"So how do you do that?" Palla asked her pink-haired ally.
"Do... What?" Mae asked back, puzzled.
"Make that fireball," Palla pointed to their source of light.
"Oh, that. It's just the fire spell," Mae replied.
"Really? How do you control it so accurately?"
"Well, I've seen Celica do it loads of times," Mae explained, "you have to use just a little bit of magic."
"I see," Palla said, "though I think all magic we use is little, given the way we are now."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Mae complained, "what I wouldn't give to feel bigger right now..."
"I'm not too keen on being so small myself," Palla said, "it seems I can't get bigger than an inch tall even if I wanted to be."
"Yeah, that sucks. Still, at least you can make the rest of us bigger or smaller," Mae mused.
"These abilities have certainly been useful so far," Palla agreed.
"Sure have. Plus, I'm glad someone as level-headed as you got them. I can't think of anyone more reliable!" Mae said.
"Why thank you Mae. I'm very flattered," Palla smiled.
"Don't mention it."
"I think it might have been better if someone more used to magic had these abilities, though. Maybe someone like you would have more control over shrinking and growing," Palla wondered.
"That would be pretty cool," Mae cheered, "I'm sure I could play all sorts of tricks on Boey when I'm tiny!"
Palla laughed. Mae really was quite a lot like her youngest sister. Though she didn't like being split up from her sisters, she knew she could rely on the rest of the group to keep them safe. In return, she would look after Celica's friend.

The two tiny ladies continued their journey, walking side by side in the dimly lit corridor. Their travels came to an abrupt end when a loud click sounded from beneath Mae's feet.
Palla looked down to the source of the noise quickly. A panel had depressed ever so slightly where Mae was standing.
Slowly, Mae looked to the floor. "Uh-oh..." she said.
"Mae, stay still and don't panic," Palla instructed, worried. She looked around her unlucky friend, trying to find a way to disarm the trap.
"I'm totally panicking. Like, really panicking. Help me!" Mae cried.
There were no clues, nothing that could rescue Mae from whatever was going to happen. A blue circle of magic appeared above her head.
"Mae!" Palla reached for the mage. She had to pull her out of the way! Mae reached back, instinctively...
Palla's hand was met by a cold wall. Horrified, she could see Mae's face imprisoned behind ice. The magic had frozen the mage, and a rectangle of space around her. The ice was so cold, Palla could feel it through her glove.
"No, Mae! Mae!" she banged on the ice, then stopped.

What if Mae shattered with the ice? I have to find another way of getting her out. Every second counted in saving her, but Palla had to stay calm and think this through.

What about fire magic? Palla summoned a ball of flame, like she had seen the other mages do, but it sputtered out quickly.

I can't just blast Mae with a fire spell, it could roast her alive! Taking a deep breath, she focused once more. She tried again. A small ball of fire wobbled into existence. Palla moved it to the block of ice. Looking closely, she could see some of the ice start to melt. This was working, but probably too slow to thaw Mae out in time. She needed more fire but couldn't maintain any more without risk.

That was when she had an idea.

What if there was less ice?

Palla wasn't sure how this spell would work but tried it anyway. Covering the ice with magic, she shrank it along with its frozen occupant. Bending down, she carefully picked up the tiny block of ice, being sure not to stand on the freezing tile. She lifted it to the ball of fire. The ice thawed quickly, starting to reveal the shape of the micro mage. She gasped as her head was freed.
"So cold..." Mae squeaked. She would shiver, if only she could move her body.
"Mae, are you all right?" Palla asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine I guess," Mae was released from the ice, now sat in Palla's palm.
"Thank goodness," Palla sighed in relief, "I wasn't sure that would work."
"Well I'm sure glad it did. Thanks, Palla," the tiny mage forced a smile.

"Yuck, I'm drenched." The tiny twin-tails of Mae sagged with water and her clothes were soaked.
"Want me to dry you off?" Palla lifted the mage closer to the flame.
"No! Don't cook me! Just grow me back already!" Mae protested.
"If you insist," Palla smiled.

Setting the micro mage down on the floor, in a space that seemed to be free of traps, Palla grew her back to an inch tall.
"Thanks again, I guess," Mae said. She squeezed her sleeve, trying to wring out some of the water.
"You're very welcome. We should be more careful," Palla said.
"Sure thing. Let's get going already."

They continued, more aware of traps than before. Both Palla and Mae summoned balls of flame, illuminating more than before. Despite this, they had yet to see any traps. Palla hoped they had seen the last of the traps down this corridor. She stopped when she saw movement ahead, one arm reaching out to halt her friend.
"What is it?" Mae asked her.
"Look, ahead of us." The two peered into the darkness, spying a stone object lowering from the ceiling. It seemed to be roughly the same size as them, though they couldn't see what it was.
A green light illuminated the corridor ahead.
"Not again..." Mae complained.
"Be ready," Palla instructed.
Suddenly a green ball of light shot out at the tiny women. They both dodged to opposite sides, and it flew past them.
"I don't want to know what that does!" Mae shouted.
"Look out, there's another one!" Palla warned.
The second was aimed more towards Mae, but she ducked out of the way in time.
"What do we do?!" Mae asked, panicking again.
"We need to get closer," Palla said, evading another attack, "we have to try and destroy the source of these things, whatever it is!"
The two ran forward, determined to close the distance. The stone aggressor seemed to notice, now firing at a higher rate. It appeared to be alternating between targeting the two ladies, though they both dodged each attack nimbly. Suddenly two orbs flew towards Palla.
"Palla, watch out!" Mae shouted, noticing the break in attacks targeting her.
The green-haired girl sidestepped the first attack, only to find herself in the path of the second. Unable to react in time, the magic struck her in the chest. Palla gasped as it spread out into a glow, immobilizing her for a moment. As the magic took hold, she felt herself shrink in size. The magic dissipated quickly, releasing its hold on her when she was at half of her previous size.
"Forget about me!" Palla shouted, trying to recover, "keep going!"
The two continued their advance, the attacks even faster now. It was easier for Palla to evade at a smaller size, though she could cover less ground. They also had less time to react as they got closer to the magic structure, which was shaped like a cannon of some sort. Palla turned when she heard a scream, seeing Mae halve in height.
Palla inwardly cursed their predicament. With every successful attack, the distance to their assailant doubled. Even at a smaller size, it was getting very difficult to evade the magic. They could only step to the left or the right. If only they had more options...

Palla remembered her new ability, taking to the air. She flew towards the source of the magic, now able to dodge in many new directions. Their attacker took longer to switch targets now, giving them more time to dodge. That didn't save Mae from being hit by a second attack though, shrinking to a quarter of an inch tall. Palla drew close, firing a spell at the stone. Their attacker exploded, rock falling to the ground.

The pegasus knight landed, running to her smaller friend. She didn't seem worse for wear, though now a quarter of her previous size.
"That was a close one," Palla sighed.
"This place just gets better and better," Mae squeaked sarcastically.
Before they could recover, the sound of grinding stone filled the air. Palla turned to see a stone spider, now seemingly twice as big as before.
"Mae, run!" Palla shouted, squaring up for battle. In an instant, a rope of web-like substance shot out of the spider's mouth, wrapping round the half-inch woman.
"No!" Mae shouted. She fired off a thunder spell at the web, trying to sever the link between Palla and their foe, but it had no effect. Palla struggled to free herself, her arms stuck to her sides, but was not strong enough. The spider was pulling at the rope of web. Palla pulled back, trying to resist, but was lifted off her feet and into its open mouth.
"Palla!" Mae yelled. The spider stepped forward, advancing on the tiny mage. Knowing she had no chance, she turned and started to run, only to be caught up in a cloud of sleeping gas. She collapsed to the floor.
Palla continued to struggle, now trapped inside a capsule of stone. The same gas seeped inside the golem, sending her into a deep slumber.