Wish Gone Awry. Enter Equestria! Enter New Life!

"Hah, I wonder where the temple is?" Julius joked as he looked right at an imposing building prominently featuring an ornate statue of an alicorn.

"Oh, it's the large building right there. If you look for the large statue of Celestia, then you can't miss it," Twilight earnestly replied, while Julius just smiled and shook his head.

"I think he figured that out, Twilight. I believe Julius was just being sarcastic," Fancy Pants told Twilight.

"No! Me, being sarcastic? Never!" Julius said in an extremely exaggerated fashion.

"I know you're just being a smartypants, but being that overt with your sarcasm helps," Twilight told Julius.

"Noted. However, you will have to pick up on sarcasm eventually. Not just for me but for many other creatures. Ah well, give it time; you're with the right guy," Julius said as he lightly rubbed Twilight's withers.

"Pinkie and I agree," Rainbow Dash said as she nodded in agreement. "Believe it or not, Twilight has gotten better at noticing sarcasm. Shame that AJ's always so busy; Twilight could take lessons from her," Rainbow Dash said as the group walked up to the grandiose temple. As the group walked up to the temple doors, the soldiers gave a quick salute to two apparent guards.

"Really, guards here? Why?" Julius asked as he bewilderedly looked at the guards.

"They're a division of the Royal Guard, the Honour Guard division. Their presence here denotes that this is a building of significance. You'll find them 'guarding' temples, some theaters, important creatures, making patrols around the parks, and other such things," the lead soldier explained. "Honestly, they're not expected to do any fighting or any actual policing. They're more for show and to serve as a political concession. After the introduction of the Honour Guard to the public sphere, some of the more extreme stallionists quieted a bit," the soldier continued to explain as she led the group into the temple.

"I remember overhearing that at court," Twilight chirped up. "They were louder than usual that day," Twilight said as she looked around the temple, spotting a few ponies, most wearing a red headdress trimmed in gold. "Just as expected, it's mostly the clergy and a few really devoted ponies," Twilight said as she looked around.

"Surprised you weren't here worshipping," Julius joked with a nudge.

"Very funny," Twilight sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I've never been a Solarist; I just really respect Celestia, that's all," Twilight protested.

As all ponies should," an elderly mare wearing the red-gold trimmed headdress said as she approached the group. "I am Heliacaless Blessed Dawn. May I inquire why a procession of soldiers has come into the temple today? And just who is that odd being with you?" Blessed Dawn asked as she looked over the group.

"Our tall friend here is Julius, a human," Fancy Pants said as he spoke up. "I'm taking him on a tour of the city. The soldiers are for his and Zecora's protection," Fancy Pants explained.

"I suppose that the rumors of a possible attack on Canterlot might have some truth," Blessed Dawn hummed. "Either way, Her Beneficence has long since opened the temple to all. If you have any questions, we'll answer," Blessed Dawn calmly said.

"The only questions I have are of the facetious variety. It's probably for the best if I don't ask them," Julius said as he slightly cracked a smile. "Besides, my God is a jealous God. I should count myself lucky that I haven't been struck by lightning," Julius joked.

"Oh, come now, I'm sure he wouldn't do that," Twilight confidently said.

"Well, he flooded the whole world, then destroyed two cities with sulfur and fire. Though, to be fair, those were some truly evil cities," Julius said with a shrug while the ponies just looked at him.

"So, two cities were being evil, and your God destroyed them?" Rainbow Dash asked. "That's hardcore; what else has he done?" Rainbow Dash eagerly asked.

"Well, he parted the seas, made water come from a rock, toppled so many buildings, given super strength to people, made fire from nothing, controlled animals, transformed normal water into healing water, cured leprosy like a lot. Stood with three guys in a furnace to protect them, perfectly raised the dead multiple times at that, oh," Julius said as he drew close to Rainbow Dash. "And he held the sun and moon in place for a full day," Julius whispered in Rainbow Dash's ear. "Then, there's his Son, Jesus, of course," Julius said as he pulled away from Rainbow Dash.

"Considering that your world doesn't have magic, that's extremely impressive, but what did you whisper to Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked while Rainbow Dash rapidly blinked and shook her head.

"A lie, he told a lie; there's no way that happened," Rainbow Dash adamantly stated.

"A lie or not," the lead soldier started to say, "necromancy is illegal in Equestria. The laws around it are quite clear, and the penalties for breaking those laws are quite severe," the lead soldier firmly told Julius. "We don't need a zombie infestation," she sighed.

"Fair, but these people weren't brought back as zombies, just as themselves," Julius said as he looked around the temple.

"Impossible," Twilight flatly said. "Magical research into necromancy proved that it's impossible to bring the dead back to life. The most that can be done is to reanimate their body in a state of perpetual decay. Even Celestia could only do that much," Twilight said as the group looked at her. "I asked her about it before. Don't worry; I doubt she has ever actually tried it," Twilight assured.

"I can believe it," Julius said in agreement. "Celestia doesn't seem like the type to basically enslave a bunch of corpses. Anyways, I'm sure there's plenty of stories here," Julius said as the group entered a great hall.

"You'd be surprised," Twilight flatly said. "Much information was lost in the dark age, so most of what's preached here is just speculation. Celestia has confirmed some of the things, but not all of them," Twilight explained.

"Like what?" Julius asked.

"Well, there was Celestia dealing with the Rings of Scorchero," Twilight said. "From what Celestia has confirmed, an enchantment was placed on four rings. Should those rings ever come together on a ritual pillar in Talacon, then the sun would scorch the land for roughly eight hundred years. Celestia firmly dealt with the enchantress, but the rings seemed to be indestructible. After trying many different ways of destroying them, Celestia settled on scattering the rings to the four corners of the Tenochtitlan Basin," Twilight said as Julius looked at her. "And before you say it, yes, she tried throwing them into a volcano. That only made the volcano erupt," Twilight said in anticipation of what Julius was thinking.

"I see," Julius said as he looked around the hall, spotting a bunch of cushion benches and a pulpit. "Well, aren't you lucky, getting cushioned pews. There were only pure wooden pews in every church that I've been to. Well, that and wine and wafers, but those were strictly for communion," Julius said as he touched one of the cushioned pews. "Soft."

"I think some of the southeastern temples have something like your communion," Twilight hummed. "If I remember, after dedicating some fruits, chocolate, and honeyed wine to Celestia, they eat and drink them," Twilight said as she racked her memory.

"Kind of similar, only missing the transubstantiation," Julius said as he looked at the pulpit. "Of course, they'd be a statue of Celestia in front of a mural of the sun," Julius said with a light laugh.

"Well, it's a Solarist temple. What were you expecting?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, true, true," Julius hummed. "Anyways, I've seen all I've needed to see. Shall we move on?" Julius asked as he looked at the group.

"Sure, how about the arena?" Rainbow Dash offered. "If we're lucky, then the Wonderbolts will be there!" Rainbow Dash giddily squeed.

"Again with the Wonderbolts," Julius sighed. "What's the big deal with them anyway? They can't be that great," Julius said with a shrug as the group left the temple.

"They are, like, the best flyers in Equestria!" Rainbow Dash fangirled.

"Somehow, correct, and not correct," the lead soldier followed up. "While they certainly are skilled stunt flyers, their combat abilities leave much to be questioned. Some have questioned if the Wonderbolts are even militarily ready," the lead soldier told the group.

"Yeah, I get that," Julius nodded. "They think that they're more stunt flyers than military personnel. That they've traded efficiency for flashy moves that, while they look cool, in combat would be either worthless or worse," Julius said as the lead soldier nodded.

"Exactly," the soldier affirmed. "While the Wonderbolts are skilled, the concerns are whether or not those skills are practical in the battle skies. After all, they've never been on any deployment, only shows, and base. That and we've heard some rather troubling rumors about them," the mare sighed.

"Rumors, what rumors?" Rainbow Dash asked with wonder.

"Well," the soldier hesitated, "we've heard rumors about their esprit de corps. That's all I'll say. Frankly, it's not really my place to say anything about it; besides, they're just rumors. It's worth remembering that they could be wrong," the soldier mare told Rainbow Dash while she led the group down Recreation Way.

"They're the Wonderbolts, the pride of Cloudsdale; there's no way there's an esprit de corps problems with them or anything," Rainbow Dash assured as the group passed by several gyms, sports stores, and physical therapy clinics.

"I don't know," Twilight hummed. "With all the praise they get, it's possible that it's gone to the heads of the Wonderbolts," Twilight reasoned.

"There's nothing wrong with being told 'good job' for a task well done. But to let that get to your head can split many into one. As pride builds, egos flare. Once built up, out goes all care. What could be things like hazing and teasing will be met with stares and glares. This leads to a sad state of affairs. Resentment builds as good folks become disillusioned and chastened. As such, their exit is hastened. Now, should this transcend to those who are full members. Then all sense of teamwork will end in embers," Zecora said, seemingly supporting Twilight.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. But they're professionals; they'd never let something like that happen to them," Rainbow Dash claimed in defense of the Wonderbolts.

"You'd be surprised," Julius calmly said. "There are many athletes, actors, famous people of all kinds who get massive egos, and they just suck. Impossible to work with and impossible to be around. The same thing may have happened to the Wonderbolts," Julius said with a shrug.

"You too?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at Julius. "Look, if it'll make you happy, then fine. I suppose that it's possible that it happened to the Wonderbolts, alright," Rainbow Dash sighed with a shake of her head. "But I doubt it," Rainbow Dash murmured under her breath.

"Rainbow Dash, we're just saying not to place your heroes on too high a pedestal," Twilight told Rainbow. "And to remember that even our heroes aren't perfect."

"Really, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked right at Twilight. "With how high you've put Celestia, can you really say that?" Rainbow asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"That's different," Twilight lightly huffed.

"No, it's not," Julius firmly said. "Celestia has lived for how many years, and she's a politician. I can guarantee that she doesn't have a spotless record. Even the best politicians have to walk like wolves every now and then," Julius told Twilight.

"Maybe in your world, but not here, not Celestia," Twilight firmly said.

"Hah, that's right, Twilight, channel your inner Rainbow Dash," Julius chuckled.

"Yeah," Rainbow chuckled in agreement. "Hey!" Rainbow shot back after a moment.

"Well, she was. I'm sure the others can affirm," Julius told Rainbow.

"Can confirm," Zecora chirped up.

"Thank you, Zecora, and nice follow-up," Julius complimented with a nod.

"Yeah, yeah, nice play off each other," Rainbow said with a sigh. "Anyways, we're here!" Rainbow Dash excitedly said as she flew up to the entrance to the arena. "Oh, what the buck!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she read a poster.

"What?" Julius asked as Twilight levitated the poster to her.

"It says that the arena is closed for repairs, groundskeeping, and to set up the arena for an exhibition," Twilight read off the poster. "The arena should be opened again in a week or so," Twilight said as she levitated the poster back to the wall.

"Oh, yes, that's right, my bad," Fancy Pants lightly laughed. "I forgot that there was supposed to be a game between, ummm, forgive me, I don't exactly follow sports," Fancy Pants said.

"The Riverriders and the Swiftswells, in hoofball," Rainbow Dash replied. "Shame, too; I was looking forward to looking around the arena," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Rainbow," Twilight sighed as the group turned around, "we're showing Julius around," Twilight sighed as the group walked away.

"I know. Can't I be excited to go to a place, though," Rainbow pouted.

"You can," Julius nodded. "Now, I believe there's one place left to go?"

"Yes, but are you really sure that you want to go there?" The lead soldier asked.

"I'd kick myself if I didn't; besides, I did flip a coin," Julius said with a smile.

"Very well," the lead soldier sighed. "Mare's, prepare yourself. We're going to Blue Hen Way while on duty," the soldier commanded as she and the rest of the soldiers took a deep breath and walked towards Blue Hen Way.