//------------------------------// // Bitter Realization // Story: Sweet Holiday // by VarienQuill //------------------------------// The days turned into weeks, then further into months. Candy Bass' vacation was slowly ending, while their time in the house looked familiar, like a time loop from one of their books. After all, those days of leisure looked a little different from the other, filled with ravenous feasts, struggle with stairs, and simple chores, not to mention the multiple naps and brief sugar comas.  Just two weeks before the start of school, Candy witnesses an envelope coming out through the letter box in the kitchen door, flopping on the ground. It was one of the few entertainments during the morning besides food, so they gladly crawled towards the letter, dragging their massive belly with them. Even the simple motion of opening the envelope with magic caused the fat child to take a breath, clearly fatigued from such a simple exercise. Eventually, they started reading the contents, which were addressed to him. It wasn't just a letter but an invitation from Cheerilee herself, to join a school trip just a few days before the new year of education. The destination was nothing else but a larger water park in Equestria, in Neighsconsin. Candy Bass got excited, but his thoughts went first to all the booths with amazing snacks, before thinking about all the slides and other fun attractions. The pony just couldn't wait, knowing that their mother would agree and send him with other school friends. Even when they didn't get her permission yet, Candy Bass levitated the pen and marked the day on the calendar, clearly excited. ***** "Next stop! Neighsconsin Bells!" The train stopped, letting out all of the happy colts and fillies, although not without a few complications. While most of Cheerilee's group already got out, Candy Bass struggled with the door, already stuck in it, but luckily only for a brief moment, when the multiple fat folds eventually gave up, letting the pony through. Nopony commented on it, trying not to be rude about their condition. But everypony saw that Candy Bass looked different for the worse. "Are we all here?" The teacher looked around, counting her pupils. "Before we go to the park, we need to check in the nearby hotel to leave our things. Then we have the whole day for ourselves. Understood?" The ponies nodded, while some of them were impatient, wanting to be already entertained, going wild before the school year starts. Luckily for them and especially Candy Bass, the building wasn't too far away from the station, while the group had to stop only a few times so Candy Bass could catch up with their pace. Once inside, Cheerilee got all the keys for the children. "All the rooms except one are for only two ponies, so gather in pairs. The Sooner we're done, the quicker we'll be in the park." While it sounded so simple, some fillies were upset with such a decision, wanting to be in the room with the entire group. Eventually, all ponies were in pairs, except Candy Bass and one other colt. "Caramel Chaser. You'll be with Candy Bass here, alright? You're the only ones without a pair." The teacher said, giving the key to the smaller pony of the two, but still quite chubby for his age. But he wasn't even near as large as his partner. "I expect all of you in thirty minutes in the lobby. No wandering around the hotel because there's not enough time. Understood? Now, off you go." The group dispersed, going towards the elevator, while some colts rushed towards the stairs, wanting to quickly see their rooms. When Candy Bass and others entered the small compartment, it gave out a creaking sound. "I'm afraid we exceeded the capacity." The worker inside stated, trying not to look at the obese pony directly. "You need to go to other elevators. I can only take a few. Or... one..." he tried to be as discreet as possible. All of the annoyed kids left, except the largest ones. Caramel Chaser gave his roommate an apologetic smile like he was the reason for this problem. The elevator shook, while the doors closed, before finally going upwards while still making worrisome, metallic sounds. But after a while, they arrived with no further complications. While the pair left, Caramel swore he saw the worker sigh in relief, wiping sweat from his forehead. Inside the room, Candy Bass realized how badly were they treated. Tiny beds that would collapse only by looking at them, a lack of a fridge filled with complimentary snacks, and the smallest bathroom in the world. But it was only in Candy Bass' eyes, while the roommate seemed satisfied. The non-binary pony pouted, checking the bed with a hoof, then trying to fit into the shower cabin but with no luck. Seeing that they had no other thing to do during this free time,  Candy Bass slowly left the room, panting and wheezing, while all the flabs and multiple chins wobbled with his motions. "Where are you going? The teacher said to stay?" The roommate said, but the obese unicorn was already gone. Quite fast when the delicious food was within reach. Thirty minutes later, during the roll call, Cheerilee couldn't count her right cute pupils. Seeing that the group was missing a significant one, it was extremely easy to see who was exactly missing. "Caramel Chaser, where is your roommate?" She asked, but the colt only shrugged. Rolling her eyes, the teacher left the lobby, after commanding the group to not move even for an inch. She took her first steps to the most obvious place the unicorn could go. Buffet. Soon enough, she noticed the youngster, pigging out at one of the tables, eating from the pile of various food, towering before him on the largest plate he could find. "Enjoying yourself? I said there's no time for it. Now, join the group or you'll miss all the fun we prepared for you..." she said firmly, with a worrying look on her face. The Candy Bass pouted but didn't want to upset their favorite teacher even further, eventually concurring with the request. ***** "What's the holdup?" The Neighsconsin's water park was indeed the largest and most exquisite one in the whole Equestria or possibly whole words itself. Everypony could find something for them, from casual slides to the ones that were swirling for great distance, giving tons of thrill. But for those who wanted just to laze around, there were slow rivers and shallow pools, currently filled with the elderly. They also deserved some wet fun, after all. "Move your butt!" The queue to the top of the mediocre-sized slide was slowed down significantly, all the ponies standing on the stairs, not moving an inch. They could hear loud wheezing, groaning, and panting, along with deep breaths. Every step was torture for poor Candy Bass. The massive tub of lard that he had become during all this time of binge eating could barely move upwards. When the unicorn raised its head, realized how far away was the top. They just couldn't listen to the workers below, who firmly suggested that it might be too difficult to climb for the obese youngsters. But Candy Bass was too stubborn, not seeing how their weight affected their life. "Mommy, should we go somewhere else?" The filly whined, tired of all this waiting. Step by step, the pony was slowly but surely getting closer to the destination, while all their limbs shook violently like they were made of cotton candy instead of muscles, even under all of this heavy fat. They grunted and flopped completely exhausted on the platform, overcoming this challenge right before the next one. After all, the slide itself wasn't exactly chubby-friendly. Especially, not for morbidly obese ones. "Are you sure you can fit in it, kid?" The worker asked, wondering what should he do. It would be awful to be witness to the such struggle, to just say to them they can't have fun. Candy Bass didn't answer, struggling to catch a breath. But after a long moment and causing more disturbance in the inpatient crowd, they stood up proudly. The unicorn stepped towards the entrance of the slide, just before.... Plomp! The wet, rubbery sound made the ponies groan. Not only did they have to wait longer than the rest of the ponies in this park, but some silly pony also got stuck! Candy Bass whined, flailing their chubby limbs, not able to move in any direction. The worker being a unicorn, panicky used his horn to move the obese patron. But with one swift motion, he pulled the spherical-shaped pony, which had tears in its eyes. "I'm truly sorry, little one..." he said, not mocking their size. It was still a child after all. "Maybe step aside and take a break before moving to another attraction? This slide has a lot of turns and it will be extremely dangerous if you would get stuck somewhere in the middle." Obese pony sniffed, but they eventually agreed. But their heart was also hurt, figuratively speaking. ***** "Candy Bass?" The other chubby pony approached the unicorn, who was drowning their sadness in a gigantic bowl of ice cream. But as always, it was the food itself that numbed the pain and rejection. And still not realizing what was the prime culprit of all these problems. They looked at the roommate with a puzzled look, not sure what he wanted. "I was looking all over the place for you. I know you couldn't get to the slide, but I found the perfect ride just for you. Will you accompany me?" He said, giving a weak smile. The morbidly obese pony beamed, raising on the seat on which he barely fit, making its legs wobble and creak dangerously. Some of the ice creams dropped onto their body, disappearing in multiple nooks and crannies. They levitate the bowl, taking it with them. Caramel Chaser guided his friend to the back of the park, where they could see an attraction they didn't think about before. Lazy river. The rafts were hefty, able to fit a sizeable group of ponies or just an individual one, but massive. The colt helped his roommate to get on the ride, before choosing the one right next to it. The wheezing and panting were heard once again but this time only for short while, before the raft wobbled under the immense weight of the gargantuan unicorn, but it didn't sink. It barely slowed down, taking the ravenous pony with it, who still had a bowl of ice cream levitating beside their head. And all was good. "It's nice, isn't it?" Caramel Chaser said, lazing about on the other ferry, clearly enjoying it. After all, both weren't exactly the best type for this park, which was built for more agile ponies. All the turns of the river weren't sharp at all, making their rafts float gracefully on the water, hinting excitement, compared to other attractions. Candy Bass could hear all the screams filled with thrill and happiness, when the rest of the school friends had the best time of their life, landing in the pool and splashing water everywhere, after long and eventful slide. But unicorns stopped caring about all of this, thinking they didn't miss that much, surrounded by everything they wanted from this trip. Delicious food, friendship, and pure, childish fun. Candy Bass dipped their whole mouth into a bowl of melting, delightful ice cream, squeaking and chuckling happily. Caramel Chaser felt happy for them, even if his eyes were tinted with sadness and fear for their health. All was well.