Penne's was a small restaurant in Ponyville. A cosy little bistro near the square that opened just a year ago, but word got around quickly in such a small village. It quickly became a popular location for the locals, especially on certain days on the calendar.
And on Penne Cervil's calendar, Hearts and Hooves Day was covered with DINNER RUSH FROM TARTARUS written on a sticky note.
She was a young earth pony mare, who was normally content to watch the customers enjoy her lovingly-prepared pizzas, lasagnas and carbonaras from the seclusion of the kitchen. Today, however, she was also out in the dining room writing down orders for all fourteen tables as well as cooking them. Everypony could see her sweaty, peach-coloured coat, her grease and dough-covered apron and her dark green mane and tail becoming desheveled from stress, but still she was in and out of the double doors like a lightning bolt. The cutie mark of a pizza and a crossed knife and fork on her flanks weren't just for show.
"Two cheese carbonaras for table twelve," she murmured to herself, reading tickets and grabbing plates. "Sharing-size tomato rigatoni for table six...wait, crud!" She rushed across the kitchen and opened the stone oven, waving away the steam and pulling out an extra-large cheese-and-oat pizza. "Phew, table ten's is safe."
The tinkle of the bell over the front door made her ears twitch, and she poked her head up to see a couple leaving... and another walking in.
"Oh, for Luna's sake," she grumbled, rushing the orders out to the dining room and practically sprinting past the newcomers. "Be right with ya!"
Hearts and Hooves Day was Penne's least favourite time of year, in terms of work. This was when all the couples would come in for a nice romantic dinner. Some even booked in advance for it! She didn't dislike the idea of sharing a meal by candlelight, only if she had to cook dozens of them by herself.
Once the next few orders were sent out, she had a moment to relax in the kitchen and glimpse through the serving window. She might have been imagining it from the adrenaline, but it looked like a lot of her repeat customers were getting on the...porky side. She spotted a heavyset stallion nosing one of the hayballs on a shared spaghetti to his pear-bodied marefriend. Her backside did not cover that much of the seat, she was certain.
With everything quietened down, she could hear faint clanging and a frantic voice from upstairs. She rolled her eyes. Whatever was going on up there had better be worth leaving her to the mercy of hungry customers.
"Um, pardon me? Waiter?" she heard a customer in the kitchen. "Could we get some extra salt, please?"
Penne sighed as she grabbed a few salt packets. "Yeah, I'll give ya some salt, dirty rotten..." she mumbled, quickly hiding her testy mood as she brought the salt packets to the customers. "There ya go, enjoy."
"Excuse me," she heard another customer. "Could I get a refill, please? Another mineral water?"
Penne fought the urge to flip the nearest table and send her creations splattering onto the walls.
Hours later, an exhausted Penne sat in the empty dining room tallying up the sales for the day. The upside for such a big dinner rush was the big payout at the end. The quiet helped too.
Well, the relative quiet, as she still heard pots and pans banging around upstairs. Though, this time it was followed by a door opening, and frantic clambering down the stairs. She looked up and saw a Changeling standing by the door to the backroom, her blue skin dulled by the dim light and her purple eyes full of apology. Spiracle was the restaurant's waitress and sous chef, and the other half of the entire staff. Her round stomach implied the Changeling had been enjoying more than her fair share of love energy as of late.
"Nice of ya to show ya face," Penne grumbled, her Bucklyn accent becoming more apparent when she got irritated. "Hope whatever you were up to up there was worth it."
"I know, I'm sorry," said Spiracle, frowning as she dared walking closer. "I know today gets super busy, but you'll like what I have to say."
"Will I?" asked Pennie, piling stacks of bits into a bag once she finished counting, and started tieing the mouth shut. "Dis oughta be good. Left me a bunch more stuff to clean upstairs, by the sound of it."
Spiracle sighed. "Penne..."
"Sorry, I'm just exhausted and kinda a little peeved. Whaddya got for me?" The earth pony took the sack in her teeth and walked to the backroom. Spiracle stood aside to let her pass.
"Well, I was really busy upstairs," she explained, watching Penne open the safe and toss the sack inside. "I know I kinda left you hanging, but I'm sure once you see what I was doing, you'll understand."
"I just hope it's not active," Penne muttered, returning to the kitchen and raising her voice so Spiracle could hear, "I just wanna sit on my plot and chill after the day I just had."
Spiracle tilted her head when she saw Penne return with a dish on her back, covered with a silver dome. "What's that?"
"Eh, just a little somethin' I was workin' on when I got a few seconds to myself," Penne said. "Don't suppose ya'd help me test it out upstairs?"
"Oh, of course," said Spiracle. "But um, I was hoping you'd help me with something too?"
"Is it a mess?" asked Penne, following her partner upstairs to the top floor.
"Oh no, I can take care of the mess." Spiracle opened the door leading into her and Penne's apartment above the restaurant. "It's something else."
When Penne and Spiracle first got the two-storey building, they decided it would be easier to live close to work, and converted the top half into an apartment. The living room took up a good half of the floor, with doors leading to the bedroom and bathroom. Penne set the dome down on the dinner table, where she noticed a lit candle and what looked like a bottle of wine sitting in an ice bucket.
"What's goin' on?" she asked, then her nose twitched and she looked toward the archway leading to the kitchen. "And what's that smell?"
"Oh, that's what I wanted help with," Spiracle said, ushering Penne to a chair. "Sit down and I'll bring it out!"
"What're you...?" she trailed off as the Changeling swooped into the kitchen, buzzing excitedly. Shrugging, she sat down and awaited whatever it was. It didn't smell bad, though. Her stomach grumbled, making her cheeks flush.
After a minute or so, Spiracle returned holding her own plate with a dome over it, setting it down in front of Penne. "Here it is!"
Penne scrunched her muzzle quizzically, and her eyes widened. "Wait a minute." She lifted the dish off, and her jaw dropped when she saw what was underneath.
"A double-cheese, tomato and hay calzone," Spiracle said, puffing out her chest, "with a bit of basil on top."
Penne felt a warmth rush to her chest, and a smile crept onto her face. "Aw, Spirry..."
"I remember you said it was your absolute favourite," she said, "so I kinda spent all day, and most of our stuff, trying to get it right. I think I finally got it just now."
"Well, uh, this is kinda convenient," Penne said, and reached for the plate she'd brought upstairs with her, setting it beside her, "because, um, I kinda had the same idea in mind."
"Oh?" Spiracle took a seat beside Penne and flipped the dome off. She gasped and stared. "Is that...?"
"Cheese, parsley and nectar carbonara," explained the earth pony, rubbing the back of her head. "I wasn't sure what I could make you since I dunno how to put love energy on a plate, but I read that Changelings like flowery stuff so..."
"It smells amazing, hon," Spiracle chirped. "Let's taste them together!"
Penne's smile got bigger, cheeks rosy. "Heh, alright." They counted from three, and took a bite of their meals. They both let out contented moans.
"So sweet and juicy," Spiracle giggled.
"Almost just like how momma makes it," Penne sighed.
Spiracle grinned and opened the wine bottle, pouring out a glass for each of them. "If you're still hungry, I had a try at making gelato. You make it look pretty easy."
"After tastin' that, I can't wait!" Penne grinned and took a glass, clinking it against Spiracle's, and they both dug in.
A few hours later, Penne stumbled into the bedroom, groaning as as she flopped onto her side of the double bed. Her taut, bloated stomach rose and fall with her heavy breaths.
"Oh, geez," she grunted, watching Spiracle saunter in and close the door. "Why'd ya have to make me eat all that? Think I'm gonna explode over here..."
"I didn't make you," the Changeling giggled, climbing in next to her. "You did it all yourself! Guess you shouldn't have taught me so well, huh?"
"Well it wasn't fair, makin' me eat all that gelato..."
"Well, I made it just for you," Spiracle said, smirking as she carefully climbed on top of Penne, making her burp cutely. "Besides, you know the kind of dessert I like~"
They shared sultry looks and opened their mouths, Spiracle starting to inhale. A pink light rose up in Penne's throat and a mist flowed from her mouth and into the Changeling's. Her senses tingled and bristled with pleasure and her stomach began to distend. The thick mist kept draining out of the earth pony and the Changeling just kept taking it, closing her eyes and panting. When she was finally finished, her own stomach gurgled and churned, feeling ready to pop like Penne's. She carefully rolled off of her and flopped onto her side of the bed again.
"Mmm," she moaned, licking her lips. "Oh, it's so much sweeter when it's given~"
"Full now, babe?" Penne teased, her eyes half-lidded.
"Stuffed." Spiracle scooted up to Penne, their snouts pressing together. "We finally had that Hearts and Hooves dinner you've always wanted."
Penne was still alert enough to feel warmth in her cheeks. "How'd ya find that out?"
"I just know these things," she giggled. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, sweetie."
"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, babe."
The girls pressed their lips together in a soft kiss before snuggling down to sleep in each other's hooves, their bellies gurgling happily and comfortably.
