It was a beautiful morning in the kingdom of Nerima. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the river flowing through the capital Saotokyo was splashing gently against its bank.

In the middle of Saotokyo, a small but steep mountain rose, covered with lush grass and bushes. And on the top of the mountain, the impressive domicile of King Ranma was situated: Saotome Castle!

It was still silent within the royal walls. King Ranma was still asleep. In the big hallway in front of his bedroom, two female servants were walking on tiptoes so they wouldn't wake his majesty.

Suddenly, the snoring coming through the door stopped. Yuka and Sayuri looked at each other.

"You suppose he's awake?" Yuka whispered to her friend. Sayuri shrugged.

Just then, a loud ringing coming out of the bedroom made them both jump. He was awake, all right - and he was ringing the royal bell. Which could only mean...

"Hey!" the king's loud voice shouted. "I'm huuuuungry here! Can anyone get me some breakfast?"

That was their cue. In a hurry, the two girls ran down the hallway, down the spiral stairs and into the castle's basement, where the kitchen was situated.

Both of them came bursting through the small door at the same time. "King Ranma's awake," they gasped simultaneously.

Ukyo Kuonji, the castle's chef, turned around and smiled. "So, is he now? Well, I could hear his voice even down here, so he must be up. So I suppose he wants his breakfast now, huh?"

She gathered two enormous trays with food and gave them to the two female servants. "Here you are, sugars... But don't run that fast, you hear me? If his breakfast falls down, the king won't be too happy."

Sayuri and Yuka nodded nervously and hurried back to the royal bedroom - a little bit slower than before.

They stood in front of the door, took on dignified poses and knocked.

"Come in," a sleepy voice called.

Sayuri opened the door, and they entered the big bedroom.

The bed itself was enormous. It was big enough for at least five persons, and the king's head seemed to vanish in the giant pillow.

"Good morning, your majesty!" the girls chorused.

"Morning," Ranma grumbled. The girls exchanged a quick look. They could see: The king once again was in one of his 'bored phases'. Maybe some sunlight would cheer him up...

After putting her tray down, Yuka went over to the big window and opened the curtains. Golden sunlight shone into the room and made the smooth floor gleam.

"So the sun is shining again?" The king sighed. "How boooring..."

Sayuri and Yuka didn't know what to say and decided to leave. "Enjoy your breakfast, your majesty!"

"Tell the coiffeur I wanna see her after the breakfast, okay?" he called after them. The two of them bowed and left the room, closing the door behind them.

Ranma sighed and started to eat. Being a king could be boring sometimes... He remembered his coronation ceremony: Back then, the idea of becoming the country's ruler had its appeal, and he had dreamed about creating the perfect Utopia.

Perfect Utopia... An Utopia of boredom, perhaps...

Sure, there hasn't been one single war since he became king. He managed to lower the taxes without the kingdom having to suffer from it. His loyal subjects downright adored him... To make a long story short: Everything was perfect!

Too perfect.

Ranma has been a martial artist before he became king, and only shortly before the coronation he learned that his father had been this country's ruler. Luckily, Ranma inherited the natural abilities of a leader by his parent, who he never got to know.

His previous life has always been full of action and interesting events. But now, after two years of being king... He had nothing much to do. And even if he would hold a martial artist tournament: He really didn't believe that anyone within his kingdom was ready to fight their own king. Most of the inhabitants were even pacifists.

So it was no wonder that he was bored.

Suddenly, someone else knocked on the door. "Come in," Ranma said.

It was Kasumi Tendo, his royal coiffeur. He knew Kasumi and her family from the time when he still didn't know of his royal heritage. And when he became king, he offered them a place at his court. Kasumi and Nabiki accepted instantly, but Akane didn't... Actually, he hadn't seen Akane for a year now. He often wondered what she was doing...

Kasumi smiled at him. "Good morning, Ranma-kun!" As one of his old friends, she had the privilege of calling Ranma by his name. Yuka and Sayuri could have easily done the same - heck, Ranma would've preferred if everyone of his subjects would call him just Ranma - but most of them were too nervous around him and preferred to follow etiquette.

"Morning, Kasumi!" Kasumi always managed to put a slight smile on his bored face. "The usual: Washing, brushing and the usual pigtail, okay?"

"Right away, Ranma-kun!"

Well, of course Ranma was a man who was able to do his own hair, but since every king had a royal coiffeur, Ranma had to have one as well.

And to be honest, Kasumi loved the job.

While she was busy washing his hair, Ranma sighed. "Kasumi, you know it's my birthday soon, right?"

"That's right," Kasumi smiled while doing her job. "In three days! Oh, it will be a wonderful festival..."

"Right..." Ranma mumbled. "In three days... Kasumi, I thought about it and I think I know what I'm wishing for my birthday."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yes. Last year, I got all these boring things that people thought a king should have... valuable paintings and statues, gold, jewels and much more treasures, and some people even offered me to build the perfect training dojo for me." He chuckled. "But, to be honest, nothing out of those things was something that I really wanted to have...

But I thought of four things I always wanted to have... The first thing is a big cake... I always got some kind of cake for my birthday, but I would really like something special... A cake that really doesn't look like a cake, you know? To make it more interesting. It could look like some kind of animal, for instance...

And then, there's something else... When I was a child, I was always fascinated by those magicians who were doing their tricks like pulling rabbits out of a hat or making things vanish... I'd like to see one of those on my birthday.

I would also wish for a different kind of weather on that day... For the past few weeks, we had always sunny days, with only a few light rainfalls. What I would really wish for would be a big storm, with dark clouds, lightning and thunder... Nothing dangerous, and only for a short time... You know, just to make it different and exciting for once.

And my final wish is something simple... Something that I always wanted to have when I was a kid... Even before I became a martial artist... I wish to have a pony... A small pony to ride on... Oh well..."

He sighed deeply while Kasumi was tying his hair in a pigtail. "But I think I will get the same boring old cake with some candles on it. Like always, we will have a nice, sunny day. I won't get a pony because there aren't exactly many horses in my kingdom… And of course there won't be any trace of a magician on my party. Well, I suppose even kings can dream, huh?"

Kasumi didn't answer. She was thinking.

And after doing her job, she left Ranma's bedroom and went directly to the kitchen. "Ukyo," she shouted excitedly. "I finally know what Ranma is wishing for his birthday!"

"Really?" Ukyo asked. "So, tell me: What does he wish for?"

Kasumi shook her head. "Not now and not here! I'm planning on telling everything this evening... Ukyo, please call the bakery of Saotokyo and the embassy of Juuban and arrange a meeting within the bakehouse, this evening, 20 o' clock!"

"Bakehouse, 20 o' clock," Ukyo nodded. "Sugar, you really made me curious now..."

"We'll meet at 19:30 in the inner ward, at the well. I'm going to tell Nabiki... she has to come too."

And while the chef was dialing the number of the royal bakery, Kasumi was hurrying down to the castle's inner ward. She went through a small archway and entered a small courtyard. If she would look up, she would be able to see the window of Ranma's bedroom above her head.

She headed for a small, wooden shack that was situated in one corner of the courtyard. That shack was the workshop of her younger sister Nabiki. Nabiki was the head engineer and technician of the castle, because of her exceptional technical abilities. Not many people knew that Nabiki was a real genius... She wasn't just a simple engineer but a brilliant inventor.

Kasumi knew it, of course. When they were still living within their old home, Nabiki was always bored because she couldn't find a job where she could further develop her abilities... But working within this big castle gave her many opportunities to demonstrate her inventive talent. She did not only fix the castle's water conduits and other things, but she also constructed a new security system to make sure no thief would try to steal the riches that lay within King Ranma's treasure room.

Kasumi knocked at the door. "Nabiki... are you there?"

"In a minute," her sister called back. Kasumi heard some rumbling, then something fell to the ground with a loud 'clang' and Nabiki cursed. Shortly after, the door got unlocked and Nabiki opened.

"Oh, it's just you, sis! Come in! I just worked on a present for Ranma's birthday. That's why I locked myself in. I hope he likes it... Here, take a look: A special high-speed mountain bike for martial artists and other sportive people. He can steer it through almost all kinds of terrains. The back wheel is especially broad, see? When I pull on this handle..." It clicked. "Then the hind wheel will split into two separate wheels. It also has retractable spikes, a detachable box - if he wants to take along some stuff - and..." She grinned. "Side impact protection!"

Kasumi took a look at the bike, a really good piece of work. She sighed and sat down in an old armchair. "Nabiki, Ranma just told me what he's wishing for, and a bike is not one of those things. I tell you, he's so bored with his life... I could tell he was distressed. I'm really worried about him..."

Nabiki's face fell. "No bike? Then why did I work so hard on it? Look, it really works fine..." She jumped onto the bike and cycled a few times around the cramped room. The pedals squeaked horribly. And then, after the third round, the bike lost a wheel and Nabiki fell to the ground.

"I just have a screw loose..." she murmured. "Just one damn screw, and I also have to oil the thing..."

"Nabiki, did you even listen to me?" her older sister sighed.

"I understood every single word," Nabiki said in an offended voice. "Ranma doesn't want my bike. Okay, then I'll just have to use it myself."

"Now, now, Nabiki... Don't be offended! I think your bike is the most brilliant, interesting and greatest thing I've ever seen."

Nabiki smirked. "So, you think so?"

"Of course!" Kasumi smiled. "I've never seen a better bike in my whole life!"

That calmed the girl genius a little bit and she sat down in a chair. "Well... about those wishes... what are they?"

"Well," Kasumi said. "His first wish is a special kind of cake... Something unusual. I decided that the royal bakers in Saotokyo should be able to create something fitting. Perhaps Ukyo wants to help them, if she likes... That's why I called a meeting for this evening at 20, within the bakehouse.

Second: Ranma wants a pony. That's why I invited the ambassador of the Juuban kingdom. They are known for their big ranches, it certainly will be easy for them to find some nice pony for our king. That's also no problem.

But three and four: The magician and the thunderstorm... He wants a real magician, you know? Someone who wants to entertain him on his birthday party. I don't know anyone who could be considered. And a thunderstorm? For the last few weeks, the weather has always been sunny. How are we supposed to influence the weather like this?"

"Well, it's easy," Nabiki smirked. "The magician just has to conjure up a thunderstorm, and everything's fine."

"Well, do you know a magician?"

"No, no, it was just an idea..."

Kasumi stood up. "You know what? I think we can leave out the magician. If Ranma gets three of those four things, he will be happy enough."

"And what about the storm?"

Kasumi looked down at her sister. "You will take care of that!"

Nabiki stared. "M-me?"

"That's right!" The royal coiffeur smirked. "Nabiki Tendo, I hereby order you to build a Storm Machine for King Ranma's birthday."

Nabiki jumped to her feet. "Now wait just a sec, sis... I can build burglar-proof door latches, high-speed bikes, even ejection seats for cars... but a Storm Machine? I don't even have the slightest idea how something like that is supposed to look like."

"I don't care how it looks like," Kasumi replied. "As long as it's able to create a real thunderstorm. I know you can do it, Nabiki... Don't forget, you're a genius. I'll see you at 19:30 at the well. See you then."

And she left Nabiki's little workshop.

For several minutes, Nabiki just stood there and thought about it. Then she sat down at her desk and began sharpening her pencil.

"Storm Machine..." she grumbled. "Storm Machine... Lightning, thunder, crack-a-doom..." And while she sharpened her pencil and thought and thought and sharpened her pencil, more and more time was passing. She was that much in thought that she didn't even notice when nothing of the pencil was left to sharpen anymore...