Sweetie Belle had a taste for the finer things in life much like her sister, and of course she wanted to share that with her own little girl. She loved taking Triple Threat shopping, trying on cute outfits at the mall and ogling at all things beautiful.

But the mare Sweetie saw in the dressing room mirror was not beautiful. Not to her.

“Ugh. I’ve really let myself go.”

She grumbled, clutching her belly and inspecting the stretch marks on it.

The young filly practically idolized her mother, even down to wearing only colors that fashion magazines told her would look good with her coat.

Well, as much as an eight-year-old can comprehend.

So anytime her mother made a point to point something out or talk about it, Triple Threat made sure to be all ears.

This is why when her mother began to psychoanalyze the fat on her body, she became confused.

“What do you mean let yourself go Mommy? Go where?”

“It’s a figure of speech, TT.”

Sweetie looked back into the mirror and sighed.

“It means I haven’t been keeping up healthy habits like I should. I don’t exercise enough. I’m eating too many sweets. I’ve gained like, 20 pounds. And I said I was on a diet…”

At first she was only disappointed, hating to see her mother in a bad mood.

However, as time went on, Triple Threat began to feel afraid.

As she studied the baby fat on her own body she began to think. Think about the extra sweets and cakes Auntie Ember would sneak her when she stayed the night, or the triple banana sundaes Auntie Rarity said her mama used to love when she was little.

How many pounds was she gonna gain?

Her anxious brain was thinking at a mile a minute as she stood there staring, hands held together politely.

Sweetie looked to her daughter with a soft smile.

“Auntie Rarity doesn’t have this problem. You might be lucky and end up more like her. Don’t worry too much about it.”

As much as she was trying to be optimistic, she had no idea of the impact she was making on her daughter in that moment.