//------------------------------//
// Obedience School of Hell 
// Story: Half-Blooded Harmony: The Lightning Thief 
// by SonicSpeedster97 
//------------------------------//

It was more than a bit intimidating for the group as they stood under the black marble sign, etched with gold lettering: DOA Recording Studios. The sign stenciled on the glass of the door didn’t inspire confidence either; NO SOLICITERS, NO LOITERING, NO LIVING. “Well, that’s comforting.” Rarity remarked.
It was nearly midnight, so the group knew they were running out of time. But what was confusing considering the time was that the office lobby was brightly lit and filled with people, including a tough-looking security guy with shades and an earpiece behind the desk.
Percy turned to the group and nodded. “Okay. Everyone remembers the plan, right?”
“The plan,” Grover gulped. “Yeah. I love the plan.”
“What if the plan doesn’t work?” asked Annabeth.
“Don’t think negative.”
“Right,” Annabeth remarked sarcastically. “We’re entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn’t think negative.”
“I’m sorry, Darling; were you or were you not the one who said Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness not forty minutes ago?” Rarity pointed out.
This reminder concerned Percy as he fished the handful of pearls from the nereid out of his pocket and looked at them. The rest of the group clearly knew what he was thinking; these pearls didn’t seem like much of a backup plan if something went wrong.
Annabeth sighed and set her hand on his shoulder, finally relenting a bit. “I’m sorry. You’re right; we’ll make it. It’ll be fine.”
She nudged Grover, and he nodded as well. “Oh, right.” he stammered. “We got this far. We’ll find the Master Bolt and save your mom. No problem.”
Percy looked around at the group, with an incredible feeling of gratitude. He could tell that most of them were just trying to be brave for his sake to make him feel better, but he smiled anyway as he put the pearls back in his pocket. “Let’s whup some Underworld butt.”
“Race ya to Hades’ throne room,” Rainbow smirked as she stepped through the door first, leading the group into the building.
The lobby was fairly typical, right down to the elevator music playing over the hidden speakers and steel-gray carpets and walls. The potted pencil cacti looked like skeletal hands around the black leather furniture, which was all taken up – people sitting on couches, standing, staring out the windows, waiting for the elevator, and everything in between… except moving or talking, which creeped the girls out a bit… but not as much as the fact that when they focused on anyone, they appeared almost translucent.
The security guard was just as intimidating: chocolate-colored skin, bleach-blonde hair cropped down to his head military-style, tortoiseshell shades (which annoyed Fluttershy), a silk Italian suit the same color as his hair, and a black rose at his lapel under a silver name tag. It also didn’t help that his desk was on a raised podium so the group had to look up at him… and it got worse somehow when Percy read his nametag in what looked like bewilderment. “Your name is Chiron?”
The guard just gave a sneering smile like a snake about to eat as he leaned across the desk, the only thing visible in his shades being the group’s own reflections. “What a precious young lad.” he sneered with an interesting accent – it sounded British but almost like he’d learned English as a second language. “Tell me, mate; do I look like a centaur?”
“N-no…” Percy said nervously.
“Sir.” the guard emphasized.
“Sir.” Percy nodded.
The guard pinched his tag and ran his finger under the lettering. “Can you read this, mate? It says C-H-A-R-O-N. Say it with me; CARE-ON.”
“Charon.”
“Amazing! Now: Mr. Charon.”
“Mr. Charon.”
“Well done.” Charon nodded and sat back. “I hate being confused with that old horse-man. And now, how may I help you little dead ones?”
Percy froze, frightened as he didn’t have an excuse for that. Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry as Applejack stepped forward. “Just lookin’ for passage down to the Underworld is all,” she said confidently.
The girls were worried Applejack’s honesty was going to get them in trouble, but Charon’s mouth just twitched into a smile. “Well, that’s refreshing.”
“It is?” Annabeth asked in surprise.
“Straightforward and honest. No screaming, no ‘There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon’.” he smiled as he looked the group over. “How did you die, then?”
Percy quickly nudged Grover. “Oh. Um… drowned… in the bathtub.”
Charon raised an eyebrow. “All of you?” The group either nodded or shrugged. “Big bathtub,” he remarked, mildly impressed.
“Huge.” Rainbow nodded.
Charon just sighed as he looked at his desk. “I don’t suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children… alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you’ll have to take a seat for a few centuries.”
“Oh, but we have coins,” Percy assured as he retrieved a handful of drachma he got from Crusty’s stash out of his pocket and set them on the desk.
“Well now…” Charon grinned and licked his lips. “Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven’t seen these in…” His hands hovered over the coins greedily before he froze, looking at Percy with a glare, his eyes boring a hole through his chest. “Here now… you couldn’t read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?”
“No. I’m dead.” Percy said nervously.
Charon just leaned forward and took a deep sniff of the group. “You’re not dead. I should’ve known. You’re godlings.”
Applejack sighed as she adjusted her hat. “Ya got us; we’re half-bloods. But ya gotta let us through; we have to get to the Underworld.”
Charon just let out a deep growl as every spirit in the waiting room got up and started staggering around in agitation. “Leave while you can,” Charon said angrily. “I’ll just take these and forget I saw you.”
Percy quickly snatched the coins back before Charon could grab them. “No service, no tip,” Charon growled again – this time deeper and angrier – as the dead spirits started pounding on the elevator door, frightening the girls – especially Fluttershy.
Rarity quickly understood what Percy was going for here as she snatched the bag he took from Crusty’s and held it up, taking another fistful of drachmas from the bag and letting it spill through her fingers. “A shame, really. We had so much more to offer.” She batted her eyes as her pony ears twitched.
Charon’s growl turned into something more like a lion’s purr. “You think I can be bought, godling?” he sneered before raising an eyebrow. “Eh… just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?”
“Oh, quite a few, Darling.” Rarity smiled tellingly. “I’m sure Hades doesn’t pay you well enough for such hard work.”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it.” Charon agreed. “How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always ‘Please don’t let me be dead’ or ‘Please let me across for free’. I haven’t had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?”
“Oh, far from it, Darling. Believe me; I know exactly how much work and pay goes into this sort of fine garb.” Rarity assured. “You certainly deserve better. A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay.” With every word, Percy added another gold coin to the stack on the counter.
Charon smiled and glanced down at his silk Italian jacket as if imagining himself in something better. Rarity had her eyes on the jacket as well, as though she was planning out how to make him something better. “I must say, godlings; you’re making some sense now. Just a little.”
Percy smiled as he stacked another few coins. “I’m sure we could mention a pay raise while we’re talking to Hades.”
Chiron just sighed. “The boat’s almost full anyway. I might as well add you lot and be off.” He stood, scooped up the coins, and stepped away. “Come along.” He led the group to the elevator, pushing through the crowd of waiting spirits who started grabbing at the group’s clothes like wind, whispering things none of them could make out. Charon just shoved them all aside and grumbled about them being freeloaders.
The elevator was already crowded with dead souls as the group was escorted on, each ghost holding a green boarding pass. Charon kicked two spirits who were trying to fight their way aboard back into the lobby. “Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I’m gone,” he threatened to the ghosts in the waiting room. “And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I’ll make sure you’re here for another thousand years. Understand?” He didn’t wait for an answer before the doors closed and he retrieved a key card from his belt, sliding it into the elevator panel, sending it down.
“What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?” Annabeth asked.
“Nothing.” Charon shrugged.
“For how long?” asked Twilight.
“Forever. Or until I’m feeling generous.”
“Which Ah’m guessin’ – respectfully – don’t happen very often,” Applejack remarked bluntly. Charon just glared back at her.
“Well… that’s… fair,” Annabeth said nervously.
Charon raised an eyebrow. “Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it’s your turn. You’ll die soon enough, where you’re going.”
“We’ll get out alive.” Percy countered.
“Ha.” Charon just chuckled mirthlessly as the elevator suddenly shifted, alarming the group. They weren’t going down anymore – they were going forward. The air turned misty as spirits around the group started changing shape, their modern clothes flickering into gray hooded robes as the floor started swaying.
Out of nowhere, the girls saw that Charon’s creamy Italian suit had vanished and in its place was a long grim black cloak. And where his eyes should’ve been behind his glasses, now there were only empty sockets – almost like Ares’s eyes, but completely dark filled with death and despair.
The grim man saw them looking and glared. “What?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” Twilight said quickly as she looked away.
Rainbow dared herself to look and immediately regretted it as what she initially thought was a grin was just the flesh of his face turning transparent, letting her see straight through to his skull. “Gross,” she said to herself as she looked off to the side as the elevator kept swaying.
Spike hopped out of Twilight’s bag and groaned as he tromped to the side with Grover. “Ugh, I think I’m getting seasick.” the satyr groaned, his face turning green.
“You an’ me both, pardner.” Applejack agreed as she stumbled to the railing… of a large wooden barge. Applejack was a bit surprised by the change, just as she was surprised by the river Charon was poling them down now; oily and dark, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other… stranger things; dolls, crushed flowers, and soggy diplomas. “What is this place?”
“The River Styx…” Annabeth murmured in response. “It’s so…”
“Polluted,” Charon said simply. “For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across – hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me.”
“How can you say that? People wouldn’t bring those things with them if they didn’t mean anything.” Twilight said seriously as she looked down at the junk in the river. “I mean look at this.” She reached down to grab something but her hand was held back by Charon’s pole.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he advised. “You get too involved in lost aspirations; you’ll likely drown in them. Plenty of mortals have done that over the last few thousand years as well.” Twilight didn’t want to look away from it but knew Charon offered good advice about his river, so she pulled her hand back as mist curled from the filthy water. A jagged ceiling of stalactites hung high above the river in the gloom as the group’s eyes were drawn to the far shore glimmering with poison-green light.
Fluttershy was doing her hardest not to freak out and was clearly failing as she looked around in fright, which was clearly mirrored by Percy as he looked around in fear, realizing his own surroundings. Rainbow Dash set a comforting hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder as Annabeth gripped Percy’s hand, clearly after reassurance that someone else was alive on this cruise to the Land of the Dead. Percy muttered a quiet prayer, but he wasn’t sure who to – only one god mattered down here, and it was the one they were about to meet.
The craggy black sands of the Underworld’s shoreline stretched off into the distance as the group looked up, the massive black stone wall ahead of the group stretching further than anyone could see. A massive angry howl bellowed from rather nearby in the gloom – like a big, angry animal. “Wh-wh-what was that?” Spike stammered.
Charon just chuckled grimly, his smile turning skeletal in the greenish light of the mist. “Old Three-Face is hungry. Bad luck for you, godlings,” he said as the boat stopped on the beach, letting the shades off… and letting the girls get a very depressing view of what death was like for those who were dead. “I’d wish you luck, mates, but there isn’t any down here.”
“Say it anyway; we’ll take all the luck we can get,” Applejack said nervously as the group walked up onto the beach.
“You’ll need it.” Charon nodded as he counted out the drachmas the group had handed over. “Mind you, don’t forget to mention my pay raise.” With that, he warbled some sort of melody and sailed the empty barge back across the river.
Once he was gone, the group looked around. “Well… no turning back now,” Twilight said grimly.
“Ain’t that the truth.” Applejack nodded as they walked carefully after the spirits down the well-worn path.

~~~~~

“…Okay… all those who were expecting something else, say aye,” Rainbow said aloud.
“Aye.” everyone but Annabeth and Grover nodded. For some reason, the entrance to the Underworld looked like a mix between an airport security area and a highway turnpike with three different entrances under a large black arch that read YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS. Each entrance had what looked like a walk-through metal detector and security cameras, followed by toll booths guarded by black-robed ghouls like Charon.
The howling was loud but no one could see its source. “I don’t understand. I thought Cerberus was supposed to be guarding the Underworld. That’s what he does in Equestria.” Twilight asked.
“Don’t worry; I have a feeling we’ll see him soon.” Annabeth pointed out.
“Why shouldn’t that make us worry?” Applejack asked seriously… especially as she looked and saw the dead all queued up in three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY and one marked EZ DEATH… the latter of which was moving right along while the other two were crawling.
“What do you figure?” Percy asked Annabeth.
“The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields,” she remarked. “No contest; they don’t want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them.”
“You’re kidding me. There’s a court for dead people?” Rainbow asked in annoyance.
“Yeah. Three judges.” Annabeth explained. “They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos, Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare – y’know, people like that. Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs a special reward – those people get sent to the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lived.”
“What happens to them?” asked Fluttershy.
“Mm, nothing special; good or bad.” Annabeth shrugged. “So they go to the Asphodel Fields.”
“And do what?” Percy asked.
“Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas. Forever.” Grover answered.
“Harsh,” Percy noted.
“Not as harsh as that. Look.” Grover muttered, pointing to a few guard ghouls who had pulled one spirit aside and were searching him at the security desk. “He’s that preacher who made the news, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” Percy nodded. The girls remembered him too – some sort of televangelist from upstate New York they’d seen on TV at Yancy who had apparently raised millions for orphanages, but then got caught blowing the money on his own comfort: gold-plated toilet seats and an indoor mini-golf course for his mansion who had died in a police chase when his car went off a cliff.
“Guessing he’s not gonna get off easy while he’s here, huh?” Rainbow asked.
“Good guess. Probably special punishment from Hades himself.” Annabeth nodded. “The really bad people get his personal attention as soon as they arrive. The Fur- the Kindly Ones will set up a personal eternal torture for him.”
“Yikes,” Spike remarked – just the thought of getting special attention from Mrs. Dodds and her sisters was enough to freak him out.
Pinkie froze as her knee started twitching. “Uh-oh; pinchy knee. Pinchy knee!”
“Say wha?” asked Grover.
“It’s her Pinkie Sense; no time to go into it in-depth right now,” Twilight explained. “Suffice it to say that when her knee gets pinchy, something scary is about to happen.”
“We’re in the Underworld; you’re gonna have to be a little more specific than that,” Annabeth remarked.
“I had a bad thought – we’re on the Kindly Ones’s home turf.” Pinkie pointed out.
Percy froze at the thought of that, probably imagining Mrs. Dodds – or whatever her real name was – licking her chops in anticipation of when she got her hands on him. Quickly deciding to change the subject, he looked back at the preacher. “But if he’s a preacher and he believes in a different hell…”
“Who says he’s seeing this place the way we’re seeing it?” Grover shrugged. “Humans see what they want to see. You’re very stubborn- er, persistent that way.”
“I heard that,” Rainbow remarked as they approached the gates. The massive baying howls were getting louder, but they still couldn’t figure out where it was coming from… until they saw it about fifty feet in front of them where the green fog parted just where the path split… revealing a truly massive beast.
“Oh, Sweet Suffering Celestia…” Rarity said in fear – the beast was half-transparent just like the spirits of the dead and appeared to blend in with what was behind it until it moved, only its eyes and massive teeth looking solid. And it was staring straight at the group.
“He’s a Rottweiler.” Percy gasped, clearly unable to think of anything else to say.
The girls could understand his surprise; in Equestria, Cerberus looked more like a bulldog, as opposed to the double-mammoth-sized three-headed mostly invisible purebred Rottweiler before them.
The ghosts just walked right past the beast without any fear as the attendant on duty lines parted on either side of him. The EZ Death line walked right between the beast’s forepaws and under his massive belly without even crouching.
“I’m starting to see him better. Why is that?” Percy asked.
“I think…” Annabeth wet her lips nervously. “I’m afraid it’s because we’re getting closer to being dead.”
“Can we… please not talk about that stuff? It’s freaking me out enough as it is just being here.” Fluttershy shuddered.
The freakout got worse as Cerberus’s middle head reared down toward the group, sniffing deeply and growling. “It can smell the living,” Percy said breathlessly.
“But that’s okay,” Grover said nervously, quite obviously trembling. “Because we’ve got a plan.”
“Right,” Annabeth said in a very small tone. “A plan.”
“Remind me again; what part of the plan was supposed to get us past him?” Applejack asked seriously as she pointed up at Cerberus… right as his middle head snarled at the group and barked loud enough to rattle their eyes.
Twilight looked over at Grover, Fluttershy, and Spike. “Can you understand him?”
“Oh yeah, we understand him alright.” Spike remarked bitterly.
“What’s he saying?” Rainbow asked.
“I don’t think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly.” Grover sneered, telling the group everything they needed to know.
Percy took that as his sign to reach for his backpack and retrieve a big stick – a bedpost he’d broken from the Safari Deluxe floor model at Crusty’s – as he channeled happy dog thoughts and smiled like he wasn’t about to die. “Hey, big fella. I bet they don’t play with you much.” he grinned nervously, only for Cerberus to snarl in his face menacingly. “Good boy.”
The girls nervously watched as they saw Cerberus’s middle head follow the movement as Percy waved the stick in front of him, the eyes of the other two heads also following the movement, completely ignoring the spirits passing under his body – Percy now had Cerberus’s full and undivided attention, and he wasn’t entirely sure that was a good thing. “Fetch!” Percy yelled as he tossed the stick out into the gloom… where it splashed straight into the River Styx.
Cerberus glared down at Percy and the group disapprovingly. “Please tell me that wasn’t the entire plan you just threw away,” Rainbow said seriously, but the lack of a response was all she needed as Cerberus growled from deep in his three throats.
“Uh… guys?” Grover shuddered.
“Yeah?” Percy asked.
“I just thought you’d want to know.”
“Yeah?”
“Cerberus? He’s saying we’ve got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice. After that… well… he’s hungry.”
“Why would we want to know that?” Rarity asked seriously.
“Wait-wait-wait.” Twilight said quickly as she pulled Pinkie aside and started whispering to her.
“Five seconds.” Grover pointed out. “Do we run now?”
“Y-Yes please.” Fluttershy stammered nervously.
“I’ve got you covered, Twilight. You know I’m always prepared for this sort of thing.” Pinkie smiled as she quickly reached into Annabeth’s hair.
“Wha- hey!” she yelled in annoyance… right before Pinkie pulled a bright red rubber ball the size of a watermelon out of her hair and handed it to Twilight, which surprised the child of Athena to no end. “Uh… what?”
“Don’t ask.” The other Equestrians pointed out as Twilight stepped forward with the ball.
“Hey, Cerberus! ♪ Look what I have!♪” Twilight smiled as she waved the ball at Cerberus, walking toward him with all the guts of someone who had done this before… which she had… in this exact situation. “You see the ball? You want the ball? Sit for it, boy.” Cerberus looked just as surprised by this turn of events as the half-bloods, but her friends knew what was going on.
All three of Cerberus’s heads turned sideways as he looked at Twilight, six nostrils flaring. Annabeth suddenly stepped forward and looked up at Cerberus with a firm gaze. “Sit!” she called up to the dog. Percy looked at the two daughters of Athena like they were about to become the world’s biggest dog biscuits.
But instead, Cerberus just licked his chops and sat on his haunches, immediately crushing about a dozen spirits who had been passing underneath him which let out muffled hisses of anger as they dissipated.  “Good boy!” Annabeth smiled and signaled for Twilight to throw the ball. She did and Cerberus’s middle head caught it. It was barely big enough for him to chew on, and the other heads started snapping at the middle, trying to get the new toy. “Drop it!” Annabeth ordered.
Cerberus gave her his undivided attention and gave a loud whimper, scraping the ball out from between two of his teeth, now slimy from slobber and bitten almost in half as it landed at Annabeth’s feet. “Good boy!” she smiled and picked it up, trying to ignore the slobber as she quickly turned to the others. “Go now. EZ Death line – it’s faster.”
“But-”
“Now!” Annabeth stopped Percy firmly, using the same tone as with Cerberus. None of the group argued with her and all inched their way forward, ignoring Cerberus as he started to growl. “Stay! If you want the ball, stay!” Cerberus whimpered sadly as he stayed where he stood.
“You got this?” Rainbow asked quietly as she and Percy passed Annabeth.
“I know what I’m doing,” Annabeth muttered. “At least, I’m pretty sure…” That didn’t inspire confidence, so the group kept moving and all came to the same conclusion that Cerberus wasn’t any less scary-looking from the back. “Good dog!” The group looked and saw Annabeth holding up the tattered red ball, having clearly come to a conclusion of her own – if she rewarded Cerberus this time, there’d probably be nothing left for another trick. She threw it anyway and the ball was caught by the left mouth, the middle quickly tackling it in protest as the right moaned in irritation. While the monster was distracted, Annabeth briskly walked to join the others at the metal detector.
“How did you do that?” Percy asked in amazement.
“Obedience school,” Annabeth answered breathlessly, surprising Percy with the tears in her eyes. “When I was little, at my dad’s house, we had a Doberman…”
“Less talk, more walk,” Applejack said swiftly as she goaded the group on.
They were just about to bolt through the line when Cerberus moaned rather pitifully from all three mouths and Annabeth froze in response. The others stopped and looked along with her as they saw Cerberus had done a 180 to look at them, panting expectantly with the tiny red ball in shreds at his feet in a puddle of drool.
“Good boy,” Annabeth said, her voice sounding more melancholy and uncertain than anything as Cerberus turned his heads to look at her almost worried. “I’ll bring you another ball soon. Would you like that?” Cerberus just whimpered, clearly still waiting for the ball. “Good boy. I’ll come visit you soon. I- I promise.” Quickly she turned on her heel and pushed the others to move. “Let’s go.”
Fluttershy could tell Annabeth was upset, so she flapped her wing over her shoulder to try and comfort her as Percy and Grover walked through the metal detector… which immediately screamed with an alarm and flashing red lights. “Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!” it bellowed as Cerberus started barking.
“RUN!” Spike yelled and charged ahead first with the others close behind him as they ran into the Underworld.
A few minutes later, they were deep in the deserted lands, hiding in the rotted trunk of a black tree as security ghouls scuttled past, yelling for backup from the Furies. “Well, Percy, what have we learned today?” Grover asked sarcastically.
“That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?” Percy asked.
“No. We’ve learned that your plans really, really bite!” Grover countered, earning a giggle from Pinkie.
“Well, I don’t know about that. I mean, my plan was basically the same as his. Conceptually, anyway.” Twilight pointed out.
“I think it just goes to show; even in the Underworld, animals need attention.” Fluttershy agreed.
“I’m just glad Annabeth caught on as quickly as she did,” Twilight added, turning to the blonde… who wiped a tear clear of her eye as she heard Cerberus keening in the distance. Quickly clearing her throat, she smiled at Pinkie who was still giggling at the joke she thought Grover had made. “Not that it would’ve worked anyway if Pinkie hadn’t come through with that ball.”
Annabeth quickly snapped from her weeping as she looked at Pinkie. “Y- Yeah, how did you get that ball anyway?” she asked.
“I have balls stashed everywhere I might need one. In case of ball emergencies.” Pinkie smiled.
“Well, I’d say this qualified,” Percy remarked with a good-natured chuckle.
“Yeah, but… in my hair?” Annabeth asked.
“That’s not even the weirdest place she’s stashed something,” Rainbow assured. “And before you ask, trust me; you don’t wanna know.”
“Yes, please refrain from bringing that up, Darling.” Rarity said seriously, her rolling eyes landing on Annabeth… and her eye turning red a bit. “Oh dear. My, this looks horrendous, Annabeth. I don’t care if he wants us dead; I refuse to allow you to appear before a king in such a state.”
Annabeth grinned weakly as she rubbed her eye. “Thanks Rarity. Just gimme a minute; I’ll be fine.”
“Nonsense; we’re moving quickly. We’ll have to do something quickly.” Rarity insisted.
“Don’t worry, Rarity.” Pinkie smiled, reaching down Grover’s shirt. “I have eyepatches stashed everywhere. In case of eyepatch emergencies.” Sure enough, she retrieved a black eyepatch from out of Grover’s shirt, somehow showing no signs of any hair on it as she stretched it out and snapped it over Annabeth’s eye.
“Ow!” she said in pain from the snap. “How did you even…?” She was interrupted by the group giggling a bit at the sight.
“Well, it’s sub-ideal, but given the circumstances, I suppose it could be worse.” Rarity shrugged.
“What are you talking about? I think it’s an improvement.” Percy chuckled.
Annabeth looked at him in annoyance until Rarity handed her a hand mirror, at which point she saw herself with the eyepatch… and couldn’t help giggling; she looked like the most non-threatening kid pirate anyone had ever seen.
As she and the group laughed, Pinkie was suddenly enveloped by a light blue aura of energy, her hair extending like that of her friends as her ears shifted into pale pink pony ears on top of her head, and a gold necklace appeared at her neck, a light blue balloon-shaped gem forming at her collar bone. “Yippee! My Element’s back too!” she cheered happily.
“Four down, two to go.” Applejack smiled as she looked over at Twilight.
“Let’s hope we can get them before the end of this quest,” Twilight noted.
“Only one way to find out. The coast is clear; let’s go.” Spike smiled and led the group further onward… deeper into the Underworld.