Flurry Heart sat at the table, her legs dangling over the side of her chair. Her head in her hooves, she stared down at the smooth tiling of the table, unblinking. Her mane fell haphazardly over the back of her neck, and her back hooves swung aimlessly beneath her. With a sigh, she felt a strand of hair flutter across her cheek, her breath sending it twisting and dancing over her coat.

"Hey." Her dad's voice froze her in place. She hadn't even heard him come in. Usually, she'd turn around and give him a hug...but tonight, she didn't feel all that affectionate. She just stared sullenly at the table, kicking her hooves against the legs of her chair.

Dad's hooves tapped out a rhythm as he trotted his way over to her. She felt him before she saw him—his strong arm around her shoulder, his chin brushing against her ear.

"What's up, Hearts?" he asked. "You're not lookin' too good. You sick?"

She shrugged. "Don't think so," she mumbled. Unless you counted being lovesick...

Oh, gods. She sounded like such a teenager. Flurry decided to keep that line on the inside.

"Well, your mom'll be relieved to know." Shining gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then dropped back down to his hooves. She heard him trot a few feet away, heard the gentle click of the snacks cabinet when he opened it. "So what is it, sweetie? What's got my girl moping all over the room?"

She sighed, felt guilty for not being happy to see him, and turned to face him. His bright blue mane was tossed carelessly over the back of his neck, his tail bouncing slightly as he dug through a row of bright-colored boxes. His Cutie Mark, the bright purple shield she'd known for all her life, rustled across his fur, the stars around it seeming to twinkle with his movements.

Should she be honest with him? No, her teenage side said, without even missing a beat. This was Dad—and to find out just who she was moping over... She didn't even want to think about that.

But this was Dad! another part of her said. He'd always been there for her. And he would obviously want to help.

That's what she was afraid of, her teenage side said.

But maybe he could help! said the rest of her. Maybe she could at least ask for advice.

Hngh, her other half said. It lapsed into silence. Flurry took a deep breath.

"Well," she said, drawing out the word. "There's, uh, this stallion..."

The temperature in the room actually seemed to go up a good ten degrees. “A stallion?” Dad said. He turned, his hooves hitting the ground—hard. She winced as he rounded on her, his eyes wide and concerned. “What two-bit colt hurt my baby girl?”

“Nobody! I mean—he didn’t!” Flurry sat straight upright, waving her hooves in front of her face. “Really! Relax, Dad!”

“Oh?” Shining Armor cocked an eyebrow down at his daughter, and Flurry felt his eyes probing at hers. His voice was softer, though, more gently questioning. “Then what happened?”

“I—“

Flurry swallowed. Hard.

“I said some things I shouldn’t have, I think,” she said, softly. When Shining’s eyebrow, went higher, she shook her head and added, “Not mean ones, though! At least, I don’t think so?”

“Then...what?”

“I…” Flurry took a breath. “I told him I liked him,” she finally said. “I...got a little touchy-feely. Nothing invasive,” she said quickly, before he could respond, “but...I think I freaked him out.”

“Ah.” Shining nodded toward the seat beside her. “Okay if I sit down?”

She nodded back. He did, putting his elbows on the table and leaning his weight forward.

“Well,” he said. “Your mother would be better with this than me, but she’s away in Canterlot, so I’m afraid I’m all you’ve got to work with.”

She cracked a smile at him. “C’mon, Daddy. You’re not that bad.”

“That’s what your mother keeps telling me,” he said, chuckling. “But in any case, here’s what I think. If you’ll have me.”

She nodded, sitting up a little straighter in her seat, He grinned at her, and for a second she saw the awkward, younger stallion he’d once been (though he certainly hadn’t gotten any less dorky, Aunt Twilight told her).

“You like this stallion?” he asked. She nodded again. “Well...can you see any part of your ‘confession’ that might have put him off?”

“Um.” She glanced down at the table. “I guess I might have, er, touched him before saying anything.”

“Oh?”

“Just a hoof on his shoulder,” she said, blushing furiously. “And...maybe my head as well. But—“

His eyebrow went higher.

“—okay, fine,” she huffed. “I just saw the moment, and took it. How was I supposed to know what would happen?”

“Oh?” he said. “Is this a colt that’s had a marefriend before? Is he confident? Did you know if he was interested in you, too?”

“...No,” she said. Well, Sunburst wasn’t exactly a colt, but she figured it’d be best to leave that detail out. She’d probably regret that later, but for now…

“He’s...kinda awkward,” she admitted. “Nervous. I don’t know if he’s ever been on a date, or even viewed me...like that.”

“Ah.” Dad regarded her evenly, steepling his hooves. “Well, sounds like you had a recipe for disaster right there, huh?” He shot her a knowing grin. “I definitely wasn’t the most mare-confident stallion back in high school. If your mom had even tapped me on the shoulder when we first met, I probably would’ve conked right out there on the floor.”

Flurry giggled. She sobered up after a moment, though. Sunburst hadn’t fainted, but the look in his eyes after she’d tried to “explain”—that hadn’t been fun.

“So what should I do?” she said, lamely. “Should I just…” She bit her lip. Oops. He was her tutor, after all. How was she supposed to escape that? She could ask for another one, but that’d be nearly impossible to explain without… Well.

“Give up?” Dad asked. Flurry shrugged. “Nah. Sounds like you messed up, but I don’t think it’s unsalvageable. Like I said, not your mother, but I think you have a chance to make things right.”

Flurry perked up. Dad smiled.

“Just be honest with him,” he said. “Apologize, of course—for being too forward, for freaking him out. Tell him what you were thinking, what you’ve been thinking, and hope he accepts it. And then maybe then you can pursue him, if he’s okay with that.”

“And if he’s not?” Flurry said, nervously. “If he doesn’t accept my apology?”

Dad shrugged. “Sometimes, ponies just aren’t comfortable with some things,” he said. “And that’s his right, really. Maybe this is my time in the Guard talking, but sometimes, you’ve just got to know that you’re wrong and suck it up, right?”

“I guess.” Flurry sucked in a breath, and glanced at her reflection in the window. Outside, the thousand lights of the Crystal Empire twinkled brightly. Somewhere else in the palace, she knew, Sunburst’s light was winking back at them, just as theirs was. She hoped.

Finally, she nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Thanks, Daddy.” On impulse, she darted up and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you.”

Shining smiled back at her. “I love you too,” he said, and squeezed her hoof. “I know you’ll do fine.”

Sunburst's door loomed over her like an angry dragon.

Flurry felt extraordinarily small, standing there. She hadn't even known where Sunburst had lived in the palace—hadn't even known for sure whether he did, in fact, live within the castle's walls. A kindly Crystal Guard had pointed her in the direction of his chambers, ostensibly to turn in an essay or somesuch, and left her to dash her way there.

Now that she was here, though, she felt paralyzed. Her mind swam, her thoughts blurring. What would she say? What could she say? Dad's words rang in her mind, but where they'd felt so obvious and clear last night, they now felt hollow today. Empty. And what if Sunburst wasn't even in his rooms? What then?

She could have kicked something. She wanted to kick herself. And yet...every second she sat here angsting and debating was another second for somepony else to walk by and ask what she was doing. Another second for her to lose her nerve.

Taking in a deep breath, Flurry raised her hoof to the door—and knocked three times.

There was a moment's silence. Then, a muffled thump from the room inside. Then: "Who is it?"

Flurry swallowed. "Flurry Heart," she said. "May I come in?"

Another pause. She felt her skin prickle. "Please," she added, hastily.

She could almost see Sunburst pontificating it. His big, blue eyes downcast, his right ear twitching with that little jerk it always made. She tried to make her mental image smile, and failed.

Finally: "It's unlocked," she heard. His voice sounded oddly reserved, but at least it didn't sound... What? Hateful? Sobbing? What had she expected, really? Nevertheless, she steeled her will, lowered her hoof to the door, and gently pushed it open.

Sunburst's quarters were...about exactly as she could have expected, really. They weren't incredibly well-lit, but bright enough to read by (she supposed). Stacks of books—armies of them, really—lined the walls, reaching up past bookcases groaning with other books, and chairs creaking under the weight of even more leather-bound pages. It was, she supposed with a twinge of amusement, just about a bookish wizard's paradise.

Stepping out of the foyer, Sunburst himself came into view. He was standing toward the opposite end of what looked to be the sitting room, his shoulders squared toward her. His face was mostly blank, but she could see that his mane was messier than usual, his lower lip curled to one side. He stood beside a hefty, comfy-looking armchair; though it was currently vacant, the large, rounded depression in its cushion showed just how recently it had been occupied. Given the depth of that crater, and the low-hanging radius of Sunburst's middle (which he seemed to be trying to conceal between his thick forelegs), it wasn't hard to see just who that occupant had been.

There was a small kitchenette behind him, she noticed—and a small tub of what looked like ice cream had been hastily tucked away behind a crooked stack of plates. She caught a small dab of whiteness on Sunburst’s upper lip, and silently cursed herself for enjoying the idea of just what he’d been doing before she’d walked in.

There was silence between the two of them for a moment. Then—

"Princess—"

"I—"

Flurry caught herself, flushed. She bit her lip, and glanced away as Sunburst's muzzle shut again. They stood there for a moment more, drowning in the awkwardness together.

Then Sunburst cleared his throat. "Well?" he said. He didn't sound angry, but nor did he sound entirely happy to see her. He sounded...muted. Careful.

She swallowed. "I—I wanted to apologize," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "You did," he said. "Yesterday. I don't see why a followup request necessitates your being in my quarters, Princess."

There it was—that damn title. It might as well have been a gods-damned wall between them. "Flurry," she said. She steeled herself. "Not princess."

Sunburst just tilted his head. He was waiting for her, she realized.

"But I do want to apologize," she said. "Not like I tried to yesterday—actually apologize. Yesterday, I was too busy worrying about myself to know what I'd done wrong."

Sunburst's cheeks tinged. "And what would that be?"

"Not thinking about what you might have wanted," she said. "Being pushy. Invading your space, even when you had no idea that I might have even been interested—"

He held up a hoof. She shut up.

"Excuse me," Sunburst said coolly. "But as I've said, we've already dispensed with this fiction. Please. If you think you need to apologize, I'd love to actually hear it."

She felt like she'd been slapped. "What?" Flurry croaked. "Fiction? I'm not—I'm not lying!"

"Did I say you were?"

"You—agh!" Flurry rapped her hoof on the floor, gritting her teeth. How did he not get it? "I liked you, okay? And so I got a little bit too cuddly, without even asking, and—"

"Please," Sunburst said coldly. "I know what kind of stallion I am, Princess Flurry. Fat, dumpy—hardly a teenage heartthrob. I thought we'd agreed to put away this kind of mockery."

"I'm not mocking you, damn it!" Flurry said. "Is it that hard to believe that I actually had a crush on you?"

Sunburst actually took a step backward. His ponderous bulk swayed dangerously beneath his legs. His cheeks puffed out, his nose wrinkling below his spectacles. "I'm sorry?" he said faintly.

"I get that it sounds weird, okay?" Flurry said. "But we both know who my Mom is. I just know that I've started to—feel something, I guess, over the past few months. And you were just always there to help me out, cheering me up, showing me something new—is it so crazy I might have started liking you?" She advanced a step forward, and regretted it when he cringed back. Softening her voice, she added, "And I never even thought about your appearance!"

He blinked at her. She winced. "Okay," she mumbled. "So maybe I learned that I have a thing for heavy stallions. So sue me."

"Gods help me," Sunburst breathed. "I'm talking with a chubby-chasing filly who’s decided I’m some kind of cradle robber.”

She gaped. There was nothing else she could do, really.

Sunburst met her gaze evenly. Then, he chuckled.

What?

"I must be going senile," he muttered. "Senile at thirty-nine. What a wonder."

"You're not—" Flurry's mind blanked on all but one phrase. "Cradle robber?"

"For goodness' sake, Princess," Sunburst said. "You're a seventeen-year-old filly—"

"—mare," she bit out, reflexively.

"—and I am your teacher. Any kind of relationship would be incredibly inappropriate, and that's even ignoring the fact that I'm still skeptical of any kind of approval of my...girth." He shot her a skeptical glance, and hefted his weight between his back hooves. His massive rump, each padded cheek rising a good three inches above the curve of his back, jiggled gleefully at the motion.

"I'm old enough to do what I please," Flurry declared. "And..." She shrank back, smiled shyly. "It makes you look distinguished."

Sunburst took a deep breath, and rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm sure," he said.

Flurry opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hoof before she could make a sound.

"Princess Flurry," Sunburst said, not unkindly. "Despite my great confusion, and the headache I could swear is about to knock me out cold, I accept your apology."

Flurry's heart soared. "You mean—"

"—ah, ah." Sunburst quirked an eyebrow, and she fell silent. "Do you know why I was upset at you yesterday?" When she stayed mum, he shrugged, then ambled over to a picture on the wall. She tracked his gaze, noted the portrait of him standing—smiling—beside a beaming purple-coated mare. "You're right that I was uncomfortable. Disregarding the fact of your age, and our professional relationship, I...er, hadn't quite even conceived of that particular kind of contact in years."

Flurry decided to take a risk. "Was she—"

Sunburst shook his head. "No," he said. "Perhaps. But that was then, and this is now."

He turned back to face her, his big, blue eyes piercing through her own. "I forgive you, Flurry Heart. But don't think I'll be quite so quick to accept your advances. You're a good student, and a good mare. And while I'm flattered by your...interest in me, it certainly would do neither of us any good to pursue such a matter, especially so long as you're underage."

"I turn eighteen next month."

"Then I will have to schedule your final exams for the month after." Sunburst's raised eyebrow said one thing: Do you wish to test me? Flurry decided that she rather did.

"But...after." She stepped forward, feeling brave. Sunburst didn't step back, though his neck craned backward to follow her approach. "Do you think, that maybe—"

"Goodness, Flurry. How many times do I have to tell you? I'm no great wizard. I can't see into the future." Sunburst regarded her steadily...though his muzzle did creep upward into a half-smile. "What a question to ask."

Flurry nodded. There was a lump in her throat still...but at least it didn't feel like it was ready to choke her. "But you're a great wizard," she said. "You might not be an alicorn, but the number of spells you know—and the fascination you have for knowing more." She blushed, glanced aside. "When you showed me that view of the celestial sphere—of the leylines, and the stars—that was when I knew."

"Knew what?"

"How much—" She swallowed. "How much your teaching, your company, your curiosity meant to me."

Sunburst's cheeks blushed a deep, cherry red as flamboyantly bright as his mane. "Well," he mumbled. "It was only a trifling spell, really—a projection..." He drew himself up, and took a deep breath. "...but, I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed it—especially now that I know the real reason you've been distracted during my lessons." His flushed cheeks grew redder, but there was no longer only a halfway smile on his lips.

Flurry nodded.

"So. All of—this." Sunburst shrugged. "Am I being fair? Am I being...reasonable?"

Flurry considered that. "I...think so," she said. "To be honest, I was afraid that you'd hate me and ask me to leave."

"Ah, the fearfulness of youth." When she glared playfully at him, Sunburst chuckled and added, "Not that it ever goes away, mind you. Why come, then?"

"Dad," she admitted. "He...had some good advice for me."

"Prince Shining Armor is a good stallion," Sunburst said. "And as good an employer as I'll wager I ever could have found. Why, he—"

He was interrupted, rather rudely, by a deep, growling, rumbling sound. Sunburst blinked, then glanced down at his gurgling gut at the same time that Flurry did. When their eyes met again, she was blushing.

"Didn't, ah, quite have dinner." Sunburst gently nudged the ice cream carton a bit further back beneath the row of cabinets above his kitchenette counter. He licked his lips, and chuckled awkwardly when his stomach grumbled again. "Just a bit peckish, I suppose."

"Oh!" Flurry said. "Um."

An idea presented itself to her: a beautiful, incredible really hot and incredibly adorable idea. But...

"Um what?" Sunburst said, blinking owlishly at her.

"Well..." Flurry bit her lip, and crossed one foreleg over the other. “I, uh, may have a secret stash of snacks hidden by the pantries.”

“A secret stash?” Sunburst said. “I thought you were the cooks’ ‘favorite,’ to paraphrase.”

“Turns out they don’t like you snagging the special-cooked chocolate gateau baked specially for the Prench diplomat.” Flurry shrugged. “But, this is also a stash of...well, less-than-fresh food. Candy. Ice cream. A lot of chips and soda.”

She did her best to grin at him, suddenly realizing just how juvenile her offer sounded. “I don’t usually use it too much, though, so if you’d maybe want to grab a midnight snack…”

“Well, that sounds just—“ Sunburst caught himself, and frowned at her. “I’ll admit, your offer sounds rather tempting—I’m out of groceries myself—but I don’t want to expect any kind of funny business. Should I?”

“No,” Flurry said. “Just—heh—food.” She smiled sheepishly at him.

“Well, then,” Sunburst said. He inclined his head toward the door. “Lead the way, Princess maitre d’.”

Sunburst stared up at the groaning shelves of snacks with wide eyes. While not entirely sure it was the best idea, he'd followed Flurry along mostly to humor her. She did seem to be...well, suddenly intimidated (though, some part of him thought with a snort, wasn't he?), so perhaps a courtesy midnight snack wouldn't hurt.

He'd been expecting a good-sized stash, he supposed—a few bags of chips, a few kinds of sweets—but the spectacle he saw in front of him defied all explanation. Sunburst's muzzle parted, his gums salivating as he ogled the divine spread of delicious, carb-rich, sugar-packed food laying seductively ahead of, beside, and above him.

This wasn't a snack. This was a feast.

"It's...not a lot," Flurry said. "I've only—"

"—only squirreled away enough to feed two families for a week!" Sunburst stared up at the near-lewd display with an expression bordering on awe. The packaging seemed to crinkle as he looked at it, taunting him, teasing him. His stomach grumbled, and an empty, aching pain struck him in his gut.

"Oh, really?" Flurry met his eyes, and grinned. "You've been putting a good half that at meals, Professor."

"I never finished my degree," Sunburst muttered, as was customary. And, feeling a bit more cognizant, he added sheepishly, "...Though perhaps you're right. Goodness, but my appetite has gotten somewhat insatiable, hasn't it?" Stricken, he realized that this would be his sixth meal of the day. Well. Despite—or perhaps due to—Flurry's professed interest in the matter, perhaps it would be best if he failed to mention that.

"In any case," he said, coughing. "It looks more than serviceable. Where shall we..."

"Oh, you can sit at the table over there." Flurry nodded toward a set of chairs beside a painted-wood table. "I'll bring them over to you."

"I suppose you know how they're organized," Sunburst said. As he moved to take his seat, though, feeling his great belly swing ponderously beneath him, he couldn't help but feel an urge to levitate the lot of them and cram each lovely, butter-packed calorie down his throat. Put on a show, as it were. His stomach roared in approval, and Sunburst blushed. Goodness, where had that come from?

The chair groaned, complaining as he settled his weight in it, but thankfully held. Now at over four hundred pounds of stallion, it had become nearly impossible for Sunburst to find any chairs that could hold his bulk in its entirety. Not that any had broken yet—again, thankfully—but it'd become a sad fact of life that his vast, plump flanks tended to fold over the sides. They did so now, his oversized Cutie Marks sitting flabbily in the air above his chunky, swinging thighs.

Over the past few weeks, he'd grown self-conscious about sitting like this. His great belly, just barely restrained by the button of his cloak, was squished almost painfully against his middle. His thick thighs clenched and pressed together, any thought of a gap long since lost in inches of plush padding and smooth, rounded curves. His flanks—why, the only time he felt more self-conscious about having them facing somepony was when they were rounded out like this, pressing heavily against the frame of his chair.

Still...some of Flurry's compliments still rang in his ears. Smiling faintly, Sunburst gave her a nod, and settled back in his seat to wait. It was strange, really. He'd professed no desire in her—but it felt nice, honestly, to be desired. Blushing, he patted his eager stomach as it growled and gurgled, watching with baited breath as Flurry levitated over his "snack."

He wasn't going to eat all of it, Sunburst told himself, as the bowl full of chips touched down on the table. He repeated that mantra when a chocolate bar, neatly unwrapped, was placed onto the surface beside it. He felt another peal of hunger, and stifled a whimper.

"Your favorite brand of chocolate," Flurry said, shyly. "At least, I thought so. I have plenty more."

"A good guess," Sunburst said, chuckling. He held a hoof out toward the candy, paused. "Er. May I?"

She leaned forward on the table, her chin in her hooves. "Go ahead!" she said.

It was halfway up to his mouth when he realized that she wasn't reaching for the chips. "Aren't you going to have any?"

"Oh! No, I'm all full from dinner." Flurry show him a sheepish grin. "You go ahead, though. Just dig in!"

Well. He felt a bit embarrassed, really, as he lifted the chocolate to his lips. His muzzle twitched, and Sunburst took a deep breath, smelling the rich, velvety chocolate. He felt its sweet, smooth surface brush against his lips, and shivered with delight, almost tasting the sugar crystals, the cocoa beans embedded within.

Flurry was suddenly very pointedly not looking at him. Only somewhat awkwardly, but overcome by hunger, Sunburst pulled the candy bar back, opened his mouth wide, and chomped down.

That bite alone—

Sunburst suddenly didn't care that Flurry was watching him. He didn't care that his chair was barely managing to hold his weight, or that he'd been flushed with shame when passing by a visiting group of dignitaries yesterday. He didn't care that he'd told himself that this would be "just a snack." All he knew—all he cared about—was that there was a delicious, incredible flavor in his mouth, and he wanted more.

The chocolate bar was gone in the space of a scant few seconds. Sunburst had barely finished wolfing it down, flecking his cheeks with chocolate crumbs, before diving for the bowl of chips. He dug in deep with huge handfuls, crunching and gulping his way through as if he'd never eaten anything before in his life. Groaning, he felt his belly gurgle in delight, his appetite warming up as it prepared to be sated. He felt himself falling into a familiar rhythm, a ritual exercised for his body and soul, sacrificing empty calories to the altar of his stomach as it rumbled and roared—

Sunburst's hoof brushed against the bottom of the chip bowl. Blinking, and only now returning somewhat to lucidity, Sunburst glanced up to see Flurry staring at him in a way that suddenly made him feel both uncomfortable and incredibly, amazingly flattered.

His cheeks tinged red, he tried to force a grin onto his face and felt a few chip crumbs fall off of his lips. "Er.." He held up the bowl, rattled the crumbs around a bit. "I don't suppose you would have any more?"

Flurry was up in a flash. "Not a problem!" she called back, her voice rattling around her private little pantry. "Here—"

A fresh stack of candy bars, two bowls of chips, and a nice-looking platter of cheesy crackers settled before him. Sunburst barely gave himself time to lick his lips before diving right in, eager to please the rumbling void in his stomach. Making his way through Flurry's piles of snacks, he could feel his stomach growing fuller, his belly growing taut with each full bag of chips, each half-dozen candy bars he devoured.

When he coughed, the dryness of his mouth overwhelming him, there was instantly a bottle of soda floating before him. Snatching it out of Flurry's magic, Sunburst guzzled it down like a stallion parched with thirst. The fizzy liquid burbled and whizzed as it went down his throat, gushing into his belly where it left his rotund, bulging middle a little more round, and a little more bloated. He burped, wiped his muzzle clean, and set the bottle neatly aside.

It seemed there was no end to Flurry's array of snacks. Sunburst was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded; he had to spread his thighs further apart to make more room for his burgeoning belly. More and more and more—there was always something new to cram past his lips. He ate like an animal, like a machine, losing himself to that familiar thrill of the hunt for fresh sugar, fresh calories, fresh fillings. He could almost feel the fat spreading across his limbs, but in his haze of food-lust, he barely cared. Cheap snacks or not, it all tasted so good.

Another two-liter bottle of soda joined the first, their accumulated contents sloshing and churning in his belly. Now straining enormously against the button of his clock, Sunburst's gut pushed out far over his lap, its plush, generous folds folding around the contours of the fabric. His bellybutton especially had been pushed out so far that it nearly resembled an outtie; as it was, as Sunburst felt the soda-gas rising up in his gullet again, he felt a sudden pang of tight, almost painful pressure building up at the base of his navel.

With a low, rumbling belch, the pressure released itself. Sunburst collapsed back against his chair—and his belly thrust outward, providing the final push for his poor, trembling button-clasp. It snapped with a crack of air, the button going flying across the room as his cloak was flung open around him. Sunburst belched again, unable to stop that final expression of gluttony as his gigantic belly rolled out into his lap, covering his thick, chunky thighs and overflowing the sides of his chair.

A sudden silence to the room, Sunburst hiccupped—and then remembered that he hadn't been alone. Lucidity flooded back into him, and he grunted with a sudden pain. Both hooves went up to his giant, bloated middle as his head leaned back against his chair, both arms rubbing gently at his oversized gut.

His blush burning his cheeks, he caught Flurry's eye out of the corner of his own. "Er. Sorry," he said. "I was a little hungrier than I thought."

She was, if anything, blushing harder than he was. Hm. So that was that hypothesis, presumably, proven. Hesitantly, she stepped toward him, her hooves clip-clopping on the smooth marble floor.

"Um." Flurry glanced down at his middle, her expression becoming adorably—Sunburst mentally slapped himself for using the word—sheepish. "It's no problem, really."

He burped again, and then groaned, his eyes fluttering shut. "Ugh. I think I might have, um, eaten a bit too much."

"Um..." Flurry stepped a little closer, her bright tresses bouncing gently over her shoulder. She blinked down at him with big, pink eyes, and lifted a hoof into the air. "Maybe I could help?"

"How?"

"Well," Flurry said, blushing madly. "Maybe I could...give you a bit of a belly rub?"

When he blinked back at her, she appended, quite quickly, "Just like a massage! Nothing big, right? Heh. Er..."

Sunburst considered that for a moment. The very idea of letting his pupil touch him like that, just as it had yesterday, made him wince a little—out of respect for his professional decorum, if nothing else. And yet...

He swallowed. His stomach did feel awfully bloated, and he'd be a fool to think he could reach all of it like this. Why, if he'd been upright, it might have been hanging close to his ankles. And Flurry's hoof did look so very soft...

With a shake of his head and a grunt, Sunburst heaved himself out from any sorts of lewd thoughts. He did, however, make his decision. She might not have been honest with him—but if he was being serious, he hadn't been entirely honest with himself.

And perhaps he could trust her, he thought. At least enough to give her a chance.

"If—if you think it would help," he said, stumbling over the words. He didn't quite meet her eye, but he did incline his muzzle in the direction of his gut. Ponies didn't often wear shirts, but if he had been, the lower hem would have long since been pushed up past the top of his navel. Several feet of circumference lay bare to the world, great plains of supple, quivering belly-flesh.

"S-sure." Flurry stepped even closer, and raised her hoof again. "J-just, hold still, okay?" And she laid her hoof right over his belly button.

Sunburst exhaled, his shoulders slumping. The touch of Flurry's hoof was...cold, almost, but not unpleasant. If anything, it was a welcome contrast to the churning furnace of his great, wobbling food-processor. He gave her a weak grin, and she grinned back. "Is that okay?" she said.

He nodded. Her smile broadening, Flurry began to rub her hoof in small, concentric circles, keeping its tip right over his navel. Sunburst groaned, grunted, sighed, feeling some of the pressure in his gut evaporate beneath Flurry's skillful hoof. The gas from the soda especially seemed to be relieving its pressure—with a quick burp, followed by an instant, embarrassed blush, Sunburst felt the worst of the pain recede.

"Much better," he said, coughing. "Erm—you really weren't lying, I suppose. About...liking this, that is." He spread his arms at her quizzical expression, gesturing to all of his great, wobbling gut.

"Oh! Um." Flurry blushed in return. She didn't stop rubbing, though. "I, uh, yeah."

"I am sorry for being such a shameless glutton, though," Sunburst muttered. "Incredibly rude of me." He felt another belch coming on—that insufferable soda!—and quickly stifled it.

Flurry giggled, and moved her rubbing a bit lower on his belly. "I actually think it's kind of cute," she confessed. "Taking over with an appetite like that..." She shuddered, then blushed even deeper. Sunburst felt his eyebrows going up. He could probably have made that last sentence awkward for her—for the two of them, really—but felt no real need to.

"In any case," Sunburst said, kneading his bulging middle, "I must thank you for that, ah, midnight 'snack'. It really did hit the spot." He gave his belly a smack, and grinned when it sounded off with a drumlike pound. Sitting here, beneath Flurry's hoof... He almost felt like he could see it as she did. Big, but not dumpy. Powerful. Heavy, but not flabby. He remembered walking past the muscular, toned Crystal Guard yesterday and, instead of flashing back to his sense of shame, instead thought of the most amusing idea of sitting on the other stallion. Why, with a rump as large as his...

Stifling a chuckle, he turned back to Flurry and smiled. "Very enjoyable," he finished. "If not perhaps quite a snack."

"Well," Flurry said shyly. "Actually, if it's not quite a snack, maybe you wouldn't object to having some dessert?" Seeming to note his gobsmacked expression, she nodded quickly over to an unopened cabinet and flicked it open with her magic. "I had this cake that I snagged from last night's inaugural dinner..."

Just like before, the scent of it hit Sunburst first. His mouth opened; his nose twitched; a line of drool slipped down his chins. Hurriedly slurping it up, he waited with baited breath as Flurry levitated out a towering slab of chocolate-cream cake. It thumped onto the table with a delightfully solid sound, though he noticed that it was only half a cake mere moments later. And yet...

His stomach gurgled, as if it, too, couldn't decide if it were empty or full. Sunburst licked his lips, staring at the cake with wide eyes. Next Chapter: Chapter Four Estimated time remaining: 8 Minutes