Three Friends and a New World

Chapters

The Arrival
A Day of Excitement
Starting a routine
Discord
Calm Before the Storm
Raining on the Parade
Equestria's Shadow
Appleloosa's Fall

The Arrival

Cameron and Kendra argued about the complexities of the human form and whether or not it was capable of not only being able to live but being ready to fight after being stabbed multiple times in various places. Cameron glared at the girl turned around in her chair in front of his desk. The argument had gotten to a point where Cameron had to look for confirmation on his view.

"Arin, can a person fight after being stabbed twenty-seven times?"

Arin, who was next to Kendra on his laptop listening to music, didn't even look back to Cameron when he said, "I'm not apart of this." Cameron cursed under his breath and looked to a person a seat ahead of Kendra and Arin.

"Nate. Nate," he said, getting Nate's attention. Nate turned around and took off his headphones. "Is it possible for a person to get up and fight after being stabbed twenty-seven times?" Cameron asked again. Nate thought about it for a second.

"It depends on where they got stabbed," He said.

"See? I told you," Kendra yelled out at Cameron, "If a person is stabbed in the arm twenty-seven times, they could totally keep fighting." Kendra could see the anger rising in Cameron's face.

"No, goddammit," Cameron blurted out. "If you were stabbed that many times the person stabbing, you would have hit a major artery, and you would have bled out! If you got stabbed that many times in multiple places, and managed to miss vital organs, that is still too much damaged muscle to move! Jeepers Christmas!" Cameron had restated his case, rather loudly. Kendra came back at him with her viewpoint.

"Well, maybe if you just believed very hard," Kendra said, beginning to laugh. Cameron got even more mad at that. He threw his hands in the air in exasperation and fell back. He got back up and tried to keep his calm.

"If I just believed hard enough, huh," he started, "well, I want to believe that Ponyland exists, but that's never going to happen, is it?"

Cameron was a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and he liked to refer to the land of Equestria as Ponyland now and again. Nate and Kendra didn't watch the show but were dragged along with Cameron's insistence on reading terrible fanfiction to them on the bus, the fanfiction usually being crossovers. Nate, who was also laughing, decided to jump in again.

"Well, maybe, just maybe, she's on to something for once in her miserable life."

"Jeepers, not you too," Cameron sighed and looked out the window. Just then, something caught his eye. The sky seemed to become brighter every second. "Hey guys, is it just me, or is the sky getting brighter?"

"Isn't that what the sun does?" Kendra joked.

"I mean, the sky's getting brighter faster than normal," Cameron replied.

The sky shone white and got more and more blinding. It soon reached the point where the three had to cover their eyes and turn away to keep from being blinded. It didn't work for long as their whole field of view became a blinding white. They began to panic.

"What the FUCK is going on!" Nate yelled as he looked around in vain.

"Maybe the world is ending!" Kendra yelled, not being able to feel Arin next to her.

"Thanks, Trump! We knew you could do it!" Cameron joked to the white void. The three laughed as the world they knew turned from a blinding white to black.

…

Nate was the first to awaken. He sat up and looked around to see that he was in the middle of a grassy field next to a forest; his bookbag and laptop bag were next to him. A few yards to his right, Cameron laid in the grass with his bookbag next to him as well. Nate stood up and walked over to Cameron, who had just started regaining consciousness. Nate nudged him a little and asked, "Hey, Cameron, you awake?"

"Nate?" Cameron slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He immediately got dizzy and held his head, worrying Nate.

"You okay, man?"

"Yeah. Just a little dizzy," Cameron replied. He slowly got his wits about him and looked around at the field and the nearby forest, the forest feeling oddly familiar.

"Where are we?" Cameron asked. Nate didn't get to answer as he had found Kendra beginning to sit up behind them.

"Hey, Kendra is here too," Nate said, pointing to her.

"Oh, great. Ken's also here," Cameron said sarcastically. They grabbed their things and walked over to Kendra, who was looking around.

"Where are we?" she asked when the two boys got to her.

"We don't know," Nate answered.

"Well, where's everybody else?" she asked. The two looked around and couldn't see anybody else that was in class.

"That's a good question," Cameron started, "Maybe we're the only ones here."

"That would suck," Nate said, looking down.

"Yeah, but maybe they just got up before us," Cameron said, as he tried to be optimistic, "I think there's a path to our left. Let's go and see if we can find them." Kendra grabbed her book bag and stood up, nodding. Nate was already ready to go.

They found a small dirt path on a hill and decided to walk up and away from the nearby forest. They walked for a few minutes until seven small figures appeared moving toward the three from up the path.

"Oh, hell no, there's more Kendras!" cried Nate as he threw rocks at the figures. A distant "Ouch!" was heard. The characters stopped and looked at each other. Cameron stopped Nate before he could do anything else.

"Nate, stop. Calm down. You're freaking out. Those might be people that can help."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

They stood there for a second so Nate could take some deep breaths. As the figures grew closer, the group realized the characters were animals on all fours, but the group could faintly hear voices coming from the same direction. From what they could listen to, the ones talking were female. As the animals and voices got closer, the people speaking could still not be seen. Then, Cameron stopped altogether and concentrated on his ears.

"What's wrong?" Kendra asked.

"It's just...those voices sound familiar."

Just then, a high pitched scream came from the group of figures and a flash of light blinded Cameron, Nate, and Kendra. Suddenly, a purple unicorn with wings and a standard, light-pink unicorn were right next to them, with a blue pegasus and a pink pony appearing a split second later. Cameron's sudden confusion turned to sheer excitement as he didn't have to take too long to look at the four to realize who they were, his mouth contorting into a smile. A glance at the other three ponies and one small dragon only made him happier. Kendra and Nate looked at the four unique miniature horses in confusion, but after the pink one with the poofy mane started to speak and a quick look to Cameron, their bewilderment turned into understanding, followed by grief shortly after.

The pink pony was rambling at a breakneck pace. "Oh my Celestia, what are you? I've never seen anything like you before. Where did you come from? Are you the reason there was a flux in magical energy? Can you even understand me, because if not, this would look and sound weird to you? Just a pink pony jumping around in your face making strange noises like 'Bingbing boop' and 'floople dings.' And how can we be sure that you are good guys and not baddies that we need to zap with the power of friendship..."

"Oh, no." Nate and Kendra sighed in unison. Cameron responded with an even more full smile.

"Oh-ho, yes!"

A loud gasp was heard, and everybody turned as the pink pony put two and two together. "Were you the ones that hit Rarity?" She practically yelled in Cameron's face. He stopped smiling, a look of worry starting to form. He slowly turned around to look at Nate, who had a similar look, then to Kendra, who looked confused and shrugged. Looking disappointed and sighing, he regained his composure and turned back to face the pink pony.

"Yes, but it was an accident," Cameron said. The ponies squinted. "Honest. My friend was hallucinating and threw the rocks out of fear of the hallucinations." The pink pony backed up as the purple, unicorn-pegasus hybrid started to pace around the three humans. She scrutinized the three of them, in slight confusion.

"You are human?" The way she said it made it seem like a statement, but her questioning glance at the humans let them know she wanted an answer.

"Yeah," Nate said, speaking up this time, although sounding disappointed. The purple pony examined the three humans once more.

"You all have the same brown skin tone, with variation in shades, and your body structures are drastically different from what I've experienced," she mumbled aloud.

Cameron, Nate, and Kendra each had to stop themselves from exclaiming, "That's racist." They squirmed a little under the interesting pony's unrelenting gaze.

"How did you get here? Are you the reason for the sudden magical anomaly the Princesses were talking about?" The first question was natural, but the second left them with uncertainty.

Kendra spoke up to answer. "We don't know how we got here. We were waiting for school to start when a big flash of light blinded us. Next thing we know, we woke up here. As for the magical anomaly, thing, I don't know."

The purple anomaly of a pony looked at the three humans in front of her. Then she turned to the six ponies and dragon behind her. They each gave her a nod, and the purple unicorn with wings turned back to the otherworldly visitors and sighed. She smiled at them for the first time of their encounter.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. These are my friends." She turned and swept a hoof toward the other ponies and dragon, who introduced themselves, the pink pony going second.

"I'm Pinkie Pie," she yelled as confetti rained from nowhere. Before she could continue, however, the orange pony in a stetson spoke up.

"Howdy, I'm AppleJack. Y'all can call me AJ," she said, tipping her hat, her words laced with a southern drawl.

"I am Rarity. It is a pleasure to meet you, darlings," the white unicorn said. Her voice a stark contrast with the broader, southern accent of the pony before her. Rarity talked like she was a part of high society, a posh, high-pitched voice that somehow didn't come off as condescending.

"The name's Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria." The blue pegasus exclaimed, her voice feminine, but gruff. To prove her point, she zipped into the air doing several tricks and landing before the minute was up. Pinkie Pie cheered as loud as she could for her friend, while Applejack, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, the pink unicorn, and the small dragon rolled their eyes. The yellow pegasus smiled slightly. It was the pink unicorn's turn to introduce herself.

"My name is Starlight Glimmer. It's nice to meet you." Her voice was nothing special. She sounded like a regular person. Twilight intervened at this point, giving her own two cents about Starlight.

"She's my student. I'm teaching her the magic of friendship," she said. She then decided to introduce the dragon herself, "and this is my number one assistant, Spike." The small dragon waved, and the humans waved back.

The yellow pegasus had been slowly hiding more and more with each glance of either Nate, Cameron, or Kendra. Kendra got curious.

"What's with that one?" She pointed to the yellow pegasus, getting a small "eep" out of her as she quickly hid behind what she could, which happened to Pinkie Pie. Cameron stopped himself from explaining it himself. He looked at Kendra and glared, keeping his mouth shut. She smirked. Cameron turned back around when Twilight began to talk.

"That's Fluttershy. She's timid around new ponies, and scared of most things," she said.

Cameron sighed in relief, able to keep quiet. He looked over the crowd and began to introduce himself and his friends. "I'm Cameron, the person to my right is Nate, and the other one to my left is Ken."

"Kendra," she corrected. "My name is Kendra."

"Not to me," Cameron said. "To me, you are Ken, forever, and always. Even after your inevitable, horrible, and satisfying death." Kendra glared at Cameron, and he stared back with his unrelenting gaze.

"You wanna fight?"

"You know I do and will."

"Well, don't because I don't want to."

Cameron clicked his tongue and muttered an expletive under his breath just loud enough for Kendra and Nate to hear. Nate snickered as Kendra put a hand on her chest in mock insecurity.

"You wound me. You know that?" Kendra asked.

"I'm not wounding you enough," Cameron replied. He then fake rushed at Kendra, trying to provoke her. She put up her defenses and backed up behind Nate. Cameron stopped and stuck up his middle finger and mouthed the words "I hate you" before turning around to the ponies, but still looking back at Kendra and Nate.

"At least Nate is my friend!" Kendra yelled back.

"No, I'm not," Nate said, chuckling.

The line made Cameron chuckle as he turned his head to look at the ponies and dragon, all giving them a strange look. Cameron's laughter died down, and he cleared his throat and stared back. It was an awkward ten seconds before Kendra spoke up from behind Nate, garnering everyone's attention.

"So, what now? Where do we go since we're, y'know?"

The humans look back to the ponies as they looked back at each other. They have a small, quiet conference and turn back to face the lost humans.

"We need to take you to our princesses to see what they think about this," Twilight said. Nate and Kendra looked confused.

"Didn't you say that you were a princess?" Nate asked.

Twilight nodded and added, "I am, but I recently became a princess. I don't know how to handle this situation. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have ruled over Equestria for multiple millennia. I want their opinion on what to do with you three. They'll know what to do."

A Day of Excitement

The Capital

“Hmm…” The tall, white unicorn pegasus hybrid, an alicorn as Cameron informed the other two, looked at the three humans with interest and concern. “We're not sure about what to do.” The seven ponies and one dragon were shocked.

The trek to Canterlot seemed longer to them than usual that day. Usually, it was either a fun-filled or pretty dull trip on the train, a brisk walk through the expansive city of Canterlot, and a leisurely stroll through the castle before gathering the courage to talk to the princesses. Today was far different. The three humans that had suddenly dropped into their new surroundings were very distracted and distracting. They weren't energetic as usual; they would be a bit behind the group of ponies even though they were moving at a considerably slower pace for the urgency of the situation.

The three humans gawked and spun their heads around every which way moving through the town of Ponyville—the town they just happened to find themselves near—and pointed out many things that they found similar and different to their world. It was like they were on a small tour with a lousy tour guide. Multiple times the ponies would find them stopped, staring at something and had to get them back on track and get them to move again only to find a group of ponies in front of them, wide-eyed at the spectacle. This would only waste more time getting to the train station.

The ponies at the train station, while very cooperative, still gave the ponies problems by getting distracted by the chatty, strange creatures a few mere feet behind the Princess of Friendship. They looked the humans with a mix of fear and curiosity, spending more time looking at them than helping the princess and her friends get tickets and on to the train. This slightly irritated the ponies escorting the attention-grabbing humans to the capital, but they let it pass, considering the situation. By the time the train was headed to their destination, the mares were tired. Cameron, Nate, and Kendra, on the other hand, were as talkative as ever, Cameron leading the conversations. Occasionally, Cameron and Kendra would argue about nothing while Nate listened and laughed at their antics.

Walking through Canterlot was similar to Ponyville's experience; the humans sauntered taking in the sights, occasionally stopping at the windows of stores to look inside, and unintentionally gathered a crowd of ponies that watched from a distance. Twilight and the others continued to keep the humans on track as they finally made it to the castle. The only problem was the guards at his point. Not knowing what Cameron, Kendra, and Nate were, they instantly put up their weapons, halting the tiring ponies' progress. Twilight had to explain to them the reason for their visit and the urgency of the matter. The rest of the ponies nodded their heads with everything she says. The guards understood and let them pass, allowing the mares, with humans in tow, walk to the princesses' thrown room.

"Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. We need your help," Twilight called as the large group entered. The tall white and medium-dark navy blue alicorns looked at Twilight and the ponies and then to Nate, Kendra, and Cameron, stopping, her eyes widening a little.

"Humans," Celestia said, surprised. she and her sister stared at the humans who waved back at her.

"Exactly," Twilight spoke up, " but they aren't the same as the ones as the humans in the mirror world."

"Different how?" Luna, the dark blue alicorn, asked.

"These humans are extremely similar in looks and color tone, their clothes don't seem to represent a cutie mark, if they have one, and they lack any magical presence. In Canterlot High, magic wasn't prevalent, but it still existed in various ways. These humans don't have anything of the sort. They are truly devoid of magic," Twilight explained. Celestia nodded, taking in the information and looked at her sister, who looked even more confused now.

"If these humans are devoid of magic, how did they get to Equestria?" Luna asked, staring back at the humans. Cameron, Kendra, and Nate shrug in response.

After Twilight explained what the humans had told them, Celestia and Luna deliberated quietly in front of their small, tired audience. The revelation that the rulers of Equestria since just about its creation was as unsure as the newly minted Princess of Friendship and the rest of the Elements of Harmony and Starlight Glimmer sent them into a small spiral as they finally sat down in shock.

While the ponies gathered their thoughts, Cameron, Kendra, and Nate took the time to look around the room and the details of the windows, Nate and Kendra out of genuine curiosity, and Cameron out of knowing enthusiasm. The window art of the room caught their eyes in particular.

"What are their names?" Celestia's voice came softly but firmly, shaking the trio of otherworldly wanderers out of their observational trance.

"Hmm? Oh. Cameron." Cameron raised his hand.

"Nate." Nate tilted his head slightly up.

"Kendra"

"Ken," Cameron interrupted. He looked at Kendra and smirked mischievously. Kendra glared at Cameron and looked at the princesses with a smile.

"My name is Kendra," she said in a strained voice, keeping her smile.

"Ken," Cameron said quickly after a short pause.

"Oh my god! Are we going to do this every time?" Kendra practically shouted at Cameron. The sudden shift in volume startled the ponies in the room. Cameron just stared, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Until you accept the name or I get bored with it," he replied. Kendra narrowed her eyes at Cameron.

"You are a horrible person," she said

"Says the demon inhabiting a human's body," Cameron shot back. Nate chuckled behind him.

Celestia cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the bickering humans. She waited until she was sure that they were listening. "I think the only thing we can do right now is to find out a way to get them back to their universe, that is the top priority for right now," she paused to look at her audience, then continued. "For now, these three will need a place to stay. Twilight," Celestia's former student, straightened posture hearing her name, "Your castle should be enough. I know that you are also boarding Starlight Glimmer, but I think that three more additions shouldn't be too much of a hassle, hopefully."

Twilight sighed slightly, a little unsure of these humans and their relationship, but agreed nonetheless. The castle was indeed big enough. It had enough rooms to board a sizable chunk of the residents of Ponyville if needed. It was quite lonely the first few months with just Spike, and Starlight had helped a little with that, so adding more residents is readily welcome, but if these humans couldn't live well together, it could become a problem.

"I call bunking with Nate!" Cameron shot out, raising his hand. Nate turned and looking flattered.

"Really?" he asked.

"Ye," Cameron said, nodding at his friend. Nate smiled.
The group of ponies and humans didn't stay much longer. Princess Celestia told them the current plan on how to get the three back to their respective universe. She asked Twilight to find anything she could about multi-dimensional magic from her library. Meanwhile, She and Princess Luna would look in their downtime between duties. Soon after, the humans picked up their bags, and the group left back to Ponyville. Moving back was faster than going to Canterlot. It was because the most curious of the group had quieted their curiosity on the way, and the ponies were now a little less interested and slightly more used to seeing the unfamiliar beings, now deciding to observe from afar.

When everybody got back to Ponyville, it was little past midday, and the mares, all having separate responsibilities, went their different ways, wishing luck to Twilight and Starlight. They waved goodbye and ushered their temporary castle guests back to Twilight's castle. Once inside, the two turned around in the foyer. They gestured to the castle around them and spoke in unison.

"Welcome to your new temporary home."

Starting a routine

The Castle

The three humans stood at the entrance of Twilight's castle, looking at the massive interior while the Princess of Friendship and her apprentice welcomed them. They were dumbfounded. The castle was gigantic. The ceilings were high, the hallways were long, and the rooms were spacious. Just being in the doorway was a little overwhelming to them. Living in a castle was nothing more than a fantasy to the teens less than a day ago, and now they were going to be in one in a different universe with two ponies and a baby dragon.

The looks of awe and wonder on the faces of the new residents of Ponyville put a small smile on Twilight's face. Starlight chuckled a little. Watching the humans made Twilight realize that they still had their bags on their backs. She compared the ones on their backs with their saddlebags taking a mental note to ask about that later. For now, however, it was rude to have them just standing there with their bags.

"You three should put your bags down. Starlight and I can put them in your room while you get accustomed to your new home," Twilight said. The new castle guests smiled and set down their bookbags and laptop bags next to them; a purple glow quickly engulfed the bags a second later. The bags lifted into the air, and Twilight walked off with Starlight. "We can give you a tour of the castle after we rest a little. You can explore, but try not to get lost," Twilight said.

The humans didn't get lost entirely. Cameron led the way, taking seemingly random turns and moving through rooms and they got to a dead-end, Cameron retraced their steps and only got a little confused on the way back. His friends didn't help much, second-guessing and questioning where they were what they brought to the table. They eventually got back to the main foyer after taking several wrong turns and slight detours due to curiosity.

Spike was waiting for the three to get back. He was a little unsure of himself, having to lead the three humans around the castle for their tour, alone. Spike was one for a bit of small talk now and again, with both strangers and friends, but he didn't know how to approach them. The only humans Spike had talked to were his friends' counterparts and Sunset Shimmer. He's never had any other conversations with humans. He knew he would have to get over that for the tour because he had no help at that moment. Twilight was already working on her assignment given by Princess Celestia, and once she starts, it's hard for her to stop. He would ask Starlight for help, but she's taking a nap. It was all up to Spike to lead the way with creatures that were two to three times his height. No big deal. They seemed pretty nice, just not to each other, but that didn't matter at the time.

When the humans got back and saw Spike, they each waved slightly at him, calming his nerves ever so slightly. Cameron, the tallest of the three humans, looked down at the purple, baby dragon and smiled.

"We're ready to get this show on the road," he said. the two behind him nodded, and the tour began.

The tour was much more manageable than Spike expected. Nate, Cameron, and Kendra listened carefully, paid attention, and even laughed at a few of his jokes. It was by the end of the tour where he would show the newcomers their rooms; Spike got a little curious about the clothes they were wearing.

"So, what's going on with your clothes?" He asked.

They each looked down at themselves. The humans were each wearing simple blue jeans and basic sneakers with t-shirts. The t-shirt designs of their shirts were what caught Spike's attention. Kendra's shirt depicted a pizza and a hot-dog getting into a boxing match with the text "Food Fight!" above the picture. Nate was wearing a regular striped shirt; nothing special was on it, which slightly confused Spike. Cameron's shirt just had text that said "Ford since 1903" in a fancy font.

"What about them?" Nate asks back.

"What do your shirts mean?" he clarified.

The three of them stopped and looked at each other. They thought about it for a second before answering.

"They don't really have a meaning," Kendra stated blandly. Nate and Cameron nodded. Spike was taken aback for a second, confused.

"They don't?" He asked again, looking for clarification.

"There is no inherent meaning in our clothes," Nate began," they're just designs that we like. Sometimes they can mean something because of the reason it was made, but usually, the designs are just for fun." Nate looked at the small dragon for a reaction. Spike looked a little confused but decided to give up on understanding the fashion industry. Clothes in Equestria had the same function, it seemed. They were strictly for the style, used for special events or protective gear. Spike had seen the casual clothes in the human universe, and they all had to do with the wearer's special talent, so having casual clothes that didn't mean anything in terms of your ability was a bit of a stretch to him. He would have to talk to Twilight about it later.

At last, they reached their rooms. Kendra's bedroom was spacious. A bed, wardrobe, dresser: that was it. The bed was previously adjusted to fit a human comfortably. She stepped inside and looked around, seeing her bags sitting next to the bed. She nodded in approval after looking throughout the room, which didn't take her long. Across the hall was Nate and Cameron's room. It was similar to Kendra's room: spacious, had a wardrobe and dresser, bags next to their previously adjusted beds. The only difference was the beds. Where Kendra's bed was made to fit one person and some breathing room, to fit both beds, the two beds were turned into a bunk-bed, to the delight of both Cameron and Nate.

"I call top bunk!" Cameron called. He quickly moved to the ladder and climbed to his bunk. Nate walked over and sat down on his bed. He felt the mattress and smiled at Spike.

"Hey, Spike. Thanks for the tour, man. this place is going to take some time getting used to, but the tour really helped." Nate laid back, letting his body slightly bounce on the mattress. The other two put their two cents in while Spike smiled back at the humans. Nate suddenly sat up, quickly adding, “Oh, and tell Princess Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer? –Was that it? Anyway, tell them we said, 'thank you,' too."

Spike nodded as he left the humans alone, smiling. The sincerity in Nate's voice completely removed the doubts Spike had toward the humans. They were decent people, at least. They had manners and weren't shy to show kindness. They may act strange to each other, but they were at least friendly to strangers, especially since their situation was incredibly unique.

Twilight had been working hard at finding a solution for the 2-3 hours they had been back at home. She meticulously looked through each book, trying to find a hint of a solution. A small knock on the door didn't break her concentration, knowing it had to be either Spike or Starlight knocking to see her. Reflexively, she answered the knock with a "Come in," not looking up from the book she was scanning through. Spike slowly came into the library, standing by the door.

"Hey Twilight," he greeted, looking at the stack of books beside her. The pile was slightly taller than the last time he was in the room that day. "Make any progress?"

Twilight sighed and put a bookmark in between the pages before closing the book. She turned to look at her Number One Assistant. " Nothing so far," she started, “how was the tour?"

"It was good. They're actually pretty cool," Spike replied. "I actually just came to check on you and tell you that they said, 'thank you,' so I'll be off. Gotta help Rarity with gem collection and stuff. See ya."

"Bye, Spike," Twilight called back. With that, Spike slipped back out of the library. Twilight smiled softly and quickly went back to work.

Nate and Cameron laid down in their bunks, both looking up, but sharing different views. Cameron stared at the ceiling, trying to take in as much detail of the blue gem that made up the castle as possible before breaking the silence. "Hey, Nate?" Cameron called down.

"Hmm?" Nate, who was lost in thought, snapped back to his strange new reality. He was staring up at the mattress and the wooden frame that kept the bed holding his best friend above him. He didn't try to focus on anything, instead opting to focus on nothing as he thought.

"You know that forest we appeared in front of?" Cameron called back down to his friend.

"Yeah. What about it?" Nate answered. Cameron called back down, moving to the edge of the bed. He looked down at his friend, a certain glint in his eye.

"I'm going to explore it tomorrow."

Discord

The First Morning

Nate looked at his friend, half confused and half worried. He knew Cameron to be a little adventurous, taking new ways to class, trying new foods on a whim, trying to climb trees, small things like that. Though, sometimes Cameron's choices had worried him and others before they, generally turned out, working out for him. At worst, Cameron would get scrapes and bruises, but that was the extent of his adventures negatively affecting him. An entire forest was a whole different story.

"You sure about this? I mean, I know you usually know what you're doing, but that forest looked pretty big. You sure you can handle it?" Nate watched as Cameron playfully scoffed off the question.

"I've been in forests plenty of times by my house before we moved. I've even been through the woods next to the school. I'm fine. Plus, I know this place. Granted, my knowledge of this world isn't the best, but I've seen what's in the forests a few times before. I have the most knowledge here, and I'm going to use it." Cameron's determined face beamed at Nate, who mulled over his words.

"I can't argue with that logic," Nate started, “Do you want us to go with?" Nate asked. Cameron shook his head.

"Nah, I got this," Cameron reassured. Nate nodded with a small "hmph" and went back to staring at nothing and thinking, now with an emphasis on Cameron and his safety.

The humans stayed in their rooms until it was time for dinner--their first meal in Equestria. It was awkward at first. The differences in their diets became an obstacle when it came to what the humans would eat, but they eventually settled on some fruits and veggies that they could eat. They made small talk in between bites, and soon, the Moon had risen, and everyone went to sleep.

The next morning the ponies and dragon were up early, making breakfast and starting the day right. Starlight greeted Spike in the hallway while she went to check on the new house guests, making sure they were getting settled in nicely and had a sweet sleep. She checked Kendra's room to find that she wasn't there. Starlight assumed that she went to the bathroom earlier and hadn't gotten back, so she checked the boys' room. In the boys' room, she found all three of them, exhausted, sitting on the ground next to a metal rectangle with a screen, chatting, or more like silently arguing, about something she couldn't quite hear. The sight slightly unnerved her. She swallowed and spoke up. "G-good morning, guys."

The three turned their heads in surprise. They didn't hear Starlight come in, and they were all slightly on edge for the past few hours. Due to all the excitement and confusion, and various other emotions of the previous day, the three humans each forgot to turn off their alarms for school the next day. Cameron's first alarm went off at 4:20 A.M. He never took that alarm seriously and instinctively turned it off without thinking about his second alarm. Nate had begun to wake up when his alarm went off at 5:00 A.M. Cameron had woken up again, but his consciousness was still lagging, allowing him to be annoyed by the sound of Nate's alarm. He quickly went back to sleep for the next thirty minutes until the reason the 4:20 alarm exists started going off. By that point, both parties were fully awake and thoroughly annoyed. They both groaned and moaned as they sat up. Kendra's alarm went off a little later than both of the boys' at 5:45 A.M. With the room being similar but emptier than her own at home; it took her a minute to remember she wasn't at home as she stumbled to find her stuff in the dark. Kendra, now not being able to go back to sleep, left her room, and heard Nate and Cameron speaking to each other. She knocked on their door.

"Who is it?" She heard Nate call.

"Kendra," she replied. She didn't have to wait long for a response.

"Go away!" Cameron called out. Kendra rolled her eyes and walked in, much to Cameron's dismay. She shielded her eyes as she walked into the room.

"You guys aren't naked, are you?" Kendra asked while she probed in front of her to make sure she bump into anything.

"No." Nate's voice this time spoke out. She uncovered her eyes to find the two boys huddled around Nate's laptop, staring at her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head.

Cameron made eye contact with Kendra before saying, "We have a problem." What transpired was a long, winded, and highly argumentative conversation on how they would use their electronics during their stay in the land of Equestria. With no outlets, the three couldn't charge their phones and laptops. On top of that, they couldn't use the internet or cell service either, so they would have to resort to using the apps that didn't require the internet to entertain them. Altogether, they had three phone chargers and three laptops and three phones and three laptop chargers. The laptop chargers were virtually useless, but the laptops were beneficial. They hatched an idea and planned to keep them having their phones on them for as long as possible in Equestria.

"So, we're all in agreement on the plan, right?" Cameron asked after their two-hour deliberation. Nate nodded, but Kendra still looked annoyed.

"Why does my laptop have to be used first? We're gonna use all of our eventually, so there's no point in having to be mine. If I volunteered mine to go first, it would be different, but you decided that my laptop would be the first." Kendra set her gaze across from her to Cameron, looking for an answer.

"Our laptops have more things of use and importance and entertaining. What if we have a worst-case scenario and need something to entertain us immediately, whose laptop are we going to use? Not yours. Nate has games and music. I have images, manga, and music. What do you have?" Cameron crossed his arms and tilted his head as if daring her to answer even though they already knew. Kendra wasn't going to back down quickly, though.

"I'll have you know that I-"

"G-good morning, guys." Starlight interrupted, much to everyone's surprise. The humans whipped their heads around, catching Starlight's unnerved gaze. On instinct, they tried to act natural, but, with nothing to lean on, they just sat there and stared back with awkward smiles plastered upon their faces. They stared at each other, Starlight waiting for a response and the humans not understanding why she was standing the doorway until Nate realized what Starlight had said.

"Oh. Uh...good morning." Nate's late reaction rang in the room and settled. Cameron and Kendra tried not to face-palm, realizing too late what the proper response was. The silence after was unbearable. Everyone in this exchange of awkward silence looked up and down, not wanting to look at each other. Everyone wanted to break the silence, but no one knew how to do so without being even more awkward. Starlight wanted to get out of there fast so, because she couldn't think of anything to say, she slowly backed out of the doorway, closing the door as she did so with her magic. She stood looking at the door, mentally berating herself for not trying to make the situation less awkward before walking off to the kitchen, failing to make sense of what she saw.

The humans, on the other hand, stared at the door, mentally reeling from what had just transpired. They soon just let the moment pass, laughing at themselves about how bad they are in situations like that.

After eating a quick breakfast, the humans went back to their rooms, rechecking the plan to make sure that it was understood and followed. Cameron reached inside his gym bag and grabbed his spare shirt. Luckily, he hadn't used it too much in gym class yet as the workouts were relatively light and manageable, so putting it on didn't feel uncomfortable.

"You out?" Nate, seeing Cameron change shirts, inquired. Cameron nodded and begun his walk to the Everfree Forest. He made it out of the castle with no problems. Twilight and Starlight were hard at work with research while Spike was out helping Rarity by looking after cat Opalescence while she was gone for the evening. Walking through Ponyville wasn't even a significant problem, either. The inhabitants of Ponyville acted similarly to the day before, this time more confused why he was outside by himself than the sight of him. Still, they figured if the Princess let him out, he wasn't dangerous and let Cameron be as he walked past the edge of town, back to where he and his friends landed with no recollection of how they got there. He was going to start his side-quest in his call to adventure stage in his self-proclaimed heroes journey. He thought this as he passed Fluttershy's house and stood at the entrance of the Everfree Forest.

Calm Before the Storm

The Forest

Cameron looked at the forest in front of him. The entrance that was bathed in Celestia's radiant sunlight quickly faded to darkness. It frightened him a bit. He knew what to expect from the forest. The manticores, cockatrices, timber wolves, dragons, hydras, etc. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, thinking about the dangers and what would happen if something were to happen to him during this excursion. How long would it take for them to find him? If he was severely injured, could he make it back? How would they react? Questions such as these and worse spun around in his head, filling his brain with uncertainty and doubt. He became a little more scared and weighed the possibility of just turning around and leaving. He then exhaled. His mind cleared. His nerves steadied, and he opened his eyes, staring at the entrance of the Everfree Forest, filled with a new sense of adventure and determination.

He took his first steps into the forest. The Everfree seemed to engulf him, letting seamlessly him pass into the darkness. The entrance had made it seem like the forest was pitch black, even during the day, but a few scattered rays of light manage to penetrate the dense foliage, allowing him to see, however, dim it was.

Letting the forest around him settle, Cameron got a chill. The air was different than that of the rest of Equestria. Strangely, Cameron felt the atmosphere was more natural, most likely from the knowledge that the weather everywhere except the Everfree Forest was manufactured and processed. The feeling of an area that was most like his home somewhat calmed him, but he stayed on his guard. He might have known what was lurking in the shadows, but not when they might pop out to attack. In the forest back home, one might have had the chance to see a deer or, more commonly, a squirrel searching for something. Here in the Everfree, from the many appearances on the show, the many creatures weren't afraid to show themselves.

After about eight minutes of walking, the Everfree started showing its true colors. It began with random tree roots seemingly popping up in front of his legs, causing Cameron to lose his footing and almost trip several times, with only luck stopping him from falling. Then the feeling of eyes watching him from the shadows crept up his spine. He shivered, quickly turning his head around, trying to find out what it may have been. He found nothing, of course. He knew that. He couldn't help himself to check. It was instinctual. He lingered behind him, the entrance no longer visible. He took another deep breath and continued deeper into the forest. It got progressively darker as he walked deeper and deeper, him catching glimpses of eyes in his periphery, sending chills through his body.

Four more minutes of walking and the trees and shrubs were nothing but darker shadows against a black backdrop. Cameron carefully navigated through the many florae, annoyed at the decision he had made about a minute prior. The ambiance and noises started causing Cameron to get increasingly paranoid, so he took out his phone and put in his right earbud, letting the other earbud swing by his side. The swinging was what annoyed him the most. The left speaker blew out, so putting it in his ear was pointless to him, but that led to gravity having its way and periodically pulling the right earbud out of Cameron's ear. He hated that but was too stubborn to put the broken earbud in his ear anyway to maximize comfort. Cameron did see an upside to the situation, though. While the left earbud was broken, that meant he had an ear open to hear for potential danger.

He continued walking to the rhythm of his music, singing quietly along the way. He could feel the curious stares in the dark intensify. The number of glances to the side to see if he was, indeed, being watched increased. This time he would catch golden eyes for a fraction of a second that would seem to get closer after each check. He quickened his pace, wondering why he didn't just turn around and go back out; though, he knew why. He was looking for something that would send him back. He didn't know what it was yet, but he would know when he found it. And he found it about thirty minutes later.

A vast chasm a few hundreds of feet deep sat in the way of Cameron and the rest of his adventure. He tentatively walked up to the edge and looked down. A thick fog blocked his view of the bottom. He sat down gently at the edge and looked at the of the scenery captivated by the sight. A castle in the distance standing above a myriad of trees in a beautiful sea of green. He looked down again as his legs dangled off the edge. For a split second, he thought about jumping but quickly dismissed the thought as he needed to see his friends again and let them know he was safe. For their sake.

He slowly got up to make sure he didn't fall and took one last look in front of him toward the castle.

"Maybe one day," he thought aloud before turning around to head back home. A figure stood in his way, however. A character that Cameron recognized immediately upon matching its gaze. The reddish-brown body, the haphazard collection of limbs, and the distinct air about the figure as if to say, "I'm the best." Discord stood in front of Cameron, smiling.

"I finally found you," his voice, etched with mischief and a sort of false friendliness rang out. Cameron's confusion was self-evident. The draconequus suddenly appearing left him reeling.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Cameron's questions caused Discord's smile to widen slightly. The human's feigned innocence in the ladder was not fooling him.

"You can drop the act. I know that you know who and what I am. You may be able to trick the rest of the ponies into thinking you were just dragged here, but I know exactly who you three are. The other two don't know too much about this dimension, so that makes you their de facto leader. Aren't you excited?" Discord laughed while Cameron looked even more confused at what he had just heard, slowly putting the dots together.

"Was it you who brought us here?" Discord laughed even harder, solidifying Cameron's suspicions.

"I knew you were quick, but did I let too much slip? Oh well, no bother. My fun hasn't been spoiled yet. Cameron, show me what entertaining subjects humans can be," Discord stated as a door materialized in thin air. He opened it and called back. "Oh, and before I go, I've got an important tea party with Fluttershy to attend to, so I won't be providing any of my many wonderful protective services, so good luck." And with that, the door and the draconequus disappeared before Discord even crossed the threshold, leaving Cameron to stare at the forest digesting his last words. Magical protection? Why would Discord go out of his way to tell him that? Was it for jokes? Did he want a reaction? Cameron just stood at the opening; he came out of preparing himself.

He took several deep breaths and ran. Almost immediately, he could tell the difference. The forest seemed more unyielding, and after about a minute, he heard what he feared he would. Steady, deep, heavy thumping slowly, but surely getting closer from behind. A low growl sounded, and the thumping got faster. Cameron didn't look back and only picked up his pace. He was weaving between trees and hopping over branches and rocks, but never made any sharp turns. He knew that was a dumb decision: He was more agile and able to outmaneuver whatever was behind him if he were to serpentine, but how was he going to find his way back? He knew the main reason anyone would get lost in the woods was that people would unconsciously stray far off course. If he did that, he would only be stuck with whatever was chasing after him and much more. Running in a relatively straight line was the best option since his path into the forest was mainly straight, but that led to more chances to be caught.

The trees slowed it down a little but not by much. The sound of trunks snapping and toppling overfilled the Everfree, and the massive footprints were getting heavier. Cameron's heart pounded. His stomach started to cramp. Sweat poured down his face. He was becoming exhausted. He fought to quicken his pace. He only had two things racing through his head: don't look back and keep it up for a few more minutes. He continued straight, tripping over tree roots and small holes in the ground, keeping his balance, but falling behind, the heavy stomping turning into a hard gallop as a roar sounded in the brief quiet. Cameron ran faster. It was getting closer, Cameron worked up the nerve to quicken his pace using longer strides in an attempt to save energy. His breathing was ragged. His heart pounded. Cameron pushed through it. He knew he only had a little more to go. Twenty minutes and gone by in a flash and Cameron finally saw the first glimpse of the path with the snarling beast not giving an inch behind him. It was finally time.

Cameron burst out of the foliage adjacent to the path and took a hard-right turn. A second later, the sound of multiple trees being shattered and falling to the ground followed, and the heavy stomping turned to heavy flapping. Cameron, hearing the flapping and seeing the light let out one final push and started to sprint as fast as he could. The path was clear and straight; his body pushed their limits. He wavered he quickly outran the beast chasing after him and bound into Celestia's sunlight yet again.

He drops to his knees and starts panting, gathering every breath he can muster. His stomach churned, and his heart pounded as if it trying to break out of a cage. Bile quickly rose up through his body, and he almost vomited right there on the spot, but he held it back. Sweat drenched his upper body as his tired arms struggled to keep his body off the dirt path. He quickly looked back at the Everfree to see a manticore lumbering again into the depth of the forest. He smiled and laid down, staring at the sky, the adrenaline slowly leaving his body. His breathing got slower deeper as his heart gradually got back to an average pace. His body was covered in scratches and cuts, his shirt torn in multiple places, but Cameron didn't care. It was over. He was able to relax and enjoy the clouds that laid stationary in the sky.

Author's Note

Hey, sorry about this coming so late. The stereotypical school reasoning and not-so-stereotypical general laziness kept me from finishing this for so long

Raining on the Parade

The Market

After Cameron left, Nate and Kendra hung out in their rooms listening to music. Soon, due to sheer boredom, Kendra got up and walked into the boys' room for a second time. She looked toward the bunk bed only to find Nate. He was lying on his bunk with his headphones on, looking back with a confused look on his face.

"What happened to knock?" He sat up and looked at the relatively short intruder. She gave no response and instead asked a question of her own.

"Where's the asshole?"

"He left to go explore the woods. He should be back in a few hours." Nate continued to stare.

"Isn't that dangerous?" She asked.

"He said he had explored the woods before, and he knows what to expect from this place, so I think he's fine," Nate said, looking back down at his phone.

Kendra took in the information and shrugged. "I can't argue with that logic," she said before looking around the bland room, their backpacks and Nate's shoes on the floor, and the top bunk's disheveled blankets the only things out of place.

"I'm bored," she whined. Nate rolled his eyes.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," she huffed, "Something." Nate raised an eyebrow before gesturing to the still-open door.

"Why don't you follow Cameron into the woods?" he joked.

Kendra shook her head feverishly. The thought of her alone anywhere with Cameron sent chills up her spine and almost made her sick. "No way. He'd probably kill me." Nate nodded, knowing something terrible would happen if they were alone for even a short amount of time.

They sat around the room doing nothing, having sporadic chit-chat, but the boredom wouldn't go away. The silence got so bad for Kendra that she asked Nate to play his music out loud. They shared similar tastes in music, so she knew she would like it. She wasn't disappointed, bobbing her head to the music and mouthing the lyrics, though not understanding the language. The music staved off the boredom for about twelve minutes, but the music was stopped for the time being to preserve battery life. It only took one or two minutes for Kendra to start groaning out of boredom.

"Let's do something," she moaned in mock agony, "I’m gonna die of boredom at this rate. My brain needs sustenance."

Nate just looked at her patiently. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know, but you have to do it with me."

"What? Why?"

"I need interaction. I am a needy person."

Nate rolled his eyes and blew off the statement. "Interact with the ponies."

"Human interaction," Kendra whined.

"That's racist," Nate muttered under his breath before speaking up once again. "From what it seems like, ponies are just four-legged people who have magic and can fly." A snort of disapproval filled the otherwise silent room.

"It's not the same."

Siting up from his bunk, Nate looked at Kendra, confused. "Oh? And how do you know?"

"How would you?" She retorted, "It's only been, like, a day, and neither of us has had an actual conversation with a pony. How would you know more than me?"

"That doesn't...," Nate lets out an exasperated sigh. "That doesn't answer my question. I asked about how you knew talking to a pony is different from talking a person. Yeah, the height difference and the fact that they are ponies will take some time to get used to, but I bet the experience is close to the same."

"It just won't be the same. I feel it in my gut," Kendra exclaims, patting her stomach for emphasis.

"You wanna bet? Let's test that out." Starting to put on his socks, Nate glanced over to Kendra, who was waiting on his next words. "We go out for a bit. See the town. Try to interact with the locals. If that doesn't work then, boom, we can just head back here and die of boredom while we wait for Cameron to get back from his 'adventure.'"

Kendra couldn't find any faults in the plan, and she didn't want to stay in the room any longer. Her decision came quickly as she started to put on her shoes.

The market was bright and colorful in Ponyville under Celestia's beaming sun. The hustle and bustle of ponies walking through the streets, doing business, having a casual conversation, filled the air, or it would be if all the ponies had not stopped to stare at the two strange creatures standing in the middle of the street staring back. The ponies weren't particularly afraid of the creatures as they were seen walking with Princess Twilight Sparkle and the elements of harmony the day before and one of the three that morning, but those were passing glances. Some ponies did crowd around them to ask questions when Princess Twilight was escorting them, but they never got the word out of them. They didn't even know if they could understand each other, so having two of them standing in the middle of the market with no supervision confused them to no end. The thought of not knowing what they were capable of also put them on edge. So, they stared.

Deer in headlights. That's what Nate and Kendra would have described the large mass of ponies staring at them. The similarities were uncanny, species being the only noticeable difference. They looked around at their surroundings, trying not to make eye contact. The market spanned several streets with carts and stalls set up in a sort of organized chaos that only worked because the system had been that way for a while. With each booth and cart being unique and colorful added with the fact that they never changed where they are located, suggested that the citizens of Ponyville had just learned where to look for what they were searching for despite the seemingly haphazard way the market was set up. A quick look up to the sky showed an expanse of blue clear of clouds as far as the eye could see, but that quiet beauty wasn't enough to distract from the mass of about 4-foot sentient equines that surrounded them.

Nate was the first to look down, making eye contact with a gray mare with a side-swept black mane and tail wearing a pink bow tie. Her lavender eyes caught a small chuckle escape Nate's lips. She then watched him as he nudged Kendra with a smile on his face and pointed at her. The mare unconsciously trembled as Kendra also started to chuckle and whispered something to her friend. He muttered something back, and a small conversation ensued, too quiet to hear. It ended abruptly, with Nate pushing Kendra toward the now confused and frightened gray mare, telling her, "Go on. Do it" in a hushed manner. Reluctantly, she moves on her forward on her own after a few shoves and a death glare in Nate's direction, walking toward the mare with the pink bow tie. The mare backed up a little but stopped in either surprise or wonder when Kendra stopped before looking down. She cracked a nervous smile, too aware that everyone was waiting for her next move.

"Uh...Hey." The words hung in the stagnant air for a second, echoing in everyone' s ear canal, even though what she said was almost a whisper. Her voice was soft. The nervousness she exuded relaxed the crowd's high tension, and now they were caught up on Kendra speaking their language. Other animals speaking English weren't uncommon in Equestria, but the new creatures didn't seem like they were from Equestria or anywhere from their universe, so them speaking the same language was genuinely surprising.

"H-hi." The gray mare answered back tentatively.

"I, uh, like your bow tie," Kendra said meekly, looking anywhere but the mare's eyes.

A small smile crossed the mare's face. "Um...Thank you," she said, a bit of surprise in her voice. The crowd relaxed, and some even started to resume what they were doing before the two humans appeared. Nate walked up next to Kendra and looked down at the gray mare.

"Sorry about that awkwardness; we just wanted to come out and meet the locals, y'know we're new," he gave a brief pause, "I realize I probably scared you when I pointed and laughed, but I just find it a little funny that you were wearing nothing but a bow tie." Nate's voice was a stark contrast to Kendra's: confidence, clarity, a beautiful middle range, a little gruff but friendly. The mare's smile widened.

"Oh, it's no worries. I'm sorry for being so nervous around you—you being so tall and all." Now that the mare had a chance to talk, the two humans took note of her seemingly urban British accent: posh, and succinct. She chuckles as Nate and Kendra talk over each other while dismissing the apology. She spoke up again once they were done, "Ah! One must not forget their manners when meeting a new acquaintance. I am Octavia. It's a pleasure to meet you." Out of habit, Octavia extended her right hoof upwards--to account for the height difference. Nate and Kendra looked at each other and back to Octavia's outstretched hoof in confusion before shrugging, kneeling, and going for a handshake and individually introducing themselves.

The hoof/handshake hybrid was slightly uncomfortable. For Octavia, the grasp of fingers around her hoof was a new and exciting experience. It unnerved her slightly to have such long protrusions griping her hoof, but the human's grasps were gentle, so that made it more tolerable. For the humans, on the other hand, the experience was familiar, sparking that feeling that they got whenever a high-five turned into a turkey. It wasn't pleasant.

After quickly, but respectfully, pulling back each one's respective extremities, Octavia looks back up to the humans. "You said you two were new around here, right?" The humans both nodded. "That probably means you haven't had a proper tour of Ponyville yet."

"Yeah, we got here yesterday, so we only got to pass through twice," Nate said

"If that's the case, I can show you around. I was just passing through here while I was on my way back home. It's on the other side of town, so it won't be too much of a problem."

The humans looked at her in gratitude and accepted the impromptu tour. The town was bustling with ponies. Stallions and mares conducted business while colts and fillies played in the roads, only pausing to look at the humans who were enjoying their tour of the town. Octavia had taken the two humans all across the village to the most visited places in Ponyville. Sugarcube Corner, the center square by the mayor's office, miscellaneous stores, and took a couple of detours to see the school and Sweet Apple Acres where they had a quick conversation with Applejack on her way back to the farm.

The more time they spent together, the more the two humans not only got to understand the world around them, as they had a resident to throw general questions at, but they also got to know Octavia more. They learned about cutie marks, magic, societal norms, how earth ponies did anything with just her hooves, and how ponies played instruments. Octavia being a cello player, shocked the two, and from that, the humans and pony bonded over music in the time between their makeshift tour destinations.

After a lot of walking and talking, the tour guide and her dimensional tourists decided to take a break and sit by the fountain near the town hall. They collectively sit down on the fountain edge. Nate looked at the statue of the mare in the basin before looking down at the water. He hopped off the ledge patting and checking his front and back pockets. Sad that he found nothing, he looked over to Kendra. "Hey dumb question, but ya got any change on you? Matter of fact, do you even have pockets?" he asked. Kendra checked her jeans and shook her head.

"No. Why?"

Nate sat down again and lightly cursed under his breathe. " Ah, dammit, I wanted to make a wish," He replied, somewhat dejected before sighing, "Oh well."

In the silence of the moment with no further questions for Nate, Octavia took this opportunity to ask something that had been weighing on her mind for a little bit. "Um, excuse me for asking, but weren't there three of you when you passed through yesterday?"

"Yeah. His name's Cameron. He's a real piece of work," Kendra answered.

"Where is he, if you don't mind me asking," Octavia asked again.

"He said he was out exploring, right?" Kendra tossed the question over to Nate.

"Yeah, he went exploring."

"Exploring where?" Octavia again, but before Nate could answer, he saw a tall, dark humanoid figure lumbering over to them. From the looks of it was breathing hard and sweating profusely.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Nate pointed over to Cameron, who looked almost dead from exhaustion but had a big smile plastered across his face.

Author's Note

Sorry for being so late again. Tell me how i'm doing so far give me any and all criticism. Thanks for reading.

Equestria's Shadow

The Second Morning

"You did what?!" The loud outburst from Octavia caused some ponies to turn their heads in confusion. An apologetic look from her sent the message that it was nothing to worry about, and the ponies went their separate ways. She looked back at the human sitting on the fountain edge covered in scratches, dirt, and sweat with deep concern. They had just met, and already his actions prompted a genuine sense of worry. "You went into the Everfree Forest," She reiterated, incredulously. Cameron just looked to the side, sheepishly chuckling to himself. He would tell Nate and Kendra about the manticore and, more importantly, Discord later that day, but he left out that information for the fear that poor Octavia would have a heart attack on the spot as the Everfree Forest was already a big point of concern for the ponies of Ponyville.

Cameron looked over to Nate. "Anyway, you said you were on a tour, how is it? Is it almost over because I don't want to walk too long."

Nate looked over towards Octavia. "It's up to her. She is the tour guide," he said. The two other humans looked over to their guide, who was regaining her composure.

"Well, it shouldn't be too much longer, just two more stops and then back to the castle."

"I think I can manage that," Cameron grunted while he got up. His legs were still a little weak, so it took a bit more effort for him to get up. He stumbled forward. Nate quickly stood up and went to support Cameron, but his friend stopped, still hunched over, and put up a finger before standing straight up and stretching. "I'm fine," he repeated twice, looking over at his friends.

Nate smacked Cameron's back. "Alright, ya, fuckin' idiot," he started, "let's get going."

They enjoyed the rest of the tour, going to some more shops and the Carousel Boutique before going back to the castle doors. The humans thanked their pony tour guide and walked into the castle foyer, the doors less heavy than they looked. Cameron, leading the pack, looked around and noticed all the doors he could see were either wide open or swinging themselves closed. Some small things, like plants, were knocked over, and random papers strewn on the floor stood out to him. He mentioned it to the others when they heard a faint cry of distress.

"AGH! Where are they?" The voice came from a very panicked Twilight Sparkle in the room ahead of them. A second voice rung out.

"I don't know. They've got to be somewhere. Let's search outside." This voice came from an equally panicked Starlight Glimmer trying to be reassuring. The humans looked at each other and walked forward into the room while the two mares kept trying to rationalize where whatever they were looking for went. The thought of the ponies possibly looking for them, as they never told them they were leaving the castle in the first place, hadn't come into their minds until they came face to face with the two. When Cameron walked through the door, it wasn't completely open, so when he pushed it out of the way, the door gave a weak squeak alerting the ponies of their presence. The two parties made eye contact, and the humans watched as the look of worry turned to ones of annoyance. They walked over and took a deep breath looking up at the formally missing party.

"And where were you?" Twilight's voice strained slightly. One look at her, and anyone could tell that she was trying to hold back her anger. Starlight stood about a foot behind her with a look of annoyed curiosity. It was apparent they had been looking for the humans, but for how long they didn't know. But at that moment, it was easy to know they were a little pissed.

"Out on an impromptu tour of the town," Nathan gulped. Twilight nodded, skepticism still her eyes as she looked over Cameron's scratches on his still sweaty arms and face.

"And what about you? Cameron, right? Where did all these fresh scratches come from?" Twilight interrogated.

"I was taking a walk in the forest. Wasn't really watching my step or where I was going, I guess," Cameron looked back a little sheepishly, trying to play it off as embarrassment. He knew she wasn't going to believe him, and her eye raise only proved he was right.

"Which forest? There's only one forest anywhere near the town," her face switched from skepticism to worry, "You aren't telling me you went to the forest near where we found you three, are you?" A small nod and a sheepish grin came from Cameron. "Alone?" Another nod. An exasperated sigh escaped Twilight's lips. She turned and paced around breathing. She couldn't rationally scold him. He was a visitor. He didn't know the dangers of the forest. Honestly, he got lucky. He must have stayed on the path, the scratches being stay branches or a misplaced step. He was sweating, so he had to been jogging and tripped.

"Did you at least follow the path?" she asked, turned away from Cameron.

"Nope," he chuckled in response. In that instance, Twilight whipped around to look at him. Despite being a cartoon pony that can exaggerate expressions, the face filled with worry and concern. Twilight gave Cameron reminded him of his mother. It was a type of look she would often make at Cameron after he ended up following his impulses without thoroughly thinking the situation out. Every time he wanted to do something, he tended to overlook whatever consequences were associated with it. It was a bad habit of his that got him into a lot of trouble at home. Many evenings were spent looking down at the floor as his mom lectured him about the importance of decision making and being mindful of others, making the same type of face. Seeing that type of face made him instinctively look down, and even though he was several feet taller than Twilight, he felt meek and smaller. Twilight noticed this shift in demeanor and sighed.

"It's incredibly dangerous to go in that forest, especially going off the path. Many of the creatures are very territorial and..." Twilight's voice seemed to become muffled as Cameron half listened. He had never heard this version of the "Make Better Decisions" speech, but he already knew the core message of what she was going to say from hearing, many like it in the past. He felt like he should interrupt and not have her waste her time telling him something he already knew, but he thought that would be too rude. He slowly looked over to his friends, who were standing on either side of him. They looked back in slight annoyance. They were dragged into this big lecture that Twilight somehow managed to weave into being about telling her or Starlight, or even Spike, where they were going before they leave. The speech would have been smaller if it weren't for Cameron's makeshift adventure, so of course, they were a little annoyed at their friend, but after seeing his apologetic face, their faces softened, and they gave a slight shrug. They were going to have to deal with it. It was somewhat like school in that regard. One person makes a mistake or a bad decision, and the whole class gets a talking to. They all go down with the ship.

A few minutes later, Twilight's lecture ended, and a weak "sorry" from the humans escaped from their lips. Twilight looked the new additions to their dimension once again. She sighed a sigh of mixed emotions and smiled softly, glad that her study subjects and possible friends were still safe.

"You said you went on a tour? Who took you? How do you like the town?" Starlight stepped next to Twilight and spoke up, feeling that the situation was cooled down. That was the only other time that day she had spoken to the strange creatures. The mention of the tour perked up the three up as they sang praises about the homeliness of the town. They mentioned Octavia and the acquaintanceship they had already acquired. Starlight and Twilight looked at each other a smiled. Their general safety still a worry, their carefree attitude, and bubbly nature reminded them of two others they knew that garnered the same concern from time to time.

A few minutes of talking about Ponyville and its citizens passed. Last laughs were had, and the humans finally retreated to their new rooms, Kendra staying the boys a little while longer. Through digging through his backpack, Nathan found a pack of playing cards, much to the enthusiasm of the other two. They played card games and waited for the day to pass.

The next morning, each of their alarms went off again, and the three of them woke up in a tired mess. Once they were fully awake, they went to the bathroom to freshen up, the only problem being the lack of toothbrushes and new clothes. They realized that they would need to go shopping. They all knew that they weren't going to find anywhere that sold clothes for them, but Cameron knew a place that might help. The Carousel Boutique. Rarity, being the resident seamstress, would most likely love to take on the challenge.

A small knock on the library's door caught Twilight's attention. It was still a little before seven. Any average pony wouldn't be up for another hour. Twilight had just woken up a short while ago herself, so she wondered who else in the castle would up and about. "Come in," she called, facing the entrance. The door creaked open a little to reveal Cameron's smiling face.

"Hey, Princess Twilight. Sorry, did I wake you?" Twilight shook her head and rubbed any remaining sleep out of her eyes.

"No, I was already up, and just Twilight is fine," she smiled, "What's going on?"

"Well, Nate, Ken, and I were wondering about where we could find some clothes. It's been three days, and we're starting to get tired of wearing the same thing, like an anime character."

Twilight didn't know what an "anime" was, and she didn't know what it was like wearing clothes for more than two days, but she could get the gist of what he was saying. She couldn't imagine wearing the same thing more than two days in a row after being active could be comfortable. She thought of the fashionista on the other side of town. "You could go see Rarity. You stopped by there yesterday on your impromptu tour, right?" Cameron nodded, and she continued, "She's the best candidate for helping you, though, she might not be awake yet. Why don't you wait a couple of hours before you head down there?" Cameron gave her thumbs up before thanking her, wishing her well on her studies, and leaving. Twilight smiled softly and turned back to her book. She was getting close to figuring out the spell, and she already had an idea of who the culprit might have been. She just needed another day to get all the details and another to confront the prime suspect.

Another hour passed, and Starlight joined Twilight with breakfast and tea. The humans stopped by, telling of their departure before walking to the Carousel Boutique. After much deliberation, it was decided that Kendra would be the one to lead the charge on talking to Rarity. The reason for this was poorly veiled laziness. Nathan had suggested that it would help bring Kendra out of her shell and be more communicative. The real reason Cameron had been doing much of the heavy lifting and talking since they had made it there and Kendra had done the least, so they felt it was Kendra's turn.

Kendra knocks on the door to the Carousel Boutique. It felt odd to her. She had never knocked on a door that was the same height as her. She backed up in anticipation as they heard the unicorn walking towards the door. The faint glow of magic appeared on the door.

"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but the boutique isn't going to- oh!" Rarity was wondering who would be at the boutique this early. Everypony in Ponyville knew her usual store hours. She looked at the three newcomers, and her thought was replaced with several others. It took her a second to remember their names as the one in front waved nervously. It was clear that one needed more social practice. "Um... Hello. How may I help you today?" They stood there staring at each other for a few seconds before one of the two in the back nudged Kendra.

"Oh, hey! Um. Twilight said you could help us with finding new clothes."

"Why, of course, darling. I love a challenge," Rarity said, smiling. She ushered the humans into the boutique. They all had to duck under the frame. Once inside, Rarity became incredibly giddy. "So, what do you need?" She asked with a widening smile. "This will surely expand my designing repertoire, working with humans." Cameron nudges Kendra.

"Uh... just stuff like we have on now, I guess. Shirts, jeans, socks, underwear?" She looked at the other two and got nods of approval.

"And we need quite a few pairs," Nathan chimed in. Rarity nods, looking at the three. She walks around them, eyeing the material and stitch work. She nods one more time.

"I'm going to need to take measurements and an article of each piece of clothing you need." The three humans looked at each other in response to the last part. They overlooked that possibility. A light argument about who went where and who was giving up what broke out and after a quick three minutes of deliberating, the measuring and clothing exchange could begin. For safety purposes, each person was given an individual curtain to sit behind while Rarity worked her magic. After about 20 minutes, Rarity came back with a change of clothes and a few more sets for each person. They changed into their new clothes and collectively sighed in satisfaction. The fit was just right, and the fabric felt just divine. They walk out from behind the curtains and look at each other. The basic designs of the shirts and jeans were the same, but a little color here or there and some other flourishes would be what made each set of clothes unique. Nathan walked up to Rarity and gave a slight bow.

"Thank you so much for the clothes, Rarity. Sorry that we can't pay you for your work."

"No, don't worry about it, darling. It was going to be free anyway. I was just helping out," Rarity dismisses, waving a hoof. Cameron put a hand on his chin and thought for a second.

"We should get jobs," Cameron said absentmindedly.

"What? Really?" Kendra asked as the three others in the room looked at Cameron.

"Well, yeah. We need some money and something to do while Twilight and Starlight find the spell to get us back home. Plus, I'm sure some ponies could use help only humans can provide. So Rarity, are their any shops looking for help?" Rarity thought for a second.

"Yes. There are a few shops. The music shop-"

"I call that one!" Nathan interrupted.

"Dammit! You fucker!" Cameron called out after him. Rarity cleared her throat loudly, giving the two dirty looks. She waited for a second, letting the humans give them her full attention before she continued.

"As I was saying, the music shop, Sugar Cube Corner was looking for help, and I always think Sweet Apple Acres could use a helping hand. Applejack also wouldn't mind."

The humans looked at each other, and their jobs were decided. Nathan would apply at the music store, Kendra would apply to Sugar Cube Corner, and Cameron would work at Sweet Apple Acres. Excited by the events that were about to happen, the three started chanting "Job hunt! Job hunt!" over and over as they left the boutique with their new clothes, thanking Rarity one last time.

Appleloosa's Fall

The Jobs

The chant lasted until the group got into the town square until they realized that they should probably drop off their new clothes in their rooms before going on a job hunt. After they took that quick pit stop, the job hunt chant was back in full swing, chanting the entire way back to the center of town. They parted ways, and the chant died down. Thanks to Octavia's tour, Nate and Kendra had the locations of the music store and SugarCube Corner, respectively fresh in their minds while Cameron headed in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

When Nate reached his destination, he peered through the window to see what the store was like. From where he stood, he could see rows of vinyl records sitting in the middle of the store with instruments, like violins, trumpets, and acoustic guitars lining the walls. He stood back and nodded, mentally approving of the quaint little store. In doing so, he finally noticed the help wanted poster in the bottom right corner of the window.

Finally, mentally prepared to ask for a job in a strange, new place, Nate opened the door to the store, welcomed by a bell chime. The cashier counter was located right next to the door, so the pony operating the counter noticed the human immediately. Nate looked back at the pony and gave a weary smile. At first glance, the white-coated, unicorn mare sort of rubbed him the wrong way. She was wearing headphones openly at work and wore sunglasses inside. The fact that she didn't take either of them off as he walked up to the counter also didn't sit well with him. It felt like she was rude in his eyes. The sunglasses also stopped him from being able to judge her reaction towards him as a being. He didn't know if she was frightened, curious, or confused, and that made trying to approach and talk to her even more difficult. Nate cleared his throat, hoping that would get her to remove her headphones. When she just stared at him through her magenta sunglasses, he sighed and started to talk.

"Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt, but I heard that you were looking for new hires, and I was interested in the job. I'm only going to be here about a month, but I don't just want to be a leech while I'm here, y'know," Nate smiled and chuckled nervously. The mare wasn't giving any visual feedback. That made Nate start to worry slightly. He wasn't entirely sure that she could hear or was pretending in hopes that he would leave eventually. It would take another moment for him to calm down a little as she poked her head under the counter for a second. She rummaged around for a second before popping her head back up, levitating a piece of paper and a pen onto the counter and sliding it toward Nate. He picked it up and scanned the writing. At first glance, he didn't know what he was looking at. It wasn't any language he had seen before, or so he thought. On closer inspection, he could see that the characters on the page were an extremely stylized version of English. With the weight of him beginning to think he couldn't read off his shoulders, Nate quickly understood that the piece of paper in his hand was an application form.

Letting out a small, "Oh, okay," Nate quickly went to work filling out his application, trying to copy the stylized English in the process. After several minutes Nate handed the form back to the spikey-maned unicorn, who took it in her magic and looked over it for another few minutes. Nate guessed it was because of his poor excuse of an attempt to copy down their alphabet, but he still couldn't glean anything from the mare herself. After those few minutes passed, the mare gave a small nod and levitated a stamp before stamping the page with an 'Approved.' She then popped back under the cashier counter and returned with another piece of paper. He read over it and saw it was a general info page giving him things like the rate of pay, a brief work schedule, and the actual description of the job for the person, or in this case ponies. Nate smiled and looked at the mare in front of him.

"Thank you. I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning," Nate said, stuffing the piece of paper in his jacket pocket. The unicorn mare nodded, and Nate nodded in return. He waved goodbye to the mare as he walked out of the store. It wasn't until a minute later as he was humming happily back to the castle when he finally realized the mare never said a word during that entire interaction. He briefly wondered why that could be before shugging it off. He'd have to ask Cameron about it later.

...

Cameron walked up to Sweet Apple Acres, still quietly chanting until he reached the front door of the house. He knocked three times and waited.

"Hold on, there. I'mma comin'," an old, frail voice responded. A moment later, the door opened, and a certain old, green mare appeared. It took the green pony a second to realize that whoever had knocked was taller than her by quite a bit. She slowly raised her head, getting a look at the human standing in front of her with a smile on their face. Cameron's smile became strained as the look on the old mare turned from curiosity to abject horror. He never thought about the reaction he would get from anyone other than Applejack.

"Oh, no."

"MONSTER!" The door slammed shut as she called out to her family in a panic. "Big Mac, get Applejack and chase the monster away! I'll get AppleBloom and hide!" It didn't take another second to hear hooves running to the front room.

"Where'd you see it, Granny?" Cameron heard Applejack ask.

"It had the nerve to walk up here and knock on the door itself. It was just standing at the front door. It might have run away, but it couldn't have gone too far," Granny replied. "Where's AppleBloom?"

"She went to school about 20 minutes ago. C'mon, Big Mac. Let's run 'em off."

The orange mare burst through the door, followed by a bigger, red stallion. They were already close to top speed, so when Applejack recognized the tall, skinny human standing near a bit away from the front door, it took all she had to stop her and her older brother's momentum. She dug her hooves into the ground and leaned back. She caught Big Mac off guard, causing him to slide his body, that's almost twice Applejack's size, into his younger sister. The two slid against the ground and looked like they were going to slide right into Cameron until he took a step to the side and watched the two earth ponies slide another couple of feet past him. Applejack turned around and walked up to Cameron after she came to a complete stop.

"Cameron?"

"Hey, Applejack." Cameron waved. Big Mac walked up wearily when Applejack disarmed him.

"Whoa there, Mac. I know this one. Go on back to the house and tell Granny I'll be right there. I got this," she said, patting a hoof on Big Mac's shoulder. The older brother looked at his sister skeptically and glanced between Applejack and Cameron before sighing and walking back to the house. Applejack looked back up at Cameron, bemused. "What are you doing here?"

"Long story short, I want to help on the farm," Cameron answered. Applejack tilted her head and looked at the human up and down. Even if she wasn't familiar with the muscle structure of a human, all Applejack was reminded of when she examined Cameron was a tall twig.

"You sure, sugar cube? It's a lot of physical work." Applejack began to list some of the activities and responsibilities tied to the job. Cameron only knew of a fraction of the things she listed. The sheer amount sowed the seed of doubt in his mind, and he started to shift uncomfortably in place.

"Well, maybe I can do like a morning shift. I come in at dawn and leave at noon or lunchtime," Cameron said with pleading eyes. Once Applejack stopped listing things. Applejack could see that he insisted on wanting to do something and, not wanting to be rude, she sighed and caved in.

"Alright. You got yourself a deal. We can use the extra help around here. Just come by tomorrow morning. I'll introduce you to the family, and then we can get started." Cameron did a happy little dance as the cowpony talked. Once done, he started to leave.

"Thank you, Applejack," he called, before pausing abruptly and jogging back to the orange mare, "Oh, one more thing. I don't wanna be that guy, but can I also get paid?"

"Well, I wasn't going to let you do honest work with nothin' to show for it," she replied.

"Cool," Cameron Thanks again, Applejack! See you tomorrow!" Cameron cried as he jogged off of the Apple family property. Applejack watched the human jog off giddily and chuckled softly. There was something contagious about that display of happiness that spread to her. She walked back into the house and was greeted by Granny Smith and Big Mac.

"Didja run it off, AJ?" Granny Smith asked.

"In a way," Applejack stated, looking back at the door then to Granny Smith. "Don't worry, Granny. He won't be any trouble for us."

...

Kendra paced at the front SugarCube Corner, trying to psych herself up enough to walk in the front door. Ponies passing by couldn't help sparing a glance at the human nervously muttering to herself in front of the bakery. With a sigh and a final word of self-assurance, Kendra stood up straight and walked into the bakery after three minutes of deliberation. Pinkie Pie was taking and filling orders upfront at the register. She noticed Kendra while looking up to serve the next customer. She gasped excitedly and stepped from behind the counter.

"Kendra?"

"I'm surprised you remembered my name."

"I remember the names and faces of everypony I meet. But what are you doing here?"

"Well, Nate and Cameron somehow got me to go on a job hunt..."

"A job hunt? Oh~. So you're looking for a job, and you came here to get a snack while you think about where you're going to apply," Pinkie Pie said, one hundred percent confident in her answer. Kendra just looked at her and shook her head.

"No. I came to see you."

"To see me? Aw, you're too sweet. But what does seeing me have to do with your job hunt?"

"I want you to give me a job," Kendra deadpanned.

"Oh, that makes a lot more sense. Okay." Pinkie said, going back behind the counter. Kendra waited a moment so Pinkie could continue the conversation or give her an application or something, but when Pinkie went behind the store counter, Kendra realized that the 'okay' was Pinkie giving her the job. Kendra did a double-take.

"Wait. Is that it? No questions or anything?" Kendra asked incredulously.

"Do you like baking?" Pinkie asked in response.

"Well, yeah. I like to bake as a hobby."

"Then you're hired," Pinkie cheered as a banner with the words 'Welcome to SugarCube Corner, Kendra' unraveled behind her and hidden confetti cannons went of raining the storefront in the colorful bits of ribbon and paper. Kendra stood dumbfounded at the level of preparation behind something the pink pony had no idea had a possibility of happening. "Why do you even want a job, anyway? You're not going to be here for more than two weeks, unless something pops up out of nowhere and threatens everypony, with the possibility of you being trapped here forever." An awkward silence rang out for a few moments before answering the initial question.

"Um... Okay. Well, since we're going to be here for a short time, we don't want to just sit around not doing anything. Plus, even if we didn't want to work but do things, we have no money, and we don't want to be house guests asking for money. The only logical answer was getting jobs." Pinkie Pie nodded before yelling.

"I can't believe I almost forgot to throw you three a welcome party. I need to make it you-themed, but I barely know you, so I need to get you to know you. I'll need two days. Tell the others. Oh, and you start tomorrow," Pinkie said, frantically looking and throwing stuff from under the store counter next to the display behind her. Kendra could make out balloons, ice cream scoops, and a rubber chicken, among other things. Kendra could see the hyperactive mare was fully occupied doing something else, so she started slowly backpedaling towards the door.

"Um...okay...I guess I'll go then. Thanks for the job.I'll see you tomorrow." Kendra backs out of SugarCube Corner and sighs heavily. The sheer amount of energy Pinkie Pie could put out worried Kendra. Having to keep up with that would require a significant effort not to just shut down on Pinkie. Kendra knew it would be good for her in the long run.

Kendra walked back to the castle and up to their rooms, stopping by the boys' room. Nate was the only one again at the moment. He looked at Kendra from his bed.

"Job hunt complete?"

"Job hunt complete."