Side Story:

Apple Jackson and the Olympians

(Takes place four days before 'The Return of Harmony')

"You may now enter!" A stern guard said, throwing open the doors to the Royal throne room.

"Thanks, Chief," I said, doing a mock salute at him. He didn't respond in the slightest, and I shook my head, unsurprised. "You guys just don't react to anything."

He continued to stare unblinkingly at the wall, as if he expected it to leap out and attack him. I would have stuck around to see if he'd blink, but I wasn't here for a social trip. With a heavy sigh, I walked into the room, and shut the door behind me, where it echoed with an ominous BOOM that lingered for a few moments.

I walked forward, and bowed, saying in a respectful, sincere voice, "Princess Celestia, it is an honor to see you again."

The Goddess smiled, and said, "Rise Traveler."

Taking that as my cue, I shifted into my human form, and looked at Celestia with a worried eye. "There's nothing going on with Torrentican, is there?"

She laughed, and shook her head. I let out a sigh of relief at that, still trying to get over what had happened just a few days earlier…

Celestia seemed to sense where my thoughts were headed, and she asked me in a concerned tone of voice, "I asked you to come here so that I might be able to ask you…are you alright?"

I blinked, surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, plastering a fake smile onto my face.

The Princess frowned, and looked me over, obviously seeing through my false claim. She rose from her throne, and walked over to me, and I attempted to not meet her gaze. She lightly tapped my shoulder with her hoof, and softly said, "It's not a bad thing to tell me how you truly feel."

Trembling, I finally managed to say, "Well…I guess I haven't been well to tell you the truth. I'm still a little shaken up that Torrentican managed to bring out that Aura…I'm surprised I even had that Aura to begin with."

She nodded, understanding my current thought process, and wisely said, "And you're worried that you might summon that Aura again."

I gulped audibly, and could do nothing but stand there, the horrors from barely two weeks ago still fresh in my head. For the past three nights, I had been tortured by visions of that night, and I felt myself get lost in a flashback…

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I slammed into the ground, cracking my head on the hard ground, with stars flashing in my eyes. Wearily, I stood up, panting heavily. I wiped the blood away from the open cut above my right eye, and managed to block Torrentican's next attack on my arm, wincing as his staff crashed into the silver colored bracer, denting it and bruising the skin underneath. I threw a haphazard punch at him with my free hand, and he deflected it with a lazy flick of his staff.

Gasping, I grabbed the staff in my fist, and stabbed my blade into his leg, the only area I could reach. Blood flowed from the ghastly wound, and Torrentican hissed mockingly at me. I sneezed in his face, and wheezed, "'Scuse me."

He backed away, favoring his wounded leg, as he wiped off the bits of snot from his eyes. "Did you really have to result to such crude tactics?" He asked, disgusted.

I spat out a small wad of blood, and smiled. "Heh, you always say that you're nothing to sneeze at. Guess I just proved that wrong, didn't I?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously, and I kept up the mocking. I can't help it. The closer I get to getting my ass kicked and the more evil and powerful the villain is, the more I tend to snark. "Endless Traveler of Evil, dude who has more power than a few Gods, and I sneezed in his FACE!" I said triumphantly. "You just got sneezed in the face by a Half-Mexican, Eternal, Smart-Assed, part Irish Traveler! That's new material for me to mock you with!"

Torrentican lunged at me, and grabbed my face in his pointed-finger gauntlet, covering my entire face. He slammed my head into the wall, and half-snarled, half-mocked, "As much as I hate to admit this, but you are more powerful than you lead others to believe. Your Auras, for example, are extremely remarkable, in the way that they can enhance any of your abilities to the point of near-perfection if used properly…"

"Your point?" was my muffled reply.

"Do you recall your 'Dark Aura'?" Torrentican asked in a deadly tone.

"That one scary Aura that nearly killed an entire world several times? The one that I just so happened to destroy a while ago?" I shot back.

"That very same one," Torrentican said, his tone mockingly praising me. "But to tell you the truth: You have many more Auras with the same potential for uncontrolled destruction."

I felt my blood run cold, and the armored hand started to apply pressure, squeezing my head. "Luckily for me," Torrentican continued, "I have learned of a way to force you to learn a new Aura…I wonder, Omnius, have you truly experienced Pain?"

Before I could answer, my mind exploded in a wave of agony. The armored hand let go of me, and I fell to the floor, helpless, as I felt my entire body succumb to the pain. Everywhere, all across my being, pain reigned supreme. I tried to escape into my mind, but even that was feeling its own pain: The pain of reliving my worst memories.

As I let out a wordless scream, Torrentican leaned his face down next to mine, and whispered, "Your Auras come forth when you do nothing but focus on a certain object. A prime example of this is when you learned your first Aura: Fire. You focused only on a burn, and called forth the powers of fire. Now, I am forcing you to focus on nothing but pain…" He grinned, and said in a louder voice, "Your friends had better hurry! You don't have much time yet!"

Through my pain-blurred mind, I realized that he was baiting the girls into running in here, and I was helpless to stop them.

Torrentican laughed, and disappeared, leaving me to my pain, and the rising monster that was about to be freed…and the monster's first victims…

I screamed, and heard the girls get closer and closer…

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I jumped when Celestia brushed the side of my face with the tip of her wing, her touch bringing me careening back into the present time. I shook my head a few times, and looked at her, surprised.

"You flash-backed for a moment," She said sadly, as if she had been experiencing the memory herself. Wait, Goddess of Good, she can see what I'm remembering.

Grinning sheepishly, I said, "Sorry 'bout that. I guess that it HAS been bothering me lately."

Looking at me, Celestia's horn glowed, and a small goblet filled with water floated over, and she offered it to me. I accepted it, and sipped at the cool liquid, glad for its simple, yet reassuring, taste.

"Omnius…I, and quite a few other Gods of Good, feel that you need a break," She said suddenly, taking me by surprise. I sputtered a little, accidentally spilling water onto my shirt, and she added, "Just a simple vacation to help ease your mind about recent events."

"But what would happen if Torrentican, or some other nasty thing shows up?" I finally managed to say.

She smiled, and chuckled slightly. "With that last beating you gave Torrentican, we know for certain that he will be incapacitated for at least a week. Therefore, in order to help preserve the balance, you will take a week of your time to relax, and not worry about ANYTHING," She said, placing extra Celestial emphasis (It's a term!) on 'anything'.

"Where would I go then?" I asked, still not willing to accept this as a simple vacation.

"Hephaestus and Poseidon both requested that you go to Camp Half-Blood, and I agree with them. You haven't been there in quite some time, and I am sure that your friends would be quite glad to see you," She replied.

"But-"

"And to ensure that you do relax," Celestia interrupted, "You will take one of your friends from this world with you. I know that you have a potion of some sort that will prevent her from aging for an entire week."

I gaped at her. I know it was probably disrespectful, but come on! I was being told to take a paid vacation by not just one, but FOUR (Yeah, I'm counting Luna in this equation) Gods of Good. That's like working for Donald Trump, and then out of nowhere, he comes and says, "Hey, good job. Have a Yacht!" to you.

Celestia laughed, and said, "You obviously haven't been told this in a while?"

I shook my head. "Mostly it's been when I've been working for other worldly companies with a hero/heroine, so…yeah, not in a while."

"Sean, you need the break. I suggest you go home, and tell your friends what I've told you. If you would like, I can teleport you back and save you the walk," She offered.

I thought about it, and said, "If it's not too much trouble. Those guards of yours don't make for good conversationists. Too much like those blokes in England."

Celestia grinned, understanding what I meant, and her horn glowed, sending me back to my home in a brilliant flash of sunlight.

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I stumbled on the doorstep, and fell onto my own welcome mat, my face planted into the ground. "Ow," I muttered, as I got up and dusted myself off. I turned around to see six surprised faces, and I grinned stupidly. "Did you drop by to say hi?"

"Actually, we just got a letter from Princess Celestia," Twilight said, stepping forward. "It said that we should come here and see you about…" She trailed off, uncertain as to what she should say.

I unlocked the door, and held it open for the ponies. "Well, come on in. We can talk about this over dinner. I'm making my Traveler's stew!"

Walking into my kitchen, I idly snapped my fingers, and sent a spark of fire at my fireplace, which was promptly set ablaze, and it warmed the room with its cheery glow. I hefted up a large black pot, and whistled as I sliced up random bits of vegetables and tossed them into the pot. Soon, the pot was filled with chunks of carrots, potatoes, bits of roots that I couldn't remember the names of (only that they tasted good), peas, corn, and various herbs that added to its flavor.

I put the now heavy pot over the file, and said, "Pinkie? Would you mind stirring the pot for me while I get everypony a drink and set the table?" She nodded happily, and set about stirring the contents of the pot, the rich smell soon filling the room and causing everypony's stomachs to grumble.

Cooking isn't something I'm particularly good at, especially in the 'Fancy Cuisine' area. Now that being said, I am really good at making a certain type of meal. Not the kind of meal meant to just be fancy and for show, but the kind of meal that just…well, you know. The kind of meal that warms you on a cold winter's day, the kind that just makes you feel better. It fills you up, and tastes pretty good to boot.

Those are the kinds of meals I excel at cooking, and stews are right up my alley. There were many a time I'd had to make a meal like that for a sick child (or three certain fillies who I got roped into babysitting somehow), and it'd done them wonders. I guess it's just the fact that I always put more value in a home cooked meal, then in some sort of fru-fru-tiny-as-all-get-out dinner.

I shook myself out of my thoughts, and focused on setting the table. Rainbow Dash flew over to me, and said, "Hey, is something going on? You've been really quiet since we got here."

Shrugging, I said, "I'll explain during dinner. I'm still trying to figure out how to explain it to y'all. It's kind of…heavy, to say the least."

Rainbow Dash looked at me, but then took the bowls out of my hands, and placed them at various seats around the table. I blinked, surprised, and said, "Um, okay then? I'll go get the dri-"

Just as I reached a hand out for the heavy tray, a blue glow encompassed it, and Rarity called out from the living room, "It's fine Darling, I've got it! You just worry about getting dinner prepared!"

I grumbled under my breath, but let Rarity do that. It's just a small peeve of mine, but I don't like it when I have guests, and they manage to take most of the work out of my hands. I know it's old fashioned, but dammit, I'm the host, I should have to cater to the guests! Especially when they're all ladies! Not to sound sexist or anything, but the first eight years of my life were filled with lessons on "Southern Hospitality," or in other words, "Ladies first, hold doors open," that stuff.

As soon as I turned to head into the living room to grab the stew, Twilight walked in, and levitated the massive pot onto the table, and grinned. "It was ready, and I thought that it would be easier if I just moved it into here for you."

I sighed, and said, "Y'all just wanna get me to tell you what's up faster, don't you?"

They grinned sheepishly, while Pinkie bounced around, and said, "Maaaaaayyyyybeeee."

"Confound you ponies," I cursed, laughing. "Alright, get yourselves seated, and I'll dish out the ste-" I stopped once I saw Fluttershy ladling out bowls of stew for everypony, and Applejack placed some buttered bread next to each bowl. "…I'm just gonna eat now. Or has that been done for me too?"

They all giggled, and I sat down, eating my stew. I bet you're wondering how I got it to cook that fast. Well it's simple: Magic Ponies. Seriously, it's magic, I ain't gotta explain shit!

While we ate, I told the ponies about my conversation with the Princess, attempting to sound casual about it, but they weren't fooled. They could tell that this was bugging me, yet they wisely decided to just let me tell them.

"So, in conclusion, I have to take a weeklong vacation, oh, and I have to ask one of you to come with me…" I finished, cramming the last of my bread into my mouth. They all looked at me, and the expression on their faces was one that I didn't expect in the least: Excitement.

"Uh, girls? Why are you smiling like that?" I asked fearfully.

"Well DUH! You're getting a vacation!" Pinkie said happily, jumping up and down in her seat. "Where do you get to go!"

"Camp Half-Blood. Couple of Gods wanted me to drop by. It's like a summer camp type deal," I said lamely, trying to come up with a good way to explain it.

"So which one of us is to accompany you?" Rarity asked, her eyes sparkling. "I would imagine that-"

"Applejack," I interrupted. Best to just get it over with.

Everypony looked confused, and the farmpony asked, "Wah would ya want ta take me?"

"Do you want the honest answer, or the sugar-coated answer?" I replied, a guilty smile on my face.

Everypony looked at me, and I chuckled. "Alright, honest answer it is. I really would like to take all of you, but as it can only be one…Twilight, I can't ask you because you're not exactly athletic enough, and you can be a little naïve…"

She grimaced, but nodded, agreeing with me. I looked at Rarity, and said, "Rarity, I know how uncomfortable you are with getting down and dirty, so I can't ask you to make yourself uncomfortable. Fluttershy, you're too gentle for this world. Trust me, if the jerks from Ares cabin found out how timid you are…"

I coughed slightly, and continued. "Rainbow, I can't take you because of…Ahem, well they have stables with…I'mma just leave it at that."

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to say something, and I placed my hand over her, and quickly said, "The fourth wall is unstable enough as it is!"

She rolled her eyes, and giggled underneath my palm. I let out a sigh of relief, and looked at A.J's emerald eyes. Speaking slowly and clearly, I said, "A.J, if it isn't too much trouble, would you please come with me?"

Applejack adjusted her hat, and said, "Well shucks, Omnius, ya don't even have to ask!"

I smiled, and got up from the table. "Thanks. We'll head out in five minutes, and be back here in a week. Well, it'll seem like a week to us, but in reality it will be only a couple of minutes if what Celestia said is right."

Grabbing my usual backpack, I dashed into my room, and found a slender red vial on top of my dresser. I snatched it, and raced back down, saying, "Alright, Applejack, you don't have to pack anything, I've got the essentials in my pack, and there's another passage to The Vault at camp. Just chug this, and we'll be on our way!"

A.J took the vial, and eyed it. "What's in here?"

"Potion made from the Sorcerer's Stone. It'll stop you from aging for one week exactly, thus making sure we don't accidentally break time," I explained. I hugged the others, and said, "Alrighty then, I'll be gone for a week, you'll see me in a couple minutes!"

They laughed at my crazy Traveler logic, and returned the hugs happily. As soon as I had hugged Pinkie, I went over to A.J, and said, "Last chance to back out!"

She pried the cork off of the bottle, and chugged the entire contents of the bottle in one go. She grinned, and replied, "Does that answer your question?"

Placing a hand on her side, I said, "I guess so. Now then: Lettsa Go!"

And together, Applejack and I were off!

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

As soon as I felt my feet touch the soft grass of the hill, I sighed. "Welp, we're here App- YE GODS!"

I quickly took off my coat, and draped it over Applejack's shoulders, my face feeling extremely hot.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking at me in confusion. "And why do I feel different?"

"Erm…You're um, a- Oh, fuck it: Applejack, you're a human now," I blurted out, digging through my backpack, and doing my best not to look at her.

"Well wah are ya actin so…"

"Applejack, you only have your hat on," I said simply, finally pulling out a long trench coat. I handed it to Applejack, and kept my eyes shut. "Would you mind throwing this on? At least until we get into Camp…"

Applejack grabbed the trench coat, and I heard her giggle nervously. I had already explained to her why Humans wore clothes, so she wasn't exactly ignorant of why I was embarrassed. It made it even more awkward when you considered that in human form, Applejack wasn't exactly…bad looking.

I coughed, and shook those thoughts out of my head before they could even form. Bad idea for me to try and think of anything like that. A light tap on my shoulder made me turn, and I felt my eyebrow shoot up as I took in Applejack's new, temporary form.

She was a couple inches shorter than me, and her hair was still bound in its trademark Ponytail (why haven't I asked them what they call that hairstyle?), where it gently reached just a little bit below her shoulder blades. Her face was still covered with flecks of freckles, and her eyes were still the same, shimmering, Emerald orbs that they always were.

Applejack looked at me, and said, "Omnius? You feelin' alright there?"

I cleared my throat, and adjusted my bandana. "Yeah, I'm good. Now then, before we head to Camp, we need to make sure that you can walk alright," I said, thankful that the slope of the hill was big enough for us to get Applejack acquainted with her new 'Human' form.

"Aw, that'll be easy!" Applejack said, right before she took a step forward, and tripped. I caught her, and chuckled.

"Trust me AJ, getting used to a new form takes time," I said as I set her on her feet.

"How long did it take ya to get used to yer Pony form?"

"Hm…A few hours," I answered. "It probably would have been longer, but the fact that your sister was caught in that storm made me learn a LOT faster."

She sighed, and said, "Ah'm gonna fall a lot, aren't I?"

"Oh, definitely. Call this Karma for when you laughed at my first flight attempts," I said cheerfully.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

A couple of hours later, Applejack had made some great progress. She could now manage a walk, but if she had to go faster than a jog, she'd start stumbling, and if she had to make any sharp/sudden turns, she'd fall down.

I nodded, and said, "Alright, you've got it down. Now come on, it's almost lunch time!"

We walked up the hill, and I had to stop and smack my forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I muttered to myself.

"What?" Applejack asked, looking at me.

"It's nothing. Come on, we need to meet Chiron," I said, quickening my pace.

I should have thought of this earlier, but I MAY have left out one teensy-tiny little itty-bitty detail about humans…It wasn't much of a problem in Equestria, as I tended to eat in Pony form most of the time, but now, since we were surrounded by other humans…How the hell was I gonna tell Applejack about us eating meat? I know that we don't HAVE to, but still.

"I'll have to talk to Chiron about that," I mumbled under my breath. We reached the top of the hill, where a massive pine tree marked the top, standing as a lone sentinel for the camp. The tree marked the border of the camp. A glittering, Golden Fleece hung on a low branch, and a bronze mass of scales and muscles picked itself up, and glared at us.

"Yo," I called out, waving at the dragon, and gripping Applejack's hand in my own. "Good to see you again."

The dragon blinked, and snorted happily. He turned his gaze to Applejack, and bared his teeth a little.

"She's with me." The dragon nodded his head, and wrapped himself around the tree again, sighing in content, and he closed his eyes, seemingly falling asleep.

"He sure don't talk much," Applejack commented.

"Dragons don't talk at all on this world," I replied simply. "At least, I haven't met a talking dragon yet. Mostly because they're either sleeping, or trying to kill me. Meh, what can you do, eh?"

Applejack looked surprised, but she didn't say anything as I led her down the hill, and into camp. I suppressed another sigh of relief when she and I were both able to get through the barrier that was supposed to keep mortals out. I looked at the sea, and thought, "Thanks Poseidon."

As if to answer me, a large wave crashed onto the beach, and I smiled. Yeah, it's Good to be The Traveler.

I stopped a little ways from the bottom of the hill, and said to Applejack, "A.J, welcome to Camp Half-Blood!"

Her eyes widened, as she took in the huge area. Ahead of us was The Big House, which was basically just an old farmhouse/mansion thing that was painted sky blue, and had an Eagle-shaped weather vane on top of it, the symbol of Zeus. There were a few campers out and about, and a few of them waved at me.

I waved back, and said, "What do ya think A.J?"

She shook her head, a large smile on her face, and she said, "I cain't believe that there's that many strawberries out there!"

I grinned, and started walking again, saying, "I have a feeling that you'll like it here."

As we walked, I glanced over at the porch of the house, and saw two of my favorite people. One was a boy (or man, in Spartan terms) with black hair, and sea-green eyes, and the other was a girl with sandy-blonde hair, and grey eyes the color of a brewing storm. She wore silver owl earrings, and they were both holding hands and laughing at something that the other must have said. Both of them wore an orange t-shirt that had "Camp Half-Blood" on it in big block letters.

"Annabeth! Percy!" I shouted, waving my hand at them to get their attention. They both looked at me, surprised, and I added, "What? I can't drop by from time to time?"

Percy was the first to recover, and he hurtled over the side of the railing that surrounded the building. Annabeth quickly followed suit, both of them running towards us. I felt myself get hugged by Annabeth, and she said, "Nate! It's good to see you again!"

"You too," I replied, hugging her back. I let go of her, and gave Percy a high five, and said, "Hey Perce! How've things been?"

He smiled, and said, "Great. We've pretty much finished building the new cabins, and new demigods are still pouring in everyday."

I shook my head, laughing. "Wow. Hard to believe it's only been, what? A couple of weeks since the Battle of Manhattan?"

"Yeah. Hey, who's your friend?" Annabeth asked, finally noticing Applejack.

"Erm…Well, how do I put this..." I started, scratching my beard. "Percy, Annabeth, this is Applejack. She's one of my friends from, uh, out of town, you could say."

They nodded, understanding what I meant, and I casually added, "You know, I betcha Chiron would like to meet her. Know where I could find the old mule?"

"Who are you calling a mule?" An indignant voice called out good-naturedly. All four of us turned, and spotted a middle-aged man, who was sitting in a wheel chair, smiling at us.

"Chiron!" I said, happily jogging over. I shook his hand, and said, "Well maybe not a goat, but come on! Don't blame me for wanting to use that joke!"

He chuckled, and waved his hand at me. "I know, I know. I must say, I'm rather surprised to see you back so soon! And as Annabeth asked, who is your lovely young friend?" He asked, eyeing Applejack warily.

"It might be a good idea if we talk about this INSIDE," I emphasized, looking at Applejack and then at my shirt.

Chiron's eyes narrowed, and he said, "Ah. Friend from out of town?"

"Eyup."

"Very well then. Percy, Annabeth," He said in a tone of authority.

They nodded again, and we all walked inside, and surrounded a ping-pong table. I pulled out a chair for Applejack and helped her get seated. I ignored the looks that the others gave me, and sat next to her, placing my arms on the table.

We all sat quietly for a few moments, before Chiron spoke up. "So…who is your friend?"

"Mah name," Applejack finally said irritably, "Is Applejack. And Ah ain't deaf."

Chiron blinked, and I added, "That's what you get for taunting an Equestrian."

"Equestrian?" Percy asked confused. "Doesn't that mean-?"

"Long story. Get comfortable," I interrupted. "Alright, this'll tell you why I'm here, why A.J's here, and why you might feel a certain connection to her."

"How did-"

"Shut up, and all will be answered," I interrupted. Clearing my throat, I got ready for another round of storytelling.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

"So now, on suggestion of your Dad and Hephaestus," I finished, looking at Percy, "I'm gonna be here for a few days, and Princess Celestia told me to bring along a friend to make sure that I relaxed."

Percy nodded, and then looked at Applejack. "So…a Pony?" He asked hesitantly, as if he were going bonkers.

She nodded, and Annabeth asked, "Why are you wearing that Trench coat during the summer?"

I cleared my throat for what felt like the thousandth time that day, and said, "Well, see, I didn't know that she would, um, transform like that, so she doesn't exactly have any clothes. I was hoping you could get someone from the Aphrodite cabin to lend her some duds or something."

She blushed, and said, "Oh. Well, it looks like she's just about my size…I'll see if I can find her something to wear."

Applejack grimaced, and said, "Uh, thank ya kindly. Ah'm just not really used to this body yet…Where Ah'm from, we don't normally wear clothes, exceptin' for special occasions."

Chiron tapped my shoulder, and looked at me with a serious expression on his face. "I feel that it would make things much easier if we were to just show her the orientation film. I'll explain a few more things for her after, if necessary."

"Thanks Chiron. Hey, we might need a cover story for her if anyone asks who her Godly parent is," I realized, scratching my head.

"Actually," Percy cut in. "She could just stay with you in your cabin. That way, if anyone asks, she's just like your sister or something."

I blinked. "Percy, that's brilliant! Annabeth must be finally rubbing off on you."

He punched my shoulder, and I winced. "Ouch. Jeez, that stupid Achilles thing really gets on my nerves sometimes."

We all shared a laugh, and Chiron brought Applejack into the other room, in order to get her acquainted with the basics. Annabeth, Percy, and I all sat in silence, as we waited.

"Hey Omnius…" Annabeth finally asked.

"What?"

"Were you cute as a pony?" She teased, smiling.

I facepalmed, while Percy cracked up, laughing at my expense. "Shut up Wise Girl," I muttered, smiling.

"Come on Traveler!" Percy goaded. "Answer the question!"

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair, and mumbled, "Yes…"

"What was that?" He asked, leaning forward, and putting a hand next to his ear.

"A boot to the head."

"Wha-?" THUNK! A boot flew out from underneath the table, and hit Percy in the face. "And one for Annabeth and the wimp!" Two more boots flew out, one of them hitting Percy again, and the other hitting Annabeth's shoulder.

"And that is what we call Karma," I said, laughing, and nearly falling out of my chair. I got up, and stretched, glancing at my watch. "Wow, is that really the time? I'm sorry to have talked the day away. We must have missed dinner…"

"It's no big deal," Percy said, rubbing the red spot that formed where the boot hit him.

"Oh, that reminds me!" I looked around, and whispered to them both, "Um, if you can, try not to let A.J see any meat related meals. She might be human now, but the thought of eating meat might, well…"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and said, "Nate, I kind of thought that might be the case."

"Right. Smartest person in the room right now," I said, slapping my forehead again. "Right. Well, I'm off to bed. Mind tellin' A.J where my cabin is?"

"Sure. See you in the morning," Percy said, clapping me on the shoulder, probably harder than was necessary.

"Ow."

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

I tossed my backpack in a corner of my cabin, and sighed. Flipping the switch next to the door, a few flickering lights revealed a meager looking room, with only a few bunks in it. I threw myself on the nearest one, and let my thoughts wander for a few minutes, as I waited for Applejack to get here.

"So…vacation…wow," I said out loud, talking to myself. "This is new. Wonder what me and A.J are gonna do tomorrow…Definitely avoiding the stables at all costs. Volleyball might seem a little too tame for her…I could show her the arena tomorrow…I know that Clarisse still owes me a fight from last time. Maybe I can trick A.J into scaling the Lava Wall. That'd be good for a few laughs. Canoeing sounds fun too. I know that Percy and Annabeth would be into it…" I trailed off, and just silently watched a few flecks of dust swirl through the air.

I lay there, wide awake, afraid to go asleep. Finally, the door opened, and Applejack walked in, carrying a spring-green backpack that must have been filled with various clothes for her to wear.

"Hey A.J," I said, giving her a small wave from my bunk.

"Howdy," She replied, a strange look on her face.

"What's up?" I asked, getting up.

Applejack sat down on the bunk across from mine, and sighed, saying, "Ah guess it's just a lot to take in. Ah mean, this is just really different from what Ah've seen before, and…"

I got up, and sat down next to her. "I know how that feels. But don't sweat it A.J. It'll probably end up that you forget most of this when we go back, since it might screw up the story too much. Of course, until an event comes that forces you to forget it, then you'll still remember it. Does that make any sense?"

She laughed, and punched my shoulder. "Normally, no, but Ah've known ya long enough to know what yer tryin' ta say."

I laughed with her, and said, "I guess that's a good thing. Well, it's getting late. Time to hit the hay, right?"

She yawned, and I had to resist the urge to join her. Getting up, I flicked off the light switch, and crawled into bed.

"Night Applejack."

"G'night Omnius…"

Not even two minutes later, she was sound asleep, snoring softly. I simply lay in my bed, and stared at the bunk above me. I fought for as long as I could, but inevitably, sleep overtook me, and I fell victim to my nightmares once again.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

A long corridor of mirrors stretched before me, each reflection showing my evident surprise and fear. Seeing that my back was against a wall, I started walking down the long hall, my footsteps echoing eerily.

A low chuckle cut through the silence, and I whirled, expecting to find something behind me. Instead, I found that the entire hall had warped, and was now a mess of unevenly shaped mirrors, each reflection a mocking apparition of some sort. I turned tail, and fled, unnatural fear permeating my heart. I finally burst out of the hall, only to find myself in a black room, with only a single shaft of light illuminating a window in front of me.

Tentatively, I walked forward, and looked at the reflection in front of me. Through the window, I could see a black figure standing in it. He had black skin that seemed to be made of living shadows, and his clothes were almost the same shade, and torn in grisly gashes everywhere. He slouched, and his arms hung limply at his side, as if he were measuring up his prey…

I looked closer at his hands, and saw fragments of jagged, purple crystal that levitated a few inches away from his fingertips. Every time his hand moved, the crystals would follow, leaving an after trail that seemed to cut through the very fabric of reality.

The figure lifted its head, and gazed at me with pale yellow orbs of light. I lifted a hand, and the figure copied me. Paling, I realized that it wasn't a window I was staring at.

It was a mirror.

The mirror shattered suddenly, and the figure burst through, plunging the crystal into me.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

Screaming, I shot up, my eyes darting around, expecting to see the Obliterator Aura crouched in front of me, ready to sink its deadly claws into my chest. Applejack wrapped an arm around me, and said in a low voice, "Omnius, it's okay, there's nothing there."

Panting heavily, I forced myself to calm down, and stop screaming. My heart pounded in my chest, and my shirt was soaked in sweat.

"What…happened?" I finally managed to get out.

"Ah don't know," Applejack said, sitting on my bed next to me. "You were hollerin' in yer sleep, and Ah was tryin' ta wake ya up."

I gulped, and started trembling. "Sorry if I woke you," I apologized, unable to stop my shaking.

Applejack smiled, and said, "Don't worry 'bout it. You were having a bad dream." She looked at me, a concerned look on her face, and asked, "Want to talk about it?"

"…" Was my only reply. I reached over to the nightstand that was next to the bunk, and grabbed my glasses. As soon as I put them on, I got up, and grabbed a new shirt and jeans from my bag, and said tiredly, "I'm gonna get ready for the day. You can go back to sleep if you want, but I need to go…hit something. I'll be in the arena if you need me."

I walked into the bathroom, and changed, wiping off my body with a wet towel. As soon as I was satisfied with my now semi-clean appearance, I quietly left the cabin, pretending not to notice that Applejack was only pretending to be asleep.

The sun was barely reaching out over the horizon, and I took in a deep breath of the fresh morning air. There were only a few campers out and about, so I managed to sneak into the arena before anyone else did.

Wrapping some boxing tape around my hands, I went over to a dummy that was wearing a full set of Greek armor, and started whaling on it, pounding my fists into it again, and again, trying to lose myself in the exercise.

A few hours later, I had literally beaten the stuffing out of the dummy, but was still hitting it with all of the strength I dared risk. I didn't realize it, but several other campers had started to trickle in, and they were watching me quietly, as if afraid that I would turn my rage on them too.

Screaming, I finally picked up the large dummy, and flung it across the room, where it fell apart, stuffing and bits of armor rolling across the floor. I took in a deep breath, and looked around at everyone who was staring at me. Snarling, I looked at them all, and said, "What are you looking at?"

They quickly fell into their own routines, ignoring me completely, and I nodded. "That's what I thought." Turning, I walked over to the dummy, and started picking up its remains, not wanting to leave a mess. Just before I could grab the helmet, a muscular arm grabbed it before I could, snatching it away from me.

"Clarisse," I said coolly. "Nice to see you again."

She grunted, and added the helmet to my pile. I nodded my thanks, and dumped the remains into a trashcan that was already filled with broken swords and torn armor.

"How're things?" I asked, punching at another dummy.

"Better," She replied, putting on some armor, and strapping a shield to her arm. "You?"

"Wish I could say the same." I continued punching the dummy, aiming for its armor this time so I could make sure it lasted longer. My knuckles felt bruised, and there were small cuts from where the armor had cut through the tape, but I ignored it and kept punching.

"You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep that up." She tossed a chest plate at me, and I caught it, looking at it suspiciously. "How about you fight something that can fight back?"

I strapped the chest piece on, and summoned my sword. I raised my eyebrow, and said, "We finally gonna get to that fight you promised me a while back?"

She grinned. "Good to see you're still a smartass."

"I'd rather be a smartass than a dumbass," I replied. With that, Clarisse charged at me, swinging her sword at my neck, and I hurried to parry the blow.

"Less yakking, more hacking, hm?" I said, jabbing at her knee. She flicked the sword tip away, and went on the offensive, forcing me to parry all of her blows. I rolled backwards, and slashed my sword at the ground, sending up a cloud of dirt to throw off Clarisse. She grimaced, and jumped back, wiping dirt from her face, and I took the opportunity to attack her, going after her sword hilt.

I finally managed to pry the tip of my sword into the small space between her fist and the grip, and forced her to drop her weapon. I brought the tip of my sword up to her neck, and panted, "Boo-ya-ka-sha."

We stood there for a minute, eyeing the other warily, before Clarisse started laughing. I grinned, and dismissed the sword. "Good fight," She said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. As soon as she said that, everyone around us started clapping as well, and I noticed that another small audience had gathered.

"Thanks. You too. I guess I needed that," I shrugged, removing the chest plate.

"Survivor's Guilt getting to you again?" Clarisse asked, helping me with a tricky strap.

"Not exactly. I lost control of another Aura not too long ago," I simply said. I trusted Clarisse now, ever since she proved that she wasn't such a huge jerk when she proved her strength at the Battle of Manhattan (Applejack still thought it was called "Manehatten"), and she knew about my Traveling.

She hissed, and said, "How bad was it this time?"

"Nearly hurt my friends, again, and it's still lingering, waiting for me to get desperate enough to summon it. I'm worried I might accidentally call it up now," I confessed, pouring myself a cup of water from the nearby water cooler thing (I REALLY need to get a thesaurus or something!). Instead of drinking it, I splashed the contents onto my face, washing off the sweat and dirt my training had caused.

"What Aura was it?"

"I dunno. It's kind of a new one. It thrives on pain, and only wants to cause more and feel more, so I decided to call it the Obliterator Aura." I got another cup of water, and drank it this time.

Clarisse shook her head, and said, "Wow. How bad is it?"

"Think of Ares when he gets into his war mode. Remove all emotions, and replace them with pain, and a drive to cause pain. It doesn't care about getting hurt, and it can find out the most painful ways to hurt you," I said, dismissing my sword.

"Well, don't let it get to you," Clarisse said, visibly disturbed. "You have it under control now, right?"

"Technically…"

"Then don't worry about it! What is it you're always saying? 'No Worries'?" She pointed out. "You obviously don't want to use it, and now that you know that it's there, you can control it!"

"Pfft," I snorted. "Don't let Torrentican hear you say that. He might bust another rib laughing so hard."

She smacked me upside the head, and said, "I'm being serious! Don't let the fact that you have power scare you! You've handled worse things before right? This thing can't be as bad as your Dark Aura!"

"You're right," I said simply. "It's worse. Thanks for the pep talk though. I actually feel…better."

"Of course you do!" She shouted. "Child of War just gave you advice on how to deal with something caused by war!" She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the worlds'.

I snickered, and said, "Right. Good ole' Demigod logic!"

She punched my arm, and said, "Damn straight. Now come on, are you just gonna stand there looking like an idiot, or are you going to show your friend," She pointed at Applejack, who had just shown up, "that you can fight?"

Grinning, I took up a fighting stance, and said, "Bring it."

She put her fingers to her lips, and whistled. Three seconds later, the entire Ares cabin surrounded me, and I gulped audibly. "You tricked me…"

"All's fair in war."

"Sad but true."

As soon as I said that, they all rushed at me, and I let out a battle cry of, "SPOOOOOOOON!"

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

Twenty minutes later, I stood, battered and bruised, swaying on my feet, as the last Ares Cabin member fell down, taken out by a flash kick to the chin. As soon as he hit the floor, Applejack came over, and hugged me as hard as she could.

"Ack! Ribs…cracked!" I choked out, hugging her back. "What was the hug for?"

"Just lettin' ya know Ah'm still here."

I smiled, touched, and said, "Thanks A.J. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go find a nice patch of ground to pass out on. Tally-ho!" Applejack caught me as I fell, and she laughed at my antics.

"Do you always do stuff like this?"

"No. Sometimes I'm asleep."

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

The rest of the week passed by quickly, and for the first time in a long while, I finally relaxed, letting myself forget about the Obliterator Aura. There were a few noteworthy events that I thought were pretty hilarious…

Applejack capturing the Flag, much to the surprise of the entire camp…

Percy and Annabeth both getting pranked by me, while they were out canoeing…

Me swimming away from a bunch of sharks that Percy had summoned for revenge…

Me getting my revenge-revenge by bequeathing another boot to the head…

Applejack learning the art of Roundhouse kicks…Note to self, don't volunteer to be practice dummy…

Soon enough though, it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes to everyone (Applejack refused to even so much as go near the stables the entire trip, once I told her what was kept there), and readied ourselves to leave.

"So what did you think about Camp Half-Blood?" I asked her, right before we left.

"Ah thought it was somethin'," She said, smiling.

"Yeah…That's good, right?"

"Of course it is! Ah hope that everypony can come next time ya do somethin' like this," She laughed.

I smirked, and said, "That might happen someday. For now, we need to head home!"

I grabbed her hand, and called out for the entire camp to hear, "IT'S GOOD TO BE THE TRAVELER!"

XHXHXHXHXHXHX

We landed in the small clearing behind my house, and I looked at Applejack. "Glad to be a pony again?" I asked, flicking a fly with my tail.

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe!" She said, shaking herself.

I grinned, and said, "Now let's go see the others! Remember, it's only been a few minutes for them, so try not to go all ballistic, 'I missed you' on them."

"Omnius, ya do that all the time!"

"Exactly. That means I know just how annoying it can be!"