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.