Note: Ok, we ALL saw this chapter was approaching. So let's just get some things clear.

I realize this is pretty gross in parts, but I have a reason.

I do my best to paint a vivid picture at all times. I hope you can all understand this.
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Back on the couch, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were still fast asleep and lost in their peaceful dreams.

"Mmmm... yes, Celestia, I can make a nice big apple pie for you.... Princess Applejack sounds wonderful...." Applejack murmured dreamily.

"Yes.. I'll at the show in one minute Spitfire...", Rainbow Dash muttered, sniffing and scrounging her nose as if something inside it was bothering her, "Just... lemme take care of something real quick..."

Without knowing it, the cyan pegasus raised her hoof to her nose and, placing the cleft in her nostril, started digging. It was lucky for her Applejack was fast asleep, so she couldn't see Rainbow Dash picking her nose in her sleep. The pegasus dug as deep as she could in her snout before finally pulling out a big booger and wiping it underneath the couch before sniffing again, relieved her nose was all empty.

"There we go... just had an itch there for a second..."

But while Applejack didn't see Dash picking her nose, two other figures did, having walked in just as she was finishing up.

Josh and Apple Bloom just stood there in a bit of shock, the young filly nearly gagging at seeing Dash do something so gross.

"She.. she was just digging for gold!", she whispered, "And she wiped it under the couch! EWWW!!!"

"Yeah.....", Josh sighed, "But even when she's digging in her nostrils, she's still cute..."

Apple Bloom just looked at the teen with her mouth agape for a few seconds before she found her words returning, "Man, you ARE in love, ain't ya? But we've got a job to do...... but YOU are waking up the nose-picker!"

Josh nodded as the two walked over to where the two equine were sleeping and nuzzled the both of them, running their hands and hooves in their manes to jostle them to the land of the living.

"Wake up, you two sleepyhorses!"

"Time ta rise an' shine!"

Slowly, their eyes opened up and Rainbow Dash and Applejack found themselves looking into the faces of Joshua Rocket and Apple Bloom

"Wuh.. huh?", Applejack murmured, rubbing her eyes, "How long was we out?"

"I think about 5 hours, sis.", the little filly replied, still having trouble looking at the pegasus after catching her doing "brain surgery", "We're just about ready fer the next part of your training."

Rainbow Dash yawned before she turned to Josh, "Does it involve food? All that sleep and exercise made me hungry!"

This produced a wince from Apple Bloom, one that didn't go unnoticed by her big sister.

"What's with you, Bloom? Ya look like ya just ate a fly or sometin'!"

"Uh... I don't wanna talk about it...", the younger sis replied, trying desperately to block the image out of her mind. She knew if Scootaloo ever found out her idol was a gold-digger, she'd start too! "Let's just head into the kitchen.. the others are waiting for us!"

With a nod, Applejack and Rainbow Dash climbed off the big couch and let Apple Bloom and Joshua lead them. As they approached the open kitchen, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but get a whiff of something delectable from the cooking area.

"Hey AJ... do you smell something?"

Curiously, the cowpony raised her snout in the air and took a sniff, letting a warm smile spread on her face as the enticing aroma entered her nostrils.

"I do indeed, sugah. Somethin' smells mighty good!"

"I'm not surprised Rainbow Dash can smell the food after digging in her nose like that...", Apple Bloom couldn't help but murmur, getting a slight nudge from the human walking beside her.

"Let it go, Bloom... let it go...", he murmured as they finally entered the threshold and were greeted by Pinkie Pie shouting one simple word....

"SURPRISE!!!"

The startle was so intense that all 4 of them quickly found themselves sprawled onto the floor and immediately Pinkie Pie bounced over to them with a giggle. "Oops, hee hee! I guess I got carried away!"

"You know, there are times when I think you SHOULD be carried away... to the nuthouse!!!", Rainbow Dash groaned as she got to her hooves, "I swear Pinkie Pie, one of these days----"

It was then she got her first glimpse at the giant smorgasborg of food that had been laid out on not just the giant kitchen table, but a set of trays leading all the way out the door and halfway out of the orchard. It didn't take long for Applejack to catch sight of the array as well and soon the two equine found themselves drooling wildly. They could see dishes of all kinds spread out, from pancakes to cheesecakes and burgers to bananas and everything in between. This was what it was all about, this was what they were looking forward to in their training!

"How... how long did it take ya'll to prepare all this fancy food???" Applejack couldn't help but mutter in sheer awe, "There looks like enough here to feed Celestia's entire Royal Guard!"

"We've been cookin' an' bakin' since the twos of ya took that nap!", Granny Smith replied with a grin.

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell ya that much...", Meowth couldn't help but add, wiping some of the sweat off his furry head from all the work he'd done putting together the sandwiches.

"Nope!", Big MacIntosh agreed, getting a small chuckle from his granny and sisters.

"We all worked together to put together this feast for you two.", Twilight calmly answered, "It's only a fraction of what you'll be consuming at the Eatoff if I'm not mistaken."

"So does this mean we can start eating??", Rainbow Dash asked as she licked her lips hungrily. She'd immediately spotted a nice big bowl of chowder and was eager to dive in.

"Not just yet... Spike, Meowth, Cutie Mark Crusaders???"

Immediately, the 5 shortest members of the group gathered in front of the purple unicorn; Scootaloo at the forefront with Sweetie Belle and Meowth right behind her and Apple Bloom and Spike in the far back.

"You call us, miss Twilight?", Scootaloo asked curiously

"I need you all to get under the tables and keep an eye on how big their stomaches get as they gorge."

"You hear that gals?", the pegasus filly grinned, "It sounds like a job for...."

In unison, the three fillies screamed out at the top of their lungs...

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MEASURERS!!!"

Spike and Meowth were left covering their ears painfully, trying to stop the ringing from having been right next to the crusaders battle cry.

"Must you ALWAYS do that?!?", Spike growled as he tried to shake his hearing back to normal before turning back to his friend, "And why do they need to be measured anyways???"

" We need to know how much they can hold before...."

At this Twilight looked down shyly, finding the words she wanted to say next not wanting to leave her throat...

"Before they get violently sick.", she whispered softly

At this, Rainbow Dash and Applejacks eyes went as big as dinner plates and the two found themselves looking at Twilight Sparkle as if she'd gone NUTS!

"Sugah, I must be hearing things... did ya just say ya want ta know how much we can hold before we throw up?!?"

The unicorn didn't respond with anything but a mere nod as the whole crowd started looking at her in shock.

"Girl, are you outta yer cotton-picking mind??? You want them to throw up?!?", Granny Smith blurted out, pretty much speaking what was on the minds of everypony there.

"Not exactly!!", Twilight tried to explain to the crowd in front of her.

"Then tell us, sugah...", Applejack whispered darkly.

"I'd like to know too, Twi..", Josh added, his hand slipped into his pocket, "What does feeding them until they're ill help to achieve other than causing horrible nausea?"

"Yes! Please tell us!!", Rarity added with a shudder, "What would forcing them to do something so revolting help accomplish?!?"

The lavender unicorn sighed and rubbed her hoof against her head before she spoke. "If Rainbow Dash and Applejack stuff themselves before they have to barf, we can see how much their stomaches can hold. Then, day by day, we can help stretch out their bellies bit by bit to allow them to hold in more food and by the time the competition comes around in two weeks, they'll both be capable of intaking as much food as Champagne, if not MORE!! But we need to see their maximum for now and for that... they need to get themselves full to the gills until they packed tighter than one of Pinkie Pie's souffle cakes!"

A silence went throughout the room as everypony tried to comprehend Twilight Sparkles logic and as much as they all hated to admit it.... it was flawless thinking.

"Damn.... she's right...", Rainbow Dash admitted sadly to the cowpony.

"That's why she's Twilight Sparkle... she can create logic in anytin'...", Applejack sighed before turning to Granny Smith, "Does the bathroom door still stick?"

"I think they've fixed it up... but I still wouldn't close it all the ways dearie.", she replied, knowing why her granddaughter was asking, since they'd need to pray to the porcelain eventually.

"Dash... AJ... You two know you don't have to d----", Josh tried to speak up, only to have the cyan pegasus place a hoof up, signaling for him to cease his speaking.

"Josh... we have to. I said I knew I'd be throwing up at one point.... and if in the end we can put that jerk in his place....", Dash replied before nodding to her friend.

"It'll be worth revisiting one or two meals.", Applejack added as she looked at the head of their big kitchen table where two big chairs were set for the ponies to rest their flanks as they chowed down and almost instantly she and Dash could feel their stomaches lurch at knowing how much they'd have to eat, "Should we take our seats?"

Twilight nodded before she turned and gave a look to Apple bloom. "Sweetie, can you and your friends---"

With a sigh, the filly nodded and watched as her friends went underneath the giant table before she turned to the pegasus. "Just... would you please wash your hooves?"

Rainbow Dash was confused, but didn't question her request and, heading over to the sink, wiped down her hooves before she took her seat, adjusting herself to where her big rump was comfortable in her position and nodded to Applejack to do the same. Next to Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash had the biggest butt out of any of them! Without hesitation, the cowpony got herself into the chair next to the pegasus and gave her a look, one that told her that she was ready to begin. With a deep breath, Rainbow Dash turned to Granny Smith and Twilight Sparkle and nodded.

"So is it like where we just eat what we desire or do we have you serve us?", she asked.

"It's a little bit of both. You can see we've got a huge spread on the table as is, but if you two get done with all this food, we've got an impressive array of other foods ready to be served. We'll keep serving and feeding you until.... well..."

Dash and AJ nodded in understanding, knowing they wouldn't stop being fed until they had to throw up. As the two of them looked upon all the foods waiting to be eaten, they couldn't help but take a deep sniff of all the delicious aromas, rubbing their tummies hungrily.

"It DOES smell mighty good, don't it?", Applejack sighed.

"That it does, AJ, that it does.... shall we?", Rainbow Dash asked her friend.

With a nod, the two equine got to doing what they knew the contest was all about.... eating!

From a huge pile of pancakes to a whole cheesecake to a full loaf of bread, edible after edible went down into their throats, much to the amazement of the crowd watching them.

"I've never seen anything like it!", Twilight remarked

"I thought Pinkie Pie had a bottomless stomach!!", Scootaloo added wide-eyed in admiration of her idol's growing belly

"Ya gotta rememba' what dey've got at stake...", Meowth reminded her, "If they lose this contest, Ponyville itself could be faced with a severe famine thanks to that unicorn!"

"Catty's right!", Granny Smith agreed overhearing the cat-pokemon's response.

"Oh for... my name's Meowth! Not Catty! Gah!", Meowth groaned in frustration, smacking his head with a paw much to the laughter of Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Mmmmmm..." Rainbow Dash grinned as she slurped down a giant bowl of white clam chowder and licked the frost from it off her lip greedily, "This is MY kind of training!"

"I'm kinda surprised, Dashie!", Applejack said in surprise as she munched through one of the giant cupcakes that Pinkie Pie had made, "I'd... Gulp... I'd think you'd be more interested in trainin' for the Wonderbolts wit' yer... munch munch...fancy aerobatics!"

"Are ya' kiddin'?", The cyan-colored pegasus replied, "My flying moves are.... Mmmm... second to none of course! But this... getting to have fun while training... gulp!... all for a HUGE cash prize an' getting time off work... THIS is awesome!!".

It was then she saw it... and tears of joy welled up in her eyes..

A nice big frosty mug of the Apple family's famous cider.... a drink she had so much trouble gettin' her hooves on thanks to all the lines of ponies ahead of her... and now she had a big tall mug of it right at her hoofs tip.

"My... precious...", she whimpered joyfully before taking the mug and chugging down the contents without so much as a breath. Even below the table, the sound of her swigging down the liquid rang loud and clear and before anyone knew what was going on... a lone southern-accented voice had started a chant of one simple word repeated over and over.

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!"

Within 20 seconds, the entire glass had disappeared down the pegasus' throat and immediately she felt the bubbling in her belly, knowing drinking so much at once was gonna lead to one heck of a belch. Almost instanteonously, the crowd and Applejack could see her clutch the table and clench her mouth shut as her cheeks swelled...

"She's gonna blow!!!", Rarity screamed, hiding behind Josh.

"No, but I think something ELSE is about to come out...", Pinkie Pie grinned, bracing herself against Fluttershy, and sure enough... Rainbow Dash opened her mouth and...

"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She let out an earth-shaking belch, one that rattled windows in buildings 4 towns away and made a couple classes of fillies burst out laughing in the nearby school. A power surge ran through the next town over and ponies could swear they saw a billboard fall backwards! The force of the blast was so powerful it nearly blew Fluttershy, the lightest of the crowd, right out the door! It was only by Pinkie Pie and Rarity's intervention that the yellow pegasus wasn't blown away into the next COUNTRY! After almost half a minute, the belch finally died down and left Rainbow Dash leaning back with a VERY proud expression on her face as she patted her belly.

"That.... was... so... COOOL!", Scootaloo squealed as she looked up from underneath where she and the others were monitoring the bellies and gushed at her idol letting out such an expulsion of air!

"Like I said... this is gonna be so AWESOME!!", Rainbow Dash grinned as she reached back for a big buttered roll and took a nice big bite out of it.

"It won't be so awesome when you're seeing it in reverse...", Spike couldn't help but mutter to himself as he watched Applejacks belly get bigger and bigger. Seeing the two getting to stuff themselves made him feel a bit jealous and even though Twilight and Fluttershy had reassured him and the others that they'd fix up a special meal for everyone to thank them for all the work, he couldn't help but envy them. He'd asked about joining the contest himself, but Twilight had replied it was for equines only... she'd asked about having Meowth and Josh enter too and Celestia's reply had been polite but succtint that since dragons had VERY big stomaches that it wouldn't be fair to even Champagne. The fact that they were going to have to have rainbow yawns before long gave him a small sadistic bit of pleasure.

"What was that?", Sweetie Belle asked the dragon, hearing his snickering and muttering and raising an eyebrow.

"Nothin'!", Spike whistled innocently, while inwardly chuckling and seeing how much Applejack's belly was growing and groaning, knowing at least SHE was approaching her limit.

The more the cowpony ate the more her tummy was filled and after her third full watermelon, she was seeing 2 of everything, including all the ponies around her.

"Twi... is it me or does everyone here have a twin all of a sudden?", she asked, rubbing her green eyes and trying to shake her senses clear.

"No, it's just us!", the unicorn responded, "But you're not looking so good..."

"I'am not feelin' so good eitha'...", Applejack moaned, hiccuping and covering her mouth before swallowing and reaching for another giant piece of apple pie. Rainbow Dash on the other hand was already on her fifth full cherry pie and as full as she was getting, she refused to stop her consumption of all the foods. Even in training, she was determined to show them that she was at the top of her game.

"Applejack's lookin' mighty sick..", Big Mac remarked as he watched his little sister continuing to eat, even as her face began turning a pale shade of green similar to that found on the leaves of a tree.

"Ya think?", Josh calmly remarked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather large brick of cheese before taking a nice bite from the top. He'd known how much food would be made and knew the odds of him getting hungry during the watching were pretty high, so when he'd gone to his world to pick up the secret recipes, he'd made an extra stop and picked himself up a snack. He'd gotten snacks for everyone else, but he'd saved his for when the actual food-training started.

"How can you eat that when you know before long we'll be hearing the oh so pleasant sounds of Applejack and Rainbow Dash sharing their stomaches with the porcelain?", Rarity asked haughtily.

"Got no gag reflex, Rarity.", Josh replied without a beat as he took another chunk out and swallowed it after giving a few good chews, "Dr. Whooves had to remove it with part of my throat thanks to a shard of a knife slicing it like an orange."

"How the heck are you still alive?!?", Granny Smith blurted out.

"That I have no answer for, Granny Smith... no answer at all..."

By now Applejack could feel her belly quiver and below the table, Apple Bloom could tell that nausea was about to send some of the food back up and she got to work quickly measuring how big her sisters belly had grown, coming up with a measurement of 19 inches.

"Urp... I.. I can't eat anymore..", the cowpony quivered as she felt her stomach clench up and her throat expand. She knew she was about to throw up and it was all she could do not to lose it all over the table. She could feel her cheeks start to swell and knew her stomach was busy clearing out most of the excess food. Rainbow Dash could hear her friends moans and she looked at her curiously, her mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"AJ? You ok?"

Weakly turning to the pegasus and seeing the mashed spuds dripping down the sides of her mouth, Applejack couldn't take it anymore...

"I'm gonna puke!!", she gagged before covering her mouth with her hoof and tearing straight for the bathroom, running as fast as she could to her porcelain goddess. Mercifully, the bathroom door was open and the cowpony pushed it inwards before collapsing onto the toilet. Her head was barely looking into the bowl before she took her hoof away from her bulging mouth and vomited, her throat opening up and pouring a wave of bile and chunks of half-digested food into the crystal clear waters below. The sounds of her retching made everyone in the kitchen, including Rainbow Dash, wince.

"Ugh... it sounds like a drunk bachelor party in there!" Rarity remarked, placing a hoof on her head.

"I just hope my Apple dearie's ok!", Granny Smith added nervously, putting a hoof to her own mouth in worry.

Twilight Sparkle just sighed and turned to Apple Bloom, who'd come out from underneath the table where her four friends were still keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash's own growing stomach. "How big did her belly get?"

"19 inches, Twi!", the young red-maned filly replied, wincing as Applejack retched painfully as another thick wave of her stomachs contents returned from where they came in. It took her about half a minute before she felt the last of her meal come up from her belly and out her mouth into the bowl of water below. Resting her head on the toilet seat, she groaned in relief at feeling all the pressure on her stomach now resting in the porcelain container. Weakly, she managed to push down on the handle, allowing the now colored chunky water to swirl down the drain, and made her way to the sink, washing her face and mouth before exiting the bathroom and heading back to the kitchen...

But in her nausea-driven delirium, she closed the bathroom door out of habit, forgetting Granny Smith's warning.

Back at the table, Rainbow Dash was also starting to reach her limit. That last giant slice of pizza hadn't gone down too smoothly and her stomach was letting her know.

"Urgh...", she groaned, leaning forward and holding her stomach lightly.

"Dash? You ok?", Big MacIntosh asked in worry.

Despite how she was feeling, the pegasus didn't want to show herself as being weak and she managed a wavery smile as she reached for another sausage-coated slice of pizza pie, despite the audible protest of her tummy. "Never better... well.. down the hatch with slice number 23....", she joked before taking a big bite of the slice and chewing it slowly, trying desperately not to cough it back up before she swallowed it down into her full stomach. It was by now that Applejack had managed to stumble her way back into the kitchen and Twilight could see the cowpony was looking drained.

"You feeling better, AJ?"

"Ah... Ah don't think there's anythin' left in me that ah can puke...", she muttered as she wiped her head and readjusted her hat, "Is there anytin' in ma mane?"

Tentatively taking a step towards the pale pony and getting a whiff of her breath, Twilight held her snout and leaned in. Surprisingly, she couldn't find any stray drops or chunks in her friends blonde mane.

"No, you're clean.", she answered with her voice growing nasally from her snout being held shut, "But your belly got to 19 inches, AJ! That's not bad!"

"Yeah...", the cowpony panted, "But right now I just wanna rest.... how's Rainbow Dash doin'... I don't wanna see food right now..."

Nodding in understanding, Fluttershy looked at the cyan pegasus still chowing down. But even from her far vantage point, she could tell she was getting queasy just from the pained expression on her face.

"Ugh...", Rainbow Dash groaned as she reached for yet another giant burger, "Down the hatch..." But as she brought it to her mouth, she felt her stomach spasm violently and her eyes shot wide open before she covered her mouth with her hoof, much to everyones alarm. Her vision was starting to blur from all the food in her stomach now wanting to come out, but she was determined to continue eating as much as she could and she pursed her lips shut and gripped the table as she barely managed to swallow down the large mouthful that had built up in her cheeks. She felt awful and knew soon she was gonna puke, but she wasn't gonna let this food beat her so easily and she forced herself to take in a giant bite of the burger, clenching the table until she swallowed.

"How is she doing this?!?", Josh asked in alarm to the lavender unicorn, "She wants to be sick, I can tell!!!!". Seeing her push herself so far was starting to creep the human out... he didn't want to watch the one he loved eat themselves to death! "Dashie! For Celestia's sake, allow yourself to puke already... you're gonna end up makin' yourself explode!"

"That's Rainbow Dash for ya...", Applejack quivered, "She doesn't know when to call it in...."

Underneath the table, Scootaloo finished quickly measuring her idols blue swollen belly. It had reached a whopping 34 inches and from the amount of groaning and gurgling it was doing, she knew it would be best that she and the others stepped away from the pegasus so when she had to throw up, nothing would get in her way.

"She's NUTS!", Meowth whispered to the orange filly, "Why is she forcing more food down? Her tummy is screaming for her to stop!"

"I don't know!", Scootaloo replied. Even SHE was frightened by how much her mentors stomach was shaking.

Rainbow Dash could see the crowd staring at her as the sweat poured down her face. The sight of all the food in front of her made her feel even worse and she was wishing it would all just disappear.

"I can't barf, I can't barf... I've only got a little more of the table left to clear... I can do it....", she thought to herself as she tried to stare down the last few bits of food on the table. But as she reached for another one of the giant cupcakes, she felt her tummy spasm VIOLENTLY and she knew it wouldn't be long now before it all came up... she had to get to the bathroom and FAST! She clutched her stomach and leaned forward, groaning in pain and trying to calm herself to where she could try drinking some water to settle her belly, but it was no use...

"I'm gonna barf!!!", she gagged as she could feel the first few chunks starting to creep into her throat. She had to throw up and she had to do it now! Her eyes shot wide open and she could feel her cheeks starting to bulge as her tummy got to work sending everything in her middle in reverse and, pursing her lips shut again, she leapt off the chair and sped to the bathroom.

"Hold it... hold it.. don't lose it in the hallway... almost there!!", she repeated to herself as she saw the door leading to her savior ahead of her. But when she tried to open it, she found to her horror that the door was stuck!

"Come..Ulp.. on!! Not now!!!", she gagged as she pounded on the wall next to the door, trying to alert anyone who could hear that something was wrong, "Someone..Urp... please!!!"

Immediately, Big MacIntosh, Josh, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity all sped towards where Rainbow Dash was calling. Everyone else stood back to watch over Applejack as they knew those 4 were the calmest of the group and the likeliest to be able to get the door open without upsetting Dash and causing a redecoration of the hallway, plus Fluttershy could help keep order if something unpleasant happened.

"We're coming sweetie!", Rarity called.

"Please.... bluergh... hurry!!", Rainbow Dash whimpered in pain.

"Just hang on! We'll get that door open in a hurry!", Big MacIntosh added as they approached where the cyan pegasus was trying to use one hoof to pull the door open and the other to hold in her stomach. Gesturing for the cramped pegasus to step away, the big red colt reached into his saddlebag and, pulling out a big hammer, got to work at trying to loosen the door jam. As they watched Big MacIntosh get to work, Rarity caught a glimpse of Dash's face pointed right at her and immediately she shrieked and backed away.

Rainbow Dash was holding her stomach and trying desperately to hold her mouth shut, her lips pursed tightly to hold in her watermelon-sized cheeks. She was sweating a river and her eyes were watering from the effort that she was putting into holding her lunch in. There was so much pressure in her mouth it was making her nostrils flare and Rarity could see snot and moisture even pouring from inside them! It wouldn't be long before the wave inside the pegasus's cheeks was all over the hallway AND HER unless they got that door opened quick and her face above the toilet!

"HURRY, Big Mac! For the love of Celestia! Hurry!", she squealed, not wanting to be the one covered in Rainbow Dash's rainbow-colored chunks.

"Just... about... got it...", Big Mac grunted as he held the hammer in his mouth and continued to pound away at the stuck door until finally they could all hear it loosen to where the colt could pry it open, much to everyone's relief, "Got it!"

But as he turned around to let them know the toilet was free, the hammer slipped out of Big MacIntosh's mouth and did something no one would have expected. It bounced off Twilight's horn, shot into Josh's shoulderblade, flew off that into Fluttershy's wing, and came headed straight for Rarity's skull!

"Rarity!! Watch out!", Twilight screamed just as Rarity lifted her forehoof to shield herself from the tool. The move worked, causing the object to bounce off her hoof harmlessly.

"Whew.... that almost hit me!", Rarity panted in relief... until another sound caught her attention...

Ooggh... ulp.... uh oh...

Looking down, Rarity could see the hammer resting between Rainbow Dash's haunches... from where it had made contact with the bulge in her belly. As she looked up, she could see the pegasus' face bulging even more as the nausea grew unbearable and the unicorn knew what was about to happen as her iris shrunk to the size of pinpricks.

"No!!!", she squeaked, trying to turn tail. But it was too late...

Rainbow Dash's lunch had to come out and before the pegasus could stop herself, she had opened her mouth and..........

"BBBLLLLLLLLLEEEEEAAAAARRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

A thick multi-colored wave of her stomach's insides came rushing out of the pegasus's mouth all over the hallway and all over poor Rarity's coat as Rainbow Dash barfed. The unicorn's body froze the moment the first few drops stained her and before she knew it, she was getting an upclose encounter with all that Dash had just eaten, all the while, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Josh were left wincing and groaning as they watched nature run its course through the poor pegasus. They knew the pegasi's mane was colorful, but there were colors in it none of them thought possible. The sounds of her meal splattering everywhere could be heard even in the kitchen as Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Meowth, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike and Granny Smith were all left listening in horror to the projectile-vomiting.

"Oh great!", Granny Smith groused, "Now I'M gonna have to clean that mess up, ain't I??"

"Well it sure as heck ain't gonna be me!", Meowth remarked, looking to his side and shuddering at hearing the pegasus having one hell of a rainbow yawn.

Poor Rainbow Dash was helpless to stop herself as more of her meal came out all over her friend and covering the hallway in a big smelly mess until finally she felt the first wave die down long enough for her to look on in horror at her barf-covered friend looking back in her and covering her stained mouth with her hoof.

"Rarity.... I'm....", she gagged in shock, "I'm sorry...."

Rarity couldn't say anything... she couldn't even think.... one of her worst nightmares had just become truth....

"...........NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

The unicorn let out a piercing scream, sounding like her mind had just broken, and shot out past Dash and the others out into the kitchen and out the back door. All the while, she just kept shrieking....

"MY COAT!!!! MY BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL COAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY MANE!!!!!!!! MY BODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She was screaming so much that Sweetie Belle had to rush out after her to make sure she didn't get arrested for causing a disturbance!

All Rainbow Dash could do was look in horror at the mess she had just produced and at her stunned friends before she felt her sickness come back up and she had to rush into the now-open bathroom and send what was left in her tummy into the clear waters of the toilet bowl, Josh and Fluttershy rushing in after her and leaving Big MacIntosh and Twilight Sparkle looking at each other, then at the mess.... and they both shouted the same thing in unison...

"GRANNY SMITH! WE NEED A MOP!!! NOW!!!"
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Rainbow Dash felt awful as she heaved more of the acidic contents of her stomach into the bowl below. She had been throwing up so much it was making her nose run and her head was pounding. Having Fluttershy and Josh there to hold her mane and rub her back wasn't much comfort as she remembered the look on Rarity's face after she threw up on her.

"Dash... you ok?", Fluttershy asked calmly as she rubbed her friend's heaving backside, "You got most of it out?"

"Urp.... Ugh.... I just barfed all over Rarity..... she's gonna kill me!!! Ulp...", the pegasus managed to gasp out before she leaned back down into the bowl and let out another torrent of what she'd just consumed.

"It wasn't your fault, Dashie...", Josh whispered soothingly and getting a nod from the yellow pegasus nearby, "It had to come out..."

"I just didn't think there'd be so much...", Fluttershy remarked, getting a look from the human, "What? I didn't!"

"Ooogh... How do other ponies DO this......" Rainbow Dash panted woefully as she looked at the thick mess that colored the inside of the toilet bowl, "I... I thought I was the best...."

"Dashie, sweetie..", Josh cooed to the sickened pegasus, "You just started your training today... besides, I got the measurement back from Scootaloo... 34 inches!"

Rainbow Dash barely managed to turn her head towards Josh and Fluttershy, the migraine in her still causing her skull to pound like a drum. "34 wha?"

"34 inches!", Fluttershy replied, "Your belly got to 34 inches in capacity... that's amazing!"

"Yeah! Plus I never saw anybody barf like that... THAT was gross, but impressive at the same time...", Josh joked, seeing a small grin ebb at the corners of her stained mouth.

"It... was pretty cool how long I held out, wasn't it...", Rainbow Dash asked coyly.

The two fellow pegasi nodded as Fluttershy fetched one of the nearby towels and helped dab off the excess hurl from the sides of Dash's mouth, as well as the sweat from her head and snout.

"Sounds like you're feelin' a little better.", Josh smiled as he and Fluttershy helped the cyan mare to her hooves.

Rainbow Dash nodded, but let out a loud ugly belch and patted her stomach, an indication that she was still feelin' sick.

"Don't you worry,", Fluttershy cooed, brushing her friends ruffled mane back, "I'll make you some nice warm tea to settle your stomach."

As they watched Fluttershy head out towards the kitchen, using her wings to fly over the huge mess in the hallway and Granny Smith approaching with the mop, Josh helped Rainbow Dash get her mouth washed out and helped her blow her nose to clear her head from all the dizziness the vomiting had caused.

"You know, Dash, you can always back out of this... AJ and I can do this alone...", Josh tried to reassure the pegasus, only to have her give him a fierce look of indignation.

"Are you kidding?! Just because I threw up doesn't mean i'm GIVING up! You heard what Twilight said. This was to see how much our stomaches could hold! Day by day, me and AJ'll be more than capable of taking in more and more until the day of the contest comes and we're both able to put Champagne down to shame! Besides, think of it like this.... who knows if the Wonderbolts are watching the contest! They could see my tenacity and ask me to help them with some of their moves!!"

At hearing Rainbow Dash's voice ring back to its normal boastful tone, Josh couldn't help but give his sweetheart a big hug.

"That's why I love you, Dash... You never give up!"

The pegasus tried to smile, but a gurgling in her belly cut her short and she held her mouth closed until she could swallow what was trying to come back up. Seeing she was still suffering from a few throes of nausea, Josh helped Rainbow Dash out of the bathroom and gave her over to Big MacIntosh.

"Can you take her upstairs to rest? I remember Applebloom mentioned earlier that Rainbow Dash could stay here while the training was going on..."

The big colt cut him off. "No problem, but can you check on Applejack for me? I wanna make sure she gets 'er rest in too.."

"Of course.", Josh replied before turning his attention over to Twilight Sparkle, "But first Twilight and I need to have a talk and head back out to the kitchen."

Big MacIntosh nodded and gently led the weak pegasus upstairs before Josh turned to Twilight and motioned for her to follow him back to the kitchen.

"Twilight, listen... are you sure that making them eat until they threw up was really ne---"

Twilight cut him off with a sigh before she nodded. "Yes, Josh. I said it before, we needed to know their maximum capacity. Now that we know, we can help them bit by bit expand their stomach's strength until the day of the contest!"

"What about Rarity? Rainbow Dash threw up all over her.... what do you think she'll do??? I've never seen her so... so crazed! For all we know, she could have snapped and try to turn Rainbow Dash into some of Pinkie Pie's cupcakes!"

"Josh, what are the odds of that happening???"

It was then for just a few seconds that an uneasy silence took over the two of them before they shook their heads in dismissal at such a thought before they went into the kitchen where the others were waiting for them.

"So what happened??", Meowth asked, "We all saw Rarity run out screaming covered in vomit and Sweetie Belle went after her!"

"Before that we heard what sounded like Rainbow Dash having the biggest barf any of us had ever heard!!!", Scootaloo added, getting a visible groan from Applejack. The cowpony was still trying to let her stomach calm itself, even though her vomiting hadn't been as severe as the pegasus's, and hearing about her friend spewing didn't exactly make her stomach any calmer.

"Ugh... Please don't say that, Scoots...", Applejack moaned before turning to Josh and Twilight, "Is that what happened, sugahs?"

Twilight nodded sadly, "I'll spare you guys the details, but right now Big MacIntosh is leading Dash upstairs to rest..."

"Ah know... Fluttershy just flew out the door to get some tea... an' a rest sounds pretty good right now... I'm gonna go head upstairs and get some myself.." The cowpony mentioned before walking out towards the hallway leading to the stairs...

"WAIT!", Josh tried to call out, "AJ, don't!!!"

But it was too late...

"LAND SAKES!! WHAT THE HAY HAPPENED HERE?!?", they heard Applejack call out.

"RAINBOW DASH HAPPENED HERE!", they heard Granny Smith reply.

As Spike and Meowth shook their heads in dismay, they all heard Pinkie Pie snickering behind them and the dragon couldn't help but give the party pony a look of sheer confusion.

"What the heck is so dang funny???" Applebloom asked, not bothering to hide the tones of irritance in her voice

Pinkie Pie snorted before she gave the filly her reply, "Granny Smith always DID mention wanting a new coat of paint for the hall!"

This produced a collective groan from the group and Meowth could only say a few words that summed up pretty much what everyone in the group was thinking...

"Pinkie Pie... sometimes you really scare me."