History FanFic / BreathersForApplejack

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: In-universe, The "art" in The Gauntlet. Also could apply to the traditional folk "song" that Aloe and Lotus "sing".

* SuperOCD: Twilight has a tendency to get distracted making sure things are arranged ''just right''. She completely misses Applejack's first explanation of the curse because she's too focused on re-shelving her books. When writing a letter at Fluttershy's house, she also takes the time to reorganize the writing desk, then wastes even more time making sure the wax seal on the scroll is aligned perfectly.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Twilight Sparkle's FreakOut seems to imply there's a little more going on in her head than just being a NeatFreak. (see [[Trivia/BreathersForApplejack the trivia page]])

* HeelFaceMole: [[spoiler:When the mane six explain what's happening to Fluttershy, they think that's enough to snap her out of the curse. It isn't. Flutters pretends to go along with them, just long enough to "help" Applejack by kidnapping her. Only after Flutters winds up on the receiving end of her own porridge-feeding machine does she make a genuine HeelFaceTurn.]]

* [[PopGoesTheHuman Pop Goes The Pony]]: Alluded to in chapter 5--while getting magically inflated by Twilight, Applejack fears that "I'M GONNA BLOW!" if she doesn't stop soon. Nopony actually bursts, though, not even when Applejack lands inflated-rump-first on Twilight's sharpened horn mere seconds after the aforementioned quote, and is no worse for wear. But the future possibility of popping is rather grimly implied, when Twilight reads that [[spoiler:hags feed on their host until there's nothing left to feed on. In other words, if they can't find a cure, then the hag won't stop feeding until AJ bursts.]]

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Not just Applejack, but the rest of the [[ImprobablyFemaleCast overwhelmingly female cast of characters]]. Practically nopony is spared.

* CartoonPhysics: Much more flagrantly than the show.
** Taken UpToEleven when Lotus and Aloe [[spoiler:give Applejack a sound ToonPhysics beatdown, showing [[TheTwelvePrinciplesOfAnimation just how much a cartoon character can Squash and Stretch,]] from stretching her out like a rubber band with the [[ItMakesSenseInContext creative application of suction cups]], to stuffing her entire body into a tiny bowl.]]

* WickedWitch: What the villain of the story ultimately turns out to be. [[spoiler:Specifically, a hag. Of the folklorish, sit-on-your-chest-while-you-sleep-and-give-you-bad-luck variety.]]
* YouMakeMeSic: When Spike declares "I'm not sayin' nothin', alright? So you can torture me all you want, I'll never talk!" Twilight is more upset with Spike's use of a double negative than with his still siding with the hag.

* HelpImStuck: "Pipejamming", the fun-sounding term for when [[spoiler:a pegasus flies into one of the outflow pipes on the cloud factory, whether on accident or as some kind of coming-of-age ritual. The circumference of the pipe is just large enough for a pegasus to fit through, but too narrow for them to move their legs or wings once they're inside, effectively trapping them. According to Rainbow Dash, Applejack is "lucky" enough to have the "privilege" of potentially being the first non-pegasus ever pipejammed.]]

** Nominally applies to Applejack since she's cursed to be a ButtMonkey to everyone that lays eyes on her, and at the end of the day, that's what we're here for, right? However, she dishes out about as much punishment as she receives, and the wide-reaching consequences of her curse aren't PlayedForLaughs.

An ambitious, long-running and ongoing ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' inflation/weight gain fetish fic from author Pablote. What began as an amusing fanfic about Applejack getting expanded in various ways has, like its protagonist, uncontrollably swollen to the size of a novella. It's been praised not only for...reasons catering to a particular crowd's peculiar interests, [[BetterThanItSounds but also for its story, humor, and spot-on characterization.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: Twilight Sparkle's FreakOut seems to imply there's a little more going on in her head than just being a NeatFreak.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Twilight Sparkle's FreakOut seems to imply there's a little more going on in her head than just being a NeatFreak. WordOfGod states it's [[SuperOCD obsessive compulsive disorder]], [[WriteWhatYouKnow which the author suffers from]], as well.

* CentipedesDilemma: In chapter 6, Fluttershy chases Applejack up into the exposed rafters of her house. Flutters has no problems with the height while she's focused on catching AJ--until AJ deliberately invokes this trope by telling Flutters, [[SchmuckBait "Don't look down."]] Of course Fluttershy looks, has a sudden case of vertigo, and falls off.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: If Applejack is the victim of some device or some method of making her get bigger, you can bet that the perpetrator will somehow end up on the receiving end of it by the end of the chapter, either accidentally or [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame intentionally]].

After [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E10SpikeAtYourService a certain incident in a certain episode]], Applejack has a bad day, facing jokes from everypony in town. When she finally takes out her frustrations on an old nag in a hardware store, the old pony claims to put a curse on the apple pony. From that point onward, everypony Applejack comes across curiously seems to think that she needs help breathing, and they're going to do whatever they can to help her. Whether she wants them to or not. [[HilarityEnsues And things only get worse from there.]]

An ambitious, long-running and ongoing inflation/weight gain fetish fic from author Pablote. What began as an amusing fanfic about Applejack getting expanded in various ways has, like its protagonist, uncontrollably swollen to the size of a novella. It's been praised not only for...reasons catering to a particular crowd's peculiar interests, [[BetterThanItSounds but also for its story, humor, and spot-on characterization.]]

!!This MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Fanfic provides examples of the following:

* AllJustADream: What chapter 6 reveals the whole story to be... [[spoiler:Before ''that'' revelation is revealed to be part of Fluttershy's {{Gaslighting}} plot to prevent Applejack from escaping.]]

* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Applejack's friends all listen to reason. Eventually.

* {{Fanservice}}: There's nothing here that would drive the story into NSFW territory. Yet despite not featuring any content that they couldn't ''technically'' get away with featuring in an (admittedly weird and fanservice-heavy) episode of the show, this story is definitely this to a certain demographic.
* FinalBattle: Chapter 6 culminates in [[spoiler:Applejack and Spike having a SwordFight with ''fireplace bellows''. Yes, you read that right.]]

** Happens first when [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash stuff's Applejack's face with cloud fluff until she's buoyant enough for clouds to support her unaided. Justified in that Applejack is literally unable to physically move cloud material on her own. Rainbow Dash is ultimately helping her hide, and they were pressed for time. Initially, anyways.]]

** Fluttershy is fattened up and used to crush Spike beneath her. The other ponies later use Fluttershy's rotund body to torture him, repeatedly rolling her over him.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: If Applejack is the victim of some device or some method of making her get bigger, you can bet that the perpetrator will somehow end up on the receiving end of it by the end of the chapter.

* InflatingBodyGag: The story's bread and butter, really, happening about two or more times ''per chapter''. Applejack's curse makes whoever looks at her believe she's having trouble breathing, in some way or other. Their attempts to "help" her always result in poor AJ blowing up like a balloon. [[HumiliationConga Over and over and over again.]] Then AJ starts turning the tables on her tormentors, and by the end, pretty much everypony's gotten this treatment at least once. See AuthorAppeal.

* JustJokingJustification: Deliberately invoked. Rarity takes Applejack to the hat repair pony, A la Mode--but Mode thinks AJ's cowboy hat is unfashionable and beyond saving, and tells her to just throw it away. Rarity knows how much AJ values the hat, so she fends off the potential argument by pretending Mode's just joking.

* PlotArmor: Played with in that all of Applejack's friends do, eventually, end up falling victim to the curse like everypony else. However, they still retain their mind and personality, for the most part, finding excuses to justify Applejack's condition and their attempts to help her, and [[spoiler:the hag]] telepathically communicates with them directly. The background ponies remain firmly in the background as mindless, zombie-like hordes.
* [[PopGoesTheHuman Pop Goes The Pony]]: Alluded to in chapter 5--while getting magically inflated by Twilight, Applejack fears that "I'M GONNA BLOW!" if she doesn't stop soon. Nopony actually bursts, though, not even when Applejack lands inflated-rump-first on Twilight's sharpened horn mere seconds after the aforementioned quote, and is no worse for wear. It's later implied, rather grimly, when Twilight reads that [[spoiler:hags feed on their host until there's nothing left to feed on. The implication being that with no known cure, the only way the hag will stop feeding on Applejack is if she pops.]]

-->[Pinkie said,] "I mean, whose lollipop do I have to suck to get a good ol' fashioned clopfic that gets right to the point? Who cares about all this [[StealthPun plot?]]" [[note]]She says this while flanked on either side by Fluttershy and Rarity's [[MemeticMutation butts.]][[/note]]

* AmusingInjuries: What this fic thrives on.

* BalloonBelly: The story's bread and butter, really, happening about two or more times ''per chapter''. Applejack's curse makes whoever looks at her believe she's having trouble breathing, in some way or other. Their attempts to "help" her always result in poor AJ blowing up like a balloon. [[HumiliationConga Over and over and over again.]] Then AJ starts turning the tables on her tormentors, and by the end, pretty much everypony's gotten this treatment at least once. See AuthorAppeal.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Twilight Sparkle's FreakOut seems to imply there's a little more going on in her head than just being a NeatFreak.
** WordOfGod states it's [[SuperOCD obsessive compulsive disorder]], [[WriteWhatYouKnow which the author suffers from]], as well.

* {{Curse}}: A curse on Applejack is what kicks the whole story in motion. The existence of curses was disputed and seemingly debunked in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip an episode of the show]], but its existence and, more importantly, its effects are what drives the plot. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted when Twilight figures out it's not a curse, it's a ''[[InsistentTerminology hex.]]'' ]]

* SquishyWizard: Twilight Sparkle--magical prodigy, but useless in a physical fight. Rainbow Dash gets the drop on her before she can fire any spells, and immediately overpowers her. Then it gets a minor [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] as Rainbow is trying to restrain Twilight without hurting her, but then struggles to find a way to restrain her that ''doesn't'' cause Twilight to yelp in pain. Rainbow even complains that "She bruises like a banana!”

* AssKicksYou: Applejack uses Pinkie's inflated backside to batter through Sugar Cube Corner's door, and then the mob of ponies just outside. Similarly, Rainbow Dash pacifies Twilight by using Applejack as a high-speed projectile to land inflated-rump-first on her. And later, when an obese Fluttershy's chair is buckling beneath her increasing weight, Applejack sends Spike flying across the room and times it so he lands under her chair just as it breaks, crushing him under her now-enormous butt. Turns out if you increase the size of a pony's rump, they make very effective weapons.

* JustJokingJustification: Deliberately invoked. Rarity takes Applejack to the hat repair pony, Mode--but Mode thinks AJ's cowboy hat is beyond saving, and tells her to just throw it away. Rarity knows how much AJ values the hat, so she fends off the potential argument by pretending Mode's just joking.

* SquishyWizard: Twilight Sparkle--magical prodigy, but useless in a physical fight. Rainbow Dash gets the drop on her before she can fire any spells, and immediately overpowers her. Rainbow even complains that "She bruises like a banana!”

* ThumbtackOnTheChair: Played with. When Rainbow Dash uses Applejack as an inflated PinballProjectile to squish Twilight, Applejack yelps out in pain as she gets a prick in the rump from Twilight's horn. However, rather than perform a PainPoweredLeap, she merely rolls over and flails her puffy legs around, as she lacks the manual dexterity to do much else.

* CharacterTics: The characters each have their own unique [[PardonMyKlingon idiosyncratic swear words]] they use for emphasis. Applejack uses the names of crops ("pumpkin Seeds", "barley grass", "peanuts"), Pinkie Pie uses the names of sweets ("butterscotch", "gumdrops", "florentine"), Fluttershy uses animal names ("ferret", "frog"), and Rainbow Dash uses NATO alphabet lingo ("foxtrot", "kilo", "delta-mike") and also [[SirSwearsALot swears the most]] among the mane 6. Twilight mainly uses the Princess' names in vain. The only exception is Rarity, who [[ProperLady does not use profanity.]]

* NumberOneDime: Applejack is very protective of her cowboy hat, and goes into TranquilFury when she thinks Rainbow Dash lost it. (Presumably, the hat's a keepsake from her deceased parents.)

* CharacterTics: The characters each have their own unique [[PardonMyKlingon idiosyncratic swear words]] they use for emphasis. Applejack uses the names of crops ("Pumpkin Seeds", "Barley grass", "Peanuts"), Pinkie Pie uses the names of sweets ("butterscotch", "gumdrops", "florentine"), Fluttershy uses animal names ("ferret", "frog"), and Rainbow Dash uses NATO alphabet lingo ("foxtrot", "kilo", "delta-mike") and also [[SirSwearsALot swears the most]] among the mane 6. Twilight mainly uses the Princess' names in vain. The only exception is Rarity, who [[ProperLady does not use profanity.]]

* FailedASpotCheck: Pinkie Pie hops right by Fluttershy and completely fails to notice that she's getting inflated by Angel. Later, when she's pumping a flattened Rarity back up, she's seemingly the only one who doesn't notice that she's enormously overinflating Rarity, even as the mounting air pressure makes it harder and harder to keep pumping. Pinkie also has a habit of interpreting her inflated friends' muffled pleas for help as helpful suggestions, which she then proceeds to excitedly elaborate upon while completely ignoring her friend's obvious plight. Although some of these may have been [[ObfuscatingStupidity completely intentional]] on Pinkie's part, since she's also the most inflate-happy pony of the mane six, with or without the curse.

-->[Pinkie said,] "I mean, whose lollipop do I have to suck to get a good ol' fashioned clopfic that gets right to the point? Who cares about all this [[StealthPun plot?]]" [[note]]She says this while flanked on either side by Fluttershy and Rarity's humongously expanded [[MemeticMutation butts.]][[/note]]

** Played completely straight with Fluttershy though, apparently as LaserGuidedKarma for being the story's UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom. She's a slapstick victim not just in her focus chapter, but also in Pinkie's; gets inflated more than anypony else besides Applejack (once getting left that way for hours, which even AJ doesn't have to endure), and her suffering is almost always relegated to a FunnyBackgroundEvent, getting blown up or stuffed without anypony else in the room noticing or caring.
* ComedicSociopathy: Angel, Fluttershy's misanthropic pet bunny--which ends up working to Applejack's advantage. He's just as affected by the curse as everypony else, but he cares so little about Applejack's wellbeing either way that it renders him virtually immune to its effects.

* CostumeTestMontage: Applejack undergoes one of these at the spa while rarity tries to decide on the perfect-colored robe for her to wear.

* FailedASpotCheck: Pinkie Pie hops right by Fluttershy and completely fails to notice that she's getting inflated by Angel. Later, when she's pumping a flattened Rarity back up, she's seemingly the only one who doesn't notice that she's pumping Rarity well past her normal shape and enormously overinflating her, even as the mounting air pressure makes it harder and harder to keep pumping. Pinkie also has a habit of interpreting her inflated friends' muffled pleas for help as helpful suggestions, which she then proceeds to excitedly elaborate upon while completely ignoring her friend's blatantly obvious plight. Although some of these may have been [[ObfuscatingStupidity completely intentional]] on Pinkie's part, since she's also the most inflate-happy pony of the mane six, with or without the curse.

* FailedASpotCheck: Pinkie Pie hops right by Fluttershy and completely fails to notice that she's getting inflated by Angel. Later, when she's pumping a flattened Rarity back up, she's seemingly the only one who doesn't notice that she's pumping Rarity well past her normal shape and enormously overinflating her, even as the mounting air pressure makes it harder and harder to keep pumping. Pinkie also has a habit of interpreting her inflated friends' muffled pleas for help as helpful suggestions, which she then proceeds to excitedly elaborate upon while completely ignoring her friend's blatantly obvious plight. Some of these are debatable, as Pinkie is shown to be the most inflate-happy pony of the mane 6, with or without the curse.

* EncyclopediaExposita: Twilight just so happens to have a book that explains everything that's going on. And it's even illustrated, too!

* AssKicksYou: Applejack uses Pinkie's inflated backside to batter through Sugar Cube Corner's door, and then the mob of ponies just outside.

* ButtSticker: Spike winds up directly beneath Fluttershy--after she's been force-fed enough porridge for an adult elephant. Spike, squashed flat, sticks to her rump when she rolls away.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Applejack, not yet fully aware of the curse, explains the strange behavior of everypony she's met this morning. Pinkie, who's been joking for days about AJ needing help breathing, thinks this means [[RealityWarper she has the power to turn her jokes into reality]]. Pinkie also has a habit of interpreting her inflated friends' muffled pleas for help as helpful suggestions, which she then proceeds to excitedly elaborate upon to the rest of the group.

* FailedASpotCheck: Pinkie Pie hops right by Fluttershy and completely fails to notice that she's getting inflated by Angel. Later, when she's pumping a flattened Rarity back up, she's seemingly the only one who doesn't notice that she's pumping Rarity well past her normal shape until she's enormously overinflated, even as the mounting air pressure makes it harder and harder to keep pumping. Although the second case is debatable, as Pinkie is shown to be the most inflate-happy pony of the mane 6, with or without the curse.
* {{Fanservice}}: There's nothing here that would drive the story into NSFW territory. Yet despite not featuring any content that they couldn't ''technically'' get away with featuring in an (admittedly weirdly fanservice-heavy) episode of the show, this story is definitely this to a certain demographic.

* [[PopGoesTheHuman Pop Goes The Pony]]: Alluded to in chapter 5--while getting magically inflated by Twilight, Applejack fears that "I'M GONNA BLOW!" if she doesn't stop soon. Nopony actually bursts, though, and the possibility isn't even mentioned anywhere else.

-->[Pinkie said,] "I mean, whose lollipop do I have to suck to get a good ol' fashioned clopfic that gets right to the point? Who cares about all this [[StealthPun plot?]]" [[note]]She says this while flanked on either side by Fluttershy and Rarity's humongously expanded butts.[[/note]]

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Applejack, not yet fully aware of the curse, explains the strange behavior of everypony she's met this morning. Pinkie, who's been joking for days about AJ needing help breathing, thinks this means [[RealityWarper she has the power to turn her jokes into reality]]. Pinkie also has a habit of interpreting her inflated friends' muffled pleas for help as helpful suggestions, which she then proceeds to excitedly elaborate upon.

** Played completely straight with Fluttershy though, apparently as LaserGuidedKarma for being the story's UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom. She's a slapstick victim not just in her focus chapter, but also in Pinkie's; she gets inflated more than anypony else, except Applejack; and she gets left that way for hours, which even AJ didn't have to endure.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Applejack, not yet fully aware of the curse, explains the strange behavior of everypony she's met this morning. Pinkie, who's been joking for days about AJ needing help breathing, thinks this means [[RealityWarper she has the power to turn her jokes into reality]].

* WeightTaller: In keeping with CartoonPhysics, ponies are regularly described as ballooning up over twice as big around as they normally are tall. When Fluttershy gets pumped full of an adult elephant-sized portion of porridge, she bulks up to the size of an elephant, big enough to roll and have both Rarity and Spike squashed to her at the same time.