Novella
Novella huffed to herself as she magically lifted another doughnut to her maw, taking a measured bite from it before pondering over her work. Paper and takeaway boxes lay scattered around her—the debris of what was rejected by her mind or victim to her stomach. She idly tapped a hoof at the keys to her typewriter before finishing the rest of the doughnut in one fell swoop. She’d been at this for hours now, and yet felt no closer to a conclusion.
She looked down at herself—down at her great wobbling gut that now dominated her whole body—disgusted with her own gluttony. Gone was her once trim frame, yet she felt compelled to eat. Ever since she found out one of acquisitions editors at Pegasus Books had a thing for chubby mares she had been purposefully overeating with a hope to woo him and get a deal on her current book.
What she hadn’t bet on however was how long writing the book would take, nor how fattening food could be. She originally intended to put on around 15 pounds—just enough to give herself some curves to flaunt—but in the past two months she’d ended up adding closer to 150, and progress on the book was beginning to drag as much as her belly did against the floor.
The unicorn lifted another doughnut to her maw, idly nibbling on it as she looked down at the same half-filled page she had been staring at for the last hour. She tapped out a few more words before finishing the doughnut and grabbing another. This manuscript was going to take a long time.
* * *
It had taken over six months, but her manuscript was done. Novella had mailed it over to the publisher last week and today was her first meeting with the one chubby chasing acquisition editor she had hoped for—Reed Severn.
Her carefully permed blonde mane bounced as she squeezed her 550 pound body through the wide double doors of Pegasus Books. Her hooves, all of which were smothered under piles of fat, barely touched the floor by now; her prepared and professional appearance undermined somewhat by how much exhausted panting it took her to get anywhere. By the time she had signed in at reception and reversed herself into an elevator—taking up the entire cabin in the process—she was sweating quite profusely. Reed was waiting for her when the doors opened on the fifth floor.
“Ah, Ms Novella I presume?”
Novella nodded her confirmation, preoccupied with removing herself from the elevator without ruining her manestyle. It was another few minutes of breathless panting (and a helping hoof from Reed) before she managed to extract herself; her embarrassed blushes hidden against her reddish coat.
Reed opted to skip the tour, and instead led Novella slowly towards his office, making sure he didn’t outpace the jiggling mare. Novella panicked silently to herself, trying to regain her composure. This was no way for a unicorn of her status to present herself, sweaty and stuck in doorways all the time! She once again cursed at the blubber that swaddled her. At least it should all be worth it soon.
Reed’s office was a mercifully short distance away, and after yet more minutes spent squeezing through yet another doorway (this one significantly narrower than any other so far) she was finally ready. She tried in vain to fix her mane and wipe the sweat from her brow while Reed was looking away sorting through paperwork, but didn’t have time before he turned back towards her, manuscript in hoof.
“So, Ms Novella, I’ve read through your manuscript and, well, it’s definitely above average,”
Novella, crestfallen, smiled weakly. Her work was not above average, it was amazing! Astounding! It must be so after taking so long for her to create! Fearing a rapid rejection she turned on the charm offensive, rubbing a thick hoof against her heavy, sagging belly directly in Reed’s line of sight. “Tell me Reed—can I call you Reed?—do you like what you see?”
Reed, idly flicking through the pages of the manuscript, didn’t look up, “Well, it begins strongly, but the story really starts to tail off as it goes on. There’s also a lot more spelling errors and,” he paused to sniff at a page, “chocolate stains, I think?”
She huffed, leaning into the desk, her bulk pressing against its surface as she flittered her eyelashes towards him, “But there’s many other redeeming qualities, is there not?”
“Well,” Reed started, “as I said, the beginning is very strong. And the protagonist’s progression through the first eight or so chapters is great. It’s just… it kinda seems hurried from there,”
“Hurried?!” Novella shouted, “I spent six months writing this thing! Six months of writing and doing this to myself just to try and impress you!” She tried to shake her gut vigorously towards him for emphasis, the bulging mass staying pinned firmly to the floor. “And for what?! So you can just ignore me and say my work is average?!”
She huffed, settling back down but with rage still burning in her blue eyes. Reed looked shocked. He remained silent for a few moments before speaking: “Why would you put on weight to impress me?”
Novella sighed, exasperated, “You’re Reed Severn. You’re the one who likes fat mares, aren’t you?”
“Err… no, I’m not. I think you must have me mixed up with Good Read, he’s in the office a few doors down,”
“Oh…” she went quiet, “You couldn’t set me up with a meeting with him, could you?”
Reed placed the manuscript down on his desk, “I think you should be going, Ms Novella,”
* * *
Novella huffed to herself as she lifted another doughnut to her maw, stuffing it whole into her mouth while pondering over her work. She picked up another doughnut as her hooves tapped at the typewriter balanced precariously atop her obese stomach.
She had grown lethargic and immobile, her hooves perched well away from the ground as her stomach flourished outwards in all directions, fed by sugary treats and her obsession to perform well. Even as she started to tip the scales towards a ton she knew her success might count on her weight as much as it did her words.
She had yet to get over the embarrassment of that day at Pegasus Books and in the months since had dedicated her time to improving her manuscript and her figure. Maybe this time she’d land a meeting with Good Read instead.
