HI EVERYONE! This is a little one shot of how the 8 legged stallion of Norse Mythology, Sleipnir, came to be. Before you read, let me clarify that yes, this is based off of thee actual Norse Legend. You are warned.

10 months.
It had been 10 months since Loki had disappeared and still Asgard mourned. Thor sat in a large chamber in the company of his friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, dangling his hand over the arm of his chair, swinging Mjolnir back and forth pensively. He mulled over the disappearance of his brother and trying to figure out where next to search. All the warriors of Asgard had scoured the kingdom in search of the missing prince and every one of them had returned unsuccessful. Thor's head lolled against the plush head rest, closed his eyes and thought back to the events prior to this mysterious disappearance.

Two years prior

Footsteps, running footsteps, approached the door of the throne room and conversation between Odin and his sons ceased abruptly as they all three turned towards the urgent sound. The doors swung open and a young guard stepped in and paused, waiting for the All Father to allow him to proceed. Odin motioned to him and the guard hurried to the foot of the throne and kneeled before his king, closed fist placed over this heart.
"Pray, what matter is so urgent to prompt my attention?" The young guard wrung his hands nervously.

"A stranger on horse back has bid Heimdal to permit him entrance to the realm with promise of a gift of great service to you and Asgard, All Father."
"A gift? To the Kingdom?"
"Yes, sir. A very generous one he assured. He requests an audience with your majesty."
"Thank you, young man, ready your horse and ride out to the bifrost and escort this man to the palace."

"Yes, my king, right away my king." And with that, the guard hurried out as quickly has he had come.

"Well that was strange" Thor said turning back to face his father. Loki nodded in agreement. "I wonder what such a gift he could grant."
"We shall know shortly." Said Odin as he stood. He banged the end of his staff against the shimmering floor. "Heimdal, you have my permission to grant this stranger access to Asgard."

Loki swung his cape out behind him and sat on the stairs at the base of his father's throne and Thor joined him. It didn't take long, as the guard had wasted no time and twenty minutes later he emerged into the chamber accompanied by a man clad in a brown leather traveling coat. He despite his calloused and dirt stained hands and the growth of stubble on his jaw, he was clean and relatively handsome man.

"I hear you have a gift for the kingdom." Odin said calmly.

"I do, All Father. I heard that you seek to build a wall around this kingdom to protect the Aesir from outside threats, and, with the help of my stallion, Svadilfari, I wish to build this wall for you."

Thor and Loki looked at each other wide eyed in disbelief at the enormity of such a gift.

"Your offer is most generous, good sir. Do you have a price or do you simply wish to do this out of the goodness of your heart?"

"I do have a price All Father, albeit a very steep one."

"Naturally so; Name it."

"I wish to have the Goddess Freya's hand in marriage."

Outrage instantly flared up around the room. "You are correct. Your price steep, much too steep! Guard, see this man back to the way in which he came and make sure he never returns!" The All Father declared. Two guards seized the man by his arms on either side but Loki rushed towards Odin. "Father wait."

Odin turned towards his son. "What Loki?"

"Father, we need this wall built, you've said so yourself."

"Are you suggesting I agree to his terms!?" Odin said angrily.

"No, naturally not," Loki chuckled. "Simply give him an impossible time line to work with, he will have done most of the work for us and our men could easily pick up where he left off and Freya won't have to marry him!"

"How long of a time frame would you suggest giving him?"

"Give him one season to build it, even with his horse he wouldn't be able to do it." Odin stopped to consider, then nodded.

"Guards, release him. Sir, if you can build this wall by the Winter Solstice, you may have Freya's hand in marriage. You must use your own materials and only your horse may help you."

The man nodded. "I will get started straight away."

The sun rose and set and the man and his horse worked all day and nearly all hours of the night. Odin, Thor, Loki and Freya watched in worry as the pair built the wall quicker than should have ever been possible. Svadilfari was very fast, strong horse, with a coat that shown brighter than fresh snow. A week before the Winter Solstice, the wall was almost finished. Odin was angry with Loki.

"Do you see this!? He only has about two days' worth of work left to do Loki! We cannot allow him to succeed! Figure out a way to stop him or I'll let the gods take your head!" The All Father roared. Odin stormed out of the chamber and Loki turned to Thor.

"What are you going to do Loki?"

"Don't worry brother," Loki said, looking to the North. " I have a plan…"

Present Day

The god of thunder stood up quickly. "The North Woods."

Every head in the room snapped towards him. "What?" Fandral queried. The God of Thunder looked up to meet the puzzled gazes of his fellow Warriors. "We need to search the North Woods for Loki. I know my brother, if he gets himself into a mess he will get himself out and that whole mess with the builder and his horse… I just know my brother had something to do with stealing Svadilfari so the man could not finish building the wall. Hoof prints, two sets, were shown leading into the woods, both disappeared near the falls. Loki obviously borrowed a horse to lure Svadilfari away from his owner and when the stallion got close enough to touch he must have teleported both of them somewhere else or something." By now, Thor had begun pacing and was oblivious to Hogun trying to get his attention until the warrior grabbed his arm. The prince stopped his ramblings and looked at his friend. "Thor, all of Asgard has been combed through over and over again with no sign of your brother; he has vanished, even from Hiemdal's sight." Thor leaned against the balcony of the common room and gazed at the city below. "It's been ten months and the gate keeper has not caught a glimpse of him here or anywhere in the Nine Realms. For all we know he could be d-" Thor turned around to face Hogun so sharply, the other three feared he might strike him.

"Don't you dare even think of such an atrocity! My brother lives, I know it, I can feel it." The violent tension grew overwhelmingly loud in the silence between Hogun and Thor. Sif cleared her throat. "Wh-why don't we go a couple rounds on the upper training field?" When the two of them didn't respond, she looked to Fandral and Volstagg for help. "Well I don't see why not." Said Fandral. "Yeah, I could do with some good bout of sword slinging." Volstagg agreed vehemently. "Come on Thor, Hogun; let's go let off some steam!"

Thor slowly tore his gaze away from Hogan's and glanced towards his friends. "Yes, lets blow off some steam." He summoned Mjolnir into his hand and swept out of the room. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three followed him out of the castle and up the farthest and largest training field that bordered the large forest to the North of the Kingdom.

Each warrior selected their weapon of choice from the wide selection off the wall of the Weapons Shed then faced their opponent on the field; Fandral against Volstagg and Thor against Hogun. Sif stood the bottom step of the spectators stand. "All right boys, you know the rules. Just practice today, if I see any blood-shed, the guilty party will have to answer to Queen Frigga tonight at the feast as to why it looks as though they've been trampled by a Bilgesnipe. Ready, BEGIN!"

In an instant, the sound of clashing weapons, battle cries, clanking armor and bodies being slammed against the ground echoed around the field. Fandral was holding his own against Volstagg but Hogun was stumbling against the force of Thor's attacks. This went on for several minutes and the warriors were hardly breaking into a sweat before Sif suddenly screamed for them to stop. They paused in the midst of their faux battles and turned to her, then whipped their heads around to see what she was so desperately pointing to and all four sank into fighting stances. A tall black and very pregnant mare hesitantly stepped out of the line of trees and approached them on trembling legs. All four of them dropped their weapons and straightened up when they realized there was no danger.

Fandral chuckled. "Tis just a mare Sif, there's no big emergency."

"Where did she come though? That's not just any mountain horse, look at how well built she is!" Volstagg said, gesturing to the mare." Hogun nodded. "We ought to find the owner and get her back to a safe place before she foals out."

The sound of their voices faded into the back ground as Thor stared at the horse. Something wasn't right; there was a sense of urgency in her large brown eyes and the way her legs trembled slightly. He approached the mare slowly, when she made no move to run away, he laid a large hand on her neck. She dipped her head to rest against his chest with a sigh and Thor took a moment to look her over properly. Tall, her back was even with Thor's shoulders. She was as black as a starless night, well-muscled and her long mane was tangled, a good sign that she had been living in the wild for a long while, her abdomen was incredibly swollen with foal and she was carrying herself in a very peculiar way. A horse of this stature should have been walking with her head high with a bounce in her step. Instead, her head was low, back arched and tail cocked to once side as though she were about to go into labor –

Without warning she neighed sharply and kicked at her stomach with a hind foot. Thor whirled to face the others. "Sif! Fandral, Volstagg, Hogan! Quick! We must get this mare to the stable now!" The jesting between Lady Sif and the Warriors Three ceased immediately as they rushed over to help Thor with the black mare. Fandral looped his coat over her sleek neck in a make shift lead rope and they all five guided her off the field and toward the castle stables. They were nearly there when suddenly the mare stumbled as the muscles in her stomach contracted again and Sif and Hogun wrapped their arm under her neck while Fandral, Thor and Volstagg kept her balanced on her hooves. She grunted and arched her back and there was the sharp sound of liquid hitting the ground. They all froze and looked at each other. Time was up. The mare suddenly lashed out at her stomach again and Volstagg had to leap out of the way to avoid injury.

"Uh, Hogun, you may want to run ahead and alert the stable hands because this foal wants out!" Fandral said.

"Right." He dashed away around the corner and his footsteps faded quickly. "Okay guys let's move!" Thor said urgently and he and the Warriors Three practically lifted the struggling mare along as Sif cooed comforting words into her long ebony ear. The stable came into view, both of the tall golden doors stood open with Hogun's unmistakable form silhouetted between them. As they approached Thor called out. "Where are all the stable hands!?"

"They've all headed to feast! It's starting soon." Volstagg swore under his breath. "I'll deal with my parents later and I'll be sure to vouch for all of us. But this mare comes first." Thor promised. "Do you have a stall ready?"

"Yes, just over here." Hogun lead them to large foaling stall in the back that had already been prepared for another mare that was expected to be foaling soon. They guided the mare into stall and as soon as the door closed behind her, she collapsed into the fresh bedding. None of the men were sure what to do next but Sif immediately took charge and ordered them to gather supplies, sending them out for fresh cloths, warm water, and a knife and medical supplies for the umbilical cord. By the time they got back, the sack had already begun to appear through the vulva, filmy and white.

"Right, I've helped other mares foal out before and they do best if you let them do most of the work themselves." Sif instructed.

"You let me know when she needs help, Sif, and I'll do it,"

"But-"

"I said I'll do it." Thor said flatly. She didn't argue with him and instead turned her attention back to the mare as her abdomen contracted again and she began to push. Everyone settled against the walls and waited. The white bubble suddenly ruptured as the mare rocked back up then stretched out on her side again. Thor jumped a bit, reaching out to help but Sif grabbed his arm and pulled him back with a silent shake of her head. Suddenly, the mare flipped over violently and shot to her feet, tail cocked to the side and hooves were clearly visible through a slimy, opaque skin.

Thor's brow wrinkled in confusion as did everyone else's the mare continued to turn in circles in a vain attempt to find comfort. She stopped, arched her back and pushed again until the forelegs were visible. Confusion turned into absolute shock.

"Uh, Sif, is that what I think it is?" Hogun asked as Volstagg's and Fandral's mouths hung open and they're eyes bulged.

"No, no it can't be." She said scrambling to her feet, followed by Thor. "Four legs! Quick! I may need a rope if it's a breech birth!" Sif lunged for the bag of supplies in the corner. Thor moved the mare's tail out of the way and gasped. "Wait! Sif, stop!"

"What!?" She snapped.

"I see a nose, these are four front legs! Not two front and two back!" A pause.

"WHAT!?" Four of them exclaimed in unison.

"Shhhhh!" Thor said with a gesture indicating for them to lower their voices. "Stranger things have happened!"

"No kidding!" Volstagg quipped. The mare nudged Thor's elbow then began to lower herself back to the floor and began to push again. Five minutes slipped by, then ten and things had only progressed by inches. Thor sat by the mare's head and stroked her head as Sif dipped a cloth into the warm water and began to run it over the mare's body. Suddenly the mare stretched out on her side and with a strained grunt, pushed with all her might as one powerful contraction after the other washed over her like a storm. Fluid and blood rushed over the opaque sack as the Foals head fully came into view and everyone started to encouraged her on.

"Come on girl! You're almost there!"

"Another push! Come one get past the shoulders and you'll be alright!"

"That's it! There you go!"

"Come on darling!"

She paused for a moment, breathing hard, steam rising off her sweat drenched body. The foal began squirm weakly under its wet, veiny blanket, seeking an exit. Lungs heaving, the mare strained with every muscle in her body, neck legs stiffening out straight as she pushed one last time with most powerful contraction yet, and suddenly, it was all over and she collapsed. All was silent aside from the short gasping breaths as the mare struggled to suck in whatever air she could, recovering from the strain.

Thor crawled towards the mare's hind quarters and gently tore away the placenta from the quivering creature beneath. Everybody stared at tiny horse, and marveled at the oddity of it. This little grey foal was everything a foal should be, aside from the four extra legs it possessed.

"Well? What is it?" Fandral asked.

"It's an eight legged horse you dolt!" Volstagg chuckled. "No! I meant-!"

"It's a boy." Thor said with a smile plastered across his face. "It's a boy!" No one else could help it, and they all broke into cheers, smiles, hugs and pats on the back. Slowly the mare gained a bit of strength back and sat up. She curved her graceful neck around to look at her foal. Her ears perked up and she nickered in excitement, the young cold scrambled with his mess of front legs towards the sound of his mother's voice and nickered back to her, stretching his neck out to touch noses with his mother. Mother and son continued to become acquainted with each other as Sif handed a silver dagger over to Thor with a smile.

"Care to do the honors?"

"My pleasure." He moved over to the young colt, the mother wary of his every move, and placed the edge of the dagger under the umbilical cord where Sif told him to, and with one smooth movement, severed the final link between mother and son, the blade cauterizing the cord instantly. Finally, the colt was free and the mother stood up. The colt went wide eyed as he was introduced to this new situation. Immediately, he tried to gather his feet under him and after many, many hilarious attempts to control all eight legs, he finally stood up and was able to keep his balance.

"He looks like a silver spider!" Fandral exclaimed.

"He's definitely an odd one. His coat is beautiful though! Look at all that dappling." Volstagg added. Hogun went over to the wash basin, hung the towels out to dry and dumped the rest of the warm water down the drain. He handed the bucket back to Sif as the mare backed up the far corner, arched her back and with push, expelled the rest of the after birth and bodily fluids. Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg stood outside the stall and talked about names. Thor helped Sif put the afterbirth in the bucket and walked over to the door.

"Here Volstagg, go figure out what to do with this!"

"Ugh! It's absolutely repulsive!" He said, holding the bucket at arms-length as he walked over to the garbage bin down the hall. Sif dried off the colt's fur with a towel as suckled. When he was done he tucked his many legs beneath him and lay down in the middle of the stall. Thor draped an arm over the mare's neck as she sighed.

"I have a whole new appreciation for my mother now." Sif laughed. "Quite an eye opener isn't it?"

"Yes, very." The mare nudged Thor's hand, then pulled away and lipped at his hair. "It looks like she's very appreciative of Thor." Hogun said as he leaned over the sill of the half door with Volstagg and Fandral. Thor smiled as the mare lay down next to her son, exhausted. She closed her eyes and sprawled out on her side. Suddenly the smile on Hogun's face fell. "Look!" He pointed to the mare's coat and the joyous smiles on everyone's faces shifted into expressions of disbelief. Her fur began to retreat into her skin, her skin turning from black to pale white, her mane grew shorter and her tail receded back into her spine until it was no longer there, her front hooves morphing into human hands, and her back hooves into human feet until it was no longer a black mare laying on floor of the stall. In fact, it wasn't a she at all. It was Loki. Naked as the day he was born.

Sif gasped and turned away, face red in embarrassment. Thor's eyes felt like they were going to pop from their sockets. Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg were rendered absolutely speechless.

"Brother?"

Loki opened his eyes and looked up out of the corner of his eye at his brother. "Thor." He said weakly, propping himself up on his elbow. "Don't. Ever. Let me do that again." Thor opened his mouth to speak but Loki held up a hand to silence him and Thor pressed his lips together. "And please, don't ask."

... Yeeeahhhhhh...