A griffon fluttered away from the stall, his talons wrapped around a cup. He was clad in a black superhero costume contrasting his exposed blue feathers and yellow beak.
He landed near the music stage and looked at the cup, and the fizzling orange and purple liquid inside. He sniffed at it, then took a sip, letting the taste dance around his buds for a moment before he smiled.
“This Witch’s Brew stuff isn’t half-bad,” he said to himself. “Never thought I’d like pumpkin soda.”
He took another, larger swig. And another. He had no idea why, but the more he tasted, the more of it he wanted. Before he knew it, the last drop had splashed onto his tongue.
“Aw, done already?” he frowned, shaking the cup. “Maybe that pony’ll give me a refill? She seemed pretty nice.”
He started walking back toward the stall, images of him lounging in a pool full of Witch’s Brew with a straw popping into his head. His beak curled upward at the idea.
“Oof,” he grunted, putting a hand on his stomach as he felt and heard it bubbling and broiling, like a cauldron in itself. His face scrunched a little from a buildup of pressure inside. “On second thought, this stuff isn’t sitting right…”
His cheeks puffed out, and a loud belch erupted from his beak, sending a cloud of purple smoke with orange glitter dissipating into the air. The pressure in his stomach relaxed as quickly as it built up.
“Oh, that’s better,” he said with a smile, followed by a hiccup. “On third thought, I’m gonna get that refill.”
He sauntered onward, another hiccup escaping him. Then another. And another.
“Well this is hic annoying,” he grunted. “What am I hic supposed to do hic about these again?”
He tried holding in a deep breath, but a stronger hiccup forced him to release it. He thought about asking somecreature to scare him, but he doubted it would work if he knew it was coming.
“How do I hic get rid of these hic stupid things?” he growled to himself. He put a hand on his stomach, suddenly realising that his costume felt rather confining. “Oh man, and now I feel bloated…”
He grunted as his stomach felt tighter and tighter with each hiccup, to the point it was badly sticking into the belt around his torso. His body started to swell around it like an hourglass, and he struggled to undo the clasp.
“Too… tight…!” he gasped, puffing out his cheeks as he struggled to relieve the pressure. “Hic!”
SNAP!
Gallus gasped as the belt suddenly snapped right off, and his stomach bloated out quickly enough for the costume’s fabric to tear open in places. A squawk escaped him when he saw that his middle was just inches above the ground.
“The heck was in that stuff?!” he yelped. The locals around him started to stare at his inflating middle. “I gotta get outta here!”
He spread his wings and gave a strong flap. Usually this would get him a few feet off the air to comfortably hover over the crowd, which was why he was sent into a panic when he hurdled high up into the air!
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He flailed his legs in an attempt to get some form of control. He grabbed the roof of the town hall until he finally felt gravity pulling himself back down, and he let go only to be sent gently bouncing down the tiles and harmlessly onto the ground.
“Talk about your weight loss drinks,” he breathed, before letting out another hiccup that caused his middle to swell up bigger and his costume to tear even more. A few more surges later, he felt himself get even lighter, and he dug his talons into the ground to make sure he didn’t go flying away again.
But still the hiccups continued, and the more his body literally ballooned. A pink flush appeared beneath his blue feathers as he looked back at himself. He was becoming so large that one could feasibly strap a basket to his legs.
“Could somecreature at least tie my tail to a lamppost?!”