Wish Gone Awry. Enter Equestria! Enter New Life!

Returning to Zecora's Hut, Julius sits down to compose himself and collect his thoughts, while Luna is almost back out the door right away.

"I'll search the area, make sure everything is fine," Luna tells Julius before heading off into the Everfree.

"Yeah, yeah, she'll be fine," Julius thinks to himself while gathering his thoughts on what could be stalking him. "Ok, it's probably not a predator; I gave plenty of chances for it to attack me if it was. It's not a prey creature; prey creatures don't stalk things; they run and hide. I don't think it's somecreature from the Everfree; it seemed too controlled, too out of character for any of its native creatures. Maybe it's an enemy of Equestria? Maybe I stumbled onto some shape-shifting creature that's spying on this area of Equestria? Unlikely considering we're nearly right in the middle of the country, but Canterlot is close by, so possible? As thoughts run through his head, one thought comes almost to the forefront. "Could it be a unicorn with invisibility magic? If so, it'd have to be extremely well trained in stealth, to move through rough terrain like that without making any sound. Nothing like this has happened in the past month, and this only started today, after I returned from Ponyville. Either an unnervingly skilled unicorn from Ponyville is stalking me for fun or, Julius' eyes go a bit wide as a possibility dawns on him "a unicorn was ordered to spy on me by Celestia or Luna" Julius thinks while sitting in silence.

Playing over different scenarios in his head, the last one seems more and more likely. "Luna's been with me pretty much the whole time, so I don't see when she could have given the order unless she did it via a dream. Celestia, well, I think our first meeting went well enough, all things considered. Maybe she's ordered that her booty call is to be watched over from the shadows? Maybe she doesn't trust me and is keeping tabs on me?" Thinking on the powers and position of Celestia, a shiver makes its way up Julius' back. "Maybe some zealots who worship her are doing it on their own accord? I hope that's not the case Julius shudders at the thought. "Oh well, I seem to be safe enough, and I did plan to go to Fluttershy's today," Julius says to himself while standing up. Grabbing his staff, he turns around and heads out into the Everfree towards Fluttershy's Cottage.

Walking at a steady yet guarded pace, Julius knew full well the trip would be longer than he'd have liked. What would typically take him maybe thirty minutes would now take him easily an hour, if not more. About a quarter of the way Julius noticed something, or rather he didn't notice anything, the Everfree seemed normal. Normal sounds, normal animal activity, normal plant activity, everything was normal. Mentally weighing his options, Julius decided to stay guarded just in case. A walk, a long walk among a trail that was seeing more use, wasn't that bad. The air had that unique scent of the Everfree, the flowers were lovely, and the animals gave a pleasant background noise. For fifty minutes, this was Julius' walk, nice and peaceful. Nearing the end of the Everfree, it happened again; the Everfree went quiet.

"Great, my stalker is back," Julius thought to himself at the onset of the silence. "Maybe I should shout out to it," Julius thought before lightly shaking his head. "Nah, better for it not to know that I know it's there," Julius thought as he came ever closer to the edge of the Everfree. Julius spots Fluttershy's Cottage almost right away from the forest line.

The whole approach to Fluttershy's Cottage was beautiful. The grass was very well kept, the flowers bloomed beautifully, the trees softly hugged the surrounding area, the birds in the distance sang a song that carried all through the area, and the little brook had a pleasant sound and freshwater; truly a nature lover's dream. Stopping for a quick drink from the brook, Julius perked up his senses as much as he could. Focusing magical energy to his ears in an attempt to hear better, it worked, but it didn't make him hear too much better. It was tiring, taking more energy than he thought it would, but it was just barely enough. Julius heard soft steps. Not looking away from the brook, both not to let it know, and the water was refreshing, Julius had to estimate where his stalker was.

"Maybe thirtyish steps away, roughly behind me," Julius thought as the steps fell silent. Focusing more energy to his hearing, Julius heard nothing. "Appears to have stopped," Julius thought after a few minutes of listening. Lowering the energy he was using back to where he could barely hear the creature, Julius got up and resumed walking to Fluttershy's Cottage. For every step Julius took, his stalker seemed to take a step and a half, staying at the same distance. Walking up along the dirt path after a few minutes, Julius stopped sending energy to his ears. It took too much energy, hurt his ears, and his stalker seemed to stay the same distance away. Step by step, Julius got closer to Fluttershy's door. Knocking on the door, Julius allows himself to relax somewhat.

"Fluttershy, are you home?" Julius asks after knocking.

"I am. Give me one moment," Fluttershy responds as animal sounds come from inside. Opening the door, a wolf barrels out at break-neck speed, swiftly darting its head around, first looking at Julius, then off at something near the tree line, then back to Julius, then back to the same spot at the tree line. Teeth bared and snarling, the wolf's attention was split.

"Accalia down, girl!" Fluttershy commanded with surprising firmness. *Woof, woof! Grrr, yowl! Owooooo!* Accalia responded while keeping her attention fixed to the tree line. "Accalia, this is Julius; he's a friend," Fluttershy told Accalia. "What do you mean there's something in the trees?" Fluttershy questioned Accalia.

"I can answer that," Julius quickly told Fluttershy. "Ever since I woke up, something has been stalking me," Julius told Fluttershy, making her recoil in shock. "It doesn't seem to be hostile; it's had many opportunities to attack me. It seems to be content just to watch me from some distance," Julius explained to Fluttershy.

"Oh dear, that sounds scary," Fluttershy meekly says. "Do you think you'll be ok?" Fluttershy asks with concern.

"Well, who knows how long it's been stalking me? So far, nothing has happened, so I think I'll be fine. It's unnerving, though, being stalked. Mind if I come in?" Julius asks while looking inside.

"Oh right," Fluttershy nervously giggles, "come on in," Fluttershy says as she leads Julius inside, Accalia following close behind, though still quite focused on the tree line. "Welcome to my home; feel free to sit anywhere," Fluttershy offers as Julius steps inside. Looking around, Julius spots a nicely sized couch; sitting down on the couch, Julius watched as Fluttershy grabbed a serving tray with a kettle and some cups on it while Accalia leers out the window. "I'm sorry about Accalia; she's not very good with creatures she doesn't know," Fluttershy tells Julius as she walks over to him with the serving tray. "Would you like some tea and snacks?" Fluttershy asks, setting down the tray on a nearby table.

"Black tea with some lavender, please, and yes, something to go with it, maybe some tea biscuits and blueberry jam," Julius requests with a heavy sigh, leaning his staff down against a nearby chair.

"Alright, there should be some black tea bags on the trey. I'll be right back with some lavender, biscuits, and jam," Fluttershy says as she walks into her kitchen. Looking around Fluttershy's house, Julius spots many different animals, bunnies, cats, dogs, mice, hedgehogs, snakes, all kinds of birds, some chickens running around outside, and other animals running around outside. Looking over the animals, Julius feels a gaze fall on him. Trying to find what's glaring at him, Julius looks around the room. Seeing nothing at first, Julius quickly gets up and looks out the window Accalia's looking out of, still nothing. Taking another closer look around the room, Julius spots a bunny staring him down.

"A-are you giving me the stink eye?!?" Julius bewilderedly asks the bunny, who just stares him down. "O-ok then. I'm just going to sit back down now," Julius awkwardly says as Fluttershy reenters the room.

"Talking to the animals?" Fluttershy asks while setting down some lavender tea bags, tea biscuits, blueberry jam, and some carrots. Sitting down across from Julius, Fluttershy makes herself a cup of tea.

"Just that bunny, I think it wants something," Julius tells Fluttershy as he makes up his tea.

"Oh, that's just Angel Bunny; he probably wants a snack," Fluttershy explains while giving a carrot to Angel "here you go," Fluttershy pleasantly says with giving Angel a carrot. Taking the carrot, Angel hops off a little way to a small comfy looking cushion. "Angel's a very nice bunny," Fluttershy tells Julius as Angel sits down on his pillow.

"I doubt that," Julius thinks to himself. "I'll take your word on that," Julius tells Fluttershy as he tries his tea. Energizing and relaxing, it was just what Julius needed. Trying one of the tea biscuits, they were light and dry but good; the blueberry jam went well with them and the tea. "Thank you, getting here was a bit more taxing than I thought it would be. It turns out trying to use magic in a way you haven't learned is possible, but tiring," Julius tells Fluttershy while savoring the tea and snacks.

"Why did you do that?" Fluttershy asks, concern evident in her voice.

"Well, when I was a few minutes away from your cottage, I stopped by the brook for some water. I got the idea to try to hear for my stalker. In my defense, it worked, if only just," Julius lightly laughed before taking a sip of his tea.

"I see. That sounds like it's dangerous to do; you really shouldn't do it again," Fluttershy cautions as she enjoys her tea.

"I know, but I'll do it anyway. Too useful not to build up. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to train it with Luna, and Zecora" Julius tells Fluttershy as he makes up another jam-covered tea biscuit.

"As long as you do it safely," Fluttershy says with some concern in her voice. "Anyways, what brings you here today?" Fluttershy asks while making herself a jam-covered biscuit.

"Oh, nothing much; I just wanted to spend time with you," Julius tells Fluttershy with a soft smile.

"You're after me because of that agreement my friends and I made a while ago," Fluttershy tells with a bit of a chuckle. "It was pretty obvious when you wanted to race Rainbow Dash. That and Pinkie Pie told the rest of us," Fluttershy tells Julius before eating a biscuit.

"As true as that is, I still want to spend time with you," Julius admits while looking around the room again. "I heard you had a bear to massage today. Did you already do that?" Julius asked before taking another sip of his tea.

"Yes, I did. I don't have too much to do today, but I do have to help out at Sweet Apple Acres today. Applejack is having a problem with some gophers and beavers again. They can be a bit stubborn, so it could take some time," Fluttershy remarks while mentally preparing herself for the encounter.

"So Applejack needs both your help and Rainbow's; seems like fate is pulling me there too," Julius chuckles. "So why does she need Rainbow's help?" Julius asks while savoring his tea.

"Probably a few fields in need of some heavier rain. Maybe an old building needs to come down. I'm not entirely sure myself" Fluttershy offers some suggestions of what Rainbow might be doing.

"Good enough reasons, mind if I go with you when you go to the farm?" Julius asks while relaxing with his tea.

"Oh, not at all. I'm sure Applejack will appreciate the help," Fluttershy tells Julius before taking a bigger sip of her tea.

"Yeah, I bet she always has work to do. If farm life in this world is anything like farm life on mine, then she'll love all the help she could get," Julius remarks before taking a quick sip of his tea. "You're taking the news that I'm going after you and your friends very well, all things considered," Julius tells Fluttershy right after he finishes his sip.

"Well, I always knew the day would come; we all did. It was always a matter of when. I was mentally preparing since then. Honestly, though, I was a bit surprised that you were after us. After seeing you and Luna together at the lake, I thought you were in her herd," Fluttershy explained to Julius.

"In her herd? Wait, I thought herds were one male multiple female deals," Julius says with a bit of confusion.

"Normally yes, but there are cases of high-status mares having a herd of multiple stallions. They're rare, though, very rare. It's seen as being very selfish, with how few stallions there are. Both Celestia and Luna could have their own herd of stallions, and it wouldn't be a problem, though I'd imagine they'd share stallions with each other. There are also cases of large herds having several stallions, but that's almost always when there are more than ten mares, or if the stallions are excellent friends," Fluttershy explains to Julius.

"Ah, I see; Zecora missed that. It must be extremely rare for her not to know about that," Julius remarks at hearing this.

"Oh, it is; I don't know any mare that would do it," Fluttershy confirms. Finishing their tea and snacks, Fluttershy returns the tray and dishes to her kitchen. Walking back out, she notices Julius rubbing his arms and legs. "Are they sore?" Fluttershy asks with a bit of concern.

"Just a bit, I'll live through," Julius says before trying to stand up. As he starts standing, Fluttershy walks over to him.

"Lay down and let me take care of it," Fluttershy tells Julius.

"Are you sure, like really sure?" Julius asks while laying down on his stomach, a bit of surprise in his voice. Taking off his shirt, Julius drapes it over the chair that his staff was against.

"If you're helping Applejack out, you'll need it. She'll work you to the bone," Fluttershy tells Julius as she takes his right arm between her hooves. Lightly pressing her hooves against his arms, Fluttershy slowly pushes harder and harder.

"Ok, about that hard," Julius says to Fluttershy as she starts to use a fairly high amount of force. More than she'd use for most animals and ponies; it was still less than the strength she'd use for a bear.

"You're feeling quite tense," Fluttershy remarks as she massages his right arm. Moving slowly to his back Fluttershy almost recoils in shock. "My oh my, you seem to have many knots. I'm guessing you've needed this for a while," Fluttershy remarks as she resumes her massage.

"You have no idea," Julius said, extremely relaxed. Under Fluttershy's hooves, Julius felt more and more relaxed. Meanwhile, during the massage, Fluttershy was fully enveloped in Julius' musk.

"Well, this would explain a lot," Fluttershy giggles. "I imagine if I weren't used to musk, this would be quite bad," Fluttershy remarks while massaging Julius' back.

"You're used to musk?" Julius said with some shock despite his relaxation.

"Oh yes, many of the animals that come here give it off," Fluttershy tells Julius while working over his back.

"You have no idea how relaxing that is. I was a little worried you'd go all lust crazy too," Julius chuckled while relaxing under Fluttershy's massage.

"I can imagine that's quite exhausting," Fluttershy remarks while Julius relaxes. Massaging down his body Fluttershy slightly blushes. Well-toned and lean, she did find it attractive even if it was filled with knots. Arms, legs, back, and neck all had many knots. She had dealt with many animals with knots before but rarely with this many. Feeling Fluttershy's hooves massage, his body Julius relaxed in the odd sensation. The rough hardness of her outer hoof and the soft cushion of her inner hoof made for a strange yet pleasant feeling, like a plunger if the inside of it was a soft pillow. The massaging worked very well on the knots; the pressing down and the suction of Fluttershy's hooves easily broke up the knots. Rolling her hooves across Julius' body Fluttershy slowly ends the massage. "There you go. All better?" Fluttershy asks as she finishes the message.

"Oh greatly, thank you," Julius thanks while laying down. "Hey, you don't mind if I just lay here for a while, do you? I feel too good to move," Julius requests.

"I don't see why not; I don't have to be at Sweet Apple Acres for another hour and a half. You can lay there for an hour, then I'll get you up, and we'll head out," Fluttershy tells Julius.

"Thank you; you're a saint," Julius thanks Fluttershy as he lays on the couch seemingly zenned out while Fluttershy heads into the kitchen to do the dishes.