- Location
- new york
Maybe have Sirius bring a Diamond Dog, making him a literal 'DogFather', on this side of the mirror. he will have his paws full of puns and pranks.
Grounders10's Forgotten Files and Drabbles (Worm, Ranma, etc.)
- Thread starter Grounders10
- Start date
I suppose the title of this chapter could be related to Harry becoming an alicorn, or possibly in reference to the classic novel and movie The Four Feathers, which I can see if he is vilified as a coward for running off during the summer. (Yes, I know it's a stretch)
On an unrelated note, how impressive a wand would be made containing one of Celestia's feathers? Imagine the patronus that would come from that...
On an unrelated note, how impressive a wand would be made containing one of Celestia's feathers? Imagine the patronus that would come from that...
Grounders10
Nine-Tailed Kitsune
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada, Mars
the title is related to something important Harry has yet to gain~
- Location
- Europe
lol, why do I think that would involve a "O Dear!!!" responce?
We all know that is something that will be doomed to fail. Harry will not think about not mentioning who he is staying with when writing Hermione, and Hermione will want to meet someone who has the same love of books she does.
- Location
- Australia
Ngl, I was a bit surprised he didn't start out with them as well.
3FT Chapter Two: A Summer of Ponies Part One
Grounders10
Nine-Tailed Kitsune
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada, Mars
-0-0-0-0-0-
A
Harry Potter x MLP: FIM
Crossover
Three Feathers For Tomorrow
By: Grounders10
-0-0-0-0-0-
Chapter Two
A Summer of Ponies Part One
-0-0-0-0-0-
A
Harry Potter x MLP: FIM
Crossover
Three Feathers For Tomorrow
By: Grounders10
-0-0-0-0-0-
Chapter Two
A Summer of Ponies Part One
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The wait was terrible. Harry shifted from hoof to hoof in anticipation. Had she done alright? What had she done wrong? Had she done so badly that Twilight was just trying to find a way to break it to her?
Before her, the alicorn in question shifted through the pages floating in her grip. She hummed and hawed before she looked over the top of the last page at Harry. "Good news, you're finally legible," she said.
Harry pumped a hoof. It had taken three long days but she could finally write with her telekinesis.
"However," Twilight continued, causing Harry to wilt on the spot, "You're still just passable. Since we have the time, and this is good training, we're going to continue this later until you're good enough to write cursive flawlessly."
Harry groaned, burying her head in her hooves. She just knew this was going to give her yet another hornache like the one she had throbbing in the middle of her forehead.
"But I think that's enough for now," Twilight said, restacking the pages and dropping them on the kitchen table. "I remember how tiring this can be when you're just starting out."
"Thank you Twilight," Harry said with relief before stretching and rising to her hooves. "Are we doing anything more today?"
The lavender alicorn shook her head. "Nothing for now. Go have some fun and see if you can make a few friends here in town," she said, "Just remember to be back for supper. Princess Celestia is coming by and she said she wanted to discuss something with you."
Harry nodded and stretched again, pushing her hooves into the carpet as she yawned. "I'm going to go into town and do some exploring, maybe some shopping," she said, heading for the door. Maybe she could see if any place sold ice cream.
"Make sure to take your saddlebags!" Twilight called after her. She waved a hoof in acknowledgement, not even breaking stride after just over a week in Equestria. It was odd how natural her body felt. She didn't even notice she wasn't human most of the time. By the time it came for her to leave Equestria she had to wonder if she'd even feel comfortable as a human. Princess Celestia said she would but she had to wonder.
Once she'd retrieved her saddlebags, and her allowance, Harry hurried off to town at a brisk canter. The flower fields around Ponyville were in full bloom, turning the plains before the castle into a riot of colours. It was rather odd to Harry. The smell of the flowers made her salivate and her stomach growl despite the fact that she'd usually have less than zero interest in eating flowers. It was a bit like being in a grocery store aisle while hungry.
She stopped and sniffed one of the flowers by the roadside. She glanced about, and seeing nopony nearby, nibbled one of the flower petals. She vacillated on the taste for a moment before swallowing. "Needs mayo," she decided before moving again.
She hadn't come into town since she had arrived four days previous. She had spent her time practicing writing at Twilight's insistence and reading her school books in preparation for her homework. This was the first time she would be in town since she walked through it on her way to the castle.
Ponyville was bustling with ponies going about their business, though it didn't stop her from attracting attention. The town wasn't quite large enough to escape the small town effect where everyone could fairly reliably recognize the other residents. A few waved, she waved back. They probably recognized her from her short walk with Princess Twilight.
She paused at the first small intersection and glanced about looking for somewhere to go. A spa to the right, that quill and couch place to the left, and no real sign of what was beyond either.
Left, right, left, right, left-
"GANGWAY!" Her ears perked as a familiar voice shouted from the right. Ponies shrieked and she saw several Pegasi dart into the sky as an out of control apple cart careened around the corner. Harry instantly spotted Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle hanging on for dear life as the apple baskets in the cart tipped and the entire thing shifted to take the corner on two wheels. Sweetie Belle tackled the baskets back toward the middle and the entire mass shifted back to four wheels resuming a straight course.
She really had to wonder how they got into this mess.
Actually, hold that thought, it was going straight for her. She took a few steps back and waited. As the cart careened by, clearly not at all under the control of the two little fillies in it, Harry lit her horn and lifted the two girls right off. They squealed with surprise and wriggled in her lilac aura. She winced as her horn decided to remind her of just how much she'd been overusing it by throbbing painfully.
She cut the magic and dropped Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to the ground. She rubbed the base of her horn with a hoof. God that hurt.
"Ow," the two fillies said.
"Who- Oh, Harry!" Sweetie Belle popped up, "thanks for grabbing us."
Scootaloo stood up a bit unsteadily, her legs wobbling. "Yeah. When we tried to get off the apples got angry," she said, rubbing a spot on her head with a continuous wince.
"SWEETIE! SCOOTS!" Applebloom galloped out of the rapidly forming crowd. She skidded to halt gasping for breath. "Thank Celestia you're both alright. Ah was worried when the cart just started rolling off wit'out any help."
"Girls," Harry said, tapping a hoof on the street and clearing her throat. The three turned to her- only to keep turning as the sound of the cart impacting something hard echoed over the crowds.
"Oh no," the three groaned.
"Applejack's gunna be so mad," Applebloom complained, "An' it wasn't even our fault."
"What even happened?" Sweetie asked her, "We were getting the basket you asked for an' then-"
"It just started rolling!" Scootaloo said, throwing her forehooves up in the air.
"We weren't even crusadin'," Applebloom grumbled, "Ah don't know what happened. I turned my back fer two seconds and then-"
"APPLEBLOOM!" Harry glanced up to see Applejack come galloping through the small crowd of onlookers. "Theer you are," she said coming to a halt, "Ah. A Good Morning to you Harry. You wouldn't happen to have seen my cart, would you?"
"I yanked these two off as it rolled by," Harry said, rubbing her forehead, "It's given me a bit of a hornache. I just got done with a test Twilight gave me."
Applejack and Sweetie Belle both winced. "Ah. Sorry about that, but thanks for stepping in. Now, which way did it keep rolling? I rather need the apples it was carrying," the orange Earth Pony said apologetically.
"That way," Harry said, pointing in the direction of the crash.
"Ah think it crashed, Applejack," Applebloom said.
"Ah horsefeathers," Applejack muttered, "Come along girls. Let's go see what's left and while we're walking you can tell me what in tarnation happened." She started walking down the street then paused. "Ah, Harry, do you mind doing me a small favour?"
"I suppose? Just, please don't ask me to catch them again," Harry said.
"Could you go to the market and let mah brother Big Mac know we're probably going to need his help tah fix the cart and if'nn he wouldn't mind going 'ta fetch the toolbox from the farm?" She smiled sheepishly.
"I can do that, if you point me to the market. This is the first time I've been in town since I got here," Harry said. She had to wonder why a pony was named after a McDonald's burger.
Applejack gestured with a hoof. "Back the way we came. Take a left at the spa and walk straight. Mah brother's big and red. Can't miss him," she said.
"I'll find him," Harry promised. Applejack smiled and hurried off, hustling the three young fillies along with her.
Harry sighed. Not in town for even five minute's and she'd already gotten involved in something risky. "I really hope this isn't going to be the trend," she muttered before turning in the direction Applejack had said and breaking into a canter. She slowed down almost immediately as her horn really didn't like it. Slow it was then.
Passing the spa, which didn't seem too different from the outside than those she had seen back in Surrey, she sidestepped a trio of flower cutie mark earth ponies who were in the middle of a heated discussion of (of all things) the best way to saute petunias. She had doubled taked on hearing her Aunt's name. Maybe she'd have to try sauteed petunias. If nothing else the naming coincidence would be amusing.
The market was easy to find, and even more bustling than the side streets. In the center of the area, which played host to a variety of stores including what looked like a carousel and several cafes, was a broken pile of timber roped off. It looked like it had once been either a home or a giant tree. More than a few ponies seemed sad as they glanced toward it.
That wasn't, however, her reason for being here. That would be the giant of a stallion watching a stand selling apples. He was head and shoulders taller than any of the other ponies around him. As she walked over he exchanged some coins for a small basket of apples that a pegasus mare balanced on her back between her wings before walking away.
"Are you Big Mac?" Harry asked as she reached the big stallion. She craned her neck back to look up at him. It wasn't quite as bad as dealing with Hagrid, but she would definitely get a kink in her neck if she had to do this very often.
"Eyup," he said.
"I'm Harry Potter. Your sister asked me to tell you the cart's gone and crashed and she'll probably need the tools from the farm," she said.
He raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the two remaining baskets of apples. He sighed and shook his head. "I'll go and get them," he said, starting to stack the empty baskets together, "Thanks for carrying the message."
"No problem just um… you wouldn't happen to know where I could get some ice cream?" she asked. She winced as her horn throbbed with pain. "And maybe some painkillers. My horn kinda hurts at the moment."
He shot her a concerned look. "You alright?" he asked.
She waved him off. "Just studying with Twilight," she said.
"Ah. That'll do it," he said before pointing to a large building that looked like a gingerbread house decided to combine with a cupcake, "Sugarcube Corner has ice cream and other sweets."
"Ah, thank you," she said, smiling widely, "Good luck with the cart!" She waved and trotted off, only to nearly get run over by a sprinting pale magenta filly with a tiara on her flank. She took a step back as six more ponies of similar age charged after her.
"GET BACK HERE TIARA!" one of the colts shouted before they disappeared around the next corner.
Deciding it was none of her business, and after checking that there weren't any more younger ponies charging about without regard for others, Harry walked over to Sugarcube Corner. The doorbell chimed as she nudged open the door. The inside was a combination of tasteful decoration and sickeningly sweet candy theming. There were plenty of tables and booths for ponies to sit at. Many were occupied by a wide age range of ponies. A plump looking cerulean mare was behind the main counter waved as she entered.
"Welcome dearie to Sugarcube Corner," she said warmly as Harry walked up to the counter. "Is this your first time here?"
Harry nodded, looking over the array of sweets laid out under the display glass. It was nothing so exotic as the wizarding sweets in Honeydukes, but there was plenty of fudge, candied apples, lollipops, even some candied flower petals which was a bit different. "I got into town a few days ago. I've been staying with Twilight," she said.
"At the castle?" the mare asked, "Oh my. Well it's good she's not quite so alone there. Having others around will be good for her. I'm Ms. Cake, that's my husband," she waved to an awkward looking amber stallion, "Mr. Cake. What's your name dearie?"
"Harry Potter," she replied.
"Well, Ms. Potter, what can I get for you?" Ms. Cake asked.
Being called Ms. Potter felt a bit strange, but Harry ignored it. She didn't want to draw attention by trying to explain that she hadn't even been a filly let alone a pony a week before. "I was told you have ice cream?" she said hopefully before wincing at her horn. She rubbed the base of her horn again.
"We do, but are you sure?" Ms. Cake asked, "I don't mean to be rude, but you wouldn't happen to have a hornache at the moment, would you?"
"A bit of one. I did a test for Twilight and then had to save the Cutie Mark Crusaders from a runaway cart," she said.
"Oh dear. No, asking you to hold a spoon right now would just be cruel. Might I suggest one of our milk shakes and perhaps some fudge or a few cookies?" Ms. Cake suggested.
Harry smiled. "That sounds nice," she said, "How much?"
Ms. Cake waved her off. "Oh the house as a first time treat. Tell me, how long are you planning on staying in town?" she asked as she set about making the milk shake.
"About five months, then my school starts up again," Harry said.
"Well, you'll have plenty of time to come by, without a hornache," Ms. Cake said, smiling, "Now go take a seat. I'll bring them right over."
"Thank you, Ms. Cake," Harry said. She claimed a booth by a window with a view of the market square. She stared down at the ruined tree and wondered what exactly had happened.
A few minutes later Ms. Cake slid a tray with a milkshake and a trio of chocolate chip cookies on it onto the table. "Here you go, Dearie," she said kindly.
"Thank you Ms. Cake," she said, sliding the milkshake over to her with her hooves. Thankfully it had a straw. It was pink and a sip proved it to be strawberry flavoured. "It's good, Ms. Cake."
"That's lovely to hear," Ms. Cake said, "Enjoy your treat."
"I will," she smiled as the older mare walked away. "Oh, Ms. Cake!"
The cerulean mare turned back. "Yes dearie?"
"Um… can you tell me why there's a roped-off area outside?" she asked.
Ms. Cake blinked. "You don't know?" she asked. Harry shook her head. "Oh my." The older mare walked over and slid into the other side of the booth. At the same time, Harry lit her horn and lifted a cookie to her mouth. She winced and let the magic drop once she had placed the rest of it back on the tray. Teeth and lips it was.
"That tree out there used to house the town library," Ms. Cake said, "The Golden Oaks library was said to be older than the town actually. Legends say that it was here when the first member of the apple family in these parts planted the first trees that would grow to be Sweet Apple Acres."
Harry nodded and took a sip of her milkshake.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle moved in there several years ago. That was before she was Princess of course. She became our town's librarian after Princess Luna.. Ah… Returned," Ms. Cake said, looking a little awkward.
That would be the 'not herself' incident Twilight and Princess Celestia had mentioned. Harry nodded to show she was following.
"Even after she ascended she continued to stay there. Truthfully, I got the feeling no one was quite sure what to do with her at that point," she said, shaking her head sadly, "That monster centaur Tirek wrecked the library when he was battling Princess Twilight. Nopony has been quite sure what to do with the remains." She sighed sadly.
Harry frowned and looked out at the ruins of the library. She wished she had gotten a chance to see it. "Is that why Twilight is living in a castle now?" she asked.
Ms. Cake put a hoof to her chin and shook her head. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know. No one really does. Twilight and her friends defeated Tirek and suddenly that tree castle was there as if it had always been. It was quite strange," she said before shaking her head, "Pardon me Dearie, I must get back to work."
"Not a problem, Ms. Cake. Thank you for answering my questions," Harry replied.
"Oh, no trouble at all. Enjoy your treat," Ms. Cake said, waving before hurrying back to the counter where several ponies were waiting.
Harry sipped her shake and sighed. It seemed that even someplace as idyllic seeming as Equestria had its issues. Still, that wasn't her problem. This wasn't Hogwarts. This was her summer, even if it was full of Ponies.
She sipped her milkshake. Not that ponies were a bad thing. In fact, Ponies, it seemed, were rapidly becoming some of her favourite peoples.
She bent down and took another bite of the chocolate chip cookie. There was something different about it from normal chocolate chip cookies. Peering at it she spotted what looked like large oats and something else she couldn't identify mixed in. She took another bite.
It was probably the best cookie she'd ever had.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Harry yawned as she watched a group of younger fillies, and a colt or two, play a game that resembled football from beneath the cover of a large leafy tree. After she had finished her snack at Sugarcube Corner she had continued her wandering around town until she had found a park-like area. The game had already been going and, feeling a touch tired, she had decided to settle in and watch alongside the parents and older friends and family that had congregated about the makeshift sports field.
She yawned again and settled her head on her forehooves. As a human, the position would have been uncomfortable but as a pony it was perfectly natural. Her nap, however, never got started as with a soft flutter of wings something with talons landed on her back.
"Eek!" Harry squealed at the strange sensation, leaping to her hooves and jumping away from her previous position. Ponies turned to stare at her as she laid eyes on the perpetrator. Lying on the ground was a rather familiar, and much larger seeming than usual, snowy owl. Her eyes went wide. "Oh no, Hedwig!" she dived to the ground by the toppled bird, "Are you okay?"
She got a glare and an indignant hoot. She winced at the reprimand. "Sorry girl," she said, her ears laid flat atop her head,"You surprised me." Several letters were stuffed in a small pouch around her neck. Harry's horn lit up with a dull throb as she set the owl back on her feet and took the pouch.
"Is everything alright?" a boy's voice asked. She glanced up from fussing over Hedwig, who promptly took the opportunity to grumpily flee to one of the branches of the tree above her. The speaker was a pale blue pegasus colt with an electric yellow mane only a couple inches taller than Harry. Beside him was a lilac unicorn with a dark purple purple mane. The way she was leaning against him seemed to suggest a close relationship.
"Um… Yeah. I think," Harry said, shooting an apologetic look up at Hedwig. "I'm sorry girl, I didn't mean to panic." Her owl simply hooted indignantly down at her. Yeah, she wasn't living this down anytime soon. She'd probably have to get more owl treats to bribe Hedwig with.
"If you're sure… Say, you're new, right?" the colt asked.
"Um, yeah, Harry Potter. I'm staying at the castle," Harry said absently as she examined the contents of the pouch. Fortunately, paper wasn't heavy enough to bother her horn… too much.
"The-" The lilac unicorn stared at her, "Oh, oh… Welcome to Ponyville! You know, I'm surprised Pinkie hasn't held you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party yet."
"A what?" Harry dropped the pouch full of letters into her saddlebags.
"A 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. She does it for, like, everyone," the unicorn said.
"Huh…" she'd have to ask Twilight about that. Maybe it was because she had already had a 'Welcome to Equestri' Party?
"Well, Pinkie Party or not, welcome to Ponyville, Hairy Potter," the colt said with a smile, "I'm Tempest Drift. This is my marefriend, Lilac Ribbon."
"Nice to meet you," Harry replied with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too. Was it just me or did that bird bring you something?" Lilac asked, looking up at the owl with wide eyes.
"She did. Hedwig is a mail owl," Harry said, "Back home they carry messages. All you have to do is address the letter and they can find anyone or anyplace… Unless it's warded against them. Which does happen occasionally."
"Cool," Tempest Drift said with a grin, "Anyways, if everything is good we're going to get back to the game. See you around town, Hairy Potter."
"Bye Tempest, Lilac," Harry said, waving to them as they left. Lilac waved back as she followed her boyfriend. Coltfriend. Whatever.
She turned her attention back to Hedwig and signed as she watched the owl take flight in the direction of the castle. She was definitely annoyed with her. "I'll just have to get her some treats," she said, retaking her place under the tree. Thankfully, she was fairly sure Spike knew how to take care of an owl. Twilight had one as a pet herself. It had even been trained to help her like an assistant.
Harry pulled the bundle of letters out and selected the first one before returning the rest to her bag. It was a rather ordinary muggle envelope and probably from Hermione. She cracked the seal easily and unfolded it. Yup, it was from Hermione
Dear Harry,
I can't believe you walked off with a woman you didn't know! After the last year I'd have thought you'd know better, but at least nothing bad has come of it. Oh, Harry, not even a day into summer vacation and you're already getting into trouble.
Harry glanced about the park filled with ponies. If this was Hermione's definition of trouble then perhaps she could get into trouble more often.
That said, I am so happy for you. I have to wonder why your Godmother Princess Celestia (and that's another thing to talk about) didn't take you in until now, but I'm sure there's a good reason. Also, I haven't been able to find a reference to a Princess Celestia anywhere. Not our history books, or my private collection, or the public library. Where exactly is she a Princess of?
Either way, I'm glad to hear you're away from your relatives. Hopefully this summer is much nicer for you. My parents are planning a trip to France for the first three weeks, but I should be back in time to join you and Ron for the Quidditch World Cup. I've never been to such a large wizarding event before, but it should be fun to watch I suppose. I wonder how it compares to Rock in Rio?
Also, is it just me or did Professor McGonagall write a trick question for question six on the exam? It's been bothering me for days.
Sincerely Your Friend,
Hermione Granger
P.S. Also I just realised that wasn't your handwriting. Harry, what's going on?
The blonde filly winced. She should have expected that bit. "I wonder if I can invite them over to Equestria?" she mused, pulling out Ron's letter next. She pursued it quickly and had to chuckle. Most of it was rambling about the Quidditch World Cup, making it nearly twice the length of Hermione's, a first for Ron. Still…
[...]And is it just me or did your handwriting get a lot bette all of asudden? You doing alright mate? I mean, having another Godparent show up right after the first. What're the odds, right? Feels fishy, but then again we've been running into weirder stuff. Stay safe, whatever's going on.
Sincerely,
Ron
They'd both noticed that Princess Celestia was the one writing the letter. She couldn't say she was surprised, not really. The Princess had far better writing than she did even with hands.
The last letter came out. It was a simple roll of parchment tied off with a slightly ratty red ribbon. Removing the ribbon she unfolded it and promptly choked back a laugh.
Dear Sunbutt,
Harry stuffed a fetlock into her mouth to cut off the laughter. Clearly, her Godfather knew her Godmother and was comfortable enough to be irreverent.
I'm writing this from the back of a griffon that was bound for the canary islands, but right now I'm heading for Equestria. I'd honestly thought you'd washed your hands, not that you have any, of us after the war. I mean, why the hell weren't you looking after Harry all this time? You were the one that insisted Petunia be cut from the Will in the first place. Not that I did any better, but you'd better have an Azkaban worthy excuse for why you weren't involved.
So, listen, I'll be there in about a week your time. Three days or so mine, maybe a bit more or less depending on how many things we need to dodge. I'm sure despite Harry's story you're probably a little suspect of me. When I get there, I'm turning myself over. I'm sure you've still got that cache of Veritaserum we gave you. Unless you've somehow found abundant reasons to use a truth serum in that little sugarbowl of yours. Seriously, I nearly developed cavities the last time Lily dragged us all over.
Also, Harry, if you're reading this, and I bet you are, Celestia's the real deal. I was there when she was named your Godmother. See you in a week, Prongslet.
Sincerely,
Padfoot
Harry grinned, nearly vibrating on the spot. She rolled the letter back up and stuffed it in her saddlebags before springing to her hooves. Sirius was coming! Sirius was coming to Equestria! She'd get to spend the summer with him after all!
Letting out an excited 'eeeeeeee' she galloped from the park, dodging ponies and carts as she bounded through the streets toward the castle. She uttered more than one apology as she rushed through the town.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"TWILIGHT!" Harry bellowed as she burst through the front doors of the castle. They banged loudly against the walls, their frames ringing like chimes as they rebounded. Harry dashed out of the way as she took the stairs two at a time, rushing for the library where she knew Twilight would likely be.
She nearly ran over Spike as he abruptly stepped out of a side room. Only a quick leap kept her from running the tiny drake over. "Sorry Spike!" she called as she sailed over him. She'd jumped reflexively
"Hey! Careful about the spikes!" he protested, grabbing his spikes along the top of his head.
She ignored him as she clattered down the hallway, sliding on the crystal flooring as she tried to slow down. She caught a glimpse of Twilight as she slid by the entrance of the library. The older mare had a mildly confused look as she slid out of sight. Harry's hooves finally found purchase and she sprang back to the door, narrowly avoiding the same fate as last time.
"Twilight I-" She trailed off at the sight of her Godmother sipping tea at a table that was just out of sight of the door. "Princess Celestia," she said surprised, "You're early."
Celestia smiled at her over the teacup and took a sip. "That I am, but I found that day court wrapped up a little bit earlier than usual today and decided it would be nice to have a longer visit with my Godchild and my dear student," she smiled at Twilight who beamed. Her tail twitched side to side as she desperately tried to not wag it like a dog.
"Oh- Oh! Princess, Twilight," Harry trotted over to the table and levitated the letters out of her bag, only wincing slightly from the throb in her horn. "Hedwig returned with letters from everyone, including Sirius."
Celestia accepted them and sent her a concerned look. "Is everything alright, Harry?" she asked, leaning down to Harry's level.
"I'm fine," Harry said, shaking her head.
"Hmmm," Celestia hummed, giving Harry a firm look. She squirmed for a few moments before sighing.
"I've had a hornache since Twilight had me do that writing test this morning," she admitted. To her surprise Celestia reached over with a hoof and pulled her to the larger mare's side.
"Twilight," she began with a slight reprimand that made the other alicorn wince, "Just how long was this writing test?"
"Oh… I have it… here," Twilight produced the test from a nearby pile of books. It had somehow, in the last several hours, been buried six books deep. They weren't small books either.
Celestia took the pages of writing with a raised eyebrow. She looked them over with a raised eyebrow and smiled. "It's good to see you've gotten so far in only a few days, Harry," she said, smiling proudly down at Harry. She smiled back at Celestia, an unfamiliar warm feeling in her chest. "However, Twilight, she has only been using her horn for a week. This may have been a little much."
Twilight blushed and bowed her head. "Sorry Princess Celestia, Harry," She fidgeted.
"It's fine, Twilight. I can handle a small headache. Really, it isn't that bad," Harry said, shaking her head.
"A hornache is a sign of pushing yourself well past the point of taking a break," Celestia said, shaking her head, "I've long since learned to avoid pushing my students so hard…" She quirked her lips in an amused smile as she took a sip of tea, "Not that it stopped a certain lavender unicorn from nearly putting herself in the hospital from too much spell practice."
Harry was treated to the sight of Twilight blushing hard. "Princess…" She whined, provoking a chuckle from her mentor.
"Now, let's see," Celestia said, levitating the letter up in front of her.
Twilight slid a teacup with a straw in it over to Harry. She thanked the alicorn and sipped the tea through the straw. It was probably sacrilege, but she'd take it over making her horn hurt more.
"It seems your friends are quite worried about you," Celestia said as she finished Ron's letter. She took a glance at Sirius' and, before Harry could reply, nearly spat her tea out through her nose.
"Princess?! Is something wrong?" Twilight asked with concern.
"No, nothing's wrong," Celestia said, shaking her head with clear amusement as she patted her lips with a towel, "I simply forgot how irreverent Sirius Black can be."
"Dear Sunbutt," Harry quoted, getting a horrified look from Twilight. She laughed at Twilight's stare.
Celestia's lips quirked. "Yes, he has always had an… interesting, sense of humour," she said.
Twilight facehoofed and shook her head. "He's starting to sound a bit like Discord," she grumbled.
"Well, he is quite the prankster. At least, he was," Celestia frowned, "I will have quite a few questions to ask him when he arrives. I'm sorry to say, Harry, that it may take several days."
Harry shook her head. "That's fine, I'm simply happy that I'll get to spend time with him this summer," she said.
"Yes… summer," Celestia said before setting the letters on the table, "I will write a letter to Sirius later. Once your horn has recovered feel free to write to your friends as much as you wish."
"Would it be possible… for them to come over to Equestria?" Harry asked nervously.
Celestia blinked. "Well, your mother brought her husband and his friends along before. Nothing bad came of it, even with this betrayal… I will have to think on it but I suspect it is likely that they will be welcome in Equestria, Harry," she said, nuzzling Harry. The young unicorn beamed. "Now, onto other things," Celestia continued, "First of all, since you will be spending most of Earth's summer here that means around five months shall pass here before you go home. It will be well into autumn by then… I believe shortly after Nightmare Night in fact. As such, I feel that not arranging for some form of schooling would be… Irresponsible for a Godparent."
Harry frowned. So… not all fun and games then.
"As such I've taken the liberty of registering you at my school. Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," she took a sip, "However, I think that after letting you choose where to stay it would be rather rude of me to send you off to Canterlot. As such, I hope you don't mind Twilight, but I've registered Harry here as your personal student." Twilight's eyes went wide and to Harry's amusement, she immediately sat down staring at Princess Celestia. "I know we didn't discuss this beforehoof, but I know you're more than ready to take on a student Twilight."
"I- Princess…" Twilight blinked. She seemed to be fighting with emotions. "I'd gladly take Harry as a student it's just- Are you sure I'm ready?" she asked, her voice extremely nervous to Harry's ears. Her wings fluttered nervously.
"Absolutely, Twilight," Celestia said, pulling her pupil over to her with a wing. Soon both of the younger fillies were wrapped in the warm fluffy wings of Celestia.
Honestly, it was a little bit stifling in Harry's opinion. Twilight, however, didn't seem to mind as she leaned against her mentor. Harry decided to keep her mouth shut on it then and just enjoy the closeness. It was something she didn't get from the Dursleys, and oddly enough it seemed to make her horn ache less.
A flutter of wings announced the arrival of two owls through one of the open windows. Hedwig, who perched on the windowsill and gave Harry an annoyed look (she really needed to get her those treats), and a much smaller owl that claimed a small specially made perch by a large mirror that seemed to be in a frame that resembled a horseshoe. It was connected to all sorts of strange gadgets.
"What's with the mirror?" Harry asked, rather curious.
Twilight glanced over. "Oh, it's a portal to yet another world," Twilight said, getting a blink from Harry.
"Another world?" Harry parroted.
Celestia chuckled. "Whereas your world is connected by a naturally occurring portal, that mirror is a creation of the ancient unicorn, Starswirl the Bearded. It leads to a world far lower in magic than even yours. It's a parallel world that until recently only connected with ours every thirty moons."
One of Harry's ears tilted to the side, a strange sensation still, and she stared at it. "How does that work? I thought you had to raise and lower the sun and moon manually?" she asked, "Does that mean you could just spin the sun and moon rapidly until it opens again?"
Celestia blinked down at her as Twilight started giggling. "Well, no. Moons refer to a period of time. 'Spinning' the heavens would hardly accelerate time. It would, however, garner me with quite a few diplomatic complaints from our neighbours," she said.
"Huh." She hadn't really thought about what politics had to be like in a world where the political leaders of a nation had, unfortunately necessary, control over the heavenly bodies. "Hadn't thought about that."
"We'll cover politics at some point," Twilight said, extending a wing of her own over Harry. She let the older mare pull her over as Celestia adjusted her own position.
"Bleh," Harry grumbled with a frown that seemed only to amuse her assigned teacher. Above them Celestia sipped her tea. After a few moments, Harry yawned. The warmth from being within the wings of two alicorns was enough to put her to sleep and she hadn't gotten that nap earlier.
She was never quite sure at what point she drifted off to sleep.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Harry ran. Down the steps and across the entry hall, out the front door of Privet drive and around the Whomping Willow, her hooves churning up the turquoise grass before she leaped to the roof the burrow and stumbled to a stop at the cliff edge between Ollivanders and his old elementary school.
She danced in place, panic suffusing her being. She had to run, but she could jump into the endless abyss in front of her. Not that she could turn back either they were-
"There he is," Petunia Dursley sneered in a tone that sounded more like Draco Malfoy than her usual high tones.
Harry spun on the spot, chocolate fudge spraying out from under her hooves and turned to butterfly taffy mid air that fluttered off to the nearest cafe plant. Staring at her with bright eyes was Petunia Dursley. To her right was the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge who licked a line of white frosting from his fudgy lips, on the left was Hermione and Ron both of whom looked oddly like clockwork dolls. Looming over all of them was Vernon Dursley, swelled up like some great purple balloon.
"Freak got freakier," Dursley said from behind Harry as he stepped out of Sugarcube Corner. A small part of her mind whispered, 'Hadn't there been a void there a moment before?'
"Not a freak. Not one of ours," The Minister for Magic spat, toffy pattering the ground as it left his lips. "Not even human."
"Ran. off. he. did." Ron said, his tone short and halting.
"No I didn't," Harry blurted out, "I'm through the portal! I've sent you letters!"
"Not. A. Man. Anymore. Just. Animal," Hermione said, though her words sounded like Pansy Parkinson. She drew a licorice lampstandard from her pocket and held it like a wand. Harry took two steps back from them shaking her head.
"No I'm not!" She shouted, glancing around as more friends and family and enemies stepped out of corners, hung off branches, waltzed from the shadows of flickering turquoise flames.
She spun in place as they started chanting, "Animal! Animal! Animal!" Tears sprang to her eyes, somehow not stinging even though they seemed to be made from Bertie Botts Beans. They landed in the pudding below her with a 'plop plop plop'.
What was she supposed to do? They were everywhere! She whimpered. Vernon shoved his way past his wife and the minister. His hand came up, blotting out the cotton candy sky with a purple hue, before coming down
"I think that's is enough of that," a commanding voice declared from on high. A ripple of magic rolled over everything and suddenly Harry blinked as she found herself in her room at Twilight's Castle.
"Who…?" she spun looking around for the speaker. She started as she spotted a tall dark blue alicorn with a mane and tail of waving dark blue potted with starlight. On her flank was a black splotch and a crescent moon. "I- Oh! Princess Luna!" She shouted, recognizing her Godmother's description of her sister. "Oh thank you. I didn't know what to do. They were all shouting and Vernon was going to hit me and-" She was abruptly silenced as Luna placed a calming hoof to her lips.
"Be at peace, Harry Potter," she said softly, "It was only a nightmare, nothing more."
Harry blinked… Night…. Mare? She glanced around at the room. Hadn't she been in the library…? "Oh… Ooooh," she blushed and scuffed her hooves on the dream floor. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
"That you are, young one, and quite loudly at that," Princess Luna said kneeling down beside her, "I couldn't help but notice your dream the moment I began my duties."
"Sorry…" She mumbled. Luna placed a hoof on her withers.
"Child, do not apologise for things outside your control," She said, "Nightmares are nightmares. They are no pony's fault. It is my duty to help our little ponies with their nightmares and it shall never be an inconvenience. So do not think that it is."
She nodded, then squeaked as Luna pulled her over into a hug. After a moment she stopped struggling and let the older pony hold her. It felt nice after what felt like hours, or maybe seconds, of being chased through all the places she knew by caricatures of everyone. She let out a sigh.
"I should've noticed everything was made from candy," she grumbled.
"The dreaming mind accepts things as a matter of course that the waking mind never would," Luna said with a smile that Harry felt more than heard as Luna rested her head atop Harry's.
Harry nodded. She knew she was right, but… "I must have fallen asleep when Princess Celestia was hugging Twilight and I," she said.
"Mine sister does make a warm blanket," Luna said with some amusement, "You are not the first to fall asleep against her. Nor, I imagine, shall you be the last."
Harry nodded, feeling her eyes drooping again. No fair. How was she tired…. In a dream?
"Rest peacefully, Harry Potter," was the last thing she heard Luna say before she faded from the dream.
An unknown time later, her mind filled with nibbling on a field of strange white flowers that tasted oddly like mayonnaise, Harry slowly cracked her eyes open with a yawn. She blinked as the horseshoe-shaped mirror in the library swam into focus. She shook her head and blinked again.
"Ah, you're awake." Harry looked up to find that she was nestled on a large pillow beside Princess Celestia who seemed to be reading a book. "Did you sleep well?" she asked.
Harry frowned. She vaguely remembered something about being chased only… "I was having a nightmare, when Princess Luna showed up," she said.
Celestia smiled and bent down to nuzzle the side of Harry's face. She was still getting used to the strange ways ponies showed affection, but she returned the gesture. "I thought your sleep looked disturbed earlier. I was about to wake you when you quieted down," She said, "I'm happy to see Luna decided to help you."
It had been a rather weird dream, even stranger than the ones about Professor Quirrel's turban… Which had probably had something to do with Voldemort hiding beneath it. Maybe she should start keeping a log of her dreams, just in case?
The door of the library creaked open to reveal Twilight. "Oh, Harry's up," she said, "Dinner is about ready as well. Come on." With that, she turned and trotted back out the door. Harry let Princess Celestia poke her to her hooves and herd her out the door to dinner.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Riding a hippogriff was still a strange experience for Sirius. It was nothing like riding a broom. The lack of complete control was at times rather terrifying, to say nothing of landing. Unlike a broom a hippogriff required a greater amount of space, but the front yard was more than sufficient. He eyed the front door and the vehicles parked out front as he dismounted.
"C'mon, let's head around back," he said, guiding Buckbeak with a steady hand. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do with the hippogriff, but bringing him to Equestria was probably out. The skittish ponies Lily had introduced them to would likely freak out with an animal like him around. Assuming he didn't turn into anything else.
He was unsurprised when, as he turned the corner of the building a spear was pointed in his face as a dozen armoured men and women emerged from hiding places to surround him and Buckbeak. He raised his hands slowly to show surrender.
"Easy there, Steel Hoof," he said soothingly to the large man. Buckbeak squawked and reared, though he didn't attack anyone he certainly looked agitated.
"Don't go 'easy there' to me, Sirius," he growled.
"Well you should calm down, Buckbeak here gets a little territorial. He'll attack if you get too threatening," Sirius said, jamming his head toward the animal.
"Hippogriff. Earth one," Another said.
"Yeah, he's been my transport for the last few days," Sirius replied, "Look, I'm just here to see Harry. Don't even have my wand at the moment."
"Stand down," a voice he was unfamiliar with said before a handsome man with hair in shades of blue stepped out of the shadows. "Sirius Black, Prince Shining Armor."
"Nice to meet you," he said, nodding to the man. A small part in the back of his mind wondered what he'd look like as a stallion and was promptly quashed with practised efficiency. Over a decade later and Lily was still pranking him. Merlin, this trip wasn't going to help with that but it was for Harry so he'd bear with it.
The guards stepped back and came to rest with their spears against their shoulders.
"Princess Celestia says you're here to turn yourself into our custody," the Prince said, "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Not in the least," he replied, "At least I'll get better treatment with you than back in Azkaban."
Shining Armor nodded and glanced at Buckbeak. "So, what are we going to do with this one?" he asked.
Sirius shrugged. "Not a clue."
"Can't really let it wander, can we?" Shining asked, eyeing the claws, "I'll have some animal experts come through to care for him. Anything they should know?"
"Hippogriffs are prideful and take offence easily. They're smart enough to understand when they're being insulted," Sirius said, recalling his care of magical creatures classes, "Make sure to bow to one before approaching. If it doesn't bow back, back off and let someone else deal with it."
"Right. Heavyheart, Thunderhoof," the Prince pointed out two of his men, "You're on bird duty. We'll send some ponies through shortly."
"Great…"
"Sir."
"Good, now, let's move. Princess Celestia is waiting for you, Sirius Black," Shining Armour said, gesturing for Sirius to follow him. Sirius let him lead the way. Behind him Buckbeak followed, walking a few steps behind him. Maybe the bird would follow him through the portal. That would be amusing. What did Hippogriffs turn into in Equestria anyways?
Shining armour led him to the portal and stepped through. Sirius paused at the threshold for a moment. "Lily, I really wish you'd warned me the first time," he muttered before taking a step through.
One mildly disorienting trip between realities later hoofs clattered on wood as Sirius stumbled through the portal. Sirius stumbled to the side and came to lean against the railing of the gazebo on the other side.
"Ugh," Sirius groaned before taking stock. Tar black coat? Matted like it hadn't been washed in years, but check. Grey mane and tail with a stripe of pure silver down the middle? Also matted, but check. Cutie Mark of a sleeping white sheep on a starry background? Check. Gender?
"I hate this part," the very definitely female black grumbled as she steadied herself. Old instincts from both her animagus form and her previous visit returned quickly as she watched something come blasting out of the portal and out onto the field beyond… The field that was full of half a company of Royal Guard surrounding the brilliant white form of Celestia sitting behind a folding table that looked comically small for her.
Sirius peered over the railing at the small form that had been projectile launched from the portal. A turquoise hippogriff foal lay upside down halfway between the portal and Celestia. It squawked something and wriggled onto its hooves and claws. The young colt stared at the much larger ponies around it before raising its wings and letting out a shriek.
"Well this is awkward," Sirius muttered as she emerged from the gazebo. Her horn lit up with a pure white aura that scooped up the hippogriff foal. He twisted in her aura to shriek at her. "That's enough Buckbeak," she said, holding the hippogriff just out of reach of his talons. They stared at each other for a long few moments before the foal sniffed and let out an inquisitive note of confusion. She nodded firmly and floated the colt off to her side, though she didn't put him down. Who knew what effects being turned into an Equestria Hippogriff would have on the Earth one in the long run, but for now, he was basically a feral child.
She walked up to Princess Celestia. Her old acquaintance was eyeing her with a look of concern. Sirius could only imagine how she looked right then. Matted fur, tail and mane, and probably filthy enough to meet the dirt quota of any ten foals for a week.
She glanced at the handsome blue-maned, white-coated stallion standing to Celestia's left. He had to be Prince Shining Armor. He was rather cute, maybe- no, bad filly. Think about how human Sirius would handle that thought later.
Shaking her head she came to a stop and curled one foreleg as she bowed to Princess Celestia. "I, Sirius Orion Black of House Black, am here to turn myself over to the mercy of the Equestrian Throne," she intoned formally.
"That will not be necessary," Celestia said, prompting her to look up surprised, "I intend to have this dealt with now, not later." A small clear flask with an equally clear liquid rose from under the table. The cork came free and three small drops were dripped into a cup of water. "Drink, Sirius Orion Black, and let the truth be known."
"If someone doesn't mind hanging onto Buckbeak here," Sirius said, glancing about.
"I'll take him," Shining Armor said. A pinkish aura surrounded the hippogriff foal and Sirius let him go. Without a second thought, she grabbed the glass of water and downed the entire thing. Almost instantly a fog crawled into her mind.
The questioning that followed was a blur in Sirius' mind. Veritaserum was like that. Eventually, though, she came back to awareness, the taste of apple juice on her lips as Celestia floated a drink away from her. She shook herself like a dog.
"I hate that feeling," she told Celestia. The old Alicorn laughed as she set the drink aside.
"I have no doubt about that. Tell me, Sirius, how did that date with Cloud Fisher go last time you were here?" Celestia asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Sirius glared at her. "You better not have asked about that while I was drugged," she said as memories of the bright blue pegasus stallion popped up.
"You will tell me at some point," Celestia said with a teasing grin.
"Not a chance. How's Harry?" she asked. Seeing as she hadn't been clapped in irons and a restraint ring dropped over her horn, she suspected that Celestia had taken her answers well then.
"She is doing well. I've left her-"
"She?" Sirius said, her own voice cracking before she started laughing. "I see Harry hasn't taken after James this time." Oh the pup was probably as freaked out as she had been the first time.
"Indeed she hasn't," Celestia said with a touch of amusement, "She's currently staying with my student Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Princess Twilight Sparkle? When did you get a third Princess?" Sirius asked, "And wasn't your student… Sunny Shimmer?"
"Sunset Shimmer…" Celestia frowned and sighed. "Sunset started down a dark path not long after you left. She eventually fled for another world. She has since found herself again, but she remains there attending school."
Sirius frowned. "That's unfortunate," she said, feeling her ears drooping. She'd liked the little bacon-haired unicorn.
"It was… I still hope she'll come home some day, but there is little I can do for now," Celestia said, "It is also four Princesses now. My sister has been returned to us, sane once more." She smiled, "I have Twilight Sparkle and her friends to thank for that."
"It seems I've missed quite a bit," Sirius said before coughing into her fetlock. She swayed on her feet. She had been feeling better since leaving Azkaban, but that was like saying someone starving felt better after a single meal. It was an illusion brought about by lowered expectations.
"Shining Armor, I believe we will be returning to the palace shortly," Celestia said as she eyed Sirius. The black unicorn mare smiled.
"Guard, prepare for departure… Princess, what should we do with this one?" Shining said, holding up the hippogriff foal. A golden aura captured him as Celestia's horn lit up with the same aura. Buckbeak found himself between Celestia's front legs looking quite confused.
"I shall take care of him for now, I think," she said with a smile.
"He was a full-grown hippogriff in Britain," Sirius said, "Why is he so small now?"
"It may simply be a matter of age, or maturity, or the simple whims of reality," Celestia said, "Who can say?"
Sirius hummed. "Would it be possible to see Harry?" she asked.
"Not today. You can see Harry after you've cleared a medical check-up and had several baths," Celestia said, shooting her a look, "I'm sorry to say you're quite fragrant, and not in a good way."
Sirius turned and sniffed her side, grimacing hard. "No disagreement here," she said, shuddering. A bath. Oh she would kill, quite literally, for a bath. She hadn't had one since… since…
The day before everything had gone to shit most likely.
She slumped to the ground as her legs gave out abruptly. She blinked rapidly as her vision blurred. "Celestia, I- James… Lily… I-" She sniffled. She didn't resist as the table was lifted out of the way and Celestia pulled her over with her magic. "I got them killed!" She buried her head under her hooves as the tears finally started falling. A hoof nearly as large as her head rubbed her back as she tried and failed to reign in the outpouring of emotions.
"You did no such things, Sirius Black," Celestia said gently, "By your own testimony, you had no idea that Peter had turned coat."
"I still suggested it!" She snapped through her tears, ripping her head out from under her hooves with a flash of self-loathing, "It was my idea. Not Peter's. Not James' or Lily's. Mine. I tried to be clever and got them killed… should have been me…" Her anger flared… and flashed out as she tried to glare up at Celestia. Her furious expression fell as her sight blurred further and she buried her head into the far larger mare's pristine coat. A hoof rubbed her back.
A concerned chirp caused her to pull back and glance down. Buckbeak looked up at her. He placed a talon on her forehoof and chirped again. She smiled down at the hippogriff foal and patted him on the head. "Thank you," she told him through sniffles.
Merlin, she was falling to pieces.
"Better?" Celestia asked.
"Not really," she replied, sniffling.
"A spa visit should help with that, along with a few months of good food," Celestia said, prodding her in the ribs. They weren't quite skeletal, but she was incredibly thin around the barrel.
"... food… Yeah, yeah some food, and a bath, sounds really good," she admitted, stepping back and shaking herself back into some shape… a matted, ratty shape, but a shape. It had fewer tears, though they had yet to stop falling entirely. She sniffled. "Perhaps you're right. I have some time. I don't have to show up to see Harry looking like a lunatic that escaped Azkaban."
Buckbeak was floated up and onto Celestia's back as she stood up. "Then let us get going. Until you recover enough to stay with Harry the Royal Palace is open to you," Celestia said, guiding her with a wing toward where the Princess' flying chariot was being hooked up to a team of Pegasi.
"Sorry, Harry," Sirius mumbled as she stepped onto the chariot, "It seems I'll be a few days late." As the chariot lurched into the sky, Sirius turned to watch the Evans estate disappear in the distance…
"Oh," she perked up and looked up at Celestia, "I just about forgot, Remus should be joining us in a few days. I sent him a message yesterday."
"And another old friend comes by. I look forward to it," Celestia said with a smile.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The next few days passed quickly for Harry in a flurry of homework. Twilight had insisted that she practise her hornwriting while working on the homework assignments. That, and she wasn't allowed to go into town until they were done.
Once her assignments were out of the way, and a second round of letters exchanged with her friends who were starting to wonder what was going on with her -- she really couldn't blame them, she wasn't exactly explaining herself well after all -- she had been told to take a day out and about before they started Twilight's lessons. The older filly seemed to be practically vibrating with anticipation, when she wasn't panicking and running about with dozens of books floating over her head while Harry and Spike watched. It was a sight Harry was slowly growing used to. She wasn't quite at the point of eating an entire platter of snacks while watching like Spike sometimes did. Only sometimes, because Twilight tended to get annoyed when people ate in her library.
Harry's goal on that day was to finish familiarising herself with the town and maybe grab a snack. She'd been left with the goal of 'making friends' by Twilight. Like she didn't already have them back on Earth. Still, a few friends would be nice. Some locals she could visit with when she was in town.
Which was how she walked in on half the town performing a highly coordinated dance number in the town square. She paused at the edge of the dance area and stared. She could feel the magic driving the performance. It was warm and carried on the voice of the singer, or singers in this case. A trio of flower cutie-marked ponies were celebrating something about flowers?
Harry took a step closer to the square- "In all the colours of the rainbow~" Harry closed her mouth with a click and took two hurried steps back as the words of the chorus burst from her. She barely managed to keep from skipping into the line with the rest of the crowd. It didn't feel bad though. Kinda like getting hit with an overpowered cheering charm alongside the urge to just go with the flow.
"Not going to join in, darling?" Harry jumped as Rarity spoke up from just behind her. The pretty purple-maned unicorn smiled apologetically. "I'm so sorry for sneaking up on you."
"It's fine," Harry said, stepping a bit further away from the musical. "What's going on?"
"You don't know?" Rarity asked with a touch of surprise. Harry shook her head. "Oh my, what has Twilight been teaching you?"
"Not much so far. I've mostly been doing my homework and practising writing," Harry said.
"I suppose those are important things. But do you not have Heartsongs in the human world?" the older unicorn asked.
"Heartsong?" Harry asked, glancing at the continuing song and dance routine. This was common enough to have a name?
"Yes. I'll admit I don't know the exact mechanical reasons behind it. Magical theory is more Twilight's interest than my own," Rarity said, listening to the chorus, "I've sung more than a few before. They usually occur when I'm struck by something I'm particularly passionate about. I know it's the same for the rest."
"And it just drags in everyone around you?" Harry asked, observing the CMC get pulled in as they entered the square.
"At times," Rarity said with a slight shrug, "Well, it is rather often that way, I'll admit. Twilight's pulled the rest of us into a few over the last few years. The incident that led to her ascension started with one. Rather ironic in topic as well from what I've been told."
"Been told? You weren't there?" Harry asked.
"Oh I was, however… Well magic had happened and for some reason I had Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark. I spent several days rearranging the weather into beautiful patterns before Twilight managed to straighten things out. It was…" Rarity made a face, "Well not one our prouder moments. I believe we drove the entire town quite batty that week."
"I thought small towns were supposed to be slow," Harry said flatly.
"It just means that when things happen the chaos is concentrated, darling," Rarity said with a smile, "Don't worry about getting caught up in one. It can be quite good exercise and cathartic. Who knows, you might spawn one or two yourself during your time here."
Harry turned back to the square and tried to picture being so happy about something that her magic incidentally started a disney musical. She couldn't do it. "I'll take your word for it," she said eventually.
"By all means," Rarity said, "It seems they're winding down now. I wonder how long this one went for?" The three flower sellers were raising their voices for a climactic high note that tugged at Harry's hooves causing her to unconsciously start to bounce in place.
"What's the longest time you've seen one last?" Harry asked as she bounced along to the tune.
"A full day. It was the cutie mark incident I mentioned earlier. Twilight was so very happy when she figured out how to solve it. We did the entire thing while singing," Rarity admitted, "I nearly passed out when we finished, but then she went and accidentally turned herself into an Alicorn and well… New Princess. Sleep was no longer an option. I had to make an entire dress overnight just for her coronation the next day." She shook her head. "I passed out ten minutes after her coronation and didn't wake up for an entire day. Gave Sweetie Belle quite the fright in the process as well I'm afraid."
The singing reached a climactic pitch and the entire square froze in the final motions of the musical number before as the music stopped the assembled ponies shook themselves off and returned to their lives chatting energetically. A long queue had formed in front of the flower stalls.
"Well, it's over now," Harry said.
"So it is. Now, tell me darling, do you have any plans for the moment?" Rarity asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing at the moment. I was just planning on exploring and maybe getting a snack at Sugarcube corner."
"Well, in that case, why don't you join me at the spa? I'm sure they can fit you in," Rarity said.
"Oh, um… I doubt I have the funds for something like that," Harry said, fidgeting. The spa? She'd never been and it seemed a bit… well… Girly.
"Nonsense, darling. It will be my treat," Rarity said, "Besides, I would love to see what Aloe and Lotus can do with that wild hair of yours. They are far better with hair than I am." She nudged Harry along with her muzzle. "Come along darling. You'll enjoy it, I promise."
Not entirely sure how to say no, Harry just nodded and let the older unicorn push her along toward the spa she had walked by the previous two times she had been in town. They passed through the area of the dance and Harry could feel the good cheer hanging in the air. It was like a weak wide-area cheering charm that didn't do much more than brighten your day.
"Oh!" Harry blinked and glanced to her right as they were leaving the square. Pinkie Pie was staring at her with widening eyes and a sharp inhaled gasp. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Pinkie bounced in place rapidly and then promptly disappeared into the crowd. At least, she thought she did. She might have just somehow managed to teleport.
"Oh dear, that's never a good sign," Rarity said as they continued walking.
"What- oh, Pinkie?" Harry asked.
"She doesn't normally do that twice to the same person. At least, not so quickly one after the other. I can't imagine what might have made her do that… unless she forgot something? Though what that could be…" Rarity hummed thoughtfully as she continued to guide Harry to the spa.
"... Mrs. Cake mentioned something about a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. She seemed surprised I hadn't gotten one already," Harry said.
"Oh. Oh. Yes, that would do it. Expect a party when you get back to Twilight's Castle. I imagine Pinkie has run off to prepare it," Rarity said with a touch of amusement, "Though I can't imagine Twilight will be too enthusiastic about a sudden invasion of her castle."
"Should we warn her?" Harry asked, only to be surprised as Rarity waved a hoof.
"Of course not, Darling. A Pinkie Party would do Twilight a world of good I assure you," she said, "She's been so tense recently." Harry nodded. She'd trust one of Twilight's old friends to know if she was. "And here we are. Come along." Rarity nudged Harry into walking through the sliding doors of the spa.
A pair of ponies, one with a light cerulean coat and a pale rose pink mane, and the other with the reverse, were busy behind the front counter as they entered. The pink maned pony poked her head up from behind the counter as the bell tingled. "Oh, Rarity, welcome and you've brought someone with you again. Hello and welcome to Ponyville Spa, how can we help you today?" she asked.
"Hooves, hair and a massage I think, my treat," Rarity said, "It's her first time."
"Ah, of course." Pony bent down to write something, pencil held in her mouth.
"Really, Rarity, you don't have to-" Harry started to say, only for Rarity to wave a hoof.
"Of course I don't, but I want to, and if you pardon me saying, you look nearly as tense as Twilight. Whatever is the matter?" Rarity said.
"Um…" Harry fidgeted.
"Can we get a name for the records?" the pony behind the counter asked.
"Pardon me. Where are my manners today? Aloe, Lotus, this is Harry Potter. Twilight's new student," Rarity said, gesturing to Harry, "Harry, this is Lotus Blossom," she pointed to the pink maned, cerulean pony, "and this is her sister, Aloe Vera." She gestured to the pink pony with a cerulean mane.
"Welcome to our Spa, Harry Potter," the sisters said as one, bowing their heads before Lotus stepped forward. "Please, both of you, follow me."
Feeling a bit of trepidation, and rather uncertain how to turn down Rarity's aggressive generosity, Harry let the two older mares lead her into the spa. This wasn't what she had planned for the day, but she really wasn't sure how to say no without offending Rarity. She resolved to just deal with whatever awaited her.
Two hours later Harry let out a relaxed sigh as hooves gently worked over her back. Her eyes lazily watched as Aloe took a file to her forehooves. "Rarity, I take back all the horrible things I was thinking. Thank you," she murmured.
The older mare tittered from where she was lounging. "Dear, compared to Rainbow Dash, you hardly made a fuss. Now, isn't this nice?" she asked with a knowing smirk.
"Hmmm…" Harry mumbled something incoherent into the pillow. She wasn't really sure what she'd tried to say.
"I thought so," Rarity smiled.
Soon enough, though, the massage, and hoof trimmings, were done and she had to get up. She stretched and yawned as Aloe and Lotus led her over to a luxuriously soft cushion beside Rarity. She felt honestly relaxed for the first time in…
Ever maybe.
Wow, did that say a lot about his life in Britain. Mind you, school wasn't really a relaxing place even when all the students weren't wizards and witches in training. She yawned again as the spa ponies brought out brushes and hair clippers and set to work. Her eyes flickered shut again as her coat was brushed out.
A few minutes later she was nudged awake. "Pardon me, Miss," Aloe said with a smile, "But I need your opinion on your mane and tail. What do you think?"
Harry blinked slowly as her eyes gradually focused on the mirror in front of her, before her eyes went wide with surprise. Her mane and tail, always a tangled mess no matter what she did, had been brushed out. While not straight, it had become neat with a deliberate waviness that bounced whenever she turned her head without it turning back into the mess from before. She stared at her reflection.
"How?" she asked, looking at Aloe with shock, "No one's ever managed to get my hair to behave."
"It was quite difficult," Aloe admitted, "But we do enjoy a challenge. Now, if you wish to do something similar at home…" Harry listened with more attentiveness than she would have expected earlier in the day. It wasn't information that he would ever use once he was back at school, but as she shot a look at her reflection, maybe it was something that she would find quite useful.
Another half an hour later Harry stepped out of the spa with Rarity. "Again, thank you," Harry said honestly. She felt refreshed, clean, and more relaxed than she'd been in ages. She touched a hoof to her mane. She couldn't believe they'd managed to tame the mess even for a short while. Time would tell if she used what they'd taught her, but it was nice to know it was possible to tame her hair if she really wanted to.
"Oh no need to thank me, Harry," Rarity said, "You looked like you needed some time to relax without worrying about the world. Now, shall we take a walk back to Twilight's Castle and see if Pinkie has been busy?"
"And maybe apologise to Twilight for not warning her?" Harry said as they started walking. She couldn't stop herself from humming a small tune that she couldn't quite place.
"Not at all. There is, after all, little one can do to stop Pinkie Pie once she starts planning a party," Rarity said with a small smile and a giggle.
The walk back to the castle was pleasant with Rarity asking her about Earth fashions. She didn't really know much, but Rarity didn't seem to mind. If anything it seemed to make her more interested in making a visit to Earth at some point. Maybe she should see about getting a Vogue magazine or something similar picked up for her? Something to ask her Godmother next time the Princess of the Sun came to visit.
There was no sign on the outside of the gleaming crystalline castle of Pinkie Pie. Nor was there anything in the entrance hall as their hooves echoed in the large room. "You know, is there a reason everything is so… barren, in here?" Harry asked Rarity.
"It's a might creepy, isn't it?" Rarity sighed, "The castle is only a few months old now and I'm afraid Twilight still has yet to really take to it. We've been discussing holding an intervention for her, but we're unsure how to go about it."
Harry nodded with a frown. "Maybe just show up with some decorations and just ask her where she wants them?" she suggested, "Anything would be better than these empty hallways."
"Well I would hardly foist 'anything' off on her, but you do have a point, Darling," Rarity agreed, "It certainly wouldn't hurt."
"She'd also probably love a few… hundred, more bookcases," Harry suggested. If she was as much like Hermione as she seemed then it would be a guaranteed hit.
"And likely books as well, but I suppose she could fill them herself…" Rarity hummed before smiling, "That is an ingenious idea. I know she misses the Golden Oak Library, it was her home for years before that awful monster Tirek destroyed it. Just maybe adding a little library charm to this place would help her take to it. I'll have to speak to the girls. Perhaps we can come up with something."
Harry nodded as she led the way up the steps toward the only truly occupied portion of the castle. Her ears twitched at every little noise as they walked down the hallway to the library. There was something shuffling about in… yup, the library. Whispering too.
She turned to Rarity and raised a hoof to her lips as she stopped in front of the door. She grinned mischievously. "Oh no," she said with a gasp loud enough to be heard through the door, "I think I forgot my coin purse back at the spa!" She jumped and clattered her hooves on the floor loudly and rapidly danced in place getting quieter until she stopped. Rarity had a hoof over her mouth as she tried not to laugh.
A few seconds after she stopped moving a voice inside the library shouted, "OH COME ON!"
Harry kicked the door open. "SURPRISE!" she shouted as she and Rarity entered to the sight of several dozen ponies jumping in all directions. She laughed as she saw Rainbow Dash dart up so hard she bounced off the ceiling. "Turns out, I didn't leave anything behind," she said cheerfully.
Pinkie Pie, who was standing in the middle of the room, promptly broke down laughing. "You surprised your own surprise party," she giggled, rolling the floor.
Twilight, chuckling softly, walked over to Harry as the room started laughing. "I don't think I've seen someone get the drop on one of Pinkie's Parties before."
"Neither have I, Twilight," Rarity said with some mirth, "This may be a first."
Harry simply grinned at her teacher. "She kinda gave the game away earlier when she gasped and ran off," she said.
"She does have a habit there, I suppose," Twilight said, "I see Rarity took you to the spa."
"It was… nicer than I expected," Harry said, stretching once more. "Now, do we have any snacks? I skipped Sugarcube Corner for-" She blinked and took a step back as Pinkie Pie materialised beside her with a plate of cupcakes.
"Here. I always bring plenty of snacks and treats and tasty scrumptious delicacies!" Pinkie said. Harry took two with her magic.
"Thanks Pinkie," she said looking up at the banner hanging across the library. She frowned. "Is that banner missing the last letter again?"
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A/N: Chapter two~ Harry gets settled, sorta, and gets to have a little fun. Pony Life! Writing this has been fun but it'll be a while before I come back to it. I've got part of another chapter, but the muse has moved on for now. Next time should be a magical girl Ranma, though not a Sailor Moon fic. Blame Gekkou, she'd been influencing me this time
Gekkou_Yoko: You mean I don't often influence you?
Grounders10: … Admittedly, you've done it a lot. *glances back at Taylor-floof*
Gekkou_Yoko: *snickers*
Grounders10: and there are some stories where they'd be impossible to write without you. *points to With Grace and Elegance*
Gekkou_Yoko: You could write it just fine, it just would have several details being more fantasy than not.
Grounders10: I like accuracy, and on that note~ *picks up Gekkou and carries her off for more 'consulting'*
Gekkou_Yoko: Weee!~
Isiri Pudireach
Predictive text can go duck itself
Many ways this can go. An existing series like Precure, an OG setting... Sadly I can't think of a satisfying way to insert Ranma into the one MG setting I've been deep into lately (Symphogear).
- Location
- Europe
Grounders10, a Magical Ranko story?
Are we going lyrical, witchy strikes or perhaps mad Tanya's with a devils temperament at the Rhine???
Still think the magi-tech from Tanya The Devil Of The Rhine & Strike Witches, would combine quite nicely.
Which should place it between Infinite Stratos and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, in terms of magi-tech-combo's.
That drone Striker could become power armor and if they mounted the Jet Striker on it, all powered by a Computation Orb.....
On the other hand, Lolirock, Winx Club, Ladybug & Cat Noir, ect, ect.
Enough options, there.
I thus will eagerly wait till it's there.
Are we going lyrical, witchy strikes or perhaps mad Tanya's with a devils temperament at the Rhine???
Still think the magi-tech from Tanya The Devil Of The Rhine & Strike Witches, would combine quite nicely.
Which should place it between Infinite Stratos and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, in terms of magi-tech-combo's.
That drone Striker could become power armor and if they mounted the Jet Striker on it, all powered by a Computation Orb.....
On the other hand, Lolirock, Winx Club, Ladybug & Cat Noir, ect, ect.
Enough options, there.
I thus will eagerly wait till it's there.
- Location
- Washington
I kinda want Harry to keep this world from his friends for at least the first Summer. It would be good I think to just grow and spend time with Sirius and make friends in Ponyville. Still it was a great chapter and I look forward to more when inspiration strikes you again.
- Location
- 1050 mi away from Earth
One of Ranma's parents is from the Kazanari family, perhaps? Genjuurou (and the patriarch, I think?) already has blatantly superhuman feats, so if the patriarch heard about the goings-on around Ranma he might decide that the utility of having another high-level fighter potentially able to at least slow down an enemy symphogear user in the wrong place at the wrong time outweighs the annoyance of dealing with all the other people who believe they have a claim on him.
Alternatively, since we are in Grounders's thread here, Ranma finally ran away from Nerima and decided to hide in plain sight as Amou Kanade, in the hope that the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew would assume that he wouldn't want to be female as much as an idol career like that would require.
Ooooh! Mixing Ranma with Tanja the Evil????? Oh that would be glorious! Give Ranma a flight Orb and watch them enrage and confound entire Warfronts into screaming incoherent messes of sheer insulted RAGE!
Even better if both Salari-Tanja and Ranma are from the same world and Tanja heard of Nerima-Shenanigans before, thus she is forewarned!
Even better if both Salari-Tanja and Ranma are from the same world and Tanja heard of Nerima-Shenanigans before, thus she is forewarned!
Isiri Pudireach
Predictive text can go duck itself
You got it right, Fudo is the Kazanari patriarch.
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zN91WQzqQYc
(They have to let the girls fight because they physically can't hurt the mooks without a Symphogear.)
Which gives Ranma a reason to get involved in and of itself, honestly.
Having one of the people he cares for die to Noise is too edgy, I think, but one could easily have a person he doesn't care for but he knows about bite it - Pantyhose Taro, maybe? - as a Worf to let him know this is serious business and he needs to up his game; that could lead to him tracking down the only people he knows have an answer.
That, and just blocking is useless when fighting Noise. One touch without a Symphogear's protective field, and you're literally dust in the wind. Without a Relic, your only hope to survive a Noise attack is to evade, evade, evade, and keep evading. Anything else is death.
Grounders10
Nine-Tailed Kitsune
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada, Mars
The summer is going to be split into two halves. Sirius and Harry will get the first half to themselves. Notably, the summer is a bit of a double-long one due to how time flows between equestria and earth. Which will, admittedly, take up the majority of the summer.
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- Location
- Europe
Would the staffs from the Shaffron Fight, that Ranma might have kept, be of use, there?
Then there is the Yami-Sen-Ken as well.
Ranma might have better changes then most, to weather a noise attack, if Ranma knows that one touch and (s)he's death.
Evading could be done using the Umi-Sen-Ken, bet.
You know, I wonder what Petunia's deal is here. IIRC, she hates magic in canon because she found out that the magical world wanted nothing to do with her and she got spiteful and bitter about it, but I don't know why she would have turned her back on Equestria in this story.
Isiri Pudireach
Predictive text can go duck itself
It depends on if they are magic, and if that specific type of magic can interact with their bodies. Noise are ancient magitech weapons that selectively phase through matter, with the Symphogear having the ability to "normalize" them so to speak, allowing damage to be done.
And Noise attacks are always done via overwhelming number, as the "thouch you and die" also eliminates the one killing you.
Unless it's a Karma Noise as in XDU. IIRC, they can kill multiple people without self destructing. Their nature also makes it dangerous to use the IGNITE module when fighting them as they amplify the bad feelings, increasing the likelihood of going berserk.
Grounders10
Nine-Tailed Kitsune
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada, Mars
I am very bemused at the fact that rather than talk about the fic everyone has jumped onto chattering about Symphogear. *bemused kitsune*
Obviously the result of a leakage from the drabble thread of a different dimensional counterpart of yours. A cross between Symphogear and a story that never was made here. Or perhaps one that didn't reach wide acclaim. If not one that just went different to ours.
Oh I know, it's a Symphogear/Carebears cross, from the reality where instead of MLP:FiM, Carebears got an equivalent show. (Of course, tying it back to the Ranma bit, it's also where Ranma is somehow in the same canon as Symphogear.)
As for the chapter, it would be amusing if Harry's tamed hair ended up transferring over. Even crazier thought: The 'power he knows not' is haircare! Voldemort is bald, so he wouldn't put much stock in it. Let alone what Equestria has managed. So, in a truce with Draco, Harry gifts some Equestrian haircare products. (Or Draco decides to steal some of Harry's hair care product, because he deserves it more than any Griffindor.) However, being from Equestria, there's a bit of Harmony in it. Maybe literally, if Twilight/the other bearers of harmony help out with it, as a shared birthday gift or something. Maybe each gave a little, or something.
But Voldemort, having drunk unicorn blood via possessing Quirrel way back in Harry's first year, and became cursed because of it? Being too close to it harms him.
Oh I know, it's a Symphogear/Carebears cross, from the reality where instead of MLP:FiM, Carebears got an equivalent show. (Of course, tying it back to the Ranma bit, it's also where Ranma is somehow in the same canon as Symphogear.)
As for the chapter, it would be amusing if Harry's tamed hair ended up transferring over. Even crazier thought: The 'power he knows not' is haircare! Voldemort is bald, so he wouldn't put much stock in it. Let alone what Equestria has managed. So, in a truce with Draco, Harry gifts some Equestrian haircare products. (Or Draco decides to steal some of Harry's hair care product, because he deserves it more than any Griffindor.) However, being from Equestria, there's a bit of Harmony in it. Maybe literally, if Twilight/the other bearers of harmony help out with it, as a shared birthday gift or something. Maybe each gave a little, or something.
But Voldemort, having drunk unicorn blood via possessing Quirrel way back in Harry's first year, and became cursed because of it? Being too close to it harms him.
Star Blessed Heroine (Ranma 1/2)
Grounders10
Nine-Tailed Kitsune
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada, Mars
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A Ranma ½ Fanfic
Star Blessed Heroine
By: Grounders10
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Season 1
Episode 1: Prophecy
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A Ranma ½ Fanfic
Star Blessed Heroine
By: Grounders10
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Season 1
Episode 1: Prophecy
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There were days when it would have been better to stay in bed. To curl up under those nice warm sheets, bury your head under your pillow, and just pretend the world outside just didn't exist. For Ranma Saotome, seventeen-year-old martial artist prodigy and gender-swapping teenager, that day was proving to be today. Not that staying in bed was a choice when their father insisted on waking them up with the dawn to spar every single morning.
However, as the currently black-haired boy was put through the third reinforced concrete wall of the parkade in the last three minutes, he was seriously considering whether it would have been a good idea to go back to bed once it was over. He coughed and winced as his ribs felt like they were about to snap.
He didn't have a chance to pull himself out of the hole he'd made before a large meaty off-green hand of metal hauled him up by his shirt. He found himself staring into the unblinking 'eyes' of what had been an off-green Toyota Camry. It's headlights formed the wide-spaced eyes of it's new bipedal form.
"TIRES!" It shouted into his face, earning a somewhat pained eye-roll from the martial artist. That was all the creature had said since it came to life and started trashing the next-door arcade. He'd been passing by when it blew through two walls and started eating racing arcade cabinets for some reason.
"This has been amusing," said the true orchestrator of the incident. A young man only a few years older than Ranma in appearance with blue skin, blue hair, and wearing a red trenchcoat over a black suit who was lounging across the hood of a sedan. "I've never seen someone without magic put up this much of a fight, but I'm afraid this is where it ends."
"Not done yet," Ranma said, swinging his legs up to brace against the walking car's arm. He kicked off and hurled himself away from it hard enough to tear his shirt, a nice orange one he'd only had for a week. He rolled to his feet and jumped away over a Honda which promptly gained a hole in it as the machine charged after him with a shout of, "TIRES!"
"Enough. Finish him off already!" the blue man shouted at his creation, "Stop toying around. I wish to twist the fate of this area to our purposes already!"
"TIRES!" The machine roared. Its right forearm swelled, consuming the hand as it transformed into a prong with rapidly spinning tires on either side.
"I thought you said you were impressed?" Ranma shouted over his shoulder before diving under an entire axle as it was fired from the spinning tires like a railgun. "MOKO TAKABISHA!" He roared, firing his ki blast in reply. Like the last time he tried it the attack washed over the machine monster doing absolutely nothing more than making it stumble.
"I thought you were more intelligent. My Megasoria-infused monster can't be harmed by life force! All it does is make it stronger! Retaliate Megaya!" the man called, waving lazily toward Ranma.
"TIRES!"
Ranma dodged, dived, leaped and sprinted around the parkade as a fusillade of car parts tore through his surroundings. Cars, walls, the floor, the ceiling, nothing was spared as he kept barely ahead of it. He grit his teeth as he tried to think of something he hadn't already tried. Punches and kicks did nothing. Ki blasts were a waste of time. He could try and delve deeper into his bag of tricks, but they were either too situational to be helpful, or too weak to do anything.
"SPARKLING SUNSET WAVE!"
Without warning an orange and purple beam of energy slammed into the bipedal car monster from behind. With a cry of 'WONDERFUL!' it abruptly transformed back into the original Toyota Camry. Ranma backpedalled as all the damage was abruptly restored to normal as a wave of magic rolled out from the blast and he had to avoid a minivan as it slid back into position. At the same time, the magic washed over him and he felt the injuries he'd taken fade, though the magic didn't steal his fatigue at the same time.
A blonde-haired girl in a long white skirt, frilly blue top, and overly long blue and white petticoat bounded into the parkade brandishing a long crooked staff.
"Ugh," the blue-skinned alien sighed, "Took too long. Tisk. Later Magical Sunny!" He jauntily waved to the magical girl and vanished in a swirl of red light.
"Oh no," The magical girl groaned as he vanished. She huffed and looked around, starting as she saw Ranma step out from behind the vehicles. "Oh, Ranma. Are you okay?"
She knew him? "I'm fine. Just great after, whatever that was," he said as he eyed the girl. She didn't look familiar. He was pretty sure he'd remember a blonde if he'd met one. "How'd you do that?"
"Do- oh the attack. Magic, I'm afraid. Not a martial arts technique," the girl said, wiggling shyly, holding her staff against her knees with both hands. "Those sorts of creatures need magic to hurt them. A lot more magic than a Jusenkyo curse provides."
It did what now? Ranma leaned against the side of the hood of the minivan. "Look, thanks for helping," he said, taking a look around. The place was entirely fixed somehow. He'd heard about magical girls on the news. It was sort of a plague as some newscasters called it. Young girls in skirts and ribbons running around having punch-ups with demons and monsters and all sorts of others all over the place. He supposed Nerima was weird enough that it was just a matter of time before one showed up here.
"Oh, you're welcome. I- um, I should, get going. I need to make sure they didn't change the destiny of anything nearby," she said, turning quickly.
"Yeah, see you about," Ranma waved and let out a sigh as the girl rushed out. He sagged against the minivan. His injuries were gone, but he was still exhausted after fighting that thing for nearly half an hour without a single lick of progress to show for it. "Magical Girls. Guess pops was wrong, they aren't a myth after all." He chuckled. Admittedly he hadn't pushed that idea since they started appearing all over TV and not just tabloids.
Still, not a myth meant that more of their creepy monsters were going to show up and if that was a taste of what they were like then he was going to need to find some way to fight them. He really didn't want to spend the next rest of forever getting punched through walls by talking fire hydrants or plush toys.
Stretching, Ranma started walking for the exit. He still needed to pick up the rice Kasumi had asked him to get and a solution to this wasn't just going to jump him in a parkade… at least, he didn't think it would.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ranma dropped the bag of rice off on the counter and waved off Kasumi's thank you as the brunette young woman started working on dinner. Leaving the Eldest of the three Tendo sisters to cook, he walked over to the living room.
"Now we go to Harada for today's segment of Mahou Watch!" a voice said from the TV as Ranma paused in the doorway.
His father Genma Saotome, a large bulky bald man in a white gi; and Soun Tendo, the tall dark haired head of the Tendo Household; were playing shogi on the porch through the far door. Ranma's mother Nodoka Saotome, a beautiful redheaded woman in a formal kimono; was watching the TV from the coffee table with a small frown.
A perky brunette young woman in a frilly dress bounced onto the screen. She posed cutely. "Welcome to Mahou Watch where we recap and review this week's Mahou Shoujo sightings! I'm your host, Estuko Harada~! First on the billing for this week is a scuffle between the famed Senshi of Minato Ward and a giant talking tree monster not even five hundred yards from the Imperial Palace grounds!" The screen shifted to show five colourfully dressed young women in short skirts dashing and diving away from the lashing roots of what might have once been an ordinary oak tree.
Ranma winced as the green-skirted one took a blow that put her through a tanker truck labelled 'MILK'. That was going to be unpleasant to get out of her hair afterwards.
"Fortunately, it ended with minimal damage to local property and no civilian injuries. A nice change of pace from some of their early fights. Keep up the good work Senshi!" The scene transitioned to Harada wiggling back and forth in place. "From Tokyo, we're headed to the beautiful seaside town of Sukuyada~ The recent plague of monster attacks continued with a showdown on the docks involving a, I cannot believe I'm saying this, orange tutu-wearing shark. Not entirely sure what that was about ladies and gents, but fortunately like all fights in Sukuyada there doesn't seem to have been any lasting impact to the area."
A tutu what? Ranma stared at the TV for a moment. Compared to that, the transformer trying to kill him was perfectly normal.
"Then we're off to Nerima~ Normally a hotbed of martial arts shenaniganry we've seen a sudden explosion in Magical Girl sightings with the new girl on the block," the image changed to show the blonde girl from earlier, "Sunny Honey! Unfortunately, she was a bit late to today's scuffle near the Boom Zone Arcade, but one of the local martial artists seems to have managed to hold the creature off until she could arrive and swiftly defeat it. I've got to say, Sunny, you'll need to be a bit quicker than half an hour late if you want to keep on top of things in this business! Still, her magic put everything back to rights so we're lucky to have her."
Ranma's father grumbled. "There's one here now? Everywhere these brats go monsters show up. It's like they're attracting them," he complained, making a move on the shogi board.
"Now Saotome, it could very well be the other way around," Soun replied, "A natural response to monsters showing up. Besides, magical girls have been around since… well, forever really. Remember that one magical girl down in Osaka when we were training? What was her name… Moonlit Sonata or what have you?"
"Moonlit Cadenza," Ranma's mother corrected absently.
Soun snapped his fingers. "That was it. You were awfully appreciative of her if I recall, eh, Saotome," he chuckled as Genma went red and Nodoka let out a girlish giggle, shooting Genma a devious look.
Deciding he didn't want to know, Ranma turned and walked away before anyone noticed him lurking in the doorway. Besides, when Sunny had fixed everything, she hadn't included his shirt in that and he needed to get changed.
"Oh, Ranma." He looked up as he reached the stairs to find Akane Tendo, his arranged fiance, looking at him worriedly. She was dressed in a light blue sundress with a yellow and green jacket. Her dark blue hair had grown out a little bit over the last few months, though it still remained fairly short and well above her neck. "Did something happen?"
"Ran into some kind of car monster thing," he said, running a hand along the ragged edge of his shirt, "Didn't seem to matter what I did, it just bounced off." He started up the steps. "One of those magical girls showed up and turned it into a car or something."
"Are you okay?" Akane asked, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"O' course I'm fine, 'Kane," he said, shrugging her off. "It just got my shirt. Stupid thing could barely hit the side of the parkade and we were inside it."
"Still… I heard you need magic to hurt those things. Just run if you find one, alright?" Akane said, looking concerned.
"I'm fine and I'll be fine, Akane. Seriously, it sucked at fighting," he said, brushing her off. It had sucked at fighting. It had no form, no skill, just a lot of power, speed, and some kind of invulnerability. It wasn't like other monsters he'd encountered. Most of those you could at least hurt if you knew how to hit them. This thing just hadn't cared that it got hit.
Akane huffed. "Fine. See if I care when you spend six months in traction," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to visit Sayuri. Try not to get into another fight with a supernatural monster, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," Ranma said, waving over his shoulder as he walked up the stairs. He paused. "Hey, Kasumi just started on dinner!"
"I already told her. I'm having dinner with Sayuri!" his fiance called back. With a shrug, he kept walking. Akane was spending a lot of time with her friends these days.
Forty minutes later Ranma walked into the living room, which also doubled as the dining room, to join the rest for dinner. Without Akane, or Nabiki since the middle Tendo sister was off somewhere, it was a lot quieter than normal. As it came to a close his mother frowned at the room.
"I had hoped everyone would be here tonight," she sighed.
"Is something wrong, Auntie?" Kasumi asked.
"Not wrong, so much as I have an announcement," the older woman said, setting her chopsticks down. Ranma half-turned on his cushion. "So this morning I received a phone call from my mother."
"I have Grandparents?" Ranma blurted out, going red as she turned to raise an eyebrow at him. Beside her his father quietly facepalmed.
"Yes, you do," she said, "They're interested in meeting their grandson… and their granddaughter."
"... They're what?" Ranma asked, his brain skipping a beat.
It was his mother's turn to turn red. "They seem to be under the impression that I failed to mention that I had a daughter at some point," she said, tapping her fingers on the table, "My mother was unwilling to hear my explanation over the phone so tomorrow Ranma and I are going to be catching the train to go visit my family for the rest of summer break."
"Where I'll have to demonstrate my curse," Ranma deadpanned.
"Well, yes. I doubt my parents will believe anything without a demonstration," his mother said.
"Is Genma not going with you?" Soun asked.
"My mother explicitly said that he wasn't invited," Nodoka replied, shooting her husband a not-so-apologetic look. Genma, if anything, looked relieved. "They never have gotten along."
Soun nodded, putting his hand to his chin. "A chance for Ranma to get to know the other side of his family. I'm sure Akane would love to accompany you-"
"Not this time," Nodoka said before Soun could continue his pitch for Akane to accompany them, "Family only. My mother was quite clear and frankly, I feel it may be for the best. A chance for all parties to have a breather. Collect themselves after the last couple of years."
Soun frowned but nodded after a moment. "Perhaps it's for the best. Things have been a little… strained, of late," he admitted. Ranma restrained a snort. 'Strained' was the normal state of affairs since the day he'd moved in. When it wasn't worse.
"Now, Ranma and I need to pack. We're leaving early tomorrow morning," Nodoka said, rising to her feet. Ranma followed her lead.
"So, where are we going exactly?" he asked as they climbed the stairs.
"Suyuki-do," his mother said, "Our family has a small estate and shrine on the mountain above the town. We've maintained it for some three hundred years now."
"... Okay," he said. Shrine, estate, apparently they weren't exactly poor or at least hadn't been at one point. "And the town is inland or on the coast?"
"It's in the Alps north of Kyoto," she replied, "It will be fairly warm this time of year."
He'd make sure to pack a winter coat just in case. You never knew when things were going to go sideways in a truly unexpected manner.
-0-0-0-0-0-
When Ranma's mother said early, she had really truly meant early. The sun hadn't even begun to peak over the horizon as the two had boarded the train. Akane hadn't even made it home from her visit with Sayuri the night before. It was rather odd to Ranma to actually be paying for a train trip instead of hanging onto the roof or side like Genma insisted as a form of 'strength training'. Reflex as well since you often had to avoid hitting low-hanging wires or other bits of infrastructure. Like tunnel roofs.
This morning had started with a brief burst of rain that left Ranma as a girl just before they boarded the train. So it was that she stepped aboard as a short redheaded girl before spending the next several hours watching the scenery roll by in a half-awake state. It was probably the most relaxing trip she'd ever taken by train. After arriving in Kyoto they transferred to a bus that took them up into the mountains. The closer they got to Suyuki-do the more relaxed her mother seemed to be.
"Ah, here we are," her mother said around noon as the bus came over the top of the pass. Ranma glanced out the window. The valley below was terraced with rice paddies and other fields filling the view. It didn't appear too different from other mountainous villages Ranma had visited over the years.
"Doesn't look like much," Ranma said.
"It isn't really, but it is home," Her mother replied before pointing, "There, do you see it?"
Ranma followed her finger up the far hillside of the valley. Just visible if she squinted were the red smudges of a Tori gate peeking out over the trees. "That's where we're going?"
"A little further down, but yes. That's the family shrine," her mother said, "I hope Mother remembered to send my brother down with the car otherwise this is going to be a very long walk."
"I've had worse," Ranma replied.
Her mother frowned. "Yes… I imagine you have," she sighed after a moment.
They fell silent. The bus rattled as it bounced out of a pothole in the road and started down the switchback road leading into the small town. It wasn't very long until the bus passed a farm, then another, and another. Soon her mother reached up and pulled the wire to signal they were getting off.
The bus stop was in the middle of the village in front of a gas station that seemed to have been built into a much older building that looked like it must have been over a century old. Possibly two.
As the bus pulled away, leaving them with a trio of suitcases belonging to Ranma's mother, and Ranma's old travel pack, the older woman glanced about. "Now… Where is my brother?" she mused.
"What does he look like?" Ranma asked, looking around the area. They had been dropped on what must be main street. Businesses, mostly built into century old structures, lined the street along with a few homes here and there. Some were modern but many were quite old with more recent additions.
"NODOKA!" Ranma's mother paused and they both turned to find a man standing at the corner of the gas station building. He was tall and lanky and with a shock of short blazing red hair over a handsome face on which was perched a pair of eyeglasses. He waved and started their way. "OVER HERE!"
"That would be my brother," Ranma's mother said, grabbing two of her suitcases and starting towards him.
Ranma grabbed the last one and carried it on one shoulder. She saw the man who had to be her uncle stumble and gawk for a moment. She rolled her eyes. It wasn't heavy, it was just clothing.
"Katsu, it's been a whi-eep," Ranma's mother began to say as they got close only for the man to pull her into a hug, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. "KATSU!"
"Been a while? That's all you have to say, sister?" 'Katsu' laughed as he put her down and ruffled her hair, eliciting a very undignified squawk as Nodoka tried to save her hair bun.
"Fine, it's wonderful to see you too brother but did you have to ruin my hair?" Nodoka sighed as she gave up on saving the bun and let her hair fall loose for the first time in Ranma's memory.
"Yes, because you've probably not let your hair down since you were last here to visit," Katsu replied before turning to Ranma. "Now is this the daughter you failed to tell us about? Mother was so upset when she heard from a friend that you'd had a daughter."
"Friend or spy?" Nodoka asked with a sniff, "And may I introduce you to my son, Ranma. The circumstances are far more complicated than Mother let me explain."
"Son?" Katsu asked. Ranma waved a hand.
"Hi," she said, "There's a curse involved."
Katsu turned from Nodoka to Ranma and back again. "Seriously?" he asked Nodoka finally.
"Yes, seriously," Nodoka sighed, "Why don't we hold off on explanations until we get up to the house? I'd rather not explain this more than we have to."
Ranma's uncle nodded. "Right, uh… This way then," he said, grabbing one of Nodoka's suitcases, "I've got the truck parked just around the corner."
"Out of sight just so you can let me think you forgot," Nodoka said flatly.
"Of course." Nodoka huffed as her brother laughed. Ranma grinned. He had a sense of humour.
The truck, as it turned out, was one of those boxy short vehicles with only enough room in the front for two people.
"I'd have brought the car, but Father took it out of town to deal with an issue," Katsu said, "He should be back tomorrow afternoon. You won't have an issue sitting in the bed, right?" He asked as he glanced towards Ranma.
"I've dealt with worse," she said, heaving her bag and the suitcase into the back before climbing in. At least it was clean and not filled with chickens or monkeys in makeshift cages. Nodoka sighed, getting a look from her brother. She shook her head.
Ranma settled into the back of the truck as the two adults climbed into the front. A few moments later they started rolling and Ranma went back to watching the scenery. It was that or fall asleep.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The truck turned into the driveway of a large three-story traditional home and kept turning into the much less traditional seven-car garage hidden from the road by a line of dense pine trees. Ranma hopped out of the back of the truck with her bag as the vehicle came to a stop inside a neat and fairly empty garage.
The doors open on the truck. "- finally got around to building that garage they were talking about," Nodoka said as she climbed out.
"It's bigger than they really need, but everyone's got a spot for their own vehicle when they visit… Even you," Katsu said as he slipped by Ranma to unlatch the tailgate and grab her mother's bags. Ranma stepped out of his way while wondering how many siblings her mother had.
"... I never did bother getting an official licence," Nodoka said, shaking her head, "It really isn't needed in Tokyo or Osaka."
"Big cities have transit. That's not quite so reliable out here," Ranma's Uncle said.
Ranma's mother shrugged as she took her bag while Ranma took another. "It is what it is," she said, "Now, let's go see mother before she thinks I've ignored her."
"You haven't shown yourself in nearly a decade, Sister," Katsu said, "She doesn't need to think, she knows." To Ranma's surprise her mother went red with embarrassment and started marching across the yard. Ranma hurried to follow as her Uncle just chuckled.
The home was a traditional building, with a wrap-around porch and outer walkways on the second and third floors. Ranma could see the signs of a fallen perimeter wall on the edge of the property where it gave way to the forest beyond. There was no sign of whatever path might lead up to the shrine and the road itself didn't go much further, stopping within eyesight of the driveway.
Nodoka climbed the steps of the house and hesitated at the door. Katsu had no such restraint as he pushed open the sliding door. "I'm home! Mother, guess who I brought?" he shouted. His sister stepped through the door after him looking quite a bit like Akane before she would take a swing at Ranma.
"Katsu!" She hissed, taking a deep breath as Ranma followed them in. The entrance was much like the Tendos with the door itself being in a well for taking on and putting off shoes. Up the ledge, the room went back quite a ways to another open sliding door that let out onto another porch and beyond it a garden with a pond in the center. A pair of hallways led off to the right and left.
"Standing on the porch for ten minutes won't make her less annoyed with you, Sister," Katsu said, shaking his head as footsteps approached from the right. Ranma was treated to the sight of her mother closing her eyes and muttering something under her breath.
Then an older woman, her red hair faded towards pink in areas, entered the room. Unlike Nodoka she was wearing blue jeans, a white blouse and a loose fleece jacket. "Katsu you're back," she said, stopping to stare at Nodoka, her eyes flickering to Ranma before sweeping the room, "Though you seem to be short one."
"Hello Mother," Ranma's mother said, "Things are a little more complicated than you let me explain over the phone."
"Hrm… I see a granddaughter, but no grandson. How is that complicated?" the old woman asked.
Nodoka pulled Ranma forward. She shifted nervously in her mother's grip. Her curse was never taken well anywhere she went. "Because that granddaughter is also the grandson," Her mother said, "Say hello to your Grandmother , Ranma."
"Hello, Grandma," Ranma said softly, feeling as nervous as she had on her first day at the Tendos. She blushed at the intense gaze of her Grandmother.
Her Grandmother looked up at her Mother. "Your sense of humour has improved I see. Is my Grandson out in the car?" she asked.
"I'm very serious, Mother," Said Nodoka, matching the older woman's gaze firmly, "There is magic involved."
"Is there? Hmph," Ranma's Grandmother huffed before stepping forward and leaning down to examine Ranma. She laid a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "What sort of magic? Not more of the nonsense you were involved with in Osaka I hope?"
"Ranma?" her mother looked down.
Ranma sighed. "I turn into a girl when I encounter cold water and back with hot," she said.
"That explains the clothing," her Grandmother said, taking her by the shoulder and pulling her along, "Where did you pick this curse up?" Her mother followed, leaving her bag with her brother.
Ranma frowned. "Not going to ask me to prove it?"
"There's a reason I'm leading you to the kitchen," her Grandmother said, "Now, where did you get this curse?"
"China, at a place called Jusenkyo," she said.
Her grandmother hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not familiar with a 'Jusenkyo'. How far into China is it? Oh, and Nodoka come along. Your brother will take your things up to your room."
"I- Yes, Mother," Katsu sighed as Ranma was led off down the hall.
The kitchen was, unlike the style of the house, quite modern. It was also rather large with enough room for at least two dozen people at least to work or move about comfortably with several island-style counters in the center of the room providing additional space not taken up by appliances. Leaning against one of the islands, sipping a cup of something that gave off steam, was a woman about her mother's age. Her long black hair suggested she probably wasn't a blood part of the family.
"Nodoka!" she said as Ranma's mother entered the room shortly after her. The woman set her drink on the counter and pulled the redhead into a hug. "It has been far too long."
"Shizune," Ranma's mother said, hugging the woman back, "How have you and Katsu been doing? Four kids wasn't it?"
"Five. I did send out that letter nine years ago," Shizune said, rolling her eyes as Nodoka blushed. She turned to Ranma and put a hand to her hip. "Now, is this the girl you didn't mention? You know I'd thought Grandmother meant someone like nine or so."
"So did I. Can you get me some hot water, Shizune?" Ranma's Grandmother asked.
"... Ok? How hot?" Shizune asked as she pulled a glass from a cupboard. "So how did you somehow hide that you had a kid that long ago?"
"I didn't," Nodoka replied.
Ranma's Grandmother looked down. "Hot, but not scalding," she said to the unspoken question.
Shizune handed the glass of water over to Grandmother. "What's this about? You know we do have a kettle if you-" She trailed off as Grandmother tossed the contents on Ranma. "I- what?"
Ranma wiped his face off. "Thanks," he said, staring at his wide-eyed Grandmother and Aunt. It was, for once, not scorching hot.
"... I see," Grandmother said, taking Ranma by the chin and turning him left and right. "Hrm. I see a lot of your Grandfather in him and thankfully little of that lout, other than the hair."
"Mother, please," Nodoka sighed.
The old woman laughed and patted Ranma on the shoulder. "It's nice to meet you, Ranma, I'm your Grandmother Genkai," she said.
"I- What?" Shizune repeated. Ranma's mother took her by the arm and gently guided her to a seat.
"How about, I start from the beginning?" Nodoka said gently.
"Come. While they talk, let's get that bag put away. I've prepared a room next to your mother's," Grandmother Genkai said, as shuffled Ranma out of the room. "I'm sure you'll have to demonstrate it for Shizune a few more times… As well as the rest of the family. I imagine most will have about the same reaction as her."
"I'm used to it," Ranma said, "Ucchan went through several pails of water testing it when she found out." He was probably going to need to dress for being soaked repeatedly.
"I've been telling them magic was real, but does anyone listen?" Genkai sighed dramatically, "Even if they didn't want to believe the old stories it's not like it's on TV all the time these days or anything. Oh no, certainly not."
Ranma just nodded as his Grandmother pushed him along. This was not the reaction he had expected. Not even slightly. More denials, some confusion, maybe an accusation of perversion… Not bland acceptance.
"So which room is it?" He asked as they ascended the stairs to the third floor.
"Oh… Just down this hall. Ah, there's Katsu," His Grandmother said.
"Mother- Is this…?" Katsu, who had just turned the corner toward them, hesitated as he pointed a finger at Ranma.
"This is Ranma."
"Hey Uncle," he said, waving with a nervous grin. The older man's eyebrows bounced up and down for a few moments as he stared.
"Aaaah, I didn't think she was serious," He finally said, scratching the back of his neck in a familiar motion. He laughed awkwardly. "I uh… I guess welcome to the house Nephew. Mother, I've put Nodoka's stuff in her room."
"She's down with your wife. Shizune seems to be a little shaky after seeing Ranma's curse in action," Grandmother tisked, "Go help your sister calm her down, would you?"
"Yes, Mother," Katsu said, bowing slightly before hurrying down the stairs.
"This way," Grandmother prodded Ranma forward. As they were turning the corner there was the sound of something soft slapping the ground a moment before a girl about Ranma's age, her hair the same shade as his girl side, turned the corner. They collided and something cold and wet splashed over his chest.
Instead of one redhead going down, two clattered to the ground in a tangle of limbs and Ranma's oversized bag.
"Ack- Ow," The unknown girl, clad in jeans and a tank top, groaned as she pushed herself off Ranma. "Sorry about that- Grandma?!" she froze as she spotted the older woman.
"Hmm, I'm not the one you should apologise to," the older woman said with some amusement as she loomed over the two of them, "And what have I said about running, Aya?"
'Aya' blushed and twirled the end of her ponytail around a finger. "Eheheheheee…." She grinned sheepishly before turning to Ranma. "I-" she frowned as Ranma sat up. "I could have sworn I ran into someone bigger than you."
"You did, sorta," Ranma groaned as she brushed at the damp spot on her shirt. It didn't seem sticky, so… Water hopefully? Once she was assured it wasn't some sort of juice she turned her attention to the other girl and found her breath catching. It was very nearly like looking into a mirror. A slightly younger, slightly less endowed mirror, but still… the resemblance was uncanny.
"Bigger, hmm? That's the only thing you notice, Aya?" Genkai laughed.
Aya rolled her eyes and stood up, holding a hand down to Ranma. "Well, I'm going to guess she's my cousin. Hey there, I'm Aya Saotome, sorry for running you down," she said as Ranma accepted her hand and was easily pulled to her feet.
"I'm Ranma Saotome," she replied, "I've had a lot worse." She hadn't even been punched.
"Now that you girls," Ranma raised an eyebrow at her Grandmother, "have met, why don't you come along with us, Aya?" The way she said it implied it wasn't so much a question as a command.
"Haa, sure Grandma," Aya said resignedly, falling in with them.
"Why don't you tell Aya why you were taller, hmm?" Grandmother prodded, earning a grimace from Ranma.
"Ugh… sure, why not," Ranma groaned and turned to her cousin. "So, I was bigger when you ran into me but…"
"But…" Aya asked, waving a hand for her to get on with it.
"I was born a boy and picked up a curse in China that turns me into a girl with cold water," Ranma said hurriedly. Aya stumbled before grabbing Ranma and spinning her so they were nearly nose-to-nose.
"So you're some kind of Magical Girl?" Aya squealed, her eyes practically sparkling.
"Erm… no?" Ranma said, giving her a weird look as she disentangled the other girl's hands from her collar, "It's a curse, not some kinda superpower?"
"Oh…" Aya sighed and let go, crossing her arms with a pout that was disturbingly similar to how Ranma looked.
"I've told you not to get too enthralled with those girls, Aya," Grandmother chided, "Our family's legacy means any entanglements like those could end quite badly."
"Legacy?" Ranma asked as Aya just sighed and nodded.
Grandmother waved her off. "Something to explain once you are settled," she said, stopping them at a door she slid open, "Here is your room, Ranma."
Ranma stepped in and glanced about. There was a western style bed in the corner, across from an armoire and a writing desk beside the window where a comfortable-looking bean bag chair sat. The walls were blank and the armoire was empty when Ranma opened it except for a ca-
Letting out a shriek of fear that sent the black and white cat scrambling out the door, Ranma jumped and latched onto the boards of the ceiling. Her heart thundered in her chest as she quivered nervously. "Ca-cat," she said, watching the spot it had vanished.
Both Aya and Grandmother stared at her on the ceiling with wide eyes before her Grandmother's narrowed severely, then relaxed. "It's okay, Ranma, you can come down now," she said gently.
"How are you doing that?" Aya blurted out, staring at her.
Ranma swallowed nervously and dropped to the ground. "Martial arts," she whispered, blushing as red as her hair. She'd just spilled the beans on her greatest fear within minutes of getting here. It was so unmanly as well and her Grandmother-
Grandmother interrupted her by wrapping her in a hug and pulling her over to the bed. "It's fine. The cat is gone," she whispered, rubbing a circle onto Ranma's back.
Despite herself she shivered and leaned into the soothing touch. "I- stupid cat," she muttered, "I can't stand them." She shivered again and felt her Grandmother squeeze her shoulders.
"Oh, oh no," Aya chewed her lip as it hit her. "Oh no no no. You've got a phobia of cats, don't you?" Ranma jerkily nodded once. Her cousin sat down next to her and put an awkward hand on her shoulder. "Um… How did… Why do you…" She trailed off, clearly uncertain how to ask the obvious.
"Why am I scared of them?" Ranma asked dryly, getting a jerky nod from the other girl. "'Cause of Pops. The idiot found this training manual with this 'unbeatable technique' and decided to teach it to me without a lick of common sense or reading the entire thing through."
"Please, explain," her Grandmother instructed.
"... Do I have to?" Ranma whispered.
"I would like to know whether or not I need to follow through on my threat," was not the answer Ranma had been expecting.
"What?" Ranma looked up from examining her hands to find her Grandmother looking like she'd been carved from stone.
"I told him at the wedding that if he ever hurt Nodoka or any of their children I would make him wish I'd simply skinned him alive," Grandmother said.
"Um…" Ranma shrank away. She may have had issues with her father, but that was a little… much.
"Grandmother, really? You're worrying her," Aya said, scolding the older woman.
"Um…" Ranma swallowed and sighed. She'd undoubtedly ask her mother and then she'd be forced to explain either way. "There was this technique called the 'Nekoken'. It's not really a technique more like, well… Insanity. Dig a pit, fill it with cats. Let them starve, then toss in a child wrapped in fish until they either die or snap and enter a berserker state that emulates... Cats." She shuddered at the memory of the pit. She tried hard not to think about it most of the time, but it couldn't be avoided now. "Pops didn't think or read the last page which says only an idiot would consider teaching it."
Her relatives were silent for all of a moment before Aya pulled her out of Grandmother's arms into a hug. "Oh Kami, I can't believe anyone would do something that terrible," she said, looking ill.
"I can," Grandmother said, shaking her head, "A disciple of that man certainly would."
"... Happousai is loose, by the way," Ranma said after a moment being awkwardly hugged by her cousin.
If anything, Grandmother Genkai's face seemed to turn even more to stone. "I see," she said, "Aya, why don't you show Ranma here the shrine? I feel I have a need to speak with Nodoka."
"Erm, Mom doesn't know about this," Ranma said, fidgeting. She still hadn't told her about the Nekoken and thankfully nothing had brought it up, but somehow she didn't get the feeling that her Grandmother would care that it hadn't been shared yet. Out of worry for her Pops she refrained from mentioning that she'd gone into the pit three times.
"Then I'm sure she'll be delighted to find out," Grandmother said in a tone that suggested she thought anything but that, "Be down for lunch in an hour, Aya." With that final instruction, the pinkish-haired older woman strode out of the room.
Ranma stared after her. "She's going to try and kill him, isn't she?" she asked her cousin. At last the girl pulled back and wiped her eyes.
"Erm… Maybe? If she sees him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's just never allowed around here," Aya said. A knock at the door caused them both to look over. A redheaded boy about Aya's age leaned in. He was lean and stringy, like an untrained redheaded version of Ranma's boy side.
"Hey Aya- Huh, when'd you get an identical twin sis?" he asked, grinning.
Aya rolled her eyes. "This is Ranma, our cousin," she said in a long-suffering tone.
"So this is the mystery girl. Nice to meet you. Try not to get dragged into trouble by Aya. She can be a pain in the- oop," he leaned to the side as Aya threw her slipper at him, "Have fun girls!" He took off cackling.
Aya huffed and stood up to retrieve her slipper. "Ugh, that was my fraternal twin, Yukio. He's an absolute pain and an ass," she said.
"... He didn't even stay long enough to hear that I'm not actually a girl," Ranma said before sighing.
Aya slipped her foot into her slipper again. She scoffed. "He probably won't believe it without a demonstration or ten and expect him to be an ass about it. Some days I swear I'd love to strangle him, but every time I try it's Mom going 'don't kill your brother, Aya' or Dad saying, 'Just think of how you'd feel if you were alone.' Ugh."
Ranma blinked as her cousin rambled on about how annoying her brother was. She took the moment to stash her bag in the armoire. She'd unpack it later, but for now it was nice to have it off her back.
"So," she said as she tapped her cousin on the shoulder, "Which way to the Shrine? I couldn't spot a path from the entrance."
"It's out back and up the hill," Aya said, dropping the topic with a final grumble. It was something about him eating her cereal. "C'mon, I'll show you."
Aya led her to the door to the outside porch and from there down the stairs in the back. The back had another external building, a more modern but still fairly old warehouse of some sort. The doors were open allowing Ranma to see a tractor within alongside other pieces of equipment.
"So, you guys do farming, right?" Ranma asked.
"Mhmm, though I spend most of my time up at the shrine," she sighed, "I'd rather be out in the field or in town or anywhere but up there by myself, but someone has to keep the place clean and the offerings fresh." She sighed again, though it sounded more like a groan to Ranma.
The path up was a winding staircase carved into the mountains at the back of the yard behind a small flower garden. A red tori gate marked the beginning of the steps which wound up into the trees. The walk up was easy for Ranma, a mere ten minutes, before they emerged from the trees into a small walled courtyard that ended against the side of the mountain where it rose much higher. The shrine building itself was two floors tall, abutted the mountain wall directly, and seemed to have at least as much square footage as the Tendo home.
"Here we are, the family Shrine," Aya said, spinning to pose as though presenting something important. It was rather important, Ranma would admit and in much better condition than some of the Shrines she'd come across over the years.
"It's well cared for," Ranma said, spinning to take the shrine in. There was a cherry tree in the corner and much of the walled area was grass but… she couldn't see any signs of statues or other indications of whom the Shrine was dedicated to. "So... Who is the Shrine for?"
"Technically? No one," Aya said, getting a weird look from Ranma, "Officially it's Amaterasu, but the Shrine is more a… warehouse for weird things than a proper Shrine. Our family's legacy is caring for old relics or keeping cursed items locked away. There's an entire inner sanctum that's apparently about two centuries old that I'm still not allowed into. Only Grandmother gets in there."
"Oh," Ranma said. That explained Grandmother's lack of reaction. She'd probably seen some strange things.
"Of course, I've tried to get in, but the lock is really good and you need the key," Aya said, pulling a small keyring from her pocket with a smirk, "Like say, these keys."
Ranma stared at her. "When did you get those?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing her near twin. The slightly younger girl grinned.
"When I ran into you. Why do you think I was running?" Aya said with a laugh. She flipped the keyring around her finger before closing her hand on it. "C'mon. Let's take a peak." Humming a tune she started for the Shrine building.
"That's really not a good idea," Ranma said, following along reluctantly. She didn't want to try and take the keys from her cousin. They'd just met and she didn't want to sour the good relationship they were having immediately. Not like she'd done with Akane. At the same time though, magic and cursed items were things she was more than intimately familiar with.
"Pfft," Aya scoffed, "I get that you're cursed, but none of the items we've got out here have any magic to them. It's all superstition and things like 'oh hey, I found a rock surrounded by dead raccoons, clearly it's evil'. Half the time they leave out they ran over the damned things themselves."
"The items you've seen. What about those deeper in?" Ranma asked, "Cause I've seen a lot more cursed stuff than just Jusenkyo. Weird swords, cursed clothing, ghosts. Lotsa stuff back in Nerima was cursed."
Aya glanced over her shoulder. "Then why live there? It sounds nuts," she asked.
Ranma frowned and slowed. "'Cause I'm engaged?" she said after a moment, drawing Aya to a halt.
"You're what?" Aya asked.
"Engaged. It's… An arranged thing. Pops and Mr. Tendo made this agreement to 'join the schools' years ago and now…" She shrugged helplessly. Akane was a tough topic for her. She didn't really know what she felt for the other girl. It was complicated. Sometimes anger, sometimes joy, sometimes something that might just possibly be love… Never hate, but Kami some days…
"... To a girl, right?" Aya asked after a moment. Ranma nodded. "How's she handle the whole…" She waved at Ranma with a sheepish look.
"Akane… Found out by walking in on me in the bath the first day," Ranma sighed, thinking back to the first day, "She um… Well we had our first argument and she hit me with the dining table."
"What."
"Which I might have earned by taunting her with the fact my girl side was better built after she claimed it was different when a girl walked in on a boy," Ranma said, trailing off at Aya's stare, "There've… Been a lot of arguments since."
"She never got used to it, huh?" Aya asked, walking over to put a hand on Ranma's shoulder.
Ranma sighed. "Hasn't felt like it," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, let's not think about that. You're here to relax, so let's have a little adventure~" Aya said, using the opportunity to drag Ranma up the steps.
Ranma let her cousin drag her up the steps. "I have plenty of adventures back home. You say little, but it's never 'little'," she said. It always started as something minor. A weird mirror or a knocked-over lucky cat statue. Just something small and unimportant by any measure. Then there'd be a demon in the statue or someone would find out the mirror let you see your true love when looked at upside down and suddenly everyone would dogpile the situation with a hundred different ideas of what was actually going on. If they were lucky they'd get mostly on the same page by the end and deal with the demon. If they weren't… Well, a lot of magic items tended to get broken in Nerima.
"Well, this isn't Nerima. C'mon, it's probably just a dark room full of superstitious items. What are the odds there's anything actually dangerous?" Aya asked. Ranma sighed and followed the younger girl through the hallway. It was clear she wasn't getting through to her so really all she could do was try to keep her from getting hurt by whatever thing got woken up.
The Shrine itself was a fairly nice place, but peeking into a few of the side rooms it really did seem to be mostly a storehouse for odds and ends. There were a few weapons mixed in, but most of them seemed to be random items. From bread boxes to umbrellas and seemingly everything in between.
"Here we are," Aya said as they turned a corner and found the building run out at the stone wall of the mountain. The room, which seemed to simply be a hallway, had one wall of stone with a large red-painted double door set into the stone. It was chained shut with large iron chains that were hooked onto spikes on either side of the door as well as a large complicated-looking lock that hung at about the center of the door. A small keyhole was the only sign it was ever intended to be opened.
Ranma paused to examine the doors. They had a lot of Kanji carved into… Was it wood or metal? She couldn't quite tell with the way it was painted. Most of the kanji were related to safety, sealing, Ammaterasu or purity of spirit. The usual symbols you'd see around odd magical items.
She grabbed Aya by the shoulder as her cousin went to put the key in the lock. "This is probably a bad idea," she said.
"Grandma goes in all the time to clean and nothing goes wrong," Aya said, rolling her eyes, "I just want a peak. You don't have to come with me, you know." Ranma grimaced.
"I've seen how this goes a few times. There's always something strange inside places like this and Grandmother would know what is safe and what isn't," she argued.
There was a click as Aya turned the lock behind her back and the chains fell away with a clatter. A chill stole over Ranma and she shivered. "We'll be fine, or I will be. You can stay out here if you want to, Ranma," Aya said, taking the doors by the handles and pulling. They swung open easily without a single creak. Beyond was a dark hallway that appeared chiselled from the mountain. On a small table to the right sat a lantern with a fresh candle and a large pack of matches.
"This is always creepy when I see it," her cousin muttered as Ranma peered down the hallway.
"You've seen this before?"
"Yeah. Grandma doesn't let anyone go further than the door and she knows if you try to follow her." Aya took the matches and lit the lantern. "C'mon."
Feeling rather like she was following Akane into another 'ghost hunt' at Furinkan, Ranma folded her arms behind her head and followed her cousin. As they walked the hallway to the far door Ranma's eyes darted to the shadows. Something felt… Off about them. They clung to the edges of the light like molasses, hugging it so tightly Ranma could almost make out a clear separation from light to dark. Usually it was a more gradual fall off but in here it felt like it just stopped.
She stepped a little closer to her cousin. This was disturbing on a primal level. She considered bringing it up, but given the light tune Aya was humming she suspected the other girl hadn't noticed.
Nothing jumped out of the shadows by the time they reached the door, which was a much more plain slab of red painted wood. Aya fiddled with the lock, trying several keys before finding the right one. "And… here… we go," she said as the door clacked and she pushed it open. Unlike the outer door it creaked a little as it swung open. Behind the door was another hallway, though it turned left after almost immediately then right again to who knew what.
The faint scent of age Ranma was familiar with from other shrines hit them. It was weaker than other shrines, which spoke well of her Grandmother's maintenance or perhaps that they just stored fewer things in here.
The hallway narrowed a little as they followed it. The chiselled stone was rather smooth under Ranma's hand. Good workmanship had gone into making these hallways. They turned the corner to find the hallway went on for another few dozen meters before reaching another heavy, likely wooden, door. A pair of ricepaper sliding doors were on either side of the corridor.
Aya paused to peek into both of them. They seemed to be storerooms for various items. Just peering through one of the doors made the hairs on Ranma's arms stand up and just gently nudged Aya along. When her cousin glanced her way she simply shook her head firmly 'no' and pushed her along toward the main door.
"... Are you okay?" Aya asked as they walked.
"Something feels…" She glanced back down the hallway. The shadows were still weird. "Everything here feels heavy. Like we really shouldn't be here, Aya and those rooms made it feel even worse."
Aya frowned. "I don't feel anything…" she said, trailing off as she unlocked the next door. It took a few tries to find the key again.
"Well I do. Let's not linger…" Ranma trailed off as the door swung open onto a much, much larger chamber.
It was a half-circle with a high vaulted ceiling that went at least three storeys higher than the door while it also descended like an amphitheatre towards an altar that sat raised upon a dais a little higher than the second lowest row. A staircase ran straight down the middle from the door to the floor before the dais.
Around the back of the room rose statues at equal intervals. They were… rather unusual in Ranma's opinion. Each of them was of a different young woman in elegant, if often frilly, dresses holding a long sceptre-like rod tipped with an almost cartoonish representation of a star. The roof was carved, giving an impression of some sort of beams emerging from the stars that converged above the altar as another, much larger, cartoonish star. It even had a cartoonish smile and eyes like it was some sort of Nintendo character. Impossibly it seemed to be glowing a soft blue that lit the room, driving back the shadows. The 'seating' was empty. No chairs, no weird statues, just circles with different markings on them. The Altar itself was a fairly normal looking shrine structure in comparison to the room.
The back wall seemed to depict some sort of battle between a man and…. A Spirit? Monster? The creature didn't seem monstrous, but neither did it seem human. A Kami of some sort perhaps? Its human-like form loomed over the altar where the man, brandishing a ceremonial staff, stood between them on the wall.
"What is this?" Aya asked, turning on the spot.
"I have no idea," Ranma said honestly as she looked at the statues. They looked rather like magical girls. She counted nine in total, four two either side of the door and a small statue carved from the wall above the door. Oddly, the ninth above the door appeared indistinct, nearly featureless in comparison to the eight others. It was a girl, but her dress and head seemed almost as though they were intended to belong to anyone.
"It's like a magical girl shrine, but Grandma hates such things. She never stops complaining about the time Auntie Nodoka spent in Osaka," Aya said.
Ranma paused. "The time my mother did what?" she asked, looking at Aya with wide eyes. Aya blinked back at her slowly.
"You didn't know?" her cousin asked. Ranma shook her head. "Oh. I don't really know much, just that it wasn't what girls in our family should be doing. At least that's what Grandma says." She rolled her eyes. "Personally, I love magical girls. They're so heroic and daring and, well, they get to be awesome and look cute at the same time. Most of us can only be one or the other."
Her mother had been a magical girl? Well that puts yesterday's conversation in the dining room into a different context. She grimaced and shook her head. Suddenly she could guess how her parents met.
Aya started down the steps, peering at the circles intently as she went. Ranma descended the steps a few paces behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck were raised again and she could feel something circulating through the room. There was Ki, old, though not ancient, and something else. Magic perhaps? The Ki wasn't even as old as Cologne at her guess, but the magic… If there was magic. She didn't have much sense for such things but exposure in Nerima had developed a sort of instinctive feel for its presence.
It was a survival trait that her cousin clearly didn't possess as she walked down to the altar.
On closer inspection the stone flooring and the dais weren't untouched by the strangeness. Little stars marked the dais in a chain around the edge. Complicated buddhist imagery marked the floor invoking protection and safe keeping. The same imagery that marked the walls between the statues themselves.
Had this place been created to contain something, or to protect something? Ranma couldn't tell which it was.
"This isn't at all what I was expecting," Aya said as she set the lantern down on the dais.
"I don't think anyone would have expected this," Ranma replied.
"True. This is so strange," Aya said as she climbed up onto the dais and inspected the Shrine. "It looks like a normal Shrine, though I can't tell who it's dedicated to."
Ranma hopped up onto the dais and joined her. "You can't tell?" she asked.
"Nope. This isn't one of the local Kami, and it isn't Ammaterasu, or Tsukiyomi, or Susanoo or Inari or any of the big name Kami," her cousin said, "This is someone new."
"Or old. Shrine to a forgotten Kami?" Ranma suggested.
"Maybe, but why go to all of this work for something to be forgotten?" Aya asked, turning around and hopping off the dais. She walked over to the lowest row and peered at the circles on the ground. "This one is blank, but this one- Hey!" A flash of blue light from the blank circle Aya had been examining caused Ranma to leap to her side and pull her away.
Blue flame, barely brighter than a match, darted about the stone carving leaving behind a glowing blue outline that slowly cooled back to the colour of the stone. Once it was done, Ranma stepped forward slowly and peered down at it.
"Is that a flower and a… wand?" Aya asked. It did look a bit like a magician's show wand.
"Looks like it," Ranma agreed. "There's definitely magic of some kind active here. We should get going. We can lock it all back up and pretend we didn't go wandering in here. Grab the lantern…" She glanced back at the lantern to find the flame had turned blue like the soft glow from above, or which had just etched the stones before them.
"What's going on?" Aya asked nervously, backing into Ranma as the statues along the upper wall started to glow. Blue light dimly shone from the stars at the end of their sceptres.
"Nothing we're sticking around for. C'mon," Ranma pulled Aya back toward the stairs. They'd have to go through the dark without a light.
Like a switch was flipped the dim light from the statues suddenly blazed, surging along the ceiling to the large star above. The soft light became akin to a burning blue star.
Ranma squinted as they dashed up the steps. She could have run faster, but Aya wasn't as fast as even Akane. Before she could consider simply sweeping up her cousin in her arms the star above released a radiant beam of energy that struck the Shrine upon the altar. The doors on the front of the shrine were thrown open as a bright streak of blue zipped out straight toward Ranma and her cousin.
Ranma went to pull her cousin out of the way, but she didn't need to bother. The light curved around the younger redhead and slammed straight into Ranma's breast. She let out a gasp as something flowed into her and then the world was gone.
She blinked what might have been a second or an eternity later. A starscape full of twinkling dots and the streaks of nebula and comets stretched out in all directions… It was a starscape through which she seemed to be falling, though she could not see a ground to fall toward. Furthermore, her clothing had changed. Her usual red outfit had been replaced by an airy and loose sun dress that seemed to be cut from the starscape around her.
Ranma twisted and turned in the endless starscape. "Where am I?" She asked the void. What was this?
A voice, soft and feminine, seemed to answer her from the stars, "You are in the endless space between realms." The stars quivered with her words.
"Who's there?" Ranma called, trying to look for the source, yet it seemed to be coming from everywhere.
"I am a memory/a letter/a record for the future," the voice said, its voice overlapping itself for a moment. "The age has come. The day is here."
"What day?" Ranma asked, pushing her dress down as it tried to billow up in an invisible breeze. "Stupid…"
The voice ignored her. "As I spoke, so has it come to pass. Humanity is threatened, the world teeters, and heroines have stepped forward. Yet, the darkness shall not abate before a few flickering lights. A cordon of stars might brighten the night, but only the sun can make it day once more."
"Okay?" Ranma muttered. Where was this voice going with this?
"There is no sun so bright, not yet," it continued. The stars shifted at her words, the endless starscape slowly beginning to swirl, gaining in speed with every moment until each star was little more than a line in the sky. So many were there that the darkness became the muddied oranges and purples of the dawn.
"You are a child of our misguided foes, yet within you lurks the blood of our blessed followers," it said.
In her? "I think you've got the wrong person? I'm not even actually a girl?" Ranma said, finally giving up on her dress and just leaning back in the fall instead. She gestured to the void around her
"The world darkens, but you shall be its sun," The voice said heedlessly. For a moment the sky stopped, becoming once again the endless dark void filled with stars, then every star turned into a blur as they converged on Ranma.
"Oh hell-" she barely got out before the first star phased straight through her skin and everything became hard to understand as a sense of purest joy overwhelmed everything.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Atop the northern ridge of the valley sat a statue hidden from view up a narrow trail. There, deep within the trees, was a statue of a black tortoise carved from obsidian. It had stood there for so long no one in the valley knew when it had been erected. Truthfully, no one ever had for no one had erected it.
A shimmer of light flickered across its open eyes.
"It begins," the Tortoise said.
To the south, but a hundred meters from the road into the valley, a statue of a bird of red jade scoffed, "So dramatic. You speak as though this shall be an issue. Have we not spent a hundred years preparing?"
To the west a marble statue of a tiger stood over a children's playground. "We have her constellations. Without the stars to back her she shall be weak. This is not a battle, this is a hunt," he declared with disdain.
"It must be met with sufficient gravitas either way," The Tortoise said.
"Gravitas, drama. It's all the same to you," The bird replied with a scoff.
To the east, not far from the shrine, an Azure statue of a Dragon sat on a cliff overlooking the fields. "Silence," it said in a voice that boomed across the connection. The three fell silent over the link. "We have the eighty-eight constellations in our grasp, but I sense something amiss. Can you feel it?"
The three were quiet for a moment before the bird said, "I sense… Something foreign to this land."
"I sense it too. It has a tinge of sadness to it," The Tortoise said, "Like the world mourns the deaths of a great many things."
The Tiger scoffed. "I sense nothing. You three fret over nothing."
The other three ignored him. "The sorrow is fading, being drawn in," The Dragon said, "Yes, drawn in by the North Star. The newborn sun's might grows already."
"She has yet to even set foot back in this realm! How can this be?" The Bird demanded.
"Another source of power has been found for her apotheosis, but it is far less than what we have stolen. Victory will still be ours," The Tortoise said.
"We must act swiftly. The longer we delay-" The Bird began.
"You all worry too much. Do you not recall? We four Watchers have already prepared for her return. Does one of our constellations not watch the gates of the Shrine?" The Tiger scoffed, "Vulpecula shall end this before it begins."
The three fell silent. "We shall trust your word in this," Their leader said, "For it is your Constellation that watches. If it fails, know that we shall expect you to end her."
The tiger laughed. "As you command, Azure."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Aya stared at where her cousin had been a moment before. The Shrine had gone dark except for the flickering flame of the lantern she had carried into the chamber. It didn't stop her from feeling the lack of a hand holding hers. The empty air between her fingers.
"Oh Kami," she whispered. What had she done? "Oh no no no." She looked around for some sign of where her cousin had gone. She had to be here somewhere, right?
She hurried down the steps to the dais and lifted the lantern, once again returned to an orange glow. It was dim in the room without the soft blue glow, but she could make out the engravings on the wall behind the shrine.
"Man… Spirit of some kind…" Aya muttered frantically as she looked for… something. Anything that could tell her what had just happened. She climbed up the small ledge behind the shrine. She ran her hand over the wall looking, trying to brush away dust that wasn't there.
Her fingers dipped into a depression on the wall, then another. She paused. "What's this?" she muttered, lifting the lantern further. There was a small socket, shaped like a cartoon star, in the wall. A small channel ran from it to another star and from there another. All of the sockets were empty. At least, those she could reach but…
She peered into the shadows. She could just make out the signs of where more should have been.
"Is this connected to Ranma?" She wondered, swallowing nervously. Whether it was or not, the fact was her cousin was missing. Tear gathered as she turned away from the wall-
The shrine was gone. Sitting on the dais in place of pride was a chair- no, not a chair. A throne.
She circled the dais, watching the Throne cautiously. "Where did you come from?" she wondered. It was a high-backed throne with a very plush-looking red cushion. The back was padded and covered with the same shade of red. It was a few shades darker than Aya's hair.
Aya reached toward the throne, then flinched back as a blue orb no larger than a thimble appeared over it. She took a nervous step back and let out a yelp as she toppled off the dais. The lantern shattered as she hit the ground and the light within went out.
She watched as the orb zipped toward the throne and merged with the upper back of the throne. A circle of blue light grew from the point of impact, blazing like the flames from earlier it was the only source of light in the room. The circle shifted and eight small lines emerged from the cardinal points of the circle, breaking cleanly to form small rays like the sun. Then the interior changed to show the front half of a rearing horse in silhouette.
"... I need to get Grandma," Aya said as she rose to her feet. This was bigger than Ranma disappearing. She ran up the steps… and found herself once again coming to a halt as something in the darkness moved. Little flickers of light in the dark like stars and nebula in the night sky filled the doorway.
Aya didn't scream. She didn't move, she didn't even breathe for several moments. She just stood there staring long enough for the blue light to go out and the room to plunge into darkness. All that was left were the small dots of light in the darkness. Each glowing like a star in the night sky.
Stars that were moving.
Whatever it was entered the room and the front half of stars rose like a serpent or… really, it was impossible to tell. The room was as dark as a grave.
The stars kept moving. The sound of claws clicking on the floor echoed in the silent vault. Aya put her hands to her mouth to keep from screaming. She breathed so slowly her head began to feel light.
The lights circled her. Again and again. This thing knew she was there. It had to know. Why else would it be circling?
She whimpered as the stars froze. It was going to kill her.
"SOMEONE HELP ME!" She finally screamed. Her voice jumped several octaves into a shrill shriek of terror as the stars jerked toward her.
Then the dawn came.
The star on the ceiling blazed to life again, this time glowing like the sun. The shadows vanished in an instant leaving the creature exposed. Not that being able to see it did much for Aya's calm.
The creature was like a chunk of the night sky given the shape of a gigantic fox. It reared back from the light, hissing as its form began to give off black smoke.
The star above bent like water distending downward until with a soft plip a droplet of light fell from the ceiling. It didn't fall straight, instead swirling through the air as though caught by a breeze. A girl's joyous laughter echoed off the walls of the room as it danced a great circle about room dipping and swirling. A trail of droplets pattered the floor behind it from which rose the warmth of a summer day and a feeling of joy that drove down Aya's fear.
A giggle slipped out of her mouth involuntarily.
The star fox snarled at the droplet as it rose up then dived into the chair. With a sploosh the droplet of light splattered into the chair. The splashed light grew far beyond the droplet as it flowed into a much more human form. Darkness snaked into the light as a feminine figure took shape.
She was a little older than Aya, clad in a knee-length dress as black as an empty night sky with long sleeves and a dipping neckline. A large black necktie hung tastefully down across her chest. A gem the size of an egg that shone with a bright golden glow sat at the heart of the necktie. On her right and left shoulders were golden epaulettes that shimmered in and out of existence as though made from ephemeral stardust. Rings of shimmering stardust acted as cufflinks. A flowing cape hung from her left shoulder, as much a cut-out of an empty black sky as the rest of her outfit.
Her cousin's outfit.
The older redhead sat with one leg crossed over the other -- bringing to Aya's attention the void-dark calf-high combat boots, laced tightly with flowing stardust strands on her feet -- her head leaning against the palm of her right hand that was braced by the elbow on the armrest of the chair. Her hair had come loose from its tie and flowed freely down her shoulders.
"Hey Aya, I'm back," she said with an infectious grin. Then she blinked a small frown that in Aya's heart suddenly felt out of place suddenly appeared on her lips. "Why is there a monster in here?"
The fox made of night snarled and darkness rose around its feet before it lunged across the chamber at the throne.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ranma giggled -- honest to goodness giggled -- as the fox charged her. Her heart was still singing with joy, though the effect was beginning to fade slowly. She had never thought it was possible to be so happy over… anything, let alone what should have been nothing, that she would lose track of the world. But it was, and she had. It was a bit like getting knocked out, she certainly felt about as punch drunk.
The creature, which seemed to be made from stars or shadows or something, darted in claws outstretched. Ranma flexed her knees and leaped into the air. The creature impacted the throne with a diluted crunch.
Ranma landed lightly beside Aya. She threw an arm over her cousin's shoulder. "So, what is that?" she asked.
"Why would I know? You're the one who disappeared and- Are you a magical girl now?" Aya blurted out, her eyes wide.
Ranma glanced down at her outfit. It was… well it was a dress. She didn't wear dresses very often did she? She tapped a finger to her lips. "No idea," she cheerfully declared, "But uuh, you might want to run and let Grandmother know we've got a monster. I'll stay and beat it up." She gave her cousin a push toward the exit.
"But-"
"Unless you want to stick around that?" Ranma gestured to the fox as it finally shook off the impact with the throne. Whatever it was, it wasn't as tough as the throne which didn't even seem to have a scratch… hadn't there been a shrine right there?
"Running!" Aya shouted as she high-tailed it up the steps.
"Don't rush too much," Ranma shouted back as she eyed the fox. She stretched her arms over her head and sighed happily at the feeling of her joints popping. "Ooh, that's better. All that happiness made me stiff. Never thought that was possible. Now what are- oop." She twirled to the side, leaning back under the fox as it dived at her.
She turned the movement into a backflip and called her ki to hand for a Moko Takabisha. The energy blast, normally powered by her confidence, came out pink as her overwhelming amount of joy blotted out the less prevalent emotion. The blast that followed caught the night fox mid air and carried it into, and through, the wall between the second and third statues to the right of the entrance.
Ranma blinked at the sunlight that poured through the hole in the mountain.
"Um," she blinked down at her hands. That…
An angry roar sounded from the other end of the hole as the fox sailed back into view. Its form wavered like a mirage in the desert. Ranma frowned.
"What are you? What even happened to me?" she asked, curiosity and confusion finally breaking through the lessening joy. She could feel something other than her ki, and some of it had gotten into her Moko Takabisha. Well, a lot had, at least as much as she'd added ki, but compared to her ki it might as well have been a drop in the bucket.
"I can answer that!" A cheerful young boy's voice from above said. Ranma looked up at the glowing star in time for a droplet of light the size of her head to catch her straight in the face with a splat.
Ranma hit the ground as the droplet bounced back into the air and compressed down into a rounded, rather bubbly, blue five pointed star. A pair of large eyes blinked down at Ranma as it grinned sheepishly.
"Oops, sorry," the star said in the young boy's voice.
"Sorry my ass," Ranma grumbled, rolling to her feet and dusting off her cape. She grabbed it with both hands, pinching the cartoon-like being. It felt both warm and a bit like rubber. Not exactly, but it was certainly stretchable and squishy. "You did this to me, didn't you?" it wasn't a demand, but only because she was still too joyful to be really angry. It didn't stop her from expressing her passive annoyance by pinching and squishing.
"Ack- not-ooom- my doing!" He said, slurring his words under her affections, "Just yooooooouur- please stouuuup dooing dat!"
She huffed and let him go. "Fine."
He rubbed his cheek with his left point. "Ooow, that hurt Bright Star," he grumbled.
"Bright Star?" Ranma repeated.
"That's what you are. The Brightest Star in the Universe. It's your destiny… Though that isn't part of the plan," he said, pointing at the fox as it dived out of the hole. Ranma jumped to the side and the floating star followed her, somehow keeping pace like he was orbiting her.
"We'll talk about this 'Brightest Star' thing later. What is that?" she demanded as she bounced off the wall and out of the way of the follow up strike. She could just blast it again, but somehow she rather doubted her Grandmother was going to be happy about the first one.
"It's supposed to be one of your Constellations," the Star said, "Helpers like myself created from the magic of the eighty-eight major constellations."
"I thought there were only like, twenty-eight," Ranma said.
"That's Chinese constellations. The universe is much larger than that," the Star said.
"Great," Ranma said as she landed her jump. The beast ripped its claw from the wall and turned. It stared at her as she slid a leg back and fell into a martial stance. "So why's it trying to kill me?"
"Something seems to have taken control of it. Most of the power intended for you was tied up in the constellations and all of them are missing," the Star said, "You'll have to take it back from them."
The fox started circling to her left… and to her right at the same time as a second one smoothly split off from the first. Ranma glanced from one to the other. "And now there's two," she said, balancing back on the balls of her feet as she prepared to evade.
"Vulpecula is the Constellation of the Fox," the Star said, "Its power is defining the shape of something."
"Defining the shape?" Ranma asked.
"Yes. It can't give mass to its creations, but it can give them shape. Only one of those is real, the other can't even ruffle your hair," he said.
"So just light, or can he get more creative? Like the shape of gravity or-eep," Ranma would deny she squeaked as she dived down a level to avoid the third fox coming from behind her. Given the way its claws sparked and scraped off the floor it was probably the real one.
"I don't know. I just know it 'defines the shape' of things," the Star said, shrugging.
Ranma didn't wait for another second to throw herself back up the level where she slammed a punch into its side. The cavern shuddered and dust fell as the Constellation Vulpecula crashed into a statue along the wall. The statue, and the next one to either side, shattered as the wall crumbled and buried that side of the room. Cracks ran through the walls as the half-dome shuddered.
"So how do I undo whatever it's under?" Ranma asked as she clenched and unclenched her fist. She was definitely a lot stronger physically. The power, magic she had to guess, was running with her Ki and enhancing its effects even further. She'd need to be careful.
"With purifying magic," the Star said.
"Great. How do I do that?" she asked.
The Star froze. "Oh. Oh no," he muttered. Ranma scowled at him and planted her hands on her hips.
"Now what?" she demanded.
The Star looked left, then right, then left again. "Um… Normally you'd use a Constellation for this," he said, laughing sheepishly, "But…"
Ranma pinched the bridge of her nose as Vulpecula picked itself up again. "But they're somehow all missing," she said blandly.
"Yes," he said.
She turned back to the cursed Constellation. "Can you at least tell me what was done to this? Maybe we can figure something else out. Otherwise I'm going to have to whale on this thing until it capitulates."
The Star frowned at the fox. "It's hard to say…"
"Hard to say? Weren't you here when they were taken? Shouldn't you have some sort of idea?" Ranma asked.
"... I was asleep," he said after a moment. Ranma stared at him as she was treated to the sight of a blue star blushing.
"For how long?" she asked.
"Most of the past hundred years," he admitted, "Off and on, but…"
The fox yipped angrily as it turned to face her. Its form flicked, the dark void that made up the bulk of its body acting like a malfunctioning TV. It yipped angrily, though its voice hitched part way.
"Odd," Ranma muttered before she recalled something from school. "Hey, these things are meant to help me, but how sentient are they?"
"Not very. Maybe as smart as a cat? They're built to take direction, not invent it," Star said, "Why?"
Ranma cracked her knuckles. "So it's basically a computer then? A machine made from magic?"
He tilted to one side. "Computer?" he asked.
"Thinking machine," Ranma replied.
Vulpecula yipped again and leaped forward. Its movements were uncoordinated after the blow and it nearly tripped on the landing. Ranma danced around its swipe, her cape trailing just out of claw's reach.
"It basically is, yes. Not a very bright one, but it's got some emotions and is very good at its intended task. Why?" he asked.
Ranma grinned. "Then let's just try a hard reset then," She said, her heart soaring as she jumped back from the next strike and landed lightly on the throne again.
"You can't possibly mean-" The Star started as she leaped hard enough that she just barely managed to get her feet over her before she hit the ceiling. Dust showered the room and cracks ran across the already damaged ceiling. Amazingly the glowing star remained unharmed.
"What else?" Ranma laughed as she stared down at Vulpecula with a wide grin, "I'm going to beat it up." She kicked off the ceiling, sending bits of dust everywhere, and rocked straight for the rogue Constellation. It seemed to slide backwards out of the way, only for its position to snap back to where it was as a glitch wracked its form.
The flicker cost it as Ranma's heel came down in a textbook axe kick and drove it down into the one thing that didn't show a single sign of damage from the fight, the floor. Just like before the tiles and disks along the tiers didn't shatter as the Constellation's head was smashed flat.
Quite literally.
The void of darkness rippled as the front star, and the head around it, were crushed. Then it shattered. Little bits of night sky went flying in every direction as the construct came apart. Small golden cartoon stars bounced across the ground letting out gasping squeaks with each impact. A single red star was trapped beneath Ranma's foot.
"You're different," Ranma muttered, reaching down to grab the star. It hissed at her before squealing as she grabbed it by the top tip. She gave it a shake when it tried to squeal again. "Hey, Star, what is this?"
"I have a name. It's North Star," the blue Star said.
Ranma shot him a look. "As in the North Star Polaris?" she asked.
"Well, not exactly. The actual North Star is part of the Constellation Ursa Minor. I'm more the idea of the North Star. A guide and advisor for you, just as the North Star has guided sailors for millennia," he said.
Ranma nodded, then shook the little red star, which had to be half North Star's size, at him. "Is this the problem?" she asked.
"Hrm…" A small beam of light shot from North Star and swept over the hissing star. "Ah, yes. Yes it is. There's some sort of demon possessing the command star of the Constellation. You'll need to get rid of it without harming the star. Fortunately, that basically means just flood it with power and it should be fine. Constellations are meant to channel your power and demons won't like it by their very nature."
The demon squeaked as Ranma shifted her grip from carefully holding it by the tip to squeezing it tightly. "I can do that," she said before hesitating. Could she? She hadn't actually tried to use this magic in her yet. Though, it flowed easily enough with her Ki… Could she use it without using her Ki? "No time like the present," she muttered, pulling gently on her magic. She gave it a little push toward her hand and was surprised when it moved with barely a thought. Like moving a limb she'd had all her life.
The demon hissed, squealed and squirmed as her magic flooded into the possessed star. Its wail of pain echoed off the walls of the chamber as a little spark of light formed inside the star. It flared brightly and a golden wave spread throughout the star burning away the red colour.
In moments the star went from shrieking to purring as it nuzzled her hand. After giving it another moment Ranma opened her hand palm up. The little star stood up and bounced happily, squealing something incoherent. It waved to the rest of its constellation and happy squeals sounded from around the room. Three other large stars and a bundle of much tinier ones swarmed Ranma, jumping in joy before bowing to her.
"That seems to have worked," North said with a grin.
Ranma giggled as the joy in her head bubbled at the sight of the happy Constellation. Then she glanced about and winced. The room was wrecked, so was the mountain.
"Oh man, this is such a mess," she said. Her Grandmother was going to be so angry.
"It is a bit, isn't it?" North sighed.
There wasn't really anything Ranma could do about fixing it. Maybe a statue if she had a hundred years, but everything was so broken that she couldn't have gotten it all shipshape within a millennia… Shape?
She glanced down at the constellation. "Hey," she said, getting the little ones attention, "You can define the shape of anything, right? Light, stone, wood, whatever, right?"
They nodded enthusiastically.
"Brightest, what are you getting at?" North asked. Ranma held up a finger.
"Right… So if I said I want this room and the mountain back to the shape they were in before our fight, you could take the stuff we broke and just… put it back together, right?" she asked.
They nodded again as North's eyes went wide.
"That is brilliant," he breathed.
"Thanks. Well all of you. I want this place back to how it was before we fought, immediately," Ranma commanded, shoving her magic into the little star in her palm. To her surprise it began to glow for a moment before a golden beam of stardust shot from it to another, and then another, and another. One by one they began to float, even the one she'd empowered. In a heartbeat the constellation had reassembled, its component stars shrinking until its starry form could fit in the palm of her hand.
The bounding fox of the night sky circled her head as it began to glow brighter and brighter, pulling on her magic all the while. She stumbled as the sensation grew before it exploded with golden light that washed outward straight through the mountain. Scattered rocks soared back into cracks. Dust reassembled into statues. A vast cloud of debris and who knew what else outside the mountain flowed back into the gap her Moko Takabisha had left.
In but a heartbeat every bit of damage from the fight had been undone. Then the fox let out a yip and dived at Ranma, smoothly flowing into her dress where a section of the empty night sky was suddenly filled with stars and more glowing just beneath the surface.
Ranma stumbled as a wave of weariness hit her. She sucked in a breath of air like she'd just run up the side of a mountain and swayed. "Oooh," she stumbled down the steps and barely managed to fall into the throne. She lay across both arms of it bonelessly as the world tilted and swayed.
"What just hit me?" she asked North as the world stopped spinning after a few moments.
"Magic exhaustion. With only yourself and a single Constellation, fixing a mountain was pushing it," he said, landing in her lap. She had to admit he looked adorable as he crossed his 'arms'. "I'm actually surprised you managed it. Your magic shouldn't be this powerful without other Constellations."
"Huh…" Ranma muttered, looking down at her hands and the stardust cufflinks. She plucked at one. It felt a bit like silk. "Well thankfully it is." She yawned. "Ugh, my ki's fine, my body's fine. It didn't even hit me, so why do I feel like I went three rounds with the old freak?"
"Like I said, magic exhaustion. You are now as much a magical being as you are a living one. A lack of magic won't kill you, but having no magic would be a bit like not eating for a week or two," he said.
She grimaced. That wasn't exactly the sort of thing most people lived through. "Lovely," she muttered before yawning again. She poked at the constellation on her dress. "Hey, how do I get back to my normal clothes? I like those ones."
North bounced in her lap. "All you need to do is-"
"RANMA SAOTOME!" A loud voice echoed around the hallway above. Ranma grimaced. That was her Mother. "Hold that thought," she muttered, sitting up in the Throne properly. She tried to stand but found her legs a bit too wobbly. So she sat, crossing one leg over the other as North Star floated in the air beside her. She leaned against her hand like she had when she arrived and waited.
Oh this was going to be a pain to explain.
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A/N: Heyo~ Another story~ I'll admit I've got a bit of a backlog of story ideas, but I have been making some progress on stuff other than new ideas. Both AFL and Pathfinder have chapters ready while I am working on The Taste of Peaches. That one will probably go up as soon as its done, or near enough anyways.
For now though, a thank you to my patrons for their patience and a reminder to everyone you can find our discord in my Signature~
And a lovely thank you to my adorable Editor, Gekkou_Yoko~ This wouldn't be even half as polished or complete as it is without her. As I'm sure she'll attest.
Once she's done proofreading.
Gekkou_Yoko: Mrrp. flops over done.
Grounders10: *awkward cough* A cheer for our hero? *pushes play on recorded cheer* Also, I thought I'd mentioned I'd be posting this sooner ^^; Sorry?
Gekkou_Yoko: Stick a fork in me, I'm done?
Grounders10: *patpats, offers kaffee und kuchen* *is bemused as commentary is edited* Right, I'm going to take Gekkou for something relaxing. Enjoy the words everyone!
Gekkou_Yoko: Purge the heretics! Burn the cultists! Slay the demons!
Grounders10: Well, relaxing is a relative word. Darktide is relaxing for her.
Missing how many times he was pu through the wall?