Between Small Bravery and Big Shyness

“Hey Fluttershy, it might be fun to make the same ‘surprise’ to Rarity like last time.”

Rainbow’s proposal fell on the ears of the yellow pegasus, lying on friend’s bed. She blushed a little on that.

“Oh… I know Rarity is trustworthy, but I don’t think we should bother her. She must surely be very busy with all her commissions.”

“That’s for sure,” Rainbow confirmed. “And the next planned commission is mine! Well, don’t repeat it to anypony… It’s a costume idea for the Wonderbolts, the show, and all that…”

“Ah… Well, in that case, I agree,” Fluttershy replied with a smile as she sat up. “How small would you like me to shrink?”

“Very small, indistinguishable,” the blue pegasus suggested. “More than a thousand times smaller anyway.”

Rainbow sat up too, facing Fluttershy.

“See my socks?” she asked, pointing to the pair right next to them. “I have to bring them to Rarity like you did recently. I would like you to be so tiny that you could get into it by sneaking through the stitch. Since Rarity’s sewing was very meticulous, I think you get my point…”

“Wow,” Fluttershy exclaimed, “it’s really very small indeed.”

Fluttershy was a little scared to shrink that much. But Rainbow had already experienced an even smaller size, she must have known what she was talking about. Besides, Fluttershy knew that she could regain her true size at any time, which was already more reassuring.

“Still up for it?” her winged friend asked.

“Yes, I can do it,” Fluttershy assured, looking determined.

“Great! Before you get smaller, I’d like to add something to make the element of surprise better. Obviously, we won’t be able to communicate anymore, especially once in my sock, but I think I can give you a signal. If you feel my hoof tapping the ground three times in a row quickly, it will mean that you can return to your normal size. I’d really like to see Rarity’s face when she’ll notice a bump appearing and growing right before her eyes! Try not to destroy the sock too much, you’ll have to come out at the right time!”

“Got it!” Fluttershy replied, nodding. “Can I start now?”

“It’s the perfect time.”

Right in front of her, Fluttershy seemed to concentrate for a moment before starting to shrink gradually. She was losing inches every second and was already only reaching her friend’s knees. For Fluttershy, Rainbow was continuing to grow more and more as her surroundings were changing. The folds of the sheets were getting impressive, looking more and more like gigantic dunes, hard to climb and promising some glides. Rainbow’s face was getting farther and farther up, her hooves were gaining in height and got taller than her like skyscrapers.

Rainbow watched as Fluttershy reached one third of an inch (one centimeter) and continued her shrinking. She was careful not to move her hind hooves, which were usually harmless at her normal size, but which were now becoming imposing structures for her, capable of making her feel earthquakes at the slightest friction. Shrunk ten times smaller (one millimeter), Fluttershy continued to shrink in size and Rainbow had to squint to locate her. She was again no more than a yellow speck on the motifs of the sheets, and yet this grain seemed less and less discernable. Blinking at one point, Rainbow eventually lost sight of her friend, who was now far too small to be visible to her. Nonetheless, it was perfect.

Fluttershy was amazed that she had managed to shrink that much. Her hooves were now on one of the fabric stitches of the sheet, or rather one of the sides of the stitch. The thread she was on had to be totally invisible to the naked eye, and she had now the perfect size to squeeze through any matter. In front of her, a large blue shadow loomed. She could barely see Rainbow’s face because it seemed so far away.

Leaving her thread of fabric, Fluttershy gained height and hardly managed to reach more than one tenth of an inch above the sheet (3 millimeters). Flapping her wings, she saw a large white mass in the distance and headed towards it. Not being as athletic as Rainbow, her wings took a long time to get her to the gigantic socks that must have been five times the surface area of Ponyville for her size.

Approaching these, the fabric stitches were now well spaced apart. She passed through them with all the ease in the world, almost like a well-opened hangar. Making her way through, she reached what she recognized as the end of the inside of the sock. She landed on one of the threads there and waited for what would come next.

Rainbow, who had waited about ten minutes, now felt that Fluttershy should have arrived in the sock. Finally moving her muscles, she lifted one of the socks and began to put it on her hind hoof. Fluttershy had clung to her thread and she saw a large blue mass appear in the huge cavity as it approached and hugged the cotton insides, progressing delicately. Rainbow’s hoof was disproportionate to her size. The hoof stopped in front of her, the cotton threads now hugging it perfectly. Fluttershy was right between Rainbow’s two large pads, which gave her plenty of space, even when her friend would be walking.

The huge blue wall that Fluttershy was clinging to was actually a little damp and warm. The yellow pegasus could see large aqueous conglomerates hanging on it all around her. Rainbow’s sweat was pretty much present on her hoof, something Fluttershy could smell as well. But it was still bearable for her, maybe she even felt good a little, surrounded by all this sweet warmth. Rainbow was quite sporty after all, so it was only natural that she would sweat a little more than other ponies.

The two friends were now going to Rarity’s house. During the trip, Fluttershy held on tightly to Rainbow’s hoof. Despite the shaking, she felt comfortable here. She couldn’t help but lightly rub her cheek against the huge soft blue wall. Unbeknownst to either of them, too busy as they were, a purplish magical aura appeared where Fluttershy was, before dissipating as if nothing had happened…

When Rarity heard the bell, she knew her client today would be special, but not to this extent…

Rainbow valued her reputation and avoided wearing clothes usually. Rarity had noticed the effort though, as her client was already wearing her socks when she walked through the door. The unicorn suspected, however, that Rainbow might have flown high in the sky to avoid more prying eyes.

“Ah, Rainbow! I was waiting for you! Keep your socks on, dear, I need them to test these new outfits! We’ll look at those later!”

“Ah? Okay, as you wish, Rarity!”

A long time of trying clothes followed then, which did not fail to bore Rainbow at one point. For some costumes, the socks were completely enclosed inside, momentarily plunging Fluttershy in the dark, although strands of light still escaped from the material that made them up.

Rainbow wanted to surprise Rarity while taking off her socks, she had to be focused on them! Otherwise, Fluttershy would appear unexpectedly, without much panache. Although it was already a pretty cool idea for a magic trick.

Staggering a little, Rainbow got lost in her thoughts as Rarity had just dressed her in a dress that suited her for an official ceremony. Her front hooves were getting sore, and she didn’t realize she was starting to have difficulty holding them in place, sliding her hooves back and forth.

Until the fateful moment when she absentmindedly tapped one of her hind hooves against the ground several times. Fluttershy immediately understood that this was the signal and she began to grow inside the sock. However, something didn’t go quite as planned.

Rainbow found the small mannequins at the back of Rarity’s shop amusing. The more she looked at them, the smaller and cuter they seemed, as if it were a doll’s parade. Something that would have suited Rarity’s childhood. But it was weird, these mannequins were really small actually. And Rarity was looking at her strangely, open-mouthed even.

Oh.

Looking at her hooves, she noticed that the ground was getting farther and farther away from her, she was growing before Rarity’s very eyes. She understood right away what she had just done while she was in her thoughts… She also understood that this was not normal. It was Fluttershy who had to grow, not her! Unless…

Could Fluttershy’s abilities be passed on?

Fluttershy was panicked, she was concentrating with all her might. But Rainbow’s gigantic hoof, which was surpassing her, didn’t change at all. Had she lost her powers? The possibility of remaining that tiny was only adding to her stress. So, she continued to concentrate, closing her eyes.

Rainbow’s dress tore quickly, the socks already couldn’t take it anymore because of her growing hoof. Rarity was speechless at the sight of everything and didn’t move. Rainbow hastily took off her socks, trying to make contact with Fluttershy in some way. But the yellow pegasus wasn’t aware of this act.

As she did take off her socks, Rainbow expected her growth to come to an end. On the contrary, the ceiling of the shop was getting dangerously close to her head. Somehow, though Rainbow was completely naked as usual, Fluttershy must have stayed on her, clinging to her hoof. And more precisely, between her two big pads.

In spite of herself, Rainbow could no longer leave the building. Trying to crouch down as best as she could, her flanks reached the back of the shop while her head and front hooves were banging against the entrance. Rarity had already fled the building before the inevitable happened.

A din occurred as the entire structure collapsed under the pressure of Rainbow’s ever-growing body. Luckily, Rarity’s shop was actually just a branch on the outskirts of Ponyville, further away from the real Carousel Boutique. Rainbow reassured herself that she wouldn’t do much damage to the other buildings, finding herself more in the open field.

Lying as she was, her gigantic blue hooves were facing Rarity and they were continuing to grow. They were now bigger than her former shop. Rainbow Dash should have reached the size of three hoofball fields. Being so tall in front of everypony didn’t exactly flatter Rainbow’s ego. On the contrary, it irritated her a bit to be the center of attention this time.

That thought made her curl up her hooves, and something seemed to fall from them. Instantly, the growth effect stopped. Now nearly five hundred yards tall (five hundred meters), Rainbow could only give a sigh of relief. She couldn’t have imagined growing even bigger when her hind hooves, which were the direct view in front of Ponyville, were already two hundred yards long (two hundred meters)!

Rarity blinked and saw a small yellow shape approaching her. At first, she tried to push it away with a swing of her hoof, but she soon realized that it was a small Fluttershy barely one fifth of an inch tall (five millimeters).

“Hum… Rarity, are you alright?”

Rarity didn’t move.

“Oh, huh… I’ll explain everything, first…”

Even more bizarrely, Fluttershy began to grow to her normal height right in front of her. Fluttershy was reassured that she hadn’t lost her powers after all. Turning around, the yellow pegasus let out a small cry of surprise.

“Was… was it me who did that?”

In front of them, Rainbow’s gigantic flank loomed over them with more than one hundred times their size. Her huge hind hooves, each of which towered above the town hall, crisscrossed each other. She was so embarrassed to find herself like that in front of her friends.

“Was that a surprise?” Rarity asked.

“Yes,’’ they both replied in unison, though Rainbow’s voice sounded more like a loud rumble.

Rarity turned to Fluttershy.

“I think you’ve beaten Pinkie on her playground.”

“I think so,” the pegasus advised.