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."