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After Celestia finished writing the message in the book, she set it aside. Then, while returning the quill and inkwell to the desk, she said, "Hopefully she sends a reply tonight." Once her task was finished, she turned her attention to Ranma and continued, saying, "If not, simply keep the book nearby, because it will glow and vibrate when a new entry is made."
Ranma nodded his head in response.
With no immediate distractions forthcoming, he found his attention inevitably drawn back to Cadence, who was still hugging him, and he felt his cheeks match the warmth where their bodies made contact. He initially debated telling her to give him some space, or hint at what he wanted by trying to wriggle free from her grasp, but he couldn't convince himself to do either. It wasn't just because he didn't need to prove his manliness to anyone here, or fear the reaction from a variety of people, but because it was a very different hug from the kind he usually got.
It was nice.
Eventually, Cadence said, "I'm glad you decided to give us a chance." She gave him a final squeeze before drawing away from him but remaining by his side. "By the time I'm done doting on you," she went on, voice tinged with mischief, "you're going to be the softest pony in Equestria."
Ranma ducked his head shyly upon hearing that.
Celestia chuckled at his reaction before reassuring him, saying, "We'll only go as far as you allow us to, of course, so don't hesitate to tell us where you draw the line. Okay?"
With obvious relief, Ranma replied, "Thanks."
Cadence affected a pout for her aunt before she stood up and announced, "Well, I have a couple of errands to run before it gets too late, so I'll see you two tomorrow. Have a good night."
While Celestia bid her a good night in response, Ranma choked when he tried to do the same, because Cadence had planted a tender kiss behind his horn before walking away with a spring in her step. It had rendered him too flustered to say anything until after she left the room, much to his embarrassment.
"It seems like you made a very good impression," Celestia observed.
"Nah," Ranma replied, with a wave of his hoof. "She just feels sorry for me."
Smiling with amusement, Celestia replied, "I'll leave her to disabuse you of that notion."
Ranma snorted and crossed his forelegs imperiously. "When something is too good to be true, it usually is."
Smile vanishing, Celestia regarded him thoughtfully before saying, "If you're speaking from experience, I hope the next nine months won't be too much of a shock for you."
Before Ranma could formulate a response, the book began to glow and vibrate. After exchanging a look with Celestia, she got the hint and opened the book. Once she found the right page, she read, "I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I'll let you know if anything notable happens with male Ranma."
While she had been reading, Ranma had moved over to the next side of the table so he could see the message himself, even though he could read very little of it. When Celestia raised her head, she seemed contemplative before she told him, "I'm glad that Sunset's looking out for you."
Ranma diplomatically nodded his head in agreement, rather than point out that his situation wouldn't have been possible if not for Sunset Shimmer's involvement in the first place.
After closing the book, Celestia met his gaze and informed him, "I had a room prepared for you, in case you chose to stay."
Ranma tilted his head. "What's wrong with this one?"
"Nothing, really," Celestia acknowledged. "I'm sure we can spare a guest room for the better part of a year. I just wanted you near, and I thought you might also prefer the privacy and having more freedom to personalize your room during your stay."
Remembering that he was going to give Celestia a shot at being his mother, Ranma realized that he was being given a choice despite that. Since he hadn't been given a good reason to distrust her yet, he decided that it would only be fair to try and make it work instead of dig his heels in for such a minor thing at the very start.
"Alright," he assented. "I'm ready to go when you are."
"Let me send this ahead of us, first," Celestia answered, before teleporting the book.
She proceeded to stand up and walk toward the door, which prompted Ranma to ask, "You're not going to teleport us, too? Or use that portal thingy?"
After stopping and looking over her shoulder, she casually replied, "And set a bad example for my daughter?" Upon receiving a dubious stare in response, she chuckled and explained, "Sorry; I have a particular fondness for walking and having a conversation when it's not a part of my official duties. We can take a shortcut, if you'd prefer."
Not knowing what to think about that, Ranma simply stood up and said, "Nah. A walk's fine."
Once they were out in the hall and walking side by side, Celestia looked down at him and said, "Because of my position, I must ask you to help me fulfill one of my obligations tomorrow morning."
"What obligation?" Ranma queried.
"A meeting with the press," Celestia replied. She continued, explaining, "Not so much about the potential adoption, although that will be the biggest point of interest for most, but to assure everypony that the age spell I will cast on you was not used frivolously."
Ranma cocked his head. "Helping someone can be frivolous?"
Celestia nodded her head. "Age spells are very restricted, to prevent somepony from abusing it and living indefinitely. Most of the ponies who qualify for it are those who had been comatose for a very long time."
"Makes sense," Ranma opined. Then, when a very recent memory surfaced, pertaining to both the princess and the subject, his eyes widened. "Wait, what you said last night... Is it normal for ponies to live for centuries, or...?"
"...Do I use a spell to 'freshen' up?" Celestia completed his question, with a disarming smile. "I do. Until such a time that another creature can move the sun and moon, without permanently debilitating their ability to utilize magic or abusing their power, I must remain to bear the responsibility — for everyone's sake."
Brow furrowed, Ranma inquired, "Have the sun and moon always needed someone to move them around?"
Celestia seemed to consider her answer before saying, "I don't believe so."
"You're not sure?" Ranma responded, confused.
Celestia nodded her head and evenly said, "There is much about the past that is unknown or uncertain, about both ponies and the world. Even my own lifetime is a font of myths, legends and oral lore." She focused her gaze ahead before adding, "We've had more than a thousand years to investigate the matter, and I still can't be certain if this is how the firmament has always been."
Ranma could understand that, considering all of the things that he experienced fairly regularly that most thought were ancient history or myth, although he wasn't accustomed to the mysteries of the past being that large in scale and so fundamental to one's life.
They turned down a hallway where a pair of guards were stationed at the other end, on one side of the junction. As if the sight of them had reminded her of something, Celestia said, "Oh, don't be surprised to see a guard stationed outside of your door tomorrow."
Remembering what she had said yesterday, Ranma wanted to assume, "Mostly for guidance and communication, right?"
"That's correct," Celestia confirmed. "Shining Armor's fresh out of the academy, and I thought this would be a good assignment for him to cut his teeth on." She turned to regard him with a playful smile. "Try not to give him too much trouble, alright?"
Bemused, Ranma replied, "What, are you expecting me to give him a little?"
Celestia looked up thoughtfully. "Enough to keep him on his toes, maybe?"
Looking at her askance, Ranma wondered if she was being serious or not. It was hard to tell because he didn't know her that well, with some instances last night being the only behavior he could compare it to.
After turning down the hallway that was being guarded, Ranma quickly noticed the double doors located at its midpoint, bearing a large image of Celestia's cutie mark. Once they reached them, the princess opened them without fanfare and led him inside. As he stepped onto a plush carpet, most of the room was softly bathed in light from several chandeliers, revealing a room that was much larger than he had been expecting for a living space, even for a castle.
He absently noted the sound of the doors closing behind him as he stood and took in the room. It had a high ceiling and was deeper than it was wide, on account of it having three distinct levels, with the bottom two partially covered by mezzanines. The first level, where he stood, was a living room that offered a variety of furnishings to sit or lay on, and provided an atmosphere well-suited for relaxing and socializing. The second level looked like a dining room, from what he could see from his vantage point, and seemed to accommodate a lot of people. As for the third level, distance and darkness prevented him from seeing what purpose it served.
Although he had seen his fair share of homes owned by the rich, as well as leaders of obscure groups of people, the room was still unique enough to impress him a bit. "Nice place."
"Thank you," Celestia graciously responded as she came up beside him. "Consider this your home during your stay. I hope it's to your liking."
Looking up at her, Ranma couldn't help chuckling before saying, "I've spent most of my life having a tent for a home, so I'd have to be crazy not to like it."
Celestia smiled slightly with amusement and hummed her acknowledgement. "There's still more to see, so I'll be keeping an eye on your sanity."
Ranma mirthfully snorted at her rhyming joke and followed her up the stairs on the right side of the room, which connected all three levels and ultimately led to a doorway. Along the way he saw more of the dining room, which had a hutch, cupboard, and other things like that under the mezzanine. The third level turned out to be a kitchen, and despite the dim lighting he was fairly sure that it was equipped better than most of the restaurant kitchens he'd seen.
Beyond the doorway was a spiral staircase, and when they began to climb it the sconces on the outer wall came to life and illuminated the way.
"Your room is on the seventh floor," Celestia informed him. "Mine is above yours, and you may enter it whether I'm there or not."
"That's kinda out of the way," Ranma noted with some levity. "You're gonna teach me how to teleport, right?"
Celestia chuckled and replied, "Teaching you how to teleport shouldn't be difficult, but don't worry: after I familiarize you with the other rooms, I'll show you how to traverse the tower quickly."
Soon after that assurance, they came across the first room. Celestia told him it was a bathroom, one primarily for guests since the bedrooms had their own. The second room was a library, and he was informed that he would have access to it after she had the opportunity to remove some books. The third room was the recreation room, which he was free to use so long as he left the darts alone until he was more adept with either his hooves or magic. For the fourth and fifth rooms, Celestia had turned serious and warned him to not enter either, which he didn't question. The sixth room was a spa of sorts, apparently providing a host of things pertaining to grooming and health that a simple shower or bath did not.
Finally, they reached the seventh room, whose door was sky blue and decorated by a smattering of life-sized versions of the princess' cutie mark. Said princess directed him to leave the staircase and stand beside her, on the platform in front of the door, before saying, "Now, if you don't feel like walking, simply do this in front of any door, or the landing at the bottom."
She proceeded to paw the floor with a hoof three times, and on the last stroke one side of each step collapsed, creating a smooth surface.
"A slide trap?" Ranma questioned, looking up at her incredulously. "Seriously?"
After coughing once behind her hoof, Celestia replied, "That's what it started as, I admit, but I've since modified it to do more. Allow me to demonstrate."
She moved onto the slide, then turned to face him and said, "If you do not use magic to grip or push with your hooves, there will be no effect. If you grip," she begins to slide downward, until she disappeared around the bend, "you will be sent in this direction." Then he was treated to the odd sight of the princess sliding back up and coming to a stop in front of him. "And it's the opposite direction if you push."
"I see..." Was all that Ranma could say, in light of the princess' latest quirk.
Seemingly unbothered by his reaction, Celestia rejoined him on the platform before pawing the floor three times, which returned the steps to their prior position. With that done, she casually opened the door and gestured for him to enter the room ahead of her, which was already illuminated.
When Ranma stepped into the room, he was momentarily distracted by the softness of the carpet, which felt surprisingly nice and would take some getting used to. Once he focused on the room as a whole, he saw that it was fairly large, and it seemed even more so because it wasn't furnished much beyond the bare necessities. On the far side of the room were two doors, which he assumed led to a bathroom and closet. As for the color theme: aside from the dark wood of the bed, nightstand and dresser, it was mostly beige and blue, between the blue carpet, the beige walls with blue trim, and blue curtains. Lastly, the nightstand had a lamp, alarm clock, and the book that had Celestia's cutie mark on it.
Apart from the promised comfort of the full-sized bed, he was pretty ambivalent about the room. It wasn't because he didn't appreciate what it offered, but even if he cared about the superficial details there was nothing that really spoke to his sense of style — if he even had one. Even when he had stopped wearing his dōgi several months ago, when his father had said that their training journey was over, all he'd done was pick a single style and stuck with it.
...Except for when he pretended to be a girl, but that wasn't something he was prepared to examine just yet.
"I hope it's to your liking," Celestia said from behind him. "I'd asked for minimal furnishings and a look that wasn't feminine, hoping that would be a good starting point. If you need anything changed, or added, please let me know."
Turning his head to regard her, Ranma sincerely replied, "Thanks. This is more than enough for my entire stay."
Celestia simply nodded her head. She stood silently for a few seconds before softly asking, "Are you ready for me to cast the age spell on you?"
"Yeah," Ranma answered as confidently as he could, trying to mask his nervousness. "This isn't the first time I've become younger."
Celestia tilted her head. "Oh?"
"Magic mushrooms," Ranma disclosed, as he looked askance and rubbed the back of his head. "The length of the mushroom determined your age when eaten."
Celestia smiled knowingly. "Perhaps you could tell me what happened, sometime. Now," her expression became one of reassurance, "don't worry: the spell will be quick and painless."
Ranma barely had enough time to nod his head before her horn lit up. A band of golden light appeared a second later and encircled him before closing in, but instead of pressure he felt an instance of vertigo as it burst into smoke. When the smoke cleared, his first impulse was to look down at himself, but didn't see much change. It wasn't until he looked over — and up — at Celestia that he really noticed his reduced stature.
"Oh," Celestia voiced in wide-eyed surprise. "You are adorable."
Ranma blushed and dug a forehoof into the carpet, feeling relieved to hear the compliment despite himself. "R-really?"
Celestia teleported a tall mirror into the room and set it against the wall before smiling encourangingly and saying, "See for yourself."
Ranma walked up to the mirror and stared at his reflection. Disbelieving what he saw, he leaned forward, until his stifles carried as much weight as his hind hooves, and really looked at his young visage. As far as adult ponies were concerned, he had no sense for what was considered beautiful, but he had absolutely no trouble identifying cuteness and he had it in spades.
He couldn't help a small smile at the sight.
Embarrassed by his reaction, he stood up and turned away from the mirror. Then he turned his head away from Celestia, when the expression on her face made it apparent that she had seen his.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Celestia soothed, before teleporting the mirror away. "You make a very cute filly."
Feeling conflicted, Ranma looked at her doubtfully. "But..."
Celestia shook her head and frankly said, "Are you happier being yourself, or fitting another's mold? Whether you stay or leave after nine months, I hope you have an answer to that question."
Ranma bowed his head and mumbled, "Easier said than done..."
Sidling up beside him, Celestia drew him against her side with a wing and earnestly replied, "It's rarely easy to find yourself, and where you fit. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you feel overwhelmed or hopeless."
Blushing, Ranma squeaked out, "I'll think about it."
Celestia chuckled softly and gave him a squeeze. "I hope you do. Now," she drew away from him and stood up, "after I lower the sun, there are a few matters that we need to address."
As Ranma watched her approach the window, he asked, "Like what?"
Celestia parted the curtains before looking over her shoulder, her expression schooled as she answered, "Your bedtime, for instance."
"Wha...?" Ranma voiced his surprise, his ears perked up in alarm. "You gotta be pulling my leg. I'm not even close to tired!"
Celestia held her expression for a few more seconds before she cracked a smile and stated, "Just kidding."
Ranma fell onto his face in response.
After enjoying his reaction, Celestia turned to face the window, lit up her horn and said, "Still, you may need to make some adjustments, between your new age and whatever you fill your schedule with."
"Schedule?" Ranma questioned, before picking himself up and watching the evening sunlight transition to moonlight.
Celestia drew the curtains closed before turning around to face him, saying, "Of course. Do you want to learn our history, or our language? Explore any hobbies? Assume any responsibilities?"
"Uh..." Came Ranma's intelligent response, since he hadn't really considered what all he would spend the nine months doing, beyond the adoption thing.
"And if you're up for it," Celestia continued, looking hopeful, "I can arrange a tour of Equestria."
"A tour?" Ranma said, intrigued by the idea. "Like, just cities and towns, or will it also include the wild parts?"
That seemed to bring Celestia up short, who contemplated her answer before replying, "I was imagining an expanded version of the annual trips I make." Her expression softened in response to his disappointment. "But, if it means that much to you, I'll try to include as many untamed areas of our land as I can."
Perking up at that, Ranma was quick to say, "Alright, then I'm up for it."
Smiling slightly with amusement, Celestia proceeded to point out, "Also, there will be a lot of ponies interested in you, and will vie for your time."
"Because I'm from another universe, right?" Ranma surmised.
"Mm-hm," Celestia confirmed. She paused before casually adding, "Also, they will be interested in your relationship with me, your sublime hair, any information or skills that may be unique to you, potentially the magical talents you happen to develop, your cuteness, how adorable you look when—"
"Okay!" Ranma interjected, his flushed cheeks undermining the effect of his furrowed brow. "I get it!"
Celestia relented, her deportment more solemn as she walked over and sat before him. "There's one more thing I want to address."
A little irritated from being teased, Ranma grumpily asked, "What's that?"
"Do you want to use a pony name?" Celestia queried.
Ranma blinked his eyes and cocked his head. "Is it necessary?"
"No," Celestia replied. "It would help you fit in, but beyond that there is no guarantee that it would be beneficial to you." Unabashedly, she revealed, "For the most part, I was hoping to give a name to my prospective daughter."
Ranma stared up at her hopeful expression, finding it hard to believe that someone could be so candid with him about their intentions without being manipulative. It sparked some suspicion, based on past experiences, but he was willing to give people the benefit of the doubt until they proved themselves untrustworthy, and so far the princess had yet to earn his distrust.
Regardless, the idea did help him realize that he would probably need to change his name in the future anyway, since having two closely-related people named "Saotome Ranma" was going to be problematic to others whether he was a girl or a boy, and his other self would probably have a stronger claim to the name. So, it might be a good idea to get accustomed to responding to a name other than "Ranma", whether he stayed in this universe or returned to the one he was born in.
However, before he could commit, he needed to know something first. "What name do you have in mind?"
"Arcadia," Celestia provided with a smile.
Not feeling good or bad about how the name sounded, Ranma asked, "Does it mean anything?"
"It's a mythical place," Celestia answered. "Said to predate Ponyland, and be the birthplace of ponykind. It's depicted as a paradise, where innocent ponies lived in peace."
Ranma regarded her with doubt as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You think it suits me?"
Celestia shook her head before kindly saying, "I chose 'Arcadia' because I hope it will be reflective of your time here. You have some tough decisions to make, and potentially a difficult road ahead of you, so I'll do what I can to make your stay pleasant."
Ranma considered her quietly, seriously wondering if she was actually real. An equine princess, from another universe, who could move the sun and moon, was over a thousand years old, and was very friendly and compassionate? If he wasn't so sure of his wakefulness and recent experiences, he would have assumed that such a description could only be found in fiction. Yet, here she was, and he had her attention; she wanted him to be a major part of her life, in fact.
"Alright," he finally decided, sounding more confident than he felt. "I'll go by 'Arcadia.'"
"Are you sure?" Celestia queried with some concern. "I don't want you to feel like you're being forced."
Ranma waved her concern away. "It's fine. I'm giving the adoption a fair chance, and assuming a pony name is probably the least I can do."
"Thank you," Celestia replied with a gracious smile. Then she glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and released a small sigh. "Unfortunately, I must take care of some business before it gets too late."
Ranma nodded his head. "I understand."
Celestia leaned down and kissed the top of his head, making him blush, before warmly saying, "I'll have more of my time freed up for you in a few days. Good night, Arcadia."
Ranma silently watched her leave, his face still flush. Absently, he pressed a hoof to his breast, where another source of warmth had blossomed.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time?" He murmured.
