//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Size Doesn't Matter // by Pixel Berry //------------------------------// The following morning, John groaned as he got up. Turns out, battling against a magic using bipedal cat was a lot more painful than he could imagine. His entire body ached, most likely covered in bruises. Oh well, it was worth it, even if Twilight was freaking out upon seeing Pinkie being the size of a mouse. It took a while to explain why Pinkie was small, and more than likely, Twilight was going to talk to Celestia about this. “Ugh… guess this is what all heroes feel like every morning?” John said, getting up from bed, before falling face first to the floor. “... Ow!” He got up, feeling a bit strange as well. “Liz? You awake?” “Five more minutes…” She mumbled, curled close to herself as she was hidden under the quilt, it looking strangely bigger than normal. “... I must be imagining things.” John shook his head, going for the door to use the bathroom. But it felt off. The doorknob wasn't near his waistline like last time, but now, it was over his head. This made him scratch his eyes and looked around now. Somehow, he had shrunk. “... Oh! Must've been the suit last night. Lets get it on and-” He stopped as he realized that, even though he was in the suit, the suit was WAY bigger than him, dragging along the floor. “... LIZ!!! LIZ!!! WAKE UP!!!” “Huh? Wha-“ She couldn’t finish as her head hit the ceiling of all things. “Ow! What the-?” That was when she noticed that John looked kind of… off. “Did you shrink..?” She plainly asked, not realizing that he looked much smaller compared to someone else for another reason entirely. “Yes… and no. And you're huge!” “What? What are you talking abo-” She stopped as she finally took a look at herself and noticed some rather… obvious changes. The white t-shirt and black joggers were barely fitting her now, not only for the sudden height but also the sight of some rather noticeable muscles. This in turn made her flush pink in embarrassment and quick to try and hide her body under the quilt, it only being able to hide her torso and back while her legs were still exposed, even while crossed. “Ok… what happened!? Why am I suddenly a dwarf and you look like you've been using steroids your entire life?” “I-I don’t know. But it’s clear on who we should ask about this.” She said, the ‘description’ of her change hurting a little inside. “Right… but… I think we need to hide ourselves a bit… to avoid these ponies panic by our sight, and not become laughing stocks.” “That’s easier said than done. We are the only two humans here, so that alone draws attention.” She said, figuring that perhaps they should tell Applejack and she could be their little messenger pony. “Or… allow me.” He snapped his fingers, and ants crawled into their room. John leaned down and whispered to them. His ants saluted, making small clicks to each other, then crawled into their suits, standing up, making themselves look like them… except for the eyes, which had a lot of ants covering it. “I… don’t think they can tell Twilight what’s going on.” She said, it being obvious that ponies wouldn’t know any sort of ant language. “They're just a distraction while we get Twilight's help on this.” He turned to their fakers “Alright, just go out into town, give simple friendly hand gestures and waves, make a few poses, the whole shebang.” Their suits gave a thumbs up and, very ragdoll like, walked right out of the door, with the sounds of fumbling heard. “... They're alright.” “This is going to end badly and I just know it.” She thought out loud, a hand to her forehead as she felt it was too early to even try to make John think normally. “It's just for today. Now come on, we gotta head to Twilight's castle and avoid anypony we see.” She didn’t get up immediately, only huddling closer to herself. “A-are you sure we can’t tell Applejack or something..?” She asked, not really wanting to go out like… this. “And risk them either screaming or laughing their heads off? If you want to, go right ahead, me, I'll stick to the shadows and hide before seeing Twilight herself.” “Or… m-maybe I should just stay in the room.” She said, figuring that it would be confusing to see her suit being seen in town, only to find her in the bedroom. “... Chicken.” “Shush up.” She simply said, figuring that she could also get some rest while John was gone. John didn't even stay, taking action and walking out of the door. A few minutes later, a knock was heard. “John? Liz? Wake up, y'all! You got chores to do.” The voice of Applejack was heard. Liz tensed up a little when she heard her voice, figuring she should hide from AJ. Seeing a closet close by, she silently slipped out of the bed and went in the closet, closing it completely. The Apple pony entered their room, looking around. “Huh… they must be out on the farm right now. Hehehe, heroes and hard workers. The perfect combination.” Liz tensed up as Applejack opened her closet, picking up and putting on a hat right next to her feet. Applejack didn't see her, closing the closet door and the guest room door. Liz would let out a sigh of relief, but she wasn’t taking any chances in case ponies in this would had really good hearing, keeping quiet until she didn’t hear hoofsteps anymore. ‘Maybe going with John might’ve been a better idea.’ She thought, worried that one of the other residents in here would see her and most likely freak out. ~-~-~ John quickly jumped into some bushes, staying hidden among the foliage. He hated to admit, but his situation was a bit of a blessing in disguise, though, wanting to shrink and grow at will was preferable than standing at the size of a kindergartener. It was also pretty good that Liz stayed behind; with her size and build now, she could be seen as She-Hulk without the green skin or hair. He looked to see his distractions were working well, with nopony noticing anything strange about the heroes… even with them constantly leaning and flailing their arms around. If he had to guess, these ponies weren't exactly the brightest creatures around… something he and Liz should be thankful for. And speaking who, John saw Liz trying to sneak past, using the trees as cover. “Oh, Liz is here… LIZ IS HERE!?” John shouted before covering his mouth as a brown, classy looking mare stood alongside a more wild looking white unicorn. “Did you hear somepony?” The classy mare asked in a very fitting British accent. Her, supposedly, friend, shrugged. John quickly backtracked to Liz, trying to stand behind a tree. “Liz!? What are you doing!?” He whispered loudly. “Someone's gonna see you!” “I… know that. I just need to find a hiding place that isn’t in the household of some apple farmers. Applejack almost saw me.” Liz said, not knowing where else to go since she was still new to this place. “And you decide to go to the park!? Where practically everypony is in, seeing ‘Us’ in the open!?” He pointed to their ant controlled suits. “Hey, just because you’re the size of a gremlin doesn’t mean that you can’t be caught as well.” She huffed. “Besides, how were you supposed to know if I didn’t tell you?” She crossed her arms. “I’m not staying here anyways, I’m probably going to hide in that big forest over there.” She pointed at the forest that seemed to only be a few blocks away from the park. “Oh? And risk getting seen by somepony? Who will think you're a monster?” He groaned, rubbing his forehead. “Alright… slight change of plans; you're my eyes, ladder, and muscle. I will be the speedy one and direct anyone's attention from you in a way that will help you run away. Got it?” “Fine.” She grumbled, feeling that John had no plan to really hide her, and was making it feel like she was more of a problem. “Good… but first.” He looked to the suits, making some mutters. Their suits turned to the two amd saw the situation. Both suits made a shocked reaction and ran the other way, leading a trail of ponies away to see what made the ‘heroes’ are running to. “Alright, they're on the move, and if they're right, today is a school day, so Twilight should be working.” “So what? We have to sneak into her castle and wait for her to come back from teaching?” She guessed, figuring that was the plan. “More like head into her office and ask what's going on, and if there's a way to get back to normal.” “You do realize that in a school office, both students and teachers visit on a regular basis? I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Liz made a good point, of course having experience being a student for eighteen years of her life. “Better if Twilight and some students or staff in her office to see us than the entire town and school. Besides, I know what we can use as a distraction.” “Is it another one of your dumb ideas..?” She asked, feeling that she already knew the answer to that. “It's only for an emergency… and if we do see that bug horse again. Come on, let's go.” John tugged at Liz's hand, a bit similar to a child with their mom. She only sighed, not having any other option as she followed him. ~-~-~ Liz and John snuck around the School’s walls, with John hiding in some bushes and Liz placing her front on a wall, using ivy as cover. It was pretty ridiculous, but none of the students noticed either, too busy to head to their next class. Both leaned at a nearby window, looking in to see it lead to the hallway, with Twilight’s office down the right side at the end. “I still think this is a dumb idea.” Liz grumbled, feeling that waiting in the castle would be better than this. “Yeah, and risk the entire school to go in a mass panic because they see Bigfoot’s shaved sister roaming around? Along with Danny Devito and Peter Dinklage’s son, I doubt they’ll be accepting of us. Kinda Wish you had the earpiece I had, so you can communicate and learn from the ants… we’ll do that when we get back to our normal size.” “That’s why I said the castle was better, not the freaking school.” She said through clenched teeth, not seeing how going into a student-filled building would make them less likely to be seen compared to a castle that most likely has no one inside. “Shush! I see her!” They both looked inside, seeing Twilight and Spike getting out, meeting some other students… probably new ones, but still. Twilight seemed to be introducing herself to them, then leaving her office, most likely giving them a tour. “Alright, we’ll sneak into her office and wait for the princess of friendship to return. I’ll go first.” John opened the window they were looking in and tried to climb up… but being short, his legs dangled in the air. “Uh… little help?” ‘I don’t see why I let him take the reins when he’s losing brain cells every day.’ She thought, only rolling her eyes as she moved closer to him and pushed him through. But it seemed her strength was greater, as not only did she push him into the wall in front of them, but knocked down the outer wall. Both looked at each other in shock, frozen. “Hey! What’s going on?” The voice of Rainbow Dash was heard from down the left side of the hallway. “RUN!!!” John yelled, getting up and running to Twilight’s office. Not wanting to be seen as well, she ran right behind him. They both quickly ran inside Twilight’s office, closing the door behind them, both taking a deep breath. John looked around, seeing that it was a bit barren, with only the office near some windows at the end, two chairs in front of the office, and a bookcase with a ladder leading to the second floor on the right, and two large doors on either side. If he had to guess, both were closets. “... Alright… without breaking anything,” John said. “Pick a closet and hide in there. I will be on the lookout for when Twilight comes.” She was now a little nervous on even touching anything, folding her arms tightly so that she wouldn’t use them. But hearing how she had to, and knowing that John wouldn’t be able to open it for her, she undid the crossing and went to the first closet she saw when she ran in, and went inside, this time being gentle as if she was diffusing a bomb. Lucky for her, nothing was ripped out… though, the doorknob was crushed. John didn’t see it, too focused listening outside, ready to run and hide if anyone but Twilight was outside. ‘Why is this even happening? I’m not that buff… am I?’ She thought, thinking that she wasn’t so muscular that it was weird and gross… in actually, a blush formed on her cheeks as she felt she looked good like this. But she would never admit that, right? John listened outside, hearing the commotion outside, but with a slight opening of the door, and peeking through, he watched as the familiar, small bug-horse creature, named Ocellus, walked alongside a taller, more deer looking, bug horse. He looked like a girl’s first attempt at trying to make a bug-deer. “Your Majesty,” Ocellus spoke. “Please, there’s no need to send Pharynx over to watch me. It was a complete accident! Really!” “So I’ve heard,” The deer-bug replied, “but you were controlled by Ant-Man, and while it may be an accident, what if he decides to use you as a shield?” “Thorax! Don’t be crazy! He’d never use us as puppets, not unless it was an emergency.” They both opened the door to see the midget John standing nearby. “What the-!?” “Sorry!” John placed his hands over his ant communicating earpiece, making Ocellus, and this ‘Thorax’ stand completely still, brainwashed. “Alright, come on, and close the doors!” The two entered the office and closed the door behind them. ‘And of course he would drag others along.’ Liz thought, hearing it when an unknown male voice was caught by surprise before John quickly apologized. John looked at the new Changeling, getting a better look of him. “Ok… care to explain to me who you are?” “King Thorax of the Changeling Kingdom.” The info made John stop. “... Oh crap… Liz, I think I made us land in deeper trouble!” “Well, no one asked you to try and overhear a conversation. You were just on lookout, if you saw them getting close to the door, then freaking hide.” She said, not wanting any part in the problem he caused on his own. “Oh yeah? Hey, Ocellus, turn into Twilight, and Thorax, turn into Spike.” Without a reply, both burst into green flames and turned into the princess and dragon. “Ah, there we go. So if anyone comes along, I can hide, and they can make it seem like they’re here.” “You just keep on making the rabbit hole bigger. If the real Twilight told Celestia what happened, our ‘punishment’ will be extended.” Liz said, not wanting to do community service for the rest of her life. “Yeah, but when she sees us like this, I’m sure she’ll understand.” ‘Even so, this isn’t an excuse to mind control the king of the changelings...’ Liz thought, figuring to stay quiet since John would never listen to reason. “Hey, Twilight? You in there?” Rainbow Dash’s voice was heard on the other side of the door. “We got a situation.” John began to mouth at the two, getting to a hiding spot, standing right beside the door “Oh, really?” Ocellus spoke in Twilight’s voice, though it sounded robotic. “What in Equestria has happened?” The door opened and Rainbow came in. “You didn’t hear that? A wall was broken in by something! Probably a monster that needs a good flank whooping.” “Oh? I did not hear that. I was busy reading my books. I think it may be Yona rushing to class, or RockHoof entering.” “... Uh, you alright, Twi? You know it’s the middle of class, right? And RockHoof is away to see the other guardians of harmony.” “Oh! Silly me! I guess I forgot! Because I’m book smart and not social smart!” “... Right… I’ll see you in a bit… oh, and Spike? Can you blink?” Thorax, disguised as Spike, closed his eyes, tearing up heavily. “I thought you wanted a staring contest.” He said. “... As much as I’d like to compete, I’m gonna have to pass.” She closed the door and trotted away. ‘Why is this world so dumb when it needs to be for us!?’ She mentally thought, lightly pulling her cheeks down as she couldn’t believe that worked. “Alright… that worked really well. Ocellus, sit behind Twilight's Desk and act like you're busy. Thorax, find a broom and sweep around to look busy in case anyone arrives.” “Yes, sir.” The disguised Changelings answered in unison, walking to do their stuff. “And now, we wait.” “And what are we going to do if the real Twilight or Spike sees this?” She just had to ask, not thinking he could give the command for them to buzz off fast enough before they reached the door. “Then that's when we show ourselves and explain everything.” “I… I don’t think I should show myself.” She admitted, actually really nervous on being seen like this, mostly cause all of the ‘nicknames’ John has been calling her has gotten to her, plus how she could easily damage stuff with just a flick of a finger. “You don't have to, not until I say so. Besides, our suits will be returning to us pretty soon.” ~-~-~ The Ant controlled suits awkwardly dragged themselves to Twilight's school of Friendship, with the head mare herself watching in awkward silence. “Is that normal around here, Ms.Twilight?” One of her new students asked. “Not in the slightest,” Twilight replied. ~An Hour Later~ Twilight entered her office, closing the door behind her as she saw herself (albeit, with wide open eyes), and Spike spreading dust around the room with a broom. Her horn was ready to blast at the imposters until John ran out… or, what looked like John. “Woah! Calm down, Twilight! I can explain everything!” “Uh… did you shapeshift?” Twilight asked “What? No! Twilight, you gotta listen, it sounds crazy, but I think Katrina did something to Liz and me before she teleported away.” “... And where is Liz?” “Come on out, Liz!” The door fell down with a loud bang, as Liz pushed the door open, only for her strength to overdo it. “I-I didn’t mean to do that!” She was quick to claim, while also trying to move her clothes to hide any exposed skin, now insecure about her change. Twilight just stared, wide-eyed. “... Are you sure that's-?” Twilight began to ask before John interrupted. “Yes, that's Liz. And look, I know you weren't there, but Katrina threw blue flowers at us before she ran away.” “Wait… blue flowers! You were hit by poison joke!” “Poison what?” Liz asked. “Oh, don't worry, the cure to this is a simple bath some plants and-” She paused “Wait… if you're both in here, then who is in your suits?” “My ants,” John replied. “Along with Ocellus taking your spot, and that Thorax guy taking over Spike's position.” “Wait, what!?” Twilight began to panic. “Nononono! I was supposed to have a meeting with him in regards of Ocellus having Pharynx watch over her for her protection, but not only did I had to give those students a tour, but you came along and did this to them!” “Told you she would get mad.” Liz only said, knowing from the start it was a bad idea. “Hey! You saw how Twilight saw you!” John replied. “And if they ran away, there would be a huge panic in this school of a pair of freaks in a school filled with kids. … Now that sounds worse when I say it aloud.” “Do they know what's going on?” Twilight asked. “Oh, no. They're blanked out. They follow whatever I say.” “... Ok, we can make this work. Are your suits here?” There was a knock on the door, with it opening, as the Ant-Man and Wasp suits entered. “There they are. Thanks for the help, fellas!” The helmets popped right off as swarms of ants came running out, with small, high pitched coughs as they ran to a window, opening it, and running out. “... I have many questions.” “And one of them is probably asking if John ever cleaned his suit,” Liz said, even more grossed out that he wanted to sleep in his at one point. “I don't see a laundry machine anywhere.” John replied, “And I doubt we can even clean our suits normally.” “Ok, focus,” Twilight said to herself “John, how far can you keep in contact with Thorax and Ocellus?” “... Honestly, I don't know. Maybe at least 15 feet away from me?” “Shoot! Alright… wait right here. I'll be back soon.” Her horn ignited and she teleported away. “... A simple bath is all that's needed?” John asked. “Maybe we should have stayed and hit the showers.” “It sounds a little too easy. What if they take baths a different way?” Liz asked, figuring to take a seat on the floor and cross her legs. “And it confirms they are naked all the time!” Twilight teleported back. “Sorry, was REALLY lucky to get you both a private tub at the spa, with the cure ready. Seems Pinkie ordered it ahead of time for me, even saying that something cool will happen in the next chapter… I don't know what she's on about, but I can teleport you both over there while I chat with Thorax as if nothing happened!” “Well, I guess that’s better than sneaking around again,” Liz mumbled. Twilight tossed their suits to them. “Alright, be sure to take your clothes off before you get in. I'm sure you don't mind seeing each other’s private areas, as you've described to Applejack.” John and Liz had bright red cheeks on their faces. “Uh…” John was about to speak, but Twilight zapped them away. Both Ocellus and Thorax regained their control, looking all confused. “What happened?” Thorax spoke before looking at himself. “Why am I Spike?... And why are you Twilight?” “I... don't know.” Ocellus replied, turning back into her original self. “Twilight? What happened?” “Um, well… you see…” ~-~-~ Both John and Liz found themselves in front of a private pool with soaps bubbling up. There was an awkward silence between the two, as John put his suit down. “So… do you want to go first? Or me?” He asked. “I-I don’t mind either or...” She mumbled, glancing away as she figured he would want to fix this more than she did. “Right… If it helps, I won't look.” There was silence as the sound of John taking his clothes off was heard, followed by him entering the tub with a small splash. “Whoo! That feels good!” She didn’t want to get undressed, but she figured wet clothes wouldn’t be any better than a suit that had ants inside. Figuring to just strip down to her panties and shirt, before she slipped inside until she went low enough to just have her head and neck out of the water. Letting out a small sigh, she relaxed in the tub with John. She could hear him giggle immaturely, though, his eyes are covered. “Alright, what is it?” Liz asked in an annoyed tone. “Oh, just remembering the time when we accidentally saw each other naked back at camp during high school. That was the most embarrassing moment for both of us. I’m quite surprised we still made contact with each other after that.” “How long did it take for your black eye to heal again?” She smirked, recalling that time and him having to come up with an excuse. “You ‘hit a tree branch’, right?” “And who was able to keep Joey quiet from telling our fellow classmates what happened?” He had a smirk “You know he could’ve told everyone, and you would be kicked out of that club.” “Yeah, but you would be seen as a pervert, and no girl would want to date a creep.” She shot back, leaning against the tub as she started to feel more relaxed. “Well, look where we’re at. No one certainly thinks we’re creeps. And everyone is naked, so…” He stood right up. The sudden action made Liz cover her eyes as he heard John got out, walking bare feet. “Whoo! I’m no longer a midget! Who’d think a simple bubble bath is all we needed?” The sound of him getting a towel on was heard. “When you’re ready, I’ll see you back at AJ’s farm. And, hopefully, the suit isn’t too tight, if you catch my drift.” Liz lightly rolled her eyes relaxing more in the tub as she felt she wanted to stay in a little longer. But once she noticed her hands were getting all pruny, she started getting up from within the tub. She didn't stop to see that she was no longer huge, back to her normal size, too focused on getting her towel on so no one can see her naked body. Her wet feet made small wet splats as she walked out, ready to head back to Applejack's farm. ~-~-~ Loud beeps and whirring were heard as various Satyrs began to make a machine from advanced looking pieces of technology and metal. The silhouette of its mainframe was finished, resembling a tall, ferocious looking Satyr, with large antlers coming out from the sides, and a crown set in between them. Next to the mainframe was the head of a similar looking Satyr, encased in stone, it's eyes trapped with the expression of fear. A screen showed a drill going into stone head, with a needle following in. “[Everything is going as planned, your majesty.]” The head scientist spoke as the needle stopped. “[Death is but a mere block away for you. With you back on the throne again, we will flourish once more.]”