The Calm in the Storm

Seven Sleepy Ponies
by Prince Albert

         It was a dark and stormy night in Ponyville. Winds were howling, rain was pouring, and thunder was cracking; it was an absolute mess outside. It was an evening best spent indoors, with a warm fire in the hearth and a nice meal. Some would curl up with a book, others would play games, and still more might enjoy the company of friends. For seven young ponies, it was a night to enjoy all of the above.

         Diamond Tiara, once the biggest little diva in town, had thrown a party at her luxurious home to celebrate the end of the school year. Everyone had been invited, from her closest friends to near perfect strangers. This included, naturally, her closest friend, Silver Spoon, but it also meant her once victims, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Even Babs Seed, an occasional visitor to Ponyville, stopped by, albeit as a guest of Applebloom's. Snips and Snails, the class clowns, had spent the evening going on about their summer job working for Trixie Lulamoon's traveling show, and Peppermint Twist brought some of her namesake treats. The house was packed, but eventually, it was time for everyone to clear out. Everyone, save for six of her guests.

         "Gruh...I am never hosting another party again!" exclaimed Diamond, knowing full well that she would throw another shebang next week. "It's so much work, giving everyone a good time."

         "I think it was a complete success, Dia," Silver Spoon remarked with a smile. She sat on the floor with Diamond leaning back to her, allowing the bespectacled girl to give her tired friend a well-deserved shoulder massage.

         "I had a blast! Can't wait for the next one!" the exuberant Sweetie Belle announced. The snow-white pony was sprawled out on the floor, eyes shut but very much awake. She kicked her legs and bobbed her head to the music that still played in the room.

         "Abtholutely," Twist nodded in agreement. The chunky red-and-white head sat near Sweetie, and she was trying her best to stay awake. "Thankth tho much for inviting me, Diamond Tiara!"

         "Yeah, DT. You've got to have us over more often," remarked Scootaloo from a nearby couch. She spread her entire length out across the couch, and she fought back a yawn.

         "Just say the word, and I'll run straight from Manehattan for another party," Babs Seed chimed in from her seat in a recliner across from Diamond and Silver. She stretched the chair out to its fullest extent, which brought her closer and closer to sleep.

         The only one who was not so quick to reply was Applebloom, who leaned against a nearby bar. After years spent being the two diva's verbal punching bag, the farm girl was hesitant to let them in like her friends had. She had reluctantly attended the party at the behest of her fellow Crusaders; even then, she spent most of the evening keeping her distance from the hostesses, Diamond in particular. Were it not for the storm outside, she would have bailed a long time ago, but there she was. Stuck in her worst enemy's house for the night. What she would have given for some hard cider...

         There was a pleasant, calm silence in the room, until they were interrupted by a loud rumbling. At first, the ponies thought it was the raging weather, but when it came again, they knew right away what it was. It was the sound of four tummies growling in unison: Diamond's, Twist's, Scootaloo's, and Babs's.

         "Excuthe me," the lisping Twist said with a blush to her pale cheeks.

         "I don't know how you can still be hungry, Twist," Sweetie Belle giggled. "You were gobbling up pizza like it was water!"

         "I think I know how," Diamond remarked from her spot on the couch. She turned so her wide, soft hips rose into the air. "It's because she's got a big, fat belly that needs a whole lot of food to keep it happy."

         Silver Spoon chuckled as she reached a hand up to pat at her girlfriend's thick thigh. "Like you're one to talk, Ti. You were making more than a few trips to the snack table yourself."

         "Yeah, but all that goes right to my rump and legs," the pink pony said with a smirk. "I can't say the same for you girls though. Twist looks like a cream puff, Scootaloo's like stuffed turkey, and Babs looks just like a juicy apple."

         There was some truth to Diamond's lighthearted taunts. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had gone through some changes over the years, as they continued to grow into mares. Sweetie Belle had a well-fed look about her, owing in no small part to her family's wealth and relative life of luxury; she was like a fluffy, puffy cloud, as her sister would say. Scootaloo, conversely, had swelled past well-fed and now lay in fat territory; her bloated belly and thick rump kept her grounded, despite her much more mature wings. Applebloom was easily the thinnest of the bunch due to her life of chores and hard work at the farm; her body had grown tall, lanky, and a fair bit of definition. On the other hand, Babs Seed had fallen far from her cousin's tree; life in the city made her a ball of orange chub.

         "Laugh it up now, Diamond, because Rainbow Dash and I will be flying over Ponyville all day long," Scootaloo sniped back at her once enemy. She knew, deep down, that there was little chance of her soaring through the sky anytime soon, much less with Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus was now much more interested in spending time with the best baker in town, Pinkie Pie, than pulling off sonic rainbooms.

         Babs was so groggy and stuffed that she said nothing in reply. All she could do was massage her gooey tummy to ease the rumbling therein. If Twist, Diamond, and Scootaloo had eaten a lot, the Manehattan girl had eaten a ton; her appetite was such that she could eat a full family meal and still have room for seconds. The extravagant supply for the party proved too much even for her, however, and she was now pinned to the recliner by her gut.

         "Maybe we could continue this after we get something to eat?" Babs asked sheepishly.

         "Fair enough," Diamond Tiara nodded. "Only...who's going to get the food? Not it!"

         "Not it!"

         The other ponies shot their hooves up, some slower than others, except for Applebloom. She did not care one way or another if she had to get food; Celestia knew she had to get plenty for Scootaloo and Babs when she visited. The yellow pony yawned before leaning off the wall.

         "Ah'll get the grub," she mumbled. "Sweetie, could ya give me a hoof with the plates?"

         "Sorry, Applebloom, but I'm way too comfy here," the white pony answered as she spread out on the carpet.

         Silver Spoon rose from the floor and stretched her legs out. "I'll help you out, Applebloom."

         The farm girl grunted in reply as she moseyed to the snack table. It was a couple of rooms over, and despite the best efforts of the night's guests, it was still heavily laden with food. Applebloom figured that at this point in the evening, the hungry girls would not especially care what they had to eat, so long as they could stuff their bellies further.

         "I don't know if I said it before, but we're really glad to see you come out tonight," Silver Spoon opened up as she started to fill a plate for her pink partner. "Diamond especially."

         "Yeah, well, ah wouldn't have come if Babs and the girls weren't so keen on stopping by. Ah could've been helping Granny Smith and mah sister fix up the farm for this storm," Applebloom replied. She could just imagine what sort of state the farm would be in come tomorrow.

         "Still, it really does mean a lot to us," the grey pony said, shrugging off the remark. "It may not seem like it, but Diamond really is trying to make up for how she was years ago. I know she--or rather, we--were pretty mean back then."

         "Bit of an understatement, ah reckon," the farm girl snipped, snatching a piece of honeyed hay from the table.

          Silver Spoon bit her lip at that. "Yeah...but that's in the past now. Diamond and I want to start fresh, make a clean slate with everyone. That's kind of why we've been doing these parties. Make up for lost time and all, you know."

         Applebloom sighed as she set down the plate she was filling. "Ah get that, Silver, ah really do. And ah know ah shouldn't hold a grudge, 'specially after the way ya've been so good to us lately. But that's the thing about Earth Ponies: we can be stubborn as the dickens, and there ain't much that can change our minds.

         "Ah spent a dog's age tryin' ta get mah cutie mark, and you two were doin' everything in yer power to remind me of mah blank flank. No matter what ah did to make it happen, no matter how hard ah tried, y'all would just come right in and try to take us down a peg. Ya mocked me fer bein' a blank flank and ya mocked me fer tryin' ta get a cutie mark. Ah couldn't win with the two of ya.

         "So now ya say ya've turned a new leaf, and ya want the whole of Ponyville to know. Good fer ya two, but it's a little bit late for me. Ah know yer makin' right, and ya've gone and made all sorts of real friends with other ponies. Ya've changed, ah know that. But ah still can't forget the way ya treated me and mah friends way back when. So if ah'm a little slow to open up to ya, that's why."

         There was a pregnant silence in the room as Applebloom filled up plates again while Silver Spoon shuffled her hooves around. She knew what she had done was wrong now; she had long since accepted that and come to grips with it. It still stung to be reminded of that after all these years though, especially from one of her most frequent targets.

         "All I can say, Applebloom, is that I'm sorry," the bespectacled girl bowed her head. "We were stupid foals, trying to act like we were better than everyone else because of our own problems. That doesn't make what we did any better, I know, but that's why we're trying our best to make up for things now. We want to make things better."

         Silver Spoon walked over to the farm girl's side and picked up some of the finished plates. "Here, let me give you a hand."

         "Thanks," Applebloom nodded.

         Once they had everything together, the two ponies saddled up with the snacks. Silver Spoon turned to Applebloom and nodded towards their friends. "When we get back, would you like to sit with us? I can't imagine it's particularly comfy, leaning up against the wall and all."

         "Maybe," the yellow pony replied. "Right now, let's get these back before those girls start gettin' real hungry."

         They trotted back into the room to find Babs half-asleep in her chair, Sweetie Belle rolled over on her back, Scootaloo's head propped on the arm of a couch, and Diamond on the floor with Twist. The pink pony was tracing a hoof along the flustered girl's tummy, squishing the abundant fat underneath. Despite this, the candy-maker did nothing to stop Diamond Tiara.

         "How big is this belly getting now, Twist? You look like you're plumping up every time I see you, like a ball of dough rising in the oven," Diamond giggled as she pinched an inch of fat in her hooves.

         "I...I don't know," the pale pony gulped in shock and surprise. "It ith pretty big, I gueth..."

         "Without a doubt. But it's okay. I think you look so cute with it," the rich girl laughed softly before leaning in to leave a kiss mark on the roundest part of her plaything's stomach.

         Before they could go any further, Silver Spoon announced her presence with a cough. "I think I've got some things that you'll like even more, Ti."

         Diamond glanced over to her partner and her eyes lit up with delight. "Ooh, so there were still some snacks left! Bring it here!"

         The two ponies went around distributing plates, and the voracious eaters of the group dug right in. Sweetie Belle was quick to move to Scootaloo's side and aided the lazy pegasus in filling her mouth, and Babs practically inhaled her food. Silver Spoon relaxed nearby, picking at her plate while chatting with Twist. Diamond was quick to start stuffing her face, but before she dug in, she spotted Applebloom and beckoned her over.

         "Come on, Applebloom, sit down! I promise I don't bite," the pink pony teased. "Besides, I like my apples with caramel and nuts."

         Applebloom considered the offer for a moment before sitting down beside Diamond Tiara. The pink pony offered up some food to her yellow companion. "You didn't get a plate for yourself? Come on, have a little something! You're practically wasting away on us here!"

         "Ah'm good, thanks," the Earth pony shook her head. "Besides, ah think a growin' gal like ya needs ta eat."

         Diamond smiled at that, and the two began to chuckle. "Maybe you're right, beanstalk. I am rather famished."

         As the night wore on, the storm receded, but the ponies paid it little mind. They spent the evening telling each other scary stories, awful jokes, and tales of adventure; they swapped fashion tips and secret hotspots around Ponyville. And of course, there was plenty of food had by all. It was as if they were making up for lost sleepovers and slumber parties from their days as foals. By the time the sun peeked out, they were all laid out in a pile, each sleeping on the other.

         Applebloom, an early riser by nature, groggily rubbed her eyes as she looked down at her shoulder. Diamond Tiara lay her head there, eyes shut. The yellow pony made no effort to disturb her.

         "Thanks fer havin' me," the farm girl whispered before shutting her eyes again.

The End