Wish Gone Awry. Enter Equestria! Enter New Life!

Rushing back to Fluttershy's cottage as fast as they could, the group was making fantastic time.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH CUR!" Luna roared, the Royal Canterlot Voice echoing off the trees.

"Bad sign?" Julius asked, already knowing the answer.

"Extremely!" Rainbow Dash shot back. "Come on! We gotta hurry!" Rainbow Dash energetically yelled, every muscle in her body fighting the urge to fly.

It only took a few short moments for Fluttershy's cottage to come into view. Feeling a burst of energy, Julius sped up, breaking into a full-speed sprint. Not slowing down for the door, Julius barreled right through it. Bursting right through the door, Julius spotted an infuriated Luna immediately. Luna's wings flared out, her eyes were glowing, and Luna nearly levitated off the ground. Seeing this, Julius wasted no time and called on his magical energy to bolster his strength. Then he tackled Luna to the ground. Grasping his arms and legs around Luna's body in a sort of full-body hug, Julius struggled greatly to contain the enraged princess.

"Dear God, how strong are you?" Julius grunted through gritted teeth as he called on all of his magical energy to barely hold Luna down.

"LET ME GO!" Luna roared, making everycreature flinch. Luna struggled against Julius, nearly breaking free, only for Julius to find a little more energy to hold her down.

"Is everything OK? Where's Luna?" Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash asked in a panic as they entered the cottage.

"No, everything is not OK," Julius painfully grunted. "Luna is here. Now, Pinkie Pie, give Luna the ice cream," Julius grunted as he felt his strength waning.

"Well, it's not ice cream; it's gelato-" Pinkie Pie started to explain.

"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PINKIE PIE, JUST GIVE IT TO LUNA!" Julius very quickly and very loudly commanded as he felt his grip slipping.

"Okie Dokie!" Pinkie Pie sang as she hopped over to the two. Pulling a large bowl of gelato out of her mane, Pinkie Pie placed it right by Luna's mouth. "There you go!" Pinkie Pie happily said before swiftly retreating from the two.

"Look, Luna, happy food, eat it, please," Julius pleaded as he barely held Luna down.

"NO, THE CUR MUST PAY FIRST!" Luna roared, the Royal Canterlot Voice still sounding strong.

"Oh, to hell with it," Julius grunted as he moved his head to the bowl of gelato. Taking a mouthful of the gelato, Julius found the flavors to mesh very well. If he wasn't holding down an angry princess, he might have savored it. Keeping his mouth full of gelato, Julius french kissed Luna, forcefully feeding her the frozen treat. As the gelato passed into Luna's mouth, Luna started to calm down. After sharing their kiss for a few moments, Julius's grip finally failed while Luna calmed down. "Feeling better?" Julius asked as he broke their kiss.

"A little," Luna said as Julius rolled off her. "I'm going to eat outside," Luna calmly said as she got up, levitated her bowl of gelato to her, and walked outside.

"Seriously, she's OK?" Julius asked as he watched Luna walk off. "I'm exhausted, and I feel like my body was just mauled by pure pain. Yet she's perfectly fine? How durable is she? How strong is she?" Julius panted as he laid on the floor.

"Well-" Zephyr started to say

"Shut up. Just shut up. I'm not getting into this with you right now; just shut up," Julius repeatedly panted.

"Luna is an alicorn," Fluttershy started to explain. "Alicorns have far more magical energy than other ponies."

"I know, I've heard from Zecora. But still, experiencing it for myself, first hand, dear God. My everything still hurts," Julius moaned as he rubbed his shoulders. "Listen," Julius started to say as he used the wall to help himself stand up, "I'm going after Luna; we have some things to talk about," he said as he started to walk out. "Fluttershy, say hi to your parents for me when they get here."

"We're already here, dear," a quiet, soft, feminine voice said, a voice so quiet, Julius didn't hear it.

"As for the dullard, shut him up. I recommend duct tape if it exists here," an exhausted Juliush sighed as he stumbled out the door, trying to follow Luna. "Ow, my literal everything."

"No idea what duct tape is, but yeah, Zephyr should shut up for a while," Rainbow Dash agreed as Fluttershy buried her face into her hooves and wings.

"Dear God. I was expecting Luna to be strong," Julius moaned in pain, "but Christ!" Julius exclaimed as he heard some soft slurping sounds. "Not too far away, I see," Julius said as he approached Luna, all the while rubbing his body.

"No, I guess not," Luna replied as she looked at her bowl of gelato. "Guess this really isn't my day is it," Luna lightly bitterly laughed before taking a mouthful of gelato.

"Everybody's allowed to have a bad day every now and then, don't worry about it," Julius painfully chuckled as he walked up to Luna. "If you're worried about the moron, don't be; my reaction wasn't much better. Honestly, if I wasn't going for Fluttershy, I'd probably have done worse," Julius laughed as he looked down. "As for this morning, well, I'm sure you could tell, I'm not a morning person. Look, about all that, we both screwed up. Let's just call it even and put it behind us," Julius offered as he sat down next to Luna.

"Yes, I suppose we did both screw-up," Luna solemnly said as she looked at Julius. "You look hurt; are you OK?" Luna asked as she offered her side for Julius to lean on.

"Well, I'll live," Julius sighed as he laid his head down on Luna's side. "Though, it'll take about a million mommy kisses to make it better," Julius laughed.

"Well," Luna started to chuckle, "I guess I should get started," Luna laughed alongside Julius.

"That's OK, just enjoy your gelato," Julius smiled as he started to pet Luna. "Besides, we have bigger things to worry about," Julius said with some seriousness.

"Like what?" Luna asked as she enjoyed her gelato.

"Well, I did drop the ball about the thestrals, so figuring out that whole situation is a start," Julius said as he snuck some of Luna's gelato on his finger. "Pretty good," Julius said as he licked the gelato off.

"Don't worry about the thestrals. They're my responsibility; I'll deal with them," Luna said between gelato bites.

"I mean about telling the rest of the herd about them since I revealed their existence, and no, you will not deal with them. You are in a herd, my herd; we'll deal with them," Julius said while hugging Luna.

"T-thank you," Luna said, taken aback by the hug. "Well, I guess first things first, who shall I, we, tell first?" Luna asked as she took another bite of gelato.

"Zecora, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash are a given," Julius said as Luna nodded. "Rarity seems like she's close to joining, and I have an idea with her, so her too," Julius continued, Luna raising an eyebrow at 'idea.' "Fluttershy seems like a natural choice. Even if Fluttershy isn't in the herd yet, she will be; besides, I don't see Fluttershy being a gossip," Julius continued, Luna listening carefully. "Applejack, she should know as well, but not today; she and her siblings are dealing with a lot right now. As for Pinkie Pie, that's a moot point; I'm sure she already knows."

"Yes, I, too, am under the impression Pinkie Pie already knows. I can agree with your choices, but I must ask, what is your idea with Rarity?" Luna carefully asked. "It isn't anything about having thestrals work for her, is it?" Luna asked, her voice surprisingly stern.

"W-why? Would that be a bad thing?" Julius asked, taken aback by the sternness in Luna's voice.

"Somewhat, yes," Luna started to explain. "A thousand moons ago, before the thestrals split from Equestria, they weren't treated all that well. One of the problems was how much they were getting paid for their work. A pony and a thestral could do the same job, producing the same results, yet the thestral would get paid less; this was one of many problems back then," Luna explained.

"Really? That happens here as well," Julius sighed while face palming, hard. "OK, look, yes, my idea was to have one work for Rarity, at night, while the Carousel Boutique was closed," Julius started to explain, "having the thestral set up the store for the next day. As for the pay, I was thinking of having them get paid slightly more, like maybe one bit more an hour, a nightshift premium," Julius explained to Luna.

"An interesting thought," Luna remarked as she finished her gelato, "tell me, why do you care so much, both about the thestrals and the Carousel Boutique?"

"Well, they might have been stalking me; hell, they probably still are," Julius paused as he heard a rustle in the bushes, seeming to confirm his suspicions, "but if they're close to you, then they're close to me," Julius sighed. "As for the Carousel Boutique, well, once Rarity joins the herd, then in a way, it'll be part mine, so I want it to be as successful as it can be. Besides, we all must remember the dying words of Spock," Julius chuckled while Luna gave him an odd look.

"And those words are?" Luna asked.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one," Julius told Luna. "Look, sooner or later, the thestrals have to rejoin or at least have a good relationship with Equestria. This might not do much, hell, it might do nothing, but I'd rather fail trying than fail doing nothing," Julius said, much to Luna's amusement.

"You know, I've had a similar idea. To meet another who shares it, it's comforting. If Rarity agrees to pay the thestrals that work there fairly and to keep them a secret, at least until they're ready to expose themselves on their terms, then I think I can convince them to accept it," Luna assured Julius.

"I think she would; Rarity seems like a very generous type," Julius said as Luna nodded.

"Well, she is the element of generosity," Luna smiled while Julius just looked at her. "Long story, I'll tell you more about it later. Anyways," Luna heavily sighed, "shall we return?" Luna asked as she smiled at Julius.

"No, not yet," Julius said; this time, it was his turn to be solemn. "I have to tell you something. Well, you, Celestia, and Zecora," Julius heavily said.

"For both my sister and I, it must be serious, but why also Zecora?" Luna asked, sounding concerned at the solemnity in Julius's voice.

"Because I have told Zecora a bit more about human history, she might be able to handle what I'll be telling you and Celestia. Besides, Zecora deserves to know more," Julius sighed.

"I don't know what could be so bad," Luna laughed. "From everything that you've said, human history is amazing, a vast story of incredible achievements!" Luna smiled as Julius just sat there, stone-faced.

"Yes, I've done an excellent job cherry-picking examples from our history. But those were only the best parts; trust me, there are some truly awful things in our history. The worst thing I've told Zecora was two weeks ago; that was Agincourt; it disturbed her," Julius sighed. "I told her to brace herself for the next thing I would tell her would be many times worse."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Luna tried to reassure.

"You'll see, you'll see," Julius sighed.

"If it's this hard for you, why are you doing it?" Luna asked as she could practically feel the anxiety rolling off Julius.

"Because, as things currently stand, there's a wall between us. You won't tell me of your past. I suppose, to be fair, I'm shady about our's as well. I get that whatever happened was bad, but trust me, whatever it was, I won't hold it against you. Still, it's unfair for me to ask something like that without giving something in return. So take this as a show of good faith," Julius explained as the two heard a soft fluttering of wings.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?" A kindly pegasus stallion asked as he flew up to the two.

"We were just finishing up. I'm guessing that you're Fluttershy's father," Julius said while looking the pegasus up and down.

"Yes, I'm Minty, Mintyshy," Mr. Shy introduced himself before turning to Luna. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, Your Highness," Mr. Shy said as he landed with a bow, "but we were concerned about you two."

"It's quite alright," Luna smiled. "Everything is OK."

"That's a relief," Mr. Shy sighed as he stood back up. "If you want to come back to the cottage, you don't have to worry about Zephyr. Fluttershy put him in his place," Mr. Shy assured the two.

"Wait, Fluttershy put him in his place. How?" Both Julius and Luna asked with equal surprise.

"Oh well, Fluttershy can be quite a strict disciplinarian. Cloudy and I know that we should be the ones letting Zephyr know his boundaries, but not all of us can be as bold as Fluttershy," Mr. Shy explained.

"Fluttershy. Fluttershy bold? What?" Both Julius and Luna asked in great surprise.

"Oh yes, she's the boldest one of my foals," Mr. Shy smiled with pride, as Julius just held the sides of his head.

"Your herd is composed of nothing but your sisters, isn't it?" Luna asked, seeming to have shaken off the shock of what she's been told.

"Oh yes. My sisters were never brave enough to find a stallion, and I wasn't brave enough to put myself out there. We were all always close, so it just kind of happened," Mr. Shy said with a smile. "But enough about my herd, I'm here for Julius," Mr. Shy said as he looked at Julius.

"I'm sorry, my brain is still resetting," Julius said as he rubbed his temples. "What? Is this about me putting the verbal smackdown on Zephyr or something else?" Julius asked as he massaged his temples.

"It's about Fluttershy," Mr. Shy said as he reached a wing into his sweater. "Now Pinkie Pie told us that you wanted her in your herd; Rainbow Dash backed her up. Is that true? Do you want Fluttershy in your herd?" Mr. Shy asked as he took a few steps towards Julius.

"Oh, great, are you going to go all hyper-'protective' father on me?" Julius sighed while rolling his eyes.

"What? Heavens, no?" Mr. Shy chuckled as he walked up to Julius. "I'm here to help you. Here, give Fluttershy this," Mr. Shy said as he pulled a flower out of his sweater. "Be careful with it; it's a very special flower," Mr. Shy warned as he gave the flower to Julius.

"That's one way of putting it," Luna remarked as Julius took the flower. "Don't let it touch the ground. If it does, then it'll be destroyed," Luna warned as Julius looked over the flower.

"I haven't seen anything like this before. What is it?" Julius asked as he carefully held the flower.

"It's a cloud-flower, a cloud-lily, to be specific. They're Fluttershy's favorite flower," Mr. Shy explained. "I'm guessing that you've never seen a cloud-flower before, have you?"

"Well, I've heard about them from Zecora, but I've never seen one. Honestly, I thought they were just flowers made out of clouds," Julius admitted as he held the delicate flower.

"Oh no, though they only grow in clouds. Cloudyshy grows cloud-flowers in our yard," Mr. Shy explained to Julius.

"Impressive," Luna remarked. "Growing cloud-flowers isn't easy. Does she grow any cloud-lavender?" Luna hopefully asked.

"Why yes, she does, Your Highness," Mr. Shy said with a bow, "it helps in achieving restorative sleep. Why, would you like some?" Mr. Shy asked as he ended his bow.

"Very much so, yes, also if she could come by the castle sometime. I very much would like to get some cloud planters to grow some cloud-lavender myself," Luna requested.

"These flowers must be special. Why's that?" Julius asked, making Mr. Shy give him an odd look.

"Not to be rude, sorry if I am, but didn't you say that you've heard about them from Zecora?" Mr. Shy asked.

"I did, but my brain wasn't there. I was still processing things. All I remember is that they exist and that they're rare," Julius sheepishly said.

"Ah, that's fair," Mr. Shy smiled. "Cloud-flowers only grow in clouds, and, as long as they're in either a cloud or water, they'll never go rotten. Cloud-flowers have a higher than normal magical energy to them, meaning they make more potent potions. The thing is, only pegasi and alicorns can grow them. Few pegasi are skilled gardeners, and even fewer alicorns exist, so cloud-flowers tend to be extremely rare," Mr. Shy explained as Luna nodded.

"I see. If there's any that can make a potent healing potion or restoration potion, could you give me a few? They would be nice to have on hand for Zecora," Julius asked as he carefully stood up.

"Cloud-orchids and cloud-dahlias," Luna said, "those are what you're looking for."

"I don't think Cloudy grows those, but I can ask," Mr. Shy warmly said. "You look a bit wobbly; need a hoof?" Mr. Shy asked as he noticed Julius having trouble standing up.

"I'll be fine, just, completely exhausted. Used nearly all my energy to hold Luna down," Julius smiled as he fought to keep his balance.

"Oh, right," Luna chuckled while blushing. "If you want, I could give you some of my energy, just a bit, though," Luna offered.

"Yes, please," Julius requested as he placed a hand on Luna's body to help himself stay balanced.

"Alright, this will just be a moment," Luna said as she closed her eyes. A small whirl of sparkling blue energy ran from Luna's horn into Julius's body. As the magical energy entered Julius's body, his eyes shot open.

"Damn!" Julius yelped in surprise at feeling the energy enter his body. "I thought you were only going to give me a small amount of energy," Julius exclaimed as he felt full of energy.

"I did. That is a small amount of energy. Well, to Celestia and I," Luna chuckled at Julius's surprise.

"If this is a small amount of energy, then no wonder alicorns were worshipped," Julius laughed as he felt good as new.

"Well, we still are in places, but, meh," Luna shrugged.

"You two are cute together," Mr. Shy chuckled.

"Thank you," Luna giggled. "Now, shall we be returning to Fluttershy's cottage?" Luna asked as she stood up, ready to go.

"Sure. Oh, Mintyshy, how long will you and Cloudyshy be visiting?" Julius asked as the three started to walk towards the cottage.

"A little while, why?" Mr. shy asked.

"I want to introduce Zecora to you. Well, Cloudyshy specifically. Zecora would be very interested in the cloud-flowers," Julius smiled.

"You know what, that sounds lovely. I'm sure Cloudy will be overjoyed. She has so few ponies to talk to about her cloud-flowers," Mr. Shy warmly smiled as the three walk off towards Fluttershy's cottage.