‘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?”