//------------------------------// // Fluttershy's Marvellous Medicine // Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S6 // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The day opened at Fluttershy's cottage, the gentle pegasus busy tidying up her house in preparation of one of her favorite weekly traditions: Tea with Discord. She was humming a chipper melody while dusting the window, right as a certain pony arrived, "Oh, hello Iron. How was your patrol?" "Fine," Iron replied while closing the door, "Doesn't look like there's anything out of the ordinary today." "That's good," Fluttershy flew down and landed on her sofa. "Do you maybe wanna stay for tea with Discord and me?" Fluttershy had been trying to get the two to interact more, hoping they would bury the hatchet. "I've got your favorite tea." Fluttershy pulled out a box of teabags, Iron staring at it while trying to hold back from drooling. "Maybe... depends on how annoying he plans on being today." She let out a long sigh at this, knowing that probably meant 'no'. "Well, he should be here soon," she responded as she put the box down. As she did, a flash of light occurred behind her. "Discord!" She spun around with a big forming grin...only to see no sign of the draconequus. "Discord?" She got off the sofa, her eyes darting around till she saw what appeared to be a music box on the ground. "What's this?" She picked it up and opened the lid, a green bubble suddenly expanding from within. Iron backpedalled while Fluttershy just stared at it, only for it pop, "EWWWWW!" She cried as green slimy goop splattered all over her, none somehow getting on the carpet. "You okay?" Iron yelped as he saw her starting to pull the slime off of her face. But as she did, it grew more sticky and began to stick her hooves together. "What's that idiot playing at?" As he said this, the music box began to light up and formed an image of Discord made entirely of light. "Hello, my dear Fluttershy!" They watched the hologram bow, "Sorry I couldn't be there. I'm afraid Smoozie has come down with a rather mad cold." "Slime creatures can have colds?!" Iron asked. "I'm afraid I'll have to cancel our tea party today. If I don't keep an eye on him, he'll start scarfing down copper, thinking its gold, and that'll cause a whole bunch of issues. Why don't you send the box back with a date you're free and we can convene then. Ciao." With that, the hologram vanished, but with Fluttershy still stuck in the green goop. "I'm guessing the Smooze sneezed into the box when Discord wasn't looking," Fluttershy muttered before grabbing a pen and paper to write the next time she was free. She placed it in the box and shut it, the box vanishing as soon as she did. "Now, how do I get this stuff off?" "You should have told him about the slime," Iron grumbled, making Fluttershy glare at him as he shrugged, "Hindsight's twenty-twenty." "With that kind of attitude, I'm not making you a special dinner tonight!" Meanwhile... Twilight's eyes narrowed as she glared at two very upset young ponies. "Stop scratching!" She told Heart, magically pulling his hooves away from his face. His face was covered in large red spots, along with the rest of his body. Soul was in the same boat, the two both having an affliction known as the horsey hives. "I can't help it!" Heart tried put pull at her magic to scratch his spots, "It's so itchy!" "I don't care!" Twilight instantly replied, "If you scratch them, you'll end up scarring yourself. Trust me, fighting through the itch for a week or two is way better than spending the rest of your life with scars all over yourself." The three were currently in a room that was as far away from the rest of the rooms as possible, having teleported their beds into it so they could remain there. Until the two were better, they would need to be quarantined to prevent the wrong pony from catching it. It was here that Twilight turned to Soul, "How are you feeling?" Soul simply sat in her bed, Twilight seeing her entire body was vibrating. "You're trying to not scratch, aren't you?" She nodded, "It's driving you crazy, isn't it?" She nodded again. "Well hopefully, we should have something that'll help fix that." In that moment, Starlight teleported into the room carrying two bowls of oatmeal. "Salvation has arrived!" She exclaimed while showing them the sludgy porridge. "My dad's original recipe. He might be a little annoying at times, but he knows a thing or two about remedies." "How is eating oatmeal supposed to help us?" Soul asked, only for Starlight to put her hoof into it before slapping the oatmeal onto her face. "You're not supposed to eat it. You're supposed to wear it like a mask." The twins moaned as she placed the masks on them, both shivering as the mask touched their fur. "I know it feels nasty, but it'll help with the itching. Trust me." "if you say so," Heart groaned as Starlight started applying it to his chest and legs. Twilight magically pulled a pair of old sheets out of nowhere next, floating the twins into the air before putting the sheets over their beds, allowing them to lay there in the paste while not needing to worry about ruining their beds. "How long do we need to wear this stuff?" "At least a week," Twilight replied, "The itching will stop when the spots start to vanish." "ARGH!" Heart yelled as he laid back. "I thought the point of all those injections we had to take was to stop us catching stuff like this!" "The injections were to keep you from getting seriously ill from stuff like this. As bad as you feel now, you'd be a lot worse off if you hadn't had those." In that moment, the door opened as Flash poked his head in, "Hey, how are THINGS?!" He yelped as Twilight used her magic to throw him back out of the room, shutting the door as he let out a yelp of pain, "Okay...that hurt." "Flash..." Twilight called through the door, "I told you to stay away from these two! We don't know if you've had horsey hives before, and it's not safe to catch them as an adult." Flash sighed while shaking his head, "I'm sure I'd be fine." "Its better safe than sorry." Twilight grumbled while teleporting herself out of the room, "If you want to be useful, go see if Zecora has a way of getting rid of this stuff. I'm sure the hospital would love to know about it too, as I know one of them can help." "Alright, alright..." Flash stood up, "I'll see what she's got." With that, he flew through the hallway until he found a window and headed out. Back at Fluttershy's house... Iron was leaning against a wall with his front hooves crossed, the sound of the shower filling his ears. He then knocked on the bathroom door, "Any luck?" Seconds later, the door opened to show Fluttershy was still covered in green goop. "Nope," she shook her head. "I've tried every kind of soap and shampoo I own. It still won't come off." Iron let out a long sigh, "Even when he's trying to be a good friend, he's causing problems." Fluttershy opened her mouth to counter him, only to gasp as an idea formed in her head, "Say...why don't you go see Zecora? I'm sure she knows of a way to get this off." "Hmmm...not a bad idea." Iron replied as he got off the wall, "I'll head over there and you keep cleaning up. Even if you can't get it off, you might be able to loosen it and help whatever Zecora gives me." Fluttershy nodded and walked back into the bathroom while Iron left the house. It didn't take him long to reach the forest and the hollowed out tree, arriving just in time to see Flash land in front of it. "Hey, what are you doing here?" "Seeing if Zecora has anything that might help Heart and Soul with their horsey hives." Iron hissed, clearly remembering when he had the affliction. "You?" "Discord's Smooze friend sneezed over something he sent Fluttershy and she can't get the stuff off of her." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, Iron now tapping the door, which opened a moment later to reveal their zebra friend. "Flash and Iron, what a welcome surprise. I wasn't expecting to see you guys." "Sorry for not calling ahead, but we could really use your help." "Say no more and step past my threshold," she moved aside and the two followed her in. "Now what brings you to my humble abode?" Flash and Iron soon explained their situations, Zecora nodding as she began to gather ingredients. "So, do you think you got something that could help?" Flash asked as his wing accidently extended, knocking a table, which made a few empty vials roll off and onto the floor. Iron and Zecora turned to him, Flash shrinking back, "Sorry." "Luckily, I've just what you need. A pair of simple concoctions I can brew up with speed." She threw the ingredients into her cauldron and began to stir, Flash and Iron watching as she did so. "For Fluttershy, I have the perfect brew. That slime will vanish thanks to this shampoo." She took out a spoonful of the liquid and poured it into a chemistry set, the potions flying down wooden slides before dripping into a small potion bottle that was being held over a candle to heat up. "But to cure your ward's terrible affliction, we require a potion with many a restriction." "What do you mean?" Flash asked as she threw some more plants into the cauldron, one of which he recognized as poison joke. "There is no cure that they can simply drink, but with this creation, their swells will shrink." She took another spoonful out and poured it into the wooden shoots and slides, the three watching as it then dropped into a potion bottle that was in a bowl of ice. "Apply this directly to their spots, then watch as the shrinking solution turns them to dots." "Sweet." But as he was about to grab it, Zecora held up a hoof. "But beware, this potion requires much common sense. To misuse its magic would have a dire consequence." "Huh?" "She means you don't let idiots like you use it." Flash growled at Iron as he said that, the defender turning to Zecora, "I'm guessing it would be a good idea to wear gloves or have a magic user handle it? And don't get it on anything except their spots, right?" Zecora nodded back before taking out some tongs, using them to lift the bottles away from the fire and ice. She put them on the table, all watching as the liquid inside both turn the same white color. She placed a cork in both of them, making the bottles look identical. She then pushed one towards Flash and another to Iron. "I hope these brews will be your salvation. But if there are issues, please come tell me of the situation." "Thanks Zecora," Flash replied, "But I don't see any problems. Your remedies always work a treat." "I'm sure Fluttershy will be over with something to thank you later," Iron added, Zecora nodding as she turned back to her cauldron, the stallions now heading for the door. But in that moment, Flash stepped on a vial that he had knocked over earlier, causing him to slip, "WHOA!" he yelped, staggering into Iron, knocking him over as they both dropped their potions. They gasped at this, but the bottles proved stronger than they thought, both easily surviving the fall. "Watch it!" Iron pushed Flash away before grabbing a bottle. "Sorry," Flash picked his up before the two left the hut, going their separate ways. Iron ran as fast as he could back to Fluttershy's house, zipping through the town, only to find a bunch of Fluttershy's animal friends standing outside her door. "Okay, okay." he carefully pushed past them. "I know she's been in there a long time." He knocked on the door, which opened to reveal the very wet and still gooey pegasus. "Zecora said this special shampoo should help." "Thank you." She reached out and took it, only for her hoof to graze Iron's, causing some of the goo to get on him. "Oops," she pulled away, the goop still on him, "Sorry." She turned and pointed to a sponge on a nearby counter, Fluttershy uncorking the bottle and tipping a few drops of the soap onto it before offering it to Iron. "Here." "Thanks." He took it before Fluttershy shut the door, the defender going to the kitchen counter. The pony put the sponge on the side, starting the water as he began to get it to his temperature he liked. But as a minute passed, he mindlessly reached for the sponge...only to find nothing. "Huh?" He turned to where the sponge was supposed to be, only to look down and raise both eyebrows at the next sight. It front of him was a super tiny sponge, one only big enough for a mouse to use it. Iron squinted his eyes at the sight, his brain trying to understand why it would shrink. His eyes slowly went wide as he put the pieces together. "The bottles. Did I pick up...but then...if that's the case...oh no." He looked up at the ceiling, "FLUTTERSHY!" One minute ago... Inside the bathroom, Fluttershy had her eyes closed as she rubbed the soap into every part of her body. She was humming as she put the cleansing liquid into her mane, the slime beginning to slide off. But if she had opened her eyes, the pegasi would have noticed herself getting further away from the shower head. She did seem to notice the water drops hitting her were starting to get bigger, only to suddenly hear Iron's scream. "Huh?" She opened her eyes, turning to the door...only to see the white acrylic of her bathtub. Her eyes began to go wide as she looked up, now seeing everything around her suddenly growing ten times as big...and getting bigger by the second. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Iron burst into the bathroom, ripping the shower curtain off before looking down into the tub. His eyes slowly grew wide as his fears were confirmed. "Oh no." Back at the castle... Flash, Spike and the jakhowls were outside the quarantine room, the defender returning from Zecora while Spike and the jakhowls had gotten some ramen to go from lunch for everypony. Inside, Twilight and Starlight emptied the contents of the bottle into a bowl that Twilight had enchanted not to shrink. She had also enchanted a bunch of cotton swabs the same way, the mares dipping them into the bowl. "Alright," they turned to the kids, "Now hold very still. We don't want to get any of this on you." With that, she started poking at the spots on Heart's face while Starlight did the same to Soul. "Huh?" Soul sniffed the air, "I thought this was gonna smell weird. It actually smells...nice." She sniffed again, "Smells like lavender." "Zecora must have added it so you don't have to suffer a bad smell." But as Twilight continued to rub the potion onto her spotty face, she couldn't help but notice how shiny the spots were starting to get. "That's odd." She squinted at the spots, not seeing any change in their size. "Zecora's potions usually kick in by now." "So why isn't it?" Heart asked. "No idea," Starlight replied before looking back at the bowl. "Everything okay in there?" Flash asked, "How's the treatment going?" "It doesn't seem to be working," Twilight called back as she took the bowl from Starlight. "All it seems to be doing is making the spots squeaky clean." She smelled it and also detected the lavender smell. "Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this was just soap." "Soap?" Flash replied, blinking at the statement before his brain shifted a single gear and his eyes went wide. "Uh oh. What if its...shampoo." Everypony raised an eyebrow at this, only for Twilight to teleport in front of him, glaring at him, "Flash...what did you do?" "Well...I might have-" "SENTRY!" yelled a voice, the sound of the front doors now being slammed open a split second later. Flash gulped at this as Twilight teleported them downstairs. As they appeared, they found a growling Iron as he roared, "You're in for it now!" "Why?" Spike asked. "What did he do?" Springer added. "This is what he did!" Iron turned to the side, allowing them to see his back, the group going wide-eyed at the sight. "Hello everypony," the tiny creature on Iron's back replied with a miniature wave of a hoof. stated. The lot quickly recognised the voice and gasped as they realised what it was. "FLUTTERSHY?!" They all yelped, now seeing the gentle pegasus was no bigger than a mouse. Every mouth almost hit the floor. "WHAT HAPPENED?!" One hour later... After a quick explanation and Spike sending letters to all their friends, the group was now in the throne room just as the doors opened to reveal Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. "We got here as soon as we could," Rainbow replied as she flew in, now seeing Fluttershy on the table. "Wow. You really are tiny." "Blimey!" Applejack yelped, "Ya'll are about dah size ah was when ah fell in that poison joke." Fluttershy quickly tried to hide behind her mane, shivering at the number of ponies staring down at her. "How yah feeling Shy?" "I've been better," Fluttershy squeaked back. "You're so small," Pinkie added, "I better everything must seem really really big to you." "Yeah..." Fluttershy replied with a tiny nod, "It's kind of...intimidating." Rarity turned to glare at Flash and Iron, "Honestly you two! How could you be so foolish that you'd take the wrong potion?!" Flash pointed at Iron, "He's the one who grabbed the wrong bottle." This made Iron growl at him, "What?! You can't deny that!" "I might have picked up the wrong bottle," he got so close to Flash that their foreheads touched. "But if you hadn't knocked us both over, we wouldn't have dropped the bottles, and I wouldn't have picked up the wrong one!" "So..." Flash looked away before glancing back at Iron, "Split the blame fifty-fifty?" Iron growled back, about to raise a hoof before Twilight spoke up, "It doesn't matter whose fault it is." She knelt down so her eyes were level with Fluttershy, "What matters is getting Fluttershy back to normal." At that moment, Zecora ran into the room, "I came as soon as I received your scroll," she moved up to the table, grimacing at the sight, "I see you weren't jesting about the potion's toll." "Please tell me you can turn me back to normal," Fluttershy begged her, the others wanting to frown at the sight, but unable to go 'aww' at the cute sight due to Fluttershy looking absolutely adorable at this size. Zecora simply smiled back before carefully patting the tiny Fluttershy's head, "My shrunken friend, have no fright. I've just the potion to fix your height. By the time of the next sunrise, we'll have you restored to your proper size." "Sunrise?" Iron asked, "Why do we have to wait that long?" "Yeah!" Rainbow added, "Why not just make the potion now?" "Please calm your impatient state," Zecora replied, "The fix Fluttershy, we must first wait. Though this may cause you great frustration, the potion will require a day's fermentation. Though this may seem problematic, to not do so could end up tragic." "So...we have to wait until tomorrow for Fluttershy to be turned back to normal?" Twilight asked next, Zecora nodding in return. "Well, if there's no other choice." "But what will I do until then?" Fluttershy tried to say, having to yell, "I can't do anything at this size! My animals will need looking after..." "Well," Flash chimed in while rubbing the back of his head, "Since this is partly my fault-" Iron whispered something about an understatement, "Why don't I look after the animals?" They all turned to him, Rainbow asking, "You sure that's a good idea? Those fuzzballs can be a major hassle. I mean, you forget to feed them once, and the next thing you know, you're tied up in a cauldron about to be cooked alive." Those not aware of the situation she was talking about shared raised eyebrows as Flash shined a smirk, "Eh, I'll be fine. I've fought monsters and ego-maniacal tyrants. I think I can handle a couple of cute and cuddly critters." One hour later... "WHOA!" Flash yelped as he ducked under a flying bowl of food that had been kicked at him, "Hey! What was wrong with that food?!" He then turned to a cat that was trying to jump onto Fluttershy's curtains, the pegasus grabbing it before it tried to claw his face, "Ack!" he cried before pulling the cat away, only to hear a munching sound next. He put the cat down before turning to a goat munching on the paper of an open book. "Gyah!" He grabbed the goat by the tail and pulled it outside. "How does Fluttershy do this?!" As for the Element of Kindness, she was currently sitting on her sofa, Angel Bunny beside her as they watched the commotion being caused. "Oh dear," she whispered. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Angel squeaked and clicked his response, "I know we don't have any choice, but even if it's not really my fault-" Fluttershy rolled onto her back, "I still feel bad having somepony else doing my job." In that moment, another of her animal friends jumped up onto the sofa. It was Mr. Mousey, who lived in the wall of Fluttershy's cottage. He walked up to her, Fluttershy rolling over to greet him, "Oh, hello Mr. Mousey." She said before noticing the mouse not getting any bigger in her vision as he got close. In fact, he was the exact same size. "You know...I don't know how you live like this. The world seemed big enough back when I was my normal size." She commented as she looked away, "Now it feels more terrifying than ever." Mr. Mousey squeaked, Fluttershy understanding perfectly what he was saying. "Being small can have its disadvantages, but it can also open up a world of opportunities." "What opportunities?" Fluttershy asked, the mouse smiling before gesturing her to follow. She flared her wings before flying off the sofa, Mr. Mousey scurrying down it. Once they were on the floor, Mousey led her over to the hole that was the entrance of his home. "Ooh," she whispered as they walked inside, "I've never been able to fit in here before." They then went into the tunnel, soon reaching a room with Mrs. Mousey, "Oh, hello Fluttershy. Fancy seeing you here." Fluttershy nodded back, "Nice to see you too. It won't be for long though, I'll be back to normal by tomorrow." Her eyes glanced around at this, "Say, where's Cheddar?" "He's playing with the other young mice." She pointed to another hole, "Just take that tunnel and you'll find them." Fluttershy turned to Mr. Mousey, the mouse nodding back before she walked down the hole. She soon reached a large, at least for her, chamber that she recognized was somewhere under her back garden, likely about a meter and a half down. The place had several tunnels along the side, each most likely leading to another mouse hole. In the center of the chamber was a playground like structure made out of household objects. There was a seesaw made from a popsicle stick and a bobbin, a slide made out of a straight mirror, a roundabout made of a hamster wheel on its side, swings made from thread and cotton and so much more. Multiple small mice were playing in the chamber, all cheering until they noticed the newcomer. When they turned to her, Fluttershy was able to recognize each and every one of them. Cheddar was the first to run up to her, the others following suit as they realized who she was. She quickly explained what had happened to her, the mice children understanding most it before pulling her over to their playground equipment. The pegasi soon found herself playing with them, a big smile on the pegasi's face as she did this. One game that really amused her was having her stand atop the slide, playing the role of a fair princess. The mice were all playing knights, using toothpicks as swords and buttons as shields, each play fighting for the hoof of the princess. Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at the sight, unable to deny she was enjoying this as she thought, 'Maybe Mr. Mousey was right. I definitely couldn't have done this in my normal size.' A Little Later... Iron Core slowly walked up to Fluttershy's house, creaking the door open to find the inside devoid of life. "Anypony home?" "IN THE BACK!" Flash yelled back, Iron soon moving through the house and into the back garden, now seeing Flash use a rake on Harry's back. "Hey, give me a minute. He's having a bad day." "Bad day?" He replied before seeing Harry hold his mouth, clear indicator that he was suffering from a severe toothache. "Ouch. Would have thought Fluttershy tried to fix that." "She did try," Flash responded, "She told me the bad tooth's right at the back and she couldn't get the pliers to grip it at the right angle." He then finished the back scratch and let out a long sigh, "Done." He patted Harry's head, the bear moaning at the pain. "I think that's the last thing Fluttershy needed me to do." "Where is she?" Iron asked, "I figured she'd be observing you." "Isn't she still in the living room?" Flash replied before both headed inside, only to not see hide or hair of her. "Fluttershy?" "You here?" Iron added before seeing Angel hop down from upstairs. "Hey Fuzzball, where Shy?" Angel replied by pointing at a nearby mouse hole, Flash and Iron leaning down as he asked again, "Fluttershy?" "Iron?" Fluttershy's voice called out from the hole, a few seconds later the shrunken pegasus flying out of the hole with a smile on her face. "What were you doing in there?" Flash asked next. "Oh, exploring the tunnels beneath my house," Fluttershy replied while grinning, "There are so many passageways my animal friends use that I never got the chance to see because I was too big. But now I'm the perfect size! Its so lovely!" "Well, it's nice to see you making the most out of a bad situation," Flash replied before a load roar suddenly rang out, all three glancing at the back door. "Oh dear, is Harry's tooth acting up again?" Flash and Iron nodded back, making the mare sigh, "I figured. I just wish there was a way to remove it, but with where the tooth is, it's almost impossible to get it out. If only..." her words came to a stop as Mr. Mousey's echoed through her head. She glanced down at her smaller then normal hooves. "Opportunities." Flash and Iron raised an eyebrow at her, "Come again?" Fluttershy responded by flying up to their level, "Go into the bathroom and get me some dental floss." The two just blinked at her, making her yell, "GO!" Iron was quick to react, running upstairs as Fluttershy landed on Flash's back. "Take me to Harry!" He nodded back, trotting over to the bear as she flew off him. "Oh Harry..." She flew up and rubbed his nose, "It's okay. We'll have that tooth out soon. Now, say ah." Harry roared as he opened his mouth, allowing Fluttershy to do something that gave Flash a heart attack. "Fluttershy!" He yelped as he saw her fly inside, "What are you doing?!" Fluttershy's voice echoed back out. "At this size, I can get a much better look inside his mouth." Moments later, Iron arrived carrying a case of dental floss. "Where's Fluttershy?" Flash pointed at Harry's mouth, Iron having his own heart attack when he saw his girlfriend poke her head out. "Floss?" Iron kept his mouth open, unable to respond as he slowly held out the case. The tiny pegasi flew up next, grabbing the end of the rope before flying back into the mouth. Inside, she wrapped the floss around the bad tooth and tied it as tightly as she could. Once done, she flew back out and gripped the string. "Alright," she said before pulling, Flash and Iron watching her grunt as she flapped her wings, clearly unable to pull the tooth out with her miniature body. As such, they both grabbed the floss and gave it a quick yank. The combined strength of the defenders was more than enough to pull the tooth out, Harry flinching at the second of pain before letting out a sigh of relief. And as the bad tooth flew out, Fluttershy landed by it, huffing at the task before whispering, "Wow...I did it." "Heck yeah, you did," Flash added as Iron picked her up. Fluttershy then turned to Harry, seeing him hold his cheek for a moment before turning to her and scooping the mare up with his claw. "Eep!" She cried as she was pulled into Harry's tight bear hug, "You're-ah...welcome." Harry let her go, letting her fly over to Iron, landing on his head. "I thought I was completely useless as this size, but it actually helped me look after one of my animal friends." "I guess there's a use for something of every size," Iron replied, Fluttershy humming at the statement before a bulb went off in her head. "You're right," she responded as she flew off his head. "Where's she going?" Flash asked, both now watching her fly up to the many bird houses that were littered around her house, the mouse sized pony flying into each of them. It wasn't long till they saw her begin to help every flying creature possible. "There you go," she commented as she finished wrapping a bandage around one of her bird friend's wings. At her normal size, it would be a difficult procedure, but shrunken down it was foal's play. "Now be careful about how much you use it for the next few days and it'll be as good as new." The bird chirped its thanks before flying off, "Next." The next patient wasn't a bird, but a bee. "Oh no," she whispered when she saw the drone's bent stinger. "That does look bad. Don't worry, I'll get you all fixed up." Both defenders smiled as they saw her get to work, Flash leaving as she began to spend the rest of the day helping her smallest friends with injuries she couldn't properly fix at her normal size. By the time she went to sleep in a makeshift bed, Fluttershy had helped fifty-seven patients, a new personal best. The next day... As soon as the sun was up, Iron took Fluttershy over to the castle. Stepping into the throne room, they found Flash, Twilight, Spike and the jakhowls, Twilight galloping up to them, "Fluttershy, Flash told me you've been having fun with your new size." "Oh yes," Fluttershy replied while nodding, "And it's been fun, but I'd like to get back to my normal size." "Well, Zecora should be here soon," Twilight assured her while levitating her onto the map. "So just hang tight." "I will," Fluttershy replied before sniffing the air. "What's that strange smell?" "That would be Starlight." In another part of the castle... Starlight placed a plate of odd looking sandwiches down in front of the two, Heart and Soul sniffing the air, "What are those?" "Seaweed, cucumber and beetroot sandwiches," the unicorn replied, "My dad always fed them to me when I was sick." She took a slice off each of their plates and stuffed them into their mouths, making them choke at the horrible taste. "If this doesn't cure you, nothing will." Back at the throne room... "Thank Celestia I haven't caught the horsey hives," Flash sighed as the doors opened. "Did we make it?" Rainbow asked as she, Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity trotted in, soon seeing Fluttershy still on the table. "Good, we didn't miss it." "How are you doing darling?" Rarity asked as she got to the table next. "I'm alright. Just impatient to get back to normal." "That patience shall grant thy reward." They all turned to see Zecora walking into the room, "For now your true height shall be restored." She reached into her saddlebag and took out a teeny tiny bottle, the perfect size for Fluttershy to drink from. "Are you sure that's gonna be enough?" Iron asked as Zecora put the bottle down. "The amount I've given is far from wrong, the power in that potion is incredibly strong." Fluttershy took the bottle and uncorked it, "If Zecora says this'll make me big again, then I trust her." She began to gulp it down, everypony watching as she finished the drink. And as she did this, Fluttershy's eyes went wide. "Oh...I can feel it. Something's happening." Everypony's heads drew closer as Fluttershy's entire body began to shake. And then...she burped. The ponies all pulled their heads back and groaned, Fluttershy gasping and covering her mouth. "I'm sorry," she blushed, nopony saying anything as she suddenly began to glow. They all gasped as the pegasus began to grow in mere seconds, the pegasi exclaiming, "It's working!" She jumped off the table as she added, "Wow...I'm already almost at my normal size." And within seconds, she was back to her full height. The ponies around her were all smiling, about to hug her...only to see she was still glowing. That and she continued to grow, "What?" she looked down, now seeing her friends shrink, "W-w-what's happening?!" "Zecora?" Flash turned to the zebra, "Is it possible you made a small error when you made the potion?" Zecora gulped as she watched Fluttershy continue to grow. "There is the slightest possibility, that I used four henus petals and not three." Fluttershy's head then began to bang into crystals hanging from the root chandelier, Iron yelling, "We need to get her outside! Now!" Twilight's horn sparked in response, instantly taking the whole group outside. Out there, the pegasi continued to grow, soon stopping at the height of eleven meters high. "Oh no." Fluttershy said in a loud booming voice, looking down as she tried to take a step, only to almost step on Spike by mistake. "Look out!" Spike yelped as Fluttershy pulled her hoof back, her larger size causing her to lose her balance. With many cries of shock, she fell onto her side with enough force to make the ground shake. Everypony yelped as the tremor began to rattle the hills, the mini-quake instantly hitting the town. Every house began to rattle, several trees at the Apple Family Orchard now losing their apples while at Fluttershy's cottage, the roofs of the underground tunnels began to rain down dirt. "Oh...." the giant Fluttershy tired to whisper, "I'm sorry." "It's fine," Twilight replied, "It's not your fault." She turned to Zecora, "Please tell me you can fix this." Zecora nodded back, "The potion to reverse this is easier to make. About an hour of time the brewing will take. Though if you wish for Fluttershy to stay out of the lime light, I suggest you apply a way to keep her out of sight." She pointed to the town and everypony saw the townsponies trotting up to them. The zebra began to take her leave as Grand and Lightning arrived on the scene. "What the heck is going on?" Grand asked as he stared up at the giant pegasus, "What happened to her?" "Small...potion mishap," Twilight tried to reply. "Small?!" Lightning yelled before pointing at Fluttershy, "I'd hardly call that small." "We'll fix it," Flash responded before pointing at the approaching crowd, "For now, let's keep the townsponies from getting too close. The last thing Fluttershy needs is getting stared at like a carnival attraction." Grand and Lightning nodded before they and Springer ran up to the crowd while the others turned back to Fluttershy. "You still okay up there?" Rainbow asked her first. "I'm alright," Fluttershy replied before wiping her brow. "Though at this size, the sun's feeling extra hot." "That's not just you," Rainbow added as she wiped her own brow. "The Cloudsdale Weather Factory sent a message yesterday afternoon. There was a malfunction at the cloud production center and they won't be able to fix it for a few days. Unfortunately, that means we won't be getting any new clouds until then." "Is that why there's no shade?" Spike asked, pulling a piece of paper out of nowhere and using it to fan himself. "Sorry," Rainbow shrugged, Fluttershy sighing before looking down and seeing Flash and the others were directing away from her. She could see they were the same, most going back to town while grabbing whatever water they could, even from the fountain. Certain words went into her head again as she whispered, "Opportunities..." A small idea formed in her head next, making her open her wings. Iron saw this and called out, "Shy, what are you doing?" "I'm not sure yet," she replied, "But I think I have an idea on how to help ponies stay cool." With that, she spread her wings and began to softly flap them. Doing so sent a powerful wave forward, hitting the group like whirlwind. "AAAAHHH!" They all cried out as they grabbed the ground, trying to hold themselves in place while Fluttershy gasped. "Sorry. Maybe you should get further back....or behind me." The group glanced up at her before running behind her as she began to slowly beat her wings. A low gust of wind began to hit the town next, this one weak enough to be just a weak breeze. Feeing the wind hit them, the townsponies began to cool down, some turning to her and giving waves of thanks. "Oh...um, you're welcome." She tried to say while waving back. "Wow Fluttershy," Twilight added as she flew up and landed on her head. "Great idea using your size to cool everypony down." Fluttershy giggled back. "Thanks." "And you're helping us too," she heard Spike say before looking down to see him laying in the shadow that Fluttershy was casting on the grass. "This is great. It's still warm, but not sweltering." Ace and Mira slid over to lay besides him, the three putting their paws/claws behind their heads and crossing their legs. Twilight rolled her eyes while Fluttershy continued to giggle. Over the next hour, Fluttershy turned into a giant play-set, continuing to cast a cooling breeze over the town while one of her legs turned into a giant slide, with her friends swinging from her mane hair, and her tail had become a river of hair. "Marko!" A blindfolded Pinkie yelled as her head popped out of the tail, Rainbow's head poking out behind her. "Polo!" She barked before diving back into the tail, Pinkie spinning around and swimming after her. "Too bad Heart and Soul can't be here," Ace commented as he and Mira slid down Fluttershy's leg. "They'd love this." "Oh well. We'll just have to have enough fun for them." Mira added as they ran up to a strand of Fluttershy's hair that Applejack and Rarity were currently swinging from. Back in the castle again... "I hear laughter," Heart whispered as he tried to quietly get out of bed and move toward the door. But before he could grab the doorknob, Starlight grabbed him in her magic. "Not happening," she pushed him back into bed before using her magic tuck him in so tightly that he couldn't move. He grunted as he tried to free himself, but only his head could move. "But there's something fun happening!" "No." Starlight replied before turning to Soul, giving her an 'are you gonna try anything' look. She responded by holding up her hooves in defense, "I'm good." An hour or so later... Flash and the others wore faces of surprise as they saw Fluttershy laughing, the rest all climbing over her. "Clearly we missed an interesting time," he commented as Twilight flew down. "We were just helping Fluttershy keep her mind off her problems." "Sure you were." "I'll admit it was pretty funny to watch," Iron added as Ace and Mira swung past him on a strand of hair. "I must admit," Rarity chimed in while feeling the texture of Fluttershy's mane. "At this size, a single strand of hair would be enough to make entire new line of dresses." "And it just got weird," Flash finished as he turned to Zecora, the zebra trotting out of the forest with a saddlebag. "I've completed the potions that'll shrink Fluttershy down. Though by the looks of things, that'll send annoyance through the town." She put the saddlebag down, now revealing one side had lots of normal sized bottles while the other had a tiny bottle in it. "With these we'll have her back as quick as a blur, though I brought another growth potion should an error occur." "I see," Twilight replied while taking one of the normal sized bottles. "So you made multiple shrinking potions?" Zecora nodded back, "Trust in the power of these elixirs of mine, each will make her shrink a few feet at a time." Twilight responded by taking flight, going up to Fluttershy's mouth as she said, "Bottoms up." She poured the potion down Fluttershy's throat, her size causing her to lack the need to even swallow. Everypony watched as the liquid disappear, Fluttershy's body quickly beginning to glow before it started shrinking. They all gasped at this, only for Fluttershy to stop at about eight meters. "Perfect," Twilight commented before grabbing another bottle out of the bag and repeating the process. Fluttershy gulped it down, shrinking about four more meters, now being at thirteen feet tall. "Almost there." Twilight turned to Zecora, giving her a bottle that was only half full. "It's just a matter of fine tuning until you're the right height." "Okay..." Fluttershy took the bottle, "But I don't even know how tall I originally was." "You were taller than me," Rarity spoke up as she stood next to the large pegasus. "And you were shorter than me," Pinkie bounced onto Fluttershy's other side. "Alright," Fluttershy drank down the potion, shrinking only a meter, now being just above Pinkie. Twilight gave her another potion, slowly turning to the same height as Pinkie. "Almost there," Twilight took out another half filled bottle and tipped half into another half filled one. "This should fix you." Fluttershy nodded and took the vial, gulping it down. After another few seconds, she shrank once more, this time getting to the height exactly between Rarity and Pinkie. "You're back!" Twilight cheered as they all ran in to hug the mare. "Thank you," Fluttershy replied as she embraced them all. "I'm...happy to be back to normal." But despite saying this, a frown appeared on her face. "What's the matter?" Flash asked as he pulled back, "You still look kinda down." Fluttershy looked away at this, about to speak up, only for a bird to suddenly fly down and land on her head while tweeting up a storm. "Oh! Hello Merry-Weather, what's wrong?" The bird continued to squawk, Fluttershy gasping before turning to Twilight, "You need to teleport me to my house." "What?" Twilight asked, "Why-" "NOW!" Twilight hopped at this, her horn sparking before suddenly teleporting both them and the rest of the group. Soon appearing at the cottage, Fluttershy ran in with the others following. There they saw Fluttershy lay down in front of a mouse hole. "What's going on?" Rainbow asked as Fluttershy turned back to them. "Merry-Weather just told me that some of the underground tunnels have collapsed." This made a few raise some eyebrows as she continued, "She said some of the mice managed to escape, but a lot more still haven't shown up." she stuck her eye right inside the hole, "Oh, I hope they're all alright in there." "Well it's not like there's anything yah can do," Applejack replied while shrugging, "There's no way ya'll can fit in that hole." Fluttershy turned to her, then moved her gaze over to Zecora's saddlebag. A thought appeared in her mind, only for instinct to take over as she ran over and pulled out four bottles of shrinking solution. "Fluttershy, what are you-" Twilight tried to ask, only to see Fluttershy down all the drinks at once. "Fluttershy!" "I'm saving them," she responded as she started to glow, the pony shrinking down. Within seconds, she was once again the size of a mouse, turning to the mouse hole. "Whoa, hold on there Shy! You can't be serious!" Iron yelled as she flew down to the hole. "If that tunnel's collapsing-" "I'll be fine," she replied. "Maybe one of us should come with you," Flash suggested as Rainbow reached for a shrinking bottle. Fluttershy shook her head. "No. The more of us that come, the more chance of somepony getting buried alive. I'm the only one that knows the tunnel layouts, and I can talk to them. It has to be me." The ponies all frowned at this, not happy at the normally timid pony being so brave. However, Twilight knew better as she took out a tiny bottle, "Here. If things get bad, drink this. You should be able to grow right through the soil." Fluttershy nodded again, the other ponies feeling pride at the confidence on her face. "Good luck." Despite how calm everything looked on the surface, the underground was a mess. The tunnels were constantly raining dirt as Fluttershy ran through, quickly arriving at Mr. Mousey's home. And as she got there, she found the two mice huddled in a corner. "Mr. Mousey!" She cried, he and his mate turning to her. "Please, you have to run!" "But Cheddar!" Mousey replied, "We can't leave him!" "Where is he?" "He was playing with his friends," Mrs. Mousey pointed down a tunnel. "We tried to go find him, but the tunnel will collapse the second we step foot in it!" Fluttershy smiled as she flared his wings. "Well luckily, I don't have to step foot in it." She began to hover as she added, "Go ahead and hurry out. I'll get Cheddar." They nodded and ran toward the mouse hole, the mare turning to the tunnel. This corridor was even worse then the one she had gone though, parts of already half buried. The mare quickly zipped into the dirt tunnel, squeezing through the gaps before getting to the area she was aiming for: The playground. It was also half buried, several exits collapsed and many of the homemade play-sets crushed or hidden under the dirt. It wouldn't last much longer. "Cheddar?! Are you here?!" "Fluttershy!" She turned to the mirror slide, making her float over to see the young white mouse child hiding under with several others. "Please help us! We don't know what to do!" "Don't worry, I'll help you." she responded, her mind racing on what to do. She knew that if it was just Cheddar, she could pick him up and fly him out with ease. But with all these mice, there was no way to get out without getting crushed by the collapsing tunnels. But as she thought this, she turned to see the tunnel she just used get buried, "NO!" The mice all shook at her reaction, fear beginning to well up in the mare as well. But as she turned back to the mice, she knew only one thing, "I have to save them...but how?" Her eyes glanced around, only to remember the potion she was holding, "Maybe...that could work." Normally, she would start thinking about what might happen if it didn't work, but then a large piece of dirt fell to her right side. Letting out an 'eep', she looked up before dodging another clump of falling ground. "No time to think." She undid the cork, "I have to do something." With that, she drank down the entire bottle before throwing it behind her. "When I'm big enough, get under me." The mice raised an eyebrow, only to see her start glowing as she began to get larger. They all gasped at this, but a rock falling from the ceiling, shattering the mirror. Screaming at this, they ran up and hid under her just as Fluttershy's head began to hit the ceiling. Her head then began to push against the roof, slamming her down as she felt the weight hit her legs. Despite this, her eyes looked down at the mice under her, making a determined stare appear on her face as she continued to get larger. She continued to grow, forcing her legs to take the weight. More and more pressure was put on the roof, which had already been weakened by the collapsing... Only to give out. Above the surface... Springer had been using his aura sense to follow Fluttershy through the tunnels, the group now in the back garden while he patted the grass. "She's definitely under here," he commented, the ponies following him after the two mice that were currently riding Iron's back ran out of the hole, the group unable to understand why she had gone all this way due to not being able to speak mouse. "What do you think she's doing down there?" Rainbow asked, the others shrugging until the ground suddenly started shaking. "What's that?" Applejack asked, only for the ground where Springer had patted to suddenly explode. "AHH!" They yelped as dirt went flying everywhere, the group gasping before seeing Fluttershy's head sticking out of the ground. "Fluttershy?" Twilight asked before seeing Fluttershy continuing to grow, the hole around her neck beginning to choke her. "AUGH!" She grunted out, "Potion! POTION!" The others quickly grabbed the remaining shrinking potions from Zecora and poured them all down Fluttershy's throat. She continued to have trouble breathing for several seconds until she started to once again shrink, allowing her to take deep breaths. But before she shrunk too much, she reached down and grabbed the mice below her. "Pull me up!" Twilight grabbed Fluttershy in her magic and lifted her out of the hole the second she was small enough to fit through. And as the sinkhole collapsed in on itself, Twilight placed Fluttershy and the mice she was holding back on the ground. By this time, Fluttershy had shrunk to the size of a cat and was still going. "Fluttershy!" Iron yelled as he ran to her side, "You okay?" "I'm fine," Fluttershy replied before turning to Cheddar and his friends. "Are you all okay?" The mice all replied, telling her they were unharmed as Mr. and Mrs. Mousey crawled down Iron's leg and ran to their son. They then thanked Fluttershy, the mare nodding back, "I'm happy to help." She shined a small smile, only to look down at herself, "But I'm small again." "Don't worry, Zecora can just make you another growth potion." Flash responded before turning back to the zebra, "You must have loads of it left with how much she's drunk." Zecora shook her head, "While your statement is quite true, I won't be able to make another shrinking brew. I have used the last of the ingredients I need, and it may take several days for my hunt for them to succeed." "So I'm stuck like this for a few more days?" Fluttershy asked, Zecora nodding back with a frown. The sight made Fluttershy let out a long sigh, "It's okay Zecora, I can stay like this for a few days." She turned to her many mice friends, "I'm just glad all my friends are okay." The mice smiled back as almost everypony returned to Fluttershy's cottage, Zecora heading off to begin her hunt and Iron placing his shrunken girlfriend back on the sofa. "Don't worry Fluttershy," Twilight assured her. "Zecora will have the ingredients she needs soon enough. Then we'll have you back to your normal size." "I know she will," Fluttershy replied, "I'm just sorry I'm causing so many problems for everypony." "It's no problem at all deary," Rarity responded, "We're happy to help with whatever you need." The others all nodded in agreement. Flash then let out a sigh at this, "You know, It's too bad there isn't a way to clap our hooves and turn you back to normal." It was in that moment that a sudden flash appeared within Fluttershy's cottage, startling the group until they saw a certain creature, "Huzzah!" Discord exclaimed, "I'm here, so let's get..." He stopped when he noticed the number of ponies in the building. "Oh, is this going to be an extra large tea party?" "Tea party?" Flash asked, Iron's eyes going wide at this. "Wait...Fluttershy said she was free today?" "That's right!" Discord hummed, "And Smoozie's feeling much better, so I was able to come." He then began to glance around, "So, where is Fluttershy? I hope I didn't leave her hanging too long." The other ponies shared a glance before moving away from the sofa, letting Discord get a look at the tiny pegasus sitting there. "Hello Discord," she waved at the larger than normal draconequus. Discord's eyes went wide, soon falling out and rolling along the ground until he snapped them back into his head before getting closer to Fluttershy. "My dear Fluttershy, what happened to you?" Fluttershy blushed and looked away. "It's...kind of a long story. You see-" "Hold it!" Discord interrupted before snapping his fingers, summoning a card with a few words on it. "If we're doing an explanation, we don't need to bore the audience. Let's do a time skip." One complete chapter explanation later... "And now I'm stuck like this again until Zecora can brew up some more potion." Fluttershy finished, the amalgamation of creatures listening intently with a look of curiosity on his face. "My my, it seems you've had quite the chaotic time, even without me here." He chuckled before cracking his knuckles and his noodle body, "Well then, I'd better get you back to normal." The others gasped at this, Twilight flying up to him. "Wait, you can change her back to normal?" Discord made a sound of disgust as he turned to her, "I'm insulted you even have to ask. Changing the size of something is entry level chaotic magic. One snap and she'll be back to her ever elegant size." They all smiled at this, turning to Fluttershy...only to see her frown again. "What's the matter darling?" Rarity asked, "You look like you're upset that you'll be your normal size again." "Oh. Um uh...." Fluttershy began to twiddle her hooves, "I am happy that I'll be back to normal, but..." "But what?" Pinkie added. "But it's just been so much fun going back and forth between small and big. I'm gonna miss being able to see things from my animal's point of view, and being able to smile down on everypony from up high. I just wish...I could have spent a little more time at those sizes." "Oh, if that's all you want, then so be it." Discord responded with a bow, "Your wish is my command." Before anypony could ask what he meant, he snapped his fingers, Fluttershy being suddenly consumed by a bright light that filled the room. When the light faded, Fluttershy was revealed to still be the same size. The pegasus blinked as she looked herself over, only to glance up at Discord, "There. Perfect." Everypony glared up at him, Iron speaking up, "What the hay?! I thought you said you were gonna turn her back to normal!" "But she didn't want to be turned back to normal. She wanted to be able to enjoy being both small, big and her normal size. So that's what I did." The ponies blinked at this before turning to Fluttershy as Discord spoke up, "Alright my dear, close your eyes and think about being your normal size." Fluttershy shut her eyes, thinking extra hard. As she did, a soft pink glow appeared around her before she began to grow. The group all gasped as she got to her regular size, Twilight exclaiming as the pegasi opened her eyes. "Fluttershy! You...you're back to normal." "She's better than normal," Discord chuckled, "Try thinking about being small again." Fluttershy closed her eyes again, the pink glow returning as she shrunk down to the size of the mouse. The group watched her gasp, quickly returning to normal with a giddy look on her face. "Wait..." she gasped before flying outside, the others following as she glowed pink again before turning to almost ten meters tall. "YAY!" She cheered before changing back to normal and flying over to hug Discord. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" "My pleasure," Discord added as he embraced her back before pulling her away. "Now, I have put some limits on you. We don't want you accidently shrinking yourself microscopic, so mouse size is the limit of your shrinking. Same with your growth. Ten meters in height is a good maximum there." "That's fine," Fluttershy replied before landing, "In fact, why don't I make us all some tea and we celebrate with a tea party?" Everypony nodded back as the mare ran into the kitchen, Discord sitting down on her sofa as Iron walked up to him. "That was a pretty nice thing you did for her," Iron told him. "I guess you're not all that bad after all." "Well, she's my friend. Isn't that what you do for your friends?" "It is," Iron sighed as he sat down beside him. "But thanks anyways." Discord smiled back as everypony sat down as Fluttershy flew in while carrying a tray of cups and teapots. Seeing Iron and Discord sitting beside one another, her joy hit its zenith as she put the tray down. "This really has been an amazing day!" She giggled with joy and clapped her hooves as she closed her eyes, right as the pink glow returned. The others flinched as they saw her begin to grow, "Uh...Fluttershy?" But Flash couldn't say anything else before he and the others suddenly found themselves getting squished between the giant pegasus and the closest wall. They all grunted as the air was pushed out of them, Fluttershy only now realizing what had just happened. "Oh....sorry." Discord managed to snap his fingers at this, teleporting them all outside, the group hitting the dirt before the giant pegasus landed on top of them. After a few seconds, everypony pulled their heads out from under her, Flash letting out a sigh, "Clearly she's gonna need a little practice controlling her new power." Fluttershy blushed back before shrinking herself down to mouse size, everypony gasping for air as she landed on top of Iron. She then gave them all a nervous smile, the others unable to deny how cute that looked and forgave her. Several days later... The Mane Seven were now at the castle of friendship, all enjoying one of Pinkie's latest creations. "How big a slice do you guys want?" The baker asked while cutting the cake. "As big as you can make it," Flash replied while licking his lips. As she began to cut it up, Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "So how's the training been going?" "It's been going really well. I have a lot more control over my abilities now. I shouldn't accidently grow anymore unless I'm really really really excited." "That's good," Rarity responded as Pinkie passed her a slice of cake. "Now you can enjoy your new powers without any problems." Applejack nodded in agreement. "Darn tootin'. And think of all the possibilities ya'll have with those powers. Ah bet ya'll could harvest a whole apple field with one stomp of yer giant hooves." "And imagine racing against something that big," Rainbow added, "Now that's a challenge." Fluttershy giggled back as she gave her size order to Pinkie, the mare raising an eyebrow at this as she responded, "My new powers have lots of benefits, but this is my favorite one." The others tilted their heads at this as Pinkie put a tiny piece of a cake on a plate, which was just the tip of a normal slice, and passed it to Fluttershy. The pegasus licked her lips as she suddenly shrank down to her mouse size before landing next to the tiny bit of cake, which was now the same size as her. "Smaller body, bigger portion sizes." She started enjoying the cake while the others watched on in jealousy. But in that moment, the doors opened up with Starlight and the twins trotting in, "WE'RE CURED!" The two exclaimed, showing they were completely hive free. "That's great," Twilight replied as the two ran up to the table to grab a slice of cake. "I hope you thanked Starlight for taking such good care of you." "We did!" They responded as Starlight walked over to Twilight. "It's wasn't a problem," she told them all. "Happy to help." "I'm just glad I don't have to keep away from them any more," Flash added as he scratched his chin. "Now Heart and I can start training again." He then started scratching his cheek, getting everypony's attention, Twilight spotting something on his cheek that made her moan. "Flash!" "What?" He asked before Rarity gave him a mirror, allowing him to see a red spot on his cheek. There was also one on his chin and around his snout. "Oh no..." he gasped, only for a flash of light to happen next. He then noticed that Starlight had vanished, the unicorn soon teleporting back with a bowl of oatmeal paste and a tray of disgusting sandwiches. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"