Breathers for Applejack (a MLP story) ch. 5

 “Applejack!”

“Applejaaaaaack!”

“Applejack, let us help you!” the ponies cried out, combing every road in ponyville, entering and exiting the front doors on all the houses and stores, their voices rolling and echoing through the empty alleyways behind the buildings. Applejack's hooves made hardly any noise as she slinked along the dirty cobblestone, down low in the shade of the rows of buildings, and Rainbow Dash dithered along behind her at a low, slow hover, making no attempts to be stealthy. Anypony who saw her just ignored her. Applejack looked around cautiously as they neared a corner, and her eye was caught by a piece of paper that stuck just over the edge of the building.

“Why can't I just fly you to Twilight's library? This is so boring!” said Rainbow Dash. Applejack scooted along the wall, Rainbow Dash hovering close behind her.

“Could you take a look at that paper, for me?” Applejack whispered, turning back.

“Alright. Fine, sure, whatever.” said Rainbow Dash, sighing, as she hovered around the corner. She carelessly tore the paper from the wall and looked at it. Applejack watched the boredom fall from her face as her eyes focused and her brow furrowed with sudden interest.

“What's it say?” whispered Applejack.

“It's a missing poster. For you.” she said, turning it around for Applejack to see. Applejack snatched it from Rainbow Dash's hoof and stretched it out, reading it intently.

MISSING, it read,

APPLEJACK

EARTH PONY, ORANGE W/ BLONDE MANE

below was a simple, hoof-drawn picture of a freckled earth pony with a ponytail and a hat saying “Howdy, y'all!”

“Was this really necessary?” asked Applejack, pointing to the speech bubble. Rainbow Dash snickered.

“I dunno, AJ, I think they got you down pretty good.” she said, smiling. Applejack gave her a frustrated eyebrow.

“Pony apple compote...” she cursed under her breath, turning back down to the poster.

THIS PONY IS CONFUSED

AND NEEDS HELP BREATHING

HOLLER IF FOUND

“They're makin' posters now?” asked Applejack. Rainbow Dash, watching Applejack with mischievous enjoyment, took a quick look around, and then double-took at the wall she'd just torn the paper off of, her smile slackening in awe.

“Whoa.” she said. The entire side of the building was completely covered in identical posters, each hoof-drawn. They were fastened end-to-end, even over the other posters that were already in place beforehand. The one she took only revealed a tiny square of wall beneath, on the end.

“Well, one little flyer ain't nothin' to worry about.” said Applejack, obliviously folding the paper up.

“Uh-huh.” said Rainbow Dash, still transfixed on the wall. Applejack stuck her hat on her head and hunched down low.

“Let's get on goin'.” she said, sneaking along the open alleyway. Rainbow Dash pulled her gaze away from the wall and drifted along behind Applejack, looking at her friend worriedly. Applejack took one glance behind her and immediately blanched in horror at the sight. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened, she pointed at it with one hoof. “LUNA'S BELLS, DID YOU SEE TH-mmmhph!?” she shouted as Rainbow Dash clapped a foreleg around her mouth, dragging her numb and motionless body, still pointing at the wall, out of sight. Within moments, some curious ponies approached the alleyway from the street, peaking from the corners of the buildings.

“Applejack?”

“Applejack?” they called.



Applejack zipped past another alleyway, appearing as nothing more than an orange blur. Rainbow Dash cautiously drifted behind her, looking back, up, and out at the street at every chance. Applejack crept forward, her hooves softly clopping on the dirty cobblestone, hugging the wall. Her hat was tilted far back on her mane, her ears pricked out and alert. Rainbow Dash watched Applejack sneaking around ahead before she turned her attention towards the street and her eye was immediately caught by an unattended bike pump lying on its side in the middle of the alleyway

Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks, hovering in place. Applejack snuck onwards, unaware. Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide and her pupils dilated, transfixed on it. Hypnotized. It was calling out to her. Everything outside of it started getting fuzzy. She regained her senses and shook her head, tapping her hooves on her temples. She knew Applejack needed her help, and she didn't want to let her down. With a pained look of longing, she hesitantly hovered by, leaving the bike pump be. And there it sat, in the empty alleyway, unattended. Just sitting there. Unattended. Begging to be used by somepony who wasn't around to use it. Rainbow Dash's head slowly peeked around the corner, staring at the bike pump. She blinked at it, imagined it in her hooves. She wanted to pick it up so bad.

“Don't resissst...” a quiet, sultry voice echoed in the alley behind her. Rainbow Dash batted at her ear and whipped around, but the alleyway was empty, save for Applejack, who was still obliviously sneaking up ahead, and quiet, save for the occasional echoes of the search party ponies. She looked at the empty bins and the rooftops; she was alone. She shook her head again and blinked hard, turning back around to look at the bike pump. There it was again, gleaming with light and casting a long shadow across the cobblestone. She anxiously gripped the corner of the building and wrung her hooves as she toyed with the temptation to take it. She imagined she was holding it in her hooves. “It's okay...” said the quiet, phantom voice again. She whipped around, but there was still nopony there. She slowly looked around her, but her shadow caught her attention, trailing along the ground. There was a shadow of a long, thin object in her hoof with a hose dangling off of it. It looked like she was holding the pump. She looked at her empty hoof and back down, raising her leg experimentally, and her shadow held the pump up accordingly. She gasped, confused by what she was seeing. “You're close to the strong little filly.” said the voice, whispering in Rainbow Dash's ear, “She needs help, but her mind is affected.”

“B-but, I can't! If I try to help her, I'll just be harming her more!” she said back.

“Huff! Nnnonsense...” the voice purred back. “She needs help, pegasus pony. She needs your help, and you know it.” the voice said, and a second shadow crept from the shade of the overhanging buildings next to Rainbow Dash's. She quickly turned her head, but there was nopony there. She turned back to the ground and saw Applejack's shadow trot up next to hers and wave. Rainbow Dash hesitantly and confusedly raised her hoof up and waved back. “How can you say that you can't help her?” it said, and Rainbow Dash's shadow turned of its own accord to face Applejack's. “What kind of friend would that make you?” it asked, and shadow Rainbow Dash put the hose in shadow Applejack's mouth. She raised and lowered the plunger, lumps of air travelling down the hose with each pump. “A bad friend.” it said. Shadow Applejack bobbed her head with each lump of air that reached her with no ill effects. “But, you can be a good friend.” Shadow Applejack pulled the hose out of her mouth with a hoof and nodded reassuringly. Rainbow Dash's shadow raised its forelegs up in celebration. “And all you have to do...is...help her.” Both of the shadows moved together and embraced in a warm hug. “She trussstsss you. She will let you help her, if you ask her the right way. Everypony will be happy...”

“Everypony...will be...” Rainbow Dash muttered, as if in a trance, watching the shadow ponies hug.

“Be a good friend, pegasus pony.”

“A good friend.” she muttered, looking down to her forelegs. The bike pump was in her hooves.

“A goooood frieeeeeend...”

“I'm a good friend...”

“Aaaasssssk heeeerrrrrr...leeet...”

“-me help you...Apple-

“RAINBOW DASH!”

“Ah-wha!?” she stammered, startled and confused. She looked around in a panic, and saw Applejack standing close to her, far away enough from the corner to hide from the open street. Her eyes were narrowed impatiently.

“What the hay are you up to?” she loudly whispered.

“I was just uh...” Rainbow Dash started, at a loss for words, and looked down at her shadow. It was copying her every move, just like a normal shadow should.

“Uh-huh. And where'd ya find that?” she asked, gesturing with her head. Rainbow looked down in surprise at the bike pump in her hooves.

“I...found it.”

“And the hoverin' in place, starin' at it was you plannin' all the different ways to get rid of it, right?” she asked, crossing her forelegs.

“Uuuuuuuhhhhhhh...” Rainbow Dash blurted out, searching for an answer.

“Rainbow, this is serious! I told you that ya have to do everythin' I say, and I also told ya to stay somewhere where I can keep my eye on you! If y'all ain't gonna join the mob, then throw that thing away!” she harshly whispered between her teeth. Rainbow Dash looked between Applejack and the pump.

“But I didn't mean- I mean...alright, fine, fine, I'm throwin' it away.” She said, slowly hovering around the corner, out of Applejack's sight. She hovered back into view without it. “See? Easy.” Applejack tilted her head to look around Rainbow Dash.

“You're holdin' it behind your back.”

“Okay, fine! Jeez!” she said, holding it back in front of her again. “Are you sure you don't...” she said, holding the hose up with one hoof. “Just...one little breath?”

“Hey, you watch it...” Applejack said, holding a foreleg out, threateningly.

“I mean just...just...” she said, slowly working the pump up and down and looking at the faintly hissing hose in anguish, “real quick, just one little...one tiny little...” she said, gritting her teeth, anxiously twisting the plunger this way and that with one hoof.

“Rainbow...”

“Just...if you'd just...let me hel-

“Rainbow!”

“GrrrrRRRAGH!” she shouted, lifting the pump above her head with both hooves and throwing it down the alleyway where she found it. She landed hard on the ground and started hopping up and down, stomping the cobblestone in frustration, before she started stamping with all fours like a filly that has to use the restroom, before burying her face in the ground and beating it with her legs like a foal having a tantrum. She pushed herself up and flopped on her back, panting, her wings outspread. She lazily turned her head over towards the street, and saw a small crowd of ponies that had gathered around the mouth of the alleyway to watch her, one of them picking up the pump she'd just thrown. “What're you looking at!?” she growled at them, and they all jumped, muttering and bumping and stumbling into each other as they all hurried to walk away. “Uuuuuuggghhhh this is killing me, Applejack!” she moaned, pressing her hooves into her eyes. Applejack gave a quick peek around the corner and grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail with her teeth, limply dragging her out of the open. “I thought I could handle it. But this is too much! I'm dying, Applejack, dying!”

“Ssshhhh! Hey!” she said, releasing Rainbow's tail and taking her hat off.

“And I see you need help and I do what you say but you just keep getting worse and worse!”

“Hey! Rainbow! I'm fine, look here, watch.” Rainbow Dash peered out from her hooves. Applejack took a deep breath demonstratively. “See?” she asked, “I'm breathin' just fine! I don't need any help!” she said, smiling, her voice measured and reassuring. But Rainbow Dash just shut her eyes and pressed her hooves back into them.

“Hhhhnnnnnggggggh Applejack, you're just making it worse, stop!” she groaned, in agony.

“Rainbow, please!” she said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “I'm sorry. Alright, listen. With all my snappin' 'n orderin' around, I guess I never took the time to thank ya proper. I can tell it's real hard on you, and even if ya don't feel like it, you're doin' a world'a help just by bein' here.”

“But I'm not doing anything!”

“Right now, that's what I need, Rainbow Dash. 'N you know there's nopony I'd rather have watchin' my nine than y'all.”

“Your nine is your left.”

“My eight, then.”

“Ugh, it's your six! Your back is your six!”

“I...uh...” Applejack said, drawing circles in the air with her hooves, “...well, what I'm tryin' to say is, I'm sorry for pushin' ya. We can take a breather, real quick, and go when you're ready.”

“A breather...one breather...just one...” Rainbow Dash moaned quietly.

“Er...poor choice'a words. You just take as long as ya need.” she said. Rainbow Dash took a breath and then clamored up to her hooves with a grumble. “Ready?” she asked, plunking her hat back down on her head.

“After you.” said Rainbow Dash, impatient and dripping with sarcasm, cordially holding a hoof out.

“Uh...actually, I...” stammered Applejack, looking for the right words, “I'd feel a mite...better...if you were in front.” she said. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and moped forward, Applejack keeping close behind her.

The bushes in the plaza rustled as an orange blur shot into it. With her hat brim tipped low, Applejack quietly parted the front of the bush with her hooves. Her pupils widened in awe and her mouth upturned into a joyful grin. Rainbow Dash shoved her way into the bush and sat, angrily.

“Rainbow Dash, look!” Applejack whispered. Through the window she had made with her hooves, there, in the middle of the plaza, was Golden Oaks Library. “We made it! We finally made it! Now all we gotta do is cross that-”

“Applejack!”

“Applejack!”

“Let us help you, Applejack!”

“Applejack!” the ponies all called out. The mob of ponies was sweeping in full effect here, too, filling the street between their bush and the library tree. Rainbow Dash struggled to maintain her cool, as she had a hard time listening to anything but the mob of ponies. She flinched every time she heard them call out to Applejack by name, like when Gilda used to flick her ear from behind to annoy her. She shut her eyes tight and screwed her ears down, trembling.

“Applejack!”

“Applejack!”

“Applejack!”

“Applejack!”

“Joooooin them...” the voice whispered, the words rolling and ringing around in Rainbow Dash's head. “You could help your friend...you could be the hero! All you have to do...is say one word...just one little peep! Enough to give the strong little filly away to the other helpful ponies. Don't you want to help your friend? Don't you want everypony in town to thank you?” it asked. Rainbow Dash clamped her hooves over her ears and shook her head.

“Applejack!”

“Applejack!”

“Applejack!”

“Just ooooone tiiiiiiny sound...”

“Applejack!”

“Applejack!”

“Unless you're a bad friend...” Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth, sweating.

“Applejack! Applejack! Applejack! Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!”



“Alright, so here's what I'm thinkin'. I haven't seen or heard from Twilight all day, so I reckon she's still in there. I'll hide here, 'n you fly over to the balcony and see if she's...” she said, turning around to an empty spot behind her in the bush, "...gone.” she quickly looked around. “Rainbow Dash?” she whispered, scooting forward and poking her head out of the back of the bush, scanning the adjacent buildings and alleyway they'd just come from. But she wasn't there. “Rainbow Dash!” she whispered, more urgently. There was no response.

“HEY EVERYPONY!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the sky, her voice echoing in the streets. Applejack froze and her blood ran cold as everypony that was searching immediately stopped what they were doing and looked up. Applejack twisted around in a panic and spotted her hovering just above the plaza. “I FOUND APPLEJACK!” she shouted.

“Rainbow, no!” she worriedly begged through clenched teeth. The ponies all started excitedly murmuring amongst themselves, Applejack hearing her name come up quite a bit.

“UH-HUH! YEAH, I KNOW, RIGHT?” Rainbow Dash whooped, gesturing at them with her hooves to generate excitement. “NO NEED TO THANK ME NOW! APPLEJACK NEEDS OUR HELP!” she shouted, and all of the ponies started calling out to her excitedly. “SHE'S RIGHT OVER THERE!” Rainbow Dash yelled, pointing away from the bush Applejack was hiding in, down the adjacent street. The mob ponies started trotting and galloping down the street, passing Applejack completely.

“Huh...what?” she said, stunned by what she was seeing. She looked up at Rainbow Dash, who was pointing and guiding the ponies on the street. Rainbow Dash turned and looked back down at her. Applejack blinked, surprised. Rainbow Dash smiled and winked, before charging off down the street with the tail end of the crowd.

“COME ON, FOLLOW ME, SHE WENT THIS WAY!” she shouted, her voice fading down the street. Applejack just sat there and listened to the din of the crowd die down to a distant echo. She emerged from behind the bush and walked to the side of the plaza, looking both ways. The open square and connecting streets were completely empty and lifeless, the only motion being some dust and a couple of the hastily-made missing posters blowing in the wind. She whistled to herself, taking the odd sight in, and trotted across the street to the library, looking to and fro as she went.



The top of the ladder lurched forward and made contact with a divider in the old book shelf, and wobbled as the tiny dragon climbed it, one rung at a time. Spike grumbled to himself, feather duster in hand and pink, frilly apron on his belly, as he heard more excitement that he wasn't allowed to be a part of.

“Could prob'ly just sneak out...s'not like anypony told me anything was goin' on...she could clean this whole library in 2 seconds, but no, I gotta...hrmmmm hriggle piggle snickem spickem...” he cursed to himself as he reached over to the top shelf to dust it.

CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP

went the door. Spike paused. He rolled his eyes, re-gripped the feather duster in his hand, and started climbing down the ladder just as meticulously as he had climbed it up, one rung at a time.

CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP

“Alright, I'm comin', I'm comin....” he said, approaching the door. He reached for the door handle and froze right before he grabbed it. Turning away, he raised his arms and blushed as he looked down at the apron he almost forgot he was wearing. He quickly undid the knot in the back and shook it off, the frilly pink thing crumpling on the floor, and he kicked it away with one foot as he turned back. He opened up the door, and Applejack was sitting outside. His eyes lit up with joy. “Applejack!” he said, happily. Applejack recoiled away a little, surprised at the sight. She'd almost forgotten about Spike, and memories of how this whole thing started suddenly came flooding back. She looked his smiling face up and down with frightened suspicion.

“Uuuh...howdy. Listen, I gotta talk to Twilight real bad. It's an emergency.” she said, stooping down to Spike's level.

“An emergency. Oh! An emergency! Okay! Phew! Well that explains all the yelling! All day, I thought I'd forgotten your birthday or something, but it was just an emergency all along. Ha!” he said, smiling satisfactorily to himself.

“...Right. So, is Twilight home?” Applejack said, inviting herself in. The library was warm, and dusty, and smelled like paper, just like always. After being in Ponyville all day, seeing something this separate from the outside world, so utterly normal, came across as strange to Applejack.

"Hft," Spike scoffed, “Only in the literal sense.” he said, closing the door behind her. She flinched at the sound and turned just as Spike turned to face her. “She's upstairs, but good luck getting her to hear anything you say. She's in one of her book comas again...I'm stuck cleaning until she tells me I can stop, but I don't think that's ever gonna happen...” he grumbled. She nervously scooted backwards along the circular wall, facing Spike the whole way as he easily followed her.

“Is that so? Well, thanks for- AH! tellin' me all that, Spike.” she said, as her rump poked into a protruding book behind her, “You were mighty helpful. Now...I'll just leave y'all to, uh...” Applejack said hurriedly, cantering towards the spiral staircase. “To your, uh...jobs 'n such.”

“You're welcome, Applejack!” Spike said, standing proudly with his eyes closed and his hands on his hips. His eyes popped open and his mouth fell into a frown. “Wait, emergency!?” he shouted, and went scampering after Applejack. Applejack was just trotting up the first couple of steps when Spike violently zipped in front of her, blocking her way. “Wh-wh-what kind of emergency?” he asked, fearfully.

“It's uh...somethin' that only Twilight can fix, alright? Let's leave it at that.” she said, trying to edge around him, but he scooted over and blocked her way again.

“I-is it something dangerous? Is Ponyville in trouble? You don't look too good, Applejack, you're all tired looking, and weak, like you're having trouble breathi-

GAAAAAAAAAAASP!

He gasped, clutching the sides of his face. His pupils went wide and a twinkle of excitement filled them.

“...Spike?” Applejack nervously asked.

“I know how to fix!” he yelled before excitedly running off.

“Spike? Sugar cube?” Applejack asked again, looking between him and the top of the stairs. He was tucked and banging away in a supply cupboard as a broom, a bucket, a pipe wrench, and all sorts of cleaning supplies flew out into the open and clattered along the floor.

“Ah-ha!” Spike yelled as he leaped into the middle of the library with a collapsed fireplace bellows held aloft. With a flick of his thumb, he undid the latch on the side and the thing sprang upward of its own accord, triumphantly spanning to its full breadth. “Spike to the rescue!”

“Oh, no.” said Applejack, her heart dropping away from her horrified face.

“I'll save you, Applejack!” he said, charging towards her.

“Oh, brussel sprouts 'n peanuts!” Applejack cursed, ducking out of the way as the bellows clattered against the wall, narrowly missing her. She nervously scuttled backwards, away from Spike, brushing aside all the cleaning supplies he'd thrown out all over the floor. “Now, Spike, I- gyah!” she yelped, weaving aside as Spike jabbed the bellows at her face. “Lemme just go get Twilight, and she can- hey, now!” she yelped, ducking so fast her hat drifted from her head, the bellows jabbing the open air between her hat and her messy, blonde mane. With a metallic plunk, one of her legs stuck itself in something. She brought it up in a panic, a tin bucket on the end of her hoof.

“Chill out, Applejack! Just -ngh- hold still and let me help you!” said Spike, jabbing the bellows forward again, reared them back, and then charged-

PTHUNK

he was in pitch blackness, running forward blindly. “Ooof!” he grunted as he collided bucket-first with a bookshelf, rocking the whole thing with the impact. He stumbled back a bit, and several loose books fell, bouncing noisily off the top of the bucket that Applejack had shoved on his head.

PING PING PING PING PANG!

Spike flinched at every impact, and the last, big one landed cross-wise, squashing the bucket down til the rim hit the floor, and sat there. The bellows twirled around, spinning on one of its handles, before falling to a rest, clattering on the wooden floor. Some loose papers drifted down and settled. Applejack cautiously watched the whole thing unfold.

“Well that sorted itself out nicely. Now heel.” she commanded the bucket, “I'm sorry, Spike, but if y'all will excuse me, that's what I'm here to see Twilight about!” she said. She stepped away and took a look around at the disheveled library. “Whew, Twi ain't gonna be happy about this...” she said, shaking her head, and trotted up the spiral staircase. “Twilight?” she called up. She didn't get a response.

Cautiously, she peeked her head over the last few steps and through the opening to Twilight's study. It was sunny, quiet, immaculately clean, and, of course, laying on all fours near the center of the circular room was Twilight Sparkle, surrounded by stacks of books and currently reading an open one, a cheerful smile on her face.

“Twilight!” Applejack said, galloping into the room and skidding to a stop. “Oh, thank Celestia you're here! Heh heh! Oh, Twi, you got no idea what I had to go through to...to get...” she trailed off, starting to notice that the little, purple unicorn was completely ignoring her. “Twilight.” she said. No response. “Twilight!” she said, louder. Twilight turned the page with her unikinesis and kept reading. Applejack looked around and spotted some books in a stack by a book shelf. She looked back at Twilight, and then trotted over. She picked up the book on the top of the stack and examined it. She turned it and flipped it over, tilting it this way and that, but there were no words on the cover. She shrugged and stuck it into an empty slot in one of the back shelves. Immediately, Twilight's smile fell and her eye twitched a little.

“Huh?” she said, looking up in confusion. She saw Applejack standing by the bookshelf, holding a book in each hoof before putting one in the completely wrong place on the book shelf. Twilight flinched. “Ah! A-Applejack!" she said, jumping to her hooves and hurriedly trotting over. "Nice of you to come by! And...help with the shelving!” she said, forcing a strained smile.

“Figured a little clean up would get your attention. Whoo! Twilight, I've been lookin' for ya all day! I'll cut the chit-chat, I got a real serious problem!” she said, idly putting the other book she was holding back on the shelf, getting ready to slot it in.

“NO-!” Twilight burst out, rushing over and clamping one of her hooves on the book. Applejack jumped back a little, and Twilight stared at the book, breathing heavily with sweat forming on her brow. She looked back up at Applejack and smiled nervously. “I mean...nooooooo way! Heh heh!” she laughed uneasily, pulling the book away from the shelf and cradling it in her hooves. “It sounds serious! Why don't you tell me all about it, AJ?” she said.

“Well, it all started when I went into town this mornin'," she explained, backing up to the window and pulling the blinds closed, "and there were these jokes goin' around about how I was...”

“Uh-huh.” Twilight said, looking over all of the shelved books, straightening them so she could see the gaps. She pulled the books that Applejack had haphazardly put back on the shelf and they hovered before her.

“...first thing my sister said was that I had heat stroke," she called down, closing the shutter above Twilight's bed, "but I'm pretty sure by now that I ain't got no heat stroke, and she made me..."

“Mm-hmmm.” Twilight muttered, the rest of the books in the stack hovering and levitating themselves back on the shelf.

“...and Pinkie Pie, well, I thought I was safe from the whole town," she closed the doors on the balcony and shut the drapes, "but I ended up shuttin' myself in with her, and that's when I decided...”

“Interesting.” Twilight said, examining each of the books that floated up to her as they orbited her body, surrounded by her magenta-colored magic. She sorted and tucked the books away, one by one, shifting the rows of books until they were symmetrically standing upright, and then went over them one more time, pulling a whole shelf of books out with her unikinesis so she could look at them up close.

“...flew off Celestia knows where, and I had a little tussle with Spike, but anyways ya got no idea how happy I am to be here, with you, helpin' me solve my problem. Whew!” she said, bouncing back next to Twilight, excited and relieved.

“Mm-hmmm. Oh, yeah, great!” Twilight said, briefly looking at Applejack before returning to her books. She quickly double-took. “Whoa, Applejack!” she said, the books she was levitating suddenly falling to the ground in a big clutter.

“I know! Hardly believe it myself!” Applejack said. Twilight circled around her, examining her with a concerned look on her face.

“Open.” she said, putting a hoof on the side of Applejack's muzzle. Her horn lit up faintly and she squinted, looking in Applejack's mouth. She turned away, and Applejack closed her mouth.

“So, ya think you can fix it?” she asked. Twilight looked around at the bookshelves, a hoof to her chin. Her horn lit up and several books floated out of one of the shelves, orbiting Twilight as she examined the spine of each one.

“Hmmm...I think so. Ah, here we go!” Twilight said, picking one of them out, the rest piling neatly into a stack. She opened the book and flipped through it. “Alright, hold still.” she said. Applejack stood up ramrod-stiff, her eyes wide open. Twilight concentrated, and her horn lit up. Her sparkling, magenta-colored magic covered Applejack, and she felt tingly all over. Then, there was a flash and it was gone. Applejack blinked it out of her eyes and shook her head, and Twilight was standing there satisfactorily, shutting the book. “All done.” she said. Then, she turned and levitated all the books back to where they came from. Applejack blinked and stared at her in confusion.

“Really? That was it? Just, poof, and all better?” Applejack asked, skeptically.

“Yep! It was a pretty simple problem.” said Twilight, re-shelving the books she had taken.

“It was? Huh...seemed pretty complicated to me...” she said, pitching her hat back and scratching her messy, blonde mane.

“Oh, Applejack. You should've come to me in the first place before it got that bad!” she said, levitating another pile of books up and straightening another shelf.

“I s'pose...well, I told ya, I tried, but...” she said, before her stomach gurgled loudly. She shot upright, startled, one of her eyes twitching. “Whew, pardon.” she said, embarrassed, running a hoof across her belly.



“Oh, it's no problem, Applejack.” Twilight said, smiling sweetly. Her stomach gurgled again and she cringed, starting to feel bloated. She looked down and her trim, orange stomach was pouching outwards like an increasingly pregnant mare's tummy. She gasped, her eyes wide open, and sunk onto her haunches, wrapping her hooves around it. It bulged against her forelegs, and she could feel it slowly expanding bigger and bigger.

“Twilight...Twilight! We got a problem!” she shouted, urgently.

“What now?” asked Twilight, turning away from her re-shelving.

“Look!” she pointed, lifting her forelegs up so Twilight could see.

“Yes?” asked Twilight. An awkward silence stretched between them, and Applejack's stomach gurgled again. Applejack shook her head, questioningly.

“...Well? Do somethin', quick!”

“Why? I thought you wanted me to help you with your problem?”

“How does this help with the curse?” she asked.

“Curse?” Twilight said, her nose crinkling at the word. “Hmhmhmhm!” She giggled to herself. Applejack shot her a disconcerted scowl, her nostrils flaring in anger and embarrassment as she defensively curled her forelegs back around her distended belly. “Oh, Applejack, don't be silly! Curses aren't real!” she said.

“But I thought ya said ya just helped me with it!”

“No, I helped you with your breathing problem!”

“Breathin' problem...oh, hayseed...” Applejack grumbled, looking down at her expanding abdomen as it grew and ballooned outwards, her taut, soft hide groaning and brushing against her thighs. “Twilight, what did you just do to me?”

“It was just a simple breathing remedy. Are you sure you're feeling alright?”

“Were y'all even listenin' to me when I told ya about my problem?” Applejack snapped.

“What? Of course, Applejack!” she said, defensively. Applejack gave her a piercingly judgmental glare, her forelegs crossed over her round, bloating midsection. Twilight buckled a bit under Applejack's gaze. “Well, I...may have gotten a little distracted...” she said, nervously smiling and twiddling her hooves.

“Twilight, listen to me! I! am! Cursed! Do you understand?” she shouted, speaking slowly and clearly as her stomach puffed further and further outwards, billowing into the floor.

“Applejack, that's preposterous! There's no such thing as curses! You know that!” Twilight said.

“Have you taken a look outside at all today?” she asked.

“Uh...” said Twilight, her horn lighting up with magic. With a flash, she winked up to the loft next to her bed, parting the curtains and looking outside at the empty, lifeless streets. “Hmm.” she said. With another flash, she winked back down to Applejack. “Well, that does seem a bit peculiar. But you're gonna need stronger evidence than that to prove that curses are real. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation.”

“Oh for-!” Applejack groaned, smacking her hoof across her eyes in frustration. She teetered in place, nearly falling over if not for her huge tummy bouncily propping her upward. “Ya wanna know where everypony is? Look here.” she said, tilting her hat up and pulling a folded up piece of paper out from underneath. She adjusted her hind legs apart as her round, orange stomach grew and grew into the floor, pressing and spreading across it. She stubbornly ignored it, clutching the paper in her teeth and unfolding it with a flick of her head. She lurched forward, and quickly rocked back down to her hindquarters. She looked at her growing belly with surprise, and then frustration, as it groaned and blew up, nearly as far outward and around as her legs could reach. With a grunt, she hefted herself up, riding her rolling girth forward and stamping the paper out on the floor for Twilight to see. Twilight blinked in surprise at the hoof-drawn missing poster for Applejack. “You see this?” Applejack said, tapping the paper with her hoof.

“Howdy, y'all...” Twilight read, “Well, that's not really necessary...”

“Thank you! These're all over town! Everypony's out lookin' for me!” she said, rocking herself steady, her hind legs gingerly feeling for the floor, perching on the tips of her hooves.

“But...why?”

“Cause ever since some old pony said she cursed me, everypony I come across- and I mean everypony, includin' you, has suddenly dropped what they're doin' to try 'n help me breathe 'n end up blowin' me up like a balloon! I tell ya, I'm cursed!”

“Well, have you tried just letting them help you, Applejack?” Twilight asked. Applejack grabbed her face, smushing Twilight's cheeks together as she teetered uneasily on the creaking, round mass of her stomach.

“Look what you're doin' to me, Twilight!” she said. Twilight shook her off and took a step back, frustrated.

“Yes! And since I've cast this charm on you, your breathing has been steadily improving!” she said, defensively.

“Does this...wlmph...” she grunted, her cheeks starting to puff up. Her hind hooves shuffled on the floor, struggling to maintain her balance. She looked back and cringed worriedly as she saw her flanks widening and fattening outwards, her blonde tail perking up uneasily over her rump, swelling up and up like a couple of orange balloons as her body tried to find other ways to fill itself out. She turned back to Twilight. “Does this look like an improvement to you?” she said, pressing her hooves into her body.

“What's gotten into you, Applejack?” she said, impatiently. Applejack grabbed Twilight's hoof and placed it on her belly, where it gave and bounced like she was a balloon.

“Look!” she said. Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Applejack, there's nothing...” she said, trailing off as interest started to spark in her eyes. “Hmm.” she said, prodding Applejack's inflating body. “That's funny.” she said, confused. “Well...you do look like you're breathing better. M-maybe this is just a side effect of the spell.” She brought her foreleg up and started gingerly, nervously nibbling on her hoof.

“Side effect? What kinda breathin' spell did you use?” she asked, falling and bouncing back onto her belly, and was alarmed to find that not all of her hooves hit the ground.

“It was just a simple one! Look, it's right here!” she said, levitating the book from the shelf. She opened it up to the page she used and turned it around for Applejack to see. Applejack squinted, scanning the page.

“This one.” Applejack said, pointing at the open page, unamused.

“Yes! It's a simple breathing remedy!” she shouted, getting frustrated.

“Twilight, that ain't what it says.” said Applejack.

“What!? What are you talking about, it says right here!” she said, turning the book back over and reading the page. “Clear as crystal, breathing spell!” she said.

“Twilight, that ain't no breathin' spell, it says “Barnabus' Bloatin' Charm!”

“It does not!”

“Look at the picture! Look good and hard!” she said. There was a stylized picture of a pony inflated like a balloon. She squinted, examining the page closer. She slowly reached her purple hoof up, tracing the circular pony's body, and then looked at Applejack's belly. Her eyes went wide with fear. She quickly flipped the book over, and the cover said '101 Practical Joke Spells!' on it.

“No...no, no, no!” she cried, dropping the book on the ground and scooting away from it like it was a spider. “That's not the book I grabbed! I got the 'DIY First Aid Spell Primer'! There's a breathing spell, and that's what I cast!”

“Well, it looks an awful lot like it ain't! The curse is affectin' your mind, Twilight!”

“My mind? Oh, Celestia...oh, this is bad. Really, really bad, Applejack.” Twilight said, shaking her head. She ran one hoof reassuringly through her mane and stuck the other in the side of her muzzle, fearfully gnawing on it.

“Well, I'm glad you're takin' it seriously now! Now will ya help me fix this, please?” she said.

“No, you don't understand! Whatever's happening is affecting my mind! If I can't trust what I see, or hear, or perceive in the most basic sense, I'm more likely to do harm than help!”

"But Twilight-!"

"With no empirical way to determine what's real, how can I be sure of anything!?" she said, gnawing on her hoof again.

"Empirical...?" asked Applejack, crinkling her nose at the word.

"How can I be sure we're even having this conversation right now? I could be doing anything! Oh, Celestia, I could hurt somepony!" she shouted, wringing her hooves.

“Twilight! Don't panic, calm down!”

“No! I can't be calm! How can I be calm at a time like this? To be anything less than panicked would be irresponsible! And I can't be calm cause I don't know if I'm calm and if I try than I might just think that I'm calm!” she shouted, furiously pacing back and forth, chewing on her hoof.

“Ngh...take it easy now...” Applejack said worriedly, wincing as the last of her hooves left the ground, and she rocked around uneasily, her legs resting across on her vast, softly billowing, swelling stomach.

“I could be starting fires or stealing pies or rolling in a ditch or kicking donkeys or throwing pots or spilling paint or breaking windows or-” Twilight droned, hunched over her desk as she slid her three inkwells down, and then back up into place, one at a time, over and over and over again with trembling hooves.

“Twilight...maybe...can ya just reverse this spell? Mmph...” said Applejack, watching her scuttle across the study, going right by her as she creaked, slowly expanding bigger, rounder, and wider.

“Can't see, can't hear, can't smell, can't feel, can't taste, can't think, can't breathe...” she said, pulling each book in the bookshelf out, checking the spine, and re-shelving them, one by one, her knees wobbling.

“Twi! Listen to me! Breathe!” she said. Twilight turned away from the bookshelf, taking several deep breaths.

“You're fine! Just reverse the spell, please!” she said. Twilight looked at Applejack, her face lighting up excitedly.

“Of course. Of course!” she said.

“Oh, thank Celestia! I thought I broke your brain there for a second.”

“A sound mind has all the bearings of the situation long and short, and to grasp the basics of what I'm experiencing, I need only examine the facts! And the only thing that's clear is that you need help! So you are gonna let me help you, Applejack!” she said, looking considerably more strung out than before, her horn lighting up with magic.

“Uh...Twilight?” Applejack said, nervously smiling, “Now, let's just try calmin' down again, okay?” With a flash, she fired a magenta-colored bolt of magic at Applejack's big, inflated body. “Whoa, nelly!” she shouted, immediately feeling pressure build up in her huge, round gut, and her body started expanding again, blowing up, and up, and up, her legs starting to fatten and widen outwards. She groaned as she inflated bigger, and then the pressure lessened, and she stopped. “Alright, Twilight, listen to me.”

“More!” she shouted, and another magenta-colored bolt of magic fired from her horn. Applejack cringed as she inflated bigger, and bigger, creaking and groaning like a straining balloon as her hide stretched to its limits. Her legs grew shorter and shorter, puffing and swelling outwards, her rump bulged and expanded behind her, stretching her cutie mark out over the vast expanse of her flanks. She trembled, nervously, the surface of her enormous, round body wobbling. She stopped growing.

BANG!

There was a solid impact as something hit the roof above them. Both of their ears perked up, as some clamoring that sounded like hooves shuffled on the roof above them.

“Er...how's about that, huh?” asked Applejack, nervously smiling through her poofy, freckled cheeks, “Sounds like there's...ngh...somepony on the roof!” she said. A mote of dust cascaded down from the ceiling as the hooffalls skipped their way across the tree branches above them. “We don't want anypony else getting' in here, now, do we? Twilight, the balcony!” she said, realizing where they were headed, and on cue, four hooves noisily clopped down on the balcony outside. Twilight looked up at it. “Hold the door shut, Twi!” she said. Twilight giggled, turning her gaze back to Applejack.

“No, let me help you, Applejack!” she said, her eyes focusing on her inflated friend with fierce determination. Applejack looked down at her in horror, and back up at the balcony door, a shadow creeping up on the closed drapes.

“Uh...Twi!” she said, fearfully. Twilight's eyes narrowed, her horn glowing. “Twi, snap out of it!” she screamed, wiggling her hooves around desperately. The balcony doors opened, and a rainbow-colored tail poked its way between them.

Rainbow Dash furled her wings, backing through the doors and shutting them behind her.

“Whoo!” she whooped, “Alright, I don't think they're gonna-

“TWILIGHT'S GONE NUTS, RAINBOW, HELP!” Applejack hollered.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash quickly turned around, seeing Applejack's massive, bulging, inflated body, and Twilight standing across the study with magic flaring around her horn. “Twilight's helping? No, wait, that's bad! Uh...is this one of those 'not helping is helping' kinda deals?”

“YES! DO SOMETHIN', I'M GONNA BLOW!”

“Aw, crud!” Rainbow Dash shouted, taking flight. “Hang on!” She shot down, blowing the curtains behind her away as she divebombed Twilight.

“Wha- augh!” Twilight cried as her concentration was broken moments before she was tackled, sending a magenta-colored bolt of magic shooting from her horn. Applejack did her best to move out of the way, pathetically wiggling her hooves and ducking her head down, as the magic just barely missed her round bulk and hit a table behind her, which rocked with the impact. Then, it started creaking, its surface rising up, the wooden pale and assorted papers on top sliding off of its increasingly convex surface, its legs puffing and rounding out.

“Boy, howdy.” said Applejack, watching in fascination.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash rolled around on the rug, wrestling one another. Rainbow Dash quickly and easily got her in an armbar.

“Ow!” yelped Twilight.

“Sorry!” she released her. She then immediately got her in a half-nelson.

“Ow!” yelped Twilight.

“Sorry!” she released her.

“Don't hurt her!” said Applejack, nervously watching the two grapple. Rainbow Dash somersaulted off of her, landing on all fours, ready to pounce. Twilight pulled herself up with a groan, rubbing her sore shoulder.

“Easy for you to say, fatso! What else am I supposed to do, she bruises like a banana!”

“I don't know, think'a somethin'!”

“I'm trying!” snapped Rainbow Dash as Twilight recovered, setting her sights on Rainbow Dash. She bared her teeth, her horn lighting up with magic.

“Rainbow, what are you doing?” said Twilight, edging around in a circle. “We need to help Applejack!”

“Not like this, we don't! You wanna help Applejack, you're gonna have to help me first!” said Rainbow Dash, blocking her.

“How can you say that? She's our friend! She needs us! Can't you see?”

“Yeah, I can!”

“Then you know that you're only making things worse!”

“Yeah, I do!”

“Then why in Celestia's good name are you not helping her!?”

“Because she asked me not to!”

“What!?”

“She's my best friend! She's a better friend than I deserve and she's always there for me, so I'll always be there for her! So if she tells me not to help her, I'm not gonna help her! And I'll be delta-mike'd if I'm gonna let anypony else lay one hoof on her! So back! Off!” she growled, taking flight in front of Applejack, rearing to go.

Twilight was caught off-guard by Rainbow Dash's speech, her horn fizzling out as she flinched back. Rainbow Dash snorted, steam venting from her nostrils. Twilight shook it off and stomped forward again with tears in her eyes.

“I'm sorry! I can't just sit by and not help my friend!” she shouted, her horn lighting up with magic.

“Rainbow!” said Applejack, “Don't let her hit you! Do somethin'!”

“Ah, crud...” Rainbow Dash cursed through her teeth, racking her brain. She looked behind her at Applejack, inflated several magnitudes bigger around than she was tall. She scanned her up and down, sizing her up, then looked up at the ceiling. She licked her hoof, holding it out to test the wind. “HYAH-!” she cried, diving down, planting both hooves firmly into the floor and bucking Applejack with both hind legs.

Applejack cried out in surprise as her huge, inflated body flew back through the air,

PING

bouncing off of the wall and ricocheting upwards,

PONG

bouncing off the ceiling and flying straight down.

SPLAT

She bounced on the floor.

“YA-HAH-HAH-HOW!” Applejack screamed as her huge, round body settled to a stop on her back, her massive belly stretching upwards towards the ceiling.

“Yyyyyyyes! Bullseye!” Rainbow Dash cried, hovering a bit off the ground and pumping her hooves in victory. Applejack's hat drifted down like a leaf, settling on the floor next to her.

“Somethin' poked me!” said Applejack, wiggling her hooves as she rocked to and fro. “Did I land on Twilight?”

“Oh man, did you see that? I couldn't have planned that better! Pchow! Phlbt! Ha ha!” she said, kicking and punching the air dramatically.

“Rainbow!”

“Oh! Right! Sorry!” Rainbow Dash said, snapping out of her excitement. She gave Applejack a nudge with one hoof, and Applejack tumbled over, her ponytail whipping around and her stubby, inflated hooves wiggling as she settled back onto her belly. Rainbow Dash sauntered around Applejack's huge, inflated body and saw something purple spread thinly across Applejack. Twilight was flattened to a sticker, conforming to all the contours of Applejack's lower back, as she gently rocked around and around on her gigantic belly. Her head was flattened across Applejack's rump, a dazed expression frozen on her face.

“Ah-ha!” shouted Rainbow Dash, pointing at Twilight's squashed form. “Don't move!” she said, speed off towards the fireplace.

“Don't move? Wait! What's goin' on?” asked Applejack, wiggling her hooves and craning her head to try and see behind her. Rainbow Dash sped over to the hearth, brushing aside all the fireplace tools on the side, grabbing the small bellows behind them. Applejack perked up and blushed as she felt something poke her in the rump.

CHUFF! CHUFF! CHUFF! CHUFF! CHUFF! CHUUF!

“Hey! What in sam hill are ya doin' back there!?” she said, wiggling her hooves as the sound of pumping filled the air. Then, she felt something pressing against her, peeling off of her hide. With a rasp, it unstuck. Rainbow Dash gave a quick kick to Applejack, spinning her around like a bottle. She dizzily shook her head, and when she reoriented herself, she was turned around, and she saw Twilight on the end of the bellows, Rainbow Dash pumping her up and up like a balloon.

“Mmmmph!” she mumbled, her eyes wide and fixated on the nozzle in her mouth while her horn fizzled and sparked with weakened magic.

“There! Now that I...have your...undivided attention...” she grunted, her muscular forelegs working the bellows. Twilight's legs fattened and expanded outwards, her flanks and rump widening and growing up and out, and her bulging, billowing, increasingly spherical body creaked and squeaked like rubber, slowly rising up higher and higher, her stretching, purple hide growing bigger and bigger around. “This! Is what you're doing! To Applejack!”

CHUFF! CHUFF! CHUFF! CHUFF!

“Mmmmmmph!” Twilight Sparkle screamed, wiggling her inflating hooves around as she grew bigger and bigger, approaching the size Applejack had blimped up to.

“Listen to her, Twilight! Calm down!” said Applejack.

“Mmmph! Mmmhmmphmmph!” Twilight muffled, shutting her eyes tight and shaking her head. Her horn lit up again, but the magic fizzled out.



Some time later, the study was much quieter. “...But then Rainbow Dash cleared them away, and I was able to get into the library.” said Applejack. Rainbow Dash nonchalantly slouched against Twilight's desk by the wall, drinking a glass of water. “Spike, he, uh...” Applejack said. Twilight was across the room from Applejack, inflated to almost the same enormous size, her muzzle fastened tight with a quilted book strap. Her cheeks were puffed up as big as cantalopes, and she busily studied Applejack's big, round body with cautious fascination, listening intently. When Rainbow Dash fastened her mouth shut, she stubbornly pretended to ignore Applejack, but, she grew considerably less sour the further Applejack got into her story, and her interest seemed to grow and grow. “Spike was affected as much as anypony. He tried to get at me with the bellows and got a knock on the head. I left him sleepin' downstairs. 'N then I came up here, 'n that's pretty much everything that happened.” she said. Twilight blinked and pondered in silence. “So we were hoping that ya wouldn't...react the way ya did 'n help me undo the old pony's curse.”

“Mmmphmph...” said Twilight. Her eyes narrowed, searching around, silently lost in thought. Then, they shot wide open. “Mmmph!” she exclaimed. “Mmmph!” she repeated, looking at Applejack.

“What? What is it?”

“Mmmhmmmhmph mphmmhmmphmph mmphmhmmph!” Twilight said excitedly.

“I can't hear ya with that thing on your snout.” she said. Twilight blinked at her in slight confusion, seemingly forgetting about the state she was in, and then her eyes crossed, looking at the book strap around her muzzle. Her horn lit up with magic, and she shut her eyes tight, her inflated cheeks wobbling as she trembled with exertion. She groaned behind her shut muzzle, her magic glowing, then fizzling, fading, then flaring up again. Applejack flinched as she felt magic tingle over her taut, inflated hide, magenta-colored magic enveloping her entire body, and with a bang and a flash, before she could make out the rest of the room, the floor was colliding with her hooves and she stumbled to her knees. She shook her head, disoriented, suddenly back to her normal self again, and her hat drifting gently back down onto her head like a leaf. Twilight's entire body shook and wobbled, and with a flash and a bang, she was back to normal as well. She stumbled for a bit, her eyes spinning as she reoriented herself and pawed the loosened strap off of her muzzle with one hoof.

“Wait a minute!” shouted Rainbow Dash, slamming her empty glass down on Twilight's desk, “You're telling me you could have done that at anytime?”

“It's a hag!” yelled Twilight, excitedly. Applejack shakily got to her hooves.

“What?”

“The old pony! It's a hag! That's where I've heard this all before!” Twilight said, practically hopping with excitement.

“Where you've heard what before?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“You're not cursed, Applejack!”

“I'm not?”

“No!”

“Oh! Phew! That's a relief.” she said, sitting down.

“No! You're hexed!”

“I'm what now?” asked Applejack, furrowing her brow in confusion.

“What the heck is a hex? And what's the flippin' difference!?” shouted Rainbow Dash, hovering a short distance from the ground.

“Hexes are real! Look!” she said, and a large, beaten, illuminated tome levitated itself off of one of the bookshelves. Twilight happily squeezed herself between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and blew the dust off the cover as it came close enough to read. It flipped open, pages leafing over and over, until it settled on an open page. “A hag! Haven't you ever heard about hags?” she said.

“No.” said Rainbow Dash.

“Well, Granny Smith's mentioned them once or twice, but I never asked her about 'em, no.” said Applejack.

“Well, according to what I've read, they're dangerous, destructive parasites that come from the old world. They usually take the form of an old nag, to avoid suspicion.” said Twilight, pointing to the open page. There was an antiquated drawing of an old, hunched-over pony in the middle of a happy, smiling village. “But they're not as kind or sweet as they appear.” she said, flipping the page, “They bend fate to give themselves supernatural luck, and they feed on pony's misery and misfortune to be able to do so. They spirit themselves into ponies' bedrooms at night and paralyze them, giving them terrible nightmares.” There was a picture of a sleeping pony with dark clouds around their head, the hag sitting on their chest. “But sometimes, an especially greedy hag will choose somepony to be their waking host.” she said, pointing to a drawing on the opposite page. The same pony was young, pretty, and standing up tall, the ponies around her crying out in anguish and the village in ruins. “They'll cast a hex on them and keep them in a constant state of misery.”

“What're ya sayin'?”

“A hag came to Ponyville looking for a pony down on her luck to use as her host, and she chose you. She cast a hex on you to ensure that you would remain miserable, and she's been feeding on you ever since!”

“Feedin' on me?" she asked, scratching her head again, "I hate to say it, Twi, but this ain't makin' anything clearer at all.”

“No, it all makes sense! Think about it!" said Twilight, excitedly pacing around the room, "When you encountered her, why were you unhappy?”

“Cause everypony in town was makin' jokes about me.” she said, shooting an irritated glance over at Rainbow Dash, who guiltily avoided eye contact, scratching her throat with a hoof.

“Exactly! You were the center of attention! It was something that happened that you would prefer not to re-experience, you felt like it was getting blown out of proportion, and you couldn't escape because the entire town was in on it! That's what the effects of the hex are!”

“Huh...” said Rainbow Dash.

“Whoa...” Applejack said, putting her hooves on either side of her head, “I think my brain's doin' somersaults. So that's what this is all about? I've gone through all this cause that's how some old pony gets her kicks?”

“Hag. And yes. Every moment you've felt unhappy today has fuelled the magic of a powerful, selfish creature. The hex ensures that whatever caused you to be unhappy keeps on happening. I can't believe I'm looking at a real life hex with my own eyes, this is so cool!” she said, beaming at Applejack, who shrunk away nervously.

“Alright, so, how do they get rid of the hag?" Rainbow Dash asked, hovering . Twilight perked up, her smile falling.

"Huh?"

"You know, in the stories. How do the ponies get rid of the hag?" she asked. Twilight floated the book back over to herself and flipped through the pages.

"Uuuuh..."

"This legend does have a happy ending, doesn't it?" she asked, concern starting to fall over Applejack.

"Well..." Twilight stammered, nervously, “I'm...not really sure.”

"Tell me ya know how to undo the hex, at least?" Applejack asked. Twilight nervously brought her hoof to the side of her muzzle.

“Hexes are a forbidden school of magic. I've learned some spells that are like hexes, but that's not enough. I only know about them from hearsay and second-hand sources, and I can't attempt to dispel one safely without a solid understanding of how they work. It could be dangerous! Or worse, unpredictable!” she said, excitedly running her hoof along the edge of her mouth.

“Well, she's gotta get her fill some time, right?” asked Applejack, hopefully, “How much misery can one little old hag hold, anyhow?” she asked, hopefully. Twilight bit her lip and lowered her hoof back down, avoiding eye contact.

“I'm...afraid not. It says here that hags will continue feeding until there's...nothing left to feed on.”

“Cause...I'm happy again?” she asked. Twilight opened her mouth, as if to say something, and then closed it, hesitant to speak. “...Oh. Well, alright, then.” Applejack said, sinking deeper into the floor.

“Oh come on, Twilight!” shouted Rainbow Dash, her forelegs crossed angrily, “Can't we just track her down, use the Elements of Harmony on her and be done with it?”

“There's still no knowing if it'll undo the hex! The longer Applejack is hexed, the worse it will get.” Twilight said, snapping the book shut and absent-mindedly pacing around the study, “It will just keep spreading further and further! Back when these books were first written, a single hex could leave entire cities in ruins in a matter of days!” she said, chewing on her hoof. “So we don't have time to waste. Trying to find somepony who knows how to undo it is too risky.”

“Too risky? Didn't you just say all of Ponyville is at risk anyways?” said Rainbow Dash.

“Yes! Unless we fix this before then.”

“But how?”

“Well, I have an idea, but Applejack, you're not gonna like it.” she said, and Applejack gulped. “I think...you need to apologize to her.” she said.

“I need to what?”
“She needs to what!?”

“I know she's put you through a lot. But the fact is, she's the only pony we know who can cast hexes. And, when you were talking about her incantation, you mentioned something about your friends being enemies and enemies being friends.”

“Twilight, that's ridiculous!” said Rainbow Dash, “If anypony should apologize, it should be her!” said Rainbow Dash.

“In a lot of these old stories with curses, the curse serves to teach somepony a lesson. What if those stories are really about hags and hexes? Maybe...the incantation has some condition that has to be met, and then it'll lift?” suggested Twilight. Applejack thought hard.

“I think you're right, Twilight.” she said.

“What!? You aren't seriously considering going up to that old nag and saying you're sorry, are you? I say we get the gang together, give her a faceful of friendship, and dance on her ashes!”

“If this here hex has rules I gotta follow, then rules are rules, Rainbow Dash!” said Applejack.

“UUUUuuuuugggghhhh...” groaned Rainbow Dash, descending to the floor.

“Thank you, Applejack.” said Twilight.

“Alright. We'll get everypony together, and then as a group, with y'all watchin' my back, I'll apologize to her.” she said. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “And then we'll use the Elements'a Harmony on her.” she said, giving Rainbow Dash a nudge and a wink.

“Thank you!” said Rainbow Dash, brightening up.

“Wait...” Twilight said, uneasily, “Are you...sure you want me coming with you? Aren't you scared I'm gonna...you know...act like I did before?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, and then back at her.

“Well, you're okay now, aren't ya?” asked Applejack.

“I don't know! Even knowing that what I'm seeing is a hex, and knowing that these thoughts aren't mine, there's still no way I can assure you I won't make another mistake! It's too dangerous! I'm...too dangerous.” she said, looking down at her hooves. “The way I acted earlier...you probably thought I went crazy...” she said, forlorn. Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared an awkward look with one another. Rainbow Dash motioned to Twilight with her eyes. Applejack's eyes narrowed as she shook her head, gesticulating back at Rainbow Dash with her muzzle. Rainbow Dash looked back at her questioningly, shrugging and shaking her head, then motioned more emphatically over at Twilight. Applejack looked over at the sulking, purple unicorn, mentally choosing her words ahead of time.

“We don't...uh...” started Applejack, racking her brain, trying to think of the best way to stretch the truth. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“-Think your crazy, Twilight!” interrupted Rainbow Dash, earnestly, “We never do!” she said, lying.

“Really?” she asked, with tears in her eyes. Applejack stepped forward.

“Twilight, I don't care what's wrong with you...exactly...” she said, “The only thing that matters to me right now is that I'm with my friends, and that means you're comin' with us.”

“Oh!” said Twilight, overcome with emotion. She trotted her way over to Applejack and hugged her warmly, and Applejack returned it with an affectionate, one-legged bear hug. Rainbow Dash sighed. She knew what was coming next.

“Bring'er here, sugar cube.” Applejack said, slightly muffled from nuzzling Twilight's shoulder, and beckoned her over with her free leg.

“Fine...” Rainbow Dash said, landing and wrapping her forelegs around them both.

“Best friend hug!” shouted Twilight.

“Alright, alright! Sheesh, Twilight, don't ruin it!” said Rainbow Dash. They all broke off of one another.

“Okay.” said Twilight. “So we all agree that we should gather up the rest of the gang as the best course of action?”

“Yes.”

“Eeyep.”

“Agreed. Applejack, I can use my magic to sneak you through town, so you don't have to worry about that again.”

“Thank ya kindly, Twilight.”

“Rainbow Dash? We might need your help to see at a distance and herd crowds away.

“Got it.” said Rainbow Dash, giving her a salute.

“Now.” said Twilight, turning back to Applejack, “Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Where was the last place you saw each of them?”



All was dark, and quiet. He'd given up struggling by now. At this point, he knew the score. After all the important stuff had already been dealt with, they would come get him, and then he'd be in trouble, and have to sit through one of Twilight's lectures. Again. He sighed.

“Don't...give up...” a soft, sultry voice whispered in his ear. He bristled at the sensation.

“Huh? Whuh? Twilight?” Spike grunted, his face smushed against the inside of the bucket.

“How did you end up in here, hmmm?” the voice whispered.

“Wait, hold on a sec-! Hngmph! You're not Twilight! Who are you?” he said, trying to turn his head.

“Poor little dragon...” the voice cooed, “You were only trying to help, weren't you?”

“Yeah...” said Spike, “Yeah. Yeah!” he repeated, getting angrier. “I was only trying to help! All I ever do is try to help! And why do I always end up with a bucket on my head?” he grunted.

“Mmmmmmm...poor little dragon...poor, brave, strong little dragon...” the voice purred, its words echoing, and rolling, and rolling around endlessly in Spike's head. He wanted to shake it off, but her couldn't move.

“Yeah. I am pretty brave, aren't I? And strong, too!” he said, smiling proudly.



“Oh, no doubt. Tell me, precious and noble little dragon...how would you like to be the hero for once?” the voice asked.