Nine Realms

There was no denying it at this point. They were in trouble. But then, when your entire group was being escorted through the bowls of a giant's castle, being held together in the hand of only one of those giants, that was kind of obvious. Twilight and her friends struggled against the grip of their oversized warden, but his great strength made such a struggle virtually impossible. Instead, they resigned themselves to watching, as giant after giant passed them by in the hallway, joining the ones who were taking them and making an even larger group. Eventually, a time came when massive doors were opened, and on the other side was a room even more cavernous than the ones they had seen thus far. And at the very end of it was a Jotun almost a full head taller than his companions, sitting upon a large stone throne and bearing a crown of bones about his head. It took little guesswork to figure out who this towering figure was, and as the other giants approached him, Twilights and the others were unceremoniously thrown to the floor before him. After being given only the briefest of moments to recover from this, the young Princess glanced upwards, just in time to hear the booming voice of their opponent.

"Well...what do we have here?" the great giant whispered, though his voice still shook the walls with every word.

Twilight, getting herself to her hooves, took a moment to make sure that she and her friends were okay, before looking again to their unwelcoming host.

"You...you are the Jotun King? Utgard-Loki?"

The enormous being chuckled.

"I see my reputation precedes me. And you are...?"

Twilight gave a slight bow of her head, hoping some measure of diplomacy might be able to see them through this.

"I am Twilight Sparkle...from the land of Equestria."

There were murmurs among the other giants, and a look of thoughtfulness upon the face of Utgard-Loki.

"So...you hail from another realm?"

Twilight nodded in confirmation of that.

"We do. And..."

She hesitated, suddenly finding it difficult to say what she needed to. The King, however, seemed to understand immediately, and gave a grim nod before looking to his subordinates.

"So then...it appears these intruders wish to use the great stone."

There was more chattering among the gathered Jotuns, which didn't put Twilight or her friends at ease in the slightest. As for Utgard-Loki, he hoisted himself up from his throne, taking a single stride towards his prisoners, before getting down to one knee, bringing his face closer to getter a better look at them. He leaned in closer, looking Twilight right in the eye, before speaking up again.

"Tell me, outsider...you sneak into my home...you seek to use that which is rightfully mine...so what possible reason do I have not to simply smite you where you stand?"

This was it, and Twilight knew it. Their journey through this strange land, their chances of going home again, all of it rested on what she could come up with to say to their captor. Her mind raced, realising that her friends' lives were in her hooves, which was, as one would expect, not a situation that anyone would ever envy. But then, as the moments set in, words of wisdom came to the forefront of her mind. She didn't know if they would work, she didn't even understand them, but they were, at the end of the day, all she had. So, taking a deep breath, she said them.

"...Mimir sent us...to call in his debt."

Instantly, the giant-King's smile vanished, and disbelief took hold in him. Silence fell across the whole hall, with Jotuns looking to one another with confusion, and even a little fear. After a while of staring at the tiny pony before him, Utgard-Loki whispered.

"...Say that again."

Looking up to him, Twilight did exactly that.

"Mimir sent us. To...to call in his debt."

Again, there was a pause, and Utgard-Loki continued to look into her eyes. As he did this, however, another giant walked behind him, bearing a look of anger.

"She's lying!"

But the King slowly shook his head.

"No...she is not."

He lowered his head, shutting his eyes tightly, before letting out a long sigh.

"So...after all these years...the bill comes due."

Twilight and the others watched, seeing this enormous Jotun get back up, standing tall once more. Raising his hand, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, then finally glanced back down to Twilight and her companions.

"And this is what he would ask of me? To grant you passage?"

Twilight nodded in response, and Utgard-Loki, after giving a solemn nod, turned to face his throne.

"Utgard-Loki...pays his debts."

Without even a word, two other giants, who had been standing next to the aforementioned throne, gave a bow of their heads to their king, before simultaneously starting to lift the stone chair up. The ponies watched with confusion as they did this, only to bear wide eyes as they saw, just behind the throne, there was now revealed to them a small opening. And within that opening was a rock, not unlike the one they first saw at the start of their Jotunheim journey. It even bore the same runes. Seeing their way out right there, Twilight took a moment to calm herself, then looked up to the King that continued to tower above her.

"Th...thank you."

Utgard-Loki nodded, then gestured to the stone. Silently, Twilight nodded to her friends, and together, they made their way over, oblivious to the disappointed expressions on the faces of the surrounding Jotuns, who very clearly felt let down at not getting the chance to kill them today. But, as her friends drew nearer to their gateway out of this realm, Twilight paused, and then looked back to the giants' leader.

"Tell me...what was it Mimir did for you that made you so indebted to him?"

A grimace crossed the King's face.

"Long ago, I went to the wise one to ask a question...what is my end? He answered, and from that day...I owed him much."

Hearing that, Rainbow stopped, looking back and raising an eyebrow.

"Wait...your debt was because he told you how you're gonna die?!"

Utgard-Loki frowned to this.

"There are few things in the nine realms more precious than the knowledge of how one will meet their end. And believe me...even the Gods are aware of what awaits them at the end of their days."

He waved her off.

"You are of another world, small one...you could never understand."

He stopped, and then, after dwelling on his own words for a time, he glanced back down to Twilight.

“You have dealt with Mimir also...so I will impart a lesson of my own.”

His tone and face became ones of utter seriousness.

“There is always a price...for wisdom granted.”

Unnerving words, to be sure, but even so, Twilight did her best not to show how disturbed they made her feel. As for Rainbow, she looked like she wanted to ask further, but Twilight stopped her, giving a single shake of her head. So, Rainbow moved off, joining her other friends and standing around the rune-engraved stone that had been revealed to them. The giants all watched, seeing these outsiders place their hooves upon it. And Twilight was the last of them, giving Utgard-Loki one last bow of her head, showing respect for the King, before finally touching the stone herself. Then, in the blink of an eye, the ponies, along with their small dragon companion, had vanished, leaving the hall once more filled with Jotuns only. Utgard-Loki, sighing yet again, then bore a grim look to him, seeming to his fellow giants to be, of all things, resigned to what had occurred here today.

"If now is the time the debt is to be paid...then the fated day is not far off."

Slowly, he turned, looking to his followers.

"Ready your weapons, brothers, and look beyond our walls...for woe to all of us..."

His eyes narrowed.

"...when the hammer strikes."