Wish Gone Awry. Enter Equestria! Enter New Life!

The walk back to Ponyville was rather pleasant, the low-hanging sun painting the sky a warm orange. It was odd, though, seeing Rainbow Dash walking instead of flying. The only pony among the group who've seen Rainbow walk was Fluttershy; even then, it was only on clouds. To see her walking on the ground was somehow very odd, very out of place.

"I'm serious, I'm fine, I can fly," Rainbow Dash said, complaining.

"Yes, you can fly, but you're not fully healed," Julius said as he walked closely behind Rainbow Dash. "You could still have some hairline fractures in your wing. It'd be better to get them checked out before flying," Julius reasoned with Rainbow.

"I felt you healing me. I'm fine," Rainbow pouted. "If you're not confident, I'm sure Twilight or Luna can finish healing my wing," Rainbow half pleaded.

"Sorry, Rainbow Dash. My magic is more combat-based, and I always worked alone. Everything I've come across, I was able to deal with no problem. I haven't had any real reason to develop my healing magic," Luna explained.

"I've never had any training or practice with healing magic," Twilight started to explain. "I don't think starting on a broken bone would be a good place to start," Twilight told Rainbow Dash.

"But Julius used healing magic; why can't either of you?" Rainbow Dash asked pleadingly.

"Healing magic is rare; It's challenging to use. Julius was fortunate to be given such a gift," Luna told Rainbow Dash.

"Yes, I could learn it, but it'd take time, a lot of time. I'd have to start small, mild scrapes and cuts, not fractures," Twilight added on.

"Fine," Rainbow sighed, dejected at being told she couldn't fly. Sure she could try, but between Luna's and Twilight's magic and Julius's strength, she'd be held down right away. Rainbow knew that they had her health in mind, but she still hated walking on the ground. At least clouds were soft and fluffy, the ground though it was hard, and cold such an alien feeling to her. Getting towards Fluttershy's cottage Fluttershy breaks off.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get to sleep soon. I have a hectic day tomorrow. Harry will be coming by for his monthly massage," Fluttershy apologetically says, heading off to her cottage.

"Fluttershy gives massages?" Julius asks unbelievably.

"To animals, yes," Rainbow Dash tells him. "Not to ponies, though. Trust me; you wouldn't want her to give you a massage" Rainbow awkwardly laughs.

"Why is that? Is she too weak?" Julius asks, trying to imagine a Fluttershy massage.

"Opposite actually, you'd be surprised at how strong she can be, I know I was," Rainbow Dash laughs, rubbing the back of her neck with her good wing.

"I thought massages and things like that were too girly for you," Twilight giggles into her hoof.

"A sports massage is different," Rainbow Dash huffs, much to the groups' amusement. The small talk continues as the group makes their way to Ponyville General Hospital. As they enter Ponyville, Pinkie Pie breaks off from the group to go back to Sugarcube corner. The rest of the way, Julius and Rainbow Dash start some small talk to get to know each other better.

"Well, here we are; let's get Rainbow Dash checked in," Twilight says, leading the group inside. "Hello, Paper Heart, we're here to check in Rainbow Dash," Twilight tells the unicorn working the desk.

"Again?" Paper Heart sighs as she sees the group walking in. "At least it's not the human. Ok Rainbow Dash, what did you do this time?" Paper Heart tiredly says.

"I broke my wing. Julius healed it, but they're all worried there might still be a fracture," Rainbow Dash tells Paper Heart, almost on routine.

"I see, Julius, are there pegasi where you are from?" Paper Heart asks Julius.

"No, and no magic either. Also, my healing magic isn't very well developed," Julius tells Paper Heart.

"Ok, then yes, there is a good chance that there would be a small fracture. No pegasi means he likely isn't familiar with pegasi biology, and no magic means he isn't used to using it," Paper Heart says while grabbing a quill and some paper. "Ok, tell me the details," Paper Heart tells Rainbow Dash before looking at Julius. "You too, tell me about your healing of her wing," she tells him while writing down what was already said to her. After hearing everything and writing down all the details, Paper Heart places the papers in a file. "Nearest nurse to the reception, code Rainbow," Paper Heart yells before sitting down at the desk.

"Really, code Rainbow. How many times have you been here for them to make a code Rainbow?" Julius asks, barely containing his laughter.

"A lot, we stopped counting once we hit fifty," Paper Heart dryly responded as she went back to doing her crossword.

"Well, looks like I'll be getting that healing magic practice I've been putting off," Julius laughed through gritted teeth.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes as a nurse entered the room.

"Follow me, Rainbow Dash," Nurse Redheart told her as she spotted Rainbow Dash. "The rest of you will have to wait here," Nurse Redheart told the group as she led Rainbow Dash into the hospital.

"Hey, Julius, where's Zecora?" Twilight asks him as the group sits down on a couch.

"Oh, she's back at her house. She's worry about leaving it unattended for so long in the Everfree Forest," Julius tells Twilight as he starts to scratch behind Luna's and Twilight's ears.

"Aren't you worried about her?" Twilight asks as she nuzzles her head into his palm.

"Not really, no. Zecora has repellants for creatures in the Everfree Forest; how do you think she survives there?" Julius tells Twilight as he pets the pair.

"I guess we're going to be spending the night at her house then," Luna dreamily says as Julius' hand hits a sweet spot Luna could never get. "We need to get a large place for all of us," Luna coos, her head rocking in pleasure.

"I know, we could fix up the castle!" Twilight chirps up, making Luna mull over the idea.

"Castle? Oh, you must mean that old castle in the forest; what's its story?" Julius asks as he remembers the castle he spotted.

"Oh, it was destroyed a thousand moons ago in a tragic event," Luna quickly responds, earning her a crooked look from Julius.

"Very well, I won't ask any further," Julius says, eyebrow raised, deciding to drop the subject. "Luna is hiding something about that castle I'm sure of it," Julius thinks as he looks at Twilight " and Twilight knows what it is" he thinks as he notices the expression on Twilight's face.

"It doesn't matter what happened to it; we can rebuild it. It should be big enough for all of us" Twilight encourages the idea.

"Well, I have always wanted to live in a castle, if nothing else for the novelty," Julius smiles at the thought of being the lord of a castle. Making plans to rebuild the ruined castle, the three pass the time. Luna plans out getting supplies while Twilight and Julius work out improvements to add to the castle, things like crystal lighting and plumbing. Some time passes before Nurse Redheart comes out with Rainbow Dash, Dash's wing bandaged up.

"Rainbow Dash's wing still has a few slight fractures. As long as she doesn't use it, she should be fine in about a month," Nurse Redheart tells the group.

"Would healing potions help any?" Julius asks as Rainbow Dash walks to the group.

"Yes, they would, but they're difficult to make, don't try it," Nurse Redheart tells a smiling Julius.

"Ok, Zecora has healing potions; we'll get some from her. Hey, nurse, if the hospital is interested, I'm sure Zecora will sell you healing potions for a good price," Julius offers as some happiness returns to Rainbow's face.

"I'll have to ask the hospital board, but I'm sure the board will be interested," Nurse Redheart tells the group as she gives Rainbow Dash her papers. "Remember no flying until fully healed Rainbow Dash," Nurse Redheart firmly tells her.

"I know, I know," Rainbow Dash tells the nurse before taking the papers. Leaving the hospital, the group looks up to the sky, the sun nearly being fully set.

"I suppose I should be raising the moon and setting the stars; one moment please," Luna tells the group as she starts to charge her horn with magic. A soft purple glow fills the sky as stars begin to blink into view. Big ones, small ones, pulsing ones, stars of all kinds flash into the sky. Following after, the moon rises enveloped in a light blue glow as the moon gets placed in its path.

"If I told anybody from my world about what I just saw, they'd call me crazy," Julius quietly says under his breath. "Good job Luna," he compliments softly, scratching the top of her head. "So she can control the stars, then shouldn't she be able to control the sun?" Julius thinks to himself while he scratches Luna's head. "Hey, Luna?" Julius asks before thinking about it.

"Yes, what is it?" Luna responds happily.

"Oh uhhh nothing, never mind," Julius awkwardly says. "I better not ask; I have a feeling that'd start a fight," Julius thinks to himself.

"Oh, ok," Luna tells him as she enjoys the feeling of him scratching her head. The group is about to head off to the Everfree Forest until Twilight stops them.

"Can we stop by the Golden Oak Library? I want to tell Spike that we'll be staying at Zecora's tonight," Twilight asks.

"Sure, it'll only be a quick detour," Julius tells Twilight. Heading down a few roads, the group stands before the Golden Oak.

"I'll be a moment," Twilight says before walking into the Golden Oak. A few short moments pass before Twilight and Spike come out.

"Twilight, where will I stay tonight?" Spike whines as the pair exit the Golden Oak.

"If I may. Rarity is working on some clothes; I'm sure Rarity would like the help," Julius suggests making Spike's eyes light up.

"With Rarity, it is!" Spike energetically announces, nearly skipping to the Carousel Boutique.

"Knew that would work, now on to Zecora's," Julius says, half laughing while Twilight locks up the Golden Oak. Walking towards the Everfree Forest, the ponies start to slow.

"I know Zecora's house is in there but is it wise to go there at night?" Twilight apprehensively asks as the Everfree comes into sight.

"Honestly, the Everfree isn't much more dangerous at night. A few creatures are sleeping, a few are awake, some plants change, but on the whole, it's the same. Besides, we got Luna and myself what could threaten us in there," Julius laughs while softly brushing his knuckles against Luna's cheek.

"Julius is right; we'll be fine," Luna happily says, rubbing her cheek against Julius' knuckles. The two lead the group into the Everfree. The path to Zecora's house is still mostly visible; only a small number of landmarks have changed or have become hidden. Twilight walked very close to Julius, nearly right at his left side. Rainbow, meanwhile, put on a strong front but still walked closer to Julius and Luna than she'd admit. Despite the misgivings, the walk was uneventful, a few far-off sounds got a jump or two, but that was about it.

"Been a few days since I've been back," Julius said as the house came into sight. The windows aglow, hinting at the warmth within.

"Great, let's head on in," Rainbow Dash chirped up before heading inside, Twilight close behind her. Luna was about to follow before Julius grabbed her shoulder.

"Hold up, Luna, before we go in with the others, I have to ask, why me?" Julius asked to Luna's confusion.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, puzzled.

"Ok, I have to drop all pretense for this. I know you're a princess, I know you're powerful, you're an alicorn, and you're beautiful. Even with mares outnumbering stallions, you still must have lines of suitors. It just seems somewhat odd that from all the stallions, you go with the being from a different dimension," Julius explains. "Oh, and about the whole princess thing, don't worry, I won't treat you any differently until you make a big deal about it," Julius tells Luna petting her shoulder.

"In another world, another time, you may be correct," Luna says, sounding forlorn, "but sadly, it is not like that. For most of my youth, I had to spend learning how to vanquish the various monsters that threatened Equestria. I had to raise the moon, set it in its path, place the stars, guard the dreams. I had to do it all, all alone, all in darkness. Doing all of that holding fast as the unseen bulwark, I never got much recognition. Even now, few know of me. Of those few that do, they only thank me out of obligation," Luna quite forlornly says, looking down.

"I get it. It's a hard, thankless job. Necessary but thankless. When I came along and unconditionally appreciated your work," Julius started to follow up.

"Exactly," Luna said, cutting Julius off as Julius softly hugged her. Starting to bring a hoof up, Luna stops as she hears a voice.

"Come on, love birds Zecora has some stew ready for us," Rainbow Dash mockingly yells out to Luna and Julius.

"I suppose we should head in," Julius says, breaking his hug. "Are you sure that's it, Dashy, or do you just want to get into bed?" Julius asks teasingly.

"Oh please, with how reluctant you were at Rarity's, I doubt you're anything special," Rainbow Dash laughingly mocks, making the mares shake their heads.

"Rainbow Dash, Julius is very well endowed. You shall see when you get plowed. Though you will be in a crowd, it'll be ok to be loud," Zecora tells Rainbow Dash while smirking.

"Sure, sure," Rainbow Dash laughs dismissively. "We'll find out after we eat," Rainbow Dash says before taking a mouthful of stew.

"That we will Rainbow, that we will," Julius says, smirking as he and Luna enter Zecora's house. Shutting the door behind them, Julius gets a large bowl of stew and sits down to eat.