//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Pudge // by Justanotherbrony //------------------------------// As it was lunchtime, the Corner was quite busy. It smelt of freshly baked bread and confectionary. Twilight inhaled this aroma as soon as she entered the shop. She loved that smell, and for a brief moment it made her forget about her worries. But then she remembered that the source of this sweet scent was the cause of her worries, and she began to fret again. There was a queue ahead of Twilight and Rainbow Dash. In the middle of this queue an excited Ditzy Doo was loudly talking about the exploits and secret identity of the infamous Mad Muffin to an unimpressed looking Carrot Top. ‘‘And I heard she has, like, a super muffin sense, so she can always sense where your muffins are! She’s a criminal mastermind of the highest order! No muffin is safe! Not while the MAD MUFFIN is still at large!’’ ‘‘Yeah, I hope they catch her one day…whoever she might be.’’ Carrot Top replied in a very deadpan tone. She looked her friend up and down as she did so. At the front of the shop, Mr Cake spotted Twilight and Dash in the queue. He give them a smile, which they returned, and then turned to his wife. ‘‘Honeybun’’, Mr Cake called out. ‘‘Tell Pinkie Pie her friends are here!’’ ‘‘OK deary’’, Mrs Cake replied from the other side of the shop. ‘‘Pinkie! Oh, Pinkie! Your friends Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are here! Come say hello!’’ There was a tremendous YIPPEE from the back room, and then, the ground itself began to shake. It sounded as though a great monster was stomping towards the shop. Cutlery and window displays began to shake. Some even toppled off their counter or table onto the ground. Cakes and buns fell to the floor. The chatter in the shop ceased immediately, and startled ponies looked around for what could possibly be making such noises. One pony asked if a Dragon was approaching. Then the source of the tremors arrived in plain view for all to see. ‘‘Woah…’’ was all Dash could manage. Pinkie Pie had entered the shop front, but not before getting stuck in the doorframe to the kitchen out back. With great effort she forced herself through, cracking both the door frame and the plaster of the wall around it. She hopped into the middle of the shop, making everything in the building shake further. Terrified costumers backed away from the immense smiling pink blob in the white chiefs hat and apron. Twilight and Dash just stared, slack jawed, at their friend. There was no other way to put it. She was enormous. Twilight would safely bet that Pinkie Pie now occupied a little over twice the floor space of both herself and Dash put together. She resembled a massive pink barrow with pudgy legs and cotton candy mane. Her great belly, now trailing slightly along the ground, bounced and flopped up and down as she skipped. Her plump face was sticky with sugar and glaze, and there were crumbs, lolly pops and other candies stuck to her face, mane and sides. It had only been about five days since Twilight last saw her. How had she expanded so much in that time! It was impossible! The only thing about Pinkie Pie that was bigger than her girth was her grin! ‘‘Hi guys it’s so great to see you how are you doing are you here for lunch course you are what a silly question whoops somebody dropped cakes all over the floor don’t worry I’ll clean it up!’’ she rattled off. Then, with a single sweep of her tongue, she scooped up and devoured all the spilled confectionary. ‘‘Yummy!’’ Pinkie said with a full mouth. Twilight was absolutely shocked, and Dash was simply stunned. There had been enough food there to feed around two dozen ponies. And Pinkie Pie had just eaten it all. In three seconds flat. And the high speed impact of all that food landing in her stomach had made it begin to bounce around again. ‘‘Hi Pinkie Pie!’’ Twilight said. She adopted a great fake smile and cheery facade, as Dash just continued to stare at Pinkie in silent disbelief. ‘‘So nice to see you, but we can’t stop to chat! We were just looking for…Fluttershy! Yes, that’s it! We saw an injured…rat, and we think that she needs to know! But she’s not here, so, we better go find here! Love to stay and chat, but that rat needs help and time’s a factor! So, see ya bye!’’ She then took off out of the shop, before returning to drag Dash off with her. Pinkie just smiled and waved at her departing friends. Twilight whispered to Dash in a firm and commanding tone as they left, ‘‘Intervention, my place, everypony, ASAP!’’ ‘‘OK bye then! If I see Fluttershy I’ll be sure to let her know!’’ Pinkie called out with a beaming smile. Then, there was a loud, slow, creaking sound. Pinkie Pie only managed to say ‘‘huh?’’, before the floor beneath her collapsed, and she went crashing through it into the basement below. A great plume of dust and floor was thrown up. The other ponies in the shop gasped, and rushed around the hole in the floor. A frantic Mr Cake pushed his way through the ring of shocked onlookers. ‘‘PINKIE PIE! PINKIE PIE! ARE! YOU! OK! SAY! SOMETHING!’’ the panicking baker called down to the darkest of the basement below. ‘‘S-some…something.’’ a groggy voice replied from below. ‘‘No no no, I didn’t mean that literally! Just tell me if your OK or not!’’ ‘‘I’m…I’m OK Mr Cake…but I think we’ve got termites in the shop’’. The yellow baker pony could only plant his front hoof on his face.