Wicked Temptation

Twilight Sparkle yawned as she relaxed on the train seat. Having been recently crowned the new Princess of Equestria, the alicorn had been working her tail off almost nonstop. She was looking forward to this break, even if it was just for a week.

“Lunch with King Rutherford regarding pony/yak relations,” muttered a little dragon sitting across from her, his snout buried in a scroll long enough for the bottom to touch the floor under him. “Then there’s the grand opening of the Starswirl Museum of Magical History we need to be there for, and the official peace signing with Dragon Lord Ember, then–”

“All of that isn’t until next week, Spike,” said Twilight.

“Just making sure we’re not missing anything,” said the dragon as he rolled the scroll back up. “No slip-ups, right?”

Twilight smiled. Spike had been her stalwart assistant long before her ascension to Princess, and she was glad she had him to keep her on track. She was sure half of Canterlot would have burned down by now if he wasn’t around to help share the load.

“I just got finished with organising a trade route between Equestria and Klugetown,” she reminded him. “If I can handle that, I can manage a few meetings with the leaders I’m already friendly with.”

“Good point,” Spike conceded.

“This is the only quiet week I have right now, and I’m taking full advantage of it,” Twilight went on. “Especially after dealing with that Verko again.”

Spike shuddered and hugged himself. “I hear that. I didn’t think my scales could crawl until I saw that mug.”

Twilight groaned quietly in agreement. “Well, hopefully we won’t have to see him again for a while. It’ll be good to see some friendly faces again. No doubt Pinkie Pie’s putting a big party together to welcome us back.”

“She knows we’re just on vacation, right?” Spike asked, then shrugged his little shoulders. “But then, Pinkies gonna Pinkie, right?”

“Oh, she’s never gonna change,” said Twilight with a smile. She couldn’t wait to see her old friends again. Sure, they’d poke their heads in and say hello if they were in Canterlot, but it felt a lot different going to them. A lot more personal. She just hoped she wasn’t going to receive the ‘royal treatment’ when she got there - before she ascended to become ruler of the land, she was just a Ponyville mare.

The train soon slowed to a stop at the Ponyville station, and Twilight gave her wings a stretch once she was out on the platform. Her horn glowed, and she lifted her luggage from the cargo hold. Even if it was for a whole week, she chose to pack light. She only hoped her assistant brought his essentials and not just a load of gems and Power Ponies comics again.

“No welcome wagon, huh?” Spike said.

“The party’s probably at Starlight’s castle, or Sugarcube Corner,” said Twilight, her tongue sliding across her lips. “I can smell Pinkie’s baking already.”

Spike found himself looking aside. “Uhh, Twilight? I don’t think that’s Pinkie you’re smelling…”

Twilight followed his gaze, and her eyes widened. Further down the platform, a wide pony was trying to wriggle her oversized stomach into the train car. Her thick legs wiggled as her hooves dragged against the platform.

“Suck it in, Lyra!” another mare behind her grunted, shoving herself against the first’s blubbery backside, sinking into the soft flab. Her chubby cheeks dimpled as she grimaced from the effort.

“I am sucking in, Bonbon!” Lyra groaned, her lashing tail batting against Bonbon’s face. “They gotta make these trains bigger.”

“Bonbon and Lyra?” Spike said, keeping his voice low so only Twilight heard. “They’ve… let themselves go, huh? Must be hitting the sweets hard.”

“That’s not what I’m concerned about, Spike,” said Twilight. “Look at their coats and manes. They definitely weren’t a matching dark purple when I last saw them.”

“I need some energy to get your fat butt in there,” Bonbon decided. She reached into her saddlebag and fished out a slice of black cake, which she greedily chomped down on.

Lyra’s tail perked up and she desperately wiggled her fat flanks side to side. “Hey, throw a slice through the window or something, would ya?”

The two watched as the massive mares got some help from the train conductor, before Spike tensed up. He gagged softly, then with a burst of green fire, magically belched up a scroll.

“A message?” asked Twilight. “What’s it say?”

Spike unfurled the scroll and read aloud. “Twilight, come to the castle ASAP. Something weird going on in Ponyville. Starlight.”