//------------------------------// // 3- The First Day // Story: Keeping Ideals Alive // by Falconwolf1116 //------------------------------// I entered the spare room that Twilight had given me. It was pretty nice as far as living quarters go. There was a large bed, a desk, and a window that faced out to Ponyville. I looked through it and saw the lovely night sky above the slightly lit town. The moon shone almost as bright as the sun, lighting up the sky and land. I hopped into the bed with my clothes still on and decided to try and get some sleep. This proved to be a challenge. The past day's events plagued my mind with corrupted thoughts, causing brief nightmares. I woke up every hour or so and found it hard to go back to sleep, until one of my nightmares changed. I started out in a pitch black area, it was cold and it felt as if all of the happiness had left my body. I spun around as I floated in the void, hoping to catch a sign of life. I got my wish as through the darkness, there were a few stars. They were multicolored and appeared to be moving in odd directions. I reached out, feeling that their warmth would give me comfort. As I reached out: I felt myself flung across the void and was suddenly surrounded by stars. There were small orbs everywhere with what appeared to be small moving pictures in them. I grabbed one and rubbed it. The video played back and I saw Theresa and my friends just hanging out like we did back in middle school, without a care in the world. It was confusing, what was occurring right now. Why would the colored stars send me here? I found a path made of small lights and walked along it. There were more dreams along the way of ponies I had never met. Then I found an orb that was just a blank bubble. I grabbed it and looked carefully at it. In it, I saw the bubble again, and again, and again. This one was viewing my perspective. I heard the sound of magic flashing. I turned around and saw a deep blue alicorn walking along the same path I had. 'Shit! I gotta hide!' I thought. But where? There was nothing for miles except orbs. Oh goddamn it. I quickly gathered some orbs and built a wall to block me from her vision. She came closer on the path. I closed my eyes hoping for the best and... she passed. I sighed in relief. I guess I was oka- *BLAST* Nevermind... "WAIT!" I yelled as I was tossed around in space and felt two hooves hit my shoulders. A blue wall appeared behind me and I felt myself take impact. It was painful to say the least, oddly all the pain was transferred into my head, giving me a short migraine. My eyes were closed so I had no idea who my attacker was. As the migraine died down, I opened my eyes and saw a very big alicorn pressing me to the wall. She had a navy blue coat and piercing cyan eyes. She wore a black tiara and collar with a white moon on it. Then there was her mane. It shined like the starry sky itself, almost as if... she... was the night. I was staring into the glare of Princess Luna. "CREATURE!" She yelled in a double voice. I was just going to have a migraine in general if she kept talking like that. "Y-yes?" I asked in a very small voice. "WHAT REASON DO YOU HAVE FOR ENTERING THE DREAM REALM? I DO NOT RECALL GIVING YOU PERMISSION TO ROAM AROUND AS YOU PLEASE." "D-dream realm?" I asked. She pounded on the wall she had manifested with her hoof. It cracked as she did so. "DO NOT TRY TO PLAY DUMB WITH ME CREATURE. I KNOW WHAT BELONGS HERE AND WHAT DOES NOT. AND IT'S FAIRLY OBVIOUS WHAT CATEGORY YOU ARE IN." "First of all, please stop yelling at me! This is going to be much harder if I have a headache or deafen! Second, I have no idea how in the flying fuck I got here!" "You best watch your mouth when talking to a princess young colt." "Y-yes ma'am." I said freezing up. She double-took at my quick change in attitude. "Well, you have manners, I guess I'll give you that." She released me and made the wall dissolve into nothing. She then summoned a table with two pillows, along with a... tea set?" "Please have a seat." I floated over to the pillow and sat down. She poured tea into both teacups. "So you are one of the creatures Starswirl had told my sister and I about." "I-I guess?" I said taking a sip of the tea. It had a hint of mint and lemon. "Odd, I expected you to appear as barbarians, almost ape-like." "Eh, we gave up the barbarian-ape look about a few million years ago, give or take. Sort of went out of style through evolution." I swear at that moment I heard a light chuckle. "You look... a lot less ugly than I expected." Okay. Ouch? "Urm... was that a compliment, or an insult? "With how I pictured you, a compliment." "Well we are in the... dream realm you called it? Why not manifest what you expected us to be like?" She narrowed her eyes. "You certainly now much about how the mind works." "Humans have had theories about the mind for quite awhile now. Being able to control what happens in your dreams happens to be one of our many theories." "Well... I suppose that makes sense." She flashed her horn and a blank canvas appeared in the sky. She flashed it again and this time, a big brute-like creature with beady, red eyes and crooked teeth appeared. It looks like the type of people you'd see in a Looney Tunes cartoon. "Satisfied?" "Very. Also sort of offended, but you only had a small description from this "Starswirl" fellow, so I guess it's understandable. How did he know what we looked like anyways? Does he live in Ponyville?" "He was the pony who confronted you in the Everfree Forest a while ago." "That old unicorn was him?!" "Please refrain from calling him old. Although he may be elderly, he has saved multiple lives and still has plenty of magic to protect Equestria." "My apologies Princess." "I haven't even introduced myself. I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night and controller of the moon. I keep ponies safe while they dream and sleep, although, nopony exactly likes my night as much as my sister's day." "I'm Cameron. Cameron Hallow, and I just wanted to say that your nights are actually really beautiful." Her eyes widened at me. "What?" "Y-you like my night?" "Well, yeah... who wouldn't, there are plenty of shining stars in the sky, the moon shines very bright, and the sky turns a beautiful purple at night. Some humans would die to see a night like yours." "Nopony has ever said anything like that about my night, well except my sister, and friends, and... well it's nice to hear that a creature who has never met me likes what I've created." She said, her eyes shimmering. "You... learned to trust me very quickly... did I really just have to compliment your night?" "Don't get me wrong, I still don't trust you, but I think I can try to. After all, you've been kind, respectful, yes... I'll give you a chance. But if you break my trust, I will throw you so far into the bottomless pit of Tartarus that you might even find a bottom." She said glaring at me. I gulped. "D-dually noted." I said smiling sheepishly. "Then I believe it is time for you to wake up. Farewell Cameron Hallow." Her horn began to glow. "Urm, Princess wait!" The glowing died down. "Yes?" "I uh... nevermind." I didn't exactly trust her just yet. If we became closer in the future, I'd tell her about the stars. "Very well." Her horn glowed with such intensity I thought I was looking at the sun. It turns out I was. I sat up in the bed. Daylight streamed inwards through the window. I had a better view of the room now and it seemed very nice. There were photos of Twilight and her friends everywhere, but that was to be expected since this was her castle. jumping out of bed, I popped my back and limbs and drew the curtains and peered outside the window. The sun was shining and there were ponies everywhere in town. I walked to the room door and entered the hallway. The castle was really big on the inside, hallways twisting in every direction, doors every ten feet on either side, it would be easy to get lost... which I was at the moment. "Well shit..." I said to myself. "Having trouble?" A female voice came from behind me. It wasn't Twilight's so it must've been another friend. I turned around and found a light purple unicorn with a purple and turquoise mane. "Sort of." "I had the same problem when I moved in. I'm Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's friend and student." "Student?" I asked. "Basically her protege in learning the magic of friendship. The dining room is two lefts down that hallway." She pointed down the hall. "I was heading there to eat since Spike usually makes breakfast around this time." "Thanks Starlight." "No problem uh... never got your name exactly?" "Oh sorry, Cam, that's my name." "No problem Cam." Starlight and I walked down the hallway and took two lefts. We soon found ourselves in the dining room. I was the last one up. All of my friends (minus Ayden) were at the table eating pancakes. Twilight was at the other end surrounded by papers and quills. She appeared as if she hadn't gotten any sleep prior to today. Her mane stuck out in odd directions, her eyes were bloodshot, not to mention one of them was twitching which sort of scared me a bit. "Twilight?" I asked. She only acknowledged my presence by grunting. "Are, um... you... okay?" "Oh yes! I'm just fine! Just have a couple of papers to do before I go to sleep!" "Uh huh..." I leaned over to Starlight. "She does realize it's morning... right?" "This has been happening for weeks. Ever since Twilight opened her school, she's gotten less and less sleep grading assignments, tests and signing report cards." "Shouldn't the teachers be doing that work?" James asked, "The principal shouldn't be doing everything on her own..." "Well the headmare seems to disagree." She stated glaring at Twilight. The door opened again and the lizard I saw yesterday was standing there. His eyes were totally bloodshot as well. He must be the assistant Twilight told me about. "She. Needs. A break." Was all he said as he walked to the chair next to Twilight. "Oh Spike! Good you're here! Listen, I need you to run down to the school and grab the rest of the assignments from my desk." "There's more?!" I blurt out. "You have no idea pal." Spike grumbled as he started walking out of the dining hall. "Hey! Spike right?" I asked as I followed him outside. "Yeah? And you're Cam right?" "Yep. Why don't you get some sleep and I help Twilight out? You look exhausted." "Well, being up all night will do that to you. Wait... you'd actually do that for me?" "Dude, you look awful. Letting you do all that work without sleep would just be cruel." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Thanks. I was gonna pass out pretty soon anyways. I don't think I could've made it out of the castle." "All I need are directions and I'll be on my way." "Well the school is right next door. Once you get in there, all you have to do is walk up the stairs in the entrance hall, and find the third door on the right." "Got it. Entrance hall, third door on the right. Get some sleep buddy." With that Spike yawned and walked to his room. This was my first time leaving the castle since yesterday when I brought Ayden to the hospital. I figured the ponies still weren't used to me or my friends being around so I had to be careful with who I talked to or where I went. Once at the castle doors, I took my first step into the sunlight. It was beautiful outside! Only a few stray clouds, perfect temperature and fresh air. I walked along the rocky pathway across the lake, to the school which was practically inside a waterfall. I walked over to the entrance, not even noticing the ponies glaring at me. As I entered the school, I saw it was very busy. Ponies running, trying to get from class to class, volunteer teachers trying to control where students went, I swear I saw a stallion accidentally walk into the female restroom. At least I hope it was an accident. I pushed through the crowd, getting kicked and pushed around a little, making my way to the entrance stairs. I walked up and took a right, getting to the third door. I pushed it open to find a large stack of papers on the desk. "Shit." was all I could say. I would probably have to make two... no... three trips to get the papers back to the castle. I heard a knock on the door as I began to take some papers. Without an answer, the ponies named Applejack and Rainbow Dash entered the room. "Hey Twilight could you settle an argument for us? Could you tell Applejack- what're you doing here?" We only stared at each other. "Well?" She asked glaring at me. "I was just getting these papers for Twilight." I said. She turned to Applejack for an answer... I guess? I don't know why but she just nodded. "You're gonna carry that mountain of papers back to the castle... all by yourself?" I thought about that for a moment. "Yes." I finally said. I attempted to lift the papers but the tower just wobbled threatening to fall over. "On second thought... could I have a hand?" "Well we would... but we don't have any... hands." Rainbow said smirking. "Haha very funny. Could you lend me a hoof? Please?" "Eh, why not." Rainbow flew up and grabbed about a third of the stack of papers. She handed those to me, then gave another third to Applejack, then herself. While rainbow carried the stack with her hooves, Applejack carried hers on her back. I was honestly impressed about how well balanced the papers were on them rather than in my hands which actually made sense! "How are you doing that?" I asked. "Doin what?" Applejack asked. "That! How are the papers so well balanced?" "Well, when ya live on an apple farm, carrying barrels of cider on your back is pretty easy once ya get the hang of it." "And we've always been able to hold stuff in our hooves." "I'm just surprised because human hands are meant for holding stuff, yet it's hard to get balance either- WOAH!- either way." I said as the papers nearly fell over. "Those weird things on the end of your hooves are hands?" Rainbow asked. "Actually the hand is what our fingers are attached to. That's what allows humans to grab things." "So like a monkey?" "Basically. Humans actually evolved from monkeys as a matter of fact." She snickered. "R-really?" She said, as she and Applejack were holding back a laugh. 'Oh Fuck' I thought, 'I just made a huge mistake, didn't I?' "I'm NOT. A. Monkey!" I exclaimed. They stopped laughing but giggled a little at my expense. "Never said ya were." "Well you were thinking it Applejack. Both of you were." We finally got outside and onto the stone path leading to the castle. There were still ponies glaring at me but I continued to ignore them. "I gotta admit it... it takes a lot of willpower just to keep yourself from gettin angry at ponies givin looks. Why aren't you upset?" Applejack asked. "Oh I am... but it's understandable why they feel that way towards me. I'm a new creature in a world where my kind isn't even in existence." "That doesn't make it right though." "Change is hard to accept... trust me, I know." "Well obviously! We're seeing it happen right now." Rainbow exclaimed. "No, I meant... never mind." We continued walking across the stone bridge and into the castle. "So why does Twilight overwork herself?" "It's just who she is Cam. We can't change that." Applejack said to me. "Well she should try to relax a bit more often." "Pft! Please! Relaxing to Twilight is just organizing books!" "Well just because it's work doesn't mean it can't be relaxing to her. You ever heard of zen gardens?" "I guess that makes a bit of sense, but relaxing to me is just lying down on a cloud and snoozing the afternoon away." "Wait... what?" "What's up?" "Sleeping on a cloud? You can't touch a cloud... can you?" "Check it out dude." She flew out a conveniently open window and brought back a small, puffy cloud. "That's amazing!" I reached out to touch it, only for my hand to go straight through. "What?" "Yeaaah... only pegasai can move clouds around." "Wow... I have a lot to learn about this world." "NO NEED!" I heard James yell. "We're heading out!" He said, with Twilight, a tired Spike, and my friends right next to him. "Why?" "Twilight asked us how we got here when she was done with her papers and I remembered the crevice that we crawled through to get here. We're packing up and going home!" He said happily. "Wait... what about-" "Ayden? Well we're going to pick him up on the way. It was about a day's trip from the hole and that's how long it's gonna take to get back." "Well... okay. Are we all packed?" "Yeah! We can go right now." "Actually..." Twilight began. "What is it?" James asked, getting aggravated. "The Everfree can be dangerous, not to mention how big it is. We should probably get Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy as well." "What about Spike?" "Spike's been overworking, so he could use a break. Me too, of course." She said smiling sheepishly "Fine we'll go get the rest of your friends, get some more supplies then head out. But we don't have all day!" I just turned to Twilight and shrugged. We gathered everything and headed for the hospital. We were quiet the whole walk on account of all of the ponies just looking at us curiously, especially that green one. I don't understand why she's taken such an interest in us... We arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. "We're here to see if the human patient is ready to be discharged?" Twilight asked Redheart politely. "indeed he is princess! I'll go grab him from recovery and bring the release forms." She trotted off to get Ayden. "Hey um Cam?" James said. "What?" I asked, feeling irritated with him. "I just wanted to apologize for how I've been acting since we've arrived, it's just, it's stressful being leader of some people you don't exactly like... I just want you to know I'm only doing what's best for the team and... you shouldn't get attached to these... things... easily." "They're called ponies James, and I'm not growing attached, we need to be friends with them because we need them if we're gonna get home." I lied. "Good... just making sure." He said walking back to the waiting area. I noticed I was the only one standing in the hallway, ad it's then that I realized that the ponies aren't that different from us. There was an OR board just like in every human hospital back on Earth. Ponies of different ages scheduled to have a transplant, a running whip stitch, even a craniotomy. They all had the same sicknesses here, just like home. It was sad to think that they had all of this trouble. I looked to my left and saw a rather shaky stallion looking at the board. He was tan with a short brown mane, and was wearing scrubs. "First surgery?" I asked. "Yeah..." He said with shakey breaths. "It's my first time scrubbing in... I don't know if I can do it." "Which surgery?" "Running whip stitch. They can't expect me to do that already can they?" "Hey... just... try to stay calm alright? They're just trying to see what you've got. It's like a test if you think about it." "Only if I fail somepony dies." He said gulping. Rainbow came into the hall. "Hey, your friend's out, come on we have to head out." I nodded to her. "You'll be fine um..." "Scalpel. Scalpel Heart." Heh... figures. "I'm Cameron. You'll be fine. Just try your hardest." I patted him on the shoulder and walked back to the waiting room. I looked back at him opening the door and although he appeared miserable, there was a small smile on his muzzle. I just hope I didn't get his hopes up too high. We left the hospital a few minutes later. Ayden still had a limp, but thanks to all of the magic and medicine it would go away in a matter of weeks. Our first stop was the local bakery called Sugarcube Corner and apparently it was where Pinkie Pie worked. She was baking delicious treats to bring on the trip which was totally unnecessary, but she insisted. I don't even know how it will stay good when we're walking around a humid forest towards the end of summer. We turned the corner and arrived at a building tat reminded me of those stereotypical gingerbread houses that you see at those competitions around Christmas. "That's Sugarcube Corner?!" Phillip exclaimed. "It looks good enough to eat!" "Hold it there partner," Applejack said, "We understand y'all are hungry, but don't eat the best bakery in town." Guess there were more. We entered and was greeted by a lightly colored room, set with tables, a counter, pastries on display, and a very busy Pinkie Pie. Her hooves were pink blurs as she worked on cakes of all types and stuffing them into a single bag. Yeah. A single. Bag. It's impossible but I've learned from Twilight, not to ask about her craziness. She said that a while back, doing that put her in a wheel chair, and gave her minor head trauma... she didn't sound so sure on that part, but I'll take her word for it. "FINISHED! All the cakes we need are done!" She turned around and gasped as she saw me. "CAMMY!" She pounced and started nuzzling me as I was tackled to the floor. "Um... hey... Pinkie Pie..." I said, the air gone from my lungs. "C'mon silly! Call me Pinkie! All of you should! We're friends now! *Gasp* I should give you all nicknames!" "Definitely not." James said bluntly. "You don't even know our real names." "That's... right!" Twilight said surprised, "We never got any of your names except Cam and Ayden. I feel pretty stupid now that i think about it." I stood up and introduced everyone. "This is Phillip, Mike, Theresa and James." "Cam!" James hissed. "What? They need to know our names if they're gonna help us!" "That's..." He stopped, "That's fair... I guess." "Anywhooooo, I have the cakes ready girls! ROAD TRIP!" "Wait, how are those cakes gonna stay good? It's pretty hot outside and that bag is just gonna make things worse," Ayden said. "The bags have a spell on them that gives them the ability to keep food fresh." Rainbow explained, "It's basically a portable fridge." "That's... actually very helpful." "Well c'mon! We're not getting anywhere just by standing here!" Pinkie said as she hopped out the doors of the bakery. We all just stood there. "So... I'm guessing she's the kind of friend you never want to or feel the need to question?" I asked. "That's right sugarcube, "Applejack said shaking her head, "That is right." It took only a few minutes to reach Rarity's boutique and it's probably one of the most upper class buildings in town. It had a fresh coat of paint, clean windows, and a feeling that made you want to throw on a monocle and a small mustache. Or maybe that's just me? I don't know. The point is it makes you feel like you're walking into a very upper class place. And upper class it was. The inside had stages, dresses, mannequins... ponnequins? The context of this world can get very confusing very quickly. The dresses appeared to be expertly made, some frilly, some light shaded, some covered in crystals, some looked themed in ways that I can't even describe. I don't care about fashion, but I have to admit, this would make just about anyone impressed! "Rarity should be upstairs," Twilight said, "You all can wait down here while I go get her." Twilight walked upstairs and we explored. "These dresses are pretty neat." Theresa said looking at a particular black and blue one with a crescent moon on the front. I could probably guess who that one was themed after. "See one you like?" I asked smirking. She blushed and started rambling. "I'll have you know Cameron Hallow, that I will never care about girly things like dresses, butterflies, lollipops..." When she starts this, it's hard to tell when it will end, so I've learned a pretty helpful technique. It's called the SWA trick. What does SWA stand for? Well that's what I'm doing right now: Slowly walking away. Finally, the rambling stopped when we heard a yell from the other side of the room. There was Mike with a furious ball of fur scratching him all over his face. "MIKE?!" I yelled and ran over to help. I caught hold of the cat and attempted to pull it off of his head, which in turn gave me a few claws to the eye. "DAMN IT!" I dropped the cat which ran over to Theresa and climbed into her arms, immediately snuggling in. "Aw it's ok kitty. Were those mean boys hurting you?" ... Yeah. She said that. "Excuse me. I'm the one who just got scratched all over the face!" Mike exclaimed. "And I'm the one whose eye nearly got clawed out!" I yelled. "Awwww she was just scared. Weren't you?" Theresa said as she gently pet the cat. It turned towards us and smirked, giving us an evil stare. I squinted my eyes back. Mike and I now had a common enemy. Also, I should just say, I'm not a cat person at all. I'm okay with kittens, but most grown cats are the root of all evil, unless there are some nice ones out there, which I'm sure there are. But until I meet them, my point still stands. Now dogs, they are called man's best friend for a reason, heck I have one back home and she's the absolute best. I think i've proved my point. "Is everything alright down here?" I heard a posh voice ask. Rarity and Twilight entered the room. "Yeah, you just missed those two get beat up by a cat." Rainbow said, smirking at us. "Poking a bear Rainbow. Poking. A. Bear." I said. "The cat just happened to come out of nowhere and attack Mike and just happened to scratched my eye while I was trying to get it off of him." Rarity gasped. "Opalescence! How dare you harm our guests!" she said glaring at the cat, which in turn, cowered back into a corner. Serves it right. I gave it the same evil smirk it gave me, earning me a hiss and an evil glare that just screamed "I'll get you for this". It's a cat. What possible harm could it do? The last stop was Fluttershy's house which was on the edge of the Everfree Forest. 'I don't understand why she of all ponies would live there.' I thought, "The forest is creepy, dangerous, and full of... oh. OH!" We came up to a small cottage that had a small stream running through it. It was surrounded by trees with bird houses, small burrows, and animals big and small. "So she lives by the forest to take care of animals. That's pretty neat." She walked out through the front door talking to... a bunny. "Now Angel, I'll only be gone for a day. I want you to make sure that you stay safe alright? I left carrots on the counter and plenty of other treats for our other friends. I promise that when I get back I'll make you your favorite salad." She said slightly nudging the small bunny. It smiled and hugged her hoof. She smiled back and trotted over to the group. "She thinks that animal can understand her?" James whispered. "Not just think partner." Applejack commented. "She knows Angel can understand her." Rarity added, "It's her talent to communicate with animals." "But that doesn't make sense. How can she understand them but not any of us? There's no science to back that up." "Just think of it as learning a new language, James." I told him, "She's the only one who gained the context and the emotional capacity to understand them." "I guess that makes sense." He said with a curious look on his face, "Well forget it. C'mon everyone. If we're gonna make it by sundown we need to get going now." "Aye aye Captain Dingus!" Ayden exclaimed. "Shut up bullet hole!" James yelled back. "Unless you want another one in the other knee this time. "James, what did we talk about?" I whispered in his ear. "*sigh* Don't threaten the group and act like a real leader. I know. But he was pushing it." "He's just messing around okay? Calm down." I slowed down to walk behind him. "What's his deal?" Rainbow asked me. "He's just stressed out. He isn't used to being away from home like this. He also doesn't believe in anything that happens in this world." "Why not?" "Well, humans don't have wings or magic or talking animals for starters. Or talking ponies either." "So what about other species?" "Animals are the only other species. Humans are the only sentient race." "Yeesh, that sounds lonely." "How so?" I asked. Then, Twilight joined the conversation. "Well, there are only about a million ponies here in Equestria and a few hundred thousand of other species, so if there are only a million or so humans on your world-" I couldn't help but chuckle. "What?" "There are 7.6 Billion humans on Earth. The amount you just said would fit into a small country." James said not even looking back at us. I looked at the ponies and they were all slack-jawed. "S-seven point s-six b-b-billion?" Twilight said in a small voice. "That would be a lot of party members!" Pinkie yelled bringing everyone out of their trance. "Imagine having to make 7.6 billion cupcakes! There wouldn't be enough batter in the world for that!" "Good thing some people in our world have allergies. That would make it easier on you Pinks." Ayden said. Pinkie chuckled. "That's a new nickname! I like it! Now I gotta give you one!" "What have I done?" "Something you didn't want to start my friend." I said chuckling and shaking my head. "Shut up, Cammy" He responded. Two Hours Later We were walking in silence. Pretty boring if you ask me. Rainbow and Pinkie were looking bored, Theresa was messing with a leaf in her fingers, and Ayden was falling asleep. "How um... how about I play some music?" I asked. "How're you gonna play music all the way out here without a radio?" AJ asked. "With the help of my friend, Technology!" I pulled out my phone and opened the music app. "No more of the "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Album", we've listen to that one for ages. Play Black Sabbath." "C'mon Burgess no one listens to them anymore. Play Hamilton, Cam." James yelled back. "No, play Panic at the Disco!" Theresa yelled. "DAgames!" Phillip added. "Queen!" Mike chimed. "I'll let the girls decide." I said. "Something upbeat, slow, rap, rock, or pop?" "What about something upbeat?" Fluttershy asked. I smiled knowing just the song to put on. I went to the Beatles' soundtrack and pressed: Copyright: The Beatles When the song ended the girls were laughing. "That song was fun!" Pinkie said happily. "Never heard one like that before! What other songs do you have on there?" Rainbow asked. "Why don't you choose one?" I held the phone up for her and let her choose a song. (Copyright: Elton John) "What's this one called again?" "Saturday's Alright For Fighting by Elton John. One of the greatest singers in human history." After that song, we played some Queen songs, Panic! At the Disco (Which Twilight loved for some reason...), and even some of the video game songs which Rainbow and Pinkie liked. It then started to get dark. I forgot how creepy this forest was at night. The vines looked the snakes, the trees like large beasts with sharp teeth. It was very unnerving. "We should stop here for tonight." Twilight said. "C'mon! We're almost there!" James yelled. I looked back at the group. Ayden looked exhausted, Terri was trying to keep Phillip from collapsing, and Mike looked like he was ready to pass out. "James we're all tired. We should stop." I said. "Just ride the ponies then!" He yelled angrily. I looked at the girls and saw that they were actually pretty pissed... with blushes on their faces. "James they're not animals! We can't just hop on their backs!" "Yes you can, and yes they are animals!" "Now look here James!" Rarity yelled, "We are not just creatures with no form of emotion!" "You're right. You're a bunch of smelly, four legged, mutated horses!" "That's it! Put em up buddy!" Rainbow yelled getting into a fighting stance. "I've had enough of this bullshit!" I saw James reaching into his pocket. I ran and grabbed the gun. "Are you kidding me?!" "Look Cam I-" "No just-just shut up James! You are threatening the ones helping us. Why can't you just see that they're kind and willing to help?" "Cam they're animals-" "They are not. Fucking. Animals. They are sentient creatures and I don't approve of how you're treating them. We are setting up camp. NOW!" Everything was quiet except for the crickets and the distant howling of wolves. "And you shamed me for threatening creatures with a gun." I looked down and saw that I was jabbing the gun into his hip. I dropped it and stepped back. "J-james I-" "Forget it. We'll set up camp. SEPARATE camps! Humans in one, ponies and pony LOVERS in another." He walked away and went to gather firewood. I just bowed my head in shame. Why had I pointed the gun at him? I laid on the grassy patch where the girls had set up their camp. The others were trying to set up the tents but Ayden wasn't willing to help so it took longer than expected. "Don't worry about them Cameron dear." Rarity said, "they just aren't the greatest friends out there." "Well," I said sitting up, "Ayden and Terri are cool with you all, but Phillip, Mike and James are just... I don't know." "Well look on the bright side Cammy! You get to hang out with us!" Pinkie chirped. I just chuckled. it really wasn't so bad hanging out with them. I just suck at making new friends is all and because they're being so welcoming to me it's just weird, I guess. There was a happy silence for a few minutes. "I'm honestly jealous of you girls." I said. "Why's that?" Applejack asked. "Well this world may have the occasional monster, but the rest of this world is just beautiful. Bright stars in the sky, perfect temperatures throughout some days, fresh air, my world didn't have any of those things." "What was your world like then?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It was dark. I don't really think you'd want to hear about it before going to sleep." Rainbow got up and sat next to me. "Try me bitch." Bold words Rainbow. "Okay. Murders occur almost every day, children are abused, shot in schools and bullied every day, people are raped, people are discriminated, and a lot of leaders are jackasses." "Woah... that... is pretty dark." Rainbow said sheepishly. "Told ya... bitch." I said smirking. In reply I got a punch to the shoulder. We all shared a laugh afterwards. I heard footsteps behind me. "Hey man..." Ayden said. "Sup?" "Could Terri and I join you all? James is being a jackass." I turned back to the girls. "Told ya our leaders are jackasses. Yeah sure c'mon over." The rest of the night we shared stories of experiences we had in school and out. The girls told embarrassing stories that Ayden and I couldn't help but laugh at. I noticed that Fluttershy wasn't talking at all. "You okay, Fluttershy?" I asked. "Oh... um... yes... I just forgot how scary these woods are..." "I bet Cam could sing us a song!" Ayden said. "Ayden..." "C'mon! You'll love his voice!" "I'd actually want to hear you sing Cam." Twilight said smiling. "I don't know..." "You got it bro." Terri said nudging me. "*sigh* fine." Applejack pulled out a guitar. "I'll play the music, you sing some lyrics to what it sounds like." She said. I nodded and she started the rhythm. I knew exactly what to sing with it. One of Elton John's best songs. (Rocket Man by Elton John, Cover by Mike Masse and Jeff Hall) As I stopped singing, I looked at everyone in the circle. The girls had their mouths hanging open, their eyes wide, Ayden smirked and Terri clapped. "Cam... that was... amazing... where did you learn to sing like that?" Twilight asked. I shrugged. "Just... picked it up I guess... well... we should get some rest. We're going home tomorrow. "He's right. Goodnight everyone." Terri said. We all snuggled into some large leaves and fell asleep. The fire burned out at around midnight. My leaf blew off and I felt myself shivering, then warm. A wing had draped over me. I don't know whose... but it sure did help out. I hugged the wing and fell asleep, hearing soft giggles. In the Frozen North, the aurora shined brighter. The heir to One For All was near. It was only a matter of time.