92. The Shadow Over Notland

THE WATERS OF 616TH MIDGARD

The amulet vanished beneath the choppy surface of the waters. Applejack stared after it in dismay and horror, unable to make a sound.

"She's certainly putting up a fuss for a fake amethyst," Ymma muttered.

Skakki turned his eyes to the scene, realizing something was amiss. "What's going on?" he asked in concern as he sprinted toward the Tanner girls and Applejack.

Applejack turned to him. "They…they threw Rarity's…"

Twilight charged onto the deck. "APPLEJACK!" she screamed. "MY AMULET! IT'S GONE!"

"It's…here…" Applejack picked Twilight's necklace off the pile on the deck, holding it out in a shaking hand.

"Phew!" Twilight fastened it around her neck. "I was afraid for a second…" Her eyes darted to the other amulets. "WHAT are those doing here?" Her tone changed immediately, bittering.

"Your friend is losing her mind over worthless stones," Ythla sighed.

"Those were NOT WORTHLESS!" Applejack snapped, having found her voice again. She kept her eyes on Twilight. "They threw Rarity overboard."

"WHAT?" Twilight screamed.

"I would have noticed if they'd thrown someone overboard," Skakki pointed out.

Applejack shook her head. "It's not LIKE that."

...

By the time the others, minus Rarity, all reached the deck, the story had come out of the significance of the jewels. It was clear by then that the necklace had sunk below the area where Rarity's soul could be transmitted to her body. Rainbow Dash had tried in vain to wake Rarity, but her body lay stone still in the bed where it lay.

Twilight stood at the edge of the deck, stretching her staff out, willing magic to course through it. Then she sighed. "I can't summon it back. It's too far away. I have no idea where it is."

"How could you DO that?" Thorgil screamed at Ymma and Ythla. "HOW COULD YOU?"

"We had no way of knowing that necklace was keeping her alive!" Ymma protested, realizing the ruse of "we just found them" would no longer work. "Who keeps their souls in necklaces, anyway?"

"And you're one to talk," Ythla pointed out, "coming from a family of berserkers. You did a lot worse to the Holy Isle."

Thorgil was momentarily caught off guard. Then the response found her. "We've raided a lot of places, all right," she barked. "And Skakki will raid a lot more. But no matter what, WE ALWAYS KNEW BETTER THAN TO STEAL FROM MEMBERS OF OUR OWN CREW!"

"You can't be too hard on my daughters for this!" Ydgith broke in. "They couldn't possibly have known!"

"Like you couldn't possibly have known that the bell of Fair Lamenting was the only thing that could stop the draugr," Jack recalled. "We nearly died after you had it melted down to sell."

"Huh?" Pinkie Pie was confused.

"This isn't the first time they've stolen something our lives depended on," Jack growled. "You'd think a person would learn from that."

"This is all YOUR fault," Thorgil growled at Ydgith.

"How is it mine?" Ydgith sputtered. "I wasn't even here!"

"My wife is innocent!" Schlaup added.

Thorgil turned to Schlaup. "Will you please just see her for what she really is for ONCE?" she pleaded. "She hasn't told her daughters ONCE yet that what they did was wrong. And you know it was! No matter how many people you've stolen from and killed, you know we don't do that to EACH OTHER on this ship!"

That led Applejack to wonder exactly how many people Schlaup had killed in cold blood. She decided she didn't want to know.

Schlaup thought over Thorgil's words. Then he turned to Ydgith, beginning to shiver. "I love you," he said shakily, "but…you KILLED my sister's friend!" His outline began to blur once more.

"She isn't dead!" Ydgith whimpered. "She'll come back to life if we get that necklace back, right?"

"HOW DO WE GET IT BACK?" Schlaup roared.

Skakki stepped between the two of them. "The LAST thing we need is for you to have a shapeshifter meltdown on this ship!" he barked at Schlaup. "You'll sink us all to the depths!"

Realizing Skakki was right, Schlaup calmed himself. In a more subdued tone, he asked Ydgith, "How could you betray my sister?"

"It isn't any use arguing!" Velvet snapped. "Rarity is still alive inside that necklace. We need to figure out how to get it back."

"Twilight has spells that let us breathe underwater!" Pinkie Pie realized. "We could go down there and get it ourselves!"

"It's hundreds of miles down," Rune pointed out, "and it could be anywhere for hundreds of miles of breadth."

"It was a good thought," Twilight added, "but Rune's right. It's not going to work. We need to figure out a more definite plan."

Jack turned to Thor and Loki. "I don't suppose either of you – "

"The sea belongs to Rán and Aegir," Thor pointed out. "Not I or my brother."

This disappointed Jack, though he wasn't keen on the idea of trusting Loki with the task of retrieving the necklace in the first place.

All were silent for a moment, searching their minds for ideas. The silence was broken by the soft sound of Applejack beginning to weep.

"It's all my fault," Applejack lamented once she was aware she'd drawn attention. "The amulet was right there, an' I coulda grabbed it. I had Pinkie Pie's in my hand. I shoulda taken Rarity's too. I even coulda caught it off the edge of the ship if I'd had more magic in me. And now…'cause I didn't act fast enough…"

Fluttershy moved next to Applejack, taking the latter's right hand up in both of hers. "Please, Applejack," Fluttershy insisted, "this isn't your fault. If anything, you were there just in time to save any more from going overboard."

"I just want her back," Applejack sobbed. "I want her to be okay!"

"We'll think of something," Fluttershy promised.

The others remained silent, pensive. Until Skakki decisively uttered the word "Mother." He quickly turned to Rune. "We can't be too far from Hardanger."

"There's only one way to figure that out," Rune reminded him.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"My mother, Heide," Skakki explained. "She's a wise woman with the power of farsight. Even more so than Jack's mother. If Rarity's amulet can be retrieved, she will know the method of how. We have to go back to my father's home, in Hardanger."

"Of course!" Thorgil cried triumphantly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Drop Rune over the side already!"

"I believe we have thrown enough people overboard," Thor broke in.

Skakki shook his head. "No. This is how we figure out where we are and which way to go. Just wait."

Rune began to shrug off his tunic. "As we're in mixed company, I advise the ladies present to turn away."

Out of courtesy, the Equestrians and Asgardians all did; Jack and Thorgil didn't bother, as they'd seen this process before. "Um…is there a POINT to you getting rid of all your clothes?" Twilight asked, back turned as Rune discarded the rest of his garments.

"Makes drying off easier afterward," Rune explained. Skakki brought out a long rope, tying it around Rune's waist and looping it over his chest and shoulders; the Erics made sure the rope was secured to the ship's mast.

"Drying off?" Twilight repeated.

"You're really gonna throw him into the sea, aren't you?" Rainbow Dash was stunned.

"Well…lower on a rope," Skakki corrected.

"The waters all taste different," Rune elaborated. "I've memorized the taste of them all. I know the coast of every nation we've sailed. And one swallow of seawater should be enough to tell how close we are to Hardanger."

"Over you go!" Skakki barked, and he, Schlaup, and Sven picked Rune up and lowered him over the edge of the ship. Thorgil joined them to hold the rope and gently lower the skald into the choppy waters. They left him down there for some time, then hauled him back to the deck.

"Cold as ever," Rune sputtered, reaching for his trousers. "But I got a good taste."

"And?" Skakki and Thorgil leaned toward him eagerly.

"No waters taste so familiar to me as those of Olaf One-Brow's home," Rune answered. Having replaced his trousers, he extended a hand to point over the waters. "If we turn that way, we should soon see the coast of Hardanger."

By then, everyone aboard assumed Rune was decently clad again. Fluttershy hustled the first blanket she could find over to him. "It can't be healthy for you to just dunk into the cold water like that," she said softly.

Rune gratefully wrapped the blanket around his bony shoulders. "I thank you. But I've survived a thousand such bouts. The time when I meet Rán and Aegir is drawing soon, but it is not now."

"You heard him!" Skakki barked. "Turn the ship!"

The crew hurried to move the ship in the indicated direction. "Remember when we let Rarity drive the boat back in Olympic Greece?" Applejack said wistfully.

"We'll get her to sail more ships," Twilight vowed.

Applejack inhaled sharply, then stormed toward Skakki. "I'd like a word with you," she stated sternly.

"Yes…?" Skakki looked to her.

"Those Tanners," Applejack said coldly. "I don't trust 'em. And I don't want to wake up to find anypony else missin' their soul."

Thorgil overheard and moved toward Skakki and Applejack. "We've got to get them OFF this ship," she growled.

"I agree." Skakki nodded. "When we land at Hardanger…we're going to leave them there."

"Schlaup won't like that," Thorgil pointed out.

"But when push comes to shove, he'll side with us," Skakki reminded her. "Or at least…he won't be angry enough with us to get into a snit."

Skakki turned to where Schlaup and Ydgith were conversing near the edge of the deck. He stormed toward them, Thorgil and Applejack in tow. "A word," he demanded.

"Yes?" Ydgith turned toward him. "Did you just come here to give me more abuse?"

"YOUR daughters were the ones who threw my friend overboard!" Applejack snapped.

"Don't waste time trying to make sense to her," Thorgil whispered, a little too loudly on purpose.

"When we land at Hardanger," Skakki decided, "we want you and your daughters to stay with my mother and my father's other wives."

"WHAT?" Ydgith turned to Schlaup. "Are you going to let them treat me that way?"

"But Ymma and Ythla don't like the boat," Schlaup recalled.

"You're lucky we're not marooning you on a desert island," Thorgil pointed out. "Dotti and Lotti will take good care of you."

"Uh…and by 'take care of,'" Applejack asked, "you mean…"

"Oh, they'll be nice," Thorgil clarified. "They're a little airheaded, but they're kind creatures. Heide, on the other hand." Thorgil smirked. "Ever since Dotti, Lotti, and Heide were widowed, they've had to keep up that home and raising our little brothers and sisters aaaaaaall by themselves. They could use three pairs of helping hands, and Heide will know exactly how to put you to work."

"You're reducing me to a HOUSEMAID?" Ydgith was stunned.

"You haven't proven yourself a very good crew member of this ship," Skakki pointed out. "Just be glad we're not leaving you to a worse fate." He turned to Schlaup. "And believe me, if it weren't for you, we would be."

"I don't want her hurt," Schlaup begged. "Leaving her with Olaf's wives will be good. They might even make friends!"

"I doubt my mother will," Skakki pointed out, "but Dotti and Lotti might." He turned to walk away, and Thorgil and Applejack made to follow him.

"You're nothing but a hypocrite," Ydgith seethed. "Running a ship full of berserkers and raiders, and banishing me and my daughters for one petty theft!"

Skakki whirled on her. "Don't you EVER compare your cowardly pickpockets to my men!" he barked. After that, he wouldn't hear another word from Ydgith, turning back to storm away.

Loki and Thor watched from a distance. "Is this truly worth the delay?" Loki wondered out loud. "In the time it takes us to divert our course to the wise woman, ask her where that amulet is, and then fish it out of the sea, Asgard might already be razed to the ground."

"It would not be right to leave Rarity in such a state," Thor asserted. "Were it the maiden Pinkie Pie, would thy view be different?"

"She would be harder to leave behind," Loki admitted. "Those, like her, who truly ADMIRE mischief are hard to come by. Yet a war is looming. We must draw our lines somewhere."

"It has not been that long since we set sail," Thor reminded him. "In the meantime, Father has the help of the elves and the hobgoblins. No matter what, we must attempt to speak to the fin-folk. They are invaluable allies."

"Could we not proceed to Notland alone," Loki suggested, "and let the others follow? I realize it is not the desirable course of action, yet it seems the most practical one."

"I disagree," Thor argued. "Our successes in Alfheim were driven by them. The Element bearers and the Midgardian bards…dare I say that they have become OUR most invaluable allies."

"And I suppose that you're going to get your way again."

Thor sighed. "If we are delayed by more than a day, I shall announce that the Asgardians are to move ahead to Notland while the others seek Rarity's soul. You are right. It is only practical. Perhaps I am becoming too attached to them. After all, Asgardians they are not."

"Do not mistake me," Loki refuted. "I, too, see them as allies…even friends, despite myself. But in desperate times, personal loyalties cannot dictate our actions."

Thor nodded. "I understand."

"No more than a day."

"No more."

The ship slowly veered onto its new course.

...

HARDANGER, NORWAY, 616TH MIDGARD

The further north the ship traveled, the nippier the air became. Land came into sight, and even before that, a multitude of ships of all shapes and sizes. Beyond the busy port lay a fjord cutting through the shore, leading further back, a watery alley. The ship moved down this course swiftly, into calmer waters. The land rose up as mountains on either side of the fjord, fencing it in, enclosing it in nature. After some time, the mountains gave way to plains, farmland, and civilization: small houses, a cluster of them around a dock. It was here that the ship pulled into port.

The motley group disembarked; Thor carried the lifeless body of Rarity as though it were a baby, having wrapped her in a blanket simply because it seemed the right thing to do. It was decided upon that Baromett would do well enough left to his own devices onboard the ship.

Villagers poured from the houses, mostly women and children. They rushed forth toward the Erics and Sven, greeting them warmly. Applejack realized these were the families of the berserker crew. Of that crew, only Skakki, Rune, Schlaup, and the Tanners pressed forward down the road; what family was not with them already was not on the dock.

The road tapered away from the outcropping of homes. As civilization grew sparser, the sound of barking dogs filled the air. Fluttershy, in a panic, darted behind Volstagg, but then peered cautiously around the warrior to see what the approaching creatures were like. They came in a quartet: large as they come, gray-coated, with matted fur.

Skakki, Schlaup, and Thorgil rushed forward. Jack, having seen these dogs before, stepped cautiously backward to let the three children of Olaf One-Brow handle the dogs of the deceased berserker captain. Two of the dogs tackled Thorgil, and she fell to the ground laughing. One attempted to do the same to Schlaup, but he was immovable as a rock wall, and he reached down to pat the head of the excited dog. Skakki tried to keep his joyous laughter held back long enough to command one of the dogs: "Wolf Bane, SIT! I mean it!" When Wolf Bane obeyed, Skakki knelt and stroked the dog's head.

Thorgil looked back at Jack from the dogpile. "You know I'll actually let you greet them this time!" she called back.

Jack recalled the first time he had seen her reunite with these dogs. Lucy had made a move to pet one of them, but Thorgil had chased her and Jack away, screaming, "They're MY friends! MINE!" That was when she'd seen Jack and Lucy as livestock to be worked and traded. When Jack shook the memory from his mind, a clear vision lay before him: Thorgil getting up from under the dogs and beckoning Jack over to them with a smile. Jack moved forward, extending a hand. The hand hovered over one of the dogs, which panted excitedly.

"Shreddie won't bite," Thorgil reassured him.

Jack felt doubt about that statement as applied to a creature that went by the name "Shreddie," but he lowered his hand anyway, petting the dog. Shreddie pressed his back against Jack's hand, running in a circle beneath it.

"We're looking up there." Skakki gestured to a nearby hilltop, where a farmhouse was perched.

"COME ON!" Thorgil led the charge; the four dogs followed. "TO ME!"

That part, Jack recalled, was no different from last time.

"Mother," Ythla whined, "don't let any of those dogs touch me. They're all slobbery!"

Applejack gritted her teeth and found herself wishing that before the day was out, Ythla would find herself drenched in dog drool, and Ymma as well.

The large group made way uphill to the farmhouse. A myriad of people were seen working the various areas of the farm, including a prominent pigsty, a well-kept stable, and various other buildings of unknown purpose. The farmhouse itself had curved walls, and a carved wooden dragon's head not unlike that on the prow of the berserker ship was placed over the door.

Thorgil didn't waste time knocking; she simply threw the door open. The party was assaulted with two forces. The first was the smell of smoke, emanating from a hearth somewhere within the house and beckoning the chilly inward. The second was a pair of women who looked all but identical: peach-colored skin, golden hair, sapphire eyes, somewhat rounded figures, and black mourning clothing.

"THORGIL!" one cried.

"SKAKKI!" chimed the other. Each rushed to embrace the one she'd named, and once they had accomplished that, both women looked up, cried, "SCHLAUP!" and charged to throw their arms around the half-troll.

Skakki turned back to the rest of the group at large, now consisting of five living Equestrians, one temporarily dead Equestrian, ten Asgardians, one bard-to-be, one fully fledged skald, and three Tanners. "Dotti and Lotti," he introduced. "My father's wives."

"YOUR FATHER!" Dotti (or, at least, they could guess it was Dotti; as the two were so alike, it was hard to distinguish between them based on one meeting alone) wailed, bursting into tears as she and Lotti relinquished their hold on Schlaup.

"Oh, how we've missed him!" Lotti sobbed. "We're so glad you've come home! You're…you're all we have left to remember him by!"

"I am glad to be home," Skakki asserted, "but unfortunately, I haven't come to catch up. We have an important task to do here."

"'We'?" Dotti glanced at Skakki, Schlaup, and Thorgil's multitude of companions. "Who are they?"

"Friends," Skakki explained before anyone could make an introduction, hoping to speed things along. "We have a strange problem, and I hoped Mother could – "

Lotti whacked him back on the head. "You finally come back to us, and it's only because you want something?"

"We thought Thorgil was dead!" Dotti added, returning to Thorgil to squeeze the girl tightly once more. "Surely THAT is worth a visit alone!"

"It's important!" Thorgil argued.

"Schlaup and I will come back!" Skakki argued.

"Just…just you and Schlaup?" Lotti asked concernedly.

"It's complicated with me," Thorgil grunted. "Can we at least do this inside the house where it's warm? You're gonna let Rune freeze to death."

"RUNE!" Dotti and Lotti turned cheerful again, both running toward Rune to grab an arm each and drag him into the house.

"You look thinner than ever!" Lotti gasped. "We're going to have to bring out a lot of graffisk to fatten you up!"

As the three moved into the house, the rest of the party slowly followed, crowding into the large entryway and spilling over into the room with the hearth. The fireplace within was enormous, and the source of the smoke smell immediately identifiable. The rooms within the house were curved, and all the furniture exquisitely carved out of wood, with delicate details one wouldn't have expected in the home of a berserker captain.

"So…is Rune related to y'all?" Applejack asked Thorgil.

"He doesn't have anybody else," Thorgil answered. "All his family's dead. So we let him have ours."

Children ran in and out of the rooms: blonde children who bore strong resemblances to Dotti and Lotti. There were so many, and they came and went so quickly, it was difficult to estimate how many there were. Three of them surrounded Skakki, screaming, "WHAT DID YOU BRING US?"

Skakki couldn't help but laugh, remembering how Olaf would always answer with "A smack on the bottom!" Skakki, of course, went for a gentler approach. "Nothing yet. But I promise next time, I'll have a gold piece for each of you!"

It crossed Twilight's mind that he was promising them stolen goods. She was surprised to find this fact didn't bother her as much as she thought it would.

"You must have had a long journey!" Dotti gasped. "Can we get you something to eat?"

"We have plenty of graffisk!" Lotti asserted.

"Pardon my interruption," Thor broke in, recalling his promise of "no more than a day." "We haven't much time. We have come to seek assistance, which we need rather urgently."

"Where is Mother?" Skakki asked.

"I am here," a deep, throaty voice proclaimed from a side door. All turned to see the woman standing there, tall and imposing. She bore a striking resemblance to Skakki: her hair was raven, her angular eyes bright blue and focused. She strode into the room with a smile. "I wass not expecting so many guests." Her eyes fell upon Thorgil. "You haff a question only I can answer. Iss this true?"

"Yes," Thorgil replied. "Should have known you'd know."

"They only turned up because they want to ask you QUESTIONS!" Lotti wailed. "Not to see us!"

"They will come to see uss again," Heide said sternly. "Whateffer matter they haff come for iss certainly urgent enough." She looked back to Thorgil. "And I suppose it iss something best spoken of in private."

"Yes," Thorgil answered. "Well, sort of private. There are eighteen of us who can hear it."

Skakki made a mental count. "You left me out!"

"Nineteen, then," Thorgil corrected.

Heide shook her head. "It iss better you stay and speak to Lotti and Dotti. Effer since ox-brain died, they haff not come out of mourning."

"They seem cheerful enough," Thorgil grumbled.

"Why did you have to REMIND us?" Dotti squalled, and she and Lotti burst into tears.

"I think you stand corrected," Twilight whispered to Thorgil.

Heide looked around at the multitude of strangers who had crowded into her house. She made no reaction to Thor and Loki; perhaps she did not recognize them, Thor theorized. However, she similarly made no reaction to the appearances of Velvet and Cornelius. Her concern was when she rested her eyes on Rarity's body, still nestled in Thor's arms. "She iss what you haff come to talk about," Heide stated plainly.

"Yes," Twilight answered. "Skakki said…well, he said a LOT of things about how great you are. But he also said you're one of the only people who might have an answer to our problem."

"I understand." Heide nodded. "You shall come with me, to the cellar. Dotti, Lotti, you can take care of the others."

"And the…OTHERS…are something else we have to discuss with you later," Skakki insisted.

"We'll put some food on the table while you're down!" Lotti suggested.

"Thank you." Heide turned to move down a set of stairs toward the cellar. Thorgil, Jack, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Thor with Rarity, Loki, Sif, the Warriors Three, Gwendolyn, Oswald, Velvet, and Cornelius followed.

As they descended, they could hear Skakki's voice speaking to Dotti and Lotti: "I should probably warn you, one of them doesn't eat meat or fish at all…"

Cornelius closed the cellar door behind him. They gathered around a table in a dimly lit room of stone. Heide brought a stone bowl filled with water to the tabletop, laying it there. "Tell me about your problem," she implored, "and ask me your question."

"Well…" Twilight took it upon herself to answer. "Some of us…our souls aren't in our bodies like you'd think they should be. They're in our amulets instead." She touched her own for reference. "I got mine back in my body, but Rarity didn't. And her necklace fell into the ocean – "

"It got THROWN in the ocean!" Applejack slammed a fist onto the table. "By those Tanner thieves!"

Heide nodded. "You wish to know how to retrieve your friend's soul before you progress to Notland."

"Wait." Twilight halted her. "How did you know – "

"Thorgil iss my child," Heide asserted. "Even iff not by blood. I haff been watching her, as I watch Skakki and Schlaup. I do not see all, but I see from time to time. I did not see the girl's necklace thrown into the sea, but I saw your boat on the wayfes, sailing north. I haff seen you in Asgard and in Alfheim. I haff also seen Thorgil and Jack's fate on the Islands uff the Blessed. You do not need to worry about explaining to Dotti and Lotti why Skakki, Schlaup, and Rune will come home often, but you, not as often, if at all again. I shall tell them."

"Thank you," Jack replied, rather flustered.

"Beautiful AND good with magic," Fandral laughed. "I can see why Olaf thought she was a good catch!"

"Do not eeffen think uff courting me," Heide growled in his direction. "I do not go with any man my soul does not choose."

"Don't mind him," Gwendolyn urged.

"How are you doing this, anyway?" Twilight asked. "I know a lot of magic. I'd like to think I know about almost all the magic there is. But I still don't know how to look into the future."

"It iss a unique art," Heide replied. "Perhapss you can find one to teach you. But I haff not the time, and iff I understand, you haff not the time either."

Velvet shook her head, thinking of her own deceased mother, who had been a seer. "But you won't be able to see exact events," she guessed, recalling Princess Ariel's vague visions and misinterpreted prophecies.

"Only pieces," Heide confirmed. "But one uff these pieces should lead you to your missing necklace. Now, do not speak. I need silence!"

Her tone convinced everyone to quiet down. Heide stared into the bowl of water intently. The only sounds that could be heard were the muffled footsteps, exchanges of words, and clinking of plates between Dotti, Lotti, Skakki, Schlaup, the Tanners, and Rune upstairs.

At last, Heide spoke, not taking her eyes off the water. "The purple stone with the girl'ss soul," she answered, "wass taken by a current into the depths and found by fin-folk. They haff brought it to Notland, and the Shoney hass added it to hiss treasures."

"So you're saying that it's in exactly the place we were going?" Cornelius asked incredulously.

Thor knew that Cornelius – and probably several others of the Asgardian contingent – were wondering what the point was in the first place of seeing a wise woman about the subject if she was just going to tell them to keep to the course they had already set. However, he breathed a silent sigh of relief. It truly would divert them no more than a day. He had come around to the realization that the war on his homeworld was his priority, but he still would have been bothered to leave the others behind without having put things right with the woman he was then carrying.

"Yess," Heide said, putting up a hand to hush Cornelius, "but there iss more for you. I am shown that the path you are on shall take a turn. Thingss are not as they seem to be. You will meet someone who can tell you the truth in a realm I do not recognize. And iff the truth comes to light, Odin and hiss armies shall march into a dead world." She lifted her eyes. "That iss what I haff seen."

"And I don't suppose you could be any clearer about that," Jack sighed.

Heide shook her head. "It is ALL I haff seen."

"Not what it seems," Twilight muttered. "I KNEW something was going on. This has something to do with Discord and those Dark elf siblings that keep showing up!"

"The dead world…" Gwendolyn wondered. "Could that have been Niflheim?"

"All I saw wass barren land," Heide reiterated, "and Odin's marching armies."

"Jötunheim is barren," Thor reminded everyone present.

"But it isn't dead," Oswald argued.

"Don't you see what we have to do?" Twilight insisted. "If we just keep doing what we were going to, we'll end up running into the person who can tell us the truth!"

"I have a feeling it will be more complicated," Velvet said somberly.

"Anyway…" Twilight turned to Heide. "Thank you. SO much. We were afraid Rarity would be lost forever."

"It's not going to be easy to get her back if the necklace is in the Shoney's collection, though," Jack pointed out. "The Shoney hoards gold and jewels to make others jealous. He doesn't just give it up if you ask, and stealing it is punishable by death."

"The Shoney will turn it over to us," Thor insisted. "I shall make it clear that it is the will of the sons and daughters of Odin."

Heide, in the meantime, replied to Twilight's thanks: "You are welcome. I am, after all, trusting you to keep my daughter safe."

"I can keep myself safe, thank you," Thorgil growled. Then, in an even quieter tone, "When are you going to stop seeing me as a housewife in training?"

"There is another matter," Loki pointed out. "The ones responsible for our little problem."

"The Tanners," Thorgil growled. "They're taking advantage of Schlaup, and now they're a danger to Skakki's crew!"

"We were hoping maybe we could leave them with you," Jack suggested, though seeing Heide's stern look, he was beginning to think it was a bad idea to leave such undesirable people as the Tanners in the same house as a respectable wise woman. "Since…since Olaf died, we thought maybe you could use more help…"

Heide's expression softened. Then a smirk played at her lips. "More help iss appreciated," she affirmed. "As for your nuisances, it might be good for them to do some honest dayss of work. I can think of more than one thing I need their help with."

Her smile was almost evil at that point. Fluttershy backed away from the table ever so slightly.

"The others will be done with the food upstairss," Heide announced. "I hope you haff time for one meal at least."

"If it isn't too much trouble, we would appreciate it," Gwendolyn said gratefully.

Heide started for the stairs. "It iss no trouble, though we haffn't the time to make stews or roasts."

Jack knew what that meant. It was the word that had been tossed around again and again upstairs. "Graffisk," he groaned.

"What's graffisk?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"You'll see it for yourself," Jack muttered as he followed Heide.

Upstairs, Dotti and Lotti were setting a table, around which Schlaup, the Tanners, Skakki, and Rune were seated. The children had already eaten earlier and were playing throughout the house. Chairs had been squeezed around the table to make room for all the other guests. Every place but one was set with a plate laden with a purple and gray sludge and a chunk of bread on the side. A small bowl with an apple and a cup of water were set to either side of the plate. The odd place out was missing the slimy purple food, containing only the bread, water, and apple; the bread, however, had been doubled. Fluttershy understood this to be her seat and took it at once. The others arranged themselves at random.

"So…this is the graffisk," Applejack guessed, taking the bread and using it to poke at the sludge.

"It's rotten fish," Jack whispered to her so as not to insult Dotti and Lotti. "They make it when they don't have salt. They let herring rot in barrels underground. It's not poisonous, though. Somehow."

"And it's delicious!" Thorgil said from her seat next to Jack, where she'd overheard his whisper. She was gobbling the food down, using the bread as a shovel to put it in her mouth. Skakki and Schlaup were eating with similar gusto.

"Well, ain't no harm in tryin'," Applejack resolved. Everyone else at the table (sans Fluttershy, who was contented with her share of bread and even offered a second apple by Dotti, and Jack, who just nibbled the side of his own piece of bread) took the first bite together.

There was silence as the overwhelming taste of intentionally rotted herring hit each palate.

"It's…uh…" Applejack attempted to give a review of it after swallowing it with difficulty.

"It's a new experience," Twilight settled on as Rainbow Dash involuntarily gagged.

"It's very good!" Gwendolyn lied.

"…somethin'," Applejack concluded.

Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun were shoveling it into their mouths as eagerly as Thorgil, Skakki, and Schlaup. "We've eaten worse!" Fandral supplied happily.

Sif and Thor exchanged glances, then pushed their plates away, suddenly not concerned with making a good impression. They concentrated instead on the provided apples.

Oswald, deciding food was food and passing it up would be a bad idea, choked down several more bites.

Pinkie Pie appeared to be literally turning green. Still chewing the same first bite she'd taken, she gave Lotti a nod and a smile. "Delicious!" she said around the food in her mouth.

Velvet and Cornelius also resigned themselves to trying to eat more.

Rune ate slowly as well, but he didn't appear to be disgusted by the taste. He simply wasn't one for gobbling down his dinner as quickly as possible.

"It REEKS!" Ymma cried.

"It's DISGUSTING!" Ythla moaned.

At this, Lotti burst into tears while Dotti comforted her with a hug. "There, there," Dotti told her. "You know not everyone's used to it! They're Saxons, remember? They have delicate tongues!"

"I know," Lotti sobbed, "but nothing's gone right ever since…ever since he died…and now…"

Heide rolled her eyes at this display.

"Well," Loki said loudly, "I think it's absolutely delicious."

Lotti turned to see that half his plate was cleared. "You really think so?" she gasped, blinking back tears.

"I've never eaten anything so fine in my life," Loki replied enthusiastically.

"Why, thank you!" Lotti cried gratefully. "And hearing that from such a handsome, strong man as you…" She blushed.

"It is nothing," Loki replied with a nod and a smile.

As soon as Lotti and Dotti's heads were turned, Loki magically spirited a little more of the graffisk off his plate to where he'd put the rest of it: onto Ydgith Tanner's dish. Ydgith herself was only batting the sludge around with the bread, avoiding eating it, and was scarcely conscious of the fact that the mass on her plate had close to doubled.

It was difficult to tell when the meal was finished, as many participants found themselves through with it before the plates could be cleared. Then Heide spoke up: "I am told that three uff you are in need of a place to stay." She looked meaningfully at Ydgith.

"Oh, NO," Ydgith growled. "We are not staying in a pigsty like this!"

"This iss a fine home," Heide told her. "You will hardly find finer in these lands. There iss a pigsty out back iff you wish to compare. Howeffer, iff you do not, you will see it soon enough when you are cleaning it."

"Do you mean to make me into a THRALL?" Ydgith screamed.

"You haff seen how Dotti and Lotti cry for Olaf, eeffen years after his death," Heide pointed out. "They can hardly keep a household running at all. We haff many hands on this farm, but for them, we need still more. You are a widow. You understand. Would you leave fellow widowss to grief, with no one to take the burden from their back? They still need time to cry."

Ydgith gritted her teeth. There was nothing she could say in reply that wouldn't sully her reputation further.

"You can start by helping clear the table uff dishes," Heide ordered.

"HA!" Thorgil cried triumphantly. "For once, I don't have to!"

Heide glared at her sternly.

"I'm no housewife," Thorgil growled.

Ydgith looked to Schlaup with begging eyes. "My darling," she pleaded, "are you truly going to strand me here?"

"You hurt my sister's friend," Schlaup reminded her. "Maybe later, we can come back and get you."

"We truly would appreciate your help!" Lotti said sincerely, approaching Ydgith and taking her hand.

"And we're sorry for your loss," Dotti added, taking Ydgith's other hand. "We didn't know you had to lose someone…the same way we did!" Her eyes watered again.

Ydgith was taken aback at the honest words from Dotti and Lotti. Twilight, seeing what was going on, decided to try and hammer the point home with an argument that spoke much better to Ydgith than talk of punishment and betrayal: "I think you've made friends here already!"

Ydgith came to the realization that there were only four people in the room at that moment who truly trusted her, and two of them were her own daughters. Even her husband had his doubts. Ydgith could sense that Dotti and Lotti were the forgiving type. After all, they were the wives of a berserker, likely captured, Ydgith figured, during one of his raids. That raised new questions to her about how Heide had appeared in the household, but that was of little consequence. Heide would not be her ally, but the other two widows would, and weighing her options, Ydgith figured it better to be in a place with two allies than a place with none. "Ymma," she said sternly, "Ythla, we are staying here. Help clear off the table."

"But MUM!" Ymma whined.

Ythla cuffed her sister's arm. "Do you want to get us in even MORE trouble?" she hissed. The girls set about clearing the table.

Lotti moved toward the end of the table where Schlaup, Skakki, and Thorgil sat. "We promise to have better food prepared for when you come back!" she cooed.

"Trust me," Skakki said. "This isn't the last you'll see of me!"

Thorgil's demeanor immediately soured. She threw her plate to the floor; luckily, it was of solid construction, and didn't break, and since she'd cleared her graffisk away entirely, there was no mess to spill. She stormed out the door.

"What was THAT about?" Pinkie Pie wondered out loud.

"I…think I have an idea," Jack realized. He too got up from the table, following where Thorgil had gone.

"I think I better go too," Rainbow Dash announced. "Just to check up on her."

Jack and Rainbow Dash exited the room and then the house, finding Thorgil sitting out in the front yard. Shreddie snuffled his way over to her, but she batted the dog away.

"Thorgil?" Rainbow Dash attempted.

Thorgil didn't even turn to acknowledge her.

"I know what's going on," Jack said, moving to sit beside Thorgil on the grass and half expecting her to swat at him as she had the dog. When she didn't, he relaxed, and Rainbow Dash sat next to him. "You know that we won't be coming back here for a long time. That we're lucky to even be here n – "

"Stop talking," Thorgil snapped.

"Sorry," Jack said softly.

"Olaf wasn't even my blood father," Thorgil huffed. "And I've always lived on a ship. I don't have any problems with being away from here."

"So what's the problem?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.

"They just annoy me," Thorgil grunted. "Dotti and Lotti. But that's nothing new. I'm fine."

"You…really will miss this place, won't you?" Rainbow Dash said cautiously.

"I just SAID that wasn't the PROBLEM!" Thorgil snapped. She stared straight ahead, the hilltop view providing a look at the village down below. "After all. I've come back from the dead twice. Who's to say I won't come back here?"

Jack and Rainbow Dash were silent, letting her stew. Then she sighed. "But it doesn't help to hear that Skakki will be back right away, you know. Back to annoying Dotti and Lotti and their hugs and greetings. Back to Heide and her disapproving stares and the way she knows what to do no matter what goes wrong. Back to all the little brats getting underfoot everywhere and always being up for a scrap or a game. I guess I should at least be happy that Heide didn't foresee me lying dead at the bottom of a canyon like she saw Olaf." Another pause. "She's always expecting me to clear the dishes and help out around the house. She says, like it or not, that I'm a woman just like her and Dotti and Lotti. When I'm away from her, I don't have to be that. I can be a warrior. I can be a bard. I can be a HERO." Yet another pause. "I don't hate her for it, though."

"Thorgil," Jack said sincerely, "I'm sorry. I…I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I miss my family and my home too. But…the journey you're on…I'm on it too. I know it isn't much, but I'll be there with you. I always will. Fate already seems to like putting us together so much, I don't think it's going to stop."

"So you'll always be around to annoy me," Thorgil stated. Then, slightly more happily, "It's good to know."

"I don't think you'll go away forever," Rainbow Dash added. "I mean…it's gonna be hard to come back. There's always gonna be this or that you have to do when you're a bard, if it's anything like the adventures I know right now. But if you wanna come back here that bad, there's no way you should let anything stop you. Even if it takes years! That's how it was with me and…"

She had been about to name the Wonderbolts, to say that she had made joining them her goal for years and had to be thwarted time and time again before finally being recognized by their academy. However, as she looked out over the landscape of Hardanger, something else occurred to her. "…and my home. We haven't been there in over a year. We've been saving this world, saving that world, saving royal weddings, learning magic, getting turned into witch monsters, becoming superheroes…but you know what? I KNOW we're gonna see home again. Maybe my friend Scootaloo will have even learned to fly by the time we get back!"

Thorgil nodded. "No matter what." She stood, prompting Jack and Rainbow Dash to stand with her. "I'll get back here, all right. And you can believe I'll be deserving of a hero's welcome after everything I've done before I do." She looked to Jack. "WE will be. After everything WE do." She gave him a light cuff on the shoulder.

"But everypony's gonna wanna get back on the ship and head out for Notland pretty soon," Rainbow Dash reminded her. "Like…right now. So you'd better say goodbye."

"I will." Thorgil turned back to the house. Jack and Rainbow Dash followed her.

"You don't think we were too hard on the Tanners, were we?" Rainbow Dash said, changing the subject. "I hate what they did too, but they DIDN'T know about the Soul Gems."

When the trio stepped into the house and looked around, however, the question was answered. Ymma and several of Olaf's younger blonde children were laying on the floor, engaged in a game of marbles. Ythla and an older blonde girl leaned up against the wall, gossiping eagerly. Ydgith, Dotti, and Lotti laughed as the three women scrubbed the remainder of the graffisk off the dishes.

"I think they'll be just fine," said Jack.

...

Goodbyes were said on the front lawn. Dotti and Lotti bawled until their eyes were sore. Ydgith was civil, saying a quick farewell to Schlaup and adding a whispered "But you'd better come back."

"You haff my blessing on your journey," Heide said as she looked over Thorgil, Twilight, Thor, and the shell of Rarity. "But do be careful." She zeroed in on Thorgil. "Especially you."

"You don't have to worry about me," Thorgil told Heide. Then, without warning, she rushed forward and gripped Heide in a tight embrace. Heide, surprised, returned the gesture.

"Thank you again," Twilight gushed. "We'd be LOST without you."

Thorgil let go of Heide, and the latter replied with "I haff no doubt that you would haff found a way. But I am glad to have helped."

"Remember!" Olaf's younger children chorused at Skakki. "You promised us gold pieces!"

"And I'll make good on it!" Skakki called back.

"Please be safe," Dotti begged Rune.

"As I told this lot yesterday," Rune replied, "I'm not ready to meet Rán and Aegir yet."

"Good!" Dotti moved back to Lotti's side only to notice that the latter had ceased her tears and was waving coyly to one of the departing travelers.

"Goodbye!" Lotti squealed, her eyes fixed on Loki.

Loki, milking the attention, gave her a teasing nod. "Farewell."

"Oh, no, you are NOT!" Dotti shrieked at Lotti. "You can't think of replacing our Olaf with the likes of HIM!"

"I believe that is our cue to leave before any more trouble starts," Sif announced.

The traveling party moved downhill, leaving Lotti, Dotti, Heide, and Tanners behind. Back in town, they caught up with Sven and the Erics.

"WHAT'S THE PLAN?" Eric Pretty-Face asked.

"Our course remains the same," Thor informed him. "We shall make way for Notland."

"Just keep going," Twilight muttered to herself. "And we'll find the truth on our own. We have to. That's what Heide saw."

"You don't sound sure of yourself," Gwendolyn pointed out.

"What if we don't find it out in time?" Twilight asked her. "What if we're completely off track? Heide already let us know we were wrong about SOMEthing." She looked out to sea. "And I think…what we might be wrong about…is everything. I don't even know if this is a war against the Jötunns anymore."

"But you saw them," Gwendolyn argued.

"I did," Twilight agreed. She sighed in exasperation. "Well…let's just get to Notland and work it out from there."

The ship was loaded up, and it shoved off, back down the fjord and into the open ocean.

...

THE WATERS OF 616TH MIDGARD

As the sun set, this time, the crew of the ship turned to song instead of story to pass the night. Rarity had been safely tucked away in a bed belowdecks, and all others gathered beneath the starry sky.

Skakki began the song, his voice ringing out clearly through the night air: "Cattle die and kin die. Houses burn to the ground…"

"But one thing never perishes!" the Erics, Sven, Schlaup, and Thorgil joined in. "The fame of a brave warrior!"

This was a song the crew knew well, and they belted its many verses loudly. When it was done, they started it up all over again, and those guests who had caught enough of the words the first time joined in. By the end, the group saw Pinkie Pie and Loki, side by side, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders and swaying so hard and singing so loud that one who didn't know better might have thought them drunk, crying the final verse to the heavens: "SHIPS GO DOWN IN THE SEA!

KINGDOMS TURN INTO DUST!

ONE THING OUTLASTS THEM ALL:

THE FAME OF A BRAVE WARRIOR!

FAME NEVER DIES!

FAME NEVER DIES!

FAAAAAME NEEEEEVER DIIIIIIIIIIES!"

At the end of this note, the pair burst into laughter, and the song ended.

"It's almost too bad we can't keep you on just for morale!" Skakki remarked.

"Pinkie Pie, a berserker? HA!" Rainbow Dash replied. "I don't think I can see that on ANY day!"

"It's true!" Pinkie confirmed with a grin.

"My brother, a berserker?" Thor added. "Now…THAT I could see!"

This set Sif, Fandral, Cornelius, and Volstagg into laughter.

Loki just gave Thor a nod of acceptance. "Perhaps, perhaps."

"Well, we can sleep safe tonight knowing no one's soul is going to get thrown off the ship," Skakki pointed out. "And we'd better get as much rest as we can. We're going to be pulling into Notland tomorrow, and Odin knows you can't get near THAT place without your wits about you."

"Night, everybody!" Applejack called before heading down to bed.

"I bid thee all sweet dreams," Gwendolyn added, following.

And one by one, they trailed downward, to sleeping quarters, until only two remained on deck.

"You aren't tired?" Loki inquired.

"How can I sleep after a sing-along like that?" Pinkie Pie replied. "I am pumped UP! WOOOOOHOOOOOO!" Her scream echoed in the night air. "What about you? Aren't you going to set up some kinda prank trap in anypony else's room?"

"If I do that every night," Loki admitted, "I get predictable. As it is, I'm not tired either at the moment."

"So have you ever been to Notland before?" Pinkie asked.

Loki nodded in affirmation. "More than once. It is a sight, though if you aren't a fan of graffisk, I wouldn't touch the local cuisine there."

"I bet if you put it on Fandral's plate this time, he'd just eat it right up!" Pinkie suggested.

"So you noticed." Loki was taken aback.

"I wasn't gonna SAY anything," Pinkie replied. She burst into giggles. "But it was so funny to watch the pile on Mrs. Tanner's plate get bigger and bigger and she didn't even notice!"

"It is so hard to find those who truly appreciate mischief nowadays," Loki admitted. "I heard from Volstagg that you were amused by the rain cloud. No one else seemed to find it anything but a nuisance."

"Weeeeeellllll…" Pinkie thought it over. "It WAS pretty funny. And nopony really got hurt. It's kinda like the first time Discord got out. Or at least the first time I saw him out. I knew the stuff he was doing was bad, but he made it rain CHOCOLATE. How can you not like that? It NEVER rains chocolate! And it was delicious, too! And turning the roads into soap made it kinda fun to skate from place to place for a while!" She sighed. "But it was better for everypony that all that stuff went away. It really would've hurt other ponies if it had stayed around. And I know you sometimes play pranks that are worse than what I've seen. But I like most of the ones you did."

"Hm." Loki looked to the sky. "Chocolate rain. It isn't quite…my style, shall we say, but it is an intriguing thought." He crossed to the edge of the deck, looking out over the waves. "Since you've spoken so plainly to me," he decided, "I believe I must speak plainly with you of a matter."

"Like what?" Pinkie moved beside him on the deck, looking out over the great ocean, chancing a glance back at him every now and again. She hated to admit that she still found him beautiful.

"I made an agreement with Thor," Loki confessed. "It was entirely my idea. He wished to divert our goal solely to the recovery of Rarity's amulet. However, I cannot help but think that there is only so much we can do before we are wasting time. I made him promise that if we were detained by any more than a day, we Asgardians would move on toward Notland on our own to speak to the Shoney and leave you to do as you willed."

"Oh," Pinkie replied. Then, after a pause, "I get why you'd wanna do that. I mean, we're in the middle of a huge, epic war between all these different worlds! You couldn't just forget about that!"

"I had thought you'd take it harder."

"Well…I did think we'd be able to do this whole adventure together as friends," Pinkie admitted. Because hearing this did sting a little. "But…saving your home is more important."

"It isn't that I don't think of you as a friend," Loki corrected. "Strange as it is. I suppose I've simply been around all of you too long and become attached."

"Classic Stableholm Syndrome," Pinkie stated casually.

Loki chuckled slightly. "Perhaps. I do believe that the war would be a little less fun without you."

"Wars aren't supposed to be fun, silly!"

"Well, perhaps they are to me!" Loki was fully laughing at this point. "Haven't you ever thought of the mischief that can be made on a battlefield?"

"You mean like switching everypony's swords out for rubber squeaky ones?"

"Again, not a direction I would choose," Loki admitted, "but it has a lot of merit. To see their faces when they realized their weapons would no longer cut…"

"So what would YOU do?"

"Hmm." Loki thought it over. "Perhaps…put a glamour on the field so that at times, it seemed you were walking in the sky, with a thousand foot drop below. Of course, you'd be perfectly safe, but when you actually set foot upon it, you would think twice."

"So you'd use that on your enemies or your allies?"

"Who says there must be an 'or' in this situation?" Loki grinned. "No, no matter what…even in the gravest of battles, I would hope to be able to smile. To have even the slightest air of humor as I fought my foes. To catch an arrow from an archer's bow in my own hand and watch him stare, dumbfounded. To be able to laugh as a disguise I used to cross enemy lines fell away and let my foe know how close his opposition truly was. I think there must be a little fun in it."

Which Pinkie Pie had seen well in the future. She'd seen the sparkle in his eyes when he boasted of what he'd done to create the mad King Sombra. And while she hadn't seen the joy he'd taken in confusing Ronan with duplicates or revealing his true form to Sif on the palace steps, she was certain that for over half the battle, Loki was filled not with the stress of combat, but a twisted joy. "You don't need me to have fun in battle!" Pinkie laughed, lightly touching Loki's shoulder. "You know how to do that all on your own!"

Soapy roads. Chocolate rain. Cotton candy clouds. They could hurt, and for the good of Equestria, they had to be taken out of play. But that didn't mean they couldn't be enjoyable.

"True, true!" Loki replied. "That I do. But you're the sort who insists on bringing a little more light to everything she does. I will be glad to fight alongside you."

"Oh…" Pinkie Pie felt the heat rising to her face. Her heart had been pumping rather loudly for quite some time. She wondered if Loki had noticed. "So…you really do like me. As a friend."

"I have become quite fond of you," Loki admitted.

Pinkie wondered if it was worth a venture. After all, she and he had their differences, but so did Twilight and Mozenrath, and they always ended up having heart-to-hearts anytime they were on the same world. "Do…do you think you could ever like me…more than that?" Her voice shook as she asked. "You know…as…as a…"

"Oh," Loki interrupted. "I must stop you there. I do enjoy your company, but not in that way."

"O…okay," Pinkie replied softly. "Sorry I asked."

She should have known. After all, the conversations between Twilight and Mozenrath ended that way, too, even if not so blatantly.

"Please…do not be," Loki told her. "After all, I'm sure you'll make another mischief-maker very happy someday."

"Yeah." Pinkie Pie looked back out over the ocean, then up to the stars. Somewhere, if she was lucky, there would be someone out there who was meant for her.

"And if it is any consolation," Loki said, looking to Pinkie and prompting her to look back at him, her eyes fixating on his bright blues, "I do appreciate your friendship. I truly do."

That was too much. Something snapped, and Pinkie Pie's eyes filled up with tears.

Loki's expression turned to one of concern that perhaps he'd utterly shattered her heart over the course of that conversation. "I…I know you had wished more of me, but I simply – "

"No, no, no!" Pinkie squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. "That's not it. I'm just…I'm really happy to hear you say that!"

"It is true," Loki told her.

She knew it was. She knew, from the moment that he said he had no feelings for her, that he was telling the truth. If he had answered otherwise, there was the possibility there that he was grasping at her vulnerability, finding something to exploit. "I know," she answered. "Thank you. I…I'm just really tired. I have to go to bed now. I'll see you tomorrow in Notland, okay?"

She took off running for the stairway. Then, before she could leave the deck, she skidded to a stop. She turned back, looking to see Loki watching after her, utterly confused.

Pinkie Pie couldn't stop herself. She ran full speed at Loki and threw her arms around his waist, pressing her head against his shoulder and weeping.

Loki couldn't make heads or tails of this reaction, but he didn't waste time trying to understand. Instead, he slowly wrapped his own arms around the young woman whom he'd become oddly attached to, resting one hand in the pink curls atop her head and the other between her shoulder blades. He let her cry there for a while before she shifted, letting go of him; he took the hint and let her go.

Pinkie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," she squeaked.

"Er…it's…all right," Loki answered gingerly. "Are you going to be…?"

"I'll be fine," Pinkie Pie said, flashing a big smile, changing her face in an instant. "All I have to worry about is how to avoid eating food that's apparently worse than graffisk tomorrow without seeming rude. You should probably get to work on that too. Anyway, night!"

"Good night!" Loki replied as Pinkie Pie charged down the stairs.

She ran to the room where Rarity's body was laid to rest. They'd left her alone there; nobody had wanted to share the quarters with the constant reminder that maybe, just maybe, things might go wrong in their quest to retrieve her soul. So it was here that Pinkie Pie knew she could be alone. She closed the door behind her, resting her back against it, letting the tears flow.

"It's just that that's the last time you're ever, ever, ever, EVER going to be able to honestly call me your friend," she sobbed.

...

The next morning, the ship found itself in far northern waters. Those aboard woke without incident, with the exception, of course, of the fact that Rarity did not wake up. Jack had feared that, much like on the last voyage the ship had made to Notland, they would sail around and around with no clue of where to go, as the waters held few landmarks. However, Thor, Loki, Gwendolyn, and Velvet offered concise directions, sure of the way. A journey that had in the past taken several days was condensed into a few hours.

Soon enough, the gate of Notland came into view on the horizon. Two pillars of bright white light, as radiant as the sun itself, rose spearlike from the very waters, marking the entryway. As the ship's distance closed, every color in the rainbow flashed over the pillars.

"Whoa," Rainbow Dash squeaked out.

"It's…it's…I don't even have a word!" Pinkie babbled. "But if I did, it'd be some combination of 'rainbowtastic' and 'shinylicious.' I think."

"I just wish Rarity could see this," Twilight sighed. "She'd probably be completely inspired."

"Well, I'm glad you're all enjoying the sight," Jack muttered. "I never wanted to see that gate again." A thought occurred to him. "The Shoney doesn't let anyone into his kingdom without payment, you know."

"We'd thought of that," Loki replied. "And we know well that the Shoney is fond of mirrors. So I brought something a little bit special."

He produced a small mirror that, upon first glance, looked like any other piece of rounded, reflective glass. However, the longer one looked, the more one realized that the glass contained distinct swirling patterns that almost seemed to hypnotize. The colors of the rainbow became apparent there as well.

Twilight ripped her gaze away from the mirror quickly, feeling inexplicably afraid that looking at it too long would somehow swallow her whole. "What is it?" she asked.

"Merely a little something I'd been crafting in my spare time," Loki answered. "It began as little more than an ordinary mirror. I've been feeding magic into its glass. It now acts as a harbor for raw magic."

"Meaning it does…what exactly?" Twilight pressed.

"Nothing specific as of yet," Loki replied, tucking the mirror away (several sighs of disappointment were heard). "But I suppose that if one gave it the proper treatment, it could turn into most anything. A darkness detector, a revealer…perhaps even a portal into its own pocket dimension. All it would take is the right magic and the right amount of work."

"Leave it to Loki to come up with not just a mirror to pay the Shoney," Sif sighed, "but something the Shoney could turn into a weapon of mass destruction."

"I hardly doubt my little 'Loki's Glass' could be turned upon an entire nation," Loki argued.

As the ship veered toward the center of the two pillars, Skakki mentally braced himself. "Here we go again," he muttered.

...

NOTLAND, 616TH MIDGARD

The ship passed through the gleaming gate to Notland. At first, not a lot seemed different. The pillars of light disappeared, and those who looked back to find it from the other side were met with a column of red light to distinguish the passage. Other than that, however, the ship continued sailing over seawaters that looked similar to those outside the borders.

"Mating season for the Pictish Beasts is over," Jack realized.

"What are Pictish Beasts?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

Jack and Thorgil answered at the same time. Jack's reply was "The animals the fin-folk hunt for food."

Thorgil's response was to point over the side of the deck and say, "That."

The five Equestrians scurried over to look; Baromett followed eagerly, keeping by Fluttershy's heels. They saw the scaly back of an enormous creature surface above the water, then dive down below it; the monstrous shadow was still visible beneath the surface. If the creature had collided with the ship, it might very well have tipped it over.

Fluttershy squeaked and backed up a few paces.

"We must disembark now," Thor announced. "It is best that our party meet the Shoney alone."

"I don't want to spend longer here than I have to," Skakki sighed.

"I will bring Rarity's body," Thor stated. "Twilight, are you still able to construct a vessel for us?"

"I'm on it!" Twilight replied. She looked over the side of the ship, then back to Skakki's crew. "So…do you still have that rope you used to drop Rune over the side?"

Sven and Eric the Rash were soon at work wrapping a rope around Twilight's upper body. She made it clear to them that as she intended to remain above the surface of the water, there was no need whatsoever for her to strip.

Thorgil and Skakki embraced tightly. "You're sure you want to do this?" Skakki asked. "You know how dangerous – "

"I survived it once," Thorgil reassured him. "I can do it again!"

"I won't believe you're dead next time," Skakki said lovingly.

When they parted, Thorgil reminded him, "You still promised our little brothers and sisters a gold piece each. Go get them!"

When Thor emerged from belowdeck, Skakki asked him, "You're sure you won't need transport back out?"

"We have our ways," Thor replied, giving a quick glance up to the sky. Heimdall. Skakki understood.

Hovering above the sea surface by mere inches, Twilight set about creating the floating construct. She envisioned it: first, a platform large enough to hold the traveling party of eighteen comfortably. It forged itself in a magenta square, floating on the water, at Twilight's will. To add safety, she gave it walls, creating a structure with the semblance of a cube cut in half. Satisfied with her work, she looked back up at the men who'd lowered her over the side. "IT'S FINISHED!" she yelled upward.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were able to fly down into the makeshift boat on their own. Thor brought Rarity down as Twilight settled into the construct, untying the ropes around her torso. As the ropes were hauled back up, Thor went up as well, picking up Velvet and Cornelius to ferry them down. Twilight levitated Applejack and Pinkie Pie down through the air. Between Thor carrying his companions and Twilight lowering them with magic, all but Loki were eventually brought down, and Loki finished it off by teleporting into the craft.

"Okay," Twilight said, looking over Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Thorgil, Jack, Loki, Thor, Gwendolyn, Sif, Velvet, Cornelius, Oswald, Hogun, Volstagg, Fandral, and the still body of Rarity. "Is that everypony, and do we have everything?"

"I THINK THIS IS YOURS!" Skakki yelled from the deck of the ship. All below looked up in time to see Skakki launch something white and fluffy into the air. Baromett sailed down, strangely calm about having been tossed, until he landed in Fluttershy's outstretched arms.

"I think we have everything now!" Fluttershy said with a smile.

"Good luck!" Rainbow Dash yelled up to Skakki.

"And the same to you!" Skakki called back. "You'll need it!"

Then the crafts went separate ways. The berserker ship turned around, headed back for the known nations of 616th Midgard, looking for those easily plundered. And the small cubelike boat, which hadn't sunk even a centimeter despite its many passengers, began to skim forward, deeper toward the heart of Notland.

A mist rolled in out of seemingly nowhere. "We are getting close," Thor announced upon its advent. Twilight kept steering the magical craft onward, though her trepidation grew with each passing minute. Eventually, on the horizon, what appeared to be a mountain range became visible.

Then there came the other boat, moving toward that of the travelers. This one was the size of a canoe, long and slender. Its occupant, who at first appeared humanoid when silhouetted by fog, stood in it, steering it by means of a pole. The sailor plunged the pole into the water, used it as leverage to propel the boat forward, then repeated.

How the sailor could pole when the seabed was miles below confused most. Thor, Loki, Gwendolyn, and Velvet simply took it for granted. Thorgil and Jack had seen it before and weren't about to question it again. Pinkie Pie didn't see anything wrong with the picture at all.

When the boat was near enough, everyone got a good look at its occupant, who was not human. For the five conscious Equestrians, it was the first look at one of the fin-folk. He was tall and slender, his skin covered in silver scales with green, gray, and blue hues that shimmered over them as he moved. He was clothed in a plain robe of gray, though his arms were exposed, and a large fin ran the length of each arm between the elbow and wrist. His fingers were webbed, and Thor knew that his feet beneath the robe were broad flippers. His head was bare of hair, but adorned with a great fin in the place of hair. As for his face, the fin-man's round, bulging eyes were set far apart, and here more than anywhere else he resembled a trout or cod. Fluttering gills were visible upon his neck.

When he spoke, his lips did not move. However, all heard his voice, loud and clear. State your business, he said.

"We request an audience with the Shoney," Thor replied. "It is a matter of grave importance regarding the possibility of war between the Nine Realms."

I recognize you, Thor, and your kin, the sentry observed. But the others?

"Friends," Thor explained, "and allies of Asgard. My father and mother have tasked them with this mission as much as they have tasked me."

Even the royalty of Asgard must pay the toll as everyone else does, the fin-man asserted.

Loki withdrew the enchanting mirror, holding it out. "For passage into Notland, our payment to you."

The boats drew closer, side by side; the fin-man sentry reached out and took Loki's Glass into his webbed hand. I have seen nothing like this before, he said in astonishment, though I have seen many pools of endless water in my lifetime. It contains a magic I do not recognize. I can only conclude its source is the trickster god.

"Is it payment enough?" Sif practically snapped.

Certainly, the fin-man responded. Our king will make good use of this item. I can see that its possibilities are endless.

"And we're certain we didn't just hand the fin-folk a weapon?" Fandral whispered to Twilight.

"I have no idea," Twilight hissed back. "But this is all we have to go on right now."

You may enter, the sentry decided.

"But may we leave?" Jack thought to ask, recalling that had been the hitch the last time he had been in those northern waters.

That decision is for our king to make, the sentry replied.

"You need not worry," Thor told Jack softly. "We shall see your safe passage from Notland."

Then sail forth, the sentry commanded. He turned his boat and poled away, into the mist.

The magical boat began to move forward. "I'm not doing that!" Twilight sputtered nervously. "It's moving on its own!"

"It is simply the way to enter the fin-folk's domain," Sif explained.

The boat sped up, faster and faster, moving toward the mountains. It was then that Twilight noticed that the mountains were not part of an isle with a gently sloping shore that was ready for boats to land upon it. Instead, their bases sank right into the water, where jagged rocks poked out of the waves. If a boat, magical or not, hit it at a certain speed, it was sure to capsize, and the vessel Twilight had created was heading toward it at a good clip.

Twilight attempted to manipulate the boat, to slow it down or turn it around, but to no avail. "I can't stop it!" she cried. "We're going to crash on those rocks!"

"But it's – " Jack attempted to interrupt.

"I don't think we can SURVIVE that!" Twilight screamed.

"It's just – " Thorgil sighed. She, too, was cut off.

"They tricked us!" Twilight cried. "They're not going to let us in! They're going to KILL us!"

Frightened, Pinkie Pie let out a long, loud shriek, one that continued as the cube sped toward the rocks. Her voice was joined by those of Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. All five braced themselves for impact as the boat finally reached the jagged rocks.

The entire vista, mountains and all, vanished. The boat was sailing on calm waters uninterrupted by any obstacle. This brought confusion to Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, who ceased screaming once they realized the collision they'd expected hadn't happened.

"It was just a glamour," Loki told them before proving unable to contain his laughter at their reaction.

"Why didn't you TELL us?" Twilight snapped, turning on the other passengers.

"We tried!" Thorgil argued. "You kept interrupting us by panicking!"

"If you have not seen Notland before," Gwendolyn broke in, "you will want to look at the water."

Twilight forced herself to let go of her frustration and turned to look over the side of the cubic vessel. She then gasped involuntarily when she beheld the sight below. The surface of the sea had become transparent as glass, presenting a clear view. Far down below, on the seabed, there was not sand but a green field as would be seen on a nation of land. Scattered houses were visible across it, and the boat's course took it toward where a gathering of buildings forged a more metropolitan area. These structures were visible in bright colors, ranging from soft pink to bright orange to stunning purple and even white that reflected all the other colors prismatically. In between the houses, especially closer to the urban area, similarly colored arches and spires decorated the land, seeming to serve no real purpose other than aesthetic decoration. Near the center of the city, however, one very large stone pillar of a drab hue of gray had been erected; its placement in an open square suggested it meant a little more than the decorative spires. In the open areas, fin-folk were seen tending to the land, including kelp-like crops and pale creatures that seemed a hybrid of whales and cows. In the city, they hustled across the streets from shop to shop. All in all, their actions seemed little different from those of the urban humans or Asgardians, save for the fact that most dispensed with walking and swam at a low level over the ground to get where they wanted to go.

Twilight observed, however, that some of the fin-folk were different. While most appeared to have the same physiology as the sentry who'd admitted them for the price of Loki's Glass, there were quite a few visible who appeared human from the waist up, free of scales and bearing skin tones more often seen on Midgardians. Instead of two legs, they bore a single tail with a great fan at the end. "Are there two different kinds of fin-folk?" Twilight wondered out loud.

"The mermaids and mermen are youth," Thor explained. "The line between fin-folk and human is thinner for them. Should they be accepted into a human civilization, such as through marriage, they may very well live the rest of their lives as humans. Should they not, they become mature fin-folk such as the others you see."

"Though I've heard strange things can happen if one of the fin-folk in any stage has a child with a Midgardian on land," Loki brought up. "Most specifically, the child almost never turns out human in the end."

The magical boat was borne over the waters above the city to its extremity, where rose a great castle, even more colorful and ornate than its surroundings. A wall fenced a courtyard around it, and when the boat was within range of this wall, it began to sink into the waters. Pinkie Pie took a great gasp and held her breath as Twilight summoned her staff, ready to cast a spell for underwater breathing.

"There is no need," Thor informed the group. "You will be able to breathe beneath the waters of Notland as though it were air."

Pinkie Pie, who was beginning to turn quite literally blue from the effort of breath-holding, let all the air out in a dramatic sigh before remarking, "Phew!"

The cube descended below the surface, and true to Thor's word, the atmosphere was breathable, despite the fact that fin-folk were clearly swimming in it. The cube gracefully touched down within the courtyard at its outer edge, landing between two lit braziers that served to light the surrounding area.

"Okay," Rainbow Dash groaned, "that's a fire." She pointed at one of the braziers.

"So?" Pinkie Pie replied.

"We're underwater," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"That we are," Loki confirmed, confusion on his face.

"It's a fire. And we're underwater," Rainbow Dash reiterated.

"Uhhhh…" Pinkie Pie answered.

Loki shook his head. "I am not sure I see your point."

"You SERIOUSLY don't see any problem with this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie Pie and Loki looked to each other, slightly befuddled, then turned back to Rainbow Dash to give her a pair of shrugs and twin shakings of heads.

"This obviously isn't your ordinary water," Twilight pointed out. "Or your ordinary fire. It's all got a magic to it that's unfamiliar."

"We had thought that was obvious," Loki added.

All were startled when Rarity stirred, slowly sitting up. "Goodness," she muttered, "I must have overslept." Blinking, she took in the sight around her. From within the courtyard, the castle was in plain view, and most of the city's taller buildings and spires were also visible over the wall. Rarity stood up, turning slowly so to take in everything that there was to see. "My…GOODness!" she gasped. "What IS this place? It's simply GORGEOUS!"

Instead of getting an answer to her question, Rarity got tackled by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, all of whom screamed "RARITY!" before locking her into a hug of many layers.

"Er…not that I'm not glad to see you as well," Rarity responded from within the center of the group, "but would somepony mind filling me in on what I've missed…and, for that matter, how I managed to miss it?"

"It is good to see you well," Thor said after the others let go of her. "I am afraid that you and your soul have become separated."

"My WHA – " Rarity's hand flew to her throat, where the amulet usually rested. "No…NO! WHERE IS IT?" She looked from side to side, as though the gem had only been dropped in the floor of the boat.

"The Tanner girls stole it," Twilight told Rarity somberly. "They thought that the cloudiness in the gem that was caused by your cumulative grief so far was a flaw in the stone that made it worthless. So they threw it overboard. We tried to get it back, but we were too late."

"Why…those…little…BRATS!" Rarity seethed through gritted teeth.

"We've dropped them off at Olaf's old home in Hardanger," Jack related. "They won't be bothering us anymore."

"Then again, we aren't going back to Skakki's ship anyway," Thorgil reminded him.

"Then…where are we now?" Rarity asked.

Loki stepped out of the boat, throwing out an arm to gesture at his surroundings. "Welcome to Notland!" he said gleefully.

"A wise woman told us that your amulet is here in Notland," Gwendolyn recalled. "You must be able to stand now because it is nearby."

"And she said something else," Twilight added. "She said things weren't what they seemed to be, and that we'd meet somebody from outside the Nine Realms who could tell us the truth. And then Odin would end up marching into someplace she described as a 'dead world.'"

"Not what they seem?" Rarity repeated. Then she sighed. "I suppose THAT was a given. It always seems to be with us."

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "Rarity, you can sense where jewels are! Can't you find your amulet by sensing it?"

"There's…something rather odd," Rarity related. "I tried that as soon as you informed me what had happened. But strangely, I'm sensing HUNDREDS of gems in this area alone. I can't pick out my own if it is here. It's being utterly drowned out."

"Hundreds…?" Applejack repeated.

"You sense the Shoney's hoard," Thor realized. "That must be where your amulet has been taken. We must make our way to the castle at once, though you must be warned."

"Warned about what?" Twilight asked.

"You cannot rush the fin-folk or order them around," Thor explained. "They will not take us directly to what we wish. To attempt to interfere with their schedule will be taken as a grave insult."

"And even if they promise we can see the Shoney," Jack added, "nothing is certain until it happens."

"And the shortest way to something is the long way around," Thorgil chimed in.

"They will want to give us a tour first," Gwendolyn speculated.

"But if Rarity gets out of 100 meters of the amulet…" Twilight reminded everyone.

"I may have thought of a solution to that problem," Thor stated. "Follow my lead."

"Well…I guess we don't need this anymore." Twilight turned her attention to the boat, willing it away. The cube dissolved out of sight.

"TO THE PALACE!" Volstagg declared, and the party began to move forward, keeping the palace gates in sight.

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash hopped along, noticing that when she jumped, she did not fall to the ground as quickly as expected. "It really is like water down here!"

Pinkie Pie sprang up into the watery atmosphere, breaking into a swim and completely levitating. "YOU GOTTA TRY THIS!" she cried, arcing over the heads of her companions, trying out different strokes.

Rainbow Dash also swam upward, breaking into a casual backstroke. The others opted to remain on the ground as they moved toward the castle doors.

At the same time, three figures moved out from those doors toward them. Two were male fin-folk, similar in appearance to the sentry that had greeted the party before the fog bank. The third was a mature female, much different in appearance from the fin-men and the mermaids. She was more stockily built, with a lumbering gait and long, tangled hair that fell past her shoulders. A crust of barnacles ran from across the left half of her forehead down past her left temple. Jack recoiled at the sight of the fin-wife, thinking to himself that she looked just as ugly as the fin-wives ever had to him; he berated himself for being shocked. Conversely, Rarity was evaluating the effectiveness of the barnacles as an accessory, and came to the conclusion that they did in fact enhance the fin-wife's look in the same manner that a beauty mark would and gave her a rather pleasingly rugged aesthetic. Not, of course, that Rarity would go for barnacles. Her thoughts turned back to Saleen's expertise with hair styling and wondered if that art form at all carried into Notland. Or, for that matter, how mermaids of Saleen's ilk were related to the fin-folk, for it seemed impossible there was no connection.

Who goes there? one of the fin-men asked.

"It is I," Thor replied. "Thor Odinson."

"Loki Odinson," Loki added.

"Gwendolyn Friggadaughter," Gwendolyn chimed in.

Velvet rounded it out with "Velvet Arieldaughter, child of Odin."

It seems the entire Asgardian royal family has come to Notland, the fin-man remarked.

The other fin-man present laughed: a sharp clicking sound. I recognize two of the others, he said. They're hardly Asgardians. What are you two doing back here?

"Us?" Thorgil replied.

Yes, you, the second fin-man laughed.

"Wait…" Jack recalled. "You were the one who met us here last time. Your name was…it was…"

Thorgil beat him to the punch. "Whush."

Whush chuckled. So you remember, he said amusedly. Now, what could have possibly happened to bring Notland back into view on Midgard…sent the Asgardian royals to our doorstep…and brought you two back here? I am fairly sure this time, there is no draugr.

"We have come seeking an audience with the Shoney," Thor explained. "It is of grave importance. The Nine Realms are upon the brink of war due to the actions of the Jötunns."

It's always something, the fin-wife sighed.

If you want to see the Shoney, Whush replied, then you shall be granted your request. However…

It wouldn't be proper not to give you a tour of our fine land first, the other fin-man chimed in.

"We would gratefully accept thy offer," Thor replied, "if it were not for the fact that one of our traveling party is gravely ill." He indicated Rarity. "She took sick suddenly, and cannot go too far of a distance by foot without collapsing. She requires a place to rest until our audience is granted, a place that is not too far from here."

Rarity gave Thor a glare, a little offended that he'd chosen to paint her as so weak. Still she went along with the act. "I do wish I could see your incredibly lovely city," she said, making her voice as thin and hoarse as she could manage, "but I am feeling quite under the weather. A place to rest would be much appreciated."

The three fin-folk looked to each other, weighing the decision.

At last, Whush said, We would not want her to faint in the middle of the road. We'd probably have to carry her, then.

We'll find a spare room for her in the castle, the other fin-man added. But ONLY because it was YOU who asked, Odinson.

"Um…would it be okay…if some of us waited with her while others went on your tour?" Fluttershy asked. "I wouldn't want her to have a dizzy spell or something and have no one there to take care of her."

I suppose there's no harm in it, the fin-wife speculated. But we do SO hope some of you at least will come with us. There's so much to show you. The fields, the Capricorn pastures –

These mortals have already seen that, Whush interrupted. They've been from one end of the fields to the other. And of course the Asgardians know about our farming practices.

So why don't we show them the city instead? the other fin-man suggested. Surely they haven't seen that.

"Actually, we haven't!" Thorgil confirmed enthusiastically.

Jack stared at her in shock. She turned to look at him, and he shook his head frantically. He was disgusted that she was agreeing to go along with their idea.

Who will go? the fin-wife asked. And who will stay behind?

"Um…well…" Rainbow Dash looked to Rarity. "We should stay with Rarity and make sure she's okay."

Rarity read the look in Rainbow Dash's eyes. A longing to see whatever wonders the capital city of Notland had to offer, but a duty to fulfill in making sure Rarity wasn't stuck bored and alone in the castle. "Oh, please, don't worry about me," Rarity told her. "Go and have fun! And tell me EVERYTHING about what you see. I'll be just fine!"

"I'll stay with you, Rarity," Fluttershy offered.

"You really don't have to do that," Rarity reassured her.

"But I'd like to," Fluttershy insisted. "You can't stay up there all alone. I'd rather make sure you're all right anyway." Remembering Thor's warning, she turned back to the fin-folk. "If that's okay with you, that is."

We understand, the fin-wife replied.

So long as not ALL of you wall up in one of our spare chambers, the fin-man of unknown name insisted.

Fluttershy regarded this man with suspicion. Whenever he wasn't speaking, his eyes darted toward Baromett. And while Fluttershy couldn't be sure – fin-folk's fishy eyes were more difficult to read than those of ponies, humans, or those of similar ilk – she suspected that he was looking at the little sheep with hunger. She knelt and scooped Baromett up into her arms, clutching him tightly. If nothing else, she wanted to make sure that the small sheep was sequestered from those who were in the mood for lamb chops.

"I too wish to stay and look after Rarity," Velvet volunteered.

"As do I," Cornelius added.

Twilight grew suspicious as to why the pair was so eager to volunteer to stay inside. She had a strong feeling it had to do with their state as Pookas.

"I, too, shall stay," Sif decided.

"And I," Jack added, eager to get as far away from fin-folk society as possible. He looked expectantly to Thorgil.

Thorgil put her hands on her hips. "Not I!" she insisted. "I want to actually see what we didn't see the first time! I hope you know that you're probably missing out on hundreds of things you could make poems about! Well, I'm just going to have to make all the poems about Notland instead and bring them back and say them right out in front of you! We'll see how you feel about it then!"

Whush chuckled. Are you afraid we harbor ill will toward you from the incident with Princess Shellia's draugr? he asked Jack.

Jack kept silent, afraid of how his answer would be interpreted.

It is a different day, Whush informed him. A day in which you have come not accompanied by any meddling bards, but a company of Odin's court.

Jack supposed that made all the difference. Still he held his ground. "I'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing Rarity was properly looked after," he growled.

Whush laughed yet again. If you insist, he relented.

Do any more of you wish to hide away? the other fin-man asked derisively.

"No way!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly. "I wanna see the city!"

"Let the rest of us commence the tour forthwith," Thor announced.

Of course, Whush said. You shall come with me and Shellaine.

Whush and the fin-wife stepped forward in unison, allowing the others to infer that Shellaine was the name by which she was called.

The remaining fin-man moved toward the group that was forming around Rarity: Sif, Velvet, Cornelius, Jack, Fluttershy. I shall show you to your quarters, he announced.

"Might we have your name?" Sif asked.

It is Wharl, the fin-man replied.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Rarity curtsied politely as her group followed Wharl toward the castle doors.

The others followed Whush and Shellaine toward a set of gates that led out of the courtyard and toward the city. Rarity smiled to see Pinkie and Rainbow Dash so excited to explore the metropolis outside the gates, though she could tell from the way Twilight and Applejack bore themselves that they were more tense about the whole situation. She couldn't blame them. Perhaps, Rarity thought, it was just Jack's apprehension about all things fin that was bleeding over onto her, but she felt as though there was an air of suspicion hovering over Notland. Still, she felt a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see the city that teased her vision with the brightly colored towers visible over the courtyard wall.

Wharl knocked on the great double doors to the castle, and they were opened by a pair of fin-man guards. This led to a spacious entry hall with smooth, shell-like walls of pale blue. Wharl immediately veered left, leading his charges into a tight hallway of a similar shade of blue. The hall curved, snakelike, this way and that, rather than following a straight line. Arched doorways branched off of it, leading to other hallways and rooms, but Wharl passed most of them by. He stopped near the end of the corridor, opening a wooden arched door to reveal a large bedchamber. This room was pastel pink, its roof domed. Translucent wall sconces illuminated the room, and against the far wall was a canopied bed. The canopy, blanket, and sheets were all visibly made of deep green kelp woven together into a fabric.

This is where you shall rest, Wharl explained. If you are feeling so poorly, I suggest you take to bed immediately.

"Thank you, Wharl," Rarity said with a nod, wishing she had a small gemstone with which to tip him for leading her to her room. She crossed to the bed, settling herself on top of the kelpy blanket and stretching out across it, making sure to lie down and make a convincing image of being ill.

We shall return with food for you before supper, Wharl went on.

This statement confused Rarity. "But why would you – "

Sif cut her off. "Thank you. We can manage from here."

I would advise you not to leave the room unless asked to do so, Wharl emphasized, almost seeming worried about the prospect.

"We shall not," Velvet asserted.

Sif, Cornelius, Velvet, Fluttershy, Baromett, and Jack all filed into the room. Wharl took his leave, closing the door behind him, shutting the group into the chamber.

"It is nice at least," Rarity observed. "I won't lie, I do wish the bed were made out of something a little less…rubbery…but in this case, beggars can't be choosers, I suppose. Now, why in the world did Wharl want to bring us food BEFORE supper?"

"It is quite true that the fin-folk enjoy food that disgusts most Asgardians," Sif explained. "I assume it is even more repellant for Midgardians."

"Ocean meat," Jack recalled. "From the Pictish Beasts. It really is worse than graffisk, if you can believe that."

"Graffisk…?" Rarity was confused by the term.

"I believe the first order of business is to fill Rarity in on what happened in her absence," Velvet suggested.

"If you please," Rarity insisted.

...

The capital city of Notland was an even more impressive sight from within its tangled streets. The roads followed very little logic, sometimes shooting straight from one destination to another, sometimes twisting this way and that, sometimes taking pedestrians a full loop around something completely else before getting where they were supposed to go. Said roads were determined more by the ground fenced in by buildings than they were by any pavement; the fin-folk tended to swim more often than walk, ignoring borders that weren't marked by solid walls.

Whush and Shellaine reverently pointed out landmark after landmark. That is the house of archives, Shellaine explained, indicating a structure with many towers. It is where texts of our histories are kept, as well as legends.

"So a library!" Twilight realized.

This is the market street, Whush explained while in an open area edged by shops and booths. It is where we barter.

Applejack cautiously ran her fingers over a rack of robes that was displayed out in the open, feeling the fine weave of the fabric. One booth over, Thorgil hmmm-ed over a display of knives.

Everything was brightly colored and inviting; every structure was intricately built. Yet, as beautiful as the city was, Twilight was still uneasy. Whenever the group passed a cluster of fin-folk passersby, she could hear their whispers, gossip about them. Some of it was innocent enough:

Is that Thor?

I believe it is!

I wonder what that many Asgardians are doing here?

I like the looks of Loki. Do you think I could convince him to marry one of my daughters? (To this, Twilight could only think to herself, somewhat amused, that some things just remained status quo, and Loki's apparent beauty was one of them.)

However, Twilight could hear other, more disturbing comments from some of the fin-folk:

What lovely people! I wish I could keep one of them.

Those three aren't sons of Odin. Do you really think Asgard would miss just one?

I am interested by the one with the purple and pink hair. She would match the seashells.

Twilight quickened her pace, sliding in next to Thor in the group arrangement. "Am I hearing them right?" she whispered. "Are they really talking about…keeping us like pets?"

"It is all talk," Thor whispered back. "They would not dare try anything so long as I accompany thee. However, we do appear as different creatures to them, as exotic creatures one would see in a menagerie."

"Do they actually keep people as pets, like the elves do?"

"There have been rumors of such things. However, it is usually an attempt to acquire a human to marry one of the merfolk to, and the betrothed of a mermaid or merman is treated like a royal by the family."

"So…does Loki get angry because the fin-folk don't automatically think of him as above them, or does he like the attention from the ones who want to keep him and think he's pretty?"

Thor nearly laughed at that, but kept it suppressed so as not to alert the tour guides to the gossip taking place. "A little of both, to be honest. But it is worse for Pookas. They are generally regarded as animals and nothing more. It does not surprise me that Cornelius and Velvet chose to stay out of sight. They have only been here once before since the Cauldron Wars, on a less diplomatic visit, and it did not go well."

"What happened?" Twilight whispered, though she was afraid she didn't want to know the answer.

"One of the fin-men very nearly carried Cornelius away, thinking he'd found a new pet," Thor whispered back. "We had to pry him out of the fin-man's arms."

Twilight swallowed hard, glad that Notland's aura had kept her in a human body. She was certain that a lavender unicorn would be carried off just as quickly as a blonde Pooka.

...

"I must ask," Rarity said plainly, "why is there so much tension between all of you and the fin-folk? Don't pretend it isn't there. It's so palpable, you could practically make a pincushion out of it."

"It is complicated," Velvet began.

"They aren't human," Jack insisted.

"Well, neither am I," Rarity reminded him.

"It's…not like that," Jack said hastily. "They're…they're like ANIMALS."

"And so am I," Rarity insisted.

"NO!" Jack flushed, trying to think of how to put his concerns across in a way Rarity would understand. "They don't…they…"

"Fin-folk know they are different from Asgardians and Midgardians," Velvet interrupted. "This has led to conflicts. Most of which stem from the fin-folk treating Asgardians as alien and Midgardians as something to be used."

"And Pookas as…pets!" Cornelius added, shivering. "Last time Velvet and I were here, we were almost kidnapped!"

"Oh, gosh!" Fluttershy was horrified. She clutched Baromett a little tighter.

"There have also been reports of fin-folk wanting to capture and keep humans in order to marry merfolk to them," Sif added.

"That's terrible!" Rarity cried.

"But…they can't ALL be like that, can they?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

Sif shook her head. "I do not know. Notland is a nation of private matters not shared throughout the Nine Realms."

"Well, I think there must be fin-folk who are kind and respectful to people from other realms," Fluttershy insisted.

"All the same," Cornelius cautioned, "I wouldn't let that sheep out of my sight if I were you."

...

The tour through the fin-folk city eventually led to a great open square at the other end of the main road that stemmed from the castle gates. This square was crowded with activity, as fin-folk either swam in the waters overhead or trod the ground underfoot to get from place to place.

In the center was a large monument, and one that Twilight realized she'd recognized. It was the great stone pillar she'd seen on the way in, the one that was drably colored compared to its surroundings. She took the opportunity to get a better look at it. Immediately apparent was the fact that it was somehow special, perhaps holy, for several fin-folk knelt before it in worship, some even just bowing quickly as they passed it by. It was carved intricately with glyphs that Twilight couldn't decipher and adorned with etchings of fin-folk in various states of activity: swimming in patterns, gathering together, kneeling in prayer the way the actual fin-folk at the monument's base were doing. The side of the pillar Twilight faced featured a large central carving of a shrinelike building around which many fin-folk swarmed. Intrigued, Twilight paced around to the back of the pillar to see what was carved there. When she saw it, she was startled.

"What did you – " Rainbow Dash began to ask, following Twilight around to the other side of the pillar. When Rainbow Dash beheld the carving, she too was surprised, so much that she gave out a small scream.

"What is it?" Pinkie Pie rushed to stand by her friends and see what the commotion was about. Looking at the carving, she wasn't quite sure what had frightened them so. It did seem odd to her, the large etching of the creature that was somewhere between dragon and squid, with strange shapes, like a warped city skyline, towering above it in the background. However, she wasn't sure it deserved to be screamed at.

"I don't know why," Twilight muttered, "but…it just gives me a…weird feeling."

"I…have seen that before," Rainbow Dash said deliberately. "I don't know where. But I have SEEN that THING before, and it wasn't someplace good!"

You are frightened, Whush stated, floating over toward Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, hoping to divert attention away from the fact that she was unnerved by something so obviously held dear to the fin-folk.

This is a monument to the Shoney's god, Whush explained. The one to whom he is devoted above all else.

Thor had overheard. "Your king's god is not my father?" he snapped, offended.

A silence fell over the group. Several of the worshippers looked up, turning to glare irately at Thor. It was suddenly quite apparent that Thor had made a grave error.

"We only ask out of curiosity," Gwendolyn said hurriedly. "Notland is not a country that is well understood throughout the realms."

That is because the Shoney prefers it that way, Shellaine replied coldly.

Oswald took that moment to slide in behind Thor and hiss into his ear: "If you attempt to bring up the subject again, I can guarantee you that Jötunheim is not the only land we will have made an enemy of."

Though, Whush pointed out, I suppose we would be remiss if we did not mention that there are those who do not worship the god. Perhaps they do worship Odin instead.

"But you don't," Twilight reiterated for clarification.

Whush chuckled. Shellaine and I both know our true god, he said as he stared up at the carved image in stone. On the other hand, were Wharl here, he might disagree.

It was then that Twilight noticed the other reaction that fin-folk were having to the monument itself. It was easy enough to notice the worshippers that gathered around it. But there were a great many fin-folk who quickened their pace when passing it, averting their eyes so as not to look at it, and some who chose their path as the long way around the edge of the square, as though trying to keep a good distance from the pillar.

"I don't recognize this god," Twilight admitted. "What is he the god of?"

To this, Whush only laughed.

His purpose is not appreciated by most land dwellers, Shellaine said by way of explanation.

Twilight was sure they were evading the question out of knowledge that present company would be disturbed by the answer.

The time draws near for the evening feast, Whush announced. We must return to the castle at once. After all, you will need your own meal first.

He and Shellaine turned to walk down the main road directly back to the castle. The rest of the group followed.

"I do not like this place," Oswald muttered under his breath.

"Nor I," Volstagg agreed.

"Would you say there's something…fishy about it?" Pinkie Pie whispered.

Loki choked back a snort of laughter.

It then struck Rainbow Dash. In the quietest whisper yet, she said so that only Twilight could hear it, "I remember where I saw that thing."

"Where?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash's voice grew even more hoarse. "When Discord showed me the other Old Ones, right before I became a monster. That was one of them!"

...

Wharl re-entered Rarity's chamber with several other fin-men, and between them, they bore six plates, six bowls, and six cups made out of the bones of some sort of large animal. Jack recognized the material as the carved bone of Pictish beasts. Upon the plates were servings of salmon and boiled egg; the bowls contained oyster stew and the cups were filled with milk.

For before the meal, Wharl explained. I had thought it best, given the lady's condition, to bring these to you instead of bringing you to the dining table with the others. Though I do hope you will join us in the courtyard for the feast. The Shoney will greet you there.

"Then there is where we will be sure to be," Sif confirmed.

"Er…I do so hate to be a bother," Rarity broke in, "but Fluttershy does not eat meat of any sort. Have you got anything else she might eat instead?"

Wharl nodded. I will return momentarily with food for your friend, he said. Can I bring you anything else?

Given the option, Rarity decided to take it. "Well, as long as you're offering…it is somewhat boring sitting in the same place for so long. Would you have any sort of paper, and something with which to draw on it?"

Wharl nodded again. I will return shortly, he promised, taking up the plate he'd brought for Fluttershy and leaving the room. The other fin-folk followed, and Rarity, Jack, Sif, Velvet, and Cornelius tucked into their meals.

"He seems very nice," Fluttershy pointed out. "I feel a little bad that I was suspicious of him earlier."

"I don't think he wants to eat your sheep any less," Cornelius replied.

After a while, Wharl returned with two more plates piled with kelp oatcakes on his hands and a pad of parchment tucked under one arm. He handed one plate to Fluttershy and placed the other on the floor. Baromett curiously sniffed the plate before nibbling at one of the oat cakes.

One for you, Wharl explained, and one for your delicious pet.

"Uh…thank you." Fluttershy took the plate gratefully, even while knowing that her suspicions about Wharl's intentions for Baromett were correct.

Wharl then turned to Rarity, offering her the parchment, a small ink pot, and a pen made of whalebone. As you requested, he said.

"Why, thank you!" Rarity grabbed eagerly at the materials.

I shall return when it is time for the feast, Wharl said before leaving the room yet again.

Rarity set about sketching, quickly putting together a clothing design inspired by what little she'd seen of Notland: flowy and intricate. When she finished that drawing, she set it aside, then let the pen hover over the next sheet of parchment, wondering what she should draw. "Hmmmm…"

"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked.

"My inspiration for fashion is running a little slow," Rarity remarked. "I'm certain it's everything to do with being cooped up in this room for so long. I positively DON'T know what to draw."

"Could you not draw something other than clothing?" Sif suggested.

"What would you suggest?" Rarity asked.

"One of the first things we learn to draw in Asgard is the tree Yggdrassil and where the Nine Realms lay upon it," Sif informed her. "I can show you if you wish."

"That would be lovely!" Rarity cried.

Sif sat down on the bed next to Rarity, directing her first to draw the trunk of the tree, then the branches and roots. She indicated the locations of each realm: Midgard, Asgard, Jötunheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Niflheim, Vanaheim, Muspelheim. Rarity dutifully sketched them in, adding little curlicues to each line, giving each realm the basic shape she associated with it – a rough estimation of the Nebulapolis skyline in Asgard, the seas of Midgard, a cavern for Alfheim. The realms she had not seen turned out more abstract.

At last, Wharl returned with an announcement: They are gathering in the courtyard for the feast. You must attend.

"Thank you, Wharl," Rarity said gratefully, getting out of bed.

I wish you well, Wharl told her formally. He then turned to lead the group out of the room.

"He seems nice," Fluttershy whispered. "Even if I do have to keep an extra eye on Baromett."

"Nice, all right," Jack growled. "For a fin-man."

...

The other half of the party was seated around a large table laden with grilled shellfish of all sorts. "You'd better eat as much as you can now," Fandral insisted. "Pictish beast tastes terrible."

"Thank Odin for the fact that they'll at least have kelp lager!" Volstagg laughed.

"We were told to avoid the lager when we were here last," Thorgil pointed out.

"It is not a drink for mortals," Thor told her.

"We'll take your word for it," Rainbow Dash punctuated.

Whush and Shellaine left them alone so they could eat, and by that time, all were ravenous, shoveling food into their mouths without talking. They made sure to sample a little bit of everything, though Twilight found that she had no appetite whatsoever for eel.

When the table was nearly cleared, Wharl entered with Rarity's contingent. It is time, he announced.

The faction reunited, they followed Wharl down a larger hallway, equally as twisted as the one leading to Rarity's temporary quarters.

"How was it?" Rarity asked excitedly. "Was it absolutely gorgeous? Tell me all about it!"

"It was pretty for sure," Twilight answered. Then, her voice drastically lowered: "But one thing about it was off. Very off."

"Oh?" Rarity replied.

Twilight looked around. Thor was whispering to Sif, Gwendolyn to Velvet, Oswald to Cornelius, Thorgil to Jack, Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy. She knew what they were talking about. "There's a pillar in the central square…"

...

Night had fallen, and the castle was luminous. Twinkling sea mites flitted through the watery atmosphere like fireflies, making the courtyard glow. Helping them do the job were several torches and braziers, burning waxy blubber instead of wood. A great table was set up in the center, and Jack and Thorgil took note of how this differed from the previous feast they'd seen. When they had come, it had been after a Pictish beast hunt during the creatures' mating season; twelve fresh beasts had been split open and roasted. This time, there was only one beast's worth of meat, salt cured and spread out on the table. The crowd was thinner than last time, too, probably because of the lessened amount of meat. Only a handful of fin-folk were present, but they represented all types: the mature fin-men, the fin-wives, mermaids, and mermen. The kelp lager was stored in buckets alongside the courtyard wall; sea mites swarmed around it, more than occasionally falling in and drowning, and the fin-folk didn't seem too concerned about stopping this.

However, Rarity's attention was drawn to the ground. It was carpeted with treasure: gemstones, coins, jewelry, artifacts of gold and silver. It was impossible to tell if there was grass or stone beneath, and the fin-folk were all swimming rather than trying to step on or around the riches. "That must be where my amulet is!" Rarity gasped.

"We need to figure out a tactful way to find it and ask for it back," Twilight muttered.

"I fail to see why we need to ask for it at all," Loki broke in. "It was ours in the first place."

"Because it wouldn't be right," Twilight snapped.

"And, more importantly," Oswald pointed out, "because the Shoney can tell if even a single coin was removed from his hoard. And I would prefer to travel somewhere without an international incident being started for once."

"Be sure to talk up how much you want it, though," Thorgil advised. "The Shoney gets a kick out of that!"

The fin-folk descended hungrily upon the Pictish beast meat, diving at it and tearing it apart with their mouths, not bothering to use utensils or even hands. Whush, Wharl, and Shellaine did not hesitate to join in, soon becoming lost among the crowd. Jack recoiled at the sight. "Look at them!" he hissed. "Didn't I tell you? They're like crows on a dead animal!"

"Lots of animals eat like that," Fluttershy pointed out. "It's a little different from how we do things, but it isn't anything I haven't seen before."

"It can't taste all THAT bad!" Pinkie Pie insisted. She flipped up into the air, crying out "WHEEEE!" as she sailed toward the meat and tore off a piece for herself. She spat the tiny morsel out almost immediately after putting it in her mouth, then returned to the others and reported, "Yup, it tastes all that bad."

"But the lager looks fine!" Thor pointed out before vaulting up into a swimming position and making his way to the large vats. Loki, Sif, Gwendolyn, Oswald, and the Warriors Three followed him.

"Aren't you going to go with them?" Rarity asked Cornelius and Velvet.

"Pooka bodies can't handle stronger drinks the way theirs can," Velvet explained.

"Besides," Cornelius emphasized, "I'd rather stay out of a large throng of fin-folk."

The eight Asgardians grabbed nearby flagons, dipping them into the vats and filling them full of lager, sea mites and all. Gwendolyn was the only one to drink delicately; the others all downed the contents of their flagons in a few gulps, finishing at around the same time before throwing the flagons down in unison and happily, already tipsily, crying, "ANOTHER!"

It seems the children of Odin are enjoying themselves, an unmistakably fin-man voice stated calmly, regally, from behind the contingent of Equestrians, Midgardians, Pookas, and sheep. All turned to see the largest, oldest fin man yet standing behind them, clothed in a fine, shimmering robe. It was as though he had not simply quietly swum to that position, but rather simply appeared.

"Sh-Shoney," Jack sputtered, quickly looking back to Thor and hoping that the thunder god would make good on his promise to be protection should the Shoney hold a grudge. However, at that moment, Thor was more preoccupied with his drink ("ANOTHER!").

I recall you, the Shoney said, and he seemed almost amused. You came here to Shellia's tomb. But there was another with you…not one of these.

"The Bard isn't here," Jack stated, somewhat relieved at the fact. After all, the Bard had been the one who'd laid the draugr, the Shoney's daughter, to rest, but not before calling her out for being selfish and petty, right in front of the Shoney himself. That probably earned him more hatred from the Shoney than Jack and Thorgil did combined.

Who are these others? the Shoney asked, regarding the Equestrians with interest. I do not recognize them.

"Friends," Twilight answered.

"We came here 'cause Thor's got somethin' he wants to ask ya," Applejack elaborated.

And what would that be? the Shoney pressed.

"He'll tell you himself," Applejack insisted, deciding it was better to let the royals handle negotiations.

Most interesting, the Shoney replied. I look forward to our meeting.

So beautiful! another voice, this one more feminine, broke in. The group made another about-face to see the largest of the fin-wives yet, dressed in an opalescent robe offset with a necklace made of multiple strands of pearls.

One more "ANOTHER!" chorused from across the courtyard.

Ah, Shair Shair, the Shoney greeted. Meet the traveling party that Thor Odinson has chosen to accompany him to our land. Strange, are they not?

They are all so beautiful, Shair Shair reiterated. She then spoke directly to the travelers: The young mermaids and mermen would certainly be interested in you. I am sure you would make wonderful wives…and a wonderful husband. (It was clear by that point that she was intentionally ignoring Velvet and Cornelius.) Please, won't you stay? You will be treated like kings and queens –

Now is not the time, the Shoney interrupted his wife. They have other business with us than marrying our young, and I wish to know what it is.

"By the way," Thorgil broke in, "I have to say that the treasure hoard out here looks bigger than it did last time. I just wish I could have some of it!"

This pleased the Shoney, and he chuckled. It shall have to be an unrealized dream for you, he stated.

Thorgil pouted convincingly. "That's just too bad. I'm going to spend the rest of my time here being upset about it."

Having spotted the Shoney and Shair Shair's appearance, the Asgardian contingent floated back to the edge of the courtyard. Thor bowed in greeting. "Shoney."

Thor Odinson, the Shoney replied; he did not bow. I have come to understand you wish for an audience with me?

"Aye," Thor replied.

When you have had your fill of the lager, the Shoney said derisively, you may proceed to the audience chamber.

"We are ready," Gwendolyn insisted.

Good, the Shoney said. Follow me.

...

The Shoney's audience chamber was even more laden with riches than the courtyard. The usual array of coinage and jewels was joined by larger pieces of artwork ranging from pottery to statues that appeared to have come from every corner of the world. There was no method of organization; it was strewn about at random.

At the front of this heap of treasure was where the Shoney and Shair Shair sat upon their thrones. The eighteen travelers and their sheep stood before the royal couple.

So you are the reason that Notland has appeared here in the northern reaches of Midgard when it is not the mating season for the Pictish beasts, the Shoney stated. Explain to us why you have come here, he demanded, and, more importantly, of what you wish to speak to us.

"Asgard is on the brink of war with Jötunheim," Thor explained. "Jötunn raids in our realm have broken our peace treaty. My father intends to march upon Jötunheim, but it would be foolish to do so alone. We already have the support of the elves and hobgoblins of Alfheim, as well as the Vanir. We wished to ask if the legions of Notland would also march alongside the armies of Asgard."

War? the Shoney reiterated. War is why you have come to us?

"Aye, that it is," Thor confirmed.

The Shoney took a moment to think this over. At last, he gave his answer: You have our support.

Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances. They both found it suspicious that the Shoney so easily gave in.

Our soldiers will join Odin's as soon as possible, the Shoney went on. Together, we shall march upon Jötunheim, and when we have finished with it, there shall be nothing left of the hall of the mountain king and queen.

Jack, Thorgil, and Fluttershy flinched at this.

"I thank thee," Thor stated. "As it is, there is one more item of business we have to discuss."

Rarity nodded, expecting Thor to put in a word about her missing soul.

Instead, the thunder god's countenance suddenly changed to that of anger. "Why is my father not your god?" he snapped.

Rarity, Gwendolyn, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Jack, Thorgil, and Cornelius gasped. Rarity's reaction was an offended one that she had been so easily forgotten. The others all gasped in fear. Thor had crossed the line yet again.

The Shoney and Shair Shair simply stared blankly at Thor, impossible to read.

"Forgive my brother," Gwendolyn sputtered. "He has had much to drink tonight, and – "

"I have not lost my senses," Thor insisted, cutting her off. "I wish to know why there is a monument to a strange god in the square of this city while you remain part of the realms ruled over by my father!"

I do not see how that is your concern, the Shoney replied coldly. We are free to worship as we choose. We shall march alongside Odin because he is a friend and ally. Not because he is our god or our king. He does not dictate what we do. Leave this place, Odinson, and take your companions with you. If you stay, there is a chance that your impudence will make me change my mind about our alliance.

"Let us go," Gwendolyn insisted.

"I shall not!" Thor snapped.

"OUR BUSINESS IS DONE HERE," Gwendolyn barked. She turned on her heel and stormed toward the door. One by one, the others followed, and Thor finally realized it would be wiser to give in and follow her than to enter a war of words and beliefs with the Shoney.

As she left the chamber on her way out of the castle, Twilight could feel the gazes of the Shoney and Shair Shair fixed upon her back. She knew they were unhappy, and did not wish to know what happened if their wrath was fully incurred.

...

The traveling party regrouped in the street outside the castle.

"It seems I shall never see the day that we travel to another realm without causing an incident," Oswald grunted. "Was it necessary to be so stubborn?"

"He spits upon the honor of my father," Thor argued.

"The honor of your father!" Rarity repeated. "He had my SOUL somewhere in that pile of jewels, and you would rather pick a fight over your father!"

"Your soul…" Thor repeated. It sank in; he had forgotten all about it.

"It is too late to go back now," Sif pointed out. "We would run a great risk of angering the Shoney further and losing our alliance."

"Besides," Loki added, "we cannot afford any further delays."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Rarity asked angrily. "Die again until it's CONVENIENT to save me?"

"We aren't going to leave without that amulet," Twilight insisted. "Listen. If you really can't spend any more time here…then the rest of you can go. Finish making preparations for the war. You too, Jack and Thorgil. We talked about how it would be dangerous for you here without the protection of the Asgardian royalty. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and I – "

"And Baromett," Fluttershy broke in.

" – and Baromett," Twilight amended, "will stay here and find a way to get that amulet back."

"Dealing with the fin-folk can be dangerous," Sif warned.

"We've dealt with worse before," Twilight replied.

"I…don't know about that," Rainbow Dash said cautiously. "I mean…they have some kind of connection to one of the Old Ones. One that's probably a lot meaner than Discord."

"We'll figure it out," Twilight said briskly.

"It doesn't feel right to leave you," Gwendolyn admitted.

"Then maybe somepony should have THOUGHT of that before wasting his chance to ask about this on INSULTING the king here!" Twilight yelled at Thor.

"I had merely forgotten about – " Thor attempted.

"Because you were SO caught up in the fact that somepony insulted your dad. We get it!" Twilight snapped. "That's what started almost every fight you've got in since we met you! And if that's the most important thing to you, then fine. We'll take care of this ourselves. You just focus on protecting Asgard. If that's what this war is about, and not getting back at the Jötunns because them crossing the border made your dad look bad!"

"They broke an ironclad treaty!" Thor insisted.

"If that's good enough for you, then it's good enough for me," Twilight stated coldly.

"Will…will we see you again?" Jack asked anxiously.

Twilight wanted to say know. She knew, however, that was the wrong answer. She paused, willing herself to cool down. After letting out a long breath, she answered, "We'll try to catch up with you later. But if we're not back in time, march without us. I know you're running out of time. We'll see you after everything's cleared up."

"We wish you luck in finding the amulet," Gwendolyn said sincerely.

"Thank you," Twilight replied. Then she turned to Thor. "Anything you want to say?"

Thor did have something to say, but it was never heard. A host of fin-men burst from the castle gates, surrounding the party and pointing long, silvery spears at them to keep them in place. Some rushed forward, overtaking Thor and Loki by surprise and binding their hands behind their backs in cuffs of a strange metal. Thor struggled against them, finding that he was unable to summon any lightning whatsoever so long as his wrists were bound; the metal was an inhibitor of magic for mortals and gods alike.

"HEY!" Rainbow Dash stepped back to evade a set of cuffs about to be snapped onto her own wrists. "What's THIS about?"

You are under arrest by order of the Shoney, one of the fin-men explained.

"I suppose we should not be surprised," Oswald grunted.

"Wait…no," Twilight said shakily. "The Shoney said he'd still march with us. He can't have changed his mind THAT quickly over an insult!"

You are not under arrest for any insult, the fin-man insisted. Your crime is robbing the Shoney's hoard of a great deal of valuables.

"WHAT?" Rainbow Dash cried. "We didn't touch ANYTHING!"

Search their pockets, the fin-man ordered.

The guards who surrounded Thor and Loki rifled through the pockets of the two princes, and from Thor's pockets and purse, they produced a wealth of coins and several handfuls of jewels.

"Thor," Sif said in shock, "how could you – "

"NO!" Twilight screamed. She had put her hands into the pockets of her own garment and produced from them several bracelets. "I didn't – I didn't touch ANYTHING!"

"How…did this…" Jack was finding coin after coin on his own person.

"It can't be…" Gwendolyn took a handful of bejeweled rings from her purse.

One by one, they either searched or were searched, and all but one turned out to be harboring several hidden valuables. Three rings were even found woven into Baromett's wool.

"But this doesn't make sense!" Twilight wailed. "We all knew it was wrong! And I know I didn't take ANYTHING! Somepony must have put them in – "

She stopped midsentence as her blood ran cold. There was only one in their traveling party who had turned up clean, with nothing noteworthy in his pockets. Twilight turned to face him. "No," she muttered. "Nonononono. You can't. You didn't. You COULDN'T have!"

As Twilight's eyes locked onto Loki's, the god of mischief returned to her a sly smile. Then he began to laugh.

...

Chapter 92:

· As you can probably already tell from the title, this is the chapter that happens when you let JCMorrigan binge-read H.P. Lovecraft.

· Yes, lowering Rune over the side of the ship into the water to taste it is literally how they navigate in canon.

· Olaf's village also had no name. Instead of making up a name, this time, I estimated where it was based on the maps in the books. The area of Hardanger seems about the same location, and I'm pretty sure Hardanger was a place back then.

· There actually is a scene in SoT, early in Jack and Thorgil's acquaintanceship (they hated each other at the time), when Thorgil came home to greet the dogs and yelled at Jack to stay away from them because they were "MY friends! MINE!" I felt playing off that would be a nice way to show how their bond has grown.

· In SoT, we only see Olaf's household once, and Thorgil isn't treated as much as a permanent fixture. However, he basically legitimizes her as his adoptive daughter upon his deathbed, so I figured she would graduate to being treated like one of his kids.

· Olaf actually had a lot of slaves working on his farm. I wasn't quite sure how to address the issue without introducing another subplot, so I kinda…swept it under the rug. Olaf One-Brow is basically the incarnation of "Pretty swell guy who comes packaged with a lot of tricky ethical issues."

· Loki/Pinkie Pie interaction because I had to. Yes, he's being honest with her in this scene. I wanted to show how he was indeed a little different before the fall. (My usual disclaimer: memorize this moment. Hold onto it. Copy/paste it if you want to. Because after this storylet ends, THIS Loki is going to be all but gone.)

· Loki's Glass: a direct allusion to the Lovecraft story "The Trap." I want to clear that up because I have no plans to make it an actual plot device. From here, it ends up going from the fin-folk to the land of humans and gets passed down from sorcerer cultist to sorcerer cultist until it lives out its destiny as a parallel dimension gateway in "The Trap." I was actually SUPER excited when "The Trap" decided not to use one of Lovecraft's usual pantheon as its chief occult god, but LOKI. And as soon as I read that, I was like, "Oh, this is getting referenced while I still have Loki featured in a big way."

· Notland is only supposed to be around during Pictish beast mating season. The reason it's there now? Odin wanted it there.

· Fish people are one of my favorite things. Fin-folk, mermaids, Zoras (Legend of Zelda), Deep Ones…I love them all. Even Merbs from Storm Hawks, which are actually amphibious people and not fish. I have fantasized about being a fish person. This is probably relevant to nothing.

· There is actually a LOT more about Notland geography and culture that I didn't get the chance to work in, and I regret that. (And yet I ADDED stuff that's not there in canon.)

· "Mermaids have to marry humans to become human, otherwise they become fin-wives/sea hags" is IotB canon. "Fin-folk who marry humans bear half-fish children" is something that comes from the Lovecraft mythos. Basically, fin-folk are fascinated with marrying humans no matter where you go.

· Whush is a canon character from IotB. Wharl and Shellaine are my OCs because I needed to have more fin-folk with names to fill this out properly.

· In IotB, the fin-folk draw out the meeting with the Shoney out WAY more and are more ambiguous about whether it will happen at all. I'm using "Thor said so" as an excuse to speed it up, though there is still SOME delay, which I promise serves a purpose other than filler (but you probably figured that out when they arrived at the monument). Also, in IotB, the tour focuses on the farmland and countryside; I got to take some liberties with the city area around the castle.

· So are all the fin-folk kidnappers and warmongers, or are there some more noble examples hidden in Notland who are simply not vocal? The answer shall come next chapter (and you can probably already guess it).

· The Cthulhu monument was inspired largely by the pillar in "Dagon," though that one actually did NOT have Cthulhu himself etched on it (I'm still convinced it was a Cthulhu thing, though, and that the narrator just used the name "Dagon" for the god because it was all he knew from his studies of human cultures). So I added Cthulhu on the back – the words for his description come from "The Call of Cthulhu," when he's described on the bas-relief. The role he plays in Notland culture will become a little more apparent next chapter. Things are indeed fishy 'round here.

· "ANOTHER!" had to be something Thor was already used to saying in Asgard, of course.

· The idea of one of Loki's pranks being to rob the Shoney and plant the gems on his allies, thereby landing them all in deep trouble, was one of the very first scenes I had planned out for this entire storylet. (And I bet you thought you were going to get off without a cliffhanger this time!)