the more unhappy couples, the more she used her magic. The gem was practically shining like the sun from how much love magic was being fed to it. That morning Cadence felt like she'd be driven to exhaustion from how much work she'd have to do, but now she was casting without breaking a sweat. She felt completely energised and ready to cast all the magic all day long!
Though, energy wasn't the only thing growing inside her. All throughout the day, everypony who laid eyes on her had noticed something, and one pony muttered to their significant other what both were thinking, wisely making sure it was out of their ruler's earshot.
"Has Princess Cadence put on weight?"
"Wow, I thought she lost the filly weight."
"Is she pregnant again?"
"She got some foal-bearin' hips now~"
Indeed, if one were to notice the Princess at the moment, they'd see their ruler wasn't as svelte as she usually was. Her belly had definitely rounded out into a furry, pink barrel that stuck out from and hung between her legs, close to her knees. Her cutie marks had expanded to fit the new circumference of her now-bulbous backside, which caught the attention of many passers-by when it swayed and jiggled past them. Her face, usually beautiful and narrow, now sported a pair of plump cheeks and a rather thick slab of blubber beneath her chin. Though many ponies in attendance thought her new physique had added to her beauty.
Those who watched Cadence's demeanour figured she either didn't care or was comfortable with her new size. But the truth was, being so elated by her new magical power, she had simply not even noticed she had ballooned since that morning!
"Those two are having an argument," she giggled to herself before firing another strong blast of love magic. "We can't have that today! That stallion there needs to give his fillyfriend some more attention. Aww, that colt is definitely giving the 'puppy love' eyes to that filly! Maybe I'll just give them a little nudge~"
This pendant's influence was going to her head...and her thighs.
Though, as powerful as she was, even Cadence had her limits. Her magic was fine, but for some reason her legs felt exhausted and were begging her to have a sit down for a while.
"Well, I have been working hard," she puffed to herself. "Maybe I've earned a quick break." The deep rumbles from her stomach told her it was time for some lunch anyway.
She turned to look over at her castle in the near distance. While she could make such a quick walk no problem, today she didn't really feel like going that far for some reason. Much too far of a trip today. Luckily a cafe she was fond of was just around the corner, so she made her way over, her thickened legs and rounder body giving her a bit of a waddle to her step.
Despite the short walk, Cadence found herself short of breath when she plopped down at an outside table, unaware of how her inflated rump spilled over the sides. She did notice that the waitress mare seemed a bit shocked for some reason, but still brought her a few crystal cupcake and a coffee regardless. Sure it wasn't her usual diamond daisy sandwich, but she felt like she deserved to treat herself.
As she sat and enjoyed her lunch, she decided to do some pony watching. Mares, stallions and foals were all walking around enjoying the festivities, which put a smile on her face. Her hard work was definitely paying off. She took a big, proud chomp of her cupcake in triumph.
Her ear pricked up as she heard voices from a nearby table. A mare and stallion were chatting, and she decided to listen in since she was in earshot.
"The crystal cupcakes look pretty good," the stallion was saying, "and the Princess is having them, so they must be great."
"I dunno," the mare replied. "I might just have a sandwich. Trying to watch my figure and all."
"C'mon, it's Hearts and Hooves Day. You can cheat just this once."
"Maybe...I dunno..."
Cadence kept her eyes down and took another chomp of her cupcake, deciding a little discussion like that didn't need her intervening.
And she froze when she heard and felt the familiar buzz of her horn firing a blast of magic.
Her eyes shot up and she froze when she saw her love magic's influence was covering the two ponies.
"I'll have whatever you're having," the mare purred, practically having hearts in her pupils.
"Sounds good to me," cooed the stallion, the two nuzzling sweetly.
Cadence could only stare, totally confounded. She didn't even try to fire that blast of love magic. She wasn't even considering it! What in Equestria happened?
The pink mist shot into her pendant, which was glowing with sheer power. She looked down at the gem, which brought her attention away from the creaking and bending of her chair legs as her body inflated another inch or so larger.
"You had something to do with that, didn't you?" she muttered to the pendant, giving it a tap with her hoof. "I should have trusted my bad feeling about this. Time to take this off and find Amber Light." She used her magic to try and find the clasp to the pendant's chain so she could remove it.
But she couldn't find it. Her magic circled the chain up and down but there was no sense of the clip to remove the pendant. But that was impossible, it couldn't have just disappeared!
...could it?
"Okay, I've had enough of-" she began, but was cut off by the sight of a tendril of soft pink mist pulling itself out of the pendant's gem. She watched, almost hypnotised as the stream danced in front of her face, lulling her into a sense of curiosity and lowering her guard.
And it coiled down for a split-second before shooting up toward Cadence's forehead.
Cadence yelped and froze for a moment, feeling a strange buzz in her horn. Her already strengthened magical power was starting to feel even stronger. Was the pendant giving her its stored power? She felt her anger starting to fade, the sensation starting to feel rather good...
But the almost intoxicating feeling wasn't enough for her to notice a loud crunch beneath her, followed by the sudden shift of gravity and a heavy thud.
"Oof!" she grunted, and gasped with a mix of shock and terror as she saw not only her belly had bloated into a thick barrel of soft flab, but it was slowly inflating along with the rest of her! "What in Equestria-?!"
She tried tugging the necklace off, but no luck. She tried using her magic to counter the stream, but she couldn't overpower it, or even activate her magic at all with her horn covered in pink mist. She could only sit there as her plot thickened and her belly ballooned, with her pink cheeks starting to creep into her peripheral vision. Ponies were stopping and watching the spectacle, bewildered at what was happening. She tried calling for help, but something was stopping her. She could only grunt and groan as her body bloated with some form of magic-fuelled blubber that jiggled and jostled with every twitch.
She moaned as her body righted itself from its sitting position, resting her on her belly that squished out on the ground. She wiggled her legs helplessly, her expanding form lifting her hooves off the ground. All she could do was hope for for some helpful intervention, or the pendant to stop before she became a massive blob.
Shining Armour smiled over his shoulder at Flurry Heart, who was sat on his back and holding a stuffed manticore toy about twice her size in her hooves.
"Wait till mommy hears you won that all by yourself at the shooting spell stall," he chuckled. The filly giggled and babbled, looking quite pleased with herself. He looked up at the near distance and spotted some kind of huge, pink balloon nearby. Near the cafe if he was correct. "Huh, Pinkie must be planning a surprise."
The unicorn stallion's smile faded when he saw one of the guard ponies rushing up to him, looking rather panicked. "Captain, sir! Your presence is needed!" he gasped, panting and giving a hasty salute.
"At ease," Shining said. "What's going on?"
The guard hesitated, darting his eyes as if he didn't really want to say. "Sir, it's," he began, sounding more awkward than worried now, "well...it's your wife, sir."
Shining needed no more explanation. He followed the guard through the streets, weaving by pedestrians and being careful not to knock Flurry off him. He arrived at a crowd of Festival goers surrounding the pink balloon.
"Make room!" the guard yelled at the gathered civilians. "Prince-slash-Captain approaching!" The ponies complied and, with confused or flustered looks on their faces, made space for Shining to walk to the front.
The first thing he noticed was the pink balloon wasn't as spherical as he expected; it looked halfway inflated, the way it sagged on the ground in front of him. It also sported two pairs of hoof-like nubs that wiggled helplessly inside the craters of rolls they were sucked into. The back end gave him a view of a massive, and distorted rendition of his wife's cutie marks, misshapen on overinflated, dimpled flanks with a comically small, curly tail propped up between them. He gingerly placed a hoof on the side of the balloon and pushed in, feeling that it was not only warm and soft, but jiggly, wobbly and it even sloshed at his touch. It was like a castle-sized mound of fluffy jello made to resemble his wife in some kind of strange joke.
He walked to the front and was treated to the sight of an avalanche of thick folds running down from the face like chins. The blob Cadence's facial cheeks resembled pink, slightly deflated yoga balls that forced her eyes almost completely shut and her mouth into a tiny, permanent smile.
"C...Cadence...?" he called nervously.
"Shiny...?" A strained, husky rendition of his wife's voice erupted from the blob. "Ish that...you...?" It was like her vocal chords were being pressed against and the massive cheeks forced against her mouth were giving her a lisp.
Shining's jaw dropped, and he started marching around the guards and civilians, asking if anypony had any idea of what happened or who was responsible. Meanwhile, Flurry had lifted herself up with her own magic from her father's back, leaving the stuffed manticore draped on it, and floated up to the face of the landmass that vaguely resembled her mother. She giggled and floated up over Cadence's head, nestling into her still neat mane and looking at the crevasses of roll, folds and creases of fat running down her mother's back.
When everypony claimed earnestly they had no clue of what was happening, he sighed and walked back up to Cadence. "What in Equestria happened to you...?"
PING!
His ears pricked up, and he looked as he saw not only his wife's neck - or collection of chins - seemed even fatter, but something shining off the sun dropping to his hooves. He lifted it in his magic and inspected it. It looked like some kind of pendant, with a piece of turquoise gem in the middle. Not that he would know, but it had lost almost all of its luster from before.
"It's that pendant Cadence had this morning..." he muttered to himself, then squinted as he inspected the gem closer. "Wait, this looks like-"
GRRRRROOOOUUUURRRRRRRRRR...!!!
A slight tremor crossed the ground under his, and the crowd's hooves, and the great pink landmass wobbled and jiggled in place. The thunderous eruption seemed to be coming from Cadence...specifically, her stomach.
"Shiny..." she rumbled, "All thish hash...made me hungry...how about that...dinner...?"
Shining knew he should decline the offer, food being the last thing she needed right now. But as he looked his wife up and down, how she wore that great collection of adipose evenly around her body, how it jiggled and sloshed with every slight movement she made, how it made her rather helpless on her own and dependant on him...it was oddly exhilarating.
He shuddered, feeling a tingle between his hind legs that expertly tried to hide. "I've made reservations already, but I'll see if I can get us an outside table~"
"You're certain it worked?" Princess Chrysalis's voice rasped from the communicating portal in the middle of the room.
"I saw it with my own eyes," the smaller Changeling responded, her head bowed. "The pendant powered up her magic and stored some love power into it, and herself in the form of adipose. Once the gem was filled up it started giving its own love magic into her. It literally fed her its power, and now she's a helpless landmass ready to burst with love magic. She and her husband will be too enamoured with each other to do anything about it for a long time."
"Excellent, Arista," the Changeling queen cackled, her monstrous features shimmering in the portal. "And a stroke of ironic genius in your choice of 'gem'."
Arista felt a warmth on her black cheeks from the praise. "You honour me, Your Highness. I figured those brainless ponies would never suspect the pretty little gem would be a chip off the Crystal Heart itself before it was too late. It gave my enchantment just the boost it needed. It wasn't easy, but nopony, not even 'Amber Light', caught on. And putting a little apathy spell on the city helped make her more eager to accept my help."
"You will indeed prove useful when I make my return," Chrysalis said, "especially against that Starlight Glimmer pony. For the moment, make sure the Princess of Blob and her meathead husband are kept nice and busy with each other. With that much of love power, I will become the most powerful being in Equestria - no, the world!" The Queen began cackling madly. Arista allowed herself a snicker to join in.
"I will make sure you have a proper feast upon your return," the soldier-slash-mage promised.
"Good," Chrysalis smirked once she had calmed down from her laughter. "Now leave me, I must preserve any power I have until the right moment."
Once the communication portal closed, the dark room lit back up, revealing a casual but still nice home in the middle of the Crystal Empire. Arista walked up to the mirror and the reflection of a Changeling vanished to take the form of an orange unicorn Crystal Pony with a lovely red mane.
"Now to offer 'Their Majesties' a 'solution'~" Amber Light giggled to herself, and practiced her looks and vocal tones of shock and regret before grabbing her saddlebags and exiting into the street. Maybe she could get a little snack in, she was sure Chrysalis wouldn't notice a thing...
