More Than a Pet!

by B_25

Rating: teen
Tags: Spike, Comedy, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Anthro, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance
Length: 9209

Spike has always, maybe, sorta KINDA had a crush on Fluttershy. Only, he doesn't believe he's dragon enough to deserve her. When Twilight (accidentally) transforms him into a ferret, he's left in Fluttershy's care. Can he become more than a pet?

Spike has always, maybe, sorta KINDA had a crush on Fluttershy. Only, he doesn't believe he's dragon enough to deserve her. When Twilight (accidentally) transforms him into a ferret, he's left in Fluttershy's care.

Can he become more than a pet?

A Gift to the Greatest and Kindest Big Sis in the World, The Masked Ferret!

(And rated MOSTLY Safe for Ferret!)

Published 2021-08-25 17:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2021-08-25 17:40:02 UTC

And More Than a Friend

More Than a Pet
B_25 for MaksedFerret

“It'll be fiiine!”

“No! It won't!”

"You're making a big deal out of this!"

"That's what everyone forcing someone to do something says!" Spike crossed his arms and turned away his head. "Just because you gave into peer pressure doesn't mean that I will! Find yourself another subject! Scram!"

"What if I gave you a day off?" Twilight offered in circling around the platform. They were in the Experimentation Room, but currently, it was The Room Without Experimentation. "No test. No chores. Twenty-four hours of freedom and a pouch full of bits."

"For me to be an animal the size of a pouch of bits?" Spike glanced at her to both pull down his bottom-eyelid and stick out his tongue. He was lucky he wasn't shot with the spell on the spot. Twilight breathed as deeply and as quietly as possible. "No thanks. Mares don't dig dogs that fit in a saddlebag the same way they do your typical stallion."

Twilight smirked with twinkles of light splashing across her face. "But Fluttershy would."

Spike shot straight, and his heart blasted from his chest at the sound of her name. His mouth opened to breathe, and his voice croaked when it came to the selection of words. There was the sound of a beam charging. Violet swirled the room. Then there was a blast, and rejection became impossible.

The afternoon sunlight settled through the windows into the kitchen and bathed the atmosphere in the slowness of Summer. The cottage had been empty of critters as the little—and not so little—animals went out to enjoy nature itself.

Fluttershy picked up the tray covered with cups and the kettle in the middle. Walking out from the kitchen to the living room, she shook her head to float a pesky strand of bubblegum out from over her eyes. However, as she passed through the wooden archway, there were echoes like whispers coming from outside her home.

"I'll strangle you if you make me do this!"

"Such a cute creature like you? You're too sweet, little, and innocent to ever—"

"That does it!"

"Ack!"

Fluttershy's eyes widened as panic blossomed through her. Setting the tray on the table at the center of the room, she hurried to the door, stopping and wobbling and rising on the balls of her feet. With a deep breath, and her wings flared from panic, she threw the door back.

And blinked at the view.

Twilight leaning back with two hands set on a strange purple scarf. Her wings were opened but narrowed on the thing, one crossing over its top, the other sliding beneath its bottom. It was actually a pet, one wrapped around her neck, tightly so, with enough size to squeeze.

Both of them looked at the sudden intrusion at their side. Before Fluttershy's eyes could focus on removing the haze before her, the princess's hand caught her pet in surprise, unhooking and peeling the rascal from her neck... before cocking her arm back.

"This is yours now!"

Twilight chucked whatever the thing was before blasting off in a lavender blur that had enough with the events of the day. She seemed at fault but, at the same time, having paid enough of a price to be acquitted of her crime. Still, this left the pegasus in confusion. Her wing curved back from the impact of catching something.

Before she could take a look at her wing, however, the thing scampered down it, rounding the appendage before leaping to the ground. From there, it bolted across the floor, curving as it did so, before it disappeared underneath the couch.

Fluttershy had no clue what she was dealing with here.

Better to be safe than it is to be sorry!

While she doubted Twilight would throw a thing that would then be in danger if it escaped, she still wanted to be safe by closing the door—ensuring the poor critter would be no harm to itself. Eagles could be nasty, and pick out the little folk that haven’t learned to navigate the big, scary world.

"I-I'm closing the d-door now," Fluttershy said softly and with stumbles as even her hand tapped on the handle of the door. There wasn't any doubt about it being unsafe. It didn't seem dangerous—sans choking Twilight. "I'm not doing it to trap you inside of here. I can let you out afterward—that is, if you want to leave."

She swallowed after closing the door. "You can stay here as long as you like. B-But I must warn you that some of the mice and bunnies like to stake out under there. It's okay if you're scared and nervous. I'm sure they wouldn't mind reallocating somewhere else for a bit."

There were no words, or even sounds, nothing at all from underneath the couch. She was sure it was still under there as there had been no further pelting of its paws. It could be quiet, but not silent. And her ears were trained for hearing the subtle things in life.

"I'm... going to start walking toward you now." Fluttershy took a step forward, and then another, careful for its sake. The odd fear of it leaping out from beneath the couch and clawing at her face was at the back of her mind. Her hands rose slowly. "Just make any kind of sound, and I'll stop."

The fact it kept quiet was scarier.

"Actually... if you could make a sound—even a teeeny one—would help me right now." Fluttershy did her best to laugh but found that sound did not come. "Just to make sure you're still there... and that you're okay."

There was a sigh that broke the silence that shouldn't have been possible from an animal. Not that they didn't sigh. Angel is proof of that. But the sound was rough, masculine, and familiar. It sounded like a squeak from a stallion, and there was something strangely alluring about that.

"I'm here."

Fluttershy blinked as her hands dropped to denim-covered thighs at once. She bent forward and peered at the dark cover beneath the couch. "S-Spike? Is that... you?"

Another sigh. It's soooo cu-ute! Then his voice replied. "Yeah. It's me."

"Thank goodness you're alright! I had no idea what was happening at the door! All I heard was the two of you fighting... then you strangling Twilight... she threw you! Then... then.." Fluttershy blinked and shook herself from the trance. With focus regained on the darkened space, she composed herself. "Why are you so small? Are you okay? Did you get stuck down there? Maybe I could—"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." The depth of his voice was still there, but was so much smaller and softer on the ears. The urge to grab him and tuck him against her chest and cheek pinched beneath her skin. "You have a couple of coins down here. Think I could use that toward the first month's rent?"

Fluttershy giggled as her knees settled onto the carpet by the table while her hands rested on the wooden floor. Her pants flexed a little tight across her form. It was worth the cost of hovering over the dragon's new cave. "You could stay as long as you like for free. But I doubt you'd want to spend that time inside of there."

"I can live off the dust bunnies."

"Spike!"

"They're self-generating!"

“Spii-iike!”

"Alright, alright, no dust bunnies."

"Thank you.”

They kept like that for a while as there wasn't much more to be said. Fluttershy was still on her hands and knees with half of her face blocked by her mane. It would be a weird sight for any who decided to come back inside. Still, she stayed, and waited for her friend.

"But you are coming out... aren't you?"

"Not unless Princess Luna gets more than she wished for and the whole world goes dark." The little critter coughed. "Or you go blind, somehow. But I don't want the world to enter eternal darkness. And I hate the idea of you going blind even more. So I'll do the heroic thing and keep underneath the couch."

Fluttershy giggled. "I like the way you twist things."

"Cognitive dissonance also likes the way I twist things." There was a little tic-tic of paws clattering on the ground. Coming closer. Slowly. Maybe unconsciously. "It allows me to carry on with some resemblance of self-respect! Oh, heck, who am I kidding? I don't even have that!"

Fluttershy smiled, and hoped its warmth infused her voice. "But you do have my respect?"

"You should value that more," Spike went on, "and give it to those who matter."

Her smile smirked. “But I already do.”

She could hear his itty-bitty heart attack and the way he struggled to breathe for a moment. Deciding to lower herself to the ground, feeling her chest squish as she sunk into it, Fluttershy laid her cheek against the floor. Her hand stretched out to the front of the couch, her fingers tapping before the shadow.

"Won't you come out for me?"

There was another sigh.

And more pelting bitty steps.

Don't just reach out and grab him.

Don't just reach out and cuddle him.

Don't just reach out, whisk him into you, and snuggle him to death.

"I, uh, d-don't look how I usually do."

Fluttershy chuckled. "I kinda figured that."

"I mean... I'm not tall anymore."

Fluttershy exhaled in relief. "Thank Celestia for that! Or else I'd be worried about how you made it under there."

"But I'm also not that strong either."

“Says who?”

There was a wince, not from pain, but from the shy boy struggling with compliments. He could never accept or reject them. It's a part of what made him so cute. He was the guy that Shy could ever tease. The fact that it would be a dragon was an even larger source of irony.

"I-I..."

"Yes?"

"I... you'll see me... and then..."

She was slow, polite, and kind with her tone. "And then I'll do what?"

The critter fought with the answer as he could not accuse her of anything foul, while at the same time, his insecurities ruled his brain. Within moments, he was tired of fighting, and exploded himself clear. "You'll see me like this, and you'll never be able to see me the same again."

There was guilt in smiling at such a statement. Rainbow was the same on hearing Fluttershy's woes and fears due to the silliness of their validity. Seeing it from the other side, though, brought the quiet girl some peace.

"What won't I see? A big, strong, and lean dragon? Maybe someone a little bit handsome while still being a cutie?" Fluttershy let the words and confessions slip away from her. Complimenting others in the places they usually weren't was her favourite thing to do. It had been tough at first—but the flushes and thanks had become her courage. "It doesn't matter what you look like! Because I'll always look at you as Spike." Her fingers dipped into the darkness—but by a little. "And no psychical difference can change that."

Soon there was that tap-tap-tap-tap and a feeling of something sharp and smooth wrapping on her index finger. Pulling her hand back, the girl watched as the creature emerged small and long, purple and slender from the darkness.

"OH-MI-GOSH!" Fluttershy failed her restraint and snatched the creature by its waist, raising him from the ground like a slinky. She rose onto her knees and stuffed him against her collarbone with her other hand pressed against the first. "YOU'RE LIKE A SCALEY LITTLE FERRET! YOU ARE SOO-OOO ADORABLE!"

Spike suffocated as his frame was held within the palm, and his stubby limbs wiggled out the sides of the hand. The giantess bobbed and twisted while holding him close to her. It was an incredible pressure smothering him into smooth lemon skin. The scent of the morning garden licked his snout.

He struggled within the hold to escape, but soon relented, and became limp after a few weak kicks. Soon he was bathed in warmth, the kind born from her body, enveloping him in heaven. Above, her jaw loomed, a smooth landscape presenting a niche.

Without knowing why, the scaled ferret snuggled upward, coming to wiggle within that delicate space.

Fluttershy tittered at his sensation before lowering her head, snuggling him into place, coming to rub from side to side. It was dark with a hue of yellow. Tight, too. But the dragon couldn't find it within him to be scared.

And then the girl gasped.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! So-so sorry!" The hands pulled him away as their palms joined side by side beneath him, offering a stage for him to curl inside himself. He was at the altar, one held before the temple that was her shy face. She looked down with her eyes barely raising to him. "I didn't mean to take advantage of you like that! I'll let you go now! I can open the door, and you can go home and—"

"Hey-hey-hey! It's okay! Everything is good!" Spike lifted his claws in a surrender of peace at the giantess. But then he turned them around, looking at how small they were. "Dang these are tiny." His eyes flicked onto the shy face, which had leaned close, the purple waterfall of hair enhancing in detail. "Are claws still claws when they're shrunk down? Or do they become paws?"

Fluttershy was silent and frozen from the previous shock of what she had done. With a pause—and chipping away at her own internal ice—she finally broke into playful words. "I think they're still claws. But they're itty claws now. Itty-bitty-claws.”

“Now isn't that masculine!” Spike chuckled and curled one into a fist, charging it to the sky, pumping it with all the power a ferret could muster. "Now all ladies out there can swoon over my incredible, itty-bitty-strength." He tried pumping the rest of his arm, but there was no size or muscle to demonstrate. "And all the guys out there better spread the word to watch out."

Fluttershy tittered with even more laughter as the mass of her mane bounced and frazzled from the movement. One of her hands slipped away, the one still more than enough to cup his curled form, as her finger extended to boop him on the tip of his nose. "You're such a dork! A pocket dork now.”

Spike's muzzle opened enough to reveal the miniature line of fangs. "Careful about what pocket you're talking about."

Fluttershy's cheeks lit to the extreme as she fumed in a cloud of steam. Her fingertip stomped his snout to the bubblegum of her palm, which he wobbled against as the finger inched left and right. "Naughty! Naughty, naughty, naughty!"

"Okay! Okaa-aay!" Spike's nasally voice choked up to the heavens. "Enough already! Or else you'll get a sneeze on your finger that you won't like!" The finger pulled away enough to feel the twitches of his snout. Once it was gone, he blew a sneeze—or multiple little ones.

“AWWWWW-WWWWWAAA!”

“AH-CHO! AH-CHOO! AAHH-CHOOOO!”

Spike whipped his rascal muzzle up in recovery from the attack, breathing through his mouth in huffs. He was stunned for a moment. A second later, the plushness of a fingertip tapped at his snout. It wiped him clean and clear. His arms looped over the finger, though, and three more were supplied so he could rest over them.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it!"

The two kept like that for a couple of moments with the dragon, unravelled from himself a little, resting his chest over a trio of flexed fingers. Fluttershy's dominating face watched him sweetly from above. There was a mystery in the air between them. The question of what all this teasing and flirting would cause them to become.

"Are you still worried about what I would think?"

"No."

"Yaay!"

"Because I already know."

"Oh?"

"He's such a cute pet!”

Fluttershy laughed as her thumb swooped in over his snout, stroking over his muzzle and just shy before his eyes. "And what's wrong with that? I happen to find you very adorable—like something I could cuddle all day!"

Spike swallowed and, though his shoulders rose, the rest of him collapsed into her hold. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. He could be close to her in all the ways he craved. Course, he could never hold her... much less carry her. She could do that for him.

It's wrong... because I want you to see me as... more than a pet.

"So... she's trying to merge animals?"

"Kinda." Spike tried. "Sorta." He struggled again. "Not quite."

Then he gave up.

Fluttershy sat on the ground with him draped across the smooth, denim slope of her thighs, looking up from its midsection up at her face. He sat properly at first with legs and paws tucked beneath himself. But, when she offered no resistance as he stretched out, soon his fun-size limbs spread and hugged the curve of the leg.

Squeezing lightly, at times, when he shouldn't have.

"Twilight had some time off and wanted to see what all the fuss behind my comic books were." His shoulders collapsed, and he laid his muzzle onto the arched plane of the covered leg, the dense material teasing the soft warmth it layered over. "She read a few issues and then got bored. Then she wondered if it actually was possible to merge different species for the sake of combining their most valuable abilities."

He hoped that, in talking normally, and being inconspicuous in his actions, that Fluttershy wouldn't care that he was drinking up her body. She didn't stir—but would shift, sometimes. Wobbling the soft ton beneath him as he rode the enjoyable waves. It was something she did, that most normally did.

Spike just noticed it more at this size.

At least, it felt wrong to think anything else, or of anything more in her moving.

It feels so taut!

"But to be honest with you," he carried on, "I don't know what kind of powers she was expecting a ferret mixed with a dragon would make." He shrugged and slumped and fully draped the space of the thigh. "I just think Twilight really missed testing, and wanted to do an experiment like old times."

A fingertip floated over his face and settled over his spines, squishing them as the skin caressed his scales, scratching him into a lull. It was smooth, peaceful, and reassuring. "It seems like someone is a little upset they lost it with Twilight."

Spike shut an eye—then leaned his head to the side to feel the fingernail carrying down to his frill. It scratched behind it, working the thin material, and he became dopey in love. "M-Maybe. But I didn't like the way she went about it!"

"You poor thing."

His face winced from hating how much he loved all of this. The finger crossed underneath his chin, raising it and focusing on its point, waggling up and down his head. It carried across his jaw and its smooth enclose of scales. The nail touched from side to side as the cream of her fingers massaged across his surface. Spike raised his muzzle all the way up and exposed its underside, which the finger lovingly attacked. It then carried down. Over his sensitive chest where it then twirled

"Such a cute little dragon!"

Spike did his best not to smile. To look dignified and confused at the girl treating him this way. That he was not a toy, not some cuddly pet, that he was a tall, older, and more mature dragon. That such talks and games were beneath him. That his character was on a level above being petted.

"But I can't give you belly-wubs if you're laying on your front!"

Spike broke as the cold, dull ache, the one across his body demanded to be warmed, caressed, and rectified. With a blush, and eyes that refused to look at the giantess, he let the finger wiggle beneath his chest.

It scooped into the tight space, lifting him up, and his claws wrapped around the finger, trusting his weight to it as it guided his back to the familiar denim. He was lying on his back when Fluttershy's face floated overhead, the volume of her mane swaying in the air.

"Gotchu!"

The fingers grasped in bitty-claws then pressed down into his chest and swirled around, going downward, and aided by another. Swirling and twirling, before streaking side to side, causing his body to curve in and out. Then they rushed back and forth, teasing his torso, those nails working into his flexing scales.

"Ooo-oooh, Spike!" Fluttershy cried with a wide smile and eyes squeezed into the same shape. "I just can't get enough of you like this!"

Spike smiled back as her hands dropped to his sides, each rubbing in the opposite direction, sending wobbles throughout his slinky frame. It was like tight muscles melting into looseness as compressed and expanded in ways he hadn't felt before.

"Enough of you like this!' At least she likes me as her pet. Maybe a life like that wouldn't be so bad?

His thoughts fired back.

Until she finds a guy to settle with.

His soul dampened.

And then there was a knock at the door.

Fluttershy's head rose back as she sat up. Her hands then cupped the dragon and lifted him, letting his legs hang in the air. Turning to set him on the table, she rose and began toward the door, not even being able to reach for it before it blasted open.

"Oh-oh! Where is it! Where is it!" Pinkie bounced on two feet through the door as two followed behind her. "Twilight said it was here! Is it under the couch? Up on the ceiling? Flung like a boomerang and slicing through clouds? Where is it? Huh? Huuuh?!”

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity's voice floated from behind her friend as her hand settled over Pinkie's lips. "It's not an 'it'. It's a friend.” Rarity looked from over Pinkie's shoulders at Fluttershy. "But is the news true, dear? Twilight wrote us a, well, let us say strange letter about Spike's predicament here that..."

Rarity's voice trailed away as her head turned to the table.

Those sapphire eyes twinkled in catching the standing but slunk creature on the table. Her whiteness brightened as excitement exuded within her atmosphere. "Oh. My. GOSH!" She dashed forward and, even as panic stole across Spike's face, he turned and took a step and then was swept up by two soft hands.

Fluttershy lurked in the corner of the room as shyness and embarrassment froze her into place. Her mouth was opened, but words did not come out. She watched as the other girl picked up her boy and cradled him tightly in her arms. Spike reclined in Rarity's arm, inches above her chest, with his little legs and arms sticking upward.

"You are just to die for!" Rarity squealed as her other hand rose over him, teasing a finger over his snout, touching over it a few times. Once settling on it, the warm, white fingertip teased it from side to side, tilting Spike's little head. He wore an expression of genuine confusion. "Darling, I could just stuff you in my purse and bring you wherever I may go! You would be the cutest accessory!"

That wasn't right. Fluttershy's left eye twitched, and her right palm curled. Her head would tilt left for a split second before returning to place. The idea that the little critter would be an addition was insulting.

Much less seeing another woman playing with him the way she had been.

But when she stepped forward, however, the little claws reached out from within the arms, coming to latch onto the finger. Rarity's heavenly laughter rose in octaves as she twisted in place, lightly wiggling her finger. They played a game to see when his hold would break.

Fluttershy deflated. The anger and the righteousness behind it. Gone and washed away by a cold ocean of disappointment. Her head shook, and her tousled mane covered an eye. The one unhindered came to focus on the next voice to speak.

"You are a magnet machine like this, ain't ya, squirt?" Rainbow Dash looped behind Rarity with her hands dug into the pockets of her sweater. She leaned forward with a signature smirk. "Twilight said you were upset because you were going to be like this for a bit. Somethin' tells me that's not much of an issue anymore, is it?"

Spike shook his head and uncurled from himself, looping around the inner curve of the arm, setting foot on wrist and arm. He tried to stand as tall as he could, which was still beneath Rarity's chin. "You kiddin'? This stinks! I'm hardly better than a teddy bear!"

"Duh!" Rainbow smacked her palm against her forehead. “But now you get to feel everything that a teddy bear does.”

Spike cocked an eyebrow and tapped his foot, crossing his arms as well. "Yeah? And how often are you snugglin' teddy bears, Rainbow?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Good point."

"Oh, Darling!" Spike's eyes widened as a hand smacked into his back and fingers rolled onto his chest and stomach, leaning him back as his center of gravity pushed forward. He leaned, his arms and legs kicking, but soon his weight fell into the palm—as a duo of fingers rubbed into his belly. "I'll cuddle and snuggle and whatever you want as much as you could ever possibly want!"

Fluttershy looked down, stepped back, and retreated into her own hair. Even Rainbow had been too captured by the situation to check up on her. Feeling this was her queue that things were over, the shy woman started to slip away from the scene.

"Twilight sent us a letter to make sure that you were all better! We hopped, flew, and teleported as quickly as we could!" Pinkie joined Rarity at her other side, adding two pink fingers into the fray. She stroked the side of his head, which he leaned into, and she cupped and supported it. "You're more than welcome to go back home! But in case you weren't feeling up to it, she asked if we would be willing to let you stay with us!"

"That's right, bud." Rainbow added and, even though she looked away, she slipped a finger to the back of his head, catching a spot just next to his spines that were sensitive. He pleasantly growled and purred, and she watched him from the corner of her eyes. She softly smiled. "That means you get to be the teddy bear that a certain someone will take to bed."

Even Rainbow can't resist petting him... but she looks happy, though.

"With all of that said and out of the way, darling," Rarity began as her finger broke away, and the ones wrapped on his body relaxed. Her arm strained a little when he stood, but seeing him stand on her hand was just too cute. "Which one of us would you like to stay with? Or would you like to go back home?"

Fluttershy smiled from the other side of the room. It wasn't clear at first, but the reason floated within seconds. The little dragon now had the perfect excuse to be close to his crush in an intimate way not usually allowed. Even if nothing blossomed between them, he could still treasure the experience of being small, in her bed, and snuggled against her.

Lucky you!

"Then I choose Fluttershy!"

Lucky me indeed! Wait, excuse me?

Everyone in the room was startled in surprise long enough for the little creature to risk leaping to the side. He shot through the air, behind Rainbow, and his paws smacked and sunk into the cushion of the lone chair. Leaping down from that, and beating across the floor, he charged up at Fluttershy's legs.

The towering girl laughed and flicked her hips side to side at feeling his claws poke through her clothes and tickle her skin. He bound up the side of her thigh and crossed over her tummy, looping to her back and passing over the strap of her bra. He could have been cheeky with his ascent of her. However, her ferret took the safe path.

Soon his mini feet came and flexed over her shoulder, which he stood upon, as it offered him enough room. Spike wobbled in finding his balance. His claw phased through the outpouring of her hair and the little thing settled on the side of her head. His other claw rested on his hip as he leaned with confidence.

Fluttershy didn't dare move, though her eyes glanced over to the side at him. Spike was standing on her shoulder, with his little talons curled just right into her skin. It was a pleasant grip. That, and his confident height barely took him above her ear. Still, Fluttershy slunk into herself, with her cheeks warming to crimson.

"Heh-eh!" Across the room where the trio was gathered, Rainbow pointed at the two with a laugh. "Looks like you got to him too late, Rares!" She then nudged Rarity with her shoulder. "Shy's already got him housed trained and everything! And I gotta say—the look fits y'all."

Fluttershy blinked and dared to raise her head an inch. "I-It does!"

"Yeah, it does! It's almost like he was meant to be your partner in crime or somthin," Rainbow rattled off as she cracked a smile at the two. "Just make sure he doesn't try to bully ya too much. That, and don't forget to give him snacks."

"HEY!" Spike shouted while pumping a fist forward. "I resent tha—WOAH!"

Gravity pulled him forward, and he slunk down—caught by a rising, yellow hand that raised him by the chest. It left once he was standing again. Confident he was safe, Fluttershy turned her head to face him, seeing the purple possum standing on her shoulder.

With a laugh that could not be suppressed, one that caused him to wobble with the raise and bop of her shoulder, Fluttershy came to tap him on the snout again. "Boop! You have to be more careful, Spike! You're not used to this size... much less in that body!" She pouted, and knew its effect. "Please promise me you'll be safe?"

His mouth barely opened an inch, but that meant his jaw had dropped. Unable to squeak out a word, he nodded, his face a lighter purple than normal. Glee seized Fluttershy like a hurricane at his acceptance. She bounced and her hair floated up. Her palm softly dropped onto his head, rubbing into it with love.

Spike's head rose into the palm and turned with a happy expression and closed eyes.

"I think that's enough from us, then," Rainbow started as footsteps began across the room. "I'm sure Twilight will be glad to know that her assistant has a great, big, and cute protector to save him from the scary world." More footsteps followed, but Fluttershy stopped and turned to them.

"Wait! But I couldn't let you girls go so soon!" Fluttershy faced them and pulled back her arm to her waist, leaning forward a little in a bow—forcing the one on her shoulder into a balancing act to do the same. "At least stay for a cup of tea! That is, if you're not in a rush to be anywhere, and you don't mind..."

Fluttershy hummed happily in the kitchen even in spite of having an audience, one that was small and that she did not mind at all. She walked over to the counter and held out her arm. Giggles bubbled from her at the feeling of little claws and paws bounding over and around her arm.

She watched as Spike raced down her arm, looping around it in smooth movements, before dropping onto the counter itself. Smiling down at him, she turned and approached the sink, removing the top from the kettle that had gone cold.

Fluttershy let loose a couple of syllables from her tongue as she poured out the old tea, squirting a little soap and filling it with water, coming to release a couple of notes as she worked. Looking to her right to reach the stone slot where the leaves would be kept, she watched, from the corner of the eye, the purple scamp crawling up the wall and twisting upside down upon reaching the bottom of the cupboard.

Fluttershy wrinkled her snout and peered at him with a raised eyebrow. The rascal, however, crawled across the underside of the wood before arriving at its edge. Reaching up, the charming trouble grunted, straining to open its door.

Rolling her eyes, her arm raised, out of his view, with her hand pulling the door from its upper edge. It opened, and Spike squeaked and victory. With a fluttering heart and a wash of warmth across her soul, Fluttershy watched as his feet staked into the underside of the cabinet.

He then leaned over its edge and up, resting his small arms on the ledge of the bottom shelf, looking left and right at the varying coloured tins. They're like barrels to him! Romping in more than he could afford, his claws latched onto the sides of a tin, coming to pull it in intervals.

Fluttershy finished cleaning and wiping the kettle before doing the same with the slot for the herbs. The corner of her vision was filled with his little act, and she couldn't help but flick her eyes to him from time to time. His arms wrapped around the tin, as much as he could, before he dropped back.

Her head clenched, and she nearly flinched toward him before seeing that he hung upside down, with his body tucking the tin into his torso. His scales flared and flexed over the metal. Fluttershy gasped at the gesture and brought her hand to him at once, taking the tin with glee—but not without scratching the underside of his jaw.

While she filled the minuscule bowl, the ferret dropped and landed on his feet, dashing to the corner of the counter. From there, he raised on his heels, grabbing the highest plate from a stack. Pulling it off and coming behind it, he struggled and pushed, coming to grunt adorably.

With it set next to the giantess as she washed, he went and fetched the cups, twirling around the curve of them on his arrival. Some he carried. The rest he dragged. Fluttershy's lips ached from being stretched for so long.

She laid her hand on the counter once he was done, and the body latched and rolled across her arm at once, winding upward until he was on her shoulder once more. He sat perched this time, with his arms tucked between his legs. He looked far off to her giant face. The bluster of adventure brightened his features.

Cute. Tiny. Handsome and... dashing.

Spike felt weird with his current, tiny position, that was set over the sprawl of Fluttershy's thigh as her palm absentmindedly rubbed at his head. On the other side of him, across the other leg, her other hand rested. Behind him was the towering nature of her torso, and her head looming well beyond that.

On the other side of the room, the three other girls were seated on the couch, coming to sip from their drinks or munch on a cookie. Spike had started on the table, forced to lean into his cup and drink from it like a dog would at a bowl. It was slightly more sophisticated than that. At least, he hoped the ones watching thought so.

Then Fluttershy had scooped him up at some point, set him across her leg, and started to pet him. She carried on gleefully with her conversation that he had long since tuned out. It felt strange to be on the lap of the girl as she spoke. Seeing the other giants in the distance, sitting on the couch, looming high above—but not to impossible heights.

He could have cracked a joke or joined in on the conversation... but didn't feel the need to. He didn't feel the need to be anything but petted. Laying forward all the way to the point he sunk with the denim, the warm, heated fabric raised against his scales. Even though its owner wasn't conscious of him, the hand on his back noticed his relaxation.

Her hand washed across his back with a bit of a curve, squishing his spines and feeling his barrel with her hands. The tips reached his legs and guided them backward, one tracing over his ankle and leaving from his heel.

Then it returned to his head, the soft pressure, lowering it for a second, and he purred upward with a happy face and closed eyes. It travelled across his body again, but pausing at his waist, and returning to his head. It kept in the slow streak for a while, and Spike couldn't help but submit.

He laid the side of his face on the coarse texture of blue and nuzzled the fabric. His claws pawed the area beneath his jaw, coming to pick at the material. Testing its strength, plucking at the fibres, feeling for the smoothness that stretched out its shape.

A finger, however, swept into his wrists and, with a little force, pulled his digits free of the pants. There was a sound, and then that same finger went to the back of his exposed jaw. It tickled the minuscule space, and Spike wobbled, lifting his head and leaning into the scratching.

Fluttershy smirked in the haze above as one of her other fingers snuck to his side, wiggling beneath it, and raising him from there. Spike was rolled onto his back with his torso exposed. Hesitation was defeat, and so her nail struck at his chest, scratching at the flexing, breathing scales.

Spike shook and curled upward and into himself, clutching the lone finger with his hands and feet, which teased the giantess further. She twirled her hand, bringing him in on a circle on her leg. The other three watched, their shoulders dropped.

The rest of the afternoon had gone fine, and the three were able to leave without their friend. Twilight would be happy to know that her assistant was no longer moody in his new form. However, there might be sadness in the expectation of his return date.

"It's a shame that you're not a bit bigger."

Spike shook his head and flashed back into the world. He'd be leaning his back into the side of Fluttershy's head but, with a playful tilt of that, it nudged him back to stand on his own. He looked over just as her face turned to see him. "There's varying shames for why I'm not bigger."

"And those are?"

That wasn't a question she was supposed to ask him so sweetly.

"I, uh, er..."

"Is it something that I wouldn't be able to do for you?"

There was an explosion in Spike's chest, and the damage was that it left him without breath. Over on her face, the fine bridge of her eyebrow, and the creamy hill of her cheek, both of them rose ever so subtly. As the seconds of silence ticked in his head, the subtlety of those two items became less so.

"It's, uh, m-more so things I wouldn't... y'know, be able to do for you." Spike cringed and smacked a claw on his face, whispering into it. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!”

The life of her laughter would have taken him from his cover—if the softness of her fingertip hadn't nudged it aside. He stared like a stallion before a mountain at the incomprehensible multitude of beauty before him. "I was thinking the same thing, too!"

Spike's growing smile was that of a loony: one convincing a court that they are no longer crazy. 'You... were?"

"Yup!" Fluttershy's right arm rose, and her hand floated from below, coming to settle next to him. The dragon had no trouble being taken and compressed into it, seeping into the palm as it returned before her face. All he could see was her prettiness. Seen at a proximity that could only be dreamt of. "That if you were a tiiiny bit bigger... that I could wear you like a scarf!"

Fluttershy leaned in with closed eyes as the soft coating of her nose sunk into his snout. She rubbed on contact, guiding him into doing the same, the scent of lemongrass wafting from her skin. It didn't feel right to return the nuzzle.

She's only so intimate because you're a pet.

Don't take advantage of a misunderstanding.

Yet he nuzzled back into the squish, feeling and hearing a cute snort below, the flying of hair and the fluttering of eyes. Two oceans revealed themselves above, and the dragon wished to swim in her eyes.

"But I hope you're not offended by that! I know Rarity was talking about having you as an accessory, and I'm not sure if you felt good or bad about it." Her head shook, and so did his, as their noses still touched. "I was a little upset by the notion. But then... you would look so cute! But you're also still Spike, so it wouldn't be fair. But having you wrapped around my neck would be—"

"Fluttershy!" Spike interrupted with a squeak and the setting of his claws on her nose, delicately clamping the tiny layer of squish. Her eyes joined and narrowed on him. Having such surprised, intense focus wasn't good for the heart—but holding her skin helped. "I would do and be anything for you! You forget that I'm the one that lucks out more if it means I get to be wrapped around you!"

Her features brightened, and her mouth stole into a knowing smile. "And why is that?"

Everything within froze as this closeness was too much torture on him. He desperately wanted to confess. To either be loved or crawling out a window. The teasing bathed in warmth; it raised something unfelt in most of his life. Having that, no matter how little, was nearly enough.

But he was a greedy dragon... even if he wasn't much one now.

Though looked to those lips below and found himself in love alone. Soft and supple with a tease of something else to them. How they could mostly be innocent—and then pull in such a mysterious way that pulled the heart. He'd never seen her look at someone else the same way. But with him... well, his imagination was selfish and tortuous.

But she wouldn't want to kiss you like this...

And then there was a knock at the door.

Spike laid underneath the might of the hand again—not out of choice... or joy—as he snarled, fangs exposed. He was growling... though the hand suddenly collapsed, smothering it from him.

"Thank you kindly for taking care of Buddy!" A white pegasus sat across from them, sitting on the big chair. Despite the day's approach to night, the male, Fire Strike, had accepted the offer for a quick cup of tea. "He's a good bird, but when it comes to fires, he's not someone I want to risk coming to find me."

Glaring out from the gap between the fingers, Spike looked up at Fluttershy, whose attention was entirely on their guest. She laid a hand on her chest and nodded. "I understand completely! You wouldn't expect it, but I find myself in more trouble than I like." Her hand dropped, and Spike wiggled to escape.

Fingers clamped tighter at his sides.

"It always warms my heart when my friends come and save me." Her head then slowly shook. "But if I were to ever lose a little one because they tried to help me, well, I'm not so sure what I would do with myself! Thankfully, If I ever do get into a mess, most of the little critters know to go and ask for help first."

Spike had wedged his head between the sunny columns and opened his mouth to bite... before the overhead words sank in. What could a ferret do to help Fluttershy now? He'd do anything—without a doubt—to ensure she was okay.

But when he was no match for a shy girl's soft hand... what good could he hope to do?

"I always assumed you were courageous and volunteering when the time comes," Fire started as he stood, setting his teacup on the plate and rounding the table. He loomed before Shy. Would she stand to meet him, holding Spike's midsection in her hand, hiding him behind her back as the giants talked? "I hope you don't mind my saying, but you're magnificent. You're much like a flower. Pretty from far away; ever more gorgeous when you're close."

Fluttershy blushed as she looked up at him. Years ago, and she would have collapsed in shock. To be complimented so boldly, with an expectation of response, would have been the material of nightmares. But the girl found herself over the years. "That's very sweet of you to say."

"And if you don't have an issue with me saying more, would you care to stroll the market with me tonight?" Fire nudged his shoulder up as the eagle perched onto it flared its wings in excitement. "Bud's dyin' for a flight, and the breeze is the right kind of cool."

"Oh! U-Um, I w-would, but I, um..."

"Oh! Your ferret, reptile... thing." For the first time since his entry, the giant leaned toward the girl's lap, on the thigh where the dragon rested. Fire's head cocked at seeing its snarl more closely. "You on intense babysittin' duty for it or somethin'? You could probably bring it along in a cage or—"

"A CAGE!" Spike growled and rolled onto his back and pushed all his limbs into the ceiling of the palm, the tickles across the dimmed yellow causing it to raise. Fluttershy was startled as her hand was lifted. "Only one being folded and flattened into a box is YOU once I'm done with ya!"

Fire blinked at the ferret, barely standing, both of his claws set on the underside of the hand. "Well... would you look at that!"

"And... you ain't... gonna to be doing... much lookin'..." Spike struggled with the weight as, while Fluttershy tried forcing him to the ground, she wouldn't risk crushing him. His arm shot outward, and he flexed his talons. "After dealing with these!"

The hand crashed onto his back, and he was smacked onto the wobbly denim. Two fingers laid over his shoulders, cupping the sides of his head. He yelped, though pink hair floated out and above in his vision. Then, Fluttershy's face came into view.

"Spike!" Fluttershy huffed. "We don't use that kind of language on guests!"

He struggled for a bit longer... but then found no more point in doing so. In coming to a stop, and admitting defeat, he laid there, huffing, gazing away from them all. To his surprise, the hand lifted, but he kept still.

"Certainly an interestin' critter you've got there!"

"He's not a critter," Fluttershy responded in looking up. "His name is Spike."

"And what exactly has he done to be more than a critter to you?"

Fluttershy breathed. Catching her anger, eliminating it. There was still passive aggression in her tone. "He's been a friend in no way a critter could be."

"Ah-ha! I see! I'm afraid I might have overstepped my bounds a little bit there."

Spike sighed and, pushing his hands to the pants, pushed and rose to his feet. He didn't bother to stand, coming to tuck his paws between his thighs. He looked out to the distant giant. "It's not your fault. You had no clue that I was a bit more than a pet."

Fire smirked. "No trouble at all, partner." His snout flicked up. "If you don't mind the insensitivity, though, what exactly are ya?"

Spike shrugged. "Dragon turned ferret by a magical mishap."

"Youch! Not the first animal I'd want to be turned into... though it has its perks." Fire chuckled and shook his head. He turned for the door. "But I would have been heated the same if someone tried chuckin' me in a cage. Y'all take care now."

Fire opened and slipped through the door—but not without slipping back out for a second.

"Though, of course, the offer is still open... ciao!"

The door closed, and once it was, the miniature dragon jumped from the leg and onto the little cushion left next to Fluttershy's bottom. He crawled down the rest of the couch, and began toward the door.

A voice called to him.

"Where are you going?"

Spike paused halfway to glance over his shoulder. Fluttershy was still seated, though she turned, coming to lay on her front. Her arms crossed over the armrest, and her head rested there in looking at him. No matter the context and regardless of the time, the woman could always be undeniably sweet.

"Figured I... uh... would go back home and," Spike breathed through the weight of his sorrow, "dunno. Work something out with Twilight." He nudged his head to the door. "Shouldn't you be going to? He seems like a pretty stand-up guy."

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "He was a handsome one."

Spike tucked in his lips, smiled, and nodded. "Yup. Not that I should be saying that, but yup."

"Adventurous, dashing, and so much else."

"I'd be drooling too, that is, if I hadn't wasted all my spit in my spite."

Fluttershy chuckled at that one and, though he was set on being upset, the little ferret couldn't help but chuckle as well. Turning around from his place on the carpet, his arms hung out, and he looked at the face of the woman resting on the armrest. "Seriously, though. You should go and catch up. The only eagle out there is his, and I doubt it'll nab me on my way back to Twilight."

Her face sunk behind the rest, chin and lips, cheeks and nose.

Only her eyes were exposed.

And trained on him.

"But what if I didn't want to go?"

Spike blinked and was blasted back a step. "What do you mean? Weren't you staying back because of me?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"But now I'm leaving... so you don't have to take care of me."

Fluttershy shook her head, and a veil of mane swung and covered one of her eyes. Now it was just the one. Its tranquilly, that peaceful, playful self-assurance. It pierced through him. Stripped him of his scales and everything else. He stood before her as nothing more than a boy.

"I didn't stay back because I had to take care of you," Fluttershy said as more of her sank behind the cover. It teased him about venturing forward, to follow her, to see what she was hiding. "I stayed because I wanted to be with you instead!"

Spike pelted on all four across the carpet, moving and stopping, acting like an animal as all focus was on his heart. Be. Be with me. She wanted to be with me instead. Not that kind of be. But... The legs of the table were on his right, and the left, the pegs of the couch. He could see the distant cushions and long legs, laid on each other, stretching out from this angle. Standing fully on his two feet, he came around the corner of the couch, coming to see what hid behind the armrest.

Before he could so much as turn the corner, two hands snatched him from the ground, pulling him to the cushion and against her chest. Spike scrambled in her hold, but something significant leaned close, and delivered kisses all over his head. Slowly, the critter was subdued by love, and settled in the hold he'd found himself in.

Fluttershy looked behind him with her head laid on the cushion, a sea of pink swirls strewn across it, her hair promoting the smell of strawberries. She looked down at him gleefully, keeping him against her. One of her fingers scratched just below his jaw.

"I have a question for you, Spike."

His heart hurt. The sprawling woman was behind him. Holding him and stroking him in a closeness that they might as well have been connected. His eyes scrolled up, and his head leaned back so he could see over and up to the large eyes set on him.

"Y-Yeah?"

"When you had your chance," Fluttershy began as her fingertip guided over his face, training on a spot near the back of his head, "to get with Rarity... why didn't you go for it?"

"Because... because..." There was nothing he could say, no joke and no distraction, as all he could do was tell the truth. "...because I wanted to be with you." He shook his head and spoke again with a croaky voice. "How come you wanted to be with me and not that other guy?"

"Bee-caa-use," Fluttershy started as her finger traced down to his chest, drawing circles into it, as her other hand lowered to make space for it. She was also fully aware of how this was pushing him into her own. How he sunk into the firm ebony of her tank-top. "As nice as it would have been to walk with him... I could get that with many guys."

She didn't give him a chance to speak.

“But I could only be like this with you.”

Spike was lying on his side and leaned back, wanting to look fully up, though he was brought into an eclipse. The face of a morning forest descended onto him, taking him into the shrine encompassed within purple hair.

Before he knew it, two lips set on his face, their very center set in concentration. Smooth, warm, and flooding with love. It was a hopeless addiction of which he leaned into. Feeling more the pressure of the texture on him. He kissed back against the waves, and hoped he at least made a splash.

Fluttershy trailed away slowly, carefully, as her hair lifted from him, revealing the stunned boy. She returned to laying as she had before, though now with a blush that did not seem to end. Spike's head remained stretched as he could not escape his trance.

"Silly boy." A finger tapped his snout, and like a droplet in calm water, he became alive for a moment. "Did I really rock your world?"

His mouth opened at the impossible words from her mouth.

All he could do was nod.

And she leaned in quickly to nuzzle their noses.

Though Spike blinked throughout it. "But... why?"

Fluttershy smiled and tilted her head, raising her lips to his face. They were all he saw as they spoke. "Silly! Does a girl really need a reason to fall in love?"

"But... I might not turn back for a while."

"All the better."