”This is absolutely crazy,”
>You shake your head, muttering to yourself.
>For some reason, Yansa insisted that you spend some time ‘seeing the world from a different perspective’ or something.
>You still haven't convinced yourself that he wasn't just messing with you the whole time you were with him.
>But what can you say? His teachings did work on some level.
>So here you are, gazing down at the blue concoction of Desert Joke in your hooves.
>You take a deep breath and close your eyes, steeling yourself.
“Bottoms up,” you say, pressing the small bowl up to your muzzle.
>The liquid tastes bitter, and you have to screw up your nose in order to force the liquid down your throat.
>As you down the last of the liquid, you cough, trying to rid your mouth of the taste.
>Once your coughing fit begins to die down, an odd feeling comes from the pit of your stomach.
>It almost feels like you’re sinking.
>You glance around, and everything seems to be getting bigger.
>Or more likely, you’re getting smaller.
>The short walk from your cave to here begins to stretch, and the foliage begins to reach up towards you
>You continue to shrink, and the shrubs pass you in height.
>Soon, the sensation stops, and you stare in disbelief at the world around you.
>Everything in the desert seems gigantic.
>Desert shrubs tower over you, and what were once small rocks are now almost as large as you.
>It makes you feel… Insignificant.
>Almost like you were back in Maretropolis. Hundred-foot tall buildings made everypony feel small.
>You guess this is what Yansa meant, but if he wanted you to feel tiny, he didn’t need to make up a special potion for it.
>You glance around your new world and turn to trot away when a sound makes your ears perk.
>Skittering disturbs the rocks, and you back away from the source of the sound.
>A moment later, an enormous scorpion scuttles out from behind the rocks.
>It’s almost as big as you, and has a brown carapace, uncomfortably large claws, and-
>A flaming tail.
>Recognizing the scorpion as one of your own creations calms your nerves a little bit, but you still keep backing up, hoping to avoid drawing its attention.
>It is still an arachnid almost the size of you after all.
>However, its beady black eyes focus on you and you freeze up.
>The scorpion begins to advance on you, and you light a fireball.
>Holding it in your hoof, you rear up onto your hind legs and stand your ground.
>The scorpion steps back for a moment, but puts a leg back onto the rocks.
>Then, it begins shaking.
>Unmistakably, the scorpion shakes back and forth, as it advances towards you, taking each step deliberately.
>It’s almost hypnotic, even.
>Those long, slender legs, that tail waving back and forth like a metronome.
>That smooth, brown shell that almost reminds you of…
“You stay away from me,” you sneer, bringing the fireball back behind you, ready to throw.
>The scorpion pauses for a moment, looking a bit hurt, but it continues its advance, a little more cautiously now.
>It’s mere feet away from you now, and you can’t take your eyes off that flaming stinger or, more importantly, that carapace.
“I said stay the hell away!” You shout, throwing a fireball in front of the scorpion.
>The fireball splashes on the scorpion, spreading the flame over the scorpion’s body, and it reels back from the green fire.
>It looks almost surprised, maybe even a little hurt from your rejection
>But it’s totally unharmed and continues to advance towards you.
>You turn and sprint away, worriedly glancing over your shoulder for the pursuing scorpion.
>The scorpion’s pace has picked up considerably, and it seems to be gaining ground on you.
>How the hell is it so fast?
>You break into full gallop, pushing your body its limit.
>But it’s not enough, and the scorpion soon overtakes you, and you’re forced to slide to a stop in front of it.
>Breathing hard, you gaze in fear at the gigantic fire-proof scorpion that you’ve created.
>It looks at you with soft eyes, almost begging you to calm down.
>But you just can’t bring yourself to, and you again begin to back away.
>In response, the scorpion reaches out with a pincer and grabs one of your forelegs.
>Quickly after, your other leg is within the scorpion’s grasp.
>You’re left with only your back legs on the ground, and you try to get traction to pull yourself away from the scorpion.
>But the pincers tighten even more, uncomfortably clamping down on your hooves.
>Its tail uncurls and begins to move towards you, flaming point moving closer and closer.
>You double your efforts to try and escape, but the scorpion’s grip is unshakeable, and you can’t look away from that venomous tail.
>Is this how it ends? You get to be an easy meal for a scorpion?
>You look into the eyes of the predator, but find them soft, gentle.
>Not the cold, unfeeling eyes of a vicious killer.
>As you try to examine the eyes, you feel the sharp point of the tail sink into your back.
>It slides deeper and deeper into your back, and you crane your neck to see it.
>The point of the tail is pressed against your withers, and you can’t even see the stinger.
>There it is, you’re dead.
>You screw your eyes shut and wait for the searing pain of the scorpion’s venom.
>But it doesn’t happen. It doesn’t even hurt.
>You risk opening an eye, and the scorpion still looks at you with those calm, gentle eyes, urging you to be calm.
>Despite all your instincts telling you to run, something about this position is pretty calming.
>Having both your hooves held, and another on your back,
>It’s almost as if you were getting ready to dance.
>With no other option, and a venomous barb in your back, you let yourself relax, surrendering to the arachnid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FDXPYE0nVw
>It seems to be exactly what the scorpion was waiting for, because it begins to scuttle back and forth.
>You can almost hear the sound of guitars, snare drums, and the clacking of castanets.
>Its tail sways back and forth, imparting a kind of rhythm to you.
>With your hooves in his claws, you find the scorpion guiding your movements
>Almost like a stallion would lead you in a dance.
>His slender legs scuttle across the ground, spinning you in a circle
>The scorpion’s face is alight, those little fangs of his pushed up into his face, his eyes beaming.
>You feel a little bit of heat rush to your cheeks.
>He is kinda cute, now that you think about it.
>The spinning stops, and he begins pulling, leading you with him.
>Though he doesn’t take his eyes off you, he feels at the ground as he passes over it.
>For a moment, he stops, and moves in more closely to you.
>He places your hooves on the ground, but doesn’t relinquish his grip.
>His face leans in closely to yours, and you can’t resist giving him a small peck on the fang.
>If scorpions would blush, he would have.
>He averts his gaze for a moment, his eyes still beaming, but then back up again, extending your forelegs.
>Now, he pushes you briefly, and you take a step back.
>He resumes his sway to the left and right, leading you as you spin to the beat of an imaginary band.
>The scorpion moves back and forth, pushing and pulling as the two of you wind across the desert.
>You don’t think any stallion has ever made you feel this special.
>Sure, you went to dances back in school, but none of the slow dances ever felt this intimate.
>Totally giving in and letting someone else take hold.
>Being at the total mercy of another, having a scorpion whom you saw as lesser than you take over and lead you, it’s not something you’ve ever felt before.
>And it feels really nice.
>You sigh as you let yourself fall into the rhythm of your private dance, swaying and swinging with the scorpion.
>You almost wish that time would stop and you could keep dancing forever.
>Suddenly, he stops moving once again.
>He brushes the ground as he pushes and pulls in small motions.
>It seems that whatever he was looking for, he found it.
>He leans down and sticks something to the rocks, which you can’t see since it’s obscured by his body.
>Once he’s done with his deposit, he pulls on you one more time, and you get a good look as you’re pulled over to it.
>A white packet sits on the rocks, a small sack filled with…
“I-is this?” You ask, eyes wide at the blob.
>The scorpion nods, blushing and turning away from you.
>You exhale, looking around.
>While it’s still pulling, the scorpion’s grip seems to have lessened, you could probably pull away, but…
>You want it inside you.
>You have no idea why, but you want that little sack inside you right now, and that much you’re sure about.
>So once again, you exhale and let the scorpion take over.
>He guides you over the sack, and slowly but surely, you take it inside of you.
>The packet slides into your folds, and you can feel the packet burst.
>You’re filled with a warmth as the scorpion’s seed spreads inside of you, and a little moan escapes from your lips.
>You stand there, still held in the scorpion’s embrace until he finally releases you, letting go of your hooves and taking his tail out of your back.
>The tail crackles with a small flame as it pulls out with a shlick.
>Despite wishing you could stay like this forever, you can feel your body quivering again.
>The potion’s effects begin petering out, and you can feel yourself growing once again.
>You give the scorpion a hug in parting, running your hooves along the hard shell.
>It’s a hug too soon broken, and you find yourself beginning to once again dwarf the bug.
>Once you’ve returned to your full size, you cast a forlorn gaze at the small scorpion.
>It looks a bit downcast, its eyes turned to the ground as it slowly skitters away.
“Where do you think you’re going?” You ask, reaching out a hoof to the scorpion.
>It perks up and hops onto the frog of your hoof, eyes perking as it looks into your face.
“Nope, you’re not pulling a one-night stand with me, you little bugger.”
>You bring your hoof up and the scorpion skitters onto your head, coming to rest between your ears.
>Satisfied, you jog off, ready to begin your training with your new arachnid friend.


-A year later-
>It’s been a few months since you had your little foals, and they’re an absolute pleasure.
>Four of the little buggers scuttle around, spending most of the day huddling on your back.
>You love each one of them, but they’re a bit of a hoof-full.
>Villainy, the superhero game, all left behind to take care of your cute little scorpion-tailed foals.
>You even found a cute half-changeling stallion to help you raise them.
>It’s a calm life, something you couldn’t find back in Maretropolis.
>And what can you say? Despite all the changelings and scorpions around, nothing really bugs you anymore.