Wicked Temptation

Stars twinkled in the night sky above Ponyville by the time Twilight and Spike returned. The town had become very quiet. Almost unsettlingly so. They could hear the faint sounds of chomping and moaning in every home they passed.

Just as Twilight expected, the line outside Sugarcube Corner had disappeared, but thankfully the lights were still on and the interior was devoid of cake-rabid blob ponies. It was now or never.

The alicorn’s horn glowed, and the two suddenly found themselves inside the bakery. The shopfront was eerily quiet, the only sounds being claw and hoof falls on wood. The smell of fresh baking hung in the air. Those same dark cakes sat in the display windows, taunting Twilight as she did her best to ignore them.

“Is she even here?” Spike wondered.

“She has to be,” said Twilight. “Who else could bake that much cake so fast?”

“I don’t hear any bouncing or singing,” Spike remarked, just before the princess slapped a hoof over his mouth.

“But I hear baking,” Twilight said, her ears pointing up. They twitched as they picked up the sounds of wooden spoons tapping bowls and knives hitting cutting boards.

“That’s pretty quiet for her,” Spike pointed out. “We should check it out.”

“Agreed.”

The two passed the counter and entered the kitchen, and their jaws dropped at the sight waiting for them inside. Instead of finding a pink pony speeding around and baking a breakneck speed, utensils and ingredients were magically mixing and baking themselves. Whisks mixing bowls of eggs and flour, pins rolling mounds of black dough, ovens opening to allow trays of cakes to slide into them.

“Pinkie isn’t behind this at all,” Spike realised. “It’s like something’s cursed the kitchen!”

“Something, or someone,” Twilight said grimly.

CRASH!!

The two jumped from a tremor powerful enough to rattle every unenchanted utensil, almost sending eggs hurtling to the floor.

“That came from the shopfront!” Twilight gasped. The two raced back out and skidded to a halt. Twilight leaned her front hooves on the counter, finding herself completely devoid of words at what was before her.

A house-sized glob of quaking dark purple fur loomed over her and Spike, having fallen through a brand new giant hole in the ceiling. The only way Twilight could tell it was Pinkie was by the dimly shaded curly mane and tail, and by the cutie marks of overinflated balloons on her overinflated flanks. Her hooves had sunken into her useless mounds of leg blubber. Her cart-sized dome of a stomach bounced and jiggled over her as she splayed out on her back, her gelatinous plot squashed out on the floor. Twilight’s ears flicked at the audible sloshes and glorps of Pinkie’s overstocked fat reserves wobbling from being disturbed so suddenly.

“Pinkie?!” Twilight and Spike both gasped.

“Oh, you silly filly,” they heard from where Pinkie’s face should be. A mature female voice that didn’t match the glob at all. “I told you about gulping down too much at once, didn’t I?”

A deep, bass giggle erupted from the mass of mare in response to the playful scolding. Spike ducked his head back to avoid being knocked away by her elephantine hind legs wiggling in slow motion.

“Well, the main thing is you’re not hurt,” the voice went on, in a soothing motherly tone. “Here, I know what will help you feel better.”

Wasting no more time, Twilight spread her wings and shot into the air for a better look. She saw a black-coated unicorn mare lounging on Pinkie’s soft fluffy chest, gently tickling the enormous earth pony’s thick chins. The mare sported what could be called a foal-bearing figure, with some ample flanks that sported the cutie mark of a lollipop sticking out of a cauldron. On her head was a crooked witch’s hat, her lavender mane flowing from beneath it.

“Who are you?” Twilight demanded. “Did you do this to Pinkie?”

“Why, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the mare said, getting to her hooves and turning to fix the alicorn with a calm, amused smile. “What a delight it is to finally meet you.”

She raised her front leg and bowed her head. “My name is Spellbound. Like you, I’m a practitioner of the arcane.”

“You look like a witch to me,” said Spike, who had just finished climbing to the summit of Pinkie’s gut to join Twilight.

“Spike,” Twilight hissed.

“Oh, quite alright,” Spellbound said warmly. “I suppose with how I practise, that isn’t far off.”

Twilight gently touched down on Pinkie’s stomach to get eye-to-eye with her. “Are you saying you did this to Pinkie? To Ponyville?”

“The result of my latest experiment,” said Spellbound, her smile turning proud. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

“How did you do all this?” asked Twilight. “And why?”

“I’ll start with the ‘how’,” said Spellbound. She sent small ripples through Pinkie’s expanse as she slowly paced around the princess. “Do you remember when you and your friends defeated Nightmare Moon? The thousandth Summer Sun Celebration?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course.”

“Quite the feat, I must say.” Spellbound stopped with her flanks facing Twilight. She looked over her shoulder, her eyelids half-lowered with a smirk. “Though, I’m sure a smart pony like you knows that not even the Elements of Harmony can truly eliminate evil from the world.”

Twilight felt a chill down her spine. “What are you talking about?” she asked, trying to control the shake in her voice.

Spellbound turned to face Twilight, her smile having become a mischievous smirk. “You see, when Nightmare Moon was bested, the magic that corrupted her hadn’t been destroyed, but instead shattered and separated in the wind, like broken glass. And how lucky am I that some of those shards had found their way to me. Of course, they weren’t the first entities of pure magic I’ve happened upon during my regular evening constitutional. I was quick to capture them and, once learning what exactly they were, eager to find a way to use them.”

Twilight kept silent, which Spellbound took as an invitation to continue. “Much like your friend here, I fancy myself a baker. Though, I love to see creatures looking properly fed, and I’ve made sure my treats have that effect. But infusing a gluttony spell with Nightmare Moon’s raw power, that was certainly a challenge. But one I persevered in and finally found success with. The only thing I needed was somepony to test it on, and who better than darling Pinkie here?”

“So you made Pinkie bake all those cakes?” Twilight gritted her teeth, her ears flattened.

“I didn’t make her do anything,” said Spellbound coolly. “Once she had a bite of what I like to call Dark Batter, she was more than happy to start sharing it around with all her friends. Of course, as you can see, she’s quite an eager taste tester, so I used my magic to take over the kitchen while I tended to her needs. Most of those being my cakes, of course.”

“But why would you do this?” asked Twilight. “What are you gaining from fattening up Ponyville?”

Spellbound’s smile turned warm once again, growing ear-to-ear. “Oh, that’s simple: because everypony looks so much better all round and soft. Better to be fat and happy than skinny and miserable, yes?”

“Everypony here is too fat!” Spike piped up.

“Ahh, but they’re just as happy, are they not?” Spellbound pointed out. “Did you see any miserable souls out there? Pinkie here is certainly the happiest of them all.”

“But it seems your little curse had a fault,” said Twilight, haughtily puffing out her chest. “It doesn’t work on non-ponies.”

Spellbound rubbed her chin. “Yes, that’s an interesting development. Perhaps you’d be willing to help me figure that part out, Princess? I know how magically inclined you are, and with your help, I can start… expanding.” She allowed herself a giggle at her pun.

“Why in Equestria would I ever agree to help you?!” barked Twilight, her wings ruffling. “You’re not fattening up my realm, not while I can help it!”

Spellbound’s dark smirk returned, and with a lavender glow of her horn, one of her Dark Batter cakes popped out of thin air under Twilight’s nose.

“But can you help it?” she asked. “I’ve seen you around town. You’ve been tempted, haven’t you? You’ve wanted just a bite of my cakes. Just the smallest nibble to sate your curiosity. What is it about these treats that’s gotten the whole town in a craze about them?”

Twilight stood her ground, but she could feel her heart start racing. Spellbound’s voice was like sweet cream flowing into her ears, and the worst part was she was right. Twilight was curious. She did want to know why those cakes were good enough to let Ponyville become corrupted by sheer gluttony.

Eat me… EAT ME…!

The alicorn let out the smallest whimper. Spellbound’s coy smile told her everything. She knew exactly about the temptation Twilight was fighting.

“Don’t give in, Twilight!” cheered Spike. “You’re stronger than some pesky old wi–mmf!” He was suddenly caught and tied up in a tablecloth like a sack.

“Tut tut, little dragon,” Spellbound scolded gently, the glow vanishing from her horn. “No one likes a name caller.”

Twilight blinked, just barely managing to get her wits about her. She shook her head and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. She carefully pushed the cake away from her by the rim of the plate.

“Spellbound, you can’t mess with somepony’s physical fitness like that,” she lectured. “Even if it’s for an experiment that you think is important, you’re forcing it onto ponies without their permission, and they need to be–mmff?!” she mumbled, cut off by the cake suddenly being shoved into her face.

“Oops,” Spellbound said, deadpan. “Terribly sorry, Princess.”

Instinctively, Twilight lapped at the dessert on her face, but when she stopped herself it was too late. The Dark Batter had reached her taste buds. Her eyes widened at the sensation. The sweetness of the chocolate, the soft texture of the batter, the fluffy soft icing. Everything came together to create the greatest sugary treat she’d ever had.

“Mother of Celestia,” she breathed, before licking at the mess some more. “I get it now!”

“Oh, do you?” Spellbound asked, not even trying to sound surprised. Her smirk grew as Twilight’s coat slowly turned a darker shade of purple, spreading out from her nose.

“I see why everypony’s so cake-crazy!” Twilight chirped. The stars on her cutie mark started to swell, their points growing blunt. “This is incredible!”

“I’m so glad you think so,” said Spellbound with faux relief. “Now if only I could get them to appeal to non-ponies.”

“Oh, I think I can help with that,” Twilight offered, gleefully taking the bait. “Every creature in Equestria needs to see how delicious these cakes are!”

“If it wouldn’t be a burden, Princess.” Spellbound gave Twilight a grateful smile, despite knowing the answer. “I’d love to put your magical expertise to use. Of course, I’ll make sure you’re paid properly.”

The witch punctuated her implication by conjuring another cake, causing Twilight’s blackcurrant coloured face to light up. Another cake floated toward Pinkie’s maw to keep her sated below.

“Leave it to me,” the alicorn assured her, snatching the cake in her magical grip and greedily biting into it. “Mmff…!”

“I’m very grateful, Your Highness,” purred Spellbound. She stood next to Twilight and set a hoof on her flank, her tail flicking as she felt the princess’s haunch swelling rounder and softer. “How about we start with those pesky griffins? They’re much too aerial, if you ask me. And your friend Starlight, I’m sure you know where she’s hiding…”