I originally had this story posted on deviantART, but because I like it, I'm adding it to FanFiction. It was my first story I wrote for Fairy Tail. Enjoy! (P.S., this takes place before Grand Magic Games.)
Chapter 1: Wendy's Small Mishap
Worth Woodsea
It was seven years since the chaotic events on Tenrou Island. Due to unforeseeable circumstances, all of Fairy Tail's strongest mages were trapped in a time stasis. The few who remained at Fairy Tail faced hard times, for aside from the rather shabby state of their new building, people have drastically lost faith in its members. Even after the return of their fellow guildmates, Fairy Tail went from Fiore's strongest to their most laughable. Even more so, they were barely asked for any good jobs and made little money. 'Course, the return of its strongest mages was heard throughout the kingdom, and some citizens were still faithful. Today's job, for instance, was an example, worth a million Jewel by the sound of their employer. The success of this mission would depend on the outcome of this chase through Worth Woodsea forest.
"Fire Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!" A powerful burst of flame erupted from Natsu's lungs, destroying dozens of acres of trees.
"ICE WALL." One of their three opponents erupted a frosty wall that held against the flames until it shattered. These three ladies were witches from the dark guild Shadow Empress, though these three, the "Nature Spirits", were more notoriously known. They each wore purple clothes with the typical pointed witch hat; the oldest one was Cassandra, around 25 years old, frosty-blue hair, and used Ice Magic. The next was Maya, a chubby 15-year-old with spiky yellow hair who used Lightning Magic, and the youngest at 10 years old, with pretty pink hair and vibrant red eyes, Violeta. "Keep moving, girls!" the oldest yelled, running fast as they could through the forest.
"You're not the only one who knows it." declared Gray Fullbuster, ready to ambush them. "Ice-Make HAMMER!" He raised a gigantic hammer of ice and flew it at all three ladies.
"Stop it, Maya!" Cassandra ordered. The chubbier witch spun into a bright ball of lightning, shooting through and destroying the hammer at lightspeed before going for Gray.
"Ahhh!" Gray gasped, frozen with fear at the lightning comet's speed.
"WATCH OUT, Gray!" Erza Scarlet appeared by his side, using a team of 10 swords to hold the comet back. She remained steady despite the lightning's strength, and Maya zipped back to her guildmates and reverted back.
"FLAME CIRCLE!" Violeta was the next to act, surrounding her team in a scorching circle and stretching it to burn the Fairies. This plan would backfire when Natsu sucked a chunk of those flames into his mouth.
"DAMMIT, Vi, I told you he was a Dragon Slayer!" Cassie shouted as they kept running. "He EATS fire, don't you understand?!"
"I-I just forgot! Sorry!"
"You BETTER still have the necklace."
"Sure!" Still running, she raised a golden necklace with a rainbow jewel from her cloak. "It's right—HAAAA!" An arrow whipped by and stuck the necklace to a tree.
"Nice shot, Sagittarius!" Lucy cheered, her horse-costumed archer by her side.
"I'm always happy to thwart the plans of ne'er-do-wells!" the spirit saluted before vanishing.
"Leave the rest to me!" Lucy leapt forward and administered her classical Lucy Kick against Cassie and Maya, landing nimbly and running to swipe the necklace.
"No!" Violeta panicked; if she lost that necklace, she would never get the end of it. Her teammates still knocked down, she seized the moment and ran an alternate way.
Having witnessed Lucy run off with the necklace, Natsu smirked and waved to his winged cat, Happy in the sky. The Exceed saluted and signaled to the feminine cat of the same species, Carla, who looked down. "She's coming, Wendy!"
"Mmm!" Wendy Marvell smirked, full of eagerness and confidence, running forward at breakneck speed. Her path was at a crossroads with Lucy, both mages exchanging one brief smirk as the necklace was passed onto Wendy. She kept running, the necklace blowing in the wind as Wendy held it to her face. "I GOT it! I got the—uah!" Tripping on an invisible root (Wendy's excuse for her own clumsiness), she fell on her face and threw the necklace forward. "Owww…" She helped herself up and held her head.
Hearing panting from her left, Wendy whipped around as Violeta appeared from the bushes- "AAAAHH!" colliding headfirst with Wendy. The force pushed both of them forward, rolling and bumping down a rugged barren hill to a lower grassland. Wendy managed to get free and grabbed hold of the hill, watching Violet roll the rest of the way down.
"Ow!" Violet stopped on her rear and bumped her head against a shiny purple mass. She looked up when that mass started moving and growling. Violet froze with fear at the face of a ferocious Thrino, a massive three-horned rhino with solid purple armor. "AAAAAHHHHH!" The young little witch fled for her life, having gained a drastic increase in speed knowing her life was in danger. Despite being on opposite sides, Wendy knew she couldn't let the child die.
"Sky Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!" Wendy unleashed a powerful cyclone that laid nary a dent on the beast's solid armor. But his attention was attracted, it looked like, facing Wendy with malice. "Uh-oh!" Wendy immediately tried bolting up the hill, but its steepness mixed with unbalanced terrain played a factor, Wendy tripping and tumbling back down. As the Thrino's tremendous form grew seconds from snacking on Wendy like hay, death was clear in her eyes.
"HEEEEEEELLLLLP!" The Fairies ceased in their fight with Cassandra and Maya, hearing their friend's cry.
"WENDY!" Natsu screamed.
Wendy shielded herself, wondering just when the monster would make contact, these last few seconds the most suspenseful in her life. "YAAAAA!" The shadow created by the monster vanished, for Scarlet had sliced it in a perfect half. She landed beside her friend as Natsu, Gray, and Lucy slid down. "Wendy, are you all right?"
"Y-Yes."
"Do you still have the necklace?"
Wendy felt around her emerald patterned dress. "I-"
Cassandra and Maya slid down the hill on an ice-made sled, the necklace fluttering from the former's hand. The duo came to a stop beside Violet to let her on. "Should've held onto it from the start. Make yourself useful and give us a boost!" Cassie ordered.
"Okay, okay!" Violet scrambled onto the sled and aimed her hands to its rear. "ROCKET BOOST!" Dual flames sprouted like rockets from her palms. In seconds, they were miles and miles across the grassland, the flame shrinking in the distance.
Back in Magnolia Town
"NNNNOOOOOO!" Count Balsamico cried once the Fairies reported the bad news. Although he looked no different with his sealed eyes and sour-puckered mouth, the anger was clear in his voice. "That necklace was a priceless family heirloom and you useless wizards let it slip out of your grasp!"
"It wasn't OUR fault, Wendy's the one who tripped!" Happy argued.
"Bequiet, Tomcat!" Carla smacked him angrily. The insult, however, was already taking its toll on Wendy.
"I don't care whose fault it was, give that job request back to me now!" the count demanded. "It's going right up on Sabertooth's board where it should've been from the start. Now get out of my sight, all of you!"
Fairy Tail
"Ugh. What a humiliating loss." Scarlet huffed, pushing open the doors to their guild-turned-tavern.
"And it was a good plan, too." Lucy frowned. "Pass the necklace on to Wendy when they weren't looking so she could get away. But I guess they were one step ahead of us."
"Gotta expect these things, considering." Gray said nonchalantly.
"Hey Carla, I found this yummy fish back in the forest!" Happy beamed, presenting the deceased delicacy to his beloved. "Wanna share?"
"Don't even try with me, Tomcat." Carla passed him off and walked away.
Wendy was the last to come in, looking downtrodden as she approached the bar. The Sky Maiden ignored the ecstatic chattering and partying of her many guildmates, taking a seat on a stool. "Hey there, Wendy." Macao Conbolt greeted, wiping glasses clean behind the stand. "Can I get you some saké?"
"Uhhhh-" Her natural response would be to thank him and decline, but he was already ahead.
"Haha, I'm just kidding! I know you aren't old enough. Have some juice." He placed a small glass of healthy orange juice before her.
Wendy flushed at the comment and drank her juice halfheartedly. She looked a few seats to her left, seeing the 5-year-old Asuka Connell innocently sucking a bottle of juice herself. Wendy shamefully looked away and rested her head on her hand.
"Give MEEEE some saké, why don'tchu." Cana Alberona spoke dizzily, plopping on the seat on Wendy's right.
"Didn't you get the day's amount, Cana?" Macao asked.
"NOT until I have 6 more barrels!" So with questionable judgment, Macao plopped a barrel beside Cana, allowing her to guzzle away. "So what's with yoooouu, Shortstuff?"
Naturally Wendy turned red at the nickname. "I just feel so out of place here, Cana. I'm so useless at everything. I can't go on any jobs that aren't humiliating in some way, and all of the good jobs I keep messing up. I keep letting everybody down. Mest depended on me to help him make S-class Wizard and I totally let him down seven years ago. And I still haven't forgotten those Butt-Jigglers…" She flustered, immediately regretting bringing up the embarrassing memory. "Now we're the weakest guild in Fiore, and what've I done to contribute."
"I thought you were a Dragon Slayer, you're like, really powerful, aren't you?"
"I'm supposed to be, but I'm a terrible wizard." Wendy barely drank any of her juice. "Everybody's got so much more experience. The best thing I can ever do for anybody is healing. I want to be able to do more than that. I want to be able to put just as much work into my magic as you all do. I want to get stronger and protect my friends with ALL of my strength!"
"Why don't you make a potion." Cana said absentmindedly.
"A… potion?"
"Yeah, there's all kinds of potions that help you with stuff. Like this baby." She smiled goofily and guzzled her beer. "NONE for you, you're still short."
"Well, what kind of potions can I make?"
"I dunno, get a recipe book from the bookstore. I'm sure they'll let toddlers have a discount." And she tumbled backwards, laughing hysterically. Still red in the face from embarrassment and anger, Wendy walked out.
Book Land
"Let me see… Magic Papers…" Wendy thought aloud, skimming through titles, "Parfume…" On that book's cover was a familiar gorgeous man with orange hair. "Aha! Potion Recipes!" Wendy excitedly took the book off the shelf and examined its contents. "There's gotta be something in here that can help. Flight Potion, no… Gills? Eeeeh. …Size Potion?" Curious, Wendy skipped to that page. "'A powerful potion which can dramatically alter the dimensions of the consumer. Drink in careful doses.' Huh… does that mean it can.."
The image immediately flashed in Wendy's mind: all her guildmates, ecstatically drinking, partying, exchanging conversation. Totally unsuspecting. Just then, the doors flew open, everyone's mouths agape. "Heh heh heh! Sorry for barging in like this!" Wendy Marvell beamed, having to crouch to squeeze under the unusually low front door, stepping through carefully lest she trip on her friends, who were at height with her knees. Through her drunkness, even Cana stared with dizzy eyes as Wendy sat at the counter with crossed legs. "Hey, Shortstuff! Mind getting me some juice?"
The idea filled Wendy with pure delight. And not only that… Thousands of Vulcan surrounded her friends from every direction. Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza exhausted all their strength, and were helpless with what to do. "Super Sky Dragon ROOOOOAAAAARRR!" Wendy, whose new size surpassed the Vulcan, blew every last one of them away.
! Wendy couldn't conceal the excitement any longer. She closed the book and dashed back to the clerk. "I'd like to buy this, Sir!"
"A little wizard, huh?" the young man smiled. "That'll be 500 Jewel."
Wendy felt in her pockets for some money—but as her dress didn't HAVE pockets. . . . . "Uuuuuhhhhh…"
"Heheh! Since you're so young, how 'bout I leave it on the house?"
Wendy blushed, "Thank you. I promise I'll pay you later." She grabbed the large book and raced out of the store.
"Ahhh, kids… er, hold on." The boy looked at his clipboard and noticed the recipe book listed. "MISS, maybe you want the update-… ehh, what's the worst that can happen." He shrugged it off. After all, a child like her had to have a few parents or something to make sure she didn't mess up.
Fairy Hills; Wendy's dorm
All of her friends were still hanging out at the guild, so Wendy was left to work in peace. A little convenient, since Wendy was missing a few of the ingredients, she snooped around the others' rooms and found quite a handy bit among the flora in Bisca's room, including three of what looked to be the key ingredient: Pixiefairy Mushrooms, very small mushrooms that sprinkled a glittering pink dust. Wendy once heard Bisca say that they were great for diets and weight loss. A little odd for a potion that makes her grow, but this was her first time making a potion, she should be a little more open-minded.
Wendy worked on it for an hour and a half, keeping a focused and patient mind. It was almost ready as Wendy stirred the steaming substance in her bowl. Normally she would give a little taste test, but this being magic, maybe she shouldn't. She heard the door to her room creak open. "Wendy, is that you? Where have you been?" called the familiar strict voice of her Exceed companion.
"Hey, Carla." She responded, not averting her eyes from her stirring. "Don't worry, I've just been in here."
Carla approached, noticing the steam emitting from the bowl she was stirring. "Just… what are you making, Child?"
"A Growth Potion! For making me supersized!"
"Supers-… WHAT?!" Carla seemed disapproving. "For what purpose?"
"Everybody else is so much stronger than me, and I'm tired of feeling like the wimp. So I created this Growth Potion to grow bigger, and once I am, my attacks will be stronger, too!"
"Wendy, there is a better way to make yourself stronger: study and practice."
"I've BEEN practicing. I've been practicing extra hard. But I'm just not good at what I do. If I'm gonna stay in Fairy Tail, I need to do this."
"But have you even checked the ingredients? The most single mistake could cost you your life."
"I read the recipe book, took notes and everything, I'm absolutely positive."
Carla flew onto the table, "Then please, let me taste it first."
"No, Carla. If I did mess up, I don't want you to die because of my mistake."
"But would you rather me live with the guilt of letting you-"
"Look, Carla, I MADE my decision, I'm gonna do this." Wendy spoke confidently, lifting the heavy cauldron in both arms. When she tried to carry it to the counter, it proved a bit much for her young self to bear. "Nnn, just need to let it, cool off, then it's, ready for drinkin'. I- AAAAAAAAAHH!"
"WENDY!" A slip of her own feet caused the substance to fly into the air, covering her as she lay on her back. The cauldron rolled along the floor empty, Wendy lain in a puddle of its pink steaming contents.
"Ooooooooowwwwww! My heeeaaad! And my… stomach… uuuuhhhh…" Wendy stared at her goop-covered hands, emitting a mystic glow. The light encased her whole body, reflecting off Carla's stunned eyes. The light was enticing for Wendy, the sensation of losing a thousand pounds at once, and her vision began to sink below the table, Carla upon it.
A large barren spot lay in the center of the pink puddle. Carla stared surprised at a tiny, ant-like thing with a blue top, shifting and moving.
Surrounding Wendy was an open field made of solid wood, a sea of pink goo in every direction beyond. She shuddered when a pair of giant, white paws landed softly in the dryness, very soft quakes as they walked toward her. Her eyes directed up, finding the face of her enormous cat with staring, shiny brown eyes.
"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Wendy's frightened scream came at a much higher, but not nearly as deafening pitch. "W-W-W-W-What HAPPENED to me?! I'm…I'm tiny!"
"I TOLD you this would happen, Child! I should have tasted the potion FIRST!" Carla said with a mix of anger and worry.
"B-B-B-B-B-But I followed the recipe exactly! I read the ingredients and checked the pictures three times each, I couldn't have gone wrong!"
"And were you absolutely certain the label read 'Growth Potion', and not Shrink, Mini, or even Beetle?"
"It-It-It said SIZE Potion, s-so I assumed. . ."
"Wendy, if you are confused about something, it requires additional research from alternate sources, or even an extra paragraph you might've missed, you CAN'T just make the assumption-"
"I get it, Carla, PLEASE stop yelling at me! I-I'm so TINY, and WEAK, a-a-and, sniff…" Wendy fell to her tiny little knees, eyes buried in her hands. Carla wasn't actually yelling, so enhanced hearing must've been a result of her new size. Small or not, Carla had to feel sympathy for her master. She knew better than any how sensitive Wendy is, how much she tries to help and wants to feel part of the guild. She looked no bigger than Carla's paws, so any person could wipe her out in the slightest motion. She knew that Wendy was panicking and very scared inside, for at such a size, she was almost totally helpless. Carla was glad she came when she did, but hated herself for not sparing the child this fate by drinking it herself. But now that Wendy was like this, it was up to Carla to protect her.
Wendy calmed down when two soft, furry forces picked her up from either end. Carla lifted her to her eyes in her paws. "I'm sorry if I lost my temper, Child, but you must understand the situation. As long as you are like this, you are in danger. I will take you to the others-"
"N-No, PLEASE don't do that! If the others see what's happened, they'll think I can't be trusted to do anything, and I'll, I'll never get to take any jobs!"
"Well, what do you expect ME to do, make an actual Growth Potion?! If you stocked up on extra ingredients, perhaps I could."
"I-I already used up all these ingredients, and, i-it was the wrong potion ANYway!" She continued sobbing.
"Wendy, we must show this to the others. There is no mistake you could have made that all of Fairy Tail can't fix. Or have you lost faith in them?"
Wendy sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I haven't, Carla, it's just… I'm afraid of what they'll think of me, and-; and I don't want them to worry."
"Wendy, I'm worried about you! And of course your friends will worry, that's why they're your friends! The only reason they worry is because they love you! They won't care what you did, because as long as you ask for their help, they will help. And in a situation like this, you'll hurt their feelings by not asking for help."
"You're…You're right, Carla. Let's get their help. Take me to Fairy Tail."
"You got it." Carla set her tiny master on her head and sprouted her angel-like wings. The wind outside was gentle, but strong at Wendy's tiny size. The child clutched Carla's fur tight to ensure she wouldn't fall, as they soared across Magnolia and to Fairy Tail.
"Hey, Carla?" Wendy spoke up, still wiping tears. "Thank you for helping me. I'm really sorry I make you worry like this."
Carla smiled, speaking sympathetically to calm her tiny master's nerves. "I'm just glad you're okay, Child. Don't worry, we'll get this straightened out."
"You don't think I'll stay like this, do you?"
"Of course not. Not if these wizards have anything to say about it."
Fairy Tail
The moment Carla landed before the front door and pushed it open, Wendy couldn't take it. All the constant chattering, partying, her fragile little eardrums were going to explode. As hard as she clapped her hands to her ears, the sound was just too strong. "It'll be okay, Child, just keep your head together."
Wendy nodded and sat calmly on Carla's head as she walked through the bar. Nobody had any idea one of their guildmates was the size of an insect. They just went partying like normal. Everybody was so big, Wendy was thankful to be on Carla's head and not on the floor, knowing how everyone is. Nobody looked concerned about her general absence. She wondered if her being there made the least bit difference. Well, it certainly wouldn't now. Not when her magic was so incomparably feeble next to theirs. The trio of Natsu, Gray, and Lucy didn't look so big from afar, but as Carla got closer, Wendy shuddered at their size.
"Gray, for the last time, I paid your 2,000 Jewel back 3 weeks ago!" Natsu argued to his rival.
"Well, tax increases Natsu, I need my cut of the ham." Gray smirked back.
"HOW 'BOUT I ROAST YOUR HAM!"
"Could you boys stop bickering for a second?" The two of them, Happy, and Lucy looked at Carla with interest.
"Hey there, Carla! Where's Wendy?" Natsu asked enthusiastically.
"She's not still upset, is she?" Happy asked playfully. "'Cause there's nothing a HUG won't fix!"
"Actually, she is… right here." Carla pointed at her head.
"Right where?" asked Lucy.
"Right here. On my head."
It felt as though the party silenced. Lucy got on all fours, noticing the blue-green dot atop the snow-white fur. Wendy felt she grew even smaller when Lucy's bulbous brown eyes focused inches from her form. Beside her, Natsu's fiery dark eyes narrowed in, followed by Gray's cool blue ones, Lisanna's gorgeous glittering blue on the right, until a whole wall of peach with eyes surrounded her, and other wizards viewing from overhead. "C-C-Can you please stop staring at me?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Natsu jumped away in extreme surprise. "W-Wendy's t-t-t-t-TINY!"
"She's so SMALL, I might MISTAKE her for a BUUUUG!" cried Happy.
"QUIET!" Lucy smacked them both out of rage. "Your voices are going to KILL HER!" Indeed, Wendy was shivering horribly at their unbearable soundwaves.
"Sniff, she's so tiny that, MY MANLINESS COULD CRUSH HER!" Elfman exclaimed with a stream of tears.
"She's still taller than your brain, so I wouldn't worry about it." Mirajane said irritably.
"Heeeeeeyyyy!" Cana sang from her table. "Look at yooooouuuu, Shortstuff! Teach me your secret 'cause I been wantin' to lose some weight."
Wendy wanted more than anything now to shrink and disappear from everyone's sight. "WHAT'S all the commotion?" demanded a strong, womanly voice.
Everyone moved away from Carla as Wendy faced them: a pair of skyscraper black boots shook the floor as they clacked the ground, going up into a blue skirt followed by silver, shining armor. Then came the head with flowing tomato hair, and those black-brown eyes, thousands of feet above, peered down at Wendy. As Erza Scarlet sunk down into a squat, Wendy could feel the wind made by her movement. "Is that… Wendy?" Her voice changed from strictness to concern so fast, it was scary.
"Yes. She tried to create a Growing Potion and it backfired." confirmed Carla.
"I know. Now even Natsu can take a swing at her." Gray remarked.
"Whaddoes THAT mean?!" yelled Natsu.
"Look, it can't be too much to panic over." Carla stated. "Wendy hasn't sustained any major injuries as far as I'm aware."
"How much did she drink?" Mirajane asked. "It looks like a lot, judging."
"I-I didn't DRINK it, I just SPILLED it on me, like a kluuuutz!" Wendy started bawling in further embarrassment.
"From what I can make of it, her body and clothing (thank goodness) absorbed it through the outside and that's how it happened. We just need to research how to make the antidote and get started."
"Antidote, shmanidote." Natsu proclaimed confidently. "Master Makarov changes HIS size all the time. I'm sure he can use a spell or two on Wendy."
"Except Master Makarov is on leave for the town of Era, for business with the Magic Council, and we don't know when he'll return." Erza replied. "Without Gildarts or his grandson here, I'm in charge."
"DAAAAH." Natsu collapsed anime-style.
"Then I guess we'll just have to whip up a potion ourselves." Lucy figured.
"I'm way ahead of you." Levy McGarden replied, already buried in a book. "There's an island just down the southwestern sea, the Little-Big Island. Creatures that are normally huge here are tiny, and even the smallest gnat can be five stories high. Topographical features have inverted sizes too, and part of the recipe includes 5 inches of the Great Mushroom caps."
"I thought my mushrooms were too small." Wendy said embarrassed.
"So let's get a boat and head over there." Gray stated.
My darling Gray, so quick to get to the point when a friend is in need! Juvia's eyes were hearts. I would make the assumption he fancies Wendy, but she is FAR too young, though if he did, I HOPE SHE STAYS SMALL LIKE THE BUG SHE IS, but Gray couldn't possibly, so I wish the best for her!
"It's almost impossible, because no boat ever wants to go there." Levy informed. "The creatures there are venomous. Even S-class Wizards have a hard time making it out alive."
"Th-Then am I supposed to STAY like this?!" Wendy wept.
"Master Makarov will return eventually, and when he does, I'm certain he can restore Wendy to normal size." Erza said surely. "Until then, I think she should be kept safe."
"No problem!" Lucy beamed. "The girls will keep her safe in the Fairy Hills. I was coming there for a slumber party tonight, anyway."
"And I'll build her a little house she can stay nice and cozy in!" Laki offered. "I just need to measure her a bit to determine proportions."
"You guys really don't have to do all this for me." Wendy told them earnestly. "Really, I'm sure I can be fine on my own."
"No friend of ours is risking her life getting eaten by a bug." Mirajane glared. "Or do I need to change my appearance to remind you of the danger you're in?"
Wendy gulped. "P-Please don't. I-I appreciate all of your support." She bowed.
"See, Wendy, good girls are gracious girls!" Her scary face changed to kindness, gently tapping Wendy's head with her finger. "Let's go get everything set up for you." Mirajane, Laki, Lucy, and Lisanna all left the guild together, Carla following with Wendy.
"This actually reminds me of a familiar story." Happy smirked at Natsu, recalling his encounter with Dan Straight.
"Give it a rest, Fishbreath."
"You're just mad 'cause Laki didn't build you a birdhouse."
"Who wants to sleep in a BIRDhouse?!"
"Help you get to sleep a lot faster." remarked Gray.
"Ugh…"