Wish Gone Awry. Enter Equestria! Enter New Life!

Sitting up slightly, Julius leaned up and rubbed his eyes; several shadows fell over him, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Turning around, Julius blinked a few times.

"Hi, Luna! Hi, Twilight! Hi, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie happily chirped as she laid down. "We're cloud watching. That one looks like a pegasus stuck in the middle of a cupcake," Pinkie Pie said as she pointed to a cloud giggling.

"You know, Equestria has some strange clouds. I mean, really, what's the story there?" Julius asked as he looked at the three ponies.

"It's the cloud factory in Cloudsdale," Rainbow Dash quickly said. "The ponies making the clouds have a list of cloud shapes and themes they can choose from; usually, they randomly pick from the list. You know, give the sky some more flavor," Rainbow Dash said as she laid down.

"That sounds about right from what I've read," Twilight said as she looked at Julius. "Where were you last night? We were worried," Twilight asked as she and Fluttershy walked up to Julius.

"I passed out in a cave after trying a herb I wasn't expecting to find here. In my defense, not the worst sleep I've had, or the weirdest place I've fallen asleep," Julius told Twilight.

"What was the weirdest place you've fallen asleep in?" Luna asked as she magically rummaged through a saddlebag.

"That'd be in my standing shower. Long story short, I somehow found a way to break a door, locking myself in the bathroom for a few hours," Julius said as he laughed, remembering the event. "Also, it was my worst sleep," Julius affirmed.

"Oh, dear, well, I'm glad that you're OK," Fluttershy said as she walked up to Julius and wrapped a wing around him.

"It was a few years ago. My father was off duty at the time, so he busted down the door when he got home. Usually, doing something that resulted in breaking something would cause us to get punished, but the whole thing made him laugh enough to let it slide," Julius said as Twilight looked oddly at him.

"Why would your father get punished for it? To me, it sounds like he saved you," Twilight asked as Julius stretched his arms.

"Oh, I meant myself and my siblings," Julius said as Twilight gave and the other ponies, save Luna, gave him an odd look. "Right, I only told Luna. When one of my siblings or I gets punished, we all get punished. It doesn't matter if we have nothing to do with it; we all get punished. It made us very good at keeping each other out of trouble," Julius told Twilight.

"Sounds kind of like the ancient Cloudsdale Jinetes," Rainbow Dash absentmindedly said as Julius and Twilight looked at her. "What?"

"I'm surprised that you know who they are. History doesn't seem like your thing," Twilight said in surprise.

"Well, every pegasus in Cloudsdale is taught about the Jinetes and their chevauchées," Rainbow Dash told Twilight. "Honestly, it was one of the few things I didn't sleep through," Rainbow Dash smiled.

"Ah, yes, the chevauchées, I remember them well enough," Luna said as the others looked at her. "Back before Equestria was unified, Cloudsdale was The Grand duchy of Cloudsdale. They were one of the more persistent obstacles to Equestrian unification. A combination of defeats on the field and the passing of the herding act finally led to Cloudsdale's fall. Honestly, the chevauchées lasted for a few years after the herding act was passed, but it largely put an end to it," Luna explained.

"OK, but what were the chevauchées?" Julius asked. "In my world, chevauchées were raids on lands, usually done to destabilize the area," Julius told Luna.

"In a way, chevauchées here were similar, although, differently. Before the herding act and Equestria was unified, some city-states and mares went on chevauchées. Chevauchées were raids committed by mares to take stallions for themselves. Because of this, pre-unification Equestria was a much more dangerous place. Ultimately, when Celestia and I passed the herding act, many smaller city-states joined us. Our lands were far more stable, allowing us to grow faster and stronger than the surrounding belligerents. It still took several decades for Equestria to be unified, but, well, you know the borders of modern-day Equestria," Luna explained. "Though I am somewhat surprised, Equestria seems to have gained some of the buffalo's lands in my absence," Luna hummed.

"I see," Julius said as he scratched his chin. "And I'm guessing that's what happened to your father?"

"Maybe, honestly, we're not sure what happened to him," Luna forlornly said. "Mother never did speak much of him, but whenever we brought him up, she looked sad," Luna told the group.

"That reminds me," Twilight started to say," who was your mother?"

"Oh, Princess Platinum," Luna responded. "As for our father, well, there have been rumors through the years. I've heard of Star Swirl the Bearded being put forth as him, Clover the Clever, Commander Hurricane, I've even heard of Dragon Lord Ignatius being suggested. Oh, that's Dragon Lord Torch's father. Those are a few of the candidates for our father," Luna explained as Twilight eyes sparkled.

"I knew it!" Twilight happily said as she happily bounced around. "I knew that Celestia's mother was Princess Platinum!" Twilight nearly sang as she happily bounced around.

"I'm not sure why that's cause for celebration. It's been well documented that our mother was Princess Platinum from the beginning of the Principality of Canterlot," Luna said as she watched Twilight bounce around.

"Oh," Twilight said, sounding sad as her ears drooped, "you haven't heard, have you?" Twilight asked as she looked crestfallen, to which Luna responded with a quizzical look. "After your absence, Equestria switched to years; for the first hundred years, not much is known; almost all documentation was destroyed. I've asked Celestia about it before. She doesn't remember much about that time, but what she does remember were several great fires starting. Much was lost during that time; it took Celestia a hundred years to get everything under control. But, by then, it was too late. Lands were ravaged by fire, books were destroyed, and even several smaller settlements vanished. There were even rumors of a tribe vanishing during that time, though I suspect they were the Thestrals," Twilight explained.

"Yes, they would have disappeared around that time. Well, not disappeared exactly, but retreated to their adoptive cities," Luna corrected. "As for the fires," Luna hummed, "I can make a few guesses, but it's better not to say such speculations. Besides, all it would be are guesses," Luna sighed as she looked at Julius. "Enough about the past. Here, I got the tickets," Luna said as she levitated four golden tickets to Julius.

"Ah, thank you," Julius said as he grabbed the tickets. "The Cakes will be happy, and, well, I'm sure Zecora will find something interesting about the gala, if not the castle," Julius said as he put the tickets into a pocket.

"What about you?" Pinkie Pie asked as she fluttered her eyes at Julius.

"Me, well, I'm not too sure. I'm not much of a party person," Julius said, eliciting a gasp from Pinkie Pie, "and I doubt I'll be very welcome there, well, aside from a few of the nobles. I'll probably just duck away somewhere. Eat some food, maybe talk to a few nobles who don't look at me and go 'monster, attack!' or something," Julius said as he scratched his head.

"Fortunately, you shouldn't have to worry about being attacked at the gala; that would break decorum. And I'm sure Celestia will tell the guests of your presence; still, most of the nobility will be quite cold to you. Again, there's Grand Duke Fancy Pants and a few of the marchionesses and marquesses, but, other than them, you won't find many friends," Luna hummed as she thought.

"So, Equestria has a grand duke; what's he like, and where's his territory?" Julius asked as he got off the towel.

"Fancy Pants is a progressive pony. He's a bit of a stallionist, and he's a very agreeable pony, a rather charming and an efficient administrator. He's a bit more militarist than other ponies, but that is to be expected, as he is the duke of the Grand Marches. If you want, we could go to the capital of the territory, Acornage; it's quite nice despite its location," Luna told Julius.

"What's wrong with its location?" Julius asked as Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash got up and put away the towels.

"It's very close to the border. Less than a day's trot away lay the Changeling Lands and Olenia. The Changeling Lands has been an issue since before we've united Equestria. As for Olenia, well, they're going through some civil strife at the moment. Queen Velvet has been ousted from the country; this has caused some concerns as it could spill over into Equestria," Luna explained as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie cleaned up.

"Ah, so typical political stuff from border countries then," Julius said with a sigh as he rubbed his eyes.

"Unfortunately, yes," Luna affirmed. "If it were up to me, I'd send in the armies, get both countries sorted out. Restore Queen Velvet to the throne, and put a friendly changeling on the throne of Vesalipolis. Alas, Celestia is having none of it," Luna said as she closed her eyes.

"I get it; you'd sacrifice some now to save more later and get the outcome that you want. While Celestia wants to try to protect everyone, right?" Julius asked as Luna nodded. "Well, if it's any consolation, I agree more with your mentality. An old military adage, he who protects everything, protects nothing. Besides, I like an active defense more than a passive one," Julius assured Luna.

"As do I. Waiting around just lets the other side dictate terms and take the initiative. Sure taking action does mean that some will suffer, but some suffering now is better than a lot more later. The whole Sombra-Crystal Empire affair should have been proof enough of that," Luna sighed as she groaned.

"Well, both sides have their merit; it's all about knowing when to switch from one to the other. Besides, hindsight is twenty-twenty, isn't it?" Julius said as he gently patted Luna's head.

"True, I suppose. Still, doing nothing drives me insane," Luna said as she lightly nuzzled against Julius's hand.

"I know what you mean," Rainbow Dash chimed in. "Just sitting around, waiting for things to happen when you know things have to be done makes me feel so helpless," Rainbow Dash said as she and Pinkie trotted up to the others.

"So you say, yet every time I've been to your house, your room has been a mess," Fluttershy quietly said, making Julius and Twilight laugh.

"Fluttershy, you know how to be sassy? Can we get more?" Julius jokingly asked.

"Oh, was that out loud, my bad, sorry," Fluttershy timidly said as she slightly retreated behind her mane.

"No, it's OK," Rainbow Dash assured as she walked up to Fluttershy. "I'm proud of you," Rainbow Dash said as she lightly patted Fluttershy with her wing.

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie happily said as she hopped up to Fluttershy. "Do me next!" Pinkie Pie happily giggled as she bounced.

"Oh, ummm, well," Fluttershy stammered. "I, I don't know if I should," Fluttershy stammered.

"Go ahead, Fluttershy, let me have it! Give me your best shot Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie encouraged as Fluttershy took a deep breath.

"Could you speak up? I can't hear you over your coat," Fluttershy said while demurely looking away from Pinkie Pie.

"Damn," Julius said as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie laughed, "Fluttershy, you got claws," Julius applauded.

"Not really; I got that one from Angel Bunny. Honestly, he says stuff like that a lot more than you might think. I might have picked up a little," Fluttershy blushed.

"That's surprising; I honestly wouldn't expect that from a bunny," Julius said as he looked at Fluttershy.

"He says that one of us has to be tough and that it's sure not me. So he'll be the tough one. I know Angel Bunny can seem a bit mean and tough at times, but he really does have my best interest at heart," Fluttershy assured the others.

"Well, that's nice of him. A bit of an awkward relationship, but still, nice and sweet either way," Julius said as he looked towards Ponyville. "Say, do you all mind if I go see Rarity for a bit? I want to see how my clothes are coming along," Julius asked.

"Sure," Twilight said as she and the other ponies turned towards Ponyville. "I would like to check in on her myself."

"Great! I wonder if she's changed or added anything, or if she's having any problems?" Julius asked as the group headed off to Ponyville.