AN: So guys would you look at that I'm actually sort of on time- I think I may even be a bit earlier than normal but I guess I had some inspiration to write, I did start writing up a new Drarry fic that's been partly written for over a year now but I got distracted by ideas of posting this for you instead. Anyway you don't want to hear about that.

I hope you like this, I'm happier with this chapter than I have been for the last few but I'll reserve judgement until I hear what you guys think so please review. Enjoy. And hopefully my next update won't be too much of a wait.

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or the HoO series. All rights belong to Rick Riordan.

18. The Party Ponies Invade Connor said with relish.

"One on one," I challenged Luke. "What are you afraid of?"

''I'm gonna go with getting his ass whipped'' Travis said, shooting Luke a glare to let him know he wasn't forgiven for what he'd done.

Luke curled his lip. The soldiers who were about to kill us hesitated, waiting for his order.

Before he could say anything, Agrius, the bear-man, burst onto the deck leading a flying horse. It was the first pure-black pegasus I'd ever seen, with wings like a giant raven. The pegasus mare bucked and whinnied. I could understand her thoughts. She was calling Agrius and Luke some names so bad Chiron would've washed her muzzle out with saddle soap.

''Blackjack'' Grover cheered, then frowned as the words washed over him ''wait why does it say he's a girl?''

Percy snorted, laughter bubbling in his throat and making his sides ache- Gods, Blackjack was going to be so annoyed when Percy told him ''looks like your future selves made a mistake'' he said to Hermes and Apollo, Grover joining in the laughter.

"Sir!" Agrius called, dodging a pegasus hoof. "Your steed is ready!"

''Like Blackjack was ever going to let you ride him'' Percy scoffed ''he only lets Annabeth or I ride him.''

''I rode him once'' Rachel piped up and Leo stared at her in awe.

''You forced him to take you- he was under duress'' Percy pointed out ''it doesn't count.''

Rachel rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the demigod who pulled a face at her in return.

Luke kept his eyes on me.

"I told you last summer, Percy," he said. "You can't bait me into a fight."

"And you keep avoiding one," I noticed. "Scared your warriors will see you get whipped?"

Luke glanced at his men, and he saw I'd trapped him. If he backed down now, he would look weak. If he fought me, he'd lose valuable time chasing after Clarisse. For my part, the best I could hope for was to distract him, giving my friends a chance to escape. If anybody could think of a plan to get them out of there, Annabeth could. On the downside, I knew how good Luke was at sword-fighting.

''You're better'' nearly everyone in the room declared at once and Percy blushed under the scrutiny, taking Annabeth's hand instead of answering.

"I'll kill you quickly," he decided, and raised his weapon. Backbiter was a foot longer than my own sword. Its blade glinted with an evil gray-and-gold light where the human steel had been melded with celestial bronze. I could almost feel the blade fighting against itself, like two opposing magnets bound together. I didn't know how the blade had been made, but I sensed a tragedy. Someone had died in the process. Luke whistled to one of his men, who threw him a round leather-and-bronze shield.

Luke looked downright ashamed, even more so than before, recalling the innocent life he'd taken in Kronos' name- what a fool he'd been.

He grinned at me wickedly.

"Luke," Annabeth said, "at least give him a shield."

"Sorry, Annabeth," he said. "You bring your own equipment to this party."

The shield was a problem. Fighting two-handed with just a sword gives you more power, but fighting one-handed with a shield gives you better defense and versatility. There are more moves, more options, more ways to kill. I thought back to Chiron, who'd told me to stay at camp no matter what, and learn to fight. Now I was going to pay for not listening to him.

Poseidon leaned forward in his seat, glaring for a moment at Luke before settling his gaze back on the book in Connor's hands.

Luke lunged and almost killed me on the first try. His sword went under my arm, slashing through my shirt and grazing my ribs. I jumped back, then counterattacked with Riptide, but Luke slammed my blade away with his shield.

"My, Percy," Luke chided. "You're out of practice."

He came at me again with a swipe to the head. I parried, returned with a thrust. He sidestepped easily.

The cut on my ribs stung. My heart was racing. When Luke lunged again, I jumped backward into the swimming pool and felt a surge of strength. I spun underwater, creating a funnel cloud, and blasted out of the deep end, straight at Luke's face.

''Go Percy'' Leo cheered, vibrating in his seat.

The force of the water knocked him down, spluttering and blinded. But before I could strike, he rolled aside and was on his feet again.

I attacked and sliced off the edge of his shield, but that didn't even faze him. He dropped to a crouch and jabbed at my legs. Suddenly my thigh was on fire, with a pain so intense I collapsed. My jeans were ripped above the knee. I was hurt. I didn't know how badly. Luke hacked downward and I rolled behind a deck chair. I tried to stand, but my leg wouldn't take the weight.

"Perrrrrcy!" Grover bleated.

I rolled again as Luke's sword slashed the deck chair in half, metal pipes and all. I clawed toward the swimming pool, trying hard not to black out. I'd never make it. Luke knew it, too. He advanced slowly, smiling. The edge of his sword was tinged with red.

"One thing I want you to watch before you die, Percy." He looked at the bear-man Oreius, who was still holding Annabeth and Grover by the necks. "You can eat your dinner now, Oreius. Bon appetit."

"He-he! He-he!" The bear-man lifted my friends and bared his teeth.

That's when all Hades broke loose.

''Party ponies'' Frank shouted making everyone jump, including Hazel who lightly slapped his head in retaliation.

Whish!

A red-feathered arrow sprouted from Oreius's mouth. With a surprised look on his hairy face, he crumpled to the deck.

"Brother!" Agrius wailed. He let the pegasus's reins go slack just long enough for the black steed to kick him in the head and fly away free over Miami Bay.

For a split second, Luke's guards were too stunned to do anything except watch the bear twins' bodies dissolve into smoke.

Apollo cackled, imagining the look on their faces and ignoring the disgust Artemis looked at him with.

Then there was a wild chorus of war cries and hooves thundering against metal. A dozen centaurs charged out of the main stairwell.

"Ponies!" Tyson cried with delight.

My mind had trouble processing everything I saw. Chiron was among the crowd, but his relatives were almost nothing like him. There were centaurs with black Arabian stallion bodies, others with gold palomino coats, others with orange-and-white spots like paint horses.

Some wore brightly colored T-shirts with Day-Glo letters that said PARTY PONIES: SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER. Some were armed with bows, some with baseball bats, some with paintball guns. One had his face painted like a Comanche warrior and was waving alarge orange Styrofoam hand making a big Number I. Another was bare-chested and painted entirely green. A third had googly-eye glasses with the eyeballs bouncing around on Slinky coils, and one of those baseball caps with soda-can-and-straw attachments on either side.

They exploded onto the deck with such ferocity and color that for a moment even Luke was stunned. I couldn't tell whether they had come to celebrate or attack.

''It's not everyday you see an army of oddly bright centaurs charge onto your ship'' Luke pointed out quietly.

Apparently both. As Luke was raising his sword to rally his troops, a centaur shot a custom made arrow with a leather boxing glove on the end. It smacked Luke in the face and sent him crashing into the swimming pool.

''Oh my gods'' Thalia sniggered, and Annabeth buried her face in Percy's shoulder to supress her own giggles.

His warriors scattered. I couldn't blame them. Facing the hooves of a rearing stallion is scary enough, but when it's a centaur, armed with a bow and whooping it up in a soda-drinking hat, even the bravest warrior would retreat.

Ares pulled a face but was ignored.

"Come get some!" yelled one of the party ponies.

They let loose with their paintball guns. A wave of blue and yellow exploded against Luke's warriors, blinding them and splattering them from head to toe. They tried to run, only to slip and fall.

Chiron galloped toward Annabeth and Grover, neatly plucked them off the deck, and deposited them on his back.

I tried to get up, but my wounded leg still felt like it was on fire.

Luke was crawling out of the pool.

"Attack, you fools.'" he ordered his troops. Somewhere down below deck, a large alarm bell thrummed.

I knew any second we would be swamped by Luke's reinforcements. Already, his warriors were getting over their surprise, coming at the centaurs with swords and spears drawn.

Tyson slapped half a dozen of them aside, knocking them over the guardrail into Miami Bay.

But more warriors were coming up the stairs.

"Withdraw, brethren!" Chiron said.

"You won't get away with this, horse man!" Luke shouted. He raised his sword, but got smacked in the face with another boxing glove arrow, and sat down hard in a deck chair.

Cue another round of giggles.

A palomino centaur hoisted me onto his back. "Dude, get your big friend!"

"Tyson!" I yelled. "Come on!"

Tyson dropped the two warriors he was about to tie into a knot and jogged after us. He jumped on the centaur's back.

"Dude!" the centaur groaned, almost buckling under Tyson's weight. "Do the words 'low-carb diet' mean anything to you?"

''I don't think Tyson has any idea what that means.''

Luke's warriors were organizing themselves into a phalanx. But by the time they were ready to advance, the centaurs had galloped to the edge of the deck and fearlessly jumped the guardrail, as if it were a steeplechase and not ten stories above the ground. I was sure we were going to die. We plummeted toward the docks, but the centaurs hit the asphalt with hardly a jolt and galloped off, whooping and yelling taunts at the Princess Andromeda as we raced into the streets of downtown Miami.

I have no idea what the Miamians thought as we galloped by.

''The mist would have covered you'' Hestia said with a warm smile, tucking her legs under herself to get more comfortable.

Streets and buildings began to blur as the centaurs picked up speed. It felt as if space were compacting—as if each centaur step took us miles and miles. In no time, we'd left the city behind. We raced through marshy fields of high grass and ponds and stunted trees.

Finally, we found ourselves in a trailer park at the edge of a lake. The trailers were all horse trailers, tricked out with televisions and mini-refrigerators and mosquito netting. We were in a centaur camp.

"Dude!" said a party pony as he unloaded his gear. "Did you see that bear guy? He was all like: 'Whoa, I have an arrow in my mouth!'"

The centaur with the googly-eye glasses laughed. "That was awesome! Head slam!"

''Dude'' Leo shouted at Frank, getting up so he could be closer ''head slam.''

Frank managed to dodge at the last minute and Leo pitched to the floor only for Piper to catch him, barely, before his head could slam against the floor ''you're an idiot'' she informed him ''Gods only know why Calypso puts up with you.''

''I'm hurt Pipes'' Leo pressed a hand to his chest in mock offence, ignoring the pang in his heart at the mention of Calypso and only hoping she would be brought there soon.

The two centaurs charged at each other full-force and knocked heads, then went staggering off in different directions with crazy grins on their faces.

Chiron sighed. He set Annabeth and Grover down on a picnic blanket next to me. "I really wish my cousins wouldn't slam their heads together. They don't have the brain cells to spare."

''I really do love Chiron.''

"Chiron," I said, still stunned by the fact that he was here. "You saved us."

''It is what he does Perry- among other things'' Dionysus spoke up, taking a sip from a can of diet coke.

He gave me a dry smile. "Well now, I couldn't very well let you die, especially since you've cleared my name."

"But how did you know where we were?" Annabeth asked.

"Advanced planning, my dear. I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami."

''I feel like we should be offended, but he's actually right.''

"Gee, thanks," Grover mumbled.

"No, no," Chiron said. "I didn't mean ... Oh, never mind. I am glad to see you, my young satyr. The point is, I was able to eavesdrop on Percy's Iris-message and trace the signal. Iris and I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area. It then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. As you see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. Distance for us is not the same as distance for humans."

I looked over at the campfire, where three party ponies were teaching Tyson to operate a paintball gun. I hoped they knew what they were getting into.

Travis perked up, looking at Katie with his best puppy dog eyes ''can we go paintballing- pretty, pretty please?''

''You do realise we have swords and regularly play capture the flag, which is pretty much the same as paintballing without the guns and paint'' She replied in disbelief but Travis only nodded, his eyes getting more and more hopeful when she didn't reply.

''I'm taking that as a yes'' he fist bumped Connor who grinned maniacally in return.

"So what now?" I asked Chiron. "We just let Luke sail away? He's got Kronos aboard that ship. Or parts of him, anyway."

Chiron knelt, carefully folding his front legs underneath him. He opened the medicine pouch on his belt and started to treat my wounds. "I'm afraid, Percy, that today has been something of a draw. We didn't have the strength of numbers to take that ship. Luke was not organized enough to pursue us. Nobody won."

''And thankfully nobody got hurt'' Athena muttered under her breath, looking at Annabeth who studiously ignored her gaze.

"But we got the Fleece!" Annabeth said. "Clarisse is on her way back to camp with it right now."

Chiron nodded, though he still looked uneasy. "You are all true heroes. And as soon as we get Percy fixed up, you must return to Half-Blood Hill. The centaurs shall carry you."

"You're coming, too?" I asked.

"Oh yes, Percy. I'll be relieved to get home. My brethren here simply do not appreciate Dean Martin's music. Besides, I must have some words with Mr. D. There's the rest of the summer to plan. So much training to do. And I want to see ... I'm curious about the Fleece."

I didn't know exactly what he meant, but it made me worried about what Luke had said: I was going to let you take the Fleece ... once I was done with it.

Had he just been lying? I'd learned with Kronos there was usually a plan within a plan. The titan lord wasn't called the Crooked One for nothing. He had ways of getting people to do what he wanted without them ever realizing his true intentions.

Over by the campfire, Tyson let loose with his paintball gun. A blue projectile splattered against one of the centaurs, hurling him backward into the lake. The centaur came up grinning, covered in swamp muck and blue paint, and gave Tyson two thumbs up.

"Annabeth," Chiron said, "perhaps you and Grover would go supervise Tyson and my cousins before they, ah, teach each other too many bad habits?"

Annabeth met his eyes. Some kind of understanding passed between them.

''I really kind of hate it when you do that'' Percy said and Grover scoffed.

''You and Annabeth do that all the time Perce, how do you think I feel?''

''We don't'' Percy denied, then looked at Annabeth ''do we, Wise Girl?''

Annabeth kissed him grinning, pulling back to stare at him so he could read the expression her face that said yes, yes they do ''this is exactly what I mean'' Grover whined but Percy could see the way his lips twitched and knew his best friend wasn't really upset.

''Sorry G-man.''

"Sure, Chiron," Annabeth said. "Come on, goat boy."

"But I don't like paintball."

''Grover isn't going on my team'' Travis declared and Grover looked mildly offended.

''It's alright'' Percy said, high fiving Grover ''he's already on my team anyway- as is my Wise Girl'' he finished when Travis opened his mouth and the son of Hermes pouted.

''Your Wise Girl huh?'' Annabeth arched an eyebrow but Percy only pressed a kiss to her neck.

''If I'm your Seaweed Brain then your my Wise Girl.''

"Yes, you do." She hoisted Grover to his hooves and led him off toward the campfire.

Chiron finished bandaging my leg. "Percy, I had a talk with Annabeth on the way here. A talk about the prophecy."

Uh-oh, I thought.

"It wasn't her fault," I said. "I made her tell me."

His eyes flickered with irritation. I was sure he was going to chew me out, but then his look turned to weariness. "I suppose I could not expect to keep it secret forever."

"So am I the one in the prophecy?"

''Yes and no'' Percy muttered to himself and the Gods all stared at him.

Chiron tucked his bandages back into his pouch. "I wish I knew, Percy. You're not yet sixteen. For now we must simply train you as best we can, and leave the future to the Fates."

The Fates. I hadn't thought about those old ladies in a long time, but as soon as Chiron mentioned them, something clicked.

"That's what it meant," I said.

Chiron frowned. "That's what what meant?"

"Last summer. The omen from the Fates, when I saw them snip somebody's life string. I thought it meant I was going to die right away, but it's worse than that. It's got something to do with your prophecy. The death they foretold—it's going to happen when I'm sixteen."

Luke touched his fingers to where his former mortal spot lay, wincing at the burning remnant of that wound.

Chiron's tail whisked nervously in the grass. "My boy, you can't be sure of that. We don't even know if the prophecy is about you."

"But there isn't any other half-blood child of the Big Three!"

"That we know of."

''There are actually 4 nearly, at this point.''

"And Kronos is rising. He's going to destroy Mount Olympus!"

"He will try," Chiron agreed. "And Western Civilization along with it, if we don't stop him. But we will stop him. You will not be alone in that fight."

I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but I remembered what Annabeth had told me. It would come down to one hero. One decision that would save or destroy the West. And I felt sure the Fates had been giving me some kind of warning about that. Something terrible was going to happen, either to me or to somebody I was close to.

"I'm just a kid, Chiron," I said miserably. "What good is one lousy hero against something like Kronos?"

Chiron managed a smile. '"What good is one lousy hero'? Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain said something like that to me once, just before he single-handedly changed the course of your Civil War."

He pulled an arrow from his quiver and turned the razor-sharp tip so it glinted in the firelight.

"Celestial bronze, Percy. An immortal weapon. What would happen if you shot this at a human?"

"Nothing," I said. "It would pass right through."

''As it should'' Artemis said, staring at Luke ''no demigod, should enjoy or actively take an innocents life.''

"That's right," he said. "Humans don't exist on the same level as the immortals. They can't even be hurt by our weapons. But you, Percy—you are part god, part human. You live in both worlds. You can be harmed by both, and you can affect both. That's what makes heroes so special. You carry the hopes of humanity into the realm of the eternal. Monsters never die.

They are reborn from the chaos and barbarism that is always bubbling underneath civilization, the very stuff that makes Kronos stronger. They must be defeated again and again, kept at bay. Heroes embody that struggle. You fight the battles humanity must win, every generation, in order to stay human. Do you understand?"

"I ... I don't know."

"You must try, Percy. Because whether or not you are the child of the prophecy, Kronos thinks you might be. And after today, he will finally despair of turning you to his side. That is the only reason he hasn't killed you yet, you know. As soon as he's sure he can't use you, he will destroy you."

"You talk like you know him."

Chiron pursed his lips. "I do know him."

I stared at him. I sometimes forgot just how old Chiron was. "Is that why Mr. D blamed you when the tree was poisoned? Why you said some people don't trust you?"

"Indeed."

"But, Chiron ... I mean, come on! Why would they think you'd ever betray the camp for Kronos?"

Chiron's eyes were deep brown, full of thousands of years of sadness. "Percy, remember your training. Remember your study of mythology. What is my connection to the titan lord?"

I tried to think, but I'd always gotten my mythology mixed up. Even now, when it was so real, so important to my own life, I had trouble keeping all the names and facts straight. I shook my head. "You, uh, owe Kronos a favor or something? He spared your life?"

"Percy," Chiron said, his voice impossibly soft. "The titan Kronos is my father."

''Done'' Connor announced and Percy plucked the book from his fingers.

''My turn.''

19. The Chariot Race Ends with a Bang he read.

AN: I hope you liked it and please read and review- your feedback is really very much appreciated, like you don't know what it means to me to read your reviews. Thanks for reading.

Only two chapters left until another book is done…

Also, IMPORTANT- Chapter 1 of Back to the Past: The Lightning Thief has just been edited and updated so if you guys decide to re read it please let me know what you think as I have changed some things and tried to add a bit of explanation for the behaviour of some of the charcaters, for example Jason- anyway, I hope to hear your feedback. Thanks.