History FanFic / BreathersForApplejack

* WeightTaller: In keeping with CartoonPhysics, ponies are explicitly 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.

* [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent And Now For Somepony Completely Different]]: Chapter 3 ends on a cliffhanger, with Applejack running off, alone and uncertain, with the streets overrun by mobs of BrainwashedAndCrazy ponies. The next chapter begins centering on Rainbow Dash and the difficulties she's having with her workload up in the clouds.

-->[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 plot?"

* TheChewToy: Zig-zagged. 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. Played completely straight with Fluttershy, though.

* GrievousHarmWithABody: When Pinkie gets inflated, Applejack uses her ballooned body as a bludgeon to clear a path through the mob trying to apprehend her, before finally sending Pinkie off as a huge, rocketing projectile.

* [[PopGoesTheHuman Pop Goes The Pony]]: Averted. Ponies get inflated to ridiculous, unnatural sizes all the time, but never to the point of bursting, and never around any inconvenient sharp points.

* ConvenientlyCommonKink: Oddly averted, and outright [[InvertedTrope inverted]] at times: in spite of this being a fetish-focused story, none of the characters have the fetish. Nopony enjoys ''being'' inflated, and everyone's interest in inflating Applejack is purely platonic.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: One could make a case that Fluttershy, of all ponies, was responsible for Applejack's misfortune. AJ snapped at the old mare in the hardware store because everypony in town had been making fun of her... which they did because Pinkie Pie had told all of them about Spike trying to help AJ breathe... which Pinkie only knew of because Fluttershy told her. Perhaps Flutters' status as TheChewToy is a case of LaserGuidedKarma.

* [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent And Now For Somepony Completely Different]]: Chapter 3 ends on a cliffhangar, with Applejack running off, alone and uncertain, with the streets overrun by mobs of BrainwashedAndCrazy ponies. The next chapter begins centering on Rainbow Dash and the difficulties she's having with her workload up in the clouds.

* BalloonBelly: Applejack's curse makes whoever looks at her believe she's having trouble breathing, in some way or other. Their attempts to "help" her results in this for poor Applejack. [[HumiliationConga Over and over and over again.]] The story's bread and butter, really, happening about two or more times ''a chapter''. By the end, pretty much everypony's gotten this treatment at least once. See AuthorAppeal.

** Applejack. She displays some plot-kicking resourcefulness over the course of the story, particularly when she has access to rope. For example, when stuck in a room with just a rope and a safe, she rigs them into a trap that successfully waylays Pinkie. Shortly after,
[[spoiler:she weaponizes Pinkie Pie's inflating, helium-filled body to escape from Sugar Cube Corner.]]

* SquashedFlat: In keeping with CartoonPhysics, this happens regularly. Victims so far include Applejack, Aloe, Lotus, Rarity (twice), Spike, most of Fluttershy's animals, and some unnamed pegasi.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: One could make a case that Fluttershy, of all ponies, was responsible for Applejack's misfortune. AJ snapped at the old mare in the hardware store because everypony in town had been making fun of her... which they did because Pinkie Pie had told all of them about Spike trying to help AJ breathe... which she only knew of because Fluttershy told her. Perhaps Flutters' status as TheChewToy is a case of LaserGuidedKarma.

* 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 be the first non-pegasus to get pipejammed.]]

* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Inflated By her Own Petard]]: 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.

* {{MacGyvering}}: Applejack. She displays some plot-kicking resourcefulness over the course of the story, particularly when she has access to rope. The highlight of course being [[spoiler:weaponizing Pinkie Pie's inflating, helium-filled body, using her [[AssKicksYou butt as a battering ram]] of sorts before [[GrievousHarmWithABody sending her off as a huge, rocketing projectile]] to keep a mob of ponies away.]]

* SquashedFlat: In keeping with CartoonPhysics, this happens with regular occurrence.
* 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 Fluttershy's writing desk, then wastes even more time making sure the wax seal on the scroll is aligned perfectly.

* TortureIsIneffective: The CoolAndUnusual punishment ultimately doesn't work against Spike. He's not so good at withholding information, but when the ponies need to send a letter to Celestia, they realize there's no guaranteed way to make Spike send the letter under duress. Ultimately, they have to genuinely convince Spike that they're right.

* KnuckleCracking: Inverted. Ponies don't have knuckles. That doesn't stop Aloe and Lotus from cracking every other joint in their body, though. [[spoiler:And then doing the same to Applejack, by force.]]

* BellyFlopCrush: As the ponies are rolling the ludicrously overfed Fluttershy back and forth, they lose control of her, and Rarity gets SquashedFlat beneath Fluttershy's belly.

-->'''Rarity:''' “It's illegal in most cities. Luckily for you, Lotus and Aloe are morally irresponsible enough to continue the practice right here in Ponyville.” ''*Aloe and Lotus cheerfully nod*''

* 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. And then Rarity winds up as ''Belly'' Sticker on Fluttershy not long after.

* {{Slapstick}}: Mostly centered around Applejack, but gradually widens to encompass everypony when Applejack gets more GenreSavvy as the story goes on.

* 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.]]

* AllBalloonsHaveHelium: Curiously averted. The story takes many AcceptableBreaksFromReality in the name of CartoonPhysics, and yet anypony who ends up inflated behaves pretty much as you'd expect a balloon to act in real life.
** Played somewhat straight with clouds in chapter 4. In keeping with the show's physics, clouds behave more like neutrally-buoyant cotton candy than actual clouds. So, if you stuff a pony full of it until she's more cloud than pony...

* SlapStick: Mostly centered around Applejack, but gradually widens to encompass everypony when Applejack gets more GenreSavvy as the story goes on.

** WordOfGod states it's [[SuperOCD obsessive compulsive disorder]], [[AuthorTract which the author suffers from]], as well.

* 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.

* ConvenientlyCommonKink: Oddly averted, and outright [[InvertedTrope inverted]] at times: in spite of this being a fetish-focused story, none of the characters have the fetish. Nopony enjoys ''being'' inflated, and everyone's interest in inflating Applejack is purely platonic.

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: After having each of her friends fall to the curse one by one, Rainbow Dash's HeelFaceTurn eventually leads to the mane 6 forgiving each other and regrouping, one by one.
* 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 "privelage" of potentially be the first non-pegasus to get pipejammed.]]

* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: Played with. Granny Smith and Big Macintosh skip the chest compressions [[spoiler:(not that they're physically able to with Applejack, at that point)]] and go right to mouth-to-mouth. But, it doesn't matter since Applejack doesn't ''need'' CPR in the first place.
* {{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.]] ]]

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...[[FetishFuel reasons catering to a particular crowd's peculiar interests]], [[BetterThanItSounds but also for its story, humor, and spot-on characterization.]]

* {{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 FetishFuel-heavy) episode of the show, this story is definitely this to a certain demographic.

An ambitious, long-running 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...[[FetishFuel reasons catering to a particular crowd's peculiar interests]], [[BetterThanItSounds but also for its story, humor, and spot-on characterization.]]

*** '''Rarity:''' “It's illegal in most cities. Luckily for you, Lotus and Aloe are morally irresponsible enough to continue the practice right here in Ponyville.” ''*Aloe and Lotus cheerfully nod*''

* ExcusePlot: Don't be mistaken, there ''is'' a story. There's quite a lot of it, actually. But if you've read Breathers For Applejack, [[IReadItForTheArticles chances are it wasn't for the story.]] [[YouBastard You pervert.]]

Can be read on [[http://pablotetoons.deviantart.com/ Deviantart]], [[http://www.furaffinity.net/user/pablote/ Furaffinity]], or [[http://pastebin.com/u/Pablote# Pastebin]].

After 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.]]

* {{Curse}}: A curse on Applejack is what kicks the whole story in motion. The existence of curses was disputed and seemingly debunked in 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.]] ]]

-->-- '''Applejack''', Chapter 3

!!Examples

* CartoonSuctionCups: Aloe and Lotus stretch Applejack out like a rubber band thanks to [[ItMakesSenseInContext the creative application of some plungers.]]

* AffablyEvil: Aloe and Lotus. Who knew?

* AllBalloonsHaveHelium: Curiously averted. The story takes many AcceptableBreaksFromReality in the name of CartoonPhysics, and yet anypony who ends up inflated (or fattened up) behaves pretty much as you'd expect a balloon to act in real life.
** Played somewhat straight with the cloud stuff in chapter 4. In keeping with the show's physics, clouds behave more like neutrally-buoyant cotton candy than actual clouds.

* {{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) episode of the show, this story is definitely this to a small demographic.

* 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.]]

* HelpImStuck: Pipejamming. When a pegasus flies into one of the exhaust pipes on the cloud factory, whether on accident or as some kind of coming-of-age ritual, according to Rainbow Dash, their body completely seals the inside of the pipe. And when the cloud fluff comes shooting out and can't get past them, there's only [[ForceFeeding one place for all the cloud to go.]] It doesn't take long for the pegasus to outgrow the pipe.

* AffablyEvil: Aloe and Lotus.

* {{MacGyvering}}: Applejack. She displays some plot-kicking resourcefulness over the course of the story, particularly when she has access to rope. The highlight of course being [[spoiler:weaponizing Pinkie Pie's inflating, helium-filled body, using her [[AssKicksYou butt as a battering ram]] of sorts before sending her off as a huge, rocketing projectile to keep a mob of ponies away.]]