Temporary Note

I still haven't been able to re-watch MLP: FIM, so I can only hope that my depictions of the characters — thus far — aren't too far off. Regardless, I should probably work on something that I can actually reference when necessary, because I don't like depending on my subpar memory.

Anyway, another concern was whether or not to refer to Ranma as "Ranma" outside of dialogue, or "Midnight Bliss," and I opted for the former. I felt like at least some of the audience might need some reassurance that Ranma's not going to lose himself to his current form, but I may be worrying over nothing. Well, if it matters one way or the other, I guess I'll see what turns up among the comments.

Now I get to have fun choosing the next thing to work on and not take forever to update it. Weeee...~

Chapter 13

After an awkward silence, Spike eventually sighed and mumbled about the work that awaited him. After telling Ranma that he would be right back, he left to get a broom and a dustpan. When he returned, and Ranma saw what he intended to do, she offered to help him, which he accepted once it was clear that she wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Since Spike knew which books went where on the bookshelves, he decided to handle that while Ranma took care of the broken glass and wood from the window.

Eventually, after replacing a book on one of the higher shelves, from atop the ladder, Spike's curiosity spurred him to ask, "So... You're not a princess, huh?"

"Nope," Ranma readily replied, as she used her telekinesis to manipulate the broom and dust pan that she had been provided with. "I'm just a regular pony... More or less."

Before Spike could question that, both he and Ranma turned their attention to the open door when Twilight walked in and said, "Oh, let me take care of that," as she approached Ranma, with Pinkie hopping in behind her.

After checking to see if all of the glass shards and wood were accounted for, Twilight cast a spell that sent them to the broken window, where they quickly arranged themselves to fill the dimensions of the hole and restore it, as if the window had never been broken in the first place.

"That's certainly convenient..." Ranma admitted to herself.

"Hi!" Pinkie perkily exclaimed, who suddenly appeared in front of Ranma without warning, which made her jump back a bit out of reflex. "I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?"

"Midnight Bliss," Ranma replied after a slight pause, not really sure of what to make of the overactive pony before her.

"My name's Twilight Sparkle," said pony spoke, seizing the opportunity to introduce herself as she took a step closer to Ranma. "It's nice to meet you. I hope—"

"Why aren't you a princess?" Pinkie Pie interjected, who looked confused.

"I'm sure there's a reason for it, Pinkie," Twilight Sparkle said, in a tone that suggested that she shouldn't be so forward, just in case it turned out to be due to something personal.

"I'm sure there is, too," Pinkie Pie replied, as if Twilight Sparkle had simply stated the obvious instead of dropping a hint, before enthusiastically adding, "That's why I want to know!"

Since she was standing on all fours, Ranma fidgeted by rubbing one of her shanks against the other, due to feeling a bit reluctant about answering. Still, she didn't think that the answer would be too problematic, if it would be at all, and it would probably be weird if she withheld where she came from entirely. Aside from that, she didn't think that she would be successful if she pretended to be from somewhere that she had never been before, so... "Well... I'm not a princess because I come from another world."

Pinkie Pie gasped in what appeared to be terror, zipped behind Twilight Sparkle for cover, who was too preoccupied with staring at Ranma with equal parts surprise and interest to mind it, then poked her head out from behind her and queried, "You're not a Maretian from Mares, are you!?"

Ranma blinked her eyes. "Um... No?"

Pinkie Pie breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out from behind Twilight Sparkle. "Whew. You had me worried there, for a moment."

Twilight Sparkle shook her head with some exasperation, as well as to get her mind focused on the matter at hand. "You shouldn't have been worried in the first place: Maretians are fictional; they're not real."

Pinkie Pie suddenly pressed her face against Twilight Sparkle's and stated, "That's what they want you to think." She hunkered down and began to glance about the room with suspicion. "Then, when you're not expecting it..." She proceeded to rise onto her hind legs and threw her forehooves into the air dramatically as she — in an increasingly-shrill tone — shouted, "You get snatched up and replaced with a pod pony!"

Being that she was well-accustomed to Pinkie Pie's antics by now, Twilight Sparkle returned her attention to Ranma, who was giving Pinkie Pie an odd look as she continued to hold her pose, and — with her initial excitement and curiosity blunted by Pinkie Pie's distraction — evenly said, "Still, I wasn't expecting you to be from another world... Would you mind telling me more about it later?"

"Sure," Ranma replied, after pulling her attention away from Pinkie Pie and thinking it over for a second. So long as the subject didn't stray too closely to her situation, she didn't think that it would hurt to describe what her world was like.

Twilight Sparkle smiled happily. "Great!" Then she got her mind back on track and said, "Anyway, I hope that the accommodations here will be sufficient. If not, I'm sure that I could find another place for you to stay."

"Or me!" Pinkie Pie happily offered, having returned to a normal standing position. "I know all sorts of places with free space!"

Ranma didn't really have to give the library a thorough inspection to make her decision, since what she could already see was far better than some of the places that she had slept at before, and regularly at that. "I'm used to living outdoors, so this place'll be fine."

"Awwww..." Pinkie Pie voiced her disappointment, before immediately perking back up and proclaiming, "Well, I got what I came for, and the ball's not going to spontaneously organize itself, so I better fly!"

Being reminded of the ball, which she wasn't all that keen on attending, Ranma decided that she should try to get her to change her plans. "Well, actually—"

"Whoosh!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she began to run on her hind legs while her forelegs were extended ahead of her, with her body still parallel with the ground, all while making drawn-out noises that sounded more like running water from a faucet than wind.

A few seconds after Pinkie Pie could no longer be seen, Ranma turned to Twilight Sparkle and asked, "Is she always like that?"

"More or less," Twilight Sparkle answered, who felt only a little embarrassed about it. "If you want, I can ask her to cancel her plans, if you'd rather not have a welcoming party."

"Oh, is that what it is?" Ranma asked. When she received confirmation, she considered the new information for a moment before saying, "Well, I guess it'll be fine... I don't want to be rude, or anything."

Twilight Sparkle smiled and said, "I wouldn't worry too much about that," before she once again returned to the original matter and became thoughtful. "So, is there anything that needs to be moved in? I don't recall seeing anything waiting outside..."

Ranma shook her head. "Nah. I just brought myself."

"Oh," Twilight Sparkle voiced, having not expected that since she had assumed — before learning of her otherworldly origin — that Ranma had simply moved to her present location from somewhere else in Equestria. As she considered that, with her gaze drifting elsewhere, she said, "Well, I'll just have to arrange for another bed to be delivered... I suppose I could do that while I'm giving you a tour of Ponyville." She paused and realized that she was getting ahead of herself, which caused her to smile sheepishly when she returned her attention back to Ranma. "If you'd like one, I mean."

Not seeing anything wrong with that, Ranma said, "I don't mind."

"Great!" Twilight Sparkle enthusiastically replied, who was looking forward to showing someone around the place that had become a home away from home to her. "Just let me put together an index of all of the locations I'll show you, establish a route for the best viewing experience and the ideal amount of time that will be spent at — and between — each location, write a thorough and informative introduction to each one, and—" She paused when she realized that she was being pushed toward the front door by Spike, much to her befuddlement. "Spike? What are you doing?"

"Exactly how long did you plan on making her wait?" Came Spike's rhetorical reply, who continued even as Twilight Sparkle tried to estimate how long her efforts would have taken. "Just improvise."

"Improvise?" Twilight Sparkle echoed, who made the word in question sound like it was a foreign concept to her, even though it wasn't.

Ranma followed the pair out the door, slightly amused by the byplay. Once she joined them outside, Spike wished them a good time before he re-entered the library and closed the door behind him. She turned her attention to Twilight Sparkle, who seemed to be a bit unsure of how to proceed, and wondered whether she should take the initiative or not.

Eventually, Twilight Sparkle deliberately said, "Well... Why don't we see about getting you that bed?"

"Sure," Ranma casually replied, who was fine with the practicality of Twilight Sparkle's approach.

While she was generally accustomed to exploring new places without help, due to her training journey with her father, they had still enlisted the aid of a guide enough times to have a fair idea of how to go about things. Since Twilight Sparkle didn't seem to be prepared for the role that she now found herself in, it wouldn't be too much of an issue for Ranma to help her out surreptitiously, should the need ever arise. Otherwise, since she was more or less going to be taking a break anyway, it wasn't like she couldn't do some exploring later, while she had some free time, should Twilight Sparkle happen to miss anything that would pique her interest.

Twilight Sparkle did a decent job of being a tour guide despite her lack of preparedness, at least as far as Ranma was concerned. Instead of leading Ranma directly to the place where they could acquire a bed, Twilight Sparkle had taken her on various detours along the way, in such a manner that they continued to make progress toward their destination in spite of them. By the time that they had reached their goal, they had already covered a small portion of Ponyville.

Once they had finished their business with the proprietor of "Beds and Brooms," after clearing up Ranma's misidentification as a princess, Twilight Sparkle took Ranma on a circular route through Ponyville, by working toward the heart of the town from near its outskirts. All the while, Ranma consistently drew the attention of the town's denizens, although it seemed that word about her not being a princess had spread enough for a quarter of them to not react as if she might be one. Her lack of a cutie mark had also garnered some attention, but most seemed to be more discreet about that.

By the time that they had finished the tour, Ranma thought herself adequately acquainted with Ponyville. While Twilight Sparkle didn't have much to say about a number of places and things, if it had a history, or was a notable trait of Ponyville in some fashion or another, the knowledge that she could bring to bear could be a mite overwhelming. She also had a bit more to say about places where her friends lived and/or worked, in addition to said friends themselves, although — for one reason or another — she never went so far as to make introductions.

Aside from Pinkie Pie, Ranma had also learned about Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. In the case of the latter three, she had seen their homes from afar, since their route hadn't taken them that far out. While Fluttershy and Applejack were in easy walking distance, Twilight Sparkle hadn't wanted to bother them while they were likely to be taking care of their respective morning chores. Rainbow Dash lived a fair distance farther away than those two, but she would have either been asleep or out and about somewhere; it was more likely that the pegasus pony would run into them rather than the other away around, being as mobile as she was. And while she had actually stood in front of Rarity's home/shop, Twilight Sparkle had seemed strangely reluctant and reticent about making a visit. What she didn't know was that she wanted to spare her the same experience that she'd had upon first meeting Rarity, due to her exotic appearance, figuring that it would be safer if they met while away from the belly of the beast.

It was nearly lunch time when Twilight Sparkle finished her act as tour guide, who decided to treat Ranma to a light lunch — light, because she didn't want to spoil their appetite for whatever would be served at the welcoming party. The chosen venue was a restaurant that served some of its patrons outside, at tables that looked like mushrooms. Seating appeared to be optional, and Ranma decided to go without since she was used to spending a lot of time on her feet, which hadn't changed when she had become a pony. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hand, fashioned a mound of straw to sit upon, since she didn't have quite as much endurance as she did.

While Ranma wasn't all that keen about eating a sandwich that had flowers in it, she didn't want to raise any unwanted questions by abstaining or being picky, and figured that she could give it a try in order to discover whether or not it could become something to account for later — in the case that she didn't like it, that is. What really had her worried, however, was the fact that she wouldn't have her own bed until tomorrow. As it turned out, since Ponyville didn't export beds or have a population that demanded them often enough, they were made upon request rather than stocked. That was all well and good for anyone who wanted their bed to appear and function exactly as one desired, but was otherwise a bump in the night for her, in a manner of speaking.

She tried to convince herself that there wasn't anything to worry about, since Twilight Sparkle wasn't human in addition to being the same gender, but she couldn't reconcile herself with the idea. Despite having realized long ago that she would be expected to share a bed with a member of the fairer sex one day, it was among the scariest — not that she would admit that to anyone — things that she could think of doing. Before settling down in Nerima, sharing intimate contact and personal feelings with another had been a concept virtually alien to her. Between moving too often to form any lasting relationships of any significance, being taught the importance of strength and self-reliance, and raised by a man who couldn't be trusted and was always ready to exploit a weakness, being close to someone — in the manner expected of a married couple — was pretty much contrary to her upbringing.

While it wasn't so bad in Twilight Sparkle's case, since there were no obligations or deeper meaning to the arrangement, it was still close enough to the problem to be an issue. Of course, it didn't help that Twilight Sparkle would be unaware of her true sex, which would be a source of guilt. Unfortunately, as much as she wished to avoid it, Twilight Sparkle had offered to share her bed with an expectant expression on her face, as if she were looking forward to it. On top of that, she didn't want to do anything that would inspire questions that she wouldn't want to answer, which could lead to a number of problems, so — however much she regretted it — she had decided to try and go along with things in order to appear normal.

Of course, as distracted by her concerns as she was, said concerns showed on her face, which eventually prompted Twilight Sparkle to ask, "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?" Ranma absently voiced, as her attention snapped back to the current situation.

"You were spacing out..." Twilight Sparkle informed her, who expressed some concern on her face instead of repeating the question that Ranma had failed to catch.

Ranma looked sheepish, then became a bit nervous and turned her eyes away when she noticed the other pony's concern. "Oh, uh... It's just that I have a lot on my mind." Wanting to change the subject, she hastily thought of something that she had been wondering about, which was relevant to what she had just said, before reestablishing eye contact. "Like, I know that princesses can be a big deal, but shouldn't people know who they are?"

Twilight Sparkle blinked her eyes questioningly before remembering that Ranma was from another world, unaware of Ranma's usage of "people" because the translation spell had made it "ponies," the Equestrian equivalent of when a pony was referring to a non-specified group of one's own race. "Well, that's because you're an alicorn."

Ranma opened her mouth to reply, but ended up frowning when "alicorn" reminded her of something that had been said recently. "I think Luna mentioned something about that... So, does that mean that only alicorns are princesses?"

Twilight Sparkle took a few seconds to contemplate her response. "Well, there were princesses before alicorns. However, ever since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna began to rule, there has only been one other princess and alicorn, and both are the same pony."

Between knowing what she did about Celestia and Luna, and having caught the present tense of Twilight Sparkle's statement, Ranma's curiosity was piqued. "Really? Huh. If there's only three, and they're all alicorns, I guess I can understand why people might assume I'm one as well." She paused before asking, "So, who's the third princess? This is the first time I've heard about her."

"Oh, that would be Princess Cadance," Twilight Sparkle replied, who smiled slightly as her thoughts turned to her sister-in-law and — by extension — older brother. Since those thoughts contained extraneous information, though, none of it was mentioned when she added, "You can normally find her at Canterlot, but she's on her honeymoon right now."

"I see..." Ranma replied, as she added that bit of information to what little she knew about Equestria and its royalty.

The waiter chose that time to return with their orders, who Twilight Sparkle noticed was behaving deferential instead of haughty. As they began to eat, she decided to educate Ranma on Equestria's political structure, since the non-native's eyes appeared to hold questions that weren't going to be given a voice. As intent as she was to help her charge, however, she failed to notice said charge's tentative approach to eating their sandwich as she spoke.

After taking a bite of her sandwich, and giving her palate a chance to evaluate the flavor, Ranma decided that it was edible. It wasn't anything that she would care to eat often, but she wouldn't mind eating flowers if it were only on occasion. While she ate, she pretended to be interested in what Twilight Sparkle was saying: not because she wasn't interested at all, but because her interest wasn't so great that it could only be sated by a thorough lecture.

Fortunately, before Twilight Sparkle could get very far, she stopped and turned her attention upward, to the presence that she felt appear behind her. When she looked for herself, she found a pegasus pony flying nearby, who examined her as she zipped from one side of her to the other. The pony in question had a sky blue coat, cerise-colored eyes, and the hair of her mane and tail boasted the colors of the rainbow. On her flank, she noted that her cutie mark was of a cloud and a bolt of lightning, the latter of which being divided by the colors red, blue and yellow.

"What are you doing, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight Sparkle inquired.

Rainbow Dash turned to regard Twilight Sparkle, as if noticing her for the fist time, and casually said, "Oh, hey, Twilight." She swooped down and landed before the table, between its other two occupants. "I noticed that Pinkie was putting something together. She said it was a welcome party fit for a princess, even though the pony it was for wasn't a princess, and that it would be out of this world, but not totally figuratively... Or something like that." She looked at Ranma curiously. "So, yeah, I decided to check things out for myself."

Twilight Sparkle shook her head at that. "Well, this is Midnight Bliss. She will be under my care while she's visiting our world."

"Wait, what?" Came Rainbow Dash's incredulous response, as she returned her attention to Twilight Sparkle. "Are you saying that she's from another world?" After receiving confirmation, she regarded Ranma with speculation and interest. "What's it like?"

"Well..." Ranma temporized, as she tried to think of what to say, much less where to start.

Of course, when she decided to start with one of the more apparent differences between their worlds, regarding the lack of — outside of myth — pegasi, unicorns and alicorns, she was interrupted by a confused Twilight Sparkle, who asked, "Are you saying that you haven't always been an alicorn?"

Ranma shook her head before trying her best to describe what a human looked like, with limited success, which was partly due to the limitations of the translation spell. After Twilight Sparkle assured her that there was a way to project a mental image with a spell, Rainbow Dash interjected and asked the obvious question, which was on both of their minds. "So, how'd you get changed?"

Since that was something that Ranma didn't want to share, but wasn't exactly sure of how to express that with words, she ducked her head a bit and falteringly said, "Uh, well... I'd rather not talk about it... If that's okay?"

"That's fine," Twilight Sparkle assured her, with an accompanying nod from Rainbow Dash, before something occurred to her. "I guess that's why you're here to learn magic, then?"

That was correct, in a roundabout way, so Ranma nodded her head in order to establish her cover story. "Yeah. I'm probably lucky that I know how to do even this much with it." She raised her sandwich with her "telekinesis" to illustrate what she meant, which she took another bite out of since it was in front of her face and needed to be eaten.

Rainbow Dash frowned thoughtfully and asked, "Say, how long have you been an alicorn, anyway?"

"Since the night before last," Ranma replied, who was wondering about the other pony's line of thought. "Why?"

"Well," Rainbow Dash began, who tried to remain casual about it, between her interest being piqued and what she intended to offer to a perfect stranger, "it didn't sound like you could fly before, so I'd be willing to coach you if you'd like."

Ranma perked up at the thought of improving her flying skills, since flight was — undeniably — one of the best things about her situation. "Really? That'd be great!"

From there, with the ice properly broken, they returned to the subject that they had strayed from, regarding the world from which Ranma had come. Ranma had an avid audience in Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, as she astounded them with the fact that there were six billion of her kind living on her world. While Twilight Sparkle was more interested in the technologies that Ranma thought notable enough to mention, such as telephones, satellites, airplanes, television and the electric grid, Rainbow Dash was more interested in the locales, activities and the occasional creature, especially if any of them involved something new that was worthy of exploration.

Of course, since Ranma didn't want to ruin the mood, she reserved certain details for another time — if it was ever necessary to bring them up, at any rate. It wasn't just about the things that had been developed to kill people, but that there were so many reasons for them being used on a perpetual basis. Even though the problems with her people had little to nothing to do with her, being associated with it still engendered embarrassment, since Equestria — despite what little she had seen and heard of it — seemed like a fairly peaceful place, what with the three pony tribes having been able to resolve their racial differences and all.

There was no telling how long they would have talked, whether they stayed put or moved their conversation elsewhere, but they were eventually interrupted by a scream, which was quickly followed by more as a commotion erupted around them and ponies began to run for safety. Alarmed by this sudden development, they looked around for the source of the disturbance, but didn't see anything in the immediate vicinity.

Right when Rainbow Dash was about to take to the air and check what could be seen from above, they heard a gruff, booming voice bellow, "Come out, you lava-maned pony! I know you're around here somewhere!"

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash exchanged questioning looks, regarding the "lave-maned" description, before simultaneously considering the same idea and directing their attention to Ranma, who reflexively — and somewhat defensively — asked, "What?"

Deciding that she should at least find out what had everyone scared, before considering whether it would be wise to reveal Ranma to them or not, Rainbow Dash put her wings to work and quickly cleared the rooftops. After all, if Ranma had only been a pony for a few days, she likely wouldn't be in any condition to make the most use out of her form if she needed to escape or protect herself.

However, before she could really take a look around, she was distracted by the sound of another set of wings approaching her location, and — much to her surprise and confusion — she soon found Ranma flying beside her. Just as she was about to raise a question about it, Ranma made a face, and sounded a bit irritated as she muttered, "What, these guys again?"

"These guys" turned out to be a group of adult dragons, who were hovering above the town square as they looked about for their quarry. There were four of them in all, though the only red-scaled one among them was separate from the three that had formed a group, who didn't appear to be as enthused about the search as the lone one was. Aside from being the most eager, having red scales and being separate from the group, one other notable detail about the lone dragon was his size, since he was notably larger than his companions.

Perplexed by this turn of events, Rainbow Dash inquired, "You actually know 'em?"

Before Ranma could reply, or Twilight Sparkle could call out to them from below and get them to fill her in on what she couldn't see, one of the dragons from among the group of three had gotten the lone dragon's attention and pointed her out to him, who growled, "There you are," before making a beeline toward her. The rest of the dragons followed him, but at a more sedate pace.

Rainbow Dash was considering evasive maneuvers, since there was a large, angry-looking dragon heading in her direction, but a glance at Ranma derailed such thoughts. Instead of showing any indication that the same thoughts were running through her head, Ranma just hovered in place with an unhappy expression on her face and her forelegs crossed. She glanced between the alicorn and the dragon, wondering what to do, before deciding to hold her "ground." In part, it was because she didn't like the idea of being shown up in the bravery department, especially if it turned out that it could have been avoided. For the most part, though, she was confident that she could avoid harm, if it came to that, and the mix of danger and mystery was kind of exciting.

Rather than attacking outright, as Rainbow Dash had half-expected, the dragon came to an abrupt stop in front of them, jabbed an extended talon toward Ranma, and declared, "Little pony, I am Crimson Rumble, of Fury Mountain, and I challenge you to a duel!"

If that proclamation hadn't been strange enough for Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, they were utterly dumbfounded when Ranma snorted and casually pointed out, "I handled a couple dozen of you at once, though, so why bother?"

That appeared to annoy Crimson Rumble, who joined Ranma in crossing his forelegs as he angrily asserted, "That was not a fair contest! You used our numbers against us, and your magic gave you an unfair advantage. Why, I didn't even get a chance to engage in combat with you, because..." He trailed off, seemingly abashed, before reluctantly admitting, "Because you used me like a club against my own brethren, knocking me unconscious in the process."

Ranma frowned thoughtfully at that, unaware that Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were staring at her in a stunned fashion after hearing what the dragon had said. "So, what, you just want a one-on-one match, without using magic?" After receiving a nod of confirmation, she spared the other dragons a glance and asked, "What about them?"

"They are here to witness — and thus confirm — my eventual victory," Crimson Rumble confidentally replied, who ignored the disgruntled mutterings that came from two of the aforementioned witnesses.

Ranma smirked, lowered her forelegs and prepared to fly elsewhere. "If that's the way you want it, then follow me; I'll find us a place to have our fight."

As Ranma began to lead the dragons to a place that was outside of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle shared a look before following after them. They didn't need to say anything to each other to know that they had both realized the same thing: that Ranma was more than what she seemed. Well, that, and that they had assumed too many things about her to begin with. While there was still some concern over what was about to happen, they were more curious about her capabilities than anything else, and whether she could actually best a dragon without the aid of magic.

Before long, they all arrived at a wide-open area that would work for a fight between a pony and a dragon, where there were few trees and the nearest house was a safe distance away. While Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash chose to watch from a small hill that overlooked the chosen battlefield, and the three dragons settled on the opposite side of it, the combatants faced each other and got ready to fight.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Ranma decided to take the initiative and charge forward. Crimson Rumble brought his left claw down to meet her, with his talons bared, but she easily hopped to the side to avoid it, which slammed into the ground instead. His plated, spike-tipped tail was already on course to strike her from the direction that she was currently heading, but a strong flap of the wings sent her over it. However, with a flap of his left wing, she was sent sprawling back in the direction that she had come from since her hop, and she narrowly avoided his tail as it made a return swing — out of sheer luck — because she wasn't all that experienced at saving herself after losing control of her flight like that.

Crimson Rumble kept the pressure up by trying to take a swipe at her with his right claw before she could recover, but she managed to do it in time, then had to scramble away when she realized that his mouth was open, and that the approach of fire was imminent due to the back of his throat lighting up. He was soon chasing her with his flame breath, using it to lead her into the strike zone of his claws, tail or wings, or using those to try and catch her with said flame breath. Not liking how much control he had over their battle so far, she decided to fly beyond the range of his flame breath so she could take a short break and figure out a way to achieve victory.

Once she exceeded the reach of his flame breath and faced him once more, Crimson Rumble smirked and smugly said, "So, was I too much for you, little pony? Or is this an invitation to take our fight to the air?"

Ranma grinned, since she was sure that he wouldn't be sounding like that later, now that she had a good idea of what her opponent was capable of. "What are you talking about? You've already taken our fight to the air, since that's all you've been hitting."

Crimson Rumble didn't like that comeback one bit, who spread out his wings and roared before launching himself skyward. Ranma retreated just a bit more in response, as a plan began to formulate in her mind, before readily engaging him once more. Unfortunately for him, with his wings occupied with the job of keeping him aloft, no ground to worry about, and access to his underside, it became much easier for her to outmaneuver him, and finding a blind spot from which she could get past his defenses and attack, which proved to be quite vexing to her opponent. However, as strong as her blows were, his head proved to be more resilient than anticipated.

Not wanting to risk drawing the battle out longer than her stamina would last, or however long it would take to finally knock him senseless, she played hide-and-seek with his body for a bit, so she could come up with a way to knock him out. Upon spotting something of use, she smiled to herself and went back on the offensive, in order to draw him closer to the ground. Once she deemed him close enough, she feinted with one of her attacks, which left him completely unprepared when she slipped over one of his shoulders and chopped at the base of one of his wings, which dislocated it.

Crimson Rumble grunted in pain and did his best to angle his feet toward the ground with one wing as he lost altitude, watching her warily as he did so, but she simply eased herself to the ground along with him instead of taking advantage of the situation. She didn't need to, since it would be a waste of time and energy, as well as being even more underhanded than she needed to be.

Once they were on the ground, Crimson Rumble glared at her balefully and spat out, "So, once you finally realized that I surpass you in strength, you resort to foul play."

"I figured I would be doing you a favor, since you had been doing better on the ground," Ranma needled, which elicited a growl from her opponent. "Besides," she continued, with an indulgent grin, "if you're so confident about your strength, then go ahead and hit me as hard as you can." She tucked her wings in, sat upon her haunches and assumed a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked upward and added, "Although, I wonder if you can even hit me when I'm stationary..."

Crimson Rumble became enraged, so much so that steam actually poured out of his ears. "You mock me, now!?"

With a mighty roar, he lunged forward with as much speed as he could muster, and prepared to put everything that he could behind his talons. Ranma's eyes glinted as his claw approached, with the intent to rend her into pieces, and with a quick thrust and flick of her horn, against one of his talons, she used a trick to redirect his momentum, which resulted in him being flung into the air. Between having only one useful wing, and being disoriented from the sudden and extreme shift in the forces acting upon his body, he accomplished little more than making his body spin lengthwise before his head smashed through a boulder, just prior to slamming it into the ground.

A silence fell upon the battlefield, and after a few seconds of that she stood up, prepared to leave if the crumpled form of her opponent didn't show any sign of being able continue. While she had been aware of the other dragons, it wasn't until then that she actually spared them any of her attention since the battle had begun, and she noticed that they were staring at her in shock. After a moment's consideration, she decided that it would be good to let them think that she was as strong as she seemed, if that meant not being bothered by dragons again. She had better — and more important — things to do than being harassed by dragons while she was in Equestria.

Then, she was notified that they hadn't been her only audience, when a familiar — and very distinct — voice deliberately exclaimed, "That... was... awesome!"

When she turned to look toward the source of the voice, she saw who she had expected to see: Rainbow Dash. The pegasus pony appeared to be rather excited, and she wouldn't be surprised if she began to assault her with questions. Twilight Sparkle was present as well, who also seemed to be wowed by her performance, but was more reserved about it.

They were joined by four others, and among them she only recognized Pinkie Pie, who was holding up a score card and declaring that she hadn't gotten a perfect score because the dragon hadn't completed its third revolution before the "landing." One of the others was an orange-coated pony that was wearing a Stetson hat, whose mouth was still hanging open in amazement. Another was a pegasus with a pink mane and yellow coat, who stood behind the others, and whose eyes shied away when she regarded her. The last was a white-coated unicorn, whose wide, sparkling eyes seemed to gaze upon her with adoration, which she would later discover was an expression inspired by rather different thoughts.

By the time that she had taken all of that in, she caught some movement in the distance and noticed that the six ponies on the hill hadn't been the only ones who had been watching her fight. She could see a fair number of them peering out of windows and doorways, or from around corners, trees, and other things that had served a similar purpose for them. It was then that she began to realize what kind of situation she found herself in, and that the impression that she had just made — a first for many, to be sure — probably wouldn't help to dispel any thoughts about her being a princess.

She sighed. "Oh, man..."