Nine Realms

An ancient place, and one that had not seen either life nor activity for hundreds of years. Possibly a great deal more than that. Thousands even. And yet Twilight and her party continued onwards, the only light coming from her illuminated horn. Fafnir was beside her, breathing heavily at this pint, realising that his goal was close by. Twilight too was feeling nervous, for this was her only lead to a means out of this world, and if there was no such relic at the end of this trail, then all this effort will have been for noting. Occasionally, she'd glance around, seeing the runes upon the walls, or looking down just in time to avoid some large crack in the floor. The others too would look around, though would always make sure to not get too distracted, lest they fall behind, which was not something anyone wanted in a place like this. Eventually, however, Fafnir raised a hand, signalling for them all to stop. And stop they did, seeing him take a single step forward, narrowing his eyes.

"...This is it."

Twilight looked ahead, and sure enough, the great barrier between them and their final goal was indeed there. A gaping chasm, right at the end of their path, which seemed to stretch on forever. Walking forward herself, Twilight risked a look down into the gloom below. Even with her light, there seemed to be no telling where the bottom was. And in that moment, she realised why no dwarf had come here in so long. Anyone risking such a place was in great peril. But, as she looked upwards instead, she could just about make out a ledge on the other side, prompting her to turn to Fafnir.

"Just out of curiosity...even if we do get you over there...how will you get back?"

Fafnir nodded.

"According to the tales...the old hoarder left a means for himself to get back across the chasm, but shut it down once he was with his treasure."

Twilight frowned.

"Wait...he's still over there?"

The dwarf Prince shook his head.

"After all this time? Doubtful."

Twilight sighed, then looked over her shoulder to Rainbow and Fluttershy. She nodded to them, and they nodded back, understanding what she wanted them to do. They stretched out their wings, floating over to Fafnir, who in turn stretched out his own arms. They each took hold of one, and with great effort they hoisted him up, and thus started to carry him over the great chasm. Twilight and the others stayed behind, watching them move further and further away. Eventually, a time came when they could see them no longer, and so the waiting began. Minute after minute passed, and they would sometimes hear words being spoken on the other side. Spike glanced to his carer with concern, and she responded by giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. But then, to the surprise of all of them, there was suddenly a loud rumble.

"What the...?!" Twilight exclaimed.

Immediately, and to the shock of all of them, some massive stone bridge suddenly shot towards them from the other side of the hole, prompting them all to step back out of concern for their safety. The bridge reached them, connecting to their side of the chasm, and as soon as that happened, the rumbling stopped. Twilight looked to her friends, then back to the bridge. Taking a step forward, she gave a gentle poke of the thing with her hoof. It seemed stable enough, so after taking a deep breath, she began her march onwards, with her friends close behind her. A few minutes passed, but eventually, they managed to reach the other side, where Fafnir, Fluttershy and Rainbow were all waiting for them with wide smiles.

"Not bad, eh?" the Prince stated.

Twilight gave him a slight smirk, but otherwise said nothing, for she had seen something just past him. It was another door, albeit one that was already open, and from within, she could see something glistening. Fafnir too had seen it, and together, he and the Equestrians walked into that door in earnest. There was darkness within, much like there had been everywhere else, but Fafnir was unconcerned, pointing to something on a nearby wall.

"A little fire if you would, Princess."

Twilight nodded, and using her magic once more, she shot a single burst onto the spot she had been directed to. It had, apparently, been a torch secured to the wall, which ignited as soon as her magic hit it. This set off a chain-reaction, where torch after torch after torch began to light, providing illumination for the entire chamber. And as soon as they had light, the entire group looked on with astonishment. The stories had not been exaggerating, for this truly was a treasure hoard unlike any they had ever seen before. Gold, rubies, silver goblets, every single treasure one could imagine was in here, piled up high, almost to the ceiling, which was no small feat given how high up that ceiling went on. How far back the treasure stretched, they could not say, for it just seemed to go on forever. As one would expect, however, one pony in particular was happy to see this place.

"Oh...oh my! Just think of what I could do with such trinkets!" Rarity declared.

The others looked to her with raised eyebrow, prompting her to clear her throat and take a step backwards from the treasure.

"Right, priorities, got it."

Twilight shook her head to that, then looked around again.

"So...where's our way out?"

Fafnir took a moment out of admiring his new treasure to look around himself, and eventually, his eyes settled on one artefact in particular.

"There."

Twilight and the others looked on to where he'd gestured to, and there, almost nestled in the corner, was a solid gold statue, whose base was encrusted in rubies. The statue itself appeared to be of a towering figure of some sort. A Jotun perhaps? Whatever the case, he was brandishing a great sword, bearing a grim expression. Twilight tilted her head, then looked to Fafnir, who simply nodded.

"Trust me, that's your ticket out of here."

Though she was still uncertain, Twilight nevertheless smiled in appreciation.

"Thank you, Fafnir...we're one step closer to home."

The Prince chuckled.

"Hey, you helped me, so I help you. It's only fair."

The others too smiled at him, but those smiles didn't last long, for just then, they all turned upon hearing a voice call out from the direction they'd just come from.

"FAFNIR!!!"

Whoever had called out was still too far away to be seen, but Fafnir himself narrowed his eyes, grumbling under his breath.

"Otr!"

Twilight looked to him.

"Your...your brother?"

Fafnir nodded.

"He must have followed us!"

He exhaled deeply.

"Doubtless he comes to have a say in my plans here. He never could leave things alone."

He continued to grumble for a bit, then looked back to the alicorn beside him.

"This is a family matter, Princess. You needn't concern yourself. Go, take your portal and get you and your friends out of here."

Rainbow, after hearing that, flew down to her lavender colleague.

"I ain't arguing with that."

Twilight nodded. They had their way out, and they had to take it, so without saying anything to one another, the seven of them made their way over to the ancient gold statue. As had happened with every portal they'd encountered thus far, they each found a spot upon it, and reach out to touch it. Twilight cast Fafnir one final look before touching the statue herself, and as soon as she did so, that same familiar magical feeling began to overwhelm her. Fafnir himself stayed behind, watching with amazement as those ponies and their little dragon disappeared right before his eyes. But soon, he was alone, save for his rapidly-approaching brother. And that thought caused him to frown deeply. Looking to the treasure he had discovered, he reached down to it, plucking a simple-looking golden ring from among the endless shiny prizes he'd claimed for himself.

"Do you come to chastise me, brother..."

His eyes narrowed.

"...or steal what's mine?"

His words had been for himself, but as he looked back in the direction his brother was coming from, his expression was one of anger, and he reached behind himself, taking hold of the hilt of what appeared to be a dagger.

"This treasure is mine, Otr...and you shall...not...have it!"