[CONT] Chocolate Nightmares

 

“I know, I know!” Twilight replied, holding up a hoof in a placating manner. “It’s just that…now that I’m a Princess and whatnot, I have too many duties to take care of, you know? Besides, what would the town think of their Princess showing up at their doorsteps and asking for candy? I need to act the part now! You understand, right?”

 

Spike, evidently, did not understand. “You’re kidding, right? But we’ve gone together every year!”

 

“I know,” Twilight replied softly. “But times are different now, you know? Things have changed for both of us, and maybe it’s time this was one of those things. Have you ever heard of Princess Celestia going trick-or-treating? What would ponies think?”

 

Spike snorted in response and stamped his foot. “They’d think you were out having fun with your *friends,*” Spike replied hotly. “I don’t buy it for one second, Twilight. You’re the Princess of *Friendship*. What kind of example would you be setting, the Princess of Friendship squirreled away in her castle on Nightmare Night, when everypony else in town is out partying with their friends and having fun? That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

 

Twilight balked slightly at this chain of logic. “Well, uh…You see, that…um…”

 

Spike smirked victoriously. “C’mon, Twi. You know you want to, and it would really mean a lot to me if you would come with us. You don’t even have to trick-or-treat! Just…y’know…hang out with us and have a good time. Is that really too much to ask?”

 

Twilight bit her lip as she visibly struggled with his argument before replying softly: “Spike…I’m sorry, but I…I just can’t,” she finished lamely, staring sullenly at her forehooves as she did so.

 

Spike narrowed his eyes as he took a long, hard look at the mare he knew better than anypony else. She was hiding something from him. But what could it possibly be?

 

“Twilight…” Spike said with a sigh, stepping forward and clasping one of her hooves in his claws. “Why are you so nervous about this? What aren’t you telling me? I can tell there’s something…”

 

“Spike…it’s nothing really, I just…” A squeeze of her hoof and a raising of his eyebrow told her he knew something was really bothering her deep down, and nothing short of a full confession would satisfy him.

 

Twilight sighed explosively. “Alright! Alright…I can tell there’s no fooling you. I’ll tell you,” she finally relented, a slight flush on her cheeks as she frowned softly. “Just…promise me you won’t laugh?”

 

“Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Spike dutifully recited the Pinkie Promise immediately and without hesitation.

 

She giggled at his antics. “Thanks, Spike. I knew I could count on you. The real reason I don’t want to go is that…well…” She paused to shoot a forlorn glance at her rear end, her plot cheeks fuller and rounder than they had been the previous few years. “All this being a Princess business…I-I don’t really get around as much as I used to, and all the gifts and the official dinners and the stress…and…I, uh, I’m-a-little-bigger-than-I-want-to-be,” she finally spat out quickly, a heavy blush on her cheeks as she confessed. “And you know how I am around chocolate…” she added sadly.

 

To his credit, Spike didn’t laugh. He didn’t even smile. He did, however, raise an eyebrow in confusion. “That’s it?” he asked incredulously. “You don’t want to go trick-or-treating because you’re afraid of eating too much chocolate?”

 

Twilight stiffened indignantly. “Hey! What do you mean ‘that’s it?!’ It’s a perfectly valid concern given the circumstances and I—”

 

“Psh!” Spike interrupted with a scoff and a wave of his claw. “Oh, come on, Twilight! You gotta be kidding me! You seriously mean to tell me that *you,* an alicorn princess and the Element of Magic, are afraid of something as simple as gaining weight from too many sweets? That’s foal’s play for somepony like you! There’s gotta be, like, a bajillion spells you could cast that would let you eat as much candy as you like and not gain an inch! I really don’t see what the big deal is.”

 

Twilight blinked as she absorbed what Spike said. “A spell…?” she murmured softly to herself. “A spell…yes…yes, Spike! That’s it!” she cried excitedly, horn flaring as she leapt to her hooves, books levitating by the dozen from the shelves around her.

 

“What’s it?” Spike asked in confusion.

 

“That! You! You’re a genius!” Twilight replied, her enthusiasm only continuing to grow as she realized how potentially great tonight could be.

 

“I am?” Spike continued, still confused for a bit before comprehension dawned and he puffed out his chest proudly. “I mean, yeah! I am! Totally!”

 

Twilight snickered softly at his display of bravado, truly thankful for his input at times like these when she got so far inside her own head she couldn’t see the painfully obvious solution staring her right in the face. “That’s my dragon,” she replied proudly. “Hmmm…it might take me a bit to find the right spell but we’ve still got a couple hours before sunset,” Twilight mused as she began her search.

 

“Yesss!” Spike celebrated with a fist pump. “Oh, thank you, thank you, *thank you* Twilight! This is gonna be the best Nightmare Night EVER!” He exclaimed loudly as he turned and exited the library, heading off in a hurry to make sure his costume was completely ready to go.

 

Twilight simply chuckled as she heard his claw-steps receding into the distance. Now, time to find that spell…

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TRICK-OR-TREATERS!! YEAH!!”

 

Twilight had gotten ready in record time. After spending the better part of two hours coming up with a sufficiently complicated combination of spells, she’d been left little time to come up with a costume idea. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash was more than happy to loan her one of her Wonderbolt suits. Although , she noted ruefully, the suit did fit her a bit tightly across the chest and rump.

 

“Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”

 

“Good evening, young ones! My, what excellent costumes you all have! And who is this I spy…? I say, is that…Princess Sparkle? My, I almost didn’t recognize you! But I couldn’t think of anypony else with those purple eyes and wings! Here, please except my offering for the evening!”

 

Twilight blushed slightly, thankful that her mask concealed her cheeks. “Oh no, please, you needn’t do that. This is Luna’s holiday, not mine. I’m just along for the ride.”

 

“Oh, nonsense. I wouldn’t want to be accused of playing favorites with the Princesses, now would I? Besides, you do so much for our little town, it’s the least I can do. Don’t worry about me, I’ve got plenty!”

 

“Alright! Twilight I bet you could score us even *more* candy! This is gonna be great! Now c’mon, we’ve still got the whole west side of town to hit!” Spike cried excitedly, practically tugging on her foreleg as he attempted to speed her along, the three fillies already racing ahead.

 

“Alright, alright, I’m coming!” Twilight replied with a giggle, setting off after them at a light trot, a blissful expression crossing her face as she popped her first chocolate into her mouth, its sweetness exploding over her tastebuds and the morsel settling delightfully in her happy tummy. Perhaps getting more candy wasn’t such a bad thing after all…

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

Much to Twilight’s bewilderment—and steadily increasing delight—everypony in Ponyville seemed to have the same idea. After all, if Luna was to be given plentiful amounts of candy on Nightmare Night, why not Twilight as well?

 

“Oh, Twilight, you have to try these! I made them myself!”

 

“Please Princess, take some, I insist! There’s more than enough.”

 

“Always a pleasure to see you, Princess! Candy?”

 

And so on and so forth. By now Twilight’s bag was pretty heavily loaded, even with the younger ones having emptied into it once each. Truth be told, Twilight’s sack would be overflowing now if it weren’t for one thing: her unquenchable appetite. She was eating at a constant rate now, her mouth always filled with something chocolatey and sweet, her belly moaning happily as it was filled with tasty sweets.

 

She wasn’t the only one snacking, of course. The younger ones kept pace initially, but without her magically enhanced belly they were starting to slow down. The group was trudging slowly back to town square, their epic candy run complete. Twilight hummed happily as she swallowed what seemed like her hundredth piece of candy, her taut belly stretching out her jumpsuit just a bit more, though she paid it no mind. Behind her, three bloated little fillies and one stuffed dragon staggered along, almost as if drunk on sugar.

 

“Oooooh…*BLURP!* I think I ate too much… “ Sweetie Belle moaned pitifully, rubbing at her swollen white belly that brushed against her knees.

 

“*UURRP!* Ugh…y-yeah…” Scootaloo agreed shakily, her tiny wings gently cradling her own bloated paunch that she normally couldn’t reach with them, so enlarged was it.

 

“Ah’m good too…*BWOORP!* Mmf…’scuse me…” Apple Bloom muttered, her prodigious paunch jostling uncomfortably with her every step.

 

“Phew…well at least we…got a good haul this year…right girls?” Spike chimed in, panting slightly between words as he too rubbed a large, swollen gut, its innards fighting a desperate battle against an onslaught of junk. Being a dragon, his digestive system was built tougher and able to handle more, but even still it was rather obvious he was trying to put on a strong face, subtle pained winces crossing his features frequently as his belly throbbed.

 

Twilight glanced back with a guiltily concerned look, realizing that in her own self-absorbed snacking she’d let the young ones eat too much candy. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there, and then you all can sleep it off at Rarity’s.” The group had originally planned a slumber party of sorts at the Carousal Boutique, but with their overstuffed bellies it was likely to be more of the former and less of the latter at this point.

 

As the group shuffled into the main square, the holiday festivities were in full swing. Pretty much all of Twilight’s friends were running some sort of booth or game, the exceptions of course being Fluttershy who was hiding in her home as usual, and Rainbow Dash who just couldn’t help herself from playing spooky pranks on the poor townsfolk.

 

A loud gasp sounded out. Sure enough, Rarity was rushing over, her usual slinky black witch’s costume whipping about behind her. “Sweetie Belle! Ohhh, poor dear, you don’t look so well! Did you eat too much candy? I’ll bet you did, didn’t you?”

 

Sweetie could only groan in reply, her cheeks starting to tint slightly green as her belly rumbled and squelched sickly. Rarity cast a hard glare at the adult of the group, briefly admonishing her lack of attentiveness. “Twilight! Did you let them eat too much candy? You of all ponies should know too much sugar isn’t good for you.”

 

The accused merely grinned sheepishly, her own belly letting out a rumble of its own. Her attention drawn, Rarity cocked an eyebrow and tutted as she noticed Twilight was sporting a bloated belly of her own. “Well. I see that you too appear to have overindulged. You always did have an incorrigible sweet tooth darling,” Rarity continued, rolling her eyes at her friend good-humoredly.

 

“Ehehe…” Twilight could only chuckle nervously. “Sorry, Rarity…”

 

The mare in question waved her off with a hoof. “Say no more, say no more! I’ll handle things from here. Come along now, you lot. Time to get you to bed so you can sleep it all off. I’ll put the kettle on for some tea, it will help with your tummyaches.”

 

“Thanks, Rarity,” the group groaned in unison, all of them slowly making their way on to the Boutique. Now relieved of duty, Twilight turned her attention to the various festivities going on around her.

 

And, more importantly, all the sweet, succulent treats available as well…

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

“*UUWWOOORRPP!* Oh… excuse me,” Twilight muttered sheepishly, a hoof patting her thoroughly swollen belly contentedly. Despite looking like she was with foal and feeling slightly bloated, Twilight’s appetite was still as healthy as ever. It seemed her complicated concoction of spells was working like a treat! She had eaten more chocolate tonight then she’d ever eaten at once before, yet still she felt plenty comfortable eating more. What an amazing experience! She was *such* a genius.

 

Twilight lounged lazily in the grass next to the town’s Nightmare Moon statue, a veritable mountain of candy piled before it that made her collection look pitiful even before it disappeared almost entirely into her belly. She was waiting for Luna to show up on her rounds, wanting to say hi and see how her evening was progressing. She remembered last year’s celebration and how awkward Luna had been trying to fit in at first. Hopefully this year she was doing better!

 

And with her stash almost depleted, Twilight also had a near-infinite supply to leisurely snack from. After all, she was a princess now, too! Surely Luna wouldn’t notice a few pieces missing here or there. What did she do with it all anyways? Eat it? Surely that was impossible, right?

 

Suddenly the wind picked up and the sky darkened, Luna’s brilliant moon obscured by angry purple clouds. Twilight merely watched with amusement as Princess Luna, dressed as always in her Nightmare Moon costume, descended from above to land gracefully on the grass before her. “Luna!” Twilight greeted cheerfully, rising to her hooves with a soft grunt. “Good to see you! Having a good night so far?”

 

“Ah, dearest Twilight!” she replied in her typical royal voice she tended to use when impersonating her darker side. “So good it is to see you this most joyous of eves! We hath procured a most impressive offering thus far, and we are not done yet! We think this may be the most EVER!” she proclaimed excitedly.

 

Twilight laughed at the nocturnal diarch’s enthusiasm. “That’s great, Luna! Nothing like a year’s supply to keep you stocked up, right?”

 

Luna frowned as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Actually, our harvest has been so bountiful we are almost starting to wonder if it can all be eaten before next year without putting on some rather significant weight! The royal flanks are already just a bit on the heavier side,” she admitted sheepishly, giving her ever-so-slightly swollen rump a soft shake.

 

Twilight smirked mischievously as the opportunity presented itself. “Ah, I know what you mean, Princess. I’m starting to understand why Celestia has the biggest rump in all of Equestria.” The two rulers shared a mutual chuckle over that one. “But in all seriousness, I might have a solution to your problem, which also just so happens to be my problem!”

 

“You too have too much candy? From where?!” Luna demanded, already starting to prickle at the thought that somepony else could somehow get more than her.

 

“No, no, no, silly,” Twilight replied with a laugh. “I too want to eat all the chocolate I wish but don’t desire the extra pounds, but I’ve been field-testing a brand new set of spells I crafted earlier today and so far results are looking solid!”

 

Luna’s ears perked up in interest immediately. “Ohh? Do tell, Twilight Sparkle! We simply must know your secrets!”

 

“I can cast it on you if you like,” Twilight replied smoothly. “No side effects whatsoever besides some mild bloating, and I’ve been eating candy all night! It’s been great!”

 

Luna certainly seemed interested, although she was temporarily conflicted about letting another pony cast strange magic on her. But, she reasoned, if there was anypony to trust with such things, it would be Twilight Sparkle: Element of Magic. “Let’s do it!” she cried excitedly, horn glowing as she scooped up her haul and rolled it into a floating ball of candy. “And then perhaps as reward you would like to join us in our chambers to partake of some chocolates?”

 

“Sounds great!” Twilight said with a grin, easily recalling the complicated details of her spell and casting it on Luna right before the other princess teleported them both to her personal tower, which was filled with more candy than Twilight would have ever imagined possible…

 

 

~~~~~

 

“Mmmph! Nomfomfromph! Sho good!” Luna cried happily as she shoved yet another double hoofful of sugary, chocolately goodness into her muzzle. “This is amazing, Twilight Sparkle! Never have I eaten so much candy at once, and I love it!” she cried ecstatically, leaning back on a makeshift chair of candy as she continued to feed with one hoof, her other rubbing circles over her swollen blue belly.

 

Twilight hummed in agreement, her mouth too full to bother giving a proper response. “Mmmhmmph! Ish ghud!” she mumbled, caught up in the thrill of the feast as she indulged on treat after treat. The citizens of Equestria really did go all out offering to ‘Nightmare Moon.’ They didn’t cheap out on her, either! This was the *good* stuff, and there was just so much! Twilight would have been a little jealous if she wasn’t currently sharing with said Lunar Princess.

 

“Huzzah! I could eat all night and feel fine! Mayhaps We shall do just that! It would be rather fun, wouldn’t it Twilight Sparkle?” A chocolate-filled grin and a soft belch were all the reply she needed to hear. “Yes! The fun has been doubled!”

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

*Two hours later…*

 

No words had been spoken between the two for well over an hour. The only sounds audible were those of frantic chewing, crinkling wrappers, and happy moaning and groaning, along with the occasional belch. The two mares were intently focused on their respective gorges, their combined efforts only serving to hardly scratch the surface of the massive stockpile.

 

Indeed, the candy seemed to be replenishing itself no matter how much they ate. Offerings were still trickling in from around Equestria as the night went on. The castle staff also were contributing, taking all their leftovers from the evening’s festivities on the castle grounds and dumping them into Luna’s chambers without nary a thought. After all, that was what they did every year!

 

On and on and on the two ate and ate and ate…

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

*Shortly after sunrise…*

 

Celestia hummed a happy tune to herself as she strode down the hallway towards Luna’s bedroom. Nightmare Night was always a special night for her, and while she always left her sister undisturbed the night of she couldn’t help but feel a desire to check up on her come morning. Usually she’d be sleeping off an epic candy binge right about now.

 

She knocked on the door softly at first to see if she was awake. “Lulu? Are you awake?” No response. Total silence. Well, it was worth a shot, but honestly Celestia would have been shocked if she had been awake. Gently engaging the latch, she allowed the ornate door to swing forwards, only to frown in confusion at the sight that greeted her.

 

Rather than the typical layout of Luna’s bedroom that she was familiar with, instead there was just a wall of solid color. The left side was dark navy blue, not unlike the color of Luna’s coat. And the other side was a rich, royal purple, awfully similar to that of her ex-student Twilight’s, now that she thought about it…

 

Puzzled, she did what any other reasonable pony would have done in her situation: she reached out with a hoof and poked at the mysterious barrier. Much to her shock and surprise, her hoof sank in almost completely, meeting virtually no resistance until finally it hit what felt like a sack filled to the brim with cement. “What in Equestria…?” Celestia murmured softly, not yet having gotten to her morning coffee and struggling to comprehend what exactly she was faced with.

 

Realization began to dawn as whatever she had just poked made noise. What sounding like a soft, whimpering groan came first, followed by a deep, ominous gurgling and sloshing, before finally…

 

“BBBUUUUUUWWWWWOOOOOOORRRRRRUUUUUUURRRRRRPPPP!!”

 

Celestia’s jaw fell open as she was nearly deafened by the massive belch, the very walls themselves shaking and rattling with the force of the expulsion. Horror began to creep into her voice as she struggled to come to grips with what could only be the only possible explanation.

 

“L-Luna…? T-Twilight…? Mother of me…what have you managed to do to yourselves this time?!” Celestia’s only response was another forlorn gurgling and another lengthy belch, this one deeper, softer, and much less violent overall. Still no words were spoken by either catastrophically bloated mare, undoubtedly both of their heads and mouths buried in the literal mountains of flab they had become.

 

“Oh dear…this is going to be one of *those* days, isn’t it…”

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

*Three months later…*

 

“So…remind me again exactly what happened?” Princess Cadance asked for what felt like the tenth time, still not able to come to grips with the obviously too-absurd-to-be-real explanation Celestia had already given her.

 

Said solar princess sighed explosively as the two walked through one of the castle’s many ornate hallways. “From what I’ve managed to gather, Twilight managed to cast some combination of spells on herself to enhance her metabolism and thaumaturgically radiate the energy from her body so as to not gain any additional caloric deposits,” Celestia explained yet again.

 

“Unfortunately, in her eagerness my student failed to account for one critical detail: the radiation would be originating from her *stomach*, not her body, so…”

 

“Let me guess.” Cadance cut in. “Her body absorbed most of said radiation, effectively skyrocketing her appetite without significantly cutting down on the energy her body was taking in.

 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Celestia replied with a huff. “And to make matters worse, she somehow managed to convince Luna to try it out too. Whatever might have possessed her to do such a thing I haven’t the foggiest idea.” She sighed again.

 

“And so…” Cadance started again, her brow furrowed in thought. “We don’t have the counterspell developed yet?”

 

“No, we do,” Celestia replied smoothly. “Unfortunately, that’s not the problem. The problem is how much energy is required.”

 

“I’m…not sure I follow,” Cadance answered uncertainly.

 

The two royals paused their walking to look each other right in the eyes. “Think of it like this,” Celestia began to explain. “The spell is like a reservoir, being fed by a pipe. That pipe has a certain pressure behind it. In order to undo the effects entirely, not only do you need more water than what’s in the reservoir, but you also need to push it back through with more pressure than what it originally came through at.”

 

Cadance’s eyes widened as understanding dawned. “But wait…the pipe is still flowing, right? So more is being added every moment! How are we ever going to get ahead?!” she asked despairingly.

 

Celestia pursed her lips at that. “My little ponies are gathering and charging copious quantities of Ametrine crystals as we speak. By my current calculations, we should have enough energy to undo the situation in approximately…” she paused to double check her mental math before turning to face her niece with a serious expression. “…Nine months, two weeks, five days, and thirteen hours. Give or take for unexpected breakthroughs and/or delays.”

 

Cadance felt her eye twitch as she realized just how long she was going to have to stay away from Shining Armor and her beloved crystal subjects, all because Twilight wanted to cheat on her diet…

 

“Sigh…it’s gonna be a long year, isn’t it…”