> Nightmares Guide
>  by OblivionShadow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1: Meetings and new Locations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cameron’s shoes thudded dully on the concrete as he walked down the city street.  His mind wandered as he considered what he would do once he got home.  His eyes scanned the street ahead of him as he neared the alley that he used as a shortcut.  His sneakers gave a slight sound as he pivoted to go down the alley.  His ears perked as a slight noise caught his attention. He looked behind him but there was nothing there to tell him what the sound was or where it had come from. 

“I think you will do just fine.”  

He spun to face front and found nothing in front of him but the sound of snapping fingers made him look up.  The teen stared as his eyes went wide at the sight above him.  It was hovering about ten feet off the ground and its body was a mixture of many creatures so far as he could tell.  It had horns, hooves, claws and its body was made of various colors and types of fur and scales.  

“What the hell?”  He whispered to himself as he froze in place.

“That’s the question you’re going with?”  The creature taunted.

He felt annoyance spike through him as his expression fell out of shock.  His mind went over what the monster had said before and he looked down on what had been saying and chose to follow that train of thought.  

“What did you mean by what you said?”

“I’m bored.”  The monster admitted as it hovered a bit lower to be more able to look down at the human in front of him.  “I decided I need to send a gift to my cousin and I think I have found the perfect gift for her.”  It said as it pointed toward him.

Cameron stared at him as his eyes were no longer as wide as they had been.  His mind raced as he looked at the pointing claw.  His heart jumped as he looked over his shoulder in an attempt to see if he was pointing at someone behind him or something else.  ‘I have to be losing my mind.’ He thought to himself as he slowly turned back to face the creature again.  He stared and his eyes went wide as it slowly hovered down to be closer to him and he leaned back as it came to stand in front of him.  He could see that it was standing close to eight feet tall and it was close enough that he could see the feathers in one wing flutter in the slight breeze.  

The monster reached out to him and he backed up to avoid being touched by its lion paw.  He spun to run away from it, escape routes on his mind when a rough hand grabbed his shoulder.  He looked back for a second to see a sadistic grin on the creature's face.  

“My name is Discord, say hi to Eris for me.” 

He pulled in the air to speak as it threw him behind it, he saw its back and the sound of rushing water roared in his ears as darkness went over him.





A jolt went through him and he sat up in a rush with a gasp that rattled through his lungs.  He looked at the open street around him as evening was dawning on the horizon.  He turned to look around him and he could see run-down houses and businesses behind and down the street.  He threw himself to his feet and he looked down the street and the street lights were bright as they illuminated the dull road.  A noise caught his attention and he froze in place.  His immediate thought is that it was that creature, Discord, coming back after him again.  Dread poured into him and he slowly turned to face behind him.  

“Hi.”  

A soft voice caught his attention and he turned to fully face behind him.  He spun on his heel and his eyes went wide as he stared at the creature in front of him. He stared at it and he realized he knew who and what it was.  

“Can’t be…” He whispered under his breath. “There’s no way.  That’s not real.  She can’t be real.”

He took a step back from her as she drew closer to him. His pack fell to the ground as he felt his chest tighten.  His mind raced as his eyes darted around him, looking for something to tell him he was simply losing his mind or what he was seeing was not truly real.  

“Are you okay?”  She asked as she drew up in front of him.  

His eyes focused on her and he stared blankly into her purple eyes.  His breathing was growing ragged and he started panting for air.  Concern marred her features as he leaned forward and put his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.  She reached out a hoof to touch him and he dared not move away from her.  He felt as if his body was shutting down and he panted heavily as if he had run a marathon in cement.  He wasn’t sure how it happened but the next thing he knew he was on his hands and knees. 

“Oh my goodness.  Talk to me, are you okay?”  The mare asked, her voice insistent as she spoke to him.

Cameron panted as her hoof fell on his shoulder. He didn’t dare look up at her as the sides of his vision began to darken.  A heavy panting gasp tore from him and he fell to the ground.  He rolled onto his side and his arms crossed his chest as he tried to pull air into his lungs.  His eyes closed tightly and he could feel his chest tighten further as the mare continued to try to get him to focus on her. 

“Please look at me.”  She crooned to him.

Her voice was comforting in his ears but his blood roared in his ears as he began to blackout.  He gave a low whimper as his vision went black and his mind faded to nothing. 





A low groan escaped him as he rolled onto his side and he opened his eyes as the smell of books and ink caught his nose. Cameron looked up as a familiar baby dragon sat several feet away from him.  He watched as Spike looked through the book in his claws and he slowly sat up to avoid alarming the baby dragon.  A low gasp escaped him as the purple mare came into the room from a side room.  Her purple eyes fell on him and a smile broke over her muzzle.  He stared at her and the more he saw her the more positive he was that he knew her. Twilight Sparkle came across the room to stand at his bedside, her eyes were soft and warm.

“How are you feeling?”  She asked, her tone soft and quiet as she spoke to him.

“Where am I?”  He asked her, his voice rough to his own ears.

He knew that he should have answered her question first but his own shock and surprise were in the forefront of his mind.  Her smile didn’t falter as he spoke back to her. She sat down in place and put a hoof upon his hand and patted it gently before she set it back down on the floor.

“You’re in my home.”  She said to him.  “I brought you home with me since you seemed to be in a lot of trouble.”  

He cleared his throat quietly before he tried to speak further.  “Thank you.” He whispered to her.  “What happened?”  

“You passed out in the street in front of me so I used my magic to carry you here and let you rest.”  Her gaze faltered into concern as she scanned his face. “Now are you okay?”

He realized that it was the same question she had asked before but her tone was a bit more insistent.  “Yeah.  I… I’m okay, I just don’t know where I am.”  

She looked back at Spike who was looking up at them from his book but he seemed unsure of Cameron and the teen chose not to focus on the dragon in the room.  She smiled and her head gave a slight tilt as she watched him.

“I assume you mean that you are asking where you are outside of my home.”  She asked and he nodded.  “You’re outside the city limits.  I was on my way to the casino to do a show when I came across you.  I decided to not do the show and focus on helping you since it seemed more important to help you.”  

“I’m sorry.”  He said to her when he realized that she hadn’t gone to work because of him. That meant she had not made any money due to him blacking out on her.  He opened his mouth to say more to her when she waved a hoof at him.  

“It’s okay.  I can choose when I do a show or when I don‘t.  I promise it's okay.”  She assured him.  “Now I have a few questions for you if you’re okay with me asking.”  

He paused as she watched him and he contemplated blocking her from asking. But at the same time, he felt he could trust her not to hurt him and she might know how he had gotten there.  He gave a slow nod to her, allowing her to ask her questions.

“Who are you?”  

“My name is Cameron.”  

“It's nice to meet you.  I’m…”

“Twilight Sparkle.”  He answered for her.  “I know.” 

She looked shocked at first but her shock gave way to a smile. “So you’ve heard of me.”

“Yeah.”

She looked pleased with his admission but she seemed to move on from it.  “Now I don’t mean to be rude to you but WHAT are you?”  

“I’m a human.”

“I admit I’m not sure what that is.”  She said to him.  “I mean the casino has many creatures that go through it all the time but I’ve never seen anything that looked like you.”

He tried to shrug but it came off as a feeble motion as he hung his head a bit at her words.  “I don’t know what to tell you.”  

She reached out and patted his hand again in support as he stared down at the hand in his lap.  “How did you get here?”  

He gave a bark of a laugh at her question and this time he shrugged fully.  “I am not sure.  It’s a bit of a blur, to be honest, but maybe you can help me figure it out.”  

“I will try to help.”  She said to him and set her hoof on his hand and left it in place. 

“I was walking home from school and when I cut down an alley a creature called Discord called out to me and told me I would make a perfect gift for his cousin.  I was going to run but he grabbed hold of me and threw me backward behind him and told me to say hello to Eris for him.”  He explained to her.

Her face went from concern to shock at the tale he told her.  “There is someone in the casino where I work sometimes named Eris.  Maybe you are meant to meet her?”  

“Who is she?”

“She is the essence of chaos that rules over this place. I have met her in passing a few times but not for very long.”  She said to him.  

“What does that mean?”

She looked thoughtful as she seemed to be thinking of how to explain it.  “She is chaos incarnate.  She can make her own magic and nothing is really off-limits for her.  Her magic is hard to explain though.”  She admitted.  

She looked thoughtful for a moment before she focused on him.  “Can you describe what Discord looks like?”

Cameron looked away from her for a moment before he gave a nod.  “He was a little taller than me with wings, horns, claws, and hooves.  He was pretty strange-looking, to be honest.  I guess chaos is meant to look chaotic as well.” 

Twilight stood up and went to a nearby shelf and pulled a book off the shelf.  Her horn lit with magic and she began to flip through the pages.  She made a noise as she came to a page that seemed to show what she was looking for.  She brought it back to him and showed it to him.  He looked at the photo and thought the colors were different it was roughly the same image of Discord he had in his mind.

“It looks close to him.  The colors are different but that’s pretty close.”  He agreed.

“He’s called a Draconequus.”

“I’m gonna agree with you since I have no idea what that is.”  He said to her with a shrug.

Her magic sent the book back to the shelf and she sat down and seemed to be scanning him.  He leaned back slightly and she gave him a gentle smile.  

“Can I ask you something or a lot of somethings?” She asked him.

“Umm.  Sure.” 

“Is everyone like you on two legs?”

“All humans walk on two legs.  None of us have the ability to easily walk on four legs.”  He said to her.

He watched as she sat down and he could see the determined set of her face and he could see that she had many more questions for him.  He felt dread well up inside him but he also felt indebted to her and answering questions was an easy way to repay her right away.  





He put his hands over his face as she went quiet after what he imagined a few hours that had gone by.  He could see her going over what she had learned and he jumped to ask a question of his own before she thought of more.  

“So how long have you been working at the casino?” He quickly asked.

“I do magical illusion shows there most nights. I took the last few nights off to come up with new material so I was on my way to the casino when I found you.” He cringed and she waved a hoof at him. “It’s fine.  I am not upset about missing the spot to help you.  It’s no biggie.  It was worth it to help you out when you obviously needed some pony’s help.”

“I’m glad you are okay with it.  I still feel kind of bad.”  He said to her.  “But what else do you know about the casino?”

“The casino is a bit odd though, to be honest.” She admitted with a look as he tilted his head slightly at her words.  “To get into the casino you have to pass a test at the front gate.”  

“What?  What does that mean?”  

“There is a device outside of the front gate that measures the good or evil in a pony or creature.”

“Do you have to be a certain orientation to get in?”

“You do need to be evil.”  She admitted with a shrug.  “But I don’t think that really what it’s looking for, to be honest.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  I think it really is measuring chaos or the propensity for evil or chaos.”

“That’s different.”  He said to her.  “So how do you get in for your shows?”

“There is a back door for the performers and staff to get inside.  I don’t really want to leave you here by yourself since you don’t know the area so I am thinking I will take you with me to the casino.”

He must have looked unsure since she smiled warmly. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”  She said to him and patted his hand with her hoof.  “You’ll have fun in it.”

“Can you get me through the back door with you?” He asked as she stood up.

She shook her head and he felt his shoulders slump at her response.  “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Meaning?”

“Based on what you have told me humans seem pretty chaotic.  I don’t think you’ll have any issue with getting inside.”

“Based on what information?”  He asked her, his tone uncertain.

“Humans sound chaotic in a way that Eris herself would appreciate.  Humans don’t sound like you are meant to be incredibly good or evil in nature but you seem to be able to make things happen.”

He fell quiet and considered what she had said.  A smile went over his face as he looked at her. “You might have a point there.” He admitted.  

She gave a low chuckle and nodded at him.  “I am heading to the casino in a little bit so can you be ready to go in a little bit?”

“I’m ready now.”  He said as he moved to push the blanket off of his lap.  

“Perfect.  I will take you to the line and get you settled in line.”  She said to him as he got to his feet.  “Once you get through the line I can meet you inside.”

“How will I find you?”  

“There is a fountain inside the front room.  I can meet you there.  Judging by the usual line I figure by the time I get my show set up in the back and whatever else I can do I will meet you there just slightly ahead of you.”  She said to him as he nodded.  “I figure that you will get there either just before me or a little bit after.”  

He agreed and she moved away from him to get her bags ready.  He watched as she moved around the room and her magic levitated a familiar bag to hover a few feet away from him.  

“I brought your pack after you collapsed.  Do you need it or do you want to leave it here for now?”  

He chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “All that’s in it is my school books. Nothing that will be helping me right now.  So I don’t think I need it for now.  I’ll pick it up from here later.”  

Twilight moved to the back of the room and her magic set his pack down and her own packs were put in place on her back and clipped in place.  Spike came out of the next room and hopped to land just behind her to follow them out the door.  She moved to the front door and she pushed it open and he joined her at the door and she motioned for him to go ahead of her.  He made a low bow as he walked out the door and she giggled from behind a hoof as he walked out the door.  





He fell in at her side and walked with her down the street, though he was not sure exactly where they were going.  Cameron looked up at the skies to see the area ahead of them glowing a different color.  He knew that it was due to the lights of the casino but it was a surreal sight as they approached it.  The closer they got the brighter the skies became until they came to the top of a hill and the massive building stretched out ahead of them.  He stopped and stared at it for several seconds before he trotted to catch up with the purple mare and dragon.  

“Here we are.  The line is a little bit ahead of us.”  Twilight said to him as they walked.

“Right.”  He said to her in reply though his tone was less than enthused in comparison to hers. 

She looked at him and gave him a warm smile as she tipped her head to the front of the gates.  As they neared it he could see the growing line of… things in front of the casino.  He could see creatures that he had no idea what they were in line as they reached the front and then walked past it.  He thought about asking her if she could pull some strings to get him to the front of the line now but quashed the idea after a moment’s thought.  They got to the end of the lien and she pushed him into place and smiled as she turned to leave.

“How long do you think this will take?”  He asked her, his tone almost desperate.

She turned on her heel to face him with a kind smile.  “Despite how it looks it goes by pretty fast.  You’ll be inside in no time at all.”  She assured him.

“Got it.”  He said to her. “Okay, thanks for getting me here.  Guess now it’s my turn.”  

“You’ll be fine.  I told you I don’t think you will have any issues at all getting inside. I’ll meet you inside.”  

He watched as she took to her heels and trotted back toward the front and vanished from sight after a few seconds.  He looked ahead of him to see another pony standing ahead, his body stiff.  Cameron contemplated trying to engage the pony in conversation but decided not to push his luck.  If he was in this line then he might be the opposite of Twilight in terms of temperament, he reasoned to himself.  A deep sigh pulled from him and his shoulders slumped for several seconds before the pony ahead of him moved up several steps.  ‘Oh man.  What am I doing?’  He thought to himself as he steeled himself for the wait ahead of him.





Cameron focused on the pony ahead of him when they finally reached the front doors.  The pony stiffly approached the front and stood on the square directly under the meter.  He looked up at it and he could see that it had three modes.  One of them was the first and lowest setting that read Goodie 2 Shoes and Cameron felt dread well up as he considered what would happen if it went to that.  The middle was a neutral gray color and above that was a deep purple with the writing Pure Evil written on it.  The pony ahead of him was still stiff but he seemed to relax a bit as he stood on the slightly off-color section of the ground.  He leaned out to look at eh guards and the armored pony’s spoke to the one ahead of him.

“Are you now or have you ever been a villain?” One asked.

The pony shuddered and raised one hoof to speak back to the guards.  “Oh yes. I am very malicious.  I lack all empathy for my fellow ponies.  I once tied a pony’s horseshoes together…”

Cameron looked up as the meter spun to the bottom and landed squarely on the Goodie 2 Shoes section.  He looked at the pony as his face was just as stunned as his own. A pause went through the air and the floor opened up and the pony plummeted into the abyss below it. Cameron jumped back and nearly ran into the creature behind him.  ‘Oh shit.’  He thought to himself as he looked up and the guards hadn’t even flinched as the pony had fallen.  The meter went back to neutral and he gulped as he stepped forward and gingerly stepped onto the pad.  

“Are you now or have you ever been a villain?” The guard asked, his eyes watching.

Cameron was struck silent for several seconds as he stared up at the meter.  He knew if he stayed silent the floor might open up under him and he’d be dead for sure. His mind swam with thoughts as he landed on being cocky instead of truthful.  

“I’m human.  Of course, I’m evil.”  He replied, his tone snarky.

The guard stared at him as he spoke and they both looked up as the meter flipped to Pure Evil.  Cameron felt a bit of shock register in his already stunned mind as the guards moved aside to let him inside the front gates. He jumped past the guards in a rush to avoid the meter rethinking its choice and he made for the front of the building.  He walked into the building and the cacophony set him back on his heels.  His eyes adjusted to the light and he found himself reeling even more from the sight of so many creatures ahead of him.  

Fear crept up in the back of his mind as he could see so many creatures that could so easily make a meal out of him if he did anything wrong.  He gulped at the sight and turned to look behind him to see a red dragon approaching the front doors.  He jumped out of the way as he did not recall that one being behind him in line.  He shook his head to try to rid himself of the idea of how the dragon ended up behind him.  He began to frantically scan the room for the fountain Twilight had described and his eyes fell on it and he weaved his way through the ponies and creatures until he reached it.  He reached the fountain and began to scan the area around it almost frantically for the purple Unicorn mare.  He spotted her off to the side and she saw him and gave a wave to have him join her. 

“There you are.”  She said to him as he joined her.  “I told you that you would be able to get in.  I bet you had no trouble at all.”  

“I am still surprised that it said I was Pure Evil.” He admitted.

“Evil is subjective.”  She said with a wave of her hoof.  “Follow me.  I’ll show you around before my show.  This way you have a basic idea of how it’s laid out so you won’t get lost.”

“Yeah.  That’s probably a good idea.”  He said to her as he stayed close to her.  

“It’s not as hard to navigate as it looks.” She said to him.  

“I’m pretty sure it’s not as easy as you think.” He said to her.

She chuckled and shook her head.  “I’ll show you the important areas and how to navigate around them.  You’ll have it down in no time.”  She said as he stayed with her as she led him down the hall and out of the front room.





“And over here is one of the side exits.  If anything goes wrong you need to use this door. It’s smaller and that way you have a lower chance of getting trampled if something does happen.  If you can’t find me right away just head out of here and I will try to find you.”  She said to him as she pointed out a doorway toward the back.

“Got it.”  

“Once I’m done with my show I’ll find you and we can go back to my house.  You can stay with me until we find out what you want to do.”

“Thanks.”  He said to her as she smiled in reply.  

A loud bell went off and rang several times as she smiled at him.  Her horn lit and several coins appeared in her magic and they hovered close by him. “Use these for the night.  With these, you should be able to get some food at any point.”

He took the coins from her and put them in his pocket and patted it to make sure she knew he had the coins safely stowed. “Got it.  How much does stuff usually cost?”

“In here nothing is more than one of those. Don’t let any pony tell you otherwise. If they try to con you just turn and walk away, they will change their tune if you do.  Don’t let down your guard if you can avoid it.”  She advised him with a slightly stern expression.

“Understood.”  He said back to her.  

“When the bell rings five times I will meet you back at the fountain.”

“Got it.  Five times and back to the fountain for the end of the night.”  He said and gave her a mock salute.

She giggled in response to his antics and she patted his arm as she turned and headed away from him to do her show for the night.  He watched her walk away and he was left on his own in her absence. Cameron looked around him and he put his hand over the pocket that held the coins and he could not stop the feeling of loss that washed over him at the loss of the mare that he had been depending on all night so far.  ‘I can do this.  It's a few hours, no biggie.’  He thought to himself as he began to walk away from where he had been left and he began to gently explore the area around him.  





Cameron stood in the center of the front room scanning the tables around him.  He had never gambled in his life but the concept seemed easy enough to follow.  He had a feeling that he would end up in the negatives if he tried it though.  The teen was pretty sure that they would not allow him to only gamble with what he had and no more than that.  He sighed and looked at the clock on the wall but he was not sure what it said due to the symbols that flowed over it.  Another sigh pulled from him as he considered just going to where Twilight was doing her show and hanging out there until the bell went off.

He spun on his heel when a light caught his attention. It was a mixture of blue and white in color and in the shape of a sphere.  He looked up as the elevator that he had seen earlier began to plummet to the ground under it and he stared as it collided violently with the ground. The sphere came apart when it hit the ground and he was stunned to see a pony he recognized from the show.  He recognized Princess Luna as she lay stunned with the other pony.  He looked up as the dust began to settle and she slowly got to her hooves.

“I don’t understand it.  That spell should have withstood the impact and gotten us out of here.”  The grey pony cried out and looked nervously as the sound of shouting from above caught his ears. 

Cameron stood in silence as ideas flowed over him. He found himself in motion as he lunged up and his hand fell on the Princesses breast collar and he wrapped his fingers in it and her long flowing mane.  She looked stunned at him as he began to tug her away from the impact site. He felt her pull back and he tightened his grip on her.

“If you want out of here in one piece come with me!” He shouted to her as he looked back over his shoulder.  

She went still as he spoke to her and the other Unicorn leaped forward, his horn ablaze with his aura.  The mare looked at him and understanding crossed her face and a soft expression went over her features.  She looked at the other pony and though Cameron wasn’t sure what she had said or not said he began to tug her along once more.  She fell in behind him as he held her collar tightly.  The other pony fell in at her side as he led them as quickly as possible through the casino and to the back door Twilight had shown him earlier during the tour she had given him.  

“Who are you?”  Luna asked him as they moved.

“Cameron.”  He said to her between breaths.

“Why are you helping us?”  She asked and he glanced back at her.  

“I’m not sure.”  He said to her.  “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”  

They fell silent as he dragged her around a corner and into the last room before the door.  He lunged forward and she gasped as he dragged her the last few feet.  She came to stand right by him as he pushed the door open for the pair of them to get out.  

“Go on.”  He said to her as he held the door.

The mare looked at the door and a sad look crossed her face before she looked back at him.  “If I return will you help me again?”  

Cameron felt shock roll through him as she spoke. “I might.”  He said to her.  “You have to go now though.  Unless you want to get spotted.”  

He put one foot against the door to brace it open as he reached forward and gripped the ratty cloak the small pony was wearing and used it to throw him out the door and then he reached for the mare. His hands fell on her collar and he used them to toss her out as well.  He removed his foot and gripped the door in his hands as he slammed it shut.

“I really hope no one is paying attention to me after that.”  He whispered as he turned to look into the room.  

He looked carefully around the room and no one seemed to have taken any notice of him and his antics as they went about their lives in the casino.  A breath of relief escaped him and he slumped against the door in relief.  ‘Okay that could have gone badly for me.’  He thought to himself as he moved away from the door as the booming bell sounded five times.  

“There we go.”  He said aloud as he made his way out of the room and moved toward the fountain to meet with Twilight.  “I want out of here anyway.  Not sure I like casinos.”  He groused under his breath as he moved away.  

His mind fell on Luna asking him to help her if she came back.  He couldn’t help but wonder why she would come back.  She left in a very obvious way so it made no sense to him why she would come back.  He was shocked to see her in a casino though if he was being truthful.  Seemed like an odd place for a Princess to be.  

“Well, I don’t think she’ll come back.  I still need to figure out why I am here though. Aside from Discord’s saying I was a gift to his cousin, whatever that means.”  

His mind went through ideas as he moved through the casino.  He spotted Twilight by the fountain and he felt fatigue bite at him as he realized that he had been wandering for a few hours so he was ready for the day to end already.
> 2: Guiding the Knights
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘I could not be more bored if I tried.’  Cameron thought to himself as he stood by the big fountain. It was the third day since he had gotten to this world thanks to Discord.  He still was not aware of who Eris was and had not met her since his arrival. When Twilight had asked him if he was set on meeting her he had told her that he was not exactly looking forward to meeting her if she was chaos incarnate like Discord.  He felt apprehension rise in him at the thought of meeting her.  

His thoughts fell on Luna and the pony with her and he hoped she had gotten back to her own world.  He knew a little bit about her from the few episodes of the show he had seen.  He had liked her from the show but he had to admit that he knew next to nothing about her save that she was the Princess of the Moon. He couldn’t help but wonder why she was here in this world when she was not meant to be here.  Cameron shook his head and pushed the thought of her and the other pony out of his mind as he looked around to decide what to do with himself while Twilight did her show.

“Hey.”  A voice called out from behind him.  

He ignored the choice as he was sure it was not directed at him.  His steps carried him away from the voice as a hoof tapped his shoulder and he startled at the touch.  He whirled around and found two mares watching him closely. He stared at the pair of them and he was sure that he had no idea who they were.  One was a light purple, paler than Twilight with darker purple hair that had a streak of cyan going through it.  The other mare was a deep orange with red and orange hair.  He had no idea who they were but they were intently watching him as he looked at them.  The pair of Unicorns were looking intently as he nearly backed up a step at the looks from them. 

“Hi.”  He said to them, his tone softer than he had intended.

“Hello.  I’m Starlight Glimmer and this is Sunset Shimmer.”  The purple mare said as she pointed to each of them as she named them. 

“Cameron.”  He replied in response to the introduction.

Judging by the look of them he assumed they were in the show as well at some point but he had no idea how they fit into its timeline. At that moment he chose to just accept that he had no clue where they fit in and move forward as he was able to at the moment.  

“Can we talk to you?”  Sunset Shimmer asked him as she tipped her horn off to the side.

“Sure.”  He replied after a moment’s thought.

He walked off to the side with them and they motioned of him to pause where he was to allow them to speak to him.  

“What did you need to talk to me about?”  He asked, apprehension in his tone.

“We are both curious about you,”  Sunset said to him as Starlight nodded in agreement.

“Me?”  Cameron replied.  “I’m not that interesting compared to everything around me.”  He pointed out.

“On the contrary,”  Sunset said to him.  “Compared to everypony around you maybe but when somepony looks at you, you stand out in other ways.  We noticed you over the past couple of days and we are a bit curious about you.”

Cameron felt dread spike through him and his stomach knotted for a moment.  “Really?”

“So the first question we have should be pretty obvious.  Any creature here I can name what they are and generally where they are from.  You on the other hoof I can’t do that.” Sunset admitted to him.  “So I am going to ask you directly, what are you?”

Cameron felt the knot in his stomach lessen slightly as he realized that they truly were more curious about him than they were anything else.  When it was pointed out he did stand out in the fact that he was not like anything else in the casino or in the area.  He looked at them and their expectant looks and he chose to be honest with them. 

“I’m a human.”  He replied.  

“Never heard of it before,”  Sunset said.  

“Where are you from?”  Starlight asked.

“I am from a place called Earth.”  Cameron supplied.

“And where is that?”  Starlight questioned.  

“It’s a world away from here.”  He explained.  

Sunset looked surprised for a moment before she seemed to reel in her composure. “So you’re saying you’re from another world?” 

“Yes.”  He simply replied.

“Okay.”  Starlight said to him, her tone uncertain.  “Then how did you get here?”

He was silent for a moment as he recalled Twilight telling him that saying Discord sent him might gain him the wrong attention. The moment that got out she had no doubt Eris would hear of it and he would suddenly have gotten more attention than he wanted from her.  So he simply shrugged in reply to the two mares.  Both looked unsure if he was being truthful with them and Sunset seemed unconvinced by his response.  Starlight seemed to be the first to recover from it and she gazed at him.

“So what kind of magic do humans have?  If you got here somehow then you must have some.” She pressed.

“Humans don’t have magic.”  He replied and she stared at him.  “We never have.”

Both looked stunned as he replied and now they were both staring openly.  Sunset made a face as she pulled her head back in surprise.  She seemed to be ready to argue with him about it but a moment later she seemed to decide not to.  Starlight was a bit more readily understanding of it as she didn’t seem to be too shocked by the fact that he had no magic to his name.

“How do you do anything then?”  Starlight asked.  

“What do you mean?”

“Like how do you get things off high shelves without the use of magic?”  She explained.

Cameron looked unsure for several seconds before he held up both of his hands and they both looked at them for several seconds. “I use my hands to do things like that.” He replied.

Cameron saw them both looking at the hands in front of him and he decided to mess with them a little bit.  He slowly reached forward and put his hands behind the ear of each mare.  He began to scratch them behind the ears and while they both looked shocked for a moment both seemed to relax after a seconds delay.  Both were still as he scratched their ears and he kept scratching as they relaxed.  Several seconds went by and the first to react fully was Starlight as she shook her head slightly and batted her hooves at his hand and he pulled them both back. A sad look crossed Sunset’s face as the scratching stopped.  

Seconds passed as Starlight glowered at him for several seconds and he was unsure of whether she was going to use magic on him as a punishment for scratching her behind the ear.  Seconds passed and he kept a calm look as she glowered but the look evaporated as Sunset nudged her and that seem dot snap her out of it.  

“So why are you here every day?”  Sunset asked him.

“I have nowhere else to go.”  He admitted.  “I have been staying with one of the performers so staying here during the day makes sense.  She finishes her shows later in the evening and I rejoin her at the end of the day.” 

“How did you get in?  You don’t; seem to fit the usual standards of those who get in through the front gates.”  Starlight asked him.

He managed to hold back the annoyed look he wanted to give her at her assumption but at the same time, he held it back knowing she had a point.  Most likely everyone there had some form of evil in their background or something similar. He didn’t as far as he knew.  

“I got in the same way you did.”  He supplied.

Both mares raised an eyebrow at him as he spoke. Neither looked like they believed him and both looked back at the front door nor then back to him.  “Humans are the masters of their world and they crush anything that is foolish enough to stand in their path.  We break everything in our path to make room for what we choose to make.”

Both of them looked surprised as he had to give Twilight her due.  She had suggested to him that if anypony questioned how he got in to be a bit more dramatic about what a human was like.  He had to admit she had been right that most would not be sure how to approach it once he had said it.  Both mares seemed to accept what he had said and moved on from it but he could tell they had shared a glance while he had been talking.  He was sure they were trying to decide if he was blowing smoke under their tails or if he was telling the truth.  

“What does your world look like?”  Sunset asked him, trying to restart the conversation.

He gave a low chuckle.  “It’s a place made of concrete and metal.  In most areas, there is little to no greenery and what little there is, is kept protected from people.”

“What do you mean?”  Starlight asked.

“Humans tend to destroy things that get in the way. That includes the natural world. It's more buildings made of metal and concrete than it is green fields and forests.  It’s not uncommon for a human to remove all the greenery to make room for a new deck or fire pit for them to enjoy instead of the green space.” He explained.

He could see that they were not sure if they should believe him or call his bluff.  He looked away from them for a moment as he was suddenly unsure if they both would believe that there was nothing green and he decided to pull in something that they knew to make it more real to them.

“We have casinos as well.  Though the ones we have are usually a lot bigger and grander.” He explained.

He watched as their ears perked and they appeared to be more invested in what he was saying.  He gave a slight sigh of relief that they were listening to a bit more now that he had tied his story in with something they knew.  Both of them shared a look and then looked back to him as he focused on them once more.  He saw a look from Sunset that had her narrowing her eyes for amount as she looked him over.

“Are mares in your world the same as you?” She asked him.

He barked a laugh and shook his head.  “I hope not.”  

“Meaning?”  Starlight asked.

“The only similarity between them and me is that they are on two legs as well.  Other than that they look much better than I do.  They’re not mares where I am from, they are women.”  He replied with a chuckle.  

They both looked uncertain as he explained.  A tall mare came up behind them and he narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight of her.  She had Luna's hair but she wore full armor and a dark cloak.  He gave her a strange look and he felt his head give a slight tilt at the look of her.  She looked at him and the eyes were the same as from the other day.  The two mares in front of him looked back and they were startled by the tall mare and both seemed to scurry off at the sight of her. He got to his feet and stood in front of her.

“Hello,”  Luna said to him as she regarded him from within her helm.

He felt a bit of uncertainty go through him as he regarded her.  “Why did you come back?  And what are you wearing?”

The mare gave a thin smile in reply to his questions.  “It’s a disguise.”  She said as she looked down at the armor she wore.  “Eris stole my power.  I came to get it back.”

“What?”  He questioned.

“My ability to monitor dreams and nightmares. She took that from me.”  She said to him.

Cameron went silent as the realization of what had been taken hit him and he felt dread well up from within him.  “Oh.  That’s a good reason to come back.”  She nodded and he scuffed a shoe over the floor. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Right now?”  She asked and he nodded.  “I need your help. I need to get my power back before it is auctioned off to the highest bidder.”

He paused and took a step back as he looked away from her for several seconds.  “What do you think I can do?”

“Do you know the layout of the casino?”  She asked.

“I know it fairly well by now.  I’ve been stuck in it a few days.”  He admitted.

“Can you guide us through it?”  

“Us?”

She pointed a hoof to a small group several feet behind her.  They stood out a bit in comparison to the others around them.  He raised an eyebrow at the clear disguises.  He looked closely at them and realized that he had no idea who any of them were. His limited knowledge of the show was not helping in that regard.  He looked back at the mare and she looked nervous as he didn’t reply to her.

“Please.” She pleaded. “There is nopony else that can lead us through here.”  Ge still didn’t reply as she went on. “I need your help to get my magic back before it is given to a pony that will not be willing to guide and protect the ponies from the nightmares that come in the night.  There is nopony in here that would be able to buy it and tend to them with love and hope.”

“That’s true.”  He admitted.  “This place doesn’t ooze with goodness and whatnot.”  

“Please.”  

He sighed and put his hands on his hips as he looked over her shoulder to the group.  He could see that only one of them was watching the pair of them.  One of the Unicorns was watching him closely and Cameron had a feeling it was the pony from before since the other one was not completely covered from head to hoof.  Another sigh pulled from him as he looked back at the waiting mare.  His jaw clenched as he tried to convince himself that he should stay out of this.  At the same time, he knew that helping her again was the right thing to do.  He groaned and his body sagged for a moment.

“Okay.  I’ll help.” He finally agreed.

The mares face lit up and she jumped forward to hug him tightly.  He winced as a piece of her armor scratched him, but he ignored it and patted her back as she let go of him after several seconds.  He gave her a nervous smile as she motioned for him to follow her.  He fell in behind her as she rejoined the small group that they had brought and the others stared at him.  He managed not to cringe under the stares and kept himself standing upright. 

“Who are you?”  

He looked at the tall cat as he spoke. Cameron nearly chuckled at the cliché outfit that was befitting a cat burglar but he managed to bite it back. “I’m your guide.”  He replied.

“He was the one I told you about from before.  He helped us get out of here the last time we were here.  We weren’t introduced then.  I’m Stygian.” The pony said to him.  “His help is going to be invaluable when we need to move around this place.”

Cameron looked at the others and each of them was disguised fairly well.  Though he still had no idea who any of them were, aside from Luna herself.  Luna seemed to realize that he was looking between each of them and she stepped forward.

“This is Tempest Shadow.”  She said as she pointed to the other armored pony in the group.  “This is Capper.”  She informed him as she pointed to the tall cat.

“Charmed,”  Capper said as he gave a low bow, his tail flicking out behind him.  

“Yeah,”  Cameron replied.  “Likewise.” 

“And she is…”  She pointed to the now empty space that the other Unicorn had been standing in a moment before.  “Trixie!” She whispered out as each of them began to look around for the other member of their group.  

Cameron looked around him and he spotted her top hat off to the side at one of the games.  “There.”  He said and tugged on Luna's ear to gain her attention.  

“Oh, there she is.  Thank you, Cameron.”  She said as she moved away from them and they fell in behind her.  “Roxy what are you doing?”

Cameron nearly asked her what she meant when he realized that was her disguise name.  “Have you seen what they have on this wheel?  They have the Eye of Stagamoto.”  

Cameron felt his head give a slight tilt at the name as Luna looked surprised as well and her eyes fell on the wheel in front of them.  At his side, he heard Tempest grumbling under her breath.  

“Stagamoto?  I thought he was a myth.”  Luna admitted as she was now also looking at the wheel.

“I need to have it.  Can I borrow a hundred bits?”  Trixie asked as she looked at the wheel.  

Luna looked uncertainly between the wheel and the smaller mare.  “Well, it would certainly be…”  She began.

“Move,”  Tempest said to him as he stepped aside to let her move forward.  “YOU!  Games pony! How dare you cheat me?”  She shouted and the pony at the stall looked startled and he seemed to shrink back a bit under her voice.  

“Madam.  I only present games of chance!  I’d never dream of…”  The pony began to try to deescalate the situation as Tempest interrupted.

“Every pony listen up!”  She shouted and many others turned to listen to her.  “This pony is a swindler and a cheat.  He seems to think he can rob a hard-working villain out of the money I already stole."  

“Oh boy,”  Cameron muttered as he gripped Luna’s cloak and gently pulled her back. “Back up.”  

He looked to the side as ponies began to gather and shout.  “Hold on we are all villains here!  Can’t we just get along?”  The games pony began to shout out to the crowd.  

“NO!  Tempest shouted as her broken horn released a stream of sparks and magic.  Cameron backed up a step as the wheel exploded under the force of her magic.  

“Wow,”  Cameron muttered as the mare rejoined them now that the stall had been destroyed.  

“Problem solved,”  Tempest said as she rejoined them. “You can’t play the game and that is a perfect distraction.”  

Trixie seemed to be about to start pouting when they all began to move away from the smoking remains.  Stygian came to stand next to the mare as they walked.  Cameron got a bit ahead of them as Trixie complained and Stygian seemed to be arguing gently with Tempest.  He looked back as Capper remained behind them for a moment. 

“Alley Cat come on!”  Luna shouted back.  

He watched as Capper looked up from rummaging through the remains of the stall and Cameron didn’t hear what he said as he moved to rejoin them.  Cameron watched as he put something in the bag at his hip but he kept quiet about it as he rejoined them.  

“I hate to be the one to bring this up.  But you mentioned that we want to avoid the chief of security.  Did we perhaps just end up on her radar?”  Capper pointed out to Tempest as he walked beside her.

“Please!”  Tempest scoffed.  “With that fight, it will take them hours to even figure out…”

“There she is!  The one with the broken horn!”

“You with the broken horn, stop immediately!

Tempest froze and Capper edged away from her for a moment. Cameron groaned and looked over his shoulder.  His eyes went wide at the sight behind them.  A pony much like Luna stood behind them.  Her mane and tail were made of pure flame and she was covered in armor.  His eyes focused on the strange lock around her neck.  He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of key would fit it and what would happen if she was freed.  

“You damaged royal property.  Princess Eris does not like that.”  She growled.  

Luna's eyes were wide as the other mare approached slowly.  “That’s the evil version of my sister.  She’ll recognize Stygian and me!”  

Cameron reached out and began to push Luna and Stygian ahead of him and away from the coming head of security.  Capper and the others were on his heels as Tempest remained behind.

“Get them out of here.”  She said to him and he nodded in reply as he kept moving the rest of the group.

“What are you going to do?”  Cameron asked her.

“Something I have kind of wanted to try since I got to Equestria.”  She admitted as her horn charged.  

He didn’t see the fireworks that erupted behind him but he could hear the sound of it from behind him.  

Luna looked back as Cameron kept pushing her forward. “We can’t leave her behind!  Cele… Daybreaker might destroy her.”  

“We knew this might happen, she is buying us precious time,”  Stygian said to her.  “Can you lead us from here?”  

Cameron nodded and was soon in front of them. His feet thudded on the floor as they jogged forward.  

“That was an evil Princess Celestia?  I’ve never seen anything that scary in my life!” Trixie shouted.  

“Yes well imagine if she looked like your sister?” Capper said to her.

“The great and powerful Roxy has no sisters.” She replied.

“Somehow I knew you were an only child,”  Capper said to her, a sarcastic look on his face,

Cameron bit back a bark of laughter.  He had to admit that the feline had a good point. He couldn’t see her having any sisters or any siblings for that matter.  He patted Luna's hip and she looked back at him.

“Where are we trying to go?”  He asked her as he kept pushing them.

“The highest floor.”  She said back to him and he nodded in reply to her.

“This way.”  He said and jumped to trot ahead of them.  “If the information I got from Twilight is right then it’s this way.” He muttered to himself.

Luna was tight against his back and Stygian was right next to her as Capper and Trixie raced to keep up and stay close to them. Ahead of him, he saw the strange dogs creatures that he had seen every now and then on the lower floor.  There were three of them in front and he paused as the dogs blocked the path.

“Great.”  He muttered as the dogs stood ahead of them.

“Keep it cool,”  Capper said to him and the others hung back to avoid being too close. 

“You four!  Where are you going?  Did you pass a fight?”  The tallest of them asked and Cameron opened his mouth to speak when one of them caught sight of Capper.

“It’s a cat!  Cat!  He’s a cat.” One of them called out for the others to look where he was pointing.

Cameron looked behind him as Capper looked nervous at the sudden attention of the others.  All three of them began to bark and growl as Cameron tried to keep himself between them and Capper.  He had no reason to put himself in harm’s way for the tall cat but at the same time, he didn’t want him to get hurt.  

“Now friends.  There’s no need for this kind of base primal nonsense.”  Capper tried to calm the situation as the dogs kept barking.

“Not helping,” Cameron said to him as he held an arm ahead of the cat.

A light came up from the side of him and a rolled-up newspaper hovered in an aura of pink magic.  Trixie got in front of him and she waved the newspaper threateningly. He felt his eyes go wide at the sight but he was even more surprised when the dogs backed up and began to whine. 

“Have you any idea of who I am?  I am Roxy the greatest and most powerful wizard of my realm. This feline is my familiar and far more valuable than you can imagine.  I suggest you leave him alone before I make you… Outside dogs.”  

Cameron stared as the dogs quickly fled and called out in apology to the mare.  He blinked as the mare looked over her shoulder with a cocky grin.  He felt a grin tug at his mouth as Capper gave a low bow to her.  

“Thanks for the assist there, friend.”  He said to her.

“You are most welcome.  Shall we continue?”  She replied.

“Yeah,”  Cameron said as he led the way.  “Come on.” 





“Where are we now?”  Stygian asked him.

“This floor is for performances and shows. Mostly magic shows but there are also…” Cameron explained.

“Wait just a minute!”  Trixie interrupted him with an indignant shout.

“What?”  He asked her as he paused and looked at her.

“They have venues for magic shows and they haven’t invited the Great and Powerful Trixie?”  She argued.

“You’re not from here, right?”  He asked her and she nodded after a moment's delay.  “Then why would they ask you to do a show if you’re not from here?”  

Luna giggled behind a hoof as Stygian and Capper turned away to chuckle.  

“Still The Great and Powerful Trixie is not to be discounted.”  She shouted and began to walk away from them.

“Oh no come on, Trixie,”  Cameron shouted at her.  “Get back here.”

She looked back and he caught up with her. “Luna brought you here for a reason right?”  She nodded. “So they need you here not wandering off to show off your magic.  You already did that with the dogs.”

Luna caught up to him and she smiled warmly.  “He’s right Trixie.  We can’t do this without you.  You have an important part to play in this plan.  We need you to hold off on displaying your talents until they are needed?” 

Trixie looked back toward the shows and a quiet sigh escaped her as she nodded.  “Well… If everypony is counting on me, I suppose I can contain myself.”

“Nice choice,”  Cameron said to her as Luna smiled.

“Thank you,”  Luna said to her as they waited for the others to catch up.

Capper reached them first as Stygian caught up as well.  “You know you’re quite the leader,”  Stygian said to the mare as they moved.

“Trixie has always had grand dreams.  We’d both like to see her fulfill them.”  She replied with a warm smile.  

Cameron was quiet as he led them forward.  He could hear them talking quietly amongst themselves as he led them forward.  Luna drew up next to him as they walked and he could see the nervousness that hovered just under her calm.  

“It’ll be okay.”  He said to her.

She gave him a thin smile and nodded.  “I know.  But I still do not like not having my power at my call.  I can understand that you are helping me as well but I can’t help but wonder why?”

“Same reason as before.”  He replied to her.  “Seems like the right thing to do.”

“Still.  You are putting yourself at risk for that right thing.  What are you hoping for?”

“What makes you think I am?”

“Nopony, even the purest of intentioned, does something without thinking of themselves at some point.”  She pressed.

When she phrased it like that he had to admit she had a point.  When he thought about it he wasn’t sure what he wanted to gain from this excursion. Maybe once he met Eris and told her that Discord said hello then he would be sent back to his world.  But he had to wonder if it would really be that easy. So he shrugged to try to tell her to leave it for now.  She sighed and gave him a somber nod.  

“So right ahead is the staircase that leads to the upper levels.  I haven’t been up there personally but I’m pretty sure I can navigate it.”  He assured her.

“I trust your abilities.”  She replied quickly.  

He looked ahead and stopped in his tracks at the sight of so many guards blocking the staircase.  “Well shit.” He said and his shoulders sagged for a moment before he turned back to the rest of the group.  “Now what?”

Luna stared ahead for a moment before she looked back at Trixie.  “Trixie?”

“I will cause a distraction, so loud, so awe-inspiring, they won’t be able to stop themselves from coming to look.”  She said to them and Cameron nodded in agreement.

“And where are you going to do that?”  Capper asked her.

Cameron looked at the cat and had to admit he had a point.  They were in the middle of a hallway and there was no place for her to do a display unless she took over one of the rooms in the hall.  “He has a point.”  

“Well, I just need to find the… right… What in Equestria is that?!”  She shouted and moved away from them.

“What are you shouting for?” Cameron asked her and he moved to get her to quiet down as the guards watched them.  

He felt the guard’s eyes on his back as he followed the smaller mare and tried to shush her.  Trixie reached a nearby wall and pointed to a poster that was hanging on the wall.  He looked up and he saw a poster for one of Twilights' shows.  

“What about her?”  Cameron asked as he neared the mare.  

“She has defeated me, humiliated me, and tricked me! But even for her, this is too far.” She argued and stomped her hoof to the carpeted floor.  

“Trixie. You realize that is not our Twilight.” Luna pointed out.  “She’s from another world.”  

Trixie gave the Princess a look before she gave an angry expression and moved toward the entrance of the hall that Twilight was using.  Cameron moved to stop her and he got in front of her to stop her from going in.  

“Come on we don’t have time for this.”  He said to her as she glared at him.  

“Move.”  

“No.  This is ridiculous you are the… wait.”  Cameron went quiet as he realized what her plan was.  “Oh, I get it.”  He said to her.  “That will make quite a distraction.”

She blinked at him for a moment before she nodded. “Get ready to go when they all come to see me!”  She said to him as he moved out of the way.

“What are you doing?”  Stygian asked him.  

“What better way to distract the guards than with a show they can’t resist?  Two illusionists going hoof to hoof will get their attention.”  Cameron explained.  “She gets to try to best Twilight and we get to move forward.  Everyone wins.”  

Luna nodded in understanding and Cameron turned his head as he heard the shouting from inside.  Bright light poured from within the room and the guards were interested and Cameron moved the group out of their way.  One trotted away from his post and the others followed as the light from the room grew in intensity.  

“Interesting,”  Capper said as they moved away from the guards and back to the now clear stairs. “Did you know she was going to do that?” 

Cameron shook his head.  “No.  I figured it out while I was trying to stop her.  Though I don’t think she was thinking of it that way until I pointed it out to her.  She was pretty fixated on Twilight.”  

Capper nodded quietly and they all mounted the stairs and quickly got to the top.  They stopped a looked at Cameron as there were two paths to take.  He groaned in aggravation as he realized that he had no idea where they needed to go now that they were past the show hall.  He looked helplessly at Luna and she smiled warmly as she surely realized he was as lost as them.  

“I will go left the rest of you to go right.”  She said and Cameron immediately shook his head. “What is it?”

“There are four of us.  So we split it up down the middle.  You and I go left and they go right.”  He reasoned and she nodded as he spoke.  

“Very well.  It is probably best not to be alone.”  She admitted.  “Capper needs to get to the top no matter what it takes.”  

“Oh?”  Cameron said to her and she nodded.  “He is better off with Stygian, you have the magic to protect him.”  

“But what if the two of you run into trouble?” Stygian asked as he laid his cloak back.

“The two of us will be fine.  I have every faith that Cameron will not lead me astray.” She assured the other two.

Cameron felt anxiety bite at him at her sudden faith in him.  Faith that when he thought about it he was not sure why she was so sure but it felt nice to have someone have that kind of trust in him.  “We will be fine.  You two need to be careful though.  I’m not sure if she will have Daybreaker with her or if she is still with Tempest.”  He advised.  

Capper tapped Stygian on the shoulder and the Unicorn seemed to agree.  “Okay. Let’s go, Capper.”  Stygian finally agreed and the pair of them made for the other side of the stairs.  

Luna looked at him and a smile played over her mouth.  “Shall we?”
> 3: Conquest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cameron looked ahead as they went up the many stairs.  Behind him, Luna's hooves thudded dully on the carpeted stairs.  

“So do you think they ever end?”  Cameron asked her.

She chuckled in reply and nodded.  “I would hope they would eventually end.”  

“That wasn’t an answer.”  He said to her, his tone light and joking.

The mare nodded.  “I sincerely hope they end soon.”  She said to him.  

He opened his mouth to speak when a voice caught his attention.  He looked over his shoulder as Luna's ears flicked forward. 

“That’s Eris.”  She whispered.

“Great.”  He muttered under his breath as they reached the top of the stairway and kept to the side to avoid being spotted.  

He looked around and his eyes went wide at the sight of Capper standing with her.  He looked at the mare and her eyes were sad as she watched them.  He looked at the strange creature that was Eris and he decided that the only difference between her and Discord was the gender. She had the head of an owl with dragon’s wings with a pair of ram’s horns that came from the side of her face where ears would have been.  She carried a staff that looked like a gnarled branch with a large ball on the end of it.  

“Capper no,”  Luna whispered.

“Yeah.  This is gonna be a problem.”  Cameron said to her.  

“So I already have your friend with the broken horn. Who else do I need to worry about?” Eris questioned the tall feline in front of her.

“Well there’s Luna, but she’s powerless, and she is after the staff your carrying,”  Capper informed her.  

“Horrid feline,”  Cameron growled under his breath.  

“There’s a strange creature that walks on two legs that Luna got to guide her around the casino.  Goes by the name Cameron, but he’s walking around your casino with Luna, so he’s not around here.”  Capper went on.  “Oh, and there is Trixie.  She’s downstairs causing a distraction so we were able to sneak past the guards and get up here.”  

“Well let’s get her under control and then we can wait for the powerless Princess and the two-legged thing with her to make a move,” Eris said to him.  

“Sounds good,”  Capper said to her with a snap of his fingers.  “What about Stygian here?”

“I made him the same offer I made you and he turned me down.  So he gets to stay in his own nightmare.  Do you have any issue with that?”  Eris questioned.

“Not at all.  These Equestria ponies just have no sense of self-preservation.”  Capper said to her as they walked away from a sleeping Stygian.

Once they were out of earshot Cameron held back the outrage that boiled under his skin.  “Creature?”  He snarled. “Next time I see that cat I’m gonna throw him in a rushing river.”  

Luna looked sadly at the sleeping Stygian as she approached him.  Cameron caught up with her in a couple of strides and the mare was solemnly looking at the smaller pony.  

“So what do we do with him?”  He asked her.

“WE find a way to wake him.”  She said and he knelt down to shake the ponies shoulder.  

“I don’t think shaking him is working.”  He said to her.

“I swear!  I just want to be one of you!  Please don’t turn your backs on me.”  Stygian mumbled as he dreamed.  

“Poor Stygian.  You must be in so much pain.  Forced to live your worst nightmare over and over again.”  Luna said, her voice sorrowful.

“What can we do?”  Cameron asked her.

“Even if I had Celestia’s power I could awaken him. If I had my powers I could get him out of it no problem.  But this dream is unnatural so we can’t shake him awake.”  She explained.

“Great.” Cameron nearly cursed but held back in her presence.

She looked away from the prone pony to the human with her and Cameron tilted his head slightly as she seemed to perk up suddenly.  “I think I have an idea.”

“Oh?” 

“I think I can still enter his dream.  I’ve been able to do that since I was a filly. If I can break the cycle maybe I can get him out.”  She explained and Cameron nodded for her to go on.  “I couldn’t control dreams until my magic was stronger and I might end up stuck there forever.”  

“Okay bad idea,”  Cameron said to her.  “You get stuck in a dream with him forever then Eris wins.  And we are all screwed.”  

“I cannot leave him like this Cameron.”  She argued.  “We have to do something.”

“Can I just pour water on him?”  He asked and she gave him a withering look as he gave an awkward grin.  “Kidding. But I still think this is a terrible idea.”  

“It’s not really a choice to be made.  I would never leave anypony like this, he is a victim of my power.”  She argued back as Cameron sighed and put his hands on his hips.  

“I can’t stop you, can I?”  Cameron asked her and she shook her head as she lowered her horn to tap the other ponies.  

Cameron yelped as the mare suddenly went limp and fell to the ground.  Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be asleep.  He groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands.  

“Great.  Now, what do I do?”  He grumbled and knelt down to look at the two ponies at his feet.  “Both out cold.”  

He stood up and he walked several feet away to look back down the stairway.  Minutes ticked past him as he waited for Luna to snap Stygian out of whatever trance he was in.  He looked down the stairway and he could see a bright light coming up them, shadows danced on the walls as the light moved.  “Oh shit.”  He jumped back the way he had come and he ran back to the two ponies.  He looked around him and he could see the doorway that Eris and Capper had left through.  

“Okay, Cameron think.”  He whispered as he opened the doorway and it was another hallway. “This will have to work.”

He ran back to the ponies and he reached down to grip Luna’s cloak as the light in the stairway grew brighter.  He leaned back and began to drag the mare toward the hallway. She was heavier than he recalled her being and his eyes fell onto the heavy armor she was wearing.  “Of all the times to be wearing armor.”  He growled as he struggled to drag her away from Stygian. As much as he was growing to kind of like the little pony he knew that hiding Luna was more important.

“Come on.”  He said as he strained to move her.  

“You can stop that.” 

He paused as a voice that was familiar caught his attention.  He looked up to see Daybreaker standing close by, her mane a mess of fire and her body covered in armor.  From her side, Tempest stepped out and Trixie came from her other side.  He blinked as he slowly let go of the cloak in his hands. 

“What the hell?”  He said as Tempest gave a cocky smile in response to his baffled expression.  

“It’s gonna be okay,”  Tempest assured him.  “She’s on our side.”  

“You’re kidding me,”  Cameron replied and he looked down at Luna as she began to stir. 

“Cameron?”  Luna said to him as her eyes locked with his.  

“Hi.”  He replied and he pointed away from himself for her to look behind them.  Her eyes went wide as she saw the other mare.

“Hello, sister.  We need to talk.”  Daybreaker said to her.  





Luna slowly got to her hooves and Cameron moved to stand beside her.  “Celestia?” 

“No,”  Daybreaker replied.  “This was our issue before. I do not know that name.  My name is and always has been Daybreaker.”  

“Oh,”  Luna responded.  

“But… I did have a sister… Once.”  Daybreaker explained.  “Her name was Nightmare Moon.  She was the fiercest and most loyal of sisters, and I am afraid I failed her when it mattered most.  Does that name mean anything to you?”  

Cameron grinned as Luna looked at Stygian who was standing beside her. “Stygian do you mind?  I would do it myself but I am a bit low on magic at the moment.  You recall the armor correct?”

“Coming right up,”  Stygian replied as his horn lit and the mare was covered in a veil of magic.

“Did she look like this?”  Luna asked her as the image of Nightmare Moon stood before her. 

Daybreakers face went slack for a moment as she stared at the image in front of her.  Cameron felt a twinge of sorrow come over him at the look on her face.  He could see the regret and some sorrow that flowed over her.  

“You look just like her,”  Daybreaker said.

“Told you,”  Tempest said to her, and Cameron bit back a chuckle at the cocky look from the pony.  

“I was her… Once.”  Luna said as she walked out of the illusion and Stygian’s horn went dormant.  “Then Celestia, my sister, sent a group of young ponies to help save me from the darkness.”

Daybreaker seemed to break out of her shock and her gaze fell on Luna as she stood muzzle to muzzle with her.  “We don’t have much time.  She has eyes everywhere.  IF she sees us talking… I have to get you out of here.”

“Daybreaker,”  Luna said to her.  “I’m sorry to ask you this.  I know it might cause you pain.  However, we need to get to Eris’s suite before we leave.  We have to retrieve something.”  

“That’s where Eris is,”  Daybreaker commented.  “And now that she has you’re… Oh.  She has your powers and that’s what you are here to get back.”  

“I can’t let those powers fall into the hands of any of these villains,”  Luna replied. 

“She wants me to bring you to her.  Getting you there would be easy, but after that…” Daybreaker explained.

“Leave that to us,”  Luna assured her.  

Cameron stood in silence for several seconds before he looked at each of the ones with them and they nodded sagely.  He stood in silence hoping he would be clued into the scheme before he was expected to act.





Cameron looked at the shackles around his wrists and he looked as sad as the others with him.  Ahead of him, Daybreaker walked steadily and her hooves thudded dully on the carpeted walkway.  He felt apprehension welling up within him but he managed to keep it from showing on his face.  

“I have captured the last of the invaders,” Daybreaker announced as they walked into the suite at the top of the casino.

“There is something to this cats and luck thing. Perhaps you will have a chance to redeem yourself.”  Eris crowed to the feline behind her.

“Yes, Princess,”  Capper replied to her, looking contrite.

Eris walked away from her throne and headed down the steps to the group of them.  “Princess Luna.  You have been an interesting conundrum for me.  I’ve stolen plenty from powerful ponies, even auctioned most of them off… but I have never met a pony who was fool enough to come here to my realm to try to steal it back.  It’s almost enough to make me like you.”  She said as she cupped the mare's jaw in her talons. “Almost.”  

She walked several feet away and looked at each of the captives.  Her eyes fell on Cameron and he simply watched her.  She scanned him and he watched her, his gaze almost bland as she came to stand in front of him.  She came to stand in front of him and she reached out to touch him.  He pulled back and she lashed out to grab him by the jaw.

“So you’re the one called Cameron.”  She growled.  “I have to admit I haven’t seen something like you before.  Might be worth keeping you just for the novelty.” 

Cameron nearly snarled in reply but his thoughts fell on Discord and what he had been told.  A smile fell across his mouth and the Princess lost her grip on his jaw as he slowly pulled back from her grip.  

“Discord says hi.”  He said to her and he could see her mind almost short circuit as she heard him.  

“Excuse me?”  

“Discord sent me to say hi to you.”  He smirked in reply.  “I have to admit he’s a much more unique creature compared to you.”  

She righted herself and he watched as she nearly raised her hand to strike him but seemed to pause in the motion.  She spun on her heel and walked a few feet away from him and he felt a gentle kick to his lower leg from Luna who was standing right next to him.  He glanced at her and she was giving him a side-eye in reprimand.  He gave her a gentle grin and went back to looking bland. 

“A poorer creature you will never meet than my cousin.  Chaos should be used for much more than making clouds rain chocolate milk.”  She sneered.  

Cameron didn’t say anything in reply to her and simply kept his mouth shut now that he had said his piece.  He wasn’t surprised when he wasn’t sent back but he had to admit he had wondered if he would be sent back upon giving her the message.  

“Now that is out of the way I think I will punish you with them.  Your mouth is more than I want to deal with.” She growled and Cameron said nothing in response.  “Now I can’t have every two-bit Princess from every world showing up and demanding their magic or their stuff back from me.  So I am faced with a dilemma of how best to make an example out of you.”

She started to say more when Tempest gave out a loud sigh.  “Oh come on!” She nearly shouted and gained Eris’s attention for her effort.  “Listen take it from a former villain a long monologue just wastes everyone’s time. If you’re going to do something nefarious, let’s skip to that.”  

Eris stared at her for several seconds before she replied.  “You know what, the surly purple pony is right.  Daybreaker, burn them all.”

“No,”  Daybreaker replied her face bland and expressionless.  

“What do you mean no?”  Eris asked as a shock went over her face. 

“The pony of shadows already made me betray my sister once.  I won’t do it again for you.” She explained.

“Oh, this.  Gooey sentimentality.  I was pretty sure you didn’t recognize her.  She is not the pony she once was.  Come on Daybreaker, you’re a weapon.  You’re meant to destroy weak ponies like this one.  Not to get all sappy about them.”  Eris griped.

“All of that is done.  I’m done working for you.  I’m my own pony from now on.”  Daybreaker said to her, her expression set and determined.

“A pretty sentiment.”  Eris agreed with a malicious smile.  “I wonder how long I will need to shock you for you to realize how wrong you are.”  She said as she pulled a contraption out of the air and pushed a red button that sat in the middle of it.  

Cameron managed not to laugh at the comical expression that went over the Chaos Princess's face.  Daybreaker’s mane swirled as flames brimmed and she flared her wings.

“Pathetic,”  Daybreaker said to her as she took a step forward.  

“Come on you wretched contraption!  Why won’t you work?!”  Eris shrieked.

Daybreaker lowered her horn slightly and pointed it at the embodiment of Chaos and spoke further.  “You know for a creature so versed in deception, you’re quite bad at spotting it.”  

Daybreaker spoke as the locks around their necks and wrists all vanished from the illusion Trixie had cast.  Cameron nearly rubbed his wrists but managed to stop before doing it. Beside him, Luna and the others all prepared to fight further.  

“My collar!  How?!”  Eris cried out.

“Well I knew if the collar got hot enough the metal would melt but your spells kept me from using my own magic on it.  So I needed a pony with extremely strong offensive magic who could melt it for me.”  Daybreaker explained.  

Cameron opened his mouth to speak but one look from Luna silenced him and he instead leaned against her shoulder to listen to Daybreaker further.  The Mare had earned her time to shine he supposed.  

“I hadn’t intended to do anything about it. But then I interrogated Tempest she told me that in her world I was a Princess and Luna was my sister.  Even then I knew you would see my every move when I left the security room.  So I couldn’t think of a way to get the collar off and get to you without you seeing it.  Until you dropped a powerful illusionist right…”  Daybreaker explained.

“That’s great and powerful.  It’s about branding.  You see the great and powerful Trixie just has a… Mmph.”  Trixie interrupted.

Cameron had jumped behind her and put his hands over her mouth to silence her as everyone stared at her.  He smiled and took one hand and waved it at the pair of powerful entities who were now staring at him.  

“My apologies, please go on.”  He said as he dragged Trixie backward to put her back in line with Luna and the others.

Daybreaker looked back at Eris who was now looking at her as well.  “So I had the Illusionist make me a fake collar.  Just so I could get close enough to do…”  Daybreaker leaned her horn down and pointed it squarely at the Princess of Chaos.  “This!” She shouted as magic poured from her horn.

Eris erected a shield in front of her to deflect the magic coming from Daybreaker.  Magic skimmed over the surface of the shield and Eris yawned from underneath it.  

“She’s too strong!”  Daybreaker shouted.  

“This must be so disappointing for you.  All of these years of plotting your treachery, only to fall short due to your own weakness.”  Eris taunted.

“Except she has something you don’t.”  Luna cried out.  The group was suddenly shoulder to shoulder with Daybreaker and they stood strong before the shield.  “She has friends on her side!”  

Cameron stepped back to avoid getting in the way as he didn’t have the magic to fight with the Goddess.  He looked over his shoulder to see Capper flipping a poker chip in his paw.  He nearly walked back to drag the feline off the throne but chose to remain where he was. 

“You really think your troop of broken and deranged ponies can defeat a Goddess of Chaos?”  Eris shouted and her hand moved as their streams of magic were turned into flower petals and leaves.  “But that’s all right.  You don’t have to understand right now.”

Cameron felt shock race through him but he knew that he would only be in the way if he stepped forward.  The shield evaporated as Eris approached the group of stunned ponies. 

“You’ll have an eternity of nightmares to figure it out!” Eris yelled as she leveled the staff at Daybreaker.

He watched as the orb on the end of the staff began to glow and Luna jumped to stand in front of Daybreaker. 

“Daybreaker NO!”  Luna shouted as she stood in front of her.

Cameron stepped forward as the Moon Princess braced to be sent into a nightmare.  Cameron opened his mouth to shout but when nothing happened he paused.  Golden bubbles danced in the air around them and he felt his head tilt at the sight of them. Luna made a surprised noise as she saw the bubbles dancing in the air around her.  

Eris raised the staff to look at the orb and shock went over her face.  “Bubble spray?!  What are you doing?  Come on you…” She said as she waved the staff for a moment.

“You know it really is disappointing when it falls a bit flat like this,”  Capper said from behind them as he stretched on the throne.  “I thought this was going to be the highlight of the whole adventure.” 

Cameron felt his head tilt a bit further as the cat got to his paws.  

“What are you talking about?”  Eris questioned.

“The loveable rogue turns on his friends when the chips are down. Everypony doubts his loyalty and questions it.  Blah, blah, blah, good strong story stuff.”  He explained as he came to stand close by Eris.  

‘What is he going on about?  Oh… You sneaky cat.’  Cameron thought to himself as a smile played over his mouth. ‘I take back wanting to throw him in a rushing river.’

“Then when all is lost, the villain tries to use her staff and it doesn’t work. So she removes the sphere to see what could possibly be wrong with it.  Go ahead, this is the best part.” Capper cajoled.

Cameron watched as Eris scowled but did as he instructed.  She rolled the sphere in her claws and on the bottom of it was a poker chip.  Her face fell into shock and dismay as she gave a rather un-princess-like squawk.  Capper, on the other hand, held out his hands.  

“Ta-da!”  He said and Cameron found himself chuckling as the group did the same.  “Except you guys had to go and do what you always do and redeem a villain.  I don’t even know why I’m surprised you did it.  Then you march in here with the literal power of the sun so suddenly a bit of sleight of hand doesn’t seem so impressive.”  He said as he reached into the bag at his hip and pulled out the real sphere and approached Luna.  “Anyway, here’s the sphere with your magic.  I picked up that one in the mess downstairs and switched it when she thought I was on her side.” 

He held out the sphere, let it fall from his paw to the ground and it shattered on impact, magic swirled around Luna as her power was returned to her.  

“Oh yes.  This is much better.”  She said as she leveled her horn at the Goddess of Chaos.

The Moon Princess advanced on Eris and the raw magic crackling off her shattered the gnarled stick in her hand.  Eris began to back up slowly as she tried to reason with the mare in front of her.  

“Please Princess, you don’t want to hurt me,” Eris said to her as she backed up.

“You summoned me here by invading the dreams of my friend.  You pretended to be the pony of shadows.”  

“I’m just a Goddess of Chaos.  I’m just doing what’s in my nature.”  Eris tried to explain.

“You tried to destroy my friends and my sister.” Luna snarled.

“Please I’ve learned my lesson.  See, I’m a victim too.  The pony of shadows locked me up for centuries.  It drove me mad.”  She explained frantically.

“Hmmm.”  Cameron didn’t believe a word out of her beak and he opened his mouth to speak when Daybreaker moved ahead of him.  He followed behind her a bit but still stayed far enough back to avoid getting caught up in the burning tail.  

“Please.  Oh, merciful Princess.”  Eris begged.

“Eris.  I do not want to hurt you.”  Luna began.

From behind her flames and magic tore around the Moon Princess as they collided violently with Eris.  The impact sent the Chaos Goddess flying out the window and out past the realm's barriers.  Cameron stared at the mare for a moment before he moved a bit further away from her. Luna was too stunned to move as he walked up to her and patted her shoulder to get her back to focus on what had happened.  

“I do,”  Daybreaker said, her voice triumphant.

Cameron looked back and all of them were too stunned to move, he was the only one who had moved after the magic was released. Daybreaker held her head high and a smile was on her muzzle.  

“Do you know that collar kept me from accessing the power to control the sun?  It takes a while to raise it when you haven’t done it in centuries, but it's dawn now.” She crowed.

Luna finally snapped out of her shock and she turned to the flaming Alicorn.  “Sister, are you okay?”  

“Absolutely.  I should have listened to you… I mean Nightmare Moon the first time.  With both of our powers, we could have destroyed the pony of shadows.”  Daybreaker replied.

“It's good to see you restored.  Perhaps you can come home with us and meet Celestia. Or we could find your original reality and…”  Luna started.

“Luna you misunderstand.  I do not wish to leave this place.  I rule here now.”  Daybreaker clarified.

Cameron nearly rolled his eyes to the ceiling.  ‘Knew it.’  He thought to himself.  

“I appreciate your assistance.  I could not have freed myself without you. Which is why I am allowing you to leave.  All of you.” She said and her eyes went to each of them as she spoke.  “But should you or any of your friends enter this world again I will not be so generous.”

“But Daybreaker.  I felt like we connected.  Were your feelings for your sister a lie?”  Luna asked.

“I cared a great deal for my sister.  She was a ruthless conqueror with a sharp wit. You Luna.  Merely look like her.  But you are not half the pony Nightmare Moon was.  I was weak and I needed your assistance.  I said what was necessary to attain it.  But I am weak no longer.”  

“I see,”  Luna said, sadness in her voice.  

Cameron came to stand with her as Daybreaker saw him and he put his hand in her collar and gently began to pull her away toward the door with the others.  

“You too are not welcome here,”  Daybreaker said to him as he locked eyes with her.  

Cameron sighed.  “I figured as much.  For what it’s worth I think you’ll do better here than Eris did.”  He admitted and the Alicorn seemed surprised by his tone as he dragged Luna away from her.

They moved down the stairs and into the performer's hall and he paused as Twilight came out of one of the rooms and she saw him. 

“Hang on.”  He said to the group.  “Walk slow?” 

Luna gave him a sad nod and began to slowly walk away from them.  He trotted to the purple mare and surprised himself when he found himself hugging her tightly.  She held onto him and nuzzled him gently as he let go of her.  

“You're going with them?”  She asked him.

“I’m sorry but Daybreaker might kill me if I stay.” He admitted.  “Come with us?”  

He had grown attached to the mare who had been at his side since he arrived and she gave him a kind smile.  

“My place is here.  But I won’t forget you.”  She assured him and hugged him again.  “Can they get you back to your world?”

“Who knows?”  He admitted with a shrug as she let him go.  “Take care of yourself?”

“Always.  Oh.” Her horn lit and his pack appeared in her magic. “Just in case you need something from it.”  

He took it from her and slung it over his shoulder. “Yeah.  Thank you Twilight.” 

She gave a sad smile but he could see the kindness in her eyes as he turned and left her behind.  He broke into a jog and rushed to catch up with the group and he found that they had paused at the end of the hall to wait for him.  

“Said your goodbyes?”  Tempest asked,

“Yeah.  Just needed to thank her.”  He replied. 

“If you wish to go back to your world perhaps we can find a way from our realm,”  Luna said to him as they walked.  

“Maybe.”  He said to her as he patted her shoulder in thanks.  “Let’s get out of here before Daybreaker barbeques us all.”  

A low chuckle went out as they left the casino behind.  His feet were strangely heavy as he moved but the further he got from the casino the lighter he seemed to feel.  Beside him, the others were quiet as they all walked as quickly as possible without running. 





Cameron walked out of the mirror and into the dark hallway and he found himself once more having no clue of where he was.  He almost chuckled at the realization that he was again under the mercy of those around him to guide him.  It bothered him a bit but at the same time he had no other choice and he would have to adjust to this place as he had with the casino. He came to stand close by Luna as Stygian removed a piece of a broken mirror, thereby cutting them off from going back to the realm they had been in unless they had the piece of the mirror. 

“Now what?”  He finally asked as he looked at the mare beside him.  

She gave him a sympathetic look as he waited for her to reply.  “Now? I have a few ponies I think you should meet.”  She said to him and his head gave a slight tilt at her words.  “The Elements of Harmony I think would be happy to meet you.”