Runaway Cat (Fate - The Cat Returns AU - Post Fic)
Sunset's Isekai
Runaway Cat (Fate - The Cat Returns AU)
By Wanderer D and YarningChick
Haru tilted her head over one hand as she stared at the latest offering. "I’m not sure about that design, either. It’s too puffy. I’m a bride, not a cream puff."
"Oh, of course Lady Haru," the royal dressmaker agreed nervously before closing up her sketchbook. "Now that I have your input, I will start on some designs that better suit your taste."
"Same time tomorrow," Haru sighed, gently dismissing the old feline with one hand. As she did so, she couldn’t help but notice again how strange her hands were. Long-fingered like her original form, but furry and hiding claws at her fingertips instead of nails. She turned the hand over before studying both a bit more carefully.
She was grateful to still have fingers. The brief time she’d had paws was more trouble than it was worth, making her wonder how ordinary cats managed to cope.
The half-feline looked around her quarters in the royal castle with a certain detachment. This was only going to be her home for a few more months. Then she’d move back to the Human World, but not as a human.
Her heart thumped excitedly at the thought of being married to Baron, yet it still felt somehow… heavy.
Haru took in a long cleansing breath and held it for a moment before releasing it. ‘Everything’s moving so fast, now that we know what’s coming. It was only yesterday Jonathan finished interfering in our time, and I’m making plans for a wedding I thought would never happen.’
Her fingers tapped on the mouse leather legging of one knee, knowing that the minute she stepped outside her quarters, she was going to get assaulted by well-meaning cats that wanted details or gossip about the wedding plans to liven up their day. Her nuptials were the closest to a royal wedding the Cat Kingdom was likely to see for at least twenty more years, and she was certain that even more bets were being placed about every little detail.
Almost to mock her thoughts, a familiar tapping knocked on her heavy door, making her heart freeze.
"Haru? Sweetie, are you in?" her mother asked worriedly.
The brown feline almost could have fainted from how little she wanted to talk to that cat right now. Yes, the fact that she was still in the Cat Kingdom said a lot about how much talking to her future grandson had changed her, but Haru’s stomach flip-flopped with the hope that she’d go away.
"It’s just been so long since we had a good talk, just you and me."
‘Even longer since you’ve had an honest one!’ Haru wanted to scream back, but didn’t dare. Jumping on a split-second decision, she took light, practiced steps to her bathroom door and slipped in without checking first.
As soon as the door was shut behind her, she realized that was a mistake.
Sunset Shimmer had ordered a great many things for her bar. Beer. More beer. A lot of rum. And an assortment of drinks that she could neither pronounce nor drink, but were apparently the choice of some sort of sulfuric life form she had yet to encounter.
One thing she hadn't ordered—but apparently the bar now had—was a good selection of teas of several kinds. This was not her usual fare to be sure, but well, you never knew. Maybe this was Raistlin's doing. That man was always drinking some sort of bitter concoction ever time he visited and it wouldn't surprise her if he could use something slightly different on occasion.
"Ah well, I can always use them later," she muttered, "I'm sure Celestia would love to sample a few of these."
Her musings were interrupted by the crystalline chime of the bell at the door. It sounded a bit more violent than usual, and the subsequent slam was also out of the norm. Generally, guests tended to enter somewhat cautiously. No one had been that desperate for a drink yet.
She quickly straightened herself up and smiled, waiting. When nothing happened after several seconds, she felt the smile slip a little. Was… no one there? Had they just opened the door and closed it? "Uh… hello?"
"This isn’t my bathroom!" a sweet voice exclaimed, making Sunset turn her head and lean over the counter enough to see her latest guest.
Alright. This was a new one. Instead of a human or a pony—or even a human/pony hybrid—this one was more like a cat/human hybrid. Her fur was brown, but surprisingly also had longer head fur cut in a human style at chin level. Despite the large, innocent eyes that stared at everything, she had a bit of a military bearing in how she stood, even though all she was wearing was a white linen shirt, snug leather leggings, and old-fashioned boots that seemed to be from the same kind of leather. There was a pair of daggers hanging from her sides, but if a Rarity could march in with a pair of guns, she really had no reason to raise a fuss over these.
Taking in how confused the young cat woman seemed, Sunset realized exactly what had happened. She was beginning to suspect her bar had a sense of humor and she was only now starting to get it. "Oh! Sorry about that!" she said, waving gently and smiling encouragingly at her guest. "This is my bar, 'Sunset's Isekai', and it sort of shows up wherever it feels like appearing. Usually there's a sign outside, but if you're in a hurry you might miss it. If you really need to go, there is a bathroom down the hall, to your left, just at the end of the bar, across from the jukebox! I do promise it's clean!"
The cat woman nodded a little dumbly while taking a few hesitant steps into the bar, still looking at everything as if she thought she was dreaming. "I… don’t know why I’m shocked," she said a little numbly. "This isn’t by far the weirdest thing that has happened in my life."
Sunset grinned. "Then you'll fit right in! But, if it helps, most people don't expect a bar to appear instead of the bathroom, so maybe it's less shock and just a little surprise?"
She managed a wry smile. "Good thing I didn’t really need to go." The cat woman took in a deep breath. "Do you have root beer?" she asked plaintively. "I haven’t had a root beer in six years."
"Sure!" Sunset said, "I have most drinks… that's a soda, right? Or Pop?"
"Yep. I can’t get it where I live now," the pretty feline explained while nervously helping herself to one of the bar stools and resting her elbows on the counter. "Catnip tea’s the only thing most of the people I deal with care about. Or fish."
Sunset nodded, picking out a large, frosted glass and walking over to her soda fountain, touching a couple of dials before putting some ice in it and filling it with what her bar assured her was the correct drink.
She drew a straw out from a container and slid it into the glass, making the ice click against the sides and placed it in front of the cat woman. "Here you go. It sounds like you weren't originally into cat delicacies?"
Her guest nodded while fishing a silver piece out of a pocket and exchanging it for the glass.
Sunset couldn’t help noticing that it had a regal cat’s portrait stamped on it, like the Queen of England in Earth coins, Celestia in gold bits, or Deane Aryman in a Tar Valon mark would be. It was carefully crafted and looked relatively new, with a young-looking cat in it, instead of the expected "old king" look.
"I was born a human, but became this when I was seventeen," her guest explained, a slightly bitter tone suggesting that she was covering a lot of story with that single sentence. Just before taking a sip, she froze in horror. "Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not used to introducing myself to anyone anymore. I’m Haru Yoshioka."
Sunset nodded, still smiling. "Welcome to my bar, Haru. As I said, I'm Sunset Shimmer, pleased to make your acquaintance."
Haru gave her a sweet smile while holding her glass between her furry hands. "Likewise." She opened her mouth as if to say more, but shook her head a little before claiming the first sip. "Ouch!" she suddenly yelped when the liquid hit her tongue.
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "You alright? You didn't stab your palate with the straw, did you?"
Haru held one hand to her mouth, only uncovering it to showcase a sheepish grin. "Five years without a soda. You never know what your tongue’s used to until it gets reintroduced. It’s root beer all right." She took a slower, smaller sip before sighing. "I’ve missed this."
"Well, I'm happy to bring it back to your life," Sunset replied, nodding sagely. "Nothing quite like bringing stuff from home back to your taste buds. At least you can still drink it, you should've seen me when I tried eating a hayburger as a human. Pro tip: It's not the same."
Haru cocked her head in surprise. "Hayburger? You don’t mean…"
"Hm," Sunset tapped her chin and walked over to where the pictures were. She debated whether she should show her the one with the Sweeties or the one with Twilight, but decided that picking out the one without several versions of a single person was probably the easiest one to digest as a first impression. She took the one with Commander Sparkle in it, walking back across to stand in front of Haru, and setting it down in front of her. "So, ignore the krogan—" she interrupted herself, realizing Haru would have no idea what a krogan was "—the dinosaur in high-tech armor. I used to look a lot like the unicorn in the picture, only my mane was in the same style as now, and my coat was... " she looked down at her arm. "Roughly the same."
Haru took the photo between her hands with a certain care, looking between the Commander and the bartender smiling at her. She did this for over a minute before thinking of something to say. "You were a unicorn," she said slowly. "But you gave it up to be a human? Or did someone decide for you?"
Sunset's smile became a bit strained. "Ah… well, I sort of was a teenager too when I left home, only I did it because I was a selfish brat that wanted something more than I cared about others… so, long story short, I crossed a magical mirror that turned me human, and got stuck there for a couple of years. It took another version of that unicorn in the picture to teach me the value of friendship. After that, I remained in the human world and just… you know. Friends?"
Haru took another drink from her glass, her brown eyes dark and thoughtful. "But you could go back anytime you want, right? If you wanted your original body back."
"Yeah," Sunset sighed. "At least after the mirror activated again. For the longest time I was afraid of going back even to visit because of the ponies I had hurt, especially my mentor/mother figure, Princess Celestia." She clicked her tongue. "The same anger that made me run away simply turned into fear of rejection… and I think she would have been justified in it." She glanced up at Haru. "I take it you weren't as lucky?"
Haru shook her head, now swirling the straw in the glass to make the ice move around. "I guess I shouldn’t complain," she admitted. "Everything turned out alright in the end. It was just that interim period when I didn’t know why this happened to me when I was just trying to do the right thing, and it blew up in my face because a jerk with more power than brains can’t understand a simple ‘no’."
Sunset hummed. "You know… in a way, you remind me a little bit of my very first guest here, only she was me."
Haru managed to raise her eyes from her glass enough to cock her head at the bartender again, not bothering to ask the question.
Sensing the hint to continue, Sunset glanced at the pictures on the wall. "Oh, she started the same as I, but at one point, because of… our past… some people thought that she was behind something terrible happening at school and they decided to seek revenge on her… they almost killed her." She grasped the bar, thinking about how things could have gone wrong for herself too. "Broke her back. She will never walk again."
Haru gasped while throwing both of her hands to her mouth.
"But she met someone after that," Sunset continued, "Someone who loved her and she loved back. She had the chance to go back and heal, but doing so would keep them apart, so she decided that she wouldn't, even if it cost her her legs. What she had found was something that was worth more to her than that. Than magic even." She looked up at Haru with a small smile. "It terrifies me that that could have happened to me but at the same time, just like you, she found a strength from that that I—well, I can only admire."
Haru gave her a grateful smile, though one hand had reached down to absently play with the hilt of one of her daggers while she fiddled with the straw with the other. "That doesn't stop me from wishing that the cost wasn’t so high. I had a good, if boring life before saving Lune. I had friends, I had a m—" she cut herself off, her melancholy turning into just a bit of anger as she began gripping one hilt like it was a security blanket.
Sunset's smile twisted a little. "Ah. Wanna talk about it? Since I am completely unrelated to what happened, maybe a friendly, unbiased ear might help?"
Haru bit her lip, thinking it over before nodding. "It’s not like you’re going to be able to tattle on me." She took another sip of root beer the way a sailor would take a swig for courage before leaning over the bar slightly.
"So. In my world, or whatever word you want to use, there’s kind of a pocket dimension attached to the Human World called the Cat Kingdom. I wouldn’t be shocked if there are other animal kingdoms connected as well, but it’s the Cat Kingdom that messed my family up. When I was only two, my dad accidentally followed the Cat King back to his kingdom to get back a stolen mackerel for his restaurant. Reasons, reasons, blah blah blah, turns out that if you stay in the Cat Kingdom past your world’s sunrise, at least where you entered, you’re stuck. You can still go back to the Human Kingdom if you want, but if you leave after sunrise, you’re stuck as a cat."
Sunset nodded, not daring to interrupt.
Haru gripped the dagger’s hilt a little more fiercely. "Mom rejected him. Completely. Drove him off, then never talked to me about him, pretended that I was delivered with the morning paper, and scolding me whenever I did something that Dad liked to do, like watch kung fu movies or cook fish. I didn’t even recognize him when I met him again as an adult. Still angry he didn't just tell me it was him from the get go," she muttered furiously before shaking her head.
"But he’s not the one I’m angry at, although I'm trying to get over it. When I got dragged to the kingdom, I only made it to the exit just at sunrise, hence my body," she added while gesturing at her still-mostly human figure. "After his lunatic father retired thanks to me, Lune gave me a place, a home, steady work, adopted me into his family, basically everything he could think of to make up what his father took from me, but I didn’t want to break contacts completely with my mother."
Sunset swallowed. "Did you… try to go to her?"
Haru shook her head. "Because I thought she wouldn’t believe that I got kidnapped by cats to get forcefully married into the royal family and couldn't let her see me because she’d freak, I did a lot of lying through letters. She’d constantly beg for me to come back since I wasn’t done with school, she missed me, wanted me to be back in her life, but sure enough; she freaked when she found out."
Haru took a long drink from the straw, almost leaving nothing but ice cubes in the glass. "The ‘getting kidnapped by a crazy cat possessing a cousin of Lune’s that desperately wanted to marry me and getting held at knifepoint’ thing probably didn’t help. But by then I knew who my father was. He could have pretended to be her pet cat so that he could do more than leave fish cookies for me when he knew Mom wouldn’t catch him. If she had just… been honest, I think I’d have handled the Cat Kingdom better if Dad had been allowed to warn me."
Then she smiled a little foolishly. "But if that had happened, I wouldn’t have met my soulmate. I literally can’t imagine building a family with anyone else. More things happened, blah blah blah, my firstborn son came from the future, admitted to engineering me staying in the Cat Kingdom to meet Baron because he’s gifted with time magic, heavily hinted that he’s anything but an only child, and finished up his meddling by beating some sense into Mom until she interfered with another attempt on my life and begged for Dad’s and my forgiveness and renounced her own human life to stay with us."
Haru pushed the glass aside to do a face plant on the shiny counter. "I told her I forgave her, but… it’s just hard. I was practically Daddy’s girl before I figured out he was my daddy. It kills me that I didn’t recognize him, and he loves me so much and..." She broke down sobbing.
Sunset gently took the glass and refilled it, placing it next to Haru, then rested a hand on her shoulder. "That sounds horrible. I can't even imagine how anyone would feel about that… I didn't know my parents, but I'd hope if I ever met them… well, knowing ponies they would freak." She chuckled weakly. "You went through a lot, Haru. It's not surprising that your mom's reaction would sting so hard. You had your life ahead of you and everything changed in an instant, and through no fault of your own."
"Other than saving a ‘random cat’ from becoming roadkill," came the mumbled response from a face half-squished against the counter.
"Well, I mean, a prince of cats," Sunset said, gently, "if saving a life isn't a cause that's praise-worthy I don't know what would be."
"... He’s a sweetheart, too," Haru confided, shakily raising herself back into a sitting position and pulling out a handkerchief to dry her face. "Under different circumstances, I might not have minded marrying him, but he was in love with—" she cut herself off with another sheepish grin. "Well… I saved Yuki’s life years ago, and they were made for each other." She reached into another pocket to pull out a large watch. She opened the back of it before showing Sunset a very regal pair of cats posing with an adorable kitten that was without a doubt the crown princess.
"That's the only Princess Haru the Cat Kingdom can handle, anyway."
"Oh. My. Celestia." Sunset gasped in delight, leaning in with a grin to look at the picture. "They are absolutely adorable!"
"I know!" Haru gushed, the new change of topic brightening her mood considerably. "My little Sweet Pea has me wrapped around her tiny little paw!"
"And they named her after you!" Sunset gushed. "That's amazing!"
"I tried to talk them out of that," Haru admitted, though still smiling like a fool. "But Sweet Pea told me she just might have changed it to my name anyway. She thinks I can walk on water." She actually bit her lip with excitement. "And… you didn’t necessarily hear it from me, but the way she and my future son interacted kind of points to her being my daughter-in-law in about twenty years or so."
Sunset smirked and crossed her arms. "Must be nice knowing you can influence that a bit to give him trouble."
"Oh no," Haru laughed while throwing up her hands in defense. "I’m just going to arrange play dates and warn her not to scare him too much. Jonathan’s going to be younger by about seven years, and it might intimidate him if she starts fitting royal robes on him too soon."
Sunset's smirk softened at that. "I still think it's a really nice thing to know. Your son sounds like a delight, and with that little kitten at his side, they must be something diabetes-inducing on sight."
Haru grinned before sipping at the straw again. "She didn’t want off his lap when he had to go back to his own time. It makes me wish the Cat Kingdom’s version of cameras aren’t so tricky. But we’ll figure it out," she assured with a dreamy smile. "Baron’s keeping himself busy by breaking down the walls between his house and the one next to it since no one lives there. He wants to make absolutely sure we’ll have enough room for when we start covering the Refuge with kittens."
"Oh?" an eyebrow rose, eyes shining with mischief. "Already planning to get busy, huh? Well good for you!" Sunset laughed. "You're making me wish I had already found someone too. And Baron seems like a fictional hero already; gentlemanly, daring, kind… he's a good fit for you."
"Oh, if only you knew," Haru crooned dreamily. "It was so funny; he told me that Dad tried to talk him out of courting me before it came out he was my dad. Baron says that should have been a large red flag, but he’s glad that they’re already friends. He’s kind of been my dad’s employer and landlord since Mom and the Cat Kingdom kicked him out. Turns out eating all the fish in the sea out of misery makes you a criminal. Good thing Lune fell in love with him enough to grant him a pardon when they found out it was him."
"See, you are really lucky with Lune and Baron," Sunset said, "they are true gentlemen. Cats. Gentlecats. I'm sure the Abysinnians have a term for that. But! I think your family growing as it has been, steadily and… well, adorably, is a real blessing. I'm really happy for you."
Haru took another sip with a smile. "Like I said. Everything turned out alright in the end." Then she sighed, looking down at the counter that was slightly wet because of her earlier crying fit. "It’s just hard to let go of what Mom did," she added a bit lamely, reaching for a napkin holder to start mopping up her own mess. "And yes, the term is ‘gentlecats’."
Sunset tapped her chin. "You know, your mom… most humans are generally terrified of things that they don't understand. Paranoid about going "crazy" and being sent to the asylum. I'm definitely not saying what she did was right at all… I would be devastated too if it happened to me, and for good reason! But… I mean, she did give up her life as a human willingly for your sake and your dad's. As someone that's done… less than perfect things, I can tell you that's not an easy pill to swallow."
Haru breathed in another long, cleansing sigh. "So I should probably stop being a baby, march myself back to my quarters, and have that talk with her? She’s probably not at my door by this point."
"Hm, I wouldn't put it that way," Sunset said after thinking for a moment about how to phrase things. "I think that you have more than enough reason to be angry and feel betrayed. Nopony should tell you what you should do in a situation where forgiveness has to come because you want it. She was selfish, and now's your choice to ask yourself if she's someone you want in your life. Then make your choice based on that."
Haru started swirling her straw around again. "... That’s probably going to have to be in the discussion," she admitted. "She was a baby, I’m being a baby, and there’s going to be enough actual babies around that we can’t afford that anymore." The brown feline sighed again. "I love her. I missed her. It would be nice to have someone at the Refuge that already knows a thing or two about taking care of babies. Other than Dad, she really has been an awesome mom to me. Plus Jonathan probably persuaded her to stay in my good graces so she can watch him grow up."
"Then I think you have something to begin with," Sunset said softly, reaching out to put a hand over Haru's and giving it a gentle squeeze. "You said you love her, right? That's why it hurts. And I bet she really loves you too. And will love all your kittens."
The chimes jingled as the door opened, making the two look over.
"Oh, Sunset, darling!" Rarity called while doing a dramatic swirl of her latest summer coat. "I just had a breakthrough, and—" She stopped short at seeing Haru. A loud dramatic gasp nearly bellowed out of her throat before running up to the brown cat.
Haru jumped up on the counter on pure instinct, hands and feet on the polished wood like she was a full cat. "Should I be worried?" she asked Sunset, who only rolled her eyes.
"Haru," Sunset said, "meet my business partner. She's… well, a lot of things, but most of the time a clothes designer." She glanced at her friend, but Rarity only had eyes for Haru.
"Oh, darling! Wherever did you come from?" Rarity gushed as her eyes sparkled, taking in every detail of Haru’s appearance.
"Um, the Cat Kingdom?" Haru answered a little nervously, her fur trying to rise in alarm from under her clothes.
Rarity nearly swooned. "A whole kingdom of cats? I simply must find a way there! Would you take me with you?"
Both Sunset and Haru flinched.
"If I do, keep in mind when your sunset is, because you’ll become a cat permanently by sunrise if you don’t leave," Haru was careful to warn her up front. Deciding that it might be safe, she slowly slunk off the counter and grabbed her drink for another long swig.
"Oh, darling," Rarity said, casually brushing her mane away from her face, "I know exactly where my Sunset always is."
"Okay!" Sunset said, giving her friend an unamused look, "Why don't you stop teasing Haru and introduce yourself properly?"
"Oh, of course!" Rarity acknowledged, straightening up and tugging slightly at an imaginary wrinkle in her long coat. "I am Rarity, co-owner of this establishment and a fashion designer in my own right."
"She designed my uniform and is currently trying to upstage another Rarity that did my cowboy outfit," Sunset added with a smug smile. "So far, she hasn't come up with anything new."
Rarity simply huffed. "All in time, Sunset."
Haru gave Rarity’s long coat and stylish dress a speculative look. "I wonder…"
"Yes? Do you have an idea, darling?" the newcomer asked eagerly.
Haru started playing with the hilts of both her daggers out of sheer nerves. "I’m probably going to regret this," she muttered to herself before looking Rarity in the eye. "So, before coming here to avoid talking to my mom, I was having… trouble with the royal dressmaker."
Rarity squealed before getting right into Haru’s face. "What’s the occasion?" she asked, holding her hands in front of her in the classic ‘begging’ position.
Haru took in a deep breath before admitting, "My wedding."
Sunset actually felt a little sorry for the poor cat woman. There was a loud squeal, a blur of paper, a tape measure that kept wrapping around Haru’s parts like a persistent snake in the privacy of a backroom, and only listening to certain preferences before Rarity ran for the back of the bar.
Haru watched her go nervously before going back to her root beer. "So, what? Does she have a sewing room back there?"
Sunset grinned. "This place has rooms that shouldn't exist. And both she and I have offices in here… and Haru?" She gave the cat woman a thumbs up. "You won't regret it."
Haru was in tears again. But this time, there was a shining smile peeking out from her hands as she wept.
The dress was perfect. It flowed like a snowy river around her legs when she twirled, the bodice and fitted sleeves highlighting the gold embroidery that looked like vines running over both, though the skirt was plain, pleated silk. It was elegant, it was classy, and best of all...
Haru turned to Rarity with a wide smile. "I finally feel like a lady."
"I think," Sunset said—sipping some of the tea she had discovered the bar had earlier—"that judging by that ear-to-ear smile, you just made Rarity's week."
"And it has pockets!" she laughed through her tears, slipping her hands in and out of nearly invisible seams at her sides. "Do you know the kinds of arguments I’ve had over pockets?!"
"I imagine that they weren’t that different from my own arguments," Rarity assured her, blowing on her knuckles and rubbing them against her chest with pride.
"Poor Jula is going to be so disappointed when I tell her not to bother with my dress! Do you have a card?" Haru begged while gently holding just enough of the sheer veil from her eyes to look at the designer.
Sunset slipped a silver card and passed it to Haru. "That's a card to the bar, but you can usually get in contact with Rarity here. I was going to give you one anyway, but it seems like a good time to do so as any." She smirked. "By the way, the dress is on me. But you'll have to take a picture before leaving the bar."
Haru grinned happily. "That’s fair." She wrapped one arm around Rarity, who was all too enthusiastic about getting to hug a large kitty. "If things go well when I get back, I might be bringing my mother with me next time. Maybe even the Cat Queen."
"I’d be delighted," Rarity swooned as Sunset rolled her eyes, wrapped an arm from Haru’s other side, and took the picture.
"Oh, and if you want to see Rarity melt, bring little Haru for a dress fitting too," Sunset said off-handedly while she checked the picture, trying not to grin.
"Wait, little Haru?" Rarity asked with delight. "There’s two of you?!"
The brown cat could only laugh as she bundled her regular clothes under one arm and made her way back to the exit. "Oh, yes. And you have no idea how nervous that makes the royal healer."
Haru laughed as she exited her bathroom, still dressed every inch the bride.
"Sweetie? You are in there, right?" her mother called.
That made the brown feline blink in surprise. "How long have you been out there, Mom?"
"Less than a minute." Naoko paused. "Should I come back later?"
There was a part of Haru that wanted her to say yes, then pull another disappearing act. But she looked down at the silver card in her hand, and squared her shoulders. "Come right in, Mom."
A lovely red cat struggled a bit with the door handle before managing it with a small scowl. "No wonder this world prefers curtains." Then she got a good look at her daughter. She stared.
And stared.
Before she began weeping into her delicate little paws.
"Mom? I love it," Haru informed her a little firmly, though these didn’t seem to be her ‘angry’ tears.
Her mother responded by pouncing on her only child, barely understandable through her tears. "I… almost… missed this! Seeing you… meeting Baron… Jonathan…"
Sunset was right, after all.
Taking another deep breath to steady herself this time, she forced herself to turn just enough to present her back to her mother. "Help me out of this so we don’t ruin it. Then we can talk."
End Chapter
This story takes place after Fate and Fate's Hand, an Alternate Universe set in the world of The Cat Returns. It's a story I read a long time ago and really loved, due to her characterization of Haru in particular. If you enjoy TCR, check out those two fics for sure—and really anything else that YarningChick has written!
Many, many thanks go to YarningChick as well for writing this with me and letting me play with her characters. Also, when you read Fate, make sure to comment and leave a "Sunset brought me here!" note ;) let's show YC that the love spreads out from fimfic to ff.net and back!
YC A/N; I had a lot of fun revisiting Fate, and with getting to work with Wanderer D on a cute project. Although I've been toying with at least rewriting some of my earlier pieces, I strangely don't think I'd do more to Fate than pick a different method of scene breaks, since the website decided to delete the earlier ones without my approval. Thanks again for reaching out to me, this was fun!
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.....THATS HER DAD!!!!!?????
*See chapter title*
"Neat!"
*Read*
"What the — I don't remember any of this!"
*Check title*
"I thought that's what it said. Maybe I just forgot?"
*Research*
"I knew I remembered! What's the deal, then?"
*Check title*
"What the hell is Fate - The Cat Returns?"
*Search*
"This is the only result? What is going o —"
*Notice title*
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/meme/images/8/81/Genius-meme.png/revision/latest?cb=20140626182735
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Full Series in HD for Free on CrunchyRoll
What kind of clothes doesn't has pockets? To dismiss the most functional part of costume like that.
I remember that movie, absolutely gorgeous. You really can't go wrong with a Miyazaki film.
9973271 9973221 yes, yes, it's not a brand new idea, but it's also something I've been wanting to do since the late 90s. And before you say I'm claiming the original idea, I'm not. There's other inter-dimensional restaurants, bars, boutiques, etc in western literature as well going well back into the 70s, and if you want to get technical even in mythology places like that have always existed. (Edit: I even seem to remember an Uchan-s that had a similar purpose in some fic or another?) Reminders in the comments that other people/shows in the last 5 years have done something similar gets a bit annoying after the fortieth time. For the record, I hadn't watched Restaurant to Another World until last week. It's pretty sweet.
Huh, I really liked this read. I will definitely check out Fate. You definitely seemed to have a lot of fun writing this
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90% of women's fashion, and the other 10% is considered unfashionable. Especially in the case of a wedding dress; I can't see you really needing pockets for something you only wear once for something entirely scripted...
....Fat cat was her dad in the AU? ....That is disturbing, but it makes sense.
I do have to wonder how many Celestias she's served by now.
It wasn't the first time Sunset had to bite her tongue. It definitely wouldn't be the last.
Heh. Rarity is a cat person. Though not that kind of cat person, as long as she manages her time carefully.
I came into this one half-blind, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you both for a lovely tale.
I've not heard of the Cat Returns. Still, this was a great little meeting.
Fun thought that you could take everything out between these sections and they would still be completely true.
Fun little chapter and an interesting take on The Cat Returns. So fun times all around.
Two questions.
1) Is it Red Robes or Black Robes Raistlin?
2) What would happen if someone tried to Skim or open a Gateway in Sunset's bar? (or physically enter Tel'aran'rhiod)?
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1) The Entity known as Fistandantilus was not found in this server.
2) Strange things.
Um I’m guessing this is from an obscure fanfic about, “The Cat Returns”.
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What is AU?
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Alternate Universe.
I loved TCR, so I'll definetly check it out!
Nice work, keep it up.
Jonathan von Gikkingen brought me here... *looks around* Seems like a fun place. Might as well stick around and see what's going on.
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I'm not claiming that you invented this premise. It's broad enough that a lot of people have used it. Just look at Hunger Games and Battle Royale for another example.
I'm reading through the Light Novels of Restaurant to another World, and it's interesting seeing the series progression. The first volume is mostly stand alone stories that add bits of world building. The second focuses more on Aletta, the waitress, along with more of the beast-kin customers. The third is adding more stories that focus on the regulars, and continuing their stories.
I see that a future chapter covers covers that. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Wait, a Ghibli crossover? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I mean, not familiar with the fanfic, but still...
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Hah, I bet.
"Ah, don't sweat it. I was a unicorn, originally."
He... kind of is? It's complicated
Waaait wait wait. Her dad is Muta? Ohhhh my
That's an interesting way of putting that
"Oh. And also, ridiculously overdramatic."
In all seriousness, I kind of doubt Rarity's original world's still holds much meaning to her. Which, of course, only makes it more annoying to have to look up the time there. Because you can bet that the pesky magic kingdom will know when it comes to the subject of cursing people.
Oh no
I assume Haru went too far by also wanting to carry her daggers in it?
"Well, I guess that's coming out of your pay, then?" Rarity asked smugly.
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "As if I could even have stopped you from designing a wedding dress for a lady with an entirely new physique."
Rarity sighed dramatically. "Oh, very well. Material costs only?"
Sunset nodded. "That's fair."
She carries daggers around. Everyone's dreading the moment the little one will start following that example
Ahh. Loved every sentence of this. I should really go check out the original... but I honestly really dislike that site's overall infrastructure.
I totally understand her. I hate how most clothes dont have pockets but are designed to look like they have pockets
This is like the only movie that I haven't seen from miyazaki and I've seen literally every single one of his movies
I was rather lost throughout this, and it was amazing. My "what" quotient just kept going up and up.
This deserves the good'ol Jontron WHAT.
Yes, the chapter was cute and all, but still. Wat.
-GM, master of ponymotes.
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I agree, and am now intrigued, Also, I was like, "The Cat Returns" why does that sound vaugely familiar. Searched it up, Studio Ghibli. Now I wanna rewatch it
Heh, so Rarity always knows where her Sunset is, huh? Looks like Sunset's wish of meeting that someone special has already come true.
Oh man, just the name brings back memories...
It's honestly been years since I've watched The Cat Returns, and I can say I loved the characters, especially Baron and Muta.
Muta mainly because of that one reaction to Haru calling him Moota.
No. No ice. If you've a frozen mug, then never will you need ice. Especially not with root beer. What did your parents do to you?
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Man, I've had 3 girlfriends show me clothes that don't have pockets and my outrage every time made them laugh... Until I said the dangerous words of "Then why did you buy it?" Trust me, 3 times... bad move. Now I just sigh when a female friend mentions a lack of pockets.
For the record, those clothes looked like they had pockets. False pockets are an even worse sin.
Given that the Baron is an enchanted cat statue... I'm not even gonna attempt to try and figure out the genetics and magic mixing to allow any of this!