Line #88 FanFic/BreathersForApplejack


1	->''"Somethin' miiiighty weird is goin' on, Pinkie Pie..."''
2	-->-- '''Applejack''', understating the issue at hand a bit, Chapter 3
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4	After [[InflatingBodyGag a certain incident]] in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E10SpikeAtYourService 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.]]
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6	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, [[SugarWiki/BetterThanItSounds but also for its story, humor, and spot-on characterization.]]
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8	Can be read on [[http://pablotetoons.deviantart.com/ Deviantart]], [[http://www.furaffinity.net/user/pablote/ Furaffinity]], or [[http://pastebin.com/u/Pablote Pastebin]].
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10	----
11	!!This fanfic provides examples of the following:
12
13	* AffablyEvil: The spa ponies, Aloe and Lotus. Who knew?
14	-->“It's illegal in most cities. Luckily for you, Lotus and Aloe are morally irresponsible enough to continue the practice right here in Ponyville,” [Rarity] said. The spa twins both looked back at Applejack and nodded enthusiastically.
15	* 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. They only float if they're inflated by something that's normally buoyant, like the ''actual'' helium in chapter 3 or the clouds in chapter 4 (which, in keeping with the show's physics, behave more like neutrally-buoyant cotton candy than actual clouds).
16	* AllJustADream: Chapter 6 opens with Applejack waking up in Fluttershy's house, with no idea how she got there. Fluttershy insists that AJ collapsed in the field after working too hard, and AJ's memories of the curse are just a bad fever dream... [[spoiler:Subverted when AJ realizes that Fluttershy is just {{Gaslighting}} her to prevent her from escaping.]]
17	* AmusingInjuries: What this fic thrives on, particularly InflatingBodyGag with SquashedFlat as a distant second.
18	* AnalogyBackfire:
19	-->“We're gonna pull a little Prism Bridge on her,” Rainbow Dash said, shouldering Applejack under one arm and coasting forward.\
20	“Prism Bridge? We're gonna head all the way back there?”\
21	“No, dummy, I mean the battle of Prism Bridge.”\
22	“You mean that one time when the earth pony army crossed the rainbow bridge by eatin' clouds?” she asked.\
23	“Uh-huh.” Rainbow Dash said, nodding. Applejack looked at her, worried.\
24	“Uh...Rainbow Dash...I reckon you know your history a mite better than me, but, didn't the earth ponies lose that war?” she asked.
25	* [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent And Now For Somepony Completely Different]]: Chapter 3 ends on a cliffhanger, with Applejack running off, alone and uncertain, and 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.
26	* 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 rump-first on her. And later, when Fluttershy's chair is buckling beneath her increasing weight, Applejack sends Spike flying across the room and times it so he wedges 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.
27	* AuthorAppeal: Given that it's a fetish-driven story, this is a given.
28	* BellyFlopCrushing: 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.
29	* ButtMonkey: Applejack. Enforced by her curse.
30	* 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's rolled forward. Also happens to Twilight when an inflated Applejack ricochets around the room before landing butt-first on top of her.
31	* CartesianKarma: Generally speaking, the ponies are [[NotHimself not themselves]] when they subject Applejack to cartoony abuse, but they ''are'' themselves again when the universe [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoists them by their own petards]] as punishment. The curse works by altering ponies' perceptions, so Applejack's tormentors all think they're genuinely helping her, and have no idea how much AJ actually hates it. But when those same ponies wind up on the receiving end of their own inflate-y devices, they're fully aware of what's happening to ''them'' (even if they're still under the curse), and they hate it just as much as AJ did.
32	* CartoonPhysics: Much more flagrantly than the show. Taken up to eleven 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.]]
33	* 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, "[[DontLookDown Don't look down.]]" [[SchmuckBait Of course Fluttershy looks,]] has a sudden case of vertigo, and falls off.
34	* 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.]]
35	** A more straightforward example is Twilight's habit of nervously chewing on her hoof-tip [[ThinkingTic while she thinks]], as well as her [[NeatFreak tendency to keep things nice and tidy.]]
36	* ChekhovsGun: In the first chapter, before the curse starts, Applejack runs into Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash mentions a holdup at the weather factory because somepony got "pipejammed", which becomes a major plot point in chapter 4. Pinkie and Fluttershy say they're setting up for a Pre-Groundhog's Day's Eve party, and those party supplies get repurposed in chapter 3.
37	* ChekhovsSkill: In chapter 1, after Applejack gets filled with cider and air, she accidentally deflates herself by belching. In chapter 6, after getting force-fed by Fluttershy, AJ deliberately belches to restore herself to normal and escape.
38	* TheChewToy: Zig-zagged.
39	** 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 are PlayedForDrama rather than for comedy.
40	** 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 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 while nopony else in the room notices or cares.
41	* 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, in that he thinks Applejack is having trouble breathing. But he cares so little for AJ's wellbeing either way that he still treats her exactly the same as before.
42	* 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]].
43	* 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 (except Pinkie) enjoys ''being'' inflated, and everyone's interest in inflating Applejack is purely platonic.
44	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: The ponies find Spike SquashedFlat underneath a massively obese Fluttershy, and they ask him how he helped the hag. Every time Spike tries to stonewall, they roll Fluttershy back on top of him, until he's willing to talk more. In the author's note, Pablote refers to the scene as "[[ColdBloodedTorture COLD-BLOODED TORTURE]] (not really)".
45	* CorrectionBait: Applejacks's [[InterestingSituationDuel fireplace bellows duel]] against Spike ends with her disarmed and completely at Spike's mercy, with the rest of the mane six separated from her by a locked door. So when Twilight shouts through the door to ask what's happening, AJ replies "Spike's just bein' the hero!"--referencing her conversation with Spike about his feeling that he's been excluded and his genuine desire to save the day for a change. Twilight, who wasn't there, has no idea what AJ's talking about--and just as AJ anticipated, Spike tries to explain exactly what it means. This distracts Spike just long enough for AJ to disarm him and gain the upper hoof.
46	* CostumeTestMontage: Applejack undergoes one of these at the spa while Rarity tries to decide on the perfect-colored robe for her to wear.
47	* [[CPRCleanPrettyReliable CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable]]: 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.
48	* {{Curse}}: A curse on Applejack is what kicks the whole story in motion, causing everyone who sees her to think she needs help breathing.
49	* DefeatEqualsFriendship: One by one, Applejack's friends all listen to reason--but only after they've been inflated, squashed flat, or otherwise run through the slapstick gauntlet.
50	* DeliciousDistraction: While pursued by Fluttershy and a horde of her animal friends, Applejack tears open a bag of generic animal feed and spills it on the floor. Half of the animals break off their pursuit and just start eating instead, even ignoring Fluttershy when she tells them they need to catch Applejack immediately.
51	* {{Determinator}}: Several.
52	** Applejack. Despite the insurmountable odds, dealing with her friends each succumbing to the effects of the curse one by one, as well as the sheer amount of physical abuse she puts up with over the course of the story, the farm pony just refuses to give up. The fact that [[spoiler:Twilight's book seems to imply that targets of the curse Applejack has don't typically survive for very long]] speaks volumes to her tenacity.
53	** Rainbow Dash. Before and after her HeelFaceTurn, she's easily Applejack's most reliable, stalwart friend. She puts up with the most temptation to give into the curse, but never does. From her perspective, the curse makes her think she's actively preventing Applejack from getting the help that she needs, but she sticks by her side anyways out of sheer, stubborn loyalty for her friend.
54	* DontLookDown: When Fluttershy chases Applejack through the rafters of her own cottage, AJ reminds her not to look down. Of course, Fluttershy looks, and her sudden case of vertigo prevents her from chasing any further.
55	* ExactWords: Pinkie convinces Applejack to eat a special cupcake by solemnly promising that she didn't bake anything unusual into it. [[spoiler:There's a hose nozzle, whose other end is connected to a helium tank, inside the cupcake. That's clearly not covered by Pinkie's promise, because she added the hose ''after'' baking it.]]
56	* FaceHeelTurn: The natural result of each of Applejack's friends succumbing to the curse, one by one. [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn They get better.]]]]
57	* 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 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 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.
58	* {{Fanservice}}: ''Technically'', everything here is safe-for-work; at worst, the content is just an exaggerated version of slapstick gags that have already appeared in the original show. Still, if the author weren't upfront that this is meant to be fanservice for a certain demographic, the narrative focus on those slapstick gags would have given it away all the same.
59	* FlappingCheeks: In chapter 6, Applejack burps in Spike's face with enough force that the narration specifically notes his "cheeks and eyelids flapped at the sudden wind pressure."
60	%% * FinalBattle: Chapter 6 culminates in [[spoiler:Applejack and Spike having a SwordFight with ''fireplace bellows''. Yes, you read that right.]]
61	* ForceFeeding: Happens to Applejack on at least two occasions.
62	** Happens first when [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash stuffs Applejack's face with cloud fluff until she's buoyant enough for clouds to support her unaided. Rainbow justifies it: she's helping AJ hide, and AJ literally can't move cloud material on her own, and they're pressed for time. But then Rainbow gets a bit carried away...]]
63	** And happens again when [[spoiler:Fluttershy has Applejack in captivity. She feeds Applejack a little too much soup and bread before graduating to a giant feeding tube, in a high chair, no less. She gets a bit of LaserGuidedKarma when she ends up on the receiving end of the machine not long afterwards.]]
64	* {{Gaslighting}}: [[spoiler:In chapter six, to stop Applejack from leaving, Fluttershy insists that the events of the previous chapters were all just a bad dream caused by illness and anxiety. AJ isn't completely convinced--and when she realizes she's been chained to the bed, she knows that Fluttershy is lying as a result of the curse.]]
65	* GrammarCorrectionGag: 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.
66	* GreatBigBookOfEverything: Twilight just so happens to have a book that explains everything that's going on. And it's even illustrated, too!
67	* GrievousHarmWithABody:
68	** 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.
69	** Rainbow Dash uses Applejack's inflated body as a PinballProjectile to squash Twilight.
70	** When Fluttershy gets fattened up, Applejack sticks Spike underneath, crushing him. The other ponies later use Fluttershy's rotund body to torture him, repeatedly rolling her over him.
71	* HearingVoices: [[spoiler:The hag]] speaks to the mane six and Spike telepathically, tempting them all to "help" Applejack, even after they make their {{Heel Face Turn}}s. Most of them worry that they're going crazy before they realize what's happening.
72	* HelpImStuck: "Pipejamming", the fun-sounding term for when [[spoiler:a pegasus flies into one of the outflow pipes on the cloud factory, whether by 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.]]
73	* HeroicBSOD: When Twilight first realizes that magic is affecting her mind and that she can't trust her senses, she has a panic attack and nearly goes catatonic. Unfortunately, this just makes her succumb completely to Applejack's curse--she comes out of the BSOD convinced that [[MadnessMantra "helping Applejack"]] is the only thing she can trust.
74	* HeWentThatWay: When Applejack tries to get to Twilight's library, she sees (from a hiding place inside a bush) a whole crowd of brainwashed ponies in her way. Then Rainbow Dash flies out and announces to them that she knows where Applejack is! AJ briefly thinks Rainbow has succumbed to the curse and betrayed her--but Rainbow instead points down a random street and leads the crowd ''away'' from AJ.
75	* 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 wind up on the receiving end of it by the time the chapter's over, either accidentally or [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame intentionally]].
76	* IllogicalSafe: Implied. Pinkie Pie gets crushed by a safe, and we see the dial start turning. In the next paragraph, she suddenly shows back up, unharmed.
77	* InflatingBodyGag: The story's bread and butter, really, happening at least twice ''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.
78	* InsistentTerminology: Applejack's curse and its wide-reaching effects are what drives the entire plot of the story. Yet [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip an episode of the original show]] disputed and seemingly debunked the existence of curses. How can this contradiction be reconciled? [[spoiler:As Twilight figures out, it's not a curse, it's a ''hex.'' Totally different.]]
79	* InterestingSituationDuel: Chapter 6 culminates in [[spoiler:Applejack and Spike having a SwordFight with ''fireplace bellows''. Yes, you read that right.]]
80	* {{Irony}}: Pinkie Pie [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall complains]] about [[PornWithPlot clopfics that take too long to "get to the point"]] in chapter 7, the one chapter that gets to the fetish content the quickest.
81	* ItsPersonal: Spike convinces Applejack to duel him one-on-one by invoking this.
82	-->"This is between you and me, Applejack. It always has been."
83	* TheJoysOfTorturingMooks: Raindrops, an otherwise unremarkable background pony, gets a moment in the spotlight when she insistently searches for Applejack around Rainbow Dash. For her trouble, she gets a [[EatTheBomb compressed cloud-ball shoved down her throat, which poofs her up to the size of a hot air balloon]] before Rainbow Dash nudges her away. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse She never appears again after that.]]
84	* JustJokingJustification: 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 that Mode's just joking.
85	* KnuckleCracking: Inverted. Ponies don't have knuckles, so Aloe and Lotus crack every other joint in their bodies in preparation for giving a deep-tissue massage. [[spoiler:And then they do the same to Applejack, by force.]]
86	* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Rarity is thoroughly embarrassed by her experience getting inflated, so when Applejack mentions it later:
87	-->Rarity's eyes went wide and blush burned across her face. "HA! Ha ha ha ha ha!" she laughed nervously, stepping in front of Applejack. "She's kidding, of course!" she said to everypony present. She leaned over to Applejack. "We do not speak of that. Ever again," she muttered, glaring at her.
88	* {{MacGyvering}}:
89	** 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.]]
90	** Rainbow Dash gets a moment as well when she, thinking quickly, compresses a number of nearby clouds into an ''awesome improvised cloud bomb''. Her [[CallingYourAttacks shouting of the defensive maneuver's name beforehand]] implies that she has planned and practiced this move before, but it doesn't make it any less resourceful.
91	* MadnessMantra: '''"Let us help you, Applejack..."''' Ponies affected by the curse are compelled to say it, but also seems to function as some kind of TriggerPhrase. [[WhamLine When one of Applejack's friends say it,]] you know they're pretty much doomed to succumb to the curse.
92	* MassHypnosis: What the effects of the curse boil down to. In the span of an afternoon, the entire town of Ponyville becomes an oppressive den of BrainwashedAndCrazy ponies looking for Applejack.
93	* MaximumFunChamber: The Gauntlet. In theory it's just another treatment at the spa, but it's talked about as an extreme, last-ditch measure that's illegal in most places and has [[NoodleIncident melted at least one pony.]] [[spoiler:It's exactly as horrible as it's made out to be.]]
94	* TheMole: [[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.]]
95	* MoreThanMindControl: Even before the witch's hex, Spike felt that he was being neglected and excluded by the mane six. That resentment--and desire to prove he could be a hero--makes it harder for him than anyone else to turn back to Applejack's side.
96	* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: In the early stages of the curse, Applejack mistakes everypony else's behavior for an overly elaborate prank. So she gets annoyed with the bad joke before she gets scared.
97	-->“Ha, ha.” she laughed, sarcastically, “Haven't heard that one before...”
98	* 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 father.)
99	* ObsessivelyOrganized: 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.
100	* OncePerEpisode: Every chapter, Applejack gets inflated, force-fed, or otherwise expanded to a ridiculous size, and then escapes afterwards. Starting with chapter 2, AJ's escape always involves accidentally or intentionally inflicting the same sort of slapstick on her tormentors.
101	* 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 mostly retain their mind and personality, finding character-consistent excuses to justify their attempts to help AJ. [[spoiler:And the hag telepathically communicates with them, further explaining any out-of-character behavior.]] In contrast, the other citizens of Ponyville remain firmly in the background as mindless, zombie-like hordes.
102	* PopGoesTheHuman: 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.]]
103	* PornWithPlot: 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.]]
104	** It even gets some [[SelfDeprecation self-deprecating]] LampshadeHanging in chapter 7, when Pinkie Pie [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall leans really hard on the fourth wall]]:
105	-->[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?"
106	* 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.
107	* RedemptionRejection: Subverted. Spike is the last of the main cast to come around to Applejack's side. Most of them think the best way to convince Spike is to let him go, and trust him to do the right thing--but Rainbow Dash thinks he'll just run back to the hag. Spike responds by shouting "SUCKERS!" and immediately rushing off to find the hag again. Rainbow says "I told you so," ...and ''then'' Spike returns, apologizes, and makes a genuine HeelFaceTurn.
108	* ShapedLikeItself: Rarity's explanation for why Applejack desperately needs to visit the spa:
109	-->[Applejack said,] “So...you're sayin' that a sound mind will fix my body's problems?”\
110	[Rarity answered,] “Mm-hmmm...and the quickest way to a sound mind...is a sound body.”
111	* {{Slapstick}}: Mostly centered around Applejack, but by chapter 2 it spreads so anyone who tries to "help" Applejack is just as likely to wind up on the receiving end.
112	* SomethingWeForgot: In chapter 3, Fluttershy gets inflated with helium inside Sugarcube Corner and floats up to the ceiling. Meanwhile, Applejack fights with Pinkie and escapes from the bakery, completely forgetting about Fluttershy in the process. Three chapters and several hours later, AJ returns--and finds Fluttershy right where she left her, still inflated.
113	* SquashedFlat: In keeping with CartoonPhysics, this happens regularly. Victims so far include Applejack, Aloe, Lotus, Rarity (twice), Twilight, Spike, most of Fluttershy's animals, and some unnamed pegasi.
114	* 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. In fact, the hardest part is finding a way to restrain Twilight that ''doesn't'' cause her to yelp in pain. "She bruises like a banana!”
115	* StealthPun: Pinkie Pie wonders aloud, "Who cares about all this plot?" while she's flanked by a pair of over-inflated [[Memes/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicGeneralMemes pony butts]].
116	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Ponyville puts up "Wanted" posters for Applejack--complete with a simple cartoon of AJ saying, "Howdy, y'all!" Both Applejack and Twilight see the poster independently, and their first reaction is to wonder if the "Howdy, y'all!" is really necessary.
117	* TemporaryBulkChange: When Fluttershy gets accidentally [[ForceFeeding force-fed a ludicrous amount of porridge]], she fattens up to the size of an adult elephant in just a few minutes. In the next chapter, Twilight has to use magic to restore Fluttershy to normal.
118	* TortureIsIneffective: The CoolAndUnusualPunishment 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.
119	* 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.
120	%%* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: The "art" in The Gauntlet. Also could apply to the traditional folk "song" that Aloe and Lotus "sing".
121	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Fluttershy, of all ponies, is the one who sets Applejack's misfortune in motion. AJ snapped at the old pony and got cursed because she was already in a foul mood. Which, as Fluttershy herself admits, only happened because:
122	-->"I know that you had all that on your mind because of what everypony was saying in town. And everypony in town was saying it because Pinkie told them all. And Pinkie learned about it from me." she said, looking at her hooves, shamefully. She sighed. "If I hadn't been such a...such a..." she said, cringing, "...blabbermouth..." she forced out, quietly, "None of this would've happened. That's why I took you home with me. Because it's all my fault," she said, and the room was quiet.
123	* VillainSong: In keeping with her character, Pinkie Pie breaks into a ''full-on musical number'' while [[spoiler:she's inflating Applejack with a helium tank.]]
124	* WeightTaller: In keeping with CartoonPhysics, ponies are regularly described as ballooning up over two or three times 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.

Context FanFic / BreathersForApplejack