A Norseman Raids Equestria

Chapters

Rejection of Peace
Two Stories Taller
War Is Tiring
News Travels Fast
Who Are You To Judge?
Flight
Well then...
Tough Crowd
Anything Goes
Killing Ground
Life
Some Rain Must Fall
Crack.
Observation
Dreams are fun
The One She Wants Dead
The Forest I
Forest II [rough draft]

Rejection of Peace

Author's Note

Please read in Times New Roman, Single Space. Feels better to me, at least. I won't force you or anything. Listening to the Guile's theme has changed my writing. Tell me if it was for the better, or the worse.Please Like, Dislike, Comment, Favorite, and/or Dance ☺

Rejection of Peace

Alrik

In a poor settlement near the shore is where Alrik was born. To the surprise of his parents, he was born with a blind right eye, just like Cuyler, his father. He grew up marked by this, treated like a weakling, despite his norse blood. His father, too, had been belittled as a boy, considered weak and feeble, but that had not stopped him from becoming a trainer of great renown, so Alrik learned not to mind much.

Still, Alrik felt angry as time passed, the harsh treatment by his countrymen not abaiting. He was a cool-headed person, he did not lash out nor hit back when the stronger kids bullied him. He held his pain for many years, and only in the spring of his fourteenth birthday did he tell his father of his woes. Cuyler, by contrast, was not cool-headed and immediately resolved to go out of the house and pummel the brats. Alrik's mother, Ingrid, had the presence of mind to stop him at the door, and told him something that Alrik could not hear.

The next day, Alrik awoke to find a poor man's axe buried in the foot his bed. After some time, Alrik gave up trying to get it out. He went to his father, the only person he knew was strong enough to have stuck the axe stuck in his bed, and asked what it was for.

"My son," he replied, "this is for you, when you are strong."

Alrik looked at his muscles. Surely, he thought, he was not as burly as some other norse, but he was still stronger than some. He then looked to his father's impressive biceps, and knew what he meant.

"So how can I become strong?" he asked his father, already knowing the answer. He would have to train.

Cuyler stood up, motioning for Alrik to follow him outside. The boy followed his father as he led the way out of the village. They trekked for a whole hour to a place Alrik had only seen a few times: his father's private training area. This is where his father gained his small fame in the small settlement they called home, training most of the hometown heroes to win glory a-viking. Sadly, the respect did not trickle down to his feeble heir.

In the beginning, the training seemed idiotic and unnecessarily hurtful to Alrik. Like the leg training and endurance running, which he thought did not matter. When would he have to run if he was arm strong? He went on training, though, and he began to not feel the 'unnecessary' pain. In fact, to his own surprise, he began to love the pain. He trained yet harder than ever before, and within a month's time he had become a burly teen.

His father sounded his applause while his son exercised on his own without his help, but stopped short, having heard something. It sounded of something striking the walls over and over, meaning only one thing; someone was breaking in. He ran over to his son, and quietly alerted him of the dangers.

"So what am I to do?" Alrik asked his father.

Alrik's father went to a small box that had lain on the wall for some time, pulling out a battle axe and hefting it in his left hand. He
also ripped a shield from the wall for his right arm.

"Watch"

And right on cue, the intruder dropped from the ceiling, but still there sounded thuds from the wall. Surprisingly, two more bandits dropped down from the walls. Alrik's father was unfazed as the bandits drew out short swords, glances exchanged between themselves suggesting they had not expecting to fight anyone in here. Alrik hid behind a fighting dummy and watched.
Sweat drew from Cuyler's body as he stood prepared for battle. The first bandit to arrive charged him, followed by the other two. The bandit immediately tried to stab Cuyler's undefended legs, but the jab was turned away by the light round shield. The bandit struck two more times, each strong, but the second one was parried, throwing him off balance. Before the other two could arrive, Cuyler quickly clove the first's head open, kicking his body away along with the sword. The sword clattered to a rest beside the fighting dummy.

Seeing this, the other two felt fear, but still attacked ruthlessly. Cuyler had trouble blocking their attacks, facing blows from two different angles, but was holding up. He only just managed to block each thrust in turn, but could not find a chance to parry. Cuyler felt confident, but all that confidence meant nothing to his son. Alrik picked up the sword, charging right at the two and catching one off guard. The sword swung down, impacting the backside of the bandit's head. His body crumpled to the ground, blood pooling at the combatants’ feet. The final bandit was furious, looking at Alrik with murder in his eyes. That was a mistake. In that second, Cuyler dispatched the bandit with a chop to his turned neck.

Sweat, blood, and weaponry were scattered across the floor as father and son looked at one another. They both went home to rest.

And Alrik rested with the poor man's axe in his hands.

Years of training passed, and Alrik became what he was meant to be; a true warrior. His parents were so proud of him, but wept as he left the house all in mail armor, a warrior's iron helmet, and pride in his heart. He felt the need to make a name for himself, and he knew just how. He had to become a true Norseman.

He boarded a war boat with fellow men, quickly befriending his fellow warriors. Their leader, Maximilian, was an Englishman who had been raised in the north lands, his father a captive of Alrik’s father. He had become well respected as an astute leader, a clear improvement over their previous leader, Jo, who led them to disaster.

Alrik and Maximilian got along well enough; each having come through hardship to become strong. But the servitude of Maximillian’s father was always a barrier between them that kept them divided, never really becoming friends. They respected one another, but there was never trust.

Years of pillaging the lands to the south at length become tiresome for the group. They wished to found their own city, so their hopes elevated when they heard of a new place to finally settle; Vinland, home of indigenous people who, for the most part, were kind enough to share their lands.

The journey there was not easy, and many stops were needed to span the vastness of the seas. They first stopped at an island of ice, using what little trees there were to fix up molding parts of their boat. They next stopped on a vast continent of ice, but it was to be an ill venture. Maximilian went missing on the second day when he went out looking for food. The men, after a fruitless search, decided he had become what he sought.

With supplies dwindling, the group began to fight. Several of the crew killed one another for food, but one man stopped the fighting. Alrik called an end to all the infighting, proclaiming himself the new leader, and anyone who challenged him...

"Anyone who challenges me will have to either kill me, or die,"

Alrik knew such an ultimatum was harsh, but times were harsh as well. Too harsh for mere punishments. There were challengers, but to their surprise and dismay, he was much stronger than he looked. Like his father, he fought with a poor man's battle ax in his left hand and a shield on his right. One challenger, a man also named Cuyler, had tried to fight. He was twice the bulk of Alrik, his armor great riveted plates instead of chains, and he was fully a head taller. Their roars echoed in the mostly empty continent, the snow turning red, but in the end only Alrik stood. The others looked in surprise when he walked back into the camp, and from then on looked at Alrik with both friendship and fear. Henceforth, they called him 'Alrik the Strong'.

When they reached Vinland, they had found that food was quite abundant. The natives they encountered welcomed them among their tribes, trading shelter and knowledge for defense against rival villages. Alrik did not like being treated like a bodyguard, but he and his men loved the people they were protecting. All that stood for naught when the tribe to the north attacked.

The natives from the north were dishonorable, coming under the darkness of the midnight hour. Many men who were asleep died, and even with the norsemen to aid them, the tribe was overrun. The settlers could do little else but retreat to gather arms and regroup, and found only twelve of them were left. Alrik was among them.

These twelve watched as the small village burned, but in the glow saw something that truly angered them. Captive women. This made the head of Alrik hot with rage, and he clutched his armaments all the stronger. His men were filled with as much anger, so they followed when their leader charged. By the baker's dozen the foemen fell to the ground. Alrik killed two men at a time, twice as swiftly as his fellows. The enemy archers were not fast enough, Alrik's men hurling jarid spears into their heads before the twang of the bow.
The battle was ended, but it was not a victory. It spelled the destruction of both, only the women and children had survived. Alrik and his men felt ashamed of themselves as they preparing their boat to return to their homeland in defeat. Tears of grief were shed at the death of the kindly tribe, and even to the enemy. They might have welcomed the norsemen, had they landed further north.

They set sailed for the open seas once more, in their grief forgetting something highly important. It was a windy season. The seas showed no pity as the ocean currents dragged the shameful vikings' boat below, far out at sea. There was no land in sight, there was no hope, but no one was scared. They had fought the foe valiantly, and in truth all were bound toward Valhalla. At least, most of them were...

"What do you mean I cannot go in!" Alrik shouted at the man guarding Valhalla, tears in his eyes as he saw his men merrily drift into the Golden Hall.

No word of answer came from the guard, but he did at length move aside. Alrik almost took a step through the door, until he saw him. The norseman quickly knelt to honor the figure striding toward him: Odin, All-Father and Lord of all Asgard. Odin wielded a jarid in his left hand, for his right eye, too, was blind. Alrik knew better than to plead his case, and thought best to go along with anything the god said.

"You are not worthy," said Odin, his finger pointed at Alrik.

Alrik looked to the ground, and back at Odin, too shocked to say anything.

"At least… not yet," Odin said, scratching his blonde beard, "but there is a way for you to become worthy, Alrik the Strong, son of Cuyler."

"A-and what is that, my great Divine king? What must I do?" Alrik asked, trying to keep his composure in front of his lord.

Odin drew an orb from his pocket, handing it to Alrik, "You must go to a world untouched by my greatness, a world known to neither man nor god. There you must go, and become a king of war," Odin said, "and before you ask, the answer is yes. I did choose you for this task, but my reasons are my own."

Alrik looked at the orb, which revealed a prosperous settlement. He thought it must surely be a horse-training town, for there were horses everywhere! He looked back up at Odin, war god and king of Asgard, and asked, "What is this land called?"

"Equestria," Odin grinned, "home of a race of intelligent, and idiotic equines. Many among them use magic, others fly, and most if not all hold peace above all else," Odin said, barely containing a laugh.

They looked easy enough to conquer, and though he would rather not, if it was the only way to Valhalla...

Alrik looked directly at Odin, with an eye of determination, and said, "when do I begin?"

Alrik woke up to the sun shining brightly in his eye. He raised his head and took stock of his new surroundings. He lie in a boat much like his own, though much shorter. He sat up, looking around further. His men were gone. He sighed, accepting his vision was indeed real. Turning to the west, he smiled as he saw the town depicted in the orb. He noticed a flying object heading towards him and frowned at having been discovered so soon.

He knew this land was one of magic, so decided to take no chances. He saw his quiver of jarids beside him, and hurled one at the flying horse, spearing it though the neck. It plummeted into the water with a loud smack a few feet away from him and floated there, slowly staining the sea a deep crimson. Alrik rowed the boat over to the body, and removed his jarid from the green, winged (but above all, dead), horse.

He began to row to shore, pondering his situation. By the time he’d arrived, his mind was made up. He was angry.

Landing was surprisingly easy, for no one was at port. Alrik got out of his boat, happy to leave the sea in one piece, and looked for an entrance point into the city. He walked around until he spotted a toll booth, but it was abandoned. Alrik walked past it, finding some metalic circles in it. This should be some kind of currency, and who knows when it is needed, so Alrik picks it up. He puts the currency into the jarid pouch for now.

Empty buildings were everywhere, but that meant only one thing—free stuff. Alrik happily raided each and every home, finding more and more of the currency to one day spend, and finding food. In one beige house near the toll, Alrik found a large, red, bag with only a sting trying it together. He looked around the house and found a rope, which he used to replace the bag's string. He also used some spare rope to make it easily carry-able along his back. In the bag, Alrik stuffed food and shiny utensils, for those usually sold well back home...

In fact, by the amount of loot, this city must be enormously rich! How in the world could almost every household have pure silver, and some GOLD, utensils? Because of this, Alrik looked harder for any possible hiding places for their currencies. Using his ax, he chopped down a locked door in the beige house, but found something he was not expecting. A horse.

The horse was crumpled in fear, staring at Alrik. Alrik tried to talk, but that is when the pony...

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Screams, and bolts between his legs and out the room. Alrik chased it out of the house, noticing it was most likely a child from its size difference from the flying one. This one had small wings, and was a normal, exhausted, scared, purple, winged, horse. Alrik stared at it, as it was trying to catch its breath.

"bitte töte mich nicht!" The horse pleaded in a strange language. Alrik laughed at its possible plead for life and what kind of world he was in. It was funnier than when the bullies fell into the frozen river, but only because they died shortly after. He still laughed. though.

Alrik turned away from the child-horse and went back into its home, looking for currency. Alrik did look back, but by that time, the horse was gone. Alrik sighed, alone again, but he now had a chance to strike riches. And, low and behold, he found a chest. Using his ax, Alrik broke open the chest, finding ludicrous amounts of currency in it. He took every one, putting it into his jarid pouch. He now had a couple hundred golden ones and some shiny, metallic, ones.

With his new found fortune, Alrik decided that the raid was over, and decided to, instead, look for clues as to why this horse town is abandoned.

He looked around the city, walking on its nicely paved streets, until he saw it. The reason why the horses ran. They towered stories above him, and their surroundings were burnt to a crisp. They were dragons. Around the dragons were the corpses of several maimed horses, each of differing color. Although he is supposed to be conquering this land called Equestria, he cannot stand the merciless genocide of an entire city by the hands of these monstrosities.

So he charged.

Princess Celestia

The castle was frantic. Magisters and pages with scrolls of information ran through the hall, as the guards scrambled to get into battle positions. Amongst the chaos was only one Princess, Celestia. Luna was too busy organizing emergency orders through the populace, so she was left the duty of organizing the defenses.

Celestia's glorious mane was frazzled, but she kept her body composure strong. Her teeth were lightly clenched underneath her slight frown, her eyes narrowed. She walked up to the pony dressed in military attire with a general's patch. The red color of his
polished armor reflected his mood.

"Where is that scout? We need to know what is happening out there!" the Princess shouted. The General of the Royal Army winced, as did Celestia inside. She rarely raised her voice, but she couild hardly help feeling anger at the sudden declaration of war by the Dragons' Republic.

"I do not know!" the general replied, stammering, "He should have been here an hour ago!" The Princess grunted in frustration.

"Then send another, we cannot lose Horseshoe Bay! It is our main naval city!" she barked, dodging a distracted messenger as he darted past.

"We are doing all we can, but there are too many dragons," he said despairingly, a frantic mare carrying orders almost running into him.

"Where are the Wonderbolts?" the Princess asked the general, thinking of how they could possibly turn the tides.

"Tied up in the assault on Manehatten, Princess," he turned to a pony armored in gold, "Initiate Order 75!"

"What about the… Shadow Bolts?" The princess asked somewhat quietly, the words a little sour on her tongue. If there was anything she resented of her sister, it was Luna’s insistence that her one-off concept concocted while under the influence of the Nightmare actually be implemented. Surprisingly, the group was fairly well received and was startlingly effective.

"They are, er," he looked up for a second, thinking, "Free, actually," he turns back to the pony, "Scramble the Shadow Bolts!"

"You think they will be enough?" The Princess asked.

"I hope so. If not, we will inevitably lose ground."

The Princess nodded, letting the general go do his job. She needed to keep her composure, so she walked back to her podium, sitting comfortably, and tried to relax. Not a moment later, a frantic messenger burst through the door.

Two Stories Taller

Author's Note

If you want it edited, wait a day or two, because I may not be writing much. Too many tests. My editor guy is not on right now, and I may not be on later today, so may as well post now. Also, I had no time to double check, so if you sea any seplling mistaees, don't frat.

Like, dislike, favorite, eat, drink, wash, repeat, comment on, dance on, and/or favorite this story please! It makes me feel nice ☺

Two Stories Taller

Alrik

Although the dragons were possibly two stories taller than him, armored in scales, and probably had some sort of way of creating mass amounts of fire, Alrik was not afraid. Well, he was, but not as much as he was angry at the ruthless murders that these beasts caused today. So, he charged at them, but something was off about him. He felt lighter than normal in his gear, as if they were actually weightless, and he then made a realization. He had been blessed by Odin with enchantments of some sorts on his equipment. How nice of him, Alrik thought, maybe he could have me a binky, too, with that amount of trust.

Being only a few feet from them now, the gigantic beasts saw him. They looked humored, this small being charging at them, but then returned to tearing down a stone tower that was a part of a pair of twin stone towers that stored the wealth of the town. It seemed like a daunting task for them, for their claws just scrapped it with no effects, but it did distract them. Alrik the Strong barged into one of the towers quickly, yet was not caught, and was confronted with a locked, metal, door that led to the staircase. Alrik drew out his axe, feeling light and hard to the touch, and breathed in deeply. Using all his strength, Alrik the Strong, with some help from his godly axe, broke out a gap in the middle of the door wide enough for an arm or two. Alrik then unlocked the door from the inside, finally able to go up the stairs.

And what he saw was astounding.

There were piles upon piles of gold, gems, silver, currency, and other such things that shined and twinkled in the clean, white, room with two barred windows on the opposing sides. There was also a door that led to the balcony, but it was replaced with a pile of burnt cinder and a dragon's two middle claw. The claw of the dragon was fumbling about, hoping to grasp maybe a few trinkets or some good leverage, but to no avail. The building was too sturdy.

As the dragon drew his claws back, Alrik flung himself to the wall where the door once stood and kept out of the line of vision for a few more seconds. Alrik saw the eyelash of the creature penetrate the doorway.

The Dragon had not seen it coming.

Alrik quickly pulled out his enchanted jarids, putting one in both hands, and ran straight to the dragon, firmly grasping onto its vulnerable eye with sharp sticks. The eyelid immediately tried to shut as the dragon screamed in pain, but Alrik let the dragon have no rest. Alrik quickly pulled out his axe, hanging onto the dragon with one hand on a jarid, and cut the eye like butter once, making the dragon fling itself back in agony. Alrik nearly fell, but he had put his foot on the hard eyelid that tried to shut, then cut once more, making a 't' shape with the other cut. The dragon moved its gigantic arm to swat away Alrik, but it was dispatched when Alrik threw another jarid straight into its hand. He then cut one, last, line to make a trianglular incision. Swiftly, Alrik ripped out the inside of the triangle, and dove into the eye of the beast with magical weapons.

Alrik emerged from the eye while the beast laid on its back. He emerged with grey matter strewn around his body and blood coloring his armor. But most of all, he emerged victorious.

Skywaar

The other dragons watched on in fear as their friend was dismembered from the inside, powerless to halt the interior advance. Skywaar, too, was terrified. Perhaps they had just ran into one of the magical abominations that the magisters summon? No, they are far too dumb to maneuver that quickly, but what other answer was there?

The moment that being popped out of the back of Djaar's head, Skywaar felt his head pound in terror, about to crush the beast the best he could, but saw something that truly terrified him. Something all dragons have feared since the days of Luna.

The ponies of the night's sky, the Shadowbolts...

Alrik

Alrik was shifting around in the brain matter, trying to find some gold currency he had dropped somewhere in the head. Happily, the brain was not that big, so he found the gold relatively quickly. He really did not know why the other dragon's weren't attacking him yet, so he peeked out at a little to see the big, red, dragon looking north-westish. Alrik looked that way too, but trees obscured his view.

Alrik collected the jarids that were lodged in the dragon's eye, cautiously watching the two still dragons looking NWish. They seemed afraid, but not of him.

Alrik shrugged, climbing back into the tower. He went behind a small counter in the tower, finding a large food bag. He quickly went upstairs and filled it with valuables. Gold, silver, diamonds, for-show weaponry, and several dozen pounds of currency littered the ground. Alrik fit as much as he could, loving the fact that everything was light.

"If I had this much money back home, I would be a king. Perhaps I can finish this journey soon enough," Alrik stated quietly to himself, shoving some extra currency in the tiny holes left. After finishing the shoving, a loud sound boomed across him. Alrik placed the bag on the ground, getting his axe and shield ready for anything, and looked out the balcony. He saw more of those flying abominations.

Alrik pulled out a jarid, watching the abominations fight the giant lizards, each looking silly, and almost laughed, but stopped himself before revealing his location. If I were to be a king, wouldn't it be nice to have some fame among the people or ponies, or things, thought Alrik.

One of the dragons fell, for two horses had quickly tied its legs while four distracted the two dragons. Then, they went after the other dragon, but something hilarious happened. Fire. More fire than Alrik had ever seen (except for that one time the forest burnt down, those each month a town burnt down, and those many times a castle burnt down).

Two of the six horses became soot, while the other four angrily restrained the second dragon. They put giant clamps on the dragon's mouth, securing them tightly, and looked proud. Then one looked dead. And before another could react, he gained a horn. The other two reacted, blasting to the tower where death fell, and went inside through the balcony, not seeing Alrik. Alrik was hidden behind his bag of money.

Dark Sunshine

"Warum ist das passiert?" one asked the other in a light, sobby, voice. Dark shook hiss head lightly, then returned to looking around for the young dragon that must be there. He looked behind him, out the balcony, and saw something.

Alrik

Alrik laughed a bit, collecting the bodies of the two who went searching for him, throwing them out of the tower. He cleaned up his armor a bit, looking out of the balcony. He extended his hands to the jarids that were far down there, not wanting to walk back down to collect them.

He did not have to.

The jarids glowed like the mighty eyes of Loki, and blasted to his hands. He looked somewhat surprised, but felt more enthusiastic. He laughed even harder, his palm on his face, but then had a quizzical face. With a jarid in each hand, Alrik jumped off the roof.

And floated.

War Is Tiring

Author's Note

Listening to 40's music and writing is relaxing, try it sometime!
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and if you do, remember to like and/or favorite!

War Is Tiring

Princess Celestia

The Princess smashed her face into her desk multiple times, repeating "Why?" each time. The General and the small messenger just stared at her, waiting for her to collect her senses.

"Are you sure?" The Princess asked of Multiberry Rush, the messenger, her head resting on her hooves.

"I am s-sure Princess," Multiberry said, his little body feeling embarrassed for seeing his Princess like this.

She let her head fall to the desk, tired, and said, "Why does there always have to be crazy scientists?"

She then turned to Multiberry, lifting her head lightly, and said, "Did you at least identify the type of abomination?"

"No my liege," the General said, "from the accounts he shared with us, there is nopony who has ever made a Metallic Ape-like Golem."

The Princess rested her head on the table for a few seconds, and then said, "What about the Shadow Bolts?"

"No feedback from their transmitters, my Liege," the General said, "but we are trying to force a communication through to their potential captors to at least see if they are alive, captured, and ransom-able."

The Princess laid there for some time, tired of all this warspeak, and said, "Go do you job, my little ponies,for I can't deal with this much longer."

The General tried to conceal a smile, "Then do I have full authority of the army?"

The Princess looked up, and said, "for now."

"I won't fail you Princess," he said, motioning for the messenger to follow him out, "now you just rest up for now, too."

The door shut, leaving the Princess alone in the silent room.

The General looked at the messenger, and asked, "War must be tiring after centuries of peace, right?"

"Yeah little bro, yeah," the messenger said.

"Says the little guy," the General said, his brother immediately going in for the kick, but the General ran off, saying, "We both have jobs to do!"

The messenger just smiled a bit, getting ready to go Mach 2 back to the burning city. Back to the abomination.

Alrik

Alrik hovered there for some time, trying to figure out how to get down, when his left hand started to slip. Even though his might, the jarid slipped out of his grasp. He gasped, somewhat surprised, and reached for it like before, making it come to his hand. Except now it was lower that before. Noticing the pattern, Alrik slowly pulled back his right hand to his body, watching the jarid come down, too, and did the same to his left hand. He did this over and over, and each time he came closer to the ground, but then he realized something amazing. He was, literally, swimming through the air.

Then he wondered another thing, leading him to think about the other jarids in his bag, leading them, too, to levitate. He then let go of the jarids in his hand, thinking hard about the bag being full of them. The jarids slowly returned to the bag, leaving Alrik floating in the sky, only his bag of jarids that layed on his back keeping him steady. The thought lightly of having the jarids slowly lower themselves, and the bag (and him), to the ground.

He watched in amazement as he came closer to the ground. He was glad that the bag of jarids had a kind of holder for his jarids at the bottom, for if it didn't, he would have to paddle down to Earth, er, ground. After landing on the ground, he went to go collect his large sack of loot. He put a jarid in it, just so it could 'swim' with him and went back up to the balcony. He looked down on everything, and laughed at what he had forgotten. The two dragons were still alive.

Skywaar

Skywaar felt his bones chill when he watched the abomination levitate. This beast was so small, and could easily be fried, but as Skywaar was now, in chains and gagged (defenseless), there is nothing from stopping the beast. His only hope was that the beast had forgotten about them, but then it went to the balcony and laughed at me and my compatriot. He then proceeded to, lopsiddedly, levitate down again, his bag floating beside him, and came on top of me. He came onto my face, near my EYE, and looked me straight in the eye. He stared into my eyes for some time before whipping out his axe and levitating it before my eyes. He was rotating the floating object so it would make a wheel-like motion, and walked to my right eye...

Alrik

After blinding the beast in the same way he himself was, Alrik proceeded down the unconscious, from shock, dragon's body until he reached the stomach and used his axe once more.

With his name now on the belly of the dragon he chose to live to tell the tale, he broke it chains and gagges by throwing a jarid and forcing it to 'swim' forward more. As he is sure these were invincible, as they were created by the same blacksmith that made Mjolnir, he was also sure they were strong. And he was right. In just that measly swim, the dragon was freed from the bonds it could not break. Alrik then looked at the other dragon, which now had a look of hope in its eyes, and thought for a bit.

After letting the engraved dragon loose, but still unconcious, and killing its two friends, Alrik felt proud of himself. he ripped some scales off the mighty beast he had killed, which had blackened from death for some reason, and stabbed his axe in it. With his axe firmly in there, just like old times, Alrik grabbed hold of it at an angle where it would never come out and got on the scale, which was about 3 square(ish) meters, and let the axe swim up into the air, pulling the scale and Alrik with it.

Alrik then proceeded to slowly try going foreward, but saw something approaching from the west. Alrik immediately swam his lootbag back up to him, putting it onto the scale, and thought hard. He thought harder than he ever had to think. He closed his eyes, the wind being far too much, and then opened them.

And he saw the most advanced city in his life, which had a sign that said something he could not understand.

News Travels Fast

Alrik

Alrik looked at the city, ready to go in mentally, but his body did not feel the same. He slowly lowered himself into a small forest below him, making sure none of the creatures of the land or sky saw him. The forest had outstandingly large trees in great abundance, each green and full of life. He lowered into the mid-branches of one of the bigger trees and let the scale balance itself on the large branches of both that tree and a connecting tree. Finally concealed and safe, Alrik stepped off his flying boat and laid down on the branch of the bigger tree, the trunk letting his head dip.

He slept and, in his dreams, realized something.

He opened his eyes as a beam of sunlight flashed into his face from behind the upper branches. It was now the next morning.

Alrik got up, feeling his well-rested bones slowly get into place, and then walked onto his flying boat. Grabbing hold of his axe, Alrik rose from the branches he hid in and went above the forest once more. He was now ready to enter the city.

He popped his shoulders, then quickly flew the flying boat to the tallest building in the city that seemed to have ponies on top of it. Each of them had horns, and swimming in the air near them were crossbows. Alrik slowed down, trying to listen to whatever negotiations may occur, and was pleased when a grey pony in blue armor and a golden outline came out in front with a crossbow shaped object with a relatively big conular front with a circle within instead of a crossbow's bolt firing mechanic. Alrik knew that there was to be no negotiations at that point, and thought, I do wonder what kind of weapon that is, before swimming a jarid into his hands. With all the crossbows aimed at him, he had only one choice.

Before any one of the beasts could talk or shoot, Alrik sailed through the air at speeds improbable right into their line of men, those in front killed from the sharp scale moving like a bolt. The others were shocked, and tried to shoot at Alrik, but he moved too fast. He sailed into and sliced many of the crossbow ponies, killing them all on contact, and smiled. This was far simpler than he thought, with his flying 'bolt' boat.

Alrik, seeing as the rooftop was now clear, got off his boat and removed his axe from it. He picked up his loot bag, and made it swim far into the air. So far that even he could not see the bag anymore.

With that out of the way, Alrik easily chopped down the metal door protecting the tall building, which was likely a kind of acropolis, and descended down the stairs, his axe always at the ready.

The stairway and hallway it led to were grey and blue, a grainy texture on the wall, and tiled floors of metal. To Alrik, it was one of the most beautiful places he has ever seen, but only because of what it must contain. This city was bigger, and shinier, than that city he had raided earlier, so it would make sense if they kept some glorious things in here, Alrik reasoned, beginning to walk down the corridors that had doors everywhere, but he did not bother to open them, for he could see what was inside from the glass by the doors that showed the rooms. Inside each room was cheap looking wood and lounging chairs, not worth carrying in a hostile building.

Alrik continued walking, until he realized something. The corners of each corridor had conspicuous bars with a red, blinking, light that seemed to follow him. He took out a jarid, which left him with three (the other is in the bag). Since it was about three feet long and an inch or two wide in diameter, the jarid is the perfect weapon for this close combat invasion, for anyone trying to run in a straight line in the corridor would be gone, Alrik thought, his smile showing his somewhat rotten teeth.

He prowled around, his jarid in hand, smashing every one of the freaky boxes he could find.

"Where are they?" Alrik slightly yelled in the empty corridor, his voice echoing throughout the floor.

The Punk, leader of M.A.T.O.

His skin-tight, pitch black with red swirls, and sun-shaded goggled suit and him were one in the same right now. Unlike other skintight, pitch black with red swirls, and sun-shaded goggled suits, his had granted him the ability to save lives without exposing himself, and his family, to the also hidden villains and monsters of the land. It granted him security, just like how his team's skin-tight suits gave them safety from mixing their public and heroic lives.

Every one of them was special, just like everything else, but there was one similarity between them. They hated how their town had become. The Punk, The Grounded, and the Grounder were not related by blood, but by ideals. The Punk was the leader of the bunch, The Grounded was the cleric with his thoroughly brown skin-tight suit, and The Grounder was the punisher of those who had done evil by inflicting brute justice down upon them without messing up his red with black swirls suit, but how they did those things had baffled the city's populace.

The Punk, a Pegasus, and the Grounder, a earth pony, had strength that nopony in the world could match, except each other, while the Grounded was a unicorn with the unnatural ability to heal anypony, as long as they were alive. At first, they were hated, ridiculed, and stomped on by the media, but now? Now they were considered the heroes of the city. They had fought off a dragon all by themselves, driving it away, all just a day ago!

Today, though, some small pegasus messenger had told Mayor Mayo that a beast capable of killing dragons in minutes was coming to kill us all. Of course, the mayor had laughed, sending the pegasus out and leaving a weak negotiating party to try to get this 'dragon-killing abomination' to go back home, for everyone in Equus knew to not dare attack them with their team.

But that seemed to be the biggest mistake of his career. In moments, a few disaster-filled minutes, many a mare had become a widow as their husbands died as honorably as one could when sliced to bits. He immediate asked his team, the Manehatten Anti-Terrorist Operators, to stop this menace.

And by all things related to Princess Sun, The Punk knew that he would beat this menace.

A war cry unheard by any echoed across the building as the team slowly marched up.

But if I knew I was to win, he thought, why do the bottom of my hooves sweat with such ferocity? What does my heart beat?

He continued to climb the stairs...

Alrik

Alrik found a strange metal door, with some form of lock on it. He scoffed at the pad of strange symbols beside the door, and just smashed it down with his axe, making echoing noises that scratched at his eardrums before clanging to the ground. Looking past the door, his ear somewhat ringing, he saw downward stairs...

Princess Celestia

Hungry, Princess Celestia wandered to the lunchroom on the second floor, but she had to face one of her greatest adversaries before doing so. The B-Level stairs, which she had fallen down several times during Luna's banishment. The stairs would not claim her today, but someday. Someday very near...

Author's Note

i think you guys can tell I was playing around for the bottom of this. Anyway, I will start getting editors to edit stuff, but before that, why not Like, dislike, eat, cry at, follow, and/or read my story and stalk me?

Also, Skworus made a new work, and it looks cool. Just look at it! Not related to anything except how I think Alrik sees the world.
http://skworus.deviantart.com/art/Under-the-Tree-445815624

Who Are You To Judge?

Alrik

Alrik arrived to a door that seemed to be locked just like the other, with a pad of symbols, but of a stronger-looking material. It did not matter to him, for his axe could cut all, and he, after a minute or two, smashed a hole through the tough door. It was a floor just like the previous, but the offices were only on the side and the middle was empty, save for a small table with some machines and a glass with a strange black liquid.

Alrik walked over to the table, picking up the glass, which to him was just an oddly shaped cup, but he knew it must have been a jug to these short creatures. He put his tongue's tip into the jug, and tasted nothing. He shrugged, throwing the jug over his shoulder into the broken door.

He searched through all the offices, not finding a single thing of interest. The most expensive thing would possibly be the crossbow encased in glass in the corner, but Alrik was never accurate with those things, so he just left it. Reenforcements for their troops should be coming soon, Alrik thought, so how should I kill them?

Usually, those who I kill just die, but should I let them live?Alrik sat on the small table (that was more of a wide bench) and thought for a moment.

The Punk, leader of M.A.T.O.

Arriving on the 2nd to top floor, The Punk is met with the door to the Police Department's Investigation office, and inputs his code.
Huh?

For some reason, the numpad was not working. The Punk turned his neck to The Grounder, motioning him to help. They were being silent as to avoid being easily jumped when they enter. The Punk put his black with red swirled hooves on the left side, while The Grounder put his red with black swirled hooves on the right. Together, they pushed with their enormous might.

The wall creaked and the paint chipped, the metal screeched as it bent, and the chance of being stealthy was shattered.

"Push harder, Grounder," The Punk ordered, "Grounded, stand in the middle, we'll cover for your entry!"

The cleric just nodded, his special red goggles on, and said, "I do not think he is behind the door, cuz I don't see him, mates."

"Well, that is relieving, doc."

Grounder just nodded in agreement, pushing harder. The Punk did the same. Together, they pushed until they heard the door finally separate from the door and they tripped over their own overexertion. They both fell over onto the door, which also fell over onto the floor of the office. Grounder had a pained face, so he turned his neck with his now squinting eyes.

"Hey doc, can you he—" he said, opening his eyes to see...

Alrik

Alrik watched the door suddenly fall inward, and would have been shocked, if he was not prepared. There was one of them who was not on the floor defensively, but with just one swim of the axe, the brown-suited pony was de-hoofed and put on the floor anyway. His little friend did not even notice till it was too late, and Alrik watched the three suited ponies scream at what had just occurred. It was loud, so Alrik put a pinky in one of his eardrums... which was abnormally clean for a person who almost never bathed.

After a few seconds of shrieking in shock, the ponies screamed some stuff at Alrik.

" Was zum Teufel!" The pony on the left side of Alrik screamed before rising up.

Sighing, Alrik swam the axe back to himself, de-hoofing the other pony that tried to rise up to him. Alrik could tell that they were strong from their build, but strength disappears if the muscles' connections do, and what better way than to cut them? It was a sad sight though, watching the weak animals scream in despair as they slowly died of bloodloss, but that did not matter to Alrik.

All that mattered is that one remained, Alrik thought.

Alrik walked over to the last one, stopping a foot away, and put his shield on his right hand by the rim and his weapon on the left holster, and looked as intimidating as he could. The pony looked at him, and before it could even speak, Alrik let the shield swim at a speed fast enough to knock the pony out without killing him. Alrik then picked up the pony, carrying him over the shoulder. His shield swam onto his back as his axe levitated to his remaining hand, the left one. He looked at the ponies slowly dying, watching one with a horn 'swimming' bodyparts to himself, possibly trying to reassemble himself. Alrik backed away, slowly as watching the beast, and picked up one of the "large" rugs in one of the offices, using a kind of strong, but lax, string to tie it up like his other bag. He put the pony in the bag, tightened it, and ripped off a fragment of his helmet, putting it in the bag as well. If he was right, he should be able to swim the fragment to move the bag like his other bag. He slammed the bag into the wall, laughing at this discovery.

As this was a world of magic, Alrik could take no chances, and left before that thing with a horn could suicide bomb him knowing it'll die. Once he reached the roof, he let his bag swim back to float him and quickly replaced the jarid with a fragment of his helmet. With all his jarids in their respective back slots, he felt a bit relieved. He shoved his axe into his flying boat, and swam upwards, the bags following him as he flew Northward...

Princess Celestia

The Princess of the Sun was eating her lunch, a small bruise on her bum, and looked depressed. Her cherry cake was not helping her cope with this stress, sadly, and it was pushed aside as her guest entered the room and sat down on the table with her.

"My liege," he said monotonously, "we have some more bad news."

"What," the fuck, " is it this time, Jerald?" Celestia asked her vassal.

"Manehatten's one leader of the two M.A.T.O. groups has been captured by the ape-like abomination."

She looked genuinely shocked, "H-how long did they fight," she said, "why wasn't the other group there?"

He sighed, "My liege, the second team was literally two floors below the first team, a minute away, and when they arrived The Grounded was found piecing together himself and the Grounder."

"The fight was less than a minute?"

"Yes."

The Princess laid on the table, and said, "anything else?"

"A-actually," the monotonous stallion said, "we have good news."

The Princess gave him her full attention.

"The dragon invasion from the west was stopped by the Princess of Nature herself."

Celestia worryingly asked, "did anything come to harm my friend, Daniel?"

"No," Grand Noble Daniel said, "she is fine, except for minor bruising from her energetic congratulations."

Then the Princess did something she had not done in a while...

She smiled.

Author's Note

P.S. Normal, adult, ponies are the same height as Alrik's nipples from the floor. Yeah, I thought about his nipples, cuz I am too perverse to let my own characters go unviolated.

Flight

Author's Note

I do not think this is written well, but I have to study a lot lately, so here is my first draft that will be edited. Thanks for reading my story so far! Can't wait to both edit this and write the next thrilling adventure of Alrik!☺

Flight

Alrik

The wind bellows loudly as Alrik swam through the air at incredulous speeds. He had not seen a city in some time, or even a village, and he certainly did not want to rest in the forests that lay below him, but even though they had a horrifying amount of thick, green, trees that may be hiding something, for what wouldn't want to kill him in this strange world, but he knew he should rest soon, so he continued on, looking for a thinner amount of forest to rest in.

After two hours, Alrik found a body of water that he judged to be a lake, a clear one at that. He hovered over the water, and quickly dipped himself into the water, emerging cleaner, refreshing him. His boat sailed to the shore, landing on a small, sandy part of the lake. his neck hairs (and beard hairs) tingled for some odd reason as he landed, so taking this as a sign of trouble, he swam a jarid into his hand...

But, after waiting a few minutes, nothing happened. Just to be sure, though, Alrik walked over to the clear, reflective, lake and peered into the water. He saw some fish in the distance, swimming rapidly around the lake, being followed by a shadow within the lake that may be a bigger fish. The shadow would be quite worrying to anyone, but boring compared to what happened earlier this day. His hand over his mouth, Alrik yawned heavily, his face gravitating down, opened his eyes, and yelled, louder than a wife learning she'd become a widow, before jumping away from the horror.

Empress Hilda of the Gryphonic Empire

Hilda had no clue what to do. One one side, her fond alliance with the Equestrian Empire was calling her to war, while on the other, she was already in a major civil war between them and the "Gryphonic Republic". She laid on her roost embroidered with only the richest of jewels her navy could take. She never really knew where the jewels came from, but that did not matter much compared to the travesty of having to pick between death of her nation or the fall of her allies' nations.

She got up. That's right... Equestria is also allied with the United Tribes of Zebrakind... surely, they can stop this war without our interference, right?

"So," the pony messenger in plaid said, nearly scaring the egg out of Hilda, who forgot he was there, "will you assist us, your excellency?"

If only ponies were not this cute, she thought, looking at the lean, white, and nicely dressed stallion before her, it would make decisions far easier.

She opened her beak, only to cough embarrassingly. She wiped her beak, a little red, and then she opened her beak again...

Alrik

Alrik grasped his face, rubbing his face, his mind racing. He got back up, trying to calm down, but felt the tingling again. He looked out further unto the lake, and saw the shadow begin to rise with two more shadows following it. Water dispersed as the three-headed beast ascended from the lake, at the other end, and a heavy hiss echoed. Alrik quickly swam his shield and axe to his hand.

Alrik grunted lightly, and swam the axe to his left. He arced the swim, slicing all three of the beast's heads off. He almost smiled as it fell into the water, but felt revolted at its' strange purple blood. He swam the axe back to his left hand, and walked back to the shore of the lake, looking back into the water again. He rubbed his head, feeling sickened at it. He took off he helmet, combed at his wet and thin beard, and peeled off the remaining bloody flesh and threw it into the lake. Somehow, he had not noticed he did not have a tongue, or gums. Truly, this was not that weird to Alrik, since he was dead, but it would have been nice if, Alrik thought, Odin at least warned I would become a skeleton.

Alrik, disgusted in his appearance, put his helmet back on, but still had to look at his ghoulish, eternal, grin that the dead have. He stood there for a minute, admiring how his skull was able to move without assistance from muscles, and chuckled. I am even whiter than a queen, he thought. Alrik slowly removed his chest armor, and tried to rip off his chest's flesh, but it would not come off. Putting his armor back on, Alrik reached for his neck, and ripped it off—bone and all. Looked quite strange, a skull floating above a Norseman's headless body, but it did not really matter to Alrik. It just scarred him for un-life, is all.

All he knew was that he looked even more intimidating, and that would help in ruling these horses by force.

Alrik laughed loudly, even while noticing his echoed voice. It sounded like any Norse's, but there was a clacking sound with every laugh. This made Alrik laugh harder, causing him to look to water again. His eyeballs fell out into the lake, and he watched them bob for while until a shadow was cast over the water. Alrik got his axe and shield at the ready, and used his shield to swim up and over a head that tried to snatch him. While flying over the heads, Alrik swam his axe in an arced pattern once more, sliced off all six heads, and hovered above the beast by standing on his shield. He watched as the new heads began to sprout in admiration, but almost fell when the beast roared a terrifying call from all twelve of its heads. Alrik laughed, and sliced off the twelve heads with the swimming of his axe.

"How many times can you do this," Alrik said, laughing again, "I mean, it must be nice to be able to regrow flesh, unless, there is a Norse in the sky of course."

Alrik laughed for hours, continually chopping off the heads of the beast until, finally, the beast had too many heads for its legs to support. It slumped to the ground, defeated, but still alive. Still in pain. Alrik lowered himself onto the beast, cutting his name into the beast, one letter per head, and relished in its pitiful cries as he cried over what he has gotten himself into. What Odin got him into.

Princess Celestia

Grand Princess Celestia sat in her throne as royal nobles bickered about whose blood was more royal. Truthfully, Celestia was asleep with her eyes open as they argued.

"I say your a charlatan, for everyone knows I can beat you in a duel!" Prince Blueblood II said.

"Oh yeah?" asked Princess Purpleheart, "Why don't we go outside to settle the score," she threw back her bangs wit her hoof, " or are you scared?"

"I am not like my father," he said, "I am not afraid of a duel!"

"Then lets go!" she said, opening the door, "Can't wait to show the purer blood within me!"

She ran out the door, with Blueblood, the spitting image of his father, minus the red eyes, going after her. Celestia awakened and watched as the two ran away and followed one another in a playful fashion. She smiled, magically closed her doors and dimmed the lights, and went to her improvised bed.

"I really hope those two don't injure themselves before their wedding," she said, dozing off into Lunaland...

Well then...

Author's Note

Short chapter. Test tomorrow. Wish me luck! ♥☺♥

Well then...

Alrik

After washing out his bloody skull, Alrik placed his helmet upon his skull. He was missing a few teeth, but only enough to seem strong. He went upon his mighty boat of the sky, making his two bags of loot swim gracefully to his boat's sailing. Off in the distance, something he could hardly believe he saw, was fuzzy and hard to see. In this darkening evening, though, he could see the light emanating from behind a small mountain. The lights were bright and glamorous, bringing the previous city he was in to shame, and had some sort of aura around it. It was like it was just begging to be raided and destroyed.

"What could be hidden in there," Alrik said in the horrified voice of the damned, 'smiling' , a small chant his English friend once said,"money to spend, gold to bribe with, jewels to steal... power to be my own?"

Alrik laughed, his teeth clattering together in an absurdly loud fashion while he swam towards it with great haste. The air whisted through Alrik's skull, producing a high-pitched sound that lasted until a rather large *kaboom* occured. After that, there was no sound. Although he forgot to dry, he was happy to find that the speed air-dried him. After only a minute or two, Alrik arrived a few kilometers from the city. The rather large city seemed to be covered in a big, yellow, bubble of sorts. Alrik did not mind, for he was not going to break in. That would be stupid.

He lands behind a rather large rock, making sure no horses in armor saw him. Alrik removed his axe from the boat, letting it gently crash into the ground, and then swam his shield to his right arm. He swam his bag of gold and jewels to the top of the mountain, stabbing it at the very tip, he then grabbed the other bag and proceeded to open it. Happily, the pony inside was not dead nor rotting like Alrik, which made Alrik 'smile'. He took the jarid from the bag and swam it back to its rightful place before grabbing the pony with his right hand, by the neck, and pulling him out the bag.

Alrik walked out from behind cover, the pony in his grasp, and watched the surprised and horrified looks on the guards through the torches' reflections. Within a minute, they spoke gibberish to him, and one tried to raise his crossbow. The moment he raised it, however, Alrik noticeably gripped the unconscious pony's neck harder. The guard, too scared to let an innocent die, let down his crossbow. Alrik motioned, with his axe, for the others to do the same. The group of three did so, although begrudgingly, lower their weapons to the ground and canceled their magic auras. Alrik loosened his grip a little, showing honor, and pointed to the city with his axe. The ponies looked at him funny, some of them shaking their heads with disapproval while others say gibberish, but this just agitated Alrik. The grip became tighter.

The guards saw the danger, and so they complied. They walked towards the bubble, Alrik following with the pony's life dangling in his fingertips. Alrik watched cautiously for traps, but spotted none through the journey. The day was windy, though, so he could not know what was hiding in the shadows of the land before him.

When they reached the bubble, the guards stared at him. They were in a secluded place, where no guard stations were in sight, so Alrik complied and dropped the pony. The guards then opened the bubble... and fulfilled their duty.

And now they can all die.

With a single thought, Alrik swam the jarids in his back out of their holsters and up into the air. Before any of the guards, who looked on in shock, could react, Alrik sent the jarids straight into their vitals—two of them were stabbed through the gap between the helmet and any other helpful body part while the other was jabbed through the neck. To ensure their deaths, though, Alrik swam the jarids throughout their bodies, riddling them with holes the diameter of delicious carrots. Alrik smiled and laughed quietly, looking back down on his prisoner. The pony was still unconscious, thankfully, and Alrik owed him some for being bait to kill bigger fish.

Alrik walked through the bubble, leaving the pony alive within arms reach of the dead...

Tough Crowd

Author's Note

SO many tests that I cannot write as well as I'd like, but I hope you guys like this chapter!☺

See you guys soon, for there are finals coming. If I had a sad smiley, I would give it.

Tough Crowd

Alrik

Alrik entered the bubble into a space behind a rather large building. The building was noticeably clean and white, but due to the sun slowly lowering to nothing, it was almost completely concealed in the light shadow of the bubble. To his left, Alrik saw a way to a main road and a few sleeping ponies leaning against the building. To his right was more alleyways that probably lead to another street down their paths. Alrik then put his hand behind his skull, 'should I be stealthy?', he thought heavily for a few seconds, drawing conclusions and strategies to avoid death...

' but I am invincible!' Alrik said with a smile, while his eye sockets glowed lightly.

Alrik revolved his jarids around his body, walking past the sleeping ponies that smelled of liquor and shame without waking one, and marched through one last turn alleyway before stopping on the exit to the street. Looking up and down the street, he saw it was eerily empty, not a horse in sight. 'How could the capital be this quiet? ' Alrik thought, arming himself with his shield and axe. He listened quietly for even the slightest murmur...

{Burp}

But, the homeless ruined his plan to listen with their aggravating sounds. He decided to walk onto the street, looking carefully at the windows, letting his jarids [whirr] around him quietly with every rotation. When he looked up and down the road, he could see nothing, as it kept getting darker the further he looked into this town. Alrik observes the unlit streetlamps on these streets, wondering if this is the same place that shone brightly not even an few hours ago.

Alrik's non-existent neck hairs were erect with anticipation.

The Punk, leader of nothing...

The Punk woke up, his eyes blurry and swollen. Pain jolted throughout his body as he attempted to rise from his pitiful rest. Even with his enhanced strength, he proved incapable of getting up from the floor. Why am I here? he asked, turning his head to the left. He saw a white and gold blob in the darkness. As it is the only thing he could make out, he used what was left of his arm strength to crawl over to the blob.

Even while next to the blob, he could not make it out in this darkness. He opted to rest a little, stretching himself on the floor near the blob, awaiting to be found. He closed his eyes, and slowly, but surely, went to sleep...

Alrik

Alrik walked for a few miles, finding nothing but closed, pitch-black, and even broken, buildings. Debris was scattered across the streets in a peculiar way. Picking up a piece of debris, Alrik noted that the debris was strangely shiny, like freshly melted metal.
[BA-THUUUUUM]

Alrik lifted his head to the sound of Thor's hammer, looking straight at the castle, which was, too, dark. Off in the distance, near the large castle, Alrik could see something rather strange—a single pony fluttering around the castle, chasing something. 'What?' Alrik thought as he used his swimming ax to lift himself onto a low roof. After landing, Alrik looked closer at the scene far over there, and noticed that the being being chased looked like a pony, but something was off.
[Creaaa-]

[BAM]

The roof Alrik was standing upon collapsed under his weight. Alrik heard a screech as he landed, and saw something mildly disturbing. A pony with holes in its body looked at the fallen Alrik in a horrified fashion, and after a second of looking at one another, its horn glowed a green hue. Alrik rose, his armaments swimming to their positions before the beast fired its shot, which was blocked by Alrik's shield. With his eyes closed to protect him from gore, Alrik calmly thought of his jarids, which were floating above the hole sleepily, piercing the body of the beast, and just like that, when he opened his eyes, the beast was dead. Alrik was covered in green blood, but happily his armor blocked all of it from sticking to his body. letting his ax float in the air, Alrik rubbed the front of his skull, feeling a slight burn on his hand as he did so.

He looked at his hand, seeing that it, too, has started to deteriorate like his head. Was it because of that beast? Alrik thought angrily, his 'blood' boiling. He clenched his hand, still able to feel from it, and felt relief. He grabbed hold of his ax and swam into the sky again. It was harder to keep grip, but he felt strong today. Or, at least, he thought,strong enough to exterminate those vermin. Alrik chuckled, letting his jarids revolve around him in a fast, non-linear, craze. He spat on the corpse from up in the sky before flying toward the two flying beings outside the castle.

But, before he could confront the two fighting beasts, he was met with a wall of twenty, or maybe fifty, of those hole-pony beasts.

"Stillstand!" the ponies said simultaneously in a loud, authoritative, voice.

"Whatever order you just gave me," Alrik said, his deteriorating left hand itching, "I do not follow."

With a smile, Alrik watched as the small battalion oozed green as each and every one of there bodies were pierced with jarids that swam at intense speeds. With them dead on the ground, Alrik continued his way towards the castle, but then, surprisingly, he was knocked to the floor with a large force...

Anything Goes

Author's Note

I will be fixing this chapter up soon. Here it is in semi-complete status, because I have tests all next week that I need to study for. See you guys ♥

Anything Goes

Alrik

Alrik smashed into the ground head-first at a spectacular speed. Embedded into the ground, half of him buried, he swam his axe to pull him out by his foot, his helmet stuck in the ditch. Flipping up-right, Alrik looked around for what had hit him, but nothing was near. Cautiously, he swam onto the tall, brown, building in front of him and looked closely at his surroundings, starting with the castle. There was no flying creatures encircling the castle anymore, but Alrik suspected that they are still fighting somewhere, so he then looked up once more. Straining his "eyes", he began to see the creatures once more. They were firing colorful projectiles at one another while fluidly moving at intense speeds. 'Perhaps a misfire hit me?' Alrik thought, rubbing the back of his head with his somewhat skeletal left hand.

Alrik crossed his legs and watched the fight, intrigued at what is going on. 'Maybe all these defenses,' Alrik thought with a nonchalant smirk on his face, 'was meant for the invader up there, and not me. Alrik shrugged and looked at the interesting fight...

The lighter creature that fired golden beams of magic was on the defensive, for the darker one, with a green magic, seemed to have the advantage in this aerial battle. The darker one was more precise in it's attacks, almost never missing, while the lighter one seemed too tired to continue for long. Then, suddenly, it seemed as if the aggressor aggravated the lighter one, for she seemed full of energy once more and went right back to battling. It seemed like a battle of wills now, one that could be drawn on for a long time...

But Alrik was bored of that. Alrik got up, swimming his shield and axe on and let his jarids revolve around him. He swam his helmet to his head, which took some time for some reason, and proceeded to, himself, swim towards the castle. It took only a few seconds of deafness until he arrived at his location. Oddly, every entrance he could see was blocked and the castle covered with a thick, pink barrier. Looking up, Alrik saw a few of the hole-y ponies attempting to penetrate the shield. 'Perhaps civilians lie in here?' Alrik reasoned, killing the creatures with his swimming jarids. He looked intensely at the shield, the magic seeming to flow downward like rain against glass. Alrik laughed before he took out his shield and put it on his head and, like an umbrella, walked through the barrier. 'So simple, even Maximilian could do it,' he thought, with a chuckle, before putting his shield back on his right arm.

The barrier repaired itself, but the air seemed to be tense now. 'Whatever created this barrier probably knows I am here,' Alrik thought, patting down his helmet.

He walked up to the large, extremely purple doors and attempted to push them open. Sadly, they were barred. Alrik then tried using his axe. Happily, they were not invincible, proven when they easily broke down as Alrik chopped away at it. Peeking through, it seemed no one was in the main hall, for the lights were off. Alrik could barely see, the moonlight aiding him very little in this eerily dark part of the castle. Alrik could have sworn he had seen some lights come from this building's right side, so he bumbled about the halls, using his jarids for guidance. He arrived, after a half-hour of near-pitch black, at a wooden door covered in the moon's light, revealing carvings that stopped Alrik in his tracks. There was no magic, no fields, but just the sight there halted him.He looked at the door's carvings, feeling them with his fingers with his mouth agape and his legs feeling weak out of surprise.

'Why are Rök Runes Carved into this door?' Alrik thought, his mind racing somewhat, 'This is impossible!'

Alrik backed away from the door, confusion evident even on his skeletal face. He paced around, and thought, 'How can they know the language of Asgard, when Odin said he never knew of this place?' He felt sick when he came to a conclusion within the dark, sad halls of this castle far from home. Odin, the one who he worshiped his whole life, had lied to him. His Lord Lied.

Alrik thought about this for some time...

Alrik breathed heavily, though he lacked the need for lungs at this point, and barged through the door. In the room was hundreds, no, thousands of ponies. Some were clad in golden armor, some with suits, and some bare, but none of that mattered to Alrik, for he had decided something.

A pony in armor tried to poke him with a spear, only to become full of more holes than Alrik's heart. A few others walked up, their horns blue and strong, and Alrik swam his jarids at them, only to be caught by the strange blue hue. Without his jarids, Alrik pulled out his axe and shield, killing a few dozen more of the beasts. He was jabbed a few times, but he felt nothing. Soon, his axe was covered in both blood and the blue hue. Dozens of guards stormed in to attack Alrik, assuming that without a weapon, he would give up, but that was far from the truth. Using his skeletal hand as a desperate weapon, Alrik killed several guards by ripping their weapons from the hue with his normal hand and stabbed through him with his other. He kept on going, until very few of the golden clad ponies remained, but then was suddenly stopped. He was above the ground, unable to escape, and almost screamed in horror at what had occurred to him. He was impaled through his heart. More guards arrived, stabbing Alrik through his body, but Alrik would have none of that, for he had made a decision. Since no one, even his god, could be trusted, they should be treated by thieves.
They should all die.

Alrik thought hard, his skeletal face contorting, and finally broke his jarids from the blue hues. Within moments, he slaughtered every pony below him without remorse as quick as he could, before seeing it. Before long, Alrik had run out of the place and away from the larger, blacker, beast that caused him so much fear. As he ran, he felt like it was looming over his shoulder, peeping into his soul. Peeping into his dreams...

Peeping into his nightmares.

Killing Ground

Author's Note

ONE MORE DAY OF SCHOOL (and then I have some summer classes to advance my curriculum) YEAH!☻
I love every one of you, especially YOU. ☺
See you guys in a bit, because the final two tests are approaching♥
Have a nice day guys!

Killing Ground

Alrik

Alrik had no clue as to how long he had been running until he rammed into the side of the city-wide barrier and crashed into the ground, hitting his skull hard on the pavement. With the sudden trauma, Alrik realized how cowardly he was being, and stood up, composed. He turned around, facing the direction of which he ran from, and saw it off in the distance. It was like the horses that were fighting in the sky, but seemed to have a strange governance over Alrik's mind.

"Törichte Untoten," the beast said loudly, causing Alrik to stiffen up, "Haben Sie keine Scham?"

The beast flew, quickly, to Alrik. Alrik attempted to ready up his weaponry, but his armaments were lifted up in a deep, dark, blue glow. Unlike the guards, though, Alrik was not able to rip them away. The beast stood in front of Alrik, whose skeletal face was quivering in a strange, uncontrollable, fear. 'Is this where I die?' Alrik thought for a second... and then he laughed, which confused that which he was so afraid of a mere second ago.

"I AM ALREADY DEAD!" Alrik screamed, laughter in his red, fiery eyes, into the face of the loud creature before stabbing it in the eyes in a single motion with his skeletal hand, which was seeming sharpened by the green magic melting the tips.

The beast screamed as blood ran down its face, not prepared to this disgraceful tactic. Her horn stopped glowing, releasing Alrik's armaments from its grasps. In a moment, Alrik thought of the beast, and how it would look like with some extra holes going through its sides. The jarids flew at incredulous speeds, but were caught, again, by the now deep-dark blue glow. Although it could not see Alrik, it sent all of Alrik's jarids through Alrik himself, riddling him with holes. Alrik flopped to the ground, chunks of his remaining flesh and bone gone. He attempted to scream in terror, but his jaw was destroyed before anything could come out. Alrik felt no pain, no agony, but he still felt fear. The beast walked on top of Alrik, readying the finishing blow with the moon glistening behind it, but it was suddenly flung into the barrier by a strange, green, glow. The beast got up again, facing some other black beast, and they began to fight. Alrik finally had his chance.

He grabbed his armaments once more, but this time he used his shield to help move himself, for his legs were shattered. He grabbed onto the straps and had his other armaments swim into their holsters. Using the shield as an umbrella again, Alrik finally slipped past the barrier and out to the world. He quickly, and stealthily, flew back to where he stashed his loot and boat. stabbing his axe into the boat, Alrik heaved his body onto it. With his loot on his tail, and his heart (which was stabbed through, too), calming, Alrik flew straight to the lake where he had once been.

Princess Luna

With the queen of the changelings under her hoof, unconscious, Luna walked back to where the un-dead beast was. Was. When Luna looked, her eyes grew a little as she saw something amazing—the beast easily go through the barrier right in front of her. She could have stopped it, but she was in too much awe, for even the changelings never saw a magic-field's weakness, and by the time she realized her mistake... it had disappeared to the outside. Seeing how the beast had actually been reported to have killed a few of the changelings, she believed he was acting alone. Her sister, injured, flew down to regroup with Luna. Her horn and wings were scorched. 'But with some magic and time they can heal,' Luna thought, calming herself.They stared at each other's wounds silently in the dim light for awhile.

"Sister," Celestia asked, "what happened to your eyes?"

Celestia approached Luna, her horn casting a light healing spell.

"I was attacked by an undead, sister," Luna said, trying to keep still while her sister repaired her eye. Celestia looked at Luna with a surprised face.

"I thought you had domain over all undead, sister," Celestia said worrying, before shuddering, "or has another li-"

"No," Luna said, cutting off her sister, "I have sensed no more of their kind since," Luna shuddered, "that battle."

Celestia finished up the healing and wrapped her wing around her shuddering sister, "and I hope no more come."

Luna shivered, the memory of those beasts burning her mind. They were the perfect undead... they were...

Grand Lich Johan, 5000 years ago

Johan sat upon his throne of eternal green life. Plants of all sorts culminated together to create a small pyramid, where Johan's throne rested at the top. The throne itself was a dead, decaying grey, but all around it was the lively plants. Around his throne was a dense forest of his creation. Here, he had made creatures of prehistoric times rise back to life, and easily smashed the resistance of the tribal nations around.

An army of Alicorns faced Johan, his undead army smashed to bits and desecrated once more. The leader of the Alicorns, a strong-willed king, ascended the steps to Johan's throne. His name was Carolus Rex, a feared and revered name to anypony. Carolus walked up the steps, confident that Johan would surrender...

Which is why he was confused when he seemed to tumble down, his head hitting the steps, but yet felt none of his body weight. He watched his family and friends scream in horror as his beheaded body turned to them. He watched as his old body crushed him under his own hooves.

Johan laughed, reassembling the king's head and placing it upon the old body. It was just a skull now, floating above the body, and the king's eyes glowed as red as the blood of his family as he slaughtered them one by one...

Life

Author's Note

Here is a short chapter. I am so nervous for my summer program...

Life

Alrik

Alrik sat next to the lake, on the opposite side of the lake as labeled beast. Alrik removed his armor and began peeling out parts of his body that had finally rotted away. He threw the pieces of himself into the lake, making sure not to accidentally take out something that still hanged onto his bones. After removing his breasts, Alrik found that some of his ribs surrounding the heart were broken, while the heart fell to the floor. Using his strength, Alrik attempted to break off the ribs, only to end in futility.

'Perhaps my bones are invincible?' Alrik thought.

Shrugging, Alrik proceeded to peel away his belly from his body. He threw it into the lake, then began the gagtastic task of removing his internal organs, for they were of no real use anymore. He threw the parts away into the lake, and then looked at his legs. They were fine, but were in contrast to everything else, so Alrik ripped off the flesh of his legs. He felt no pain from this, but just the look it made him cringe. Now he looked at what was between his legs...

Princess Celestia

Celestia rested her head on the tower balcony, overlooking the citizens. They were going back to their daily rituals, albeit a little frightened, and it seemed that being invaded did not do much to their psyche. Celestia sighed at this, and turned to walk back to the meeting room. The usual war-time commotion was occurring in the halls, so Celestia easily swept through the traffic as she had been for a few days, and reached the meeting room. Oddly enough, the nobles inside were not bickering, which gave Celestia a small bit of confusion, but she easily hid it. She walked to her little ~~bed~~ meeting throne.

"So, what is the problem?" Celestia asked, sitting onto the throne.

The noble on the left, a black and male noble from the Eastern half of Equestria, said, with a strong voice, "I got fuckin' injured by this here fool's slaves!"

He showed Celestia the injured horn, which seemed to have a small and minuscule dent on the side. Celestia faked concern, and turned to the other noble to hear her side.

"My servants were delivering a package across town, when this 'elegant' noble here walked right into them," she said, her blue fur and blue eyes reflecting the sunlight. Celestia dimmed the lights around her, just to ensure she doesn't go blind. She then turned to the other noble to hear his retort, making herself make a inquisitive face.

"Dat is fuckin' false, dog, for it twas that fool's servants fault fo' not lookin'!" he said in a rather loud tone, looking at the other noble with a angry face.

Celestia sighed on the inside, turning to the other noble, who then said, "maybe my servants could not tell you were a noble, with how you act and all."

Before Celestia could rotate her head, the other noble jumped the blue one. They fought for a few seconds before the guards took them away.

Then another pair entered...

Alrik

Alrik placed his armor over his body. As the armor was too big, and full of holes, Alrik used his mind to meld his armor together,by using the unneeded amount of metal, and let the metal bits swim into position. After some swimming, the armor rested perfectly on Alrik's skeletal body. Alrik smiled and placed his helmet on his head before getting back on his boat.

'What should I do today?' Alrik thought, rising from the forested lake. After floating for a few minutes, Alrik came to a conclusion—'gain infamy.'

Alrik cackled, his undead voice resonating across the sky as he swam faster and faster. After some time, black rings emerged from behind him that, themselves, sounded like cackles which accompanied Alrik's own cackles as he broke the wall of sound. He gripped his axe as hard as he could as he swam across the sky...

Some Rain Must Fall

Author's Note

Dear lord this is bad grammar. I can't do anything, either, because I have too many projects to care about grammar. I love you guys, but I am only one guy :\
Hope you guys love the chapter anyway. On Saturday, I will try to fix this grammar...

Some Rain Must Fall

Alrik?

Alrik fell off the swimming boat... or, in actuality, it was more like he was blasted off. The force met his frail bones as he put his skeletal hand to the shattered part of his skull. He tumbled, and he quickly made his trusted axe swim to him, his vision blurry and colorful. After grasping the pink axe, embalmed in honey texture, in his skeletal fingers, Alrik stopped tumbling through the purple sky full of heart-shaped clouds. Alrik moved his skull to point at where the blast had come from, only to see a strange, shiny, pony, clad in iron. It had both horns and wings like that beast, but its appearance was obscured by its jet-black colored suit and red goggles. Looking in the direction it must have flown in from, Alrik saw forestland that was set ablaze. This was definitely not one of this nation's citizens, Alrik determined, swimming a jarid between his lightly clothed leg-bones. Like some Englishman's mythological character, Alrik swam his jarid (and himself) to the iron-clad creature... which had not moved an inch since hitting Alrik.

Alrik got up close, and watched as the creature's eyes seemed to get brighter. Circling and inspecting the still creature, Alrik saw an odd extrusion on the private area that seemed like a button. Curious, Alrik haphazardly pressed the button. Smoke came out after he pressed it, and the creature began to plummet a little, but Alrik grabbed it. Alrik was somewhat convinced of what his may be, since from his old, dead, English friend, Alrik learned of some old myths from ancient cultures. His brain tingling and his skeletal face squishing itself, Alrik used his limited knowledge to come with a single conclusion.

'Perhaps this thing is like that metal owl of that legend?' then Alrik gasped in a little fear as his brain tingled again, his face contorted to look as if his skull's jaw was smashed, and 'Are their Cyclopes, too?'...

His brain tingled once more, his face contorted to look as if his skull's jaw was smashed, and then waited a few minutes before he calmly said, "No," he sighed, "but even if their were, they would probably just be giant, one eyed, horses."

Alrik exhaled, relieved by his own deduction, and then sent a jarid to retrieve the boat that had plummeted earlier. When it returned, Alrik laid the metal-owl-like-horse onto his boat, using his shield to swim in the air.

'If I can find the owner,' Alrik thought, 'could I be richer?'

Alrik smiled gleefully, his skeletal eyes igniting into a proud, blue, flame. Although he was not as comfortable on his shield, it seemed to not fling him off when he decided to fly towards the smoke-filled city in pursuit of the owner.

But, when he landed upon the place the smoke came from, his vision fizzed out for a second. When it returned, all he saw was a forest. Climbing back into his shield, he looked at his boat...

And the robot was not there either. Alrik climbed into his boat, confused, and flew back into the great, blue, sky...

The blue princess rubbed the slightly cracked horn on her head, cringing. She never used it, but it was something symbolic, so she felt pretty upset at whatever ran into her. She lifted her head, only to see a strange slab in the sky, a strange red light emanating from the top of it's black husk. She readied her wings, and within a second, she went faster than what she thought any being on Eque could. She flew quickly to the slab, but a second before she hit whatever carried it off, the slab disappeared. She looked left, which had nothing but clear sky, then looked right, and saw something that made all the hairs on her back nearly jump out of her. It looked akin to what she makes for the inhabitants of her land daily while they train for war, but gray and lifeless. She would have flew to the source of this boom, but...

[Cackling]

"That thing does not scare me," she said, "I just gotta go," she thought for a second, "I gotta go report this to the Head sisters," her face lightened up from the horror, "Yeah, I gotta report this to the heads!"

She then, enthusiastically, flew the capital, which is in the opposite direction as the flying slab that cackled faster than she ever could laugh.

Crack.

Author's Note

ONLY ONE MORE DAY OF EXTRA CURRICULARS. YAY NO MORE STUDYING AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Love you guys ♥~

Crack.

Alrik

A fizzling noise permeated throughout Alrik, seeming to come from where he was impaled. Alrik put his hand up to where the hole in his head was, only to find a crack. Alrik rubbed the crack, feeling it go from a strange paste feeling to a hard bone as it, miraculously, healed itself with a bubbling sound. This did not surprise Alrik, 'for what is left to be surprised about when horses fly?' he reasoned. Alrik saw light through the trees and stopped his boat a few miles from another city. This one was, apparently, a rural city, but that did not bother Alrik, he had enough riches already. He stabbed his riches into the top of a nearby tree, resting his boat at the feet of the tree, and dislodged his axe. He got up from the boat and walked around, observing the fire in the distance. He walked closer to the city, but stopped a few yards away, ducking into a bush for stealth. He then observed the fire and the silhouettes of the ponies who started it in their home. He was so close, he could smell the chimney smoke... if he only had a nose.

Time had passed quite quickly for ol' dead Alrik, for before long, it had turned to the dead of night. He did not even notice the passage of time, for he had been quietly watching this one family of four, two adults and two children, live their daily routine. If anything, Alrik had found it fun to see the run-of-the-mill day, although he was only able to see it through shadows. From watching the shadows, he began to understand some of the body language of the ponies, like how ear posture effected the emotion. He enjoyed watching this young family, but then someone walked in. Muffled yelling could be heard, but to Alrik it was all gibberish. Alrik watched as a small foul is, harshly, slapped in the face. Alrik'd done worse, but something had made his eyes go a brighter red. Perhaps it was the mistreatment of younglings? Heck, Alrik thought, listen to me, I sound like I care for these animals...

Alrik thought about what he just thought, then rubbed the back of his head. He shrugged and went back to observation...

L. Jane Prime of the Mighty Republic of Opal Dogs

In the middle of the lands of dragons, a hundred years ago, a mighty alliance was made. The Opal Dogs, who were once the impoverished Diamond Dogs, had become both friends and trading partners with the dragons. Most dragons, as they grow old and big, are unable to dig up the most luscious and beautiful gems from beneath the ground. After learning about the diamond dogs (who they used to eat), they searched high and low for the leaders of each little slaver tribe of diamond dogs. Instead of eating them like normal, though, the dragons made an offer.

Upon his throne of bone, carried by six armored Diamond Dogs, Great King Harford looked fearlessly at the giant dragon before him.

"What do you want with us, great beast?" asked Harford, who had been one of the few of his kind who were both educated and strong.

The dragon looked down upon Harford as he landed onto the ground, and said, "I have an offer."

Harford looked surprised, and sat properly in his throne, "What could the dragons possibly want with small prey like us?"

The dragon looked a little ashamed, "My king, Fist, has offered you, and your kind, protection and gold in exchange for your vast supply of gems."

Harford nearly shit his pants in surprise, but kept his composure, "But isn't gold more valuable than gems?"

"No," the dragon said, "sadly, we cannot gain nutrition from gold, and most of the gems that are on land are used by the Equestrian nation, and they have not been willing to trade."

"But surely you must have gems, too!"

The dragon sighed, "As our population increases, the amount of gems in the topsoil decreases, leaving us hungry," the dragon looked up, "My king has given you, a species torn into tribes by the Equestrian expansions, a chance of civilized society once more."

King Harford got up from his throne, his hand to his face in a quizzical stance, before extending his arm, "I agree, great dragon...?"

The dragon extended his large clawed hand as peacefully as possible, "I am the Great Dragon Prince, Kicker."

They shook hand and claw, feeling a huge problem solved for the both of them. Well, almost all.

After they shook, Harford asked, "So, when can we avenge my people?"

The dragon laughed, "whenever my people are ready, our arch-rival will be no more."

They both laughed.

L. Jane Prime stretched, tired of writing yet another report of history for his professor after his shower. He closed his large notebook, turned off the light, and jumped into bed. He landed on his "Dog Tag", which he then promptly threw in some general direction for paining him. He then flipped back-up, pulled the sheets over his body, and went to bed.

Observation

Alrik

Alrik laid on the soft soil next to the flamboyant bush, his body parts slightly further away from each other, sleeping soundly after watching that hectic household throughout the day. The bush he laid next to had bright, white, flowers, so it matched with his skeletal appearance quite well, especially since Alrik's eyes are not on fire while he rests soundly. He doesn't make a sound while asleep, since he does not even need to breath, so he is able to hide in such plain sight throughout the night without moving. During the twilight before daybreak, though, Alrik was shockingly awoken by a prodding force accompanied a bright light and inquisitive sounds.

The pony said something in a questioning manner (where the last word is oddly emphasized), his voice hoarse. Alrik did not move, but instead, with his currently fire-less 'eyes' looked clearly at the pony shining a light atop him. The pony was the father of the household he was watching throughout the day, but Alrik, deep down, felt confused as to why the father was out here at twilight. 'Was I found out?' Alrik thought, concerned.

The father prodded a few more times, but after some prods, yawned loudly and said something softly, then finally trotted off back into his house. Alrik watched silently as he heard the couple argue as quietly as possible and cackled a small cackle when he saw the children at the household wake up. Alrik felt like he was watching a play before him, although he never went to a play in his life, and smiled lightly.

"I need a new hiding place," Alrik said lightly, his body giving off a transparent, black, glow as he rose back up, his eyes without flame, "for these ponies are a little more fun to watch than I thought."

Alrik swam his clothing back to his scale and then swam his axe to his left hand so he could swim onto the roof of the house next door, which was a two story with a chimney, and lay onto the left side of said chimney where he would not be disturbed while sleeping, but also be able to hear any commotion that went on in this new home. 'I guess I should relax a little,' Alrik thought, disassembling once more, 'at least until my infamy goes away completely,' Alrik's eyes went dim, 'Good thing that father could not tell what I was during the twilight,' Alrik's mind drifted into sleep.

Light, once again, went through Alrik's skull, onto his naked bones, and into his eyes, and awakened him. While his bones assembled, Alrik heard the early morning commotion of the family he was eavesdropping on, noticing one voice far higher in pitch than the others, which was probably a baby girl's, and a few more childish voices. Every now and then he heard the clacking of glass against glass, which meant they were eating breakfast. He also heard the caws of the large birds outside, which were flying around and looking at Alrik, thinking he was a delicious pre-dead meal, until they realized no meat was there and flew off.

'Wait, if a flying bird can see me,' Alrik worried, 'couldn't a tiny, flying, horse see me?'

Reacting immediately, Alrik quickly thought of places to hide, but still be able to hear the commotions going on in the house for the fun, and came up with an idea. Stealthily, Alrik disassembled his body until it was thin enough the fit through the chimney and quietly went into the house. The family was upstairs, eating, so they would not see him exiting the chimney and entering their house. Alrik reassembled himself into his full body and went into the nearest bedroom he could. The room was dirty, but as Alrik feared, the family had heard the door open and was sending someone down to investigate, their hooves clacking on the wooden stairs. Alrik made a quick motion and picked up the wooden drawer part of the drawer bed and hid underneath it by disassembling his body enough to fit in it, where nobody could ever find him. The pony, which had a feminine voice, trotted around her[?] room before leaving and closing the door.

Alrik sighed of relief and, because of the darkness, began to feel sleepy again, and after some time, he started to suspect that all his previous adventures were making him tired before, finally, allowing himself to sleep once more.

Princess Celestia

The great and regal Princess of the Sun was holding court. Her hair flowed as if a team of magicians were working on it at all times and her smile was motherly as ever. Her sister was the same, but seemed a little angry, based on the fact that her face was slightly red. They were both sitting, side by side, and looked at a black feathered gryphon who was the Gryphonic empire's ambassador.

"What did you just say?" Celestia said, a hair of her mane curling up in anger.

The ambassador shuffled his feet a little, "well, princess Celestia, er...," he looked at her with a stern face, "the Gryphonic Empire has declined your call to arms against the new King of the Changelings."

The Princesses' eyes twitch simultaneously, and then Luna says, "But doesn't that go against our allegiance?"

The ambassador staightened up, "But our empire is in shambles, and we barely have the public's support anymore!"

"WHO CARES?" Luna yelled, "WE HAD AN ALLEGIANCE AND A POWERFUL TERRORIST TO FIGHT!"

The ambassador retorted, "And we have no money, nor firepower, to fight more than one foe!"

"YOUR CIVIL WAR MEANS NOTHING TO A GLOBAL THREAT!"

"What threat? The changelings are only near your empire, not ours!"

"DO YOU NOT RECOGNIZE THE POWER OF THESE OTHERWORLDLY BEINGS? THEY WILL NOT STOP HERE!" Luna yelled, her canterlot voice showing slightly.

"SIster, please," Celestia said, her right ear shot.

Luna subsided, then explained, "just one of those beasts was able to destroy the previous changeling empire! Although there is no connection to the one committing slaughter around the land currently, it seems that these beasts are trying to take over the world, and nothing can stop them except co-operation!"

"Then what are we to do?" the ambassador asked, "Send our troops overseas to die just to help you fight a single being?"

"Yes, please," the God of the Sun said, her powerful eyes pleading for help.

The ambassador was silent, and so were the princesses. After some time, the ambassador said, "I will try to convince my empress, but do not expect anything!"

The ambassador put on a bowler hat and flew out the building at lightning speeds, the sky booming with each powerful wing flap.

Celestia smiled for a little, then said, "Bring in the next pony!"

A pair of nobles walked in, bickering once more. They asked Celestia questions, only to reply to one another and bicker again and again, waiting to see a reaction from the princess to see who was right. Princess Celestia did not budge as they argued, so they excused themselves after two hours of rambling.

Celestia was thankful that her sister taught her to sleep with her eyes open.

Dreams are fun

Author's Note

So sleepy. Will probably fix tomorrow. Too much summer reading. Ugh. Goodnight.
Love you guys.

Dreams are fun

Alrik?

There is a large, expansive, brothel. Thousands of Alrik's dead brethren are at a mile-long table, drinking mead and eating meat joyfully for eternity. Some of the men are in silent rooms, copulating with different women every night, and never getting tired. They seem happy and smiling, but Alrik just sat near the window, bored. Alrik was neither hungry for mead, meat, nor aroused by these women and chose to, instead, watch the blissful snowfall outside. Alrik put his fingers through his beard and groomed it repeatedly, every pull removing a little patch of skin. His eyes a little itchy, Alrik removed them and placed them in the jar right of him. With a strong pull on his nose, Alrik removed the increasingly itching skin on his face, every muscle strand snapping off his bones. Alrik placed his flesh into the jar and looked in the window's reflection of him to see if he got it all. Drunken joy and happiness echoed behind him, but soon the voices began to fade. The well lit room darkened. Alrik itched out of every pore in his body and stripped his bones clean. With every pull, the light and sound dimmed. With every pull, Alrik felt less itchy.
With every pull, Alrik felt more joy.

Then, there was no more itch, no more light, and no more sound. Alrik turned around and, instead of seeing the mile long table of his brethren, Alrik saw tiny, white, bits of light with small, blue, flames sitting upon the torches on the wall. With the small amount of light, Alrik could see conspicuous liquids seeping down the walls and odd figures laying near the white lights near the middle.

Alrik turned around and, instead of the window, saw the black bug horse from the pony's capital city. The horse's eyes were a neon green, reminding Alrik of his own 'eyes'.

"What do you want, fellow dead?" Alrik said, his voice cold as his submerged, rotten, heart.

The horse laughed, puffs of cold, black, smoke emanating from its mouth, "So you could talk, beast."

"It would be sad if the dead couldn't talk," Alrik said, sitting back in a chair, "wouldn't it?"

"I guess, beast."

"Please, call me Alrik," Alrik said, his eyes blazing purple, "and you are?"

"Please call me Chrysalis, Alrik the beast."

"Good enough," Alrik smiled, "so what were you here for?"

"I am here," Chrysalis said, "to drive you insane."

Alrik looked at her, his skull looking confused.

Chrysalis laughed a little, "Well, Alrik, during our little bout, it seems that you've been infected with my curse."

"What curse?"

The dead queen of the changelings laughed, "Well, Alrik, your undead body trapped my soul when I tried to trap yours, fucking lucky bastard."

"Lucky?"

"Well, since I am stuck in your head," the Changeling Queen laid onto the floor, "I have nothing else to do except one thing."

"What?"

"Plan to eradicate those that killed me."

Alrik looked at her, his head tilted, "as a dead horse?"

"No, Alrik..." the changeling queen laughed," as your little angel."

Alrik cackled loudly, and then asked, "Angel, in what way?"

"Well, Alrik, if you help me kill that that killed me," Chrysalis said, a huge smile on her rotting face, "I will help you with directions, speech, decisions, and even make it near impossible for someone to control your soul, but only if IT dies at some point."

Alrik looked at her with a smile, "What dies?"

Chrysalis smiled, her rotting smile looking better than her normal face, walked next to Alrik, and whispered two words.

Alrik

Alrik woke up into the darkness. Alrik escaped from under the bed, his eyes flooded with light before smashing a window. Alrik swam his items and boat to him. Alrik nearly broke the sound barrier by swimming off into the sunrise, acting like a rudder for his boat.

Princess Celestia

Princess Celestia had constipation from her diet.

The One She Wants Dead

Alrik

Taking mental suggestions from the beast within his mind, Alrik flew over to a forge. With a wave of his hand, his axe and jarids swam through the air mercilessly and decimated the ponies who lived in the forge. As the forge was in the middle of the forest, there was no real worry about their screaming, but it would be nice to not have anybody spot him. He sighs and removes the magical gear that he had received after his death, taking off any last bits of his flesh as he did so by accident. Alrik contemplates as he looks at the armor, which squirmed and writhed to his thoughts.

Alrik sighs, " How exactly do you work...?"

Alrik ran his hands against the armor, " Do I even need armor anymore? It doesn't help against blunt attacks... hmmm"

Alrik sighs and sat down on top of a dead horse, whose blue fur was kind on his bony behind.

"What do you want from me?" Queen Chrysalis asked within his mind

Alrik, " I would like to know who, exactly, is the man that killed you."

Queen Chrysalis mentally sighs, "A beast like you—"

"A human."

"A human like you that has taken upon the blessing I give upon my people, but somehow did not pay the price of obedience. He is said to be called Urist."

"Interesting name. How strong is he?"

"He seems to be extremely strong, capable of killing me in seconds."

"Aren't I the same?"

"Indeed, but his strength seems to be unstoppable, especially with his thick chitin."

"I'm pretty sure my jarids can go through him."

"Yes, but after sorting through your memories—"

"... You were what?"

"Er..."

Alrik sighs, "Fucking... just continue."

"Well, after that, I saw that your jarids were held back for a while with unicorn magic, no?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Us changelings have far denser magic than ponies, we just need to recharge, but with his intense strength and seemingly unneed for the consumption of emotion... his magic may be intense. How can you stop that?"

Alrik thinks for a bit... then reaches a decision, " I'll just cut him."

"But he could stop the axe"

"Then I'll choke him."

"Then he'll stop your body"

"Then... I'll get more bodies into this."

" . . . how? You are hunted throughout all of Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom!"

"Well, are there any other warrior like countries?"

"There is Gryphonia... but they are allied to the Equestrians."

"Gryphonia?"

"The land of the Gryphons."

"Gryphons?"

"Bird-lion creatures. Very carnivorous and head-strong in general, although some are very intelligent tinkerers."

"Are they close allies?" Alrik probes

"Not particularly. In fact, I'm pretty sure they have some tense relations... but they are still allies."

"Does every griffon know of me?"

Chrysalis thinks, "Not likely. I'm sure most of the news of you is contained in Equestria."

Alrik 'smiles', "then let's go get some griffons."

Alrik walks into the forge and forages out a map, which he puts into his bag of riches...

Alrik takes his bag of riches out into the forest and marks a tree. He digs a deep hole and proceeds to bury a large amount of his riches like a squirrel an acorn. He saved about a tenth of the riches and the map in the bag. Alrik starts walking back to the forge.

"So, why bury all the gold and stuff?" Chrysalis asked.

Alrik, " I need to, as there isn't another secure place for my goods."

Chrysalis nods in his head and Alrik 'smiles'.

Alrik sits on the bench and puts on his armor, which wiggled and writhed onto his body to match his skeletal shape.

Alrik, " I'll be back in a bit to find out how my armor truly works, but for now... I need meat shields."

Alrik got on his boat, grabbed his axe, and flew off towards Gryphonia.

Chrysalis chimed in, "Just so you know, Gryphonia is having tough times. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage?"

"My advantage," Alrik said, "and how so?"

"Well, it seems there is a faction war between the Gryphonic Republic, who are a democracy, the Gyphonic Empire, who are an autocracy. We have to focus on one side to recruit from, as I'm sure there are bitter rivalries that'll form otherwise."

Alrik nods, " I see. I need to keep my meatshields happy."

Chrysalis mentally nods.

Alrik swam through the sky, which was beautiful and blue...

(ex) Queen Chrysalis

Chrysalis sat in a chair within Alrik's mind, looking out the two glowy windows that were his eyes, then following the trail of light that is from the cracks in his skull.

Chrysalis talks to herself, " it's very interesting... how the world looks in first person when you're not in control.

She sips a rather peculiar cup of tea.

Author's Note

God, I feel like a jerk. I was just unable to write :|
I returned, though :D

The Forest I

Alrik

Alrik, led by Chrysalis, is over a forest in the middle of "Gryphonia", where the civil war between the Gryphonic Republic and the Gryphonic Empire and several smaller factions is being held. Alrik lowers into the forest, as the Gryphon people are fliers, and starts up a camp.

Using his rusty axe, Alrik chopped down trees till he had a pile of twelve. He cut the wood into planks and, using his jarids, created both holes and pegs. He then used his brute strength to build him a small, and rather horrid, shack to use as a temporary safe haven. Alrik put his dragonscale and bag of riches in the shack, put his jarids into their sheathes, and carried his axe as he started walking out the forest heading north.

Chrysalis explained why they should head North, "North is where most of the fighting and friction is happening, as there are many historic places in the north that are vital to each faction's ancestry. The bird brains are willing to die for places where their ancestors died."

Alrik nods, his eyes a shade of green.

Alrik thinks, " Why come here, then? I though we were here to recruit?"

Chrysalis, "Yes, we are, but neither of us are particularly good at diplomacy, so I suggest the best route for us is to-"

"Scare them?"

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"Don't know, maybe I'm in your mind, too." Alrik joked.

"I sure hope not."

Alrik 'smiles', "Do you think they would mind if we killed a few hundred?"

"I hope not~."

Alrik cackles a little, which boomed across the forest...

Aine The Hunter

Aine is resting in his cabin near the woods, his steel claw tips set by the bed on the dresser. The cabin is surrounded in today's spoils. There is a few bear hides, a small container of cockatrice beaks, and the ear of a golden bunny.

Aine sighs, looking at the ear, "Can't believe the rest of that thing got away... I'll try better next time."

Aine scratches his chin as he lays down... and out of the peaceful, yet dangerous, forest of IGG he hears a mighty noise that haunts his ears.

Aine sits up and thinks about the noise, which although doesn't match any animal he's ever heard, he states, "This is... oddly similar to a magic beast's roar."

Aine's fur stands up a bit and his eyes narrow but, nay, they do not narrow in fear. No, Aine's grin grew, "I haven't hunted a magic beast in years."

Aine quickly grabbed for his steel claw tips, put them on tight and snug, although a bit too snug as they are uncomfortable for too long. Aine ran to the wooden dresser where he turned the flower pattern copper knob and let it creak open fast to reveal his thick, multi-colored armor. He slipped on the armor and he didn't seem to have problems carrying such heavy equipment.

Aine looks at a helmet, cracked in the middle, and frowns a little as he put it on. The helmet crushed his unique head feathers.

Aine sighs and thinks for a little in silence. A rustling came from a bush outside, but with his keen ears he knew it was a small animal like a bunny or cockatrice, which he shouldn't be wary of. The rustling, though, did bring him out of his thoughts and, with and deep breath, Aine left his little shack.

Around the shack was dirt, thin grass, and some small flowers. He tends to his lawn. But, around the lawn, there are large bushes and trees that lead into the forested part of the Forest of IGG.

Aine looks right to see a small bunny eating some grass near the purple flowers and well-preserved grave stones. He nods and walks straight into the forest, with a small bit of disappointment in his face that is soon thereafter erased by the wave of joy the moment he took a step into the forest.

Forest II [rough draft]

Author's Note

I have returned, hopefully for good. I am embarrassed at how I used to write, all those years ago; but I am far more embarrassed to have left you all for my own gratification. If you would like to know more why I left, then please refer to my blogpost on 10/8/2018.
Anyways, I may as well return with great vigor, no? I'll submit this rough draft first, but soon I will repair it. I am happy to be back, my friends.

Forest II [rough draft]

Alrik and Chrysalis

The wind blew, frigid yet dry. As if abandoned by the concept of heat, a great and large mass of snow and ice came overhead, although it had been clear just moments prior. His eyes bursting with flaming fear, Alrik looked back to the trees he had thoughtlessly removed and shuddered. He falls to the floor, catching Chrysalis off guard with his strange action and putting her on edge. His mind was rushing for too fast for her to understand his thoughts.

Alrik dropped his arms and pleaded, "please, no, not yet, I... I didn't know!" multiple times. Each time, his words sounding more humanoid rather than the chattering of a dead man. His words slurred, the fire in his eyes went out, and he crumbled into a pile of bones on the ground.
Chrysalis panicked while trying to grip onto his soul, but her hoof felt flame-licked. The pain did not go away, either, for it started to spread across her whole body. Immeasurable pain, which she thought she'd never feel again, coursed through her. She screamed and soon fell to the ground and vanished from the now empty mind of Alrik.

Aine

After finding a small magical bear, Aine the hunter was excited and, yet, disappointed. He hid and focused on finding the true source of the magical cry from before, for surely it was not some measly bear.

His thoughts turned to the forest...

The forest usually spoke to Aine in a sweet voice, urging the predatory critter to continue his hunt and find his prey. A truly ethereal voice the forest had, for it echoed loudly through the soul even with a whisper. Even Aine, a great hunter, understood that, to the forest, he was a mere predator. However, today, Aine was dragged deep into the forest, though he stayed in the same place. The Forest screamed as Aine could feel his own limbs being removed. One by one, every single inch of Aine felt cut and defiled. Aine was filled with anger, anger towards whoever was harming his forest and, thus, harming him. The predator opened his eyes, blood dripping from his eyes like tears.
His body appeared before his vision and he gripped it and tore it to shreds, casting it into the dirt. From this dirt came plumes of revenge. Yes, Aine had perished, but it was for the forest he has lived in all his life, known to him as the Elderly Forest of Ash and the Hunt.
Aine laughed merrily, then felt his soul slowly drift back towards the soil, where it belongs.

Alrik and Chrysalis

Alrik awakened as a spirit once more, but nowhere near Valhalla. Instead, Alrik was staring directly at the visage of the Grand Ash, Yggdrasil. However, it seems that his own thoughts lied to him; for he saw no snakes below this grand ash. Curious, he attempted to come closer to the tree, only to come face to face with a great creature of ice and flame. Alrik stared into the eyes of the creature and understood. He was to face this creature, not because it was a punishment... no... It was to cleanse his dirty soul from the dishonor he gave unto the great ash.

Alrik was a normal man, unarmed and weakened by malnutrition and drenched with water. Then, he was dry and old, weighed down by his armor. Then, he was young again. However, after some time staring into the eyes of the beast, he became himself before his perilous death, before the shame. He grinded his teeth and readied his arms, waiting for the beast to strike first. Yet, no attacks came.

Alrik felt chills once more. Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps he still is not pure. However, Alrik felt the spirit of someone behind him. He spun around, cautiously, and saw the spirit of Chrysalis.

Chrysalis had the most beautiful soul Alrik had ever laid eyes upon. Unlike his soul, which had nary a scratch outside his scars and scrapes, her soul was cracked and scarred in every which way. Her eyes were punctured, her teeth shattered, her tongue split, and her wings nothing more than stubs. A true testament to all her near victories, all her abysmal failures, all her true triumphs, and all her tragic losses. It was then he understood what the great ash was saying and why Odin had forsaken him.
He stared at the confused soul of Chrysalis, not as his old body of flesh, but as bones. Not armed to the teeth, but wet and weaponless. He was the shipwrecked, the lost, and the weak. However, he had one thing he knew he should treasure.

He opened his arms wide and embraced his companion and felt the energy in his bones dissipate into her. Surprisingly, she embraced him back, tentatively. They let go of one another, only for the beast to finally strike at them. With the power of Alrik's companionship, Chrysalis channeled her magic into her cracked and weak horn. In a horrifyingly loud pop, the world went bright with pink and everything vanished.

The snow shifted and sunk, revealed a pile of bones and wood. They rose above the snow in blue flames, melting the snow around them and revealing their horrifying forms. One formed into a great creature of wood shaped like an elegant horse, polished and beautiful, while the other was ragged, real, bones. The two companions looked at each other in silence, before bowing their heads towards the forest. Alrik kneeled onto the ground and planted a seed into the soil. Chrysalis, silently, followed suit, her wooden hooves bouncing off the soil. Sometimes, her body would collapse to the dirt and Alrik would grab his skull and bang on it until the wood moved once again.

For the rest of the night, the pair silently repaired that which they had destroyed in the forest. Not a word escaped their skulls. The dead did not speak, the trees did not whisper, the winds did not blow, and the birds did not chirp. The sun shone bright, but paled to the glory of the forest. The winds blew calmly and the cold went to a normal chill. The forest had been sated.