Aren't You Hungry, Dear?

Rarity gasped as she saw the enormous, nigh-spherical body of Twilight Sparkle laid precariously on the bed.
"Oh, Celestia… Twilight! Twilight, are you okay!?" She asked, bounding over to Twilight, pouring a cup of the potion.
The encumbered princess could only let out a low groan, her sagged, stubby limbs wiggling weakly.
It took Rarity a moment to find Twilight's mouth, but then she dumped the potion in. "Down the hatch, darling… You'll feel better," She promised, having already given the potion to Starlight, Spike, and a few townsponies who had wandered out into the street at the ruckus.
Twilight coughed and wheezed. "Gurgh… Rarity, what's going on?" She asked, even that short speech draining the princess' lungs.

Rarity gently rubbed Twilight's head, "It's a long story," She expressed, "That burger we tried was tainted, and now the town's foals have been living underground in fear for the past year, and…" She threw her head back dramatically, "Ugh! All of us are just… Overstuffed slugs," She explained.
Twilight's eyes widened to the best of their ability. "It wasn't all a dream…?" She murmured, weakly wiggling her limbs, "Guhh… I can hardly move," She whined.
Rarity nodded a little, "I need to go help the others… You take care of yourself, okay? For the love of all that is good, please don't eat anything."
Twilight groaned, "Food is the last thing I want right now," She mumbled.
Rarity gently rubbed her head one more time, before leaving the room.

Rarity and the cutie mark crusaders would slowly head through town, trying to distribute a good amount of the potion. The two bottles the cutie mark crusaders had brought did eventually run dry, but they now had a small army of townsponies of varying cognizance.
As dawn slowly broke, the irate crowd descended on the Hungry Horse.
"The potion's in the water cooler at the back!" Applebloom said as she lead the charge, "Today, we fight for Ponyville!"

The crowd of ponies descended on the restaurant like a slow moving wave of destruction. The employees gawked in horror as angry ex-customers filled the restaurant, outraged at the delusion they'd been fed for the past year and a half.
The cutie mark crusaders would sneak through to the back as the adults occupied the now overwhelmed staff, sneaking through. They found a large bottle of the pink liquid and started shoving it out of the restaurant, abusing the commotion.

"Ya did it, chief," Applebloom grunted as she pushed, "Dunno where you went afterwards, but ya did it."
Scootaloo looked at her. "We'll find her, Applebloom," She promised.
Sweetie nodded, "She couldn'tve gone too far," She reasoned.
Applebloom sighed and nodded. She hoped the other two fillies were right.

Even after the raid, it took some time for normalcy to return to Ponyville; and even longer for it to spread to the rest Equestria. The damage had been apocalpytic in some ways; the sheer damage that had been done to the population crippled pegasi's ability to manage the weather, which in turn affected agriculture, which in turn affected the ability for Equestria to produce food. Nevermind the damage to royalty, and Equestria's image as a society.

Twilight grimaced lightly as she looked at the museum exhibit. The "Obesity Epidemic", as it was now more formally named, was now a documented event in Equestrian history; one that still, admittedly, plagued its population. Not nearly as severely as some months prior, but even with a strict diet, lots of exercise, and some judicious use of cosmetic magics, Twilight's figure was still a bit larger than was typically considered healthy.
She looked at a portion of the exhibit, detailing important figures from the time.

"Handen Foot"
"During the Obesity Epidemic, Handen Foot took charge of a group of Equestria's youth and lead a raid on a Hungry Horse establishment, leading to the first major distributions of the antidote. Despite her heroic acts, these pre-Epidemic photos are the latest available images of her; she disappeared shortly after the raid, and hasn't been seen since."

Twilight sighed a bit, looking at the pictures of the brown and gray pony. The mystery bothered both her and the filly sitting to her side.
Applebloom wiped her eyes as she looked at the pictures, "I still don't understand where she could've gone," She expressed.
Twilight sighed a bit, "The royal guard being incapacitated has sincerely hurt the kingdom's search efforts," She reminded, "It's only been a few weeks that most pegasi have been able to fly."
Applebloom sighed. "I know, Twi. But the rest of the foals an' I still can't help but worry; she was the only adult a lot of us could trust for a long time," She reasoned.

Twilight's eyes closed as she thought for a long moment. "Did she have any explicit enemies?" Twilight asked, taking a seat, "Having a suspect would be a good start."
Applebloom thought for a long moment, "She told us the Hungry Horse folks were always prowling for her. She had to wear a muzzle because she almost got greased once," She explained.
Twilight's eyes went slightly wide at that comment. Muzzles for ponies weren't exactly a foal-friendly topic. "I… I see. Well, we could try organizing some searches of the ex-employee's houses, I guess," She supposed.
Applebloom nodded a bit.

The searches didn't prove fruitful; especially at first. It had been a major challenge to organize an effective task force given that most officers and guards were still somewhat dreadfully out of shape.
Then, they got to the house of Toffee Crumble.
A firm knock was applied to the door. After a few long moments, a small brown and gray mare came to the door.
Handen's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, officers. Please come in, the master isn't home right now," She said curtly, walking deeper into the house.
A pair of royal guards would follow her in.
The house was spotless; every corner had been immaculately cleaned. Surfaces shone with nary a speck of dust on them.

"Actually, Handen, we're looking for you," The guard expressed, "A missing pony report was filed about you months ago."
Handen shivered slightly, her ear twitching. She turned back around to the officer and sat down. "I… I see," She replied softly.
The guard stepped towards her, and lowered his stance to be less imposing. Handen was unharmed. In fact, she looked to be very well; she was neatly groomed, seemed adequately fed (if just generally a bit lightly built), and didn't appear to have any injuries, save for some small scars that had long since healed over.

"...Do you know who's keeping you here?" The royal guard asked.
Handen shook her head, "I'm not here against my will," She dismissed.
The guard's eyes widened slightly. "You're… You're not?" He asked.
Handen nodded, "I live here, under the loving care of Toffee Crumble," She explained, "She should be home soon. She's out getting some things for dinner."

The guard scratched his head. "Could you… Tell me what your life with Toffee Crumble is like?" He asked, shooting a brief glance at the other guard who'd entered the house. The other guard slunk away to check for any signs of foul play.
"Oh, she's been very lovely to me," Handen expressed, "I allow her the attention she needs, and in exchange, I am permitted to cook and clean for her."
The guard nodded slowly, horn igniting as he wrote some things down in a small notepad. "Mm-hm…"
"I can leave any time I'd like. I simply do not; the master cares for all of my needs," Handen explained.
The guard froze as he heard a booming voice from behind her.
"Get away from her!" Toffee shouted, bounding past the guard and tugging Handen into a tight hug, holding her possessively.

The guard stared for a good long moment, watching as Toffee clung to Handen.
Handen squirmed a little, "G-good evening, master," She stammered.
Toffee looked down at her, "Did he try to hurt you at all, sweetie?" She asked.
Handen shook her head, "No master, he was very nice," She promised.
The guard cleared his throat, "Toffee, I'm going to need to need Handen to come with me," He instructed, "I just need her to answer some questions, it won't take long."
Toffee's eyes became wet with tears, "N-no! You can't have her!" She shouted, voice panicked, "I won't let you take her away!"
Handen wriggled a bit, nuzzling Toffee gently, "I-it's okay, master… I'll come right back as soon as he's done," She promised softly.

Toffee whined as the guard stepped closer to her, turning away to shield Handen.
The guard sighed softly, "Ma'am, I'm going to have to use force if you keep resisting," He expressed.
Toffee's tone switched from panic to anger on a whim. "No. No, you won't," She hissed, throwing a punch at the guard.
The guard grunted and collapsed to the ground; a sucker punch had not been what he was expecting.
He clambered to his feet just in time to see a large chair being hefted in a veil of yellow magic.
"She's mine!" Toffee shouted, "And I won't let anyone take her away!"
The guard barely ducked in time as the large chair whizzed past, knocking him to the side.

The other guard came running up from the stairs and tackled Toffee to the ground.
Toffee roared like a feral animal, hissing and biting at the guard as she was restrained.
The first guard groaned, standing up and prying Toffee's front legs open, helping Handen out of her grasp.
"Go outside," The guard instructed as Toffee screamed and cried otherwise.
Handen nodded obediently, taking a moment to tear her eyes away from Toffee Crumble as she was restrained before heading outside.

Handen looked at the congregation of staff outside the house. Royal guards, yes, but nurses, and even a reporter as well.
Handen was escorted to a nurse.
"Are you hurt at all, ma'am?" The nurse asked, voice soft and easy on the ears.
Handen shook her head, "Fine, ma'am," She replied softly.
The nurse nodded.
Handen was brought to a small convoy that had been set up. Twilight was there, as the princess who'd ordered the investigation.

"As she lives and breathes…" Twilight murmured, stepping over to greet Handen.
Handen bowed to the princess.
Twilight smiled awkwardly, "Please, it's me who should be bowing to you, Ms. Foot. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you," She expressed.
Handen nodded a bit, "Just Handen is fine," She dismissed softly, taking a seat on a blanket.
Twilight looked at her. "Please, allow me to extend our deepest of gratitudes, from all across Equestria. Because of your self-sacrifice, we wouldn't be healing as we are today," She expressed.

Handen's eyes were fixated on the fire, though her ears did the paying attention for her. "Are the foals okay?" She asked abruptly.
Twilight nodded, "Yes… We were quite surprised when they showed us the tunnels. You certainly took charge. Under normal circumstances, you would be charged for the theft of the items and food you stole, but, well… I think we're all in agreement that the circumstances are far beyond typical jurisdiction," She expressed.

Handen nodded absently. "I'm glad everything turned out alright," She replied.
Twilight looked at her. "...Is everything alright?" She asked, voice softer than before.
Handen shook her head, "Toffee. What's going to happen to her?" She asked.
Twilight blinked, watching as a particularly overweight unicorn was brought out of the house, screeching as she was thrown into a cage cart to be carted off.
"...I'm not sure," Twilight admitted softly, "You're worried about her, aren't you?"

Handen nodded, "She's troubled; very, very troubled. After we executed the plan, she abducted me," Handen explained, "She was furious. She wanted me dead. But then, something changed in her head; it was like she'd realized something. From then on, all she cared was that I was there, and so I stayed. I didn't want her vindictive side to come out on anypony else like it had come out on me."
Twilight bit her tongue and rubbed Handen's back gently, "We'll… We'll try and find a solution, okay?" She said gently, "If she's 'troubled' like you say she is, she'll probably get off with a lighter sentence…"
Handen simply nodded.

Twilight looked up as she heard a few guards shout. "H-hey, you can't be here!" One exclaimed.
She looked up as Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo ran to her.
"Chief! Ye're alright!" Applebloom exclaimed, pulling Handen into a tight hug, the other cutie mark crusaders following suit.
Handen smiled and hugged them, "Hah… Only because you followed through on the plan," She commented softly.
"When Scootaloo told us you got caught, we thought the worst had happened," Sweetie expressed.
Handen blinked. "It's… A longer story than that," She admitted, "What's important is that I bought you the time you needed."
Applebloom nodded. “You did, chief,” She expressed.
Handen smiled, “I’m just… Glad it’s all over,” She expressed, her eyes drifting back to the fire.