Author's Note

Hello! It's me again.

This is a commission for Artemis.

Celestia, after Luna is banished, finds comfort in food. When Luna returns, she's rather surprised at her sister's increased size.

It's a miracle, I wrote anthro for once

The Painting Scene

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are ancient beings. There is none within memory (except perhaps the oldest of the dragons) that can clearly remember a time when it took groups of ponies to raise and lower the sun and moon each day.

There are tales, of course. Legends and histories that speak of such times. But like the Windigoes of old, they’re mostly myth. Mostly forgotten. Heralded by some as never having existed.

Celestia and Luna were there. Protecting the kingdom, doing their duties. Ruling the fledgling, growing kingdom they spilt blood over.

Then Nightmare Moon came, and Luna was relegated to history and legend. In the early years of her banishment, those who remembered quickly learned to forget in fear of hurting their remaining princess more. Especially in the wake of leaving their homes behind them as the chaotic seeds of what would be the Everfree Forest began to grow and push them out.

Like a knife being twisted in her intestines, Celestia found the years after Luna’s banishment the easiest and the hardest. There was so much to do. Ponies to resettle, towns to build.

Canterlot was constructed in the worst of her grief. Near water, like Luna liked, with great towering spires that reached up to the sky so Celestia could stare at the moon she raised, with the lifeless sky, and wonder what she might have done differently.

In the years of peace, Celestia fought to find things that filled the hole that was in her life, in her heart. With no enemies to fight, nothing worthwhile anyway, Celestia had to find other ways to while away her thousand years of punishment. In the first century alone she learned countless things. Singing, languages, musical instruments, diplomacy. She built great cities as Equestria’s power and growth surged and her little ponies became happier as things settled around them.

And still she was missing something.

By the end of the first century she ruled alone, she’d found the one thing that never bored her. That never made her upset. That was always new and exciting, and something that filled the hole. Food became her constant companion after that, especially as her habits changed to feed the new addiction.

It didn’t take long for the effects of this to be seen, in coinage, in her yearly portraits sent out to the masses.

Several hundred years flew by, and just like Luna and the ancient days, memories of Celestia’s thin body faded into myth and legend. At least, until a legend came back.

Luna watched as Celestia huffed and puffed her way the length of the throne room, hooves firmly planted on the ground, while her ponderous arms swung in time with her steps. Celestia’s face was red, her body sweat coated. Waddling more than walking, her back arched deeply by the weight of her massive stomach. Her wings fluttering from where they were pressed against her back.

Luna wondered when Celestia had become too fat to fly. If her sister had even noticed the change. Had she been too busy eating to notice?

Celestia made her way to her very wide throne, plopping into it with a wheezing groan. Wiping a flabby hand across her forehead to wipe the sweat from it. Her stomach gurgling and churning audibly, even to Luna who was sat on the dias over.

“Are you feeling alright, sister?” Luna asked after several moments.

“I’m perfectly fine, Luna, why?” Celestia’s hands found their way to the upper portion of her monumentally large belly, rubbing it absentmindedly.

“Your stomach.” Luna said flatly, “With all the noise it’s making, I worried you were ill.”

Celestia took pause at that, brows furrowing. Looking down at her orb of a belly almost like she hadn’t noticed all the noise. “Oh. Oh. I...well. It’s normal.”

“How long has it been normal for?”

“Fifty years?” Celestia shrugged, the movement making her stomach jostle and churn all the more, “Give or take. I don’t know, Luna, it seems trivial.”

Luna huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and crossing her legs. At least she still fit into her own throne. It was clear Celestia had needed to have hers expanded multiple times over the course of Luna’s banishment. Of course Celestia hadn’t noticed. She’d let herself go for a thousand years. And with their lives being so long...well, if anyone noticed the weight gain during the first century, they’d have known better than to say. After that, Celestia’s thinness would have passed out of living memory.

Celestia only had herself to blame for her current predicament, Luna decided. While Luna and Celestia did share the same genes, Luna was by far the fitter of the two.

Luna was more bottom-heavy, stubborn fat clinging to her hips, thighs, and butt. She was...oh what was the word people used today? Husky. She was husky. Taking walks and jogs in her daily routine, enough to keep her fighting fit while not being as dreadfully thin as some of the elite were.

It was...almost worrying. Luna had to admit. Trying not to grimace as Celestia snapped her fingers and a large milkshake was brought to her. Celestia gulped it down, the redness and sweat of her body starting to decrease even more now with the cool drink. Is this what I could look like without restraint? How long would it take? Decades? Centuries?

The first milkshake went down a treat, as did the second and third. Luna watching in awe as her older sister’s stomach bloated ever outward.

Celestia was a tall mare, taller than most of her subjects. Certainly taller than Luna, at any rate. With white fur, and her multi-hued hair that was almost impossibly long, the magic coursing through Celestia being enough to make it wave and move without a breeze.

Her face was almost spherical, with three chins and sagging jowls that obscured most of her spare tire of a neck. Her collarbones buried under enough fat that it was hard to remember that there were bones there in the first place.

Celestia’s breasts were round and heavy. Sagging down to either side of her stomach with the weight and heft of them, even with however much support she was wearing under her clothes. Luna didn’t envy her sister much, not with how large and...attention grabbing that Celestia’s breasts and stomach were. It must hurt her back and shoulders terribly, to have to bear so much weight.

Celestia’s arms were flabby. Large bingo wings that sagged to create a fold near her elbow, her forearms packing enough fat to them that Celestia’s wrist bones were gone as well. Much less her once-slender fingers. The spaces in between her joints looked soft and chubby, like little pillows.

The real attention hogger, Celestia’s real asset, was her stomach. It was huge, very out of proportion to the rest of her admittedly huge body. It swelled under her breasts, sagging downward and extending from her body for several meters. Hanging just a few inches from the floor, it was the widest thing about her. Obscuring her lower body completely, except for her hooves.

Luna knew the rest of her sister was fat. With a bountiful backside and thick, jiggling thighs that rubbed together. But when in comparison to her stomach, everything else looked almost small.

“Ah! Before I forget.” Celestia’s cheerful voice broke Luna out of her observations. “We have our portrait tomorrow sister. I do hope you’ll be there.”

“We? Portrait?” Luna questioned.

“Portrait. A yearly portrait, meant for production amongst the classes. We keep a copy here, usually, and then the original is bought at auction. The proceeds go to charity.” Celestia grinned, dimples forming in her fat face. “A rather wonderful idea that someone suggested years ago. Honestly I’d do it more than once a year, but the artists insist that it’s impossible.”

“How large is the canvas?”

“Oh not that large!” Celestia huffed, still grinning, “I think they’re rather quaint. Come, this will be the first time that we’ve had a portrait together since we were fillies. I’ve even had an outfit made for you, it’ll be on your bed by moonrise, I promise.”

Luna sighed, but nodded. Charity was important, after all. And it would be good to see how...entertaining this was. Surely Celestia wasn’t this far in denial. “Of course, sister.”

“Oh good.” Celestia clapped her hands together, “I would take elevensies now, please!”

“Are you planning to outweigh the sun?” Luna couldn’t help the incredulousness out of her voice. Even she couldn’t have downed all those milkshakes and still be hungry at the end.

Celestia waved a hand dismissively, sitting back in her throne. “Oh shush, Luna. I’m just extra peckish today, that’s all. No need to be so alarmed.”

Luna watched was a servant ran from the throne room. Mind spinning with possibilities. Maybe Celestia was this far into denial. And maybe that portrait would be enough for her to finally realize...Hmmm.

(LINEBREAK)

The portrait was being done in the garden. With the main artist and several of her apprentices being out to sketch. The canvas was smaller than Luna had anticipated, but she’d gone to see last year’s final product...The canvas had been huge, nearly two meters across.

It had been...odd, to walk through the nearly abandoned historical wing of the Canterlot library, seeing yearly portraits that just...showed off her sister’s growth. The canvases growing larger each year, just as Celestia did.

This year, Luna had arranged to make some changes. The benches that Celestia would normally seat herself on were gone. Replaced with a chair that looked sturdy, but had no special reinforcements.

The portrait would be drawn with them standing, but considering it was summertime, in the heat of the sun. it only made sense to offer refreshments and seating to give the artist time to work.

Celestia was, of course, busy with the buffet table. Stuffing herself with food so she wouldn’t have to get more mid-painting.

Luna was really starting to wonder how her sister had squeezed herself into her outfit.

It was, or had at one point, been made to showcase Celestia’s height, power, and beauty. Designed to accentuate her curves while bringing to mind all the things she was capable of.

A ring was at the base of her horn. Golden and stark. Seen only because Celestia’s hair had been managed into intricate braids that fell down her back and shoulders. They still moved under their own power, but they were no longer obscuring the base of her horn.

Her pendant, the one she’d had since they were fillies, was prominent against her chest. The golden chain and golden sun pendant stark against her white fur. A gold band was somehow put on her upper arm, the fat there bulging around it. At one point, it would have been there to accentuate her musculature, now it just looked painful.

There was a band of white cloth that wrapped around Celestia’s breasts, keeping her modesty. The band had to be wrapped around several times to provide adequate support, and even then Celestia had to pause her gorging often to adjust them.

Her stomach billowed out in front of her. Covered only by a sheer, gossamer fabric that hung down from her shoulders. It did nothing to hide Celestia’s bulging, groaning stomach. The fabric had once been dreadfully difficult to paint, and had been a show of power and wealth.

And Celestia’s skirt...it wasn’t even visible from the front. Celestia technically didn’t need one, at least not from the front. Her stomach did that for her. The only indication that she was wearing one that was...Oh it wasn’t even visible when looking at Celestia from the front.

Where Luna was, towards one side, she could see a sun shaped clip keeping the skirt up. Celestia’s thighs bulging through the slits up the side. She was absolutely spilling from it at every angle.

Luna’s outfit, a similar one in terms of style. The cloth black rather than white, jewelry silver. The symbols of the moon. Her hair was loose to do as it would, the galaxies within were difficult enough to paint, she presumed. Much less an intricate hairstyle. The largest difference, at least to her, was that her outfit fit.

Celestia’s stomach let out a truly impressive groan, and Luna looked up to see Celestia bring a hand to her face. Letting out a burp, it was clear that she looked rather...green. Queasy and uneasy.

There was something else, too, something that Luna couldn’t quite put a finger on. A difference about Celestia in this outfit-

“Excuse me.” Celestia swallowed compulsively, rubbing at her distended gut with a groan. “Oh I’ve overdone it.”

“Again.” Luna grinned, shaking her head. “This happens twice a day, at least. Tell me, do you plan on eating this much again later?” It had been...well the table had been groaning with food, and now it was practically empty. “That was enough for a small town.”

“Oh shush. It’s fine.”

“Are you a little peckish today, as well?” Luna pressed.

Celestia snorted, rolling her eyes. “Always, sister. But less so with you around.”

Luna grinned, shaking her head. “I doubt that, but come. The artists have been waiting long enough.”

Celestia nodded, lumbering her way over to the fountain that was going to serve as their backdrop.

Luna, who had come out to the garden after Celestia (she’d arranged for her tampering to happen overnight), hadn’t seen her sister walk more than a few ponderous steps this morning.

Celestia’s waddle was all the more pronounced. The look on her face pinched as she moved, she was obviously hurting. Both hands going to the small of her back, like that would be enough support.

“Does your back pain you more this morning?”

“No, no, not really. It’s...well it’s stupid, but I’m not wearing my belly belt. I can’t, not in this outfit. The straps would be visible.” Celestia sighed. Doing her best to straighten up once she was in position, her stance wide to accommodate her drooping stomach. Legs already quivering with the effort.

“And that is?”

“Well...it acts much as a pregnancy belt. Keeping the weight of the stomach from becoming too much of a burden.” Celestia explained as Luna got into position beside her.

“Does that help you greatly?”

“No...not really.” Celestia admitted. “It’s not as effective as it once was, but anything that helps.”

There was some chattering from the artists once they got going. The lead one chewing on the end of a pencil as she started to sketch the tableau. “We’re going to need to get a bigger canvas again, Princess.”

Celestia purposefully didn’t look to Luna at the announcement. A soft blush staining her cheeks, though it might have been the effort of standing. Or the summer heat.

Celestia lasted longer than Luna had anticipated, almost forty-five minutes, before begging off for a break. Stumbling a few steps on shaking legs before collapsing onto a chair that she thought safe.

It didn’t creak, it didn’t groan, the chair didn’t even have time to buckle or break in slow motion.

It just snapped under Celestia’s weight. Sending her to the ground in a panicked huff, panting and wheezing, trapped under the weight of her stomach as she fought to roll onto her side.

Thankfully, Luna was there to offer a good shove in the right direction. Giving Celestia some time to breathe now her stomach was off of her. Her stomach jostled, churning loudly, and so was-

Luna worked hard to keep a neutral expression. Not sure what the sounds she was hearing coming from her sister’s breasts meant. They were large...and sloshing? Was it milk? Something else? Luna didn’t know if that was what happened, but she wasn’t going to mention it.

“There.” Luna said. “Not so bad.”

Celestia heaved a sigh, cheeks burning red with embarrassment. “I’ll need help getting up.”

Luna nodded, looking over her shoulder at the stunned servants that were refilling the snack table, “Get the benches for my sister please.”

There was nodding, and a couple of them scattered to go get them. Leaving Luna to try to haul Celestia back onto her hooves alone. Thankfully, while the task wasn’t plausible with just herself, her magic was more than helpful in this instance. Able to take most of the brunt of Celestia’s weight so Luna could haul the portly princess back upright.

Both of them were huffing and puffing by the time Celestia was upright. The pair of sisters looked at each other for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter.

“This is ridiculous!” Luna laughed, wiping a hand across her face. Hoping to wipe away the worst of the sweat.

Celestia gravitated towards the snack table, gulping down some chilled juice. Still trembling with the effort of keeping herself upright unassisted. Tugging up the cloth that protected her modesty with one hand while the other held her cup. “It is.”

“I’m glad to be back.” Luna said, watching as the servants brought the benches over. Letting Celestia happily sink onto them, her stomach now touching the ground.

“I am as well.” Celestia grinned. “Now, give me some time to rest. And we’ll keep posing.”

Luna nodded, going to grab a few cucumber sandwiches for herself. She skipped breakfast, and now she was absolutely starving herself.

(LINEBREAK)

Six months later, when the royal portrait was revealed for the first time, no two ponies were as shocked about the poses chosen then the subjects themselves.

The portrait showed Celestia and Luna, before the hedge of the garden, half bent over and laughing raucously. A moment that showed them both as people, and not just the perfectly poised princesses most knew them as.

Luna clapped along with her sister and the audience members. Crossing her chubbier legs and leaning back to enjoy a cookie.

Maybe there was something to this modern food after all. Maybe Celestia had a point.