Wish Gone Awry. Enter Equestria! Enter New Life!

Leaving the bath, Luna and Julius went down to the rest of the castle, while Aloysia left for the tower, both to get some rest and to make some plans.

"Think we should find the others?" Julius asked as Luna led him down some spiraling stairs.

"Yes, we should. They're probably worried about you, even if they know that you're safe," Luna confirmed as the two reached the bottom of the stairs. "I know, it may sound odd to you, but it's a deeply ingrained thing, both in our culture and our kind."

"Right, with the history of raiding and ponies being herd animals," Julius nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Though you have used herd animals to refer to us before, what exactly are your kind?" Luna asked while leading Julius towards the main hall.

"You know, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure. We wouldn't be herd animals and are far less social than horses. And our social structure is a lot different; we don't have lead alphas or anything like that and usually our leaders are hated by at least half of those they lead over. But we still need social interactions. If I remember, denying it for longer than thirty days is considered both a war crime and a crime against humanity, and we have an uncanny knack for bonding with others and animals. I'd call us social animals, I guess, but I don't quite know; I could be wrong," Julius speculated with a shrug.

"I see, interesting. You didn't mention war crimes before; what are they?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow as the two walked towards the main hall.

"Ah, those are limits we place on war so that it's not complete hell, and it works, in theory," Julius sighed. "In practice, when war starts, both sides ignore the rules, treating them more like suggestions; the losers are prosecuted to the fullest extent, while only the most egregious of the victors are prosecuted. They help limit the sheer brutality of war, but it's a bit like pissing on an inferno to put it out. I mean, just look at white phosphorous, or, well, don't," he nervously said.

"Why, how bad can it be? I want to say extremely bad from your reaction," Luna carefully asked.

"You got banished to the moon. In a sense, we can banish the sun to us. Let's leave it at that," Julius sighed as Luna looked right at him.

"And just how can you manage that?" Celestia asked as she walked by the two in the main hall, a cup of tea in her magical aura.

"Don't worry about it. I cannot do it. I'm like ninety-nine percent sure that it won't come up. Just avoid my world like the plague unless I'm with you, and I'm dealing with it," Julius nervously said.

"Well, you are the only one from your world here, so that was always the plan. While I'm sure a lot of the nobility wouldn't like an outsider being promoted to such a position, it's better to have a creature familiar with the culture in such a position to avoid an incident," Celestia solemnly said with a nod.

"Nobility will be nobility. I'm guessing that has happened before?" Julius asked with a sigh.

"Sadly, yes. After all these years, the yaks of Yakyakistan still haven't reopened diplomatic channels. From what news has came out of Yakyakistan, there has been a schism, the yaks following the royal family, still calling themselves yaks, and the yaks following a rebel breakaway group, calling themselves jaks. A regrettable situation. Hopefully, it won't spiral out of control and affect Equestria," Celestia sighed.

"Damn, what could have happened to cause such a thing?" Julius asked as he looked surprised at Celestia.

"I'm not sure. I was told several times, but I don't remember much. What I do remember is that it was extremely stupid and that it involved a saddle, twelve and seven eighths buckets of half water, quarter milk, and a quarter lemon juice, six and three-sevenths ounces of crushed gemstones, and that's it. I think my brain shut down after that," Celestia nervously laughed.

"No, that's OK, I get it. I think my brain started to shut down just hearing that," Julius laughed as he shook the blank look out of his eyes. "Anyways, what are you doing here? I thought that the royal court was in session?" He asked.

"It is, but we're taking a short break right now. The nobility were being ridiculous. Fortunately, Arch-Duke Fancy Pants noticed my growing annoyment and suggested a short break. After I backed his suggestion, the rest of the court quickly fell in line. The Pants family have always been such good children to their mother," Celestia happily said with a warm smile.

"Sister, what do you mean by 'their mother'? They are not your children," Luna told Celestia.

"Don't be silly, Luna. All ponies are my children, even the wayward ones," Celestia told Luna. "That's the way it's always been."

"Uhhh, right," Julius said. "I don't suppose you know where Zecora, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie are, do you?"

"Zecora and Twilight are in the library. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie are in the central garden; from what I saw, Rainbow Dash seems to be trying to get Fluttershy to exercise, and Pinkie Pie seems to be stretching. I swear I'll live for ten thousand more years and never figure out how a pony can be so flexible," Celestia said with a laugh.

"Ten thousand years? How old are you?" Julius asked with surprise.

"Far older than any other mortal being. Semi-immortality and eternal youth do have their benefits, despite having its drawbacks," Celestia calmly told Julius.

"Indeed. I'm not looking forward to, well," Luna slowly said as she looked away.

"Well, if it's that hard on you, why not share the semi-immortality and eternal youth with me?" Julius earnestly asked.

"Can't do; it's gotten from us being alicorns," Celestia told Julius.

"So? Why exactly can't I be one?" Julius asked.

"Well, first, you're not a pony; second, you're not a mare; third, would you really want to?" Celestia flatly told Julius.

"Well, first, how do you know, have you tried turning a non-pony into an alicorn? Second, what does being a mare have to do with it? And finally, third, well, OK, look, I would have to give it some serious thought, maybe pray, you know, do some serious soul searching. Have a serious moment at the lakeside, where I'm just looking into the lake, reflecting on my life while soft music plays, maybe something like Dust on the Wind or something like that. But I wouldn't be fully opposed to it," Julius told Celestia.

"Well, we've never tried turning any creature other than ponies into an alicorn. Though, to be fair, I've only turned Cadance into one. As for being a mare, well, I've only felt that mares have been called to be an alicorn. Still, if you're not entirely closed to the idea, I'll keep an open mind," Celestia responded.

"You've only had a sample size of one; that's hardly enough to be sure of anything. Look, Shining Armor will probably be marrying Cadance, right? So why not, as a wedding gift, turn Shining Armor into an alicorn, or at least try?" Julius suggested.

"Not a bad suggestion. Cadance would be lonely after Shining Armor passed. And it would put to bed a question I've had for many years," Luna said in support.

"I'll consider it if I feel that same surge that I felt for Cadance," Celestia assuringly said. "Though, I've never really felt it from many ponies. I've only really felt it from Cadance and several others, albeit a lot weaker. There's one I can feel it from now, and I'm trying something with her."

"That's Twilight, isn't it?" Luna knowingly asked.

"It is. I'm not entirely sure why, though, it could be with her cutie mark being magic itself. With that being a part of the foundation of our world, she could be turned into an alicorn. That follows the logic of Cadance, Luna, and myself becoming ones. Though with that, Starswirl should have also been one; he did make the spell after all. The only reason I can think of for why he wasn't one was that he's a stallion," Celestia reasoned.

"Well, that does make sense," Luna hummed. "But there was always this air about him. As if something was always off. You don't suppose that he might have been magically scarred or something like that, and that prevented him from casting the spell on himself?"

"It's a possibility. I'll admit, I have thought of the whole 'Starswirl is cursed' theory. It would answer a lot of questions. But what was he cursed with and why? He never really spoke of his past, and I've found no records of him," Celestia asked with a shrug.

"I remember. I've tried to look into his dreams, but every time I tried to, a wall of plaid light blocked my access. I have reason to believe that Discord either cursed him or is related to it," Luna speculated as she turned to Julius. "I suppose I should explain. Discord is the spirit of chaos and disharmony. Back before my sister and I united Equestria, we had to deal with him. He was an extremely powerful foe, requiring equally powerful magic to defeat," she said as she trailed off.

"Yes, though Luna has always had misgivings about it. Believing that Discord wasn't truly defeated. That he might one day return or that his spirit might be able to roam the land. But after all my long years of vigil, I've never seen hide nor hair of him," Celestia confidently told Julius.

"I don't know about that sister. You've seen Pinkie Pie; perhaps his magic wasn't fully contained and infected her? If it has, who knows how many other ponies were infected?" Luna asked with concern.

"I will admit, that thought has crossed my mind. But such situations are rare, and those able to produce effects as pronounced as Pinkie Pie's are even rarer. Sister, you know how magic works, such things, while being rare, are not of any great concern," Celestia assured Luna.

"I hope so. I fear what Discord might do if he were to break free. Being imprisoned for so long wouldn't make him very happy," Luna said with a sigh.

"Oh, quite right Luna is," Discord slightly hissed as he telepathically talked to Julius. "But it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I did get to discover your world from it," he chuckled.

"Are you OK?" Celestia asked as she saw Julius looking around aimlessly.

"Oh, uhhh, yes. I just thought that I heard something. I guess it was just the wind," Julius lightly chuckled.

"It could have been, but I did feel some magic. It was masked but still very strong. Tell me, is some being contacting you?" Luna asked as she eyed Julius.

"Well, it's possible, I think. Remember, this whole magic thing is extremely new to me," Julius half-heartedly admitted.

"Right," Celestia slowly said while giving him a sideways look. "Either way, I should be getting back to court. Our break will be over shortly," she said with a heavy sigh before walking toward the court. "You know how the nobility can get."

"You know," Luna said as she watched Celestia walk away, waiting for the doors to the court to be shut, "Celestia and I know that you were lying. While it was one of the better attempts to lie, we still saw right through it. I have no idea who is trying to talk to you, but please, do be careful. Beings that are capable of such things are exceptionally powerful and tend to have their own agenda. If you get into trouble, please, come to Celestia and me right away," Luna firmly told Julius as a toad hopped up to Luna. "Odd; where did this toad come from?" She asked as the toad flicked its tongue out at Luna, slapping her face with it and a scroll.

"Please, let that be a summoning contract," Julius laughed.

"No, it's not," Luna flatly said as she read the scroll. "It says, 'Dear Royal Sisters, no hard feelings. But I do have something planned. Signed, and old friend. P.S. If you meet Starswirl the Bearded before me, do me a favor and call him Startwirl the Maned for me. It drives him nuts.' Strange that it's addressed to both of us and that we're just getting this now. I think before we do anything, we should go to the royal gardens and check up on Discord," Luna firmly stated as she walked off towards the gardens.

"Fair. I'll follow you there," Julius shrugged as he followed Luna out to the gardens. Walking through the paths, Luna led Julius to a very odd-looking stone statue.

"This is Discord. My sister and I imprisoned him in stone. Thus, he became this statue," Luna explained as she checked over the statue. "Hmmm, a few cracks, he might be breaking out. No matter, it's an easy fix," she said as she cast a spell on the statue, resealing the stone. "There, good as new."

"Maybe, but it's a shame that he's trapped in stone. It's a shame that there's no other option," Julius said as he absentmindedly touched the statue.

"Oh, why'd you have to go and do that?" Discord said as the stone rapidly cracked before breaking. "Relax, relax; I didn't have any plans on being released at this time. Some fool just decided to make it happen for reasons that I'm sure even he doesn't know. Still, though, consider this a fair warning. Keep the cutiemark crusaders away from me in my statue form. I don't want to be released before the time is right," Discord warned the two as he poofed in an armchair.

"What are you planning? You wouldn't be going back into stone if you weren't planning something," Luna demanded to know as she leveled her horn at Discord.

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you, now would it? Now, I might have told you if you were so kind as to seal me sitting in a comfy chair, but you didn't, now did you? Some ponies, so rude," Discord huffed as he slowly turned back into stone. "But here, two things for you. One is waiting in Luna's room. Have fun with that unmitigated collaboration of chaos. You, humans, do me so proud sometimes. The other, rest assured, the time is coming where I will properly return. My agent is working on that, and I have complete faith in them. But until that time, toodles!" Discord mocking quipped as he returned to stone.

"This is serious. We need to gather the others and get into my chambers. Hopefully, Discord didn't do anything too extreme," Luna exasperatedly said.

"Agreed, I think. Who are the others you're talking about?" Julius asked as he followed Luna back into the castle.

"My sister, and the elements of harmony along with the element bearers. So, Twilight and her friends," Luna firmly said as she quickly trotted back into the castle. Walking back into the castle, Luna and Julius were greeted by Celestia and all the element bearers, and Zecora. "I'm guessing that you felt the disturbance and gathered the elements right away?" Luna asked as she saw the element bearers wearing their elements.

"Correct," Celestia firmly told Luna. "I don't like using teleportation, but this is serious. First, we have to reseal Discord; second, we need to undo any chaos and damage that he may have done," Celestia said as Applejack and Fluttershy shook their heads.

"It might be quick, but teleportation sure wrecks havoc on your mind," Applejack sighed as she shook her head.

"I saw Discord reseal himself in stone, but I suppose there isn't any harm in making sure it sticks. As for any chaos and damage, I have reason to believe that it's contained to my chambers in my keep," Luna told the seven other ponies.

"Well, that's not too bad if the chaos doesn't affect any of the artifacts in there. Tell your shadowwardens that we will be coming," Celestia told Luna as a dark shadow grew in the shadows of one of the pillars.

"Night Mother," a vampire pony greeted Luna as he walked out of the shadow. "Something very strange has appeared in your room. Well, several strange things," he told Luna as the mane six slightly backed away from him.

"Yes, I suspected as much. Are they doing anything?" Luna asked as she looked at the pony.

"No. I brought one of the things here for your inspection," the pony said as he pulled out a bag. Giving the bag to Luna, he carefully watched her.

"Odd, I've never seen something like this before," Luna hummed as she magically pulled a gray cartridge from the bag. "What about you, sister?" She asked as she floated the cartridge to Celestia. As the cartridge passed across Julius's vision, he quickly lunged forward and grabbed it.

"He didn't; he didn't; please tell me he didn't," Julius repeated as he looked over the cartridge.

"I haven't, but I suspect that Julius has," Celestia said with a light smile as Julius turned the cartridge over and read its label.

"He did," Julius said as he firmly facepalmed.

"What is it? Is it dangerous?" Celestia and Luna asked as they looked at Julius shaking his head in his palm.

"In a sense, it is. In another, it's harmless," Julius groaned. "Luna, your room is safe; tell your guards not to touch any of the stuff. I'll set it up when we get there," he heavily sighed.

"Uhhh, OK, but what is it?" Luna carefully asked.

"It's the most powerful party known to humanity," Julius heavily sighed as he looked at the label. "It's Mario Party."