Nine Realms

With a determination to leave this realm as soon as possible, Twilight and company made good time heading in the directions that had been provided for them. Across the meadow they went, passing many a light elf, who, as per usual, did not really notice them all that much. But, given how little the ponies liked this lot at this point, it did not bother them in the slightest that they weren't going to stop and have a chat with them. So, on they went, eventually coming to the edge of another woodland. The birds were singing in the branches, and for a time, they were reminded of why they'd initially liked this place so much. In spite of the aloof nature of those who lived here, this was a genuinely beautiful realm, with much to offer. It almost made them regret their decision to leave it was quickly as they were. But, the key word there, of course, was almost.

Passing through the new woodland, Twilight and her colleagues all had looks that suggested that they were deep in thought over something, though whatever it was they were dwelling on, nopony said. Instead, silence was what they had amongst each other, passing tree after tree after tree, never once looking back to were they'd come from. Thankfully, this section of woodland did not last long, and even more thankfully, once they were on the other side, it was mere moments before they found what it was they were looking for. For on the other side of the woodland, there was a hill that sloped downwards, and on the other side, the was a winding river, its crystal clear waters glistening with the bright sunlight from above. Smiling, Twilight moved forward, the others soon following, and within only a few moments, they were upon the riverbank.

"So...how does this work?" Pinkie asked.

It was a fair question. There did not appear to be any feeling of magic to this river, nor did Twilight see any sign of this woman the light elf had spoken of. Instead, it just appeared to be a simple river, no different from a million others they'd seen in their time. Rainbow, stepping forward, spread out her wings and launched herself forward, crossing the river within moments. She landed upon the other side, and waited there for a second or two, before letting out a disappointed sigh. Soon afterwards, she flew back, and was greeted with the confused expressions of her friends, which led to her shrugging her shoulders.

"I thought maybe all I had to do was cross it, but...nope."

Twilight smiled to that attempt by her friend, but soon, her eyes drifted again to the gentle waters beside her.

"Perhaps we simply need to...follow it?"

Her tone had become slow and quiet towards the end, and the others, just briefly, didn't know why. However, Twilight was soon sure to explain herself, and so pointed to something just to the side. There, moored peacefully to the bank via a nearby tree-stump, was a small wooden boat, not unlike the long-ships the humans of Midgard had sailed in, albeit much smaller in size. It was bright white, and appeared to have been freshly-built, though the group swore to themselves that they hadn't noticed it before. Spike, taking a step closer to the thing, soon glanced back to Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"On reflection, I know we should probably be very suspicious of that boat..."

Then, he let out a long sigh.

"...but...I think we all know this is what we're looking for to get out of here."

The others, resigned to the young dragon's assessment of the situation, gave a quick nod to one another, before all starting to make their way over to the boat. A minute or two passed, but eventually, they managed to get inside it, with Twilight using her magic to take off the rope that was holding the boat to the aforementioned stump. As soon as she did this, they were off, with the boat gently starting to travel down the river. Rainbow, as usual with her, did not like this slow pace, but the others, at the very least, tried their best to enjoy the trip, Rarity especially, who was grateful that this boat ride wouldn't be as frantic or chaotic as the last one she'd been on. And as always, they had clear skies, good weather and pleasant birdsong to greet them as they made their way.

"So...guess this is goodbye to Alfheim?" Applejack asked.

Twilight glanced behind her, to the path they'd walked to get here, and nodded.

"Yes...seems so."

After that, she said nothing, instead enjoying the quiet of their little boat ride. On and on the water flowed, taking the small boat along, though where it was leading them, none could say. They passed through bends and winds along their way, seeing hills, forests and meadows, and after a while, they started to notice that the speed of the boat was increasing, though it only did so gradually. Thus, it wasn't until it was going at least twice as fast as when it started that the Equestrian truly noticed.

"Twilight?" Spike asked, nervously.

Twilight held him close, but she did not give an order to leave the boat, even though her instincts told her that nothing good was coming. Faster and faster they went, with Rarity especially becoming dismayed that her gentle boat ride had yet again become a more hardy outing for her. The ponies did their best to hold onto the edge of the boat, for the waters had become almost akin to rapids, threatening to crash them against the rocky shores of the river. Gone was the gentle and easy-going landscape of Alfheim proper, and instead, they found themselves in a somewhat harsher area of the realm, with the boat rocking from side to side as they continue to go to its destination. Twilight narrowed her eyes, always trying to keep a cool head, even though it was clear that nopony else was enjoying this in the slightest. And yet, through it all, there was this familiar sensation. The same sensation she always got when they passed from one world to the next.

"Everypony...hold on!"

And hold on they did, and just in time to see, to their horror, that this rapidly-flowing river was now leading them straight to the edge of what appeared to be a waterfall. Grimaces were abound, but they'd put their faith in their leader, and did not try to flee from this. Instead they held on for dear life, with Twilight keeping Spike close to her via her magic, all while never letting her eyes stray from that waterfall's edge. Eventually, however, they went over, with everypony giving an understandable scream as they did so. Twilight watched as their boat fell faster and faster, heading straight for the bottom. She could see no rocks or jagged danger down there, but as always, there was that feeling. So she stayed, and her friends stayed, and down they went, until, finally, they hit the bottom. And so it came to pass that both the boat and its occupants were submerged under the waters at the bottom of the waterfall.

And to the Equestrians, darkness came.