//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Stretchy Belle // by Muffin_Spectacles //------------------------------// "Wow Zecora," said Applebloom, "this is really good tea." "It is a brand-new blend, of my own design," replied the zebra, "I am pleased to hear you feel it's fine." A small chortle of laughter filled the air in Zecora's hut. Today, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, had ventured into the Everfree Forest to visit their friend, and catch up on what she had been doing over the last few months. "Hey Zecora," chimed in Sweetie Belle, "would you be able to let me take some of this tea back to Rarity? The stuff she has at her boutique is kinda boring." "I shall fulfill your request, my dear," smiled Zecora, trotting over to some shelves. "Let me take a look, right over here." As she busied herself among the shelves, one of her legs bumped into a bejeweled book, which promptly fell to the floor. "Oh drat. I certainly did not mean to do that." "What a fancy book," said Sweetie, eyeing the shiny cover. "Yeah," chimed in Applebloom. "Is it one of yer potion books?" "You draw conclusions," said Zecora. "But alas, it simply has pictures, from my past." "Y'mean like baby pictures?" asked Scootaloo. "Not quite as juvenile, though come to think of it, I haven't looked at them in awhile." "Well, would you mind showing us? It might be fun to see what you were like before you came to Ponyville." "Three curious fillies wish to know, and so I Zecora, will tell and show." The three were soon huddled around Zecora, as she turned the yellowed pages of the book. Along with images of a younger Zecora, were those of a number of other zebras. The girls eyes soon alighted on striped quadrupeds with maneless heads, strange discs that extended out their lower jaws, and even some with numerous items pierced through their ears. As another page was turned, Sweetie Belle's eyes alighted on one picture. It showed a younger Zecora, seated across from another zebra. They were both bowing, though what was rather remarkable, was the head of the zebra across from Zecora in the picture...was attached to an enormously long neck, with numerous rings encircling it. "Who's that?" asked Sweetie. "Mistres Zeniiba, of the jungle lands," noted Zecora. "I see you are admiring her metal bands." "Well, I've just never seen a po-I mean, a zebra with such a long neck. How did she get that way?" Sensing the young filly's curiosity, Zecora explained more about the tribe Zeniiba came from. In the tribe's village, it was common that over time, the female zebras would attach a series of rings along their necks. As the years went by, more rings would be added, until by the time a female zebra had come-of-age, her neck could be as long as two-and-a-half ponies in length. "Wow," muttered Applebloom. "That must've been quite a sight t'see." "Most certainly one of my favorite tales," smiled Zecora, "seeing the female's heads tower over the males. But please turn the page, Sweetie Belle. There are more pictures to show as well." "Okay," said Sweetie, flipping to the next page with her unicorn magic. That evening as she lay in bed, Sweetie Belle couldn't get the image of Zeniiba's gold-ringed neck out of her head. Even though Zecora had shown them pictures of other zebras she had met, that particular picture was still rattling around inside the little filly's head. She looked so elegant, thought Sweetie. The princesses have long necks sure, but that zebra's neck... Even though it was well past midnight, Sweetie soon turned on her bedside lamp, and crept over to her vanity. There, her eyes met her own reflection, and traveled down to her own neck. Looking herself in the mirror, she tried to hold her head up as high as possible. However, if she was expecting to extend her filly-sized neck, she failed miserably. "I wonder what it feels like to have a long neck," she muttered to herself, going back to bed and turning out the lights. As she tossed and turned in bed for a while longer, an idea suddenly formed in her little mind! Using her magic, she quickly brought a piece of paper and pencil over to her bed, and began scribbling away furiously. "I can't wait to tell Applebloom and Scootaloo about this," she said to herself. "I can just hear them now." "You wanna do what!?" asked Applebloom and Scootaloo in unison. "I want you two to help me stretch my neck," smiled Sweetie Belle. "You know, like that zebra in the picture Zecora had?" "Ah don't think that's such a good idea," said Applebloom, apprehensively. "Yeah," added Scootaloo. "I mean, what if something goes wrong? I'd feel awful if we hurt you Sweetie Belle, and I'm sure Applebloom would feel the same-" "But you won't," interjected Sweetie. "I don't want to make my neck as long as Zeniiba's. Just...long enough to find out what it feels like." "And just how long is, 'long enough?'" "Oh, about eye-height with Rarity. I figure that should be more-than-enough." "So, how exactly are you gonna...stretch yerself?" asked Applebloom. "With this," said Sweetie, as she showed them the crude drawing she had done the night before. "We just need to collect the supplies, build a few things, and voila: instant neck-stretcher!" Applebloom and Scootaloo both exchanged worried looks, that Sweetie quickly picked up on. "I know this sounds dangerous, but I'm positive I'll be fine. I just want you two to help me do this this one time, okay?" "Promise?" asked Scootaloo. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," smiled Sweetie. The "Pinkie Promise" quickly put the girls at ease, and the trio headed out to collect the materials for Sweetie Belle's plan. A few hours later, they were back in their clubhouse, hammering and sawing away. Soon, the fruits of their labor were completed. In the center of the room, sat a perpendicular wooden table, with a seam 3/4 of the way up it's surface. On either side of the seam, were two stout metal clasps, screwed securely in place. At the top of the table, were two metal rings, with thick rope running through them. The ropes extended up and over the central rafter of the clubhouse, and down to two massive barbells (which the girls had borrowed from Bulk Biceps), situated on a small stack of chairs. The twin barbells were so heavy, that it looked like the chairs were going to break apart at any second. However, this danger was lost on Sweetie Belle, who was hugging her friends excitedly. "Oh thank-you thank-you thank-you," she smiled. "It looks perfect!" "Yeah," yawned Applebloom, "I just didn't think it'd take us all day to finish." "Ditto on that," said Scootaloo, looking out the window as the sun disappeared behind the hills outside. "What say we all go home, and do this stretching thing tomorrow?" "Tomorrow?" squeaked Sweetie Belle. "But girls, it's ready right now!" "But we're tired, Sweetie Belle," yawned Applebloom again. "B'sides, Applejack says it's best not to operate dangerous stuff when yer tired." "Dangerous? This isn't dangerous," insisted Sweetie Belle, galloping over to the upright table, and opening the metal clasps. "Look, it's not gonna take that long. Just give me a few hours-" "A few hours?" whined her friends. "Yeah. I figure it shouldn't take me that long to get stretched as tall as Rarity. Just a few hours, and then we can go home. Pinkie Promise?" With a tired sigh, the two fillies conceded, and a few moments later, Sweetie Belle had her back against the table, her neck firmly held under the metal clasps, and her chin resting on the top-most clasp. On either side of her, Applebloom and Scootaloo stood by the stacks of chairs. "Okay girls," smiled Sweetie. "Let's do this!" The two fillies attempted to pull the chairs out from under the masive barbells, but their weight made them almost impossible to budge. Eventually, Applebloom and Scootaloo began to buck at the lower chairs with their hind legs. It took some time, but suddenly, the sound of splintering wood was heard as the lower chairs gave way, and the weights crashed through the other chairs! Suddenly, the ropes pulled taut, the weights hovered in the air. A few seconds later, a squeaking scream was heard, jerking Applebloom and Scootaloo to their hooves! The two rushed to their friend's side, where they noticed that the upper clasp on the table, seemed to be pushing up against Sweetie's chin, as her eyes were clamped shut. "Ah knew this was bad," gasped Applebloom. "Scootaloo quick! We kin-" "No...don't," came Sweetie's voice, faintly. "F-f-fine." "Fine!?" asked Applebloom. "You look like you're in-" "Applebloom, look!" Interrupted Scootaloo, pointing to the metal clasps. As the two fillies watched, they saw the space between the clasps, slowly grow wider by the merest of millimeters. After 15 minutes, the space was at least a quarter-of-an-inch wider. "It's...it's working!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "Told...you...it...would," smiled Sweetie Belle, though the expression looked more like a grimace. "Ah still don't like this," muttered Applebloom, gazing worriedly at her friend. The three fillies attempted to stay awake as the stretching of Sweetie Belle's neck slowly continued, but as the stars peeked through the nearby windows, the day's activities slowly began to take their toll on the girls. One-by-one, their eyelids began to droop. Surprisingly, Sweetie Belle was the first to nod off. With at least 2 inches of her stretched neck showing through the widening gap between the clasps, and even with her chin bunched up against the top-most one, she was soon snoring in no time. Applebloom and Scootaloo attempted to stay up to make sure their friend reached her "proper height," but soon, Scootaloo was asleep on the wooden floor, and Applebloom followed shortly afterwards. As the three fillies slept through the night, Bulk Bicep's weights kept descending, the upper part of the wood table kept ascending, and Sweetie Belle's neck...kept stretching. "Belle...Sweetie Belle...Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie Belle heard a voice calling her name out of the darkness. Slowly, she opened her sleepy eyes, and was surprised at the sight in front of her. A number of wooden beams greeted her vision, and it took her a few moments to realize she was looking at the upper rafters of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. "SWEETIE BELLE!!" came the combined voices of her friends. "Girls?" she asked. "What's going on?" "Look down," commanded Scootaloo. It was then Sweetie remembered the clasp at the bottom of her chin. Unable to tilt her head down, her green eyes looked down over her cheeks, as best she could. What she saw next, was a shocking sight! A long, white column extended from under her field of vision, and down to a white body against a wooden table below. A few seconds later...Sweetie realized the body she was looking at was her own, and the white column...was her neck! "G-girls?" she asked. "W-what's happening?" "We fell asleep," said Applebloom, walking into Sweetie's field-of-vision. "I tried to stay awake as long as I could," chimed in Scootaloo, "but-" "W-w-what do I look like?" asked Sweetie, a tone of worry creeping into her voice. "The-the floor length mirror. Bring it over and show me." Her friends obliged, and soon, Sweetie Belle was seeing what they were seeing. The weights were still attached to the long rope cords of the stretching apparatus, but they were now resting on the floor. Overnight, they had pulled the young filly's pure-white neck longer, and longer, and longer still. By the looks of things, Sweetie's neck was now twice as long as her little body. "Girls?" she said. "I think we need to go see Twilight...right now!" Getting Sweetie Belle to Twilight Sparkle, proved to be no easy task. Once Applebloom and Scootaloo had untied the ropes attached to bulk bicep's weights, all three of the girls screamed as Sweetie's clamped head quickly descended downward as the upper part of the table crashed down onto the lower-part, with the filly's extra-long neck spooling out in front of her like silly string! It was also upon removing the clamps, that the girls screamed again, as Sweetie's tiny head slumped to the floor, still attached to the serpentine neck snaking out from her trembling body. She was then loaded carefully into their little red wagon, and with Applebloom holding onto Scootaloo, the orange pegasus sped towards Ponyville as fast as she could. When they pulled up to the Golden Oak Library, Applebloom hopped off, and began pounding on it's door. "Twilight!" she yelled. "Twilight it's Applebloom! We gotta problem!" A few moments later, the door opened, and the purple alicorn emerged. "For Celestia's sake, Applebloom," said Twilight, "a few polite knocks are more than enough for me to-" It was then that her eyes alighted on the wagon, where Sweetie's neck and head lay on top of her body, like a pile of thick spaghetti. "Twilight," she said worriedly. "I need your help." Once Sweetie Belle had been brought into the library, Twilight had the girls lay her out on the floor, with her long neck covering a great distance. After a short examination, they were relieved that the scared filly had not lost feeling in her neck. Twilight even checked to see if Sweetie felt any pain, but light pressure along portions of the neck, revealed nothing that caused them alarm. "But why can't she lift up her head?" asked Scootaloo. "I think it's because her neck muscles have been stretched so long," said Twilight. "They're not meant to be...well, like this." "Can you get me back to normal, Twilight?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Please don't be mad at us," pleaded Applebloom. "We didn't mean for this to happen, honest," nodded Scootaloo. "While I'm very concerned with what you did," said Twilight, "I don't think I should punish you." "Whew," sighed the three fillies. "That's for your families to do." The three sighs, turned into three big gulps a few seconds later. Eventually, word turned to how this had happened in the first place. When Sweetie Belle explained about the picture she had seen at Zecora's, Twilight quickly sent Spike to the Everfree Forest. Soon, the library door was thrown open, and Zecora stopped in the doorway, gazing down at the little filly's neck stretched across the floor. After Twilight had filled Zecora in on everything the girls had told her, the zebra also conducted her own examination on Sweetie Belle. "She still has feeling," she said, "Of that I am glad...but all this can be either good, or bad." "Wh-whaddya mean?" asked Applebloom. Zecora then went on to talk again about her friend Zeniiba's culture. She explained that while the stretching of the zebra's necks had been gradual, she had never encountered one who had done what Sweetie Belle had. The fact that the weights had stretched her neck for a number of hours, weighed heavily on her mind. It was then that Zecora proposed to Twilight, that the stretched filly be allowed to relax and monitored over the next few weeks. "We must wait and hope her neck will recede. At this point, it is best we leave it be." "Very well," said Twilight."Come on girls, let's get Sweetie Belle home." For the next few weeks, Sweetie Belle was confined to her bedroom, with a number of blankets and pillows cushioning her neck and head. Naturally, her parents were shocked by what had happened to their little filly. They had just come back from a cruise, and the last thing they expected, was to see their daughter lying on her bedroom floor, stretched out from one end, to the other. Each day, Scootaloo and Applebloom visited their friend, who was slowly growing tired of doing nothing. Like the good friends they were, Sweetie's friends would take turns helping to feed her, play games, and even read to her. The news of what happened hadn't been lost on those who knew Sweetie Belle either. Several of the girl's older pony friends stopped by to see how she was doing. Fluttershy brought a small group of her animal friends to visit, and Applejack had her little sister deliver a basket of apple fritters to Sweetie. When Rarity heard what had happened to her little sister, she went to investigate, and was in awe at what she saw! After getting over the initial shock, she put her fashion orders on hold, and made her little sister a few new items to try and cheer her up. Sweetie Belle's parents also discovered that given how long her throat had become, it took awhile for her food to travel down the lengthened neck. This was remedied by feeding Sweetie smaller portion sizes, with a larger caloric content, allowing her to feel full while consuming less. Twilight would also visit Sweetie Belle daily, continuing to take measurements and examine her. However, as the days wore on, the Princess of Friendship became more and more concerned. Finally, at the end of the two weeks, she arranged for a meeting with Sweetie Belle, and her family and friends. The event was held in Sweetie's room, with the participants sitting next to Sweetie Belle, still lying on the floor, cushioned by a number of pillows and blankets. "Please tell us you have good news, Princess Twilight," said Sweetie's father. "Is our little Sweetie Belle gonna be alright?" "I'm afraid that's a two-part question," said Twilight. "What do you mean?" asked Sweetie's mother. "Just that I have good news, and...bad news." "What's the good news, Twilight?" asked Rarity. "Well, from all my observations, Sweetie's health has not deteriorated since the incident." "And, the bad news?" asked Sweetie, her head cradled on a thick pillow. "I've been monitoring your neck for the last few weeks Sweetie Belle," said Twilight, making eye-contact with the filly's big green eyes. "I've taken careful measurements, and I am sad to say, that you have not lost an inch of length since I first measured you." "Darling," said Rarity, "Are you saying-" "Yes," replied Twilight. "I'm afraid Sweetie Belle's stretched neck...is permanent."