Grown With A Kiss

by reedman

Pining Charmer Shining Armor

The train up to Canterlot was a ride Pete had taken before. It felt different this time. He was snuggling up with a now normal-sized Macintosh. The two shared a moment in the barn. A close moment. Was he really going to date a pony? Not many options in Equestria. At least he had someone to hold close during this exciting and terrifying day. When he first saw the stallion, it was as a savior. Feeding him when he was starving. Giving a blanket to sleep with. Becoming a pillow to rest his head on lonely nights. Pete only thought of these things as actions of kindness. Things Mac would’ve done for any creature in need. Only now he realized how many signs he missed. The stallion being at the fence every single morning he went to the boutique to give an apple. The invitation to Sunday dinners so the human didn’t have to eat alone in an alien world. Teaching him how to read Ponish. Even going through the painstaking effort to translate the date of his birthday on Earth to an equivalent day in Equestria. All this time.

“Mac?” Pete asked. “I’m not sure how relationships work in Equestria. Just this morning, the idea of kissing ponies was something that never even crossed my mind. Now here I am. On a train with tickets paid for by kissing a mare until she was big enough to give her friend a ride. I guess what I’m saying is, I’m glad you’re going through this with me. I believe the proper term for you now is, coltfriend?”

“Eeeyup.” Mac answered. The human wrapped his arms around the stallion and gave a squeeze of delight.

“Guess we’re dating now.” he said. A semi-quiet ‘awww’ could be heard from a train attendant.

The train began to slow down. The stallion looked back to the human.

“It’s a long walk ta the castle Pete.” Mac said. “Maybe ah should give ya a ride.” His humanfriend gave the stallion’s hair a tousle.

“I think you just wanna kiss me.” the human said with a smirk.

“Maybe.” he said back.

They walked off the train. A few ponies were getting on and some were getting off. It was nice to have some distance from Ponyville. He could see the stares of the Canterlot elite on him. Anytime he helped Rarity with deliveries, they would look down on him. Metaphorically. Not this time though. He held Mac’s head in his hands and squatted down.

“You’re right.” Pete said. “It does look like a long walk.” He pressed his lips against the stallion’s. It didn’t take long for the growth to kick in. The excitement seemed to accelerate it, because he was already standing on his tip toes in a matter of seconds. He ignored the gasps and whispers around him.

He pulled back to see the enlarged Mac that was a solid two stories tall. A giant hoof scooped him up from behind. The human found himself plopped onto the stallion’s back.

“Next stop, Canterlot Castle.” Mac said.

***

“I knew it!” Lightning Dust shouted as she opened the barn doors. “The hoomin’s not even here!”

“It’s first to find him then!” Spitfire said as the Wonderbolts flew off into the sky to search for the human.

Applejack cursed herself for letting the pegasus get past her. All the controlled flicking she had been doing seemed to have wore out almost half the size Pete gave her. To make thing’s worse, a small crowd had gathered shortly after Pete and Mac snuck away. Rainbow Dash’s need to show off was useful for once. Showing off her larger size kept them busy.

“Where’s my Peter?” Rarity asked as a journalist pegasus flew in front of her.

“Rarity!” the journalist shouted. “Ponyville Gazette! Is it true you kissed the hoomin this morning? Is he the reason you’re so big?”

Before the mare could answer, the crowd turned to another giant approaching. It was Lyra Heartstrings. Was that Bon Bon on her back? She walked up to the other giant mares.

“Hey girls!” Lyra said. “Did you pay Pete to grow too?”

“You paid him?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah.” the minty mare answered. “He said he needed some bits for two train tickets to Canterlot.”

The crowd of not-giant ponies immediately dispersed. It seemed they were all running towards the train station. A few pegasi flew into the sky towards Canterlot. The mare that blabbed quietly walked away in the awkward moment.

“Ah hope Pete got ta Princess Celestia.” Applejack said.

“I’ll teleport there and check.” Twilight said before the triple-her-size orange mare bopped her on the head.

“Oh no you don’t!” Applejack said. “Don’t think ah don’t see that cage necklace of yers.”

“Don’t you dare think about retrieving my employee without me.” Rarity said.

“Count me in!” Rainbow said.

“Fine.” Twilight said. “Applejack needs to get smaller first, then we’ll go.”

***

Prince Blueblood’s day was almost perfect. His lunch date Sapphire Shores went well. Shortly after they left the restaurant, the ground quaked. A large red stallion was approaching! The prince jumped behind Sapphire. It stopped in front of them. There was something on his back. Two legs and no fur of any kind. It looked like the ‘hoomin’ he had heard news of a few years ago. Why was it on a giant pony?

“Hi Sapphire!” it said with a wave. The initially shocked mare seemed to calm down at the call of her name.

“You delivered Rarity’s dress to me last year.” she said. “Peter was it?”

“Pete, but close enough.” it responded.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” Blueblood said. “I’m-.”

“I know who you are Prince Prick.” it said. “Rarity told me about you awhile ago.”

“Prick?” the royal stallion said in disgust. “Watch your tone, hairless monkey.”

“Oh hush before my farmer coltfriend steps on you.” it said with a smirk.

“May I ask how your coltfriend is so large?” Sapphire asked.

“Long story short, any pony I kiss grows in size.” the hoomin answered.

“A bigger Sapphire would make for a better show.” she said. “Do you take commission?”

“I did just grow a pony for train ticket money, so I’ve been thinking about it.” the hoomin said.

The prince grumbled under his breath. Being shown up by this hoomin and his giant coltfriend. Sapphire had more interest in the giant and the hoomin making giants than him. If anything, he deserved to be a giant. A prince of his stature should be able to look down on others in more ways than one. The hoomin did say his power was by kissing, and he was in the prince’s magical reach. If the hoomin was telling the truth, Prince Blueblood was about to get the size he rightfully deserved.

***

Shining Armor was unsure at first when her highness said to be on the lookout for anything stranger than usual. Though he made sure the guards under his command were alert. His wife was here today, and he wasn’t taking any chances. There was a part of him that worried somepony like Chrysalis would attempt an attack. While his sister and the other Elements of Harmony proved they could handle such threats, he didn’t want to have to rely on his sister for every problem. Sometimes the prince wished he had an army of soldiers to take on threats to Equestria. Powerful soldiers.

A rumble beneath his hooves shook Shining out of his thoughts. Then more rumbles. The guards looked confused. He regained his composure and looked towards the lieutenant of the pegasi guards.

“I want guards in the sky searching the city.” he said. “I want to know the source of that disturbance immediately.”

“Yes sir!” the liuetenant said before flying off.

***

In hindsight, calling a prince a prick because he felt safe on Mac’s back was not Pete’s brightest move. Not only did Prince Blueblood yank him down with magic to kiss him, he was caught off guard and couldn’t stop the growth. The growth was stopped when his farmer stallion tackled the prince. Then they began to wrestle. Sapphire left at his request, as things could get messy. He was glad the Royal Guard were flying overhead. They flew back to the castle for reinforcements.

“Unhoof me you backwater farm pony!” Prince Blueblood shouted from under Big Mac.

“Eenope.” the stallion said in response. The prince was trying to use his magic, but the red stallion kept hitting the horn with his hoof to distract him.

Pete turned to see if the guards were coming. They were rapidly approaching. He ran to meet their captain.

“Afternoon captain.” Pete said. The captain looked past him towards the two giants. “I can explain that.”

“Please do.” the captain said.

Pete looked at one of the soldiers standing by captain Shining. He crouched down in front of the unicorn guard.

“Here’s the short and simple version.” the human said as he pressed his lips against the guard’s.

***

Shining couldn’t believe his eyes. His sergeant just grew before his eyes. Not just a little bit. The other guards had to break ranks and scramble as to avoid being stepped on by the rapidly expanding stallion. When the growing guard put it together, the kiss continued until he matched the other two giants. The now giant guard simply levitated the two apart.

Just like that, the problem was now over.

A problem that would’ve required the Elements of Harmony, or Princess Celestia herself to step in. One guard ended the problem by himself. Shining looked to the human. He kissed a guard and they became giant? Was this the ‘stranger than usual’ thing he was supposed to watch out for? The prince grumbled about being levitated like a child, then left. Said something about showing off his new size to the masses.

“Should I be concerned about that?” he asked.

“Not at all captain.” Pete answered. “It wears off after awhile.”

“Interesting.” Shining said. “Why don’t we go to the castle and you can tell me more about this?”

“I was planning on asking to see Princess Celestia, so that works out.” he said. “Do you think we can get some food for Mac too? He missed lunch to get me here.”

“That’s no problem.” the captain said with a soft smile. “He can get some food at the mess hall. You and I can talk a bit about your special ability, then I can get you an audience with her highness.”

“Thanks captain.” the human said.

“Please.” he said with gears turning in his head. “Call me Shining.”

***

Pete was glad to be within the confines of the castle wall. It was the first time he truly felt relaxed all day. Mac was getting fed at the mess hall, so he was sated for now. Shining wanted to talk in the barracks. Something about making sure the growth magic wasn’t a security risk. The two were sitting on a bed while the human retold the day’s events. The place was empty, as all the guards were on duty.

“So my little sister isn’t so little anymore?” Shining asked.

“If it hasn’t worn off already, yeah.” the human answered. “She wasn’t as bad as Rarity. She was as big as Twilight’s tree, and she was levitating houses like they were pebbles.”

“So magical ability scales up as well?” he also asked.

“Yeah.” Pete said. “I think something emotional grows as well. This morning Rarity just wanted to perfect the dress she was gonna wear for Hoity Toity’s party tonight. After a few kisses, she suddenly wanted to be the biggest pony in the world to advertise her work.”

“Interesting.” the stallion said. “So if you were to kiss somepony who wanted to protect Canterlot...”

“They would want to be big enough to watch over all of it probably.” the human finished. Shining placed his left foreleg on Pete’s right leg.

“I appreciate you talking to me about this Pete.” he said. “At least this is easier than the last time we met.”

“The part where I had a bunch of spears pointed at me, or the part where you had to tell Rarity her client’s dress was ruined?” Pete asked. His first time making a Canterlot delivery after a month here was certainly an interesting one. He was glad to not be on the receiving end of his boss’ wrath that day.

“A bit of both.” Shining said with a chuckle. He took a breath before continuing. “Pete, I’ll be honest with you. Growth magic was unheard of before today. The fact Discord gave it to you out of boredom is amazing. Before we go to the princess, I wanted to propose something. A request for you to consider.”

“Ok?” the human said, unsure.

“I’ve spent a sizable portion of my life in the Royal Guard.” he began. “As you know, threats to Equestria appear all the time. The Elements of Harmony are fantastic at repelling these threats. However, I don’t want the burden of protection to be on the shoulders of my little sister and her friends. At least not forever.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Pete asked.

***

“Use your power to turn the guard’s into giants.” Shining said. He decided to drop the pretense and get straight to the point. Though the human looked nervous at the proposition.

“I don’t know Shining.” Pete said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “The ponies I’ve grown so far, get addicted to it.”

“You said yourself it grew their emotions.” the stallion said. “The ponies you kissed were in an emotional state weren’t they?”

“Well, yeah.” the human answered.

“Royal Guard are trained to keep their emotions under control at all times.” he said. “Kiss me and I’ll prove it.” The human looked at him for a moment before sighing deeply.

“Fine.” Pete said. “You get one kiss. Then you take me to Princess Celestia like you promised.”

Shining turned to face the human. The human lowered his head, and brought their lips together. It was very different to kissing his wife. Human lips felt oddly small against his own. Though that was probably due to them getting comparatively smaller by the moment. Before he could take in the sensation of growing, the human pulled away. He noticed that the bed now sagged under his weight. He got off quickly to take in his new perspective. The human stood up as well. Pete was eye level with his snout. Looking down on the human for once was oddly enjoyable.

“Wow.” was all Shining could say.

“There.” Pete said. “You’re a head taller than Celestia. Speaking of, can we go see her now?” The human turned to walk out of the barracks. A levitation spell turned the human back.

“Just one more.” the stallion said.

“I know that look, and it means I should leave.” the human said as a dark purple energy surrounded him.

“This sleeping spell says otherwise.” the captain said. The human went limp before he could even muster a shout. While it was admittedly a little extreme, this was Shining’s chance to protect the land of Equestria like never before. Pete just needed some convincing when he woke up. He looked at the now unconscious human in the hold of his magic. He never got to fully enjoy the sensation of growing. Pete was being incredibly selfish with his amazing gift. Another kiss wouldn’t hurt. If anything, he had to check if his power worked while unconscious. He brought the human’s lips towards his own.

“Explain thyself!” a voice shouted.