Usually, everypony couldn't wait for the summer break vacation, just to be able to play all day, have various adventures from dusk to dawn, or just help out on a local apple farm. But apparently, that was not the case in Ponyville.
As it was each year, most of Cheerilee's students were upset they had to part ways for a few long months, loving their teacher from the bottom of their hearts. And like a routine, her desk was covered with all kinds of gifts, from edible or decorative flowers to chocolate candies and drawings of her favorite teachers of various qualities. A few tears were shed, when the pink earth pony carried her speech, the same one that occurred every single year, about having fun during the break, making friends, and coming back to school happy and healthy.
The teacher carried on with cleaning the classroom, after the departure of all of her students. But apparently, it wasn't all of them. Her ear flinched, hearing crunching noises behind the far desk in the corner and a loud sigh. It didn't happen the first time.
"I know you're in there, Candy Bass. The school is over. Why don't you gather your things and join your friends, hm...?"
She approached a brown, short unicorn of a rather spherical shape. From day one, Cheerille was worrying about their condition, sometimes even teaching in this very classroom about all the dangers of eating too much sugary food. And yet, they were here, still chubby as ever. The problem had to lie deeper.
"I'm going, Miss Cheerilee! I just wanted to finish my snack first!" The unicorn didn't lose their spirit, even if their body started to give up at a such young age. The floor beneath his desk was covered with empty bags, most of them coming from their's mother's bakery. Most ponies couldn't resist such delightful pastries; her child was one of them.
"Make sure to throw away the trash, alright? And how about you'll get some exercise during summer break, dear? Trust me, with just a bit of will, you can transform into anything you desire. Now, off you go."
After gulping down the last bite of croissant, the small unicorn levitated and crumbled down the paper bags, before throwing them directly into the trash can. They knew that transformation was possible. But it wasn't the same thing that Cheerille was thinking of. They slowly trotted from the classroom, breathing heavily with each step taken, already thinking about all the food waiting for him in their house.
The summer break had just begun.
*****
Empty tubs of ice cream were moving up and down rhythmically to the vibrating sounds of loud snoring, lying on a rather soft surface. Candy Bass' belly worked amazingly well as a table, able to hold practically anything without tipping them over, which had a plethora of uses within the last weeks of vacations.
The chocolate-flavored drool dripped down on the floor out of their opened mouth, while lying on the carpet in their bedroom. The unicorn's hindleg raised during their sleep, twitching occasionally during their slumber, which could be easily mistaken for a sugar-induced coma. Brown unicorn's dream looked like a nice one, judging by their faint smile.
Suddenly in the mid-snore, the young colt gasped for air, a normal occurrence in their obese life. Candy Bass opened their eyes, before moving their body around in discomfort. The empty tubs of chocolate ice cream fell over, while unicorn tried their best to stand on their hooves. After a few failures, they finally managed to stand on them firmly, before trying to stretch their body, feeling soreness in the muscles. It wasn't the first time they fell asleep during the midnight snack, instead on their comfy bed. But the sugary, tasty food was much more important than a soft pillow and a blanket.
They looked around, seeing an awful mess. Candy Bass was everything, even a slob, but not that kind who wanted to live in filth forever. First things first, they levitated all the trash to one of the multiple bins in their room, since they were producing so much refuse every single day.
The unicorn developed an even larger belly during those few weeks, doing practically nothing but eat and nap in their home, as well as several more chins, while the legs resembled wooden logs by now. They were lucky of being unicorns, so at least their magic could do most of the things, that the swine couldn't do.
Tiny keg of a pony eventually moved on with their day, even if their schedule didn't look any different from the other days, filled with naps and feasts, but still remembering about simple daily tasks and chores, like personal hygiene.
Candy Bass opened the door with magic, before taking a few wheezing breaths, trotting slowly but surely towards the bathroom, flopping over occasionally on their belly. Even the daily routine was like an exhausting adventure for him, but also an excuse to eat more important calories, forgetting about the simple fact that he didn't need such tremendous amounts.
The rounded unicorn fell flat into the shower cabin, turning the water without using hooves again, letting the warm water wash down all the filth from the previous day or rather an eating spree.
Most of the ponies used this time of the day for deep thoughts, sometimes about their life or just about chores. But not Candy Bass. His massive belly already grumbled, sounding like a snoring dragon, demanding a sweet and tasty tribute in exchange for calming down for a moment.
The pony licked their lips, already having delicious pastries in mind, while making the sponge fly around the gigantic for their age body, scrubbing in every nook and under every flab. It was somewhat entertaining, trying to get every single drop of filth, to eventually make them look decent. Fat, but sufficient enough.
There was no pony else home to comment on their looks, saying how handsome this young colt is. But the house was empty during this hour when Candy Bass' mother went to the bakery for another day of work. But as always, a marvelous scent welcomed him when they flopped downstairs, making strange, plopping noises, like it was a water-filled balloon falling. The pony squeaked in happiness, surprised to see a plate of blueberry muffins on the kitchen counter with a usual note from the mother, filled with love and best wishes for her child, promising to play with them after work. The unicorn knew that their mother was almost always too tired after coming home, barely talking with them and what they did during the day. But Canby Bass was absolutely fine with that.
They levitated the whole plate with four delicious, baked cloud-like shapes of goodness, as well as the napkin, which he tucked under one of his multiple chins. Not even trying to take a seat on the chair or somewhere in the living room, they just sat on the tiled floor, taking ravenous bites of their breakfast, puffing their cheeks with their mother's masterpiece.
Canby Bass heard familiar noises coming from outside, mainly made by their school friends, carrying on with their day actively. They considered joining those fillies and colts, also remembering how it will likely end, not wanting to hurt themselves or to be dangerously exhausted. They also realized, how long ago they visited the library or arcade, promising themselves to eventually go there, sooner or later. But as promises went, they usually stayed that way, especially since their room was already filled with their favorite books and hoof-held games.
After the non-eventful breakfast, Candy Bass cleaned all the crumbs from the floor, ignoring those that remained on their body. Leaving trash on the floor was one thing, but something that affected their looks wasn't much of their concern.
The unicorn opened the fridge, taking out a six-pack of chocolate pudding, along with a spoon and a can of whipped cream for a snack, even if they just ate a meal for at least two adult ponies. Remembering their past incidents, they levitated all objects on the top floor, before trying to climb back to their room.
Wheezing and panting, each step was an obstacle for them, marginalizing their pain and exhaustion, just like every other difficulty because of their current weight. They were motivated just by the thought of devouring the mouth-watering snacks, making them all fuzzy and warm inside.
Once back in their bedroom with all of the sugary goods, they realized that one important thing was missing. The spoon. Not wanting to get through all of this climbing again, they simply shrugged and carried on with their day, picking up one of the books, which they already read like five times.
Cozy under the blanket and on the pillow, they once again followed the epic quest of a pony knight, fighting their way through the dragon kingdom, to rescue the princess from their clutches. His adventure was filled with all sorts of dangers, from spiky tentacles coming from bottomless pits to thousand eyes spiders, and finally a dragon of the size of the mountain, able to devour whole Ponyville with one single bite.
Candy Bass was taking breaks from time to time, opening small containers of pudding, topping them with whipped cream, before swallowing them completely, licking the tiny box clean. After finishing the last one, their eyelids felt incredibly heavy, while they yawned long and loud, passing out right at the still-opened book.
A sudden noise woke them up, followed by the familiar voice of their mother. Candy Bass quickly used a napkin to clean their face, so mothers wouldn't think that they just ate and weren't hungry at all. They still could munch on something, right here and now.
The female pony watched as their child flopped on each step of the stairs, ignoring the fact that they seemed to be bigger each following day. But as the mother, she also looked at their offspring through pink glasses.
Candy Bass smiled and squeaked happily when their parent ruffled lovingly through their mane, before preparing a favorite meal for them - hay burger with ketchup-coated hay fries. All soaked in delicious, greasy oil.
The obese unicorn listened to their mother about what happened during her work, all about clueless customers or the ones who tried to get something for free. The pony barely climbed the chair, feeling exhausted and famished, just wanting to dig into fatty dinner, cramming down on dangerous for his health food.
Right after dinner, despite the previous promise, the mother lies down on the couch wanting to read and not be disturbed. It was a great deal for Candy Bass, who had already taken a few cupcakes from the fridge, leftovers from her bakery. But they didn't go back to their room just yet, wanting to minimize the amount of travel during their day.
Once done with the post-dinner snack, they took two tubs of strawberry ice cream for a variety, since yesterday they took a different flavor, before commencing a final climb of their day, remembering about the spoon this time as well as levitating the creamy goodness on top, before crawling.
It was far from midnight so they still needed something for a potential, midnight snack. They searched through the bookcase, finding a case of bonbons, as well as a tin box of chocolate chip cookies. He felt like a scavenger or a pirate, digging through delicious treasure. They eventually turned on a hoof-held video game, feeding themselves with spoonfuls of ice cream with magic, carrying on with their leisure.
They eventually woke up abruptly, not realizing when and how they went asleep so suddenly, realizing it was already night. Yawning and still feeling hungry, they opened a tin box of cookies, illuminating the room with a light coming from their game.
Another day passed, filled with happiness and good feelings, making them craving for more.
The days turned into weeks, then further into months. Candy Bass' vacation was slowly ending, while their time in the house looked familiar, like a time loop from one of their books. After all, those days of leisure looked a little different from the other, filled with ravenous feasts, struggle with stairs, and simple chores, not to mention the multiple naps and brief sugar comas.
Just two weeks before the start of school, Candy witnesses an envelope coming out through the letter box in the kitchen door, flopping on the ground. It was one of the few entertainments during the morning besides food, so they gladly crawled towards the letter, dragging their massive belly with them. Even the simple motion of opening the envelope with magic caused the fat child to take a breath, clearly fatigued from such a simple exercise. Eventually, they started reading the contents, which were addressed to him.
It wasn't just a letter but an invitation from Cheerilee herself, to join a school trip just a few days before the new year of education. The destination was nothing else but a larger water park in Equestria, in Neighsconsin. Candy Bass got excited, but his thoughts went first to all the booths with amazing snacks, before thinking about all the slides and other fun attractions. The pony just couldn't wait, knowing that their mother would agree and send him with other school friends. Even when they didn't get her permission yet, Candy Bass levitated the pen and marked the day on the calendar, clearly excited.
*****
"Next stop! Neighsconsin Bells!"
The train stopped, letting out all of the happy colts and fillies, although not without a few complications. While most of Cheerilee's group already got out, Candy Bass struggled with the door, already stuck in it, but luckily only for a brief moment, when the multiple fat folds eventually gave up, letting the pony through. Nopony commented on it, trying not to be rude about their condition. But everypony saw that Candy Bass looked different for the worse.
"Are we all here?" The teacher looked around, counting her pupils. "Before we go to the park, we need to check in the nearby hotel to leave our things. Then we have the whole day for ourselves. Understood?"
The ponies nodded, while some of them were impatient, wanting to be already entertained, going wild before the school year starts.
Luckily for them and especially Candy Bass, the building wasn't too far away from the station, while the group had to stop only a few times so Candy Bass could catch up with their pace. Once inside, Cheerilee got all the keys for the children.
"All the rooms except one are for only two ponies, so gather in pairs. The Sooner we're done, the quicker we'll be in the park."
While it sounded so simple, some fillies were upset with such a decision, wanting to be in the room with the entire group. Eventually, all ponies were in pairs, except Candy Bass and one other colt.
"Caramel Chaser. You'll be with Candy Bass here, alright? You're the only ones without a pair." The teacher said, giving the key to the smaller pony of the two, but still quite chubby for his age. But he wasn't even near as large as his partner.
"I expect all of you in thirty minutes in the lobby. No wandering around the hotel because there's not enough time. Understood? Now, off you go."
The group dispersed, going towards the elevator, while some colts rushed towards the stairs, wanting to quickly see their rooms. When Candy Bass and others entered the small compartment, it gave out a creaking sound.
"I'm afraid we exceeded the capacity." The worker inside stated, trying not to look at the obese pony directly. "You need to go to other elevators. I can only take a few. Or... one..." he tried to be as discreet as possible.
All of the annoyed kids left, except the largest ones. Caramel Chaser gave his roommate an apologetic smile like he was the reason for this problem.
The elevator shook, while the doors closed, before finally going upwards while still making worrisome, metallic sounds. But after a while, they arrived with no further complications. While the pair left, Caramel swore he saw the worker sigh in relief, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Inside the room, Candy Bass realized how badly were they treated. Tiny beds that would collapse only by looking at them, a lack of a fridge filled with complimentary snacks, and the smallest bathroom in the world. But it was only in Candy Bass' eyes, while the roommate seemed satisfied.
The non-binary pony pouted, checking the bed with a hoof, then trying to fit into the shower cabin but with no luck. Seeing that they had no other thing to do during this free time, Candy Bass slowly left the room, panting and wheezing, while all the flabs and multiple chins wobbled with his motions.
"Where are you going? The teacher said to stay?" The roommate said, but the obese unicorn was already gone. Quite fast when the delicious food was within reach.
Thirty minutes later, during the roll call, Cheerilee couldn't count her right cute pupils. Seeing that the group was missing a significant one, it was extremely easy to see who was exactly missing.
"Caramel Chaser, where is your roommate?" She asked, but the colt only shrugged. Rolling her eyes, the teacher left the lobby, after commanding the group to not move even for an inch. She took her first steps to the most obvious place the unicorn could go. Buffet.
Soon enough, she noticed the youngster, pigging out at one of the tables, eating from the pile of various food, towering before him on the largest plate he could find.
"Enjoying yourself? I said there's no time for it. Now, join the group or you'll miss all the fun we prepared for you..." she said firmly, with a worrying look on her face. The Candy Bass pouted but didn't want to upset their favorite teacher even further, eventually concurring with the request.
*****
"What's the holdup?"
The Neighsconsin's water park was indeed the largest and most exquisite one in the whole Equestria or possibly whole words itself. Everypony could find something for them, from casual slides to the ones that were swirling for great distance, giving tons of thrill. But for those who wanted just to laze around, there were slow rivers and shallow pools, currently filled with the elderly. They also deserved some wet fun, after all.
"Move your butt!"
The queue to the top of the mediocre-sized slide was slowed down significantly, all the ponies standing on the stairs, not moving an inch. They could hear loud wheezing, groaning, and panting, along with deep breaths.
Every step was torture for poor Candy Bass. The massive tub of lard that he had become during all this time of binge eating could barely move upwards. When the unicorn raised its head, realized how far away was the top. They just couldn't listen to the workers below, who firmly suggested that it might be too difficult to climb for the obese youngsters. But Candy Bass was too stubborn, not seeing how their weight affected their life.
"Mommy, should we go somewhere else?" The filly whined, tired of all this waiting.
Step by step, the pony was slowly but surely getting closer to the destination, while all their limbs shook violently like they were made of cotton candy instead of muscles, even under all of this heavy fat.
They grunted and flopped completely exhausted on the platform, overcoming this challenge right before the next one. After all, the slide itself wasn't exactly chubby-friendly. Especially, not for morbidly obese ones.
"Are you sure you can fit in it, kid?" The worker asked, wondering what should he do. It would be awful to be witness to the such struggle, to just say to them they can't have fun.
Candy Bass didn't answer, struggling to catch a breath. But after a long moment and causing more disturbance in the inpatient crowd, they stood up proudly. The unicorn stepped towards the entrance of the slide, just before....
Plomp!
The wet, rubbery sound made the ponies groan. Not only did they have to wait longer than the rest of the ponies in this park, but some silly pony also got stuck! Candy Bass whined, flailing their chubby limbs, not able to move in any direction.
The worker being a unicorn, panicky used his horn to move the obese patron. But with one swift motion, he pulled the spherical-shaped pony, which had tears in its eyes.
"I'm truly sorry, little one..." he said, not mocking their size. It was still a child after all. "Maybe step aside and take a break before moving to another attraction? This slide has a lot of turns and it will be extremely dangerous if you would get stuck somewhere in the middle."
Obese pony sniffed, but they eventually agreed. But their heart was also hurt, figuratively speaking.
*****
"Candy Bass?"
The other chubby pony approached the unicorn, who was drowning their sadness in a gigantic bowl of ice cream. But as always, it was the food itself that numbed the pain and rejection. And still not realizing what was the prime culprit of all these problems. They looked at the roommate with a puzzled look, not sure what he wanted.
"I was looking all over the place for you. I know you couldn't get to the slide, but I found the perfect ride just for you. Will you accompany me?" He said, giving a weak smile.
The morbidly obese pony beamed, raising on the seat on which he barely fit, making its legs wobble and creak dangerously. Some of the ice creams dropped onto their body, disappearing in multiple nooks and crannies. They levitate the bowl, taking it with them.
Caramel Chaser guided his friend to the back of the park, where they could see an attraction they didn't think about before. Lazy river. The rafts were hefty, able to fit a sizeable group of ponies or just an individual one, but massive. The colt helped his roommate to get on the ride, before choosing the one right next to it.
The wheezing and panting were heard once again but this time only for short while, before the raft wobbled under the immense weight of the gargantuan unicorn, but it didn't sink. It barely slowed down, taking the ravenous pony with it, who still had a bowl of ice cream levitating beside their head. And all was good.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Caramel Chaser said, lazing about on the other ferry, clearly enjoying it. After all, both weren't exactly the best type for this park, which was built for more agile ponies.
All the turns of the river weren't sharp at all, making their rafts float gracefully on the water, hinting excitement, compared to other attractions. Candy Bass could hear all the screams filled with thrill and happiness, when the rest of the school friends had the best time of their life, landing in the pool and splashing water everywhere, after long and eventful slide.
But unicorns stopped caring about all of this, thinking they didn't miss that much, surrounded by everything they wanted from this trip. Delicious food, friendship, and pure, childish fun.
Candy Bass dipped their whole mouth into a bowl of melting, delightful ice cream, squeaking and chuckling happily. Caramel Chaser felt happy for them, even if his eyes were tinted with sadness and fear for their health.
All was well.
