Absolutely Baked

Pot Luck let out yet another belch, followed by a contented moan as he licked the crumbs and apple juice from his lips.

“Looks like my Blueberry Mint Meringue Ice Cream SurPies were a hit,” said Pinkie Pie with a wide smile. “I can’t wait to see Rarity try them. No figure-watching’s gonna stop her from having something good and sweet, or my name’s not Pinkie Pie! And it is, so she’s gonna have some.”

Pinkie braced herself to start speeding around the kitchen again, when a buzzing caused her to shake. She reached into her puffy mane and took out an alarm clock, tapping it quiet.

“Oh, time to open up,” she said, giving Pot Luck’s stomach a soft pat. “I’ll be right back, baking buddy!” With that, she took off in a pastel blur.

“No hurry,” Pot Luck said as he licked his hooves, “take your time.”

He just couldn’t believe it. Not only did he not get in trouble for breaking into the kitchen and tearing into every bit of food he could find, but Pinkie was actively feeding him free treats! Oh, how he loved that cutie mark of his. It landed him the greatest gig in the world!

He squinted as a bright light coated his face from the window. He grunted and shielded himself with his hoof. What was going on out there?

Then something occurred to him. Pinkie said it was time to open up, which meant it had to be morning. Sure enough, he looked outside and saw bright daylight, and ponies walking around. Had he been stuffing his face all night long?

The fog was starting to clear in his head, and everything was starting to come back to him. The whole tray of brownies he’d devoured, the entire kitchen of food he’d emptied, and how he’d convinced himself to break into Sugarcube Corner and help himself to everything he could chew. And now here he was, sitting against the wall and awaiting her return.

His cleared eyes widened in shock. He had to get home right away!

He tried to roll himself onto his hooves, grunting and groaning with effort, but his rocking side to side simply left him back where he started, slumped against the wall.

He looked down and swallowed. It wasn’t just the weight of his consequences that hit him like a speeding carriage as he sobered up.

His great green ball of a stomach had bloated out beyond his hind hooves. His front hooves rested uselessly on his gut’s top curvature, sunk into his blubber ever so slightly. He felt at least two extra chins squashing beneath his snout. At the bottom of his peripheral vision, he could see his round green cheeks had crept into view. He couldn’t tell from looking over his broad shoulder, but his back felt like it was covering a lot of wall with how wide it had gotten.

His hind hooves being buried by his stomach was what worried him the most. Even if he could roll himself upright, he’d be pinned down with his legs wiggling pathetically in the air. He’d still be at Pinkie’s mercy.

And almost on cue, Ponyville’s most skilled baker returned. He didn’t like the smirk she was wearing.

“Oh, you’re gonna love this, Lucky,” she said as she pranced over to him. “Fluttershy was just in! She told me how she’d tried out this new calming medicine, and she isn’t sure why, but she ate herself silly all night just like you! She’s a big cuddly butterball now, which I told her to make her feel better. I even cuddled her to make extra sure.”

Pot Luck gulped. Calming medicine? Did she mean the prescription he’d given her? The one he’d grown with his experimental formula?

The formula he’d grown the Five Love he baked brownies with?

His eyes widened. Oh no.

“Anyway, she came in to tell me she’s gonna go on a diet and budge that pudge,” Pinkie went on, “but that means she doesn’t want the order she made last night just before we closed. She paid for it and everything, and I made sure it was perfect before I went to bed too.”

Pot Luck pursed his lips. Oh no…

“Just when I was worrying about what to do with it, I remembered I’ve got a you back here,” said Pinkie, sending his belly jiggling with a few soft pats. “And since you love taste testing so much, I thought you’d love leftovers just as much!”

Pot Luck’s heart leaped into his throat. Oh no…!

“There are some chocolate-strawberry layer cakes, banana and mint cupcakes, a few gallons of butterscotch and bubblegum ice cream,” she listed, tapping on her hoof with each item. “And a whole lot more - she was real hungry when she ordered it. So how about you take it and it’ll keep her from getting all tempted!”

Pot Luck wanted to say no, to ask Pinkie to roll him back home right away so he could clean the mess in the kitchen, fine tune that formula and make a lot of apologies to Fluttershy and Tree Hugger. The last thing he should have been doing was stuffing his face.

But when he opened his mouth, he was cut off by his stomach howling with ravenous hunger.

Pinkie giggled and glided her hoof across his belly in a wide circle. “Sounds like a yes to me! I’ll head to the loading bay and bring it all in.”

Pot Luck could only gawk as she hopped off. He’d spent the whole night gobbling up sweets, so he shouldn’t have even been remotely hungry! So why was he starving all of a sudden?

And why didn’t he tell Pinkie to stop…?