Love is Forever, so is Blubber

Chapters

Celebrations and Developments
Ballooning and Retaliation
Regret and Peril

Celebrations and Developments

A harsh wind whipped through the dust and gravel of the Badlands, kicking up great clouds of choking material into the air. Dried, shriveled bushes, bereft of any leaves still clung to the cracked ground. These lands hadn’t seen rainwater in centuries, the remnants of ancient river beds the only clue to their existence. Within a natural basin, surrounded by scrubby vegetation and low mesas, the Changeling hive erupted out of the ground. Harsh spires stretched upwards into the sky, the pointed tips hanging menacingly against the yellowed sky.

Though the outside of the structure was lifeless, inside was a different story. The howling wind was instead replaced with the chitter and buzz of the insectoid inhabitants. Queen Chrysalis beamed, her jagged teeth forming a cruel, predatory look. Standing atop a parapet, she gazed upon her subjects assembled in the vast internal courtyard of the hive. They obscured the normally grey green floor, covered by hundreds of drones, all eagerly waiting. Additional drones clung to the walls, some hovering and buzzing in the air. All were cheering, cheering at the prize she held aloft.

“We have captured the Crystal Heart!” She bellowed, receiving an even greater roar of approval from below. “With the brilliant actions of our most esteemed operatives, they took this right from under those Crystal Ponies’ snouts! Even that insufferable Princess Cadence could do little to stop us from fleeing with it. From this day onward, we shall never again go hungry, never again shall we suffer starvation!” Her voice boomed, raising higher and higher in volume, reaching a crescendo, whipping the Changelings into a frenzy of excitement.

“This stone is saturated with pure love magic. An unending reservoir of love that the ponies so selfishly hoarded for themselves! No longer. Now, we shall never have to skulk through the back allies, scrounging up meager drops of love. No, the Changelings will live the rest of their days full and satisfied, like Kings and Queens of the world, we shall endure forever more!” Cheers and shouts of jubilation rolled over her, grasping the jewel in both hooves above her head.

“My loving subjects, witness now, as I unlock the full potential that the ponies so blatantly ignored!” Hundreds of pairs of eyes watching, Chrysalis’ magic enveloped the Heart, the deep, sickly green energy intensifying as the gem shrank in size, low groans emanating as it compressed. From head-sized to bite-sized, the Changelings gazed on as she popped it into her mouth, swallowing it with an audible gulp. For a moment, nothing happened, the drones exchanging confused expressions, before a sudden burst of blue erupted from Chrysalis’ mouth. Her stomach banding too glowed, turning into the same shade of blue as the crystal. Before their very eyes, she changed.

Her many holes across her body closed up, additional matter filling them rapidly, leaving only tiny dimples where they once were. They too could feel the waves upon waves of energy gushing from her. Awestruck, unable to say anything, basking in the rejuvenating emanations. All the while, the Queen was cackling with joy.

“Ahahahah! You see now? We are unstoppable! Feel the power coursing through you. I expect our love storage pods to be groaning with all the excess. Now is the time to stock up, to repair and to prepare for retaliation. Make no mistake, the Equestrians will want their precious Heart back! But we’ll be ready for them. And we will prevail, for the Hive!”

“For the Hive, for the Queen!”

In the days following the Crystal Heart heist, the hive’s inhabitants looked significantly more healthy than they had before. Following Chrysalis’ forceful acquisition of the artefact that once was the Crystal Heart, her body had been radiating intensely powerful blasts of love energy. Because of the properties of the jewel, it had refused to digest, instead fusing with the Queen internally, Changeling and pure love magic mingling as one.

This merging of the crystal with Changeling biology had forced it to expel all the energy it contained. A reservoir which was bottomless. And so, this had seeped through the entire hive, everyling able to rejuvenate and feed. Imitating their Queen, their bodies had made a startling recovery. Their limbs were now almost completely smoothed over, their membranous manes, tails and wings too patching up. In addition, they were constantly full of energy. The result of which had increased hive productivity.

With the abundance of food, the Queen had decreed that the drones must expand and develop the holding they already possessed. They had expanded the underground section of the hive, increasing the space available to house more of their kind. A new, more expansive tunnel had been dug to the underground lake that hydrated the hive, alongside the increased food storage. The larders, once heavily guarded and restricted, were now seeing dozens of drones flitter in, offloading excess love into the tanks attached to the walls.

At this point though, the room was becoming exceedingly full. Pods upon pods of the pink energy were packed together, enough to bathe the entire room in a rose tincture. It was getting rather excessive. Already, plans to create another storage room were in the works. It was getting absurd with the amount of love they possessed. And yet, it kept on flowing. Most Changelings were glad that they no longer had to fight for their food. Some though we’re getting just a tad worried.

The decadence they now existed in felt alien to them. Their bodies, so used to scrounging off the barest scraps of love, were instead being pumped to capacity. They could barely stop moving from the amount of excess energy in their system, leading to them spending hours on end fruitlessly topping up storage containers to feel something other than being full. Constantly morphing forms, using spells, flying fast and erratically. Nothing seemed to work.

Chrysalis herself sat upon her throne, basking in the aura. As a literal fountain of love, her entire being was cracking with untold mountains of power. The Heart and her were one, a second heart beating alongside her own. Each pound sent a cascade of nutrition across her. She cackled and laughed. The once vulnerable creature, now a glowing beacon of light. Her horn crackled with arcane might, easily able to pick up room-sized boulders, casting them aside with the ease a foal does with their toys.

“Oh, my… if I’d known this had so much power, I’d have tried to grab that trinket years ago.” Her eyes flashed with malice. “But the protective enchantments stopped us from getting close, those accursed Alicorns halting our progress. Well, up until the newest alicorn did the job for us. That hideous foal, with it’s powerful, yet still pitiful wails shattered the crystal. And, along with its temporary destruction, the permanent erasure of the spells too…”

She snarled, her horn wreathed in baleful energies. “Damn those ponies! How dare they hoard all this love when my subjects are starving!” Pointing it at one of the large stone sculptures, she unleashed the power. For a brief second, it bathed the room in a cloak of blinding green light as the power traveled the short distance. As it smashed into its target, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Then it was over. Panting heavily, she surveyed the damage. What was once a faithful replica of herself, carved from the finest granite, was naught but bubbling, glowing lava sloughing onto the floor. What it had also created was a neat hole that tunneled through the outer hive walls, the walls of it glowing red.

Her guards, normally so stoic, were staring in wide-eyed amazement. They could feel the raw heat and arcane power washing over them. So awed they were, that they almost missed their Queen gesturing them over. “Huff… tell the caretakers to prepare my bath. My body is so tense right now. These magical outbursts are getting worse and worse, if they don’t stop, I’m going to collapse our hive by accident.”

“At once, my Queen.” They spoke in unison, before buzzing away at a great speed, leaving the exhausted, yet still energised monarch to sprawl in her throne, flying gently to the ground. Her steaming horn cooled, she flicked her mane side to side, a curious feeling blanketing around her. Looking back to her destruction, she shook her head, marking it as just her body’s reaction to the immense displacement of arcane energy.

She was sure nothing had happened. From her jagged fangs, to her blue glowing centre, to the ever so slightly rounded plot cheeks that had suddenly developed. No, it was just fatigue. She expertly navigated the network of tunnels, heading straight to her room. Now was the time for warm suds, delicately washed carapaces and soapy, flowery smelling manes.

Ballooning and Retaliation

A few days had passed since her unfortunate magical discharge and the issues for the Queen had continued to mount. Pacing around in her throne room, the place was a far cry from the once well maintained chamber it had once been. Her magical spikes had been enormous, leading to the destruction of more and more property, and the hive walls. Where there had once been gaping holes, new fresh material plugged them up roughly, the colours clashing with each other.

By her order, all personnel in the room had to be clad in the heaviest armour to protect them from wayward shots. With one drone, however, she’d only just escaped with her life. The intense heat caused her armour to neatly fuse with their carapace. It was by sheer dumb luck that she’d survived. Fortunately, the amount of love had made it so her recovery was swift, so much so that she was back on duty only two days later.

But by far the most interesting change had to be with the Queen’s body herself. Inspecting every angle of her body in a massive set of mirrors, she could only goggle at her form, wide-eyed as she drank in her change. Her body had ballooned up and out with fat. For a creature normally associated with a supremely thin, lithe figure, she was the polar opposite. Her flanks, once rather bony with a very miniscule amount of padding, had turned into cushiony orbs, strapped to her ass, creases marring them. These were connected to legs which had turned from sticks to logs, large creases of flab forming around her joints, swaddling them in plush adipose.

Her blue glowing gut dangled below her like a sack of flour, reaching her knees with little trouble. Pressing a hoof into it, she watched as it sank in slightly, meeting heavy doughy flesh. She could see that it had divided into two rolls, squishing together side by side, forming squeezable love handles. Her neck and face too hadn’t been spared one bit, widening out and sagging onto her back into a tire-like ring. Cheeks puffed up like they were holding marshmallows in them, and a wobbling chin dangled below, jostling with every movement.

“How! How did this happen!” She screamed at her reflection. “How did my beautiful figure become buried under so much of this heavy fat! I must be the fattest Changeling to ever exist!” Still, her mirror image refused to answer, it’s muzzle pulled up into a venomous scowl. A sudden pulse of light from her middle drew her eyes down, the semi-opaque skin betraying its contents. “Bah… If I’d known all this energy was going to make me this podgy, I wouldn’t have swallowed the thing.”

From the great doorway a slight knock rang out, the doors opening moments later. Cautiously trotting inside was a drone wearing an orange hard hat. “Yes, what is it you want?”

“Well, your majesty, the storage room has reached maximum capacity.” He spoke calmly, his voice holding an air of professionalism as he bowed.

“Already, is this true?”

“It is. From floor to roof, a storage pod either occupies or is squeezed into any available space.”

“Fine… see to it you start excavation on a secondary storage room. Try to keep using every inch of space in those old pods until you've finished. I will not have a single drop of love wasted.”

“Very good your majesty” With a slight spring in his step, he closed the door, leaving the Queen to her inspection.

“So… we’ve filled our entire love store? That is excellent news, just for us and us alone, and not for those selfish ponies.” Her forehead creased, fangs bearing. “Or even that traitor that fled the hive, he will not bask in our bounty.” Her eyes drifted across the room, catching the gaze of her guards, one of whom was staring straight at the Queen’s ass.

With dark purple eyes and a crimson neck fin, the offending ‘ling was certainly unique. “You! Pharynx! I saw that, whatever was the meaning of that?” Within an instant, the offending Changeling stood bolt upright, his spear fumbling in his grip. Before he could properly fix his posture, his leader was standing over him, snorting and sending bursts of steam from her nostrils.

“I… erm… umm… thought your flanks looked nice…” He gulped, sweat trickling across his ashen skin and dark violet carapace.

“My flanks look nice!?” She glanced back, inspecting the basketball-sized lumps. “I suppose they do have some charm to them… but still! The way you gazed upon me was out of line. Just be thankful that I don’t send you on a practice infiltration mission to Yakyakistan. Is that clear?”

He didn’t respond, his eyes suddenly flicking back to her body, as his eyes widened in surprise. “My… my Queen… are you… growing?”

“Growing, whatever are you prattling on about?” Raising her leg, she jabbed at his chest with every word she spoke. “I swear if I hear one more word out of you, i’ll…” She stopped, glancing back at her leg. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched on in shock as the limb seemed to be thickening, millimeter by millimeter. Staggering back, she stared aghast at the mirrors. “You… you weren’t lying…” she stuttered out, her usual bravado suddenly taken out of her. Before her very eyes, she could feel pound after pound of extra mass suddenly materialise upon herself.

The weight bearing down was growing by the second, her guards watching on in a mixture of shock and amazement. Like molasses, her onyx skin blimped outwards with doughy blubber. Her stomach pressed her legs apart with the sheer amount of flesh accumulating there. “What on Equus is going on!” she shouted, feeling an additional chin swaying about, slapping into her tire like neck. Barely able to turn her head, she watched as creases of flab ringed her back, starting to trap her wings between the accordion like slabs.

Her butt, now starting to rival exercise balls in terms of size, began to rapidly envelope her tail, leaving bare strands of it poking out between the crevasse of buttock cleavage. This was further compounded by her legs continuing to thicken, the heavier rolls sagging below her knees in great, ovoid clumps. She could hardly move. Each step she took was an exaggerated slosh, sweat beading across her forehead as she tried to keep on her hooves. But, as the weight stacked on, she could no longer stand. With a last cry of frustration, she fell onto her gut, the blob of adipose acting as a mattress. “Someling please do something!” she screeched, though much deeper in pitch than before with a hint of muffling.

“A… at once my Queen, I’ll fetch a healer and an artificer…” a female guard stammered, before bolting through the door. The rest snapped out of their trance, approaching the static mound of Changeling. They shared looks, unable to do anything. Still, the swelling didn’t slow. Already, her forelegs had been forced to rest upon her belly, which was spreading across the floor, inch by inch.

“What would you have us do?” Pharynx asked, seeing as he was the closest to her head. From between wobbling cheeks, a chill ran down his spine as he looked into his leader's eyes, eyes that were tinted with frustration and bitter sadness.

“I… I don’t know…” she answered, her legs twitching ever so slightly. The door suddenly flew open, the same orange helmeted drone running in, wheezing as he skid to an uneasy halt.

“My Queen, the love storage! It’s beyond max capacity, the tanks cannot take the pressure!” He cried out, only just noticing that his Queen had more than trebled her size since he’d seen her last. Before she could think of anything to respond with, a massive tremor shook the foundations, the distant thud of an explosion reaching her ears. Then, the chamber was full of cloying love energy, tinging the air a thick, cloudy pink.

A low rumbling gurgle filled the throne room, emanating out from the mass of flesh her gut had devolved into. As soon as it had finished, the light emanating from her stomach intensified, blue light cutting through the pink haze. Then her growth suddenly escalated. Each second that passed, her body spread further and further out, even raising herself up higher and higher. Every drone emitted cries of distress, literally forcing them to back away as her expansion continued. The energy she possessed was amplifying, the room swamping with love energy.

As they tried to make head or hooves of the situation, they noticed that they too were undergoing the same process their Queen was undergoing. The sheer excess of love was permeating their bodies. Soon, their lean bodies gurgled and blorped as fresh fat was appearing, rapidly turning them from the ideal warriors into little more than obese caricatures. Armour exploded off their bodies, unable to conform to the abundant mass ballooning from within, sending metal fragments everywhere. The pieces that hit Chrysalis didn’t leave so much as a scratch, instead rebounding back with a ‘slosh’.

As helpless as grubs, they lost their footing, slumping to the ground. A mixture of shouts and yelps echoing through the chamber as they lay there. Continuing to balloon, the Queen’s body pushed into them, shunting their fattened forms along as they began to squash into the hive walls. Pharynxs’ head was almost submerged as the fatty folds of his ruler pressed into him. In vain, he tried to push Chrysalis away with his stump like hooves, encased in thick sleeves of adipose. “GGGUURRPPPPBBBBLLLUURRPPP!!!” Her immense stomach vocalised, the hive itself shaking from the intense growling from that house-sized blob, which was soon exceeded beyond that definition, as she swamped over the throne. The ancient black stone, enchanted against all magic other than Changeling, cracked and crumbled. With a final heave, it toppled over, rapidly covered by the tide of flesh.

The growth continued to accelerate, the room becoming increasingly cramped as the literal mound of Changeling dominated everything. Somewhere within the confused mind of Chrysalis, she was aware of how massive she was growing. She could sense the change in pheromones in the air as she flooded into passageways, pressing against the walls, causing the entire structure to make increasingly unsetting sounds. It terrified her subjects, the very ceiling beginning to fragment with each grumble, groan and vibration. Her guards turned into blobs themselves, like miniature versions of their ruler as their hooves were sucked into their wobbling cannons, leaving them immobile as their growth continued.

A crack of the resinous material echoed through the magnificent building, followed by many smaller ones, each one sounding like pure dread. The explosion moments ago had set them on edge, the air permeating with love being the next strike. The collapsing roof was the final straw. Like a raging river, the Changelings ran or flew as fast as they could, desperate to escape whatever was happening as the once organised hive fell into pandemonium. Another splintering bang. A strong tremor rippled through the ground, the shock tangible to the changelings running on the ground as it traveled through their legs. But they didn’t care, their instincts told them to run. Diving through halls and passages, evading falling architecture, they were oblivious to the rounding of their own guts and thickening of their hindquarters. Another crunch and a group of Changelings were cut off as the spiral staircase ahead of them was filled with a gelatinous mass, oozing and squeezing its way through, blocking off passage after passage.

As another quake rocked the hive, the first Changelings dived out into the afternoon sun, not caring where they went, unaware they were being watched from not so far away.

Surrounding the Changeling Hive, a great cliff rose into the air at the basin’s edge. The great slabs of stone were dotted with scraggly bushes and twisted, splintered trees. From these points, the once lifeless areas were teeming with life. Crowded across the slopes, unable to be spotted from the structure, were a considerable contingent of armour-clad ponies.

With both a mixture of Solar and Lunar guards among a scattering of Crystal guards, the force was considerable. All were armed with a scattering of swords, spears, and other specialised melee weapons. Alongside them, various pieces of artillery were positioned, the most prevalent being the Ballista, the immense bolts stacked beside them. The bulk of the weapons were dug into the ground, the freshly dug soil piled up around it.

Standing in a hastily erected tent, gathered around a map, the Royal Sisters glared down at the cartography. Like their troops, they had elected to bedeck themselves in plate armour, the crafting of which was nothing short of masterful. Engraved with runes, studded with enchanted gems, medallions and pendants, their bodies were protected in a latticework of the embedded magics. Beside them, the Elements of Harmony and Starlight Glimmer stood, the seven of them displaying a mixture of emotions.

“Are the troops in position, sister?” Celestia huffed, pointing to various miniatures across the map.

“Verily, sister. All forces are prepared to act upon a moment's notice.” Luna nodded back, her armoured hooves leaving a dent in the table.

“Excellent, we shall act as we planned. The assault will begin in ten minutes’ time, when the sun is behind us, blinding the defenders.” She snorted, lowering her helmet’s visor over her eyes, the near indestructible inset glass glinting an angry red. “Though we didn’t follow up against the Changelings’ first invasion, they have crossed the line this time. If not for Cadence and Shining Armor's shield, the Crystal Empire would have frozen over by now.”

“Which is why we must show force in response! Other nations have been making moves against us, this perceived weakness besmirches our kingdom's name!” Luna venomously spat, pulling her helm down. “When we are through with Chrysalis, she will rue the day when she dared to endanger our subjects.”

“Princesses! The Changelings have emerged!” A guard suddenly burst into the tent.

“Have they spotted us?” Celestia answered instantly.

“No… not at all… it’s… you’ll have to look for yourself.” He motioned with a hoof, the assembled mares darting outside. From their hidden position, they watched as what they could only describe as a cloud of black pouring out of every hole and gap in the structure. A cloud made up completely of the insectoid race.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get ‘em!” Rainbow shouted, flaring her wings as she prepared to take flight.

“No, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia stopped her, raising a hoof. “This isn’t an attack, this… this is something else.” As they continued to watch, the cloud, instead of heading straight for their position, flew off in many directions. “They’re running, but from what?” Just as she spoke, the ground rumbled, clods of earth crumbling and rocks rattling. Glancing back from the cloud, they watched as the hive itself shook. The tall spires listed and fractured as one by one they fell, each impacting the basin with an earth-shattering boom. From the gaps, something was emerging. Like a balloon being inflated from inside a box, it rose up and out of the ruined hive.

“GGGRRRUUUMMMPPHHHHBBRRR!!!!” An organic groaning washed across the land.
A few seconds more of destruction, and with one final wrenching crunch, the last remnants of the structure fell away like the shards from an immense egg, finally exposing the object within. Partially obscured by a vast cloud of dust and debris, a great mass of black lay.

“What in the name of Equestria is that?” Twilight started, nearly unable to rationalise the thing before her. Nopony responded, all too enraptured by whatever it was. Across the bulk of it, smaller onyx blobs were positioned, sunk slightly into the greater mass.

“I’m afraid I haven’t got the slightest idea, Twi” Starlight breathed. The swarm slowed, looking back at what had replaced their home.

A sudden, great thrum of energy filled the air, a green-blue orb coalescing around a great slab. Like the prelude to a thunderstorm, the air became charged with incredible power. Swirling, roiling, then with a great pop it rocketed outwards, slamming into the Equestrian position. Within a moment, almost everypony was knocked down or at the very least staggered by the pulse. “Sister… did that magic feel familiar to you?” Luna spoke, adjusting an armour plate.

“Yes, it did. Like that of the Heart, but corrupted, twisted nearly beyond recognition, by Chrysalis herself.” She glowered, looking back towards the blob, which she noted was expanding outwards. Above, she watched as the fleeing Changelings were falling back to earth, their bodies rounded out. With dull, fleshy slabs, they collided with the basin floor, not a single creature escaping. “If I had to make a guess Twilight, that mountain of fat is Chrysalis herself.”

“So… how do we stop her?” Twilight stated, a small glimpse of hope on her muzzle, only to be quashed as her mentor frowned.

“I don’t know, but we must try. Cadence and the Empire are relying on us to help them. Whatever Chrysalis has become, we will stop her with all our might!” Spreading her wings, she rose into the air, easily visible to her troops, Luna joining her side.

“You see what has become of our enemy? They have encumbered themselves by some folly of their own. Her forces are scattered and unable to fight back. Unsheathe your swords, load your bows and ready your magic, for on this day, Equestria will triumph!” Luna shouted, raising her hoof into the air.

A roar of “For Equestria!” filled the air, just before another groaning gurgle echoed across the land. With a last shout, they charged, ready to meet their quarry head on.

Regret and Peril

“Well… thishh is juuussht great…” a low, muffled grumble emanated across the rolling black landscape of blubber. Its source, a large cavernous hole, created by rings upon rings of neck and back fat. Within, the scowling face of the Changeling Queen, encased in folded, blobby lard. Well, it looked like glaring. Facial expressions were rather difficult to figure out, considering she possessed cheeks the size of small houses, with a stack of chins that melded with her neck lard, creating the impossibly bloated visage only able to see glimpses of the sky. Not to mention that she had lost the ability to turn her head a long time ago, courtesy of said lard. The only source of light that pierced through the shadows was her protruding horn, crackling and fizzling with immense arcane might.

Her body, her beautiful skinny body, was drowned under thousands of tonnes of adipose. As much as she wanted that to be an over exaggeration, it might have been closer to the truth if she called it an understatement. Simply put, the Badlands had a new landmark unceremoniously crushing it for the past few weeks. Her body was inconceivably big, better measured in kilometers than meters.

Her belly was a force of nature. Formed of innumerable rolls and folds, each slab was easily as tall as a cliff. Stacked atop one another like a pile of waterbeds made for Dragonlords, their sheer size and weight crushed everything before it. The mesas were little more than bumps as her body rolled over, crushing the stone with all the ease of blowing a house of cards down. Still, the gelatinous flesh, stacked hundreds of metres into the air, was just as soft as it had always been, giving her subjects a place to live.

Subjects just like herself, utterly enormous mounds of quaking, undulating lard, ranging from the size of carriages, up to sizes that rivaled some of the largest pony buildings. And even so, they looked like ants compared to their ruler. Whereas they could be quantified in terms of conventional buildings, she overtook an entire section of the map. Everything there, gone, wiped from existence with her almighty girth.

Behind her, two immense orbs of ovular lard composed what was once her plot. Like everything else on her body, they were little more than just collection points for magically generated adipose and cellulite, criss-crossing her butt in many dimples and folds. The result was that they had become the size of mountains, the pair of them easily able to smash aside everything in their wake. The furthest points were busy invading the jungle directly behind her.

Aside from these features, the rest of her anatomy was indistinguishable. A collage of adipose blending together, resulting in it being difficult to distinguish which parts of her were where. Limbs had been sucked into concentric, podgy rings, the ends swollen over, leaving her fore and rear legs as immense hill sized pillows. Aside from the colouration, there was little to distinguish her species, sharing more in common with an amorphous mass of gelatinous, ash grey dough than a stealthy, nimble creature. And to top it all off, the weight pressing against her throat had made her voice as deep as an Ursa Major.

Ever since she’d been unleashed unto the world, no one had tried to stop her. No one that was successful, anyway. The day she’d broken out of her hive, the Equestrians had launched an assault upon her. An assault which had ended in bitter failure. Expecting their steel blades to slice into her, the guardsponies were surprised when their weapons instead bounced off, unable to leave so much as a scratch upon her flesh. Even the ballistae with their hefty projectiles just deflected off with comical sloshing noises. Finally, the combined power of Twilight, Celestia and Luna was brought to bear as one all-powerful beam of arcane might. Still, it left naught but a very slightly discoloured blotch on her right shoulder area, which healed almost immediately.

Scant seconds later, Chrysalis responded with an intense blast of green sickly energies. Like a volcanic eruption, the shot rocketed through the sky, slamming into the ground with a deafening ‘crump’. Her body recoiled from the shot, jiggling from the sheer force. Fliers were swatted from the air as an enormous shock wave hit them in the blink of an eye. Ground combatants, closer to the epicentre, were bowled over in short order. Seconds later, a volley of beams lanced past, missing the army. The shots instead smashed into one of the vast mesas, blowing off house-sized boulders with each detonation that wracked its flanks. Dozens more uncontrolled shots buzzed overhead, reducing the ancient sedimentary structure to rubble.

One shot out of a cascade of rounds had decimated more than half of the Equestrian forces. And so they retreated, utterly stumped by their immobile adversary.

Days later, a second attempt that focused on containing her, rather than fighting, was put into motion. Even with the short time frame, she’d more than doubled her size. The rate of expansion increased continuously, allowing her body to maintain its growth. The Princesses created an immense dome of a shield, encasing the entire basin. Yet, this moment of hope that her growth could be stopped died. As she pressed against the barrier, initially her progress was halted. For days after, an immense battle of magical strength vs unstoppable weight ensued. Pressed flush against the transparent walls, Chrysalis’s body was smooshed more and more, forcing her fat upwards. In the end, though, her growth was continuous and the Princesses tired.

Heralded with ominous groans and shrieking wailing that sounded vaguely electronic, Luna collapsed, her magic dispelling a second later. Like a crystal ball hitting the floor, the construct fell apart in an instant, the shards of magic falling like snowflakes, dissipating upon the now unleashed Queen. So compressed for such a long time, her form oozed forth like a tsunami, crashing upon the land and enveloping the basin in its entirety.

For the unfortunate Princesses, their chosen spot had been much too close. As Luna collapsed, the encroaching fat quickly smothered her body. In a panic, Twilight and Celestia dove under, suddenly feeling like they had been swaddled in thick winter jackets. With the hard ground beneath and the heavy blanket of adipose above, they waded their way under, fumbling around. By luck, Celestia grabbed Luna’s hoof. With heaving, hard-fought breaths, the Night Princess was dragged out. From then on, nopony had dared to attack or stop her. It was… so utterly tedious.

Pouting through her thickened lips, she wondered just how vast she’d become. Objects felt through kilometres of flesh really didn’t make for a good scale of distance. Thinking for a second, she lit her horn, conjuring up an unusual spell she remembered. Closing her eyes, she felt disoriented as her vision suddenly moved forwards and through her eyelids. A glowing pair of eyes materialised and hovered in front of Chrysalis’ face, the orbs blinking a few times as she got used to them. An ‘Out of body’ spell she’d heard it being called, allowing a magic user to see from an outside perspective.

With a silent command, the pair of eyes shot away from her face at great speed, rising higher and higher. A generous cloud layer had formed, wispy banks developing across her highest points. She watched in amazement as the landscape of folded, sagging mass filled her vision. Still speeding skyward, Chrysalis could finally see anything other than herself, the land beyond revealed. Stunned, she was able to get a grasp on just how large she was, the only time prior being when she’d gazed at herself in her throne room.

A clump of amorphous mass, stretching from the ocean to far inland. The familiar colours and structures of the Badlands are no longer visible anywhere. Instead, all around are a mixture of lush greens, desert browns and cool blues. Amongst those, the forms of cities still definitely stood stalwart, even against the unstoppable force of her belly and butt. To her northeast, she could feel the form of large, boxy concrete structures toppling one by one,

As far as she could remember, the closest city in that direction was Baltimare. Zooming forth, she flew over to the city, her immense power allowing the projected scry to reach the city in moments.

From there, she watched what she almost mistook for a festival or parade. No. It was no event. She watched the smattering of equines moving together in a multicoloured stream. Mostly Earth Ponies and some Unicorns, among other creatures that hadn’t been gifted with the power of flight. They all moved and suffered as one. Stallions had embittered and weary expressions plastered to their muzzles, essential items strapped across their bodies in an odd patchwork as they angrily marched along.

Mare’s eyes were shrunken, clear fatigue creasing their features, as they encouraged fillies and colts to follow. The young ponies were on the verge of tears, clutching what few possessions they had to their chests as the seething mass of equines funneled its way through the streets. The only thing which kept them from wailing being their curiosity towards Chrysalis herself, somehow exceeding the fear she induced.

Among them, several guardsponies helped usher them away from the towering behemoth. Some lucky few could pile onto great ships moored along the docks. Anything from fishing boats to pleasure craft were used, leaving but a few flimsy rowing boats that the desperate took a gambit on. One by one, they cast off, shouts from those unfortunate to get a place thundering after them.

Most hurried along the roads, cobbles and paving slabs worn by the hooves and carts of generations that had once called this city home. Those left behind flooded onto the train station’s platforms or hoofed it along the roads out of the city. From where Chrysalis hovered, she could see her body in the distance, a constant presence on the horizon, like a mountain range that inexhaustibly drew closer by the day. From this, a dense shadow was cast over the city, the sun obscured even in the afternoon. To coincide, her vast pit of a stomach produced numerous gurgling and rumbling noises that echoed like distant thunderstorms. Each one would cause the civilians to glance back, the sounds of destruction following soon after.

Feeling her form ooze over another skyscraper, she dissipated the spell, returning to the warm, dark cave. She sighed. Even in her blackened heart, pity and regret bubbled up, making her wish this whole fiasco would just end. Alas, what had happened, happened. She could only hope that some greater force would stop this from escalating any further. And yet, with how much the situation had devolved, she too knew this was pure fantasy.

“Whhhhattt evvvahh shhhalll I duuu? Staare att thsh skyyee or at myshelf? Choishes, choishes…” This was her life now. Noling was close enough to talk to her anymore. Pharynx had once been positioned close to her bulbous cheeks. But like a boat floating away on the sea, he had gradually been pushed further from her face. He’d become lodged in one of her neck rolls, which was hundreds of metres away. “Ohhhh… who amm I kiiidding? This ish, intolerable… this isn’t life.” She sighed, feeling her continually expanding form rolling over another house, the thick logs composing it snapping like twigs.

Sure, she hated ponies, and really any other race that opposed the Changelings, but this went far beyond even that. No longer a creature anymore, so much as a cataclysmic disaster unfolding and smothering the land. Unable to even communicate properly, as she’d attempted to do when a group of ponies came to talk with her. She’d tried to tell them, pleaded with them to remove the Heart. Alas, all that came out was muffled whines and stutters.

Her subjects, nestled within creases and splayed across pillowy rolls, were as helpless as newborn larvae, only surviving thanks to the abundance of energy literally distorting their figures. Like it or not, she was the sole cause of all this. Her raid upon the Crystal Empire to secure her people a future, left them only with soft, blubbery despair.

Cadence, Princess of Love and the guiding light for the Crystal Empire, peered out of the great windows of the Crystal Citadel, her eyes marred by large bags. Through them, she looked down upon the once quiet streets, now packed with refugees, either taking shelter amongst the houses or passing through as they prepared to make the journey east to Rainbow Falls and Griffonstone. The realm she was trusted with protecting, yet she felt utterly defenseless against the devastation of the world she once knew.

She’d heard it all before. Losing the Heart wasn’t her fault, circumstantial events had led to it being taken, nothing she could have foreseen. And yet her heart was aching constantly, a pit of guilt embroiling in her stomach. Turning around, she looked back at the conference table. A smattering of various leaders gathered around, trying to come up with a plan.

Her aunts, Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor, Prince Rutherford and the recently appointed Dragon Lord Ember threw a myriad of plans back and forth, most being unfeasible or just plain ridiculous. One involved an ambitious plan to settle on the Changeling herself. The lack of resources, constant trembling and the stifling heat dissuaded them from pursuing the idea. There was a lot of shouting about how ‘Yaks will smash them!’, followed by repeatedly stressed responses about how it wouldn’t work. There was only so much that Cadance could handle per day. At least she no longer had to worry about maintaining the shield anymore. That was one less burden to carry at least.

The reason was because the harsh blizzards and snowstorms the North was known for had ceased to exist. The culprit, as was so often these days, was Chrysalis herself. It turns out that a perpetually expanding Changeling weighing billions of tonnes would eventually impact the planet itself. Having an almost matt black blob that rivalled continents for sheer size absorbed significant amounts of solar energy.

This energy then heated up the air around the mass of blubber, causing more and more hot air to spread across the planet itself. So large was she that she generated her own air currents of scalding, dry air. Global temperatures soared, leading to utter devastation of the tundra that composed most of the Frozen North. She shuddered, remembering when the Empire partially flooded from the amount of runoff created. She didn’t dare think how hot the temperature must be above the Changeling. It already felt like a pleasant summer day in Canterlot, becoming harsher every time the sun rose.

Another twinge juddered down her spine. Canterlot, the place she’d grown up in, amongst the beautiful spires and cool mountain breeze. Yet, just like almost every city south of the Empire, the historic seat of Equestrian power had been wiped from the map. Though, not everything had been decimated. The mountain it had clung to, the Canterhorn, still poked up above the roiling mass of ashen adipose. Like an island in the ocean, blubber lapped and squeezed itself ever higher, placing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of force on the isolated peak. It could still be seen on the horizon, desperately trying to stay rooted.

The rising temperature wasn’t the only issue. That Chrysalis weighed so much was literally crushing the continent. Not surprising, when her highest point reached far beyond even the tallest peaks surrounding Yakyakistan. The citizens of Luna Bay reported that their quays had been completely submerged, the sea engulfing them with little effort; the goods stored in the warehouses ruined by the saltwater. The culprit being that the Equestrian continent itself was being pushed down into the planet, causing the already rising sea level to become just that bit more problematic as they sank down. Those places inland, unfortunate enough to be built on low ground, suddenly found their homes flooded. The Changeling blob, however, was unphased by the water. After all, a good portion of the right side of her gut had been floating in the Celestial Sea. Almost like a volcano, with the basalt black flesh expanding like new land.

She gave a mirthful laugh. The planet itself was suffering just like its inhabitants, slumping under the stress much like she had. “How about this… what if we free Tirek and use his magic draining powers to negate or reverse Chrysalis’ growth?” Twilight’s voice wafted over to Cadence, a snort leaving her nostrils.

“No. Plain and simple, no. Even if he could absorb all the magic from Chrysalis, he would be just as big, and would have a near bottomless reservoir of magic to decimate everything on the planet. So once he’s been released, and if he can stop her, we would have an entirely new problem.” Celestia thumped her hoof against the table, her normal mask of calm dissipating as Twilight shrank.

“Yak still say we smash…”

“YES, WE GET IT RUTHERFORD!!!! CAN YOU PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY PLEASE SHUT THE BUCK UP!!!” Cadence screamed in a pseudo Royal Canterlot Voice, all the creatures attending staring at the fuming pink alicorn in shock. “We’ve been talking for days on end, and what do we have to show for it?! Nothing, that’s what!”

Fury in her eyes, she marched over to the table, slamming her hoof down on it, causing various pieces of stationary to fall off. “Now… we either come up with something sensible, or nothing at all… wait... what is that rattling?” She stopped, the crystal floor below her hooves trembling, growing more intense with each second. Each leader shared a look, all eyes now fixed on Chrysalis, the great wall of blubber remaining as still as it always appeared.

A deafening crunch and cracking of stone came from the opposite direction, right behind the group. With dread swimming in their bodies, they about-faced. Like dough rising in a tin, the land buckled and fissured as it rose up and up. Then the surrounding land collapsed, the chunks landing with concussive booms. Where there was once just flat land, instead a great mass of black was busy pushing itself out of the earth. Great juicy smacks rang out as rolls of fat landed upon the ground. Bit by bit, the Changeling continued to grow, forcing the surrounding ground to split and a great number of cracks to criss-cross through the earth.

The destruction radiated from that point. The land beneath the old tundra was filled with a number of caves and voids. The sudden fracturing causing the unsupported slabs to fall. The rail tracks, the fastest transport for those heading east, suddenly split, the ballast scattering as the sleepers were torn apart from each other, breaking the connection in an instant. Then came the yells of terror. The cacophony of distress reached all in the room, despair etching their way onto all their faces.

As the hidden Changeling continued to bulk up with tonnes upon tonnes of lard, the most influential and powerful creatures in all of Equestria could only watch on, unsure what they were going to do now. Time, however, was already slipping by. Chrysalis’ belly blorping once more, several thousand tonnes accumulating in seconds. A deafening crack followed this, as the Canterhorn finally fell. Its impact softened by the kilometres of flesh surrounding it, rushing in to fill the void it left. Inexorably, her belly crawled forth again, coming ever closer to the Empire.