Double, Double, Toil & Trouble
Bellies Filled and Stomachs Grumble
Cold mists swirled through the trees of the forest as the earth pony edged forwards, frost rimmed loam crunching under his brown hooves with each limping step.
He hadn’t intended to be out this late, Tartarus he hadn’t even intended to be out past noon, but for some reason he’d never understand the local weather pegasi had decided that this particular part of the White Tail Woods had needed a heavy, almost cloying fog this morning, and the sun hadn’t reached far enough through the heavy canopy to completely dispel it where he had gone searching for flowers. Several sweet smells disorientating him enough for him to wander off the path while lost in the mists, before tripping over a root and tumbling down a slope; the fall bad enough that either a unicorn or pegasus would be nursing a broken leg, while he was ‘lucky’ enough to be limping away on a sprained and swollen ankle.
That had been hours ago.
Now, as Celestia’s sun set and the mists swirled higher, Ink Blot was rapidly losing hope in the idea that he’d escape the seemingly endless trees before night fell, and the idea that the White-Tail Woods edged the Everfree Forest was starting to become more urgent. The wild beasts of the unnatural Forest might avoid towns on the most part, but he was fairly certain they didn’t respect the forest’s boundaries anywhere else.
It was getting to the point where Ink Blot was wondering if he should try to climb a tree and sleep in the branches for the night—he was fairly certain manticores, timber wolves, and whatever else the wild woods could throw at him weren’t able to climb trees after all—when something flickered in the corner of his vision and the sound of twigs crunching underhoof caused him to freeze midstep. His head slowly twisting around to look at the heavy undergrowth as it rustled and trembled, whatever was out there quickly getting closer to him, his body tensing to run away before a mare’s head poked through the bushes, pale violet light spilling from the horn on her forehead, and the concern in her purple eyes quickly giving way to relief as she spotted Ink Blot.
“Oh, there you are, thank Celestia I found you…” The mare spoke as the glow around her horn brightened, the bushes surrounding her spreading apart and allowing her to approach the injured earth pony.
“What?” Ink Blot could only stagger backwards, away from the strange mare as she approached him, his body still strumming with tension. “W-Why were you looking for me?”
The mare paused for a second before continuing forwards, her dark grey coat almost invisible against the background shadows of the darkening forest. “I live on the edge of these woods, dear, I saw you go in this morning, but when you didn’t come back out I got worried.” She spoke as she edged closer, her eyes locking onto his rear leg as Ink Blot limped back another step, his injured leg touching the ground before jolting up again, causing him to stagger in place. “And looking at that leg I was right to be, you must have taken quite a tumble for it to be that swollen, Dear.”
“It’s only a little sprain…” Ink Blot spoke, gritting his teeth against the jab of pain as he settled his hoof back on the ground while the mare trotted up to him. The light of her horn spreading over the small clearing, chasing away the growing shadows, and letting him see her more clearly. Black curves which had melted into the night gloom standing out against the violet light on the bushes, while her deep purple eyes, mane, and tail shimmered gently in the flickering light.
“I’m sure it was, before you spent several hours trotting on it.” The mare smiled at him as she stepped closer, her horn lifting one of his forelegs and looping it over her withers, while her side pressed against his. The softness of her coat and plushness of her curves against his body causing Ink Blot to relax into her grip, the tension in his muscles bleeding away as she started help him walk while keeping the weight off of his injured leg. “Come on, I live nearby, can let you rest on my couch for the night, and get you to the hospital in the morning, and I bet you’ll want a shower and a good meal after being stuck out here all day.” The mare spoke, a small giggle escaping her as Ink Blot’s stomach grumbled at the idea of food that wasn’t the grass or leaves he’d thought he was going to have to choke down.
“That sounds really nice, Miss, uhhhh…?”
“Spellbound, Dear, just Spellbound”
“Thank you, Spellbound, I’m Ink Blot.” The stallion spoke as he settled into a slow limping pace next to the mare, her support enough to keep the both of them moving at a decent pace as she led Ink Blot through the woods, neither of them speaking as the sun continued to fall and the shadow’s lengthened, leaving Spellbound’s horn as the only source of light against the darkening night.
True to the mare’s words it didn’t take long for the pair to reach Spellbound’s cottage, the small building sat in the middle of a large clearing just on the edge of the woods with soft lights in the windows casting a warm glow through the night, silhouetting a short fence placed around the building to keep the forest’s wildlife from encroaching too close.
“Here we are then, home sweet home.” Spellbound spoke, the mare breathing heavily as she helped Ink Blot up the garden path, before using her horn to push open the front door. The inviting aura of cheerful light and comfortable warmth rolling out of the opened door, wrapping around both ponies, and almost pulling the pair of them in as they staggered through the door, a short kick from Spellbound closing the door behind them and shutting away the night’s chill.
“T-thanks again…” Ink Blot panted as he leaned against Spellbound, the earth pony’s limbs trembling under him with exhaustion, the combination of the day’s stress, fading adrenaline, and his rising hunger leaving him barely able to stumble along as Spellbound had supported him. “Just… just want to collapse… on that couch you offered…” The earth pony trying to stagger past Spellbound and into the cottage’s living room; an oversized plush couch calling to him as he struggled to stay upright.
“Oh no, you’re not going to sleep like that.” Spellbound spoke, her violet aura lighting up from her horn before wrapping around Ink Blot and redirecting the stallion from the living room to another door. “Not filthy and hungry, I’d never forgive myself, and neither would my couch. No, you go clean yourself up, and I’ll get something ready for you to eat.”
Ink Blot started to speak, trying to convince Spellbound he was fine, however the moment he opened his mouth was when his stomach chose to voice its own opinion on the matter, a loud grumble echoing up his throat and out into the room, even as Ink Blot clamped his mouth shut, both his cheeks turning bright red in embarrassment.
“See, your stomach agrees with me, Dear.” Spellbound spoke, the mare smiling widely as her violet aura continued to push Ink into the bathroom. “Now you get cleaned up, a hot shower will do you the world of good.” She continued, her magic shutting the bathroom’s door behind Ink Blot before the stallion could attempt to speak up again, leaving him standing awkwardly in the middle of the room; both cheeks flushed bright red while his stomach continued to grumble and growl. The stallion not moving until Spellbound’s voice came through the door.
“I don’t hear washing in there, do you need me to come in and help?”
“NO!” Ink Blot’s response was immediate, the earth pony jolting on his hooves and shuffling over towards the shower, his blush spreading across his cheeks and down from the tips of his ears as he heard Spellbound giggle from the other side of the door. “I’m fine, just getting started now.” He spoke as he eased himself into the bathtub, his injured ankle shaking underneath him as it held his weight for a second, before reaching out and turning on the faucet, the sound of pipes juddering and bubbling before water jetted out of the showerhead and crashed down across him. The sensation of steaming hot water raining down on his body eliciting a sigh of bliss from him as he stood there, his aches and pains forgotten as the heat sunk into his muscles, easing away the tension in his muscles just as surely as the water swept away the dirt, muck, and sweat coating his body, leaving trails of brown streaking across the porcelain towards the tub’s drain.
Ink Blot wasn’t quite sure how long he remained there, just letting the hot water ease his body, before something broke through the haze of relaxation. His nostrils twitching as the scent of cooking food broke through the cloud of steam, yanking Ink Blot out of his euphoric haze and causing his stomach to gurgle and groan with hunger. The stallion looking down with a faint hint of worry in his eyes as his stomach’s noises continued to echo off of the bathroom walls, even after he’d turned the shower off, and had finished drying himself.
“Somepony sounds hungry.” Ink Blot almost jumped out of his coat as he exited the bathroom, only to be met with Spellbound, the unicorn waiting outside the door for him, her horn glowing softly with a glass held in her violet aura. “I’m just adding the finish touches now, why don’t you make yourself comfy while I do that?” She spoke as she pushed the glass into the stallion’s hooves before her magic once again started to guide him, although this time the violet aura tugged him towards the couch that had been so inviting before. The mare’s magic supporting him as he awkwardly shuffled through the room on his two good hooves, before settling down on the couch. His body almost sinking into the plush cushions, while the remaining space on either side of him as he settled was enough for another two ponies to sit comfortably side by side. The comfort and size almost overwhelming as Ink Blot settled his back against the cushions, before his stomach grumbled again, louder this time as he was left with nothing to do but inhale the sweet scents coming from the kitchen and sip carefully at the drink in his hooves. The stallion barely noticing as he emptied the glass in a futile attempt to quiet his grumbling tummy for even a second; instead the drink only seemed to make him hungrier by the second, the noises coming from his barrel reaching a fever pitch as Spellbound walked through into the living room, a cauldron held aloft in her magic trailing steam and savoury scent as she approached the ravenous earth pony.
“Sound like I made it just in time.” Spellbound spoke, the soft smile never leaving her face as she dipped a bowl into the cauldron, pulling it out and hovering it over to Ink Blot’s snout while the earth pony rubbed at his grumbling stomach; small whimpers and winces escaping his muzzle as his hunger started to reach painful levels. The earth pony barely managing to hold onto enough restraint, even through the hunger pangs to not just push his face muzzle first into the bowl as he looked up at Spellbound’s smiling face, Ink Blot waiting for her to give him the go ahead to eat.
“Eat up, Dear, there’s more than enough for the both of us.” Was all the invitation he needed, the stallion almost diving into the bowl as he took his first mouthful of stew, freezing as the first mouthful washed over his tongue. It was beyond delicious, the flavours of each vegetable blended together perfectly, the thick heavy gravy laced with just enough sweetness to counteract the normally bitter flavours, little hints of rich milk adding body. Even if he hadn’t been starving Ink Blot would have wanted more, but starving as he was he needed more. He had to have every last chunk of vegetable, every last drop of gravy, he needed every single last bit of the stew in front of him.
And he was going to have it.
Greedily he swallowed the first mouthful before taking another, his teeth chomping and chewing the chunks of solid vegetable, before he plunged his muzzle down into the bowl again; small splatters of the thick liquid coating his cheeks as he messily ate until the bowl was completely emptied, and even then he still tried to lick the bowl clean, his tongue lapping up any remaining pools of stew, before he slumped back against the couch cushions.
“Oh my, you are hungry.” Ink Blot looked over at Spellbound as the mare watched him, the soft smile on her muzzle widening by a fraction as she dipped the bowl back into the cauldron. “Another bowl, Dear?”
Ink Blot’s head was in danger of flying from his neck with how hard he nodded, the earth pony staring at the bowl as Spellbound hovered it out of his hooves before filling it up again and pushing it to his lips. The stallion gleefully returning to eating as he pushed his muzzle into the thick stew, the sounds of his grumbling stomach mixing with the noises of his grunting, chewing and swallowing as he emptied the second bowl even faster than the first.
Spellbound smiled widely as she watched Ink Blot continue to eat, her horn glowing quietly as she lifted another bowl from the kitchen, dipping it into the cauldron and placing it to the stallion’s lips as he finished the second bowl, and just continuing to watch as the earth pony continued to frantically eat. The sounds of his grumbling belly quieting even as his appetite only seemed to increase.
He was halfway through his fourth bowl when the increasing speed of his eating caught up to him. Ink Blot’s eyes bulging in their sockets as a chunk of vegetable he hadn’t fully chewed lodged in his throat, forcing the earth pony to cough and splutter directly into the stew. Waves of thick gravy sloshing over the sides of the bowl with each explosion of air as he attempted to clear his throat, before Spellbound whisked the stew away from him, and her magic started to thump him on the back, quickly dislodging the errant piece of food and sending it down to the churning lake of stew in his stomach, which was now starting to look a little wider than before. His belly wobbling and jiggling slightly with each hacking cough and wheezing gasp for air while his flanks spread out across the cushions he was sat on.
“Oh dear that was close.” Spellbound spoke, a trace of concern on her face as her magic worked its way up and down Ink Blot’s back and neck, gently rubbing him as he continued to softly cough. “Would you like something to clean your throat out?” She asked, not bothering to wait for an answer before she hovered a milkshake over to Ink Blot, whipped cream spilling over the edge and condensation running down the glass, causing the entire thing to sparkle and shimmer in her magic aura before the stallion snatched the glass out of the air and poured the drink down his throat. Spellbound using a napkin to wipe his cheeks clean of gravy and half-chewed chunks of food while he drank; his neck bulging rhythmically as his growing double chin bounced and jiggled with each heavy gulp.
“All better?” The mare asked as Ink Blot lowered the glass, the now definitely tubby earth pony nodding before his stomach gurgled, and a soft belch escaped from his mouth, both his cheeks flushing bright red while Spellbound just gently giggled. “Don’t be embarrassed, Dear. It just means you’re enjoying your food.” The mare spoke as she ran the napkin across Ink’s snout, wiping away the last of the cream and gravy from his fur, before her aura flicked the napkin into the fireplace.
“Now how about you have some more stew while I fix you up dessert. I’ll even make you something extra special if you finish all of it” Spellbound spoke softly into Ink Blot’s ears as her magic wrapped around the still half full bowl of stew, pushing it back to his lips, before another bowl was hovered into the room. The wooden container filling itself from the cauldron as Ink began to greedily, although more cautiously, eat from the dish pressed to his mouth, before hovering behind the first bowl, waiting for its turn as Spellbound trotted away both her eyes twinkling with barely concealed mirth.
Ink Blot was barely aware of Spellbound leaving, or of how much time passed as he ate, or the fact he was being magically fed the entire contents of a cauldron of stew; the only thing that mattered to the gluttonous stallion was that he had more food to fill his grumbling stomach, the stuffed organ only demanding more as it bubbled and churned, each fresh mouthful of food adding another layer of pudge to his swelling middle and growing flanks as they crept outwards over the couch’s cushions, his second chin starting to fill out in earnest, even as hints of a third roll of fat started to make themselves evident and his cheeks puffed up enough that they started to press against the rim of the bowl as he pushed his snout into it.
It was only when the final bowl was finished, Ink Blot lazily lapping up the final droplets of gravy from the base of the bowl and the wooden dish falling to the floor as the magic keeping it aloft winked out, that the earth pony slumped back into the sofa again. The haze of satisfaction fading away slightly as he looked around for more food, only to be met with the empty room and the grumbling, gurgling, glorping churning noises of his gut as it worked at turning the food packed away inside it into more flab.
“Where… where did this come from?” Ink Blot muttered to himself as his hooves explored his body, one hoof pressing into the thick layer of pudge that coated his barrel before roaming down to his expanded flanks and brushing over his cutie mark, the splodge of ink almost twice the size it had been before while his flanks had crept out enough that they were only a pony’s width away from the armrest. The earth pony groaned quietly as his other hoof worked its way up his barrel, running over his new double and triple chins before pressing into one of his cherubically chubby cheeks, the flesh distorting around the hard edge of his hoof as he lifted his cheek up enough to look at it. Confused questions rolling about in his head as a maelstrom of thoughts tried to pierce through the foggy haze that kept him from thinking straight.
“Oh my, you really finished all of it.” Ink Blot jolted in place as Spellbound’s voice cut through the silence, even the short motion making his gut slosh and jiggle for several second. Both his hooves reaching down to stabilise the swaying orb while he tried to turn his head to look at Spellbound, fighting against several rolls of flab that swaddled his neck. His concerns about his sudden, impossible weight gain forgotten as he saw the platter that was hovering besides the mare’s head.
Or, more pertinently to his grumbling stomach, the sheer amount of food stuffed onto the platter, small stacks of cupcakes pressed for space against chocolate coated and cream stuffed eclairs, mounds of dessert toast dripping with maple syrup almost toppling from the edge of the banquet dish as Spellbound hovered it over, but none of that was as important as the centre-piece of the buffet of dessert foods.
A still steaming syrup pudding; the brown sponge cake swimming in golden syrup as the thick, sugary molasses oozed down the sides of the cake, bubbling up from some, seemingly endless, well bored into the top of the sponge, syrup bubbling up and over the lip as if the entire thing was some sort of volcano dedicated to pure, tantalising, gluttony. Ink Blot subconsciously licked his lips as he stared at the steaming plate, before turning his attention back to Spellbound, both his eyes pleading as they flickered back and forth from the smiling mare to the platter of rich, decadent desserts.
“Help yourself, Dear.” Spellbound spoke, “I did promise you something special.” her smile widening as Ink Blot almost frantically shoved his muzzle into the sweet, sticky sponge both of his eyes widening for a second as the taste overwhelmed him—Spellbound wagering she could see small tears of pleasure building up at the corners of his eyes—before he swallowed. The bulging mouthful of calorie laden food travelling down his throat, visible even through the rolls of fat that swaddled his neck, before it disappeared into his stomach with a single loud GLORP. The earth pony falling back from the plate and slumping into the plush couch, his chest rising and falling as he panted for breath, thick strands of golden syrup hanging from his open mouth and matting down his fur while his hooves reached down to knead at his bubbling, churning, gurgling stomach.
“Did you like that, Dear?” Spellbound asked, as her magic joined Ink Blot’s in massaging the earth pony’s tummy, pale violet light caressing each and every swell it could reach, The stallion could only lazily nod in response, basking in the almost palpable sense of contentment and pride coming from Spellbound as her magic continued to wrap around his grumbling belly, the platter hovering over to nestle under just under Ink Blot’s head. “Well, don’t hold back on my account, dig in.”
Spellbound’s words were all the encouragement Ink Blot needed to continue his feast, the earth pony once again sticking his muzzle into the heavy syrup pudding, grunting and snorting like a pig at a trough as he ate ravenously, even using his hooves to scrape chunks of sponge out of the lake of golden syrup, before sticking them into his mouth in the split seconds between gasping breaths, and gut wobbling belches.
Under such treatment the syrup steamed pudding couldn’t last, even despite its prodigious size, and soon Ink Blot was scraping the bottom of the bowl with his hooves, gathering the sweet, sticky, sugary syrup on his hooves before pushing them into his mouth and licking them clean. The earth pony determined to get every single last drop of nectar and only when his hooves returned from the bowl as clean as they had been on entering did Spellbound let it fall to one side, before pushing the first cupcake into Ink Blot’s mouth. The stallion munching contently at the sweet treat, crumbs and clumps of icing smeared across his muzzle, before swallowing and letting his mouth fall open for Spellbound to plug the gap with another of the delicious baked goods, the mare’s approving smile widening even as she pushed a second, and then a third cupcake into Ink Blot’s maw.
This pattern continued, even as the stacks of cupcakes were decimated and the eclairs took their place, chocolate sauce and heavy cream joining the icing smeared across Ink’s muzzle and chest, all while his belly continued to gurgle and glorp, hard at work turning every single scrap of food falling into more of the pudge coating Ink Blot’s body. The third chin peeking out from under his snout had already been joined by a fourth while his chest had bloated up enough that any gap between his chins and the topmost swell of his barrel had been completely covered. Meanwhile, on the other side of his neck his back was now swollen with enough layers of flab the lowest part of his head simply merged into the top of his back, completely erasing his neck from existence. His flanks had continued to swell outwards, both cheeks now wide enough to press against the armrests of the five pony couch, but the greatest change was the earth pony’s stomach.
What had once been flat and toned muscle was now almost double the size his body had been when he walked into the room, the swollen layers of pudge hanging down from the couch, almost reaching to the floor as it wobbled and jiggled at the slightest touch from his hooves. Each motion carrying through his morbidly obese middle and causing the ball of food contained within to slosh and churn, pockets of gas escaping from the sugary mass, and causing his chipmunk like cheeks—which were to encroach on the stallion’s vision—to tremble with each explosive belch. Spellbound just smiling wider at each burp, and pushing another piece of food into his mouth whenever he stopped to pant and wheeze for breath.
It was only when Ink Blot let his mouth fall open and it wasn’t immediately filled that he found himself coming to his senses. The earth pony slowly blinking each eye and trying to stretch out as if he had just woken up from a deep slumber, before he jolted in place as Spellbound spoke directly into his ear.
“Oh my you really finished all of it. Aren’t you just the cutest little colt now?” The mare’s voice was teasing, before her magic flashed in the corner of Ink Blot’s eyes, a similar flash in front of him teleporting an almost wall length mirror into the room, both of Ink Blot’s eyes widening in horror as he tried to take in the entirety of his bloated, swollen, pudge coated form.
“What… ufff happen’d to… urp mwee?” Ink Blot huffed, his words slurred as he tried to speak through his bloated cheeks. The earth pony watching in horrified fascination as the stallion in the mirror wheezed for breath, the mere act of speaking causing ripples to spread out over his obese body as his stomach gurgling mixed with the creaking of the couch underneath him.
“Nothing important, Ink Blot dear,” Spellbound spoke, pressing her head against Ink Blot’s swollen stomach, listening to the deep bubbling and blorping of his digestion as she smiled contentedly, the confusion in his eyes fading as he groaned with pleasure at the feeling of Spellbound pressing both her hooves into his churning gut. “It won’t stop us from seeing if you’re healthy enough to walk to the hospital tomorrow.”
“Am… hicc fine…” The stallion tried to speak confidently; his legs just about managing to twitch under the sleeves of lard that had almost entirely engulfed them. “Show you…”
“Good, but for now.” Spellbound looked up, her purple eyes twinkling with mirth as she met Ink Blot’s content gaze, before another flash of light brought his attention to a plate of cookies and a jug of milk hovering in Spellbound’s magic. “How about a small snack before you go to sleep for tonight.”
Ink Blot barely had time to nod before the first cookie landed in his mouth. A moan escaping him as his belly continued to grumble with a hunger that wouldn’t be sated anytime soon, at least not if Spellbound had anything to say about it.