Black Wings
Mama always said that life was like a bucket of apples, except that some of the apples were rotten, and you couldn't tell which were and which weren't, and if you were lucky then there might be sugar cubes too, but don't count on it: you never know what you're gonna get.
Blackjack had never really understood what she was on about, but then, Mama always had a way with words that he couldn't quite get his head around. She seemed confident in what she was saying, though, so he did his best to pay attention.
Apparently he hadn't paid close enough attention, though, because he'd missed the bit about how you should beware Greek monsters bearing gifts, even ones like sugar cubes.
Blackjack still wasn't convinced that anyone who would give him sugar cubes was totally bad, even if the dracaenae who'd fed his addiction had tied him up and dragged him on board a cruise ship afterwards.
He'd spent a long time – weeks, at the very least – locked away in the dark hold beneath the Princess Andromeda's deck, his legs cramping up in the confined space.
Eventually, though, he was retrieved from below decks and brought before a blond half-blood the monsters called Luke.
Luke said that Blackjack was his now, and that Blackjack had to do as he was told. Blackjack decided pretty quickly that he did not like Luke.
But Blackjack did do as he was told, because if he was thrown back into the darkness, he didn't know when he'd be let out again, if ever.
He kept a secret corner of his heart to himself though, where he brooded on his resentment for his captors as he lay in bed at night, and which he opened up for the occasional act of rebellion to convince himself that he was still his own horse.
And then everything changed.
He was fighting the bear-man (Aggius, maybe?) who was dragging him up the stairs, because he didn't want to fly for his hated master, when he sensed a presence up on deck. It had an irresistible draw to it, and an aura like the ocean.
Which was strange, as Blackjack normally did his best to stay away from the water, seeing as Mama had been fond of saying something about Hades and high water both being bad things to happen. He wasn't totally sure why that was, but went with it.
He stopped fighting so much, and docilely allowed the bear-man (possibly Argius) to take him up on deck, where he would investigate this presence some more. As they drew closer, however, things became more complicated.
The presence seemed stressed, maybe even panicked. It rolled and fluctuated like the sea in turmoil, waiting to burst, but never quite doing so.
The realisation that this could be Blackjack's chance to escape never really arrived in one coherent piece. Instead, the pegasus simply followed his instinct, and, before he himself knew what he was doing, he railed against the bear-man's grip and burst on to the deck, flailing his wings and screaming profanities at anyone who would listen.
After that, everything was a bit of a blur.
Blackjack was pretty confident that he'd played a vital role in the whole affair, but his only clear memories were seeing Percy – that sea-like presence, now given form and, much later, a name – fighting Luke, followed by the monsters on the ship being cut down by waves of arrows, and then a mad flight away from the Princess Andromeda.
The only thing that Blackjack could be really confident about, though, was that Percy had been involved somehow. So he got sort of attached to the kid. Hey, could you blame him? He'd just been saved from an eternity of servitude to the titans. He had reason to be grateful!
After that, they did all sorts of things together. They flew across the country to eat doughnuts and rescue that girl, Annawhatsit. Blackjack wasn't really sure what Percy saw in her, but whatever. Humans were weird, and demigods were weirder. Anyway, the point was that the two of them were tight, alright?
Anyway, back to apples. The important things.
The reason he was thinking of apples at the moment, and Mama's musings on them, was that life didn't seem to have thrown him many rotten ones recently. In fact, there had been a pleasantly surprising number of sugar cubes involved. Had Mama ever discovered doughnuts, he was sure that she'd class his current life as an example of them, providing a joy exceeding even that of sugar cubes.
Sure, he did his bit of helping out with saving the world – not to brag, but he sort of saved Percy Jackson's life (yeah, the Percy Jackson) several times, and that kind of made him a big deal – but when they weren't in the middle of a war, Blackjack was kinda enjoying life.
He had easy access to all the food he wanted, got plenty of exercise, and the mares in the stable were particularly receptive to his status as a war hero now. He'd even managed to dissuade everyone from trying to make him stay in the stables, although he still slept there when there was nothing better to do.
He was in the stables now, half asleep as he tried to get some rest, when he felt Percy's aura approaching.
He'd always been able to sense Percy before any of the other pegasi. He wasn't sure why, other than that maybe they had some sort of special bond after all their adventures together. And, of course, that Blackjack was obviously the best pegasus.
In truth, it seemed like Percy had been getting all the rotten apples that should have been in Blackjack's bucket. If seeing a number of his friends die wasn't enough, he'd then fallen into Tartarus, again for Annathingy. Blackjack was beginning to wonder if this girl was worth it.
Ever since Percy had come back, it had seemed as though his mind was somewhere else, like he was constantly thinking of what it had been like in Tartarus. Blackjack always felt a bit on edge around him now, worrying that one wrong move could break the fragile son of Poseidon.
He pricked up his ears and stood, wondering what the Percy might want at this time of the night.
"Alright Boss?" he asked. The other pegasi rustled in their stalls, only just realising that something was going on.
"Hey man," said Percy. "How's it going?"
"Better if you've brought me sugar cubes," he said.
Percy snorted – possibly trying to imitate a horse? Blackjack wasn't sure – and said "Well, they're not quite sugar cubes, but..." before reaching in to the sack he was holding and pulling out an apple. It shone briefly in the moonlight from the door, before Blackjack sunk his teeth into it and devoured it in a couple of bites. He whinnied in satisfaction as Percy stroked his mane gently.
"So why're you here, Boss?" he asked. "Unless it was just to bring me apples. In which case I'm not complaining."
Percy smiled wanly. "Well, just couldn't sleep. I didn't want to wake Annabeth, so I went for a walk… found some apples in the kitchens, and here I am."
'Couldn't sleep' meant that nightmares had kept him up. Blackjack nuzzled into his hand affectionately. "Wanna go for a ride?" he asked.
"Where?" asked Percy.
"Just around," said Blackjack. He wanted to get out of the stable, but he reckoned it would also be good for Percy to get some exercise.
Percy sighed. "We shouldn't..." he started.
"When have you ever cared about the rules, Boss?"
Percy snorted again. It occurred to Blackjack that it might be a strange human way of laughing. "Come on," he said. "It'll be fun."
"Alright, alright," said Percy in mock surrender, holding up his hands. "We'll go for a ride, then."
Blackjack kicked the stable door. "Lemme out already then," he said.
Percy unbolted the doors and swung them open, letting Blackjack trot out. "Leave the apples in the hay rack, Boss," he said. "I'll get back to them later."
Percy dutifully poured the fruit into the rack, before following Blackjack onto the moonlit grass outside.
There, Blackjack knelt so Percy could climb on his back more easily, waiting until he felt a leg on either side of his back, before standing up and setting off towards the beach. If any of the harpies tried to stop them, he resolved to trample them.
When they reached the beach, the moon was low, its reflection glimmering on the surface of the water, marking a shining silver line from the shore up to the point of the horizon directly below the moon itself.
Blackjack dipped a hoof in the water, pressing down on the wet sand underneath. Then he set off at a gallop.
First, they ran along the beach, gathering pace, and, as their speed built, he weaved in and out of the shallows, splashing up the water. When he felt that they were going fast enough, Blackjack wheeled left, straight into the sea.
He'd judged it perfectly.
He extended his wings, letting them catch the air, but only gave them a flutter, rather than a flap. It kept the pair of them up as he ran across the water, hooves skimming the surface. To anyone watching, it would seem as though he was putting his weight on the sea below.
Finally, he lifted off, unfurling his wings to their fullest extent and beating them up and down, pushing into the currents and taking flight. The ground fell away, and Blackjack felt his heart soar upwards even within his body. This was nothing but joy.
Sometimes he wondered, at this point of flight, how creatures such as humans could bear to exist without wings. This time, he just basked in the sensation of freedom.
He never could just relax in the air for long, though.
Now he strained for speed, champing at the bit to go faster, and faster still. He rushed past the wind, wings flapping wildly and even the hooves below him increasing their rate of gallop. He went so fast that he felt they must have out-flown all of Percy's fears and nightmares, never to be seen again.
But eventually they had to go back.
Blackjack slowed somewhere over the Long Island pine barrens, banking and turning back to camp. He glided there, enjoying the cool breeze, and letting the air currents do most of the work for him.
He felt Percy's hand move carefully over his mane and neck. It was gentle, fragile, as it always had been since Tartarus. It was better than nothing.
He came down next to the lake at a canter, slowing gradually until they came to a stop by the Poseidon cabin, where Blackjack knew that Annawha – Annabeth, that was it – would be sleeping.
Percy climbed down, and sighed.
"Good, Boss?" he asked.
"Yeah, good. I should go get some sleep though. Enjoy your apples." Percy turned to go, but hesitated for a moment before facing Blackjack again, this time smiling. "Thank you, Blackjack. This… it's been a really nice night. Helped me think some things through. Sort myself out a bit. So thanks, for that."
He stepped away again, heading inside, but wheeled around on his heel once more, shaking his head. "Who am I trying to kid?" he asked. "I'm not going to sleep tonight. I don't feel tired, and if I did, there are nightmares in there. I can try again tomorrow. I can get a handle on it. But not tonight. It's too much for tonight." He paused, suddenly breathing heavily. Blackjack watched him carefully, not wanting to worry him. "Do you want to fly again?" asked Percy. "Can you do that for me?"
Blackjack neighed softly and knelt down for Percy to climb on. He felt the son of Poseidon's weight settle on his back, then stood and began to canter. He reached the beach, reached a gallop, and reached up into the air.
Oh, but Blackjack could fly!
Now, lemme tell you something people: writing from the perspective of a horse is difficult. Please review - tell me if I managed it!
Also, in Sea of Monsters, it says that the pegasus on the Princess Andromeda is female, which, as I'm sure the more alert of you have noticed, Blackjack is not. I'm assuming that it is Blackjack though, and that's just a mistake or was later changed, as it's not as if they search the stables for more pegasi, and how many black ones are there anyway? I'm pretty confident that Percy says he's never seen one before.
This is, of course, assuming that you don't get transgender pegasi. But I feel like it would have been clarified if you did.