Competitive Eating

Dash opted to catch a sky-carriage back to her home. A few more days, a lot more pounds, and it was finally time to see Applejack. Rainbow Dash had a notion in her head. Maybe the lovely farm pony would share in her interest. Maybe she would at least indulge it. It was her belly that helped make this all happen. Something about it. Something that made sense. But Dashie knew her friends. Pinkie could crack a joke or two. Fluttershy and Rarity were too polite to be confrontational about how chubby she was getting. But Applejack…

“Sweet mother of Celestia, Rainbow, how big are you going to let yourself get?!”

“It’s not a big deal, Applejack.”

“Pun not intended, I’m sure. Seriously girl, you’re putting my cattle to shame at this point. Can you even fly anymore?”

“Pshah! Piece of cake (mmmm…cake~)”

Rainbow Dash’s wings fluttered a few times and the chubby mare strained.

“Ah, heh heh.”

Applejack looked on, unsurprised by her friend's struggle.

"If there was a piece of cake, I'd wager you ate it by now."

Dash's wings beat faster, quickening like a dragonfly to pull the heavy mass upwards, a bead of sweat appearing on her once-athletic face. Finally, her hooves lifted off the ground, but the awkward distribution of flab shifted and moved and put her off balance. She quickly dropped to earth with a clumsy, jiggly body slam. At least it was a soft landing. She returned to her hooves with similar strain, blushing.

“Look, I’m just really committed to my training, that’s all! You know me! I always go 120% when it comes to winning!”

She sensed the wavering uncertainty in her own voice, knowing that the stoic farmpony was not easily tricked.

“Well…alright…but if you get grounded by the end of this, don’t come rolling over to me with the complaints. What’d you come here for, anyhow? It’s quite the walk, considering…”

Dashie rolled her eyes in frustration. Besides, she wasn’t complaining.

“I get it AJ, I’m getting fa- IN SHAPE. I am getting…in shape.”

Her tone snapped to the defensive, her eyes wide. Applejack scoffed at her friend’s embarrassment, making a mental note that 'round' was technically a shape somepony could get into.

“I was kinda hoping to place a bulk order on cider. The uh…competition can involve drinking as well as eating. Gotta diversify my workload here.”

She shook her prominent belly with a hoof.

“Well alright. We’ve been storing up for cider season, but I can part with some if you’re willing to pay up front. How much we talking?”

“Three, maybe four barrels?”

Applejack’s eyebrow slowly rose on her face.

“I know, I know, but I’m coming to the final stretch here! And besides, maybe that appley goodness will calm my stomach a bit. Increase my capacity!”

Dash internally sung and danced with delight. Applejack finally relented. Dash really was serious about competing, wasn’t she? Hard to stand in her way. She’d probably just flatten somepony if they did.

“Fine Rainbow. Anything to help a friend. But you owe me on this one! Gonna be quite a few grumpy faces in line when we run out even earlier than usual this year.”

At last, the errands were run. Between the Pinkie Pie orders, the Fluttershy supplements, the Rarity ice cream, and the glorious Applejack spirits filling her bedroom, not even the exercise of walking to the kitchen drew Dahsie away from her well-provisioned gluttony nest. And with Twilight providing a convenient promise that this was all consequence-free, the brakes were truly off the train. Food, entertainment, napping, and growth were the order of the day. Then days. Then weeks. Then a month.

All the while, Rainbow Dash marveled at herself. Her ever-growing self. The excuses and justifications fell by the wayside. Her friends hadn’t stopped her. She didn’t need to stop. The voice in her head that told her to ‘take a day off’ and ‘exercise’ was reduced to a murmur, possibly advising a workout in some unforeseeable future not dominated by gluttonous intake – surely enough to justify double helpings of pie, followed by weight gain supplements, followed by ice cream, capped off by delicious, sugary cider.