“Hey, Sunset. You holding up okay?”

“Hmm?” Sunset Shimmer looked up from her locker as she turned towards her friend, Flash Sentry. “Hey, Flash,” she greeted before turning back towards her stuff. Though she only made a quick glance, she did manage to notice how much chunkier he’d gotten over winter break. “Yeah, I’m doing fine. Why do you ask?”

“I just saw you coming down the hall, and…” Flash paused for moment, seeming a little embarrassed to continue. “To be honest, I thought you looked a little tired.”

“Tired?” Sunset scoffed, not sure whether to find his concern endearing or weird. Maybe both. “Really, I’m fine. I’m just… you know…” She turned to him again, this time gesturing to show how massively huge and dauntingly heavy she’s become. “Just really fat.”

“Yeah, same here,” Flash chuckled before awkwardly correcting himself. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m sure it’s, like, way harder for you.”

“Yeah, it is,” Sunset confirmed, still eyeing him suspiciously. “But at my size, I can at least get two extra lunches every day,” she shrugged as she closed the locker behind her. Looking over her friend once again, she began to notice that his weight wasn’t thing that seemed different about him. With his hands in his pockets, his shoulders looking hunched, and even his demeanor feeling off, she could tell something wasn’t right with him. “Are you holding up okay?”

“Nah, not much. Just… a lot,” Flash said very frankly. “I just wanted to know. How long did it take before you started getting used being… you know… really fat?”

As soon as Flash had asked this, it all started to click together for Sunset. “Ah, I see now,” she nodded as gave him a helpful smile. “Honestly, it’s hard to say. I thought of myself as kinda lazy anyway, so getting fat didn’t really change much for me. But at the same time, it is annoying having to buy new clothes cause I keep getting bigger, or having to eat more food cause I keep getting hungry. Not to mention how hard it’s been trying to do the simplest things with all this extra weight holding me down.”

“Totally!” Flash exclaimed as a smile started to form. “It’s the extra weight that’s been bothering me. Like, I know you said before we’re still technically healthy. But, I don’t know. Even when I try to stay away from junk food, I still feel I’ve been so much slower lately.”

“I get what you’re saying. But it’s nothing to worry about,” Sunset assured. “It’s just that when you’re gaining so much so fast, it’s gonna take a while for your body to get used to it.”

“Yeah, I figured. But would dieting and exercising help?”

“For some people, yeah. But even then, it’ll just slow the gaining down for a bit. Unfortunately, the extra weight’s still gonna catch up later on,” Sunset explained. However, as she noticed Flash’s smile beginning to drop, she quickly tried to put a positive spin for him. “But, it’s all gonna be temporary! I mean, just look at Water Melody. She was gaining some weight but now she’s able slim back down again.”

“That’s true,” he shrugged.

“And if you ever need help or advice to get through this thing, I’m here for you,” Sunset said as she rested a hand on his shoulder. “What are friends for?”

“Thanks, Sunset,” Flash smiled back, breathing a little easier. “So, how soon do you think I’ll stop gaining weight too?”

“Eh… Let’s not worry about that for now. How about a picture for old-times sake?”