Return Of Puffony

by Runic Script

Pone-ochio Apple

Applejack gulped, looking around at the hedges that surrounded her. Now cut off from her friends, she was forced to make her way through the maze alone, with Discord hiding anywhere within. She knew she couldn't let her friends down, however, and they had managed to face down Nightmare Moon after all! Surely they could take on anything this guy could throw at them. She began to trot through the maze, wending her way this way and that. For a maze, there weren't any branching pathways, which Applejack found just a little bit odd. She'd think getting her friends not only separated, but lost, would be a better idea than just making their progress more tedious. She shrugged it off, figuring she should be thinking about what to do when they finally met up with Discord instead.

The way turned into a bit of a slope, light enough to not be noticeable if you weren't paying attention. It did become notable when big red plush apples started to roll past her, tumbling around corners until they led her to an open area the size of a living room. The plush apples seemed to pile up in the middle of the area, with a small stage and a box of life-sized plush puppets on one side, a shelf with large picture books on the other side and Discord standing in front of the exit across the clearing.

Applejack glared at the draconequus, marching up to him and trying her best to look tough. "Discord! You best git outta the way before I whoop yer butt!" She threatened. "And what's with the fancy stage? I hope you weren’t plannin’ on putting on a show."

"Oh dear, and here I thought this was a foal friendly show." Discord leaned back with an exaggerated blush, fanning his face for a short moment before smoothly moving up next to AJ and picking up her hat. "And after I tried to do something nice for you, too. You see, I noticed that you've been running around and around and around..." He snaked around her several times before putting the hat back down on her head, "...without a single thing happening, and that's just no fun. So congratulations, you've found the break room! A place to kick up your legs and let yourself be entertained by me instead of having to run around for my entertainment. I'm an equal opportunity villain."

Applejack's eyes narrowed as she readjusted her hat, trying to follow Discord's spiraling movement. "I know a lie when I hear one, and y’all don't look like ya got a show ready to perform. Now let me through!" Applejack demanded, attempting to squeeze past Discord's noodly body. She grunted as she struggled, only to find herself plopped down atop the pile of plush apples, staring up at the stage.

"No appreciation for the arts." Discord pouted as he floated over to the shelf, pulling out a stack of books. "I mean, if you really want to keep running around aimlessly without a break, don't be my guest. But you might miss something interesting." He teleported over next to the stage, nudging the box of props and puppets. "Really though, just because you dislike me is no reason to twist the truth and accuse me of lying. As you can see I'm more than prepared for high-quality storytelling."

Applejack grumbled a bit, regretting her choice of words. "Alright, fine, I'll listen to your story." She eventually said, crossing her hooves as she leaned back into the plush apples. At the very least, they did offer a reasonably comfortable seat after having been wandering around for so long, and at worst all she'd do is waste time humoring Discord. Maybe listening to him might make him a bit more willing to stand down after all of this.

"Wonderful~!" Discord grinned and opened up one of the books. "Now let's see here. A long time ago, in the magical land of Equestria..."
Two puppets floated out of the box and onto the stage, hanging from strings tied to an old-fashioned puppeteer's cross: one plush puppet of Princess Luna and one plush puppet of Princess Celestia with a slightly oversized rump. Discord started telling the story of Nightmare Moon while the puppets acted it out, quickly going through the short version of the story before moving on to the next book. All of them were classic stories and breezie tales and surprisingly authentic, Discord's telling sticking closely to the stories Applejack knew while the puppets performed a rather much sillier version with copious amounts of slapstick.
It didn't take long for Discord's narrating to become a background droning while the puppet plays started to blur together slightly, the puppets themselves gradually becoming more plush and plump and comically oversized until the last puppets barely managed to even touch the stage with their hooves, not that it kept them from bumping and stumbling into each other clumsily and making a quite amusing mess of the old stories.
Almost without warning the show stopped, though, the stage remaining empty after the last story while Discord had pushed his whole upper half into the now much emptier box, muttering to himself and occasionally tossing out a puppet.

Applejack blinked, no longer only passively paying attention to Discord's performance. She suddenly noticed the taste of fluff in her mouth, and found herself chewing on one of the plush apples absentmindedly. She spat it out, rubbing her tongue a bit to try and remove the lingering fabric taste. She watched as Discord continued to dig around in the box, somehow squeezing even more of himself down into it during his search.
Applejack slowly picked herself up off the pile of apples, starting to wander towards the exit of the clearing. "Well... that was better than I’d expected it to be. I'm sorry for doubtin' ya, Discord." She said, continuing to make her way out.

"Thank you, thank you." Discord's foot picked up a hat and pulled the rest of himself out of it through the box. He gave a small bow before frowning. "I'm afraid it wasn't quite done yet... I was going to end with the best story, but I just cannot find the main character. All I have are some props... such a shame, I was saving this one for last because it just fits you so well."

Applejack was a bit hesitant to stick around, but upon thinking more about it, she couldn't quite put her hoof on why. Discord had been kind enough to put on some shows for her, and they had all been rather entertaining. It would be rude to leave part-way through the show too, especially if he had been saving the final act just for her. "Ah... I suppose I could help out, just a bit? Maybe help you look?"

"Would you? Maybe a pony can find what Dis can't." He chuckled and stepped aside to let her look into the box. "The last story is Pone-nochio. You know, that story about the importance of honesty. I thought it to be rather fitting." The box didn't have much left, only a few random puppets, an empty pair of bib overalls with suspenders, a few unassigned crosses and under it all a few patches of the weirdly colorful and swirly bottom of the box visible.

Applejack peered down into the box, scratching her chin as she tried to see just what was down there. There were some puppets... some overalls... some puppets... she shook her head, trying to clear it. It was as if every time her eyes ran over the bottom of the box, the swirling pattern made it impossible to remember what she had seen. Puppets... overalls... string... She leaned in deeper, hoping that a closer look would help her out. Puppets... over... puppets...? She leaned in again, and suddenly felt herself lose her balance. She tumbled forward, falling into the box with a plush 'flump!'

Several of the strings wrapped around her, getting her all tangled up with her face on the bottom of the box, staring right into the shifting, swirling colors that seemed to go deeper and deeper the more she looked at them. Her hat fluttered down onto her head, feeling oddly plushy and heavy. All her limbs started to feel numb and heavy as well, fading away behind the colors filling her vision and drawing her attention. Distantly she might have felt the overalls getting pulled over her legs and barrel, the thick and crinkly bottom snug around her flanks, the suspenders stretchy over her shoulders and the sewn-in bib with the heart-shaped pink apple catching any drool or fluff she might lose.
It wasn't clear how long she was lying and staring into the colors before someone pulled her up again, Discord holding her cross and letting her dangle from the strings around her forelegs and hindlegs while looking at her with eyes almost as colorful and pretty as the box. "There you are! You'd better hurry up on stage, your story is almost starting."

Applejack's eyelids bobbed up and down, her eyes reflecting Discord's shimmering ones. There was a strange, sort of sudden 'ping' in her mind as she suddenly straightened out her legs, her mind finally managing to grind back into gear. "Oh golly! I can't be late for my own story!" She said, attempting to hurry off to the stage. Of course, with her hooves tied up in the strings, she wasn't able to get far. She whined a little, looking back up at Discord holding her cross. "Come on, Discord! Ya can't keep me here if I have to get onto stage!"

"Of course, of course. Here, let me help you." Discord grinned and snapped his fingers, letting go of the cross. It kept floating, bobbing in the air above Applejack and letting her move however she wanted and even hang off the strings if she wanted to... as long as nobody else grabbed it, that was.
Discord barely gave her any time to get up on stage, already picking up the large storybook and flipping it open while all the puppets from previous plays gathered in front of the stage to watch the show.
"There once was a plush puppet named Pone-ochio... I mean Applejack, my bad. Applejack was a magical plush puppet who loved to prance and dance around on a stage to entertain all the fillies and colts who would watch her."

Applejack dutifully performed the described actions. She paraded around, making sure that all the other plushies were able to get a good look at her. She proudly displayed her stiches and seams, not at all concerned that she hadn't had those not too long ago. Her overalls were also worthy of being displayed, the way they hugged her rump cutely, and how they made her look like a good farmpony! Which she was, naturally. She jumped around a few times, so everypony could see her, her strings not getting tangled in the slightest as she showed herself off. "Look at me, everypony! I'm the pranciest pony around!"

"She sure was a lively plush, and a honest one to boot." Discord snapped his fingers again and a quartet of plushy pink booties with frills appeared on AJ's hooves. "Well, to booties. She was so honest in fact that a good breezie had granted her a boon, letting her live and move just like a real pony, controlling her own strings when nobody else was picking them up for her and never getting tangled up in them. Unless it was funny, of course." A tiny plush Pinkie Pie with butterfly wings flittered around Applejack for a moment, zapping her with a wand and throwing a bit of glitter over her.
"But a great boon like that came with obligations, of course. Since Applejack only got to prance and dance so nimbly thanks to being such an honest sort, the breezie said that she was never ever to tell a lie. Whenever Applejack told something that was even the tiniest bit untrue, she would suddenly feel a pit peckish or parched. And thanks to her magic overall, she could always pull a yummy plump plush apple or her trusty plush keg of tasty plush cider out of her pockets. So whenever she told even the tiniest lie, she'd find herself taking a large bite or even larger gulp of plush without even thinking about it first, and of course doing so would plump up her plush belly a little more each time until eventually she wouldn't be able to do more than waddle and bounce instead of prance and dance."

Applejack blushed a little bit as she looked at her frilly booties. One of the other plushies watching cooed, commenting at just 'how cute~' her booties were. Applejack's blush brightened, and she responded with 'They are not!' Her plush belly suddenly grumbled, and Applejack rubbed her tummy. "Oh goodness, I'm so hungry. An apple oughta do the trick!" She said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a plump plush apple, licking her lips as she admired it. She opened her mouth wide and shoved the apple into her awaiting maw. She playfully chewed the plush toy, though all she really accomplished was squishing it around in her mouth, her cheeks puffing out cutely from all the fluff.
Scrunching her eyes, Applejack let out a loud gulp! as she swallowed the apple. With an almost audible bwoomp!, the apple landed in her gut and made it grow outwards just a bit. She rubbed her belly again, looking satisfied at the snack.
"Applejack, you didn't just sneak an apple in the middle of the show, did you?" Another puppet asked.
"I certainly did not!" Applejack responded, only to find her plush mouth seeming just a bit dry. She reached into her pocket again and pulled out a small plush keg of cider. She popped the spigot into her mouth, letting out a happy sigh as she gulped down the cool stuffing, which was even more refreshing than the real cider!

Discord chuckled at the demonstration, flipping to the next page. "Applejack had gone into a maze with all her silly frilly friends, to play a game against Discord, the fun and rather handsome Lord Of Chaos. She didn't quite remember what the goal of the game was or why they were playing, but she was having too much fun to care, almost as much fun as she knew she'd have in the chaotic world outside the maze once they finished the game and let him spread his fun to everypony else."
He snapped the book shut loudly. "And that's the curtain. Thank you very much for your help, Applejack, I do hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did." The crowd of plushes gave enthusiastic standing ovations, although it sounded more like crinkling and phloomfing than clapping.

Applejack blushed brightly, bowing for the plushies in the audience before they and the stage suddenly vanished, causing her to fall to the ground. "Oof, that wasn't very funny, Discord." She said, only for her stomach to growl and make her pull another apple out to eat. She spoke through the plush, her words garbled a bit from all the fluff, "I sure had fun though! I can't wait to tell everypony about you, and I bet we'll have lots of fun in your game!" She started to prance towards the exit, her belly swelling just a bit more as she swallowed the apple.

Author's Note:

This story is actually already fully written, so I have no excuse not to upload them over the next days.

Comments

[superfun]

Will this end with him getting away with everything, or will they somehow win in the end?
Asking just out of curiosity.

[Runic Script]

10750647
Aren't all of them winners in the end?
(But yes, he's absolutely getting away with it in this one)

[PlieRow666]

Is there going to be some transformation in this story?

[Runic Script]

10750675
I mean, the first chapter already involved transformation.
There will be more, though.
(Frustratingly though none that the main TF group on this site has an appropriate folder for)

[PlieRow666]

10750677
Ok

[PlieRow666]

10750677
Which is?

[Runic Script]

10750685
Anything that moves but isn't a different species, as far as I can tell.

[superfun]

10750658
Alright.

I'm both looking forward to/dreading the Dash chapter (mostly because Dash is my favorite of the mane 6, and I feel like fics where she's a victim of hypnosis/unwilling TF is kinda overdone, but that's just me)

[PlieRow666]

10750694
Right?

[Mix-up]

It was fun to read seeing AJ being put into a poufy red lederhosen, looking forward to see what happen next

[Chrome Masquerade]

Applejack gulped, looking around at the hedges that surrounded her. Now cut off from her friends, she was forced to make her way through the maze alone, with Discord hiding anywhere within. She knew she couldn't let her friends down, however, and they had managed to face down Nightmare Moon after all! Surely they could take on anything this guy could throw at them.

Doubt it~!
Also, don't call me Shirley.

I have wanted to say that in context for a long time.