Chapter Three: Reflected on Four Legs
“There is one more matter we need to discuss,” Celestia said as she set the teapot back down. She took a sip from her own cup.
Ranma sipped from her teacup, before she quickly set it down. She could feel it wobbling in her hoof’s grip. She still hadn’t quite gotten that gripping thing down yet. “I’m almost afraid to ask,” she said as she looked up at the softly glowing Alicorn. Celestia gave off a warm welcoming feeling, but the sheer size disparity was mildly off putting, even if the older Princess seemed to be a lot nicer than any Royalty she had met up until then.
“Nothing as life changing as a royal title, I assure you Ranma,” Celestia said, hiding her amused grin behind her teacup as she took another sip. She sighed as she put it down. “Tell me, how is your head? Your horn specifically.”
The red-maned alicorn looked up at the tip of her horn. It just barely peeked into her vision if she looked as far up as she could. She hadn’t thought about it since she woke up. “Better than before? The headache I had back in the forest seems to be gone,” she said.
“Good,” Celestia smiled, “From what your friends told us, your people do not have a history of magic, correct?”
“Sort of. There are people who use magic, but most of what you see these days is just old artifacts and strange phenomena,” Ranma said. She had yet to meet someone who could actually make spells work without reading them off a weird tablet, or odd vase, or the occasional worn-out scroll.
“But it is not commonly utilized, correct?” Celestia asked.
“Not even a little.” Thank the Kami for small mercies.
“Ponies are as a whole quite magical,” Luna said, speaking up from her own meal, “Earth ponies tend to express it through physical interaction, which Pegasi can fly and shape the weather.”
Celestia nodded to her sister, “And Unicorns utilize their horns. Alicorns have all three forms plus magic that is unique to us. I’m afraid that both you and mr. Hibiki had an issue with your horns.”
“Which is why it hurt so much?” Ranma asked before taking another sip of the tea. It was quite good, but she couldn’t quite place the taste. Maybe something that humans didn’t like the taste of? Or just something she hadn’t tried as a tea before. She would have to ask.
“Yes. The horn possesses channels for magic. These can become blocked by a variety of causes, most of which can be cleared out through a simple procedure most Unicorns learn while growing up. Most Unicorns suffer a blockage at least once while growing up,” Celestia explained, “However, you managed to compound the issue with a magical surge. Also not unusual for untrained or growing Unicorns.”
Ranma winced. “That doesn’t sound very healthy?” she said carefully. No wonder her head had felt like it was about to explode.
“It is not,” Celestia confirmed, “The good news is that your surge cleared out the blockage. The bad news is that doing so caused hairline fractures throughout your horn. We’ve placed a limiter on your horn for now to prevent you from even trying to channel magic through it while it heals. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of months, but I’m afraid any lessons on the practical side of magic will have to wait until then.”
The teacup nearly slipped from her hoof. “Magic… Lessons?” She repeated slowly.
“You have a horn, do you not?” Luna said with a snort, “To not give you lessons would invite disaster in time. Control must be learned.”
Celestia nodded. “There is a reason all Unicorns are required to learn at least the basics,” she said.
“So I’m going to have to, what, go to school?” Ranma asked. What did pony school even look like?
“Oh goodness, no. You’re far too old to attend the classes required,” Celestia shook her head, “No, I think it might be for the best if I asked Twilight Sparkle to act as your tutor when she returns from the Crystal Empire. I would do so myself, but with Cadence now looking after the Empire I’m afraid things are about to get rather busy around here again. Twilight is my personal student and I have full confidence in her abilities.”
The Princess of the Moon nodded her agreement. “My sister’s faith is well placed. Twilight Sparkle is an excellent teacher,” she said.
Ranma shook her head. Learn magic? After all these years of issues with it? It seemed so strange that it could be something she learned, but then was it really as odd as a world full of talking technicolour ponies? She looked out over the open balcony. She could see the star-filled night sky. It was far brighter and more vivid than anything she had seen back home with swirling galaxies and bright glittering stars framing a full moon. It was beautiful, but as her eyes instinctively searched for the constellations she was familiar with, it just served to emphasize how strange her situation was.
“I never thought of learning magic,” she said aloud, “Its not really something you learn to use back home. Everyone I’ve seen try, tends to just… screw up bigger and bigger every time. It's the sort of thing we just learned to endure and find a way to break.”
“This is a nice change of pace for you, I would imagine,” Celestia said.
Ranma ruffled her wings as she sipped her tea again. What was that flavour? It was starting to bother her a bit. “I guess. I just wish that turning into a pony had fixed the last curse,” she muttered. It had, by all measures, broken it, but the result was… She scowled. The best she could say was that she hadn’t gotten stuck as a cat or a duck. Or a pig. Now that would have sucked.
“Last curse? Are we to understand, that you are currently cursed?” Luna asked, leaning forwards to stare at her closely.
“I wasn’t born a girl,” Ranma replied, leaning away from Luna, “That is- erm… What’s the name for a female pony?”
“Filly or Mare, depending on age. How old are you?” Celestia asked.
“Seventeen, nearly eighteen,” she replied.
“Then you are a young mare,” the other Princess said, looking at her with a frown, “I am to understand that you were born a colt then?”
“... If you mean male, then yeah,” Ranma nodded, “ I fell into a spring in China a few years ago. Ever since I’ve turned back and forth when I get hit with hot and cold water and… Well it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.” At least, she didn’t think it was. Ryouga’s was sure as hell gone and all things considered she had to admit he wasn’t a very good liar. He had probably been telling the truth when she attacked him in the forest. Probably. He did occasionally lie.
Her ears went flat. She so owed him an apology, didn’t she? Ugh.
A brilliantly white wing rested itself upon her shoulder and she blinked away her thoughts to look up at the owner. “I see that it has been a rough few years for you,” Celestia said gently, a motherly tone in her voice that made Ranma feel like the Princess truly cared. It was the sort of tone she never heard from her own mother and the little pang of longing it caused made her glance down. “Changing one's gender is possible with spells, but,” she said as Ranma’s ears perked up. They went down again. “But, such spells are temporary and potentially dangerous. The natural form of a Pony is exceptionally difficult to keep trapped in an unwanted form.”
“Indeed, permanent transformations are not a normal fixture of proper spell casting,” Luna said, “Such things are the domain of dark magic and usually involve unpleasant side effects for both the caster and the victim.” Ranma winced.
“Oh,” she said. It really shouldn’t have surprised her. “Figures. Nothing ever seemed to work on the curse anyway.”
The wing patted her on the shoulder before withdrawing. “The best possibility I could offer would be to find you a way home,” Celestia said, “In my experience most methods of travel between worlds shape your body to become like the most similar entities at your destination. It is possible, though I will admit it is unlikely, that you may simply return to your status quo once you travel home. At the least, I would expect you to become a… Human, was it not?”
Ranma and Kasumi both nodded. Ranma spared a glance at the yellow pegasus. She had been quiet since the conversation had moved on from royal titles. The pegasus blinked as she met Ranma’s eyes, her lips around the straw for her tea. Her right eyebrow quirked upwards over her large brown eyes. Jeez, ponies had large eyes. “Yes,” Ranma said, looking away from Kasumi.
“I cannot offer assurance of a way to turn you back to a colt. I’m sorry, but such transformation spells are incredibly dangerous,” Celestia sighed. Ranma nodded and went back to her food.
An awkward silence lingered for the next few minutes as they ate before Kasumi asked the question that had been bothering Ranma. “What sort of tea is this?”
Celestia sipped her tea as Ranma looked up. She tilted her head to the side and sipped again. “It seems to be a new blend… I can taste rose and chamomile in it,” she said after a moment of thought, “But that doesn’t explain the aftertaste.”
“Wortroot leaf,” Luna said after a moment of tasting herself, “An odd choice, but flavourful.”
“I have no idea what that is,” Ranma said as she took another sip.
“A medicinal plant primarily grown for its roots. The leaves have little value for medicine,” Celestia said, “Yes, it does taste a bit like wortroot, doesn’t it Lulu?” She looked her sister’s way with a small smile.
The Princess of the Night smiled and sipped her cup. “I have certainly had worse teas,” she said. With that the conversation drifted from the more serious topics to a light discussion of food preferences.
Eventually, Kasumi asked, “Do ponies eat meat?” Ranma paused with her cup at her lips.
“Really Kasumi?” She deadpanned to the pegasus. She got a shrug of the wings in reply.
“I have small canines,” Kasumi said, opening her mouth at Ranma. True to her words, there were a pair of very slightly pointed teeth towards the front. They were hardly noticeable compared to human canines, but they were there.
“Not typically,” Celestia said lowering her cup to the table, “But Pegasi have made a habit of eating fish. It helps with certain oils required for maintaining one’s feathers.”
“And since Alicorns also have wings,” Ranma said, trailing off expectantly. Celestia nodded her way.
“Correct. A small amount of fish at least once a week is good for both Alicorns and Pegasi,” she said, “Unicorns and Earth ponies are capable of digesting fish, but you’ll rarely find one who actually likes eating it.”
Ranma felt her ear twitch. “What about octopus?” she asked, “Or Squid?” She shared a hopeful look with Kasumi. With a little bit of luck maybe they could have something resembling takoyaki at some point.
“... I’m not certain I’ve heard of a recipe for either,” Celestia said after a moment’s contemplation, “I do know that neither is considered properly intelligent at least, so I doubt anypony would have issues if you wanted to try out a recipe at some point.” She quirked her lips. “Am I to take it that humans are carnivores?” Both of them blushed.
“Well… Omnivores, really,” Kasumi said, awkwardly tapping the table while looking down.
“Do not be ashamed over your own nature, child,” Luna said with a shake of her head, “Besides, it is not like you were discussing eating a pony.”
“Yes, compared to some of the Griffon ambassadors we’ve had over the years, this conversation is remarkably unthreatening,” Celestia said with a laugh, “You get one every few decades who believes he can make comments about the proper way to flavour a pony as a threat. They rarely keep their jobs for long.”
“Tis considered bad form to discuss ways to eat your hosts,” Luna said with a flat deadpan over her teacup.
“... I’ll keep that in mind,” Ranma said after digesting that little fact.
Kasumi tilted her head to the side. As Celestia raised her teacup to her lips she said, “You know, I wonder how tempura battered Griffon would taste.” Ranma’s reflexes proved to still be up to snuff as her wings flashed out and down the moment Celestia inhaled her tea. The spray of amber liquid that followed sailed through the spot formerly occupied by the young Princess.
As she landed on her hooves beside the now tea dampened pillow she pointed a hoof at Kasumi. “You did that on purpose,” she accused. Kasumi turned soulful wide brown eyes to her as Celestia coughed and hacked from inhaling tea and Luna tried to muffle her snickering with a hoof over her mouth.
“Would I do that?” she asked in that same clueless way that usually got her out of trouble with her father Soun.
Ranma stared pointedly at the red and orange tail that was wiggling on the ground with restrained laughter. “Yes,” she said, prompting Kasumi to twist to stare at her own tail.
“Traitor,” Kasumi said after a moment, puffing out her cheeks.
“S-so,” Luna snorted and covered her mouth again as she bent over the table, trying in vain to not surrender to the giggles. “A recipe you say?” she asked.
Kasumi nodded. “It can also be used for vegetables or seafood,” she said, still pouting.
“I-” Celestia coughed, “Oh dear. I’m sorry Ranma.”
“It’s fine,” Ranma waved her off, taking up a seat beside where she had been sitting on a new cushion.
“Might we inquire to the details of this recipe? Perhaps a taste test?” Luna asked with a grin forming.
“Of course. It’s quite simple,” Kasumi said, brightening at the idea.
Celestia looked at her sister and a moment later a similar grin appeared on the older sister’s face. “It would be interesting to serve such a dish to the incoming ambassador. I hear he is quite rough around the edges,” she mused.
“And I’m sure there will be no mention of it being of possible use for eating griffons, would there?” Luna mused.
“It would be tactless of me to suggest it,” Celestia agreed, “Of course, if he were to ask of its origins… well, I can only be honest, now can’t I?”
Ranma stared as both sisters snickered into their teacups before turning her gaze on Kasumi who was looking quite smug back at her. She just shook her head. “Innocent my fuzzy white ass,” she muttered at the other mare. Kasumi stuck her tongue out before going back to her tea.
The conversation continued for a few minutes longer before Celestia checked the time. “Oh dear. Is it that time already?” the Princess said in a surprised tone. Luna checked the same clock and blinked.
“Have we really been at this for three hours? Truly good company makes the time pass quickly,” she said, nodding to Ranma and Kasumi.
“Would the two of you like to witness the most important of our duties?” Celestia asked.
“Most important?” Ranma asked. The two Alicorns nodded.
“Yes, the raising and lowering of the sun and moon,” The white Alicorn said.
There was a moment of silence.
“The what?” Kasumi said her voice quiet as she stared at the two sisters.
“Once, long ago, the sun and moon rose and set without any aid,” Luna said softly, her ears laying down, “That was… ages ago. Long before our time.”
“It used to be the duty of entire orders of Unicorns, but Luna and I each have enough power to raise and lower the sun and moon without aid,” Celestia continued.
“But… What happened?” Ranma asked, looking out at the night sky with confusion.
“Legend has it that the ancient necromancer Grogar tried to destroy the world by breaking the cycle of day and night,” Luna said, “He succeeded in his plot, but the resourcefulness of Ponies has kept the world alive ever since.”
“It has had a few rickety moments over the years, but my sister and I have maintained the cycle for millennia now,” Celestia said, “This, is our most important duty. Would you like to observe, Ranma? Kasumi?” She looked from one to the other. Ranma nodded slowly at the same time Kasumi did.
Celestia rose alongside Luna and Ranma followed them to the balcony edge. The terrace they were on looked out over the cliffside. She could see a few faint lights far below, but even with the full moon the light available was too little to make out much more. Not that she spent much time looking down.
“Watch closely, little Princess,” Luna said to Ranma as her horn lit up with a dark blue aura. Any protests Ranma might have made at the choice of address, disappeared as she watched the moon accelerate smoothly in the sky until it disappeared below the horizon in but a few moments. The warmth flowing off Celestia doubled as a soft radiance began to shine from her fur. Ranma turned to her as her horn lit up with a warm golden light. In a process that should have taken hours the sun smoothly slid out from behind the horizon and rose into the sky. It came to a stop somewhere around what Ranma would have normally considered ten o’clock in the morning.
“There we go,” Celestia said with a smile, “Nice and simple, isn’t it Lulu?”
“Very,” her sister agreed. Ranma stared at them both, open mouthed. She couldn’t even imagine the power involved in something like that and yet they had done it with barely a thought. It was…
She didn’t have words for what she just witnessed, and a sneaky glance at Kasumi confirmed that the pegasus was equally starstruck. “I- Well-” Ranma tried to find words as her butt hit the titles and she stared out at the world.
In the daylight it was a far nicer view. She could see rolling hills, small towns, what had to be several railways, and on the horizon a large wild forest that rose up a series of large hills.
A white wing patted her on the head. “This is the duty we do every day for our little ponies,” Celestia said, “Perhaps one day it will be no longer needed, but for now we gladly shepherd the days and nights onwards.”
“Indeed. Such is the duty of a Princess,” Luna agreed.
Duty of a Princess, huh? Ranma gazed up at the bright shining sun. That sounded a lot more intimidating then than it had only a few hours previous. This was not what she thought of when someone talked about Princesses. No, this was more like the realm of Kami.
“What have I gotten into,” she murmured softly. If anyone heard her, no one said anything.
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A Ranma ½ My Little Pony Crossover
The Long Path Home
By: Grounders10
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Chapter Three: Reflected on Four legs
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With the raising of the sun, the morning breakfast came to an end as Luna headed for her ‘evening’ affairs and Celestia went to get properly ready for court. Before they left, however, they instructed Moonrose, who had apparently been standing outside the entire time, orders to escort Ranma to her new room at the top of the Star Tower, the shortest of the towers, but apparently the only other suite possibly free suite of comparable size belonged to Cadence, who hadn’t quite confirmed she wasn’t going to be using it anymore. Even if she did have an Empire to look after.
“And once you get there, consider yourself her personal Hoofmaiden until a more permanent selection can be made,” Luna had added on her way out the door, “Teach her what she needs to know about being a pony.”
Which was how Ranma found herself once again walking through the marble and gold hallways of Canterlot Castle following the same dark blue. Her ear twitched as the mare muttered, “I hate day-shift duty.” under her breath.
Ranma exchanged a glance with Kasumi, who was following Ranma for reasons unstated, before sighing. “Sorry?” She offered hesitantly.
“Not your fault, Your Highness,” Moonrose said, “Us Night Guard aren’t really daytime ponies. We much prefer the night. Less shiny.” Ranma could understand that attitude as she tried to ignore the bright glare from the many shiny surfaces of the castle.
The castle was far more bustling than it had been during the earlier morning hours. Maids, guards, and others swarmed the hallways. The presence of so many, however, made it clear that she’d made a small mistake earlier. The guards hadn’t been bowing to Moonrose earlier, they’d been bowing to Ranma. As they walked her horn and wings acted as a natural badge of office that prompted most, but not quite all, of those they passed to bow, or curtsey, and utter a soft, “Your Highness” in passing.
It felt weird, and wrong. People weren’t supposed to be bowing to her at all. Of course, even those who didn’t greet her still watched her go. Their eyes followed her around. She was used to staring at least. A redhead in Japan always attracted a lot of attention, and it seemed being an Alicorn was the same sort of red flag. No one, at least, seemed truly surprised at her existence, even if her presence was a surprise.
“How long was I out?” She asked Kasumi as they ascended yet another flight of stairs.
“Three days,” Kasumi replied, “We were starting to get worried about you. The doctors said you’d be fine, but… Well you aren’t normally out for longer than a few hours after a fight like that.”
Three days, yeah that was more than enough time for a rumour mill to get going. Most everyone in the palace had probably heard of her presence by the time she woke up. “Explains how everyone seems to know about me,” she sighed.
“The Princesses didn’t exactly forbid anypony from talking about it,” Moonrise said, “There’s a reason I was guarding your door. Ponies have been trying to get a glimpse of their new Princess constantly.” She fluttered her bat wings, an act that seemed to cause a pair of maids to jump apart, making way for the guard pony to pass between them.
“Yeah, I can tell,” the Alicorn muttered. Rumour mills. Yeah, right. She’d put money on Nabiki stirring the pot the moment she understood what was going on.
“Here we are,” Moonrise said as they came to a large double door painted with stylized representations of Celestia and Luna chasing each other around an orb that was half sun and half moon. Two large white stallions in gold armour were standing at attention with spears, their eyes pointed straight ahead. They were both a full head taller than Ranma, something she was long since used to. “The Star Suite, your apartment, is just up the steps.”
Both of the guards bowed as Moonrose opened the door to reveal the staircase beyond. Ranma nodded to both of them nervously as she entered. Her eyes lingered on the flanks of the guards as they passed. One had a sword crossed with a pen while another had an orange shield with a little apple in the center.
The steps were a blue tile with silver flecks reminiscent of stars. Blue crystals were mounted in torch brackets on the wall to provide illumination. Both sides of the wall were in the same dark blue paint while the ceiling was a vivid starscape. The pattern of the ceiling and walls continued on into the room above. A dark blue carpet matched the ceiling as they stepped off the stairs into what appeared to be a sparsely furnished living room. A single table sat in the middle of the circular room surrounded by purple cushions. Another flight of stairs led up to another level. Under it began a row of bookcases that covered half the wall. Directly opposite the stairs, and bookcases, was a glass double door leading out onto another balcony.
“It looks… kinda empty,” Ranma said, looking around. There was a lot of empty floor space and not a single painting on the walls. Even the drapes seemed to be missing.
“Erm… Well I suppose it is,” Moonrose said, turning to her with a blush as she pried off her helmet and slipped it under one foreleg, “I’m not entirely sure why. I- Well-” She kicked at the carpet awkwardly. “Sorry, Your Highness, I’m- Well, I wasn’t expecting to be made your Hoofmaiden today.”
“What does that even mean anyways?” Ranma asked as she looked around. The only decoration was a little statue of a pony in the center of the table.
“Basically, I’m supposed to be something akin to an assistant, only also a friend, I think? I’m sorry I’m a guard not a maid or- I don’t even know why Princess Luna picked me for this,” Moonrose said with a touch of panic. She glanced down at the helmet in her foreleg and sighed. “And I should probably head downstairs to the barracks and get out of this uniform as well. Hoofmaidens are supposed to be loyal to their Princess above everything else, which naturally precludes being a guard in another Princess's guard… I think. I can’t say I’ve ever heard someone try and do both before.”
“I’m sure it’ll all be fine, Moonrose,” Kasumi said as she patted the bat pony on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” Moonrose said with a small smile, “If you want to take a look around Princess, I’ll head down and get changed before trying to find out why everything is so barren?”
“Ranma,” Ranma said. The bat pony blinked.
“Um?”
Ranma looked at her pointedly. Her tail flicked to the side in irritation. “Call me Ranma. I insist,” she said pointedly as the filly looked to protest. She’d accept the title, but damned if she was just going to listen to everyone call her by it all the time.
“I- In public that could cause issues, Princess,” Moonrose said hesitantly, “There are rules of propriety.” She looked legitimately terrified.
“In private then,” Ranma sighed.
Moonrose shuffled awkwardly from hoof-to-hoof before giving her a nervous smile. “Okay, Ranma,” she said, looking as nervous as she had when she’d pulled Ranma back onto the balcony earlier.
Kasumi giggled. “There, not so hard is it?” she asked.
“I could get in so much trouble for this,” Moonrose moaned as her head drooped. It was odd, to Ranma, just how expressive ponies seemed to be. Without hands or what could be called free limbs, she hadn’t believed there would be much a pony could do to express themselves. She hadn’t accounted for how expressive ears, wings, tails and even their necks could be. And their faces! They were hardly horse-like at all. Kinda like a human was hardly like an ape. Same body structure, but so very different in the details.
“Why don’t you go and find out why this place is so barren and get yourself sorted? We’ll take a look around while you’re gone,” Ranma suggested as she watched the dark blue mare’s cheeks go pink through her fur.
“Of course, Y- I mean, yes Ranma,” Moonrose said, blushing harder and bowing before turning and leaving at a hasty trot. Her helmet made its way back onto her head before she hit the stairs. Probably a good thing. Going up and down steps required four legs, not three, and definitely not two. Going downstairs headfirst made Ranma feel weird. Her trained instincts kept trying to tell her she was going to start tumbling down, yet she didn’t.
“While she’s doing that, I think I should go and get my sisters and Ryouga,” Kasumi said as she stared out the window at the sunny sky.
“And leave me to just, look around an empty suite?” Ranma said, a light tone of amusement in her voice.
“If I don’t head down they’ll probably start wondering where I am,” Kasumi sighed, “And who knows what Akane will do. I swear that girl-” She paused, “I suppose it would be filly now, wouldn’t it?”
“Filly and Mare,” Ranma agreed as she walked over to the window, the clip-clop of hooves thankfully lost in the carpet. “This all feels so weird. Like I’m dreaming, you know?” Kasumi nodded as she hummed her agreement.
“I think it’s the bodies,” Kasumi said, “I feel… You forget you aren’t human until you try and do something with your hands.”
Ranma smirked and undid the latch on the window before pushing it open. A light breeze ruffled their manes. “I don’t even have that,” she replied. Kasumi snorted.
“Trust you to figure it out in five minutes while the rest of us have been fighting with it for three days,” Kasumi sighed before grinning, “You know we’re both naked right now, right?”
Ranma froze up, her whole body tingling as she was suddenly very aware of the fact that Kasumi was right. Neither of them was wearing clothes. How the hell had that not occurred to her? She turned a baleful eye on the undressed pegasus who started giggling. “Really Kasumi?” she asked with exasperation.
“Well we aren’t,” the bacon-haired pegasus laughed, “Oh you should have seen Akane when I pointed that out. She spent six hours under a blanket before we managed to coax her out and she still turned bright red the moment we’re in public.”
Ranma groaned. Just what she needed, a hyper tense and paranoid Akane. This was probably driving the powerful sensibilities of her fiancee to levels never before seen. “Oh she’s got to be going nuts,” she muttered.
Kasumi sat down and held her forehooves an inch apart. “Just a little,” she said, giggling at the look Ranma gave her, “She needs to lighten up. We’re bright technicolour ponies in a world without our parents to demand we start marrying each other. Sure its weird, but…” She looked out the window and her wings fluttered anxiously, “But maybe we can look at this as something good. At least for a little while, right?”
She looked from the yellow pegasus with her fluttering wings to the open sky outside. “You want to fly,” she guessed.
“Uhuh,” Kasumi nodded, “I’ve been watching the pegasi. They look like they’re having so much fun.” She sighed wistfully before giving her head a shake. “They said lessons would start shortly after you woke up, so maybe in a few days I can start learning. Anyways,” she stood up and shook herself like a dog, “I’m going to get my sisters. Back in a few.”
“Be careful, the stairs are tricky,” Ranma called after her. A wave of a wing was all she got before the bacon-patterned tail disappeared down the steps. Leaving her alone.
She took in the empty suite and let herself fall back onto her hindlegs. She curled her tails around her hooves. She was alone now and, for the first time since coming to this world, not facing a crisis or a meeting, or even just a friend. She was alone. She could feel a quiver in her legs as the tension she’d been feeling since she woke up was replaced by… something. Something she couldn’t place. It was a feeling she wasn’t at all familiar with. When was the last time she hadn’t been bouncing from crisis to crisis?
She raised a hoof and stared at the slight quiver that it had. It had been years since she’d last seen that from anything. She sagged forward and just lay there with her head on her forehooves as her wings sagged out to either side. Her breathing felt weird, erratic, everything felt weird now. Now that she had time to notice it. The wings, the tail, her ears, her hooves, her fur.
“Why did Kasumi have to point out the clothes thing?” she muttered as she lay there in a softly quivering pool taking sharp short breaths. She felt both tense and lethargic now. She was a pony now. A Princess even. “Why did I agree to that?” She closed her eyes and buried her snout in her forelegs. She knew why she did it -- at least this gave them a chance to go home -- but kami if it wasn’t a blow to her pride. Her, a Princess. A Pretty. Pony. Princess. Her. Him. Whatever.
She blew out a snort that sounded almost like a whinny and slowly pulled herself to her feet. “I am so in over my head,” she muttered as she tried to take a step towards the stairs and found that her legs were almost like jello as she flopped forwards again. It was the adrenaline, it had to be. Or lack of it. Or- honestly, she couldn’t even tell anymore.
She pulled herself to her feet once more and, with a bit more dignity, walked over to the stairs. Walking up the steps on four legs suddenly felt more weird than when she’d been doing it in the hallways before. Maybe it was the fact she was alone with her thoughts now, without anyone around, that made it more weird.
Her hooves clipped and clopped on the tile of the stairs, each little noise piercing the quiet of the room like a knife through her skull. She paused to give herself a shake. “Focus, stop freaking out, just relax,” she said to herself as she continued to the next floor… which turned out to be a small corridor that led to another staircase up, and a single archway covered by a veil of star-speckled dark blue cloth. The soft sound of running water from beyond prompted her to poke her head through the gap in the fabric.
Beyond was a beautiful white-tiled bathroom with a small swimming pool for a tub in the center. Spots around the room were set up for what looked like massages while others might have been shower stalls. A sectioned-off corner of the room was probably where the toilet was. The lighting was provided by a mix of softly glowing crystals, a bunch of candles, and two round frosted glass portholes at the far end of the room.
She eyed the slowly flowing water of the pool and the steam that rose from it. She could use a soak, but Kasumi and Moonrose would be back in a bit, so perhaps right then wasn’t the best time. Pulling back she spared a glance at her wings. How would those handle being soaked with water anyways? She fluttered them and paused to extend her right wing as something caught her attention. One of the pinions looked a little crooked and now that she’d noticed it there was a small itch in her wing.
She stared at the feather for a long moment before folding the wing up again. She was going to have to ask someone how to look after her wings, wasn’t she? Grumbling at the weirdness she ascended the next and, as it turned out, final staircase. The room above was a bedroom with a large four poster bed, a sitting area with pillows for six around a decent sized table, some bookshelves, one of which had actual books on it, and another balcony, though pointed towards the city unlike the one below which was pointed towards the countryside. The room was smaller than those below due to a dividing wall that had a sliding door. More than likely a closet of some kind, though she had to wonder what went into it.
She paused. She had spotted a few ponies in the hallways wearing clothing, all of it very high quality and well tailored. Perhaps clothes were more of a status symbol than anything? Maybe. More importantly, was there anything in it? Probably not, unless they’d measured her in her sleep… Well she hadn’t woken up covered in mud, so someone had to have cleaned her off when she was out cold.
The closet door was a simple sliding oak partition that had a small indent to place your hoof instead of a doorknob, or a lever. Actually, she’d only seen levers and latches throughout the castle. Did ponies even have door knobs? Sure her hooves could pick things up like a hand, but what did that mean for fine control like even something as simple as turning a doorknob? She’d have to experiment.
The closet was, unsurprisingly, empty. Empty hangers sat waiting to be filled with who knew what alongside dozens of shelves. A lack of dust made it clear that this place at least had been cleaned recently. She trotted deeper into the closet, peeringly closely at the many cubbies and hidden shelves. Probably in case she said yes, which meant the barren nature of the suite was probably intentional and-
A white mare looked back at her from a mirror that had been hidden from view from the door. She stepped back and the mirror did as well. She moved a wing, and watched the reflection move as well.
“That’s… me?” she asked the empty air as she raised her hoof to meet her reflection. Hoof met glass with a soft clink. She stared, she couldn’t help it.
She took a step back and half turned as she stared at her reflection. She was definitely a pony, a bit longer and sleeker looking than Akane or Kasumi, with a little bit more of a graceful arch to her neck and chest. Her mane wasn’t in its usual braid and cascaded down the sides of her neck in a wild untamed mass. It was a few shades brighter than before with little flecks of yellow and orange appearing and disappearing as she turned and shifted from pose to pose. Her tail was much the same, with that same bright, nearly glowing, shade of red that shifted like a flickering flame with orange and yellow. She was smaller than the other mares she had seen, though that might change in time if the other two Alicorns were anything to go by.
What caught her eyes, once she was able to pull them away from staring at her face and its oddly human expressions, was the lack of anything on her flank. The native ponies all had marks like tattoos on their flanks, but Akane, Nabiki and Ryouga also had them, which made no sense to her. They had to be natural, but she couldn’t think of any reason why they had them, and yet neither she nor Kasumi did. It was odd and she had to wonder if it was something to worry about. The idea that not having a brand on her flank could be something medical made her snort, but then this was a place of magic. Who knew how weird things would get.
She stared for a while longer, posing and twisting in front of the mirror to get a better look at herself. She was cute, she could admit it. Hell, she was adorable like pretty much every pony she had seen so far there was just something innately adorable about her. Oh the number of food trucks she could scam looking like this would be something for the record books… right before they banned talking ponies from buying ice cream. Could she even still eat ice cream? It would be really unfair if she couldn’t.
Finally, she pulled herself away from the mirror and turned around to walk back to the bedroom. She poked her nose out onto the balcony and paused at the railing. In the daylight the city below shone with the same smooth seamless white stone. The buildings nearest the castle were as much art as architecture with smooth twisting towers and elegant arches being the most common styles.
Her eyes quickly drifted to the pegasi who flitted here and there over the city, most of them keeping their distance from the castle except for a few who appeared to be couriers with bags. To her surprise she could easily make out the details, and even some of the markings on their flanks, of many of the people walking through town. Maybe it was the daylight, or the fact that she was lower down now than she had been previously, but they seemed far easier to make out than earlier.
Wondering where Kasumi and Moonrose were, she turned back into her room, leaving the door open to allow the breeze to flow in. It was nice and cool and, best of all, relaxing. She walked over to the bed and gave it a poke. It felt softer than anything she’d ever slept on before. She hopped up onto the bed and immediately sank into the mattress. “Ooh,” she moaned as she fell over onto the mattress. It was soft, so freaking soft and comfy. She felt like she was just going to sink straight through it, and yet, she didn’t. It was wonderfully comfy.
So wonderfully comfy.
The small snore that drifted up from the Alicorn a few moments later would have surprised no one, if there was anyone to hear it.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ranma awoke to the feeling of something definitely not soft prodding her in the rib.
“Hey! Wake up Ranma!”
She opened her eyes blearily to find a different yellow pegasus prodding her in the side. “... ‘Kane?” she mumbled as she spotted the short cut dark blue mane.
Her fiancee huffed and rolled her eyes. “Who else could it be,” she said before turning away and walking out of Ranma’s vision.
The red-maned pony rolled onto her stomach and craned her neck to see who else was in the room. Kasumi was standing beside the window with Nabiki. The light green, or possibly teal, mare was intently staring out the window at something in the distance. Moonrose was with them, standing awkwardly by the staircase, no longer wearing her uniform with her hair combed out into a silvery waterfall that fell, mostly, over her right side.
“Princess, you’re awake,” Moonrose said, stepping forward, “I let Kasumi and her sisters in, they were supposed to stay downstairs.” She cast a look of warning at Kasumi who sighed.
“I did warn you,” the bacon-maned pegasus pointed out.
“How did you even wind up a Princess? We’ve been here four days!” Akane said, waving a forehoof at the ceiling, “Four day! And you slept through three of them!” She pointed her hoof at Ranma with an exasperated expression.
“Alicorns are royalty by law,” Ranma said after a sidesplitting yawn, “Mrraaah, why’d you poke me anyways. I was sleeping great.” She rubbed at the sleep that had already started forming in her eye.
“Apologies, Princess,” Moonrose blushed, “I didn’t stop her because we do have a few things to discuss.”
Ranma shrugged her wings and yawned again. She made no move to leave the supremely comfortable bed.
“I found Raven, the erm- Celestia’s seneschal, waiting for me with this,” She retrieved a clipboard from her right wing, “Apparently Celestia thinks it would be a great way for you to get used to things if you and I decorate the suite. We’re allowed to pull things from storage and have a budget of two hundred thousand bits for anything else we need that we can’t find.”
“And that’s how much?” Akane asked after a moment.
“A bit is about the value of an apple these days,” Moonrose said.
“... So a budget of two hundred thousand apples,” Nabiki said, tilting her head to the side.
“Doesn’t sound like that much,” Akane huffed.
“Actually it would be about two hundred and forty thousand,” Moonrose said. She blushed as everyone looked at her. “Bulk discount,” she added hastily.
“... Two hundred thousand of anything is a lot of money Akane,” Nabiki said, shaking her head, “But for stuff like this? Yeah, not all that much. I’m guessing Celestia wants our dear new Princess to learn the value of a bit.” She grinned at Ranma who huffed.
“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled and lay her head on her hooves. So it began. “Anything else?”
“Um… She’ll only sign off on a monthly allowance once the room is properly decorated, and tonight a Ms. Sharp Pinion will be stopping by start you on some preliminary wing exercises to help prepare you for proper flight,” she said, reading off the clipboard, “And that’s about it I…” she flipped the page, “... Oh, and Raven mentioned that Celestia’s student Twilight and her friends should be arriving the day after tomorrow by train. They’ll take care of actually training you. We need to have your suite prepared by then.”
Two days to completely outfit a suite. She looked around the barren room. “Does that include the closet?” she asked, glancing at the half open oak door.
“You have a closet? For what? Horseshoes?” Akane asked.
“Dresses, jewelry, shoes, her regalia whenever it's finished,” Moonrose said.
“... Ponies wear dresses?” Nabiki said with a disbelieving tone.
“... Well what else would you wear to a party?” Moonrose asked her with a look of confusion. The two ponies stared at each other with looks of equal incomprehension.
Kasumi coughed politely into her hoof. “Is there anything else, Moonrose?” she asked politely.
“Hmm, oh uuuh, and I’m supposed to answer any questions and help out with whatever the Princess needs?” Moonrose said hesitantly.
Ranma sighed. “You don’t need to call me that around them,” she said, waving at the Tendo sisters with a wing.
“I- Of course Ranma, I-” Moonrose paused and frowned at Ranma, her head tipped to one side, “Ranma, do you know how to look after your wings?”
Both Kasumi and Akane followed Moonrose’s gaze. “Oh my,” Kasumi said, “That doesn’t look comfortable.”
Ranma glanced at her wing, which was still outstretched. A pinion was at a visibly odd angle. “I didn’t have wings a few days ago, so no, and it's really starting to itch, Kasumi,” Ranma said as she started to fold her wing.
“Stop,” Moonrose said with a shake of her head, “Leave it open like that and lay it down on the bed.” Ranma blinked and followed her Hoofmaiden’s instructions, laying the large white wing down on the bed.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“If that Pinion doesn’t have something done about it soon you might lose it,” Moonrose said, “I’m… Look, why don’t you four visit, I’m just going to go arrange for someone to come and show you how to preen. I might fly but…” she ruffled her bat wings, “I’m not exactly a pegasus. Hey, have either of you…?”
Akane and Kasumi both shook their heads. “I’m still learning,” Akane said with a shake of her head, “They explicitly told me to not practice on others until I’ve had some time to get better.” It might have been Ranma’s imagination, but Akane appeared to blush as she mentioned it.
“It’s the same for me, I’m afraid,” Kasumi sighed.
“I thought that might be. I’ll be back in a bit, Ranma. So just… lay there for a few, okay?” Moonrose said, backing up towards the stairs.
“Go on,” Ranma said, waving her other wing. Once the dark blue mare disappeared down the steps Ranma sighed and lay her head on her hooves. “Someone wake me when she’s back.”
“Seriously?” Ranma ignored Akane’s annoyed sigh. What else was she supposed to do? Walking around with a wing out would be annoying, and besides, the bed was so soft it was all she could do to stay awake. She didn’t get a chance to fall asleep due to a yellow wing poking her in the side. “Hey, stay awake, we aren’t done yet.”
“What?” Ranma sighed, looking up at the irritated yellow pegasus.
“This is the first time we’ve all been awake and not in danger,” Akane said, “We need to talk about how we got here and how we’re getting home.”
“Princess Celestia said they’ll look into sending up home,” Ranma said with a yawn that shook her wings, “Apparently they’ve done some work with alternate universes before so they’re going to try and find our homes, but she thinks it’ll take years at least.
“Years?!” Akane stared at her aghast.
“Well what other options do we have? We don’t know how we got here in the first place,” she sighed.
“One of us has to know something,” Akane protested, “Right?” She looked around at Kasumi and Nabiki.
Both her older sisters shrugged. “I was in the kitchen, then the forest,” Kasumi said.
“Homework,” Nabiki said, “Who knows how far off whatever caused this event was. Maybe one of Saotome’s enemies got smart and decided to not taunt him before the big ritual? Could’ve been the old freak even. I think he was in his room?” She glanced at Kasumi.
The bacon-maned pegasus nodded. “Happousai was in his room before we were sent here…” She bit her lip, “I seem to remember him laughing about something as well. I could hear it through the walls.”
“So Happousai did something,” Akane said, firmly stamping a hoof into the carpet.
“Or was planning it. Did anyone actually see him do it?” Ranma asked blandly. She would love to blame the old freak for this, but it didn’t really have his twisted stamp. Send them away and turn them into ponies? Not his style. For one it meant he wouldn’t be able to see them everyday, for another even if it hadn’t sent them away the freak had no interest in ponies and nothing he did ever fed into anything but one of his interests. She couldn’t think of a way this could connect to martial arts, so that just left perversion, which didn’t make sense because pony.
“Wouldn’t be the first time he messed with something he shouldn’t. That happens like once a month,” Akane huffed. Ranma sighed and nodded.
“I guess, but this just doesn’t feel like one of his tricks. I don’t exactly feel the urge to call him master and I don’t think he likes horses that way,” Ranma pointed out. After a moment she added, “And I haven’t done anything to him recently to get him pissed off enough to try and banish me to another world either.” Small mercies, Happousai’s anger tended to burn out swiftly once he’d been put into a hole a few times. Usually.
Her ear flicked and she frowned. She hadn’t done anything to get him this angry in ages, and he’d already moved on from them. No, she didn’t see how this could have been Happousai. “If we’re lucky he’s wandering around the forest wondering why he’s a pony and suffering from withdrawal.” The three girls nodded.
“It could mean your mother is here as well,” Nabiki said.
“Aunty was out shopping when it happened,” Kasumi said with a shake of her head, “I might have seen Shampoo and Mousse at some point though. I know I saw Sasuke walking around outside a few minutes before as well.”
All three of them turned to the pegasus. “Seriously? How recently, to the moment?”
“... Ten minutes?” Kasumi said after several long moments, “I’m sorry, I didn’t really pay much attention. I was working on dinner and just hoped that when they bothered you, they’d be dealt with without breaking the kitchen table.”
“The table doesn’t get broken that often,” Ranma grumbled.
“So… None of us knows anything? What about Ryouga?” Akane asked.
“We’d have to ask him. Anyone know where he is?” Ranma asked. With a little luck he hadn’t gotten lost yet… Then again, she wasn’t looking forward to apologizing. He could stay lost for a little while if he really wanted to.
“He wasn’t in his room,” Kasumi sighed, “Who knows where he’s gone.”
“He’ll be around here somewhere,” Akane said.
“Right, and it’s not like he wanders off for months at a time, or gets lost walking down a straight hallway,” Ranma said dryly.
“Don’t be mean, Ranma,” her fiancee protested.
“She isn’t wrong,” Nabiki pointed out, “He couldn’t find his butt even if I sold him a map.” Akane huffed and stamped her hoof again.
“We can’t have nothing! You can’t seriously be telling me that our plan for getting home is praying while Ranma plays Princess!” She exclaimed.
“It isn’t exactly playing if I can’t say no, right?” Ranma asked the room.
“And why can’t you?” Akane asked with a frustrated scowl.
“Because the choice was exile from Equestria or being a Princess? Where else am I going to go?” she asked. Akane stared at her.
“That’s- what?” The blue-maned pegasus’ looked confused, “That’s- That doesn’t make any sense. Why is that even a choice? Why those two options? Who asks someone to ‘lead us or leave’?”
“Politics, magic, and apparently a spirit of chaos,” Ranma deadpanned to a nod from Kasumi.
Akane sank to her haunches and tilted her head back. “THIS PLACE MAKES NO SENSE!” She shouted at the ceiling loud enough to make Ranma’s ears ring.
“Ow, my ears,” Nabiki deadpanned, rubbing one ear with a hoof.
“Really Akane?” Kasumi sighed as she rubbed her ears as well, “Your inside voice please.”
Akane huffed before she trotted over to the table by the window and claimed one of the large, oversized cushions. “First we wind up in a stupid forest full of monsters, then we wind up in a palace of talking ponies, then everyone is naked, and now Ranma’s a Pretty Pony Princess and we’re all just going to sit here and go along with it and hope the other Pretty Pony Princesses send us home? Is that it? Is that our plan?!” She grumbled. Her tail lashed about angrily as she sat there grinding her teeth. Her words dissolved into unintelligibility as she curled up, head on her hooves muttering to herself with the sort of expression that could scare a timberwolf.
“Not even a-” Akane grumbled before her eyes went wide and she sat up. “Curse. Your curse, why are you still a girl?”
“And she finally asks the smart question,” Nabiki quipped, “So, curious minds want to know, is your curse working, Saotome?”
Ranma hesitated. She hadn’t tested it herself, but someone had clearly cleaned her off after the fight in the forest and no one had known about her curse. A would-be Princess turning into a Prince was the sort of thing you shared with the other Princesses, right? Ryouga hadn’t turned into a pig either so… “No, it isn’t,” she said. She’d test it later in private. If it did work then she’d just have to say it suddenly started working again, but the evidence was concerning to say the least.
The room descended into an awkward silence as Ranma and Akane stared at each other. Emotions chased their way across Akane’s amazingly expressive snout. Really, if she was in a better mood she’d be quite impressed by how easy it was to read the expressions of a pony.
“So do you think Ranma’s allowed to paint the room, or is she stuck with the whole starscape thing?” Nabiki asked, clearly trying to change the subject.
“I think it looks nice,” Kasumi said, taking up the change in topic with a smile as she claimed a pillow by the table, “I’m just wondering what sort of furniture is available. So much of this castle is white and gold. There can’t be that much in storage that goes well with a room this dark.”
“Really?” Akane grumbled and curled up on the pillow in a huff.
The conversation drifted to the sort of colours, fabrics, and styles that might be most appropriate and stayed there, to Ranma's odd relief, until the sound of hooves on the stairs interrupted them. Everyone turned to see Moonrose climbing the steps with a pair of female earth ponies behind her. The pair were both a soft baby blue with sleek light pink manes. The only difference between them that Ranma could make out was the tattoos on their flanks. The one on the left had a trio of yellow flowers inside a bubble while the other one had a foam covered scrub brush. The sort you would use to wash your back.
“Princess,” she said, prompting Ranma to cover a wince at the title, “May I introduce Daisy Bubbles and Daily Brush. They’re here to help you with your wing, and to provide any spa services you need.” She grinned. “I got lucky and ran into Raven on the way down. She was bringing them up already. Something about rumours going around about how scruffy the new Princess looks.”
“... I do not look scruffy,” Ranma huffed.
“We are pleased to meet our new Princess,” Daisy said while sketching a bow, “But I must say your coat could certainly use a proper shampoo.”
“And your mane looks like it has knots in it,” Daily added as she bowed herself. Ranma hoofed at her mane, but couldn’t feel what they were talking about. Then again, why would she? She had hooves, not hands.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Akane mumbled, Ranma’s ear twitching as she just barely heard what the other girl was saying.
Daisy walked over to Ranma’s bedside and hopped up on the mattress beside Ranma. She leaned down and examined the wing. “It isn’t quite as bad as you said, Moonrose,” she said.
“Well I’m not exactly a Pegasus,” the bat-pony sighed, “So it’s a little hard to tell.”
“Hmm… It has to be itching like crazy, though,” Daily said as she walked up to Ranma’s bed and peered over the edge.
“... A bit,” Ranma admitted. It really was itching something fierce.
“Then we’ll take care of that and show you how to properly do it yourself just in case we aren’t around. Is that to your liking, Princess?” Daisy asked.
“Well I have to learn somehow,” Ranma sighed as she turned her head to stare at the feather in question. It felt strange to be able to twist her neck so far without discomfort, but she wouldn’t deny it was useful.
“It may be better to do this in the baths. If we’re going to be cleaning up everything anyways,” Daily suggested, “Cloud beds are far too flexible for this sort of delicate work.” To emphasize her point she gave the plush, apparently cloud, mattress a prod with her hoof. It sank deeply into the silky material of the cover.
“Just give me a second. I can at least fix the feather so it doesn’t itch quite so much,” Daisy replied, “Now hold still. This will probably feel at least a bit odd if you aren’t used to having feathers.” Ranma held still as the Earth Pony reached down with her head and gently grasped the feather. The redhead let out a soft gasp of surprise at the sensation of the feather being gently smoothed into place by the practiced lips of the other pony. More importantly, the itching subsided quite a bit the moment the feather was properly aligned.
“There,” Daisy announced as she let go of the feather, “That should be good for the moment. No risk of losing it now, but if you want the itching to stop completely, it will need proper care with the appropriate oils. Shall we head down?”
“Yes please,” Ranma said, folding her wing and hopping out of the bed. She ignored Akane’s scoff and Nabiki’s snickering. They had no idea just how itchy her wing was at that moment. She hadn’t really understood how itchy it was feeling until it subsided a bit. That, and if she wanted to fly she was going to need to learn to care for her wings.
Being a pony was proving to be a strange experience, but flying? Who didn’t want to fly under their own power? To soar the skies and see the world from above. She could understand Kasumi’s urge so well. And if all it took to start learning was to let a couple of ponies give her a spa treatment while showing her how to take care of her wings? It was the exact opposite of an imposition. She did have to wonder what a spa treatment for a pony was like though.
She followed Daily down the steps to the baths without sparing a look at the table. If she had, she would have noticed the annoyed eyes of Akane following her from where the pegasus peered over the edge of the table.
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9624465
What's the difference?
Will Ranma and co. stay as ponies for the entire story?
11053547
That would be a spoiler, regardless of the answer.
New update! Awesome!
Akane is a ticking time bomb, I forsee violence in the near future.
I very much enjoyed the chapter.
Also, Twilight and her friends? Very interesting. That's a lot of characters to juggle, though, so it's also a little worrying.
Keep it coming please!
Are there going to be any brutal beatings in this story?
Though it still TECHNICALLY been outright disproven, I still have to again ask why you decided to make Ranma a permanent mare in this story. There's ALREADY a ratio of 6/1 for the number of mares to stallions in canon Equestrian. Why further compound the issue by locking him as a her?
Ugh, sorry. That frustration aside, I really am greatly enjoying this story so far. Far more so than the only other Ranma story on this site that I'd been able to find thus far.