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// Chapter one: It started off big. 
// Story: The Incredible Shrinking Stallion 
// by Duragan 
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   It all began about three months ago. It was another day waking up with my beautiful wife Cadance and going through the usual morning routines of shower, followed by breakfast served in bed with the most eloquent fashion any pony can ask for. Parts of the perks of being a prince you could say, though I'm not one to brag. Much, heh heh. Anyway, my almost embarrassingly gawping mouth was locked as my gaze was broken by the arrival of Cadance arriving and greeting me with a kiss on the forehead just as I was about to enjoy my stack of syrup soaked pancakes. 
“Oh, morning honey. How are you?” I asked. 
“Doing great sweetie, how about you?” she smiled.
“Great! I'm really looking forward to this time next week though. Twiley is visiting again” I merrily chimed as my now levitating fork took a huge gouge out of the flat topped stack, “And I can't wait to see her here again. We've gotta lot to catch up on”. You probably wouldn't have heard that last sentence clearly though since at that point my mouth was full of pancake. I didn't even notice anything myself until I looked up at Cadance as she rolled her eyes taking a seat beside me with her usual light breakfast of a boiled egg and some toast being served. 
“Cadance, what's wrong?” I managed gulping down a big mouthful. She could only look at me with something like disappointment in me. I never stopped to consider it before until now, so I asked again after washing down the last of the first stack of the pancakes with a cup of coffee,                           “Cadance, why do you keep looking at me like that. You've been giving me that look for the last few weeks now”. I wasn't kidding either; to any husband that look your wife gives you with her eyes lowered after rolling them can only mean one thing. They wanna tell you something stern and strict.

“What is wrong with me?” she asked as I saw her leaning in closer. Whenever eyes like her meet mine, they are usually filled with love, compassion or support. These eyes though... anything but.
“Have you seen what all those pancakes, éclairs, doughnuts, cakes, corn dogs, fritters, tarts, dumplings and cider have been doing to you lately?!” she finished with a rather sharp poke to my stomach. Wow, no wonder she seemed ticked off. Look, I'm not going to lie to you, when you're a prince you tend to get certain privileges given to you more often than you can handle. In the past, being in the royal guard means that you are on a strict exercise program its hard for things like this bulge I have right now to catch up with you. However, as a prince who throughout the last few months has been bogged down with nothing but paper work, passing out laws, attending boring meetings which require your plot on your seat for most of the time, things like this tend to effect your waist line if you don't keep on top of your training. I looked back at her with a dumb and nervous smile but she wasn't buying any of it as her frown narrowed.
“Okay, okay I admit it. I've put on a little weight lately and-”
“A little?!” she suddenly snapped out, “Shining Armour just looking at you alone, I can tell you've easily doubled your size over the last few months! At each and every cocktail party, charity ball or general banquet we attended, all you've been doing was gulping down as much as you could and making yourself look less and less creditable around your fellow ponies. You've been mocked behind your back by some of the most respected ponies in the empire as well as your home ponies in Equestria and it hurts me to see you being shunned like this because you indulge yourself so badly!”
Finishing her rant against me hurt bad enough, but it only did so more seeing tears in her eyes as she looked away in shame. It made my heart feel pain... or was that the last of the pancake going down somewhat forced? Either way, she soon continued.

“It just pains me to see you doing this to yourself. You know that this is unhealthy for you; how it raises your blood level, raises your cholesterol increases your chance for serious illnesses both physically and mentally...” she sighed wiping a tear away from a napkin she levitated from her seat “I don't want you to keep doing this to yourself”.
“But honey, I don't understand. If you knew this was getting this bad, why didn't you tell me yourself?” Yeah, that was all I could ask. Stupid in hindsight I know, but that was all I could ask at the time since well, I was already looking at the stack of newly laid out pancakes I was given soaked in their delicious syrup and chocolate sauce. How else could you want to start your day, right? She just looked at me with probably the same expression you'd have right now.

“Did I really have to bother telling you how chubby you were getting?” she asked “Did I really need to tell a full grown stallion and captain of the guard about how his figure was molding out of shape because of his indulgence?” 
Yeah, I know what you're thinking, 'You had that coming'. Still, I could only sigh admitting defeat knowing she was right. 
“Alright then I get the hint” I said looking down at my stomach “I'll try to loose some weight and try to keep on top if it”. She soon turned her worried face into one of loving enthusiasm that I've known and loved her for so much and sealed my faith in me with a kiss on the cheek.
“I know you can do it honey” she said sweetly nuzzling me. I happily returned the favour as she walked off to finish her meal back at her seat. I had to do this for her, for myself and... Oh yeah! Twilight, would be coming soon too! Can't let her see her Big Brother Best Friend Forever having an extra B for Bulging near the start now could I? Though that did present another problem. She would be coming next week! How could I loose that much weight in time? The answer as it turned out, would be something I'd quickly come to regret.