“NO! I don’t want your lunch money!”

Sunset crumpled the bills in her hand against the fallen nerd’s chest. His hands refused to move from their cowering position, and the money fell to the ground in front of him. Sunset pointed to him, gritting her teeth and furrowing her brow as much as the muscles in her face would permit.

“I’m not mean! Got it!?”

The kid struggled to stand up as he ran as fast as possible, practically on all fours.

“I’M NOT MEAN!!!”

The echo in the hallway brought Sunset back to reality. She looked around and saw a loose crowd made of the usual bustle of inter-class students who had stopped -- voluntarily or not -- to stare.

Sunset was instantly self-conscious of her posture: back arched forward, fists clenched, arms straight at her sides, legs parted like she was ready to grab a bull by the horns. Even now, she was breathing heavily to cool her boiling blood. It brought to mind the way she would act before Princess Twilight and her current friends saved her, on that day she didn't get her way.

Everyone looked around, anywhere to avoid her gaze. Their walking continued.

A sense of déjà vu washed over Sunset, and it wasn't the same as the last time she said those words to that kid who only needed help getting up. There was no Memory Stone this time, no time machine, no magic mirrors that reflected the past, nothing of the sort as far as she knew -- it was all her, yet she had done everything in her power to change both her outlook and her reputation. What more could she do?

More prescient, however, was the shock of emptiness emanating from Sunset’s stomach. It was the third time this hour she had felt it, and luckily, she was already on her way to the cafeteria.

Her eyes set themselves on the cash now littering the floor.

“Well,” she sighed, “I guess if he’s not gonna use it...”

“MOVE IT!”

The sight of Sunset getting lunch was something to behold. It was a one-sided gladiatorial match between her and the rest of the cafeteria as she stormed her way to the buffet-style lunch line, tried to hold herself back from pushing all the way up to the front, failed, stacked her tray with every menu item available, and stormed off to her friends’ chosen table, using her shins to clear the way in lieu of her arms.

As soon as she sat down with a neck-high stack of lunch, she dug in. She slurped up creamed corn between bites of dry turkey leg and chased both down with a cartoon of apple juice. She dipped her carrots into the mashed potatoes with gravy to make both go down faster. She alternated between bites of hamburger and veggie burger only because stretching her mouth around both at once was too hard. An audible hurricane of slobber and food raged on.

Of course her friends couldn’t help but stare. But Sunset was too busy gazing at a sign by the buffet to notice.

Gulp! “Hey, does anyone else read menus for fun, or is that just me?” she asked, thumbing away the gravy from her lips and plopping it into her mouth.

Her friends (the five of them that were present while this dimension’s Twilight on family vacation) looked around at each other, searching for a more certain answer than whatever they had in mind, only to see each other's slightly reddened cheeks.

“Rather aggressive today, aren’t we?” asked Rarity.

Sunset popped her thumb out of her mouth.

“I wouldn’t say ‘aggressive’.”

“Ooh! OOH! I would! I WOULD!” shouted an enthused Pinkie.

“You have been a little, um... forceful, lately? Maybe?” said Fluttershy.

“Are you kidding me!?” Rainbow Dash piped up. “You’re mowing down 8th-graders like a steamroller over steamed rolls!”

Applejack laid a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, startling her.

“Everythin’ alright, sugar bush? Need anything? Gettin’ enough to eat at home?”

“Of course I am! In fact, my gaming channel’s been going so well, I’ve even been thinking of quitting my job at the sushi truck!”

“Are you sure you're taking care of yourself? Three meals a day?”

“With dessert?” added Pinkie.

“Yes, yes, and sometimes! I don’t know why this is such a big deal here.”

“It’s just that, well... you eat like this. A lot,” said Fluttershy.

“I do?”

“Yes!” they all replied.

“W-well, so does Pinkie!” she rebutted.

“Pinkie’s different.”

“I am!” she affirmed.

“And she doesn’t turn people into ground beef to get to it,” said Rainbow.

Rarity placed a hand on Sunset’s other shoulder. With her and Applejack on either side, this was starting to feel more like an intervention than anything.

“Darling, do you know what ‘hangry’ means?”

“Sure, why?”

“Because you seem to have a terminal case of it.”

Sunset had to let this sink in. Thinking back on it, she barely considered all those students she pushed around in the cafeteria until her friends brought them up. If this sort of selective blindness was as frequent as they made it seem, she could imagine how it would affect the way people see her -- the nerd in the hall, all those people staring, her continued frustration with her perception making all these things worse -- all because of her appetite.

“Geez. You guys really think so?”

They all nodded.

“Hm.”

Sunset looked down at the hot mess of food that was quickly getting cold.

“Well, then...” Sunset licked her lips. “...I guess there’s only one remedy!”

All were helpless but to witness the edible onslaught. She ate so quickly and so wildly, AJ and Rarity barely had time to take their hands off of Sunset just to shield their faces from flying bits of breading and graving. It was a wonder Sunset hadn’t gained much weight, given this was how she ate. But then, maybe she didn’t have the option to, school aside. If she did...

The thought made their faces burn red. Everyone. All but Sunset tried looking somewhere else, only to meet the eyes of another with the same rosier-than-usual cheeks, having just turned their heads away from the same spot for the same reason. One by one, they looked again at Sunset, whether they were unashamed or they knew that they had an excuse if called out: everyone else was doing it. A nibble of their potatoes here, a sip of milk there, but their eyes never left Sunset.
Each bite was inhaled like no one else of her size. Except for Pinkie, who was, of course, different. Food came to her like dust in a vacuum, where her lips hugged around each item of food like a steel trap. Without even realizing it, she was so fiercely self-indulgent that the others felt intimidated... and a little excited.

With the lunch period just halfway over, Sunset was finished. She laid back as far as one could manage on a bench without a back, patting her belly as it jutted out from her as far as the width of her hand beneath her shirt -- not cartoonish in size, but given how round and wide it was and the fact that it was sticking out so noticeably in the first place, it might as well have been.

“Ahhh, that hit the spot!” said Sunset. “Guess I should throw this tray out, huh? Is anyone else’s empty?”

They shook their heads ‘no’.

Sunset struggled to stand up for a second. As she left, all eyes were on her, but mostly on the two small globes pressing against the seat of her purple skirt, enough that the fabric towards the bottom had to curve inwards. Were they bigger than the girls last saw? There was a wobble to them they didn't have before: as one foot stepped forward and its corresponding buttock stretched down, its twin bobbed up and formed an arch around the shin beneath it, bouncing in the slight pause between steps. The cascading tilde-to-hyphen dance of the dough in Sunset's can was hypnotizing, evident by the trail of turning heads leaning towards her like a zipper trying to close across too wide a gap.

Rarity cupped a hand over her mouth.

“Oh, sweet goodness, she is perfect.”

“I know, right!?” Rainbow squealed. “I can't wait for P.E.!”

“I don't know why we ever bothered her about her eating in the first place!”

“I dunno,” said AJ, “this don't seem right to me.” Sunset's butt caught her eye a second time and she bit her lip. “W-well, maybe just a little.”

Fluttershy’s pupils were pinpricks, too hyperfocused to make her own comment. And Pinkie was too busy drooling with her tongue hanging down to her tray.

Rarity licked her lips. The look in her eyes was that of a wild predator. As generous as she was, that didn't mean she didn’t want a lot for herself. And what she was looking at was a lot.

It made them wonder: they must have all been drawn together for a reason -- Twilight, the princess from the horse-dimension where they were all friends already, was the obvious answer, but if that was the case, there must have been something they all had in common -- why not this?

A sudden clattering sound gripped their attention: Sunset had bumped into another girl -- green skin, purple hair, pink star necklace -- and made her drop her tray.

“Oh... oh my goodness, I’m-- I’m so sorry!” The poor girl sounded like she was about to cry.

By then, Sunset had already picked up the tray from the floor.

“Oh please, I gotta look where I'm going more oftURRRRP!”

Sunset slapped her hand over her mouth, and her cheeks glowed with embarrassment -- she had just burped right into someone else’s face. The look on the other girl seemed just as shocked and worried as herself.

Sunset laughed.

The other girl laughed too -- nervously, at first, but she seemed to forget for a second who was in front of her and what she had done, that version of Sunset erased by the comedy of errors that just befell them both.

When all had settled down, they talked. The girl was named Bitta Luck, Sunset found out. She loved the cafeteria food almost as much as Sunset, so they went to get her seconds. Her friends witnessed all of this unfold from afar.

“Girls?” said Rarity. “I might just have an idea!”

Twilight was relieved to be back from vacation -- family reunions in an empty field with no protection from the elements in what was meant to be both the Sunshine State and lightning capital of the country were no contest for a casual meetup with close friends in the big, safe city, especially at that familiar diner called the Sweet Snack Café.

Pinkie was working her usual shift, this time pursuing her passion for baking in the kitchen, but a good word in with management gave her a few minutes to spend serving a certain party of six.

“Here you go, Sunny!” Pinkie laid out an open dozen-box of cupcakes on the booth table where her friends sat.

‘What, just Sunset?’ thought Twilight.

“Thanks, Pinkie.” Sunset pulled the box closer. With a cupcake in each hand, she shoved one after the other straight into her mouth with upsetting speed. Wrappers bloomed outwards as her lips dug under them from every angle. Frosting glued crumbs to the rim of her lips until the next cupcake washed them away, adding new ones in their place.

Twilight’s eyes bugged out of her skull. Never had she seen Sunset eat so ferociously.

“Next cuppy-duzzy will be ready in ten!” said Pinkie. She pushed herself backwards, rolling on just one set of skates while her other leg was raised parallel to the ground like a ballet dancer.

Sunset’s grunt of agreement was drowned out by the sounds of her hastily chewing cupcakes and snorting breaths of air, her nod marred by her refusal to move her jaw more than seven inches from the table. Globs of cupcake frosting fell to the bottom of the box, sometimes onto other cupcakes.

Twilight looked around. She wanted to know if everyone saw what she saw. It was plain to see that they were, given how much they were staring, but their expressions were different from what Twilight expected. Brighter. More interested than disgusted, like they were watching a sporting event. She could even see Fluttershy blushing behind the lock of hair she was holding over mouth.

Twilight looked back at Sunset. Confused though she was, dots were starting to connect. She knew something was different about Sunset when they walked in together, now she was sure of it: Sunset was chubby. Her arms were thicker, her face rounder, the zig-zag from her mandible to her neck softened down to a mere suggestion, and sugar stained her jeans and jacket from prior eating sessions.

Twilight felt she should say something.

“Uh... wow, Sunny! You’ve, uh... been hitting the cupcakes pretty hard, huh?”

Sunset gulped down her eighth cupcake before throwing her head back and gasping for air.

“I... learned I act a lot... better when I’m full. Only problem is... the fuller I get, the more it takes to get me full again, so I’ve just been constantly stuffing myself to be more agreeable.”

“That... doesn't seem entirely health-- hrmp!"

Suddenly, Twilight’s head was locked in place. She moved her eyes to the side where Rarity was wrapping both arms around her head and covering her mouth. Rarity looked her in the eyes, shaking her head in disapproval.

“What Twilight means, darling, is that we're here to hel-puh you in any way we can, with whatever you need.”
Twilight tried to shout, ‘Rarity!’ but was too muffled to be heard.

Sunset rolled her head to face them, barely opening her eyes.

“Oh, good.” She belched with her mouth wide open -- a rather un-ladylike move, one that was deep and rumbly and could be heard even on the outside of the window they were sat next to, startling a passerby into peeking in for a second before going on their way. Twilight wouldn't have known it was Sunset’s unless she saw it herself... and smelled it, too. The invisible cloud of digested, processed sugar and acid hit Twilight like a Florida thunderstorm. Had she been alone and not in a headlock, she might have been comfortable saying it smelled... good. In a warm, wet, almost sickeningly sweet sort of way that -- for whatever reason -- set her cheeks ablaze.

Another open box of cupcakes slid onto the table, pushing the first box and its last four cupcakes to the wall.

“Here ya go, Sunny!” came Pinkie Pie’s voice. “Ten seconds, as promised!"

“Heh, wow! I better keep u--”

A pink hand forced a stray cupcake past her lips.

“And it's a baker’s duzzy! Haha!”

Twilight could do little else but watch Sunset smatter herself with more frosting... before realizing that frosting wasn’t the only thing dried onto her clothes: ice cream, apple filling, protein powder... dog food? Suddenly, Rarity’s behavior and her friends' lack of concern for Sunset made perfect sense.

But Rarity’s arms clamped down on her like a vice. She could say nothing.

Sunset slowed down as time went on, but all-in-all, Sunset finished all 25 cupcakes and chased them down with an extra-large chocolate-strawberry swirl milkshake in an unreasonably short amount of time. The smooth dome of her belly stuck out as far as the width of her hand plus the length of her thumb, nestling itself in the crease between her thighs as they pressed together and rose ever-so-slightly due to the excess flesh.

Sunset’s arms lay limp at her sides, too tired to ease her digestion with a belly rub.

“Oof. Little... URP! ...help?”

Rainbow Dash scrambled to get out of the booth first, but was blocked by Applejack who sat closest to the aisle. Just when Rainbow started to lean over her lap, Applejack pushed her back, squishing Fluttershy against the wall with a yelp, and stood up from the booth by herself to lay a soft, circling hand on Sunset’s food baby, softened still by a stretched-out layer of pudge. A jealous Rainbow Dash cursed her upper body strength.

“Ahhhh,” Sunset sighed. “Better. Uh, bath-- OOURP! --room?”

Applejack helped her up and pointed her to an alcove leading away from the main lobby. Sunset hobbled off, holding her belly until she vanished behind a wall.

Then, and only then, could Twilight shrug Rarity off of her and speak:

“I’m telling her.”

“Nah, she won’t believe you,” said a laid-back Rainbow Dash.

“What do you mean?”

“‘Cuz she already knows we’re doing this to help her with her mood, and so is she.”

“Her mood? You’re fattening her up like cattle for your own wanton desires!”

“Psht. So?”

Rainbow Dash regretted the remark as soon she saw Twilight’s face boil red with anger. Just when Twilight looked ready to jump across the table, Rarity pushed her down by the shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. Before you ask, no, it wasn't a ‘girlfriend’ thing, it was just a ‘Rarity’ thing -- she kissed all of her friends every once in a while. Mostly her closest friends... in fact, only her closest friends, as far as Twilight could tell. In this case, it sure seemed to cool her down.

“Allow me: we’re pampering her out of mutual interest: we like it, she likes it... and something tells me you like it too.”

“What!?” That shade of red returned to Twilight’s face, this time with something closer to confusion than anger -- embarrassment, like she had been caught.

“You don’t have to deny it, darling, we’re all on the same page here! I mean, the way you've been looking at her... the way you’re looking at us! Almost as though you're jealous.”

Twilight sputtered. “I’m not-- n-no! I-- no!” She shook her head. Nobody was convinced.

Rarity grabbed Twilight's hand from the tabletop and squeezed it tenderly.

“Embrace it, darling. You want this as much as we do!”

“But... the deception--!”

“We don’t lie, we just... don't tell her the full truth, that's all.”

“That’s still a lie by omission! I can’t believe-- Applejack?” Twilight looked at the only one not to have spoken since they arrived, hoping for support and that she would at least be the one to add some sense to this conversation.
Applejack shrugged, saying nothing.

Twilight’s mouth hung wide, wide open.

“I’m telling her anyway.”

“Oh, and waiter?” came a familiar, slightly butch voice burdened with internal gas from the other side of the room. “Some milk for the table... yes, the whole gallon.”

The whole table saw Sunset coming towards them, still waddling due to the awkward disruption of space between her thighs while her own hands cautiously cradled her abdomen like she was really pregnant.

“Sunset?” said Twilight as her friend neared the booth.

“Hm?”

“I need to--”

As she stood up to have a serious talk, Rainbow Dash had slouched down and stuck her leg out straight, hooking her ankle onto Twilight’s as the latter was in motion.

Sunset was practically there already, but Rainbow Dash’s trip sent Twilight reeling forward, taking a nosedive for the neck of Sunset’s low-cut blouse. Her cleavage.

‘This is so anime,’ thought Fluttershy wondrously.

‘This is so anime,’ thought Twilight derisively.

But she wouldn't think much for long. While Twilight's face forcefully found its way to Sunset’s bosom, the rest of her followed suit: her whole upper torso was pressed by gravity into Sunset’s midsection, her arms swinging to grab onto something and consequently hugging Sunset while her knees just barely missed Sunset’s feet, and as she felt Sunset’s warmth radiating into her, she also felt her softness, her human-ness, the pulsating, gurgling massage from beneath Sunset’s fully packed stomach that she had just unwittingly jostled into a frenzy.

“Whoops!” said Sunset. “CarefURRRRRRAAAAAAAARRP! --there!”

The cloud of smell wrapped around Twilight’s face like a blanket. Her wish prior had come true: without Rarity’s arms around her head and with herself and Sunset being so physically, intimately close, she might as well have had her all to herself.

Restraint flew out the window. After already having broken her fall, Twilight tightened her arms around Sunset's puffy cylinder of a body, nuzzling her face deeper between those fatty breasts that she swore could swallow half her head if she dug deep enough, and grunted.

‘Oh god,’ she thought, ‘was this heaven?’

Sunset tapped her on the head.

“Um, Twilight? You can get off me now.”

“Huh? O-oh, r-right!”

Twilight pushed herself off of her friend and saw that Sunset’s cheeks were a bit deeper than her usual orange -- probably just from embarrassment, but Twilight had her hopes, which she promptly cursed out.

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms at Applejack, as if to say ‘beat that.’

From there, none of them brought up what Twilight wanted to say earlier, not even Sunset.

As they all left the Sweet Snack Café that afternoon, a smirk, if not a smirking attitude, was pointed in Twilight's direction by the other five (Pinkie having taken a break to say goodbye). Sunset gave a pleasant farewell to the rest, and as she and her great ass disappeared into the city streets, Twilight looked back at her five friends who had already been glaring at her with eyes narrowed in deep anticipation.

“Well?” they asked.

Twilight crossed her arms. She sighed, sounding exasperated.

“I’m in.”

Author's Note

Technically my 2nd fic ever posted to this site, but the first one was set on fire and the ashes trodden the wind. Quite frankly, it was shameless, disgusting, and overly self-indulgent; in other words, it was ahead of its time. I think I might rewrite it in the future.