Friend in Hand

(BiggerBetterBarbie; idea by gamdann)

It was a beautiful night in Alfea. Not a cloud in the sky, which was full of glittering stars. The only other thing there was to speak of outside was some wind, and that was it. Life was going on as normal for everyone inside Alfea College. And that even included Tecna.

Tecna wiped the sweat from her forehead as she put the finishing touches on the program she was writing for her PDA, taking another sip of her energy drink to make sure she didn't crash out early. Tecna looked over at her PDA, particularly at the laser generator located on the top of the device. She remembered the day about a year ago when she created a growth laser using technology she 'borrowed' from the school in the form of a giant simulator for the virtual reality machine. Of course, I quote borrowed because the fun couldn't last as long with Miss Faragonda eventually finding out.
Tecna never forgot that experience, much like her friends. She spent what little absolute free time she had in studying the program, figuring out how she could enhance it for the future should Lord Darkar decide to send giant monsters after them. The first thing she wanted to do was find a way to shrink objects, and that's the program she had been working on.

Finally, after saving the data on her computer, she took her PDA and connected it to her computer.
"Well, here goes nothing." Tecna said. She pressed a series of keys and then hit the Enter key on her keyboard and watched as her new program was being transferred to her PDA. The process only took a couple minutes. She then disconnected the cable that linked her PDA up with her computer, much like Musa's old and worn out portable music player that she had been trying to fix for most of the day, as well as her video game console that was doing nothing but flash three red lights at her.
Anyway, Tecna pressed some buttons and also touched the screen on her PDA and then aimed the laser at a nearby potted plant that she got from Flora recently. This time, instead of the red growing laser, Tecna looked and saw an orange laser shooting out from her PDA and hitting the plant. She kept the laser pointed at the plant for 6.4 seconds before shutting the laser off. Tecna slowly approached the plant and watched. Finally, the plant began to shrink in size. She watched as it shrunk all the way down to two inches tall, just barely visible to Tecna's eyesight. She smiled greatly admiring the results.

"Yes! Mission success! I have done it!" Tecna shouted. At that very same instance, Bloom entered the room.
"Done what, Tecna?" Bloom asked. Tecna turned around and saw Bloom standing just outside the entrance to her room.
"Oh... hello there, Bloom! Come here, you have to see something extravagant!" Tecna said. Bloom wasted no time and walked up to her friend, standing alongside her.
"You see that potted plant? I was able to shrink it using a new program I made for my PDA." Tecna said. Bloom looked down at the two-inch-high plant.
"Wow... you're not kidding. Look how tiny it is." Bloom said.
"Affirmative. I was about to restore it to normal with the growth program." Tecna said. She pressed some more buttons and then aimed the laser down at the plant. Indeed, the red laser that Bloom was familiar with a year ago during the growth incident fired at the plant for 6.4 seconds. The plant soon grew back to its original size. As Tecna was measuring with her mini-ruler to make sure it was back to the way it was before, Bloom continued to be astonished.
"Your PDA is pretty smart to return that plant exactly to its normal size." Bloom said.
"I know. It helps to have someone as smart as me making the program, isn't it?" Tecna said. Once she finished with the plant, she looked over at Bloom.
"Hey, Bloom. I was wondering if you could be my test subject as far as the shrinking beam working on a human?" Tecna said.
"What!? I... I don't know about this." Bloom said.
"Come on, Bloom, you can trust me, right? The growth laser is the same one that made us giant last year. I'll have you back to normal as quickly as possible." Tecna said.
"Yeah, you're right, and you are very smart and trustworthy. I'll do it." Bloom said.
"Outstanding! You can stand over there." Tecna said, pointing a few feet from where she was standing. Bloom took a deep breath as she watched Tecna point the PDA's laser at her. She could already see the orange light being pointed at her belly.
"Time to get small, I guess." Bloom said. Tecna then pressed the buttons and tapped the screen again, and the orange laser fired, making contact with Bloom. As always, Tecna kept the laser pointed for 6.4 seconds before she shut it off. She put the PDA on the table (with the plant) behind her, ignoring an important warning message that was flashing up on her screen.

"Well?" Bloom asked.
"Hmmm... give it time, I'm sure it's that delay again just like with the growth beam last year." Tecna said. Sure enough, a couple seconds later, Bloom was shrinking. She looked left and right to make sure the whole room was getting bigger and not just Tecna.
"Tecna... is it working?" Bloom asked.
"I'd say so with 100% confidence. You're getting smaller!" Tecna said. She tried her best to keep her excitement as she still had to make sure the shrinking wasn't continuous, because that would be bad news! Bloom got a little bit nervous when she was looking straight ahead to see nothing but Tecna's purple shoes, but she could finally feel the shrinking stop.
"I think it stopped now!" Bloom shouted. Tecna probably couldn't hear those words, but nevertheless she got down on her knees with her hands coming close to the tiny Bloom a couple times. Tecna then took her mini-ruler and placed it next to Bloom and counted the numbers.
"Yep, you are definitely two inches tall! I'd call the experiment a success!" Tecna said. Bloom held her ears tight.
"Please, Tecna, not so loud! My eardrums can only take so much!" Bloom shouted.
"Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot. We better get you back to normal then." Tecna said. She got back on her feet and walked over to her PDA on the nearby table. But she noticed something different about it.
"Huh? Why is it shut off?" Tecna asked herself. She tried pressing the power button a few times, but nothing was happening. Finally, she looked on the side... the power light was blinking rapidly. She knew what this meant.
"Oh no..." Tecna said.

Bloom wondered what could possibly be wrong, but she didn't want to just walk over by Tecna's feet. That could've been dangerous. That's when she transformed into her Winx self and flew into the air. She landed on the table and looked up at Tecna.
"What's wrong, Tecna?" Bloom asked. Tecna looked over at the flying Bloom.
"Well... um... this is really embarrassing, you know. I... I forgot to recharge the PDA today, and now it's out of battery power." Tecna said.
"What!? I thought you always remembered to do that!" Bloom said.
"I know... I was just really busy today! After class today, I had the meeting with Timmy, and then I've been working nonstop on the shrinking program, not to mention trying to get my video game console and Musa's portable music player working again!" Tecna said.
"I see. So how long does it take to recharge that thing all the way?" Bloom asked. Tecna was almost afraid to answer given the bad news, but she said it anyway.
"Um... about eight hours." Tecna said.
"Eight hours!? But we have to be in bed in almost an hour!!!" Bloom shouted. And she was right. One of the super tight rules that Griselda had set up was that all students must be asleep by a certain time or face penalties.
"Well, I wish I could say I could charge it up faster, but that's what happens when you are stuck with outdated technology. It's almost embarrassing for me to admit." Tecna said.

Just then, Stella walked into Tecna's room. Tecna looked to face her as she stood in front of the tiny Bloom to try and hide her from sight.
"Tecna, have you seen Bloom anywhere?" Stella asked.
"Negative, I haven't seen her." Tecna said. Bloom could hear the two girls talking and thought it wouldn't be wise if only Tecna knew of her plight. Stella could look all around Alfea if she wanted, but she wouldn't know that Bloom was only two inches tall now. Bloom flew up to Tecna's shoulder and leaned against her ear.
"Tecna, it's okay. Stella can see me like this." Bloom said.
"Are you sure?" Tecna asked. Stella was about to leave the room when she heard Tecna talking again.
"Sure about what?" Stella asked.
"Um... well... okay, Bloom's actually right here." Tecna said.
"Huh? You been playing too much of World of Winx again? I'm looking around and I totally don't see her anywhere!" Stella shouted.
"Look closer." Tecna said as she gently lifted Bloom off her shoulder and held her in the palm of her hand. Stella approached the hand and indeed saw the shrunken Bloom waving up at her.
"Hey, Stella... what's up? Aside from you, I mean." Bloom said.
"Bloom? Is that you? You're so teeny tiny!" Stella shouted.
"Yeah, I kinda figured that." Bloom said.
"I was doing an experiment on Bloom with my PDA where I could shoot a laser to make things shrink instead of grow like what happened last year. And just before I could enlarge her again, the battery ran dry, so now I have to spend the night recharging the PDA, and poor Bloom is stuck like this until then." Tecna said.
"Gosh, Tecna... usually your gadgets always work!" Stella said.
"Yeah, but there is that thing called Murphy's Law. Remember? We studied that a little while back." Tecna said.
"Well, excuse me! I guess I was out shoe shopping that day! They had this huge sale on at the time!" Stella shouted.
"Ahem, getting back on topic. So what can we do now until Tecna's PDA gets recharged?" Bloom asked.
"Hey, has anyone else seen you like that?" Stella said.
"Not yet, just you and Tecna, but I guess now's a good time to show everyone." Bloom said, shrugging her shoulders since she couldn't think of any alternative. Stella quickly ran back to the entrance to Tecna's room.
"Hey everyone! You gotta see this!" Stella shouted. As Stella joined up with Tecna again, the other Winx girls (Musa, Flora, and Aisha; all in their street clothes much like Bloom, Tecna, and Stella) along with the pixies (Lockette, Digit, Amore, Tune, Chatta, and Piff) were now in the room.

"So what's up? I was in the middle of listening this new song I downloaded from Chocolate Fudgecake." Musa said.
"I was watering my flowers, with Aisha's help of course." Flora said.
"Yeah, while watching over the pixies." Aisha said.
"Look, girls! Look at Bloom now!" Stella said. She gently took Bloom from Tecna's hands and held her in her own hands. The girls and pixies both looked close to see the tiny Bloom.
"Oh my gosh... is that you, Bloom?" Flora asked.
"But she's so tiny." Aisha said. Lockette, Bloom's own pixie, could clearly see the size difference. Bloom was smaller than she was, with Bloom only two inches high while the pixies ranged anywhere from six to eight inches in height.
"I'll say! She's smaller than even me!" Lockette said.
"Hey there, Lockette. Kinda surprising, isn't it?" Bloom said. After Tecna discussed with everyone how Bloom shrunk, they all wondered what they could do next.
"Gee, that really stinks, having to be stuck at that size the rest of the night." Musa said.
"It'll be okay, Bloom! You can stay with me so you can be extra safe!" Stella shouted.
"Actually, I was hoping she'd stay with me. She's the perfect size to help with some of my flowers." Flora said.
"I think the pixies would love to play with little Bloom." Aisha said.
"Girls, please! I'll hang around with all of you. I won't mind." Bloom said. She felt herself being lifted up by Tecna.
"Actually, she's not going anywhere for the moment. I really should run some tests on her to make sure nothing's been affected by her shrinking." Tecna said.
"Oh, let me help, Tecna! Two great minds working together for this little scientific experiment." Digit shouted.
"Of course, Digit." Tecna said with a smile. And so it was quickly agreed, Bloom would spend as much time as she could with each and every one of the girls over the next couple of hours, starting with Tecna...

All the girls and their pixies left to get back in their own rooms, anxious to play with the shrunken Bloom in their own special way. But first, there was checking to make sure Tecna's shrinking beam didn't have adverse effects on Bloom that neither of them knew about.
"So, Tecna... what kind of tests do you have to do on me?" Bloom asked.
"Well, first and foremost, the magic residue test. Gotta make sure none of that shrink beam is leftover on you." Tecna said.
"How can you do that?" Bloom asked.
"Easy! With my magic scanner that is hooked up to my computer." Tecna said. She walked over to her desktop computer, with both Digit and the tiny Bloom following behind. Tecna pulled out the aforementioned scanner from behind the computer.
"Are you sure this is a safe idea?" Bloom said.
"Of course, this is Magix! I'll just use a gamma protection spell on you to make sure you are perfectly safe while being scanned." Tecna said. She worked her fingers around and indeed some rainbow-colored dust came out of her hand and sprinkled all over Bloom. The dust vanished as soon as it made contact with her.
"Okay then, lay yourself on the scanner." Tecna said. Bloom did just that, laying herself down on the surface of the scanner. Digit watched as Bloom made herself comfortable.
"Ready to commence body scanning, Tecna!" Digit shouted. Tecna nodded and she pressed some keys on her keyboard. Soon, the scanner lit up with a green light that went up and down the scanner. Tecna looked as the outline of Bloom's body was being drawn up on screen. It didn't take long before she was looking at all of Bloom's body, who sat up after the scanner shut down. Tecna smiled and nodded.
"Okay, everything checks out. You're in good shape." Tecna said.
"Whew... that's a relief. Thanks, Tecna." Bloom said. As she was talking, she decided to jump on top of Tecna's keyboard. She sat down near the function keys at the very top of the keyboard, thinking Tecna wouldn't hit those keys.
"Say, while I'm here, why don't I show you some of my favorite websites?" Tecna asked.
"I'd like that, actually." Bloom said. She looked at Tecna's fingers rapidly hitting several of the keys.

"Wow... I'm glad I'm not standing over those keys." Bloom said. Tecna pulled up a website that had 'Technical Spells for Everyone' as the title. Bloom looked up at the monitor to look over the site.
"I've been studying many of these spells for us tech-savvy Winx like myself. I believe with 99.8% probability that I can successfully cast many of these spells once I study them properly." Tecna said.
"So how many of those spells do you know you've gotten right?" Bloom asked.
"Well, let's see... I want to try this one spell. It's called the Fiberoptic Neon Blast." Tecna said.
"The Fiba what?" Bloom asked.
"Optical fiber. A glass or plastic fiber designed to guide light along its length by confining as much light as possible in a propagating form." Digit said.
"Wow! You knew that from the top of your head?" Bloom asked.
"Actually I went to wikimagix.org last week and looked it up. You can find almost anything there, even though half of the time the information is made up!" Digit said. Bloom almost giggled upon hearing that.
"Alright, let's give the spell a go. Fiberoptic Neon Blast!" Tecna said. She decided to aim her hands down at Bloom, and the magic dust went towards her hair. Suddenly, Bloom's hair began flashing in a variety of colors aside from her usual orange! Tecna and Digit couldn't help but laugh upon seeing this.
"What's so funny? Did it work?" Bloom asked.
"Well, in a manner of speaking. Right, Digit?" Tecna said.
"Yeah. Allow me to show you." Digit said. Using her powers to create objects using wireframes and polygons, she drew up a mirror. Bloom looked and saw her hair constantly changing colors.
"Eeeeek!!! My hair!" Bloom shouted as she touched her hair.
"Hahahaha!!! Just like those fiberoptic Christmas trees I bought last year for the campus." Tecna said.
"Make it stop, make it stop!" Bloom shouted.
"Alright, alright. I do apologize, Bloom." Tecna said. She cast the spell again on Bloom, and her hair returned to its natural color.

"See? It was just an illusion." Tecna said.
"Whew... well, for an illusion it looked so real." Bloom said.
"Yes, I will admit that. Sometimes we can be fooled by things that aren't natural in this reality." Tecna said.
"Come on, Bloom... admit it, you knew it wasn't real, right?" Digit asked.
"Well, I guess I felt that. But my hair... I mean..." Bloom said.
"Say no more! I say we find out what you really thought. Mind Wave Reader!" Tecna said. She placed a couple of fingers on Bloom's forehead.
"Hmmm... let's see. Yep, she thought all along that it was a trick. Though she was surprised at first!" Tecna said. After she removed her fingers, Bloom looked up at her friend astonished.
"You can read minds?" Bloom asked.
"Affirmative! It's a hidden power I've had since I was born, but I'm not allowed to use it after I almost got caught cheating many years ago." Tecna said.
"Oh, I see." Bloom said.
"Hey, I've got an idea for a fun game! I want to see how quickly Bloom can escape a maze." Digit shouted.
"Wonderful idea, Digit! You always create the most cunning mazes for Maze Maker 2.0!" Tecna said.
"Yes... even though you do take all the credit." Digit said. The pixie then used her polygon magic to once again draw up a maze, this time one that hovered in the air. The maze was complete with a floor, walls, and traps that were really nothing but yellow smiley faces waiting to shoot pellets at enemies, kinda like that old game Faceball (apparently it was a big hit in Magix ^_____^).
And so as Bloom played along with this 'game' by flying through the maze and trying to find her way out, Tecna walked back over to her game console as it continued to show the 'red ring of death.' She lightly hit the thing on top from frustration.
"Darn it, what is causing this thing to blink red at me? This is the sixth time this thing has done that." Tecna said.
"I guess it's amazing the company keeps sending you replacements for free." Digit said.
"Yeah, but that's only because of that little trick I played with their minds. You know, exposing their dirty little trade secrets for a project." Tecna said. Digit couldn't help but giggle.
"Hey, you are the same Tecna that hacked into the virtual reality computer last year!" Digit said. Bloom finally made her way out of the maze, almost running into Digit (twice her size).
"What are you guys talking about?" Bloom asked.
"Oh, Tecna's Magix 180 is on the fritz again." Digit said.
"Magix 180?" Bloom said.
"It's the newest video game machine around, but it's been known to break a lot no matter how newly manufactured it is." Digit said. Bloom nodded, and then flew over to Tecna, already feeling the high heat coming from the game machine even as she hovered a good few feet over the device.

"So, Tecna, this Magix 180... it's messing up on you?" Bloom said.
"Agreed. This thing has got such a negative track record, I don't know why I even bother!" Tecna said.
"Haven't you tried taking it apart and seeing where the trouble lies?" Bloom asked.
"Every time, and any fix I make is only for the short term as the thing breaks down into the red ring of death again." Tecna said.
"Maybe I can look at it?" Bloom said.
"Huh? Are you sure?" Tecna said.
"Yeah, it's the least I can do. Maybe I can find something that's wrong." Bloom said.
"Okay then, let me just unplug the thing and open the top." Tecna said. She flipped the power switch on the device, unhooked the power and video cords, and then magically summoned a screw driver to take the top of the machine off, revealing every last bit of circuitry that helped power the machine.
"Are you really sure you can find what's wrong, Bloom?" Tecna said.
"Yeah, I'm sure I can. I kinda learned about electronics from you." Bloom said, prompting a smile from Tecna.
"Okay, but please be careful. There may still be some electricity leftover inside." Tecna said. Bloom nodded as she hovered over the exposed system. She could feel the electricity flowing through her skin the closer she got to all those chips and circuit boards. In fact, her hair began to stand up like what would happen in science class touching a metal ball full of static electricity. Tecna noticed this and tried to hold a laugh, but Bloom picked up on it.
"What's so funny?" Bloom asked.
"I'm sorry. It's just your hair... it's probably from all the static electricity that's still inside the machine." Tecna said. She took the mirror that Digit had created earlier and showed it in front of Bloom, who saw her hair standing up and gasped again.
"Ugh... first the neon colors and now this! Remind me to fix up my hair when I grow back to normal size." Bloom said. But she quickly got back to scanning the video game console. One chip, a very small one in particular, caught Bloom's eye.

"Um, what is this chip, Tecna?" Bloom asked. Tecna leaned in with her face, taking a closer look at the chip that Bloom was pointing at.
"That's the graphics processing unit. They say to never ever touch that no matter what you are doing with the system." Tecna said.
"Well, it looks like one of the pins here is bent a little bit." Bloom said, pointing down at the chip.
"What?" Tecna said. It was too small to see from the naked eye, so she would definitely need Digit's help for this. Digit flew alongside Tecna.
"Digit, I need you to use your magnify screen powers on where Bloom is pointing." Tecna said.
"You got it, Tecna!" Digit shouted. Again, using her wireframe creation powers, she created a viewscreen that zoomed the picture in by almost a factor of ten. Tecna looked at the screen and couldn't believe that Bloom was right... one of the pins looked like it had melted away.
"My gosh, you're right! That must be what is causing the problem!" Tecna said.
"Yeah. Maybe I can fix that!" Bloom said.
"Bloom, wait!" Tecna shouted.
"Dragon Fire... Solid Flame!" Bloom shouted. She fired a steady stream of her Dragon Fire down at the melted pin. The pin seemed to be solidifying itself, like it was being welded back in place. Soon, there looked to be another pin in its place.
"Hmmm... I guess I got it back together." Bloom said. Tecna wasn't about to complain. Her system was still in one piece, and she had nothing to lose having gone through a broken system before. As Bloom flew away from the system, Tecna took the cover and put it back in place, screwing it back together and plugging the right cords back in.
"Okay, I guess I can try it again." Tecna said. She flipped the power switch, and guess what? The power light blinked green instead with the Magix 180 logo swirling on the TV screen. Digit and Tecna were both stunned.
"I don't believe it!" Digit said.
"Holy memory upgrades! You actually did it, Bloom! You're the absolute best!" Tecna said as she grabbed the nearby tiny Bloom and hugged her against her face as she spun around in excitement. When Tecna finally stopped spinning, she could see Bloom spinning her head in dizziness as she remained trapped in Tecna's hands.
"That's great, Tecna... really great." Bloom said.
"Oops... I'm so sorry. I don't usually get that excited in front of other people, I guess." Tecna said. Bloom shook herself back to reality.
"It's okay, Tecna. I'm glad I could help." Bloom said. Just then, Aisha entered Tecna's room.

"Digit, do you remember where I put the magic treats for Piff?" Aisha said.
"They should be in your bag. I put them there in case we went on an adventure tomorrow." Digit said.
"Okay, I thought they'd be there. Thanks, Digit. You have a much better memory than even I do." Aisha said.
"Heh, it helps to have 512 megs of such memory." Digit said. Aisha then approached the tiny Bloom as she was being held by Tecna.
"Hey there, Bloom. Having fun?" Aisha said with a smile.
"Yeah. I fixed Tecna's heavily advanced gaming machine for one thing." Bloom said.
"Would you believe it was because of one tiny little pin on the GPU that had melted away from the heat inside the system? I could never have spotted that had it not been for Bloom's insight." Tecna said.
"Yeah, whatever you say. You know I'm not into this technical stuff." Aisha said.
"Oops... sorry!" Tecna said.
"Tecna, I want to spend some time with Aisha now. Is that okay with you?" Bloom asked.
"Oh, I would love that! Some of the pixies would get a kick when they see you. I think Kikko's in my room too." Aisha said. Kikko was Bloom's pet rabbit, and she forgot how he might react to seeing her so small.
"Oh my gosh... Kikko! Yeah, I might have to do some explaining to him." Bloom said.
"It's okay, Bloom. I've got a project to do some research on anyway." Tecna said as she let go of Bloom. Bloom flew into Aisha's hands and Aisha got a good grip on her before she walked out of Tecna's room and for her own room.

Aisha walked into her room with Bloom tightly in her hands. Immediately she was greeted by two pixies. Piff, Aisha's faithful pixie who always woke up upon seeing her master. There was also Bloom's pixie, Lockette, and also in the room was Bloom's pet rabbit, Kikko. Much like the pixies as well as other magical animals around Alfea, Kikko could fly around the room. Aisha introduced everyone to the shrunken Bloom even though the pixies had gotten a brief glimpse of her earlier. Kikko was about to get his first look at Bloom.
"Hey everyone! Bloom's here to play!" Aisha said, letting Bloom go so she could fly towards the two pixies. As Piff flew into Aisha's arms, Bloom first greeted Lockette and the two hugged.
"Lockette, how is everything?" Bloom asked.
"Well, just fine. I should be asking you that... I can't believe you're smaller than even me!" Lockette said, flying next to Bloom and seeing her only half her size.
"Well, yeah, I guess it is strange, but I am enjoying it all of a sudden. It's giving me a new perspective." Bloom said. She then looked on one of the desks and saw Kikko looking up at both her and Lockette.
"Kikko! Hey there!" Bloom said. She tried flying down towards Kikko, but he dove behind the stack of books on the desk.
"Kikko, it's okay! It's me, Bloom!" Bloom shouted. Kikko slowly peeked its head out from behind the books and looked closer at Bloom. That's when he realized that this was the same Bloom that had cared for her for so long.
"That's right, Kikko. I know I look a lot smaller, but I'm the same Bloom!" Bloom said. Kikko smiled and jumped up and down in happiness. At the same time, Aisha walked over to the desk and put Piff down on the books, picking up the tiny Bloom again. Then Aisha cuddled Bloom to her face once again.

"Aren't you just the cutest thing ever? I don't know what it is with little girls like you, Piff, or Lockette, but they're just so cute!" Aisha said. Bloom could definitely feel the pressure of being pressed between Aisha's hands and her face.
"Um... Aisha! I'm getting squished here! Aisha!" Bloom shouted, trying to get Aisha's attention. Piff, down by the desk on top of some books, felt she was being neglected by seeing Aisha hugging Bloom so much, almost more than her. She did the only thing, naturally as young as she was, that would gain Aisha's attention. She started crying. Lockette tried to cheer her up, but it was doing her no good. She tried to get Aisha's attention herself, but she looked to be too preoccupied with holding onto Bloom.
"Aisha! Aisha! It's Piff! You have to do something!" Lockette shouted.
"Alright, in a second..." Aisha said, clearly sounding distracted. Bloom picked up on Piff's crying as well.
"Aisha! Piff needs you! You're like a mother to her!" Bloom shouted. When Aisha didn't give a response, she moved her arms around until she got them free, and she actually pinched Aisha just enough to where she gave a slight OW reaction. It seemed Aisha was focused on again and she looked down at Piff, taking her in her arms.
"Awwww.... it's okay, my little baby. Shhhhhh... Mommy Aisha is here for you." Aisha said as she constantly patted Piff on the back, quickly calming her down. When she heard the crying stop, Aisha held Piff in front of her face.
"It's okay, Piff. I promise I will always take care of you no matter what." Aisha said. Piff smiled upon hearing that. As Aisha released her, Bloom flew over to Piff.
"I'm sorry, Piff. I'll make sure Aisha doesn't forget about you!" Bloom said.
"Bloom Bloom!!!" Piff shouted, instantly recognizing the shrunken Bloom and hugging her in the process.
"Ack! Okay, okay! I'm happy for you too!" Bloom shouted. Aisha couldn't help but laugh.
"Piff really likes you, Bloom." Aisha said.
"You can say that again!" Bloom shouted. Finally, though, the hugging stopped and Piff went to go play with Lockette. Aisha sat down at her desk with Bloom sitting on top of the books.

"I'm just glad to see the pixies so happy. It brings a lot of joy and warmth to my heart to see them so happy." Aisha said.
"It does?" Bloom said.
"Yes. There's nothing like that on my home planet. People are always running around telling each other that things should be this way or that way. It was always brutal." Aisha said.
"Aisha..." Bloom said.
"Especially my parents. They were always tough on me, always telling me that I'm not royal enough for them. It was hard having to hear that day in and day out." Aisha said softly. The painful memories caused her voice to crack a bit, and Bloom could see the tears forming in her eyes. She slowly floated up to Aisha's eyes and wiped away the tears with her hands.
"I'm sorry, Aisha. You didn't have to tell me that story." Bloom said.
"No, it's okay. It's good to let it out every once in a while. Thank you guys for taking me in." Aisha said. Lockette came flying into the scene.
"Hey, Piff wants to play jump rope again!" Lockette shouted.
"But all the other pixies are back at the Pixie Village." Aisha said.
"How about I play too? I'm, well, almost the right size!" Bloom said.
"That's a great idea!" Lockette shouted.

Aisha, holding one end of the magic rope, watched with delight as the three girls were having such a good time playing jump rope. Bloom, naturally being a fairy, was able to pull off some acrobatic moves while jumping over the rope. Though Lockette wasn't doing bad either. Piff, always being tired, of course wasn't as successful but kept on going thanks to words of encouragement from Aisha, Bloom, and Lockette.
Finally, though, Bloom wanted to go check on her other friends, like Flora, Musa, and of course Stella.
"Well, it's been a lot of fun. I want to go see what Flora's doing." Bloom said.
"Yeah, good idea. Have fun, Bloom." Aisha said. Piff and Lockette waved Bloom off as well as she flew out of the room.
"Be careful out there!" Lockette shouted.

It wouldn't take long for Bloom to really heed Lockette's words. As she was flying her way towards Flora's room, she casually looked to her left to suddenly see a huge wall of purple cloth heading right for her! She naturally tried to move out of the way, but the wall hit her and she fell down to the ground. Her wings helped her soften the landing down on the floor. As she was shaking the cobwebs out from both the hit and from the surprise wall, she could hear a voice echoing above.
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay, little firefly?" the female voice said. Bloom quickly recognized the voice and looked up to see Miss Faragonda, the head mistress of Alfea. She quickly assumed that was the wall that almost hit her. Bloom laid still as she felt herself being placed in Faragonda's hands and then being lifted into the air.
"You must be careful, little firefly, it can be quite dangerous indoors for a tiny creature such as yourself." Miss Faragonda said. Bloom almost had to laugh over being called a little firefly, but she wondered how Faragonda would react when she finally did get a good look at her. When Bloom felt the moving stop, she stood up and looked up at Miss Faragonda in the face.
"Huh? Wait a second? You are not a firefly!" Miss Faragonda said.
"No, Miss Faragonda... I'm not. But I know how one must feel after a collision like that." Bloom said.
"Bloom, is that you? You have some explaining to do, young lady!" Miss Faragonda said. Bloom should know it by now being a veteran student at Alfea. There was absolutely, positively no way you could get away with lying to Miss Faragonda. She would find out the truth sooner or later. Bloom proceeded to tell her story, hoping that Faragonda's good side would bail her out just like the last few times she encountered Griselda, the dean.
"Well, Miss Faragonda, remember last year when myself and four of my friends all grew to giant size using an invention from Tecna?" Bloom said.
"Yes, who could ever forget that?" Faragonda said.
"Well, Tecna was playing with her PDA, trying to find a way to shrink things instead. I volunteered to be her test subject, and before she could grow me back to normal size, the battery died... so I'm stuck like this until tomorrow morning." Bloom said.
"Good gracious, Bloom! You're putting yourself at tremendous risk living like that. I'd be happy to restore you back to normal with my magic." Faragonda said.
"No, no! It's okay, Miss Faragonda. I... I kinda want to stay like this for a little while. It's been an exciting new experience to see the world from this perspective." Bloom said. Faragonda didn't say anything for a few seconds.
"Hmmm... well, if you insist. Anytime my students can learn new experiences all by themselves is always something I enjoy seeing. But promise me you will be extra careful, Bloom." Faragonda said. Bloom bowed before the giantess holding her.
"Of course, Miss Faragonda. I will be careful." Bloom said.
"Well, good. I suppose I can let you go now." Faragonda said. She held her hands steady as she watched Bloom fly into the air once again.
"Good night, Miss Faragonda." Bloom said before she flew off to Flora's room. Faragonda would leave the dormitory area to return to her own quarters.

As soon as Bloom flew into Flora's room, the action was getting heated inside. Flora was strangling with a series of vines that were trying to wrap her up.
"Back, you silly vines! Back I said!" Flora shouted.
"Uh... Flora?" Bloom asked. Flora seemed to be gaining the upper hand, and then finally she pushed the vines back and literally threw them against the walls. Both girls watched as the vines retracted back to the plant they came from.
"Okay, Vine Fellow. You've had your fun for today, and now it's time for you to go to bed. Sleep Powder Spray!" Flora shouted as she threw some magic dust at the same plant she threw the vines back to. The plant quickly stood motionless as the dust covered it from top to bottom. Flora then looked to her left and saw the tiny Bloom floating in front of her.
"Oh, Bloom! I didn't see you come in!" Flora said.
"Sorry, I was watching you deal with that plant. Vine Fellow?" Bloom asked.
"Yeah. It's a new kind of magic plant I picked up. It's got more of a manly charm, which I thought would be good for Vein Attraction." Flora said.
"Right, the plant that's always stealing Stella's lipstick and clothes." Bloom said. Flora held out her hands and allowed Bloom to land on them.
"That's the one. Anyway, I'm so glad you decided to come, but I wonder what we can do tonight?" Flora said.
"Well, perhaps I can help with your window garden!" Bloom said.
"My garden located on the window sill? But it is nighttime... they're not getting any sunlight at this time of day." Flora said.
"Well, perhaps I could explore it if I can't help it. I've always wanted to see that beautiful garden up close and personal." Bloom said.
"Really?" Flora asked.
"Yeah. I had to convince Miss Faragonda on my way here to keep me small so I could see more of these rooms from this perspective." Bloom said.
"Oh, I see..." Flora said. She was never too much of a conversation keeper, always busy either studying or spending time with her plants, living and non-living (or ordinary as Bloom safely put it). But nevertheless, she went with Bloom's request as she walked over by her window and opened it up, revealing the miniature garden that Flora was talking about.

Flora carefully placed the shrunken Bloom down on the soil of this garden, and Bloom was already walking around admiring the many plants and flowers that were around her.
"So what do you think, Bloom?" Flora asked.
"I think it's the most beautiful garden ever, especially looking at it up close." Bloom said. She walked over and gently touched some of the flowers, feeling how light they were. She then noticed one plant in particular with a bulb on top.
"Hmmm? I wonder what this plant is?" Bloom said. She reached out to touch it.
"Bloom, wait!" Flora shouted. She quickly pulled Bloom away from this plant, and good thing too... the plant opened its mouth and was reaching up to bite her! Flora quickly sprayed her sleeping dust on the plant to make it go back to sleep.
"Careful, Bloom. That was my Fly Be Gone plant. It helps keep those pesky insects away from the flowers." Flora said.
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, Flora, I'll be more careful." Bloom said.
"I know you will. Hey, let me show you something. I learned this trick from the Junior League recently." Flora said. She placed Bloom back down on the soil and then waved her hands around, which told Bloom that she was casting another magic spell.
"Head Sprouticus!" Flora shouted. Magic dust flew out of Flora's hands and hovered over Bloom's head. Soon, a flower suddenly sprouted right on top of Bloom's forehead!
"What the...!?" Bloom shouted. Flora giggled a little bit.
"You like that? You should've seen the look on Aisha's face when I tested the spell on her." Flora said.
"Yeah, I'm sure she got a real kick out of that!" Bloom said with a smile. Flora casted the same spell, and this time the flower disappeared. Then Bloom was caught by surprise when Flora lowered her head as close to Bloom as she could and she started sniffing her.
"You even smell like that flower I made for you." Flora said.
"I do?" Bloom asked.
"Yep, and that's a good thing. It shows the flower I created was healthy enough to give out life." Flora said.
"Well, that's why you are the floral expert, right?" Bloom said. Flora nodded in agreement. Bloom then looked over to her right and noticed another flower, one much smaller than the rest of the batch.

"Hey, Flora... look at this flower here." Bloom said, pointing at the flower.
"Oh my. I see it, Bloom. It looks like it's withering away." Flora said. Bloom then looked down by the stem of this dying flower and saw a green pointy object sticking out.
"Hmmm... I think I may know why." Bloom said. She began to dig into the soil using her bare hands.
"Huh? What are you doing, Bloom?" Flora asked as she watched Bloom dig her way through the soil. Eventually she pulled out what looked like a thorn weed. She was very careful not to touch any of the pointy ends while she held it up for Flora to see, who once again held her head very close to Bloom.
"You're right, it looks like a leftover weed from the Yellow Starthistle. I thought for sure I got rid of that thing last week. Stand back, Bloom." Flora said. Bloom did just that and watched as Flora fired a small beam of light down at the weed, dissolving it easily. Bloom was taken aback from what she saw. So much that she stumbled over a clump of the soil and fell down onto the dirt. Flora noticed that and laughed a little bit.
"Teeheehee! Looks like you hit the dirt there!" Flora said.
"You can say that again." Bloom said as she slowly got up and brushed the dirt off her skin.
"Hold on, let's get you cleaned up. And I gotta water that flower anyway. Heya, Aisha!" Flora said. Aisha entered the room after a few seconds.
"What's up, Flora?" Aisha said.
"You think you can use your Rainmaker spell on this flower?" Flora said.
"Yeah, sure. Hey, what happened to Bloom?" Aisha said.
"I hit the dirt, as Flora will tell you." Bloom said, causing all three girls to laugh.
"Okay, here goes nothing! Rainmaker!" Aisha said as she waved her hands around. A small cloud formed over Flora's garden, big enough to cover both the flower as well as Bloom herself. It then started pouring for about thirty seconds, with Bloom taking as much of the water as she could to sweep the dirt off. At the same time, the flower began to show slight signs of new life.
"Look! The flower's slowly reviving." Bloom said.
"Yes. It'll probably be fully back to life once it gets some sunlight tomorrow morning." Flora said.
"Yeah. That reminds me, I really should get to sleep. I'm so tired..." Aisha said.
"Good night, Aisha." Flora and Bloom both said.

Just then, as Aisha left the room, Flora and Bloom could hear some thumping sounds coming from across the hallway.
"Sounds like Musa is jamming out again." Bloom said.
"Yep, as usual. I wonder what Tune is thinking by now." Flora said. Tune was Musa's pixie who's been trying for a long time to get Musa to act more like a real fairy rather than the hip-hop girl she has always been known to be.
"I don't think she's here. She said she was visiting Pixie Village this week." Bloom said.
"Good thing for her, I guess." Flora said.
"Well, I should go check in with her. Good night, Flora." Bloom said.
"Good night, and be careful, especially if she's dancing in there!" Flora said.
"Yeah, I know. She can pull off some mean moves." Bloom said with a smile before she flew off towards where Musa's room was. The door was shut tight, hence why the vibrations of the sound. But luckily for Bloom, she was small enough to fly underneath the door and she was now in Musa's room.

Musa was dancing in every direction you could think of inside her room, moving her feet to the beat of the music. And the music was definitely blasting out of that stereo of hers. Even as Bloom covered her ears, she was feeling dizzy from the music pounding on her head. She flew as close as she could to Musa.
"Musa! Musa!!!" Bloom shouted, but it was impossible for Musa to hear that as loud as the music was and of course as small as Bloom was. In fact, Bloom had to fly backwards a bit to keep from Musa running into her as she pulled off one of her steps. On top of the loud music, Bloom had to now contend with Musa's singing voice.
"Yeah baby! It's the way you move... to the killer groove!" Musa shouted. Finally, Bloom realized that if she was going to get Musa's attention, she would have to cut off the current source of her attention. She flew towards the stereo, with the sonic vibrations from the speakers impeding her progress, but Bloom was finally able to make it and pound on the 'stop' button. The room got totally silent except for Musa's singing.
"Well the girls all look when I go by... Hey, who killed the music?" Musa said, looking towards her stereo and seeing Bloom resting on top of the control panel. She approached the stereo to get a closeup of her.
"Whoa, Bloom... was that you?" Musa said, clearing her throat and wiping the sweat off her forehead from all the dancing and singing she was doing.
"Yeah. You really know how to jam out, Musa!" Bloom said.
"I guess it is my speciality, girl. So what's happening?" Musa said with a smile.
"Well, I was just wondering how everything was going. I'm still kinda awake from all that I've done tonight at this size." Bloom said.
"Hmmm... in that case, we should dance the night away." Musa said.
"Dance the night? What do you mean?" Bloom asked. She watched as Musa walked away from the stereo and towards her game console, the UDR-64. Yes, I know, it has a weird name. It stands for Ultra Dolphin Revolution 64. Weird name... but it was a console built around innovation rather than the traditional game. She then dragged out her two wireless dance pads. Bloom was now flying next to Musa looking down at the dance pads.
"Come on, Bloom, how about a little DDR for the UDR?" Musa said.
"Huh? How can I play against you? I'm too tiny for the dance pad!" Bloom said.
"I think we can fix that." Musa said. She walked towards a drawer and opened it up, revealing one of the wired controllers for the console. She hooked it up and then placed the controller on the floor, a few yards away from her own dance pad for Bloom's safety.

"Well, I guess this will work too." Bloom said. Musa turned the console on and navigated through the menus using her feet on her own dance pad. Bloom was getting her own feet ready to dance on the buttons of the controller.
"How about your favorite song? (insert your favorite song here)!" Musa said.
"Oh wow, you're right! I do love (insert your favorite song here ^____^)! That's perfect!" Bloom said.
"Alright then. Get ready because I'm gonna beat you this time!" Musa said as she confirmed the selection. The song began and both girls danced. Bloom almost felt intimidated seeing the giant Musa to her left dancing like the pro she was, but she concentrated on the game, hitting the buttons that corresponded with the arrows on screen. Bloom did okay considering the conditions she was playing under, but there was just no beating Musa, who hit every note exactly as planned. She looked down at Bloom, who looked back up at her.
"Come on, no fair! You had the dance pad!" Bloom shouted with a smile.
"Chill, little Bloom. You didn't do too bad with that controller." Musa said. She kneeled down and held out her hands, allowing Bloom to climb onboard. Bloom, however, immediately slipped upon stepping on Musa's hand, but for good reason. It was covered in sweat. As Musa stood back up, Bloom could hear Musa's heavy breathing and could see the sweat on her forehead and just above her chest.
"Gosh, Musa. Don't you think you should take a break, especially since it is almost time for bed?" Bloom asked.
"Oh, don't worry, I will. I was actually planning on listening to a slow song before I hit the showers." Musa said.
"A slow song?" Bloom asked.
"Sure. They remind me of my parents." Musa said as she walked over to her stereo and put another one of her CDs in. Musa placed Bloom on her shoulder as the song, titled You're The Inspiration, began to play. Unlike the rock songs she had been playing, this was definitely more of a slow-paced song.

You know our love was meant to be
The kind of love to last forever.
And I want you here with me
From tonight until the end of time.

You should know, everywhere I go
Always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul, baby

You're the meaning in my life;
You're the inspiration.
You bring feeling to my life;
You're the inspiration.
Wanna have you near me,
I wanna have you hear me saying,
"No one needs you more than I need you."

And I know (and I know), yes I know that it's plain to see
We're so in love when we're together.
Now I know (now I know) that I need you here with me
From tonight until the end of time.

You should know, everywhere I go
Always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul

You're the meaning in my life;
You're the inspiration.
You bring feeling to my life;
You're the inspiration.
Wanna have you near me,
I wanna have you hear me saying,
"No one needs you more than I need you."
No one needs you more than I.

As Musa continued to slowly dance all around her room, she took Bloom off her shoulder and held her close to her sweaty chest. Bloom could feel Musa's heart beating as she was held so close to her chest. Musa decided to speak with Bloom for a little bit with the break in the singing.
"Bloom, tell me. What's it like for you to listen to as romantic a song as this?" Musa said.
"Well, it is what it is... I like to think of Sky whenver I listen to this kind of music." Bloom said.
"Yes, it is very pleasing. It's almost like it comes from the heart." Musa said.
"I'll say it does." Bloom said, referring to how close she currently was to Musa's chest, but then Musa moved her hands up and down as she got back to singing.

Wanna have you near me,
I wanna have you hear me saying,
"No one needs you more than I need you."

You're the meaning in my life;
You're the inspiration.
You bring feeling to my life;
You're the inspiration.

When you love somebody 'til the end of time,
When you love somebody, always on my mind,
No one needs you more than I.
When you love somebody 'til the end of time...

Finally, the song faded out, and Musa was bowing down like she would to a huge audience. She then looked at Bloom, still in her hands.
"That was wonderful singing, Musa." Bloom said.
"Thank you, Bloom. That means a lot coming from you." Musa said, "Whew... I better hit the showers now before I go to bed."
"Could you take me to Stella's room along the way? I might as well see what she's up to before I go to bed myself." Bloom said.
"You sure you wanna do that? You know how much Stella likes little things." Musa said.
"Well, that'll probably mean she'll take the most care of me." Bloom said.
"Cool." Musa said. She opened the door and walked out of her room, holding tightly onto Bloom.

A short while later, while walking down the hallway and leaning to take a left turn, she bumped into someone much shorter than her. Musa looked to see it was Mirta.
"Oh, Mirta! I couldn't see you!" Musa said.
"Sorry, it was my fault. I should've been looking myself." Mirta said.
"It's cool. Don't worry about it." Musa said, checking in her hands to make sure Bloom was alright.
"Musa, have you seen Bloom? I'm hoping she could help me with a spell I've been practicing." Mirta said.
"Um... well..." Musa said.
"It's okay, Musa. You can show her." Bloom said. Musa nodded and opened up her hands, revealing the tiny Bloom.
"She's right here." Musa said. Mirta almost gasped, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"Here I am, Mirta!" Bloom shouted.
"Bloom? That can't be you... the real Bloom is much taller than that!" Mirta said.
"No, it really is me. Tecna shrunk me using her newest invention, but we have to wait until the morning for the batteries to recharge, so I'm stuck like this until morning." Bloom said.
"Wow... that's too bad. It must be hard being that small." Mirta said.
"No, it's been fun actually, getting to see the world from this perspective and see friends like you so much bigger than me." Bloom said. Mirta smiled at that thought. Mirta always thought of Bloom as a big sister ever since the school of Alfea took her in as a student to make up for her past as a witch.
"So I guess this is a bad time to help me with this spell I'm working on?" Mirta said.
"Yeah, and I am getting sleepy after a long day. Maybe tomorrow when I am back to my normal size." Bloom said.
"Okay, sounds good. Good luck, Bloom." Mirta said as she very lightly patted Bloom on her head before walking away. Bloom looked up at Musa.
"Isn't she very nice?" Bloom asked.
"Yeah, she's cool. I'm glad she's a student here now. No fun hanging out with those stupid witches." Musa said. She then continued on her journey towards the showers.

Of course, she had to make one stop before that, and that was to Stella's room since it was her turn to play with the little Bloom now. Musa stood in front of the door to Stella's room and knocked on it.
"Hey, Stel! You've got company!" Musa shouted. Stella opened up the door and looked at Musa.
"Well, who is it? I don't see anyone..." Stella said, but then she looked down at Musa's open hands where Bloom was sitting.
"Hey, Stella!" Bloom shouted.
"Bloom! Yay!!! I'm so glad you came to visit at that size!" Stella said as she quickly grabbed Bloom and hugged her against her face.
"Hey! Easy with the hugging already!" Bloom shouted.
"Oops... sorry. Thanks, Musa! What happened to you, anyway?" Stella asked, noticing Musa's body and clothes drenched with sweat.
"A lot of dancing and singing. You know the drill. Well, see ya later." Musa said before she walked away. Stella then looked happily down at Bloom.
"Alright! We're totally going to have soooooo much fun together, Bloom!" Stella said as she closed the door.
"Gee, imagine that!" Bloom said.

Stella right away walked over to her bed and jumped onto it, holding tightly onto Bloom the whole way. Stella brushed her own hair out of her face as she looked down onto the tiny Bloom.
"So, I guess you couldn't wait to play with me!" Stella said.
"Well, yeah. I spent time with everyone except you tonight." Bloom said.
"That's so sweet of you, Bloom. That's why you've been my best friend since the day I met you." Stella said.
"Really?" Bloom said.
"Of course. You mean the whole world to me. I don't know what I could do without you." Stella said. She then hugged Bloom against her chest, just above her green halter midriff top. Bloom was so close to Stella's chest that she could actually hear her heart beating. Stella slowly lowered Bloom to where she now rested between her breasts.
"Are you comfy, Bloom?" Stella said. Bloom didn't answer, except maybe for a soft moan.
"I guess that's a yes." Stella said. She then pulled Bloom away from that spot and cuddled her against her face again. Bloom didn't know how much more of Stella's skin she could take.
"Okay, okay, Stella! I get the hint already!" Bloom said.
"Oops, sorry. I just feel so good holding you in my hands." Stella said.
"Well, it's okay. You are my best friend after all." Bloom said.
"We have come a long way, Bloom. I remember that very first day when you just learning about your magic." Stella said.
"And I remember you sleeping on the couch when you came over!" Bloom said.
"Hey! I had to sleep somewhere, right? I always require a fine sleeping place as princess of Solaria, after all." Stella said.
"Yeah, I know." Bloom said.
"Say, I've got an idea! I want to see how fast you can climb my body from bottom to top!" Stella said. That's when she got up off her bed and stood up to her full height. She placed Bloom down on top of her bare feet.

Bloom then found herself constantly sniffing around, smelling some kind of odor that was touching every one of her senses.
"Geez... what is that smell?" Bloom said.
"Oh, it must be my feet. They're pretty tired from walking around in these new shoes all day!" Stella said. Bloom just rolled her eyes as she looked up at Stella.
"Leave it to you and your ever growing collection of shoes." Bloom said.
"Come on, girl! They had this totally cool 3-for-1 sale today! It was fabulous!" Stella shouted.
"Well, it's like Musa says... no shoe sale is too big for you." Bloom said. Then she got to work climbing up Stella's legs. Stella would occasionally lean her body from one side to another, unable to keep still from the excitement. Bloom could definitely feel those movements as she held on tight to her friend's skin.
"Stella! Quit rocking yourself!" Bloom shouted.
"Oops... sorry, totally my fault! I guess I can't get over how small you are." Stella said. Bloom just kept on climbing, getting past her orange skirt and then near her bellybutton, where the smell of lint was just as overpowering as her feet. Bloom continued on, however, climbing up Stella's green top and then finally making it on top of her right shoulder. Bloom took several deep breaths.
"Wow... climbing a human body is much harder than I thought it would be!" Bloom shouted.
"Awww, you poor thing. Hey, I'll let you rest for a moment if you'll let me do your hair!" Stella said.
"Huh? My hair?" Bloom said.
"Sure! I always used to brush the hair of my dolls to make sure they were just right." Stella shouted.
"Well, okay." Bloom said, willing to play along so that she wouldn't disappoint her absolute best friend.

Bloom was sitting on one of Stella's desks, one that had all sorts of mirrors. It was clear to Bloom that this was where Stella did all her makeup. And speaking of makeup, Bloom watched as Stella opened up the desk drawers and pulled out not just a really small brush (it was about the same size as Bloom herself), but also tons of different makeup supplies, such as powderpuffs and lipstick.
"What are you going to do with all that?" Bloom said.
"Make you the most beautiful two-inch-tall girl in all of Magix!" Stella shouted. She took that miniature brush and gently brushed Bloom's hair with it. Bloom just held still and watched as Stella worked the brush. Eventually her hair was sparkling like new.
"There we go, soooooo good as new!" Stella said. Bloom touched her hair, getting a feel of it.
"Wow... this really does feel good! You are great, Stella!" Bloom said.
"Naturally, since I am a beautician! Now then, let's put some makeup on you." Stella said. She first took the powderpuff and patted it gently against Bloom, but the excess powder was taking its toll on Bloom as she coughed.
"Not too much, Stella!" Bloom shouted.
"Whoops... sorry! Sometimes I get carried away." Stella said.

After a bit more powdering and applying lipstick, Stella wondered what she could do next, not noticing that Bloom was yawning.
"Gee, I wonder what we should do next! Maybe we can play hide and seek!" Stella said.
"Can we do it tomorrow, Stella? I am feeling kinda sleepy..." Bloom said.
"Awww... girl, you totally tire out too quickly, but if you want to go to sleep then that's fine with me." Stella said.
"But where am I going to sleep? That's the big question, literally..." Bloom said.
"No problem! You can sleep with me!" Stella said.
"Um... you promise you won't roll over me?" Bloom said.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm putting you on the nightstand. You'll be safe as long as you are next to me." Stella said. Indeed, as Bloom finally transformed back into her normal self (straight into her pajamas in fact), she was placed on the nightstand next to Stella's bed. Stella used her magic to create a small set of pillows and covers.
"Thank you, Stella." Bloom said.
"Anything for you, my tiny friend." Stella said, patting Bloom on the head again. Eventually, Stella got dressed up herself into her bedtime outfit and the two went to sleep.

About halfway through the night, in the early hours of the morning, the three witches were flying by each of the windows around Alfea. Icy, Darcy, and Stormy seemed to be looking for something.
"Blast! We're never going to find that Codex!" Stormy shouted.
"We will if you stop whining and complaining like you always do." Darcy said.
"What is that supposed to mean!?" Stormy shouted.
"Alright, girls. Calm down. Lord Darkar says that Codex has got to be here somewhere. We're not leaving until we find it." Icy said. Soon, Icy stopped in front of the window to Stella's room when something caught her eye. The moonlight was so bright that she could see clearly inside Stella's room, so therefore she could see the tiny Bloom on the nightstand, and that really caught her attention.
"Hello? What do we have here?" Icy said. Darcy and Stormy finally noticed Icy parked in front of the window.
"Icy! You're not frozen like a popsicle, are you?" Darcy asked.
"Haha! I liked that one!" Stormy said.
"Quit your goofing around, ladies! Come here and look at this..." Icy said. Darcy and Stormy looked inside the room.
"What? It's just that bimbo from Solaria." Darcy said.
"Yeah! I thought we decided not to go after her ring anymore!" Stormy said.
"Look on her nightstand, why don't you!?" Icy said. Both ladies did and then they too noticed the tiny Bloom.
"Whoa... now I see." Darcy said.
"Surely I'm not hallucinating... she's much taller than that normally!" Stormy said.
"Never mind that! This is our chance to get our revenge on her. Let's capture her and take her back to the lair." Icy said.
"Ohhhh... I like that, even though I always come up with the wicked plans!" Stormy shouted. The three girls then cast a spell that allowed them to pass through objects like the glass windows in Stella's room. When they reformed back into a solid state, the gust of wind that came from the spell was enough to slowly stir Bloom awake.

"(yawn) Stella, is that you?" Bloom said. But the instant she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw nobody but the three witches.
"You!" Bloom shouted. Before she could fight back, however, Icy quickly grabbed the tiny girl and covered her completely in her hand. She slowly opened it up while holding a thumb to her mouth to keep Bloom from screaming for help.
"Hello there, little Bloom. Glad you decided to become a shrinking violet!" Icy said. Just then, Lockette came flying into Stella's room and noticed the three witches holding onto Bloom.
"Hey! What are you doing with Bloom!?" Lockette shouted.
"Buzz off, you firefly!" Stormy shouted as she hurled a bolt of lightning at Lockette, but she was able to barely dodge it.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Icy said. Indeed, the three girls cast their spell once again and passed through the window, flying away from Alfea to head back for the Underworld. Lockette noticed them leave with Bloom.
"Oh dear... this is terrible! I must warn everyone! Stella! Stella!" Lockette shouted, jumping as much as she could on top of Stella, who quickly sat up in her bed.
"Okay, okay, I'm up! I'm up! Lockette? It's 4:30 in the morning!" Stella shouted.
"Bloom's been captured by the witches! I saw it happen in front of me!" Lockette said. Stella looked over at her nightstand and noticed indeed that Bloom was missing.
"What!? Oh no... she doesn't stand a chance against them! We have to wake up the other girls!" Stella said. She jumped out of bed and ran out of her room, with Lockette following behind, to wake up the other Winx girls.

In the underground chambers of Lord Darkar, the three witches were able to make their way to their own private room inside Darkar's castle. Icy placed Bloom on a nearby table as the three looked down on their tiny captive with smiles on all their faces. Bloom didn't do anything yet knowing that the witches could easily make a move.
"I don't know about you, but she looks even smaller up close." Darcy said.
"That's because it feels so good to look down on her for a change!" Stormy said.
"She's like a bug to us now. And I always like to torment little bugs before I crush them." Icy said. Bloom backed away from the three giantesses.
"You'll never get away with this, you witches! My friends will come and save me!" Bloom shouted.
"They probably will, but our powers are no match for theirs!" Darcy said.
"You'll be begging for them by the time we're through with you!" Stormy shouted.
"We'll see about that!" Bloom said. She transformed into her Winx self and began shooting balls of fire up at the witches. The only damage she could cause was slight burns on their dresses.
"Dragon Fire? Ha! Feels more like Puff the Magic Dragon's Fire!!! Hahahaha!" Stormy shouted with the other two girls laughing at her.
"Face it, Bloom, you're just too small to stop us now!" Icy said.
"Not if you can catch me first!" Bloom said. She was about to fly away and hide from the witches, but then Icy cast her Blizzard spell. Bloom's wings froze solid and she fell back down onto the table.
"Ha! As long as I control the ice, I'll just keep on freezing your pitiful little wings!" Icy said.
"In fact, I think we should demonstrate our powers to her since she did so to us." Darcy said.
"Great idea, Darcy! I'll start with a little twister that's just her size!" Stormy said. Stormy casted her next spell, and out from her hands came a miniature tornado that was twice the size of Bloom. It chased her all around the table.
"Oh come on... how is that thing going to hurt her?" Icy said.
"It may look small, but it's just as powerful as my other tornadoes." Stormy said, smiling. Indeed, the tornado finally caught up with Bloom and hurled her into the air. She landed hard on the table, and the girls could easily hear her grunting in pain. The witches simply laughed over what they had done.

"Hahaha! Good one, Stormy!" Icy said.
"Oh yeah, watch this! I've been practicing this one!" Stormy shouted. She then fired a bolt of lightning down at Bloom. But instead of shocking her, Bloom was trapped in the lightning like she was tied down with rope. Stormy took the lightning from one end and flung Bloom up and down like a yo-yo.
"Up and down goes Bloom the yo-yo fairy!" Stormy said. The other girls laughed at the display.
"Stop it! I can't take much more of this!" Bloom shouted.
"Awww... did you hear her, Stormy? You better stop before she gets sick or something." Darcy said in a sarcastic tone.
"Yeah, you're right! We wouldn't want to hurt her, would we!?" Stormy said. She detached Bloom from the lightning and again allowed her to land hard on the table. Bloom was slowly trying to get back up.
"Ow... my head..." Bloom said.
"And I've got just the thing." Darcy said. She turned Bloom so that she laid flat on her back, then she put one finger on her head, covering it completely. That same finger glowed a bright purple, and Bloom could already feel its effects.
"No! Stop!!! Stop this, please!!!" Bloom shouted.

When Bloom opened her eyes again, she looked around and could see nothing but black.
"Bloom!" she heard a familiar voice. She turned around to see it was Stella, still her normal size so naturally she looked huge to Bloom.
"Stella! I'm so glad to see you!" Bloom said as she ran towards Stella's feet, but instead of greeting her with open arms, Stella ended up kicking Bloom back several feet! Bloom quickly recovered and looked up at Stella.
"You disappoint me, Bloom. I thought you were stronger than that!" Stella shouted as she approached Bloom.
"What!? What are you talking about?" Bloom asked. Just then, her other friends started appearing above her.
"We could easily defeat the witches with their mind tricks, even though you are stronger than us!" Musa said.
"It really pains me to say this, but with your smaller size, you are not as powerful as you once were." Flora said.
"Like a modem upgrade, it's time we moved on." Tecna said.
"This is the end of our friendship, Bloom. I can't stand being around someone so weak and pathetic." Aisha said. The other Winx girls then walked away from the tiny Bloom, not bothering to listen to her cries of help.
"No! Stop! You can't leave me all alone!" Bloom shouted.

The three witches continued to laugh as they watched Bloom suffer through Darcy's brainwashing spell.
"Please... you can't leave me..." Bloom said. But then Stormy decided to intervene.
"Oh come on, mind control never works! She'll just snap out of it eventually!" Stormy shouted. She pushed Darcy aside, snapping Bloom back to reality. Stormy rolled her to where her back was facing up.
"If you really want to get to her, you gotta show her how pain feels. Like this!" Stormy said. She then took one of Bloom's wings and pulled it as hard as she could towards her. Bloom instantly screamed out in pain.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Bloom shouted. Icy and Darcy could see the pain-filled look on Bloom's face, which made even Darcy cringe. Stormy kept the wing pulling up for another minute before she finally stopped. Bloom curled herself up on the table, rolling around in pain with tears in her eyes. This was quite a contrast from the happy, joy-filled Bloom a few hours ago when she was playing with her bigger friends.
"Please... no more... I'll... I'll do anything you want..." Bloom said.
"Anything, eh? I know what she can do!" Stormy said. She then took her boots, exposing her bare feet. She then took Bloom and placed her right down next to her toes.
"Alright now, start massaging!" Stormy said.
"I... I don't know if I..." Bloom said.
"I said start massaging!!!" Stormy shouted, stomping a foot down next to Bloom.
"Okay, okay! Please don't hurt me..." Bloom shouted. Right away she got to work, walking between Stormy's toes and rubbing away. The smell of the foot was nastier than ever, and Bloom was having a hard time focusing on the task. It didn't help that she was getting stuck in toejam as well.
"Isn't it amazing how much her attitude has changed since she's so small now?" Darcy said.
"I agree. You would think she would try and fight back instead of bow down to Stormy just like that." Icy said. After a couple minutes of foot work, Bloom clearly began to show signs of fatigue.
"You're not working hard enough, you puny firefly!" Stormy shouted. She nudged Bloom with her other foot, causing her to get back to it.
"That's enough, Stormy. You've played with her enough." Icy said as she walked up to Bloom and picked her up. She smiled seeing her in her hand, especially considering the big rift between the two like fire and ice.
"What!? Awww... no fair!" Stormy shouted.
"I think we've made Bloom suffer long enough. It's time we ended her miserable existence once and for all, then the Dragon Fire will be ours!" Icy said. She lightly squeezed her hand together, once again causing Bloom to scream out in pain.
"Noooooooo!!! Stop, please!!!" Bloom shouted. But then Icy stopped the squeezing and opened up her hand again.
"Huh? Why did you stop?" Darcy asked.
"I have an idea. It'll make her suffer a little longer before she dies. Hope you enjoy being my lunch, Bloom!" Icy said. Indeed, Icy opened her mouth wide and dropped Bloom inside, causing her to fall a long ways down into her stomach.
"Haha! I just wish I could see the look on her face!" Stormy shouted.
"Me too..." Icy said as she rubbed her stomach, knowing that Bloom would be trapped in there until she was digested.

Bloom landed inside Icy's stomach after a lengthy fall. She was standing in the lake that was mostly made of saliva and other food particles, being careful not to step in any stomach acid that was dripping down from the pink walls that surrounded Bloom. Bloom also had to try and bundle herself up. It was cold inside Icy's stomach. So cold that Bloom could actually see her breath come out as she opened her mouth. Bloom just sighed.
"This is it... perhaps this is how it will end." Bloom said.
"No, my sister. You must be strong!" a voice said. Bloom looked around to find where that voice was coming from, not knowing that it was really echoing inside her head. But she instantly recognized the voice.
"Daphne!? Where are you?" Bloom asked.
"I am inside your mind, where I have always lied." Daphne said.
"Daphne... I've failed. I wasn't strong enough to defeat the witches." Bloom said.
"No, Bloom. You always had the power to defeat them. You were just overcome with fear, shock, and pain... three emotions that can weaken the Dragon Fire inside of you." Daphne said.
"Are you sure? I tried to use the Dragon Fire on the girls. All it did was burn a small hole on their clothes." Bloom said.
"Fear can take its toll early on the Dragon Fire. You must be strong and vigilant. You have to believe you can beat the witches, and then you can accomplish anything!" Daphne said.
"Daphne..." Bloom said.
"Your friends are coming to save you. They have not abandoned you." Daphne said. Bloom gasped.
"My... my friends? They know I'm in trouble?" Bloom said.
"Yes, Bloom. It is up to you to get to them! You must hurry! I feel Icy's stomach getting ready to digest you." Daphne said.
"Don't worry, Daphne. I will never let that happen. I will never let Icy defeat me!!!" Bloom said, sounding much more determined than ever before. She could then feel Daphne's magic energy flowing all around her body. The many wounds that were inflicted upon her by the witches were healed instantly, and her wings felt stronger than ever. She flew up out of the lake of digested foods and focused her magic.
"Dragon Fire!!!" Bloom shouted. She then blasted fireballs in every direction, all of them hitting the stomach walls. Eventually, the walls started vibrating big time and the lake below her bubbled up, a clear sign that Icy was about to regurgitate.
"Now's my chance!" Bloom shouted as she flew up the esophagus at top speed.

Outside, the three witches were walking around their chambers, celebrating their long sought victory in defeating Bloom.
"Wow... it feels good to feel like a winner for a change!" Darcy said.
"What do you mean? Haven't we always felt like winners!?" Stormy shouted.
"Yes, but we're champions now that we've gotten rid of Bloom!" Darcy said.
"And now that she's out of the way, those other stupid Winx fairies are next, and then we can do anything we want!" Icy said. She started to let out a laugh with the other girls, but then she felt something wrong. She had to really clutch onto her stomach.
"Icy? What's up?" Stormy asked.
"Errrgh... Ack! My stomach! It feels like I'm burning up!" Icy shouted. She fell down to her knees and started coughing badly.
"No!!! It burns!!! Get me some water... get me (cough cough)!!!" Icy shouted. Finally, with her mouth wide open, Bloom came flying right out, and just in time as Icy vomited. Darcy and Stormy helped Icy back up to her feet.
"Now that's what I call heartburn!" Bloom shouted. Icy looked up at the flying shrunken Bloom and was hopping mad.
"Curse you, Bloom! You're dead now!!!" Icy said as she ran towards Bloom and tried to swat her, but Bloom flew up and out of the way.
"Get her! Get her!!!" Icy shouted. Bloom was able to dodge every attempt by Darcy and Stormy to grab her.
"Ha! You'll have to do better than that!" Bloom shouted. She was so confident that by the time she looked back ahead of her, she didn't realize Icy was standing right there. Icy reared her right hand back and...

BAM!!!

Bloom was struck hard as she collapsed down onto a table, ironically the same table this entire nightmare began. Bloom held her right arm in pain. In fact, it was bleeding just a little bit, either from the hard slap from Icy or from landing hard on the table. Before she could think about flying away, Icy fired her ice beam and froze Bloom from her neck down. Bloom was now trapped, and there was no way she could activate her Dragon Fire. Icy walked to the table and towered over Bloom, just as Darcy and Stormy did.
"I knew I should've finished you when I had the chance, but now I can finish you for good." Icy said. She then cast her ice spell again, this time forming two daggers made entirely out of sharp ice. She dangled both of them dangerously close to Bloom.
"Hahahaha! I wonder what chopped Bloom tastes like?" Icy said. Bloom was sweating nervously, knowing that this time it really could be the end unless a miracle happened. Icy raised her daggers up, ready to stab Bloom right in her heart. And then the miracle happened.
"Solar Beam!!!" Stella shouted. The beam of bright light knocked all three witches backwards. Bloom looked to see all her friends, transformed in their Winx selves, standing over her now. Stella right away got to work melting Icy's ice with her powers of the sun.
"Bloom, are you okay!?" Stella said.
"My friends, I never thought I'd see you again!" Bloom said. As soon as the ice was melted, Bloom flew up to Stella's chest and hugged as much of it as she could.
"Bloom?" Stella said. She then looked and noticed the tears in Bloom's eyes.
"I'm so glad you could save me... they... they were going to do terrible things to me..." Bloom said as she continued to sob.
"Great bands of bandwidth... what did they do to you?" Tecna said.
"They must've gotten her good." Musa said.
"Oh, Bloom..." Stella said as she dropped her Staff of Solaria and hugged Bloom against her chest. Stella softened her voice like a mother to her worried child.
"Shhhhhh... it's okay, Bloom. I promise with all my heart that nobody else will hurt you." Stella said, crying a little bit herself just from the sadness of seeing Bloom as hurt as she was.

The witches then got back up on their feet.
"Dang it... we should've realized those stupid Winx fairies would come and save Bloom!" Stormy said.
"Hurting a poor innocent girl that's only two inches tall... that's low, even for you three!" Aisha shouted.
"Yeah! We're going to make sure you regret ever having messed with our friend!" Flora said.
"Ha! What can you all do? You're all too weak to stop us!" Icy shouted.
"Maybe they are... but I'm not!" Stella said as she finally looked back at the witches. She had the meanest look anyone could ever imagine.
"Stella?" Musa asked.
"Musa... hold onto Bloom. I'm going to teach these witches a lesson they'll never forget!" Stella said as she handed the tiny Bloom over to Musa. Stella picked up her staff once again.
"For you to commit these terrible acts to my best friend... I will never forgive you!!! Sunrise Blast!" Stella said as she fired off a devastating beam of sunlight that knocked the three witches back against a wall. They quickly got back up, only to be knocked down by a strike from Stella's staff. Stella pinned Icy up against a wall with her staff.
"If you ever come after my friends, especially Bloom, you'll be sorry!" Stella said. She then took her staff back and began to walk away. Icy was scathing mad and was preparing a powerful ice blast of her own.
"Why you... you Solarian twit! I'll show you!" Icy shouted, but Darcy and Stormy gripped onto each of her arms, causing the spell to be cancelled.
"Icy, wait! You're going to get yourself killed!" Darcy said.
"For once, Darcy is right! She's far too powerful even for us!" Stormy shouted.
"Cowards!!!" Icy said as she continued to fight the grip by her two friends, but eventually she let up.
"Fine. We'll let them go for now. But remember this... we will always be looking out for you! Your defeat is inevitable!" Icy shouted as the three witches then disappeared into a shadow of darkness. Where they went is anyone's guess, but for now... the battle was over. Stella took a deep breath and walked back towards her friends, along with the tiny Bloom.
"Come on, Winx Club... let's go back to Alfea." Stella said.
"Yes, I agree. I think my PDA should be fully charged by now. We can get you back to normal if that's the case, Bloom!" Tecna said.

Back inside Tecna's room, where all the girls and some of the pixies were, Tecna was indeed correct with her assumption about her PDA.
"It's fully charged! I can run the enlarging program now!" Tecna said.
"That's great! Now Bloom can return to normal!" Lockette shouted. Bloom let out a sigh as she sat on a nearby desk.
"What's wrong, Bloom? Something got you down?" Musa asked.
"No, it's nothing. I guess I've gotten so used to being so tiny that I forgot what normal size looks like." Bloom said.
"I think you'll be glad to be back to normal, Bloom." Flora said.
"Yeah, all of us. We could never forgive ourselves if those witches did some serious damage to you." Aisha said.
"And that goes for all of us, Bloom. We're your friends until the end!" Stella said.
"Thank you, everyone!" Bloom said.
"Okay, here goes!" Tecna said. As Bloom flew down to an open spot on the floor, she watched as Tecna worked her magic with the PDA again. Tecna then pressed the buttons and tapped the screen again, and the red growth laser fired, making contact with Bloom. As always, Tecna kept the laser pointed for 6.4 seconds before she shut it off.
"Keep your fingers crossed, everyone." Tecna said. Luckily, it didn't take long for the results to come in. Bloom began to grow. She slowly increased in size until she was back to her normal height.
"Yes! Success!!!" Tecna said as she shut off her PDA. She joined the other Winx girls in hugging Bloom, happy that she was back to normal size.
"Yay, Bloom! I liked you tiny, but I like you even more at normal size!" Stella shouted.
"Thanks, Stella. I guess I like being normal-sized too. It lets me beat up those witches now!" Bloom said. She then watched as Lockette flew over to her chest and Bloom hugged her now.
"Bloom!!! I'm so glad you are back to normal! I love having to look up at you." Lockette said.
"I'm glad to hear that, Lockette." Bloom said.

Shortly afterwards, Miss Faragonda came walking into Tecna's room.
"Well, I'm glad to see everything is back to the way it should be, but may I advise that all of you get some sleep? You still have classes to think about, you know!" Faragonda said.
"Yes, Miss Faragonda." They all said.
"Oh, Bloom... did you learn anything from your experience of being two inches tall?" Faragonda said.
"Oh yes, Miss Faragonda. I learned a lot... it's a big lesson for sure." Bloom said.

Finally, everyone went back to sleep. Bloom especially couldn't wait for tomorrow to begin, because as she said to Stella before hitting the sack... being two inches tall was nice, but she wouldn't want to live like that forever.

END