Nine Realms

Now, Twilight and her friends had been at sea several times before in their lives, yet never in circumstances such as this. For one thing, the sea in question was hardly a calm and relaxing one, as there were violent waves on many occasions, causing their vessel to tilt and sway a great deal, much to the chagrin of its occupants. And secondly, there was the ship itself. It was long, narrow, and decorated with a dragon's head at the very front of it, which Spike couldn't help but appreciate. Even so, despite that artisan touch, this was a vessel clearly designed for speed, to arrive at its destination and then get away just as fast. Even a nautical novice like Twilight could see this, and she would admire its craftsmanship as she waited out her journey here. However, it appeared as though one of her friends was not so eager to sit this out, and there was no prizes for guessing who.

"Ugh! How long have we been out here?" Rainbow asked.

Sighing, Twilight looked up to her, seeing her resting at the very top of the mast.

"Three days, maybe four."

Rainbow looked down to her, grimacing slightly.

"And our plan is to follow these guys, get to this special place, and from there we'll just be able to go home?"

Twilight considered that.

"This Irminsul they talked about is a sacred place to their people. According to Erik, it has a connection to other worlds. Worlds they may never have been to personally, but that they wholeheartedly believe in. And more than that, it may be our best chance of leaving this one."

Flying down to the deck, Rainbow thought on that for a moment.

"Twilight...even they don't seem to know if this thing will do that!"

Applejack, who had been leaning on the edge of the longboat for a while, looked to her pegasus friend with a frown.

"Beggin' yer pardon, Rainbow...but do y'all have any better ideas?"

Rainbow frowned right back, but nevertheless stayed silent, much to Applejack's amusement.

"Eyup...thought so."

Unfortunately, Rarity was not enjoying this moment as much as her farmer colleague, and she looked more than a little ill right now, with a distinct green tint to her cheeks as she rested to one side.

"If you're all quite done, I would rather we not give this boat any more cause to sway than it already has done. I really am not all that cut-out for long-voyages."

Pinkie, who had been hopping about the deck and just generally being her usual bouncy self, looked over to the fashionista with confusion.

"But you love being at sea!"

Slowly, Rarity glanced to the party-lover.

"I love yachts, Pinkie! I love cruises and luxury and smooth sailing, and this? This hasn't been any of those things!"

The effort taken to say those words had the expected effect, and so Rarity immediately started to clasp a hoof over her mouth, rushing to the side and hanging her head over, so as to prevent anyone else from seeing what was happening. Thankfully, everyone had the grace not to look her way as she was doing this, even the oarsmen, who had been quite patient with these talkative ponies during this entire journey. But, among all of them, Fluttershy seemed just as eager as Pinkie to be out here, and was gazing down at the waters to see all the little fish that would occasionally hop out of it. Her wide smile was almost infections, as Spike too started to join in on this, much to Fluttershy's delight.

"Isn't it wonderful?" she asked.

The young drake chuckled.

"Yep, sure is."

Eventually, he turned, looking to his carer and taking a few steps over to her.

"So...a journey to find another magic tree? Seems to be a recurring thing with us."

Twilight giggled to that, appreciating the moment of levity her ward had provided for them.

"I don't know if it's magic exactly, but we'll know when we get there."

And it was at this point that Erik, their guide and translator, walked alongside her, letting out a deep sigh as he gazed out to the open sea before them.

"Irminsul is sacred, like many groves of our lands. Trees are connected to Yggdrasil, whose branches and roots connect all things."

Rainbow blinked to this.

"So...your people believe there's a giant tree floating about in space with entire worlds just hanging off its branches and stuff? That..."

She chuckled.

"...I don't know whether to say that's awesome or ridiculous, but I can get behind it. No stranger than anything else we've seen in our lives."

The group shared a laugh at that, even Rarity, who had thankfully managed to start recovering from her unexpected sea-sickness. Unfortunately for her, she was kept from a full recovery by a sudden jerkiness in the ship. It swayed heavily to the side, forcing everyone on-board to grab hold of the edge, lest they fall overboard. When it finally finished, the alabaster unicorn grunted in irritation about it.

"Argh! Can't we go five minutes without some horrible wave coming along and making our boat do that?"

But Erik, whose eyes now narrowed, shook his head.

"That...was no wave."

Naturally, words like that prompted great concern in all aboard, and as he stepped forward, he gestured to his oarsmen to stop rowing for the time being. Twilight walked with him, and together, they carefully peered over the edge. At first, there appeared to be nothing but murkiness down in those watery depths, and then, they saw something. Movement. Something was down there, but the waters were too dark to make it out. Then, after a while, Twilight's eyes widened.

"A...a scale?"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"What, something scaly down there?"

Twilight looked to her, shaking her head.

"Not scales...a scale! A very big scale!"

Immediately, all of the ponies joined her, looking down into the water together. It was still hard to make it out clearly, but even so, there was no denying that Twilight has the right of it. A single scale, as long or possibly even longer than the boat itself, was moving beneath them. And then, it was followed by another, and then another, and on and on and on for some time. There was something alive down there, and it was big. It was, quite frankly, ridiculously big. Terrifyingly big. But whatever it was, there came a time when all that could be seen in the water was gloom. The creature, whatever it was, had passed, leaving them once again alone at sea. Silence fell, and Erik gestured to his men, giving them leave to continue rowing. As for Twilight, she gave her friends one final glance before asking the obvious question to Erik.

"What...what was that?"

A stern look came to the man, and he sighed, looking again to the waters.

"...Jormungandr. He...is always down there."

Confusion came to the mares and to Spike, and Erik, seeing this, eventually put on a smile, speaking again in a calming tone.

"Fear not...it has passed. We will continue journey, find you way to Irminsul. No need to dwell on..."

He paused, a slight tint of fear in his eyes.

"...on Midgardr-serpent."

He stayed silent after that, moving over to sit at the side of the ship and join in on the rowing. Twilight, looking to her friends, seemed to share the sense of concern they now all bore.

"Um...Twilight? What's...a Midgardr-serpent?" Fluttershy asked.

Thinking on that, Twilight's eyes drifted in the direction of the water again, and she took on a more reserved look.

"I think...it's probably for the best if we don’t know."