Cameron didn't want to wake up. The bed wouldn't let him.

It's a proven fact that gravity is ten times stronger near a bed in the morning. It's simple science. He thought.

The day prior, Mike and Cameron had left Jake to rest in the hospital. They decided not to go back to the Ponyville, out of fear of what might happen to them. However, the major flaw in their plan was that they hadn't brought any money with them to Canterlot. Therefore, that meant no hotel room.

Mike had the brilliant idea of asking the princesses if they could stay in the Royal Castle.

Cameron was surprised when he was shown his room. No, "surprised" was an understatement. He was thrilled.

It was enormous. He bet that three apartment rooms could fit in it. That didn't even include the closet space. What he had been most excited about was the bed.

It was easily double the size of his bed back at the apartment. Out of pure childlike-whim, he had jumped into the bed. It was unimaginably more comfortable than his apartment bed. The sheets were smooth, much more so than his regular ones.

That shit's sandpaper as far as I'm concerned. He had thought.

One could see why Cameron had been upset that had to leave early the next morning.

"Up and at 'em, Tinker Bell!" Mike had yelled. Cameron covered his head with his pillow.

"Go away…" he all but whined.

"Come on, Cam. We need to check up on Jake."

"Piss off…" he grumbled.

Cameron then felt himself being lifted out of the bed. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't in the castle anymore, but rather the hospital lobby.

"We're here to check up on Agile." Mike said the pony at the reception desk.

"Down the hall, fourth room on the left." The mare answered.

With much effort, Cameron woke himself from his half-sleeping state and went with Mike to Jake's room.

"How did you sleep?" Mike said with a grin.

"Shut up." Cameron said.

The two entered the room and saw that Jake was already awake.

"Oh, thank God you're here. I'm bored out of my mind!" Jake said. "No T.V. or magazines and I'm left to just lay here!"

"Calm down, it was just one night. Doc says we can get you out of here now." Cameron said.

"What are we going to do, anyway? It's still Heat Season, which means crazy mares still prowling the streets." Jake said.

"Giggity." Cameron said.

Both Mike and Jake facehoofed.

"I still have research to do. It'd be nice to have someone help me. Wink wink." Mike said, making sure his point got across.

"I don't want to go to a freaking library." Cameron said.

"And nobody wants you at the library anyway, Cam." Mike retorted. "Jake?"

"I've got nothing else to do." Jake said, getting out of bed finally.

As they were about to leave the room, a voice said, "Not so fast."

Before the three could respond, they we're already out of the hospital room. They now saw that they were in a black void, similar to the one Discord had trapped them in.

"The hell is going on?" Cameron asked.

"Allow me to answer that." Said the voice. "I need to talk to you three."

A man dressed sharply in a suit, top hat, monocle, and cane came into existence directly across from the three.

"Y-you're human!" Jake exclaimed.

"Is being human that surprising? Or are you already used to ponies?" said the man in a perfect British accent.

"Are you British?" Cameron asked, for no real reason.

"Not quite. Really, I can be whatever I want. For example." The man said as he changed into another form.

"Y'all okay with this one?" the new man asked, in a deep, Southern accent. His clothes had changed as well, now a plaid shirt, jeans, work boots, and cowboy hat.

The three's mouths fell agape.

"How 'bout…" the man said before he changed yet again.

"Zis one?" he said. The man was now in full urban camouflage combat gear, complete with body armor and helmet. Cameron instantly recognized this as a Russian soldier from the game Call of Duty. "Perhaps, you vould be more comfortable wiz…"

The man disappeared again, and was replaced by a grey earth pony.

"A pony?" he finished his sentence.

He then returned to his first form.

"Are the top hat and monocle really necessary?" Mike asked.

The man took off the hat and looked at it.

"Perhaps not. However, it makes me feel quite sophisticated." The man answered. A chair appeared behind him, which he promptly sat on.

"Who are you? What's your name?" Mike asked quizzically.

"Name? Goodness it's been so long since I used it, I can barely remember it." The man said as he thought deeply. "You may call me Keeper."

"Why do they call you Keeper?" Jake asked.

"Because I am Keeper." He answered simply. "The meaning behind the name is complicated."

"What are you?" Cameron asked.

"I am Keeper." The man answered yet again, only to receive a sigh from Mike and a facehoof from Jake. "The better question for you to ask is 'what do I do'."

"What do you do?" Cameron asked.

The man smiled.

"I can't tell you everything. Not yet, at least. However, I will tell you that I am tasked with creating what you would call destiny, for lack of a better term." Keeper said.

Mike stared at him in disbelief. "You don't seriously expect me to believe that you're the one who determines what happens to us, do you?"

"I never said I chose what would happen to people. I said that I merely tasked with creating it." Keeper said.

"You've lost me." Cameron said.

"Shocker." Jake muttered.

"I can't explain everything to you right now. I am not the one who determines one's destiny. I am the one who makes it happen. A proper metaphor would be…" Keeper said before shape-shifting.

He was now dressed in a construction workers clothes along with a hard hat.

He held up some blueprints.

"Think of these as someone's destiny. I didn't make these plans. Think of me as the one who actually creates it, like a construction worker following blueprints to make a building." Keeper said before reverting to his British form.

"So, you're the one who actually creates destiny and makes things happen, right?" Mike asked.

"Correct."

"But you didn't make the plans for anyone's destiny?"

"Correct."

"Then who makes the so-called 'plans for destiny'?" Mike asked, finally comprehending.

Keeper chuckled.

"Ah, the Hero of Will. Analytical and intelligent to the last. Sorry to disappoint you, but I cannot tell you." Keeper said

"Wait a second. If you create destiny, you're the one who sent us here to Equestria!" Mike exclaimed. Both Jake and Cameron glared at Keeper.

"Yes and no. I did send you here by the message you received. However, I didn't choose for it to happen." Keeper said.

"Why didn't you just take into account what this meant for us?" Cameron asked angrily. "I miss my old life."

"Irrelevant. Although I did think about what it would mean for you three, and I am sorry that you don't like it, I can't change what's already been planned." Keeper said. "In my defense, take a look at all the good things that you have gotten out of being in Equestria. You three are now Heroes, along with the one miss I sent as well. You now know that you have power. You have memories of friendship with each other and adventures as well."

The three said nothing but slowly nodded their heads in agreement.

"Funny. This whole meeting was part of your destinies as well." Keeper said with a chuckle.

"What is Celestia in all this? Does she know about you?" Mike questioned.

"The pony princess? Bah, she is but a small fish in an ocean of behemoth proportions. But to answer your question, no. There are many things she does not know about and I am one of them." Keeper said.

All of them just stood there.

"This has to be the largest universe-troll I've ever seen." Cameron said.

Keeper looked at him for a few seconds and produced a small paper. He then handed it to Cameron.

On it was a troll-face along with the caption: "Problem?"

Jake resisted the urge to chuckle while Cameron burst out laughing. Mike was barely able to keep a straight face. Even then, his mouth formed a small smile.

"I miss the Internet." Cameron said, regaining his composure.

"At that, my friends, I must bid thee farewell." Keeper said abruptly before snapping his fingers.

The scene dissolved back to reality where the friend found themselves laying on the floor. After standing back up and stretching, Mike said, "Well, that was… interesting to say the least."

"That was probably the high point of today." Jake said.

"It doesn't have to be." Cameron said as an idea popped into his head. He smiled and his eyes lit up.

"I'm afraid to even ask." Mike said.

A few minutes later, Outside Ponyville…

This will be freaking amazing. Cameron thought as they overlooked Ponyville from a nearby hill. The shield, in all of its glory, was still standing.

Pegasi mares were still in the clouds, looking for unlucky males to come out and try their luck at running away. Earth ponies and unicorns alike went up and down the streets, searching homes and businesses for stallions.

In other words, they locked that shit down. Cameron said.

It was truly a sight to behold, one that Cameron would have marveled at did he not have something else on his mind.

"Why am I doing this?" Mike asked again, his fourth time so far.

"For my cash. Oh, and Naomi too." Cameron said.

Their plan, in short was to retrieve Cameron's cash from the room along with Naomi. The three had agreed that it was for the best that she got out of the heat and became normal again.

Also to stop her from doing anything that she'll regret when she becomes sane. Cameron thought and then shuddered. As long as she hasn't done that already in the past day.

Cameron quickly got his mind out of the gutter and began the final check.

"Everyone here and alive?" he asked.

"Yep." Jake answered.

"Quick question. Do you want me to yell 'Fus Ro Da' on the way down?" Mike asked jokingly.

"That would be hilarious and much appreciated." Cameron replied. He began counting down. "Three… two… one!"

The three charged off the hill and moved towards the shield. Mike blasted through the shield with his magic and the three jumped through the gaping hole.

As soon as they got through, the mares closest to them were already rushing towards them. Mike then created a shield around them like the one they had used the previous day.

"I love this spell." Mike said.

Numerous bucks and kicks were unleashed on the shield, but not a single crack formed.

They were around town square when Mike finally decided to use his blow-back spell. Dozens of ponies flew across the sky, whether they had wings or not.

And so began phase two of the mission. Mike used his magic to try and detect the male ponies in the area. Surprisingly, there were only three, all within the same general area.

The basic objective was to save the poor fools. Cameron burst through the door to the house in which the three were cowering.

"How did you get through that door?" One asked in complete surprise. The other two were busy hiding themselves behind a table.

"Quiet! We're getting you out of here." Mike said. "Facade, get your coins quick!"

"Way ahead of you, buddy!" Cameron said as he sprinted across the road to the apartment. He rushed up the stairs and into his room. The door was still broken, unsurprisingly. As he loaded the last sack on his back, he was confronted by none other than Naomi.

"Hello, stud." She said.

"I don't have time for this." Was all he said before he jumped out the open window. It wasn't the best of ideas seeing how his room was on the third floor. However, it seemed that being the Hero of Strength also meant that his bones wouldn't break easily.

Of course, it still hurt him.

"I brought a guest!" Cameron said as Naomi flew out the window. She was then enveloped in Mike's magic. Though she tried to fight it, Mike just kept her in his magical grip.

They all turned to leave, but were cut off by the entire Mane Six. From Twilight Sparkle to Applejack, the mares all had looks in their eyes that Cameron found unnerving.

"Us against the crazed Elements of Harmony?" Jake asked to nopony in particular. "They don't stand a chance."

Cameron turned to the three stallions that they had rescued.

"You should try running to the edge of the shield. Preferably now." He said. One of them gulped but they all nodded, thanked them, and ran off.

"At least we know where to find more stallions later, girls." Twilight said.

For two Bronies, namely Jake and Mike, this was both disturbing and hilarious.

"Bring it." Cameron said.

"This'll be fun." Jake said.

"Forgive when I beat you to near unconsciousness, Miss Rarity." Mike said.

And so it began.

Having the superior numbers, the Mane Six divided themselves between the three. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie went after Jake, Rarity and Twilight went after Mike, and Cameron was grouped with Fluttershy and Applejack.

Rainbow started it off with zooming towards Jake at high speeds. Pinkie bounced close behind. Rainbow moved her hoof as if to collide with Jake's head.

At that very moment, Jake felt as if he we're in The Matrix. Numerous jabs and kicks from both a quick Rainbow Dash and an unpredictable Pinkie Pie left Jake on the defensive.

With Twilight and Rarity, Mike knew that the battle was going to be magic based. Mike decided to shake things up and sent a quick sleep spell towards Rarity.

Just as he had hoped, Rarity went out like a light and slumped on the floor. With Rarity out of the picture, it was now Twilight and Mike.

"Sorry, Dash!" Jake said as he clonked his marefriend on the head with enough force to knock her out.

Cameron wouldn't bring himself to hurting Fluttershy. However he was more than happy to take on Applejack. He felt air leave his lungs as Applejack bucked him in the chest. Cameron tried to regain his breath as Pinkie pie went flying into Fluttershy.

The two were on the ground and out of the fight. Jake decided to help out Cameron by distracting Applejack long enough for Cameron to get back on his hooves. He tried to keep himself from receiving another broken rib.

Mike and Twilight, meanwhile, were having a duel that was somewhat similar to one founf in Harry Potter.

Mike's red beam of magic was being countered with Twilight's own lavender one. His beam slowly inched its way toward Twilight.

Mike decided he had enough fun playing around and used much more of his energy. Twilight's beam succumbed in mere seconds, but she ducked out of the way of the beam.

Twilight began moving around, unleashing successive beams of purple energy at Mike. He created a small force field directly in front of him to block the energy.

Mike was having difficulty doing this and keeping a hold on Naomi.

"Whenever you guys feel like helping, I mean really. No need for your services here." Mike said, his voice oozing sarcasm.

Cameron got up and watched as Applejack lassoed all of Jake's legs and brought his him to the ground with a THUD!

"Geez, Cameron. Get that stupid look off your face and help me out of here!" Jake yelled.

Cameron had to give the pony credit, she had quite some strength behind her kicks, but he knew that all it took for him to win was to extend his arm and smack her across the head, which is exactly what went down.

Applejack slumped on the dirt road and Cameron untied Jake. Cameron unleashed a flurry of kicks towards Twilight, causing her to shift her focus from Mike. Mike sent a sleep spell in her direction and she fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Let's get out of here." Jake said as they heard the sound of a stampede of ponies.

"Right behind you." Cameron said as the three ran off in the direction of where the stallions had run off to.

Fortunately, they didn't have to run too far and the stallions were already at the barrier. Mike used his magic to break through the wall and ordered them all to get through it.

With a flash of red magic, the large group disappeared.

Hours later…

Naomi was finally coming to. She just had the most bizarre dream. She woke to a bed much larger than the one in her new apartment room. She saw that Jake, Cameron, and Mike were sitting on the floor talking.

"Ah, you're finally normal." Cameron said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naomi asked. "Where am I? What's going on"

"It's a long story." They all said.

Next Chapter: Fusion! Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 12 Minutes