//------------------------------// // Chapter 4- Percy // Story: Percy Jackson and The Forgotten World // by Demi Pegasi //------------------------------// Great. I’ve barely been here for half a day, and something went horribly wrong. We all ran towards the fire…well, I ran, the five ponies galloped towards the fire. “Th-that’s the Bakery!” Twilight stammered in shock. “This ain’t good! Pinkie might be in trouble!” cried Applejack. “You mean to tell me Pinkie went to the bakery after her disappearing act and that’s why we were headed there?” I asked. “Yes that’s exactly why we were heading there darling.” Rarity answered, “We all knew Pinkie would plan a party once she realized you were new in town, so- my word, this crowd is massive!” We all arrived at the crowd surrounding the building. None of the ponies noticed me, their eyes glued to the horrific scene ahead. We pushed our way through the crowd, with the help of Applejack and Rainbow Dash making a path for us. Once we made it past the crowd I was greeted with a strange sight: the bakery completely engulfed in flames, Pegasi were bringing rain clouds over the building, Unicorns controlling hoses and Pinkie just sitting there, staring at the blaze. “Pinkie!” I yell, notifying the five other ponies of her presence. We all rushed towards her, the girls all making sure that she was okay. While they were focused on Pinkie I noticed a yellow Earth pony talking to one of the Pegasi. I didn’t mean to listen to their conversation, but my ADHD got the better of me, also the yellow pony was really loud. “You have to hurry!” “Please Mr. Cake! Calm down We doing everything we can here.” “You don’t understand! My wife and kids are still in there!” Uh-oh. That wasn’t good! “Hey Twilight we got trouble! That yellow pony says his wife and kids are still inside the building!” Twilight looked away from Pinkie to see whom I was talking about, and her eyes widened when she caught sight of the yellow pony. “Mrs. Cake and the twins are still inside!” She faced the group, determination etched on her face. “Alright girls, we have a situation on our hooves. Mrs. Cake and her twins are still inside the building and we need to do everything we can to help put out the fire and rescue them! Rainbow Dash, go and help the other Pegasi. You’re the fastest flyer so we need your speed to bring the clouds down and rain on the building!” “I’m on it!” Rainbow Dash saluted, and sped off. “Rarity, you go help the Unicorns! With your precision, you can help them douse the fire quicker!” “Of course darling, a lady must do whatever she can to help!” “Applejack, I need you to go up to the crowd and see if you can find any volunteers to help. We’re going to need a lot of ponies to take care of all the damage after the fire is out.” “Ah’m on it Twi!” “And Fluttershy I need you to go and take care of Mr. Cake. Try and calm him down. We need information from him on the where his family might be so that we can get inside quickly and not have to stay inside for long!” “O-okay.” “Pinkie you’re coming with me. I’m gonna need your knowledge of the bakery. With your knowledge we may be able to get to Mr. Cake’s family faster once we know where they may be.” “Okay Twilight, just ask me anything that may be of importance!” It was absolutely incredible! Twilight was almost talking as fast as Pinkie. She reminded me of Annabeth during important moments in Capture the Flag or on quests. Twilight knew exactly where to place all her friends within a split second of realizing that some ponies needed to be rescued. No wonder Twilight was the leader of their little group. Her keen sense of strategy and leadership abilities made me stare at her in awe. I quickly snapped out of my trance to try and find out what I can do to help. Before I could even ask what I could do, Twilight turns to me. “Percy, I know you want to help but you need to leave it to us. Unfortunately, humans don’t have any powers that can help with this situation. Just don’t get too close to the building or else we’ll have to worry about something else besides this fire.” Aw shit. I had almost forgotten that I haven’t told them the whole truth about myself. Come on think Percy! What would Annabeth do in a situation like this? Unfortunately, fate decided to play a nice twist in my choice. A loud crack was heard from up on the roof. Everybody in the vicinity looked up to see the roof collapsing into the house. This was going from bad to worse. The yellow pony named Mr. Cake was screaming at the top of his lungs, desperately reaching out for the structure as two earth ponies struggled to hold him back. “This isn’t good!” Twilight cried, “If the foundations weaken any further the entire building will collapse, sealing Mrs. Cake and the twins inside!” It was now or never. Revealing my powers to them may be a mistake, but I got to do something to help these ponies. Besides, as the Son of Poseidon, it’s my duty to help protect and care for all equestrian creatures. What would my father say if he saw me do nothing to help these Technicolor ponies? What I needed was water, and fast! I didn’t want to risk summoning the water from within me again- I nearly disintegrated myself last time, and risked waking Typhon. I hastily scanned the area for water sources, and quickly realized that there were several water sources around me- namely the water from the rainclouds and from the hoses the Unicorns are using! Using my will, I took control of one of the hoses. I felt the familiar tug in my stomach. The Unicorn controlling the hose suddenly felt the hose slip out of his control, and quickly backed off, unsure of what was happening. I commanded the water from the hose to shoot out a douse the fire at the front door. With this I created a small opening large enough for me to get into the building. I started to run towards the opening, summoning some water to help me make my way through the bakery. As I was making my way towards the opening some pony screamed my name. I looked back, and saw Twilight staring at me with mixed emotions on her face- mainly fear, confusion and anger. I felt guilty for burdening her with so much emotional baggage, but I needed to stay focused if I was to save the ponies before the whole structure collapsed. I leap through the opening I made right before a big chunk of wood crashed down, blocking the entrance. I was now sealed inside a burning building with no idea of where to look for the ponies trapped with me: Just another brilliant idea from Percy Jackson. I willed some water to cover my nose and mouth so I could breathe without smoke getting into my lungs. Thankfully the fire didn’t affect me as much as mortals, thanks to another trait of being Poseidon’s son; heat resistance. Suddenly, I heard the sound of crying children come from the floor above me. I took my pen- that’s right, a pen, from my pocket and uncapped it, causing it to grow and change shape. What ended up in my hand wasn’t a pen, but a sword made out of celestial bronze. This sword has saved me countless times over the past few years, and its name will always remain in my memory; Anaklusmos, also known as Riptide. Using my sword I proceeded to make my way through the burning wreckage blocking my path. I had to stop every few seconds to make sure that I was heading in the right direction, making sure I watched my step, as the building was crumbling around me. I still didn’t understand why I was sore and tired when the curse of Achilles should have prevented me from harm … although based on past events, I was not going to take a chance to see if it was still in effect. I finally made it to the room where the crying was coming from. Unfortunately, the doorway was completely blocked off and Riptide had no chance cutting through, leaving me with no choice but to blast the obstruction aside with some of the water I had. As I entered the room, I spotted the three ponies huddled in a corner. The mother of the twins had passed out, while the two foals huddled next to her, crying their eyes out. I knelt beside the mother pony to check on her situation; thankfully, she had merely passed out from the lack of oxygen, and she has only minor burns and injuries. Now that I knew they were safe, my next concern was to get them to a medic. I created a bubble big enough to place the three inside, and placed the two foals in first, softly assuring them that everything was going to be fine as they continued looking up at me and smiling. Even though they were just foals, they seemed to have understood me or felt that they were safe with me. I gave them a warm smile in response, silently praying to Poseidon that nothing horrible should happen to these two young foals. A loud crack brought me back to reality. I turned around and saw a ceiling beam beginning to crack in half. I needed to move fast to get the mother safely into the bubble. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough. As I made my way to the unconscious pony I was unaware of another wooden beam dangling above my pathway, only noticing too late when it snapped, and fell towards me. I couldn’t react in time to dodge, only block to try and reduce the damage. Yet, I only felt it slip off me like my whole body was covered in a slippery substance. Strange; even if I used the water to protect me, the hit would have still left a bleeding gash at the very least. Suddenly I felt a power surge through me. With my strength and stamina increasing, I rushed towards the mother, scooped her up and placed her in the bubble with the twins. I proceeded to use the rest of the water to blasting a hole in the wall for a quick escape. Sadly, it wasn’t quick enough for my liking. The floor had started to collapse, and I was rapidly losing ground. Once the hole was big enough, I ran with all my might, thrusting the bubble ahead of me. We both made it out without a hitch, landing just in time to see the whole building collapse into a heap of flaming rubble. I made it just in time to escape, but the danger wasn’t over yet. Worried that the fire might spread, I did the first thing that came to mind; summoning the biggest downpour I could manage. I felt the tug in my stomach as I raised both my hands, my only thought being ‘I hope I have enough power for this.’ After a few tense moments, I felt drop of water hit my arm. Then another. Soon, it was pouring so hard that I could barely see two feet in front of me. The light from the flames quickly died out, leaving only smoke and charred remains. The rain gradually stopped and the sun finally broke through the clouds I summoned. I released my hold over the bubble and it popped, dropping it’s cargo onto the ground. The mother was still unconscious but the twins were laughing with delight. That was when I heard the loudest shriek in my life. “MY MANE!!!!!” I’ve got to give props to whoever that was; she could rival Aphrodite if they ever met. But I couldn’t care less of who it was because I was tired as hell and I was thinking back to inside the building. I had experienced that power surge before: Back when I got the curse of Achilles from the River of Styx, and took on Hades’ army. But why was the curse working again? Why didn’t it work before? So many questions in my head, and no answers. There was only one option for me to figure out this mystery; I need to find the so-called Princess Celestia and get the answers from her. I need to find Twilight, She seemed to have a connection to the princess and hopefully I can use that to my advantage. Yet right now, all I wanted was to just stay here and sleep. Saving these ponies drained a lot of my energy. But a demigod’s life is never that tranquil, as I was enveloped in some kind of purple substance before I hit the ground. “Hey what gives?” yelling in alarm. “Be quiet!” My whole body was rotated towards a very unhappy Twilight, looking at me with steely eyes and a glowing horn. I would have flinched if my movements weren’t locked. “You told us you were a human and that your species had no control over magic. So why the hay were you able to control water like it was second nature to you?? What are you?” “Twilight, I know your mad and I promise I’ll explain everything to you. But right now, this isn’t the best time for a game of 20 questions!” Twilight glared at me, then noticed the sounds of a gathering crowd. Her horn flashed, and we were suddenly in a completely different place. The purple substance abruptly disappeared, dropping onto the floor. I took the chance to see what the building was like, and paled. It was the most horrific sight I’ve ever seen: Shelves aligned most of the walls, and there were books scattered on the tables and the floor as well: Twilight took me to a Library! A little voice in my head was praying that this was all just a nightmare. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll ever be that lucky. The doorbell rang and the other five mares entered the library, all soaked from my downpour. They all didn’t seem to care except for Rarity who was being pushed by Applejack into the library. She was complaining nonstop about how here mane, her coat, everything was ruined. “I cannot believe that it just rained like that out of nowhere. Of all the worst things that could have happened, this is…THE…WORST…POSSIBLE…THING!” Out of nowhere a regal couch appeared cover in a light blue substance and Rarity fell onto it in a dramatic swoon. “Where…did that couch…?” “Percy…please, don’t ask.” Rainbow Dash told me without even looking at me. “What ah want ta know is why those clouds appeared? Accordin’ to Dash, there weren’t no downpours scheduled for today.” Applejack grumbled, unhappy that she had to push a whining Rarity all the way here. “Uh AJ? News flash: That downpour wasn’t made by pegasai. The clouds just drifted in, just like the clouds in the Everfree forest. Today is just full of surprises.” Rainbow Dash informed her. Twilight pointed straight at me with her hoof and said, “If you want to know why those clouds acted strangely, you should ask Percy.” They were stunned at what Twilight just said. They all slowly turned their heads towards me, except Rarity who was still passed out on her couch. “Um…Twilight…we don’t understand. What does Percy have to do with the weather?...if you don’t mind answering.” Fluttershy whispered, not wishing to anger her friends. “Well you see Fluttershy, as you were all doing the jobs I assigned you, I kept my eye on Percy to make sure he wouldn’t get hurt. I noticed he was behaving very oddly, like he was making a difficult choice. When the roof started to collapse he came out of some trance. All of a sudden the unicorn beside me somehow lost control of the hose, yet the hose was still firing water without the aid of magic.” “Argh just get to the point about why Percy has anything to do with what’s happening!” “Don’t be exasperated Rainbow. I’m getting there. You see the Unicorn lost control of the hose because it was taken over by another force. Percy was the one now controlling the hose- or should I say the water flowing out of the hose, using his hands to guide the water. He took some water with him as he entered the burning bakery, and I also caught him summoning the massive rainfall.” “THAT WAS YOU!!” Rarity suddenly leapt up, and came up to me with a fury that could rival Zeus. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!? Everything is ruined because of you! I’ll make you pay for this crime against fashion!” Scratch that, Rarity makes Zeus seem soft-spoken. I would rather fight Kronos again instead of facing her wrath. Thankfully, Fluttershy came to my rescue. “Um…Rarity can you please calm down? The fire would have spread if we didn’t put it out in time. If Percy was the one to summon the rain, then he saved Ponyville from a firestorm. Besides, I’m sure Percy had a good reason to hide the truth from us…” I was caught off guard by how sincere and soothing Fluttershy’s voice was that I didn’t realize Twilight was talking again. “Fluttershy’s right. We need to get to the bottom of this. Either we get Percy to tell us the truth, or we send him straight to Princess Celestia and she’ll decide what to do with him.” They all nodded their heads in agreement, and waited to see which option I would choose, although I didn’t really have a choice now. Since they already know I can control water, might as well tell them the whole truth now. “Alright I’ll tell you the truth. But I didn’t lie about being a human, I am technically a human.” “How are you technically a human? You’re either a human or you’re not.” Twilight inquired. “Not where I’m from. I’m a demigod, half human, half god.” “What’s a god?” Pinkie asks. Twilight uses her magic to summon a book and opens it up; would you believe that the intelligent Twilight needed a book to figure out what god meant. “Let’s see…Ah, here it is! God: a supernatural being, who is worshipped as the controller of some part of the universe or some aspect of life in the world or is the personification of some force.” “So basically it’s a simple word that we could use for the Alicorns.” Rainbow Dash suggested. “Yeah it could, but the term demigod wouldn’t make a difference in our world. Everybody has magical abilities. So even if one of the Alicorns had a foal it wouldn’t be such a big deal if the foal had more power than regular ponies. I believe we need to learn the whole truth from Percy to understand why he has control over water.” Twilight suggested. They all looked at me with different emotions. Rarity was still upset about me messing up her mane and coat. Pinkie couldn’t stay still, waiting for me to start talking. Rainbow Dash was looking at me in awe, like I was the coolest thing to ever arrive in her life. Applejack was eyeing me with suspicion, for my next move. Fluttershy was just calmly waiting, giving me a small smile. Twilight just stared at me, her eyes brimming with curiosity. Once again, I was surprised at how much she reminded me of Annabeth. Seeing no way out of this, I sighed in defeat. “Alright I’ll explain everything. But for all this to make sense, I’m going to have to start from the beginning. And by beginning, I mean the very beginning. Long before I was born.” “That’s okay, we have time to listen.” Twilight said coolly. I let out one more sigh before I began: This is going to take a while. “It all started over 3000 years ago in my world…” ~Author's Note~ It...is...finally...HERE! Yes after a long wait Chapter 4 is finally out! This may be the usual time release due to me and my editors school being annoying with school work. Percy has now revealed his powers. The mane six just got a taste of what Percy can do. Don't worry Percy will use his full power eventually. Can't wait to release the next chapter! Until then, enjoy! Thanks again to MC BRON3!