Breathers for Applejack (a MLP story) ch.7 pt.1

   "C'mon!  Heave!"  Applejack cried out as everypony grunted and struggled.  Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her hair as the other five ponies all pushed and shoved into her soft, thick, and massively fat back.  The elephantine pegasus squeaked and wagged her fat forelegs around as they tipped her over, rolling ponderously forward until her huge, round gut slapped against the floor.  They glared at her rump; two huge orbs of soft, cushiony fat, and the occupant stretched between them, pressed thinner than a pancake.  Spike grimaced and blearily opened his flat eyes, and winced as Fluttershy's long, silky tail draped down across his face and belly.

"Pph...phoo!  Hhhhpf!  Phoo!" Spike spat and snorted, trying to blow it out of his face as Fluttershy nervously twitched it, brushing him up and down.  Twilight's horn glowed, levitating it up and out of the way.  Spike blinked his eyes clear and saw all the unhappy faces staring him down, minus Fluttershy.

"Aww, man...I'm under Fluttershy's butt, aren't I..." Spike said, sullenly.  Fluttershy's tiny rear hooves fidgeted on either side of her huge rump.

"Yes." Twilight said.

"Ew..."

"We'll take you off, Spike, but first you're gonna answer some questions."

"Why?  So you can just leave me under a bucket again?" Spike muttered, angrily.  Rainbow Dash flapped closer to him, hooves raised.

"Keep that up and a bucket is the least horrible thing you'll be stuck under today!" she said.

"Rainbow, please." Twilight said, looking up at her.  Rainbow crossed her forelegs and glared at Spike.  Twilight turned back to him.  "And we're very sorry about that." Twilight said, "We didn't mean to leave you there, Spike, honestly.  There were just a lot of things happening at once, and you were hidden away, and we just..." she sighed.  "You know that you're important to us."  Spike sulked, avoiding eye contact and blushing.

"Well the lady who talked to me in my head didn't leave me there, 'n she helped me get out.  A-and she said you'd try and stop me!  But I'm the only one here who helped Applejack get the help she really needs!"

"And how'd you do that?" Twilight asked.

"Well," Spike said, suddenly breaking into casual conversation, "It was really simple, actually.  The lady just handed me a letter and I sent-" he said, before his eyes bugged wide open.  The ponies all waited for him to continue.

"...and...?" Twilight asked, urging him on.

"A-and...uh...nothing.  Nothing!" he said, nervously.

"Spike, did you send a letter for the hag?  What did the letter say?" Twilight asked.

"What'd this pony look like?  Was she old, kinda beige, wearin' a shawl?" Applejack asked.

"Can I have your polo cards if it turns out you're evil?" Pinkie Pie added, hopping up behind them.

"No!  I'm not sayin' nothin', alright?  So you can torture me all you want, I'll never talk!" he shouted, spitefully.  Everypony just looked at him, unamused.  Twilight rested her tired face in her hoof.

"Oh, Spike..." she sighed.  She looked back, and she and Rainbow Dash made eye contact.  Twilight made a slight nod.  Rainbow Dash grinned a little.

"Oooookay, don't say I didn't warn ya..." she said, hovering over Fluttershy.  Rarity and Pinkie pie trotted and bounced, respectively, around either side of Fluttershy's massively fat body, and they all three convened at her head on the other end.  Fluttershy looked at all three of them, her kind, teal eyes blinking over big, chubby cheeks.

"Oh.  Hi, girls.  So...um...do you think maybe..." Fluttershy started, nervously, "you could...turn me back to-"

"Push!" Rainbow Dash called out.  She and Pinkie Pie both shoved on either side of Fluttershy's head, Rarity standing back and concentrating, her horn glowing.

"O-oh, o-o-okay, then..." Fluttershy mumbled, blushing and dodging eye contact as they started rolling her back upright.  Her belly receded as her fat lifted off the floor, her center of gravity shifting backward.  Applejack and Twilight stood and watched Spike's expression quickly turn from stubbornness to fear as he saw the floor start rolling back up to him.

"Uh...w-w-wait, what I said earlier about torture?  Heh heh, heh, th-that's just something I've always wanted to say, you know?  I-I didn't mean it!  Come on, you can't do this to me!" Spike pleaded.  Fluttershy's big, fat buttcheeks ebbed outwards as they began making contact and pressed on the floor.  The tip of Spike's tail disappeared underneath them.  "Please!  Mercy!  Sanctuary!  Asylum?  Anything!" he begged.  On the opposite side, Fluttershy nervously watched the other three ponies push her over.

"Come on...Fluttershy...roll!" Rainbow Dash grunted.

"Sorry..." Fluttershy bashfully muttered.

"I do hope poor Spike cooperates, I don't know...how many more times...we can move Fluttershy if she weighs this much..." Rarity said, straining.

"S-Sorry..." Fluttershy muttered.

"For the last...time...stop...apologizing!" Rainbow Dash grunted.

"Oh.  S-...s-...s-sorry..." Fluttershy quietly mumbled.

"Come on, girls!  Put your glutes into it!" Pinkie said, wiggling her rump while bunching her forelegs up like she were rolling up her sleeves, "PUUUUUSH!"

 With one last heave, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie rolled Fluttershy the rest of the way upright.  "NOOO- mmmmmmmmmmph!" Spike screamed as he disappeared completely beneath Fluttershy's soft, wobbling rump. She rolled back until her long, silky tail draped across the floorboards behind her, her buttcheeks pressing heavily into the creaking, groaning wood.  Applejack turned to Twilight.

"Whatta'ya figure, Twi?" she asked her, while Twilight nibbled on her hoof, deep in thought.

"What do I think?  Did you hear what he said?  He's not saying 'nothing'?  I've told him about using double negatives before!  Sometimes I feel like he doesn't even pay attention when I correct his grammar."  She said.  Applejack just stared back at her, blinking eyes full of confusion and concern.

"...Uh huh.  But uh...whatta y'all think about the letter, I mean?"

"Letter, oh!  You said Spike told you something about a letter earlier, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, he said somethin' about him helpin' the hag send somethin' to Celestia." said Applejack.  Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity returned from the opposite hemisphere of Fluttershy, huffing and panting from exertion.  "What do you 'spose she'd want with the Princesses?  I'd think if she was goin' around destroyin' Ponyville like she's doin', she'd wanna avoid the Princess' attention as much as possible."

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good."  Twilight said.  She looked over at the other ponies.  "Alright, roll her back." she said.  Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie each gave quiet groans as they turned back to Fluttershy.

"PUUUUUUUSH!"

Fluttershy waggled her little hooves around as she rolled back forward, the floor creaking beneath her as her tremendous weight shifted.  Spike gasped for air as Fluttershy's belly plopped on the floor and his flattened form jostled around as her buttcheeks wobbled to a rest.

"Spike, we need to know what was in that letter you sent to Celestia."  Twilight said.  Spike scoffed at her.

"Even if I did know, do you think I'd tell you?" he said, looking off to the side, defiantly.  She narrowed her eyes at him.

"So you didn't read it?" she asked.  Spike's eyes went wide, realizing he was giving them too much information.

"I-I mean...or...I could've, and I'm just not telling you..." he said.

"So you did read it?"  she asked.  Spike's eyes searched around.

"N-...no." he said.  Twilight and Applejack just stared at him.

"...Alright." Twilight said, giving the other three ponies a beckoning gesture.

"PUUUUUUSH!"

Spike looked at her worriedly, then down at the floor as it started rolling up to meet him.

"W-W-Wait, b-but she did ask questions!" Spike said, desperately.  Twilight held up a purple hoof, halting Rainbow Dash.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Rainbow said, and suddenly they were taking on the full weight of Fluttershy as her body tried to roll back towards them.

"Rrrghghh...a warning...would have been nice!" Rarity grunted through gritted teeth, her legs trembling violently and horn glowing with magic.

"Think...thin...Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie grunted, pressing her back and elbows into Fluttershy's gut, trembling and sweating.

"Alright, eeeease her back." Rainbow Dash said, pushing above them with her wings beating furiously.

"Back where?" Pinkie Pie said, and let go of Fluttershy to hop away.

"P-P-Pinkie!  N-N-No, Come back!" Rarity gasped, watching her hop away as Fluttershy's body lurched downwards on top of her.

"Liiiike here?" Pinkie asked, pointing at the floor.

"Wa-HAAAH!" Rarity whined, before WHUMP!  Fluttershy fell forward, her stomach plopping on the ground.  She flinged Rainbow Dash downward and she bounced off the floor with a grunt before crashing into some cabinets.  Fluttershy's blushing face was right where Pinkie was pointing.

"Hey, not bad!  Good teamwork, everypony!" Pinkie said cheerily.  Rainbow Dash groaned wearily, tangled up in some wicker baskets.

Meanwhile, on the opposite hemisphere of Fluttershy, Twilight and Applejack watched Spike wobble on Fluttershy's massive rump before settling to a stop.

"What kinda questions?" asked Applejack.

"Just, you know, stuff about Twilight, her relationship with the princesses, her relationship with Applejack, that sort of thing."  he said.

"And then you sent a letter to Celestia without at least asking what it was?"

"N-No, not without asking!  She said that it was the ticket to getting Applejack the help that she really needs!  So of course I did it!  She needs help, Twilight!" he said, worriedly.  "Especially with everything you've done today to prevent her from getting it." he added, with a grumble.

"Spike, we already explained to you what's goin' on." Applejack said.

"You see?  You're enabling her!" Spike said.  Twilight rolled her eyes.  She beckoned towards Rainbow Dash, who sighed.

"Alright, you ready Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, shouldering Fluttershy's mass.

"Ready!" Pinkie said, with a wink.

"Alright...PUUUUUUSH!" Rainbow Dash shouted, and they both sank their hooves in Fluttershy, groaning and digging their hooves into the floorboards.  Fluttershy just watched both of them, guiltily.  Then, her eyes went wide as she started to roll back.  "Keeeep!  Ppppuuuuuuushing!" Rainbow Dash sputtered through her teeth.  On her opposite end, Spike looked down at the floor.

"Aw, man, come on..." he said as Fluttershy's huge rump rolled over him and pressed him back into the floorboards, spreading under Fluttershy's weight.  Rainbow and Pinkie both sweated and panted, then looked up at the the white and purple sticker in the middle of Fluttershy's yellow belly.

"Oh, hi Rarity!" Pinkie said, waving.  "Welcome back!"  Rarity blushed a bright red and glared with simmering hatred down at the pink party pony, her fabulous purple mane a mess in its two-dimensional state.

"Thank you...it's good to be back..." she grunted through her teeth with biting sarcasm.  Rainbow Dash flew up, looking her over with concern.  She reached out an grabbed the top of Rarity's head and began peeling her off of Fluttershy like a giant sticker.  "Watch the mane watch the mane!"  Rarity said.  Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so-rry." she said, releasing Rarity to flop forwards as she hold her hooves up in sarcastic deference.  She grabbed Rarity on either side of her slender midsection and started pulling her off from the center outward.  On the other side of Fluttershy, Twilight paced and chewed her hoof, her eyes starting worriedly off into space.

"M-Maybe it's not too late to send a follow-up message." she said.

"What would we tell her?"  Applejack asked.

"We'll just...tell her to disregard the first one!  Right?  She'll understand."  Twilight said.  She turned to a nearby shelf and started rummaging through Fluttershy's drawers for a quill, ink, and parchment.

"But uh, don'tcha usually use Spike to send things to Celestia?" asked Applejack, pointing a hoof behind her at Fluttershy's butt.

"Yes, it's the only way to get the message to her fast enough.  But that means we can't just force him to do it.  He's the one that actually sends it to her.  We need to persuade him to cooperate with us." Twilight said, concentrating as the contents of the shelves levitated and arranged themselves in an orderly fashion in the air before her.

"No big deal." said Rainbow Dash, hovering with her forelegs crossed, "I'd say Fluttershy here's doing most of the persuading for us." she said, giving the fat pegasus a couple hearty pats on the side that elicited a squeak from her.

"No, Rainbow Dash, we won't know for sure if he sends it to Celestia or not if he does it under duress." she said, putting Fluttershy's things back and sliding the drawer shut.  "He could send it anywhere.  We need to convince him that we're doing the right thing!" she crossed the room and opened a cupboard, levitating its contents out.  "And if there's any spare time I can help Fluttershy organize her drawers, I mean sheesh..." she muttered, re-ordering some of the contents and setting them back inside.

"He's probably upset with us.  You have to pay attention to these things before the problems get blown out of proportion." Pinkie said, casually shrugging as she pumped furiously away at a bike pump.

"Mm-hmmmph!  MMMMMPH!" Rarity screamed, muffled and indignant, as she ballooned beyond her normal slim proportions and far into the plus-plus sizes behind Pinkie.  She desperately reached her forelegs out toward the pink pony and the hose, waggling her hooves as they fattened up with air and stiffened to her sides, away from the hose.

"Ooh!  Good idea, Rarity!  How 'bout a song?  That always works for me!"  she said, oblivious to the swelling white mass growing behind her.

"I...don't think a song will help this time, Pinkie." said Twilight, looking up uneasily as Rarity inflated bigger and bigger.

"UUUUUGH!" Rainbow Dash groaned, slumping to the floor, "For once, just once, Can't we have a problem where I can just kick somethin' and save the day?  That's not too much to ask, is it?" she asked, turning and reaching her hooves out to the other girls for affirmation. "Right?  Why does everything have to be so foxtrottin' complicated!?" she wailed, clutching her head in both hooves.

"Tell me about it!" Pinkie Pie said, pumping slower and harder from the increasing air pressure.  Rarity was a blimp, pump by pump swelling as tall as Fluttershy, her belly inching closer and closer to the ceiling.  She blushed and looked cross-eyed at the hose in her mouth, her curly, purple mane hanging down towards the floor.  "I mean, who's 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?" she asked, as Fluttershy's enormous, fat rump sat to one side of her and Rarity's enormous, inflating buttcheeks squeaked like two balloons on the other.  Rarity grimaced, her big cheeks trembling, before she popped off of the hose with a PWISSHHH!  The big, round unicorn took off and began deflating rump-first around the room, her curly-cued tail flapping in the wind above her huge, air-filled buttcheeks.

"Well, personally, I feel like we could do with more problems that we can-- whoa, now! --solve with apples." said Applejack, glancing to one side and quickly ducking as Rarity whizzed by overhead.  Her hat blew off of her head from Rarity's exhaust, but Applejack's hoof shot out reflexively, catching it and sticking it back on her messy, blonde mane without even looking.

"That's your answer to everything, AJ." Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.

"You name me one problem that I couldn't solve with apples!"

"Oh, I don't know, how 'bout the one we're in right now?"

"That doesn't count 'n you know it!"

"WhaaAAAH- HMMP!"  Rarity wailed as she landed ungracefully in the middle of the others, legs splayed outward.  "Mmnngggg..." she whimpered, getting to her shaky hooves.  "W-Well." she cleared her throat and tossed her curly mane out of her face, "If I may."  She was blushing, clearly trying to act like she didn't just get blown up in front of everypony.  "With-out being interrupted..." she glared angrily at Pinkie Pie before assuming her regal posture, nose high up in the air, "I don't personally condone the use of violence, but, yes, it would be nice if I could just give our problem a...oh, I don't know...a brooch, or something, and make it go away, once in a while."

"Alright, alright, listen.  There's this sayin' that Granny Smith always used to tell me 'n Big Mac when we were little: Every complaint y'all make is a solution y'ain't makin'." she said, nodding sagely.  The other ponies just stared at her.

"I-I'm sorry, come again?  Did any of you catch that?" Rarity asked, confused.  Applejack rolled her eyes.

"What I'm sayin' is we're all back together again.  I think we should start puttin' our heads together 'n figure out a way to convince him to come back to our side, sooner rather 'n later." she said.  Every other pony gave her a nod in agreement.  "Now, y'all got any ideas?" she asked.  They all just stared at her, again.


The girls all sat, deep in thought.

"Um..." Fluttershy said, quietly, and was quickly cut off by Twilight.

"Well, we could remind him of everything he's done for us and Equestria.  I mean, there's a stained glass window depicting the time he saved the Crystal Empire in the Royal Palace!  We just need to tell him that turning his back on Applejack now would be like turning his back on all of Ponyville.  That might work, right?" she asked.  The other girls turned it over in their heads.

"U-um...I have an ide-

"I think he just needs some affection!" Rarity spoke up next.  "Did you hear him?  Poor little Spike just feels unwanted.  He needs to know how much we care about him, and he'll change his mind in a snap!  I guarantee it."

"E-...Excuse m-

"You guys are overthinkin' it." said Rainbow Dash, her forelegs crossed impatiently.  "He just needs a little reminder that he's our friend, and friends stick together, no matter what."  Rainbow said, giving an angry sideways glance at Fluttershy.  Applejack's ears perked up and she turned her head.

"I think we should sing again!" Pinkie Pie said, hopping enthusiastically.

"Hold your horses, hang on." Applejack said, holding a hoof up for silence.  "What'd you say, Fluttershy?"  Everypony present looked up at the massively fat pegasus, sitting with her back to them.

"U-Um...I was just...trying to say, that, why don't we let him decide?" she asked.  A long pause hung in the air.  Then, she was surrounded by magic.  "O-Oh!  Dear!" Fluttershy said as her mane and tail floated weightlessly.  Twilight's horn glowed with magenta-colored magic, and she looked at Fluttershy with intense concentration, but the fat pegasus didn't budge.  Twilight winced, trembled, and then finally exhaled, blinking and breaking her concentration.

"Celestia's throne, you guys weren't kidding!" she said, short of breath.

"See?  I told you we couldn't do it very many times, she must weigh a ton!" Rarity said.

"You, uh...ya need some help, there, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"No, no no no, I got it, I got it." Twilight said, taking some quick, bracing breaths.  Then, she shut her eyes, gritted her teeth, and grimaced in exertion as magic shined, then grew, flared and sparked off of her horn, her knees all buckling inward and trembling under some unbearable, invisible weight.  The floorboards beneath Fluttershy gave a long, relieved groan as she slowly rose up from the floor and turned to face them.  Spike gasped for air.

"Oh...Oh, thank Celestia...I don't think I could've lasted a- HULMPH!" he yelped as Twilight collapsed, gravity retook Fluttershy, and she slammed back down to the floor, facing the other ponies.  The whole cottage shook, all of her furniture jumping up several inches, and her fat jostled and undulated as she settled to a rest on her massive rump again.  Twilight panted miserably with her legs all splayed out and her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth, covered in sweat.

"So...heh...heavy..." she wheezed.  Rainbow Dash gave her a pat on the back.

"That'll do, egghead.  That'll do." she said, dotingly.  Applejack approached Fluttershy's enormously round belly while she let out a small whimper, blushing brightly.

"Whatta'ya mean, let him decide?" she asked.  Fluttershy avoided eye contact, letting one of her locks of hair cover half her face, cascading down one of her chubby cheeks.

"U-um...well...I was just saying, that maybe we should just let him go." Fluttershy said, meekly.

"Yeah, right!" Rainbow Dash interjected, flying up to Fluttershy's eye level and glaring at her.  "Of course that's what you'd say!"  Fluttershy squeaked and wilted away from Rainbow Dash, her hair covering more and more of her face.  "If we did that, Spike would just run off back to the hag and help her keep sendin' whatever to Celestia!  I s'pose we should let you go with him while we're at it, huh?" she asked, punctuating it with a poke to Fluttershy's blubbery belly.

"Um...well...we don't really know if he would, for certain.  If he really wants to help Applejack, he'll decide to...stay with us..." Fluttershy said, nervously.

"Forget it, Fluttershy.  You 'n Spike are stayin' right where we can see you 'til we know we can trust you again."

"But...the ultimate show of trust is to let someone go..." Fluttershy said.

"Ugh.  This isn't like one of your birds, Fluttershy.  He's gonna try and stop us from fixing Applejack."

"Actually..." Applejack said.  Everypony turned and looked at the orange earth pony.  She had her contemplative face on and rubbed her chin with a hoof.  Rainbow Dash's face fell.

"No!  Absolutely not!" she said, in disbelief.

"If we let him decide for himself, rather 'n make him do it, then we'll know for sure he's on our side." Applejack said, shrugging thoughtfully.

"Are you kidding me?  After all that, and...and-and everything, and- you wanna just let him go?" she asked, exasperated.

"I like it!" Pinkie Pie said, cheerfully.  Rarity raised a hoof.

"Fluttershy does bring up a good point.  Spike has a big heart.  He'll choose us over her, I'm sure of it."  she said.

"Me too." Twilight said, smiling and getting to her hooves.  "I trust Spike to make the right choice complicitly." she said.  Rainbow Dash looked at them all, irritably.

"Well, I don't.  He betrayed us once already, what makes you so sure he's not gonna betray us again?"

"What're you talkin' about?  You betrayed me earlier today 'n I asked you the same apple-pickin' thing!" Applejack said, accusingly.  Rainbow Dash perked up and blushed.

"Well, that's...different..." she said, knocking her forehooves together.

"She's gotcha there." Twilight said.

"Actually, no." Rainbow Dash said, "I don't mean to brag or anything, but...I kind of am the end result of cosmic forces and fate 'n destiny 'n all that junk coming together to form the literal embodiment of Loyalty, so...I mean, that was kind of a sure thing.  Spike is just...Spike." she said, with a casual shrug.

"Spike's a friend, and friends always stick together no matter what.  Right?"  Applejack said.  Rainbow Dash frowned.  "Right?"  There were a few tense seconds where the two ponies just glared at each other.  Then, Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Fine.  We'll let the little squirt go." she said.

"Yay!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, jumping for joy.


Twilight's horn glowed, surrounded Fluttershy with magic.  She disappeared in a pop, a flash, and a puff of magenta smoke.  As the smoke cleared, Fluttershy was sitting, one hoof held to her mouth while she coughed, completely back to her normal, lanky self.

"Oh, thank you so much..." she said, looking her slender body back over, stretching out her legs and unfolding her wings.

"Alright, we'll do Spike next." Twilight said.

"Sounds great!" Fluttershy said, cheerfully, and sat back down.  There was a pause.

"...I'm gonna need you to move, Fluttershy."

"Huh?" She looked down, blinking, and saw that she was sitting on top of spike, lying face-down, flattened and stretched out so much he looked like a pruple and green rug.  "O-O-OH MY GOSH!" Fluttershy gasped, scuttling off of him as quickly as she could, "Sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" she said, and sat sadly off to one side.  Twilight's horn shined again.  Spike was surrounded by magic, and he floated off the ground before popping back to three dimensions in midair, upside down.

"Oof!" he blurted, as he landed awkwardly on his head and shoulders and tumbled to the floor.

"Oh.  Whoops." Twilight said.  Spike climbed to his feet and brushed himself off.  He examined his hands, his wrists, his feet, and looked up.  Twilight and her 5 friends were standing before him, smiling kindly.  Except for Rainbow Dash, who sat with a dissatisfied frown.  "We won't leave you behind, Spike.  You can run back to the hag if that's what you want, but we'd like it very much if you came along with us instead." said Twilight.  Spike didn't know what to think, blinking his big, green eyes.  He looked over at Rarity, who gave him a small nod.  He smiled.

"SUCKERRRRS!" He shouted, pointing and grinning maniacally, and then immediately ran for the door, chuckling to himself.  Everypony's smile fell, and Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.  He shoved the bottom half of the barn-style door open and ran outside, panting, before the sound of him running faded away, and he was gone.

"...Well." Twilight said.  "Maybe...he'll change his mind!" she said, smiling again.

"I TOLD you this would happen!  Oh, delta, why do I even let you guys do these things?  COME BACK HERE!"  she shouted, flapping up and taking off, before she was immediately yanked to a halt by Applejack, clutching Rainbow's tail in her teeth.  Once her hooves hit the ground again, Applejack spat her tail back out.  "What gives, he's gettin' away!"  she shouted.

"Twilight's right." Applejack said, "He can still change his mind."

"He's not gonna change his mind!" Rainbow Dash shouted.  With a soft creek, the bottom door opened back up, and Spike was standing in the doorway, with his shoulders slumped down sadly.

"I changed my mind." he said, tears in his eyes.  Rainbow Dash's eyes widened.

"Spike!" Twilight said, happily.  Her horn shined and with a flash, she winked away and reappeared right next to him, hugging him from behind.  The other ponies all cheered and ran over to Spike, except for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who both remained seated.  Rainbow had an annoyed look on her face.

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash.  We were right, and you were right, too, for a little while.  See?  Everypony won the argument." said Applejack, patting Rainbow on the back and smiling.

"You have a weird understanding of how arguments work, Applejack." Rainbow Dash said.  Spike smiled as he was hugged and adored on all sides by his friends.

"I'm sorry, you guys...I should've known to listen to you instead of the mysterious voice that talks to me inside my head."  he said.

"Oh, how can we stay mad at you?  Look at that cute little face!" Rarity said, picking him up and rubbing cheeks with him, perking him up considerably.

"How about by telling us what you sent to Celestia." Applejack said.  Spike was staring lovingly at Rarity, only half paying attention.

"Hm?" he asked.  Then he snapped out of it.  "Sent to Celes- Oh!" Spike said, with his hands anxiously on either side of his head.  "Th-that was bad, wasn't it?"

"That entirely depends on what you sent to her." said Twilight.  "What was it?"

"I-It was..." he said, looking at Applejack, curiously.  "...wait, so we're helping her breathe, right?" he asked.

"No, we're not helping her breathe.  Ignore her."

"...ooOOOOOOooooooh...gosh, that explains a lot." Spike said, with a claw poised thoughtfully on his chin.

"Spike!" Twilight said, snapping  out of it again.

"Oh, ye-ye-yeah, yeah, right...she asked all kinds of questions about you, about how you know Princesses and all that stuff.  Then, she asked me if I can send things to the Princesses with dragonfire.  I said yes.  Then, she wrote something down, rolled it up, and told me to send it.  She said that it was what everypony wanted.  That it guaranteed Applejack would get the help she needed.  So, of course I...did it..." he said, looking guilty with realization towards the end of his explanation.

"Yeah, but what'd it say?" Applejack asked.

"Dunno.  I didn't read it." Spike said, shrugging.

"Well, great." Rainbow Dash said, throwing her forelegs up.

"Hold on..." Twilight said.  She was staring intently at a parchment, a quill, and an inkwell she was levitating in front of her, scribbling something down.  "hn hn hn...n hh nh hh..." she unintelligibly vocalized to herself, "Na na na...respectfully...da da and brightest student...Twilight...Sparkle..." she said, signing her name with a flourish, "Squiggle squiggle...done!" she exclaimed, rolling the scroll up.  She galloped back over to Fluttershy's cabinet, opened a drawer and levitated a block of wax out.  She shut the drawer and galloped back over.  "By the way Fluttershy all your stationary's in that drawer now!" she shouted quickly, pressing the wax to scroll.  Two thin, wispy columns of smoke rose from it, and when she lifted it up, the shiny, mostly-formed wax seal of Equestria's horseshoe crest pressed the scroll closed.  "Alright, here!" Twilight said, holding it out to Spike.  Spike hurriedly reached up, but Twilight snatched it out of his claws at the last second.  "W-w-wait, hang on a second." she said, rotating the wax block and holding it back over the seal.  Everyone around her sighed impatiently as smoke rose out of it, again.  She lifted it, and the seal was in the same place, but in a more complete circle.  Twilight narrowed her eyes, examining it closely as she handed it back to Spike.  He grabbed at it again, but Twilight snatched it out of his claws again.  "Wa-wa-wait, hang on, hang on..." she said, levitating the block over it.

"JUST SEND IT ALREADY!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"This is an emergency, Twilight, it doesn't have to be perfect!" shouted Spike, reaching for the scroll.

"Gah!  You're right!  Take it!" Twilight yelped, tossing it into Spike's claw.  He caught it, took a deep breath, and blew, and a gout of bright green flame engulfed it.  He released it and let the flaming scroll rise with the fire, shrinking away before disappearing with a swirl and a sparkle.

"Woo-hooooo!  We did it!" Pinkie Pie said, cheerfully, and there was a silence as soon as her hooves hit the ground.  "...What now?"

"Well, that was a letter telling Celestia to disregard the last letter I sent.  Hopefully that'll take care of whatever the hag wanted with the princesses.  Now, we deal with the mare herself." Twilight said.  "You saw her in person not too long ago, right?"  Spike nodded.

"Well, I figure she hasn't skipped town, then." said Applejack.

"YyyyyyYES!  I still might get to kick somepony's butt!" Rainbow Dash shouted, grinning.