Expanding the Spirit of Gluttony

 

As is only appropriate for a spirit of gluttony, she is quite obese in appearance, and her level of obesity is dependent on the combined quantity and extent of obesity in the realms she oversees. In personal meetings, her weight can visibly increase signfiicantly if the pony she is speaking with shows adequate amounts of gluttonous intent and behavior.

 

She appears as an Alicorn in the Equestrian realm, befitting royalty. Her form is ethereal, phasing between transluscent and opaque, and is colored in light shades of pink extending into pure white. She bears no cutie mark, as she only resembles a pony, and has a similarly ethereally floating mane to the princesses with physical bodies. However, her mane holds a more cotton candy type shape rather than being straight, though it is no less long than the manes of Celestia or Luna. She has visible features such as normal eyes with pupils, but the universal coloring of her form makes it harder to discern them.

 

Similar to a dream, the Spirit of Gluttony has a realm she can pull her subjects into for direct conversations, typically occurring when the pony in question has just done something to gain her attention and affiliation. It appears as a cloud in a sunny or starry sky, while the subject's tastes in food appear to be visualized in vague forms, not dissimilar to constellations or cloud shapes. One cannot move in this realm, instead stuck laying in place while the Spirit is able to float around effortlessly. Time is frozen here, although any effects the Spirit casts upon the subject will take effect in the real world.

 

The Spirit of Gluttony's blessing comes in the forms of a constant effect, and an on-demand single-use effect.

 

This constant effect brings good fortune to the blessed glutton. They are much more likely to find good deals and discounts on their favorite foods, are more likely to be given free food, and gain a minor boost to stomach elasticity.

 

This effect is rarer, and is directly provided by the Spirit of Gluttony to the recipient while in her realm. The Spirit can direclty manipulate how much food is in one's stomach, and how calorie-dense that food is. Combined with other effects, the amount of stuffing can greatly exceed that which is physically possible without any negative effects - in this realm, weight gain is not considered a negative effect.

 

This is a rare blessing, not given as punishment for those mocking the obese like in some kind of overused sequence scenarios, but as a gift, typically given once in the lifetime of a blessed subject, for severely impressing the Spirit of Gluttony with feats of gluttonous ingenuity one otherwise would not expect. Events such as using healing spells to cure stomach tears, preventing a painful death and greatly increasing stomach capacity in one action, are what qualify. As much as the Spirit of Gluttony would enjoy stuffing all of her subjects to cartoonish levels (1000%+ of real stomach capacity) with food so calorie-dense that their stomachs will actually grow even bigger as it digests, granting this blessing takes away a significant amount of her power and fatness, things she rather enjoys maintaining.

 

This can be granted in tandem with, or separate from, either Blessing. As one could surmise, this effect affords protection against the possible negative effects associated with the lifestyle and dietary choices her subjects make. While the same effects can be found in anything made with the Quik-Gro and Gro-Assist technology, the Protection effect is far from redundant. Instead, it provides additional protection, making it safer and easier for her heaviest, multi-tonnage subjects to be as they are. Generally, protection is granted against physical harm associated with weight e.g. hoof/angle/leg breakage and general wounds from falling through floors, as well as a medical disorder that could arise from eating a diet consisting entirely of grease-soaked fried foods (including keeping the grease around as a beverage) or eating an entire sugar mill's stock per week. Additionally, a food coma trigger exists to prevent stomach bursting from those who have no self-control.

 

Protection is not absolute, as evidenced by Foaledo's death toll.

 

Reserved for those who anger the Spirit of Gluttony by betraying her. To not overstep her bounds, groups such as the Traditionalists that she despises cannot be targeted, only excommunicated followers. The curse revokes any blessing and protection that may have been available, while also nullifying the protection effect present in Quik-Gro and Gro-Assist products. All ill effects that lesser realms suffer from with relation to obesity return to those who are cursed. Those who betray her and join the traditionalists are given another affliction named Glutton's Fatigue, as their new lifestyle is the one way to avoid ever gaining weight. They will perpetually feel and look as if they've scarcely gotten three uninterrupted hours of sleep for years.

 

Followers are recruited primarily through the Spirit of Gluttony finding somepony engaging in what she considers to be an adequate form of gluttony. Somepony who greatly exceeds their normal capacity and wins an eating contest, then goes back to normal or tries to work off the extra weight, will not be considered. Somepony who repeatedly, consistently fills their stomach to the limit and stretches it out may be considered. Somepony who sets a certain weight goal may be considered, but the goal has to be high enough or discarded in favor of perpetual growth to qualify. Somepony who weighs over 2,000 pounds and/or is immobile and shows no signs of curing this condition (using mobility assistance devices is not considered to be "seeking a cure", dieting and losing weight is) has a very high chance. Somepony who has consistently overeaten and gained weight for years is a viable candidate, and a guarantee if he does something extreme.

 

Once selected, the Spirit of Gluttony's requirements for worship are minimal, in part because she understands one of her people wouldn't really want or need anything involving an excess of effort. She is quite understanding of her patrons' lack of physical fitness or available energy. As such, once chosen as a follower, or patron, the requirements for maintaining membership and benefits are quite simple: Continue being gluttonous, and continue gaining weight. With the food available in Fatquestria, it's difficult for somepony to "plateau" in weight, and the Spirit does not care if the rate of weight gain slows to a pound of month as long as the follower is engaging in culinary hedonism.

 

Weight loss can cause a revocation of all benefits, barring understandable circumstances. If a follower falls ill or is injured and loses weight while they cannot eat and partake in gluttony the way they desire, the Spirit is forgiving. Inuries rarely manifest this forgiveness, as the plethora of liquid food solutions and delivery services make injury-related immobility and jaw issues cease to be an excuse, given clearly the immobile are more than capable of getting their fill of food and more.

 

Intentional weight loss likewise has but one exemption for excommunication: losing weight to regain it again. The Spirit begrudgingly accepts this, as the gluttonous aspect remains present, even if the loss of body fat remains an affront. Note that weight hidden by a pocket space amulet does not count as weight loss, as the spirit knows the bearer's true form.

 

An excommunicatee can regain the Spirit of Gluttony's favor by re-engaging with her preferred behaviors, but this cannot be done repeatedly as the Spirit is vengeful against those who toy with or betray her.

 

Those who are affiliated with the Spirit of Gluttony in some form.

 

As explained above.

 

Exceptions to standard followers, as they were recruited without meeting standard requirements for the purpose of planting the seeds of gluttony across the lands. The Spirit exploited the sisters' repressed gluttonous urges - Cakes for Celestia, a combination of desire for delectable foods after a millenium in exile, newfound knowledge of moon-based sweets, and nightmare night candy offerings - and from there, began to influence others in the royal system.

 

Key members were influenced and brought about the Quik-Gro and Gro-Assist botanical technologies.

 

While the term was coined by the unaware to describe those who treat gluttony as a religion, members of this group effectively are a cult worshipping the Spirit of Gluttony.

 

Excepting only the hired labor and mercenary forces, Foaledo residents are a sect of gluttonists, formed independently of the rest, who take gluttony to such extremes that most mortals find them distasteful and treat them with hostility. The Spirit of Gluttony has no morality when it comes to gluttony, and thus has no qualms about their activities, even seeing them as fantastic examples. After all, the Spirit of Gluttony celebrates gluttony and obesity, and one can scarcely best a wealthy, hedonistic city where even young fillies and colts grow too fat to move long before their cutie marks are earned, and the majority of deaths are caused by gluttonous actions so extreme a combination of Gluttony Protection, Blessing, and Gro-Assist Protection cannot stop strokes, heart attacks, burst stomachs among the population. Pride is taken in how many tons one weighs at every stage of life, with the fattest and heaviest citizen of each age bracket treated as royalty.

 

A separate category, dedicated to those who are not followers or patrons, but further the Spirit of Gluttony's ideals and goals. These are typically those dangerous, untrustworthy skinny chefs who stuff customers dangerously full with dangerously addictive and fattening foods.