Epilogue: Dessert
Starlight Glimmer tossed in bed. She didn't enjoy not being able to sleep, but she was also rather used to it.
After returning from the portal, Twilight and Trixie had both suggested—amidst incessant bouts of passive-aggressive bickering—that Starlight get some rest while they ran more tests to ensure the magic mirror was safe to be around. They'd also both promised to spend time with her "later." Starlight was both looking forward to and somewhat dreading the occasions.
She looked out of her window, at the shining dots in the sky which bore her namesake. What do I even do now? She asked herself. Where do I go from here? I understand I have friends that won't give up on me easily, but if I'm still going to keep causing trouble for them like this...
She sighed forlornly and turned over in her bed again. Even worrying about it was tiring, so she elected to put that off as well.
The second she closed her eyes, she heard a knock at the door. "Starlight?" a muffled voice said. "Are you awake? It's Twilight."
Starlight pondered whether or not to respond for a few moments, then finally replied, "I am."
Her door opened, and Twilight walked in, lighting each of the room's torches with magic as she did so. As Twilight came closer, Starlight could see that Twilight she was levitating... something next to her. Slowly it came into focus, and Starlight could make out... a slice of pink cake with a candle on top? She looked at it quizzically.
Twilight noticed. "Pinkie insisted I give you this. It's a 'Happy Crossing Dimensions And Not Getting Killed By An Evil Supervillain While On The Other Side' cake." She blushed. "I've had three now."
"Whoa." Starlight boggled, then grinned. "Ah, well. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I'll be alright." She snickered. "Heck, what's more dangerous is the fact that Trixie's got some sort of all-day thing planned for the two of us tomorrow that she won't specify the nature of. I'll need you to make sure she doesn't outright kidnap me."
The two ponies giggled.
"Thanks to the both of you for rescuing me, though," Starlight continued. "I really could have been stuck there forever had you not worked together to figure things out." She looked away. "Would've finally had to lie in the bed I made, I guess."
Twilight's eyebrows furrowed. "Starlight."
Starlight didn't move.
"Starlight, please. Look at me," Twilight pressed.
With a sigh, Starlight slowly turned her head to see Twilight looking at her empathetically. Twilight gestured towards the foot of the bed. "May I?"
Starlight nodded, and Twilight sat on the bed across from her. Starlight sat up to meet her.
"Starlight," Twilight began, "you have been beating yourself up ever since you got back. To be blunt, I want you to stop. For two reasons.
"First, I know you think everything that happened today was your fault, but the truth is, it wasn't anypony's fault. I put that magic mirror in the the magic studies room so the mirror's magic could be studied in the room where we study magic. You had every right to be in there, doing what you were doing. And we both figured removing the book from the mirror's mechanism had rendered it inert." She rolled her eyes. "I guess we both know better now."
Starlight fidgeted. "Well... I suppose, but—"
"Second, on top of nopony getting hurt, it sounds like you learned some pretty good friendship lessons on the other side. You selflessly jumped to the aid of somebody you trusted, and made a real friend out of them, too. All in all, I'd count today as a win for your studies."
Starlight stayed silent. She supposed Twilight had a point there, too. She hadn't considered taking pride in any of what she'd done today, but the more she thought about it...
Twilight scooted closer, and placed a hoof on Starlight's shoulder. She looked at Starlight with caring eyes.
"I always notice when you're being down on yourself, Starlight. I know you try to hide it around me, but I know the signs because I was there myself a lot. Seriously, I got discouraged all the time learning about friendship from Princess Celestia." She paused, then smiled mischievously. "I've mind-controlled ponies too."
"W-what?" Starlight balked amidst Twilight's giggles.
"Yep!" Twilight proclaimed with a jovial nod. "I was so desperate to learn a lesson about friendship—by having a friendship problem to solve—that I tried to make one. I kept trying crazier and crazier plans until, finally, I put nearly all of Ponyville under a mind-control spell just to get them to act how I wanted. Nopony was themselves for hours!" Twilight laughed, and sighed wistfully. "Gosh, it all seems so long ago now. Still..." She stared at Starlight with a smirk. "...sound familiar?"
"But... b-b-but..." Starlight fumbled for words. She clutched her head with both hooves. "All of Ponyville? Why did you never tell me this? Why did you and Spike read me the riot act last week?"
Twilight sobered. "Because sometimes the pain of knowing exactly what you did wrong to ponies who didn't deserve it, helps strengthen your knowledge of what it means to be a friend. And for you especially, that isn't new territory, is it?"
Starlight inhaled through her teeth. "Ouch."
"But it wasn't for me, either." Twilight squeezed Starlight's shoulder. "Mistakes are great things to learn from. But they always hurt. That's the secret of their effectiveness."
Twilight looked into her eyes, and Ukyo's earlier words pushed to the forefront of Starlight's mind.
"It's easy to feel like you just can't win sometimes," Twilight said. "I know you feel that way, and I did for the longest, too. I was always scared of failing those I most wanted to make happy. Trust me, though: everypony is scared of exactly that. That's the punchline of comparing yourself to others—because once we get to know each other? It turns out that we're always more alike than we think we are."
Twilight got off of the bed. "Except for the moment. Starlight, however accidentally, you actually made a magical breakthrough today! Be proud of yourself." She chuckled. "Also, uh, be happy you survived to tell about it."
"I'll... I'll try." For the first time that night, Starlight felt like she could relax, just a little. "Twilight?"
"Yes, Starlight?"
"I... I know I don't say this enough—you know, in between my blowing up magic experiments and messing with ponies' livelihoods—but..." She tapped her hooves together repeatedly, before gathering the courage to look at Twilight with an earnest, appreciative smile. "...Thanks. I'm so glad you're my teacher. And my friend."
"And I'm so glad to be both." Twilight nodded, mirroring Starlight's expression. "I know it's been a hard road, but not a day goes by when I don't think you're worth it, Starlight. I just hope you do too."
Starlight looked away, doing her best to hide an involuntary blush. "Baby steps. Good night, Twilight."
"Good night, Starlight."
Once Twilight was gone, Starlight took a bite of the cake—it was of the usual Pinkie quality. She wrapped the rest in plastic, then lay back down. As she did so, something poked into the back of her head. "Ow! What the..."
She felt behind her head, and recovered a small metallic spatula. Starlight gasped—she'd completely forgotten it was tied to her mane.
There was a pretty bow attached to it... and a note as well. Starlight opened it, and was greeted by a crude drawing of Ukyo's grinning face and a two-fingered V-sign.
---
Dear Starlight,
Wherever you are, I hope this note finds you at the right moment.
I'm so glad to have met you. I hope it can happen again—I wouldn't mind learning more about friendship myself!
But whether we do so again or not, just remember: never stop cooking. The meal's always worth it.
~Ucchan
---
Starlight put the letter on her nightstand and snuggled into her covers, smiling ear to ear.
Finally, she could sleep comfortably.
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This is amazing
Haven't even read it it yet, but as a longtime fan of Ranma 1/2 I feel obligated to...
A Ranma Crossover by Bookish? Auto thumb!
Nice wrap-up! I too felt a little melancholy that the two new friends had to part ways so quickly, even if I spent less time with them than they did themselves.
Good to keep this simple. No need to bring in the whole cast of one series, have them do their thing, then leave. We got our setup and payoff in a nice little package!
But seriously, Starlight. No more woe-is-me, you got that? I'm watching you.
Fin.
An interesting end. Twilight reinforcing the lesson Ukyou gave her while the Chef's gift wraps things up on a good note.
I hope she does make it back one day to visit and get that heart to heart chat with Ukyou, and introducing the Mane 6 to the NWC would be all Kinds of antics, but I'm not sure if I'm eager or terrified of the thought of what could happen if Discord came along for the ride...
Nostalgia, strong characterization, a nicely executed fight scene, and just a hint of cheese. This story is good eating. Thank you for it.
Ranma 1/2 fans don't die they just get older. Really good story I really enjoyed it.
7792357
I missed writing ponies. It's been a while.
I was reading Ranma 1/2 fanfiction long before mlp fanfiction, though I haven't read much of it in quite a while. Ukyo always was a favorite, though, and I enjoyed this.
Of course, it'd be interesting to see Ukyo in Ponyville...
--arcum42
7792639
You missed it
Ranma 1/2 was one of my first true anime Fandoms (Robotech doesn't count as I didn't realize it was an anime at the time) and you really caught the feel of it here. More than that I can actually SEE this happening.
Great job!
...you didn't.
7792657
I had to.
7792700
66.media.tumblr.com/9b9b32081c709bc4fe887e9b34e77e1e/tumblr_mmenjwiD4C1qfxuzdo10_500.gif
Man, I needed this, you have no idea.
One could say Ukyo had a selfish reason to help Starlight get back home, to make sure the unicorn never meets Ranma... had to say it.
Oddball of a crossover, but it works.
Ranma 1/2 funny enough was the fandom I first cut my teeth into, not sure how or why but I did. Still enjoy it greatly since it does seem to have matured a bit past the bashings... well apart from Genma but he deserves it.
Ah, a good ol' random Ranma 1/2 crossover. I miss those.
7792870
Given the way Ranmaverse fanfic works, Starlight probably would get hit by Spring of Drowned Girl within a week.
7792996
Or get Kuno after her.
Wow. Speaking as someone who's seen very little of Ranma 1/2 (a grand total of three episodes), I enjoyed this very much. It was fun!
Of course, there's always the chance Starlight and Ukyo could meet again. If one magic portal mirror can be made, another could always be made too, right?
7792996
7792999
7793054 Ever hear Ranma 1/2 logic?
Exactly!
That was a lovely story that captured a lot of why Starlight Glimmer appeals to me as a character. Also, while I've never seen/read Ranma 1/2, I was able to quickly connect with the characters from that series and what they're like, Ukyo in particular, as her character definitely worked brilliantly alongside Starlight's in this story.
Now that I think about it, I should definitely check out Ranma 1/2 at some point.
Anyway, excellent work as usual.
So, when does Shampoo bust through the dimensional wall to deliver Trixie her ramen?
I've never even read Ranma 1/2 and this was a fantastic story. Bravo. ;u;
Thaaaaaaat's the stuff....
Ranma 1/2.... Now that's a name I haven't heard in a very long time.
7792439
Much older than I ever thought I'd be.
Thankfully Starlight made it out of Nerima before something magically irreversible happened. And thankfully she didn't meet Happosai (I doubt he'd grope a pony but you never know).
Thumbs up. Great slice of life story.
Ah, this did bring back nostalgia. I bought all the manga when I lived in Japan and Ranma was one of the first anime-things young me had a fan-crush on. Oh, those halycon days of the early web.
...Now I feel nostalgic for Geocities Webrings. Wow.
I remember that diferently. She only wanted three fillies to like the doll and not whole Ponyvile.
This is the second time I have seen okonomiyaki mentioned in a fimfic in as many weeks, which doesn't sound like a lot but is 200% more than I expected to find.
Ranma was also one of my first fandoms (
only beaten out by Monster Rancher because I had weird friends), and Ucchan in particular was my favorite/first anime crush. Okonomiyaki was the second dish I ever learned to make in my pursuit of becoming a home cook.Thank you for the nostalgia.
That was a fun little read. The first chapter felt a little too late-90s Ranma fanfic, but the sentiment and the friendship lesson du jour more than made up for it.
Thumb-Up. "Ranma"... Practically my first love.
Ranma 1/2, Okonomiyaki, Ukyo!!! Thumbs up, favorite! Now excuse me while I actually go read the story.
Finally a fic with a crossover tag that I can read!
7793576 Anyone who is a fan of both shows should get it. I admit I got a little giggle out of that.
What is Okonomiyaki?
7794410 But... I'm a fan of both shows, and I didn't get it!
hang on. i recognize that image.
that's the food shop from Powerpuff Girls Z, the one where the girl who turns into Sedusa because of the Black Z rays that hit her!
Oh God I haven't sen Garfield and Friends in years so thanks for the extra blast from the past.
7795103
Basically? Japanese Pancake. With a load of toppings and ingredients.
Ranma crossover, huh? That's a rare treat.
As an old-school anime and Ranma fan, this was great!
i remember Ranma 1/2 being the first anime i ever finished, i enjoyed it at the time but looking back now that I've became a little more critical of things, the show had plenty of flaws. Cringe moments,constant running jokes, very little character development except in rare moment with the side characters and Ranma himself is basically a Mary sue with the only flaw being that he's afraid of cats...which to a certain point becomes an advantage.
of course, this doesn't mean i hate the show, the comedy is my type but i start to notice things.
For those who are wondering what okonomiyaki is, imagine kind of an off-flavored pancake mix with shredded cabbage mixed in before it's fried. Then take the resulting pancake, layer it with mayonnaise and pour kind of a salty/sweet thick vinegar sauce on top. There are variations of ingredients, kind of like how not all pizzas are pepperoni pizza, but cabbage pancake with mayonnaise and sauce is the basic variant.
It is absolutely as gross as it sounds.
7795823
That sounds horrible.
7795104
Same Voice actor in the english Dub.
7796162
Doesn't it though?
It's a good thing we can't taste sound waves, or we'd all be in trouble!
too much the
I really admire the restraint with the crossover tag. Most crossovers go out of their way to introduce a character to every single aspect of the other universe, but you kept it very self-contained and down to earth. No parade of suitors and rivals, no random Happosai groping Starlight's ponebutt, and barely even an appearance from the title character.
Slice of life crossover done right.
7796722
Thanks for the corrections! I'll make them when I'm back at a keyboard.