Wish Gone Awry. Enter Equestria! Enter New Life!

"This Wicca you speak of sounds very similar to the Zebrican belief," Luna told Julius. "Admittedly, I don't know that much about their traditional belief, but the veneration of spirits and creation of potions as a magical medium fits right in. If I remember, even this threefold rule fits in with some Zebrican sects," Luna said as she and Julius approached Zecora's house.

"Well, good thing I don't know too much about Wicca," Julius lightheartedly laughed. "Though I know one Wiccan spell, the one Lily cast on me to convince me that she could do magic," Julius said as Luna gave him a quick look. "Right, it was a spell to give the person it was cast on wealth; Lily cast that spell on me. On the one hand, I did find more coins on the ground; on the other hand, like ten bucks in change over seven years isn't really wealth," Julius told Luna as the two briefly stopped outside Zecora's door.

"That could be interesting," Luna hummed. "Assuming it's a potion," Luna started to say, as Julius nodded, "then Zecora should be able to make it work if it can work. If not, it'll still be interesting to see what happens. Well, who knows, it could lead to a new kind of potion being made," Luna said with a smile before opening the door to Zecora's house. "We're back!"

"That we are," Julius followed up as the two entered Zecora's house.

"You have been out for quite a long time tonight. From the way you carry yourself, I'd say you countered quite a fright. Luna's absence has been noticed. To go to an area that is the remotest. A creature most unusual given Julius an invite. For Luna to intercede, performing a rite," Zecora welcomed the two as she read their body language.

"You know, your ability to read people is stupefyingly uncanny; remind me to never play poker with you. Or any social deduction game for that matter," Julius laughed as he walked up to Zecora. "Random question, do you have the following?" Julius asked as he listed off several herbs and a few other odder things.

"Some such herbs I do possess. But others I do not, I must confess. These ingredients are odd; why you want them, I have to guess. To make a potion I have not heard of, not to digress. Where have you heard of one needing such things, I must ask. The formula, I would imagine, would be odd for such a task. Mixing things of plant and metal leads to a potion that's difficult to settle. Such is the nature of the craft when slag and crag are fused with petal and nettle," Zecora told Julius.

"Thought as much, shame," Julius sighed as he shook his head. "Those were the ingredients for a potion of wealth from my world. Well, alleged potion of wealth. A religious group from my world uses potions like that as magic. Honestly, I'm curious if such potions would work in this world," Julius said as Twilight swiftly appeared next to Julius. "Where'd you come from?" Julius asked as a bright-eyed Twilight looked on with intense interest.

"Oh, please, don't mind me, continue!" Twilight energetically said as she listened on.

"You mentioned new magic," Pinkie Pie said from the bedroom. "That gave her energy and made her interested. She'll be with you until you're finished talking. Speaking of, it's getting late," Pinkie Pie told the group.

"Yeah, that tracks, shoulda seen that coming," Julius laughed as he scratched Twilight's head while Zecora sternly hummed.

"Great care must be taken here," Zecora sternly warned. "If not, foul things could easily appear. Such potions are known to my kind. Though, they're rarely brewed, for they can leave one in quite a bind. An offering made in the form of a potion, such is what you have described. It is worn as an amulet to the spirit it has been ascribed. Such bribery can sway their humor. But, to the other spirits, it will create a rumor. The boon of one oft leads to the bane of another. It's best to stay neutral, then seek the blessing of one and the ire of the other," Zecora warned Julius.

"Oh, so such a thing is possible," Julius said in mild surprise. "I know it's a bit iffy, but can we try anyways. For me, and Twilight too; honestly, she might go insane otherwise," Julius pleaded with Zecora. Closing her eyes, Zecora spent a few moments in thought.

"Wealth, in monetary form, is that of the earth. The spirit of wind is who you must give mirth. Placate that spirit first before the potion is made. That would be the safest course to take for this trade," Zecora told Julius. "In some time, back in my kind's realm. There will be a festival by an ancient elm. It is dedicated to Upepo wa Upepo wa Uzuri wa Anga, the lord spirit of air. Placate her first, then your path shall be fair," Zecora told Julius.

"So, field trip to Zecora's homeland in a few weeks?" Julius asked as he looked at Zecora, who nodded. "Great. Honestly, kind of interested in seeing your homeland. I don't know why, but I'm getting the feeling that it's some kind of forest or jungle between mountains and the ocean," Julius said as he rubbed the back of his neck in thought.

"Good guess, you are correct. That does sound much like my homeland, last time I checked," Zecora told Julius. "A verdant land, rich in natural resources and beauty. Unfortunately, often a target of pirates looking for booty. In great abundance are gold and jade. Common in our jewelry in trade. As too are plants not known to Equestrian lands. Both here and in others, they fetch high demands," Zecora explained to Julius.

"Hah, in a way, that sounds like Mesoamerica," Julius laughed. "Well, minus all the more extreme aspects," Julius nervously laughed as Zecora looked oddly at him. "Trust me; you don't wanna know. The short of it, death in battle was far better than getting captured," Julius said, shocking Zecora and Twilight, while Luna lightly nodded.

"Yes," Luna forlornly hummed. "There have been societies like that in the distance past. Fortunately, shortly after Equestria was unified, my sister and I got to work either reforming such societies or ending them," Luna said as Twilight quickly looked at Luna. "At first, we would offer to help reform such societies in any feasible ways. Many societies took that offer; a few took it after their locals revolted," Luna lightly laughed. "But there were a rare few that refused. For them, well, action had to be taken," Luna tiredly sighed. "How far my sister has fallen? How far I have fallen?" Luna again sighed, this time quietly under her breath.

"How so? What do you mean?" Julius and Twilight both asked.

"Oh, you heard that," Luna dryly laughed. "Back then, my sister and I were quite different. While I have seen Celestia make hard decisions, she doesn't do so with the same thoroughness, the same zeal as she once did. Where once Celestia brooked no threat to Equestria, now she talks to those very threats while trying to micromanage the ponies. Though, I can't say I'm any better. What happened to us?" Luna sighed as thoughts of days gone by flooded her head.

"From the sounds of it, you both got too comfy," Julius blankly said. "It happens when an empire gets too strong. After they face no threats, they start to weaken. Vigilance gives way to complacency, and thus, slow rot sets into the empire. It happens to every empire, at least, it has in my world," Julius sighed.

"Sadly, that sounds about right," Luna sighed as she shook her head. "I've been away for quite some time, and few great empires have existed in our world. Equestria, The Griffonian Empire, and, if you believe the old tales," Luna laughed, "the Stor Bevidsthed om Imperiet, but that's if you believe mare's tales that were old when Celestia and I were young," Luna laughed.

"Stor Bevidsthed om Imperiet, I've never heard of that," Twilight said as she looked at Luna. "What is it?" Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I'm not surprised; I doubt any mortal creature today has heard of it," Luna told Twilight. "Back when Celestia and I were young, the Stor Bevidsthed om Imperiet was the mythical first empire that ruled the world. Supposedly, one day, a great cataclysm befell the empire. It fell, broken into the various states that exist today. The original species of the empire has long since been lost to myth, as has its original heartland. Back then, every realm had myths surrounding how they came from that ancient, mythical empire, so any information on them has always been murky at best," Luna told Twilight.

"Interesting, so you have your version of Atlantis," Julius laughed. "We have a similar myth, only, not all the different peoples of my world claim to come from Atlantis, and we kinda proved it doesn't exist," Julius told Luna.

"Yes, to be honest, I never believed that our mythical empire existed. But it was an interesting story that unified many different races and states, so it was quite useful in the unification of Equestria," Luna replied. "But, enough of mythical empires, and days gone by. Since your world seems to have seen more empires, what are your thoughts on the matter?"

"About Equestria?" Julius asked as Luna nodded. "You're not going to like it," Julius warned. "From what I can tell, if what you're saying is true, and you're not exaggerating, Equestria is starting its death spiral. It's not hopeless; anything can be saved, but there'll have to be hard times for the Equestrians to accept what has to be done. I really hope that this is just you looking too deeply into non-problems. If not, well, I don't want to think about the future, but I might have to," Julius wearily sighed. "Still, this is just speculation on my part from very limited information. I'm probably wrong, hopefully, I'm wrong, and this is just holdover doom and gloom from my world."

"Oh, come now, I'm sure your world isn't that bad," Twilight smiled as she lightly patted Julius's back.

"Hah, depending on how tomorrow goes, we'll see if you can still say that," Julius laughed as Twilight tilted her head at him. "Tomorrow, I'm going to tell Luna and Celestia about my world. Two events that happened in our past, and the current situation, well, as best as I can. If they say it's OK to tell you, first, I'll be questioning them; second, I will if you want me to," Julius told Twilight.

"I'm sure those events won't be too bad," Luna calmly told Julius.

"Cannae," Julius said, "Cannae, and a period of time in the early sixteenth century in Europe. I won't say what exactly, as the name will give it away," Julius said as Luna just looked calmly at him. "Trust me, every human knows of Cannae; it's a testament to human mentality. As for the second one, well, 'döpas och dö i strid' best summarizes it."

"The fact that you switched to a different language to summarize the second one somewhat concerns me," Luna said. "But my sister and I have seen the worst this world can offer," Luna said as a deep, mirthful laugh could be barely heard in the wind outside, "I'm sure there is nothing you can tell us that could disturb us," Luna confidently said as the laugh could be heard a little clearer, making the group look around.

"Never heard that sound in the forest before," Julius said as his eyes narrowed.

"Sounds almost like," Luna started to say. "No, no, that's impossible. He's a statue now," Luna laughed off. "It's probably just an unfortunate animal that got into some poison joke or some other weird form of flora," Luna confidently claimed.

"Well, I have come across laughing flowers here, and much weirder," Julius laughed.

"Like what?" Twilight asked.

"Dancing flowers, literally dancing flowers. They get up, dance on their roots, and move to other places. The first time I saw that, I had no words. I just came right back here and held my head for far longer than I care to admit," Julius laughed.

"I remember that day quite well. Your reaction sent me into quite the laughing spell. Those flowers are harmless and very entertaining. Though, I can see how they'd cause shock without some explaining. It may sound odd, but of this, I can assure you. Brew the leaves into a tea, and you'll make your dancing debut," Zecora said.

"Somehow, I can see that. Still, I think I'll be fine without dancing," Julius said with a yawn. "We should be getting to bed soon. We have to go to Canterlot tomorrow," Julius yawned with a slight grumble.

"Not looking forward to it?" Luna asked with a light smile.

"No, I just don't care for traveling," Julius again yawned. "Last time I traveled anywhere, I got yeeted to a new world," Julius joked.

"Well, at least you're in good spirits about it," Twilight giggled.

"True," Julius smiled. "Now, how about we get to bed?" Julius said as he, Zecora, and Twilight went to the bedroom, and as Luna started her spell to enter the dream realm.