A BIG Day With Cadance

by ThePinkedWonder

Chapter 1: The Buck-Up

Author's Note:

This story will sometimes have switches between the first-person narration of the OC human character Eric Reed, and a more regular 3rd-person narration. The switch will only happen after full-scene breaks, but not every full-scene break in this story will have the switch.

Full-scene breaks with the switch will have two horizontal rules, and a full-scene break without a switch will have just one.

Hey, Eric "Buggie" Reed here.

Usually, when one or both of my two Equestrian big sisters, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, cast a special "counterspell" on me to temporarily return me from being four inches tall (thanks to the effect of the magic from the "Nightmare Prevention Spell" that's stuck in me) to my normal height, about theirs, they do it right. They're also great at making sure the counterspell wouldn't wear off too soon or somehow go wrong.

But, this would be a day where one of them bucks up. Big time. And this would be one of the weirdest days of my eighteen-year-old-life!

---

With me at my normal height, Twilight, Starlight, Pinkie Pie, and had gotten off a train, the Friendship Express, and just reached the Crystal Empire. But the four of us each went for our own reasons.

Pinkie went because she was in charge of a birthday party there and (literally) hopped off on her own to get to work on it once we entered the Crystal Empire. Starlight came because she wanted to visit Sunburst, but she hadn't split off from us yet. Twilight wanted to visit Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Flurry Heart. As for me, I was simply bored in Twilight's castle, so before she left, Twi asked if I wanted to come along. Obviously, I did, and I planned to stick with her. She also asked Spike if he wanted to come, but Rarity had already asked him to do something for her...so yeah, he was not with us.

A few minutes after Pinkie left us, a smiling Princess Cadance, with Flurry Heart on her head, came into view in front of us and called out, "Twilight, you're here!"

"Cadance!"

Twilight and Cadance ran to each other and did their world-famous "Sunshine, Sunshine!" dance. Ha, it's even funnier in person than watching it in the show, and I had to cover my mouth to hide my laughing!

While we were watching them go, Starlight, not amused by that dance like I was, leaned her head to me and joked, "You know, I will never get used to seeing this, Buggie."

Holding back my laughing for the moment I answered back, "I don't know if I will get used to this either, Starie."

Once the "Sunshine" sisters got done, Twilight picked up Flurry Heart with her magic, and made silly faces to get her to laugh...and it worked on me too.

As the Princess of Silly Faces was busy making herself look...well, silly to Flurry Heart, Cadance walked to Starlight and me to tell us hello. For some reason, I felt really shy. It made me stop giggling and I instinctively slid closer to big sis Starlight.

"Hi, Princess Cadance!"

"H-Hi, Princess Cadance."

Twilight stopped with the faces and asked, "Where's Shining Armor, Cadance? I thought he was going to be with you."

"Sorry, Twilight, but Shining had to train some of the new guards, and he forgot that he needed to do it today."

"Oh, well, I guess it can't be helped. He is the Captain of the Royal Guards, after all." Twilight saw me blushing beside Starlight, and walked over to me. "Hmm? Is something wrong, Buggie?"

"No, no, nothing wrong, Twi!"

Ha, I wasn't very convincing, and Twilight and Cadance could tell what was up. Twi did it because she knows me so well, and Cadance did because she's apparently seen ponies act nervous or shy to her before. I'm a human, but it didn't affect the pony's ability to see it in me.

Twilight, still holding Flurry in her magic, smirked, leaned closer to me, while entering a type of "big sister" mode that she doesn't enter often, but have in her: the mode where that Alicorn picks on me. She wasn't gonna pass up this chance to have some fun with her "little bro."

"Wow, Buggie, I've never seen you so shy before. You don't have a crush on Cadance or something, do you?"

My face turned red big-time, and I stuttered, "N-No! That's not it, Twi! I'm just--"

"In love?" Twilight's smirk as at its all-time biggest.

"Twilight, I'm not! Cut it out!"

Laughing, Cadance cut in and said, "Okay, Twilight, leave the poor thing alone. I've seen others be nervous around me before, but I didn't think Eric would get in the act too."

Now feeling a little guilty, I turned to Cadance and tilted my head down a bit. "I'm sorry, Princess Cadance. It's not that I'm scared of you or anything, and I don't know why I feel shy."

"Well, It could be because you don't see me that much, so maybe after we talk for a while and you get more used to me, you'll feel calmer. In fact, let's all head to the Crystal Castle, everypony."

But Starlight came to the Crystal Empire to see Sunburst, so she asked, "Can I meet you guys there later? I want to go ahead and see Sunburst."

Twilight answered, "Sure, Starlight. You can come later when you're done."

"And Sunburst was going to come get Flurry Heart to watch her at his house, so since you're going to him now, could you take Flurry with you, Starlight?"

Starlight said okay, picked up Flurry from Twilight's magic with her own magic, split off to Sunburst's place, and Twilight, Cadance, and I made our way over to Cadance's Castle.

As we walked through the streets of the Crystal Empire, trying to help me get over my shyness, Cadance asked, "So, Eric, how do you like the Crystal Empire? I noticed that you hardly ever come out here."

"Oh, I-I like it very much, Princess Cadance, and I should c-come out here more. The ponies out here are really nice."

"I'm happy to hear it. If you want, when we get to my castle, I can show you the Crystal Heart, since I don't think you have seen it yet."

Twilight cut in and mentioned, "Oh, yeah, that's right. You haven't seen the Crystal Heart yet, Buggie."

"Well, I have seen it when I watched your "cartoon", Twi. But I have been wanting to see it in person." Since I said that to big sis Twilight, there was no shyness in me, so I didn't stutter.

"Oh, yes. Twilight told me about how Equestria is part of a "cartoon" in your world. And I have always wanted to ask you, am I well-liked in your world?"

"F-From what I know, you're pretty well-liked."

As we kept on walking, despite Cadance continuing to talk to me, and even joked a little to further try to ease me, my odd shyness didn't fade, and something about it didn't seem right. I shouldn't have felt so shy around her. But I thought I'd get over soon.

But once we reached the front doors to Cadance's castle, I had another problem. Not only did I still have that shyness, but I also became light-headed with a headache, and my body started to slightly wobble.

"Hey, Twi? I don't feel so good, and my head's hurting." I put a hand on the left side of my head, which sagged down a bit.

"Really, Buggie?" Twilight walked in front of me to look at my face, then her eyes widened and she frowned. Twi turned to Cadance and asked, "Is there someplace Eric can rest for a while, Cadance? He doesn't look good."

"Sure he can, Twilight." Cadance led Twilight and me down the long hallways of her castle, with some guards spread throughout, and it eventually led to one of her guest bedrooms. As we followed the Princess of Love, Twilight wrapped a wing around me to help me keep my balance.

Once we got through doors to the bedroom, Twilight, now in the extra-caring side of her "Big sister" mode, didn't wait for me to try to walk to the bed, which was about as big as a Queen-sized bed (figures) that looked really soft, and sunlight from an open window shone near it. Using her magic, Twilight lifted me, moved me through the air by about five feet to the bed, laid me on my back, took my shoes off for me, and covered a white blanket on me. Sweet, isn't she?

"I will tell the royal guards to not bother Eric, so he can rest," Cadance reassured us.

"And I'll come back and check on you later, all right?"

I told Twilight okay, thanked Cadance, and they left the room. Minutes later, I was out cold.

---

---

An hour after leaving the human Eric Reed to rest in Princess Cadance's guest bedroom, Twilight and Cadance were still trotting through the streets of the Crystal Empire, with many ponies around walking or standing around, talking about one thing or another. Twilight continued to be puzzled by Eric's sudden illness and had her head tilted down.

Cadance, with a concerned frown, asked, "Is something wrong, Twilight?'

Twilight moved her hoof from her cheek, and lifted her head to Cadance. "I'm just thinking about how Eric suddenly got sick."

"Yes, it does seem strange how he just got sick. But I am sure he will be all right after some rest."

"I hope so, but still I have a bad feeling,"

Cadance chucked, seeing herself in her sister-in-law. "Oh, Twilight, you sound like I did with Flurry Heart, soon after she was born."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Whenever Flurry felt or even looked a bit sick, I would worry that it might be more serious than it really was."

"You're making me sound like a paranoid overprotective parent," Twilight huffed, with a slightly offended expression. "I'm not that protective of Eric!"

"Maybe. But, if it would put your mind at ease, we can return to the palace, so you can check on him."

Seemingly out of thin air, Pinkie Pie hopped up to them. "Hey, Twilight! Setting up for that party is a lot tougher than I thought. Can you come help, because I know how you loooove to do checklists and stuff?"

Normally, that would have Twilight interested. However, this time, the Princess's thoughts were still on Eric. "Well, Pinkie, we were about to head back to the castle to see if Eric's okay, so can I come help you after I do?"

"And now you sound like a paranoid overprotective parent, Twilight, so just go help with Pinkie's party, but I'll check on him. After I do, I'll come to you and let you know how he is feeling."

Twilight looked down with a bashful smile. "Well...I guess I am being paranoid. Okay, I'll go help Pinkie with her party.'

"Good, and I will let you know how Eric is as soon as I can."

Cadance made her way back to her castle, while Twilight trotted in the opposite direction with Pinkie to aid in setting up her party.

---

---

When I woke up, I felt much better. I wasn't light-headed anymore, and my headache was gone. Unfortunately, I found I had another...much bigger problem.

Everything looked huge!

Somehow, the counterspell to the Nightmare Prevention Spell ended too early! Starlight did the spell on me by herself this time before we left Twilight's castle, so I figured she messed up. She's done it on me solo several times, but this was the first time it wore off like this.

I didn't panic, since it wasn't like somepony would come in and think I'm a bug, plus they all knew about me and how I can be four-inches tall. So there wasn't a real danger of a crushing experience from a giant hoof.

But, it got a lot harder to resist the urge to panic, when I noticed just how huge everything was. Even at four inches tall, the room looked too big to me. The ceiling looked nearly unreachable, and the bed I was on looked like it could've gone on for miles. I gasped, when it sunk in how tiny I became. Somehow, not only did Starlight's counterspell wear off too soon, but something happened to make me the size of a flea!

Yep, that Unicorn really bucked up this time.

It wasn't the time to think about how I would let Starlight have it later, though. I needed to think of the best way to be noticed. My best bet was to get on the blanket Twilight covered over me before she left with Cadance, which I was by the edge of. Since the blanket was white, it would let me be as visible as possible.

Shortly after I had gotten on it, I heard approaching hoofsteps from outside the closed door of the room, and a voice called from outside the door.

"Eric? It's me, Princess Cadance. Are you okay in there?"

I yelled, "I'm okay, Princess Cadance, but I have shrunk back down!"

But she didn't answer back. She knocked on the door a few more times, and again asked if I was all right.

I repeated what I said, yelling at my limit. Again, Cadance didn't seem to hear me.

Cadance stopped knocking, opened the door, and gasped.

"Eric?! Where did you go?!"

Because of my tiny size, while Cadance's yelling wasn't "killing" my ears, her voice was still hurting them, and I covered them both with my hands.

Cadance turned her head to the floor and walked in the room slowly, just in case, so she wouldn't step on me by mistake. Princess Cadance, or for that matter all ponies that know me and how I can shrink, are aware to do this if there's a chance I might be on the floor. A certain purple Alicorn and purplish pink Unicorn already made sure they know.

I waved my arms, yelling as loud as I could, "I'm right here!! Can you hear me?!"

She didn't say anything back, so I pieced together that I was too small for Cadance to hear me...not good. Even worse, because she focused more on the floor than the bed, she wasn't paying enough attention to where I actually was. Being so tiny, unless she focused on the exact spot I was, she'd seen what looked like a crumb, and might not even notice me. Especially since the Alicorn didn't have a reason to think I might be flea-sized.

"Oh no, no, no! He's gone! What happened to him?!" Cadance finally, but carefully, walked to the bed I was on, failing to notice my yells and arm waving. She then threw the blanket off the bed to the floor with her magic, perhaps thinking I shrunk and was under them. She would've been half right. I did shrink, just a lot more than she thought.

However, I was on the blanket, and Cadance wasn't looking at where I stood, so that pony threw me off the bed!!

Screaming, with terror filling my heart, I spun through the air, then found myself falling through what looked like pink trees that bent down as I hit them. It didn't hurt, but this still slowed me down. Finally, I fell on an oddly soft floor on my stomach, and the fall was slowed down enough for it to not hurt.

It took a few seconds to regain my bearings -- and to start calming down by breathing because I was pulling a Twilight -- then turned my head around to see where I was. It looked like a huge, pink forest. How did I go from a bedroom to this pink forest? I got a hint when I heard the Princess of Love, in a really loud voice.

"Please, Eric! Say something if you can hear me!"

After recovering from Cadance's now ear-piercing voice, I stood up, did what she said by yelling her name. But what a surprise, she didn't hear me. And when the "floor" started moving, forcing me to grab one of the "trees", I figured out where I was, and how I got there.

Yep, when Cadance threw the covers off the bed I was on, I got thrown on her back without her knowing she did it. I was flea-sized, so she didn't feel a thing when I landed. Or the pony did, but it felt too weak for her to notice. It's possible that she spotted me as I was flying through the air, but being so tiny, she thought nothing of it. Cadance was panicking too, so that wouldn't help her spot an airborne flea-sized human.

And not only that, because I was on Cadance's back, l was much closer to her than I was on the bed, so her voice seemed louder now.

Too small for Cadance to hear me, and buried in her soft pink coat of hair, or pink trees from my new point-of-view, I was all but undetectable. Somehow, I had to think of a way to get her to hear me.

Of all the things I thought might happen when Twilight asked if I wanted to go with her to the Crystal Empire, being thrown onto a "giant" pony's back was not one of them!

But, I guess this was one way for me to spend some one-on-one time with Princess Cadance, which we had never done before. Till now...kinda.

Comments

[Nodqfan]

Can't wait to see happens next.

[TheHardie-Boy]

Pull on her fur, scream directly into her ear, get directly in front of her eye. Just a few suggestions. Can’t wait for more!

[DerpTape]

At least it isn't a 'big' problem. Yet.