• Published 8th Oct 2013
  • 2,107 Views, 51 Comments

Flight of the Valkyrie - EonCronus



A part of the Chess Game of the Gods universe. In the mountains of Bergard, in a village called Valhalla, a young man awakens to find that everything has changed, and not all for the better.

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Flockholme: The City of the Three Peaks

I silently circled my opponent as I gripped Gungnir with both hands, while she kept her longsword directly between the two of us to ward off any strike I might attempt. I thrust with a perfect form, the slightly sentient spear making sure that the movement was flawlessly executed, but the flat of Eir’s longsword knocked the deadly, trident-like blades away from her body as she stepped into my guard, closing the distance between us. Normally, the closeness would have made me blush, but I had learned the hard way that when fighting this swordsmistress, it was not a good idea to let your libido distract you. I shored up my grip with an effortlessness born of sheer repetition and spun my spear, causing the shaft to intercept and deflect the blade that had been aimed for my gut.

The clang of metal meeting metal sounded out over the wind that whipped over the deck of the Light of Valhalla. ”Das gut,” Blitz called out from a safe distance, ”now ze ving!” I gave no audible response to the instruction from the old soldier other than turning and lashing out with my armored wing, which caused the Princess of the Valkyries back into my range and out of my guard. ”Und svipe,” the Griffin commanded as I swung my tri-pointed spear at Eir’s exposed left side.

The Princess didn’t allow the strike to land, although it would have glanced off of her armor thanks to an enchantment that she had placed on it prior to the match, as her sword moved with a speed that not even my new eyes could keep up with. She stopped my strike cold, stepped into my guard once more and then swung upwards, forcing me to lean back to avoid having my head cleaved in two by the sharp edge of her longsword. The movement forced me off balance, and I was once again forced on the defensive as I desperately warded off blow after blow with every part of my spear.

”Wiederzuerlangen Ihr Gleichgewicht!” Blitz shouted in German, forcing me to distraction as I mentally translated the command on pure instinct. Eir ducked low and swept my feet from under me just as I figured out that he was telling me to regain my balance, causing me to land squarely on my ass with a grunt. I could swear that the metal deck of the ship was trying to snap my coccyx the way that it hurt my ass, but I had no time to recover before Eir was on the move once more. Her sword point was at my neck in an instant, not quite touching my trachea but close enough that I was wondering if she intended to give me a new way to breathe.

I stared up into her shockingly blue eyes and saw, just for an instant, the cold steel of a warrior behind the kind face that had greeted me upon my conscious arrival into this new world. I was scared of her, and immensely turned on at the same time as the moment seemed to stretch on into eternity. She was ultimately my better when it came to combat, and though it should have hurt my pride as a man, I only felt respect for the warrior-princess. ”You’re dead,” she muttered, somehow managing to make one of the scariest sentences that a person could ever hear into a sweet, subtle admonishment of my skills.

Did I mention that she’s incredibly sexy when she’s scary?

”Nein, Skuld, I told you, ze secret is to strike at ze side vith ze sword! It is not easy, not even for Fürstin Eir, to protect zat side,” my new combat instructor told me for what seemed like the thousandth time, breaking the spell between me and Skuld as he stepped forward. I shot him a glare that promised pain and retribution before accepting the hand that Eir offered and pulling myself to my feet. The Griffin, though now at least three feet shorter than me, still managed to withstand my amazing death glare and give me a reproachful look and a few tsks.

“Yeah, yeah, and keep my footing, and don’t try to fight close, and use every part of my body as a weapon. It’s been two weeks with the same shit, Blitz, I do get your lessons. She’s just impossibly good,” I complained as I put the blunt end of my spear on the deck and gestured to the Valkyrie in question, who merely gripped her sword close to her chest and gave an apologetic grimace.

We had set out from the Dalnum í Níu, which was what the Valkyries called the valley comprised of the nine tallest, largest mountains in all of the world, which I had come to find had two names. The ponies, and most of the rest of the sentient life, called it Equis, while the Valkyries called it Jarðar. Personally, I liked Equis, but then that’s just me. Anyways, I had realized that unless I learned how to fight, really fight, I would be dead as soon as we came across anyone who knew what they were doing. So I begged Blitz to at least teach me how to fight correctly, and after enlisting the help of Eir, the two of them took turns instructing and fighting me over the course of the voyage. I had learned several things over those two weeks, including that my spear seemed to be capable of changing my movements and form so that no matter where I was aiming, the strike would be perfectly accurate, and that even learning how to fight really, really hurt.

I was considering this while I rubbed my sore tailbone when the loudspeaker, built into the airship’s wheelhouse, crackled to life and let out the dapper english voice of our pegasus captain. ”If I could have your attention, my fine-feathered compatriots, I would like to announce that if you look to port, the grand City of the Three Peaks, or Flockholme as Botschafter Stahlfeader would call it, will be coming into view as soon as we clear this pass,” he announced, prompting all three of us to look to the right just as the airship cleared the mountain. ”Y’know, there’s a funny story about the last time I came here! There were these statues, y’see, that could only move when you weren’t looking at them, and I…” he rambled on, completely ignored by Eir and I as we stared at the city.

Valhalla had been impressive, though that was more due to the conventional impossibility of hanging a stone fortress from the ceiling of a cave. The metropolis that I was currently looking at would be the envy of almost any city on Earth if we were going to compete for sheer beauty and size. The city was built across three of the smaller mountains, though each one had to be the size of Mount Everest at the very least, and each was built in nine tiers with a large castle at the peak. The center mountain was by far the largest of the three, with a massive cathedral built on top of it and grand buildings lining the mountainside on every tier. Airships, thousands of them, floated in and out of docks that had been attached to the great stone walkways that ran between the three mountains, as well as docks on the lower tiers of each peak. My telescopic vision allowed me to see the mass of life, mostly griffins and minotaurs, that flowed through the walkways like a river.

I would have stared all day if the only other Valkyrie on the ship hadn’t spoken up, breaking my concentration. ”Skuld, before we start looking for information, we have to see the council,” she said, which caused me to lift an eyebrow in a silent question. “I have been attempting to force them to send a negotiator for two years now, to discuss sending military aid for the last two strongholds in Dalnum í Níu. They might be able to claim ignorance of my letters, but they cannot refuse an audience to the Princess of all Valkyries.”

“Eure Durchlaucht, ze Triumvirat vill refuse. Not out of spite, but because ze declaration of ein alliance must be einstimmige. Stadträtin Blutkraale vill not commit ze fleets,” Blitz said as he reached up and placed one of his talons on her forearm in a comforting gesture.

“Still, I must try, my friend. Even one Herfylki of Greif Streikflügel… we must be able to take the fight to the Fenrir. Otherwise, both Valhalla and Jotunheim are lost,” she stated resolutely as the pieces clicked into place for me, prompting a scowl to form on my face as I realized what was going on.

I looked back to the city as the Light of Valhalla sounded its foghorn to announce its arrival, knowing that the situation might have gotten a bit more complicated. If we somehow made the ruling body of this city angry, we were going to be SOL when it came to finding out information about where the Fenrir were getting their newfound intelligence. Still, we were going to have to talk to them eventually, if for no other reason than to find out what they knew about the situation. I bit my lip and wondered, for the millionth time, if I had bitten off more than I could chew with the situation at hand.


We docked in the east port, attracting more attention than I was really comfortable with due to the oddness of our ship. I hadn’t realized that the Light of Valhalla was really the first metal airship, or that the weapons on it were almost 100 years ahead of the level that most of the other ships, even the military ones, possessed. After the Doctor, Shim and Sham had assured us that even if someone tried to take the vessel they wouldn’t even get her out of port without the three of them, we had parted ways to go take care of our respective businesses. Blitz, Eir and I flew up to the peak of the center mountain--which was an exhilarating experience, by the way--and blustered our way into the Triumvirat chambers. After flustering a Griffin attendant by informing her that Fürstin Eir of the Valkyries was here to see the Triumvirat, we had been ushered into the main room and asked to state our business.

After Eir told them that the Valkyries needed help and that the Fenrir were getting stronger, I recounted the story of them summoning the Garmr. We were then subjected to more than three hours of dismissal from the Blutkraale representative, questioning from the Eisenkalue representative about everything, even if it didn’t require one, and arguing between the Stahlfeader and Blutkraale representative about whether the Fenrir could even summon a Garmr. Now that you’re all the way caught up, let me subject you to just a snippet of the argument that was going on:

Stahlfeader: ”What do you mean, it’s irrelevant! If the Fenrir are capable of summoning a Garmr, then all of Flockholme--”

Blutkraale: ”The Fenrir are dumb beasts, incapable of more than wanton destruction. Strong, certainly, but they cannot reach us in Flockholme, nor could they possibly summon a Garmr. The Valkyrie must be lying, it is the only explanation.”

Eisenklaue: ”Ah, but what if she is not, Heerführer Blutige? If she isn't, wouldn't that mean that someone is guiding the beasts actions? if this is so, would it not be prudent to send just a small amount of ships to their aid?”

Blutkraale: ”Yes, and meanwhile, we can leave the city vulnerable to pirate raids! Excellent idea, Herr Donner.”

Stahlfeader: ”Bah! You’re the only pirate here, Blutige.”

Blutkraale: ”You insolent son of a Roc!”

Yeah.

Three hours.

And that same argument repeated several thousand different ways.

By the end of it, I was about three seconds from unsheathing my spear and seeing if I could aim at all three of them at once. When the final decision was made and we were refused help, just as Blitz had predicted, it had taken both of my compatriots to physically restrain my arms and walk me out of that room. I briefly considered seeing if my strength exceeded theirs, but whatever reason I had left informed me that such an action would probably end with my broken wings and being thrown off of a very high place.

“Those know-it-all, pretentious, selfish, stupid, goddamn…” I continued to mutter as I walked through the lobby of the main castle, the sheer amount of anger I was radiating enough to make most of the Griffins steer clear of my companions and I.

”Come, now, Skuld. I did not expect them to grant my request after one session. They have been arguing about this issue for more than two winters, now,” Eir said, the ultimate voice of reason against the Triumvirat’s idiocy. I didn’t want to be reasonable, however, so I just grumbled and continued to stalk towards the entrance. I was almost sure that the Griffin and she shared a look behind my back, but I was concentrating on not causing a diplomatic incident. I forced open the wooden doors, which were just tall enough for me to get through without banging my head on the frame, and stepped out into the sunlight.

It was cold up this high, and I knew that any human would be dead even in the relatively warm armor and clothing that covered my body, if not from cold then from the lack of oxygen. Even still, the biting wind actually felt good against my skin, and I had no trouble taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly to try and calm my nerves. ”Eir, Blitz, we’re gonna go get drunk. Very, very drunk. And we’re gonna try to collect some information about the Fenrir while we’re there. But mostly, we’re gonna get drunk,” I told them, conveniently forgetting what had happened the last time I got sloshed in an unfamiliar bar.

I mentioned before, I’m not the sharpest crayon in the pack.

I spread my wings to their full span, reveling in the sensation of the wind flowing through my new feathers. I forgot to mention before, I think, but flying just kinda came naturally to me. Eir had told me before that the fact that I managed to outfly her sister, even for a little bit, was a marvel in and of itself. I flapped my new appendages once, allowing the instinct imbued into the DNA of my new body to take over as I lifted up off the landing before I angled my body down and began gliding down the mountain. I heard my friends take wing right behind me, and looked back to see Eir looking unsure about the idea that I had. I shook my head to remove the sudden urge to ask her if it was okay, knowing that I needed it if I didn’t want to be unpleasant, and simply continued to fly.

The citizens and visitors of Flockholme all stared at the three of us as we passed, with varying degrees of awe, lust and annoyance on each of their faces. I made sure to steer clear of the airships, not wanting to piss off a captain or run into a hull, and made my way back towards the eastern mountain where my ship was docked. I was sure that I had seen a tavern somewhere on the fifth level, and it wasn’t completely impossible that my strangeness and company might ensure me a free drink or two from interested Griffins. Even if I wasn’t a female in mind, I could at least take advantage of the situation by getting free drinks at a bar, right? I had bought enough of them to earn a few, at any rate.

I landed on the eastern mountain with a loud thud, making sure that I was as noticeable as possible as I stretched out my wings one last time before tucking them in. ”Skuld, is it ein gut idea to drink ven you are angry?” Blitz asked as I strode into the bar, Eir looking around nervously at the Griffin and Minotaur patrons that were staring at the three of us.

I didn’t really blame them, considering what we looked like. The Princess and I were both dressed in our golden flight armor, with her carrying that beast of a longsword on her hip while I had Gungnir in its holster on my back. Blitz was wearing the same steel-colored combination of armor and weapons in one that he had worn for the battle with the Fenrir, which I had learned was the armor of all the Griffin Elite.

”Probably not, Blitzy, but at the moment I need some fucking alcohol if I don’t wanna go back there and give them a personal introduction to the business end of Gungnir,” I retorted with a huff as I sat down at a table, making sure that I was facing the door just in case someone came in looking for a fight. I wouldn’t want to leave them disappointed, now would I?

”And who do I have to bang to get a fuckin’ beer around here, huh?”


While this was going on with our main hero, his three newest friends--by loose definition of the word--were busy going through the market stalls set up along the docks, where the merchants could sell their wares. Each stall was actually set into the walkway and carved from stone, so that way in order to sell wares, the merchants had to rent out a stall from the city. Doctor Clockwork and the Shim-Sham sisters had collected a fair number of knick-knacks that would be useless separately, but that between the three of them could be used to improve the systems on the L.O.V., or create some new features.

You see, while each of them were mechanical geniuses in their own rights, together they could create almost anything you could possibly imagine. The Doctor could calibrate a machine’s operations into the microseconds, Shim could create intricate clockwork beyond the scope of almost any artificer in all of equis, and there was no greater expert on steam-powered and hydraulic systems than Sham. They had designed and directed the building of the L.O.V., and without their genius the ship’s cannons and engines would be things of pure imagination.

So, it goes without saying that all three of them redefined the words “mentally unstable.”

”What do you mean you’ve never heard of a triple-inversion flux regulator?! That piece is key to finishing the final component on my ship’s main batteries,” the Doctor complained as he stared down the Griffin merchant, who had claimed to have come all the way from Bitsburg with technological marvels.

”I meant vat I said, you stupid, puny pony! For ze hundredth time, vat you are asking for does not even exist. Now, take your Freundin und leave,” the merchant said angrily, pointing away from his stall in a random direction.

Sham’s eyes widened up as Shim tried to figure out what he had just called her and her twin, and she slammed a hoof down on the stone surface of the stall. ”Now hold it right there, my good gentlegriffon. My dear sister and I are not in any kind of intimate relationship with the good Doctor! Are you aiming to slander our good name by suggesting we are not only in a polyamorous relationship, but an incestuous one at that?!” the cream-colored unicorn asked indignantly, while her sister’s eyes grew wide at the realization, then angry.

The other mare looked down at the pieces on display and noticed something odd about them, though she couldn’t figure out what it was. Shim’s horn lit up with an arcane power and one of the Merchant’s wares was surrounded in the same rusty red glow, just before it lifted up off of the stall and into her field of view. She studied the piece for a moment, trying to figure out what had caught her interest, before a small twinkle behind her eyes indicated that she had realized it.

The merchant was about to respond to her sister’s accusation when the artificer said, ”You know, dear sister o’ mine, now that I’ve had a good look, I believe this charlatan has attempted to swindle his customers. These machine parts are not from Bitsburg… They are from fillydelphia, am I right?” she asked the merchant, causing him to freeze up and let out a weak, nervous laugh. All three of his would-be customer’s eyes narrowed as they leaned in and glared at him, examining him with a critical eye.

”Did you know, good sir, that the fine for mislabeling merchandise is 50,000 Greifmarks and a one-year suspension from the markets?” Sham asked dangerously, raising a single eyebrow. ”Is it now, dear sister? Why, this fine merchant might just lose his ship if he can’t sell in Flockholme for a whole year… perhaps he should give the good Doctor what he’s asking for. It might be enough to make us forget that he was lying about his goods...” Shim trailed off, leaving the Griffin looking between them as if they were devils straight from the old legends.

The merchant sighed before he reached down under the stall and pulled out a strange, clicking mechanical device, handing it over to the chestnut-brown pegasus with a scowl. ”Und zere goes mein paycheck for ze month…” he grumbled as the Doctor happily took the machine in his hoof before placing it back in his saddlebags.

”Thank you,” Shim said, followed by Sham’s, ”For your cooperation.” The three ponies turned around and began to walk away, a pleased grin on all three of their faces as they shared looks of triumph.

”Good work, girls! Now, all we need is a ruby. Preferably a fire ruby, y’know. They are the best quality, an’ we wouldn’t want a little mishap on account of a faulty firing mechanism. Why, I remember the last time that happened! I was with this lass named Rose Berries. Wierd name, but very lovely girl,” he rambled as they made their way down the marketplace streets, both of the mechanically-inclined sisters rolling their eyes and tuning out their friend. They loved him like family, and they wouldn’t ever speak ill about him, but he had the attention span of a squirrel on caffeine. Shim kept her eyes open for the gleam of fiery red that would betray the presence of their quarry.


”No, no, you dun get it. We literally sent a guy to the moon. On a rocket! Y’know, like… whoosh~! It was, like, 30 years before I was born though…” I slurred out as I motioned the actions of the Apollo 11 mission with my ale mug, causing the amber liquid to slosh out onto the table.

”Mein Freund, du bist betrunken,” Blitz said, his own cheeks a rosy red beneath his pale white feathers. His inebriated state had caused him to revert to Griffonian, and it took me a few seconds to work out what he had just said.

”Nah, I ain’t drunk! I’m barely buzzed,” I said as I slammed down my mug with more force than I had meant to, causing the glass to shatter in my hands. I looked down at my drink in surprise, then dismay as the amber liquid spilled down onto the floor. I lifted up the broken glass and stared at it dejectedly, as if I could will it back into its whole-formed state. ”That’s a new one,” I muttered before I let out a drunken laugh, realizing that the thick, shatter-resistant glass that most mugs were made out of had stood no chance against my new body’s retarded amount of strength.
.

Eir, for her part, was busy looking worriedly between the two of us as she quietly tried to get us to at least slow down our drinking spree. ”Oh, please, you are both very inebriated, and we still need to gather information about the Fenrir. Can’t we go back to the ship, at least?” she begged as Blitz let out a guffaw at the sight of me holding the shattered mug.

Suddenly, the steady flow of conversation that had been going on around the three of us ceased as sunlight flooded in from the recently-opened door. I wiped the corner of my eye with my free hand as I set the base of the mug down on the stone table that we sat at before looking around in confusion, wondering what had killed the buzz that was going. ”Hey, what gives? Weren’t we havin’ a good… time…” I trailed off as I looked to the door, where every single one of the patrons were staring towards.

The reason for the clientele’s sudden silence was made abundantly clear to me, and that reason made my blood run cold. It was certainly not the Griffin, who was noticeably smaller than most of the others that I had seen in the city, nor was it even the strange draconic, cape-wearing creature that was behind him. They were both well within the bar by the time that I noticed them and, though the lizard was openly staring at me, I paid them no heed beyond the first cursory glances I had given them. No, the reason for my reaction was currently set in the doorway, her frame made into a mere silhouette by the inpouring sunlight coming from the unobstructed celestial orb.

The outline of the creature was grotesque, as if someone had taken a Fenrir and shrunk it down to four feet without removing any of the mass. Its muscles bulged obscenely, and even with my limited visual acuity due to the light difference I could see that it was easily thicker in the chest than even Blitz, who was roughly as thick as a good sized tree in the torso. But, you see, the beast’s physical appearance wasn’t what set off my warnings. After the Fenrir, I was confident that there wasn’t much I couldn’t toss around like a ragdoll. After all, I had literally flung a wolf’s body off my spear and into the abyss with a one-handed swipe of Gungnir.

No, what terrified me was the eldritch flame that was glowing in the hole that was in the thing’s torso, and the glowing eyes that illuminated its otherwise darkened face. As soon as I looked into those eyes, I was transported back to that battle on the bridge. The cries of dying wolves sounding out like an unholy cacophony, interspersed with the rare cry of a Valkyrie giving her life so that others might live. The Garmr stared down at me with its lips curled into a snarl, its glowing green eyes void of anything but hunger as it planned my destruction. Its fetid breath washed over me, and I knew the stench of death.

Needless to say, I did not respond well.

”Blitz, on me!” I cried out, remembering how I had fought alongside him during the battle. My left hand grabbed the heavy stone table and I lifted it with less effort than my old body would have picked up a textbook. I tossed it back behind me, followed closely by my chair as I stood up and kicked it away. My right hand was on my spear by the time the table hit the wall, and the weapon was drawn before it crumbled into fragments under the force of my toss. My wings fanned out to their full thirteen foot span as I took the spear in a javelin hold and tossed it with perfect aim, mostly thanks to the sentience of Gungnir that prevented it from being thrown off-target.

“I fucking called it!” The shout of the weird looking lizard thing was deafening as he zipped in front of my intended target, flourishing his cape out as dark-silver gauntlets appeared along the length of his muscular arms. He then slammed his palms onto the side of Gungnir, sparks flying from how the spinning spear was digging into the metal.

My weapon was greater than his strength, however, and sent the draconic creature back through the flapping doors from whence it came. I scowled angrily as the intended target sidestepped, watching the smaller dragon zoom past with a shocked look on its face. The shock was enough to give me a distraction, and I roared as I flapped my wings and took off across the tavern. I covered the distance in less than a second and gave the beast’s face an intimate meeting with my palm before introducing the back of its head to the stone wall. The masonry cracked under the force of the blow, and a small tremor shook the room as dust fell from the ceiling. I didn’t waste any time as I gripped harder and pulled the thing out by its head and tossed it across the room as hard as I could, causing it to smash through a few tables before slamming into the wall with a deafening crack.

”Whoever your master is, whoever is summoning these beasts from Tartarus, let him know that they’re smokin’ the wrong kind of crack to think they can send monsters to a civilian town and think that they will ever live another second,” I growled, pointing at the creature as it seemed to gain just a bit of awareness back, ”without wondering when I’m going to find them and show them the meaning of the word pain.”

“Cute speech, girly,” the Drake’s voice came from the door, causing me to glare at him indignantly due to the slight on my manhood. Just because I have boobs, long, flowing hair, and no… other parts… yeah, I’m gonna stop. My initial fear had ebbed somewhat, and my brain was beginning to register that the monsters I had fought so far had absolutely no interest in talking. Not even to taunt. “But I think you have my friend confused with someone else. You see, you might think she felt all that shit you just did, but I can almost guarantee that she didn’t. In fact, she’s up and about right now, and she doesn’t look too happy about what you just did.”

I barely looked in time to see her charging, and I never felt pain like what came next. Her massive shoulder rocketed square into my chest, and though my armor prevented any real damage I was still shocked. There was also that part where I went flying back towards the wall I had thrown her from earlier, but I was too busy scanning over what was truly in front of me.

Now that I had a good look at her, I could tell that the ‘Fenrir’ actually shared the characteristics of the ‘Diamond-Dogs’ from that one episode of the show. Her fur was a dark-blue, and the fur around her feet, eyes, and paws was completely white. The sapphires in her eye sockets gleamed with annoyance and, surprisingly, not anger. Her entire upper body was covered by a black biker jacket with silver studs along the shoulders, letting me know what to thank for the stud-shaped bruises I felt coming on where she hit me. They did not show the hunger for death and destruction that I had envisioned with the Garmr, and she was not snarling like I had thought either.

Before I could even begin to process this new information, Eir decided that it had gone on long enough. ”All spirits with anger, fear or doubt in their hearts shall be stilled. You will no longer fight, until you have been given clear reason to do so. So I, Eir, command,” she ordered in the Language of the Birds, the source of all Holy Magic. All three of us, both of the strangers and myself, became relaxed in that instant, and I felt the fear and anger that had fueled my rage simply bleed away.

”Now,” she said as she stepped forward, a smiling gracing her beautiful face, ”we can discuss what you have done to this Diamond Dog. Did you allow her to go into the valley? Even if it was for but a moment, the taint left there by the nightmare could cause this transformation.”

“What, no introductions? You guys are just walking examples of chivalry, huh? I mean, not only do you attack my friend, but now you want to know personal information without so much as a name from either of you?” The dragon’s fiery retort made me grimace in annoyance at the way he was addressing Eir, but I managed to leash my anger enough not to respond.

”Oh, where are my manners? I must have forgotten to introduce my friends and I when I saw clear evidence of what appears to be either some form of necromancy, or Nightmaric influence,” she responded back coolly, her voice as gentle and demure as it ever was while she gave him an innocent smile. ”I am Princess Eir Holybell, Lady Supreme of the Order of Holy Magi, Retainer of the Celestial Paladins, and heir to the throne of Dalnum í Níu. My friends here are Skuld Godspear, envoy of my mother, Queen Freya, and Blitz Stahlfeader, son of Ratsherr Stahlfeader. Now that introductions have been made, perhaps you can answer my question before I take measures to ensure the safety of everyone here?” The entire speech was calm, and her blue eyes never left the drake’s.

The drake’s response was to raise an eyebrow and cross his arms with a huff. ” Well that makes three princesses and a queen to add to the list of royalty I’ve been...blessed, more or less, to meet. And before this situation gets out of hand again, I would like to introduce the members of my guild, Blackbird. You already know Diamond Everwinter, the Diamond Dog that was placed under attack for no fucking reason, but I digress,” The dragon responded crossly, but you could see the anger slowly evaporate from his face. ”I am Silas Epista, Guildsmaster, and the Griffin is Ace...whatever his last name is.”

Eir motioned for them all to sit down and, after she had paid for the damages, ordered a round of drinks for the six as they sat at the table. Well, five really. Diamond was too big for the booth, and opted to sit next to the table itself.

Blitz’s eyes narrowed for a moment as he looked at the Griffin and muttered his name before recognition took over his features. “Ja, Ace, ze stunt griffin! You vere ze vone who challenged me to ein race ven your show came to Flockholme! Ze whole unit came out to vatch.. Did zat ving heal up?” he asked, looking curiously at the smaller Griffin’s right wing as if he could see inside it to find damage.

Ace huffed before slapping a talon to his chest pridefully, giving a cocky smile that would probably rival the ones the clan leaders would often give. ”Ha! I still beat you by an inch, old timer! And that was after you dislocated it with that shoulder tackle! But yeah,” he trailed off as he outstretched the magnificent sky-blue wing in question, nearly whacking me in the face with the appendage, ”She’s healed up quite nice over the year I’ve been away. It’s good to see some people who still know the legend of Ace Strife!”

The older griffin scratched his beak with one metal covered talon, looking as if he were trying to remember something important. ”But… if I am remembering correctly, I vore mein armor. You vere bare, and said somesing about… ‘leaving me in ze dusts’? I do not understand ze words of you southern Griffins sometimes…”

Ace coughed nervously as Silas looked at him with a raised eyebrow. ”I meant...when we passed through the cloud obstacles and was the first one to exit, yeah! We call the clouds ‘dust’ where I come from!” Ace’s explanation caused Silas to snicker and bonk the young griffin on the head playfully, causing said griffin to leer up at him with a frown.

”Okay, look,” I said, stepping in between the two groups and facing Silas. ”First thing’s first, sorry about overreacting, man. I kinda… I had a little episode. I shouldn’t have thrown my spear. Oh, speaking of…” I trailed off as I focused on it, remembering the first time I had accidentally dropped it off the airship. I had simply called out to it…

The golden weapon flew through the door and into my outstretched hand, where I twirled it once before placing it in the holster. Just because I’m apologizing, doesn’t mean I can’t look awesome doing it, right? ”Secondly, if that isn’t a Garmr, then you need to keep the hell out of the valleys. I’ve seen what that nightmare shit will do to a regular diamond dog, and it ain’t pretty. I don’t even want to know what it would do to… her? Yeah, her,” I finished, confident I had gotten the muscle bound animal’s gender right.

Silas, for the most part, went back to crossing his arms and chuckling. ”You hear that, Diamond? Even females can’t tell if you have a taco or a burrito anymore.” Diamond looked stupefied at the words that hit her, but once she caught the meaning. she promptly camel pushed Silas through the door with a snarl. The drake came back in with a hearty chuckle, dusting himself off and going right back to the conversation as if he wasn’t just sent flying.

”I miss tacos,” I mumbled to myself as I took on the thousand-yard stare, imagining going to a Taco Bell and just buying every taco they had.

I had thought my mumble to be indecipherable in any known language but my own, but lo’ and behold, I was proven wrong. Silas’s head snapped up from the lax pose it was in, and he simply stared at me with a dropped jaw as if we were cavemen and I just discovered fire.

”Press pause, put the controller down, and Jarate all over the place! What the hell did you just say!? You miss tacos!? There’s only one thing that could mean!” At the end of his exclamation, I shrugged my shoulders. I was extremely confused about the first part of that sentence, but then again, he was a talking dragon-not-dragon and I was in Equestria. Maybe it was just a thing here? ”Are...Are you a Piece!?”

”Am I a what? Wait a minute... you know what a taco is!” the realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and I openly stared at him now. ”Creepy old guy, offers to take you to Equestria, you end up there not in your body and not a pony, sound about right so far?” I asked, stepping forward as the two crews exchanged confused, or worried, glances.

”Well. you’re right on the third point, but the first one...not so much. Turns out, I was actually taken away when I was asleep. The powerful fuckers don’t ask sometimes, and I just happened to be on the receiving end of that dicking...blegh. Where the hell did that analogy come from?” Silas’s response caused me to nod in understanding, the context of what he said easily comprehensible. Apparently, he didn’t have a choice in the matter, and was just plopped here.

I frowned for a second, thinking about who had it worse between the two of us. He didn’t have a choice in the matter, but I… I decided to tell him, so that maybe he wouldn’t feel so horrible. I motioned for him to come closer with my hand and cupped my hands around his ear so that the others couldn’t hear. ”I’m guessing you at least stayed the same gender, right? Odin didn’t give me a dicking, he just took… well, you know,” I pulled away and looked down, shame and anger mixed together in equal parts.

Silas looked absolutely mortified and his hands slapped softly upon his crotch with a whine. ”Awww, what the fuck!? I’m officially convinced you might be worse off than me, dude! I mean...noooo! Like, sorry for your loss and everything, but shit man!” Well, it seems I’ve succeeded in creeping the poor guy out, so all I did was pat him on the shoulder and told him I’ve gotten used to it....mostly.

”Well, I’m hella strong now and, according to Eir, I’m supposed to be able to do a Sonic Rainboom… or something like it. It won’t be a rainbow, it’ll be all silver and gold, but yeah. So at least it’s awesome in some ways,” I tried to reason out, still looking down on the ground even as my wings fluttered.

”And that spear’s pretty kickass too! Did you craft it yourself?” I wasn’t expecting a question from him, so I admit it made me flinch minutely, but only because he voiced it higher than normal!

I coughed and attempted to play it off, brushing my now-luxurious hair out of my eyes as I looked at him. ”Nah, this isn’t mine. Odin said it was his, and it’s name is Gungnir. Apparently, it won’t ever miss once I aim to hit a target, whether throwing or thrusting. And nobody but me had been able to hold it so far,” I added with a bit of pride as I leaned forward and took it out of the holster, lifting it up like it was made of nothing but air. ”Go ahead, try it,” I said with a smile as I held it out to him.

Silas scoffed as he reached for Gungnir, his scale-covered hand encompassing its shaft entirely as he smiled. ”I’m no idiot, brah. There has to be a trick to th-WOAH!” I couldn’t help but laugh as he plummeted like a boulder in the ocean, falling clean on his face with a yip of surprise. I could hear him mumble something from his new position on the ground, making me ask him to speak louder. ”Real cute. Myou’ve had jis plahnned from da begwinning.” His voice reeked of annoyance and some mirth, which made me chuckle as I came down from my laughing fit.

Eir even let out a little titter as she watched the events unfold, though hers were much more reserved. ”Perhaps this is the ‘macho’ overconfidence I have heard about when visitors travel to Valhalla. You tried to block that weapon before, did you not feel its weight?” she asked, apparently genuinely curious if he hadn’t noticed, or if he was an idiot.

Silas picked himself up with a smile and showcased his pearly whites, which looked sharp enough to chomp through the toughest of diamonds before giving Eir a thumbs-up. ”Well, I might’ve used my gauntlets to block the initial force, but the magic flowing within its confines caused even my gauntlets to break! So, thinking quickly while remembering the magical property of my cape, I used that as my next defense. Long story short, this cape cannot be punctured by any weapon whatsoever, which means Ol’ Gung here might as well of been a toothpick, your majesty.” Silas’s explanation had some traces of cockiness to it, but I guess its understandable since he blocked one of the most lethal weapons in Norse mythology.

”I can’t say the cabbage vendor outside this humble abode was thrilled about my sudden appearance, but through the rolling cabbages and screaming profanities, I could tell that he was a nice griffin!” At this, Eir, Blitz, Silas, and the rest of his entourage all chuckled. I even found myself chuckling as I summoned Gungnir back into my hand, leaning forward to stick it back into its holster.

I stopped to think about what he had said, about his gauntlets being magical, and I snapped my fingers in realization. ”Oh, no, your gauntlets didn’t get overpowered. They got absorbed,” I said simply as I pulled the spear out and examined it once again, noting that there was a faint blue light in the blades. ”This spear soaks up magic like a sponge, dude. I wouldn’t be surprised if those things are hard to access for the next few days, if they always came from the same place. It’ll eventually release it, but… Yeah, sorry about that.”

Silas began tugging on his chin hair, which gave me pause. In the midst of pondering how a dragon grows hair on its head, he began talking. ”Damn. Eh, it’s not like we’re gonna be fighting anything that may require the use of my rings today, so maybe it’s not all that bad. Regardless, I happen to have something quite similar to Gungnir in terms of absorbtion! Here, let me get it out!” Silas began fishing around under his over-cape for something, and the sound of a sliding sword against its sheath made me raise an eyebrow. Smiling all the while, Silas promptly pulled his missing arm out and revealed a beautiful diamond katana, with an obsidian hilt that resembled a dragon in the act of roaring. A flash of red and yellow would pulse through the blade every second or so, making my eyes widen.

”I call her, Hope! And well, there’s a story for another time about her name. In any case, I’ve been tasked with resolving some affairs in the Crystal Kingdom just north of here. That being said, you’d never be able to guess who charged this baby with magic before I left!” Silas’s taunt caused Eir to perk up somewhat.

Eir tilted her head as she looked at the blade, as if she were searching for something, but then her eyes widened. ”This is Lady Celestia’s magical signature. You have seen her, then? How has she been since her sister returned? She was so very depressed for the first three-quarters of the millennium, Mother feared that she would find a way to take her life. Maker knows she tried enough times,” she muttered at the end, seeming to go off into her own little world as she thought about memories from long ago.

”Well, if you must know,” Silas responded and promptly trailed off for a second or so, ”She seemed alright when I arrived, but I know enough about masks to see through the one she put on. I don’t exactly remember what happened to make the situation escalate that far, but I eventually found myself bearing down on her with a couple of slaps or so, rebuking her childish ways and reminding her of her position in leading a nation through a mask of depression. Still, it was all for the be- Did it just get cold in here?” Silas’s question caused him to tilt his head up to the ceiling and ponder it himself.

The oxygen was sucked out of the room by the gasps from every Bergard Griffin--and myself-- that had just heard what he said. I turned minutely to look at Eir and saw her face completely frozen, stuck in mid-word as she registered what the drake had just said. ”Silas, do you have a will? Because you need a will. Like, within the next five seconds when her brain catches up,” I murmured urgently, placing one hand lightly on my spear.

”You did what?” Eir asked so quietly that in any other setting it would have been missed. But in the absolute quiet that followed Silas’s words, they were like a thunderclap that caused everyone around her to flinch. ”You laid your hands upon Lady Celestia, guardian of all free things in the world, defeater of discord, regent of the day and my personal friend since I was but a baby, over 500 years ago? And you did so in violence? Please, clarify that I am correct in assuming that was what I just heard.” She was so scary that I almost wished I was facing down the Fenrir again as she slowly stood and began unfastening the buckles of her gauntlet as she spoke. She paused when the last buckle was undone, focusing her cold malice entirely upon him as she awaited his response.

“Uh, yeah? I mean, it’s not like I did it for fun. Did I do something wrong here, or- Oof!” Silas found it hard to talk when that same gauntlet Eir was unbuckling successfully struck him across the mouth as it completed its flight path.

”SILAS EPISTA,” she roared in the oldest language in the universe, the very mountain shaking with the power behind every word. She evoked his true name in that language, forcing him to be very quiet and listen to every syllable that came from her mouth. ”BY STRIKING CELESTIA, YOU HAVE DISHONORED ME: DISHONORED MY MOTHER, DISHONORED MY PEOPLE, BESMIRCHED THE STATION AFFORDED TO CELESTIA BY THE ELDER GODS, AND ABOVE ALL ELSE, BROUGHT MORE SHAME UPON YOURSELF THAN YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO LIVE WITH!” She pointed down to the gauntlet that now rested on the table, her expression a mask of pure fury. I had never even imagined that she could get this angry, and now that I was seeing it, I never wanted to see it again. Golden light seemed to radiate out from her as she channeled Holy Power to evoke these words, and her hair whipped about wildly in an unfelt breeze.

”YOUR ACTION DEMANDS THAT I CLAIM RECOMPENSE! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A FIGHT TO THE DEATH. DO YOU ACCEPT?!”

I could see by the look in Silas’s eye that this wasn’t the first time someone had used magic on him, or been involved with a fight to the death. I could also see that he had a resistance to the volume that could’ve only came with experience. ” I mean, if it really bothers you that much, I don’t see why not. It’s just that I really don’t have any plans to die today, as I’m sure you don’t either. That, and it is strictly against my personality to lay hands on a female; and I know that might sound hypocritical considering all the times I bitch-slapped Celestia, but believe me when I tell you that she’s perfectly cool with me, and holds no bad blood for what I did whatsoever. Do you understand where I’m coming from, gorgeous?”

I could now see why Eir wanted to pound this guy, even if I wasn’t that big of a Celestia fan. ”Dude, I’m not trying to be mean here, but you’re a fucking--” before I could find a word that described his level of stupidity, Eir leveled one finger at Silas.

”This body that houses such a disrespectful spirit, hear my orders. You shall stand, bend over, offer your neck to my blade, and not utter a word or move until I say otherwise. So I, Eir Holybell, command,” she said very calmly, and I resigned myself to sitting back and watching this unfold. If only I had some popcorn...

“Oh please. As if I’d actually do-HURRN!” Silas’s retort was choked off by Eir’s spell as it took effect, silencing the drake completely as a look of fear overtook his face. He looked so desperate to scream, so desperate to talk his way out of this as he stood up full and bent over at the waist. I almost felt sorry for him as he stuck out his neck against his will.

Almost. He’s still a fucking moron, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.

Eir drew her longsword with a long, fluid motion as she stepped into his field of vision before she laid the edge on his neck, allowing the starmetal to press down on his scales and crack a few of them. ”You struck her to remind her of her station, Silas? Do you know what you are to her, even after this? You are a flicker of a candle. Even I, who will live well into my two-thousands, am just a fleeting glimmer in the ocean that is her life. She measures her actions in eons, Silas,” she said, tapping the edge of the blade on his neck again with the word ‘eons’. ”She defeated Discord. You don’t know, you can’t know, what his rule was like. Nowhere else in the world remembers. They made it into a children’s bedtime story. But the Valkyries… we remember. My mother’s mother was there, lived through that turbulent time. Discord was a monster, a sadist, and his torture of choice was madness.

I was kinda wondering where she was going with this, when she leaned down and looked Silas dead in the eye. ”Discord is the reason Celestia is who she is. He drove her father to madness, forced him to kill his wife, and then released him for long enough to let him realize what he had done. In the end, he slit his own throat with a magical blade that he had sworn to use against that demon. And all of this while Celestia watched. She was more helpless to do anything against him than you are to do anything against me. You know nothing of her pain, of her fear, or what is acceptable for her. If I ever hear of you disrespecting that alicorn again, I will hunt you to the ends of reality, through any world and any time, and I will kill you with my bare hands. Is that understood? You may nod, by the way.”

And nod he did.

Author's Note:

Sorry bout the long chapter folks, but it's time for the event you didn't know you were waiting for!

In this corner, with an overall undefeated record and more power than he really knows what to do with, we have the liberator of slaves, the conqueror of gods, the leader of the Blackbird Monster Hunting guild... Sila~s Epi~sta~! He is the reigning champion of Badassery, folks, and never has he been bested when it comes to combat! Could that change tonight?

And in this corner we have the challenger, a brand new player on the board! Hailing from the distant hanging fortress of Valhalla, wielding the spear formerly owned by the God Odin, we have... Sku~ld Godspear! His monster count stands at an unspecified number of Nightmare-tainted Diamond Dogs, known as Fenrir, and one mother-of-fuck scary Garmr! He doesn't have as much experience as the champ, and will probably be a smear on the pavement by the end of this, but can the rookie pull a victory out of his ass? Well, stay tuned for the next chapter to find out!

The next few chapters will be a crossover with this story: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/134695/blackbird

Go check it out!

*Purple: Pure German
*L.O.V.: V.A.F. Light of Valhalla

Comments ( 12 )

I,(being a major TF2 fan, easily told by my username and avatar)love what Silas said...
Right at this point:

”Press pause, put the controller down, and Jarate all over the place! What the hell did you just say!? You miss tacos!? There’s only one thing that could mean!”

JAA-RATE!

I have read many stories, a few with a gender-swapped main character. This story though, I think is my favorite out of the hundreds I have read. I don't think I have ever read a fanfiction that gave me the same reaction published novels do where I nearly want to cry when there isn't more to read.

Ooh, a Norse story, haven't read yet. what god sent you? I need to make sure It isn't the same as the god that is going to send my character when I finish my first chapter.

God damn I love this story, can't wait to see more. Also Eir scares me beyond sanity now x.x, also I could see Celestia being emotionally distraught from thousands upon thousand of years of being alone watching her family and friends die. At least until Luna came back and the new alicorns to keep her company who would live as long as she did. I don't think anyone could keep sane from being alone in a ageless life of eternity, eventually they would break if they had no one.

I like this story, but I'm wondering why all of the speech is in bold.

Stahlfeader: ”What do you mean, it’s irrelevant! If the Fenrir are capable of summoning a Garmr, then all of Flockholme--”
Blutkraale: ”The Fenrir are dumb beasts, incapable of more than wanton destruction. Strong, certainly, but they cannot reach us in Flockholme, nor could they possibly summon a Garmr. The Valkyrie must be lying, it is the only explanation.”
Eisenklaue: ”Ah, but what if she is not, Heerführer Blutige? If she isn't, wouldn't that mean that someone is guiding the beasts actions? if this is so, would it not be prudent to send just a small amount of ships to their aid?”
Blutkraale: ”Yes, and meanwhile, we can leave the city vulnerable to pirate raids! Excellent idea, Herr Donner.”
Stahlfeader: ”Bah! You’re the only pirate here, Blutige.”
Blutkraale: ”You insolent son of a Roc!”

This is against the rules of posting chapters / fics, you can't have "Stahlfeader: " or whatever, try with simply having Blutkraale in green.

And you lost me.
This seems to be a running theme in the CGotG universe when a character does something so utterly stupid he might as well have began poking Eir's boobs.
Just blergh, almost all CGotG stories have gone down this route, and they all equally lose my interest.

He he Silas you noon. Watch yo tongue

Best. HiE. Ever. :twilightsmile::rainbowkiss::derpyderp2::yay::trollestia::scootangel::pinkiecrazy::pinkiehappy:

”Y’know, there’s a funny story about the last time I came here! There were these statues, y’see, that could only move when you weren’t looking at them, and I…”

Doctor who reference? OF COURSE It is now... if clockwork whooves Actually The Doctor? or is he a normal pony?

I am liking this story so far, but I do have a few things I felt I should bring up.

First, why is all of the dialogue in bold?

Second, you really shouldn't use the colour yellow in a story, especially when the background is white, it makes the sentence hard to read.

And third, I don't mind if authors use different languages in their stories but, you should keep in mind that many readers might not know that language. Some readers don't want to bother with using Google translate or something similar. Now, you don't need to take the German out of this story, but you could maybe give the translation after the original sentence. I, myself have used Google translate because I have really enjoyed this so far and believe that this story and you, yourself as a writer, have great potential.

Keep up the good work and I await the next chapter.

P.S. Sorry about the SUPER long comment!

Our dear author is DEAD they will never be able to finish this piece of art

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