Rose Pendant's Inner Demons

 

Rose took a deep breath and headed out the door to her job. Her father, Winding Gear, was hosting the party and she had been helping to set it up all week. Sure, Rose might have been biased towards what food might be available but she helped with more than that. Several enchantments had been put into place for the holiday as well as making enough space for everypony to relax and have fun. “I hope everypony enjoys it. We worked so hard for them.” Rose thought to herself.

 

Canterlot was in full swing for today's celebration. It was Nightmare Night and everypony was decorating, celebrating and getting their costumes ready. The magic of the city was in full force as unicorns all over were decorating their houses and businesses with a bit of spooky flair. Rose Pendant fit right in for once, her slightly cheesy costume mixing in with the Nightmare Night festivities.

 

The outside of the clock shop was plain as could be. “Time to change that!” Rose smiled. She slowly filled her horn with magic and a cast the spooky illusion spell. Spectral cobwebs shimmered in the light as they dangled from the walls and the windows. Inside the shop, more spectral decorations covered the whole office top to bottom. More fake cobwebs, illusory spiders and spooky candles appeared inside the shop to give everything a Nightmare Night flair.

 

Rose Pendant stepped inside and smiled, looking at all the hard work her father had prepared beforehand. “Excellent! Dad's charms are working perfectly! If I didn't know any better, he was a proper magician and not just a watch maker.”

 

“Hey, I did try once. I just never had the proper elegance of a handsome rogue that could captivate the audience.” A voice called out from the nearby workshop. Winding Gear, the owner of the shop and Rose Pendant's father, walked out of the nearby workshop and greeted his daughter with a hug. “There's my special little girl. Looking real tough in that Danger Girl outfit.”

 

“I could say the same about you, Count Dracula.” Rose replied. Her father's hand made costume was leagues above her store bought outfit. With his slicked back hair, illusory fangs and dramatic cape, Winding Gear was born to be a noble vampire. “I'm so excited to see everypony's costume. I wonder who will win the costume contest!”

 

Winding Gear cleared his throat. “Umm...Rosie? I think maybe you should dial back the excitement. Remember what I said about being a magician?”

 

“Pfff, no way, dad. We got great food, some music and all these decorations. What could go wrong?” Rose said

 

As if on cue, the clock chimed the top of the hour. At nine o'clock sharp, the greatest clock makers of Canterlot burst through the door and marched towards the time clock. They quickly punched in and wandered off to the workshop.

 

Rose watched as her co-workers walked through the clock shop like zombies. They shuffled like zombies, grunted like zombies and were bumping into one another like zombies. Only one problem. None of them were dressed up like zombies! Suddenly, Rose Pendant felt out of place with her Danger Girl amazon costume among all her co-workers wearing their usual business attire. Her eyes moved from their boring clothes to their faces buried in their phones. Nopony was looking at the decorations, either! No excited chatter, no smiles, nothing. It was the same boring routine to them!

 

Everypony piled into the work room to find their usual work stations pushed aside for a party. They simply grabbed a chair and sat in random places in the room. Winding Gear followed them in and stood in the center of the room. “Welcome, everypony! As you know, today is Nightmare Night and I thought it might be a little fun to have a party today. Please, relax and enjoy a nice day off at work while having a bit of fun.”

 

It broke Rose's heart to see zero reaction from anypony else in the room No costumes, no desire to look up from their phones, nothing besides the stiff “professionalism” that came with Canterlot's most noble unicorns.

 

“Uh...there's a table in the back with food and snacks! And...uh...there's gonna be a costume contest before we dismiss for the day...” Winding Gear shook his head. “Although I guess Rose is the only one I can offer it to.”

 

Winding Gear grabbed a small plastic trophy sitting on the food table and offered it to Rose Pendant. “Here, dear. Hope you find a nice place for it. I'm gonna head to my office for a little bit.”

 

Rose Pendant took the small trophy and watched her father slump out of the room. She looked around the workroom and puffed out her cheeks. “Hey! Guys! Come on, Dad worked really hard on all this. The least everypony could have done is dress up a little!”

 

Nopony bothered to look up. Everypony was still staring at their phones, not even as Rose walked around the room to glare at them. “Fine, I guess all the food is for me....a-again....” Rose rushed off to the table and grabbed a plate. She pushed a sandwich, some chips, and cupcake onto her plate and grabbed a big cup of punch. “I'm going to my office as well....if you need anything.” Rose groaned as she stomped her way out of the workroom.

 

Alone and distraught, Rose sat in her office with her food. “Gggr! They all make me so mad!” Rose Pendant reached down and grabbed her sandwich. She took a big bite and let herself relax. “S-Silly coworkers...Dad worked so hard for them and what do they do? So disrespectful. If we weren't so “respected” around here, maybe we could find some ponies that know how to relax and not be so stuffy, rude and b-boring!”

 

Rose hadn't even noticed she was shoving chips into her mouth at lightning speed. All the poor mare could think about was her father. “I hope he isn't upset. Oh, I know he was. If any of those...l-losers would have bothered to look up, they would have seen their boss so upset. Maybe even seen the nice decorations for the trouble for a day off at work!”

 

The cupcake was all that was left. In a huff, Rose peeled away the wrapper and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. “Shtupid poniesh...only botha too look up at anypony when dere's drama goin around....alwaysh glued to dere phonsh for gossip.” Rose coughed on her words for a moment, quickly draining her cup of punch and letting out a sigh. “G-Gossip...like the Boss's daughter being unmistakable for a pig...”

 

Rose could feel her face glow with embarrassment. It dawned on her that she ate lunch at nine in the morning to fight her frustrations...and she was still feeling peckish. “Not my fault we got such good sandwiches from the deli down the street.” Her belly gurgled at her, pleased with the breakfast AND lunch now sitting in her slightly bloated stomach. “Okay, it IS my fault but I just wanted everypony to have a good meal!”

 

“Food tastes good. We should indulge when we want...” A voice called out from everywhere and nowhere at once. Rose could feel the blood rushing to her face. She loved food. Why not? Good food was heaven on the lips...if only it didn't stick to her hips...and belly....and butt. “As much as we want...” She spoke to herself. Rose could still taste the cupcake on her tongue as she scraped her mouth clean of all the frosting and crumbs she could find.

 

“As much as you want...no limits. Who cares how soft you get? Doesn't it feel good to indulge? To feel the new pounds packing on? Experience that new jiggle everywhere after a night of eating everything you can find...”

 

Rose's hands began to tremble. “No.” She said out loud to quiet the voice. “No...o-of course not! Everypony stares...everypony talks. T-They take pictures on their phone and laugh about it when they think I'm not there!” Rose Pendant tensed up from her neck down to her toes. “I-I'm the daughter of Winding Gear....the best clock maker in Canterlot. I can't let him down!”

 

The voice returned. “So what does that matter?” Rose looked down at her tummy and frowned. “You'll always have your own skills. Your own name to bring into the spotlight. Your family will always love you no matter what size. Shouldn't you be more worried about being happy...and full...and fat over what anypony else thinks?”

 

“N-No...B-Bad tummy!” Rose scolded herself. Her hands were trembling and sweaty, her eyes unable to focus and the gurgle in her belly was only getting louder. “I gotta get out of here...maybe some more punch...” Rose hopped out of her seat and nearly ran back to the workroom.

 

Rose Pendant darted through the hall until she was close to the workroom. She could hear a little bit of muttering coming from the open doors. Carefully, Rose inched closer and listened in. They HAD to be gossiping again!

 

“So...what do you think of these cheap decorations?” She heard somepony ask.

 

“Tacky. I sure hope Gear didn't pay for these enchantments himself. Only a foal would find any of this fun.”

 

“At least we get the day off. Perfect to see what's going on with the gossip blogs. Hey, did you hear that Princess Luna of all ponies was seen taking off to those naughty food clubs that have been showing up all over Equestria? The one with the odd name...Greased...something...”

 

“No way, really? I don't believe it. Nopony would be caught dead eating such disgusting food like that unless you had no respect for yourself...like Gear and his daughter!”

 

Rose was shaking. Tears were blocking her vision as she stomped off from the hallway. She didn't care if any of them heard as she marched straight to her father's office. Rose pulled her hand up to the door and pulled back...just to stop as her fist was an inch away from the wood. “N-No...d-don't worry him with this....garbage.” Rose whispered.

 

Before she could run off to her office, the door opened. Winding Gear looked at his daughter and instantly pulled her inside. “Rose? What's wrong? What happened? Tell me!”

 

“D-Dad...c-calm down!” Rose let out a sniffle and removed her glasses for a second.

 

“Rosie, you're crying! You tell me what happened right now or...”

 

“Dad, it's just.....I was worried that everything was going so terrible for your party. I went to my office to put away the cute trophy you gave me and when I tried to go back to the party....everypony was whispering about you...”

 

“Oh.” Winding Gear took a breath and sighed. “Just them talking again. Don't let it get to you, sweetie. It's only words.”

 

“No, Dad! These ponies are walking all over you! Over us! The company shouldn't have to deal with gossips like this!”

 

Winding Gear shook his head. “Rose, darling...I've explained this. It's not because of their work. Some of them come from long lines of tinkerers and clock makers. We get a lot of business BECAUSE they work here.”

 

“Work here? Dad, I'M the one that does most of the work around here! I'm busting my butt to get orders out while they sit on their phones and gab about Princess Celestia this and nobility that, oh did you hear about the pony down the road, come here and look at my GOSSIP BLOG! Daddy, these ponies are nothing but foals stealing money from this company because they're popular. That's why I'm getting my Master Artisan degree next year and I'm under half their age!”

 

“Rose! Calm down!” Winding Gear frowned.

 

“What if I don't? We...We should KICK all those losers out! They don't work, they don't know how to have a good time and they HATE US. We would all be better with those snobs out of here!”

 

“Rose Pendant!” Winding Gear snapped. “You think I don't know any of this? I know you don't tell me about certain things but it HURTS when I hear them talk about you just as much as it hurts when you hear them talking about me.”

 

Winding Gear clenched his teeth. “I knew they would talk about my lovely little girl with such bold aspirations in her heart. I knew they might comment on your carefree lifestyle but I hired you because this was your dream. I just....didn't want your dream to turn into a nightmare, Rose.”

 

The old stallion straightened up and sighed. “I can't do anything about them, Rose. Like it or not, they are here to stay because over seventy five percent of all our orders come because of who nobles think is making our watches and clocks. I've tried to talk sense into all of them dozens of times and nothing works. Unless you can think of some way to break them out of it, we have to deal with it.”

 

Rose hung her head low. She leaned against her father and hugged him tight. “...I'm so sorry, daddy.” Her trembling stopped as her father's arms wrapped around her in a tight hug.

 

“Hey, no need to apologize. As long as YOU have fun today, everything will be alright. Will a snack after work cheer you up?” Winding Gear asked.

 

Rose Pendant shook her head. “No....there's probably going to be lots of leftovers from the party. I can just take something home.”

 

“Well, that would certainly help. The less we have to clean up and throw away, the better.” Winding Gear chuckled as he let Rose go. “Rosie, why don't you work on something personal in your office today? Don't let them bother you and keep your mind off it for a while.”

 

Rose nodded. She quietly left her father's office and retreated to her own personal space. There was nothing she could do to convince anypony. Rose sat down at her desk and slammed her head down. “Uhhhhh.....why is everything so terrible today?”

 

“You've been focused on changing everypony else. Why not change yourself and show them how wonderful change can be?” The voice came back, louder this time. “They don't wish to have fun? SHOW THEM how much fun it can be. Hate their gossiping? SHOW THEM how terrible it is.”

 

“N-No....I shouldn't. It isn't right.” Rose Pendant slammed her fist against her desk. A small drawer slid open, revealing a small, perfectly polished pocket watch and a certain book.

 

“Right? Are you still caring about what's right? THEY don't care about what's right so why should you?” The thoughts began to bounce around in her mind. “Care about what's right for YOU, not what's right for anypony else.”

 

Rose blushed as her tummy grumbled loudly. “B-B-But....”

 

“Dad said to have a good time. You know what you'd like to do to have a good time at a party. Not sit here and feel sorry for yourself like this. You know what WE would like to do...” Another gurgle from Rose's tummy.

 

“N-N-N-No....N-Not...US.....just me....No matter what I tell myself...this feeling is a part of me I can't ignore.” Rose Pendant could feel her heart pounding as she sat up straight and let her eyes wander to the open drawer. It was calling to her. The one little key needed to unlock it all. Rose bit her lip as she reached out with her magic. The pocket watch was lifted out of the drawer and dangled an inch or two before her face.

 

Just as it was, the pocket watch captured Rose's attention. This watch was one of the first she ever made and it was lovingly polished just as the book in the drawer had suggested. Rose took a breath and closed her eyes before slowly moving the watch back and forth. Satisfied she was calm and in control, Rose opened her eyes and began following the watch with her eyes.

 

“Let go....” Rose spoke aloud. “Fall asleep and let go. Fall asleep and let go.” Rose chanted to herself. The motion of the watch, a faint wisp of magic and the gleam of the light pulled her in. No matter how hard she tried, Rose couldn't keep her eyes open. She slumped down in the chair asleep. Her magic lowered the watch back into the desk drawer before disappearing with a fluff of blue smoke.

 

“Mmm...let go....have fun....who cares about it?” Rose slowly muttered. A smile spread on her face as her eyes opened to reveal an endless spiral of colors. “You know, Daddy is right! Who cares what they think? It hurts, but there's always one comfort that makes it ALLLLLL better.” Rose gave her tummy a pat. “Let's fucking party!” Rose shouted as her magic slammed open her office door.

 

Everypony was still silently sitting in the work room. The food was untouched, the punch was getting warm and nopony was moving from their chairs. Faces buried into phones, lost in mindless gossip. They weren't paying any attention to the stomping coming from the hallway as a certain mare was finally bringing the party to life.

 

“Hello, everypony!” Rose Pendant shouted at them all. “How's it going? Anything good on your phones or is it just the same bullshit you wont shut up about?” The shock on their faces only made Rose grin even wider. “Hope you guys don't mind if I get some food seeing as how I've been the only one to touch it.”

 

Rose strut her way over to the snack table and grabbed a sandwich with both hands. She pushed as much food as she could into her mouth and chomped hard. Her swirling eyes were locked on all their faces as she swallowed. In seconds, the sandwich was gone and another was in her hands. “Mmm, these are so good. How you're not eating anything is a mystery to me!”

 

The stallion nearest to the table coughed. “It's....too early for lunch, you know?”

 

“Oh who cares? Aren't you hungry? Don't you want something to drink? No wait, you just want to sit there like an old fart,” Rose shot back. “At least pretend that you cared enough about a day off while still getting paid for it.”

 

Rose dipped a cup into the punch and chugged. Her belly let out a little slosh as she drained the cup, only to refill it and drink more. “Now see here, young lady! Aren't you a little young to be criticizing your elders?” A voice called out as one of the workers jumped out of his chair.

 

“Ahahaha, what are you talking about, Rocky?” Rose sneered as she shoved a cupcake in her mouth. “You're only ten years older than I am and you're still a journeyman clock maker. If anything, YOU should be wary of criticizing YOUR betters.” A stomp of her boot clad hoof made Rocky flinch.

 

“No, he has a point! Just because your father is the manager of the shop doesn't give you any right!” A much older stallion stood up and scowled at Rose as she continued eating.

 

Rose simply rolled her eyes. “Look everyone, it's Ticker, the stallion that married into the Quartz family and still doesn't know the difference from a screwdriver and a hammer and he's been working here for fifteen years! If anyone has any respect for you, it's sorely misplaced.”

 

A belch echoed through the room as Rose gave her tummy a pat. “By the way, the special project you were assigned a month ago? I finished it yesterday in preparation for today since you still haven't done a SINGLE THING for it. Come by my office tomorrow and pick it up before your client comes in at noon. It would be a shame if you have to redirect a client buying a clock for ten thousand bits to me and I have to explain that he's paying a grand for the clock and nine thousand for the Quartz name when you didn't even look at the blueprints.”

 

Ticker immediately sat down. His face was red but from anger or embarrassment, nopony could tell. Rose smirked as the chatter died, hushing down to whispers and glares. She leaned against the table, stuffing sandwiches, chips and cupcakes into her mouth. Rose smacked, chomped and moaned loudly as her belly began to noticeably bulge outward with every bite. The Danger Girl costume was getting tight. Wonderfully tight. The heaviness in her gut and the noise of her bubbling belly only made this whole scene feel better.

 

“Heh....I knew it....” An elderly voice called out. The oldest worker of the line stood against the growing girl at the snack table. “You're just a spoiled brat brought in by your father to try and usurp the glory of this shop! If anyone should have an office in this place, it's ME, not you! Believe me, miss piggy pride glutton, once everypony hears what I have to say, You won't have a chance in Tartarus of getting a job in this industry ever again or my name isn't Speedy Dial!”

 

Rose Pendant said nothing. Speedy Dial was THE ultimate name in clock making. Entire companies rose and fell based on his recommendations alone. He had passed ownership of his overblown watch factory years ago to some stallion years ago and wandered into this little shop to do nothing all day. Sure, having him on staff tremendously helped business but he was just another lazy noble coasting off his fame, earning a free paycheck for napping all day instead of working.

 

“Too embarrassed to admit it? You may have skill making clocks, miss, but this sort of attitude will get you nowhere! I'm going to tell your father about this immediately!” Speedy Dial smirked as he turned towards the door.

 

“Ahahaha! That's a great joke! A fossil that thinks he has any sway here.” Rose replied. She stuffed more food in her stomach, swallowing a bit slower as her stomach struggled to find more room. Rose finally moved away from the table and approached Speedy Dial with a knowing grin.

 

“You know, Speedy...this spoiled brat actually bumped into your granddaughter at the bakery the other day. She was throwing this HUGE tantrum over some family drama...something about her mom and your daughter, Fancy Dial, crying at home because Fancy learned of a very interesting story...about her REAL father.”

 

The elderly stallion became as pale as a ghost. “I...have no idea what you're talking about.” He looked around and noticed a few ponies were fiddling with their phones. “That's slander! Libel! You're lying and I will take you to Princess Celestia herself to punish you for it!”

 

“I wouldn't quite say that. After all, I'm certain I heard you talking with Silver Crown about it last month. Begging him to keep quiet about it all while tossing a rather huge bag of bits his way.” The whole room turned to look at Silver Crown who was doing his best to not meet anypony's gaze.

 

“Oh no, Speedy. It's YOU that needs US because we bankroll your posh lifestyle, not to mention your little bribes. I wouldn't be surprised if you were forced to hand over your dumpy, shitty factory as ANOTHER bribe to keep somepony quiet. Sit down and enjoy while it lasts, old man. Have a sandwich if you want before this piggy eats them all.” The whole room was glued to their phones, tapping and typing as fast as they could.

 

The room was quiet again. Speedy sat down with a look of uncertainty as Rose returned to her feasting. While her wit had been busy deflecting weak arguments, her mouth had been working overtime. Over half of the food had disappeared into Rose's stomach and victory was going to make the rest taste much sweeter. Nopony said a thing as Rose grabbed another sandwich and stuffed it in her mouth.

 

More soft bread and cheese. More savory meats and well layered toppings. It piled high atop a sloshing, gurgling gut stuffed with chips and sweet, sugary cupcakes. Rose's stomach was so full that her both her belly and her costume was bulging outwards as if she was overdue with a foal. Even with no room left, Rose kept eating and chewing. They would see just how spoiled she could be. It thrilled her to no end.

 

Rose pushed the last cupcake into her mouth and sighed. It was all gone and she had a wonderful time doing it. The sandwich platter had vanished, empty bags of chips scattered on the floor and discarded cupcake wrappers litter the table. All that was left was the few swigs of punch left in the bowl.

 

The bloated unicorn grabbed the entire punch bowl and pushed it to her lips. Rose chugged as best she could, gulping the sugary brew down into her bloated gut. Punch slowly dripped down from the corners of her mouth as she finished it off. Her belly was getting so massive that her breasts were spilling over the edge of her top. Every wobble and slosh of her gut threatened to expose her soft, plump tits and still, Rose didn't care one bit. Rose drank till the last drop, making sure everything had been packed away into her stretched, aching stomach. She set the bowl down and groaned, her belly gurgling and sloshing loudly as it struggled to hold in the gigantic meal.

 

“Ahh...now that's a party!” Rose grinned. She wiped her arm over her mouth and leaned back against the now empty table. Rose sighed, letting out a bit of pent up tension to relax her muscles. Rose felt her belly push hard against its cloth prison and with nowhere else for her soft, cream colored gut to go, it burst right through the cheap, mass produced costume like it was wet paper.

 

“Mmm....so much better....” It was all Rose could say as she grabbed her belly and gave it a jiggle. It sloshed and gurgled louder than ever before as tiny bubbles of air wiggled free from deep inside her tummy. Her eyes widened as the pressure forced itself upward violently, forcing the stuffed mare let out a gigantic belch.

 

UUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

 

Rose blinked. The confident mare was left in a daze as the swirls faded from her eyes. The rumbling gurgles of her gut and the extraordinary belch had snapped her out of the spell. “Huh?” She mumbled to herself as she turned to look at the lunch table. Slowly, memories of the past twenty minutes came back to her as her belly continued to bubble and slosh.

 

Saying all those things, standing up for herself, eating LITERALLY everything. Rose Pendant froze in place. She turned around, biting her lip as her full belly bounced about. Everypony was either looking away or staring at the ground. Nopony was tapping away at their phones to spread gossip but still, an awkward tone was in the air.

 

“Hey everypony, how is...every...thing....” Winding Gear entered the work room. His eyes widened at the sight of his daughter with a pregnant looking gut standing in front of a completely bare table. “R-Rose? Wh...What happened to you?”

 

Rose Pendant grit her teeth. All she wanted to do was have some fun today. Fun? Did she have fun? Well, it DID feel good to put these losers in their place....and eat enough food for four ponies. “Hi Daddy...” Rose waved.

 

“Rose?”

 

“What happened...is that I'm having a good time like you told me to! Everypony was about to have lunch when I walked in and we ended up talking so much that they forgot about the food. Time flies when you're chatting with friends.”

 

A small cough echoed through the room. “Daddy, you know how much I love to snack while I work! I just...got carried away again.”

 

Winding Gear looked at the table. “But....ALL of that food?”

 

“Relax! We were worried about leftovers, right? Now we don't have to be worried at all!” Rose waddled over and gave her father a hug. “Uhhhgg....urk.....” Rose groaned as her tight gut was pinned against her dad's body.

 

UUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP

 

“Goodness, Rose! Do you need to sit down? Isn't that....heavy?” Winding Gear asked

 

“N-Nah! I'm fine!” Rose giggled. “In fact, I'm so fine, I'm going to spend a little bit of time in my office just being fine. Don't start the costume contest without me!” Rose Pendant rushed out of the work room as fast as she could.

 

“Rose! I already gave the trophy to you!” Winding Gear shouted after his daughter. He shook his head and sighed. “Oh Rosie, what am I gonna do with you, you little troublemaker?”

 

Winding Gear turned to everypony sitting in silence. “You know, why don't you guys punch out early and take the rest of the day off with full pay? I have a little cleaning up to do in here, I guess.” The crew quickly filed out, leaving Winding Gear alone with the mess and his thoughts. “If Rose really had a good time...maybe it was worth it.” Winding Gear smiled as he grabbed a trash can and began to clean up the destruction left behind by Rose the Glutton.