Chapters Once again, Celestia's sun graced the sky with its presence, painting the sky above in a gentle blue light. Luna's moon had gracefully left the sky in order to make room for the orb of light and warmth.
Twilight always enjoyed to watch this, almost holy performance, each time she was in Canterlot. Of course, she had loved to watch it ever since she was a little filly, but with princess Luna back, and her taking over the duties of the moon, the event had somehow become more beautiful. It was like everything had a certain grace to it now, a cosmic dance that very few understood, or appreciated.
To witness this change in the sky, one had to be up early, and if Twilight was being honest, she could use some more rest after the celebration last night. Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of her brother's marriage to princess Cadance, the princess of love. It also marked the day when they had driven off a large changeling invasion force, which only added to the reason to celebrate.
However, the party had made Twilight wonder. If her brother could marry an alicorn princess, then, why hadn't Celestia or Luna ever married? There were plenty of suitors, she had experienced a lot of confessions of love towards Celestia when she was her student, and she imagined some would have tried to approach Luna after her return.
Had no pony during their reign captured their fancy or interest?
Celestia had always been polite when rejecting a confession, being as gentle as possible, but still with a hint of amusement. Twilight suspected it was because she saw them more as foals, and not as stallions, or mares for that matter, whenever some would confess as well.
She would just have to ask them that during breakfast, maybe there would be something for her to learn.
A few hours later, Twilight met up with her friends. All of them were in high spirits after last night's party, and Twilight found herself in high spirits as well. It was not often they came to Canterlot, but when they did, they always made an event out of it. Taking a few days to enjoy the city, and what it had to offer.
Discord was nowhere to be seen at this time. He was probably still snoozing somewhere, which suited Twilight just fine. Even if he was redeemed, thanks to Fluttershy, she had still not grown completely comfortable with having him around. But hopefully time would remedy that.
When they entered the dining room, they were greeted by Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and Cadance. Twilight and her five friends joined them at the table, filling their plates with delicious breakfast. It was quite a surprise to see Luna up at this time, but she had actually been sleeping the night before, allowing herself a night off, only attending to the most urgent of business, so she was good to spend some time with her family and friends.
Cadance was busy talking to Celestia and Luna, thanking them for the beautiful party. The mood was good, and some of the other girls discussed what to do for the day. Twilight was still thinking about the whole marriage thing, wondering if the only reason Cadance could marry was because she was the princess of love? Well, it was worth finding out.
"Excuse me, princess Celestia?" Twilight called politely, getting her attention.
"Yes Twilight?"
"Well princess, I have just been wondering something."
Celestia tilted her head, giving her the caring eyes only a mentor and at times, mother figure, could give. "Oh? And what is that?"
"Well you see, ever since my brother got married to Cadance, I've been wondering-"
Suddenly a poof of smoke appeared behind them, and Discord himself stood behind her, dressed in a white toga and holding a tiny bow with an heart shaped arrow. "If she could marry a special pony herself!" He finished for her, before firing the arrow at nothing, yet a far away yelp could be heard.
"What?!" Twilight blushed and looked at Discord. "No! That's not it!"
Most chuckled, but a few, like Luna did not care much for Discord's sense of humor. Celestia giggled behind a hoof and then smiled. "Please, do go on Twilight."
Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes at Discord. "Well, I was wondering why neither you or Luna have ever married?" The table went silent, for her friends, her brother and Cadance it was simple interest in the subject, but for Luna, it was something else.
All sorts of expressions chased one another across her face, going from shocked, to confused, to outraged. She looked to her sister. "Celestia, what is this supposed to mean? You did not tell them?"
Celestia tried to remain calm, but the glare from her sister made her hang her head in what Twilight could only describe as shame. "Lulu, you know that-"
"I admit, we were confused when we didn't see any statues, or any mementos... Why is this?" Luna asked, sounding rather upset, which confused every pony in here.
Cadance raised an eyebrow. "Auntie, what are you talking about? What mementos? Statues of who?"
Luna looked at Cadance. "Of our husband!"
It was like time itself stood still, no sound was made, and it was so silent one could probably hear a needle fall to the floor. Celestia hung her head in shame, and Luna looked sternly at her sister. "What is the meaning of this, sister of mine?"
"Lulu, times have changed and.." She sighed, and for the second time in her life, Twilight saw regret in her mentor's eyes. The first time was when she reunited with Luna, regretting what had happened to them one thousand years ago.
"Times have changed?" Luna looked confused, but still outraged. "He is our husband, and yet we have seen nothing. Does this mean you have forgotten, or stopped to love him?"
Now it was Celestia's turn to look outraged and she looked at her sister with a mix of anger and sadness. "Never!"
Silence once again. After some time Celestia sighed. "It is a long story, and an old one.. To understand why there is almost nothing left, I think it would be fair to tell them the whole story first, Luna."
Luna clearly wanted an explanation now, but relented. "Fine.."
Breakfast couldn't continue, the curiosity of the guests had outgrown their hunger. So, ordering a few light refreshments, Celestia took all of them into a large room. Here they could speak in comfort, but moreover, the room was one Twilight or the others, including Luna, had never been in before.
It reminded them all of a museum, filled with what looked like ancient artifacts, ranging from flags, clothes, stones, tapestries, weapons, armor, and so much more.
Twilight was in awe, so were the others. "Princess Celestia, this is amazing, I've never seen anything like this. I didn't know this room existed." Well, of course she knew of the room, as in, she had passed the door, but it had always been locked, and since she never saw her mentor entering it, or leaving it, she never paid any attention to it.
Luna didn't speak, her mood had changed from outrage, to, sadness and disappointment. She didn't walk with the group, but instead, followed a path of her own. Looking at the many objects, not with excitement, but remembrance. It was clear that whatever stories these items held, Luna knew them all, and they held great meaning to her, and clearly to Celestia as well.
"Hey look! It's Discord!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
Twilight and the others quickly made their way over to her, their interests peaked. Coming over to her, they were amazed to see an old and dusty tapestry, but just like Pinkie said, there was a figure sewn into it, and that figure did indeed look like Discord.
Using her magic, Twilight carefully unfolded the tapestry to it's full length and height, revealing the full picture. To her amazement, it depicted what looked like a very old throne room, at least, it was not in any style she knew. On the throne sat the two sisters, Celestia and Luna. They were looking down at a bowing Discord, who seemed to be introducing himself to them in a very, respectful way? Yeah... That didn't sound like Discord...
But that paled in comparison to the fourth figure depicted. A tall creature could be seen, standing behind the princesses, on two legs no less. He was dressed in some sort of clothing, looking angry, and held what looked like a big hammer towards Discord.
The creature was not like anything any of them had seen before, it didn't have horns, multiple legs or arms, no tail or wings, nothing really. Yet, he was standing right behind the princesses, symbolizing his importance. Glancing up at Discord, who had finally reappeared after vanishing by the mention of Celestia's and Luna's husband. His expression was hard to read, but it was as serious as Twilight had ever seen it.
Then it clicked for Twilight, this creature, was THAT, Celestia's and Luna's husband? No, that couldn't be true, surely there was some other explanation.
"I never liked this tapestry.." Luna said from behind the group, breaking the silence that had built up. They all turned their heads to look at her, and they saw Celestia stood right beside her, a sad expression on her face. "He was not always angry.."
"Quite a lot, though.." Discord replied, with no teasing tone in his voice, more like it dripped with poison.
With that, Twilight knew she needed answers, more so than before as this clearly had unknown history written all over it. But also, she was concerned, Luna was clearly upset, and Celestia looked guilty as she had ever seen her. Putting the tapestry back, she turned to them.
"Princess, what is all this?" Twilight asked, looking concerned and eager at the same time.
Without a word, Celestia turned and walked towards a more open area, Luna walking beside her. She made it clear she wanted them to follow, and so the group did so. Discord however seemed to follow the group, and even then it was still a few feet behind them.
The area was like a small half circle built into the wall, thick red curtains hung from it, but Twilight could see light trying to get through, hinting that there were windows on the other side. There were a few couches in this half circle, and it had to be a place for studying or reading.
Celestia waited until every pony had found a place to sit, and when they did, she used her magic to pull on some rope. With a gentle tug, the curtains moved to the side, revealing big and tall windows, bathing the large room in sunlight. They all squint their eyes for a moment, getting used to the sudden bright light that now illuminated the room.
When all had recovered, they looked to Celestia. She looked thoughtful, as if she didn't know where to begin her tale. Cadance had a worried expression on her face, and looked like she was about to move closer to her aunt, maybe in an attempt to comfort her. Luna however shook her head, letting Celestia gather her thoughts.
After a moment, Celestia looked to them, and spoke. "Before I begin, you should know, the world as you know it was a lot different back in those days.. More violent, more, chaotic.."
Many of them glanced at Discord, but he seemed to try and look like he wasn't interested. Cadance frowned, then looked at Celestia again. "Auntie, all of this stuff." She gestured with a hoof. "When did all of this take place, I don't recognize any of it.."
Luna was the one to respond this time. "Almost ten thousand years ago.." The shock was clear on all their faces, and it was hard to tell which of them was most shocked by this news, but Twilight was the one to break the silence when her mind finally recovered.
"B-but, you were, and you are..." She looked from Luna to Celestia.
Her mentor let out a sigh. "We were still quite young back in those days.. I was.." She paused, taking a moment to remember. "About 22.. Luna was 19.." The room was silent, and it was like their minds tried to comprehend how far back that really was.
They all realized what this meant, it meant all of this happened before their kind was united, before Equestria, before the unification, before Discord even..
Luna spoke up again. "It was dark times, back then there were dark creatures roaming the world. Their only goal was to conquer, to kill, and to take... To them, we ponies and many other races were nothing but animals.." That sent a shiver through every pony's body. "They had many names, trolls, ogres, orcs, giants, Jotnars.. They came in all sorts of forms, all of them terrifying and bloodthirsty..."
Celestia nodded, remembering the terrible era they had lived through. "The world was being thrown into chaos, we were drowning in darkness, mistrust and blood.. Our father wanted to unite all the tribes, wanting to take a stand against them. As his daughters, we were sent to speak with a local village of earth ponies, but sad to say, they didn't want to hear us.. So they sent us back to our father."
"The road was dangerous." Luna continued. "And on our way back, we were ambushed, and death seemed to be near that cold misty morning."
"It was then that we met him." Celestia said, affection and warmth entering her voice. "Sent by the gods, he came to us in our moment of distress.."
Everypony in the room looked at the two sisters with intense focus, hanging on every word. "Who?" One dared to ask.
Luna smiled. "Our future husband."
Celestia joined her sister in a smile. "Thor.."
10.000 Years Ago.
One can never be too safe, that's what Celestia's father said before her and Luna was sent to a village to negotiate an alliance. It was also the reason why they had gotten an escort, though attacks on this road were rare, they could happen. Celestia had been surprised at her father's decision to send them, normally he would have them study with their teacher, the great unicorn, Starswirl.
Celestia wanted to make her father proud, and even though she had negotiated well, the village of earth ponies had still refused to join up. If one looked at the bigger picture, then the village joining her father's lands and army would offer them better protection. But Celestia knew full well, not many were used to see their kind, and so distrusted any pony who did not like them.
Celestia and Luna were a special breed of pony, they were what was known as Alicorns. A species that had all three traits of the three pony tribes. It was something they had inherited from their mother, the great lady Faust, who sadly passed away not long after Luna's birth. Where she had come from, their father did not know. She was as mysterious as the dark night, as open and full of life as the sky above.
Their father was a lord in the west, near the famous Canterlot mountain. His village laid next to the river, and therefore was an important trading town that had the money to defend themselves. Even so, it was only a question of time before the army of darkness and chaos swallowed up the rest of the world. That was why her father sought allies around the land, but very few ponies were ready to put their differences aside, which was the reason Celestia and Luna now had to return home with no good news.
It was early morning, Luna was still sleeping, her body wrapped in a thick blanket. Their carriage was being escorted by six guard ponies, moving down the road within the dark forest. Though it was early summer, the mornings were still quite cold and dark.
It sent shivers up Celestia's spine as she looked into the foggy woods, the tall pines creating large shadows where any creature could hide in. For now, the only sound was the hoof steps of their guard escort, and the wheels of their carriage.
"Mmmm, Tia...?"
Celestia looked to her sister, seeing her rubbing her tired eyes. "Lulu, you should try to get some sleep.. We won't be home for another hour at the least.."
Luna yawned slightly, then shook her head. "I'm not tired.." Taking a quick glance outside, she frowned seeing they were in the dark forest. "This place, it is not safe, sister.."
"It is only because it is still early." Celestia assured her sister. "Once the sun has risen more, then this place will look more cheerful."
"I doubt it.." Luna said, leaning back in her seat. "Father will not be happy with the news we bring."
"No, he will not." Celestia confirmed, frowning slightly. "But, there are other villages."
"Yes, but they are even farther away from us, and I doubt they will have even heard of our father.." Luna groaned, a little frustrated and defeated. She was scared, and Celestia knew it. With no united front, these monsters would probably kill them all one day. Luna looked out into the foggy forest, and after a while, without looking at Celestia, she asked. "Sister, do you think it will ever end..?"
Frowning, Celestia looked to her sister and nodded. "We have to believe it, Luna..
She finally looked back to Celestia, and then smiled a little, nodding. "You're right, forgive me.. It's just.."
"I know, Luna, I know.."
Suddenly, they could hear distant thunder roaring. Luna shivered. "Looks like it's going to rain.." She sighed annoyed, it was cold, it was foggy and grey, and now it was going to rain. On top of that, they had nothing but bad news to bring home to their father, could this day get any worse?
The carriage suddenly stopped, making both the mares jerk a little at the sudden stop. "Why have we stopped?" Celestia asked, not expecting an answer from her sister. Instead, she poked her head out the window, looking back, then forward before asking one of the soldiers. "Guard, why have we stopped?"
The mare in iron armor looked at her. "A tree is blocking the road, we're trying to move it now."
It was at that moment they started to feel the first drops of rain, signaling the start of a shower from above. Celestia sighed. "Maybe I can help?"
"My lady, please stay in the carriage, it's not safe out here.."
Celestia came out, not caring about the mud beneath her hooves. "We won't be more safe if we stay here."
"Sister, what are you doing?" Luna called.
"Stay in the carriage Luna. I'm going to help the guards move a tree off the road." Celestia told her, starting to move, but Luna was about to come out. "Luna, stay inside, no reason for us both to become filthy."
Luna rolled her eyes. "I'm not a little filly anymore, I can help."
This was not up for debate, Celestia didn't want her little sister out in the open. "I said stay, Luna. This will just take a moment." She could hear her sister scoff, but raising no further objections, Celestia trotted up to the front of the carriage. There, several meters ahead laid a massive tree, blocking the road. Some of the guards were trying to push it with force, as well with magic, but the tree was stuck. "This might be a problem.." Celestia admitted.
Looking up at the sky, the rain was picking up, and she could hear the thunder getting closer. It was probably for the best if they moved this along, she didn't want to be trapped in the rain for any longer than she needed.
She started to walk towards the tree, the rain making the road more muddy for each second that passed. It was cold, the rain was soaking her white fur and pink mane very quickly. Suddenly her attention was caught by a white flash, then six seconds later a roar of thunder followed. She frowned, the pegasi rarely did anything about the weather except near their own homes, right now she wished she had brought some, at least they could provide some help in keeping them dry.
A series of sounds brought her out of her train of thought, the ground was shaking, and before Celestia could react, the guards working on the tree cried out.
"GIIIANT!!"
A loud beast like roar sounded, and the guards started to run towards the carriage to prepare a defense with the other guards. One however slipped in the mud, and before he could get up, the giant troll-like creature came smashing out of the large trees, swinging a large branch like it was a club.
The poor stallion got hit, and was instantly flung into a nearby tree, dying on impact. Some of the other guards cried out for their lost friend, but did not make a move to rush to him. He was dead, and they needed to survive. They made a defensive line in front of Celestia, readying their spears.
"My lady, you must fly away!" One of them yelled, but Celestia was frozen in place, in shock over what had just happened.
"My lady!" The soldier pleaded.
"Sister!" Luna cried, moving to Celestia's side.
The large creature then laughed, gaining all of their attention. "If you try to fly, then I shall shoot you down with whatever I can find, rocks or trees, it does not matter to me!" The giant's voice was loud, it boomed like the thunder above, and it was filled with malice and evil intend.
The giant was massive, thick, and bearded. He wore little clothing to speak of, and his stench could be smelled even at the distance they were standing, which was about 10 meters. Other than his height, his most distinctive feature was the one eye he had in the middle of his skull. He didn't miss the other eye, he simply only had one.
Celestia could no longer be shocked over these monsters' appearances. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some had two heads, others four arms and three legs. Some were as big as mountains, others as small as diamond dogs, which were not small, but for them, it was. Celestia, being the tallest of the group, only came up to the giant's knee.
Then, feeling her sister's fear, and the fear of the guards, not to mention herself, she stepped forward. "What is it you want?!" She called, trying to walk the path of diplomacy.
Luna looked to her sister. "Tia, what are you doing?" She whispered.
"Quiet." Celestia hissed back, not breaking eye contact with the giant.
The giant grinned, then laughed. "Bwahaha! This is my road! And anyone wishing to pass it must pay the tax!" Luna gritted her teeth, this was absurd, but she knew full well there was little they could do.
"And what tax is that?" Celestia asked, her voice ice cold as she glared at the creature before them.
"Ehehe.." The giant chuckled, giving them a toothy grin. "I wish for a hostage.." He pointed with his long thick finger at Luna. "That one, the blue pony. She is my demand for letting the rest of you pass in peace."
Luna reflexively stepped closer to her older sister, not wanting to be held hostage by this monster. Celestia also knew, if this creature held her sister hostage, he could ransom her for a large tribute, not to mention the danger she would be in. She didn't trust these monsters, and there was no way she was going to leave Luna with him.
Other than the distant sound of thunder, and the splashes from the rain, there was complete silence. Celestia was not hesitating on the answer, she knew what it would be, but she was thinking about how they could escape this situation. She wasn't sure if they could take this beast, wound him, maybe, but would they be able to stop him, kill him? Most likely not..
The silent apparently went on for too long, because soon enough the giant growled. "Well, what say you, pony!?"
They would need to change it, the guards would have to fight, they would help, but in the worst case scenario, they would need to try and escape through the air. Celestia glared at him, holding her head high as she gave him her answer. "My answer is no, you will not get my sister, or any pony else."
He let out a laugh, not in disbelief, but as he thought her answer was hilarious. "Bwehhahaha! You're brave, for a pony.. But you're not the only one traveling with an escort. Boys!" In that moment several growls could be heard, and shortly after that, group of orcs rose up from the ditches along the road, carrying armor, swords, shields, spears, and axes.
Celestia knew instantly they were surrounded, and she knew she was not dealing with a simple giant, no, she was dealing with a pack of raiders, out to loot whatever they could. They were most likely not their first victims on this road.
Their five remaining guards tried to circle Celestia and Luna as the monsters approached. "Take them!" The giant ordered, still grinning wildly. The orcs roared, coming closer and closer.
Just before the eventual fight would break out, a flash of white illuminated the otherwise dark forest. Then, barely a second after, a sound as powerful as an explosion roared above. It made the orcs jump back, and even the ponies, including the two alicorns to cover their ears.
There seemed to be a pause in the dramatics, as all by instinct looked up to see if they could spot how bad the storm would get. It was then that they saw it, the dark clouds, they moved unnaturally, too fast. It was not that they moved out of the way per say, or that any pegasi had the ability to move them the way that they moved.
None of them, not even the orcs or giants could believe their eyes. The clouds seemed to expand and move, like a tornado in the sky, darker clouds filled with thunder and lightning cutting it's way through the otherwise harmless rain clouds. The sight made the orcs stagger back towards their chief, the reason was not only the unnatural speed of the clouds, like it was a living monstrosity, but it was what they saw flying in front of the clouds.
At first, Celestia was not sure what she saw. At first, she believed it to be a group of pegasi, but, the closer it got, the more she saw, and the more her eyes widened. Right there, moving across the sky, were two massive black goats, pulling a wagon, or a chariot behind them. A creature stood upright in the wagon, holding on to something, what it was, or who it was, she could not see yet.
The sight both amazed, and terrified her, not to mention the orcs, who were just as stunned by the sight. More terrifying still, it seemed the lightning and thunder all originated from this creature. Each time it raised something into the sky, a flash of lightning would sprawl across the sky, and thunder imitating from it like powerful explosions.
No one, not Luna, not Celestia, and none of the orcs had ever seen the likes of this. They were all spell bound, but that awe quickly broke as it seemed the goats were moving towards them all, descending fast, the trail of clouds following right behind them. The orcs noticed this too, and quickly stepped back out of fear of being hit, in fact, they were so scared they pushed into the giant, making him trip over the large tree he had placed across the road.
"GET DOWN!"
The guards yelled, and they all moved to press the two mares down in the hopes of protecting them from whatever was hurling towards the ground. Celestia held onto Luna, and Luna onto Celestia, both of them closed their eyes, and begged whatever was about to happen, it did not end with their deaths.
It all happened so fast, almost a second after the guards forcing them to take cover, they heard something hit the ground. Celestia had expected some sort of crashing sound, a mix of breaking wood, and something moving across the ground. Instead, it sounded like something indeed hit the ground, but instead of diving straight into it, it slided, or drove across the mud easily.
They heard it come to a stop, then heard two large creatures breathing hard, like after a long run. The guards still stood close to their charges, but allowed them however to see what was going on.
Celestia and Luna got up, both of them covered in mud, but neither of them got any time to think about it, because they were too shocked. Right beside their carriage, stood two massive yak sized goats, panting, their nostrils flaring, their warm breath mixed with the cold air creating small winds of steam.
No one had ever seen goats as massive as these, and to be honest, they were quite fearful. Behind them they pulled an open wagon, but it was the creature inside that caught their eyes.
Standing in the wagon was a tall, pale skinned creature. Like the orcs and giant, it seemed to be standing on two legs, it had two arms, two hands, and like some of these creatures, it had a small beard. It was breathing hard, but not like panting, more like it was angry, it's body was soaking wet too, along with the clothes it was wearing.
Without as much as glancing at them, the creature let go of what looked like reins for the goats. Then, it stepped off the wagon, the muddy ground splashing slightly as it's feet touched the ground. It was only then Celestia noticed the rain had stopped, and so had the thunder and lightning.
The creature started to walk towards them all, passing his goats, and coming more fully into view. They noticed he was carrying something in his right hand, and when he passed them, Celestia got a closer look, and it was not what she had imagined this creature would be carrying, a hammer.
It was certainly not something that was designed for normal work, but if it was a war hammer, why was the handle so short? Then again, this was not the place to be thinking of such things. More pressingly was to find out what this creature was, and what it was going to do.
They watched as he walked towards the group of orcs, finally standing five meters from them, and five meters from Celestia and the others. The orcs looked at the creature, which Celestia assumed was a male, then, the giant finally stood up, and looked over the newcomer.
He was as tall as the orcs, which meant Celestia came to about his chest. His overall body was muscular, and his overall demeanor seemed to take the giant aback. Usually, ponies, griffons and whatever else that was not of his kind would cower before him and his clan, he was not used to being stared down by someone who was smaller than him.
"And who might you be?" The giant asked, sounding bot confused and a little annoyed.
The male sighed, then with a deep rough voice replied. "I could tell you, but what I am, and what my name is would not make any difference to you, because you." He pointed to the giant, then gestured to the orcs. "And your friends will all be dead before you ever get to tell anybody about me."
The simple and bold statement took every one nearby by surprise, and after a few seconds, the giant started to laugh, loudly. His laughter was then soon followed by the laughter of the orcs, which seemed like a mix between grunts and roars.
Celestia and Luna watched in puzzlement as the hammer carrying creature seemed to smile, then even starting to laugh with them, laughing, and walking towards them. The scene was absurd to watch, and the laughter seemed to be so genuine that Celestia wondered if this creature was actually on their side, and they were just mocking them. Her answer would be more bloody than she could imagine.
Suddenly the creature twisted his upper body, using the momentum to swing the large hammer, smashing the skull of the closest orc. That seemed to stop the laughter as the blood and gore hit the group. Luna closed her eyes, having never seen anything quite that graphic before.
The orcs stepped back, the creature smiled holding his hammer at the ready. The giant glared. "Kill him!" The orc pack roared, running towards the hammer wielding warrior.
Celestia and Luna could only watch in amazement as the creature seemed to be running towards those trying to rush him. He swung his hammer, clearing the first two in his path, sending them flying to one side, cracking their skulls open upon impact.
More tried to rush him, but he was quick, and his swings powerful, sending orc upon orc flying. One he grabbed he simply swung into another. One he headbutted, then forced him into the spear of another. The scene playing out before the ponies were bloody and violent, and yet, the creature seemed to enjoy it. He grinned, even if he would roar and yell out of anger, or excitement.
Amazingly, the battle seemed to be going in the creature's favor, which of course only made the giant angry. Finally having enough, he moved forward, pushing away two orcs in the process as he swung the massive branch. The creature was taken off guard, and so was one of the orcs. Both of them were sent flying, the orc hit a rock in a ditch, the creature vanished from sight into the forest.
Again, there was a moment of silence. Celestia had been amazed about the warrior's strength, but now, now he was dead, and now they were left to fend for themselves once again. The giant let out a small laugh, then, with his six remaining orcs, he pointed at the group of ponies. "We earned ourselves a feast!"
It was not what Celestia or Luna wanted to hear, nor did the guards, who quickly formed a line, holding out their spears, readying their defense. Celestia and Luna stood behind the line, but, they were not going to leave this fight to their guards alone, they would stand with them, to the end if need be.
When the final seconds arrived, the ponies braced themselves for impact, but then, right before the attack came, something came flying out of the woods. It went by so fast, but Celestia and Luna managed to recognize the object as the hammer the warrior had been carrying.
It smashed into the group, and right as it did so, lightning ripped through the air and struck the attackers, killing all six of them instantly. The hammer continued on it's way, but, as it was about to disappear, it was like by some unknown force it slowed down, and then just like it was tied to something, it moved back from where it came and found the hand of it's owner.
Standing by the edge of the tree line was the male warrior, unharmed, to everyone's disbelief. The hammer was back with it's master, and in that moment, Celestia knew, whatever this creature was, he was unlike anything they had ever faced before.
As the creature made it's way back to the road, the giant took a step back, not believing his eye. "How is that possible!? Who are you?!"
The creature stopped only a meter in front of the ponies, facing the giant. "I told you, it does not matter.. But, when you get to hell, you can tell whoever is down there that it was the god of fucking thunder that sent you there."
The giant roared, then leaped forward towards the group. The guard ponies took a nervous step back, but the creature simply stood still, twisted his body, raised his hammer, and with a swift movement, he threw the hammer towards the giant, splitting his big head open like a melon.
Thunder could be heard above as the hammer hit it's target, and the giant flew back a few meters before finally landing dead in the mud.
Like before, the hammer returned to the hand of the creature, and when it did, he slowly turned his attention to the group of ponies. They were all stunned, not to mention speechless, but now that the giant was gone, and the fighting was over, they got a much better and closer look at the creature.
He was tall, like the orcs, but his features were not green, sickly or deformed. He looked strong, and the battle had just proved how strong he was. His face was hard, but not ugly, his eyes were fierce, but not unkind. They also had a beautiful blue color that seemed to go nice with his blonde hair and beard.
His beard was not long, but it was growing. His hair was longer, and behind his head it was tied as a ponytail. His clothes were, nothing that special, he wore no armor as far as Celestia or Luna could detect, instead he wore a simply green tunic, secured in the middle with a thick leather belt. His pants were brown, made of a thick material, wool probably, like the rest of his outfit. His feet were covered in leather, and was laced and wrapped up his ankles. A final detail to note was the small silver chain around his neck, nothing however seemed to be attached to it.
The creature's eyes looked them over, and after a few seconds, he looked to both Celestia, and Luna. He then raised his left hand, pointing to them both, but just as he was about to speak, a guard stepped forward, holding his spear toward the creature. "Stay back!" He ordered, trying not to look scared.
The creature didn't lower his hand, instead his eyes turned to the pony, giving him a stern look. He then simply grabbed the tip of the end of the spear and said. "I'm not in the mood, pony." And with that, simply snapped the spearhead off, leaving the guard with only the wooden pole. The guard quickly stepped back as the creature tossed the spearhead to the side.
Celestia, followed closely by Luna, stepped forward. "You have our thanks for defeating the raiders.." She said, mustering up all her courage.
Luna followed suit, figuring staying on the creature's good side was the best. "By what name may we call you."
The creature seemed slightly surprised, then inclined his head. "You can call me Thor, and I assume you're Celestia, and you're Luna, am I right?"
Now it was the alicorns turn to look surprised. "How do you know our names?" Celestia asked.
The creature known as Thor smiled. "I was sent to find you, and help your world.."
Luna could hardly believe it, still, she asked what was on everyponies mind. "By who?"
He gave her a serious look. "The gods.. I was sent here to save your world... For now, we can leave it at that.." Thor turned around, walking towards the corpse of the fallen guard. Both the alicorns followed him, escorted by their remaining guards.
Luna and Celestia frowned as they saw the young guard. His blood soaked the ground, his eyes were open and filled with horror. Thor knelt down, and gently closed the guard's eyes. "I wish I could have arrived sooner.." He let out a deep sigh of frustration.
"We must bury him.." One of the guards finally said. "We can't leave him here to rot."
Celestia nodded, but Thor cut in. "Did he live nearby?"
The same guard who had spoken up before answered him. "Yes, he lived in our town, but.. But we can't carry him with us, and lady Celestia and Lady Luna must stay in the carriage, and we can't carry him all the way.
"We can walk." Luna assured the guards.
The officer shook his head. "You must stay in the carriage."
"But-"
"I'll take him then." Thor said, cutting Luna off. "Let him be buried at his home." He picked up the pony, holding him like he would hold any fallen friend. The ponies seemed nervous about it, but they were tired, and he had saved them, so they did not protest.
True to his word, Thor placed the body inside his wagon. Then Luna came over, carrying with her the blanket that had kept her warm. She used her magic to place it over the dead guard, frowning as she did so. She knew full well the guard would not have too much use of the blanket, but at least he could get home with a little dignity, and not on full display.
There was a minute's silence, all of them taking a moment to give the fallen some respect. Thor moved away from the ponies, walking over to his goats, making sure they were ready for the journey ahead, but also to give the ponies some space to honor their fallen comrade.
Someone seemed to be mumbling a small prayer, but Thor didn't catch the words, nor did he really listen. After a minute or two, someone coughed politely behind him, gaining his attention. He turned around, finding Celestia standing there with a grateful smile. "Thank you for doing this, but there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered."
Thor nodded. "Yes, but this is not the place, and to be honest with you.. I'm not really sure where to start my tale.. Not on an empty stomach at least.."
She nodded in agreement. "Captain, let us return home."
"Yes my lady."
The guard responded, getting everything ready to move once again. With Thor's help, the trees on the road were easy to move out of the way, and soon enough, they were on the move once again.
There were a lot of things about this that the alicorns didn't understand. Their mysterious warrior had saved them from death, but why? Who was he? And was he really sent by the gods? Was he really a god himself?
Present Time.
"Find out next time, same Thor time, same Thor channel.." Discord announced in a mocking tone, and the others looked at him. Luna shot him an annoyed look, and Fluttershy gave him a gentle, yet still stern look of disapproval.
"And that is how we met our husband.." Celestia said, finishing the story.
All the ponies looked at her and Luna with big eyes, all of them seemed totally enthralled and captivated by her tale. "Then what happened?!" Rainbow Dash asked, almost leaping out of her seat.
Twilight nodded. "Yes, please go on princess. You can't stop now, we are learning so much!"
"Well, there's still something ah don't understand.." Applejack said, looking thoughtful. "If all of this is true, how come none of us have ever heard about it."
"Yes, that is the question." Luna agreed, giving her sister a hard look before looking back at Applejack. "What shocks us the most is that you have never heard of him fair Applejack, or you, Pinkie Pie."
Applejack tilted her head. "Why would ah have heard about him?"
Celestia chuckled slightly. "Well, our husband was quite beloved by the three tribes, but the tribe that adored him the most was the earth ponies.. I believe it was because they related to him the most.."
Luna let out a happy sigh, then giggled. "He used to say that he was just a peasant who had become a god.. A simple man with needs and problems just like any other.."
"He certainly drank like no other..." Discord mumbled.
"Why don't we tell the tale when our husband was about to break all of your bones, and you cowered before him." Luna said sharply.
Discord looked back at Luna. "That's not how I recall it."
Celestia sighed. "I think it is better we just tell the story as it is, and how it happened.. In order, Luna." Her sister still glared at Discord, but said no more on the matter, instead, she simply nodded.
Rainbow Dash leaned forward. "Okay, now that that's over with, what happened next?"
Author's Note
Yay, first chapter out. :3
Hope you guys enjoyed it. ^^
Chapter 2: The Town Before Ponyville
Present Time.
Celestia sat by herself in the big red armchair, letting Twilight and her friends explore her little private museum. Pinkie Pie had insisted on getting snacks before they continued the tale, and to be honest, Celestia could use the time to compose herself.
She was not proud of not telling Luna that the faith in their husband had simply faded with age, that the times had changed a lot, and Luna knew that. Still, she could understand her shock when she finally understood. What could she tell her? That she had failed to think of letting historians write books about him? To build him a statue so ponies would remember?
Still, 9.000 years and Luna never noticed the stories they told, and the songs that they sang slowly vanishing?
Celestia knew her own faults, and it shamed her, but ultimately, it was time that had killed his faith. However, it was not like some of his traditions had not lingered in the minds and homes of her ponies. Their origin might be forgotten, but some of the things he brought them were still very present in Equestria today.
"There must be artifacts in here worth a lifetime of studying!" Twilight's excited voice boomed from the other end of the hall. She stepped over to a section filled with much bigger mementos, and came across a very old fishing boat. The wood was not in the best condition, only kept from rotting by the help of special oils used for museum pieces. "Now, what is this doing here?"
"Ah yes!" Luna said and approached. "Our husband did enjoy his fishing trips, he loved going to the great ocean to catch some Leviathans!"
Twilight looked to Luna, not understanding. "Leviathans? I have never heard of that species of fish.."
"No, I guess you wouldn't have.." Luna said with a small sigh. "They were great sea beasts, bodies like serpents, heads as big as ships. They made traveling the oceans quite dangerous as they could pull you under within seconds." Twilight gulped, but still listened with fierce intensity. "So, he set out to rid our oceans of the beasts." She chuckled. "He thought it was a great sport. Though, he always said he was looking for his.. Oh.." Luna paused, reaching far back in her memory. Then after a few seconds, she smiled. "He always said that the beast he caught were nothing, that he was still looking for his own Jörmungandr ."
"Uhm, his what?" Rainbow asked, having walked in on their conversation. "Jorrd-mongendar?
Luna flinched at Rainbow's butchered pronunciation of the name. Even Twilight seemed to twitch slightly. "No, Jörmungandr." Luna repeated. "It was an old legend in his home world, about a sea beast, so great, and so long, it could circle the world and bite it's own tail."
Rainbow Dash whistled. "Wow, did he ever find Johmund-something-something?"
"No." Luna replied, shaking her head. "But there were enough monsters for him to fight. Not to mention to keep a certain mischief maker in check."
Discord rolled his eyes. "Typical, history seems to have painted me the villain, instead the bringer of fun and big hats, not to mention biscuits for tea."
"That was hardly the only thing you brought." Luna said, almost growling.
"Say Discord, what is your feud with this Thor fella anyway?" Applejack asked, coming out from behind one of the bookshelves.
Discord crossed his arms. "He had a nasty habit of ruining any fun and joy I spread around. He was a drunkard, a brutish fighter, and yet ponies celebrated him as a hero." He turned away from them, holding his head high. "It seems the princesses forget that he nearly started three wars with the yaks, and nearly killed off a town with unicorns, not to mention all that bloody thunder!"
Luna was about to say something back, but Celestia cut in before she got a chance. "Discord.." She said calmly. "We are not blind to the mistakes or faults of our husband. But, like with most, you are able to look past the bad, and see what good lies within them, and love them for who they are deep within. Surely you of all creatures can relate to that?"
Discord did not answer, but Fluttershy smiled, putting a hoof on Discord to show he was well liked, and he did have friends. He sighed. "I suppose it was not all bad.. I guess we did have our share of fun.."
Celestia smiled. "You were certainly an odd pair, but I guess that's what made you friends."
"We were not friends." Discord said. "We simply could tolerate each other's company, at times.. Now, if you will excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to. I am going to teach bears how to sing, and make sunflowers scream, ta ta."
And with a poof, he was gone. Some of them shared worried looks, but Fluttershy simply smiled. "Don't worry, he's just pouting a bit.. He'll be back.."
"You will have to forgive Discord, it is true he and our husband have a... Strained, relationship." Celestia sighed.
Twilight walked closer, as did the others. "But why, princess?"
Luna sat down on the soft chair next to Celestia. "Discord was a mischief maker, our husband, while sometimes making a mess, he was a god of justice, of order."
"I thought he was the god of thunder?" Rainbow Dash said, confused.
"Gods can represent many different things to different groups of ponies. While he is the god of thunder, some saw him as a champion for good, farmers often saw him as a god of agriculture, fertility, and hallowing." Luna said, glancing at Applejack as she explained. "Others saw him as a god of war.."
"At any rate." Celestia smiled slightly. "Discord was still very young, like us. He liked to do tricks, and he thrived in the chaos around. Thor, well, he was not that easy to play tricks on. Discord's magic did not work on him, and Thor could quite simply hold Discord so tightly, that usual escapes and tricks did not work. To put it more simply, Thor was the counter weight to Discord, keeping the balance of the world, so to speak."
Twilight wished she had gone and brought a scroll and a quill, but for now, she was satisfied just hearing the story as told. At that moment, Pinkie Pie burst open the door, pushing a cart with all sorts of snacks carried on top of it. "I'm baaack!" She stopped next to the study area where they were all sitting. "I brought sandwiches, lots to drink, cupcakes and cookies, aaaand~!" She then passed on some paper and a quill to Twilight. "Something for Twilight to be anti-social with!"
Twilight frowned. "Uhm, thank you, Pinkie?"
"You're welcome!" She said cheerfully and sat down on the couch between Applejack and Rarity.
With all back and ready, Cadance looked to her aunt. "So, please continue the story." She said with foal like excitement. "I want to hear how you got to know your husband."
Luna smiled. "Well, after Thor saved us on the road, we continued our journey home."
10.000 Years Ago.
Luna could hardly take her eyes off this man, she sat near the open window, her eyes scanning his muscular body over and over again. Never in her life had she seen such a creature, never seen such strength from someone his size. She tried to spot anything familiar to the orcs, trolls and giants they had seen. But, other than the shape and height, he shared none of their qualities.
His ears were round, not pointy, his teeth were covered by his lips, not sticking out like long fangs or tusks. He had no claws to speak off, no green or blue skin that smelled of blood and gore. His eyes were stern, but not filled with malice as she would expect from an orc.
He walked beside them, holding the reins of his massive goats and in the other hand he held his hammer. It was no ordinary weapon, that much had been clear from the battle she and her sister had witnessed.
She wondered what powerful enchantments could make such a thing so deadly. Other than it's size, which seemed impractical, she had seen it be thrown, and then like it had its own will, it returned to the hand of it's master. But more amazingly, she had seen it summon a lightning bolt, a powerful force of nature that had been so precise it ruled out any possibility of chance or pure luck! No, this hammer, this weapon, had been the one to summon the lightning, he, this man, Thor, he had summoned it.. But who was he?
Could he really be a god as he claimed? Seemed a little far fetched, but then again, she had never seen anyone like him, or with the powers he seemed to possess. Only time would tell if he was truly what he claimed.
"Where did you come from..?" Luna finally asked, earning a glance from him.
He let out a deep sigh and rolled his shoulders. "It's a long story, but I was born far away, in another world. A world that is far different from your own.." He didn't really seem interested in talking about this subject, but surely he knew questions like this were bound to come up often.
So she tried something else. "Your hammer, what is it?"
This time he seemed more interested, and he held it up a bit so she could get a better look at it. "It's called Mjölnir , the lightning bringer. It was gifted to me by the gods at my request, along with my belt, my goats and my wagon."
Now Celestia seemed to listen in a bit more, she leaned towards the window and looked at the tall man. "Your belt?"
Thor tapped the thick leather belt around his waist. "Indeed, it's called Megingjörð , it means power-belt. When I put it on, it doubles my already enormous strength. I could have asked for some iron gloves to go with my hammer, but I figured I didn't want to limit myself."
It didn't make a whole lot of sense to Luna, what did he mean by limiting himself to iron gloves, what did that mean? "You said you asked the gods for these things?" Celestia asked.
Thor nodded. "I did. It was the part of the deal we made before they sent me here. But, we can talk more about that once we get back to your home, and I get something to eat."
Luna didn't want the conversation to end, so she tried to ask more. "But how do you know of us? Why did they send you? What deal are you talking about?"
"All in good time.." He sighed, but didn't seem annoyed, just cryptic, which seemed to amuse him somewhat.
Deciding to let the matter go for now, Luna sat back in the carriage and decided to wait for them to return home. Thankfully she would not have to wait too long, because soon enough the trees became smaller and fewer, right until they were out, and back in the open.
The sky was clearing, the sun bathed the landscape in it's warm light, making the green of the fields stand out more. From here you could see Canterlot mountain in the distance, and one could also see the big river that seemed to snake it's way through the landscape.
Celestia smiled, stuck her head out to feel the gentle morning wind brush against her mane. "Welcome Thor, this is our father's lands.. Our home."
Thor took a moment to look over the land before him. They were lush and green, large grass fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Small farms scattered around, working the land, tending to their different fields like the golden wheat that swayed so beautifully in the wind. Thor could also see forest areas, some small, some bigger, but what completed the picture was the town right in the center of it all.
The farms were placed on the outside, separated by small dirt roads that divided the fields and farms. The town itself seemed to have a wall surrounding it, small watch towers, and in the far end of the town, a castle. It was not big, but it did indeed dwarf whatever building was near it. It seemed to consist of whitewashed stone walls and yellow and purple roof tiles.
Thor was silent for a few seconds, taking it all in, and then he said. "Looks like you have a lot to defend, a lot to lose.."
Celestia frowned. He was not wrong, they all had something valuable to protect, a beautiful home, and a peaceful place for ponies to live out their lives. But it sounded dark, like it was more of a warning than an actual statement. "Yes.." She then agreed, looking back over the landscape. "We do, and we will do anything to protect it.."
"Good.." Was his only answer.
The group started to move again, and the closer they got to the town, the more restless Luna became. They were finally home and out of that dreadful forest. Since the danger was over, she saw no harm in opening the door and getting out.
"Luna." Celestia tried, but she was already out, walking ahead a little with some of the guards. Even if her little sister was a little immature at times, she was still happy she managed to get along with the common pony. Luna always had a more personal touch than Celestia did, even to the point she claimed she could feel the dreams of the ponies calling to her. Celestia wouldn't go that far, but it was a nice thought.
"She seems cheerful.." Thor said from beside the carriage.
Celestia did not count on him speaking, and so took a few seconds before she registered it. "Hm? Oh yes, Luna has always been more cheerful at home. Perhaps because it is so peaceful here, unlike other places.."
She knew full well how lucky they were, they were still far from the lands the orcs called home, still far from any major threat, but her father was right in saying it was only a matter of time. The band of raiders they encountered on the road was only a prelude to the war bands that would probably follow.
Moving a little closer to the window, she noticed him still carrying the large hammer. "Maybe it would be better if you didn't carry that around.. Ponies might get nervous.."
Celestia expected him to protest, but instead, he simply looked at it and nodded. He held it in his hand, not doing anything, and when Celestia was about to ask if something was wrong, she saw the hammer shrink. She stared in disbelief as the huge hammer shrank down to the size of an amulet, an amulet he moved up to the silver necklace around his neck, and attached it to it like they belonged together.
"That is amazing.." Celestia exclaimed, her eyes fixed on the hammer now around Thor's neck.
He smirked a little. "It's useful, though I would much rather want it hanging from my belt, but in this case, this would probably be better.." Thor admitted as they started to pass their first few farmers.
They bowed in respect to their lord's daughters, but froze up when they saw Thor and the massive goats. Like Celestia and Luna, they had never seen anything like this before. Thor could already hear the whispers from the ponies they passed, calling him anything from a pale orc to a naked monkey.
Though it kinda annoyed him, he shrugged it off, reminding himself that they would soon enough learn who he was, and what he was.
They came to the walls and the town gate, the guards standing there all seemed apprehensive about allowing him to enter the town. But Luna seemed to convince them to let them pass, and who they were bringing back in Thor's wagon. Their expression was easy to read, regret, sorrow, and anger. All tools Thor could work with if he was going to purge this world from the evil that had invaded it.
Of course, anger was just one of many tools, but simply looking at them Thor could tell they would never stand a chance against the giants. First things first however, he needed to find out what they were up against, and what it would take to turn the tides of this war.
His deal with the gods was clear, which meant Celestia and her sister Luna had a big part to play...
The guards finally allowed them to enter the town, and so they were on their way once again. While walking, Thor had plenty of time to look around. They traveled via the main road, leading them past a lot of small shops and even the great market.
All over you could hear ponies yelling things like. "Carrots! Get your carrots right here!!" Or. "Fresh bread, made by hoof just an hour ago, is still warm!" There were even some griffons, though they did not have permanent stalls like some of the other vendors, instead they had set up stalls near their wagon, which meant they were probably traveling merchants.
All that happened to see Thor and his goats, which were pretty much everyone, stared at him with attempts to hide their fears. Some pulled their foals closer, most backed away. Thor ignored them all, and Celestia seemed to be doing the same. Smiling politely whenever they passed someone close by in hopes of putting the town ponies at ease.
The castle came into view, and as they approached the gates, the guards once again stepped forward, holding out their spears and glancing towards Thor. The group stopped, and now Celestia got out of the carriage, trotting up to her sister who was already talking to the guards.
"He is no danger." Luna assured the captain. "He saved us in the forest from a giant and his orcs."
Thor waited patiently behind with his goats, even though his patience was running thin. Celestia came up to her sister, smiled at the captain. "What my sister says is true, we would not have arrived safely if it was not for our companion. Please, let him pass with us."
Unlike the previous guards, these ones didn't budge. "I'm sorry my lady, but we cannot let this.." He looked at Thor for a moment, then returned to Celestia. "Creature, into the castle. We can let you in, but he has to wait outside until lord Quill says otherwise."
Finally, Thor had enough, he knew he could burst his way through them, but if he was being forced to wait out here, then at least their comrade should be able to go in and be prepared for whatever came next. Going behind his wagon, he carefully lifted the dead guard out. He made sure the blanket was still wrapped around him, not exposing him on full view to whoever might be passing by.
The castle guards watched him as he made his way towards them, and they seemed to become a little more tense as they realized what he was carrying in his arms. Both Celestia and Luna frowned, as did the guards that had known him. Thor went straight to the pony who had denied him access, and got down on one knee so they could look more eye to eye, but Thor was still taller.
He held out the body of the guard. "Then will you let one of you pass for now? At least allow this so his kin can be informed, and his funeral prepared.."
The captain looked from Thor to the body, and then from the body back to Thor. Finally after a few seconds, he relented. "Fine.." He waved over two other guards, and they were quick to move over and retrieve the body from Thor.
Once done, he stood back up to his full height, towering over the captain, but he didn't move an inch, staring directly at Thor. Their eyes locked for a tense few seconds, and finally Thor nodded, and moved back to the wagon. Anyone, or pony, that would not back down from him deserved some respect, and so, Thor would do as asked and wait outside.
"You go ladies, I'll wait out here." He sighed, and gave one of his goats a pat on the back. "But, could my goats at least get some fucking water?"
The captain sighed, but nodded. "I'll see to it.." He then stepped aside, letting Celestia and Luna pass along with their guards. Before going, Celestia sent him a look that told him she would get this sorted out as fast as she could, but Thor waved her off, letting her know he was going to be okay.
And so, the waiting game began...
The gate that had been open before they arrived, funnily enough closed when Celestia and her sister entered, and the guards seemed to double outside of it, keeping a close eye on Thor. If not for the fact he was here to save these creatures, then he would have simply smashed through the gate using his hammer.
But, he reminded himself of the deal he had made, and the rules that applied to that deal. At some point a small door, built into the gate itself, opened, and a unicorn mare stepped out, levitating a one bucket using her magic, and carried another one with her mouth.
At first she seemed scared of him, but then as she saw the mighty goats her fear turned into fascination. Thor found it amusing, and could not help but recognize that trait from himself back when he was simply human. She placed the two buckets in front of the goats, they growled and dipped their muzzles into the deep buckets, causing the water to splash around as they drank every drop.
The pony stood still, watching them like a little kid who was too amazed to move away. Thor smiled slightly, turning to her. "They're impressive, are they not?"
The pony servant nodded, still watching the goats drink their fill. "They are amazing.. Do they have names?"
Thor nodded. "Snarler and Grinder" ."
"I've never seen goats so big and strong before.. They are the size of a Yak, and their horns as long as spears..." The unicorn said, looking over the goats thick black fur and their long horns.
Walking over, Thor put his big hand on Teeth Grinder's back. "Do you like animals?"
The servant smiled sheepishly, looking at the ground. "I do.. I think they are beautiful.."
"What's your name?" Thor asked.
She looked up at him, some of her nervousness returning. "Uhm, Cornflower, sir..."
Cornflower was a mint green unicorn with a dark purple mane and tail. He noticed something on her flank, a pot, pouring water over a single flower. Strange, but not any more strange than what he had seen already.
"Well then Cornflower, if I am ever let in as a guest, would you mind looking after my goats, making sure they are fed?"
She seemed to perk up at the prospect of taking care of animals so big and mighty. "Y-yes sir, I mean, no sir, I wouldn't mind at all!"
Thor smiled, but before he could say anymore, the captain made a sound. "Ahem.. Back to your duties.." The unicorn blushed, but sent Thor a small smile before she took the empty buckets and walked back inside behind the walls.
Once again, Thor was by himself, only accompanied by his goats, and the tense looks he got from the guards. For a brief moment he wondered if he should just start something to test the guard's metal, or to give them an excuse to try and kill him with those spears of theirs. If nothing else, it would at least keep Thor entertained while he waited.
But alas, he once again reminded himself of the rules of the contract...
An hour easily passed, then two, and when it seemed they were going to hit the three hour mark, Thor was starting to lose his patience. He was hungry, tired, thirsty, and he was so fucking bored. He let out a small groan and looked at the captain. "How long is this going to take? I'm bloody hungry!"
The captain ignored him, which only served to annoy Thor even more. Before he had a chance to argue anymore, the gates opened, and out stepped Celestia and Luna, both looking relieved and just a bit exhausted.
"Sir Thor.." Celestia said with a small smile. "Our father has agreed to see you, and." She glanced at the captain. "Treat you as a guest under his roof."
Thor sighed, resisting the urge to remind them of the time it took them, and how long he had been standing out here. Since they were clearly already aware of how long it had taken them, he let it slide, and instead took the reins of his goats and led them through the gate.
They came into a big courtyard, and it was then that Thor realized this wasn't so much as a fortification, but more a palace. Besides the walls, the castle was clearly built for comfort rather than protection. It had grand windows and the architecture was meant to show off splendor instead of offering a strategic advantage and refuge.
At least the town had a wall, that was something at least..
Looking around, he spotted Cornflower talking with another servant mare. "Cornflower!" He called, and she jumped a little as she heard his booming voice call out for her. "Take them to the stable and feed them."
"O-oh, yes sir!" Cornflower hurried over and took the reins into her mouth.
"Don't be afraid to be stern, if you just show them who's in charge, you won't have any problems. Understood?" She nodded, and Thor then left her in charge of his animals.
Celestia seemed slightly amused. "Bossing our servants around?"
Thor simply shrugged. "She's not afraid of them, so I rather leave them in her care than someone who will shit themselves each time they go near."
"We must apologize.." Luna sighed, sounding almost as annoyed as Thor. "It took us ages to convince our father to let you in.."
"You must forgive him." Celestia put in quickly. "This war has taken its toll on our father, these are dark times, and he fears for the safety of his citizens.. And us.."
As much as Thor hated having to wait out there, he could hardly argue with a ruler who simply didn't let an unknown creature waltz right into his home. Still, he just hoped he could get some food and finally some rest.
"It's fine.." Thor grumbled a little, but tried not to.
The guards let them pass through a huge door that led into the mane building of the castle. As he expected, the hallways were a testimony to the wealth of the lord of the castle itself. Expensive carpets laid on the floor, a lot of plants and paintings, vases and other ornaments.
They passed what few guards were posted, and some of the servants, all trying hard not to glance at Thor, but he could feel their eyes upon him. He didn't care, in fact, the prospect of getting a hot meal and finally talking to the lord of this land was more than enough motivation to behave.
They passed through another huge door, and entered what looked like to be a large hall. A lot of tables were spread around, and in the center of the hall was a large fire pit. At the end of a hall was a stone platform, on it was another long table, but more extravagant chairs, the one in the middle was the biggest, and it was pretty clear that this was the feast hall of the castle.
Thor felt his stomach growl in anticipation. Luna noticed, and couldn't help but giggle a little. He ignored it, because he finally spotted two stallions standing at the foot of the stone stage, both having a serious look on their faces.
The first one stood out like a sore thumb. He was a grey unicorn and had a huge wizard hat, and a cape to match. On them were golden bells, and sewn into the fabric was different stars and moons. He was somewhat aged, but still in his prime. A final thing to note about this unicorn was the large beard he was starting to grow . Funny, Thor didn't know ponies could grow beards..
The earth pony next to him was around the same age as the wizard, he was aged, but not out of his prime. His coat was white, and his mane and tail had a sort of silvery color. He wore a red cape, but no hat like the unicorn.
As the two alicorn sisters walked closer with Thor, the two stallions seemed to stiffen, both nervous, maybe the earth pony more nervous than the unicorn, who seemed more fascinated than scared. "Father." Celestia started, coming to a stop about two meters from them. "This is Thor, he is the one we spoke about."
The stallion did not move a muscle, nor did his eyes move from Thor, not even as Celestia spoke. Thor could not yet tell if he was glaring, or simply considering him like any ruler, or father would do. Finally, after the unicorn cleared his throat did the earth pony react.
He bowed his head. "You have my gratitude for saving my daughters.." His head rose. "I am Silver Quill, lord of the town of Everfree, these are my lands, and you are welcome here."
Thor inclined his head. "Thank you.."
"I am Starswirl." The unicorn said. "I am the adviser for lord Silver Quill, and the young ladies tutor."
Thor inclined his head again, and then crossed his arms. "You let me wait for quite a while out there."
"Yes well.." Silver Quill said. "You must understand, what my daughters were saying didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.."
Starswirl nodded. "Indeed.. You're clearly not an orc, nor a giant or troll.. The ladies say you claim to be a god?"
Thor nodded. "I am.."
Silver Quill's eyebrow rose in slight amusement. "You understand if we doubt such a lofty claim.. You're strong, but I wouldn't go around and claim you're a god, so who are you, really?"
Thor sighed, still wanting a hot meal, but he would probably not get far without telling them what had happened to him. "Once I was mortal, I was a human."
"A human..?" Starswirl echoed.
"Yes, beings looking like me, though in different sizes and forms, males and females. Just like you are of one race, but come in a lot of different forms." Starswirl nodded, listening intensely. "We were dreamers, thinking of new ways to improve life. We were builders, our world far more advanced than you can ever imagine. Moving carriages, requiring no one to pull or push them, flying machines, moving pictures, and weapons you could never even comprehend."
Thor had not spent a lot of time thinking about his home world, not since he got here anyway. But talking about it now, he would be lying if he said he did not still miss some aspect of that world. Like what he had left behind, or, who he had left behind..
"I was once one of those humans.." Thor continued. "Who I was back then is not important.. But what you should know is that I died, and well on my way to the afterlife. It was then that I met your wife, lord Quill."
The room instantly became silent, and very tense. Silver Quill's eyes narrowed. "Speak.." He commanded.
Thor was not threatened. "She offered me a deal, the details of which are not important, but the simple explanation is that her, and the gods of harmony have grown weak. They are no longer able to help you against the forces that now plagues your world.. She offered me to earn a place among them, to become a god. I was not the first one they offered this deal mind you, I was just foolish enough to accept. And so, they used the last bit of power they had left, granting the powers and the weapons of my choosing.."
"Weapons?" Starswirl asked, looking Thor over once again, but saw no weapons.
"Indeed." Thor moved his hand up, removing what looked like a hammer shaped amulet from a silver chain. His hand had not even lowered fully before the amulet grew into the hammer Celestia and Luna had become familiar with. Luna had however not seen him shrink it down, so she was just as surprised as Starswirl and her father when it suddenly grew into it's full size. "I took the name Thor as my own, and my task was simple.. To save your world from darkness. if I can do this, then I can celebrate my afterlife in the halls of the gods.."
Silver Quill glared. "You spoke of my wife, what do you know of her?" Celestia and Luna wanted to know this too.
Thor sighed. "Other than she drives a hard bargain? Well, her name is Faust, and she told me to tell you that... Urgh.." He closed his eyes, searching his memory. "Ah!" He looked at Silver Quill, who seemed to have a mind to throw Thor in the stocks, not that it would do anything. "That even in the darkest of nights, the light of the stars still shines. Even during the grayest of days the-"
"The sun shall shine..." Silver finished, his expression turning into shock and disbelief. How could Thor know that saying? It was what his wife used to say when times looked dim, when life became hard.
"Quill." Thor said, bringing his attention back to him. "It goes without saying that she cares for you, misses you and your daughters very much." None of them said anything, none of them interrupted. "But your world is dying, and so I've been sent to give you one final chance.. So, how about we stop wasting time." Thor stepped forward, and for the first time, Silver Quill seemed truly nervous. The two locked eyes, and Thor seemed very serious as he said. "Can I finally, get some, fucking, food?"
Silver Quill blinked a few times in confusion, and then nodded a little. "O-of course, take a seat..."
Thor let out a satisfied sigh, then smiled and said. "Thank you." With nothing more to say, the tall man turned around, and sat down at a table near the still burning fire pit, leaving the group of ponies speechless and dumbfounded.
Celestia and Luna told their father they would look after their guest, which gave Silver Quill some time to recover from the strange encounter with this so-called god. Starswirl followed his lord into an empty hallway. "My lord, are you alright?"
Silver Quill sighed. "I do not know, Starswirl.. This creature, this human, can he truly be a god sent to aid us?"
"I.. I cannot say for certain.." Starswirl admitted. "But, we do know he's strong, and if what Celestia and Luna says is true, then he wields great power.. We can not afford to reject such an asset.."
"Wise words.." Silver nodded, but still not sounding convinced. "I let him stay, for now.. We can see how useful he is, hopefully he isn't bluffing.. But I do not trust him, not yet.." It was not that Silver Quill didn't want to believe, in fact, he wished every word this man said was true. Because it meant he had really talked to his beloved, which meant there was a chance he would see her again, one day.. But with the war, with all the horror unfolding across the land, he had a hard time believing such luck and fortune would find it's way to his door..
Celestia and Luna tried to accommodate Thor in the meantime, trying to make sure that his needs were tended to. But it seemed the food they had was not exactly what he was looking for.
He was fine with the wine and ale, fine with the vegetables, bread and fruits. His appetite however seemed to crave something else though, meat..
Now ponies were not strangers to meat, but very few consumed it. Thankfully they could acquire him freshly caught fish, bought from the griffons at the market. While they prepared it, Thor had insisted on using the fire pit to cook some of his own food. Confused and yet interested in what he was going to do, they agreed.
He left the hall, and about an hour later, he returned with the bloody body of one of his massive goats. It shocked the two sisters, how could he kill one of his goats? Thor seemed to take no notice of their shock, because he soon enough speared the large animal and hanged it over the fire pit.
The smell of cooking meat soon filled up the hall, Thor seemed delighted, but the smell was quite strong, and it was not something Celestia or Luna was used to. Having skinned the large goat, Thor spread out the skin on the floor next to his table while humming satisfied to himself.
It took a long time for the meat to be fully ready, and by the time it was ready, it was past lunch time. Thor seemed quite content, even if he had not eaten yet. Perhaps the promise of such a large meal put him at ease, but neither Celestia or Luna thought he could consume such a huge beast on his own. Both of them hoped he did not expect them to eat the same as he did.
As Thor tended to the cooking goat, the doors opened and in walked the servant from before, Cornflower. She looked like she had been crying, and even still seemed to sniffle a little. Thor smiled when he saw her.
"Ah. Cornflower!" He bellowed. "Thank you for tending to my goats, they seemed quite satisfied and calm when I came for Snarler."
She looked distraught. "But sir, how could you butcher your own animal?"
"Hm?" Thor looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You looked so proud, so happy to have them by your side, so why? Why did you kill one of them?" Her voice was shaking, and her eyes were on the verge of tears. Celestia considered stepping in, but before she had a chance, Thor burst out laughing, shocking both her and her sister, and the poor servant.
When his laughter died down, he placed a hand on the little pony's head. "Do not fret my little pony.. He'll get used to it." He picked up his hammer from the floor and gestured to the skin. "I will gather all of the bones here, and tomorrow, when the sun is rising I shall go out and swing my hammer over the skin and bones. Then Snarler will rise again." The pony looked upon him in disbelief, and so, his smile became more gentle. He got down on one knee, making himself smaller so he would not seem so large and intimidating. "If you don't believe me, then come and see for yourself in the courtyard at sunrise. Then you shall see.."
Cornflower nodded a little, still sad to see such an amazing animal hanging from a spear, but she didn't speak any more of the matter. Instead, she left to attend to her other duties. It was then Celestia and Luna decided to join him at the table, they both observed as he was cutting the meat, his mouth almost watering as he fixed himself a large piece of the goat.
Once done, he sat down at the table, which was filled with all kinds of food. "Finally.." He sighed satisfied, and without waiting, or any manners for that matter, he started to eat.
Celestia and Luna could only look on in utter fascination as Thor consumed whatever food was in front of him. Truly none of them had seen one creature eat and drink so much, so fast. The servants were taken off guard, and kept running back and forth from the kitchen and back to the hall.
Soon enough Thor had consumed four large fish, three baskets of bread, two barrels with ale, and the entire goat whose existence could only be confirmed thanks to the naked skeleton that now laid on the skin beside him.
Luna's mouth hung open, and it took some time for her to realize the show was over. "That was..." She began, but could not finish whatever she was going to say.
Celestia picked it up however. "Quite a spectacle.."
Thor grinned, wiping his mouth with his large arm. "Nothing beats a good meal.."
"Meals.." Luna corrected mostly in a state of shock. Thor let out a laugh, and gave Luna a pat on the back.
"That too!" He grinned and stood up. "Well, I shall see you tomorrow.."
Celestia stood up. "Don't you want to see the castle, or talk more with our father?"
"No, that can wait.. I've been looking for the two of you for three stinking days. I need some rest.. Do you have a room?"
Celestia was a bit baffled at his boldness. Normally when they had guests they would ask politely, Thor however seemed to expect both food and shelter, but then again, it was not like they were going to deny him, he was just more straightforward than what she was used to.
"Uhm, yes.. Luna?"
Luna looked at her sister, then realized she had been spacing out at the war zone the table had become. "Yes, a room.. Uhm, let us take you to the guest room then."
Thor nodded and grabbed his hammer in one hand, and the skin with all the bones in the other. The two sisters stood up as well, guiding the man through the more private parts of the castle. None of them spoke, which Luna was not really used to. Normally when they were escorting some important guest, Celestia would be the good older daughter and explain everything about anything they passed in the hallway.
This time however, Celestia didn't seem to know what to say, perhaps because she knew Thor couldn't care less about some vase or tapestry. Luna however did want to talk about something, something she had a mind to ask him about ever since he mentioned it to their father.
"Did you really meet our mother?" She suddenly asked.
Thor looked down at her, and Celestia seemed to tense up a bit. Luna knew however that was something Celestia wanted to know as well. Luna held his gaze, and after a few seconds he sighed and looked forward again. "I did.."
"What... What was she like..?" Luna asked, almost timidly.
Thor thought for a moment, trying to give serious thought into the serious answer she was expecting. "Hmm... Calm.." He knew she wanted to know more, but Thor hardly had anything to say about the matter. He hadn't exactly spent too much time with her, and to be fair, there were a ton of other things going on in his mind during that meeting. "She seemed, at peace.. All knowing, wise.. A bit cheeky if you want my opinion.. Wasn't afraid to be firm with me.."
Celestia giggled, seeming to recognize some of the traits he described. "Well, here we are.. This will be your chambers."
Thor nodded, and opened the door. "Thanks.." Before he went in however, he looked to them both. "She said.." He hesitated, but seeing their eyes fixed on him he pushed on. "She said she loved you both, that I should find you.. I think she will always love you, even though you are not together.."
Celestia smiled, and so did Luna, but she, who had not known her mother for a long as Celestia, teared up a little. "Thank you, Thor.." She said and bowed her head.
"Not a problem, good night, Celestia, Luna." He nodded to them both, and they in turn said their good nights to him. He closed the door behind him, placed the skin with the bones on the floor, and walked to the bed.
It was not big enough for him, but it would do for tonight. Looking outside, he could see the sun was still high in the air. He didn't care, he was tired, and he was going to sleep until morning. Placing his hammer beside the bed, he laid down, letting out a deep and long sigh.
Today has been long, interesting, but long...
He knew if he was going to get the cooperation of the lord, he needed to prove himself to him. Even though it was bothersome, he knew it had to be done. The faster he could turn things around for them, the faster he could end this war.
But, that was for tomorrow. The gods were sleeping, and so should he. After a nice meal, there was nothing better than a good night's rest. Who knew what tomorrow would bring though... Who knew indeed...
Present Time.
There was silence, not because they were trying to be, they were taking sips of their tea cups, getting some refreshment, or waiting for the maids to clear away the trolley Pinkie had brought in. The room had grown darker, Celestia's sun had been blocked out by thick rain clouds, the rain tapping lightly on the large windows.
"A fitting weather.." Luna commented to nopony in particular.
Twilight was looking over her notes, shook her head, and let out a sigh. "Princess, the world you describe, it seems so different from the one we read about, from the one we learn in school."
Celestia nodded slightly, looking thoughtful. "The world was very different back then, there was so much we did not yet know.. It was so much larger than me and Luna knew, and there are still places even we have never been or seen. It is only because we move the sun and moon we now know how big the world truly is.."
"But it is just unbelievable, so much knowledge has been lost about the old world, I was led to believe the unification was more peaceful because there was war between the tribes, and peace brought the unification." Twilight said, thinking back on all she had read about the subject.
"Partly true." Luna said as she let the maid take her tea cup and finally trot out. "The unification in today's story focuses on the second unification."
"Second unification?" Twilight echoed in confusion.
"It's complicated, but during the first unification, we formed a small kingdom, Equestria as it would one day be called. It was more of a happy accident really, the more ponies that became aware of Thor and his deeds, the more ponies flocked to our father for his, and our husband's protection from the giants. So a natural kingdom started to form out of it. The unification you speak of was more of the official declaration of the formation of our kingdom as you know it."
Twilight was amazed, it seemed like history had focused so much on this second unification, it had simply over time become,THE, unification. "How did it start?"
Celestia thought for a moment. "I suppose it started the very next day we met Thor.. He had become a guest of our father, and he claimed to have been sent by the gods to help us, so of course he meddled in our father's affairs.." Luna snorted, hiding her mouth behind her hoof as she tried not to burst out laughing. The others looked confused, and Celestia couldn't help but smile herself, but still nudged Luna to get her to quiet down. "Well, I guess you could say he was not as.. Uhm.. Formal and well mannered as one would expect when in the presence of a lord.. But he did have helpful insights."
Luna calmed down, then looked at the group. "He was not one to fancy diplomacy, he liked to act more than to wait. It could infuriate our father quite a lot."
Both of the royal sisters giggled slightly thinking back at how frustrated their father could get, which of course led to memories of when Thor told their father he was going to marry his daughters. Cadance smiled, seeing her two aunts act all giddy at the fond memories they had of their husband.
"So, was it love at first sight?" The princess of love asked.
Celestia shook her head. "Far from it I should say."
"But I would add that the fascination of him was always there." Luna added. "Discord is, as much as I hate to admit it, right by the fact Thor could be a bit of a brute."
"But." Celestia continued. "We got to know him like no other, we learned who he was deep inside, the worries, pains and secrets he carried deep within his heart.." Both the princesses frowned a bit, looking down on the floor. "Thor is a good man, we learned that.. But it was clear he carried something from his old world, a deep hurt that maybe forced him to be more stern than he was."
"He wasn't that stern." Luna tried, but Celestia simply shook her head.
"In some aspects he was firmer than he needed, mostly in cases that reminded him of home." There was deep silence for a few moments, only the rain drumming on the windows, and the slight crackling from the fireplace broke that deep silence. Finally, after a minute, Celestia recovered, putting on a smile. "But, that is a story for another time. We should tell you what happened the next morning, then we can go for some lunch."
Rainbow slid forward, the helmet she had found bobbing around as it was made for a stallion, but putting a hoof to it she quickly steadied it. "Okay, so what happened the next day?"
"Did he really bring his goat back to life..?" Fluttershy asked hopefully.
Luna smiled and nodded. "Well, me and Celestia were wondering about that as well. To us it sounded impossible, and so, we both got up just before the unicorns would gather to raise the sun, and made our way to the courtyard to watch what he did to the bones he had gathered the night before..."
10.000 Years Ago.
The two sisters stood in the courtyard, taking in the cool morning air as the slow raising of the sun made the morning extra long. Despite having fur, Celestia shuddered a little as a cool breeze moved through the yard.
Luna was not faced however. "Do not worry sister, the sun shall soon warm up the morning air for you."
"I know, but does the raising have to take this long..?" Celestia sighed, moving her wings a little as if trying to shake herself awake.
"I feel the same about the moon, the unicorns handle her with so little care in mind.."
"Her?" Celestia raised an eyebrow.
"Well, of course the moon is a she. So much beauty and elegance, she can only be female." Luna smirked, puffing out her chest a little.
Before Celestia could respond, they heard a door open. Not many would come out this early in the morning, other than a few guards on the wall, no one was out here but them. They had expected Thor to step out, but instead it was the servant mare from the day before. "Cornflower." Celestia called.
The mare seemed startled at first, but quickly recovered as she walked over to them. "Good morning my lady.. Lady Luna.."
"Good morning to you as well." Luna smiled. "Have you come to see Thor do what he claims?"
Cornflower nodded. "He invited me.. And I wanted to see if he could bring Snarler back.."
"Do you think he can do it?" Celestia asked, interested to see what the mare believed.
She thought about it, then shrugged. "I don't know, my lady.. If the rumors are true, then I won't dismiss the possibility that he might be able to do it.."
It was a fair point, one that Celestia had indeed thought about as well. She and Luna had already seen Thor do things they would have otherwise thought impossible without great magical power. One could say what Thor did was purely magic, nothing else. But Celestia wondered about that, it didn't feel like manipulation, it felt like total control, raw power.
While a unicorn and a Pegasus could manipulate certain outside elements, such as levitating an object, or control a cloud, that was manipulation, enforcing their will upon something else. It was not wrong or anything, but it was a different kind of control than what Thor displayed the other day. It was not like he was enforcing his will on the weather, it was like... Well, she was not sure what it was like, something completely different from what they could do, perhaps she would discuss this with Starswirl, but for now, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another door opening.
This time there was no doubt it was Thor, his tall muscular body stood out like a mountain. He didn't bid them good morning, neither did he glance at them, instead he looked tired, and kind of annoyed to be up this early, like a farmer who had just woken up to take care of his fields, just like the day before.
Still he willed himself up, and was now walking to the center of the courtyard. None of the three mares spoke to him, they were too focused on what he was doing, and something told them not to disturb him. He carried the skin full of bones in one hand, and held the hammer in the other. Once in the center of the courtyard, he placed the skin and bones on the ground, and then took a single step back.
The mares watched, the guards watched, and even still, there was an unnatural silence, like a hush in a theater crowd before the curtain is about to rise.
Taking a deep breath, Thor put the hammer to his chest and closed his eyes. As soon as he did, something in the air changed, they all felt it, but none of them had the words to describe what exactly had changed. Thor raised his hammer above his head, and started to swing it.
The swings were large, he moved it around and round, making the winds around him pick up, like the swings itself were so powerful that the swooshes could be felt everywhere in the courtyard. Leaves, dust, and manes all started to move with the wind, and above them, to everyponies shock, the otherwise clear sky began to be covered with dark clouds.
Some seemed to be pulled there, others simply appeared out of thin air, like they had responded to their master's command. Then suddenly, something more unreal happened, the bones and skin started to move. By some unknown force, the bones connected to one another in the right order and the way it should, and as soon as they did, nerves started to grow right out of the bones itself.
It was like watching plants grow, just faster and more bloody. The nerves, flesh, organs, eyes, everything seemed to grow out of the bones, until the skin started to attach itself, covering every inch of the fleshy form that was growing before their eyes.
Thor seemed to say something, but the wind covered up whatever words he might have spoken, but as soon as he said it, the goat became whole again, standing just as impressive as it did the day before. Thor stopped swinging his hammer, and when he did, the clouds vanished as well, disappearing into the thin air just like they had appeared.
With Snarler whole once again, Thor lowered his hammer and took another deep breath, this time looking more awake than he did when he first stepped out of the castle. He chuckled proudly, clapping Snarler on the back. "That's my boy." He grinned, and only now turned to the mares who looked upon him in utter shock and amazement. "Morning." He simply said, snapping the three of them out of their daze.
"H-how is this possible..?" Luna asked, taking a small step forward.
Cornflower however was not as hesitant as the two sisters, she sprang forward, smiling widely as she approached Thor and Snarler. "You really did it, you brought him back!"
Thor simply nodded, clapping Snarler on the back once again. "Of course I did, I said I would." He said that it was really that simple. "Give him some water and some food, he's earned it." Thor said, not even asking, but rather commanded.
If Cornflower minded the tone Thor used, she didn't show it, instead she happily led the massive goat over to it's brother so they could both eat. Thor in the meantime turned to the sisters, patting his stomach and yawned. "Well, is there any breakfast around here?"
To Thor's disappointment, it was still too early to be eating breakfast. Thor was slightly annoyed at this, but he did understand it was still very early, so he decided to settle with something to drink in the great hall. He was happy with a big mug of ale, and then he could wait for as long as someone refilled the mug now and again.
Neither Celestia or Luna wished to drink this early, but strangely enough it seemed the ale had little to no effect on Thor, but then again he could eat a lot, so maybe he had to drink even more to get to the point that he was drunk.
There was silence for some time, both sisters were not sure what to ask or say to him, but Thor knew exactly what was nagging them. "It doesn't work on ponies.." He said with his deep voice, raising the mug and taking another swig from it.
Both of the alicorns looked at him. "What..?" Celestia asked, not sure at first what he was talking about.
"The resurrection, it doesn't work on anything or anyone else other than my goats.." He clarified, wiping his mouth and beard with a cloth. "I share a special bond with them, one that allows me to do what I did to Snarler, or Grinder.."
"How?"
Thor shrugged. "To be honest with you I have no fucking clue how it works.. I can only tell you what I did I did because I knew I could do it, but if you asked me how I did it, or how it was possible, then you would need a god of knowledge or wisdom, and I'm not such a god." Thor raised the mug high, drinking the last bit of ale.
"Clearly.." Luna mused.
Thor finished the ale and placed the mug down on the table with such force the table wobbled for a moment. He looked directly at Luna, who held his gaze. Celestia held her breath, wondering for a moment if Luna had insulted Thor. But her worries were put at ease as Thor started laughing, bringing a small smirk from Luna.
"I like you, blue horse." He said. "You got balls."
Luna's eyes went wide. "I MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT HAVE SUCH THINGS!!"
That statement only made Thor laugh, making Luna blush and grit her teeth with anger. Celestia had to admit, her little sister's expression and response was quite funny, and even she had to turn her head in order to hide her snickers.
It did not however go unnoticed by Luna, which just frustrated her even more. "And my name is not 'blue horse', it's Luna!"
Thor wiped a tear from his eye, calming down, but still grinned. "Forgive me, Luna.." He still chuckled a bit. "I meant no disrespect to you or your family, I meant it as a sign of your courage, but perhaps it is something you would say to men instead of women."
Luna huffed and looked away. "I guess I accept your apology, and accept your compliment as well.."
Thor continued to smirk, he knew she was not angry, just embarrassed. While she got over that however, Thor decided to get on with business. "Well then.." He said and turned his attention to Celestia, who had managed to compose herself enough to face Thor. "Tell me about the problems you're having with the giants.."
Celestia frowned. "I'm not sure how much I can explain, we're at war with the giants.. They spread nothing but death and destruction wherever they go.. Lately they have been getting bolder, moving closer to us."
"And by closer to you, you mean here?" Thor asked.
Celestia sighed and nodded. "Yes.."
"So you're not a great nation, or answer to some king or queen?" Thor scratched his beard, sighing when he saw Celestia shaking her head.
"Our father is the lord of these lands, one of a few that has the biggest tribes or towns in the land, but no, we are not unified like that. Most villages live by themselves." Luna explained, having rejoined the conversation. "We have tried to seek out allies, in fact, we had just tried getting a village to join our alliance when we were ambushed by the giant in the woods."
"I see.." Thor leaned back, letting out a deep sigh. "So, what do you need to stand a chance against them?"
Celestia shrugged. "What anypony needs these days, wealth, land, power, allies, trade, an army.."
Thor smirked, leaning forward and folded his hands on the table. "So what you need, is a kingdom.."
The sisters looked at one another. That was in fact what they needed, the tribes were always fighting, an alliance would be hard to maintain without leadership, and a kingdom would give them all of that. But it was not that simple, having a king or queen meant somepony would need to be in power, and who would that be?
"The village." Thor said, making both of them look at him again. "Is it far from here?"
"No, well, maybe four or five hours from here, depending on the route you take." Celestia replied, tilting her head slightly. "What are you planning?"
Thor stood up. "I'm going to pay them a visit of course. You need allies, I need worshipers, it's a win win."
Both Celestia and Luna looked startled. "B-but Thor, you can't just go there, they won't know how to react, or even trust you." Celestia said, hurrying over to him.
"Hold your horses.. Well, maybe that is not a good term here.." He grumbled. "At any rate, I'm not going alone, you two are coming with me." Thor said, walking past Celestia and towards the door.
Luna was quick and went after him, Celestia not far behind. "But we have already tried."
"Then we'll try again." He stated, not stopping for one moment, but instead walked briskly towards the doors that led to the courtyard.
"But our father, he would not know where we had gone off to." Celestia tried, but Thor didn't care.
"Leave him a note, either the two of you are coming, or I am going there myself." He stopped by the door, looking down at the two alicorns. "I'm leaving in ten minutes." Without another word, he opened the door and left the two sisters with a decision to make.
To Thor, the decision was easy, either they acted, or they could wait for their father to rise and make the decision, and Thor had the impression he would not want to send his daughters with him, not without an escort. That would mean they would travel by road, which in turn would take too long for Thor's liking.
No, they did this now, got the village on their side, and then they could get things moving. He was here to help save these weird ponies, then spend his after life as a god and bask in glory, that was his purpose here. Besides if he failed, he would die like they would, so he had every motivation to move things along.
He walked to where his goats were grassing, watched over by Cornflower who seemed to have lost all fear of them. When she spotted Thor, she put on a pleasant smile. "I still can't believe you were able to bring Snarler back.. I was worried.."
Thor shrugged. "As I said, I told you I would do it, and then I did it." It didn't explain anything, but he didn't need to. "Get them ready, I'm leaving in ten minutes."
She frowned. "Are you leaving us?"
"No." Thor said. "Not for long however, me and your ladies are just going on a little trip. Where's my wagon?"
She pointed. "In the shed over there, I told everypony not to mess with it, and leave the caring of your goats to me."
Thor eyed the little mare, then nodded approvingly. "Good, that will be your responsibility from now on."
Cornflower looked excited, but then frowned. "Well, only, the steward doesn't want me to, he says it is not part of my duties..."
"Oh?" Thor raised an eyebrow. "Tell him next time if he has anything to say, he can make his case to me. I want you to look after my goats, and if he tries anything you just tell me." He placed a large hand on top of her head and stroked her mane.
Her eyes went wide for a moment, then she relaxed, almost purring at his touch. "O-ohhhh..... Y-yes sir..." She mumbled, leaning into his hand a bit.
Thor chuckled. "You ponies are strange creatures.." He said in slight amusement, then removed his hand. She seemed disappointed for a moment, but then smiled.
"I'll go and get Snarler and Grinder ready."
"Thank you." With that, Thor went to the shed and got his chariot, pulling it out by hand like it was nothing, which it wasn't for his immense strength.
Soon enough he and Cornflower had the goats hitched to his chariot, and by the time they finished giving the goats a little more water, Celestia and Luna walked out the door. Thor smiled, putting the bucket down. "So you decided to show, did you talk to your father?"
Celestia sighed, not looking up at him. "Father has not yet awoken.. It is still too early."
"Bah." Thor snorted, waving her explanation off. "It is a fine morning, a strange and slow one, but the day has begun, and he should be up and get ready for the war ahead."
Luna bit her lower lip, their father was not lazy at all. Both her and Celestia knew how hard their father worked, in fact, both of them could see the toll it was taking on him, all those hours, working in the hopes of giving his ponies a chance to defend themselves. That was why they were here, to hopefully give that chance to the ponies, and hopefully bring him a peaceful night's rest for once.
"Will you be flying yourself?" He asked, gesturing to their wings. "Or will you ride with me?"
Celestia responded before Luna had a chance. "I would like to see you fly with your goats, so if you would allow us to, I would very much like to ride with you." There was more to it, not only did she want to see this for herself, but if they brought some information back to Starswirl, something he could be fascinated about, then he might not be as mad at her and Luna for missing their lessons.
Thor simply shrugged, not minding if they rode with him or not, as long as they got going. "Fine by me." He said and stepped into his chariot, right up to the front and took the reins. The sisters followed, getting up behind him, happy there was still plenty of room for them to sit as well.
When Thor had checked the alicorns were in, Cornflower stood back, and he had his hammer in his belt, he nodded satisfied. He gave the reins a tug, then moved them to slap both his goats. "Go!" instantly the goats sprang ahead, accelerating faster than Celestia and Luna could have anticipated, causing them both to yelp and grab onto whatever they could to stay in the chariot.
Thor grinned, gripping the thick leather reins more tightly, giving them another yank, making the goats jump into the air, never losing speed. The guards on the walls hardly knew what passed them before they felt a strong wind behind them in one moment, and then in the next saw a chariot flying into the sky with their ladies sitting in the back of it.
Once in the air, the chariot moved much more smoothly. Both alicorns sat up, panting a little as they had been taken completely by surprise. Thor laughed, glancing back at them as he kept his goats in line so they didn't go overboard. "Are you alright back there?"
Luna sighed, looking over at Thor with an annoyed glare. "You could have warned us!"
Thor laughed. "Where would the fun be in that?!"
Luna kept yelling things at him, but Thor just laughed, and Celestia in turn ignored them both. Instead she looked over the railing, glancing down at the landscape passing by below them. The speed they traveled by was amazing, faster than she had counted on, and yet, she had a feeling Thor was not making his goats pull them at full speed. Even at this speed however, Celestia could see they were going to cut travel down more than enough to be back before lunch, if negotiations failed, which she counted on.
Thor however was not so worried, no matter which kind of pony, they were all threatened, so surely he could tell them they could either join, or enjoy being troll food. He figured why the village hadn't joined was because the ponies showed some sort of weakness, or something that didn't give the village confidence in their ability to keep them safe. Either way, he was going to make sure they saw in them strength, and the power they sought after.
The rest of the trip was in silence, nobody really spoke other than a comment or two. Celestia made sure to guide Thor the right direction, and before they knew it, they spotted the village. Travel time had been cut down a lot, and Celestia figured if Thor let his goats pull at full speed, it would have taken even less time.
"It's that one, down there." Celestia called, using her wings to point, but Thor did not descend. Instead, he seemed to be looking towards the woods. Celestia followed his gaze and quickly spotted what he was looking at, a column of smoke. It was thin, which meant it was in all likelihood a campfire. "Maybe some loggers?" Celestia suggested.
Luna looked over and shook her head. "That far from the village? Not a chance, not in these times anyway."
"A camp is more likely." Thor said, growling slightly. "Probably trolls.." He guessed, but had no way of knowing for sure. Thor was going to investigate later, but for now he guided his goats towards the ground.
"Land outside the village." Celestia called to Thor.
"Why?" Thor asked not understanding why they would land outside their wooden wall and waste time.
She put a hoof on his side, giving him a begging look. "Please Thor, if we are going back, then at least let me take the lead for now."
Looking into her eyes, Thor felt himself wanting to let her take the lead as she asked, but if it was going to take too long, or if it was going to head a direction he felt was wrong, he would step in. Looking into her eyes, he knew Celestia had already figured that out.
He looked to the ground again and sighed. "Fine, I hope you know what you're doing.." Thor mumbled, gave the reins a tug, and guided his goats to land only a few meters from the village gate. Celestia felt a sense of relief, and let out the breath she had been holding. It seemed they could work together, but she knew Thor's patience was not as great as hers, so hopefully she could avoid any issues on this spontaneous revisit.
Landing on the ground was a bit bumpy, but Celestia and Luna had expected this, and made sure to prepare for it. The chariot got to a hold, the alicorns got out and quickly saw the village gate was fully closed. Not only that, but the ground around the village seemed disturbed.
There were arrows, spears, shields and blades scattered around the ground. A foul smell hung in the air, it was the smell of death. "A battle was fought here." Luna said, looking for bodies, but found none.
Thor chuckled, a mix of amusement and respect in his voice as he said. "They fought them off, it seems like they can take care of themselves."
"But for how long?" Celestia asked, knowing full well no matter how much this village fought, they would be closed off in their village, starving if they were too afraid to go out and work the small fields, or fish in the lake.
"Not very long. "Thor admitted and got out. "But they are warriors, they have pride.. So, it tells us they are worth getting on our side."
"Please let me take the lead Thor, you promised." Celestia noted, and Thor held up his hands defensively.
"I know, I know.. I won't interfere, though first you have to get us past the gate."
They all knew full well Celestia and Luna could just fly over the wall, or Thor could have just landed inside, but that would be provoking them, entering their village without permission. Thor could understand why Celestia wanted to do it this way, but based on what had happened last night, he imagined they would not be as welcoming as they were last time they were here.
Nevertheless they started to walk towards the gate, Thor held onto the reins of his goats, pulling them along as he let Celestia and Luna take the lead.
As expected however, the villagers up on the wall were watching them, and it didn't take them long to fire an arrow that barely made it past Thor. He knew why, but Celestia was quick to yell out to them. "We come in peace! This is our friend, he is not one of them!"
A big stallion stepped up to the wall, the chief of the village. "You were here yesterday, Alicorn.. You both were.. We told you then that we will not join your father, or his lands.. Since you left we have been attacked, we heard it is revenge for something that happened on the road, the same road you traveled on yesterday." He sounded angry, but hid it well behind a mask of calm.
"Please." Luna said. "If anything, the battle you faced and the trouble we had on the road should prove we need to stand together."
"Could your troops protect us all the way out here? Would your merchants travel the roads to bring us supplies if needed?" The chief asked them plainly, and when no sister responded, he snorted. "Your offer is weak, you can't offer protection, you can't offer supplies.. We have nothing left to discuss."
"We can offer you your lives!" Thor cut in, making the chief look at him in a mix of shock and disgust.
"What?"
"You speak the truth, no soldiers would reach you in time to respond to the call for help you would send. No merchant would willingly travel a road where trolls and giants lurk." Thor declared, which only confused the chief more. Thor grinned. "But I will.. I can protect you, I can make the road safe for the merchants, I can chase away any giant who would trespass on your lands, as long as you become part of the lord in the north." He gestured to the alicorns. "Swear allegiance to their father."
There was silence, and after a few seconds, the chief reacted as Thor expected, with laughter. "I should have you beaten and send you on your way for your arrogance, creature. But you brought me a good laugh, and the respect I still have for their father is the only thing that has kept me from ordering my guards to fire another arrow at you. Now go, and don't come back." With that final statement, the chief turned around and got down from the walls, vanishing from view.
Thor was not discouraged though, he simply walked forward, handing the leather reins to Luna. "Hold these."
"Wha-Mmfph!?" By reflex she had opened her mouth, letting him put them in there. She blushed from embarrassment, then growled in annoyance.
Thor went up to the gate, looking at it for a moment. He had to admit, it was solid work, no doubt their work on the wall and gate was what ultimately saved them the night before. Still, he pounded his fist against it, calling out to them. "Open the gate!!" His voice boomed.
"Leave this place as told!" Someone on the other side yelled back.
Thor glared at the door. "Fine, if you won't open it for me, I will just have to do it myself. Stand back!" He called to whoever was behind the gate. There was a few seconds of silence, and then he heard several ponies laugh. They thought he was jesting, or crazy, one of the two. Thor simply smirked, rubbed his hands together before making a fist. "Knock knock!"
BAM!!
With a powerful punch, the gate splintered, opening up with a loud bang. The punch was so powerful the massive gate flew off its hinges and the thick wood splintered or snapped in two like twigs. Behind the gate were several frightened and shocked ponies, looking at Thor with big round eyes.
"THOR!" Celestia yelled.
"Mmmfh!" Luna said too, but the leather reins made it impossible for him to understand.
Thor looked back at them. "What? Its open, and I'm not leaving here until we have come to some arrangement."
"What in the blazes do you think you are doing?!!" The chief screamed, trotting up to Thor, his face burning with rage. He pointed to him, then at the gate. "You destroyed our gate! Are you insane?! How are we going to protect our village from the trolls now?!"
Thor looked down at the angry stallion, then waved off his concerns. "I've already told you, I will protect you. I will do even better, I will rid you of the camp of trolls that lurks nearby."
A hundred expressions chased one another across the stallion's face. "Who the blazes do you think you are?! We never accepted your help!"
"Me? I am Thor, god of thunder. I've been sent here to save your world, and to do that, I need your colorful asses to work together." He said and crossed his arms.
The chief looked more confused than ever, so much so he looked back at Celestia and Luna to see if they knew about any of this. Celestia had her hoof planted on her forehead, while Luna tried to hold on to the reins and not let the goats wander off.
The chief looked up at Thor. "God of thunder?" He laughed a bit, but only because what he claimed was insane, in fact, he was quite livid. "Lies I say, you are a small orc, or a small giant that has stepped forward, claiming all sorts of nonsense."
Thor reached for his hammer, but Celestia stepped forward. "You must excuse Thor, he is no troll or giant, nor is he their friend. He is their enemy. Yesterday, he saved us from a giant and his raiders, I'm afraid that is why you have the troubles that you do.. Please, allow us to take care of your problem, and then we talk?"
"Ergh..." The chief let out a frustrated sigh and pointed to the dark pine woods. "If you want to go and get yourself killed, then I won't stop you. If you by some miracle succeed, and prove it to me. Then there won't be needs for talks, then we shall join your father and swear fealty right then and there."
Thor physically relaxed, and smiled. "Do you swear it?"
The chief nodded and reached out a hoof. "My village has honor, our word is bond."
"Good, then it's a deal." Thor reached out with his big hand, and shook the hoof of the chief. Once done, he turned towards Luna. "My goats will stay here, along with the sisters."
"No." The chief said. "I don't know you, but I at least know the alicorns at the very least will keep their word."
Thor sighed. "Fine, Luna, you'll come with me, Celestia you stay here." He took the reins, and led his goats to the gate.
Luna spit the taste of leather out of her mouth. "Phah! W-why exactly am I coming with you? And why is Celestia staying behind?"
Thor handed the reins over to some of the villagers, then turned to her. "Because you need to be a witness, and Celestia can stay here and lend her magic to help the villagers put up a new gate." He started to walk, ignoring whatever else Luna might have to add. "Come along now, I want to get this over with so we can get something to eat."
Luna looked to her sister, who sent her an encouraging smile. The blue alicorn sighed, cursing her luck as she would now be alone with this man who frustrated her so. Still, so far he had managed to make them a deal, that was more than they accomplished when they were here last, so at least there was that.
She followed him into the woods, feeling a bit on edge, perhaps because she walked into the dark woods where they knew trolls were hiding and waiting. Thor didn't seem bothered however, he kept marching on with large steps, not caring for any shadow or creepy sound he heard.
Seeing his confidence, Luna walked a bit closer to him, as if to seek some comfort. Thor didn't seem to mind, and even slowed down a bit for her so she did not feel like they were in a hurry, or being chased for that matter.
Luna appreciated the gesture and smiled a little, but then she thought about why she was here, and the question once again surfaced to her lips. "So why did you take me, why not Celestia?"
Thor didn't respond right away, perhaps because he did not know how to answer it, or how to put it into words. However, after a few moments he said. "Because I think you are more the warrior type."
Luna looked up at him. "But my sister, she is stronger than me, or at least.." She trailed off.
"Your sister is more of a diplomat than you and me, we like action. So having you coming with me will be better." Thor said and shrugged. "I have not seen you fight, and I have no idea if you can fight at all, but your spirit is that of a warrior."
"How do you know?"
Thor shrugged. "That's just the impression I have of you, can't explain it any better than that."
Luna was not sure how to respond, on one hoof, she was glad to be told he thought that she would be more useful than her sister in this case. On the other, she had no idea if his judgement was correct. She had been sparring with one of the sergeants back home, but she had never really tested her skills in real life before, even yesterday, she never had a chance to fight, and she was terrified. Could she do what was needed if it came to that? Having Thor around did put her mind at ease, but, if he expected her to fight, would she even be able to, or would she freeze up?
Before she could voice any of those concerns, Thor stopped, putting his hand in front of her to make her do the same. "There it is." He said in a low tone of voice, pointing to a large clearing where indeed there was a camp filled with orcs, trolls, and a giant.
The giant was even larger than the one Thor killed the day before, he was sitting at the edge of the camp, his legs forming a sort of wall on the flanks of the camp. Luna had never seen such a large creature before, she had heard the rumors, but never seen a giant of this size, it terrified her, and she by reflex looked for a place they could take cover.
She spotted a place, and tapped Thor on the side. "Over there." She whispered, pointing to a large cave. Thor looked, but then shook his head.
"We came to make them leave, trust me, and stay close. I won't let them hurt you, Luna." His voice was stern, but the way he told her he would protect her made his words seem caring. She blushed, and then nodded a little. Without another word, Thor started to march towards the camp, tightening his belt of power, doubling his enormous strength. Luna stayed close, feeling her heart rate increase, but trusted Thor to keep his word and protect her.
Soon enough the orc sentries spotted them, but just as they were about to leap out and attack them, a powerful voice spoke. "Do not touch them, they are our guests." It was the voice of the giant, his voice boomed like a hundred bears roaring, almost making Thor's and Luna's ears hurt.
The whole camp stood down, clearing a path so they could walk closer. Once in, Thor stopped and looked up at the giant, who smiled back at him. "I recognize your smell from the corpse of my kin, you are the one who killed our raiders.." He said with a slight tone of respect and slight hint of amusement. "My name is Ongr, I am the leader of this war party. Who might you be?"
Thor stood tall, puffed out his chest. "I am Thor, god of thunder. This is Luna, daughter of Silver Quill, lord of the west."
"Impressive titles, I greet you both then. So tell me, what brings you to my camp?"
Luna was amazed, to think a giant could talk so well, despite his loud voice, he acted more intelligent than what her and her sister had ever given them credit for. She was not fooled however, it was quite clear beneath his politeness and respect, there was an eagerness to kill them and be over with this meeting.
Thor either did not notice, or did not care, because he continued to talk to the giant like they were in no danger at all. "I'm here to tell you to pack your things and leave these lands, you are not wanted here, and you are never to return."
The giant reacted like the chief in the village did, he laughed, this time so loud Thor and Luna had to cover their ears. Thor glared, wanting to end this with a swing of his hammer, but decided not to, for now at least.
"You're brave, god of thunder!" Ongr grinned, then scratched his neck. "Tell you what, if you truly are a god, then perhaps a challenge to prove your power is in order. If you win, then we leave with no trouble, but if you loose, I'll kill you both."
Thor didn't hesitate in his answer. "Fine by me, I'll fight any of your orcs at any time!"
Ongr held up his massive hand. "No, we have already seen what your strength can do. I would like you to prove you are worthy of respect by.." He grinned, reaching over to take something. "To empty my drinking horn in one go."
Luna looked confused, that was it? Thor would just need to finish a drink and then they leave? Surely there was some trick to it, some sort of catch. Thor laughed, patting his stomach. "I'll accept your challenge, I could go for something to drink!"
The giant's grin got wider, and soon enough the ground shook slightly as Ongr pulled something from the ground. To Luna's horror, what she had thought was a cave, was no cave at all, instead it was a massive horn, filled with ale. The massive amount of liquid moved around, sounding like an entire ocean. It was so big that even the giant needed to hold it with both hands in order to keep it steady.
Ongr laughed. "Still sure you want to accept this challenge little man? What about you, pony?"
Luna looked to Thor, who seemed to be licking his lips in anticipation. His confidence was insane if he thought he could empty that thing, let alone in one go. Still, Thor had surprised her plenty of times, so maybe he could do it again. She looked at the giant, then gave a firm nod. "We accept your challenge, giant!"
"Very well then, step forward Thor, and I shall pour you my ale!"
Thor did not need to be told twice, he stepped forward, as Ongr lowered the drinking horn. Thor held his hands out, and put his lips to the thick edges that were as thick as pine trees. The giant smirked, and carefully started to pour, figuring a few drops would be enough to get Thor to cough and drown.
But Thor did not stop, he gulped down every drop Ongr let come to him. Frustrated, the giant tilted the horn a bit more, and the drops became a small stream of ale, figuring if he wasn't going to drown, then he would burst from all the ale!
But again, Thor did not stop. He took down every liter, never letting a single drop of ale spill from his lips, downing everything, and never did he seem to be in any sort of discomfort, much to Ongr's frustration.
He tilted the horn even more, making the stream of ale turn into a whole river!
Thor did not stop..
Everything that came his way he downed, and at this point Luna and the orcs were in pure shock. Where all the ale went they had no idea, it was like watching a magic trick. Thor in the meantime drank happily, gulping, slurping every liter of the ale.
The horn became lighter in the giant's hands, and soon enough, much to his shock and utter disbelief, the horn was emptied. Ongr held the horn, looking from it, to Thor, who was simply licking his lips, wiped his face with his arm and patted his stomach. "Ahhh, that was good, a bit too warm for my taste, but it did the trick!" Thor belched, then looked up at Ongr. "There, I beat your challenge, now you pack your things and leave this place."
Luna would have cried out in triumph if not for the expression on the giant's face. It was a face filled with indescribable anger. Putting his horn down, he pointed at Thor. "You cheated I say! There is no possible way for anyone of your size to drink from my horn in one go, you cheated!"
"What?!" Thor yelled. "You made me drink your piss poor ale, and now you accuse me of cheating?! You bloody bastard, cheat you call me?! You expected this would kill me, that is cheating I'd say!"
Only Thor would stand there and have the nerve to argue with a giant. Luna had never seen anything like it, and she wondered if Celestia would believe her.
"You expected me to leave these lands?! Then you're a bigger fool than you look, Thor, so called god of thunder!" Ongr was having none of this, he stood up to his full height, his body towering over even the tallest pine tree. Thor in turn grabbed his hammer, but before he could do anything , Ongr moved his foot above them, hoping to crush them.
Luna was quick however, she formed a magical barrier around herself and Thor. Upon impact, Luna winced a bit as the pressure could be felt even through her magic. Thor looked at her, putting the hammer back in his belt. "Luna, release the bubble!"
"What! Are you insane! He'll crush us!" Luna yelled back, feeling the pressure increasing.
"Trust me!" Thor said, looking up at the massive foot.
Luna glanced at him, then groaned loudly. "You better know what you're doing, or I'll kill you myself!!"
Thor smirked, then held up both hands. "Do it!"
"Arggh!" Luna took courage and did as he asked. For a moment she thought she would die here, under the foot of a disgusting smelly giant. But death never came, instead, looking back at Thor, she saw him holding the giant's foot up, keeping him from crushing them.
"Get your stinking foot off me!" Thor bellowed before giving his foot a powerful push, sending the giant tumbling back, only to land on his ass, making the ground tremble beneath him.
Thor grabbed his hammer, Luna in turn stood up, standing with her back to Thor, glaring at the orcs that surrounded them. The thunder god laughed, then glanced back at Luna. "Show me what your alicorn magic can do!"
Luna groaned, then charged up her magic. The orcs hesitated, but then sprang forward, trying to kill the two of them. Feeling a surge of adrenaline, Luna blasted the first few orcs with her horn, killing them instantly. Thor in the meantime swung his hammer, clearing orc wave after orc wave.
Thor and Luna fought side by side, keeping close to one another so not to leave the other without protection. Thor laughed, feeling the rush of a real battle going through him while Luna simply tried to not get them killed. But, even she had to admit, even if it was terrifying, she had never felt so alive as she did when she punished the monsters that had been putting fear into the hearts of them for so long.
At this point however, Ongr was roaring out in anger, getting to his feet as he grabbed one of the pine trees to use as a weapon. Luna was quick, she spread her wings and flew above Thor. "Grab my legs!" She called.
Thor seemed confused at first, but then smirked as he saw where she was going with this. He nodded, jumping up and grabbed her hind leg with his left hand. Luna winced, having forgotten how heavy Thor was, but thanks to her alicorn strength, she managed to take them to the air all the same.
She flew high above the trees, barely avoiding the tree Ongr used as a weapon as he swung it. After getting enough height, she used Thor's weight to quickly descend behind him, letting Thor drop down and land on the shoulder of the giant. Ongr roared, moving around, trying to get Thor off, but Thor simply grabbed his ear to hold on.
"You bastard!"
Ongr roared in anger, but those would be the last words he ever spoke. Thor raised the hammer above him, and as he did, lightning cut through the sky from his hammer as he swung it down into Ongr's skull, killing him instantly.
The body of the giant went limp, and he started to fall. Luna flew back, coming in close as Thor jumped and grabbed her hind leg again. Though prepared, Luna was still not strong enough, and so she faltered.
Both of them fell to the ground, despite Luna's best efforts, staying up in the air was impossible. Thor quickly wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from the impact as they crashed along with Ongr. When he landed, dust flew up around them, the boom echoed throughout the forest, leaving the remaining orcs confused and scared. They did not wait around to see who was left, they ran, fleeing the lands now that their leader was dead.
Luna had her eyes closed tightly, expecting to be in a world of hurt, but as she slowly opened them, she realized she was unharmed. The dust was settling and as she looked for Thor, she found herself laying on top of him. He looked up at her, his arms still around her.
"Wasn't that fun?" He grinned, his whole face black and dusty.
She looked into his blue eyes, then glared. "That was terrifying!" She said and hit his chest, but then blushed. "Thank you for saving me.. Again.."
Thor rolled his eyes. "You saved yourself and me as much as I saved you. You did well.." He clapped her on the flank, making her yelp out, blush, then glare at him again. "I told you were a warrior!"
"You beast!" Luna yelled and started to punch at Thor, only making him laugh even more as he tried to move out of the way from her punches.
The giant was slain, the orcs were on the run, and so Luna and Thor could return to the village in triumph. Thor had promised proof, and so he cut off the giant's head to bring back to the chief. Needless to say he, and his entire village was speechless. Celestia was in turn shocked to find out her sister had been fighting.
But after telling the story of what had happened, they shared a good laugh. The chief seemed beyond impressed with Thor and Luna, and with the proof he brought back, there was indeed no need for any discussions. He bowed to Thor, as did the whole village, and he swore that they would swear fealty to Celestia's and Luna's father.
But that would wait for tomorrow, tonight, they were going to have a grand feast, and celebrate the victory of Thor and Luna.
Author's Note
Sorry for the long wait, but as I said, I knew what I wanted to write about, I just didn't know how to approach it.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed this latest chapter, and I look forward to getting the next one out as soon as I am able.
In the days of old, the name of Discord was not known among ponies as it would once be, nor was he as powerful.
Back then, he was mostly known as the strange wizard, or trickster that liked to eat, drink, and make mischief. While no one knew where he came from, the giants, trolls, orcs, and Jotnars all tolerated him, often inviting him to join their feasts. Here they would share news of the world, and Discord would, as usual, play his part in spreading the chaos, giving the chiefs ideas, or playing other giants out against one another.
He had a clever mind, few of the Jotnar could keep up with, which was how he could usually avoid any repercussions that would usually follow after one of his pranks.
One night however, one of the giant chiefs invited Discord to drink with him, which he of course accepted. The chief, named Vang, spoiled Discord, letting him have his fill of anything he wanted, playing up to his ego, and Discord being Discord enjoyed every bit of it.
When he was sufficiently drunk, which one would tell based on his constant boasting. He would tell anyone who would care to listen how he was the cleverest, the most handsome, the greatest magic user of all time. At that moment, Vang leaned back in his high seat and said. "If you are so great as you claim, why are you not a god?"
Discord snorted, putting his drinking horn down. "I am greater than any god!"
"Well I hear in the land of the ponies there is a great god, sent from the heavens to save their hides. I hear he is so great he commands the sky above."
This caught Discord's interest, he had heard whispers among the many tribes. Stories of a pale creature wielding a magic weapon of some kind, slaying trolls and giants alike. He had just thought of them as drunken tales of dishonored warriors, having to invent stories instead of admitting to having been beaten by ponies.
"I've heard of him," Discord said warily. "What of him?"
"You claim to be greater than a god, he claims he is a god. I wager you are no god, you a mere magician, nothing more."
Discord was no fool, he knew what the Jotnar wanted, what he aimed to do. Well, he would be sorry to make a bet with Discord the great! "You want to see who is strongest," he said self assured. "I can get you the amusement you seek, but what's in it for me?"
"Why Discord, the great and powerful Discord, you will have finally proven to us all that you are not just a waste of space. You will have proven to me that you are worthy of my hall, worthy to sit and dine and drink at my table. You will forever have proven to every giant in the land that you Discord, you are more powerful than a god."
He spoke well, and Discord knew the speech was not for him, but for the warriors sitting at the many tables. If Discord refused, the word would spread across the land, and every hall, every tribe, every troll, giant and orc would think he was a weakling, a nothing, a waste of space.
Discord couldn't have that, he would show them all he was the greatest, and when he did there would be nothing out of his reach. In fact, if he beat this so-called god, who was to say he could not seize power for himself? His own lands, his own halls, his own kingdom, yes, this could happen if he could only show he was as great as he thought.
There was just one problem, how would he get Thor here? Moreover, if he was as powerful as the rumors said, what would keep him from killing every single giant here, not to mention Discord himself. It would take cunning to lure the so called god here, thankfully, Discord was the greatest of them all, greater than any god, if anyone could do it, he could.
"I can do it, you will have your fun, and I will have my glory."
Vang clapped his massive hands together and smiled. "Then go Discord, bring the killer of my kind to me, then we shall see who is a god, and who is the fraud." Before Discord could rise from the table he added. "And don't come back without him, my gates will forever be closed to you should you fail in this task."
"I will not fail." said Discord as he left the great hall in all haste.
When he passed the thick and high walls of Vang's estate, the gate closed behind him with a sound like great pines moaning and straining as they were being pushed. He knew he could not return here again without this god, or any other place for that matter. No, it seemed he really had to go through with this.
Discord was of course confident in his own abilities, his clever mind, his sharp tongue and quick wit. Not to mention he was a master of magic ponies couldn't even fathom, but this so called god, he knew very little beyond the rumors. Discord would not be so foolish thinking he could force him here. He needed a plan, but to make a plan he needed more knowledge.
There was only one option for him, to go to Thor and see him for himself. That way he could learn how to best lure him to Vang's home, and ultimately his death.
Discord chuckled to himself, thinking this would be easy. "Discord," he said to himself. "No pony, giant or pretender gods can keep up with your clever mind. Why, as soon as you get a look at this brute a brilliant plan will spring to your mind and you will soon be back here, enjoying every comfort you could wish for." Not to mention the power and respect that would follow.
With a grin and a twirl of his talon, he donned a hooded cloak and vanished into the cold wasteland, heading towards the home of Thor.
Days and nights passed, and when Discord finally arrived in the town of Everfree he wasn't exactly impressed. He stood at the edge of the mighty forest, his observant gaze inspecting the land before him. The town itself was not exactly a sight to behold, and yet Discord could see it was a town on the rise.
While it was as simple as an earth pony town could be, he noted how large it was compared to the small farming villages he had passed on his many travels. The castle was probably the only impressive thing, while not big, it did give an air of authority over the town. Was this really the place a god would reside? If so he could hardly be this big threat Vang was talking about.
He changed his appearance into that of a simple pony with an olive green cloak, and walked to town. On his way there he found something strange, the ponies were, happy? Throughout his travels Discord had been to many villages of ponies, all seemed to have this sadness about them, waiting for the dark chaos heading their way. These ponies however, seemed almost relaxed. Whether they worked on the fields, traveled the road to or from the town, every single one of them radiated with contentment.
It was disgusting, Discord almost gagged at the sight, a sentiment that was only getting stronger as he entered the town. The whole place reeked of this strange energy of order, peace, even harmony. It sent shivers up Discord's back, making him feel very uncomfortable.
Finally, he had enough and trotted up to a pony selling small wooden amulets. "Excuse me good merchant," Discord started, his voice as smooth as the finest velvet. "Tell me, why is everypony so happy? I have seen many towns throughout my travels and never once have I come across a town such as this."
The merchant pony was almost too happy to answer. "Well met, you must come from far away to not know the news. This town is indeed happy, because these lands are protected by Thor."
"Thor," Discord repeated, acting like he had never heard the name before.
"Yes, he's the god of thunder, the defender of ponies, and slayer of giants and orcs alike."
"Well," said Discord. "Where would such a mighty god be found?"
"You can find him at the castle, but you are not the first to ask for him. Many travel from nearby villages to ask for his protection, leave offerings for him."
Discord frowned, offerings? Now that was a life he wanted to live, laying on a silk pillow while ponies gave him gifts. He had to meet this Thor, but moreover, he needed to lure Thor into the trap set for him by Vang. He thanked the merchant, then continued on his way towards the castle.
Soon Discord noticed, much to his annoyance and yet fascination, that the closer he got to the castle, the thicker the crowd got. All of them seemed to want to get to the castle, and were it not for Discord's skills in moving around almost unseen he would have probably never even gotten close to it.
The sight frustrated him, along the walls ponies were leaving small gifts, some went to the castle gate in order to offer something to the god, most were turned away however. Discord wasn't sure if he should be impressed or angry. This was an impressive scam, tricking the poor ponies into worshipping him, it was infuriatingly devious. But like with so many other things, Discord saw an opportunity, and if it worked, then Thor would be dead in a few days.
Still disguised as a pony, Discord crept through the crowd, unseen by common ponies and the guards. Like a shadow he moved behind the walls and into the castle itself. Magic was quite the useful thing, and Discord was a master at it. It was easy enough to find the grand hall, the only thing he needed to do was to reveal himself.
The guards quickly spotted him, they came running, demanding he'd stop, and so he did. "Who are you?" A guard asked.
"I'm Green Bean," said Discord, congratulating himself on the clever pony name.
"How did you get in here?"
"Your guards at the gate let me in. When I told them about the plight that has befallen my village, they urged me inside to talk to this Thor. I've come to beg for his help, please, do not send me away." Discord was a master at faking emotions, he could make his voice sound as mighty as any giant, or as small as any pony.
The guards looked at one another, unsure what to do. While sympathetic to Discord, who they thought was just a normal earth pony, they had been ordered to keep the crowd out. However, none of them wished to be the one to tell him he would have to go away. Finally one stepped forward and said, "you have traveled far, the least we can do is to take you to our king. He will hear your case, and if he is sure about your plight, then you might get to meet master Thor."
Discord agreed, and thanked the helpful guard, all the while mentally patting himself on the shoulder. They took him to the grand hall, which was pleasant and impressive enough, for ponies, but Discord could not get distracted. At the end of the hall was a platform, on top of it three thrones.
The middle was the tallest, and the most impressive, the other two were about the same. In the middle throne sat an older stallion, silver mane, white fur, and a red cape, a typical earth pony king. That was not what caught Discord's attention though, on the other thrones sat two mares, but not just mares, Alicorn mares. Discord knew them by rumor only, and frankly he was not sure if he believed them. Seeing them now however made all those doubts vanish
There were not many ponies in here, some sat at the wooden tables, drinking, or eating, others were conversing with the king, but there was nothing close to a god here. The ones in here were likely the king's close staff, officers, knights and advisers.
Silver Quill noticed Discord, and a guard quickly moved up to him and whispered the reason for bringing him here. The king sighed, having not wished to see anymore ponies today, but now that he was here there was no way around it. He waved Discord over, and Discord trotted closer, bowing before the pony king.
"You wish to ask for Thor's help? Yet I hear you have traveled a long way to get here. How do you think we can help?"
"Word travels fast my lord," Discord replied. "Stories about your lordship being protected by a mighty creature who has been sent by the gods.. I therefore beg of you, send him to help my village."
"And where is your village?"
"It's to the west, a few days travel on hooves."
Silver Quill leaned back in his throne with a thoughtful expression. He didn't need the king, he needed Thor. Perhaps he could lure him with the promise of a good meal, or a good fight. As far as the rumors were concerned he loved three things, food, fighting and drinking. A simple creature like that should be easy enough to recruit.
"Your village," said Silver, bringing Discord out of his thoughts. "Is beyond our borders.. While my lands are growing, they are not yet far enough that I can risk any aid.. You may be right, Thor could help you, but it is for him to decide. When he returns I will let you make your case directly to him. You're welcome to stay and enjoy our hospitality in the meantime."
Discord didn't like to wait, he wanted to get this over and done with. Still, if that was what he had to do, then that's what he had to do. He gave the king his best grateful look he could muster through his impatience, but before he could thank him, a side door opened with a loud bang. Most ponies jumped at the sudden interruption, but the two Alicorns only seemed to wince, like they knew what was about to happen, and judging by the expression of the king, he knew too.
The disguised Discord turned towards the door, but was suddenly hit by a wave of nausea. His knees almost gave way under him, his eyes shifting for a brief second from his pony eyes to his normal eyes. Discord could hardly believe it, he felt something with immense power, the likes of which he had never felt. It was like he could feel complete order, a thing he hated, mixed in with the chaos of war, a combination that almost made Discord pass out from the sheer force of it. The best way to describe it was like a powerful scent, something you liked in the right amounts, but this, it was too raw, too strong for him to handle had he not been a master of magic.
Then he stepped inside, a creature Discord had never laid eyes upon before. He was massive, yet still much smaller than any giant. His clothes were simple, a tunic, trousers and leather shoes with wrappings. In his large belt hung a large hammer, which just by looking at it could tell it was a powerful weapon.
That was not the most disturbing thing however, no, what was disturbing was the fact he was covered in dry blood, the blood of giants, the blood of orcs. Discord could smell it, it was like an entire battlefield had been splashed over the man. He didn't seem to care however, he looked proud, satisfied, like he had just been out to the market for eggs. What was he?
"Thor," Silver Quill called. "I trust all went well." The king asked, trying to keep his expression neutral at the sight of all that blood. Even his Alicorn daughters seemed to struggle with the sight, and smell, though Discord could tell this was not the first time they had seen him like this.
The large man started to walk towards them, he gave a low and amused chuckle as he said. "I doubt we will be having any more problems on the south road. I had your ponies discard of the.." Thor stopped as he noticed Discord.
And Discord didn't like the look Thor was giving him, it was like he saw right through him, through his magic. Before he could try and smooth things out and retell the story he had told the king, the man took large steps towards him, grabbing Discord by the throat and held him high above the floor.
"Ergh!"
"THOR!" The two alicorns and the king stood from their thrones. "Put that pony down!" Silver demanded, but Thor ignored him.
Instead he looked directly into Discord's eyes. It was like a powerful force was compelling Discord to reveal himself, like all the magic he could have used to normally get out of such a situation, had vanished, drained even. For the very first time in his life, Discord felt scared.
Thor reached for his hammer, still not breaking the eye contact. Then as his hand closed around the hilt of the hammer he said in a threatening tone, "Reveal yourself, creature.."
Discord would refuse, but something shot through him he could not describe. It was something deep inside him that forced Discord to do exactly that, and to the shock of all the ponies, Discord revealed his true form. The ponies gasped as the pony suddenly became a serpent like creature, it was unlike anything they had ever seen.
"What are you, speak fast or I'll break both your horns." Thor threatened.
Discord whined, struggling in Thor's grasp, but he could not escape. "Noooo, don't do that, my intentions are good, I swear they are!"
"Then you will tell me what you are." Thor replied flatly.
"I'm a Draconequus, the only one of its kind!" This was not how Discord had imagined this would go down, far from it. Discord, the master of magic, the creature with the most clever and brilliant mind, he could not be taken by a simple brute! Despite his anger however, Discord valued his life over his pride any day, and so begged the thunder god to let him go.
"Thor, " the gentle voice of Celestia called, and Thor looked to her. "Please, let us hear what this, Draconequus, has to say."
Thor hesitated, but to Discord's relief it seemed the white Alicorn had some sway over the creature. Thor released his iron tight clasp, and Discord fell to the stone floor, coughing and gasping for air. He had expected his magic to return in that instance, but instead he only felt it slowly rising, like the tide of the sea.
Thor moved to the side, but still kept his hand firmly wrapped around his hamm-
"Wait wait wait!" Rainbow Dash cut in, interrupting the story. "Thor could really hold Discord like that?"
Luna nodded, though had an annoyed expression as she did not like to be interrupted. "As we mentioned before, our husband was the counter weight to Discord, he was strong and powerful, so much so that Discord's own magic couldn’t let him escape his grasp."
Twilight wrote everything down they had said so far, and of course added some notes to herself, reminders and theories for her to study more closely at a later time. "It is really fascinating, it is like Thor merely touching Discord, or holding him, disrupted his magic."
"Like a sponge losing water," Luna confirmed with a small grin.
"But was Discord really there to get Mr. Thor killed..?" Fluttershy asked, seeming a little uncomfortable.
Celestia gave her a gentle smile. "Those were dark times, Fluttershy. Very dark, a far cry from what ponies experience today. Discord did indeed try to kill him, but only this one time. He always chose the best outcome for himself, this time would be no different."
"You said ponies were already worshipping him?" Applejack suddenly asked, having been a bit more interested in learning how her tribe came to love this god so much.
"Yes indeed, when Thor started to fly over the sky, fighting the giants, stopping raiders, the earth ponies could finally tend to their fields in peace. He could summon them rain if needed, and he would often drink with them, feast with them after a good harvest." Luna giggled, thinking back at all those fun memories before she continued to explain. "Pegasi and unicorns were a bit more protected than the common earth pony. So you could say with Thor watching over them, they could finally reach their full potential and have a chance to blossom in their own right."
Applejack nodded, she had never really been that good when it came to studies, she had never really been interested in anything other than farming. Hearing about Thor, how he protected her tribe, how much they looked up to him, it almost made her ashamed they had forgotten. Of course, 10,000 years was a very long time.
If she could understand and learn more, then perhaps she could honor him that way. Celestia and Luna certainly still cared for him, so why should they not? Heck, Sweet Apple Acres was right where Thor would have been, he had watched over what was now Ponyville, he at least deserved to be remembered. So, looking to the princesses she said, "Please, go on."
Looking pleased, Luna continued. "Discord had been surprised, he had underestimated Thor, and so he knew he would have to play it smart. If he wanted to lure Thor into the trap, he would need to convince him to go, and so he said-"
"I've come to warn you, I know of a large war camp of giants and orcs. They're all waiting to travel here and burn everything down." Discord stood up, his face the perfect picture of sincerity.
Silver Quill frowned, sitting back on his throne with a thoughtful expression. "If that is true we must bolster our defenses. How large is this force?"
"Oh you know, it's big, they have numbers on their side, definitely. It will take an army, or a god," he glanced at Thor. "To wipe them out."
"How do we know we can trust you?" Luna asked, her face stern, and her eyes accusing. Discord didn't like that, he didn't like that at all.
Discord shrugged and said. "You can of course refuse to listen to me, take your chances and allow their numbers to grow. I did not lie when I said that word travels fast, the giants know of you, know of Thor, and they will seek your destruction."
"Bhah!" Thor waved his hand dismissively. "I've never backed out from a fight, let them come and I shall kill them all."
"You can do that." Discord said simply, his voice calm and calculating. "But even someone as strong as you cannot contain a whole army. You might kill many, but some will slip past you, and they will kill the ponies you protect. Your best option is to go and meet them head on before they even get close to your borders, and I'll take you to them."
Thor clenched his teeth, his grip tightening around the hilt. "No." He said in almost a low growl.
This surprised not only Discord, but all the ponies gathered here. "And why not?" Asked Discord, almost accusingly. "Don't you care about these ponies?"
Thor snorted, "I do, but I don't think you do. I don't trust you, Draconequus. Now leave these lands before I rip off your fur and use it as a coat." Thor actually started to lift his hammer, and Discord could hear the rumbling of thunder coming from outside. Using what little magic he had, Discord changed himself into a bird and flew out the window like an arrow.
Lowering his hammer again, he looked to the stunned king and his daughters. "He is a troublemaker, trust me. I promised I would protect you, and I will."
Silver inclined his head. "You have upheld your word so far, Thor, and despite our disagreements I am glad to have you on our side."
While everything returned to normal at the castle, Discord was furious. Thor had refused to act, refused to follow him. Either he was as stubborn as a mountain or he was smarter than he looked, the latter seemed the most unlikely. He couldn't force the thunder god to come with him, if it came to a fight Discord would lose, so he needed another way. He needed a clever plan, more clever than the last.
If he could not force him, then he would simply need to lure him. The prospect of danger did not bother him, so to lure Thor to Vang he needed bait. Discord could try and steal Thor's hammer, that would certainly get his attention, but Discord did not know enough about the weapon that he wanted to risk it. Then he thought about the Alicorn sisters, the one that has swayed Thor to let him go, yes, the white one.
If he listened to her then it meant he cared for her, and if he cared for her he would come to her rescue if she was in danger. If it failed, then maybe at least Vang would be satisfied with a pet until he could figure something else out. Before he could put his plan into action he would have to call in a favor, and more importantly, wait for nightfall.
Hours passed, and when nightfall did come the castle was still full of life. Thor was eating and drinking in the grand hall, singing along with the knights. It was a big change from what the king and the alicorn sisters had been used to, but the change did not bother them.
Although it could become loud, it was nice to see some joy and happiness, instead of fear and dread. It was only around midnight that the thunder god finally went to bed, he could still keep going, normally he would, but he had been out bashing trolls most of the day, so after a wash and the feast he was pretty tired.
How much time passed he did not know, but Thor suddenly had the feeling something was very wrong. Instinctively he reached for his hammer and sat up. Something was wrong, very wrong, and he needed to find out what. Caring not for his garments, he stepped out into the hallway with no shirt to cover himself.
The halls were quiet, but he could not stop this feeling of danger. Without thinking he simply began to run, letting his intuition guide him. Each step he took echoed loudly through the halls, and as he turned a corner he spotted Luna looking out from her chambers giving him a puzzled look. How he knew, he did not know, but in seeing Luna, he became convinced Celestia was the one in danger.
As soon as Luna saw Thor held his hammer, her confused expression turned into worry. "Thor, what is-" He ran past her.
"Celestia!" Thor called as he stopped in front of her door. No answer, and he was too impatient to wait. He pushed through the door, leaving it in splinters, much to the shock of Luna who quickly followed him into the room.
"Hast thou gone completely daft!?"
"She's not here," Thor growled, cutting her off.
She turned, looked around and saw that was indeed the case, her sister was nowhere to be seen. "Sister?"
There was no sign of any struggle, nor anything that would suggest she had been hurt. Thor walked to the Alicorn's bed, placed his big hand on where he could see she had been laying. It was barely warm, which meant she had been here only moments ago. Standing back up, he smelled the air, and almost immediately could he smell the foul stench of a creature that did not belong to this castle.
"Thor," Luna said, gaining his attention. "What has happened to my sister?"
"She's been taken," he replied, looking to the balcony. "A troll was here, but how?"
Keeping herself calm, Luna used her magic to sense the room. She could already detect the magic of her own sister. Though quickly she detected something else, an unknown magic. "Black magic was used here. It does not come from my sister, this is foul, dark."
Thor nodded, then placed his hand on Luna's cheek. "I will find her."
Luna trusted Thor, she could feel the power behind his words but also the care. She leaned into his hand, looked up at him and said, "Please do."
And just like that the whole castle seemed to come alive, bells were rung, and guards were doubled. Silver Quill and Starswirl both trotted into the grand hall, both with worried expressions. Thor had in the meantime gotten dressed and stood near the throne with his arms crossed.
"How could this happen? No troll, giant or orc has ever come so close before, so how could one simply penetrate out defenses?"
"Powerful magic was at work." Starswirl replied. "Your majesty, I fear they will try to ransom your daughter in exchange for your kingdom."
Silver bit his lip, he didn't wish for his daughter to be harmed, but he could not allow his kingdom to fall, too many lives were at stake. "It won't come to that," said Thor. "I will find her, and I will bring her home, unharmed."
"How do you know that?" Starswirl asked.
"Because this smells like a trap, and I have a suspicion of who is behind this."
And just as Thor had suspected, their visitor suddenly popped into existence. "Tadaaa!" Thor growled, reached for his hammer and moved towards the Draconequus. This time however, Discord was ready for it, and so moved away while smiling. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, if you want to find your Alicorn friend, then you best leave me unharmed." As expected, Thor stopped, and Discord's smirk widened.
"Good boy, now, I would not have done that if you would have just come with me from the beginning, but since you did not, I was forced to take her. Now if you want her safe and sound you should let me take you to her."
"Do you think us fools?" Luna growled. "You've laid a trap, you wish for Thor to get killed."
Discord snorted. "I do not desire his death, I couldn't care less, but you have made enemies." Discord replied with an almost nonchalant attitude. "The giants want you gone, moreover, they want to see if you truly are a god. I'm just the one who was asked to bring you to one of them. Either he kills you, or you kill him, either way, I have upheld my end of the bargain." Discord did not bring up the fact that he was in fact taking Thor to Vang in order to compete with him, Discord already knew he would lose any sort of competition with Thor, so he needed to change his plans a bit.
"I'll tell you what," Discord continued. "I'll take you to the giant holding your friend, I'll even help you rescue her, but in return, you let me join you here at the castle. I know lots of things, and I'm clever, if you want a chance against the giants, you need someone like me."
Thor glared at Discord. "You've just told me you kidnapped Celestia in order to lure me into a trap. Now suddenly you want to help me in exchange for staying here? Why?"
Discord simply shrugged. "Boredom. I like to see how things play out, if you die I will stay with the giants, but if you somehow live, then I will follow you."
This was far from what Discord had planned, but he had no other choice, he needed Thor to kill Vang and his tribe, if not, then he would be forever branded a mere magician, and all doors would be closed to him. At least with Thor he could follow the chaos of the brutal fighting, at least with Thor he could live and have some fun. This way, his reputation would still be worth something in the land of the giants.
Thor wanted to break the Draconequus's neck, but he needed him to find Celestia, so instead he'd put the hammer back in his belt and asked. "So what do we call you?"
Discord smiled, did a theatrical bow as he said. "You can call me Discord."
At first light Thor was getting ready for the journey ahead. Cornflower had made sure Thor's massive goats, Snarler and Grinder, had been fed and gotten water. Discord was quite pleased with himself, to him it seemed nothing could go wrong, either Thor died, or the giants would, either way, he would escape trouble yet again.
"I told you already Luna," said Thor. "You will stay here with your father and teacher."
Luna stomped the ground with her hoof and snorted. "You know I can fight, so let me come with you to save my sister!"
"No, it is because you can fight you must stay here. If something should happen, then you need to be here and be safe."
"Don't you trust me?!"
"It is because I trust you that I want you to stay here!" Thor said, raising his voice. Luna was surprised, and for a moment it looked like she was going to protest, but seemed to decide against it.
Sighing, she fell to the ground and nodded. "I shall do as you ask of me, but..." She looked back up at him, a pleading look in her eyes. "...bring her back, and be sure to come home alive, both of you."
Thor looked back at her, then nodded. "I promise."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not included in that promise?"
Discord asked from the chariot, but none of them answered the trickster. Thor said goodbye to Luna and gave her father one last reassurance, promising he would have his daughter back before the end of the week. He then joined Discord in the chariot, took the reins of his goats and gave them a tug, sending both his goats flying into the air.
The ponies in town that saw Thor fly off all waved and cheered, seeing their protector on his way to save their princess. Many had heard the news, and a lot of the ponies were worried. However, they had faith, Thor had proven himself to be a tenacious warrior. He would save her, they were sure of it.
They flew high up in the sky with speed even Discord did not think possible. It would hardly be a matter of days, but hours. It made Discord wonder, was Thor really a god? Had he been sent by the keepers themselves, and if so, what did that mean for this world? Or more importantly, what did it mean for him? Discord had been born into this world from the pure chaotic energy, but with Thor bringing order. Well, order would not happen without a lot of bloodshed. War was chaos, and Discord thrived on chaos. He couldn't help but smile, seemed like Thor would be worth sticking to, it could help him in the long run.
Morning became midday, midday became afternoon, and afternoon became evening. They had traveled the whole day, and yet covered a distance that would have taken days, even for Discord. They were deep into the lands of the giants, a place ponies did not dare travel. Thor had a name for it, Jotunheim. The land consisted mostly of rocks, wastelands and dense forests. Here the giants lived off the fish in the water and the animals in the forest as there was no fertile land to cultivate. This was what happened to the lands when giants and orcs took over, it was what would happen to the whole world if nothing was done about it.
To Thor however, the world could wait, right now he only cared about saving Celestia, and he would.
How had she ended up here?
The thick stench of roasted meat, and smoke from the firepit was strong and thick, it made Celestia sick. She was no stranger to meat eaters, Thor was one, but these giants and orcs were barbaric, almost eating the meat raw. Some of the meat was still bloody and so it dripped to the tables and mixed with the ale and mead, the metallic stench was almost as strong as the smell of roasted meat.
How was she here? The last thing she remembered was going to bed, then suddenly she was here in the land of the giants, in what Thor called Jotunheim . It was magic, powerful magic at that. She did not know where exactly she was, or how it was done, but it had pulled her from her room and to Jotunheim without her noticing at first.
Now here she was, her wings tied to her sides, chained by the neck and string tied around her muzzle, keeping it firmly shut. Next to her was a high seat, almost reminding her of a throne. In it sat the most ugly giant she had ever seen, he wasn't the biggest, but he was powerful, even she could sense it.
Other than her restraints, the giant, called Vang, had not let any harm come to her. He contented himself by letting his large hand stroke her mane, like if she were a mere pet. She would have moved away, but he kept a firm hold on her chain, and each time she would try to do so he would give the chain a hard yank.
It was humiliating, and she was scared, so much so that she hadn't been able to sleep. They hadn't fed her since she arrived either, and she felt hunger gnawing at her after a whole day had passed. She was free to use magic however, and she could of course use her hooves to remove the string around her muzzle, but she did not dare to do so. Vang would tug on the chain, stopping her from doing anything he didn't like. The tugs were painful, and she feared if she made him angry enough he would snap her neck with a swift and powerful tug on her chain.
So here she was, trying to look as dignified as possible by not showing fear to these monsters. Though with being tired and hungry, she doubted she could keep up any sort of façade for much longer. The giant that held her captive had said very little about her reason for being here, it was clearly not by chance, and she was clearly not here to be his pet either. The only conclusion she could reach that made any sort of sense was that they were planning to lure Thor here, to kill him.
Her heart sank, while Thor was powerful, she doubted he could actually fend off a large tribe such as this. There were not twenty, fifty, or even a hundred, they were a small army of over two hundred giants and orcs. She had no doubt that this Draconequus creature who had showed up had something to do with it, and it angered her. Still, she could do nothing but hope, and have faith in Thor, and faith in her sister. None of them would abandon her, they were both too stubborn for that.
As the giants feasted, sang, and laughed, they suddenly heard a distant rumble. Outside the longhouse they could see the wind starting to pick up, and the sky started to flash with lightning. It was then that Celestia knew her faith had been well placed. Despite her trying to remain calm, she could not help but let the corners of her mouth turn up slightly. Vang caught sight of this and gave a small smile of his own.
"So he is coming for you then? Good.. Seems like Discord was right." His voice was loud, even when he talked normally, and Celestia winced a little.
Outside the sky had become darker than night, covering up the moon with black clouds of thunder, lightning and rain. Many of the giants had stopped their feasting, all realizing how strange the weather was. Lightning lit up the sky, and thunder followed almost instantly, making many of the giants cover their ears as it almost sounded like explosions.
With the flashes of lightning none of their eyes got used to the darkness, and so they could not see if anyone was out there. Only when another flash of lightning ripped through the sky and lightened up the outside did they suddenly see a figure. He had just appeared, just like the lightning, unexpectedly. Many of the giants jumped in surprise, and some wondered if this was the mysterious guest their chief was expecting. Vang knew that it was, and much to Celestia's delight, she knew it too, it was Thor.
The figure started to move, seeming not to care for the cold rain or the powerful lightning. The giants looked to Vang, but he just held a hand up, allowing Thor to step inside without anyone blocking his way. Thor quickly found Celestia, chained next to the big ugly giant. His eyes fixed on him, and they seemed to be almost glowing like the lightning bolts he created outside.
Thor began to walk towards Vang and Celestia, none of the giants stopped him, no one dared to do so, let alone speak. Vang however beamed with joy and slight amusement. He gestured to Thor like he was greeting an old friend.
"Thor! How good it is to finally meet you. I see you come alone? I guess Discord could not make it, haha! But what brings you to my humble home?"
The giant was clearly mocking him, which only fueled Thor's anger. He pointed at Celestia and said, "She does. You will give her to me or I will level this whole place to the ground."
Vang gave a toothy grin as he once again started to stroke Celestia. "Ah yes, you've come to collect one of your beloved ponies. She is a cute one, isn't she?"
Thor's eyes narrowed, and his hand tightened around the shaft of his hammer. "Let. Her. Go. Now." His voice was like thunder, deep, and a threatening amount of power behind it.
Vang simply laughed, stood up and took a single step towards Thor. "You kill my kin, you have spilled our blood, and now you come here, demanding I let one of yours go?" Now it was Vang's turn to sound threatening, but Thor did not flinch, he simply looked up at the giant with a glare of his own. Meanwhile, unseen and unknown by the giants, a shadow moved along the walls and behind Celestia.
To her surprise, Discord seemed to appear out of the shadows, holding up one of his talons over his mouth, but then saw the string around her muzzle and shrugged. Moving closer, he gave a simple flick, and the collar opened, freeing Celestia from the chain.
"Since Discord cannot kill you, I will, starting with your little white pet!" Vang declared, giving the chain a hard yank, expecting Celestia's neck to land at the feet of Thor. To his shock however, the only thing landing in front of Thor's feet was an open collar. "What?!" He turned his head, only to see Discord freeing Celestia. "Discord, you traitor!"
Vang swung the chain towards Discord, but Thor grabbed it before it could reach them. He pulled Vang back, but the giant was fast, despite his size he smacked Thor so hard he flew through the wall and landed in the mud outside. "Kill him, kill them all!!" Vang roared and the giants and orcs leaped up and set after Thor, swords and spears in hand.
The giant in the meantime turned his attention back to Discord and Celestia, but they were gone. "Your magic cannot hide you forever Discord!" Vang growled, and swung the chain, destroying everything around him, including the longhouse he was in.
The whole tribe descended into chaos, and Thor massacred any and all foes that came up against him. None of them were a match for him, no matter how many that tried to rush him at once. His mighty hammer Mjolnir claimed many lives, it glowed dark blue, sending sparks of electricity through not only whoever Thor bashed it into, but those who stood too close to the intended target.
The rain, the darkness and the flashing of lightning made the battle all the more chaotic. Thor kept swinging, kept fighting, never letting up for one second. It was only when Vang heard the roars from his warriors that he turned around to face Thor. To his horror and dismay, he saw Thor had killed over a hundred of his warriors already.
He cursed Discord's name, the fool had played him, betrayed him, and he would kill Discord for it. But first he had Thor to deal with, and so he let out a battle cry, rushed toward Thor with such speed that Thor never saw him coming. Once again the thunder god was sent flying, taking down two barns before he finally landed on the wet ground.
If Thor had not been so angry, he would probably have enjoyed this fight. Vang was fast, much faster than any ordinary giant. Thor however was not so easy to beat down, he stood up, tightened his belt of power, and picked up his hammer. Vang roared, rallying the rest of his warriors and began to charge once again.
Thor did not charge, instead he leaned back, lifted his hammer, and with one powerful swing he threw his hammer with such force that it almost instantly broke the sound barrier. Vang only just managed to avoid the hammer as it flew past him, but his warriors were not so lucky. Either they had been hit by the hammer, exploding into a bloody mess, or they were taken by the vacuum it created, sending them flying with deadly speed.
Vang could barely resist being dragged along, but he managed to keep charging. Rather than wait for his hammer to return, Thor ran towards the giant and almost instantly clashed with him. The two wrestled each other, the power of their punches made the earth beneath them shake violently.
They were titans of power trying to destroy each other. For the first time since he got here, Thor actually felt pain. Each punch the giant landed felt like a mountain crashing into him, and he knew he needed to end the fight, or risk death. He grabbed the giant's wrists, clenching them with such power that the bones broke, it sounded like pine trees snapping in half. Vang screamed, but he was soon silenced by one of Thor's powerful punches, which made the giant fall onto his back.
Vang whined and growled as the pain was unbearable. Thor didn't care, Vang had put up a good fight, and deep inside, Thor almost felt respect for him. Yet, he had almost killed Celestia, he had humiliated her, degraded her and treated her like a pet. Thor would not let it stand, and so he climbed onto the giant, looked down at him, and started to punch his face in.
Each punch drew blood from the giant's face, and each time his massive head sunk deeper and deeper into the mud. The sight was gruesome, and for a pony it was the stuff of nightmares. Thor kept on his onslaught even after the giant died, cracking his skull, and made him unrecognizable.
Finally, Thor slipped off the now dead giant. He took a few steps, then fell to his knees. Thor was covered in blood, even as the rain was still pouring down from the heavens above. He panted, trying to calm his rage. Leaning back and looking to the sky he let out a fierce cry, and in response lightning roared above him, crawling over the sky like a spiderweb.
When he stopped, the lightning did too, and the rain lessened along with it. Around him was nothing but death, but then a voice called to him, and his blue eyes looked up. Celestia was standing before him, tears in her eyes and a worried expression.
Thor worried he had horrified her, and maybe he had, but before he could utter a single word she embraced him. It took the thunder god by surprise, but the Alicorn did not let go. She cried, happy to be alive, but also happy he had survived what had been a terrible battle for her to witness. After a few seconds he moved his arms around her as well, letting her know he was there and everything would be alright.
She was safe...
The room was silent, only the tabbing of the rain on the windows broke that silence. Each of the ponies gathered looked to Celestia and Luna with a horrified expression, even Twilight had stopped writing as Celestia detailed the events of the battle. The normally bouncy Pinkie Pie had gone quiet, even Rainbow Dash had no cheers to give all the while Fluttershy hid behind her otherwise brave friend.
Shining Armor had seen battle, but nothing had ever come close to what Celestia described. Cadence had moved closer to him, as if she was afraid Thor or the giants would suddenly leap out at them.
After a minute of shocked silence, Celestia continued. "Please, do not judge our husband too harshly. Despite how detailed I can make it, none of you have faced the giants. They were monsters, pure evil. I even dare say Equestria has never faced anything close to the evil the giants brought with them."
Luna gave them all a stern look. "You must understand, this was not something that could be fixed with magic, nor the elements of harmony, which had not yet been made. It was a war of unimaginable brutalities, and Thor always faced it head on. He would rather do what needed to be done a hundred times over before he would let any of us, or your ancestors, jump into a fight."
"But alas, we were at war, and there was only so much Thor could do to protect us." Celestia continued, letting out a long tired sigh. "This was a war not for a single country, but for the very world we now reside."
There was another minute of silence, then Twilight spoke. "It's just, you speak of Thor with such love and devotion..." Twilight hesitated, not wanting to offend her teacher or her sister. "It is just hard to imagine someone you speak of with such love could be so brutal..."
They all seemed to nod in agreement, and the sisters could hardly blame them. It was hard to compare, or even imagine the difference between the world they lived in now and the world they lived in ten thousand years ago. Instead of trying to justify Thor's actions, they instead told them about his love.
"Thor was a warrior, a protector. He could have lived on in the afterlife, never having to experience the pain and loss that he would come to. He came to this world to save the world, to keep us safe. At first, this was just his task, but he quickly came to love it here." Celestia smiled gently, closing her eyes and thought back on all the good times they had.
Luna did the same, but picked up from where Celestia had left off. "He loved us, he loved you, and he would always put us all before himself." She looked at Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "He loved to harvest and feast with the earth ponies." Then at Rainbow and Fluttershy. "Loved to fly, and take care of his animals." Then Twilight and Rarity. "He loved to learn, loved to share his knowledge, and even fashion, with the ponies at the time." Lastly, she looked to Cadence and Shining Armor. "Thor was not a brutal monster full of hate. He was full of love and care."
Celestia nodded, then joined in. "He was our shield, our sword, our protector."
"And none of us would be here now if it was not for him. The world as you know it now would be a dead wasteland, but thanks to him, it is full of life and peace."
Their speech seemed to have the desired effect, and the ponies listening seemed to understand a little better now. Twilight wrote down a few notes, Pinkie got another slice of cake, and Applejack looked to the depictions of Thor with new respect. Then Cadence asked suddenly.
"Was it then that you fell in love with him, auntie?"
Celestia smiled, and gave a single nod. "Yes, it was then that I knew there was more to him than what we had seen so far. Although I did not know it at the time, my heart belonged to him the second I felt his arms around me, and comforted me."
The group all smiled, enjoying seeing Celestia speak with such love and devotion. Rainbow once again looked to the sisters and asked. "So, what happened next?"
Author's Note
I've really struggled with this chapter, I have rewritten it seven times. Deleted it, tried again, multiple edits..
I like to try to make it sound mythological, and in some places I think it succeeds, like in the beginning, but in others I don't feel I can get it down as I want it.
This is the final product, I hope it is not too bad, because I want to move on.
Editor: Jason Monroe , thank you as always.
