Contrary to what many ponies believed, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (Candace for short) was actually more ferocious and passionate than her loving and charming exterior would lead many ponies to believe. One could be fooled by the compassionate and kind demeanor that she showed to her subjects and underlings.
This display of genuine affection,which is as true as celestia's sun, would be enough to convince anypony of this act. However, below that beautiful and wise shell of a princess, there lays the strong spirit of a warrior and the heart of a true ruler; willing to do anything for her beloved kingdom and every single pony that resides in it.

Many would find that fact hard to comprehend, as such ferocity has barely made an appearance in the totality of her reign. Nevertheless it exists. Like the calm before the storm, her tenacity remains hidden until a moment arrives that demands it to be unleashed.

For only love could have such strength and resolve, empowering her to protect the ones she holds dear.
After all, her kingdom was like her family. A beautiful and enormous family that works everyday to achieve all of its dreams and happiness.

A family that helps and that seeks help from others. A family that laughs and that weeps. A family that knows the value of giving love and being loved.

And ever since becoming a princess, she has been a part of this family. She is the head of it in fact. And having such a big position, she has to carry all of the responsibilities that comes with it, all of it in her back. Sometimes it weighs her down, making her own life so much harder than it needs to be.
Sometimes she wakes up in the morning, wondering if she can truly go through the entire day without wishing she could just stay in bed, hoping that the day would just end right there and then.

But you know what? She wouldn't have it any other way.

After all, what kind of monster wouldn't do anything in their power to ensure the safety and prosperity of their family?
If the situation ever arose, she would gladly throw herself into the darkest pit in all of tartarus, just for the sake of saving one single member of her kingdom.
Or better yet, she would gladly throw her enemies into tartarus, relentlessly and without mercy.

For love could be brutal, unforgiving and cruel. If needed, candance can tap into these dark aspects of her element to unleash punishments to whoever dared threaten her domain, and righteous ruling over her land when it needed it the most.
And the most recent turn of events have created the opportunity for her to unleash this side of herself.

Recent news have been revealed to her, thanks to the messengers of her aunt, concerning the specific movements of a certain dangerous, and very much illegal, group that was making its way upward in equestria, with its final destination being her beloved crystal kingdom.

She has heard stories about this peculiar organization within her royal meetings and by talks with celestia and luna. Specializing in human trafficking and in the hosting of the most infamous and secretive pit fights all across the land, not to mention all their charges in illegal and invasive experimentation, extortion and abuse of humans; this group has truly outdone itself in being the best at being bad.

And that is just the crimes that they know off.

Who knows what other horrible and illegal deeds they have done to get in their current position today?
Arming themselves with political protection and immunity, this group was nearly untouchable due to the lack of concrete physical evidence pulled against them. You could think whatever you wanted about these scumbags but one could not deny that they are pros at what they do.

That was all going to change in the next weeks.

Thanks to the collective effort of their net of spies, the rehearsals and simulations of the totality of the royal guard, the secretive collaborations of loyal bureaucrats, and months of preparation have finally created the perfect scenario in which those criminals have no better choice than to enter her domain and set a pit fight right under their noses, just as planned.

She could hardly wait to put those criminals in their place for all the atrocities committed against pony kind AND mankind.

While she has never cared much for humans, she has read the reports on the previous pit fights this organization has been involved in.
To say they were brutal and unforgiving would be the biggest understatement of the world. She actually felt sick to her stomach just by reading the autopsy reports of the humans that were unfortunate enough to perish during the massacres they called pit fights.

The abuse and extortion were bad enough but these sons of whores just decided to turn it up a notch by augmenting their humans with very painful and invasive prosthetic enhancements. This group truly knew no mercy when it came to humans. No other being should be subjected to that kind of treatment and abuse, regardless of who or what they are.

It is just wrong on all the levels.

And so, she would play her part into putting an end to their activities once the day arrives, three weeks from now. Even now as she gazes into the pink skies of dawn from her balcony, she can't help but twitch in anticipation.

In many previous occasions, she has wondered if it was healthy for her to feel such a estatic sensation, considering the future situation she would find herself creating. Many nights and mornings, just as this one, had been spent thinking if she might be just a little wrong in the head for enjoying these rare opportunities to simply cut loose from her usual daily monotony.
To escape the boredom of royal daily life to enter the realm of crime and punishment, justice and victory. Just like the books she used to read when she was younger.
Nevertheless, duty came before pleasure.
The situation demands immediate action and as a respectable and dutiful princess, she will provide.
Regardless of how much she might enjoy it in the end.

"You really are a morning bird, aren't you?".

A soft and gentle voice broke her out of her train of thought, bringing a loving smile to her face and dispersing away all previous thoughts regarding future battles or anything like that. Right beside her, admiring the morning light, was her handsome husband shining armour.
Just like her, he seemed to just woken up from his slumber to accompany her in contemplating the dawn of a new day, or at least it was one of his reasons.

It hasn't been the first time he has done this too. Being captain of the royal guard for so long has trained him to awake ,or remain awake, at any time of the day, as a standard part of his training. Waking himself up just to keep his beloved company was way more easy to do. His unkempt blue mane moved with the cold morning wind, creating such an alluring scene for her to gaze at that she had to fight down the urge of pouncing at him and claiming him right there and then.
She really was wrong in the head, wasn't she?

"Well, you didn't have to accompany me you know. You could have stayed in bed for a couple more minutes before i had to wake you up". Candace said as she nuzzled in closer to her husband's neck, feeling the comforting heat of his body that welcomed her like a hot cup of delicious chocolate on a cold morning such as this one.

"And leave all here to you're lonesome? What kind of husband would do that to his beautiful wife?"
"A dumb one".
"Well, then you are one lucky mare for having such a dutiful and loyal, not to mention incredibly handsome, lover such as myself to keep you company", shining said as he puffed his chest outwards while speaking in an exaggerated tone.
"Oooh my hero...but it seems i have forgotten such a fact", candace said while batting her eyelashes at him while giving him that look.
"I sure hope this strapping...virile...and strong stallion can remind me of how lucky i am over...and over...and over again" she finished saying while ending her sentence with the tone that she knew drove shining mad.

And he didn't disappoint.
The moment she finished her sentence, armour went wide eyed and redder than a jalapeño. She loved her husband, truly, but sometimes he made it too easy.
He might like to tease her with this little bouts, but when all is said and done, he didn't stood a chance against the princess of love and the queen of teasing.

And now she will have her reward.

Recognizing the look she was giving him, a now mude shining armour understood what was about to happen and, quicker than a bolt launched from a crossbow, he ran straight to the bed in great anticipation for their...games, so to say.
Grinning and chuckling maliciously to herself, candace began to walk sensually into her room to claim her prize, only to be stopped by the sound of thunder accompanied by a harsh gush of cold wind that pushed her hair all the way to the front of her face, effortlessly slapping her muzzle with it.

A sensation akin to an electric shock crawled its way from the back of her spine, all the way to the back of her neck,making her shiver in an unpleasant way. She stopped in her tracks as she turned one last time to the outside of her balcony, gazing with narrowed eyes into the sky, trying and failing to find the flash of lightning that came along with the thunder. All she saw was the normal morning sky, just as before. She narrowed her eyes further, as if expecting it to come alive at any moment, dread filling her heat to the brim.
The wind smelled odd...like the breeze you'd expect to feel near the ocean, all with its distinctive salty smell.

Something...was about to happen.. Something big.
The sky looked just as normal as it has been for the last year, and yet she couldn't shake away the feeling that it seemed...wrong, for some reason.
As if the morning sky was an omen for the upcoming storm that would shake the earth and drown the land.

The calm before the storm, as the saying goes.

The voice of her impatient husband shook off the unpleasant feeling, making her realize that only her heard the thunder. Realizing she had been standing still while staring at the sky for more than a minute, candace shook her head to shake away the bad thoughts filling her head and, regaining her smile once more, approached her bed with the now clear intention of waking the entire castle with her moans of pleasure and his grunts of ecstasy.

Not that it would be very hard to do.

The mere touch of his skin on hers drove her mad, with the little nothings he whispered in her ears making her fall in love with him all over again.
She was truly addicted to her husband, and she thought of that with pride.
She really was lost without him. Her rock, her lover, her dear and precious shining armour.

Hers and hers alone.

But even the overwhelming pleasure of his constant penetrations, and the ever so rough love bites and kisses, all with different positions and stances (she was nothing if not flexible) , couldn't shake away candace's gaze at the window from time to time, or more specifically, at the sky, hoping that the ominous feeling overcoming her head was nothing but the anticipation of the upcoming ambush taking over her mindset.
She knew better though...
And she could only hope.

the minotaur was closing in on us both with a speed i thought impossible for a being that big and bulky. It didn't help that the extra weight on my already bleeding shoulders, courtesy of my unconscious brother percy, slowed me down as i ran through the woods, all the way from our spot in the beach, to somewhere down in the valley.
This "half-blood hill" better be the safe haven that was promised to us. Otherwise that goat boy is going to get it real good.
Following the instructions of that weird goat boy that wouldn't stop following us from all the way back "home" in manhattan didn't seem like a good idea at the time, considering all the encounters with the supernatural since our mothers death have been less than pleasant, but having a enormous bull monster trying to rip you to shreds with its bear hands, would convince anyone very quickly.

And the day had started with such promise...

Thanks to all of the extra hours i had done, plus all the tips i had saved from the last four months, i was finally able to buy an entire week on our favorite spot at the beach in long island sound. Percy was doing surprisingly well in his studies an d i decided it was a good time as any to give ourselves a little vacation. A little break from the constant running, fighting and working ourselves to the bone, it was going to be a nice change of pace. A week of relaxation in which we could create good and meaningful memories; a contrast to the shity hand that has been dealt to us in our life.

Or at least, that was the idea. While we never really expected our little vacation to be problem free, we also never expected to be chased down and hunted by a mythological monster this far out from the city. While monster encounters like this one have been to us somewhat of a "normality" ever since our mother was mauled by a giant lion, we have learned how to avoid them as time went on, and this trip was the perfect move regarding that issue.

But i was wrong.

I should have seen this coming. I always try to foresee this kind of things, it's my job, my responsibility to look after percy . To care for him. To train him for the unjust life he has ahead of him and incredible moments like this dont really help- the roar of the minotaur snaps me back to reality. It sounded closer than it was before but i are not to look back.
Focus Noah...focus on running. Don't think about the hulk reject closing on on you. Just think about the pine tree. That is your goal.

There! I can see it, just up the hill! We are so close now! We can do this, I can do this! There is no stopping us-why can't i feel the ground?
Oh..it seems the minotaur was closer than i realized and has decided that the ground is too good for us, so he punched us into the air.

On the bright side, there is surprisingly little pain...oh, there it is.

I hit the ground HARD, percy falling not far from me, still unconscious. He has lost too much blood. If i don't do something i...will lose all the family i have left on this world.
Come on Noah! Get up! Move your ass. You are so close now, the pine is just a few meters away, you can do this! Your life, percy's life depends on you!
The minotaur is roaring at me again, as it prepares itself to charge once more.

As i stand to my feet, arms to the side and head downcast, preparing myself for my own charge, i can't help but think that if this wasn't such a big life or death situation, this scenario right here? It would make for a very kickass comic book. Or a very good book chapter.
Shaking those thoughts away, i stare into the eyes of the beast as it stares back.
I clench my butt tight, lower my back until both my hands touch the ground and prepare my body for all the strength it has left.
Blood drips from my shoulder wounds, were the tip of the minotaurs horn remains incrusted almost all the way. It stings and burns a lot but i push through the pain.

As the monster charges with all that is has and as is do the same, screaming from the bottom of my lungs, i can't help but wonder if all of this craziness is all my fault.

That if i had not been picked up by sally jackson as i appeared on her doorstep that night, an infant just two years older than her newborn son, that she would still be alive and that percy would have grown in a somewhat happy life. Maybe... I am the reason for both our misery...maybe i should just die here and spare percy a lifetime of pain.

But it is too late for that kind of thoughts. What is done cannot be undone and the dead can't come back to life.
All we can do is move forward.
And hope that the future brings better joy than the past has brought.

But now is not the time for pessimistic delusions. Now is the time to fight a giant minotaur while protecting my brother, hoping that someone hears my screams of pain and its animalistic growls, and comes to help us.
I am not letting my hopes up though.
Besides, not to blow my own horn here...but i think i can take it.

What this monster has in strength, it lacks in brains, and while i am pretty strong myself, i am not willing to test my limits with this bull monster.
If i play my cards just right, i can actually kill this thing, or at the very least harm it ins such a way that it buys us some much needed time.
I have killed most monsters i have encountered so far, so i have the experience to back up my claims.
Let's just hope my plan actually works.
Well...here goes nothing...

It was the rocking of the caravan that woke noah up from his power nap in the small cage that he has called home for the last seven weeks.
It should have been impossible for someone to sleep while having both arms chained to a wall, dangling the rest of their lower torso off the ground ,but alas, noah has slept through more uncomfortable positions that this one before.
It helped that he had some clothes on this time. A very good upside considering the first few days of his imprisonment were spent with his naked butt dangling from the air.

He has been in many strange situations before in his rather unorthodox life, but even he had to admit that being chained to a wall, in a human trafficking caravan lead by a bunch of talking cartoon-ish ponies was a new one.
He didn't realize this at first though. It took him a while to wake up from his first blackout, which was...rather humiliating on his part. He has fought monsters, titans, gods, other demigods and more often than not he came out victorious. Then a bunch of painfully colorful unicorns take him by surprise and pretty much knock him out cold without too much of an effort. It was a terribly big hole to his pride.
To make matters worse his sword, his precious "star of thetis", was left behind in the forest were they beated him. While he knew he could recall the sword to his pocket, just like riptide, his lack of arm mobility and, well, pants, made it impossible to recall his desired weapon.

He was very close to giving in to his wrath the moment he regained his senses the first time, just about ready to rip open the bindings in his arms and to destroy his kidnapres with his bear hands.
However, he stopped himself right as he was straining his arms to rip the chains open, and took a big shaky breath.
It would do him no good to act on his wrath in what was, probably, a whole different and unknown world
Ever since percy, he has trained himself to better control his anger, as it tended to blind him from logic and common sense even when the situation demands more brain than brawn.
While he is no child of athena, he takes great pride in his own analytical skills and tactical thinking in dire situations. It's the maine reason he has kept himself and his adoptive brother alive before the years in camp half blood. Surviving and killing monsters was part skill, part intelligence after all.

And so, calming his mind and calling upon the blessing of athena he began to asses his situation. It was fair to assume that right now he was located in an entire different world to his own. The evidence of this laid on the fact that this was, most probably, the other side of chaos. While he lacked any real evidence to support that claim, noah assumed that to be the case the moment he encouintered the transformed humans and the multi-colored ponies. Both of these beings were completely different from the ones he was accustomed in his own world, even when taking into account different pantheons of gods and other supernatural beings. He could be wrong but his gut told him otherwise. Even if he could not prove this theory right away, he could just wait and see what his kidnapres would do to him and where they were taking him.
They wanted him alive, that was for certain.

If they wanted him dead they would have done so already the moment they knocked him out all the way back in the forest, so that meant they needed him for something of importance.
What that was however, was still unknown to him, adding another reason for him to just remain in place until he has more information.

Patience was key in this conundrum, and to survive he would need to adapt.

As time passed, the entrance of his cell would be opened , greeting him with the sight of the female bat pony that he saved from the savage mortal.
She wouldn't speak at all (not that he expected her to) and refrained from looking him into his eyes. All she did was readjust the chains, feeding him water and bread with a long distance spoon, cleaning him up with a sponge, which sometimes took more time than needed, and leaving as soon as she could.
He noticed how, sometimes, she would whisper to herself little things that were too silent for him to pick up, even with his enhanced senses. The things that he did pick up, where among the lines of: "stay on the chest girl. Go lower and you might just drool" and "just how ripped are you?" and also "why did you save me?", "just what in tartarus are you?" and finally "...thank you".

Usually in that order.

As if she was having a hard time deciding on whether she should be afraid of him, grateful him or just ignoring him, for her own safety.
It was as if his very existence brought confusion and disbelief to her very being.
It had lead him to the conclusion that humans in this world were either not sentient or just plain psychopathic. He was leading towards answer c: all of the above. This made things clearer for him, as it explains the way this bat pony reacts whenever she is near him.
It would be the equivalent of him meeting a sentient, talking horse...oh wait.

Still, it was a little funny to watch.

It was her who eventually dressed him up in makeshift rags which covered his chest and legs. They had no pockets and were barely comfortable, but it was a nice change from the usual nakedness.
Also he had the suspicion she only did it because his body...distracted her.
He honestly didn't know how to react to that.

A bat pony found him attractive...yep! Still nothing.

Time passed, or he assumed it did. It was hard to tell if time in this new world would function the same as it did in his own. They would stop from time to time, but only for a few hours, nothing really substantial. He couldn't see where exactly they stopped due to the lack of windows in his little prison but each time they resumed their voyage, he noticed how the caravan felt lighter and lighter with each stop they made.
It would stand to reason that in each stop they loaded off cargo, which was in this case human beings. For what purpose though, he could only guess but as the hours turned to days and the days into weeks he came to the revelation that the only human left on the caravan was him. "Saving the best for last" if the voices he sometimes heard outside in the latest stop were to be taken seriously.
Regardless, he began to grow anxious in the little space he had in the caravan. A demigod could only be patient for so long and his ADHD prevented him from getting too calm and collected, all while being chained with limited movement besides the little exercices he could do in his position.

If they didnt do...something with him soon, then his patience would run out. What would follow after that won't be pretty for anyone involved.

At first he was forced to take power naps in order to pass the time and to save energy. Not the most productive way to spend the hours in his little cell but thanks to it he has made an incredible discovery: ever since waking up in the desert, his voice had been robbed from him. Inhabilitating him from producing any kind of sounds that might display his intelligence. In return, he was capable of sensing some sort of disturbance in his throat.
Like a pressure constantly presente whenever he breathes, a constant reminder of his condition.

Regardless, ever since being defeated by those ponies he has sensed some sort of relief around his throat. As if the spell around it has weakened.
He hasn't been able to confirm this but he suspects that with time and patience, the magic preventing him from speaking will vanish.
Maybe if he can prove his intelligence to his capturers, at the very least towards the bat pony, he could appeal to their good nature.
But he highly doubted they had anything that even resembled good intentions, considering his current predicament as a prisoner.
But this still was unknown territory and it would be foolish to act without fully knowing the consequences. He had done enough reckless things in the past, so if he could avoid unnecessary confrontations, he would. Especially if it could lead to come clue along the way to get back home.
If such a way existed.
So his best plan would be to just wait until the foreign magic disappears from his body and work his way up from there.
It wasn't the best plan but it would be a good star if his communication skills returned.
The cart suddenly stops, mildly startling noah as they haven't stopped in quite a while. Had they reached their destination?
Was there a problem down the road? Was there danger nearby? The lack of any windows in his cell frustrates him to no end, especially now.

dammit! I hate not not knowing what the hades is happening! This is such bullshit! It would be better if i wasn't chained to the freakin wall but i swear this bindings must be infused with powerful magic. No matter how hard i pull they won't budge!

His frustrated thoughs were yet again interrupted as he hears muffled voices outside his cart again. Some he recognizes, some he doesn't as always. He can't pick up anything concrete but they sound...excited? The kind of tone he would hear in new campres when seeing the campgrounds for the first time back home.
Or the tone lady Artemis would get whenever she captured men that were doing less than grateful things to virgin girls.

It gave him a bad feeling up his spine.

Whatever was going to happen couldn't be good for him.
He has jerked around as the cart began to slowly spin on its own axis, as if they were a merry go round, but only for a few seconds as he soon found out that rather than moving forward or backwards, the cart was actually moving down.
As if he were on some makeshift elevator. Surprises never stop coming apparently.
Eventually, the moving stopped, leaving noah without any clue of where he was or what was going to happen.
No different from how he was just a couple of minutes if he was being honest with himself.

Without any warning, the door to his cell slammed open, greeting noah with the first real sight ever since his capture. He was greeted by a crystal cavern/tunnel,, not unlike the quartz caverns he had seen back home in magazines and in television; however, the crystals within this cavern were giving off an unusual blue hue as if they were imbued with...something, he wasn't quite sure what.
Not seeing any real point in remaining in the little cell he was in when a new path just opened to him, noah stepped inside the tunnel, always on high alert and prepared for any nasty surprises that may wait for him in the darkness. He couldn't sense any danger yet but it never hurt to be cautious.
As he walked forward, slowly but surely, he began to notice some sort of light towards the end of the tunnel.

heh.they always say to never go towards the light but i may just make an exception only this once -noah couldn't help himself as a tiny grin formed on his face. The situation was already very ridiculous on its own without metaphorical concepts taking form on the "real world".

Irony aside, the light wasn't very bright or substantial but it was clearly artificial. A great contrast to the light produced by the crystals around him. He could only deduce that the light was the product of intelligent life, meaning that whatever was expecting him at the end of the tunnel would be what the ponies that captured him were saving him for.
Clenching his fist in anticipation and preparing for the worst, noah made a little jog towards the exit, noticing that the sound of cheering and joyful screaming was becoming louder and louder by the second.
What he found on the other side stopped him to a halt.

It was some sort of underground colosseum made entirely out of crystal and black marble, with ascending levels of podiums that reached a massive crystal ceiling that somehow simulated sunlight, illuminating the massive arena where dried blood and strange body parts could be seen scattered around in the ground. It was impressive how it resembled the roman colosseum, only to a smaller degree and how, unlike in a normal colosseum in which the seats would be filled with human spectators, this area was filled to the brim with cheering colorful ponies, going from unicorns, to pegasus to "normal" ponies. By focusing his sight he could see that, at the very top of the colosseum, there laid the bat pony he saved, accompanied by three other unicorns he did not recognize but could only assume were her companions and fellow kidnapper's. Two females and one male, though due to the distance he could not see the looks they were giving him. He could only assume.

Now, as said before noah is no stranger to the supernatural or the divine. He has seen enough weird and fantastic shit to last up a lifetime. However...this right here...was the weirdest most fucked up shit he has ever seen. Period.

I...have no words. If i wasn't lost before then i am definitely now. Never in my life i would have thought that, even for a moment, i would end up as gladiator entertainment for a bunch of ponies. How low have you fallen noah castellanos...how far...
He almost felt the need to cry if it weren't for the simple fact that he had no more tears left to shed, but he did felt the need to curl up in a ball and just die.
It was just a fleeting thought though. He had to remain sharp for whatever was about to happen wouldn't be good for his health...or for the unfortunate soul that ended to be his opponent.

Suddenly, right above his head, a white and black pegasus began to circle around the arena, all the while addressing the crowd in an exaggerated, presenting maner.

"Ladies and gentle-stallions!! welcome back to the manslaughter you have been waiting for! i know it was fun to see the previous match end in a splat, but let me assure you folks: You ain't seen nothing yet!!! now i know...you might be asking yourselves: Just how will this match ever surpass the magnifency and brutalness of the previous one? Well my dear spectators...you're about to find out! Now, let's get this party started!"

His hyping was met with even louder cheering and screaming from the audience , nearly deafening noah with their volume.
before he could get his bearing, a bright light exploded right in front of him, forcing him to block it out with his hands to protect his eyes from the glimmer.

As the light subsided and the cheering somehow increased, noah was surprised to see, now in front of him, probably one the biggest manticore he has seen in recent times, easily 15 feet tall. Or at least he assumed it was one as the lack of wings made it a difficult to decide whether it was or not a manticore. Its yellow coat was covered in all kinds of scars and bruises and what once could have been a majestic red mane, was now unevenly shaved, with little smears of blood in the sides, accompanied by a glowing black collar that seemed to be inflicting some sort of pain to the beast, if the hot steam coming out of it was anything to go by.
Its scorpion tail, black and gross, was leaking green liquid that corrosed the soil as it dripped from the its aculeus.
Its scarred face was giving animalistic growling very distinctive and characteristic to a lion mix
This thing wanted to kill him badly.
It was just about ready to pounce at him to turn him into a bloody mess on the floor.

The feeling was mutual.

And so noah took a fighting stance and closed his eyes.
as the darkness greeted him everything went silent. the cheering became nothing but static and the announcer all but disappeared to him. The colosseum was gone, the cave was gone and specially the crowd was gone. All what was left was him and the tortured manticore. standing alone in a complete empty space, just the two of them, the hunter and the prey, the demigod and the oversized kitty, the true weapon and the mindless beast.
The hurricane and the tiny, little, defenseless,boat.

Ever since the death of sally jackson, noah had developed an almost irracional hate and distaste towards lions, anything that belonged to the feline family, and even independent beings resembling felines were subjects to his wrath. It was irrational, but that is how the mind works after being exposed to a traumatic and horrifying experience so young.
This beast was no exception. the moment it appeared on the arena, noah allowed any other thoughts that weren't related to disarming this monster, at the back of his mind, only permitting his warrior instincts and hunter sense to take over his mindset to allow better performance on the upcoming slaughter.
He almost felt giddy in anticipation, but did not allow himself to make the first move. the first rule about dealing with monsters, never make the first move. allow the beast to attack first. Get a glimpse at its attack pattern, understand the way it lashes out, watch the movement of its muscles to anticipate the direction of the attacks.
Once you understand how your prey hunts, hunting it would be child's play.
Each mythical creature noah has fought had fought differently from each other, all depending on anatomy, sentience, and overall strength.
No two different beasts fought exactly the same.

There was no warning (at least for the crowd) as the punished animal leaped for action in hopes of ending this match so it could get its reward.

Fortunately for noah, this wasn't his first fight with a manticore.
First, it would pounce at him, claws first, in an apparent attempt at opening his guts. this was a ruse attack. The real move would be made from its coiled tail, ready to stab him in the neck with its poisonous stinger.
Other tactics would be meaningless for it, due to the lack of aerial mobility.
It wouldn't get a second move ,however, for the moment the tail uncoiled itself like a metal spring, shooting out at blinding speed to meet its mark, it was stopped dead in its tracks by the hand of a very focused, very angry demigod.

Heh...cute.

If he cared to let the crowd in, noah would have heard the entirety of the spectators grow mude or loudly gasp at the spectacular, and very much impossible, sight. Everything was silent for a moment.

The stinger, just centimeters away from his face, struggled to move out of the death grip, with the lion hybrid in too much of a shock to do anything about it.
Deciding not to prolong this squabble more than it need to be,and to avoid wasting time, noah simply decides to end this barely started match with an incredible feat of strength. Using both of his hands, the wrath of achilles takes hold of the tail and begins to PULL with little to no strain.
The manticore is immediately yanked off the ground and begins to experience what it would be like to be inside a tornado, as it is spinned and spinned without remorse, losing any resemblance of direction and balance.
then, after what feels like an eternity, the monster is launched at the nearest arena wall creating a small explosion of smoke and rock as the wall is cracked by the seer impact of the blast.
The beast sees nothing for what feels like hours before it regains consciousness. It seems the impact knocked it out cold for a few seconds.
The manticore struggles to get up as the overwhelming pain of the impact messed with its senses, making it difficult to spot its prey. when it finally gains the strength to get up it notices it is still somewhat out of balance.
Odd...its tail usually prevented this sort of feeling from overcoming its...oh.

It seemed its tail was gone.

More accurately, it was ripped off its butt and was nowhere to be seen. Seemingly unable to hold back the pain, the creature rored in agony, shaking the walls of the cavern and forcing the very much shocked spectators to cover their ears, in pain and fear.
And they were sure it would have continued to scream were it not or the sudden impalement of a dimemberd scorpion tail on its very wide opened mouth.
Blood began to spurt out of the beasts mouth like a fountain, as its roars were muffled by blood and poison flooding its mouth all the way to the throat, making these disgusting gurgling and bubbling sounds that were as loud as the previous roar that filled the colosseum.
As the creature entered into shock and felt its consciousness slip away, this time for good, saw for the very first and last time, the eyes of its killer. They were unlike any pair of eyes it had seen on its previous preys. They held a glow that penetrated into its very being.
Those pale green eyes were like the ocean water during a storm, unforgiving and powerful. Those eyes held power and strength it never thought possible for human prey.
This was not a human.
This...was a god.
Then the beast stopped breathing and felt the peaceful embrace of death.

Unfortunately, its body wasn't granted the same peace, as noah yanked the tail out of its now deformed mouth and began to stab the rest of the corpse with such force that the ground beneath his feet was beginning to slightly shake. Blood and guts spew from every wound, posing deforming and melting both bone and muscle creating this now unrecognizable blob of meat and bone that once was a mighty manticore.

Panting slightly, but nowhere near exhausted, noah gave one final stab before finally standing upright to gaze and admire his work.
Seven times. He stabbed the best seven times, as it symbolizes the start of his misery back on his world. For it was at the age of seven that noah had to witness the death of his beloved adoptive mother at the hands of a nemean lion.
He felt it was a little poetic he delivered the same amount of punishment into the now former manticore.
poetic? a little.
petty and unnecessary? maybe.

With the fog of anger disappearing from his mind, the world began to return to noah, making him realize the scene he was in. There he stood, covered in blood from head to toe, standing at the edge of an arena, with what once used to be a massive manticore monster, with the now terrified spectators too scared to even breath, watching the human they thought wouldn't last a second in the ring, massacre the ever living shit of their monster champion in less than 18 seconds.
then noah did something that truly sacred them shitless: He smiled.
At them.

The human was "smiling" at them.
That was,for them anyway,physically impossible.

It was such a unique, charming and innocent smile too. as if the human didn't just destroy another living, much bigger creature with its bear hands but rather, just spent its day at the park chasing butterflies and smacking on trees.

It was such a strange, unique and bizzare sight that the ponies just stare in a mix of profound terror and pure fascination. As if seeing an upcoming hurricane.
Inevitable but beautiful in a destructive way.
The ponies really didn't know what to do now.

And noah was sure they would have kept staring at him, as if he was the very first human they had ever seen, if the ceiling didn't suddenly explode with energy, shocking the colosseum down to the arena, revealing the sight of a very bright, very prissed alicorn princess of love.

At that moment all noah could think of was:

...pink?

Author's Note

wow! that took longer than expected...
so sorry for the long delay you guys. college is not as easy as other have left me to believe and it's only going to get worse( or better) from here on out. i will try to update as frequently as i can. and if not, i will keep you guys updated in the form of blog posts, so keep an eye for those if you want to know more of the future of this story, which i can promise you, i will never abandon!

if you guys have questions or suggestions ,don't forget to leave a comment or just message me directly and i will try to answer to the best of my abilities.

every chapter that i write will have these little flashbacks that explain the backstory of noah and how he fits, and changes, the percy jackson lore and history.
believe me when i say i might make some enemies with the hardcore percy fans for what i am about to reveal in the future about my characters backstory.
allot of things might not make a lot of sense now, specially regarding the powers and abilities of noah, but believe me when i say...all will be revealed in time.

keep frosty guys! and i will see you all in the next chapter. bye bye!