literature

Breathers for Applejack (a MLP story) (ch.3 pt.1)

Deviation Actions

pablotetoons's avatar
By
Published:
19.9K Views1 Collected Privately

Literature Text

 “Pinkie...I can't believe...” Applejack grumbled to herself, trotting through Ponyville. Her head was stooped low to the ground and her face was set in anger, the brim of her hat tilted down over her eyes. Everypony she went by looked at her, and she could feel the stare of every single eye. “My own family, too. My own sister! Blown up, 'n...embarassed...ruinin' my whole day...puttin' a stop to this...she's gone too far, this time!” she muttered.

“Um...excuse me...” said a cream-colored earth pony stallion. “Excuse me, Applejack?” he asked. She stopped and looked at him, angrily.

“Yes?” she snapped.

“Are you alright?” he asked, flanked by other concerned-looking ponies, gathering around and staring at her, “You look like you're...like you're having some trouble...”

“Breathin'?” Applejack asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Yeah, that's it! You need some help?” he asked, and the ponies around him stepped forward helpfully.

“Ha, ha.” she laughed, sarcastically, “Haven't heard that one before...” and quickly resumed her beeline to Sugarcube corner. She was so angry that she didn't seem to notice that nopony else laughed at the joke. She walked by a cafe, and all of the patrons turned their heads to watch her pass by. A purple mare threw her food onto her back and ran after Applejack.

“Applejack! Applejack, wait!” she said. Applejack stopped, trembled with frustration, and then turned around.

“Yes?” she asked, impatiently. The mare slowed to a halt.

“You don't look so good. You want some of my food? I'd be glad to help!” she said.

“Food? What're ya, gonna fatten me up, is that the idea? Ya'll aren't even tryin' anymore. What's that got to do with breathin'?” she asked, as more ponies from the cafe were hurriedly catching up to her, food balanced on their backs.

“Breathing? Yeah, that's it! You need help breathing! Let us help you, Applejack!” she said. Applejack huffed in frustration, a puff of steam jetting out of her nostrils.

“I'm only gonna say this one more-

“Let us help you, Applejack.” the crowd of ponies all said, in unison. Applejack blinked in surprise, taken aback, and then looked around her, pushing the brim of her hat up a bit. There was a crowd of ponies assembled around her, and she was almost completely surrounded. They were all staring at her, with pleasant, helpful smiles on their faces.

“Alright, that one was...was, uh...pretty good...” she said, starting to uneasily make her way through her opening, away from the crowd.

“Why don't you lie down for a while, I just made a whole bunch of lemonade!” said someone in the crowd.

“Wha? Oh, uh, no thanks.”

“I just got an auto-vacuum with a wonderful reverse setting on it! I'll go get it, you just wait right there!” said another.

“Oh, no, that's not really, uh...” said Applejack, spinning around as she walked, nervously, watching as more and more ponies walked up to join the crowd of ponies staring at her, following her.

“Here! Fresh from the garden!” said a mare, running up to Applejack and shoving a carrot in her mouth. Applejack ducked out of the way of her and backed up quicker, swallowing the carrot.

“Well thank ya, but-

“Here, try mine!”

“No, try mine!” the ponies stopped staring and started actively moving towards her now.

“No! The joke's over, alright?” Applejack said, scared, as she dodged food-wielding ponies and backpedaled away from the reach of their hooves. Something came at her out of the corner of her eye and she felt a hoof shove a hose in her mouth. She quickly turned around, the hose whipping around with her muzzle, and saw it was a mare with a bike pump.

“This'll get you back on your feet, Applejack!” she said, and started pumping. She got to two pumps, puffing Applejack's cheeks up, before she spit it out and swatted the hose away with her hoof.

“Y'all hear me? Yipe!” she said, turning and weaving out of the way of about a dozen nozzles and hoses shooting towards her from the crowd of ponies. “I'm headed to Pinkie's right now! The joke ain't funny no more, knock it off!” she said, her voice quavering with fear. She bumped into somepony behind her and when she turned, another nozzle was shoved in her mouth. It was a pony working a food stand with a nozzle on the cotton candy machine for some reason, and she quickly ran over to the large crank on the side of it and started turning it with both of her hooves, the machine quietly rumbling and churning.

“Mmhphm – hmph!” Applejack mumbled, the nozzle in her mouth, as her attempts to move back were stopped by several hooves grabbing her, a couple clamping down over her muzzle. She jerked back in fear, but there were hooves holding her head in place, and her muzzle on the machine. More hooves were pushing down on her body, holding her legs in place. She couldn't move at all. That was when she realized that this probably wasn't a joke. The sickeningly sweet taste of cotton candy filled her mouth for just a second before she permitted her body to stop holding back and use all of her strength. She tensed up, muscles flexing, and gave them all an earth-shaking heave. Dozens of ponies flew through the air, landing in and around the crowd as she spat the cotton candy out on the street, and her hat gently drifted back onto her head.

“Let us help you, Applejack.” they said in unison, the crowd simply stepping over the knocked-down ponies she had thrown off of herself, and they all advanced on her, as if in a trance. Applejack vaulted up and over the cotton candy machine, her hooves pounding loudly on the thin metal surface, and leaped forwards, over the heads of the ponies that had gathered on the other side of the machine. She landed gracefully with a

CLOP

and took off, sprinting down the road faster than anypony could even try to keep up with.

“...No joke...” Applejack said. She looked around, terrified, and every pony in she galloped by stopped what they were doing and watched her run by them. “No joke. Gotta be a joke. Pinkie. Gotta get to Sugar Cube Corner. Gotta get to Pinkie.” she said, feeling every eye she came across fixate on her.

Angel twisted the valve on the helium tank ever-so-slightly with an annoyed look on his face.

“Okay. Now let's just blow it up nice...and slo- OH NO THAT'S TOO FAST!” said Fluttershy, and Angel cinched it shut without changing his expression. “Alright, now, slowly...” she started, and Angel opened the valve, “AH SHUT IT OFF!” she said, and he cinched it shut. He silently grumbled to himself. Fluttershy peeked over the box of balloons she was cowering behind, trembling. The balloon fastened to the tank was barely inflated at all. “O-okay, Angel, there's no need to be afraid. We can do this.” she said. Angel shot her an angry look. “Alright. So just...start it with just a teeeeeeny- OH THAT'S TOO MUCH!...or slooooowly NO TOO FAST!” she said. Angel shook with anger and opened the valve up fully, letting the balloon inflate at a regular rate. Fluttershy squeaked in terror and grabbed her ears, stretching them down in anguish. “Angel bunny! NO! SLOW DOWN! TOO FAST! TOO MUCH! IIII CAAAAN'T WAAAAAATCH!” she screamed hysterically, hiding behind her box with tears in her eyes. Then, the hissing stopped. She opened one eye, then both. Trembling, she peeked fearfully over the top of the box to see Angel tying off the bottom of the fully-inflated balloon to a string and letting it loose with his eyes closed in stoic professionalism. “Oh. Phew! It's over.” she said, trotting over to him. “Good job, Angel!” she said, and he gave her a dignified nod. “Now, what do you say we move on to some other part of the decorations, like...streamers?” she said, grabbing a hooffull of streamers nearby. “Nice, easy, safe, won't burst, or deflate, or fly in your face, or float away when you let go of them...” she said, clutching them tighter and tighter in her trembling hooves, “Doesn't that sound like...more fun?” she asked, giving Angel a nervous, fearful smile. He looked at her impatiently with his hands on his hips. “Um...don't you think we've blown up enough balloons for Pinkie's party by now?” she asked, giving him an even wider and more desperate grin. He looked upwards at the two balloons they had successfully blown up, as opposed to the dozens of other strings tied to the tank that they had to go through. He smacked his palm across his face and shook his head. She sighed.

     “Fine.” she said. He nodded and reeled in another string with a balloon already tied to the end to inflate it. “But we have to be more careful this time. So do it slower. A-And more carefully! And only when mommy tells you to. Alright?” she said. Now Angel was visibly trembling with impatience and anger. Fluttershy was smiling shyly with her eyes closed. “I think that if you just do what mommy says, and not turn the valve so fast, then nopony will have to be un- mphmmph...ULP!” she said as a thin string wrapped itself tight around her muzzle like a lasso and yanked her mouth directly onto the nozzle of the helium tank, her wide, gentle eyes blinking in surprise at Angel. Her forelegs dangled as she watched angel drop the string and stomp angrily to the valve, making a motion similar to rolling up his sleeves on his arms. He gripped the valve and twisted it as far as it would go,

K-SHEEK!

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS....

The helium rushed out in a loud hiss, causing Fluttershy's pupils to narrow and her cheeks to immediately poof out, eliciting a squeak of surprise from her as her tummy started swelling up. She planted her hooves on the tank and pulled, but the string was holding her muzzle tightly onto the valve. Angel was standing with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, his back to her. She reached out and daintily tapped him on the shoulder with her hoof. He turned and looked at her, angrily. She looked at him with concern and shyness and pointed to her stuck muzzle

     “Mmmphmmhmm...” she mumbled, her voice high-pitched. Angel looked at her for a second, and then turned back around. She blinked a couple of times, dumbstruck, as the tank hissed noisily away, her yellow midsection swelling out even larger and rounder, her hind hooves starting to lift off of the ground, kicking weakly as her flanks grew outwards.

She reached out and daintily tapped his shoulder again, a little more frantically. He turned around again. She looked even more concerned behind her puffy cheeks as she pointed at her stuck muzzle a little more frantically.

     “Hmmphmm, wwmhmmphhmm?” she mumbled. Angel saw a shock of pink hair rise above her mane, and took a second to realize it was her tail. Her inflating rump rose high into the air, coming into view behind her head, followed by her now enormously round belly as she blew up and outwards like a big, yellow balloon. Her body was getting rounder and more spherical as her hind legs stuck straight out, fattening up, followed by her wings, which unfurled and puffed up. She pointed at her muzzle again before her forelegs fell away and she watched them stiffen up and balloon outwards like marshmallows, making her give a timid squeak behind the nozzle. She nervously sucked down all the helium coming into her, looking back and forth at her hooves as they swelled up while her huge body got bigger and rounder behind her, rising up slowly. Her pink tail inched closer and closer to the ceiling, draped down the crack of her inflated rump, which gently swayed back and forth with the rest of her body. Angel looked up at her, satisfied, and turned the valve off.

The hissing stopped and her hugely inflated, almost perfectly round body swayed silently from the nozzle of the tank. She blushed and watched Angel with worry, her inflated hooves occasionally wiggling uselessly as he made his way over to her muzzle and loosened the string around it. Her mouth started sliding backwards off of the nozzle, but he caught her by the lips before she flew off. Fluttershy watched in shock as Angel held her yellow lips shut with one fist and stretched them out like the mouth a balloon with the other. With the same professionalism he displayed before, he wrapped the string around her lips, tied it tight, and let her go. She bobbed lazily in the air, her hooves and wings wiggling, blinking in surprise. Then, she slowly rose upwards. Her face started to get more panicked and she let out a muffled squeak as she floated up to the other balloons and jerked to a stop, tethered by the string around her mouth. She looked down at Angel pleadingly, blushing, and he just smiled and waved at her as if he was seeing her off on a trip. He then readied the next balloon and started inflating it efficiently. There was a knock on the door.

“I'll get it!” said Pinkie Pie, who came bouncing into the room, going right by Fluttershy without noticing her. Then came another knock on the door, longer, louder, and more frantic. Pinkie opened the door and saw Applejack, who had her back to the door. She turned her head around with a panicked expression on her face and saw Pinkie.

“Hey Apple-” Pinkie started, but Applejack whooshed past her without saying anything. “-Jack! Come on in!” she said, turning to face Applejack. Past Pinkie and through the open door, Applejack could see a small mob of ponies coming up the front steps of Sugarcube Corner. The one in the front was a unicorn with a magic-powered leaf blower. Next to him was a pony pulling a wheeled barrel of water, holding a hose out. A third one fought for room, brandishing a fireplace bellows, puffing them open and closed menacingly.

“Let us help you, Applejack.” they all said in unison, “Let us help you, Applejack.”

“Me 'n Fluttershy were just setting up the decorations for the Pre-Groundhog's Day's Eve party I was telling you about!” said Pinkie, oblivious to the mob of ponies behind her. “I'm baking and Fluttershy's in charge of-”

“Celestia's sake, Pinkie, close the door!” shouted Applejack.

“Okay!” said Pinkie without a second word, bucking the barn-style door shut behind her right before the mob crossed the threshold. They started to crowd around the windows, and Applejack quickly ran over and drew the curtains. She turned around, her back and forehooves against the window, looking around the room in a nervous sweat.

“Is the back door locked?” she asked, panting.

“Yep! Say...you're acting awful funny...” said Pinkie as Applejack shoved the china cabinet over to the doorway, blocking it, and slid under the table, gripping the edges of her hat, fearfully listening to the mob of ponies surrounding the building. “And not 'ha-ha-ha' funny. More like 'hmmmm...' funny. Applejack, are you in...” she said, looking around dramatically, “...trouble?” she whispered.

“No! I mean, yes! I mean, I don't know! Look, Pinkie. Remember those jokes you were makin' about me this mornin'? About me havin' trouble breathin' 'n blowin' up like a balloon 'n such?” she asked, peeking up from the brim of her hat.

“Hehehahahaha!” Pinkie giggled to herself, “Of course! You wanna hear some more?”

“Pinkie. Please.” Applejack said, scooting out from beneath the table and putting her hooves together pleadingly. “Please, please, please tell me this is all some big prank'a yours?”

“That what's a prank of mine?”

“I already got it all figured out, Pinkie, just drop the act, please!”

“Applejack, I don't have any pranks lined up for you! Not for a while, anyway, hehehe! Ooooooh, unless part of the prank involved me forgetting about the prank! Great idea, Applejack!”

“So...y'all didn't tell everypony in Ponyville to act like they're tryin' to help me breathe, 'n...blow me up?” she asked, fearfully.

“Well, I was telling everypony jokes about helping you breathe and blowing you up, but I didn't tell anypony to do anything.” she said, concerned. “Say, you don't look so OK, AJ. Like you're...unhappy. Did something happen? Did somepony say something mean to you?” she asked, worried. Applejack just looked at Pinkie with dread, her mind reeling, her hooves shaking. She slowly walked past Pinkie, across the room, and reached her trembling hoof to the curtain. She pulled it aside a little bit, and was immediately met with a bright, round, pony's eye and smiling face staring at her through the window, followed by several more eyes pushing up against it, all staring at her, hooves clanging and squeaking across the window, fighting for position to look at her.

“Let us help you, Applejack...” the ponies outside all said in unison. Applejack quickly threw the curtain shut. She looked back at Pinkie, her eyes wide.

“Somethin' miiiighty weird is goin' on, Pinkie Pie.” she said.

“It is?” Pinkie said, trotting over to Applejack. She reached up for the curtain and Applejack ducked out of the way in time before she threw it open. “Hm. That is miiiighty weird.” Pinkie said, before throwing the curtain shut again. “Oh well! Nothing to be afraid of!” she said, trotting happily away.

“Pinkie. I know this is gonna sound strange, but this is the honest truth, ya have to believe me.”

“Okay!”

“Promise!”

“I promise! Pinkie promise!” she said, crossing her heart (and hoping to fly). Applejack let a quick, relieved sigh through her nostrils, grateful for Pinkie's unique brand of integrity.

“Okay. Well those jokes I was talkin' about? About the breathin' 'n the inflatin'? It's all comin' true.” she said. Pinkie Pie gasped and quickly shoved her hooves over her mouth.

“Applejack! I was afraid this might happen!” she said.

“Say what? You were!? Wait...do y'all know what's going on?”

“Yes! It means...” she said, pausing.

“Yes?”

“It means...that whenever I make a joke it comes true! I was afraid this day would come!”

“Pinkie.”

“I've been preparing for this day, and I'm ready to accept this marvelous gift and terrible curse.” she said, planting her hooves on the side of her head and closing her eyes hard, concentrating. “I wish I had a cake!” she said, and opened her eyes excitedly, looking at the floorspace in front of her. “Butterscotch!” she cursed, “That's right, it has to be a joke. Okay, um...”

“Pinkie.”

“What's big, and delicious, and...right in front of me? Aaaaaaaa cake!” she said, opening her eyes excitedly again. “Gumdrops!” she cursed again. “That wasn't funny enough.”

“Pinkie!”

“Okay! Um...come on, Pinkie, you can do this...What kind of cake do you get when you eat too much cake?” she asked. There was a long pause, interrupted only by a high-pitched, muffled squeak from the growing number of party balloons by the ceiling that neither Pinkie nor Applejack noticed.

Pin-

“Aaaaaaaa STOMACHACHE!” she shouted, opening her eyes excitedly. “Florentine.” she grumbled, crossing her hooves miserably. “This superpower's really hard to impress.”

PINKIE!” Applejack shouted.

“Yeah?”

“Y'ain't got no superpowers!”

“Aaaaawwwwww...”

“No, it ain't you what's doin' this. 'N if it ain't you, I reckon I know what is.”

“What is it, then?” Pinkie asked. Applejack opened her mouth and hesitated before she spoke. Pinkie stood up proudly, with a hoof on her chest. “I, Pinkamena Diane Pie, on the hour of a couple of minutes ago, in the year of our princesses, today, did solemnly make a Pinkie Promise to you, Applejack, to believe what you tell me. Hit me with your best shot.” she said. Applejack smiled at her.

“Thanks, sugar cube. Alright. The way I figure, somepony put a curse on me.” she said. Pinkie giggled. Applejack's nostrils flared a little in embarassment.

“Oh, Applejack. There's nothing to worry about! Remember what-

“I'm serious, Pinkie.” Applejack said, her face a mask of unquestionable seriousness. Pinkie Pie blinked a couple of times, in confusion.

“But...”

“I told y’all it sounded strange, Pinkie.”

“But that one time...”

“I know, Pinkie!

“But Twilight...”

“Pinkie Promise!”

Pinkie Promise!” Pinkie said, crossing her heart and sitting back on the floor excitedly.

“I'm havin' a mess of a time believin' it myself. I don't know how, but I'm tellin' ya, I'm cursed! I didn't think nothin' of it at first. An accident here, a mistake there...now, I thought I was just havin' a real bad day. But now...” she said, looking at her hooves, at a loss for words. She reached out and drew the curtain back, revealing the crowd of ponies all huddled up against the window, earth ponies and unicorns towards the bottom, pegasi filling the rest in, all watching her, pawing at the window with their hooves.

“Let us help you, Applejack. Let us help you, Applejack.” they said. Applejack pointed at them with her hoof.

“Ya see what I'm dealin' with here?” she asked, drawing the curtain again. “All of 'em, every single last one of 'em, are all tryin' to blow me up, puff me up, fatten me up, or whatever it takes to get me as big as a barn 'n round as a barrel with whatever they got on hoof! First, an old pony says she puts a curse on me. I didn't give it any mind. Then, my sister says I'm havin' trouble breathin', an' makes me guzzle an entire cask'a cider. I got plumped up like a blue ribbon hog 'n nopony thought nothin' of it! Then, Rarity says I'm havin' trouble breathin', takes me to the spa, an' blows me up into a big, fancy, blimp with some big, fancy breathin' machine! She wouldn't stop, 'n I had to run away! From Rarity! And then....” she said, pulling the curtain back,

“Let us help you, Apple-

She threw it back closed. “Now tell me. How can y'all say that ain't a curse!?” she asked. Pinkie was stroking her chin thoughtfully.

“Hmmmm...” she said. She slowly walked past Applejack and opened the curtain again, staring at the mob of ponies filling up the window. She looked at them and looked at Applejack. “Hmmmmmmm...” she hmmm'd, thoughtfully. She put her hooves on Applejack and scooted her over to the right, watching all of the pony's eyes follow her over. Then, she stopped, moving her back over to the left, and the eyes all followed her back. She moved her to the right, the left, the right, the left, picked her up and moved her up, and down, and up, and down, the multitude of eyes following her every move. “Hmmmmmmmm!” she said, even more thoughtfully. She set Applejack back down and drew the curtains. “Hmm hmm hmm...” she said, walking back to the center of the room. “Okay. I have a plan.” she said.

“Ya do?”

“Yes! You, and me, and Fluttershy...are gonna go get Twilight! And then we'll ask her to come up with a plan for us! It's the perfect plan...” she said, rubbing her hooves together.

“Twilight...hey, yeah! Twilight! She'll know what's goin' on! Can ya send her a letter to meet us somewhere? I was thinkin' I could get Rainbow Dash to help me hide...” she said.

“Rainbow Dash? Pphlbpblhpblt! The only place you need to stay is at auntie Pinkie's, Applejack!”

“Oh! Uh...” she said, looking uneasily back at the china cabinet she blocked the door with, hearing all the ponies shuffling around outside, “...Well, thank ya kindly, Pinkie Pie. I...'spose this place is safe enough.”

“Oh, it ain't no thang, AJ. Turning frowns upside-down is what I do best! And you've got one heck of a case of unhappiness poisoning, there!” she said. Applejack was smiling from relief, but her face slowly fell in worry.

“Well, I mean, I 'spose I was a mite shaken up from all them, but...I don't look-

“Oh no! It's getting worse!” Pinkie said, putting her hooves on Applejack's mouth, “Stick with me, happiness! I'm losin' ya!” She shoved the corners of Applejack's mouth upwards into an unnatural, gummy smile. “There you are! Nooooow...stay!” she said, letting go. Applejack's mouth plopped back down to its uneasy, neutral expression. “Ffffffudgsicles!” she cursed, “Why doesn't that ever work!?”

“Pinkie, I don't look that sad, do I?” she asked.

“Sad? No. Unhappy!” she said.

“Unhappy? But, I feel fine.”

“Fine? Fine!? Tiny print is fine, Applejack. A carriage parking ticket is a fine, Applejack! The end of a piece of music is called the fine, Applejack, but that doesn't count because it's pronounced fee-naaay...

“Pinkie? You're startin' to scare me. What in tarnation are y'all talkin' about?”

You, Applejack! You can feel fine...but that doesn't mean jelly donuts unless you also feel happy!”

“Happy?”

“Happy happy happy! Do you feel happy, Applejack?”

“Well I wouldn't...quite say I'm happy, no...”

“You see? That means you're unhappy! And unhappiness is the worst thing in the entire world! Now, first I'll bake you something scrumptious in the kitchen, and then we can have some real fun after that!” she said, bouncing excitedly.

“Uh...but when are we gonna go get Twilight?”

“Twilight? She can wait. I can't stand having one of my bestest friends in all of Equestria stay here when they're this unhappy! Come-come! To the kitchen with ye!” she said playfully, putting her foreleg around Applejack and leading her to the kitchen. Applejack slipped out from under her arm, her hat popping off and gliding back onto her mane with practiced ease, and backed away from her.

“Sugar cube, in case y'all haven't noticed, I got a curse on my hide, and I ain't getting any un-cursier! Right now, nothin' would make me happier than if Twilight came over here right quick and we got this whole mess sorted out.”

“Listen, Applejack. Making ponies happier is my super-special talent. And in my not-inconsiderable super-special talented opinion, nothing is better for a crummy day than talking about it with their bestest friend over sweets! Go a couple'a rounds with your old pal Pinkie Pie, and you'll be laughing faster than you can say Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, heeheehahaha! Just let us help you, and when you're right as raisins, we can talk to Twilight, Applejack!”

“Well…I ‘spose that does sound pretty…wait…” Applejack said, turning what Pinkie said over in her head. “What did y'all say?” she asked, taking an uneasy step back from Pinkie.

“I said you need to let us help you, Applejack!” she said, hugging her. Applejack slipped her way out of Pinkie's grip again and scuttled away from her until her butt hit the wall.

“Oh…oh, rhubarbs, not you too! Now, Pinkie...sugar cube...y’all gotta listen to me.” she said.

“Applejack, let us help you!” she said, approaching Applejack. Applejack outstretched her hoof, stopping her in her tracks.

“Don't come any closer!” Applejack said, nervously.

“But look how unhappy you are! Fluttershy and I could help you!”

“Fluttershy. Fluttershy...” Applejack said, nervously glancing around the room and under the table. “Where's Fluttershy?” Pinkie took a quick glance around the room.

“I dunno!” she said.

“What’s she up to?” asked Applejack, pointing a hoof at Pinkie accusingly.

“Well, the last time I saw her, she and Angel Bunny were putting up the decorations, and they were blowing up the balloons together.” Applejack just saw Angel inflating balloons by himself. He blew one up until it was fully inflated, pinched off the end, grabbed a string from the bundle that was tied to the tank, tied the end off, and let go, and it floated up, and up, and up, and bumped into Fluttershy's snout. She shut her eyes tight and flinched away from it, her inflated cheeks wobbling, as it floated up past her. Her eyes opened, blinking wearily, and her gaze wandered up at Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who were both staring at her, wide-eyed. Her eyes shot open in shock and she made a high-pitched squeak from behind her bound lips, a shade of pink starting to spread across her face.

Ooh! Found her!” said Pinkie, cheerfully, pointing at her with her hoof. Applejack stood against the wall, looking back and forth between them suspiciously. Fluttershy squeaked again, shutting her eyes tight and looking away in mortified shyness. “Fluttershy, what are you doing up there? If you wanted to inflate yourself with helium, you could have just asked!” said Pinkie, trotting over to her. Fluttershy stubbornly avoided eye contact and lazily waggled her inflated hooves, trying to disappear in the bunch of much smaller party balloons around her. Then, she was unceremoniously tugged downward by the string around her mouth. She squeaked as Pinkie watched her, smiling, and her big, inflated body darted downwards before losing momentum and slowly bobbing upward at eye level. “Come on, Floatershy, enough goofing around!” she said, giggling, and grabbed the string around Fluttershy's mouth. Fluttershy's eyes crossed to look at Pinkie's hoof, and widened in surprise. Pinkie pulled on the string, Fluttershy's yellow lips stretching like rubber, before it slipped off, and helium blasted out of Fluttershy's mouth, blowing Pinkie's mane back, and sending Fluttershy’s huge, round body flying, rump-first, backwards and around the room.

Applejack took cover and held her hat tight over her head, watching her bounce around worriedly, while Pinkie sat in the middle of the room, laughing. “Heeheeheehahahahaha! Floatershy! Get it? I got a million of 'em!” she said. Fluttershy rocketed backwards and upwards , her body back down to its normal proportions, as she expelled the last of the helium from her body and remained hovering on the spot, in midair. Her wings were beating quickly, and she screamed a quiet, dainty shriek with her eyes shut tight, and flailed her hooves around. This went on for several seconds.

“Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY!” yelled Applejack, standing back up. Fluttershy snapped out of it right away, blinking in confusion. She looked behind her at her own flapping wings. She avoided eye contact again, blushing and fighting back tears as she slowly descended to the ground.

“Thanks for coming down, Fluttershy, Applejack was just about to let us help her!” she said.

“I was not! And y'all can stay on that side of the room!” Applejack said, angrily.

“Oh! Um...” Fluttershy said, looking at the floor around Applejack. Suddenly, Pinkie gasped dramatically.

“Great idea, Fluttershy!” she said.

“It is?” asked Fluttershy, startled.

“Applejack isn’t unhappy, she needs our help breathing! And getting inflated like a balloon is like taking one, big breath!” she said. Fluttershy made a small noise in her throat and blushed some more, retreating behind the fringe of her mane that hung in front of her face.

“Pinkie, snap out of it!”

“Sometimes, I inflate myself with helium too! It used to happen just on accident, but I do it on purpose sometimes, heehee! So, if Applejack needs some air, then we can just give some to her! Or helium. They're basically the same thing, right? See, we don’t need Twilight!”

“Pinkie,” Applejack said, “That’s the curse talking. That ain’t gonna help me!”

“Um…” said Fluttershy, avoiding eye contact.

“No ifs, ands, or ums! I wanna see Twilight, and that’s that! And I'm gonna sit right here until she comes!”

“Oooor...” said Pinkie, holding up a plastic hose, “You could wait up there!” she said, pointing at the ceiling.

“No, Pinkie. I ain't.”

“Aw, come on!”

“No.”

“Just a little?”

“No!”

“Pleeeeeeease?”

“No, no, no! Twilight!” she said.

“Aaaaaw, fine. I'll write her a letter.” Pinkie said, trotting off to the kitchen. Applejack waited, her forelegs crossed angrily. Fluttershy stood across the room, looking between Applejack and the kitchen, swiveling her hoof into the floor nervously.

“Um...Applejack?” she said, turning her gaze to the floor. Applejack sighed.

“What is it, sugar cube?”

“Well, I just wanted to say...sometimes, when I take care of my animal friends, they think I'm not trying to help them, either. Like, when I give them medecine, or clean their fur, or check their teeth...but...even though they don't want me to, and it makes them unhappy...I do it because I know that it's for their own good, and they always thank me for it later.” she said sweetly, smiling to herself. “So...um...please don't be mad at us. A little kindness goes a long way!” she said, giving her a big smile. Applejack blinked angrily and didn't say anything. Fluttershy's smile withered under Applejack's lack of response, and so did the rest of her, shrinking back behind the fringe of her bangs like a turtle retreating to its shell.

Thumbnail by the lovely :iconnoctulov:

Okay, if you haven't ever read these on my FA page, I implore you to start doing so now.  Not only is there no place to cut this chapter in half that wouldn't be awkward, but the song (yes, there's a song) was written specifically to be viewed as columns in a word processor, so it's not going to make any sense here.  Link to submission on FA page hyah: www.furaffinity.net/view/12014…

Applejack trots through ponyville and nothing is amiss...
...OR IS IT!?
And she decides to drop by Suger Cube Corner, where she, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all have a fun time...
...OR DO THEY!?

www.furaffinity.net/view/12014…

From my FA page:
---------------------------------------------------------
WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS INFLATION AND A SONG. RUN WHILE YOU CAN.

This took me months to write. I usually write something, and if it doesn't "feel" right or "sit" well with me, then I'll rewrite it until I'm satisfied. In addition to a whooooooooooooole bunch of IRL stuff getting in the way, this chapter just wouldn't sit well with me, and I have no idea why. It would always seem to devolve into inane dialogue or get too boring, dark, or emotional, and I have the hardest time writing dialogue for Fluttershy. I've re-written it practically from scratch about 5 times, but nothing I can do helps. Oh well. I'm sick of rewriting it and just want to move on; I'll have time to revisit it once the whole story is finished.

Oh, also there's a song. I'm not good at writing songs or making rhymes (looking forward to writing dialogue for Zecora! Ugh.). It is sung to the tune of an actual song, albeit shortened, but I'll refrain from telling you which one because it just might ruin pinkie pie and/or the song for you, and I'm genuinely curious to see if someone figures it out on their own. The double column thing is something I've always wanted to do with a story, but getting it formatted and arranged the way I wanted was the bane of my goddamn existence.

Although I try to keep as close to what I consider canon, and "on-model" characterization as possible, the unique slang that each pony uses (gum drops, leek sauce, fit as a ferret) is something that I mostly came up with, so you'll notice that this is a relatively profane chapter compared to the other ones (at least until Rainbow Dash gets involved).

So, that's pretty much it. I know it can't possibly be worth all the time it took me to deliver, but hopefully it'll tide you over til the next one. I'm just glad to finally wash my hands of this stupid chapter.
© 2014 - 2024 pablotetoons
Comments3
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
redsligbra's avatar
yeah i wouldnt get on the bad side of applejack..she will probaly break my shin im sorry..