//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Daughter of the Gods // by Faded Sky //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Campfire and Claiming Percy and Annabeth took Sunset to one end of the cabins, specifically the ones at the very end, and began to tell her about them. "This one is Zeus's cabin. There is only one child of Zeus, but she's not here at the moment. Anyway, she is now a Hunter of Artemis, so she's immortal, and she doesn't come to camp anymore. That one next to it is Hera's cabin. There are no demigod children of Hera." Annabeth told her, as they walked past. They came to a bright red cabin with barbed wire on the roof. "Ares. I've never met a nice child of the war god." Percy grumbled. The next one was a cabin made of pure gold. "Apollo. God of music, light, the sun, archery, healing, all that jazz. Kids are nice, but showoffs with projectile weapons, arrows, javelins, basketballs." Annabeth told her. A cabin made of pure silver elicited a frown from Percy. "Artemis. No children, but the Hunters of Artemis stay there when they come to camp." Percy said unhappily. "You're only unhappy because they kicked your ass at capture-the-flag." Annabeth smiled. "Am not!" He objected. Sunset smiled. "Hunters of Artemis, like the daughter of Zeus?" She asked Annabeth. "Yes. Thalia." Annabeth replied. They made their way along the cabins, pausing when they got to one of pure black stone, with a two torches out the front. When Sunset took a closer look, the torches flared with green fire. "Whose is this cabin?" She queried. "Hecate. Goddess of magic and the Mist." Percy told her. "Mist?" Sunset tilted her head to the side, curious. "The veil between the human world and that of gods and monsters." Annabeth said. "Oh." Sunset said. She felt ... odd. The cabin felt like Equestrian magic, like the mirror and the Elements. She'd have to figure that out later. "You need a weapon." Annabeth said abruptly, interrupting their walk. Sunset had been shown the archery butts (a thing Percy continuously made fun of), the dining hall, the Big House, the beach and the climbing wall, which for some reason had lava flowing down the sides. "A weapon?" Sunset asked, unsure. "Yes. A weapon." Percy said, voice dry. "Why?" Sunset said. "Why not?" Annabeth replied, astounded. "You're a demigod. At least, I think so. Anyway, demigods need weapons. How are you going to fight monsters or protect yourself otherwise?" "I guess that makes sense, but. " "But what?" Percy asked. "I just. Never mind. It's nothing." Sunset said, uneasy. "It's not nothing if it's bothering you." Percy said, voice surprisingly gentle. "It's just. I dunno. The last time I held a weapon was just after someone tried to hurt me with it, when all my friends deserted me. When all the work I'd put into making friends was undone with a single post, when." She sighed, speaking quietly. "When I was alone, and no-one cared, and everyone hated me. I'm just ... a little apprehensive. Considering the last time I held a weapon ... I'm nervous." Sunset told them, looking at her feet sadly. Percy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's OK. We'll get you a weapon, and it'll all be fine." He said, comfortingly. Annabeth came up beside them. "Come on Sunset. I think I know what will work for you." She told her, taking Sunset's hand. They soon came to a building that looked a bit like a gardeners shed, but when Annabeth opened the door, it was full of weapons. "Athena's all about strategy, matching the right weapon to the right person. Let's see. Try this." She ducked inside, and when she came out she held a short knife. "No. Ummmmm. Hah! Try this one!" This time, she had a gun. Sunset looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "No. Not your style. Uh ... hmm ... ahh" Annabeth rummaged around in the shed, making noises as she discarded them. "Here! This should work!" Finally, she returned, holding a long thin sword of glowing bronze. "Yes, that's good." Annabeth nodded in approval. "OK. Thanks Annabeth." Sunset smiled at the other girl as she thanked her. They eventually made their way to the campfire, hand in hand. Sunset was slightly nervous, even though Annabeth assured her that it would be fine, and she would probably be claimed. They came to the campfire area, which was a hollow in the hill with a fire pit in the centre. Annabeth and Percy took Sunset to stand beside Chiron. Sunset was a little scared, understandably so, she was just about to be introduced to roughly a hundred armed kids, none of which she had any prior experience with. The campers had started to talk, the noise level rising to almost unbearable levels, before Chiron pounded the ground with a hoof. "QUIET!" He called, startling quite a few campers, and silencing the group, all of whom turned and stared at Sunset in curiosity. "This is Sunset, a new camper." He told them "Yes?" A few hands went up, with questions. "Has she been claimed yet?" Asked a girl in the Aphrodite cabin. "Not yet Drew." Annabeth replied, starting off a new round of chatter as they wondered which cabin Sunset might end up in. White mist began to flow down to the campfire. As the campers noticed it, they went quiet, some looking nervous. "Sunset?" A voice from the Mist queried. "Sunset Shimmer?" Sunset found her voice and spoke. "Yes?" "You shouldn't be here. You were supposed to come through next year. Did something happen with the mirror? What happened?" The voice asked, three blurry figures appearing in the Mist. "What do you mean? I went through four years ago, but I didn't end up here. I only came her this morning." Sunset told the figures nervously. The three figures resolved into a single person, a young, deathly pale woman with golden hair drawn up into a ponytail. Her eyes were dark as night and wide open, and her dark dress was so silky it looked like ink spilling from her shoulders. Two murky, animalistic shadows were at her feet. Sunset tried to speak, but found her breath stolen away. The campers watched silently, their eyes drawn irresistibly to the woman beside the fire. "Hecate." Chiron said, a frown on his face. "What do you want?" "What do I want? It is no matter of yours. Now, Sunset, why did you come here now of all times?" the goddess asked Sunset, curiously. "The mirror. Mum, no. Celestia showed it to me when I was nineteen. It showed me as an Alicorn. I ... I became ... obsessed. I turned to dark magic, and Celestia found out. She banished me, but ... I went through the mirror instead. Then I came through it again today, and I ended up here." Sunset told her, voice shaking. "Why?" "I told Celestia to teach you all types of Equestrian magic. Pah. She always thought she knew everything. She doesn't." Hecate murmured, her face softening as she thought, remembering happier times. "Are you ... are you my?" Sunset couldn't bring herself to finish the question, leaving it hanging open-ended. "Yes Sunset. I am your mother." Hecate replied, her words booming in the still air.