//------------------------------// // 5. Guests, part 2 // Story: Cupcakes Redux // by Flexico //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie hummed merrily to herself as she roughhoused Twilight Sparkle's limp form onto the table where Rainbow Dash had been held previously. Upstairs, Dash herself was torn between trying to help Twilight and again attempting to get somepony's attention outside ... which would, in turn, also help Twilight. Welp, that makes that decision. Sorry, Twi! Rainbow thinks to herself as she once again blunders towards the front door. Surprisingly, she seems to be having less trouble than before with moving around with her big ball of a gut. She's getting the hang of how to roll so as to get where she wants to without causing unbearable nausea. Perhaps it's because of her natural athleticism that she's able to adapt so readily to a new situation. She certainly did not like the idea that she was getting used to being in this state. Rainbow barely had time to make her way into the front room before a face appeared in the doorway. "Rarity!" ----- Down in the basement, Twilight Sparkle began to regain consciousness. Her first thought was that maybe her return to the waking world would have been better delayed, considering the throbbing headache that coursed through her skull. It took a few more moments before she woke up enough to reach her hoof up to massage the offending bump on her temple. Except ... her hoof refused to obey her commands. She pulled harder, only to feel a cool grip around her fetlock preventing her from fulfilling the task to which she had set herself. Slowly, her eyes creaked open, seeming to resist as if they were connected to old, rusty hinges. She would not have been surprised to hear a grating squeak as light finally peeked through. She was greeted by the oversized smile of a certain frizzy-haired pink pony and immediately groaned at the realization that something VERY STRANGE was likely being cooked up. She wasn't even halfway through reading the library's latest import, "The Science of Magic: a Deeper Look." Dang you Pinkie Pie, can't you at least have the decency to spare us your insanity until we're, like, BORED or something? "Hey there, Twi-Twi Sparklepants! Are ya comfyyyyyyyyy?!" Twilight's eyes widened as the fog finally lifted from her mind and she took in her surroundings. The first thing that she noticed was that she couldn't move any of her hooves. After some effort of twisting her head to look around, she was able to make out a sheeming metal band around her left fetlock, effectively bolting her to the wooden table she was laying on. After a bit of straining against the restraints, she relaxed a bit and found that she was surprisingly comfortable. "P...P...Pinkie ... what is this?" "This is my Lair of Noms! Most of the time when I share my treats with ponies, they only eat a little and then say they're full! They miss out on soooooo much more that my baking skills have to offer! Soooooo, I set up this place, which keeps my friends here until I decide that they've had enough!" She sat back on her haunches and tapped her front hooves together excitedly. Twilight blinked a few times to straighten out her eyes, as they had crossed of their own accord as the gears in her brain processed this. "So ... you're ... going to force-feed me while I'm chained to a table?" "Yep, pretty much!" Twilight stared at her for a few moments with her mouth hanging open slightly. "... Ok, that's it, you've lost it. I'm out of here." Twilight reached out with her magic to break open the metal shackles that held her down. Nothing happened. "What?" She tried again. She couldn't even reach out through the familiar aetherial plane to sense the objects she wished to manipulate. A chill ran up her spine. "Oh! You tried to use magic, didn't you? Here, check this out!" Pinkie held up a mirror so that Twilight could see the ring around the base of her horn. It was yellow in color, though paler than gold, and very shiney. Alternating red and blue gemstones, three of each it seemed, encircled the ring, embedded in the metal. These pulsed with a soft glow in a pattern that gave the impression that the light was travelling around the ring in a lazy circle, much like lights ringing a carnival sign flashed in such a way to give that same impression. In spite of the situation, Twilight's first thought was of how beautful the ring was. Maybe someday my wedding ring will look like that! Gazing at it was mesmerising. However, her indulgance was quickly cut short as the mirror disappeared from her vision, replaced with Pinkie's face. Her face-splitting smile was the same one she wore most of the time she bounced around Ponyville, but today it carried with it more demented menace than Twilight would have thought possible. "Pinkie ... erm ... where did you manage to get this? Rings like this are only ever issued to the police for restraining unicorn criminls, and even then only in large cities like Manehatten where crime is an ongoing problem. Not to mention, none of the ones I've ever seen look so ... artistic." "Oh, you can find anything you want if you ask around the right dark alleys in Canterlot!" Twilight was silent for a moment as that sank in. "You ... Pinkie, do you have any idea how dangerous that is?! There are thieves and thugs and cutthroats in places like that! You could have been ... really hurt!" Pinkie waved a hoof casually, brushing off the statement. "Nah, you just gotta know how to dress and act!" She pulled out a black hoodie from behind ... something ... and pulled it on, flattening her massive mop of hair to her head as she pulled the strings tight. Her voice became low and gravelly, her upper lip curled slightly, and one eye slid halfway closed, making her look ... well, like somepony you don't make eye contact with while walking through the nastier parts of town. "Hey buddy ... I got this unicorn friend who I need to keep tied up ... got anything that can tie up magic?" Twilight strained to keep a straight face, but ultimately failed, sporting a crooked, awkward smile and snorting. "Okay ... okay, that was pretty good. And between your Pinkie Sense and your inexplicable ability to defy all logic, I'm sure you can handle yourself." "See? It's all good!" Twilight must have blinked, or looked away momentarily, because the hoodie was gone. She hadn't even seen Pinkie take it off. She just sighed and focused her thoughts back to ... oh, right. "Pinkie ... why are you doing this? I mean, I know you told me before, bu--UMFF!" "Yummy yummy!" Pinkie said as she stuffed one of those huge cupcakes into the unicorn's mouth. She must have baked more at some point, because the tables were again covered. Or maybe ... ah well, it's Pinkie Pie. Twilight gagged as her mouth was forced as far open as her jaw would allow, only containing half of one of those huge pastries, and when she bit off that half, her cheeks bulged more than she would have thought possible. Rather than protest, as she had been planning to do, the flavor was so soothing and pleasent that she couldn't help but chew and swallow the soft, spongey cake. Of course, as soon as she had, the other half was crammed in, and the cycle repeated. After some time had passed, Pinkie let Twilight have a break to catch her breath, as it's hard to breathe while constantly chewing and swallowing. Twilight lay back on the table (though she hardly had much choice) and breathed heavily -- partly because she was out of breath, and partly because her now-bulging stomach was making it hard to force air into her lungs. Pinkie leaned against the table and gently ran a hoof over the stretched belly of her friend, sighing happily as if she were stroking a pet. Twilight, for her part, could only manage to hiccup and burp a few times, her face flushed red from the extreme pressure inside her. Her stomach was now a little bigger than a beach ball and stretched tight as a drum. After its contents had shifted around a bit to a more comfortable position, she exhaled gustily in a labored moan. "Just about ready for the second course?" Pinkie aske sweetly. Twilight's eyes snapped open and her already-labored breath caught in her throat. "Wh-what?!" ----- "Rarity!" "Oh hello, Rainbow! How-- oh. I see she got you too." "You've got to help me! Pinkie Pie-- wait, what? What do you mean, 'too'?" "Ooohhhh ... that's right, you have't been in Ponyville as long as most of us. I'm sure you know that Pinkie has a few loose screws ... anyway, she occasionally gets obsessed with ponies eating her baked goods to the point where she feels the need to feed them herself ... and, well, you appear as if you know the rest." She gingerly patted Rainbow's bloated stomach. "You ... what?! You know she does this ... and you're .. OK with it?! How could--" Rarity put her hoof to Dash's mouth. "Oh shush dear, it's not like it's permanent ... at least, it wasn't for me ... although you are quite a bit bigger than I was ... oh well, I'm sure you'll be fine! Anyway, I should be off, just in case Pinkie decides I need a second trip down immobility lane ... and I have too much work to do at the boutique to risk that! Ta-ta, Rainbow dear!" Rarity disappeared out the door, apparently forgetting whatever it was that she had come for to begin with. Rainbow simply stood there (or, more accurately, lay atop her monsterous gut) with her mouth hanging open. "What ... what the BUCK was that?!"