Nine Realms

Patient though they may have been, spending the better part of a week at sea, with limited provisions and having to deal with unpleasant weather began to tire the ponies out a great deal. But, their ordeal was not eternal, as a time came when they eventually came upon the shores of their destination, this southern land Erik had told them of. Sailing along that coast, the longboat was eventually driven into the mouth of a river, and from there they crept steadily along it, heading deeper and deeper into this unknown place. After a time, their human companions finally found a suitable place to make berth, and Twilight, along with her friends, disembarked, as indeed did Erik. The place they had chosen was heavily forested, though thankfully not as cold as the lands they had journeyed from. Even so, this place was thick with fog, making it hard to see what lay ahead. As they journeyed onwards, through ancient and foreboding trees, Fluttershy walked a bit faster, reaching Twilight and whispering to her.

"Um...what's our plan if this Irminsul doesn't send us home?"

Unsurprisingly, this was a question that had hung heavily in Twilight's mind ever since they first set off from the village. If this didn't work, they'd be back at square one, with no clue of where to go or what to do. She hated it, not having a plan like this, but even so, she was the leader, and as such it was her responsibility to make sure everypony stayed calm and collected during their ordeal here. So, taking a deep breath, Twilight turned to her animal-loving fiend, smiling and putting a hoof gently upon her shoulder.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Fluttershy was still unsure, but she nevertheless accepted her friend's words. However, before Twilight got the chance to say anything further, she was distracted by a tap on her leg by Spike, prompting her to look down to him as he spoke.

"I...I think we're here."

Looking up, Twilight saw that her childhood colleague was correct, they had indeed arrived. The heavy forest they'd been journeying through now began to give way to an open clearing, one that seemed almost naturally made, with no evidence of trees having been moved away by people. However, right at the centre of this clearing was something that, Twilight assumed, must be the reason they were here. At first glance, it appeared to be an old tree stump, but tall. At least the height of a small house. And to say that it was old was an understatement, as it looked like it had been here before any other tree in the area, and was covered in many of the symbols and runes that Twilight had come to learn about from their guide since her time in this world. Erik, walking past her, gestured to the thing, sounding more than a little deferent as he did so.

"...Irminsul."

So, this was it. The sacred site they'd been told about. And truth be told, there was indeed something about this place. It had the same air and feel as places where, even if you'd never heard of them before, felt like they were important. It was certainly important to their human colleagues, as many of them bowed their heads respectfully to it. The ponies looked to them, and then to Twilight, unsure of what the next step should be. Twilight herself, after taking a moment to compose her thoughts, sighed deeply before taking a few steps closer to Irminsul. All eyes were upon her now, and many thoughts raced through her head, never letting her be as she did this.

"Okay...let's see this."

Gradually, she eventually reached it, and slowly raised her hoof. Part of her was warning her not to do this, and that this was a place she and her friends should not be. But, here they were all the same, and the die had been cast. So, with especially great care, the young Princess placed her hoof upon the side of Irminsul. Closing her eyes, she began to feel something. It was strange, unfamiliar, and yet there was still something about this sensation that brought forth memories of other past occurrences in her life. Rarity, tilting her head to the side for a moment, stepped forward, addressing her.

"Is...is it magic?"

Taking her hoof away, Twilight let out another sigh, looking to her gathered friends.

"I don't know if its magic per se, but...there's definitely something here."

Poking his fingers against one another, Spike looked to the ancient remains of that tree, before glancing back up to his carer.

"So...what do we do?"

Considering that, Twilight's mind was able to come up with only one answer.

"When the Friendship Palace was first created, it took all of us sitting upon the thrones inside it to awaken the magic map. Maybe..."

She looked back to the tree.

"...maybe having all of us be around this tree will trigger something too?"

Her friends seemed less certain, but in spite of this, Twilight knew there was one thing she needed to do before they set off and did this. Smiling, she looked over to Erik, walking to him and giving a slight bow of her head.

"Thank you, Erik, for bringing us here."

The human bowed back, his expression stern but nevertheless accepting of her words.

"Rare is chance to aid those of other world. My honour to do so."

Twilight gave another appreciative nod, then looked back to her friends. Though still uncertain, they all looked to her with expressions that made it clear that they were willing to go along with her plan for now. So, taking another deep breath, the Princess of Friendship turned yet again to Irminsul, stretching out her hoof and placing it upon that same spot. Her friends followed, and all the mares, with Spike alongside them, found a spot for themselves and stretched out their own respective limbs. There was a moment of hesitation, which was to be expected in times like this, but eventually, all of them found their courage, and moved ever so slightly forward to touch the ancient tree. The instant this happened, there was an immediate reaction, as a bizarre feeling coursed through them. It was like magic, and yet, also not magic, and something they had a hard time putting into words.

Wha...what's goin' on?" Applejack asked.

None of them knew the answer, not even Twilight, and yet, as this carried on, it began to feel all the more familiar. It felt like that time with the map, before they'd even arrived in this world, and so, if nothing else, the knew they had their connection. Twilight, before becoming completely engulfed in this sensation, turned once more to Erik, who raised his axe to her one last time. The Princess nodded, and then, without warning or explanation, the feeling from Irminsul overwhelmed her.

And then, there was only blackness.